Merkel suspected of sending secret letter to Swedish government advising on how to avoid referendum on EU Constitution
24 January 2007
According to Swedish news service Europaportalen, Angela Merkel has sent a letter to the Swedish government which has been classified as secret due to its “sensitive” content. According to Swedish MEP Nils Lundgren the letter may well be advice on how to avoid a Swedish referendum over a revised EU Constitution. Normally official documents in
Le Monde:
The front page of Le Monde reports that “In the middle of its electoral campaign,
The WSJ reports that revival of the
Commission in “open warfare” over plans to reduce car emissions
The Independent reports that the launch of EU wide plans to limit car emissions has been delayed due to “open warfare” between two powerful EU Commissioners – Stavros Dimas, the Environment Commissioner, and Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugen, who is worried it will damage the German car industry. The row is reported to be particularly damaging as it comes just two weeks after the European Commission produced a coherent strategy for promoting growth and combating climate change. Green campaigners have criticised the Commission for failing to deliver on its first "real-world" policy since setting an ambitious target of cutting greenhouse gases by at least 20% by 2020.
Steinmeier: MEPs will have no major role in reviving the Constitution
EUobserver notes that
Dacre accuses BBC of bias over
The Guardian prints excerpts from Mail editor Paul Dacre’s third annual Cudlipp lecture in which he accused the BBC of bias. He says, “Over Europe, for instance, the BBC has always treated anyone who doesn't share its federalism - which just happens to be the great majority of the British population - as if they were demented xenophobes. In very telling words, the ex-cabinet secretary Lord Wilson blamed the BBC's "institutional mindset" over
NATO seeks strengthened Asia-Pacific partnership to
Le Figaro reports that despite opposition from the French, NATO is continuing to strengthen its links with
No link
AFP reports that Serbia could begin accession talks with the EU almost immediately after the formation of its new government, according to the coordinator of the Stability Pact for
Hoon: Government does not turn a blind eye to illegality in EU law
In a letter to the Telegraph Geoff Hoon responds to its story on Monday which reported that the Government is prepared to sign up to new EU measures even if they are “illegal” under the EU treaties. He says he was “misinterpreted” and that “It is untrue that the Government ‘turns a blind eye in
Shell: EU states should provide incentives for reducing carbon emissions
Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell, argues in the FT that “The European Union's newly proposed energy policy includes many welcome ideas…But experience has shown that aggressive targets mean little unless EU member governments provide incentives and rules that make them achievable.”
EU to “decouple” fruit and vegetable payments while promoting “healthy diet”
The IHT reports that the EU Agricultural Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel will today unveil a Commission proposal to revise many of the subsidies paid to the fruit and vegetable sector, which currently accounts for nearly a fifth of the bloc's agricultural output. In future, the subsidy would be “decoupled”, that is, based on the size of the farmer’s land and other criteria rather than on levels of production. According to EUobserver, the package also includes measures aimed at promoting “a healthy diet”, by promising farmers full reimbursement for fruit and vegetables delivered for free to charities, school canteens or children's holiday camps.
FT: European corporatism needs to embrace market-led reform
In the FT,
Royal attacks Sarkozy’s tax cuts
French Socialist Presidential candidate Ségolène Royal has attacked Nicolas Sarkozy over his plans to cut taxation. Royal said “It is scandalous to lower taxes on the most favoured. It is a dangerous initiative breaking down French society. It is an unjust initiative and it is just not credible”. The FT writes that tax policy has emerged as the clearest ideological gap between the two candidates. Meanwhile Le Figaro looks at Royal’s growing number of “faux pas” on international affairs.
Le Figaro reports that the Commission has warned
World
In his state of the union address, President Bush urged Americans to give his new Iraq strategy “a chance to work”, claiming that scaling down troop levels would mean the Iraqi government would be overrun, leading to wider regional war with Iranian complicity.
Riots have broken out at a nationwide strike in the
Ethiopian troops yesterday began to withdraw from
Cameron seeks to boost international profile with Davos visit
According to the FT, David Cameron will be the first Conservative leader to attend Davos. The article notes that meetings with Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, Sir Nicholas Stern, and Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, are hoped to raise Cameron’s international profile.