3. Von der Leyen crowns herself the winner on gender despite lack of balance Von der Leyen’s month-long struggle to get a gender-balanced European Commission did not lead to an equal number of men and women on her team, despite her pressure on countries to send one male and one female candidate from each country. … Read more
A senior EPP lawmaker noted how much success the Greens and The Left groups had in eliciting concessions from Hoekstra during his confirmation hearings last year. “They made him commit [to] the neutrality targets by threatening to vote him down,” the lawmaker said. “That is what you will see in hearings, from us, but other … Read more
Draghi is pushing for the EU to issue new common debt to fund its industrial and defense needs, something that is opposed by several governments. He noted that Europe’s goal to whittle its greenhouse gas emissions down to zero by the middle of the century offer the bloc the chance to build and export clean … Read more
Governments doing the right thing Signs are starting to emerge of policymakers moving in the right direction. Over the past year, there has been growing acceptance of the need to address the challenges facing the sector. Enrico Letta, former Italian prime minister, has called for the completion of the single market for telecoms, and asked … Read more
Enter Josep Borrell. The EU’s foreign policy chief will summon the ministers to a “formal” foreign affairs council at the same time as Orbán’s summit, according to three EU diplomats with direct knowledge of the plan and who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the move. It comes after Hungary’s envoy to the … Read more
“First of all, we need to reduce the price of energy,” minister said Draghi. Industry pays two to three times as much for electricity in Europe as in the U.S., and this is “a major competitive disadvantage,” Draghi said, adding that a fragmented and undeveloped energy market across the EU has made the situation worse. … Read more
On Thursday evening, Macron held talks with von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on EU top jobs on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Puglia. “I think that things can move quite quickly, I will go Monday in that spirit,” said the French president with reference to an upcoming European Council summit. … Read more
With a new Commission in the offing, the EU’s two biggest economies are making their move to change the antitrust rulebook. “We need to review the current European competition rules” to check if they can allow “consortia and consolidation in key sectors” such as mobile networks or airspace “in order to strengthen European resilience,” the … Read more
DAVOS, Switzerland — World leaders gathered together in the Swiss Alps this week are nervous that Donald Trump will be even more anti-global if he returns as United States president. And they have good reason to be wary. If polls prove correct, the front-runner for the Republican nomination is set to be crowned winner of the … Read more
PARIS — Emmanuel Macron picked Renew Europe Group President Stéphane Séjourné as France’s new foreign minister, the French presidency announced Thursday, in a widely expected government reshuffle. Séjourné’s appointment is likely to have big repercussions for European centrists ahead of the European election in June. The 38-year-old is a key operator in the Macron galaxy, … Read more
