The Brussels EU district is mostly quiet in August, with most Commissioners enjoying their summer breaks. Not so for Thierry Breton: The 68-year-old seems hardly able to wait for the political activity to pick up again. He has used this break to put his four-year work record on paper, in 26 posts for his preferred platform, LinkedIn. The restless Internal Market Commissioner now intends to publish one of these posts every day until Sep. 13, the date of the State of the European Union (SOTEU) address.
While this year’s SOTEU will be delivered by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Breton’s actions emphasize his ambitions: He would very much like to succeed von der Leyen. If the incumbent seeks a second term, she would have the upper hand. However, Breton is ready; he sees himself as the “backup plan”.
His LinkedIn posts revolve around Breton’s guiding principle: Europe’s strategic autonomy. A topic that is likely to become even more potent given the geopolitical tensions. Starting Tuesday, the challengers of the West will gather at the BRICS summit in South Africa with the goal of shaping a “changed global order“. However, the five states are divided on whether to admit more members to their alliance. You can learn more in Jörn Petring‘s preview.
Before their big summit from Tuesday to Thursday in Johannesburg, the BRICS states had to make a difficult decision. An international arrest warrant has been issued for Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes. Upon his arrival in South Africa, he would have had to be arrested immediately.
The Russian President will now stay in Moscow and join via video. China’s President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva and his Indian counterpart Modi will travel to South Africa in person and be received by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa had different views on how to treat Putin. Reportedly, there were even considerations to move the summit to Chinaor another country without an extradition treaty. This would have allowed Putin to attend personally. But in the end, the idea was abandoned.
Signal against the West
Nevertheless, the BRICS countries want to send a strong signal to the West with their meeting: The goal is a “changed global order,” said South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor in the run-up to the forum. More than 30 countries have confirmed their participation in the BRICS Summit. 67 high-ranking politicians from Africa and the Global South have been invited, as well as 20 international representatives, including the United Nations, the African Union and Africa’s regional economic communities. In June, France’s President Emmanuel Macron had expressed an interest in attending. But he did not receive an invitation. It seems that former colonial powers are not welcome.
The summit’s main agenda will likely be the enlargement of the BRICS alliance. Today, the BRICS countries are already larger than the G7 countries in terms of real purchasing power. The plan is to convert this economic power into even greater geopolitical influence. The BRICS states largely agree that the West has too much weight when it comes to setting the rules on the international stage.
However, there is disagreement about the manner and pace of enlargement. Around 40 states are interested in joining the BRICS club, including Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt.
China pushes the pace
China, in particular, believes that more members should be welcomed as soon as possible. It supports progress in enlargement and “welcomes more like-minded partners to join the ‘BRICS family’ at an early date,” the Beijing Foreign Ministry said ahead of the summit. Russia also hopes for a speedy enlargement. Moscow could thus once again demonstrate that it is by no means internationally isolated despite the Ukraine war.
Brazil and India, on the other hand, are more reserved. They fear that admitting too many new members could dilute the BRICS group and thus render it ineffective. Particularly, India fears losing influence if the BRICS group accepts too many new members that are closely aligned with China’s agenda. After all, India has an ongoing border conflict with China and competes with Beijing for regional influence.
Therefore, a mechanism for admitting new members is expected first to be negotiated in Johannesburg. There will likely also be disagreement between existing BRICS countries about which states should be admitted first. A democratic country like Argentina or rather an autocracy like Saudi Arabia?
The West can work with BRICS
Either way, the West will closely follow what the BRICS countries agree on in Johannesburg. “The BRICS forum is an idea whose time has come, and the world should be prepared to interact with it,” writes the think tank Atlantic Council in its assessment of the upcoming summit.
How the G7 and the West should position themselves vis-à-vis the BRICS depends on which path the alliance takes. “If the BRICS group follows India’s approach, then it can promote cooperation among developing countries and, on that basis, engage with the G7 to discuss ways to reform the international economic and financial system and deal with global problems such as the impacts of climate change,” says the Atlantic Council.
However, “if China prevails, the BRICS group will likely become another venue for anti-US political activism,” the G7 will likely confront these criticisms. The most effective way of doing this would be by “finding ways to engage with its constructive proposals” to improve the current economic and financial system in order to address the shortfalls in meeting the development needs of the Global South.
Geopolitik
News
Baerbock calls for new climate alliances
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is calling for new strategic partnerships with developing countries following her unsuccessful trip to Oceania. “We need new climate alliances. Between the industrialized countries and those heavily affected by the climate crisis,” said the minister in an interview with Table.Media (read the full interview here). The success of the UN Climate Conference in December in Dubai depends “crucially on whether everyone falls back into their old power blocks of the last century as ‘G77’ and ‘industrialized countries’ always do,” according to Baerbock. “That’s not how we move forward.”
Island states are cooperating in COP negotiations with China in the informal group of the G77. “These old blocs need to be broken up,” said Baerbock. She aims to achieve that “those who really want to achieve something in terms of climate policy come together“. The climate crisis is no longer a bloc issue. “We can only tackle the climate crisis as a world together or not at all.”
For COP28 in December in Dubai, a “course correction” is needed. There are still significant differences, especially in the question of emission reductions. And the CCS technology favored by the host United Arab Emirates cannot “replace the expansion of renewables”. bpo
Climate & Environment
Climate Policy
Habeck calls for stricter investment review
German Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck wants to tighten the investment review for foreign companies in Germany. In the future, cases should also be examined in which an investor does not acquire voting rights in a company itself but gains access to the assets or technologies of the company through contractual agreements. This would also apply to the use of licenses, the ministry said.
The background is the suspicion that, for example, Chinese companies want to circumvent state examinations by increasingly acquiring licenses. So far, investment reviews have taken effect from a stake of 25 percent, or from 10 percent, for critical infrastructures.
In addition, the ministry is considering examining the construction of new factories by foreign companies for their security-political significance. Security-critical research cooperations should also be scrutinized. For sectors classified as particularly security-relevant, such as semiconductors or artificial intelligence, it will be examined whether the thresholdsfor review should be lowered.
Aligned with von der Leyen
Habeck is largely in line with the EU Commission. Its President Ursula von der Leyen presented an economic security strategy in June that also provides for a review of the EU legal framework for investment reviews.
In addition, the agency intends to propose an Outbound Investment Screening that will apply to security-relevant EU investments in third countries. Habeck is still holding back in this regard: The examination of German investments in China, for example, is to be clarified separately – this area is particularly controversial within the German government. rtr/tho
Geopolitics
Trade Policy
Ukraine: Denmark and the Netherlands to deliver fighter jets
Denmark and the Netherlands will deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This was announced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke of a breakthrough.
Zelenskiy had just arrived for a visit to the Netherlands. He expects 42 jets, which will be delivered to the country after the training of Ukrainian pilots, as he announced on the Telegram news channel following talks with Rutte.
According to Frederiksen, Denmark will deliver a total of 19 jets, with the first six expected around the turn of the year. Ukrainian personnel must still be trained, and the necessary authorizations, infrastructure and logistics need to be in place. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that while the training of Ukrainian pilots had already begun, the training of engineers and mechanics would take at least another six months.
Zelenskiy has long been advocating for his country to receive modern Western fighter jets to effectively defend against Russian aggression. However, the transfer of F-16s had previously failed due to the involvement of the USA, where the aircraft were developed. Washington, however, opened the way for deliveries from third countries last week. dpa/rtr
Ukraine
Gas storage facilities full – residual risk remains
Despite full gas storage in the EU, cases in which member states need to supply gas to others could occur next winter, according to the Bruegel think tank. “I find it unlikely, but there are scenarios where solidarity could be put to the test,” said energy expert Ben McWilliams to Table.Media. Examples include a very cold winter, a failure of Norwegian gas deliveries and high utilization of gas power plants.
However, McWilliams does not believe that state interventions are necessary: “Gas supply will still be a topic this winter, but I think that coordinating gas flows can be left to the markets.”
EU traders fill Ukrainian storage
On Friday, EU gas storage reached a level of 90 percent, two and a half months ahead of the target date of Nov. 1 set in the 2022 Gas Storage Regulation, according to a statement by the EU Commission. The storage can cover one-third of winter gas demand.
The energy markets are in a much more stable situation than a year ago, said Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that gas storage is sufficiently filled at the beginning of the next winter. With the storage almost full, gas traders began delivering more gas from the EU to Ukraine in late July to fill local storage. The Ukrainian government had repeatedly offered Western governments to use their storage capacities to improve energy security in the EU. ber
Gaspreise
Huawei receives EU research funding
The EU is providing funding to the Chinese company Huawei. Units of the company based in Europe are said to be participating in 13 grant agreements, including one based in the UK. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager made the announcement on Friday in response to a parliamentary question. Huawei entities based in China were not involved, she said.
The fact that Huawei is benefiting from EU research programs is surprising in light of the fact that the Commission now considers Huawei a risky company and excluded it from its own networks. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton had urged member states to do the same with the help of the 5G toolbox. However, in its reply, the Commission points out that all funding came from calls under the Horizon Europe 2021 to 2022 work programs – i.e. before the EU Commission decided to ban Huawei.
The regulation provides for restrictions
The question was raised by Dutch MEP Bart Groothuis, who is a member of the Industry Committee as well as the Special Committee on Foreign Influence in the European Parliament. In his question, he referred to a report in the Financial Times, according to which Huawei was involved in eleven Horizon Europe projects dealing with sensitive communication systems.
Groothuis pointed out that under the Horizon Europe Regulation (Article 22.5), foreign suppliers can be excluded from participating in activities “related to strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security of the Union“. The MEP now wanted to know which programs Huawei had participated in, whether the restrictions applied here, and if so, why they were circumvented. He also asked how the Commission intends to prevent this in the future.
Commission assesses the situation differently today
The regulation stipulates that all restrictions must be defined in advance in the Horizon Europe work programs, writes the EU Commission. However, the projects in which Huawei is involved were not considered to be a risk at the time of the work programs’ adoption, meaning that the restrictions did not apply.
In the meantime, however, the EU Commission believes that Huawei and ZTE do indeed pose a much higher risk than other 5G providers. For this reason, it intends to consider this for all relevant future EU funding programs and instruments – including Horizon Europe. vis
5G
Digital policy
Huawei
Margrethe Vestager
Research
Thierry Breton
Competition watchdogs examine chip deal
The EU Commission is investigating the acquisition of Israeli chip developer Autotalks by Qualcomm, even though the deal does not meet the corresponding thresholds. This is only the second time EU competition authorities have decided to do so based on new guidelines from 2021. The first case, the acquisition of US medical technology company Grail by Illumina, also caused political controversy and is still being heard before the European Court of Justice.
The Commission refers to Article 22 of the Merger Control Regulation in its decision. According to its interpretation, this allows the authority to take over cases referred to it by the member states, even if they are below the legal intervention thresholds there. This is to counter so-called killer acquisitions, where large companies swallow small rivals with promising technology.
Concerns about competition for V2X semiconductors
According to the Commission, 15 member states have asked the authority to examine the acquisition of Autotalks by US chip giant Qualcomm. The company, founded in 2008, develops semiconductors for communication between vehicles and their surroundings (V2X). In May, Qualcomm announced its intention to integrate the technology into its own offering for connected and autonomous driving.
The acquisition would bring together two of the leading providers of V2X semiconductors in Europe, argued the Commission. Given its importance for traffic safety and CO2 emissions, it must be ensured that automakers continue to have access to the technology on fair terms.
As long as the review is ongoing, Qualcomm may not finalize the deal. Recently, the Commission imposed a hefty fine on Illumina and Grail because they violated the requirement. tho
Competition policy
Digitization
Technology
Spain: King Felipe begins consultations
King Felipe VI begins the round of consultations with political parties on Monday to propose a candidate for government formation. The discussions will take place on Monday and Tuesday with seven of the eleven political formations. The separatist parties Esquerra Republicana per Catalunya (ERC) and Junts, as well as the Bloque Nacional Gallego (BNG) and the party Bildu, which emerged from the ETA terrorist organization, have declined to participate.
The acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez needs the votes of ERC and Junts to achieve an absolute majority of 176 seats in parliament. Both separatist parties supported the Socialist party last Thursday, allowing the PSOE to win the presidency of the Congress with 178 votes. However, neither party has confirmed that they will support a new inauguration of Sánchez.
Sánchez’s PSOE party came second in the elections at the end of July with 121 seats, behind the Partido Popular (PP), which won 137 seats. However, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has so far been unable to organize a majority in the Congress. The King’s consultations aim to gauge support for Sánchez and Feijóo.
Sánchez needs the separatists
The PP expects that Feijóo has the support of the far-right Vox party (33 seats), the Coalición Canaria CC (1), and the Unión del Pueblo Navarro UPN (1), securing 172 votes. Feijóo would thus miss the absolute majority of 176 seats by four seats. Sánchez currently has 164 secure votes, with the seats of Sumar (31), BNG (1), Bildu (6), and the Basque National Party PNV (5). With the seats of ERC and Junts – each with seven seats – Sánchez would have a slim majority of 178.
On Monday, representatives of smaller parties will meet with the King first. On Tuesday, Vox leader Santiago Abascal will be the first to meet, followed by Sánchez at 12 pm and PP leader Feijóo at 4 pm.
After the consultations, Felipe will meet with the new Speaker of Parliament, Francina Armengol (PSOE), to formally convey his proposal. If the King concludes that none of the candidates has sufficient support, he could call for a new round of consultations. After the King’s proposal, the debate on the inauguration will take place, which could be held at the end of August or beginning of September. iccc
European policy
Spain
Opinion
The Green Deal reaches companies
By Daniel Chatterjee
Daniel Chatterjee is the Director of Corporate Sustainability (ESG), Technology Strategy & Regulatory Affairs at Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH.
The European Green Deal is perhaps the most ambitious legislative initiative ever undertaken in the EU. In addition to the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the deal now also aims to catch up economically and geopolitically with the USA and China. Therefore, it is also of paramount importance for the machinery and equipment industry as an enabling sector for climate neutrality.
To achieve this, the future and competitiveness of this industry must be promoted. It is highly welcomed that concrete measures are being defined to implement the Green Deal, showing that this policy project is attainable. The revision and expansion of the emission trading system is also highly positive, as we view it as a strong instrument to advance the energy transition in a technology-neutral manner. Companies are free to choose the measures and technologies they employ to reduce emissions.
Furthermore, there are ambitious and mandatory quotas and greenhouse gas reduction goals for the transport, building, and industrial sectors. As a company in the machinery and equipment industry with numerous small and medium-sized enterprises, we hope to achieve planning and investment security for our locations, as well as for our markets and customers.
Where challenges remain
For Europe to truly catch up economically with the USA and China, we believe additional efforts must be undertaken, especially to reduce complexity and achieve implementation speed. We must note that the goals and measures in the individual legislative packages of the Green Deal are not always consistent and harmonized.
For our company, conducting a concrete impact assessment of individual regulations is sometimes challenging. The multitude of quotas, emission reduction targets, and detailed regulations, along with their interconnections, make it nearly impossible to conduct market-based impact assessments for technology investments. This significantly impairs planning and investment security.
Criticism is also warranted concerning the legislative phase or complex procurement processes, which take too much time for many projects. Examples include the approval of IPCEI projects or the adoption of various delegated acts within the framework of the Green Deal.
Additionally, the increasing reporting obligations, such as for the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), present immense challenges for companies. The taxonomy for sustainable finance is partially formulated in an exclusive manner, meaning that not all sustainable economic activities are positively evaluated according to their contributions.
What needs to be done
It is important to highlight that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that 25 percent of reporting obligations for companies should be eliminated. Considering that significantly more legal acts are issued annually than abolished, the question arises of how the Commission President’s goal can be achieved.
From our perspective, the Commission should conduct stronger impact assessments for companies with every legal act in the future to avoid unnecessary burdens. Additionally, the digitization of administrations at the EU level and at the level of nation-states should be more obligatorily addressed by the Commission. The goal must be to simplify and expedite applications, approval processes, and procedures with administrations across Europe.
The Brussels EU district is mostly quiet in August, with most Commissioners enjoying their summer breaks. Not so for Thierry Breton: The 68-year-old seems hardly able to wait for the political activity to pick up again. He has used this break to put his four-year work record on paper, in 26 posts for his preferred platform, LinkedIn. The restless Internal Market Commissioner now intends to publish one of these posts every day until Sep. 13, the date of the State of the European Union (SOTEU) address.
While this year’s SOTEU will be delivered by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Breton’s actions emphasize his ambitions: He would very much like to succeed von der Leyen. If the incumbent seeks a second term, she would have the upper hand. However, Breton is ready; he sees himself as the “backup plan”.
His LinkedIn posts revolve around Breton’s guiding principle: Europe’s strategic autonomy. A topic that is likely to become even more potent given the geopolitical tensions. Starting Tuesday, the challengers of the West will gather at the BRICS summit in South Africa with the goal of shaping a “changed global order“. However, the five states are divided on whether to admit more members to their alliance. You can learn more in Jörn Petring‘s preview.
Before their big summit from Tuesday to Thursday in Johannesburg, the BRICS states had to make a difficult decision. An international arrest warrant has been issued for Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes. Upon his arrival in South Africa, he would have had to be arrested immediately.
The Russian President will now stay in Moscow and join via video. China’s President Xi Jinping, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva and his Indian counterpart Modi will travel to South Africa in person and be received by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa had different views on how to treat Putin. Reportedly, there were even considerations to move the summit to Chinaor another country without an extradition treaty. This would have allowed Putin to attend personally. But in the end, the idea was abandoned.
Signal against the West
Nevertheless, the BRICS countries want to send a strong signal to the West with their meeting: The goal is a “changed global order,” said South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor in the run-up to the forum. More than 30 countries have confirmed their participation in the BRICS Summit. 67 high-ranking politicians from Africa and the Global South have been invited, as well as 20 international representatives, including the United Nations, the African Union and Africa’s regional economic communities. In June, France’s President Emmanuel Macron had expressed an interest in attending. But he did not receive an invitation. It seems that former colonial powers are not welcome.
The summit’s main agenda will likely be the enlargement of the BRICS alliance. Today, the BRICS countries are already larger than the G7 countries in terms of real purchasing power. The plan is to convert this economic power into even greater geopolitical influence. The BRICS states largely agree that the West has too much weight when it comes to setting the rules on the international stage.
However, there is disagreement about the manner and pace of enlargement. Around 40 states are interested in joining the BRICS club, including Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Egypt.
China pushes the pace
China, in particular, believes that more members should be welcomed as soon as possible. It supports progress in enlargement and “welcomes more like-minded partners to join the ‘BRICS family’ at an early date,” the Beijing Foreign Ministry said ahead of the summit. Russia also hopes for a speedy enlargement. Moscow could thus once again demonstrate that it is by no means internationally isolated despite the Ukraine war.
Brazil and India, on the other hand, are more reserved. They fear that admitting too many new members could dilute the BRICS group and thus render it ineffective. Particularly, India fears losing influence if the BRICS group accepts too many new members that are closely aligned with China’s agenda. After all, India has an ongoing border conflict with China and competes with Beijing for regional influence.
Therefore, a mechanism for admitting new members is expected first to be negotiated in Johannesburg. There will likely also be disagreement between existing BRICS countries about which states should be admitted first. A democratic country like Argentina or rather an autocracy like Saudi Arabia?
The West can work with BRICS
Either way, the West will closely follow what the BRICS countries agree on in Johannesburg. “The BRICS forum is an idea whose time has come, and the world should be prepared to interact with it,” writes the think tank Atlantic Council in its assessment of the upcoming summit.
How the G7 and the West should position themselves vis-à-vis the BRICS depends on which path the alliance takes. “If the BRICS group follows India’s approach, then it can promote cooperation among developing countries and, on that basis, engage with the G7 to discuss ways to reform the international economic and financial system and deal with global problems such as the impacts of climate change,” says the Atlantic Council.
However, “if China prevails, the BRICS group will likely become another venue for anti-US political activism,” the G7 will likely confront these criticisms. The most effective way of doing this would be by “finding ways to engage with its constructive proposals” to improve the current economic and financial system in order to address the shortfalls in meeting the development needs of the Global South.
Geopolitik
News
Baerbock calls for new climate alliances
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is calling for new strategic partnerships with developing countries following her unsuccessful trip to Oceania. “We need new climate alliances. Between the industrialized countries and those heavily affected by the climate crisis,” said the minister in an interview with Table.Media (read the full interview here). The success of the UN Climate Conference in December in Dubai depends “crucially on whether everyone falls back into their old power blocks of the last century as ‘G77’ and ‘industrialized countries’ always do,” according to Baerbock. “That’s not how we move forward.”
Island states are cooperating in COP negotiations with China in the informal group of the G77. “These old blocs need to be broken up,” said Baerbock. She aims to achieve that “those who really want to achieve something in terms of climate policy come together“. The climate crisis is no longer a bloc issue. “We can only tackle the climate crisis as a world together or not at all.”
For COP28 in December in Dubai, a “course correction” is needed. There are still significant differences, especially in the question of emission reductions. And the CCS technology favored by the host United Arab Emirates cannot “replace the expansion of renewables”. bpo
Climate & Environment
Climate Policy
Habeck calls for stricter investment review
German Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck wants to tighten the investment review for foreign companies in Germany. In the future, cases should also be examined in which an investor does not acquire voting rights in a company itself but gains access to the assets or technologies of the company through contractual agreements. This would also apply to the use of licenses, the ministry said.
The background is the suspicion that, for example, Chinese companies want to circumvent state examinations by increasingly acquiring licenses. So far, investment reviews have taken effect from a stake of 25 percent, or from 10 percent, for critical infrastructures.
In addition, the ministry is considering examining the construction of new factories by foreign companies for their security-political significance. Security-critical research cooperations should also be scrutinized. For sectors classified as particularly security-relevant, such as semiconductors or artificial intelligence, it will be examined whether the thresholdsfor review should be lowered.
Aligned with von der Leyen
Habeck is largely in line with the EU Commission. Its President Ursula von der Leyen presented an economic security strategy in June that also provides for a review of the EU legal framework for investment reviews.
In addition, the agency intends to propose an Outbound Investment Screening that will apply to security-relevant EU investments in third countries. Habeck is still holding back in this regard: The examination of German investments in China, for example, is to be clarified separately – this area is particularly controversial within the German government. rtr/tho
Geopolitics
Trade Policy
Ukraine: Denmark and the Netherlands to deliver fighter jets
Denmark and the Netherlands will deliver F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. This was announced by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke of a breakthrough.
Zelenskiy had just arrived for a visit to the Netherlands. He expects 42 jets, which will be delivered to the country after the training of Ukrainian pilots, as he announced on the Telegram news channel following talks with Rutte.
According to Frederiksen, Denmark will deliver a total of 19 jets, with the first six expected around the turn of the year. Ukrainian personnel must still be trained, and the necessary authorizations, infrastructure and logistics need to be in place. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that while the training of Ukrainian pilots had already begun, the training of engineers and mechanics would take at least another six months.
Zelenskiy has long been advocating for his country to receive modern Western fighter jets to effectively defend against Russian aggression. However, the transfer of F-16s had previously failed due to the involvement of the USA, where the aircraft were developed. Washington, however, opened the way for deliveries from third countries last week. dpa/rtr
Ukraine
Gas storage facilities full – residual risk remains
Despite full gas storage in the EU, cases in which member states need to supply gas to others could occur next winter, according to the Bruegel think tank. “I find it unlikely, but there are scenarios where solidarity could be put to the test,” said energy expert Ben McWilliams to Table.Media. Examples include a very cold winter, a failure of Norwegian gas deliveries and high utilization of gas power plants.
However, McWilliams does not believe that state interventions are necessary: “Gas supply will still be a topic this winter, but I think that coordinating gas flows can be left to the markets.”
EU traders fill Ukrainian storage
On Friday, EU gas storage reached a level of 90 percent, two and a half months ahead of the target date of Nov. 1 set in the 2022 Gas Storage Regulation, according to a statement by the EU Commission. The storage can cover one-third of winter gas demand.
The energy markets are in a much more stable situation than a year ago, said Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. The Commission will continue to monitor the situation to ensure that gas storage is sufficiently filled at the beginning of the next winter. With the storage almost full, gas traders began delivering more gas from the EU to Ukraine in late July to fill local storage. The Ukrainian government had repeatedly offered Western governments to use their storage capacities to improve energy security in the EU. ber
Gaspreise
Huawei receives EU research funding
The EU is providing funding to the Chinese company Huawei. Units of the company based in Europe are said to be participating in 13 grant agreements, including one based in the UK. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager made the announcement on Friday in response to a parliamentary question. Huawei entities based in China were not involved, she said.
The fact that Huawei is benefiting from EU research programs is surprising in light of the fact that the Commission now considers Huawei a risky company and excluded it from its own networks. Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton had urged member states to do the same with the help of the 5G toolbox. However, in its reply, the Commission points out that all funding came from calls under the Horizon Europe 2021 to 2022 work programs – i.e. before the EU Commission decided to ban Huawei.
The regulation provides for restrictions
The question was raised by Dutch MEP Bart Groothuis, who is a member of the Industry Committee as well as the Special Committee on Foreign Influence in the European Parliament. In his question, he referred to a report in the Financial Times, according to which Huawei was involved in eleven Horizon Europe projects dealing with sensitive communication systems.
Groothuis pointed out that under the Horizon Europe Regulation (Article 22.5), foreign suppliers can be excluded from participating in activities “related to strategic assets, interests, autonomy or security of the Union“. The MEP now wanted to know which programs Huawei had participated in, whether the restrictions applied here, and if so, why they were circumvented. He also asked how the Commission intends to prevent this in the future.
Commission assesses the situation differently today
The regulation stipulates that all restrictions must be defined in advance in the Horizon Europe work programs, writes the EU Commission. However, the projects in which Huawei is involved were not considered to be a risk at the time of the work programs’ adoption, meaning that the restrictions did not apply.
In the meantime, however, the EU Commission believes that Huawei and ZTE do indeed pose a much higher risk than other 5G providers. For this reason, it intends to consider this for all relevant future EU funding programs and instruments – including Horizon Europe. vis
5G
Digital policy
Huawei
Margrethe Vestager
Research
Thierry Breton
Competition watchdogs examine chip deal
The EU Commission is investigating the acquisition of Israeli chip developer Autotalks by Qualcomm, even though the deal does not meet the corresponding thresholds. This is only the second time EU competition authorities have decided to do so based on new guidelines from 2021. The first case, the acquisition of US medical technology company Grail by Illumina, also caused political controversy and is still being heard before the European Court of Justice.
The Commission refers to Article 22 of the Merger Control Regulation in its decision. According to its interpretation, this allows the authority to take over cases referred to it by the member states, even if they are below the legal intervention thresholds there. This is to counter so-called killer acquisitions, where large companies swallow small rivals with promising technology.
Concerns about competition for V2X semiconductors
According to the Commission, 15 member states have asked the authority to examine the acquisition of Autotalks by US chip giant Qualcomm. The company, founded in 2008, develops semiconductors for communication between vehicles and their surroundings (V2X). In May, Qualcomm announced its intention to integrate the technology into its own offering for connected and autonomous driving.
The acquisition would bring together two of the leading providers of V2X semiconductors in Europe, argued the Commission. Given its importance for traffic safety and CO2 emissions, it must be ensured that automakers continue to have access to the technology on fair terms.
As long as the review is ongoing, Qualcomm may not finalize the deal. Recently, the Commission imposed a hefty fine on Illumina and Grail because they violated the requirement. tho
Competition policy
Digitization
Technology
Spain: King Felipe begins consultations
King Felipe VI begins the round of consultations with political parties on Monday to propose a candidate for government formation. The discussions will take place on Monday and Tuesday with seven of the eleven political formations. The separatist parties Esquerra Republicana per Catalunya (ERC) and Junts, as well as the Bloque Nacional Gallego (BNG) and the party Bildu, which emerged from the ETA terrorist organization, have declined to participate.
The acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez needs the votes of ERC and Junts to achieve an absolute majority of 176 seats in parliament. Both separatist parties supported the Socialist party last Thursday, allowing the PSOE to win the presidency of the Congress with 178 votes. However, neither party has confirmed that they will support a new inauguration of Sánchez.
Sánchez’s PSOE party came second in the elections at the end of July with 121 seats, behind the Partido Popular (PP), which won 137 seats. However, PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has so far been unable to organize a majority in the Congress. The King’s consultations aim to gauge support for Sánchez and Feijóo.
Sánchez needs the separatists
The PP expects that Feijóo has the support of the far-right Vox party (33 seats), the Coalición Canaria CC (1), and the Unión del Pueblo Navarro UPN (1), securing 172 votes. Feijóo would thus miss the absolute majority of 176 seats by four seats. Sánchez currently has 164 secure votes, with the seats of Sumar (31), BNG (1), Bildu (6), and the Basque National Party PNV (5). With the seats of ERC and Junts – each with seven seats – Sánchez would have a slim majority of 178.
On Monday, representatives of smaller parties will meet with the King first. On Tuesday, Vox leader Santiago Abascal will be the first to meet, followed by Sánchez at 12 pm and PP leader Feijóo at 4 pm.
After the consultations, Felipe will meet with the new Speaker of Parliament, Francina Armengol (PSOE), to formally convey his proposal. If the King concludes that none of the candidates has sufficient support, he could call for a new round of consultations. After the King’s proposal, the debate on the inauguration will take place, which could be held at the end of August or beginning of September. iccc
European policy
Spain
Opinion
The Green Deal reaches companies
By Daniel Chatterjee
Daniel Chatterjee is the Director of Corporate Sustainability (ESG), Technology Strategy & Regulatory Affairs at Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH.
The European Green Deal is perhaps the most ambitious legislative initiative ever undertaken in the EU. In addition to the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the deal now also aims to catch up economically and geopolitically with the USA and China. Therefore, it is also of paramount importance for the machinery and equipment industry as an enabling sector for climate neutrality.
To achieve this, the future and competitiveness of this industry must be promoted. It is highly welcomed that concrete measures are being defined to implement the Green Deal, showing that this policy project is attainable. The revision and expansion of the emission trading system is also highly positive, as we view it as a strong instrument to advance the energy transition in a technology-neutral manner. Companies are free to choose the measures and technologies they employ to reduce emissions.
Furthermore, there are ambitious and mandatory quotas and greenhouse gas reduction goals for the transport, building, and industrial sectors. As a company in the machinery and equipment industry with numerous small and medium-sized enterprises, we hope to achieve planning and investment security for our locations, as well as for our markets and customers.
Where challenges remain
For Europe to truly catch up economically with the USA and China, we believe additional efforts must be undertaken, especially to reduce complexity and achieve implementation speed. We must note that the goals and measures in the individual legislative packages of the Green Deal are not always consistent and harmonized.
For our company, conducting a concrete impact assessment of individual regulations is sometimes challenging. The multitude of quotas, emission reduction targets, and detailed regulations, along with their interconnections, make it nearly impossible to conduct market-based impact assessments for technology investments. This significantly impairs planning and investment security.
Criticism is also warranted concerning the legislative phase or complex procurement processes, which take too much time for many projects. Examples include the approval of IPCEI projects or the adoption of various delegated acts within the framework of the Green Deal.
Additionally, the increasing reporting obligations, such as for the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), present immense challenges for companies. The taxonomy for sustainable finance is partially formulated in an exclusive manner, meaning that not all sustainable economic activities are positively evaluated according to their contributions.
What needs to be done
It is important to highlight that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that 25 percent of reporting obligations for companies should be eliminated. Considering that significantly more legal acts are issued annually than abolished, the question arises of how the Commission President’s goal can be achieved.
From our perspective, the Commission should conduct stronger impact assessments for companies with every legal act in the future to avoid unnecessary burdens. Additionally, the digitization of administrations at the EU level and at the level of nation-states should be more obligatorily addressed by the Commission. The goal must be to simplify and expedite applications, approval processes, and procedures with administrations across Europe.
