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Swedish MEP gives away €70,000 surplus from lavish EU expenses
In protest against the current system in the European Parliament, whereby members get paid flat-rate allowances, rather than allowances based on the documented cost for travel, offices and other expenses, Swedish MEP Jens Holm has given away around €70,000 in EU allowances to charities.
According to his blog, between 2006 and 2008 alone, Holm received €158,708 in travel expenses from the European Parliament. During this time, he gave any unspent travel expenses to charity. Keeping all the receipts from his travels, Holm calculated that approximately €70,000 was not spent on any trips, which he has given to charities on a running basis. Holm's colleague from the Swedish Left Party, MEP Eva-Britt Svensson, is said to employ a similar policy.
Meanwhile, Dagens Nyheter reports that Swedish MEPs will receive a 49% pay-rise after the June elections, not including other expenses such as insurance payments, travel expenses, and daily allowances.
DN Jens Holm Open Europe blog
Nick Clegg: MP daily allowance "brings Brussels gravy train to Westminster"
There is widespread coverage of the proposals for reforming MPs' allowances, unexpectedly announced by Gordon Brown yesterday. The Times notes that the central proposals are to abolish the £24,000 second-home allowance and give MPs around £150 a day on top of their salaries for attending the Commons. The proposal has come under criticism from members of all the main parties. Opponents have warned that the daily allowance could lead to a 'sign in, sod off' culture similar to the one in the European Parliament, where MEPs long have been criticised for abusing the system by, for example, signing in early in the morning before flying home to their constituency.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg told BBC News that "I don't think bringing the Brussels gravy train to Westminster is the way to solve the lamentable system of MPs' expenses. The great danger is this: you are giving MPs a cheque simply for turning up for work and the MPs don't have to prove that they need that money or what they are going to spend it on."
Irish Times Mail: Oborne Telegraph Guardian Guardian 2 Guardian: Leader Independent FT Times Times2 Mail
Chris Davies MEP: Most people see Den Dover as "no better than a thief"
PA reports that MEP Den Dover has launched a legal action in the European Court of First Instance in a bid to clear his name. Mr Dover was expelled from the Conservative Party last year over payments from staff allowances that were made to a family firm. The article reports that he described the issue yesterday as "a big fuss and bother".
The Telegraph reports that the European Parliament wrote to him in early November with a demand that he pay back over £500,000 in "unjustified" allowances. The article also reports that, during a European Parliamentary debate yesterday, Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies said, "Most people regard Dover as no better than a thief, a crook who should be in jail...If one of our constituents fraudulently claims welfare benefits they will be prosecuted and could go to prison. Sometimes things seem different here".
MEPs holding up telecoms package over suspension of internet usage
EUobserver reports that MEPs on the European Parliament's Industry Committee yesterday passed an amendment to the so-called telecoms bill requiring that internet cut-offs can only be put in place after a decision by judicial authorities. The article reports that passage of the bill will be delayed by at least a month as negotiations get under way, with the issue of particular importance to both France and Sweden. President Sarkozy in particular has championed French legislation to cut off internet access to repeat offenders of illegal downloads, and Sweden last week jailed the founders of the Pirate Bay music-sharing website for internet piracy.
Meanwhile, this has led to a surge in membership of a related political movement, the Pirate Party, turning it into Sweden's fourth largest political force ahead of the European elections in June, according to EurActiv. The article quotes the party's Vice-Chairman, Christian Engström, saying "this verdict is our ticket to the European Parliament".
European Parliament to vote on reducing cost of text messages sent abroad
El Mundo reports that the EU Parliament will today pass a regulation which will reduce the cost of text messages sent while abroad in another European country by up to 60%. The legislation will apply from 1 July 2009 and will mean that EU citizens will pay a maximum of 11 cents per text, as opposed to the current average of 29 cents.
The BBC reports that the legislation also caps costs for using data roaming services while abroad and will gradually reduce the cost of calls made and received abroad so that by 2011 an outgoing call costs 35 cents per minute.
Head of Bundesbank criticises Commission for 'reversing' bank integration in EU
In the FT, Alex Weber, Head of Germany's Bundesbank, warns that should the Commission insist on making lenders withdraw from foreign markets in order for banks to be more nationally focused, integration of the EU's banking sector could be put into reverse. The Commission might attach such a condition to any deal offering state aid for banks. Weber is quoted saying, "I find it surprising - to say the least - that European institutions view cross-border operations within the EU as foreign operations. For me, the euro area is the domestic economy."
Meanwhile, in the WSJ, Jurgen Stark, member of the Executive Board and the Council of the European Central Bank, argues "The European Central Bank and the national fiscal policies in the euro area have reacted in a forceful and timely manner to the abrupt change in both the financial markets and economic conditions....In particular, there has been no failure of a major bank in the euro area."
Irish Times: With second Lisbon referendum approaching, Irish government's decision to shut down public forum on Europe "is a strange one"
A leader in the Irish Times notes that the Irish government's decision to close the National Forum on Europe "is a strange one in a year when it plans to hold another referendum on the Lisbon Treaty." The Forum, set up in 2001 after the Nice Treaty was voted down in a referendum, provided a platform for political parties represented in the parliament to discuss EU affairs in a public setting with a diverse range of civil society and other organisations.
Murswiek: The Lisbon Treaty puts an end to the primacy of the German constitution
In a comment piece in Süddeutsche, Dietrich Murswiek who represents Peter Gauweiler in the case of the constitutionality of the Lisbon Treaty in the German Constitutional Court, argues that the Lisbon Treaty ultimately stipulates the primacy of the EU constitution over the German Constitution. Murswiek argues that these developments result from the fact that the Lisbon Treaty dissolves the previous structures of the EU, and that national constitutional questions will be ruled on by the ECJ instead of the German Constitutional Court. Mursewiek warns that some questions, such as whether research on embryos is considered ethical, would be decided on the European level, which could have consequences of the protection of German basic rights.
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EU to host conference on piracy
EUobserver reports that the EU is to host an international conference on piracy this week, but looks at possible EU-related causes to the piracy. European boats, particularly Spanish trawlers, have been known to fish illegally in Somali waters, according to the article. Anne Schoeer, from environmental group Oceana, is quoted saying "The commission closed its eyes to this knowingly. They were aware that Spanish boats were signing these private deals, which some analysts call 'protection money,' with the warlords."
The article also quotes a spokesman from the United Nations Environment Programme, saying that European firms have also been responsible for dumping hazardous waste, such as cadmium and mercury, off the Somali coast since the 1990s, "European companies found it to be very cheap to get rid of waste there, costing as little as $2.50 a ton where disposal costs in Europe are something like $250 a ton".
Russia to seek backing for South Stream gas pipeline
EurActiv reports that an energy summit to be held in Sofia over the weekend is expected to boost the Russian-favoured South Stream gas pipeline project. Bulgarian daily Dnevnik has reported that Russia is trying to introduce language into the final declaration of the energy summit, declaring the project to be declared an EU priority.
EU to coordinate nuclear energy policy
Le Monde reports that the European Commission has aims to improve coordination of safety and security measures for nuclear power centres, and a directive is currently in the process of being adopted, which will give legal power to the regulations established within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Commission will therefore be able to take legal action against member states which do not respect international regulations.
Budgetary and monetary tensions put eurozone under strain;
Europeans are split over the role of the euro in the crisis
According to the FT, Greece is today set to report an unexpectedly high 2008 budget deficit, underlining the severe pressures that the global financial crisis and recession are putting on the fiscal rules underpinning European monetary union. According to the paper, the announcement will reinforce the determination of Germany and other supporters of fiscal rectitude to secure a rapid return to budget discipline in the 16-nation eurozone rather than launch fresh deficit spending packages.
Meanwhile, Le Monde reports that a survey by Eurobarometer demonstrates that European citizens are divided over the role of the euro in the economic crisis. Across all 27 countries, 44% of Europeans think that the euro has not eased the negative effects of the economic crisis.
Quentin Peel: Irish may vote No in re-run referendum
In the FT, Quentin Peel looks at the "political consequences of the credit crunch" in Ireland. Looking at the re-run referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, he notes "Even if the opinion polls look more positive, the Irish vote cannot be taken for granted. Voters may be scared of the recession, but they are also angry with the political class that wants them to vote yes". He concludes that if Libertas does well in the European elections, a No vote in a second referendum looks more likely.
MEP rankings on activity put Robert Kilroy-Silk top
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports on an investigation by Flavien Delvort, a former assistant to the Italian MEP Marco Cappato, into activity and attendance rates of MEPs, using criteria such as attendance of plenary meetings, number of parliamentary questions, amendments, reports etc. Robert Kilroy-Silk achieved the highest rate of activity over the five year period, although he was not active by the end of the period. Only 9 MEPs achieved an activity rate of 100 percent in plenary session, and the highest attendance in committees was achieved by Austrian MEPs Hans-Peter Martin and Paul Rübig.
EUobserver reports that the European Commission has decided to proceed with publishing controversial proposals on hedge fund and private equity regulation, despite opposition from socialists.
PA reports that the European Commission's green paper on reform of the Common Fisheries Policy confirms that fish stocks are not recovering and that 80% of fish stocks remain overfished.
EUobserver reports that the structural reforms necessary for Croatia to join the EU are likely to delay entry more than the Slovenian border dispute, including judicial reform and restructuring Croatia's shipyards and the agriculture sector.
The European Commission has announced an increase in funding for high-risk information and communication technology (ICT), or blue-sky research, by 70% by 2013 to €170m annually.
UK
IMF: Each UK taxpayer faces £5,000 bill to cover losses from economic crisis
The Telegraph reports that on the eve of Alistair Darling's Budget announcement, the International Monetary Fund warned that every British taxpayer faces a bill of nearly £5,000 for losses associated with the financial crisis and the Government's bailout of the country's high-street banks. The Mail notes that the IMF made the "unprecedented move" of downgrading the total cost of the banking bailout from £200billion to just over £130billion, after clashing with the Government last night.
Meanwhile, EUobserver reports that, according to the IMF, Europe as a whole faces a bill of €900bn in writedowns, as individuals and companies become increasingly unable to pay back borrowings.
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