Cameron warned by Swedish PM not to hold referendum on Lisbon; Hague: Lisbon Treaty is “against the spirit of our age”
08 October 2009
The Telegraph reports that Conservative leader David Cameron has been warned by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt that if he wants to keep any friends in
PA notes that Shadow foreign secretary William Hague has today set out his party's opposition to the Lisbon Treaty, telling the Conservative Party conference it was “against the spirit of our age”. He added, “In its lack of accountability and legitimacy it goes against our fundamental belief that people should only be led and governed with their consent.”
Open
In the Mail, Andrew Alexander calls for referendum on
The New Statesman reports that Conservative MP Bill Cash has declared that most of his colleagues in the Commons would seek to hold Cameron to his promise on holding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Times New Statesman Mail: Alexander
Czech PM promises ratification of
Several newspapers report that the Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer has promised the EU that Czech President Vaclav Klaus will sign the Lisbon Treaty before the end of the year. After a video conference with the President of the Council, Commission, and the EU Parliament, Fischer was quoted in the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung saying that “in the
On his BBC blog, Gavin Hewitt writes that “If some Tories were hoping that the Eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus would delay signing the Lisbon Treaty until they were in power next year, today was not encouraging.” He adds, “It seems that the
Meanwhile, amid speculation that Polish President Lech Kaczynski would sign the Treaty as early as this Sunday, the Independent reports his twin brother Jaroslaw has said that this is not the case.
Mail BBC: Hewitt's blog Irish Times NYTimes Suedeutsche Mitteldeutsche RP Euronews Independent EUobserver EUobserver 2 Le Figaro Le Monde Zeit NZZ Le Figaro 2
Ken Clarke: hedge fund managers aren’t “losing any sleep” over stricter EU rules;
MEPs and regulators criticise the broad scope of the AIFM Directive
The Times reports that Ken Clarke, the Shadow Business Secretary, has claimed that hedge fund managers are not “losing any sleep” over the EU’s controversial proposal for stricter regulation of hedge fund, private equity firms and other alternative investment funds – the co-called AIFM Directive. Clarke also said that while the draft AIFM directive would be a disaster if it were to be implemented as it stands, the proposal is certain to be diluted through the course of the negotiations in the Council of Minister and the European Parliament. Andrew Baker, head of industry organisation AIMA, has refuted Clarke’s claims, saying “to declare an early victory is very premature” and that “Our experience is that it is the No 1 topic raised when we speak to our members.”
Europolitics reports that the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) within the European Parliament on Tuesday held its second meeting to discuss the AIFM directive, with several MEPs criticising the broad and arbitrary scope of the proposal. UK Labour MEP Peter Skinner said “the scope is very broad. I wonder whether we could be injuring things, such as the
The Committee is currently producing two separate impact assessments on the proposal. The first will be published at the end of October and the second at the end of November.
Meanwhile, Eddy Wymeersch, Chairman of the Committee of European Securities Regulators – a body advising the EU Commission – has admitted that the AIFM Directive is flawed, Reuters reports. He said, "I hope they will come forward with something more balanced. It really doesn't work. They have pooled everything together, the scope is absolutely too wide, everything is caught.”
At a meeting hosted by City of
Open Europe research Open Europe press release Reuters Times Europolitics
MEPs seek Commission control over EU’s new diplomatic service
EUobserver reports that MEPs are keen to have the EU’s new External Action Service, to be set up under the Lisbon Treaty, attached to the European Commission and part of the overall community budget rather than an independent service only answerable to, and funded by, national governments. The article notes that the MEPs’ move demonstrates “the union's perennial struggle between those who want an EU foreign policy that is a result of intergovernmental co-operation and those who want a ‘communitarian’ approach, with the involvement of the commission and MEPs.”
German MEP Elmar Brok is quoted saying, “The External Action Service should be administratively and budget-wise within the Commission, formally a part of the Commission.” Swedish Europe Minister Cecilia Malmstrom said that, “This is not something that has great support in the Council.”
Former EU Commissioner: EU citizens deserve better than Blair as President
In an article in European Voice, former French EU Commissioner Pierre Defraigne sets his case against Blair for EU President. He writes: “Yo Blair.’ Who would truly like to see a man addressed with such condescending familiarity by US President George W. Bush become the occupant of the EU's highest office?” He adds, “EU citizens should expect the selection of a decent national statesman, a statesman with impeccable European credentials, a respected and experienced politician…Blair is not that man.”
In the article he notes that it is not yet clear whether the new job will involve being "a leader, a deal-maker, or simply a spokesperson for
According to Swedish Daily Dagens Nyheter, the Finnish government is opposed to Tony Blair as EU President.
European Voice European Voice: Defraigne Dagens Nyheter
Latvian government expresses “incomprehension over misleading statements” by David Milliband
Latvian Foreign Minister Andris Teikmanis has sent out a press release in response to David Millband’s portrayal of the
Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Guardian FT: Westminster blog
European Parliament creates economic crisis committee
EUobserver reports that MEPs have voted to set up a new temporary committee to assess the damage to
Austrian Chancellor calls for future EU referendums
Several Austrian newspapers report that Chancellor and head of Social Democrats Werner Faymann demands referendums in
Die Presse Kurier Der Standard
El Mundo reports that Javier Solana will continue to serve as EU High Representative until the new EU Foreign Minister will be elected.
In a comment piece in the FT, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde argues that the recession is not over and urges EU leaders to keep on taking measure to tackle the downturn, including implementing “exit strategies” in a co-ordinated manner to deal with budget deficits, and requiring banks to hold more and better quality capital.
EUobserver reports that a group of MEPs have said that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s influence on the Italian media has created a climate of media intimidation and have called for the EU to issue punitive sanctions against
The Tagesspiegel reports that the EU Commission is again starting an excessive deficit procedure against
Tagesspiegel Le Monde El Mundo
EUobserver Le Figaro Le Figaro2 Le Monde Times Guardian