Open Europe press summary: 4 February 2009

Europe

Commission launches 1.8m euro publicity campaign to target Lisbon No voters
The Irish Times reports that the European Commission is spending 1.8 million euros on a communications strategy to target Irish women, young people and low-income families with information about the EU. The article notes that blogging, cinema advertising, and advertising in women's and youth magazines are key parts of a 12 month EU-Ireland information plan, which specifically targets segments of the public that voted in large numbers against the Lisbon Treaty.

The Commission yesterday rejected any suggestion that its Irish communications strategy was part of a campaign to get the Lisbon Treaty passed in a second referendum. "There will be no advocacy or publicity campaign ahead of the second referendum," said Joe Hennon, Spokesman for EU Communications Commissioner Margot Wallstrom. He said any extra resources would be for several years and would aim to address the problem of a lack of knowledge about the EU.

The closing date for the Commission's call for the tender is 24 February and the communications strategy is expected to be rolled out as soon as the contract is signed.

Meanwhile, The Parliament reports that the European Parliament is to review its decision to grant financial assistance to Libertas, the anti-Lisbon Treaty group. The Parliament had backed Libertas' application on Monday, granting it 200,000 euros of funding, but will now reconsider the decision "in the next few weeks." The move comes after Estonian MP Igor Grazin denied putting his name to an application by Libertas to apply for official status as a pan-European party.

Under EU rules, an organisation seeking to become a pan-European party entitling it to EU funds must obtain the signatures of elected representatives from at least seven EU member states. If Grazin withdraws his support Libertas will have signatures from only six nations.
Irish Times The Parliament Irish Times 2 European Voice

Strikes on use of foreign labour continue;
Italy accused of hypocrisy in application of EU law
Wildcat industrial strikes are continuing over the use of foreign labour at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire. The FT reports that British PM Gordon Brown is resisting union demands to tighten the law on the use of foreign workers, as the conciliation service Acas is examining the awarding of a sub-contract to an Italian company to determine if any British or EU law was broken.

The BBC reports that an initial deal to resolve the dispute has been rejected. Derek Simpson, the joint General Secretary of the UNITE union has said that "Even if this dispute is settled [there is] still a major problem about how these foreign companies, who win contracts and come complete with a workforce, are going to create other difficulties."

The Telegraph reports that Italy has been accused of hypocrisy in its application of EU law over a 20-year dispute for British lecturers to receive equal pay and conditions in Italian universities, while calling for the rights of Italian nationals to be protected in Britain. David Petrie, the Chairman of the Association of Foreign Lecturers in Italy said "It is total hypocrisy and they know it...The Italian courts are experts at tying you up in legal battles for years and the Italian government just digs its heels in."

A separate article in the FT argues that at the "heart" of the strikes is "whether employers of foreign workers should be allowed to undercut the pay of indigenous employees". EU free movement laws allow foreign contractors to bring their own staff from overseas and grant them the same legal rights as British employees. However, unions argue that this undermines industry pay agreements reached separately in the UK which are not legally binding, unlike in France, Belgium or Germany. According to figures from the European Commission, 47,000 UK workers were posted to European countries in 2006, which is three times more than 15,000 foreign workers posted to the UK.

Writing in the Guardian's Comment is Free section, author Philippe Legrain argues that if British workers are being discriminated against, it is unacceptable, but otherwise the free movement of labour is at the very heart of the EU and without it, the EU would "unravel".

Conservative MP Bill Cash will today present a Bill in Parliament to provide for "workers or members of a trade union who are UK nationals shall have rights of employment in the United Kingdom equal to or as favourable as those afforded to foreign nationals or conferred by the United Kingdom Parliament." The Irish Times reports that the Scottish National Party's Westminster leader, Angus Robertson, has requested that the European Scrutiny Committee examine the legislation covering the free movement of labour.

The CBI's Deputy-Director John Cridland told the Home Affairs Committee yesterday that the use of migrant labour in Britain would decline as companies faced a fall in demand for their goods and services, reports the Guardian.
WSJ WSJ: Editorial Guardian Guardian: Legrain Telegraph Spectator: Coffee House blog Conservative Home FT FT 2 FT 3 Mail Irish Times BBC Le Monde

The Malta Independent features Open Europe's most recent research entitled "Out of control? Measuring a decade of EU regulation", which quantifies the cost of EU regulation to Malta at 417 million euros over the past ten years.
Malta Independent Out of control? Measuring a decade of EU regulation

Obama seeks to avoid potential trade war between US and EU
US President Barack Obama has stated that he wants to avoid protectionist measures that would lead to a potential trade war between the EU and the US. The EU yesterday threatened legal action and retaliatory measures against the US for the 'Buy American' clause in its multibillion dollar economic stimulus package. The Commission - concerned about protectionist measures in India, Russia and elsewhere - said it could take the US to the World Trade Organisation for breaching treaty rules on government procurement.

According to the Guardian, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the World Economic Forum, in Davos last week: "We must not allow market forces to be completely distorted. I'm wary of seeing subsidies injected into the US auto industry. That could lead to distortion and protectionism." The Times reports that President Obama stated his intention to try to defuse the situation yesterday, saying that "I think it would be a mistake at a time when worldwide trade is declining, for us to start sending a message that somehow we're just looking after ourselves and not concerned with world trade."
Times Times 2 Guardian Telegraph NZZ FT FT 2 Mail Irish Independent Irish Times Express Mirror Sun BBC European Voice Mail: Synon blog

S&P on Spanish record unemployment: euro membership part of the problem;
Barroso: "no consensus for new eurozone summit"
The Telegraph reports that Spain lost almost 200,000 jobs in January in the worst one-month rise since records began, lifting the unemployment rate to 14.4pc and according to Le Figaro, leading to 3.3 million people unemployed, its highest point for 12 years. Finance Minister Pedro Solbes is quoted in the Telegraph saying, "There is almost nothing Madrid can do to halt the downward spiral", with the newspaper commenting that while he has avoided blaming Spain's euro membership for the country's plight, there is no question that Spain's failure to adapt to the rigours of EMU is at the root of its structural crisis. Standard & Poor's reportedly said euro membership had become part of the problem since it prevented the country resorting to aggressive monetary stimulus to counter the housing crash, or from devaluing to restore competitiveness.

Meanwhile, HLN reports that a spokesman for Commission President Jose Barroso said there is "no consensus to organise a new summit of heads of state and government of the eurozone currently exists", responding to earlier calls for a summit from French President Nicolas Sarkozy. A spokesman for German Chancellor Merkel is quoted saying that the finance ministers of the Eurozone gather every month, adding that "experience has taught us that some eurogroup matters are better not discussed in public".

Wolfgang Munchau comments in the FTD that it is hard to predict whether the eurozone will break up. However, he argues that Germany is unlikely to come to the rescue if required: "I can image that if Merkel or Steinbrück would have to save the euro, then I believe that the likeliness of that is barely more than zero. The markets believe that as well".
Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard FTD: Munchau HLN

EU struggles with national plans to rescue car manufacturers
MEPs, the European Council and the EU Commission are to hold a debate this afternoon to discuss the impact of the economic crisis on the car industry which is likely to be dominated by accusations of protectionism and state intervention.
EurActiv

Vote on extending freedom of movement to Bulgaria and Romania critical to Switzerland's relations with EU
Euractiv reports that Switzerland will vote on Sunday to decide whether to allow Bulgarian and Romanian citizens to work freely in the country. Swiss Ambassador to the EU, Jacques de Watteville, has explained that under a "guillotine clause" negotiated in 1999, a number of related trade agreements would be automatically terminated in the event of a negative vote. "Let's say that in the case of a negative vote, Switzerland would place itself in a difficult situation. And this would not be an easy situation for the Union either," he said.
IHT EurActiv

The European Parliament has backed ambitious climate goals for 2050, namely a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80%, improve energy efficiency by 35%, and increase the share of renewables in the EU's energy mix to 60%. MEPs also called for the Czech Presidency and the Commission to present plans for the EU to diversify its energy supplies.
EurActiv FTD

In response to US plans for a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe, Russia and Belarus have announced joint plans for a military system to defend their airspace.
WSJ

Tony Barber: EU still enthusiastic for enlargement
In an article in the FT Tony Barber looks at EU enlargement, assessing the membership prospects of the applicant countries. He notes that despite a degree of 'enlargement fatigue' in some of the older member states, "2009 may turn out to be a year of surprises. By December, the EU could see one country (Croatia) completing its accession talks, another (Turkey) making progress, a third (the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia) preparing to start membership negotiations, and five others (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro and Serbia) having submitted formal applications to join."
FT FT: Leader

Quatremer: "Guantanamo and Czech discomfort"
Jean Quatremer argues on his blog that the closure of Guantanamo Prison has embarrassed the Czech government which had supported US President Bush's line of using the prison. "The Czechs' silence on its closure and refusal to call a meeting of European leaders to discuss the future of the prison's detainees" is, according to Quatremer, "a clear sign of its discomfort." He believes this is why the EU has been so hesitant in adopting a common line towards accepting detainees. However, Quatremer notes that the Czech government is now showing itself willing to take the initiative by deciding to address the issue during the next council of EU Foreign Ministers on 24-25 February.
Coulisses de Bruxelles

In an interview with Trade Negotiations Insight, EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton has assured that access to development funds for African, Pacific and Caribbean nations will not be made conditional on progress in negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements.
ICTSD

PriceWaterhouseCoopers has warned that the economic crisis in Germany will be longer due to EU bureaucracy, with the head of their German division quoted as saying, "EU bureaucracy hinders Germany investing billions through its stimulus program".
Focus

Any plans to set up "bad banks" in the EU must not leave taxpayers overexposed to more losses, according to Internal Market Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy. McCreevy also called for tougher regulation on the trading of certain financial instruments, such as credit derivatives.
Irish Times IHT

European companies fear that new Commission proposals to tackle VAT fraud will put a disproportionate responsibility on companies, who risk being severely punished for making the smallest of errors.
MKB

UK

Clarke: "We have to address" excessive regulation
In a speech printed in the Independent, Shadow Business Secretary Ken Clarke argues that it was the quality, not quantity, of regulation in the banking sector that contributed to the economic crisis, and writes that "But that does not mean that other sectors of industry should be excessively regulated". He also goes on to say that "the excessive regulation of the rest of the UK economy should not be off the agenda", because "It still matters that it takes twice as long to set up a company in this country as it does in France... and we have to address that".
Independent: Clarke

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas wants to tighten the points-based system for immigration from outside the EU so that non-EU nationals do not take jobs that might otherwise go to British graduates.
Independent

The Guardian reports that the Government is almost certain to fail on its key environmental manifesto pledge to cut emissions of carbon dioxide from 1990 levels by 20% by 2010.
Guardian Guardian 2

World

Iran yesterday launched the country's first domestically produced satellite into orbit, intensifying western fears over its ballistic missile capabilities.
Times Guardian Independent Telegraph: Leader

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