European Union

The Council of State in Greece is examining the legality of a law governing the allocation of TV broadcasting licences. Under the new law these were put to tender this year, and in a controversial auction licences were awarded to just four of the eight private channels in operation. The opposition is accusing the Syriza government of trying to gain control of the media - and criticism also comes from the Greek press.

At the start of the week the Iraqi army and its allies launched an offensive on Mosul aimed at regaining control of the most important Iraqi city currently in IS hands. The carefully prepared offensive is being commentated across Europe - with a view to the geography of the city and comparisons between the fighting in Mosul and Aleppo.

The EU's trade ministers failed to reach an agreement on signing the Ceta trade deal on Tuesday and have therefore postponed the decision. Opposition comes above all from the French-speaking part of Belgium, without whose consent the federal government cannot approve the agreement. Are the Walloons spoiling a major opportunity for Europe or are they the voice of the people?

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As Europe’s 28 heads of state or government gather again in Brussels this afternoon, it is worth recalling that special energy that European summits bring. This format is virtually unique in international affairs – even at G20 meetings “minders” are allowed in the room. It can make them wonderfully unpredictable and very human, especially (like today) when no big concrete decision needs to be taken. Here are three political live-rails to watch:

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Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

IV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS

20. The European Council strongly condemns the attacks by the Syrian regime and its allies, notably Russia, on civilians in Aleppo. It calls on them to bring the atrocities to an end and to take urgent steps to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to Aleppo and other parts of the country. The European Council calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for resumption of a credible political process under UN auspices. Those responsible for breaches of international humanitarian law and human rights law must be held accountable. The EU is considering all available options, should the current atrocities continue. Everything should be done to extend the ceasefire, bring in humanitarian aid to the civilian population and create the conditions for opening negotiations on a political transition in Syria.

21. The European Council invites the High Representative to continue, together with the Commission, pursuing the EU humanitarian initiative and medical evacuations in cooperation with the UN; and to reach out to key actors in the region on a political transition and on preparations for post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction.

22. The European Council held a strategic policy debate on relations with Russia.

DRAFT REPORT containing a motion for a non-legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Mongolia, of the other part
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Helmut Scholz

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

AMENDMENTS 301 - 600 - Draft report on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2015 and the European Union’s policy on the matter
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

I. MIGRATION

1. The European Council took stock of the latest developments concerning the EU's comprehensive migration policy, highlighting the importance of implementation. The debate focused in particular on the external dimension.

Protecting the external borders

2. The entry into force of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation on 6 October and national efforts are important steps in strengthening control of our external borders and getting 'back to Schengen' by adjusting the temporary internal border controls to reflect the current needs. Member States are now deploying staff and equipment to the European Border and Coast Guard, so as to reach full capacity for rapid reaction and returns by the end of the year.

3. The European Council calls for a swift adoption of the revised Schengen Borders Code enforcing systematic controls on all travellers crossing EU external borders and calls on the Council to establish its position on an entry/exit system before the end of 2016. It looks forward to the forthcoming Commission proposal for setting up a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), to allow for advance security checks on visa-exempt travellers and deny them entry where necessary.

Tackling migratory flows(a) Preventing illegal migration along the Central Mediterranean route

4. More efforts are needed to stem the flows of irregular migrants, in particular from Africa, and to improve return rates. Recognising the significant contribution, including of financial nature, made by the frontline Member States in recent years, the European Council:

• recalls the importance of continuing to work towards the implementation of a Partnership Framework of cooperation with individual countries of origin or transit, with an initial focus on Africa. Its objective is to pursue specific and measurable results in terms of preventing illegal migration and returning irregular migrants, as well as to create and apply the necessary leverage, by using all relevant EU policies, instruments and tools, including development and trade;

• recalls the need to tackle the root causes of migration in the region, including by supporting displaced persons in the region, thus helping to prevent illegal migration, and underlines the contribution of the Valletta Action Plan and the proposed External Investment Plan in this context. It welcomes the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and calls on all global actors to shoulder their responsibilities in this respect;

• takes note of the Commission's "First progress report on the Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration"; 

• calls on the High Representative, including in her role as Vice-President of the Commission, to present at the December European Council meeting progress with the five selected African countries and the first results achieved in terms of arrivals and returns. It will set orientations for further work on compacts and consider extending the approach to other countries;

• invites all actors to continue close cooperation on the compacts with a view to intensifying operational delivery, and Member States to reinforce national administrative processes for returns.

(b) Maintaining and tightening control of the Eastern Mediterranean route

5. A lasting stabilisation of the situation on the Eastern Mediterranean route requires the further implementation of the EU-Turkey statement and continued support for countries along the Western Balkans route. The European Council calls for:

• further efforts to accelerate returns from the Greek islands to Turkey, in line with the EU-Turkey statement, in particular by enhancing the efficiency and speed of asylum procedures;

• the rapid appointment of permanent coordinators in the Greek hotspots;

• Member States to respond in full to the calls for resources identified by the relevant EU agencies as being necessary to assist Greece;

• further progress on the full range of commitments vis-à-vis all Member States contained in the EU-Turkey statement, including as regards visa liberalisation. Co-legislators are invited to reach agreement within the next few weeks on the revision of the suspension mechanism applied to visas.

6. The European Council welcomes the progress made on developing compacts with Lebanon and Jordan to enhance support for refugees and host communities in both countries, and the signing of the "EU-Afghanistan Joint Way Forward on Migration Issues" on 2 October to tackle challenges linked to irregular migration and improve practical cooperation on returns, readmission and reintegration.

(c) Remaining vigilant about other routes

7. The EU will continue cooperation with other countries and closely monitor flows along other migration routes, including the Western Mediterranean, so as to be able to rapidly react to developments.

Addressing other elements of the comprehensive strategy

8. The European Council calls upon:

• EASO to ensure that the asylum intervention pool becomes operational as soon as possible to support at any time and in sufficient numbers frontline Member States. To that effect, Member States will communicate as soon as possible the necessary experts to EASO and EASO will complement Member States' efforts by providing the necessary training and by contracting as required additional experts or services, with the support of the Commission; 

• Member States to further intensify their efforts to accelerate relocation, in particular for unaccompanied minors, and existing resettlement schemes1;

• the Council to agree before the end of the year on its position on the External Investment Plan, which is aimed at boosting investments and job creation in partner countries, with a view to swift agreement with the European Parliament in the first half of 2017.

9. The European Council also calls for work to be continued on the reform of the Common European Asylum System, including on how to apply the principles of responsibility and solidarity in the future. The European Council will revert to the issue in December.

 

1 This is without prejudice to the position of Hungary and Slovakia, as contained in the Court proceedings launched relating to Council Decision n°2015/1601, and to the position of Poland, which has intervened in support of the applicants.

AMENDMENTS 1 - 300 - Draft report on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2015 and the European Union’s policy on the matter
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The European Council adopted conclusions on migration, trade, global and economic issues and external relations.

After the Brexit vote, there has been a temptation in Brussels to blame British insularity for the outcome, with the hope that some policy tinkering will suffice to bring other national electorates in line. This is a dangerous illusion. The EU needs to radically rethink the balance between the freedom and protection it aims to provide. Voters won’t be fooled by ultimately empty bureaucratic slogans such as “Europe of results”, “big on big stuff, small on small stuff” or “better Europe”. The distinction “freedom versus protection” offers a better tool for defining a political response. It reveals real dilemmas. It demands sincerity, not platitudes.

It would be a mistake to say that the “Leave” camp won the 23 June referendum merely because of lies, propaganda or a smear campaign against Brussels. The result was not simply down to British voters behaving irrationally, or because the UK press is in the chains of the likes of Rupert Murdoch, or thanks to the dawn of fact-free politics. With lies and propaganda alone, you do not convince 52% of people to vote against their economic self interest. The British public expressed something else with this vote, which may be perfectly “rational”, once you broaden the scope of the analysis. It’s not just about the economy.

The Leave slogan, “Take back control”, was so effective because it was indistinguishably about both sovereignty and identity. The fact that identity politics is beating economic interests has come as an existential shock to the EU. The reason is that it contradicts the EU’s central doctrine, the basic tenets of European integration.Since the “Coal and Steel” days, the system has been built on the ideas that economic interdependence will create grateful populations and that integration is a one-way street towards “ever closer union”. In a way, the Brexit vote was unthinkable. But it’s happened. So the doctrine has to change.

It doesn’t really matter whether people no longer believe economic warnings given by “experts”. The referendum result is obviously part of a wider Western phenomenon of voters rejecting the logic of globalisation, with its open markets and open borders. The Left focuses on trade (the proposed TTIP deal between Europe and the United States, the EU, the euro) and the Right on immigrants (variously Muslims, Mexicans, Poles and Romanians). But as illustrated by US presidential contenders Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, the net result is the same: a battle between the “extremes” and the “centre”. This face-off means danger for Europe, as the Union is one big democratic space with battles being fought at every single election across the continent. Although other battlegrounds exist, such as Austria, the Netherlands or Italy, the crucial frontline state – the place where Europe is under real pressure – is France. The country is of systemic importance because of its size, its political system and its current state of shock. The French presidential elections in spring 2017 must not be lost to populist extremes. As elsewhere, this means winning back the centre, the swing voter. It requires a message of unity, of movement – and a new strategy.

“The EU needs to radically rethink the balance between the freedom and protection it aims to provide”

To win back the centre, the Union must find a new balance between its work in favour of economic freedoms and opportunities and the role that is asked of it as a “protector”. The Brexit vote, the French election and other upcoming polls show that people either appreciate the freedom, openness and opportunities the EU provides, or they fear the disorder the EU produces in terms of migration, competition for jobs, or loss of national control. There is a split between the “movers” – the entrepreneurs, young people, students, the rich – versus the “stay-at-homes” – people who rely on welfare-state arrangements, the elderly, or those who dislike foreigners. This isn’t a matter of “the elite” against the “people”, but pretty much a 50/50 split, as shown both in the UK referendum and the Austrian presidential elections. What’s important is that the EU must not focus on its own 50%, with more of the old “market” stuff and some extra communication. It must reach out to the other half too. Otherwise we risk – in only a few years’ time – a civil war in which the EU side will be outnumbered. Alongside the old “Opportunities Europe”, we must build and communicate “Protection Europe”.

A better European balance between freedom and protection can mean one of two things: mitigating the disruptive effects of freedom, or providing order. The former is essential for social and economic security. Since the EU cannot credibly claim to replace welfare states without becoming the “super-state” voters abhor, it should at least stop undermining existing national or local places of care and protection. Three topics spring to mind in this respect. The first is to build on the UK’s “new settlement” from February 2016 and the principle of an emergency brake on free movement. Second, find a solution for the Posted Workers Directive, not least in view of the French elections. Third, handle the granting to China of Market Economy Status – by 16 December 2016 according to World Trade Organization rules – with greater care, to square the sensitive balance between freedom and protection in international trade.

Aside from respecting existing forms of protection, the Union can do more to produce order. Since the Brexit vote, the themes of internal and external security have rightly been highlighted. The June 2016 decision for a European system of border guards is useful, but what matters now is implementation. Another “border issue” is enlargement. At some point, leaders must decide for how long they want to continue playing the hypocritical game around Turkish membership. They must realise there aren’t only geopolitical considerations involved, but also costs in terms of the Union’s capacity to regain people’s trust.

The first signs are encouraging. In his letter inviting leaders to the Bratislava Summit in mid-September, European Council President Donald Tusk addressed the issues head on: ‘People quite rightly expect their leaders to protect the space they live in… [it is] crucial to restore the balance between the need for freedom and security, and between the need for openness and protection’. This is not surprising, since the security theme fits the Pole’s profile as liberal realist. More remarkable was European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s implicit endorsement of the same line of thinking in his State of the European Union speech on 14 September, both for what he said (about border guards, border controls and action against Chinese dumping) and for what he omitted (not a word on TTIP in a 50-minute speech).

The phase of denial seems to be over. In the months ahead European leaders need to build concretely on this new balance between freedom and security.

IMAGE CREDIT: aldorado10/Bigstock.com

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