Open Europe press summary: 26 June 2009

Europe

McCreevy admits most EU voters would reject Lisbon Treaty if they had the chance
According to the Belfast Telegraph, EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has this morning admitted that the Lisbon Treaty would have been rejected in most member states if it had been put to a public vote, and that many EU leaders were glad they had no legal obligation to hold referendums on the treaty in their own countries.
Belfast Telegraph

Finnish MEP tipped for Conservative group over-claimed €200 for every trip to his constituency
Helsingin Sanomat reports that Finnish MEP Hannu Takkula, who recently left the newly formed European Conservative and Reformist group in the European Parliament, has claimed a total of €130,000 from the European Parliament to cover travel between Brussels and his constituency, but has instead travelled to his home town, claiming an extra €200 per trip. Under European Parliament rules, Takkula can receive money to cover the cost of travelling to his constituency, which is Rovaniemi, but instead, Takkula has been travelling to his home town of Turku, where his family have lived for several years. The newspaper notes that the cost of travelling to Turku is around €200 cheaper per trip than the cost of travelling to Rovaniemi, suggesting Takkula has made a profit on each trip he claimed for.

Over the five-year mandate, Takkula has reportedly claimed €25,600 per year. Takkula said "There is nothing unclear about this. I have officially changed my city of residence at the EP in spring this year".

Nelonen further reports that Takkula was not a legitimate candidate in last year's local elections, according to the Finnish court, because he ran for a city that was not his town of residence. "He should never have been allowed to stand for candidacy", the court announced.
Coulisses de Bruxelles HS Nykypaiva Nelonen Iltalehti Helsinki Times Helsingin Sanomat

Czech social democrat party considers suspending President Vaclav Klaus' powers over refusal to sign Lisbon Treaty
EU Observer reports that the Czech social democrat party is considering suspending President Vaclav Klaus' powers if he refuses to sign the Lisbon Treaty. The article notes "temporary suspension would require a simple majority of 41 votes in the country's 81-seat senate and would allow caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer to sign the document instead". The Lisbon Treaty has been ratified by the Czech Parliament and Senate but its compatibility with the Czech Constitution is currently being analysed by the Czech Constitutional Court with a decision expected in September.

Klaus has vowed to be the last to sign the Treaty and will wait until Germany, Poland and Ireland have ratified it in the hope that the Conservatives may be elected in the UK by then. Former Constitutional Court judge Vojtech Cepl said "There is nothing in the constitution that gives the president the right to veto decisions of the country's highest institutions." However, senate press spokesman, Petr Kostka said "The probability is very low. It's the opinion of just a few senators and not of the whole chamber. The president of the senate, Mr Premysl Sobotka [an ODS party member], has said he doesn't agree with the suspension."
EU Observer

WSJ: "In some countries they rig votes, in the European Union they repeat votes to get the desired result"
An editorial in the WSJ looks at the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and begins, "In some countries they rig votes, in the European Union they repeat votes to get the desired result." It goes on to argue, "To justify a revote, EU leaders put on a big show at last week's summit, giving the impression of tough negotiations in which Dublin supposedly won important concessions...Oh really? According to the EU summit's own conclusions, the protocol 'will clarify but not change either the content or the application of the Treaty of Lisbon.' So the Irish will vote on the same text they previously rejected by a seven-percentage-point margin despite assurances by their government as recently as last month that this would not happen."

Meanwhile Adrian Michaels in the Telegraph writes, "If democracy is about listening to the people, then Iran isn't the only place where things have got a bit strained. A year ago, 53 per cent of Irish voters declined to ratify the substantial increase of the European Union's powers and reach enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty. Yet in early October, the country will be holding another referendum, in which the people will be given a chance to come up with a better answer."
Open Europe briefing WSJ Economist Telegraph: Michaels

City fears that squabbling between Treasury, BoE and FSA could damage UK's case in Europe
The Times reports that bankers and City lawyers fear that squabbling officials at the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority may be damaging the reputation of London as one of the world's premier financial centres and that they may also be distracted from fighting Britain's corner in the debate over greater EU regulation for the financial services sector.

Robert Turner, a partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons, said: "There are many in the City who would like to see less infighting and more effort going into defending the interests of Britain in Europe."
Times

European Commission wants database for all 500 million citizens, raising "big brother" concerns
The European Commission has proposed to set up a new agency to oversee all its large-scale IT systems, thereby bringing together management of three key systems - the Schengen Information System, Visa Information System and Eurodac - plus other related applications, into a single operational structure. Webwereld reports that human right groups have expressed fears for big brother implications, as this would mean that data on all 500 million European Union citizens and all illegal migrants would be merged into a database for "freedom and security". The cost of the system would be €113 million in the first 3 years, and later €10 million per year following that.
Computing.co.uk Webwereld

Turkish Minister: New French EU affairs Minister "could be a good catalyst" for Turkey joining EU
Le Monde reports that new EU Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche has said he would follow "the government line" with regard to Turkey's EU accession and would like to see "Turkey with Europe", rather than Turkey in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports that Ankara is rejoicing at Lellouche's appointment. Turkish EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis referred to Lellouche as "one of my great friends" and said "he could be a good catalyst". He said "If Nicolas Sarkozy, who knows him well, appointed him to this post, it is for good reason. I believe he will influence other members of the government and convince them of the advantages of the accession of Turkey and therefore good sense will prevail in the end". Bagis added that "Turkey will accept nothing less than full and complete accession" and that it is carrying out reforms to live "according to the democratic and economic standards of the Union".

The FT blog notes that Turkey's "entry into the EU is indisputably a long way off" despite creeping "forward one more inch" through formal talks with the EU on taxation next Tuesday.
Coulisses de Bruxelles El Pais European Voice FT: Brussels blog Le Monde Le Monde2

Economist: Conservatives' new EP grouping may be symptom of Britain's relationship with EU
An article in the Economist argues that the problem with the Conservatives' new grouping in the EP is "structural" because "Europe makes even centrist voters cross in Britain, yet centrists on the continent are overwhelmingly pro-EU. So to find allies who share their Euroscepticism, Tories have to seek out populists and angry nationalists. Mr Cameron's new band of allies may be a symptom of Britain's strained relationship with Europe rather than a solution to it."

Meanwhile, European Voice reports that Swedish Moderate Party MEP Gunnar Hökmark has lost his post of Vice-President of the EPP, which the article argues is a sign that the group is becoming less keen on enlargement and free market economics since the UK Conservatives and Czech Civic Democrats left the grouping.

Die Presse writes that the 'grand coalition' between the EPP and the socialist group is likely to crumble due to disagreements about the Commission President's appointment. Together the EPP and the socialist group account for 447 of the 736 seats in the new EP. At the same time, the Swedish 'Pirate Party' has joined the green group in the EP.
European Voice Economist Die Presse El Mundo

EU sues Germany for Bavarian resistance to publish CAP recipients
EU authorities have started proceedings against the Germany over the failure to publish a list of recipients of CAP subsidies, Süddeutsche reports. Bavarian resistance to publish recipients of EU farm subsidies may lead to massive sanctions for Germany. Bavaria's Agriculture Minister Helmut Brunner said "To me it is not about publishing the data, but rather to what extent privacy of the farmers is protected". Brunner himself received €10,000 in EU subsidies last year, but says "I am not only a politician, but also a farmer". The German government has one month to clarify the situation before legal action will be taken.
Süddeutsche Zeit ARD

UK wants global carbon emissions to peak by 2020
The Guardian reports that, in the run up to the Copenhagen climate change conference, Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has said that greenhouse gas output should peak and begin to decline by 2020, to "irreversibly break" the trend of rising emissions.

The Copenhagen climate change conference in December will see negotiations intended to replace the Kyoto protocol in setting national limits on carbon pollution. Miliband said that Britain, which will negotiate the new agreement as part of the EU bloc, was pushing for the new deal to force emissions from developed nations to reach a peak by 2015. PA notes that the EU has pledged to cut its emissions by 20% and raise that to 30% by 2020 if a global deal is secured at Copenhagen.
Guardian Le Monde

EU environment ministers agree plan to cut industrial emissions
The FT reports that European environment ministers agreed yesterday on a plan which would reduce industrial emissions throughout Europe. New laws would aim to cut pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and dust emitted by industrial facilities by a third by 2020.

The plans were approved with a narrow majority after conflict between countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Germany, who pressed for tighter pollution targets, and the UK and Poland who have a heavy reliance on coal-fired power plants.

The regulations, when passed through the European Parliament, will demand that all operators of power generators, refineries and combustion plants must implement the most modern techniques to reduce pollution by 2020.
FT

The Irish Times highlights a report published by the Centre for European Policy Studies which shows achieving the objective set by the EU to keep the rise in global temperatures below two degrees will cost the economy €400 billion
Irish Times

The WSJ discusses the EU's financial regulatory proposals, quoting Lord Mandelson: "Is it possible to preserve the benefits of open trade and an open global economy, addressing macroeconomic risk while totally respecting the choices of sovereign governments? Not really".
WSJ

A leader in the Economist argues that Europe needs reform "to shift away from high taxes, generous and wasteful welfare states, and, most of all, overly regulated and inflexible product and labour markets", and that if Germany led the way it could be "not just Europe's biggest economy but also its intellectual leader."
Economist: Leader

In the FT, Tony Barber describes perceived Franco-German disagreements over monetary union and the role of the ECB as a "phoney tug of war", suggesting that "on the need for a strong currency, supported by a strong central bank, there is potentially more common ground between Berlin and Paris than meets the eye."
FT: Barber

The Economist's Charlemagne column looks at EU leaders' nomination for Jose Manuel Barroso's second term as Commission President and argues "If he does not enthuse some leaders, it is perhaps because Mr Barroso incarnates their bad conscience about their nationally minded behaviour. The more honest know they would not tolerate a commission boss willing to push their government into a corner and outvote them in the name of Europe."
Economist: Charlemagne

Le Monde reports that on Wednesday 24 June the European Commission published an action plan to combat terrorism, in particular weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological and chemical weapons).
Le Monde

In the Mail Tom Utley contemplates Dan Hannan's theory that Lord Mandelson helped prevent Gordon Brown being removed as PM in order to ensure the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. Utley argues "If you ask me, what we are witnessing here is the greatest conspiracy against our democracy in my 55-year lifetime".
Mail: Utley

The European Commission has said that it will refer Ireland to the ECJ over the exemption of the State-owned health insurer VHI from certain EU rules on non-life insurance, according to the Irish Times.
Irish Times

The EU Referendum blog reports that the European Commission has referred Italy to the ECJ for failing to respect a 2004 ruling that the country must recover illegal state aid.
EU Referendum blog

The FT reports that Russia is contemplating a huge bank bail-out.
FT

European Voice reports that Romania has set its sights on the agriculture portfolio for the next Commission and that Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu has "let slip" that instead of lobbying European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, the Romanian strategy is to charm French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
European Voice

The FT reports that in a move that has raised European concerns, Gazprom, the Russian gas group has entered into a $2.5bn joint venture with Nigeria's oil company.
FT BBC

The European Commission is taking Luxembourg to court over tax haven concerns, as it is accused of trying to get around the EU Savings Tax Directive on savings interest payments, reports EU Observer.EU Observer

According to the Guardian, Poland will present an updated euro adoption timetable by early August, suggesting that the 2012 target date for euro entry will be pushed back.
Handelsblatt Guardian

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