Open Europe press summary: 17 August 2009

Europe

Bruce Arnold: Ireland stands to lose from new Lisbon Treaty voting arrangements;
New research shows "significant" numbers of 'yes' voters could change their minds
In an analysis piece in the Irish Independent, Bruce Arnold argues that the Irish government's White Paper on the Lisbon Treaty, which claims to explain Lisbon and the Irish 'guarantees' in a "fair and factual manner", "is a flawed document, containing some serious distortion of fact. It is unbalanced and heavily politicised, presenting a case that favours the defeated minority in the referendum of last year. It meets only limited and selective reasons behind the emphatic rejection of the referendum on June 12, 2008."

Arnold argues that although both the main opposition parties - Labour and Fine Gael - are in favour of a 'yes' vote, "they owe a duty to the electorate to defend the democratic rights of all people not to be the victims of distortion of vital national questions." He notes that the proposed new voting arrangement in the Lisbon Treaty "is disadvantageous to Ireland. Ireland's vote, on a population count, is significantly reduced, from 2pc to 0.8pc, while at the same time the German vote is doubled."

Noting that the 28th Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which allows for implementation of the Lisbon Treaty states that, "Ireland affirms its commitment to the European Union within which the member states work together to promote peace, shared values and the well-being of their peoples", Arnold notes that: "This is not at issue. One of the fundamentals facing us is that none of these eloquently argued benefits is either at risk or threatened by what the White Paper presents."

Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports that several Irish businesses have come out in favour of the Lisbon Treaty with the formation of a new campaign called 'Business for Europe'. The group comprised of around 30 business and employer organisations, claims that the Treaty is important for Irish business and trade.

There are also reports of new research by "elements of the Yes campaign", which shows that although there appears to be a comfortable majority of voters backing the Treaty, a "significant percentage" of the Yes vote is "soft" and could change their minds. Speaking to a Sunday newspaper, a senior figure on the Yes side said: "The idea that this is going to be a routine victory for the Yes side is a dangerous delusion. There is a presumption in parts of Government that we are going to coast this." The source added that there is a fear the Yes campaign could be "sleepwalking" to another defeat. "It would be wrong to say it's currently a tight race. It's not. The referendum is definitely winnable. But it's not a certainty. It's not a done deal", the source added.

Meanwhile, a new campaign group entitled Vote No to Lisbon, formerly the Campaign Against the EU Constitution, will be launched in Dublin tomorrow.
Irish Independent White Paper Irish Times CAEUC

Over the weekend Open Europe Director Lorraine Mullally appeared on Radio 4's More or Less programme, arguing that, according to Open Europe's study of 2,000 Government Impact Assessments, 72 percent of the cost of regulations introduced in the last ten years emanated from EU legislation.
More or Less OE research OE blog - How many of our laws are made in Brussels?

Extraditions could treble next year under European Arrest Warrant
The Mail reports that under new rules to be introduced next April, as a key part of the Schengen Information II system, the police will be forced to respond to all European Arrest Warrants (EAW), and anyone who has an EAW issued against them will be automatically taken into custody. British courts must then allow an extradition, even if there are concerns about the standards of justice in the country they are being sent to, and even for minor offences including driving offences.

In 2007, the latest figures available, a total of 504 people were sent abroad on EAWs.
The Home Office estimates that between 1,050 and 1,700 a year will be extradited when Schengen Information II comes into effect.
Mail Sun Express OE blog

Pat Cox to be Ireland's next EU Commissioner
The Irish edition of the Sunday Mirror reported that the former President of the European Parliament Pat Cox will be Ireland's next EU Commissioner when current Commissioner Charlie McCreevy stands down in October. The paper reported that this allows the Irish government to avoid nominating a current elected politician and forcing a by-election.
No link

Irish MEP receives two taxpayer funded pensions worth €66,000 on top of salary
The Irish Independent reports that Fianna Fail MEP Liam Aylward is picking up two separate pensions totalling €65,891 on top of his €91,984 salary in the European Parliament. Aylward, who was re-elected to the seat in June, is receiving a pension from the Irish Parliament and a ministerial pension following his service in government. He has refused to forgo such entitlements, despite the fact that other MEPs have done so, in solidarity with constituents struggling in the current economic crisis.
Irish Independent

EU think-tank urges European troop force of 300,000
The Irish Sunday Business Post reported that a new publication from the EU -funded European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), to mark the tenth anniversary of the European Security and Defence Policy, says that the EU needs to significantly develop its military capacity in the next decade if it wishes to have a credible foreign and security policy.

One contributor to the paper, the Finnish Defence Minister, writes: "From the beginning of Finland's EU membership it has been clear to us that the EU also includes a security dimension...Our citizens expect a security dividend from the EU...The EU is likely to have a much stronger security and defence dimension in 2020 than it has now."

The publication recommended that the EU should commit itself to have a sizeable force ready to deploy at any time - over 100,000 in a constant state of readiness, or 300,000 troops allowing for rotation, by 2020. A common budget should also be established, and the possibility of launching missions before all political decisions have been taken "to minimise critical procedural delays" should be considered.

Mean while, writing in the FT, Charles Grant, the Director of the Centre for European Reform, argues that "The EU needs to accept that building a defence policy with 27 countries will never work." He adds, "When it comes to organising missions that may require the use of force, those countries with robust strategic cultures should form their own body under an EU umbrella."
FT

German parties close to agreement on new law to strengthen parliament's role in EU decision-making
The head of the CSU parliamentary group, Hartmut Koschyk, has told Die Welt that the grand coalition has agreed on how to strengthen parliament's rights in EU decisions. He said that the Bundestag will be able to intervene in EU negotiations as often as required. If the government cannot enforce crucial requests from the Bundestag, they will have to provide detailed justification, if necessary within the framework of an EU-debate in the Bundestag. Koschyk emphasised that the Bundestag will receive "enforceable rights of participation in EU matters for the first time".

Meanwhile, the head of the CSU national committee, Peter Ramsauer, said in an interview with the Allgemeine Zeitung that the government has to notify the Bundestag much earlier and better about EU proposals. He stressed that "EU policy will be more transparent" due to the strengthened rights of the Bundestag.

Today the Union parties, CDU and CSU, will continue the discussion with the SPD. One remaining issue on the agenda is how much control the German Constitutional Court should have over EU law-making in the future. The Bundestag will have an official first reading of the new law on 26 August and finally decide on 8 September.
Allgemeine Zeitung Tagesspiegel Berliner Morgenpost Welt

Warner: At least some of Germany's economic recovery has been achieved at the expense of eurozone neighbours
Writing in Saturday's Telegraph, Jeremy Warner looked at the recent economic growth figures for France and Germany and suggested that, "At least some of Germany's 'recovery' may have been achieved at the expense of peripheral eurozone nations such as Italy, Ireland and Spain. In characteristically disciplined manner, Germany has used the downturn to make its industries more competitive, with real reductions in wages... Germany has been free-riding on the back of a system of fixed exchange rates, which makes its own economy ever more competitive against its enfeebled, debt-fuelled neighbours."
Telegraph: Warner Guardian

Survey shows 40% financial institutions in Europe think EU has done a poor job dealing with financial crisis
An analysis in Financial News looks at the EU's various proposed regulations on financial regulation and considers how the regulations might develop in the coming months. It also reports that a survey of financial institutions and corporations carried out by Greenwich Associates found that 40 percent of respondents in continental Europe and a third in the UK thought the EU had done a poor job in dealing with the financial crisis.
OE press release

Former Justice Minister Bodstrom: "It is commonly known that registers are abused"
SvD reports that several Swedish politicians are questioning the merits of the Stockholm Programme. MEP Lena Ek labelled the project "mass surveillance" and called it "very unpleasant". Former Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom warned that, "It is commonly known that registers are abused. The bigger they are and the more people who have access to them, the greater the risk of mistakes, abuse and corruption."
SvD SvD

British and American firms outperforming those in eurozone despite signs of economic recovery
The Irish Times reports that although the eurozone economy appears to be recovering more quickly than the UK and US economies, eurozone companies are not meeting analysts' expectations. Just 18 percent of eurozone companies beat analysts' expectations compared with 23 percent in the US, 24 per cent in the UK and 50 percent in Sweden.
Irish Times

EU observer reports that 130 major European cities have called on the EU to give local municipal authorities a bigger say in the immigration debate and to recognise the economic benefits of migration. Eurocities, a network of 130 European cities, said in a policy paper that "local authorities should have a bigger say in the immigration debate and recognise the economic benefits of migration."
EUobserver

In the Sunday Telegraph Christopher Booker argued that a combination of the EU's state aid rules and its Large Combustion Plants Directive will close down most of the UK's aluminium industry at a cost of more than 1,000 jobs.
Sunday Telegraph: Booker

The Guardian's political blog looks at MEP Daniel Hannan's political ambitons and suggests that it is unlikely that he would leave his Brussels position for Westminster.
Guardian

Sweden has declared the Lisbon-strategy for economic growth and employment a failure. According to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeld, the EU needs a "reset". He is supported by Spain, which will hold the EU's presidency in the next cycle.
Handelsblatt

Saturday's Independent reported that Lord Mandelson has promised a £340m loan to the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, which the US branded a "major step in the wrong direction". US rival Boeing said the loan "violates the World Trade Organisation (WTO) subsidies agreement". The WTO is due to give a preliminary ruling next month on a case brought by the US claiming that EU countries have supplied Airbus with illegal subsidies.
Sunday Times Mail on Sunday Guardian Weekend FT Independent Times Telegraph WSJ EUobserver

Cope reports that Teresa Ribera, Spanish Secretary of State for Climate Change, has assured that the EU is "fully capable of tacking the challenge of climate" and that it was necessary for "radical moves" to be made in this domain.
Cope

In the Sunday Telegraph, Christopher Booker looked at Tory MP David Willett's recent complaint of the "incessant barrage of announcements" in trains. The article continues by saying that train companies are required to "bombard us with this useless information" by the European Commission's regulation on "rail passengers' rights and obligations"
Sunday Telegraph: Booker

The Sunday Telegraph's Christopher Booker argued that Environment Secretary Hilary Benn is "irrelevant" because the EU's Common Agricultural Policy "renders him largely superfluous."
Sunday Telegraph: Booker

The Weekend FT reported that China has said its carbon emissions will begin falling by 2050, the first time is has committed to such a timeframe.
Weekend FT

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