#EUFridays by JEF Hungary #4

New German government to push for a European Federation

Germany’s newly found government has presented its coalition agreement on Wednesday. The coalition plans on using the ongoing Conference on the Future of Europe as its starting point to reform the EU and to push for the development of a European federation. Soon to be inaugurated chancellor Olaf Scholz stated, that “a sovereign Europe is the key for our foreign policy”. The traffic light coalition plans on strengthening the European Parliament by giving it the right to initiate legislation, an ability currently only the European Commission possesses. Ultimately, the Conference on the Future of Europe paired with the ambitions of Germany should lead to a constitutional process that paves the way towards a European federal state.

Less leeway with rule of law breaches

The German coalition agreement lays out a much stricter approach on handling the breach of the rule of law incidents ongoing in Hungary and Poland. The future coalition government plans to call on the European Commission to enforce and use its existing rule of law requirements and instruments more reactively and rigorously. Nicola Beer, who was part of the coalition agreement negotiations stated, that “everybody who has joined the club has subscribed to adhere to the rules of the club, and this definitely includes the independence of the judiciary”. The approach of the coalition will also apply the EU pandemic recovery fund. Beer also emphasized, that the future German government will, on the other hand, also intensify relationships in other important areas, such as migration.

Portugal becomes the fourth EU country to stop using coal to generate electricity

Over the weekend, Portugal shut down its last operating coal plant, ending its use of the material for the generation of power. With that, Portugal has become only the fourth country within the European Union to do so. Belgium, Austria and Sweden have been so far the other European nations to have suspended the use of coal for electricity generation. The Pego plant had been Portugal´s second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide. Environmental group Zero declared that “freeing ourselves from the biggest source of greenhouse gases was a momentous day for Portugal”. This move by Portugal is nine years ahead of its targeted end for the use of fossil fuels by 2030, declared at the COP23 summit in 2017.

Belarus opposition leader addresses the EU

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Wednesday reminded the European Union to treat the migration crisis at the Polish border and other human rights violations committed by Alexander Lukashenko with equal importance. While in Strasbourg talking to MEPs, Tikhanovskaya said that “both migrants and Belarusians are hostage to the regime, and these two problems cannot be solved separately.” This was said only a couple of days after the EU implemented new sanctions against Belarus for luring migrants to the country, only to then send them to the border with the EU. In her speech, Tikhanovskaya pleaded to the EU that it must “speak clear and loud” on the issues with Belarus and that the focus on the migration crisis cannot distract from the ongoing crackdown on dissidents opposing Lukashenko.