EU leaders' summit on top jobs and future budget

"EU leaders have agreed to spend more on common defence and security policy in their next long-term budget, European Council President Donald Tusk says.

Leaders of 27 states were meeting in Brussels to shape the 2021-27 budget.

Members have been in disagreement on how to compensate for funding loss after Britain's planned 2019 departure.

Germany and France have warned any funding cuts to EU programmes could damage efforts to tackle illegal immigration and terrorism.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Tusk said leaders had agreed to spend more on security, as well as fighting illegal migration in their next long-term budget.

He said many of the EU leaders were ready to contribute more to the pot, but acknowledged others were less forthcoming." BBC

"European Union leaders rejected on Friday a push to have the head of the EU’s executive European Commission determined by voting in elections to the European Parliament, or to merge that job with that of the chairman of EU summits. 

Both initiatives are part of a power-struggle in Brussels between EU institutions like the Commission and Parliament which want to gain more control and European governments, known as the European Council, which does not want to cede it.

Donald Tusk, the chairman of EU summits, told a news conference that in nominating the next head of the Commission in 2019, leaders would to take into account the results of parliamentary elections as required by the EU treaty.

But they would not agree to be limited to a short-list of lead candidates prepared by the European Parliament. 

(...)

At Friday’s summit, leaders agreed with Parliament’s proposals for reducing its size and reallocating some seats after Britain leaves the Union in March 2019.

Leaders also backed an initiative by French President Emmanuel Macron to allocate some British seats to new, pan-European constituencies would not be considered for next year but should be studied for the 2024 elections. Many states are sceptical of the notion of “transnational lists”.

Macron’s proposal to launch “citizens’ consultations” on the future of the EU ahead of the 2019 election was accepted by all leaders except Hungary. Macron will launch that project on April 17 in Strasbourg."

Reuters

European Parliament votes against transnational lists

MEPs rejected the idea of a transnational list for the 2019 European elections on Wednesday (7 February), though they agreed to change the composition of the Parliament in light of Brexit. 

The much-debated project of transnational lists did not win over MEPs. During a plenary session in Strasbourg, European representatives made their choice by voting against the creation of a transnational list for the 2019 elections.

Clearly divided on the issue, the outcome was still uncertain until the end of the vote. The initial proposal, put forward by MEPs Danuta Hübner and Pedro Silva Pereira, mentioned keeping 46 of the 79 seats vacated by the UK for a pan-European list. The additional seats would have been redistributed to under-represented member states in the Parliament.

(...)

Following the end of the vote, the European Parliament finally decided to reduce the number of MEPs from 751 to 705 for the next elections and to remove the MEP reserve initially made for the constitution of a transitional list.

The remaining 27 seats, however, were granted by a large majority to the rebalancing of the Parliament’s composition. According to the text adopted with 552 votes for, 109 against and 17 abstentions, countries that experienced an increase in population will get additional seats for the next elections. France notably gains the most by winning 5 more seats and going from 74 to 79 MEPs.

This new distribution now has to be approved by the heads of governments and states, who will meet for an informal summit in Brussels on 23 February.

(...)"

Euractiv

MEPs vote to bolster Spitzenkandidat process

"The European Parliament gave its strong backing Wednesday for the Spitzenkandidat process for selecting the next president of the European Commission. It voted by 457 votes to 200 to adopt a resolution saying the assembly would reject any candidate for the Commission presidency that not been appointed as a Spitzenkandidat — or someone who has the formal backing of a party grouping — in the run-up to European election.

The Spitzenkandidat (or “leading candidate”) process awards the presidency to the party winning the most seats in Parliament. 

(...)

The specific process does not have any official status in the EU treaties, but it was first used in 2014 to democratize a system that had hitherto allowed national leaders of the largest countries to dole out top EU jobs via backroom deals. A majority of European countries including France and from Eastern Europe have voiced opposition to the process though, arguing that it would force them to accept the winner of a process driven by party insiders. Critics also note that the Spitzenkandidat effectively eliminates from consideration any sitting head of state or government because it is unrealistic to expect someone to resign from national leadership to campaign for the Commission post."

Politico

EU opens door to Balkans with 2025 target for membership

"The European Union acted on Tuesday to reinvigorate the membership ambitions of six Balkan states and reclaim the region as its own amid growing Russian and Chinese influence, setting 2025 as a goal for Serbia and Montenegro to join. 

Seeking to breathe fresh life into the EU with Britain set to leave, the European Commission laid out a strategy to bring Western Balkan nations into the fold if they achieve required reforms, marking a change after years of fading interest.

“The door is open ... There is a clear path for the Western Balkans to finally join the European Union,” EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said of Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia as she presented the plan at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

“The future of the Union is not bound to be at 27,” she said, referring to the current membership level of the bloc, discounting Britain, which is due to leave in 2019.

Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said it was a call to “work every day from now ... to become part of the European family of nations”.

Johannes Hahn, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, earlier urged the bloc not to repeat past mistakes, alluding to what many believe was the rushed accession of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007 and the poorly managed migration of eastern European workers to Britain that turned many Britons against the EU. 

Brussels has been growing worried about Russia’s assertiveness on its borders since Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 - concerns exacerbated in the Balkans after Montenegro accused Russia of supporting a failed coup in 2016.

Meanwhile, Chinese investment in the region, though welcomed by governments, is seen as undermining EU standards because it does not come with the same stringent requirements as EU aid.

EU “LIP SERVICE”?

Underlining the renewed enthusiasm for the Balkans, top EU officials said there was no alternative but for the countries to join the European Union. Support for EU membership ranges from roughly 75 percent in Kosovo to 52 percent in Serbia.

The EU’s Balkan strategy aims to show that membership is certain if the region’s states meet EU demands including establishing independent courts, a free press and breaking up crime rings that have badly weakened governments.

Jasmin Mujanovic, a U.S.-based political analyst, warned that the EU strategy would run into the same problems if there was not a new plan to help reform the Western Balkans.

“There’s a lot of lip service to addressing what are the structural problems in the region, which is corruption, clientilism and entrenched illiberal elites. But it’s unclear to me as to what exactly they propose to do about this.”

Integration means increasing access to EU funds and is designed to foster reforms to lure investors, boost growth and encourage stability in a region still grappling with the legacy of Yugoslavia’s socialist planned economy.

Albania and Montenegro are already members of the U.S-led NATO alliance while Macedonia is likely to be offered NATO membership, often seen as a springboard to EU membership, if it can overcome a dispute over its name with Greece.

EU leaders will embrace the 2025 timeline at a special Western Balkans summit in May in Sofia, the Commission said.

Serbia and Montenegro are the most advanced in the accession process but Hahn said that could easily change if Serbia did not recognize the independence of Kosovo, its former province.

Belgrade’s ally Russia and five EU states have also refused to recognize Kosovo, including Spain, which is trying to contain its own separatists in Catalonia.

Kosovo’s Integration Minister, Dhurata Hoxha, said it was important that the European Commission stressed Kosovo’s status as an independent country.

“The fact that the EU treats Kosovo’s accession to EU as separate from Serbia for me is the recognition of our independence despite that some of the EU members states do not recognize us,” Hoxha said."

 Reuters

EU must end 'hypocrisy' of allowing Turkey to become a full member, says Emmanuel Macron

The prospect of Turkey joining the European Union as a fully-fledged member is "hypocrisy", according to President Emmanuel Macron of France, who added that progress on the application was not possible given human rights concerns.

Mr Macron's remarks came during a tense press conference with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as the French leader warned against flouting the rule of law and freedom of expression while his counterpart accused some writers and journalists of acting as "the gardeners" of terrorism.

During the exchange, the authoritarian Turkish leader, who ordered the arrest of up 55,000 security force members, judges, academics, journalists and activists in the wake of the 2016 failed coup, said his country was "exhausted" after 54 years in the "antichambre" of the EU.

"When it comes to saying why, the EU is not really capable of giving reasons," he claimed, adding that Turkey is currently blocked on 35 "chapters", or policy areas, of the negotiations.

"This is seriously exhausting us and seriously exhausting our nation. Maybe this will force us to take a decision," he said, without specifying what that might be. Mr Erdogan said in October that Turkey no longer needs to join the European Union but added that "we will not be the side which gives up" on accession talks.

But Mr Macron said that political developments in Turkey were effectively blocking its EU accession bid.

"For relations with the European Union, it is clear that recent developments and choices allow no progress in the process," Mr Macron said.
"We must get out of a hypocrisy that consists in thinking that a natural progression towards opening new chapters is possible. It's not true."
Ankara was hoping to warm frosty relations with Europe during Mr Erdogan's trip, but the talks were overshadowed by concerns over Turkey's huge post-coup crackdown and the arrest of journalists.

Over 140,000 people have been sacked or suspended, accused of links to the movement run by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused by Ankara of orchestrating the attempted coup.
Neither leader hid his pessimism over the state of Turkey's long-running bid to join the EU.
Mr Macron suggested that the pair should work towards a "partnership" rather than full membership to ensure that "Turkey remains anchored in Europe".
"I hope we can take up a peaceful dialogue that would allow us to build a relationship which is essential in my eyes, both for ourselves and for the region," he added.
After signing multi-billion euro trade agreements and lauding exemplary cooperation in tackling terror, the French president said he had discussed a number of specific cases of journalists and academics currently under arrest.
"Democracies must fully respect the rule of law," said Mr Macron, who has come under domestic fire for receiving his Turkish counterpart in the wake of his post-coup crackdown.

Mr Erdogan hit back that some journalists helped nurture terrorists through their writing.
"Terror doesn’t form by itself. Terror and terrorists have gardeners," said the Turkish leader. "These gardeners are those people viewed as thinkers. They water ... from their columns on newspapers and one day, you find, these people show up as a terrorist in front of you."
The talks came as Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for a fresh start in his country's rocky relationship with Germany, holding out the prospect of closer economic cooperation if ties improved.
But his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel, who will host Mr Cavusoglu for talks on Saturday, made clear Turkey must first release a German-Turkish journalist detained for more than a year without charge.
Only then could arms exports resume, he said."
Telegraph

Andrej Babis sworn in as Czech PM

"Andrej Babis has been appointed prime minister of the Czech Republic after his ANO party came first in an election in October. President Milos Zeman appointed the 63-year-old in a televised ceremony on Wednesday. Babis set up ANO in 2011 as a protest movement when mainstream parties were embroiled in corruption scandals. The billionaire businessman must now focus on securing parliamentary backing for a minority administration. 

What has he promised to do in government?

Babis has pledged to keep the budget in shape but also boost infrastructure investments and public sector wages.He has also promised to play a more active role in the EU, especially in securing the EU's external border to stop illegal immigration.

The Czechs are facing a possible EU suit over refusing to accept migrants under an EU quota system.

Babis says this will be his first EU task. "I will first have to negotiate and convince the European Commission not to sue us and to find a different solution," he has told reporters."Quotas are not a solution, and the solution is outside Europe, and we have to win over other member states for this." 

When will he take power?

On December the 13th. This allows him to take part in an EU leaders' summit in Brussels the following day. 

Was it a convincing win?

Yes. Running on pledges to fight migration and make the state more efficient, ANO won 29.6% of the vote.That is nearly three times the support won by the second-placed centre-right Civic Democrats.

However, despite the strong showing, it is unclear whether Babis will be able to win a confidence vote for his government by mid-January, as required by the constitution.The ANO holds 78 seats in the 200-seat lower house but has so far failed to win the backing of any of the other eight parties.

Should he lose such a vote, Babis would stay in power until a new arrangement is found. He also faces the threat of prosecution in connection with his business interests. 

Is there a deal in place already?

Babis says not. The far-right, anti-EU and anti-NATO SPD party and the Communists have lent ANO support in several initial votes in return for committee posts for their members.

This has raised the prospect that an agreement might already be in place to back the ANO. But Babis said on Wednesday he had no deal in place. He says he plans to talk to all parties to either back the cabinet or abstain from the vote to help it win. "In the week of December the 18th we will present the programme manifesto and negotiate on whether someone will go into government with us or give us tolerance," he said. 

What the critics say

Rival parties have criticsed Babis for alleged conflicts of interest. The second-richest person in the country, he is worth $4 billion dollars according to Forbes. He owns a farming, chemicals, food and media group which has contracts with the state and receives European subsidies.

The main sticking point is a police request that parliament strip Babis of his immunity so he can be prosecuted for suspected fraud in tapping EU subsidies. He has denied any wrongdoing. If police drop the case or parliament refused to lift immunity, Babis may win some votes from other factions.Analysts say a second attempt to form a cabinet, with or without Babis, may have a greater chance of success because many parties suffered losses in the October vote.They are said to be keen to avoid an early election, which a prolonged crisis could eventually lead to."

Euronews

Spain Dismisses Catalonia Government After Region Declares Independence

"Spain’s leader fired the government of the rebellious Catalonia region Friday, dissolved the regional parliament and ordered new elections after Catalan lawmakers illegally declared an independent nation.

The showdown escalated the biggest political crisis in decades to hit Spain, which is just emerging from a prolonged economic malaise. Catalonia is a critical part of the economy in Spain, the fifth largest in Europe. (...)

As of Friday night it was unclear whether separatist leaders — who hours earlier exulted at the independence declaration — would resist. The mood in the city of Barcelona was a mix of intense joy and subdued trepidation.

“We believe it is urgent to listen to Catalan citizens, to all of them, so that they can decide their future and nobody can act outside the law on their behalf,” Mr. Rajoy said.

The steps announced by Mr. Rajoy mean Spain will take direct control over one of the country’s autonomous regions for the first time since Spain embraced democracy under the 1978 Constitution.

At the end of what he called “a sad day” for Spaniards, Mr. Rajoy assured them that he had the means to end a secessionist threat that, he said, was based on “lies, frauds and impositions.”

He removed the Catalan leader, Carles Puigdemont, and his cabinet, as well as the director general of the autonomous police force. He also ordered Catalonia’s representative offices overseas to close.

In ordering the Catalan Parliament to dissolve, Mr. Rajoy said new regional elections would be held Dec. 21.

Pending the elections and formation of a new regional government, Mr. Rajoy said, Catalonia’s administration would be run from Madrid.

Fueled by a distinct language and culture as well as economic grievances, aspirations for a separate state have percolated for generations in Catalonia before boiling over this month.

The events on Friday, coming in the chaotic aftermath of an Oct. 1 independence referendum in Catalonia, were greeted variously with anger, concern and elation on both sides, with the prospect of even more volatile confrontations in days ahead as the Spanish government moves to put the steps in place.

Spain’s attorney general may now seek to detain Catalan leaders on grounds of rebellion.(...)

During the debate in the regional parliament that preceded their vote for independence, Catalan lawmakers traded accusations and in turn described the occasion as “historic” and “happy,” or else “tragic” and a violation of Spain’s Constitution — perhaps the only thing on which both sides agreed.

Within an hour, the Spanish Senate in Madrid voted 214 to 47 to invoke Article 155 of Spain’s Constitution, granting Mr. Rajoy extraordinary powers to seize direct administrative control over the region and remove secessionist politicians, including Mr. Puigdemont, the Catalan leader.

In a speech on Friday before the vote, Mr. Rajoy had said he had “no alternative” because Mr. Puigdemont and his separatist government had pursued an illegal and unilateral path that was “contrary to the normal behavior in any democratic country like ours.”

Undeterred by Mr. Rajoy’s threat, and after a bitter debate, separatists in the Catalan Parliament passed a resolution to create “a Catalan republic as an independent state.”

Most of the opponents to independence walked out of the chamber in protest before the vote, which the remaining lawmakers held via secret ballot, aware that declaring independence from Spain could risk arrest. The final tally was 70 in favor, 10 against, and two blank votes.

Since the referendum, Mr. Puigdemont had been squeezed in a tightening vise of his own creation, and seemed at times to contradict his own declarations as he squirmed for a way out.

Mr. Puigdemont, a former small city mayor, was trapped between the demands from Catalan hard-liners to declare independence on one side, and, on the other side, the stiffening response from a Rajoy government determined to preserve the nation’s Constitution and territorial integrity.

Despite pleas for mediation, he and his region’s independence bid were shunned and condemned, not only by Madrid but also by European Union officials wary of encouraging similarly minded secessionist movements around the Continent.

European leaders made clear on Friday that they would not be recognizing Catalan independence and would support Mr. Rajoy, as leader of one of the bloc’s most important member states. Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, wrote in a Twitter post that “nothing changes” and “Spain remains our only interlocutor.”

Searching for a compromise, Mr. Puigdemont came close on Thursday to calling early regional elections in hopes of forestalling the drastic measures approved by the Spanish Senate on Friday and preserving Catalonia’s autonomy.

But Madrid would offer no guarantee that it would not clamp down on the region, Mr. Puigdemont said, as he immediately faced a revolt in his own ranks from secessionist hard-liners who called him a traitor.

After hours of wavering on Thursday, he relented and threw the decision on independence to Catalan lawmakers, who took the fateful plunge on Friday.

(...)"

Link

Austrian snap elections

"Das Ergebnis der Nationalratswahl ist komplett, alle Wahlkarten sind ausgezählt. Mit den insgesamt 795.763 abgegebenen Wahlkarten und Briefwahlstimmen (790.606 davon waren gültig) stieg die Beteiligung auf genau 80 Prozent. Das ist gegenüber 2013 ein Plus von 5,09 Prozentpunkten - und bedeutet den größten Zuwachs in der Zweiten Republik. An den Stimmenanteilen änderten die rund 37.000 am Donnerstag ausgezählten Wahlkarten nicht viel, wie aus den spätabends vom Innenministerium veröffentlichen Zahlen hervorgeht.

Die Grünen blieben - auch inklusive Briefwahlstimmen - deutlich unter der Vier-Prozent-Hürde für den Verbleib im Nationalrat. Sie landeten bei 3,80 Prozent. Das ist ein Verlust von 8,62 Prozentpunkten gegenüber 2013 - und aller 24 Mandate, die sie damals geholt hatten.

Die ÖVP ist Erste mit 31,47 Prozent (plus 7,48) und 62 Mandaten. Die SPÖ wurde durch die Briefwahlauszählung am Montag Zweite - und liegt jetzt mit 26,86 Prozent (plus 0,04) und 52 Mandaten deutlich vor der FPÖ. Deren Stimmenanteil fiel mit den Donnerstagswahlkarten unter 26 Prozent, auf 25,97 Prozent (plus 5,46), sie stellt künftig 51 Abgeordnete. Die NEOS sind mit zehn Mandaten (5,30 Prozent), die Liste Pilz ist mit acht Mandaten (4,41 Prozent) im nächsten Nationalrat vertreten.

(...)

Am Donnerstag hatten die neun Landeswahlbehörden dann noch 37.339 Stimmen (37.109 davon gültige) auszuzählen, die am Sonntag per Wahlkarte oder Briefwahl in "fremden" Wahlkreisen abgegeben wurden. Damit stieg die Wahlbeteiligung, die am Sonntag erst mit 67,56 Prozent und am Montag mit 79,41 ausgewiesen wurde, noch auf genau 80 Prozent.

(...)"

Link

European Union to get a single public prosecutor

A Luxembourg-based chief prosecutor, tasked with investigating EU budget-related fraud, will start work next year after getting final approval from the European Parliament on Thursday (5 October). 

The prosecutor will have the power to coordinate police investigations, freeze and seize assets, and arrest suspects across borders.

Until now, only national authorities could investigate and prosecute crimes such as intentional misuse of EU structural funds or cross-border VAT fraud, but it was much more difficult because these authorities’ jurisdiction ends at national borders.

Member states gave their assent to the creation of the office in the 2009 Lisbon Treaty. However, the legislation creating the agency, first put forward in 2013, has been delayed because of opposition from some member states.

Due to unanimity requirements, the European Council opted for ‘enhanced cooperation’, with only 20 of the EU’s 28 member states participating. Non-participating countries include the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Malta and the Netherlands. They are free to join at any point in the future.

(...)

The Luxembourg office will have a chief prosecutor and prosecutors from all participating countries, who will be heading the day-to-day criminal investigations carried out by delegated prosecutors in all participating member states.

Link

EU sugar quota system comes to an end

The very last agricultural quota system in place, managing sugar production in the European Union, will be scrapped on 30 September 2017, after nearly 50 years.

The decision to end the sugar quotas now was agreed between the European Parliament and Member States in the 2013 reform of the Common Agricultural policy (CAP) after a major reform and restructuring process initiated in 2006.
(...)
Link

Cinq axes clés pour regonfler une UE essoufflée

Emmanuel Macron, dans un discours ambitieux et d’une rare densité, qui rompt avec les cinq ans de silence obstiné observé sur le sujet par son prédécesseur François Hollande, a plaidé pour une «refondation» de l’Union européenne d’ici à 2024 car «nous ne pouvons pas nous permettre de garder les mêmes politiques, les mêmes habitudes, les mêmes procédures, les mêmes budgets». Il n’a pas hésité à se placer dans les pas des «pères fondateurs» : «Je pense à cet instant à Robert Schuman, le 9 mai 1950, osant proposer de construire l’Europe. Je pense à ces mots saisissants : "L’Europe n’a pas été faite, nous avons eu la guerre."» Décryptage des cinq points clefs de son discours.
Une Europe différenciée
Pour Macron, unité ne rime pas avec paralysie. S’il n’exclut pas qu’à terme tous les pays de l’Union participent à toutes les politiques européennes, y compris à l’euro, il refuse que les plus réticents bloquent ceux qui veulent aller de l’avant, d’autant que «l’Europe est déjà à plusieurs vitesses, n’ayons pas peur de le dire. Allons vers ces différenciations» qui impliquent la mise en place d’une «avant-garde». Pour rassurer les pays d’Europe de l’Est, qui sont visés, le chef de l’Etat affirme qu’il ne veut pas bâtir de nouveaux murs mais «assurer l’unité sans chercher l’uniformité» et sortir de la recherche actuelle du «plus petit dénominateur commun». Assumer que l’Europe n’ira pas du même pas avant longtemps ne veut pas dire que ceux qui n’appartiendront pas au cœur nucléaire de l’Union pourront faire ce qu’ils veulent. Outre les règles du marché unique, qui continueront à se décider à vingt-sept et à s’appliquer aux vingt-sept, «sur les valeurs de la démocratie et de l’Etat de droit, […] il ne peut y avoir d’Europe à deux vitesses». La Pologne et la Hongrie sont prévenues.
Une zone euro renforcée
Pour Macron, «le cœur d’une Europe intégrée», c’est l’euro. En préalable, il écarte toute mutualisation «des dettes du passé», un épouvantail outre-Rhin, et il se garde bien d’évoquer de futurs «eurobonds» ou emprunts européens, meilleurs moyens de bloquer toute discussion. Il estime cependant nécessaire un budget de la zone euro non pas pour voler au secours des déficits publics, mais pour investir et disposer de «moyens face aux chocs économiques» : «Un Etat ne peut, seul, faire face à une crise lorsqu’il ne décide pas de sa politique monétaire.» Ce budget serait abondé par les taxes européennes sur les géants du numérique qu’il veut mettre en place, la taxe carbone, voire une partie de l’impôt sur les sociétés lorsque les taux auront été harmonisés. Toujours afin de rassurer l’Allemagne, il réaffirme son attachement au pacte de stabilité et à la coordination des politiques économiques dont le pilotage serait assuré par un ministre des Finances européen (fusion du poste de commissaire européen aux Affaires économiques et de celui de président de l’Eurogroupe, l’enceinte réunissant les ministres des Finances de la zone euro). Enfin, il veut qu’un contrôle parlementaire sur la zone euro soit institué, sans dire s’il sera assuré par l’actuel Parlement européen ou par un Parlement ad hoc.
Une Union protectrice Le chef de l’Etat a particulièrement insisté sur la transition énergétique rendue nécessaire par l’accord de Paris sur le climat. Il veut notamment instituer un prix plancher de la tonne de carbone, et, afin d’assurer une juste concurrence, instituer une taxe aux frontières européennes sur les produits provenant de pays ne respectant pas les standards européens. Il propose aussi de créer une véritable communauté européenne de la voiture électrique afin «de traverser l’Europe sans l’abîmer». Après les scandales alimentaires qui ont ébranlé l’Union, comme celui des œufs contaminés, Macron souhaite accélérer la transition vers une agriculture «écologique et responsable», notamment en assurant à tous les agriculteurs des revenus décents, ce qui passe par une réforme en profondeur de la politique agricole commune, «un tabou français», celle-ci réservant 80 % de ses aides à 20 % des agriculteurs, généralement les plus intensifs. Il veut aussi la création d’une «force européenne d’enquête et de contrôle» pour lutter contre les fraudes alimentaires, un domaine jusque-là souverain, et réformer en profondeur les évaluations scientifiques européennes. Le chef de l’Etat milite pour la mise en place d’une Europe fiscale afin de mettre fin à la concurrence de tous contre tous, en adoptant d’ici à 2020 une fourchette de taux d’impôts sur les sociétés. Si un Etat ne la respecte pas, il serait privé d’une partie des aides régionales (fonds de cohésion). De même, un salaire minimum européen, variable selon les pays, serait créé. Enfin, Macron demande une politique commerciale plus transparente, qui tienne compte des exigences sociales et environnementales ainsi que la création d’un «procureur commercial européen» chargé de vérifier le respect des règles par les pays tiers et doté d’un pouvoir de sanction.
Une UE de la sécurité Face à «l’inéluctable» retrait américain, l’Union n’a d’autre choix que d’assumer sa propre défense «en complément de l’Otan», affirme Macron. Il propose en préalable de créer «une culture stratégique commune» en accueillant au sein de l’armée française des militaires européens afin de participer «à nos travaux d’anticipation, de renseignement, de planification et de soutien aux opérations», Une initiative qu’il aimerait voir reprise par toutes les armées de l’Union. Ensuite, dès les années 2020, «l’Europe devra être dotée d’une force commune d’intervention», une proposition qui remonte à 1999 mais n’a jamais vu le jour, «d’un budget de défense commun et d’une doctrine commune pour agir». Pour renforcer la coordination des services de renseignements européens dans la lutte contre le terrorisme, le chef de l’Etat souhaite la création d’une «académie européenne du renseignement» et que le parquet européen en cours de création ait compétence dans les domaines de la criminalité organisée et du terrorisme, alors que pour l’instant, elle est limitée à la lutte contre les fraudes au budget communautaire. Enfin, Macron veut rompre avec la politique du chacun pour soi en matière d’immigration et d’asile, les pays de la «ligne de front» étant laissés à eux-mêmes. Il propose la création d’un office européen de l’asile, destiné à harmoniser les procédures, une proposition de la Commission qui remonte au début du siècle, l’interconnexion des fichiers, le renforcement de la «police européenne des frontières» actuellement dotée d’effectifs symboliques, une gestion commune des reconduites à la frontière et le financement européen de l’intégration des réfugiés. Cette politique d’immigration passera aussi par un «partenariat avec l’Afrique», qui implique une augmentation de l’aide au développement, qui pourrait à terme être financée par une taxe sur les transactions financières européennes, un serpent de mer, qui prendrait comme modèle la taxe française ou britannique.
 La méthode
Macron ne veut pas se lancer d’emblée dans une réforme des traités européens. Il évoque seulement deux réformes : une réduction de la taille de la Commission de vingt-huit à quinze membres (comme cela était prévu à l’origine par le traité de Lisbonne) et la création de listes transnationales pour les élections européennes afin de créer un espace public européen. Dans un premier temps, seuls les 73 postes libérés par les Britanniques seraient concernés, mais il souhaite que la moitié du Parlement soit élu à terme dans le cadre d’une circonscription européenne. En clair, les partis européens désigneraient ces candidats et non plus les partis nationaux. Pour le reste, il se montre ouvert : soit des coopérations renforcées, soit un accord ad hoc, soit une nouvelle législation communautaire. Mais il estime que tous les pays devraient lancer des «conventions démocratiques» afin que les citoyens soient consultés sur l’Europe qu’ils souhaitent : elles se réuniraient pendant six mois en 2018 pour débattre et permettre aux partis de s’emparer de leurs conclusions.
Liberation

Germany: elections 2017

Link

Macron marches on as his party wins large majority in French parliament

The French president Emmanuel Macron’s new centrist movement has won a large majority in the French parliament, taking 351 out of 577 seats.

The win will hand the new president a relatively free rein to implement his plans to change French labour law, and overhaul unemployment benefits and pensions.

But the results were tempered by a record low turnout of around 43%. Abstention was particularly high in low-income areas, reopening the debate about France’s social divide.

The traditional right and left parties that had dominated parliament and government for decades saw their presence in the assembly shrink significantly, confirming the redrawing of the French political landscape that began when the Socialists and the rightwing Républicains were knocked out in the first round of spring’s presidential election.

The French right, which only a year ago had believed the presidential and parliamentary elections impossible to lose, was on track for its worst parliamentary score in France’s postwar Fifth Republic. Les Républicains and its allies were forecast to see their number of seats shrink to around 125 – low, but higher than was forecast after the poor first-round showing last week.

The Socialist party was the biggest loser, expecting to shed more than 200 seats and hold only around 34 seats – again, better than forecast, but still a drubbing. The party’s leader, Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, immediately stood down.

(...)

Politico

Turkey's Erdogan declares referendum victory

President Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in a referendum on Sunday to grant him sweeping powers in the biggest overhaul of modern Turkish politics, but opponents said the vote was marred by irregularities and they would challenge its result.(...)

Erdogan said 25 million people had supported the proposal, which will replace Turkey's parliamentary system with an all-powerful presidency and abolish the office of prime minister, giving the "Yes" camp 51.5 percent of the vote. (...)

Under the changes, most of which will only come into effect after the next elections due in 2019, the president will appoint the cabinet and an undefined number of vice-presidents, and be able to select and remove senior civil servants without parliamentary approval.
There has been some speculation that Erdogan could call new elections so that his new powers could take effect right away. However, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek told Reuters there was no such plan, and the elections would still be held in 2019. (...)
The head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said the legitimacy of the referendum was open to question. His party said it would demand a recount of up to 60 percent of the votes.(...)
Reuters

Dutch PM Rutte beats off far right but loses seats

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s center-right party beat off a challenge from far-right firebrand Geert Wilders on Wednesday to come first in a parliamentary election despite losing seats, a projection based on partial results showed.

Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) was projected to win 32 seats, nine fewer than at the last election in 2012. Wilders’ anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) was in a race for second place with two other parties. He was predicted to end up with 19 seats, up four on last time.

The other contenders for second place, the Christian Democrats and the liberal D66 party, both made gains. They were projected to end up with 20 and 18 seats respectively, according to a projection from Dutch news agency ANP, with around 28 percent of votes counted.

The Labor Party (PvdA), Rutte’s junior coalition partner, faced the biggest electoral loss in its history. It was forecast to win just 10 seats — down from 38 last time. The GreenLeft party posted a spectacular advance, going from four seats to 14 in the 150-member lower house of parliament.(...)

Politico

Balkans must join the EU eventually

More Balkan states can still join the European Union if they stick to a path of economic and democratic reform, Europe's leaders said on Thursday at a summit meant to cement the bloc's long-term commitment to stabilize a region mired in political crisis.
EU leaders placed the Balkans high on the agenda of their summit in Brussels to show that despite ethnic tensions and the scars from wars fought in the 1990s, the region is a priority for the European Union, particularly as Russia also seeks to increase its influence there.
"The Western Balkan countries have an unequivocal European perspective," said Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Commission which is leading membership negotiations with Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia. "We are not stepping away, but stepping in," he said.
Two years ago, Juncker said no new countries would join the EU during his mandate at the Commission, which runs until 2019. Officials said that was a technicality because the Balkans were not ready to join. But some in the region say the message damaged the EU's credibility.
Britain will hold a special summit on the Western Balkans in 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May said, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel also stressed the importance of the region.
Thursday's meeting did not prescribe new EU policies for the Balkans, but diplomats said European leaders would try to visit more often to encourage reform. "For the countries in the Balkans, that matters," said a senior EU official. "There's a sense that their European path has slipped away. But their only path is toward the EU."
Russia, which is trying to exploit its historic links in the region to challenge EU and U.S. involvement, opposes the accession of Balkan states into the EU. It refuses to recognize the independence of Kosovo and opposes Montenegro's membership of the U.S.-led NATO alliance.
The Balkan countries are at various stages of reforms aimed at paving the way for EU membership, with Serbia seen as a linchpin whose development could pull up others.
But despite some progress over the past five years, reforms across the region to the judiciary and the business climate have stalled, allowing organized crime to flourish and encouraging more migrants to head north to the EU. Britain's May warned of "the potential for increased instability and the risks ... to our collective security."
Macedonia is mired in a political crisis, while Serbia does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, its former province, and accuses it of seeking a war with Belgrade.
In Montenegro, both pro-Western and opposition parties are boycotting the parliament following a recent vote in which they say people were intimidated to back the government.
Reuters

EU leaders defy Warsaw to reappoint Donald Tusk

EU leaders reappointed European Council President Donald Tusk for a second two-and-a-half-year term on Thursday, barreling over the ferocious opposition of Tusk’s native Poland.

Politico

Commission outlines 5 scenarios for future of EU

The European Commission has outlined five scenarios for the future of the European Union in a white paper obtained by POLITICO ahead of its publication on Wednesday.

The scenarios are entitled “carrying on,” “nothing but the single market,” “those who want more do more,” “doing less more efficiently,” and “doing much more together.”

The paper is an attempt by the Commission, led by President Jean-Claude Juncker, to shape a major debate about the EU’s future following Britain’s shock decision to leave. The document is also intended to influence a declaration by the 27 countries remaining in the EU at the bloc’s 60th anniversary summit on March 25 in Rome.

The paper starts with a somber tone, acknowledging the existential struggle the EU is facing due to crises over Brexit, migration and the eurozone. “Europe’s challenges show no sign of abating,” the paper says. It also notes the difficult balancing act facing the EU, as “many Europeans consider the Union as either too distant or too interfering.”

While generally neutral in its language, the Commission at times makes its preferred option clear. For example, on eurozone governance, the Commission aligns itself with the most federal option by saying it will issue a paper based on the 2015 Five Presidents’ Report, which called for a eurozone finance minister and stricter controls over the budgets of the 19 countries that use the single currency.

Here are more details of the five scenarios:

Scenario 1: Carrying on

This scenario assumes that staying the course will involve small, smooth changes to the functioning of the EU. The Commission says “carrying on” will deliver “incremental progress.” This option is based on national governments agreeing to deepen the EU’s single market, pool some military capabilities and “speaking with one voice on foreign affairs,” while leaving key responsibilities like border control mostly in the hands of national governments.

There are some dark clouds hanging over this option in phrases such as “Europeans are mostly able to travel across borders without stopping for checks,” indicating trouble ahead for the visa-free Schengen Zone if changes are not agreed to its management. The Commission warns: “Continuous improvement to border management is needed to keep up with new challenges. If this is not done, some countries may wish to maintain targeted internal controls.”

 Scenario 2: Nothing but the single market

Here the Commission focuses on the achievement with the broadest base of support: its single market. The Commission is not enthusiastic about this option, noting that “decision-making may be simpler to understand but the capacity to act collectively is limited” and “this may widen the gap between expectations and delivery at all levels.”

With the single market as its main mission, the Commission believes, the EU would face a heightened risk to the euro, because it would have failed to finish establishing the eurozone’s economic governance, leaving it vulnerable to new financial crises.

Companies would likely face more border checks, and EU members would revert to pursuing bilateral foreign policy. Trade deals and defense cooperation would also be more difficult. 

On a day-to-day level, the Commission believes connected cars would not take off in Europe under this scenario “due to the absence of EU-wide rules and technical standards.”

Scenario 3: Those who want more do more

This is effectively a multi-speed EU based on “coalitions of the willing” in specific policy areas such as defense, internal security, taxation or social matters. Under this scenario the Commission assumes that all 27 members would still make general progress on a deeper single market.

The Commission believes this model would lead to differences in citizens’ rights and is not optimistic that eurozone governance could be completed. However, it envisages that it would allow national militaries that have close relations with one another to move quickly into new fields like drone surveillance, or for aligned economies to created a unified business law code.

Scenario 4: Doing less more efficiently

By “doing less,” the Commission apparently means is “better tackle certain priorities together.” In other words, not “less” but doing more in “a reduced number of areas.”

The major headline achievements would be a fully resourced European Border and Coast Guard, a single voice on foreign policy and the establishment of a European Defense Union.

The Commission sees other priority areas for deeper cooperation as innovation, trade and security. Research could be focused on digitization and decarbonization of the economy.

The Commission points out one problem with this scenario — it relies on EU countries agreeing among themselves on the areas on which they want to cooperate more efficiently.             

Scenario 5: Doing much more together

Here the EU27 go “further than ever before in all domains” — code for a federal EU.

The EU would get more of its “own resources” (the ability to raise revenue through tax), the eurozone would be completed along the lines of the Five Presidents’ Report issued in 2015. The Commission prefers this option for eurozone governance and said it will issue a reflection paper to that effect in the coming months.

Under this scenario the EU would also assume powers to speak for all of Europe on trade and foreign policy, and would assume global leadership for fighting climate change and on humanitarian issues.

There would be “far greater and quicker decision-making” in Brussels, but the Commission acknowledges “there is the risk of alienating parts of society which feel that the EU lacks legitimacy.”

Politico

EU voices 'full support' for Italy-Libya accord

EU leaders on Friday said the EU "welcomes with favour and is ready to support the development of the accord signed between Italy and Libya on February 2" by Italian authorities and Libyan Premier Fayez al-Serraj, according to a joint statement issued by the leaders at the Valletta summit on immigration.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni said after the summit that the European Council had "very much appreciated" Italy's migrant deal with Libya, calling it "the opening of a window of opportunity on which Italy will work and invest, but it is very important that the EU should also work and invest, and it will do that with additional resources which Juncker and Mogherini explicitly talked about".
"We must all be aware that it is a first step," he warned, however. "The internationally recognised Libyan government does not have the same control as Erdogan, to make a comparison. You can't expect the situation to suddenly change".

(...)

Ansa

EU founders speak of possible 'multispeed' future after Brexit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and leaders of other founding states of the European Union spoke on Friday of some countries moving ahead faster than others with further integration.
After a summit in Malta at which all national leaders discussed plans for a formal declaration in March on the future of the bloc following Britain's departure, Merkel and others offered endorsements of a so-called "multispeed Europe", which some governments fear could damage EU unity in the wake of Brexit.
Though they disagree on details, Berlin, Paris and many of the 17 other states which use the euro currency are keen to bind the euro zone closer together after years of crisis in which investors have doubted the currency's survival. But some countries around the periphery of the bloc fear creating a system in which a hard core of states pushes the EU into policies they do not want.

The last few years, Merkel told reporters, showed "that there will be an EU with different speeds, that not everyone will take part in the same levels of integration".
One area in which governments are divided over the degree of integration is defence. With the departure of long-time sceptic Britain, France and Germany are keen to develop closer EU ties.
The 27 leaders are due to meet without British Prime Minister Theresa May on March 25 in the Italian capital to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome.
French President Francois Hollande said he thought that the Rome statement could mention "several speeds" as a possible way forward, though he stressed: "European unity is essential."
In a reminder of divisions in the bloc, Hollande, who will step down in May, took a dig at East European states which Paris complains fail to honour commitments -- such as taking in asylum-seekers -- while accepting big subsidies from Brussels:
"Europe isn't a cash-box, not a self-service restaurant, a Europe where you come and take what you need, where you take your structural funds or get access to the internal market and then show no solidarity at all in return," he told reporters. "Europe was built to be stronger together and it's that rule, that principle, which should be driven home in March."

In a paper offering proposals for the Rome declaration, the three Benelux neighbours said "different paths of integration and enhanced cooperation could provide for effective responses to challenges that affect member states in different ways".
Reuters