Job Alert – Light and Shadow in European Politics: Budget, Brexit and Elections

Second thoughts in London to the delight and a lack of second thoughts to the sorrow of the European Commission are the biggest issues of these past weeks. In the allegedly second biggest demonstration of the century, about 670,000 pro-EU protesters took to the streets, requesting a second referendum on Brexit. Meanwhile, negotiations remain stalled over the Irish border and the future trade regime. Such minor details do not prevent British Prime Minister Theresa May to state that 95 % of the Brexit deal is now complete.

The Italian government, on the other hand, does not see any need for negotiation – it insists on its generous budget with 2.4 % new debt that services campaign promises. The Brussels reaction was harsh: for the first time in the history of the Eurozone, the European Commission flat-out rejected the budget and asked for a revised version. We can expect a High-Noon moment.

Meanwhile, the race to EU elections is arriving at the next level. EPP candidate Manfred Weber managed to get the backing of seven of the eight EPP leaders in the EU and is now hoping for election as the EPP top candidate at the upcoming EPP congress in Helsinki on 8 November. But his competitor, Alexander Stubb, is not out of the race yet: 758 delegates will be asked to vote.

Already over are the elections in Brussels, where the Germans outnumbered all other foreign citizens in their eagerness to have their say in local elections. Whether it was their influence or a general outrage with Belgian politics: the biggest winner was the Green Ecolo. Exactly the other way went the city of Ninove at the outskirt of Brussels – which is now governed by the right-wing Vlaams Belang.

Whilst this was not the election that lets us bet on the results of next year’s European Parliament elections, the vote does show a trend we see across Europe. And in the current Parliament, we already see what happens to politics when finding compromise gets impossible. One of the currently stalled negotiations at European Parliament committee level is the one on the protection of whistleblowers. The vote keeps being postponed and compromise is not in sight. Therefore exceptionally some event advertisement: if you want to know what it is about, and still want some influence on it, join the following event of EPP host Geoffroy Didier and Inhouse Counsel Association ACC – here is the online registration form.

And if you would like to have a permanent stake at what is happening, you may want to follow the footsteps of Nikolas Clegg who just became chief lobbyist for Facebook (although, admittedly, you might end up with a bit more modest financial package…), find some jobs and as usual more on politjobs.eu!

Irina Michalowitz


Featured Job

German Broadband Association seeks Head of BREKO Office Brussels
Brussels | Apply by: ongoing | Start: instantly | Full Time

The German Broadband Association (BREKO) represents the majority of all alternative fixed line broadband network operators in Germany. With immediate effect, BREKO is looking for an Advisor for European Network Policy for their office in Brussels to head the European BREKO representation in Brussels. ➡️ See full job ad

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26. October 2018