| Open Europe |
Europe
Accused Austrian MEP in ‘cash-for-laws’ scandal replaced by professional lobbyist
The Austrian MEP Ernst Strasser, who has resigned after the Sunday Times released videos of him agreeing to propose amendments to EU laws for a €100,000 consultancy salary - telling undercover journalists “Of course, I’m a lobbyist” - is to be replaced by Hubert Pirker, who himself worked as a lobbyist since he left the European Parliament in 2009, according to Austrian daily Krone. The website of Pirker’s former consultancy firm “EU-Triconsult” has been removed from the internet, but under the firm’s services he offered prospective clients “my networks and my negotiation and lobbying experience with European and international institutions at your disposal.”
Meanwhile, the Romanian MEP implicated in the Sunday Times ‘cash-for-laws’ sting, former Deputy Prime Minister Adrian Severin, has been expelled from the Socialist group in the European Parliament but has refused to resign from his post as a MEP. The third MEP involved in the scandal, former Slovenian Foreign Minister Zoran Thaler resigned yesterday.
Open Europe blog EurActiv Irish Times Krone Standard Nachrichten EU-Triconsult
Political crisis in Portugal threatens to topple government and force country to ask for an EU bail-out
The Portuguese government and opposition have admitted that Portugal will be unable to finance its debt without external help, if a proposal for fresh austerity measures is voted down by the country’s parliament today. Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, has also stated that he will resign if this happens, although he is not required to, reports Correio da Manhã. Pedro Passos Coelho, leader of the main opposition party, rejected a government offer for talks on the measures, saying an early general election was “inevitable”. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner, Olli Rehn, still claims that Portugal may not need a bail-out, reports Jornal de Negócios.
If the government were to fall it is still likely that Socrates would attend tomorrow’s EU summit as Portugal’s representative, but in a ‘caretaker’ capacity. It is unlikely that a caretaker government would have the legitimacy to agree to a bail-out package. A new government could be formed by existing minority parties without the need for an election, however, this would be at the discretion of the Portuguese President, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, and would require the support of the main opposition party, which currently favours an early election.
Diario Económico notes that a report to be published at the end of March by the European Commission’s statistics body Eurostat may reveal that Portugal’s budget deficit in 2010 was above 8% and not below 7%, as claimed by the Portuguese government.
Meanwhile, the FT reports that peripheral eurozone government bonds face a boycott from investors due to confusion over debt seniority when the permanent bail-out fund comes into force in 2013. The Irish Times reports that, according to European officials, the EU will now consider Ireland’s request for a bail-out renegotiation and additional banking support as one issue.
FT WSJ FT 2 IHT Reuters Guardian BBC Le Monde AFP EUobserver Le Monde De redactie RFI Irish Times Diario Económico Público 2 Handelsblatt Handelsblatt 2 Irish Times 2 Irish Independent Irish Independent: Oliver Handelsblatt 3 FAZ De Standaard FT 3 FT 4 FT Money Supply Irish Times 3 Irish Times 4 FAZ Le monde Reuters WSJ 2 Publico 2 Jornal de Negócios 2 Jornal de Negócios 3 Jornal de Negócios 4 Publico
French Europe Minister: Libyan crisis shows limitations of common EU foreign policy
Britain, France and the US have agreed that Nato will take over the military command of the no-fly zone over Libya in a move that represents a setback for Nicolas Sarkozy, who had hoped to reduce Nato’s role, reports the Guardian. Nato ambassadors will vote today to approve the agreement, the measure could still face opposition, however, from Nato member Turkey.
AFP reports that French Europe Minister Laurent Wauquiez admitted yesterday that divergences among EU member states over military intervention in Libya show the limits of a common security and defence policy. He told reporters: “The problem is that one always demands that the EU jump 1.90m. But there are certain domains where the EU can only jump 1.20m…One must not ask of the EU’s foreign and defence policy what it cannot offer.”
Meanwhile, writing in the Times, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague argues, “The Prime Minister and I are working to transform the European Union’s neighbourhood policy so that it can act as a magnet for positive change, providing clearer incentives for the creation of free, democratic and just societies that respect human rights”.
Mail IHT EurActiv Express: Pisa and Ingham Guardian Guardian Hamburger Abendblatt Zeit EUobserver BBC: Hewitt Coulisses de Bruxelles BBC EUobserver Le Figaro Telegraph: Coughlin Times Times: Hague FT AFP El Pais El Pais: Ballesteros El Pais 2
The Independent reports that, following pressure from several campaigners, the UK has decided to opt into the EU’s Directive on human trafficking.
Independent
Mandelson: Aid handouts and EU trade policy has turned African governments into “professional aid beggars”
The Mail quotes former Cabinet Minister and EU Trade Commissioner Lord Mandelson saying, “Most of the aid we have sent to Africa over the last five decades has probably, in the main, been wasted as far as growth is concerned.” He stressed the need for trade rather than aid, adding that, “Far too much EU trade policy since decolonisation has interpreted our responsibilities in Europe as shielding these economies from economic change rather than in a progressive way opening up these economies. This has marooned many African economies, demeaning many African governments by turning them into professional aid beggars.”
Mail
Buzek urged to seek end to European Parliament’s three seats
EUobserver reports that MEPs on the Budgetary Control Committee have stressed in the European Parliament’s 2009 budget discharge report that “real savings could be achieved if [the European] Parliament only had one workplace in the same location as the other Union institutions” and called on European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek to support the scrapping of the European Parliament's Strasbourg and Luxembourg seats.
EUobserver
The EU Commission’s upcoming white paper on transport is set to announce that Europe must invest €1.5 trillion in transport infrastructure and a further €1 trillion in vehicles and equipment over the next two decades, in order to boost the EU’s cross-border transport sector.
EUobserver EurActiv
According to Fenêtre sur l’Europe, France is concerned about radiation in Japanese products and wants the EU to consider systematically controlling Japanese food entering Europe.
Fenetre sure Europe
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party is trailing behind the Green and SPD opposition ahead of March 27 elections in the state of Baden-Württemberg, a region that her party has ruled for nearly 60 years.
WSJ FAZ Welt Sueddeutsche Stern
EurActiv notes that David Cameron, supported by nine other countries including Poland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, is seeking assurances that EU single market and enterprise reform will not be sidelined by eurozone issues at this week’s European summit.
EurActiv
New on the Open Europe blog
How to win friends and influence people (with other people's money)
Open Europe blog
Who better to replace MEP in ‘cash-for-laws’ scandal? Why, of course, a professional lobbyist
Open Europe blog
Posts
