In the Georgian Black Sea resort of Batumi, taxi drivers usually talk about football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and the like, and now they talk about Charles Michel, President of the European Council.
In Georgia, in the political crisis after the last parliamentary election in October 2020, the government and the opposition fell into a dispute. The United States and the European Union both worked overtime to mediate the dispute.
The political agreement facilitated by Michel was signed by representatives of all political parties, with the exception of UNM, the party of former President Mikhail Saakashvili who is currently in exile in Ukraine, which ended the opposition’s parliamentary boycott.
As EURACTIV revealed An EU official familiar with the latest diplomatic actions aimed at reaffirming the EU’s “soft power” stated that earlier this year he “risked” and some in Brussels considered his actions “crazy”.
Although this move is still regarded as an unfinished business, it has established the European Union as Georgia’s most important Western partner and has seized Tbilisi’s dominant bond in the United States so far.
The “Georgian Mission” can be seen as evidence of Brussels’ new main mediation role, or Michele is trying to find a gap to fill.
So far, the politically divided former Prime Minister Michel is no stranger to political crises, and he has been working hard to showcase the EU’s foreign policy.
His recent efforts; this Controversial Bosnia Border Change Proposal, Is undoubtedly a nostalgia.
His date Being the chairman of the European Council does not in itself mean surpassing national leaders, or to a lesser extent, surpassing the EU’s chief diplomat Joseph Borrell.
In the Caucasus, Michel seems to really carry the weight and authority of the European Union. There is even a faction in the Georgian Parliament called “Charles Michel”.
Although the European Union was largely exposed or excluded from the Armenian-Azerbaijan War, Georgia’s domestic political mediation, Nagorno-Karabakh’s new engagement And (wrong?) manage local ambitions, such as Related trio It does enhance the image of the EU in the region.
However, whenever Michelle gets tired of his daily life in Brussels and goes to Caucasus-Borrel in a superman costume, one may not be too happy.
Insiders in Brussels have repeatedly questioned whether foreign policy is really his job, and whether Michel is not simply interfering with Borrell’s portfolio, rather than authorizing the position of EU chief diplomat.
One thing might unite these two civil servants-they both tend to step on the toes of member states.
Although Michelle’s confirm This week’s “united trio” surprised EU countries, and Borrell committed a similar faux pas recent In his most recent report, three other principles were added to the five existing EU policies on Russia.
Diplomatic sources told EURACTIV that member states that generally prefer EU policy stability are annoyed by these two measures.
But this is something that the two should clarify between themselves, perhaps in a Georgian-style mediation negotiation.
Summary
Germany and the United States reached a compromise on Wednesday on the construction of the Beixi 2 natural gas pipeline supported by Russia. According to the agreement, Germany will provide assistance for Ukraine’s energy security, with an initial donation of 148.3 million euros.
Experts say that the confrontation between Russia and the West is reaching a climax. As a result, the combined trio-Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova- It has announced that its goal is to strengthen cooperation to strengthen the security of the Black Sea region.
US Senate Democrats are considering levying “pollutant import fees”, Similar to the EU’s recent Launched the Carbon Boundary Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)To help fund President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion recovery plan.
France passed the long-awaited climate law and introduced a series of measures This has had an impact on the agricultural sector, including reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers and encouraging school cafeterias to provide more vegetarian menus. Reported by EURACTIV France.
The French government said on Thursday that it had Investigation into Morocco’s allegations of surveillance of President Emmanuel Macron’s cell phone Mobile phones using Israeli Pegasus software.
Government’s MaPrimeRenov’ The plan to help families carry out energy-saving renovations in buildings is “a huge success”“The French Ministry of Ecological Transformation said on Monday (July 19) that it hopes that more people will apply for the program in 2021. EURACTIV French report.
Pay close attention, watch out, watch out…
- Informal Meeting of Ministers of European Affairs in Slovenia from July 22 to 23
- Commissioner Simson attended the G20 Climate and Energy Joint Ministerial Meeting in Naples, Italy.
Views are author’s
[Edited by Benjamin Fox]
