Open Europe press summary: 18 February 2009

Europe

German Finance Minister: Ireland may need a bailout;
Commission criticises Irish recovery plan as "unclear" and "underdeveloped"
According to EUobserver, the German Finance Minister, Peer Steinbrueck has raised the possibility that eurozone countries struggling in the wake of the financial crisis may need to be bailed out, mentioning Ireland specifically saying it was in a "very difficult situation". The article goes on to suggest that the comments appear to signal a shift in Germany's thinking, having previously said that struggling countries would have to find a solution themselves.

The WSJ reports that credit rating agency, Moody's, has warned that it may downgrade banks active in eastern Europe, suggesting that the worst affected countries are Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and the Baltic nations.

Jacques Delpla, a member of the Council for Economic Analysis, an advisory body to French Prime Minister François Fillon, yesterday recommended that EU countries issue joint government bonds, which would enhance the role of the Euro as a reserve currency.

The front page of the Irish Times reports that the European Commission is to initiate a formal budget deficit procedure against Ireland for the first time today, and is to release two reports questioning the government's ability to implement its recovery plan, criticising the plan's lack of clarity. The paper goes on to write that the reports pinpoint weaknesses in the government's plan as "unclear" and "underdeveloped".

Handelsblatt also reports that the Commission is to begin similar procedures against France, Greece and Spain.
Irish Times EUobserver Telegraph Irish Times 2 EUobserver 2 WSJ EurActiv Handelsblatt Eurointelligence

Czech lower house clears Lisbon Treaty
The BBC reports that the Czech Parliament's lower house has approved the Lisbon Treaty by a majority of 125 votes to 61. The Treaty is now being sent to the Senate where it needs its approval before the formal ratification by Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Le Figaro notes that this process could take weeks, even months, because of opponents imposing procedural delays on the Treaty's adoption.

Meanwhile in Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has declined to confirm a date for the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, reports the Irish Times. His remarks came as speculation mounted as to whether the referendum would be held in the autumn or about the time of the European and local elections. "It may be necessary to wait until then or it may be possible to get the work done sooner," Mr Cowen said.
Figaro BBC Les Echos Irish Times Irish Independent Ceskenoviny

Die Zeit journalist: Lisbon Treaty is "unique in history" and does not increase EU democracy
Speaking at a conference at the Institut Français des Relations Internationales (IFRI) yesterday, Jochen Bittner, Brussels Correspondent for German newspaper Die Zeit, said "the Lisbon Treaty is something unique in history as it intervenes in the sovereignty which has formerly been reserved for national governments". He said "the proponents' argument that the Lisbon Treaty makes the EU more democratic and more efficient is to be rejected, not only by German lawyers".

He said "the argument that the Lisbon Treaty makes the EU more democratic by extending the European Parliament's powers is not really valid. The EP is not a proper watchdog for its citizens... The level of scrutiny the EP provides cannot be compared with the scrutiny of a national parliament".

He criticised the EU's so-called 'orange card' system, whereby a group of national parliaments can object to an EU proposal on the grounds of subsidiarity, saying it was "not practical", partly because the ultimate decision about breaches of subsidiarity lies with the European Court of Justice. He said: "ECJ judges are appointed by European Ministers, which would be impossible on the national level. Also, ECJ jurisdiction is regularly in line with the European Commission... One may have doubts whether this court can be seen as a watchdog of accountability."

Bittner said he objected to the Treaty's "provisions on the EU's infringements of civil liberties" and criticised the "vague" Charter of Fundamental Rights, "Especially regarding the freedom of expression". Regarding the upcoming judgement of the German constitutional court, he said he did not expect the Treaty to be rejected, but said the Court will request strict national implementation measures. "The judges will step on the brake of European integration, which will be a decisive political signal", he said.
No link

Two-thirds of foreign workers are from outside the EU;
Migrationwatch: More EU workers in UK than British workers in Europe
A new study from Migrationwatch claims that 288,000 British workers were employed across the EU last September, while there were 1,172,000 EU-born workers in jobs in the UK.

Meanwhile, figures based on House of Commons Library research commissioned by Shadow Work and Pensions Minister, James Clappison, shows that workers born abroad now hold more than 3.8 million jobs - 13 per cent of the total. Two thirds of them come from outside the EU, equivalent to 9 per cent of the total workforce. In 1997, when Labour came to power, people born outside the UK held only two million jobs, 7.5 per cent of the workforce.
Telegraph: Warner Conservative Home Express Express 2 Mail Mail2 Mail-leader

EU Competition Commissioner: European leaders are bribing multinationals and stealing jobs
The FT reports that EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has accused European leaders of "bribing multinationals" and stealing jobs from neighbouring countries as they use taxpayers' money to support domestic businesses. Ms Kroes told an audience in Paris: "We have to protect people by creating for them real jobs with real futures. That takes leadership. Leadership is not bribing multinationals and stealing jobs from one's neighbours - jobs based on bribes do not have real futures."

The article notes that although Ms Kroes did not accuse any politicians by name, her tough line was delivered just hours before the deadline for France to give the European Commission more details of the country's 6.5bn euro plan to aid its car industry.

EUobserver notes that Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who holds the EU Presidency, repeated his criticism against protectionism, but avoided naming France directly. "Europe is facing protectionism, populism, a lack of solidarity, finger-pointing, punishing the innocent and rewarding the unnecessary," he said.
FT EUobserver

UK-based EU police college investigated for fraud
The Telegraph reports that MEPs refused to sign off accounts for the European Police College on Tuesday amid a growing scandal over the "private use of public funds". EU anti-fraud investigators, Olaf, were called in after CEPOL, the College Européen de Police, admitted last year to using funding to buy staff furniture, mobile phones and to pay for a free car service.

According to information given to MEPs almost £21,000 in EU funds was wrongly paid out for staff use of cars, transport services, mobile phones and furniture. Only £3,405 of the money has been fully recovered and MEPs have warned that the missing sums "could be higher since the information is incomplete".
Telegraph

ECJ ruling loosens requirements for asylum
The WSJ reports that the European Court of Justice has ruled that refugees seeking asylum in the EU don't have to demonstrate that they are specifically targeted for harm if there is widespread and indiscriminate violence in their home countries.

The ruling referred to the case of an Iraqi couple seeking asylum in the Netherlands. The Dutch authorities had refused their application because the couple could not prove a personal threat.
WSJ Irish Times

Renewed focus on the EU's Agency Workers Directive
The FT looks at demands for greater protections for temporary agency workers in the wake of the abrupt sacking of 850 agency workers at BMW's Oxford Mini car plant. Kevin Green, Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation is quoted in the article warning that the implementation of the EU's Agency Workers' Directive could extend protection of such workers too far, meaning that Britain's flexible labour market would lose its competitive edge. For example, if the concept of equal pay were to be widened to include bonuses and other benefits such as gym memberships and company cars.
FT

Waterfield: MEP vanity project costs "£53,000 for every hour"
Bruno Watefield's Telegraph blog reports that the European Parliament's Europarl TV-channel, launched in September, attracts less than 1200 viewers every day, from a potential audience of over 400 million and costs £53,000 for every hour broadcast. He reports that it will cost over £32 million over four years and describes it as "over £9,000 worth of vanity programmes for each and every MEP per annum."

He also quotes one "despairing" parliament communicator who admitted that "Some items have failed to reach three digit viewing figures."
Telegraph: Waterfield blog

UK failing to enforce EU's WEEE Directive
The Independent reports that the EU's Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Directive, which requires the disposal or reuse of electrical waste without damage to the environment. Under the WEEE directive, any item of electronic waste which no longer works, such as a television, is classified as hazardous and cannot be exported to non-OECD countries. However, the paper has found that non-functioning goods are being shipped to developing countries causing a serious threat to the health of young men and children working on poisoned waste dumps.
Independent Independent 2 Independent: Leader

NI farmers queue overnight for EU subsidies
The BBC reports that hundreds of farmers in Northern Ireland queued overnight outside Government offices on 16 February to apply for EU rural development subsidies because they are allocated on a first come first serve basis. The funding package will allow only 1,200 farmers to benefit from the maximum grant award. A spokesman from the Agriculture Commission has reportedly confirmed that such a method of distribution is not allowed.
BBC European Voice

EU to launch "Eastern Partnership" in May
Tony Barber's FT blog reports that EU leaders are to meet in Prague on May 7 to launch the "Eastern Partnership", which is designed to "draw in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine - closer to the EU, without holding out an explicit promise of membership at some future date." He goes on to say that "it seems another example of how the EU often has its heart in the right place, while lacking the power, conceptual vision and unity of purpose to do what it aspires to do."
FT: Brussels blog

The European Parliament's Environment Committee has voted in favour of the European Commission's plans to outlaw incandescent light bulbs and replace them with energy-saving varieties by 2012.
European Voice

A study by the Commission estimates that unemployment in the EU this year will rise by by 1.6 percent, or some 3.5 million jobs will be lost.
Deutsche Welle Welt Euractiv

The EU is suffering a 32 billion euro trade deficit, the biggest since the Euro's introduction 10 years ago.
Irish Independent

Polish EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hubner has agreed to stand in the European elections in order to run against anti- Lisbon Treaty party, Libertas.
EUobserver

Jean Quatremer writes that France risks ridicule by sending insignificant, extremist groups of deputies to the European Parliament. He notes that 29% of the French electorate is ready to vote either for the extreme Left or the extreme Right in the upcoming European elections.
Coulisses de Bruxelles blog

In a letter to the Guardian Geoffrey Van Orden MEP, the Conservative defence spokesman, writes that "the EU has placed its institutional footprint on an increasing range of defence-related activities and wastefully duplicated a range of staff and decision-making structures already well established at Nato" and goes on to say "there is a determination to create what amounts to a European army."
Guardian: Letters

Due to fears over a future shortage of english speaking interpreters the Commission is launching a UK campaign aimed at encouraging young people to consider a career in languages.
EurActiv

Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.