#eublogging

The economic coupling it induced set into motion a process that was only going to lead to more integration, no matter what the recalcitrant heads of state may have thought, as the reversal or stopping of the process would plunge the member state's economy into a forced reset with huge consequences (the example of brexit is here illustrative). And as is clear now, even a temporary pause on it has eventually led to a temporary pause of european development!

on agriculture, Christophe Hansen took a mostly right-wing stance on animal farming, claiming that a decrease in livestock is "unnecessary" and that the agriculture sector is only 11% of emissions anyway.

He also came out mostly in favor of the status quo on CAP, although the subsidy disparity between west and east was mentioned as very important.

Similar to Sefcovic yesterday, strong support for the Mercosur agreement and the allowance of Ukraine goods into the EU, both points that are also facing oppositon from farmers.

that'll stir up some dust I'm sure, since from a brief summary he recommends the EU cough up around a trillion bucks to invest into industrial policy

what, again? no wonder everyone was so anxious for a more proactive german government, france seems stuck in a kind of permanent lame-duck status where they can't even pass a budget.

Moreover, if France is to achieve next year’s deficit target of 4.6 percent of GDP, Bayrou has to find an additional €40 billion in “savings” for the 2026 budget. Although the government says most of this money will come from spending cuts, ministers have spoken of possibly suspending the inflation-proofing of pensions and other social payments. And it has also raised the possibility of at least partially abolishing a 10 percent tax rebate for pensioners introduced in the 1970s.

The beleaguered Socialist leadership has pounced on these ideas as possible reasons to join the wider left and the far right in a censure motion. They’re also threatening to unseat Bayrou if a key concession he made in February — reopening union-employer discussions on Macron’s 2023 pension reform — fails to lead to draft legislation that lowers the state pension age from 64 back down to 62.

first, Dubravka Suica, comissioner-designate for the Mediterranean, a new portfolio which is supposed on working to integrate the mediterranean region closer with the EU. it remains to be seen how much room to manoveur she'll have though, as these topics are also generally covered by the trade, enlargement, and migration portfolios.

a hearing characterized by a lot of line-toeing on the middle east, although Suica affirmed she'd continue to finance UNRWA and the PA, but no comments on actual consequences for israel.

Otherwise, it's looking like the EU wants to work closer with Morocco and Jordan on migration, in a matter similar to Tunisia and Egypt. Not an unexpected line, but the existing migration deals are already inhumane and essentialy mean the EU just moves the suffering of refugees and migrants out of sight, Tunisia has been leaving people to starve in the desert but at least we didn't get our hands bloody.

So, any human rights guarantees she makes are essentially worth nothing.

The last interesting bit was a that in response to some of the questions she did display an awareness that migration is also sorely needed to counteract the population dying off, maybe we'll see more on "skilled migrants" in the hearing for Brunner, the actual migration comissioner

the housing portfolio was added on request of the social democrats, but it's not something the EU has a lot of power in. Jørgensen is therefore also a social democrat, and comes out strongly pro-green deal in his opening statement. he also affirms that nuclear will have to part of the decarbonization mix.

there will be an "EU affordable housing plan", hoping the MEP questions shed some light on this. one named proposal here is better support measures for social housing via reformed state aid rules.