what's new in Brussels

March 2008

EU NEWS TO WATCH

European Commission

Barroso team adopts strategy for last year of its term
Growth and the fight against climate change will be the main priorities for the Commission in 2009, as well as immigration and the increased role of Europe as a world partner. Barroso’s term will end in autumn 2009, after the European elections in June and hearings before the European Parliament of new candidates for Commissioner posts. In its annual political strategy for 2009, adopted on 13 February, the EU executive plans, on an institutional level, to participate in the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty and to continue work on the general revision of the budget. On the basis of this strategy, the Commission will begin an exchange of views with Parliament and the Council on specific policies for 2009 and methods of implementation.

EU and US may take joint action against China over financial information regulations
The US and the EU could file a joint complaint against China at the World Trade Organization over how Beijing regulates foreign financial information providers. Both Washington and Brussels object to rules that Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, issued in September 2006 to preclude foreign companies from directly providing financial information to Chinese clients. Speaking in Beijing, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said Brussels would decide shortly what action to take against Beijing on the issue. Meanwhile, Mandelson also said that China and other developing countries must show more negotiating ambition if long-running global trade talks are to succeed.

European Parliament

Lisbon Treaty gets MEPs’ overwhelming support
Close to 80 percent of the European Parliament’s plenary assembly gave their support to the Lisbon Treaty on 20 February in Strasbourg. MEPs adopted a report by Ińigo Méndez de Vigo and Richard Corbett (breakdown of votes: 525 votes for, 115 against and 29 abstentions). The report suggests that the Lisbon Treaty will make EU decision-making more democratically accountable and efficient, and will strengthen the link between MEPs and their citizens. Immediately following the vote, rapporteurs declared their satisfaction with the result and the strong message it sends to European citizens.

Super Tuesday in America: can Europe learn lessons?
In anticipation of Super Tuesday last month, the most significant day of the US election campaign calendar, European parliamentarians were interviewed about whether European politics had anything to learn or envy from American-style politics. British Conservative Jonathan Evans, chair of Parliament's US Delegation said, the "positives are the strong impact of the personality and the reputation of candidates rather than the power of the political parties themselves". "This encourages US politicians to actively engage with their constituents much more effectively than the vast majority of members of the European Parliament do," he said. "On the negative side, wealthy candidates have a massive and unfair advantage." One of the best aspects of the US system is the contact that US presidential candidates have with people, according to Italian Green Monica Frassoni. Ms Frassoni sees the primary system as a good method of choosing candidates at an early stage: "the primaries system could be usefully introduced here and it would be wonderful to see the European parties organise primaries to choose their candidate for President of the Commission". The downsides of the US system for her are the amount of money involved and the fickleness of the media: "it is very obvious that big money counts and a very moody press can be problematic; I would not like to see those elements so prominent in our campaigns here."

Council

French Presidency to initiate ‘grand debate’ on Europe
The French European Affairs Secretary, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, is determined to involve civil society in Europe’s decisions, as he considers it “indispensable”. For this reason, eight conventions will be organised in each of the constituencies of the French MEPs in the coming months. Citizens will then debate crucial issues for the future of Europe, such as employment, security and defence, education and culture, agriculture and energy. This ‘grand debate’ falls under the framework of the French Presidency of the EU Council, which will begin on 1 July for a period of six months. The debates will include representatives of civil society and the economic and political experts, from both France and Europe.

Council Spring Summit 13-14 March
Ministers have begun preparations for the European Council, to be held on 13 and 14 March in Brussels and dedicated to economic and social issues. They will examine a first draft agenda, which outlines three key items: the Lisbon Strategy, the energy-climate package and the international financial crisis. The summit will launch the new three-year cycle of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs for the 2008-2010 period. Inputs from the Ecofin and Competitiveness Councils are expected in the coming weeks to further prepare the debate on the stability of the financial markets.