"Rocky start to French presidency...
Rocky start to French presidency
President Sarkozy admits that France's EU presidency is off to a bumpy start, as Poland casts doubt on the Lisbon Treaty.Sarkozy calls for major EU change
French President Nicolas Sarkozy calls for a profound change to the way the EU is built, as France takes on the presidency.Taking charge
France eyes ambitious plans for the EU presidencyEU trade chief lambasts Sarkozy
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson accuses French President Nicolas Sarkozy of undermining him.A quick case study of the EU’s problems
Today marks the start of the French presidency of the EU. Sarkozy’s task as president? To guide the union from the post-Irish referendum confusion into a fresh new dawn of harmony and mutual appreciation, to an EU both truly united and sure of its purpose.
EU 'in average shape' as France takes over
France took over the six-month rotating EU Presidency at midnight yesterday (30 June), with President Nicolas Sarkozy calling for "profound changes" in the way Europe is built after Ireland's 'no' to the Lisbon Treaty.Poland in new blow to EU treaty
Poland's President Kaczynski says he will not sign the EU's reform treaty at present, as France takes over the bloc's presidency.Council of Europe blasts Italy over Roma fingerprinting
Europe's human rights watchdog has issued an unusually strong-worded statement hinting that a plan by the Italian authorities to fingerprint Roma amounts to fascism.Czech government says EU Treaty not unconstitutional
The EU's hopes of seeing the new Reform Treaty enter into force despite the Irish 'no' were boosted on Friday (27 June) when the Czech government announced it would send a positive assessment of the text to the country's High Court, which is due to rule on its consistency with the constitution.Is Gazprom's strategy political ?
Europe's perception of Gazprom as "a political weapon of the Kremlin" is wrong, according to top Gazprom executive Alexander Medvedev. Writing in the June edition of Europe's World, he argues that the European Commission's energy thinking is a "cause for concern".EU-now it’s the era of the citizens
500 million Europeans are taken in hostage by 862,415 Irish (less than 0.2% of the European population) - in the name of democracy. According to the elitist representative democrats this is the direct democrat’s fault, i.e. the “uneducated and unteachable people”. This disrespect makes the current EU-catastrophe even worse.MAIN FOCUS: Election farce in Zimbabwe | 30/06/2008
Elections in Zimbabwe have reinstalled President Robert Mugabe in office. Constant assaults by troops close to the government forced the sole opposition candidate, Morgan Tsvangirai, to withdraw from the race prior to the elections. How should Europe and the world react to this oppression?
Kosovo and the UNSC
Anybody who’s interested in Kosovo has long since bookmarked this incredibly useful page. Scroll down a bit and you’ll see that it lists every country that has recognized Kosovo (current tally: 43) plus the official statements of almost every country that hasn’t.
That’s plenty of fun reading by itself, but it gets even more interesting when you compare it to another list: the members of the United Nations Security Council.
The UNSC has 15 members, five permanent and ten elected. The elected members are chosen for two-year terms, staggered so that five members leave every year.
European demographics in the NY Times
Middle-long, middle-brow article on European demographics in this weeks NY Times Magazine. (If it asks you for a login, try bugmenot.)
If you’re already interested in this topic, 80% of it will be familiar stuff. There were a couple of interesting new points, though:
First, there’s some interesting discussion of why birthrates are varying so much across Europe — lowest in the post-Communist East and the Mediterranean countries, much higher (though still low by world standards) in France and Scandinavia. One demographer gives this plausible-sounding answer:
Lech Kaczynski - power over the EU without responsibility
So the Polish President Lech Kaczynski is refusing to sign off the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon. Czech President Vaclav Klaus may do the same this autumn, even if the Czech constitutional court gives the Treaty the OK. It seems that the No vote in Ireland has given these 2 populist politicians the opportunity to break cover and public express their views about the Treaty of Lisbon and, if they do deliver on what they say, essentially condemn the document to the dustbin.
Axiology and the Treaty on a Constitution for Europe
Dawid Sebastian Bunikowski: The Treaty on a Constitution for Europe in a version presented by d’Estaing is not only a result of a legal and institutional aspect of deeper European integration but also a result of an axiological compromise.
Europe so close yet so far
Stephanie von Hayek: Although the Lisbon Treaty is a step forward for a Europe of the citizens, the Irish said no. And its understandable they did. There is a lack of transparency and political dialogue within the EU which needs to be filled in by politicians on all levels.Should the meeting minutes of COREPER be public?
The Open Europe blog raises a point that I am sure has been discussed before. While I don’t agree with the tone of the post I think the idea to publish all minutes of COREPER is an interesting one. It is there where member state’s ambassadors to the EU prepare and take decisions.Can Sarkozy save Europe?
And other French delusions
THAT, with no hint of irony, was the headline of Sunday's edition of Le Parisien newspaper. It reflects an ambient sense of expectation in Paris about the French presidency of the European Union, which starts today. Last night, I took part in a debate on Europe 1 radio entitled "Can Sarkozy relaunch Europe?"Salon.com: Why Obama will soon land in Europe - by Gregor Peter Schmitz
What will the new U.S. president mean for Europe? And above all, what will he want from Europe? A group of Europeans and Americans recently engaged in heated debate on the subject on the sidelines of a transatlantic conference at Stanford University. Charles Kupchan, a former advisor to Bill Clinton and one of America's top experts on Europe, gave a less than euphoric assessment.MAIN FOCUS: France at the helm | 01/07/2008
France takes over the EU Council presidency from Slovenia today. Europe has high expectations of French President Nicolas Sarkozy: in the next six months his task is to lead Europe out of the crisis caused by the rejection of the EU Reform Treaty.
ALDE denounces European Big Brother
During yesterday's seminar "Liberty and Security in the Integrated Management of EU Borders" with national MPs, ALDE members urged the European Commission to come up with a coherent masterplan. According to ALDE, far reaching proposals on border management, involving massive data collection, are following each other at an amazing pace while it remains to be seen on how all these measures will function collectively.Interview: EU cannot market itself properly
European institutions in Brussels could learn from advertisers in better promoting the benefits of EU membership to citizens, argues Gary Leih, CEO of Ogilvy UK and President of the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA) in an interview with EurActiv.Mardell's Europe
Fighting fit? Karate expert tests EU health policyEnergy efficiency not taken seriously enough, says study
Although most EU member states have put forward their action plans to improve energy efficiency for the period 2008-2016, as mandated by EU law, the plans differ widely from one another and lack coherence, according to a new study.High hopes as Commission unveils social agenda overhaul
The EU's renewed social agenda, due to be presented today (2 July), will feature proposals on strengthening the fight against discrimination and improving workers' rights and cross-border healthcare. It is one of the Commission's priority projects before the end of its tenure, seen by some as its "last chance" to deliver concrete results on improving the lives of EU citizens.Top EU officials ask capitals to boost communication
In the aftermath of the Irish 'no' to the Lisbon Treaty, European institutions are yet again confronted with their failure to communicate the benefits of Europe with citizens, Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström and Parliament Vice President Alejo Vidal-Quadras told EurActiv on two separate occasions.France drops controversial immigrant integration plans
Spain has forced France to abandon its plans for a compulsory "integration contract" for immigrants, which, if adopted, would require third country nationals to conform with the local "national identity" in order to settle in the EU, diplomatic sources told EurActiv.Professor: Citizens want 'concrete, pragmatic EU'
Demand is growing among Europeans for a "pragmatic" EU which focuses on "concrete" issues, Dominique Reynié, a professor at Paris's prestigious Sciences-Po university, told EurActiv France.MEP: Irish government showed 'sheer incompetence' in communication
While the European institutions are trying to provide a good example in communicating with citizens, the main responsibility lies with national governments, who are failing in this task, Vice President of the European Parliament Alejo Vidal-Quadras told EurActiv in an interview.MAIN FOCUS: The death blow for the EU Reform Treaty? | 02/07/2008
Polish President Lech Kaczyński has refused to sign the Treaty of Lisbon although it has already been passed by parliament. Ratification is also under threat in other countries such as the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany. Could this be the death of the EU Reform Treaty?
Europe is failing to restore idealism
An impression across Europe – not least among the young – is that the EU is in danger of offering pseudo-democracy, writes Larry SiedentopDiscord marks EU power handover
Disunity and recrimination marked the start of France's European Union presidency as Nicolas Sarkozy exchanged accusations with the European Commission over world trade talksKosovar independence in the General Assembly
Following up to my earlier post, some discussion of the international reaction to Kosovar independence.
At the moment, 43 countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence. (I’m defining “country” here as “member of the UN General Assembly. Sorry, Taiwan.) Since the UNGA has 192 members, that means that more than three quarters of the world’s countries have not recognized Kosovo.
Lisbon ratification crisis escalates
Day 1 of the French presidency of the European Council is off to a bad start. It now seems that both the Czech Republic and Poland will have constitutional struggles over the treaty, with presidents who had been assumed to have mainly titular powers deciding to exercise their right not to sign approved legislation and therefore prevent ratification. Also today, Nicolas Sarkozy postponed his visit to Ireland in a couple of weeks which was supposed to be part of the stocktaking of what went wrong.Sarkozy's Turn at the Helm
European Union politics are to take a turn for the interesting as the presidency of the Union rotates to France. Giving us six months of even closer contact to the 'frenetic' Nicolas Sarkozy.Polish football
Timing is everything
DEATH by a thousand cuts may be the ultimate fate of the European Union's Lisbon treaty. Poland is the latest to take a stab. More precisely it was the Polish president, who has declared it would be "pointless" to sign the treaty, even though his country's parliament has ratified it. Mr Kaczynski's timing was impeccable, coming as an unwelcome diversion in Paris on the day France took over the rotating EU presidency.You’re chairing GAERC for 6 months you idiot
Hell. If it’s not McCreevy saying he’s not read the Treaty of Lisbon then it’s French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner stating his ignorance. As reported by the Financial Times Kouchner today said: “No one understands the institutions and no one’s interested. No one understands anything, not even me.” What a bloody idiot. Bernard that’s what you’re paid for. You’re French Foreign Minister.
Website in “average shape” as France takes over
Today is significant. Firstly, it’s 30 degree sunshine in Brussels, and secondly it’s the first day of the French Presidency of the EU. Bonjour.
As a shameful Anglophone, I’ll be dusting down the pocket dictionary, practicing my rolled Rs, and getting ready for six months of unmitigated Frenchness. And hurrah for it, as an initial look at the French Presidency’s website reveals our “citizen-orientated” Presidency is taking its digital communications seriously.
The French Presidency
The first day of the French Presidency of the EU could not have been more beautiful in Paris: warm, sunny and a blue sky. The whole European Commission went there by train to meet the French government and experienced an overwhelming programme, including a ceremony which we will never forget at the Arc de Triomphe. (I am sure that all those who were shut out when the Champs Elysée was ‘laid bare’ can say the same…). But I felt sorry for the poor soldiers sweating in their metal helmets in the merciless sun!
