Latest news with #ECSC
Euronews
12-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Von der Leyen, Costa and Mesola took private jet to Luxembourg event
Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa and Roberta Metsola flew together on a private plane from Brussels to attend an event in Luxembourg last week, an extraordinary, high-cost decision made due to scheduling constraints between the three presidents, a spokesperson for the Commission said today. The trio were expected to appear jointly in the city to commemorate Europe Day. The trip took place on Friday and saw the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament visit the Robert Schuman house, accompanied by Luxembourgish Prime Minister Luc Frieden. The rationale for flying rather than driving to Luxembourg - roughly 200 km from Brussels - was mainly prompted by the appearance of Friedrich Merz, the new Chancellor of Germany, in the Belgian capital. Merz chose Europe Day to make his first visit to Brussels since taking office. He met separately with Costa, von der Leyen and Metsola, in that order, and held press conferences with Costa and von der Leyen, taking questions from journalists. The bilateral meetings stretched over the entire morning, leaving the three presidents with an extremely tight itinerary to move to Luxembourg City and attend the commemorative event, pencilled for early afternoon, at the same time. The teams in Brussels then chose to ditch the car option and resort to air charter, the costs of which were shared among the three institutions. "Due to the scheduling constraints of the three presidents and the prime minister, the only travelling option to allow all of them to attend the commemoration of the Schuman Declaration together and on time was to take a charter flight," Paula Pinho, the Commission's chief spokesperson, said on Monday. "This is the reason why, exceptionally, this was the option taken to get there." The offices of Costa and Metsola voiced a similar message. The event in Luxembourg, hosted at the prime minister's invitation to mark the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, started in the early afternoon and lasted about two hours. The four leaders visited the house where Robert Schuman, the French politician who delivered the declaration on 9 May 1950, grew up. Schuman's proposal to create a new authority to manage the production of coal and steel from France and West Germany paved the way for the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and kick-started the project of European integration. Luxembourg was one of the six founding members of the ECSC and served as host of the independent High Authority, the precursor of the European Commission. During Friday's trip, the four leaders also visited the old seat of the High Authority. Once the event was over, von der Leyen and Costa returned to Brussels using the rented plane while Metsola and her team flew commercial to Cyprus. Although air flights are frequent for long-distance travel, using the same option for such a short-distance trip is likely to raise eyebrows, given the EU's commitment to sustainability and the pressure from member states to control expenses.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The birth of the EU: Europe celebrates 75th anniversary of the Schuman declaration
9 May 2025 marked the 75th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, the proposal by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman (1886-1963) to pool the production of coal and steel – vital raw materials for Europe's industry and economy – with Germany. This was done through the Economic Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and though they did not know it at the time, the creation of this market planted the seeds that would eventually grow into the European Union (EU). Given the current climate of economic turmoil, this may seem an inopportune moment to remember such an anniversary. However, our current geopolitical scenario makes it all the more important to remember the enormous significance of the integration process sparked by the Schuman Declaration, both for Europeans and for the world at large. Leer más: The ECSC's proposal marked a major step towards reconciliation for France and Germany, two enemies who had been at war three times between 1870 and 1945: the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), the First World War (1914-1918) and the Second World War (1939-1945). It was time to pursue lasting peace between these historically bitter rivals, one based on economic ties and mutual interest. It worked, so much so that the ECSC became the starting point for the 'Franco-German axis' that still underpins European cooperation to this day. Indeed, when he received the new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the Elysée Palace on 7 May 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron made reference to the Franco-German 'réflexe' – the natural instinct for the two countries to cooperate. Moreover, the seed planted by the Schuman Declaration bore fruit in the form of a long period of peace in Western Europe – there has never been war between EU member states. This is an unquestionably huge achievement for a territory that had been in an almost permanent state of war since the fall of the Roman Empire. After this start, France and Germany invited the other democratic countries of Western Europe to join their project. Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg accepted, and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) would form the next step in shaping today's European Union. In 1953, three years after the Schuman Declaration, Europe's nations sought to strengthen their economic and trade agreement with a political and institutional foundation. To this end, they considered creating the European Defence Community. However, the treaty drafted by Alcide De Gasperi, who served as Italian Prime Minister from 1945 to 1953, was rejected by the French National Assembly (even though it had been originally suggested by the French). The impetus for a common defence came from the existential threat that the Soviet Union posed to European security. Today history is repeating itself, as Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine is fuelling the need for Europe to mount a common defence. The difference now is that EU member states have decades of experience in cooperating with one another – the decision by European leaders to use EU funds to finance common defence-related projects is proof of this. Without the creation of the ECSC, and all it stood for, such an agreement would be unthinkable. Leer más: From the outset, the ECSC was a project of European cooperation. This cooperation was openly promoted and supported by the United States through the Marshall Plan and the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC), known today as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This economic cooperation, which eventually took the form of the EMU, made it possible to put an end to the market fragmentation that had been so damaging to Europe after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As early as 1926, the Austrian politician and Count Richard von Coundenhove-Kalergi was asking the question 'how can European companies compete with American ones if they operate in a market divided into sealed-off compartments, as opposed to the large single market in which their American rivals operate?' Thanks to the process of economic integration launched by the Schuman Declaration, this disadvantage has been significantly reduced. European companies owe much of their competitiveness to the continental base that the EMU has provided. Moreover, having achieved such integration may now give Europeans – if they are able to speak as one – the ability to negotiate in the multipolar world of economic and political giants that is currently taking shape. None of this would have been possible if Jean Monnet, then Planning Commissioner in the French Government, had not proposed the idea of creating the ECSC to Minister Robert Schuman, and if Schuman had not had the vision, and the boldness, to present it in the form of the Schuman Declaration. As Europeans we owe our present, and quite possibly our future, to this decision. Este artículo fue publicado originalmente en The Conversation, un sitio de noticias sin fines de lucro dedicado a compartir ideas de expertos académicos. Lee mas: Europe is moving to reposition itself in Donald Trump's new global order The EU was built for another age – here's how it must adapt to survive Germany's new government wants to be a foreign policy power Emilio José González González no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virginia Beach to vote on revised budget that scraps boat tax for annual fee Tuesday
VIRGINIA BEACH — An armada of mariners spoke out against a hefty boat tax in Virginia Beach this budget season leading the City Council to retract the proposal. Instead, council members have informally agreed to charge boat owners an annual licensing fee. Multiple other changes have been incorporated into the proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget during a last-minute process called reconciliation. Funding redirected from other parts of the budget, as well as increases in the estimated reimbursements from state revenue, will cover most of the changes, according to city Budget Director Kevin Chatellier. The city's total proposed operating budget remains at $2.8 billion, a 4.7% increase over the previous year. The Capital Improvement Program budget, a six-year plan, is $5.6 billion. The City Council will vote on the budget Tuesday. Some of the last minute changes and additions include: A pleasure boat annual registration fee will be charged in 2026. The fee will be tiered based on size of the vessel and will range from $20 to $500. The revenue generated will be applied to future dredging needs. Rudee Park development funding will be reduced by $10 million, bringing the total budgeted cost of the project to $50 million. The reduction aims to preserve bonding capacity in the Tourism Investment Program Fund for future needs. The economic development department will be provided an increase of $250,000 to facilitate a Façade Improvement Grant program specifically for business along Atlantic Avenue. The East Coast Surfing Championship (ECSC) will receive an additional $75,000, bringing the total city support up to $100,000 for the event. The Neptune Festival will receive an additional $50,000, for a total of $525,000. A controversial tax increase — upping the city meals tax by half a percentage point to 6% — will likely remain in the budget, despite some council members pushing back against it. The increase is projected to generate more than $9 million annually, which will be dedicated to public safety projects and judicial administration, according to the reconciliation document. Dozens of other reconciled changes can be viewed on the city's online budget page at Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125,
