Europe
Majority of Irish voters happy with Lisbon No vote result
The Irish Times reports on a poll released yesterday, conducted the day after the Irish Lisbon Treaty referendum, which has found that the majority of the Irish public are happy with the result of the Lisbon Treaty referendum, including one in 10 of those who voted Yes. Fifty-four per cent of those polled said they were happy with the result, while 34 per cent were unhappy, and 11 per cent were undecided. The paper notes that the "poll holds some disturbing findings for the Government", including the fact that nine per cent of those who voted Yes in the referendum say they are now happy with the result. Behaviour Attitudes, the firm that conducted the poll, said that this suggests that the Yes voters' support "was rather 'soft' to begin with".
According to the Irish Independent, the Irish government is to set up a Lisbon committee, expected to have around nine members. The committee will hear from groups on both side of the Lisbon argument about how to proceed.
The Economist notes that "Mr Cowen is playing for time. But a deteriorating economy is making cuts in public spending unavoidable, so he seems sure to become more unpopular... would a second referendum held by the autumn of next year be any more winnable? So far Mr Cowen looks less of a political visionary who sees a way out of the Lisbon impasse, and more like Mr Micawber, desperately hoping for something to turn up."
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said "I am confident we will implement the Lisbon Treaty", according to Deutsche Welle, reinforcing pressure on Ireland from the Italian Senate, which approved the Treaty on Wednesday
Irish Independent Irish Times Economist Daily Express Forsyth DW
Sarkozy: France will veto current EU trade offer
Following earlier criticism of EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, Nicolas Sarkozy has said he would veto the trade deal currently on the table. "We will not sign this agreement that is on the table if it is not modified," Mr Sarkozy told reporters in France.
According to the Irish Times, Irish Farm Association President Padraig Walshe said he was delighted with President Sarkozy's protectionist stance: "France and Ireland have always stood together in support of Europe's unique family farm structure, which is now in peril because of Mandelson's reckless concessions to multinational traders, international shippers and South American ranchers".
However, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva blamed the US and the EU for not taking sufficient steps towards liberalising agriculture, and warned that they were jeopardising the round: "With no effective reduction in US farm subsidies nor an effective opening of the European farm market, there will be no deal and everyone will have to face their responsibilities".
Irish Times Reuters Irish Times 2 Telegraph AFP Forbes RTE
Commission proposals for criminal sanctions attacked by member states
Yesterday's Justice & Home Affairs Council meeting in Brussels has revealed member state divisions over Commission plans to impose EU-wide criminal sanctions against employers hiring illegal immigrants. While those states that are under most pressure from illegal immigration, such as Italy and Spain, welcomed the proposals, other, mostly northern member states have taken affront at the idea of EU imposed sanctions. Germany's Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that criminal sanctions were "not justified", while other objections suggest that the sanctions would go beyond the limits of the Commission's power and would breach national sovereignty. Sweden's Interior Minister Tobias Billström stated that "no criminal law competence has been transferred to the Community". Other disputes concerning the types of inspection involved have led France's Interior Minister and Presidency representative Brice Hortefeux to indicate that criminal sanctions may be dropped in the face of such opposition.
EUobserver European Voice Die Presse
Nine EU countries to cooperate on divorce law
Le Monde reports that nine EU countries will harmonise their divorce procedures using 'reinforced cooperation'. The idea is to lay down common rules for determining the law applicable when an 'international' couple break up.
EUreferendum: Britain's renewables block has wider implications
EUreferendum argues that Britain's attempt to block a new EU green energy directive could risk halting the whole drive for wind power. The wording of the directive states, "Member states shall also provide for priority access to the grid system of electricity produced from renewable energy sources", but the UK wants to change the 'shall', to 'may'. This, the EUReferendum blog argues, would make wind farms both uneconomic and unprofitable.
Existing energy grids aren't designed to cope with the variable nature of the energy generated by them, and so there would be no incentive for people to generate wind energy if there was no requirement for grids to take it. It is argued that this undermines Gordon Brown's "green revolution".
EU to have its own dedicated space policy budget
Le Figaro reports on the meeting of EU Space Ministers at the beginning of the week and states that the decision to make the EU "a global actor in space policy" and to give it its own specific budgetary line is "without doubt one of the first big achievements" of the French EU Presidency. The article notes that this new "common space policy", which is written into the Lisbon Treaty, will not be fully in place until 2013 when the EU's next multi-annual budget will be implemented, but that "the step taken on Tuesday in Kourou seems irreversible."
Serbia hoping to capitalise on Karadzic arrest
The FT reports that Serbia is seeking EU rewards following the capture of Karadzic. The arrest has boosted Serbia's standing, and they now hope to return ambassadors that were withdrawn from EU states that recognised Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence. In this move aiming to "normalise" relations with the 27-nation bloc, the country hopes to encourage EU states to ratify their pre-accession agreement by September.
Financial Times EUobserver AFP BBC
Sarkozy loosens 35-hour working week
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has passed new legislation, loosening France's 35-hour working week. Companies will now be able to negotiate agreements with trade unions about the number of hours a week and days a year an employee works. Labour Minister Xavier Bertrant told France Info radio: "We wanted to put an end to the rigidity of the labour market", adding that now "Everything will be negotiated company by company." It is noted in The Economist that Sarkozy's plans for the liberalisation of France's economy come at a welcome time when Europe is beginning to feel the troubles of the credit crunch, and may set an example which other European nations will be encouraged to follow.
Barroso's re-election campaign receives French and Italian endorsement
In the FT's Brussels Blog Tony Barber notes that Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso's re-election campaign was given an unexpected boost by two unlikely supporters: French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian President Silvio Berlusconi.
Thornhill: the world should look to Europe as capitalisms crash
In the wake of the US-originated credit crisis, John Thornhill argues that it is now evident that the once hailed Anglo-American form of capitalism has failed. He suggests that if Europe marshals its forces effectively, it could play a pivotal role in shaping the new world order. He notes there is the concern that Europe's welfare states cannot survive the new hyper-competitive world, but as argues, Europe's "light on the accelerator but heavy on the brakes" approach may prove valuable "in a world currently experiencing such a scary ride". He says "if the world does not become more like Europe then Europe will surely lose. But if the world does become more like Europe, the world can only gain."
FT Thornhill
Eurozone at risk of first-ever recession
A survey published yesterday suggests that the Eurozone may have experienced an economic contraction during the second quarter of 2008. If this continues in the third quarter then the 15 nation bloc will have achieved the technical definition of recession. The survey suggests that Spain and France are at the forefront of the economic downturn due to a housing market crash and a fall in business confidence respectively. Such results would suggest that the ECB would halt any further interest rate rises, but with inflation likely to be above 4% when they next meet, many economists are still unsure.
EUobserver AFP Telegraph FT IHT
EU interior ministers have given their general backing to a Brussels-drafted proposal to collect, store and analyse air passengers' personal data so that security agencies across Europe can identify high-risk travellers.
UK
SNP stuns Labour in Glasgow East
Last night the SNP recorded a surprise victory in the Glasgow East by-election, taking what is traditionally one of Labour's safest seats. The SNP overturned a Labour majority of 13,507 to win with a swing of 22.54%. The SNP polled 11,277 votes in the contest compared to Labour's 10,912 while the Conservatives came third with 1,639 and the Lib Dems, with 915 votes, came fourth. Voter turnout was down from 48% to 42.25%.
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