The European Journal (articles)

A step too late? EU amends damaging financial regulation in middle of financial crisis
Head of Research at the European Foundation, Margarida Vasconcelos, wrote: The present credit crisis has revealed the failure of the EU’s Capital Requirements Directives based on the so-called Basel accord. The European Commission has recently adopted a proposal for a Directive (amending Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC) establishing an amended supervisory legal framework for credit institutions and investment firms in the EU. It attempts to amend old failing EU regulations and set up new stricter rules for banks with regards to lending and risk engagement. Read article …

The data retention directive cannot be stopped
Head of Research at the European Foundation, Margarida Vasconcelos, wrote: “On 14 October the Advocate General Yves Bot delivered his opinion on Case C-301/06 Ireland v. European Parliament, Council of the European Union. The case concerns the choice of legal basis where the ECJ is called to decide on the boundary between the Community pillar and the third pillar, namely Title VI of the EU Treaty on police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The opinion of the AG is a blow for those hoping to overturn the EU data retention directive which harmonises rules on the length of time that telecom operators and internet providers must retain data.” Read article …

European Pact on Immigration and Asylum entails less power for the UK to decide on asylum and immigration matters
Head of Research at the European Foundation, Margarida Vasconcelos, wrote: “Last September the Justice and Home Affairs Council reached a unanimous agreement on the content of the French Presidency’s pet project – the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum which was recently endorsed and officially adopted by the European Council. The European Pact on Immigration and Asylum is set to influence the shaping of the future EU common immigration and asylum policies. That means that Brussels will decide the UK immigration and asylum policies.” Read article …

European Union cannot lecture British Government over financial crisis
Chairman of the European Foundation, Bill Cash MP, criticizes Gordon Brown on how "the European Union is able to lecture the House, himself and the United Kingdom, when Lisbon has engendered failure on enterprise, when the stability and growth pact has failed, when unemployment levels have been going inexorably up and when there is massive over-regulation? In the real world, does he not believe that this undemocratic, unaccountable system must be reformed and renegotiated?" (House of Commons, 20 October 2008) Watch Bill Cash here.

Jim McConalogue,
Editor, The European Journal, The European Foundation,
Queen Anne's Business Centre,
28 Broadway, St. James’s Park,
LondonSW1H 9JX, Tel: 0207 340 9631
http://www.europeanfoundation.org/