IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Today's Harvest is dedicated to Granada's summit where strategic issues for the continent are being discussed right now, including possible futures for Europe. Will Ukraine get any new funds considering recent evolvements in the US and the EU? Also, this month, final statistics clearly show that September 2023 global temperature was the most anomalous warm month of any year in COPERNICUS available dataset (back to 1940) - except for Belgium perhaps. What do we do of that? Check below the dedicated section.

UPCOMING: European Committee of the Regions October Plenary (9-11 October)

GRANADA ALL-ENCOMPASSING SUMMIT

ENLARGEMENT - MIGRATION - FUTURE CHALLENGES in EUROPE

This Thursday 5 October, 47 European leaders, including President Zelensky, are attending the third European Political Community (EPC) in Granada.

The EPC was set up a year ago to show continental togetherness in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 47 countries are part of the EPC, from Iceland to Azerbaijan, Portugal to Norway. It is an informal talking shop, not a decision-making body. The 27 EU leaders will remain in Granada for their own (also informal) summit on Friday 6 October.

The war in Ukraine isn’t the only conflict menacing the EPC’s big tent. There’s Azerbaijan’s blitz assault on Nagorno-Karabakh last month and the resulting allegations of ethnic cleansing of its Armenian residents. And in the Balkans, Kosovo has accused Serbia of building up troops on their border, prompting calls from Albania for Nato to reassert control.

At this Summit's menu: Ukraine's accession to the EU, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, energy, environment and climate transition, the future of the EU and migration.

> For more: Spanish EU Presidency website / Agence Europe / EU Observer

> Follow here, with POLITICO

EU OBSERVER
Granada twin summits: Enlargement, migration on menu.

ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR UKRAINE?

US funding for the war will probably run out before the end of the year considering the chaos gripping the House of Representatives which disposed of their leader for the first time in American history on October 3rd. However, there could be “another means” by which the U.S. could fund uninterrupted aid to Ukraine according to Mr. Biden.

This comes at a time when Poland, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, has been threatening to block some arms deliveries in a row over grain exports. In Slovakia, another hitherto firm ally, a recent election may produce a government under Robert Fico that is sympathetic to Russia.

In parallel, Kremlin has announced plans of spending $108bn on defence next year, three times the amount allocated in 2021, before the invasion.

The ousting of Kevin McCarthy: bad for America, worse for Ukraine
His successor should seek cross-party support to keep funding the war.
Aid for Ukraine, which was not included in the government-funding deal in order to placate hardliners, is indeed the greatest concern for those beyond America’s borders. At the press conference announcing his departure, Mr McCarthy compared Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler and said the current world reminded him of the 1930s.
Some House Republicans have begun to oppose further funding but supporters of Ukraine in Congress, who constitute a clear majority in both chambers, are pushing for a vote that would guarantee funding for the war-torn country up until the 2024 American presidential election.
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The Economist, 5 October 2023
EU to US: Help, we can’t cope without you on Ukraine
“Europe cannot fill the gap of the U.S. (...)” Josep Borrell told journalists.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck a similar tone, underscoring that the EU plans to approve €50 billion in support for Ukraine in the coming months but that Washington’s help remains crucial.
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POLITICO, 5/10/2023
How Slovak voters turned against Ukraine ‘threat’
Robert Fico’s Smer party won Saturday’s election capitalising on resentment against Ukrainian refugees.
There is deep resentment among our citizens about the state’s generosity towards Ukraine compared to the neglect shown by successive governments in Bratislava towards the inhabitants of Slovakia’s poorer eastern areas (...).
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FT, 5 October 2023

HOMELAND ECONOMICS: NEW GLOBAL ECONOMIC ARCHITECTURE

Governments are increasingly sceptical about the benefits of free trade and investment. They are seeking instead to build up “domestic resilience” through massive use of protectionism and subsidies.

Although things may look decent today, dangers lie ahead, according to The Economist.

>Access here The Economist special report or contact us.

> Follow IMF official website for the latest.

The Economist

CLIMATE AND ENERGY CHALLENGES

COPERNICUS

EU lawmakers have approved the new heads of the bloc’s climate policy despite one of the candidates confirming delays in the adoption of important environmental laws. European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič is set to take over the co-ordination of laws under the bloc’s Green Deal plan, which aims to achieve net zero emissions in Europe by 2050. Wopke Hoekstra, the former Dutch foreign minister, will be the new climate commissioner. More here, with POLITICO.

On Monday 2 October, Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson was in Madrid, Spain, to attend the International Climate and Energy Summit: Building a Grand Coalition to keep 1.5°C within reach hosted by the Government of Spain and International Energy Agency (IEA). The Summit brought together energy and climate ministers from around the world just weeks before the COP28 Climate Change Conference, to build a coalition to accelerate momentum towards reaching the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.

Also, this Thursday 5 October, takes place in Germany the High-level Pledging Conference for GCF's second replenishment (GCF-2), organised as part of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC in serving the Paris Agreement. 14 countries have already made commitments. The most generous are Germany ($2.1bn), Britain ($2bn) and France (almost $1.7bn). America, Australia and Japan have yet to pledge any money. Poor countries, long angry about rich countries shirking their promises, are paying close attention.

LATEST IN BELGIUM

Manifestation nationale ce jeudi 5 Octobre: pourquoi les syndicats descendent-ils dans la rue?

Les trois syndicats (FGTB, CSC et CGSLB) et diverses organisations de la société civile unissent leurs forces pour s’opposer au projet de loi surnommé "loi anticasseurs". Ce projet de loi défendu par le ministre de la Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, comprend notamment la possibilité pour un juge qui condamnerait des personnes qui se seraient rendues coupables de violences ou de dégradations sur la voie publique d’ajouter à la peine une interdiction de manifester.

>Plus ici, avec la RTBF.

Belga

Chinese group accused of ‘possible espionage’ in Liège. Belgium’s intelligence service has been monitoring Alibaba’s main logistics hub in Europe for possible espionage and/or interfrence activities following suspicions Beijing has been exploiting its growing economic presence in the west. Alibaba, which denies any wrongdoing, signed an agreement with Belgium in 2018 to open the hub in Liège, Europe’s fifth-largest cargo airport, ploughing €100mn of investment into the ailing economy of the French-speaking Walloon region.

>More with FT here, for CoR subscribers or here, via gift link. Problems to access? Contact us!

EU FILES

COHESION POLICY - FOR A MORE GROUNDED EUROPE

On 9 October 2023, the Committee of the Regions (CoR) will publish its EU Annual Report on the State of Regions and Cities, as a snapshot of the most pressing challenges faced by regions and cities across Europe, as well as solutions from the ground to inform EU policy decisions.
It will provide insights on how regions and cities address crisis, such as climate disasters or the Russian war against Ukraine. It will show how regions and cities contribute to the long-term transformation of our societies, with the green and digital transition, while strengthening cohesion.

> CoR's official announcement

> 2022 EU Annual Report on the State of Regions and Cities

> Follow the CoR October Plenary

European Committee of the Regions

CoR president calls for a ‘European Partnership Pact’ to make cohesion policy simpler and more flexible
The President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vasco Alves Cordeiro, defended, on Friday 29 September in Murcia, a bold and transformative reform of cohesion policy to make it more agile, more transparent and more accessible to regions and cities. He advocated the introduction of a European partnership pact to make cohesion policy simpler and more flexible.

ENLARGEMENT

EU set to announce Ukraine accession talks by December
The European Union is gearing up to open negotiations with Ukraine on its future accession to the bloc with a formal announcement expected as soon as December. According to three diplomats with knowledge of the plans, leaders are preparing to give Kyiv the green light to begin formal talks on joining the 27-country bloc before the end of the year.
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Politico, 3/10/2023
Ukraine’s accession would cost €186B, EU estimates
Future enlargement of the EU would greatly affect farming and cohesion funding allocation. Integrating Ukraine into the European Union could mean some €186 billion in EU funds flowing to the country over seven years, according to an internal note of the Council of the EU seen by POLITICO. Enlarging the EU further to include six Balkan countries, as well as Georgia and Moldova, would impose a further burden of around €74 billion on the EU budget, the document added.
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Politico, 4/10/2023
Screening of Chapter 22, "Regional Policy," as part of the accession negotiations process, kicked off with North Macedonia today
The European Commission held a bilateral meeting in the framework of the screening process with North Macedonia. Experts from the Commission, as well as public authorities from North Macedonia, have begun examining EU laws and policies under Chapter 22: Regional Policy.The so-called "screening" is the first step in the accession negotiation process. The screening process for North Macedonia began on 19 July 2022, and is structured around six thematic clusters. The cluster on "Resources, Agriculture, and Cohesion" includes Chapter 22, Regional Policy, which encompasses the body of EU laws (acquis) defining the rules for drawing up, approving, and implementing Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund programs.
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European Commission, 5/10/2023

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

Directive aimed at combating violence against women, European Parliament and EU Council remain divided on issue of rape
On the evening of Tuesday 3 October, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament held their second round of negotiations on the draft directive to combat violence against women, during the plenary session in Strasbourg. The meeting focused on the offences to be included in the legislation, but the results were inconclusive. “We have a lot of work to do in the trilogues”, acknowledged Frances Fitzgerald (EPP, Irish), co-rapporteur with Evin Incir (S&D, Swedish) on the dossier. “The Spanish Presidency [of the Council of the EU] is very motivated to get an agreement at Council level, particularly [they and we] would like the inclusion of rape”.
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Agence Europe, 04/10/2023
European Parliament wants to harmonise rights of people with autism in EU
At its plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 4 October, the European Parliament gave the green light to a resolution calling for the harmonisation of the rights of people with autism within the EU. Submitted by Dolors Montserrat (EPP, Spanish), the text notes that the absence of a “standardised and mutually recognised status for autism spectrum disorders” complicates the movement of the people concerned within the EU. This could also prevent them from having full access to the European Disability Card, say MEPs. They also call on Member States to facilitate access to diagnostics. Finally, the European Parliament calls on the EU Council to relaunch negotiations on the horizontal anti-discrimination directive. The text was adopted by a show of hands.
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Agence Europe, 04/10/23

DIGITAL

‘AI Act’—negotiators from EU Council and European Parliament agree on requirements for high-risk AI systems
Negotiators from the Council of the EU and the European Parliament met in the margins of the plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday and Tuesday, 2 and 3 October, to try to make progress in the interinstitutional negotiations (‘trilogues’) on artificial intelligence (‘AI Act’). During this third trilogue, co-legislators made progress on several points, notably approving the requirements for high-risk AI systems.They also agreed on the part of the text pertaining to fines in the event of failure to fulfil the obligations set out in the text as well as on the final provisions.
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Agence Europe, 3/10/2023

MIGRATION in the EU

How Slovak voters turned against Ukraine ‘threat’
Robert Fico’s Smer party won Saturday’s election capitalising on resentment against Ukrainian refugees.
The village of Choňkovce in eastern Slovakia is only 10km from the border with Ukraine, but proximity no longer translates into sympathy for those escaping the war-torn country.
Last weekend almost half of the 540 villagers voted for the party most vocally opposed to continued support for Kyiv: Smer, the party of populist leader Robert Fico, who is slated to return as prime minister and who has also opposed sanctions against Russia.
The rest of Choňkovce’s votes went predominantly to two other anti-migration parties with which Fico is in talks to form a ruling coalition.
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FT, 5/10/2023
Austria joins ‘co-ordinated’ border checks against illegal migrants
Austria has reinstated border checks with neighbouring Slovakia, becoming the latest central European country to suspend the terms of Europe’s Schengen free movement area because of a rise in illegal immigration.
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FT, 4/10/2023
Europe is stuck in a need-hate relationship with migrants
A surge of small boats is arriving on Europe’s southern shores, brimming with migrants willing to work, for example doing low-skilled jobs in construction or caring for the elderly. In entirely separate news, Europe has a mounting shortage of workers, especially in low-skilled sectors such as construction or taking care of the elderly. To some, that may suggest a solution about as complex as slotting the last piece into a jigsaw puzzle. Alas, migration is not amenable to such reasoning.
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The Economist, 4/10/2023
Migration: Let us put the 'pull factor' myth finally to rest
The 'push/pull' model goes back to the 19th century and the work of Ernest George Ravenstein who sought to develop 'laws of migration' that would allow to understand and even predict human migration. Migration scholars have since tried to identify the myriad factors and their relevance in explaining movements between places, including economic, social, demographic, or environmental factors.
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EU Observer, 4/10/2023

GRASSROOTS EUROPE - LOCAL BEST PRACTICES FOR THE EU

THE EU REGIONS WEEK (9-12 October 2023)

Online #EURegionsWeek community

Do you know that you can follow the EU Regions Week on Facebook and Linkedin?

For the #EURegionsWeek Facebook event and the #EURegionsWeek LinkedIn group

TOWARDS HYBRID INTELLIGENCE

How Intuitive AI Can Harmonize A Hybrid Workforce
At the time of writing, the rise of hybrid working and AI technology are both controversial topics. However, they seem destined to become a key part of the business landscape as the years pass. While intuitive AI systems have limitations and won't solve every hybrid work challenge alone, they can provide always-available assistance, monitor and synthesize conversations across multiple platforms and spot insights in vast amounts of data. This can help bridge communication gaps, ensure inclusion and boost productivity for hybrid teams in ways that would be impossible for humans alone.
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Forbes, 3/10/2023

WORK TRENDS

Are you doing hybrid wrong?
Many of us have been talking about “hybrid work” and “flexible work” as if they already have a fixed definition. And that may well mean — in traditional organisations — a mandate to be in the office three or four days a week.
Hardline mandates, though, don’t get the best from workers unless they’ve been told why they need to be in the office (specific meetings, collaboration, in-person training and mentorship might be a few good reasons. As would a free team lunch.) There’s already a persistent gap between how many days workers are told to be at work and how much time they actually spend there.
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FT, 14/06/2023
Explore the future of work in Europe
Technology and structural shifts in the economy are reshaping the workplace and will continue to do so after the COVID-19 crisis abates. What does this look like across Europe today? And what will be the result as these trends continue over the next decade? Explore the data to gain a perspective for the continent as a whole—or go deeper for a close-up view that spans almost 1,100 local labor markets.
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McKinsey & Company

WOMEN RISING UP!

Nobel Prize awarded women
The Nobel Prize and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel have so far been awarded to women 63 times between 1901 and 2023. Only one woman, Marie Curie, has been honoured twice, with the Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911. This means that 62 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize so far between 1901 and 2023.
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The Nobel Prize

EU YOUTH GENERATION - ONE LIFE!

EU youth: 25% employed while in education
In 2022, 72% of young Europeans (aged 15-29) remained outside the labour force during formal education. An additional 25% were employed, while 3% were available for employment and actively seeking employment (unemployed) while in formal education. The dynamics of young people's transition from formal education to the labour market varies significantly among EU countries. These disparities can be influenced by national education systems, availability of training, labour market characteristics, and cultural factors. Despite a quarter of young Europeans being employed while studying, this statistic conceals substantial national differences. At the national level, the highest shares of young people employed during formal education were observed in the Netherlands (73%), Denmark (52%), and Germany (45%). In contrast, Romania (2%), Slovakia (5%), and Hungary (6%) reported the lowest shares.
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Eurostat, 28/09/2023

Which regions have the most highly-skilled employed people?

In 2022, the highest regional shares of highly-skilled employment were recorded in Stockholm (Sweden, 73.6%), Utrecht (the Netherlands, 68.9%), Luxembourg (67.4%) and Prov. Brabant Wallon (Belgium, 65.8%). The capital regions of Belgium, France, Lithuania, Hungary, Finland, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Czechia, followed with shares varying between 62.6% and 65.6%.

> Eurostat, 4/10/2023

From mRNA to quantum dots, the 2023 Nobel prize winners
The Economist's podcast on science and technology. This week, they explain why the Nobel prizes have an impact far beyond the lab. This year’s Nobel prizes in science recognised the former underdogs behind mRNA vaccines, how to watch electrons and a new class of material that could revolutionise both solar panels and cancer treatments. How have these achievements had an impact beyond the lab?
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The Economist, 4/10/2023

Experiments with light capture the shortest of moments - Physics Nobel Prize 2023

The three Nobel Laureates in Physics 2023 are being recognised for their experiments, which have given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules. Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier have demonstrated a way to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.

> For more, The Royal Swedish Academy of Science

The discovery and synthesis of quantum dots - Chemistry Nobel Prize 2023

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles so tiny that their size determines their properties. These smallest components of nanotechnology now spread their light from televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons when they remove tumour tissue, among many other things.

> For more, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Euronews.

BREATHE...

The Dalai Lama on Why Leaders Should Be Mindful, Selfless, and Compassionate
The Dalai Lama shares his observations on leadership and describes how our “strong focus on material development and accumulating wealth has led us to neglect our basic human need for kindness and care.” He offers leaders three recommendations.
HBR, 2019

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