MEPs Embark on Special Mission to Washington: Exclusive Insights

Key diary dates

• Monday 26 May: EU ministers convene in Brussels for the Agricultural and Fisheries Council meeting.
• Tuesday 27 May: EU foreign ministers will convene for a General Council meeting where topics including Hungary, minority languages, and the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism will be discussed.
• Wednesday 28 May - European Commission to announce Start-up and Scale up strategy.

In spotlight

A group of Members of European Parliaments (MEPs) from the trade committee plan to visit Washington D.C. from May 27th through the 30th. However, if President Trump is avoiding direct discussions with Ursula von der Leyen, how impactful can a collection of EU legislators be—especially those coming from a lesser-known body that he likely disregards?

On Friday, the US president warned he would implement a "straight 50% tariff on the EU," signaling the state of current talks between the United States and the European Union. By Sunday, Trump and Von Der Leyen had spoken over the phone, with the latter describing their conversation as 'positive' in a tweet. The US president subsequently postponed the introduction of the 50% tariff indefinitely, awaiting further progress in the ongoing negotiations with the EU.

However, all talks until now have taken place behind closed doors or via exchanged letters among only a few of President Trump’s advisors and a select team of top EU negotiators. This collective of MEPs, spearheaded by Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange from Germany/S&D, may find their voices ignored should any US lawmakers or trade representatives bother paying attention to them at all.

"The primary aim of this trip is to listen directly from the US administration and various parties regarding their criticisms and proposals for improving transatlantic and global trade," Lange stated last week.

They may require some time to hear them out, as criticism toward the EU has been constant and rapid-fire right from the start of Trump’s second term.

Any proposals for resolving issues with transatlantic trade appear overly optimistic as long as the United States and the European Union remain unable to reach an agreement.

Policy newsmakers

Industry sceptical on new EU single market strategy

Business representatives gave a jaundiced welcome into a fresh single-market strategy aimed at boosting intra-EU commerce, which was unveiled last week by European Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné, after many years of pledges from the European Commission on this matter.

“Every Commission term seems to feature a flagship communication on the single market, going back to the Monti Report in 2010, but unfortunately these have not always led to tangible improvements for businesses,” Ben Butters, the CEO of Eurochambres, which represents businesses across Europe, told travelcheapwithoutmissingout.

Policy Poll

Data brief