Open Europe press summary: 14 July 2009

Europe

Demonstrations expected in Stockholm against EU-wide surveillance scheme
Stockholm expects to see around 30 different demonstrations this week when EU ministers meet under the Swedish Presidency, reports Dagens Nyheter. Major demonstrations are expected in connection with the EU Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Ministers (JHA Council), which will discuss the 'Stockholm Programme'. Plans entailed in the programme to create a centralised EU surveillance body are particularly controversial, and several different civil liberties groups have raised concerns over the plans' implications for privacy rights.

A leader in Expressen argues that the Stockholm Programme risks becoming a "milestone on the road towards a more repressive Big Brother-EU...In accordance with the tradition, the public was not supposed to know the details of the [Stockholm] programme before it's too late to protest [against] it. The only reason we know is because many of the details have in fact been leaked. Should there be a Europe wide surveillance regime the EU should at least bother to discuss it with the people it seeks to monitor."
Expressen Dagens Nyheter

Sun: German Court decision on Lisbon Treaty rejects EP as a democratic body
The Sun reports that German Constitutional Court judges called the Lisbon Treaty an "illegal power grab", in their judgement last week, as the Treaty takes away sovereignty from nation states in a number of areas, such as the right to set laws on defence, taxes, the police and education. The Treaty cannot be ratified in Germany until a new law guaranteeing the rights of the German parliament in the EU-decision making process has been approved by the parliament. Open Europe is quoted as saying: "British MPs need to wake up -- and demand the same powers."

A leader in the Sun writes that the German court decision "even rejects the EU Parliament as a democratic body - pointing out that it does not even have a proper Opposition. This must surely put paid forever to the grandiose dream of a European superstate?"

Meanwhile Czech daily, the Prague Monitor reports that some Czech Senators have indicated that they might lodge a complaint over the Treaty with the Czech Constitutional Court in the first half of August.
Sun EUobserver Sun: Leader Prague Monitor

Butter mountains to return to the EU
EU agriculture ministers have agreed to continue buying off excess butter and skimmed milk powder until March 2010, despite plans to end the measure in August, amounting to a subsidy worth €27 million, Die Presse reports.

European Voice notes that the measures are expected to be signed off in October, despite objections from the UK and Denmark, who oppose the plans on principle. It notes that the Commission has bought 81,000 tonnes of butter and 203,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder this year. The extension agreed yesterday means that an extra 31,000 tonnes of butter and 50,000 tonnes of skimmed-milk powder is likely to be bought between September 2009 and January 2010.

Le Monde reports that dairy farmers are set to demonstrate today in Strasbourg in the hope that MEPs will decide on a reducing of dairy quotas, to increase dairy prices, and that a fixed regulation of the sector will be established.
European Voice Liberation Le Monde European Voice RTE News l Die Presse Handelsblatt Kerknet Kauppalehti Maerkische Allgemeine European Voice

Pöttering calls on "pro-European MEPs to co-operate well so the anti-Europeans cannot make their voices heard so strongly"
The Times reports that, during the inaugural session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, Hans-Gert Pöttering, outgoing President of the European Parliament said, "I think it is very important that the pro-European MEPs co-operate well so the anti-Europeans cannot make their voices heard so strongly." The article notes that the opening ceremony involved the raising of the European flag by the Eurocorps and Beethoven's Ode to Joy (the European Anthem).

Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that critics have accused federalists of hijacking the opening ceremony, noting that symbols of statehood such as the anthem were dropped from the Lisbon Treaty following the French and Dutch 'No' votes to the EU Constitution in 2005. Timothy Kirkhope, leader of Conservative MEPs in the Parliament, said "These displays are Europe attempting to take upon itself a character that the vast majority of its citizens do not want."

El País reports that former Polish PM Jerzy Buzek was elected yesterday as President of the European Parliament but that Barroso's nomination as President of the Commission is still at risk. According to the article, a member of the EPP said "if Barroso isn't elected in July, his candidature is practically dead". EurActiv reports that Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, has formulated eleven demands for the next President of the Commission, which the article reports appear to be largely inspired by the Socialists' own manifesto for the European elections.

The IHT carries the headline "Heading European Parliament Brings Prestige, Not Power or Pay", noting that Buzek will receive the same salary as an MEP but "all official travel is paid for and the president has the V.I.P. trappings of an international leader".
Times BBC Telegraph El Pais IHT BBC El Mundo El Mundo 2 Le Figaro El Mundo 3 EurActiv El Mundo 4

New EU directive aims to control banks' remuneration and proprietary policies
An EU directive published on Monday would require that banks "roughly double current trading book capital requirements" the FT reports. The document, which was published with the Basel Committee's draft global rules for financial regulation, could cost banks profits, as it would be twice as expensive to practice proprietary trading, or betting with the banks' own money.

City AM and EurActiv note that the EU directive will further regulate the market by targeting banks' remuneration policies and penalising bonuses that encourage unnecessary risk. The WSJ states that key industry lobbying group, European Banking Association, warns that banking supervisors should not have control over the remuneration policies of banks.
FT City AM EUobserver EurActiv WSJ El Pais Forbes RP

FT: EU's proposed directive on hedge funds will depend heavily on who serves as 'rapporteur'
An analysis in the FT looks at the EU's proposed directive on alternative investment funds and writes that amendments to the proposal are likely, but "progress in parliament is hard to predict because of deal-making over party agendas and jockeying for committee posts following last month's elections... Much will depend on who serves as 'rapporteur' - the MEP whose job is to oversee the legislation's passage through the parliament." It goes on to say, "if, as often happens, the parliament and council end up with substantially different legislative texts [on the directive], the real haggling will start. A crucial role could be played by diplomats from Spain or Belgium, the next to hold the rotating presidency. An additional unknown is who will take over from Charlie McCreevy as internal market commissioner."

Meanwhile, writing to the Guardian, Conservative MEP John Purvis urges the hedge fund and private equity industries to "open up and build alliances across Europe and within the European institutions to tackle this politically inspired and misguided legislation."
FT: Analysis Guardian: Letters City AM

Barroso: Irish must vote Yes to keep commissioner
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has warned Ireland that they must vote Yes to the Lisbon Treaty in order to keep the right of appointing a Commissioner, the Irish Times reports. Barroso said in an interview, "With Lisbon it would be always possible to have one commissioner per member state... if you keep Nice then member states will not have the possibility to send a member to the commission all the time. So that is an important argument to vote for Lisbon I believe".
Irish Times

Turkmenistan and Iraq say they are ready to supply Nabucco gas pipeline
The Telegraph reports that four EU countries and Turkey have signed a deal to build the €7.9 billion Nabucco gas pipeline. It will have the capacity to pump 31 billion cubic metres of gas from the Caspian Sea to Austria, bypassing Russia. The article notes that both Turkmenistan and Iraq have indicated that they could provide supplies for the pipeline.

A leader in the FT notes that "Nabucco remains far from a done deal: it is unclear where the gas will come from", saying that, "Iran, Turkmenistan and Iraq have large reserves, but hardly qualify as riskless sources of supply". The IHT quotes Ana Jelenkovic, an Analyst at Eurasia Group in London, adding, "We have no map. There are no committed supplies, and no committed financing."
Telegraph 1 Telegraph 2 Euractiv FT FT: Leader WSJ 1 WSJ 2 IHT Le Monde Irish Times Zeit DPA FTD Wiwo Seeking Alpha Sueddeutsche

New temporary 'financial perspectives' committee to be created in 2012?
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports that an agreement between the main parties foresees the creation in January 2012 of a temporary European Parliamentary committee on 'financial perspectives' (focussing on the budget of the EU). Quatremer adds that it seems likely the Committee President will be from the EPP and the rapporteur a liberal.
Coulisses de Bruxelles

EurActiv reports that the EU's central web portal Europa is being revamped and will be unveiled in the coming weeks. The article reports that EU officials now admit "there is too much information and it is hard to know where to start looking".
EurActiv

The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports that French MEPs have been excluded from senior posts in the European Parliament Bureau (Vice-Presidents and Quaestors), despite gaining control of some committees. A French diplomat said "It is the first time for a very, very long time that this has happened".
Coulisses de Bruxelles

The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports that EPP President Joseph Daul has confirmed that the European Socialists are ready to vote on the investiture of Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on 16 September. Daul however added that it will be formally decided tomorrow during a meeting of the presidents of the main political groups in the European Parliament.
Coulisses de Bruxelles

An opinion piece in the WSJ by Andrew Wilson and Nicu Popescu, Policy Fellows at the European Council on Foreign Relations, argues that the EU's policy toward eastern Europe should not be based on the "remote prospect of accession, nor on 'enlargement-lite' policies that are effectively trying to export the EU's rulebook and promote EU interests without offering accession or substantial financial assistance in exchange."
WSJ

EUobserver reports that non-EU countries Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein will renew a scheme to fund energy, social and democracy projects in the EU's poorest member states.
EUobserver

The Telegraph reports that the newly elected BNP MEPs will collect combined salaries and allowances worth over £700,000 a year.
Telegraph

Spain's Partido Popular (PP) is urging José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's government to produce an agenda for the country's upcoming EU presidency with concrete themes on which the government will focus during the six month period. In a press conference yesterday, he noted that Spain's priorities will be tackling illegal immigration and strengthening Frontex.
El Mundo El Mundo 2

The WSJ reports that the European Association of Automotive Suppliers has started pushing for the EU to set up a €3 billion fund that would let auto suppliers that are owed money by car makers get paid sooner, as many are suffering from cash flow problems.
WSJ

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