politjobs.eu job alert – Brexit and other never-ending member state tales

Brexit is the overwhelming story of the past week: with a very narrow avoidance of a first showdown on 11 April, EU Heads of State agreed a completely new deadline: 31 October. That deadline has no understandable justification other than an apparent need for more discussion time within the UK – and means paradoxically that the UK will have be part of the next European Parliament; which leads to new problems: starting from the need to draw up an election list and actually go through a vote to the total number of European Parliament seats and their post-Brexit reduction and reallocation, and still the possibility that the UK leaves before – IF the withdrawal agreement is accepted in April. Which would also mean that some European Parliament – according to latest news, the current one as the new one will have just been elected -, will have to reconvene in an extraordinary session for Brexit approval. Judging from the proven quality of current national UK politicians, Brussels can look forward to the new UK MEPs.

As if one member state wreaking havoc was not enough, Romania is testing the limits of its EU presidency with a tough stand against Laura Köveci – former Romanian anticorruption chief, preferred European Parliament candidate for the European prosecutor position, has been banned from travelling outside the country and talking to the press. Whilst the European Parliament has an easy time raising its voice, only a number of member states spoke out clearly against the move and the European Commission attempts to mediate. Without Romania holding the presidency and the coincidence of the need to appoint a European prosecutor, we would probably never even have heard more than once from this case.

And yet another delicate relationship came to its peak during the past days: accompanied by Huawei industry espionage suspicions, US threats and all related 5G fears, EU officials met with Chinese leader Li Keqiang for their annual EU-China summit, the major success is apparently to be taken seriously as a European bloc rather than individual member states – actual results to be seen.

Some Members of the outgoing European Parliament may be glad to leave all of these issues behind: Strasbourg just saw the last plenary of the current European Parliament before the elections will take place next month – with many goodbyes: apparently around 190 MEPs, i.e. one fourth of the total number of MEPs, will retire.

If you plan exactly the opposite, find attached some jobs and as usual more on politjobs.eu!

Irina Michalowitz