Steinmeier calls for European army
08 May 2008
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a conference earlier this week called for the establishment of a “European armed force”, saying that he is in favour of speeding up such a development. He also pointed out that the Lisbon Treaty will allow groups of EU member states to “proceed” on their own in foreign and security policy.
Brown “loses control” of Scottish Labour Party on referendum issue
The FT reports that Gordon Brown was on Wednesday accused of “losing control” of the Scottish Labour party after Wendy Alexander, the party’s leader in the Scottish Parliament infuriated the Prime Minister by calling for an early referendum on independence. Brown telephoned Alexander to tell her to back off, insisting that the party would not take any such decisions until after the conclusion of the Calman review, a study into the operation of Scottish devolution. The Prime Minister was outraged that Alexander, once regarded as a close ally, should break with previous policy and back an independence referendum at a time when Labour was already on its knees after last week’s local elections.
BBC Scotland Political Editor, Brian Taylor, argues on his blog that “talk of a referendum on
BBC Taylor FT FT leader Guardian
Miliband:
In a speech to the LSE last night,
Miliband said the drive for "carbon independence" could provide a new raison d'etre for the European Union. He argued the EU is "the only real means at our disposal" to tackle carbon dependence, and Britain can only have a "decisive effect" in the debates over energy security and climate change if it acts through Europe: "The UK can play a role. But it can only have a decisive effect through the EU.”
"The
He concluded that "Europe's goal should be to drive not just a low-carbon transition in
On Newsnight, Miliband backed biofuels, claiming that growing energy crops on set-aside land could help meet biofuel demand. Jeremy Paxman argued that the set aside would contribute a “tiny” amount to the required biofuel production. Miliband was unable to say what proportion of biofuel production could actually be met through set-aside.
Attempt to block temps private members bill fails
An attempt to block controversial legislation which would give temporary workers the same rights as permanent staff failed in the Commons yesterday after the Government abstained on the bill. The opposition accused the Government of "dithering". The abstention came at the start of the committee stage of the private members bill which is very similar to a measure being discussed in the EU which the Government is losing its battle to block. Gordon Brown's latest attempt to mitigate the effects of the EU directive by setting up a domestic forum of business and unions which he hopes would give the UK more flexibility when applying the measure. The CBI has warned that if the proposed directive comes into force 250,000 jobs could be lost.
EU Commission to fight for control over green tax revenues
The Independent reports that the UK Government is heading for “an embarrassing showdown with the European Union, business groups and environmental charities after refusing to guarantee that billions of pounds of revenue it stands to earn from carbon-permit trading will be spent on combating climate change.”
Phase two of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme would raise at least £1.6bn in additional revenues for the Government, with the third phase of the scheme (beginning in 2013) expected to yield even greater revenues.
The EU Commission has begun consulting on a directive that would make it illegal for member states not to earmark carbon-auction revenues for green measures once phase three of the ETS begins. The move reflects growing irritation within the EU Commission that governments across the bloc have not given a commitment to spend the money raised by the scheme in this way.
Flooded areas miss out on EU cash
Communities affected by last summer's floods across
Barroso moves into pole position for EU President role
The Economist blog reports that current Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, is emerging as France and Germany’s favoured candidate for EU President. The blog says that Nicolas Sarkozy is still keen on Tony Blair, but he realises that because Blair is a member of the Labour Party he would need to be endorsed by the Party of European Socialists in the European Parliament if he were to take a top job. This endorsement is unlikely because of Blair’s support for the
EU Commissioner: food price rises "not an entirely bad thing";
WSJ: biofuels “among the greatest scams of the age”
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said on Tuesday that biofuels have become the “scapegoat” of the recent media storm on food price rises, but argued that they will not “swallow the world's food supply”. She added that long-term price rises are "not an entirely bad thing" given that they could help farmers in the developing world, and defended the EU Commission’s commitment to binding targets for biofuel use.
AFP notes that EU Member States are split on the question of what should be the minimum standards for biofuels used in the EU.
A leader in the WSJ notes that opinion in the
Last week US Department of Agriculture Chief Economist Joseph Glauber blamed biofuels for increasing prices on corn and soybeans. Glauber also predicted that corn prices will continue their historic rise because of demand from "expanding use for ethanol." The article describes biofuels as “among the greatest scams of the age”, arguing that “The record 30 million acres the U.S. will devote to ethanol production this year will consume almost a third of America's corn crop while yielding fuel amounting to less than 3% of petroleum consumption.”
The article dismisses the argument that targets are needed in order to develop new and better ‘second generation’ biofuels: “the perfect biofuel is always just out of reach, only a few more billion dollars in subsidies away from commercial viability. But sometimes even massive government aid can't turn science projects into products.”
European Voice WSJ AFP EUobserver
Premier league fears "envy" of European regulators
Premier League Chief Executive Richard Scudamore has attacked plans to change EU law to force football clubs to play at least six domestic players in each match. He said that he believes the move is driven by jealousy and a desire to reduce the popularity and influence of the English league. He said, "A real worry is that our European colleagues in other leagues are getting jealous. I am sure the legislators and the regulators in
EP draws up plan to implement parts of
The European Voice reports that the European Parliament will seek to extend its powers in justice and home affairs which it is given under the Lisbon Treaty, even before the Treaty has been ratified in all member states. The areas include police co-operation, criminal justice and legal migration, where the EP currently is entitled to give only non-binding opinions.
It is noted that a plan has been drawn up by Belgian liberal MEP Gérard Deprez, envisioning a “gentleman's agreement” under which the Council would treat the EP’s opinion as if it were already binding. The plan also stresses that the EP will take no action on measures that are due to be adopted before the 12 June Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
President of Eurojust says it should have greater powers
Agence Europe reports that the President of Eurojust, the EU’s judicial coordination unit, has said that it should have more powers, including allowing its national members to initiate judicial proceedings in their respective countries. At a press conference held at the European Parliament Jose Luis Lopes de Mota said: “Eurojust is a body of prosecutors who don't prosecute anything. As a national member, I only have the possibility of asking my colleague (in
Rapporteur Ranate Weber MEP expressed concern about the draft Council decision, which the Slovenian EU Presidency wants to conclude before the end of its mandate, in particular about data protection, since Eurojust will have access to a lot of data which could be sent to third countries. She argued for restrictions on the powers of national members so that Eurojust did not become a “super European prosecutor”, and also came out in favour of greater protection of procedural rights to avoid any hindrance to the law when Eurojust takes, for example, specific investigation measures. She said it would be highly desirable to have a sunset clause which would make compulsory the revision of the amended decision after the Lisbon Treaty comes into force.
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EU states oppose a maximum limit on illegal migrant detention
EU member states have failed to agree the maximum period an illegal immigrant can be kept in detention after setting foot onto the union's territory, further prolonging nearly three-year-long wrangling between the EU institutions. A proposed law suggests a maximum detention policy of six months, with the possibility of extending it to up to a total of 18 months, but only in very specific circumstances. The
EU escapes criticism over postal service liberalisation
The Devil's Kitchen blog looks at how the mainstream media's write up of the report into the liberalisation of the
Devil's Kitchen Tim Worstall EU referendum
Referendums are the clumsiest and least democratic of tools, claims Richards
Writing in the Independent, Steve Richards argues: “Referendums are the clumsiest and least democratic of tools. Leaders only offer them when they think they can win. Quite often they are proposed to avoid an argument. Sometimes they are offered to make mischief. Mr Cameron still pretends he wants a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in order to embarrass the Government, which was too scared to hold one because it would lose. Nick Clegg suffered a setback when he could not persuade all his MPs to oppose a referendum on the treaty, having to reach a compromise in which his party weakly abstained on
French
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Cameron: Not going to define Conservatives’ EU policy until ready to do so
In the Spectator, Fraser Nelson talks to David Cameron regarding the Conservatives’ success in the local elections and the party’s policies ahead of the next general election. The article notes that “The Lisbon Treaty will receive Royal Assent next month (barring a miracle or the right outcome in Stuart Wheeler’s heroic High Court challenge). Cameron’s position is that, if the Treaty were ratified, a Conservative government ‘would not let it rest there’. This is a deliberately enigmatic formula, designed (optimistically) to stop the party arguing over precisely what should follow.”
Nelson notes that “one theory” is that the Conservatives would insert in their manifesto ahead of he next general election a pledge to renegotiate the terms of
Charles Moore: Manifestos are not contracts, but Court case could reopen referendum argument
In the Spectator, Charles Moore looks at Stuart Wheeler’s court case against the Government over the decision not to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. He notes, “I long for the court to find against the government when it hears the case on 9 June, just before the House of Lords is supposed to vote on the treaty, because I hope it will reopen the referendum argument”, but argues that “Manifestos are not contractual documents.”
Spectator Stuart Wheeler’s website
Minister denies
Business chiefs reacted with anger when they were told by Business Minister Shriti Vadera that the
World
The Guardian reports that the Iranian government has offered a new deal in a bid to end the diplomatic impasse over the country's nuclear programme. Diplomats have said that the proposed deal does not include an offer to stop uranium enrichment. Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal has ruled that Iranian opposition group the Mujahedin e-Kalq should be removed from the
Peter Mandelson, the EU Trade Commissioner, has criticised the "irresponsible" protectionist policies put forward by the Democrat Presidential candidates in the
Peter Mandelson increased the pressure on Gordon Brown by saying that scrapping the 10p tax band was a "very big mistake", following criticism earlier in the week from fellow Blairite Charles Clarke.