Brown moves to rule out a referendum
04 July 2007
The Sun reports that Gordon Brown yesterday gave the strongest signal yet that he would not hold a referendum on the revised Constitutional Treaty. He said he agreed with Tory MP Ken Clarke — who claimed a public vote would be “frankly absurd”. A leader in the Sun criticises his move arguing that “Labour was re-elected in 2005 on this very pledge”. A Mail leader asks, “what has become of Labour's promise of a referendum on the new constitutional arrangements for the EU?”
The Express reports on Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker’s assertion that there should be public debate on the revised Constitutional Treaty in every country apart from
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EU’s non-emotive lexicon on terrorism criticised
The Express reports on a classified EU document sent out to all European governments – the non-emotive lexicon for discussing terrorism in “non-offensive’’ terms. It notes that neither the Prime Minister in a major interview nor Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in the Commons referred to Muslims or Islam, as is suggested by the lexicon. Open Europe is quoted arguing that “The EU’s so-called non-emotive lexicon won’t do anything to stop dangerous extremists targeting
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Conservatives highlight Government splits over Constitutional Treaty
The Telegraph reports that during Foreign Affairs questions Conservative MPs highlighted the Government’s confusion over the status of the proposed EU treaty, saying that one of Gordon Brown's new ministers had labelled it a Constitution. Mark Francois, the Conservative spokesman on
At an event at the London School of Economics last night titled “How does the EU get out of this hole?” John Peet, Europe Editor at the Economist, argued that the new EU treaty “probably should be put to a referendum, only because 10 governments promised to put the Constitutional Treaty to a referendum, and frankly this document is very very close to that… I think it is dishonest to say ‘we promised to give you a referendum on one point and now it’s all changed’, when it hasn’t all changed.” He described the IGC mandate for the new EU treaty as “utterly incomprehensible… the idea that that will bring this project closer to the citizens is absurd.” Quentin Peel, International Affairs Editor at the FT argued, “We must tackle xenophobia in the media”, and said “There is a direct correlation between ignorance and euroscepticism.” He also argued that the EU Constitution was an “Anglo-French stitch-up” and “very intergovernmental.” Sir Stephen Wall and Ruth Lea also spoke.
EU proposes a series of anti-terrorism measures
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini yesterday announced a series of EU-initiatives aimed at combatting terrorism, including criminalisation of internet sites which give instructions on how to make a bomb. Frattini said that such measures would not compromise member states’ free speech legislation: “It should simply not be possible to leave people free to instruct other people on the internet on how to make a bomb – that has nothing to do with freedom of expression,” he said. The Times reports that British-based sites already could be subject to prosecution for such an offence under the Terrorism Act 2006. Frattini’s plans also include measures against bioterrorism attacks and a European rapid-alert system for lost or stolen explosives, as well as a transatlantic passenger name record-sharing system, allowing national security agencies to access certain airline data, such as passport and credit card details.
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On his blog Telegraph writer Dan Hannan describes Open
Maddox: “Poles mention war and bring belated honesty to EU debate”
Bronwen Maddox argues in the Times that
Sarkozy clashes with EU over calls for weaker euro
The IHT reports that the French government is again stepping up its calls for a weak euro. In
‘Tsarkozy’ criticised for ‘hyperpresidential’ style
The Guardian reports that opposition politicians and the media have warned that the "hyper-presidential" style of Mr Sarkozy, nicknamed "Tsarkozy" or "Emperor Sarko I", is threatening to emasculate Prime Minister Francois Fillon’s job, reducing it to a vice-presidential role. Nicolas Sarkozy has pledged to oversee all aspects of government life, even inviting himself to an EU finance ministers’ meeting next week to defend his budgetary plans. The Times reports that Sarkozy’s habit of jogging has been branded right wing and un-French by various intellectuals and critics, including Liberation newspaper.
Wine sector reforms expected to create division
EUobserver reports that EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel will today present a watered down reform package for the EU’s wine sector. Under the package, the European Commission is set to shrink the bloc's wine industry by 200,000 hectares of vineyards and scrap subsidies for distilling unsold wine into industrial alcohol, in a bid to reduce
Posen: EU treaty deal will erode the economic benefits of the EU
Adam Posen, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, argues in the FT that “The EU's new agreement leaves the European Commission much too weak vis a vis the member states.” He writes that “the European experience shows that enforcement of market integration, competition policy, disclosures and transparency are what really brought the economic benefits of European Union... the current political situation in the EU will probably erode the foundations of economic performance and will certainly divert the economic agenda away from microeconomic integration, which has been the only source of real economic benefits from union.”
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has promised families €2,500 for every child born in