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Europe
Second Irish referendum expected next spring
The FT has an article on the expected timeframe for reviving the Lisbon Treaty following the Irish no vote. The paper notes that "The expectation elsewhere in Europe is Ireland will re-stage the referendum - probably in the spring, in time to allow the treaty to come into effect before the European Parliament elections in June."
The Irish government last week announced the commissioning of an opinion poll to find out why its citizens voted the way they did. The report is expected to be completed by early September. EU leaders are due to hold a summit in October, although Irish officials told the paper it is unlikely the government will be in a position to present an action plan. That may have to await the December council.
The intention to revive the Treaty within this timeframe is echoed by the Spanish Europe Minister López Garrido, who is quoted in El Pais as saying, "The ideal would be a ratification of the Lisbon Treaty with sufficient time for it to be applied in the European elections."
Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen (in Paris today) has said that he is confident that President Sarkozy will not prove to be a "disruptive" influence when he visits Ireland next Monday.
Polish Radio reports that Polish President Kaczynski, also attending the meeting in Paris, will today assure Sarkozy that Poland will not stand in the way of the ratification process.
Prague Monitor reports that over one half of Czechs are of the view that their Parliament should not ratify the Lisbon treaty, according to a poll conducted by the STEM agency in June and released to CTK Friday.
Irish Times Irish Independent FT Rachman El Pais Prague Monitor Polish Radio FT RTE
European Parliament approves military use of Galileo satellite
Deutsche-Welle reports that the European Parliament has approved the military use of Galileo, by 502 votes to 83. The bill, proposed by German MEP Karl von Wogau, Chair of the Security and Defence sub-committee, aims to create a space surveillance system to watch out for space debris and other threats. Changes to the bill proposed by the Greens to use the system purely for civilian purposes were rejected. The text of the bill said: "The EU and NATO are expressly called upon to start up a strategic dialogue on the politics of space and missile defense."
Comment: The British Government has repeatedly insisted that Galileo is a purely civilian project. Last year, then Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said "Galileo remains a civil programme under civil control. This has repeatedly been confirmed by the EU Transport Council; most recently in its October 2006 Council Conclusions." Europe Minister Geoff Hoon also said: "the UK will continue to maintain that Galileo is a civil programme under civil control."
Deutsche-Welle Hansard Theyworkforyou
Sarkozy's plans for European army
The News of the World looked at the French proposals for a 60,000 strong EU army. It noted that Nicolas Sarkozy wants France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland to supply 10,000 troops each and wants to establish an independent military planning centre in Brussels. The article quotes Sarkozy saying, "I want Europe to be capable of ensuring its security autonomously."
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Irish government fears EU's MiFID directive could damage Irish stocks, say leaked documents
According to "high-level briefing documents" seen by the Sunday Business Post, Irish officials are worried that the EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) may encourage Irish investors to buy stocks abroad. "Foreign investors may move away from Irish shares, given that Ireland and the UK are the only EU states with a 'substantial' stamp duty charge," the paper quoted officials as saying. "The documents contain a warning from top officials that 'interest in Irish shares may become an issue over the next period' as a result of the EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive," the paper said.
France has adorned the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels with a giant globe covered in the flags of the different member states, reflected in a giant mirror, but has misrepresented the Finnish one. Usually a blue cross on a white background, the French have used a white cross on a blue background.
In the Sunday Telegraph, Christopher Booker and Richard North looked at the "Great Biofuel con", arguing that "Rarely in political history can there have been such a rapid and dramatic reversal of a received wisdom as we have seen in the past 18 months over biofuels."
Economist Blog Sunday Telegraph
Brown aims for tougher EU Zimbabwe sanctions
The Independent and the Times report that Gordon Brown is aiming to toughen EU sanctions against Zimbabwe. This move comes after the failure of the UN Security Council to affirm measures agreed in principle at the G8 Summit last week. Both Russia and China vetoed the sanctions they agreed to in Japan.
Mr Brown, speaking at the Mediterranean Union summit in Paris, said, "I do not think the veto by China and by Russia can be easily justified". The EU already imposes sanctions against Zimbabwe with 131 individuals close to President Mugabe subject to European travel and asset restrictions. Harare is said to have responded to the decision of the Security Council, "with glee".
Sarkozy confirms Turkey's EU membership bid will be unhindered by the Mediterranean initiative
The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, was quick to reaffirm, during the first meeting of the Mediterranean Union, that it will not be used to hamper or distract from Turkey's attempts to join the EU.
Mediterranean Union launched
Following the grand opening of the Mediterranean Union yesterday in Paris, most reports focus on the diplomatic agenda. At the Summit, energy, climate change and the structure of the Union's institutions were discussed, but the focus remained on the first face to face meeting of the Israeli and Syrian leaders.
This approach was confirmed by Sarkozy's speech at the summit. He said: "The goal of the summit is to learn how to love each other in the Mediterranean, instead of continuing to hate and wage war".
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said after the meeting that the two sides had "never been as close to the possibility of reaching an accord as we are today", despite not talking or meeting the Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad, who disappeared during Mr Olmert's speech. On the relationship between the EU and the Mediterranean Union Sarkozy was clear stating: "The European and the Mediterranean dreams are inseparable". "We will build peace in the Mediterranean together, like yesterday we built peace in Europe ... We will succeed together; or we will fail together".
With the composition, size and location to be decided by foreign ministers in November, few concrete policies came out of the meeting other than the plan for a Mediterranean University in Slovenia and solar farms in North Africa.
The Sunday Telegraph reported on disagreements over where the headquarters should be located, and the fact that the Commons EU Scrutiny Committee has questioned the added-value of the project.
Guardian Independent Telegraph leader IHT Irish Independent Focus EUobserver EUbusiness EUbusiness 2 Focus Die Presse EUbusiness 3 BBC euronews Sunday Telegraph Irish Times Le Figaro Mark Mardell 1 Mark Mardell 2 Mark Mardell 3
Writing in the Irish Times Tony Kinsella has defended the size and expense of the European Parliament arguing that, "Democracy is slow, frequently cumbersome, and therefore expensive, and all the better for it".
In the Sunday Telegraph, Christopher Booker looked at the 'metric martyrs', one of whom is facing prosecution before a jury on 13 criminal charges arising from the EU laws which imposed compulsory use of metric weights and measures.
Economist: Peter Sutherland is wrong on British rapprochement with Europe
The Economist blog looks at an article in E!Sharp written by former Commissioner Peter Sutherland. The blog notes, "The former commissioner asserts, I think correctly, that Britain in 2008 is nearer to systematic semi-detachment from the EU than it has ever been since entry in 1973. The essay falters, however, when he argues that Britain is a 'pragmatic' place, and will recognise that 'in as far as a change of attitudes is needed, it must invariably be the UK which needs to make the first move of rapprochement.'
Silvio Berlusconi has threatened that Italy should boycott all EU meetings where Italian is not used, reports the Irish Times.
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The Sunday Times looked at the French village of Collobrières that has gone back to using the franc.
El Pais looks at Greenland's referendum on independence from Denmark, taking place this November.
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