By Alexandra Brzozowski | Euractiv Est. 11min 12-03-2021 Your weekly update on the EU from the global perspective. Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Welcome to EURACTIV’s Global Europe Brief, your weekly update on the EU from the global perspective. You can subscribe here. /// EDITOR’s TAKE It is no secret that women are still woefully underrepresented in the world of foreign policy, security, defence and nuclear issues. While the gender gap may be (slowly) closing in other traditionally male-dominated fields, this domain has far too long been notorious for the absence of female voices. Fortunately, that’s changing but there is still a long way to go. In 2014, Sweden became the first country to officially adopt a feminist foreign policy. Since then, a handful of other countries have begun moving towards change. Spain, for example, has recently drafted a new foreign policy that incorporates a gender perspective. NATO is also adapting, integrating gender perspectives in its policy and planning, training, and missions and operations. There is a growing body of evidence regarding the positive effect of including women in several key areas of foreign and security policy. Take peacekeeping missions, for example. Women are deployed in all areas – police, military and civilian – and have made a positive impact on peacekeeping environments, including by supporting the role of women in building peace and protecting women’s rights. The aim of feminist foreign policy is to recognise, name and dismantle structures of discrimination. And one of the most obvious forms of discrimination is the lack of women in foreign policy positions. The EU has been slow in moving towards a more feminist foreign policy. The EU’s External Action Service (EEAS) preaches gender equality but keeps its top echelon reserved mostly for men. Catherine Ashton, and then Federica Mogherini, both holding the top EEAS post, have been the exception to the rule. It’s true that the EEAS has set itself the target of having women in 40% of senior posts by 2025 and produced an action plan on gender equality in external relations. According to the recently launched #SHEcurity Index, only 34.9% of officials in the EU’s diplomatic service were women in 2019, though some countries achieved equality and even exceeding 50%, such as Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Sweden. “But the higher the rank, the lower the percentage of women,” the research found, revealing that men hold 87% of senior management and 75% of middle management posts. The only woman at the highest levels, ex-EEAS secretary-general Helga Schmid, recently left and was replaced by Italian diplomat Stefano Sannino. “We have seen many promises, starting with Mr Borrell’s hearing in parliament for the HR/VP position. We are now 1.5 years down the road and still talking about action plans, while the leadership of the EEAS is male-only,” Green MEP Hannah Neumann told EURACTIV, referring to the EU’s High Representative Josep Borrell. “So far, I can’t say they are living up to their promises, but we should never give up hope – and pressure,” Neumann said. EU IN THE WORLD HUMANITARIAN AID. The EU will set up a new European Humanitarian Response Capacity to intervene directly in humanitarian crises, as part of a revamp of its humanitarian aid policy, it announced this week. The EU executive said it would aim to persuade “certain member states” to increase their contributions, adding that “there is substantial scope to expand the list of donors and enhance the contributions of existing donors.” DUE DILIGENCE. MEPs have urged the European Commission to table an ambitious due diligence law obliging EU companies to address all aspects of their value chains that could affect human rights, the environment and good governance. Companies that want to access the EU internal market, including those established outside the EU, would have to prove that they comply with environmental and human rights due diligence obligations. AUSTRIA’s NEIN. Austria’s coalition government has confirmed it will block the landmark EU-Mercosur trade agreement – which should create the biggest free-trade area in the world – saying it goes against the EU’s environmental ambitions set out in the European Green Deal. Austria has thus joined France, which was one of the first to voice serious doubts. Speeding up the procedures of the Mercosur deal has been a top priority for the Portuguese EU Presidency, and Lisbon has also highlighted the “geopolitical importance” of the deal. EU-UK ROW. Relations between the EU and London have soured over the past few days amid accusations of vaccine nationalism, with EU lawmakers lambasting the UK for only “serving themselves”. The row is the latest in a series of clashes over vaccines between the bloc and its former member. DEFENCE CORNER FIGHTER JETS. Germany and France have launched a new effort to resolve an impasse over the development of a joint fighter jet, Europe’s biggest defence project that has sparked tensions between Berlin and Paris. The countries are supposed to produce Europe’s shared sixth-generation fighter with Spain by 2040, but… The Franco-German tandem is at loggerheads over two of the seven points of cooperation, with France complaining that Germany’s participating defence industry wants access to French tech—a charge Germany denies. They also cannot agree on dividing payments, the exact purpose of the new fighter, and even Germany’s lack of participation in combat operations abroad, industry sources say. TRANSATLANTIC LINK TRANSATLANTIC VIBES. Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in his first major speech on transatlantic relations since the new US President, Joe Biden, took office, urged a reset with the US. However, he did not address the main bone of contention between Washington and Berlin. NORD STREAM 2. The German government and businesses have repeatedly said they will not abandon the Nord Stream 2 project, despite US sanctions. Leading Republicans have recently warned President Biden against striking a “deal through the back door” with Germany on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. They are also calling for further sanctions against companies involved in the Baltic Sea project. DISPUTE(s) SETTLED. It was a busy few days in EU-US reset diplomacy. The EU and the US agreed to suspend the tariffs mutually imposed in the context of the Boeing-Airbus dispute, while they are trying to reach a compromise on the subsidies given to their aircraft manufacturers – it was settled by one phone call. A meeting between EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski and US agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack showed the first signs of thawing relations after the trade dispute that has soured transatlantic relations in recent years. Meanwhile, US climate envoy John Kerry in Brussels promoted climate alignment with Europe. INDO-PACIFIC GAZE. In a much-awaited foreign policy speech in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, US State Secretary Antony Blinken outlined priorities for US foreign policy. As expected, he reiterated Washington’s commitment to its core alliances, including those with Europe and NATO. He also called Japan and South Korea “two of our most important allies”, indicating that Washington’s pivot to Asia is likely to intensify under Biden. India, Japan, Australia and the US are to meet for their first-ever Quad summit on Friday to exchange views on maritime security, climate change and a free and open Indo-Pacific. Biden seems to be attempting a different strategy, less focused on pointing out China’s shortcomings and more on diplomatic engagement with the countries in the region. Beijing was quick to comment: One of China’s state-run newspapers slammed the new format as a “fragile club” and predicted that US efforts would end in “dismay.” At the same time, Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Japan and South Korea next week on their first foreign trip since taking office, as President Joe Biden’s administration sets out to shore up Washington’s core alliances in Asia. Blinken will also meet with China’s top two diplomats on the way back in Alaska, marking the first face-to-face meeting with counterparts in the Biden era. ENLARGEMENT LATEST BRING BACK BALKANS. Nine EU member states have called on the EU’s chief diplomat, Joseph Borrell, to have a strategic discussion on the Western Balkan countries and their prospects when EU foreign ministers meet in April, according to a letter made available to EURACTIV. The enlargement process seemed to have gained new momentum last spring when North Macedonia and Albania received the green light from EU ministers to start negotiations but then ran into another stumbling block as Bulgaria vetoed North Macedonia’s talks in autumn over differences regarding history and language. MEDICAL SUPPORT. Montenegro appealed to the EU and NATO to send it medical aid to help exhausted health services battle a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic in the tiny Adriatic nation. EURASIA DIGEST MEDIA STRUGGLE. The case of two female Belarussian journalists jailed in February for reporting about protests in Minsk once again highlighted the severity of the government’s crackdown on news media in the former Soviet republic. Speaking to EURACTIV, Agnieszka Romaszewska-Guzy, founder and head of the Belsat TV, spoke about how the press freedom situation in Belarus has deteriorated over the past year and what the EU can do to help. MORE INTEGRATION. The European Commission is warming to the idea of offering a more ambitious integration plan to the three Eastern partners of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, an EU official has said. So far, the EU executive has been cautious to endorse the plan for the group, often referred to as the Trio, wary that more perks for the associated countries may irritate the three other Eastern partners – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus. However, the “current situation in the partnership” would require EU action, according to Katarína Mathernová, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s department for neighbourhood and enlargement. CHINA MOVES. China’s parliament has approved a draft decision to change Hong Kong’s electoral system, further reducing democratic representation in the city’s institutions and introducing a mechanism to vet politicians’ loyalty to Beijing. Meanwhile, the EU is set to target China with sanctions over human-rights abuses for the first time since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, Wall Street Journal reports. WHAT ELSE WE’RE READING Biden Faces Hurdles Announcing New State Department Staff [Foreign Policy] A Rebuttal To Russia’s Narrative About The West, Grounded In History [Atlantic Council] A Capable EU is no Utopia [DGAP] ON OUR RADAR FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS… Europe’s everyday business is still stuck in lockdown reality, until further notice. We’ll keep you updated on all relevant EU foreign affairs news, as we enter a busy spring period. First-ever Quad summit between India, Japan, Australia and the US | Friday, 12 March 2021 | video link Informal talks of foreign and home affairs ministers on migration | Monday, 15 March 2021 | video link European Parliament exchange of views with the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg | Monday, 15 March 2021 | Brussels, Belgium European Parliament’s SEDE Committee | Mon-Tue, 15-16 March 2021 | Brussels, Belgium Launch of the NATO 2020 Annual Report | Tuesday, 16 March 2021 | Brussels, Belgium European Parliament’s AFET Committee | Wed-Thu, 17-18 March 2021 | Brussels, Belgium Second round of Greece-Turkey talks | Tuesday, 16 March 2021 | Athens, Greece Top Biden officials hold first talks with Chinese | Thursday, 18 March 2021 | Anchorage, United States Thanks for reading! If you’d like to contact us for leaks, tips or comments, drop us a line. Like what you see? Sign up for the full newsletter here, for free! PAST EDITIONS Global Europe Brief: ‘Strategic autonomy’ dreams continued Global Europe Brief: Biden’s first rendezvous with Europe Global Europe Brief: Russia on EU’s mind Global Europe Brief: New frontiers of vaccine diplomacy Read more with Euractiv Georgian Dream MPs hope political turmoil can be resolvedEURACTIV spoke to two MPs from the ruling Georgian Dream ahead of an important deadline – 15 March, when the EU-Georgia Association Council will be held, and when a solution to the political crisis in the country is expected.
