EU Policy Intelligence and Advocacy (May 2022 issue)

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Chamber Advocacy

On 25th April, President Wuttke met with Michael Hager, head of Cabinet of Executive Vice President Dombrovskis.

On 29th April, the European Chamber organised a webinar on how the result of French Election 2022 will impact France-China and EU-China relations.

On 4th May, European Chamber President Joerg Wuttke presented the preliminary results of the Chamber’s flash survey on COVID-19 and Ukraine to representatives from EU embassies.

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Policy Intelligence

EU Policy

On 4th May, the European Parliament adopted a negotiating position for an instrument that would tackle distortive foreign subsidies, paving the way for a trilogue with the Council of the EU and the European Commission (European Parliament).

Members of the European Parliament also voted in favour of the draft International Procurement Instrument (IPI) on its first reading. WATCH OUT FOR: its upcoming vote and potential adoption in a European Parliament Plenary session in June.

On 22nd April, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a political agreement on the Digital Services Act, which, among other things, establishes rules for the accountability of online platforms regarding illegal and harmful content (Commission, Parliament and Council read-outs).

China

On 9th May, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a virtual meeting (German and Chinese press releases).

On 10th May, French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a virtual meeting (French and Chinese press releases).

On 18th April, it was announced that Ambassador Huo Yuzhen, the special representative for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC Cooperation), would be visiting the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Poland that week (Global Times, POLITICO).

On 13th, 15th and 20th April, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming visited France, Switzerland and Germany to discuss issues related to the Korean Peninsula (MFA China announcements for the France, Switzerland and Germany visits).

French Election

On 24th April, Emmanuel Macron was re-elected President of France with 58.5 per cent of the votes versus 41.5 per cent for his opponent, Marine Le Pen. You can find out more about Macron’s presidential programme in his official campaign website. WATCH OUT FOR: the French legislative elections on 12th and 19th June.

United States

On the 15th and 16th May, the second Ministerial Meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council took place (European Commission read-out of the von der Leyen-Biden joint statement).

On 21st and 22nd April, European External Action Service (EEAS) Secretary General Stefano Sannino and United States (US) Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met to discuss various aspects of EU-US cooperation (EEAS and State Department read-outs). In the context of these meetings, the third round of EU-US Dialogue on China and High-Level Consultations on the Indo-Pacific also took place. Deputy Secretary of State Sherman also met with Bjoern Seibert, head of Cabinet of European Commission President von der Leyen (Commission).

Russia

On 4th May, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a sixth sanctions package on Russia to the European Parliament (European Commission). This proposed sanctions packages includes the de-listing from SWIFT of Sberbank, restrictions on purchases of Russian oil and bans on Russian broadcasters, among others.

Others

WATCH OUT FOR: World Economic Forum Annual meeting in Davos from the 22nd to the 26th May.

WATCH OUT FOR: the 12th WTO Ministerial Meeting from 12th to 15th June.

On 12th May the EU-Japan Summit was held, with both sides launching a Digital Partnership and agreeing to strengthen cooperation and exchanges on security and defence, the Indo-Pacific, connectivity and China among others (joint statement).

On 25th April, the EU and India agreed to launch a Trade and Technology Council where they will work together in areas related to economic development, security and technology (find here the joint statement).

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