Brussels Playbook: VDL, Zelenskyy mark Europe Day
in Kyiv — Fast-tracking ammo — Free-riding EU officials
BY JAKOB
HANKE VELA
MAY 9, 2023
7:19 AM CET
Brussels
Playbook
By JAKOB
HANKE VELA
with ZOYA
SHEFTALOVICH
GOOD
MORNING. On this day in 1950, in a war-ravaged Europe, Robert Schuman made his
famous proposal for a supra-national authority to interlink the French and
German economies and “make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible”
between them and any European country that may want to join.
On this day
in 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives in Kyiv
amid blaring air defense guns, to assure Ukrainians that the EU’s support
remains steadfast and their country will join this Union too. Like the EU,
Ukraine will celebrate May 8 as the anniversary of the end of World War II,
while May 9 is now the “Day of Europe.”
In Strasbourg,
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will give a speech and debate with MEPs about the
EU’s future.
And in
Russia, President Vladimir Putin will celebrate Victory Day, marking the Soviet
triumph over Hitler. Over the years, Putin has used the pomp and ceremony of
the holiday to boost his strongman image. But this year looks quite different
for Putin: with supplies and morale depleted from over a year of bungled
full-scale war on Ukraine, the Kremlin’s forces failing to break a stalemate in
the battle for Bakhmut, and amid canceled parades around the country, Russia
doesn’t have much to crow about.
DRIVING THE
DAY: VDL IN KYIV
BOLD TRIP:
Ursula von der Leyen is in Ukraine today on her fifth visit since Russia
launched its full-scale war. The trip, which involves a night-long train ride
from Poland, is not without its dangers. Russia has bombarded Ukraine with a
barrage of drone and missile attacks in the past days, with air defense guns
and sirens resounding throughout Kyiv and elsewhere (video here).
May 9 is
particularly dangerous. It may be a celebration of peace for the EU, but in
Russia, with militarism and jingoism at a nadir for Victory Day, Putin is under
pressure to demonstrate some sign of success.
What’s on
the agenda: Von der Leyen will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime
Minister Denys Shmyhal for discussions on ammo production (more on that just
below), financial support, the EU’s new sanctions plans (more on that here) and
Ukraine’s grain exports through solidarity lanes, officials tell Playbook. The Commission
chief will also meet first lady Olena Zelenska and representatives of last
year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners.
Show don’t
tell: But for all the talk of solidarity today, Ukraine will be looking for
positive signals on a key prerogative: joining the EU. As previously reported
by POLITICO’s Suzanne Lynch, the European Commission has delayed an oral update
on Ukraine’s progress on meeting accession criteria. Though the update was
promised in the spring, it is now expected in early June.
MEANWHILE,
IN BRAZIL: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte meets Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva today, and told reporters he would raise the need to
support Ukraine. The EU has been seeking to make progress on a trade deal with
the Mercosur trading bloc, but Lula’s behavior hasn’t helped: He had been due
to welcome von der Leyen for a visit a few weeks ago, but instead flew to
China, where he railed against the West and called on Washington to “stop
encouraging war” in Ukraine.
AMMO
UPDATE
PARLIAMENT
VOTES ON FAST-TRACKING AMMO BILL: As Playbook revealed on Monday, MEPs will
today vote on whether to fast-track a law to boost ammunition and weapons
production by allowing countries to funnel EU cash into their defense
industries.
Shelling
out ASAP: EPP leader Manfred Weber’s call to bypass lengthy committee
negotiations to speed up the “Act in Support of Ammunition Production” has now
garnered the support of several political groups, making a successful vote more
likely.
In
agreement: As Eddy Wax writes in to report, Renew’s Nathalie Loiseau and the
Greens’ Hannah Neumann both said their groups would back the EPP’s push at the
vote today.
More time:
The ECR’s Zdzisław Krasnodębski said his group supported the EPP’s urgency
proposal, but wanted to delay the final vote until June, to give more time to
reflect on possible “structural changes” to the defense industry. Weber
suggested having the final vote on the entire bill as soon as May 31.
More info:
Some MEPs also wanted more clarity on where the subsidies will end up flowing
to. Major multi-billion-euro defense companies like Rheinmetall and Airbus
don’t need tax payers’ money, Neumann argued.
War
profiteering? “The corks must be popping in the arms industry boardrooms all
over Europe,” Irish far-left MEP Clare Daly said in Parliament’s hemicycle on
Monday, accusing EU decision-makers of being “war profiteers” who don’t care
about peace — prompting heckles from her colleagues.
MORE PARLIAMENT
NEWS
IRONY
OVERLOAD — HARASSER MEP LEADS ‘QUALITY TRAINEESHIP’ FILE: An MEP whom the
European Parliament has punished twice for bullying staff celebrated the
approval of a report on “quality traineeships” last night, Eddy Wax writes in
to report.
Bully for
her: Monica Semedo, a Luxembourgish MEP in the Renew group, was sanctioned last
month for the second time in two years for “psychological harassment” of her
parliamentary assistants. “I firmly stand for the interests and rights of young
people in Europe,” she said in a press release after the employment and social
affairs committee voted through her report on a directive in Strasbourg, which
called for “social protection” for trainees — apparently without a shred of
irony.
Group is
silent: Renew as a group still hasn’t taken any action against Semedo. A
spokesperson for Renew declined to comment and Semedo did not respond. She has
threatened to take the Parliament to court over the sanction. Semedo became
rapporteur for this file in 2020, before her first sanction in 2021.
GREENS CALL
FOR MORE FAR-REACHING CHANGES TO PARLIAMENT’S ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY: Today,
the European Parliament’s quaestors — in charge of administrative and financial
matters — will discuss changes to the institution’s anti-harassment policy. But
the quaestors’ proposal is too limited, argues Terry Reintke, co-president of
the Greens.
‘Time’s
up’: The Greens have written to Parliament President Roberta Metsola calling
for mandatory harassment prevention training, among other measures. Reintke
called the discussion “a moment of truth where we will see if the European
Parliament is ready to deal with these issues.”
MEPs
CONSIDER FRENCH PUSH TO BEEF UP STRASBOURG SEAT: The top 15 MEPs met behind
closed doors last night to consider an offer from the French government to rent
out an office building near the Parliament in Strasbourg, according to two
people in the room.
Paris push:
The huge “Osmose” building is lying empty across from the Parliament’s main HQ in
Strasbourg, while the institution is having to rent extra office space from the
Council of Europe. The French government’s offer came in on May 3 but little is
known about it. According to one of the people in the room, the price offered
is “very low.” If accepted, the move would solidify Strasbourg as the
Parliament’s main seat, in a major win for France.
Building
king: It seems, though, that the divisive idea of buying the Osmose building
outright isn’t entirely dead and buried. Rainer Wieland, the powerful German
EPP politician, told Eddy as he got into an elevator that no decision was made
yet. “We have to scrutinize it,” he said, adding: “This is an economic
question.”
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GERMAN
AFFAIRS
CHINA
CANCELS LINDNER: Blaming “scheduling,” Beijing canceled at the last minute
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s planned trip to China on Wednesday,
ahead of his visit to Japan for the G7 finance ministers’ meeting. For many
officials and observers in Berlin, the highly unusual short-notice cancellation
of the long-planned trip sounded more like a calculated diplomatic affront,
Hans von der Burchard writes in to report.
Persona non
grata? Lindner has a track record of critical statements toward China: In
February, he condemned Beijing’s implicit support for Russia’s war in Ukraine;
in 2019, he met opposition leaders in Hong Kong, which led to a high-ranking
Communist Party official screaming at him. And Lindner is also the leader of
the Free Democratic Party, whose Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger
went to Taiwan in March, which upset Beijing.
Talks in
Berlin: Meanwhile, China appears keen to engage with other members of the
German government, as Foreign Minister Qin Gang will be in Berlin today to meet
his counterpart Annalena Baerbock. The two are meant to hold a press conference
at about 1:30 p.m., which promises to be exciting — recall the heated exchange
they had in Beijing last month.
BAERBOCK
MEETS MACRON: The German FM will then travel to Paris this afternoon, where she
will meet French President Emmanuel Macron — again. That’s special treatment
for a foreign minister, which Baerbock also enjoyed last December when Macron
invited her to the Elysée. On Wednesday, Baerbock will meet her French
counterpart Catherine Colonna in Paris.
Baerbock
boost: While the French president’s invitation is designed to showcase the
close relationship between Berlin and Paris, it’s also clearly a boost for
Baerbock, a potential rival to Olaf Scholz in the next German election.
IN OTHER
NEWS
ICYMI —
FREE TRIPS FOR EU BOSSES: Seven leading Commission officials, including EU top
diplomat Josep Borrell, Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér
Várhelyi and Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans, accepted free lodging
from foreign governments during trips abroad, a POLITICO investigation found.
Nothing to
see here! In statements explaining their actions, the commissioners’ offices
all said they’d taken up the offer of free lodging in line with the official
code of conduct. But transparency campaigners are asking for a re-write of
rules. Read the story by Lili Bayer.
TOP TRADE
READ: The U.S. put the World Trade Organization into intensive care by
single-handedly killing off its highest court four years ago. Now Washington is
floating the idea of a new-look appeals process that could help get the WTO off
life support, but some trade diplomats in Geneva are questioning whether the
patient would survive the operation, reports Sarah Anne Aarup.
SCIENTISTS
URGE EU TO ENSURE ACCESS TO DATA: Following Playbook’s report on the EU digital
lobby’s and tech CEOs’ warnings about a planned EU data access law, which they
fear could reveal trade secrets, the scientific community has replied with its
own call for co-legislators to secure its access to data for research purposes.
EU CASH FOR
OVERFISHING: The EU is lobbying poor countries to vote against stricter
international rules on fisheries — and is even using EU funds meant for
sustainability to sway the vote, my colleagues report.
HUNGARY VS.
EU: Viktor Orbán’s man in Brussels is a former Trotskyite who made his name
backing leftist causes, reports Gian Volpicelli in this top profile of Frank
Furedi, who leads the Brussels branch of Hungarian government-backed Mathias
Corvinus Collegium.
NO EU PARTY
FOR ISRAEL’S FAR-RIGHT PARTY: The EU canceled its Europe Day party in Israel as
it couldn’t stop controversial far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from
speaking at the event.
Not
invited: Ben-Gvir, from the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, was planning
to stand in for Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who is traveling to India and
couldn’t attend the EU event. While EU diplomats made clear that Ben-Gvir’s
speech was not wanted, he insisted on attending. As Israel’s government refused
to send someone else, the EU’s mission to Israel decided on Monday to cancel
the reception, my colleague Nicolas Camut reports.
Bad rep:
“We do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the
values the European Union stands for,” the mission said in a statement.
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THANK EU
FOR THE MUSIC
EUROVISION’S
BACK: Eurovision kicks off this evening, with the first semi-final in
Liverpool. Reminder: The U.K. is hosting in place of last year’s winner,
Ukraine. Frances Robinson has everything you need to know ahead of the event in
her primer here.
TRIBUTE TO
UKRAINE’S MUSIC SCENE: Liveurope is holding its annual Europe Day music
celebration at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels this afternoon from 5 p.m. This
year’s event pays tribute to Ukraine, and the head of Kyiv’s mission to the EU,
Vsevolod Chentsov, is expected to speak. In parallel, the organizers are
launching a fundraising drive for Music Saves UA, an initiative established by
the Ukrainian Association of Music Events to provide humanitarian aid and help
evacuate and resettle refugees.
ODE TO (NO)
JOY? My colleagues Paul Dallison and Leyla Aksu reckon it’s time for a new EU
anthem.
AGENDA
— European
Parliament plenary session continues in Strasbourg. Highlights: Revision of the
Stability and Growth Pact at 9 a.m. … Joint press point by Parliament President
Roberta Metsola and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at 10:20 a.m. … Debate with
Scholz at 10:30 a.m. … voting session at noon … debate on Discharge 2021 at 1
p.m. … debate on EU accession to the Istanbul Convention on violence against
women at 2:30 p.m. (approximately). Watch. Full agenda.
—
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travels to Kyiv; meets Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of his government.
—
Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans in Paris; delivers closing
remarks and participates in the fireside chat of the Conference on the Future
of Finance 2023; meets Co-Chair of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Energy and
Climate Michael Bloomberg.
—
Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager in Berlin; meets with
German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner.
—
Commissioner Janez Lenarčič in Ljubljana, Slovenia; opens Europe Day
celebrations with President Nataša Pirc Musar.
—
Commissioner Adina-Ioana Vălean in Chișinău; meets Moldova’s President Maia
Sandu and Prime Minister Dorin Recean; participates in the signing ceremony of
the Affiliation of Moldova to Connecting Europe Facility.
—
Commissioner Kadri Simson in Tallinn; participates in panel discussion with
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
BRUSSELS
CORNER Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share on Handclap
CONGRATULATIONS!
POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein, Alex Ward, Peter Canellos, Hailey Fuchs and Heidi
Przybyla were last night named finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in Breaking
News Reporting, for their story on the draft Supreme Court opinion to overturn
Roe v. Wade. Congratulations to all!
EUROPE DAY
AT BOZAR: Speakers including Stefaan De Rynck, the head of the European
Commission’s representation in Belgium, slam poet Lisette Ma Neza and Tinatin
Tsertsvadze from Open Society Foundations will discuss the state of Europe at
Bozar this evening. You can also watch an interview with Italian writer
Giuliano da Empoli, the author of the hit book “The Wizard of the Kremlin: A
Novel.” Tickets here.
NEW BOOK —
THE ART OF THE DEAL IN BRUSSELS: Javier Elorza, an influential veteran of the
EU who led some of the toughest negotiations on Spain’s accession to the Maastricht
Treaty, has written a book on his three-decade career, which spanned from 1986
to 2004. For now, the book is available in Spanish.
NEW
POSTING: Violeta Bulc, Europe’s former commissioner for transport, has taken up
a role for Panteia, a consulting organization, as an “ambassador for diversity
in transport.”
NEW CLIENT:
Former Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan now advises JP Morgan, per Irish media
reports. Hogan set up his own consultancy business in Brussels after departing
the Commission in 2020. He also counts Vodafone among his clients.
BIRTHDAYS:
MEPs Terry Reintke, Tanja Fajon and Jutta Paulus; Former MEPs David Bull and
Joachim Starbatty; Hungary’s Former President János Áder; European Commission’s
Nathalie Pasquier. Europe Day.
THANKS to
Suzanne Lynch, Eddy Wax, Barbara Moens, Nicolas Camut, Hans von der Burchard,
Mathieu Pollet, Gregorio Sorgi, Playbook reporter Ketrin Jochecová and producer
Grace Stranger.
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