Next, the Europa Today newsletter that every Sunday morning tells you what will happen in the coming European week, edited by Alfonso Bianchi (for comments, suggestions or criticisms write to [email protected]).
Top of the agenda
The compass of competitiveness – On Wednesday 29th Ursula von der Leyen will present the “Competitiveness Compass”, the plan which will aim to transform Mario Draghi’s report into concrete measures. “It will be the lodestar of this new Commission,” the President told the European Parliament plenary, anticipating her three objectives: closing the innovation gap with our competitors, providing a roadmap for decarbonisation and strengthening our resilience and economic security
Password: simplification – According to a preview from Euractiv, the text will call for an “unprecedented” reduction in bureaucracy. “All EU, national and local institutions must make an unprecedented effort to produce simpler rules and speed up the speed of administrative procedures.”
Yet another clash over sanctions in Moscow – In an eternal return of the usual clash, an impasse has once again been created in Brussels over sanctions on Russia with (heard, what’s new…) Hungary threatening to block everything. The restrictive measures against Moscow must be renewed every six months and expire at the end of January. The approval for the renewal should arrive at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday 27th but Budapest threatens a veto with Orban asking Kiev to reopen the Russian gas pipelines crossing Ukraine in exchange for his green light.
Trump doesn’t think so – But what ruins the Hungarian’s plans are the directives coming from his beloved Donald Trump who just this week threatened Putin to tighten US sanctions against Moscow if he doesn’t stop the war. It would therefore seem absurd if Orban were to block the European ones right now. “What Trump said was heard loud and clear even in Budapest,” said a senior EU diplomat, hinting that the Hungarian might eventually give in to please his powerful ally.
Other hot topics
Sanctions on Syria lifted – An agreement is also being sought at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on the suspension of sanctions on Syria, to facilitate the country’s post-Assad transition. High Representative Kallas should be able to obtain a political agreement, but there is still discussion about which sanctions to remove immediately and which at a later stage to continue to put pressure on Tahrir al-Sham (Hts) and its leader Ahmad Husayn al-Shara .
Trust but not too much – “We ask for guarantees that the next government will be inclusive, that all minorities are represented and that serious discussions on a new constitution begin. Hts tells us that they are working in this direction”, said another senior EU diplomat. If the political approval arrives, it will only be for a suspension of the sanctions, not their cancellation, which means that they will be automatically reinstated after a few months if the words are not followed by deeds.
(relatively) long times – Even if the political agreement were to arrive, this does not mean that the sanctions will disappear overnight. The sanctions regime on Syria is very complex and the technical work to implement the decision could take weeks. “We have been working on it for a month already but it will take time,” the diplomatic source said.
The ECB continues to cut – On Thursday 30 January the ECB will decide on another interest rate cut of 0.25%, bringing the rate on deposits from 3 to 2.75%. Investors expect Frankfurt to continue cutting at all of its upcoming monetary policy meetings, at least until June, and the rate is expected to be raised to 2%.
Goodbye to polluting cars – Commission President von der Leyen will launch the Strategic Dialogue with the European automotive industry on Thursday 30 January, chairing the first meeting with industry representatives and social partners. Companies are on a war footing and criticize Brussels’ strategy for the transition to electric cars in 2035. The executive wants to propose harmonized incentives for the purchase of ecological vehicles.
Europe in space – The 17th European Space Conference will be held on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th in Brussels, with politicians, leaders and key industry figures discussing European space initiatives through a series of high-level dialogues. Among the guests were the High Representative Kallas, the Defense Commissioner Kubilius but also the Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano. Here is the program.
Lukashenko’s reign – Today (Sunday 26th) presidential elections will be held in Belarus, with the result being rather obvious: Alexander Lukashenko will win them. The politician, Putin’s iron ally and considered the last dictator of Europe, is seeking a new mandate: the seventh consecutive since he came to power in 1994. There will be four candidates challenging him, but none have the hope of even reaching to a decent percentage of votes.
The liberation of Auschwitz – About fifty survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau will meet on Monday 27th at the site of the former Nazi extermination camp in Poland to celebrate the 80th anniversary of its liberation by Soviet troops. Under the historic gateway, they will take part in an official ceremony alongside dozens of leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor and President Olaf Scholz.
There will be no Netanyahu – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity in Gaza, will not attend the ceremony. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s decision to guarantee him that if he came he would not be arrested, as Poland was among the founders of the Criminal Court, had caused controversy.
Five years of Brexit – Friday 31 January fifth anniversary of Brexit. In 2020, the United Kingdom became the first country to leave the European Union.
EU Parliament
Remembrance Day – Parliament will hold a special plenary session in Brussels to commemorate International Remembrance Day (27 January) and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The session will be held on Wednesday 29th and will see the participation of Corrie Hermann, who will tell the story of her father, the Hungarian cellist and composer Pál Hermann, killed by the Nazis in 1944.
Security and Defense – On Thursday 30th the Foreign Affairs Commission will vote on a resolution on the state of the EU’s foreign, security and defense policies, and the recommendations of MEPs in these areas. The two reports will focus on the war in Ukraine, relations with the United States, policies towards Russia and China and the progress of the enlargement process.
The state of human rights – On Monday 27th the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk will discuss current global human rights issues while on Thursday 30th the annual report on the state of human rights will be adopted and democracy in the world and measures relating to the EU.
Migrants as a hybrid weapon – The Civil Liberties Committee will hold an exchange of views with members of the Finnish Border Guard and the Commission on Monday 27, addressing allegations of Russia’s exploitation of migrants at the Finnish border. Helsinki has accused Moscow and Belarus of orchestrating the influx of asylum seekers as a form of hybrid warfare.
The new commissions are underway – The European Parliament will officially start the work of three new commissions: Sede (Security and Defense) on Monday 27th, Sant (Health) on Wednesday 29th and the new special commission for housing (Hous) on Thursday 30th.
Future of the automotive industry – On Tuesday 28 January, Renew Europe is organizing an event to discuss the challenges that European car manufacturers face with the transition to electric, with the aim of analyzing how these challenges can be transformed into opportunities to ensure the global competitiveness of the sector and reach the current EU green transition objectives. Here is the program.
The defense of Western values – On Tuesday 28th the Romanian delegation of the ECR group will hold a full day event on “the urgent need to promote and defend Western values in a time of crisis and multiple threats”. We will discuss topics such as migration, work, demographics and housing. Here is the program.
EU Council
Polish priorities for agriculture – On Monday 27th the Polish Presidency will present its main priorities in the agriculture and fisheries sector to the Agriculture Council. The Twenty-Seven will then discuss the regulation on the cross-border application of EU rules on unfair commercial practices and the regulation that modifies the common organization of the markets with regard to strengthening the position of farmers in the food supply chain.
And for General Affairs – On Tuesday 28th it will be the turn of the European Affairs ministers to attend a presentation on the priorities of the Polish presidency at the EU General Affairs Council. A country-specific discussion is also planned as part of the annual dialogue on the rule of law (with Hungary as always a special observation).
