It is quite a sizable EU delegation that will be received by US President Joe Biden and his team in Washington today. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is accompanied by her Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and her Deputy, Věra Jourová, who is responsible for digital issues. European Council President Charles Michel has also bolstered his delegation with the presence of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
However, whether the second EU-US summit in this term will yield significant results remains uncertain. Both sides reportedly fell far short of concluding the intended agreements on steel, aluminum and critical raw materials. Instead of firm agreements, Biden and his Brussels guests may only present a statement on their further course of action.
Negotiations have recently stalled for two reasons: persistent differences in opinions and time constraints. The Israel-Palestine conflict has absorbed much attention, with Biden’s recent trip to Israel diverting the White House’s focus from trade deals with the EU.
Bringing the positions together is also proving challenging. The US wants the EU to initiate an investigation into global overcapacity in the steel and aluminum industries, with tariffs of 25 percent on steel products and 10 percent on aluminum products – primarily aimed at China, Washington’s rival. In return, the Commission is demanding the permanent removal of the corresponding tariffs imposed on its metal exports during the Trump era – an issue that raises significant concerns in the US Congress. The EU side also insists that the agreement must be compatible with World Trade Organization rules.
Negotiations on a deal regarding critical raw materials have been ongoing for several months. An agreement on battery raw materials, for instance, would significantly benefit the automotive industry. It would recognize the EU as an equal trade partner in the Inflation Reduction Act, making it easier for manufacturers to meet the extraction criteria.
These two major points of contention are likely to dominate the meeting. Americans and Europeans aim to demonstrate their united support for Israel while calling on Tel Aviv to protect civilians. Furthermore, they are expected to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and coordinate their approach to circumventing Russian sanctions.
The “Parliament 2024” working group is preparing a comprehensive reform of parliamentary work. This is the first reform since 1999 and it covers internal processes and the Parliament’s external relations, among other things. The working group, led by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, is set to complete its work on Nov. 22. The group is focusing on five key areas:
The working group will propose concrete reforms to legislative processes. The aim is to improve the collaboration of committees in legislative procedures, thereby expediting legislative work. For instance, the legislative process for the Commission’s proposals on artificial intelligence and supply chains involved seven committees, which were occupied until the Parliament formed its position for negotiations with the co-legislator. The voting process was time-consuming and complex. As a result, the “mixed committees” procedure (Article 58 of the Rules of Procedure) is expected to be simplified.
In the future, no more than three committees with exclusive responsibilities will be involved in a legislative procedure. The co-chair position will be abolished, replaced by:
The working group is considering the establishment of an “ad-hoc legislative committee” for cross-cutting legislative proposals falling under the exclusive competence of more than three committees. The size of these non-permanent ad-hoc legislative committees would depend on the number and size of participating committees. A formula considering the involved committees’ size will be used to determine the number of members automatically, thus preventing negotiations on the committee’s size before its formation.
For committees that are not the lead on a legislative proposal, a new form of opinion is proposed, replacing the existing “opinion”. The possibility for a non-lead committee to provide an opinion will no longer be automatic but will depend on clear criteria regarding whether the legislative proposal genuinely falls within the committee’s competence.
Non-lead committees are to be involved via the participation of the co-rapporteur in the meetings of the shadow committees and the preparatory meetings for the trilogues. In addition, the committee responsible is to be required to vote on amendments proposed by the committees asked for an opinion. If the committee asked for an opinion fails with a motion, a second attempt is possible in plenary.
The reform also addresses the Parliament’s external relations. Currently, there are 44 delegations handling relationships with individual countries, groups of countries, and parliamentary assemblies. A proposal on the table suggests a significant reduction in the number of delegations. The size of delegation memberships will also see a substantial reduction. In the future, members will need to be part of the Foreign Affairs Committee to be appointed to a delegation, as opposed to the current practice where any member can join a delegation.
A trilogue is an informal mediation process involving the co-legislators, the Parliament and the Council, with the Commission’s participation. Trilogues have now entirely replaced the formal conciliation procedure. Until now, various rules and standards have been applied during trilogue meetings depending on the committee. In some committees, only the two lead negotiators from the Council and the Parliament would negotiate behind closed doors, while in other committees, the entire negotiating teams would participate. Private negotiations between just two participants will be prohibited in the future.
Clear criteria for distinguishing technical trilogues, where discussions are at the staff level, and political trilogues, where discussions involve elected officials, will be established. In the past, trilogues sometimes couldn’t take place due to the lack of suitable rooms. Measures will be taken to address this issue.
Regarding budget and discharge powers, the proposal suggests that the Parliament should primarily focus on the Commission’s budget and its discharge.
Efforts are being made to make plenary debates more engaging. Since this mandate, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) no longer speak from their assigned seats but rather from a central lectern. There’s a consideration to abolish the fixed seating arrangements for MEPs. Allowing MEPs to choose their seats might encourage them to sit closer together, reducing the impression that the chamber is often empty. Additionally, speaking times might be revised. For instance, if an MEP speaks for a shorter duration than their allotted time, their political group could send additional speakers to the debate.
The “Parliament 2024” working group, led by Roberta Metsola, consists of two members from the EPP, S&D and Renew groups, and one member from the Greens, ECR, Left and ID groups, in addition to Bernd Lange (SPD), who leads the Conference of Committee Chairs (CPCO), and Salvatore de Meo, who heads the Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO). These reforms are intended to be adopted by the AFCO and the plenary before the end of this parliamentary term, with the aim of implementing them in the next legislative period.
Initially, European companies are encouraged to provide further evidence of unfair practices, as stated in the draft of the European Wind Energy Action Plan by the Brussels authority. It mentions that if justified, the Commission will employ its trade defense instruments.
The new wind package aims to secure the achievement of climate goals but is primarily a response to Chinese subsidies for their turbine manufacturers. In mid-September, President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced a comprehensive investigation into EVs from China in her State of the European Union (SOTEU) address, which could result in tariffs. Subsequently, Industrial Commissioner Thierry Breton hinted at a similar procedure for the wind industry.
As a short-term measure, the EU Commission is urging member states to swiftly implement the new approval simplifications for wind parks from the recently adopted amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). National governments are expected to provide detailed reports on their implementation to the Commission, and organizational support is promised in return.
Simone Peter, President of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), states, “The German government must make use of the short-term designation of so-called accelerated development zones for renewable energy, including existing areas such as wind priority areas, so that they can quickly benefit from the simplified procedures.”
Until RED III is transposed into national law, the Commission appears to support an extension of a similarly effective emergency mechanism from the time of the energy crisis, which is set to expire in mid-2024. The final evaluation with a recommendation to the Council of member states is expected in November.
Although the action plan does not envision controversial local content rules that would directly favor European manufacturers, preparations are currently underway with the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) to establish tender criteria that would have a similar effect.
By March 2024, the Commission aims to present guidelines for such criteria, serving purposes such as cybersecurity, equipment longevity and recyclability – areas where European manufacturers are seen as leaders. In the medium term, the Commission may make the criteria catalog mandatory under an implementing act of the NZIA, the authority now announces.
The Commission also hints at flexibility regarding overly stringent price requirements in tenders. Bid limits that lead to under-subscribed tenders will be “addressed”, and the consequences of negative bid prices will be “evaluated”. Additionally, bids could automatically be linked to inflation to prevent project cancellations due to component price increases.
The Commission aims to improve financing conditions. For instance, the funding volume for wind turbine production facilities will be doubled to 1.4 billion euros in the next round of the Innovation Fund on Nov. 23. Furthermore, by the end of the year, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will establish its own guarantee line to enable banks to secure their loans for wind turbine manufacturers.
There is no dispute about the goal, but the path remains contentious. During the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Thursday, it became evident once again how significant the differences are among the member states. The debate revolves around issues that have been considered problematic since the proposal was first introduced. It concerns whether end-to-end encryption should be bypassed by law and whether providers should automatically search user content to identify depictions of child sexual abuse.
Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee sided with Johansson, saying, “Ireland strongly supports this regulation. It is highly frustrating that we are depending on the US to send us reports about the abuse of our own citizens. It is crucial to adopt European rules now.” However, Austrian Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner emphasized that the CSA regulation must be designed in accordance with fundamental rights.
Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer also called for strengthening certain aspects related to legal certainty and personal integrity to achieve the right balance in the proposal. Estonian Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets noted, “We have consistently emphasized the importance of protecting children, including against backdoors in encryption.”
German Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) stressed that the protection of children is of utmost importance. It is essential to find a solution beyond the voluntary self-regulation of providers by April. However, there are still questions to be answered regarding methodology, such as the search for encrypted communication. Then, an agreement regarding the CSA regulation can be reached in the best interest of children.
Currently, it is unclear whether the CSA dossier, in its current form, is agreeable. There is a discussion about the possibility of splitting the regulation, excluding the most contentious parts related to content monitoring, encryption, and age verification.
FDP Member of the European Parliament Moritz Körner sees this as the best solution: “Those who really want to achieve something for child protection would now pass the less controversial parts of the law and bury the mass surveillance of chat control,” says Körner to Table.Media. “However, this insight has not yet prevailed within the European Commission. Instead, von der Leyen and her Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Johansson, continue to push for the law somehow.” Support for this approach also comes from the German Bundestag, such as from the Green digital policy spokesperson Tobias Bacherle.
Given the strong opposition, Johansson appeared irritated during the Council meeting: “Children need protection, and we must protect them, and the most effective means for this is the internet because we can find the perpetrators there.” A Eurobarometer survey shows that a strong, silent majority of 80 percent of Europeans support mandatory content monitoring by providers, even in encrypted environments. Johansson pointed out that she knows there are outspoken opposing views, but it is essential to listen to the silent majority.
However, Johansson overlooks how the questions in the survey were formulated. Some are leading questions, such as: “The exchange of material related to child sexual abuse should be detected and investigated to save the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice (…). To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?” The entire questionnaire for the Eurobarometer survey is formulated contrary to social science standards.
In recent weeks, strong criticism has been voiced regarding Johansson’s proposal and her methods. She has been accused of actively seeking proximity to well-known American actor and investor Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher is among the investors of Thorn, a US start-up officially designated as a non-profit organization. However, it generates millions in revenue with detection mechanisms for suspected child sexual abuse, as reported by the “Follow the Money” portal.
Additionally, Kutcher is under massive criticism in the United States. The self-proclaimed child protector wrote a letter on behalf of a friend and fellow actor in a court case, attesting to the friend’s good character, which was meant to have a mitigating effect. However, the accused was sentenced to 30 years in prison for rape. As a Thorn representative in recent years, Kutcher met a multitude of politicians in the EU, and he subsequently resigned from his positions at the company and publicly apologized.
For Ylva Johansson and her proposal, this loss came at an inconvenient time. She lost the most prominent supporter for the regulation with Kutcher.
It is quite a sizable EU delegation that will be received by US President Joe Biden and his team in Washington today. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is accompanied by her Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and her Deputy, Věra Jourová, who is responsible for digital issues. European Council President Charles Michel has also bolstered his delegation with the presence of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.
However, whether the second EU-US summit in this term will yield significant results remains uncertain. Both sides reportedly fell far short of concluding the intended agreements on steel, aluminum and critical raw materials. Instead of firm agreements, Biden and his Brussels guests may only present a statement on their further course of action.
Negotiations have recently stalled for two reasons: persistent differences in opinions and time constraints. The Israel-Palestine conflict has absorbed much attention, with Biden’s recent trip to Israel diverting the White House’s focus from trade deals with the EU.
Bringing the positions together is also proving challenging. The US wants the EU to initiate an investigation into global overcapacity in the steel and aluminum industries, with tariffs of 25 percent on steel products and 10 percent on aluminum products – primarily aimed at China, Washington’s rival. In return, the Commission is demanding the permanent removal of the corresponding tariffs imposed on its metal exports during the Trump era – an issue that raises significant concerns in the US Congress. The EU side also insists that the agreement must be compatible with World Trade Organization rules.
Negotiations on a deal regarding critical raw materials have been ongoing for several months. An agreement on battery raw materials, for instance, would significantly benefit the automotive industry. It would recognize the EU as an equal trade partner in the Inflation Reduction Act, making it easier for manufacturers to meet the extraction criteria.
These two major points of contention are likely to dominate the meeting. Americans and Europeans aim to demonstrate their united support for Israel while calling on Tel Aviv to protect civilians. Furthermore, they are expected to reaffirm their support for Ukraine and coordinate their approach to circumventing Russian sanctions.
The “Parliament 2024” working group is preparing a comprehensive reform of parliamentary work. This is the first reform since 1999 and it covers internal processes and the Parliament’s external relations, among other things. The working group, led by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, is set to complete its work on Nov. 22. The group is focusing on five key areas:
The working group will propose concrete reforms to legislative processes. The aim is to improve the collaboration of committees in legislative procedures, thereby expediting legislative work. For instance, the legislative process for the Commission’s proposals on artificial intelligence and supply chains involved seven committees, which were occupied until the Parliament formed its position for negotiations with the co-legislator. The voting process was time-consuming and complex. As a result, the “mixed committees” procedure (Article 58 of the Rules of Procedure) is expected to be simplified.
In the future, no more than three committees with exclusive responsibilities will be involved in a legislative procedure. The co-chair position will be abolished, replaced by:
The working group is considering the establishment of an “ad-hoc legislative committee” for cross-cutting legislative proposals falling under the exclusive competence of more than three committees. The size of these non-permanent ad-hoc legislative committees would depend on the number and size of participating committees. A formula considering the involved committees’ size will be used to determine the number of members automatically, thus preventing negotiations on the committee’s size before its formation.
For committees that are not the lead on a legislative proposal, a new form of opinion is proposed, replacing the existing “opinion”. The possibility for a non-lead committee to provide an opinion will no longer be automatic but will depend on clear criteria regarding whether the legislative proposal genuinely falls within the committee’s competence.
Non-lead committees are to be involved via the participation of the co-rapporteur in the meetings of the shadow committees and the preparatory meetings for the trilogues. In addition, the committee responsible is to be required to vote on amendments proposed by the committees asked for an opinion. If the committee asked for an opinion fails with a motion, a second attempt is possible in plenary.
The reform also addresses the Parliament’s external relations. Currently, there are 44 delegations handling relationships with individual countries, groups of countries, and parliamentary assemblies. A proposal on the table suggests a significant reduction in the number of delegations. The size of delegation memberships will also see a substantial reduction. In the future, members will need to be part of the Foreign Affairs Committee to be appointed to a delegation, as opposed to the current practice where any member can join a delegation.
A trilogue is an informal mediation process involving the co-legislators, the Parliament and the Council, with the Commission’s participation. Trilogues have now entirely replaced the formal conciliation procedure. Until now, various rules and standards have been applied during trilogue meetings depending on the committee. In some committees, only the two lead negotiators from the Council and the Parliament would negotiate behind closed doors, while in other committees, the entire negotiating teams would participate. Private negotiations between just two participants will be prohibited in the future.
Clear criteria for distinguishing technical trilogues, where discussions are at the staff level, and political trilogues, where discussions involve elected officials, will be established. In the past, trilogues sometimes couldn’t take place due to the lack of suitable rooms. Measures will be taken to address this issue.
Regarding budget and discharge powers, the proposal suggests that the Parliament should primarily focus on the Commission’s budget and its discharge.
Efforts are being made to make plenary debates more engaging. Since this mandate, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) no longer speak from their assigned seats but rather from a central lectern. There’s a consideration to abolish the fixed seating arrangements for MEPs. Allowing MEPs to choose their seats might encourage them to sit closer together, reducing the impression that the chamber is often empty. Additionally, speaking times might be revised. For instance, if an MEP speaks for a shorter duration than their allotted time, their political group could send additional speakers to the debate.
The “Parliament 2024” working group, led by Roberta Metsola, consists of two members from the EPP, S&D and Renew groups, and one member from the Greens, ECR, Left and ID groups, in addition to Bernd Lange (SPD), who leads the Conference of Committee Chairs (CPCO), and Salvatore de Meo, who heads the Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO). These reforms are intended to be adopted by the AFCO and the plenary before the end of this parliamentary term, with the aim of implementing them in the next legislative period.
Initially, European companies are encouraged to provide further evidence of unfair practices, as stated in the draft of the European Wind Energy Action Plan by the Brussels authority. It mentions that if justified, the Commission will employ its trade defense instruments.
The new wind package aims to secure the achievement of climate goals but is primarily a response to Chinese subsidies for their turbine manufacturers. In mid-September, President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced a comprehensive investigation into EVs from China in her State of the European Union (SOTEU) address, which could result in tariffs. Subsequently, Industrial Commissioner Thierry Breton hinted at a similar procedure for the wind industry.
As a short-term measure, the EU Commission is urging member states to swiftly implement the new approval simplifications for wind parks from the recently adopted amendment to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). National governments are expected to provide detailed reports on their implementation to the Commission, and organizational support is promised in return.
Simone Peter, President of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), states, “The German government must make use of the short-term designation of so-called accelerated development zones for renewable energy, including existing areas such as wind priority areas, so that they can quickly benefit from the simplified procedures.”
Until RED III is transposed into national law, the Commission appears to support an extension of a similarly effective emergency mechanism from the time of the energy crisis, which is set to expire in mid-2024. The final evaluation with a recommendation to the Council of member states is expected in November.
Although the action plan does not envision controversial local content rules that would directly favor European manufacturers, preparations are currently underway with the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) to establish tender criteria that would have a similar effect.
By March 2024, the Commission aims to present guidelines for such criteria, serving purposes such as cybersecurity, equipment longevity and recyclability – areas where European manufacturers are seen as leaders. In the medium term, the Commission may make the criteria catalog mandatory under an implementing act of the NZIA, the authority now announces.
The Commission also hints at flexibility regarding overly stringent price requirements in tenders. Bid limits that lead to under-subscribed tenders will be “addressed”, and the consequences of negative bid prices will be “evaluated”. Additionally, bids could automatically be linked to inflation to prevent project cancellations due to component price increases.
The Commission aims to improve financing conditions. For instance, the funding volume for wind turbine production facilities will be doubled to 1.4 billion euros in the next round of the Innovation Fund on Nov. 23. Furthermore, by the end of the year, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will establish its own guarantee line to enable banks to secure their loans for wind turbine manufacturers.
There is no dispute about the goal, but the path remains contentious. During the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Thursday, it became evident once again how significant the differences are among the member states. The debate revolves around issues that have been considered problematic since the proposal was first introduced. It concerns whether end-to-end encryption should be bypassed by law and whether providers should automatically search user content to identify depictions of child sexual abuse.
Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee sided with Johansson, saying, “Ireland strongly supports this regulation. It is highly frustrating that we are depending on the US to send us reports about the abuse of our own citizens. It is crucial to adopt European rules now.” However, Austrian Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner emphasized that the CSA regulation must be designed in accordance with fundamental rights.
Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer also called for strengthening certain aspects related to legal certainty and personal integrity to achieve the right balance in the proposal. Estonian Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets noted, “We have consistently emphasized the importance of protecting children, including against backdoors in encryption.”
German Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) stressed that the protection of children is of utmost importance. It is essential to find a solution beyond the voluntary self-regulation of providers by April. However, there are still questions to be answered regarding methodology, such as the search for encrypted communication. Then, an agreement regarding the CSA regulation can be reached in the best interest of children.
Currently, it is unclear whether the CSA dossier, in its current form, is agreeable. There is a discussion about the possibility of splitting the regulation, excluding the most contentious parts related to content monitoring, encryption, and age verification.
FDP Member of the European Parliament Moritz Körner sees this as the best solution: “Those who really want to achieve something for child protection would now pass the less controversial parts of the law and bury the mass surveillance of chat control,” says Körner to Table.Media. “However, this insight has not yet prevailed within the European Commission. Instead, von der Leyen and her Commissioner for Internal Affairs, Johansson, continue to push for the law somehow.” Support for this approach also comes from the German Bundestag, such as from the Green digital policy spokesperson Tobias Bacherle.
Given the strong opposition, Johansson appeared irritated during the Council meeting: “Children need protection, and we must protect them, and the most effective means for this is the internet because we can find the perpetrators there.” A Eurobarometer survey shows that a strong, silent majority of 80 percent of Europeans support mandatory content monitoring by providers, even in encrypted environments. Johansson pointed out that she knows there are outspoken opposing views, but it is essential to listen to the silent majority.
However, Johansson overlooks how the questions in the survey were formulated. Some are leading questions, such as: “The exchange of material related to child sexual abuse should be detected and investigated to save the victims and bring the perpetrators to justice (…). To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?” The entire questionnaire for the Eurobarometer survey is formulated contrary to social science standards.
In recent weeks, strong criticism has been voiced regarding Johansson’s proposal and her methods. She has been accused of actively seeking proximity to well-known American actor and investor Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher is among the investors of Thorn, a US start-up officially designated as a non-profit organization. However, it generates millions in revenue with detection mechanisms for suspected child sexual abuse, as reported by the “Follow the Money” portal.
Additionally, Kutcher is under massive criticism in the United States. The self-proclaimed child protector wrote a letter on behalf of a friend and fellow actor in a court case, attesting to the friend’s good character, which was meant to have a mitigating effect. However, the accused was sentenced to 30 years in prison for rape. As a Thorn representative in recent years, Kutcher met a multitude of politicians in the EU, and he subsequently resigned from his positions at the company and publicly apologized.
For Ylva Johansson and her proposal, this loss came at an inconvenient time. She lost the most prominent supporter for the regulation with Kutcher.
