This week saw the passing of a controversial free-trade agreement with Vietnam, which seemed to come up against fewer hurdles than its Canadian counterpart. Meanwhile, political strife in Germany puts the country’s upcoming Council presidency on shaky ground.
Two EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements were approved by a large majority this week (February 12) in the European Parliament.
Vietnam trade agreements pass in Parliament
Although controversial, these treaties were ultimately better received than the CETA agreement with Canada, perhaps for not having been subjected to the slings and arrows of the European agri-food industry.
In general, political groups on the right have positioned themselves in favour, with those on the left (the Greens and the United Left) against – mainly owing to human rights concerns.
However, the poll recalled old rifts, particularly within the Social Democrats, including among the members of the socialist Walloon delegation, RTBF reported.
Those in favour argue that without the talks with the EU, which have been going on for more than eight years now, far less progress would have been made in Vietnam.
However, Luxembourg’s Green MEP Tilly Metz disagrees, as she told 100,7. In her view, human rights have deteriorated in Vietnam since negotiations began in 2012. She believes that the EU missed its opportunity to conclude a “modern” trade agreement that would have marked the beginning of a new generation of agreements.
Tilly Metz, Member of the European Parliament – Greens, Luxembourg (in Luxembourgish):
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“We had the chance to prove that we are committed to sustainable development goals and to the Paris climate agreement and that we strive for a different type of trade agreement. One in which we do not play into the hands of investors but respect human rights and the environment. This is not the case in this agreement and therefore we are clearly voting against it.”
The agreement will likely enter into force later this year, following ratification by Vietnam.
Sofia votes to ratify CETA
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian parliament has voted – by a somewhat narrower majority – to ratify the EU-Canada trade agreement. The result of the vote received mixed reactions in Bulgarian political and business circles, reports BNR’s Radio Bulgaria.
Concerns mainly stem from the ability of foreign investors to take legal action against the country if they estimate that its laws reduce their profits – even when these are in place to safeguard the public. Businesses and the public sector are also worried about the agreement’s potential environmental impact.
In an interview for Radio Bulgaria, MEP Andrey Kovatchev rebutted the criticisms.
Andrey Kovatchev, Member of the European Parliament – EPP, Bulgaria (in Bulgarian):
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“[CETA] does not include any provisions that alter, disregard or abolish the high standards set by the European Union or compliance with national legislation on GMOs, shale gas or environmental standards. All critical remarks regarding arbitration were addressed and the agreement revised. Of course, no trade agreement is designed to serve for eternity and, if need be, it can be amended in the future.”
Weber seeks EU stance on coronavirus
Euranet Plus member ams reports comments made by Manfred Weber this week on the EU’s preparedness to the coronavirus pandemic.
Manfred Weber, Chair of the European People’s Party (in English):
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“I want to refer to the coronavirus. We will have, this week, the meeting of the Council. The meeting of the Council ministers is much too late. We have no coordinated common position from the European Union towards the coronavirus. People all over Europe are afraid and I hope that ministers understand that hopefully we don’t need the first European victim to be more engaged in this field. So we have to prepare ourselves in a much better way. We only see national activities for the moment. The Italians, for example, have their ban on flights already implemented. Others are not doing so. We have no coordinated European answer to the challenge ahead of us. And a second element is that we need solidarity. Not everybody in the European Union is in the same way prepared for a possible increase in cases. And that’s why we also need a European solidarity mechanism, so that everybody can really be sure that he’s helped by the others.”
Meanwhile, esRadio Castilla y León reports on the cancellation of the world’s biggest smartphone tech show as a direct result of the coronavirus scare.
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020, scheduled to take place in Barcelona later this month (February 24 to 27), has been definitively cancelled after many companies pulled out.
German Council presidency at threat from domestic turmoil?
Germany finds itself embroiled in yet another political crisis. This time, the origin of the turmoil is the election of a state premier in the Federal State of Thuringia.
Thomas Kemmerich of the FDP, a small pro-business party, was elected on February 5. He received the support of Merkel’s CDU, which controversially appeared to join forces with far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to keep leftist Die Linke out of power.
The part the AfD played in forming the Thuringia state government – a political first in Germany – has caused a political outcry. It has even led CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to stand down as party chair and announce that she will no longer run for chancellor.
With the crisis in the CDU jeopardising the country’s governing coalition, what does this mean for Germany’s presidency of the European Council in the second half of 2020? EPP MEP Manfred Weber remains unphased, as ams reports.
Manfred Weber, Chair of the European People’s Party (in German):
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“My wish, and that of many in the EPP, is for the German presidency to answer many of the unanswered questions currently facing Europe. I am thinking, for example, of the migration issue; there are a lot of expectations on the German government. And the German government is, so to speak, looking for a starting signal from the German people. Because many parts of the current coalition agreement have already been worked through. And I believe that the German Council presidency can provide a real momentum. If Germany is going to try to achieve consensus in Europe during the Council presidency and also to show leadership, then this should be a sign for the German government to start.”
Rule of law debate shows no signs of abating
Another debate took place in the European Parliament in Strasbourg this week (February 11) on the rule of law in Poland. Polskie Radio reports.
The debate was opened by vice president of the European Commission Vera Jourova. She claimed that the Commission was “ready for dialogue”, but also noted that the Polish authorities had adopted their most recent changes ignoring earlier calls for consultation.
Krzysztof Sobolewski, a member of Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, believes that this latest ‘discussion’ in the European Parliament is not worthy of the term.
Krzysztof Sobolewski, Law and Justice minister (in Polish):
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“As you can see, the European Parliament likes to talk about Poland and Hungary. However, as the saying goes, it is blind in one eye – because it can’t see what’s happening in France; it did not see what was happening in Spain. Somehow there was no discussion; there, rule-of-law issues were not considered. And Poland is criticised for implementing solutions that take place in Western European countries.”
According to Poland’s opposition, though, “Poland is resorting to pre-1989 solutions”.
Andrzej Halicki – EPP, Poland (in Polish):
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“Accessing courts takes longer; fees are higher. This is a debate about one party’s desire to appropriate the judiciary; about building a system that gives impunity to the authorities.”
The opposition coalition also accuses Law and Justice of taking a “course for Polexit” through its judicial reforms.
Law and Justice argues that the justice system remains the preserve of member states and denies that it wants Poland to leave the bloc, as does the country’s president.
Andrzej Duda, President of Poland (in Polish):
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“I would like Poland to be part of the European Union, so that we can continue to enjoy all the benefits we currently enjoy. I am not talking purely about financial benefits, but about ordinary, universal benefits. We have freedom, we can move about, borders are open to us, we can travel, there is so much ease and such a sense of freedom. Today we live in a free country, we can travel wherever we want, travel through Schengen countries with just an ID card in our pocket and basically nobody checks us. It’s wonderful, and that’s why we’re a member of the EU.”
No tolerance for intolerance
Anti-Semitism and hate speech were also on the agenda in Strasbourg this week, says MTVA.
Vĕra Jourová, Vice-President of the Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, gave a powerful address on Tuesday night (February 11), explaining that it was the EU’s duty to “prevent history from repeating itself” and to protect “its Jewish communities and all other minorities”.
The Commission is soon to publish the results of its fifth monitoring exercise into online hate speech and disinformation – particularly of the anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim and anti-Gypsy varieties.
Hungarian MEP Balázs Hidvéghi, although speaking out firmly against anti-Jewish sentiment in Europe, did not appear to be singing from quite the same hymn sheet as Jourová.
Balázs Hidvéghi, Member of the European Parliament – EPP, Hungary (in Hungarian):
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“Besides strongly condemning and rejecting all such attacks, we should also note that the emergence and spread of radical Muslim anti-Semitism in Europe contributes to the growing number of anti-Semitic attacks. So, the attacks against the Jewish communities of Western Europe provide yet another reason for taking firm steps to tackle illegal migration.”
En route to the eurozone
Croatia is working actively to join the eurozone, with Zagreb hoping that the country will be able to take the next step – namely to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) II – sometime later this year, says Latvijas Radio.
If it achieves this goal, Croatia could be in a position to introduce the euro in about three years’ time.
The country’s finance minister believes that the benefits of joining the euro outweigh the costs.
Zdravko Marić, Croatian Minister of Finance (in English):
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“There are much more sustainable benefits than potential costs. Usually when we are talking about the threats, and you know very well throughout the European Monetary Union – in particular when we see the examples of the latest incomers into the euro area – that people are predominantly afraid of the potential price increases and the costs of this transition or costs of the exchange of the national currency to euro. However, even when taking this into account and combining it with the elimination of ethics risk, significant reduction of credit interest rates etc., the benefits are much more in line with euro adoption.”
Bulgaria is also headed in the same direction, with much debate both on the streets and in expert circles on whether savings might be devalued and prices might rise. Despite assurances from the government and the Bulgarian National Bank, public concern remains high.
Recent legislative amendments in Bulgaria make it possible for the Bulgarian Lev-euro exchange rate to be modified once the country has joined the ЕRM II, which has prompted many to consider converting their savings into euros now.
In an interview with Bulgarian National Radio, Professor Steve Hanke, the head of the Bulgarian currency board, was adamant that Bulgaria should not adopt the single European currency.
Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov disputes Hanke’s view, though, stressing that the euro is the second most-traded currency in the world. He also asserts that the Bulgarian Lev will keep its current rate of exchange until the country’s entry into the eurozone and that savings are not at risk of devaluation.
Mechanics of Just Transition Fund
The European Commission recently presented its Green Deal, an ambitious package of measures designed to enable citizens and businesses in the Union to make the transition to a green and sustainable economy. Its Just Transition Fund was developed to support member states facing particular challenges when it comes to meeting the environmental objectives, in particular those heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
MEP Cristian Ghinea gives Radio România a bit more detail about how the fund will work.
Cristian Ghinea, Member of the European Parliament – Renew Europe, Romania (in Romanian):
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“Take, for example, the Valea Jiului mining area, which will most likely be included in this programme. The government will assess what is happening on the ground; how we can help this region in terms of infrastructure, social services, access to health… Based on this plan, we will come up with a package of measures, put in money from our European funds, which comes from Romania anyway, and then take some from the Just Transition Fund. A kind of ‘you put three euro and we give you one’. That is the proportion.”
Drug advertising: fact or fiction?
Spain’s General Pharmaceutical Council has launched its #MedicamentosSinBulos (hoax-free medicines) campaign to warn people about the unmonitored promotion of medicines in social networks.
It is not uncommon to find drug advertising campaigns run by people with no scientific training. Now, pharmacists responsible for scientific dissemination have hit back with a set of guidelines to help users distinguish fact from fiction when it comes to drug advertising.
One pharmacist talks to esRadio.
Marián García, Pharmacist (in Spanish):
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“We have produced a ten-point plan so that people can identify whether something is a hoax or not. This is nothing new, but the problem is that social networks amplify everything. Now these people are on the internet and have access to millions of people. And ninety-nine per cent of the time, they speak from a basis of ignorance.”
- esradio.libertaddigital.com: Una campaña alerta sobre los consejos de influencers sobre medicamentos
- Author: Joanna Neville, Euranet Plus News Agency
