John Ainger and Jorge Valero, Bloomberg News

BRUSSELS
EnergiesNet.com 03 30 2023

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will lay out the future of the bloc’s relations with China in a speech this morning.

Coming at a particularly delicate time, her words will set the stage for a trip to Beijing next week alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and just follows Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, where he signaled ongoing support for Vladimir Putin.

The bloc is trying to re-balance its economic relationship with one of its largest trading partners and limit the risks with a geopolitical rival that’s becoming increasingly difficult to handle. Amid rising tensions on trade, a new EU instrument to counter China’s coercive practices is coming in few months, with a debate on export controls gaining traction in Brussels.

On top of that, a battle over securing critical raw materials across the planet is becoming more visible, and concerns about some popular Chinese tech firms, including TikTok, have made cybersecurity issues resurface.

— John Ainger and Jorge Valero

What’s Happening

Nuclear Talks | Final negotiations between the European Parliament and member states on scaling up renewable energy sources this decade dragged through the night and were still ongoing as of 7 a.m. this morning, hamstrung by the issue of nuclear. France has been pushing to get some allowances for the fuel in producing green hydrogen.

Satellite Sanction | The US is urging the EU and other allies to sanction a Chinese satellite company for allegedly supporting Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, we’re told. Meanwhile, we also found out that Turkey’s parliament will approve Finland’s bid to join NATO today. 

Sanctions Enforcement | The EU is planning to launch a project with nine member states to identify gaps in the sanctions regime against Russia and to improve coordination between national authorities when enforcing penalties. It will be the first time that the bloc’s executive arm is supporting member states on sanctions enforcement with specific resources on this scale. 

Summer Risks | Europe has navigated a winter crisis that threatened to choke energy supplies and overwhelm its economy, but officials are warning that the squeeze may not yet be over. The bloc needs to replenish its stockpiles of gas — but the perils from a year ago will be fresh in policy makers’ minds.

Unlocking Subsidies | The EU and the US are nearing an agreement on critical minerals that would provide the bloc’s companies access to some of the massive green subsidies offered in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The deal will likely be similar to an agreement the US signed with Japan this week — here’s what that contained.

UBS Triumph | After the fall of Credit Suisse and its hastily arranged merger with it rival, Switzerland sees just one big winner and a lot of losers. While UBS looks a winner, just about everything that once made the country a byword for world-class finance — stability and discretion combined with global ambition — has been tested and found wanting. 

bloomberg News 03 30 2023