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The regulation on EU tariffs on electric vehicles from China is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the EU on Wednesday afternoon, and the time will come on Thursday: Manufacturers will have to pay tariffs of up to 35% on imported vehicles unless the Commission and the Chinese government agree on other remedial measures before then. But there are currently few signs of this happening.
The EU side wants assurances from manufacturers that they will not sell their individual models in Europe below a specific minimum price. However, Beijing rejects this – probably also out of concern that this would set a precedent for other industries. On Monday, the Beijing Ministry of Commerce once again warned the Commission against negotiating directly with the manufacturers.
It remains to be seen how Beijing will react to the countervailing duties. For its part, the government could get serious and impose higher tariffs on brandy, pork and dairy products from the EU. The Ministry of Trade had also brought higher import duties for vehicles with an engine capacity of 2.5 liters or more into play – that would be a nightmare for German premium manufacturers.
However, the Chinese leadership is unlikely to have any interest in allowing the trade conflict with the Europeans to escalate so shortly before the presidential election in the US. If Donald Trump wins there, Beijing could still need the EU. It is therefore more likely that Brussels and Beijing will continue to negotiate after Wednesday, as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already offered to do.
Viktor Orbán traveled to Tbilisi on Monday under protest from his European partners. The pro-Russian “Georgian Dream” party won the parliamentary elections there on Saturday with controversial results. Even before the official announcement of the results, Hungary’s Prime Minister had already congratulated Viktor Orbán on his “overwhelming victory”. According to Orbán’s government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, he was coming on a two-day visit at the invitation of Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and would be accompanied by his Minister of Economy and Foreign Affairs.
Orbán does not speak for the EU and his visit does not reflect the position of the Union, emphasized EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell. The Presidency of the Council, which is rotated among the member states every six months, does not confer any authority in foreign policy. Minister of State Anna Lührmann (Greens) expressed a similar view: “With regard to Viktor Orbán’s uncoordinated visit to Tbilisi, it is true that he speaks exclusively for himself and not for the EU.”
The reaction from the permanent EU Council President Charles Michel was similar. He had announced that Georgia would be placed on the agenda of the informal Council meeting in Budapest on Nov. 8 at short notice and called for a swift, transparent investigation into electoral irregularities by the competent authorities. “We reiterate the EU’s call to Georgia’s leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the country’s EU course”, Michel wrote on X on Sunday.
Some heads of state and government are likely to demand new sanctions in Budapest, for example against the Georgian oligarch and entrepreneur Bidzina Ivanishvili . Ivanishvili is one of the richest men in Georgia. In 2011, he founded the citizens’ movement that later became “Georgian Dream”. He was Prime Minister from 2012 to 2013. Despite his retirement from politics, he continues to wield great influence. However, punitive measures against him require unanimity.
In an initial statement, Borrell also reacted much more cautiously than the election observers on site. The Spaniard wrote of a generally well-organized and administered ballot, but one that had taken place in a tense atmosphere. He called on the electoral authorities to investigate reports of irregularities. The EU is awaiting the final report and recommendations from the OSCE/ODIHR.
In response to the adoption of the so-called “Agents Act“, the USA and the EU member states had considered targeted sanctions against government representatives involved in the adoption of the law, as well as restrictions on financial aid and visa-free travel. However, the EU member states were unable to reach an agreement, which is probably also due to Orbán’s good relations with the Georgian Dream party.
Opposition politicians and civil society organizations called on the West to sanction Ivanishvili, his children living abroad and close associates. Specifically, the EU and the United States should impose financial sanctions and freeze their assets.
This is the only effective way to stop the de-democratization of the country, says Sergo Chikhladze from the opposition alliance Coalition of Unity to Table.Briefings. Ivanishvili is a “criminal” who only maintains his position of power with money from Russia and represents anti-Western resentment, says Zaza Bibliashvili, Chairman of the Board of the Chavchavadze Center for European Studies and Civic Education.
On Monday evening, several thousand Georgians protested peacefully outside the parliament in Tbilisi against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Georgia’s pro-Western president Salome Zurabishvili had called for protests on Sunday after numerous cases of electoral fraud and influence peddling from the pro-Russian camp had come to light.
The Moscow-friendly ruling party Georgian Dream won the election with 54% of the vote according to controversial figures from the Central Election Committee – the highest result since 2012, when Georgian Dream became the ruling party for the first time. In the meantime, the party has lost significant support among the population, which makes the result appear dubious to observers.
Zurabishvili and numerous other politicians therefore spoke of “vote theft”. “We were witnesses and victims of a Russian special operation“, she said. Politicians from several opposition alliances had announced that they would not take their seats in parliament so as not to legitimize the ruling party’s victory.
The text was written during a research trip to Georgia. The trip was organized and financed by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
At 12 p.m. sharp on Monday afternoon, Mark Rutte walked purposefully towards the podium at the NATO headquarters. “Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk”, said the NATO Secretary General. The Pyongyang-Moscow axis would not only represent a “significant escalation”, but also a “dangerous expansion of the Russian war of aggression“.
Shortly before, Rutte had exchanged views with high-ranking representatives of the South Korean intelligence service and the Ministry of Defense. The intelligence service assumes that North Korea will send 10,000 soldiers to Russia by December. Around 3,000 are believed to already be in the country and are being prepared for a war mission. Initial estimates suggest that these are not the usual foot soldiers of the 1.3 million-strong People’s Army – those who are often malnourished and poorly trained.
Instead, it is believed that dictator Kim Jong-un is deploying a total of four brigades from the notorious 11th Army Corps of the North Korean People’s Army – a special unit of at least 40,000 soldiers with skills comparable to those of the US Army’s Rangers. “These units are probably North Korean elite soldiers who have certain special skills“, commented Chun In Bum, a retired lieutenant general in the South Korean army, recently. Kim had personally inspected units of the 11th Army Corps at least twice since September.
North Korea also likely supplies Russia with military technology. A recent study by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation on Monday estimates North Korean arms deliveries since the start of the full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine to be between $1.7 and $5.5 billion. The figures are based on intelligence reports and leaked documents.
The cooperation brings North Korea urgently needed foreign currency. The Central Bank in Seoul estimates North Korea’s economy to be just 23 billion US dollars. Kim’s mercenaries in Russia provide the regime with additional capital.
Beijing probably does not take kindly to the unprecedented rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow, if only because it reduces North Korea’s dependence on its powerful neighbor China. However, although China’s President Xi Jinping has always spoken out against the “bloc formation” of the Cold War era, the CP leadership has refrained from public criticism.
So far, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has tried to avoid the issue. In response to questions about North Korean soldiers in Russia, it simply says: “China is not aware of the situation.” However, reading between the lines reveals: The Chinese ambassador in Pyongyang, for example, was absent from a ceremony commemorating the end of the Korean War – just a few weeks after Kim and Putin signed a comprehensive military pact.
Because of its political sensitivity, the topic is treated with caution in China’s academic circles anyway. “Under immense pressure, North Korea and Russia are striving to restore Cold War-era blocs (…) with a strong intention of drawing China into their camp,” comments Feng Yujun, a historian at the renowned Peking University. But it is precisely this plan that is doomed to failure. He argues that the strength of Russia and North Korea is not enough to challenge NATO and its partner states in East Asia. Feng believes that Russia and North Korea could achieve short-term advantages, but the strategic disadvantages would outweigh this in the long term. He concludes that China should be careful not to cause unnecessary trouble.
But the fact is that the close cooperation between the neighbors poses an increasing potential threat to the region itself. “The Ukraine war has worsened the security situation in East Asia. Russia and North Korea are working to destabilize the international order,” said Frederic Spohr, head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Korea.
That is why Seoul wants to put the issue on the international agenda. North Korea’s soldiers in Russia have been the dominant topic for days now. It dominates newspaper front pages, opens the evening news on television and mobilizes the population to hold public rallies. The growing financial leeway for the North Korean regime and the combat experience of its soldiers are reasons why concerns about an escalation with the North are currently on the rise again in South Korea.
How Seoul should deal with this is a controversial issue in the country. For instance, the political left clearly opposes rapprochement with Ukraine – for fear of being drawn into an escalating conflict. The president “shouldn’t engage South Korea in a proxy war with North Korea to cause conflict in a faraway land,” said party leader Park Chan-dae, who leads the opposition Minjudang. Some members of parliament even believe that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s tough stance has actually pushed North Korea to forge closer ties with Russia. Fabian Kretschmer
The regulation on EU tariffs on electric vehicles from China is expected to be published in the Official Journal of the EU on Wednesday afternoon, and the time will come on Thursday: Manufacturers will have to pay tariffs of up to 35% on imported vehicles unless the Commission and the Chinese government agree on other remedial measures before then. But there are currently few signs of this happening.
The EU side wants assurances from manufacturers that they will not sell their individual models in Europe below a specific minimum price. However, Beijing rejects this – probably also out of concern that this would set a precedent for other industries. On Monday, the Beijing Ministry of Commerce once again warned the Commission against negotiating directly with the manufacturers.
It remains to be seen how Beijing will react to the countervailing duties. For its part, the government could get serious and impose higher tariffs on brandy, pork and dairy products from the EU. The Ministry of Trade had also brought higher import duties for vehicles with an engine capacity of 2.5 liters or more into play – that would be a nightmare for German premium manufacturers.
However, the Chinese leadership is unlikely to have any interest in allowing the trade conflict with the Europeans to escalate so shortly before the presidential election in the US. If Donald Trump wins there, Beijing could still need the EU. It is therefore more likely that Brussels and Beijing will continue to negotiate after Wednesday, as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already offered to do.
Viktor Orbán traveled to Tbilisi on Monday under protest from his European partners. The pro-Russian “Georgian Dream” party won the parliamentary elections there on Saturday with controversial results. Even before the official announcement of the results, Hungary’s Prime Minister had already congratulated Viktor Orbán on his “overwhelming victory”. According to Orbán’s government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, he was coming on a two-day visit at the invitation of Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and would be accompanied by his Minister of Economy and Foreign Affairs.
Orbán does not speak for the EU and his visit does not reflect the position of the Union, emphasized EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell. The Presidency of the Council, which is rotated among the member states every six months, does not confer any authority in foreign policy. Minister of State Anna Lührmann (Greens) expressed a similar view: “With regard to Viktor Orbán’s uncoordinated visit to Tbilisi, it is true that he speaks exclusively for himself and not for the EU.”
The reaction from the permanent EU Council President Charles Michel was similar. He had announced that Georgia would be placed on the agenda of the informal Council meeting in Budapest on Nov. 8 at short notice and called for a swift, transparent investigation into electoral irregularities by the competent authorities. “We reiterate the EU’s call to Georgia’s leaders to demonstrate their commitment to the country’s EU course”, Michel wrote on X on Sunday.
Some heads of state and government are likely to demand new sanctions in Budapest, for example against the Georgian oligarch and entrepreneur Bidzina Ivanishvili . Ivanishvili is one of the richest men in Georgia. In 2011, he founded the citizens’ movement that later became “Georgian Dream”. He was Prime Minister from 2012 to 2013. Despite his retirement from politics, he continues to wield great influence. However, punitive measures against him require unanimity.
In an initial statement, Borrell also reacted much more cautiously than the election observers on site. The Spaniard wrote of a generally well-organized and administered ballot, but one that had taken place in a tense atmosphere. He called on the electoral authorities to investigate reports of irregularities. The EU is awaiting the final report and recommendations from the OSCE/ODIHR.
In response to the adoption of the so-called “Agents Act“, the USA and the EU member states had considered targeted sanctions against government representatives involved in the adoption of the law, as well as restrictions on financial aid and visa-free travel. However, the EU member states were unable to reach an agreement, which is probably also due to Orbán’s good relations with the Georgian Dream party.
Opposition politicians and civil society organizations called on the West to sanction Ivanishvili, his children living abroad and close associates. Specifically, the EU and the United States should impose financial sanctions and freeze their assets.
This is the only effective way to stop the de-democratization of the country, says Sergo Chikhladze from the opposition alliance Coalition of Unity to Table.Briefings. Ivanishvili is a “criminal” who only maintains his position of power with money from Russia and represents anti-Western resentment, says Zaza Bibliashvili, Chairman of the Board of the Chavchavadze Center for European Studies and Civic Education.
On Monday evening, several thousand Georgians protested peacefully outside the parliament in Tbilisi against the ruling Georgian Dream party. Georgia’s pro-Western president Salome Zurabishvili had called for protests on Sunday after numerous cases of electoral fraud and influence peddling from the pro-Russian camp had come to light.
The Moscow-friendly ruling party Georgian Dream won the election with 54% of the vote according to controversial figures from the Central Election Committee – the highest result since 2012, when Georgian Dream became the ruling party for the first time. In the meantime, the party has lost significant support among the population, which makes the result appear dubious to observers.
Zurabishvili and numerous other politicians therefore spoke of “vote theft”. “We were witnesses and victims of a Russian special operation“, she said. Politicians from several opposition alliances had announced that they would not take their seats in parliament so as not to legitimize the ruling party’s victory.
The text was written during a research trip to Georgia. The trip was organized and financed by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.
At 12 p.m. sharp on Monday afternoon, Mark Rutte walked purposefully towards the podium at the NATO headquarters. “Today, I can confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk”, said the NATO Secretary General. The Pyongyang-Moscow axis would not only represent a “significant escalation”, but also a “dangerous expansion of the Russian war of aggression“.
Shortly before, Rutte had exchanged views with high-ranking representatives of the South Korean intelligence service and the Ministry of Defense. The intelligence service assumes that North Korea will send 10,000 soldiers to Russia by December. Around 3,000 are believed to already be in the country and are being prepared for a war mission. Initial estimates suggest that these are not the usual foot soldiers of the 1.3 million-strong People’s Army – those who are often malnourished and poorly trained.
Instead, it is believed that dictator Kim Jong-un is deploying a total of four brigades from the notorious 11th Army Corps of the North Korean People’s Army – a special unit of at least 40,000 soldiers with skills comparable to those of the US Army’s Rangers. “These units are probably North Korean elite soldiers who have certain special skills“, commented Chun In Bum, a retired lieutenant general in the South Korean army, recently. Kim had personally inspected units of the 11th Army Corps at least twice since September.
North Korea also likely supplies Russia with military technology. A recent study by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation on Monday estimates North Korean arms deliveries since the start of the full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine to be between $1.7 and $5.5 billion. The figures are based on intelligence reports and leaked documents.
The cooperation brings North Korea urgently needed foreign currency. The Central Bank in Seoul estimates North Korea’s economy to be just 23 billion US dollars. Kim’s mercenaries in Russia provide the regime with additional capital.
Beijing probably does not take kindly to the unprecedented rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow, if only because it reduces North Korea’s dependence on its powerful neighbor China. However, although China’s President Xi Jinping has always spoken out against the “bloc formation” of the Cold War era, the CP leadership has refrained from public criticism.
So far, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has tried to avoid the issue. In response to questions about North Korean soldiers in Russia, it simply says: “China is not aware of the situation.” However, reading between the lines reveals: The Chinese ambassador in Pyongyang, for example, was absent from a ceremony commemorating the end of the Korean War – just a few weeks after Kim and Putin signed a comprehensive military pact.
Because of its political sensitivity, the topic is treated with caution in China’s academic circles anyway. “Under immense pressure, North Korea and Russia are striving to restore Cold War-era blocs (…) with a strong intention of drawing China into their camp,” comments Feng Yujun, a historian at the renowned Peking University. But it is precisely this plan that is doomed to failure. He argues that the strength of Russia and North Korea is not enough to challenge NATO and its partner states in East Asia. Feng believes that Russia and North Korea could achieve short-term advantages, but the strategic disadvantages would outweigh this in the long term. He concludes that China should be careful not to cause unnecessary trouble.
But the fact is that the close cooperation between the neighbors poses an increasing potential threat to the region itself. “The Ukraine war has worsened the security situation in East Asia. Russia and North Korea are working to destabilize the international order,” said Frederic Spohr, head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Korea.
That is why Seoul wants to put the issue on the international agenda. North Korea’s soldiers in Russia have been the dominant topic for days now. It dominates newspaper front pages, opens the evening news on television and mobilizes the population to hold public rallies. The growing financial leeway for the North Korean regime and the combat experience of its soldiers are reasons why concerns about an escalation with the North are currently on the rise again in South Korea.
How Seoul should deal with this is a controversial issue in the country. For instance, the political left clearly opposes rapprochement with Ukraine – for fear of being drawn into an escalating conflict. The president “shouldn’t engage South Korea in a proxy war with North Korea to cause conflict in a faraway land,” said party leader Park Chan-dae, who leads the opposition Minjudang. Some members of parliament even believe that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s tough stance has actually pushed North Korea to forge closer ties with Russia. Fabian Kretschmer