20Dec 2023 by Joost Mulder

EU2024: Time is ticking

News

In less than six months, between 6 and 9 June 2024, Europeans in all 27 EU member states will choose 720 MEPs – the new European Parliament composition for the next legislative mandate (2024-2029). While time is ticking ahead, the months ahead still provide interesting advocacy opportunities that can help you to achieve key policy objectives in the next mandate. Right on the rise November 2023 brought a record high in opinion polls for Identity and Democracy (ID), the most right-wing party in the European Parliament, with projected 87 seats in total. This puts them four seats ahead of the other right-wing group, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), and only two seats below the liberal group Renew Europe. If this trend continues, the race for third place in the…

25Oct 2023 by Joost Mulder

EESC adopts Opinion on Environmental, Social and Governance ratings

Uncategorized

On 25 October, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted a report by Krzysztof Balon on the transparency and integrity of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings, on which Better Europe’s senior consultant Yiorgos Vassalos acted as advisor to the rapporteur. In the report, the EESC recommends the adoption of minimum quality requirements for ESG ratings, such as the mandatory inclusion of the assessment of company impact on people and the environment (double materiality). It also proposes reinforcing the provisions against conflicts of interest, improved transparency by moving more information on the methodology of ratings to the public domain, and a lot more. The full EESC opinion was adopted in plenary with 166 votes in favour, 2 against, and 2 abstentions, and several Members of the European Parliament have integrated…

25Oct 2023 by Joost Mulder

EESC adopts Opinion on the Retail Investment Strategy proposals

Uncategorized

Just one day ahead of the European Parliament's deadline for amendments, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted a report from Kestutis Kupsys on the Commission's Retail Investment Strategy, on which Better Europe's director Joost Mulder acted as advisor to the rapporteur. In the report, the EESC recommends basic products to be extended to provide a benchmark for product manufacturers to do better; to increase training requirements for people selling financial products who often themselves do not fully understand the complex products they are selling, including on sustainability matters; to measure and disclose the actual sustainability impact of investments; to always offer a sustainable product in investment advice situations, with a default for the sustainable option, and much more. The full EESC opinion was adopted in plenary with 209 votes…

06Oct 2023 by Joost Mulder

The Spitzenkandidaten process – is there room for civil society?

News

In a bit more than a year from now, in early November 2024, the mandate of current von der Leyen Commission (2019-2024) will officially come to an end. A new Commission mandate will kick in and will last until 2029. While most senior Commission staffers will keep their positions, the political leadership of the European Union executive, the 27 Commissioners and their personal cabinets, is likely to go through significant changes, based on the results of the 2024 EU elections and shifts in national governments since the last EU elections in 2019. The Spitzenkandidaten process explained Ahead of European elections, European political parties appoint their lead candidates for the role of Commission President, with the expectation that the Presidency will go to the candidate capable of securing sufficient parliamentary support.…

24Aug 2023 by Joost Mulder

EU2024 – the Final Countdown begins

Uncategorized

The current European Parliament (2019-2024) is coming back to work after its last summer recess, in view of a very busy autumn into the Brussels bubble. With the official date of the last plenary session now set for 22-25 April 2024, the final countdown before the 2024 elections, which will bring forward a brand-new European Parliament, has officially begun. Summer developments The two major European political parties, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), show two different trends according to the July polls. The EPP continues to lose another 4 seats compared to earlier polls, bringing it down to 157 seats, and S&D recovers a bit, to 143 seats. The race for third place goes on as the liberal Renew Europe group…

19Jul 2023 by Joost Mulder

Riding the right wave – what will the upcoming shift in the European political landscape mean for civil society?

News, Opinion

While the European Parliament elections are still almost a year ahead, recent polls and national developments in Europe demonstrate that we may be dealing with a more conservative Parliament during the next EU mandate (2024-2029). Hard-right Hungary and Poland have recently welcomed Italy into their ranks, while Finland and Sweden have formed right-leaning governments after recent elections. The Greek conservatives were re-elected in government last June, and upcoming elections in Spain are expected to oust socialist Pedro Sánchez from office as well. What does this shift to the right mean for advocacy at EU level? Setting the scene While, according to the recent polls, EPP and S&D will remain the two biggest parties in Parliament (with respectively 161 and 142 MEPs), a close race for the third place has already…

12Jul 2023 by Maja Bartczak

EU Friday – 12 July

EU Friday

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. PARLIAMENT POLITICAL GROUPS PRESENT THEIR WISH LISTS FOR VDL 2.0 Major Parliament groups including the centre-right EPP, the liberal Renew, the left S&D, and even the Greens are discussing their priorities in exchange for supporting the Commission President-designate Ursula von der Leyen, who needs a support of at least 361 MEPs to be re-elected. Despite extreme heat in the south and unusual heavy rain in western Europe, the fight against climate change is no longer as high a priority for the Parliamentary groups as it was in 2019. While S&D, Renew, and the Greens do not want to backtrack on the Green Deal, they all have changed their view on what its continuation should look like. The S&D wants to keep…

05Jul 2023 by Joost Mulder

EU Friday – 5 July

EU Friday

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EPP WANTS TO HALT EU SUSTAINABILITY RULES TO IMPROVE COMPETITIVENESS The centre right EPP Group, which emerged as the largest parliamentary political group in the last elections, held its party convention in Portugal this week. The meeting allowed for strategic discussions on the new EU term, and for EPP members to agree on a set of proposals for the next Commission’s work programme. A leaked draft of the EPP’s “5-point plan for a strong Europe” places competitiveness at the heart of the EPP’s agenda and proposes that two thirds of the EU budget should be dedicated to it. Building upon Ursula von der Leyen’s 2023 commitment to reduce the reporting obligations of companies, the draft work plan also suggests to “halt…

28Jun 2023 by Maja Bartczak

EU Friday – 28 June

EU Friday

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. HUNGARY PREPARES FOR PRESIDENCY AMID CONCERNS OVER NATIONALIST AGENDA As we are moving towards the end of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will wrap up on 30 June, Hungary is getting ready to take over. Although the rotating presidency of the Council is meant to position the presiding Member State as an honest broker, there are doubts in Brussels on whether Hungary will be able to ignore its national interests and not push for its populist and nationalist agenda. While Hungarian representatives have repeated that they would not deviate from customary practices, certain signs point at a different story – particularly last week’s reveal of the Presidency’s official slogan: “Make Europe Great Again”, which makes…

21Jun 2023 by Joost Mulder

EU Friday – 21 June

EU Friday

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EU LEADERS STRUGGLE TO FINALISE POST-ELECTION TOP JOB APPOINTMENTS Following the EU elections of 6-9 June, which resulted in an overall shift to the right, EU leaders met for an informal Council meeting on 18 June to agree on the appointment of EU top jobs for the next five years. A consensus had seemed to emerge ahead of the meeting, with EPP figures Ursula von der Leyen (Germany) and Roberta Metsola (Malta) expected to remain at the head of the Commission and Parliament, S&D’s António Costa (Portugal) likely to take the Presidency of the Council, and Renew’s Kaja Kallas envisioned to become EU’s diplomacy head. Yet no agreement was sealed on Monday, and discussions were shelved at least until next week.…