Open Europe press summary: 20 February 2009

Europe

European Parliament agrees plan to introduce criminal sanctions on employers hiring illegal immigrants;
UK Government: no "legal basis" for the EU to set criminal sanctions
MEPs have voted in favour of a Commission proposal to introduce EU-wide criminal sanctions on employers hiring illegal immigrants. PA writes that the plan "is seen as one of the toughest pieces of judicial and social legislation yet attempted at EU level." The plan would involve financial penalties, including criminal sanctions, and a ban on employers bidding for public sector contracts or receiving state aid for five years. The UK Government has said it will opt out from the so-called "sanctions directive", because, according to a government spokesman, there is no "legal basis" for the EU to set criminal sanctions.

PA notes that "the rules would drastically change the balance in the European fight against illegal migrant workers: employers would be criminalised and not the migrant. So, while their bosses would face action, the illegally-employed workers would be granted legal conditions of employment in the firm." Labour MEP Claude Moraes is quoted saying, "In my time as an MEP I don't think I've seen a proposal that goes quite this far, with a move into criminal law in the field of social policy and specifically employment."

The Government has also indicated it would not support proposed measures which could create a "pull factor" for illegal immigrants, such as retroactive pay, the offer of proper employment in the same company, or anything which would delay the return of illegal migrant workers to their own home.
No link

Labour MEPs back proposal for "integrated European Armed Force"
The Express reports that Labour MEPs have been heavily criticised by the Conservatives for backing a European Parliament report calling for an "integrated European Armed Force". The report, authored by German MEP Karl von Wogau called for "further development of co-operation between national armed forces so that they become increasingly synchronised. This process and the armed forces should be given the name SAFE - Synchronised Armed Forces Europe."

Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox said, "The fact that 16 Labour MEPs voted in support of this report is outrageous. The idea of the creation of a so-called SAFE or Euro army is not only irresponsible on behalf of Eurocrats but also nonsensical."

Europe Minister Caroline Flint wrote to the Guardian on Tuesday saying, "Let me be clear - there are no plans for a European army."

A Foreign Office Spokesman said, "There will be no European army. Nato remains the cornerstone of European defence. This is spelt out in the Lisbon Treaty."
Irish Times Open Europe blog Guardian: Flint

Irish Europe Minister: Lisbon Treaty No voters had death wish
The Irish Independent reports that Ireland's European Affairs Minister Dick Roche yesterday said Irish voters had a "death wish" when it comes to major decisions like the Lisbon Treaty. Mr Roche claimed it was time people realised that rejection of the Lisbon Treaty "comes at a price" when you witness current unemployment levels and difficulties in attracting foreign direct investment.

"If we were to say 'No' a second time for whatever reason, my belief is that it would be absolutely devastating for Ireland," Mr Roche said. He also warned that a two-tier Europe would emerge - without Ireland in the first tier - if the Treaty was again rejected.

The Irish Times notes that Roche said he would be opposed to holding the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty on the same day as the local and European elections in June.
Irish Independent Irish Independent: Quinn Irish Times

Commission proposes EU asylum agency
The European Commission on Wednesday proposed the setting up of a regulatory agency on asylum, EUobserver reports. The agency is meant to help certain EU countries, such as Malta and Italy, which currently deal with big influxes of refugees. It would consist of on-call support teams who would assist in the transferring of asylum seekers to other member states. The 'European Asylum Support Office' would be set up in 2010 if member states and EU Parliament agree by the end of this year.
EUobserver

MEPs plan to spend £8.1m on aquagym and 'chill out rooms'
The Telegraph picks up the story that MEPs are planning to defy the economic downturn by splashing out £8.1 million on a state of the art fitness complex, with a pool for aqua-gymnastics and 'chill out rooms'. Richard Ashworth, a Conservative MEP and a member of the Budget Committee, suggested that his colleagues should "dream on" if they thought taxpayers should pay out for a new pool. Gerard Onesta, a French Green MEP and Vice President of the Parliament insisted that the new gym would have "nothing to do with luxury" and that the facilities would save money by cutting staff absenteeism by up to 30 per cent.
Telegraph

MEPs walk out as Klaus calls for free speech
Several MEPs yesterday walked out in protest during a speech to the European Parliament by Czech President Vaclav Klaus. According Dan Hannan's Telegraph blog, the MEPs walked out just as Klaus was making a point about the need to listen to opinions you disagree with.

The FT quotes Klaus as saying, "Here, only one single alternative is being promoted and those who dare thinking about a different option are labelled as enemies of European integration". According to Bruno Waterfield's Telegraph blog Klaus also said, "The most important task is to make sure that debate over problems is not silenced as an attack on the very idea of European integration. We have always believed that being allowed to discuss such serious issues, being heard, defending everyone's right to present a different [view] than 'the only correct opinion - no matter how much may disagree with it - is at the very core of democracy.'"

Klaus argued that the European Parliament currently lacks any "political alternative" opposed to European integration. According to EUobserver he said that since there was no genuine "European demos," the democratic deficit of the EU could not be solved by strengthening the role of the European Parliament - a measure foreseen in the Lisbon treaty. "This would, on the contrary, make the problem worse and lead to an even greater alienation of the citizens of European countries from the EU institutions," he said, asking "Are you really convinced that every time you take a vote, you are deciding something that must be decided here in this hall and not closer to the citizens, that are inside the individual European states?"

On the question whether he would sign the Lisbon Treaty, Klaus said "A chess player does not reveal his next moves".

Several MEPs criticised Klaus after the speech. The co-president of the Greens, Daniel Cohn-Bendit proposed for Klaus a "special carnival award in recognition of his efforts as provocateur of the year. His speech to this house was a perfect source of festive amusement." Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle said that the debate was a "recipe for chaos in our corridors".
WSJ FT Irish Times: Leader Independent Telegraph: Hannan Telegraph: Waterfield IHT EUobserver Irish Times Speech Klaus Open Europe Blog The Parliament FAZ

Sarkozy hopes to change farmers' mindsets for future CAP policy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy revealed on Thursday some of his ambitions for French agricultural policy between now and 2013, reports Le Figaro. One of his priorities is to review how aid is distributed to farmers in order to turn farmers into real entrepreneurs and no longer just 'subsidy hunters', reports Le Figaro. "This effort...is destined to finance the priority of modernisation planned by the government in the field of modifying the CAP," said Sarkozy.
Le Figaro

The German Constitutional Court will decide in May or June, whether the Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the German Constitution.
EIZ Niedersachsen

Uncertainties over Libertas' status
The Irish Times reports that the European Parliament is seeking legal advice on whether Libertas should be allowed to provide new signatures to support its bid to become a pan-European political party. This follows a decision by the Parliament's bureau to delay a decision on whether to grant Libertas official status and 200,000 euros in funding until the rules governing the creation of pan-European parties are clarified.

The Parliament quotes Declan Ganley saying "They are going to disallow us to be what they call a pan-European party, at least that's what I've been tipped off is the case", adding "I was also told that very significant efforts were made in the legal and accounting departments to find some technical reason to disqualify us, which they didn't do and which those departments did not go along with, and so they had to do it politically."
Irish Times The Parliament Wiener Zeitung Die Presse

French Finance Minister: There are obstacles to ECB's potential role as pan-European bank regulator
The WSJ reports that French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has said that although European banks need to be more closely regulated across borders, there could be obstacles to the European Central Bank's aim to become a pan-European supervisor. "The problem is that the ECB doesn't have the authority on the whole of the EU," said Ms. Lagarde. "In particular, there would be a large chunk of the EU, namely the UK, a large financial centre, which would fall outside the remit of this institution," she said.

Meanwhile, Fondsnieuws reports that a report to be published for the EU by former IMF official Jacques de Larosière will not call for a new institution to be established to supervise European banks.WSJ Fondsnieuws

Economist: EU should bail out financial sectors in new member states
A leader in the Economist argues that western EU countries must bail out the financial sectors in the newer member states in order to avoid a "regional catastrophe". In the FT, Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform argues that, "The EU needs to draw up a plan for helping eastern European banks in case their parent banks can no longer keep them afloat."
Economist

Paul De Grauwe: "UK will more easily recover because it is not part of the eurozone"
At a lecture of the Itinera Institute in Brussels, Belgian economist and FT columnist Paul De Grauwe has said that "the UK will more easily manage to recover from the crisis than eurozone members as Spain or Ireland, because it can devaluate and is doing so". He commented that a eurozone break-up cannot be excluded, saying "it is possible that Spain would leave the eurozone".

Writing on Conservative Home, Graham Brady MP argues that the financial crisis will mean a more political Europe because it "may be forcing the development of a currency union into a debt union in which the taxpayers of the strong economies carry the weight of other countries' debts."
Trends Conservative Home

France, Germany, and the UK are battling to host a central clearing house for credit default swaps, following pressure from the European Commission for such a body.
Guardian

Denmark and Malta were placed joint top of a European Commission league table published yesterday that measures member state success in transposing internal market directives into national law. The UK met the current transposition target.
Irish Times EUobserver Commission scorecard

A poll on the website of German Daily Die Welt among almost 4,000 readers shows 85 percent saying "yes" to the question "Does the EU resemble a dictatorship?"
Welt

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Abu Qatada was held illegally in Britain, despite the 2001 Anti-terrorism Act.
IHT Express Sun

Ukraine faces a new crisis with Gazprom after warning yesterday that an increase in payment problems by its customers may leave its major gas supplier Naftogaz unable to pay for supplies.
Times EUobserver

Negotiations between South Korea and the European Union on a major free-trade agreement have stalled, as some European governments are wary of opening their borders to cheap South Korean imports, especially cars.
WSJ

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