Barnier ‘implicitly criticises’ Ashton’s decision not to travel to Haiti and vows to maintain constant pressure on “foreign policy issues”
22 January 2010
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog notes that incoming EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier “implicitly criticised” Cathy Ashton’s decision not to travel to
The Economist’s Charlemagne blog questions why the French are being so “shrill” about the EU’s ‘visibility’ in
The blog also notes a 2006 report on the need for an EU civil protection force called “Europe Aid”, based on the response to the 2004 tsunami, written by Michel Barnier. He called for the EU to purchase four or five A400M military transport planes, and proposed “a common uniform for all staff of the European civil protection force…A single uniform for all staff acting as part of the European force would help the intervention teams to feel that they were part of the European effort. The design of the uniform could draw on the best already existing in the Member States. It would include the European flag followed by the logo ‘
Telegraph: Gardiner blog Economist: Charlemagne notebook Coulisses de Bruxelles Barnier report Bruxelles 2
EU opens 54 embassies;
Officials advising Cathy Ashton on EU diplomatic corps will “rubber stamp” Commission proposals
The Telegraph reports that 54 EU embassies have opened across the world since the Lisbon Treaty came into force, without any public announcement. Embassies in
The Telegraph quotes Open Europe Director Mats Persson saying: “Common EU embassies mean that
Meanwhile, EU Foreign Minister Cathy Ashton will present a proposal on the structure and financing of the EU’s new diplomatic corps, the External Action Service (EEAS), to member states in April. The Irish Times notes that the creation of the EEAS will ultimately lead to some duplication with national missions, which could lead to pressure to close some smaller bilateral missions, due to finance constraints on member states.
EUobserver reports that a 13-strong “high-level group” has been set up by Ashton to advise her on the EEAS, filled with senior figures from the EU Council and the Commission. The group held its first two meetings in January, with initial talks dominated by which parts of the Commission budget, such as the €3 billion European Development Fund or the €285 million Instrument for Stability, the EEAS should absorb.
The article notes that the tight deadline set on creating the EEAS “has given the commission more power”. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso set up an internal working group on the EEAS last autumn, with Commission Secretary-General Catherine Day's staff “already putting forward legal documents for Ms Ashton's group to rubber stamp.”
Telegraph IrishTimes EUobserver OE blog
Commission denies preparing for Greek bail-out;
Deutsche Bank Chief Economist: Eurozone faces potential break down or high inflation
The WSJ reports that the financial markets are unconvinced by the Greek government’s assurances that it isn’t seeking outside help from either the EU or the IMF with its public debt. Analysts said the government is moving too slowly to address
In the FT, Greek Central Bank Governor George Provopoulos argues that
Die Welt features an interview with the Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Thomas Mayer. When asked if he is worried about the euro, he answers “The situation is more serious than it has ever been since the introduction of the euro. The trouble in
He added that “Neither the European Central Bank nor the Commission nor any other EU body can force
Meanwhile, the WSJ notes that the euro has lost value and that “persistent fears about
WSJ WSJ 2 FT: Provopoulos WSJ: Analysis Die Welt Die Welt 2 Bild Econjwatch Complete January Issue Econjwatch
EU may introduce US-style ‘air marshals’ on passenger flights
EUobserver reports on yesterday’s meeting between EU and
IHT EUobserver NouvelObs AFP LeFigaro El Pais
Polish news channel TVN24 looks at the Indect project, a new surveillance technology funded by the EU that is designed to recognise “abnormal behaviour” in public places and on the internet, and quotes Open
In a debate in the House of Commons yesterday, Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire Alistair Burt cited Open Europe’s research into the cost of ten years of EU regulation, which found that the cost of regulation has tripled for the farming industry since DEFRA was formed in 2001.
According to the American Conference Board, labour productivity in the
Banks consider using EU law to challenge
City AM reports that a group of banks including Royal Bank of
Employers groups warn
The FT reports that the Government has begun a push to get the controversial EU Agency Workers Directive into law before the General Election with business groups, including the CBI, warning that the new rights for 1.3m temporary workers threaten to hinder new employment in an economic recovery. The legislation will come into force in October next year.
The changes will give agency workers the same pay, holidays and other basic working conditions as permanent employees after 12 weeks in a job. Details of how to implement the Directive have been fiercely contested, in spite of an outline agreement two years ago by the CBI and the Trades Union Congress. Business groups have said certain rules go further than the EU Directive requires – notably the inclusion of some bonuses in the definition of pay. Kevin Green, Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, is quoted by PA saying, “There are real concerns that these EU regulations are ill-suited to the
FT Open Europe research: AWD Open Europe research: EU regulation
Le Figaro reports that French Secretary for European Affairs, Pierre Lellouche, is in
Die Welt reports that, “in the midst of the financial crisis, small islands of happiness still remain, for example the European Parliament in
Klaus and Kaczynski say
During a State visit by Polish President Lech Kaczynski to
MEPs clear 25 out of 26 commission nominees
EUobserver reports that the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, has confirmed that 25 out of the 26 nominees for the next EU Commission have been formally approved by MEPs. MEPs have decided to hold a hearing for the outstanding Commission candidate,
EUobserver EurActiv Tagesschau
European Voice reports that the European Parliament agreed yesterday to press the EU’s member states to delay the implementation of the SWIFT agreement on sharing citizens’ banking data between the
In the WSJ, Stephen Fidler looks at the EU’s attempts to inject greater investor transparency into financial markets and notes that “The problem for regulators is to distinguish between these exceptional circumstances where greater price transparency sometimes hurts the customer, and those when hiding pricing information helps nobody but the banker selling a product.”
A leader in the Economist argues that the prospect of EU membership should be used to encourage
Euractiv reports that critics have condemned the “dangerous” trend towards hegemony of the English language within the EU institutions, following the news that 11 out of the 26 spokespersons already designated for the new Commissioners are ‘Anglo-Saxons’.
The WSJ reports that the European Commission has cleared Oracle's $7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems after a six month competition investigation. Oracle criticised the fact that the EU investigation had cost them $100 million a month, reports FT Deutschland.