The Letter n°1021

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The Letter n°1021
The Letter
Wednesday 3rd May 2023
issue 1021
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Naval rearmament, European perspectives
Author : Nicolas Mazzucchi
Nicolas Mazzucchi
The challenge of protecting maritime gateways, combined with those arising from the war in Ukraine and the Union's desire to make plans for the Indo-Pacific, are leading to a strengthening of European naval operational cooperation and an increase in bilateral and multilateral industrial projects.
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Foundation : Publication of the Schuman Report, the State of the Union 2023
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Europe has changed ... this is what the "Schuman Report on Europe, the State of the Union 2023" shows, which analyses the profound changes that have taken place in Europe, accelerated by the shock of the war in Ukraine. This 17th (14th in English) edition published by Marie B. includes 19 contributions from high level personalities, 30 original maps and a complete set of commented statistics. The book is available in print and digital formats (English version only in digital form only). Order your copy now!.. Read more
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European Recovery Plans: figures and priorities
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In response to the economic and social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union has set up a €672.5 billion recovery fund. On 27 April, Denmark received a first payment of €301 million. Slovakia and Malta submitted an amendment request to the Commission to add a REPowerEU chapter to their plan. On 28 April, the Commission approved a positive assessment of Luxembourg's request for a payment of €20.2 million. The Foundation offers you an interactive map of the plans country by country, providing you with information on the amounts and timeframes... Read more

Ukraine : Agreement on cereals
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The Commission announced on 28 April that it had reached an agreement with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria on the extension of the suspension of customs duties for Ukrainian goods. Ukrainian grain and agricultural products will be able to flow again through the five neighbouring European countries, which will be granted €100 million in aid for farmers affected by price fluctuations... Read more
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European Aid of 1.5 billion €
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On 25 April, the European Commission disbursed a further €1.5 billion in financial assistance to Ukraine. This is the third disbursement under the macro-financial assistance (MFA+). The support is aimed at helping Ukraine to keep essential public services running, such as hospitals, schools and housing for relocated people. It should also help restore critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia, such as energy infrastructure... Read more
Visits by Estonian, Czech and Slovakian leaders
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Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited Ukraine on 24 April to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The two leaders signed a joint declaration of support for the Ukrainian peace formula, for Ukraine's membership of the European Union and NATO, and for the establishment of a special tribunal to try Russian war crimes. On 28 April, the Czech and Slovak presidents, Petr Pavel and Zuzana Caputova, paid a joint visit to Volodymyr Zelensky to express their support for Ukraine's European aspirations... Read more
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Commission : Pharmaceutical legislation reform
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On 26 April, the Commission presented a reform of the pharmaceutical legislation, with the aim of making medicines more available, accessible and affordable in the European Union, but also to support innovation and the competitiveness of the European pharmaceutical industry... Read more
Draft reform of economic governance rules
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On 26 April, the Commission presented a reform of the economic governance rules to encourage debt reduction by leaving room for investment in the green transition or defence spending. States will have more flexibility and time to comply with the current guidelines - a public deficit not exceeding 3% of GDP and a public debt ceiling of 60% of GDP. The aim is both to reduce debt and to stimulate growth... Read more
Designation of platforms and search engines subject to the DSA
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On 25 April, the Commission designated 17 online platforms and 2 online search engines which, because of their economic weight and number of users, will have to comply with the obligations set out in the Digital Services Regulation (DSA) and ensure greater accountability of users, better protection of minors, improved content moderation and transparency... Read more
Launch of joint gas purchases
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On 25 April, the Commission launched the AggregateEU mechanism for joint European gas purchases. Energy companies have until 2 May to register their requirements. The corresponding volumes are expected to be purchased jointly at EU level... Read more
Towards harmonised patent rules
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On 27 April, the Commission proposed new rules to help businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), make the most of their inventions, mobilise new technologies and contribute to the EU's competitiveness and technological sovereignty... Read more

Council : Eurogroup Meeting
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Euro area finance ministers discussed on 28 April developments in macroeconomic and financial stability, the legislative package on the crisis management and deposit insurance framework and the follow-up to the Eurogroup's work on the strategic aspects of the capital markets union... Read more
Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers
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On 25 April, the Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries approved conclusions on the opportunities offered by the bioeconomy. They discussed aspects related to agriculture and forestry in the proposed regulation on carbon absorption certification, the state of progress of the CAP strategic plan 2023-2027, and the situation of the agricultural market, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine... Read more
Meeting of Economy and Finance Ministers
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Economic and finance ministers met with central bank governors in Stockholm on 28-29 April to discuss inflation, the design of fiscal policy to support the most vulnerable households and businesses as well as reconstruction in Ukraine... Read more
Council and Parliament agree to decarbonise the aviation sector
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On 25 April, the Council and Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on a proposal to decarbonise the aviation sector and create a level playing field for sustainable air transport. The RefuelEU Aviation initiative aims to increase both the demand for and supply of sustainable aviation fuels, while ensuring a level playing field across the EU aviation market... Read more
Final adoption of 5 texts of the climate package
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On 25 April, the Council definitively adopted five texts of the 'Fit for 55' package, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990... Read more

Diplomacy : Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers
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At their meeting on 24 April, Foreign Ministers exchanged views with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, regarding the latest developments on the ground. They adopted restrictive measures against: human rights violations in Iran, the trade in narcotics benefiting the Syrian regime, and persons and entities affiliated with ISIL/Daech operating in the Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique... Read more
G7 Ministers' Statement on Digital
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The G7 digital and technology ministers met from 29 to 30 April in Japan. Among other things, they plan to adopt "risk-based" regulation of artificial intelligence, aimed at "preserving an open and enabling environment" for its development and based on democratic values... Read more
Moldova: European civilian mission and sanctions framework
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On 28 April, the Council adopted a new framework for targeted restrictive measures which allows the EU to impose sanctions against those who support or carry out actions that undermine or threaten the sovereignty and independence of Moldova... Read more
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Court of Auditors : Report on Defence Spending
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In a report published on 26 April, the European Court of Auditors found that the Preparatory Action for Defence Research (PADR) did not adequately prepare for the establishment of its successor, the European Defence Fund. The auditors point to delays in the development of projects and the lack of a long-term strategy for the European defence industry... Read more

European Agencies : Agreement with the USA on defence cooperation
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The European Defence Agency (EDA) signed an agreement with the US Department of Defense (DoD) on 26 April to establish an administrative cooperation and dialogue forum... Read more
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Oliver Röpke elected President of the Economic and Social Committee
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The Austrian Oliver Röpke was elected President of the European Economic and Social Committee on 26 April. He declared that democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law would be the guiding principles of his two-and-a-half-year term of office... Read more

Belgium : North Sea Summit
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At the end of the second North Sea summit held on 24 April in Ostend, nine bordering states pledged to cooperate to make the North Sea "the largest green energy production area in the world", in particular through offshore wind power... Read more
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Estonia : Meeting of Kaja Kallas with the Polish Prime Minister
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Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas visited Poland on 25 April to meet her Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki to discuss defence, support for Ukraine and the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius. She then participated in a round table discussion at the College of Europe in Natolin... Read more

Finland : Negotiations to form a coalition
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In Finland, official negotiations to form a government started on 2 May. They involve the National Coalition (centre-right), the party of Petteri Orpo, the likely future Prime Minister, the Party of the Finns (far-right) and two other small parties that are traditional allies of the right... Read more

France : Catherine Colonna visits Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia
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The French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, visited Azerbaijan and Armenia from 26 to 28 April. This visit marks France's support for the peace negotiations between the two countries. She also went to Georgia to show her support for reforms in the field of the rule of law and the preservation of the civic space, which are essential prerequisites for the country's rapprochement to the European Union... Read more
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Italy : Visit by Giorgia Meloni to the UK
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During her visit to London on 27 April, the President of the Italian Council, Giorgia Meloni, signed joint initiatives with her British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, on issues such as the fight against illegal immigration and support for Ukraine, thus strengthening the dialogue and strategic cooperation between Rome and London... Read more

Lithuania : Meeting with the German Chancellor
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On 27 April, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda travelled to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius in July. The two leaders exchanged views on several foreign and security policy issues. They agreed on the gradual deployment of a German brigade in Lithuania. The necessary infrastructure to host the brigade in Lithuania should be in place by 2026... Read more

Luxembourg : Visit by the Luxembourg Prime Minister
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On 27 April, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, visited NATO headquarters in Brussels to meet its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. The latter thanked Xavier Bettel for Luxembourg's leading role in NATO's innovation efforts. Kyiv has already received more than 98% of the promised combat vehicles, i.e. 1550 armoured vehicles, 230 tanks, other equipment and ammunition... Read more

Norway : Green Alliance with the European Union
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On 24 April, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre signed a Green Alliance agreement in which they reaffirmed their respective commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 and to become climate neutral by 2050... Read more

Vatican : Visit by the Pope to Hungary
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Visiting Hungary from 28 to 30 April, Pope Francis gave a speech on Europe in Budapest and met with President Katalin Novak and Prime Minister Viktor Orban. He highlighted the historical, cultural and civilisational importance of the city and the continent, and highlighted some of the founding fathers of the European Union. The Pope spoke of the migration issue, recalling that the Christian attitude was to welcome refugees in legal and dignified conditions... Read more

Council of Europe : Session of Parliamentary Assembly
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The situation of Ukrainian civilians, including children, forcibly displaced or transferred to Russia or Ukrainian territories under de facto Russian control, with the online participation of Olena Zelenska, was among the topics debated at the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg from 24 to 28 April. Icelandic President Guðni Jóhannesson addressed the Assembly on 27 April... Read more
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Cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe
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On 26 April, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe by 122 votes, including China and India. The resolution considers that "the unprecedented challenges currently facing Europe as a result of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine" require enhanced cooperation between the UN and the Council of Europe to restore peace and security in the region... Read more
Anti-money laundering commitment
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Ministers responsible for combating money laundering in the member states of the Council of Europe's dedicated committee, MONEYVAL, pledged on 25 April to strengthen their frameworks for preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction... Read more
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IMF : Europe: beating inflation without recession
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On 28 April, the IMF published a study on its blog on the most advanced ways for Europe to beat inflation without recession. Success will require tighter macroeconomic policies tailored to the changing financial situation, strong financial supervision and regulation, and bold supply-side reforms... Read more
Financial aid to Moldova
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On 26 April, the IMF Executive Board completed the third stage of Moldova's assessment under the Extended Fund Facility and the Extended Financing Facility. As a result, Moldova was granted 96 million in assistance. This assistance is intended to support Moldova's long-term development... Read more

Eurostat : GDP growth in the first quarter of 2023
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In the first quarter of 2023, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3% in the European Union and by 0.1% in the euro area compared with the previous quarter, according to the estimate published by Eurostat on 28 April. This represents an increase of 1.3% compared with the first quarter of 2022... Read more

Studies/Reports : SIPRI report on military spending
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On 23 April, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) published a report on global military spending in 2022. According to the organisation, total military spending has increased by 3.7% in 2022, reaching a record level of $2240 billion. Military spending in Europe saw its highest annual increase in 30 years. The three biggest spenders in 2022 were the US, China and Russia, which accounted for 56% of global military spending... Read more

Culture : European Union Prize for Literature
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On 28 April, the European Union Prize for Literature was awarded to the Croatian writer and poet Martina Vidaic. The prize is awarded by the Federation of European Publishers (FEE) and the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) to authors from the 41 countries participating in the Creative Europe programme... Read more
Independent film festival Krakow
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The 16th edition of the Mastercard Off Camera international independent film festival is taking place until 7 May in Krakow. The best film will win the Andrzej Wajda Award... Read more
Baselitz's studio at Schloss Derneburg
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Until 27 August, Derneburg Castle in Lower Saxony, where the famous German painter and sculptor Georg Baselitz produced several of his huge paintings, prints and sculptures over a period of thirty years, is open to the public on the occasion of the artist's 85th birthday. The "Baselitz in the Studio" exhibition includes about two dozen paintings and one sculpture... Read more
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Normans. Migrants, conquerors, innovators in Rouen
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Until 13 August, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen is presenting an exhibition that highlights the complexity and diversity of the links forged between Normandy and the rest of the world from the 9th and 12th centuries. More than 250 works are presented as milestones in the Norman epic, the pioneering builders of Europe, who in their time took up residence in various countries, from England to Sicily. A space is devoted to a selection of works by three contemporary Norwegian photographers... Read more
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Female surrealism in Paris
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Until 10 September, the Musée de Montmartre in Paris is presenting an exhibition on surrealism in the feminine. The exhibition presents the works of some fifty artists, visual artists, photographers and poets from all over the world and seeks to show the ambivalent and complex relationship that these women had with the surrealist movement... Read more
Persia and Greece exhibition in London
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Until 13 August, the exhibition "Luxury and power: Persia to Greece" at the British Museum in London tells the story of how the wealth of the ancient Persians and Greeks helped shape the political landscape in Europe and Asia in the first millennium BC... Read more
Ancient and modern in Rome
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Until 30 July, the Roman National Museum in Rome is presenting the exhibition "The Instant and the Eternal. Between us and the ancients". The exhibition puts ancient and modern art face to face and seeks to show the different forms of transmission and attempts at reinterpretation of ancient art by modern art... Read more
Carmen Calvo in Barcelona
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Until 3 September, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona is hosting an exhibition devoted to Carmen Calvo, born in 1950, one of Spain's most important visual artists, who explores the remains of the past and the memory of Spain... Read more

3May
3-4 May 2023

Stockholm

Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers

4May
4-5 May 2023

Stockholm

Informal Meeting of Health Ministers

Frankfurt European Central Bank Governing Council meeting Brussels Development Council

9May
9 May 2023

Europe Day

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Records of the Letter
année 2023
The Letter n°1025
 With war next door, Moldova is accelerating its rapprochement with the EU
 published on 30/05/2023
 The Letter n°1024
 The end of combustion engines: the cart before the horse!
 published on 22/05/2023
 The Letter n°1023
 The Geopolitics of European Wheat
 published on 15/05/2023
 The Letter n°1022
 The European Institutions dealing with Crises
 published on 09/05/2023
 The Letter n°1021
 Naval rearmament: European perspectives
 published on 02/05/2023
 The Letter n°1020
 Giorgia Meloni's first six months
 published on 24/04/2023
 The Letter n°1019
 European Policies in the fight to counter propaganda
 published on 17/04/2023
 The Letter n°1018
 The European Union's New Life
 published on 11/04/2023
 The Letter n°1017
 Trying Putin
 published on 03/04/2023
 The Letter n°1016
 A return to grace for nuclear power in European public opinion? Some elements of a rapid paradigm shift
 published on 27/03/2023
 The Letter n°1015
 Is the Banking Crisis back?
 published on 20/03/2023
 The Letter n°1014
 Rule of Law: the uncertain gamble on conditionality
 published on 13/03/2023
 The Letter n°1013
 Gender parity in Europe: a - still imperfect - model in the world
 published on 06/03/2023
 The Letter n°1012
 Europe as a power: now or never
 published on 27/02/2023
 The Letter n°1011
 The war in Ukraine and the European Union's action: technical and political expertise
 published on 20/02/2023
 The Letter n°1010
 Can the EU still wrest the Balkans from their blighted history?
 published on 13/02/2023
 The Letter n°1009
 European energy solidarity: strengthening the EU's resilience to crises
 published on 06/02/2023
 The Letter n°1008
 Beyond European extraterritoriality, for legal intelligence and compliance in the service of sovereignty
 published on 30/01/2023
 The Letter n°1007
 The Élysée Treaty, Franco-German reconciliation and the construction of Europe: myth and reality
 published on 23/01/2023
 The Letter n°1006
 Digital Sovereignty: for a Schuman Data Plan
 published on 16/01/2023
 The Letter n°1005
 The European Union and the war in Ukraine: liberal power and its limits
 published on 09/01/2023