Bulletins

Open Europe bulletin: 19 January 2007

• Constitution officially back on the agenda
• Analysis: Television mustn t go down the tube
• Former German President criticises lack of democracy in the EU
• News in brief
• Sign the Open Europe petition
• Open Europe in the news

Constitution officially back on the agenda:

This time you won’t get a vote

Angela Merkel formally set out her plans for the revival of the EU Constitution in a speech to the European Parliament this week. She said that a series of global challenges made it more necessary than ever to have a common foreign policy enacted through an “EU foreign minister” which, she argued, made it vital to bring the EU Constitution into force.

She stated that, “The phase of reflection is over. Our task now is to prepare new decisions by June. I intend to strive to ensure that at the end of the German Presidency a road map setting the way forward for the constitutional treaty can be adopted.”

At a press conference this week Tony Blair committed himself to remaining in power as Prime Minister until after the key EU summit on 22 June which will agree the new ‘roadmap’.  Angela Merkel has also asked EU leaders to appoint personal delegates to a series of behind-closed-doors discussions. Blair this week appointed Kim Darroch (his EU adviser) and Nicola Brewer (Europe Director General in the Foreign Office) as his envoys.  The first session of the discussions takes place next week.  The leaders of the 18 countries which ratified the Constitution are then meeting next Friday in Madrid to increase pressure on the countries that have not signed up.

As argued in our recent paper "The EU in 2007", Brown and his supporters fear that they could be lumbered with a Constitution negotiated and agreed by Blair, which would mean Brown having to defend Blair’s treaty in Parliament, and face calls for a referendum vote he would be likely to lose. Last week, a story appeared in the FT in which an (unnamed) minister voiced concerns over Blair’s attendance at the June summit:

"You could see Merkel and Sarkozy doing a quick and dirty deal at the June summit to get parts of the constitution approved. If that happens, Britain's clout in these complex negotiations would be undermined by having a Prime Minister who is just days from leaving office. We'd be in the strange position of Gordon having to defend agreements in the Commons that he hadn't signed up to in Brussels. I'm not sure that's a comfortable position for a new Prime Minister to be in, or for his government." (11 Jan)

According to the Daily Mail, Brownites are “furious” over Blair’s announced intention to attend the summit, fearing that the Prime Minister will “tie the hands” of his successor. A Brownite “source” told the paper it was “pointless” for Blair to attend the June summit (18 Jan).

The focus of the debate has to some extent shifted to the subject of how to handle the likely calls for referendums, should agreement occur at a political level.  French Presidential candidate Segolene Royal committed herself to holding a referendum on whatever treaty is drawn up.  She also stated that a “social” element would be an essential pre-condition for a new treaty: “What I want, is for there to be a social side and for workers’ rights to be taken into consideration in Europe.” She also voiced her support for an EU minimum wage. (17 Jan)

Royal’s commitment to a referendum would be likely to increase pressure on other governments to put the new Treaty to popular vote, and her announcement was said by the FT to have been “greeted with dismay” in London.

The UK Government argued this week that a new treaty is not needed, but also began to prepare the ground to argue that any new treaty will not require a referendum.   A Downing Street spokesman told the Mail, “We think the best European Constitution is a simple Constitution.  The result of a simple Constitution would be that we would not have to hold a referendum.” (19 January)

Blairite Europe Minister Geoff Hoon said on Newsnight that there is “no requirement” to hold a referendum on “every single change in the treaty”. The FT noted that UK diplomats in Brussels were trying to make it clear to their colleagues that they would only agree to a new treaty if it could be spun as not requiring a referendum. 

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson claimed that he had never been in favour of a Constitution in the first place, but would be in favour of the kind of mini treaty now being drawn up.  Speaking on the Today programme on 18 January, Mandelson said, “I don’t think we ever needed a new, grand Constitution for Europe in the first place.” He said that Europe now needed “a set of efficiency changes”.

If Nicolas Sarkozy wins the French elections in May, his planned mini-treaty – which would retain most of the key elements of the original Constitution - might escape being put to a referendum in France, but would be sufficiently controversial in the UK to generate demands for a referendum.  If Royal wins, it will be more difficult for EU leaders to reach agreement in Brussels, but the resulting treaty would be likely to be even worse from a UK point of view.

Either way, the EU Constitution is back as a live issue. Brown clearly wants the whole issue to go away, but Blair’s confirmed attendance at the crucial June summit and determination to secure his European legacy mean the Chancellor could be landed with some unwanted baggage by his predecessor.

Analysis: Television mustn’t go down the tube

In an article for Open Europe, Conservative MEP Syed Kamall argues that the ‘Television Without Frontiers’ directive currently being negotiated by EU ministers is a threat to creative media companies in London and the EU.   Kamall , who was the European Parliament’s shadow rapporteur on the directive in 2006, warns that as currently drafted it will lead to the introduction of cumbersome stipulations such as a requirement to flash a warning on the screen every 20 minutes whenever product placement is used in programmes.

Click here to read the article “Television mustn’t go down the tubes”

Former German President criticises lack of democracy in the EU

In an article in Welt am Sonntag former German President Roman Herzog argued that the EU is becoming increasingly centralised . He noted that the German Department of Justice estimates that out of all the pieces of legislation passed in Germany between 1998 and 2004, 84% originated in Brussels. And as Germany's own constitution identifies the parliament as the “central actor in the shaping of the political community” he argued that “the question has to be raised of whether Germany can still unreservedly be called a parliamentary democracy."

He outlined a number of reasons behind increased levels of centralisation within the EU. First, he said, “European Union politicians are politicians” who actively seek to engage in law-making in whatever way possible. Secondly, the EU has served as an avenue whereby national politicians can bypass domestic opposition, taking the legislative “detour” via Brussels. Such was the case with German environmental law, for example. Thirdly, alliances and bargains in the Council usually mean that “package deals” are agreed upon. Fourthly, the European Court of Justice has a “systematic tendency” to rule in favour of increased EU power. He noted that the ECJ is obliged under paragraph 1 and 5 of the treaties to participate in the “implementation of an ever closer union”. In addition, he believes that, “EU policies suffer to an alarming degree from a lack of democracy”. He argued that one way to deal with the latter problem is to turn the European Parliament into a proper legislative assembly.

Herzog argued that the proposed Constitution does nothing to address these issues. Instead, a revised treaty must - first and foremost – demarcate competencies between national governments and the EU, and clearly identify where the limits of the EU’s powers should lie. He said that this was rejected by the drafters of the Constitution because they feared it would restrict the power of the EU, which of course, Herzog points out, is the very reason for a Constitution. Secondly, the EU must introduce a ‘guillotine’ principle, meaning that the time span within which a piece of legislation can be passed must be limited. Thirdly, member states must be left with the option to opt-out of and repeal legislation passed at an EU level. Law-making in the EU cannot be a one-way street. Finally, the tendency of the ECJ towards “creeping centralisation ” must come to a halt. He suggested that an independent legal body should be created, run exclusively by the member states, which could overrule ECJ judgments.

News in brief

French farmer who is under investigation for fraud elected head of the EPP. The new head of the EPP group in the European Parliament (the group the Conservatives are currently members of) has elected a French farmer – Joseph Daul – as its new leader.   Daul was formerly head of the French farming union – and was one of the key proponents of maintaining the ban against British beef after the BSE crisis. After winning the vote he told Le Monde , “My main rival, Swedish Gunnar Hokmark , stood for liberalism and the small countries, whereas I incarnated the social market economy and the Franco-German couple… The deputies of the founding EU countries rallied around me in the third round of the vote.”   Shortly after his election it was revealed that Daul is under investigation for fraud in the French courts.   He is alleged to have played a role in the diversion of €16m in farming funds to finance the French farmers’ union FNSEA in the 1990s.   (Le Monde , 10 January; FT, 12 January)

No automatic EU entry for independent Scotland? The European Commission and senior academics have challenged the Scottish National Party’s assumption that an independent Scotland would automatically become a member of the European Union. The Commission has stressed that Scotland's entry as a member state would have to be "negotiated" and would not be the "seamless" transition the SNP has claimed.   The Commission is likely to insist that the country would have to join the euro if it wanted to rejoin the EU. (Scotsman, 8 January)

UK lacks “effective border control” – no system for checking criminal past of EU migrants. During the row over criminal databases it was revealed that the British Government has no way of checking the criminal past of EU citizens entering the country, except in extreme circumstances.   Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan told a parliamentary enquiry that this meant “the UK doesn’t have effective control of its borders”.   (Committee   hearing, 9 January)

EU funds Poland’s road to nowhere. More than £1 billion of EU funds has been spent on “a road to nowhere” in Poland.  The S8 motorway has been built in two separate sections but planning failures, mismanagement, local disagreements and mass protests mean that they don’t meet – coming to a dead end in the middle of nowhere.   When construction is finished the two halves will be about 5 miles apart.  

(Mail, 6 January)

Bussereau : plans to cut farm subsidies are “an insult to the social model”. Dominique Bussereau , France's Farm Minister, has sent an angry letter to Mariann Fischer Boel , the EU's Farm Commissioner, stating “farmers were shocked” that the Commissioner had suggested that there could be modest cuts to farm subsidies after 2013. In the letter Bussereau called the proposal "an insult to the social model to which European citizens are profoundly and legitimately attached". (Financial Times, 9 January)

EU to propose mandatory carbon emissions targets for cars – could add £1,600 to price of a new car in the UK. The price of every new car sold in Britain could increase by £1,600 if new EU proposals to curb emissions are introduced. At present less than 5 per cent of new cars in the UK meet the stringent new threshold. (Independent, Guardian, 15 January)

According to the Sunday Telegraph , the European Court of Auditors has found that just seven per cent of the EU’s budget has been spent legally and correctly. (14 January)

EU to give €1m to far-right parties. A new far-right group has been formed in the European Parliament called Identity Tradition Sovereignty. The group will campaign against immigration and further integration and includes former UKIP MEP Ashely Mote, French veteran Jean-Marie Le Pen, Benito Mussolini's granddaughter and 17 other MEPs from different member states. Through its official status in the parliament the group is entitled to up to €1m in EU funding.   The head of the group – French NF member Bruno Gollnisch - has just received a three month suspended prison sentence and a €5,000 fine for disputing the existence of the holocaust.

Defections to UKIP put to pressure on Conservatives?

Two former Conservative peers – Lord Pearson of Rannoch and Lord Willoughby de Broke - announced last week that they were joining UKIP, giving the party its first representation in Parliament.   UKIP has also circulated a letter to MPs pledging not to stand against them in the next general election if they sign up to the Better Off Out campaign, which is campaigning for the UK to leave the EU.  

Czech central bank governor attacks misguided euro rules.   In an article in the FT the Governor of the central bank in the Czech Republic, Zdenek Tuma , argued that the rules governing the euro are “outdated and counterproductive.”  He said, “ The ERM-2 might have made sense in a situation where monetary policies around western Europe were based primarily on fixed exchange rates explicitly or implicitly pegged to the D-mark… Today, such a system does not generate any benefits for most EU members.” He suggests the euro’s budget deficit criteria should be scrapped, and that the rules on inflation be updated.  He concludes with an argument for more flexibility in the EU as a whole, saying, “All these examples illustrate a more general European dilemma. We need a stable legal framework, but all legal systems in history have evolved as the world has changed. Rules such as constitutions are and should be difficult to change. Others, however, have to be more flexible. There is little doubt that rules supporting policymakers' decisions belong to the latter group.” (4 January)

Sign the Open Europe petition

Open Europe has launched a petition calling on Tony Blair to end the EU’s unfair trade barriers against developing countries, and to scrap the CAP.  Please join our campaign and sign it here .

Daily summary of European news

Each morning Open Europe produces a summary of all the top stories from leading newspapers across Europe.   Our team of researchers and linguists search through the press from the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Scandinavia for the latest news on the European Union.   If you would like to sign up for the service please register on our homepage.

Open Europe in the news