Europe EU treaty change sparks calls for referendum in the Netherlands EUobserver reports that Geert Wilders' PVV party is considering calling for a referendum in the Netherlands on the EU treaty changes proposed last week. The party, which the governing coalition relies on for support, has been joined by the Socialist Party, which has already called for a referendum. Socialist MP Harry Van Bommel is quoted saying that now "It all depends on the Labour party. If the Labour Party backs us, then we have a parliamentary majority." On his EUobserver blog, Telegraph Europe Correspondent Bruno Waterfield notes that at last week's EU summit, EU leaders were "absolutely agreed on one thing: there must be no referendums". He quotes European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, saying: "It is worth looking back at the negative referenda which derailed the ratification process of the European Constitution. This told us something. It told us that European citizens were worried, about their jobs, their pensions, their education, their quality of life and their environment. And they looked to the EU for answers". EUobserver Elsevier Europa press release EUobserver blog: Bruno Waterfield Greek extremists thought to be behind Merkel bomb plot Yesterday an explosive package, thought to have been sent by Greek extremists, was found and diffused at the German Chancellor's office. The package was addressed to Chancellor Merkel and disguised as a book package; the return address was listed as the Greek Economic Ministry. Independent WSJ Times EUobserver Irish Times Deutsche Welle Welt Stern FTD Former German Finance Minister pressured critics of Greece's euro accession Bild reports that the former German Finance Minister Hans Eichel is under pressure after a letter written by Eichel to former Bundesbank President Ernst Welteke in 2000 reveals that he criticised local Central Bank chief Hans Reckers for wanting to postpone Greece's accession to the eurozone by a year. German liberal MP Frank Schäffler is quoted saying that, if confirmed, Eichel's behaviour should be considered "illegal". Politicians from the German ruling parties are calling for an investigative commission in the German Bundestag to look at Greece's accession to the eurozone. Commission may propose agency to enforce EU environmental rules in member states Euractiv reports that the Commission wants to introduce stricter controls to ensure that member states comply with EU environmental rules, with plans expected next year. Late last year, a Commission study recommended establishing "a specific European body, possibly hosted by the European Commission, for carrying out direct inspections and controls of facilities and sites in serious cases of non-compliance". Kaletsky: "Merkel's treaty revisions will ensure that EU fiscal federalism will have irreversible legal force" The FT reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble have launched a defence of Germany's demands for a system for the 'orderly rescheduling' of sovereign debt in the eurozone, following criticism from ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet. "Nothing at all in the current rescue measures for the whole euro area and for Greece will be changed," Merkel said yesterday. "What we are doing is talking about the future." The Irish Times quotes Schäuble saying that he is wary of Germany taking too great a leadership role in the EU. "I have a sceptical view of a kind of general German leadership because the term 'hegemony' has bad associations in the light of our history," he wrote in FAZ yesterday. In the Times, Anatole Kaletsky notes that the wider proposals to establish EU economic government, which will include closer monitoring of national budgets and economic policy, and sanctions for rule-breaking eurozone countries, "will shift key policies on tax and spending beyond national control". He argues, "That one of the most controversial decisions in modern European history has been taken with almost no public awareness or debate is a tribute to the top-down style of government perfected by the EU's political elites." Adding that, "Ms Merkel's treaty revisions will ensure that EU fiscal federalism will have irreversible legal force." WSJ FT Times: Kaletsky Irish Times Reuters Deutschland FAZ The Commission has warned the UK that it has two months to end "discriminatory" rules for workers from new EU member states, in line with EU law, or else it may take the matter to the EU Court of Justice, reports the BBC. Current rules restrict migrant workers from claiming welfare benefits if they have spent less than a year working in the UK. EU's foreign service to buy top-of-the-range furniture at cost of £7m Baroness Ashton's new EU foreign service, the EEAS, will see its headquarters equipped with "top-of-the-range furniture", with a tender worth up to £7 million issued by the EU to fit out the premises, the Times reports. Open Europe's Stephen Booth is quoted in Spanish newspaper ABC criticising the EEAS for spending up to £33m on armoured cars for new ambassadors, saying: "At a time of widespread austerity, taxpayers shouldn't be asked to pay for the EU's pretensions to global power status". In his joint press conference with David Cameron yesterday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, "I know the Common Agricultural Policy is not the most popular thing here in Britain. But let me also share something with you - the British rebate is not something that basically brings the French that much closer to the British." Spiegel reports that EU Commissioner Michel Barnier wants to reduce the influence of financial lobbyists in Brussels. French news site Contrepoints features Open Europe's blog post looking at the EU summit. In the Mail, Melanie Phillips looks at the Government's decision to give prisoners the vote, under the European Convention on Human Rights, and argues that the Conservatives believed that since members of the Council of Europe are required to be signatories to the Convention, leaving the Convention would mean leaving the Council of Europe and that would mean leaving the EU too. The Independent looks at the UK-France defence treaty and argues, "The future of Britain's defences may not yet be as European in complexion as it could and should be, but the principle of seeking allies across the Channel, rather than across the Atlantic, has now been set, and that marks a historic shift." Independent: Leader WSJ: Martin Mirror FT EUobserver reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she is opposed to the Commission's proposals for EU tax-raising powers. Open Europe
Wednesday 3 November 2010
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