Europe
Chichester forced to resign in expenses scandal; Lib Dem MEP admits paying expenses into party coffers; Labour split over transparency
The front page of the Guardian reports that Giles Chichester has been forced to resign as Conservative leader in the European Parliament after admitting breaking the rules on the use of £400,000 of his expenses. Open Europe yesterday called for Chichester to resign as an MEP. Director Neil O'Brien is quoted in numerous national and regional papers as saying "If this is serious enough to resign the leadership over, it is serious enough to warrant resigning as an MEP."
Dover faces questions
The BBC Ten O'Clock news and Newsnight looked at similar accusations being made about Den Dover, another Conservative MEP. Newsnight reported that he had paid 758,000 pounds into a company run by his wife and daughter. However, he argued that he has done nothing wrong: "My wife is fully qualified in bookkeeping, accountancy, things like that, my daughter is a fully qualified secretary, and they get market rates, but they put in two or three times the number of hours - they just never stop, and I pay tribute to their hard work. Therefore I am totally innocent of any charges."
Tim Montgomerie from Conservative Home told Newsnight that "David Cameron should act now to eliminate all the bad apples from the bunch if there are any."
Liberal Democrat MEP says he paid expenses into the party, calls for code of conduct
Chris Davies MEP told Newsnight that he had claimed excess travel expenses and paid it into the Liberal Democrats. He suggested this was widespread but said it was "completely wrong" that this was allowed. He blamed "the culture of the European Parliament, which allows what most people would regard as unacceptable, unethical behaviour to be treated as normal." He said the problem was that Italian and Greek MEPs and the majority always vote against reform: "The European Parliament may be incapable of reforming itself." He called for the agreement of a cross-party code of conduct.
Labour split over expenses
Gordon Brown said "our Labour members of the European Parliament have insisted since the year 2000 on there being separate validated audits of their own expenses, and they have a separate registry about family employment and we believe this is the right way forward for issues where public accountability matters." He claimed theirs was "the most open and transparent system."
However, BBC online this morning reported that Labour MEPs were divided over the publication of expenses. Richard Corbett MEP called for all expenses to be published. But Labour Leader Gary Titley said that publishing a full breakdown of expenses would be a "distraction".
Neil O'Brien from Open Europe appeared on ITN news at Ten and Newsnight. He said: "The Labour party are in quite a weak position to criticise the Conservatives, as even more of the Labour MEPs are refusing to answer even the most basic questions about how they handle their expenses - they're not being very transparent themselves. This issue goes wider than one individual or one political party. What we need is a completely new set of rules under which all MEPs have to declare all of their expenses, and you can see them online, and we have a properly accountable system."
Comment: so far just under half of the UK MEPs have answered our Transparency Initiative questionnaire - Labour MEPs are certainly not the "most transparent".
Green 2 out of 2 (100%)
UKIP 5 out of 10 (50%)
Conservatives 10 out of 28 (36%)
Lib Dems 3 out of 11 (27%)
Labour 2 out of 19 (11%)
We think the reason MEPs are not answering is because to do so would reveal large scale theft, and the fact that the Liberal Democrats are using their expenses to fund the party...Chris Davies' idea of a code of conduct is an excellent one - but do any of the party leaders have the guts to propose it?
BBC News at Ten Newsnight Transparency blog BBC online Guardian Mail Mirror Times Times 2 Times Analysis Telegraph European Voice Telegraph Martin Conservative Home Guido Guido 2 Independent Express FT IHT
Mardell: EU battlegroups and defence will get push from Lisbon Treaty and French Presidency
On the BBC Today Programme, Mark Mardell looks at the so-called EU battlegroups, the EU's rapid response groups on stand-by to go anywhere in the world for short missions. On his blog, he notes, "Some see them as just the germ, just the beginning, of a European Army", noting that "expect another big push by those who want something more...Some of the impetus will come from the Lisbon Treaty, if it comes into force, and part from the French when they take over the EU presidency in July. The French White Book on defence is being kept under wraps, partly because President Sarkozy wants to announce it in a big speech on 17 June and partly so as not to frighten voters in Ireland, where neutrality is a touchy subject, ahead of the referendum."
Mardell outlines proposals that could well be in the White Book: EU countries to spend more on defence, perhaps a specific proportion of GDP; a proposal to beef up the rapid reaction forces, so they could operate in two or three areas of the world at the same time; a call on countries to make available more aircraft for such operations; and a new headquarters, probably in Brussels, to control such operations.
Le Figaro reports that France will propose the creation "of a European arms market" during its EU Presidency.
Cameron: once Lisbon Treaty is law, a referendum will be "almost impossible"
The Sun reports that David Cameron yesterday said it would be "almost impossible" to have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if it was already law in the UK and the rest of the EU. The Conservative leader told an audience in Harlow, Essex: "We may have to say, well look, we're not happy with this situation, here are some of the powers we'd like to have back. But we can't give you that referendum on the Lisbon Treaty because it's already been put in place across the rest of Europe."
Le Monde: Irish promise to farmers about vetoing WTO deal is an "empty promise"
An article in Le Monde with the headline "Brussels is avoiding aggravating topics" notes that "In Brussels and Paris, where the French EU Presidency is being prepared, people are walking on eggshells around the Irish referendum." An official is quoted saying, "We are avoiding formal declarations and discussions." It notes "Until the 12 June, the instruction is clear: no aggravating topics. On taxation, defence and agriculture, the Irish are sensitive. On taxation, a key factor in Ireland's prosperity, the Commission is being very careful to remain discreet. Its proposals on the harmonisation of company tax bases were initially due before the summer, but will now come in the autumn."
On defence, the paper notes that "the French defence minister has received instructions from the Elysée Palace to postpone until after 12 June debates on the strengthening of European defence, which could be one of the major subjects of the French Presidency." On agriculture, "the Commission has announced that it will delay until 15 June (three days after the referendum) the deadline for EU governments to submit their proposals on reform of the EU budget. The share of the budget given to agriculture, compared to research, is a thorny issue."
On the WTO negotiations, it notes that Irish farmers have received a guarantee from the Irish government that it will veto any WTO deal that is not in Irish interests. However it questions whether this is an "empty promise", noting: "An EU member state does not have a veto right in agriculture."
A poll for the Irish Times puts the 'No' side ahead for the first time. 35 per cent said they would vote No, 30 per cent would vote Yes, with 28 per cent undecided, while 7 per cent won't vote.
Le Monde Times Irish Times Telegraph Waterfield EUobserver European Voice CER
EU proposal would give Temp Agency workers equal pay "from day one" - UK hopes to opt out
EUobserver looks at the proposed EU directive on rights for temporary agency workers and changes to the Working Time Directive, which will be negotiated as a "package deal" at the Employment ministers' meeting on Monday.
On the Temp Agency workers proposal, the draft from the Slovenian Presidency suggests that "the principle of equal treatment from day one would be the general rule". This means that agency workers would immediately be granted equal rights, most notably in terms of pay, as permanent staff in the same company. However, the proposal would allow for governments to extend the qualification period, if an agreement between unions and employers to that effect has been reached. The TUC and the CBI agreed two weeks ago that the qualification period in the UK should be 12 weeks, which the Government now hopes will allow Britain to derogate from the "day one" requirement. In addition, the UK Government is pushing for the exclusion of "occupational social security schemes", such as entitlement on maternity leave and sick pay. Five countries' diplomats suggested the text on the table was "too pro-free-market" and the EUTC said that, "If adopted in its current form, the revised directive will be the first social directive ever to introduce a regression in the level of protection provided."
On the Working Time Directive, EUobserver notes that the proposal does not suggest that the UK's opt-out from the 48-hour maximum working week will be phased out, although countries such as France, Spain, Greece, Belgium and Luxembourg have all previously blocked other compromises that kept the opt-out.
Europaportalen notes that several member states, such as Sweden and Denmark, remain sceptical towarads the Agency Workers Directive, but will most likely agree to the proposal, in return for modifications to the Working Time Directive, allowing time spent by employees "on call", to be counted as working time, rather than rest.
EU ministers agree on common rules for returning illegal immigrants
EU interior ministers yesterday agreed "common standards and procedures" for returning illegal immigrants. The so-called return directive states that "each member state shall set a limited period of detention, which may not exceed six months", with governments being allowed to extend the six-month-period for an additional twelve months, but only in "very specific circumstances". Currently, there are a variety of rules across the EU. For example, France has a 30-day limit on detention, while Malta has an 18-month maximum, and the UK imposes no limit.
European Voice European Voice 2 European Voice 3 Le Figaro EUobserver AFP
Brown: I'm confident Northern Rock bailout isn't breaching EU law
The FT notes that Gordon Brown yesterday played down the Commission's inquiry into whether the Government's bailout of Northern Rock breached EU competition law, particularly in terms of the length of time it would take to return the nationalised bank to the private sector. Following a meeting with Commission President José Manuel Barroso Brown said, "We have not discussed this today. I'm confident the package will go through and I'm confident we will meet the requirements under the state aid regime." As part of the inquiry, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes will hear submissions from third parties, including other British banks and building societies. A verdict is expected later this year.
The Commission yesterday sent a "letter of formal notice" charging Volkswagen with failing to abide by the ECJ's ruling on foreign takeovers.
EU prefers discussing hamsters over referendums
The FT reports that, "A French hamster, rather than an Irish referendum, was the talk of Brussels on Thursday", noting that the Commission yesterday gave France a final warning to protect a nearly extinct hamster, known as "the great hamster of Alsace", whose available burrows fell from 1,167 in 2001 to 161 last year.
Economist: EU and China in for rows over carbon and jobs
The Charlemagne column in the Economist looks at EU-China relations, concluding "Put globalisation, jobs and climate change into the same dispute, and you have the makings of a nasty trade fight. Before too long, Europeans may miss the days when American 'hyperpower' was all they had to worry about."
Le Figaro reports that Angela Merkel has called for rapid negotiations to take place to conclude a new EU-Russia partnership.
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Le Figaro reports that France will propose the creation "of a European arms market" during its EU Presidency.
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The Times has a news feature on the effect of free movement of people in the EU in creating potential 'dead zones' which lose out from the 'brain drain' effect.
EU presidency fails to secure agreement on asylum rights
European Voice reports that EU justice ministers have failed to reach agreement on proposals that would grant new EU rights to asylum seekers. Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Sweden insisted that the new rights should cover not only refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection - as proposed by the presidency - but also people granted other types of 'leave to remain' under national law.
The EU Commission is considering the creation of an EU oil agency.
http://www.openeurope.org.uk/
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