Given the mounting confusion following Charles Michel’s decision to prematurely step back from #EUCO, the question is:

HOW and WHEN a new Council President would be appointed?

A brief 🧵

https://twitter.com/ronpatz/status/1743951378479771843

2. Neither the Treaty nor the rules of procedure expressly foresee an early departure of the holder of Council presidency.

They focus on pathological situations of “impediment” or “termination” for which an automatic replacement by the rotating president is foreseen. Yet these circumstances do not immediately apply here .

Michel is set to voluntarily step back

Charles Michel’s decision to prematurely leave the EU Council presidency to pursue his own political career as MEP is not only self-centred but also irresponsible:

it will pave the way for Viktor Orbán, the then president of the rotating presidency of the Council to take over #EUCO until a new appointment.

But there’s (much) more.

A 🧵

politico.eu/article/charle… 2. As anticipated, 6-months ago Viktor Orbán isn’t entitled to hold the rotating presidency of the EU due to his manifest conflict of interest between being in breach of EU law and potentially be the chair of the Council meetings deciding on sanctions.

Making him, even temporarily, the #EUCO president would be even more problematic and irresponsible politico.eu/article/suspen…

To whom does the proposed EU ‘Foreign Agents Law’ apply? 🧵

(spoiler: virtually EVERYONE including your NGO, consultancy, think-tank, research institute and you as natural personal insofar as you work with a third country). 2. Focus is on ANY provider of interest representation service, be they private organisations (consultancies), non-profits (NGOs, research institute) and individuals whose principle or occasional occupation is to influence decision-making processes at the MS and/or EU level, on behalf of a third country entity.

🧵 Has Commissioner Várhely breached EU law when announcing solo the suspension of EU funds for Palestine?

As calls for his resignation multiply, here’re the provisions he manifestly breached but whose enforcement belongs to the sole President @vonderleyen A 🧵 2. By announcing the immediate suspension of the disbursement of the EU funds to Palestine - in reaction to the horrific attacks of Hamas on Israeli civilians on October 7th -, Mr Olivér Várhelyi breached Art. 5 of the Code of Conduct for the members of the EU Commission which operationalised their treaty obligations under Art 245TFEU

What’s at stake in #Granada?

It’s a new collective understanding of the EU integration process, beyond full membership.

This can no longer be based on a ‘set menu’ but must move to ‘à la carte’ approach.

A thread 🧵 1. Ever since the central eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004 and 2007, the process has been neglected, with the EU pretending to negotiate accession & candidate countries pretending to reform.

The ‘group of twelve’ - a Franco-German initiative - offers a credible and uniquely pragmatic approach to EU institutional reform.

Here’s why & how 🧵 2. Rather than getting trapped into endless discussions on the nature of the EU, the group offers a set of realistic reforms addressing the EU democracy crisis, which it soberly acknowledges in its multifaceted nature:

- common values (eg rule of law)
- lack of EU responsiveness to citizens’ demand & cross border challenges
- enlargement

2. The von der Leyen presidency will go into history as an ‘accidental’ commission.

After being accidentally picked as Commission president, her entire time in office has been largely shaped by a succession of accidents, with Covid-19 hitting before the von der Leyen's commission had spent its first 100 days in office to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its many consequences on EU energy, food and security policies. 3. @vonderleyen can claim the success of a good part of her administration, which has included the finalization of #Brexit, the fight against the pandemic and the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis unleashed by Moscow.

Yet these events overshadowed her agenda which remains largely incomplete and unlikely to be delivered.

Today the EU Parliament will ask EU leaders to block the Hungarian presidency of the Council.

Regardless of whether this will ever happen, the mere fact of contemplating such a possibility may be highly consequential for the Union's democratic future

Here's why 🧵 2. For a long time, the possibility of suspending the rotating presidency of the Council of one of its Member State remained confined to academic speculation.

Yet today it appears as real as never before, following EP resolution @SophieintVeld @GDelbosCorfield @daniel_freund

Can the EU cancel the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU?

A 🧵 based on the @ComMeijers study and draft forthcoming EU Parliament resolution

#EUCO #Hungary @HungaryintheEU

https://twitter.com/alemannoeu/status/1661725754961575938

1. Despite not being expressly foreseen, the possibility of postponing the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the Union may reveal as one of the most effective approaches to make Hungary abide by its rule of law obligations #EUCO #RuleOfLaw

💥 Breaking

The EU Parliament set to prevent Hungary to hold the presidency of the Council, given its well established departure from the EU foundational values and ‘rules of the game’

#euco #RuleOfLaw @GoodLobbyProfs There appears to be an irreconcilable conflict between holding the presidency of the Council and being subject to:

- Art 7(1) TEU procedure
- suspensions of EU funds

How can the Hungarian government guarantee the proper functioning of the Council?

#EUCO #hungarianpresidency

Is Roberta Metsola’s plan to reform EU ethics system good enough?

I’ve examined each of the 14 proposals below 🧵

They’re so marginal and reactive to #Qatargate that they won’t structurally change a system set not to work by design 1. Today MEPs aren’t subject to any post-mandate restriction, yet they receive a transitional allowance to reintegrate the job force (non-sense). Now while they won’t be able to lobby the EU post-mandate, they remain free to have side jobs during the mandate. Absurd!

On the occasion of her EU’s debut as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to face greater resistance in Brussels than in Rome.

Here's why 🧵

euronews.com/my-europe/2022… If @GiorgiaMeloni likes to depict herself as an underdog of IT politics, she’s not foreign to EU intergovernmental game. Since 2020, she leads @ecrgroup as leader of white/christian Europe that is already challenging the historical dominance of @EPP

politico.eu/article/italy-…

🗞 NEW study 🇪🇺

How do citizens engage with the EU?

Here’s the first empirical analysis of the use of existing EU participatory tools, plus a proposal on how to revamp them via randomly selected citizens advising the EU 🧵#cofoe

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cf… 1. After 70 years of integration, EU citizens largely marginalized in EU developments.

Yet they’re are entitled to “participate to the democratic life of the Union” since 2009, and to do so beyond elections….

Will Italy side with #Hungary’s Viktor #Orban & #Poland’s Mateusz #Morawiecki in Europe?

As that’s the most frequent question I get asked, here’s a 🧵

#elezioni2022 The incoming Italian government is set to have a special relation with #Orban as Meloni, Berlusconi & Salvini have an excellent relation with him.

They all share a similar worldview, driven by a mix of sovereignity, traditional family and religion. This applies to #Poland too

As Italians go to the polls, here’s 5 reasons these elections will be qualitatively different from previous ones, and highly consequential 🧵

(Spoiler: not for the reasons you’ve heard before) #ElezioniPolitiche2022 #ItalianElections 1. This is 1st time a majority of electorate votes for coalition so loose that nobody knows what it stands for : at home (social vs hawkish?),the EU (passive vs rebellious?) & internationally (pro vs anti Russia?).

🚨Breaking 🚨

The EU Commission proposes - for the 1st time in its history - to suspend the disbursement of 65% of EU funds due to #Hungary in effort to protect #ruleoflaw (loopholes remain)

Now EU-26 must approve it at QMV (unlike under Art 7 #Poland can’t veto it) Why does the EU suddenly threaten #Hungary with (partial) suspension of EU funds?

(Spoiler: To save everyone’s face)

1. EU leaders show to the public to remain in control vis-à-vis autocratic #Hungary

2. to then approve #Hungary recovery plan (only remaining unapproved)

🚨 Breaking: European judges challenge the EU approval of #Poland’s recovery & resilience plan before EU General Court just a few months before elections in the country

Here’s a🧵 on why, how and what of this unprecedented development #ruleoflaw #RPP Why?

4 associations of European judges intend to defend the interests of the judiciary which they represent & their members including Polish judges subjected to disciplinary proceeding, sanctions & involuntary transfers, in breach of EU law & the #rule of law itself

The outcome of the French parliamentary elections is highly consequential for both France’s and Europe’s future. Here’s why 🧵

SPOILER: Macron will eventually have to pick either the left or the right!

#electionslegislatives2022 #France #ElectionsLegislatives 1. Macron’s presidential coalition (Ensemble!) came out on top and remains the largest parliamentary force in parliament, BUT lost its absolute majority

‼️ The EU Commission paves the way for #Ukraine to gain (conditional) candidate status in record time‼️

Yet that recognition of candidate status may be more symbolic than structural: it may never lead to full membership.

Here’s why 🧵 Today is a moment of truth one for Ukraine, which has invested so much of its political future on a closer relationship with Europe.

There’s political momentum to have #EUCO uniting behind the recognition of candidate status

Did the Conference on the Future of Europe succeed?

It depends very much on how you measure success.

For me it worked beyond expectations.

Here’s why 🧵 #CoFoE #FutureOfEurope 1 If you belong to those who expected #CoFoE to magically deliver a re-opening of the Treaty, you may be disappointed. No majority exists to endorse EP’s demand. That might never materialize. Wait for June #EUCO but it might not be the point project-syndicate.org/commentary/con…

As the Conference on the Future of Europe comes to an end, what can we reasonably expect?

(Spoiler: a fight over whether, how, and on what to re-open the Treaties NOW)

🧵 #CoFoE 2 Originally promised by @vonderleyen in the aftermath of her rocambolesque appointment, the Conference is the first attempt at institutional reform since 2007.

It didn’t look promising in its early days, but the context has changed.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/… #CoFoE