Well, our Neelie is back in the headlines (here, here, here, or here ).
Personally I don’t really see the issue, I think she can express her opinions if she wants to. What intrigued me rather more was the EUPolitix headline on the story.
Dutch EU chief backs ‘ultra-liberal’ Merkel
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This is really a hybrid post, although perhaps the unifying theme – for reasons which should be clear by the end – is Denmark.
In the first place Danish journalist Kjeld Hansen has a hard-hitting article in EU Observer about just what does actually happen to all that money paid-out in the form of agricultural subsidies (hat tip New Economist), whilst in the second one there is news today that the Commission is preparing a position paper on the EU’s social model for discussion at the October 27/28 summit.
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Earlier in the week Doug Muir posted on the generally negative attitude most Austrians seem to have towards EU enlargement. Others in comments have been suggesting that it is important not to go soft on human rights issues in the case of Turkey’s application. Well……
According to the French newspaper Le Figaro (as reported in EUPolitix) “Croatia forms part of the total bargaining on Turkey.” (that’s a quote from an anonymous diplomat btw).
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The Financial Times reports this morning that EU Commission President José Barroso is about to launch a major ‘deregulation campaign’. He is reported as saying that he was determined to get the Commission to embrace better regulation, to carry out more systematic impact assessments and to make more frequent use of the option of not legislating at all. “The important thing is to change the culture of the organisation”. Maybe all this won’t turn out to be the last word in sliced bread, but it is moving in the right direction. According to the FT:
Mr Barroso wants to axe a wide variety of laws designed to impose EU-wide standards, claiming that some legislation was “absurd” and brought Europe into disrepute….
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One of our lurkers turns out to be from the Media section of the European Parliament. Today and tomorrow the EP is webcasting a conference on technology and democracy, with a prominent role for blogs.
Mystery in European Parliament…!
just like you, the European Parliament is well aware of the increasing power and importance of blogging, which hasn’t only started to blur the lines between the private and the public, between journalism and opinion, between citizen and politician, but has also opened up new questions in the field of democracy and democratic control. As part of the activities that will accompany the launch of its new website, the European Parliament has decided to hold several debates dealing with the fast-moving developments in digital society on the 12th and 13th of September, the first of which is entitled Web logs: competition, challenge or chance? Who’s afraid to open Pandora’s Blogs? Participants in the debate will include several well-known journalists, bloggers and experts in the field, who will no doubt ensure a lively debate that should be of special interest to bloggers, as well as anyone interested in the relationship between digital technology and democracy. We would therefore like to invite you to join us on the Europarl website (http://www.europarl.eu.int/eplive/public/default_en.htm), where the event will be broadcast live on the 12th of September starting at 3PM via web streaming.Wishing you all the best in your blogging endeavours,
Yours Sincerely,
José Manuel Nunes LIBERATO
Directeur, DIRECTION A – MEDIA
If you go to the site, click on “Round Tables on the Information Society” and then scroll down to “watch”. As I read the schedule, there’s only half an hour left today, but several hours tomorrow.
There has been some discussion going on in recent days about Angela Merkel’s proposal for a special partnership between the EU and Turkey. In the Turkish case I don’t agree with this (I favour full membership), but India, well that would be as they say ‘another country’.
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While we at Afoe may be suffering from intermittent service interruptions, the EU seems to have arrived at what is being described as a ‘fair and share’ agreement with the Chinese over the trapped clothing products.
Which may well be described as a made to measure, just in time, solution, since while Tony Blair is waxing lyrical about the ‘moral responsibility’ of removing protectionist barriers like the CAP, UK CBI (Industry) head Sir Digby Jones, who is currently with Blair in Beijing, is fuming:
“I’m furious” he told the Times “We’re not protectionist in Britain. We understand you offshore the production of low-value goods and that by doing so you’re creating incomes for people who can buy our high-value goods.”
For Sir Digby the blockade of 75m garments, under emergency quotas negotiatied in June by Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, is a symptom of “protectionist, hypocritical Europe”, and had given the Chinese the “moral high ground”.
Well try explaining that to Peter Mandelson. (Hat tip to China Herald).
It’s over folks, the constitution that is, and for the foreseeable future, at least this seems to be the conclusion that can be drawn from Jos? Barroso’s comments in Poland yesterday. (Hat tip EU Observer)
“In the foreseeable future we will not have a constitution. That’s obvious. I haven’t come across any magic formulas that would bring it back to life”.
“Instead of never-ending debates about institutions, let’s work with what we’ve got. Political will and leadership are more important than institutions”
I think many of us here at Afoe drew this conclusion the day after the French vote. As Barroso says it’s now down to pragmatism and best foot forward. So let’s see what happens at the October summit.,
French political life is always full of surprises: while some seem past their best (de Villepin), and others are positively wilting (Chirac), new stars constantly appear in the galaxy. In this case Europe Minister Catherine Colonna. Her agility on the Turkey issue, and her sound sense on the ECB make her stand out against what is admittedly a not especially ‘brilliant’ background. Still, maybe when Sarkozy gets over his marital issues he’ll start to give her a run for her money.
On the ECB
Philippe Douste-Blazy: ?Everyone can see that the euro today remains an unfinished project, for lack of a seriously co-ordinated economic policy between members of the eurozone,? he said. ?Let us not leave economic and budget policy to the European Central Bank, let us not leave it just to the European Commission, to people who are not elected.?
Catherine Colonna: ‘elaborated’ on her senior minister’s remarks, saying the eurozone’s policymakers should focus more on citizens’ main concerns jobs and growth while respecting the ECB’s independence. ?Fiscal harmonisation is another important avenue that must be pursued.?
On Turkey Negotiations
Jacques Chirac: “Turkey needs to recognise Cyprus ….the continuing failure to do so poses political and legal problems and is not in the spirit expected of a candidate to the union?.
Catherine Colonna: ?When it comes to Turkey, its future with the EU accession or another solution can only be written at the end of a long process….?Between now and then, the rules have been set out: if the conditions set are met, the negotiations can begin.?
I can’t help feeling that no sooner do I lift someone up than I find I have to knock him down again. I ended the last post offering a best case scenario excuse for Jacques Chirac, but now another topic lands on my in-tray: France and strategic industries.
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