Photo : South China Morning Post
20 November 2024, Wednesday | NIAS Europe Daily Brief #990
By Neha Tresa George
GERMANY
Scholz meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit
On 19 November, Deutsche Welle reported on the talks held between Chancellor Scholz and China’s President Xi Jinping. At the sidelines of the G20 summit, they discussed trade and economic relations and the war in Ukraine. Scholz said: “It is important that we ensure that a level playing field accompanies the economic activities of companies on all sides, that is central to the conditions for future work.” In response, Xi also stressed the development of a "strategic" and "long-term" relationship with Germany. The leaders also hoped for a peaceful negotiation and dialogue with the EU over the “tit for tat tariffs on electric vehicles” as it has impacted the German economy. Besides this, Scholz also brought up the matter of its support to Ukraine. He also expressed his disapproval over China’s delivery of weapons to Russia. (Germany's Scholz, China's Xi hold talks at G20,” Deutsche Welle, 19 November 2024)
SPD leaders contemplate the decision on the upcoming Chancellor
On 19 November, Deutsche Welle reported on the meeting of senior leaders of Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) to discuss the Chancellor candidate for the snap elections in February 2025. With the collapse of the three-party coalition headed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his decreasing popularity, SPD is bound to change their campaign. On the upcoming elections, Scholz said: “It's completely clear that we want to stand together. We want to be successful together.” Meanwhile, many of the regional SPD leaders preferred the current defence minister Boris Pistorius over Scholz. They said that they noted a lot of support for Pistorius from their constituencies. Former SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel also warned that the party would end up polling less than 15 per cent if no changes were made. However, Scholz enjoys some support within the party. This is because some of the SPD leaders described Scholz as the “right person for the job.” Against the backdrop of the summit, Scholz also said that he felt “clear support” from the party. (Scholz or Pistorius: Germany's SPD to discuss candidates,” Deutsche Welle, 19 November 2024)
GEORGIA
Police destroys protestors camp in Tbilisi
On 19 November, Deutsche Welle reported that the police destroyed a tent camp in Tbilisi, set up the protestors against the recent results of the recent parliamentary elections. The Georgian Dream Party’s re-election to the parliament was seen by the citizens as against the country’s aspirations to join the EU. They claim that the results were the result of a vote fraud influenced by Russia. However, the Party’s leaders have refuted these claims with the Central Election Commission saying it won 54 per cent of the vote. President Salome Zourabichvili has filed a lawsuit against the election rejecting the results. She said that the elections had “widespread violations of voting universality and ballot secrecy.” The Georgian opposition party members also refused to enter the Parliament calling the results as “illegitimate.” The leader of the opposition Akhali party, Nika Gvaramia explained that many of the party activists were injured or detained in the protests. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry warned the protestors to leave and not to disturb the daily lives of people. (Georgia: Police break up election protest camp,” Deutsche Welle, 19 November 2024)
Leader of Abkhazia resigns amid protests over the pro-Russian bill
On 19 November, the BBC reported on the resignation of Aslan Bzhania, leader of Georgia’s region of Abkhazia following large-scale protests over a controversial pro-Russian bill. According to Bzhania’s office: “He resigned to maintain stability and constitutional order.” The protestors who barged into the parliament in Sukhumi were asked to leave on condition of his resignation. The bill encouraging legalised Russian investment and land ownership was also withdrawn. Bzhania’s office further said that his deputy would become the acting leader following the dismissal of the current Prime Minister. However, Abkhazia’s opposition has not yet commented on his resignation. Abkhazia is a country located along the Black Sea and Caucasus mountains. It declared its independence in 1999 and Russia recognised its sovereignty in 2008. Although it is separated from Georgia, most countries consider it part of Georgia. However, according to Georgia, Abkhazia is "occupied" by Moscow. (Jaroslav Lukiv, “Abkhazia: Leader of Georgia breakaway region resigns,” BBC, 19 November 2024)
SPAIN
Tennis legend Rafael Nada retires at 38
On 20 November, Spain’s tennis legend Rafael Nadal retired at the age of 38. His professional tennis career ended as Carlos Alcaraz of the Netherlands defeated him in the Davis Cup quarter-finals. He seemed emotional during the Spanish national anthem amidst thousands of fans cheering for him. He said: “I was having an emotional day, nerves before what could be my last singles match as a professional.” He is a 22-time Grand Slam champion. However, he was down with injury for years. His participation in the game was only confirmed after captain David Ferrer said that he would play in the first singles rubber of the opening finals clash. After the game, he admitted that he was not in the “rhythm of competition.” He added that although he had dreamt of winning the last David Cup, he conveyed that he won’t be hard on himself as this was all he had. (“Rafael Nadal glittering tennis career over after Spain's Davis Cup defeat,” France24, 20 November 2024)
REGIONAL
The EU gears up for more defence cooperation; EU Countries demand long-term certainty
On 19 November, Euronews reported that the EU sought longer-term certainty despite a 17 per cent increase in turnover. The leaders are set to cooperate on missile defence which is a next-generation combat vessel. However, some of the European governments prefer military spending through a set of decisions that would be formulated in the EU defence ministers meeting in Brussels. They needed long-term certainty to defend against the threats from the war in Ukraine and Trump’s second Presidency in the US. Meanwhile, the defence manufacturers have welcomed this cooperation. They further said that the consortium rules on “eligibility and access to funds” had to be clarified. Micael Johansson, CEO of Saab, one of the EU’s defence manufacturers said that drone capability, small technologies, and integrated air and missile defence systems were lacking in the EU. (Jack Schickler, “Europe’s landmark new missile, warship projects get cautious industry thumbs-up,” Euronews, 19 November 2024)
Finland and Germany warn over undersea cable sabotage
On 19 November, Politico reported on the warnings of Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen over the threats faced by the undersea cables. He said: “NATO and [the] EU have to do a lot more to protect this critical infrastructure.” His comments came amidst undersea an investigation of a damaged internet cable C-Lion1 connecting Santahamina, near Helsinki, to Rostock, Germany. Sweden’s Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin also reported on the damage of a second undersea cable. Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Tuesday referred to the damage as “sabotage. Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock assured that the EU would remain united. She also said that these cant be coincidences. Häkkänen further said that they were aware of Russia’s capability and willingness to do sabotage in Europe. In response to the incident, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom had declared a joint statement warning against “Moscow’s escalating activities.” Meanwhile, a Swedish outlet SVT reported on the presence of a Chinese ship around the areas where the cables were damaged. This also marks the second damage in a year sparking security concern. (“Finland urges NATO, EU to shield critical networks after undersea cables damaged,” Politico, 19 November 2024)
Politico lists out the hypothetical outcomes of the new European Commission
On 19 November, Politico reported on the possible outcomes of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s new Commission. Although she hoped the Commission to start its functions on 01 December, the Parliament did not approve the final six executive vice-presidents and Hungary’s Oliver Várhelyi. The Parliament is facing fights between the political factions such as the liberal group Renew and the Socialists and Ursula’s European People’s Party (EPP) over the nomination of Raffaele Fitto, for executive vice president who is a hard-right from Germany. In response, the EPP had launched an offensive against the Socialists’ candidate, Teresa Ribera over the floods in Valencia. Politico has listed some of the possible hypotheses. Following the negotiation, if the seven pending commissioners are passed with a two-third majority, then the MEPs would vote on the 27 commissioners including Von der Leyen. If the commission get a simple majority before 28 November, the executive shall be set up on 01 December. Apart from this, if the seven pending commissioners do not get a majority at first, then the evaluation committee will vote on individual nominees through a secret ballot. If they do not pass, then there would be no commission until 2025. (Max Griera and Giovanna Coi, “Von der Leyen’s final hurdle: How to get her new Commission started by Dec. 1,” Politico, 19 November 2024)
Uncertainity looms over climate finds at COP29
On 19 November, Politico reported on the stance of smaller countries at the COP29 held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The primary question at the summit was over funds. While the smaller countries pushed for trillions for clean and sustainable energy, the US and the EU refused to give in to their demands. Some of the African countries have highlighted that their societies and economies were caught at the grip of climate change and their consequences. According to some of the representatives from these countries, the USD 200 or 300 billion discussed by the EU was “underwhelming” considering their needs, especially island countries. Although the EU and the US agree on the trillion-dollar funds needed for climate change, they claim that it could only be supplemented with the help of private capital, as the budgets could not be stretched too much. The deal concluded at the end of the summit would impact the world for decades. ( Sara Schonhardt, Zack Colman, Zia Weise and Karl Mathiesen, “Underwhelming’: Poor countries push for way more climate funding than the EU is floating,” Politico, 19 November 2024)