EU 2023 from start to finish

Brussels – Economy, finance, politics, news: there are many and very different events that took place in the European Union and its member states in 2023. It is not easy to try to condense them all together, nor to make a selection of the most significant ones. Twelve months are not few, and there is no doubt that the year drawing to a close has been a year full of appointments, events, and surprises. Starting with the Russian aggression of Ukraine.

Eunews continues in its now traditional exercise of selecting events that are deemed significant, always respecting the formula of this exercise. Here, then, is the 2023 EU from the beginning to the end, according to Eunews:

ENLARGEMENT: The process of enlarging the Union continues in 2023 on several levels. On Jan. 1, Croatia joins the Schengen area of free movement, becoming the 23rd EU member state to eliminate all passport and border controls. The European Commission is again asking the EU Council to give the green light to Bulgaria and Romania, but the process for these two countries is still subject to vetoes. Important steps forward are being taken on the size of the EU. On November 8, the Commission recommended opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, with the European Council giving the green light on December 14. It is the EU seeking to enlarge further east.

BALANCE SHEETS AND BANKS: COUP D’ETAT IN NIGER: President Mohamed Bazoum is overthrown following a coup d’état on July 26. For the EU, the deteriorating situation in the African country is a blow to agendas and strategies. Niger is a key partner in managing migration flows and repatriation agreements, as well as a supplier of raw materials important for sustainable transition. The situation is such that France recalls its ambassador on September 24.

DATA: the European Commission and the United States signed new bilateral agreement on the processing, retention and protection of personal data on July 10. The agreement ends years of litigation related to previous attempts at agreement on the subject.

END OF THE PANDEMIC: On May 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global emergency. The virus has not disappeared, but it is no longer a pandemic. As a result, measures developed at the EU level to counter and manage the Coronavirus are no longer mandatory. COVID-19 started spreading in December 2019, and was declared a global health emergency by the WHO itself on January 30, 2020.

GIORGIO NAPOLITANO AND SILVIO BERLUSCONI: Two figures who, in different ways, made the history of Italy and Italy in Europe died in the same year. On Sept. 22, Giorgio Napolitano, president emeritus of the Republic, passed away at age 98. A longtime politician, Napolitano is known and respected in Europe for his commitment to supporting the European integration project. Napolitano’s death is preceded by that of Silvio Berlusconi on June 12. Unlike the former, Berlusconi enjoyed less popularity in Brussels. As a four-time head of government, however, Berlusconi helped write a page in Italian European history.

HENRY KISSINGER: Herny Kissinger died on Nov. 30 at the age of 100. He was President of the United States from Sept. 22, 1973 to Jan. 20, 1977, and  remains famous, among other things, for the phrase attributed to him that summarizes the tortuous path of the European integration project. “Who do I call if I want to talk to Europe?” the reasoning dating back to 1970, when he was Secretary of State. A phrase that he probably never really said, but one that serves to make it clear how the confederal Union project makes its management and operation more complex. Not least because, back then, the political-institutional set-up was different, in a very different world. In 1970, the EU was still the EEC, consisting of six member states, including a still-divided Germany. The European Parliament was still called the European Parliamentary Assembly, with much more limited powers than it has today.

HYDROGEN: The von der Leyen commission in March launches the initiative for large-scale green hydrogen production (the ‘clean’ kind produced by electrolysis from renewable sources) in Europe, as an answer to the energy supply problem and compliance with sustainability goals on which the European Green Deal are based. The challenge is to narrow the economic gap between the higher costs of green energy, including ‘green’ hydrogen. The EU executive presents the initiative as the ‘Hydrogen Bank,’ but despite the name it is not a financial institution but an auction system for renewable hydrogen production to support producers through a fixed price payment per kg of hydrogen produced for up to 10 years of operation. The first €800 million auction is launched on November 23, funded through the European Innovation Fund (i.e., through revenues from the European carbon market, the EU’s ETS system).

JOSÈ MARIA GIL-ROBLES: José Maria Gil-Robles died on February 13 at the age of 87. President of the European Parliament from Jan. 14, 1997, and July 20, 1999, he played an important role in shaping the new structures of the European Union. As president of the Parliament, he negotiated the Amsterdam Treaties that extended the powers of the Parliament itself. He also participated in the reasoning behind the great enlargement of the European Union. He also had to manage the institutional crisis that led to the resignation of the entire Santer Commission.

KING CHARLES III : On May 6, in Westminster Abbey, Charles of England is crowned king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the other Commonwealth realms. He takes the throne as Charles III. The coronation ceremony is the first to be broadcast in color. Beyond that, Charles III has the distinction of receiving at Bucking Palace, prior to his coronation (on Feb. 27), the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as part of meetings for new protocol for Northern Ireland post-Brexit, one of the points left open after the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. Under the British Constitution, the king cannot deal with certain matters, but this does not prevent him from exercising so-called ‘soft power’. Von der Leyen held a briefing at the end of the visit. “We discussed the common challenges facing the EU and the UK as historic partners and our common tasks: unconditional support for Ukraine and combating global climate change.”

LULA: On January 1, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva aka ‘Lula’ takes the oath of office and officially becomes president of Brazil. For the EU, a not insignificant change of administration after the Bolsonaro presidency. On climate and environmental policies, Lula’s positions are closer to those of the EU.

CLEAN ENGINES: On February 14, the House of the European Parliament approves the Commission’s proposal to ban conventional engines from 2035. In the single market, in the name of sustainability and the fight against climate change, newly produced cars and vans will be powered by hybrid, electric and synthetic fuel engines. There is a lot of controversy, but the EU launches the ‘green’ turn in mobility NATO: On April 4, Finland officially joins NATO. It is the 31st member state, and the 22nd EU country within the Atlantic Alliance.

OPERATION ‘AL-AQSA MASSACRE: is the name under which Hamas, on Oct. 7, initiates an unprecedented attack in Israeli territory. Over 1,200 were killed, including civilians, soldiers, policemen, and members of Shin Bet (Israel’s intelligence agency). It is the Arab-Israeli issue that re-explodes and resurfaces with renewed violence. The Israeli response is not long in coming, with extensive operations in Gaza. The European Union sides with the Jewish state, recognizing its right to defend, exist, and fight terrorism, but the Tel Aviv government is asked to respect international law. The need for a two-state solution is rekindled on the European side, but the EU is divided between the need for Israel’s defense and a “cease-fire,” an expression that is not used in the official conclusions of the meetings. Instead, the expression “humanitarian pause” is preferred to allow for relief of the burden on the civilian population.

PUTIN CRIMINAL: On March 17, the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of deportation. It is the first time the justice body has made such a decision against a leader of a country with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. EU member states welcome the measure.

QATARGATE: EU COMMISSION RESHUFFLE: There is a lot of ‘come and go’ in European Commission in 2023. As many as four commissioners left the commission in the year that draws to a close. The first defection was that of Bulgaria’s Mariya Gabriel (May 15). She is succeeded by Iliana Ivanova (from September). Then Frans Timmermans, standard-bearer of the Green deal, who leaves (Aug. 22) to lead his Labor Party in the Dutch elections at the end of November. His portfolio is divided between Maros Sefcovic (Green Deal) and Woepke Hoekstra (Climate). A few days later (Sept. 5) it is the turn of Margrethe Vestager, until then head of Competition, to leave the Commission on unpaid temporary leave to devote herself to running to head the European Investment Bank (she returns in early December, after Nadia Calvino’s investiture). Responsibility for competition passes to Didier Reynders. The hemorrhaging of commissioners continues with Jutta Urpilainen, who leaves (Nov. 20) to run for president of her country, Finland.

EU-China clash: 2023 sees the European Union clashing with China on economic and trade issues. Beijing in July imposes restrictions on exports of raw materials needed for the green economy the Europeans are banking on. The Commission must develop an agenda to diversify sources of supply. But tensions escalate so much that the European Commission on Oct. 4 announces the opening of an investigation into electric cars ‘made in China.’ State subsidies allegedly granted to companies by the Chinese government are in the crosshairs.

HIGH INTEREST RATES: In 2023, the ECB continues, with renewed determination, its policy of countering high inflation by raising interest rates. The ECB continues unabated until October, when for the first time the board decides it is time for a “pause.” The interest rate on the main refinancing operations thus remains at 4.5 percent, the interest rate on the marginal lending facility remains at 4.75 percent, and the interest rate on the deposit facility remains at 4 percent. President Christine Lagarde acknowledges the impacts to the real economy but pulls straight.

HUNGARY: The uneasy relationship between the European Union and Hungary continues into 2023. On November 20, the ‘billboard case’ exploded once again, with posters against the chairwoman of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen put up in open criticism and attack of the top EU executive. A veritable smear campaign against what are considered the ‘strong powers’ contrary to the nation’s interests. Viktor Orban’s government had already done this in 2019, against the then president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. At the December European Council, Orban vetoed the proposed change to the common budget, postponing the decision until 2024. EURO SKEPTIC HEADWINDS: 2023 delivers to EU governments and parliaments animated by ‘differently pro-European’ impulses. The case of the Netherlands, a founding member of the EU, is emblematic. In the November 22 parliamentary elections for the renewal of the lower house of parliament, the PVV of Geert Wilders (23% of the vote), anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, euro-skeptic, won. On Sept. 30 in Slovakia, Roberto Fico, leader of the populist and pro-Russian SMER party, emerges from the polls as the winner. Critical of the EU for its stance on Ukraine, Fico for his fourth government opts for alliance with the Slovak Nationalist Party (SNS), a formation of the pro-Russian and Euro-skeptic ultra-right. In April, Finnish voters rewarded the National Coalition Party. Petteri Orpo, prime minister, opts for a coalition with the euro-skeptic nationalist, True Finns. In this context, Donald Tusk’s return to the leadership of the Polish government gains more prominence. The October 15 general elections see the affirmation of the outgoing party, Law and Justice, which, however, does not have the numbers to form a new majority. Civic Coalition, the pro-European electoral alliance (Christian Democrats, Green Liberals) formed for the occasion, wins.

XAVIER BETTEL: After 10 years, the Xavier Bettel era ends in Luxembourg. Following the Oct. 8 elections, the Grand Duchy is changing course. Bettel’s liberals are no longer the country’s leading force, and at the head of the government ends Luc Frieden, a member of the Christian Social Party, affiliated with the EPP. Internal balances, however, mean that Bettel remains in the executive, with the roles of deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

EURO ZONE: On January 1, Croatia officially adopts the euro. It is the 20th EU member state to introduce the single currency. Monetary union widens again, for the first time since 2015, when it was Lithuania’s turn to join the eurozone.