Sanctions for Russia, energy and more: all discussions in the European Union
The European Union threatens "huge" sanctions against Russia in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. The deepening of the Pais
The EU-27 – we read in El Pais – warns Russia of the "enormous consequences" if it attacks Ukraine
The last European summit of 2021, held in Brussels on Thursday, was dominated by the three major topics on the EU agenda this year: the never-ending battle with the covid-19 virus, the skyrocketing prices of electricity and the explosive geostrategic match with a Russian president ready to tinker with the national borders of the Old Continent. The EU-27 managed to agree a common position on the scourge of the pandemic and close ranks in the face of Vladimir Putin's threats against Ukraine. But the energy crisis, with its tremendous impact on public opinion in several countries, has caused deep rifts within the club, with Spain among the angrier voices against Brussels' apparent passivity. Eventually, after hours of discussion, the EU-27 failed to agree on any conclusions on energy.
"We have not been able to reach an agreement", complained Pedro Sánchez at the end of the summit, who came to the EU capital with the intention of making it clear that he does not consider the energy package adopted by the European Commission this week sufficient. which among other things proposes the creation of strategic gas reserves and the possibility that member states can take advantage of a voluntary scheme of joint purchases of fuel aimed at these reserves – a measure born from a Spanish proposal in September. Spain, according to sources from La Moncloa, wanted to focus the energy discussion on whether the EU acts in a necessary and fairly fast way. And he pressed for specific commitments in the text of the Council conclusions, such as the ability to react quickly to curb the high volatility of energy prices, or to open the door to a future reshaping of the pricing model that takes into account the increased presence. of renewable energies. The Spanish government reached the summit with the support of a position paper, prepared a few weeks ago, which is also supported by France, Italy, Greece and Romania, countries that represent 45% of the European population.
Other states believe the debate has been resolved, citing the recent report from the EU's Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), requested by the Commission, which considered some of Spain's proposals to be counterproductive. The blockade of countries reluctant to change (Germany, Austria, Denmark and Finland) defends the current electricity market and blames the "global economic recovery" for the price crisis. They are confident that prices will fall as of spring, but this consensus is starting to collide with a longer and more powerful than expected inflationary situation.
Opening the debate on energy in Brussels has a price: you know where it begins, but you never know where it ends, because once Pandora's box is opened, different national sensitivities emerge. Poland, for example, which is calling for action against speculation in the CO2 emissions trading system and has gathered around it a growing group of countries, including Viktor Orbán's Hungary; or France, which calls for investments in nuclear energy to be recognized as green in the so-called taxonomy, a classification that the Commission is expected to approve next week and which will distinguish what is a green bond and what is not, with the aim of orienting finances towards the ecological transition undertaken by the EU. This is being opposed by several countries such as Germany and Austria.
In the end, the blockade that prevented the approval of the conclusions was not caused by the issues that Spain put on the table, but by the claims that arose in parallel. Poland and the Czech Republic, according to diplomatic sources, have blown the deal due to their determination to negotiate a profound reform of the CO2 rights market. And on taxonomy, France and Germany, in a joint appearance by President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the end of the summit, made it clear that they are looking for ways in which both gas and nuclear can somehow be housed inside. of the list. “This is a small thing in a much bigger thing,” Scholz downplayed.
In any case, joint purchases are viewed favorably in La Moncloa. The proposed regulation is extensive and will take months, if not years, to be adopted. "The details remain to be seen, but the music sounds good," government sources say.
Negotiations on energy prices began in Brussels at around 2pm, after a long debate on COVID, and had to be interrupted several times to move on to other major issues, such as sanctions against Russia, before return to the same topic. At 8 pm, diplomatic sources acknowledged that it would take a long time. The negotiations finally broke down around midnight. Soon after, Sánchez expressed his frustration to the press. "There have been states that have not accepted the minimum deal, which is good enough for us," he said. "And they have mixed issues that have nothing to do with rising prices," coming to question the entire climate commitment system in an "unacceptable way."
"Huge" sanctions against Russia
In a sense, many of the discussions at the summit led to the same result: Russia. From migration through Belarus to gas (Russia is the main supplier of the EU, with almost 40%) and, of course, Ukraine.
The EU has tried to protect its position vis-à-vis Moscow with a clear red line: the invasion of Ukraine would result in sanctions of unprecedented severity. The Council conclusions are a warning to Putin: "Any further military aggression against Ukraine will have enormous consequences." The ultimate goal, should war break out, would be to economically isolate Russia. Brussels still hopes Putin will agree to negotiate a de-escalation. But as EU High Representative Josep Borrell said, "we hope for the best, but we are preparing for the worst."
This tense situation is the protagonist of a European Council in which the EU wants to underline two ideas: on the one hand, it calls for de-escalation and the diplomatic path to defuse the geopolitical time bomb at the gates of the Union; on the other, it threatens a battery of sanctions and punitive measures that exhaust adjectives in diplomatic forums – 'vigorous', 'severe', 'serious', 'categorical' -. The European Commission has been preparing this package of options for months, but its contents are kept under wraps.
In line with the conclusions, the heads of state and government at the entrance to the European Council followed this script. "We must once again emphasize the inviolability of borders and that we will do everything together to ensure that this inviolability is maintained", stressed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who supported the decision of her foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, to expel several members of the Russian embassy in Germany.
The new German leader is making his debut at this summit, and his every gesture is carefully scrutinized, while Brussels has become a hotbed of uncertainty, anxious to know what the package will contain. Similar messages were sent by Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who said he was optimistic about the possibility of "reaching common conclusions by announcing a response in the event of military aggression against Ukraine". Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, on the other hand, has just touched upon the issue. He only mentioned that it was on the agenda of a day that he expects to be "very long".
The EU-27 agrees that the covid certificate will expire after nine months if a booster dose is not received.
EU leaders agreed that the covid certificate should expire after nine months if you don't receive a booster dose, as proposed by the European Commission three weeks ago. The measure, which will now have to be drafted by the EU executive through a delegated act – a technical decision that could arrive next week, according to government sources, although it would come into effect next year – aims to increase the inoculation of booster doses in the European population, as the number of cases of the new variant of the omicron virus increases.
This, translated into diplomatic language, means that the leaders have negotiated the inclusion of a sentence in the conclusions of the European Council referring to how the epidemiological situation is undergoing a "deterioration" related to the new variant, underlining "the importance of a coordinated approach on the validity of the EU Covid Digital vaccination certificate ", and" noting that the Commission will adopt a delegated act on this issue ", says the agreed text, adding:" The spread of vaccination to all and the distribution of booster doses are crucial and urgent ".
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, presented the current situation of the pandemic, where the picture is very different depending on the European latitude: from 82% of the vaccinated population in Denmark (and just over 15% with the third dose) to 26.2% immunized in Bulgaria (with rates close to zero in terms of booster doses), according to data from the EU executive. Spain is over 74% vaccinated and over 10% of citizens with the booster. But nine Member States have vaccinated with two doses below 60%, while the European average is 67.2%, according to data from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC).
With winter just around the corner, fears are growing in Europe that the new wave of infections may once again slow the economy and curb an engine that was beginning to gain momentum, with eurozone GDP recovering to its pre-existing level. pandemic. Fears are also growing that unilateral and uncoordinated moves within the EU will return, after several countries, such as Greece, Portugal and Italy, have introduced the requirement of a negative PCR for intra-EU travelers who have been vaccinated. or less.
The unilateral measures were part of a heated debate that raged throughout the morning, with several countries arguing the need for such measures to avoid having to confine people to their homes, according to diplomatic sources. However, Spain and other EU partners, such as Belgium, have criticized the risks of lack of coordination, according to Moncloa sources.
But the reality is that neither the Commission nor the Council are dissatisfied if some countries decide to break the unity and impose restrictive measures in extraordinary cases. The agreed conclusions leave enough room for states to freely decide what to do at their borders, but ask them to ensure that any restrictions are based on "objective criteria" and that "they do not undermine the functioning of the single market or disproportionately hinder free movement between member states".
(Extract from the press review of eprcomunicazione)
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/unione-europea-russia-ucraina-energia-covid/ on Sat, 18 Dec 2021 07:06:09 +0000.