Open Europe Press Summary: 24 August 2009

Europe

EU Commission attacked for intervention in Irish Lisbon debate;
Church of Ireland Gazette blasts "moral blackmail" of claims that the vote is about being at the heart of Europe
Saturday's Irish Times reported that the European Commission has intervened in Ireland's Lisbon Treaty referendum debate to rebuff specific claims of the 'Farmers For No' campaign group. The group maintains that a Yes vote in the referendum would jeopardise farm succession rights, remove Ireland's World Trade Organisation (WTO) veto, and reduce Ireland's overall EU voting weight.

According to the paper, the Commission "vigorously rejected each of the groups' claims, which it says are all factually incorrect." In particular, the Commission claimed that Ireland's voting weight remains "as strong as ever" and "was emphatic in saying that the treaty did not promote Turkey's application to join the union 'in any way'." However, Farmers for No spokesman David Thompson responded pointing out that: "Senior EU leaders have stated clearly that Lisbon is necessary for more enlargement."

Anthony Coughlan, Director of the National Platform on EU Research and Information, said that the Commission's intervention is "the Brussels commission behaving as a political party and engaging directly in the Irish referendum campaign". He added, "The commission is using the EU taxpayers' money, partly financed by Irish taxpayers, through the medium of its website to help support the Yes campaign."

In a press release, Canon Ian Ellis, Editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette, said: "I was surprised that the European Commission entered the Irish debate on Saturday, commenting on the Farmers For No group's understanding of the treaty. Challenges made to whatever groups in the referendum run-up should be made by the Irish parties involved and should not eminate from the European institutions. Inevitably, there will be differences over the interpretation of the treaty, but it is not for the EU itself, or any of its institutions, to enter into what must now be an Irish discussion. Because the debate is about the nature of the EU, the EU must 'leave the room'."

Calling for a "clean" debate on the Lisbon Treaty, Canon Ellis added: "It is not fair to suggest that the Lisbon vote is about being at the heart of Europe or about being good Europeans. That kind of moral blackmail is not 'fair play'. The referendum is only about the Lisbon Treaty and its provisions for the EU. Is this how the EU should be? That is the question for voters."

Meanwhile, speaking at a farmers' fair, Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness called on farmers to vote Yes, adding that, "I would ask you to give the vote serious thought and perhaps to turn the radio off and not listen to all the argey bargey that is being said." In Saturday's Irish Independent, Bruce Arnold criticised the Irish government's campaign strategy, arguing that the "biggest misrepresentation of facts about Lisbon is contained in the Government White Paper."
Irish Times Irish Times 2 EUobserver Irish Independent Irish Independent 2 Irish Times: Letters Irish Times 3 Irish Times: Kinsella

Yes side to outspend No side by 10-1
The Irish edition of the Sunday Times reported that supporters of the Lisbon Treaty are set to out-spend the No side by 10 to 1 in the referendum campaign. An estimate of the budgets for the Yes side indicates it will spend at least €2.4m, compared with the No campaigners' €270,000.
Sunday Times

Irish MEPs to receive two EU pensions on top of two national pensions
The Irish edition of the Sunday Times reported that Irish MPs Jim Higgins and Liam Aylward, who were criticised last week for picking up parliamentary and ministerial pensions while earning €91,984-a-year salaries as MEPs, will also benefit from two European pensions. The politicians will receive a total of four pensions each because they, like most Irish MEPs, are using a bonus retirement scheme run by the European Parliament. The article noted that Open Europe has criticised this voluntary additional pension scheme as unacceptable because there are no checks to ensure the MEPs repay the contributions made towards their pension, which Is two-thirds funded by taxpayers.
Sunday Times OE research

UK's contribution to EU budget soars by 60%
The front page of the Express reports that official figures show that the UK's share of the EU budget is to soar by almost 60%, meaning that every household will have to pay £257 towards the EU next year. This increase is detailed in a Treasury document which was quietly released by the Government just before the summer break.

Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally was quoted in the News of the World and the Express saying "With the popularity of the EU at an all-time low in Britain, it is ­complete madness that we are paying more than ever into its coffers. The EU budget is riddled with fraud and waste - it hasn't had its accounts signed off in 14 years. And despite this British taxpayers are being asked to cough up more and more every single year. The full impact of Tony Blair's amazingly bad deal is still to come, as our contributions are set to increase even more in the coming years. Meanwhile, we continue to get less back in EU funds per head than any other country. Let's hope the next British government talks a tougher game in Brussels and gets us a fairer deal." Lorraine also appeared on Suntalk radio, speaking on the subject.

Meanwhile, a leader in the Sunday Telegraph argued that, "The EU is hardly value for money" and that the "increase in our contribution to the EU's coffers comes at the worst possible time, when tax receipts are falling and Government spending is increasing."
Daily Mail News of the World Express OE Research

The Editor of New Europe magazine looks at the "EU communication 'propaganda' debate" and cites from Open Europe Director Lorraine Mullally's recent article on the subject.
New Europe Open Europe article

Swiss Funds Association (SFA) concerned about protectionism of the Commission's proposal on hedge-fund directive
Swiss newspaper NZZ reports that the Swiss Funds Association (SFA) is concerned about the protectionism contrived in the EU's proposed directive on private equity and hedge funds. According to the Director of SFA, Matthäus Den Otter, the implementation of the Commission's draft Directive would lead to an exclusion of AIFMs from non-EU countries such as the U.S. and Switzerland, more legal uncertainty as well as higher costs for the AIF sector eventually passed on to investors.
NZZ

German CDU/CSU faction reaches compromise on Lisbon ratification law
After German media reported last week that the CSU party was continuing to press for two specific demands before giving its agreement to the Lisbon ratification law (see here), the Tagesspiegel reports that the CDU/CSU faction has reached a compromise on the CSU demands.

It is reported that they agreed to a resolution requiring the German government to clarify to the EU that the Lisbon Treaty is only valid within the framework of the judgment of the German Constitutional Court. The second demand the CSU wanted to include in the resolution is an official procedure that allows the German Constitutional Court to check EU legislative acts and which could be invoked by the parliament. However the CDU only agreed to pass this issue to the next parliamentary session for consideration.

Meanwhile, Welt reports that the Bavarian Minster for Europe, Emilia Müller, has rejected the criticism: "only the lack of knowledge of the actual legal status can stand behind a criticism of the resolution [...]". She underlined that "the judgment [of the Constitutional Court] is binding for everyone. However that is often not known by our partners in Europe."
Welt Tagesspiegel Spiegel

GMC calls for EU rules on doctors' qualifications to be rewritten
Finlay Scott, Chief Executive of the General Medical Council, which regulates doctors in the UK, and Steve Field, Chairman of the professional body the Royal College of General Practitioners, have told the Guardian they want a rewriting of the rules for recognising medical qualifications across the EU. They say all doctors from the EU and other European countries must face tests on their knowledge and skills before working in Britain, just like doctors from other parts of the world.

The incident in which German doctor Daniel Ubani killed David Gray, 70, by giving him an overdose of a painkiller in February last year is seen by critics of the present system as strengthening the GMC's argument for change.
Guardian

EU names airlines that must join emissions trading plan by 2012
The EU has published a list of almost 4,000 airlines and air forces from around the world that will have to join the EU's emission trading plan by 2012 in order to avoid penalties when flying to Europe. The list includes airlines such as Lufthansa, Emirates and United Airlines as well as military operators such as the US Navy and the Russian air force. Operators on the list will have to submit plans for monitoring their emissions by January 2010.
RFI

The European Commission will present a working document to a meeting of European foreign ministers to address the problem of illegal immigration at the end of October.
L'express abc Irish Times

Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, has denied claims that the ECB has been overly cautious in its response to the economic crisis.
Irish Times Telegraph

In the Sunday Telegraph, Christopher Booker noted that the Home Office has confirmed that deportations under the European Arrest Warrant are likely to treble.
Sunday Telegraph: Booker

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Lord Patten's chances of filling the newly-created post of the European Union's 'foreign minister' next year - a key provision of the Lisbon Treaty - could be "torpedoed" by the Conservatives' decision to leave the EPP grouping in the European Parliament.
Sunday Telegraph

The Observer reported that UK regional development authorities believe their counterparts in Europe are flouting EU state aid rules to attract low-carbon manufacturers to set up factories and, as a result, the UK is lagging behind in its efforts to establish a 'green' manufacturing base.
Observer

The FT reports that the Committee of European Securities Regulators has abandoned its review of member states' implementation of depositary rules for Ucits funds. The regulator's move is considered likely to undermine EU efforts to tighten rules in the field.
FT

The FT reports that net inflows into the European fund industry in the second quarter of 2009 were the highest since the start of 2006 with a 14 percent jump in assets under management to €3,106bn. The recovery is not taking place across Europe, however, with contraction continuing in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain.
FT

The Weekend FT reported that the EU is considering a ban on blue fin tuna catches as stocks plummet.
No link

A Sunday Times investigation has found that foreign criminals from within the EU are trafficking children as young as three months old into Britain and using them to defraud the benefits system of millions of pounds.
Sunday Times

Saturday's Mail reported that frosted light bulbs will disappear from the shops in 10 days time as an EU ban comes into force. The weekend FT reported that in Germany and Austria, sales of the conventional bulbs have soared as hoarders stash them in advance of the EU ban.
Mail FT

The European Union says that Afghanistan's elections represent a "victory for democracy".
Etaiwannews DW AFP AFP2

A Latvian official has declared to Euractiv that "the euro remains our goal for 2012", while calling Swedish press coverage on the economic situation in Latvia "hysteric".
Euractiv

The Observer reported that a plan, backed by the EU, to supply power to southern Europe from a hydroelectric dam project in the Democratic Republic of Congo at a time when less than 30% of Africans have access to electricity has "sparked fierce controversy".
Observer

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