Chinese EVs tariffs fallout: Is Germany losing influence in Brussels?

Last Friday, EU countries agreed to impose definitive tariffs on imports of electric cars from China, a move with far-reaching implications for the bloc’s trade policy with Beijing, the future of the EU’s car industry and, most importantly, Berlin’s influence in Brussels.

In an unprecedented move, Germany was one of only five other European countries to vote against the tariffs, as Berlin feared a “yes” would lead to a trade war with China — is this a sign that Germany is losing influence among its EU peers?

Euronews’ EU politics reporter Jorge Liboreiro joins Radio Schuman to discuss whether German fears of a potential escalation into an EU-China trade war are justified and what the implications of such a decision are for von der Leyen’s Commission 2.0.

Heads up: you should pay attention to an important budget vote in the European Parliament later this evening.

In summary, the European Parliament will say no to the European Council’s proposed €1.52 billion cuts to flagship EU projects such as the Horizon Europe research programme and the Erasmus+ mobility programme.

And finally, do you know in which EU countries it is more common to find people who speak two or more languages? We’ll give you a hint: the top performer is very close to the Belgian capital — but some southern European countries are in the top three as well.

Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by Zacharia Vigneron and music by Alexandre Jas.