Open Europe press summary: 11 June 2009

Europe

EU member states opposed to legally binding Lisbon Treaty guarantees for Irish
The Irish Times reports that the Irish government is facing opposition to its demand for legally binding 'guarantees' on the Lisbon Treaty because some EU states fear it will reopen the Treaty debate in their own countries. The Irish government was offered a series of 'guarantees' last year on a number of issues including taxation, neutrality and workers' rights in return for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but with no clear plan as to how the 'guarantees' might become legally binding.

A meeting of EU ambassadors to discuss the text of the 'guarantees' was scheduled for today but it was cancelled last night because of problems that emerged at bilateral meetings between Irish officials and their EU counterparts. Reportedly, Britain, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden have raised concerns about the text of the 'guarantees'.

The article reports that it is understood that Britain, in particular, is very nervous about reopening a national debate on Lisbon by agreeing to ratify an Irish protocol on the 'guarantees' through the House of Commons, and that a final agreement on the nature of the 'guarantees' will have to be found at next week's summit to enable a second referendum to be held in the autumn.

Czech PM Jan Fischer writes for European Voice, that the Irish 'guarantees', "will not reopen the issue of ratification" of the Lisbon Treaty in other member states.

Meanwhile, Conservative Home has published an open letter to Polish President Lech Kaczy?ski from Daniel Kawczynski MP, urging the President to "be a friend to the British people", and withhold his signature from the Lisbon Treaty, which is holding up its ratification in Poland, until a Conservative government is elected in the UK and can give UK voters a referendum on the Treaty.
Irish Times Conservative Home European Voice

Telegraph: 'Dangerously authoritarian' EU security proposals rely on the Lisbon Treaty;
EU Security Commissioner: "National frontiers should no longer restrict our activities"
The Telegraph reports that proposals to create a centralised EU identity card register, internet and satellite surveillance systems, and biometric and risk profiling systems risk creating a 'surveillance state'. The proposals, included in the so-called "Stockholm programme", will be discussed by European justice ministers on 15 July with the aim of finishing work on the EU's first ever internal security policy by the end of 2009.

Jacques Barrot, the European Justice and Security Commissioner said: "National frontiers should no longer restrict our activities". Tony Bunyan, of the European Civil Liberties Network has warned that EU security officials are seeking to harness new information technology without asking "political and moral questions first". Under the plans the scope of information available to law enforcement agencies and "public security organisations" would be extended from the sharing of existing DNA and fingerprint databases, kept and stored for new digital generation ID cards, to include CCTV video footage and material gathered from internet surveillance.

EU officials told the Telegraph that the radical plans will need powers contained within the Lisbon Treaty, currently awaiting a second Irish vote this autumn. "The British and some others will not like it as it moves policy to the EU," said an official. "Some of things we want to do will only be realistic with the Lisbon Treaty in place, so we need that too."

The article notes that the Lisbon Treaty creates a secretive new Standing Committee for Internal Security, known as COSI, to co-ordinate policy between national forces and EU organisations such as Europol, the Frontex borders agency, the European Gendarmerie Force and the Brussels intelligence sharing Joint Situation Centre or Sitcen.
Telegraph Le Monde

City professionals worry that UK Government is too weak to defend them from EU regulation
A number of UK bankers and brokers have told the FT that they believe Gordon Brown and his ministers are too weak and distracted by their domestic political travails to lobby effectively in Europe and defend them from tough new European rules on financial regulation. "There is a strong perception in the City that Gordon Brown has forgotten us and may even be offering us up on a platter to France and Germany in exchange for supportive noises," said one private equity leader.

The article quotes Tim Linacre, Chief Executive of stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, saying "You have to be worried about having a politically enfeebled prime minister whose thumbprints are all over the current regulatory system. London could end up being significantly weakened."

Meanwhile, an article on EurActiv argues that European policymakers no longer defer to Britain on financial regulation issues, and quotes Graham Bishop, a former banker who advises the EU on financial regulation, saying "The UK government is not going to be in a position to argue the toss at EU finance ministers' meetings".
FT Guardian BBC EurActiv

Javier Solana: "The Lisbon Treaty is necessary, even if it isn't perfect"
El Pais reports that, during a conference in Madrid, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana argued the "Lisbon Treaty is necessary, even if it isn't perfect" and said he was certain that it would be approved. He added "Europe is a nice dream converted into a reality. Now it is a necessity. We would be mad...it would be foolishness, if we allow ourselves to lose it".

He also expressed his disappointment at the low turnout in the European elections, saying "I don't know if we realised that we were electing an institution which will be very important, which will have the power of codecision with governments. Perhaps someone should have clarified this a bit earlier". He added that voter apathy bothers him more than the presence of eurosceptics in the European Parliament.
El Pais ABC

Commission set to propose legislation to punish risky banks
European Voice reports that the European Commission is due to publish draft legislation next week which will "punish banks that encourage their traders to take excessive risks." The proposal would allow financial supervisors to impose 'capital sanctions' on banks whose bonus system for traders is deemed irresponsible, thereby forcing banks to increase their core capital requirements, according to the article.
European Voice

Mandelson attacks UK voters' "rising mood of national insularity"
The Mail reports that Lord Mandelson will today attack the "bunker mentality" and "rising mood of national insularity" which he believes UK voters displayed in the European elections. In a speech in Berlin, Lord Mandelson will insist the answer to the economic crisis is closer ties with the EU. The former EU Trade Commissioner will say: "Eurosceptic gains in the European Parliament elections last weekend suggest a rising mood of national insularity, at least for some. But I believe our reaction to this crisis, if we get it right, can make Europe stronger for the future."
Mail

Spanish EU Minister: It is necessary to prevent the growth of "eurosceptic contamination"
El Mundo reports that Spain has called on conservatives and socialists in the European Parliament to form a large coalition. Spanish EU Minister Diego López Garrido said "more than ever a large coalition is necessary", to prevent the growth of "eurosceptic contamination". He indicated that this would be a priority for the Spanish Presidency of the EU, as well as implementing the Lisbon Treaty, assuming the Irish vote 'Yes' in the second referendum, as polls indicate. Garrido said Lisbon is an "urgent" matter to counteract the "erosion" the EU has suffered since the failure of the European Constitution.
El Mundo

ECB extends help outside eurozone to Swedish Central Bank as it fears a bank crisis in 2010The FT reports that the European Central Bank has stepped in to help avert a Baltic financial crisis by lending €3bn to the Central Bank in Sweden, whose banks dominate the region's financial sector. The article reports that the ECB has previously been wary to extend help beyond the eurozone.

Meanwhile, EU Economic Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has reportedly stressed the need for Latvia to sustain its budget cuts over the long term, noting the importance of keeping the Lat's pegging to the euro, given Riga's high level of foreign debt. On the Fistful of Euros blog, Economist Edward Hughes writes that "there is now evidently a growing consensus among observers that some sort of devaluation is well nigh inevitable, with the only real question being when."

The Telegraph reports that the ECB fears a bank crisis in 2010, writing that "while attention has been focused on Latvia's currency peg, large losses are building up in Hungary, the Balkans, Russia and Turkey." It also reports that 30 percent of fund managers polled at a conference by rating agency Fitch said they expect defaults in several eastern European states, with west European banks having $1.6 trillion of exposure to the region.FT Eurointelligence Di Newsdesk Sweden EUobserver Times EurActiv WSJ WSJ: Editorial Irish Times FFOE blog Telegraph

French court rules against controversial "three strike" rule on internet access as ministers meet to discuss EU telecoms package
Euractiv reports that government ministers are to discuss the EU's telecoms package at a meeting in Luxembourg today. The proposal reached an impasse when MEPs inserted an amendment intended to stop internet providers cutting off internet access without a court order. The amendment was targeted at a French law which would have allowed service providers to cut off internet access to suspected illegal downloaders, after three warnings.

However, Le Figaro reports that France's Constitutional Council yesterday struck down the key provision in the controversial law. As a result, the French law will be enacted without the "third-strike" of cutting off internet access. Instead the government agency will only be permitted to send out mail and email warnings to suspected pirates. If it wants to further sanction an alleged illegal downloader, it will have to go to court.
WSJ Le Figaro Le Figaro 2 Le Figaro 3 Le Monde Coulisses de Bruxelles EurActiv

Paris wants to delay Barroso re-nomination until Lisbon Treaty is ratified
Le Figaro writes that Jose Manual Barroso formally announced his candidature for the presidency of the European Commission on Tuesday. He is supported by Angela Merkel, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jose Luis Zapatero. Reinforced by the performance of the right in last week's elections, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner declared that he 'could not imagine' that Barroso would not be re-nominated.

Le Monde reports that Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt favours the official re-nomination to take place at the EU summit on the 18 and 19 of June. However, many socialists and liberal MEPs have begun talk of an 'anti-Barroso' coalition. It also reports that Paris would like to delay his appointment until the definitive ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. EUobserver reports that this would allow the appointment of the EU Foreign Minister and EU President, posts which will be newly created by the Lisbon Treaty.
Figaro Toute l'Europe Le Monde Le Monde 2 EUobserver
Far-right struggles to form group in the European Parliament
EUobserver reports that despite the gains that far right parties across Europe made in the recent elections, they are finding it difficult to piece together a coalition held on common interests in the European Parliament. There were initial worries that the new far-right members would form a bloc, allowing them access to thousands of euros in EU funds. The article notes that while Geert Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) or the Danish People's Party are opposed to migrants, Muslims and minorities, they are reluctant to embrace the 'militant nationalism' of the the British National Party, or France's Front National.
EUobserver Coulisses de Bruxelles

EPP and PES set to confirm shared EP Presidency
European Voice reports that the centre-right EPP and the socialist PES groups in the European Parliament are set to continue the arrangement by which they share the Presidency of the EP over its five year term, despite gains which saw the EPP become by far the largest group. Some EPP figures had called on their leader Joseph Daul to break the deal because the centre-right did so much better in the elections.
European Voice

Writing in the Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash argues that the Conservatives' decision to leave the EPP group in the European Parliament sends the message: "prepare for the British again to be the spoilers, the naysayers, the ­foot-draggers of Europe."
Guardian: Garton Ash

UK

The BBC reports that former Europe Minister Caroline Flint has said she resigned from the cabinet because Gordon Brown questioned her loyalty. Ms Flint told GMTV she resigned because "I didn't feel Gordon Brown had full confidence in my loyalty".
BBC

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.