Terry Reintke has thrown her hat into the ring. The Green, group leader in the European Parliament, child of the Ruhr region and fan of long-distance running, wants to be her party’s top candidate in the European elections. Or one of the two top candidates, rather, because the Greens always enter the race with two candidates.
So the Greens are the first European party family to take steps to name the candidate for the most influential post in the EU. Ursula von der Leyen has still not said publicly whether she will seek another round and run as the top candidate of the Christian Democratic party family EPP. In the social-democratic PES party family, there is not even an interested party for the post in sight. In the liberal Renew party family, one should not assume too much enthusiasm. In 2019, it entered the race with a whole bouquet of top candidates in order to avoid being tied down and because Emmanuel Macron doesn’t think much of “Spitz”.
It would have been a surprise if Reintke had not run. Now the question is, who else is running? The Green Party’s statutes would also allow two women. Informally, no one has yet come out of the woodwork. Formally, the application period runs from Nov. 5 to 28. To rule out chaotic candidacies, an interested party must have the support of five party members. Then candidates present themselves at a party meeting (council) in December. They then spend two months campaigning within the party. Finally, the election will take place at the Congress of the European Greens in Lyon on Feb. 2-4.
Under discussion among the Greens are Marie Toussaint, who is vice in the group and will lead the French list in the European elections. Among the men, the Dutchman and vice in the group, Bas Eickhout – he was already co-leading candidate 2019 – is said to run again. Also possible is the only commissioner with a green party book, Virginijus Sinkevičius, from Lithuania. As well as the Catalan Ernest Urtásun, who is also a group vice. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Committee in the Parliament wants to vote in November in Strasbourg on the requirement that the top candidates must be determined twelve weeks before the election. The deadline would therefore be Thursday, March 14. Will the EPP manage that?
A pleasant day wishes
The BDI, one of the three leading associations of German business, is demanding a sharp course correction from the EU Commission. It should “pursue a pro-business agenda that puts Europe’s global competitiveness back at center stage”. This emerges from the BDI’s policy paper on European policy 2024 to 2029, which is available to Table.Media. In the paper, the BDI has formulated its political demands on the EU for the next mandate.
“The world is currently experiencing geopolitical upheavals that present Europe with enormous challenges in international competition”, BDI President Siegfried Russwurm told Table.Media. While the US is attracting companies from around the world through attractive business location conditions and forging global partnerships, Europe is struggling with rising energy costs, growing regulations and increasing bureaucracy, he said. “Germany and Europe are under pressure to move”, Russwurm says. “The EU must recognize the signs of the times and shift to a pro-business agenda without delay. Economic strength is crucial for a sustainable Europe.”
The association calls for new trade agreements. In trade policy, the EU should counter the fraying of proven alliances based on rules-based trade between industrialized countries. A more active neighborhood policy, a comprehensive expansion of economic and transformation partnerships with developing and emerging countries, and closer strategic coordination with democratic countries such as the USA, Japan, Australia, South Korea and Canada are necessary.
The US remained the EU’s most important trading partner. However, both the Biden administration and previous administrations were critical of globalization. The US increasingly relied on industrial policy with localization requirements for public contracts, subsidies and infrastructure projects. Under Biden, the US government does not seek classic free trade agreements granting mutual market access, but only enters into negotiations on frameworks such as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (EU-US TTC).
The specific demands of the BDI in trade policy are:
The BDI is calling for massive efforts to complete and secure the Single Market. This was threatening to fall behind in international location comparisons. Even thirty years after its entry into force, it remains a patchwork quilt. Start-ups, SMEs and mid-caps are often only able to operate to a limited extent throughout the EU because of numerous barriers. The EU is overwhelming companies with a flood of “partly poorly formulated legislation”. There are massive deficits in tax law in particular: companies still have to deal with 27 corporate tax systems in the EU. The Single Market has a growth potential of more than €700 billion by the end of 2029.
These are the concrete demands for the Single Market:
The BDI calls for efforts to improve legislation and consistently reduce bureaucracy. The specific demands are:
In the field of competition policy and merger control, the BDI urges that the changed geopolitical and trade conditions be kept in mind. The Commission has sufficient instruments at its disposal in competition policy, and the discussion about a New Competition Tool should not be allowed to continue. Antitrust and merger proceedings must be conducted in a proportionate and legally secure manner. For the companies concerned, inquiries by the Commission are sometimes associated with unreasonable expense. In the area of tax policy, the BDI urges the Commission to present an overall concept for corporate taxation.
The competitiveness checks for laws called for by the BDI would probably have such far-reaching consequences in no other policy area than the Green Deal. “While the US is thinking climate and industrial policy together with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and investing massively in technological innovation, the EU is trying to steer the transformation of the industrial sector primarily through a rising CO2 price”, the paper says.
However, relying only on high CO2 prices in the ETS would have the effect of penalizing production plants if crucial infrastructures were missing, says the BDI. As a supplement, the leading association not only relies on new support mechanisms such as contracts for difference (CfD), it also questions parts of the ETS architecture itself. For example, Europe would have to abolish the recently adopted CO2 border adjustment mechanism if it does not prevent carbon leakage.
The EU should further develop the Net-Zero Industry Act into an industrial policy strategy: “Investments in European projects must become more attractive in a technology-open approach through faster procedures, more advantageous location costs and regulatory reliability.” Procedural accelerations should apply not only to technologies from the NZIA, but to industrial plants in general. To this end, the BDI also wants to relax existing environmental regulations if necessary:
In terms of energy policy, the BDI is in favor of expanding the supply of renewable energies, adhering to the principles of electricity market design and capacity mechanisms for the rapid construction of back-up power plants.
New applications that have received little attention to date must also be taken into account in the expansion of renewables. Technologies for the capture, storage and use of CO2 (CCS) are energy-intensive and therefore require “sufficiently available quantities of renewable energy at competitive prices”.
In the use of synthetic fuels, the BDI also advocates a cost-effective international certificate system – similar to certificates for green electricity. This could play a role for European airlines. They would then no longer have to refuel their jets themselves with expensive kerosene based on hydrogen in order to meet the corresponding eco-quotas. A certificate would suffice as proof that a plane somewhere in the world has refueled with a corresponding amount of synthetic fuel.
The BDI’s analysis of digitization is sobering: The level of digitization among European companies remains low. The investment gap with international competitors continues to grow. In Germany, for example, there is a lack of innovation transfer, skilled workers, venture capital and companies conducting basic research. “Germany’s innovation system is still stable, but not very dynamic“, states the BDI.
As causes, he names a plethora of European digital and innovation regulation, which means considerable additional work for companies, as well as a lack of innovation support geared toward Europe’s digital sovereignty. They also said that Europe is far from its goals when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence. The BDI criticizes the negotiation process for the AI Act for focusing more on the risks than the opportunities.
Some of the recommendations for action are:
After days of cacophony, a signal of unity is now to emanate from Brussels on the Middle East crisis, according to a diplomat ahead of the start of the two-day EU summit today. Whether it will work, however, is an open question. Until the very end, the Permanent Representatives Committee was struggling for words. The focus was on the question of humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. Member states such as Spain and Ireland want to see the demand for a ceasefire enshrined in the conclusions, while others want at least one or more pauses, windows, or humanitarian corridors.
Language is important, an EU diplomat defended the semantic discussions. There are traditionally different sensitivities and perceptions among the member states regarding the Middle East conflict. But that does not mean that joint action is not possible. The point, they said, is to ensure humanitarian aid for all civilians without at the same time questioning Israel’s right to fight Hamas terrorism. “We have to find a middle ground”, said another diplomat. Namely, between those who called for a humanitarian cease-fire and others who stressed that Israel is still under attack and has a right to defend itself.
Germany is among the countries that have been critical of the call for a “humanitarian pause” in the General Committee of Representatives (COREPER). “We will have a consensus in the end”, an EU diplomat said Wednesday. The European Council called for continuous, rapid, safe, and unhindered access to humanitarian aid, the draft conclusions said. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that aid reaches those in need, they said. With the passage, the EU wants to address fears that Hamas could divert some of the aid for its own purposes. The draft reiterates that the EU “strongly condemns Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate attacks against all of Israel.” Hamas’s use of civilians as human shields is a particularly reprehensible atrocity, it said.
The EU reiterates Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law and calls on Hamas to release the hostages immediately without preconditions. The issue is also how to avoid a regional escalation that would only lead to an even greater catastrophe. Diplomats expected some leaders to report on their contacts in recent days. They are also expected to discuss how to restart the peace process in the longer term. The two-state solution remains the only path the EU wants to stick to, he said.
The foreign policy crises and conflicts will push the economic policy issues and the discussion on the MFF into the background at the summit. It is no coincidence that the summit will begin with a discussion on the situation in Ukraine, which will include President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The summit will reaffirm continued assistance to Ukraine, diplomats stressed. This is not because there are doubts among member states, but in response to concerns in Ukraine about being forgotten against the backdrop of the Middle East conflict.
The discussion on the Commission’s proposal to put arms funding for Ukraine on a longer-term basis, earmarking €20 billion for the next four years, is not really progressing. Discussions on the twelfth sanctions package against Russia have begun, however, with a focus on dual-use products and loopholes in the sanctions regime. In the case of the import ban on Russian diamonds, a solution is foreseeable in the next few weeks within the framework of the G7 countries.
A section is also devoted to the deadlocked dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and the security situation in northern Kosovo following the attack by Serbian paramilitaries on Kosovo police. EU foreign affairs envoy Josep Borrell has summoned Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s head of government Albin Kurti to Brussels on short notice for crisis meetings on the sidelines of the summit. The two adversaries are to meet separately with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian head of government Giorgia Meloni. The point is to make it clear to Vucic and Kurti that they are putting their countries’ European path at risk with their blockade stance, a diplomat said. Both sides must now take the agreed steps toward normalization in line with the Ohrid and Brussels agreements, he said.
At the dinner, the heads of state and government also want to discuss the situation in the Sahel. Earlier this week, the EU adopted the legal basis for future sanctions against the coup plotters in Niger. In conclusion, the EU calls for the release of President Bazoum and his family, who are isolated and under house arrest in the capital Niamey.
The evening’s topic will also be the tensions between Azerbaijan and after the ethnic cleansing in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. France in particular is pressing for the right of return for the displaced Armenian population. The danger of Azerbaijan attempting a military advance into Armenia’s heartland with a view to a corridor toward the exclave of Nakhichevan has also not been banished. In its summit conclusions, the EU emphasizes its intention to support the normalization process and peace between the two countries on the basis of mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The EU announced the signing of dozens of agreements with partner countries during the first Global Gateway Forum. In collaboration with the USA, Brussels aims to lay the foundation for a corridor connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the Atlantic Ocean.
This route will pass through Angola to the port of Lobito and then connect the countries to global markets, as reported by Bloomberg, citing individuals familiar with the matter. This is one of the typical projects in competition with China, specifically concerning access to raw materials.
Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, Prime Minister of the DR Congo, was invited to speak about critical raw materials at the EU Infrastructure Initiative forum on Wednesday. This session was also attended by José de Lima Massano, State Minister for Economic Coordination in Angola, and Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane.
The memorandum of understanding for the development of the corridor is expected to be signed during the forum in Brussels. The EU and the USA had already announced last month that the initial steps would include feasibility studies for a new railway expansion between Zambia and Angola.
The DR Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and competes with Peru for the position of the second-largest copper producer. This is largely due to increased Chinese investments in recent years. Zambia is also rich in copper.
Whether the African corridor project will be successful remains uncertain. The implementation of the EU and USA’s recently announced connectivity initiative for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) is now in question due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Brussels aims, through Global Gateway, to provide an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in third countries. The BRI summit brought together representatives from around 130 countries in Beijing last week, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as the guest of honor.
While not mentioning China directly, EU Commission President von der Leyen made references to China’s practice of demanding local infrastructure or ports as collateral for Chinese loans: “No country should be faced with a situation where the only way to finance its essential infrastructure is to sell its future,” she said at the opening of the forum in Brussels. In the audience were Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Senegal’s President Macky Sall.
A multitude of signings is planned during the forum, including:
Compared to the decade-old Belt and Road Initiative, the EU’s infrastructure plan is still in its early stages, with few concrete new projects. Many of the initiatives are still from previous projects. Global Gateway initially faced challenges within the EU Commission regarding jurisdiction, and EU capitals were uncertain about how to handle this initiative.
Global Gateway is complex because it aims to mobilize financial resources from member states, multilateral organizations like the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as the private sector.
The first day of the forum, with its announced project plans, offers hope for rapid progress. Tobias Bacherle, Green Party member of the German Bundestag and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, stated, “The ‘Global Gateway’ forum in Brussels is off to a good start. Now it’s crucial that the initiative leads to concrete projects that benefit people on the ground.” He added that “Global Gateway” must fill global supply gaps and strengthen the sovereignty of partner countries instead of deepening their dependencies.
Ulrich Ackermann, Head of Foreign Trade at the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), expressed optimism: “It is gratifying that the ‘Global Gateway’ initiative is finally gaining momentum, and the European Union has invited numerous heads of state and government to the infrastructure summit in Brussels.”
Ackermann believes that the EU could become a true geopolitical player in Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, he emphasized that the proposed 300 billion euros from “Global Gateway” are far from sufficient to bridge the global infrastructure gap.
EU Commission President von der Leyen had repeatedly emphasized that China’s BRI is clearly intended to counter the European initiative. Before the start of the forum, a media report had caused a stir, suggesting that the EU Commission had unwittingly brought Chinese connections into the newly established corporate body.
One of the 60 members is the Portuguese energy company EDP, in which China Three Gorges (CTG) is the largest single shareholder with 20 percent, the South China Morning Post reported. The panel is to advise the EU on Global Gateway projects.
EU Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer rejected criticism of EDP’s inclusion in the forum. It was noted that China Three Gorges (CTG) owns 20 percent of EDP. This was reported by the South China Morning Post. The group is to advise the EU on Global Gateway projects.
The forum will continue on Thursday, with EU politicians and representatives from potential partner countries discussing topics such as health and digital infrastructure. EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, along with government leaders from Croatia, Serbia, and Estonia, among others, will participate. The closing plenary session is on the agenda for midday.
Online game providers, social networks, streaming services, and online marketplaces often design their offerings to exploit people’s weaknesses in order to capture their attention. They get their users downright addicted. Members of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) are calling for ethical design of online services to curb health risks. On Wednesday, they adopted an own-initiative report by a large majority.
“No amount of self-control can resist the addictive design we are all exposed to today”, said rapporteur Kim Van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA). Problematic smartphone use affects attention span and brain development from a young age, she said. Examples of addictive features include “infinite scrolling” and constant notifications.
“If we don’t intervene now, this will have a huge impact on future generations”, Sparrentak said. To protect health, he said, the EU must “address addictive design now.” MEPs call for more research and regulation in this area in their report, which IMCO launched in the spring.
Others see the problem, too: In the US, more than 40 states are currently suing Facebook parent company Meta. They accuse the company of intentionally designing its social media platforms Instagram and Facebook to make them addictive to children and teens. Attorneys general from states ranging from California to Wisconsin filed federal lawsuits Tuesday. In them, they also accuse Meta of routinely collecting data from children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law.
EU parliamentarians believe that neither the DSA nor the upcoming AI Act are sufficient to solve the problem of addictive service design. They call on the Commission to close existing legal loopholes and present new legislation on this issue.
According to Parliament’s vision, providers should be obliged to develop ethical and fair digital products and services “from the start” – without dark patterns, i.e. misleading and addictive design. They also call for a digital “right not to be disturbed” and a list of good design practices – such as turning off notifications by default.
The Commission is currently working to update certain consumer protection laws to ensure a high level of protection in the digital environment. The results are expected in 2024. The Parliament’s own-initiative report, once adopted by the plenary in December, will feed into the ongoing review. vis
The Brussels office of IG Metall, which Dirk Bergrath heads, is not particularly large. The 51-year-old opened the industrial union’s representative office with two colleagues in 2014, and the number of employees has not changed since then. Bergrath is also still there nine years later.
After studying economics in Cologne and Brighton and completing his doctorate at RWTH Aachen University, Bergrath joined the trade union IG Metall. Bergrath was immediately responsible for European policy issues. He quickly gained initial experience in Brussels, for example at the European Metalworkers’ Federation. After five years with the union, he turned his back on IG Metall for the time being to work as a social affairs officer at Germany’s Permanent Representation to the EU.
Bergrath sums up his current main task at the Brussels representation of IG Metall succinctly: “Processing information, mediating, maintaining many contacts – and above all being an early warning system.” In discussions with members of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, he asserts the interests of the employees. In doing so, he says, he is often helped by his union’s international profile: “IG Metall is not a name that needs much explaining, even if the Commission official is not from Germany.”
Nevertheless, IG Metall needs a clear trade union policy model to secure Europe’s future despite the current challenges, such as those posed by the climate crisis. “Because we will only be able to take people along with us in the transformation if they do not perceive the developments as a threat“, says Bergrath.
At the moment, the EU has only limited answers to employees’ fears. For Bergrath, one narrative in particular is problematic: “European studies that say that jobs are endangered in some industries, but that many new ones are being created in others, do not allay people’s fears in the workplace”, he explains. Employees cannot be expected “to move to northern Sweden just because we are in a good position there in terms of critical raw materials in Europe”.
At the same time, Bergrath makes it clear that a lot has happened in recent years at the European level to promote an effective industrial and structural policy. “Until not so long ago, it was almost impossible to use the word industrial policy in Brussels, because people trusted that market forces would somehow sort it out”, he recalls.
Examples such as the development of battery production, the STEP (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform) or industrial policy measures in the aftermath of the pandemic had given hope for the future from the employees’ point of view. However, the EU continues to lag behind China with its Made in China 2025 program or the USA with the Inflation Reduction Act.
Bergrath would also like to pave the way for a future-oriented industrial policy as an honorary member of the European Economic and Social Committee. That is not always easy, he says. “The particular challenge is to find consensual solutions with employers’ associations and civil groups“, says Bergrath. However, he says successful examples, such as the recent revision of the CO2 directive for passenger cars and small commercial vehicles, motivate him to continue contributing his expertise to the committee. Jasper Bennink
Terry Reintke has thrown her hat into the ring. The Green, group leader in the European Parliament, child of the Ruhr region and fan of long-distance running, wants to be her party’s top candidate in the European elections. Or one of the two top candidates, rather, because the Greens always enter the race with two candidates.
So the Greens are the first European party family to take steps to name the candidate for the most influential post in the EU. Ursula von der Leyen has still not said publicly whether she will seek another round and run as the top candidate of the Christian Democratic party family EPP. In the social-democratic PES party family, there is not even an interested party for the post in sight. In the liberal Renew party family, one should not assume too much enthusiasm. In 2019, it entered the race with a whole bouquet of top candidates in order to avoid being tied down and because Emmanuel Macron doesn’t think much of “Spitz”.
It would have been a surprise if Reintke had not run. Now the question is, who else is running? The Green Party’s statutes would also allow two women. Informally, no one has yet come out of the woodwork. Formally, the application period runs from Nov. 5 to 28. To rule out chaotic candidacies, an interested party must have the support of five party members. Then candidates present themselves at a party meeting (council) in December. They then spend two months campaigning within the party. Finally, the election will take place at the Congress of the European Greens in Lyon on Feb. 2-4.
Under discussion among the Greens are Marie Toussaint, who is vice in the group and will lead the French list in the European elections. Among the men, the Dutchman and vice in the group, Bas Eickhout – he was already co-leading candidate 2019 – is said to run again. Also possible is the only commissioner with a green party book, Virginijus Sinkevičius, from Lithuania. As well as the Catalan Ernest Urtásun, who is also a group vice. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Committee in the Parliament wants to vote in November in Strasbourg on the requirement that the top candidates must be determined twelve weeks before the election. The deadline would therefore be Thursday, March 14. Will the EPP manage that?
A pleasant day wishes
The BDI, one of the three leading associations of German business, is demanding a sharp course correction from the EU Commission. It should “pursue a pro-business agenda that puts Europe’s global competitiveness back at center stage”. This emerges from the BDI’s policy paper on European policy 2024 to 2029, which is available to Table.Media. In the paper, the BDI has formulated its political demands on the EU for the next mandate.
“The world is currently experiencing geopolitical upheavals that present Europe with enormous challenges in international competition”, BDI President Siegfried Russwurm told Table.Media. While the US is attracting companies from around the world through attractive business location conditions and forging global partnerships, Europe is struggling with rising energy costs, growing regulations and increasing bureaucracy, he said. “Germany and Europe are under pressure to move”, Russwurm says. “The EU must recognize the signs of the times and shift to a pro-business agenda without delay. Economic strength is crucial for a sustainable Europe.”
The association calls for new trade agreements. In trade policy, the EU should counter the fraying of proven alliances based on rules-based trade between industrialized countries. A more active neighborhood policy, a comprehensive expansion of economic and transformation partnerships with developing and emerging countries, and closer strategic coordination with democratic countries such as the USA, Japan, Australia, South Korea and Canada are necessary.
The US remained the EU’s most important trading partner. However, both the Biden administration and previous administrations were critical of globalization. The US increasingly relied on industrial policy with localization requirements for public contracts, subsidies and infrastructure projects. Under Biden, the US government does not seek classic free trade agreements granting mutual market access, but only enters into negotiations on frameworks such as the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (EU-US TTC).
The specific demands of the BDI in trade policy are:
The BDI is calling for massive efforts to complete and secure the Single Market. This was threatening to fall behind in international location comparisons. Even thirty years after its entry into force, it remains a patchwork quilt. Start-ups, SMEs and mid-caps are often only able to operate to a limited extent throughout the EU because of numerous barriers. The EU is overwhelming companies with a flood of “partly poorly formulated legislation”. There are massive deficits in tax law in particular: companies still have to deal with 27 corporate tax systems in the EU. The Single Market has a growth potential of more than €700 billion by the end of 2029.
These are the concrete demands for the Single Market:
The BDI calls for efforts to improve legislation and consistently reduce bureaucracy. The specific demands are:
In the field of competition policy and merger control, the BDI urges that the changed geopolitical and trade conditions be kept in mind. The Commission has sufficient instruments at its disposal in competition policy, and the discussion about a New Competition Tool should not be allowed to continue. Antitrust and merger proceedings must be conducted in a proportionate and legally secure manner. For the companies concerned, inquiries by the Commission are sometimes associated with unreasonable expense. In the area of tax policy, the BDI urges the Commission to present an overall concept for corporate taxation.
The competitiveness checks for laws called for by the BDI would probably have such far-reaching consequences in no other policy area than the Green Deal. “While the US is thinking climate and industrial policy together with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and investing massively in technological innovation, the EU is trying to steer the transformation of the industrial sector primarily through a rising CO2 price”, the paper says.
However, relying only on high CO2 prices in the ETS would have the effect of penalizing production plants if crucial infrastructures were missing, says the BDI. As a supplement, the leading association not only relies on new support mechanisms such as contracts for difference (CfD), it also questions parts of the ETS architecture itself. For example, Europe would have to abolish the recently adopted CO2 border adjustment mechanism if it does not prevent carbon leakage.
The EU should further develop the Net-Zero Industry Act into an industrial policy strategy: “Investments in European projects must become more attractive in a technology-open approach through faster procedures, more advantageous location costs and regulatory reliability.” Procedural accelerations should apply not only to technologies from the NZIA, but to industrial plants in general. To this end, the BDI also wants to relax existing environmental regulations if necessary:
In terms of energy policy, the BDI is in favor of expanding the supply of renewable energies, adhering to the principles of electricity market design and capacity mechanisms for the rapid construction of back-up power plants.
New applications that have received little attention to date must also be taken into account in the expansion of renewables. Technologies for the capture, storage and use of CO2 (CCS) are energy-intensive and therefore require “sufficiently available quantities of renewable energy at competitive prices”.
In the use of synthetic fuels, the BDI also advocates a cost-effective international certificate system – similar to certificates for green electricity. This could play a role for European airlines. They would then no longer have to refuel their jets themselves with expensive kerosene based on hydrogen in order to meet the corresponding eco-quotas. A certificate would suffice as proof that a plane somewhere in the world has refueled with a corresponding amount of synthetic fuel.
The BDI’s analysis of digitization is sobering: The level of digitization among European companies remains low. The investment gap with international competitors continues to grow. In Germany, for example, there is a lack of innovation transfer, skilled workers, venture capital and companies conducting basic research. “Germany’s innovation system is still stable, but not very dynamic“, states the BDI.
As causes, he names a plethora of European digital and innovation regulation, which means considerable additional work for companies, as well as a lack of innovation support geared toward Europe’s digital sovereignty. They also said that Europe is far from its goals when it comes to the use of artificial intelligence. The BDI criticizes the negotiation process for the AI Act for focusing more on the risks than the opportunities.
Some of the recommendations for action are:
After days of cacophony, a signal of unity is now to emanate from Brussels on the Middle East crisis, according to a diplomat ahead of the start of the two-day EU summit today. Whether it will work, however, is an open question. Until the very end, the Permanent Representatives Committee was struggling for words. The focus was on the question of humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. Member states such as Spain and Ireland want to see the demand for a ceasefire enshrined in the conclusions, while others want at least one or more pauses, windows, or humanitarian corridors.
Language is important, an EU diplomat defended the semantic discussions. There are traditionally different sensitivities and perceptions among the member states regarding the Middle East conflict. But that does not mean that joint action is not possible. The point, they said, is to ensure humanitarian aid for all civilians without at the same time questioning Israel’s right to fight Hamas terrorism. “We have to find a middle ground”, said another diplomat. Namely, between those who called for a humanitarian cease-fire and others who stressed that Israel is still under attack and has a right to defend itself.
Germany is among the countries that have been critical of the call for a “humanitarian pause” in the General Committee of Representatives (COREPER). “We will have a consensus in the end”, an EU diplomat said Wednesday. The European Council called for continuous, rapid, safe, and unhindered access to humanitarian aid, the draft conclusions said. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that aid reaches those in need, they said. With the passage, the EU wants to address fears that Hamas could divert some of the aid for its own purposes. The draft reiterates that the EU “strongly condemns Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate attacks against all of Israel.” Hamas’s use of civilians as human shields is a particularly reprehensible atrocity, it said.
The EU reiterates Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law and calls on Hamas to release the hostages immediately without preconditions. The issue is also how to avoid a regional escalation that would only lead to an even greater catastrophe. Diplomats expected some leaders to report on their contacts in recent days. They are also expected to discuss how to restart the peace process in the longer term. The two-state solution remains the only path the EU wants to stick to, he said.
The foreign policy crises and conflicts will push the economic policy issues and the discussion on the MFF into the background at the summit. It is no coincidence that the summit will begin with a discussion on the situation in Ukraine, which will include President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The summit will reaffirm continued assistance to Ukraine, diplomats stressed. This is not because there are doubts among member states, but in response to concerns in Ukraine about being forgotten against the backdrop of the Middle East conflict.
The discussion on the Commission’s proposal to put arms funding for Ukraine on a longer-term basis, earmarking €20 billion for the next four years, is not really progressing. Discussions on the twelfth sanctions package against Russia have begun, however, with a focus on dual-use products and loopholes in the sanctions regime. In the case of the import ban on Russian diamonds, a solution is foreseeable in the next few weeks within the framework of the G7 countries.
A section is also devoted to the deadlocked dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and the security situation in northern Kosovo following the attack by Serbian paramilitaries on Kosovo police. EU foreign affairs envoy Josep Borrell has summoned Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s head of government Albin Kurti to Brussels on short notice for crisis meetings on the sidelines of the summit. The two adversaries are to meet separately with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian head of government Giorgia Meloni. The point is to make it clear to Vucic and Kurti that they are putting their countries’ European path at risk with their blockade stance, a diplomat said. Both sides must now take the agreed steps toward normalization in line with the Ohrid and Brussels agreements, he said.
At the dinner, the heads of state and government also want to discuss the situation in the Sahel. Earlier this week, the EU adopted the legal basis for future sanctions against the coup plotters in Niger. In conclusion, the EU calls for the release of President Bazoum and his family, who are isolated and under house arrest in the capital Niamey.
The evening’s topic will also be the tensions between Azerbaijan and after the ethnic cleansing in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. France in particular is pressing for the right of return for the displaced Armenian population. The danger of Azerbaijan attempting a military advance into Armenia’s heartland with a view to a corridor toward the exclave of Nakhichevan has also not been banished. In its summit conclusions, the EU emphasizes its intention to support the normalization process and peace between the two countries on the basis of mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The EU announced the signing of dozens of agreements with partner countries during the first Global Gateway Forum. In collaboration with the USA, Brussels aims to lay the foundation for a corridor connecting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the Atlantic Ocean.
This route will pass through Angola to the port of Lobito and then connect the countries to global markets, as reported by Bloomberg, citing individuals familiar with the matter. This is one of the typical projects in competition with China, specifically concerning access to raw materials.
Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, Prime Minister of the DR Congo, was invited to speak about critical raw materials at the EU Infrastructure Initiative forum on Wednesday. This session was also attended by José de Lima Massano, State Minister for Economic Coordination in Angola, and Zambian Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane.
The memorandum of understanding for the development of the corridor is expected to be signed during the forum in Brussels. The EU and the USA had already announced last month that the initial steps would include feasibility studies for a new railway expansion between Zambia and Angola.
The DR Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and competes with Peru for the position of the second-largest copper producer. This is largely due to increased Chinese investments in recent years. Zambia is also rich in copper.
Whether the African corridor project will be successful remains uncertain. The implementation of the EU and USA’s recently announced connectivity initiative for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) is now in question due to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Brussels aims, through Global Gateway, to provide an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in third countries. The BRI summit brought together representatives from around 130 countries in Beijing last week, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin as the guest of honor.
While not mentioning China directly, EU Commission President von der Leyen made references to China’s practice of demanding local infrastructure or ports as collateral for Chinese loans: “No country should be faced with a situation where the only way to finance its essential infrastructure is to sell its future,” she said at the opening of the forum in Brussels. In the audience were Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Senegal’s President Macky Sall.
A multitude of signings is planned during the forum, including:
Compared to the decade-old Belt and Road Initiative, the EU’s infrastructure plan is still in its early stages, with few concrete new projects. Many of the initiatives are still from previous projects. Global Gateway initially faced challenges within the EU Commission regarding jurisdiction, and EU capitals were uncertain about how to handle this initiative.
Global Gateway is complex because it aims to mobilize financial resources from member states, multilateral organizations like the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as the private sector.
The first day of the forum, with its announced project plans, offers hope for rapid progress. Tobias Bacherle, Green Party member of the German Bundestag and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, stated, “The ‘Global Gateway’ forum in Brussels is off to a good start. Now it’s crucial that the initiative leads to concrete projects that benefit people on the ground.” He added that “Global Gateway” must fill global supply gaps and strengthen the sovereignty of partner countries instead of deepening their dependencies.
Ulrich Ackermann, Head of Foreign Trade at the German Engineering Federation (VDMA), expressed optimism: “It is gratifying that the ‘Global Gateway’ initiative is finally gaining momentum, and the European Union has invited numerous heads of state and government to the infrastructure summit in Brussels.”
Ackermann believes that the EU could become a true geopolitical player in Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, he emphasized that the proposed 300 billion euros from “Global Gateway” are far from sufficient to bridge the global infrastructure gap.
EU Commission President von der Leyen had repeatedly emphasized that China’s BRI is clearly intended to counter the European initiative. Before the start of the forum, a media report had caused a stir, suggesting that the EU Commission had unwittingly brought Chinese connections into the newly established corporate body.
One of the 60 members is the Portuguese energy company EDP, in which China Three Gorges (CTG) is the largest single shareholder with 20 percent, the South China Morning Post reported. The panel is to advise the EU on Global Gateway projects.
EU Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer rejected criticism of EDP’s inclusion in the forum. It was noted that China Three Gorges (CTG) owns 20 percent of EDP. This was reported by the South China Morning Post. The group is to advise the EU on Global Gateway projects.
The forum will continue on Thursday, with EU politicians and representatives from potential partner countries discussing topics such as health and digital infrastructure. EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, along with government leaders from Croatia, Serbia, and Estonia, among others, will participate. The closing plenary session is on the agenda for midday.
Online game providers, social networks, streaming services, and online marketplaces often design their offerings to exploit people’s weaknesses in order to capture their attention. They get their users downright addicted. Members of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) are calling for ethical design of online services to curb health risks. On Wednesday, they adopted an own-initiative report by a large majority.
“No amount of self-control can resist the addictive design we are all exposed to today”, said rapporteur Kim Van Sparrentak (Greens/EFA). Problematic smartphone use affects attention span and brain development from a young age, she said. Examples of addictive features include “infinite scrolling” and constant notifications.
“If we don’t intervene now, this will have a huge impact on future generations”, Sparrentak said. To protect health, he said, the EU must “address addictive design now.” MEPs call for more research and regulation in this area in their report, which IMCO launched in the spring.
Others see the problem, too: In the US, more than 40 states are currently suing Facebook parent company Meta. They accuse the company of intentionally designing its social media platforms Instagram and Facebook to make them addictive to children and teens. Attorneys general from states ranging from California to Wisconsin filed federal lawsuits Tuesday. In them, they also accuse Meta of routinely collecting data from children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law.
EU parliamentarians believe that neither the DSA nor the upcoming AI Act are sufficient to solve the problem of addictive service design. They call on the Commission to close existing legal loopholes and present new legislation on this issue.
According to Parliament’s vision, providers should be obliged to develop ethical and fair digital products and services “from the start” – without dark patterns, i.e. misleading and addictive design. They also call for a digital “right not to be disturbed” and a list of good design practices – such as turning off notifications by default.
The Commission is currently working to update certain consumer protection laws to ensure a high level of protection in the digital environment. The results are expected in 2024. The Parliament’s own-initiative report, once adopted by the plenary in December, will feed into the ongoing review. vis
The Brussels office of IG Metall, which Dirk Bergrath heads, is not particularly large. The 51-year-old opened the industrial union’s representative office with two colleagues in 2014, and the number of employees has not changed since then. Bergrath is also still there nine years later.
After studying economics in Cologne and Brighton and completing his doctorate at RWTH Aachen University, Bergrath joined the trade union IG Metall. Bergrath was immediately responsible for European policy issues. He quickly gained initial experience in Brussels, for example at the European Metalworkers’ Federation. After five years with the union, he turned his back on IG Metall for the time being to work as a social affairs officer at Germany’s Permanent Representation to the EU.
Bergrath sums up his current main task at the Brussels representation of IG Metall succinctly: “Processing information, mediating, maintaining many contacts – and above all being an early warning system.” In discussions with members of the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, he asserts the interests of the employees. In doing so, he says, he is often helped by his union’s international profile: “IG Metall is not a name that needs much explaining, even if the Commission official is not from Germany.”
Nevertheless, IG Metall needs a clear trade union policy model to secure Europe’s future despite the current challenges, such as those posed by the climate crisis. “Because we will only be able to take people along with us in the transformation if they do not perceive the developments as a threat“, says Bergrath.
At the moment, the EU has only limited answers to employees’ fears. For Bergrath, one narrative in particular is problematic: “European studies that say that jobs are endangered in some industries, but that many new ones are being created in others, do not allay people’s fears in the workplace”, he explains. Employees cannot be expected “to move to northern Sweden just because we are in a good position there in terms of critical raw materials in Europe”.
At the same time, Bergrath makes it clear that a lot has happened in recent years at the European level to promote an effective industrial and structural policy. “Until not so long ago, it was almost impossible to use the word industrial policy in Brussels, because people trusted that market forces would somehow sort it out”, he recalls.
Examples such as the development of battery production, the STEP (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform) or industrial policy measures in the aftermath of the pandemic had given hope for the future from the employees’ point of view. However, the EU continues to lag behind China with its Made in China 2025 program or the USA with the Inflation Reduction Act.
Bergrath would also like to pave the way for a future-oriented industrial policy as an honorary member of the European Economic and Social Committee. That is not always easy, he says. “The particular challenge is to find consensual solutions with employers’ associations and civil groups“, says Bergrath. However, he says successful examples, such as the recent revision of the CO2 directive for passenger cars and small commercial vehicles, motivate him to continue contributing his expertise to the committee. Jasper Bennink
