European Union

The European Council appointed today Mr Philip R. Lane as a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank for a non-renewable term of 8 years.

In his remarks President Donald Tusk underlined the mutual benefits and close partnership between the 31 countries the European Economic Area.

At the press conference following the meeting of the European Council in Article 50 format, President Tusk presented the decisions with regard to the the extension of the Article 50 period.

The European Council (Art. 50) on 21 March 2019 adopted conclusions on Brexit.

The Romanian Presidency and the Parliament reach a provisional agreement on the review of the European architecture for financial supervision.

The EU issued a declaration on World Water Day, remembering how much access to sufficient, safe, drinkable, physically accessible and affordable water is precondition for a decent life.

The EU issued a declaration on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.

EU ambassadors meeting in Coreper on 20 March 2019 have confirmed the common understanding reached by the Romanian Presidency with the European Parliament on the LIFE regulation.

President Donald Tusk sent the invitation letter to the members of the European Council for their meetings on 21 and 22 March 2019. The discussions will focus on Brexit, external relations including China, EU economy, climate change, disinformation as well as free and fair elections.

President Donald Tusk commented the latest developments on Brexit.

The main topic of the Tripartite Social Summit was "For a stronger, united and forward-looking Europe ".

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/25 of 8 January 2019 amending and updating the list of persons, groups and entities subject to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of Common Position 2001/931/CFSP on the application of specific measures to combat terrorism, and repealing Decision (CFSP) 2018/1084

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/86 of 21 January 2019 amending Decision (CFSP) 2018/1544 concerning restrictive measures against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons.

Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the alignment of certain third countries with Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/95 of 21 January 2019 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

Nine weeks away from the European Parliament elections, Brexit and the suspension of Fidesz from the European People’ Party has been worthwhile developments to pay attention to in the context of the EP elections campaigns.

The evening of the 20th of March and the following day have been critical moments for both the British and the Hungarian politics, but more so for the EU.

The British Prime Minister Theresa May waited until the very last minute of the 20th of March to send her letter of Brexit extension request to Donald Tusk, the European Council President.

Once the letter was sent, she made an appearance outside the Number 10. Luckily she had her voice back, viewers did not have to check their TV frequencies or radio signals to make sure what they were hearing was what May was saying.

While May heavily criticised the UK Members of the Parliament for the delay in the Brexit date, disregarding how the democratic process works in the House of Commons, she did not look like a leader in control, but she was more like a toddler having a tantrum because things did not go the way she envisaged.

May’s speech is very damaging for her authority in her own party, as well as in the British political establishment. Reverberations of the position May have adopted on that very night will be something to watch out in the coming days, but some MPs have already reported on the Twitter how the Brexit supporters have harassed them and blamed them for the delay.

In the light of these developments and their possible ramifications, the future of the Brexit is ever more ambiguous.

There is still a possibility that the UK participates in the EP elections, depending on how the Meaningful Vote (III) results next week, considering May’s treatment of the MPs and lack of change in her deal, it is very likely to be voted against.

Under these circumstances, then the UK will need to leave the EU on the 12th of April with no deal or have decided to a new plan by then. However by this date the UK will need to tell the EU what it plans to do next. Tusk said that the UK could ask another extension, if the UK agreed to stand in the EP elections in May.

Talking of the EP elections, suspension of Fidesz, the Hungarian Civic Alliance Party, from the European People’s Party has also been remarkable. Not least because we all thought the question was more about whether the EPP will decide to expel Fidesz.

I do not know what happened during that meeting and what conversations the EPP members had between them, but there is a huge difference between expulsion and suspension.

Fidesz will not have  a say on the business of the EPP, will not be allowed to nominate candidates for jobs in the grouping or attend party meetings—however it will be loosely connected to the EPP.

This means that the Fidesz will continue to run its election campaign as a suspended member of the EPP, having denied all their wrongdoings and blamed the media for producing fake news about their election material.

In a way Fidesz survived for another day and the EPP has given the impression to the outside world that the EPP does take actions against those who do breach it’s values—effectiveness of these actions is not for discussion, at least for now.

Drawing on the debate about the extension of the Brexit date and the suspension of Fidesz, I like to make two points about the current state of the EU and why these were critical moments for the EU.

The fact that the EU 27 stands united concerning the Brexit and can act together in the common interest of the EU shows that regardless of the speculations about how divided the EU is, there are more unifying the EU then dividing it. 

The second point is that the way the EPP is dealing Fidesz is exactly how the EU is handling the Member States which are in breach of the the Article 2 of the TEU. By which response I think not just the values of the EPP and of the EU, but the future of the EU have been put at a greater risk. 

The post #EP2019—Brexit Delay and the Suspension of Fidesz (II) appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

The EU-27 have agreed to postpone Brexit, not by the three months Theresa May had requested but by just two weeks. Next week the British parliament is to vote a third time on the Brexit agreement. If it approves the deal the EU will grant a postponement until the European elections. The comments in the press are clear: it's all or nothing now.

The French government is cracking down after yellow vest protests turned violent last Saturday. It has announced partial bans on demonstrations and is not excluding the possibility of making preventive arrests again. Counter-terrorist army units are also to be deployed to protect certain locations. Journalists ask what effect this hard line will have and what image France is projecting.