Meloni’s Atlantic Council award sparks debate over possible shift to Trump

By Alessia Peretti | EURACTIV.it
Sep 23, 2024 

On Monday evening, the Italian Prime Minister received the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council in New York, an award that recognises leaders who have made a significant contribution to strengthening transatlantic relations. 

 [EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS]
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was presented with the Global Citizen Award by billionaire Trump supporter Elon Musk at her request on Monday, a decision widely interpreted by Italian media as a possible step towards rekindling ties with the Republican candidate.

On Monday evening, the Italian Prime Minister received the Global Citizen Award from the Atlantic Council in New York, an award that recognises leaders who have made a significant contribution to strengthening transatlantic relations.

However, Meloni’s decision to have Musk present it has attracted considerable attention in the days leading up to the event, especially with the US presidential election looming. Musk has recently stepped up his financial and political support for Trump, making the timing of the choice particularly sensitive.

Both Italian media and the Financial Times have suggested that the move signals a potential political alignment with Trump. Musk is seen as one of his most powerful supporters and could even head a so-called ‘efficiency commission’ if Trump is re-elected.

Reports from Politico reveal that Meloni’s involvement in the Atlantic Council event was already a matter of internal debate within the organisation. Her decision to have Musk present the award further escalated tensions, with staff members expressing their displeasure in a letter to Atlantic Council CEO Frederick Kempe earlier this month.

Meloni had previously expressed admiration for Trump during her time in opposition when she praised his policies and sought to replicate his ‘America First’ approach in Italy. In 2019, she invited Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, to her party’s Fratelli d’Italia festival. Musk himself attended the same event in 2022.

Since becoming prime minister, however, Meloni has adopted a more pro-European and Atlanticist stance, emerging as a vocal supporter of Ukraine and building strong ties with US President Joe Biden.

But according to the Financial Times, some of her allies believe she could become Trump’s key European partner if he returns to the White House, boosting her standing among European leaders, with whom she has often had strained relations.

While Meloni has been careful not to openly endorse any candidate in the US election, saying she will work with whoever wins, her Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini, has been an unabashed supporter of Trump for years.

According to Corriere della Sera, sources close to Meloni insist that the decision to involve Musk was made months ago, long before his support for Trump became public.

Speaking to journalists, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also rejected the idea that Meloni’s choice was politically motivated. Instead, he described it as a strategic decision to boost Italy’s business interests rather than signalling support for Trump.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)

EU deforestation law in doubt as Germany pushes for postponement


By Dave Keating | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab
Sep 23, 2024 

To calm growing alarm, the Commission said it would come out with additional guidelines in the Spring. 

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Calls for EUDR postponement have created confusion for companies over when and if they will have to comply.

As lawmakers clash this month over whether to stick with rigid enforcement of the EU’s new Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), with obligations set to take effect in December, companies have been left questioning whether they should move forward with urgent reporting and certification preparation.

Earlier this month, German Food and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir asked the European Commission to postpone the regulation’s application by six months to 1 July 2025, saying: “The Commission must finally come out of the summer break and provide clarity,” he wrote. “I take the concerns of companies, agriculture and forestry, and the countries very seriously. Companies need sufficient time to prepare.”

He added: “This also applies to countries with small-scale production structures. Otherwise, supply chains threaten to break at the end of the year – to the detriment of the German and European economy, small farmers in third countries, and consumers.”

‘Bureaucratic monster’

The message has also been carried forward by conservative German members of the European Parliament. “We call on the Commission to immediately delay the implementation of the Deforestation Law,” said Herbert Dorfmann, EPP coordinator in the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee, this week. Peter Liese, a powerful member of the Parliament’s Environment Committee, agreed and called the legislation a “bureaucratic monster” which could threaten the EU’s animal feed supply and disrupt trade in many consumer goods.

To calm growing alarm, the Commission said it would come out with additional guidelines in the Spring. But these guidelines have yet to emerge.

Centre-left MEPs are urging the Commission to stick to the original timeline for implementing the law. A group of centre-left MEPs, including Italy’s Brando Benifei and Germany’s Delara Burkhardt, have sent the Commission a letter saying, “It is crucial that the EUDR is applied without delay.” They urged the Commission to quickly finalise the guidelines and FAQs as a matter of urgency and said a “user-friendly IT system” should be created for companies to submit compliance documents.

The EUDR became law in June last year, mandating that any operators or traders engaged in importing or exporting certain commodities within the EU market demonstrate that the products are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation. They will have to start proving this in December.

Products also need to be produced by the relevant legislation of the country of production as well as follow strict traceability requirements set by the regulation. The law applies to soy, oil palm, rubber, wood, coffee, cacao and cattle. To achieve this, businesses will be required to gather geolocation data and carry out due diligence before bringing their products to market.

Due diligence

The due diligence process required of companies will consist of three main components: information gathering, risk assessment and risk mitigation. There are concerns about the impact on European supply chains, in particular, the scale of the requirements has sparked concerns about how smallholder farmers in third countries, who don’t have the resources to invest in their certification systems, will be affected.

The European Parliament elections in June 2024 have led to a more conservative Parliament and Commission, with over half of the new commissioners in Ursula von der Leyen’s college coming from her own conservative European Peoples Party. That has created questions over whether the new term will see a dilution of some of the environment and climate laws that were passed during the previous term.

Progressive parties such as the Greens and Social Democrats have been staunch defenders of strict environmental laws. The EUDR is being seen as one of the key tests for the new term. Will it be watered down or postponed?

Soft launch?

Industry insiders say they don’t expect the core requirements of the EUDR to be weakened, even if the Commission does decide to delay its application start date. What might happen, they say, is a soft launch with a transition period. This would mean that while all requirements officially take effect at the end of December, national governments would start with actual enforcement later, in 2025 or 2026.

In this case, sample verifications and checks would begin at a later stage once countries are ready and have prepared their verification systems.

In any event, people in the certification sector are advising companies to continue for now with the expectation of full enforcement in December.

ISCC, the International Sustainability Certification body, has been preparing tools for companies to ensure compliance. The advice for companies is don’t assume anything about the law that hasn’t yet been decided and proceed as if requirements will come in December. ISCC certification is currently available for oil palm, soy, rubber and wood.

In the meantime, forestry campaigners are urging the Commission to quickly come out with guidelines rather than delaying the law. “Action by the EU is needed, but not the action that EUDR’s detractors want,” Sam Lawson, Director of the campaign group Earthsight, wrote this week.

She said: “Research shows that the destruction being wrought by these commodities in forest countries is almost entirely the responsibility of large companies, not smallholder producers. The EU is already investing in helping to ensure that those smallholders can benefit from their relative lack of complicity by supporting their efforts to prove their compliance. But that EU support must be ramped up.”

“The EU should also press the large companies through whom smallholder-produced commodities reach Europe to invest their vast profits in that effort,” she added.

Expand not weaken

Lawson believes the law should be expanded, not weakened, to include commodities produced through the destruction of precious non-forest biomes and expand its scope to cover other commodities like cotton.

The balance between environmental ambitions and economic realities will be a key focus in the post-election landscape. For better or worse, the EUDR is now being seen as the first test of whether the building blocks of von der Leyen’s Green Deal will hold firm with the new political realities in the EU’s institutions.

[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]

Swedish battery giant announces redundancies amid EU electric vehicles industry struggles


By Charles Szumski | Euractiv
Sep 23, 2024 

Northvolt, the first EU battery manufacturer to supply to European car manufacturers, had major problems getting battery production up to speed to be profitable and was therefore bleeding money and struggling to raise new capital.

 [Jeppe Gustafsson/Shutterstock]

Swedish battery maker Northvolt announced on Monday (23 September) that it will lay off almost a quarter of its workforce at a time when the state of the electric vehicle (EV) industry is a growing concern in EU capitals.

The redundancies represent almost a quarter of the company’s staff in Sweden, with about 1,000 jobs being lost in the small northern town of Skellefteå, 400 in Västerås, and 200 in Stockholm.

“It’s very difficult but necessary. It is clear that you can personally feel sad about having to make decisions like this. Not least for the people and families affected”, wrote Peter Carlsson, CEO of Northvolt, in a press release.

Northvolt, the first EU battery manufacturer to supply to European car manufacturers, had major problems getting battery production up to speed to be profitable and raising new capital.

Swedish Minister of Economic Affairs Ebba Busch told Dagens Industri, “This means a tough situation and great concern for those who risk losing their jobs. The government is following developments closely and is in contact with the parties concerned.”

Among those affected by the notice are workers who are not EU citizens but worked there on work permits and risk being forced to leave the country if made redundant.

“The government must find solutions so that those with work permits can stay rather than being forced to leave the country. We need to secure skills and labour so that the economy and Sweden do not lose momentum in the green transition”, said Lorents Burman, Social Democratic chairman of Skellefteå Municipal Council, during a press conference.

Decreased demand for electric vehicles

The crisis suffered by Northvolt and its social consequences are part of a particularly troubled economic context for the electric vehicle industry, which is seeing a fall in sales.

“While overall momentum for electrification remains strong, we need to make sure that we take the right actions at the right time in response to headwinds in the automotive market and wider industrial climate.” Northvolt CEO wrote in his press release.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the number of electric cars sold in the EU in August went down 18% compared to last year’s sales, falling to 643,000 in August.

The pressure of EU car emission rules

In addition to sluggish demand, European carmakers must contend with increasingly stringent European standards, namely the EU car emission rules.

These mandate carmakers to reduce new cars’ average CO2 emissions by 15% by 2025, 55% by 2030 and 100% by 2035 – all compared to 2021 levels – notably by increasing their production of electric cars that are counted as “zero emissions”.

Under EU law, carmakers must meet these stricter targets by 2025 or face steep €95 fines for every extra gram of CO2 each car produces on average.

“The current rules do not account for the profound shift in the geopolitical and economic climate over the past [few] years,” ACEA’s board of directors said in a statement, warning that “the law’s inherent inability to adjust for real-world developments further erodes the competitiveness of the sector.”

Last week, the European Commission even rebuffed calls by parts of the industry to change the 2025 target, arguing the sector “had quite some time to prepare”.

However, with sales of electric cars falling short of expectations, ACEA on Thursday called for a speedier revision of the EU’s car emissions rules, due in 2026, a call also supported by Rome and Berlin, which are keen to protect their car industries.
The Chinese factor

In addition to falling demand and discussions around European rules, the European electric vehicle sector is a bone of contention with China, which has been accused of unfair competition by President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who addressed the subject in her State of the Union speech last year.

As Chinese manufacturers have recently launched their electric models in Europe, the Commission wants to impose new tariffs on Chinese e-cars if necessary.

However, with the prospect of a trade war looming, Beijing and the EU have agreed to re-examine the possibility of setting a minimum price for Chinese automakers selling electric vehicles to avoid definitive tariffs of up to 35.3%.

In a statement released after a meeting between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis last Thursday (19 September), the Commission said that Brussels and Beijing would “take a renewed look” at so-called price undertakings.

These are agreements where a trade counterparty pledges to set selling price floors on its products to ward off tariffs.



Jonathan Packroff and Thomas Moller-Nielsen contributed to reporting

[Edited by Alice Taylor-Braçe]

EU must step up support for organic market, EU auditors say


By Hugo Struna | Euractiv Est.
Sep 23, 2024 

Between 2014 and 2022, European farmers received around €12 billion in CAP support to convert to organic farming or maintain organic practices, ‘without adequately nurturing the organic sector’, adds the Court of Auditors

. [Attasit saentep/ Shutterstock]
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The European Union will miss its target of 25% organic farmland by 2030 because of weak support for the sector, the European Court of Auditors said in a report published on Organic Farming Day on Monday (23 September).

The EU action plan for the development of organic production in the European Union, adopted in 2021, aims to promote the benefits of organic farming. One of the objectives is to have at least 25% of the agricultural land used for organic farming by 2030, a key element of the EU’s “Farm to Fork’ strategy”.

But this target “seems out of reach,” the Court of Auditors’ analysis of EU support to the sector for 2014-2022 reads. The warning comes after also the European Environment Agency (EEA) explained that it was “unlikely” the EU would meet the target.

It is “far too early” to predict whether the target will be met, the European Commission replied in a set of replies annexed to the report.

“Such an assessment is rather outdated and incomplete, given that it does not take into account recent developments under the current CAP,” Commission spokesman Olof Gill said in an email, adding that while inflation has affected demand, “the long-term trend is positive”.

“The Commission – Gill addedd – encourages Member States to support demand for organic production”.

On the same day, the Commission named the winners of the third edition of the EU Organic Awards, eight individual prizes for “innovative, sustainable and inspiring projects” promoting the production and consumption of organic products.
Developing the market and production

Regarding support for organic farming, the CAP provided €12 billion in CAP support between 2014 and 2022 for farms that converted to organic farming or maintained organic practices “without adequately nurturing the organic sector,” the Court of Auditors added.

And another €15 billion or so are planned before 2027.

The EU auditors also acknowledged that the funds had helped increase the area that is now subject to organic farming. However, to reach the 25% target by 2030, the uptake rate of organic farming practices would have to double, with the auditors stressing that it is not just a matter of land.

“We also need to support the sector as a whole by developing the market,” said Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, the member of the Court of Auditors responsible for the audit, at a press conference presenting the report on Monday morning.

Pentus-Rosimannus also noted the need to increase “supply and demand” to prevent organic production from remaining a niche market – currently less than 4% of the total EU food market – and dependent on EU funding.

Targets after 2030

The EU auditors also stressed the need for a strategic vision beyond 2030 to provide the stability and long-term perspective needed to ensure the sector’s expansion.

“The EU must think beyond 2030. Farmers currently have no guidance and are only using plans beyond 2030,” warned Pentus-Rosimannus.

While the EU’s current action plan for the organic sector is “an improvement” on its predecessor, “it still has neither adequate and quantifiable goals for the organic sector, nor ways to measure progress,” the auditors added.

In addition, the action plan ends in 2027, and the targets are set after 2030.

“Our audit is actually very timely (…) Especially because all the discussions over both the next budget” and “the CAP are just heating,” Pentus-Rosimannus said at the press conference.

The support provided via the CAP to the organic sector, as well as other EU tools such as “the EU’s agricultural promotion policy” and the “research and innovation framework programmes” need to be strengthened, the European Commission said in response.

“However, this remains a prerogative of the next policy cycle”, it added.

UN members politically pledge cash for peacekeeping amid budget crisis

By Aurélie Pugnet | Euractiv
Sep 23, 2024

“We have a shortfall which is higher than usual, and therefore the cash availability for our mission will be constrained this year,” Lacroix said about 2024. [EPA-EFE/STR]

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Despite strong backing from the UN General Assembly for well-funded peace and security operations, turning words into financial support remains challenging.

The Pact for the Future, adopted Sunday (22 September) by UN members, clearly states that “peace operations can only succeed when political solutions are actively pursued and they have predictable, adequate and sustained financing.”

However, the worldwide acknowledgment of the need for financial resources to continue peacekeeping operations and pay their staff and equipment follows another year of the UN struggling to make ends meet.

Despite UN members endorsing this non-binding declaration, the Pact is unlikely to spur a major change in the financial management of the operations and the UN’s budget in general.

Cash issues are a regular part of the UN’s struggles. Only earlier this spring, the organisation’s officials pressed for the budget gap to be filled, saying the UN ended last year with a “cash deficit of more than $400 million (€360 million).”

“There is currently a sort of cash crisis, particularly for peacekeeping, ” Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN’s under-secretary-general for the peacekeeping operations, told reporters, including Euractiv, earlier this month.

“We have a shortfall which is higher than usual, and therefore, the cash availability for our mission will be constrained this year,” Lacroix said about 2024.

In addition, the peacekeeping chief suggested a contradiction between the political and security interests in maintaining the UN’s Blue Helmet operations and the lack of financial contributions.

“One thing we keep saying is that if [member states] give us a mandate, there has to be adequate financial resources for that,” Lacroix added, calling for “consistency” from member states.

The UN peacekeeping budget amounts to $6.1 billion (€5.9 billion) for 11 operations, according to official data. For the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, the UN members agreed to spend $5.7 billion (€5.1 billion).

But the money agreed to on paper does not always come into the UN’s coffins.

While the organisation’s budget depends on national contributions, UN members often pay their bills late – including the United States, the largest contributor, Geneva Solutions News reports.

“At the same time, we are aware that the public finances of our member states are under pressure – and most of the biggest financial contributors are under pressure,” Lacroix said.

UN mandates tend to be very long documents and broad in scope. UN officials have regularly said this reduces the impact that few understaffed and underfinanced Blue Helmet operations could have.

For this reason, Lacroix calls for operations’ mandates to be “focused” and with “realistic priorities.”

“We cannot do everything, so tasks must be prioritised.”

[Edited by Martina Monti]

Leading Russian lawmaker threatens to nuke Strasbourg after European Parliament vote

Euractiv.com with Reuters
Sep 19, 2024

 
File photo. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin attend the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, 11 July 2024. [Kremlin pool/EPA/EFE]

A close ally of President Vladimir Putin warned Western governments on Thursday (19 September) that a nuclear war would ensue if they gave the green light for Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the lower house of parliament and a member of Putin’s Security Council, was responding to a vote in the European Parliament urging EU countries to give such approval to Kyiv.

The resolution, adopted on Thursday with 425 votes in favour, 131 against and 63 abstentions, states that without lifting current restrictions, Ukraine cannot fully exercise its right to self-defence and remains exposed to attacks on its population and infrastructure.

“What the European Parliament is calling for leads to a world war using nuclear weapons,” Volodin wrote on Telegram.

He said Europeans should understand that it would take Russia’s RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, known in the West as Satan II, just 3 minutes and 20 seconds to strike Strasbourg, where the European Parliament meets.

His message was entitled “For those who didn’t get it the first time” – an apparent reference to a warning by Putin last week that the West would be directly fighting Russia if it let Ukraine fire the long-range missiles onto Russian territory.

The Ukraine war has triggered the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which is considered to be the time when the two Cold War superpowers came closest to intentional nuclear war.

In a non-binding resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament asked EU countries to “immediately lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons systems delivered to Ukraine against legitimate military targets on Russian territory.”

The European Parliament underlines that insufficient deliveries of ammunition and restrictions on their use risks offsetting the impact of efforts made to date. MEPs reiterate their call for member states to fulfil their March 2023 commitment to deliver one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine, and to accelerate the delivery of weapons, air defence systems and ammunition, including TAURUS missiles.

Volodin wrote: “If something like this happens, Russia will give a tough response using more powerful weapons. No one should have any illusions about this.” He said it appeared to Moscow that the West had forgotten the vast sacrifices made by the Soviet Union in World War Two.

The outgoing head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, told The Times this week that the Kremlin leader had declared “many red lines” before but not escalated conflict with the West when they were crossed. Putin’s spokesman said his comment was dangerous and provocative.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)

CLIMATE CRISIS

Hungary Danube waters reach decade high after Storm Boris

Euractiv.com with AFP
Sep 21, 2024

A photo taken with drone shows the flooded River Danube in central Budapest, Hungary, 21 September 2024. The rise of the water level is expected to peak in the capital city today. 

[EPA-EFE/Zoltan Mathe]

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The Danube peaked at a 10-year high in a heavily fortified Budapest on Saturday (21 September) with the water reaching the steps of parliament, after deadly Storm Boris lashed Europe.

Torrential rains and strong winds have led to widespread flooding in central and eastern Europe since last week, killing 24 people and devastating towns and villages.

As the swollen Danube waters have moved south, Hungarian emergency workers have lugged sandbags to fortify settlements, including Budapest, where the river has flooded the embankment up to the steps of parliament.

The water came close to 2013 record levels before it began to recede on Saturday.

“The last time it was this high I was only 10 or 11,” Beata Hargitai, a 22-year-old student, told AFP in downtown Budapest near the flooded area.

“To move around in the capital is a bit more tricky but manageable. I am happy to see that things seem to go pretty well, in an orderly manner,” she added.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has cancelled all his international travels this week and went to inspect Budapest’s flood protection work on Saturday, said the focus was “on controlling the flood” with some “hard days” ahead to make sure dykes hold.

Just north of Budapest, water has flooded the lower levels of houses near the Danube with people moving around on canoes in Szentendre town.

“The lower parts of our village are under water,” Vilmos Nemet, a 50-year-old cook who lives uphill in nearby Tahitotfalu village, some 25 kilometres north of Budapest, told AFP.

So far, 24 people have died in Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as the flood waters have demolished houses and fields, and heavily damaged road and rail infrastructure.

The flooding damaged or destroyed more than 18,000 buildings and facilities in Poland, according to the first estimates announced by the government on Saturday.

Swollen rivers continued to threaten several settlements in western Poland, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk promising “massive aid” to the affected regions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday announced 10 billion euros in funds for EU member nations reeling from the devastation.


Von der Leyen pledges billions of euros for flood-stricken regions

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has pledged EU-funded aid to help repair the damage caused by recent floods as she visited the western Polish city of Wroclaw on Thursday.

Experts say climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activities is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as torrential rains and floods.

France or Finland – whose industrial policy should prevail in Europe?


By Jonathan Packroff | Euractiv
Sep 20, 2024



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When presenting her new team of Commissioners earlier this week, President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted that the whole executive should be “committed” to restoring Europe‘s competitiveness.

Even more tellingly, in von der Leyen’s new team economic responsibilities are spread across numerous comissioners and as many as four executive vice-presidents – reflecting the fact that “around 20 member states wanted a strong economic portfolio,” she said on Tuesday.

In her mission letters to each and every commissioner, von der Leyen asked them to “draw on” the contents of the competitiveness report presented by Mario Draghi earlier this month (alongside the earlier paper by Enrico Letta), which highlighted that Europe must keep its eyes on one prize: increasing productivity.

What can the new picks do to live up to that task?

The choice of Frenchman Stéphane Séjourné as executive vice-president for prosperity and industrial strategy hints at a more dirigiste industrial policy.

But this would require a lot of money, which is why EU officials expect a “big debate on funding” over the next few years – a forecast that chimes with Emmanuel Macron recently piling pressure on Germany to double the EU budget from 2028, to ignite an “investment shock” for the European economy.

However, this week also offered a sobering perspective on how far subsidies can get you.

In Berlin, Economy Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has already tried out some French-style industrial policy – encouraged by the loosened post-pandemic framework for state aid.

As it turns out, not even the promise of €10 billion in German state aid, the largest subsidy ever for an individual factory, could help secure the €30 billion of total investment needed for chipmaker Intel’s new factory in Magdeburg. The company announced it has “paused” its plans this week for approximately two years due to financial troubles.

Similar problems plague steelmaker ThyssenKrupp and battery producer Northvolt, which were also meant to play a crucial part in the country’s industrial strategy (and are still due to receive €2 billion and €900 million in state aid respectively).

Long-lived criticisms that governments are bad in picking winners were not so wrong after all, it would seem.

What is it, then, that Europe can do to get back on track?

Timo Jaatinen, Permanent Secretary of the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs, advocates a different approach. He believes Europe should secure funding for research and development (R&D), rather than subsidies, if it wants to shore up its economic standing in the world.

“In Finland, we see that research and innovation… are really, truly the heart of industrial policy and competitiveness policies,” Jaatinen said at an industry conference held by umbrella group BDI in Berlin on Wednesday (18 September), arguing that is a vital driver “if [Europe] really wants to solve the competitive gap it is are facing.”

According to Word Bank data from 2022, Finland is among the few EU countries (alongside Germany, Belgium and Austria) that can compete with the US on R&D spending as share of GDP (see Chart of the Week).

But Jaatinen stressed Europe should play a role, too.

“We want the European Union […] to be the champion, and therefore the EU’s competitiveness funding should be seen as the Champions League,” he pointed out, adding that “EU funding should focus on research and innovation based on excellence and open competition”.

Speaking to Euractiv in the margins of the conference, Jaatinen also voiced criticism towards Habeck’s approach.

“Instead of direct state aid and supporting such industries that compete in the marketplace, we should emphasise more research and innovation in new sectors,” he said.

“Why I mentioned this is, of course, because we are now discussing about the coming European budget,” he said, citing discussions on how to balance existing spending with new priorities such as defence.

Early negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which will start in 2028, have already kicked off across capitals – with several German ministries holding a meeting on the issue on Thursday.

At the moment, European research spending mostly comes through the Horizon Europe programme, which at €95 billion amounts to around 8% of the overall EU budget for 2021-27. But it is currently dwarfed by the two largest funds – the Common Agricultural Policy and Cohesion Policy – and at risk of being squeezed even further.

“In this very complex political puzzle, we have to ensure that there is enough funding for research and innovation,” Jaatinen stressed, before heading off to talks with the German government.

With Germany – as the largest net financial contributor – playing a decisive role in budget talks, Berlin will heavily influence the bloc’s upcoming industrial policy. It will soon have to take a stance on whether the French or the Finnish model should prevail.

Poland leverages industrial legacy for wind economic bet


By Nathan Canas | Euractiv


Poland is targeting 5.9 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and 17.9 GW by 2040. [Shutterstock/Voyagerix]
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Poland is leveraging its industrial heritage to reap the economic benefits of offshore wind, but the PiS-era political legacy is hampering efforts to develop the bigger prize of onshore wind.

Spurred by ambitious EU climate targets and the need to move away from Russian fossil fuels and diversify its energy pool, Poland is ramping up its renewable energy capacity.

Poland’s share of renewables in its electricity production has seen quite the uptake, increasing from 15% in 2019 to 27% in 2023, according to a report by NGO Bankwatch CEE.

Poland’s main focus is offshore wind in the Baltic Sea, not only because of the Baltic Sea’s energy potential of 33 GW, or about half of the country’s current installed power generation capacity, but also because of the associated economic and employment opportunities it brings to Poland’s heavily industrialised economy.

Speaking at a Euractiv-organised event on offshore wind in the Baltic Sea on 10 September, Maciej Gorski, COO of Polish state-owned utility Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE), spoke of the role of local companies, noting that they “are able to participate in the whole supply chain across the life cycle of those (offshore wind) projects.“
Sectoral agreement

Poland’s efforts to leverage the economic opportunities of offshore wind date back to 2021, when the government agreed to set up “a permanent platform for cooperation” on offshore wind that brings together the government, local authorities, investors, operators, supply and service chain representatives as well as research bodies to maximise the participation of Polish entrepreneurs in the country’s offshore wind farm supply chain.

The agreement includes explicit local content targets to stimulate local economic activity in the offshore wind sector.

The first offshore wind farms should have 20-30% of their value sourced from Polish companies, rising to at least 50% for projects deployed after 2030. The targets cover all aspects of wind farms, from pre-implementation to installation and operation.

The agreement aims to employ 30,000 Poles in the offshore wind sector by 2030 and generate €470 million in exports from the sector. By 2040 these figures should rise to 60,000 and €1.2 billion respectively.

Particular attention will be paid to Poland’s traditional shipbuilding industry as the agreement aims to reorient shipyards to build and repair vessels dedicated to offshore wind operations.
Offshore opportunities

Over the past year, several major offshore industrial investments have been announced in Poland, including by companies such as the Vestas factory, which will produce nacelles and blades for wind turbines, and factories such as Baltic Towers and Windar.

The only offshore wind farm currently under construction is Baltic Power, with a capacity of 1.2 GW.

More than 20% of the project’s lifecycle value is being sourced locally, including the construction of two offshore substations in the historic shipbuilding cities of Gdańsk and Gdynia, according to the developers.

The components for wind turbines’ steel foundations are being produced at four plants spread across Poland, and the power cables are being manufactured in the northern Polish city of Bydgoszcz.

According to the Polish Wind Energy Association, “the national metallurgical industry is able to supply most of the steel needed for towers and nacelles […] and can fully meet the demand for concrete, aluminium, copper and other essential raw materials.”

With its industry and resources, Poland aims to become a “true Baltic industrial hub for wind energy”, according to the same association.

In addition to Baltic Power, there are currently eight offshore wind projects with pre-construction permits in Poland, WindEurope confirmed to Euractiv.
Obstacles for onshore

Beyond Poland’s offshore potential, the country has even greater potential for the onshore market.

However, the mass deployment of on-land turbines is currently limited by planning restrictions that require turbines to be built at a minimum distance of 700 metres from buildings, compared to the lower EU standard of 500 metres.

While the centre-right government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk is seeking to relax these requirements in 2023, Poland is grappling with the legacy of a 2016 decision to dramatically restrict wind turbines under the far-right PiS government.

“If the government does not significantly improve the regulatory environment in which onshore wind energy operates, not only will the sector not reach 19 GW of (onshore) installed capacity by 2030, but it will also not even reach 16 GW,” warns the Polish Wind Energy Association.

In addition, Poland’s energy mix is still largely dominated by fossil fuels (72.9% in 2023), and its electricity distribution network will need major upgrades to accommodate the energy from wind farms.

As a result, Poland still needs investment and political will if it is to deliver on its green energy aspirations.

[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Daniel Eck]

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Kenya: High Court to decide jurisdiction status in landmark Meta case



September 24, 2024

The Kenyan High Court is today hearing a case in which two Ethiopian citizens, Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, and Kenyan civil society organization The Katiba Institute are accusing Facebook’s parent company Meta of promoting content that led to ethnic violence and killings during the armed conflict in northern Ethiopia from November 2020 to November 2022.

The petitioners argue that the Facebook platform’s algorithmic recommendation systems prioritized and promoted inciteful, hateful and dangerous content on its platform during the conflict, contributing to significant human rights violations. The Kenyan court will decide if it has jurisdiction to hear the case.

Meta’s legal team has argued that the case should not be heard in Kenya because the company is registered in the US and that Meta’s terms of service require such claims to be filed in the US.

They also argue that the alleged human rights violations occurred in Ethiopia and therefore cannot be heard in Kenya.

Today’s hearing is focused on two critical procedural aspects: the petitioners’ application to have no fewer than three judges appointed to hear the case as it raises important substantial questions of law and whether Kenyan courts have jurisdiction to hear the case as challenged by Meta.Mandi Mudarikwa, the Head of Strategic Litigation at Amnesty International.

“Communities and individuals impacted by corporate human rights abuses committed by multi-nationals often struggle to access justice and effective remedies because of jurisdictional, practical and other legal challenges. As a result, Amnesty International is advocating for an approach to both cases that is informed by human rights obligations and corporate responsibilities that ensure justice and accountability.”

In Kenya, a single Judge presides over a case, but petitioners can request their cases to be heard by not less than three judges if it raises significant constitutional issues.

The petitioners, represented by Nzili and Sumbi Advocates and supported by the tech-justice organization Foxglove, argue, among other reasons, that because the content moderation operation reviewing Facebook content from Ethiopia was located in Kenya, the case can be brought to the Kenyan High Court. 

Other reasons cited for considering the case under Kenyan jurisdiction are Fisseha Tekle’s current residence in Kenya and safety concerns preventing him from returning to Ethiopia, the fact that The Katiba Institute is a Kenyan organization and the existence of a significant Facebook user base in the country.

Amnesty International is one of seven human rights and legal organizations involved as interested parties to the case. The organization submitted written responses in support of the petition and opposing the application challenging jurisdiction by Meta.

Background

Abrham Meareg is the son of Meareg Amare, a University Professor at Bahir Dar University in northern Ethiopia, who was hunted down and killed in November 2021, just weeks after posts inciting hatred and violence against him were posted on Facebook. 

He claims that Facebook only responded to reports about the posts eight days after Professor Meareg’s death, more than three weeks after his family had first alerted the company.

The second petitioner, Fisseha Tekle, an Amnesty International employee, has faced extensive online hate due to his human rights work in Ethiopia. Now living in Kenya, Tekle fears for his safety, underscoring the transnational impact of the content spread through Facebook’s channels.

Katiba Institute, the third petitioner, has brought the case in the public interest given the unchecked viral hate and violence on Meta’s Facebook platform and Kenya’s constitutional obligations.

The petition seeks to stop Facebook’s algorithms from recommending such content to Facebook users, to change Meta’s content moderation practices, and to compel Meta to create a 200 billion shilling ($1.6 billion USD) victims’ fund. 

The case will proceed to deal with the substantive questions relating to the extent, if any, to which Meta is accountable for the human rights violations and human suffering caused as a result of the content promoted on Facebook.

In October 2023, Amnesty International published the report, A death sentence for my father: Meta’s contribution to human rights abuses in northern Ethiopia, which shows how Meta contributed to human rights abuses suffered by the Tigrayan community during the conflict in northern Ethiopia two years ago.

Notes to Editors:

We expect this hearing to be heard in person and will provide further details before the court session on 24 September, 2024 once they become available.

Mercy Mutemi of Nzili and Sumbi Advocates represents the two individual petitioners and was Africa Legal’s Tech Lawyer of the Year for 2022. Foxglove, the tech-justice organization behind several cases against tech companies, are supporting the case. Backing the case as interested parties are a long list of major human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Global Witness, Article 19, Kenyan Human Rights Commission, Kenya’s National Integration and Cohesion Commission among others.