New poll shows 77% of German voters want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty
29 June 2009
Judges at the
Euractiv quotes Open Europe Director
"Politicians claim they want to see more debate about the EU at national level, and yet they have conspired to deny voters a say on the Lisbon Treaty. Research shows that referendums on European issues significantly improve the public's interest in and knowledge of the EU - so referendums should be encouraged, not avoided at all costs."
"If politicians want people to connect with the EU, they should give them a say on the big issues like treaty change. The public are crying out to be consulted - it is time to stop pretending that politicians know best, and inject some democracy into EU politics".
German daily Die Welt looks to the
Dietrich Murswiek of
Euractiv Open Europe press release Press release in German Open Europe blog Welt FAZ DPA EU Observer
McCreevy: 95% of countries would probably have voted No in Lisbon Treaty referendums
Saturday’s Irish Times reported on EU Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy’s comments last week, in which he said, “When Irish people rejected the Lisbon Treaty a year ago, the initial reaction ranged from shock to horror to temper to vexation. That would be the view of a lot of the people who live in the
Saturday’s Irish Independent also reported that he said that Irish people should not be ashamed about how they voted, and quoted him saying “I've never been ashamed to stand up for the way we do our business here. We do it by referendum. That's democracy.”
EurActiv quotes Open Europe Director
Open Europe blog Open Europe briefing Irish Times Irish Independent EurActiv Economist: Charlemagne blog Telegraph Sunday Telegraph Irish Times 2
Bruce Arnold:
Under the headline, “Government has abandoned democracy to get a 'Yes' vote”, Bruce Arnold argued in Saturday’s Irish Independent that Irish PM Brian Cowen was “abandoning democracy the day after the vote. He was then servile in courting European countries, telling them how sorry he was that the Irish people had insulted
He continued, “The legal guarantees are worthless and do not change the treaty. However, they had the desired effect. A number of foolish and misguided public figures, respected for talk shows on television, selling groceries, writing poetry, went public and said they would vote 'Yes'.”
In the Irish Independent, columnist Maurice Hayes writes “The clarifications [protocols] in this case are less an explanation of what is in the treaty, than an affirmation of what is not. More nuanced it may be, but the question remains the same -- as does the treaty.”
Irish Independent: Arnold Irish Independent
Private equity says proposed EU directive is protectionist and discriminatory
The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) has strongly criticised the EU’s proposed directive on alternative investment fund managers, saying the proposal would restrict free movement of capital and discriminate against private equity owners of companies, which would be subject to stricter requirements than other unlisted companies.
Jonathan Russell, EVCA chairman, was quoted in the Weekend FT saying, “The directive would be incredibly complicated – it could really be quite dangerous. You are in danger of clogging up the system [and] you are opening up the door to all sorts of responsive legislation [worldwide], not only in the
Meanwhile, London-based hedge fund managers, who also oppose the proposal, have set up a ‘fighting fund’ to lobby against the draft directive across the EU and the
Mandelson opposed to more regulatory powers for the Bank of
In a speech to the British Bankers' Association, Lord Mandelson will state his opposition to giving the Bank of England more regulatory powers. He will also say that the FSA and European Union "are both going to get a new rulebook" that will create new capital and liquidity requirements, better accounting for risk, and "reshape the landscape for derivatives".
European Ombudsman rues that Commission should interfere in Austrian national policy
PA reports that the European Ombudsman, P Nikiforos Diamandouros, has said that the European Commission must either take legal action against
The Commission started infringement proceedings against
Baroness Vadera likely to be next UK Commissioner
The Times reports that Gordon Brown is considering the nomination of his former aide, Lady Vadera, for a five-year position in the European Commission. Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, is reportedly petitioning for a female Commissioner.
City law firms criticise EU employment regulations
The Sunday Times reported that some of the City’s top law firms have criticised new EU employment regulations which prevent them from employing candidates from outside the EU. The EU regulations state that immigrants wishing to obtain a highly-skilled migrant visa must have a masters qualification, which many lawyers do not have. According to the article, various law firms have written a letter to the Law Society warning that the rules are restricting talent flow into the
Turkish PM restates EU accession goal
The Weekend FT reported that Recep Erdogan,
Meanwhile, the BBC notes that both opposition inside the EU and insufficient democratic reforms in
Le Monde Weekend FT BBC EurActiv
EU warns
EU foreign ministers have promised a “strong and collective response” to Iranian intimidation, after nine British embassy workers were arrested in
Guardian FT IHT Independent Irish Times
EPP group could have majority for Barroso with support from liberals and Conservatives’ group
De Standaard reports that some political groups in the European Parliament want to postpone the election of the next Commission President until autumn, but the incoming Swedish Presidency has objected. The newspaper notes that the EPP group in the European Parliament (264 MEPs) would be able to obtain a majority for Jose Manuel Barroso with support of the liberals (82 MEPs) and the group of the British Conservatives (55 members), who would still be willing to cooperate with the EPP, despite having left the group.
On his Coulisses de Bruxelles blog, Jean Quatremer writes that the European Socialists will have only themselves to blame if Jose Manuel Barroso is re-elected as President of the Commission – due to their inability to produce a viable alternative candidate.
Coulisses De Bruxelles Standaard
The News of the World noted that the Commission will tomorrow table a proposal which would ban smoking in certain outdoor areas, such as beer gardens and concert venues.
No link
EU officials confident about Nabucco pipeline deal
European Voice reports that EU officials are quietly confident that the Nabucco pipeline, which will pipe gas from the Caspian to Europe through
A Euractiv article looks ahead to the Swedish Presidency of the EU, starting on 1 July, noting that
EurActiv EurActiv 2 European Voice
The Independent on Sunday reported that the
The twenty-year old EU legislation regulating the shape and size of cucumbers is to be abandoned this week, Die Presse reports.
According to NorvegeFR, 40% of Norwegians are in favour of joining the EU – up from 33% in March.
In the FT, Wolfgang Munchau argues that if
In the WSJ, Marcus Walker argues that “
OECD monitors have said that Albania’s elections appeared to have proceeded calmly, with fewer electoral irregularities than in the past, in an election described by the IHT as a “crucial test of
The Guardian reports that low cost airlines such as Easyjet are ignoring the new EU ruling on travel insurance which was established in November. Easyjet is still making passengers opt out of travel insurance when booking flights.
In an interview with Le Magazine, Pavel Fisher, the Czech Ambassador to