Banking cop candidate faces Parliament – POLITICO

EU TOP JOBS       

BUCH’S BIG MOMENT WILL BOOST CALVIÑO’S CHANCES FOR EIB: Germany’s candidate for the EU’s next banking cop, Claudia Buch, faces a public hearing in the European Parliament today. Her task: Convince MEPs she’s the right fit for the European Central Bank’s next banking supervisor. Things kick off at 10 a.m.

Not happy: The ECB’s decision to nominate Buch for the role flies in the face of parliamentarians’ stated preference for Buch’s opponent, Margarita Delgado, deputy governor of the Bank of Spain, my colleague Hannah Brenton reports.

So what? EU lawmakers were considering blocking Buch, vice president of the Bundesbank, from becoming the next chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board. But as Hannah reports, Parliament officials now say the big political groups are leaning toward supporting the ECB’s pick after all.

HORSE TRADING: Buch’s job has been pulled into a bigger political fight in Brussels. Senior EU diplomats and several officials told Playbook that today’s decision on the banking cop job is linked to the upcoming decision on the next president of the European Investment Bank, where Spain’s Nadia Calviño is the frontrunner.

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Too much of a good thing: A diplomat and the officials argued it would be a bit much if both jobs — the bank cop and the EIB chief — went to Spaniards.

Berlin leaning toward Calviño: So, if Germany’s Buch gets the green light from MEPs for the banking supervisor role today, the likelihood of Calviño getting the EIB job would increase, as she can then count on the support of Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to the same officials and diplomat. Scholz has signaled his preference for Calviño, who hails from the same political family as he does — the Socialists & Democrats.

Quid pro quo: France has also signaled a preference for Calviño, but French officials argued the next leader of the EIB would need to allow the bank to fund weapons production for Ukraine, as well as nuclear energy. Officials in Berlin have also argued in favor of the bank supporting the EU’s effort to help Ukraine defend itself.

Looking good for both: With the major political groups — the European People’s Party, the Socialists & Democrats and Renew Europe — all leaning toward supporting Buch’s candidacy, things are looking good for Calviño, too.

VESTAGER ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN PARIS: But keep one eye on Paris today, where Denmark’s star Commissioner Margrethe Vestager — Calviño’s rival for the EIB job — will address an audience of startup founders and investors. 

I was just passing by: Vestager popped up at the last minute on the program of FDDAY, an event organized by an association of startups and investors.

Logistics: The “candidate for the presidency of the European Investment Bank” — that’s how Vestager is being presented in the line-up — will be the closing act on stage at 6.20 p.m., interviewed by France Digitale’s Director Maya Noël. 

Why it matters: Europe is extremely good in research, but its well-known deficit is in helping tech innovators make the leap from the lab to the market. Last week, Vestager told POLITICO that as EIB chief she would “figure out how to take more risk” to ensure that European startups get the funding they need to grow. 

Not a lot of love: European startups sometimes grumble that they don’t get a lot of love from Brussels, where Vestager and the Commission have spent a lot of attention on taming U.S. Big Tech and supporting the bloc’s own industrial giants. A speech focused on startups, and giving them more access to funding, would be very much welcomed in Paris.

SPEAKING OF PARIS: My colleagues Clea Caulcutt and Anthony Lattier write today about the ambitions of France’s Commissioner Thierry Breton, who has his eye on the top job: president of the Commission. French President Emmanuel Macron is weighing up who to back as his top candidate in next year’s EU election. If Breton got the nod, he could be well placed to take over from current Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen. Read their story here.

AROUND PARLIAMENT       

PARLIAMENT LAWYERS UP: The European Parliament has hired a pair of legal experts from Belgian law firm Liedekerke to represent it in the criminal investigation into the Qatargate corruption scandal, my colleagues Eddy Wax, Elisa Braun and Camille Gijs write in to report. Playbook reported this month that the institution had joined the case as a civil party in late July but its publicly funded lawyers — chosen by a tender procedure — were not set to be made public until June 2024, due to Parliament’s rules. 

Who’s who: Magda Vandebotermet, a partner at Liedekerke who specializes in white collar crime, and Margot Vandebeek, a criminal lawyer and senior associate at the firm, are acting on behalf of the Parliament, two other defense lawyers told POLITICO, having spotted them at Tuesday’s big Qatargate knees-up at the Justice Palace (full run-through of that here). Neither replied immediately to requests to confirm, and Liedekerke referred POLITICO to the Parliament. 

On the record: A Parliament spokesperson who confirmed the hiring of Liedekerke, said: “The purpose for the Parliament is to make sure we can participate in bringing truth to light.” The spokesperson noted that this is “common procedure” for the Parliament in similar cases.

METSOLA ACCUSED OF DOUBLE STANDARDS ON LGBTQ+ RIGHTS: In Brussels, young and charismatic EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola has made a name for herself defending the rights of LGBTQ+ minorities. But at home in Malta, where conservative forces are strong — not least within her own Nationalist Party — she’s taking a backseat and letting others fight the progressive cause.

Missing in action: The CEO of Malta’s Labour Party criticized Metsola’s absence from Malta’s EuroPride event, describing the move as a “calculated” decision to appeal to conservatives. Randolph De Battista added: “As much as I hate partisanship, being double-faced is worse. You cannot show one face in Brussels and another face in Malta. The people are not stupid,” according to the Times of Malta.

Metsola’s response: A spokesperson for Metsola said she had not been invited to speak at EuroPride but will attend a pride exhibition on Thursday. “The President of the European Parliament is a proud ally to the LGBTIQ+ community, has always been so and will continue to be so,” they added.

RUSSIA’S WAR       

UKRAINE HITS BACK AT NYT REPORT: Ukraine on Tuesday pushed back against a New York Times investigation, which said evidence suggested that Kyiv accidentally bombed a local market in its own town of Kostiantynivka, killing 15 people.

‘Conspiracy theories’: According to the newspaper, evidence indicated the September 6 attack was actually a tragic accident, caused by a Ukrainian BUK missile system firing toward Russian forces. A spokesperson from the Security Service of Ukraine, however, blamed Russia, telling POLITICO that “The enemy hit this civilian object.” Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, agreed, and likened the NYT’s report to “conspiracy theories.” Veronika Melkozerova has the story.

Not impressed: But Kyiv’s reaction has sparked some criticism. Paul Ronzheimer, the deputy editor-in-chief of BILD and a senior journalist reporting for Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company, called the response “unacceptable,” adding: “Freedom of the press must also apply where it is unpleasant for Ukraine.”

ZELENSKYY IN AMERICA: After pitching his 10-point peace plan at UNGA on Tuesday, Zelenskyy today heads to Washington, D.C., to meet U.S. President Joe Biden and other political leaders. Last time he visited the city he received a hero’s welcome, Gabriel Gavin writes in POLITICO’s Nightly newsletter. Now, amid frustration that Ukraine’s counteroffensive has achieved fewer results than expected, support among Republicans is waning — and that could impact U.S. funding and weapons provisions that Kyiv desperately needs.

YOU CAN’T NEGOTIATE WITH PUTIN: Trying to persuade Ukraine to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be an error, argues Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oligarch and political prisoner, in an opinion article for POLITICO. “No ceasefire agreed under the current circumstances would bring peace in the long-term,” he writes. “Instead, it would provide Putin’s regime with an opportunity to strengthen its ability to wage war, which sooner or later it will do.”

CATALAN UPDATE       

EU GOVERNMENTS SNUB SANCHEZ’S LANGUAGE PROPOSAL: As previewed in Tuesday’s Playbook, EU governments decided not to vote on making Catalan, Galician and Basque official EU languages. Instead, they kicked the can down the road, asking for more details from Madrid, and for an assessment by the Council’s legal service, EU affairs ministers said after their meeting in Brussels.

New attempt with focus on Catalan: In an attempt to get support at least for making Catalan an official language — a promise Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made to the pro-independence Junts party in exchange for their support for another term in office — Spain has decided to drop its aspirations for the Basque and Galician languages for now. “We have taken an essential step on this path,” Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said. “Spain’s will is to advance as fast as possible.”

**The Warsaw Security Forum, which will be held on October 3–4, is approaching. The countdown has begun. To examine the most crucial Transatlantic security issues, the conference will bring together over 1500 high-level decision-makers, foreign policy and security experts, young professionals, civic society and business representatives from more than 60 countries.**

IN OTHER NEWS       

POLAND’S VISAS-FOR-BRIBES SCANDAL: Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party may soon face the heat in Brussels over its visas-for-bribes corruption scandal. The Renew Europe group on Tuesday filed a request for a plenary debate on the issue in Parliament. “The unauthorised sale of Schengen visas jeopardises the safety of all European citizens. Action must be taken and the truth uncovered,” the group said.

Recap: According to investigations by Polish media, Polish officials worldwide have been handing out visas with access to the EU’s Schengen area in exchange for bribes. The scandal is particularly bitter for the ruling PiS party, which has advertised itself as tough on migration and law-and-order issues.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH EXPLAINED: On Tuesday, Azerbaijan announced its armed forces had launched “local anti-terrorist activities” in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside Azerbaijan’s borders but is controlled as a breakaway state by its ethnic Armenian population. With fighting raging and allegations of an impending “genocide” reaching fever pitch, Gabriel Gavin brings you all you need to know about the decades-old conflict that threatens to draw in some of the world’s leading military powers.

What’s Moscow doing? Leaning back, reports Eva Hartog. The relationship between Armenia and Russia has deteriorated as the former questioned Moscow’s lack of attention to the region.

GERMANY’S IMMIGRATION PANIC: The Greens and Liberals are calling for action on immigration in Germany as the far-right AfD pulls ahead in polls in four eastern states. Hans von der Burchard has the details.

BERLIN DRAWS UP FRESH HUAWEI BANS: Berlin has been drafting a strategy to address the “considerable structural dependencies on Huawei and ZTE” in Germany’s telecom networks. According to a strategy paper seen by POLITICO, key new requirements would see Chinese kits blocked from the core part of the networks by the end of 2025 and a full ban in sensitive geographical areas. Read the full story here.

ON THE GUEST LIST, SECOND TIER: China is invited to the U.K.’s big AI summit — but not the whole thing. The British government will only invite China to participate in portions of the AI summit planned for later this year amid opposition from the U.S. and other democratic nations, U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told POLITICO’s daily Tech podcast. Read more from Steven Overly here.

EESC MOVES ON ENLARGEMENT: The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) will bring on board new representatives from Ukraine and other EU candidate countries amid growing chatter in Brussels over enlargement. From 2024, the Brussels institution that brings together trade unions, employers and civil society — but has no formal powers — will select new civil society representatives from countries waiting to join the EU in its plenary meetings, but it will stop short of giving them full voting rights. 

AGENDA       

— European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in New York for UNGA; Delivers a speech at the Climate Ambition Summit at 4 p.m. Watch … Delivers a speech at the 2023 Atlantic Council Awards.

— European Council President Charles Michel is also in New York; Attends Climate Ambition Summit … Attends high-level meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response … Also attends the U.N. Security Council opening debate.

— High Representative Josep Borrell is also in New York; Co-chairs the 13th Ministerial meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum … In the afternoon, participates in the ministerial meeting of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee on Palestine … Speaks at a public event at New York University on Europe’s role in the world.

— Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius is also in New York; Delivers a speech at the “Building Political Momentum to Fast-Track Ratification of the High Seas Treaty” event … Signs the BBNJ Treaty with Ursula von der Leyen and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at 5:50 p.m.

— Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica is also in New York; Meets with U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba … Delivers a keynote speech at the UNGA side event “Working towards Sustainable Peace and Development: Putting Children at the Centre.”

— Press briefing on road safety with Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean, U.N. Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt, Co-CEO of JCDecaux Jean-Charles Decaux and U.N. Development Program Goodwill Ambassador Michelle Yeoh at 2 p.m. Watch.

— European Parliament President Roberta Metsola attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Independence Monument in Floriana, Malta, ahead of Malta Independence Day on Thursday, at 7:30 p.m.

— DIGITALEUROPE’s Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl is in Kyiv to meet with Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation Mykhailo Fedorov and to sign a memorandum of understanding on European tech support for Ukraine.

— EU member countries’ permanent representatives meet in Coreper II from 10 a.m. … Deputy representatives meet in Coreper I also from 10 a.m.

— European Economic and Social Committee plenary session; Debates the mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework with Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn and MEP and Budget Committee Vice Chair Margarida Marques at 3 p.m. … Also discusses the “Fur Free Europe” initiative with its representative Elise Fleury and with MEP and Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Public Health Tilly Metz at 5 p.m. Watch.

— Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit receives Bulgarian Minister for Labor and Social Policy Ivanka Shalapatova.

— Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides delivers a keynote speech at The Economist Ninth Annual World Cancer Series Europe.

**Reach beyond the headlines with Power Play, POLITICO’s brand-new global podcast bringing you compelling discussions with international power players, hosted by award-winning broadcaster Anne McElvoy. Episodes of the must-listen podcast will drop tomorrow – click here to be notified.** 

BRUSSELS CORNER       

BRUSSELS ON A MISSION: Brussels is expanding to Spain — or at least trying to. A delegation of politicians, business leaders and tourism representatives, led by Brussels Minister-President Rudi Vervoort and Foreign Trade Secretary Ans Persoons, are in Madrid and Barcelona this week to promote the Belgian capital and meet with political leaders.

Home sweet home: The delegation will today inaugurate a Brussels House in Barcelona, intended to help small Brussels-based firms make their mark on the international stage. The first house opened in Milan in February.

AIR BELGIUM SCRAPS PASSENGER FLIGHTS: Air Belgium will cease operating passenger flights from October 3, citing “chronic unprofitability.” The airline said it would now restructure to focus on cargo operations. RTBF has more details, and Air Belgium is preparing more information for affected passengers.

BELGIAN POLITICS PHOTO EXHIBITION: You only have a few days left to enjoy a photo exhibition featuring moments from Belgian politics, taken by the former Le Soir photographer Alain Dewez, at the Ambiorix Community Center. The exhibition closes on Friday.

BIG TECH’S NEW TOP DOG: Ever since Christian Borggreen left as head of the Brussels office of CCIA — the tech lobby with members such as Google, Amazon, Apple and Meta — Brussels has been abuzz about who would replace him. The answer: It’s Daniel Friedlaender, my Morning Tech colleagues report. A Brussels veteran, Friedlaender was previously European affairs director at media group Sky and chair of the European Video on Demand coalition.

Opening salvo: “In recent years, we have seen a plethora of new EU digital and tech rules being introduced. Europeans now need to see tangible benefits. Coming from heavily regulated sectors, I know rules should not function as an extra layer or red tape or as protection measures,” Friedlaender said in a statement.

NEW EU FACE IN UKRAINE: Best of luck to the EU’s new Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová, who has arrived in Kyiv, replacing Matti Maasikas, who served there since 2019. A Slovak national, Mathernová was most recently deputy director general at DG NEAR. She previously held senior roles in DG Regional Policy and at the World Bank.

ADIEU: Today is the last Coreper meeting for Coreper I dean, Croatian Ambassador Goran Štefanić. He bids farewell to Brussels after a dedicated 10-year tenure as Croatia’s deputy permanent representative to the EU. He will return to Zagreb, where he will resume his duties within the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

BIRTHDAYS: MEPs Chiara Gemma, Mazaly Aguilar, Tomislav Sokol and Siegfried Mureșan; U.N.’s Katarzyna Rokosz Bitka; POLITICO’s Marion De Mattei.

THANKS to Hannah Brenton, Eddy Wax, Elisa Braun, Camille Gijs, Pieter Haeck, Laurens Cerulus, Suzanne Lynch, Gregorio Sorgi, reporter Ketrin Jochecová, editors Jack Lahart and Zoya Sheftalovich, and producer Dato Parulava.

**A message from McDonald’s: In Europe, water scarcity is a growing concern. Over 4000 McDonald’s restaurants are already in areas facing water stress. We all want to protect the environment – but what if our best intentions actually cause harm? PPWR could mean extra washing that could increase water use by up to 267 percent – and lead to a rise in CO2 emissions. Customers would be required to store packaging, and may need to rinse items before returning them to the restaurant, collection point or vending machine. We believe that the sustainable way forward is to make reusable and recyclable paper-based packaging equivalent for dining in. For takeaway, we back sustainable, recyclable paper-based packaging as the sustainable choice, and call for further enhancements of infrastructures to make sure this packaging can be recycled more effectively. Reusables are no silver bullet for the environment. Find out more at nosilverbullet.eu**

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