Why the EU single market still isn’t getting enough love from Brussels

Good morning. At the moment, the person who proposed a plan to repair the EU’s single market tells our colleagues that Brussels shouldn’t be being bold sufficient in its cures. And Laura reveals a cross-party European parliament proposal to chop off all EU funding to Hungary.

To the Letta

Policymakers within the EU ought to deal with fixing the bloc’s inside market slightly than spending their power on tariffs and defence initiatives, Enrico Letta tells Alice Hancock and Barbara Moens.

Context: The previous Italian premier final 12 months penned a report on the state of the bloc’s 30-year-old inside market, which identified the gaps and highlighted the areas the EU ought to deal with to deepen integration.

The European Fee will right this moment announce a brand new technique for the one market guided by Letta’s concepts. It is going to listing actions reminiscent of simplifying compliance for small firms, harmonising waste disposal, and doable joint guidelines for sending folks to work in different EU nations, based on a draft seen by the FT.

However Letta mentioned that whereas this was “optimistic”, the “prime precedence” ought to be for the fee to current extra binding guidelines to member states. This implies tabling rules, which member states have to repeat and paste into their rule books, slightly than directives, which they’ll implement as they select.

“We’re getting into a second in our historical past when directives are just like the cavalry horses in opposition to the tanks,” Letta mentioned.

Letta warned that policymakers ought to deal with strengthening the EU’s inside market slightly than placing all their power into tariff retaliation lists within the trade war with the US, or new defence initiatives. Progress “won’t come by inertia”, he mentioned.

The “loopy Trump nightmare” of tariffs was a “lose-lose” state of affairs for the EU, not solely due to the economic impact, but additionally as a result of it sucked up all the eye in Brussels, Letta mentioned.

Brussels wanted the braveness for “robust negotiations with the member states”, significantly bigger ones, Letta mentioned. He feared massive nations “weren’t prepared to just accept a giant motion of consolidation” and had been too preoccupied with defending their very own firms and pursuits.

Chart du jour: Fats entice

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has seen its share value fall 60 per cent from its peak, and final week ousted its chief government. The market stance in the direction of its star drug Ozempic highlights the pitfalls of being a one-trick pony. 

Turning off the faucet

European lawmakers throughout get together teams are calling on the European Fee to freeze all funding to Hungary as Budapest continues to chip away on the rule of legislation, writes Laura Dubois.

Context: The EU at present withholds some €18bn in funds devoted to Budapest over considerations about corruption, discrimination in opposition to LGBT+ folks and breaches of the rule of legislation. The European parliament last year sued the fee over the unfreezing of about €10bn in a deal to get Budapest to again support for Ukraine.

Parliamentarians at the moment are stepping up the stress.

“We urge the European Fee to extend stress on Viktor Orbán’s authorities to stop violating EU values and EU legal guidelines by instantly suspending all EU funding for Hungary,” a gaggle of 26 lawmakers wrote in a letter to the fee, seen by the FT.

The letter, initiated by Inexperienced MEP Daniel Freund, lists quite a few measures which it says represent an “alarming regression” on the rule of legislation, together with some undermining the independence of the judiciary.

They spotlight a draft legislation “enabling the state to blacklist NGOs deemed a menace to sovereignty”. The legislation, which was mentioned in parliament yesterday, would permit a “Sovereignty Workplace” to analyze NGOs or media organisations receiving overseas funds, and impose probably heavy fines. Critics view it as a measure by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to quell dissent.

The lawmakers additionally criticise Hungarian laws permitting the suspension of citizenship for twin nationals perceived as threats, and a ban on the Budapest Satisfaction march.

“Given these troubling developments, we firmly consider the EU should regulate its response,” write the MEPs. “We subsequently take into account a freezing of all funds proportionate to the danger posed to the union’s monetary pursuits.”

The lawmakers additionally warned in opposition to permitting Hungary to claw again some funds using loopholes.

Prior to now three years, Hungary has spent about €6bn from the EU finances per 12 months, based on fee figures.

What to look at right this moment

1. Annual EU finances convention

2. EU and African Union overseas ministers meet in Brussels.

3. European parliament president Roberta Metsola meets the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, and opens the chamber’s plenary session in Brussels.

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