Week ahead: EU-US tech trade and tribulations

We don’t yet know the outcome of the German federal elections, but over the next week - and maybe weeks - we will see a new coalition government emerge. What variety of coalition is formed and what it will mean for the rest of Europe remains to be seen, but a growth model that is so highly dependent on exports, especially to China, will present very real challenges for any incoming government. 

Fiscal future

There does seem to be widespread agreement that Germany needs to invest extensively in renewing and updating its infrastructure, which could assist the EU’s discussions around the future of the “stability and growth pact”, which will be reopened for consultation. 

Aukward

Tensions between the US and France over Australia’s withdrawal from a submarine deal with little or no notice to the French partners nearly scuppered the EU-US trade and technology meeting, instead the meeting is going ahead, but without a press conference. Australia decided to choose the US and - to a lesser extent - the UK over France which challenged diplomatic arrangements to breaking point - with France briefly recalling its ambassadors from the US and Australia.

The EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will meet for the first time on Wednesday (29 Septembter. The meeting provides a more formal platform to help alignment and address areas of common concern and will have ten working groups, including AI rules, semiconductors, export control, foreign investment screening and the nexus between trade, technology and security. There is a clear concern over China, and a recognition that this is a mutual concern for the EU and US. Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis will head to Pittsburgh to lead the EU side.

However, the EU and US have had their own complications over technology. Data protection, the Schrems judgements on Safe Harbour and its successor Privacy Shield on data sharing with the US have not yet been fully resolved. 

This week also sees the commencement of hearings in the EU’s top court on the Google/Alphabet challenge to the European Commission’s decision to fine them €4.34 billion for breaching EU competition rules - a decision that dates from 2018. The fine is largely linked to Google requiring manufacturers to preinstall Google Search on mobile phones.

The Parliament will hold a hearing at the start of the week on EU/US trade relations.

Serbia/Kosovo

European Commission President von der Leyen will be heading to the Balkans this week, including planned visits to Kosovo and Serbia. The visit comes as Serbia has escalated its presence on its border with Kosovo. EU High Representative Josep Borrell issued a statement yesterday (26 September) calling for de-escalation and a return to EU-facilitated dialogue as the only platform to address and resolve all open issues between the parties. The chief negotiators for both sides have agreed to visit Brussels this week to discuss solutions. Borrell has also been in contact with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenber to discuss the co-operation with the NATO mission in Kosovo and its relations with EULEX. 

The Competitiveness Council will meet on 28-29 September, ministers will focus on research on Tuesday (A Global Approach to Research and Innovation, the European Research Area) and on industrial policy on Wednesday (the New Industrial Strategy and future-proofing policy making for the competitiveness of the EU).

The Parliament will meet for committee and group meetings this week. Among the most important issues will be committee discussions on the amendments to the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts. The EP Conference of Presidents will meet with Vice President Maroš Šefčovič on the setting-up of an EU-UK parliamentary partnership assembly. 

Also on the Parliament’s agenda (and with courtesy of the Parliament):

ECB/Lagarde. Members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will quiz European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on the state of the eurozone. Inflation, risks to price stability, disorderly market reactions after the pandemic and the review of the ECB’s monetary policy strategy are among the topics likely to be raised (Monday).

Revision of the trans-European networks for energy (TEN-E). The Industry and Energy Committee will vote on its position on the new EU guidelines for selecting the projects to be financed. The selected Projects of Common Interest should improve connection between national markets, secure supply and promote renewables. Financing of fossil fuels and hydrogen and carbon capture should also be addressed (Tuesday).

Budget control/FRONTEX. Following a decision by Parliament in April to postpone clearing of the accounts (so-called discharge) of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), the Budgetary Control Committee will vote on whether or not the discharge should be granted. MEPs needed clarification on a series of issues, e.g. delays in recruiting fundamental rights officers, gender imbalance, reported cases of harassment and meetings with lobbyists not on the EU transparency register (Monday).

European Public Prosecutor/Kövesi. Members of the Budgetary Control Committee will discuss with EU chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi how the EU Public Prosecutor’s Office has fared in its first few months fighting against financial crimes. The Office’s workload, its lack of staff as well as the appointment procedures of the delegated prosecutors are likely to be raised by MEPs (Friday).

Rule of law/Hungary. A Civil Liberties Committee delegation will travel to Budapest to assess the situation regarding the rule of law, media freedom, the education system and minority rights. MEPs will meet, among others, the Mayor of Budapest, members of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, the fundamental rights commissioner, NGOs and journalists (Wednesday to Friday).

2022 EU budget. The Budgets Committee will set its negotiating position on the EU budget for 2022. MEPs want the budget to support the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and lay the foundations for a more resilient Union (Tuesday).

European Citizens’ Panels/Conference on the Future of Europe. The European Citizens’ Panels will continue their discussions with the third 200-citizen meeting in Strasbourg. It will focus on climate change, the environment and health. The Panels will put forward recommendations that will feed into the Conference deliberations and ultimately into the report on its final outcome (Friday to Sunday).

2021 Sakharov Prize. The nominees for this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be presented to MEPs in a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Development committees and the Human Rights Subcommittee (Monday).

Plenary preparations. Political groups will prepare for the 4-7 October plenary session, where MEPs will discuss the future of EU-US relations and vote on resolutions on the humanitarian crisis along the EU-Belarus border and the Belarusian regime’s hybrid warfare against the EU, on the state of the EU’s cyber defence capabilities and on an EU-Taiwan partnership. They will also debate and vote on the use of artificial intelligence by the police, on how to meet the EU’s ambition for zero road deaths by 2050, on opportunities and security challenges in the Arctic, on the reform of the EU Asylum agency and on the EU trust fund and the facility to support refugees in Turkey.

Share this article: