Michel Barnier announces plan for “EU Social Business Act” and says “No financial actor will be exempt from regulation”
27 January 2010
In an interview with Toute L’Europe Michel Barnier, the new EU Internal Market Commissioner has said that “No financial actor will be exempt from regulation”, with
Meanwhile, in an interview with the WSJ, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet offered qualified support for US plans for overhaul of the banking sector, describing them as “relevant and interesting”, though he stressed such proposals should be coordinated globally.
Toute L’Europe WSJ WSJ 2 WSJ 3
Bundesbank President says EU assistance for
The Telegraph reports that Axel Weber, President of the German Bundesbank and a member of the ECB Executive Board, has said that any EU aid for
EUobserver reports that ECB Chief Economist Juergen Stark said yesterday that the state of EU governments’ public finances could lead to further credit rating downgrades and market turmoil. The Commission is expected to give its assessment of deficit cutting measures in four EU member states -
Meanwhile, in an interview with Les Echos, ECB President Jean-Claude Juncker said “I have been arguing for stronger economic policy coordination within the Eurozone for many years, but I never managed to gain support from all Eurozone countries”. He added, “If we want to turn the Eurozone into an influential monetary, economic and political entity, then we must stop giving the impression that we focus only on budgetary consolidation. The time has come for us to set up an integrated strategy to get out of the crisis”.
FT City AM Telegraph City AM 2 Bloomberg FT 2 EUobserver LesEchos Reuters Les Echos
Jean Quatremer: Catherine Ashton is “lazy” and “disinterested”
On his Coulisses de Bruxelles blog, Jean Quatremer argues that EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton is “lazy” and “disinterested”, criticising her not only for her failure to travel to Haiti but also her lack of knowledge of foreign affairs and her inability to communicate in anything other than English. He also suggests that she doesn’t even have the security clearance required to access classified documents.
The Economist’s Charlemagne blog looks at the press reports on Ashton and argues that Quatremer’s comments are “a smidgeon exaggerated” but concludes: “most damaging, to my mind, is the intimate nature of some of the briefing: this stuff is coming from officials close to Lady Ashton, or who are senior enough to have significant contact with her. And I can confirm from my own conversations that people across the whole EU foreign policy machine are asking the same question: why did she take this huge job, when her instinct seems to be to make it as low key as possible?”
Meanwhile, Le Soir reports on the plans to send an EU gendarmerie force of 350 to Haiti, and quotes UK Europe Minister Chris Bryant saying: “I’m not sure this is the best way to go about it”.
Economist: Charlemagne notebook Coulisses de Bruxelles Liberation Le Soir
Lib Dems call for tough new tests for EU doctors
The BBC reports that, following the case of an out-of-hours GP from
Lib Dem Health Spokesman Norman Lamb said: “I believe patients’ lives are at risk because standards across
Spanish EU Presidency wins fight to shake Obama’s hand first
Belgian daily Het Nieuwsblad reports that EU leaders have been fighting to be the first to meet US President Barack Obama when he arrives for the upcoming EU-US summit in
Meanwhile, Open Europe’s Pieter Cleppe was interviewed by Polish broadcaster TVP, commenting on President Van Rompuy’s first weeks in office. Pieter said: “The fears of Polish President Lech Kaczynski that the EU might even become more like an ‘aristocratic republic’ under the Lisbon Treaty are probably justified when we see that EU President Van Rompuy has not exactly been modest during his first month in office, engaging in a fight with the Spanish EU Presidency over who is the ‘real’ EU President, in the wake of the institutional chaos brought in by the Lisbon Treaty.”
MEPs make record number of amendments to EU’s alternative investment directive
The Telegraph notes that the European Commission’s proposed Alternative Investment Fund Management (AIFM) Directive has been subject to a “record number of amendments” from MEPs. Javier Echarri, Secretary General of European Venture Capital Association, is quoted saying: "We understand that well over a thousand amendments have been tabled by MEPs – this is unprecedented in EU financial services regulation, and shows clearly that there's a long way to go to get the directive into an acceptable shape, which will protect rather than damage Europe's economies and competitiveness."
Telegraph FT: Fm blog Open Europe research
Commission fights for power over carbon capture projects
Het Financieele Dagblad notes that the Commission and member sates are battling over the allocation of 300 million CO2 emission rights, which are to be awarded to pilot projects that clean up emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. European Voice notes that
Barroso gives more power to EP to ensure confirmation of Commission
DPA reports that Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has granted more powers to the European Parliament to ensure that they will confirm the new Commission on 9 February. In the future, the Commission will need to respond to a resolution from the Parliament within three months. If the resolution concerns a request for a legislative proposal, the Commission will have to issue a proposal within 12 months, or explain why they are not proposing an initiative. However another round of talks today between Barroso and German MEP Klaus-Heiner Lehne, who is responsible for the request, will be needed to settle on a compromise.
DPA
EurActiv reports that the Bulgarian PM Boyko Borissov claimed on Sunday that the country could lose its environmental project funding, up to 20% of its total EU funding, unless the government explains by the end of January how and where they are spending the money.
Balkan enlargement plan outlined while Spanish EU Presidency adds to Kosovo confusion
The Telegraph reports that the Spanish EU Presidency has backed a “sooner the better,” attitude to the review of
NouvelObs reports that the seventh phase of international negotiations are underway for the secret ACTA agreement on intellectual property, including internet fraud and illegal downloading, with the European Commission and the Spanish EU Presidency representing the EU in the talks. There are fears that the accord, of which very little is known, could have a grave impact on freedom of expression.
On his Telegraph blog, Lord Tebbit argues that defeat of amendments to the Equality Bill in the House of Lords raises a major problem for the Government because much of the Bill is underpinned by EU legislation and failure to implement it could risk a human rights case “being brought against a church – or God forbid, a mosque – and decided in Europe, not here in Britain”.
The Mail reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that
An article in the WSJ looks at waning EU global influence and the rise of the ‘G2’:
In the FT Peggy Hollinger looks at the “recurring contradictions” of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s actions, arguing: “as he preaches the benefits of healthy globalisation…[he] faces scrutiny from Brussels over his insistence that Renault, the partly owned state-carmaker sells only French-made cars in France.”
The BBC reports that the RSPB wildlife charity and the
Euractiv reports that the EU’s Payments Services Directive, designed to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper and easier, is in danger of becoming ineffective as some member states have begun to opt out of parts of the rulebook.
The BBC reports that the European Commission has said it will monitor the use of CView software, to be used by Virgin Media to identify illegal file-sharing, following a complaint from Privacy International over privacy concerns.
The Spanish EU Presidency is “weighing the pros and cons" of lifting a 20 year long