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Commission to unveil plans for tighter curbs on commodity derivatives markets;
MEPs postpone vote on heads of EU’s new financial supervisors
The FT notes that the European Commission will publish plans for tighter curbs on commodity derivatives markets today. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has argued that speculation on derivatives linked to commodities has increased price volatility, although this view is questioned by other governments. Le Figaro reports that, following
Meanwhile, the Telegraph notes that yesterday Dutch regulator Steven Maijoor, who is set to become the chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority, told MEPs that he would not look to ban short-selling, saying: “You want to rely on choice and innovation.” Stress-tests of
On the BBC’s Today Programme, UK MEP Kay Swinburne outlined the EU’s review of MiFID – an EU Directive regulating access to financial markets.
BBC: Today Telegraph FT EurActiv EUobserver FT 2 FT 3 Le Figaro EUobserver Open Europe research
Call for in/out referendum to be included in EU Bill rejected
Conservative MP Peter Bone’s amendment to the EU Bill, which called for an in/out referendum on EU membership to be triggered by a “no” vote to any referendum on transferring powers to Brussels under the Bill, was rejected last night by 295 votes to 26.
In the wider debate, Conservative MP Priti Patel urged the Government to consider publishing annual reports on the implementation of forthcoming EU legislation and any transfers of power the Government had agreed to in the previous year. She noted that “at least 79 current EU directives were pending transposition into
Conservative Home BBC Hansard Open Europe research: EU Bill Open Europe research: EU regulation
The FT reports that France and Germany are closer to agreeing on their plan for an “economic government” in the eurozone, including a system of national crisis resolution regimes for banks and national constitutional amendments to establish a cap on eurozone governments’ borrowing, the so-called “debt brake”.
The article notes that the “pact for competitiveness” proposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel amounts to a big concession to France, as it will reinforce economic policy coordination only among eurozone countries, rather than all 27 member states.
In an interview with Handelsblatt and other German papers, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has said that the idea of having a more German Europe “would not disturb us, as long as we have a European Germany.” A separate article in the paper quotes Patrick Artus of investment bank Natixis saying that Merkel’s “pact for competitiveness” will do little to close the competitiveness gap between eurozone countries. He argues that eurozone leaders “had better just acknowledge that economies within the eurozone are getting more and more diverse, because all countries have specialised themselves."
In a comment piece, Handelsblatt’s EU correspondent Ruth Berschens notes that the eurozone debt crisis has forced
The Irish Independent reports that yesterday borrowing costs for high-debt eurozone countries decreased significantly, although the yield on 10-year Greek bonds is still 10.9%. The Irish Times notes that foreign deposits with Irish banks declined by 40% during 2010. The BBC reports that the unemployment rate in the eurozone remained stable at 10% in December. Irish outgoing Prime Minister Brian Cowen announced yesterday that the general election in
FT IHT IHT 2 El País FT Capital Markets Blog BBC AFP Handelsblatt European Voice BBC: Hewitt Irish Times Rheinische Post Welt FT Deutschland FT Deutschland Handelsblatt: Berschens Handelsblatt Handelsblatt: Zapatero Irish Independent
Transparency NGOs call on EU not to restrict document access
A group of around 180 human rights organisations, transparency pressure groups and journalist unions has called on the European Parliament to apply the brakes to proposed legislation that would tightly restrict the EU’s freedom-of-information rules, just seven years after their introduction. It is feared the proposals, set to be approved in the coming weeks, will substantially reduce the amount of information available to the public.
In an interview with Handelsblatt, EU Competition Commissioner Joaquín Almunia has said that he is still concerned about the situation of European banks. “We haven’t crossed the mountain yet,” he warned.
MPs will today debate the EU’s 2009 budget and, writing on Conservative Home, Steve Baker MP argues, “We must robustly and resolutely condemn fraud and error in the EU budget.”
Czech daily Hospodářské Noviny criticises the European Commission’s calls for more investment in renewables, noting that “
EU to collect air passengers’ sensitive personal data
EUobserver reports that the Commission will present proposals today on sharing air travellers’ data, including home address, mobile phone number, credit card information and email address, with other member states. The Commission is likely to propose that the measures would cover flights from the EU to third countries, but the
EUobserver Open Europe research
La Repubblica reports that
Meanwhile, under the headline “Shame on Europe”, an editorial in the IHT argues: “The European Union’s attitude to in recent months, in the face of systematic human rights violations on the southern shore of the
Repubblica Telegraph Economist: Charlemagne’s blog Open Europe blog
Euractiv reports that, according to Slovenia’s governmental office for climate change, a new coal plant which has obtained €770m of loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) will burn lignite – a high-carbon brown coal – in quantities sufficient to use up all
Das Parlament reports that, in a speech to the German Bundestag, former Bavarian Minister-President Edmund Stoiber criticised the high cost of EU regulations, arguing: "The big problem I see in the lack of transparency of European decisions. There is no European openness." Stoiber was the chairman of a high-level group supporting the European Commission in the implementation of the Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the EU.
Das Parlament Open Europe research
European carbon markets will start reopening next week, EU officials said yesterday, according to the WSJ. An editorial in the paper argues: “This isn't a market; it's merely designed to look like one.”
The Express notes that Councillors on Medway Council in
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