The turn of the year marks the 30th anniversary of the European Single Market. After a dynamic start, member countries have all too often opted more for the national interest and less for the European interest. A perennial issue is that member states are reluctant to open their national markets to service providers from other countries. Now the EU Commission, the European Parliament and the Swedish government, which takes over the presidency of the Council in January, want to give the Single Market new impetus. Till Hoppe assesses the prospects.
The CDU has always had a deficit of female members. During the years in which Angela Merkel was chancellor, this deficit was concealed quite well. In September, the CDU/CSU opted for a fairly gentle introduction to the women’s quota: Initially, the female/male ratio is supposed to be 1:2. The scramble for promising positions on the state lists has already begun, observes Markus Grabitz.
The European Commission has undertaken a rather complex project: It wants to curb VAT fraud. In 2020, countries lost €93 billion in VAT. The Commission wants to take action with reforms against VAT fraud in digital services, among other things. Corinna Visser takes a closer look at the Commission’s plans.
It’s a round birthday, but not one that has attracted much attention so far. The European Single Market will be 30 years old at the turn of the year – the completion of the common market, initiated in 1987 with the Single European Act, came into force on Jan. 1, 1993. Many of the achievements have long been taken for granted, but the momentum in guaranteeing the four fundamental freedoms has slowed considerably in recent years.
The EU Commission, the European Parliament and the Swedish government, which takes over the rotating presidency of the Council in January, want to give new impetus to the major project. The European Parliament is currently drafting a resolution on the Single Market. The Commission wants to publish its new Single Market Scorecard at the beginning of the year and better enforce the rules. The Swedish Council Presidency will make the policy area a priority and is planning a major event on it in spring.
On paper, many hurdles for companies and individuals have long since been removed, but enforcement is stalling: “There are still enormous obstacles, often of an administrative nature,” Czech Industry Minister Jozef Síkela said Thursday at an event hosted by the current Council Presidency in Prague.
The national authorities are responsible for implementing the rules, but in many places, they lack the necessary equipment and, in some cases, the political will. Customs authorities are rarely in a position to check the masses of goods flowing in to see whether they meet EU requirements. In addition, there is often no exchange with the public authorities responsible for market surveillance. It is therefore necessary to modernize the customs union and increase the number of staff in the market surveillance authorities, says Anna Cavazzini, chairwoman of the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament.
For years, member states have successfully resisted opening their national markets to service providers from other countries. “We all agree that the internal market for services is lagging behind,” says Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. Several governments have created new bureaucratic monsters, for example in implementing the reformed directive on the posting of employees, which make short-term postings almost impossible.
The Single Market Enforcement Taskforce (SMET) of the Commission and member states is now working on workable solutions. According to Breton, the Commission is also working on a uniform online form for postings.
The expansion of the Your Europe online portal is also intended to facilitate access to administrative services in other EU countries. This should benefit not only private individuals, but also small and medium-sized enterprises. Easily accessible information and administrative procedures as well as unbureaucratic and EU-wide uniform regulations are “right at the top of the EU Commission’s agenda,” says Freya Lemcke, head of the DIHK office in Brussels.
Breton also urged the other commissioners to consider the impact on SMEs in their legislative proposals. His goal is a “comprehensive SME test” for all new initiatives, he said.
But those responsible have long seen the Single Market as more than just an economic area with as few barriers as possible. It is “an important tool for achieving political goals,” says Cavazzini. According to the Green politician, for example, specifications on eco-design and the reparability of products could curb the waste of resources.
Moreover, in crises such as the Corona pandemic, when other countries close their borders, the Single Market serves as “our life insurance and our life jacket.” Breton sees the common market as both a protective space for the member states and a geopolitical instrument of power.
For example, it was important to “ensure that we are not dependent on others for the products, technologies and services we need in our daily lives and for the green and digital transformation.” The integrative power of the Single Market has also given the EU “a continental dimension, and with it the ability to compete on the global stage.”
The Chips Act already provides for regulations to ensure the supply of semiconductors to the European economy even in the event of a crisis. With the Single Market Emergency Instrument, the Commission has presented a proposal to ensure this for other critical sectors. The Raw Materials Act, which is planned for spring, focuses on securing the supply of critical raw materials through greater extraction in Europe, more recycling and partnerships with allied countries.
The CDU’s women’s quota diminishes the prospects of several male MEPs returning to Parliament. Elections will be held sometime in May or June 2024; the exact date has not yet been set. But the jockeying for promising positions on the state lists has already begun – especially in the state associations of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg.
The CDU has decided that “among three consecutive list places” there should be at least one woman in each case. The quota is staggered: From 2024, there is to be one more woman among ten candidates, and from July 2025, one more, and thus parity. The list compilation in the CDU state associations for the European elections is scheduled for 2023. The first stage of the quota system therefore still applies.
The CDU currently has 23 members in the European Parliament, six of whom are women. So far, only MEP Peter Jahr from Saxony has announced that he does not want to run again. In 2019, the CDU won 22.6 percent in the European elections (down 7.5 percentage points from 2014). If the party does not perform significantly better in the 2024 election, there is likely to be a scramble in the following state associations.
One woman and five men from the NRW regional association sit in the Strasbourg parliament:
As things stand, all six intend to run again. The eight districts of the state association nominate candidates. However, there is no automatism that the proposals of the districts will be on the state list, which the CDU state executive board proposes to the state representatives’ meeting.
Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst has spoken out in favor of the quota. In the party, it is expected that on the proposal of the state board, women will be listed in places two and four. Sabine Verheyen is deputy state chairman and is considered a candidate for second place. Should another woman follow in fourth place, four men – Liese, Voss, Radtke and Berger – would be fighting for three promising list places.
One woman and two men from Lower Saxony currently sit in the European Parliament:
All three want to run again. The big question is whether Ursula von der Leyen will seek a second term as Commission President. If so, she would probably want to become the top candidate of the Christian Democratic party family EPP. Since her relationship with EPP leader Manfred Weber is not particularly good, the question is whether the EPP would nominate her.
Should she nevertheless seek a second term, candidacy for the European Parliament in her home country would be obvious. But she is not particularly popular there. Since she has been in Brussels, the alienation has, if anything, grown even greater. Nevertheless, von der Leyen is unlikely to take first place. The list will be drawn up on Nov. 25, 2023.
The still popular ex-Prime Minister McAllister would certainly end up in Strasbourg again, even in second place. Lena Düpont and Jens Gieseke would fight for third and fourth place and would have to fear for re-entry. However, the loser would be the one who vacates the seat in Parliament – either because von der Leyen becomes Commission President again or because she fails to do so and retires.
It is clear that the CDU/CSU politician can also expect little support from the German government when the heads of state and government discuss the post at the head of the Commission after the European elections.
There are four male deputies from Baden-Württemberg:
Since Inge Gräßle left parliament, no woman from the southwest has been represented in Strasbourg. It is to be expected that all four members of parliament will stand again. The southwest is a special case in the CDU because fixed list positions are assigned to the districts. There is also the so-called district privilege. The statutes of the CDU state that the state executive board must “give special consideration to the importance of the district associations” when drawing up the list. In other words, the state list reflects the nominations of the districts.
Wieland, Caspary, Schwab and Lins are seeking to be elected at the meetings in their respective districts. None of them wants to make way voluntarily. They point out that the women’s quota is not a “must,” but a “should.” Sabine Wetterich of the Women’s Union in the Southwest, however, insists that the quota be implemented. She is currently sounding out female candidates for the four districts. However, the women in the southwest are reluctant to run for office.
The ball is now in the court of the state executive committee. The state party conference has called on the party leadership at the state level to find a solution so that the quota is reflected in the European elections. Wetterich: “It’s not the Women’s Union that has to make sure of that, but the top of the state party.” Time is pressing. The lists for the European elections will be drawn up in the southwest as early as April or May.
Two male deputies come from Hesse
It is expected that both will want to run again. Sven Simon is the subject of proceedings for the revocation of his doctorate at the University of Giessen. However, the professor of international and European law at the University of Marburg is defending himself against the accusations. Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein has promised Simon his full support.
The fire under the cauldron in the EU kitchen is at its peak. The chefs in the Council, Parliament and Commission are arguing under enormous time pressure about the right recipe for the dish called Fit for 55. It is the implementation at EU level of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015. In other words, real French cuisine. The name makes the entire Brussels bubble chuckle because it is reminiscent above all of a fitness program for people in their mid-50s.
But it is about energy policy: about the usually less delicate interplay between the energy crisis – and thus above all the extreme price increase – and the reduction of greenhouse gases. Not an easy task.
But before that, there’s a little mise-en-bouche: France’s Emmanuel Macron, Spain’s Pedro Sanchez and Portugal’s Antonio Costas will meet today in Alicante for the South EU Summit. They will discuss the planned BarMar gas pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille. Although Olaf Scholz is not attending the summit, it is clear that Berlin is the elephant in the room. Scholz supports the project because the gas could also flow on to Germany, while in France there is still no great enthusiasm.
And then it really gets going for Brussels culinary experts. On Tuesday, the energy ministers will meet in Brussels. On the menu is the gas price cap, which has been moving back and forth between the pots of the Commission and the Council for some time. In diplomatic circles, “heated” debates are expected.
On the same day, the European parliamentarians meet in Strasbourg. On the Alsatian map is a re-creation of the Renewable Energy Directive within the framework of RePowerEU, with the vote on the following day.
The EU summit takes place on Thursday and Friday, and is better known as #EUCO. The EU quarter in Brussels will be cordoned off, the services of Maison Antoine will be welcomed, and security, caterers and journalists will prepare for long nights of negotiations. Ingredients are Hungary and the rule of law, Ukraine, energy crisis and an industrial policy response to the US IRA.
The European hearth flame will not be turned down here, as a so-called Jumbo Trilogue is planned for Dec. 16 and 17. A third day of negotiations may even be needed. Focal points of the trilogue: Reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Subnational Climate Finance initiative (SCF).
And how promising are the prospects of the negotiating marathon? A lot will have to remain on the table, “white smoke is not in sight,” they say in Brussels. Voices in Parliament and the Council say that the dessert could be further trilogues in 2023 under the Swedish Council presidency. This is causing some negotiators to gnash their teeth because of the new right-wing government in Stockholm.
Add to that the fact that for some member states, agreement to the gas price cap is the condition for their agreement to parts of the Fit for 55 package. This shows how energy and climate policy are politically linked in the EU – two pots on one stove.
When the climate package was unveiled in the summer of 2021, capitals grumbled about the size of the task, having to sift through, analyze and amend the legislative package. The task is all the more daunting because many of the 14 texts are interrelated. So it’s all a matter of coordination and negotiation: between a country’s ministries, between the various parties and committees in the EU Parliament, between states in the Council, and as a “cerise sur le gateaux” between the Council, Parliament and Commission. The ability to negotiate is clearly at the heart of the European project. After all, we know that too many cooks can spoil the broth.
The turn of the year marks the 30th anniversary of the European Single Market. After a dynamic start, member countries have all too often opted more for the national interest and less for the European interest. A perennial issue is that member states are reluctant to open their national markets to service providers from other countries. Now the EU Commission, the European Parliament and the Swedish government, which takes over the presidency of the Council in January, want to give the Single Market new impetus. Till Hoppe assesses the prospects.
The CDU has always had a deficit of female members. During the years in which Angela Merkel was chancellor, this deficit was concealed quite well. In September, the CDU/CSU opted for a fairly gentle introduction to the women’s quota: Initially, the female/male ratio is supposed to be 1:2. The scramble for promising positions on the state lists has already begun, observes Markus Grabitz.
The European Commission has undertaken a rather complex project: It wants to curb VAT fraud. In 2020, countries lost €93 billion in VAT. The Commission wants to take action with reforms against VAT fraud in digital services, among other things. Corinna Visser takes a closer look at the Commission’s plans.
It’s a round birthday, but not one that has attracted much attention so far. The European Single Market will be 30 years old at the turn of the year – the completion of the common market, initiated in 1987 with the Single European Act, came into force on Jan. 1, 1993. Many of the achievements have long been taken for granted, but the momentum in guaranteeing the four fundamental freedoms has slowed considerably in recent years.
The EU Commission, the European Parliament and the Swedish government, which takes over the rotating presidency of the Council in January, want to give new impetus to the major project. The European Parliament is currently drafting a resolution on the Single Market. The Commission wants to publish its new Single Market Scorecard at the beginning of the year and better enforce the rules. The Swedish Council Presidency will make the policy area a priority and is planning a major event on it in spring.
On paper, many hurdles for companies and individuals have long since been removed, but enforcement is stalling: “There are still enormous obstacles, often of an administrative nature,” Czech Industry Minister Jozef Síkela said Thursday at an event hosted by the current Council Presidency in Prague.
The national authorities are responsible for implementing the rules, but in many places, they lack the necessary equipment and, in some cases, the political will. Customs authorities are rarely in a position to check the masses of goods flowing in to see whether they meet EU requirements. In addition, there is often no exchange with the public authorities responsible for market surveillance. It is therefore necessary to modernize the customs union and increase the number of staff in the market surveillance authorities, says Anna Cavazzini, chairwoman of the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament.
For years, member states have successfully resisted opening their national markets to service providers from other countries. “We all agree that the internal market for services is lagging behind,” says Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. Several governments have created new bureaucratic monsters, for example in implementing the reformed directive on the posting of employees, which make short-term postings almost impossible.
The Single Market Enforcement Taskforce (SMET) of the Commission and member states is now working on workable solutions. According to Breton, the Commission is also working on a uniform online form for postings.
The expansion of the Your Europe online portal is also intended to facilitate access to administrative services in other EU countries. This should benefit not only private individuals, but also small and medium-sized enterprises. Easily accessible information and administrative procedures as well as unbureaucratic and EU-wide uniform regulations are “right at the top of the EU Commission’s agenda,” says Freya Lemcke, head of the DIHK office in Brussels.
Breton also urged the other commissioners to consider the impact on SMEs in their legislative proposals. His goal is a “comprehensive SME test” for all new initiatives, he said.
But those responsible have long seen the Single Market as more than just an economic area with as few barriers as possible. It is “an important tool for achieving political goals,” says Cavazzini. According to the Green politician, for example, specifications on eco-design and the reparability of products could curb the waste of resources.
Moreover, in crises such as the Corona pandemic, when other countries close their borders, the Single Market serves as “our life insurance and our life jacket.” Breton sees the common market as both a protective space for the member states and a geopolitical instrument of power.
For example, it was important to “ensure that we are not dependent on others for the products, technologies and services we need in our daily lives and for the green and digital transformation.” The integrative power of the Single Market has also given the EU “a continental dimension, and with it the ability to compete on the global stage.”
The Chips Act already provides for regulations to ensure the supply of semiconductors to the European economy even in the event of a crisis. With the Single Market Emergency Instrument, the Commission has presented a proposal to ensure this for other critical sectors. The Raw Materials Act, which is planned for spring, focuses on securing the supply of critical raw materials through greater extraction in Europe, more recycling and partnerships with allied countries.
The CDU’s women’s quota diminishes the prospects of several male MEPs returning to Parliament. Elections will be held sometime in May or June 2024; the exact date has not yet been set. But the jockeying for promising positions on the state lists has already begun – especially in the state associations of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg.
The CDU has decided that “among three consecutive list places” there should be at least one woman in each case. The quota is staggered: From 2024, there is to be one more woman among ten candidates, and from July 2025, one more, and thus parity. The list compilation in the CDU state associations for the European elections is scheduled for 2023. The first stage of the quota system therefore still applies.
The CDU currently has 23 members in the European Parliament, six of whom are women. So far, only MEP Peter Jahr from Saxony has announced that he does not want to run again. In 2019, the CDU won 22.6 percent in the European elections (down 7.5 percentage points from 2014). If the party does not perform significantly better in the 2024 election, there is likely to be a scramble in the following state associations.
One woman and five men from the NRW regional association sit in the Strasbourg parliament:
As things stand, all six intend to run again. The eight districts of the state association nominate candidates. However, there is no automatism that the proposals of the districts will be on the state list, which the CDU state executive board proposes to the state representatives’ meeting.
Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrik Wüst has spoken out in favor of the quota. In the party, it is expected that on the proposal of the state board, women will be listed in places two and four. Sabine Verheyen is deputy state chairman and is considered a candidate for second place. Should another woman follow in fourth place, four men – Liese, Voss, Radtke and Berger – would be fighting for three promising list places.
One woman and two men from Lower Saxony currently sit in the European Parliament:
All three want to run again. The big question is whether Ursula von der Leyen will seek a second term as Commission President. If so, she would probably want to become the top candidate of the Christian Democratic party family EPP. Since her relationship with EPP leader Manfred Weber is not particularly good, the question is whether the EPP would nominate her.
Should she nevertheless seek a second term, candidacy for the European Parliament in her home country would be obvious. But she is not particularly popular there. Since she has been in Brussels, the alienation has, if anything, grown even greater. Nevertheless, von der Leyen is unlikely to take first place. The list will be drawn up on Nov. 25, 2023.
The still popular ex-Prime Minister McAllister would certainly end up in Strasbourg again, even in second place. Lena Düpont and Jens Gieseke would fight for third and fourth place and would have to fear for re-entry. However, the loser would be the one who vacates the seat in Parliament – either because von der Leyen becomes Commission President again or because she fails to do so and retires.
It is clear that the CDU/CSU politician can also expect little support from the German government when the heads of state and government discuss the post at the head of the Commission after the European elections.
There are four male deputies from Baden-Württemberg:
Since Inge Gräßle left parliament, no woman from the southwest has been represented in Strasbourg. It is to be expected that all four members of parliament will stand again. The southwest is a special case in the CDU because fixed list positions are assigned to the districts. There is also the so-called district privilege. The statutes of the CDU state that the state executive board must “give special consideration to the importance of the district associations” when drawing up the list. In other words, the state list reflects the nominations of the districts.
Wieland, Caspary, Schwab and Lins are seeking to be elected at the meetings in their respective districts. None of them wants to make way voluntarily. They point out that the women’s quota is not a “must,” but a “should.” Sabine Wetterich of the Women’s Union in the Southwest, however, insists that the quota be implemented. She is currently sounding out female candidates for the four districts. However, the women in the southwest are reluctant to run for office.
The ball is now in the court of the state executive committee. The state party conference has called on the party leadership at the state level to find a solution so that the quota is reflected in the European elections. Wetterich: “It’s not the Women’s Union that has to make sure of that, but the top of the state party.” Time is pressing. The lists for the European elections will be drawn up in the southwest as early as April or May.
Two male deputies come from Hesse
It is expected that both will want to run again. Sven Simon is the subject of proceedings for the revocation of his doctorate at the University of Giessen. However, the professor of international and European law at the University of Marburg is defending himself against the accusations. Hesse’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein has promised Simon his full support.
The fire under the cauldron in the EU kitchen is at its peak. The chefs in the Council, Parliament and Commission are arguing under enormous time pressure about the right recipe for the dish called Fit for 55. It is the implementation at EU level of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015. In other words, real French cuisine. The name makes the entire Brussels bubble chuckle because it is reminiscent above all of a fitness program for people in their mid-50s.
But it is about energy policy: about the usually less delicate interplay between the energy crisis – and thus above all the extreme price increase – and the reduction of greenhouse gases. Not an easy task.
But before that, there’s a little mise-en-bouche: France’s Emmanuel Macron, Spain’s Pedro Sanchez and Portugal’s Antonio Costas will meet today in Alicante for the South EU Summit. They will discuss the planned BarMar gas pipeline between Barcelona and Marseille. Although Olaf Scholz is not attending the summit, it is clear that Berlin is the elephant in the room. Scholz supports the project because the gas could also flow on to Germany, while in France there is still no great enthusiasm.
And then it really gets going for Brussels culinary experts. On Tuesday, the energy ministers will meet in Brussels. On the menu is the gas price cap, which has been moving back and forth between the pots of the Commission and the Council for some time. In diplomatic circles, “heated” debates are expected.
On the same day, the European parliamentarians meet in Strasbourg. On the Alsatian map is a re-creation of the Renewable Energy Directive within the framework of RePowerEU, with the vote on the following day.
The EU summit takes place on Thursday and Friday, and is better known as #EUCO. The EU quarter in Brussels will be cordoned off, the services of Maison Antoine will be welcomed, and security, caterers and journalists will prepare for long nights of negotiations. Ingredients are Hungary and the rule of law, Ukraine, energy crisis and an industrial policy response to the US IRA.
The European hearth flame will not be turned down here, as a so-called Jumbo Trilogue is planned for Dec. 16 and 17. A third day of negotiations may even be needed. Focal points of the trilogue: Reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Subnational Climate Finance initiative (SCF).
And how promising are the prospects of the negotiating marathon? A lot will have to remain on the table, “white smoke is not in sight,” they say in Brussels. Voices in Parliament and the Council say that the dessert could be further trilogues in 2023 under the Swedish Council presidency. This is causing some negotiators to gnash their teeth because of the new right-wing government in Stockholm.
Add to that the fact that for some member states, agreement to the gas price cap is the condition for their agreement to parts of the Fit for 55 package. This shows how energy and climate policy are politically linked in the EU – two pots on one stove.
When the climate package was unveiled in the summer of 2021, capitals grumbled about the size of the task, having to sift through, analyze and amend the legislative package. The task is all the more daunting because many of the 14 texts are interrelated. So it’s all a matter of coordination and negotiation: between a country’s ministries, between the various parties and committees in the EU Parliament, between states in the Council, and as a “cerise sur le gateaux” between the Council, Parliament and Commission. The ability to negotiate is clearly at the heart of the European project. After all, we know that too many cooks can spoil the broth.
