Welcome to Better Europe’s weekly update on EU Affairs.
THE ONLY WAY IS UP FOR DRAGHI AND LETTA
All eyes are on two former Italian Prime Ministers next week, as they will addresses EU government leaders at a special Summit at Alden Biesen castle, on the Flemish countryside. More than a year after the Draghi and Letta reports on competitiveness and the single market, national leaders are going to hear on Thursday that the funding gap to address Europe’s green, digital and defence needs is much bigger than the 800 billion a year presented before. It is a public secret that Draghi is frustrated at the lack of progress on his recommendations, with only 10% of his report implemented according to the Draghi Observatory. Von der Leyen has used a very narrow part of his report to justify a deregulation agenda dressed up as simplification, but real simplification has been missing, along with new legislation to integrate the single market as promoted by Letta. Ahead of the summit, industry leaders will meet on Wednesday in Antwerp to refresh their Antwerp Declaration and Parliament will chip in their demands from Brussels on the same day. Then it’s up to government leaders to give the Commission a final slap on the wrist and hope that Ursula will save us from irrelevance on the global stage, as Draghi warned this week.
GREENLAND INVASION THREAT STOPS TRADE DEAL RATIFICATION
Parliament is looking for a way to pick up work on the EU-US trade deal agreed last summer without losing face, after it had suspended all work following Trump’s threats to invade Greenland. MEPs this week failed to reach consensus as some worry that the EU’s ‘territorial integrity’ might be at risk again and prefer to slow down the decision to remove tariffs on US industrial goods – even if Washington has already reduced duties on European cars. Progressive Green MEPs want tougher suspension clauses that allow the EU to suspend the agreement if Trump becomes hostile again. In contrast, the EPP is calling for speed, warning that further delays will damage business confidence and Europe’s credibility. A vote in the Trade Committee is now expected at the end of the month, with a plenary vote likely in March. Until then, nothing moves.
EU FLIP-FLOPS ON RAW MATERIALS
The EU’s Court of Auditors reports rarely make headlines, but this week, its views on raw materials did. The auditors warned that the EU is unlikely to meet the targets set out in the Critical Raw Materials Act, as China still dominates key parts of the supply chain, particularly the refining process. In an attempt to diversify supply lines, Commission Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné meanwhile travelled to Washington for a critical minerals summit hosted by the US. And back in Brussels, the Council of the European Union will launch its work on implementing the Raw Materials Act next Monday. The context? Supporters say the law is long-overdue industrial policy. However, critics warn that faster mining and processing could come with watered-down safeguards and with local backlash.