OUR EYE ON THE EU | JULY 2023

Elections, rule of law, labour rights – July at EU institutions

Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, presents the priorities of the Spanish EU Presidency at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid. Spain will hold the EU Presidency from 1 July to 31 December. Photo: Alejandro Martínez Vélez/EUROPA PRESS/dpa

This presidency started in a climate of political uncertainty, since the Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for much-anticipated elections in July. What was concerning Brussels the most was that a change in the Spanish government would draw Spain’s attention away from Brussels, watering down the six-month presidency which also happens in a very delicate period, just a year before EU elections. 

After very surprising results of the political elections held in Spain on 23 July, with the conservative “People’s Party” failing to secure what the polls defined as an expected majority and the main centre-left “Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party” doing much better than foreseen, new uncertainties lie ahead. In fact, no party has the necessary numbers to form a government, and a second round of elections might happen. Should the current government be substituted by a right wing-led one, this could disrupt the work done so far in the presidency, even though Spanish officials insist that this will not happen. 

Towards strengthened human and labour rights 

The European Parliament’s committee on International Trade, together with the committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, is working on a proposal for an EU Regulation that aims at banning, in the European market, all products made from forced labour. Meanwhile, other committees, among which is the committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), are contributing through opinions to enrich the document before the final version is voted on. MEPs in the EMPL committee expressed their opinion and, on 18 July, voted to ban specifically products within the chain of services like transport and storage, items produced in the Xinjiang region in China famous for committing serious human rights violations against the Uyghur and other muslim communities. Finally, they introduced reparations for the victims, to ensure that “workers that have been victimised have access to effective remedy”. The final text has not yet been adopted, which means that no concrete measures exist at the moment, but this initiative could actually make a difference in the way products enter the EU market.

The last European Parliament’s plenary session in three points

From 10 to 13 july, MEPs reunited in Strasbourg for the Plenary Session of the European Parliament. Even though July is usually a month where less “important” things are debated upon and voted on, there were actually very relevant items on the agenda. 

On Monday 10 July, the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics” was debated. Many of the MEPs spoke of the need to respect the wishes of the 1.2 million people that supported the ECI and signed in favour of accelerating the use of non-animal methods in place of animal testing to produce cosmetics. The European Commission (EC) will now need to formally send a response to this ECI, which is, we must remember, only the ninth ever to have collected more than one million signatures, out of 102 registered. 

There has also been a debate about Taxing the Rich: some MEPs discussed how tax justice is an issue that has clear winners, namely the big multinational companies and their CEOs that keep earning disproportionately in comparison to their workers, who always end up being the losers. However, centre-right parties’ representatives pointed out how this request has become an ideology, in a defensive line towards defending rich and super-rich people who “sustain our societies”. When intervening in the debate, the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, was aware that EU citizens expect EU institutions to act on taxation. He reminded the Parliament about how taxes on labour in some Member States are too high, and how some States offer preferential treatment to foreign high-net-woth individuals. Read the full debate here.

MEP Aubry Manon (The Left, France) intervenes in the debate on Taxing the Rich during July’s Plenary Session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg © European Union 2023 – Source : EP

Remember the Qatargate scandal? Six months later, negotiations between EU institutions are ongoing to create a body that ensures an ethical conduct of members, regulates lawmakers’ side jobs, and sets rules on accepting gifts, hospitality and travel offered by third parties. During the plenary, MEPs voted (with a tight majority and a clear right-left divide) to reject a text proposed by the EC for the establishment of an EU ethics body, considered not ambitious enough and unsatisfactory. In fact, centre-left parties were disappointed when the Commission proposed a panel that would not have the power to start its own investigations or impose sanctions. Ironically, two MEPs highly involved in the scandal, later released from prison but still waiting for the final trial – Eva Kaili and Marc Tarabella – returned to work and voted in favour of an ethics body. 

The Commission looks rather satisfied about the rule of law in the EU – are we?

What is the situation of the Rule of Law in the EU this year? The EC published its fourth report, mapping developments in Member States following four pillars: justice; anti-corruption; media freedom; and pluralism, and broader institutional issues related to checks and balances. The report shows that 65% of recommendations issued last year were partially or fully addressed, and it even praised the “significant development” and “important efforts” that happened during this year. 

But what does the EC say about the rule of law in Greece? The report states that there have been “some efforts” made to improve the quality of the justice system, to improve the working conditions and physical safety of journalists, and to ensure that the registration requirements for civil society organisations (CSOs) are proportionate in view of maintaining an open framework for them to operate. 

Recommendations include: to involve the judiciary in the appointment of the highest positions of the Greek judiciary; establish a robust record of prosecution for corruption cases, including high-level corruption cases; adopt legislative measures in protection of journalists; ensure effective consultation with stakeholders and public consultations on draft legislation; and initiate a structured dialogue with CSOs. 

You can have a look at the report on Greece in Greek, and in English. 

Commissioner for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová & Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders present the Rule of Law Report 2023 © European Union 2023 – Source : EC

Overall, the situation depicted by the European Commission seems promising. It looks like all the concerns expressed by MEPs only a few months ago about the backsliding on Greek democracy, media reporting, spyware abuse, threats against journalists and severe shortcomings of the judicial sector have been completely ignored. 

Finally, some CSOs commented that the report “fails to capture and contextualise the root causes, as well as the full impact of the disrespect of the rule of law”, and that it fails to consider disproportionate violence by police, mostly against racialised communities. Moreover, also the Commission’s method for assessing progress on the recommendations made to each country is weak: stating that there have been partial reforms does not mean that a country is committed to improving its rule of law. Progress should not be measured considering the number of new legislations adopted, but on the measurable impact that these produce. 

Migration – EU Search and Rescue, 100 million euros to Tunisia & new priorities

This month, we have a special focus on migration! If you work in the field, you are a student, or you simply want a detailed insight into what happened in EU Migration and Asylum policy in the last month, read our dedicated bulletin here.