#EUFridays by JEF Hungary #10

NATO vs. Russia

Tensions intensify after last week’s failed attempts to deescalate Russia-Ukraine hostility. An immense Russian military force has been gathering near the Russian-Ukrainian border, performing military exercises of never before seen volume. NATO and EU officials ponder the question: is war inevitable?

US secretary of state Tony Blinken will fly to Geneva on Friday, in hopes of coming to an agreement with Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. This attempt could signify one of the last hopes of peaceful de-escalation; a US government official addressed the coming talks, saying “perhaps diplomacy is not dead’.

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says preventing a military attack on Ukraine should be the highest priority. He adds that NATO is willing to listen, however refuses to compromise on core principles.

The new President of the EP

Roberta Metsola (EPP, Malta) has been elected as President of the European Parliament after former president David Sassoli’ s tragic passing last week. She will lead the Parliament until the 2024 European Elections. The youngest President ever elected, Metsola addressed the House immediately after her election, paying tribute to late President Sassoli’s legacy:

„I will honour David Sassoli as President by always standing up for Europe, for our common values of democracy, dignity, justice, solidarity, equality, the rule of law, and fundamental rights”.

Metsola won the election with a landslide, claiming almost two thirds of total votes cast. She also addressed current waves of anti-EU narratives, authoritarianism and protectionism among others. AS the third female President overall she gave voice to the power of women stating that “it will not be another two decades until the next woman is standing here”.

Von der Leyen criticised for misuse of Commission regulations

MEPs and NGOs demand Text messages between European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and the CEO of giant pharmaceutical company Pfizer to be made available to the public.

EU commissioner for transparency and values, Věra Jourová stated that text messages do not fall under EU transparency regulations on public access to documents. The sheer nature of text messages (being short lived and instant) makes them inadequate for discussion of important information relating to decisions and activities of the Commission, therefore unqualifying them as subjects of the commission’s record keeping policy.

The lack of transparency surrounding the discussion of a potential deal (of significant size) between the EU and Pfizer gave rise to outrage among civil organisations and MEPs. Von der Leyen has faced similar criticism in 2019, when text messages have been deleted from her official phone during her mandate as Germany’s minister of defence.