European Union

Great things are expected of the German-French duo: after the EU's summer summit Europe's commentators once again voice optimism that Merkel and Macron can reform the Union and save it from collapse. These hopes, initially expressed after Macron's inaugural visit to Berlin, are now reinforced by the two politicians' clear demonstration of partnership.

Romania has a new prime minister after President Klaus Iohannis on Monday tasked Mihai Tudose, the outgoing economy minister, with forming a government. Tudose succeeds Sorin Grindeanu, who was toppled by his own party in a no-confidence vote. Many commentators see PSD leader Liviu Dragnea pulling the strings behind the coup to serve his own interests.

The government in Rome is rescuing two regional banks at a cost of 17 billion euros. The EU Commission gave the green light for the move because creditors will cover some of the costs. The fact that billions of euros in taxpayers' money will nonetheless go into saving the banks prompts commentators to question whether the EU's banking union works at all.

Under the blazing summer sun rubbish is piling up all over Greece. For more than a week public sector workers who collect rubbish have been on strike. They want thousands of municipal workers on short-term contracts to be given permanent contracts. Politicians are discussing whether rubbish collection shouldn't be privatised nationwide, as has already been done in some cities. Commentators also say this wouldn't be the worst option.

Cecilia Malmström has fired a loud warning shot in the direction of Washington, saying Brussels will retaliate if Donald Trump slaps tariffs on European steel as part of his threatened crackdown on imports on national security grounds.

These are tense days indeed in transatlantic relations. The trade commissioner’s intervention came on the eve of an EU antitrust ruling that will hit Google today with a fine of more than €1bn (quite possibly significantly more than €1bn). This is small change for Google but it is bound to trigger a sharp response from American business, which still bristles at a ruling last year that handed a €13bn bill for Irish back taxes to Apple.

Read more

On 28 June, EU ambassadors endorsed the compromise reached between the Presidency and the European Parliament on the proposal for a regulation on the establishment of the European fund for sustainable development (EFSD).

''Thanks to today's agreement, we will be able to implement a new fund to support sustainable investment projects in developing countries", said Marlene Bonnici, Permanent Representative of Malta to the EU and President of the Permanent Representatives Committee. ''Together with the new European consensus on development adopted earlier this month, the establishment of the EFSD will contribute to giving a new impetus to the EU's development policy, while addressing the root causes of migration in the long term.''

Marlene Bonnici, Permanent Representative of Malta to the EU and President of the Permanent Representatives Committee

The EFSD is the main instrument for the implementation of the European external investment plan (EIP) to support investment in African and neighbourhood countries. The plan aims primarily at creating jobs and addressing root causes of migration. It will also contribute to the implementation of the Paris agreement on climate change (COP 21).

On the basis of an initial budget of 3,35 billion euros, the fund is designed to trigger up to 44 billion euro of investments. This amount could be doubled if member states and other donors match EU contributions.

The EFSD will operate as a "one-stop shop" to receive financing proposals from financial institutions and public or private investors and deliver a wide range of financial support to eligible investments. It will offer guarantees and use blending mechanisms to encourage the private sector to invest in more risky contexts, such as fragile states or conflict-affected areas.

The Parliament and the Council will now be called on to formally adopt the regulation, in order to be able to setup the fund as soon as possible.

On 28 June 2017, EU ambassadors endorsed the agreement reached between the Presidency and the European Parliament on temporary autonomous trade measures in favour of Ukraine. 

"These measures are a gesture on our part of tangible political and economic support to Ukraine. Given the difficult situation Ukraine is currently facing, we hope to proceed swiftly with the implementation of this regulation "

Christian Cardona, Minister for the economy, investment and small business of Malta

The proposal is aimed at improving access for Ukrainian exporters to the EU market, in view of the difficult economic situation and the economic reform efforts undertaken by Ukraine. 

It adds to trade provisions already introduced under an EU-Ukraine association agreement signed in 2014. Those provisions have been provisionally applied since 1 January 2016.

Applying for a three-year period, the proposed measures consist of: 

1) additional annual import quotas at zero tariff for the following agricultural products ('tariff rate quotas' at 0%): 

• Natural honey - 2500 tonnes
• Processed tomatoes - 3000 tonnes
• Grape juice - 500 tonnes
• Oats - 4000 tonnes
• Wheat - 65 000 tonnes
• Maize - 625 000 tonnes
• Barley - 325 000 tonnes
• Groats and pellets of certain cereals - 7800 tonnes

 2) full removal of import duties on several industrial products, such as fertilisers, dyes, pigments and other colouring matters, footwear, copper, aluminium, as well as television and sound recording equipment. 

Safeguard measures will apply. Ukraine will be obliged to respect the same principles as under the association agreement. These include respect for democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms and for the principle of the rule of law, as well as continued and sustained efforts with regard to the fight against corruption and illegal activities. 

Procedure and next steps

The INTA committee endorsed the deal on behalf of the Parliament on 20 June. The Parliament and the Council will now formally adopt the text by the end of July. The regulation should be published and enter into force by the end of September. 

An EU-Ukraine summit is scheduled for 12-13 July 2017 in Kiev. 

Congregación de Escuelas Pías Provincia Betania
State aid
Tax exemptions for the Catholic Church in Spain may constitute unlawful State aid if and to the extent to which they are granted for economic activities

It wasn’t quite the tsunami some were predicting after the first round of the French general election on 11 June, but Emmanuel Macron’s extraordinary story continues.

After securing the presidency on 7 May with the second-highest run-off score under the Fifth Republic, the new head of state’s La République en Marche (LRM) – a party that won’t be one until July – secured 308 of the 577 seats in the National Assembly on 18 June, with a further 42 seats for its allies from former justice minister François Bayrou’s party, MoDem.

This isn’t a record. In 2002, Jacques Chirac’s UMP won 365 seats. But what does matter is that LRM has a majority by itself, should relations with MoDem deteriorate further than they did in the week following the elections.

However, faced with allegations that MoDem MEPs siphoned funding from the European Parliament to the party, the party’s three ministers ‒ Bayrou, Sylvie Goulard at defence and Marielle de Sarnez at European affairs ‒ asked Edouard Philippe not to include them in his post-election cabinet. For both Bayrou and Macron, it became impossible for the minister guiding legislation on the ‘moralisation’ of politics to hold on to his position in the face of an official enquiry. The extent to which Bayrou jumped or was pushed has not yet fully emerged.

A fourth minister from the first Philippe government, the former Socialist Richard Ferrand, one of the first converts to Macronisme, also stood down over separate allegations about his past activities. Re-elected to the Assembly on 18 June, he is expected to chair the LRM group.

“The major difference between this legislature and its more recent predecessors is a political one”

The incoming legislature does show some original characteristics. First, three-quarters of deputies are newcomers. Second, there are more women deputies than ever before: 223 (38%) compared to the last parliament’s previous best of 155 (27%). What is more, the proportion of women elected is much closer to the overall proportion of candidates, which was a little over 40%, despite the penalties parties risk if they don’t run an equal number of women and men.

The Assembly is also younger on average than its predecessor:  48 years compared to 53 in 2012. There are far more deputies in the 20-30 years and 30-40 years age groups than ever before, and far fewer are over 60 years old.

Macron’s promise to shake up the political class has obviously paid off in respect of the ‘newness’ of the class of 2017. But in other ways it hasn’t. The largest socio-professional group in the Assembly are defined as cadres (senior management), and they are followed by ‘category A’ civil servants, then businessmen and -women. The technocratic and business elites that gave us Macron and his PM will throng the Bourbon Palace.

Of course, the major difference between this legislature and its more recent predecessors is a political one. There is no clear left-right divide between government and opposition. LRM-Modem straddles the broad centre. To its right, the Republicans (LR) and their allies in the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) number some 136 deputies, along with various unaligned right-wing deputies. But already, before parliament has formally met, the LR-UDI group has splintered, with about 40 deputies forming a separate group willing to work with the government.

On paper, the Socialists and their allies, with more than 50 seats, have done far better than anyone expected. Below the surface, however, the situation is desperate. The collapse from more than 200 seats will have an enormous impact on party finances. More significantly, five years of ‘Hollandisme’ has seen the party’s presence evaporate at the various levels of local government. Moreover, the divisions between those prepared to work with the government and those opposed is likely to see them split into two groups in the Assembly.

By contrast, the right is still strong in la France profonde, and it is no surprise that leading right-wingers have decided to re-centre their power bases in regional assemblies or as the mayors of some of France’s major cities.

“It’s Macron who has a majority, and the elections are over”

The strength of the parties at local level will be tested in September, when half of the Senate is due to be re-elected. The upper house is elected by departmental colleges comprised of local councillors but dominated, in numerical terms at least, by municipal delegates. All the elections that determine the complexion of France’s local assemblies took place well before the launch of Macron’s En Marche!, and it’s not yet clear how the presidential party will go about recruiting supporters and candidates in the colleges.

Macron, however, already has a hard core of supporters in or connected to the Senate. Gérard Collomb, his interior minister, was a senator and mayor of Lyon. Two of his closest advisors, Jean-Paul Delevoye and Jean Arthuis, were once influential figures in the upper house and still have their networks. Delevoye handled the nominations of LRM candidates for the National Assembly and is almost certainly working on the Senate election. In the meantime, Macron has delegated François Patriat, a former Socialist and senator for Côte-d’Or in Burgundy to sound out ‘Macroncompatibles’ senators, mostly on the left, in an effort to establish a group of perhaps as many as 60 supporters, ahead of the Senate renewal.

The Senate cannot block legislation except over constitutional questions that are not put to a referendum. In any case, the right-wing majority there is unlikely to oppose Macron’s attempts to modify the labour law that he has made the flagship reform of his first months in power.

Opposition to that, within parliament, will come the rump PS, but above all from Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise and from the Communists (PCF). The former have 17 seats and had hoped to persuade the latter, with eleven, to join them. But within the PCF leadership there is no love for Mélenchon and they have set up their own group, with the help of a quartet of overseas left-wing deputies.

However, it’s Macron who has a majority, and the elections are over. Now the politics begins.

IMAGE CREDIT: CC/Flickr – Parti Socialiste

The post The French elections are over ‒ now the business of politics begins appeared first on Europe’s World.

Length of video : 102'
You may manually download this video in WMV (1.2Gb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

REPORT on the 2016 Commission Report on Turkey
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Kati Piri

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP