Ukraine needs European support on the eve of a cold winter and another year of war.
Rikhard Husu,
Alina Mäkynen
Greeting,
This week, the EU has celebrated the 70th anniversary of the European Parliament. The parliament, which has reached a respectable age, has come a long way from a loose debating club to a respectable legislator and wielder of power.
Brief summary: In the fall of 1952, the General Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community met for the first time. There were 78 representatives from the national parliaments of the EU’s six founding countries.
The parliament got its current name in 1962 when the General Assemblies of the Coal and Steel Community, the Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community were combined.
Other milestones on the way to parliament are the first direct elections held in 1979 and 2009 Treaty of Lisbon (you switch to another service)which expanded Parliament’s legislative power in relation to the Council of Ministers representing the member states.
– The European Parliament is now the world’s only directly elected, multilingual, multi-party and multinational parliament, Speaker Roberta Metsola beamed at the one held in Strasbourg at the ceremony (you move to another service).
Parliament’s influence increase has changed the power relations within the Union: the Commission and the Council cannot decide the direction of the EU between themselves, as in the previous model.
The three-party trade between the Commission, the Council and the EU Parliament makes EU decision-making difficult to understand. As a rule of thumb, it is good to remember that new EU laws must be approved in both the Council and the Parliament.
In addition to legislation, the parliament also plays a key role as an opinion influencer. Regular discussion sessions between MEPs and the EU leadership enable political transparency of decision-making.
The Parliament also acts as an enforcer in questions related to the EU’s international role. An example of this was seen on Wednesday, when the parliament declared Russia a state that supports terrorism.
The declaration has no direct legal effects on Russia. However, it indicates a desire to tighten measures against Russia even further.
Shortly after the decision, the Parliament’s website crashed (you switch to another service). According to the parliament, it is a sophisticated cyber attack, which is behind a hacker group favorable to the Kremlin.
Parliament’s concerns are minor considering the plight of Ukrainians. 10 million Ukrainians are estimated to be without electricity as a result of the Russian invasion.
Together with Europe’s big cities, the Parliament wants to ease the situation by donating (you switch to another service)Generators needed for the production of electricity for Ukraine.
The EU leadership’s public support for Ukraine is steadfast. Support is needed on the eve of a cold winter and another year of war.
Be well,
Richard
PS Read below Alina Mäkynen excerpts from European topics throughout the week and what is coming in the near future. ⬇️
IN THE NEARING DAYS:
BEGINNING OF THE WEEK in ministerial meetings meet (you switch to another service) Ministers of education, youth, culture and sports of the EU countries. Thursday (you switch to another service)the internal market and industry ministers meet and on Friday (you switch to another service)it is the turn of the ministers responsible for research. You can familiarize yourself with the schedules and agendas of the ministerial meetings here (you will switch to another service).
TUESDAY The foreign ministers of the NATO countries are collect (you switch to another service) in Romania. The foreign minister is there from Finland Pekka Haavisto.
THURSDAY President of the European Council Charles Michel travel (you switch to another service) To Beijing to meet the President of China Xi Jinping. The German Chancellor also traveled to China earlier this month Olaf Scholzwhose trip caused an uproar in advance.
What thoughts did the letter evoke? You can discuss the topics below until Saturday night at 11pm.
Here was only part of the content of the Europe Letter. You can order the letter directly to your email from this link (you will be redirected to another service).