Losing Sunak’s marbles

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Welcome to EU Politics Decoded, where Benjamin Fox and Eleonora Vasques bring you a round-up of the latest political news in Europe and beyond every Thursday. In this edition, we take a look at the conflict between the UK and Greece over the status of the Parthenon sculptures.

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Editor’s Take: Losing Sunak’s marbles

We are a month away from Christmas, but the silly season – at least in politics – appears to have arrived early in the UK, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has picked a fight with his Greek counterpart because he is afraid of losing his marbles – the Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures – to be precise.

Sunak pressed the diplomatic nuclear button earlier this week – cancelling a planned meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in London on Tuesday, claiming that Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to use the trip as an opportunity to demand the return of the Parthenon sculptures or to the UK, the Elgin Marbles.

In a BBC interview at the weekend, Mitsotakis had compared the relocation of the sculptures to the Mona Lisa being cut in half.

The meeting was cancelled when Mitsotakis chose “to grandstand and relitigate issues of the past”, said Sunak, firing the first shots in a war of words between London and Athens that continued for the rest of the week.

The two sides disputed the history of the sculptures, particularly how they were removed from the Acropolis in the early 19th century by Thomas Elgin and sold to the British government.

Less open to debate is that their continued presence in the British Museum in central London, when they could safely be returned home to Athens, is hard to justify.

Cultural history is important, but this is still a bizarre fight for Sunak to have picked. For one thing, the resting place of the sculptures is none of his business, as the British Museum has been in talks with Greek officials on the matter for years.

The decision on whether to send them home on loan, as UK law currently prevents them from being returned permanently, is solely for the museum’s trustees.

For another, the UK is still painfully short of international allies in Europe and elsewhere. David Cameron’s political career was given a second life as foreign secretary a few weeks ago precisely to build bridges and boost London’s diplomatic clout. Instead, one of Cameron’s first acts was to try – unsuccessfully – to make peace with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis on the sidelines of this week’s NATO summit.

The agenda of the cancelled Sunak-Mitsotakis meeting included the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, immigration, and the climate emergency.

Staring down the barrel of a 20+ point opinion poll deficit ahead of an election likely to be held in the next year, Sunak may have thought that a bit of EU-bashing would buy him a couple of days of patriotic coverage in the UK tabloids and with his Conservative party. But it hasn’t worked out that way: he just looked petulant.

Who’s electioneering

Huge blow for Wilders as major party snubs coalition. Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders suffered a major setback to his goal of forming a governing coalition on Wednesday (29 November) when a key potential partner ruled itself out, uncomfortable with his extreme views.

Capitals-in-brief

Majority of Britons support rejoining the EU single market – poll. A majority of Britons support rejoining the European Union’s single market even though that would mean the restoration of the free movement of workers from the bloc, according to a poll published on Wednesday (29 November).

Slovak truckers to block Ukraine crossing, joining Polish protests. Slovak truckers will block the main border crossing with Ukraine from Friday (1 December), the country’s truckers association UNAS said, joining Polish protests to win restrictions against Ukrainian drivers.

Estonia says ‘prepared’ to close Russia border. Estonia said Wednesday (29 November) it was “prepared” to close its border with Russia following a similar move by Finland, with Tallinn citing a potential threat by its eastern neighbour.

OECD warns France’s deficit projections are too optimistic. The French government’s deficit reduction projections are not realistic, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found in a report published on Wednesday (29 November), stating France ought to “step up the pace of fiscal consolidation”.

Denmark’s patrol ships fail to meet NATO’s minimum requirements. According to former senior officers, Denmark’s promised patrol ship contribution to NATO’s common defence does not meet the Alliance’s minimum requirements despite repeated assurances to Danish politicians that the ships would fulfil this promise.

Inside the institutions

‘Pfizergate’ affair lead EU lawmaker Michèle Rivasi dies aged 70. Michèle Rivasi, the Green MEP who pushed for the SMS exchanges between the European Commission President and Pfizer CEO to be made public, died on Wednesday (29 November) at the age of 70 of a heart attack while on her way to the European Parliament in Brussels.

Consumer groups file complaint against Meta’s ‘pay-or-consent’ model. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) and 18 of its members filed a complaint to the European Commission on Thursday (30 November) against Meta’s “unfair pay-or-consent” model under EU consumer law.

After COVID travel chaos, EU Commission aims to boost passenger rights. The European Commission tabled an update to passenger rights rules on Wednesday (29 November) in a bid to prevent a repeat of the confusion and frustration experienced by passengers during the COVID-19 pandemic travel disruption.

German researchers welcome national, EU support for gene therapy research. National and EU-level support goes a long way towards supporting research into gene therapies against rare diseases, according to German researchers, who said that Europe still lags behind North American countries on innovation in this area.

Pharmaceutical reform poses challenges for innovation in undiagnosed diseases Special Report. The European Commission’s proposed pharmaceutical reform could impact innovation in treating rare or undiagnosed diseases in Europe, industry representatives and patient associations told EFE.

EU member states position on long-term permits directive falls short, MEP says. EU member states’ position on the long-term residents directive is ‘far less ambitious’ than the European Parliament’s position, indicating tough negotiations ahead, MEP Damian Boeselager, who will be Parliament’s lead negotiator on the proposal, warned in an interview with Euractiv.

What we are reading

As EU visits Havana, five truths about human rights in Cuba, Camila Rodriguez writes for EU Observer.

How Huawei surprised the US with a cutting-edge chip made in China, writes the Financial Times.

Europe has entered a new age of anxiety – and it’s dragging Britain along too, Martin Kettle writes for The Guardian.

The next week in politics

Busy days at the Council next week. Justice and Home Affairs Council, and Telecommunication Council on Monday and Tuesday (4-5 December), Eurogroup on Wednesday (7 December), EU-China Summit, and Research and Space Summit on Wednesday and Thursday (7-8 December), Economic and Financial Affairs Council on Friday (8 December) and eventually, Agriculture and Fisheries Council on Sunday and Monday (10-11 December).

Political groups and committee meetings next week at the European Parliament

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[Edited by Alice Taylor]