Seconds after the final whistle Unai Emery marched down the touchline with the demeanour of an office worker clocking off for the day, high‑fived a handful of young, ecstatic Aston Villa supporters and then disappeared down the tunnel. His work at Villa, who extended their unbeaten run to 10 games with victory against Fulham, is akin to something of a magic act.
Since Emery’s first Villa game in November no Premier League team have picked up more wins and only Arsenal, the Premier League leaders, have registered more points. A spectacular finish to a wonderfully lopsided season is in store.
Emi Martínez threw his gloves into the crowd as the Holte End crooned to the beat of Jeff Beck.
Quite where Villa’s journey goes from here with five games to play remains to be seen but their unexpected and extraordinary gallop towards achieving a top‑six finish continues to gather pace. For the first time since 1998 Villa, who now occupy fifth, have won five successive league games at home. Fulham’s season, meanwhile, appears to be petering out after so much early promise. Next up? The visit of the champions Manchester City. And then a trip to Anfield.
The last time these teams met, in October, Villa succumbed to a 3-0 defeat in what proved to be Steven Gerrard’s final game in charge. Tyrone Mings, who grabbed the winner here with a clever backward header from a corner, scored an own goal that night. Villa were woeful and supporters made their anger plain after a loss that left them outside the relegation zone only on goals scored.
Six months on the mood around the club could scarcely be more different. Emery has given Villa’s players a shot in the arm and while his methods have hardly been radical he has the fanbase dreaming of European nights for the first time in 13 years. “We have to be ambitious, realistic and play under pressure,” Emery said afterwards. “I like playing under pressure. If we are playing under pressure, we have something to do. We are candidates. Our commencing matches will be key to get the European positions. Our dreams, they are here.”
Fulham gave Villa an early fright in this contest when Andreas Pereira’s acrobatic effort from Harrison Reed’s cross rattled the side netting inside 21 seconds but the hosts slowly asserted their authority. Ashley Young saw an effort from the edge of the box diverted wide by Reed and Ollie Watkins then led Tosin Adarabioyo into conceding another corner. Fulham dealt with the first set piece but not the second. Mings beat his marker, Tim Ream, to the punch and the Villa centre-back’s back header from John McGinn’s inswinging corner looped in at the far post.
Eight of Villa’s starting lineup here also began that miserable autumn night at Craven Cottage, though this team are almost unrecognisable. Fulham, by contrast, had six survivors from that October contest though Willian, who started the reverse fixture, was injured in the warmup at Villa Park and replaced by Manor Solomon. Harry Wilson, who scored in Fulham’s recent wins against Everton and Leeds, was forced off after 17 minutes and replaced by Bobby Decordova-Reid. Perhaps those changes disrupted Fulham, who struggled to test the returning Martínez.
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Marco Silva (left) ponders his side’s defeat at Aston Villa. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Marco Silva, hands clasped behind his back and alone with his thoughts, pondered how his toothless Fulham side could find a way back into the game. They offered little in attack without Aleksandar Mitrovic, who still has three games of an eight-match suspension to serve. Silva had seen enough midway through the second half and made a triple substitution, with Carlos Vinícius replacing Pereira, who operated up front alongside Daniel James. The injuries to Willian and Wilson did not help but Silva was reluctant to make excuses. “If you compare with the first game against Villa, when we played at the Cottage [in October], our frontline was completely different and I believe that made a huge impact in our threat that we didn’t show tonight in our attacking line,” the Fulham manager said.
Jacob Ramsey released Watkins through on the Fulham goal but Antonee Robinson did enough to kill Villa’s attack, allowing his goalkeeper, Bernd Leno, to claim the ball.
At the other end the 37-year-old Young, who departed to a standing ovation, cut out a dangerous cross just before it could reach the lurking James at the back post. If, and it is a big if, this in-form Villa side can beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, they could yet muscle in on the conversation for the Champions League places. Gerrard’s largely joyless reign feels a lifetime ago.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Germany is offering a job seeker visa that allows individuals to search for jobs in the country, and if they find a suitable job, they can convert their visa into a work visa.
The Germany job seeker visa not only offers a pathway to employment in Germany but also to settlement in Europe.
Germany Job Seeker Visa
The Germany job seeker visa is granted to individuals who have at least five years of work experience, a degree recognized in Germany, proof of funds to support their stay in the country and other necessary documents.
For Indian citizens, the fee for the job seeker visa is 75 Euros. If granted, the applicant can stay in Germany for up to six months to search for a job. During their stay on a job seeker visa, they are prohibited from working.
The application process for a job seeker visa in Germany involves submitting an application, proof of accommodation, funds, academic qualifications, experience, and health insurance, a valid passport, a resume, and a cover letter.
From Germany Job Seeker Visa to Work Visa or EU Blue Card
After finding jobs in Germany, applicants can apply for either a work visa or an EU Blue Card.
To obtain a work visa, the applicant must receive a job offer from an employer in Germany. If the applicant’s age is beyond 45 years, the annual salary of the job must be at least 48180 Euros, or they must provide proof of adequate old-age pension provisions.
Once granted, work visa holders can stay in Germany for up to four years or the duration of the work contract, whichever is shorter.
In the case of an EU Blue Card, the applicants must not only get jobs in Germany but also ensure that the gross annual salary is at least 58400 Euros. However, in case of employees in the fields of mathematics, IT, natural sciences, engineering, and human medicine, the annual salary must be at least 45552 euros.
While on an EU Blue Card, applicants can bring their family to Germany
Settlement in Germany
After 33 months of getting an EU Blue Card, the applicants can apply for a settlement permit. In some cases, it will be issued after 21 months of stay in Germany.
In the case of a job visa, the applicants can apply for a settlement permit if they have been a holder of a residence permit for at least four years and pass the ‘Life in Germany’ test.
A Permanent EU Residence Permit is granted to persons who have legally lived in Germany for at least five years and have sufficient command of the German language and basic knowledge of the legal and social system and way of life in Germany.
Germany Citizenship
It is granted to settlement permit holders who have been living in Germany legally for at least eight years. Apart from it, persons with a limited residence permit that can be converted to indefinite residence who have been living in Germany legally for at least eight years are also eligible for Germany citizenship.
Apart from the residency requirements, they must have sufficient knowledge of the German language.
The applicants must give up their previous nationality after they are naturalized.
EU citizenship
As Germany is one of the 27 European countries, the citizen of Germany also automatically become EU citizens.
Following is the list of EU countries
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Republic of Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain and
Sweden
The EU citizens can move and reside freely within the EU.
Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Norway, sits deep within the Arctic Circle, about 700 miles from the north pole. It has about 35 year-round residents, but in summer the population swells to more than 100 as scientists fly in from around the world. Life in the town centres around saunas, sled dogs, and a weekly evening gathering called Strikk og Drikk, or Knit and Sip
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#Life #NyÅlesund #worlds #northernmost #research #station #pictures
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
A record number of river barriers, including dams and weirs, were removed across Europe in 2022, with at least 325 taken down in 16 countries, allowing rivers to flow freely and migratory fish to reach breeding areas.
In its annual report, Dam Removal Europe said Spain led the way for the second year with 133 removals, followed by Sweden and France. The UK completed 29 removals, including Bowston Weir, which was built on the River Kent nearly 150 years ago for a paper mill. Its removal will help restore the health of the river, which is home to white-clawed crayfish, freshwater pearl mussels, and water crowfoot (an oxygenating aquatic plant).
“These numbers make me proud because we’re doing a lot to mainstream dam removal, and it works,” said Herman Wanningen, director of the World Fish Migration Foundation (WFMF) and founder of Dam Removal Europe. “It shows countries are picking up speed on implementing this river restoration tool.”
Across Europe, hundreds of rivers are blocked by dams, weirs, culverts and levees, with 15% considered obsolete, and many at risk of collapse.
A dam is removed on the Tromsa River in Norway. Photograph: Rob Kleinjans
In Norway, dynamite was used to destroy a seven-metre-high dam that had blocked the Tromsa River since 1916. But the year’s largest known project was the removal of La Roche qui Boit hydropower dam on the Sélune River in France.
Two countries – Latvia and Luxembourg – completed removals for the first time. “Sometimes the smallest projects make a difference for an entire country,” said Wanningen.
One of the more surprising removals was the obsolete Bayurivka dam in Ukraine, where WWF-Ukraine’s river restoration work continued, despite the war. Taking out the abandoned six-metre-high dam, in the Carpathian mountains of Verkhovyna national park, opened 27km of the Perkalaba River to migratory fish for the first time in 120 years and removed the risk of it collapsing.
“By removing Bayurivka, we hope the river has a chance to again become a biodiversity hotspot,” said Oksana Konovalenko, WWF-Ukraine’s freshwater practice lead. “Protected fish species, including brook trout, Danube salmon, and Ukrainian lamprey, are expected to return upstream and attract fish-eating animals, such as brown bear, otters and various bird species.”
Almost 75% of the barriers removed were weirs, followed by culverts and dams. At least 10 hydropower dams were dismantled in England, Finland, France, Norway, Spain and Sweden.
The number of removals was a 36% increase from the previous year when there were 239 removals.
“Removing barriers to restore rivers’ natural flow and connectivity brings many ecosystem service benefits, such as flood protection, water purification, and recreational opportunities,” said Wanningen.
San Prudentzio dam on the Deba River was one of 133 barriers removed in Spain in 2022. Photograph: Gipuzkoa Provincial Council
With an estimated 150,000 old and obsolete dams and weirs across Europe, there is still a long way to go. “Dam removals are still controversial,” said Wanningen. “Some countries haven’t even started yet, because the topic is too sensitive to talk about. Hydropower companies don’t like seeing their dams going down, though [they] weren’t economically viable any more. Local villagers are worried there will be more flooding, even though removing dams creates more space for flooding if done properly. It’s a matter of providing the right information and making sure politicians and citizens understand why unnecessary dams should be removed.”
The year-on-year increase in removals is expected to continue in 2023, as the argument for freeing rivers gathers momentum. “I hope the European Commission accepts the new Nature Restoration Law this summer, which will give a solid policy base for member states to implement dam removal to restore 25,000km of rivers and maybe more,” said Wanningen. “And I hope we can keep this amazing movement growing.”
Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on Twitter for all the latest news and features
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Copenhagen: Nearly a year after the mpox (monkeypox) outbreak in the European region of the World Health Organization (WHO), the agency has urged vigilance in Europe over mpox ahead of the festival season.
A new campaign is launched as Europe heads into the spring and summer months when a number of Pride festivals are set to take place across towns and cities, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a press release issued by the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
The aim of the campaign is to reinforce the message that “monkeypox remains with us and that continued vigilance is still needed”.
The “Ready for It” campaign was launched despite a significant decrease in the number of mpox cases in recent months, due to WHO Europe concerns that “the possibility of further re-introductions from outside the region, either from endemic areas or newly affected countries, is likely”.
The campaign urges the most vulnerable groups and the sexually active who will attend the events and festivals across Europe this spring and summer “to be aware of the symptoms of mpox, to get tested, and to abstain from sexual activity if they develop symptoms.”
To support the campaign’s message, WHO Europe is planning to release a catalogue of resources on mpox mass gathering and large event preparedness, including updated guidance and information for authorities and event organizers in preparation for this year’s festival season.
According to WHO Europe, the campaign will coincide with the publication of a new mpox strategy, which outlines the steps that member states in the region must take to prepare for the spring and summer seasons, as well as the medium to long-term measures necessary to stop the sustained transmission of mpox from person to person.
An atypical outbreak of mpox was declared in May 2022 in the WHO European region. Patients, mainly men who have sex with men, were identified in sexual health clinics, but anyone can catch mpox through close contact, according to the WHO.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Olta Xhacka (Image Credit: Twitter/@OFMUAE)
Tirana: H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation met Olta Xhacka, minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania in Tirana.
During the meeting, which was held as part of the UAE top diplomat’s working visit to Albania, the two ministers held discussions on enhancing cordial ties between the two countries and the prospects of enhancing relations across various fronts.
The two sides exchanged views on a number of issues of interest, including the situation in the Middle East and the Balkans, in addition to the latest regional and international developments.
عبدالله بن زايد يؤكد خلال اجتماعه مع وزيرة خارجية ألبانيا حرص دولة الإمارات على تعزيز العلاقات الثنائية مع جمهورية ألبانيا بما يحقق المصالح المتبادلة للبلدين الصديقين وشعبيهما.🇦🇪🇦🇱 pic.twitter.com/uGhm7XiDNx
Sheikh Abdullah hailed the privileged relations between the UAE and Albania and their desire to develop them in various fields for the common good of their two peoples.
For her part, the Albanian minister expressed her country’s aspiration to strengthen relations of friendship and cooperation with the UAE in all sectors.
The meeting was attended by Omar Saif Ghobash, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Cultural Affairs, Saeed Mubarak Al Hajri, Assistant Minister for Economic and Commercial Affairs, and Sulaiman Al Mazrouei, the UAE’s non-resident ambassador to Albania.
ABOARD COTAM UNITÉ (FRANCE’S AIR FORCE ONE) — Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on his plane back from a three-day state visit to China.
Speaking with POLITICO and two French journalists after spending around six hours with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his trip, Macron emphasized his pet theory of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, presumably led by France, to become a “third superpower.”
He said “the great risk” Europe faces is that it “gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy,” while flying from Beijing to Guangzhou, in southern China, aboard COTAM Unité, France’s Air Force One.
Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party have enthusiastically endorsed Macron’s concept of strategic autonomy and Chinese officials constantly refer to it in their dealings with European countries. Party leaders and theorists in Beijing are convinced the West is in decline and China is on the ascendant and that weakening the transatlantic relationship will help accelerate this trend.
“The paradox would be that, overcome with panic, we believe we are just America’s followers,” Macron said in the interview. “The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” he said.
Just hours after his flight left Guangzhou headed back to Paris, China launched large military exercises around the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which China claims as its territory but the U.S. has promised to arm and defend.
Those exercises were a response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen’s 10-day diplomatic tour of Central American countries that included a meeting with Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while she transited in California. People familiar with Macron’s thinking said he was happy Beijing had at least waited until he was out of Chinese airspace before launching the simulated “Taiwan encirclement” exercise.
Beijing has repeatedly threatened to invade in recent years and has a policy of isolating the democratic island by forcing other countries to recognize it as part of “one China.”
Taiwan talks
Macron and Xi discussed Taiwan “intensely,” according to French officials accompanying the president, who appears to have taken a more conciliatory approach than the U.S. or even the European Union.
“Stability in the Taiwan Strait is of paramount importance,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who accompanied Macron for part of his visit, said she told Xi during their meeting in Beijing last Thursday. “The threat [of] the use of force to change the status quo is unacceptable.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron in Guangdong on April 7, 2023 | Pool Photo by Jacques Witt / AFP via Getty Images
Xi responded by saying anyone who thought they could influence Beijing on Taiwan was deluded.
Macron appears to agree with that assessment.
“Europeans cannot resolve the crisis in Ukraine; how can we credibly say on Taiwan, ‘watch out, if you do something wrong we will be there’? If you really want to increase tensions that’s the way to do it,” he said.
“Europe is more willing to accept a world in which China becomes a regional hegemon,” said Yanmei Xie, a geopolitics analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics. “Some of its leaders even believe such a world order may be more advantageous to Europe.”
In his trilateral meeting with Macron and von der Leyen last Thursday in Beijing, Xi Jinping went off script on only two topics — Ukraine and Taiwan — according to someone who was present in the room.
“Xi was visibly annoyed for being held responsible for the Ukraine conflict and he downplayed his recent visit to Moscow,” this person said. “He was clearly enraged by the U.S. and very upset over Taiwan, by the Taiwanese president’s transit through the U.S. and [the fact that] foreign policy issues were being raised by Europeans.”
In this meeting, Macron and von der Leyen took similar lines on Taiwan, this person said. But Macron subsequently spent more than four hours with the Chinese leader, much of it with only translators present, and his tone was far more conciliatory than von der Leyen’s when speaking with journalists.
‘Vassals’ warning
Macron also argued that Europe had increased its dependency on the U.S. for weapons and energy and must now focus on boosting European defense industries.
He also suggested Europe should reduce its dependence on the “extraterritoriality of the U.S. dollar,” a key policy objective of both Moscow and Beijing.
Macron has long been a proponent of strategic autonomy for Europe | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
“If the tensions between the two superpowers heat up … we won’t have the time nor the resources to finance our strategic autonomy and we will become vassals,” he said.
Russia, China, Iran and other countries have been hit by U.S. sanctions in recent years that are based on denying access to the dominant dollar-denominated global financial system. Some in Europe have complained about “weaponization” of the dollar by Washington, which forces European companies to give up business and cut ties with third countries or face crippling secondary sanctions.
While sitting in the stateroom of his A330 aircraft in a hoodie with the words “French Tech” emblazoned on the chest, Macron claimed to have already “won the ideological battle on strategic autonomy” for Europe.
He did not address the question of ongoing U.S. security guarantees for the Continent, which relies heavily on American defense assistance amid the first major land war in Europe since World War II.
As one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the only nuclear power in the EU, France is in a unique position militarily. However, the country has contributed far less to the defense of Ukraine against Russia’s invasion than many other countries.
As is common in France and many other European countries, the French President’s office, known as the Elysée Palace, insisted on checking and “proofreading” all the president’s quotes to be published in this article as a condition of granting the interview. This violates POLITICO’s editorial standards and policy, but we agreed to the terms in order to speak directly with the French president. POLITICO insisted that it cannot deceive its readers and would not publish anything the president did not say. The quotes in this article were all actually said by the president, but some parts of the interview in which the president spoke even more frankly about Taiwan and Europe’s strategic autonomy were cut out by the Elysée.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
Chinese leader Xi Jinping had one overriding message for his visiting French counterpart Emmanuel Macron this week: Don’t let Europe get sucked into playing America’s game.
Beijing is eager to avoid the EU falling further under U.S. influence, at a time when the White House is pursuing a more assertive policy to counter China’s geopolitical and military strength.
Russia’s yearlong war against Ukraine has strengthened the alliance between Europe and the U.S., shaken up global trade, reinvigorated NATO and forced governments to look at what else could suddenly go wrong in world affairs. That’s not welcome in Beijing, which still views Washington as its strategic nemesis.
This week, China’s counter-offensive stepped up a gear, turning on the charm. Xi welcomed Macron into the grandest of settings at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, along with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. This was in sharp contrast to China’s current efforts to keep senior American officials at arm’s length, especially since U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called off a trip to Beijing during the spy balloon drama earlier this year.
Both American and Chinese officials know Europe’s policy toward Beijing is far from settled. That’s an opportunity, and a risk for both sides. In recent months, U.S. officials have warned of China’s willingness to send weapons to Russia and talked up the dangers of allowing Chinese tech companies unfettered access to European markets, with some success.
TikTok, which is ultimately Chinese owned, has been banned from government and administrative phones in a number of locations in Europe, including in the EU institutions in Brussels. American pressure also led the Dutch to put new export controls on sales of advanced semiconductor equipment to China.
Yet even the hawkish von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, has dismissed the notion of decoupling Europe from China’s economy altogether. From Beijing’s perspective, this is yet another significant difference from the hostile commercial environment being promoted by the U.S.
Just this week, 36 Chinese and French businesses signed new deals in front of Macron and Xi, in what Chinese state media said was a sign of “the not declining confidence in the Chinese market of European businesses.” While hardly a statement brimming with confidence, it could have been worse.
For the last couple of years European leaders have grown more skeptical of China’s trajectory, voicing dismay at Beijing’s way of handling the coronavirus pandemic, the treatment of protesters in Hong Kong and Xinjiang’s Uyghur Muslims, as well as China’s sanctions on European politicians and military threats against Taiwan.
Then, Xi and Vladimir Putin hailed a “no limits” partnership just days before Russia invaded Ukraine. While the West rolled out tough sanctions on Moscow, China became the last major economy still interested in maintaining — and expanding — trade ties with Russia. That shocked many Western officials and provoked a fierce debate in Europe over how to punish Beijing and how far to pull out of Chinese commerce.
Beijing saw Macron as the natural partner to help avoid a nosedive in EU-China relations, especially since Angela Merkel — its previous favorite — was no longer German chancellor.
Macron’s willingness to engage with anyone — including his much-criticized contacts with Putin ahead of his war on Ukraine — made him especially appealing as Beijing sought to drive a wedge between European and American strategies on China.
Xi Jinping sees Macron as the natural to Angela Merkel, his previous partner in the West who helped avoid a nosedive in EU-China relations | Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
Not taking sides
“I’m very glad we share many identical or similar views on Sino-French, Sino-EU, international and regional issues,” Xi told Macron over tea on Friday, in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, according to Chinese state media Xinhua.
Strategic autonomy, a French foreign policy focus, is a favorite for China, which sees the notion as proof of Europe’s distance from the U.S. For his part, Macron told Xi a day earlier that France promotes “European strategic autonomy,” doesn’t like “bloc confrontation” and believes in doing its own thing. “France does not pick sides,” he said.
The French position is challenged by some in Europe who see it as an urgent task to take a tougher approach toward Beijing.
“Macron could have easily avoided the dismal picture of European and transatlantic disunity,” said Thorsten Benner, director of the Berlin-based Global Public Policy Institute. “Nobody forced Macron to show up with a huge business delegation, repeating disproven illusions of reciprocity and deluding himself about working his personal magic on Xi to get the Chinese leader to turn against Putin.”
Holger Hestermeyer, a professor of EU law at King’s College London, said Beijing will struggle to split the transatlantic alliance.
“If China wants to succeed with building a new world order, separating the EU from the U.S. — even a little bit — would be a prized goal — and mind you, probably an elusive one,” Hestermeyer said. “Right now the EU is strengthening its defenses specifically because China tried to play divide and conquer with the EU in the past.”
Xi’s focus on America was unmistakable when he veered into a topic that was a long way from Europe’s top priority, during his three-way meeting with Macron and von der Leyen. A week earlier the Biden administration had held its second Summit for Democracy, in which Russia and China were portrayed as the main threats.
“Spreading the so-called ‘democracy versus authoritarianism’ [narrative],” Xi told his European guests on Thursday, “would only bring division and confrontation to the world.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
GOOD MORNING and happy Easter!This is Nick Vinocur, bringing you Playbook from an unusually sunny Brussels. We sometimes poke fun at the grisaille around here, but this week the country outdid itself: glorious sunshine for days in the Ardennes, where your author spent a family holiday. I heartily recommend a visit to the Grottes de Han — a sprawling cave system southwest of Charleroi that was an unforgettable sight for me and my 4-year-old daughter. Strongly recommend. As you enjoy the final hours of the long weekend, here’s the news …
DRIVING THE DAY: MACRON AND CHINA
MACRON INTERVIEW PROMPTS OUTCRY: Speaking to POLITICO and other media outlets on his way back from last week’s trip to China, French President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview that’s raising big questions about the transatlantic relationship, Taiwan and the concept of “strategic autonomy” for the EU.
ICYMI: Yes, it’s one of those Macron interviews. Read the full story here (or here enfrançais) by our Editor-in-Chief Jamil Anderlini and Senior France Correspondent Clea Caulcutt. Here are the key lines …
On strategic autonomy: Macron emphasized the need for Europe to develop independent capabilities that would enable the EU to become the world’s “third superpower” — alongside the United States and China, presumably. The “greatest risk” Europe faces, he said, is that the bloc “gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevent it from building strategic autonomy.”
**A message from Booking.com: Sustainability is on everyone’s minds. But it’s not enough to simply want to make sustainable choices – labels should empower consumers to make informed decisions. Join our Booking.com Policy Breakfast on 25 April for an open discussion on how EU regulation can facilitate the green transition for the tourism sector.**
On the transatlantic relationship: Macron said “the paradox would be that, overcome with panic, we believe we are just America’s followers.”
On Taiwan, which the US has pledged to defend: “The question Europeans need to answer,” Macron said, is “is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction.”
Rubio weighs in: In response to Macron’s comments, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, dropped a video in which he says: “If our allies’ position is, in fact, Macron speaks for all of Europe, and their position now is they are not going to pick sides between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, maybe we shouldn’t be picking sides either. Maybe we should basically say we’re going to focus on Taiwan and the threats that China poses, and you guys handle Ukraine.”
He added: “So we need to find out: Does Macron speak for Macron or does Macron speak for Europe?”
That question was zooming around European capitals Sunday night, with diplomats texting my colleague Stuart Lau to share reactions.
Shade: “It’s hard to see how the EU was strengthened by the visits” of Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to China last week, wrote one EU diplomat who was not authorized to speak on the record. “China did not move one inch on Russia/Ukraine and created contrast between the two European leaders, even appearing to get an audience for its view on security in the Taiwan Straits.”
Sari Arho Havrén, adjunct professor at the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies focusing on China, told Playbook that “Macron is giving Xi exactly what Xi wanted: trade to make China’s economy stronger, but also dividing and making Europe weaker in Beijing’s eyes.”
On Macron’s ‘superpower’ comment, she added: “Europe lacks pretty much all superpower attributes apart from the big single market.”
Noah Barkin, senior adviser for Rhodium Group and a visiting senior fellow at GMF, wrote in: “Macron is espousing a vision of the world that is not shared in other European capitals. In doing so, he risks dividing Europe and complicating relations with the most transatlantic U.S. administration that we have seen in many years.”
French pushback: France’s former ambassador to the U.S. disagreed. In response to a tweet questioning France’s commitment to Taiwan, Gérard Araud wrote: “First, he [Macron] didn’t say that. Secondly, our alliance doesn’t cover Asia.”
Playbook is getting a case of déjà vu. Doesn’t this feel a bit like back in 2019 when Macron told the Economist that NATO was experiencing “brain death?” Or when, following the AUKUS spat, he withdrew France’s ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia?
As in those episodes, Macron is broadcasting France’s independence from a U.S.-led alliance. But unlike other examples where the issue may have been more symbolic, this one has a clear question at its core: Is Europe’s alliance with the United States limited to Europe and its neighborhood, or does it extend to the Asia-Pacific region?
Now read this: Macron got a rockstar welcome in Guangzhou, where he fielded (carefully selected) questions from students at Sun Yat-sen University. “His star turn and spontaneous popularity also contrasted with China’s wooden communist leaders, none of whom have even half the charisma of Macron and who are generally only greeted with enthusiasm when it is in the job description of the crowd,” Jamil and Clea write. Ouch.
RUSSIAN WAR LATEST
‘SPRING IS COMING’ — UKRAINE TOUTS ‘SURPRISE’ AMID US INTEL LEAK: In a slickly produced video published Sunday, Ukraine’s defense ministry hints at an upcoming operation that would put Western training and supplies to use in its war with Russia. Watch the video, titled “Spring is coming,” here.
Intel dump: It’s no surprise that Ukraine has been preparing a counter-offensive of some type. But the video — coupled with reports on a massive dump of U.S. intelligence that’s been circulating online for weeks, but only recently picked up by big media outlets — seems to remove any “if” on whether an offensive will take place. What’s unknown is “how” and “when.”
What’s in the leaked docs: The reports go into substantial detail about the state and capabilities of Ukraine’s armed forces, as well as the composition of battle groups. To wit: the composition in armor of one brigade, the 82nd, decked out with the best Western militaries have to offer. They also show how deeply U.S. intelligence has penetrated Russian command-and-control centers — warning Ukraine of exact targets for upcoming strikes. (Playbook has not reviewed the documents ourselves.)
Spying, much? Yet the leak brings up awkward questions about U.S. spying, particularly when it comes to allies. One leaked document obtained by Reuters concerns deliberations among South Korean officials about sales of artillery shells to the United States, which the officials were concerned would be sent to Ukraine. Based on “signals intelligence” — aka intercepts — the document prompted Seoul to say it wanted to discuss the “issues raised” with the U.S.
Rings a bell: If this feels familiar, that’s because it’s reminiscent of Edward Snowden’s massive dump of U.S. National Security Agency documents in 2013, which irked Europeans. This time around, EU leaders are spared, but Ukraine’s military top brass is not, according to the New York Times, which first reported on the trove of intel. So far, there is no firm indication of who carried out the original leak — the document lay unnoticed for weeks on Discord, until a user posted it on Telegram and journalists became aware.
Tail risk: At the very least, the leaks are likely to make the Americans much more cautious on how they share intelligence, including with allied countries. That’s not ideal in a crucial planning stage, heading into a likely spring offensive.
What the leaks don’t say is when Ukraine’s counter-offensive will take place, or how it will sustain its pace given the high rates of shells expended each day on the front. Another report out over the weekend, again from the Times, casts doubt on Europe’s ability to replenish Ukraine’s supply of shells at anywhere near the rate at which they are being used.
IN OTHER NEWS
ESTONIA’S KALLAS SECURES COALITION: About a month after the election, Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of the center-right Reform Party has reached an agreement with the centrist Estonia 200 Party and the Social Democratic Party to form a coalition government. Kallas is expected to keep her job. Laura Kayali has a write-up.
EU RISKS LOSING ENERGY ALLY: Last year’s high-profile gas deal with Azerbaijan was supposed to help the EU wean itself off Russian fossil fuels and keep supplies flowing in the short term. But Brussels’ bid to position itself as a peacemaker in the war-torn South Caucasus, and the eagerness of MEPs to call out human rights abuses, have angered Baku, which says the bloc could be to blame if a new conflict breaks out with neighboring Armenia.
European boots on the ground: “We were hoping for a different scenario with Baku,” a senior EU official admitted after Azerbaijan blasted the 100-strong border monitoring mission dispatched from European countries to Armenia earlier this year. Experts warn that more violence could force Europe to distance itself from the energy-rich nation it had hoped would help it weather Russia’s war on Ukraine. My colleague Gabriel Gavin has written about the dilemma.
RT DECLARED BANKRUPT IN FRANCE: A French court has officially declared Kremlin-backed media outlet RT France bankrupt, the company’s President Xenia Fedorova announced on Friday. In March last year, the EU banned Russian government-funded media like Sputnik and RT from broadcasting in Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Laura Kayali has the story.
CHATGPT FACES REGULATORY WHIRLWIND: The world’s most famous chatbot has set itself up for a rough ride with Europe’s powerful privacy watchdogs, my colleagues Clothilde Goujard and Gian Volpicelli report. Italy imposed a temporary ban last month on the grounds that it could violate Europe’s privacy rulebook — but that’s just the start of its likely troubles. Prepare to see headaches across the bloc, as the cutting-edge technology is irking governments over risks ranging from data protection to misinformation, cybercrime, fraud and cheating on tests.
BRUSSELS CORNER
WHAT’S OPEN ON EASTER MONDAY? Not much. If you’re in Belgium, expect most shops to be closed today. But if you’re in a pinch, the Delhaize and Carrefour stores that are usually open on Sundays will be operating, as will “guard duty” pharmacies.
DELHAIZE STRIKE UPDATE: If you’re like me, you’ve been experiencing the ongoing Delhaize strikes first hand. Workers have been carrying out industrial action after the company announced it was going to turn its stores into franchises, operated by independent buyers, leading to the loss of an estimated 280 jobs (though the company is touting 72 new roles), according to l’Echo. Forty-six Delhaize stores remain closed across Belgium following court-ordered reopenings.
ICYMI — WHERE TO GO EASTER EGG HUNTING TODAY: Comic Art Museum … BELvue Museum … Chalet Robinson … Underground treasure hunt at Coudenberg Palace until April 16.
BIRTHDAYS: MEP Magdalena Adamowicz; Former MEPs Antony Hook, Geoffrey Van Orden, Luis Garicano, Florent Marcellesi and Lorenzo Fontana; Chris Heron from Eurometaux; European Commission’s David Knight; Leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova Pavel Filip, a former PM.
THANKS TO: StuartLau and our producer Jeanette Minns.
**A message from Booking.com: Have you booked your next trip yet? Is sustainability top of mind in your trip planning? Sustainability is not just a buzzword. In fact, 4 out of 5 travelers want to travel more sustainably but almost 50% of them say there aren’t enough sustainable options available. It’s time to bridge the gap in the tourism sector where less than 1% of accommodations have obtained a sustainability certification. Booking.com’s Travel Sustainable program supports accommodations to go green and consumers to easily find sustainable options. Read what Booking.com is doing on sustainability here. You want to find out more? Come and join us during our Booking.com Policy Breakfast on 25 April for an open discussion on enabling the green transition for businesses and empowering consumers to make informed sustainable choices.**
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
At its heart, Friday’s guidance creates a way to determine which car and truck models will qualify for the $7,500-per-vehicle credit under last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, based on their compliance with a new thicket of restrictions on where their battery minerals and components come from.
It leaves some key details yet to be filled in, however, and the Treasury Department could make more changes once a comment period closes on June 16.
An initial list of qualifying vehicles will be available April 18, with updates posting each month.
POLITICO took a look at how the new guidance applies — and who wins and loses now that it’s been made public.
Automakers: Some vehicles will qualify, but many won’t
Verdict: A GRUDGING WIN
Given the law’s considerable constraints, Treasury’s interpretation is about as friendly as possible to automakers and anyone else interested in seeing more people driving electric vehicles. That’s because it will mean that at least some of the electric vehicles now on the market will be eligible for the federal tax credits — though many that now qualify for the tax breaks will lose them.
Carmakers didn’t have to get even this much accommodation. The strictest interpretation of the law’s sourcing requirements could have meant that not a single vehicle qualified.
Also, because Treasury delayed the issuance of the proposal until the last day of March, then offered another two weeks before it takes effect, automakers got more time to prepare to prepare for the new restrictions — and sell cars — than Congress had envisioned when it wrote the law.
John Bozzella, Here’s what I can say: this latest turn will further reduce the number of eligible EVs. Fewer vehicles (and fewer customers) will qualify for the full $7,500 credit in the near term. In fact, this period may go down as the highwater mark for EV tax credit eligibility since the IRA passed last year.
Consumers will have limited selection — but that will broaden
Verdict: A PARTIAL WIN
For now, consumers will only be able to apply the tax credit to a limited number of electric vehicle models, and that will disappoint those inclined to move to an electric vehicle sooner than later. But Treasury intends to publish a monthly list of vehicles that are eligible, a number is expected to grow steadily as manufacturers navigate the requirements.
On climate, trading one polluting industry for another
Verdict: MIXED
Transportation is largest contributor to the United States’ greenhouse gas pollution, so getting drivers behind the wheel of electric cars and trucks is a major priority of the environmental movement and the Biden administration. But it comes at a cost — mining what’s necessary to make electric vehicle batteries trades one polluting industry for another.
Climate advocates are also alarmed that the administration is rushing to negotiate trade pacts with Japan — and possibly Europe — without including standard safeguards for environmental and labor protections. Some some Democrats in charge of writing tax laws, such as Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, share those concerns.
Sen. Joe Manchin thinks he got rolled
Verdict: LOSE
The West Virginia Democrat insisted on the domestic sourcing provisions as a condition for his vote on the Inflation Reduction Act — one of the Biden administration’s biggest priorities. But he’s accused Treasury of trying to skirt the law almost since it was signed, and earlier this week groused that he thought Treasury was “going to try to screw me on this” by allowing too many countries to participate in supplying electric vehicle materials.
His goal is to make sure U.S. energy security is under U.S. control as much as possible — or at least under the control of friendly nations, and definitely not China. And he said he wants the jobs created by the law to be created in the United States.
Manchin is particularly incensed by the guidance’s sections allowing Treasury to determine which countries America has a free trade agreement with, “since this term is not defined in statute.” The guidance notes that this could include “newly negotiated critical minerals agreements.” of the sort that the U.S. just negotiated with Japan and is negotiating with Europe.
In a statement, Manchin teed off on the guidance, calling it “horrific” and a “pathetic excuse to spend more tax payer dollars as quickly as possible and further cedes control to the Chinese Communist Party in the process.”
U.S. miners get customers, but more competition from abroad
Verdict: MIXED
The U.S. critical mining industry is getting a huge boost from the law, which seeks to spur the creation of a domestic clean-energy supply chain that doesn’t yet exist. Miners have pushed to retain the law’s original provisions, to keep demand for their minerals high.
But they will face a growing number of foreign competitors as the Biden administration inks trade deals with more U.S. allies.
Also in flux is how Treasury will define “foreign entity of concern,” a term that has riled hard-rock miners worried that battery components assembled abroad will include minerals from countries like China. Treasury says it will make that decision later this year.
Europe still awaits its seat at the table
Verdict: WIN (EVENTUALLY)
Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced a novel trade arrangement allowing Japan to supply mineral resources for electric vehicles under the tax credit, despite not having a broad free-trade agreement with the United States. It’s a model that the U.S. could emulate with Europe, with a deal that could be finished before the rule takes effect April 18.
Treasury officials say that even if it takes longer than that, Europe can be written in later.
Hannah Northey contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
