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Europe
Cowen names 2 October as second referendum date
The Independent reports that Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen has announced that the second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty will take place on 2 October. The Irish Times notes that EU leaders have welcomed the decision with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt saying he "hoped to see a better campaign and result in Ireland".
The Mail quotes Open Europe's Sarah Gaskell saying, "It is completely unjustified that Irish voters are being asked to vote again on the very same Lisbon treaty that they rejected last year. Despite assurances to respect the Irish no vote and the concerns of the Irish people, not a single comma in the treaty has changed. Meanwhile, British voters have not been given a chance to have a say on this treaty, despite promises from all of the major parties in their last election manifestos to hold a referendum."
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Conservative MEP Malcolm Harbour to take over Internal Market Committee?;
Lib Dem MEP Sharon Bowles to chair economic and monetary affairs committee
Euractiv reports on the liberals gaining the Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee from the socialists in the European Parliament. According to the article, in exchange for withdrawing his candidacy to become President of the EP, Graham Watson reportedly "gained leverage to help ALDE win the important chair of the economic and monetary affairs committee, as well as the chair of a temporary special committee to deal with the economic crisis, an idea launched by Watson himself." German liberal MEP Wolf Klinz will chair this temporary committee.
The article adds that ALDE has confirmed that Sharon Bowles will chair the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, and not Lib Dem MEP Andrew Duff as previously suggested, while Italian Liberal MEP Luigi de Magistris seems likely to chair the Budgetary Control Committee. Furthermore, the Conservatives' new ECR group will chair the Internal Market Committee (previously chaired by the socialists), with UK MEP Malcolm Harbour expected to take the position.
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog also notes that Graham Watson will lead the EU-China delegation. Jean Quatremer adds that Sharon Bowles is "directly aligned with the City of London". The blog reports that Pervenche Berès, the former chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has received the consolation position of rapporteur for the temporary special committee on the economic crisis.
European Voice reports that German MEPs are expected to chair three of the most powerful legislative committees: the Industry, Research and Energy Committee, the Environment Committee and the new Justice Committee, which will manage issues that were previously dealt with by the legal affairs committee. The article also notes that Italian EPP MEP Mario Mauro, who was a candidate for the presidency of the European Parliament, is likely to chair the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Meanwhile, Le Monde reports that the centre-right EPP and the socialists yesterday signed a "technical agreement" on sharing the European Parliament presidency. Former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek will lead Parliament for the first half of the legislature, following which German Socialist Martin Schulz is due to take over.
EurActiv Coulisses de Bruxelles Monde European Voice
Voting plans for EU financial supervisory bodies could undermine UK position
The Telegraph reports that the three new EU supervisory authorities to oversee banking, insurance and securities, agreed by member state leaders last month to have binding powers over national regulators, could drastically limit the UK's power in blocking legislation that could be damaging to the City of London.
Previously, it was thought that voting within the new bodies would be by qualified majority voting. But now the European Commission is entertaining the idea of allowing simple majority voting for financial regulations, according to the article. Simple majority voting would make it difficult for the UK to block legislation and would give the UK essentially the same voting weight as smaller countries such as Malta or Slovenia in deciding financial controls.
Speaking about the proposals, Shadow City Minister Mark Hoban said, "The City is very seriously concerned about this. At least qualified majority voting provides a checking mechanism, since we can build support from the Nordics and countries in Eastern Europe. Any move to a simple majority must be stopped... The Government took its eye off the ball at the G20 summit. It needs to mount a rear-guard action to defend the interests of London".
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London Mayor claims hedge fund directive is "either badly thought out or thought out with malign intent"
Speaking on the BBC Today programme, London Mayor Boris Johnson criticised the European Commission's plans to regulate hedge funds, accusing the plans of being "either badly thought out or thought out with malign intent to strangle the advantage and competitiveness of the City of London in an area that...was not really implicated in the financial meltdown". Johnson reported that "it's a weird thing that under the fog of confusion and war the EU commission seems to be proceeding to attack something in which London simply excels." He finished by saying: "I rally the EU commission to see sense on this because this directive isn't only against the interest of London but also against the interests of Europe."
The FT reported that he held a meeting on Tuesday with senior City figures who told him that "they would stop operating in London and move overseas if the draft Alternative Investment Fund Management directive became law". Boris Johnson argued on the Today programme that Europe's competitive advantage would be undermined and that "other cities around the world such as New York and Shanghai" would be the ones to benefit.
On his BBC blog Business Editor Robert Peston writes "Loving them [hedge funds] may not be easy, unless you've made a mint by backing the shrewder funds over the years. But exiling them from these shores may be an over-reaction - and, in that sense, the proposed European legislation may be misplaced."
FT Guardian Today programme BBC: Peston blog
Tett: German lobbying to loosen banking rules driven by desire to avoid transparency
Writing in the FT, Gillian Tett looks at Germany's attempt to lobby EU finance ministers for a temporary loosening of the bank capital and accounting rules and argues that, "Officially, this was sparked by a desire to give German banks enough leeway to make more loans; in reality, though, it also appears to be driven by a desire to avoid too much transparency on bad loans."
Neelie Kroes accuses drug industry of slowing access to cheaper medicines
The European Commission has accused the largest drug companies of slowing public access to cheaper medicines, writes the Telegraph. EU Competition Commissioner, Neelie Kroes suggested that "there is something rotten in the state", after a Commission report found that between 2000 and 2007, EU member states lost at least €3bn because manufacturers accepted payments to delay the release of cheaper generic medicines.
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Poettering: European Parliament now equal to member states
The outgoing European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering has said that "We are very successful now as European Parliament to be as equal partners of the council." He also suggested that the Parliament should be "ambitious" to increase MEPs' powers towards member states.
Die Presse reports that "a social democrat as EU Council President is likely", naming former Danish PM Poul Nyrup Rasmussen as a candidate. The article claims that the EPP has the best chances for the posts of Commission President and EU Foreign Minister, citing incumbent NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and former Commissioner Franco Frattini as candidates.
Strasbourg Parliament only partially fireproofed
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports on the poor construction of the Strasbourg Parliament building, following the discovery yesterday that the metallic beams supporting the dome of the legislature were only partially fireproofed, meaning they would only have lasted 20 minutes in a fire. Outgoing EP Vice-President Gérard Onesta said "for 10 years we have been living with the sword of Damocles over our heads", adding that the European Parliament will launch legal proceedings against the company responsible.
European Commission plan to give police access to asylum seeker fingerprint database raises concern about human rights
De Tijd reports that the European Commission wants to give law enforcement authorities and Europol access to the Eurodac database containing fingerprints of asylum seekers. Di-ve reports the proposal has raised concern about potential human rights violations, with the European Council on Refugees and Exiles asking: "How would it be ensured that information about people fleeing persecution doesn't reach their persecutors?"
The FT notes that the European Commission has proposed to continue to buy and store butter and skimmed milk powder until 2011 - despite having previously promised to scrap its controversial interventions in the dairy sector as part of the so-called 'Health Check' of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.
Conservatives and Socialists agree on a date for Barroso
Focus reports that the EPP and socialist group in the European Parliament have agreed to vote on Barroso's re-appointment as Commission President on 15 September. German CDU MEP Werner Langen warned that "the decision does not mean that there is a consensus on Barroso, but that the two sides agree to vote on his re-appointment after the summer".
Focus DN Coulisses de Bruxelles Times
The Irish Times reports that the EU has reintroduced a plan to give more rights to criminal suspects, a plan which has previously received opposition from Ireland and other member states. The plan highlights rights for all suspects throughout Europe to quality interpretation and translation free of charge at all stages of criminal proceedings.
A leader in the Independent has a headline "Europe's democratic deficit" and argues, "the kind of politicking that continues over Lisbon only underscores the democratic deficit at the heart of the European Union."
In a letter to the FT Andrea Renda, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies, argues that the stalled EU telecoms package is crucial to the EU's economic recovery and that, "Should the issue be further delayed, member states are likely to take their own independent initiatives, leading to a fragmented European landscape and a loss that is estimated at up to €20bn per year owing to the lack of a true internal market."
The FT Brussels blog reports on a new article by Otmar Issing, a former ECB Chief Economist who argues against the idea of a common eurozone bond, saying that it would imply that France and Germany "would have to pay higher interest rates, and that would in the end mean higher tax burdens for their citizens... Issuing a common bond would be a first step on the slippery road to 'bail-outs', and thus the end of the euro area as a zone of stability."
El Mundo reports that Viviane Reding will continue in the European Commission and not take up her seat as an MEP.
Writing on the Guardian's Comment is Free website under a headline "Good riddance to Javier Solana", David Cronin, Brussels correspondent of Inter Press Service news agency, argues that the full extent of the EU's Foreign Policy chief's relationship with the arms industry has "escaped the spotlight" and describes the EU's evolution from a purely civilian to a military power as "indeed extraordinary".
The FT writes that a huge rise in demand for Euro banknotes outside the eurozone could cause problems for borrowers and lenders. 13 percent of Euro banknotes are reportedly circulating outside the eurozone, but money sent home by immigrants working within the EU could mean the figure is as high as 20%.
City AM writes that new figures published by Eurostat show that the Eurozone economy shrank by a record amount in the first quarter of 2009 due to a slump in exports and investment.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy is already looking to the next election according to Le Figaro, saying "For good and for bad - you have to live with me for the next seven and a half years!"
According to Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos, the EU's Stability and Growth Pact is "really in great danger", now that nearly all Member States are in breach of the pact. He added that when he brought up the concerns at an EU Ministers meeting, "it became silent, which is even more worrying", reports Het Financieel Dagblad.
El Mundo reports that "extradition will become the rule", following the signing of the extradition and legal assistance agreement between all EU member states and the US government. The article notes that the agreement has significantly extended the list of crimes for which suspects can be extradited and introduces new measures to combat terrorism.
UK
The Telegraph and the FT report that Alistair Darling's "White Paper" banking reform announced yesterday failed to impress City leaders as they complained that the recommendations did not change the status quo.
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World
G8 leaders warn of continuing risk to global economy
The FT reports that G8 leaders meeting yesterday failed to agree a concerted strategy to boost the global economy, in the face of diverging views. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted the talks to focus on an 'exit strategy' to unwind the fiscal stimulus provided to the global economy, other leaders argued that such talk was premature and the summit statement said there was still "significant risk" to economic and financial stability. Canadian PM Stephen Harper is quoted by EurActiv saying "Before there is talk of additional stimulus, I would urge all leaders to focus first on making sure the stimulus that has been announced actually gets delivered".
EUobserver reports that G8 leaders also agreed to some climate change targets, formally committing themselves to contain global temperature rises to 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The leaders also said that world emission levels should be cut by 50 percent by 2050, and that to achieve this target, developed nations must cut emission levels by 80 percent in the same period. However, there was no mention of mid-term targets and the meeting's communiqué does not pin down an exact reference year for the cuts, only referring to "1990 or more recent years," raising doubts over the exact levels of emission cuts.
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