Global Europe Brief: Europe’s China headache

EU IN THE WORLD

EU BUDGET PLANS. Cuts to the European Commission’s draft defence budget proposal were already under consideration well before the pandemic hit Europe. While the new EU budget proposal charts an improvement from the Commission’s previously planned outlay for the bloc’s defence initiatives, it still remains far from original ambitions.

OPEN SKIES. Washington announced recently it would withdraw from the 35-nation Open Skies Treaty, allowing unarmed surveillance flights over signatory states – the Trump administration’s latest move to pull the country out of yet another major global landmark accord.

The Open Skies Treaty is the third major security agreement that is going to bite the dust – and it might well not be the last one. European leaders did not really put enough pressure on Putin and Trump to keep the now-defunct treaties. To set back the Doomsday clock, it takes more than two visionary leaders like Gorbachev and Reagan were for the INF Treaty.

Europe is a hotspot for nuclear weapons and has put the safety of its citizens in the hands of Trump and Putin. Instead, it needs to take the lead in the campaign towards nuclear disarmament, ICAN’s Beatrice Fihn told EURACTIV in an interview after the US withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty.

ANTI-DRONE BID. EU police forces are set to roll out Australian-made anti-drone weaponry in order to help eliminate national security threats. The same technology is prohibited by federal law in the United States.

PACKAGE POSTPONED. Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Várhelyi confirmed that the publication of the European Commission’s enlargement package has been postponed until autumn due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the negotiating framework for North Macedonia and Albania will go ahead as planned in June.

BELGRADE-PRISTINA. In March, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell appointed Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak as the special mediator for Kosovo, but his home country is one of five EU member countries that still refuse to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi said he would not take part in talks on normalising ties with Serbia led by an EU special mediator, calling instead for an increased US role in the dialogue.

It’s 159 days until the US presidential election and public approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic remained steady this week while the number of US deaths from the illness surpassed 100,000.

What to watch and why it matters: Trump’s performance in office received similar ratings, with 41% of US adults approving and 54% disapproving. His overall popularity has been about the same for more than a year, while the likely Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, has a higher favorability with registered voters, with a six-point net lead in support over Trump, down about three points from last week.

COVID-19 FEELINGS. Negative feelings towards the United States in Germany are growing quickly in the pandemic era, according to a new poll, which also indicated a shift in public opinion towards Beijing.