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Dear Readers,
In recent weeks, in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which is in violation of international law, astonishing things have been happening. Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin had to admit on prime-time Russian state television that the "special operation" in the neighbouring country, which was originally scheduled to last three days, is not going well after almost 900 days.
Putin did not, of course, say this in so many words. But reading between the lines, his speech bore a striking resemblance to the legendary Sportpalast speech delivered by former Nazi chief propagandist Joseph Goebbels ("Do you want total war?") shortly before the end of the Second World War, when Germany had long since been reduced to rubble. Putin called on every Russian to invest as much energy in the Ukraine war as if they were fighting on the front line themselves.
That sounded more than a little desperate. If they did not think so before, everyone between Kaliningrad and Vladivostok must now realise that something is going very wrong. Russia's despot is imposing unprecedented tax increases on his already economically emaciated people to finance the war. The national budget is facing the threat of a € 40 billion deficit in 2025. Defence spending as a proportion of the overall budget is already higher than in the USSR at the height of the Cold War, and we all know how that ended. Revenues from the sale of fossil resources are collapsing. Flood damage in large parts of Russia is escalating out of control. And the West's economic sanctions are beginning to take effect. Putin is running out of time.
Not least because the West is massively expanding its military support for Ukraine. For the first time, Western weapons are also now permitted to target Russian territory to defend against attacks on Ukraine. This will not please the Kremlin ruler one bit. Putin’s aim was to weaken NATO. Instead he has strengthened it. Sweden and Finland have now become members. He wanted to occupy the whole of Ukraine and has only managed to gain a few square kilometres since February 2022 - at the cost of hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded.
One thing that still works is Moscow's strategy of hybrid warfare. The Kremlin is using corruption, espionage and an army of internet trolls to intimidate Western governments and destabilise democratic processes. The European elections on 9 June must therefore become a people’s vote against Russian influence and totalitarian methods. After all, Russia is nothing more than an economically insignificant vassal of China, a "Burkina Faso with nuclear weapons", as Helmut Schmidt once remarked. The EU should do all it can to accelerate the end of the Putin era and not allow itself to be intimidated by nuclear threats.
Stay tuned!
Yours
Dr. Jörg Köpke |
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| "Burkina Faso with nuclear weapons": Russia's economy is groaning under the impact of its attack on Ukraine in violation of international law. |
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| Latest EU Proposals in Focus |
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| Economic and Fiscal Policy |
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European Semester: Spring Package 2024
On 19 June, the Commission will present the annual European Semester Spring Package. As part of the package, the Commission will submit country reports for all Member States in which it will review their budgetary situation. The Commission will also recommend customised measures for each Member State to tackle key economic and social challenges. Finally, the Commission will draw attention to any macroeconomic imbalances in the Member States. |
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| The Commission, the Council and the European Parliament regularly negotiate in the so-called trilogue on EU legislative proposals in order to find a common position. |
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| Digital Economy | New Technologies |
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Trilogue Agreement on the Use of Supercomputing for AI Development
On 23 May 2024, the Council reached a provisional political agreement on the Regulation to expand the objectives of the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC). The aim of the original Council Regulation 2021/1173 of 13 July 2021 is to boost Europe's leading role in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). To this end, a further objective is now being added to the Regulation: the development and operation of so-called AI factories to support an AI ecosystem in the Union. AI factories are facilities that provide a supercomputing infrastructure for AI services. The Regulation will make the Union's supercomputing capacity available to innovative European AI start-ups so that they can train their models. The Council agreement will ensure that the activities covered by AI factories are made accessible to a larger number of public and private users. The Regulation explicitly mentions start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as potential beneficiaries of these AI supercomputers. |
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| The EU Commission asks decision-makers and interested parties from civil society for their opinion on European policy proposals. Here is our short-list of the most important consultations: |
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Financial Market Stability: New Macroprudential Measures for Non-bank Financial Intermediaries
On 22 May 2024, the European Commission launched a consultation on macroprudential measures for all financial intermediaries that are not banks (non-bank financial intermediaries, NBFIs). These primarily include asset management companies, investment funds, pension funds and insurance companies. NBFIs are playing an increasingly important role in financing the European economy. According to current figures, the assets of the players in this sector already amount to over € 40 trillion, or around 40% of the EU's total financial assets. They therefore already exceed those of the banking sector. The Commission points out that the increasing importance of the NBFI sector gives rise to new risks, such as with regard to financial market stability. As part of the consultation, the Commission therefore wants to gather opinions on the fitness of the existing macroprudential framework for NBFIs in order to identify weaknesses and risks. It also wants to initiate a discussion on the extent to which improvements to macroprudential supervision are necessary. The Commission published a report on the subject back in January 2024. It also organised a technical workshop in May 2024.
The submission period for opinions ends on 22 November 2024.
Go to consultation |
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Copyright Rules in the Digital Space
The Commission has launched a consultation on the liability regime for online content-sharing service providers. Online services enable broader access to cultural and creative works and offer the cultural and creative industries major opportunities for the development of new business models. The consultation is aimed at relevant stakeholders such as rightsholders, collective management organisations and online content-sharing service providers who benefit from the lighter liability regime under Article 17(6) of Directive 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive). The aim of the consultation is to gather information on the application and impact of this particular liability regime.
The submission period for opinions ends on 7 June 2024.
Go to consultation |
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| Environment | Energy | Climate | Transport |
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Trade in Seal Products: Review of the Regulation
Regulation (EC) No 1007/2009, on the trade in seal products, prohibits the sale of seal products on the EU market, with the exception of products from hunting by Inuit and other indigenous communities, and occasional imports for personal use. The Commission wants to check whether the current provisions remain fit for purpose. Its focus will be on the socio-economic impact and the impact on seal populations.
The submission period for opinions ends on 7 August 2024.
Go to consultation |
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| Internal Market I Digital Economy IInformation Technology |
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Pressure Equipment and Pressure Vessels: Examining the Effectiveness of the EU Directives
On 23 May 2024, the EU Commission launched a Consultation on the evaluation of the Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU and the Simple Pressure Vessels Directive 2014/29/EU. "Pressure equipment" includes containers, pipelines, safety equipment and pressurised equipment (e.g. fire extinguishers and storage containers for industrial gases). "Simple pressure vessels" include containers used to store compressed air or compressed nitrogen. The Commission now wants to assess the two Directives that regulate the placing on the market of both product categories and their product safety, and examine their effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value.
The submission period for opinions ends on 20 June 2024.
Go to consultation |
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6 - 9 June 2024
EU-wide
European elections 2024. The 720 Members of the European Parliament will be elected. The 96 German MEPs, who are to be sent to the European Parliament from Germany, will be elected in Germany.
13 - 15 June 2024
Apulia, Italy
The G7 summit will take place from 13 to 15 June 2024 in Borgo Egnazia in Apulia. The event will be attended by the Heads of State and Government of the seven Member States as well as the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, representing the European Union.
17 June 2024
Brussels
Informal meeting of the European Council. The EU Heads of State and Government will set the strategic agenda for the new legislative period (2024-2029). This is also intended as a guideline for the Commission in setting its own agenda.
20 June 2024
Brussels
In the Joined Cases C‑182/22 and C‑189/22, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) will once again rule on compensation for non-material damage. The plaintiffs used a trading app operated by Scalable Capital GmbH to store names, address data and digital copies of identity cards which were stolen by unknown perpetrators. This hearing specifically concerns the circumstances under which the theft of sensitive personal data gives rise to a claim for compensation in respect of non-material damage. Firstly, the Court will consider whether compensation for (non-material) damage, in addition to its compensatory function, also has an additional function of providing the injured party with individual satisfaction - at least when the infringement is deliberate or a result of gross negligence. Secondly, it will look at the requirements for a right to claim compensation in connection with identity theft. In the opinion of the Advocate General, which the CJEU often follows, identity theft requires a perpetrator to take an additional act that goes beyond the theft of data (such as committing fraud with the data). However, a right to claim compensation for non-material damage does not require identity theft but can also be justified in the case of mere data theft if the injured party can prove an infringement, damage and a causal connection, although the existence of identity theft or fraud can make it easier to prove non-material damage.
21 June 2024
Luxembourg
Meeting of the Council for Economic and Financial Affairs
27 - 28 June 2024
Brussels
Formal meeting of the European Council. This summit meeting will involve decisions relating to important staff appointments in key EU institutions. This primarily includes the appointment of the President of the Commission as well as of the new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and a decision on who is to be President of the European Council. |
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| cepInput Special: The Quest for Bold Capital Markets Union |
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| | In Europe, there is growing political and economic pressure to create a smoothly functioning Capital Markets Union. While retail investors in the USA invested almost half of their financial assets in securities two years ago, the proportion in the EU was only 17 per cent. The Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) believes that the EU has a duty to increase this rate.
Go to cepInput |
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| cepInput Special: Future EU Climate Policy: Challenges and Chances |
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| | According to the Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep), the EU must reduce greenhouse gases more efficiently and more cost-effectively if climate protection is to succeed. Otherwise, the imminent relocation of production and emissions to third countries due to so-called carbon leakage will harm the European economy and the global climate. cep identifies possible instruments for the EU Agenda 2024-2029.
Go to cepInput |
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| cepInput: Advanced Materials for the Transition |
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| | Europe is in danger of becoming a mere spectator in the global race for green and digital technologies. To hold on to its technological sovereignty, the EU must build on its strengths. These (still) lie primarily in material innovation. The Centrum für Europäische Politik (cep) is calling for a strategic reorientation of technology policy with regard to research.
Go to cepInput |
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| cepInput Special: Sovereignty Built on Strength and Significance |
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| | The EU is in danger of losing out in core sectors of innovation, such as the automotive, pharmaceutical and aerospace industries. There has not been enough progress in future technologies such as AI. The Centres for European Policy Network (cep) prescribes strong medicine to treat Europe’s economic ailments.
Go to cepInput |
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| cepAdhoc: Winter Has Come |
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| | Given the specificity of the Italian model of the society and economy, the declining birth rates registered in the country are –– threatening its Italian economic prospects and the sustainability of its welfare system, pos-ing a significant challenge for the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative, right-wing government.
Go to cepAdhoc |
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| cepInput Special: Empowering Europe without Reforming the EU Treaties |
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| | The EU needs a more robust economy and a more effective decision-making process to withstand geopolitical and geo-economic competition from the US and China, experts say. But according to a study by the Centre for European Policy Network (cep), this does not require changes to the EU treaties.
Go to cepInput |
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Dear Readers,
Rainer Kohlmayer, the Mainz-based German scholar and author, once wrote: "The territory of the Soviet Union has disintegrated into a lot of little territorial terrorists. And territory and terror are inextricably linked."
Stay tuned!
Yours
Dr. Jörg Köpke |
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