China - EU Relations: EU slams China’s ‘authoritarian shift’ and broken economic promises

The European Union's stance on China is hardening, and that should go down well in Washington.

Only four months after Beijing and Brussels concluded the principles of a landmark investment agreement, a high-level internal report seen by POLITICO shows the EU is now increasingly pessimistic about keeping business interests separate from political concerns over what it calls President Xi Jinping's "authoritarian shift." This tougher language reflects a new approach in the EU's official communications on China.

The EU's "progress report" on China also slams Beijing for "little progress" on economic promises made by the Communist leadership, particularly in regard to opening up digital and agricultural markets, addressing steel overcapacity and reining in industrial subsidies. It calls for "further, robust" measures to deal with the new challenges posed by China, whose economy is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic at a blistering pace.

Read more at: EU slams China’s ‘authoritarian shift’ and broken economic promises – POLITICO

Africa-EU Relations - African Union: Africa visit and EU parliament missions This WEEK - by Elena Sánchez Nicolás

The European Commission will visit on Thursday (27 February) the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for a joint meeting with the African Union, before the EU-Africa strategy is unveiled in the coming weeks.

This new approach aims to bring Africa and Europe closer together through the strengthening of economic cooperation and sustainable development.

Read more: Africa visit and EU parliament missions This WEEK

EU Leaders Eye 'Close Cooperation' With Obama

European Union Presidents Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso said Wednesday they looked forward to continuing their "close cooperation" with re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama, stressing the need to work together on security and economic issues.

"We have the pleasure of extending our warm congratulations to President Obama on his re-election as President of the United States of America," they said in a joint statement.

"The United States is a key strategic partner of the European Union and we look forward to continuing the close cooperation established with President Obama over these last four years, to further strengthening our bilateral ties and to jointly addressing global challenges, including in the fields of security and economy."

The two presidents said they look forward to meeting Mr. Obama "at an early date."
"Creation of growth and jobs remains a priority for both the U.S. and the EU and we will continue to work with President Obama to unlock the unparalleled potential of the transatlantic market," they added.

Read more: EU Leaders Eye 'Close Cooperation' With Obama

EU leaders say China's success of core interest to Europe

China's success came in accordance with Europe's core interest, said Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council on Friday.

The European Union (EU) should "take a step back and look at the long term" development in the relationship with China, said Van Rompuy at a press conference following the EU summit jointly with Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.

"I debriefed the European Council on the recent Summit held in September with China," he said. "In a long term's perspective, it is in Europe's core interest that China succeeds," he added.

Van Rompuy said the EU would come back to the issue early next spring to best prepare for the next EU-China summit which will take place in China in Autumn 2013.

Read more: China's success of core interest to Europe: EU leaders - People's Daily Online

The Netherlands And Turkey: 400 Years Of Diplomatic Relations

The Netherlands and Turkey are commemorating the 400th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year. The first major event in this connection is the exhibition ‘Rembrandt and his contemporaries – The Golden Age of Dutch Art’ in Istanbul’s Sakip Sabancı Museum. The exhibition was opened last Tuesday by President Gül of Turkey and the Dutch foreign minister, Uri Rosenthal.

In 1612, the Dutch envoy Cornelis Haga presented his letters of credence on behalf of the Republic of the United Provinces to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, marking the start of a relationship focused on trade. Bilateral economic cooperation remains important to this day. The anniversary aims to boost the cultural and social as well as the economic ties between Turkey and the Netherlands.

Turkey is enjoying strong economic growth and, due to its strategic location, is a potential springboard to regional markets. The volume of trade between Turkey and the Netherlands has tripled in the past ten years. The Netherlands is one of the largest foreign investors in Turkey, which offers economic opportunities for, in particular, small and medium-sized companies, including those owned by successful Turkish-Dutch businesspeople. The anniversary celebrations will give special attention to these economic opportunities, for instance by way of trade missions. The focus will be on the sectors of water, the environment and waste management, energy-saving technology, agri-food, health care and the creative industry.

Apart from economic relations, there are a growing number of cultural and social ties. The Netherlands is home to 380,000 people of Turkish origin, and more and more Dutch tourists are taking holidays in Turkey. The anniversary also includes several performances and exhibitions by Dutch artists in Turkey – from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to the fine arts, from dance to musical theatre, and from the Nederlands Dans Theater to Dutch design. In turn, Turkish art and culture will be showcased at several locations around the Netherlands. There will also be educational and sporting exchanges between Amsterdam and Ankara, Deventer and Izmir, and Rotterdam and Istanbul, to name a few.

EU-Digest

Eurozone relief as China pledges debt bailout - by Andrew Cave

China's plan to continue to invest in the continent's volatile sovereign debt market comes as efforts continue to prevent Greece's financial crisis making it the first nation to be forced out of the euro. "China is a long-term investor in Europe's sovereign debt market," Mr Wen said at a press conference with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban.

"In recent years we have increased by quite a big margin our holdings of government bonds. We will consistently continue to support Europe and the euro." He added: "China is ready to work with Europe to share opportunities,cope with challenges and achieve common development and to make unremitting efforts for stable development of the world economy and an in-depth development of China-Europe ties."

For more: Eurozone relief as China pledges debt bailout - Telegraph