Welcome to Better Europe’s weekly update on EU Affairs.
MEPS CHOOSE NATURE BY APPROVING AGREEMENTS ON NATURE RESTORATION, ECOCIDE
After months of negotiations and twitter wars between the European institutions, the inter-institutional agreement on the Nature Restoration Law was finally approved by the European Parliament. It is the second time that this file survives a rejection vote, following a much tighter vote last summer in Parliament’s plenary to enter into negotiations. Back then, the report was among the first to hint at what we might see in the coming months: a more right-leaning European Parliament after the elections. The negotiated deal successfully sets targets to restore at least 20% of the EU’s degraded land and sea by 2030, and 60% of habitats in poor condition by 2040. On the same day, in fact a few minutes after, the agreement on the Ecocide Directive was also approved, with an overwhelming cross-party support. This file improves and strengthens the existing Directive by extending the list of offences, and introducing new, tougher penalties.
NATIONAL HEADS OF LIST AND SPITZENKANDIDATEN APPOINTED AS ELECTION CLOCK TICKS
This week, Valerie Hayer was selected to head the national list of French Prime Minister Macron’s liberal party, Renaissance. In Belgium, following internal tensions between current Belgian Commissioner Didier Reynders and current European Council President Charles Michel, former prime minister Sophie Wilmès was chosen instead to lead the liberal MR list. With two women heading the respective national French and Belgian lists, the second spots remain open for male candidates in both countries. On the left side of the spectrum, the European Left has officially selected Walter Baier, a member of the Austrian Communist Party, as their lead candidate for the Commission job. The new Left candidate joins the other Spitzenkandidaten Terry Reintke (Germany) and Bas Eickhout (the Netherlands) representing the European Greens, and Nicolas Schinas, the current Luxembourgish Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, from the Party of European Socialists (S&D).
EU DUE DILIGENCE RULES TAKEN HOSTAGE BY NATIONAL POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM
Despite intense behind-the-scenes negotiations between the Belgian Presidency and reluctant Member States, ambassadors in the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) were still not able to back the trilogue agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The file, which was always considered politically sensitive, is now being held hostage by a handful of national governments, who – aware of the slim qualified majority the Council’s presidency is working with – use the situation opportunistically for short-term political gains. In addition to the German blockage due to opposition of the FDP, Italy is rumoured to bargain its vote against significant changes in other legislation under negotiation, which has not yet led to formal support for the CSDDD trilogue agreement. This Wednesday, in a surprising turn of events, France also withheld its support to the text as it suddenly asked for employee thresholds to be increased by a factor of ten. As time is starting to run out before EU elections, recent developments in the Council showcase how common practices on which EU co-legislators rely on to negotiate are no longer stable; it is to be seen whether trust in trilogues as a decision-making tool will fully come back after the elections.