European Union

The EU referendum campaign is going to get ‘nasty’, promised those pushing for Britain to leave the EU.

In a taste of what’s to come, two Eurosceptic students interrupted a speech by Prime Minister, David Cameron, at a CBI conference yesterday, yelling, “CBI! Voice of Brussels”.

The Daily Telegraph reported that the ‘Vote Leave’ campaign is “now gearing up for 12 months of protest, including disrupting the meetings of pro-EU companies and organisations.”

Their campaign director, Dominic Cummings, was reported to say:

“You think it’s nasty – you ain’t seen nothing yet.”

He promised a “guerrilla-style war” against pro-EU bodies and companies and said, “These guys have failed the country, they are going to be under the magnifying glass. Tough s**t.”

The two students who disrupted the Prime Minister’s speech obtained passes to the conference by setting up a fake company and website, reported The Telegraph.

The CBI has repeatedly been a target of Eurosceptics because they undertake paid research for the European Union.

In a Parliamentary debate earlier this year, Eurosceptic Tory MP, Bernard Jenkin, claimed that the CBI received funds from the European Union, “presumably to promote the EU.”

Added Eurosceptic Tory MP, Jacob Rees-Mogg: “We know that the CBI is in part funded by Europe. It is therefore under an obligation either to return that money or to support the objectives of the European Union.”

But the CBI robustly rejected the allegations.

Their Director of Campaigns, Andy Bagnall, told me, “We strongly refute these misleading claims. The EU debate has a long way to go and both sides must base their arguments on the facts if they are to have any value at all.”

Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s Director of Economics, added that the organisation competitively tenders to provide the EU with economic data and that this represented just 0.6% of the CBI’s total annual income.

She told me, “The CBI is under no obligation to promote the EU. We speak on behalf of our 190,000 members who employ nearly 7 million people and while the majority wish to remain within a reformed EU, we do not shy away from criticising aspects of European legislation where necessary.

And Ken Clarke, former Justice Secretary and a co-President of British Influence, wrote to say:

“It is really absurd for hard-line Eurosceptics to argue that the CBI is being bribed by Brussels to support British membership of the EU. Anyone who knows any number of senior businessmen knows that the vast majority strongly believe in the benefits of membership.”

According to the latest opinion polls, Britain is split right down the middle on whether the country should remain a member of the European Union or leave. A poll by Survation for the Daily Mail this autumn revealed that the electorate was 51/49 against Britain’s continued membership of the EU.

The poll revealed a stark difference to a poll by Ipso Mori at the beginning of the summer, which claimed that 75% of British people were in favour of Britain’s continued membership of the EU, with only 25% wanting to leave.

That’s all now changed, according to some commentators, because of Europe’s mishandling of the refugee crisis.

The new poll revealed that if the “current migration crisis gets worse”, 22% of those wanting Britain to ‘Remain’ in the EU might switch to the ‘Leave’ campaign.

So there is everything to play for by both sides of the campaign. If the new poll is right, neither side currently has enough support for a decisive win, so both sides will have to work harder. No wonder things are getting desperate.

But is ‘getting nasty’ the way to win hearts and minds, and most importantly, votes? Wouldn’t a more calm, considered and edifying debate, where both sides listen carefully and politely to both sides of the argument, be in the best interests of the country?

After all, whether Britain remains in the EU or leaves, we’ll all still have to live with each other after the referendum result is announced.

So wouldn’t it be better for the referendum campaign to be civil, rather than to become a civil war?

*Join the discussion about this article on Facebook.

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Related stories by Jon Danzig:

• Many most affected by the EU referendum will have no vote
• The rich who want Britain out of Europe
• There must be 50 ways to leave your party

To receive regular updates on this and other ongoing stories, please click the ‘Like’ button on my new Facebook page: Jon Danzig Writes

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The post EU Referendum: ‘It’s going to get nasty’ appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

AMENDMENTS 1 - 255 - Draft report on the Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2014 and the European Union’s policy on the matter
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

It is a pleasure to be here in this newly built parliament, a fresh and solid expression of a proud democracy. In fact, it is the first national parliament that I have addressed as President of the European Council. Thank you again for the invitation.  

Malta has always been at the crossroads of European history. This was true in the Great Siege of 1565 and also during the pivotal defence of this nation in World War II. Today, it is again true - although in quite a different way - in this new age of great migrations. And that is why Valletta is a particularly fitting place for African and European leaders to meet this week to begin really managing the disruptive and dynamic migration phenomenon through a rekindled partnership.  

I want to first of all thank Prime Minister Muscat. Following the tragic mass drownings at sea last April, he immediately offered to host what I hope will be an historic conference of African and European leaders this week. The Maltese authorities have been tireless, professional and highly effective in working with us on the preparations. Thank you for your hospitality and selflessness. We are in your debt.  

I also want to thank Malta for its assistance in tackling the refugee crisis whether it is supporting the work of the European Asylum Support Office here in Valletta, contributing to the hotspots in Greece and Italy or participating in the rescue missions across the Mediterranean. As a direct result of our collective actions, thousands of people were saved at sea this year who would otherwise have been lost. EU governments are reviewing over a million asylum applications between them, an all-time record number that would test any developed democracy. European leaders have helped to end donor fatigue to the World Food Programme and UN agencies to ensure that the basic needs of refugees in and around Syria are met.   

Nevertheless, there is still much more to do and we are under incredible pressure of events. Implementation of the actions the European Union has agreed at five summits this year devoted to tackling migration issues needs to be speeded up. This is why European leaders will also meet separately on Thursday to review where we are with our internal European efforts and in our contacts with Turkey.

The single most significant global development in the last century is that humanity has increased four times over, including in Africa. According to UN projections, the African population is set to double over the next 35 years, and then keep growing at this rate. With the enlargement of the Schengen area in 2007, Europe has only recently regained a freedom to travel internally that has not existed since the outbreak of the First World War. We have seen recently how this newly regained freedom remains fragile in many respects. These realities - alongside the deteriorating security situation in many Middle Eastern and African countries - are testing Europe's internal solidarity today. Facing them will challenge and change the European Union as fundamentally as any treaty amendment, national election, or monetary crisis.

With our African partners, we have a shared challenge which is much more profound than a refugee crisis. It is long-term, structural, deeply rooted in the economic situation of Africa where even economic growth does not entail immediate job creation but rather triggers social inequalities and increased urbanisation. This is intimately connected to the growing instability that can be observed in the Sahel, or in the Horn of Africa. Such complexity calls for a genuine solidarity between the two sides and a recognition that security and sustainable prosperity are the birth-right of Africans and Europeans, alike and equally.

This week, Africa and Europe are not inventing a new political framework for migration and development. We have it already, most recently reaffirmed at our last EU-Africa Summit in Brussels. Rather, we are setting out a very concrete roadmap to put some meat on the principles both sides agree on. Whether it be on visa facilitation, making the most of remittances for development or fighting smugglers together, this summit is about action, concrete and operational action. Fresh political energy will be injected by over 60 African and European leaders in attendance.

While acting together in this field, Europe must be inspired by respect for Africa's sovereignty, as well as a great empathy and common concern for the continent's pressing concerns. Economy, stability and security as well as governance and the rule of law are the three key challenges. There are many ways in which we are going to be more active and smarter in how we tackle them in partnership. One is a new Emergency Fund for Africa with seed funding of €1.8 billion. On top of our existing development aid to Africa, this new fund will help us - working together - to offer the peoples of Africa a better future at a time when young Africans today often only have a choice between unemployment or radicalisation. This is also why Europe will double the places available to African students and researchers via our Erasmus+ and Marie Skłodowska-Curie programmes.

Our African partners can help at a time of intense migratory pressure by working with us to put in place by the end of 2016 at the latest an administrative infrastructure that can be a model for others on how to manage migration better. This includes making much more progress on poverty reduction and conflict prevention. It also includes the issue of taking back in an efficient manner those who do not yet qualify for a visa, or those who do not require international protection. African officers based in our countries could help us to identify and document their nationals in Europe who may have destroyed their passports to avoid returning home when asked. But the European involvement will not end there: we will help African governments to re-integrate their own nationals and offer them meaningful socio-economic opportunities, including by funding training and educational programmes and creating new revenue streams for struggling communities. We will provide administrative help and more resources to assist African countries to deal with the huge migrations happening within Africa itself.

For over a decade, Malta has warned of the need for a more coherent European approach on migration. In 2005, the appearance of just a few hundred boat people was considered a very serious phenomenon. This year, according to the latest statistics, 1.2 million people have entered the Union irregularly, mainly by sea. But, through breakthrough initiatives like this week's summit, we hope to be in a much better place one year from now. Leaders will hopefully be able to work out a range of priority actions this week for how we get there, and get there quickly.  We want to create a more stable environment for legal migration.

But as I have underlined for many weeks in all my public appearances, and will continue to do so, like Scipio about Carthage: The precondition for conducting our own European migration policy is restoring effective control over our external borders.  

Migration will continue to be a politically destructive issue until true partnership is found between ourselves and others outside Europe, where each country, including our African partners, takes responsibility for its own borders and citizens.  

Equally, European countries have to take co-responsibility for the needs and aspirations of sending and transit countries so that we have real operational partnership on the ground, not just in the language of carefully crafted diplomatic texts. This is our mission here in Valletta. We have not come to make strangers of each other, but to become much closer and better neighbours.   

I want to thank Malta, its prime minister and its people, for everything you have done so far to help. Thank you.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

On 10 November 2015, the Council adopted its position at first reading on the reform of the European trade mark system.

The reform of the current system will improve the conditions for businesses to innovate and to benefit from more effective trade mark protection against counterfeits, including fake goods in transit through the EU's territory.

The new legal framework is also aimed at making trade mark registration systems throughout the European Union more accessible and efficient for businesses in terms of lower costs and complexity, increased speed, greater predictability and legal certainty.

The Dutch delegation abstained from voting and the UK delegation voted against the adoption of the draft regulation. The Commission issued a statement.

Next steps

The European Parliament is expected to vote in second reading at a plenary session before the end of the year, thus approving the Council's position at first reading without amendments and ending the legislative process.

Afterwards, the legal texts will be published in the Official Journal of the EU.

The civil liberties committee on Tuesday approved a deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators on new EU rules to ensure that the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in criminal proceedings is respected throughout the EU. The aim is to enhance the right to a fair trial and to strengthen member states' trust in each other's criminal justice systems.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The civil liberties committee on Tuesday approved a deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators on new EU rules to ensure that the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty in criminal proceedings is respected throughout the EU. The aim is to enhance the right to a fair trial and to strengthen member states' trust in each other's criminal justice systems.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The EU should better align its spending with its political priorities, carefully considering the intended objectives before allocating EU funds. And this new approach should be adopted as quickly as possible, so the EU can better react to current and future crises, said MEPs in a debate on the European Court of Auditors (ECA) report on the 2014 budget on Tuesday.
Committee on Budgetary Control

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The EU should better align its spending with its political priorities, carefully considering the intended objectives before allocating EU funds. And this new approach should be adopted as quickly as possible, so the EU can better react to current and future crises, said MEPs in a debate on the European Court of Auditors (ECA) report on the 2014 budget on Tuesday.
Committee on Budgetary Control

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) helps troubled euro zone countries get their finances in order using loans and other forms of assistance. On 10 November Managing Director Klaus Regling comes to the Parliament to discuss the new financial assistance programme for Greece with the economic committee and Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Europgroup. Follow the discussion live online and read on for our interview with Regling.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) helps troubled euro zone countries get their finances in order using loans and other forms of assistance. On 10 November Managing Director Klaus Regling comes to the Parliament to discuss the new financial assistance programme for Greece with the economic committee and Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the Europgroup. Follow the discussion live online and read on for our interview with Regling.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The Council adopted the following conclusions: 

1. REAFFIRMS that the EU and its Member States are committed to scaling up the mobilisation of climate finance in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency of implementation, in order to contribute their share of the developed countries' goal to jointly mobilise USD 100bn per year by 2020 from a wide variety of sources, public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance. STRESSES the need for fair burden sharing amongst developed countries.  

2. HIGHLIGHTS the contribution of EUR 14.5bn[1] in climate finance from the EU and its Member States for the year 2014, an increase compared to 2013. UNDERLINES that the EU and its Member States support both activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and activities that enable adaptation to the consequences of climate change.  HIGHLIGHTS that the EU and some EU Member States have announced scaled up amounts of public climate finance foreseen in the coming years thereby also increasing predictability.   

3. WELCOMES the report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) with the support of the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), at the initiative of the French and Peruvian COP presidencies. WELCOMES the report's preliminary estimates of approximately USD 62bn in 2014 and USD 52bn in 2013 of public and private climate finance mobilised by developed countries, which indicates that substantial progress is being made.  Yet further efforts are needed    and developed countries need to continue to work together towards further scaling-up climate finance to fulfil the 2020 goal. 

4. WELCOMES the important climate finance contributions by some emerging economies and a number of developing countries and REITERATES its call for emerging economies and other countries in a position to do so to contribute to financing adaptation and mitigation of climate change in line with their respective capabilities, circumstances and responsibilities. WELCOMES the recent commitments made by most multilateral development banks to strengthen the integration of climate mitigation and resilience considerations throughout their portfolios including their commitments to scale up their climate related investments. 

5. RECOGNISES that climate finance will be an important part of the 2015 Agreement as a means to reaching the agreed goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, achieving transformational change to climate resilient, low GHG emission, sustainable economies and supporting adaptation to deliver climate resilient sustainable development. PROPOSES provisions on climate finance in the Agreement that are dynamic, outcome-oriented and enable Parties to adapt their approaches to all relevant aspects, in particular future needs and changing economic, fiscal and environmental realities, ensuring that all Parties take action in accordance with their evolving capabilities and responsibilities. STRESSES that such a process should be collective by including all Parties and comprehensive by including all sources and all types of efforts that contribute to the mobilisation of climate finance and the transformation of investment flows supporting the overall objectives of the Paris Agreement. The process should encourage the effective and efficient use of public funds, include periodic reviews and should lead to a more predictable, collectively scaled up mobilisation of climate finance and progression of efforts, while it should not entail automatic public climate finance commitments. This dynamic process should build on the existing processes, institutional arrangements and experiences gained under the Convention with a view to promoting confidence, effective implementation and transparency. 

6. REITERATES that public climate finance will continue to play an important role in the post 2020 period and CONFIRMS that the EU and its Member States will continue to provide public climate finance for mitigation and adaptation action in developing countries including a particular focus on support to the poorest, most vulnerable and those with the least ability to mobilize other resources. UNDERLINES that it should be used in the most cost-effective and efficient way in order to deliver the greatest possible impact whether through mitigation, adaptation or capacity building. 

7. RECOGNISES the private sector as a key source for climate finance and other relevant investment flows and EMPHASIZES that the 2015 Agreement should send a strong signal to the private sector to reorient financial flows to low-carbon, climate resilient investments. ACKNOWLEDGES that private sector finance is complementary to, but not a substitute for public sector finance, where public finance is needed. UNDERSCORES that one role of public finance together with public policy measures is to  reorient and mobilise private finance, for example via carbon pricing, financial instruments such as Green Bonds and public-private partnerships. NOTES that the EU and its Member States have in place and will continue to develop a broad set of instruments to mobilise private sector finance for international climate actions including mobilised local private sector finance. 

8. RESTATES that scaling up climate finance is an iterative process which goes hand in hand with national governments creating enabling environments via domestic development plans, climate strategies, policies, instruments and mechanisms and conducive regulatory frameworks which should contribute to the facilitation of private sector action. HIGHLIGHTS the need for increasing climate-resilient and low-GHG emission sustainable investments including by phasing down high carbon investments. 

9. UNDERLINES that carbon pricing is one of the key components of an enabling environment and can be achieved through a variety of tools, including regulation, emission trading and taxes. In this context, SUPPORTS carbon pricing initiatives as well as initiatives promoting the phasing out of environmentally and economically harmful subsidies.

10. CONFIRMS the EU and its Member States' commitment to report on climate finance in a transparent manner via the UNFCCC reporting process. SUPPORTS strengthened transparency and acceleration of the work towards a robust, common internationally agreed framework for measuring, reporting and verification (MRV) of climate finance flows. WELCOMES the joint statement and methodology on tracking mobilised private climate finance presented by donor countries on 5-6 September 2015. LOOKS FORWARD to the continued improvement of methodologies for reporting over time.  APPRECIATES the joint methodologies developed by the Multilateral Development Banks and the International Development Finance Club for reporting climate finance, the work of the OECD Research Collaborative on tracking private climate finance and the OECD Development Assistance Committee work stream on the Rio markers review. PROPOSES that the 2015 Paris outcome should include provisions for transparency on a broad range of flows (including those between developing countries) and on specific efforts that contribute to mobilising climate finance, developing enabling environments and mainstreaming. 

11. HIGHLIGHTS the importance of supporting adaptation to help make developing countries' development strategies and livelihoods increasingly climate-resilient. UNDERLINES the importance of a balance between adaptation and mitigation finance in line with countries' own priorities and objectives, and HIGHLIGHTS that the EU and its Member States collectively are making, and will continue to make efforts to channel a substantial share of public climate finance towards adaptation, especially by addressing the needs of the poorest and particularly vulnerable developing countries.  

12. STRESSES the importance of support for capacity building for mitigation and adaptation planning and efficient implementation. Further STRESSES the need for developing a pipeline of attractive projects and programs in order to crowd in financial resources and maximise effectiveness. HIGHLIGHTS the EU and Member States' continued support for capacity building for developing countries in need, including in the field of technology cooperation, in the context of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS), Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) and national adaptation planning processes, including where appropriate, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). 

13. WELCOMES the operationalisation of the Green Climate Fund, including the decisions to aim for a 50:50 balance between mitigation and adaption over time, and the first approval of projects and programmes. HIGHLIGHTS that a substantial share of the funds committed (46 per cent) and made available comes from EU Member States. UNDERLINES the importance of all countries finalising their contribution agreements. WELCOMES contributions from developing countries to the Green Climate Fund and URGES all countries that are in a position to do so to contribute. PROPOSES that the financial mechanism of the Convention should serve as the financial mechanism of the new Agreement. 

14. WELCOMES the outcome of the Addis Ababa Conference, which strengthens the framework to finance sustainable low-carbon and climate resilient development in the universal 2030 Agenda, and clearly confirms that climate finance is an integral part of sustainable development. NOTES the EU and its Member States' determination to meet their commitment for the provision of Official Development Assistance; EMPHASISES that climate objectives and standards will continue to be important for the EU and its Member States in their Official Development Assistance by mainstreaming these objectives into development planning while focusing on the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable countries.

15. WELCOMES the adoption of the "Transforming Our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" and its comprehensive and ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including the goals of taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts and the goal to strengthen all means of implementation (financial and non-financial, national, international, public and private) and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. 

 [1]  This figure includes climate finance sources from public budgets and other development financial institutions. The EU and its Member States contributed EUR 9.5bn in climate finance in 2013. The EU and its Member States have collectively scaled up their bilateral and multilateral climate finance from 2013 to 2014. The 2014 figure also includes climate finance from the EIB of EUR 2.1bn and a more complete set of figures based on OECD data on imputed multilateral contributions. 

Directive 2003/48/EC, which since 2005 has allowed tax administrations better access to information on private savers, was repealed by the Council on 10 November 2015.

Repeal of the directive follows a strengthening of measures to prevent tax evasion. A significant overlap had developed with other legislation in this field, and the repeal eliminates that overlap.

Directive 2003/48/EC required the automatic exchange of information between member states on private savings income. This enabled interest payments made in one member state to residents of other member states to be taxed in accordance with the laws of the state of tax residence. The directive was last amended in March 2014 to reflect changes to savings products and developments in investor behaviour since it came into force in 2005.

In December 2014, the Council adopted directive 2014/107/EU amending provisions on the mandatory automatic exchange of information between tax administrations. It extended the scope of that exchange to include interest, dividends and other types of income. Directive 2014/107/EU will enter into force on 1 January 2016.

Directive 2014/107/EU is generally broader in scope than directive 2003/48/EC. It provides that in cases of overlap of scope, directive 2014/107/EU is to prevail.

International developments

Directive 2014/107/EU implements a single global standard developed by the OECD for the automatic exchange of information. The OECD standard was endorsed by G20 finance ministers in September 2014. EU agreements with Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland, initially based on directive 2003/48/EC, are currently being revised to be aligned with directive 2014/107/EU and the new global standard.

Repeal of directive 2003/48/EC is part of a tax transparency package presented by the Commission in March 2015.

Transitional measures

The repeal was enacted by a directive adopted by the Council, which also provides for transitional measures. These concern in particular a derogation granted to Austria under directive 2014/107/EU, allowing it to apply that directive one year later than other member states.

The repeal directive was adopted at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, without discussion.

The industry committee set out its demands for a European energy union in a resolution passed on Tuesday. Among them: compliance with the Commission's recommendation concerning hydraulic fracturing, a voluntary system to collectively purchase energy, and support for the development of Europe's own energy resources.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The industry committee set out its demands for a European energy union in a resolution passed on Tuesday. Among them: compliance with the Commission's recommendation concerning hydraulic fracturing, a voluntary system to collectively purchase energy, and support for the development of Europe's own energy resources.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

On 5 October 2015, the Council adopted Council Decision (CFSP) 2015/1781[1].

The Council Decision extends existing measures for one person until 6 March 2016 and updates the statement of reasons relating to this person.

The Candidate Countries Montenegro* and Albania, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this Decision.

They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council Decision.

The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it.

[1] Published on 6.10.2015 in the Official Journal of the European Union no. L 259, p.23. 

Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.