Open Europe press summary: 27 November 2008

Open Europe is hosting a debate in London this evening: "EU climate change package: Are we about to be locked into the wrong policy?" For details, please contact Poppy Scott-Plummer - poppy@openeurope.org.uk / 0207 197 2333.

Europe

Lukewarm reaction to EU Commission's economic stimulus plan
The EU Commission yesterday urged member states to spend 200 billion euros on stimulating the continent's economy. The WSJ notes that "Much of that money wouldn't represent new spending, however, since it includes economic-stimulus funds already announced by many EU nations."

The FT carries the headline "EU's stimulus plan triggers rapid doubt". Ambrose Evans-Pritchard notes in the Telegraph that "plans for a euro 200bn fiscal boost to head off a severe recession have already begun to unravel as Germany and other Northern states dig in their heels over extra spending."

EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said those countries with budgets in good health - chiefly Germany, the Netherlands and Scandinavian states should make a "much bigger offer'' in terms of overall stimulus than they have provided so far. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reluctant to pursue such a policy, which could jeopardise her country's balanced budget. "We should not get into a race for billions,'' she said. "Germany is very strong.''

EUobserver notes that the Irish finance department has already said it will not participate in the EU stimulus scheme. AFP reports that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk greeted the plan with some scepticism. "If there is something that's missing these days on the market, it's money...I would be cautious about such political declarations", he said.

Marco Annunziata, Chief Economist at Italian bank Unicredit, dismissed the EU package as "more of a publicity stunt than anything else", according to AFP. The IHT reports that Daniel Gros, director of the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels, called the package "mostly a PR exercise." He added, "I think the numbers are completely misleading and useless." Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally was interviewed this morning on LBC Radio to discuss the EU's proposals. She argued that since much of the proposed spending had already been announced by national governments, the main purpose of the plan seemed to be the EU Commission trying to appear relevant in the crisis.

Markets appeared unimpressed with the initiative. In late afternoon trading, stocks were down 3.3% in Paris, down 1.2% in London and up slightly in Frankfurt.
Times WSJ Mail Independent Guardian EUobserver EUbusiness Le Figaro Bouilhet Le Figaro IHT Irish Times Telegraph FT FT: Leader BBC European Voice

French Education Minister: Investment in space is "appropriate answer to economic crisis"
European ministers have pledged billions of euros for a European space programme at a meeting in The Hague. EUobserver quotes French Education Minister, Valerie Pecresse, saying that "Investing money in long-term space projects is an appropriate answer to the economic crisis". The European Space Agency consists of 18 member states and the new budget represents a substantial increase in funding, up to 10bn euros for the next 3-5 years, which is one billion more than the commitments made at the last meeting in Berlin in 2005, according to the BBC.
EUobserver Le Figaro BBC

Irish parliament report published today expected to raise possibility of second referendum
The Irish Oireachtas Parliamentary committee's report on the future of Ireland in the EU is due to be published today, but is not expected to vary much from the draft report already circulated to committee members, a copy of which has been obtained by the Irish Times. It is expected to raise the possibility of a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty accompanied by supplementary material such as a declaration on sensitive social issues.

Libertas has applied to the EU for a portion of the 17 million euro funding scheme it provides to promote the "European nature of the European elections", reports the Irish Times. It has also opened a Brussels office and is recruiting candidates across the EU to run in next year's European elections.

Libertas founder, Declan Ganley, is quoted in the Irish Times saying that the only thing that would cause him to rethink launching Libertas on the European stage would be if Prime Minister Brian Cowen told other EU leaders that the Lisbon Treaty was dead at next month's EU summit.

Meanwhile, following yesterday's decision by the Czech Constitutional Court on the compatibility of the Lisbon Treaty with the country's constitution, President Vaclav Klaus expressed regret that the court had not reacted to the legal arguments he made, according to news site Ceskenoviny.
Irish Times Irish Times 2 Irish Times: Comment

UK resists French plans to regulate sport - for now
The Times reports that sports ministers from across Europe will be urged today to sign up to plans for common financial regulation that would outlaw the current levels of indebtedness at top English football clubs. The French hosts of the summit have drawn up proposals that include a call for "European control of club management", a move seen by the Premier League as an attempt to shift control of key sports from national to EU-level bodies, stifling the most successful clubs.

The paper notes that the EU currently has no power to make laws governing sport but opponents fear that the proposals from France, which holds the rotating EU Presidency, could resurface in another context where Brussels can regulate, such as employment, competition or company law.

A spokesman for UK Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe said last night that the Minister would argue that national federations should continue to decide on the appropriate rules and regulations for their sports. However, the draft conclusions to the summit include a call for further investigation of EU-level action, declaring: "The ministers support the European Commission's project to hold a European Conference on licensing systems for professional clubs in order to help implement a self-regulatory system."
Times Liberation Suddeutsche Canadian Press

China blames France for cancellation of China-EU summit
China has pulled out of an upcoming summit with the EU and has placed the blame on French President Sarkozy's decision to meet with the Dalai Lama in Poland next week. The Guardian reports that Beijing warned France a week ago that the summit was in jeopardy and the cancellation will mean that this is the first time in 11 years that the EU and China have failed to hold an annual summit.
FT Guardian EUobserver Guardian-Garton Ash IHT FT FT: Leader BBC European Voice

UK Defence Secretary John Hutton will today tell Germany that it needs to play a greater role in NATO, pledge more spending on defence and take a greater role in Afghanistan, if the alliance is to remain relevant.
Guardian

EU reluctant to deploy battle groups in Congo
The Guardian reports that a group of former world leaders and human rights activists called yesterday for an EU force to be sent in to stop "the greatest loss of life on the face of the earth" in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The paper notes that EU countries including Britain oppose the dispatch of an EU battle group to Congo, arguing that the existing UN force, Monuc, should deal with the turmoil.

There are two joint EU battle groups (of about 1,500 troops) ready to deploy at short notice. But a Downing Street official said yesterday Britain opposed the use of a battle group. "Our view is it's best done through the UN system" the official said. "The battle groups were designed to go into crisis areas as a stopgap until other peacekeepers could get on the ground. There already is a force in DRC. To send an EU battle group under these circumstances would involve...renegotiating its terms."

The Irish Times notes that Belgium has declared that it is ready to contribute troops to an EU-led peace-keeping force.
Guardian Irish Times

Stelzer: Sarkozy is "deluded" to think he can tame America
Writing in the Spectator, Irwin Stelzer argues that Nicolas Sarkozy "wants to cut American influence down to size, to a notch below that of France if possible, well below Europe if he has to settle for that comparison."

Stelzer adds that "The made-in-America model, appropriately reformed, sensibly regulated, modified and updated will again be the international gold standard for democratic countries. Mr Sarkozy is doomed to disappointment: the dominant post-recession model will be nothing like the highly regulated, state-bound model, with markets replaced by political 'leadership' that he is hoping for."
Spectator