Is the European Political Community brain dead? – POLITICO

DRIVING THE DAY       

DON’T CRY FOR ME GRANADA: As European leaders walk along the Paseo de los Tristes (the Promenade of the Sad) in the magical city of Granada today, spare a thought for the European Political Community (EPC), which is in a deep coma.

On life support: Up until this week, EU leaders had hoped they could rekindle peace talks between Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan at today’s meeting in Spain. But the initiative failed and there is now no deliverable for today’s meeting, diplomats and officials tell Playbook. The EPC “is falling apart,” one senior EU official said.

Flatline and long beep: Part of the problem is that the EPC’s purpose was never made clear — was it meant just as a talking shop, a halfway house for aspiring EU members, or as a regional forum for European leaders to take decisions and de-escalate tensions? If any of these were the intended purpose of the EPC, it’s failing at all three.

It has clearly failed at de-escalating conflicts. One of the few initiatives launched at an EPC summit was to deploy an EU mission to Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. But the conflict spilled over when Baku launched a lightening military offensive to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians from the breakaway region.

**A message from Together for Sustainable Packaging: Millions of us want to use less plastic. The EU’s plans to reduce packaging waste could make it even harder. Independent studies show recyclable fibre-based packaging could create 16 times less plastic waste than reusable packaging. Find out more at forsustainablepackaging.eu.**

Even as a talking shop, it is failing: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is skipping the EPC meeting for the second time in a row, blaming a cold, as Laura Hülsemann writes. Azerbaijan’s Aliyev is also a no-show. (Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen will also miss today’s meeting as she has to deliver a speech to parliament at home.)

Let’s not talk about that now: While the presidents of Kosovo and Serbia will both attend, EU and Kosovo officials said the EPC is not the right forum for a dialogue, as discussions should be held between Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who won’t attend the EPC. (Kosovo is instead sending its President Vjosa Osmani, who holds a largely ceremonial function.)

Less is more? Proponents of the EPC argue there’s a big need for more coordination on security on the Continent. But the question is whether more formats, institutions and ceremonial summits really lead to more coordination. Or as EPP chief Manfred Weber tells Playbook: “We have to build on our structures that we have, and those are the structures of the European Union.” More from Weber in an exclusive interview below.

NOW READ THIS: French President Emmanuel Macron will use the EPC to rally countries behind a historic expansion that would integrate war-struck Ukraine and several other candidate countries into the EU. But, as my colleagues Clea Caulcutt and Nicholas Vinocur write, there is a growing backlash against the prospect of Ukraine’s EU accession.

WEBER ON TUNISIA, MIGRATION AND MICHEL       

DO AS I SAIED, NOT AS I DO: Tunisian President Kais Saied this week sowed doubts about his deal with the EU to block migrants traveling to Europe in exchange for cash, when he publicly rejected EU funding.

But Tunisia is happily taking money: On Wednesday, the European Commission confirmed that it has already sent cash to Tunisia’s coffers, despite Saied’s remarks. A Commission spokesperson said the EU transferred €60 million in budget support, following an official request from Tunisia on August 31, my colleague Gregorio Sorgi writes in to report.

Background: On Monday, Saied said the money so far pledged by the EU “conflicts with the memorandum of understanding signed in July.” The deal has been subject to criticism over Tunisia’s questionable human rights record.

MANFRED WEBER DEFENDS TUNISIA DEAL: EPP leader Manfred Weber told Playbook the EU should stick to the deal with Tunisia instead of undermining it, which he accused left-wing parties and Council President Charles Michel of doing.

Finger pointed: “All those, especially on the left, who are now criticizing the agreement must also finally answer the question of what the alternative is,” Weber said in a phone interview, referring to Parliament’s plenary debate on the agreement, where Green and Socialist MEPs strongly criticized the deal with Tunisia’s hardline leader.

Swipe at Michel: “If doubts are now being sown both on the European side with Charles Michel’s statements and on the Tunisian side, then it is of course extremely dangerous,” Weber said.

And in a tongue-in-cheek remark, Weber pointed out that Michel was not exactly best placed to give advice. “The European Council has regularly been the place where migration policy has failed,” he said, adding: “There was certainly a lot of goodwill on the part of [former Council chief] Donald Tusk and Charles Michel to achieve this, but due to unanimity, the European Council has actually been the blocking institution in recent years, where nothing has progressed.”

Only since work was being done at the ministerial level, the European “Parliament, Council of Ministers and the Commission are moving forward and we can deliver,” Weber said, pointing to Wednesday’s agreement on the crisis regulation to toughen asylum rules (more on that below).

Background: In an interview with Germany’s Spiegel, Michel effectively accused Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of disrespecting the EU treaties because she negotiated the deal with Tunisia without fully involving EU countries.

Not letting this go: In a sign of how petty the spat between von der Leyen and Michel has become, a Commission spokesperson on Wednesday took the unusual step of publicly refuting the Council chief’s remarks, arguing they were “partially inaccurate.”

Not helpful: Weber said of Michel’s criticism: “In view of the images from Lampedusa that the people of Europe are currently seeing on television, I believe that many citizens have no understanding for the fact that we are now starting an institutional dispute on the issue of partnership with Tunisia.”

Get your act together: Michel and von der Leyen should “sit down together and sort this out internally,” Weber said of the two leaders’ public bickering.

He says, he says: A spokesperson for Michel told Playbook that the Council president “has always fully supported the engagement of the EU with third countries to manage migratory flows in a holistic manner,” and that he has “systematically put migration on the agenda of EUCO, including in Granada.” They added: “A number of member states have stressed the importance to follow the rules that exist for the conclusion of such agreements.”

What about Saied’s criticism? Weber told Playbook, “With Tunisia, we know that we are dealing with a challenging partner. We are all aware of that. And that’s why it’s important that we stick to the memorandum of understanding, that we work through it step by step and implement it accordingly. I would urge us not to weigh every word with gold, but to work consistently on what has been agreed and give the agreement a chance.”

Will the migration deal now get Parliament’s approval? Weber argued that center-left parties in Parliament would need to compromise in order not to jeopardize the fragile deal reached by EU countries. “My biggest concern is that the Greens and also the Social Democrats in the European Parliament now have too extreme, more far-reaching demands and that the Council position will fail as a result.”

MORE ON MIGRATION       

MIGRATION RULES REFORM MOVES FORWARD: EU countries on Wednesday struck a deal on the last piece of a flagship migration package, as previewed by Wednesday’s Playbook.

German NGO ships: A compromise removed a reference, favored by Germany, to rescue missions conducted by NGOs in the Mediterranean, in a concession to win Italy’s crucial backing for the deal, my colleagues Jacopo Barigazzi and Gregorio Sorgi report. Italy’s support was essential to unblock the deal on the so-called crisis regulation, which details measures to lift pressure on EU border countries facing spikes in people seeking asylum.

End of a 10-year deadlock: EU countries approved the deal Wednesday morning, with Poland and Hungary voting against, while Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia abstained. The move paves the way for the EU to reach a deal on reform of its asylum rules after nearly 10 years of failed attempts. Full story here.

AROUND PARLIAMENT       

LAWSUIT AGAINST PARLIAMENT’S LACK OF TRANSPARENCY: The EU General Court in Luxembourg will today discuss a lawsuit against the European Parliament. NGO FragDenStaat (Ask the State) has sued the Parliament for not meeting its obligations deriving from the EU freedom of information law, Nektaria Stamouli writes in to report.

Neo-Nazi MEP case: The NGO has been trying for months to obtain documents from the Parliament regarding jailed neo-Nazi Greek MEP Ioannis Lagos’ use of parliamentary funds. It says that despite the fact the Parliament confirmed it holds 73 documents related to Lagos’ expenses, it has refused to disclose any of them, alleging it would violate his privacy.

SHRIMPGATE HITS PARLIAMENT: The Parliament’s canteen in Strasbourg is at the center of a food scandal this week, after a Lithuanian parliamentary assistant had a near-death experience caused by a rogue shrimp. “I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a situation where you thought you had 30 minutes at most [to] take action or you will die,” Martynas Norbutas wrote in a mass internal email Tuesday, seen by my colleague Eddy Wax.

Crustacean crisis: “When I started eating, I immediately realized that something was wrong. And finally I found a shrimp in the soup. I am extremely allergic to them. I had to run to look for a medical point and ask for anti-allergy medicine.”

Don’t shrimp on the signage: “Allergens are not listed anywhere,” the parliamentary aide complained. Still, Norbutas lived to tell the tale, telling Playbook by email: “I am absolutely OK. The medicine I took helped very quickly.” He said he plans to make an official complaint to Parliament President Roberta Metsola next week “to ensure the safety of EP staff.” Perhaps it’s time for a 14-point plan for shrimp.

**This year, POLITICO Live Sustainable Future Week is structured around 5 thematic streams. From Climate to Energy, through Mobility, Circular Economy and Green Tech, we are bringing together the most relevant actors to debate the hottest topics live on stage! Discover each stream’s headliners here and apply for your onsite pass today!**

EU BUDGET       

WATCHDOG SOUNDS ALARM BELLS: EU funds are increasingly being misspent, according to the European Court of Auditors’ annual report, out today. Misspent EU taxpayer cash rose to 4.2 percent of the budget in 2022 from 3 percent a year earlier. 

Missing lemon trees: Examples of misspent taxpayer money ranged from poor compliance with procurement and subsidy rules, to 14 cases of suspected fraud. In one case, a farmer in Italy claimed agricultural subsidies for a plot on which he claimed to grow lemon trees, but an audit found none there.

Recovery at risk, too: As for the recovery fund, which is a pay-for-results scheme where countries receive money upon fulfillment of investment and reform objectives? Auditors found 15 out of 281 objectives for which recovery grants were paid out were not satisfactorily fulfilled, weren’t eligible for funding or the measure had later been reversed — a finding which the Commission rejected. “We maintain that all payments in 2022 were made correctly,” a Commission spokesperson said.

Make haste slowly: “The administrations within the member states will be under much more pressure to spend the money quickly … The issue this time is that there’s so much more money around to be spent within a short period of time,” ECA President Tony Murphy told my colleague Paola Tamma, adding: “That increases the risk of either errors, or suboptimal projects or at the worst end of it, it means fraud as well.”

**Following defence and security developments? Delve into what’s next for the industry and secure your participation at the 3rd European Defence & Security Conference in Brussels on 10 October. More here.**

IN OTHER NEWS       

NO TAURUS FOR UKRAINE: Despite growing pressure from allies and from within his own Cabinet, Chancellor Olaf Scholz won’t allow the delivery to Kyiv of Germany’s long-distance and high-precision Taurus cruise missiles “for now,” a German official told POLITICO’s Hans von der Burchard, confirming a report by Bild. 

What’s Scholz’s problem? The chancellor’s main concern is reportedly that for Ukraine to use the Taurus missiles, Berlin would have to deliver geo-data of Russian targets and thereby take a more active role in the war. Scholz is also worried that Ukraine might use the missiles to hit the Kerch bridge connecting occupied Crimea with Russia, Bild writes. However, Germany may deliver more Patriot batteries to strengthen Kyiv’s air defenses, the report said.

Further listening: In this week’s Power Play podcast by POLITICO, Michael Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. trade representative, talks to Anne McElvoy about Ukraine. “I fear that this could be an extended conflict,” he says, adding: “But it may well end in something closer to a ceasefire or a truce than a real overall peace agreement.” Listen here.

Further reading: After the ousting of U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, there is concern in Kyiv that Ukraine has become a tool of America’s domestic politics, writes my colleague Veronika Melkozerova.

GERMAN FAR-RIGHT LEADER HOSPITALIZED: Tino Chrupalla, the co-leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), was hospitalized on Wednesday evening after collapsing at a campaign rally in Ingolstadt, Bavaria.

What happened? The AfD was quick to denounce a “violent incident” and “physical assault” against their co-chief, but there was no immediate proof for that claim. Instead, the police said in a statement that Chrupalla “had to receive medical treatment backstage” and was “subsequently taken to a hospital” without any “obvious injury.”

Speaking of the AfD: In this week’s POLITICO print issue, Karl Mathiesen explains how the far right in Germany managed to turn the topic of heat pumps into electoral rocket fuel. Read more here.

POLAND LATEST: The language ahead of this month’s election is apocalyptic, with campaigners painting it as an existential battle for Poland’s soul. But the likeliest outcome is a chaotic stalemate. The country is so divided and dysfunctional after eight years of populist rule that it will be difficult to change much — no matter who wins, writes Jan Cienski.

MEANWHILE, IN BRITAIN: Nigel Farage appears to be making a comeback. Yes, really.

NOW READ THIS: “The world is changing — and not in Europe’s favor,” argues Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, in an opinion article for POLITICO.

AGENDA       

— Meeting of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain; Arrivals at 11:30 a.m. … opening plenary session at 12:30 p.m. … press conference at 3 p.m. … visit to the Nazareth Palaces of the Alhambra at 6:30 p.m. Watch.

— Parliament’s plenary session continues in Strasbourg. Highlights: Debate on financial services contracts concluded at a distance at 9 a.m. … urban wastewater treatment at 10 a.m. … voting at noon … poor sanitary conditions, low levels of security and lack of parking places in rest areas for truck drivers at 3 p.m. Agenda. Watch.

— Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis in Slovakia for the presentation of the trans-shipment station at Čierna nad Tisou. Press conference at 5:45 p.m. with Dombrovskis and Slovakia’s Transport Minister Pavol Lančarič. Watch.

— Commission Vice President Věra Jourová speaks via videoconference at the 5th International Open Search Symposium.

— Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas receives CEO of the European Jewish Association Georgios Papadakis.

— Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit is in Madrid, Spain; Attends the ETUC annual European Works Council Conference “One step ahead of a better Directive.”

— Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski is in Greece; Visits regions and communities affected by recent wildfires and floods.

— Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton in Paris; Meets with Prime Minister of France Elisabeth Borne.

— Neighborhood and Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi is in Tirana, Albania; Attends the Berlin Process foreign affairs ministerial meeting.

— Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson holds EU-Algeria High-Level Energy Dialogue in Brussels.

— EU Green Capital & EU Green Leaf Awards ceremony in Tallinn, Estonia at 5 p.m. Watch.

BRUSSELS CORNER       

NATIONAL PROTESTS: Expect disrupted travel across Belgium today as trade unions and human rights organizations take industrial action over the so-called Van Quickenborne bill, which they say could infringe on the right to protest. Get real-time updates on travel disruption on the X accounts of STIB, De Lijn and on the TEC website. Public administration offices in Brussels could also be disrupted. More details from Brussels Times.

EUROPALIA GEORGIA: Georgian culture is coming to Belgium — and will stay until January 14. The Europalia arts festival will feature exhibitions, performances, films, dance, concerts and literature. See the full program here.

HIDDEN GEM: Did you know there’s a roof terrace overlooking Mont des Arts on top of the Royal Library in Brussels? The institution wants to make it more accessible by building a glass outdoor elevator that would open directly onto the terrace, without visitors having to go through the library.

FUN WAY TO LEARN DUTCH: “O Dierbaar België,” a theater show that aims to teach people Dutch through music, premiered this week in Antwerp. The show, which encourages the audience to sing along with the lyrics, will be performed throughout Flanders as well as in Brussels and Leuven until next September. Full list of shows here.

ETTERBEEK TO ADD CONTEXT TO COLONIAL MONUMENTS: Etterbeek municipality wants to provide explanations and context for street names, statues and other monuments from the colonial era instead of removing them. “It’s about finding experts who are neutral, diverse and objective. They are the ones who will tell us what we should write next to these names or monuments that raise questions,” said Mayor Vincent De Wolf.

SPORTS FACILITY UPDATE: Plans for a new sports park at Heysel, with rugby, football and hockey fields as well as an athletics track, are slowly moving ahead. Construction will begin in 2024, the chief of the Brussels-Capital Region Rudi Vervoort announced.

BIRTHDAYS: MEP Leïla Chaibi; Former Spanish Foreign Minister and ex-EU Ambassador Alfonso Dastis; Follow the Money’s Simon Van Dorpe; Milos Labovic from the Amsterdam Transport Authority; Journalist Thomas Hanke; Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon.

THANKS to Gregorio Sorgi, Eddy Wax, Nektaria Stamouli, Barbara Moens, Jacopo Barigazzi, Hans von der Burchard, reporter Ketrin Jochecová, editors Jack Lahart and Zoya Sheftalovich and producer Seb Starcevic.

**A message from Together for Sustainable Packaging: Reducing the EU’s overall packaging waste footprint through reusable packaging requires return rates of 70% for takeaway and 95% for dine-in. Imagine trying to achieve this at a music festival, concert, on a train or ferry. What’s more, consumers would be expected to treat packaging in ways that don’t jeopardise its robustness or compromise food safety. Lower return rates could mean restaurants and suppliers will need greater stocks of reusable packaging, with a bigger environmental impact due to manufacturing and transport emissions. Proposed PPWR 100% reuse targets could increase the EU’s plastic waste by up to 1500% – that’s much more thick plastic instead of recyclable fibre. Together for Sustainable Packaging believes we need an open conversation about a mix of solutions, which independent studies by expert consulting companies Kearney and Ramboll show is best for the environment and the economy. Beware the unintended consequences of well-meaning legislation. forsustainablepackaging.eu.**

SUBSCRIBE to the POLITICO newsletter family: Brussels Playbook | London Playbook | London Playbook PM | Playbook Paris | POLITICO Confidential | Sunday Crunch | EU Influence | London Influence | Digital Bridge | China Watcher | Berlin Bulletin | D.C. Playbook | D.C. Influence | All our POLITICO Pro policy morning newsletters