Europe
William Hague outlines Conservative approach to Europe
In an interview with the FT, Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague has said a future Conservative government would seek to restore full British control over employment law and social policy while campaigning against the "the centralising ratchet" of the EU. Mr Hague added that a Cameron administration would look to scupper the Lisbon Treaty if it had not already been ratified by all other states: "We would withdraw ratification by Britain and subject it to a referendum, in which we would recommend a No vote".
Mr Hague said that the party are, '"very positive about many aspects of the EU", including its commitment to tackling climate change and opening markets, particularly in the services area, and joint foreign policy action on issues such as Iran. The paper suggests that Mr Hague is worried voters are being 'turned off' by the perception that the Conservatives are 'obsessed' by Europe and he therefore preferred talking about nuclear proliferation than the EU.
French Trade Minister on crunch Doha talks: "we won't go further on agriculture"
BBC Newsnight reported on the Doha round of trade talks, noting the view of some that there is "Less than 72 hours to save globalisation". Peter Sutherland, one of the founders of the WTO, said that if this week's talks fail "Doha is dead".
However, French Trade Minister Anne-Marie Idrac stated that the EU would refuse to compromise on opening its markets for farm goods: "We can't go further; we won't go further on agriculture and we expect more open market access from emerging countries".
UK Trade Minister Gareth Thomas told the programme that the EU had unveiled a 60% tariff reduction - but did not mention that the EU Commission admitted on Monday that this offer was in fact "nothing new", or that Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson had merely shifted the way the pre-existing tariff cut figure was presented. Mandelson conceded that the 60% cut was actually a "reiteration" of the EU's existing position.
EU news forum Schuman Square reproduces an Open Europe blog piece which concluded that Mandelson's actions show that "the Commission is more interested in propaganda than in proposing real pro-development solutions on trade... perhaps this emphasis on spin is a tactic designed to pre-empt a breakdown in the talks this week, allowing the EU to shift the blame onto other negotiating parties and divert media attention away from its own intransigence."
Thomas warned that given upcoming elections in the US and India and the imminent changeover in the EU Commission the "window for a deal is closing". Reuters reports that trade officials said they were already extending their hotel reservations into next week as the talks are expected to drag on beyond Saturday's original end date.
Schuman Square Open Europe blog BBC Newsnight Reuters
Irish opposition urge government to admit no second referendum before Euro elections
The Irish Independent reports that the Irish government last night insisted it was "far too early" to start thinking or talking about re-running the defeated referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. "We hope we will be able to provide clarity by the end of the year. Other people need clarity at the December summit because of various things," Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels yesterday. Le Figaro reports that the government has set the EU December Summit as a deadline for presenting its position.
Opposition party Fine Gael last night urged the Taoiseach to "come clean" and inform Nicolas Sarkozy that there would be no Lisbon re-run before next summer's European elections. Fine Gael's Billy Timmins said: "Mr Sarkozy's openness and frankness was refreshing and the Government should now reciprocate by telling him that there will be no referendum re-run before the elections and, thus, the upcoming European elections will operate under the Nice Treaty." The paper notes that the Labour party holds a similar position.
However, Vincent Browne argues in the Irish Times: "don't be fooled, the agenda remains: Ireland to hold a second referendum on the same Lisbon Treaty some time in 2009, probably early 2009... the shape of a possible deal with the Irish could be as follows: that the European Council, at its meeting in October or December, gives a solemn undertaking that if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified by every member state, including Ireland, it will exercise its discretion to have one commissioner for every member state. This would meet the objections of some people in Ireland to the Lisbon Treaty, perhaps a sufficient number of Irish voters."
Irish Independent Irish Independent 2 Irish Times Browne
Presidents of Poland and the Czech Republic to meet to discuss the Lisbon Treaty
Both Presidents initially indicated they thought the Treaty was dead following the Irish 'no' vote last month, but following talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Polish President Lech Kaczynski has said Poland will not block the Treaty's progress. Czech President Vaclav Klaus has continued to lobby the Czech Parliament hard against ratifying the Treaty.
Solana 'rules out' military action against Iran
EU Ministers have dismissed the possibility of a military attack on Iran. Javier Solana, the EU's Foreign Policy Chief, has said that there is "no other route" to resolve the issue but diplomacy. Ministers hope to have a clear answer from Tehran on its nuclear intentions within two weeks; otherwise further sanctions are likely to be considered.
Karadzic arrest not "the step" towards Serbia's EU membership
EU foreign ministers heralded the arrest of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic yesterday as a "significant step on Serbia's path towards the EU". Viewed as positive evidence that the new pro-Western government was committed to a reform agenda, EU Foreign Ministers and officials called for Serbia to be put on track for EU membership. Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian foreign minister, told the Guardian his government was committed to forming a new relationship with the EU, stating that "European integration is the utmost priority of this government. I think we have demonstrated that we are truly committed to international law". EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn stated that the arrest, as well as being a moment "historic for international justice", "proves that the new government of Serbia has the determination to turn the page, leave the nationalist past behind and move towards a European future". France's UN Ambassador, Jean Marie Ripert, added that "We are in favor of the integration of Serbia in the EU".
However, some EU members adopted a more cautious approach. The Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, said it was "a step," adding: "It is not necessarily the step," AFP reported. There is still the concern that, whilst the arrest of Karadzic is a significant step forward, there are still two further alleged war criminals on the loose. Belgium and the Netherlands have failed to accept the arrest as a sufficient criterion for Serbia's EU membership bid, insisting that moving towards the ratification of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) should be linked to an overall review of Serbia's co-operation by UN chief prosecutor Serge Brammertz.
Irish Independent FT Guardian AFP EUobserver AFP Irish Times Irish Times 2 IHT BBC Independent FT blog
Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU
The Guardian reports that European politicians are discussing plans to harvest the energy of the Saharan sun as a way of meeting a mandatory EU target of producing 20 per cent of energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020.
Scientists working on the project admit that it would take many years and huge investment to generate enough solar energy from North Africa to power Europe, but envisage that by 2050 it could produce 100 GW, more than the combined electricity output from all sources in the UK, with an investment of around 450 billion euros.
More EU states eye European Space Agency
AFP reports that four more member states are seriously considering joining the ESA. They are speculated to be Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta. EU Commissioner Gunter Verheugen has also called for increased EU spending on the ESA and a "clear budget". He said in a press conference yesterday: "We cannot tackle the global issues of climate change, terrorism and natural disasters if we do not use space capacities and we do not have independent, continued access to the data which are delivered by space applications".
The BBC comments on another development in the ESA space programme: the creation of a Russian - European manned spacecraft. The plans, which were unveiled last week, suggest the craft could carry a crew of four to the moon and show the inclusion of new landing thrusters which make it fully reusable. If Russia and Europe can reach an agreement it is likely that the ESA will produce the service module.
France calls for European Centre on Climate Change
Agence Europe reports that at an informal meeting of European Space Ministers in French Guyana on Monday, the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, Valérie Pécresse, proposed the creation of a European centre on climate change. According to AFP, just before the meeting, Ms Pécresse declared, "it is important that Europe is at the cutting edge in this area, hence standardised data is necessary to achieve this". According to a press release, European Space Ministers expressed the wish to see the EU become a global player in European space policy.
At a meeting in Versailles yesterday EU Culture Ministers discussed the idea for a "European Heritage Label" project. The idea aims to enhance certain key sites and landmarks of European heritage by organising them within the framework of a network. The project's goals are to improve cultural education, provide better visitor information in different languages and promote European creativity.
Agence Europe reports that European leaders are discussing using 'enhanced co-operation' to harmonise divorce laws across the EU in an attempt to circumvent Swedish opposition to the proposals.
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In an analysis piece in the Times Jonathan Clayton criticised the EU's use of sanctions against Zimbabwe. The paper says that sanctions mean nothing to those they are imposed upon and have consistently been used as an anti-imperialist propaganda tool by Robert Mugabe.
IHT Times Analysis Times EUobserver AFP Deutsche Welle Berliner Morgenpost
World
Indian government survives nuclear vote
The Indian government survived a vote of no confidence last night, ending a ban on nuclear trade with the USA. The ruling Congress Party is now likely to be safe in power until elections next year.
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