Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. NEW YEAR, NEW LEADERSHIP: POLAND TAKES THE HELM OF THE EU FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2025 As the year 2025 begins, Poland takes over the Presidency of the European Union for the second time history. To mark the occasion, a grand gala was held at Warsaw's National Theatre, where Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for a united Europe, emphasising that the continent's future is inextricably linked to its strength and sovereignty. Poland’s Presidency comes at a critical time, with the ongoing war in Ukraine, escalating tensions at the Polish-Belarusian border, and Europe’s broader security concerns. With a focus on defence and European stability, Poland plans to increase EU efforts to support Ukraine and address the growing security threats. Tusk framed…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EU LEADERS REBUFF TRUMP'S UKRAINE PEACE PLAN EU leaders issued a stark warning against premature peace talks between Ukraine and Russia at their Summit in Brussels this week. Rebuffing US President-elect Donald Trump's hints at brokering a ceasefire, leaders from Belgium, Lithuania, Sweden and elsewhere insisted that Ukraine, not Moscow – or Washington – must dictate the terms of future negotiations. "The priority now is to strengthen Ukraine," said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, suggesting that peacekeepers could be an option. The summit also saw cautious support for a European peacekeeping force, with Sweden and Belgium open to contributing troops after the war. For now, Belgium's Alexander de Croo warned: "First the Ukrainians have to win the war." As Ukrainian President…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. THE EPP'S AUTOMOTIVE PLAN: HARDLINE APPROACH OR STRATEGIC NEGOTIATION? The European People's Party (EPP) has unveiled a strategy aimed at safeguarding the EU's automotive sector amid the environmental pressures of the Green Deal. Under leadership of German MEP Jens Gieseke, the EPP promotes a technology-neutral framework for emission reductions, including alternatives such as biofuels alongside electric vehicles, and calls for a revision of the 2035 ban on internal combustion engines to allow for a more gradual transition. The EPP also opposes the penalties to be imposed on carmakers in 2025 for failing to meet electric vehicle production quotas, arguing that the fines harm an industry that is already struggling with weak consumer demand and insufficient charging infrastructure. Instead, they are pushing…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EUDR DELAYED: EU STRIKES DEAL TO KEEP LANDMARK LEGISLATION IN PLACE EU member states and the Parliament this week reached a crucial agreement to delay the implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by one year, setting a new deadline of 30 December 2025. Despite the delay, the legal text remains unchanged and the regulation's ambitious goal of ensuring deforestation-free supply chains remains intact. The European People's Party (EPP), which had pushed for amendments to weaken the law, eventually withdrew its proposals, signalling a political defeat after failing to garner enough support. The agreement includes a political statement from the European Commission committing to finalise country risk benchmarks six months ahead of the new deadline and to explore ways to reduce…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. EUROPE'S STRUGGLE FOR RELEVANCE IN A FRACTURED G20 The G20 summit in Rio laid bare Europe's struggle to remain relevant in a fractured global arena. With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump casting a long shadow, European leaders scrambled to defend their climate and geopolitical priorities against growing resistance. French President Emmanuel Macron didn't mince his words, calling the G20 "a forum that doesn't work" and lambasting its failure to act on climate change or the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pushed for progress on climate finance, but Argentina's provocative new leader Javier Milei – channelling Trump's anti-multilateralism – stalled talks on the final communique. Ukraine, once a G20 focus, fell by the wayside, while German Chancellor…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. TENSIONS ERUPT OVER VDL 2.0 AS NATIONAL FIGHTS ARE EXPORTED TO BRUSSELS Tensions in the European Parliament have reached a boiling point as Ursula von der Leyen's second Commission faces growing opposition. The crisis erupted after the European People's Party (EPP) launched an attack on Teresa Ribera, the Spanish Socialist candidate for First Vice President. What was expected to be a routine confirmation hearing after the socialists had accepted not to block any EPP designate quickly turned around with the EPP, under pressure from its Spain's member Partido Popular threatening to derail the whole new team. The EPP demanded that Ribera face the Spanish parliament over her handling of the Valencia floodings. At the same time, the EPP pushed for the…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. PARLIAMENT HESITATES TO PUT THE HEAT ON AT THE COMMISSION GRILL As quite a few naïve Europeans woke up on Wednesday with Trump going to Make America Great Again, the Parliament relentlessly continued its once-in-the-cycle Commissioner-designate grilling with not a single Commissioner replaced so far. Since 2004's dismissal of openly homophobic designate Rocco Buttiglione, the Parliament has always required replacements, further written questionnaires or re-exams. If the most controversial Commissioners make it through next week, this session would confirm indeed that the Parliament's institutional control over Member States has been seriously reduced. Perhaps Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi might see his portfolio reduced as apparently, he doesn't understand that women’s health is an EU competence and he also inconveniently "knows best" a controversial…

Welcome to Better Europe's weekly update on EU Affairs. GEORGIAN ELECTIONS FURTHER COMPLICATE EU ACCESSION Following Georgia’s legislative elections on 28 October, the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory with 54% of the vote. Amid reports of vote-buying, irregularities, and polling station violence, international observers including the OSCE declared the elections neither free nor fair. Pro-European opposition leaders, led by President Salome Zourabichvili, condemned the outcome as fraudulent and called for public protest. In a controversial move, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, visited Tbilisi to endorse Georgian Dream’s vision of “pro-European” politics, which he framed as a commitment to peace and a rejection of Western calls to confront Russia. EU leaders, however, voiced alarm over Georgia’s democratic backsliding which could lead to a slowdown of the EU accession process, and…