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Euronews
26-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
MEPs on special mission to Washington, Newsletter
A delegation of MEPs from the Parliament's trade committee will travel to Washington between 27 and 30 May. But if Trump is running shy of one-on-one talks with Ursula von der Leyen, what difference if any will a bunch of EU lawmakers make, especially from an obscure assembly he almost certainly doesn't recognise? The US president threatened on Friday to impose 'a straight 50% tariff on the EU', an indicator for how well negotiations between the US and the EU are currently going. By Sunday Trump and von der Leyen had held a call, described as 'good' by the Commission President in a post on X, and the US president has now delayed imposition of the 50% tariff until 9 July pending the ongoing negotiations EU. But all discussions so far have place behind closed doors, or through exchanges of letters, between a small number of President Trump's advisors and a team of high-level EU negotiators. The voice of this group of MEPs led by the chair of the trade committee Bernd Lange (Germany/S&D) might fall on deaf ears, if any US lawmakers or trade representatives deign to listen to them. 'The main objective of this visit is to hear directly from the US administration and stakeholders about their recriminations and suggestions on how to fix transatlantic and world trade,' Lange said in a statement last week. They might need some time to listen, since the recriminations towards the EU have been coming thick and fast from day one of Trump's second presidency. And suggestions on how to fix transatlantic trade seems a wishful thinking when the US and the EU are so far away from clinching any deal. Industry sceptical on new EU single market strategy Business representatives gave a jaundiced welcome to a new single market strategy designed to strengthen internal trade presented last week by EU Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, following years of promises on the issue by the European Commission. 'Every Commission term seems to feature a flagship communication on the single market, going back to the Monti Report in 2010, but unfortunately these have not always led to tangible improvements for businesses,' Ben Butters, the CEO of Eurochambres, which represents businesses across Europe, told Euronews.
Euronews
21-05-2025
- Business
- Euronews
Industry sceptical on new EU single market strategy
Business representatives gave a jaundiced welcome to a new single market strategy designed to strengthen internal trade presented on Wednesday by EU Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, following years of promises on the issue by the European Commission. 'Every Commission term seems to feature a flagship communication on the single market, going back to the Monti Report in 2010, but unfortunately these have not always led to tangible improvements for businesses,' Ben Butters, the CEO of Eurochambres, which represents businesses across Europe, told Euronews. Then Competition Commissioner Mario Monti's 2010 report sketched a strategy to extend the opening of national markets begun following the creation of the single market in 1993. Séjourné's proposal has the same object: removing barriers between member states to ease business establishment and operation across the bloc. It includes measures such as cross-border recognition of professional qualifications and plans to address the lack of common standards. It aims also to facilitate cross-border provision of services by removing restrictive and diverging national regulations. Butters added that the new strategy tables some interesting solutions to remove barriers within the single market 'but the Commission and member states now need to get on with the task of tackling them; not by adding further layers of legislation, but by ensuring better implementation and enforcement.' Séjourné said there's momentum among industry in support of his strategy. 'In business, there is a close alignment [with the strategy's objectives] given the geopolitical context,' he said, as the EU is locked in a trade war with the US. 'The companies are ready,' he claimed, 'It's up to us to get the member states on board now.' Cutting red tape from smaller companies As part of its single market strategy, the European Commission also unveiled on Wednesday its fourth omnibus package – and which also met with a lukewarm response. One of the key proposals is the creation of a new category of company, dubbed 'small mid-caps', which would be granted exemption from certain EU rules on data protection, climate, and sustainability. Defined by the Commission as firms with more than 250 employees and fewer than 750 and an annual turnover below €150 million, the category aims to bridge the regulatory gap between SMEs and larger corporations. Séjourné also said the proposal was targeting businesses more likely to expand internationally. The move drew a mixed response. Tech lobbying group CCIA Europe welcomed the initiative but expressed disappointment at the limited scope of the exemptions. 'At best, today's proposal will ease GDPR burdens for just 0.2% of EU companies,' said Claudia Canelles Quaroni, the group's privacy and safety lead, on the exemption to the GDPR contained in the Commission's proposal, adding: 'While well-intentioned, its limited scope means it won't meaningfully strengthen Europe's dwindling digital competitiveness.' From the consumer rights perspective, Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, acknowledged the value of simpler rules for both businesses and consumers. He warned however that 'simplification must in no way equal watering down standards", adding: "Opening the GDPR could not only put consumer's rights at risk but also create legal uncertainty for companies, raising their costs if they would need to adapt to new rules.' Belgian authorities have asked the European Parliament to waive the immunity of five of its members, Parliament's president Roberta Metsola announced at the beginning of a plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday. The request relates to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption and illicit lobbying practices involving Chinese company Huawei and some EU lawmakers and assistants. Three of the five MEPs involved belong to the center-right European People's Party: the Italians Salvatore De Meo, Giusi Princi and Fulvio Martusciello. The others are the Maltese Socialist MEP Daniel Attard and the Bulgarian Renew Europe's MEP Nikola Minchev. In a previous statement to Euronews, Martusciello denied corruption, stating that he had only fleetingly met Huawei lobbyists, and that he and his staff never attended the firm's offices. De Meo anticipated his inclusion in the list telling Italian news agency Ansa: 'In my case, [the request] is linked to my participation in a convivial meeting, not organised by Huawei, which took place outside the European Parliament and which was also attended by representatives of the Huawei group." He claimed he has never taken a position in favour of Huawei, either by signing letters, presenting amendments or any legislative activity attributable to the company's interests. Attard said on his Facebook page that the request related to his presence at a football match between Belgian team Anderlecht and Hungarian team Ferencváros last September. 'I was not made aware that the invitation originated from any company, or that it involved a corporate box. I was simply informed by my assistant that a friend of his had tickets to the match [...] It has since emerged that the invitation came from a person who is currently under investigation by the Belgian authorities and who intended to speak to me about Huawei during the match,' wrote the Maltese MEP. The topic was briefly raised during the game, reads the post, and a meeting was subsequently requested, which took place two weeks later in Strasbourg. Attard stated he has not communicated with the company since, and took 'no action' in relation to it or matters related to the company, and he wrote to President Metsola to formally ask for his immunity to be waived. Attendance at an Anderlecht football match (Anderlecht-Ludogorets last October) was behind the request for Bulgarian MEP Minchev, he said in a statement to the Bulgarian press agency BTA. 'I will cooperate one hundred percent and I will ask the EP to lift the immunity as quickly as possible, because I have no connection to any illegal activity of these people, nor anything to worry about,' he said. Each request for waiver will be now be assigned to a rapporteur on the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), whose next meeting is foreseen for 4-5 June. The JURI Committee will prepare a report approving or rejecting the request by the Belgian prosecutor, while each MEP concerned will be given an opportunity to be heard, and may present any documents or other written evidence. The Parliament's plenary will have the final say, deciding whether to lift or not the MEP's immunity with a vote by simple majority. None of the five MEPs replied to requests for comment from Euronews.
