04.07.2021 – 14:06
For the next six months, Slovenia is in the driver’s seat in Brussels.
It comes after a relatively successful Portuguese presidency, as the Brussels Bubble (carefully) is reopening from the coronavirus blockade.
The country will want to set aside politics n and show that it can be an effective arbiter of classical EU policy compromises.
But there are some issues that endanger the presidency.
Artificial intelligence
What is the challenge? Slovenia is the first presidency to address the artificial intelligence regulation proposed in April and faces the task of getting EU countries to agree on a common position on the world’s first plans to regulate artificial intelligence.
Who are the key players? Both campaigns and industry have invested heavily in the outcome, with privacy activists voicing concerns over any law that gives governments too wide a place to use AI for oversight. They would normally find an ally in the European Parliament, but there is a struggle among MEPs over which committee should deal with the dossier that could prove a distraction.
Ways: China and the US are competing in the race to lead AI technology, so the EU can not afford to stop working on this topic for a long time.
Difficulty assessment: 5/5 – Slovenia knows that the AI file will be a strong nut to break.
EU-China agreement
What is the challenge? The Slovenian presidency wants to make progress in ratifying the investment agreement that Brussels reached with China late last year. However, MEPs last month froze the legislative process to ratify the agreement until Beijing lifts sanctions against EU lawmakers.
Who are the key players? On the EU side, Parliament, the Commission and the Council are all involved if Brussels wants to move this agreement forward.
Ways: Even if sanctions are lifted, there is still much political incentive against ratifying an agreement with China in the current geopolitical context.
Difficulty assessment: 4.5 / 5 – Preparatory work can continue, but it is difficult to see how any form of political progress can be made during the Slovenian presidency. And who knows what China will do in the next six months?
Green finance
What is the challenge? A major war is raging this summer over whether controversial nuclear energy and natural gas will be included in the EU’s top list of climate-friendly investment taxonomies.
Slovenia already put its hand in the fire in June when it said it was “concerned” about how the Commission is handling nuclear energy in the coveted label assessment process, in a closed-door meeting on its presidency priorities.
Who are the key players? The Commission’s Deputy Chairman and Head of the Green Agreement, Frans Timmermans – and a host of tough anti-nuclear MEPs, NGOs and countries like Austria, Germany and Luxembourg – are not at all interested in atomic power in taxonomy. France, the EU’s main nuclear power, along with Eastern European countries monitoring or building new plants such as the Czech Republic and Hungary, are pushing hard for its involvement.
Ways: Slovenia could try to force Germany to include the nucleus as a condition for natural gas also by getting a green label (Berlin is big on black gold, especially after the Nord Stream 2 pipeline went online). Or it could block and throw the problem into the lap of the 2022 French presidency.
Difficulty assessment: 5/5 – Ljubljana risks being accused of the result. The most it can do is hope the issue does not overshadow the rest of its program.
Koronavirus vaccine patents
What is the challenge? In Geneva, diplomats are negotiating a proposal from South Africa and India to waive intellectual property rights in connection with coronavirus products. The EU is opposing the waiver and the Commission has drafted its counter-proposal.
Who are the key players? The Commission and the Council on the one hand and Parliament (though not the whole Parliament) on the other. Parliament is backed by hundreds of civil society groups who say the waiver would help produce more vaccines.
Possible ways forward: Pressure may increase from member states such as France and Italy, which could lead to a softening of the EU position.
Difficulty assessment: 5/5 – With the EU refusing to give up, do not expect progress during the Slovenian presidency.
Translated and adapted by Politico.eu/ konica.al