France wants EU to get real on corruption watchdog

Опубликовано: Tuesday, 31 October 2023 05:11

Presented by Masdar

By JAKOB HANKE VELA

with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH

PRESENTED BY

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GOOD MORNING, welcome to Playbook, and in honor of the purists who abhor holidays imported from the U.S. — happy Halloween! We have some tricks and treats for you in today’s edition, including a quiz to test whether you know Hungary better than America’s most famous pumpkin, former President Donald Trump, does.

FIGHTING EU CORRUPTION

FRANCE WANTS EU CORRUPTION WATCHDOG WITH TEETH: Paris has a message for Brussels: it’s time to get serious about tackling conflicts of interest and corruption among your officials.

Ahead of the EU election, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his EU Affairs Minister Laurence Boone are now pushing other EU countries to endorse a plan for an independent watchdog with powers to check officials’ income — which they think will be more effective than the toothless ethics body that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed.

Try harder: “The Commission’s proposal is a start, but I think we can and must be much more ambitious,” in the wake of the Qatargate scandal and similar high-profile scandals, Boone told Playbook. “After the shock caused by several corruption scandals … we need to restore citizens’ confidence in their institutions.”

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It’s not just Qatargate: POLITICO revealed this year that several commissioners had gone on sponsored trips, a senior official accepted free flights from Qatar Airways while his team was negotiating an aviation deal with Qatar, and another senior official had failed to declare his ownership of a luxury hotel in Bali.

Head in the sand: The fear in Paris is that Brussels is turning a blind eye to the growing distrust and resentment among Europeans about corruption in the EU — which parties on the extremes are gladly capitalizing on.

Double standards: As Playbook reported earlier this year, the Commission asked Ukraine to impose mandatory asset declarations to make sure its officials are not making money on murky side-jobs — but Brussels does not apply the same standards to its own officials.

Boone’s plan: “We need an independent authority, with real means of control to prevent new scandals,” Boone told Playbook, adding the body could be mirrored on France’s High Authority for Transparency in Public Life — which investigates bank accounts, assets and incomes of public servants to make sure they don’t have conflicts of interest. The authority can also refer cases to prosecutors if officials fail to meet transparency requirements.

Brussels has been shying away: Despite numerous scandals, the Commission has argued that an independent watchdog would require treaty change and has only proposed an ethics body, which would effectively be a talking shop for institutions to harmonize their own internal rules.

Policing the police: But Parliament and the Commission have repeatedly failed at enforcing their internal rules on their own staff, even after the Qatargate scandal.

What is there to hide? In Parliament, the center-right European People’s Party has aggressively fought the idea of an independent panel with enforcement powers. That’s not a big surprise — some MEPs have offered their services to companies which they also regulate, and many hold second (and third and fourth … ) jobs, opening the door to all sorts of conflicts of interest.

Nothing new: As POLITICO reported way back in 2017, German MEP Markus Ferber offered advice to the financial industry — on a regulation that he had shaped as a lawmaker. He failed to declare these potential conflicts of interest to the Parliament, which responded by doing — nothing. Still, numerous MEPs continue working for companies as lawyers or consultants, or get cash via foundations.

EU BILLIONS FOR BALKANS

VDL’S PLAN FOR WESTERN BALKANS: Ursula von der Leyen pledged to bring the economies of the Western Balkans and the EU closer with a €6 billion investment package, to be delivered on condition the countries make reforms to open up their economies, overcome their conflicts and modernize administration, Nektaria Stamouli reports.

The plan: The EU wants to boost the region’s economies not just by injecting cash, but also by opening the EU’s huge and rich market in areas such as free movement of goods and services, transport and energy.

Huge ambition: Speaking Monday, von der Leyen, who is on a four-day tour of the region, said the EU package aims to double the economies of Kosovo and North Macedonia in the next decade.

Window of opportunity: In North Macedonia, she called on all parties to seize the opportunity and back the necessary constitutional changes needed for accession to the EU. “There is a true momentum now, all over the European Union and in those countries who want to join the European Union, for the enlargement process.”

But huge obstacles remain: Von der Leyen said in Pristina that success is dependent on the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo — whose conflict escalated in the past weeks. “The history of enlargement is a history of countries that came out of World War II. It is a history of peace and of reconciliation and of normalization of relations, and therefore this is a precondition to join the EU,” she said.

And then there’s the problem of organized crime: A significant portion of Kosovo’s economy is generated by organized crime, human trafficking, smuggling, the drugs trade and other so-called informal economy activities, according to the World Bank. Diplomats say Kosovo’s economy will need to undergo a huge transformation away from criminal activities before the EU can let the country in.

ITALIAN POLITICS

GOODBYE TO ITALIAN TECHNOCRATS: Italy’s coalition parties have agreed to a draft bill that would see the country change to directly electing a prime minister, destroying the Italian tradition of parachuting in technocrats to do unpopular work, Hannah Roberts writes in to report.

All change: The bill would allow for the prime minister to be elected directly for a term of five years, according to a government official. The winning candidate and their coalition or party would receive a majority bonus in parliament, if required, to ensure a workable majority. Italy’s president would no longer have so much leeway to appoint the prime minister, but would still appoint cabinet ministers as selected by the PM.

What it means: The reform would likely centralize more power in a single figure. But opponents claim Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is dismantling a system that gives the president strong checks and balance over government.

EU COURT GOES PUBLIC OVER MONEY ROW WITH EX-ITALIAN MEP: The EU’s lower court made public a lawsuit from Crescenzio Rivellini, a former Italian MEP who is refusing to pay back more than €250,000 of EU money, days after POLITICO reported the exclusive story.

Parliament sanctions: The EU’s anti-fraud agency, OLAF, found that Rivellini had broken EU rules by paying public funds to a company that never did real work and was owned by Bianca Maria D’Angelo, his former assistant who allegedly became his partner, my colleague Gregorio Sorgi reports. The European Parliament sanctioned Rivellini by withholding part of his pension.

Rivellini’s defense: In the lawsuit the former EPP MEP argues that D’Angelo resigned as director of the company from 2010 to 2015, so there was no conflict of interest for the contracts signed throughout that period. Rivellini also denied that he was romantically involved with D’Angelo, as claimed by OLAF. But OLAF says the first contracts between Rivellini and the firm date back to September 2009, when D’Angelo managed the company.

Salvini meets Rivellini: The former MEP recently hosted a dinner in Naples in honor of Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right League party, according to the local daily Il Mattino. Salvini is using Rivellini’s network to expand his party’s appeal in the south of Italy as several local politicians including D’Angelo are considering defecting to the League, reports Il Mattino.

**Hear Georges Gilkinet, Belgium vice-prime minister and minister for transport and mobility open the Mobility stream of our Sustainable Future Week on November 14. Apply to attend onsite here**

IN OTHER NEWS

‘A TIME FOR WAR’: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, saying it would amount to a “surrender to Hamas” and that “this is a time for war.” Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said that it struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon.

FRANCE SUES COMMISSION OVER PRIMACY OF ENGLISH: Paris is suing the EU for hiring some new employees based on assessments conducted in English. France maintains that English-only tests amount to discrimination and violate the EU treaties. Elisa Braun and Giorgio Leali have the details.

TRICK OR TREAT? French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire will have a call with his Spanish colleague and aspiring European Investment Bank chief Nadia Calviño today at 6 p.m. Will it be trick or treat? France has not yet said which candidate it will support in the EIB race. Le Maire may also want to discuss the stalling EU fiscal reform handled by the Spanish presidency. Spain is expected to present a new compromise on the matter in November.

WHO WILL LEAD ON AI? With U.S. President Joe Biden publishing his long-awaited executive order on AI, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak preparing to host his AI summit, this is a make-or-break week for policing the technology. But as Mark Scott reports, officials are not above taking potshots at rival AI plans in other countries.

UKRAINE’S ALLIES PLAN US CHARM OFFENSIVE: European politicians aim to tour the U.S. to shore up support for Ukraine — a response to calls by some Republican Party lawmakers for Washington to cut the flow of aid, military hardware and funds to Kyiv. Gabriel Gavin, Jacopo Barigazzi and Eric Bazail-Eimil have the details.

STRUTH! AUSTRALIA TRASHES EU DEAL: “Not good enough,” was Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell’s verdict on the trade deal on offer from the EU before he walked away from the negotiating table this week. But, as Camille Gijs writes, Canberra will struggle to do better — and may have to wait years to come close to sealing a bargain with the EU again.

NORWAY’S GOVERNMENT WOBBLES: Norway’s government risks crisis over a contentious package of EU energy bills. The Agrarian Party has threatened to quit the administration in Oslo if the EU’s Clean Energy for All Europeans Package is transposed into Norwegian law. Varg Folkman has the details.

THE US AND GREAT POWER WAR: “America’s adversaries are preparing for war,” writes Andrew A. Michta of the Atlantic Council in an opinion article for POLITICO. The U.S. “needs to stop talking about “great power competition” and instead ask what “winning” this conflict between democracies and dictatorships would actually look like,” he argues.

DO YOU KNOW HUNGARY BETTER THAN DONALD TRUMP DOES? Donald Trump is very smart. Just ask him and he’ll tell you as much. But his knowledge of European geography is a little dodgy, especially when it comes to Hungary, which is unfortunate as its prime minister is one of his best buddies. Can you do better than the former U.S. president? Test your knowledge on Hungary with our quiz.

**Get your backstage pass to major global policy events with Global Playbook. POLITICO’s latest newsletter takes you behind the scenes at the events that shake global policy, so you can make potent moves in the policies that matter to you. To start receiving our first editions, sign up here.**

AGENDA

— Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Montenegro; meets President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović and attends a join press conference at 9:45 a.m. … meets with Prime Minister Dritan Abazović … visits “Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor: Grid Section in Montenegro” … also visits Serbia; meets with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić … meets Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, joint press conference at 2:20 p.m. Watch.

— European Parliament President Roberta Metsola is in Paris, France; inaugurates the Europa Experience at 10 a.m. … meets the President of the French National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet at noon … meets the French President Emmanuel Macron at 1:15 p.m. (joint press statement at 1 p.m.). Watch.

— Informal ministerial meeting on tourism in Palma, Spain. Arrivals and doorsteps at 8:40 a.m. … press conference at 2:45 p.m. Agenda. Watch.

— Nordic Council 2023 takes place in Oslo, Norway, with heads of government and state of the Nordic region. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gives a speech at 2:15 p.m. Agenda.

— EU member countries’ permanent representatives meet in Coreper II at 10 a.m.

— Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica delivers a keynote speech via videoconference for the external meeting of the European Committee of the Regions Bureau.

— Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson holds an online meeting with Uniper CEO Michael Lewis … participates online in a panel discussion at the Financial Times’ Energy Transition Summit.

— Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra is in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; meets with COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber … meets with Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

BRUSSELS CORNER

ROAD COLLAPSE IN IXELLES: A road collapsed on Avenue Adolphe Buyl in Ixelles last week — repair work will last from six to eight weeks, Brussels public transport company STIB announced. Trams 8 and 25 will be replaced by T-buses during the construction.

DO YOU READ BELGIAN? The annual “Do you read Belgian?” campaign will promote French-language literature through various activities in November. There will be workshops, meet and greets, lectures and book signings.

BRUXELLES SUR SCÈNES: Not all plays and concerts take place in theaters — you can catch some at a café or a bar. A new festival dedicated to less formal performances kicks off on Wednesday and will last until the end of November. Here is the program.

GIANT ANIMAL EXHIBITION: A new exhibition showing 11 gigantic animals that lived after the dinosaurs — such as Otodus megalodon, the mightiest shark of all time, and Gigantopithecus blacki, a giant ape — has opened at the Natural History Museum in Brussels. You can see it until August 25 next year.

BIRTHDAYS: Former Belgian PM and Council President Herman Van Rompuy; Former MEPs John Howarth and Rupert Lowe; Italy’s former Deputy PM Angelino Alfano.

THANKS to Nektaria Stamouli, Giorgio Leali, Giovanna Faggionato, Sarah Wheaton, Paul Dallison, Gregorio Sorgi, Playbook reporter Ketrin Jochecová, editor Jack Lahart and producer Seb Starcevic.

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