Open Europe press summary: 20 October 2008

Europe
Official minutes reveal EU plans to force Irish to vote again on Lisbon - Ireland accused of "intellectual mediocrity"
The Sunday Times reported on leaked minutes from a meeting in Paris on October 9 between the European Parliament's Committee for Constitutional Affairs and the European Affairs Committees of both the French Senate and National Assembly, and of a separate dinner with Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French Minister for European Affairs. The minutes record how politicians said that Ireland should be put in an "untenable position" by pressing Poland and the Czech Republic to ratify the Lisbon Treaty by December. According to the minutes, the meeting and dinner heard how Ireland's "intellectual mediocrity and lack of political courage" led to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. They included discussions of how to "cuddle and pamper" the Irish voters while at the same time "making pressures on them", ahead of a re-run referendum, telling them how the other 495m Europeans are watching and "will be really angry" if the answer is no again.

Furthermore, the attendees discussed "the necessity of ratifying the Lisbon treaty as soon as possible", preferably before the European elections next June, as there were fears that the elections could become a proxy referendum on the treaty. The meeting also discussed the option of ensuring the next referendum in Ireland should involve a question to which the Irish could not say no. This could be achieved by giving Ireland guarantees of sovereignty over issues such as neutrality and abortion. It would then ask the Irish electorate to vote on whether or not the country's membership of the EU was compatible with the constitution.

Meanwhile, the Irish Election blog reports on a media trip to Brussels with a number of other Irish journalists that revealed a level of "contempt" for the Irish government in Brussels circles. The article describes the prevailing sentiment in Brussels towards the Irish No vote: "It's Ireland's problem. Ireland, they said, signed off on this as a government and failed to deliver. True the Irish people were asked but nearly all of the EU people we spoke to lamented the Yes campaign for being incompetent and half hearted. The views ranged from disappointment that the Irish government ran such a pathetic campaign, to near contempt for the Irish government's incompetence".
Sunday Times Irish Election Coulisses de Bruxelles

Will the EU stop Cameron's plan to give small companies a VAT holiday?
Fraser Nelson notes on the Spectator Coffee House blog, "Much as though I applaud David Cameron's plan to give struggling small companies a VAT holiday, a rather large obstacle occurs to me. Wouldn't this be illegal under European Union law? The Sixth EU VAT Directive mandates all states to apply VAT the same way. Room for manoeuvre was tightened to almost zero two years ago in the EU Recast Sixth Directive. You don't mess with this, as the Blair government found out when it lost its fight to grant companies the right to reclaim VAT spent on fuel."

He notes, "Perhaps Cameron intends doing a Chirac, saying "okay, sue me, see you in court in four years". Or perhaps Tory policymakers are not as aware as they should be of the way the EU now ties the hands of British governments... [Cameron] wanted to cut VAT on bicycles and wind turbines back in April, and Toby Helm pointed out then that he'd need this unanimously agreed in the EU... If Cameron is planning such a fight with Brussels, all power to him. I just hope he's thought this through." The EU Referendum Blog makes a similar argument.
Spectator Coffee House blog EUreferendum

Rome to sign EU climate plan in December, despite calling it "an act of madness"
EU Environment Ministers are meeting today and tomorrow in Luxembourg, with the EU's controversial climate change package topping the agenda.

According to AFP, Italy will sign the EU's climate plan in December but only on condition that the deal includes a 'review clause' that will allow it to be revisited at the end of 2009, once the full cost implications have been analysed. On Saturday, Italy's Minister for Innovation, Renato Brunetta, called the EU climate deal "an act of madness" for governments and businesses. "Europe has few reasons to criticise us because the plan is an act of madness, both for businesses and governments," Brunetta said during a protest in northern Italy.

According to the Times, former BP Chief Executive Lord Browne has said that the EU should stick to the target of reaching 10% biofuel use in transport fuel by 2020. He claimed that failure to do so would "risk destabilising the investing environment in European renewables for a generation".

Meanwhile, the Independent on Sunday reported that families that extend their homes will be forced to insulate their whole houses under new plans being drawn up by the European Commission. Confidential documents seen by the paper will be put before Commissioners next month. The article notes that "The measure will embarrass ministers because it will make them do something that the Government had itself proposed and then abandoned."
Guardian letters AFP EUobserver Times Independent Sunday Telegraph Telegraph-Booker El Pais Open Europe research

New global financial summit signals divisions over future of global capitalism;
EU Commissioner calls for "concrete proposals" on derivatives markets
There are to be a series of summits on the international financial crisis, with the first taking place in early November, according to agreements reached over the weekend between President Bush, President Sarkozy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. However, the first summit is shaping up to be a debate on the future of global capitalism, according to the WSJ, with European leaders favouring greater international oversight of markets. While President Bush reiterated his commitment to "free markets, free enterprise and free trade", President Sarkozy has called for a new form of "regulated capitalism", with stiffer regulation of hedge funds and credit-rating agencies, reports the Times.

Meanwhile, the European Union's Internal Market Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy has indicated his desire to end the unsupervised trading of the credit derivatives market, and said that he wants "concrete proposals" to mitigate their risks by the end of the year, according to the FT. Talks between the Commission and the industry could start as early as this week, with the moves mirroring those already taken in the US. McCreevy indicated that he wanted to replicate the US stance and would "press for more centralised clearing" in the shape of a central clearing house.

European banks could soon find it easier to avoid write-downs, thanks to loosened mark-to-market accounting rules, reports the WSJ. The moves "could boost earnings but make it harder to discern the financial health of banks."

A new FT poll that shows that Europeans believe bankers are most to blame for the financial crisis, rather than global capitalism itself. While an overwhelming majority of Europeans also felt that the crisis had undermined the role of the US in the world economy, only a minority thought they would see a corresponding rise in Europe's importance.

The European Commission has ruled that Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS must pay back all preference shares issued to the Treasury before they can pay any money to shareholders in dividend payments, reports the Times. Treasury officials had previously indicated that the dividend ban would only be in place for one year, but the message from the Commission is that the ban would remain in force for as long as the Government holds any shares in the banks.
WSJ WSJ FT Standaard FAZ WSJ Le Figaro leader FT 2 WSJ Times Times-letter EUobserver AFP Telegraph Times FT

Juncker: Britain should join the euro
The Sunday Express reported on comments made last week by Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who said that Gordon Brown had to "beg" to be let into the meeting of eurozone ministers last weekend, and suggested that Britain should adopt the euro in order to "have the same rights" as other countries in such meetings. He said: "For the government leader of a big country it cannot be pleasant to invite himself into a meeting and then to have to leave the meeting when those who are sharing their currency make the decisions. I am sure that when the storm is over, the British will reflect on whether they shouldn't have the same rights in all bodies in future." Open Europe Director Lorraine Mullally was quoted arguing that last week's intervention by Gordon Brown shows Britain has maintained significant influence in Europe by staying out of the euro.
No link

Cases involving European Arrest Warrants quadruple in two years;
Number of "trivial" requests put strain on UK court system
The Guardian reports that the number of extradition cases, mostly involving the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), has more than doubled in one year, and is four times the number in 2006. The number of cases is expected to reach 1000 before the end of the year, according to figures from the City of Westminster magistrates court. The article notes that the increased use of the mechanism has "exasperated the police and clogged up the system", as EAWs more often used for "trivial" requests. Detective Sergeant Gary Flood of Scotland Yard's extradition unit said that EAWs are being used - with 40% issued by Poland - for a "large volume of trivial extradition requests" sometimes involving offences so minor they would lead to either a caution or no investigation at all in England.

The article notes that a Lithuanian was extradited last year on a charge of "piglet-rustling" and in another case, the Polish authorities requested the extradition of a suspect for theft of a dessert. "The European arrest warrant contained a list of the ingredients," Detective Sergeant Flood said, adding that the volume of cases from Poland has forced the Metropolitan police to start chartering special planes to return suspects to Poland every three weeks.
Guardian

EP trade committee criticises Lady Ashton's lack of experience
The Sunday Express reported that "Gordon Brown has enraged many in Brussels by nominating the unknown Lady Ashton to replace Peter Mandelson in the key post of trade commissioner". A Brussels insider was quoted saying, "Mr Brown says it is no time for a novice yet that is exactly what he is sending us. Who is she? Feelings are running very high - it's an insult."

Agence Europe reports that the European Parliament has decided to speed up the approval process for Ashton. She will be interviewed in Strasbourg by the European Parliament's trade committee today, before the EP plenary gives its endorsements on 22 October. Her hearing at the EP had initially been scheduled for mid-November. According to Agence Europe, after an informal meeting with the Baroness, several members of the trade committee criticised her lack of experience but the EP is unlikely to vote against her because that would be equivalent to voting against the entire Commission.
No link

NSPCC admits support for EU Lisbon Treaty should never have been made public
In the Mail on Sunday, Peter Hitchens reported that the NSPCC have admitted that a statement made in December welcoming the signing of the Lisbon Treaty and calling for "a speedy ratification in all EU member states", should never have been made. The statement was later used by Foreign Secretary David Miliband to persuade Labour MPs to vote for ratification of the Treaty in Parliament. The NSPCC now admits that it withdrew the statement when they realised it had gone too far for a non-political charity.
Mail on Sunday OE blog

EU Commission tries to win over "anti-establishment" Irish bloggers
The EU Commission representation in Dublin organised a meeting over the weekend for Irish bloggers. The Commission website notes that "Commissioner Margot Wallström gave a video address and there were breakout workshops on blogging and the law, blogging and journalism and on where to get information on the EU."

The meeting comes after a leaked briefing note from the Commission in September expressed concern over the role bloggers had played in the Irish No vote to the Lisbon Treaty. The briefing said that "Blogging is also seen as an anti-establishment activity. Few Yes campaigners came out with forceful counter arguments or were inspired to do so. Because of the many different sources of No campaigners on the internet, classic rebuttals is made impossible."
European Commission website Open Europe blog Leaked EC briefing note

New Statesman Assistant Editor: It's time to decide Britain's future with the EU
On the Guardian's Comment is Free site, Sholto Byrnes, Assistant Editor of the New Statesman, argues that "Rather than let the EU steadily and stealthily accrete power... we need to decide what Britain's future will be in this body." He says: "It should be a cause of outrage that Labour reneged on its promise to hold a referendum on the EU constitution that reemerged as the Lisbon Treaty. So too should news that Ireland is likely to be asked to hold a second referendum next October. The Irish rejected Lisbon in June, but this expression of a people's will was not deemed acceptable by the Eurocrats. What happens if the Irish vote no again - will they be asked to repeat the exercise until they finally come up with the correct answer? We claim to care deeply about the maintenance and establishment of democracy in other parts of the world. How curious that we appear to be so nonchalant about its practice at home, especially when the very nature of what our home is, who rules it, and what say we will have in its governance, is changing without us, the voters, ever being consulted."
Guardian Comment is Free

Swedish PM open to Eurozone membership in 2013
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has said that Sweden should reconsider membership of the Eurozone in 2013 - which would be 10 years after the Swedes voted against membership in a first national referendum. Reinfeldt said, "Despite a surplus in the state finances, we're seeing that the Swedish krona is losing value. A small currency is more exposed in turbulent times. The issue of a stable currency is the main reason, but there are also important political reasons. As the Eurozone grows larger, the euro is becoming more important and we need to be able to exercise influence from within", adding that the pressure would increase should Denmark join - something which Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen has consistently called for.
Europaportalen

Mandelson faces fresh questions over links with Italian businessman
The Mail on Sunday reported that Lord Mandelson has become the centre of a new controversy over his personal links with Italian tycoon, Diego Della Valle, who benefited from EU tariffs that Mandelson imposed during his time in Brussels. The former EU Trade Commissioner first stayed with Mr Della Valle, who runs the exclusive shoe and handbag company Tod's, four months after a temporary 20 per cent tariff proposed by Mandelson had been implemented on millions of cheap Chinese shoes being imported into the European Union. It was one of the most contentious political acts Mandelson was involved in while in Brussels, triggering the so-called "shoe wars" with China. Mandelson met Della Valle on the Italian island of Capri a number of times, including a cruise on Della Valle's yacht.
Telegraph EUobserver Mail Sunday

European Commission urges children to "celebrate" 10 years of the euro
According to the European Commission website: "To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the euro, the European Commission launches a Eurocompetition, an online poster competition among Europe's youth! The Eurocompetition invites pupils from the euro area and Slovakia to express their views and thoughts on the '10 years of the euro' in a creative way in the form of a poster."
European Commission website

New Government guidelines to prevent councils prosecuting 'metric martyrs'
Saturday's Telegraph reported the Government's announcement that new guidelines will ban councils from taking "metric martyrs" to court for "essentially minor offences", such as selling goods in imperial measures. Campaigners welcomed the Government's decision as "a victory for common sense" but said they would continue to press for a change in the law to ensure there was "no way back" for councils that have prosecuted market stallholders for using imperial measures.
Telegraph

UK MEPs united in call to scrap Strasbourg session
The Express reports that the switch to Strasbourg every fourth week costs a total of £200m every year, quoting Labour leader in Europe Gary Titley as saying "as long as we have to travel to Strasbourg, people will rightly say that the EU is wasting money. Strasbourg is a waste of taxpayers' money."
Express