Open Europe press summary: 15 April 2009

Europe

Commission takes legal action against the UK over internet privacy
The Times reports that the European Commission yesterday initiated legal action against the Government after declaring that UK laws guaranteeing data protection were "structurally flawed" and well below the European standard.

A Commission statement said that Brussels had sent several letters to the British authorities since last July asking why the Government had not taken action against BT after the company used Phorm technology -- a covert method of targeting advertising based on user browsing habits -- to secretly monitor the internet activity of 30,000 broadband customers in trials between 2006 and 2007, without their consent. EUobserver quotes EU Telecommunications Commissioner Vivianne Reding saying "We have been following the Phorm case for some time and have concluded that there are problems in the way the UK has implemented parts of EU rules on the confidentiality of communications."

The Guardian notes that the current UK law allows traffic to be intercepted if the company doing the intercepting has "reasonable grounds for believing" that it has consent. The article quotes Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, saying, "It's a bad sign if citizens are having to rely on the commission and courts to defend their rights against the government they elected."
Times FT FT 2 The Parliament Guardian BBC EU Referendum blog EurActiv European Voice Independent EUobserver IHT Telegraph

MEPs in line for £13,000 pay rise
The Mail reports that British MEPs are in line for a £13,000 pay rise this summer, from £63,291 to around £76,360 a year, as new rules come into force which end the practice of MEPs earning the same as national politicians in their home countries. The collapse in the pound against the Euro has added to the pay increase. The article also reports that MEPs will not pay tax in the UK anymore, but qualify for a preferential rate of 15 percent.
Mail
German MEP: "percentage of legislation originating in Brussels is 85 percent in Germany, and even higher in eastern Europe" EUobserver reports that, according to Liberal German MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, EU citizens are for the large part unaware that the vast majority of national legislation originates in Brussels, saying the percentage was 85 percent in Germany, and even higher in eastern Europe. He added: "People don't know this because national politicians don't want them to know. They don't want to show up their own minor role."EUobserver

Comment: Open Europe has estimated that the cost of EU regulations across Europe accounts for 66% of the total cost of regulations introduced in the last ten years in member states. In Germany we estimate the EU derived cost of regulation to be 65.9% of the total cost of regulation.
Open Europe: Out of control? Measuring a decade of EU regulation

Austrian Chancellor: We ratified Lisbon Treaty in Parliament because it did not have popular approval;
Lithuanian President: Klaus will back the Lisbon Treaty
In an interview with Spiegel, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann admits that, "The fact that we only ratified the new EU Constitution and then the Lisbon Treaty in our parliament is not exactly glowing proof that we were confident that we had popular approval. And now, if we are asked to vote a third time because the Irish will perhaps vote no once again, then we cannot claim that this is what a parliament is authorised to do."

Meanwhile, The Baltic News Service reports that Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus believes that Czech President Vaclav Klaus will back the Lisbon Treaty. While visiting the Czech Republic, Adamkus said, "He (Klaus) is different now. I am entirely convinced that he will support the Lisbon treaty." Klaus previously called a halt to the ratification process after Ireland rejected the Treaty.

UPI reports that yesterday a group of Latvian human rights activists, Go Defend Latvia, voiced opposition to the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which they say poses a risk to their country's sovereignty. The group complained that no referendum was held on the Treaty by the Riga government.
UPI

Dutch penal lawyer criticises EU anti-terrorism policies
In an interview with Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad, Dutch penal lawyer Bart Nooitgedagt criticises the EU's anti-terrorism policies, saying: "Just on the basis of a message by the secret service, you can end up on a terrorist list, with the consequence that you lose your salary or social benefits. To get off the list is hard, because you don't know which information you have to defend yourself from". He adds, "Prosecuting competences are so broad that fundamental rights are violated. Privacy is a hollow phrase...who controls the bureaucratic morass of exchanging DNA profiles by European prosecutors?"

Regarding the European Arrest Warrant, he says "a fax from a foreign prosecutor is enough. In 60 days you can, on the basis of suspicion for something minor which you may have committed during your vacation, end up in a Greek or Polish jail. There are different guarantees for human detention and due process than in the Netherlands. Just look at Amnesty's [International] reports." A poll among readers of the newspaper shows 55 percent agreeing with the statement that EU anti-terrorism policies are out of control.
Algemeen Dagblad

In an op-ed in Swedish daily Expressen, Swedish MEP Eva-Britt Svensson looks at the problems with waste and fraud involving EU funds, citing several examples from Open Europe's list of EU waste.
Expressen Open Europe: Top 100 examples of EU fraud and waste

Czech government's collapse leads to downgrading of EU summit
Euractiv notes that the ousting of Mirek Topolánek as Czech Prime Minister is raising questions regarding a series of high-profile summits in Prague, as he will still be the EU's official chair when the meetings take place in early May. Prague is set to play host to three summits in May, including a specially arranged employment summit. However, the article notes that this meeting has already been downgraded from a fully-fledged summit of the 27 EU countries' heads of state and government to an 'EU Troika' of the Czech Republic and the next EU Presidencies - Sweden and Spain.

The article reports that Topolánek has accused France and the Western press of conveying the message that a small country such as the Czech Republic is unable to steer the EU. He said, "We persuaded everyone that a small or medium-sized country is able to steer the EU. And now, suddenly, everybody says the small countries can't do this, and that it is up to the big daddy to supervise things."
EurActiv

"Binge flyers as bad as stabbing people", says Green MEP Caroline LucasThe Mail reports that Green MEP Caroline Lucas has caused outrage by comparing "binge flyers" who regularly use budget airlines to those "stabbing people in the street". According to the paper, Lucas made the remarks during a live debate on British television about the proposed third runway at Heathrow airport. When asked if flying to Spain was as bad as stabbing someone in the street, Lucas is quoted as saying, "Yes - because they are dying from climate change."Mail Mirror Sun The Parliament EU Referendum blog

Only 16 percent of European citizens aware of EP elections;
Tagesspiegel reports that half of Germans are unaware of the upcoming EP election date, and a recent Eurobarometer poll conducted in all 27 Member States confirms that only about 16% of citizens in Europe know the date. A third say they will 'probably' vote, while only 15% say they will most definitely vote.

Meanwhile, Bruno Waterfield's Telegraph blog reports on the EU's new campaign to gather young people together and shout to Europe and writes "Let us forget for now (suspending disbelief is part of everyday life here in Brussels), that the message already came through loud and clear from France, the Netherlands and Ireland. Those 'shouts', popular votes, went unheard. But, hey, never mind. That was real politics this is just advertising puff for the European elections."

He goes on to say, "People, young or old, should not vote in the European elections unless they think they are being offered a manifesto that directly addresses politics - for the EU, to reform it or against it. It is better not to vote than to perpetuate a ghastly sham. If low turnout reflects a lack of political engagement with the EU project then so be it."
OE blog Telegraph: Waterfield blog Tagesspiegel Politikportal Eurobarometer Irish Times

French fishermen resume port blockade over EU fishing quotas
French fishermen blocked off Calais at around 6am today, marking the second day of blockades. The French fishermen's union, the CGT, has demanded increased EU fishing quotas and vowed to take "tough action for as long as it takes." The Mail reports that thousands of Britons are expected to be caught up in the ports of Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne.

PA quotes Richard Ashworth, Conservative MEP for Kent, arguing, "British fishermen have as much right as French fishermen to complain about the failings of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy. We do need to overhaul the CFP and the Common Agricultural Policy, but it is the French government that often acts as a roadblock to reform."
Mail

'Green' taxes cost every adult £741 a year
A new report from the Taxpayers' Alliance says that every adult in Britain is paying £741 in 'green' taxes, according to the Mail. The article reports that electricity and gas bills are typically £77 higher because of regulations like the Carbon Emission Reduction Target and the EU's carbon Emissions Trading Scheme.
Mail
Danish PM wants to abolish EU opt-outs
European Voice reports that Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen has said his government will persevere in working towards the abolition of EU opt-outs. Rasmussen said "Denmark will continue to be centrally placed in EU co-operation. But the Danish exceptions [from the treaty] are and continue to be harmful to Denmark's interests." Denmark currently has opt-outs on monetary union, defence, and justice and home affairs.
European Voice

Farmers will have to spend £65 million tagging sheep under new EU rules
The Telegraph reports that from January 1 2010, thirty million sheep will be required to wear electronic ID tags so that their movements can be monitored, in an effort to limit and contain the spread of diseases. British farmers will be expected to fund 92% of the £65 million costs. John Mercer, of the National Farmers' Union said "It's a crazy rule. It's not wanted. It's not needed. And it could, potentially, devastate the sheep industry."
Telegraph

On his BBC blog, Mark Mardell points out that, with US, Nato and EU forces patrolling the waters off Somalia to counter pirate attacks, there are three task forces with their own chains of command and writes, "Ever since the EU developed its own military operations there have been worries about duplication with Nato."
BBC: Mardell blog

Agence Europe reports that French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Bruno Le Maire has said that "after the Balkans, it will be necessary to halt enlargement and focus on the strengthening of the European institutions. The two things are not compatible".
No link

According to a CSA poll conducted on 14 April, 50% of French people say they are opposed to Turkey joining the EU, as opposed to 35% who say they support it and 15% who did not give an opinion, Agence Europe reports.
No link

In a letter to the WSJ, Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton argues that "The European Union is taking the lead as the world's most open market for developing countries."
WSJ

Le Monde reports that Russia is still blocking EU observers from accessing the separatist areas of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia has also decided to expel the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from June, so the EU observers will be the only peace-keeping force in the region.
Le Monde

Germany has added to a growing European mutiny over genetically modified crops by banning the planting of a pest-resistant corn variety, going against the EU Commission's decision to lift the banning of the plant.
Guardian IHT

The Irish Independent reports that an increased use of biofuels could produce twice the carbon emissions of the fossil fuels they replace, according to Friends of the Earth.
FT Irish Independent

In his El País blog, Lluís Bassets analyses the upcoming European elections in Spain and argues, "we are witnessing European deconstruction, as demonstrated by the winding and interminable road towards the Lisbon Treaty".
El País

Poland announced yesterday that it will apply for a €15.5 billion credit line from the International Monetary Fund.
EUobserver Deutsche Welle

EUobserver reports that Gordon Bajnai was confirmed as the new Hungarian Prime Minister yesterday, but the Hungarian Parliament was the scene of anti-government protests, demanding the resignation of the entire government.
EUobserver Deutsche Welle

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