Today’s edition is powered by PA Summit
The Public Affairs Summit: Brussels welcomes the first trade show on public affairs!
On November 5 and 6 in Brussels, join European public affairs professionals to network, debate, and grow your business at the first European-focused trade-show. Discussions on defence, the Clean Industry Act, the MFF, critical chemicals and transparency will be on the agenda.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Europe has a growing list of programmes to protect it in what has been labelled a “hybrid war”. The Commission’s ‘Defence Readiness Roadmap’, unveiled two weeks ago, sets out four priority projects to be launched next year: Eastern Flank Watch, European Drone Defence Initiative, European Space Shield, and European Air Shield.
These initiatives will add to the arsenal of defence acronyms bouncing around Brussels. Who can distinguish between EDDI, EDIP, EDIDP, ESSI, and HEDI (to name but a few)? And what does it matter anyway, if it only takes a few balloons to spook air traffic controllers across the continent?
At the root of disorder is the tug of war that pits the Commission against member nations, who cling to their sovereignty over defence matters. But the lack of coordination has created a situation in which EU allies are operating a tapestry of weapon systems, which is both costly and ineffective for responding jointly to threats.
Of course, another international organisation headquartered in Brussels should help smooth out these inconsistencies. But instead it has demanded simply that its members spend more, at the risk of multiplying the chinks in the armour rather than promoting joint procurement for a robust, cost-effective common defence.
Paradoxically, as political debates simmer about multi-billion euro joint initiatives, Europe is bamboozled by cheap technology (drones and balloons) that demand a new approach to securing our skies. But the bloc’s air defence aspirations are hampered by industry fragmentation and divergence between members.
Which means that for all the high talk of “Readiness 2030”, the multi-layered “Air Shield” currently looks more like a pile of tattered nets, shot through with indecision and funding gaps.
Roundup
New military satellite plan – The European Space Agency is planning on a military-grade reconnaissance satellite network, part of a €22 billion spending plan that sees the agency move into the realm of defence for the first time.
Vaccine funding cuts labelled ‘irresponsible’ – A possible withdrawal from two major global health organisations – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the Global Fund – has been slammed by health experts, who warn that decades of progress against HIV and vaccine-preventable diseases could be jeapordised.
A Trump-Xi deal won’t save Europe – European interests hang in the balance as the two global superpowers meet in Korea this week. But to remain a pole in the new multipolar world, Europe will need to use whatever breathing space a US-China deal brings to secure its own supply chains, reduce dependencies, and boost its global leverage, argues Euractiv columnist Simon Nixon.
Across Europe
Valencia floods highlight cracks in disaster prevention – It’s been one year since catastrophic floods swept through Valencia and killed 229. While the government insisted it acted efficiently in response, experts warn that prevention is still lacking.
Fidesz gets cosy with Hungary –Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party is openly tightening its links with Poland’s main opposition party Law and Justice – even as official relations between the two governments sink to their worst point in years.
Software platform may compromise medical data – After an Amsterdam-based data protection company, Zivver, was bought by a US company, European hospitals’ data protection may be weaker than once thought. After an inquiry from Euractiv, Frankfurt University Hospital discovered its sensitive data, protected by Zivver, was being routed through US-owned systems.
