slots regulation page 12 page 20 elections 2009 EUROPOLITIcs · The partnership does not offer the pros-pect of EU membership, although it does not “prejudge the aspirations of

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Neighbourhood policy

Solana: eastern partnership not directed against russia

The Eastern Partnership is not directed against anyone and “is not against Russia, with whom we also have a partnership,” Javier Solana told journalists at the opening of the summit launching this political and economic rapprochement between the EU and six former Soviet republics (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia), on 7 May in Prague. Moscow is mistrustful of the new partnership and warned once again, on 6 May, against the creation of “new dividing lines” in Europe. “This is an exaggeration on the Russian side. It is normal for the EU to have rela-tions with its neighbours, to develop politi-cal, economic and trade cooperation,” commented the high representative.

The partnership is part of the EU’s effort to stabilise, democratise and develop its Eastern border, which month after month gives the impression of sinking further into chaos: the war between Russia and Geor-gia, the political and economic crisis in Ukraine, riots in Moldova, and so on.

Responding to a comment that the EU’s response is aimed at the longer term, Solana said that this is the “start of a jour-ney,” which he hopes “will result in coop-eration, stability and prosperity”. “It is an exercise in practical solidarity that will not be easy. A lot will depend on the behaviour of each of the parties.”

According to the declaration set to be adopted at the summit (Europolitics will give more details in its next issue), the

partnership aims to “speed up political and economic association” between the EU and these six countries. Each of the six can hope to conclude an association agree-ment, including a free trade area with the EU (Ukraine alone is already negotiating such an agreement), if they are “capable of respecting the commitments”. Among these conditions are respect for “fundamen-tal values, including democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights”. Some of these countries have highly authoritarian regimes, particularly Belarus.

The partnership does not offer the pros-pect of EU membership, although it does not “prejudge the aspirations of each part-ner in terms of its future relations with the EU,” at the request of those, like Ukraine, that have not given up the hope of joining the Union one day.

Four cooperation platforms will be set up: democracy, good governance and sta-bility; economic integration and conver-gence with EU policies; energy security; and interpersonal contacts. They will meet twice yearly and for the first time in June. The foreign ministers will meet once a year and the heads of state and government every two years.

The EU will spend €600 million on the partnership until 2013 and will phase in measures leading to abolition of the visa requirement, which remains a “long-term objective”. In the face of criticisms by the six of a “visa wall,” the EU countries, led by Germany, remained firm out of fears of seeing a wave of illegal immigration. n

by Fabrice randoux in prague

FocuS

Air trANSportCrisis prompts easing of slots regulation page 12

iNterview François Godement, director of Asia Centre, Sciences-Po page 20

SpeciAl SupplemeNtEuropean Parliament elections 2009

The European affairs daily Friday 8 May 2009 N° 3749 37th year

by célia Sampol in Strasbourg

ep attendance records go online soon

This time it is certain: the European Parlia-ment will publish, “before the elections,” the records of MEPs’ attendance at ple-nary sessions and those of members of the Conference of Group Chairmen, the Bureau and meetings of the quaestors. The decision was taken by the Bureau (president and 14 vice-presidents), on 6 May in Strasbourg. By clicking on the page that lists individual MEPs on Parlia-ment’s website, the public will see a table with their attendance figures.In theory, the records should go back to the start of the legislative period, in 2004, and will begin again at zero in July. Attendance at committee meetings is not included, because “we do not have a database allowing us to calculate these attendance figures consistently and com-pletely,” said the EP spokesman. That could change with the new assembly, however.The Bureau had already decided to pub-lish the records in January, following adoption of a report by Marco Cappato (ALDE, Italy). In the meantime, however, no steps were taken. It took the very controversial publication of a ranking of MEPs on the site www.parlorama.eu (since taken offline) for Parliament to decide to act. It nevertheless points out that these are “raw data” and that the exercise has its limits.

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business & competitivenessState aid/Banking: Commission to probe UK and German bank guarantees ......................................4European SME Week: Promoting entrepreneurship among EU citizens ..... 4Telecommunications: New guidelines on calculating termination rates ................ 5

economic & monetary affairs, taxationFinancial crisis: ECB cuts rate to 1%, announces credit easing ..............5Financial services: Lamfalussy committee heads welcome de Larosière’s approach ..........................6

Sectoral policiesVehicle registration: Cross-border car shopping just made easier .................6Research: EFPIA cautiously welcomes EP vote on welfare of lab animals ..........7Economic recovery plan: MEPs bow to Council pressure on energy projects ..8Flu pandemic: Veterinary experts remain cautious on role of pigs in outbreak........... 9Gambling: Commission investigating Dutch blocking of banks ..........................10

Asylum package: Parliament puts asylum seeker at centre of system .........11Human rights: EP falls short of majority to denounce Pope’s comments on condoms ........................11Air transport: Crisis prompts easing of slots regulation ......................12

trade policyEU/Canada: Ottawa to defend seal hunt before WTO ..........................12

Social affairsEmployment summit: Unions refuse to sign ‘ten messages’ ..................13

institutionsEuropean Parliament: Plenary endorses last package of EP internal reform ...........14ALDE: Diana Wallis sets eyes on Liberal group presidency .........14Lisbon Treaty: New timing for appointment of Commission chief .......15

external relationsNeighbourhood policy: Solana: Eastern Partnership not directed against Russia ..........................................1EU/Moldova: Parliament condemns Moldovan government .......15

open ForumThe case for sport – from broadcasting to betting .................16

eu Agenda ..........................................17

in briefTon van Osch to head Military Staff .......19Humanitarian aid to Afghanistan .........19EP vote on assisting spouses .................19Partial nationalisation of Commerzbank okayed ......................19Annual crisis management exercise .....19Parliament revises petitions procedure ....19EP green light to 5 bn euro plan ..........19

interview François Godement, director of Asia Centre, Political Science Institute, ParisEU struggling to assert its geopolitical weight against China ............................20

Air trANSportCrisis prompts easing of slots regulation page 12

iNterview François Godement, director of Asia Centre, Sciences-Po page 20

SpeciAl SupplemeNtEuropean Parliament elections 2009

4 Friday 8 May 2009 N° 3749 EUROPOLITIcs

Sold by subscription only © reproduction strictly prohibited in any languagewww.europolitics.info

StAte Aid/bANkiNg

commission to probe uk and german bank guarantees

The European Commission, on 7 May, opened an in-depth investigation into a restructuring plan for German bank Hypo Real Estate, and extended an ongoing exam-ination of UK state aid to Northern Rock.

The decision was made after the German government decided to renew a €35 billion state guarantee for Hypo, which the Com-mission had approved last October.

The UK has similarly rejigged a rescue package for Northern Rock that will see the bank split into a ‘good bank’, with a clean balance sheet, and a ‘bad bank’, which will absorb toxic mortgage loans and eventually wind down.

At the same time, Competition Commis-sioner Neelie Kroes announced that the EU had approved a further €10 billion injection for Germany’s Commerzbank.

EU competition rules allow for large amounts of aid during the crisis, as long as they are targeted, temporary and do not dis-tort the market.

As well as the €35 billion in direct guar-antees, Hypo has also benefited to the tune of €52 billion under a general government rescue scheme, the Financial Market Sta-bilisation Fund (SoFFin), approved by the Commission on 12 December last year.

On 1 April, the German government told the Commission that it would be extend-ing the initial €35 billion guarantee under a restructuring plan for the bank. It will also extend the €52 billion guarantee and may possibly inject further capital via SoFFin.

“Changing a business model is not easy, but we believe it’s essential for Hypo,” Kroes told journalists after the announcement. “More may need to be done to limit the dis-tortion of competition, especially given large amount of aid received.”

Northern Rock, the fifth largest mortgage lender in Britain, fell victim to the subprime crisis in the US mortgage market in 2007. It was nationalised, in February 2008, after attempts to sell it fell through, and the plan was to reduce its lending operations and bal-ance sheet. However, on 30 March, the Brit-

ish government announced that instead of this plan, it was going to attempt to split the bank into a ‘good bank’, which would retain retail deposits and good quality assets, and a ‘bad bank’, to absorb the impaired mortgage loans.

Kroes said she is still looking for further details on the plan, and in view of the changes and the large amount of taxpayers’ money involved, the UK will be required to “offset these distortions” of competition.

The new capital injection will mean Com-merzbank has gained a total of €18 billion from the German government since Decem-ber 2008. The bank is the second largest pri-vate bank in Germany, with a balance sheet of €1.1 trillion. Its main lending operations are in Germany and Central and Eastern Europe, in the corporate and retail spheres.

The Commission is currently in talks with the German government on a possible ‘bad bank’ scheme, and Kroes did not rule out Commerzbank being a part of it. She added that the bank will have to reduce its balance sheet by more than 20%. n

europeAN Sme week

promoting entrepreneurship among eu citizens

“Without SMEs there can be no recovery.”

This was the key message delivered by Arndt Kirchhoff, chairman of Busines-sEurope’s Entrepreneurship and SME Committee, at the conference entitled ‘How are you doing? – SMEs in a larger Europe’, held on 7 May in Brussels as part of the first European SME Week.

Europeans are reluctant to go into business for themselves as a result of the absence of education in entrepreneurship.

Karen Wilson, a member of the Kauff-man Foundation and an adviser to the European Foundation for Entrepre-neurship Research, stressed the need to “shape attitudes and develop the apti-tudes of young people across Europe,” addressing the curriculum differently at every level of the educational system.

There is a need to “develop leadership qualities” among citizens and promote

innovation in all areas, added Wilson.Europe needs a “change of mentality”

with respect to entrepreneurial initiative, continued Martin Ohneberg, president of YES, the European Confederation of

Young Entrepreneurs, because citizens do not want to take risks.

He also recommends “starting in schools” to correct the present situation. The problem is that governments are not prepared to invest more in education, especially in the context of today’s crisis, focusing on other priorities instead.

Wilson suggested the use of business people as teachers, while training regu-lar teachers in entrepreneurship.

However, this will require giving schools more autonomy to allow them to include business people.

Another major obstacle to the creation of start-ups and SMEs is the economic and financial crisis.

The only way to emerge from the crisis, explained Ohneberg, is to pro-mote “innovation and a culture of entrepreneurship”.

KNOWLEDGE AND MONEYThe knowledge gained through

research and development has to be used. “We know how to obtain knowl-edge with money but we do not yet know how to make money with knowledge,” summed up Ohneberg.

The message for all of Europe is that “the crisis is good for entrepreneurship”. France, for instance, has launched a new programme, ‘Auto-entrepre-neur’ (www.autoentrepreneur.fr), that encourages people to develop a self-employed activity to cope with growing unemployment during this period of crisis. n

“The crisis is good for entrepreneurship”

by Sarah collins

by emilie melvin



�

telecommuNicAtioNS

New guidelines on calculating termination ratesThe European Commission pub-

lished, on 7 May, a recommendation on how to calculate call termination rates. It deals with the wholesale rates charged by an operator to connect a call from another operator and that are included in everyone’s phone bill.

The aim is to provide “clear guide-lines” for European telecommunication regulatory authorities.

“Despite efforts by some national regulators to bring termination rates closer to their real costs, they remain very disparate across the EU, with large gaps between fixed and mobile termi-nation rates,” said Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding.

According to her, this situation “can lead to serious distortions of competition between member states and operators”.

The recommendation states specifi-cally that termination rates at a national level must be based solely on the real costs incurred by an efficient operator to establish a connection.

Eliminating price distortions between telephone operators across the EU will bring down the price of voice calls in and between member states, allowing companies and households to save at least €2 billion between 2009 and 2012, the Commission said.

INVESTMENT AND INNOVATIONIt will also encourage investment and

innovation in the entire telecommuni-cations sector, it added.

In 2008, termination rates for mobile calls varied greatly in the EU, ranging from two eurocents a minute (in Cyprus) to 15 eurocents a minute (in Bulgaria).

Termination rates for mobile calls (which are on average 8.55 eurocents a minute) are also ten times higher, on the whole, than termination rates for a fixed call (which varies on average between 0.57 eurocents and 1.13 eurocents a minute).

Higher mobile termination rates make it difficult for fixed and small mobile

telephone operators to compete with the big mobile telephone operators.

The Commission thinks that if the reg-ulatory authorities adopt the approach given in the recommendation then the following changes could be seen during the period from 2009 to 2012: small mobile telephone operators (whose outgoing traffic is higher than incom-ing traffic) can expect to pay less than their biggest competitors; and fixed tele-phone operators could see their income increase by at least €2 billion by paying termination rates based on lower costs for calls made from a fixed line to a mobile. n

The recommendation and the Commission’s working document are available at ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/implementation_enforcement/article_7/index_en.htm

FiNANciAl criSiS

ecb cuts rate to 1%, announces credit easing

The European Central Bank, on 7 May, announced a 25 basis point cut to its main borrowing rate, taking it down to 1%. This puts the rate at a record low since the bank was set up in 1999.

For the first time, the bank will also start buying up covered bonds issued in the euro-zone and denominated in euro, what it calls “enhanced credit support”. The bank says the buy-up could amount to around €60 bil-lion, but it will announce further details of the plan at a 4 June meeting.

A further measure to ease the crisis will see the European Investment Bank gain-ing access to the euro system’s money mar-kets, from 8 July, which the ECB says could allow the investment bank to lend up to €40 billion more to SMEs in 2009.

NOT ThE LOWEST LEVELThe seventh rate cut since the beginning

of the crisis has taken the ECB’s main bor-rowing rate to 1%, 325 basis points lower

than it was in October (4.25%). The deci-sion was made after growth and demand continue to be revised downwards, and ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet has not ruled out further cuts. “We have not decided that the new level of our policy rates is the lowest level that we could never cross,” Trichet said after he announced the cut.

The latest figures from the European Commission show a 4% contraction in European GDP this year, and continued negative growth (although it will pick up) in 2010. The ECB’s latest predictions, released in March, were much more optimistic, pre-dicting only a 2.2% to 3.2% fall. EU unem-ployment is also set to skyrocket to 11% by 2010 (11.5% in the eurozone alone). “We have to be fully aware of the situation behind us,” Trichet said. “We have had a very bad first quarter, much weaker than expected by a very large number of institutions.”

Trichet expects the rate cut to further encourage banks to lend to households and businesses, and to provide increase liquidity for debt securities markets.

After lowering its main rates so significantly, the ECB is left with little room for manoeu-vre to increase money and credit supply in the economy. A possible buy-up of corporate bonds was hinted at by ECB Vice-President Lucas Papademos, in March at the European Business Summit (see Europolitics 3723). The move means the bank will purchase around €60 billion in covered bonds, which are highly rated corporate debt securities backed by assets (usually mortgage loans) and which appear on the issuer’s balance sheet. The US Federal Reserve termed its equiva-lent plan “credit easing,” while the Bank of England began what it called “quantitative easing,” on 5 March. The move was imme-diately welcomed by industry grouping Busi-nessEurope, which has been calling for better borrowing conditions for companies since the start of the crisis. Ernest-Antoine Seillière, the group’s president, said, “The ECB took today bold measures to unfreeze credit channels. This will greatly help companies in these times of financing restrictions and will speed up the recovery process”. n

by Sarah collins

� Friday 8 May 2009 N° 3749 EUROPOLITIcs


It should now be easier for people to buy a vehicle in another EU member state. The European Commission adopted, on 7 May, a new regulation introducing a ‘certificate of conformity’ throughout the EU that will be valid for all motorised vehicles (cars, buses, coaches, caravans). For potential buyers, it should mean fewer procedures and for-malities to register a new vehicle bought in another EU country because registra-tion will be possible simply by showing the certificate.

The ‘certificate of conformity’ is an administrative document issued by the manufacturer for the buyer.

It proves that the vehicle conforms to the technical requirements in force in the EU and that it can therefore be freely put into circulation in no matter which member state.

COMPULSORY CERTIFICATESuch certificates have in fact existed

since 1993 but they were only issued to the purchaser of a vehicle to be exported if national legislation required it or on demand.

The new regulation means that it is compulsory to have a ‘certificate of conformity’ in order to register a new vehicle in a member state.

Every manufacturer holding Commu-nity-type approval is therefore obliged to issue one to enable registration.

The certificate includes data relating to the vehicle’s environmental perfor-mance, essential for determining the tax bracket applicable for the vehicle.

The new regulation, which amends the current Directive 2007/46/EC on the approval of motor vehicles, is immediately applicable. n

The heads of the three Level 3 Lamfalussy committees (known as 3L3s) welcome the evolutionary approach to the future of finan-cial supervision in Europe envisioned by the de Larosière report, said Thomas Steffen, chair of the European insurance supervisors CEIOPS. The start date for the new struc-ture of as early as 2010, suggested by Com-missioner Charlie McCreevy, was feasible, he said. His colleagues, Eddy Wymeersch, chair of the securities regulators CESR and Kerstin af Jochnick of the banking commit-tee CEBS, agreed - provided some remain-ing crucial issues were resolved. The exact responsibilities of the new bodies had not been decided and the chairs showed disap-pointment that a European Commission communication promised for 13 May had been postponed to 27 May.

A serious problem remaining is the issue

of burden-sharing among member states in the event of something going wrong and a bill to be picked up, since under the new arrangements member states will remain fun-damentally responsible for their own patch. However, the three chairs hoped that the increased harmonisation of the new structure would provide a stepping stone to resolution.

The comments came in the fringes of the high-level conference ‘Towards a new super-visory architecture for Europe’ organised by the Commission, on 7 May. This event is part of the public consultation on the report on financial supervision delivered by Jacques de Larosière’s group of experts, on 25 January.

All three heads supported the idea of trans-forming the committees into independent European authorities, but it was unclear what form this would take. Most likely, said Steffen, was an agency-type format simi-lar to the existing European agencies. The new bodies would have separate legal status,

independent budgets and defined account-ability lines towards the EU institutions. They would retain their roles as advisers to the Commission and combine this with strengthened rule-making powers. The rule change to allow decisions to be taken by qualified majority voting would also make a great difference to their effectiveness. At present, the committees are funded by their members, ie national supervisory authorities, and an independent budget will allow more autonomy, independence and a strengthen-ing of the presently tiny secretariats. The Parliament has just agreed a figure of one half million euro for the rest of 2009 and €13 million for 2010-2014.

On the proposed European Systemic Risk Council, the chairs advised that more super-visors should be involved than just them-selves and that an independent chairperson would be preferable to the European Cen-tral Bank president. Its exact responsibilities are also yet to be defined.

In a joint paper, published in April, the 3L3 asked for clear statutory provisions to address the issues of independence with accountability, enforcement of decisions through binding mediation or regula-tion and the setting of a balance between micro and macro levels of supervision as well as between European and national supervisors. Also needed is a common rulebook of harmonised European rules on supervision, backed by a strengthened peer review process. n

by ruth milligan

by isabelle Smets

FiNANciAl ServiceS

lamfalussy committee heads welcome de larosière’s approach

vehicle regiStrAtioN

cross-border car shopping just made easier

backgroundThe expert group on financial supervi-sion under Jacques de Larosière was set up at the behest of Commission Presi-dent José Manuel Barroso. He proposed a two-tier structure at European level. At the top would be a new body known as the European Systemic Risk Council (ESRC), chaired by the president of the ECB and made up of ECB General Council members, the chairs of the 3 Lamfalussy committees

and the Commission. The three Lamfalussy committees would be transformed into European authorities with separate legal existence, financing and extended powers. These two bodies would do the ‘macro’ European level supervision, the new Euro-pean authorities would coordinate stan-dards and cooperation across Europe. At the micro level, national authorities would carry on with the day-to-day work, further advised by the colleges of supervisors.



7

The European Federation of Phar-maceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) believes that the report on the welfare of laboratory animals, adopted on 5 May by the European Parlia-ment (first reading), is a compromise between scientific justification and ethi-cal review, although it is a step in the right direction. “Industry cautiously wel-comes this decision,” added Brian Ager, director-general of the EFPIA.

“However, there are several provisions that may potentially hinder the develop-ment of the new and innovative treat-ments that society wishes to see, address-ing unmet conditions, such as cancers, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and infectious diseases”. Ager continued, “We would now urge member states to consider posi-tively those provisions which will enable this research to continue in Europe”.

The report by Neil Parish (EPP-ED, UK), adopted by a large majority, largely supports the objectives of the European Commission’s proposal, which amends the Directive 86/609/EEC on the pro-tection of animals used for experimen-tal and other scientific purposes. In particular, the ban on the use of apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans) threatened with extinction. Nevertheless, in order to correct certain aspects of the project, which, according

to MEPs, drastically restrict possibilities for the use of primates, such as marmo-sets and macaques, and could penalise European research in favour of its American or Asian competitors, MEPs adopted amendments aimed at balanc-ing the text so that medical research may continue.

They also clarified the definitions, in particular those that were missing from the classification of test procedures according to three categories of pain inflicted on animals (‘up to mild’, ‘mod-erate’ or ‘severe’). To avoid repeated suf-fering, the Commission wants to allow the same animals to be re-used only if the test entails pain classed as ‘up to mild’. MEPs, however, believe that applying criteria that are too strict would result in even more animals being used for tests, which would defeat the object. They therefore ask for animals to be re-usable if the test entails ‘moderate’ pain. This would include blood tests or implants performed under anaesthetic.

Other amendments aim to specify requirements in terms of transparency on the tests carried out. In particular, MEPs want the prior authorisations required for animal tests to be limited to projects where the pain would be ‘mod-erate’ or ‘severe’ or to those carried out on primates.

Lastly, they do not want the directive to cover larval forms and embryonic

or foetal forms other than mammals, because of the complications of count-ing and recording the thousands of eggs laid by some female fish or amphibian species.

LOOKING TO ThE FUTURE“Current legislation on animal welfare

dates back 20 years (86/609) and really needs to be updated”, considered Neil Parish, who is also chairman of the EP’s Animal Welfare Intergroup. He says he is aware that a radical ban on all animal experiments for medical research would be “irresponsible and at the expense of human health”.

One of the key elements of the direc-tive to reduce the number of tests on animals is the development of alterna-tive approaches, which the Parliament intends to promote by widening the mandate of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM).

Owing to end-of-legislature calen-dar constraints, it has not been pos-sible to conduct talks with the Council of Ministers with a view to reaching a first-reading agreement before the Euro-pean elections in June. It will therefore be up to the newly-elected Parliament to confirm or amend the outgoing Par-liament’s position and negotiate with member state representatives in order to conclude work on this directive. n

by Sophie petitjean

reSeArch

eFpiA cautiously welcomes ep vote on welfare of lab animals

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� Friday 8 May 2009 N° 3749 EUROPOLITIcs


Voting on 6 May, MEPs adopted the com-promise reached with the Council over the EU economic recovery plan. This should lead to investments of up to €3.98 billion in gas and electricity infrastructure, offshore wind parks and carbon capture and storage projects. A further €1.02 billion will go for rural internet and rural development. Voting the report (A6-0261/2009) on the energy projects, drawn up by Eugenijus Maldeikis (UEN, Lithuania), MEPs have achieved a compromise to the effect that projects for renewables other than offshore wind and energy efficiency can receive funding.

ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROjECTSAccording to Maldeikis, the package will

strengthen the European energy sector. “Moreover, it should have a good impact on other sectors of the economy and should help the recovery of Europe in these years. Five billion euro is a significant amount that should help us to deal with the extremely urgent issue of energy security in Europe,” said Maldeikis. Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, too, was confident that proj-ects will be implemented as scheduled. “I know that some of you would have preferred to see more measures on renewables and energy efficiency projects in the package, but I believe that the compromise on this subject is a good one,” said Piebalgs.

The commissioner also took pains to reas-sure MEPs that the declaration on renew-ables and energy efficiency was sufficient. “The EC provides reassurances in a com-prehensive declaration that it will reconsider the situation in 2010 referring to the option of suggesting using uncommitted for mea-sures on energy efficiency and renewable energy sources,” said Piebalgs. In their nego-tiations with the Council, MEPs had insisted that funds not committed by the end of 2010 go to projects other than gas interconnectors (€1,440 million); electricity interconnectors (€910 million), offshore wind (€565 million) and carbon capture and storage or CCS (€1,050 million).

Despite Piebalgs’ comforting words, the compromise solution reached between Par-liament and the Council appears to give a weaker possibility of funding such projects - subject to a Commission proposal and to

acceptance by the Council. In the annex to the regulation on the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EERP), a mere declaration by the Commission now com-mits it to proposing an amendment – if appropriate - to include eligibility criteria so as to allow for the financing of projects in the area of energy efficiency and renew-able energy sources. This would happen

if, when reporting in 2010 on the imple-mentation of the regulation, the Com-mission finds that it will not be possible to commit by the end of 2010 a part of the funds listed in the regulation.

For Claude Turmes (Greens, Luxem-bourg), the €5 billion package was a PR gimmick, part of a “Barroso presidential re-election fund”. Turmes argues that the Parliament has given in to a nationalist ‘pay back’ approach by member states. Through the leverage effect of major EU and national public banks, such as the European Investment Bank or the German KfW, Turmes claims the €5 billion pack-age could have triggered up to €50 bil-lion to €80 billion in ‘green’ investments. This would have led to a triple dividend of immediate job creation, energy security and climate mitigation benefits.

PROjECTS NOT READYMEPs also criticised the heavy focus on

large-scale infrastructure projects, such as electricity interconnectors, gas pipelines or CCS pilot projects. There is limited addi-tional employment proportional to their cost when compared with other projects for energy efficiency in buildings or renew-able energy. A second problem is that the selected projects will not be immediately ready. “Most of the projects retained (like electricity grid extensions, gas pipelines and CCS) do not have the required authorisa-tions and will struggle to finalise these pre-

requisites in the next two years. Most CCS projects will not be shovel-ready before 2012 or 2013,” argues Turmes.

FIRST DROP-OUT IN LISTProjects promoting renewables (other

than offshore wind) and energy efficiency could already have €150 million. Activity on one of the priority energy projects, with €150 million of funds earmarked under the EU economic recovery plan, has been sus-pended. Norwegian gas transmission opera-tor Gassco, together with its partners that include Germany’s E.ON, Netherlands’ Gasunie and Denmark’s Energinet.dk, decided to suspend project activities citing “increased commercial risk” due to the global economic situation and the uncer-tain perspectives on future gas demand. Suspension of Gassco’s Skanled project now heightens the chance that funds may be made available for renewable energy projects other than offshore wind. n

by dafydd ab iago

For Green MEP Claude Turmes, the package is merely Barroso’s

presidential re-election fund

backgroundFirst proposed in November 2008, agreement on the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EERP) proved difficult to reach with member states pushing for greater spend-ing in their own territories. Those countries worst affected by the gas crisis, notably Slovakia and Bulgaria, were also originally granted very few funds. The final partition of monies gives gas interconnectors 1,440 mil-lion euro; electricity interconnectors 910 million euro, offshore wind 565 million euro and CCS 1,050 million euro. Small isolated island initia-tives, in the field of electricity, see Cyprus receive ten million euro and Malta five million euro. Some of the notable projects include the Nabucco (200 million euro) and ITGI-Posei-don pipelines (100 million euro); the France-Spain electricity interconnec-tion (225 million euro); and Germa-ny’s North Sea offshore wind project (200 million euro) with a new gener-ation of multi-megawatt size turbines (5-7 MW) up to 100 km from shore in waters up to 40 metres.

ecoNomic recovery plAN

meps bow to council pressure on energy projects



9

Although EU veterinary experts do not see any justification for the restrictions on trade in pigs imposed by many coun-tries around the world, they are never-theless convinced that pig farmers in the Union must take precautions against viral infections.

The discovery in Canada of a case of transmission of the new flu virus A/H1N1 from man to pigs “does not call into question the declarations on the absence of risk related to the consump-tion of pork,” noted the experts in a writ-ten declaration, made public on 5 May.

However, “the role of pigs in the H1N1 flu epidemic has not yet been clarified and still has to be studied by the scientific community”.

At this stage, and in spite of these uncertainties, restrictions on trade in these animals “are not justified,” they note. The usual precautionary mea-sures – biosecurity and hygiene rules – must be applied scrupulously to pro-tect against contamination by the virus in farms through movements of people, vehicles or any other material.

For Food and Agriculture Organisa-tion (FAO) Chief Veterinary Officer Joseph Domenech, “transmission from man to animal should not be a surprise”. He points out that viruses undergo con-stant genetic mutations, which requires

increased surveillance of respiratory dis-eases and similar syndromes in pigs.

The World Health Organisation now considers it “essential” to add swine flu to the list of epizootic diseases that must be reported. Currently considered “benign,” this disease “slips through the safety net put in place by animal health authorities,” regretted the organisation’s Director for Food Safety, Peter Ben Embarek.

He added in an implicit criticism of the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) that instead of being detected among humans, as was the case with the new virus, infectious threats should first be identified in animals so that early action can be taken. According to Embarek, this is “probably a virus that can go back and forth between humans and pigs”.

Some 200 pigs at a farm in western Canada were placed in quarantine, on 3 May as a result of detection of the A/H1N1 virus. They will be slaughtered as a precautionary measure. The Canadian authorities told the OIE that the animals

had probably been infected by a carpen-ter, who recently returned from a trip to Mexico. The carpenter, as well as the pig farmer and his family, showed flu symptoms between 14 and 29 April.

The European Commission is reassur-ing as to the short-term evolution of the human pandemic. Its experts note that the arrival of warm weather in Europe should make it easier to curb the devel-opment of the virus. On the other hand, a vaccine should be prepared in prepa-ration for a likely reappearance of this form of flu next autumn.

Russia’s veterinary services, which justify their caution by the country’s incapacity to cope with a large-scale out-break of an epizootic disease, confirmed their intention to maintain their restric-tions on imports of pigs from countries where the virus has been detected. Canada, Mexico, the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain are among the states on Moscow’s list.

China is also defending the principle of embargos, considered compatible with World Trade Organisation rules. Beijing argues that it “has no choice” but to set up such trade restrictions to protect its citizens and animals.

Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Jordan, Japan and South Korea have also either banned imports of pigs or set up drastic sanitary control measures at their borders. n

“The role of pigs in the H1N1 flu epidemic has not yet been clarified”

by luc vernet

Flu pANdemic

veterinary experts remain cautious on role of pigs in outbreak



gAmbliNg

commission investigating dutch blocking of banks

The European Commission has received a complaint from online bet-ting company Betfair following the Dutch government’s attempt to stop banks in the Netherlands from processing payments by Dutch customers placing bets on gaming websites legally registered in the EU out-side the Netherlands. An instruction from the Dutch Ministry of Justice to the boards of directors of banks in the country prohib-its them from processing online gambling payments other than those made to the Dutch gaming monopoly. The company has also filed a case at the Civil District Court of The Hague.

Betfair, legally registered and licensed in the UK, argues that the action by the Dutch government violates EC laws concerning the free movement of services and has made a formal complaint to the European Com-mission. “I suspect that blocking payments is not legal. From an EU legal point of view, it does not sound lawful,” said one official,

also pointing to the ongoing infringement procedure with the Netherlands as regards online gambling. The Commission would apparently not take to the fact that the Dutch government, preventing payments through Dutch banks, is also acting on the basis of a law that the Commission has considered not EU-conform.

A “DESPERATE MOVE”“This is a desperate move by the Dutch

government to prevent a company that is fully licensed and regulated in jurisdic-tions across Europe from being accessed by residents in the Netherlands,” said Mark Davies, managing director at Betfair. Since April 2006, the Netherlands has faced an infringement procedure over its restrictions of the free movement of gambling services. At the second stage of the infringement pro-cedure, since February 2008, the Commis-sion could in theory have referred the matter to the EU Court of Justice in June of that year. The Dutch investigation relates only to provision and promotion of sports bet-

ting services where the Commission views the introduction of new addictive games, intensive and increasing advertising and the absence of concrete measures against gambling addiction as constituting clear evidence of the “absence of a consistent and systematic policy aimed at genuinely reducing gambling opportunities”.

It remains to be seen how the Commis-sion will react to this further complaint. The infringement procedures against over ten states have been on hold since early 2008. Additionally, the instruction from the Dutch Justice Ministry was sent as a ‘private’ letter to the boards of directors of Dutch banks. It notes that by processing payments, Dutch banks would be breaking the Dutch Bet-ting and Gaming Act (BGA) by promoting “unlicensed and foreign games of chance”. The letter calls on the banks to “terminate within a reasonable time frame all rela-tionships, to the extent these may exist, with those providers of games of chance via internet, and not to enter into any new relationships with similar providers”. n

by dafydd ab iago



11

Meeting in Strasbourg, on 7 May, the European Parliament failed to rally a suffi-cient majority to denounce the recent con-troversial comments by Pope Benedict XVI in Africa on condoms.

Two Liberal MEPs, Sophia in ‘t Veld (Netherlands) and Marco Cappato (Italy), had tabled, in connection with the 2008 annual report on human rights, an amendment “strongly” condemning the statements in which the Pope “bans condoms” and “warns that the use of condoms could even lead to a higher

risk of contagion” by the AIDS virus.Under pressure from the Conservatives,

the EP rejected the amendment by a slim majority (253 to 199 and 61 abstentions).

The authors of the amendment are con-cerned that the comments, which created a global controversy, “may strongly hamper the fight against AIDS”.

This paragraph is “inadmissible,” railed German Christian Democrat Hartmut Nassauer, speaking for the Conservatives, adding that it had no place in a report on human rights violations. “It compares the Pope’s statements to the worst human rights violations” in the world, which constitutes

“incredible discrimination against the Pope”. The plenary also rejected a watered-down amendment expressing the EP’s “concerns”.

On 17 March, as he flew to Camer-oon, Benedict XVI stated that “the AIDS problem cannot be solved [...[ by distrib-uting condoms” and that, “on the con-trary,” their “use could make the problem worse”. In early April, the Belgian par-liament adopted a resolution describing the comments as “unacceptable”. The Vatican went on to denounce the use, for purposes of intimidation, of an “extract of an interview taken out of context”. n

Overall, the European Parliament agrees with the Commission’s ‘asylum package’ proposals (co-decision) aimed at putting the person seeking international protection in Europe back at the heart of the system and unburdening Mediterra-nean countries, such as Malta and Cyprus, which continue to ask for more solidarity from their European partners. Nonethe-less, it strengthens some aspects of it.

For example, the expectation that authorities from European countries address an asylum seeker in a language that he can understand seems obvious. However, the point was debated at the EP, and in the end it was the middle road that was adopted, on 7 May in Strasbourg. “Asylum seekers must be informed in a language they understand, or that it is reasonable to assume they understand,” the EP said. The rappor-teur, Spanish Socialist Antonio Masip Hidalgo, meanwhile, stressed the need for their rights to be explained to them in a language that they understand, “in a simple and non-technical language so that they can defend themselves fairly”.

On this point, MEPs referred to the re-casting of Directive 2003/9/EC regard-ing minimum standards for receiving asylum seekers in member states. The text states that asylum seekers can only be detained on the orders of the legal

authorities. “In an emergency,” how-ever, this role can be carried out by an administrative authority, the EP said, with the decision to be confirmed by a legal authority within 72 hours.

Whichever the case, such a placement will not be in a prison, but in specialised facilities. The detention of unaccompa-nied minors must be banned. Asylum seekers must also have access to medical care and psychological support, as well as free legal aid (with representation, if desired).

VULNERABLE PEOPLEThe proposal also ensures that vulner-

able people (minors, pregnant women, victims of torture and violence or women who are victims of genital mutilation) cannot be placed in detention, Jacques Barrot, the commissioner responsible for justice, freedom and security, specified on the eve of the vote.

Other requests from MEPs included the speed of administrative procedures, with asylum seekers not having to pay the price for delays and in particular not having to be detained for longer as a result. Access to work must also be guaranteed within six months of the request being lodged, according to the EP. As for minors, they must have access to education within three months at most.

According to the proposal, member states will also have to ensure, when determin-

ing reception conditions, “that they aren’t below the level of social support needed to guarantee a life worthy of nationals”.

MEPs also adopted a report by Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (ALDE, Nether-lands) aimed at strengthening solidarity between member states at the core of the Dublin II system, which determines the country responsible for reviewing an asylum request (in this case, the first ‘country of refuge’).

“We welcome the fact that the EP wants to move ahead with the creation and development of a joint system for the right to asylum”, the EU’s Czech Presi-dency said, while also stressing the ‘vol-untary’ nature of this solidarity between member states. All the same, the EP wants to see “compulsory solidarity instruments” adopted by the end of 2011, based on a Commission proposal.

The report by Nicolae Vlad Popa (EPP-ED, Romania) on improving the Euro-pean digital fingerprint database, Euro-dac, was also finally adopted. So was that of Jean Lambert (Greens-EFA, United Kingdom) on the proposal for a regula-tion to create a European asylum support office. The office – purely for support – will be able to “play a very important role in allowing the information on trans-fers to be exchanged,” according to the Czech representative. “But it cannot be a legal basis for a European transfer system,” it warned. n

by Nathalie vandystadt in Strasbourg

by Nathalie vandystadt in Strasbourg

ASylum pAckAge

parliament puts asylum seeker at centre of system

humAN rightS

ep falls short of majority to denounce pope’s comments on condoms



The Canadian government has expressed its “deep disappointment, concern and opposition” following the adoption by the European Parliament, on 5 May, of a regulation establishing a ban on the trade and sale of products from Canada’s seal hunt (see Europoli-tics 3748). According to Ottawa, Cana-da’s seal hunt is regulated in a “humane and sustainable” manner. The Canadian authorities are studying the exact word-ing of the proposed regulation and will take appropriate action to protect the

country’s sealing industry and continue to defend the interests of Canadian sealers. “If there is no such acceptable exemption, Canada will challenge the ban at the World Trade Organisation,” indicated the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Stockwell Day.

“The decision by the European Parlia-ment lacks any basis in facts,” said the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Gail Shea, who specified that the Canadian seal hunt is guided by rigorous animal welfare principles, which are interna-tionally recognised by independent observers. “I once again caution my

European counterparts about the dan-gers of pursuing politically motivated bans on other countries’ traditional industries. Our government will stand up for the jobs and communities that depend on the seal hunt”.

“If the EU imposes a trade ban on seal products, it must contain an exemption for any country, like Canada, that has strict guidelines in place for humane and sustainable sealing practices,” said Stock-well Day, insisting that, if there is no such acceptable exemption, Canada will challenge the ban before the competent international authorities. n

Airlines will be able to keep, for the summer 2010 season, the landing and takeoff slots allocated for the summer of 2009 (29 March-24 October 2009), whether they use them or not. At its plenary session, on 7 May in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted a draft regulation along these lines, presented by the European Commission, on 10 March. The EP worked out a compro-mise with the Council on the amended text, which will consequently be adopted definitively very quickly. It will modify Regulation 95/93, which sets rules for the allocation of slots in the EU.

The aim of the new regulation is to ease the ‘use it or lose it’ rule, which obliges airlines to use their slots 80% of the time, otherwise they are placed into a pool and can be allocated to competitor airlines.

With the economic crisis – and per-haps the Mexican flu as well – causing a significant decline in the number of air travellers, this rule has the perverse effect of preventing airlines from low-ering their flight capacity out of fear of losing their slots, even if they have to run practically empty flights.

A similar measure was taken after the collapse in air traffic that followed the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the SARS epidemic, in 2003. It

raises difficult issues, however, as seen in the diverging positions in the aviation sector. While the incumbent airlines support the measure, low-cost airlines and airports are opposed. They argue that easing of the rules distorts competi-tion. Their representatives point out that

there are long waiting lists for Europe’s major airports and that slots that should have been freed up by big airlines would have benefited other airlines that do not have access to these airports.

The low-cost companies are conse-quently losing an opportunity to secure more slots at major airports. The air-ports are also disadvantaged because considerable flight capacities will not be used, meaning lost income for them. As Brian Simpson (PES, UK) pointed out during the debate preceding the vote, the regions are also losers because the decline in the number of flights is expected to affect first and foremost the routes between major airports and regional airports.

Parliament and the Council did not disregard these arguments, as seen in the amendments to the text.

The Commission planned to permit the virtually automatic renewal – through the comitology procedure – of this easing of the rules for the winter 2010 season if the crisis continues, but the amendments adopted impose the classic co-decision procedure, which requires a real political debate between the institutions (and if need be it will enable the EP to block the text).

A new recital also states that an exten-sion of the scheme should only be con-sidered if it forms part of a proposal for a general revision of Regulation 95/93/EC. Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani agreed to this measure during the debate prior to the vote.

He even said his services were already working on a comprehensive revision of the regulation.

MEPs thus obtained the guarantee of a complete debate on the mechanisms for allocating slots in the EU during the next legislative period.

While on the face of it the debate seems very technical, real choices will have to be made concerning access to major airports for airlines other than the incumbents.

These choices will necessarily have an impact on the routes offered to passengers from major airports. n

by isabelle Smets

by Anne eckstein

Air trANSport

crisis prompts easing of slots regulation

eu/cANAdA

ottawa to defend seal hunt before wto

A similar measure was taken after the collapse

in air traffic that followed the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the

SARS epidemic



1�

Arguing that it was “just not enough,” John Monks, the general secretary of the Euro-pean Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) decided against signing the ‘ten messages’ on which the Czech-Swedish-Spanish trio of European Union Presidencies and the European Commission agreed, on 7 May, during an extraordinary employment summit in Prague. In particular, the unions could not agree with the proposed introduction of “non-wage labour cost cutting” and the encourage-ment of the “wrong kind of entrepreneurship, which got us into this mess in the first place,” said Monks. The European social partners will once again put their heads together to work on a joint proposal to be included in the conclusions of the June European Council.

The ‘ten messages’ reveal, according to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, that “employment is the first concern” of the EU executive. “We want to act in our citizens’ interest,” Barroso said, adding that he would “ensure that the messages from this employment summit will have their echo during the European Council in June”.

The Commissioner for Employment, Vladimir Spidla, said he was satisfied with the meeting, adding that he was “not happy because that would be too much”. He described the employment summit as “important and necessary” in the light of improving European coordination. The

Commission will now draft a new commu-nication on the basis of the document on which the trio and the Commission agreed on 7 May. This communication will serve as preparation for the European Council in June and is to be published on 27 May.

“A STARTING POINT”ETUC’s John Monks called the meet-

ing “a starting point,” but said he wanted bigger recovery plans and more certainty that the financial market will really change. “If the European Union does not give a more vigorous response, this crisis may lead to nationalistic tendencies. And that will damage the cooperation between the countries in Europe,” Monks said after the meeting. “So, we know what the stakes are and we need to make sure that the European response is more ambitious.” In general, the unions want to have more and better jobs, more rights for workers, improvements to collective bargaining, more European solidarity and more social security.

All the European social partners pres-ent (ETUC, BusinessEurope, CEEP and UEAPME) at the employment summit have sent out proposals for addressing the problems caused by the crisis. The EU’s biggest business lobby, BusinessEurope, has identified ‘12 concrete measures to offset the effects of the crisis’. They call on the Council and the Commission to include the measures, which focus on

employment, growth and finance, in the June summit’s conclusions. Eurocham-bres has introduced a ‘Pact for sustainable jobs between all stakeholders to address the challenge of employment in the context of the current recession’.

“Urgent actions” were called for by UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers’ organisation. “European small businesses will not be able to maintain the current employment levels unless urgent actions are put in place,” the organisation said. UEAPME unveiled a one-page docu-ment detailing nine SME priorities, which set out the need for “access to finance and support to keep employment levels stable [...] alongside the need to ensure equal access for SMEs to labour market instruments and social protection tools”.

One of the messages agreed says that “actions by member states and social part-ners must aim at maintaining as many people as possible in jobs”.

A temporary adjustment of working hours can be an “effective policy option,” it says, “with the support of public fund-ing, including the European Social Fund (ESF)”. Working fewer hours “can be an opportunity for re-training to facilitate internal job transfers or transitions to other companies and/or sectors in line with flexicurity”. n

The messages are available at www.europolitics.info > Search = 249495

by marianne Slegers in prague

employmeNt Summit

unions refuse to sign ‘ten messages’



Diana Wallis is going on the campaign trail as a candidate to head the Liberal group and says she is confident of her chances of suc-cess. During the European Parliament’s last plenary session before the elections, from 4 to 7 May in Strasbourg, the British MEP went all out in her effort to communicate her intentions. The seat will, in fact, be empty in July, given that the current leader, Graham Watson, also British, is himself a candidate for the presidency of the European Parlia-ment. He has now announced that, if he is not elected, he is not counting on becoming

head of the ALDE group again. Wallis there-fore considers that, after having officiated as vice-president of the EP and having twice been president of the British delegation, the time has come for her to take on “new chal-lenges”. The context of the current crisis and the departure of the Tories from the EPP-ED to form a Eurosceptic group confirmed her decision. She explained, moreover, that she had received support from well-known Liberals, such as Neelie Kroes and Pat Cox. However, while the deputy is currently the only declared candidate, she will have to face other potential opponents, such as former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt,

who heads the list of the Flemish Liberals and could easily lay claim to the position unless he decides to return to Belgian politics. As for the German Liberals, they are expected to do well in June and could also put forward a candidate. But according to the latest devel-opments, the FDP has its sights on the seat of vice-president of the European Commis-sion instead. Wallis could, therefore, stand a chance of being elected. If this were the case, her presidency would be very different from that of Watson, she explained. Firstly because she is a woman, and the group has not been presided over by a woman since Simone Veil, from 1984 to 1989. n

The European Parliament’s plenary adopted, on 6 May in Strasbourg, the final package of measures of the institu-tion’s internal reform. Outgoing Presi-dent, German Conservative Hans-Gert Pöttering, welcomed this revision of the assembly’s rules of procedure, launched in January 2007 at his initiative.

The report by Richard Corbett (PES, UK) was approved by an overwhelming majority of 522 to 101 with 51 absten-tions. All the amendments related to the Lisbon Treaty were postponed to keep from influencing the Irish referendum this autumn. The Greens tried before the vote to have the text sent back to the Con-stitutional Affairs Committee, arguing that it contains measures likely to “make Parliament’s legislative activity more complicated in the future”. The Greens criticised in particular the possibility of organising joint meetings between EP committees on complex legislative issues affecting the prerogatives of several com-mittees, as was the case for the REACH regulation. They fear that such a system will end up using multiple rapporteurs - “probably one EPP and one PES” – who might table contradictory amendments in plenary and that Parliament’s position will be weakened as a result. The Greens also disapprove of the grant of new powers to the Conference of Group Chairmen. The

Conference of Committee Chairmen will, for example, be obliged to present recommendations for solving conflicts of competence between committees.

The plenary approved the changes all the same, as well as other measures, such as strengthening of the role of opinion-giving committees, clarification of the role of intergroups that unofficially bring together MEPs from different groups interested in specific issues, the possibility of introducing a proposal for rejection of a European Commission proposal at first reading or the possibility for MEPs to raise a blue card to be allowed to ask a question to a fellow member in plenary.

LE PEN PUShED ASIDEParliament also adopted a rather special

amendment that was added to the reform package. It concerns the inaugural ses-sion, on 14 July, which in principle was to be chaired by the oldest MEP. However, if re-elected, the oldest MEP on that date would be the French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. In the end, MEPs approved the amendment tabled by the EPP-ED and the PES calling for modification of the rules of procedure to do away with this tradition. From now on, “the outgoing president, or in the absence thereof, an outgoing vice-president, by order of pre-cedence, or failing that, the MEP having held office the longest” will perform the duties of the president until the proclama-

tion of the election of the new president.This general revision makes up the third

package of a reform initiated more than two years ago by the then newly-elected President Hans-Gert Pöttering. The whole reform was prepared by the working group on the internal reform of Parliament, led by German Social Democrat Dagmar Roth-Behrendt. n



europeAN pArliAmeNt

plenary endorses last package of ep internal reform

Alde

diana wallis sets eyes on liberal group presidency

pöttering takes stockThe president of the European Parlia-ment presented, on 7 May in Stras-bourg, as the assembly held its final plenary session before the elections, an assessment of his two and a half years at the head of the institution. Hans-Gert Pöttering mentioned the different subjects that advanced during his mandate, among them the energy-climate change pack-age, regulation of financial markets, relaunch of the institutional reform process, the creation of a new stat-ute for members’ assistants, the launch of the online EP television channel Europarltv and the project for a House of European History. The German Conservative, one of the few MEPs present in the EP since 1979, is standing for re-election in June. He heads the CDU list in Lower Saxony.



1�

The European Parliament con-demned, on 6 May, “the massive cam-paign of harassment, grave violations of human rights and all other illegal actions carried out by the Moldovan government in the aftermath of the par-liamentary elections, on 5 April”. The resolution, adopted in plenary in Stras-bourg by a very wide majority of 467 votes, stresses “the urgent necessity of setting up an independent committee of inquiry involving the EU, the Council of Europe’s Committee on the Preven-

tion of Torture and independent experts, to conduct an impartial and transpar-ent investigation”. The resolution also condemns “the campaign of harassment carried out by the Moldovan authorities against journalists, representatives of civil society and opposition parties” and regrets the decision of the authorities to introduce a visa regulation for citizens of Romania, an EU member state.

The resolution is based on the report by Parliament’s delegation, made up of Marianne Mikko (PES), Marie-Anne Isler-Béguin (Greens), Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP-ED) and Karin Resetar-

its (ALDE), which was in Moldova, from 26 to 29 April.

The MEPs, who stress the importance of close relations between the EU and Moldova, reiterate their “commitment to continue a meaningful dialogue” with the Moldovan government, but attach “great importance to measures relating to the functioning of rule of law and respect for human rights”. Parliament calls on the European Commission “to guarantee financing in the area of protection of fun-damental freedoms, including through the European instrument for democracy and human rights”. n

The European Parliament has asked to be consulted on the choice of the future European Commission president during the third week after the elections of 4-7 June. This timing implies postponement of the European Council to the end of June.

The request is made in the report by Jean-Luc Dehaene (EPP-ED, Belgium) on the Union’s future institutional bal-ance, adopted on 7 May in Strasbourg by 363 to 93, with 19 abstentions. The text was approved along with four other reports related to implementation of the Lisbon Treaty. The Dehaene report is nevertheless the most important politi-cally. It addresses in particular the tran-sitional period ahead, which will see the election of a new Parliament and the appointment of a new Commission. These transitions are complicated by the fact that they will straddle two treaties, Nice and Lisbon.

On the future Commission president, the European Council originally wanted to appoint a candidate on 18 June on the basis of the Nice Treaty. Parliament pro-posed to make the appointment in the spirit of the Lisbon Treaty, ie taking the election outcome into account and after carrying out appropriate consultations with the political groups. It nevertheless asked the member states to give Parlia-ment enough time to form its groups

and consequently proposed a new calen-dar. Since the next assembly will need at least two weeks to get organised, the consultations between the Council Pres-idency and the group leaders will have to be held during the “third week fol-lowing the elections”. Then “the Euro-pean Council will propose its candidate taking the result of these consultations into account”. This timing implies that the EU summit of 18-19 June will be postponed until 29 June, just before the EU Presidency is handed over from the Czechs to the Swedes. The EP will then endorse the choice at its inaugural ses-sion, on 15 July. The rest of the Com-mission will be appointed after the Irish referendum in the autumn, on the basis of the Lisbon Treaty.

ONE VOTE OF APPROVALThere is every reason to believe that

the Council will agree to this timing because while Parliament obtains the assurance of being consulted, it gives up the second vote of approval of the Commission president once Lisbon has entered into force. The approval proce-dure under Lisbon is more difficult than under Nice, since it requires qualified majority (half the number of MEPs plus one). Nice requires only a simple major-ity of those present. As a result, even with this calendar, the EPP candidate, President José Manuel Barroso, has

every chance of being confirmed.The Dehaene report also addresses

Parliament’s future composition. The elections will be held on the basis of Nice, which establishes 736 seats. But the European Council decided that transitional measures would be adopted as soon as possible to raise the number of members to 754 until the end of the 2009-2014 legislative period. Parliament considers that the application of these transitional measures will require a modification of the Lisbon Treaty, which provides for 751 seats. This change will also have to be ratified by the 27. The EP therefore asks the member states to take the legal provisions required for the ‘pre-election’ in June of these 18 addi-tional members (the difference between 754 and 736). They will sit as observers (without voting rights) from the date of entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and will take up their full powers once the changes to the treaty have been ratified in all the member states.

The other reports adopted are by Jo Leinen (PES, Germany) on the EP’s new responsibilities, Elmar Brok (EPP-ED, Germany) on developing relations between national parliaments and the EP, Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann (EUL-NGL, Germany) on the citizens’ initia-tive and Catherine Guy-Quint (PES, France) on the financial aspects of the Lisbon Treaty. n


by maria hincu

liSboN treAty

New timing for appointment of commission chief

eu/moldovA

parliament condemns moldovan government

1� Friday 8 May 2009 N° 3749 EUROPOLITIcs


In its ‘White paper on sport’, in 2007, the European Commission stated that sport accounts for 3.7% of EU GDP, and provides employment for 5.4% of the labour force. Additionally, there are around ten million volun-teers active in about 700,000 sports clubs throughout the EU. Sports content is also at the forefront of technological developments.

But whilst sports bodies and govern-ments have, for many years, under-stood and promoted the power of sports for good, the economics have been less clearly understood. When policy makers examined broadcast-ing and intellectual property issues, for instance, sport was not making its case. It has been in danger of losing out in major debates at national and EU level, and in other fora, such as the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). This is why, in February 2006, national, European and global sports organisations decided to do something. Today, the Sports Rights Owners Coalition (SROC) includes over 40 organisations. SROC brings together major sports organisations in the widest variety of sports from tennis, rugby, foot-ball, golf, athletics, motor sport, cricket, basketball, handball and racing.

The initial focus of SROC’s work at EU level has been to make sport’s case in broadcast policy development, particu-larly in addressing digital piracy of live broadcasts, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, Content Online and various copyright reviews. A succession of reports have listened to sport’s case and called for EU institutions to recognise, protect and promote the special nature of sport and sports rights.

One of the common causes right from the start of SROC was to campaign for a regime for sports betting that enables sport to protect its integrity, and establishes a fair return to grassroots and professional sports from betting operators. The recent vote in the European Parliament on the Schalde-mose report, on one of the newer market

challenges, online gambling, was the most recent example of sport’s case being taken on by policy makers. The huge ‘yes’ vote on the report was an important step forward.

Both the defenders of traditional

models across Europe and those seeking to establish open markets did not want to talk about the issues, for very different reasons. But as debate has opened up, our case has been made, understood and endorsed. Sports are neutral in terms of the legislative arrangements that structure different betting models in different coun-tries. Sports look for the two core issues of integrity and fair return to be addressed, whatever the model. As member states and EU policy makers look at chang-ing gambling and sports betting models, sport has argued that our interests must be addressed. Calls to open up markets with-out addressing how sport will be treated in this new market are missing the point, as leading voices in the European Parlia-ment have made very clear. Similarly, if fair return and integrity are established in a more open market, these are not reasons to block change.

The European Parliament vote on online gambling followed closely behind ground breaking moves by the French gov-ernment in their proposals to create a con-trolled opening of online sports betting. The proposal includes confirmation of a right, a sports event organiser’s right, that

any betting operator will have to respect. This is what sports called for. France is leading, and sports see it as a model for the whole of the EU and across the world. This right is there to protect integrity, and

to achieve fair return.For sport – and legitimate betting

operators of any kind - to respond to the challenges of match-fixing and corruption, a framework is needed to ensure cooperation by all par-ties, that is to say sports organisa-tions, betting operators and regula-tors. And that framework has to be based on contractual agreements as well as market regulation. With-out this clear legal framework, and without a contract within that framework, there is no obligation on a betting operator offering a bet on an event to share informa-tion with sports bodies when they detect irregular betting patterns. The establishment of initiatives,

such as the European Sports Security Association by a group of betting opera-tors, is a step in the right direction, but must be part of a clear contract-based framework to be truly effective.

A key issue for sports organisations is the ability to manage the risk levels of the betting that takes place on their events, an issue which is recognised in the French proposal. Under the new law, a competi-tion organiser would have to agree that a particular operator could offer a bet on the competition, and be able to control the type of bets through the agreements with these betting operators. One of the great-est fears of sports is ‘lay bets’, bets to lose, or bets on minor outcomes, which can be easily manipulated. The risks are seen as high at lower levels, and in minor competi-tions, where dealing with these threats has never been part of the culture.

SROC’s agenda is very broad, but vital for the promotion of something that citi-zens right across the EU see as hugely important, something to be protected and promoted - sport. n

(*) Nic Coward is chair of the Sports Rights Owners Coalition

by Nic coward (*)

opeN Forum

the case for sport – from broadcasting to betting

Coward: Integrity and fair return are two core issues

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eu AgendaFriday � maycouNcil oF miNiSterSmeetiNg oF coreper iBrussels

politicAl ANd Security committee (pSc)Brussels

Summit ‘SoutherN corridor- New Silk roAd’Prague An EU Troika, ie the Czech Presidency, the European Commission and the General Secretariat of the Council with representatives of the Southern Corridor countries.

reSeArch coNNectioN 20097-8 May, PragueContact : Martin Konecný, tel. +420 602 713 380, Email: [email protected] www.ec.europa.eu/research/rtd-2009

cuStomS uNioN workiNg pArty7-8 May, Prague

iNFormAl AttAchéS’ meetiNg oF the workiNg group oN iNterNAl & exterNAl FiSherieS policy7-9 May, Prague

iNFormAl meetiNg oF coreper ii7-10 May, Prague, Kutná Hora, Kladruby (Czech Republic)

europeAN commiSSioNtrAvel ANd viSitSn Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso participates at the international congress: Ideas of Europe/Ideas for Europe, Chemnitz (Germany)

n Mrs Margot Wallström in Sweden (08-09): receives the “Monismanien Award for freedom of expression” (Uppsala University); speaks at Uppsala University House: “Democracy and the European elections”; attends “Coffee and Commissioner” with Ms Zinat Pizadeh, Swedish-Iranian comedian, actress and writer, at the Europe Direct Office (Rinkeby/Kista) (08). Speaks at seminar with Mrs Ameila Adamo, founder of the Swedish Women’s Magazine Amelia, and Mrs Anna Zethraeus, Editor-in-chief of MAMA, Swedish Women’s Magazine: “Why vote in the European elections?”; attends discussion with Mrs Annika Ström Melin, Swedish author and journalist: “10 years as Commissioner”; attends “Discussions with young people” on the occasion of Europe Day, at the Sergel Square (Stockholm) (09)n Mr Günter Verheugen, participates in Europe Day activities (Warsaw)n Mr Antonio Tajani in Valletta, Malta: visits the President and Prime Minister of Malta and other government officials n Ms Danuta Hübner in Poland (08-09): gives a keynote speech “Technology Parks in the Landscape of the European Innovation and Regional Policies” on the occasion of the inauguration of Dolnoslaskie Technology Park in Szczawno Zdrój (Wałbrzych agglomeration); gives a speech “Regions of Europe: self-governance in the European cohesion policy” at the conference “Regions of Europe – self-governments in the realization of the European Cohesion policy”, organised by the Lower Silesian Chamber of Agriculture (Wrocław) (08, Lower Silesia). Attends 10th Schuman’s parade (09, Warsaw)n Mr Janez Potocnik in Ljubljana, Slovenia: attends the National Assembly session on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of enlargement (Slovenian National Assembly); lecture at the Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) n Mr Andris Piebalgs takes part in “The Southern Corridor – New Silk Road Summit” (Prague)

n Mr Leonard Orban in Budapest: participation in the conference “Enlargement: Five Years After - The State of European Integration and New Challenges for the Discipline” and meeting with the Rector of the Central European University, Professor Yehuda Elkana, and Professor Andrea Lenschow from the University of Osnabrueck, Germany at Central European University and meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister, Mr Péter Balázsn Mrs Androulla Vassiliou visits the Pallouriotissa High School in the occasion of the “Europe Day” celebration (Cyprus)

court oF FirSt iNStANceAppeals Chamber9:30n Hearing T-572/08 P Commission v Traore. Staff Regulations of Officials. Appeal against the judgment of the Civil Service Tribunal (Second Chamber) of 13 November 2008 in Case F-90 Traore v Commission, annulling the Commission’s decision rejecting the applicant’s candidature for the post of head of operations of the Commission’s delegation in Tanzania, and the decision to appoint another candidate to that post.

Saturday 9 maycouNcil oF miNiSterSiNFormAl AttAchéS’ meetiNg oF the workiNg group oN iNterNAl & exterNAl FiSherieS policy7-9 May, Prague


1� Friday 8 May 2009 N° 3749 EUROPOLITIcs


europeAN commiSSioNtrAvel ANd viSitSn Mr José Manuel Durão Barroso and Mr Louis Michel participate in the “Open doors day” of the European institutions (BERL - PE)n Mr Jacques Barrot participates in the commemoration of the anniversary of Robert Schuman (Paris)n Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner in Austria: attends the regional day and delivers a speech at the Diplomatic Academy (Vienna)n Mrs Meglena Kuneva in Sofia, Bulgaria: delivers a speech at the conference “My

Vote for My Europe”; attends a concert on the occasion of Europe Day n Mr Leonard Orban participates in the round table “The Launch of the European Institute in Romania’s (EIR) Strategy and Policy Studies-2008” at the Central University Library and participates in the opening event of the exhibition of European cartography at the Cotroceni Museum (Bucharest)

ecoNomic ANd SociAl committeeBrussels, EESC n Open Day 2009

Sunday 10 maycouNcil oF miNiSterSmiNiSteriAl coNFereNce oN the FiNANciAl SuStAiNAbility oF heAlth SyStemS10-12 May, Prague


www.SchumanSquare.eu

YOUR VIEWS CAN SHAPE EUROPE!

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19

in briefton van osch to head military StaffThe name of the next director-general of the Military Staff is now known: it is Ton Van Osch of the Netherlands. Military representative of the Netherlands to the EU and NATO since 2007, he has just been appointed, via a majority vote, by the European Union’s chiefs of general staff, meeting on 5 May in Brussels. While this decision still needs to be formally approved by the Council of Ministers, he is now expected to succeed Lieutenant-General David Leakey from spring 2010.

Annual crisis management exerciseTwo zones, Amberland and Beachland, fighting for domination of the border region; in the middle, a EUFOR military force responsible for separating the parties. Since 4 May, this is the imaginary scenario that has been surrounding the 4,000 European servicemen meeting in Ulm, Germany, for the European Union’s annual crisis management exercise, dubbed European Endeavour. The objective is to validate, essentially via computer-simulated military operations, the command and control capacities of the air force and the special forces, as well as an operation command post loaded by the EU. (NGV)

humanitarian aid to AfghanistanThe European Commission announced, on 6 May, that it had allocated €35 million in humanitarian aid to assist vulnerable people most affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters in Afghanistan. Beneficiaries also include Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has worsened over the last years due to the progressive deterioration of the security situation as well as several years of drought and other natural disasters, such as extreme cold spells. The aid granted on 6 May is additional to the amount of €60 million pledged by the European Commission during the recent donor conference in The Hague for 2009-2010 for strengthening governance and rural development. This pledge increased the assistance package of the European Commission for Afghanistan to €700 million for 2007-2010.

ep green light to � bn euro planThe European Parliament adopted, on 6 May in Strasbourg, the report by German Conservative Reimer Böge on modification of the financial framework 2007-2013. Adoption of the report marks its acceptance of the political compromise hammered out in March on the €5 billion European plan representing the EU budget contribution in 2009 and 2010 to economic recovery. A revision of the financial framework is essential for financing the package because €3.98 billion will be earmarked for energy interconnection projects and €1.02 billion for broadband internet connections and rural development. For the energy projects, €2 billion will be committed in 2009 as a result of a €2 billion increase in the ceiling of Subheading 1a (competitiveness) and an equivalent reduction in the ceiling of Heading 2 (agriculture). The revision of the financial framework makes this fund transfer possible. The Council had already agreed to the revision, on 27 April. The plenary also approved the same day the two amending budgets for 2009.

ep vote on assisting spousesThe European Parliament wants to make it compulsory for assisting spouses to have social security cover. The report by Astrid Lulling (EPP-ED, Luxembourg), adopted by the EP on 6 May, amends the draft directive on application of the principle of equal treatment for self-employed men and women, which repeals Directive 86/613/EEC. Assisting spouses are the spouses or life partners of self-employed workers recognised by national law, who are not employees or business partners but participate in the activities of the

parliament revises petitions procedureThe European Parliament is reviewing its petitions procedure. On 7 May in Strasbourg, it adopted a report by Gérard Onesta (Greens-EFA, France) that puts forward several amendments to the internal regulation. When a petition is signed by several natural or legal persons, the signatories must name a representative. Every petitioner has the right to withdraw his signature if he wants to. The EP must respond to citizens’ petitions in one of the twenty-three official languages but the Bureau (the president and the 14 vice-presidents) can decide that the petitions are edited in other languages used in a member state. If the responsible committee does nott reach an agreement on the admissibility of a request, the petition is declared admissible on the request of at least one-quarter of the committee members. Finally, petitions are public documents unless the petitioner asks for confidentiality.

partial nationalisation of commerzbank okayedThe European Commission approved, on 7 May, the partial nationalisation of Commerzbank. But, in return, Germany’s second bank will have to refocus on its core businesses, retail banking and corporate banking. Berlin will therefore be able to nationalise up to 25% of Commerzbank in exchange for a €10 billion capital injection, which will come on top of an initial inflow of €8 billion at the end of 2008. Commerzbank will have to cut back its investment banking and commercial real estate businesses with divestments that represent “roughly 45% of its current balance sheet total” valued at €1,100 billion. Its real estate subsidiary, Eurohypo, which has lost a lot of money, is on the list of assets for sale, but not the businesses in Eastern Europe that the press had said were threatened. The Commission also imposed a ban on it buying other financial institutions for three years and a suspension of dividend and interest payments to holders of hybrid capital.

self-employed worker. Maternity leave should be of the duration of their choice but should not exceed the length specified in Directive 92/85/EEC on the protection of pregnant workers. The latter directive is also undergoing revision. The text adopted is available at www.europarl.europa.eu/activities/plenary/ta.do?language=EN



The EU is struggling to assert its geopolitical weight in its relations with China, according to François Godement, director of the Asia Centre at the Political Science Institute in Paris. In conjunction with the second session of the high-level economic and trade dialogue between China and the EU, on 7-8 May in Brussels, and two weeks ahead of the summit, on 20 May in Prague, the specialist in Chinese affairs explains to Europolitics the difficulty for the 27 of speaking to Beijing with a single voice. The Asian giant is cleverly taking advan-tage of this weakness. China often treats the Union with “diplomatic scorn,” notes Godement in a report co-authored with John Fox and pub-lished last month by the European Council on Foreign Relations. The study denounces strategies that are often outdated and calls on Europe to be firmer and more united in its dealings with Beijing.

A Chinese delegation of 11 min-isters and vice-ministers, led by Deputy Prime Minister Wang Qishan, is currently meeting around ten Euro-pean commissioners, headed by Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton. A meeting with European business leaders is also scheduled, with the hope of strik-ing a better balance in bilateral trade relations.

Is the EU still taken seriously in Beijing?Yes and no. China wishes to resume the normal and ritual course of rela-tions, with its summits and declara-tions that confine European policy within a foreseeable framework: it fears the inconsistency and the public disad-vantages of European disorganisation. On the other hand, however, Europe

is not asserting any geopolitical weight, and this extends even to the economic sphere. The vagaries of the Czech EU Presidency, the approaching European

elections and a possible renewal of the Commission are not helping matters.

What is the Union’s main weakness in its relations with China?It is obviously the absence of coordi-nation among the member states and between the member states and the Commission compared with a partner as unified and capable of mobilisation as China. The problem will not be solved by a momentary commitment. Intra-European mechanisms and insti-tutions still need to be invented. Even the Lisbon Treaty, which strengthens the external representation mecha-nism, will not address the issue fully. The building of a single market and the use of a common currency by cer-

tain member states are not enough to provide unity of action. The scale of the Chinese economy and the govern-ment’s state interventionism call into

question the European logic.

Do you expect anything concrete to come out of the high-level eco-nomic and trade dialogue?If anything concrete emerges, it could be on treatment of the Euro-pean trade deficit or on China’s opening up of a sector to win over the Europeans. If that happens, it will be the result of a carefully thought out Chinese initiative, not a strong European initiative.

Can the global economic crisis change things and restore balance to EU-China relations?There is a paradox in this crisis. The countries whose structural imbalances brought on the crisis – China and the United States – have a unity of political action that helps them take the initiative in dealing with it. They can even place their weight on third coun-

tries or impose their solutions: that is the aim of the idea for a G2 (United States and China) recommended by some. Europe is much more stable in its real economy but also has less latitude due to its traditionally slow growth. It is also weaker politically, with a process of expansion that is not matched with sufficient political development of the Union.The crisis will only restore balance to relations in the short term if the trade deficit becomes politically untenable for Europe, sparking a confrontation. That is not what we want, so it is prefer-able for Europe to give itself the means of restoring balance on the longer term in a way that does not threaten the principle of reciprocal openness. n

by Sébastien Falletti

iNterview with FrANçoiS godemeNt, director oF ASiA ceNtre, politicAl ScieNce iNStitute, pAriS

eu struggling to assert its geopolitical weight against china

Godement: Momentary commitment no solution

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slots regulation page 12 page 20 elections 2009 EUROPOLITIcs · The partnership does not offer the pros-pect of EU membership, although it does not “prejudge the aspirations of