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Europe
EU emission plans for vans and light trucks could add €6,000 to cost of each vehicle
The FT reports that the motor industry has attacked the European Commission's proposal to impose tighter environmental standards on vans and trucks within the next four years. Light commercial vehicles have so far been exempt from EU emissions standards and Acea, the Brussels-based European carmakers' lobby, has said the proposals would add up to €6,000 to the price of each vehicle.
Germany's CSU expects agreement on how to strengthen parliament's role in EU decision-making process this week
After the German Social Democrat Party (SPD) expressed confidence in an agreement yesterday on how to improve German parliamentary scrutiny of EU decision making, as required by the ruling of the German Constitutional Court, the head of Bavaria's Christian Socialists' (CSU) national committee, Thomas Koschyk, said in an interview with Der Spiegel: "I am very confident that we will agree on the core issues of a draft law by the end of the week".
A remaining controversial issue is exactly how far the Bundestag's statements will be binding on the German government during negotiations at EU level. Koschyk stresses that: "For us, as well as for the opposition parties, it is clear the statements of the Bundestag need to be more binding on the government than before". Koschyk pointed out that this approach enjoys broad agreement but "only the SPD shows opposition on this issue".
Meanwhile, opposition FDP Party politician Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in an interview with Deutschlandradio that she opposes the CSU demand of an absolute binding statement of the Bundestag in all EU policy initiatives. In that respect she underlines the fact that the FDP is "clearly with the CDU [Germany's Christian Democrat party] and not with the CSU".
However, the Left Party Die Linke highlighted again that they are demanding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. According to EurActiv, their parliamentary spokesperson on EU matters, Diether Dehm, said it is not yet certain whether they will file a constitutional complaint against the new law required by the Lisbon judgment of the Constitutional Court. In any case, Die Linke opposes the Lisbon Treaty and actively supports the no campaign on the Irish referendum.
Spiegel Deutschlandradio Euractiv
Conservatives criticise European allies' failure to deliver troops to Afghanistan
The Sun reports that Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox has criticised other EU countries for only providing a third of the troops promised for the war in Afghanistan. European leaders pledged to deliver an extra 5,000 soldiers at a Nato summit in Strasbourg in April. But new figures show that European troop numbers have only grown by 1,700.
The paper reports that Mr Fox said it was shocking that the UK's European allies have failed to deliver on their promises. He added, "If we are still missing two-thirds of the troops promised, then the Government needs to explain what went wrong and stop making excuses for our allies. I am afraid that this is another example of Europe promising more than it can deliver."
German Foreign Minister warns Britain over "backsliding" on financial regulation
The FT reports that the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said that Britain should resist pressure from the City of London to oppose tougher regulations of international financial markets.
Speaking in Berlin yesterday he said "We see signs of resistance from the City of London, where the financial markets are being rediscovered. I hope that this will not be a decisive influence on the British government's position in Pittsburgh [at the G20]. But if you are seeing indications of backsliding, you may not be wrong."
Bulgarian government has only paid out 1 percent of its EU allocated funds
EUreferendum notes that the Bulgarian press has reported that the Bulgarian government has only been able to spend 1.27 percent of the EU funding allocated to it, which is to be spent by 2013. The blog notes that Prime Minister Boiko Borissov has just sacked the Executive Director of the National Road Infrastructure Agency (NRIA), which is responsible for administering EU funds for Bulgaria's transport programme, after only 0.38 percent of the allocation was paid out.
Standart News Sofia Echo EU Referendum blog
European Commission attempts to raise milk prices
FAZ reports that, in a bid to raise milk prices which have dropped by 28% since the end of 2007, the European Commission has now decided to bring milks quotas down by allowing member states to apply quotas directly at individual farm level. It has already announced plans for export subsidies and the storage of nonmarketable goods, at a cost of €600 million.
FAZ
William Hague attacks EU's "weak and confused" response to Bosnia
The Independent reports that Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned that Bosnia is on the brink of collapse in the midst of a new crisis in the Balkans with violence "not far below the surface", and that the situation risked turning Bosnia-Herzegovina into "Europe's black hole". Mr Hague also attacked the "weak and confused" EU response to the "pressure to fragment the country".
Russian President attacks Ukraine leadership over "anti-Russian" behaviour
The BBC reports that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made a scathing attack on Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, accusing him of "anti-Russian" behaviour. He alleged that Mr Yushchenko had supplied Ukrainian weapons to the Georgian forces who "killed civilians and Russian peacekeepers in Tskhinvali" during the South Ossetia conflict a year ago and also accused Mr Yushchenko of bypassing Russia in Ukrainian energy deals with the EU "concerning deliveries of our Russian gas".
Writing in the Yorkshire Post, Timothy Kirkhope MEP responds to an article from Edward McMillan-Scott, who lost the Conservative Party whip, and laments the fact that McMillan-Scott has "sought to cause disruption in the delivery of the pledges on which we all campaigned."
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy Javier Solana writes in Le Figaro that the EU's contribution to combating piracy off the coast of Somalia has been successful, with the EU Navfor Operation having reduced successful pirate attacks tenfold since its launch in December. He suggests that the EU should build on this success by tackling the root causes of piracy in Somalia.
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Writing on Conservative Home, its Editor Tim Montgomerie argues that, "The idea that EU equals internationalism does not stand up to scrutiny", and cites the Common Agricultural Policy and the fact that the EU's aid budget has often been used to further EU nations' commercial interests as evidence.
The EU has condemned a decision by a court in Myanmar to extend the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
European Voice LeMonde Europe 1 20 minutos French Foreign Office El Mundo El Mundo Guardian
An EUobserver article looks at the difficulties member states face in introducing localised fishing restrictions in marine protected areas because fisheries policy falls under EU competence.
The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development reports that Brazil has threatened to file a dispute with the World Trade Organisation against the UK for illegally exporting 1,400 tons of waste that were mislabeled as recyclable plastic. The waste shipment, sent between February and May, included syringes, batteries, cleaning products and nappies.
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