| Open Europe |
| Fortnightly Open Europe Bulletin: 15 January 2010 |
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| 1. European judges ruling on controversial 3.7% pay increase will benefit from the rise |
In a pay dispute that began before Christmas, the European Commission has decided to sue the EU's 27 member states at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for refusing to grant a 3.7% pay increase to EU officials. However, due to the EU's pay structures, the ECJ judges ruling on the case will also benefit from the pay rise. (Telegraph PA, 6 January)
The Commission argues that a failure to agree the 3.7% pay rise, calculated according to the EU's own pay formula, would be "illegal" and contravene the "rule of law." Should the pay rise be implemented, the EU has calculated that it will cost taxpayers as much as €147 million. (Handelsblatt, 8 January)
Member states, including the UK, argued that, with countries such as Ireland and Latvia undergoing major austerity measures in the wake of the recession, it would not be the best time for an inflation-busting rise for EU bureaucrats. Writing on the Guardian's Comment is Free, Open Europe's Stephen Booth argued that "Evidently, recessions don't penetrate the Brussels bubble and, even if they did, they would of course be superseded by EU law. Interestingly, the dated 'compulsory method' for calculating pay only takes into account the living standards of eight of the EU's richest countries."
He added that "the process by which this issue is being dealt with is profoundly wanting in democratic accountability", concluding: "In a rather sorry tale of irony, the people most enamoured with the entire EU project, its army of bureaucrats, have managed to show the EU institutions in a light they all too often appear: defiant of democratically elected member governments; unwilling to recognise the realities facing the world outside Brussels; and so ridden with vested interests that the needs of European citizens are left by the wayside." (Comment is Free: Booth, 8 January)
In further evidence of the conflict of interests inherent in the system, the EU pay formula used to calculate the 3.7% rise doesn't rely on Belgian data for housing costs but, instead, on yearly surveys the EU carries out with its own staff, asking them how much they pay. A privacy statement attached to the survey says the data will be used "for the calculation of the annual salary adjustment." Charles Forelle, writing in the WSJ, noted that "rent-survey data accounted for nearly all of the increase in the EU's bespoke cost-of-living figure...Had the EU used the Belgian consumer-price index - which fell 1.1% - to adjust the civil-servant salaries, the raise would have been a more recession-friendly 1.7%, instead of the now-vilified 3.7%." (WSJ: Forelle, 8 January)
Catherine Ashton, Britain's EU Commissioner, and newly appointed EU Foreign Minister, will pocket an extra £9,000 on top of her basic annual salary of £241,000 if the Commission's legal action is successful.
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The European Parliament has been holding 'confirmation' hearings all this week for the new members of the European Commission, and is due to hold a vote on whether or not to confirm the entire Commission on 26 January.
EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton had her hearing on Monday, with Libération journalist Jean Quatremer describing it as "deadly boring". She failed to provide detailed answers on policy questions in a number of areas, with German Christian Democrat MEP Elmar Brok saying after the hearing, "She clearly still has a lot of learning to do; there are many gaping holes that will have to be filled very quickly." (Independent EP press release Aston's hearing: video, 12 January)
There is also concern that Lady Ashton is too centred in the Commission, as opposed to the Council which represents member states, having established her office in the Commission headquarters and using Commission officials as key advisers. Under the Lisbon Treaty, Ashton will establish the EU's diplomatic service - the External Action Service. The Service will be made up of officials from member states and the European Commission, but policy should be decided by member states. Lady Ashton's proximity to the Commission is leading to fears that it is plotting to keep national diplomats out of senior European diplomatic corps jobs, with an unnamed diplomat warning, "Ashton is not a strong figure politically and her weakness is allowing the commission to empire build - which was not the idea behind her post." (Telegraph, Coulisses de Bruxelles, 12 January)
In his hearing Laszlo Andor, the Hungarian nominee for EU Employment Commissioner, said that there was a "compelling case to revisit" the EU's Working Time Directive, negotiations on which collapsed last year over MEPs' attempts to remove the UK's opt-out from the 48-hour week. He added that opt-outs from EU legislation must, in general, be temporary. He also said that there was a "fundamental problem" with the posting of workers directive - which was the subject of last year's strikes over foreign labour at the Lindsey oil refinery. (European Voice, 13 January)
Much controversy has centred on Bulgaria's nomination for Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Rumiana Jeleva, relating to allegations that she had private business interests while she was an MEP, in violation of Bulgarian law. (EUobserver, 14 January)
Danish Liberal MEP Jens Rohde has now said "with 99 percent certainty" that the EU Commission currently being proposed will fall, with the liberal ALDE group reportedly deciding not to back Ms Jeleva. (Berlingske Tidene, 15 January)
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EU President will cost taxpayers over £20m a year. The EU's new full-time President Herman Van Rompuy is due to cost taxpayers nearly £300 million. The total annual cost to EU taxpayers for Mr. Van Rompuy will be £22.5 million, including £2.1 million for security, £2.3 million for equipment, £6.2 million for summits and £5.2 million for 22 staff. In addition, the EU is spending another £252 million building a new facility to house the President's office. His salary is £273,814 a year - meaning he will earn more than US President Barack Obama, who earns £250,000. (News of the World, 4 January)
Taxpayers pay for skiing holidays for children of MEPs earning £108,000. Taxpayers are to heavily subsidise a February skiing holiday in the Italian Alps for the children of MEPs and European Parliament officials. The holiday costs €920 and is subsidised by the Parliament's budget. Households receive different levels of subsidy depending on their monthly income, but even those on an income of over £108,000 get a discount. An MEP earning £86,000 is eligible for a subsidy of 45 percent. (Express Telegraph, 4 January)
50% of nurses warn EU's working time rules put patients in danger. A survey of nurses carried out by the Nursing Times has showed that 50% of nurses said patients were being put in danger due to the Working Time Directive's restrictions on junior doctors' hours, compared with 39 percent who said they were not. 71 percent said that additional work had left them with less time to carry out basic nursing duties, while 70 percent said it had led to gaps in medical cover. (Nursing Times OE research OE blog, 12 January)
Defra study says CAP costs UK consumers £3.2bn. A new 20-year food strategy report from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has found that consumers paid an extra £3.2bn, or £52 each, for food in 2007, because of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. The Government has said one of its food strategy aims is to reform the CAP. (Telegraph, 6 January)
EU taxpayers fund "slapstick acting workshops". As part of an £800 million EU programme to help people aged 13-30 'feel European', taxpayers are helping to fund basket-weaving and slapstick acting workshops for young people across Europe. The UK Government provides ten percent of the EU's budget, meaning it is likely that around £80 million of the cash used to run the 'Youth In Action' programme will have come from British taxpayers. One project in Finland received thousands to support a coffee house which offered 'everyone the chance to have a sleep for free', aiming to encourage afternoon naps to reduce stress. (Mail on Sunday, 3 January)
Former Le Monde Editor: Lisbon Treaty has made EU more complex rather than more simple. In an article for Spanish newspaper El País, Jean-Marie Colombani, former Editor of Le Monde, criticised the Lisbon Treaty for making the EU more complex, writing: "Put ourselves in the place of European citizens, who were sold the idea that the Lisbon Treaty would simplify things... Now we realise that Europe will be run by a complex mechanism with at least four axes: the president and the European foreign minister; the country holding the rotating presidency; the president of the Commission and his team and finally the national heads of state and government."
The Spanish Deputy Prime Minister María Fernández, whose country holds the rotating EU Presidency, has also said that "The Lisbon Treaty has made the EU decision making process more complex".(El Pais, 5 January; Tijd, 15 January) |
| 4. Open Europe in the news |
EU judges to benefit from 3.7% pay increase 11 January TVP 8 January Comment is Free: Booth Origo 7 January Euractiv Challenge Express 6 January Rzeczpospolita Telegraph 1 January Mail
Following the news that EU judges will benefit from the 3.7% pay increase for EU officials that they will be asked to rule on, Open Europe was quoted in the Express, the Mail, Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, and on news sites Euractiv, Challenges and Origo.
Open Europe Director Mats Persson was quoted by the Telegraph saying: "Only the EU could come up with a system in which judges and bureaucrats have the ultimate power to decide on whether to award themselves an inflation-busting pay rise in the middle of the worst recession for generations. It's hard to find a clearer case of an inbuilt conflict of interest."
Open Europe's Stephen Booth wrote an article for the Guardian's Comment is Free website and Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe was interviewed on the Polish TVP news commenting on the potential legal case.
EU regulations to cost £184bn by 2020 7 January EUportal 30 December CNBC
Open Europe's Sarah Gaskell appeared on CNBC discussing Open Europe's research on the top 100 most costly EU regulations and arguing that powers over social and employment policy should be repatriated to the UK. The report was also featured on EUportal.
100 examples of EU fraud and waste 5 January ICM
An article by ICM news cited Open Europe's 2008 research on 100 examples of EU fraud and waste.
New European Commission will treat tax harmonisation as a high priority 4 January Irish Mail
Following the news that the European Commission intends to make tax harmonisation a high priority in its next mandate, the Irish Mail quoted Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe saying: "the tax harmonisation plan will impinge on national tax sovereignty and could have severe consequences for the Irish economy."
EU President to cost taxpayers over £20m a year 4 January Kurzy 3 January News of the World
Open Europe's Stephen Booth was quoted in the News of the World and on Czech news site Kurzy discussing the salary and benefits of EU President Herman Van Rompuy, which he described as "outrageous".
Lorraine Mullally: "2009 has been a disappointing year for anyone who cares about democracy in the EU" 3 January Yorkshire Post 31 December Conservative Home
In a piece for Conservative Home, Open Europe's Lorraine Mullally argued that "2009 has been a disappointing year for anyone who cares about democracy in Europe. It will go down in history as the year the political elite finally won the battle against the people to enforce the undemocratic EU Constitutional Treaty without their consent, or, in the case of Ireland, by bulldozing their original decision to reject it." She was also quoted in the Yorkshire Post saying: "Failure to give British people a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is a key reason people are disillusioned with politics".
The EU in 2010 - what to expect from the Spanish EU Presidency 2 January El Pais 28 December EurActiv
Open Europe's research into the priorities of the Spanish EU Presidency was quoted in El País and EurActiv, which referred to the claim that the Presidency will press for new social legislation to create a "factory of rights".
Taxpayers fund skiing holidays for MEPs and EU officials on £108,000 salary 1 January Express 31 December Telegraph
Following the news that the EU is to heavily subsidise a skiing holiday for MEPs' children and European Parliament officials, Open Europe Director Mats Persson was quoted in the Express and the Telegraph saying, "It is ridiculous that, at a time when most families across Europe have to tighten their belts, the European Parliament thinks it is appropriate to subsidise holidays for the families of even its most well-paid staff. How can MEPs claim subsidised holidays for their children when many of their constituents' families are struggling through the recession?" |
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