- Liz Truss: mixed EU reactions to Johnson successor
- The fall agenda for EU agricultural policy
- Von der Leyen wants price cap for Russian gas
- Energy crisis: Macron and Scholz vow solidarity
- Germany: two nuclear power plants as emergency reserve for winter
- Ukraine: €500 million and closer cooperation with the EU
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So far, the EU has not had the best of experiences with Thatcher fan Liz Truss – after all, it was Truss who, in her role as Foreign Secretary, proposed a Northern Ireland Protocol bill that would undermine parts of the Brexit treaty. The fear: The conservative British politician could potentially provoke a trade war in the future. Reactions from the EU to the announcement that Truss will succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister have been correspondingly mixed. While the EU Commission and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared decidedly optimistic, David McAllister, head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, voiced criticism. Eric Bonse reports.
The planned EU regulation on the use of pesticides is causing heated debate, and farmers in Germany have already taken to the streets. The proposal calls for an overall reduction of 50 percent – as well as a general ban on pesticides in “particularly sensitive areas”. These apparently include all national nature and avian conservation areas, as Europe.Table has learned. This means Germany would be particularly hard hit by the plans. But this is not the only controversial project that is likely to dominate the EU’s agricultural policy agenda in the coming months. Timo Landenberger gives an outlook for this fall.
As Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced yesterday on Twitter, the Commission is working on a proposal for a price cap on Russian gas. Tomorrow, officials from the Directorate-General for Energy want to discuss with experts from the member states how such a price cap could be implemented. Read more about the Commission’s plans in the News section.
Sarah Schaefer
Feature
Liz Truss: mixed EU reactions to Boris Johnson’s successor
As Secretary of State, Liz Truss introduced a bill back in June that would undermine parts of the Brexit treaty. Specifically, it concerns the Northern Ireland Protocol, which regulates border traffic between the British island and EU member Ireland. Relations between Brussels and London have been strained since the introduction of this bill.
Truss’ position on the EU is also causing irritation. She claims to be interested in “a constructive relationship with the EU,” as Boris Johnson’s designated successor had put it. In her party’s internal bid for the office of prime minister, however, she presented herself as a Brexit hardliner who might make her mark at the expense of the Union.
Truss could thus ultimately withdraw from the Northern Ireland Protocol and thus trigger a trade war. There are also disputes over economic, energy, digital and refugee policy. Johnson had propagated a departure from the EU course in these policy areas, which Truss could continue and even step up.
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