EURONEWS The Briefing by Jorge Liboreiro - A U-Turn amid the fury -1 February 2024

 

A U-turn amid the fury

By Jorge Liboreiro Allow me to start this newsletter with a flash from the past: April 2023. Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed unilateral bans on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products, which had been exempted from duties and quotas as part of the EU’s support for the war-torn nation. Romania and Bulgaria quickly jumped into the fray, threatening to follow suit. Visibly caught off guard, the European Commission struck back, calling the bans “unacceptable” and demanding their immediate abolition. Overnight, an all-out political crisis had exploded. Our readers, of course, know all too well how the story goes. The infamous “grain drama” played out for months, with no shortage of stern rebukes, fiery statements and pressure campaigns. Even a lawsuit before the World Trade Organization was thrown in the ring. Throughout the protracted standoff, the Commission remained firm, repeatedly saying the restrictions were groundless, hurtful and infringed on the executive’s trade competences, which are an exclusive remit.  It was therefore quite perplexing to see Brussels do a U-turn and propose a new mechanism to allow member states who face “adverse effects” to slap temporary restrictions on Ukrainian food-stuffs. Under the new proposal, unveiled on Wednesday, the free-trade regime will be extended until June 2025 but with an option to apply “remedial measures” (a legalistic euphemism that is deliberately open-ended) in case of a new surge in imports. Additionally, an automatic safeguard will kick in when the volumes of sugar, poultry and eggs coming from Ukraine exceed the levels of the past two years. The emergency brake will re-impose pre-war tariffs on these three “sensitive” products. “Whilst our monitoring has not shown any adverse effects on the EU market as a whole, we are aware that these Ukrainian imports can have some adverse effects which are more localised,” said Margaritis Schinas, one of the Commission’s vice-presidents. With this volte face, Brussels admits a cold, hard truth: its powers go only as far member states let them go. Despite repeated entreaties, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia never fully lifted their bans on Ukrainian grain. In fact, shortly after Donald Tusk took over as Polish prime minister, his pro-European government said it would keep the restrictions in place but was open to reach a solution with Kyiv. Warsaw’s attitude made it clear the dispute went beyond ideological divides and touched upon something of extreme political sensitivity. This sensitivity has now reached a fever pitch. For the past weeks, farmers in Germany, France and Belgium have taken to the streets to protest the rising cost of living, diminishing profits, fuel taxes, late payments of subsidies, free-trade deals, environmental regulation and the loss of market share against foreign competitors, among other grievances. These low-cost competitors include – yes, you guessed it – Ukraine. The quasi-synchronised protest movement, which the far right is trying to exploit in its electoral favour, has put the EU institutions under intense scrutiny and cast doubt over their ambitious Green Deal. In fact, as this newsletter is being written, a group of rowdy farmers is gathered right in front of the European Parliament, blocking streets, waving flags, setting things on fire and even bringing down a centuries-old statue. The demonstration took place while EU leaders met, barely one kilometre away, to discuss assistance for Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war. Speaking to Euronews, one of the protesting farmers, Pierre Lebrun, complained that the laws to contain the carbon footprint of the agricultural sector, which contributes more than 10% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, do not come with enough money to cushion the bumpy transition. “We’re asked to make the effort and pay for it ourselves. We’re already being asked to pay a lot, we’re being asked to do lots of things for nature,” Lebrun told us. “We have no problem with that, but we have to finance it. It is not us who must pay to finance the green budget.” His colleague Charles-Albert Degradi said the protest should be interpreted as an “SOS” from farmers and a call for political leaders to take “emergency measures.” His words, drenched in exasperation and despair, suggest the fury on the streets will be hard to abate. “We don't earn enough. We earn less than the minimum wage,” Degradi said. “Sometimes, there are even some who earn less than €1,000 per month. So, it’s not feasible.” WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON? 🟦 AT LONG LAST Viktor Orbán agreed on Thursday to lift his veto on a €50-billion facility to provide Ukraine with financial assistance between 2024 and 2027. The Hungarian premier gave in shortly after the start of an extraordinary summit in Brussels, which had been convened solely because of his filibustering. Leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief and celebrated the 27-strong unity was still intact. “A good day for Europe,” said Ursula von der Leyen. Kyiv urgently needs the money to pay for essential services. 🟦 ROUND AND ROUND Although the EU has led global efforts to provide Kyiv with budgetary support, its military contributions have paled in comparison. It is all but guaranteed that Europeans will fail to meet their big promise of delivering one million artillery rounds by March, a fiasco that exposes serious industrial shortcomings and poor coordination. However, according to Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy, the bloc should be “fairly satisfied with what we’ve managed to achieve.” 🟦 EXPLOSIVE CLAIMS Forget Qatargate, now we have Russiangate. Tatjana Ždanoka, a Latvian Member of the European Parliament, is accused of being a Russian agent. An investigation by The Insider claims Ždanoka worked for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, from 2004 to 2017, something the MEP has flatly denied. The Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola, said the scandal “has also put us on the alert.” An investigation is underway. 🟦 WALKING A TIGHTROPE The fragile governing majority of Pedro Sánchez came close to collapsing this week after Junts, a Catalan separatist party, backtracked on its previous commitments and voted against a draft amnesty law. The contentious legislation is now back on the table of negotiatiors. In an interview with Euronews, Pere Aragonès, the left-wing president of the Catalan government, asked “all parties to take responsibility” and pass the bill. 🟦 CASH CLASH Kosovo appears to be risking a new wave of ethnic tensions with a decision to remove the Serbian dinar from its monetary system. A new regulation, coming into force today, 1 February, states that “the only currency accepted for cash payments or transactions in Kosovo is the euro.” Banning transactions in dinars could effectively lock out the local minority of Serbs, who use the currency widely, from the financial system in Kosovo, reports Doloresz Katanich. 🟦 RETURN OF INVESTMENT Is it worth hosting the Olympic Games? That’s a question burning in the mind of many Parisians as anticipation for the grand event dominates the news. Reports that the tickets to attend the opening ceremony will cost €2,7000 apiece have only fuelled the debate. Euronews Business examines if the economic boost of hosting the Olympics is enough to compensate for its mammoth costs. 🟦 GO NORTH Spain often conjures images of sun-kissed beaches and whitewashed villages. Yet, there’s a corner of the country that offers a refreshingly different experience: “Green Spain.” Galicia, Cantabria, Euskadi (Basque country) and Asturias make up this northern region, a tourist treasure yet to be fully explored by international visitors. Euronews Travel makes the case in favour of Spain’s captivating north.  IT'S IN THE NUMBERS The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for global growth, projecting 3.1% in 2024. However, Europe’s prospects are not as positive: after recording a sluggish 0.5% in 2023, the eurozone will only grow by 0.9% next year due to tight monetary conditions, high energy prices and lower productivity. Despite the sanctions, Russia managed to post a 3% rate in 2023 and is forecast to keep expanding in the years ahead. EDITOR’S CHOICE The EU’s plan to criminalise non-consensual sex is falling apart The first ever EU-wide legislation to protect women against violence, tabled by the European Commission in 2022, was widely celebrated by feminist organisations due to its definition of rape as sex without consent. The novel approach meant that victims would not be required to provide evidence of force, threats or coercion to prove a crime has been committed. But the law is having a rough time: negotiations have been at a deadlock for months as 12 member states – among them France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic – oppose the EU-wide definition. Paris and Berlin, in particular, have come under fire for holding the blocking minority. Mared Gwyn Jones explores the gridlock around the EU’s first-ever “only yes means yes” law. At a Tokyo café, miniature pigs trot about and cuddle up on visitors’ laps, often ending up in a pile to snuggle up in the cosiest spot.

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