Seven member states - including Poland Hungary, the Frugal Four (plus ๐ซ๐ฎ) reject council draft text on the rule of law. ๐ง๐ช๐ฑ๐บ also raise objections. Council goes ahead with mandate to open negotiations with the Parliament
To make things easier from here on the EU's "Rule of Law Friends" (๐ณ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐น๐ง๐ช๐ฑ๐บ) will be known as ROLF
Senior diplomat from ROLF says German text goes against EU leaders July deal as it "limits" the powers of the commission to start legal action against a MS for breaching rule of law. Points out that EU 6 founding members are now fundamentally divided on this question
(That final remark was a shot across bow of ๐ซ๐ท๐ฉ๐ช obvs)
We are also in a position where ROLF - many of whom are Frugals - remain fundamentally distrustful of commission's role in independently monitoring the public finances of member states. But still vehemently defend commission's right to launch legal action against MS over RoL
**Clarification that all seven members of ROLF plus ๐ญ๐บ๐ต๐ฑ rejected the draft. So in total that is 9 against and 18 in favour. No abstentions.
German ambassador Michael Clauss, who chairs council talks on MFF/NGUE, says
"concern has grown that with the heated debate on RoL mechanism within the EU and also in the Council that we are increasingly running into a blockade in the overall budget negotiations"
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NEW: Andrew Bailey and Kwasi Kwarteng attended a meeting of the G7 counterparts in Washington this afternoon, where their counterparts, led by Janet Yellen, made a number of "backhanded" swipes at events in the UK
Finance ministers, led by Yellen, warned against governments carrying out unfunded tax cuts and policies that threatened financial stability. Canada's finance minister Freedland also chipped in
The warnings were not explicitly aimed at the UK but they were clearly directed at the Brits. One diplomat said that Kwarteng and Bailey did not respond, sticking squarely to their pre-prepared scripts
Bailey admits that the Bank's emergency liquidity interventions mean that its monetary policy goals and its financial stability mandate are now running in opposite directions. This is in contrast to the last dash for cash in March 2020, when QE achieved both goals.
โผ๏ธโผ๏ธ BoE Bailey sends clear warning that BoE interventions will end on Friday. He tells funds: "You've got three days left to get this done".
Bailey's categorical warning that bond-buying will end this Friday will raise more questions about whether the Bank can still proceed with its QT programme, which is due to start on the same day as the chancellor's fiscal update, October 31
IMF has downgraded its 2023 global growth forecasts today (from slowest onwards, non exhaustive list):
๐ท๐บ -2.3%
๐ฉ๐ช -0.3%
๐ฎ๐น -0.2%
๐ธ๐ช -0.1%
๐ฌ๐ง 0.3%
๐ง๐ช 0.4%
๐ซ๐ท 0.7%
๐ณ๐ฑ 0.8%
๐บ๐ธ 1.0%
๐ง๐ท 1.0%
๐จ๐ฆ 1.5%
๐ฏ๐ต 1.6%
๐จ๐ณ 4.4%
๐ฎ๐ณ 6.1%
The ๐ฌ๐ง is due to suffer the worst average inflation rate of the advanced economies (9% in 2022, 9.1% in 2023). But the IMF forecast for a "significant slowdown" in growth does not factor in policies announced in the mini-budget on Sept 23
On the ๐ฌ๐งmini-budget, the IMF says the "sizeable" fiscal package "is expected to lift growth somewhat above the forecast in the near term, while complicating the fight against inflation."
Happy new year from Planet Brussels where this has just landed in some people's inboxes ๐ #taxonomy
A 60-page draft #taxonomy text landed in inboxes of member states minutes before 2022 struck. A "consultation" process - which does not involve MEPs - will run until mid Jan. Some highlights on what's included ๐
Commission stresses that on nuclear energy and fossil gas there are "rapid technological" developments occuring.
On โข๏ธ, draft paves the way for awarding the green label as long as MS can provide plans for safe waste management and a 100g per KW of CO2 is not exceeded
German Greens have won the right to propose the country's next EU commissioner. There has been an expectation that VDL would serve two terms. It's a canny move which will mean VDL will feel obliged to keep Greens on side for next 2.5 years.
Pilling pressure on VDL already, vice chair of Greens speculates how "cool" it would be to have a Green European Commission President
One suggestion is that VDL could secure Greens support if she agrees to stand on a transnational list at next EU elections. Thus far, debate over pan-EU lists has been killed by VDL's centre right EPP party
France's finance minister has arrived at the #Eurogroup fuming at the state of EU energy market rules calling them "unfit for purpose" after energy price rises have "become unbearable for our citizens and businesses"
Le Maire will be teaming up with Spain's Nadia Calvino today to demand Brussels reform EU energy market rules to better regulate gas stocks and scrap a marginal pricing system so price of electricity production in each MS reflects costs for consumers ft.com/content/463d0eโฆ
Commission's initial response - a flexibilities paper laying out what gov's can do - is unlikely to satiate French or Spanish asks. Worsening prices over winter risks poisoning Europe's fiscal and climate policy debate ft.com/content/5805c3โฆ