Monday, 3 October 2011

E U BRIEF


European Union Directives,Regulations and Laws.
 
Russia 'gave agents licence to kill' enemies of the state
Telegraph.co.uk
But it also allows for "under special directives" the "elimination outside of the Russian Federation in the countries of Near Abroad [former Soviet states] and in the European Union, of the leaders of unlawful terrorist groups and organisations, ...
See all stories on this topic »
Telegraph.co.uk
However, “there are significant European law hurdles facing potential reform in these areas as all of these laws are underpinned by EU directives,” law firm Eversheds warned. But EU law is less specific in other areas, such as the UK's 90-day ...
Agency Workers Regulations: A 'damp squib', say recruitment experts
HRmagazine.co.uk
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has made no secret of its opposition to the EU legislation, but CEO Kevin Green told HR: "This will be a damp squib. It will be a pain for employers because there is bureaucracy and complexity associated...
See all stories on this topic »



Everything You Wanted To Know About EFSF (But Should Be Afraid To Ask)


Greece is Eurozone’s sacrificial lamb

http://rt.com/news/greece-default-austerity-mutiny-891/

Cameron is a victim of his own bright ideas

British Prime Minister David Cameron is struggling to prevent arguments over Europe from undermining both the Conservative party and its coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Cameron looked annoyed and irritable yesterday as he arrived in Manchester for his party's conference. It is easy to see why he is upset because he has only himself to blame for the major problem he now faces.

Earlier this year, in an effort to show just how democratic the coalition wanted to be, Cameron endorsed a plan to allow voters the right to sign internet petitions for topics they wanted to have debated in the Commons.

When a petition gets more than 100,000 supporters, a special committee of backbench MPs has to make the final decision on whether or not the debate goes ahead.

One of the first topics to reach the 100,000 trigger point is a call for a referendum to decide whether or not the UK should remain a member of the European Union.

The backbench committee is headed by a Labour MP, Natascha Engel, and she has understandably taken the opportunity to expose the splits in the coalition over Europe by backing the call for a debate.

It is just possible that, with support from eurosceptic Labour MPs, the Commons may vote in favour of an in-out referendum. The only consolation for Cameron is that such a result would not be binding and the foreign secretary, William Hague, told the media at the weekend that there was no way that the government would allow a referendum to take place.

That kind of comment is easy to make now but, if the Commons did produce a majority in favour of holding a referendum on membership for the first time since 1975, it would be extraordinarily difficult for Cameron to continue to resist it.

Tony Blair said recently that the most foolish thing he ever did was to introduce the Freedom of Information Act and Cameron may soon feel the same way about internet petitions.

ConservativeHome's Party Conference features
ConservativeHome's Party Conference newslinks

In his conference speech today, Osborne will announce a Council Tax Freeze in a move to help families

Osborne"The Chancellor will use an £805 million “dividend” from a Whitehall under-spend to pay for the tax break that will see an average family saving £72 a year. It came as David Cameron promised to “fire up the engine of the British economy”. The move to freeze council tax for the second year running shows how concerned ministers are that families are feeling “squeezed”. It discloses Mr Osborne’s willingness to spend money despite the Coalition’s deficit reduction plan" - Telegraph

  • "Osborne reaches for middle ground" - FT (£)

Both Osborne and Cameron will insist money can be found without diverting away from the Government’s tight deficit reduction plans - Daily Mail

  • "City says Conservatives are not doing enough to promote growth" - City A.M
  • Alister Heath says it is make or break time for the Tory party on ways to promote growth - City A.M
  • David Wighton: We all hate property tax, but at least make it fair - Times (£)
  • Julian Glover: Times are tough: Cameron's best hope now is to be dull - Guardian
  • Lord Ashcroft: Give us cuts and growth if you want a Tory victory - Daily Mail

Prime Minister unveils new homes policy to "fire the engine of the economy"

Cameron"The Conservatives announced plans – the extension of an existing programme – to boost the "right to buy" council house scheme introduced under Margaret Thatcher's government in the 1980s. David Cameron announced increased discounts to encourage council tenants to buy their homes, alongside a "build now, pay later" scheme to encourage developers to build on government land and only pay for it once a house is sold. Cameron said the policies could lead to the building of 200,000 homes and the creation of 400,000 jobs" - Guardian

  • Greg Clark set to redraft planning reforms to ensure clarity - Times (£)
  • Francis Maude launches tirade against the critics of new planning reforms - Telegraph

The crisis in Europe has allowed us to consider EU reforms, says Cameron

“I don’t want Britain to leave the European Union,” Mr Cameron said. “What most people want in this country, I believe, is not actually to leave the European Union but to reform the European Union and make sure the balance of powers between a country like Britain and Europe is better.” The Prime Minister said there might be “future opportunities” for the Government to negotiate the return of some powers, particularly those relating to employment law. The EU may need to redraw key treaties to secure the future stability of the euro. Even though this country is not directly involved in the single currency crisis, Britain would have to agree to the plans and that would give the Government an opportunity to secure other concessions" - Telegraph

  • Redwood John Redwood says the government needs to do more to get the country out of the economic mess, and gain power back from Europe - Daily Mail
  • The Express claims victory in its campaign to quit the EU as MPs agree to a debate on a referendum on membership - Express
  • Tories want Cameron to get tough on immigration, Europe and tax cuts - Independent

> Yesterday on ToryDiary: MPs to get vote on In/Out EU referendum

Daily Mail Comment wants "less posturing and more enterprise" from the Conservative conference

"In this national emergency, what the country needs from the Coalition’s senior partners this week is a coherent programme for recovery, put forward by ministers fired up with a full sense of urgency. Yet isn’t there a worrying feeling of politics-as-usual about this weekend’s pre-conference posturing?" - Daily Mail

Trevor Kavanagh asks Prime Minister to spend time to listen - Sun

Given the choice, Cameron would scrap the Human Rights Act straight away, but says the coalition is making him go "slowly"

"His comments will inflame back-bench Tory MPs angry at the way the Lib Dems – despite their poor standing in the polls – are being allowed to frustrate sensible policies. They also risk opening a new row with Mr Clegg and Chris Huhne – who stubbornly refuse even to consider scrapping the Act. Labour said the failure by the Tories to act made the party look ‘weak’ and engaged in ‘fantasy politics’. Mr Cameron had to debate the thorny issue on day one of the Tory Conference because of Mrs May’s overnight intervention. She had told a Sunday newspaper: ‘I’d personally like to see the Human Rights Act go because I think we have had some problems with it" - Daily Mail

Cameron says he understands "why young people feel down at the moment" as acknowledges the decision to scrap the Education Maintenance Allowance was a tough one - Times (£)

Hague urges for "generoristy of spirit" to be shown to Nick Clegg to recognise his Government contribution

Screen shot 2011-10-03 at 07.38.15“But faced with the necessary but difficult decision over tuition fees, Nick Clegg stuck with it. In May, the British people affirmed by an overwhelming majority and with their usual good sense that first past the post is the best way of running our democracy, and put to rest schemes of playing with the rules for a generation. He stuck with our agreement all the same. We should always have the generosity of spirit to recognise the contribution he makes to turning this country around” - Times (£)

  • Hague's speech in full - Telegraph
  • More in the Telegraph
  • Simon Carr: "In the Tory tradition, Hague crushed Clegg with his compliments" - Independent

Iain Duncan Smith to draw up welfare reforms which would require jobseekers to spend more time looking for a job

Ids"The measures would be in addition to the reforms unveiled by Duncan Smith last year, under which jobseekers could lose their allowance for three years if they refuse three offers of a suitable job.nWhen jobseekers sign on for the allowance, they reach an agreement with jobcentre staff over how many different potential employers they will visit and telephone each week, what newspapers they will scour for job advertisements and how much time they will spend doing all this. Proposals to push jobseekers into trying harder to find work include a requirement that they spend more time doing a greater variety of job-hunting activ ities" - Times (£)

Work and Pensions Secretary to say that the "bias against marriage" must end, and will announce tax breaks for married couples

"Mr Duncan Smith is overhauling the welfare system and believes the breakdown of the family is central to many of the problems facing society. Conservative supporters also want Mr Cameron to make good his promise, but fear the Liberal Democrats will act as a brake on the Prime Minister. Mr Duncan Smith’s speech will, unlike his Lib Dem Cabinet colleagues two weeks ago, unashamedly champion marriage" - Telegraph

Cameron says he's "not one of the lads" as he apologies for remarks made about women - Guardian

  • Screen shot 2011-10-03 at 07.37.22 Cameron says women have borne the brunt of cuts - Independent
  • Mary Ann Sieghart: 'Cameron's problem with women' - Independent
  • Melanie Phillips: 'Calm down Dave. Your real problem is that women can spot a phoney a mile away' - Daily Mail
  • Cristina Odone says that Cameron's apology for his remarks make it even more embarrassing for him - Telegraph

Libby Purves: "Tory toff" isn't political debate, it's prejudice"

"As the Tory conference rolls down the slipway, we shall observe an interesting atavism: the last sneering, generalising discrimination permitted in our liberal land. It is not the rough-and-tumble of combative politics, not healthy ideological disagreement. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to witness Britain’s last unpunishable hate crime: toff-bashing Toryphobia" - Times (£)

Guardian investigation into Cameron and Libya

1) Cameron did not want Libya to become a repeat of Srebrenica

"The prime minister's decision to push so strongly for military action against Muammar Gaddafi's forces came as a surprise to many. But Cameron's stance in February came as no surprise to members of his inner circle who say that he had no truck with Hurd's position on Bosnia. One senior figure said that one memory stuck in Cameron's mind: the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in July 1995. This took place a few weeks after Hurd had retired as foreign secretary. Cameron was only 28 at the time and working at Carlton Television. But the senior Whitehall source indicated that Srebrenica made a big impression on Cameron" - Guardian

2) Cameron "overrode scepticism from his cabinet and MI6 to press for military action"

David Cameron overrode scepticism in his cabinet when he took one of the biggest gambles of his premiership in March to press for a UN security council resolution to authorise military force to protect civilians. Kenneth Clarke, the justice secretary who was described by one cabinet minister as the "biggest dove", thought that partition was the "logical thing". MI6 was privately sceptical of military action, arguing "it is better to stick with the devil you know" - Guardian

The fight for supremacy: Sonia Purnell, the London Mayor's latest biographer, covers Cameron v Boris - Independent

Boris says that Miliband's message of "bad" capitalism should be sent to emerging economies, such as China, who are outperforming the UK

Boris"There is one obvious solution, and that is to infect these vast new market economies – as fast as possible – with the British disease. We must spread the sclerosis. We must get them addicted to our vices. And that is why it might be an idea to ensure that the gospel of Ed Miliband is heard across the planet. You will remember how the Germans brilliantly destabilised Russia in 1917, by sending Lenin in a sealed train from Zurich to the Finland Station in St Petersburg. We could send the human panda to Beijing, in the same spirit of discreet sabotage" - Telegraph

Owen Paterson tells conference that Northern Ireland MPs will be banned from sitting in Stormont as well as Westminister - Guardian

Annabel Goldie challenges Salmond in her final speech as leader of the Scottish Conservatives - Express

Leader of the Welsh Tories, Andrew RT Davies, says he is always open to coalition offers - BBC

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Highlights from yesterday

ToryDiary:

Ruth Lea on our Columnists Page: The City is a great asset – but under threat

David Mundell MP on Comment: I cannot support winding up the Scottish Conservatives and I'm endorsing Ruth Davidson

Murdo Fraser MSP on Comment: "We are the true modernisers"

The Right List, day three: Michael Gove

Local Government:

Posted by Britannia Radio at 10:01