European Union

Italy and Spain, the worst-hit EU countries by the coronavirus pandemic, will get much of the new money under the European Commission's recovery plans - that mark a turning point for the bloc in moving towards joint debt.

It is high time to start negotiations on the MFF with the Council without delay, said the EP’s negotiating team for the long-term EU budget and Own Resources reform.
Committee on Budgets

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Focussing on future generations, Commission President von der Leyen discussed the €750 billion recovery instrument within a revamped long-term EU budget in plenary.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

The European Commission announced on Wednesday its updated work programme for 2020 as part of the EU's recovery plan. "The commission remains fully determined to deliver on its flagship initiatives, the European Green Deal and the Digital Strategy, as they are key to relaunching the European economy and building a more resilient, sustainable, fair and prosperous Europe," reads the announcement.

The EU Commission will propose on Wednesday a €750bn recovery package, economics commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said in a tweet, calling it a "turning point" in the Covid-19 crisis. It comes on top of the one-trillion euro EU budget and the €540bn already agreed in financial support to EU countries. German press agency, DPA, reported that €500bn of that will be distributed to member states via grants and €250bn through loans.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and top EU officials said there ought to be an independent enquiry in future into the World Health Organisation's (WHO's) handling of the pandemic at a video-summit Tuesday. "We will need to work together in order to reform some international organisations," EU Council president Charles Michel said, referring to the WHO. "We share with Japan the same values: multilateralism, rule of law, democracy," he added.

Former EU foreign relations chief Federica Mogherini has been appointed the new rector of the College of Europe, an elite post-graduate school with facilities in Bruges, Belgium, and in Warsaw. Mogherini, a former Italian diplomat, was already teaching international relations there. She is the first woman in the post, but her appointment was marred by allegations of favouritism and irregularities, after she skipped the queue of less political candidates.

Denmark has said boyfriends and girlfriends of their Danish partners can enter the country once again, but only if they are German or from the other Nordic states. "If you say you are a boyfriend and sign [a form], we will assume it [is true]," Danish justice minister Nick Hækkerup said on TV Tuesday. Previously, only Danes or spouses of Danes were being let in, with very few exceptions.

EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic pleaded with EU affairs ministers for "rapid agreement" on the EU budget and recovery plans to be unveiled on Wednesday - but an agreement and ratification process has its risks.

Trump's envoy to Germany provoked lively debate on Russia, Iran, and Nato, but Grenell's departure left some breathing "relief".

MEPs want to launch the delayed two-year event in September, which would require a joint position of the three main EU institutions before summer. EU commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is optimistic about reaching an EU Council's position under the Croatian presidency.

The EU's joint-transparency register lists thousands of lobbyists and what they spend or earn trying to shape EU legislation. New and clearer rules set for launch at the end of the year may lead to more realistic figures.

For many Europeans, Angela Merkel's change looked sudden. But the groundwork started two years ago. Germany slowly ripened for the Merkel-Macron plan. This explains why it didn't meet massive public resistance in Germany.

Russia already dominates global oil – letting them dominate global food during a pandemic would spell disaster for the EU. It would effectively mean the EU, not just depending on Russian energy, but increasingly also on Russian food supply.

French president Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday an €8bn rescue plan for the car industry - with a big boost for electric vehicles, Associated Press reported. "Our country wouldn't be the same without its great brands - Renault, Peugeot, Citroen," Macron said, while aiming to make France more competitive on "clean" cars. Over 400,000 people are employed in this industry. Auto sales fell by about 90 percent in April.

The EU Council, representing member states, on Tuesday adopted agreements allowing the EU's border agency Frontex to launch operations in Serbia and Montenegro. The agreements will allow Frontex to carry out joint operations and deploy teams in the region. Montenegro has notified its conclusion of the agreement, which will enter into force on 1 July while Serbia is set to follow.

Russia has sent fighter jets to Libya to support Russian mercenaries, the US military command for Africa said on Tuesday, according to AFP. Libya's UN-recognised government said earlier this week that hundreds of Russian mercenaries were backing rival Khalifa Haftar. Moscow has denied involvement in the conflict. "Russia is clearly trying to tip the scales in its favour in Libya," said US army general Stephen Townsend.

Germany wants to lift its travel prohibition on 31 European countries by June 15 if the development of pandemic figures allow for it, according to an official government proposal. Those countries include 26 nations in the European Union, along with four Schengen-zone countries that are not members of the EU — Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Deutsche Welle reports. The government issued a global travel warning on March 17.

The Spanish government has declared 10 days of mourning, starting on Wednesday, for the nearly 27,000 people who have died from coronavirus in Spain, the longest official mourning period in the country's four-decade-old democracy, the Guardian writes. Flags will be flown at half-mast at more than 14,000 public buildings across the country. Spain's King Felipe VI will preside over a memorial ceremony once the country emerges from the lockdown.

When: Wednesday 27 May at 17:00 - Where: Anna Politkovskaya pressroom and via Skype

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP