Open Europe press summary: 25 November 2008

Europe

Lords Economic Committee: EU renewable targets "unnecessary and risky" - electricity bills will go up £80 per household
A new report from the House of Lords Economic Committee has found that meeting EU targets for renewable energy will increase electricity generation and transmission costs by £6.8bn a year, or 38% in the UK. This translates into an £80 annual fuel bill increase for the average household. This figure does not include costs associated with other areas of energy use such as transport and heat affected by the EU target.

The press release for the report says that the EU targets "may encourage the UK to adopt an unnecessarily costly and risky approach to reducing carbon emissions". The Committee points out that nuclear energy presents a viable, low-carbon alternative that is not intermittent and can be produced at a significantly lower cost than renewable energy.

Lord Vallance, Chairman of the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, said: "We accept that the UK Government, along with others, must take steps to reduce carbon emissions. However we are concerned that the dash to meet the EU's 2020 targets may draw attention and investment away from cheaper and more reliable low carbon electricity generation - such as nuclear and, potentially, fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage."

The Committee also raised deep concerns over the overreliance on unreliable wind power that is likely to come about as a result of the EU targets: "The UK is most likely to adopt wind power as its main means of producing more renewable electricity. This has an inherent weakness in that it cannot be relied upon to generate electricity at the time it is needed. Current policies would take the UK into uncharted territory, with a dependence on intermittent supply unprecedented elsewhere in Europe. To guard against power shortages, wind turbines would need to be backed up with conventional generation. Together with the requirement to replace almost a quarter of the UK's older generating capacity by 2020, this represents a massive investment programme. Whether it is achievable in the time available is open to doubt."

According to the FT, a separate report from Ernst & Young has said that Europe is unlikely to achieve its renewable energy ambitions, which would cost about 500bn euro, according to a new study. Countries such as Germany, the UK and the Netherlands will struggle hardest to achieve their share of the target to generate 20 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.
BBC - Mardell IHT FT Lords report EU environment package: Open Europe research Lords press release

French government "confident" it can make Irish vote again
L'Express reports that Paris "is more and more confident that it will be possible to make the Irish vote again on the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009". French President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday, "Germany and France are on the same line, we support the Treaty of Lisbon. We will make all efforts to obtain the Treaty of Lisbon, we have agreed on a common language on the right way forward for our Irish friends".

The French Presidency is expected to present a "road map" for ratification of the Lisbon Treaty at the European Council of 11 to 12 December. An Elysee source told L'Express that, "It will take the form of a declaration... which will contain guarantees which could be given to the Irish people to reassure them that the Lisbon Treaty has nothing to do with abortion, that it won't threaten neutrality and won't do anything on tax." The same source said that a re-vote on the Treaty could happen before the European elections, which take place in June next year.

Meanwhile, AFP reports that Irish PM Brian Cowen will travel to Helsinki and Stockholm later this week for talks on a possible road-map for the Lisbon Treaty.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has signaled that he will not sign the Lisbon Treaty unless it is ratified by Ireland, even if the Czech Constitutional Court rules that it is in line with Czech law in a decision expected later today, reports the Irish Times. In an interview yesterday, Mr. Klaus stated that, "Simply, no change can occur without Ireland changing its position".

Following the formation of a new coalition in Austria at the weekend, the country's Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik has refused to be part of the new governing coalition because it would not rule out future referendums on EU treaties, according to EUobserver. Ms Plassnik argued that the compromise negotiated in the coalition agreement left Austria's commitment to European integration uncertain, reports the FT.
Irish Times Irish Times 2 EUobserver FT Irish Times 3 Express NY Times

France demands continued farm subsidies before WTO talks can recommence
The Telegraph looks at plans by France, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, to link the reopening of the world trade talks to continued high levels of subsidies to French farmers. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has summoned EU agriculture ministers to a special meeting on Friday to discuss "the future of the Common Agriculture Policy" (CAP). The issue will also be brought up at the Council meeting in December, with Sarkozy even threatening to call heads of government back off their Christmas holidays on Dec 29 if an agreement is not reached. "It is a pretty transparent attempt to stitch up the CAP so France can carry on subsidising food and farms," said one diplomat. "It is alarming how much support the French have."

A classified internal French document praises the CAP as a "strategic asset" and goes on to urge that it should be continued beyond 2013. European Voice reports that the paper also calls for the maintenance of 'community preference', a term frequently used by French Minister Michel Barnier and often interpreted as a code word for higher EU tariffs to protect its farmers from international competition.

The development threatens to break promises made three years ago when Tony Blair gave up a share of Britain's annual rebate from Brussels on the understanding there would be a cut in farm subsidies after 2013. It is estimated that the CAP costs the average British household £322 a year. In the WSJ, Jack Thurston of the German Marshall Fund argues against the EU's "heavy-handed" state interventionism in the agricultural sector.
WSJ-Thurston European Voice Telegraph Irish Times

France and Germany fail to agree on coordinated EU economic stimulus plan
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met yesterday, but failed to agree on any coordinated European response to the economic crisis, pledging only not to follow a British-style cut in VAT.

Le Figaro has a summary of the Commission's proposed 130bn stimulus plan, to be unveiled tomorrow. This package would be funded through targeted VAT cuts, reduction in income taxes for low-earners and through unspent EU farm and structural funds. EU rules on excessive deficits and state aid will be relaxed, whilst the European Investment Bank will also attempt to provide credit.

The paper notes that "an hour of discussions was not sufficient for Nicolas Sarkozy to convince Angela Merkel to finance the 130bn euro European relaunch plan which Brussels will propose on Wednesday...If the German Chancellor has recognised the necessity of 'a European response' to the crisis, she has ruled out her country providing new spending and has refused to resort to budgetary measures." Merkel is more in favour of measures "which do not cost money" for member states, such as the softening of rules concerning small and medium sized businesses.

An article in Le Monde says that the European relaunch package is effectively dead.

The FT notes that "With a budget deficit likely to hit 3 per cent of gross domestic product this year, the latest in three decades of deficits, the French President is hardly in a position to give lectures to Germany on fiscal policy."

Sarkozy said that "A lowering of VAT, which is perhaps the response of certain countries, is not the right response for France and Germany. On the necessity of taking other measures, France is working on it and Germany is thinking about it."
FAZ Euractiv Le Figaro Le Figaro 2 Le Monde Le Monde Steinmeier FT FT: Betts EUobserver IHT Mail-Fleming

Premier League launches fight against French plans to regulate football
The Times reports that Premier League clubs will launch a fight today to prevent the establishment of a European super-authority for sport that could strip them of their wealth and independence. The Independent notes that Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore was scathing about the proposals put forward by UEFA's President Michel Platini and the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy. The proposal will be debated at a meeting of sports ministers from across Europe in Biarritz tomorrow.

The plans would allow football to operate outside of EU law and UEFA could therefore force teams to field at least six home-based players with a maximum of five foreigners, which is currently unworkable under EU freedom of movement rules.

The Independent notes that the Premier League believes the French are using their EU Presidency to attack the pre-eminence of English football. The UK Sports Minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has assured the Premier League that he will not be signing up to the agreement. A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: "We would not support the creation of European Union-wide authorities that supersede national authorities."
Independent Times

Commission plans to allow consumers to pursue joint claims against traders across the EU
The European Commission will set out plans this week to allow consumers to pursue mass claims against traders across the EU, the Guardian reports. Currently, only 13 of the 27 EU countries, including Britain, France and Germany, have collective redress systems but these are all very different. EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner, Meglena Kuneva, is quoted in the report as saying, "As the markets scale up, the scams scale up" and that her aim is not to impose a "one-size-fits-all" scheme but rather a "pick-and-mix" system from different member states.
Guardian

EU-backed tuna quotas make a "mockery of science"
Environmental groups have blamed the EU for a trade deal that allows Mediterranean countries to catch 50% above what scientists say are "safe" levels of tuna. The BBC report says "why the European Commission decided...to argue for catches considerably above the scientific advice are not yet clear".
BBC

Europe's population is predicted to fall by 8% by 2050, according to the Berlin Institute for Population and Development.
European Voice

EU competition policy may constitute an "obstacle" to innovation and growth in the high-tech sector, writes Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform (CER).
Euractiv

Opposition to EU membership in Norway has reached record heights at 53.4% against.
Norvege-fr

EU to fund "conflict transformation centre" in Northern Ireland
EU funds may be available for a "conflict transformation centre" in Northern Ireland, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering said on a visit to the region. The Irish Times quotes Pöttering saying, "It is very useful to have a centre where you study the development of the reconciliation process". However, Unionists oppose the project due to fears it will become a "shine to terrorism", the BBC reports.
BBC Irish Times

An EU probe into anti-competitive behaviour will find that practices by drug companies could be slowing the launch of new patented and cheaper generic medicines.
FT