Europe live: China's Xi Jinping calls for closer ties with the EU at opening of Paris talks - as it happened

La France Insoumise's Manon Aubry made the case that Emmanuel Macron must not only roll out the red carpet for Xi Jinping, but also discuss the trade problem with him.

Emmanuel Macron ne doit pas se contenter de dérouler le tapis rouge à Xi Jinping mais discuter avec lui du problème commercial.

97% des panneaux solaires en Europe sont importés, principalement de Chine, pendant que nos deux seules usines françaises sont en train de fermer ! pic.twitter.com/shOjCx9m06

— Manon Aubry (@ManonAubryFr) May 6, 2024

John O'Brennan, professor and Jean Monnet chair of European integration at Maynooth University, has critiqued the European Commission's approach to China. "Xi Jinping is the dictator of an increasingly hostile China & should not be welcome in Europe," he said.

Xi Jinping is the dictator of an increasingly hostile China & should not be welcome in Europe. Even on this trip, he is meeting the authoritarian presidents of Hungary+Serbia. Xi is directly supporting Russia against Ukraine.

Chinese spy rings are deep within the EU.

And yet…. https://t.co/JpsdMMP1x2

— John O'Brennan (@JohnOBrennan2) May 6, 2024

It is legitimate for France and China to each support their domestic industries, but any such policies have to be done fairly and reciprocally, the French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said today, Reuters reported.

Lisa O'Carroll

The EU has restated its readiness to launch a trade war with China over imports of cheap electric cars, steel and cheap solar and wind technology with Ursula von der Leyen warning the bloc will "not waver" from protecting industry and jobs following a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping.

The European Commission chief said that she was "convinced that if the competition is fair" from China, then Europe "will have thriving durable economies".

But the "imbalances" caused by state support for Chinese industry leading to cut-cost products threaten jobs in Europe and that "is a matter of great concern" she said.

"Europe will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and security", she said.

"Our market is and remains open to fair competition and to investments. But it is not good for Europe if it harms our security and makes us vulnerable," she added.

"Europe cannot accept the market distorting practices that could lead to deindustrialisation here at home," she said.

Von der Leyen announced an investigation into subsidies into electric car production in China last September with a European commissioner hinting last week that tariffs could be imposed this summer.

She said "these subsidised products such as electric vehicles or, for example, steel, are flooding the European market".

The problem, she said, was that "China continues to massively support its manufacturing centre" while "domestic demand is not increasing" leading it to shift its products to the EU, undercutting indigenous industry.

"Poland's commitment to the restoration of the rule of law is yielding results!" wrote the country's permanent representation to the EU.

Rule of law sanctions process to be closed for Poland

The European Commission announced today that after over six years, it will withdraw the so-called Article 7 rule of law sanctions proceedings against Poland.

The move comes due to a shift in policies in Warsaw, after a government led by Donald Tusk came to office.

"Today, the European Commission has finalised its analysis on the rule of law situation in Poland in the context of the Article 7(1) TEU procedure. The Commission considers that there is no longer a clear risk of a serious breach of the rule of law in Poland within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union," the Commission said in a statement.

"Poland has launched a series of legislative and non-legislative measures to address the concerns on independence of the justice system, it has recognised the primacy of EU law and is committed to implementing all the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights related to rule of law including judicial independence," it added.

"The Commission is therefore informing the Council and the European Parliament of this assessment and of the Commission's intention to withdraw its Reasoned Proposal from 2017, thereby closing the Article 7 (1) procedure."

Today, marks a new chapter for Poland.

After more than 6 years, we believe that the Article 7 procedure can be closed.

I congratulate PM @donaldtusk and his government on this important breakthrough.

This is a result of 🇵🇱 hard work and determined reform efforts.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 6, 2024

Italian government accused of using defamation law to silence intellectuals

The government of Giorgia Meloni is making strategic use of defamation suits to silence public intellectuals, a philosopher who is being sued by the Italian prime minister's brother-in-law has claimed.

In the latest of a series of lawsuits drawing on Italy's comparatively harsh defamation laws, Donatella Di Cesare of Sapienza University in Rome will appear at a criminal court in the Italian capital on 15 May, after a complaint by the agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, over comments she made comparing one of his speeches to Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Lollobrigida, who is married to Meloni's sister and considered one of the PM's closest allies, sparked controversy in April 2023 when at a trade union conference he called on the country not to "surrender to the idea of ethnic replacement", which he described as "Italians are having fewer children, we replace them with someone else".

The trial centres on comments Di Cesare made the same day on the talkshow DiMartedì in which she perceived there to be white supremacist connotations in the term "ethnic replacement", saying it could be found in the pages of Mein Kampf and in National Socialist ideology.

In his criminal complaint, Lollobrigida said Di Cesare had portrayed him as "a Nazi who glorifies concentration camps and espouses extermination camps as a solution to immigration issues", which was "not only defamatory but also shameful".

Read the full story here, by Philip Oltermann and Lorenzo Tondo.

German ministers to hold meeting after attacks on politicians

The interior ministers of Germany's 16 states will hold a special meeting tomorrow to discuss ways to counter a spate of attacks on politicians, a federal interior ministry spokesperson said, Reuters reported.

Xi Jinping calls for closer ties between EU and China at Paris talks

Lisa O'Carroll

The Chinese president has used his opening remarks on his visit to France to call for closer ties with the EU.

Xi Jinping told Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen that as "two important forces in the world both of us should adhere to the position of partnership, adhere to dialogue and cooperation".

He said both sides should "carry out strategic collaboration" and promote "stable and healthy development, contribute to world peace and development".

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, told China's Xi Jinping that we need to ensure a level playing field for all actors, Reuters reported.

Macron said the international situation makes EU-China dialogue more important than ever, and that the sides will discuss Ukraine and the Middle. It is essential we coordinate on these matters, the French leader said.

'Our engagement is key', von der Leyen tells Xi

Speaking in Paris, Ursula von der Leyen thanked Emmanuel Macron for convening the meeting.

"I'm pleased to see you again," von der Leyen told Xi Jinping.

"The European Union and China want good relations, and given the global weight of China, our engagement is key to ensure mutual respect, to avoid misunderstanding, and to find solutions to global challenges," the commission president said.

"Both China and the European Union have a shared interest in peace and security, and in the effective functioning of the rules-based international order," she said, adding that "we are determined to stop the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine."

Von der Leyen also pointed to challenges in the trade relationship.

"We have a substantial EU-China economic relationship. Our daily trade volume is around €2.3bn. But this relationship is also challenged, for example through state-induced overcapacity, unequal market access and overdependencies. These are all issues that we will address today," the Commission chief said.

"In December, I remember that you told us, President Xi: 'EU-China relations are essential to global peace, security and prosperity'. This remains true today. That is why it is so important that we speak here today on how to cooperate where our interests align as well as how to address responsibly the issues on which we have concerns," she added.