European Union

Spain v Parliament and Council
CORE
The Court dismisses both of Spain’s actions against the regulations implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection

The ministerial meeting in Iqaluit, Nunavut (Canada), closed Canada's two-year Arctic Council (AC) chairmanship. Arctic cooperation seems relatively unaffected by the poor state of Russia's relations with the West. Canada invested much in its AC Chairmanship, but its deliverables have been less significant than those of previous chairs. Canada's two main achievements are the Arctic Economic Council and the framework for action on black carbon and methane. The framework is only a step in the right direction, not a full agreement. The programme of the new AC chair, the USA, has the potential to enhance practical cooperation between the EU and the AC. As Canada and the EU had resolved their differences, it seemed possible that the EU would at last receive formal observer status to the Council at the Iqaluit meeting, but Russia's geostrategic interests led Moscow to block the process. Given the growing number of observers, the US chair may propose that only one third of observers join high-level AC meetings under any one chair.
Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Public hearing "The implementation of the security research programme for conflict prevention and peace building".
Location : Paul-Henri Spaak 5B001
Programme
Draft progarmme
Poster
Poster
Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

With the UK’s general election on 7th May, it is looking highly likely that the Scottish National Party will displace the Lib-Dems as the UK’s third-biggest party, possibly winning almost all of Scotland’s 59 seats at Westminster (where today they hold only six seats, and Labour hold forty-one).

The SNP has campaigned not on independence but on an anti-austerity and ‘progressive’ ticket. In both Scotland and England, the debate has focused on domestic policy even though the Conservatives are committed to an EU referendum, if they win, that could lead to a potential ‘Brexit’.

With the SNP potentially holding the balance of power after 7th May – since neither the Tories nor Labour are expected to get anywhere near a majority – how might the SNP MPs impact on the UK’s approach to the EU?

Scotland and the EU

Humza Yousaf, Minister for Europe and International Development in the Scottish Government, says the campaign is going “phenomenally well in Scotland, as the polls and our own canvass results reflect”. He sees the “tectonic plates of Scottish politics shifting”.

Yousaf thinks that, in Scotland, “there is a more pro-European stance here”. There is much more outside interest in Scotland and its external policies, says Yousaf, with many more ambassadors and other visitors coming since the referendum, despite the ‘no’ vote.

Does Scotland at present have enough influence on British positions on key EU policies? “No, definitely not enough” says Yousaf. He explains there are quarterly joint ministerial meetings between the UK and Scotland on EU issues but “there isn’t enough discussion on policy formation…Smith [the Smith Commission Report which looked at further devolution post-referendum] left the door open a bit and said we would need to discuss more how to represent Scotland’s views on the global stage”. It’s a big issue that has been left hanging.

Yousaf complains strongly that even where Scotland has the most competent and experienced minister – for instance on fisheries – London will not let Scottish ministers speak for the UK in Brussels’ councils, pulling in unelected Lords or British diplomats instead when UK ministers are absent. Pressure for a more fair and rational approach for Scotland in the EU is likely to grow.

Scottish interests overlap with, but are not identical to, England’s. Scotland produces about 25% of the EU’s total wind energy, and has the most ambitious renewables targets in the EU. It has a greater focus on oil, food and drink, and fisheries amongst other areas, as well as its more anti-austerity and pro-EU attitudes, than England.

Asked about Greece’s struggles to escape austerity, Yousaf is sympathetic but cautious: “I don’t believe it is necessary for Greece to leave [the euro] for stability, any member leaving would be a disaster for the EU. I have faith they will find a manageable compromise’. He talks about Syriza having to “navigate” the promises they made to their voters to find a way to a compromise.

EU Referendum and ‘Brexit’ – only for England?

Humza Yousaf sees ‘Brexit’ as possible, if the Tories manage to put together an informal coalition after 7th May. Yousaf says “it [a referendum] is playing with fire, exit could have devastating consequences for the whole of the UK”.

But Yousaf is cautious about the impact of a possible ‘no’ vote on the push for Scottish independence if there is an EU in-out referendum: “This election is not about another [independence] referendum….If Scotland voted to stay in the EU and the rest of the UK to leave and we were about to be dragged out against our will that might be a trigger, and people would say we would rather be an independent country and in Europe.”

Yousaf refers to Irish anxieties about a possible Brexit (given shared borders and other common interests) and obviously sees similar concerns potentially for Scotland. He thinks it is better for the whole of the UK to stay in the EU. There is a conundrum here since while an EU referendum with an English ‘no’ vote might be a positive catalyst for Scottish independence, it would in many ways be better for an independent Scotland if England too remained in the EU.

Asked who might be the main allies of a one-day independent Scotland in the EU, Yousaf says “primarily the [rest of the] UK would be a natural ally in the EU and Ireland, first and foremost, we would work closely with them, and yes with some of the Nordics – Sweden, Finland and Denmark.”

Yousaf says he is sure if they had won the Scottish referendum, Scotland would have stayed in the EU: “Brussels would have found a way, there is no doubt in my mind. The EU is a pragmatic organisation as it was when East Germany joined. We have been in for 40 years and our laws reflect the acquis, we have €100,000 citizens here in Scotland, 25% of EU wind energy….so you could imagine the practical problems if we weren’t in the EU for a day, the disruption.”

Most attention on SNP foreign policies has been on their aim of getting rid of Trident. Trident, says Yousaf, has no moral, political or economic purpose. But he goes on to emphasise “we are not a party of pacifists” and attacks the current government for not investing enough in conventional forces.

Migration is another issue where the SNP has positioned itself in a progressive position compared to the UK’s main parties. Yousaf talks of needing a ‘tier and points’ system for migration and insists migration is positive and necessary for Scotland given its aging population. Such an outlook may be helpful in the debate around free movement of labour in the EU, one that is likely to continue even under a Labour government to some extent.

 

The SNP’s role at Westminster – plenty to discuss

David Cameron has been attacking Labour for much of the election over the possibility that it might end up as a minority government supported by the SNP, a party committed to independence from the UK.

This attack, effectively on the legitimacy of SNP MPs voting at Westminster has gone down very badly in Scotland. “The anger”, says Yousaf, “is tangible. From six or seven months ago”, he goes on, “when Cameron was saying ‘you should not leave the UK’ to saying ‘your voice is illegitimate and you should have no say in a future government’….people are apoplectic, very angry”.

Ed Miliband has also shocked some on the left in England, by not only ruling out a formal coalition with the SNP, but even a so-called ‘confidence and supply’ arrangement. This suggests he thinks he can govern as a minority government, with some votes in support on key policies from the SNP, but without negotiating with them – this seems implausible.

Both Scottish and British politics look like being interesting indeed after the results come in on 7th May. The SNP will certainly be a key voice in many areas, even without a formal agreement, if there is a minority Labour government. And a Conservative coalition or more informal agreement with the Lib-Dems, Democratic Ulster Unionists and UKIP may find itself fracturing over an EU referendum – something the SNP would not support – so in a more unstable governing context, watching the SNP is now going to be a key part of following Britain’s politics.

 

An earlier version of this article was published in Open Democracy.

 

IMAGE CREDITS: CC / FLICKR – the SNP

The post How the Scottish National Party’s likely triumph at the polls may impact on the UK’s EU policy appeared first on Europe’s World.

One of the more controversial actions taken by the Juncker Commission in its still-short life was January’s move to make the EU’s crisis-era budget rules more “flexible,” an announcement many took as a signal it was preparing to let both Italy and France off the hook for their recent fiscal transgressions. Which it ultimately did.

According to Commission officials, the so-called “flexibility communication” caused ructions among the 28 commissioners both because of its substance and the process by which it was agreed: the college was only allowed to see a hard copy of the highly-technical document for about a half hour before it was taken away, and then presented for adoption later in the day.

Among those who were angered by the way it was forced through the college over the complaints of some of the Commission’s budget hawks was Chancellor Angela Merkel who, according to our friends and rivals at the German weekly Der Spiegel (no relation), complained to Juncker that “her commissioner” – German Günther Oetttinger – had only received the document a few hours before it was to be approved. “Why ‘your’ commissioner?” Juncker reportedly replied coolly. “That’s my commissioner.”

Now it seems that Berlin is not the only place where objections are being raised about some of the decisions taken in the “flexibility communication”. According to a leaked opinion by the European Council’s legal service – which Brussels Blog got its hands on and has posted here – last month, lawyers on the other side of Rue de la Loi appear to have decided a central part of the new guidelines might be illegal.

Read more

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : MEPs vote this week on proposals to clamp down on undeclared work and a resolution on the military situation in the Black Sea. The tax rulings committee debates the recently launched investigations on state aid being given by a number of member states, while the industry, research and energy committee discusses the EU's strategy for a digital single market.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

French soldiers are accused of sexually abusing children in the center at Bangui airport, Central African capital, between December 2013 and June 2014. After the rape charges brought against French soldiers in the CAR, the correspondent of France Info locally collected particularly explicit testimony about the alleged practices of French and Georgian military :
"This Thursday on the camp of the airport in Bangui M'Poko there is consternation. "Of course we knew" launches a woman very upset "but nobody listens to us." She says she has witnessed the sexual assault: "The French, the Georgians, when children come like that ask for a little food, 'before you have to suck me first ..." In a tent all close to the road, Jean was ringside. He said he saw soldiers abusing minors. "It was the night the French military ration packs give children and rape them. And the Georgian military, they were three on a sixteen year old girl at the entrance to the airport." Bangui is the disgust dominates. The prosecutor of Bangui announced the opening of an investigation. "We will contact the UN office responsible for this case and the French authorities to ask them to give us the documents relating thereto" said the prosecutor of the capital of CAR.

After The Guardian, the children described how they were sexually exploited in return for food and money. One 11-year-old boy said he was abused when he went out looking for food. A nine-year-old described being sexually abused with his friend by two French soldiers at the IDP camp when they went to a checkpoint to look for something to eat. The child described how the soldiers forced him and his friend to carry out a sex act. The report describes how distressed the child was when disclosing the abuse and how he fled the camp in terror after the assault. Some of the children were able to give good descriptions of the soldiers involved...

And this isn`t the first case. Dont forget the same accusation during the ARTEMIS Operation in the RDC, never clearly refuted.

Source : Le Monde, France Info and The Guardian

Language English Tag: EUFOR CAR Banguisexual abuseFrench army

The following is a guest post by Ben O’Keeffe

One ideological motif has run throughout this General Election campaign: Nationalism. From the rising force of the SNP and UKIP, to Labour and the Conservative’s pandering to calls for greater controls on immigration, an undercurrent of nationalism has made British identity a more prevalent election issue than in any other recent Westminster election.

The unforeseen swell in SNP support following their failed attempt at Scottish secession was arguably the catalyst for the question of nationalism to rear its head with such fervour. Their fellow left-wing nationalists, Plaid Cymru, can only dream of such gains in Wales, but they have received more media coverage than ever before during a UK wide election.

On the right-wing, we may have seen a crumbling of support for the British Nationalist Party throughout this parliament, but the more moderate right, both within the Tory Party as well as UKIP, have increasingly held the ear of the media (and seemingly the Prime Minister) over the last five years.

Labour equally have not eschewed the issues of national identity in their campaign. Both through their presence in the ‘No’ camp of the Scottish referendum and their fronting up to perceived previous failures on immigration (even if it was primarily done through a mug) Labour have exploited the national identity angle to support their message.

But nationalism’s prevalence raises a truly fundamental question. To whom does the ideology belong?

Received wisdom places it at the right of the ideological spectrum. However, the mere presence of left-wing-nationalist parties – the SNP and Plaid are often portrayed as the most left-wing of any of the established parties – puts this in serious doubt.

It may of course seem antithetical to attempt to merge left-wing ideas with a keen nationalist spirit for the many who cite the historical relationship between socialism and internationalism. And they may of course be right, there are clear incompatibilities with the fundaments of both ideologies. However, this has not stopped parties from simultaneously mobilising both.

The allure of nationalism as a concept is that it ostensibly transcends the left-right spectrum. The concept of the imagined community that is ‘the nation’ is so embedded, so ingrained, that the electorate fail to see its strategic political qualities. The national system of political economy goes broadly unquestioned in the UK.

Its uncontentious, unifying properties are therefore extremely valuable to any party seeking to maximise vote-share.

Parties who build their brand around this label also gain from an ability to manipulate their broader politico-economic standpoint to capture the zeitgeist of the moment or appeal to voters at both ends of the spectrum: The SNP have not always been the progressive party they portray themselves to be; and UKIP’s raw patriotism and anti-immigration standpoint is equally resonating with the Conservative Home Counties as well as the depressed Labour coastal towns.

So, in a very nationalist way, we might all own nationalism – well, as long as you don’t try and change things too much.

This of course begs a second question, from where does national identity arise? Unfortunately I cannot tackle this question now as I must take a phone call in a red box from the Queen as we are meeting for fish and chips after I finish my cup of tea.

Ben O’Keeffe graduated from King’s College London with an MA in International Political Economy in 2014. He currently works as a Consultant with Bellenden Public Affairs in London.

The post UK General Election 2015: Nationalism – The one thing everyone agrees on appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

General : On Saturday 2 May in Strasbourg and on Saturday 9 May in Brussels and Luxembourg, the European Parliament and other EU institutions will open their doors to the general public in order to celebrate Europe Day in a fun and festive way for the whole family.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

At least that’s the forecast of ‘The Supplement’, a popular Sunday afternoon programme on French television (Canal+). Each week, it includes a trendspotting clip named ‘sexy tomorrow’, introducing a someone or something that may become a game changer.

In the edition of 26 April, the game changer was ‘Politico’, the American news site that just opened a Brussels office in Rue de la Loi (see the clip, in French of course, here). With a staff of more than 40, when most major traditional newspapers hardly have more than two permanent correspondents in the European capital, www.politico.eu certainly sees a future in Brussels for itself.

Some European media reacted with mixed feelings between scepticism and a bewildered welcome. The gist of reactions could perhaps be summed up as ‘Haven’t they understood that there is no European Public Sphere waiting for them?’ As a matter of fact, there is. One week of testing Politico suggests that it is very clearly aimed at the Brussels microcosm and hardly likely to be read beyond the bubble. Just subscribe to the ‘Brussels playbook’ sent out each morning and you will understand that this is for insiders. Who else would subscribe to a ‘Brussels playbook’ anyway?

For the anecdote, when one long-term Washington reporter of Politico told Barack Obama during a White House press conference that she would be moving to Brussels soon, his reaction was not to quip about how she would shake up the European Union, but a rather mediocre joke about how ‘Belgium must have been waiting for a good dose of Politico-style journalism’ (quoted from memory). Interesting to think that the American president spontaneously thinks ‘Belgium’ first, not ‘EU’. Maybe things have not changed so much after all since the days of George W. Bush? Obama’s recommendation to the lady about to leave for Brussels? ‘Try the waffles. They are delicious.’

Time will tell whether Politico will have a return on its remarkable investment. In order to be profitable, it will have to sell quite a few subscriptions to its professional information newsletters on healthcare, energy/environment and technology. If these pick up among the business and lobbying community, they may be indeed ‘sexy tomorrow’.

I wouldn’t bet on the tongue-in-cheek predictions of Canal+, though. In the edition of 22 March, the man hailed as ‘sexy tomorrow’ was Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, who despite his seemingly limitless self-confidence may be more quickly ‘sexy yesterday’ than he thought. At least that’s what you can read in … Politico!

The post Brussels will be ‘sexy tomorrow’! appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

You’ll have noticed that I’ve been posting much less recently. It’s not just because life has been so blinking exciting since I got to Australia. It’s partly that there has been so little to say that’s related to EU issues and digital media. I will keep this blog going, not least for the Multilingual Day of Blogging (which I enjoy so much), but if you’re looking for my pearls of wisdom (ahem), then you can look at antoniamochan.com, or follow my Australian-focused Twitter account @antoniam.