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(21/03/2010) Germany in U-turn over IMF help for Greece
The FT and WSJ report that Germany is leaning towards involving the IMF in a potential Greek bailout, with the WSJ quoting a senior German official saying that Angela Merkel is "open to a financial participation by the IMF" in any aid package for Greece. Berlin is reportedly trying to avoid any potential German Constitutional Court objections over participation in an EU bailout for Greece, which could be in violation of the 'no-bailout' rule in the EU treaties.
Germany in U-turn over IMF help for Greece
The FT and WSJ report that Germany is leaning towards involving the IMF in a potential Greek bailout, with the WSJ quoting a senior German official saying that Angela Merkel is "open to a financial participation by the IMF" in any aid package for Greece. Berlin is reportedly trying to avoid any potential German Constitutional Court objections over participation in an EU bailout for Greece, which could be in violation of the 'no-bailout' rule in the EU treaties.
The FT quotes senior CDU MP Michael Meister saying that, "should our expectations
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has previously said that "help from the IMF would in my view be an admission that the euro countries can't solve their problems through their own efforts."
Le Monde reports that Greek PM George Papandreou said yesterday that EU leaders had until next week's leaders' summit to come up with a concrete plan for assistance, threatening to go to the IMF otherwise. This was before the apparent turnaround in the German attitude to IMF involvement. Greek Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou yesterday denied rumours that Greece will apply for IMF funding at soon as the start of April. "This is ridiculous," he told Reuters. "We have said from the beginning that all options are open... we are not any closer now to the IMF
EUobserver reports that Finland has indicated it would support an IMF solution, with Italy and the Netherlands also thought to be in favour. Dutch paper Het Financieele Dagblad reports that a majority in the Dutch parliament oppose providing a loan to Greece, and believe that Greece should turn to the IMF.
Writing in the FT Quentin Peel argues: "In being prepared to contemplate a deal between Greece and the International Monetary Fund, Berlin is compromising on a profound resistance to having any outside institutions intervene in the operation of EU economic and monetary union, and the eurozone in particular. It amounts to a recognition that the single currency was created without a full set of tools to deal with a comparable crisis".
Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports that Spain urged Ms Merkel to avoid talk of possibly expelling fellow members from the single currency, saying such comments could be misconstrued.
FT FT: Peel FT 2 WSJ WSJ 2 City AM Telegraph EUobserver Bloomberg Irish Times Telegraph: Evans-Pritchard blog Eurointelligence Times Guardian FT 3 EurActiv IHT European Voice BBC: Hewitt blog Business Week ARD Handelsblatt Le Monde Le Figaro Reuters FD Le Figaro Kathimerini
EU spends millions on questionable culture programme
The European Commission is to spend £366 million through its 2010 culture programme on arts events to promote wind instruments, 'hip hop' dance and circus skills. £180,000 has been earmarked for a 'Wind Art Festival' to address the "need to increase audience for organ performances in order to give the organ a natural role in cultural life". Open Europe's Stephen Booth is quoted in the Telegraph saying, "These projects show that, if nothing else, EU bureaucrats have an exceptional talent for finding creative ways to waste taxpayers' money. Europe is struggling through the worst economic climate for generations and yet the EU budget is still being squandered on dubious projects that do nothing to create sustainable jobs and futures for European citizens."
The Mail also quotes Open Europe Director Mats Persson saying, "The EU's spending machine is completely out of sync with economic reality", and asking "why EU bureaucrats should be involved in cultural initiatives in the first place. Surely this is better handled nationally or locally?"
Telegraph Mail
French Europe Minister: "Lisbon Treaty has given us a more 'political' Europe"
In an article published by Mondes magazine French Secretary of State for European Affairs Pierre Lellouche, argues that "The financial crisis...has reminded European countries that none of them, not even the largest, can hope to deal with such turmoil alone". He goes on to add, "There is no doubt that the Lisbon Treaty has given us a more 'political' Europe...
With regard to European defence policy he argues that "the poor visibility of the European Union's action in Haiti demonstrated the importance of translating the political impetus created by the High Representative on the ground, if necessary through a European humanitarian force. The French President has stated that he is in favour of the creation of such a force." He concludes; "Europe's ability to matter politically on the international stage depends on the revival of the European defence and security pillar".
France Diplomatie
Belgian Presidency to propose extending gambling laws
Belgian daily De Standaard reports that the Belgian EU Presidency, starting in July 2010, is planning to draft common EU-wide rules to regulate online gambling. The paper says Belgium wants to use its own new law as a blueprint for others. Under Belgian law, only licensed casinos are allowed to offer poker or other games of chance on the web.
Standaard
EU crackdown on vitamins could put 4,000 jobs at risk
The EU Commission's plan to curb vitamins and mineral pills with dosages that are too high, affecting supplement pills, could lead to 4,000 job losses and force 700 health food stores to shut down in the UK, reports the Express. The Consumers For Health Choice campaign, which has 11,000 UK members, says France and Germany are pushing to allow only low-dose levels of vitamins and minerals to be used in food supplements, and warning that the UK will be outvoted in the final decision.
Express
ECB Board Member Mario Draghi calls for "European economic government"
In an interview with Handelsblatt, ECB Governing Board Member Mario Draghi, who is in the running to become the next ECB President, said that "We need a European economic government", and is also calling for "a wider Stability and Growth Pact...Until now we had a supervisory mechanism and also a mechanism to partly correct the accounts and budgets of member states. Now we must make this more workable and endorse structural reforms."
He adds: "It is time to go one step further. At least the Eurozone countries should accept a mechanism which improves the cooperation between governments and provides stronger discipline."
Handelsblatt Irish Times
Charlemagne: Brown has condemned next Government to "nasty clash" over AIFM Directive
The Economist's Charlemagne column suggests that by, delaying a vote in the Council of Ministers on the AIFM Directive, Gordon Brown may have condemned the next UK Government "to a nasty clash over European Union regulation of hedge funds and private equity." The article cites one official saying that if Mr Brown is re-elected, and his ministers return to EU negotiations in May or June, a compromise is probably possible. The column adds that a potential newly-elected Conservative government "will come under pressure from the press, the party and the City to stand and fight."
Economist: Charlemagne OE research OE press release OE blog
Relaxing EU rules could see return of rabies to UK
The Express reports that the EU wants to relax the regulations on pets travelling between member states, which would involve abandoning controls for rabies, tapeworms and ticks. British vets have warned that rabies was "far from eradicated" in Europe and could return to the UK if the safeguarding tests are removed.
Mail Express Telegraph
Le Figaro reports that IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn has said he's sceptical about the creation of the European Monetary Fund: "It would represent a distraction from the real problems the Eurozone must tackle in the light of the Greek crisis", he explained yesterday.
Le Figaro
Writing in the FT Otmar Issing, former Executive Member of the ECB board, argues that the idea that labour costs in individual countries should be "governed" by a European authority is an "economically absurd and politically dangerous concept."
FT: Issing
In an interview with La Tribune Guy Verhofstadt, President of the liberal group in the European Parliament, says that the WTO system, where the EU is represented by one Commissioner, is "what we need for the monetary system: an economic and social governance, with convergence criteria like those of the stability pact but on the monetary level."
La Tribune
The Coulisses de Bruxelles blog argues that EU Foreign Minister Lady Ashton's insistence that her working week ends on a Friday continues to undermine her credibility. This is in response to her apparent refusal to meet with the UN Security Council Ambassadors on a stopover in Brussels on Sunday, 18 April.
Coulisses de Bruxelles
A leader in the Economist argues that "The east European economies, for all their faults, have shown more flexibility in both labour markets and in what they produce than have many older EU members."
Economist: Leader Economist
France has suggested creating a joint UK-French nuclear deterrent by sharing submarine patrols. The UK so far, has opposed this offer stating that such a merge of sovereignty would be politically unacceptable.
Guardian
EurActiv reports that a debate about education targets in the proposed 'Europe 2020' strategy was removed from the agenda of an EU summit meeting next week after Germany expressed concerns that the proposed EU objective would step on the competences of the federal Lander.
EurActiv
The WSJ reports that new figures from Eurostat show that the eurozone posted a large trade deficit of goods in January of €8.9 billion, after a €4.1 billion surplus in December.
WSJ
The Parliament reports that the start of Iceland's EU accession talks is being delayed by the German Constitutional Court ruling on the Lisbon Treaty last summer, which will see Germany Parliamentary committees take a month to examine the EU Commission's opinion on the bid before negotiations begin.
The Parliament
A leader in the FT argues that Business Secretary Lord Mandelson should not drift towards the French approach to industrial strategy, with government picking the winners.
FT: Leader
EUobserver reports that EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Commission President Barroso will both represent the EU at the G20 meeting, although they will speak on different subjects.
EUobserver
Le Monde reports that the European Commission is considering taking several member states accused of failing to comply with EU environment laws to the ECJ.
Le Monde
Handelsblatt reports that the European Parliament has threatened to use its newly acquired veto right in ongoing negotiations on trade, over the EU's free trade deal with South Korea.
Handelsblatt
UK
Conservatives would introduce carbon tax to encourage renewables investment
A Conservative government would put a carbon tax on electricity generation to encourage investment in renewables and nuclear power, reports the FT. The article suggests that it will be welcomed by energy companies, which have argued that the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme does not provide enough stability for costly investment in long-term capital projects such as nuclear power stations. Dieter Helm, an energy expert at New College, Oxford, said: "I can't see why anyone would think this is a bad idea. It would not surprise me if the government pre-empted it in the Budget."
FT Telegraph Times OE research
On Tuesday 25 March Open Europe is holding an event in Brussels from 2 - 3.30pm, entitled " The AIFM Directive: Striking the right balance between protection and growth?" Speaking at the event will be: Gunnar Hökmark, MEP for Sweden (EPP) and Member of the EP's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs; Othmar Karas, MEP for Austria (EPP) and Member of the EP's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs; Uwe Eiteljoerge, European Commission, DG Internal Market, Asset Management Unit; Karel Lannoo, CEO, Centre for European Policy Studies; and Mats Persson, Director, Open Europe.
Places are limited. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to Pieter Cleppe at pieter@openeurope.org.uk or Tel: 00 32 2 540 86 25.
Europe
UK Europe Minister: Britain should still join the euro;
Lib Dem spokesperson strongly defends European Arrest Warrant
Open Europe held a debate in the House of Commons yesterday, in conjunction with Business for New Europe. Speakers included Europe Minister Chris Bryant, leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament Timothy Kirkhope, and Lib Dem Shadow Foreign Secretary Ed Davey, entitled "Europe: A priority for the next government? The debate was chaired by John Peet, Europe Editor of the Economist.
Europe Minister Chris Bryant started by saying that his approach to Europe stemmed from the fact that he was "an internationalist", and said that he believed the EU, "despite being flawed in many ways, in particular over the last eight years because its spent so much time obsessing about its own rules and regulations and its own internal processes", is "one of the great political successes of humanity".
Lib Dem Shadow Foreign Secretary Ed Davey said he thought crime, defence and foreign policy were three issues that would be critical for the next Government. He strongly defended the European Arrest Warrant, which has been criticised by several of his party colleagues in the past.
He also said that a key issue for the next Government was to decide how to use its opt-out on justice and home affairs entailed in the Lisbon Treaty. He asked, "are we going to opt out of the European Arrest Warrant, Eurojust, and Europol? I hope not."
Timothy Kirkhope said that he thought the next election in the UK would be about "trust", adding that the public "needs a government which can be trusted to promote Britain's national interests in the European Union by advancing its ideas clearly and firmly".
He said that during the 13 years of the current Government, "public support for our membership of the European Union has fallen, it is lower now then when they took office. That is a sad indictment of their record in Europe. For all the sound-bites and soft words, the Government hasn't delivered in Europe and the public knows it."
On a question regarding the speakers' position on the UK joining the euro, Ed Davey said that eventually he wanted the UK to join the euro. Chris Bryant added that "Yes I would long term like to see the United Kingdom join the euro but we made it absolutely clear that we would not do so unless the economic conditions in the UK were right and it was in our economic interest to do so, and we wouldn't do so unless there had been a referendum which said yes, and for me that would be a significant constitutional change and therefore would necessitate a referendum."
Open Europe events
Merkel and Lagarde clash over German export reliance as threat to eurozone;
Calls grow for an IMF bailout of Greece
The Telegraph notes that Merkel swept aside criticism from French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde that Germany's strategy of export reliance has led to a widening rift between eurozone economies. "Where we are strong, we will not give up our strengths just because our exports are perhaps preferred to those of other countries," she said in the Bundestag. FAZ quotes Jörg Asmussen, the Director General of the German Federal Ministry of Finance, saying, "The Europeans cannot seriously want the biggest national economy of the EU to be less capable of competing and the whole EU being damaged because of this."
The WSJ reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Bundestag yesterday "We need to have an agreement under which, as a last resort, it's possible to exclude a country from the eurozone if again and again it doesn't fulfil the requirements."
The proposal would require changes to the EU treaties and support of all 27 member states, including those with the worst fiscal track records.
The article notes that European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet told a French magazine in an interview conducted before Ms. Merkel's comments that the notion of expelling a eurozone member was "absurd." Mr. Trichet told Le Point "It is not a membership that can be adapted to suit the circumstances. It is about sharing a common destiny with other countries."
Turning to the situation in Greece, Merkel said "the turnaround must come from Greece" and that the EU "shouldn't rush to provide help that doesn't achieve anything in the long term and merely weakens the euro."
However, the Telegraph notes that Greek PM George Papandreou threatening to turn to the International Monetary Fund for support unless they come up with an acceptable rescue package at their next summit on 25 March. "Nothing is excluded," he said when asked about IMF involvement.
The WSJ quotes a senior Greek government official saying, "The rift with Germany is widening instead of narrowing. There is an increasing belief in the government that the IMF will be the only solution."
Fondsnieuws.nl reports that a majority of the Dutch Parliament wants Dutch PM Jan-Peter Balkenende to say no to pledging financial support to Greece, as proposed by Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager. The article suggests that Finland, Italy and the Netherlands are all warming to the idea of the IMF helping Greece.
AFP WSJ IHT Handelsblatt Euractiv EUobserver BBC BBC: Hewitt blog Telegraph El Mundo Bloomberg Irish Independent Irish Times WSJ 2 Irish Times 2 Telegraph 2 Le Figaro FAZ Reuters FTD Reuters 2 Handelsblatt 2 Die Welt Fondsnieuws Le Monde
Quatremer: Zapatero gave a "helping hand" to Gordon Brown on AIFM
On his Coulisses de Bruxelles blog, Jean Quatremer argues that, by postponing a vote on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, Spanish PM Jose Luis Zapatero "wanted to give a helping hand to his colleague Gordon Brown", who is facing an election in the next three months. Quatremer adds that, apart from the UK and Czech Republic, all other member states were ready to accept the Spanish proposal.
Le Monde quotes Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier defending the idea of a 'passport available to third country fund managers' according to strict criteria: "If there is a passport, it will be demanding, very demanding . It will deserve no shortcuts and no compromise."
Writing in the Telegraph, Reuters journalist Pierre Briancon argues that there is now little chance things will change with the Directive before June.
Coulisses de Bruxelles Le Monde Telegraph EurActiv.es OE research OE press release OE blog
Hungary sold two million false certificates under EU's Emission Trading System
The Times reports that "chaos" has hit Europe's emissions trading system following concerns about "recycled" carbon permits. The scandal erupted after it emerged that Hungary had exploited a loophole in the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) which allowed them to re-sell two million certificates of emission reduction. According to the article, two carbon exchanges have been forced to suspend trading as investors fear they have bought invalid permits.
FTD Times
Commission report criticises EU governments for overly optimistic budget plans
Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn has criticised the budget plans of various EU member states as being short on detail and based on "favourable macroeconomic assumptions after 2010 that may not materialize", reports the WSJ. El Pais reports that, according to the Commission's evaluations the most vulnerable member states are Ireland, the UK and Portugal. With the Commission stating that the UK must avoid "further measures contributing to the deterioration of public finances" which, the Mail says could provide a timely boost for the Conservatives' strategy for cutting the deficit. Meanwhile, writing in the IHT, Steven Erlanger highlights what critics are calling a "cult of austerity" created by "the region's new fixation on debt."
WSJ Bloomberg El Pais Euractiv Die Welt Mail Irish Times Irish Times IHT Focus
EU rules delay Irish government's ban on Mephedrone
The Irish Independent reports that Mephedrone, a drug linked to two recent deaths in Ireland, will remain legal in the country until June, as the government cannot fast-track legislation to ban it. Ireland's Junior Minister responsible for drugs strategy, John Curran, explains that "there are a number of EU directives that we must comply with and because it's a restriction of trade we must give the three months' notice to Europe. We've done that and the ban will be operational from the beginning of June".
Irish Independent
Michel Barnier calls for engagement for a "political Europe"
In an interview in Le Monde, Michel Barnier calls for a more political and federal Europe: "history and current affairs show it: there is no big power without an economy, a currency, a foreign policy and a defence policy. The recent crisis shows that it is vital to consolidate our single market, better coordinate our economic and budgetary policies." He adds, "I plead for a common diplomacy, not a single diplomacy".
Le Monde
EU Foreign Minister may delegate day-to-day running of EAS
EUobserver reports that EU member states are close to agreement on the internal architecture of the bloc's new diplomatic corps, but MEPs are threatening to delay the decision-making process unless their recommendations are taken into account. Although agreement on the External Action Service is due to be reached in April, MEPs are suggesting a final agreement may be reached as late as July or September. MEPs are keen on establishing quotas for EAS staff coming from newer member states.
According to the latest draft organisation plan given to EU diplomats, EU Foreign Minister Cathy Ashton is planning to delegate all day-to-day work to a Secretary General and his two deputies. Belgian daily De Standaard quotes a diplomatic source predicting that the new EU diplomatic service will mean a loss of talented diplomatic figures from the smaller member states.
EUobserver European Voice Standaard Le Monde European Voice BBC
New study: Expert bureaucrats decide on most EU regulations after proposal has been adopted
University of Utrecht researcher Gijs Jan Brandsma has found that expert bureaucrats from the Commission and member states in so-called comitology groups are responsible for deciding the content of almost half of all EU regulations after the actual decision has been made by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Brandsma argues that the extensive use of expert bureaucrats creates big problems for scrutiny and accountability.
The report notes that there are around 250 expert committees in EU which together take over 2,000 decisions ever year. He notes that 40 percent of these bureaucrats are not directly accountable to anyone - a problem made worse by the technicality of the subjects these groups deal with.
Utrecht University NWO
EurActiv reports that the new Justice Commissioner, Vivian Reding, believes that cross-border crimes such as money laundering and counterfeiting should be defined in the same way across all EU countries. Reding will outline her plans for criminal and civil law reform in at speech at the European Policy Centre today.
Euractiv
European Voice reports that the Commission on 24 March is set to launch a proposal on Common EU divorce rules, to apply in ten member states. The measure would be the first time that the EU has used the 'enhanced co-operation' mechanism, which allows for the setting of standards between some, but not all, member states.
European Voice
The Mirror reports that BNP leader Nick Griffin, elected an MEP last June, has claimed £235, 000 in EU expenses, including an £82,000 annual salary and £18,000 consultancy fees. Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies called his accounts as "transparent as mud".
Mirror
An op-ed article in European Voice asks "is the
European Voice European Voice 2
EUobserver report that Eurojust's new chief Aled Williams announced yesterday that he has launched a "task force" to examine the possibility of transforming Eurojust into a European Prosecutor's office. Under the Lisbon Treaty this would be possible, but is thought to be unlikely as it would require consent of all member states, many of which currently oppose the measure.
EUobserver
European Voice reports that several member states have criticised the Commission's new EU 2020 strategy for growth and competitiveness, with France and Ireland calling for a greater emphasis on agriculture, which is not mentioned once in the strategy document. EU leaders are scheduled to approve the plan on 25-26 March.
European Voice
EurActiv reports that the European Commission's proposal for a regulation aimed at improving security of gas supplies will be voted on today by the EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. When asked about the cost of the technical improvements stemming from the new regulation, EP Rapporteur Alejo Vidal-Quadras said he realised the figure would be "in the billions".
EurActiv ASCA
The Parliament website reports that a senior European Commission official said at an event yesterday that a proposal to recommend harmonising laws across the EU on drink-drive limits was under "serious consideration". The recommendation would be non-binding on member states.
The Parliament
El Mundo report that yesterday the Commission made the first steps towards EU accession to the European Convention of Human Rights, after submitting a negotiating mandate for the adoption of future directives. The Spanish Presidency is expected to approve this before the end of June.
El Mundo
Die Zeit reports that the European Parliament voted against the EU adoption of traffic light labeling on food.
die Zeit
Latvia's government collapsed yesterday after the largest party pulled out of the centre-right coalition over disagreements on how to deal with the country's recession which is the deepest in the European Union.
WSJ
