European Union: Discussion Thread

UAE rejects 'racist statement' by EU’s Josep Borrell

The UAE has rejected the racist statement by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, at the inauguration of the new European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges, Belgium.

In a statement issued by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), the ministry expressed its rejection of Borrell’s remarks, characterising them as racist and noting that these statements contribute to a worsening climate of intolerance and discrimination worldwide.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, represented by the Director of the European Affairs Department, Mohamed AlShehi, and the Deputy Assistant Minister of Political Affairs, Reem Ketait, summoned Paulsen, acting Head of the Mission at the EU Delegation to the UAE . The Office of the High Representative was asked to provide a written explanation of the High Representative's hurtful and discriminatory comments.

Borrell’s remarks are a disappointing development that comes at a time when all parties are aware of the importance of respect for other religions, cultures, and ethnic groups, as well as values such as pluralism, coexistence, and tolerance, the ministry said.

https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-rejects-racist-statement-by-eus-josep-borrell

An interesting post I just found in an Italian telegram channel

Authoritarian Poland was built to intercept every last penny of the EU and strengthen itself.  Post-1992 Italy has been destroyed to its foundations so as to make it impossible to spend even the money they give it.  Multiplication of decision-making centers (primarily regions), destruction of technical offices, contrary selection for public administration and politics, etc.

From an Italian telegram channel.

The European Parliament today passed the Nature Restoration Bill, wanted by the elite to advance the green agenda. The Italian newspapers present it as good news for the defense of the environment.

The truth is another.

20% of land intended for agricultural use will have to turn into scrub (they call it restoration, they play with words as usual).

Do you know what is happening in Holland? Well, this is it. Farmers will be forced to sell off or expropriations will start.

This sets the stage for the food famine in Europe that the New World Order of Rothschilds and Rockefellers would like to implement in 2025. This was originally supposed to happen in 2020, but Trump in the White House has slowed down their plans.

Europe Brain Drain: 30,000 Tech Specialists Move to China, by Fantine Gardinier for Sputnikglobe.com. 07.20.2023.

Experts told Sputnik that Western policies have created a "toxic" work environment for many researchers who are more interested in science than in politics, helping drive their migration to China. Beijing could capitalize big on this with more incentives to relocate, but it could bring China and Europe closer together, too.

A recently released report by the US-based company Strider Technologies accused the People's Republic of China (PRC) of infiltrating Western technology firms and institutions as part of "a machine that facilitates the transfer of European technology and talent to the PRC."

The report notes that over the past 20 years, more than 30,000 senior employees at European technology companies have moved to China, in some cases starting up their own firms to compete with their Western counterparts.

Strider CEO Greg Levesque told US media that China "sees leadership in the semiconductor sector as vital to its military and commercial goals and nothing will deter it from pursuing those efforts. Legal and trade barriers in the US will only push them to ramp up operations elsewhere."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry rejected the report, telling a US newspaper that Strider "has previously published a series of reports full of false information smearing and attacking China. China's exchange of talent with foreign countries is no different from other countries."

Jeff J. Brown, author of The China Trilogy, editor at China Rising Radio Sinoland, co-founder and curator of the Bioweapon Truth Commission, told Sputnik on Thursday that about 40 years ago, "western research became pay-to-play, for-profit and still is."

"Before the 1980s, most research grant money in the West came from government sources - agencies and foundations - so there were fewer commercial and ideological strings attached. With Reagan/Thatcher neoliberalism starting in the 1980s, those grants dried up, thus big corporations filled the breach offering funding, but now with, ‘We are paying you and these are the results we want,'" he said.

Brown said that a "venal, toxic and revolting work environment" arose in the years since as a result, adding that "is it any wonder Western professors, researchers and scientists are flocking to China, where science is still pure science, the search for truth lives large, and the sociopolitical ambiance is collegial and relaxed?"

The steady migration of researchers into China makes sense, given the sociopolitical environment and atmosphere in which grants are given. But despite the fears about a Western "brain drain," Brown noted that "The halls of Western academia and research are still full of professors and scientists."

"Most of them are not adventurous enough to pull up stakes and move to China. Nevertheless, there is a feeling that those who do so are among the best and the brightest, more interested in the pursuit of pure science, rather than cranking out papers paid for by Wall Street and Big Pharma."

“China pays very well, it is a safe, clean and modern country, with no garbage and transport strikes, no riots; inflation is low and the sky's the limit in terms of basic and applied research, with plenty of a-political, non-commercial grant money,” he noted. “Therefore, where would you like to do your R&D? It’s an easy question to answer.”

“Given the aforementioned dichotomy between Western and Chinese R&D, Beijing has already won the race. China Tech is unstoppable. It does not need Westerners in their universities and laboratories to achieve ‘Made in China 2025’, but they are nice leavening in the invention and innovation cake.”

Thomas W. Pauken II, the author of “US vs China: From Trade War to Reciprocal Deal,” a consultant on Asia-Pacific affairs and a geopolitical commentator, told Sputnik that more Europeans moving to China could be highly beneficial for both regions and lead to greater ties between them at a time that Europe is suffering from its proximity to the United States.

However, he noted that in order to coax more European talent to relocate to China, “they have to make it where the Europeans are going to feel comfortable coming and moving to China.”

“It's not as easy as some might think it is. What the Chinese government should first focus on is to create some preferential tax treatment and find ways to get companies to offer very rewarding contracts to people who are talented in science and technology. But, we should also be aware that many Chinese are also very good at science and technology and that when the Europeans come here [to China], they could be surprised by the stiff competition they'll have against their Chinese peers,” he said.

“However, it is important to have European scientists and talents come to China because they have a different cultural mindset and that different cultural mindset can also help Chinese people and Chinese companies have a better understanding of the global markets, as well as the science and tech world outside of China and outside of Asia,” Pauken asserted.

"But in order to attract them, they're going to have to find ways of preferential tax treatment, some type of subsidies, easy visa procedures. For example, international schools here in China are very expensive. I know that for sure, because my son goes to an international school. Hopefully the Chinese government can perhaps either allow companies that hire to maybe get tax free treatment on offering education grants to Europeans who have children who could attend international schools here."

Pauken noted the southern province of Hainan has a High-Tech National Industrial Development Zone “where they're trying to encourage a lot of foreigners to work.”

"Another benefit they have is a lot of duty-free products go through Hainan, and when they do spend in Hainan, they can get tax rebates as well," he explained. "Europeans don't claim they're interested in money, but you'll be surprised how often the Europeans are the first to ask for special [tax] treatment. Maybe it's because in Europe the taxes are so high, they might be looking for other places to go to improve their living standards and living conditions."

Pauken said that while the migration of high-tech specialists to China could have a big impact on the global tech race, there are still significant obstacles to the kind of exchange that Strider claimed was imminent, especially in the field of proprietary information.

"If it succeeds, it's going to be amazing for China because they will have a lot more progress and developments in their technologies. And this also could improve trade ties between Europe and China, which right at this very moment is going through some hard times, because the Europeans are too closely aligned with Washington. However, maybe if a lot of Europeans are coming here, this may encourage and inspire Europe to find ways of having deeper cooperation with China."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230720/tech-experts-migrate-to-china-due-to-western-pay-to-play-research-culture-1112017062.html

The collapse of European diplomacy is happening before our eyes, by Timofey Bordachev, Programme Director of the Valdai Club, for VZGLYAD. 03.06.2024.

There are several reasons why Europeans have gone so far down the path leading to their own world that is different from reality. First of all, they experienced a colossal shock just over 30 years ago.

The incident with the refusal of the ambassadors of the European Union countries to take part in a meeting with the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov is an excellent example of what European diplomatic culture is now. The reason is quite simple - over the past 30 years it has practically lost the need to be diplomacy in the traditional sense of the word.

Despite the fact that among the ambassadors of the European Union countries in Moscow there are relatively educated and intelligent people, these individual characteristics no longer matter much. Everything is determined by the worldview of Europeans, which has become the opposite of what is necessary for civilized relations between states. And those observers are right who believe that in modern conditions the very meaning of having ambassadors of EU countries in Moscow becomes incomprehensible - after all, they still do not decide anything and cannot fulfill their duties in the way that is generally accepted. It would be much easier for everyone if these wonderful and not so wonderful people returned to their countries for a while.

There are several reasons why Europeans have gone so far down the path leading to their own world that is different from reality. First of all, they experienced a colossal shock just over 30 years ago. Since the 16th century, Europe was adjacent to Russia, which it could not defeat under any circumstances.

The excellent British scientist of our imperial origin, Dominic Lieven, wrote in one of his works that the Russians were the only ones with whom Europe had to deal who were capable of fighting with boundless courage, tenacity and self-sacrifice for their special, independent niche in the modern world.

Let's think about these words - the only ones of all civilizations towards which the West tried to behave aggressively. All the rest - the Great Chinese Empire, the ancient civilization of India, and many others - could not resist the decisive pressure of the West, which for 500 years expanded the limits of its power with fire and sword. They were somehow defeated by the West, even if after some time they were able to regain their states. Russia was never defeated. And let's try to put ourselves in the shoes of Europeans and understand their emotional state: for centuries, Europe lived with the trauma whose name is independent Russia. We ourselves, by the way, were never given the opportunity to understand what it was like to have a constant opponent whom you could never defeat.

Therefore, in 1991, when the USSR suddenly fell and a single state disintegrated, Europe found itself in a situation completely unknown to it. The most impossible wish of generations of European politicians and military men came true overnight. Just by itself, without a decisive military conflict and with the full desire of the Russians to join the “European family,” even if only as a student. Such a shock could not pass without serious consequences for the psyche of statesmen and ordinary citizens of European states.

Their entire foreign policy culture was brought up on the fact that Russia never allows itself to be pushed around or dictated to. And suddenly the West felt like a winner in the Cold War, without firing a shot. In a state of fantastic emotional shock, Europe began to build relations with Russia, as with a country that had finally suffered defeat. For several years, Moscow accepted the rules of the game that Europe offered it, took into account the desires of Europeans in the economy and developed its external relations with an eye on how this would affect the main direction - gradual “integration” with the European Union. The EU, in the new circumstances, found itself in the position of a demanding teacher, proposing numerous “partnership” programs with two simple objectives. Firstly, to ensure the interests of European business and make the Russian market even more open for it. Secondly, check Russia’s compliance with its instructions.

European diplomats had to become equally demanding teachers. For several generations of EU ambassadors in Moscow, the main task has become to monitor how well Russia fulfills its many obligations. As part of the implementation of this “honorable” mission, a tradition of communication with Russia was formed at various levels. And if at the level of heads of state or heads of foreign policy departments there was a conversation on equal terms, then below there was no trace of ordinary diplomacy.

European ambassadors did not simply become executors of the will of their masters in national capitals (this is completely normal) - they gradually turned into technical workers entrusted with the task of observing Russia and pointing out errors in its behavior. And the degree of their intellectual abilities was no longer assessed by their ability to play a subtle diplomatic game. The main criterion was the greater or lesser degree of hysteria with which they promoted a very simple agenda consisting of only demands. Moreover, their individual will and intelligence were increasingly firmly integrated into the system of rules and requirements that are common to all NATO and EU representatives abroad.

As a philosopher wrote in the last century, “in a collective, the individual mind becomes the servant of the collective interest.” And gradually, we add, it disappears in the sense that was originally a sign of intelligence - the ability to independently analyze the situation and make decisions. This problem has become so total for European diplomacy and politics that they gradually stopped even noticing it.

Moreover, European politics was changing rapidly. Finding themselves, through no merit, in the position of “winners in the Cold War,” Europeans feel a sense of deep moral superiority over the entire world around them. Except for the Americans, of course, whom they are simply very afraid of.

We have repeatedly encountered examples of interference by the European Union in the purely internal affairs of such important partners as China, or the still very friendly India. Not to mention states of smaller size and importance. So, last year, French President Emmanuel Macron seriously made scenes with Brazilians about how they treat their forests.

Let us note for the sake of honesty that the problem is also the reluctance of other countries for a long time to draw the attention of Europeans to the inadequacy of their behavior. As a participant in world diplomacy, Europe has come very far along the path to where there is no return to reality.

However, a reasonable question arises: what does Russia care at all about why our neighbors in the West have so lost the ability to correspond to the world around them? It seems that if the current military-political crisis is temporarily accompanied by a decrease in our level of diplomatic relations with the countries of the European Union, we can still get some benefit from understanding the reasons.

Firstly, if we exclude scenarios that are tragic for everyone, then Europe will still remain Russia’s neighbor and we will have to conduct a diplomatic dialogue with it again. Even taking into account that the underlying reason for the inadequacy of the Europeans was of a fundamental nature - the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the USSR, we could have behaved more demandingly towards them earlier. For their own – and common – good. Therefore, we need to understand where Europe has its main weaknesses that make it impossible to conduct normal diplomatic interaction.

Secondly, we need to see what tragic mistakes the transformation of diplomacy into political notations leads to. As Russia develops relations with the countries of the Global South and our neighbors in the CIS, it is useful to be especially vigilant and ensure that we ourselves avoid even signs of European arrogance.

https://vz.ru/opinions/2024/3/6/1256764.html

What will Bratwurst Scholz say to this:

Macron wants von der Leyen replaced – Bloomberg, 04.24.2024.

French president is reportedly considering former European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi as an alternative head of the Commission.

French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to replace European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and is currently discussing options with other EU leaders, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

Von der Leyen is now gearing up for elections in less than two months, seeking to secure another five-year term. Macron, who was one of the key figures behind elevating her into the top EU job, has been openly criticizing the President’s approach to running the EU Commission.

“The commission presidency is there to defend the general interest, so it must not be over-politicized. Which, it has to be said, was not at all the case with this outgoing commission,” Macron said in Brussels last month.

The French president has been in touch with other EU leaders over potential candidates to replace the incumbent to lead the commission, namely former Italian PM and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with these discussions.

Sources in Brussels, including those with von der Leyen’s office, have commented that it remains unclear whether Macron had been genuinely seeking to oust her or was merely putting pressure on in order to extract concessions from her in the future.

Macron, alongside then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, were the key figures in 2019 behind fielding von der Leyen, then German Defense Minister, for the EU Commission presidential elections.

Von der Leyen is still a clear favorite for the upcoming elections, given the fact that she is the main candidate for the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), which has the most seats at the European Parliament and is expected to further reinforce its positions during the polls in June. However, a candidate fielded by the EPP still requires backing from an absolute majority in parliament.

The position of the incumbent EU president has been damaged by multiple high-profile scandals, with the latest erupting earlier this month when she found herself in a storm of criticism over giving fellow German MEP Markus Pieper the lucrative job of “special adviser,” with a reported salary of €17,000 a month.

The appointment “has triggered questions about the transparency and impartiality of the nomination process” within the bloc, multiple senior officials, including the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, and Commissioner Thierry Breton, said jointly in a complaint to von der Leyen. The Commission, however, brushed off the allegations, stating it “has every confidence in the fact that the process took place in full compliance with procedures.”

https://www.rt.com/news/596540-macron-eu-commission-election/

Macron went to war with Ursula von der Leyen, by Dmitry Bavyrin for VZGLYAD. 04.25.2024.

There is another split among Russia’s opponents in the West, this time in a very real way. Those who do not want to allow Ursula von der Leyen to serve a second term as head of the EC were joined by French President Emmanuel Macron and immediately rushed into battle, calling for thinking about “good neighbourly relations with Russia.” Whose will he take? So what about Russia?

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will undoubtedly go down in European history as a tough functionary who successfully suppressed attempts at an anti-American riot and ensured the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

Despite the controversial reputation she received as Germany's defense minister and numerous doubts about her political competence as a gynecologist, Ursula time and again beat her opponents (also not the last people on the continent) and proved to the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky: she is the one someone he can always count on.

US President Joe Biden is less effective in this matter; for example, for six months he had to butt heads with Congress over a tranche for Kiev . If not for the support of the European Union, the Zelensky regime might not have survived until spring.

Now Ursula herself, as Chairman of the European Commission, risks not surviving until next spring. She understood that she was by no means guaranteed a second term, so she tried to move to the chair of NATO Secretary General, and when this number did not work out, she focused on maintaining her current post. There are chances for this, but strong and conflict-ridden politicians always have many enemies. Von der Leyen has a particularly large number of them – and they are only getting more numerous.

Now these are not only Eurosceptics like the prime ministers of Hungary and Slovakia  Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, although Orbán is the one who led the front of the open struggle against Ursula. These are the leaders of the largest countries in Western Europe.

Among them is German Chancellor Olaf Scholff, which may seem strange, since Ursula herself is from Germany. But for Scholz, she is first and foremost a representative of the main opposition party and part of Angela Merkel's legacy, which he would prefer to get rid of.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, although she supports Ursula on issues of the conflict around Ukraine, is in solidarity with Orban on issues of the rights of national governments, and the relationship between them is described as almost friendly.

Now French President Emmanuel Macron has also spoken out against Ursula. Publicly, without getting personal, but behind closed doors, as Bloomberg claims, citing “ informed sources ,” he is pushing former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi to the post of head of the EC, trying to enlist the support of the same Meloni.

Draghi, who once headed the EU Central Bank and then a technocratic government as a compromise figure between Eurosceptics and Eurooptimists, really looks like a person who is able to reduce conflict within the European Union: for some time he even succeeded in doing this with the Italians.

“The Presidency of the European Commission is designed to protect common interests, so it should not be overly politicized,” Macron criticizes Ursula.

Von der Leyen has indeed turned her formerly technical post into a political one, becoming the most influential head of the EC in its entire history. She herself believes that this is a big plus. Americans, whose interests von der Leyen always takes into account, too. But Macron is now against it.

Knowing Macron, the most obvious explanation for what is happening is that he is jealous. He himself wants to be the most influential in Europe and build US relations on behalf of the European Union as the president of its last superpower.

In his new and “programmatic” (as they emphasize in the Elysee Palace) speech on the topic of foreign affairs, he even recalled that France has nuclear weapons, which, it turns out, are the guarantor of the security of Europe and building relations with Russia. This is a kind of attack on Washington and Berlin, where they believe that the guarantor of European security is the US nuclear weapons located in Germany.

However, this time Scholz supported Macron, who called on Europe to prove that it is not a “vassal” of the United States, and not to rely solely on America’s protection in the future. According to the French president, the EU should strengthen its sovereignty by creating its own military academy and developing the defense industry, and subsequently “establish good neighborly relations with Russia.”

That is, he understands that the gap between Europe and Russia is primarily beneficial to the United States. According to Bloomberg, he even understands that von der Leyen greatly aggravated this dependence. And Macron’s bid for “good neighborly relations” in the future is like an attempt to break the political trend of the West, according to which our cold war with him will last a very long time.

But there is a defining nuance: in terms of goals for the medium term, both Macron and Ursula are united. The Frenchman, who just yesterday proposed sending NATO troops to Ukraine, again came forward, but did not change himself: for “good neighborly relations” Russia must lose – and that’s it.

“The main condition for our security is that Russia does not win,” Macron snapped.

Thus, for Russia itself, Macron’s statements do not change anything. He tries to be more constructive than Ursula, but on the main issue of our relationship he is no different from her. Only about Ursula it is known that Washington asked her to do this, and Macron pretends to act as he wants.

Strictly speaking, for Russia there is no difference in the matter of whether Ursula will remain at the head of the European Commission or someone will come “to replace the new guy.” Yes, a lot depends on the USA, and on the presidential elections in the USA too. But to lead the EU this season there will definitely not be a “candidate who defends national values” that Orban dreams of.

Much will depend on the results of the elections to the European Parliament in early June: the appointment of the leadership of the EC is almost the only issue when something depends on this imitation of parliament. The Eurosceptics are planning to give a tough fight to the “traditional elites” - so let them give it, and let Macron, Scholz and Co. give the fight to Ursula if they so want. Moscow is purple.

But if this is a matter of dispute, then you need to bet on Ursula.

The rebellion of Western Europe against the Washington man in her person might have been successful, given how decrepit the current leader of the United States is. And Macron’s actions are truly an alarming “bell” for the head of the EC, incomparable to Orban’s escapades. But it is important to remember who is who.

Macron is someone who talks a lot and pulls the blanket over himself, but does very little . And even if he does something in terms of foreign policy projects, a fiasco always awaits him in the end , which became the curse of Paris during his presidency.

Ursula is not like that, Ursula is flint. She repeatedly put to shame those who underestimated her, putting pressure on her or overplaying her, but getting her way. According to many objective inputs, she has come to the end of her political career, but she has already approached it several times, eventually turning into that witch who does not drown in water, but does not burn in fire.

Due to the difference in potentials, confirmed by practice, she is able to eat Macron along with his tie before he cuts off her head.

For impolite people, this is a completely legitimate reason to remember the conflict between the toad and the viper. But within the framework of foreign policy, politeness is valuable in itself, and therefore we wish good luck to both sides. It would be nice if they didn't take prisoners.

https://vz.ru/world/2024/4/25/1265215.html

Right-Wing Tsunami: Conservatives Ascendant In Euro Parliament Vote, Le Pen Thrashes Macron; Germany's SPD Suffers Record Rout, by Tyler Durden for ZeroHedge. 06.09.2024.

As we await the results from the European Parliament vote (previewed here), the exit polls from Germany are already in and they are a disaster for both the alliance of French president Macron, who was steamrolled by Marine Le Pen, and for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, which crashed to their worst-ever result in European Parliament elections Sunday, as conservative and right-wing parties soared across the old continent, a result which will help tilt the European parliament further towards a more anti-immigration and anti-green stance.

According to preliminary results from five countries, right-wing parties are estimated to have won at least 33 of the 174 seats available in Austria, Cyprus, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands, according to official exit polls from those countries, up from 19 seats at the last election in 2019. And - as the ultraliberal FT admits - "the surge, at the expense of liberal and Green parties, would complicate European commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s bid for a second term as head of the EU’s executive."

In Germany, Chancellor Scholz’s Social Democrats crashed to their worst-ever result, falling to third place with 14% of the vote behind the populist and nationalist Alternative for Germany, which has become the second-largest German party in the European Parliament with 16.4%. The conservative CDU/CSU alliance was on course for a comfortable win with 29.6%, according to an exit poll Sunday from public broadcaster ARD. The other two parties in Scholz’s ruling alliance — the Greens and the Free Democrats — got 12% and 5% respectively.

As reported overnight, the German exit polls are among the first results from the European election, which started Thursday and culminates Sunday, and will determine the make-up of the bloc’s legislative assembly. The outcome will establish which leaders have the most leverage to claim the EU’s top jobs, including the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council.

The catastrophic showing for Scholz’s coalition underscores the increasing difficulty the German government faces in leading European policy. Support for Scholz’s ruling alliance in Berlin has dropped to record lows in recent months, with the three parties’ combined support currently around 35%, down from more than 50% in the 2021 federal election.

As Bloomberg reports, CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann questioned whether Scholz retains the authority to lead the country and blamed the ruling coalition’s policies for the rise of the AfD. “He was the one on the election posters so really he should submit to a vote of confidence,” Linnemann said.

The AfD managed to post substantial gains despite experiencing a series of setbacks in recent weeks involving bribery and spying scandals. The Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, or BSW, which she co-founded in January after splitting from the Left party, got 5.7%.

Kevin Kuehnert, the SPD general secretary, said the party won’t be seeking “scapegoats” and insisted that it had been the right decision to make Scholz a central figure in the election campaign despite his relatively low approval rating.

“For us this is an extremely bitter result,” Kuehnert said in an interview with ARD. “We will have to look at where we weren’t good in our mobilization,” he added. “The promise now is that we’ll fight back from this.”

Kuehnert said the priority for the coalition in coming weeks is to broker an agreement on next year’s budget, which has been another source of infighting in the three-party alliance.

Amid continued losses for the establishment, right-wing and conservative parties in Europe are slated to pick up more seats compared with the last election five years ago, as migration swings to the top of the political agenda, while the EU’s ambitious climate goals may face greater hurdles.

Still, at the EU level, centrist parties on the left and right are due to maintain their grip on the majority. That means a degree of continuity on key policies at a time of immense geopolitical uncertainty with Russia’s war on Ukraine raging to the east and China becoming ever more assertive.

As further discussed overnight, the EU is also confronting challenges including how to maintain fiscal sustainability while investing in a greener future, boosting the competitiveness of European manufacturing and strengthening defense capabilities amid the prospect of Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency, which could impact everything from trade to environment policy.

Germany’s next national vote is due in the fall of next year. The ruling parties are expected to fare just as poorly in their next major electoral test — three regional ballots in September in the eastern states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg with the AfD is leading in the polls in the three states, but is unlikely to get into government as all other parties have ruled out joining it in coalition.

In the Netherlands, Dutch conservative Geert Wilders notched significant gains on Thursday, though fell short of winning the most Dutch seats in the European Parliament. That victory was claimed by a coalition of left-wing parties.

In perhaps the biggest shock of all, however, the French right-wing has inflicted a staggering defeat on the Macron alliance: with Le Pen's gathering 32-33% of the vote to Macron group's 15% according to pollsters.

According to AFP, voter turnout in France was up two points as of 5pm, with 45.26% of eligible voters casting ballots compared with 43.29% in 2019. The turnout for EU elections is generally low, but the last elections in 2019 showed the first uptick in 30 years with a turnout of 50.7 percent.

France, Ifop Fiducial exit poll:

European Parliament election

RN-ID: 32,4%
Bd'E-RE: 15.2%
Rl'E-S&D: 14.3%
LFI-LEFT: 8.3%
LR-EPP: 7.0%
LÉ-G/EFA: 5.6%
REC-ECR: 5.1%.

In Austria, the right-wing, national-conservative anti-immigrant Freedom Party was in the lead with an estimated 27 percent, Austrian national broadcaster ORF said. If the number is confirmed later Sunday, it would be the first time the OFP wins the European Parliament election in Austria.

The conservative People’s Party (OVP) and the Social Democrats (SPO) are currently too close to call, it said, estimated to have raked in 23.5 percent and 23 percent of the votes respectively.

Finally in Spain, more of the same anti-establishment, anti-liberal, anti-immigrant tsunami:

*SPAIN'S OPPOSITION CONSERVATIVES LEAD IN EU VOTE: EXIT POLL

About 360 million people are eligible to vote for the 720 lawmakers who will serve in the EU assembly for the next five years, 96 of them from Germany. A majority of the 27 member nations are holding their ballots on Sunday, with results due to trickle in throughout the evening. Results from France are due after 8 p.m. local time.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/right-wing-tsunami-nationalists-ascendant-euro-parliament-vote-le-pen-crushes-macron

"I see it, but I don't believe it", Russian/German mathematician Georg Cantor, as quoted by Chilean writer Benjamin Labatut, in his novel The Maniac (acronym for Mathematical Analyzer, Numerical Integrator, and Computer).

Belgian Prime Minister admits defeat of Liberal Party in elections, 06.09.2024.

After the defeat of the party, the Belgian Prime Minister called for the formation of a new government.

BRUSSELS, June 9 – RIA Novosti. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo admitted the defeat of his liberal party in the elections to the federal and regional parliaments and called for the early formation of a new government.

"This is an extremely difficult evening for us. We lost this election. This is not the result we expected. I take responsibility for this. I will concentrate on current affairs until my successor is appointed. I am confident that we need a new government as soon as possible ", de Croo said at a conference in Brussels.

According to preliminary data, the liberal party of Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo - Open Vld - is suffering defeats in the elections to the House of Representatives - the federal parliament and the regional parliament of Flanders against the backdrop of the strengthening of the far-right party "Vlemish Interest".

In particular, in the regional parliament of Flanders, the liberals lost six seats compared to the 2019 elections, while the nationalists increased their representation by six deputies. In the federal parliament, the prime minister's party retained only 8 out of 12 parliamentary seats.

In foreign policy, De Croo actively supported the line of the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, advocated close relations with the United States and the further strengthening of NATO . Ahead of the election, he visited the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden . Earlier, he received Vladimir Zelensky in Brussels and promised to strengthen support, including transferring 30 Belgian F-16 aircraft to Ukraine . De Croo also actively supported the decision to transfer to Ukraine the proceeds from Russia's frozen assets , most of which are in Euroclear depository accounts in Belgium.

After the elections, Belgian parties will have to form a new coalition government, since none of them receives the necessary majority. De Croo said he would resign soon but would continue to serve as acting prime minister until a new cabinet was formed.

https://ria.ru/20240609/belgiya-1951831945.html

.

She's on the ropes.

EU leaders have not reached an agreement on the candidacy of the future head of the EC, 06.18.2024.

Michel: EU leaders have not yet agreed on the reappointment of von der Leyen as head of the EC.

BRUSSELS, June 18 – RIA Novosti. EU leaders have not yet reached an agreement on the candidacy of the future head of the European Commission, said the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, following an informal summit meeting.

“We had a discussion (on candidacies for EU institutions - editor’s note), I think we are moving in the right direction. But we don’t have an agreement yet,” he said.

The informal meeting of the leaders of the European Union countries was devoted to discussing the strategic agenda of the EU for the next five years, as well as discussing candidates for the main posts in the EU: the heads of the European Commission and the European Council, as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security.

The most pressing issue has become the future head of the European Commission. The current head of the EC, Ursula von der Leyen, whose party won the elections to the European Parliament, wants to be re-elected to the post. At the same time, some countries of the union consider this choice not the best and propose their candidacies.

https://ria.ru/20240618/evrosoyuz-1953550764.html

As the Brazilian saying goes, this is a 'crazy creole samba', meaning a hell of a mess.

Hungary opposed von der Leyen as head of the EC, media write, 06.18.2024.

Politico: Hungary opposes Ursula von der Leyen as head of the EC.

MOSCOW, June 18 - RIA Novosti. Hungary opposes the candidacy of Ursula von der Leyen for the post of head of the European Commission and has not yet decided which faction to join in the European Parliament, reports the European publication Politico.

Earlier, the current head of the European Council,  Charles Michel , said that EU leaders intend to agree on the main candidates for key European leadership positions for the next five years, including the head of the European Commission, at a summit in Brussels on June 27-28. He also said that so far there is no agreement on the candidacies of the leaders of the EU institutions, including the head of the European Commission.

https://ria.ru/20240618/vengriya-1953678405.html

.

The EU summit met in a trash heap, by Elena Karaeva for RiaNovosti. 06.28.2024.

As soon as the pan-European bloc had pleasantly tickled its collective heels with the backroom mergers and coalitions, and the participants in the discussions said that the three main EU seats had found those who would sit on them (von der Leyen as Prime Minister, Callas as her deputy and head of diplomacy, and former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa to head the European Council), Viktor Orban intervened in the "comradely consensus" . Hungary, by the way, will take over the chairmanship of the community next Monday. And what was the point of view of its Prime Minister may turn into the official position of the country holding the presidency.

He said that “the agreement on appointments reached as a result of collusion is shameful; Hungary will not support it, since the balance of power is contrary to the will of the voters.” It's a good news . At least someone said that the queens and king are naked. The bad news is that pre-approval of all these characters does not require unanimity, so Budapest's position in this case can be neglected.

But what certainly cannot be ignored, either now or in the future, is the lameness (practically disability) of the President of France , who cannot move either his arm or his leg.

The last summit of heads of state and government of the pan-European bloc this political season can talk as much as it wants about the "unity and indivisibility" of the union, but the founding country has taken a couple of cornerstones out of the foundation of the community. Already. And if necessary, it will take more.

Because, of course, von der Leyen can smile as much as he wants, but if the National Rally, headed by Jordan Bardella, gets the required number of mandates in the National Assembly, and Macron is forced to appoint Bardella as Prime Minister, then Bardella has already promised to cut the amount of aid to Brussels by ten percent. Now Paris (the second budget donor after Berlin ) writes off almost 18 billion euros to the EU . It would seem that ten percent of these billions is not a cosmic amount. On a pan-European scale. But if you remember that the community's public debt is 80 percent of its total GDP, and you still need to constantly shove billions and billions to insatiable Kiev , then the prospect of sequestration looks so-so. The nicest thing in this situation is that the EU budget is drawn up until 2027, so the hole in the event of France's decision will have to be patched with external loans. Because Brussels itself has no money. There is no stash, no savings.

Have you ever wondered why they steal our money? Because their finances are not just at zero, but in deep minus. By the way, with such a level of debt, no bank will issue money at interest to any European as a private person. The EU is giving - for now. But bill rates are rising.

For those who consider European finances, the political instability of France means, among other things, the instability of the pan-European currency. The plunder of our assets, from which the accrued interest was withdrawn to give to Kiev, has already seriously shaken confidence in the euro. And what if after July 7, the second round of the extraordinary parliamentary elections, a "third round" begins? When the street begins to demand - and quite actively - a change of all the milestones. This is the mildest expression to define the pogroms and riots, in which, as we know, the French always have the palm and the championship title.

But we can look at it more broadly – ​​I think Orban will support us here.

Each and every one of those whose appointment was approved at the Brussels summit has problems with justice on their asset (or rather, liability). Direct or indirect.

For von der Leyen, it is undoubtedly "Pfizergate", when an agreement on the supply of a Covid vaccine worth tens of billions of euros (from the common treasury, i.e. taxpayers' money) was concluded via SMS messages. Between the president of the European Commission and the head of a pharmaceutical concern. Von der Leyen was sued in Belgium itself , but since justice in the "Garden of Eden" is known to be "not connected with politics" and "completely independent", the first hearing was postponed (out of harm's way) until autumn.

Kaia Kallas, this new Josep Borrell , but in a skirt, was shouting about "Russian aggression", about "sanctions", about "the abolition of Russian culture" at the very moment when her own husband's company continued to do excellent business with us in the field of logistics, providing customer transportation. From a strictly legal point of view, of course, this is not a criminal act. From a moral point of view - duplicity, hypocrisy and lies. Today, these are precisely the qualities that are held in high esteem in Brussels, judging by the approval of Kallas's candidacy.

Antonio Costa is also not white and fluffy; his name appears every now and then in investigative documents that relate to the distribution of tenders for the development of lithium deposits (Portugal has the largest reserves of this metal in Western Europe ). He actually resigned because of this scandal. Then they explained to the public that someone had said something wrong or mixed it up, but searches were carried out at the home of Antonio Costa and his associates. And the money (80 thousand euros in cash) was seized from one of his close associates.

This is what a summit meeting of pan-Europeans in their "Garden of Eden" looks like.

Horror from a possible far-right turn in France and the subsequent underfunding of the budget. And in key positions there are people with greatly tarnished reputations.

And it was precisely this entire team that was and is engaged in destroying our country. We'll pass by. Moving away with disgust and holding his nose, as those who pass by a garbage dump do. Even if those who live on it call it the “Garden of Eden.”

https://ria.ru/20240628/sammit-1955950234.html

As in Georgia, but under a different name: Sanchez seeks to reveal sources of media funding, 07.17.2024.

The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, outlined on July 17 before the Plenary of the Congress (Lower House of Parliament) his plan for "democratic regeneration" that foresees increasing the control over the media. This includes measures similar to the law on foreign agents recently adopted in Georgia and which was repudiated by the EU.

"Citizens should know the sources of financing of the media, the name of their shareholders and the audience figures in an honest way to avoid fraud in advertising investment by governments of our democracy through the use, for example, of bots or clickbaits," said Pedro Sánchez, whose appearance was broadcast by the Spanish media.

For the president of the Spanish government, the plan seeks to increase "the transparency, plurality and responsibility of the information ecosystem."

It should be noted that the law on foreign agents adopted in Georgia, which caused a wave of criticism from the leaders of Western countries, has the same purpose. According to this law, organizations and media that receive more than 20% of funding from abroad must register in an appropriate list and report on the sources of their revenues.

As of today, Sánchez did not reveal any further concrete measures, but he announced that the government will initiate contacts with all parliamentary groups to develop a joint plan, which so far differs from the Georgian foreign agents law only in name, but shares the spirit and objectives that it pursues.

The head of the government also announced 100 million euros for the digitization of the media, that is, so that they can "create databases, improve the quality of information, their cybersecurity."

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://latamnews.lat/20240717/como-en-georgia-pero-con-otro-nombre-sanchez-busca-revelar-fuentes-de-financiacion-de-los-medios-1156205193.html

Europe's "ship of fools" is sinking, by Elena Karaeva for RiaNovosti. 07.18.2024.

Critical days for von der Leyen, and the entire pan-European bloc. Today, the mandate of the President of the European Commission must be confirmed (or not), and this is a big headache for the politician - five years ago, Berlin and Paris managed to push her into office, shutting up potential competitors and opponents. And still - the majority of votes was minimal. A bombshell for the President was the decision of the European Court, published on the eve of the current secret vote of MEPs. Justice believes that the negotiations and conclusion of the contract for the anti-coronavirus vaccine from the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer "were not transparent enough." Both the negotiations and the deal were almost single-handedly conducted and concluded by von der Leyen. And her office.

In a world where greed knows no bounds, they finally realized that innocence, at least formally, should be respected.

Pfizer "sold" von der Leyen its drug for 71 billion euros. Ten doses on average for each European citizen. The medicine expired, the bottles were thrown in the trash. In politically correct terms - "disposed of". You said, I think, "corruption"? Have mercy, where in the "Garden of Eden" would that come from? Facts, however, are stubborn things. Von der Leyen not only solved issues worth tens of billions of euros, but also "fed" her husband. Heiko von der Leyen's company, like Pfizer, is also American, and received funding from the European Commission. Not billions, but three hundred million. Agree, that's not bad either.

And this was again considered not corruption, but simply an unpleasant fact in the biography of such a lively Ursula. To turn the main executive body of the European Union into a private shop, and then decide with a straight face to run for another term? Exactly. The European establishment is currently short of food stamps - there is an economic crisis, after all - so they have to push through some, threaten others, and promise others. And, as usual, when it comes to dividing up the pie, the dissatisfied are immediately excluded from the discussion of how to divide it. If last time von der Leyen was pushed through with the support of Merkel and Macron, then this time Madrid was added to Paris and Berlin. The Spanish Prime Minister spoke in favor of von der Leyen's candidacy. But Rome is categorically against her new mandate.

Let us repeat once again for the sake of clarity: a man with shady spending of many billions of euros is being pushed into office by those who shout from every corner about the "triumph of purity and selflessness of European ideals." Something in this behavior resembles the symptoms of an acute attack of schizophrenia.

Although saying so would be an insult to patients with such a diagnosis. Of course, this is not schizophrenia, this is a common European practice of political behavior and decision-making.

You may ask: why are we interested in what is happening in Strasbourg today (the headquarters of the European Parliament is located there)? We are interested because these are the people who made Russophobia the main political trend, these are the people who financed the transformation of Ukraine into anti-Russia, and ultimately these are the people who stood and stand behind the murder of Russians. Even if indirectly, even if only by allocating money to Kyiv, they are planning new atrocities. Their actions, these people, lead to tragedies. We are not going to arrange a semblance of a "comradely court", but a reminder of how von der Leyen ran to Ukraine, welcomed Zelensky, insisted on new cash tranches, will be appropriate.

And if in the case of Pfizer there was "non-transparency", then aid to Kyiv is just a black hole. The European justice said only "a", we will add "b".

EU greed, like EU corruption, has no boundaries at all. A vaccine with insufficiently proven effectiveness and a bunch of possible "side effects"? Nonsense. They are not the ones who are being injected with it. Unmeasured billions to Kyiv? But the Russians are untermenschen and "invent" their own terrorist attacks. For example, the one they committed in Sevastopol. And today the main bearer of such a worldview, the main conductor of such an ideology and a very obedient partner in the geopolitical games of the American hegemon is again being led by the white hands for another five-year term.

What is this called?

This is called European madness beyond the pale. These madmen, without honor or conscience, are pushing the entire world toward a new war. They spend every working day and every day off looking for ways and means to provoke us and bring the confrontation to a new turn. And with each such turn, the escalation becomes less and less controllable.

If the pan-European bloc intends to commit suicide by committing collective suicide, then good riddance, as they say, and wind in the sails of this ship of fools.

If they don't see any other future there except war with us, then let them calm down: our plans do not include the destruction of our country. What is included is just the opposite - development and life.

Regardless of the outcome of the vote, in favor of von der Leyen or vice versa, it would be a good idea to repeat this simple thesis. In words. And if necessary, in deeds. It does not matter whether they hear it in Strasbourg or not. It is important that we know and remember it.

https://ria.ru/20240718/evropa-1960315187.html

Sanchez is not a real reformer. This move smells. They want to paint alt-media as funded by Putin to shut it down and maintain the MSM
clown show. Spain is not like Georgia since it has a bootlick elite that has long established itself on the US vassal reservation. There
would be no western NGOs operating in Spain unless it is to degrade its culture to push more LGBTXYZ and pedophilia acceptance. I don't
see Sanchez going after this precious minority of freaks.

Europe 'jumps the thermal': a factory of electric vehicles about to fall, by Javier Benítez for SputnikSpanish. 07.22.2024.

In Europe a factory of 100% electric vehicles is on the verge of closure. This is the German Audi, the first plant of this type to fall due to plummeting sales. In this case, its production center in Brussels is studying a complete restructuring in the face of the global fall in demand for luxury vehicles.

The first domino piece to fall?

In this context, there is talk of an hypothetical closure of the factory. Indeed, Audi is already considering the possibility of bringing forward the end of production in the European capital of its Q8 e–tronic models after a drop in demand for electric vehicle orders, and the "structural challenges" of the site due to high manufacturing costs in the territory.

According to the unions, after the first phase of restructuring, up to 1,500 employees, that is, half of Audi's workers in Brussels, could lose their jobs. The company said in a statement that "this could have an impact on employment and could make it necessary to develop alternative solutions for the plant. This could include ceasing operations if an alternative is not found."

"What is happening in Europe, is that, unlike in Asia, and specifically in China, the restrictions on production are much lower than the restrictions that occur in Europe. [...] This is a struggle between transnationals, where the geopolitical is generally combined with the geo-economic, and unfortunately for the population of Europe, their governments do not govern for Europe, for their population, but they govern for the transnationals, intertwined and linked with the North American ones. So, the one who pays the cost of this ends up being the population of Europe," says international analyst Nicola Hadwa.

In this scenario, EU countries have conducted a survey on additional tariffs on imports of electric vehicles manufactured in China, whose divided results highlight the obstacles to putting barriers to Chinese electric vehicles within the EU bloc.

It should be remembered that the European provisional tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China are up to 37.6%, something that provoked widespread criticism from domestic and foreign industries, and from some EU members, including Germany and Hungary.

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://latamnews.lat/20240722/a-europa-le-salta-la-termica-a-punto-de-caer-una-fabrica-de-coches-electricos-1156311708.html