European Union

Place:
European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL)

Chair:
Urve Palo, Estonia's Minister for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology 

All times are approximate and subject to change

from 09.00
Arrivals 

+/- 10.00      
Doorstep by Minister Urve Palo 

+/- 10.30      
Beginning of Council meeting (Roundtable)
Adoption of the agenda 
Digital Single Market strategy (public session)

+/- 12.30
Working lunch debate on 5G connectivity and investment

+/- 14.30
Any other business (public session):
- 5G connectivity
- Tallinn eGovernment Declaration
- Eastern Partnership Digital Ministerial meeting

+/- 14.50
Cybersecurity 2.0

+/- 16.30      
Press conference (live streaming)

Place:
European Convention Center Luxembourg (ECCL)

Chairs:
Jevgeni Ossinovski, Minister for Health and Labour
Kaia Iva, Minister for Social Protection

All times are approximate and subject to change   

from 08.00   
Arrivals 

+/- 08.30     
Doorstep by Minister Ossinovski

+/- 09.30      
Beginning of Council meeting (Roundtable)
Adoption of the agenda 
Adoption of legislative A items (public session)
Adoption of non-legislative A items

+/- 09.45
European Pillar of Social Rights (public session)

+/- 11.00
Posting of workers directive (public session)

+/- 13.30
Working lunch debate - Improving cooperation in cross-border labour mobility to fight fraud and abuse

+/- 15.30
Any other business (Roundtable):
- European Institute for Gender Equality (public session)

+/- 16.00
European Semester 2018 (public session)

+/- 16.30
Revision of Regulations on Coordination of Social Security systems (public session)

+/- 16.35
Any other business:
- Tripartite Social Summit
- Tallinn Digital summit
- New Skills Agenda for Europe

+/- at the end of the meeting      
Press conference (live streaming)

This Autumn Social Summit was devoted to "Shaping Europe's future: strengthening resilience and promoting economic and social progress for all". Three sub-themes fed into this discussion: The social dimension of Europe; The involvement of the social partners in policies and reforms at national level - progress made and ways to improve; and Investing in learning in a digital economy and society.

In his statement, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said that: "It is our common task now to ensure that the benefits of economic growth are shared as widely as possible. And this is why in our meeting today we discussed, in very concrete terms, how the social partners can be better involved in national policy-making. I remain convinced that only by taking the views of social partners into account can we make real progress. This is especially important in today's digital age, where citizens, young and old, need to be equipped with the right skills to prosper. Because in the digital age, the quickest way to go backward is to stand still. This is what I discussed not only with the social partners today but also with the European leaders at the Digital Summit in Tallinn. And at the meeting of the European Council tomorrow, the spirit of Tallinn will drive our political decisions."

The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker underlined: "A fair and more social Europe is key in shaping our Union's future. This is what citizens rightly expect. I want the EU to stand up for the rights of its citizens in a fast-changing world. This is what the European Pillar of Social Rights is all about. I trust that we will be able to proclaim it at the Social Summit in Gothenburg on 17 November."

From the side of the rotating presidency, Estonia's Prime Minister, Jüri Ratas, said that "Less than three weeks ago I had the honour to host the first ever European Union Digital Summit in Tallinn. One of the topics was the future of the economy and society. EU leaders realise that a major shift is under way in society and that the social partners have an important role to play in this context. Indeed, their support for maintaining well-functioning EU labour market and welfare systems is vital. We already live in a digital society and we have to adapt rapidly in order to seize the economic opportunities that digitalisation presents, without leaving anybody behind. We have to provide the right skills as well as social protection to all people, whether they work in traditional companies or have cutting-edge jobs in the digital economy. The social partners have looked at these issues in depth. We are all committed to reviewing EU and national laws and policies in order to make sure they are fit for the digital age".

BusinessEurope's President, Emma Marcegaglia, representing employers (BusinessEurope, CEEP, UEAPME) said “Europe is one of the best places to live, work, and do business in the world. The European project made this possible. We should take full advantage of the current momentum - with unity backing the European project and an improved economic situation - to ensure that EU and national reforms necessary to modernise European economies and societies are put in place. The renewed focus on industrial policy is an important step. We now need to feed the strategy through a structured way forward. The EU needs to become more attractive for investment and to maintain a fair and ambitious trade agenda opening new markets and creating sustainable growth and new business opportunities for enterprises of all sizes. As regards the social dimension of Europe, the key challenge is to set in motion a partnership for reforms for improved employment outcomes. The EU should act where there is a shared understanding of its added value, respecting subsidiarity and social partner autonomy.”

"The European trade unions want to convince the EU member states to adopt, and the European Commission to follow up vigorously to fully implement, an ambitious and strong European Pillar of Social Rights” said Luca Visentini, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). “We need more concrete measures to make a real difference in the lives of working people. Many working people are yet to feel any recovery, and need hard evidence that the EU is committed to social justice and social progress. The EU needs to make up for the lost years of crisis, and also to manage the changes that decarbonisation and digitalisation will bring so no worker is left behind."

The views cited in this text are those of the individual / organization concerned and do not collectively constitute the point of view of the Council or the European Council.

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The main theme of the meeting of the Tripartite Social Summit for Growth and Employment, taking place in Brussels on 18 October 2017, is 'Shaping Europe's future: strengthening resilience and promoting economic and social progress for all'. Discussions are focused on three areas: the social dimension of Europe, progress achieved and ways to improve involvement of social partners in policies and reforms at national level, and investing in learning in a digital economy and society.

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A law that lays down, as a criterion for admission to a police school, a minimum height requirement irrespective of sex may constitute unlawful discrimination against women
Une réglementation qui prévoit, en tant que critère d’admission à l’école de police, une taille physique minimale indépendamment du sexe peut constituer une discrimination illicite envers les femmes

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EU Ministers of Foreign and European Affairs meet on 17 October 2017 in Luxembourg to discuss the state of play of Brexit negotiations and the relocation of EU agencies.

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EU Ministers of Foreign and European Affairs meet on 17 October 2017 in Luxembourg to discuss the draft conclusions of the European Council meeting on 19-20 October. The Council is also holding its third annual rule of law dialogue, centred on media pluralism and the rule of law in the digital age.

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DRAFT OPINION on the next MFF: Preparing the Parliament’s position on the MFF post-2020
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Pier Antonio Panzeri

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

On 16 October, Ana Fotyga, Chair of the SEDE committee, extended her condolences to the people of Somalia following the massive terror attack in Mogadishu. She said:

"This weekend's terror attack in Mogadishu is an unconscionable atrocity. I condemn the perpetrators in strongest terms and would like to extend my sincerest condolences to the people of Somalia. Terrorism is a threat that affects us all and knows no borders. We will continue to do our utmost to support the Somalis and our international partners including the African Union in their fight against this scourge."
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Length of video : 139'
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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The next AFET meetings are scheduled to take place as follows:

- Thursday, 19 October 2017, 08:30-12:30, room JAN 2Q2 (Brussels)
- Monday, 23 October 2017, 19:30-20:30, room WIC 200 (Strasbourg)
- Monday, 6 November 2017, 15:00-18:30, room JAN 2Q2 (Brussels)

Further information
Information for visitors
Draft agendas
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

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EU Foreign Affairs ministers meet on 16 October 2017 in Luxembourg to discuss Iran, North Korea, and the EU policy on human rights. Over lunch, foreign affairs ministers are discussing the political situation in Turkey. The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on Myanmar, as well as on the EU strategy on Afghanistan.

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Within the known as the “procés”, or the “Catalan question”, on 10th October 2017 the President of the Catalan Government participated in a regular session of the Catalan Parliament in order to give an balance of the political situation in the region.

In his speech Mr. Puigdemont reported the positive results of the alleged referendum of 1st October 2017. However the words he used were full of confusion about whether or not the declaration of independence took place at the Catalan Parliament

In any case, Mr. Puigdemont stated:

“Arrived to this historical moment, as President of the Generalitat, I assume to present the results of the referendum to the Parliament and our citizens: the mandate that Catalonia becomes an independent State in the form of a republic.

That is what I have to do today. For responsibility and respect.

And with the same solemnity, the Government and me too propose the Parliament to suspend the effects of the independence declaration in order to start a dialogue in the following weeks without which is not possible to reach an agreed solution”[i]

 

These words have created some confusion regarding the existence or not of an implicit declaration of independence since, although such a declaration didn’t properly take place, the Government and the President proposed to the Parliament “to suspend the effects of the declaration of independence”.

Certainly, the independence declaration corresponds to the Parliament of Catalonia, according to art. 4.4. of Law 19/2017, of 6 September, on the referendum of self-determination, law suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court:

“If in the count of valid votes there are more affirmative than negative votes, the result implies the independence of Catalonia. To this end, the Parliament of Catalonia, within two days following the proclamation of the official results by the Electoral Syndicate, will hold a regular session to carry out the formal declaration of the independence of Catalonia, specify its effects and initiate the constituent process.“

It is important, from the Catalan secessionist legal perspective to comply with the provisions of this article because, although suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court, it is the one that determines – from the perspective of the alleged legality of the new Republic – the entry into force of Law 20/2017, of 8 September, on Legal Transitoriness and on the Foundation of the Republic, third final provision, also suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

Thus, from the perspective of the alleged legality of the Catalan Republic, this is born – materially – with the positive result of the vote of the Referendum on October 1st  (“the result implies the independence of Catalonia”), although “to this end” , within two days of the proclamation of the results, the Parliament must hold a regular session to carry out the formal declaration of independence, specify its effects and initiate the constituent process.

However, although the session of the Catalan Parliament took place on October 10th, there was no formal declaration by the Catalan Parliament, nor the concretization of its effects and the beginning of the constituent process.

In fact, what happened was that Mr Puigdemont reported the positive results of the Referendum and immediately requested to the Parliament to suspend the effects of a declaration which had not yet taken place. Moreover there was not any answer or agreement of the Parliament in this sense.

However, after the Parliament session, the deputies of the secessionist groups proceeded to sign a document in another room containing a declaration of independence[ii]:

“… We, democratic representatives of the people of Catalonia, in the free exercise of the right of self-determination, and in accordance with the mandate received from the citizens of Catalonia,

WE CONSTITUTE the Catalan Republic, as an independent and sovereign State, State of right, democratic and social.

WE MAKE AVAILABLE the entry into force of the Law of Legal Transitoriness and on the Foundation of the Republic.

WE INITIATE the constituent, democratic, citizen-based, transverse, participatory and binding process ”

Now, has there been a declaration of independence? If we understand that from the point of view of the alleged legality of the Catalan Republic the independence started with the positive results of the referendum, they don’t need a declaration for it. However article 4.4 of Law 19/2017, key to interpret this, is clear requiring a formal statement from Parliament that has not been adopted.

This document is a clear commitment to independence, and in itself can be considered as the intended statement whose effects are requested to be suspended.

Moreover, declarations are regulated in the article 166 of the Catalan Parliament Regulation, establishing three types of declarations: declarations of the Parliament of Catalonia (which require the unanimity vote of the Board of Spokespersons), declarations of the Board of Spokespersons (which require a majority vote of the Board of Spokespersons) and Declarations of the Presidency of the Parliament[iii].

It is true that art. 4.4 of Law 19/2017 does not state what kind of declaration should be made. We can think on a statement of the Board of Spokespersons by majority, and a Presidential Statement or a Declaration by Parliament itself. However it would be logical to think, due to its relevance, that the best way is to vote Declaration of the Parliament; therefore a unanimous consent of the Board of Spokesmen would be required. Or in a non legal way -breaking the Catalonian Parliament Regulation- a vote of the Parliament itself.

Therefore, it can be understood that, from the point of view of the alleged legality of the Catalan Republic, there was no declaration of independence, nor suspension of the effects of it. And in this sense what took place from the legal point of view – of that supposed legality – is rather an independence – born ex art. 4.4 of Law 19/2017 with the positive result of the referendum – whose formal statement by the Parliament was omitted or suspended, even though that a declaration was signed in document by some Members of the Parliament, but outside the session and therefore without legal value.

In reaction to this situation, the Government of Spain activated the possible application of art. 155 of the Spanish Constitution (EC) sending a request to the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, dated on October 11, to clarify the situation and to confirm whether or not the independence of Catalonia has been declared, awaiting an answer tomorrow 16 October; stating that an affirmative or ambiguous answer will imply the application of art. 155 EC, which can be use to intervene and obligate the Autonomous Community to return to the Spanish Constitutional Order[iv].

Although I am not able to anticipate the answer of President Puigdemont, I understand -from my point of view- that there was no declaration of independence of Catalonia, although the process of independence has begun and is actually in suspense, which undoubtedly also affects and breaks the Spanish Constitutional Order.

[i] Compareixença del president Puigdemont davant del ple del Parlament, Barcelona, 10 d’octubre de 2017, Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de la Presdiència, Oficina del President, Gabinet de Comunicació del President.

[ii]Declaració dels Representants de Catalunya, available at:  https://es.scribd.com/document/361241376/Declaracio-Independe-ncia#from_embed

[iii] Reglament del Parlament de Catalunya, available at: https://www.parlament.cat/document/cataleg/165484.pdf

[iv]Requerimiento de 11 de octubre de 2017, accesible en http://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/consejodeministros/Documents/11102017-requerimiento.pdf

 

The post CATALONIA: A SUSPENDED INDEPENDENCE WITHOUT DECLARATION. appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

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EU Ministers for Environment meet on 13 October 2017 in Luxembourg to discuss the effort-sharing regulation and the regulation on land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) with a view to agreeing on a general approach for each of the proposals. It is also adopting conclusions on the preparations for the COP23 Climate change conference and on the EU priorities for the United Nations Environment Assembly.

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EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs meet on 12 and 13 October 2017 in Luxembourg to adopt the regulation establishing EPPO under enhanced cooperation, as well as to discuss proposals on mutual recognition of freezing and confiscation orders and the exchange of information on third country nationals on ECRIS. Justice and home affairs ministers are expected to discuss criminal justice in cyberspace. On Friday home affairs ministers are expected to focus on migration and on counter-terrorism.

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Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

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Informal Meeting of Trade Ministers, taking place on 13 October, in Brussels.

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Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Elections in Austria? Again?

Most non-Austrian react with bewilderment when they take note of the forthcoming Austrian elections on 15 October: elections, now? Have they not just voted?

Indeed. On 4 December 2016 Austria had to re-run its presidential elections, with the quasi-Green candidate Alexander van der Bellen winning by a really small margin of 50.3% against Norbert Hofer, the candidate of the (very) right-wing FPÖ. Even though presidents play a marginal role in everyday Austrian politics, this battle of ideas attracted much international attention.

What is happening next Sunday, 15 October 2017, is actually more important. Early elections for parliament have been scheduled, and they are very likely to follow the trend towards the right, which was visible in the recent German elections.

Why early elections?

Sebastian Kurz

In May 2017, the governmental coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Conservative Party (ÖVP) decided to support the request submitted by the opposition in parliament and call for early elections. At this point, not much love was left between the two coalition partners, after months of conflict and open disagreement. The resignation of the ÖVP party chair and Vice-Chancellor Reinhard Mitterlehner gave the last push for the break-up of the coalition, undermined by internal fights within both parties. The ÖVP begged their young and successful foreign minister Sebastian Kurz, boosted by incredible approval rates in opinion polls, to take over the role as party chair. Kurz gracefully accepted, but only under his own conditions, such as full autonomy in staff matters and running under the label ‘List of Sebastian Kurz – the new ÖVP’ (instead of simply “ÖVP”).

No more grand coalition!

Results of Austrian parliamentary elections.

That is the main tenor of the current political discourse. Citizens are fed up with the idea of yet another boring, fighting, stagnating Grand Coalition of the two major traditional parties. What in September 2013 had seemed like the lesser evil – as compared to another FPÖ participation in government after the one in 1999 which had raised so many eyebrows and even sanctions within the EU), turned into a permanent bickering between two government parties openly fighting each other’s policies over the past year. Not ideal for realizing the objective of winning back citizens’ trust, after the 2013 results had already been the worst ever for both SPÖ and ÖVP in the Second Republic.

Not to mention the scandals!

The dirtiest election campaign in Austrian history!

Scandals are the second main issue currently associated with the election campaign. To everybody’s surprise, it is not the usual suspect (the far-right FPÖ) that breaches with acceptable practices, but the big coalition parties SPÖ and ÖVP! All throughout the campaign, they have been navigating from one scandalous ‘Breaking News’ to the next. The tip of the iceberg is the ‘facebook scandal’ that transpired within the SPÖ last week: a few weeks ago the SPÖ campaign advisor Tal Silberstein (an Israeli consultant) was fired due to allegations of money laundering. When journalists started investigating Silberstein´s practices, they discovered dirty campaigning on social media on an unimagined scale. Silberstein had set-up a whole office (interestingly enough staffed with collaborators close to the conservative party) that ran two facebook groups apparently in support of the ÖVP rival Kurz, but then discrediting the ÖVP party leader with disdainful, personal attacks. The SPÖ election campaign manager resigned immediately, although the SPÖ leadership is still claiming that they were not informed about those practices. The question remains how much SPÖ party leader and Chancellor Kern knew about these practices. And the general conclusion is that even if he did not know, it was his job to know (especially if he wants to lead this country).

Other, smaller scandals shake the political establishment on a daily basis: how come the ÖVP has been using campaign slogans that had been initially developed but not publicized by the SPÖ? At the same time, the Greens’ prospects have been damaged by internal quarrels, which had one of their longest-serving members, Peter Pilz, leave the party to create his own list in opposition to Green party leaders.

Clarification of positions

The one positive side effect of the 2017 election campaign is that parties are forced to be clear on their main policy priorities.

SPÖ Chancellor Kern, stemming from the business-section of the Social Democrats, is considered a calm, well-respected and experienced intellectual. During the last year, the SPÖ was tempted internally to consider a coalition with the FPÖ, but Kern and his team managed to re-focus it on its core topic: sustainable state institutions that ensure a just, fair and protective society through state intervention. Just how this is a shift from what the SPÖ government was supposed to be doing over the last years, is less clear, although some observers point out that the SPÖ became more edgy in pursuing social-democratic economic policies lately.

Sebastian Kurz and his ‘new’ ÖVP, on the other hand, are pushing the idea of breaking up old state and party structures to bring in a ‘new social justice’. The latter is defined by enabling hard-working Austrians to be able to make a living for themselves; by getting rid of too much regulation and state intervention; and mostly by cutting off ‘benefits parasites’ (and foreigners) from state support. Kurz is slightly less eloquent in providing details of how exactly he would achieve his declared goals. In the latest TV debates he resorted to bashing European politics and other European leaders´ decisions (read: Merkel´s refugee policy) for their negative impact on Austria, instead of providing clear policy strategies himself.

FPÖ campaign poster

The FPÖ and their party leader Heinz-Christian Strache have one clear priority: Austria for Austrians (translation: kick migrants out of Austria!). Strache keeps attacking Kurz for not having reacted more decisively in closing Austrian borders during the Syrian refugee crisis, while for the rest the two-party leaders showed so much unity in the TV debates that many observers already refer to the ‘Chancellor and his Vice-Chancellor to be’.

In the current political climate, marked by a clear shift of the main parties towards the right, the Greens are the last party on the left of the political spectrum. In economic, societal and European topics they stand for clear left-wing positions, and they are the only party that has climate change and environmental impact high on their agenda. The economic-liberal NEOS still confuse voters with the variety of their positions, but they earned some respect for having many experienced entrepreneurs in their ranks. And they got the presidential candidate and respected lawyer Irmgard Griess on their party list, which provided them with visibility.

So, what are the expectations?

Latest polls. Source : www.profil.at

The latest polls confirm the trends of the last years: the ÖVP is expected to get a boost by its charismatic young party leader. Sebastian Kurz is appreciated by many Austrians for his youth, his image as everybody’s perfect ‘son-in-law’, and his promise for change (even though most people do not seem to care or realize that the promised change is likely not to be in their favour). The ÖVP thus clearly leads the polls. What is unclear at the moment, is who will come second: will the FPÖ manage to overtake the SPÖ?

What the polls show quite clearly, though, is that there will be a very meager amount of coalition options available: the visible disdain that emerged between Kurz and Kern in the past months makes a revival of the Grand Coalition impossible. For the ÖVP, Kern would have to step down for the SPÖ to even being considered a potential partner. More likely is a coalition ÖVP-FPÖ, although this will also depend on whom the president (one of his rare powers!) will mandate with forming a government.

The expected center-right victory at these parliamentary elections will not come as a surprise. Like in Germany, the Social Democrats have lost profile by participating in the Grand Coalition. Like in Germany, the political discourse has been continuously shifting towards the right over recent years: the moderate right takes ever tougher positions on migration issues, and the Social Democrats sometimes follow suit in fear of alienating too many worried voters.

The SPÖ is only just starting to pull back to the left, but with the considerably weakened Greens left as only partners, a center-left coalition is simply not realistic this time around.

The post Following the German trend? Austria votes on Sunday. appeared first on Ideas on Europe.