Europe New Open Europe briefing: MPs hold the key to tightening the Government’s EU ‘referendum lock’ Open Europe has today published a briefing identifying the loopholes in the Government’s European Union Bill and ‘referendum lock’, which will be debated by MPs in the House of Commons next week. Hugely sensitive issues such as policing, crime, justice and immigration – where the EU has gained substantial new powers under the Lisbon Treaty – are in particular need of stronger democratic checks under the Bill. Open Europe ’s briefing sets out how an enhanced ‘referendum lock’ can provide such checks, through a series of simple amendments. First, by requiring the Government to get the approval of Parliament, or the people in the most significant cases, before it can sign up to any new EU law in policing, crime or immigration. For example, giving EU authorities the power to initiate criminal investigations in the UK or creating a common European asylum system – proposals that are being discussed by the European Commission at the moment. Secondly, under an obscure provision in the Lisbon Treaty, the Government must decide by 2014 whether or not existing EU crime and policing laws should continue to apply in the UK . These laws include the controversial European Arrest Warrant, which prevents the UK courts from blocking the extradition of people from the UK to other EU countries. The Government has a clear, binary choice between more or less EU control over UK laws in these areas. This important decision cannot be left to Ministers alone, but must be put to the people in a referendum or, at the very least, the approval of Parliament. Open Europe press release Open Europe's briefing Commission admits billions more needed to fund Galileo EU Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani admitted yesterday that an extra €1.9bn will be needed to complete the EU’s Galileo satellite system. Open Europe ’s Director Mats Persson is quoted in the Telegraph saying, Galileo "is a textbook example how not to run" a project. "The Government is absolutely right to insist that no more money should be given to this project. The line has to be drawn somewhere," Mats added. Mats was also quoted in Norwegian daily Aftenposten last week, the paper that broke the story. On his Telegraph blog, Daniel Hannan MEP cites Open Europe’s previous briefing showing that the total cost of Galileo will be €22.2bn, with the entire sum coming from taxpayers. Euractiv BBC Telegraph: Hannan's blog Telegraph WSJ FD OE research OE press release OE blog Aftenposten Open Europe’s Stephen Booth is quoted by the Mail and the Evening Standard in articles noting that Lord Mandelson’s pay-offs from the EU have finally stopped now that he earns more than £205,000 a year. Lord Mandelson received the EU allowance, taxed at only 26%, on top of his £108,253-a-year government salary, when he returned to the Cabinet. Inflation fears over Irish Central Bank printing euros to finance emergency loan programme; Handelsblatt: Commission document proposes “more flexible” post 2013 euro bail-out fund The Irish Independent reports that the Central Bank of Ireland is financing €51bn of an emergency loan programme by printing its own money, fuelling fears over inflation. The FT reports that Portuguese bond yields jumped above 7% yesterday. Handelsblatt reports to have seen a Commission report proposing changes to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) post 2013 which could allow it to buy state bonds and to grant short term loans, making it easier for eurozone member states to obtain credit. The report proposes that the six AAA rated eurozone countries would need to "very clearly increase" guarantees for the ESM. The paper notes that this has "irritated" the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble who is quoted saying, "it can't be that six countries bear the burden and that the others profit from that". The report also proposes that banks would need to build up a capital stock with the ESM, through imposing a one off bank levy of up to 2% of their assets which would raise €50 billion for the ESM. Data released yesterday from the ECB showed that the eurozone's current-account deficit in November 2010 was close to a two-year high. A Forsa poll conducted for the financial services provider AWD has revealed 45% of Germans see the current Euro crisis as their most critical source of concern in 2011, reports Finanznachrichten. The new chairman of the Council of EU Finance Ministers, Hungary ’s György Matolcsy said yesterday it could be that "the euro is still at risk for over a decade", reports Welt. BBC AFP 2 FT FT 2 Guardian FT 3 FT 4 FT 5 FT 6 WSJ WSJ 3 WSJ 4 Irish Times 2 Welt Welt 2 Finanzen.net Expansion HandelsblattTelegraph Zero Hedge Reuters Irish Independent FT: Alphaville FT Deutschland Welt Welt finanznachrichten.de Independent: McRaeExpansion: O’Neill IHT: Silverberg WSJ: Forelle FT: editorial El País: editorial Jack Barnes Blog The Telegraph reports that, according toe government officials, the EU is seeking new “budgetary surveillance” powers to monitor the British budget. Tougher stress tests for EU banks EU finance ministers agreed yesterday on a new round of stress tests on European banks. European Voice reports that EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier is in favour of conducting separate tests for capital and liquidity, as suggested by the European Banking Authority (EBA), the new pan-EU supervisor for the banking sector. The test methodology and criteria will be finalised next month. El Paísreports that in the new round of tests the Tier 1 capital requirements could be increased from previous 6%. The article notes that an increase to 7% would mean that almost half of Spanish banks would be forced to seek fresh capital. The Irish Times reports that EU ministers remain divided over the extent to which the results of tests on banks’ access to market liquidity may be published. The tests will be coordinated by EBA and are expected to be concluded by the end of May. El País Irish Times FT EUobserver European Voice Les Echos Reuters Fianna Fail leadership contender Micheal Martin last night resigned from Cabinet after Taoiseach Brian Cowen survived as party leader Irish Independent Irish Independent 2 Irish Times FTD reports that German coalition partner FDP’s General Secretary Christian Lindner has threatened to break up Germany's coalition if Finance Minister Schäuble didn’t simplify the tax system, a matter on which Schäuble has now conceded. Wolfgang Mûnchau argues that this was really a "threat to blow up the coalition…because of the European aid package. Commission reveals policy on sport EUobserver reports that, in its first-ever set of proposals on sports policy released yesterday, the European Commission has noted that “the time has come for an overall evaluation of transfer rules for professional sport in Europe ”. Euractiv quotes Gregory Paulger, Director of DG Education and Culture at the European Commission, complaining: “Article 165 [of the Lisbon Treaty] gives us a legal basis but it doesn't give us a budget. Unfortunately, the treaty came into force at exactly the wrong time and there's no money available at all.” The Express notes that Conservative MP Peter Bone has tabled an amendment to the Government’s EU Bill, which would mean that if a treaty change was proposed, put to a referendum and rejected by voters there would then automatically have to be a binding referendum on whether Britain should remain in the EU. In an interview with Le Monde, French Defence Minister Alain Juppé says: “Our budgetary restraints acted as a strong incentive for the Britons and the French to move closer [in the defence sector]. We hope that the same restraints will motivate the Europeans to go on with mutualisations.” No link In EurActiv France, French President Nicolas Sarkozy is quoted saying, “With France ’s commitment of around €100bn to support European countries in financial troubles, we have widely contributed to European solidarity. We don’t have to apologise for defending the communitarian preference and the budget of the Common Agricultural Policy.” The EU’s Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik has confirmed he will propose that the Commission begin formal proceedings against Sweden over a wolf hunt that allegedly breaches EU environmental law.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
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