Margaritis Schinas, Chief Spokesperson of the EC during the midday press briefing | Lieven Creemer/EC — Audiovisual Service
midday brief, in brief
Today at Commission, Trump (mostly)
From today we’re going to keep you up-to-speed on the European Commission’s daily press briefing, with a condensed version on this blog, including whatever we can add from the discussions that happen off-camera in the Berlaymont press room.
Here’s what you need to know today.
First, the non-Trump matters.
President Jean-Claude Juncker released a statement on the Quebec mosque attack that Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a “terrorist attack on Muslims.”
The College of Commissoners will discuss Wednesday the state of the energy union and launch something bizarrely referred to as an “energy union tool.” Playbook presumes it won’t be a hammer. They’ll also debate whether improvements have be made to how second-tier EU rules are implemented.
EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini will meet Germany’s new foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel on Tuesday.
Now, Trump.
You can expect the issue of the Trump’s immigration order and trade policy approach to be raised by commissioners’ at Wednesday’s college meeting. In the meantime, the EU isn’t changing its refugee policy, and Commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas had this to say:
This is the European Union and the EU does not discriminate on the basis nationality, race or religion. Not only when it comes to asylum but in any of other policies. The Commission and President Juncker have consistently stressed our attachment to this principle.”
The EU, “from a legal point of view,” is looking at the immigration order for “the impact on EU nationals, which is not clear.” Officials in the EU delegation in Washington DC are in charge, but Brussels does not have stable estimate on how many EU citizens were affected by the ban.
No calls have yet been placed between Trump’s White House and Mogherini or Juncker.
The Commission continues to see the U.S. as “a strategic partner” especially given the Commission and U.S. administration’s respective participation at G20 and G7 summits. And apparently, the EU is not ready to cancel the invitation made by Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk for a EU-U.S. summit.