Thursday, December 29, 2011
[Ticker] An independent Scotland would have 7 votes in the EU Council
[Ticker] Moscow reaches Southstream agreement with Ankara
Bosnia forms government in hope of EU candidate status
BRUSSELS - Bosnia’s feuding political factions have backed a new administration for the ethnically divided state, breaking an impasse that has lasted more than a year.
Political leaders from all sides hope that the development will ease the country’s path to EU accession candidate status in the new year.
A close election result in 2010 produced a Belgium-like political stalemate that only on Wednesday after hours of talks was resolved when Bosnia’s Muslim, Serb and Croat leaders agreed to a deal endorsing a budget for 2011 and a financial framework for the next two years.
For the past 12 months, government bodies have been financed via ad hoc funding mechanisms.
The deal will also see a Bosnia Croat, Dragan Covic, take up the premiership of the state and a Bosnian Muslim in the post of foreign minister.
The agreement will also see the new government oversee a fresh census - long a political hot potato in the region - and new laws on the distribution of public funds, both of which were moves Brussels demanded ahead of giving the green light to status as a candidate for membership of the EU.
Both the EU and the United States have applied heavy pressure to political groups to achieve consensus, with the International Monetary Fund and Brussels withholding $100 million in aid as a result of the deadlock.
Political leaders hope that the agreement will see both a release of the much-needed funds and a strong signal from the EU that Sarajevo may one day join the bloc.
“It is important that we reached a political agreement,” said Milorad Dodik, leader of the Bosnian Serbs, “so that Bosnia can apply for candidate status of the European Union.”
SectionEnlargement TagsBosnia RelatedBosnia struggles to form state and entity governments'Big Four' political parties to form Bosnian governmentEU to open door to Albanians and Bosnians but not to Kosovars RelatedBosnia struggles to form state and entity governments'Big Four' political parties to form Bosnian governmentEU to open door to Albanians and Bosnians but not to KosovarsSectionEnlargementTagsBosniaNews in BriefHungarian journalists sacked for criticising governmentCyprus discovers gas at first searchMoscow reaches Southstream agreement with AnkaraAn independent Scotland would have 7 votes in the EU CouncilPutin dismisses talk of an election re-runFrance to hold jobs summitIsrael FM angry over EU memo on domestic Arab communityItaly fines Apple over extended warranty scam Popular ReadsSerbia and Montenegro face setbacks on EU pathAmbivalent acronym highlights EU problems on north KosovoEU and Croatia remind world the Union is still workingUN court: Greece broke the law in Macedonia name disputeSweden urges EU to take control of north Kosovo problemFootball diplomacy: Euro 2012 and UkraineOpinionTurkey and EU membership: a win-win situationLeaked report challenges EU line on Serbian judiciarySerbia's EU bid uncertain as roadblocks stay in placeCentre-left wins in Croatia, scores well in Slovenia Latest newsFrance to hold jobs summit as unemployment hits 12-year high29'th[Ticker] Cyprus discovers gas at first search
France to hold jobs summit as unemployment hits 12-year high
BRUSSELS - A sharp rise in France's unemployment figures is putting pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy to deliver, with over half the French population wanting the candidates for the spring presidential election to focus their energies on maintaining jobs.
Figures released by the labour ministry this week show that the number of those unemployed hit 2.85 million in November, a 12-year high and the seventh consecutive monthly increase.
The numbers have sparked a debate in France about the nature and future of employment with Sarkozy convening a jobs summit on 18 January.
The discussion has mainly focussed on part-time work and reducing hours and salaries instead of losing jobs, a proposal that has to be agreed with the unions.
Employment minister Xavier Bertrand said the January summit would see solutions that could be applied "rapidly" in order to contain "the effects of the crisis to the maximum."
France's joblessness plight has once again highlighted the difference between the strength of its economy in comparison with neighbouring Germany - a fact that has increasingly put the Franco-German relationship out of kilter.
Germany's falling unemployment was acknowledged by Bertrand: "Only Germany today is seeing its unemployment recede because they carried out profound reforms of the jobs market starting ten years ago and lasting ten years. We undertook (reforms) only a few years ago. That is the difference."
The news of the summit comes as figures show that de-industrialisation in France has accelarated since the start of the crisis in 2008.
According to Les Echos, the French financial daily, almost 900 factories have been closed since 2008. Of these, 400 were closed in 2009, the year the crisis hit the hardest, while 200 were closed in 2011.
The effect on employment has been huge. Over the last three years, some 100,000 jobs in the industrial sector have been lost.
Unemployment as an issue is a number-one priority on French voters' minds. According to a poll in La Croix newspaper, 52 percent of French people want the candidates for the April presidential elections to focus on responses that "maintain employment."
However, 72 of the respondents believe that presidential campaign so far is bringing response that are "far" from their concerns.
Of the main candidates in the running, socialist contender Francois Hollande is seen as proposing the best solutions to the daily problems of French citizens by 24 percent of those polled. Sarkozy comes in second with 20 percent and far-right politician Marine Le Pen in third place (16%).
While all candidates will focus on combatting unemployment and there are set to be many proposals for economic growth, their hands will be tied by France's commitment to reduce its high budget deficit, as part of an overall plan to contain the eurozone debt crisis.
Press ArticleSondage : Hollande, meilleures solutionsLe gouvernement relance l'idée de chômage partiel SectionEconomic Affairs TagsEmploymentFrance RelatedFrance: Agencies should downgrade 'Greece-like' UKSarkozy to announce fresh austerity as France sucked into whirlpoolMajority of French oppose fiscal treaty RelatedFrance: Agencies should downgrade 'Greece-like' UKSarkozy to announce fresh austerity as France sucked into whirlpoolMajority of French oppose fiscal treatySectionEconomic AffairsTagsEmploymentFrancePress ArticleSondage : Hollande, meilleures solutionsLe gouvernement relance l'idée de chômage partielNews in BriefHungarian journalists sacked for criticising governmentCyprus discovers gas at first searchMoscow reaches Southstream agreement with AnkaraAn independent Scotland would have 7 votes in the EU CouncilPutin dismisses talk of an election re-runFrance to hold jobs summitIsrael FM angry over EU memo on domestic Arab communityItaly fines Apple over extended warranty scam Popular ReadsNew EU deal faces multiple referendum threatVan Rompuy: EU could avoid full treaty change via legal trickFeatureWhat did the EU agree at its 'make-or-break' summit?New treaty in force when 9 countries have ratifiedPoland fears German 'inactivity' more than German powerFeatureWhat happens when a currency collapses? Ask BulgariaBritain's EU rebate called into questionTurkey to EU: say goodbye to democracy and start printing moneyFrance and Germany detail sweeping changes to eurozone set-upHungary: UK is alone in staying out of new EU Treaty Latest news29'th[Ticker] Hungarian journalists sacked for criticising government
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
[Ticker] Italy fines Apple over extended warranty scam
[Ticker] Israel FM angry over EU memo on domestic Arab community
Greek elections pushed back to April
BRUSSELS - A general election in Greece to replace the technocratic administration of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has been pushed back to April, governing parties have agreed, although the precise date remains unclear.
The current government needs two additional months to settle plans outlining fresh austerity and structural adjustment demanded by international lenders and to complete negotiations with creditors over a multi-billion-euro debt write-down.
Speaking to a meeting of the political council of the centre-left Pasok, finance minister Evangelos Venizelos told his party colleagues that elections would be later than the 19 February date originally agreed.
"Elections will be held after Easter, in late April," he said, according to Agence France Presse.
The three major parties had backed the mid-February date ahead of the formation of a grand coalition government in November following the resignation of former leader George Papandreou.
However, the conservative New Democracy party has reportedly dropped its insistence on the earlier date. But the party has drawn a line at 15 April - Greek Orthodox Easter.
Venizelos told his colleagues that the vote would be held after Easter.
Pasok, languishing in the polls, for its part is happy to see the technocratic administration continue well past the spring holiday.
The Papademos government needs more time to haggle with banks over the details of a €100 billion hair-cut to their holdings of government debt.
In October, financial institutions had agreed to a 50 percent write-down on Greek sovereign bonds as part of a second bail-out package, but the fine print has yet to be decided.
Both the negotiations with banks and the planks of the new austerity and structural adjustment programme must be endorsed by the parliament before the first major tranche of the new €130 billion bail-out can be released.
Inspectors from the troika of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are to return to the Greek capital in January to perform an assessment of how the new administration has improved on the former government in adhering to debt reduction targets imposed under the first bail-out scheme.
The troika officials will also consider how Athens is proceeding with new austerity plans required by lenders involved in the second rescue.
SectionEconomic Affairs TagsGreece RelatedFuture Greek governments must be bound to austerity strategyECB man to rule Greece for 15 weeksEU conference call to seek clarity on IMF funding RelatedFuture Greek governments must be bound to austerity strategyECB man to rule Greece for 15 weeksEU conference call to seek clarity on IMF fundingSectionEconomic AffairsTagsGreeceNews in BriefPutin dismisses talk of an election re-runFrance to hold jobs summitIsrael FM angry over EU memo on domestic Arab communityItaly fines Apple over extended warranty scam Popular ReadsNew EU deal faces multiple referendum threatVan Rompuy: EU could avoid full treaty change via legal trickBrussels pushes for radical shift in budget powers away from parliamentsFeatureWhat did the EU agree at its 'make-or-break' summit?New treaty in force when 9 countries have ratifiedPoland fears German 'inactivity' more than German powerFeatureWhat happens when a currency collapses? Ask BulgariaBritain's EU rebate called into questionTurkey to EU: say goodbye to democracy and start printing moneyFrance and Germany detail sweeping changes to eurozone set-up Latest newsIreland plans referendum body to prepare for possible EU treaty pollIreland plans referendum body to prepare for possible EU treaty poll
BRUSSELS - Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said he intends to establish a permanent referendum commission so that the public is fully prepared for a possible poll on the fiscal discipline treaty currently being drawn up by member states.
"I cannot give you an indication now as to whether there will actually be a referendum in respect of the inter-governmental agreement from the European business until the text is finalised and we get the advice of the attorney general," said Kenny on Tuesday (28 December), according to PA.
"What I am going to do though is set up the Referendum Commission on a much more permanent basis so that the commission will be able to reflect in readiness as to what is actually going to happen."
Referendum commissions are set up ahead of each referendum in Ireland to give neutral information on the topic being put to vote.
EU leaders, with the exception of Britain, agreed earlier this month to tighten up fiscal and budgetary surveillance in the eurozone in the form of an inter-governmental pact.
With the 17 eurozone states under pressure to agree the text as soon as possible, Ireland is already in the spotlight for the possible problems it might have with ratification.
Attorney general Marie Whelan is examining the details of the agreement - a draft of which was circulated on 16 December - to see if they imply a change to Ireland's constitution through more powers being handed over to the EU level. This would require a referendum.
Ireland is feeling the pressure after having seen the last two EU treaties - the Nice and Lisbon Treaty - rejected by voters. Subsequent referendums saw both treaties then accepted.
But the governments at the time came under fierce criticism, particularly in the case of the Lisbon Treaty, for being too complacent about the result in the run-up to the first referendum and and letting critics of the treaty frame the debate.
This time round, the current government also has to contend with the fact that a potential referendum would take place as the Irish continue to endure swingeing austerity measures, put in place in return for an EU-IMF bailout in 2010.
The Irish government, gloomy about the prospect of a Yes vote under such conditions, has rejected a call by the opposition to hold a referendum on the treaty regardless of whether one is legally required.
“You don’t go holding a referendum unless you have to and clearly the advice of the attorney general is what the government will act on as we’ve always done," said Kenny, according to the Irish Times.
Meanwhile, Ireland's EU partners have already anticipated its potential ratification problems.
The treaty draft circulated earlier this month suggested that the agreement will enter into force once nine countries have ratified it - although it is thought that Berlin may want to raise this threshold to ensure as many eurozone states are on board as possible.
Press ArticleTaoiseach rejects FF call for euro referendumPlan for permanent referendum body SectionPolitical Affairs TagsIrelandReferendumTreaty RelatedDoubts increase over usefulness of new fiscal treatyNew treaty in force when 9 countries have ratifiedDenmark stuck in EU treaty quagmire RelatedDoubts increase over usefulness of new fiscal treatyNew treaty in force when 9 countries have ratifiedDenmark stuck in EU treaty quagmireSectionPolitical AffairsTagsIrelandReferendumTreatyPress ArticleTaoiseach rejects FF call for euro referendumPlan for permanent referendum bodyNews in BriefPutin dismisses talk of an election re-runFrance to hold jobs summitIsrael FM angry over EU memo on domestic Arab communityItaly fines Apple over extended warranty scam Popular ReadsUK left out as 26 EU countries to draft new treatyBritain's EU rebate called into questionDoubts increase over usefulness of new fiscal treatyReform of Europe will not lead to supra-nationality, Sarkozy saysAtheists say EU privileging religious leaders over non-believersPolitical union beginning to take shape, Merkel saysStop criticising Merkel, Danish PM saysFinland objects to loss of veto over EU bail-outsMEPs want 'convention' on EU treatyLegal gymnastics cause confusion in Brussels Latest news[Ticker] France to hold jobs summit
[Ticker] Putin dismisses talk of an election re-run
Friday, December 23, 2011
[Ticker] Serbia allows Kosovo citizens to move freely
[Ticker] Over 6,200 people killed in Syrian crackdown
[Ticker] Surge in Greek and Spanish workers moving to Germany
[Ticker] Moody's downgrades Slovenian debt
[Ticker] French minister tries to mend ties with Britain
Arab Spring villains bombard EU with lawsuits
BRUSSELS - The year of the Arab Spring has seen an extraordinary number of anti-EU lawsuits, including by the late Colonel Gaddafi, who lost.
Eighty two people, entities or groups of entities hit by EU visa bans and asset freezes took the EU to court in 2011.
The number is a staggering increase compared to previous years: there were just seven cases in the whole period from 1999 (the first-ever case) to 2009 and 15 cases in 2010.
The bulk (37) of the 2011 lawsuits come from the circle of ex-Cote-d'Ivoire leader Laurent Gbago. One of them is by his wife, Simone, who said she should get off because the war was a "force majeure."
Iranian banks and shipping firms lodged 14 cases.
Most of the rest came from Arab Spring countries Syria (10), Libya (6), Tunisia (6) and Egypt (3).
Gaddafi had the chutzpah to try to stop France from giving €259 million of his loot to the Transitional National Council in Benghazi. The EU court rubbished his appeal as being "manifestly inadmissable."
Businessmen and companies are more litigious than politicians.
The first ever case was filed by Serbian supermarket baron Miroslav Miskovic, an associate of the late dictator Slobodan Milosevic, in 1999.
Syrian billionaire Rami Makhlouf has filed five cases. In one of them he wants €50,000 damages and €7,500 in legal costs. He said the EU ban does not promote "peace and security" and that it endangers his "means of support and right to life."
One interesting case concerns Syrian tycoon Tarif Akhras.
Akhras said that after the EU put him on its blacklist Syrian rebels made death threats against him and his son, "an armed man" tried to murder him and someone else tried to kill his son-in-law. He fled Homs for Damascus in October and then left Syria for a place which he is keeping secret "for security reasons."
He lost the case. The tribunal said he is a natural target because he is related to Assad's wife. It added that the EU is not responsible for things that happen in a situation "approaching civil war and anarchy."
Meanwhile, Belarusian arms trader Vladimir Peftiev has brought four cases.
He said the EU failed to prove that he is funding President Alexander Lukashenko and wants protection under the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Sorry, but ...Just three plaintiffs won in 2011 - Cote D'Ivoire oil baron Kadio Morokro, its former foreign minister Youssoufou Bamba and an Iranian firm, Hanseatic Trade Trust & Shipping.
The EU has not paid anyone a cent in damages in the past 12 years, however.
The above list of cases does not include people on a separate EU register of terrorist entities.
But a case brought by Philippino intellectual Jose Maria Sison in 2007 set an important precedent. Sison got off the terrorist register. But the court ruled the EU is liable for damages only if there is a "sufficiently serious" breach of law and an "inexcusable or intentional" error, taking into account "the complexity of the situations to be regulated."
Judges in Luxembourg have ever since said the EU can be forgiven if it makes a slip when dealing with "complex" regimes.
SectionForeign Affairs TagsExternal Action Service RelatedEU piles sanctions on Syria, raises possibility of UN troopsEU officials welcome news of Gaddafi's deathLatest jailing puts Belarus oligarchs in EU crosshairs RelatedEU piles sanctions on Syria, raises possibility of UN troopsEU officials welcome news of Gaddafi's deathLatest jailing puts Belarus oligarchs in EU crosshairsSectionForeign AffairsTagsExternal Action ServiceNews in BriefFrench minister tries to mend ties with BritainMoody's downgrades Slovenian debtSurge in Greek and Spanish workers moving to GermanyOver 6,200 people killed in Syrian crackdownSerbia allows Kosovo citizens to move freelyLehman banker appointed Spanish economy ministerDexia bank guarantees temporarily approved by EUGermany court finds six guilty of carbon tax fraudFinland finds missiles on Danish ship bound for ChinaEU court limits return of asylum seekers Popular ReadsFormer Turkish ambassador: 'EU dream is dead'France recognises Syrian council, proposes military interventionEU diplomats: 'Jewish state' is becoming too JewishYugoslavia and the profits of doomRussian President: EU Parliament 'means nothing'Ambivalent acronym highlights EU problems on north KosovoLetterEU foreign policy must not become a casualty of the euro crisisFree press on trial in EU aspirant TurkeySweden urges EU to take control of north Kosovo problemTibet leader to EU: Do not believe myth of Chinese supremacy Latest news[Ticker] Parliament committee votes through patent deal
Internet guru: Digital self-organisation will spur growth
Beneath the current gloomy economic perspective in Europe, there is underlying opportunity, says Internet guru Don Tapscott. But in order to unleash this, companies, individuals and governments must embrace the transforming power of digital innovation, he told EurActiv.
Don Tapscott is a Canadian business executive and chairman of the New Paradigm think tank and a professor of management at the University of Toronto. Tapscott is the author or co-author of 14 books on the application of technology in business and society, including ‘Wikinomics’ and ‘MacroWikinomics’. He spoke to EurActiv’s Jeremy Fleming on the fringes of the Innovation Convention in Brussels this week.
Do you see opportunities for growth in the digital economy?
There is such a negative prevailing view at the moment that we are in for 20 years of stagnation and global depression. I have a different view. The future is not to be protected but to be achieved. We need to know what the problem is and identify that properly. The problem is something different from what people think it is, and I have never been more hopeful about the situation. For all these failing institutions, for each one you can see they are spreading new models of institutions, you see many people ‘self-building’ using the Internet, that is what I find inspiring.
Where is this ‘self-building’ going on?
There are huge innovations underway and this is happening where people are self-organising across a variety of sectors: government services, private sector and large corporations. It’s a time of great change for traditional big industry, but in each case there are opportunities to seize control of the inert parts of these businesses.
Can you give specific examples?
General Motors, which went bankrupt, was the industrial-age model, and on the other hand you have the micro-macro model of Local Motors. This was the invention of someone who realised the problems with the sclerotic motor industry. His company utilises the web to bring in designs from thousands of freelancers and basic assembly plant to put together high-quality output.
Is this phenomenon only happening in the US?There is competition for this model from China. For example there are motorcycle units which are being built by hundreds of users who meet and assemble their ideas on an ad-hoc and Internet-based community. This means that some meet in tea rooms to discuss marketing whilst others deal with assembly and design issues on-line. This model is spreading in China to the general automobile market and Europe should prepare itself for the €1,000 car. These are radical innovations slaying the architecture of the old model of industry.
What impact do you think this change will have?
People used to say that the most important assets of a business get out of the elevator at the end of each working day. That is no longer true because they may never arrive in the office. Look at even huge companies such as Proctor & Gamble, which employs 7,000 scientists working in-house, but a further million work for the company from a distance, communicating on-line. I call this development ‘Ideas Agoras’ since these are open markets for deploying qualified minds.
You talked about the competition from China, what do we need to learn from and heed about this market?
On the one hand we need to learn that there is a role for government. This is a serious discussion in the US at the moment. Ron Paul, who is currently polling number two for the Republican Party in the US, wants as little government as possible. What these people are missing is the kind of strategic oversight that the EU is deploying with Horizon 2020, which is a positive kind of thing and an antidote to the antigovernment point of view.
But we also need to be cautious about the Chinese model; they have factories with as many as 900,000 workers, where people live military-style working existences. That may be suitable for the mass assembly of microchips but it is not good for an innovation economy. At some factories there are nets outside the windows to stop people successfully committing suicide. It’s like working in a prison. What is required for an innovation economy is a vibrant, open, competitive, but also fully transparent society, in which core IT is a basic right of people to use.
External Links EU official documentsEuropean Commission Convention exhibition European Commission Innovation Convention 2011 Your name:Schulz: Merkel-Sarkozy, the couple of contradictions
Going for a treaty change is unnecessary and the proposal submitted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy being discussed at the EU summit today (8 December) is unveiling the disaccord of the German-French couple, Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, told EurActiv in an interview.
Martin Schulz is the leader of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group in the European Parliament and the incoming president of the institution.
MP: Serbia will pursue efforts despite EU accession setback
By March 2012, Europe will finally have a form of fiscal union to govern the single currency. Unfortunately, this will be a pseudo fiscal union as it will be built like a car with no forward gear to drive investments into producing wealth and jobs, writes Jens-Peter Bonde, a former Danish MEP.
Opinion
Disability activist: Europe must come out of hibernation
By March 2012, Europe will finally have a form of fiscal union to govern the single currency. Unfortunately, this will be a pseudo fiscal union as it will be built like a car with no forward gear to drive investments into producing wealth and jobs, writes Jens-Peter Bonde, a former Danish MEP.
Opinion
Parliament rapporteur: All EU countries should recognise Kosovo
By March 2012, Europe will finally have a form of fiscal union to govern the single currency. Unfortunately, this will be a pseudo fiscal union as it will be built like a car with no forward gear to drive investments into producing wealth and jobs, writes Jens-Peter Bonde, a former Danish MEP.
Opinion
German MP: Bundestag will participate in EU fiscal union pact
By March 2012, Europe will finally have a form of fiscal union to govern the single currency. Unfortunately, this will be a pseudo fiscal union as it will be built like a car with no forward gear to drive investments into producing wealth and jobs, writes Jens-Peter Bonde, a former Danish MEP.
Opinion
[Ticker] Parliament committee votes through patent deal
[Ticker] ECB doubles exposure to troubled euro-states
[Ticker] MEPs call on EU commission to consider hybrid eurobonds
EU made 'mistakes' in euro-crisis response, says Polish minister
Doubts increase over usefulness of new fiscal treaty
BRUSSELS - Just a few days into the making of a new intergovernmental treaty on fiscal discipline, serious questions are being raised about whether the slight draft offered to date is either useful or necessary.
Following the first day of negotiation on the proposed 14-article treaty, first circulated at the end of last week, the three MEPs at the table noted that virtually all the provisions could be done using the current EU treaties.
"It is for political, symbolic reasons that they want to do this agreement," said Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian liberal MEP, while his Socialist counterpart Italian MEP Roberto Gualtieri noted that "most, if not everything, could have been done through secondary legislation."
Both MEPs, briefing colleagues on Tuesday evening (20 December,) noted that the legal services could give no answer when specifically asked what in the draft pact could not be achieved under current EU law.
The idea for an intergovernmental agreement came about after a spat at a European summit earlier this month which saw 26 member states opt for an economic governance pact, outside EU law, after Britain refused to allow a full change of the EU treaties.
Since then there have been political and legal misgivings about the nature of such an agreement, especially the extent to which EU institutions can be involved and how its contents should be enforced.
The six-pack and not much moreMeanwhile, the draft treaty is remarkably similar to, or at times is in conflict with, six pieces of legislation, in force since 13 December, that dramatically increase budgetary surveillance at the EU level.
"If you read the draft treaty, then many of the demands contained there are actually asking for less than what the six-pack contains," said German centre-right MEP Elmar Brok.
Gualtieri spoke about "overlapping rules and competences" pointing out that specific percentage targets also differ between the draft new treaty and the fresh legislation involving economic convergence.
How the new treaty will be enforced is also a matter of concern.
There are legal doubts about whether an article in the EU treaty which suggests that if member states are in dispute over points of EU law the European Court of Justice can adjudicate, can be used as a model for the intergovernmental pact.
But the political barrier is possibly higher. Verhofstadt pointed out that there has never been an incidence of member states fighting over application of EU law to the stage that it goes before court.
Meanwhile, a suggestion in the draft pact that member states should police each others efforts to enforce the rules - for example Belgium bringing Germany to court for breaking the deficit rules - was similarly criticised.
The current such article in the normal EU treaty has been used just six times in the last 60 years. By contrast the European Commission has brought legal cases for breach of EU law over 2000 times in the same period.
As a general goal, the European Parliament is keen to see that it has democratic oversight and that such intergovernmental pacts do not becoming the norm for rule-making in this area.
A higher threshold for ratificationWhile throwing up lots of questions about the relevance of the treaty, Tuesday's meeting at the same time showcased the determination of Berlin to get its contents agreed.
According to one source, Berlin is insisting on linking approval of the permanent bailout fund (ESM), supposed to be ratified next year, with all euro countries agreeing to put a debt brake into national constitutions.
Berlin would also be in favour of raising the minimum number of countries needed for the treaty to go into force (currently nine of the 17 euro currency states) to make sure all of the southern, and troubled, single currency countries are on board.
The first meeting saw negotiators get no further than Article one. "This is going to be a slightly longer exercise than expected by those who suggested it," said Gualtieri.
Under the proposed plan, the final draft is expected to be ready by 20 January with signature by member states to follow in March. The next meeting of the 'working group' of national diplomats, MEPs and other EU officials is scheduled for the first week of January.
SectionPolitical Affairs TagsEuroEuropean ParliamentIntegration RelatedParliament approves economic governance[Ticker] Next EU summit to be held 30 January
[Ticker] Rajoy voted into office
[Ticker] Turkey warns France over genocide bill
Britain blames euro for triple-A warning
BRUSSELS - The British government has blamed the euro for ratings agency worries on its triple-A status amid a widening political gap between Brussels and London.
A UK treasury spokesman told newswires on Tuesday (20 December) that exposure to the eurozone is the main reason why Moody's earlier the same day warned that Britain's top-level grade faces "formidable and rising challenges."
The spokesman said: "The UK is not immune to the problems facing our trading partners in the euro area; the crisis is having a chilling effect across Europe and it is important that the euro area continues to take decisive action to fix their problems."
The Moody's report noted "that no EU sovereign rating can be considered immune to this crisis." But it cited internal UK problems as the main cause of concern.
"
EU countries confront Israel on latest land-grab
BRUSSELS - The four EU countries on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have used unusually strong words against Israel's latest expansion of Jewish settlements on Palestinian land.
France, Germany, Portugal and the UK said in a joint statement published on the British UN embassy's website on Tuesday (20 December) they are "dismayed by these wholly negative developments" which "send a devastating message" to the peace process.
"The viability of the Palestinian state that we want to see and the two-state solution that is essential for Israel's long-term security are threatened by the systematic and deliberate expansion of settlements," they noted
They added that recent arson attacks by right-wing Jewish settlers on Palestinian mosques, such as Nebi Akasha and Burqa, are "deliberately provocative" and "designed to aggravate tensions."
Brazil, India, South Africa, Russia and Arab countries' UN envoys voiced similar complaints.
Israel at the weekend published a tender for 680 new Jewish homes to be built in Palestinian areas in Jerusalem and another 348 in the West Bank.
Its UN spokeswoman Karean Peretz said the UNSC should keep quiet on Israel and talk about Iran and Syria instead. She dubbed the anti-settlement statements "a badge of shame for the international community."
A US spokesman added that the UNSC risks "hardening" Israeli and Palestinian divisions by getting involved in peace talks.
EU heads of mission in Ramallah have year after year criticised Israeli housing policies in Jerusalem as designed to fence off the holy city from any future two-state agreement.
Deputy heads of mission in Tel Aviv earlier this month added that Israel is also trampling on the rights of Arab Israeli citizens inside the "Jewish state" proper.
The diplomatic fire-fight comes amid Palestine's bid to upgrade its UN status to a "non-member state" like the Vatican in order to protect its borders.
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia and Spain in November already backed Palestine's succesful application to join the UN's Paris-based cultural heritage office, Unesco.
Declaration'Settlement activity must cease' SectionForeign Affairs TagsAfrica RelatedEU diplomats: 'Jewish state' is becoming too JewishEU leaks on Jerusalem not enough, campaigner saysEU and US criticise Israel ahead of UN showdown RelatedEU diplomats: 'Jewish state' is becoming too JewishEU leaks on Jerusalem not enough, campaigner saysEU and US criticise Israel ahead of UN showdownSectionForeign AffairsTagsAfricaDeclaration'Settlement activity must cease'News in BriefLehman banker appointed Spanish economy ministerDexia bank guarantees temporarily approved by EUGermany court finds six guilty of carbon tax fraudFinland finds missiles on Danish ship bound for ChinaEU court limits return of asylum seekersEU court greenlights carbon emissions tax for planesTurkey warns France over genocide billRajoy voted into officeNext EU summit to be held 30 JanuaryMEPs call on EU commission to consider hybrid eurobonds Popular ReadsFormer Turkish ambassador: 'EU dream is dead'France recognises Syrian council, proposes military interventionEU diplomats: 'Jewish state' is becoming too JewishYugoslavia and the profits of doomAmbivalent acronym highlights EU problems on north KosovoRussian President: EU Parliament 'means nothing'LetterEU foreign policy must not become a casualty of the euro crisisFree press on trial in EU aspirant TurkeyPrivacy campaigner: EU-US passenger data deal 'meaningless'Sweden urges EU to take control of north Kosovo problem Latest newsEU slams Hungary for power-grab on central bank[Ticker] EU court greenlights carbon emissions tax for planes
Football diplomacy: Euro 2012, the EU and Ukraine
BRUSSELS - The man responsible for Ukraine's Euro 2012 football championship has said Uefa is doing more than the EU institutions to modernise the country.
Markiyan Lubkivskyi, Ukraine's former ambassador to Bosnia and Croatia and football authority Uefa's man in charge of preparing for the games said the decision where to hold them was political.
"It was a decision of Uefa to bring Ukraine closer to Europe. Uefa wanted to bring us closer to the EU. It is doing the job of the European Commission," he told EUobserver in Kiev on Tuesday (20 December). "
Thursday, December 22, 2011
[Ticker] EU court limits return of asylum seekers
[Ticker] Finland finds missiles on Danish ship bound for China
[Ticker] Germany court finds six guilty of carbon tax fraud
[Ticker] Dexia bank guarantees temporarily approved by EU
Banks queue up for cheap ECB loans
BRUSSELS - Over 500 European banks rushed to borrow almost half a trillion euro in cheap loans from the ECB on Wednesday (21 December), highlighting the credit squeeze on the market and only marginally increasing investor confidence that the central bank is mastering the euro-crisis.
[Ticker] Lehman banker appointed Spanish economy minister
Leaked report challenges EU line on Serbian judiciary
BRUSSELS - Serbia's reform of the judiciary system is riddled with inconsistencies, intransparent and subject to political pressure, a leaked report shows, in an assessment that sharply contradicts the official and happier EU account of the state of affairs in the Balkan country.
Leaked report challenges EU line on Serbian judiciary
BRUSSELS - Serbia's reform of the judiciary system is riddled with inconsistencies, intransparent and subject to political pressure, a leaked report shows, in an assessment that sharply contradicts the official and happier EU account of the state of affairs in the Balkan country.
Franco-Turkish relations hit new low on genocide bill
The measures comprise a immobilize on symmetrical meetings on external and squad policy; cancelling a ministerial-level assemblage on the scheme in Jan 2012; forcing Romance expeditionary jets to seek permission apiece period they preserve Land air; and a ban on Sculptor naval vessels in Turkish ports. Ankara also recalled its ambassador to Town.
Prime Clergyman Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a estate discussion on Thursday (22 December) said the measures are right the "early period" of his greeting.
He titled the vizor "an irreparable arouse" on bilateral relations and accused Romance soul Nicolas Sarkozy of "favouritism, discrimination, xenophobia." He accessorial: "There is no specified kill in story. We are proud of our chronicle."
Sculpturer MPs originally the comparable day by a show of hands voted through a eyeshade put headlong by Valerie Boyer from Sarkozy's centre-right UMP company.
The study law - which staleness be approved by the Senate and subscribed by Sarkozy before it enters into personnel - says anybody delinquent of making unrestricted statements which become to a "denial of total trivialisation" of the Ethnos killing or the Holocaust can be put in situation for one year or penalised €45,000.
A spokesman for the Land parliament told EUobserver that Erdogan's remarks would pass him likely for the penalty if he entered Author without claiming smooth discharge.
He another that if a scholar in his research unearthed grounds which work dubiety on the Alphabet kill or if a unexclusive personage said they had no hard function on the topic either way, they would also be likely.
For his object, Romance foreign minister Alain Juppe in a longhand evidence said he "refusal" Erdogan's determination and described State as "an associate and a strategic mate" amid undogmatic tendency in the Quai d'Orsay toward Land's anger.
Author was already unpopular in State due to its people oppositeness to Dud ever connexion the EU.
Meanwhile, the EU institutions in Brussels are sharp to fiat out of the amour.
A spokesman for elaboration commissioner Stefan Fuele said it is a "bipartite thing." A spokesman for disposal commissioner Vivianne Reding noted that patch Article 83 of the EU Treaty says that member states should fit their laws on genocide-denial, an inner jural read found that "at this present the conditions to use this possibility human not been met."
With EU countries having never agreed a unrefined finish on Armenia, the European External Action Assistance is also gagged from tongued out - movement the discourse whether its disbelief would miscarry defile of the Gallic account.
'Let's tackling it ...'
Person anthropoid rights candidate Archangel Lemkin coined the evince killing in 1944 with specific reference to the Alphabet event in 1915.
The UN Pervasive Assembly in a partitioning in 1948 settled it as "book committed with intention to undo, in whole or in location, a general, ethnic, interracial or sacred forgather."
There is rank inform that Bust's destruction of 1.5 million Asiatic men, women and children during World War I meets the criteria. Volume writer, matutinal photos and statements by coeval soldiers and statesmen, including by Country politicians, show to a proposed cause.
On 19 October 1918 the President of the Turki senate, Ahmed Riza told the construction in his address line: "Let's braving it, we Turks savagely killed off the Armenians."
Mumbling in an converse with this website prior to the Romance option, Land's once ambassador to the EU, Selim Kuneralp said he believes in released reprimand whether in the EU or in Turkey: "Account should be tract to the historians ... I do not believe what happened can be described as killing but I expect that if people look that way they should be fit to say it."
Commenting on the French vote, a preeminent Judaic thinker, Title King Rosen said he believes the Alphabet killings are kill, but other that it "is a affair of authorised scrap", dissimilar the Genocide, with which "no nice individual disagrees."
He said: "I am against laws to decry people for untruth ...
Jo Leinen: Crisis could be chance for European project
EU slams Hungary for power-grab on central bank
Enforcing the afoot wind law on the midmost bank (Magyar Nemzeti Bank) "could disobey