Thursday, May 27, 2004
EU commissioner implicitly criticizes French rescue of Alstom
EU Business | "European Union Health Commissioner David Byrne implicitly criticized a French government rescue plan for engineering group Alstom Thursday, insisting that state aid to prop up big private companies was 'completely wrong.'
'We believe in free competition and I hope the next president of the (European) commission will help with this principle at a moment when some of our most important member states still see some national champions deserving state aid,' Byrne told a meeting here of European pharmaceutical industries. "
EU commissioner implicitly criticizes French rescue of Alstom
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
No Constitution 'on the cheap' says French foreign minister
"French foreign minister Michel Barnier expects a successful outcome to the negotiations on the Constitution but has warned that France will not accept a text 'on the cheap'.
In a wide-ranging interview with French daily Le Figaro, Mr Barnier, asked if he thought that negotiations would conclude successfully on 17-18 June, said, 'I'm working on the hypothesis that there will be a success. Neither the French, nor the Germans, nor the Spanish nor the new member states are prepared to go backwards'.
'We will not accept a text on the cheap. One can make compromises but it is necessary that everyone makes an effort'. "
No Constitution 'on the cheap' says French foreign minister
Monday, May 24, 2004
Strauss-Kahn report: new mobilising 'myth' or omnibus of old stories?
EurActiv.com | "After the 2001 Gothenburg Summit, Commission President Romano Prodi installed a sustainable development Round Table of independent experts under the chairmanship of former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The group consisted of very diverse personalities such as former Polish foreign minister Bronislaw Geremek, former Belgian environment minister Magda Aelvoet, Portuguese Literature Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, German former governor of the Bundesbank Hans Tietmeyer and former BP chairman Lord Simon of Highbury. The group met seven times between January 2003 and April 2004. It was supposed to give an answer to the question: what can be the next "mobilising myth" for Europe?
The Strauss-Kahn report was presented to the Commission on 18 May 2004. It seems significant that the Commission itself did not want to give high visibility to the report. No press release was published on the RAPID website. There also seems to have been considerable disagreement in the experts' group itself on the final result of its meetings. "
Strauss-Kahn report: new mobilising 'myth' or omnibus of old stories?
Inside Europe
Guardian Unlimited | "Europeans can expect very little from their leaders during the upcoming transatlantic summit season. The G8 in Georgia, the EU-US summit in Ireland and Nato's get-together in Istanbul at the end of next month are annual fixtures designed to showcase the ties that bind the old and new continents. With mayhem in Iraq casting a giant shadow, the usual ringing declarations will fool no one. So it will be especially poignant to watch the first gathering, for the D-Day anniversary celebrations in Normandy on June 6, when George Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Vladimir Putin will be joined by Gerhard Schröder - the first German chancellor invited to take part. "
Inside Europe
EU 'confident' of star power site
BBC NEWS | "Europe is still confident that it will be chosen to host Iter, the world's biggest nuclear fusion reactor.
Philippe Busquin, the EU's research commissioner, told gathered experts the volume of Europe's fusion research would double from 2007 to 2013.
Fusion powers stars and is seen as a cleaner approach to energy production than nuclear fission and fossil fuels. "
EU 'confident' of star power site
IMF man is new German president
BBC NEWS | "Horst Koehler, a former head of the International Monetary Fund, has been elected Germany's new president.
He defeated Gesine Schwan, a university professor who hoped to become Germany's first female head of state.
The president is not elected directly by voters, but by a special federal assembly convened every five years.
Although the role is mostly ceremonial, Mr Koehler, who was backed by the opposition, has made clear he will push for economic reforms in Germany. "
IMF man is new German president
Friday, May 21, 2004
EU constitution: What happens without it?
BBC NEWS "At the beginning of next week, European Union foreign ministers will resume their push towards agreement on the new constitution for Europe.
But what will happen to the EU if they fail to find consensus? How far can the union work under the existing treaties? And what will follow if the UK .or any of the 25 member states, fails to ratify this constitution?
Our Europe correspondent Tim Franks has spent the week looking at the constitution. In the fifth and last of his series, he asks: What happens without a constitution? "
EU constitution: What happens without it?
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Plan B for treaty ratification is unrealistic, says MacShane
EUobserver | "UK Europe minister Denis MacShane has dismissed a Franco-German plan on the EU Constitution which proposes that the treaty could go into force even if some countries have not ratified it.
In an interview with the EUobserver, Mr MacShane rejected the idea by saying 'And if France says no? I mean this is not realistic'.
'It's a treaty isn't it - it has to be agreed by all the members participating in it. I think what we need to have is not speculation on hypotheses but very positive messages about how we are going to make Europe popular for all 450 million citizens'.
The UK decision to have a referendum on the Constitution has been received with concern in other member states which fear that the country will reject the document."
Plan B for treaty ratification is unrealistic, says MacShane
IGC meeting puts question mark over Constitution deadline
EurActiv - "Foreign ministers left the crucial question of Council voting officially untouched. This resulted in little progress being made in other areas at the 17-18 May meeting of the IGC.
Background:
On 17-18 May, foreign ministers of the EU-25 met for the first time in five months to discuss the Constitution in a formal IGC setting. The Irish Presidency made public two documents prior to the meeting. One contained the provisions of the Constitution on which a broad consensus emerged among experts at a meeting on 4 May while the other served as the basis for discussions at this IGC session (see also EurActiv 17 May 2004).
The system of voting in the Council, over which IGC talks broke down last December, did not feature formally on the agenda. "
IGC meeting puts question mark over Constitution deadline
Straw provokes EU anger
Guardian Unlimited | "Britain came under fire from Germany and France yesterday for trying to secure last-minute concessions in talks on the EU's controversial new constitution.
Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, was accused by Joschka Fischer, his German counterpart, of employing 'salami tactics' to obtain key changes to the treaty, which is designed to simplify and overhaul procedures for an 25-state EU.
Mr Straw had demanded that safeguards on the charter of fundamental rights be written into the text of the treaty, which has to be agreed in just one month.
The British government is anxious to get its way on the charter of rights, largely because of pressure from the CBI to ensure it does not create new social and employment rights under EU law. "
Straw provokes EU anger
EU constitution sparks frictions
BBC NEWS | "Downing Street said Tony Blair wants to see an EU constitution agreed but will only sign up to it if it respects the UK's national interest.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has already said that he doubts 18 June deadline for agreement will be reached.
If the constitution is agreed the government faces something of a battle to win a referendum vote.
Germany's Joschka Fischer has said Britain is trying to extract more concessions slice by slice."
EU constitution sparks frictions
Monday, May 17, 2004
Is This The Endgame For Tony Blair?
"Former Labour Party boss Neil Kinnock and Former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey recently suggested that beleaguered British Prime Minister Tony Blair consider stepping aside. Their comments were seen as a sign of a possible deal clearing the way for the current Chancellor Gordon Brown to succeed Blair as Labour's leader. Meanwhile, a group of Labour backbenchers -- who voted earlier this year against government plans to increase university fees -- are calling their once-popular leader an electoral liability. Some even want Brown, not Blair, to lead them into the next general election. "
BW Online
Is This The Endgame For Tony Blair?
Apathy in the EU
"Even with astronauts, sporting heroes, TV presenters and porn stars standing as candidates, millions will stay away from the European parliamentary elections.
It only happen every five years, but millions of Europeans still seem profoundly uninterested in choosing their representatives in the world's biggest transnational election.
The polls might, of course, turn out to be wrong, but so far there looks like being a record low turnout in next month's European parliament vote.
Eurobarometer, the normally reliable polling arm of the European commission, found recently that just 34% of the 343 million people eligible are 'certain' to vote between June 10 and 13, though 50% are 'likely' to do so."
Guardian Unlimited
Apathy in the EU
EU governments mull over treaty
"European Union foreign ministers will try to make headway on Monday on agreeing the proposed new constitution.
Last December an attempt to reach consensus broke down because of objections from Spain and Poland over voting rights.
The negotiations begin with a two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will demand that vetoes on taxation, foreign policy and defence remain.
The government says the constitution would just be a rationalisation of the EU's existing 80,000 pages of rules and regulations. "
BBC NEWS | Europe | EU governments mull over treaty:
EU governments mull over treaty
Friday, May 14, 2004
Paris and Berlin hope to sidestep constitution veto
"Britain will reject a Franco-German call for the EU's new constitution to be ratified by just 20 of the union's 25 members, insisting that it must be agreed unanimously.
Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder are expected to propose the move at a meeting in Paris today, it was reported last night.
The meeting, scheduled to discuss industrial policy, comes as negotiations on the constitution - simplifying and rewriting rules and procedures for the enlarged EU - enter their final and most delicate phase.
France, in particular, has been alarmed by Tony Blair's u-turn over a referendum on the new treaty, with President Chirac under mounting domestic pressure to follow suit."
Paris and Berlin hope to sidestep constitution veto
Paris and Berlin hope to sidestep constitution veto
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Constitution negotiations reach fever pitch
"With just a few days to go before negotiations on the Constitution are formally revived, behind the scenes activity has increased to fever pitch.
Following a meeting on Tuesday (11 May) in Brussels, EU finance ministers are trying to see if they can reach unanimity between themselves on issues where they would like to see the powers of the EU institutions reduced in the treaty blueprint.
According to diplomats, UK Chancellor Gordon Brown insisted on reverting to proposals agreed by finance ministers at an informal meeting in Italy last year.
These include not letting the European Parliament have the final say over the EU budget; not taking away member states' veto on the multi-annual budget and not giving the European Commission power to start procedures against member states on the stability pact without the consent of finance ministers."
EUobserver
Constitution negotiations reach fever pitch
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
BBC NEWS | EU offers to end export subsidies
"The European Union has offered to stop subsidising farm exports in a move aimed at reigniting world trade talks.
European trade commissioner Pascal Lamy has written to members of the World Trade Organisation outlining the plan.
An agreement will depend on other WTO countries such as the US, Canada and Australia being willing to follow suit.
France, one of the main beneficiaries of farming aid, has criticised the step as 'dangerous', adding that the EU was not authorised to make such an offer. "
BBC NEWS | EU offers to end export subsidies
Substantial drop in public support for enlargement in EU-15
"EU citizens are losing trust in the benefits of enlargement, shows a new Eurobarometer survey, the preliminary findings of which were published on 7 May 2004. According to the figures, overall support for enlargement is down in ten of the EU-15 countries by an average of 5 per cent compared to the autumn 2003. Overall, only 42 per cent of citizens of the EU-15 now support enlargement.
It is particularly citizens of Member States sharing borders with the newcomers who are more sceptical about enlargement than they used to be. Support dropped most steeply in Germany from 38 to 28 per cent, but also in Austria (-7 per cent) and Italy (-5 per cent). In other countries, citizens also fear the negative effects of enlargement for their country, including the UK (-7 per cent), the Netherlands (-6 per cent) and Luxemburg (-8 per cent). "
xxEurActiv.com Portal - Substantial drop in public support for enlargement in EU-15
Substantial drop in public support for enlargement in EU-15
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Patten leads race for top Europe job
"The former Conservative Party chairman, Chris Patten, is the front-runner to become the next President of the European Commission after Number 10 signalled it would respond 'positively' to moves to appoint him.
Downing Street officials said that, although no decision had been taken on who the British Government would back for the position, it was made clear Patten was someone the Government 'could do business with'.
A Conservative as President of the Commission would be welcomed by many in the Government. Patten, a serving British commissioner at the EU until his departure in September, is known to be close to Tony Blair and could be used to show that the European 'project' has cross-party support."
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Patten leads race for top Europe job
Patten leads race for top Europe job
Saturday, May 01, 2004
EU newcomers welcomed to the club
"The new 25-member European Union has heralded its historic expansion with celebrations across the new bloc.
The 15 old members welcomed in Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia at midnight.
The most high-profile festivities are taking place in Ireland, current holder of the rotating EU presidency.
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern 'extended to the new members and hailed a 'day of hope and opportunity'.
But he also made reference to the challenges ahead for the enlarged club - notably the need to find agreement on the thorny issue of a constitution, and to narrow the now even more pronounced wealth gap between members. 'There is indeed much work to be done,' he said, shortly after taking part in a 'Prayer for Europe' ceremony with Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders in Dublin Castle. "
BBC NEWS | Europe | EU newcomers welcomed to the club:
EU newcomers welcomed to the club
Op dit werk is een Creative Commons Licentie van toepassing.