Hungary is being tapped into a common camp, but the dividing lines have made a comeback. The Europe Letter covers key EU issues every Friday. Subscribe to the full letter in your email.
Do you remember still the phrase “that feeling when…”?
The Finnish design of the past years was intended to describe a pretentious feeling in an embarrassing or annoying situation.
It feels like it’s Friday morning and the weekend is about to begin, but you remember that a visit to Aunt Anelma has been arranged for the whole Saturday.
This week, the troublesome design became blood and flesh again. At the forefront has been the feeling that cow trade has returned to European Union policy.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR The EU twisted the sanctions in one inch.
The packages were born quickly and unanimously. The machinery was greasy, the goal clear, the member states frightened by Russia’s brutality.
But the sixth package of sanctions, banning the import of oil from Russia as a spearhead, has proved to be a real touchstone.
The task is difficult, as is the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen already out of the box admittedly (you switch to another service). There is a classic bullhorn situation, an attempt to tear the countries accustomed to Russia’s cheap energy bills (Hungary, Slovakia) and the oil transportation business (Greece, Cyprus, Malta) out of trade with Russia.
Cutting off the oil trade would be a direct blow to Russia’s military treasury, even if Russia finds other buyers for its oil, benefits from rising prices and sees EU industry shrinking in oil shortages.
COMING SOON weeks have passed, but it is not ready.
From Ukraine’s point of view, the EU is incapable. It meanders, even though the oil pipes and tankers are stained with blood. When money is being negotiated in cabinets, missiles and grenades tear Ukrainian people and cities to pieces.
Of course, the EU is helping Ukraine every day. But without a fossil attack, Russia’s warfare will not run out.
That is why, in order to find a common line, cow shops have returned to the agenda after a honeymoon of sanctions.
The village of von der Leyen described above is the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbánin in Budapest on the eve of Europe Day did not lead to a solution.
Even a 2.5 year transition period or part of it Repower EU package (switch to another service) the customized fat coin has not made Orbán’s head turn. (Repower EU is an initiative presented by the Commission next week to accelerate the transition away from Russian energy.)
CRITICAL ISSUE is, does Orbán even want to get the most out of cheap oil? He has been Vladimir Putin best guy in Europe and headed between Brussels, between Moscow.
At least Hungary has smelled the place of the game. A committed EU country would have grabbed the stakes offered. For Hungary, they seem to be the starting point for compromise.
In the long run, it is already clear that Russia’s imported oil faces the same fate in the EU as coal for war and climate reasons.
As far back as the early 1990s, several current EU countries mined coal. Now mining has shrunk to one-fifth and remained almost exclusively a traditional Polish business.
As such, there is nothing wrong with cow shops. Cow-trading is not the exclusive right of the EU, but also a well-known form of politics in Finland, where a solution is sought by promising reciprocal services.
That, in turn, is at the heart of cooperation between countries.
As long as you even want to play for the same goal.
Coming soon: NATO, Ukraine, carbon sinks, energy
In Finnish the next few days will be dominated by a historic NATO turnaround. NATO foreign ministers to meet in Berlin this weekend, and ‘s EU correspondent Rikhard Husu monitor reactions on site.
Ukraine will be strongly present at the meetings of EU foreign and defense ministers on Monday and Tuesday. The meeting will be attended by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov. In addition, commanders of the EU’s national defense forces will meet at a meeting of the European Union’s military committee on Wednesday.
Parliamentary The Environment Committee is expected to vote on its position on the Lulucf regulation on forests and carbon sinks, which is of interest to forestry Finland at the beginning of next week.
On Wednesday the commission is expected to launch the repower EU initiative, which has already been mentioned above.
But first, as early as tomorrow, it is the turn of the 66th Eurovision final from Turin, Italy.
Letter from Europe will return again next Friday with new topics. Stay tuned!
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