Europe Czech stalemate complicates Lisbon Treaty ratification; EP President: "I can not imagine that 10 million Czechs will turn against 490 million EU citizens" The Irish Independent reports that Czech President Vaclav Klaus accepted PM Mirek Topolanek's resignation yesterday. According to the Irish Times it is now up to President Klaus to name a new candidate for Prime Minister, who must then seek the approval of a parliament divided almost equally between left- and right-wing parties. The Czech constitution imposes no time limit on when the President must make his choice, and most analysts had expected Mr Topolanek's lame-duck administration to stay in office until at least the end of June, when the EU Presidency passes on to Sweden. However, President Klaus called for swift action yesterday, saying, "The solution must be rapid, that means visible, in a short time. The complicated economic situation and the presidency of the European Union demand it." The newspaper further reports that the stalemate has cast a shadow over the ratification of the EU's Lisbon Treaty, which has been stuck in the Czech Senate, where many Civic Democrats oppose it. Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra has reportedly said that it would be tougher to convince them to support the treaty after the government's collapse. De Volkskrant quotes President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering reacting: "I can not imagine that 10 million Czechs will turn against (the other) 490 million EU citizens". The article further reports that proponents of the Lisbon Treaty fear the climate will become even less favorable if eurosceptic parties win the EU elections. A European Commission staffer is quoted reacting on the potential influence of a second Irish referendum on the Treaty in October, saying: "if it is still stuck in the Czech Republic by then, it becomes a lot less risky for the Irish to vote against. Then they are not the only bad guy". According to Der Spiegel, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the EU has been weakened after the fall of Topolanek. EU Commissioner flip-flops when reacting to Open Europe's findings Belgian daily De Standaard reports Open Europe's findings on EU Commissioners' pensions. The article reports that, when asked for a reaction to the findings Belgian Development Commissioner Louis Michel, who will take home about €1.1 million in pension payments and so-called 'transitional' and 'resettlement' allowances after he leaves office, at first said he couldn't believe it and "if that's true, I'll retire immediately". The article goes on to say that, "after consulting an assistant, the message however appeared to be accurate. This was followed by Louis Michel suddenly changing his mind, saying the compensation is completely justified: 'We are being well paid. But every morning getting up at 5 o' clock, lots of travelling, heavy files...This is a parachute, but not a golden one'". NAO report: EU accounts are still plagued by weak controls A new report from the National Audit Office on the EU's accounts for 2007 has found that they are still plagued by weak controls on EU spending by national governments, according to PA. The NAO report says the Court's positive "Statement of Assurance" was in effect confirmation that the accounts were a "true and fair" view of spending. But, the NAO says the Court did not provide a positive "Statement of Assurance" on whether the underlying transactions "conformed to applicable laws and regulations". With regard to the "cohesion" funds - regional spending for the poorest areas to bridge regional disparities - the Court of Auditors found discrepancies in at least 11% of the funds, which the NAO said should have been recovered by the European Commission. The NAO also warned that the UK could be forced to return incorrectly used funds, and PA reports that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has set aside £72.9 million in its 2007-08 accounts to cover "potential ineligible grant payments which could be subject to financial corrections by the Commission". The Comptroller and Auditor General of the NAO, Tim Burr, said that "Recent initiatives have started to improve the financial management of EU funds, but a positive Statement of Assurance on the legality and regularity of expenditure has yet to be achieved. The implementation of Cohesion policy remains the chief source of error." No link Commission President's staff: "What does the Czech Republic actually signify?" Reacting to former Czech PM Topolanek's comments labelling President Obama's economic plans as "paving the way to hell", De Volkskrant quotes a staffer of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, saying "Oh, it is of course the Czech PM and not the EU who is speaking. And what does the Czech Republic actually signify?" WTO warns of growing protectionism ahead of G20 summit; Obama hopes to use European public support to push US policies in G20 and Nato The WSJ reports that a steady build-up of protectionist measures could "slowly strangle" international trade and undercut the effectiveness of national stimulus plans, according to a report from the World Trade Organization (WTO) published yesterday. "There have been increases in tariffs, new nontariff measures and more resort to trade defence measures such as antidumping actions," the report said. A recently published report by the European Centre for Political Economy (ECIPE) has said that that the EU is a leading culprit in the use of anti-dumping measures, and that the number of cases initiated has increased from 2007 - 2008. The most targeted sectors, says the paper, are raw materials, industrial import goods and textiles, which face anti-dumping costs well above the costs of official EU tariff barriers. A leader in the Economist warns that, "As the storm rages, the London summit looks like offering nothing but pieties. The trading system needs more than that." Meanwhile, the WSJ notes that US President Barack Obama is hoping to capitalise on his popular European support ahead of the G20 and Nato summits to secure action from European governments on global economic stimulus measures and more troops for the war in Afghanistan. "If there's a positive receptivity to the president, it does help enhance America's image abroad and moves along the agenda," a senior administration official said. The FT reports that Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said Spain could launch a fresh fiscal stimulus plan if current measures fail to revive the economy, pointing to the country's relatively low level of public debt. WSJ Irish Times Economist: Leader WSJ 2 FT WSJ: Leader WSJ Handelsblatt EUobserver ECIPE report Economist: Lisbon Treaty will give ECJ a bigger role in justice and security affairs An article in the Economist looks at the German Constitutional Court, which is to rule on the constitutionality of the Lisbon Treaty in Germany. The article reports that "few court-watchers expect the judges to throw Lisbon out", but notes that in "February the European Court of Justice upheld an EU directive on data collection, using defence of the single market as justification for what looked to Germans like a public-security matter. That raised hackles in Germany." The article goes on to say that the Lisbon Treaty, if ratified, will change things, by giving the European Commission and the ECJ a bigger role in justice and security affairs. Rainer Nickel of the University of Frankfurt foresees a "quantum leap" in the erosion of the Constitutional Court's powers. Germans and Austrians think the EU has too much influence over domestic politics A poll reported in Kleine Zeitung, has found that a majority of Austrians think that the EU has too much influence on the country's internal politics. Reportedly, 54% of the respondents said that the EU interferes too much or should not interfere at all. Meanwhile, another survey, among readers of German daily Welt, asking "What do you think about the EU" found that 74% of the 3,094 people polled said that the EU "takes too many powers from Germany". Bulgarian farmers angry over missing EU subsidies The IHT repots that farmers in Bulgaria are becoming more militant in a bid to secure access to EU farm subsidies. The paper notes that farmers are frustrated that endemic corruption and bureaucracy are blocking their €6.5 billion of EU subsidies. So far, farmers have staged a series of protests, including a one-day blockade of a border-crossing with Romania. These failed to attract much public support, or state aid, but more are planned. The WSJ reports that the European Central Bank could start buying corporate bonds in a new move to support the eurozone economy, ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos said yesterday. The Mail reports that the British Chamber of Commerce's annual Burdens Barometer, which quantifies the cost of regulation to business, has found that, while the cost of regulation originating in the UK has cost business £23.4 billion since 1997, regulation drafted by the EU has cost £53.3 billion in the same period. The European Parliament has voted in favour of freezing hundreds of millions of euros in Spain's EU funding if the Spanish government does not tackle what the Parliament has condemned as "extensive urbanisation" practices under Spanish property laws. EU agrees deal on overhaul of insurance regulation The FT reports that a deal between member states and the Commission has been agreed to approve the so-called "Solvency II" legislation, which will overhaul the regulation of insurance companies in Europe. The legislation will harmonise the amount of capital insurers must hold, but stops short of pan-European supervision for large, cross-border insurance groups. The paper reports that the new regime should be formally approved by the European Parliament next month and by EU finance ministers in May. EU Commission declares German tax credits for green cars unlawful Handelsblatt reports that Guenther Verheugen, EU Commissioner for Competition, has said in a letter to the German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck that German laws giving tax credits for eco-friendly cars are "violating EU law" and have to be changed. According to dpa, Verheugen's warning refers to a tax credit of €150 for all diesel cars, which fulfil the so-called Euro-6 emission standard. Charlemagne: Britain has a "structural problem with Europe" The Economist's Charlemagne column argues that "Britain has a structural problem with Europe" and looks at the Conservatives' decision to leave the EPP party and argues that "isolation from the German and French mainstream right may have costs. The Obama administration is said to link Britain's value as an ally to its weight in the EU". It also looks at Gordon Brown's speech to the European Parliament this week and reports that, "MEPs were frankly incredulous when he [Brown] praised the European Parliament for campaigning for tougher workplace rules. As one promptly reminded him, his government is fighting an EU bid, led by the Parliament, to curb British working hours." In his Express column, Frederick Forsyth looks at legislation from the EU which have struck "heavy blows" in Britain. He cites the Working Time Directive, regulations on maternity leave and trials in absentia. No link A leader in the Times argues that the G20 summit is the right time to reform the IMF, urging greater representation for emerging economies. There is continued coverage of Conservative MEP Dan Hannan's speech to Gordon Brown in the European Parliament on Tuesday. Guido Fawkes' blog says that it is the most popular YouTube viral ever for a British politican. Mail Express Telegraph: Hannan Guido Fawkes blog BBC: Mardell blog The Swedish Environment Minister has said that climate change "will be an absolute focus" of his country's EU Presidency. In an article in the FT looking at France's impending re-integration with Nato's military command, Ben Hall writes "French ambivalence towards Nato, and by implication to the US, is akin to British scepticism of the European Union." Open Europe
Volkskrant Irish Independent Irish Times IHT FT: Brussels blog Ceskenoviny Welt Spiegel
Standaard Open Europe press release Open Europe blog
Friday, 27 March 2009
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