Americas Society/Council of the Americas’ Post

Ursula Von Der Leyen Lined up for Second Term Under EU Top Jobs Deal. European political groups on Tuesday agreed a deal on top European Union posts, selecting Germany's #Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the European Commission, the bloc's powerful executive body, sources told Reuters. The three main centrist political groups agreed the package that would also make Portuguese ex-premier #Antonio Costa European Council president and Estonian Prime Minister #Kaja Kallas EU foreign policy chief, the sources said. The deal, initially reported by Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper and dpa newswire, was struck by negotiators for the centre-right, centre-left and liberal European party alliances. #Von der Leyen, #Costa and #Kallas had been widely expected to take the top jobs but the EU's national leaders did not agree on the package when they met for a dinner last week. With the backing of the three big party groups, the deal is now likely to be confirmed swiftly when the national leaders meet again at a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. However, von der Leyen will also need the backing of the European Parliament to secure a second term. Diplomats say that is no foregone conclusion and she will likely need support from lawmakers beyond the three groups formally supporting her. https://lnkd.in/de3ayyQU.

Mexico – 2024 and Beyond AMLO heir-apparent Claudia Sheinbaum is expected to win Mexico’s Presidential Election in June, setting the stage for her to become the country’s first female leader. This week’s Signal previews Mexico’s Presidential Election in June, identifying the key indicators and critical business impacts of another MORENA Presidency. Key Takeaways 1. AMLO’s heir-apparent, Claudia Sheinbaum, is expected to win Mexico’s Presidential Election on 2 June. However, a consolidation of opposition votes around Senator Xóchitl Gálvez could prevent the incumbent MORENA party from taking a Congressional supermajority. 2. Sheinbaum’s ideological loyalty to AMLO makes significant policy shifts improbable. Sheinbaum’s proposed 100-point ‘Nation Project’ will continue AMLO’s ‘republican austerity’ and state intervention. But Sheinbaum’s climate credentials could open new #FDI opportunities in Mexico’s green #energy space. 3. Concurrent national elections in the US and Mexico may see frictions rise, particularly around immigration. Growing commercial ties and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (#USMCA) review due in 2026 will be front of mind for both a second Biden or Trump administration. But businesses should expect a Trump 2.0 scenario to be far more disruptive: a full-border closure in Trump’s first 100 days cannot be ruled out. What To Watch 1. Expect AMLO to use the three-month handover period ahead of Sheinbaum’s (potential) October inauguration to further push his legislative agenda. But a close victory (or loss) for Sheinbaum would trigger a more turbulent transition period. Electoral recounts and domestic protests could ensue. 2. Expect Sheinbaum to take a leading role in Mexico’s nationalisation of lithium. Growing state control of #lithium extraction and upstream #manufacturing should be expected, particularly as Mexico’s appeal grows as an #EV production hub. 3. China will increase its diplomatic outreach to Mexico as it seeks to benefit from US market access. But Beijing’s attempts to circumvent US restrictions may lead to renewed efforts from Washington to restrict its imports from such Chinese companies. #Gatehouse #NeedToKnow #Geopolitics #Foresight #MexicoElections #Mexico #Elections2024

⏳The question of this week: Is #CSDDD being renegotiated? 🗓The Belgian Presidency has taken it off tomorrow’s COREPER agenda. It leaves them more time to work on Council majorities and renegotiate. 🇩🇪 If Germany wants to be taken seriously as a negotiating partner in Brussels (especially after their substantial engagement in these negotiations over the last two years!), Bundeskanzler Scholz has to look into compromises on this important file and take a stance! SPD voters, trade unions and front-running companies are watching him on this! 👀 🇮🇹 Italy seems to also face a split amongst businesses: There are not just those opposing it, there are also the ones supporting CSDDD. It is important to find a European solution for the CSDDD to pass! We want trust and resilience in value chains, a framework for the economic transition that is fair and shaped by politics, and common EU-wide standards!  Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz, Didier Reynders, Ursula von der Leyen, Alexander De Croo, this is your chance to make it work! Shape the framework for the coming decades of the EU economy’s global impacts!

Are you as puzzled as I am with the different reactions to a special report on foreign interference by a parliamentary committee? The committee is comprised of Parliamentarians from the main parties plus 2 Senators, all specially sworn in for the work. You would think a report from a committee which crosses Party lines would have an automatic buy in from Party leaders. No. Poilievre won’t read it. Elizabeth May is concerned, but not overly. Jagmeet Singh is really angry. And the Prime Minister has reacted in many ways. The 92 page report is not for the faint-hearted. If you don’t know the machinery of government, you can quickly get lost in a labyrinth of committees, departments and abbreviations. But, it is worth the read. As May noted, there is not an identifiable list of MPs leaking secrets. But there definitely are very strong warning signs that all political parties - in fact all Canadian institutions, including businesses - must pay attention to foreign actors who try to influence our democracy and way of life. For example, on page 25, para 55 “Some elected officials began wittingly assisting foreign state actors soon after their election”. Para 65 notes that staffers are also targets as are Party leadership campaings( para 72). The report notes that foreign interference is not new. What is new is the aggressive behaviour of these state actors, most notably China and India. Thankfully, what is also new is the demand for transparency of the issue ( if not names) and the ways in which to deal with it. Silence, or hiding one’s head, in the sand is not an option. #ForeignInterference #Democracy #Transparency #Parliamentarians https://lnkd.in/g66CBdKX

VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann comments on the election of the new President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen: "We congratulate Mrs von der Leyen on her election as President of the European Commission and are delighted that she intends to make the competitiveness of European industry a top priority in the coming legislative period. The many concrete ideas for easing the burden on European businesses that Mrs von der Leyen presented in her speech to the European Parliament sound very promising. The challenge now is to turn this into reality. Business expectations are high. After five tough years of unbelievably detailed regulations and excessive bureaucracy, companies urgently need a change in policy and pragmatic, business-friendly solutions."   Read the full statement here ➡ https://lnkd.in/eqWGu5t5 #europe #eu #policy #trade #VDMA Tanja Kotschedoff Holger Kunze

⚖️Justice Ministry transition creates wedge in Lula’s coalition When the current Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration began in January 2023, the center-left Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) took a large share of key positions in the presidential cabinet after sharing the ticket with the ruling Workers’ Party. Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was appointed to the Industry and Trade Ministry. Senator-elect Flávio Dino was named justice minister. Former São Paulo Governor Márcio França went to the Ports and Airports Ministry. But one year later, things have changed. 🔗Read more in the full article by Cedê Silva here 👇 https://lnkd.in/dwm8fMwU #Brazil #Politics #Coalition #BrazilianReport #Administration #Government #Congress

In a record turnout, Mexico elects its first woman president—Claudia Sheinbaum, a climate scientist and former mayor of Mexico City. As president, Ms. Sheinbaum faces several challenges, including security, organized crime, energy and the US-Mexico bilateral relationship where immigration will be a top issue in the upcoming presidential election. Ms. Sheinbaum was the anointed successor of leftist president Andres Lopez Obrador (AMLO) but is seen as holding a more moderate stance towards issues such as foreign private sector investment. #mexico #latinamerica #policy #usbilateralrelationship #womeninpolitics

Here. We. Go. Ursula von der Leyen will deliver her 2023 State of the Union address at 9 a.m. We’ll be covering it live, with our reporters delivering insights and analysis as she lays out her plan for the EU over the next year. Follow along here: https://politi.co/45ZcBZM #SOTEU

“We asked Schiavo, director of federal affairs for the Council of Canadian Innovators | Conseil canadien des innovateurs, for his take on [MP] Williams’ ideas. He applauded Williams for talking about the issue. “The fact is that we’ve seen significant pro-competition steps recently from the European Union and the United States, and we’ve also seen policies put forward by the federal government,” he said. “For a small and open economy like Canada’s, competition policy cannot be the whole solution. We need to be strategic to ensure that our most successful homegrown companies can scale and fuel Canada’s future prosperity. However, to drive a truly strong, sustainable economy, Canadian policymakers need to look deeper at the root causes of our declining productivity, poor business expenditure in research and development and failure to commercialize intellectual property.” https://lnkd.in/ekHQHGvm