French Foreign Minister: “No more issues should be decided in one country – they must all be considered in Europe”
23 July 2009
In a speech in
He said, “We must bear in mind, the necessity of supporting our diplomatic efforts with a common defence, a European defence, as we showed in Georgia and Kosovo. Without this European defence, our diplomacy lacks strength. One way of strengthening this, making it less fragmented – and which will be one of the tasks of your Presidency – is to build a European diplomacy, through the European external action service, provided for in the Lisbon Treaty. The external action will be a European diplomacy which will not only be a diplomacy of bureaucrats. It is absolutely necessary that our diplomacies meet each other, unite and take their rightful place in this external action service, alongside the Commission.” He concludes saying, “In Europe, I have learned something – I should say that with President Sarkozy it is quite easy to see – you have to be determined, solid, a little bit demanding, so as not to get lost in the complexities of sometimes interminable meetings.”
Member states resist plans to re-open Working Time Directive negotiations
The Swedish EU Presidency’s plans to re-open negotiations on the EU’s Working Time Directive, which envisages a maximum 48-hour working week, are facing resistance from member states who are calling for a period of reflection following the collapse of talks earlier this year, according to European Voice. The talks were aimed at resolving the question of on-call time, particularly affecting doctors and healthcare professionals, which the European Court of Justice ruled in 2000/2003 must count as working time. The judgments led to a large increase in the number of governments opting out from the 48-hour rule – with 15 member states, including the
The European Commission must present a fresh legal proposal before talks between member states and the European Parliament can restart, but a source said the German government had informed the Commission that it would not welcome a proposal in the next two years, and is leading a group of countries saying that no quick attempt should be made to re-open the issue.
European Voice Open Europe briefing
Controversial EU arrest warrant not used by all member states because judges ‘do not know how to use it’;
EU justice ministers struggle to resolve differences on immigration and rights for criminal suspects
Agence Europe reports that at a recent meeting of EU justice ministers, Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask noted that not all member states were using the EU’s controversial European Arrest Warrant and called on the Commission to look into why this was the case. EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot reportedly said that national judges did not know how to use it and the Commission is therefore planning to organise training courses.
The article notes that Barrot is planning to restart the debate on an EU cross-border divorce law when
European Voice reports that, at the meeting, EU justice ministers were unable to narrow differences on issues that feature in the EU's draft five-year plan for justice and home affairs, the so-called ‘Stockholm Programme’. The Commission wants member states to agree to give suspects the right to translation and interpretation anywhere in the EU. The ministers of some member states, however, opposed a binding law.
There was also little progress on immigration issues, including the idea that it should be possible for refugees who arrive in one member state to be re-settled in another. Some member states, such as the
Meanwhile, an opinion in the Swedish daily, Norrkopings Tidningar argues that a common migration policy, as proposed in the ‘Stockholm Programme’ might make conditions worse for immigrants as this might led to tougher restrictions and prevent individual countries from pursuing an independent and more generous policy.
Belgian MEP Derk-Jan Eppink has also criticised the Belgian legalisation of illegal immigrants, saying that
Norrkopings Tidningar European Voice Politics.be Telegraaf SE Times Euractiv
The FT reports that the
In May, the Government implied that the Directive would provide blanket protection for all temporary staff, however the IOD has received advice from the European Commission indicating that the Directive should apply only to those companies that have formalised pay structures. The Commission said that absolute pay parity between temporary and full-time staff should apply where “pay scales are in force”. But “discretionary individual pay arrangements used in the user undertaking would be outside the scope of the principle of equal treatment”. The IoD has calculated that applying the directive to all small businesses would cost them an “unnecessary” £1.2bn annually. The Department for Business said yesterday that the exact implementation of the directive had not yet been agreed.
Swedish EU Presidency plans to nominate EU President in October
European Voice reports that the President of the
Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt has said that he wants to see the EU “move over to the
“EU’s climate policy is unscientific and dangerous”
An opinion in the DN by Jacqueline McGlade, Secretary General of the European Environmental Agency, and Professor Johan Rockström, Head of Stockholm Environment Institute argues that the EU’s climate policy is “unscientific and dangerous” They argue that Barroso is in the wrong to claim that a 50 percent reduction of carbon emissions is possible to reach by the year 2050
Micheál Martin: “It would be unwise” to give investors reason to doubt
Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin last night said that ratifying the Lisbon Treaty would be an “important step towards resolving
People’s Movement Chairperson, Patricia McKenna rejected his comments as “scaremongering”, arguing that “
EU rebuffs calls for reform as support for farmers increase
The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel has unveiled new plans to support dairy farmers. At the same time, she rebuffed calls for a review of the EU agricultural policy, saying that the current problems were due to the economic crisis, not failed EU polices. The new plans will lift restrictions on individual member states giving loans of up to €15,000 to farmers struggling to get credit.
Meanwhile, an editorial in the Helsingborgs Dagblad reports that the current price on milk means that dairy farmers are actually losing money by producing milk. The EU has once again decided to intervene in the market by buying up excess milk. The editorial notes that there is something deeply sinister with a whole economic sector being dependent on subsidies from European taxpayers.
Helsingborgs Dagblad European Voice EurActiv
Intelligent Transport Systems raise concerns about citizens’ privacy
A new EU Intelligent Transport System (ITS) aimed at tackling increased road congestion by collecting data for passenger and freight transport has received criticism for being unclear in its scope. European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx says the Commission should “clarify the specific circumstances in which a vehicle will be tracked” as well as spell out who will control the data, Euractiv reports. The ITS is said to collect potentially sensitive information, such as driving habits or journey patterns of average citizens.
CSU’s continued demand for stronger powers for German Parliament could delay law on
Welt online reports that CDU politician, Volker Kauder, has said that the CDU/CSU is making progress on a common position on the future involvement of the German parliament in the European law making process. The
French Foreign Minister “welcomes” Tony Blair’s candidacy for EU President
Asked whether
Swedish Riksbank memo puts responsibility for Icelandic banking collapse on EU and
The Telegraph reports there is domestic resistance to the proposed deal in
Those opposing
Asa Westlund, Swedish MEP, argues in Dagbladet that the Swedish government is focusing too much energy on getting developing countries to reduce emissions without suggesting adequate funding. She notes that the question of funds is absolutely central in order to get a new climate agreement in place at the
Jacques Barrot announces EU-US SWIFT agreement is temporary
EU Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot has emphasised that the current EU-US agreement on the sharing of SWIFT financial data to counter terrorism is only temporary. He added that the Commission will only ask for a mandate after the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by all Member States, so that the European Parliament will have the power of co-decision.
European Parliament EUobserver
EU proposes simplifying the regulations on regional funding
European Voice reports that the EU Commission yesterday approved a proposal to relax rules on member states’ access to regional funds.
Meanwhile, El Mundo reports that the plan has still yet to be approved by the 27 member states but that it could prevent
El Pais DN European Voice El Mundo
Handelsblatt reports that the EU has criticised
Handelsblatt Sueddeutsche Focus El Mundo WSJ FAZ
The FT reports that a study from
The European Commission has formulated a restructuring plan to the Polish shipyard
The European Commission is set to extend aspects of EU competition law to the car sector. The Commission has said it wants to see more rivalry for after-sales service and repairs, which accounts for up to 40% of consumer spending on cars.
The French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has hailed
European Voice French Government
On his FT blog, Gideon Rachman writes that Henry Kissinger’s famous remark, “Who do I call if I want to speak to
FT: Rachman blog Guardian: Moisi
Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reports that former Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley might be involved in the second referendum debate in