talkpolitics | Entries tagged with eu

Hello! There are only 4 days left for EU citizens to sign the European Citizens' Initiative petition to ban conversion therapy in the European Union.

- 570,000 signatures are still needed (with the massive mobilisation currently happening, we're getting ~100,000 new signatures a day, so there's a chance)
- 2 countries still need to reach the threshold: Slovenia and the Netherlands are in good position

Please share on all your social media! Here's a Tumblr post and a Bluesky one, for a start. If you have friends in Slovenia and/or the Netherlands, please message them. A lot of people don't have the time to catch up on their dashboards/timelines and can easily miss the information. Thanks a lot!

abomvubuso

Analysts describe 2022 as "the worst year in the history of the euro". However, the European currency has been in decline for the past two decades. Its share in the global official reserves reached 20.6% at the end of 2021, down from around 25% in 2003.

The euro has lost 16% of its value against the dollar in the past year and is trading at its lowest level since December 2002. The EU currency is currently 20% cheaper than its average since 1999.

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asthfghl

After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Europe suddenly woke up to the realization that peace on the continent was far from guaranteed. With this war, Putin was hoping to sow division in the EU and NATO, but in fact his effort is achieving just the opposite.

The European Political Community (EPC), an initiative first launched by French president Macron in May this year, is meeting for the first time this week in Prague. The leaders of more than 40 countries (EU member states and those outside it such as UK, Israel, Turkey, Norway and Ukraine) are ready to start a new integration process. What's needed here, Macron argues, is "a new space for political cooperation in security, in the energy sector, in transportation, in investment, infrastructure, the free movement of people and especially our youth".

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fridi

We've come to a point that even warning shots can be heard on the Polish-Belarusian border. That's hardly a surprise, given the fact that young soldiers patrol that line who've sworn to guard their homeland at all costs. However, these occasional shots on the border between two bristling states can very quickly ignite a real firestorm. This conflict has brought both Europe's weaknesses on display and the cynical thirst for political supremacy not only of Russia and Belarus on one side, but also Poland, a EU member.

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asthfghl

Hungary’s controversial anti-LGBT law goes into effect despite EU warnings:
A new law that bans the dissemination of content in schools deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change went into effect Wednesday despite a warning from Europe’s top rights watchdog that the law risks discrimination against LGBT people.

Ehm... "the law is necessary to ensure that the sexual education of children under 18 is the sole domain of parents.".... Oh we're OK then!

But srsly. It is virtually impossible to throw Hungary out of the EU. But, they can stop his EU funds and make life very difficult for the Hungarians. However, Germany is making a bit of cash from Hungary so has little interest in kicking him out. See the Realpolitik here?

If Hungary left the EU, Vlad would be over the Moon, so the people of Hungary wouldn't allow it, at the expense of Orban of course. Currently he's on a power trip and I suspect will become even more of a pain to the EU than before. What he's really after here is control of the education curriculum, so he can use it as a propaganda machine. Learning from the Chinese he is.

Oh, and Poland has been doing something similar for, like, ages now.

"Just face it, West Europe and East Europe have different values", one EMP argued. Yeah. "Family" vs "Queer". That's how it's being viewed around here. And we're supposed to be livingi in the 21st century. Go figure.

asthfghl

Hungary: Viktor Orban's Fidesz to quit Europe's centre-right EPP

Victor Orban has no friends left around the top floors in Europe. His decision to withdraw his ruling party from the larger European People's Party marks an end of his traditional alliance with the more traditionalist segments of European politics.

Orban's further swing towards the radical is no surprise, of course. But the act is symptomatic of a broader alienation of the East European member countries from the mainstream EU line, spanning an arc from Slovenia to Poland that's been following a line that Orban once dubbed "non-liberal democracy".

While four years ago it seemed like populist forces across the Old World were gaining momentum, now Joe Biden's win in the US, and his vow to put an end to the America First doctrine, means the clouds will be gathering more over leaders such as Orban who were openly worshiping Donald Trump. Couple that with Angela Merkel's planned withdrawal from active politics come fall, and you'd see how politicians of the Orban type will be losing the last major leader who at least heeded their interests, albeit reluctantly. All their channels for dialogue with the EU might come to a close pretty soon.

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abomvubuso

A month has passed since the UK has left the united European market and the customs union, shaking up trade relations on the continent to the core.

While the worst expectations for huge lines of trucks at the British ports, food shortages at the stores, etc did not come to pass, lots of companies are warning that they're still struggling to adapt to the new agreements stemming from the trade deal with the EU.

There are about half a dozen sectors that are most affected, and where the difficulties are most acutely felt in the transition period after Brexit. Some of these problems could become chronic unless they're addressed properly.

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nairiporter

Nicola Sturgeon asks EU to ‘keep a light on’ for Scotland

After Brexit became a fact, Scotland's woes have been growing proportionately to their desire to return to the European family, at least that of Nicola Sturgeon's party, the SNP. No wonder that she's asking the EU to keep the door ajar for Scotland.

Scotland overwhelmingly voted to stay during that infamous referendum, but that wasn't enough. The fact that Scotland will have to leave the EU along with the rest of the UK is definitely not to their liking. Scotland did push for a new independence referendum, to no avail so far.

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fridi

Is France doing to the EU what Macron earlier defined as NATO's diagnosis?

What I mean by this. Macron recently caused some uproar on both sides of the Pond when he said NATO was becoming brain-dead. But what about the EU? Isn't France and some others trying to do the same to the EU?

First, some context. His remarks were at The Economist, and were caused by Turkey's unilateral intervention in Syria and Libya. Today Hungary and Poland are vetoing a 7-year EU budget that's unprecedented both in terms of size and way of funding, and the recovery plan attached to it, a total worth of 1.83 trillion euro. Europe relies on the money to get back to its feet after the Covid shock.

But no. The two conservative Central European governments don't agree with the funding of the next EU budget, particularly the proposal to tie funding to member states to their adherence to fundamental EU principles like the supremacy of law. And they've got a good reason.

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johnny9fingers

This will be very UK/EU/US centric.

Biden winning leads to Brexit zugzwang.

Any and all moves put the UK in a worse position. (What was all that guff about taking back control?) With the US and EU as guarantors of the GFA there can be no border on the island of Ireland. There will have to be a border in the Irish Sea if there is to be a border at all. But there will have to be a border; that is the point of "Taking Back Control". The Internal Market Bill will probably still be passed; but in reality it is now a complete no-go. The UK now has no bargaining position with anyone: the EU, the US, or even the developing nations.

With the bungled and corrupt response to Covid, the UK has performed, in economic terms, worse than most of the other developed nations. This will be the legacy that the Right's control over the process has given the UK: smaller economy, smaller influence, and smaller nation as the union dissolves.

When there appear to be no good moves even grandmasters resign; but I can't see Cummings asking for his cards quite yet. So we come to the questions for the panel:

Given that Biden has described Boris as a physical and emotional clone of Trump, will our BoJo manage to wriggle his way into the good books of the new administration by being dead strict on climate change stuff? (Assuming that Dom allows BoJo personal projects, obvs.)

Will the EU view the present supine UK administration as a basket-case, and take the long view, and assist those of us who think the UK is slightly better off as a member; or will it just wash its hands and opt for advantage in the upcoming negotiations?

Of course as an Englishman for most of my life (I am currently examining acquiring Irish nationality - but I've been dragging my feet) I'd rather we hadn't put ourselves in this position. But I recognise just what a bind the UK is in at the moment.

If anyone can see a convincing way out of this mess I'd suggest answers on the back of a fag packet, or maybe on the side of a bus, and addressed to the Rt Hon Boris Johnson PM, PC etc & etc, 10 Downing Street, London W1. I'm sure he could use the odd idea or two. (If Dom doesn't veto them, obvs.)

abomvubuso

"This is going to be a fantastic year for Britain", Boris Johnson infamously boasted about 2020. Boy, was he wrong.

After last winter's exhausting election battle, and months of parliamentary chaos, after years in the shadow of Brexit, lots of folks were starting to say prayers about the country's future. And yet, Britain is now seeing one of the highest Covid mortality rates in the world, and more than 1 million jobs have just vanished.

It's no surprise that the optimists are few, and far apart these days. What's worse, the Tory government doesn't seem bound by any sense of rule and responsibility.

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mahnmut

As Scottish Independence Calls Grow, U.K. Trumpets Virtues of Unity

Look, I don't mind Scotland remaining in the UK just like I want the UK to remain in the EU, but for Scotland to stay the UK really needs to give them a reason to stay. And they haven't been given a reason for 40 years, and with a no-deal Brexit nearly inevitable at this stage and an incompetent chimpanzee at the helm, it's safe to say they won't get a reason to stay anytime soon.

If Scotland needed any last wakeup, it was the fact that the UK government has insisted in forcing through the most complete possible rupture with the rest of the European family, ignoring not just the strong majority in Scotland that is clearly in favor of the EU but also the opportunity to leave while still keeping close links - more like Norway and Switzerland.

So why should Scotland remain a poor hanger-on to England when all the smaller countries in Northern Europe are doing so much better without the "benefits" of the union?

The UK argument for Scots very much resembles the one the anti-Brexiters used a few years back...

UK: "We should leave the EU. We'll be fine".
UK: "But Scotland shouldn't leave the UK. They won't be fine".

Typical.

fridi

For a few weeks now, the number of Covid-19 cases has been steadily rising in the EU. Both virologists and the media are talking of a second wave that would potentially be stronger than the first one.

If we are to trust the Stockholm-based European center for disease prevention and control (ECDC) though, we might start feeling kinda confused about all this, as we'd struggle to see the basis for such a panic.

The data (*.pdf) shows that the number of infections has actually been rising in roughly 10 clusters around Europe, all of which could more or less be pinpointed. All the while, most of the EU is seeing a stagnant infection level.

The task of politicians and health-care systems is to isolate these clusters, identify the source of infection, and cut the infection chain as deep and close to the source as possible. This could be done through restriction measures as was the case in a number of cities such as Barcelona, Lisbon, Luxembourg and Antwerp. A whole-scale lock-down and shutting of the borders of entire countries doesn't seem very productive at this point. It's not travel per se that is the problem, but rather people's irresponsible behavior in some particular places, both when they travel abroad or stay home.

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tcpip

Australia has various bilateral associations that promote friendship, cooperation, and understanding between the people of one country and another. Obvious to all, these represent a sort of soft-power strategic orientation as well as a source for business contacts, along with the more benign elements of cultural, scientific, and familial associations. A very notable example is the American Australian Association which is affiliated with its complement, the American Australian Association, and likewise the Australia-Britain Society and its complement, the Britain-Australia Society. Once upon a time, there was an Australia-Soviet Friendship Society; that was superseded by the Australia Russia and Affiliates Friendship Society. There is, of course, the Australia China Friendship Society as well.

The ties of Australia to the United Kingdom are not to be estimated; the nation was founded through the forced unification of that particular imperial power and as a result, our primary language is English, our head-of-state is the Queen of England, etc. However, following the great shift during the second world war following Curtin's "The Task Ahead" speech of 1941, Australia has increasingly been more of a junior partner to the United States, rather than to the United Kingdom. In a sense, the UK is a bit of a junior partner to the US as well these days. The Australia Russia and Affiliates Friendship Society has obviously declined in importance over the decades, and the Australia China Friendship Society has grown in importance.

What makes me wonder is why there is no Australia-European Union Society? There are, of course, associated cultural groups, such as Alliance francaise, or Goethe-Institut Australia, Italian Australian Club, the Australian Hellenic Council & etc. And there have been EU projects such as the Europe-Australia forum, designed to strengthen bilateral relations. But there is no Australia-Europe Society, and maybe there should be. After all, as is evident by the number of European cultural groups there is a good percentage of the population who come from continental descent. There is also a shared heritage of civil liberties and democratic traditions, along with being relatively advanced countries in terms of technology and economics. Indeed, among all the superpowers, real and emerging, I would argue that the European Union represents the most advanced features of that nature. It would be useful if, in Australia, there was some organisation that would represent this whilst also providing for the pan-European cultural perspectives.

fridi

Germany's Merkel says possible that there is no agreement at EU summit

Back in late May, the European Commission presented the EU Parliament with a plan for economic stimulus worth 750 bn euro, along with a EU budget proposal for 2021-2027. The purpose was to mitigate the shock from the health crisis, and chart a course toward a more stable future for the union.

But so far it seems the EU has been unable to reach an agreement about the fair distribution of financial aid for the countries most affected by the coronavirus. The first distribution of aid from the so called "anti-Covid fund" (regulated by the existing principles of regional aid) ended up granting the lion's share of the funds not to the most affected country, Italy (2.3 bn euro, or 0.1% of Italy's GDP), but to the far less affected Hungary (5.6 bn euro, or 3.9% of their GDP). On top of that, Hungary's population is 1/6 that of Italy. Of course that prompted indignation and protests from Rome, and calls for reforming the way EU's financial aid is being distributed. But turns out, the EU cannot reach a consensus about the mechanism, and agreement on the question who should be footing the bill.

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asthfghl

The Corona-crisis has faced the EU with dramatic choices. Until now, whenever a crisis struck the Europeans had a rather lengthy time frame to come up with solutions, things are different now. Right from day one of the pandemic, all eyes were fixed on Brussels. Sure, Brussels has rather limited prerogatives and financial resources for such situations. But still, compared to previous crises, the institutional response from the European Commission and European Central Bank had to be swift - and they sure were. Albeit a bit insufficient, at least in the initial stages of the Corona-induced economic downturn.

In the first weeks, South Europe made it clear that a repetition of the approach to the Eurozone crisis would be unacceptable. Confidence in the EU basically went through the floor there within days. France joined the warnings, clearly outlining the changed political dynamic. Germany took a waiting stance, but the deeper the crisis went, the more they realized urgent and resolute actions were needed. Merkel might be all things, but she does have the nose for the right politics, so she decided the whole structure wouldn't hold politically.

In fact, the EU is in a situation of a severe need for a new political agreement. The last decade has been dominated by crisis management, and the globalized world is going into a period of deep turmoil and major shifts. The EU would hardly survive in these circumstances if it keeps the old ways. Thus, the political clash around the new anti-crisis EU budget turned out to be a battle for the future. Europe's future.

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Talk politics.

A place to discuss politics without egomaniacal mods.

Entries tagged with eu

Signal Boost: European Citizens' Initiative petition to ban conversion therapy

Is the Euro dying?

The European Political Community

On-topic: Using refugees as a cynical tool

Saint Viktor vs the queers

Bad times for Eastern Europe

Brexit: One month later

The light is on

Brain-dead Europe?

International ramifications of Biden's victory: part one

The UK we never expected

Oh, you're all for unity now?

Enough with the panic

An AU-EU Society?

The battle for those EU funds

Where to, Europe?

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May 2025

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