Open Europe press summary: 15 July 2009

Europe

House of Lords warns that British consumers might suffer under new EU proposal
A House of Lords report has warned that the EU's proposed Consumer Rights Directive threatens to dilute the UK's existing standard for consumer protection. The new EU rules will mean that the UK Government cannot offer British consumers additional safeguards, even if it would like to. Specifically, the report notes that consumers could lose their right to choose between the repair, replacement and reimbursement of defective goods. It also notes that traders' liability for faulty goods would be reduced from six to two years under the proposal.

The committee called on the UK Government not to go ahead with the proposal and "to await a more complete assessment of the likely impact." It also concluded that "we feel the Commission may be overly optimistic about the impact the Directive will have on cross-border trade. It is probably barriers of language and culture rather than regulation that mean most of us will continue to purchase the majority of our goods and services within our own national borders."
Telegraph House of Lords report

Louis Michel: European Parliament is "a very bureaucratic institution"
The Parliament reports that former EU Development Commissioner and newly elected Belgian MEP Louis Michel has criticised the European Parliament's "many procedures, rules and regulations", adding that "I admit that it is only my first day but the impression I get is that this a very bureaucratic institution, perhaps even more so than the commission."
The Parliament

Irish Funds Industry Association: EU hedge fund proposal could threaten Irish jobs
UK City Minister Lord Myners yesterday told the Lords EU Committee that the EU's proposed directive on hedge funds contains some serious "deficiencies" and that the UK Government is "reaching out bilaterally" with other non-EU countries to try to intensify pressure on the EU to alter the draft directive. He also said that seven working groups have been established, comprising Treasury officials and industry experts, that aim to propose an alternative to the draft Directive. Britain was "gaining traction" in persuading its EU partners to change the proposal, he said.

In particular, the government remains opposed to the use of arbitrary leverage caps - limits on the amount of money that hedge funds can borrow - in the proposal. The leverage cap proposals are "unnecessary, counterproductive and could lead to false comfort," said Lord Myners.

Meanwhile, Colm Breslin of the Irish Department of Finance yesterday told the Irish Parliamentary Committee on European Scrutiny that the proposal has run into opposition from almost every EU country and is unlikely to be finalised before the end of the current Swedish presidency. The Irish Independent notes that Carin Bryans, Vice Chairperson of the Irish Funds Industry Association and Managing Director of JP Morgan Bank, warned the committee that the burden associated with meeting the directive could lead funds to move their operations outside the EU, which in turn would have a negative impact on jobs. Fund administration is responsible for some 12,500 jobs in Dublin's financial centre, the article reports.
Reuters Irish Independent FT FT2 CityAM House of Lords EU Scrutiny Committee

Conservative MEP expelled for standing against ECR candidate for EP Vice-President
The Times reports that Conservative MEP Edward McMillan-Scott was expelled from the party yesterday after he stood as a candidate for Vice-President of the European Parliament, against the wishes of the European Conservatives and Reformists' group, who had chosen Polish MEP Michal Tomasz Kaminski as their candidate for the post. McMillan-Scott was elected last night and became one of the European Parliament's 14 Vice-Presidents, while Kaminski failed to secure enough votes.

PA reports that McMillan-Scott has insisted he is still a member of the new group even though Conservative leader David Cameron has removed the Conservative whip.

Conservative Home reports that Mr Kaminski was yesterday elected as leader of the ECR grouping, making it the first group to have a leader from one of the accession countries. It had originally been planned that a UK MEP would lead the group, according to Conservative MEP Dan Hannan writing on Conservative Home, but the outcome of the elections for EP Vice-Presidents "upset all the calculations".
Times Guardian Telegraph Conservative Home: Hannan Conservative Home Conservative Home 2 EUobserver EurActiv European Voice BBC Times 2 Guardian 2 Telegraph: Hannan blog Conservative Home 3 European Voice Parliament EUobserver2

Former Polish PM Jerzy Buzek elected President of EP with massive majority
Euractiv reports that Polish centre-right MEP, Jerzy Buzek, was yesterday elected by a massive majority as the new President of the European Parliament, receiving 555 of the 644 votes cast.

The Economist's Charlemagne blog looks at the election of the new European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek and the 'stitch-up' that sees the conservative EPP grouping take the Presidency for the first two and a half years, and the socialist PES grouping take the Presidency for the next two and a half years.

It concludes, "Real, democratic parliaments with lots of competing parties do not stitch-up their top jobs for the next five years like this. The European Parliament is not really an expression of democracy."

Meanwhile, the European Parliament's opening ceremony has been heavily criticised. In his Daily Telegraph blog, Conservative MEP Dan Hannan criticises the ceremony, which included uniformed soldiers parading to the tune of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony under the EU flag. He said that this was in direct violation of the change from the European Constitution to the Lisbon Treaty, which promised to take out the EU's national emblems. Hannan ends: "Now, Taoiseach, what was that you were saying about how the EU had dropped its plans for militarisation?"

Nederlands Dagblad reports that MEPs of several Dutch parties do not welcome the symbolism of the opening ceremony of the EP on Tuesday. Euro-sceptic PVV, but also SP and SGP express their view that a national anthem and flag are sufficient. "We do not need this", SGP MEP Bas Belder confirms, referring to the playing of 'Ode to Joy'.
Economist: Charlemagne notebook WSJ BBC El Mundo El Pais Le Figaro Coulisses de Bruxelles ABC La Razon DN EUobserver EurActiv European Voice Irish Times WSJ MakFAx Irish Times FT Handelsblatt Sueddeutsche FAZ Welt Le Figaro SVT Telegraph ND

CSU threatens not to support German ratification law for Lisbon Treaty
Handelsblatt reports that the CSU threatened yesterday not to support the law, as it wants to secure more power for the German Parliament following the Court decision. CSU General Secretary Dobrindt said that Angela Merkel's timetable to have the law passed this summer is not binding for his party, adding that "content goes before the timetable".

Meanwhile a comment piece by FAZ notes that "in the past euro-scepticism effectively existed in Britain and Scandinavia. Today it includes considerable parts of the elites in Eastern Europe and wide sections in Austria, the Netherlands, France and also in Germany. The German Lisbon Judgement wasn't coming from a maverick Court, but was a legal extension from public debate in a big member state."
Handelsblatt Der Spiegel Welt Open Europe blog FAZ

Critics warn that Stockholm Programme will create a big brother state
A new battle of privacy is emerging as the Swedish Presidency seeks to present the Stockholm Programme, which will be a five year plan for judicial cooperation within the EU. The programme seeks to establish goals for increased cooperation and exchange of information on everything from the Internet to migration. According to Henrik Alexandersson, noted blogger and member of the new Pirate Party, the sharing of intelligence between countries is hugely problematic and will paved the way for the creation of a big brother state.

Meanwhile, Swedish Justice Minister, Beatrice Ask, and Swedish Immigration Minister Tobias Billstrom, argue in Expressen that the Stockholm programme will in fact strengthen privacy rights.
DN DN 2 SVD Alexandersson blog Expressen

Expansión reports that Rolan Rudd, the President of Finsbury Communications and Chairman of Business for New Europe said "The UK will enter into the euro within the next 10 years"
Expansion

EDA creates basis for common military operations for the EU
Frank Slijper, an associate of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, comments on EUobserver that the European Defence Agency which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year has "slowly created a basis for the development of common military projects". Slijper argues that "the fact that the EDA has remained largely invisible to most people is deeply problematic". The constitution reads that "Member States shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities", which is "directly linked to the development of the EDA, Slijper says. He concludes that such development without wider public consent and debate "risks undermining trust in the wider European project".
EUobserver

Swedish Foreign Minister reiterates he does not want to take over from Solana
El Mundo reports that Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has reiterated that he has no intention of becoming the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs when Javier Solana's term comes to an end in October. French President Nicolas Sarkozy dislikes Bildt's vocal support for Turkish membership in the EU. Germany, keen on keeping good relations with Russia at almost any cost, dislikes Bildt's hard line against Russia and were annoyed when Bildt compared the Russian assault on Georgia with Hitler's attack on Czechoslovakia.
El Mundo DN

A leader in the FT looks at the EU's new directive for banks' capital requirements, published on Monday, and writes, "The Commission's deliberate haste on capital adequacy rules contrasts encouragingly with its hurried approach to hedge fund regulation."
FT: Leader

Newly elected Irish Socialist MEP Joe Higgins said the one minute speaking slots in the European Parliament would make it difficult to make a point "with satire" but said, "I'll be very much focused on the message I want to get across and try and encapsulate that in the time available."
Irish Independent

In the Irish Times, Senator Deirdre de Burca defends the Lisbon Treaty and the Irish guarantees, saying the "guarantees are legally binding, and will be attached to the EU treaties by means of a protocol in the near future".
Irish Times Open Europe research

Quentin Peel writes a sarcastic commentary for the FT, comparing the 736 directly elected MEP's to "tiresome teenagers who throw tantrums at just the wrong moment". He writes that from the European Commission perspective, "gets in the way" of "cosy dealmaking" by the EU.
Financial Times

The WSJ reports that a European diplomat has indicated that the European Commission was planning to issue a paper on how governments should unwind a bank that is near insolvency, but that has been delayed, although it is possible the commission will eventually propose a directive establishing rules for such a procedure.
WSJ

EurActiv reports that Green group Co-President Daniel Cohn-Bendit has said that he thinks Jose Manuel Barroso would be more suited to the job of President of the European Council, to be created under the Lisbon Treaty, than Commission President, saying that it would be a "perfect compromise".
EurActiv

Elsevier writes that EU member states disagree with a Commission proposal to increase the EU Budget by 5 percent. A 4 percent increase of the Budget backed by the governments is expected to be finalised by November.
Elsevier

Le Monde reports that the EU Parliament conservatives, socialists and liberal democrats are set to work together and take advantage of the parliamentary session in Strasbourg to present their agenda to the President of the Commission Jose Manuel Barroso in preparation for his possible second term.
Le Monde

European Voice reports that the EU's blacklist of unsafe airlines was extended yesterday but does not include Yemenia Airways. Meanwhile, an article in Spiegel writes "Even for the airlines that are added to the blacklist, it doesn't necessarily mean the end of all flights into the EU."
El Pais Le Figaro ABC European Voice Spiegel BBC

Spain is set to potentially lose hundreds of millions of euros after most of its framework programmes haves not yet been approved by the European Commission, EUobserver reports.
EUobserver

Many experts are criticising Germany's decision to not restructure its financial system after the recent economic crisis, the IHT reports.
IHT

The BBC reports that the European Commission has proposed that citizens of Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro should be able to travel without visas across the EU.
BBC

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