Quote of the fortnight: "The issue is not the failure to match economic and monetary union with political union. It is the naked disregard for democratic engagement in the entire system that in no small part explains why voter turnout in EU elections has plummeted by more than 30% in the last 30 years. Whenever people vote no to a phase of integration - as they did in Ireland two years ago - the EU simply orders them to vote again until they produce the right result." Gary Younge, writing in the Guardian, 15 February 2010 1. Diplomatic appointment reveals tensions at heart of Lisbon Treaty foreign policy structures The European Commission has become embroiled in a 'jobs for the boys' controversy, with Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso appointing his former Chief of Staff Joao Vale de Almeida to one of the EU's most prestigious diplomatic posts: Ambassador to the United States. The appointment has increased concern that the Commission is slowly taking over the EU's new foreign policy institutions, created by the Lisbon Treaty. EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton is supposed to make such diplomatic appointments through the EU's External Action Service (EAS). However, in the transition phase before the Service is set up, President Barroso has been able to make the appointment. The announcement was leaked in the US 24 hours before the official appointment was made, and before member states or even Cathy Ashton was informed. (Telegraph, 23 February) The shape of the EAS is currently undergoing negotiations about its funding and the proportion of its staff that should come from member states, the Commission and from the Council. Concerns have previously been voiced by diplomats that Lady Ashton is not strong enough to prevent the Commission having too much influence over the EAS. (OE bulletin, 15 January) In a letter of complaint to Ashton, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote: "This nomination has been done without applying the very principles now under discussion where transparency, member states involvement and, above all, your roles as appointing authority are key elements". The appointment also led Mr Bildt to voice doubts over the Lisbon Treaty's institutional set-up on foreign policy: "I've always questioned whether the construction would work... the post [EU foreign minister] is set up in a way that makes it virtually impossible. Catherine Ashton needs to be assisted." (Dagens Nyheter Times, 23 February) Meanwhile, Lady Ashton has also come under criticism for failing to attend a key meeting of EU defence ministers in Mallorca this week, with Spanish Defence Minister Carme Chacon saying she "regretted the absence" of Cathy Ashton at the meeting, given the "important" subjects under discussion. French Defence Minister Herve Morin said, "Isn't it rich that this morning, to display the ties between Nato and the EU, we have the Nato Secretary General [Anders Fogh Rasmussen] here but not the High Representative for the first meeting since the Lisbon Treaty came into effect". (Times, 26 February; EUobserver LeFigaro Twitter, 25 February) Please leave your comments on our blog: http://openeuropeblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/jobs-for-boys.html 2. EU leaders preparing €25 billion rescue package for Greece? In a new Open Europe briefing, political consultant Jesper Katz has examined the impact of a Greek bailout package reportedly being discussed inside the German Finance Ministry. According to some reports the bailout, which totals between €20 and 25 billion, would be paid in proportion to each country's share in the European Central Bank (ECB). (Spiegel, 20 February) Open Europe's briefing notes that if this is the case, then the UK could also be forced to contribute money to a Greek bailout since Britain also pays into the ECB. A statement from the German Foreign Ministry denied that there are "concrete plans" but has not denied the existence of a blueprint for a Greek rescue, saying only that no decision had yet been taken on a package and who would be footing the bill. (EurActiv, 23 February) European Commission and International Monetary Fund officials have been visiting Athens this week to evaluate whether the government's proposed austerity measures will be sufficient to cut the budget deficit and reassure investors. Following the visit, the Greek government is expected to announce further cuts and tax increases next week. (WSJ, 26 February) The EU's calls for further cuts have sparked tensions between Greece and other EU states, particularly Germany. In an angry outburst, Greek Deputy Prime Minister Theodore Pangalos said that Germany had failed to pay adequate compensation for the Nazi occupation of Greece and suggested Italy had done much more to mask the true extent of its public debt than Greece when it entered the euro. (Guardian, 24 February) Meanwhile, in a poll for German newspaper Bild, 67 percent of Germans have said they are against a Greek bailout, and 53 percent said they were in favour of expelling Greece from the eurozone if it poses a danger to the single currency. (Bild, 14 February) To read Open Europe's briefing, click here: http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/greecebailout2.pdf 3. News in brief EU Pregnant Workers Directive could cost Britain £2 billion a year. The European Parliament's Women's Rights Committee has voted in favour of an extension of maternity rights for women across the EU. They rejected the European Commission's proposal to give women 18 weeks leave on full pay, and voted in favour of a minimum of 20 weeks on full pay. It has been estimated that the proposal could cost the UK economy £2bn a year. The full European Parliament will vote on the proposal on 24-25 March. (FT, 23 February; Mail Times Guardian ExpressEUobserver, 24 February) Commission produces £200,000 comic book. The European Commission has produced a self-promoting comic book depicting the humanitarian work of two fictional EU bureaucrats, aimed at children. More than 300,000 copies of the comic, Hidden Disaster, are to be distributed to homes and schools across Europe, at a cost of £200,000 to taxpayers. (Sunday Telegraph, 21 February;Mail, 22 February) Fortnightly bin collections for all. Guidance from the Audit Commission to local councils has signaled the end of weekly bin collections, with the Government looking for £550 million in savings from waste disposal budgets. The move will also help councils meet the targets set under the EU's Landfill Directive, with the UK required to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by 25% from 1995 levels by 2010, 50% by 2013 and 65% by 2020. (Telegraph, 22 February) Patient care suffering under EU Working Time Directive. Following a survey of 1,500 junior doctors, the British Medical Association's Junior Doctors' Committee has warned that patient care is suffering as a result of the EU's Working Time Directive. Under the Directive, junior doctors' hours were reduced from 56 to a maximum of 48 hours a week in August 2009. Four in ten junior doctors are now saying that they are working in teams that do not have enough people, rising to six in ten in accident and emergency departments. (Telegraph BMA press release, 23 February) EU biofuel targets accused of "driving global human tragedy". A new report from Action Aid has warned that the EU's target to obtain 10% of all transport fuels from biofuels by 2020 is disastrous for poor countries and could put up to 100 million more people at risk of famine, increased food prices and landlessness. The report also found that the EU biofuel industry has received €4.4bn in incentives, subsidies and tax relief to date, which could triple to over €13.7bn if the EU meets its 2020 target. (Guardian, 15 February) Open Europe held a debate in Brussels on 23 February to discuss whether or not the EU is a threat to civil liberties. Speaking at the event were Swedish Pirate Party MEP Christian Engstrom, German Social Democrat MEP Birgit Sippel and Jonathan Faull, Director-General of the Commission's DG Justice, Freedom and Security. Open Europe Director Mats Persson chaired the debate. To read a summary of the event, please visit our events page: Societe Generale warns that the euro is facing an "inevitable break-up" 24 February BBC World Service Swedish radio 17 February Mail 14 February Sunday ExpressSunday Telegraph 13 February Mail The Mail reported that strategists at French bank Societe Generale warned in a note to investors that the euro is facing an 'inevitable break-up', and quoted Open Europe Director Mats Persson saying: "The eurozone is facing a fully-fledged crisis. The Greece episode has made it painfully clear how flawed the euro project was from the very beginning. Even if Greece receives a one-off bailout it would not solve the real problem, which is the huge differences in competitiveness between the eurozone's richest and poorest members...One thing is clear, Britain made the right choice in staying out." The Sunday Telegraph cited Open Europe's research into the different options available if the EU chooses to bailout Greece and the Mail reported that non-eurozone member states could still contribute to an EU bailout of Greece, quoting Mats saying: "British taxpayers simply won't accept being forced to pay for the mistakes of a government which they could never vote out of office." Mats was also interviewed on Swedish Radio, discussing the political consequences of the crisis in Greece . Open Europe's Sarah Gaskell was quoted by the Sunday Express saying, "Despite all of the guarantees in the EU rulebook that countries aren't allowed to bail each other out, EU member states could be set to get around that by simply advancing EU funds to those countries, like Greece , who are in trouble. UK taxpayers pay money into the EU budget, so they would effectively be on the hook for a rescue operation like this and could end up paying for the financial mistakes of governments they had no hand in electing. In fact, British taxpayers are set to subsidise Greece for years to come through the EU budget". Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe appeared on the BBC World Service discussing the strikes against budget austerity measures in Greece . Iceland's EU membership bid 24 February Bloomberg Open Europe's Pieter Cleppe appeared on Bloomberg TV, discussing whether it is a good idea for Iceland to join the EU. He said: "Iceland is already in the European Economic Area, so at the moment it's enjoying quite a good deal: access to the internal market, but not suffering from the overregulation coming from Brussels." He added: "certainly the argument that Iceland would have to join the EU in order to profit from the Euro has now fallen apart." EU Commissioners to take home more than £1 million each on leaving office 22 February Nepszabadsag 14 February Sunday Tribune Hungarian newspaper Nepszabadsag and the Irish Sunday Tribune cited Open Europe's findings on the pensions and pay-offs of retiring EU Commissioners. 70% of Germans oppose bailing out Greece 21 February Hurriyet Turkish daily Hurriyet cited Open Europe's poll of German voters in June 2009, which found that 70% were against using taxpayers' money to bail out countries in financial difficulties. Is the EU a threat to civil liberties? 21 February Newstalk radio Open Europe's Stephen Booth appeared on Irish Newstalk radio, arguing that the EU's growing role in justice and home affairs raises serious questions about democratic oversight and safeguards for civil liberties. MEPs' allowances 20 February Diena 14 February New Europe New Europe reported that the European Parliament is refusing to disclose the identities of MEPs who were forced to pay back €3.4 million in "wrongly claimed" expenses and quoted Open Europe Director Mats Persson saying: "If the European Parliament was serious about cleaning up its act it would name and shame the MEPs who have misused their allowances and conned the taxpayer, just as the UK Parliament is currently doing." Latvian newspaper Diena also cited Open Europe's research into the allowances and expenses available to MEPs. EU moves towards economic government 17 February Associated Press 14 February Sunday Times The Sunday Times reported that the response to Greece's economic crisis could be to further EU integration, and quoted Open Europe Director Mats Persson warning: "The danger is that a lot of people in Brussels see this [Greek crisis] as an opportunity rather than a threat...A decade ago, when the euro was founded, they said that we don't have the tools now, but when a crisis comes along we will be able to take this forward." AP reported on an unpublished paper by EU President Herman Van Rompuy, which proposed a new regime of stronger "economic governance" at the EU level, and quoted Open Europe's Sarah Gaskell describing Van Rompuy's move as "a power grab" and a method "to push forward economic integration in a way that's not necessarily transparent." Whitehall scheme aims to boost UK staff in EU institutions at taxpayers' expense 16 February Express The Express reported that Whitehall plans to train more civil servants for EU jobs, with the aim of boosting UK influence in Brussels. Open Europe Researcher Sarah Gaskell was quoted saying: "The UK certainly needs to step up the fight for its interests, but this cannot be achieved only by simply sending more middle-ranking civil servants to Brussels at an additional cost to taxpayers. There urgently needs to be a change in culture at the very top - the UK needs to be confident enough to say No to the many intrusive and unwelcome EU initiatives that seem to keep on coming." Open Europe is a small, lean operation which relies entirely on individual donations. We produce cutting-edge research on all aspects of EU policy, targeting both politicians and the media to campaign for radical reform of the EU. We unearth high-impact stories and hold high-profile events, and, despite being a small team, we are quoted and interviewed several times a week in the media. We believe there is a better way forward for Europe, and we need your help in trying to make our vision a reality. If you support our work and would like to help us continue to do it, please click the link below to find out how you can donate. Anything you can give will go directly to helping us counter the spin from EU officials and EU-funded lobby groups, and allow us to make our case for a fresh approach to Europe. Thank you for your support. Open Europe Fortnightly Open Europe Bulletin: 26 February 2010 4. Open Europe events: "Is the EU a threat to civil liberties?" 5. Open Europe in the news 6. Please support Open Europe
Friday, 26 February 2010
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