EU-DIGEST

EU leaders reject protectionism - by Ilona Wissenbach and Marcin Grajewski

European Union leaders rejected protectionism on Sunday to prevent a new "iron curtain" dividing the 27-nation bloc into rich and poor halves during the global economic crisis. At a summit called to bridge differences over how to handle the crisis, leaders made a new commitment to the EU's single market -- a response to concerns that any protectionist moves to prop up national industries would undermine EU unity. They did not agree on any regional aid package to the whole of central and eastern Europe after opposition from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Hungary called last week for rules on entering the 16-nation euro zone should be relaxed to help others to enjoy the exchange rate stability it offers. But Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of euro zone countries, ruled this out. "I don't think we can change the accession criteria to the euro overnight. This is not feasible," Juncker told reporters.

Labels: Eastern Europe, Economy, EU SUMMIT, Protectionism, Unity

Narrow-minded leadership hurts Europe - by Wolfgang Munchau

European leaders have woefully underestimated the crisis and possibly still do. The European economy is now heading towards a depression, with German gross domestic product falling at an annualised rate of almost 9 per cent. The early misjudgment of the crisis resulted in stimulus packages with two defects. They were initially too small but, more importantly, they were not co-ordinated. One important aspect of the economic meltdown is the presence of strong cross-country spillovers, both globally and inside the EU. The policy response failed to take account of these spillovers.

When European leaders meet for their anti-protectionism summit on March 1, they will produce warm words to reaffirm their commitment to the single market. I suspect they will continue to misdiagnose the crisis. Protectionism is not the root of the problem. The protectionism we are experiencing now is caused by co-ordination failure. It is neither sudden, nor surprising.

Labels: Britain, EU Economy, EU SUMMIT

Crisis EU economic summit to be held - by Jamie Smyth

Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek announced the Brussels summit yesterday in response to French and German pressure for the EU to show more leadership in the face of the crisis. He also strongly criticized French president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose protectionist policies he said risked pushing the entire EU in a “beggar-thy-neighbour” direction.

Note EU-Digest: Sarkozy welcomed the initiative and in a joint letter with German Chancellor Angela Merkel said "it remains essential to pursue a coordinated approach to maximize the advantages for the whole EU.The solutions can vary from country to country," they wrote to Topolanek. But "the principles have to be approved together" so all 27 nations can cooperate on the measures they can take to get out of the deteriorating economic slump.

Labels: EU, EU Economy, EU SUMMIT

Merkel comes to Brown's rescue

Gordon Brown would like Britain to believe that he has stumbled into the sort of family row that erupts when two drunken relatives turn on each other at the end of a wedding. The prime minister said that Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, had decided to dismiss Britain's £20bn fiscal stimulus plan as "crass Keynesianism" because of "internal German politics". That's a polite way of describing a feud in Germany's grand coalition as Steinbrück's SPD gears up for a general election next year against the CDU, led by the chancellor, Angela Merkel.

Brown's explanation appeared to be borne out as the EU summit opened this afternoon. Hours after Steinbrück's sniffy remarks about Britain's 2.5% cut in VAT, Merkel announced that she supported a European-wide €200bn fiscal stimulus package that is one of the main items on the summit agenda.

Labels: Britain, Economy, EU, EU SUMMIT, Germany

Terrorists target Heads of State EU meeting in Bruxelles Today - Al Qaeda terrorists arrested- by Martin Barillas

Belgian police arrested 14 presumed Al Qaeda terrorists this morning December 11, one of whom may have been ready to carry out a terrorist attack. This comes just hours before the summit meeting of European heads of state and of the European Union slated for the afternoon. Three of the men arrested arrived not long before from Afghanistan. One of these had given his final farewells to his family, something that led the police to believe that he planned a suicide mission perhaps at the summit. All of those arrested are thought to have connections to local Al Qaeda cells. Belgian prosecutor Johan Delmulle said to the media that the terrorist operation was related to the European Summit in Brussels, moving some 242 police officers to descend on the presumed Al Qaeda members in 16 distinct raids in Brussels and Liege. Said Delmulle “We do not know where the attack was to be committed, and it could be an operation to be carried out in Pakistan or Afghanistan, but neither Belgium or Europe can be dismissed as the target.”

Spokesmen for France ruled out any cancellation of the afternoon summit, while European Union sources were not aware of any additional security needed for the summit.

Labels: al Qaeda, Belgium, EU SUMMIT, terrorists

Labels: EU SUMMIT

EU’s newest states still plagued by graft and violence - by David Charter

The failure to tackle underworld crime is the most visible end of the battle to clean up politics and the judicial system in Bulgaria and Romania, which also joined the EU in January under orders to reform. Some MEPs believe that the countries were admitted prematurely, before they had their houses in order.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, joint leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, said: “We decided to let them in too early. We said yes before the reforms were implemented.”

Labels: EU SUMMIT

A Lack of Euro Vision - by ALVARO VARGAS LLOSA

"This was supposed to be the event in which the new generation of leaders shed the protectionist ways of Europe, turning the awkward pachyderm into a nimble feline capable of outrunning the U.S. and Asia. Fat chance! French President Nicolas Sarkozy's "feat" was to persuade his colleagues to drop "free and undistorted competition" as one of the aims of the treaty. In case anyone takes this to mean that Mr. Sarkozy wants to get rid of antitrust bodies that often undermine successful companies by accusing them of monopoly activity, the president explained that he believes in "promoting national champions" -- i.e., pouring corporate welfare into industries that the government wants to boost.

Instead of free markets, the new treaty upheld interventionist policies responsible for the fact that Europe's unemployment rate is nearly double that of the U.S. One wonders how hard Europe needs to be hit before a generation of leaders will wake up to the challenge. Perhaps the problem is that many European businesses have modernized themselves in spite of the restrictive environment and become great global players, making it less obvious that reform is urgently needed -- 30% of the 2,000 most successful companies in the world are European, although in specific areas such as high tech or life sciences the proportion is much smaller."

Labels: EU SUMMIT, Sarkozy

Blair and Kaczynski: the enemy from within.

For the complete report from the Deutsche Welle click on this link

German Press Slams Poland and Britain After Summit

The German press on Sunday slammed Poland and Britain for putting obstacles on the road to the deal reached on guidelines for a new European Union treaty at the bloc's summit this week.

Bild, the mass-circulation tabloid and country's top selling newspaper, reserved its harshest criticism for neighboring Poland, calling the Kaczynski twins who hold the posts of Polish president and prime minister "poison dwarves." Welt am Sonntag described the haggling that preceded the deal as "torture" and said despite its eventual success the summit will be remembered mostly for Britain and Poland's "egotistical" behavior.

"Poland has failed to understand that the point of the European Union is to bury the hatred we inherited," the newspaper commented.

Labels: Britain, EU SUMMIT, Poland

Labels: EU SUMMIT

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, EU SUMMIT

EU SUMMIT-Nine countries have 'grave objections' to draft treaty

Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Greece, Austria, Malta, Hungary, Slovenia and Lithuania have 'grave objections' to a published draft treaty for the 27 member state bloc, a source said.

The source added that the group of nine all have similar concerns and that one of the key objections was on the stated 'legal personality' of the EU, which was not 'strong enough'. A single legal personality would make it easier for the EU to sign international treaties.There is also an objection lodged against Britain's opt out clause on the EU charter of fundamental rights, according to documents seen here.

Labels: EU SUMMIT, International Treaties

Italian PM "bitter" over anti-European attitudes at summit

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi admitted feeling "bitter" over the lack of pro-European sentiment on display at the EU summit this week, in an interview published Sunday in the La Repubblica daily. "As a politician, I am of course satisfied with the result" of the summit, which ended with an agreement on a new treaty for the European Union, "but as a pro-European, let me be bitter at the spectacle I saw," said Prodi, the former chief of the European Commission.

"The determination of governments to deny any emotional aspect of Europe is painful to me," he said, citing Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Britain as the worst offenders.

Labels: Britain, EU SUMMIT, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic

The Kaczynskis twins-Europe's "enfants terrible"

For the complete report from the Times Online click on this link

Poland - Tweedlenice and Tweedlenasty play a game of Poles apart

Half a century after the European Union was created to forgive and forget the Last Great Misunderstanding, the identical twins who are Poland’s president and prime minister let off a massive stink bomb at last week’s summit by mentioning the war. To cries of horror – and some quiet chortles – Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski invoked Nazi atrocities in order to cut Germany down to size.

The 58-year-old Kaczynski twins had kept the summit guessing about which would turn up – some thought this a bit academic since they are nearly identical, though Jaroslaw plays the Mr Nasty to Lech’s Mr Nice. “Both are small, not very bright, mean-minded and resemble provincial solicitors – which Lech used to be,” said a journalist who has met them.

But time is not on the twins’ side. Poland’s migrant workers in the EU are absorbing western ways and liberal ideas that are at odds with Poland’s past. The young are growing impatient. “We have the EU, we have the internet, we are confident,” said a market researcher in Warsaw. “Poles want jobs and better pay, but the Kaczynskis are busy fighting condoms and secret agents."

Labels: EU SUMMIT, Poland, the Kaczynskis

Merkel and Sarkozy, Europe's political dream team working hard at Summit

An EU-Digest special news update on the EU Summit

European Unity the big winner at EU Summit: Kudos to Merkel and Sarkozy for a job well done

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Mrs. Angela Merkel emerged the top negotiators of the EU summit and deserve lots of praise. When pressure needed to be applied on the Poland’s recalcitrant Kaczynski twins, it was Mr. Sarkozy who took charge, personally telephoning Warsaw and even offering to travel to the Polish parliament, the Diet, to explain the new treaty.

All the constitution’s main elements, in particular the permanent EU president and its foreign minister now renamed a “high representative” - have been resurrected. The new EU foreign policy Czar to be called High Representative for European Union Foreign and Security Policy, will chair meetings of EU foreign ministers as well as becoming a vice-president of the European commission. There will also be a universally elected President of the EU. The final deal is consistent with the history of the EU. Europe took another federalist step forward, with governments for the common good giving up some of their sovereignty. The driving force of the EU, the French-German axis, remains not only intact but also very effective, with Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy now at the helm. An impressive first time performance for Mr. Sarkozy at an EU Summit, and another demonstration of Mrs. Merkels's unique negotiating skills.

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, EU SUMMIT, Merkel, Sarkozy

Differences at EU summit threaten to plunge bloc into crisis - by Dan Bilefsky

European leaders were confronting a bruising battle Thursday over the European Union's direction at a summit meeting that threatens to exacerbate divisions and plunge the bloc into crisis.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, who is determined to replace the faltering EU constitution with a revamped treaty that would overhaul the Union's creaking institutions, called on leaders of the 27 member states to overcome their differences. She warned that failure would stifle the EU's abilities to deal with pressing global challenges such as climate change, the Middle East and energy security.

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, EU SUMMIT