Former Irish PM calls for new Lisbon referendum
31 October 2008
The Irish media reports that former Taoiseach John Bruton – now the EU’s Ambassador to the
Meanwhile, Brian Cowen yesterday told a business conference that there will be little room for renegotiation of the Lisbon Treaty after 26 other member states ratify it. He said, "We need to come back and say to the Irish people honestly, here is what is on offer from the European Union, do we wish to revisit this question or do we not? (European partners) indicated they can be helpful in some respects ... but they're also making it very clear they don't have an interest in re-ratifying or amending the treaty in a substantive way."
Euractiv notes that Laurent Pech, a lecturer at the EU-funded Jean Monnet Chair of EU Law at the National University of Ireland, has said that a 'Danish scenario' based on opt-outs from the Lisbon Treaty seems to be the most likely outcome of the Irish No vote. He argues that from a legal point of view, the option of passing the Lisbon Treaty via parliamentary ratification is perfectly valid, but “politically unacceptable” following the No vote. It is noted that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitution is already exploring the option of passing the Lisbon Treaty via parliament. Meeting on October 23, the Committee agreed to "examine whether referendums are constitutionally required or if a supra-majority of both Houses of the Oireachtas could change the Constitution".
The Irish Daily Mail looks at how the EU is spending hundreds of millions of euros on new agencies which are only supposed to come into existence once the Lisbon Treaty is ratified. Open
Irish Independent Irish Times Reuters
EU to send ballot box into space as part of £21m PR stunt
Bruno Waterfield writes on his Telegraph blog that “
Telegraph Waterfield blog Open Europe blog
French Senate urges French government to oppose EU discrimination directive proposal
Le Figaro reports that the French Senate is opposed to a draft EU discrimination directive that aims to extend existing EU discrimination regulations. The Social Affairs Committee of the French Senate, which has called upon the French government to oppose the EU proposal, is reported to be “worried” by the definition of discrimination in matters of access to goods and services. They believe that the proposed European law contravenes a fundamental principle of French law which states that differential treatment is not necessarily discrimination.
As an example, the Committee cited the fact that Friday is a holy day for Muslims and should be devoted to prayer, and that under the Directive Muslims could claim to be suffering discrimination because the opening of public services on Friday could for them constitute “a particular disadvantage”.
Euractiv reports that both
Swedish daily Aftonbladet criticised the leadership style of current EU Council President Nicolas Sarkozy following his reported claims that the
Commission accuses
The European Commission is angry over Italian opposition to the EU’s carbon emissions targets, reports the FT. At a summit earlier this month, Prime Minister Berlusconi threatened to veto the package, claiming it would cost
According to Point Carbon, the Italian government has said that the EU climate package would cost
Economist: state intervention could undermine “one of the greatest achievements of the European project”
The Economist has warned that increasing amounts of state aid in the wake of the financial crisis will likely benefit “politicians’ favourites, not European citizens.” The paper writes that increased intervention could undermine a core EU principle banning subsidies which distort competition and lead to the disintegration of the EU level-playing field, which has been “one of the greatest achievements of the European project”. EU Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, has also warned of a potential “subsidy race” between EU neighbours as state aid increases.
MEPs quash debate on ending the European Parliament “travelling circus”
In the Parliament Magazine, British MEP Glenis Willmott criticises the European Parliament for stifling debate on the issue of whether to stop the £200m “travelling circus” between
She notes that "[Last month], a poster promoting the written declaration was removed by parliament’s authorities under the pretence that MEPs ‘should avoid activities on parliament’s premises which might be regarded as controversial’. I find this wholly ridiculous. Most dictionaries define controversial as ‘causing disagreement or discussion’. Should a modern parliament such as ours really be seeking to restrict disagreement or discussion?”
Parliament Magazine Open Europe blog
Czech court postpones debate on Lisbon Treaty
The Czech Constitutional Court has postponed the discussion of the EU Lisbon Treaty by two weeks on Czech President Vaclav Klaus's request, court spokesman Michal Spacil told CTK yesterday. Originally, the judges convoked a court open meeting to debate the treaty on November 10. However, they have changed the date to November 25, at Klaus's request, Spacil said. The
No link
Investors see widening risk of eurozone governments defaulting on debts
The front page of the WSJ notes that “Investors are upping their bets that as the $12.2 trillion euro-zone economy heads into recession, costly bank-bailout plans could drive some European governments to default on their debt.” It notes that the cost of insuring the government debt of
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard notes in the Telegraph that “The interest spread between Italian 10-year bonds and German Bunds has reached 108 basis points, the highest since the launch of the euro. Traders say it is nearing levels that risk setting off an unstable chain reaction.”
WSJ Economist Telegraph Evans-Pritchard
Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen says he now considers a referendum in 2011 on joining the euro a possibility.
Commission slackens stability and growth pact
FAZ has details on how the EU Commission will handle the newly reformed stability and growth pact, as several countries are certain to record excessive deficits. These are
Central Europeans accuse Britain of betraying Georgia
The Telegraph reports that a “senior central European diplomat” has said that
The senior diplomat has reportedly said of Foreign Secretary David Miliband: "Miliband was so strongly in favour of us from the first days of the conflict. Now he is making a U-turn within two weeks just to please Sarkozy. What happened in this world that caused this change?"
Icelandic minister: EU membership needs to be discussed “in weeks rather than months”
The FT notes that
WSJ: EU is giving with one hand and taking with the other for car industry
A leader in the WSJ argues “European taxpayers already have a meaty hunk of bank bailouts to swallow. Now they're getting something green on their plates as well. Just weeks after EU lawmakers passed strict new carbon-emission regulations despite warnings that they would cost auto makers dearly,
Deutsche Bank has reported better than expected third-quarter profits, attributed to a relaxing of the EU’s mark-to-market accounting rules.