| Good morning.EU leaders left last weekend's Munich Security Conference cautiously relieved. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was a little less aggressive than JD Vance last year, reassuring allies about American commitment to European security. But while he offered warm words about the transatlantic partnership, he snuck in praise for far-right values on migration and identity. Meanwhile, what's happening away from the podium tells a different story. Early this month, House Republicans released a report accusing the EU of running a "decade-long censorship campaign" against American social media platforms. In the document, the names of European Commission officials and NGO workers were left unredacted, potentially exposing them to harassment. Then, in the span of five days after the report was published, WhatsApp, TikTok, Google, and Meta all filed new cases against the commission. The content of the cases is not public yet, but the timing is striking, to say the least. It’s worth it to keep an eye on this space: the same platforms the US administration is playing attack dog for are the ones amplifying and emboldening the far-right movements and ideology that Rubio champions. At risk of sounding cliché, European leaders might do well to heed actions rather than words. Alejandro Tauber, publisher Top story The EU’s trade diversification agenda will be on the table in Cyprus — but most eyes will be on Donald Trump’s highly-controversial peace board. What else you need to know The EU’s political elite gave a standing ovation and breathed “relief” after a US message of “reassurance” in Munich, even though it was larded with far-right tropes.  “There were more civilians killed and injured in 2025 than in the previous three years,” Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, who heads the UN refugee agency’s division in Ukraine, told EUobserver The recent US report on ‘EU censorship’ left dozens of names of civil society and EU officials unredacted in emails – while carefully hiding company employee names.  OpenAI spends more on AI than the whole EU. Europe is lagging in the innovation race — here’s why, and how it plans to catch up. Spain’s move forces a harder conversation. Is it better to pretend half a million workers do not exist, or to regulate the reality already on the ground?  Ukraine’s agriculture industry has faced numerous challenges since Russia’s 2022 invasion. While farmers have battled to maintain production, Ukraine’s exports have caused friction with EU member states. What began as an emergency lifeline for a country at war has evolved into a structural shift — one now testing political solidarity inside the EU. The Kurdish diaspora has been demonstrating in major European cities for weeks now. Protesters are urging European and international authorities to respond to the takeover of the Kurdish autonomous region known as Rojava, by Syria’s new government. What is the diaspora hoping to obtain? Europe hold over machines, pharmaceuticals in global supply chains can be used to deter and shape the behaviour of “systemic rivals” such as the United States and China, a new report finds. In case you missed it A “two‑speed Europe” plus a “European preference” took centre stage at the EU leaders’ informal retreat in Alden Biesen, Belgium — with a new roadmap of competitiveness reforms expected ahead of the March Brussels summit. Greek authorities have issued an European Arrest Warrant against Norwegian human rights activist Tommy Olsen, who leads the Aegean Boat Report, supporting migrants. Accusations of corruption, favouritism, eroding the rule of law and judicial independence under Robert Fico’s Slovak government are aired in the European Parliament. The US under current management is a critical threat to Europe+ democracies — the UK, Norway, Canada, as well as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. This weekend’s Munich Security Conference is the place to start planning counter-measures. The EU wants to increase its stake in Algeria’s gas and green hydrogen supplies, the bloc’s energy commissioner said on Thursday. EU leaders will discuss simplification and competitiveness and even a ‘Buy European’ strategy at their informal retreat on Thursday — but others see a simple focus on competitiveness as self-defeating, writes Wester van Gaal.  Nato has launched a new Arctic mission — but on paper only, as Western allies try to mop up the mess left by US invasion threats against Greenland. The EU’s €650bn pandemic era fund remains wide open to fraud with weak accountability and oversight, according to financial watchdogs In Europe, goods and people mostly move freely — but services are still largely stuck behind a web of national bureaucracy. We are, in effect, sanctioning our own economies, warns MEP Barry Andrews.  Italian premier Giorgia Meloni hopes on Friday to cement her status as one of the bridges between Europe and Africa, as African leaders roll out the red carpet for her in Addis Ababa.But there are several crises brewing, writes Ben Fox. |
|
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten