This week, the EU Commission intends to propose further relief for farmers. It wants to allow exceptions to three of the nine standards for the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions of land (GAEC) until the end of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) period in 2027. These include the rules on leaving part of the land fallow (GAEC 8) and the rules on land cover (GAEC 6).
Farmers have their eyes on two other decisions that will be made in Parliament. On Tuesday, MEPs will vote on the Industrial Emissions Directive. There is likely to be a majority in favor of the version negotiated by the Council and Parliament. If this happens, pig and poultry farmers will have to expect new requirements. Cattle farmers fared better, they are left out of this directive.
On Wednesday, it will be a close call when Parliament votes on the extension of duty-free access for products and services from Ukraine. Especially in the member states bordering the country attacked by Putin, there is massive resentment about agricultural imports at dumping prices. MEPs from Poland and Romania therefore want to vote against granting the war-torn country further relief. Grain from Ukraine in particular, which is coming onto the market at low prices, is causing problems for farmers. The vote could fail. The Commission is under pressure. Will it still make concessions to Poland and Romania? For example, by buying grain and storing it temporarily to stabilize prices?
Have a good start to the week!
Valérie Hayer chose a drastic comparison: “Yesterday Daladier and Chamberlain, today Le Pen and Orbán (…) We are in Munich in 1938,” said the leading candidate of the Renaissance Party at the start of her campaign for the European elections. Hayer compared the position of the Rassemblement National (RN) on the Russian war against Ukraine with the European appeasement policy before the Second World War, setting the tone for the coming weeks.
The leader of the Renew Group in the European Parliament spoke on Saturday in front of 3,000 activists and 29 members of government who had come to Lille. MEPs such as Pascal Canfin, Chairman of the Environment Committee, and EU Commissioner Thierry Breton were also present. The prominent participants show how seriously President Emmanuel Macron’s party takes the threat posed by the RN. The RN has been leading the polls in France for weeks and could win up to 30 percent of the vote, ten percentage points more than Renaissance.
The political challenge for Renaissance is thus enormous. This also explains the rhetoric, which is often alarmist: “Rarely, perhaps never before in the 80-year history of our Europe has the hour been so serious,” exclaimed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, referring to the bombs falling on Ukraine. His generation rejects “growing old in a Europe that could allow massacres and become a vassal of Russia,” he continued.
Hayer and Attal announced a speech that Emmanuel Macron will give to mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy. According to the organizers, this speech will be “the highlight” of the election campaign.
The celebrations, which will be attended by numerous foreign heads of state, will take place on June 6, 2024, three days before French voters go to the polls. The landing ceremonies have always set the rhythm of French domestic political life, as they provide an opportunity to commemorate the unifying figure of General De Gaulle.
The war in Ukraine thus became the central theme of the Renaissance campaign. The absence of German representatives at the meeting in Lille was conspicuous. The party that claims to be the only truly European party in France did not mention the Franco-German tandem at all. In a film presenting the French president’s work for Europe, you can see him hugging Angela Merkel and not Olaf Scholz.
In fact, there is a great deal of incomprehension among activists and members of government towards the German government. One member of a cabinet of ministers criticized Berlin for preferring to buy armaments from the US rather than Europe. One MP distinguished the Foreign Minister and the Federal Chancellor. “Annalena Baerbock correctly assessed the challenges, unlike Olaf Scholz,” he said.
In March, the party will try to make Valérie Hayer known throughout France through an “on-the-ground campaign.” This will also be an opportunity to draw attention to the European elections, which are still “largely unknown.”
To counter the RN’s electoral victory as effectively as possible, Renaissance will target the areas where the party performed best in the last two presidential elections. The Macronist electorate is located in an area known as the “Great West,” says one of the organizers. It stretches from the port city of Le Havre in Normandy, the stronghold of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, to Pau in the south-west of the country, where François Bayrou, another important political ally of Emmanuel Macron, has his stronghold.
The party will also focus on drawing up the electoral list, which is currently leading to tensions between the three coalition parties Renaissance, Horizon (Edouard Philippe’s party) and Modem (François Bayrou’s party). May will then see the “final spurt” of the campaign, which will culminate in the celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
The specialty chemicals group Evonik supplies catalysts, additives for car paints and carbon-silicon composites that make batteries more powerful. Many of the Group’s products are in worldwide demand. The Essen-based company is also regarded as a role model in another area. Since 1995, it has had a European Forum, a European committee with employee and management representatives. It is regularly informed and consulted, for example, in the case of transnational restructuring.
“In our company, it was never an issue that we were informed, met and consulted on all topics,” says Matthias Krebs, who has been on the committee for the employee side since 2015. Since last fall, he has even been Chairman of the European Works Council of Evonik AG.
Early information and involvement before decisions are made by the corporate side – this should already be the case in European Works Councils throughout the EU. This body can be established at the request of employees in groups with more than 1,000 employees who are active in at least two member states. It is consulted on transnational issues. For example, in the event of site closures in several countries or relocations. There are currently more than 1000 such committees. Unlike Evonik’s European Forum, however, usually only employee representatives are delegated.
In contrast to German works councils, the European Works Councils have no right to co-determination, only the right to be heard and consulted. However, according to critics, even the implementation of these limited rights is too often lacking. For example, a study commissioned by the Commission in 2016 concluded that only a fifth of the European Works Councils surveyed were consulted before a management decision was made.
Hellmut Gohde, a long-standing advisor to European Works Councils, also says: “Sometimes German members have attended a European Works Council meeting in Paris or London, for example, and while the meeting is still ongoing, the employees in their home country are informed by email that their job no longer exists.” Such extreme cases are not common practice. “But the frustration about their limited options, some of which are even circumvented, is already great for many,” says Gohde.
Following an own-initiative motion from the European Parliament last year, the EU Commission has now also presented its proposals on how it intends to improve the rights of European works councils. Firstly, the Commission demands that European works councils must be informed before the final decision, for example, on the closure of a site. They should be obliged to receive a response to comments on this, also before the final decision has been made. There are still no co-determination rights in the directive, as is the case with German works councils.
The second important point: tougher sanctions. The revised directive from 2009 already requires states to introduce “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” sanctions. However, the Commission sees implementation deficits here. In Germany, for example, there is a maximum fine of just €15,000.
The responsible rapporteur Dennis Radtke (CDU), who was also responsible for the parliamentary own-initiative report, emphasizes: “Given these penalties, you can save yourself the time and energy for proceedings before the labor court. These are not craft businesses, but multi-million euro listed companies.”
An initial potential conflict is already emerging on this topic, including for later negotiations with the Council. In its own-initiative report of 2023, Parliament has even called for penalties similar to the fines under the General Data Protection Regulation. In particularly serious cases, this involves fines of up to four percent of global turnover. This is unlikely to appeal to many countries. As a kind of compromise, the Commission does not want to set any specific amounts. However, it believes the penalties should be based on annual turnover, duration and severity of the infringement.
Another important aspect for rapporteur Radtke and the Commission: better and, above all, regulated access to courts. It is not always clear which court has jurisdiction. Take British Airways, for example: in 2020, the European Works Council took legal action before the national labor court in Madrid because it had not been consulted on a planned mass redundancy of around 12,000 employees. The court initially declared that it had no jurisdiction.
Only an appeal to the Supreme Court established that the National Labor Court was indeed the correct instance. The ruling was then handed down last fall – and ended in a victory for the European Works Council. It was already far too late for the dismissed workers. Infringement proceedings against Ireland are currently underway because European Works Councils there have virtually no access to regular courts.
For the European Works Council consultant Hellmut Gohde, the upcoming amendment is long overdue: “Many European Works Councils have been waiting for a reform for years.” He particularly praises the fact that the Commission’s plans also provide for companies to bear the costs of legal disputes. “As a consultant, I have repeatedly made contact with lawyers. And the first question is always the same: Who pays my bill?”
In contrast, the employers’ reaction is almost mirroring this. They see no need for reform. Business Europe argues that most European works councils work satisfactorily and that there are therefore very few proceedings before the courts.
The association is particularly critical of the fact that employee representatives are to be consulted before important decisions are made – and may also be given extended access to information. “Effective cross-border information and consultation of employees should take place without delaying the decision-making processes and implementation of decisions in companies,” argues Business Europe. The association also considers the level of sanctions to be a matter for the member states.
CDU rapporteur Radtke, on the other hand, emphasizes: “The actual value of these committees is not seen. Even in very difficult situations such as mass redundancies, they mean that we have a relatively high level of social peace.” Not only the employee side but also the capital side benefits from this,
Evonik’s European Works Council member Krebs agrees. He says: “At some point, the cat has to come out of the bag anyway. The sooner I get co-determination on board, the sooner I can work out socially acceptable agreements. That creates trust.”
Parliament’s Employment Committee (EMPL) is currently working on its position on the Commission’s proposal. MEPs there are largely in favor of the reform, even parliamentarians from the liberal and conservative spectrum. Upon request, Jozef Mihál, the Slovakian shadow rapporteur for Renew, explains that the amendment is “a necessary step” to ensure that employees’ right to information and consultation is enforced throughout the EU.
He has introduced amendments to prevent an overly broad definition of transnational matters. It also advocates more out-of-court arbitration mechanisms and a cap on the planned reimbursement of costs for European works councils.
The Green Vice-Chair of the EMPL, Katrin Langensiepen, says that it is particularly important that the sanctions are increased. “Franchise companies should also be included in the scope of the directive to ensure that they are also bound by the requirements of the directive.” Polish PiS MEP Elżbieta Rafalska had also emphasized in an earlier debate in the Employment Committee that she would like to see franchise companies included.
However, CDU rapporteur Radtke would like to soften the Commission’s proposal at one point: “There should not be a mandatory renegotiation of all old agreements. Nobody wants that. Neither the trade union side nor the company side.” The CDU member of Parliament wants to have a first reading of the text in Parliament before the end of this parliamentary term.
Drums or business studies – Morten Petersen’s path after school was not quite so clear. “I was an enthusiastic drummer, but I was also interested in government affairs,” he recalls. But his interest in business and politics prevailed, much to the relief of his parents: “I can still hear them breathing a sigh of relief.” But he never stopped playing the drums. There are still drumsticks all over his house today, he says. Even in his office. “It’s a different language, I’m used to words, reading and writing, and music is a completely different world that I can enter.”
A different world to his everyday life as an EU parliamentarian. Laws and debates characterize his work as rapporteur and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Petersen is one of those working very closely on legislative texts. His topics: Energy and climate.
This was not always the case. After graduating, he initially worked as a consultant for an employers’ organization before entering parliament in Copenhagen for the Radikale Venstre party. This was followed by five years in Brussels with an association for internet media. It was here that he became interested in European politics, he says: “It opened my eyes to the fact that so much of what we do in the Danish Parliament is linked to Brussels.” He moved to the European Parliament in 2014 and has been part of the liberal Renew Group since 2019.
Morten Petersen has now been in Parliament for ten years. During this time, he has been involved as a rapporteur in many of the EU’s green transformation initiatives, such as the European strategy for renewable offshore energy and the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Most recently, his focus has been on the energy market. In December, the Commission, Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on a reform. “It took us three years for the last one,” he says. Due to the war in Ukraine and the high gas prices, it was faster this time. He is content with the reform. “We have succeeded in preserving the foundations of the electricity market and maintaining flexibility for the Member States,” he says.
With a view to the 2024 European elections, he hopes to continue to see “green issues” on the agenda for the next legislative period. However, the people should not be forgotten, he says. Communication is particularly important to him. “We need to think very hard about how we can prevent people from thinking that Brussels is forcing all kinds of laws and initiatives on them without knowing why.”
Parliament will work on this without Petersen. He will not stand for re-election and will retire in the summer. Ten years in Parliament is enough. “I believe that you shouldn’t get bogged down in what you’re doing.” And what happens next? “The drums,” jokes Petersen. He does not know exactly, but he wants to stay true to energy and climate issues – and the EU could also continue to play an important role in his work. Because in Denmark, “there is also a need to understand Brussels better.” Katharina Kausche
This week, the EU Commission intends to propose further relief for farmers. It wants to allow exceptions to three of the nine standards for the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions of land (GAEC) until the end of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) period in 2027. These include the rules on leaving part of the land fallow (GAEC 8) and the rules on land cover (GAEC 6).
Farmers have their eyes on two other decisions that will be made in Parliament. On Tuesday, MEPs will vote on the Industrial Emissions Directive. There is likely to be a majority in favor of the version negotiated by the Council and Parliament. If this happens, pig and poultry farmers will have to expect new requirements. Cattle farmers fared better, they are left out of this directive.
On Wednesday, it will be a close call when Parliament votes on the extension of duty-free access for products and services from Ukraine. Especially in the member states bordering the country attacked by Putin, there is massive resentment about agricultural imports at dumping prices. MEPs from Poland and Romania therefore want to vote against granting the war-torn country further relief. Grain from Ukraine in particular, which is coming onto the market at low prices, is causing problems for farmers. The vote could fail. The Commission is under pressure. Will it still make concessions to Poland and Romania? For example, by buying grain and storing it temporarily to stabilize prices?
Have a good start to the week!
Valérie Hayer chose a drastic comparison: “Yesterday Daladier and Chamberlain, today Le Pen and Orbán (…) We are in Munich in 1938,” said the leading candidate of the Renaissance Party at the start of her campaign for the European elections. Hayer compared the position of the Rassemblement National (RN) on the Russian war against Ukraine with the European appeasement policy before the Second World War, setting the tone for the coming weeks.
The leader of the Renew Group in the European Parliament spoke on Saturday in front of 3,000 activists and 29 members of government who had come to Lille. MEPs such as Pascal Canfin, Chairman of the Environment Committee, and EU Commissioner Thierry Breton were also present. The prominent participants show how seriously President Emmanuel Macron’s party takes the threat posed by the RN. The RN has been leading the polls in France for weeks and could win up to 30 percent of the vote, ten percentage points more than Renaissance.
The political challenge for Renaissance is thus enormous. This also explains the rhetoric, which is often alarmist: “Rarely, perhaps never before in the 80-year history of our Europe has the hour been so serious,” exclaimed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, referring to the bombs falling on Ukraine. His generation rejects “growing old in a Europe that could allow massacres and become a vassal of Russia,” he continued.
Hayer and Attal announced a speech that Emmanuel Macron will give to mark the 80th anniversary of the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy. According to the organizers, this speech will be “the highlight” of the election campaign.
The celebrations, which will be attended by numerous foreign heads of state, will take place on June 6, 2024, three days before French voters go to the polls. The landing ceremonies have always set the rhythm of French domestic political life, as they provide an opportunity to commemorate the unifying figure of General De Gaulle.
The war in Ukraine thus became the central theme of the Renaissance campaign. The absence of German representatives at the meeting in Lille was conspicuous. The party that claims to be the only truly European party in France did not mention the Franco-German tandem at all. In a film presenting the French president’s work for Europe, you can see him hugging Angela Merkel and not Olaf Scholz.
In fact, there is a great deal of incomprehension among activists and members of government towards the German government. One member of a cabinet of ministers criticized Berlin for preferring to buy armaments from the US rather than Europe. One MP distinguished the Foreign Minister and the Federal Chancellor. “Annalena Baerbock correctly assessed the challenges, unlike Olaf Scholz,” he said.
In March, the party will try to make Valérie Hayer known throughout France through an “on-the-ground campaign.” This will also be an opportunity to draw attention to the European elections, which are still “largely unknown.”
To counter the RN’s electoral victory as effectively as possible, Renaissance will target the areas where the party performed best in the last two presidential elections. The Macronist electorate is located in an area known as the “Great West,” says one of the organizers. It stretches from the port city of Le Havre in Normandy, the stronghold of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, to Pau in the south-west of the country, where François Bayrou, another important political ally of Emmanuel Macron, has his stronghold.
The party will also focus on drawing up the electoral list, which is currently leading to tensions between the three coalition parties Renaissance, Horizon (Edouard Philippe’s party) and Modem (François Bayrou’s party). May will then see the “final spurt” of the campaign, which will culminate in the celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.
The specialty chemicals group Evonik supplies catalysts, additives for car paints and carbon-silicon composites that make batteries more powerful. Many of the Group’s products are in worldwide demand. The Essen-based company is also regarded as a role model in another area. Since 1995, it has had a European Forum, a European committee with employee and management representatives. It is regularly informed and consulted, for example, in the case of transnational restructuring.
“In our company, it was never an issue that we were informed, met and consulted on all topics,” says Matthias Krebs, who has been on the committee for the employee side since 2015. Since last fall, he has even been Chairman of the European Works Council of Evonik AG.
Early information and involvement before decisions are made by the corporate side – this should already be the case in European Works Councils throughout the EU. This body can be established at the request of employees in groups with more than 1,000 employees who are active in at least two member states. It is consulted on transnational issues. For example, in the event of site closures in several countries or relocations. There are currently more than 1000 such committees. Unlike Evonik’s European Forum, however, usually only employee representatives are delegated.
In contrast to German works councils, the European Works Councils have no right to co-determination, only the right to be heard and consulted. However, according to critics, even the implementation of these limited rights is too often lacking. For example, a study commissioned by the Commission in 2016 concluded that only a fifth of the European Works Councils surveyed were consulted before a management decision was made.
Hellmut Gohde, a long-standing advisor to European Works Councils, also says: “Sometimes German members have attended a European Works Council meeting in Paris or London, for example, and while the meeting is still ongoing, the employees in their home country are informed by email that their job no longer exists.” Such extreme cases are not common practice. “But the frustration about their limited options, some of which are even circumvented, is already great for many,” says Gohde.
Following an own-initiative motion from the European Parliament last year, the EU Commission has now also presented its proposals on how it intends to improve the rights of European works councils. Firstly, the Commission demands that European works councils must be informed before the final decision, for example, on the closure of a site. They should be obliged to receive a response to comments on this, also before the final decision has been made. There are still no co-determination rights in the directive, as is the case with German works councils.
The second important point: tougher sanctions. The revised directive from 2009 already requires states to introduce “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” sanctions. However, the Commission sees implementation deficits here. In Germany, for example, there is a maximum fine of just €15,000.
The responsible rapporteur Dennis Radtke (CDU), who was also responsible for the parliamentary own-initiative report, emphasizes: “Given these penalties, you can save yourself the time and energy for proceedings before the labor court. These are not craft businesses, but multi-million euro listed companies.”
An initial potential conflict is already emerging on this topic, including for later negotiations with the Council. In its own-initiative report of 2023, Parliament has even called for penalties similar to the fines under the General Data Protection Regulation. In particularly serious cases, this involves fines of up to four percent of global turnover. This is unlikely to appeal to many countries. As a kind of compromise, the Commission does not want to set any specific amounts. However, it believes the penalties should be based on annual turnover, duration and severity of the infringement.
Another important aspect for rapporteur Radtke and the Commission: better and, above all, regulated access to courts. It is not always clear which court has jurisdiction. Take British Airways, for example: in 2020, the European Works Council took legal action before the national labor court in Madrid because it had not been consulted on a planned mass redundancy of around 12,000 employees. The court initially declared that it had no jurisdiction.
Only an appeal to the Supreme Court established that the National Labor Court was indeed the correct instance. The ruling was then handed down last fall – and ended in a victory for the European Works Council. It was already far too late for the dismissed workers. Infringement proceedings against Ireland are currently underway because European Works Councils there have virtually no access to regular courts.
For the European Works Council consultant Hellmut Gohde, the upcoming amendment is long overdue: “Many European Works Councils have been waiting for a reform for years.” He particularly praises the fact that the Commission’s plans also provide for companies to bear the costs of legal disputes. “As a consultant, I have repeatedly made contact with lawyers. And the first question is always the same: Who pays my bill?”
In contrast, the employers’ reaction is almost mirroring this. They see no need for reform. Business Europe argues that most European works councils work satisfactorily and that there are therefore very few proceedings before the courts.
The association is particularly critical of the fact that employee representatives are to be consulted before important decisions are made – and may also be given extended access to information. “Effective cross-border information and consultation of employees should take place without delaying the decision-making processes and implementation of decisions in companies,” argues Business Europe. The association also considers the level of sanctions to be a matter for the member states.
CDU rapporteur Radtke, on the other hand, emphasizes: “The actual value of these committees is not seen. Even in very difficult situations such as mass redundancies, they mean that we have a relatively high level of social peace.” Not only the employee side but also the capital side benefits from this,
Evonik’s European Works Council member Krebs agrees. He says: “At some point, the cat has to come out of the bag anyway. The sooner I get co-determination on board, the sooner I can work out socially acceptable agreements. That creates trust.”
Parliament’s Employment Committee (EMPL) is currently working on its position on the Commission’s proposal. MEPs there are largely in favor of the reform, even parliamentarians from the liberal and conservative spectrum. Upon request, Jozef Mihál, the Slovakian shadow rapporteur for Renew, explains that the amendment is “a necessary step” to ensure that employees’ right to information and consultation is enforced throughout the EU.
He has introduced amendments to prevent an overly broad definition of transnational matters. It also advocates more out-of-court arbitration mechanisms and a cap on the planned reimbursement of costs for European works councils.
The Green Vice-Chair of the EMPL, Katrin Langensiepen, says that it is particularly important that the sanctions are increased. “Franchise companies should also be included in the scope of the directive to ensure that they are also bound by the requirements of the directive.” Polish PiS MEP Elżbieta Rafalska had also emphasized in an earlier debate in the Employment Committee that she would like to see franchise companies included.
However, CDU rapporteur Radtke would like to soften the Commission’s proposal at one point: “There should not be a mandatory renegotiation of all old agreements. Nobody wants that. Neither the trade union side nor the company side.” The CDU member of Parliament wants to have a first reading of the text in Parliament before the end of this parliamentary term.
Drums or business studies – Morten Petersen’s path after school was not quite so clear. “I was an enthusiastic drummer, but I was also interested in government affairs,” he recalls. But his interest in business and politics prevailed, much to the relief of his parents: “I can still hear them breathing a sigh of relief.” But he never stopped playing the drums. There are still drumsticks all over his house today, he says. Even in his office. “It’s a different language, I’m used to words, reading and writing, and music is a completely different world that I can enter.”
A different world to his everyday life as an EU parliamentarian. Laws and debates characterize his work as rapporteur and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Petersen is one of those working very closely on legislative texts. His topics: Energy and climate.
This was not always the case. After graduating, he initially worked as a consultant for an employers’ organization before entering parliament in Copenhagen for the Radikale Venstre party. This was followed by five years in Brussels with an association for internet media. It was here that he became interested in European politics, he says: “It opened my eyes to the fact that so much of what we do in the Danish Parliament is linked to Brussels.” He moved to the European Parliament in 2014 and has been part of the liberal Renew Group since 2019.
Morten Petersen has now been in Parliament for ten years. During this time, he has been involved as a rapporteur in many of the EU’s green transformation initiatives, such as the European strategy for renewable offshore energy and the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Most recently, his focus has been on the energy market. In December, the Commission, Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on a reform. “It took us three years for the last one,” he says. Due to the war in Ukraine and the high gas prices, it was faster this time. He is content with the reform. “We have succeeded in preserving the foundations of the electricity market and maintaining flexibility for the Member States,” he says.
With a view to the 2024 European elections, he hopes to continue to see “green issues” on the agenda for the next legislative period. However, the people should not be forgotten, he says. Communication is particularly important to him. “We need to think very hard about how we can prevent people from thinking that Brussels is forcing all kinds of laws and initiatives on them without knowing why.”
Parliament will work on this without Petersen. He will not stand for re-election and will retire in the summer. Ten years in Parliament is enough. “I believe that you shouldn’t get bogged down in what you’re doing.” And what happens next? “The drums,” jokes Petersen. He does not know exactly, but he wants to stay true to energy and climate issues – and the EU could also continue to play an important role in his work. Because in Denmark, “there is also a need to understand Brussels better.” Katharina Kausche
