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Poland calls for EU to prioritise defence policy, strengthening "EU arms agency" and a role for EU Foreign Minister at NATO
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog reports that in an unexpected move, the Polish government has said that its top priority for its presidency of the EU in the second half of 2011 will be the development of a "European defence policy." It reports that "Warsaw wants the EU to have a fleet of A400M military transport planes so it can independently carry out military operations outside Europe. The planes could be bought by a European Armaments Agency whose powers would be considerably strengthened. Poland is also proposing a deputy EU Foreign Minister in charge of security questions, and Warsaw wants the future EU Foreign Minister [created by the Lisbon Treaty] to take part in NATO meetings! One can only imagine the reaction of the Brits to such proposals, which will delight Paris who will find in them a strong ally in the East."
Yes campaign offers EU officials free flights to Ireland to campaign for Yes vote
Europe for Ireland, a Brussels-based Yes campaign group, has sent an email to EU officials in Brussels, offering them free flights to Ireland to campaign for a Yes vote. The name of the campaign is: "A Day in Ireland to Work for Europe - Free Flights".
The group's website features the offer, which says: "interested in travelling to Dublin to work for the Lisbon Treaty? Ryanair have offered us some free seats for people who volunteer to canvass for the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland." It reports that the flights to and from Ireland will be booked only for Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30 September and 1 October. The website also states: "You must agree in writing to canvass for a Yes vote while in Dublin. We will put you in touch with one of the relevant organisations in Dublin. (If you do not turn up to canvass, your return flight may be jeopardised.)"
People's Movement Chairwoman Patricia McKenna has responded saying, "It is absolutely outrageous that EU officials are offering free flights to people to come to Ireland to canvas for a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum and it demonstrates the lengths to which EU officials are willing to go to get their own way on this issue...This is absolutely unbelievable and I am calling on those responsible to come out publicly and justify this deliberate interference in a sovereign decision of the Irish people."
'Europe Says No'
A new pan-European web-campaign, "Europe Says No - No to Lisbon, Yes to Democracy" has launched, with supporters and comments from people all over the EU. Supporters include Gustav Fridolin, Swedish journalist and author; British Labour MP Gisela Stuart; Sari Essayah, Christian Democrat MEP for Finland; Harry van Bommel, Socialist Party MP in the Netherlands; and Petr Mac, Leader of the Party of Free Citizens (SSO) in the Czech Republic. The site says: "Europe Says No' is a coalition of pro-Europeans who want a better future for Europe. We believe in an EU where important decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizens they affect - not by distant, unaccountable institutions which disregard the will of the people. We want an EU which safeguards the rights of national parliaments, and has respect for the hard-won democracies of its member states. The Irish referendum represents the last real chance to reject this undemocratic Treaty and force politicians in Brussels to rethink. If the EU is allowed to continue growing in power without consulting the people this will spell disaster in the long run."
Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports that a group of Polish political bloggers from website Niepoprawni.pl have made an appeal to Irish people to vote No, because the EU is trying to pass the Treaty without allowing other Europeans to vote on it.
The Irish No campaign is organising a press conference of Europeans opposed to the Treaty on Monday at 1pm at the Buswells Hotel, Molesworth Street, Dublin. Speakers will include Patricia McKenna; Harry Van Bommel MEP; Prof Dietrich Murswiek, Constitutional Law Professor at Freiburg University; and Czech politician Petr Mach of the Free Citizens Party.
New poll has Yes side in lead in Ireland's Lisbon Treaty debate;
A new poll for the Irish Times shows that 48% of people plan to vote Yes, 33% plan to vote No, and 19% are undecided in Ireland's Lisbon Treaty referendum next week. This represents a 2 point increase for the Yes side, and a 4 point increase for the No side since the last Irish Times poll in early September. At a similar stage in last year's campaign, the No side was leading the Yes side by 35 to 30 points, with 35% undecided. Excluding the 'don't knows', the Yes side is now in the lead by 59% to 41%, compared with 61% to 39% at the beginning of the month.
The Irish Times reports that during a live radio debate Declan Ganley reminded Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary of his previous criticisms of the European Commission as "Stalinist" and "an evil empire" run by "morons" and "gobshites". O'Leary also said that: "only in the European Union, Ireland and Zimbabwe are you forced to vote twice". An unrepentant O'Leary reportedly rolled his eyes and responded, "Accept No for an answer Declan and bugger off".
On the Guardian's Comment Is Free website, Declan Ganley writes that, by voting No last time, "we Irish behaved badly, and were therefore required as a matter of course to vote again. Nearly every EU leader agrees with this. Their own people must not vote, but the Irish must vote twice. It would be funny - a parody in fact - were it not real."
EUobserver reports that EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani has been accused of a conflict of interest for spending six hours aboard a Ryanair flight alongside Michael O'Leary campaigning for a Yes vote. In June 2007, the Commission blocked a bid by Ryanair to purchase rival airline Aer Lingus on competition grounds. The Telegraph reports that Erik Wesselius, of the Corporate Europe Observatory, a group that monitors links between the EU institutions and big business, described Mr Tajani's presence as "a big mistake".
The Irish Independent reports that Taoiseach Brian Cowen faced protests from No campaigners at the Ploughing Championships yesterday. On his blog, BBC Europe Editor Gavin Hewitt reports on the campaigning in Dublin, and writes, "To me it seems little of the argument is about the treaty itself and its impact on ordinary people".
On his Irish Times State of the Union blog Jamie Smyth reports that European Parliament ALDE group leader Guy Verhofstadt will travel to Ireland on Monday to campaign for the Yes side, where he was due to give an interview to the paper, but only on the condition that he could 'authorise' the article before it went to press. The main reason cited was the huge "sensitivity" in the referendum campaign and a fear that saying the wrong thing could in some way tip the balance towards a no vote.
Irish Times Irish Times 2 EUobserver Telegraph Guardian Irish Independent Belfast Telegraph BBC RTE Economist Telegraph: Hannan blog Irish Times: State of the Union BBC: Hewitt blog Café Babel Toute l'Europe OE blog
Head of EP's economic committee says EU's AIFM Directive could be softened
Sharon Bowles, Lib-Dem MEP and Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, has said that the UK's efforts to soften the EU's AIFM Directive have the support of most MEPs, reports the Guardian. She said: "Of course it will be amended...There was a lot of comment [amongst MEPs] recognising there were problems. It's a hard fight but I remain optimistic that we will get lots of changes. I hope the European Parliament will be on the side of investors."
The article also cites Open Europe's study on the AIFM Directive, published on Monday, which found that the Directive will cost the private equity and hedge fund sectors in the EU between €1.3bn (£1.2bn) and €1.9bn, and that the two sectors contribute about £5.3bn a year in UK taxes. Open Europe's report also received coverage in Spanish daily Cincodias and on Austrian financial website Boerse.
Open Europe research Open Europe press release Guardian Telegraph: City Diary Cincodias Boerse
FT: Without the right staff new EU financial supervisors might create more problems than they solve
A leader in the FT looks at the Commission's proposal for more EU supervision of financial markets, including the creation of three new EU authorities with binding powers over the FSA and other national regulators. While welcoming the proposal, the leader argues that "Much hinges on the EU bodies' competence in designing and policing rules. Without enough good staff - hard to attract with the tiny budgets proposed - they may cause more problems than they solve."
FT Open Europe press release Open Europe briefing
McCreevy calls for more EU-standardisation in the OTC derivatives market
The FT notes that Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has said that the EU may in future impose targets and deadlines in order to achieve more standardisation in the over-the-counter derivatives market. However, he also stressed that he did not believe any products should be banned because of the risks they presented. "I am not sure whether banning products is the answer," he said.
Telegraph: "EU carbon policy could leave UK 'in the dark'"
In an article looking at the EU's energy and environment policy, the Telegraph reports that Britain's old coal-fired power plants have only six more years of operation under an EU directive that requires the phasing out of the most polluting stations. Experts predict that the phasing out of these plants will leave the UK facing a shortage of energy that may lead to power cuts and higher bills. New nuclear plants will not arrive until 2017 and Britain will be reliant on gas at a time when North Sea reserves are depleting and supplies must come from unstable regions, such as Russia and the Middle East.
The article notes that many power generators and heavy users of electricity are supportive of the EU's carbon trading emissions scheme but sceptical about directives that place additional pressures on industry, such as prescriptive targets for renewables. David Porter, Chief Executive of the Association of Electricity Producers, said, "A great example of the market is the EU carbon emissions trading scheme. But there is also the directive that says the UK must have 15 per cent of our energy from renewables by 2020. Left to its own devices, the market would probably have delivered a good amount of this. But trying to enforce it has left the market in turmoil and uncertainty."
Meanwhile, there is further coverage of the European Court of First Instance's decision that the Commission had "exceeded the limits of its power" when setting restrictive limits on Poland and Estonia's national carbon emission reduction plans. EUobserver reports that, in a letter to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has used the case to argue that his country should be able to issue additional carbon allowances.
Telegraph Telegraph 2 Telegraph 3 EUreferendum Repubblica CorriereDellaSera Messaggero ANSA AGI EUobserver BBC Open Europe research
Germany accuses Brown of distracting from the need for greater financial regulation
FTDeutschland reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück have accused the US and Britain of playing down the need for stricter financial regulation and instead are focussing on global trade imbalances Merkel and Steinbrück suspect that the US and Britain are using the debate about trade imbalances to weaken the G20 initiative on stricter financial markets rules.
Meanwhile, the Independent quotes European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, who wrote in an article: "If recovery is to last, the G20 must step up reforming financial markets, with zero tolerance for any return to the 'bad old ways'." It is also reported that world leaders have announced that the G20 is to succeed the G8 as the world's main economic forum, spreading influence to emerging powers such as India and China.
FTD FTD 2 Der Standard Independent Independent: Prosser Times Times2 Guardian Repubblica
Charlemagne: McCreevy was right when he said other EU countries would have vote No to Lisbon
The Economist's Charlemagne column features an assessment of the European Commission, as its current term comes to an end, and suggests which ten have been the best. The list includes some "for telling the truth in public", such as Estonian Commissioner Siim Kallas for publishing the "fat sums handed by the commission to think-tanks and 'non-governmental' groups around Brussels." It also includes Internal Markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy: "When Euro-types denounced Ireland for voting no to the Lisbon treaty, he said most other countries would lose referendums on the same text. He was right". The not so impressive include Communications Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, "a Swede whose 'kum-bay-yah' approach grated with colleagues".
Open Europe's research on the EU's INDECT programme of IT software continues to receive coverage in German weekly Zeit. The article quoted Stephen Booth saying, "This is all pretty scary stuff in my book. These projects would involve a huge invasion of privacy and citizens need to ask themselves whether the EU should be spending their taxes on them." The research was also covered on the Neowin website.
Council warns MEPs over commenting on its accounts
European Voice reports that the EU Council yesterday fought back against accusations from MEPs that it has been secretive about its 2007 accounts and failed to account for transfers of tens of millions of euros. The Council Secretariat issued a document addressing MEPs' concerns, claiming that the Council's use of 44 'suspense accounts' in which transactions are booked temporarily is "normal business practice" in all EU institutions and "that unspent funds intended for interpretation costs were transferred to pay for delegates' travel expenses but this was in line with an agreement on unused funds."
The article notes that the document issued a 'veiled warning' to MEPs not to break an established 'gentleman's agreement' under which the Parliament and Council do not comment on each other's spending.
EU Competition Commissioner: "We cannot accept one government bribing companies in order to steal or end the jobs of another"
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes' remarks were aimed at the German government's promised €4.5bn (£4.1bn) state aid to Magna International in order to safeguard German jobs in the Opel-Vauxhall takeover. The Commission sent a list of between 100 and 200 questions to the German government over its financial support, reports the Guardian. The Economist reports that not even the German government's two nominees to the Opel trust board, set up to run the company until it is sold, could bring themselves to support the plan. One of them, Manfred Wennemer, declared: "The state carries the entire risk. We don't have a solution that will eventually turn Opel into a competitive company."
Telegraph Guardian Le Monde Economist EUobserver EurActiv European Voice
German elections: SPD is benefiting from mobilising uncertain voters - but centre-right coalition could prevail even without outright majority
A comment piece in the FT notes that opinion polls are suggesting that Angela Merkel has done just enough to get her preferred centre-right coalition with the CSU and the FDP. However it argues that Sunday's election could go either way due to a growth of minority parties and a surge in swing voting.
Another FT article says that Ms Merkel could prevail even if her favoured centre-right coalition fail to win an outright majority. A quirk in the German voting system - the so called "overhang" or bonus seats - could allow the CDU and pro-business Free Democrats to form a government with as little as 47 per cent of the second, party-aligned vote.
Meanwhile, the Times reports that Guido Westerwelle, leader of the Free Democrats (FDP), is the man tipped to be Angela Merkel's Foreign Minister.
FTD FT FT: Editorial El País El País 2 IHT Economist Times
Belgian law Professor: "EU penal law measures violate constitutional liberties"
The In Flanders Fields blog reports that Belgian Law Professor Matthias Storme has criticised the European Arrest Warrant, saying "people are being extradited and are awaiting their trial in a country where they don't know the language...It has even happened that people were extradited to countries where the events did not happen."
IFF
European Voice reports that the EU Commission wants a default maximum noise limit for MP3 players, because of concerns that listeners are doing irreparable harm to their hearing.
RP reports that Poland wants a portfolio created in the next Commission responsible for the Eastern Partnership. A Commission spokesman said nothing could be decided before it was known if the Lisbon Treaty would come into force.
EurActiv reports that EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso plans to appoint a Chief Scientific Advisor to assist the incoming EU Commission in making decisions on everything from genetically modified food to addressing climate change.
An article in the WSJ notes that Business Secretary Lord Mandelson yesterday said that foreign ownership of some British companies may "disadvantage" the UK's manufacturing industry in the long term.
Polish daily Dziennik reports that EU Commissioner Jan Figel has welcomed the decision by UEFA that a club's expenditure on transfers and salaries may no longer exceed the value of its assets from the 2012/13 season.
The European Union has agreed to return its ambassadors to Honduras in support of exiled President Manuel Zelaya.
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