EPP finally manages to engage young people, quite literally

By Max Griera | @MaxGriera
 

Ding dong! Wedding bells ring in the European Parliament. Is it the Parliament’s latest bizarre, contortionist move to get the youth involved, such as getting celebrities to promote the EU elections? Surprisingly, not. Is it the European People’s Party’s newest strategy to get new voters, as their poll projections are plummeting? Perhaps.

What happened in Parliament today, aside from being the wet dream of any true Europhile, is not only proof that the EU bubble is far from the bureaucratic, boring place some say, but also that the EPP is a wild place to be.

Yes, a young Estonian couple DID get engaged in the Parliament’s Brussels hemicycle during an EPP youth event on Thursday.

And yes, EPP’s chief Manfred Weber himself went to the hemicycle to hand the lovebirds a bottle of fancy champagne.

Hopeless romantic that I am, as soon as I heard the news I left EURACTIV’s offices in Schuman and ran to the Parliament in search of the newly betrothed – no nature restoration law vote or Qatargate could ever compete with this!

And there I found them, Gilder and Marta, as happy as one can be, being cheered by everyone in the Parliament’s corridors.

Following an eleventh-hour concession on the UK’s Online Safety Bill, the British government decided not to scan messages for harmful content until it is ‘technically feasible’ without compromising users’ privacy.

Ukraine has started exporting grain via Croatian seaports, aiming to broaden its export routes while its Black Sea ports are blocked, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday.

The European Commission’s top brass have not yet found an agreement on the delicate issue of Ukraine’s grain exports in their meeting on Wednesday, with only a week to go until current restrictions on the matter expire.

Civil society groups and academics have urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to push ahead with the proposal for an EU legislative framework for sustainable food systems amid concerns its fate hangs in the balance.

While most EU policymakers are focusing on the risks posed by the Digital Euro, economy Professor Dirk Niepelt warns that too many restrictions might mean it cannot fulfil its role as an attractive public alternative to private payment providers.

The ongoing revision of Italy’s pandemic recovery plan, which triggered a confrontation with municipalities, has implications for the country’s internal politics, economy and the EU approach to fiscal integration.

The United Kingdom will join the European Union’s satellite programme for Earth observation and Horizon Europe with a rebate of its financial contribution to compensate for the years it has missed, according to an announcement on Thursday.

Last but not least, don’t miss this week’s Economy Brief: EU Parliament risks missing the point on Digital Euro.

Look out for…

• Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni Participates in G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi on Friday-Sunday.
• Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas participates in high-level conference on climate neutrality organised by Greek ministry of environment and energy, in Thessaloniki on Friday.

Views are the author’s

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Benjamin Fox]