McCreevy admits most EU voters would reject Lisbon Treaty if they had the chance
26 June 2009
According to the Belfast Telegraph, EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has this morning admitted that the Lisbon Treaty would have been rejected in most member states if it had been put to a public vote, and that many EU leaders were glad they had no legal obligation to hold referendums on the treaty in their own countries.
Finnish MEP tipped for Conservative group over-claimed €200 for every trip to his constituency
Helsingin Sanomat reports that Finnish MEP Hannu Takkula, who recently left the newly formed European Conservative and Reformist group in the European Parliament, has claimed a total of €130,000 from the European Parliament to cover travel between Brussels and his constituency, but has instead travelled to his home town, claiming an extra €200 per trip. Under European Parliament rules, Takkula can receive money to cover the cost of travelling to his constituency, which is Rovaniemi, but instead, Takkula has been travelling to his home town of
Over the five-year mandate, Takkula has reportedly claimed €25,600 per year. Takkula said “There is nothing unclear about this. I have officially changed my city of residence at the EP in spring this year”.
Nelonen further reports that Takkula was not a legitimate candidate in last year’s local elections, according to the Finnish court, because he ran for a city that was not his town of residence. “He should never have been allowed to stand for candidacy”, the court announced.
Coulisses de Bruxelles HS Nykypaiva Nelonen Iltalehti Helsinki Times Helsingin Sanomat
Czech social democrat party considers suspending President Vaclav Klaus’ powers over refusal to sign
EU Observer reports that the Czech social democrat party is considering suspending President Vaclav Klaus’ powers if he refuses to sign the Lisbon Treaty. The article notes “temporary suspension would require a simple majority of 41 votes in the country's 81-seat senate and would allow caretaker Prime Minister Jan Fischer to sign the document instead”. The Lisbon Treaty has been ratified by the Czech Parliament and Senate but its compatibility with the Czech Constitution is currently being analysed by the
Klaus has vowed to be the last to sign the Treaty and will wait until
WSJ: “In some countries they rig votes, in the European Union they repeat votes to get the desired result”
An editorial in the WSJ looks at the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and begins, “In some countries they rig votes, in the European Union they repeat votes to get the desired result.” It goes on to argue, “To justify a revote, EU leaders put on a big show at last week's summit, giving the impression of tough negotiations in which
Meanwhile Adrian Michaels in the Telegraph writes, “If democracy is about listening to the people, then
Open Europe briefing WSJ Economist Telegraph: Michaels
City fears that squabbling between Treasury, BoE and FSA could damage UK’s case in Europe
The Times reports that bankers and City lawyers fear that squabbling officials at the Treasury, Bank of England and Financial Services Authority may be damaging the reputation of London as one of the world’s premier financial centres and that they may also be distracted from fighting Britain’s corner in the debate over greater EU regulation for the financial services sector.
Robert Turner, a partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons, said: “There are many in the City who would like to see less infighting and more effort going into defending the interests of
European Commission wants database for all 500 million citizens, raising "big brother" concerns
The European Commission has proposed to set up a new agency to oversee all its large-scale IT systems, thereby bringing together management of three key systems – the Schengen Information System, Visa Information System and Eurodac – plus other related applications, into a single operational structure. Webwereld reports that human right groups have expressed fears for big brother implications, as this would mean that data on all 500 million European Union citizens and all illegal migrants would be merged into a database for "freedom and security". The cost of the system would be €113 million in the first 3 years, and later €10 million per year following that.
Turkish Minister: New French EU affairs Minister “could be a good catalyst” for
Le Monde reports that new EU Affairs Minister Pierre Lellouche has said he would follow “the government line” with regard to
Meanwhile, the Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports that
The FT blog notes that
Coulisses de Bruxelles El Pais European Voice FT: Brussels blog Le Monde Le Monde2
Economist: Conservatives’ new EP grouping may be symptom of
An article in the Economist argues that the problem with the Conservatives’ new grouping in the EP is “structural” because “Europe makes even centrist voters cross in
Meanwhile, European Voice reports that Swedish Moderate Party MEP Gunnar Hökmark has lost his post of Vice-President of the EPP, which the article argues is a sign that the group is becoming less keen on enlargement and free market economics since the UK Conservatives and Czech Civic Democrats left the grouping.
Die Presse writes that the ‘grand coalition’ between the EPP and the socialist group is likely to crumble due to disagreements about the Commission President’s appointment. Together the EPP and the socialist group account for 447 of the 736 seats in the new EP. At the same time, the Swedish ‘Pirate Party’ has joined the green group in the EP.
European Voice Economist Die Presse El Mundo
EU sues
EU authorities have started proceedings against the
The Guardian reports that, in the run up to the Copenhagen climate change conference, Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has said that greenhouse gas output should peak and begin to decline by 2020, to “irreversibly break” the trend of rising emissions.
The
EU environment ministers agree plan to cut industrial emissions
The FT reports that European environment ministers agreed yesterday on a plan which would reduce industrial emissions throughout
The plans were approved with a narrow majority after conflict between countries such as
The regulations, when passed through the European Parliament, will demand that all operators of power generators, refineries and combustion plants must implement the most modern techniques to reduce pollution by 2020.
The Irish Times highlights a report published by the Centre for European Policy Studies which shows achieving the objective set by the EU to keep the rise in global temperatures below two degrees will cost the economy €400 billion
The WSJ discusses the EU’s financial regulatory proposals, quoting Lord Mandelson: “Is it possible to preserve the benefits of open trade and an open global economy, addressing macroeconomic risk while totally respecting the choices of sovereign governments? Not really”.
A leader in the Economist argues that Europe needs reform “to shift away from high taxes, generous and wasteful welfare states, and, most of all, overly regulated and inflexible product and labour markets”, and that if Germany led the way it could be “not just
In the FT, Tony Barber describes perceived Franco-German disagreements over monetary union and the role of the ECB as a “phoney tug of war”, suggesting that “on the need for a strong currency, supported by a strong central bank, there is potentially more common ground between
The Economist’s Charlemagne column looks at EU leaders’ nomination for Jose Manuel Barroso’s second term as Commission President and argues “If he does not enthuse some leaders, it is perhaps because Mr Barroso incarnates their bad conscience about their nationally minded behaviour. The more honest know they would not tolerate a commission boss willing to push their government into a corner and outvote them in the name of
Le Monde reports that on Wednesday 24 June the European Commission published an action plan to combat terrorism, in particular weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological and chemical weapons).
In the Mail Tom Utley contemplates Dan Hannan’s theory that Lord Mandelson helped prevent Gordon Brown being removed as PM in order to ensure the ratification of the
The European Commission has said that it will refer
The EU Referendum blog reports that the European Commission has referred
The FT reports that
European Voice reports that Romania has set its sights on the agriculture portfolio for the next Commission and that Foreign Minister Cristian Diaconescu has “let slip” that instead of lobbying European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, the Romanian strategy is to charm French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The FT reports that in a move that has raised European concerns, Gazprom, the Russian gas group has entered into a $2.5bn joint venture with
The European Commission is taking Luxembourg to court over tax haven concerns, as it is accused of trying to get around the EU Savings Tax Directive on savings interest payments, reports EU Observer.
EU Observer
According to the Guardian,