News of Europe 9/bis

Dear Federalist readers,
Welcome to the 10th edition of News of Europe. Thank you for your continued readership and positive reception.

This week, we're looking back again at the fallout of the Spanish general elections, among other news. Some of our sections have been quite active, and we're pleased to showcase their work.

Happy reading,

Musical chairs at the European Commission. The College of Commissioners saw a couple of changes following the departure of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans to the Netherlands. Vice President Maroš Šefčovič is taking over the most part of Timmermans' portfolio, including delivering the Green Deal. To replace the Dutch Commissioner, Mark Rutte's caretaker government proposed Wopke Hoekstra as a candidate. The European Parliament will have to approve his nomination, and the full scope of his attributions will ultimately be decided by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The Netherlands is spearheading the Continent's military support to Ukraine. During a visit to the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received Mark Rutte's pledge for 42 F-16s, the famous US-made military jets—although no calendar for delivery has been proposed. Norway and Denmark added to the pool by offering a portion of their own F-16s. Experts estimate that with these jet fighters, Ukraine might gain air hegemony against the Soviet-era planes used by Russia. The Dutch military will also help Ukrainian soldiers to hunt maritime mines.

Spanish political telenovela. As the Iberian country tries to find itself a new government, the King charged right-wing Partido Popular's leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo to find a majority to become prime minister. So far, he has secured only 172 out of the 176 votes needed. Once again, separatists are at the centre of the talks, setting their demands high to endorse the PM-hopeful, being it Feijóo or Sanchez.
Meanwhile, French and Spanish far-left leaders Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France Insoumise) and Yolanda Díaz (Sumar), both affiliated to The Left group at the European Parliament, called for unity and a strong social programme ahead of the 2024 European elections.

The Open Society Foundation (OSF) is an NGO network active in many Eastern European countries, supporting democracy and civil society organisations' operations thanks to generous grants. Or at least it was. The NGO, funded by Hungarian-born philanthropist George Soros, decided to reduce the scope of its operations in Europe. The OSF, for many years, challenged the autocratic backsliding tendencies in some of the EU member states. This decision comes "at a worse time for the European project, as it is being challenged by nationalist and populist parties, " according to Alberto Alemanno, Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law at HEC Paris.

Not enough Nordics at the EU institutions? According to a tribune published on Politico last week, the Nordic countries are under-represented in Brussels' top institutions.

I don't know why the Commission can't attract enough Danes, Swedes, and Finns, but Finland's UEF section is very active. The UEF Finland will this week participate in the Europe Forum in Turku with a networking event. Invitations will follow shortly.

Furthermore, the Europa-Union Deutschland issued its latest EUROPAactiv letter. Read it here.
The UEF France released additional videos of their entretiens fédéralistes. Watch it on YouTube.
The Movimento Federalista Europeo started a series of events dedicated to the 80 years of its foundation. Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy, will unveil a commemorative plaque in Torre Pellice, Piedmont, where Altiero Spinelli delivered his first speech on the Ventotene Manifesto, some four score years ago.

Thank you again for reading this week's edition of News of Europe.
As usual, you can leave a comment at this link.
Federalist regards,
Alexandre Météreau
on behalf of the UEF Secretariat