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EU Agrees to Ban Majority of Russian Oil

Voice of America (VOA) — Tue, 31 May 2022 08:15:45 +0000

European Union leaders agreed late Monday to ban two-thirds of Russian oil imports as part of a compromise deal to increase pressure on Russia while accounting for the economic effects on some EU nations that are more reliant on Russian oil supplies.

The embargo cuts off Russian oil delivered by sea, while exempting oil imported through pipelines.

Landlocked Hungary had threatened to oppose restrictions on oil imports, a move that would have scuttled the effort that requires consensus of all EU members. European Council President Charles Michel said he expects EU ambassadors to formally endorse the embargo, which is part of a larger sanctions package, on Wednesday.

Ukrainian leaders have long called for banning Russian oil imports in order to deny Russia income it can use to fuel its war effort. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his appeal as he spoke to the EU Monday.

Combined with pledges from countries such as Germany to phase out their Russian oil imports, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the agreement will “effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.”

Other parts of the sanction package include assets freezes and travel bans on individuals, and excluding Russia’s biggest banks, Sberbank, from the SWIFT global financial transfer system. The EU is also barring three Russian state-owned broadcasters from distributing content in EU countries.

EU leaders also agreed to provide Ukraine with $9.7 billion in assistance for the country’s economy and reconstruction efforts.

Luhansk fighting

Fierce fighting has erupted on the streets of the eastern Ukraine city of Sievierodonetsk, with Kyiv’s forces trying desperately to fight off the Russian onslaught.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy characterized the situation as “indescribably difficult.” In a televised speech, he described capturing Sievierodonetsk as “a fundamental task for the occupiers” and said Ukraine was doing all it could to protect the city from a Russian takeover.

Russian troops have entered the city, power and communications have been knocked out, and “the city has been completely ruined,” Sievierodonetsk Mayor Oleksandr Striuk told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

“The number of victims is rising every hour, but we are unable to count the dead and the wounded amid the street fighting,” the mayor said. Striuk said 12,000 to 13,000 civilians remain in the city that once had 100,000 residents. They are sheltering in basements and bunkers to escape the Russian assault.

Striuk estimated 1,500 civilians in the city have died since the war began, from Russian attacks as well as from a lack of medicine or treatment.

Sievierodonetsk, the last major Ukrainian-held population center in the eastern Luhansk province, has become the focus of Russian attacks as Moscow attempts to control the Donbas region after failing to topple Zelenskyy or capture the capital, Kyiv, during more than three months of fighting. Sievierodonetsk is about 140 kilometers from the Russian border.

Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai said Russian troops “use the same tactics over and over again. They shell for several hours — for three, four, five hours in a row — and then attack. Those who attack die. Then shelling and attack follow again and so on until they break through somewhere.”

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could reach Russia. Ukraine has received extensive U.S. military aid but has requested more powerful rocket systems.

Toll on journalists

Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Monday that 32 media workers had been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

That includes French journalist Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, who died Monday near Sievierodonetsk.

French broadcaster BFM TV said the 32-year-old journalist was hit by shrapnel while reporting on Ukrainian evacuations from the area.

French President Emmanuel Macron sent his condolences to the family and colleagues of Leclerc-Imhoff, writing in a tweet that the journalist died showing “the reality of the war.”

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who was in Ukraine on Monday, called for an investigation into the journalist’s death, saying in a statement that “France demands that a probe be carried out as soon as possible.”

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

Source: https://www.voanews.com/a/eu-agrees-to-ban-majority-of-russian-oil/6596526.html

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Brexit lessons forgotten in EU drive to deeper integration

Eoin Drea - The Irish Times — Thu, 05 May 2022 10:19:21 +0000

Brussels ignores how economic grievance evolves into political dissent.

Oh Brussels! Only in the land of the EU could 49 objectives containing 325 proposed actions be seen as the answer to Europe’s future development. But remarkably, this is exactly what the grandly sounding Conference on the Future of Europe has recently proposed.

Although originally conceived as a great experiment in collaborative, pan-European policymaking, what the EU actually delivered was a two-year vehicle for President Emmanuel Macron to wax lyrical about his centralizing, integrating vision of a French Europe.

Pushed by Paris, the conference was deliberately timed to finish by the summer of 2022. It was neatly sandwiched between the French elections and the French presidency of the European Council, and Paris is now reveling in its role as the de facto EU HQ.

And therein lies the danger for Ireland, and many other small EU member states.

Because from the very beginning, the purpose of the conference was not only to guide the EU’s future evolution, but also to demonstrate that Brussels was capable of “moving past Brexit” in a united and coherent fashion.

However, what the conference’s draft recommendations show is less a measured consideration of why Europe’s second-largest economy would voluntarily choose to leave the EU, and more a bland vindication of all the EU’s existing policy dreams.

Its draft actions read like a wish list of every stressed-out Brussels Eurocrat. Increased harmonization, abolition of national vetoes, greater military co-ordination and more common borrowing at EU level are just some of the highlights.

And while nobody doubts that more EU-level action is required in key areas – combating climate change, fighting terrorism, helping Ukraine, finalizing the structure of the euro zone – this vision of a universally deepening Europe hardly reflects majority thinking in any member state.

Policy failures
It is also a potential political nightmare for referendum- and neutrality-happy Ireland.

In using Brexit (and the pandemic) as “fertile soil for another attempt at deepening integration”, the EU is ignoring how, in countries like Britain, decades of rising insecurity played an important role in allowing economic grievance become political dissent.

The illiberal sentiments and hyper-nationalism witnessed during the Brexit process are not unique to Britain. The recent French presidential election – 52 per cent of first-round voters chose hard-right or extreme-left candidates – shows that the perception of being “left behind” eventually begins to hollow out the centre of the political spectrum.

In Ireland, decades-long housing (and banking) policy failures are fueling voter discontent regardless of underlying economic growth or employment figures. And in refusing to confront (or even acknowledge) these underlying problems, the EU is worsening its ability to form part of the solution.

Because more integration in Brussels will do nothing to sate increased voter dissatisfaction at national level. Indeed, as Britain has already shown, it may have exactly the opposite effect.

Looser vision
Unfortunately, the EU still remains unable to acknowledge how its choices impacted upon Britain’s drift to the periphery and beyond of EU decision-making.

For it was Britain’s loss in attempting to put intergovernmentalism at the heart of the EU that precipitated its European demise. This was a plan to use the single market, Atlanticism and global trade as the drivers of growth. Since the 1980s, this was an alternative model of European integration which favoured concentrating power at the centre of a “European conglomerate”.

Britain was collateral damage to a European integration process which chose a more integrated development path
Ultimately, wider geopolitical events – the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, Franco-German agreement on monetary union – ensured the failure of Britain’s looser vision for Europe.

In a sense, Britain was collateral damage to a European integration process which chose a deeper, more integrated development path.

For Ireland, the explicit acknowledgment – through the conference – of the EU’s continued commitment to a deeper Europe should give pause for thought.

A more nuanced and deliberative approach to maximizing EU membership is now required given the realities of an Anglo-American Irish economy bound up in a centralizing, harmonizing EU. But to do this requires a fundamental repurposing of official Ireland’s simplistic views of Brussels.

The conceit behind Ireland’s view of the EU (as highlighted by Prof Katy Hayward and others) is that EU membership is of benefit not just to Ireland, but also to Europe. In essence, it’s the old Jack Lynch view from the 1970s that “We can, by becoming better Europeans, become better Irishmen.”

But it’s really time to drop these shenanigans.

What Ireland needs now is the confidence to put forward a vision of Europe that moves beyond the jaded stereotypes of Dublin as the best of Europeans. Picking up Britain’s focus on the single market and Atlanticism would be a good place to start.

Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/brexit-lessons-forgotten-in-eu-drive-to-deeper-integration-1.4869443

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Emmanuel Macron slams UK government as he sets French EU presidency agenda

Deutsche Welle — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 04:24:18 +0000

Macron called for a united Europe, with France set to assume the rotating EU presidency. He voiced distrust in the UK government and said he didn’t want to “politicize” sport ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

With France set to start its six-month stint in the rotating EU presidency, Emmanuel Macron spoke on Thursday of a budget rethink within the bloc, took a swipe at the post-Brexit British government and said he planned remote talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.

Macron also said that France would not be following in the footsteps of the United States, UK, Canada and Australia, by conducting a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, set to take place in February 2022.

The French leader said his priorities for the European Council presidency were encapsulated within the motto: “Recovery, power, belonging” as he seeks a “strong, fully sovereign, and united Europe.”

France’s aim was “to move towards a Europe that is powerful in the world, free in its choices and in charge of its own destiny,” Macron said at a news conference in Paris.

France takes on the rotating presidency as Belarus stands accused of engineering a refugee crisis on EU borders, amid global calls for a tougher stance on China over human rights issues, during renewed tensions with Russia over Ukraine, and as post-Brexit relations with the UK — not least Franco-British ties — become more and more strained.

Macron on EU budget
The French president said it was possible the bloc would need to go beyond the initial €750-billion coronavirus recovery package.

Macron, speaking a day before hosting Germany’s new Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said he would use France’s six-month presidency to convene an extraordinary summit of the bloc’s 27 member state leaders in Paris, on March 10 and 11..

To be held just a month before France’s presidential election, Macron said the EU gathering would help define a new European growth model in the wake of the pandemic.

Germany’s Scholz supported the original COVID stimulus package but he is wary of any joint borrowing mechanism becoming permanent.

Macron also said the new budget rules must help boost investments in the digital sector. “For that we must start building a budgetary and financial framework that is credible, simplified and transparent,” he said.

One aspect, he stressed, will be discussing whether budget stimulus is enough, while also defining whether some national investments can be allowed to go beyond the bloc’s allowance.

Macron also believes the EU should try to work towards a common, decent EU minimum wage.

Macron on the UK government
Meanwhile, relations with the UK remain strained over fishing rights, migration and security because the British government cannot be trusted, Macron said.

“The problem with the British government is that it does not do what it says,” Macron said, albeit swiftly adding how much he “loved Britain” and “its people.”

But “I have an overwhelming desire to have a [British] government that wants to works with us in good faith,” Macron said.

Regarding recent tensions over migrant crossings and a row over the granting of British fishing licences to French fishermen, Macron said he wanted the issues resolved before a Paris-imposed deadline on Friday, even though London says it is not working to such a timetable.

Referring to the UK’s part in arranging the sale of US-designed submarines to Australia at the expense of French ones, Macron said this was “not the most obvious sign of friendship,” before adding that this formulation was an “understatement.”

Last month 27 people drowned as they crossed the Channel, heading to Britain from France, and Macron said the UK’s policies were to blame, suggesting Britain’s economic model was based on illegal labor.

Macron on Russia
Macron said he planned to hold a meeting next week with Russian President Vladimir Putin “online” as he seeks reassurances over the Kremlin’s intentions in and around Ukraine.

The French president also said he would be speaking next week with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Tensions between the EU and Russia have escalated in recent months amid reports of Russia amassing troops near its border to Ukraine. This is further compounded by Moscow’s close relationship with Minsk, with Brussels accusing Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of engineering a migration crisis aimed at destabilizing the bloc.

Macron on Beijing Winter Olympics diplomacy
Macron also highlighted the need to avoid “politicizing” sport ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which are set to begin on February 4 — indicating that the EU might not be following the diplomatic boycott of the Games.

Several countries have said they will not be sending officials to the event in the Chinese capital, but Macron said he was “in favor of action that has a useful outcome.”

“To be clear: You either have a complete boycott, and not send athletes, or you try to change things with useful actions.”

Canada is the latest country to announce a diplomatic boycott of the event, joining Australia, Britain and the United States in doing so. China has described the boycotts as “political posturing” and said the countries who opt for this policy will “pay the price.”

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/emmanuel-macron-slams-uk-government-as-he-sets-french-eu-presidency-agenda/a-60073593

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European leaders confront Boris Johnson over failure to implement NI protocol

Denis Staunton and Pat Leahy — Sun, 13 Jun 2021 04:04:55 +0000

Dublin worries EU-UK diplomatic clash could inflame tensions in the North.

Boris Johnson speaks during a news conference on the final day of the G7 summit in the UK. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA/Bloomberg

British prime minister Boris Johnson has said he will do “whatever it takes” to protect the territorial integrity of the UK after his dispute with the EU about implementing the Northern Ireland protocol overshadowed a summit of world leaders in Cornwall.

Mr. Johnson and British foreign secretary Dominic Raab claimed that European leaders at the G7 summit questioned the North’s position as part of the UK.

The prime minister said he would not hesitate to suspend the protocol by triggering article 16 if the EU does not agree to implement the agreement in a way that is less intrusive in terms of checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea from Britain to the North.

“Of course we make the point continuously we are part of one great, indivisible United Kingdom, ” he told a press conference at the end of the G7 summit.

“What I am saying is that we will do whatever it takes to protect the territorial integrity of the UK.”

In a series of meetings on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel confronted Mr Johnson over his failure to implement the protocol, a part of the EU-UK Brexit withdrawal agreement that gives the North a special post-Brexit trading status.

They warned him that further unilateral action by Britain on the protocol could trigger retaliatory action and urged him to dial down the rhetoric about the dispute.

Downing Street briefed journalists that when Mr Johnson asked Mr Macron how he would feel if sausages from Toulouse could not move freely to Paris, the French president said it was not comparable with the Northern Ireland situation because both cities were in the same country.

“We have serially seen senior EU figures talk about Northern Ireland as if it was some kind of different country to the UK. It is not only offensive, it has real-world effects on the communities in Northern Ireland, creates great concern, great consternation,” Mr. Raab told Sky News.

Fulfil obligations

Mr. Macron said after the summit that Britain should fulfil the obligations it signed up to 18 months ago when it agreed to the protocol as part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

“My wish, my will is that we succeed – we succeed collectively – to put into operation what we decided upon a few months ago,” he said.

“I’m doing things very calmly. I believe that as far as this subject matter is concerned everybody has got to come back to reason.”

Ministers and officials in Dublin are worried that the diplomatic clash over the protocol could inflame tensions in the North and threaten the power-sharing institutions at Stormont, where Sinn Féin and the DUP are already at loggerheads amid a need to nominate a new first and deputy first minister when Arlene Foster steps down imminently.

Speaking to Sky News, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said a breakthrough between the EU and UK was still possible “if there’s a will there on both sides”. While calling for compromise on both sides, Mr. Martin also expressed the EU’s frustration with the British approach to the protocol.

“If there’s consistent, unilateral deviation from that agreement, that clearly undermines the broader relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom, which is in nobody’s interest and therefore that’s why the UK with the EU have to work very hard now in the coming weeks,” he said.

Source: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/european-leaders-confront-boris-johnson-over-failure-to-implement-ni-protocol-1.4592402

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Brexit is one of most spectacular mistakes in EU history, says Tusk

Jennifer Rankin — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 05:50:59 +0000

Exclusive: Donald Tusk says it would still be better for both sides if UK stayed in EU.

Donald Tusk said Brexit was one of the saddest experiences of his five years as European council president. Photograph: Mikhail Palinchak/Ukrinform/Barcroft Media

Brexit has been “one of the most spectacular mistakes” in the history of the EU and followed a campaign marked by “an unprecedented readiness to lie”, Donald Tusk has said.

In his first interview since standing down as European council president last week, Tusk said Brexit was “the most painful and saddest experience” of his five years in office, a tumultuous period marked by the Greek eurozone crisis, bitter rows over migration and the election of Donald Trump.

He also criticized the French president, Emmanuel Macron, for branding Nato “brain-dead” and refusing to open EU membership talks with North Macedonia and Albania.

“If we want to treat Macron as a future leader for the whole of Europe, in a political sense, then for this we need a politician who feels more responsible for the EU as a whole and not only for France,” Tusk said.

The unabashed anglophile, who recently said he would “in my heart always be a reminder”, put himself at odds with other EU leaders by declaring it would still be better for both sides if Brexit did not happen. Many EU diplomats fear any second referendum leading to a remain result would mean festering divisions in the UK that would block the EU from making decisions – a view Tusk strongly rejected.

“The only difference would be that they [the UK] will still be here. They will be divided anyway: 50/50,” he said. “It’s pure illusion [to think] that it is easier to build good relations with the UK when they are outside.”

He blamed the former prime minister David Cameron for the “mistake” of organizing the referendum that “he had no chance to win”. Tusk also revealed that when the two men spoke the morning after the vote, he still hoped the decision could be undone.

“I asked him: ‘Is it a decision, is it an obligation to follow this result?’” When Cameron made plain it was, Tusk said he continued to hope. “My intention was to at least prolong the whole debate in Europe and also in the UK. With this, maybe [it was] a little bit naive [to] hope that it could be reversible.”

Tusk said he predicted the leave victory “two or three months before the referendum” when he visited friends in Bath, who told him they were torn over their decision.

A former Solidarity activist who was briefly jailed by Poland’s Soviet-controlled communist government, Tusk was the prime minister of Poland before he became the European Council president in 2014. In that role chairing EU summits, he found it painful to be “more a chairman than a leader” and felt frustrated that he “restrained” himself from campaigning in the UK.

He has been one of the EU’s most outspoken leaders, a trait he shares with the French president. Tusk described Macron as “a hope for the future of Europe” and a true friend, but said he had problems with his “very new ideas and opinions”. As well as Macron’s comments on Nato, Tusk also objected to Macron’s rapprochement towards Russia, saying he was “disoriented” by this new narrative.

The council president said he was really proud of having once been labeled “a monomaniac” about Russia by a Belgian newspaper. His term began soon after the EU agreed sanctions against Russia, following the annexation of Crimea and incursions into eastern Ukraine.

“If we are not able to protect the Ukraine against Russian aggression it will not only be a problem for Ukraine but for Europe as a whole. My hope was that Emmanuel Macron would also be very consistent here.”

Tusk, who prides himself on his knowledge of European history, was also critical of Macron’s refusal to open talks with North Macedonia and Albania. The French “non” has plunged leaders in the region into despair, including North Macedonia’s prime minister, Zoran Zaev, who faced down nationalists to end a long-running name dispute with Greece.

“I think it was just strategically and politically a huge mistake to say no … after so many efforts and sacrifices, especially in Skopje.”

He said Europe would be less secure as a result of the decision, echoing arguments in the region that uncertainty about a European future risked triggering instability.

He compared Macron unfavorably to Angela Merkel, who has championed integration with six western Balkan nations. “Her unique advantage was to be always ready to think about Europe as a whole. And [to be] ready to sacrifice some internal or national interest to protect Europe as a whole.”

But migration is still “the biggest problem” the EU faces, as a result of historically large numbers seeking asylum or work in Europe. Tusk said it was “presently unsolvable”, adding: “This new version of migration, the numbers, the determination of the people who want to come to Europe, it is something really new but also a permanent situation for the future.”

Tusk was speaking to the Guardian and six other European newspapers on the second day of his job as president of the European People’s Party (EPP), the center-right bloc that includes the political forces of the German chancellor and Jean-Claude Juncker.

One of his most urgent tasks will be to decide whether Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party remains in the EPP. After years of foot-dragging, EPP leaders set up an inquiry into the rule of law in Hungary, amid growing concern about pressure on independent media, restrictions on NGOs and Orbán’s use of the EU as “a cash register” to channel lucrative contracts to his friends and family.

Tusk said he planned to issue a recommendation in February after the inquiry team reported later this month. “It’s for Orbán to decide if wants to be part of this world of values or not,” Tusk said. “This decision should not wait for another two years.”

He said the biggest threat to the EU came from governments, such as Poland and Hungary, that “don’t want to treat our values seriously” while getting all the benefits of the EU. But he does not think Brussels should have more powers to tackle this problem: “Without goodwill, we have no chance to survive,” he said. “But this is also the beauty of the EU.”

He stressed the threat to liberal democracy was a bigger problem.

Citing the 2016 US presidential race and the Brexit campaign, he said a new element in politics was “the unprecedented readiness to lie on almost everything … to treat a lie as a justifiable tool to win”. He said this “shameless” behavior would have disqualified politicians only 10 years ago.

Asked by the Guardian to specify who he had in mind, Tusk replied: “I don’t want to be too spectacular in my first interview … I have enough problems in my own country with professional and pathological liars.”

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Europeans once hoped the British would reverse Brexit. Now, many can’t wait for them to leave

Michael Birnbaum — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 11:15:57 +0000

European Council President Donald Tusk meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, on Aug. 25. Tusk said in April that he still dreamed of a Brexit reversal. (Andrew Parsons/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

BRUSSELS — Wistful Europeans once hoped Britain would reverse itself on Brexit, abandoning its divorce from the European Union in favor of kissing and making up.

As months of departure negotiations dragged into years, devoted Anglophiles in Europe fantasized about a second referendum in which all was reconsidered, then forgiven. They seized on the ups and downs of the Liberal Democrats in Britain, the party that is most unabashedly pro-European. They cheered as Labour Party activists overwhelmingly supported a do-over referendum at their party conference last fall.

European Council President Donald Tusk said in April that he had been warned against dreaming Brexit could be reversed. Still, he resisted, saying, “At least I will not stop dreaming about a better and united Europe.”

But some of those who once wished for a change of heart now just want to finalize the breakup and move on.

E.U. leaders would almost certainly agree to a delay beyond the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline if Prime Minister Boris Johnson asks for one — as a new law passed by the British Parliament requires him to do. The Europeans do not relish the prospect of an abrupt and economically destabilizing no-deal Brexit, preferring an agreement to manage the withdrawal and ease the transition to new trade terms.

At the same time, though, E.U. negotiators are eager to usher Britain out. Policymakers in Brussels and in capitals throughout Europe worry about the consequences of continued uncertainty — and some say Britain is so poisoned on E.U. issues that it might be more destructive inside the bloc than outside of it.

[Scottish court rules Johnson’s suspension of Britain’s Parliament was illegal]

“Immediately after the referendum, among the pro-Europeans in the European institutions, there was the wish that, over the course of time, there would possibly be a reversal,” said Alain Lamassoure, a longtime French member of the European Parliament who retired in June. “But after three years, after all these appalling, ridiculous, dramatic things in the House of Commons, there is a very wide sentiment whereby too much is too much. Now, it’s too late. And it would be better to put an end to this drama.”

Lamassoure said his own reversal occurred in January as he watched British lawmakers vote down the withdrawal deal negotiated between E.U. leaders and then-Prime Minister Theresa May by 432 to 202 — a defeat with little precedent in modern British history.

“It was a shock for all of us, because we overestimated the spirit and the strength of the British parliamentary system,” he said.

A man stands by a souvenir stall during National Day celebrations in the British territory of Gibraltar on Sept. 10. Gibraltar voted 96 percent in favor of Britain’s remaining in the E.U. (Marcos Moreno/AP)

Until Britain formally leaves the E.U., it retains the right to cancel the divorce notification — the Liberal Democrats are campaigning on just such a proposal. Legally, relations would return to the status quo. So some European policymakers like to game out the result they once dreamed about.

But what they see now gives them a headache. Britain remains profoundly split on the question of its relationship with Europe. Opinion polls suggest that if a second referendum were held, it would be unlikely to yield a large majority in favor of leaving or remaining. As in 2016, when Brexit campaigners won narrowly with 52 percent of the vote, any new balloting is likely to produce a knife-edge result.

That means, say those who do not want the British back, that a Britain that decided to stay in the E.U. would have a powerful anti-Europe lobby that would be eager to take down any British leader who played a constructive or conciliatory role in European decision-making.

“It will be a new British prime minister coming to Brussels, explaining to us, ‘It’s a victory for us, it’s a victory for Britain and the E.U., but half of my people are very reluctant to continue to be members, so we need more opt-out provisions,’ ” or ways to avoid E.U. rules, Lamassoure said. The subsequent discussion would be likely to spur other countries to push for their own opt-outs, weakening the E.U. as a whole, he said.

[Frexit? Italeave? After watching Brexit, other European countries say: No, thanks.]

A British reversal “has the potential of very seriously impeding decision-making,” said Fabian Zuleeg, the head of the European Policy Center, a Brussels-based think tank. “It isn’t a very attractive proposition anymore. The U.K. has burned so many bridges.”

Major decisions are looming, including on the mammoth seven-year E.U. budget that will determine the shape of E.U. priorities for years. It needs to be sorted out in the spring, and many policymakers in European capitals fear that Britain could use a continued membership inside the E.U. to hold them hostage and make tough new demands.

European trust in Johnson has quickly vanished. If he were toppled, his likeliest replacement would be Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a far-left figure who has long been skeptical of the E.U., because he views the bloc as favoring corporations over people. Many European diplomats doubt he would be significantly easier to work with than the Conservative Party leader.

[Boris Johnson’s statements about the state of Brexit negotiations bear little relationship to reality, E.U. officials say]

Nor is there any guarantee that a future leader could not try, yet again, to pursue a departure from the E.U., creating more uncertainty and chaos.

“What sort of trust can you have in the U.K.?” said a senior European diplomat who is directly involved in Brexit negotiations, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to undercut what talks remain.

In the meantime, with E.U. companies struggling to plan for a jolting shift to their business model that could happen next month, or in three months, or not at all, their planning costs are mounting, further infuriating the Europeans.

European policymakers are coming to accept that it may be best to deal with the pain of Brexit and move on.

“The certainty of a deterioration can be better than continuous uncertainty without a new perspective,” Dutch Trade Minister Sigrid Kaag told Het Financieele Dagblad, a daily newspaper, on Monday.

That was the position of French President Emmanuel Macron at an emergency Brexit summit in April. Macron was an outlier then, pushing for a shorter Brexit extension than other leaders wanted to allow and arguing that British lawmakers should be forced to pick between the existing withdrawal deal and a chaotic, no-deal Brexit. Now there is broader support for Macron’s point of view.

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, hosts British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the G-7 summit in Biarritz on Aug. 24. (Neil Hall/Pool/Reuters)

Still, some politicians in Europe remain open to a British reversal. In Eastern Europe, countries that fear Russian aggression and appreciate Britain’s robust military would prefer to keep it as close as possible. In Western Europe, some pro-E.U. leaders say any victory for the E.U., no matter how complicated, should still be embraced.

“More than ever, leaving the European Union, given geopolitical shifts and turmoil, is the worst that can happen,” said Norbert Röttgen, the head of the foreign affairs committee in the German parliament.

“We cannot afford to get upset with the Brits. This is a much too important country for the emergence of Europe as a constructive player in international relations,” he said.

A chaotic final night for Parliament leaves Johnson with bleak choices on the path to Brexit

Boris Johnson has four options to escape his Brexit mess. One of them is to go to jail.

He defied Boris Johnson. Now the prime minister’s party is gunning for his seat, with Brexit on the line.

‘The Trumpization of U.K. politics’: Boris Johnson is busting political norms

Who is British House of Commons Speaker John Bercow? And why does his resignation matter?

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/europeans-once-hoped-the-british-would-reverse-brexit-now-many-cant-wait-for-them-to-leave/2019/09/11/729477ba-d33a-11e9-8924-1db7dac797fb_story.html?noredirect=on

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Brexit: Boris Johnson paves way for snap election

Michael Settle — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 21:35:13 +0000

Johnson: ‘There are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay’

BORIS Johnson has raised the stakes over Brexit, paving the way for a general election on Monday, October 14.

He made clear that if MPs backed a move to block a no-deal Brexit today, he would call a Commons vote within 24 hours to authorize a snap poll.

The Prime Minister stressed he did not want an election but warned progress in the talks with the EU would be made “absolutely impossible” if the so-called Rebel Alliance won the vote, expected this evening, to take control of the Commons agenda on Wednesday and “chop the legs out from under the UK’s position”.

Addressing the nation from behind a lectern in Downing Street, Mr. Johnson declared: “I want everyone to know there are no circumstances in which I will ask Brussels to delay. We are leaving on October 31; no ifs no buts. We will not accept any attempt to go back on our promises or scrub that referendum.”

ANALYSIS: Boris Johnson’s big gamble – if rebels take control of Commons, he will seek to call Oct 14 election

As many as 20 Tory rebels are set to join forces with Labour, the SNPand the Liberal Democrats to bring forward a bill designed to stop the UK leaving the EU on October 31 without an agreement.

Under the terms of the proposed law, the Government would have to seek a delay to the UK’s EU withdrawal until January 31, 2020, if there were no agreement with Brussels by October 19 and Parliament had not approved a no-deal Brexit.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Shadow Brexit Secretary, said it could be the UK Parliament’s “last chance” to stop a “reckless and damaging” no-deal Brexit.

After an emergency Cabinet was unexpectedly called, rumors swirled around Westminster that Mr. Johnson was about to announce a snap election. The appearance of the lectern seemed to confirm that a major announcement was about to be made.

To a chorus of “stop no-deal” from protesters outside the Downing St gates, the PM emerged to insist progress was being made with Brussels and UK negotiators had to be allowed to get on with their work without interference from Westminster.

“And without an election,” he declared. “I don’t want an election and you don’t want an election. Let us get on with the people’s agenda, fighting crime, improving the NHS, boosting schools, cutting the cost of living, and unlocking talent and opportunity across the entire United Kingdom with infrastructure, education, and technology.

“It is a massive agenda. Let’s come together and get it done and let’s get Brexit done by October 31,” he added.

The initial reaction from political opponents suggested Mr. Johnson had “bottled it”.

Tom Watson, the Deputy Labour leader, tweeted: “What was that @BorisJohnson statement all about? His press people had spun that he’d threaten to call an election. Has he changed his mind? More hot air, again.”

Nicola Sturgeon claimed it was “plainly obvious” from the PM’s statement that he had no plan to get a Brexit deal.

“If MPs blink tomorrow,” said the First Minister, “he will drive the UK off the no-deal cliff on October 31. He must not get away with it.”

The Greens’ Caroline Lucas said: “More bluster from Boris Johnson outside No 10. The truth is he’s about to lose this week’s vote in Parliament and is running scared.”

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon in heated argument with Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain

But, later, a senior official explained that Mr. Johnson would request a general election on October 14 if MPs backed the cross-party move to seize control of Commons business on Tuesday.

A motion for the early election would be tabled by the Government; it would require the support of two-thirds of MPs under the provisions of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act.

MPs, said the official in a clear message to Tory rebels, would be faced with a “simple choice”; keeping the current PM negotiating a Brexit deal or handing the process over to Mr. Corbyn.

He made clear the Rebel Alliance’s vote to extend Brexit would be treated as a vote of no-confidence in the Johnson Government and that any Conservative MP voting for it would have the whip removed.

“If they vote tomorrow to wreck the negotiation process, to go against giving Britain the ability to negotiate a deal, then they’ll also have to reflect on what comes next,” insisted the official.

He claimed voting to block a no-deal outcome would “destroy” Britain’s negotiating position with Brussels.

“I cannot stress enough; this is what is coming out of Brussels, this is what is coming out of EU leaders.”

The senior source declared: “Tory MPs voting for this motion tomorrow will essentially be taking the Government’s control of the legislative agenda and handing it over to the Opposition; the Opposition led by Jeremy Corbyn.”

He said the motion on an early election would be published before MPs voted on Tuesday so they would know the consequences of their actions.

“If MPs were to vote tomorrow to take control of the order paper, so destroy the Government’s negotiating position, to make it impossible for the UK to negotiate a deal with Brussels, then the vote would then move to a…vote, which I would expect to bring about a general election.

“If you were to have any chance of securing a deal, which the PM has been very clear that he wants the deal, you would want to have that election on October 14 so that you can go to European Council and secure a deal.”

The Council summit meeting of EU leaders on October 17 is seen as the last chance to achieve an agreement before the Hallowe’en deadline.

But a source close the group of rebel Conservative MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit said: “It’s a bit rich for the Prime Minister to point the finger at colleagues who plan to defy the party whip – colleagues who voted for a deal three times – while he voted with Jeremy Corbyn to inflict the two biggest parliamentary defeats on a government in British history.

“The Prime Minister seems to be doing everything he can to bring about an election while claiming it’s the last thing he wants,” he added.

Mr. Johnson’s Downing St statement came as Tory MPs enjoyed a reception in the gardens of No 10; after being ordered to hand in their phones.

Earlier, the PM was accused of “goading” some Tory MPs to rebel so he could force a snap general election having ejected opponents of a no-deal Brexit from the party.

“They seem to be quite prepared for there to be a rebellion, then to purge those who support the rebellion from the party,” said David Gauke, the former Justice Secretary.

Mr. Corbyn, who called a meeting of his Shadow Cabinet in Salford to discuss tactics, said: “First we must come together to stop no-deal; this week could be our last chance.

“We are working with other parties to do everything necessary to pull our country back from the brink. Then we need a general election.”

He will be joined by other opposition leaders in Westminster – including the SNP’s Ian Blackford and Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson – for further talks about their approach on Tuesday.

Mr. Blackford said SNP MPs were standing ready for the “parliamentary fight of their lives to prevent a catastrophic no-deal Brexit”.

Source: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/17876321.boris-johnson-raises-brexit-stakes-paves-way-snap-election-october-14/

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Time for Strong New EU Leaders

Stefan Lehne — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 08:04:19 +0000

As the EU prepares to replace its top officeholders, the union needs leaders who can confront bullying international actors, navigate through a turbulent political scene, and rebuild public trust in the European project.

The EU’s Game of Thrones, which will play out in the coming weeks, will be lacking in blood and sex, but will easily equal the TV series in complexity. Following the European Parliament elections that took place on May 23–26, EU leaders must now choose the next presidents of the European Commission, European Council, European Parliament, and European Central Bank (ECB) as well as a new EU foreign policy chief.

Essentially, there will be three games running in parallel, but they will all have to come together in the end.

THE INTER-INSTITUTIONAL GAME

The first game is between the EU’s institutions. The European Parliament pulled off a constitutional coup in 2014 by imposing the lead candidate (known by the German term Spitzenkandidat) of the largest party group, Jean-Claude Juncker, as European Commission president. According to the EU treaties, it is the national leaders in the European Council who should propose a candidate to the parliament, “taking into account the elections.”

The main party groups, except the Liberals, would now like to build on this success and turn the Spitzenkandidaten model into a permanent rule for selecting the commission president. Immediately after the 2019 elections, they adopted a statement asserting that the next commission president should be one of the lead candidates. However, they did not rally behind the candidate of the biggest group, Manfred Weber of the European People’s Party (EPP), and they did not threaten to veto anyone else.

In the European Council, there are many who would like to bury the Spitzenkandidaten concept. They feel it gives too much influence to the parliament and unduly limits the choice of the best-qualified person for the job. But most wish to avoid an open confrontation with the parliament, which will in the end have to elect the commission president.

THE INTER-PARTY GAME

The second game involves the EU’s party groups. The biggest two, the center-right EPP and center-left Social Democrats, emerged from the 2019 elections significantly weakened. They no longer jointly have a majority in the parliament and will have to turn to other parties, particularly the Liberals or the Greens, to pass legislation. Still, the role of the two largest parties remains crucial, as there is neither a leftist majority against the EPP nor a credible rightist one against the Social Democrats.

Over the coming weeks the various factions will attempt to bring like-minded small groups into their fold. They will also seek to build a majority behind agreed candidates for the presidents of the commission and the parliament and a common policy platform.

The Liberals and Greens will try to make the most of their potential kingmaker role but risk being played off against each other. Whereas the Liberals will join the fight for the top jobs, the Greens will probably place their main emphasis on shaping the policy platform.

THE GAME OF THE LEADERS

The third game considers the slew of EU leadership roles together. Before the Spitzenkandidaten initiative was started, it was up to the European Council to put together a package of the EU’s top positions. Most heads of state and government would like to revert to this model.

In assembling such a package, leaders have to take several factors into account: party groupings, geographic distribution, big and small member states, members and nonmembers of the eurozone, and gender. Many believe that women should be better represented this time.

While not all member states will field candidates for these positions, everyone has a stake in the process. Some will try to leverage their support for a candidate to obtain a juicy dossier for their future European commissioner or promote other institutional interests. Others will try to make sure that the new leaders share their political or economic philosophy.

The latter consideration will be particularly important for French President Emmanuel Macron, who urgently needs partners for promoting his vision of a European renaissance. Macron has taken the lead of the group resisting Weber’s nomination and has already clashed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is bound to support the EPP candidate. An eventual compromise will have to satisfy both Paris and Berlin, and could involve a trade-off between the two biggest jobs, commission president and ECB president.

HOW TO PLAY THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHESS

Ideally, the parliament would prefer to maintain the initiative. If it comes up with a candidate for commission president who has a majority of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) behind him or her, the European Council will have little choice but to accept the proposal. However, as the three biggest groups each have a prominent candidate with significant support, an early compromise will be hard to reach.

The European Council has tasked its outgoing president, Donald Tusk, to act as game master. He will start consulting with party representatives in the council and the parliament. His stated objective is to assemble an acceptable package in time for the European Council session on June 21. This timeframe appears ambitious, as the overall constellation of forces is more complex than ever before.

The real risk is that the multilevel institutional wrangling will distract from the true objective of the process: to bring together the most qualified personalities to lead the EU institutions in the next five years. With the decline of the old party machines, personal leadership, vision, and the ability to communicate have become essential qualities for the people at the helm of the EU’s institutions. The new leaders must be strong enough to confront bullying international actors. They need a reliable internal compass to steer through a turbulent and fragmented political scene, and they have to be able to explain what the EU is about and to rebuild public trust.

Outstanding personal qualities must therefore be the topmost consideration throughout the process. The union cannot afford to settle for second best.

Source: https://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/79257?lang=en

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Angela Merkel TURNS her back on EU: German leader REJECTS Brussels top job

Joe Barnes - Brussels Correspondent — Tue, 21 May 2019 00:08:20 +0000

ANGELA Merkel yesterday denied that she is in the hunt for a top European Union job after her term as German chancellor ends.

Ms Merkel fuelled speculation that she is vying to replace Jean-Claude Juncker or Donald Tusk after claiming a “renewed sense of responsibility” for Europe. The German Chancellor has been forced to deny that she will be moving to Brussels to take either the European Commission or Council presidency after she steps down from her role in 2021. On Thursday, she told a press conference in Berlin that she would not take a senior post inside the EU after her fourth and final term as German chancellor ends.

She said: “I am not available for any further political office, no matter where it is, not even in Europe.”

Initially, Ms Merkel ruled out a move to the EU in October after she announced her decision to step down as chancellor after 14 years in the job.

But she reignited speculation after telling German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung that she has a “responsibility” for Europe’s future.

She said: “Many people are worried about Europe, including myself.

Angela Merkel rules herself out of top EU job ahead of talks on Jean-Claude Juncker’s successor (Image: GETTY)

“This gives me an even greater sense of responsibility to take care of the fate of this Europe of ours together with others.”

“I, as German chancellor, should intestacy rather than not intensify my efforts towards a good, functioning Europe,” Ms Merkel added.

Mark Rutte, who was holding a joint press conference with the German leader, showed support for Ms Merkel’s decision to steer clear of Brussels.

The Dutch prime minister said: “She is clear on what she wants to do after her term, and we’ve respected that.

“I am also not a candidate for this office, just to make clear.”

EU leaders are expected to begin the process of selecting Mr Juncker’s successor as Commission president after the European elections next week.

They are scheduled to meet in Brussels for a special dinner summit on May 28, where they will discuss a timetable for the appointments of the top jobs.

Source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1128343/EU-news-European-election-Angela-Merkel-European-Commission-Council-job-latest-update

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The Latest: UK lawmakers avoid Brexit topic at Parliament

AP via the Tri-City Herald — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 12:49:03 +0000

French President Emmanuel Macron,left, greets British Prime Minister Theresa May before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris Tuesday, April 9, 2019. A top official at the French
presidency says France doesn’t rule out granting a further delay to Brexit, just before a planned meeting between Prime minister Theresa May and President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.FRANCOIS MORI AP PHOTO

BRUSSELS

The Latest on Britain’s exit from the European Union (all times local):

2:05 p.m.

Brexit? What Brexit? British lawmakers have for the most part avoided the hot-button topic of the day during the prime minister’s weekly appearance before Parliament.

Prime Minister Theresa May didn’t face the usual level of harsh questioning during the Wednesday session just hours ahead of a vital European Union summit in Brussels.

She was asked more questions about tax policy and police funding than about her request for a delay in Britain’s April 12 departure from the EU.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn did not bring up Brexit, and many lawmakers shied away from the usual bickering as May prepares to ask the EU for an extension.

May did say her position on holding a second EU referendum has not changed, meaning she is still opposed.

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1:50 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she favors granting an extension of several months to the Brexit deadline.

Merkel told German lawmakers Wednesday that she will meet before the European Union summit later in the day with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has taken a hard line over recent weeks on Brexit.

Pressed on what kind of extension Germany backs, Merkel replied: “I favor, if there is a broad majority for this today, possibly making it a delay of several months — but not delaying anything, so that once Britain has decided the withdrawal can happen immediately.”

Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday, with or without a deal. Prime Minister Theresa May has asked for a delay until June 30, and visited both Germany and France Tuesday to make her case.

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1:30 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has set out three conditions for a likely delay to Britain’s departure from the European Union.

Merkel addressed German lawmakers on Wednesday, hours before EU leaders meet in Brussels to decide whether to grant Britain’s request for a delay beyond the current Friday night deadline.

Merkel said the EU has “expectations” of Britain. She said that the EU’s institutions must be able to continue functioning “seamlessly” and that Britain must conduct elections to the European Parliament in late May.

She added that there also needs to be “a readiness to take part constructively in decisions.”

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1:20 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the European Union may well decide on a longer Brexit delay than the one sought by the British government, but it would be flexible enough to allow Brexit “very quickly” once London approves the withdrawal agreement.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels later Wednesday to mull Prime Minister Theresa May’s request for Brexit to be delayed until June 30. If no extension is granted, Britain risks crashing out without a deal on Friday.

Merkel told German lawmakers that a disorderly Brexit “is not in our interest.”

She said of Wednesday’s outcome that “it may well be a longer extension than the one the British prime minister asked for, but we will shape this extension in such a way that whenever Britain has approved the withdrawal agreement, Britain can then complete its orderly withdrawal very shortly after” with a two-year transition period.

She didn’t specify exactly how long the extension might be.

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12:45 p.m.

The European Union’s legislature has warned British Prime Minister Theresa May to come to the Brexit summit with clear indications on how she hopes to turn the cross-party talks with opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn into a success.

The European Parliament said in a statement Wednesday that May “cannot come empty-handed.”

And the legislators told the EU leaders that they have to make sure that Britain will not become obstructionist if a long extension to their departure is granted.

They said the summit “would be advised to provide the U.K. with an extension which should be appropriately framed to respect the principle of sincere cooperation.”

The European Parliament will need to approve any deal May reaches with the EU to make it binding.

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11:35 a.m.

Groups representing manufacturers in the U.K. and across the continent have appealed to European leaders to work with Britain to avoid a divorce from the bloc without a deal.

Make UK and sister organization Ceemet issued a joint letter to heads of state and chief negotiator Michel Barnier warning of economic shock in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The groups say that while they recognize efforts have been made to address the chaos that a no-deal scenario would cause, “it must be clear that neither the EU nor the UK are ready, and as a consequence European industry is also not adequately prepared, for this cliff edge scenario.”

Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Brussels Wednesday to ask for another extension to Britain’s departure, until June 30. Britain is currently scheduled to leave the EU on Friday.

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9:30 a.m.

European Council President Donald Tusk is meeting leaders including British Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of an emergency summit to decide whether to grant the United Kingdom a further delay in its departure from the European Union.

Donald Tusk meets the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, The Netherlands and finally May shortly before Wednesday evening’s summit begins.

It’s likely to be a rough day for the embattled British leader as she pleads for a second extension until June 30, to prevent Britain’s departure now scheduled for Friday.

Tusk has suggested an even longer delay of up to a year with conditions attached to ensure Britain does not stymie EU decision making if it remains a member.

EU countries have become increasingly exasperated with the political division and uncertainty in Britain.

British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron embrace after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The French presidency said all decisions on Brexit will be made on Wednesday at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels. FRANCOIS MORI AP PHOTO

Source: https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/business/national-business/article229058354.html

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