February 01, 2007 | EU to improve transparency

Along with democracy, flexibility and subsidiarity, transparency is one of the four major reforms the EUDemocrats would like to see in tomorrow's EU. However increasing citizen's requests to access information have brought public access to EU documents in the new challenges of the Commission. A Friend of the Earth (FOE) campaigner said last year that there is a culture of secrecy running through the European Commission, and the public and groups like FOE must fight for every piece of paper to be made public.

January 26, 2007 | Monty Merkel and the Holy Grail

A few months ago, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's words were: "I would consider it an historical failure if we do not succeed in working out the substance of the Constitutional Treaty by the time the next European elections take place", adding that she and the German government would work intensively during the six month presidency so that such a Treaty can go into force. Indeed, less that a month after the beginning of the German presidency, the Constitution talks are already monopolizing the European debate. Yesterday, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on the French candidates to the presidential elections Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal to avoid upsetting the EU Constitution process by using it as an issue in the country's elections.

January 24, 2007 | Democracy, yes! But without the people

German Chancelor Angela Merkel is multiplying the means of pressure to get the Constitutional zombie, body ratified by the bad pupils of the class. Altogether, eighteen Member States have ratified the Constitution, but nine are still missing. Since the French and Dutch referenda, the UK, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Czech Republic, Ireland and Denmark have postponed indefinitely the planned referenda or parliamentary ratification. Keen on getting things moving, Mrs. Merkel has insisted during her speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 17th January that any further enlargement couldn't be done on the basis of the Nice Treaty.

January 15, 2007 | EU policies lacking representation

In an interview for newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Germany's ex-president Roman Herzog declared that policies suffer to an alarming degree from a lack of democracy and a de facto suspension of the separation of power. Noting that, with 84% of German laws emanating from Brussels between 1999 and 2004, by far the biggest parts of the current laws in Germany are agreed by the council of ministers and not the German parliament. Herzog explained that despite there being a Constitutional anchor making the German parliament the central actor in the shaping of the political community, it is still being threatened as more and more powers are transferred to the EU level. Therefore the question has to be raised of whether Germany can still unreservedly be called a parliamentary democracy.

January 12, 2007 | German minister bypasses national parliament in EU debate

German minister Brigit Zypries was criticised by German MP on her consent for the creation of a new EU fundamental rights agency during an EU justice ministers meeting on 4-5 December. Her agreement occurred despite the promise of the government to take a very restrictive position in accordance with the reserves emitted by German parliament. In a letter addressed to Mrs. Merkel on December 22, head of the parliament's EU affairs committee Matthias Wissmann said: "When dealing with the fundamental rights agency, the European affairs committee took a moderate approach and trusted ...the very restrictive position pledged by the government", the document states.

January 04, 2007 | Germany keen on developping European FBI

Four days after taking over the EU presidency, Germany is ready to go for further integration. The German daily Die Welt am Sonntag recently published an article showing that the interior ministers of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, the three countries assuming the presidency during the next 18 month, are calling for a strenghtening of the powers of Europol to combat cross-border crime. The three ministers Wolfgang Schauble, Antonio Costa and Dragutin Marte even pleaded for giving police 'executive powers' in member states other than their own in exceptional circumstances (e.g. The World Cup).

January 03, 2007 | The Euro loses more and more of its popularity

A majority of French people believe the switch to the euro five years ago was bad for their country, according to a recent poll, which suggests the French blame the common European currency for damaging economic growth and causing price hikes. Ahead of Slovenia's entry into the eurozone on Monday, a poll showed that 52% of French respondents think that giving up the franc has been "quite bad" or "very bad" for France, compared with 45% three years ago. Even 94% were convinced the euro has fuelled inflation. A Forsa poll showed a similar result for Germany: Five years after the entry into circulation of euro notes and coins, Die Welt reported on December 20, 2006 that according to a new Forsa poll, 58% of Germans want to go back to their former currency, the D-mark.

December 19, 2006 | Convicted sheep No 639!

Harmonization is a very surprising issue. After the banana and the cucumber regulations which usefully describe the appearence, shape and texture of these natural products, the Commission has struck again with its new porcelain sheep regulation! In an astonishing description, Regulation No 1462/2006 teaches us that this particular product shall be "an article in the form of a sheep measuring approximately 10 cm in height".

December 12, 2006 | The EU will decline

In an interview made by the BBC's Westminster hour, professor Alberto Alesina of Harvard University, co-author of a book called The future of Europe - Reform of decline, stressed that Europe's economy "has lost the ability to grow" and that "political decline will soon follow". According to Alesina, European work less than American but still benefit of "a confortable life of long holidays, short working hours and over-generous welfarism". This situation was sustainable in a previous era of high European productivity growth but it is no longer the case.

December 06, 2006 | Disagreement on giving up veto rights

Currently all judicial agreements on EU level must be agreed unanimously by all 25 states. But the European Commission says the fight against terrorism shows the need to be able to reach decisions by majority. At least 14 member states want to keep control of issues like counter terrorism and cross-border policing. Franco Frattini, the EU's justice commissioner, said: "We can no longer tolerate a situation where one country of 25 opposes a decision". British home secretary John Reid said: "We should not, by using weasel words, attempt to revisit this [topic] at a higher level when there's such a clear majority". Nevertheless the topic was put on the agenda of the Intergovernmental Conference in Brussels next week.

November 22, 2006 | 29% of Germans on being in the EU: disadvantages prevail

The German daily F.A.Z. reports on a poll which was done by the Association of banks (BdB). 1529 German voters were asked. The result reflects drastically how far away German citizens are from the EU and how little they do know about it. It also states quite a contradiction between the moderate approval of EU benefits by the citizens and the enthusiasm for the EU spread by the German government, parliament and the media. However, for many observers from all across the EU who normally think that Germans in general are the most enthusiastic Europeans, these figures will be quite enlightening.

November 16, 2006 | No question: The Euro is to be introduced!

An announcement by the Polish government to ask the Polish citizens whether or not they would prefer the Euro to the Zloty in a referendum in 2010 caused some friendly clarification on the part of EU officials. The Poles were reminded that with the accession referendum on EU membership, the introduction of the Euro was already included in the package. As soon as they met the criteria to enter the monetary union it would be obligatory for them to join Euroland. Obviously it is not important, whether the Polish citizens want it or not.

November 02, 2006 | The EU Constitution will not be ratified in Germany

The German Supreme Court announced this Tuesday that it will postpone the decision about the destiny of the EU Constitution in Germany. The Court's decision will be delayed until after there is final agreement on the Constitution at a political level, stating that it did not want to influence the political decision making process.

October 26, 2006 | Since 12 years in a row: No discharge of the EU's budget

This week the European Court of Auditors (ECA) has refused the discharge of the EU's budget for 12 years in a row. Its report cites "weak internal controls for the majority of EU expenditure, both within Member States and at the Commission, and a high incidence of errors in the underlying transactions".

October 18, 2006 | 54% of UK business doubts benefit of single market

A new ICM poll of 1,000 UK Chief Executives, commissioned by the British think tank Open Europe, finds that businesses feel that the European Union is moving in the wrong direction, and producing too much costly regulation. According to the poll 52% think the EU is failing; 54% think EU over-regulation outweighs the benefit of the Single Market. The survey finds that businesses think the cost of implementing EU regulations now outweighs the benefit of the Single Market they are supposed to create. Even the businesses which do the most trade in other EU countries feel the same way. To improve the situation 93% think it is a good idea to reduce the amount of bureaucracy the EU produces and 89% think clear fixed limits on the powers of the EU should be established.

October 12, 2006 | Berlin will be a symbol of the new Europe

After a meeting with the president of the EU Commission Jose Manuel Barroso in Berlin (11 October) German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed her views that she is against the procedure to adopt only single parts of the constitution. Therefore "the German presidency should have the goal of facilitating agreement on a roadmap, a timeframe, a way to proceed, and I want us to be very ambitious in engaging this goal", said Merkel. But she made very clear that she wants to stick to the concept of a Constitution: "The final result should be a structure that is deserving of the word constitutional treaty, it should not only be a institutional regulation how to vote in the future".

October 11, 2006 | EU to launch 7 million Euro anniversary PR campaign

Austrian daily Die Presse reports that the EU intends to use its upcoming 50th anniversary next year to win back the hearts of the European citizens, with more than 7 million Euro being earmarked for an ambitious PR campaign.

October 11, 2006 | EU Commissioner Mandelson wants to avoid asking the people

Mandelson prefers to adopt only theses parts of the EU Constitution that could pass without the need to ask the people. Mandelson: "Anything that crosses the threshold of requiring a referendum will immediately run into difficulties".

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