Parliament’s anniversary + Prolonged dispute over gas price cap looms + Markus Ferber

Dear reader,

In 1952, the Joint Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community met for the first time. Ten years later, the assembly was given the name European Parliament. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the EU institution, Markus Grabitz spoke with Reinhard Bütikofer, Green politician and member of the EP since 2009. “As a strength of the Parliament I have always experienced the pronounced collegiality among its members,” he says in the interview. But he also makes suggestions about possible improvement.

Markus Ferber is critical of the EP. He has been a member of the Parliament since 1994 and is thus the longest-serving CSU member in Brussels. In the past, the EP went into negotiations with the Council with vigor. Today, he says, things are different, and the processes have become “technocratic and bureaucratic.” Ferber also criticizes Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as you can read in Hans-Peter Siebenhaar ‘s Head section.

The search for a new Executive Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is gaining new momentum. As Europe.Table has learned, former Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna is now back in the race. Apparently, after France, Italy has also given up its opposition to Gramegna. However, a final decision has yet to be made.

€275 – that is the value for the gas price cap set by the Commission. However, this value could become a permanent political pawn among the member states because of a new clause in the draft that the Commission officially presented yesterday. Read more about this in the news section.

Your
Sarah Schaefer

Bütikofer: ‘Parliamentarianism in the European Parliament is more lively’

Reinhard Bütikofer (Greens) has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009.

The European Parliament is celebrating its 70th anniversary these days. The Joint Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community met for the first time in September 1952. This became our European Parliament. You have been a member since 2009. What makes this Parliament unique for you?

The EP is unique because it is the only transnational parliamentary institution in the world directly elected by citizens.

What is the unique strength?

One of the strengths of the Parliament I have always experienced is the pronounced collegiality among its members – regardless of party affiliation and nationality. As a parliamentarian, I still know the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg. I was the finance and budget policy spokesman for the Greens, and we were in the opposition. At one point, Finance Minister Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (CDU) came to me. He didn’t understand why I was always so committed to my proposals. He said, “We vote everything down anyway.” That’s how it was. I won a single vote in eight years.

That’s different here: consensus is sought, cooperation takes place across party lines. As a member of a still small parliamentary group, I can get things done if I work constructively with colleagues from other groups.

So it is not a malus for the EP that it does not represent opposition and government?

The grid of the nation-state does not fit here. On the one hand, the EP has to deal with the Commission as the executive and, on the other, with the Council, the 27-member executive of the member states. Compared to the latter, the EP is the strong unitary authority of the entire EU. It thus contributes enormously to the cohesion of the EU. In the beginning, we sat in the EP according to countries, but since 1958 we have been sitting according to party families.

There are also party-political disputes in the EP. But they are not as rigid and encrusted as in many other parliaments. Rather, there is cooperation. Look: On a single day, the Liberals and Christian Democrats vote together, then the Greens with Christian Democrats and Socialists. What counts is the cause. Parliamentarism in the EP is more lively.

Two minutes of speaking time on average

What you can’t say about the debate culture…

The debate culture needs improvement. But whether I like it or not, we have to be brief. In my 13-plus years on the job, I come up with an average length of about two minutes for a single contribution. Most of the time, I’m not allowed to speak for more than a minute.

How can the EP improve?

For one thing, it should get by with fewer session weeks. We have almost twice as many session weeks as in the Bundestag. That should be changed so that the MEPs have more time for the constituency. Second, the EP should invest even more in cooperation with national parliaments. It would be beneficial for the European cause if a phalanx of European parliaments were to emerge.

The EP has fought for its competencies over decades.

That is correct. Elmar Brok, a long-time member of the CDU, has made a notable contribution to strengthening the EP. Together with others, we have implemented the top candidate model.

That didn’t work last time. Did the EP overstimulate his hand?

The top candidacy is still a way to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the Commission President. If the European political parties can find common ground, it will work out again in the next election. Unfortunately, only the Greens and the Christian Democrats were willing to do so last time.

Role model US Congress

Can the EP further develop its competencies?

For example, it can strengthen its role by expanding its oversight role over the Commission. The scope of the US Congress in supervising the executive branch could serve as a model. Another issue: formally, the EP may only vote out the entire Commission. If Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi of Hungary pursues a policy more for Viktor Orbán than for the EU, then the EP should publicly put him under such direct pressure that the Commission president must act.

The EP should fight for the right to vote out individual commissioners?

The history of the EP shows that long before it was given the legal right to elect the Commission President, the EP passed resolutions on the proposed Commission Presidents. This is the way it must be done again. The EP has to change the conditions bit by bit to get the formal right via a treaty amendment at the end.

You were in the state parliament for eight years and will have been in the EP for 15 years in the end, but never in the Bundestag. Do these numbers show where your heard is as a parliamentarian?

I never wanted to be in the Bundestag. The freedom I took in the Landtag, which I enjoy in the EP, I would not have had in the Bundestag. I have wanted to work in and for Europe for a long time. This passion is deeply rooted in me.

CSAM regulation: much discussion, little progress

By

Falk Steiner

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson presented her proposal for a regulation to combat sexual child abuse and its depictions (Child Sexual Abuse Material, CSAM) on the Internet in the spring. Since then, there have been arguments and discussions. The Czech Council Presidency is satisfied with the progress made so far at the working level, a spokeswoman explained in response to a question. Above all, the implementation of the regulation in technology is a key factor, which the Council Presidency and the Commission have addressed in workshops on recognition technologies and age verification. The Swedish presidency will continue to work on the dossier in the coming year.

In the European Parliament, work on the CSAM regulation has not even started: A first meeting of the rapporteur Javier Zarzalejos (EPP) with his shadow rapporteurs in the lead Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) is planned for next week on Wednesday.

It was already apparent when the CSAM regulation was presented that it would cause many problems. For example, platform operators, hosting providers, and providers of communication services such as instant messaging are to be obliged to actively research possible images of child abuse in their area of responsibility and to report them to the relevant authorities. Critics see this as “chat control” and point out that this would place users under general suspicion and put them at risk of being unjustly suspected.

Federal government searches for position

Opinions on this have not been finalized in the German government, and the FDP-led digital and justice ministries had an extremely skeptical stance from the outset. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has strong sympathy for the EU Commission’s proposal. Family Affairs Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) has not taken a clear stance on the matter so far.

At an expert discussion held by the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag on the EU’s proposal for a CSAM regulation, it now became clear how problematic the proposal is from the experts’ point of view. Family Minister Paus pointed out the conflicting goals of private chat control being undesirable, while on the other hand, more protection of children from sexualized violence is necessary. The German government agrees that the existence of a draft is good, but it should be “viewed in a differentiated way.”

That provider must do more to protect children is undisputed in her view, as is a high level of data protection and secure end-to-end encryption. The data protection commissioner of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Marit Hansen, warned both against breaking up end-to-end encryption and against considering automated detection a panacea.

Investigators must process tens of thousands of reports

When an investigator talks about his practical experience, another problem quickly becomes apparent. Lars Oeffner, Chief Criminal Counselor and representative of the police union, reported an enormous increase in the number of reports of sexual abuse of children that investigators have to deal with. Two years ago, there were 2,000 suspicious activity reports; now there are 80,000, says the head of the cybercrime and digital traces department at the Schleswig-Holstein State Criminal Police Office.

This is due to US platforms that automatically scan content and whose reports are also sent to European agencies. “Before our eyes, videos and images are being shared, and we can’t do anything about it because we are flooded with reports,” Oeffner said. Above all, he said, there is a lack of personnel but also legal certainty for investigators. He also expects that the quick-freeze procedure now proposed in Germany as a replacement for data retention will not work in many cases.

The Internet is an adult world

Felix Reda of the Society for Civil Liberties emphasized that the European Court of Justice had only declared data retention permissible within narrow limits because no content was stored. At the same time, he warned against too far-reaching regulation by the CSAM regulation, which misses the reality. He cited the use of apps by minors as an example. This cannot be clearly defined, said the former MEP. In addition, the term “minors” refers to both children and 17-year-olds.

Major providers are already carrying out content monitoring, explained Jutta Croll of the Digital Opportunities Foundation. On the measures on grooming also provided for in the draft CSAM regulation, she stressed: “Ultimately, all measures depend on the fact that we need to know not only how old young users are on the internet, but how old all users are.”

As for the need for some kind of age verification, Joachim Türk of the Kinderschutzbund said, “Unfortunately, the Internet has been an adult world from the beginning, and it still is. And it is an adult world designed by white men.”

The event organized by the Green Party’s parliamentary group in the German Bundestag gave a foretaste of that, in the coming months, the debate on the CSAM regulation will only really begin.

Euro rescue fund: Luxembourg’s Gramegna back in the race

Former Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna is back in the race for the post of Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). According to information from Europe.Table after France, Italy has also given up its opposition to the Luxembourger. The reasoning was that the uncertain international situation requires a level-headed and experienced financial politician as Managing Director of the ESM, who is also very familiar with the workings of the European institutions.

However, according to the information, the decision to appoint Gramegna as the new head of the rescue fund is not yet in the bag. There were other names, but Gramegna, with the backing of Germany, France, and Italy, had good prospects of winning the race, he said. It was emphasized that in contrast to the previous approach, the Eurogroup wants to avoid a fighting vote and decide on the chief post by consensus. At present, the large member states are talking about bringing all euro partners on board.

Gramegna had already been a candidate for the ESM chief post during the year, along with Portuguese João Leão. However, despite several rounds of voting among eurozone finance ministers, neither could muster the necessary qualified majority of 80 percent of the ESM capital, so both withdrew their candidacies in September. The decision on the ESM chairmanship is to be made on Dec. 5 at the next meeting of euro finance ministers in Brussels.

Pierre Gramegna, supported by the German government from the start, was Finance Minister in Luxembourg from 2013 to early 2022. He resigned in November 2021 for family reasons. Currently, the ESM Deputy Managing Director, Christophe Frankel, is heading the operations of the rescue fund on a transitional basis. However, his mandate ends at the end of the year. After ten years at the helm, long-time chief Klaus Regling was no longer available. cr

EU threatened with permanent dispute over gas price cap

The Commission agreed on a value for the gas price cap, which should amount to €275. However, this value could become a permanent political pawn among the member states. The reason is a new clause in the draft that the Commission officially presented yesterday, which was not yet included in the leak that Europe.Table had already reported on Wednesday morning.

First, the Commission settled yesterday on two criteria by which the Market Correction Mechanism would be activated: The price of contracts for the front month would have to be above €275 per megawatt hour for two weeks, and the price on the spot market would have to be above this threshold with another €58 for ten trading days.

According to the official draft, however, the Council should be able to reset these values. Among other things, “market developments” are supposed to be sufficient for a reset. This threatens to lead to a recurring politicization of the gas price. The discussion is thus not about introducing a fixed gas price cap but a dynamic corridor, as also demanded by the EU heads of state and government at the end of October. Fixed criteria, according to which the price cap could be adjusted dynamically upwards or downwards depending on market development would be agreed upon in advance.

Gas price cap would never have been activated

The Commission’s proposal is to be adopted at the Council of Energy Ministers on December 19; an initial exchange is planned at tomorrow’s meeting.

It is likely to cause discussion that the price cap, as proposed by the Commission, would have never been activated even this summer. In August, the TTF had temporarily risen to €350 per megawatt hour. In recent weeks, the Commission had repeatedly explained that the purpose of the Market Correction Mechanism was to prevent precisely these excessive price jumps. However, Marco Giuli of the Brussels School of Governance wrote on Twitter that the TTF broke through the €275 threshold for only one week in August. The mechanism would have already failed on the first of the two criteria. ber

Commission: energy price subsidies often not well targeted

The EU Commission has called on member states to better target aid for expensive energy bills. Fewer than 30 percent of the measures are targeted at households and businesses in need while reducing energy consumption, said Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis. Better suited, he said, is a system that subsidizes only the price of a certain basic need and leaves the rest of consumption at market prices.

This is in line with the energy price brake planned by the “traffic light” coalition in Berlin. However, the Commission has let it be known that the German government is too generous in this respect.

In the meantime, the federal government has agreed to cap 80 percent of gas consumption for the previous year at 12 cents per kilowatt hour for households and businesses. For electricity, the cap is to be 40 cents. Consumption in excess of 80 percent of the previous year will be subject to the current high prices. For the roughly 25,000 large industrial consumers, a price of 7 cents for 70 percent of gas consumption and 13 cents for electricity would apply from January 2023.

For gas alone, the plan could cost more than €50 billion. In total, Berlin wants to provide €300 billion for aid already implemented or planned. However, the Commission considers Germany’s spending policy to be too expansionary in an inflationary environment. It is directing the same criticism at other member states, especially the highly indebted countries of Belgium and Portugal. tho

Vote on reform of Energy Charter postponed

Yesterday on Tuesday, no vote was taken on the reform of the Energy Charter. The item was taken off the agenda at the last moment. The EU Commission lacked the mandate to participate in the vote. As a result, the necessary quorum for the vote could not be reached.

In June, the 53 ECT states had agreed in principle on a reform of the Energy Charter. This was supposed to be formally adopted at yesterday’s Energy Charter Conference. But no qualified majority could be found in the Council for reforming the Investor Protection Treaty after more and more EU states, including Germany, decided to withdraw from the Charter.

The EU Commission tried to postpone the vote since Friday. In any case, without the vote of the EU26 (Italy had already left the ECT), a simple majority for the reform would not have been possible.

On the sidelines of the Energy Council on Thursday, the EU states want to discuss how to proceed, Luxembourg’s Energy Minister Claude Turmes said yesterday during parliamentary question time. According to diplomatic circles, the mood in the Council is constructive for a regulated EU exit from the Charter. Turmes also does not rule out such a scenario.

The EU Commission has not yet come out in favor of this option. It said it wants to consult with the EU states. The next Energy Charter conference, at which the ECT modernization could be voted on, will not take place for another year. cw

No agreement on maritime sector in EU ETS

At yesterday’s fourth trilogue, the Parliament and Council failed to reach an agreement on the inclusion of the maritime sector in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). But there was “an idea of what key elements are,” stressed rapporteur Peter Liese (EPP). He thus expressed confidence that a text on this particular negotiating point could be adopted at the next trilogue on November 29.

Yesterday’s pending agreement provides that 50 percent of travel to and from the European Union will be covered by the ETS. It is a compromise on the part of the European Parliament, which wanted 100 percent coverage.

Including shipping in the ETS would have a severe impact both climatically and financially: According to estimates by shadow rapporteur Michael Bloss (Greens), this 50 percent of shipping trips to and from Europe would be equivalent to emissions of 90 million tons of carbon – more than the emissions of the entire household sector in Germany in 2021. If this amount were integrated into the EU ETS, it would bring in revenues of €6 billion.

Poland’s opposition

Prospects for an agreement on the other negotiating point, namely the extension of the carbon market to roads and buildings, are currently failing due to Poland’s opposition. Poland’s stance on this issue is not new, but it has reached a new dimension: on November 18, Poland sent a letter to European negotiators warning of the additional costs that the extension of the EU ETS would bring. “We are far from an agreement and I cannot see where the landing zones are,” said Peter Liese.

In addition to the trilogue on November 29, a “jumbo trilogue” is also planned for December 16-17 to try to reach an agreement on the ETS, the carbon cap-and-trade mechanism (CBAM), and the climate social fund; these three texts of the climate package are intertwined. cst

Inflation Reduction Act: Habeck and Le Maire call for robust industrial policy

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck and French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire advocate responding to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with their own subsidy programs if necessary. If the current negotiations between the EU Commission and the US government do not produce any results, it would be appropriate to respond to the billions of euros in subsidies for climate-friendly technologies in the United States with a “robust industrial strategy,” Habeck announced.

Le Maire said at a joint press conference in Paris that it was the task of the respective governments to defend their own economies – “whatever the cost.” A trade war with Washington, however, was irresponsible in the current geopolitical situation. Therefore, an industrial policy response must be found.

Berlin and Paris seem to be converging on this approach. Habeck referred to the planned platform for transformation technologies intended to strengthen the production of solar plants, wind turbines, heat pumps, or electrolyzers in Europe (Europe.Table reported).

‘Europe must learn to defend itself’

Habeck argued that the production methods of these technologies should also be as carbon-neutral as possible. This would include shorter delivery routes, more sustainable products, or quality specifications for production. “This has marked out a corridor along which to think.” He said a new electricity market design should secure more favorable electricity prices in the short to medium term.

In Habeck’s view, this would be a way to promote domestic production without obviously discriminating against non-European companies, which would be incompatible with the rules of the World Trade Organization. Le Maire, on the other hand, pleaded for a decidedly “Buy European Act,” saying that preferential treatment for European manufacturers already existed in the aerospace sector, for example. “Europe must learn to defend itself.”

Both sides are making efforts to forget the recent upsets in Franco-German relations. Le Maire and Habeck signed a joint declaration on industrial policy. The Vice-Chancellor also met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for a working meeting. On Monday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already met with Macron. On Friday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is expected to hold talks with Scholz in Berlin. tk/tho

Greens: no quick EU accession of Ukraine

After meeting with government officials, military leaders, and civil society in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, several Green Party politicians have expressed doubts about the country’s early accession to the EU. In doing so, they warn of disappointment.

“We have to deal honestly with Ukraine,” said Anton Hofreiter, Chairman of the Bundestag’s European Affairs Committee. “Ukraine’s approach can cause great concern.” The government in Kyiv had not fully met many requirements. “The method in candidate status will not work for accession,” Hofreiter added.

Ukraine is expected to join soon – possibly as early as 2024. “All interlocutors assured our delegation at all meetings that Ukraine can meet the conditions for EU accession by the end of the year,” said Terry Reintke, Co-Chair of the Green Group in the EP.

Hofreiter urges EU reform

Four days after Russia’s major attack on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Selenskyj submitted the application. At the end of June, Ukraine was granted candidate status for accession. But there are high hurdles before a membership, such as the adoption of the acquis, the essential European legal acts, into national law. Many European observers are currently concerned about corruption, the independence of the judiciary, and freedom of the media in particular in the country, which has a nominal population of over 40 million. There has been too little progress in these areas, and in some cases even regression.

It is up to the Ukrainians to create the conditions, warns the Green politician Hofreiter, but he is confident about the medium term: “I have seen a very political society in Ukraine, with a strong civil society.” At the same time, however, he says the EU must do its own homework to make Ukraine’s admission possible, including structurally: “Without a reform of the EU, a membership will be complicated.” fst/mgr

EU quota for women in supervisory boards adopted

From 2026, a quota for more women at the top of listed companies will apply in the EU. As the institution announced, the EU Parliament adopted a corresponding law on Tuesday. Since the member states have also already approved it, the way is now clear. EU countries must transpose the provisions into national law within two years, the deadline starting 20 days after the directive is published in the EU’s Official Journal.

The states are to be able to choose between two models. Either at least 40 percent of supervisory boards are to be women. The second option is to apply the new rules to both executive and non-executive directors, in which case the target would be 33 percent of all directorships by 2026.

The plan is gender-neutral. So if there were significantly more women than men on a corresponding committee, men would also benefit from the regulation. If companies do not comply with the requirements, the EU states are to impose dissuasive and proportionate penalties such as fines. Negotiators from the Parliament and EU countries had already agreed on the directive in June. The formal approval of the institutions, which has now taken place, was considered certain. dpa

Markus Ferber – the longest-serving CSU member in Brussels

Markus Ferber has been a member of the European Parliament since 1994.

Actually, Markus Ferber is a fun-loving person. But in these difficult times, the 57-year-old Swabian is deeply concerned about Europe and his parliament. “I want a more self-confident Parliament that does not shy away from conflict with the member states,” he says. “How can we defend ourselves as Europe? We must not shift all responsibility in security policy to NATO.”

When someone like Ferber says that, it carries weight in Brussels. The conservative MEP is one of the most experienced and influential parliamentarians in the EPP Group. Already at the age of 29 – in 1994 – he entered the EU Parliament as an MEP. The economic and financial expert has made a name for himself in more than ten years, especially as a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). He has been the spokesman for the EPP Group there since 2018. He is currently also a rapporteur on the supervision of insurance companies in the committee.

His collegiality is appreciated in the Group. “Markus Ferber is an expert with whom I work very collegially. Together, we want to ensure that economic and monetary union supports growth in the internal market,” says Andreas Schwab (CDU), internal market spokesman for the EPP Group.

Criticism of Ursula von der Leyen

Ferber, who has experienced many Commission presidents from Jacques Delors to Ursula von der Leyen, chides the Parliament: “We are making ourselves powerless as the European Parliament.” He said in the past, the Parliament went forcefully into negotiations with the Council. “Today, everything is technocratic and bureaucratic.”

Ferber has never lacked the courage to say things directly in his career in Brussels. “He is not someone who talks the talk of the authorities,” says Ismail Ertug, a Bavarian MEP for the SPD. He said, for example, he “audibly and credibly” contradicted CSU leader Horst Seehofer‘s anti-European election campaign. He credited him for that.

Despite the party-political closeness to the former CDU politician and current Commission President, he considers von der Leyen to be weak in leadership. With unusual clarity, Ferber says: “I don’t sense that the Commission President comes from our political camp.” In the same breath, he adds: “I have gained the impression that Frans Timmermans is the true leader of the Commission.” Ferber thus speaks what many in the EPP are thinking.

The CSU European politician has always maintained his critical distance. “There are too many do-gooders in Europe who think we have to regulate everything in detail,” he says. “If you build an electric car, you are automatically green. If you’re an auto supplier, you’re automatically not green. That shows the whole absurdity of European legislation to enforce climate targets.”

Euroscepticism in Bavaria

The EU will not be able to solve the problems with “do-gooders.” Ferber is deeply convinced of this and cites European refugee policy as an example. Since 2015, Brussels has made “not one millimeter” of progress, he said. “The Council’s inflexibility and the Commission’s proposals are a major problem.”

His stance reflects the Euroscepticism in his party but also in the small and medium-sized business community in Bavaria. Ferber sees small and medium-sized enterprises as the backbone of the European economy. In his constituency, the CSU district chairman of Swabia is excellently networked in the entrepreneurial camp. After all, there are many hidden champions there, such as the packaging machine manufacturer Multivac. “They benefit from the single market and free trade agreements but also suffer from overregulation,” says Ferber.

The European politician, who lives in Schwabmünchen near Augsburg, grew up with the CSU and politics. His father and grandfather were already active in local politics for the Christian Socialists. As a teenager, he started in the Schüler-Union.

Ferber headed the CSU-affiliated Hanns Seidel Foundation since 2020. In doing so, he does not avoid unpleasant topics such as the political influence of the parties on ARD and ZDF. However, for all the joy of being head of the party foundation, his priorities are clear: “My profession is as a member of the European Parliament. Everything in my political activity has to be subordinated to that.” Hans-Peter Siebenhaar

EUROPE.TABLE EDITORS

Till
Hoppe

Charlotte
Wirth

Falk
Steiner

Timo
Landenberger

Corinna
Visser

Lukas
Knigge

Eric
Bonse

Sarah
Schaefer

Manuel
Berkel

Lisa-Martina
Klein

Markus
Grabitz

Stephan
Israel

Claire
Stam

Dear reader,

In 1952, the Joint Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community met for the first time. Ten years later, the assembly was given the name European Parliament. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the EU institution, Markus Grabitz spoke with Reinhard Bütikofer, Green politician and member of the EP since 2009. “As a strength of the Parliament I have always experienced the pronounced collegiality among its members,” he says in the interview. But he also makes suggestions about possible improvement.

Markus Ferber is critical of the EP. He has been a member of the Parliament since 1994 and is thus the longest-serving CSU member in Brussels. In the past, the EP went into negotiations with the Council with vigor. Today, he says, things are different, and the processes have become “technocratic and bureaucratic.” Ferber also criticizes Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as you can read in Hans-Peter Siebenhaar ‘s Head section.

The search for a new Executive Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is gaining new momentum. As Europe.Table has learned, former Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna is now back in the race. Apparently, after France, Italy has also given up its opposition to Gramegna. However, a final decision has yet to be made.

€275 – that is the value for the gas price cap set by the Commission. However, this value could become a permanent political pawn among the member states because of a new clause in the draft that the Commission officially presented yesterday. Read more about this in the news section.

Your
Sarah Schaefer

Bütikofer: ‘Parliamentarianism in the European Parliament is more lively’

The European Parliament is celebrating its 70th anniversary these days. The Joint Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community met for the first time in September 1952. This became our European Parliament. You have been a member since 2009. What makes this Parliament unique for you?

The EP is unique because it is the only transnational parliamentary institution in the world directly elected by citizens.

What is the unique strength?

One of the strengths of the Parliament I have always experienced is the pronounced collegiality among its members – regardless of party affiliation and nationality. As a parliamentarian, I still know the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg. I was the finance and budget policy spokesman for the Greens, and we were in the opposition. At one point, Finance Minister Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder (CDU) came to me. He didn’t understand why I was always so committed to my proposals. He said, “We vote everything down anyway.” That’s how it was. I won a single vote in eight years.

That’s different here: consensus is sought, cooperation takes place across party lines. As a member of a still small parliamentary group, I can get things done if I work constructively with colleagues from other groups.

So it is not a malus for the EP that it does not represent opposition and government?

The grid of the nation-state does not fit here. On the one hand, the EP has to deal with the Commission as the executive and, on the other, with the Council, the 27-member executive of the member states. Compared to the latter, the EP is the strong unitary authority of the entire EU. It thus contributes enormously to the cohesion of the EU. In the beginning, we sat in the EP according to countries, but since 1958 we have been sitting according to party families.

There are also party-political disputes in the EP. But they are not as rigid and encrusted as in many other parliaments. Rather, there is cooperation. Look: On a single day, the Liberals and Christian Democrats vote together, then the Greens with Christian Democrats and Socialists. What counts is the cause. Parliamentarism in the EP is more lively.

Two minutes of speaking time on average

What you can’t say about the debate culture…

The debate culture needs improvement. But whether I like it or not, we have to be brief. In my 13-plus years on the job, I come up with an average length of about two minutes for a single contribution. Most of the time, I’m not allowed to speak for more than a minute.

How can the EP improve?

For one thing, it should get by with fewer session weeks. We have almost twice as many session weeks as in the Bundestag. That should be changed so that the MEPs have more time for the constituency. Second, the EP should invest even more in cooperation with national parliaments. It would be beneficial for the European cause if a phalanx of European parliaments were to emerge.

The EP has fought for its competencies over decades.

That is correct. Elmar Brok, a long-time member of the CDU, has made a notable contribution to strengthening the EP. Together with others, we have implemented the top candidate model.

That didn’t work last time. Did the EP overstimulate his hand?

The top candidacy is still a way to strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the Commission President. If the European political parties can find common ground, it will work out again in the next election. Unfortunately, only the Greens and the Christian Democrats were willing to do so last time.

Role model US Congress

Can the EP further develop its competencies?

For example, it can strengthen its role by expanding its oversight role over the Commission. The scope of the US Congress in supervising the executive branch could serve as a model. Another issue: formally, the EP may only vote out the entire Commission. If Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi of Hungary pursues a policy more for Viktor Orbán than for the EU, then the EP should publicly put him under such direct pressure that the Commission president must act.

The EP should fight for the right to vote out individual commissioners?

The history of the EP shows that long before it was given the legal right to elect the Commission President, the EP passed resolutions on the proposed Commission Presidents. This is the way it must be done again. The EP has to change the conditions bit by bit to get the formal right via a treaty amendment at the end.

You were in the state parliament for eight years and will have been in the EP for 15 years in the end, but never in the Bundestag. Do these numbers show where your heard is as a parliamentarian?

I never wanted to be in the Bundestag. The freedom I took in the Landtag, which I enjoy in the EP, I would not have had in the Bundestag. I have wanted to work in and for Europe for a long time. This passion is deeply rooted in me.

CSAM regulation: much discussion, little progress

By

Falk Steiner

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson presented her proposal for a regulation to combat sexual child abuse and its depictions (Child Sexual Abuse Material, CSAM) on the Internet in the spring. Since then, there have been arguments and discussions. The Czech Council Presidency is satisfied with the progress made so far at the working level, a spokeswoman explained in response to a question. Above all, the implementation of the regulation in technology is a key factor, which the Council Presidency and the Commission have addressed in workshops on recognition technologies and age verification. The Swedish presidency will continue to work on the dossier in the coming year.

In the European Parliament, work on the CSAM regulation has not even started: A first meeting of the rapporteur Javier Zarzalejos (EPP) with his shadow rapporteurs in the lead Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) is planned for next week on Wednesday.

It was already apparent when the CSAM regulation was presented that it would cause many problems. For example, platform operators, hosting providers, and providers of communication services such as instant messaging are to be obliged to actively research possible images of child abuse in their area of responsibility and to report them to the relevant authorities. Critics see this as “chat control” and point out that this would place users under general suspicion and put them at risk of being unjustly suspected.

Federal government searches for position

Opinions on this have not been finalized in the German government, and the FDP-led digital and justice ministries had an extremely skeptical stance from the outset. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has strong sympathy for the EU Commission’s proposal. Family Affairs Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) has not taken a clear stance on the matter so far.

At an expert discussion held by the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag on the EU’s proposal for a CSAM regulation, it now became clear how problematic the proposal is from the experts’ point of view. Family Minister Paus pointed out the conflicting goals of private chat control being undesirable, while on the other hand, more protection of children from sexualized violence is necessary. The German government agrees that the existence of a draft is good, but it should be “viewed in a differentiated way.”

That provider must do more to protect children is undisputed in her view, as is a high level of data protection and secure end-to-end encryption. The data protection commissioner of the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Marit Hansen, warned both against breaking up end-to-end encryption and against considering automated detection a panacea.

Investigators must process tens of thousands of reports

When an investigator talks about his practical experience, another problem quickly becomes apparent. Lars Oeffner, Chief Criminal Counselor and representative of the police union, reported an enormous increase in the number of reports of sexual abuse of children that investigators have to deal with. Two years ago, there were 2,000 suspicious activity reports; now there are 80,000, says the head of the cybercrime and digital traces department at the Schleswig-Holstein State Criminal Police Office.

This is due to US platforms that automatically scan content and whose reports are also sent to European agencies. “Before our eyes, videos and images are being shared, and we can’t do anything about it because we are flooded with reports,” Oeffner said. Above all, he said, there is a lack of personnel but also legal certainty for investigators. He also expects that the quick-freeze procedure now proposed in Germany as a replacement for data retention will not work in many cases.

The Internet is an adult world

Felix Reda of the Society for Civil Liberties emphasized that the European Court of Justice had only declared data retention permissible within narrow limits because no content was stored. At the same time, he warned against too far-reaching regulation by the CSAM regulation, which misses the reality. He cited the use of apps by minors as an example. This cannot be clearly defined, said the former MEP. In addition, the term “minors” refers to both children and 17-year-olds.

Major providers are already carrying out content monitoring, explained Jutta Croll of the Digital Opportunities Foundation. On the measures on grooming also provided for in the draft CSAM regulation, she stressed: “Ultimately, all measures depend on the fact that we need to know not only how old young users are on the internet, but how old all users are.”

As for the need for some kind of age verification, Joachim Türk of the Kinderschutzbund said, “Unfortunately, the Internet has been an adult world from the beginning, and it still is. And it is an adult world designed by white men.”

The event organized by the Green Party’s parliamentary group in the German Bundestag gave a foretaste of that, in the coming months, the debate on the CSAM regulation will only really begin.

Euro rescue fund: Luxembourg’s Gramegna back in the race

Former Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna is back in the race for the post of Managing Director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). According to information from Europe.Table after France, Italy has also given up its opposition to the Luxembourger. The reasoning was that the uncertain international situation requires a level-headed and experienced financial politician as Managing Director of the ESM, who is also very familiar with the workings of the European institutions.

However, according to the information, the decision to appoint Gramegna as the new head of the rescue fund is not yet in the bag. There were other names, but Gramegna, with the backing of Germany, France, and Italy, had good prospects of winning the race, he said. It was emphasized that in contrast to the previous approach, the Eurogroup wants to avoid a fighting vote and decide on the chief post by consensus. At present, the large member states are talking about bringing all euro partners on board.

Gramegna had already been a candidate for the ESM chief post during the year, along with Portuguese João Leão. However, despite several rounds of voting among eurozone finance ministers, neither could muster the necessary qualified majority of 80 percent of the ESM capital, so both withdrew their candidacies in September. The decision on the ESM chairmanship is to be made on Dec. 5 at the next meeting of euro finance ministers in Brussels.

Pierre Gramegna, supported by the German government from the start, was Finance Minister in Luxembourg from 2013 to early 2022. He resigned in November 2021 for family reasons. Currently, the ESM Deputy Managing Director, Christophe Frankel, is heading the operations of the rescue fund on a transitional basis. However, his mandate ends at the end of the year. After ten years at the helm, long-time chief Klaus Regling was no longer available. cr

EU threatened with permanent dispute over gas price cap

The Commission agreed on a value for the gas price cap, which should amount to €275. However, this value could become a permanent political pawn among the member states. The reason is a new clause in the draft that the Commission officially presented yesterday, which was not yet included in the leak that Europe.Table had already reported on Wednesday morning.

First, the Commission settled yesterday on two criteria by which the Market Correction Mechanism would be activated: The price of contracts for the front month would have to be above €275 per megawatt hour for two weeks, and the price on the spot market would have to be above this threshold with another €58 for ten trading days.

According to the official draft, however, the Council should be able to reset these values. Among other things, “market developments” are supposed to be sufficient for a reset. This threatens to lead to a recurring politicization of the gas price. The discussion is thus not about introducing a fixed gas price cap but a dynamic corridor, as also demanded by the EU heads of state and government at the end of October. Fixed criteria, according to which the price cap could be adjusted dynamically upwards or downwards depending on market development would be agreed upon in advance.

Gas price cap would never have been activated

The Commission’s proposal is to be adopted at the Council of Energy Ministers on December 19; an initial exchange is planned at tomorrow’s meeting.

It is likely to cause discussion that the price cap, as proposed by the Commission, would have never been activated even this summer. In August, the TTF had temporarily risen to €350 per megawatt hour. In recent weeks, the Commission had repeatedly explained that the purpose of the Market Correction Mechanism was to prevent precisely these excessive price jumps. However, Marco Giuli of the Brussels School of Governance wrote on Twitter that the TTF broke through the €275 threshold for only one week in August. The mechanism would have already failed on the first of the two criteria. ber

Commission: energy price subsidies often not well targeted

The EU Commission has called on member states to better target aid for expensive energy bills. Fewer than 30 percent of the measures are targeted at households and businesses in need while reducing energy consumption, said Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis. Better suited, he said, is a system that subsidizes only the price of a certain basic need and leaves the rest of consumption at market prices.

This is in line with the energy price brake planned by the “traffic light” coalition in Berlin. However, the Commission has let it be known that the German government is too generous in this respect.

In the meantime, the federal government has agreed to cap 80 percent of gas consumption for the previous year at 12 cents per kilowatt hour for households and businesses. For electricity, the cap is to be 40 cents. Consumption in excess of 80 percent of the previous year will be subject to the current high prices. For the roughly 25,000 large industrial consumers, a price of 7 cents for 70 percent of gas consumption and 13 cents for electricity would apply from January 2023.

For gas alone, the plan could cost more than €50 billion. In total, Berlin wants to provide €300 billion for aid already implemented or planned. However, the Commission considers Germany’s spending policy to be too expansionary in an inflationary environment. It is directing the same criticism at other member states, especially the highly indebted countries of Belgium and Portugal. tho

Vote on reform of Energy Charter postponed

Yesterday on Tuesday, no vote was taken on the reform of the Energy Charter. The item was taken off the agenda at the last moment. The EU Commission lacked the mandate to participate in the vote. As a result, the necessary quorum for the vote could not be reached.

In June, the 53 ECT states had agreed in principle on a reform of the Energy Charter. This was supposed to be formally adopted at yesterday’s Energy Charter Conference. But no qualified majority could be found in the Council for reforming the Investor Protection Treaty after more and more EU states, including Germany, decided to withdraw from the Charter.

The EU Commission tried to postpone the vote since Friday. In any case, without the vote of the EU26 (Italy had already left the ECT), a simple majority for the reform would not have been possible.

On the sidelines of the Energy Council on Thursday, the EU states want to discuss how to proceed, Luxembourg’s Energy Minister Claude Turmes said yesterday during parliamentary question time. According to diplomatic circles, the mood in the Council is constructive for a regulated EU exit from the Charter. Turmes also does not rule out such a scenario.

The EU Commission has not yet come out in favor of this option. It said it wants to consult with the EU states. The next Energy Charter conference, at which the ECT modernization could be voted on, will not take place for another year. cw

No agreement on maritime sector in EU ETS

At yesterday’s fourth trilogue, the Parliament and Council failed to reach an agreement on the inclusion of the maritime sector in the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). But there was “an idea of what key elements are,” stressed rapporteur Peter Liese (EPP). He thus expressed confidence that a text on this particular negotiating point could be adopted at the next trilogue on November 29.

Yesterday’s pending agreement provides that 50 percent of travel to and from the European Union will be covered by the ETS. It is a compromise on the part of the European Parliament, which wanted 100 percent coverage.

Including shipping in the ETS would have a severe impact both climatically and financially: According to estimates by shadow rapporteur Michael Bloss (Greens), this 50 percent of shipping trips to and from Europe would be equivalent to emissions of 90 million tons of carbon – more than the emissions of the entire household sector in Germany in 2021. If this amount were integrated into the EU ETS, it would bring in revenues of €6 billion.

Poland’s opposition

Prospects for an agreement on the other negotiating point, namely the extension of the carbon market to roads and buildings, are currently failing due to Poland’s opposition. Poland’s stance on this issue is not new, but it has reached a new dimension: on November 18, Poland sent a letter to European negotiators warning of the additional costs that the extension of the EU ETS would bring. “We are far from an agreement and I cannot see where the landing zones are,” said Peter Liese.

In addition to the trilogue on November 29, a “jumbo trilogue” is also planned for December 16-17 to try to reach an agreement on the ETS, the carbon cap-and-trade mechanism (CBAM), and the climate social fund; these three texts of the climate package are intertwined. cst

Inflation Reduction Act: Habeck and Le Maire call for robust industrial policy

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck and French Finance and Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire advocate responding to the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with their own subsidy programs if necessary. If the current negotiations between the EU Commission and the US government do not produce any results, it would be appropriate to respond to the billions of euros in subsidies for climate-friendly technologies in the United States with a “robust industrial strategy,” Habeck announced.

Le Maire said at a joint press conference in Paris that it was the task of the respective governments to defend their own economies – “whatever the cost.” A trade war with Washington, however, was irresponsible in the current geopolitical situation. Therefore, an industrial policy response must be found.

Berlin and Paris seem to be converging on this approach. Habeck referred to the planned platform for transformation technologies intended to strengthen the production of solar plants, wind turbines, heat pumps, or electrolyzers in Europe (Europe.Table reported).

‘Europe must learn to defend itself’

Habeck argued that the production methods of these technologies should also be as carbon-neutral as possible. This would include shorter delivery routes, more sustainable products, or quality specifications for production. “This has marked out a corridor along which to think.” He said a new electricity market design should secure more favorable electricity prices in the short to medium term.

In Habeck’s view, this would be a way to promote domestic production without obviously discriminating against non-European companies, which would be incompatible with the rules of the World Trade Organization. Le Maire, on the other hand, pleaded for a decidedly “Buy European Act,” saying that preferential treatment for European manufacturers already existed in the aerospace sector, for example. “Europe must learn to defend itself.”

Both sides are making efforts to forget the recent upsets in Franco-German relations. Le Maire and Habeck signed a joint declaration on industrial policy. The Vice-Chancellor also met President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for a working meeting. On Monday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had already met with Macron. On Friday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is expected to hold talks with Scholz in Berlin. tk/tho

Greens: no quick EU accession of Ukraine

After meeting with government officials, military leaders, and civil society in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, several Green Party politicians have expressed doubts about the country’s early accession to the EU. In doing so, they warn of disappointment.

“We have to deal honestly with Ukraine,” said Anton Hofreiter, Chairman of the Bundestag’s European Affairs Committee. “Ukraine’s approach can cause great concern.” The government in Kyiv had not fully met many requirements. “The method in candidate status will not work for accession,” Hofreiter added.

Ukraine is expected to join soon – possibly as early as 2024. “All interlocutors assured our delegation at all meetings that Ukraine can meet the conditions for EU accession by the end of the year,” said Terry Reintke, Co-Chair of the Green Group in the EP.

Hofreiter urges EU reform

Four days after Russia’s major attack on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Selenskyj submitted the application. At the end of June, Ukraine was granted candidate status for accession. But there are high hurdles before a membership, such as the adoption of the acquis, the essential European legal acts, into national law. Many European observers are currently concerned about corruption, the independence of the judiciary, and freedom of the media in particular in the country, which has a nominal population of over 40 million. There has been too little progress in these areas, and in some cases even regression.

It is up to the Ukrainians to create the conditions, warns the Green politician Hofreiter, but he is confident about the medium term: “I have seen a very political society in Ukraine, with a strong civil society.” At the same time, however, he says the EU must do its own homework to make Ukraine’s admission possible, including structurally: “Without a reform of the EU, a membership will be complicated.” fst/mgr

EU quota for women in supervisory boards adopted

From 2026, a quota for more women at the top of listed companies will apply in the EU. As the institution announced, the EU Parliament adopted a corresponding law on Tuesday. Since the member states have also already approved it, the way is now clear. EU countries must transpose the provisions into national law within two years, the deadline starting 20 days after the directive is published in the EU’s Official Journal.

The states are to be able to choose between two models. Either at least 40 percent of supervisory boards are to be women. The second option is to apply the new rules to both executive and non-executive directors, in which case the target would be 33 percent of all directorships by 2026.

The plan is gender-neutral. So if there were significantly more women than men on a corresponding committee, men would also benefit from the regulation. If companies do not comply with the requirements, the EU states are to impose dissuasive and proportionate penalties such as fines. Negotiators from the Parliament and EU countries had already agreed on the directive in June. The formal approval of the institutions, which has now taken place, was considered certain. dpa

Markus Ferber – the longest-serving CSU member in Brussels

Actually, Markus Ferber is a fun-loving person. But in these difficult times, the 57-year-old Swabian is deeply concerned about Europe and his parliament. “I want a more self-confident Parliament that does not shy away from conflict with the member states,” he says. “How can we defend ourselves as Europe? We must not shift all responsibility in security policy to NATO.”

When someone like Ferber says that, it carries weight in Brussels. The conservative MEP is one of the most experienced and influential parliamentarians in the EPP Group. Already at the age of 29 – in 1994 – he entered the EU Parliament as an MEP. The economic and financial expert has made a name for himself in more than ten years, especially as a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). He has been the spokesman for the EPP Group there since 2018. He is currently also a rapporteur on the supervision of insurance companies in the committee.

His collegiality is appreciated in the Group. “Markus Ferber is an expert with whom I work very collegially. Together, we want to ensure that economic and monetary union supports growth in the internal market,” says Andreas Schwab (CDU), internal market spokesman for the EPP Group.

Criticism of Ursula von der Leyen

Ferber, who has experienced many Commission presidents from Jacques Delors to Ursula von der Leyen, chides the Parliament: “We are making ourselves powerless as the European Parliament.” He said in the past, the Parliament went forcefully into negotiations with the Council. “Today, everything is technocratic and bureaucratic.”

Ferber has never lacked the courage to say things directly in his career in Brussels. “He is not someone who talks the talk of the authorities,” says Ismail Ertug, a Bavarian MEP for the SPD. He said, for example, he “audibly and credibly” contradicted CSU leader Horst Seehofer‘s anti-European election campaign. He credited him for that.

Despite the party-political closeness to the former CDU politician and current Commission President, he considers von der Leyen to be weak in leadership. With unusual clarity, Ferber says: “I don’t sense that the Commission President comes from our political camp.” In the same breath, he adds: “I have gained the impression that Frans Timmermans is the true leader of the Commission.” Ferber thus speaks what many in the EPP are thinking.

The CSU European politician has always maintained his critical distance. “There are too many do-gooders in Europe who think we have to regulate everything in detail,” he says. “If you build an electric car, you are automatically green. If you’re an auto supplier, you’re automatically not green. That shows the whole absurdity of European legislation to enforce climate targets.”

Euroscepticism in Bavaria

The EU will not be able to solve the problems with “do-gooders.” Ferber is deeply convinced of this and cites European refugee policy as an example. Since 2015, Brussels has made “not one millimeter” of progress, he said. “The Council’s inflexibility and the Commission’s proposals are a major problem.”

His stance reflects the Euroscepticism in his party but also in the small and medium-sized business community in Bavaria. Ferber sees small and medium-sized enterprises as the backbone of the European economy. In his constituency, the CSU district chairman of Swabia is excellently networked in the entrepreneurial camp. After all, there are many hidden champions there, such as the packaging machine manufacturer Multivac. “They benefit from the single market and free trade agreements but also suffer from overregulation,” says Ferber.

The European politician, who lives in Schwabmünchen near Augsburg, grew up with the CSU and politics. His father and grandfather were already active in local politics for the Christian Socialists. As a teenager, he started in the Schüler-Union.

Ferber headed the CSU-affiliated Hanns Seidel Foundation since 2020. In doing so, he does not avoid unpleasant topics such as the political influence of the parties on ARD and ZDF. However, for all the joy of being head of the party foundation, his priorities are clear: “My profession is as a member of the European Parliament. Everything in my political activity has to be subordinated to that.” Hans-Peter Siebenhaar