Barroso: Conservatives can’t opt-out of social chapter without renegotiation of treaties
02 March 2007
In a written answer on the feasibility of a member state withdrawing from the social chapter, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said that it would be impossible without treaty change. He argued, “These provisions are part of the whole Treaty and cannot be isolated. All Member States are bound by the Treaties they have signed and ratified and which have entered into force, including the social provisions they contain. Consequently, a withdrawal from these provisions by a
EU Fundamental Rights Agency branded “pointless”
The Times reports on the new EU Fundamental Rights Agency, which was launched yesterday. Open Europe Director Neil O’Brien argued on the World Tonight that the agency was a waste of taxpayers’ money, noting that there are already a plethora of EU rights agencies across Europe.
World Tonight (26 mins in) EurActiv BBC Times
Further infighting in UKIP
Former UKIP leader Roger Knapman has criticised the party’s leadership, including current leader Nigel Farage, on yesterday’s
John Whittaker, also appearing on the programme, defended his decision to suspend Tom Wise, but admitted “we’re suffering quite a bad press with accusations over the financial thing”.
Blair’s challenge to avoid a referendum on new EU treaty
In the Mail Tom Utley argues that Tony Blair is aware that ordinary people “are strongly against handing over yet more powers to a centralised European state. So the challenge facing him... is how to slip it past us without having to agree to a referendum.”
On his Telegraph blog Daniel Hannan reports “There are, a senior Commission official admitted to me this week, five countries where he and his colleagues are determined to avoid a referendum: Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Poland”.
Le Pen struggling to get enough endorsement signatures for presidency bid
The front page of Le Figaro reports that French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen is struggling to get the required 500 signatures of endorsement for his candidacy for the presidency from elected officials ahead of the March 16 deadline. He claimed that certain individuals who had promised to back him were now reluctant to fulfil their pledges as a result of “manoeuvrings” from people seeking to intimidate them. According to the Telegraph, the National Front have been accused of trying to bribe a mayor in
According to El Pais, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will make a major policy speech on relaunching the European Constitution next month.
Hungarian PM warns
In an interview for the Times Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Hungarian Prime Minister, has attacked the leader of the right-wing opposition Fidesz party, Victor Orb, accusing him of exploiting anti-Semitism in an attempt to disrupt his Government’s modernisation programme. Gyurcsany added that the rise of radical nationalism was not just a problem confined to
Freedland: EU migration has made the
In the Evening Standard Jonathan Freedland praises the contribution made by Eastern European immigrants to the British economy. He claims that “
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Maurice Druon campaigns to make French the EU’s prime language
Maurice Druon, an elder statesman of French literature, is campaigning to make French the primary language of legal documents in the EU. Druon, supported by other politicians, wants French to become the deciding language when there are different interpretations over what a legal document actually means.
Airbus crisis revives debate about role of state in
The restructuring of Airbus – which will lead to over 4,000 job losses in
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EU scales down Bosnian troop numbers
EU defence ministers yesterday pledged to cut troop numbers in
Italian firm to block German bid for Spanish energy company
The FT reports that Enel, the Italian energy company is attempting to build up a big enough stake in
Le Monde has a news feature on the increasing disquiet in