LEAK: EU Socialists eye boosted ties with US, China – reject Green Deal ‘pause’

The Party of European Socialists (PES) wants the European Union to “strengthen” relations with both Washington and Beijing, while it rejects a regulatory “pause” to the Green Deal, a demand of other pro-EU forces such as the centre-right and liberals, an early draft electoral manifesto, seen by Euractiv, states.

The manifesto, still under discussion, will guide the Socialist’s upcoming EU elections campaign. Its final version will be approved in the party’s electoral congress in Rome on 2 March.

Following the Málaga congress on 10 November, where the EU socialists agreed on the policy priorities for the coming term, the party’s leadership in Brussels drafted the manifesto and circulated it among national parties for feedback, a PES source told Euractiv.

Stronger external focus

The draft focuses more on the EU’s external dimension than the 2019 manifesto, especially on the need to “renew” cooperation agreements with third countries.

“We will strengthen EU cooperation with the US and China […] we will build a new partnership of equals with the Global South, including the launch of a new EU-Latin America Progressive Agenda and an Africa-EU Partnership on the economy, green energy, climate changes, migration and democracy,” the draft reads.

Strengthened ties with Washington, however, will depend highly on the yet unclear outcome of the US presidential elections that could see a return of former president Donald Trump or, in general, a more inward-looking administration.

Further, there is no explicit reference to political conditionality for strengthened ties with Beijing, at least not in the early draft.

In the past, though, the Socialist Group (S&D) in the European Parliament had vocally supported resolutions suggesting respect for human rights must be at the centre of EU-China relations.

Moreover, in light of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the new geopolitical environment in the bloc’s neighbourhood, the draft calls for increased support to the EU’s defence industry, enhanced intelligence and cyber security cooperation, and support for further enlargement steps.

The Socialists also place the increased tensions amid the Israel-Hamas war high on their foreign policy priority list, an agenda point that bears heavy Spanish handwriting.

Amongst others, the draft calls for an international conference to achieve a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

“The EU must speak with one voice in foreign policy matters and move towards more majority decisions,” the draft continues, echoing similar calls by the EPP and European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová earlier this week.

The draft manifesto also calls for implementing an “ambitious” EU trade agenda that promotes “binding social and environmental standards”, a grievance that became especially prominent in the EU-Mercosur negotiations.

No Green Deal ‘pause’ and no austerity 

The draft manifesto charges against mounting complaints across the bloc on overregulation and a possible “regulatory” pause for green policies, called for by French President Emmanuel Macron and echoed in the EPP’s draft manifesto.

“In the race to reach climate neutrality, no one must be abandoned, and there can be no pause,” the draft reads, adding that the Green Deal must go on “with a red heart.”

The second most important priority after “quality jobs for all” is the concept of a “Green Social Deal,” placing social policy and workers’ rights at the centre of a continued green transition.

This is also expected to be one of the key pillars of the European Greens’ strategy, laying the ground for an electoral battleground in which both parties will try to snatch voters from one another.

Unlike the EPP, the socialists keep the environment and biodiversity as a driving force of the Green Deal. The document, at least for now, does not mention farmers or agriculture, helping the EPP consolidate its ‘farmer party’ status for the campaign.

Regarding finances, the socialists “say no to austerity” and propose to boost the bloc’s joint borrowing with a permanent EU investment capability “and an ambitious European budget.”

An enhanced EU budget would fund a “Made in Europe” strategy, including joint financing of projects of common European interest and an “Investment Plan for the Green and Digital Transitions” to boost reindustrialisation and implement a circular economy.

Liberals and conservatives: ‘An insult to European history’

The Socialists reaffirm their commitment to battling the far-right surge and never surpassing the “red line” of collaborating with them: “Our values are irreconcilable because they oppose people against each other, while we want to bring them together.”

They use the chance to strike against the conservatives’ and liberals’ cooperation with the far-right across the EU, such as in Sweden, Finland, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy, warning voters of the serious threats that a right-wing majority would mean for “the rule of law, media freedom, and the rights of women, minorities, migrants, trade unions and LGBTI communities.”

“We condemn conservative and liberal parties that have enabled the far right to access power. It is an insult to our values and our European history,” the draft reads.

For its side, the EPP has stressed on several occasions at the EU level they reject a coalition with the far right.

Instead, EPP secretary-general Thanasis Bakolas told Euractiv that the EU centre-right eyes a pro-EU coalition with the Socialists, the Greens and the Liberals.

Read more: EPP boss spurns a right coalition, ‘welcomes’ socialists back to reality

In a clear strike against Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the socialists also vouch for “clear rules and sanctions, ensuring that no EU funding reaches autocratic governments that undermine democratic institutions and fundamental rights.”

‘Controlling AI’

Unlike EPP’s manifesto, which said AI “should not be hindered”, the Socialists put the focus on the “human in control” principle and the need to regulate to ensure Europe “harnesses the power of AI”.

According to the Socialists, the pursuit of profit by big tech companies cannot be more important than democracy or working conditions. EPP also mentioned the importance of “placing our citizens in the centre of our innovation” and ethical standards.

Both manifestos described the importance of EU fundamental values and the protection against online violence, harassment, and hate speech.

Max Griera | Euractiv.com – *Additional reporting by Julia Tar, Thomas Moller-Nielsen

Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski

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