EU announces centralised fingerprint database proposals
16 March 2007
The Times reports that the EU has revealed plans for a centralised database of biometrics and criminal records. Open Europe’s Neil O’Brien is quoted saying, “The European Union is gaining criminal justice powers very rapidly. The problem is that one thing leads to another and that setting up centralised institutions is then used as an excuse for further harmonisation of powers which will take decisions further away from ordinary voters... A lot of people will feel this is the start of Big Brother Europe.”
Times
BBC reports that “EU quietly acquiring standing army”-
Duff: Blair to stay until June in order to “sign Brown up” to the Constitution
On the BBC website Paul Reynolds looks at the growth of the EU’s defence capabilities. He reports that “The European Union has quietly acquired what might be described as a standing army.” He also reports that the defence and foreign policy sections – including the EU Foreign Minister – are likely to be salvaged from the Constitution. Former Commission official Gregor Kreutzhuber said, "The Constitution, in its substance, is not dead. Elements will come back but it will be slimmed down". Reynolds also reports that Lib Dem MEP Andrew Duff argued that Tony Blair would remain as Prime Minister until the June summit in order “to sign his successor Gordon Brown up to the process".
BBC
Economist: new EU Constitution is unnecessary – leaders should focus on “radical” reform agenda, “repatriating more powers back to nation-states”
The Economist has a special report on the EU at 50, featured on the front page. A leader in the newspaper argues that whilst the early decades of the Union were “spectacularly successful”, the EU of today is “mired in mid-life crisis”, the biggest problem being economic. The article notes that German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes that a revival of the EU Constitution is the best way of dragging Europe out of its malaise. It goes on to argue that “She is wrong” – EU members are fundamentally divided as to what a new treaty should entail, with some countries pushing for a more ambitious constitutional settlement, some pushing for a “social” treaty, and others determined to allow no further transfer of powers to Brussels. It says “the EU works without the Constitution. It takes longer to make decisions with 27 than with six or 15, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. It is true a new deal is needed by 2009 on the size of the European Commission and on votes and parliamentary seats for Croatia, but this can be done in Croatia’s accession treaty. And the claim that no new members can sign up without the constitution is political, not legal”.
The article argues that “Europe’s disillusioned citizens are not interested in these institutional arguments in any case. In so far as they care about Brussels, they want not the Constitution but simplification and more say in decision making, which points towards more radical answers. These might include scrapping such pointless bodies as the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, replacing the European Parliament that cannot win legitimacy with a European Senate made up of national parliaments, and repatriating more powers back to nation-states”, and focusing on delivering real economic benefits. It concludes that Europe can resolve its mid-life crisis “if it concentrates on the things that matter most, instead of bickering over the constitution. The choice is between reform and revival or decline and decay”.
Economist leader Economist special report
“City farmers” coverage continues
The Aberdeen Press and Journal reports on Open Europe’s purchase of a farm subsidy at an auction in Inverurie, Scotland last month. It quotes Open Europe’s Paul Stephenson describing the auction, “It was so strange that experienced farmers were having to bid over what could only be said are financial instruments. There were also a couple of guys at the sale who had computers and who seemed to be spending a lot of money. They were either working for big landowners or big companies... In doing this we're trying to highlight the absurdity of the regime and how it has changed and evolved from trying to support production for smaller farmers to people who might not be doing that at all."
Press and Journal
French farmers “humiliated” by “being paid to do nothing”
Le Figaro has an article on the state of French agriculture. It says that “in fifty years, the number of farmers has dropped by 80%.” It notes that while French farmers are under attack from people accusing them of being expensive and destroying the countryside, “people forget that they work between 50 and 70 hours a week, that they are imprisoned in an administrative straitjacket, and that, if they receive subsidies, it is because Europe imposes on them selling prices that are below the cost price.” A farmer is quoted saying, “I am going to show you the absurdity of the system we’ve been locked in since the first CAP reform in 1992. You see my chicken battery? With bird flu, Brussels proposed subsidies for closing rearing units. I’ve done my sums. By stopping rearing, I earn as much as I would if I continued to farm. That is not logical. And it’s humiliating. Because they propose selling prices below the cost price, farmers are receiving subsidies. Since 2003, they have been decoupled from production. You’d have to be stupid not to understand that this system can no longer be. The taxpayers, at some point, are going to rebel, and they will be right, because we are being paid, with their taxes, to do nothing!” A group called the Coordination Rurale is calling for agriculture to be brought out of the WTO framework and brought under the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Le Figaro
Merkel’s Warsaw visit overshadowed by rows over war reparations, missile shields and the EU Constitution
It is reported that Angela Merkel’s two-day visit to Poland, which starts today, is to be overshadowed by German refugees’ claims for reparations for leaving Poland after the war, the proposed US missile defence base and the EU Constitution. Mariusz Muszynski, Polish government expert on German-Polish bilateral relations attacked Germany’s “egotistical” policies and accused Berlin of being “not exactly friendly towards Poland.” The FT reports that the Poles are also opposed to proposed changes to EU Council voting weights in the forthcoming treaty. Marek Cichocki, the President’s advisor on European issues, wrote in a newspaper editorial that: “Poland will never resign from the votes in the council given under the Nice voting system, because it is a fundamental instrument of real influence in the internal and external policies of the Union.” Germany has criticised Poland for preparing to work with the US on the missile shield outside of NATO. The Poles have accused Berlin of hypocrisy as it signed a deal with Russia for a gas pipeline that will bypass Poland and go under the Baltic sea.
Telegraph Independent IHT Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle2 FT
Economist on EU climate change policy: “nobody knows how much any of this will cost”
The Charlemagne column in the Economist discusses the role of the EU in combating climate change, following last week’s summit deal imposing mandatory emissions targets on member states. The article notes that while many of these ideas are “laudable”, the EU “often seems more committed to grand statements of intent than to practical steps to achieve their aims.” It expresses the concern that the latest initiative could be an embarassing failure, mirroring Europe’s failure to hit Kyoto targets. It goes on to argue, “The EU's politicians are not only telling businesses to cut emissions, but also dictating how they should do it (rather like communist central planning, muttered the Czech prime minister, accurately)... Nobody knows how much any of this will cost.” The article concludes that many European leaders hope that “the environment will rescue Europe from irrelevance. But the EU would be a lot more relevant if its policies made better economic sense.”
Martin Wolf, writing in the FT, echoes this line, arguing that “Instead of policies that are minimally intrusive, well-targeted and efficient, we are depressingly likely to get the exact opposite.”
FT Economist
65% of French in favour of a “union” government
AP reports that according to a new poll by LH2 for "20 Minutes" and RMC-Info, 65% of people in France would like to see a “union” government, while 34% would prefer a government composed of only one party. 43% would also like to see more involvement from business experts, and 39% want more involvement from civil society representatives. The FT has a feature on UDF presidential candidate François Bayrou, who has promised that, if elected, he will create a new centre party to represent a "new majority", taking in a broad church of supporters, not just from the UDF but also moderates from the UMP and the Socialists. A survey this week by Ifop found that 61 per cent of people have no confidence in the left or the right to govern.
Meanwhile another new poll has shown that 55% of people are in favour of Nicolas Sarkozy’s latest idea to create an immigration minister if he is elected, while the press looks bad for Ségolène Royal – the Socialist Party’s former Secretary for the Economy and Taxation, Eric Besson, who resigned last month and also quit the party, has published a book in which he says he hopes Royal does not become President, accusing her of “populism”.
Le Figaro Le Figaro 2 FT AP
Calls for two separate Berlin declarations?
According to an article in Libération by Jean Quatremer, “some people, in the corridors of the European Parliament are wondering if it would not be better to use the anniversary to draft two declarations, one signed by the six founder members, who really have been ‘Together since 1957’ and participate in all European policies, and another, more neutral one for the 27”. On his blog, he welcomes the idea, saying the first one could be open to all those who wish to sign it.
Libération
60% of investment firms still not ready for EU’s MiFID, fuelling industry fears over Directive
The FT reports that a new survey shows that Europe’s financial services industry is still not prepared for the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), which intends to liberalise European securities markets. The poll found that “Almost one third of UK-based financial institutions and firms [27 per cent] are not expected to meet the MiFID compliance deadline of November 2007. In the whole of Europe, the situation is worse, with almost two thirds [60 per cent] of financial firms expected not to be compliant.” The majority of those lagging in compliance were small firms, for whom the burdens of compliance with the complex terms of the law are greater than for larger rivals.
The article notes that MiFID has been criticised by the industry and some regulators who fear compliance costs will not be offset by efficiency gains, whilst EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, has warned that inconsistent and incomplete compliance with the Directive will undermine the law’s intended benefits.
FT
Economist on the “poisoned legacy” of Jacques Chirac
The Economist has a leader on the “welcome end” of French President Jacques Chirac’s political career. It notes that his hostility to America and free markets have made his tenure very much a continuation of the Mitterand era. It argues that Chirac’s domestic policy has been a failure, and that in the forthcoming presidential elections, “Whoever wins will inherit an unenviable legacy”.
Economist WSJ Economist leader
Russia tightens grip on EU energy supply with new oil pipeline deal
The Guardian reports that Russia has consolidated its grip on EU energy supplies, yesterday agreeing a deal to build a major oil pipeline across Bulgaria and Greece. The project will make it possible for the first time for Russian and Caspian oil to bypass Turkey, and supply oil directly to the EU. Russia already provides Europe with a third of its oil and 40% of its natural gas.
Guardian El Pais FT Deutschland
Riots in Budapest
Riots have broken out in Budapest in opposition to the government, after the Hungarian authorities detained nationalist leader Gyorgy Budahazy, who was a key figure in the anti-government riots last year and who had been in hiding for months. According to Reuters, 100,000 people hit the streets.
Independent BBC Reuters
EU ministers agree on trimming roaming charges
EU telecoms ministers yesterday reached broad agreement on reducing the cost for mobile phone use abroad. The deal is likely to see roaming charges capped at 50 euro cents per minute.
IHT AFP
EU’s Transportation Commissioner Jacques Barrot, has written a letter of ultimatum to the companies building the Galileo system.
IHT AFP EUobserver
The EU flag given the same legal status as the Union Flag
The Mail reports that the EU flag has been given the same legal status as the Union Flag. The change in the law was included in a Whitehall document governing planning regulations published yesterday.
No link
World
US economy risks recession following a sub-prime mortgages crisis
The Guardian reports that excessive granting of sub-prime mortgages – whereby people with poor credit ratings can get loans – threatens to lead the American economy into a recession as millions of people may default on their home loans.
Guardian
Security Council agrees to beef up Iranian sanctions
The permanent members of the UN Security Council have agreed to toughen up sanctions against Iran over its refusal to stop enriching uranium. The new package is likely to ban Iranian arms exports, restrict loans to and investment in Iran and lengthen a blacklist of Iranian officials and companies whose assets are being frozen.
Reuters Guardian
UK calls for UN action on Zimbabwe
The British Government has demanded that the UN’s Human Rights Council send a team of investigators to the country. Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai writes in the Independent saying “Yes, they brutalised my flesh. But they will never break my spirit. I will soldier on until Zimbabwe is free.”
Independent Independent2
UK
Pollster Frank Luntz has an article in the Guardian, arguing that voters in Britain are profoundly disillusioned not only with the Blair government, but with politicians in general.
Guardian
Tony Blair attacks the SNP and defends the union in the Telegraph.
Telegraph
