Welcome to the tenth edition of Brussels Brief, the EU’s weekly digest delivered to the comfort of your inbox. Brussels Brief is an executive summary so that Eurocrats, policy wonks, trainees, and students alike can stay in the loop with the ins and outs of the international media regarding the EU. 🇪🇺

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After 10 successful editions, we will be away next week as we consolidate our journey so far and figure out how to make the Brief even better.

The Editor ✉️

🔝 FRONT PAGE — Top News this Week

Terror Attack in London. Yesterday, Wednesday 22 March 2017, on the first anniversary of the Brussels terror attacks, London saw an attack in the heart of its political life, Westminster. The death toll is currently at 5 people including a slain police officer and the attacker who was shot down, and 40 others were injured, according to police. It seems that a single attacker pummeled over pedestrians on Westminster bridge before crashing his car close to the palace of Westminster and getting off to make his way to the palace wielding a knife with which he stabbed the police officer. A clearer picture of what happened check out this map of events. Prime Minister Theresa May made a defiant speech in which she signalled that the terror alert would not be raised and that life would continue as normal today (video). A tragic/heroic story is that of Tobias Ellwood, an MP who was caught in the scene and gave CPR to the wounded police officer. It is his second brush with terror after his brother was killed in the 2002 Bali Bombings. Police are conducting investigations as more details emerge. (BBC News, Financial Times, Euronews, Huffington Post)

Fascist and cruel. Not the first words you use to describe a club of which you want to become a member. As reported last week’s edition, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s campaign to hold rallies in Europe in favour of an upcoming referendum has seen resistance of some EU countries refusing to oblige. This resistance has been met with an array of stinging attacks from the Turkish president who has promised to review relations with the EU, namely referring to the somewhat effective yet criticised 3bn euro migrant deal reached between the two entities to curb the flow of migrants into Europe. As such Turkey’s interior minister has threatened to send 15,000 refugees per month as the country’s foreign minister warned that religious wars were coming to Europe. As ifs this wasn’t fighting rhetoric, Erdogan encouraged Turkish immigrants in Europe to have five children each as they were to be the “future of Europe”. In light of this array of claims, the German foreign minister rather understatedly responded that Turkey was “further away than ever from joining the EU”. For a fascinating insight into a Turkish view of the dispute click here. (The Independent, BBC News, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, EurActiv, Voice of America, Vox, New York Times, Washington Post)

The spectre of Trump returns. In the week where the aftermath of the Dutch elections left many wondering whether Donald Trump might have been a good thing for European politics, it was the US president’s meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week which saw the disparity between the two leaders, as well as their vision and reality in trade and otherwise. All things considered, positive meeting, no explicit support for (or mention of) the EU although his support for NATO was clearly expressed. It seems that US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson did not get the memo in time to announce that he was going to skip his first NATO meeting next month, without offering an alternative date. Tillerson quickly rectified, hours later, by offering to reschedule but many in Europe see his initial rebuke as “unfortunate symbolism” and perhaps a sign of things to come from the US administration. (Washington Post, Business Insider, CNBC, Vice News, Reuters)

💸 IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID — Top Economic, Trade & Innovation News

Shake my hand or I’ll shake it up. Not playing nice with Mutti could leave the Donald in a pickle. After an awkward lack of politesse (video) by the US president the German chancellor has set her eyes on a trade deal with Japan. The abrupt US change on trade orthodoxy has radically shaken up the status quo and the EU is now the world’s largest bastion for free trade. The EU negotiates trade deals on behalf of all its members and an EU-Japan trade deal could be a game changer for the EU’s position in Asia, boosting the EU’s ambitions to fill the void left by the Trump administration. With Germany being the largest economy in the EU and 3rd largest exporter in the world, Merkel’s backing for such a deal is essential. Commission President Juncker hopes to conclude the deal by the end of 2017. Maybe Donald will soon come over to play? (CNN, The Local, Politico Europe, Euractiv)

The long and arduous Hellenic journey continues. It famously took Odysseus 10 years to complete his voyage home and it looks like the Greek economy will need at least as long to get back safely into harbour. Since the onset of the economic crisis in 2009 the Greeks have seen 5 governments struggle, but 1 weak economy endure. The creditor Troika: The EU, the ECB and the IMF, want Greece to implement reforms agreed to in 2015 before a new tranche of funds are released. This, however, is proving highly controversial amongst ordinary Greeks who must bear the brunt of austerity. It also potentially undermines Greek Prime Minister Tsipras by enacting policies he opposes, such as a reform of the labour market and cutting public expenditure. Although there has been recent growth, the numbers are not looking as stable as initially hoped for, breeding renewed anxiety to the Greek economy if a deal is not reached quickly. All this renews the question, who’s to blame? (Bloomberg, U.S. News, Ekatimerini, Euronews)

Dijsselbloemgate. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Eurogroup, the 19 EU countries who have adopted the Euro, had a busy week. First, he suggested transforming the EU’s bailout tool the ESM (the European Stability Mechanism) into a European IMF. This would be done best before the summer and to enhance financial crisis management such as the Greek bailouts. But the centre of attention quickly diverted to Dijsselbloem’s role as head of the Eurogroup already in question after the Dutch elections last week saw his party decimated. After off-handed comments that some countries had wasted money on “drinks and women” calls for an apology and even his resignation came rapidly from both the European Parliament and fellow finance ministers. What a difference a week makes. (Euronews, CNBC, New Europe)

🇬🇧 STATE OF THE (DIS)UNION — Brexit Stories

T-day. Like a Nancy Sinatra song, the trigger is about to get pulled on the Brexit process. In an in-person communique to the office of the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the UK representative Tim Barrow confirmed that the date will be Wednesday 29 March 2017. The invocation of Article 50, as expected, will take the form of a letter from Prime Minister Theresa May and comes nine months after the referendum where 51.9% of voters voted to leave the European Union, quashing any speculation of an early general election. Meanwhile, Tusk has been proceeding with the matter, announcing that the first ‘Brexit summit’ of the remaining 27 members states will be held approximately a month later. This would look to establish the principles for 2 years, or 24 months of negotiations. (Politico Europe, Buzzfeed News, The Guardian,)

Last call, all aboard? The Brexit process has had its fair share of stubbornness throughout. From threats from members of the British government refusing to pay any exit fee, ex Prime Ministers in denial, once and twice, Scotland’s insistence on independence in order to get back into the EU and Spain’s rejection if it were to happen. On the EU side, Jean Claude Juncker’s risqué claims that no-one else will leave and that Britain pay their bills when they do, as well as the latest dire picture painted by EU lead negotiator, Michel Barnier. Not the most encouraging of starts, but a start nonetheless. (Politico Europe, The Guardian, Reuters, The Independent, The Times)

B is for Brexit. It seems that in this final week of Brexit foreplay, a round-up of the previous nine months of speculation be presented in summary. The events, issues and characters of what is sure to be a messy political divorce story are succinctly collected from A-Z detailing the expected to the not so expected, such as ‘Y for Y Gwyll’. (Politico Europe)

BONUS: Boris Johnson’s Dad pens ‘Brexit thriller’ novel. In something that could be seen to be straight out of fiction, Stanley Johnson, the father of Boris Johnson current British Foreign Secretary, former Mayor of London best known for being a flamboyant Brexit advocate, is writing a novel whose out-of-this-world premise is Britain’s break with the EU, populism taking over Europe and Russian political interference worldwide. Before you think this is non-fiction, the most bizarre element of the story is the author’s bio as a former senior EU official and the patriarch of a formidable British political clan. Truth is stranger than fiction or vice versa? (Washington Post)

🏢 BRUXELLES MA BELLE — News about the city

A year on, reflections and revisions. Yesterday, marked the one year anniversary of the Brussels attacks that killed 32, and injured over 200. At 7:58 a.m. Ibrahim El Bakraoui, and Najim Laachraoui, blew themselves up causing two explosions at Zaventem International airport. Ibrahim’s younger brother, Khalid, followed suite with a third explosion at one of the EU quarters’ main metro stops, Maelbeek (video). The aftermath of the attacks brought heavy criticism to Belgian authorities, claiming Brussels did not rise to intelligence and security needs necessary to better prevent the crime. International media also claimed Belgium that overlooked suspects that have been previously linked to foreign fighters in Syria or the Paris attacks of November 2015. Meanwhile, a report concerning anti-terrorist activity was released earlier this week with the claim that Molenbeek’s district police discovered 51 organisations in the neighbourhood suspected of having ties to terrorism. However, Brussels Major, Yvan Mayeur insists, “terrorism is a problem that involves Europe as a whole. […] If this was only a Brussels problem, it would have been solved.” (Deutsche Welle, RTBF, Hindustan Times, Politico Europe)

… and a loud minute of silence: The anniversary of the Brussels attacks brought moments of reflection, of tribute and of new creations as Belgian architect, Jean-Henri Compere, inaugurated his sculpture in honour of the victims. The monument symbolizes resilience and a willingness to rise from what has been a painful fall. Meanwhile, people find comfort in each other and in the city’s restored spirit. All public transport halted for a scheduled ‘minute of noise’ set to clocked in with applause from commuters and citizens alike (video). An applause in memory of those fallen and in support of the survivors finding health, strength and purpose once more. While Nidhi Chaphekar, an Indian flight attendant, has regained 70 percent of her physical capacity and dreams of flying once more, Karen Northshield’s touching story (video) of recovery gives a glimpse into the difficulty of coming to terms with the experience of being a survivor. (Euractiv, BX1, Gulf News, De Standaard)

BONUS: Clap your hands if you’re happy and you know it. In a much needed shift of tone, the UN’s World’s Happiness Report has Belgium beating both Luxembourg and the UK reaching 17th place. Norway beat Denmark this year in gaining first place while Central African Republic, Syria and Burundi are some of the countries to make the bottom. But what exactly defines as happy or happiest? Researchers considered six key elements: income, life expectancy, relationships, generosity, freedom and trust in the government. You can read the report in its entirety here. (The Bulletin, World Happiness Report 2017)

✂️ EXTRA — From the Cutting Room Floor

Road to Rome. EU leaders are expected to announce that “Europe is our common future” this Saturday as they mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. The Rome declaration comes as the EU faces one of its biggest existential crises, and both economic and political solutions are already in the pipeline. The celebrations and reflections will be accompanied by a March for Europe, endorsed by over 300 European academics and personalities in favour of the EU and the construction it represents. Stand Up for Europe will be holding a similar and parallel march in Brussels to coincide. (Reuters, Euractiv, Project Syndicate, Stand Up For Europe)

Guns in Europe. Perhaps timely in light of the attacks in London, revisions to the EU Firearms Directive was passed in a vote in the European Parliament on Tuesday. The vote closes a loophole that puts restrictions on arms that fire blank rounds or ‘acoustic’ firearms, out of fear that they may be used for live ammunition, as was the case in the 2015 ‘Charlie Hebdo’ paris terror attacks. The revisions also apply to deactivated weapons and stricter controls on set-automatic weapons. Interestingly, the revisions were opposed by the Cezch Republic and a non-member state, Switzerland, amongst others. (New Europe, NRA-ILA)

💡 OPINION — Top minds muse on the European project

We need EU more than ever! Civico Europa (formerly the 9 May Movement) calls for citizens to March for Europe in Rome (see above) and be the launch pad for a truly integrated Europe: Economically, socially and politically. With globalisation diminishing Europe’s size relatively to other regions it is only by uniting and acting as one that Europe and European values can be a force on the world stage. (Voxeurop)

…Don’t take more EU than the EU can stomach. Sounding a quite different tone Harvard University professor Dani Rodrik warns that Europeans might not accept more Europe and the incremental approach towards economic and political integration, long advanced by Member States, has been overtaken by reality and might not realistically be rescued before inevitable disintegration of the Union under its own weight. (Project Syndicate)

All you need is a little midlife crisis. Crises are what the EU is made of and it is in these times that the European project shows how enduring it is according to Sylvester Eijffinger, Professor of Financial Economics at Tilburg University. In the wake of the Dutch elections a centrist pro-European government will be formed and he foresees a positive roadmap ahead of 2017 with populism, having been dealt a first blow. Now the ball is in the court of the French and German voters. (Euronews)

🎧 PRESS PLAY — Media Corner

🔊 Podcast of the Week. The Financial Times commemorates the 60 years of the Treaty of Rome and the dissonance with the current situation of nationalism that Europe faces. (Financial Times)

🎥 Video(s) of the Week. Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, notorious for his brand of hardline populism and insulting foreign leaders has not hesitated in flipping off the EU in its attempts to convince him to not bring back the death penalty in the Philippines. (Euronews)

✏️ Cartoon(s) of the Week. Trump Grabs, (Right Airplane) Wing, & Brexit-EU Crash (Cagle.com)

📺 GIF of the Week