Welcome to Better Europe’s weekly update on EU Affairs.
THE RETURN OF THE WARBORN
Better Regulation ‐‐ the favourite topic of our weekly review. It’s been a while since we last heard from regulatory fitness poster child Jörgen Warborn as he was busy getting his latest non-legislative report on Better Law-Making across the finish line. We have to be honest: after the ugly burden reduction sprint in last year’s Omnibus I deal, the report voted this week is a refreshing marathon of sensible Better Regulation statements. The Parliament “strongly regrets that the Commission is increasingly failing to carry out impact assessment”. These assessments must consider not just costs, but also social, economic and environmental impacts. And any further burden reduction measures should also come with an ex-post evaluation, cost-benefit analysis and scrutiny by the Regulatory Scrutiny Board. And guess what: “divergences between national rules in different Member States can also cause legal uncertainty and additional administrative costs”. As the busy fitness month of January is nearly over, let’s see whether evidence-based policy making returns for a spin later this year.
EUROPE PLAYS BAMBOO DIPLOMACY
Life is lonely in a Trump-dominated world. With the EU-Mercosur trade agreement up in the air following the European Parliament’s decision last week to kick the can down the road and suspend ratification pending a judicial review, Europe has every interest to diversify its supply chains. Viet Nam is a prime candidate for a closer relationship, as a trade agreement was signed just over five years ago and the Asian country has since become one of the largest suppliers of everyday staples to EU consumers, including coffee, fish, clothing, and electronics. This week, the diplomatic entente was rebranded as a “comprehensive strategic partnership” in Council President Antonio Costa’s whistle-stop tour through Asia. The visit follows his presence in India’s capital New Delhi with Ursula von der Leyen who signed off yet another trade deal, even if the ones with Mercosur and the U.S. are far from ratification. But the agreement with Viet Nam is more than a trade deal on critical raw materials, semiconductors, and defence tech – it’s a rapprochement with a partner that traditionally has a very “comprehensive strategic partnership” with our geopolitical opponents.
CRUNCH TIME FOR PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
This week saw the end of the Commission’s consultations on the review of the Public Procurement directives. As Europe increasingly realises that “Made in Europe” is a strategic must have and not a luxury label, 650 organisations used the last opportunity to push for a way to get a bigger share of the public spending cake. Ranging from alternative railway operators to universities in need of fair-trade coffee and toilet paper, everyone is talking about the easiest way to put our money where our mouth is – make it European and make it sustainable. But the two main policy debates seem to be totally disconnected, with on the one hand a discussion by the likes of American tech firms explaining that “Made in Europe” can be done with U.S. software, while others argue regional added value should be rewarded. At the same time, trade unions are pushing for the environmental and social sustainability dimension, against employers for whom public procurement is not a regulatory tool in itself, but just a market instrument ensuring the efficient use of public funds. More news in a few months as the Commission finalises their proposals to Buy European again.