Economy and EmploymentEnergy and EnvironmentForeign and DefenseBy : EuroEFE/EURACTIV/EFE Network |EUROEFE EURACTIV06-15-2022 (updated: 06-15-2022)China, threat or challenge for the EU?[EFE-EPA]Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp TelegramMadrid (EuroEFE)/Berlin/Paris (EA.com).– The main European news from the capitals of the partners that make up the EURACTIV network of multilingual portals, including EuroEFE:In the news this Wednesday from Las Capitales:China, threat or challenge for Europe?The EU remains dividedAlthough Americans and Europeans are still divided on whether to treat the Asian giant as a "threat" or a "challenge" to Europe's security, the differences in criteria between them are becoming smaller, while the allies try to come to an agreement. agreement on NATO's new long-term strategic document, which mentions Beijing for the first time."China's growing influence is (changing) the world, with direct consequences for our security and our democracies," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the Athens-Macedonia News Agency (ANA) on Tuesday. , while adding that "China's coercive policies" are "threats and challenges" to the security of the West.A few weeks earlier, at the Davos Forum, Stoltenberg stressed that Western countries should not sacrifice their security for economic gain, while pointing out the risks of not policing Russia's close economic ties with China.Excellent meeting with 🇧🇪🇩🇰🇱🇻🇳🇱🇵🇱🇵🇹🇷🇴 in The Hague to prepare for a historic #NATOSummit.In Madrid, Allies will make decisions to keep NATO strong in a more competitive world.Thanks to @MinPres for hosting, to @Statsmin for co-hosting, and to all for the productive discussions.pic.twitter.com/iu6AMIKNDp— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) June 14, 2022According to diplomatic sources consulted by EURACTIV.com, most of the EU's partners, including France and Germany, are reluctant to place Russia and China at the same level of "threat" for Europe, and prefer to talk about Russia. as a clear danger to the EU, while Beijing is described as a "challenge" to security.However, even that classification of China as a "challenge" is a tougher position than the current NATO strategic concept on the Asian giant, published in 2010, which simply does not mention Beijing.Last year, the leaders of the Atlantic Alliance partners, in a historic turn, stressed that China poses challenges that must be answered, partly at the behest of the United States."Transatlantic views on China have been divergent for a long time, but lately they are gradually converging," Bruno Lete, an expert at The German Marshall Fund in Brussels, told EURACTIV.com.Defense minister Wei Fenghe said the annexation of Taiwan 'must be achieved' during a recent address.“We laid out a fairly compressive position that I viewed as firm, but didn't break any new ground," @GMFAsia's @BonnieGlaser told @FT. Read more: https://t.co/snikKnztkL— German Marshall Fund (@gmfus) June 13, 2022“However, EU member states maintain a pragmatic approach to China, not least because of their economic interdependencies.The EU's partners are not unanimous as to whether China constitutes a threat and, for the moment, the consensus is to describe it as a "strategic competitor", he explained, while adding that NATO's new strategy will follow the same line.The Alliance is also likely to try to play down cooperation with China in building infrastructure and supply chains.Today is the 25th Anniversary of the #Nato-Russia Founding Act. Yes, back then the treaty embodied hope the West and Russia can co-exist peacefully and cooperate for European security.Clearly, in 2 decades something went really wrong.Deterioration on fast-track– Bruno Lete (@Bruno_Lete) May 27, 2022Washington, especially under former President Donald Trump, has long pressured European countries to veto Chinese technology, including Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei, and exclude it from their 5G networks."The Trump administration was asking the EU to accept an 'America first, and against China' policy, but that did not work well for Washington," Lete stressed.«The (Joe) Biden Administration is more moderate, and they understand that the Europeans have their own relationship with Beijing, although they continue to pressure the EU partners to address security issues (…) that puts the Europeans in a position much more comfortable when it comes to assuming NATO's position with respect to China," he added."The hardening of the position of NATO and the EU in (its relations with) China is something shared in Germany," Tim Rühlig, a researcher at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), told EURACTIV.de.🇨🇳 cannot offer a coherent vision for global order, but its economic power & style of foreign policy are still a big challenge for 🇪🇺.How to deal with this ambiguity?In his new #PolicyBrief, @ruehlig concludes 7 lessons for a well-grounded #China policy.https://t.co/NYMJc1foWdThe German government is working on a new strategy for China that will most likely detail this more critical approach, and address the problem of excessive German dependencies on the Chinese supply chain, not least so as not to repeat Germany's dependency on Russian hydrocarbons, he explained. Ruhlig.My new paper is out!I explain why 🇨🇳 has no coherent global vision, why this is a challenge for Europe and how we should react.Check it out 👇👇👇 https://t.co/jZFevKQUGd— Tim Rühlig (@ruehlig) June 14, 2022“What remains unclear is the degree, the speed and the method (to achieve those goals),” Rühlig explained, adding that there are divergent views on the matter in German economic and political circles.According to the expert, this is especially evident in the powerful German automobile industry, since China is a key import and export market for Berlin."Since China is a major player in e-mobility, in the coming years the country will go from being a market opportunity to being above all a competitor for the German automobile industry," explained Rühlig."Reducing critical dependencies on China is more difficult and will take longer than disassociating from Russia, but the consensus that we need to reduce dependencies and take a more critical approach is growing every day," he noted.Since 2017, shortly after Macron took office, France has been calling for more restrictions on Chinese investment, more prudence and creating an industrial strategy that eventually dispenses with Chinese inputs.Although there has never been a direct reference to China, the Asian giant is omnipresent in French industrial strategy.And that became very clear after the mask supply crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the crisis due to the shortage of semiconductors.The French government's position on China is one of risk reduction, especially with regard to technology transfers and foreign direct investment,” Mathieu Duchâtel, director of the Asia Program at the Montaigne Institute, explained to EURACTIV.fr."The official point of view of France (is exempt from political positions) regarding the countries, although the reality of Chinese economic power is not ignored," added Duchâtel.+58% for Chinese imports of chip-manufacturing equipment in 2021. In the US, advocates of tighter controls on equipment exports to China are losing the battle against "normal market forces".https://t.co/Daqr003g3B— Mathieu Duchâtel (@mtdtl) June 14, 2022In this sense, France was a crucial actor in getting the EU regulation agreed that establishes a control framework for foreign direct investments in 2020.The same goes for the 2019 PACTE law, which underpins the government's efforts to screen foreign direct investments and encourages French companies to verify all elements of the supply chain.(Alexandra Brzozowski, Oliver Noyan and Théo Bourgery | EURACTIV.com, EURACTIV.de and EURACTIV.fr)The French minister for the EU asks for a "positive signal" for Ukraine's candidacy to join the bloc:It is necessary for the EU to facilitate Ukraine's European path with a view to its future accession, according to the French Minister for Europe, Clément Beaune, on Tuesday, hours after the last visit to kyiv by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der They read.“We must give a positive signal as soon as possible”, although “launching an accession process takes time”, Beaune assured in an interview with the France Inter radio station."I thought qu'il ya un danger, a certain name derives dans ce qui s'appelle Nupes."Clément Beaune, minister délégué chargé de l'Europe, candidate Ensemble!In Paris, this is the invitation of the Grand Entertainment.Retrouvez son interview.➡️ https://t.co/zFyLsjBUj1 pic.twitter.com/n8oCVxDwIn– France Inter (@franceinter) June 14, 2022In the official's opinion, the priority now is to stop the war, rebuild Ukraine and then facilitate its accession, in the best conditions, both for the EU and for Ukraine.Von der Leyen assured after her last surprise trip to kyiv that Brussels is in favor of paving the way for kyiv in Europe.The heads of state and government will decide whether to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate country at the end of June, following the opinion of the European Commission this coming Friday.Extensive state aid package to mitigate the impact of the crisis:The package of public measures to mitigate the impact of inflation in Austria will include a higher than initially planned "climate bonus" of around 500 euros, the government announced on Tuesday.Langfristig hui, kurzfristig pfui – in etwa so lässt sich die Expertenkritik am neuen Entlastungspaket zusammenfassen.„Presse"-Wirtschaftschef Gerhard Hofer über einen großen Wurf, das „Ende eines Showeffekts" und immer noch zu viel Gießkanne.#Podcast… https://t.co/TDDhvtSF9m— Die Presse (@DiePressecom) June 15, 2022The package will finance structural and short-term measures worth 28,000 million euros until 2026, aimed above all at the most vulnerable families."This package relieves the (economic) burden on all Austrians and gives them back the financial margin that inflation has taken away from them," said Chancellor Karl Nehammer.Finland inaugurates the most powerful supercomputer in Europe:Since Monday, Finland has had LUMI, the most powerful supercomputer in Europe and the third in the world, inaugurated in the town of Kajaani, about 500 kilometers north of Helsinki.Located in a former paper mill, and currently a data center of the IT Center for Science, LUMI (Large Unified Modern Infrastructure) is the result of the joint initiative “EuroHPC Joint Undertaking”.Europe's fastest #supercomputer was inaugurated yesterday in Kajaani, #Finland.@LUMIhpc is also the most energy-efficient supercomputer in Europe and one of the most powerful ones in the world.https://t.co/OnNMaUodPW via @ComputerWeekly @CSCfi @EuroHPC_JU #goodnewsfromfinlandThe initiative took its first steps in 2018, with some other European countries and private partners with the aim of developing a supercomputing ecosystem in Europe.The computer can generate the power equivalent to that of about two million laptops, is owned by EuroHPC and is managed by a consortium of ten countries.(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)Italy and Brussels look to Israel and Egypt as an alternative to Russian gas:Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi met Tuesday in Israel with his counterpart from that country, Naftali Bennet, with whom he discussed possible alternatives to the supply of Russian fossil fuels, according to Italian media reports.Draghi in Israele: "L'Italia rigetta ogni forma di odio e cerca la pace".The first visit to the Museo dell'Olocaust Yad Vashem in Gerusalemme.Because of the encounter with the Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett #ANSA https://t.co/Ph7VfXKkVm– Agenzia ANSA (@Agenzia_Ansa) June 14, 2022"On the energy front, we are working together on the use of gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and on the development of renewable energies," said Draghi.During their two-day visit to Israel and the region, together with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the two leaders discussed with local authorities the energy and food crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine.Spain resumes the “Cross the Strait” operation:Spain will resume this Wednesday Operation Crossing the Strait, which will last for three months, after two years in which it was paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the diplomatic crisis with Morocco over the migration issue.On the first day of Operation Paso del Estrecho, slight influx through #Melilla.The Autonomous City is preparing a source and there are already placed toilets.Sources consulted suggest that more cars will come when the school year ends.pic.twitter.com/up2F0cfqxu– The Lighthouse of Melilla (@ElFarodeMelilla) June 15, 2022The operation, which is the largest migratory movement in the world between two continents, was launched in 1986 to facilitate the flow of millions of people through the 15-kilometer-long Strait that separates Europe and Africa.This summer, it is expected that more than three million Maghreb residents of Northern Europe will return to their countries of origin for the holidays.(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)The Portuguese prime minister urges the EU to provide more aid to Ukraine and not speculate on its possible accession to the community bloc:The European Union should focus on giving Ukraine immediate aid instead of discussing future EU membership, Prime Minister António Costa said on Tuesday.The EU should focus on providing immediate help to Ukraine rather than engaging in 'legal debates' about whether to designate the country as a candidate for membership, according to Portugal's prime ministerhttps://t.co/3RUl6yHFPR— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) June 14, 2022“In order to give this clear and immediate support, we do not need to open now a negotiation or procedure that could take many years.The President of France (Emmanuel) Macron speaks of decades, I do not say decades, but of course a long, long time, ”he stressed.“The great risk is that false expectations are created that turn into a bitter disappointment.Less legal debates, more practical solutions," Costa said in an interview published by the Financial Times on Tuesday.(Sonia Ferreira | Lusa.pt)Poland subsidizes coal to prevent price speculation:The Polish government has announced its intention to subsidize coal for domestic and housing cooperatives, in a complex context marked by a sharp increase in the prices of that mineral, and the shortage caused by the Russian coal embargo, as announced on Tuesday. the Polish Minister of Energy, Anna Moskwa.Nie zabraknie węgla po akceptowalnej cenie❗➡️ Gwarantujemy cenę na poziomie 996.60 zł za tonę.➡️ Zapewniamy możliwość odbioru w autoryzowanych składach na terenie całej Polski.➡️ Wprowadzamy rekompensaty dla sprzedawców, którzy włączą się w rządowy program.pic.twitter.com/NdO2WJbW2f— Anna Moskwa (@moskwa_anna) June 14, 2022Under the government plan, consumers will be able to buy up to three tons of charcoal per household at a maximum price of 996 zlotys (214 euros).Sellers who maintain the price at this level will receive up to 750 zlotys (161 euros) of compensation.To benefit from the subsidy, consumers will have to buy the coal from a seller that has joined the subsidy program or order it at the Polish Mining Group (PGG) store, the minister explained.Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram