Open Europe press summary: 19 June 2009

Europe

Irish PM says it is "necessary" for 'guarantees' on Lisbon Treaty to be in the form of a protocol
EU leaders are meeting today in Brussels to thrash out the details of the 'deal' to be offered to Ireland in return for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Open Europe's debate at The Centre in Brussels yesterday on the nature of the 'guarantees' being discussed is reported in the Irish Independent and the Irish Times. At the debate, newly elected Irish MEP Joe Higgins said, "What we will witness at the European Council today is an elaborate charade. The so-called guarantees are simply designed to throw dust in the eyes of ordinary people in Ireland to give them the impression that something fundamental has been changed in the Lisbon Treaty compared to 12 months ago. It is exactly the same text, word by word, not even a comma has been changed".

Former Danish MEP Jens Peter Bonde, reacting from the audience, said "These declarations are politically binding, but they have no legal value. All of the Danish 'guarantees' have been breached, every single one of them, so they are not legally binding guarantees". Bruno Waterfield, Brussels correspondent for the Telegraph, said the 'guarantees' are "a kind of a cartoon depiction of what the leaders think the Irish referendum was about."

The Parliament reports that, following a debate on Irish radio RTE with Irish Europe Minister Dick Roche, Bonde said "he [Roche] misled the Irish public on the treaty in the debate with me... Contrary to what he said, the fact is that a treaty can only be changed by a new treaty agreed upon between all governments and then ratified by each member state. There is no other way. A decision at the summit can only become binding for the EU institutions through ratification. If the decision is turned into an agreement under international law it can bind governments politically... Dick Roche could take a fresh course in EU law at Trinity College and send his apologies instead of criticising me for being misleading".

The Irish Times reports that a deal on the 'guarantees' for Ireland are being held up by British objection to attaching any 'guarantees' as a protocol to the next EU treaty. According to PA, Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said today's final round of summit discussions on the issue were less about the text of the Irish guarantees but about "how to construe the word protocol".

In a letter published in the Irish Times, Irish PM Brian Cowen pleads with Gordon Brown to agree to a commitment to insert the 'guarantees' into EU law. He said, "in order to provide the maximum possible legal reassurance to the Irish people, I need to be able to come out of our meeting and state, without fear of contradiction, that the legal guarantees contained in the Decision will, in time, acquire full Treaty status by way of a Protocol...The sole purpose of this protocol will be to give Treaty force to the clarifications contained in the Decision, which are entirely in conformity with the Treaties. I want to emphasise sincerely, that this is necessary if I am to call, and win, a second referendum".

An article in the Irish Times reports that "European leaders will this morning give Ireland the guarantees on the Lisbon Treaty it has sought, crucially with a pledge to incorporate them in a future EU treaty."

The Telegraph reports that EU diplomats have told the paper that the arrangement Cowen is suggesting would require the opening of full-blown treaty negotiations next year, possibly allowing a new Conservative government to renegotiate the power balance between Britain and Brussels. It quotes an unnamed official saying, "Some people see this as a Pandora's box. It could be used by Conservatives to reopen the question of EU powers over [Britain's] social affairs."

According to the Belfast Telegraph, "The legal guarantees being provided to the Irish Government do not change the Lisbon Treaty, but will be incorporated in the next treaty agreed between EU leaders, which will probably be a document to approve Croatia's membership."

PA quotes Open Europe Director Lorraine Mullally saying, "Either the text of the Treaty is changed, meaning it needs re-ratification in every EU country - a huge problem for Mr Brown - or it stays the same, meaning Irish people will be made to vote on exactly the same text they rejected last year, which is precisely what the Irish government promised not to do...This is an extension of the dishonest fudge that saw EU leaders trying to pretend that the Lisbon Treaty was different from the Constitutional Treaty rejected by France and the Netherlands in 2005. It is EU politics at its absolute worst."
FT FT: Brussels blog Irish Times: Letter Irish Times Irish Times 2 Irish Independent Irish Independent 2 Guardian BBC EUobserver European Voice European Voice 2 Irish Times 3 Irish Independent 3 OE Blog Times Independent Telegraph AFP Le Monde El Mundo El Pais ORF Handelsblatt Belfast Telegraph Irish Independent 4

Brown blocks attempts to give EU regulators power over bank bailouts, concedes UK leadership role in proposed financial 'early warning system'
The WSJ reports that EU leaders have endorsed plans for new EU powers over financial supervision at this week's summit. The plans include the creation of a European System of Financial Supervisors (ESFS), which will set standards for national regulators to supervise banks, insurers and securities firms and a European Systemic Risk Council that will track the financial system for stability.

The Telegraph notes that the plans for a the ESFS would incorporate national bodies into a single EU authority, "endowed with legal personality", a prospect that has alarmed British officials. "There is the possibility of EU regulators overruling national regulators," said one.

The FT notes that the UK has made clear it will resist proposals to give EU supervisors the right to impose decisions on national supervisors if there are disagreements - for example, over how to bail out a stricken bank. Diplomats said the summit communiqué would say that EU-level decisions would "not impinge in any way on the fiscal responsibilities of the member states". According to the Times, Gordon Brown said, "The fiscal authority in the case of Britain is Britain".

The second point of contention is who will head the European Systemic Risk Council. The Commission's original proposal envisages the body being chaired by the President of the European Central Bank but Britain has argued that this risks sidelining member states outside of the eurozone. However, it appears Brown may have conceded on this point in order to secure assurances that the new EU regulators will not have the power to order national governments to bail out struggling banks and other bodies.

On his blog, the BBC's Europe Editor Mark Mardell sums up the negotiations as follows: "The word is that Brown has got what he wanted: words written into the agreement on a new financial watchdog that give an assurance it can't commit national governments to spend money. But he loses the row about who gets to chair another new body which acts as an early warning system: it is going to be the head of the ECB, which rules out a Brit."

The FT notes that the current discussions only relate to a Commission 'communication', commenting that "neither the British nor countries such as France that are heavily supportive of the supervision reforms appeared inclined to risk an open row exploding at the summit. Disputes are likely to be put off until the autumn, when formal legislation is expected to be proposed."
FT Irish Times Irish Times 2 Irish Independent Mail Guardian EU Referendum blog European Voice EUobserver BBC: Mardell blog Le Monde Le Monde Le Monde2 WSJ Times Independent Telegraph

EU leaders give unanimous support to Barroso for second five-year term
The Irish Times reports that Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso last night presented his programme for a second mandate before EU leaders, saying "I believe that in a time of crisis we need more than ever a strong EU and a strong European Commission. We need more not less Europe". Barroso succeeded in gaining the unanimous support of EU leaders, but he will still have to gain majority approval in the European Parliament. The article notes that this could provoke a procedural row, with the EPP wanting the vote to take place on 15 July and some MEPs wanting it deferred until the Lisbon Treaty has been ratified, which would set a higher threshold to win a majority.

El Mundo reports that Barroso may not have sufficient support in the European Parliament to win a majority (369 votes out of 736), with the Greens and some Socialists having voiced their opposition to his candidacy. However EurActiv reports that Barroso emphasised the cross-party support he received from EU leaders and the need "to think beyond political parties" and "be political but not partisan".
Irish Times EurActiv EurActiv 2 European Voice EUobserver Diario de Noticias El Mundo El Pais Le Monde Le Figaro Le Figaro2 Coulisses de Bruxelles El Mundo El País ABC Coulisses de Bruxelles Liberation

In Le Monde, former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing argues that the EU "can only assert itself by correcting the weakness of its executive". He argues that the Council and Commission Presidents and other senior EU leaders should not be "chosen by inner circle conversations" and instead that there should be a democratic process with clear policies proposed before the election.
Le Monde

In a letter to the FT Howard Flight, Chairman of fund management firm Flight & Partners, argues that the EU's proposals to regulate hedge funds are "hastily put together, ill thought out and high-cost proposals".
FT: Letters

Süddeutsche reports that an estimated one thousand milk producers protested in Brussels yesterday during the European Council meeting over falling milk prices in the EU.
Le Monde Euronews AFP

The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports the Czech Presidency has removed a poll on Commission President Barroso from its website. The survey asked "Should Jose Manuel Barroso be appointed President of the Commission again?" According to Jean Quatremer, there was a resounding 'No' vote and the Czechs felt it could cause diplomatic problems.
Coulisses de Bruxelles

Expansión reports that several groups, including the European Trade Union Confederation and BusinessEurope, yesterday agreed to a parental leave agreement which would increase leave from three to four months for each parent. The agreement will apply to all employees regardless of their type of contract and when parents return to work they will be able to request a change in working conditions. The agreement will now be examined by the Commission and must be approved by the Council.
Expansion Commission Press Release

EurActiv reports that Italian and Polish Prime Ministers yesterday failed to reach an agreement on their nomination for an EPP candidate for President of the European Parliament, with the decision being postponed until 7 July. Italy's candidate is current EP Vice-President Mario Mauro while Poland has chosen former Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that "a vote is likely to be the solution".
EurActiv EUobserver

In a report on "the end of the Irish economic miracle", the FT Deutschland notes that the interest rate level set by the European Central Bank was too high for Ireland at the start of monetary union and has lead to the creation of speculatory bubbles. FTD

A headline in the Independent reads "UK still semi-detached from Europe", arguing that during the EU Summit, Gordon Brown "has appeared a lonely figure attempting to bat away demands for Europe-wide financial regulation that would badly impact on London". The article concludes "If we are to influence policy, we are going to have to throw ourselves into the debate as a committed member of the Union."
Independent: Leader

The Economist's Charlemagne column looks at growing unemployment in the EU and argues, "high unemployment scares politicians more than most other things".
Economist: Charlemagne

On Conservative Home, Jonathan Delaney, Professor at Montgomery College, Maryland, argues that the European Security & Defence Policy "is an unfolding disaster, an unnecessary vanity project as the EU seeks to acquire for itself the characteristics of statehood" and that British rejection of it could lead to fundamental reform of the EU.
Conservative Home

Le Figaro reports that Croatia's entry to the EU could be delayed until 2011, with negotiations expected to be completed by the end of this year.
No link

Le Figaro reports that the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies has declared France will come out of the recession before the end of 2009.
Le Figaro Le Monde

FT Deutschland reports that Iceland's wish to apply for membership by the end of July this year is an "ambitious and unrealistic" goal according to EU enlargement experts.
FTD
An analysis article in the FT looks at the importance of the EU's single market.
FT
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.