Summit on the EU personnel package + China’s response to the tariffs

Dear reader,

Member States and the European Parliament adopted the new debt rules in the spring, and now the first practical test is imminent: tomorrow, Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni will present the spring package of the European Semester – and take the opportunity to announce which countries they will initiate an excessive deficit procedure against.

According to the Commission’s latest economic forecast, it would have to take action against around ten member states whose budget deficits are above the three percent threshold. In addition to Belgium, Finland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, these include three heavyweights – France, Italy and Poland. The Commission predicts a deficit of 5.4 percent of economic output for Warsaw, 5.3 percent for Paris and 4.4 percent for Italy. All three countries will therefore also be well above the limit in 2025.

According to the rules, the situation is clear, and yet the Commission has often been lenient in the past for political reasons. And this time? In the middle of the election campaign for the National Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron has no use for a deficit procedure. The Rassemblement National and other rivals would certainly exploit this.

CSU MEP Markus Ferber has therefore sent a letter to Gentiloni urging him to remain firm. “The decision on whether to open excessive deficit procedures against France and Italy is the litmus test for the Stability and Growth Pact,” said Ferber, who helped negotiate the new rules for the Parliament. If the Commission were to grant political discounts again, it would already be the first nail in the coffin of the new Stability Pact.

However, Ferber’s warning may not have been necessary. So far, there is no indication at the Commission that it wants to spare the deficit sinners.

Have a good start to the new week.

Your
Till Hoppe

EU personnel package: Informal summit fails to reach agreement

Ursula von der Leyen won the European elections by a large margin.

By

Till Hoppe

Chancellor Olaf Scholz was optimistic at the start of the summit: he was “absolutely certain that we can reach an agreement in the shortest possible time,” said the SPD politician. However, the heads of state and government could not agree on the distribution of the top jobs as quickly as Scholz and many others had expected. The meeting ended after six hours of deliberations without an agreement.

The personnel issues are now to be clarified at the formal summit on 27 and 28 June, in parallel with the program for the next five years, the so-called Strategic Agenda. It is “our common duty to decide by the end of June,” said Council President Charles Michel at the end of the meeting at midnight. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed optimism that the personnel package would not turn into a “big raffle” like in 2019.

New EPP demands prevent agreement

The negotiations were characterized by new demands from the European People’s Party camp. According to diplomats, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis demanded not only the Commission presidency but also the presidency of the European Council for half of the legislative term. They also reportedly claimed to be the President of the European Parliament for the entire five-year term.

The far-reaching demands caused irritation among Scholz and other social democratic heads of state and government. The negotiators of the three party families, who had already entered into an informal alliance in the previous period, had largely agreed in advance on how the top posts should be filled. The incumbent and leading EPP candidate Ursula von der Leyen was to remain Commission President, while the socialist former Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, was to become Council President. The previous Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, was intended to be the new Foreign Affairs Commissioner.

Christian Democrats also dominate the council

However, the new EPP demands called this balance into question. This reflects the self-confidence of the Christian Democrats, who had clearly emerged as the strongest force in the European elections and are also numerically much more strongly represented in the Council with twelve heads of state and government than the other party families.

According to diplomats, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković had already urged EPP representatives a week ago not to be satisfied with the Commission presidency and parliamentary presidency for half the legislative term. As the winner of the election, the Christian Democrats could claim more than after the 2019 European elections, he argued at the summit.

Otherwise, the Social Democrats could claim two top posts in the second half of the five-year period, while the EPP would have to make do with the Commission leadership. In addition, the Christian Democrats have come away empty-handed with other top appointments, such as the leadership of the European Investment Bank or the foreseeable appointment of a new NATO Secretary General.

Invitation to Charles Michel

At the summit, the EPP representatives then called for the post of Council President to be filled by a Christian Democrat after two and a half years. The President of the Council is normally elected for an initial term of two and a half years but is usually confirmed by the heads of state and government for a further term of office.

The summit had already started around an hour and a half late because the heads of state and government were negotiating with each other in small rounds. According to reports, requests for specific areas of responsibility in the new commission were also launched. At this point, Ursula von der Leyen was no longer in the room.

At the beginning of the summit, Parliament President Roberta Metsola invited Council President Charles Michel to meet behind closed doors with the political group leaders next Thursday at 10 a.m. and then to meet again on June 26. If the heads of state and government propose a future Commission president at the formal summit on June 27 and 28, the candidate could come to the group leaders for an “exchange of views” on July 2, Metsola said.

Restoration: How the law was passed by the Council after all

With a majority of 20 countries, representing 66 percent of the EU population, the member states officially adopted the Nature Restoration Act yesterday, Monday, in Luxembourg. This was possible because Austria’s Green Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler changed her mind at the last minute and agreed to the law. Slovakia, which had previously publicly expressed doubts about the proposal, also finally supported the text in the decisive vote.

According to the Greens’ coalition partner in Austria, the conservative ÖVP chancellor’s party, the approval contradicts the government’s position. Immediately after the vote, ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker announced a complaint against Gewessler for abuse of office. The ÖVP argues that Gewessler is bound by an objection of the Austrian federal states to the EU law. The Environment Minister, on the other hand, argues that this veto no longer applies, as Vienna has recently abandoned the consensus of the federal states and is in favor of the law.

At a press conference on Monday evening, Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said that the Federal Chancellery’s Constitutional Service had also confirmed that Gewessler’s actions were unlawful. However, he wanted to continue the coalition so that the country would “not sink into chaos.” Nehammer spoke of a “more than serious breach of trust.”

Close decision

With regard to this possible challenge to the law, the Belgian Presidency emphasized that the Austrian minister represented her country and that her vote was therefore legally binding. The fate of the law was in doubt until the very end. After Hungary’s surprising U-turn at the beginning of the year, one country was missing for the text to be finally adopted. Austria has now taken on this role.

With the Nature Restoration Act, the EU has set itself the goal of restoring at least 30 percent of its degraded land and sea areas by the end of the decade and all ecosystems by 2050. This means that the member states are committed to taking measures to green cities, rewet drained moors, restore marine ecosystems or make rivers and forests more natural, for example. Fields and pastures should also be made more insect- and bird-friendly and the decline in pollinators halted.

EPP tried to prevent the law

Parts of the right and far-right had fiercely attacked the text after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, believing that its implementation would weaken European agriculture. In the European Parliament, the EPP had refused to negotiate with its usual allies and tried to reject the text. The law was saved by a coalition of S&D, Renew, Greens and Left. In order to win back at least some EPP votes, Parliament had agreed to scale back the ambitions of the text significantly.

The Nature Restoration Act is relevant far beyond the EU’s borders: It is intended to ensure that the EU meets its international commitment under the Kunming-Montreal Convention on Biodiversity to restore at least 30 percent of degraded ecosystems.

Agreement on weakened soil monitoring law

The EU environment ministers also agreed on their joint negotiating position on the Soil Monitoring Act, weakening the Commission’s original proposal in several areas. The German government abstained due to concerns that the law in the version now agreed could stand in the way of the expansion of renewables and interfere too much with national rules on mining.

The ministers’ amendments bring the text closer to the position of the EU farmers’ association Copa Cogeca. Although it had described the original proposal as “acceptable,” it had called for more flexibility in the criteria for healthy soil. Environmentalists are critical of the Council’s position. The already unambitious Commission proposal is being further watered down, criticizes Max Meister, agricultural policy officer at Nabu.

The European Parliament had already adopted its negotiating position in April, in which it weakened the Commission proposal in a similar way to the ministers. There are therefore many indications that the Council and Parliament will also agree on such a watered-down version in the subsequent trilogue negotiations. According to its provisional work plan, Hungary has scheduled the trilogue negotiations for its EU Council Presidency for the second half of the year.

Approval for Waste Framework Directive

In the Environment Council, the Member States also adopted their negotiating mandate for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive. In it, they largely approve the Commission’s draft legislation, which it presented in July 2023, and make minor amendments.

The Council confirms the targets for reducing food waste by 2030: ten percent in processing and production and 30 percent per capita in retail, restaurants, catering and households. The Parliament is calling for an increase to 20 percent and 40 percent respectively. The member states also want to include the option of setting targets for edible food by the end of 2027.

The Council is in favor of a more flexible approach to calculating waste volumes: The targets are calculated in comparison to the amount produced in 2020, as data on food waste was collected for the first time in that year using a harmonized method. However, according to the Council’s direction, member states should also be able to use 2021, 2022 or 2023 as reference years. The reasoning: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the data for 2020 may not be representative in some cases. In addition, fluctuations in tourism and production levels in food production and processing should be taken into account.

The Council also calls on the Commission to present the results of a study on food waste and losses in primary production by the end of 2027. With dpa, lb

EU extra EV tariffs: Where China now strikes back

By

Amelie Richter

Just a few days after the EU announced its extra tariffs on Chinese EVs, the People’s Republic retaliated as expected: China launched an anti-dumping investigation into European pork and its by-products. As the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday (17 June), the investigation has been ongoing since Monday.

The investigation aims to:

be concluded within one year, that is, before 17 June 2025, the ministry announced. If necessary, it could be extended by six months;
retrospectively target the last year for suspected dumping, from 1 January to 31 December 2023;
examine the damages to the Chinese industry from January 2020 until the end of last year, a period of four years.

The products examined include:

Slaughtered and processed pork products, including fresh, chilled and frozen, dried, smoked and salted products, the Ministry of Trade announced. In other words, everything that can be produced from slaughtered animals.
Affected companies are asked to register with the Department of Commerce’s Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau within 20 days to participate in the anti-dumping investigation.

The Ministry of Commerce said the investigation was triggered by a complaint from the Chinese state-owned enterprise China Animal Husbandry Association (CAHIC) on 6 June. Last week, the ministry once again called on domestic industries to request investigations into imports if necessary in order to “protect their own legitimate rights and interests.”

Beijing wants to avoid the impression that the investigations are politically motivated. China accuses the EU Commission of doing exactly this, which launched the anti-subsidy investigation into EVs without any initiative from the industry.

Spain hopes for negotiations

CAHIC is the livestock breeding branch of the China National Agricultural Development Group Corporation. However, the agricultural group reports directly to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC).

The EU reacted relaxed on Monday. A spokesperson for the European Commission stated that Brussels was not concerned about the opening of the investigation. He said the EU would intervene appropriately to ensure the investigation complied with all relevant World Trade Organisation rules.

However, concerned voices were heard from the affected member states: Spain called for negotiations to avoid tariffs on its pork exports to China. Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas hoped there was “room for an understanding.” Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Spain and the EU were working to find a balance to avoid a trade war while protecting its products from unfair trade practices. “We are already working through the European Union to find solutions that will provide a way forward without damaging the sector,” said Cuerpo in Santander.

Danish industry association speaks of severe blow

While pork products exported to China, including stomachs, intestines, snouts and ears, are hardly consumed in Europe, they are very popular in China. According to the industry association Interporc, Spain sold around 560,000 tons of pork products worth 1.2 billion euros to China last year. With a share of around 21 percent of total imports, Spain is China’s biggest supplier of pork products, ahead of the USA (around 16 percent), Brazil (around 16 percent), the Netherlands (nine percent), Canada (nine percent) and Denmark (around nine percent).

Ulrik Bremholm, chairman of the Danish industry association Danske Slagterier, called on all parties to consider the impact on jobs, food safety and production and to find a negotiated solution with China. The Danish pork industry “will be hit incredibly hard by potential Chinese restrictions on European meat,” Bremholm told Reuters.

China banned German pork imports in 2020 after swine fever was detected in the country. Germany’s largest meat processor, Toennies, expects pork prices to fall if exporters such as Spain were to seek new markets for lost Chinese sales, which would lead to a “painful loss of income” in Germany as well. “If EU exporters, particularly Spain, cannot sell pork to China, some sales would have to be made within Europe and downward pressure on EU pork prices can be expected,” Toennies spokesperson Thomas Dosch told Reuters.

France recently negotiated a new pork deal during China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit. French pork exports are expected to increase by ten percent. If China looks for alternative suppliers outside the EU, South America could benefit from the extra tariffs on European products.

Habeck in China at the end of the week

The state-run newspaper Global Times has already had several insiders and experts announce in reports that the European agricultural and aviation industries could be the focus of Chinese investigations. In addition to meat imports, dairy products and cars with larger combustion engines could also be targeted. China already launched an anti-dumping investigation into brandy in January. This was seen as a clear signal to France, which had campaigned particularly strongly for car tariffs at the EU level. The investigation is still ongoing.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Green Party) will travel to China at the end of this week for a visit lasting several days. Regarding trade disputes with Beijing, his ministry referred to the responsibility of the EU Commission. However, Habeck “will of course (…) not be able to avoid addressing this issue,” his spokesperson said. The German government hopes that “solutions” can still be found on the matter of car tariffs.

Hungarian Council Presidency: these are the priorities

Hungary takes over the EU Council Presidency on July 1. Today, Tuesday, the Hungarian government will present its priorities for the coming six months. In the Competitiveness Council (COMPET), the presidency wants to achieve a Council position on the reform of the Late Payments Directive and the Package Travel Regulation, among other things, according to an overview published by “Contexte.”

The Council is also expected to reach conclusions on the Draghi report, the fragmentation of the European Research Area, advanced materials and space issues. The Hungarian Presidency also plans to organize a conference on the automotive industry in Brussels on 25 July.

In the Telecommunications Council, the Hungarians want to adopt Council conclusions on the future of the telecommunications industry. Budapest is also hosting a “Tech Week” on September 30, followed by a conference on the future of the telecoms industry. For the Energy Council, the Presidency has set itself the goal of adopting conclusions on the promotion of geothermal energy. A geothermal energy conference is planned for September 20 in Budapest and a “High level Grid Conference” for October 14.

Trilogues on green claims and waste law

A series of trilogue discussions are coming in the Transport Council. Negotiations with the new Parliament should take place on the ticketing directive, the regulation on the recording of greenhouse gas emissions from transport services, rail infrastructure capacity, the maritime safety agency and the river information system. The Presidency also wants to find a Council position on the enforcement of passenger rights.

In the coming six months, the Council of Social Affairs Ministers will deal with the traineeship directive, which the Commission presented in March of this year. In addition, the Council’s internal negotiations on the anti-discrimination directive will continue if the Belgian Presidency fails to reach an agreement at the Council meeting on June 20. The directive is currently still blocked by Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. The Hungarians also want to move forward with the trilogue negotiations on the European Works Council Directive.

A number of trilogue negotiations with the new Parliament are also pending in the Agriculture Council. For example, the Green Claims Directive, the Soil Monitoring Act, the Waste Framework Directive and the legal equivalence of seeds from Ukraine and Moldova are to be negotiated. Within the Council of Ministers, the Presidency aims to agree on the Forest Monitoring Act and the Regulation on Forest Reproductive Material. jaa

Brexit: Points on which the Labour leader wants to renegotiate

The leader of the British Labour Party and promising candidate for the post of Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has ruled out a return of his country to the EU. “We made the decision to leave the EU, so we will not be re-entering,” said the Social Democrat at an election campaign appearance in Southampton on Monday.

However, he added that the deal former Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated on post-Brexit trade with the EU was not good enough. “I think a lot of businesses would say we need something that’s better for us,” Keir Starmer said. A better agreement for British companies is possible, but negotiations are necessary. The UK could also improve cooperation with Brussels in the areas of defense, security, science and education.

Labour is on the way to winning an absolute majority

The UK left the EU and its customs union and single market in 2020. Since then, controls and documentation requirements have made trade more difficult, despite extensive duty-free status. However, Brussels has repeatedly dampened hopes of fundamental changes to the trade and cooperation agreement. This applies as long as London is not considering a return to the customs union and single market.

A new parliament will be elected in the UK on July 4. Labour is on course to win an absolute majority and replace the Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Keir Starmer once campaigned for the UK to return to the EU. However, he changed his position after the Labour Party’s heavy election defeat in 2019, when many traditional Labour voters who supported Brexit defected to the Tories. dpa

Study: How the EU can reduce consumption emissions

The EU holds substantial potential to decrease emissions stemming from consumption. This requires targeted measures to reduce consumption-based CO2 emissions (CBEs) as well as a reduction in overall consumption, as concluded by a study from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

Historically, political actions have primarily focused on territorial emissions from industrial production and energy, neglecting the impacts of consumption. CBEs originating from the EU account for approximately nine percent of global emissions.

The study identifies food, housing and mobility as areas with particularly high consumption-related emissions and significant potential for reductions. While individual EU member states have shown considerable effort, coordinated actions at the EU level have been lacking. These actions should not only emphasize efficiency gains but also consider reducing consumption and promoting sufficiency.

Imported emissions mainly from China

According to the report, “imported emissions” are a key problem: The EU has been a net importer of CO2 emissions since 2015. The emissions that it imports via goods and services exceed those that it exports. European consumption therefore has a negative impact on other countries. Most emissions are imported from China. In order to reduce consumption-related emissions, emissions from complex supply chains must therefore also be tackled and more transparency created.

The report highlights significant disparities in consumption-related emissions among EU member states. For instance, while Denmark and Luxembourg register around 11 tons of CO2e per capita, Slovakia records only 4.6 tons. Germany stands at 9 tons CO2e, with the EU average at 8.1 tons. kul

Russia sanctions: What Denmark is planning against the passage of old oil tankers

Denmark is looking into ways of restricting the passage of old tankers carrying Russian oil through the Baltic Sea. His country has formed a group of allied states to examine measures against this “shadow fleet” of aging ships, according to an email from Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to Reuters. “There is a broad consensus that the shadow fleet is an international problem and requires international solutions.” Denmark is concerned that the old tankers pose a threat to the environment.

The Russian ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, said that such restrictions were unacceptable. “The threat to the safety of navigation and the marine environment in the Baltic Sea are not the tankers with Russian oil, but the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia,” said Barbin. Free passage is regulated by the Copenhagen Convention of 1857, which is still valid.

The sanctions were imposed because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Around a third of Russia’s oil exports pass through the Oresund, accounting for around 1.5 percent of global oil supplies. Restricting deliveries would put a strain on Russian state finances. In addition, the oil price is likely to rise. rtr

EUROPE.TABLE EDITORIAL OFFICE

Till
Hoppe

Sarah
Schaefer

Lukas
Knigge

Corinna
Visser

Markus
Grabitz

Alina
Leimbach

Eric
Bonse

Manuel
Berkel

Stephan
Israel

Claire
Stam

János
Allenbach-Ammann

Dear reader,

Member States and the European Parliament adopted the new debt rules in the spring, and now the first practical test is imminent: tomorrow, Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis and Economic Affairs Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni will present the spring package of the European Semester – and take the opportunity to announce which countries they will initiate an excessive deficit procedure against.

According to the Commission’s latest economic forecast, it would have to take action against around ten member states whose budget deficits are above the three percent threshold. In addition to Belgium, Finland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary, these include three heavyweights – France, Italy and Poland. The Commission predicts a deficit of 5.4 percent of economic output for Warsaw, 5.3 percent for Paris and 4.4 percent for Italy. All three countries will therefore also be well above the limit in 2025.

According to the rules, the situation is clear, and yet the Commission has often been lenient in the past for political reasons. And this time? In the middle of the election campaign for the National Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron has no use for a deficit procedure. The Rassemblement National and other rivals would certainly exploit this.

CSU MEP Markus Ferber has therefore sent a letter to Gentiloni urging him to remain firm. “The decision on whether to open excessive deficit procedures against France and Italy is the litmus test for the Stability and Growth Pact,” said Ferber, who helped negotiate the new rules for the Parliament. If the Commission were to grant political discounts again, it would already be the first nail in the coffin of the new Stability Pact.

However, Ferber’s warning may not have been necessary. So far, there is no indication at the Commission that it wants to spare the deficit sinners.

Have a good start to the new week.

Your
Till Hoppe

EU personnel package: Informal summit fails to reach agreement

By

Till Hoppe

Chancellor Olaf Scholz was optimistic at the start of the summit: he was “absolutely certain that we can reach an agreement in the shortest possible time,” said the SPD politician. However, the heads of state and government could not agree on the distribution of the top jobs as quickly as Scholz and many others had expected. The meeting ended after six hours of deliberations without an agreement.

The personnel issues are now to be clarified at the formal summit on 27 and 28 June, in parallel with the program for the next five years, the so-called Strategic Agenda. It is “our common duty to decide by the end of June,” said Council President Charles Michel at the end of the meeting at midnight. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte expressed optimism that the personnel package would not turn into a “big raffle” like in 2019.

New EPP demands prevent agreement

The negotiations were characterized by new demands from the European People’s Party camp. According to diplomats, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis demanded not only the Commission presidency but also the presidency of the European Council for half of the legislative term. They also reportedly claimed to be the President of the European Parliament for the entire five-year term.

The far-reaching demands caused irritation among Scholz and other social democratic heads of state and government. The negotiators of the three party families, who had already entered into an informal alliance in the previous period, had largely agreed in advance on how the top posts should be filled. The incumbent and leading EPP candidate Ursula von der Leyen was to remain Commission President, while the socialist former Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, was to become Council President. The previous Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, was intended to be the new Foreign Affairs Commissioner.

Christian Democrats also dominate the council

However, the new EPP demands called this balance into question. This reflects the self-confidence of the Christian Democrats, who had clearly emerged as the strongest force in the European elections and are also numerically much more strongly represented in the Council with twelve heads of state and government than the other party families.

According to diplomats, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković had already urged EPP representatives a week ago not to be satisfied with the Commission presidency and parliamentary presidency for half the legislative term. As the winner of the election, the Christian Democrats could claim more than after the 2019 European elections, he argued at the summit.

Otherwise, the Social Democrats could claim two top posts in the second half of the five-year period, while the EPP would have to make do with the Commission leadership. In addition, the Christian Democrats have come away empty-handed with other top appointments, such as the leadership of the European Investment Bank or the foreseeable appointment of a new NATO Secretary General.

Invitation to Charles Michel

At the summit, the EPP representatives then called for the post of Council President to be filled by a Christian Democrat after two and a half years. The President of the Council is normally elected for an initial term of two and a half years but is usually confirmed by the heads of state and government for a further term of office.

The summit had already started around an hour and a half late because the heads of state and government were negotiating with each other in small rounds. According to reports, requests for specific areas of responsibility in the new commission were also launched. At this point, Ursula von der Leyen was no longer in the room.

At the beginning of the summit, Parliament President Roberta Metsola invited Council President Charles Michel to meet behind closed doors with the political group leaders next Thursday at 10 a.m. and then to meet again on June 26. If the heads of state and government propose a future Commission president at the formal summit on June 27 and 28, the candidate could come to the group leaders for an “exchange of views” on July 2, Metsola said.

Restoration: How the law was passed by the Council after all

With a majority of 20 countries, representing 66 percent of the EU population, the member states officially adopted the Nature Restoration Act yesterday, Monday, in Luxembourg. This was possible because Austria’s Green Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler changed her mind at the last minute and agreed to the law. Slovakia, which had previously publicly expressed doubts about the proposal, also finally supported the text in the decisive vote.

According to the Greens’ coalition partner in Austria, the conservative ÖVP chancellor’s party, the approval contradicts the government’s position. Immediately after the vote, ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker announced a complaint against Gewessler for abuse of office. The ÖVP argues that Gewessler is bound by an objection of the Austrian federal states to the EU law. The Environment Minister, on the other hand, argues that this veto no longer applies, as Vienna has recently abandoned the consensus of the federal states and is in favor of the law.

At a press conference on Monday evening, Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) said that the Federal Chancellery’s Constitutional Service had also confirmed that Gewessler’s actions were unlawful. However, he wanted to continue the coalition so that the country would “not sink into chaos.” Nehammer spoke of a “more than serious breach of trust.”

Close decision

With regard to this possible challenge to the law, the Belgian Presidency emphasized that the Austrian minister represented her country and that her vote was therefore legally binding. The fate of the law was in doubt until the very end. After Hungary’s surprising U-turn at the beginning of the year, one country was missing for the text to be finally adopted. Austria has now taken on this role.

With the Nature Restoration Act, the EU has set itself the goal of restoring at least 30 percent of its degraded land and sea areas by the end of the decade and all ecosystems by 2050. This means that the member states are committed to taking measures to green cities, rewet drained moors, restore marine ecosystems or make rivers and forests more natural, for example. Fields and pastures should also be made more insect- and bird-friendly and the decline in pollinators halted.

EPP tried to prevent the law

Parts of the right and far-right had fiercely attacked the text after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, believing that its implementation would weaken European agriculture. In the European Parliament, the EPP had refused to negotiate with its usual allies and tried to reject the text. The law was saved by a coalition of S&D, Renew, Greens and Left. In order to win back at least some EPP votes, Parliament had agreed to scale back the ambitions of the text significantly.

The Nature Restoration Act is relevant far beyond the EU’s borders: It is intended to ensure that the EU meets its international commitment under the Kunming-Montreal Convention on Biodiversity to restore at least 30 percent of degraded ecosystems.

Agreement on weakened soil monitoring law

The EU environment ministers also agreed on their joint negotiating position on the Soil Monitoring Act, weakening the Commission’s original proposal in several areas. The German government abstained due to concerns that the law in the version now agreed could stand in the way of the expansion of renewables and interfere too much with national rules on mining.

The ministers’ amendments bring the text closer to the position of the EU farmers’ association Copa Cogeca. Although it had described the original proposal as “acceptable,” it had called for more flexibility in the criteria for healthy soil. Environmentalists are critical of the Council’s position. The already unambitious Commission proposal is being further watered down, criticizes Max Meister, agricultural policy officer at Nabu.

The European Parliament had already adopted its negotiating position in April, in which it weakened the Commission proposal in a similar way to the ministers. There are therefore many indications that the Council and Parliament will also agree on such a watered-down version in the subsequent trilogue negotiations. According to its provisional work plan, Hungary has scheduled the trilogue negotiations for its EU Council Presidency for the second half of the year.

Approval for Waste Framework Directive

In the Environment Council, the Member States also adopted their negotiating mandate for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive. In it, they largely approve the Commission’s draft legislation, which it presented in July 2023, and make minor amendments.

The Council confirms the targets for reducing food waste by 2030: ten percent in processing and production and 30 percent per capita in retail, restaurants, catering and households. The Parliament is calling for an increase to 20 percent and 40 percent respectively. The member states also want to include the option of setting targets for edible food by the end of 2027.

The Council is in favor of a more flexible approach to calculating waste volumes: The targets are calculated in comparison to the amount produced in 2020, as data on food waste was collected for the first time in that year using a harmonized method. However, according to the Council’s direction, member states should also be able to use 2021, 2022 or 2023 as reference years. The reasoning: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the data for 2020 may not be representative in some cases. In addition, fluctuations in tourism and production levels in food production and processing should be taken into account.

The Council also calls on the Commission to present the results of a study on food waste and losses in primary production by the end of 2027. With dpa, lb

EU extra EV tariffs: Where China now strikes back

By

Amelie Richter

Just a few days after the EU announced its extra tariffs on Chinese EVs, the People’s Republic retaliated as expected: China launched an anti-dumping investigation into European pork and its by-products. As the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Monday (17 June), the investigation has been ongoing since Monday.

The investigation aims to:

be concluded within one year, that is, before 17 June 2025, the ministry announced. If necessary, it could be extended by six months;
retrospectively target the last year for suspected dumping, from 1 January to 31 December 2023;
examine the damages to the Chinese industry from January 2020 until the end of last year, a period of four years.

The products examined include:

Slaughtered and processed pork products, including fresh, chilled and frozen, dried, smoked and salted products, the Ministry of Trade announced. In other words, everything that can be produced from slaughtered animals.
Affected companies are asked to register with the Department of Commerce’s Trade Remedy and Investigation Bureau within 20 days to participate in the anti-dumping investigation.

The Ministry of Commerce said the investigation was triggered by a complaint from the Chinese state-owned enterprise China Animal Husbandry Association (CAHIC) on 6 June. Last week, the ministry once again called on domestic industries to request investigations into imports if necessary in order to “protect their own legitimate rights and interests.”

Beijing wants to avoid the impression that the investigations are politically motivated. China accuses the EU Commission of doing exactly this, which launched the anti-subsidy investigation into EVs without any initiative from the industry.

Spain hopes for negotiations

CAHIC is the livestock breeding branch of the China National Agricultural Development Group Corporation. However, the agricultural group reports directly to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC).

The EU reacted relaxed on Monday. A spokesperson for the European Commission stated that Brussels was not concerned about the opening of the investigation. He said the EU would intervene appropriately to ensure the investigation complied with all relevant World Trade Organisation rules.

However, concerned voices were heard from the affected member states: Spain called for negotiations to avoid tariffs on its pork exports to China. Spanish Agriculture Minister Luis Planas hoped there was “room for an understanding.” Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Spain and the EU were working to find a balance to avoid a trade war while protecting its products from unfair trade practices. “We are already working through the European Union to find solutions that will provide a way forward without damaging the sector,” said Cuerpo in Santander.

Danish industry association speaks of severe blow

While pork products exported to China, including stomachs, intestines, snouts and ears, are hardly consumed in Europe, they are very popular in China. According to the industry association Interporc, Spain sold around 560,000 tons of pork products worth 1.2 billion euros to China last year. With a share of around 21 percent of total imports, Spain is China’s biggest supplier of pork products, ahead of the USA (around 16 percent), Brazil (around 16 percent), the Netherlands (nine percent), Canada (nine percent) and Denmark (around nine percent).

Ulrik Bremholm, chairman of the Danish industry association Danske Slagterier, called on all parties to consider the impact on jobs, food safety and production and to find a negotiated solution with China. The Danish pork industry “will be hit incredibly hard by potential Chinese restrictions on European meat,” Bremholm told Reuters.

China banned German pork imports in 2020 after swine fever was detected in the country. Germany’s largest meat processor, Toennies, expects pork prices to fall if exporters such as Spain were to seek new markets for lost Chinese sales, which would lead to a “painful loss of income” in Germany as well. “If EU exporters, particularly Spain, cannot sell pork to China, some sales would have to be made within Europe and downward pressure on EU pork prices can be expected,” Toennies spokesperson Thomas Dosch told Reuters.

France recently negotiated a new pork deal during China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit. French pork exports are expected to increase by ten percent. If China looks for alternative suppliers outside the EU, South America could benefit from the extra tariffs on European products.

Habeck in China at the end of the week

The state-run newspaper Global Times has already had several insiders and experts announce in reports that the European agricultural and aviation industries could be the focus of Chinese investigations. In addition to meat imports, dairy products and cars with larger combustion engines could also be targeted. China already launched an anti-dumping investigation into brandy in January. This was seen as a clear signal to France, which had campaigned particularly strongly for car tariffs at the EU level. The investigation is still ongoing.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Green Party) will travel to China at the end of this week for a visit lasting several days. Regarding trade disputes with Beijing, his ministry referred to the responsibility of the EU Commission. However, Habeck “will of course (…) not be able to avoid addressing this issue,” his spokesperson said. The German government hopes that “solutions” can still be found on the matter of car tariffs.

Hungarian Council Presidency: these are the priorities

Hungary takes over the EU Council Presidency on July 1. Today, Tuesday, the Hungarian government will present its priorities for the coming six months. In the Competitiveness Council (COMPET), the presidency wants to achieve a Council position on the reform of the Late Payments Directive and the Package Travel Regulation, among other things, according to an overview published by “Contexte.”

The Council is also expected to reach conclusions on the Draghi report, the fragmentation of the European Research Area, advanced materials and space issues. The Hungarian Presidency also plans to organize a conference on the automotive industry in Brussels on 25 July.

In the Telecommunications Council, the Hungarians want to adopt Council conclusions on the future of the telecommunications industry. Budapest is also hosting a “Tech Week” on September 30, followed by a conference on the future of the telecoms industry. For the Energy Council, the Presidency has set itself the goal of adopting conclusions on the promotion of geothermal energy. A geothermal energy conference is planned for September 20 in Budapest and a “High level Grid Conference” for October 14.

Trilogues on green claims and waste law

A series of trilogue discussions are coming in the Transport Council. Negotiations with the new Parliament should take place on the ticketing directive, the regulation on the recording of greenhouse gas emissions from transport services, rail infrastructure capacity, the maritime safety agency and the river information system. The Presidency also wants to find a Council position on the enforcement of passenger rights.

In the coming six months, the Council of Social Affairs Ministers will deal with the traineeship directive, which the Commission presented in March of this year. In addition, the Council’s internal negotiations on the anti-discrimination directive will continue if the Belgian Presidency fails to reach an agreement at the Council meeting on June 20. The directive is currently still blocked by Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. The Hungarians also want to move forward with the trilogue negotiations on the European Works Council Directive.

A number of trilogue negotiations with the new Parliament are also pending in the Agriculture Council. For example, the Green Claims Directive, the Soil Monitoring Act, the Waste Framework Directive and the legal equivalence of seeds from Ukraine and Moldova are to be negotiated. Within the Council of Ministers, the Presidency aims to agree on the Forest Monitoring Act and the Regulation on Forest Reproductive Material. jaa

Brexit: Points on which the Labour leader wants to renegotiate

The leader of the British Labour Party and promising candidate for the post of Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has ruled out a return of his country to the EU. “We made the decision to leave the EU, so we will not be re-entering,” said the Social Democrat at an election campaign appearance in Southampton on Monday.

However, he added that the deal former Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated on post-Brexit trade with the EU was not good enough. “I think a lot of businesses would say we need something that’s better for us,” Keir Starmer said. A better agreement for British companies is possible, but negotiations are necessary. The UK could also improve cooperation with Brussels in the areas of defense, security, science and education.

Labour is on the way to winning an absolute majority

The UK left the EU and its customs union and single market in 2020. Since then, controls and documentation requirements have made trade more difficult, despite extensive duty-free status. However, Brussels has repeatedly dampened hopes of fundamental changes to the trade and cooperation agreement. This applies as long as London is not considering a return to the customs union and single market.

A new parliament will be elected in the UK on July 4. Labour is on course to win an absolute majority and replace the Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Keir Starmer once campaigned for the UK to return to the EU. However, he changed his position after the Labour Party’s heavy election defeat in 2019, when many traditional Labour voters who supported Brexit defected to the Tories. dpa

Study: How the EU can reduce consumption emissions

The EU holds substantial potential to decrease emissions stemming from consumption. This requires targeted measures to reduce consumption-based CO2 emissions (CBEs) as well as a reduction in overall consumption, as concluded by a study from the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).

Historically, political actions have primarily focused on territorial emissions from industrial production and energy, neglecting the impacts of consumption. CBEs originating from the EU account for approximately nine percent of global emissions.

The study identifies food, housing and mobility as areas with particularly high consumption-related emissions and significant potential for reductions. While individual EU member states have shown considerable effort, coordinated actions at the EU level have been lacking. These actions should not only emphasize efficiency gains but also consider reducing consumption and promoting sufficiency.

Imported emissions mainly from China

According to the report, “imported emissions” are a key problem: The EU has been a net importer of CO2 emissions since 2015. The emissions that it imports via goods and services exceed those that it exports. European consumption therefore has a negative impact on other countries. Most emissions are imported from China. In order to reduce consumption-related emissions, emissions from complex supply chains must therefore also be tackled and more transparency created.

The report highlights significant disparities in consumption-related emissions among EU member states. For instance, while Denmark and Luxembourg register around 11 tons of CO2e per capita, Slovakia records only 4.6 tons. Germany stands at 9 tons CO2e, with the EU average at 8.1 tons. kul

Russia sanctions: What Denmark is planning against the passage of old oil tankers

Denmark is looking into ways of restricting the passage of old tankers carrying Russian oil through the Baltic Sea. His country has formed a group of allied states to examine measures against this “shadow fleet” of aging ships, according to an email from Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen to Reuters. “There is a broad consensus that the shadow fleet is an international problem and requires international solutions.” Denmark is concerned that the old tankers pose a threat to the environment.

The Russian ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, said that such restrictions were unacceptable. “The threat to the safety of navigation and the marine environment in the Baltic Sea are not the tankers with Russian oil, but the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia,” said Barbin. Free passage is regulated by the Copenhagen Convention of 1857, which is still valid.

The sanctions were imposed because of the Russian attack on Ukraine. Around a third of Russia’s oil exports pass through the Oresund, accounting for around 1.5 percent of global oil supplies. Restricting deliveries would put a strain on Russian state finances. In addition, the oil price is likely to rise. rtr