“They accuse everyone that talks to them or engages of corruption,” Eva Kaili, one of the vice presidents of the European Parliament, had said in a speech about Qatar just last November. Last Friday, an arrest warrant was issued against her: On suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Markus Grabitz has the reactions from Parliament.
After months of negotiations, an agreement on the Battery Regulation was reached on Friday between the Commission, Parliament and Council. The regulation is supposed to be nothing less than a “benchmark for the global battery market,” writes Leonie Düngefeld, analyzing the guidelines.
Since the announcement one year ago, not much has happened on Global Gateway. The EU infrastructure initiative is supposed to be Europe’s answer to the New Silk Road, but there is no sign of this, writes Amelie Richter in her analysis. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with EU foreign ministers Sunday evening for a much-needed stocktaking.
A quick look to Canada: There, the positions on the global agreement on the protection of ecological diversity continue to harden. An extension of the negotiation period is considered a certainty, as Timo Landenberger reports from Montreal.
An arrest warrant has been issued for MEP Eva Kaili (S&D), one of 14 vice presidents of the European Parliament, on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization. The 44-year-old Greek socialist was apparently caught committing a crime by Belgian police in Brussels on Friday.
According to information obtained by Europe.Table, the European Parliament did previously not lift her immunity as an MEP. The arrest of an MEP without lifting immunity is only possible if the MEP is caught committing a crime.
Arrest warrants have also been issued for three other individuals, including her partner and a staff member from the European Parliament. Kaili’s father, who was apprehended leaving a hotel with a large amount of cash, and the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, who was also arrested earlier, have been conditionally released.
Kaili is accused of accepting a bribe from a Gulf state. The country in question is said to be Qatar. Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola, in charge of IT, stripped Kaili of all her rights. The parliamentary group suspended her, and her party Pasok expelled her.
It is not clear what exactly Kaili is accused of. On Nov. 22, she gave a speech in Parliament in which she called World Cup host country Qatar a “pioneer in labor rights.” Despite this, critics would “harass them and accuse anyone who speaks or engages with them of corruption.”
The first consequence of the scandal was drawn immediately: The planned visa liberalization for the population of the Gulf state will not happen. Erik Marquardt (Greens), rapporteur for Qatar, Kuwait and Oman visa facilitation: “The planned vote on this will either be referred back to the Interior Committee to draw the proper consequences, or we vote as a parliament against visa facilitation.”
The debate about the consequences for transparency rules has opened in the European Parliament. Daniel Freund (Greens) acknowledges that the European Parliament already has very far-reaching rules. He is in favor of stricter regulations. Contacts with representatives of third countries are so far not covered by the transparency rules. Here, Freund calls for the EU to make improvements: “Lobbying from third countries must be included in the lobby register, meetings with representatives of third countries must be made public.”
Rainer Wieland (CDU), one of 14 vice presidents of parliament, disagrees with Freund: “I’m against changing the rules on the fly.” If the accusations are true, the Kaili case is scandalous. But an individual case should not be used as a reason to “restrict the rules for the free mandate.”
“Communication channels between representatives of third countries and parliamentarians must be possible,” Wieland points out. Daniel Caspary, head of the German CDU/CSU group, tweeted, “No transparency rules will help against what Kaili is accused of.” He continued, “What she is accused of would be a huge mess and illegal.”
Under the current rules, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs must publish online meetings with lobbyists on dossiers they are working on. All other MEPs are required to disclose their lobbying contacts.
It is to become nothing less than a “benchmark for the entire global battery market“, a “blueprint for many future laws”: On Friday afternoon, negotiators from the Commission, Council and Parliament announced their agreement on the new EU Battery Regulation. The goal is to set standards for a more sustainable battery design, boost the material cycle and strengthen the battery and recycling industry.
Since April, the trilogue partners have been negotiating. The last sticking points were the regulations on due diligence as well as the concrete targets and deadlines for collection, recycling and material recovery.
“We agreed on measures that greatly benefit consumers: Batteries will be well-functioning, safer and easier to remove,” said Achille Variati (S&D), rapporteur in the Environment Committee in Parliament. “For the first time, we have circular economy legislation that covers the entire life cycle of a product – this approach is good for both the environment and the economy.”
Variati succeeded Simona Bonafè (S&D) in November, who moved to the Italian Parliament. Bonafè presented her report in February, and the EU Parliament adopted it in March. Variati raised the ambition of the draft, particularly with regard to due diligence, collection targets and the interchangeability of batteries.
The provisional agreement covers portable batteries, SLI batteries (primarily used in vehicles and machines), light means of transport (LMT) batteries (electric scooters and bikes), electric vehicle (EV) batteries and industrial batteries. Among others, the following requirements will apply to them:
Shadow rapporteur Malte Gallée (Greens) is also pleased. “We were able to successfully push through our main points during the trilogue negotiations,” he said. These include significantly higher recycling targets for lithium, the requirement that portable batteries be replaceable by consumers in almost all cases, and the inclusion of e-scooter and e-bike batteries. “Likewise, prohibiting the sale of low-quality portable batteries by banning lead is a major Green success.”
The draft regulation, intended to replace the previous directive on batteries and accumulators from 2006, was published by the Commission in December 2020. The new regulation pursues three overarching goals:
The regulation is of strategic importance for the EU in the context of digitalization, the transition of energy and mobility, and the heavy dependence on third countries for required raw materials. According to forecasts by the World Economic Forum, global battery demand will increase by a factor of 19 by 2030 compared to the demand in 2019. The automotive industry will account for the majority of this.
The provisional agreement must now be approved and formally adopted by the Council and Parliament.
One year after the announcement of Global Gateway, Brussels wants to inject more momentum into what has been a rather lackluster EU infrastructure initiative. On Sunday evening, a panel chaired by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen convened for the first time to take stock of the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy.
The EU wants to use Global Gateway to offer an alternative to China’s multi-billion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and to present itself as a global geopolitical player. The review is urgently needed – because Global Gateway still lacks the necessary political weight.
Besides von der Leyen, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell, Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen were also present at the meeting. And especially important: all EU foreign ministers. Because the implementation of Global Gateway relies on cooperation between Brussels and the EU capitals. So far, however, there has been little sign of cooperation.
Making the cooperation between the EU Commission and the German government more visible is now also a demand of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Parliament. Berlin must “contribute funding for concrete projects to this initiative as soon as possible” and inform the German Parliament about them in a timely manner, according to a motion by the parliamentary group, which is available to Table.Media and is scheduled to be voted on in the plenary session this Friday. The parliamentary group also demands that Global Gateway should drive new trade agreements. The initiative must be seen more as a strategic investment than development aid, is the demand.
This is an important point. After all, almost everything the EU Commission has promised under the new label since the announcement of Global Gateway in December 2021 were previously planned development projects. Most recently, The Global Gala in the Metaverse was the subject of much ridicule, after only six guests attended. According to media reports, the Brussels authority had spent 387,000 euros on the event. Strategic investments look different.
The German government could now quickly comply with the request anyway: The German governing coalition is preparing a list of 20 lighthouse projects for Global Gateway, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported in its Monday edition.
Money is definitely available. “The problem is not lack of funding,” EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin told Table Media. As special envoy, she was responsible for “connectivity” at the European External Action Service (EEAS) from early 2019 until September of this year. This involved improving connections with trading partners in other parts of the world. She says it should be understood that the projects are intended to strengthen the competitiveness of both the EU and the partner countries in the long term.
There will be no replacement for her position, as EEAS confirmed. Her responsibilities have been fully absorbed into Global Gateway. The Directorate General for International Partnerships (INTPA) is now responsible for connectivity and consequently for Global Gateway.
Even after the reorganization, Vlahutin criticizes the lack of bundled expertise to get the initiative rolling. “I have always stressed that we need a proper task force that also reflects the strategic nature of the initiative and includes different types of expertise.” Involving the private sector, she said, has been key to creating the necessary financial scale. Now, it would be a matter of using that leverage skillfully: “Strategic investments follow a different logic than development aid and require a different methodology.”
Aside from insufficient staff, Global Gateway is also struggling with dialogue with potential partner countries. “We need a strategic discussion with our partners together with our industry to find a way to combine interests.” The clock is ticking. Because things will not get easier for Global Gateway in the future, Vlahutin is certain. Inflation and market volatility currently complicate large investments in developing countries.
Nadine Godehardt, a researcher with the Asia Research Group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), has also observed that Global Gateway lost momentum since its announcement. On the infrastructure initiative’s first birthday, Godehardt draws a sobering picture: “This project simply has not yet made much progress.”
But potential is definitely there, believes Godehardt. “Combining everything under one label is a good idea in itself.” But communicating it to individual EU capitals has worked poorly so far. “Beyond general documentation, there is very little information on the initiative,” Godehardt says. In her opinion, a kind of central “Global Gateway Research Hub” would be helpful for this. The initiative does have a website. However, it only lists general information. “The rest is all lost in the jungle of the EU website,” complains the SWP scientist.
It was at an event organized by the German Federal Youth Council in Berlin where Clara Föller first heard about the Young European Federalists (JEF). “At the time, I was still politically homeless,” the 29-year-old says. She had long been searching for a way to become active, but she couldn’t identify with a party.
That evening, Föller had a long talk with the then-national chairman Malte Steuber about the activities of JEF Germany, one of 30 national sections of the Young European Federalists. The organization’s goals are to strengthen awareness for Europe and to advance democracy at the EU level. Föller was convinced. Two months after the conversation, she applied for membership – and today, just under three years later, she heads the German association herself.
Raised in the German town of Bad Homburg, Föller spent a year in Italy after finishing school, and then studied political science and Turkish studies in Hamburg, Mainz, Frankfurt and Bologna. Her first memories of the concept of Europe date back to her childhood. During summer vacations, she had often traveled to Austria to visit a friend whose grandparents lived in southern Germany. “I never understood back then why there was a border between her and her family,” says Föller.
As its President, she now wants to ensure that such borders lose their significance. “European federal state” is the name of the JEF’s long-term plan: a united, federal Europe with a common constitution that puts citizens at the center.
“At the moment, the EU is not democratic enough,” says Föller. Due to the non-transparent and often slow processes, the link back to the voters would be lost. Many ideas are not pursued and important decisions are blocked by individual members.
The Young European Federalists are therefore calling for a right of initiative for the European Parliament, which would enable MEPs to introduce their own legislative proposals. In addition, they want to “make Europe tangible” – for example, through a transnational media network and transnational lists at the European elections.
To advance these ideas, Föller networks with stakeholders in national and European politics. She plans and moderates events, represents the Young European Federalists externally and works on resolutions and guidelines for the association – purely voluntarily. The 29-year-old earns her living at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
During her time as President of the Young European Federalists Germany, Föller has worked with almost all areas of European politics. However, the situation at the EU’s external borders is particularly close to her heart. “What is happening in the area of sea rescue does not correspond to my image of a humanitarian Europe,” she says. “Reforms are urgently needed here.”
Can she be a staunch European despite all the EU’s shortcomings? Clara Föller believes so. Criticism is nothing negative for her, just proof that you want to improve something: “In a democratic Europe that works from the bottom up, that is exactly our job.” Elisa Schwarze
It was the problem wolf GW 950 m. It killed Dolly, the 30-year-old pony of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in September in the paddock in the German town of Burgdorf. This was revealed by a genome examination. Rumor has it that the problem wolf from Lower Saxony is to be hunted and killed.
Although wolves are strictly protected in the EU, they may be shot if they attack livestock. In the past wolf year, the “removal”, as it is called in officialese, was carried out twice in Germany.
Normally, wolves prey on wild ungulates. But sheep, goats, even horses and cattle are increasingly killed. Wolf packs spread more and more because they have no natural predators. Farmers, therefore, demand to loosen the strict protection status. Environmental lobbyists accuse von der Leyen of planning to do just that.
That is wrong. They misinterpret her letter to the members of the German CDU/CSU group. In the letter, she does not for instance announce to reopen the Habitats Directive, where the protection of the wolf is anchored in Annex IV.
Instead, she shows sympathy for the concerns of farmers. Farmers take care of the cultivated landscapes, for example on the dikes and on alpine pastures, where they keep sheep and goats. They increasingly lose parts of their herds and give up in frustration. In the letter, von der Leyen pointed to the potential for more active wolf control offered by the Habitats Directive.
France and Sweden have long since introduced upper limits for wolf populations. Hunters are dispatched once their numbers exceed 400 and 500, respectively. According to official figures, 1175 wolves live in Germany. The exact number is probably even higher because the number is based on estimates and wolves tend to be very elusive.
When measured by total area, Germany’s wolf population has reached a level where the French and Swedish authorities would have long taken action. So far, the government in Berlin, including under Angel Merkel, has argued that their hands were tied by EU legislation. With her letter, von der Leyen pointed out that this was not the case. The message from Brussels to Berlin is: You just have to want it. Markus Grabitz
“They accuse everyone that talks to them or engages of corruption,” Eva Kaili, one of the vice presidents of the European Parliament, had said in a speech about Qatar just last November. Last Friday, an arrest warrant was issued against her: On suspicion of corruption and money laundering. Markus Grabitz has the reactions from Parliament.
After months of negotiations, an agreement on the Battery Regulation was reached on Friday between the Commission, Parliament and Council. The regulation is supposed to be nothing less than a “benchmark for the global battery market,” writes Leonie Düngefeld, analyzing the guidelines.
Since the announcement one year ago, not much has happened on Global Gateway. The EU infrastructure initiative is supposed to be Europe’s answer to the New Silk Road, but there is no sign of this, writes Amelie Richter in her analysis. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with EU foreign ministers Sunday evening for a much-needed stocktaking.
A quick look to Canada: There, the positions on the global agreement on the protection of ecological diversity continue to harden. An extension of the negotiation period is considered a certainty, as Timo Landenberger reports from Montreal.
An arrest warrant has been issued for MEP Eva Kaili (S&D), one of 14 vice presidents of the European Parliament, on suspicion of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization. The 44-year-old Greek socialist was apparently caught committing a crime by Belgian police in Brussels on Friday.
According to information obtained by Europe.Table, the European Parliament did previously not lift her immunity as an MEP. The arrest of an MEP without lifting immunity is only possible if the MEP is caught committing a crime.
Arrest warrants have also been issued for three other individuals, including her partner and a staff member from the European Parliament. Kaili’s father, who was apprehended leaving a hotel with a large amount of cash, and the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Luca Visentini, who was also arrested earlier, have been conditionally released.
Kaili is accused of accepting a bribe from a Gulf state. The country in question is said to be Qatar. Parliament Speaker Roberta Metsola, in charge of IT, stripped Kaili of all her rights. The parliamentary group suspended her, and her party Pasok expelled her.
It is not clear what exactly Kaili is accused of. On Nov. 22, she gave a speech in Parliament in which she called World Cup host country Qatar a “pioneer in labor rights.” Despite this, critics would “harass them and accuse anyone who speaks or engages with them of corruption.”
The first consequence of the scandal was drawn immediately: The planned visa liberalization for the population of the Gulf state will not happen. Erik Marquardt (Greens), rapporteur for Qatar, Kuwait and Oman visa facilitation: “The planned vote on this will either be referred back to the Interior Committee to draw the proper consequences, or we vote as a parliament against visa facilitation.”
The debate about the consequences for transparency rules has opened in the European Parliament. Daniel Freund (Greens) acknowledges that the European Parliament already has very far-reaching rules. He is in favor of stricter regulations. Contacts with representatives of third countries are so far not covered by the transparency rules. Here, Freund calls for the EU to make improvements: “Lobbying from third countries must be included in the lobby register, meetings with representatives of third countries must be made public.”
Rainer Wieland (CDU), one of 14 vice presidents of parliament, disagrees with Freund: “I’m against changing the rules on the fly.” If the accusations are true, the Kaili case is scandalous. But an individual case should not be used as a reason to “restrict the rules for the free mandate.”
“Communication channels between representatives of third countries and parliamentarians must be possible,” Wieland points out. Daniel Caspary, head of the German CDU/CSU group, tweeted, “No transparency rules will help against what Kaili is accused of.” He continued, “What she is accused of would be a huge mess and illegal.”
Under the current rules, rapporteurs, shadow rapporteurs and committee chairs must publish online meetings with lobbyists on dossiers they are working on. All other MEPs are required to disclose their lobbying contacts.
It is to become nothing less than a “benchmark for the entire global battery market“, a “blueprint for many future laws”: On Friday afternoon, negotiators from the Commission, Council and Parliament announced their agreement on the new EU Battery Regulation. The goal is to set standards for a more sustainable battery design, boost the material cycle and strengthen the battery and recycling industry.
Since April, the trilogue partners have been negotiating. The last sticking points were the regulations on due diligence as well as the concrete targets and deadlines for collection, recycling and material recovery.
“We agreed on measures that greatly benefit consumers: Batteries will be well-functioning, safer and easier to remove,” said Achille Variati (S&D), rapporteur in the Environment Committee in Parliament. “For the first time, we have circular economy legislation that covers the entire life cycle of a product – this approach is good for both the environment and the economy.”
Variati succeeded Simona Bonafè (S&D) in November, who moved to the Italian Parliament. Bonafè presented her report in February, and the EU Parliament adopted it in March. Variati raised the ambition of the draft, particularly with regard to due diligence, collection targets and the interchangeability of batteries.
The provisional agreement covers portable batteries, SLI batteries (primarily used in vehicles and machines), light means of transport (LMT) batteries (electric scooters and bikes), electric vehicle (EV) batteries and industrial batteries. Among others, the following requirements will apply to them:
Shadow rapporteur Malte Gallée (Greens) is also pleased. “We were able to successfully push through our main points during the trilogue negotiations,” he said. These include significantly higher recycling targets for lithium, the requirement that portable batteries be replaceable by consumers in almost all cases, and the inclusion of e-scooter and e-bike batteries. “Likewise, prohibiting the sale of low-quality portable batteries by banning lead is a major Green success.”
The draft regulation, intended to replace the previous directive on batteries and accumulators from 2006, was published by the Commission in December 2020. The new regulation pursues three overarching goals:
The regulation is of strategic importance for the EU in the context of digitalization, the transition of energy and mobility, and the heavy dependence on third countries for required raw materials. According to forecasts by the World Economic Forum, global battery demand will increase by a factor of 19 by 2030 compared to the demand in 2019. The automotive industry will account for the majority of this.
The provisional agreement must now be approved and formally adopted by the Council and Parliament.
One year after the announcement of Global Gateway, Brussels wants to inject more momentum into what has been a rather lackluster EU infrastructure initiative. On Sunday evening, a panel chaired by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen convened for the first time to take stock of the implementation of the Global Gateway strategy.
The EU wants to use Global Gateway to offer an alternative to China’s multi-billion Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and to present itself as a global geopolitical player. The review is urgently needed – because Global Gateway still lacks the necessary political weight.
Besides von der Leyen, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell, Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen were also present at the meeting. And especially important: all EU foreign ministers. Because the implementation of Global Gateway relies on cooperation between Brussels and the EU capitals. So far, however, there has been little sign of cooperation.
Making the cooperation between the EU Commission and the German government more visible is now also a demand of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Parliament. Berlin must “contribute funding for concrete projects to this initiative as soon as possible” and inform the German Parliament about them in a timely manner, according to a motion by the parliamentary group, which is available to Table.Media and is scheduled to be voted on in the plenary session this Friday. The parliamentary group also demands that Global Gateway should drive new trade agreements. The initiative must be seen more as a strategic investment than development aid, is the demand.
This is an important point. After all, almost everything the EU Commission has promised under the new label since the announcement of Global Gateway in December 2021 were previously planned development projects. Most recently, The Global Gala in the Metaverse was the subject of much ridicule, after only six guests attended. According to media reports, the Brussels authority had spent 387,000 euros on the event. Strategic investments look different.
The German government could now quickly comply with the request anyway: The German governing coalition is preparing a list of 20 lighthouse projects for Global Gateway, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported in its Monday edition.
Money is definitely available. “The problem is not lack of funding,” EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin told Table Media. As special envoy, she was responsible for “connectivity” at the European External Action Service (EEAS) from early 2019 until September of this year. This involved improving connections with trading partners in other parts of the world. She says it should be understood that the projects are intended to strengthen the competitiveness of both the EU and the partner countries in the long term.
There will be no replacement for her position, as EEAS confirmed. Her responsibilities have been fully absorbed into Global Gateway. The Directorate General for International Partnerships (INTPA) is now responsible for connectivity and consequently for Global Gateway.
Even after the reorganization, Vlahutin criticizes the lack of bundled expertise to get the initiative rolling. “I have always stressed that we need a proper task force that also reflects the strategic nature of the initiative and includes different types of expertise.” Involving the private sector, she said, has been key to creating the necessary financial scale. Now, it would be a matter of using that leverage skillfully: “Strategic investments follow a different logic than development aid and require a different methodology.”
Aside from insufficient staff, Global Gateway is also struggling with dialogue with potential partner countries. “We need a strategic discussion with our partners together with our industry to find a way to combine interests.” The clock is ticking. Because things will not get easier for Global Gateway in the future, Vlahutin is certain. Inflation and market volatility currently complicate large investments in developing countries.
Nadine Godehardt, a researcher with the Asia Research Group at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), has also observed that Global Gateway lost momentum since its announcement. On the infrastructure initiative’s first birthday, Godehardt draws a sobering picture: “This project simply has not yet made much progress.”
But potential is definitely there, believes Godehardt. “Combining everything under one label is a good idea in itself.” But communicating it to individual EU capitals has worked poorly so far. “Beyond general documentation, there is very little information on the initiative,” Godehardt says. In her opinion, a kind of central “Global Gateway Research Hub” would be helpful for this. The initiative does have a website. However, it only lists general information. “The rest is all lost in the jungle of the EU website,” complains the SWP scientist.
It was at an event organized by the German Federal Youth Council in Berlin where Clara Föller first heard about the Young European Federalists (JEF). “At the time, I was still politically homeless,” the 29-year-old says. She had long been searching for a way to become active, but she couldn’t identify with a party.
That evening, Föller had a long talk with the then-national chairman Malte Steuber about the activities of JEF Germany, one of 30 national sections of the Young European Federalists. The organization’s goals are to strengthen awareness for Europe and to advance democracy at the EU level. Föller was convinced. Two months after the conversation, she applied for membership – and today, just under three years later, she heads the German association herself.
Raised in the German town of Bad Homburg, Föller spent a year in Italy after finishing school, and then studied political science and Turkish studies in Hamburg, Mainz, Frankfurt and Bologna. Her first memories of the concept of Europe date back to her childhood. During summer vacations, she had often traveled to Austria to visit a friend whose grandparents lived in southern Germany. “I never understood back then why there was a border between her and her family,” says Föller.
As its President, she now wants to ensure that such borders lose their significance. “European federal state” is the name of the JEF’s long-term plan: a united, federal Europe with a common constitution that puts citizens at the center.
“At the moment, the EU is not democratic enough,” says Föller. Due to the non-transparent and often slow processes, the link back to the voters would be lost. Many ideas are not pursued and important decisions are blocked by individual members.
The Young European Federalists are therefore calling for a right of initiative for the European Parliament, which would enable MEPs to introduce their own legislative proposals. In addition, they want to “make Europe tangible” – for example, through a transnational media network and transnational lists at the European elections.
To advance these ideas, Föller networks with stakeholders in national and European politics. She plans and moderates events, represents the Young European Federalists externally and works on resolutions and guidelines for the association – purely voluntarily. The 29-year-old earns her living at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
During her time as President of the Young European Federalists Germany, Föller has worked with almost all areas of European politics. However, the situation at the EU’s external borders is particularly close to her heart. “What is happening in the area of sea rescue does not correspond to my image of a humanitarian Europe,” she says. “Reforms are urgently needed here.”
Can she be a staunch European despite all the EU’s shortcomings? Clara Föller believes so. Criticism is nothing negative for her, just proof that you want to improve something: “In a democratic Europe that works from the bottom up, that is exactly our job.” Elisa Schwarze
It was the problem wolf GW 950 m. It killed Dolly, the 30-year-old pony of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in September in the paddock in the German town of Burgdorf. This was revealed by a genome examination. Rumor has it that the problem wolf from Lower Saxony is to be hunted and killed.
Although wolves are strictly protected in the EU, they may be shot if they attack livestock. In the past wolf year, the “removal”, as it is called in officialese, was carried out twice in Germany.
Normally, wolves prey on wild ungulates. But sheep, goats, even horses and cattle are increasingly killed. Wolf packs spread more and more because they have no natural predators. Farmers, therefore, demand to loosen the strict protection status. Environmental lobbyists accuse von der Leyen of planning to do just that.
That is wrong. They misinterpret her letter to the members of the German CDU/CSU group. In the letter, she does not for instance announce to reopen the Habitats Directive, where the protection of the wolf is anchored in Annex IV.
Instead, she shows sympathy for the concerns of farmers. Farmers take care of the cultivated landscapes, for example on the dikes and on alpine pastures, where they keep sheep and goats. They increasingly lose parts of their herds and give up in frustration. In the letter, von der Leyen pointed to the potential for more active wolf control offered by the Habitats Directive.
France and Sweden have long since introduced upper limits for wolf populations. Hunters are dispatched once their numbers exceed 400 and 500, respectively. According to official figures, 1175 wolves live in Germany. The exact number is probably even higher because the number is based on estimates and wolves tend to be very elusive.
When measured by total area, Germany’s wolf population has reached a level where the French and Swedish authorities would have long taken action. So far, the government in Berlin, including under Angel Merkel, has argued that their hands were tied by EU legislation. With her letter, von der Leyen pointed out that this was not the case. The message from Brussels to Berlin is: You just have to want it. Markus Grabitz
