In this edition of our talk show Brussels, my love?, we dive into the grain spat threatening good relations between Poland and Ukraine and discuss the future of the car industry in Europe.
ADVERTISEMENTThis week we were joined by Vlad Gheorghe, Romanian MEP from Renew Europe, Tinatin Akhvlediani, a research fellow with independent think tank the Centre for European Policy Studies and Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with the American think tank, the German Marshall Fund.
The panel discussed the decision of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to impose their own bans on Ukrainian grain since the Commission said it would not extend restrictions placed on imports of Ukrainian grain. We ask if Ukraine should not be getting exceptional support now from the EU in the economic and trade spheres.
"No electoral strategy justifies blackmail within the EU. And it's all going towards Putin's game," said Romanian MEP Vlad Gheorghe adding: "We need to solve that problem and to solve that problem, we need to help the Ukrainians because they are the ones who are fighting the war."
Panelists also looked into the pile of legislation linked to the European Green Deal that will have a big impact on Europe's car industry.
"It's going to hurt. I mean, people are going to lose their jobs on this. There's no doubt that if you look at the supply chain for an internal combustion engine, it is many more moving parts. So the car industry, in terms of employment will be scaled down," said Jakob Kirkegaard.
Watch Brussels, my love? in the player above.