This Week in Europe: 10/06/2018
Welcome everyone to the latest edition of This Week in Europe!
The big event for all Western leaders this week was the G7 summit over the weekend. After many hours of careful negotiation and various concessions, it seemed that the leaders had agreed on a communique. Indeed the document got so far as to be published. Yet mere minutes later, Trump announced on Twitter that he was withdrawing his support, seemingly in response to comments made by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
Following the removal of Mariano Rajoy, Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has moved quickly to form a new government and to set the tone for his time in office. His cabinet is majority female (11 women to 6 men) and he has appointed a Catalan as foreign minister, signalling a more conciliatory approach to the region and a possible end to the hard-line approach of Rajoy. It still remains to be seen to what extent Sanchez will try to move away from the economic policies of Rajoy. Importantly, his party only has a relatively small number of seats and it remains unknown who he will count on most as allies, being flanked by both Ciudadanos on the right and Podemos on the left.
Italy moves forward with its 'technopopulist' government. While the Finance Minister gives calm, reassuring interviews describing how Italy will continue to avoid deficit spending, will strive to cut the debt level and will definitely stay in the euro, the Deputy Prime Minister declares that NATO should get involved in patrolling the Italian coast to cut migration flows.
France and Germany are still trying to find a suitable compromise in their ideas for the future of the eurozone. Germany has been cautious and is reluctant to go along with France's much bolder agenda for eurozone reform but this has not led to France giving up on the idea. The end result is unlikely to be everything that Macron wanted but if this French determination is successful, it could yet be more ambitious than some commentators expect.
In Romania, the government successfully organised large demonstrations against anti-corruption prosecutors. The government has struggled with corruption and particularly judicial action against the government and the party on corruption charges. Last year there were a number of protests against government plans to decriminalise certain corruption offences, forcing the plans to be withdrawn. Busses and trains were organised to bring in supporters from across the country. The EU keeps Romania's justice system under special monitoring precisely due to the country's problem with tackling corruption.
The big event for all Western leaders this week was the G7 summit over the weekend. After many hours of careful negotiation and various concessions, it seemed that the leaders had agreed on a communique. Indeed the document got so far as to be published. Yet mere minutes later, Trump announced on Twitter that he was withdrawing his support, seemingly in response to comments made by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
Following the removal of Mariano Rajoy, Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has moved quickly to form a new government and to set the tone for his time in office. His cabinet is majority female (11 women to 6 men) and he has appointed a Catalan as foreign minister, signalling a more conciliatory approach to the region and a possible end to the hard-line approach of Rajoy. It still remains to be seen to what extent Sanchez will try to move away from the economic policies of Rajoy. Importantly, his party only has a relatively small number of seats and it remains unknown who he will count on most as allies, being flanked by both Ciudadanos on the right and Podemos on the left.
Italy moves forward with its 'technopopulist' government. While the Finance Minister gives calm, reassuring interviews describing how Italy will continue to avoid deficit spending, will strive to cut the debt level and will definitely stay in the euro, the Deputy Prime Minister declares that NATO should get involved in patrolling the Italian coast to cut migration flows.
France and Germany are still trying to find a suitable compromise in their ideas for the future of the eurozone. Germany has been cautious and is reluctant to go along with France's much bolder agenda for eurozone reform but this has not led to France giving up on the idea. The end result is unlikely to be everything that Macron wanted but if this French determination is successful, it could yet be more ambitious than some commentators expect.
In Romania, the government successfully organised large demonstrations against anti-corruption prosecutors. The government has struggled with corruption and particularly judicial action against the government and the party on corruption charges. Last year there were a number of protests against government plans to decriminalise certain corruption offences, forcing the plans to be withdrawn. Busses and trains were organised to bring in supporters from across the country. The EU keeps Romania's justice system under special monitoring precisely due to the country's problem with tackling corruption.
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