Open Europe press summary: 7 May 2009

Europe

Czech Senate approves Lisbon Treaty but Klaus not likely to sign until after second Irish referendum;
Die Welt: The EU can work perfectly without Lisbon Treaty
The Czech Senate yesterday approved the Lisbon Treaty in a vote by 54 to 20, reports the FT. 48 votes were needed to pass the Treaty. Before the vote, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told senators "I do not accept the Lisbon Treaty with much enthusiasm, but I see it as the price we have to pay for participating in European integration". Czech President Vaclav Klaus still has to sign the Treaty for it to pass into law.

The WSJ reports that Czech President Vaclav Klaus said yesterday that signing the Treaty was "not on the cards" until after Ireland holds a second referendum, expected in the autumn. Czech Senate Chairman Premysl Sobotka said, "The Czech government and parliament cannot wield any influence whatsoever on the president. He is free to decide as he wishes".

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he was "very happy" with the result, and said that he hoped "the remaining constitutional requirements in the Czech Republic will be completed as quickly as possible", according to EurActiv.

Meanwhile, a leader on the front page of Die Welt asks whether the Lisbon Treaty is in fact necessary. It argues, "If they [Ireland] vote against, the Treaty is dead. What would be so bad about that? The Treaty is a cold bundle of compromises, which nobody has read and nobody understands. A serious discussion has not occurred on that in the member states...The Lisbon Treaty is no panacea...Easier decision making and more power for the European Parliament does not automatically lead to more legitimacy and more for the EU. The EU can work perfectly fine with the existing Nice Treaty."

European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering said, "We've gone as far in our concessions to Ireland as we can," referring to the fact that Ireland has been promised certain 'guarantees' on neutrality, tax and securing the principle of one commissioner per member state as part of deal to encourage voters to vote 'Yes' in a second referendum. EUobserver reports that Poettering indicated that member state "solidarity" would run out if Ireland voted 'No' for a second time.

The countries still to ratify the Treaty, apart from the Czech Republic include Poland, Germany and Ireland. Polish President Lech Kaczynski is still to sign the Treaty into law, as is German President Horst Köhler, who has said he will not do so until after the German Constitutional Court gives its opinion on whether the Treaty is compatible with the German Constitution, according to European Voice.
WSJ Guardian FT FT: Brussels blog Telegraph: Waterfield blog BBC EurActiv Euronews Prague Monitor European Voice Irish Times Irish Times 2 EUobserver IHT El Mundo El País Le Monde RFI L'Express Le Figaro Basler Zeitung FAZ Die Welt Leader

MEPs amend telecoms package rendering France's internet piracy law illegal
Le Figaro reports that the European Parliament yesterday voted by an overwhelming majority for an amendment which would make it illegal for countries to disconnect people from the internet without a judicial decision. The amendment was inserted by MEPs in the so-called telecoms package and states that "no restriction may be imposed on the fundamental rights and freedoms of end users, without a prior ruling by the judicial authorities," amid fears that provisions in the package could restrict the rights and freedoms of internet users.

EU ministers are opposed to the amendment that MEPs voted for, meaning that the entire telecoms package, which is primarily about liberalising the telecommunications markets in the EU, will be subject to further negotiations in the so-called 'conciliation stage' where ministers and MEPs will seek to find a compromise. This means that the package is unlikely to be adopted before 2010.

Should MEPs manage to insert yesterday's amendment in the final proposal, France's proposed Hadopi law, which gives illegal downloaders three warnings and then disconnects them, would not be compatible with European law. But, as French Socialist Catherine Trautmann pointed out, "While there is not an agreement at European level, France can apply its Hadopi law. Rejecting the telecoms package therefore doesn't settle anything". The WSJ quotes Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe saying that several MEPs "wanted to make a statement on upholding [internet] rights" ahead of the European elections.
Le Figaro Coulisses de Bruxelles WSJ EUobserver EurActiv BBC El Mundo

Miliband: A retrospective Lisbon referendum will result in a renegotiation of Britain's membership of the EU
In an article for the Spectator, Foreign Secretary David Miliband argues that Conservative Party policy to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty if it has not passed into EU law is dangerous because, "it restarts an institutional debate in Europe when that is the last thing the people of the UK need." Mr Miliband also argues that, "a referendum held once the Lisbon Treaty is in force and has been passed by all 27 countries - or some other mechanism to satisfy Tory scepticism about Europe - can only have one outcome, namely the renegotiation of the terms of Britain's membership of the EU. That is because once the Lisbon Treaty is in force, it no longer exists as the Lisbon Treaty but is consolidated into the founding treaties of the EU."

The Guardian reports that Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles has predicted that his party will win more than 40 percent of the vote in next month's local elections, but has said it would be hard to capture more than 36 percent of the vote for the European elections because of the electoral system. The paper suggests that if Labour comes in third in either of the elections, it may result in fresh moves to 'dislodge' Gordon Brown.
Guardian Spectator: Miliband

EU Employment Commissioner: Lisbon Treaty would make 'social rights' primary EU law for first time
In the Irish Times, EU Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla is quoted saying, "With the Lisbon Treaty ratification, social rights would become primary rights in EU law for the first time through the charter of fundamental rights, which is a mini-revolution."
Irish Times

EU and UN abandon inquiry into missing millions in Kosovo
The Telegraph reports that the EU and UN have abandoned investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption concerning £60 million in EU funding for reconstruction in Kosovo. Accusations of fraud and irregularities have been found in projects relating to contracts at Pristina airport and "two major contracts" at Korporata Enerhjitike e Kosoves (KEK), whose German Chief Executive is currently serving three-and-a-half years in jail for embezzlement.

UN investigators recommended a "criminal investigation" into the projects surrounding the airport but this was dropped. Further cases involving alleged theft of air cargo fees and alleged bribes and corruption also appear to have been closed, according to the paper. Following independence for Kosovo last year, UN officials have concluded that there are now "no means any more to monitor any of those follow-up activities".

Ingeborg Grässle, a German member of the European Parliament's Budgetary Control Committee, is quoted by European Voice, saying that the UN was "determined not to undertake any action" and that the Commission lacked the means to compel the UN to disclose irregularities with Commission funds.

The Telegraph also reports that the scandals have thrown into question the £891 million that the EU channels every year to projects in Kosovo via the UN and World Bank.
Telegraph EU Referendum blog European Voice

Swedish companies cashing in millions from emissions trading
Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet reports that large Swedish corporations are making large profits from selling emissions allowances to other companies, which they received free of charge from the European Commission under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The Commission is currently reviewing which industries will receive concession in phase three of the ETS (2013-2020), and has recently issued a list of companies receiving extra free allowances for emissions. Manufacturers of cement and lime, iron and steel, ceramics, or pulp and paper may be in line for special treatment under the ETS, according to a draft list released this week. These industries had been worried that the strict carbon emissions targets put upon them might force them to move the industries elsewhere, having a serious impact on Europe's job market while not lowering global emission levels, triggering the debate around 'carbon leakages' in the first place, European Voice reports.
SvD European Voice

Open Europe's research on the cost of the EU's Climate Package was covered by Polish news site Salon24.
Salon24 Open Europe research

Denmark's Dagbladet Arbeideren cited Open Europe's research on EU communication policy, which shoes that the EU is spending more on propaganda than Coca Cola spends on advertising each year.
Dagbladet Arbeideren Open Europe research

MEPs postpone vote on EU maternity leave rules
MEPs yesterday decided to postpone a vote on rules which would have seen minimum maternity leave upped to 20 weeks with six weeks at full pay across the EU. The EP's Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee had voted in favour of the proposal, which went further than a proposal that the Commission tabled in October. However, Conservatives and Liberals in the European Parliament blocked the amended version and referred it back to the EP's Employment Committee. It will now not be dealt with until a new Parliament is formed following the elections in June.
The Parliament EUobserver

MEPs back tighter capital rules for banks
The European Parliament yesterday adopted tougher bank capital rules. Under the proposal, banks will be required to retain five percent of the securitised products they originate and sell, Euractiv reports. The proposal also caps how much a bank can lend to another bank and sets up colleges of supervisors for all big cross-border banks, so that national regulators across the EU can meet regularly to share information.

Banks have warned the securitisation market is moribund and that a high mandatory retention requirement would stop its revival. EU minister have already agreed on the proposal and the final agreement of the Council is now considered as a formality.
EurActiv European Voice

Swedish Finance Minister: Without British agreement European financial reform would be "useless"
Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg has said that financial regulation will be a top priority for the upcoming Swedish EU Presidency, saying "If we do not do anything to help creating a new European and global financial order, we will be held responsible for it", according to L'Express. Le Figaro quotes Borg in a meeting with his French equivalent, Christine Lagarde, saying "the de Larosière report is an interesting starting point...but it is necessary to reach a compromise with the British, without whose agreement any European financial reform would be useless". The article further notes that Stockholm seems closer to London than Paris or Berlin on financial regulation.
L'Express Boursorama

Report calls for Commission to have more power over how EU's regional funds are spent
According to an independent report published at the request of the European Commission, comprehensive reform of the EU's regional policy is required if the bloc's goal of boosting economic integration through regional wealth redistribution is to be achieved in the coming decades. Regional policy accounts for around 45% of the EU's budget.

The report, written by Dr Fabrizio Barca, Director-General of the Italian Finance Ministry, argues that the European Commission should be given the power not only to assess targets, but to redirect funding where necessary to ensure value for money, Euractiv reports.
EurActiv Open Europe research

Tensions rise between Russia and the West
The Telegraph reports that the EU will "provoke fury in Moscow" with its summit in Prague today to discuss an Eastern Partnership agreement with the ex-Soviet states of Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that Russia's continuing row with Nato worsened today when it expelled two diplomats from Moscow and condemned Nato military exercises in Georgia.
Guardian Telegraph Le Monde El Mundo

Hannan: There is an acknowledged double standard for MEPs in the EP
On his Telegraph blog, Dan Hannan MEP argues that there is an acknowledged double standard for MEPs in Brussels. He cites the case of a British MEP who admitted that she had been taking money from a waste disposal company while steering through legislation of interest to that company, but the EP President declared that she was a woman of the utmost integrity, and that was the end of the story. By contrast, Hannan argues that an anti-corruption Austrian MEP who made himself unpopular by filming MEPs for signing in for their subsistence allowance when they had no meetings to attend was fined thousands of euros for, in effect, filling in a form incorrectly.
Telegraph: Hannan blog

European Voice reports that EU Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla has said that many member states could face infringement proceedings for non-compliance with the EU's Working Time Directive following the collapse of talks on revising the legislation on 27 April.
European Voice

According to Welt, European politicians are deeply split on issues of combating unemployment, new stimulus packages, deficit reduction and Euro bonds. Contrary to previous agreements, no EU leaders will be present at today's job summit in Prague.
No link

El País reports that the Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir has announced that her party will present a draft law in parliament which authorises discussions with Brussels concerning Iceland's entry into the EU.
El País EUobserver

In an article on l'Humanité, several French socialist candidates for the European elections argue that the Lisbon Treaty is obsolete.
L' Humanité

El Mundo reports that the European Parliament has amended current regulations to prevent French extreme-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen from leading the inaugural parliamentary session after the June elections.
El Mundo Guardian FT BBC Coulisses de Bruxelles

Four members of the European Commission, Belgium's Louis Michel, Poland's Danuta Hübner, Bulgaria's Meglena Kuneva and Luxembourg's Viviane Reding, have left their posts in order to campaign for seats in the European Parliament elections.
European Voice

A leader in Süddeutsche argues that "The European elections will be a disaster because the parliament and the institutions of the Community are more distant than ever, because seldom before have people seen so few good reasons to send an unfamiliar representative to an unfamiliar parliament."
No link

An op-ed piece in the FT by Zaki Laïdi, Professor at the Sciences Po, argues that President Sarkozy's only great strength on his second anniversary in power is the incredible weakness of the left-wing opposition.
FT: Laïdi FT

The European Commission and the US announced a provisional deal in a long-running dispute over the EU's ban on hormone-treated beef, a move that ends for now the threat of retaliatory duties from the US on a range of EU products.
WSJ FT BBC European Voice

A report from the UK's Information Commission has called on the European Commission to harmonise data protection laws across the EU in order to reduce the administrative and legal burden on businesses.
European Voice

Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.

Open Europe press summary: 2 March 2009

Europe

Warning of new "Iron Curtain" in Europe over financial crisis;
EU summit rejects bailout plan for eastern Europe
EU leaders met yesterday for an emergency summit to try and find a consensus on the global financial crisis before April's G20 summit. However, the Times notes that the summit was "marked by suspicion and self-interest, with the economic crisis exposing deep faultlines on how best to respond to the downturn."

On his BBC blog, Mark Mardell writes "make no mistake, the world's economic crisis is putting this unique institution, the European Union, under very serious strain." He notes that the summit was preceded by a gathering of nine eastern European countries and that, "some regarded it as a worrying trend if the EU is breaking into semi-formal groupings based on both politics and geography...The fracture could become permanent." Writing in the Times, David Charter argues that the "lack of EU leadership and direction...threatens to wrench apart both the euro and the EU itself."

Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany tabled a proposal calling on the EU to set up a 190 billion euro fund to bail out eastern Europe and warned, "We should not allow a new Iron Curtain to be set up and divide Europe in two parts", according to the Times. He also said that "A significant crisis in Eastern Europe would trigger political tensions and immigration pressures...a 10 per cent increase in unemployment would lead to at least five million unemployed people within the EU."

However, the Irish Times reports that EU leaders rejected the proposal and a 'one-size-fits-all' bailout and quotes German Chancellor Angela Merkel; "Saying that the situation is the same for all central and eastern European states, I don't see that".

According to the DPA press agency Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, when asked whether Europe's answer to the crisis was better coordinated after the EU summit, said, "I don't think so". In the FT, Wolfgang Munchau argues, "This is no longer a banking crisis. It is a policy crisis of the first order."

European Voice reports that EU leaders also rejected the idea of easing criteria for entry into the eurozone, but that Jean Claude Juncker indicated that the criteria for the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), a preliminary step toward admission, could be applied more flexibly.
WSJ WSJ 2 Guardian Guardian 2 Irish Times Irish Times 2 Times Times 2 Times:Charter EUobserver EUobserver2 Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle2 FT Irish Times 3 Mail Telegraph Independent Telegraph: Waterfield blog BBC BBC: Mardell blog European Voice EurActiv European Voice 2 FT: Munchau Le Figaro La Tribune FTD Die Zeit DPA Independent on Sunday Independent 2 Independent: Leader Independent: McRae Times 4 FT 2 FT 3 FT: Wagstyl

The Weekend FT reported that Sweden will table a proposal under their presidency of the EU in the latter part of this year to make the European Court of Justice the final arbiter of asylum claims, which could see governments lose the final say on which asylum seekers they accept.
Weekend FT

Sarkozy: No new Commission president before re-run Irish referendum on Lisbon
At a press conference at the emergency EU summit yesterday, Nicolas Sarkozy said that the decision on who should become the next President of the European Commission should be delayed until after the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland, as opposed to at the EU's June summit as originally envisioned. EUobserver quotes Sarkozy saying, "As regards the different candidacies, as you know, we are subject to the decision of our Irish friends on the ratification of the Lisbon treaty ...Depending on that, we will ask ourselves questions."

On who he supports for the position, Sarkozy said "I love Mr Barroso very much, I loved working with him [during the French EU presidency in the second half of 2008], I trust him and I trust the commission." Sarkozy has previously backed the current Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, and has now told journalists "I do not change [my mind] like that." However, the Coulisses de Bruxelles blog notes that Sarkozy refused for the first time to "explicitly endorse the candidacy of Barroso."
EUobserver IHT Guardian: Merritt European Voice Coulisses

Commission spends 24 million pounds on former Conservative HQ
The News of the World reported that the European Parliament and the Commission have spent 24 million pounds purchasing the Conservatives' former headquarters in central London. Fewer than 70 staff will work on eight floors, and the paper reports that Commission documents reveal planned renovations will cost at least 5.2 million pounds. Open Europe Research Director Mats Persson is quoted saying "In the middle of a recession, taxpayers will not be pleased to hear that they are forking out for more lavish office space for EU bureaucrats."
News of the World

Swedish Justice Minister: Commission wants to restrict public's access to EU documents
The Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask has criticised Commission plans to revise a law on public access to EU documents, news site Europaportalen reports. According to the Commission, the new proposal will improve access to documents, but Ask said that the revision would give the Commission the right to keep entire categories of documents secret. In addition, the revised proposal would only allow citizens to apply for access to a document if it appears in a register, which would make it difficult for citizens to gain access in practice since it usually takes a very long time for the documents to become registered. "The Commission wants to restrict the number of documents it is obliged to make available, that's how we interpret [the proposal]", Ask is quoted as saying.
Europaportalen

EU environment ministers meet to agree common position for Copenhagen climate talks
European Voice reports that environment ministers from the EU's member states will meet today in Brussels to prepare a common negotiating position for international talks in Copenhagen in December aimed at curbing climate change. The ministers are expected to re-confirm the EU's pledge to cut its carbon emissions by 30% by 2020 compared to 1990 levels provided that other rich countries make similar commitments.

Euractiv notes that the proposed recasting of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive will also be up for discussion. As the proposal stands, it will require some 52,000 industrial operators to obtain permits from national authorities to release pollutants into the air, soil or water. Ministers will debate broadening the scope of the Directive to new industrial sectors, such as large industrial farms or waste incinerators.
European Voice EurActiv

Jacques Delors: "What we are searching for today is a Europe of common interests rather than a united Europe"
In an interview with Le Figaro, Jacques Delors, former head of the European Commission, and Alain Minc, who is a former adviser to various French governments, point to a number of important challenges that the EU will face in the future. In particular, they refer to Europe's future demographic weakness with an ageing population, the EU's weakness in the field of research and defence and the growing number of smaller states in Europe. Minc referred to an "unidentified political object" when speaking of the EU, with Delors arguing that "what we are searching for today is a Europe of common interests rather than a united Europe."

Minc reiterated his belief that Europe is not an important partner for America: "For Obama, Europe is roughly what Switzerland is to France. A peripheral zone, rich and developed, but an indifferent one." On the lack of a common energy policy, Delors said that he was irritated by European leaders "going to Putin and Medvedev and belly dancing before them." He went on to say: "a test for European coherence is energy...we are ridiculous: we talk about a common foreign policy, but here is a basis for a common foreign policy!"
No link

Commission and France reach agreement over auto bailout
The FT reports that France and the EU Commission have "declared a truce in their simmering dispute over aid from the French government to the automotive industry." The Commission said over the weekend that French authorities had undertaken not to implement measures that would breach the principles of the single market.

Meanwhile, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reports that the German government wants to proof the proposed bail-out plan for car manufacturer Opel. Minister for Economics Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg is quoted saying, "Simple solutions do not lie on the table".
Le Figaro Les Echos FT

Times: "The three great European projects of the past 30 years are all in danger"
On Saturday, a leader in the Times argued that the single market, the Euro, and the EU's policy of enlargement "are all in danger at the same time." It argued that, "The biggest missing feature of European politics is not institutional reform. It is strong leadership."

In Saturday's Telegraph, Gordon Rayner looked at the effects of the economic crisis and Euro membership in Ireland. He argued that, "If the Irish economy, and that of other struggling EU states, continues to nosedive, the cohesion of the eurozone is likely to be tested to breaking point."

In the Independent Roland Rudd suggests that, "If Europe wants to be relevant, it needs an elected president". He goes on to argue that, "While the absence of the [Lisbon] Treaty has not hampered the EU, in the longer term the institutional reforms it contains would help ensure the smooth and more efficient functioning of the Union."
Times: Leader Independent: Rudd

The Irish edition of the Sunday Mirror reported that for the second time in less than a fortnight a poll has suggested there is now a majority who would vote Yes for the Lisbon Treaty in a second poll. A Millward Brown IMS poll published on Saturday showed 63 percent of decided voters would vote "Yes", and 37 percent would vote "No".
No link

On Saturday the Independent reported that the unemployment rate in the eurozone is 8.2 percent, the highest for two years.
Independent

A leader in the FT argues that France's reintegration into Nato ought to pave the way for "much better definition of the roles played by Nato and the European Union in the defence sphere" and that "Both organisations must now work hard to complement each other."
FT: Leader

In the Sunday Express Jason Groves argued that "Brussels is losing the argument", not just in Britain, but across many parts of Europe - citing the latest Eurobarometer poll which showed that just 35% of people in Europe now think the EU is "going in the right direction". The article noted Open Europe's recent calculation that EU regulation has cost the UK more than £100bn over the past decade.
No link

Commission and FIFA to discuss player quotas for football
European Voice reports that officials from FIFA are to meet European Commissioners in the next month to discuss the possible introduction of player quotas in European football. Despite a new report saying such a move would not contravene EU law, the Commission has argued that such a ruling would be incompatible with EU regulation by discriminating on the basis of nationality and putting a restriction on the free movement of workers within the single European market.
European Voice

German CSU and CDU fight over referenda on EU issues
DPA reports that three months before the European elections, the German CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, are fighting about the introduction of referenda for EU issues, particularly for possible Turkish accession. Alexander Dobrindt, General Secretary of the CSU, is quoted saying, "It is not about populism but a process of increased democratisation in Europe".
DPA

In the Telegraph, Robin Page explains why he has left the UK Independence Party. He writes, "The party created to fight centralised government, sleaze and corruption has become a mirror image of the body it professes to loathe."
Telegraph: Page EU Referendum blog Conservative Home

The Sunday Express reported that the Government is advising Councils to cut the size of wheelie bins and to move to fortnightly collections. According to the paper Ministers claim cuts in the service are needed to meet EU recycling targets.
Sunday Express

Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said that his party Fianna Fail intend to join the liberal group in the European Parliament after the upcoming EU elections, leaving the Union for European of the Nations (UEN).
EUobserver

Over the weekend there was wide coverage of the Government's plans to privatise much of Royal Mail. In the Sunday Telegraph Christopher Booker pointed to a BERR report from last year which showed that the main cause of Royal Mail's huge losses was compliance with three EU postal services directives, designed to end national postal monopolies by 2010 and to promote "cross-border" integration of the EU's postal services.
Sunday Telegraph

On Saturday the Times featured a profile of EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, noting that "under her leadership, the investigators of DG Competition, the European Union's trust-busting division, have raided at dawn and fined as never before".
Times

In the Sunday Telegraph Christopher Booker looked at the problems caused by the MoD's "Europe first" policy in buying defence equipment. He argued, for example, that the problems faced by Birmingham van-maker LDV are down to the MoD's 2004 decision to give a £1.6 billion contract to build a fleet of trucks to a German-owned firm in Austria.
Sunday Telegraph

World

The leaders of ten Southeast Asian countries have signed a declaration to integrate their economies and construct an economic and political union modelled on that of the European Union by 2015.
EUobserver

Open Europe is an independent think tank campaigning for radical reform of the EU. For information on our research, events and other activities, please visit our website: openeurope.org.uk or call us on 0207 197 2333.

Open Europe press summary: 11 February 2009

Europe

German Constitutional Court: Lisbon Treaty is unreadable and "threat to freedom"
The German Constitutional Court yesterday held its first day of hearings over whether the Lisbon Treaty violates the German Constitution. According to EUobserver, four out of eight judges expressed reservations about the Treaty.

The Irish Times notes that Judge Herbert Landau said new EU powers in criminal justice affected "core issues" of German legislative authority. "These are issues affecting the shared values of a people," he said.

According to EUobserver, Judge Udo Di Fabio, who will deliver the judgement on the Treaty, asked whether the transferral of powers to the EU really means more freedom for EU citizens, asking "Is the idea of going ever more in this direction not a threat to freedom?" Judge Rudolf Mellinghoff asked whether the Treaty was already "in an extensive way" being applied when it comes to the area of criminal sanctions in environment issues.

All judges agreed that the Treaty was very hard to read. "Less-than-clear passages from the treaty were read out aloud, guaranteeing a laugh", reports EUobserver.

Suedeutsche Zeitung notes that the Court may ask for a referendum if it finds that the Treaty detrimentally affects the German Constitution. The paper notes that "if the judges intervene...it will be because important transfer of powers to the EU is not followed by a corresponding increase in democracy. Europe suffers from lack of democracy".
Sueddeutsche FTD EUobserver Irish Times BBC

Fire Chief: Losing opt-out from the EU's 48-hour week will make it "impossible" to guarantee emergency response
The Inverness Courier reports that fire safety in the Scottish Highlands could be seriously jeopardised if the UK loses its opt-out from the EU's 48-hour working week, currently being negotiated in Brussels, according to the region's Fire Chief.

Fire Chief Brian Murray, who also pointed out that the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service covered one-sixth of the UK, said, "We are very concerned about the potential consequences of losing the opt-out from the European Working Time Directive. As the impact of the directive would severely restrict the availability of retained duty staff, it would make it virtually impossible to guarantee an emergency response."

Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy has said he is aware of the Fire Service's concerns. "One of our top objectives is to ensure we get a resolution working with the UK government and colleagues in Brussels," he said. The Government has said it wants to keep the UK's opt-out and is currently in so-called 'conciliation' talks with representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament over the issue.

Meanwhile, in an article on the NeBusiness website, Steven Duncan, a human resources consultant, also argues that the UK must retain the opt-out. He cites Open Europe's estimate that losing the opt-out could cost the UK economy between £47.4bn and £66.45bn by 2020. He argues that, "Many companies take the view that it is more cost effective to employ a core number of staff and to balance out the working week's peaks and troughs by asking people to be flexible when it comes to overtime or reducing their hours. This ready supply of additional hours can be turned on and off like a tap and makes the company far more responsive to customer demands and short notice requirements."

He adds that, "Moreover, if somebody loses their job, why should Brussels stop them from working overtime to support their family? Surely, such an approach can only be unfair, unproductive and potentially socially divisive?"
NeBusiness Inverness Courier Open Europe research

ECJ rules in favour of QMV for data retention rules
The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Data Retention Directive, requiring telecoms operators across the EU to keep phone and internet data for up to two years, is a single market rather than a justice and home affairs issue, reports the Irish Times. The Directive was introduced to help member states fight terrorism and serious crime. Placing the law under single market provisions means that amendments will be decided by qualified majority voting rather than unanimity. The Irish government, supported by Slovakia, had argued that the data retention law had not been adopted on an appropriate legal basis.
Irish Independent Svenska Dagbladet

EU finance ministers agree initial guidelines on 'bad' banks;
Secret Commission paper: Attempts to buy toxic assets could plunge the EU into deeper crisis
The WSJ reports that EU Finance Ministers yesterday agreed to guidelines for handling 'bad' assets on banks' balance sheets, amid concerns of economic nationalism sparked by the global financial crisis. The range of remedies includes creating a so-called bad bank or series of bad banks to hold troubled assets. The guidelines call for a "correct and consistent approach of valuation" for these assets and "flexibility concerning the choice of assets selected," the Finance Ministers said.

EUobserver reports that the European Commission is to present further guidelines in the next two weeks on how to value such assets, many of which are now deemed worthless at current market prices.

On his Telegraph blog Bruno Waterfield writes that, "The figures, contained in a secret European Commission paper, are startling. The dodgy financial packages are estimated to total £16.3 trillion in banks across the EU."

He notes that the "impaired assets' may amount to an astonishing 44 per cent of EU bank balance sheets" and that "the secret 17 page paper warned that government attempts to buy up or underwrite the assets could plunge the EU into a deeper crisis, one that threatens the Union."

Also in the Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard notes that proposals for some form of 'debt-agency' or mechanism for the EU to raise bonds, is "a move seen by diplomats as a ploy to ambush Germany into accepting shared responsibility for EU debts - anathema to Berlin."
Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard WSJ Irish Independent European Voice EurActiv Eurointelligence EUobserver DW Telegraph: Waterfield blog

Upcoming EU summit showing signs of disunity over French car industry bailout;
EU imposes tariffs on Chinese steel
There is widespread coverage of the upcoming summit announced by Czech PM Mirek Topolanek on Monday, on the economic crisis and fears of rising protectionism. On his BBC blog, Mark Mardell writes that an insider said of the upcoming EU summit, "essentially it's to tell Sarkozy to shut up". The Independent reports that the Czech PM yesterday referred to the upcoming EU summit as a "shoot-out", and that the target may be French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He is quoted saying, "If the result of our shootout is an agreement... that we will not be using this type of media competition and that we will halt protectionism, then this shootout will have served its purpose."

French Economic Minister Christine Lagarde has asked for an EU-wide response to the car industry's difficulties, after showing concern at the EU's criticism of the French plans for reviving French carmakers, Les Echos notes. The WSJ reports that the EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes yesterday wrote to the French government seeking clarification on the bailout package citing concerns about the companies' pledge to protect employment in France.

The WSJ reports that the EU has imposed temporary anti-dumping tariffs of up to 25% on imports of Chinese steel wire rods. The tariffs will remain in place for six months until the Commission decides whether or not to impose definitive duties for five years.
Les Echos Le Monde FT: Leader European Voice WSJ WSJ: Editorial Le Monde Libération Coulisses de Bruxelles Independent BBC BBC: Mardell blog Times European Voice WSJ: Lamy WSJ 2 Guardian FTD EUobserver

EU launches social "circus" campaign
The European Commission has launched what it calls an "EU circus campaign" to "raise awareness of social rights". A press release reads: "When it comes to social protection, the EU has some of the strongest laws on the books. But many Europeans don't know their rights and so don't exercise them. For example, women continue to earn 15% less than men and are less likely to have top jobs. The EU is striving to close this gender gap, however, people must be made aware of their rights first. The EU has therefore launched a campaign to raise awareness of social rights. During 2009, cities across Europe will be staging circus-themed events about social rights. The campaign is inspired by "social circus", an educational movement that uses circus arts as a teaching tool to help troubled youths. For example, the theatre company involved in the event in Lisbon works with school dropouts."
OE blog Commission website

Senior official: EU regional policy more trouble than it is worth
In a debate in the House of Lords on the EU's regional policy, Lord Trimble, former First Minister in Northern Ireland, said: "When I was talking about regional policy with a senior official from our finance department, he observed that regional policy was sometimes more trouble than it was worth. That might seem to be a strange comment, but it is not....capital expenditure programmes did not prioritise, and were not based solely on, what the department thought were the key priorities for Northern Ireland." Lord Davies, Government Minister of State for BERR and the Foreign Office, added that "structural funds in the richer member states should be phased out".
They Work For You

ECJ rules against France in labour freedom case
The European Court of Justice yesterday ruled against Paris in a case where lawyers, medics and dentists from Bulgaria and Romania were unlawfully denied access to the French labour market. According to EurActiv, the court ruled that France had failed to transpose elements of EU legislation regarding the two latest EU newcomers, Bulgaria and Romania.
EurActiv

Agence Europe reports that the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee is likely to adopt a report by former Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene which welcomes the institutional changes proposed by the Lisbon Treaty and proposes that the European Parliament be involved in the appointment of the European Commission's next President, as if the Lisbon Treaty were in force.
European Parliament

Fresh protests expected over use of foreign workers
The Guardian reports that up to 1,000 protesters are expected to start fresh protests over the use of foreign sub-contractors today in Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire and the Isle of Grain in Kent. PA reports that trade unions Unite and the GMB claimed that skilled UK workers were being denied the chance to apply for work on contracts at the two sites.
Guardian

UK cities sign up to EU green pledge
The BBC reports that more than 350 cities across Europe - including 15 in the UK - have signed a "covenant" committing them to cuts of more than 20% in CO2 emissions by 2020. PA reports that UK Europe Minister Caroline Flint said at the event at the Europe Parliament, "In December EU leaders agreed to an ambitious plan to tackle climate change and it's only by working at the national, regional and local level that we'll succeed".
BBC IHT Le Monde

EurActiv reports that the President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber has urged the EU to quadruple its financial assistance to eastern European countries to balance the long-term influence of Russia in the region.
EurActiv EUobserver

In an analysis piece , FT Deutschland assesses the probability to be "high" for 6 of the 10 central and eastern European EU member states to default on their debt, (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary).
Eurointelligence

The widening gaps between the interest rates that eurozone members pay bond investors are "worrying developments," according to a "speaking note" prepared for Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.
Bloomberg

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's poll ratings have hit a record low according to the latest Ipsos poll, with 61% of those polled critical of his performance and only 36% favourable to him.
Ipsos

The EU Commission has been accused by Friends of the Earth in a new report of being too biased in favour of big business. EurActiv notes the report's conclusion as being that "Privileged access for business seems to have become institutionalised in many expert groups, with industry representatives all too often occupying most of the seats granted to non-governmental players."
EurActiv

UK

National Grid to pipe and store CO2 emissions under North Sea
The Times reports that the National Grid is planning a new business unit that will pipe carbon dioxide emissions from UK power stations, fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) equipment, for storage in geological formations beneath the North Sea. The Government hopes that CCS can play "a critical role in helping the UK" to meet legally binding EU obligations to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2020.
Times

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