CAMERON’S EU REFORM DIVIDES EUROPEAN CONSERVATIVES

https://philipkyle.wordpress.com/2016/02/03/camerons-eu-reform-divides-european-conservatives/

As David Cameron attempts to negotiate a « better deal » for the United Kingdom in the EU, other European right-wing parties represented in the European Parliament worry about the effect of such negotiations for EU citizens at large.

She walks with a lot of confidence and energy. When she shakes your hand, you can’t help but feel the passion the 69 year-old still has for her role as a Member of the European Parliament. Françoise Grossetete has been a French Member of the Brussels chamber for over 20 years now. As the current First Vice-President of the European People’s Party (EPP) group, the largest political group in the European Parliament, she is both an influential and trusted member of the pro-European right-wing movement.  

Her eyes light up when quizzed about David Cameron and the EU referendum. Like many in the EPP group, she is not opposed to some of the reforms the British Prime Minister wants for Europe – on subsidiarity in particular. Grossetete goes so far as to say: “the EPP group is ready to support David Cameron in his quest to win the referendum”. But she warns there are “red lines which we will not cross”. Unsurprisingly she talks about one of the EU’s fundamental principles: the freedom of movement. With suggestions that freedom of movement of EU workers should be restricted, Cameron has had to endure much criticism not only from the European Left, but also the European Right who should be his natural allies in this pivotal battle for the future of the UK and the EU alike. 

In the European Parliament, Tory MEPs do not sit with many of their European conservative counterparts. In 2009, they decided to create a separate entity, the European Conservative and Reformist (ECR) group which brings together an odd mix of parties from countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands as well as the German AFD party whose leader recently suggested firearms should be used to prevent illegal border crossings. All parties in the ECR group have in common a eurosceptic – or eurorealist as they like to style themselves – approach to EU politics.

On some issues they are a natural ally to the EPP group. On others they struggle to find common ground. This seems to be very much the case with Cameron’s EU reform which he has promised to deliver ahead of the Brexit referendum. The Tory party’s own representatives in Brussels seem uneasy with the British Prime Minister’s asks. Most of them refused to comment the apparent tension which exists today with their EPP counterparts. The reason is quite straightforward: on a day-to-day basis they work very well together, but on wider issues such as the future of the EU, they do not succeed in seeing eye-to-eye.

Constance Le Grip, another French EPP MEP, former advisor to ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy, does not beat about the bush: “we are happy to negotiate but we do not want a British gun to our foreheads”. She adds that the “take it or leave it ultimatum is extremely clumsy”. As Grossetete, she likes to think Tories and EPP Members can find common ground. Franck Proust, another EPP MEP who was elected in the South of France, believes Cameron should be clearer in his intentions and regrets that up until now the British Prime Minister has been improvising, rather than presenting a real strategy. All three took part in a meeting last year between the French right-wing “Republican” MEPs and their Tory counterparts. Initial efforts to work together seem to have been stalled and there is a growing sentiment among EPP MEPs that Cameron’s requests have become unreasonable.

Pablo Zalba, a young and dynamic right-wing Spaniard, who sits on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, strategic to UK interests, offers a pragmatic view of Cameron’s intentions: “I don’t think he believes he will be able to obtain everything he is asking for. It is time to start working on compromises”. His Bulgarian colleague, Eva Paunova, very passionately argues that Cameron’s ideas on benefits for EU citizens are flawed, given that they do not have an automatic right under EU law to claim benefits when they arrive in another EU Member State.

Paunova sums up what many in the EPP group feel today: “we are ready to discuss in detail Mr. Cameron’s suggestions, to see if and how they can make all Europeans better off.” This is wishful thinking on their behalf. Cameron has promised to put UK interests first. Aligning UK interests with all European interests seems to be mission impossible. They will all have to work at it together though, if they want to salvage any chance of keeping the UK in the EU.

The capital markets union

http://neurope.eu/article/the-capital-markets-union/

The European Commission, from the beginning of its mandate in October 2014, has made it clear that the priorities are to strengthen the European economy and stimulate investment in order to create jobs. In this context, Jean-Claude Juncker, supported by the Council and the European Parliament, launched the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI).

 

In line with the objectives of the new European Commission and the proposals of the President of the European Commission, it is the responsibility of Commissioner Hill to lead the creation of a Capital Markets Union (CMU) for the 28 Member States, the roadmap was published in late September.

It should be recalled that the free movement of capital is one of the fundamental pillars on which the European Union was created. But, despite the progress made over the last 50 years, European capital markets continue to be relatively underdeveloped and fragmented. 

World trade talks in MC10: MEPs ask for substantive progress in "Doha round"

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20151126IPR04955/html/World-trade-talks-in-MC10-MEPs-ask-for-substantive-progress-in-Doha-round

Substantive progress towards concluding the staggering "Doha Round" has to be made during the next round of world trade talks, say MEPs in a non-legislative resolution adopted by the European Parliament on Thursday, ahead of the Tenth Ministerial World Trade Conference (MC10) in Nairobi (Kenya), which will take place on 15-18 December this year.

In the resolution, adopted by 500 votes in favour, 125 against and 23 abstentions, MEPs urge the EU to continue leading towards a swift and full conclusion of the longstanding Doha Development Round, launched back in 2001. They add that a "review of the level of ambition" may be needed to achieve realistic results.

MEPs stress that Nairobi must be a success for developing countries, with development at the centre of the world trade talks and full account taken of the special needs of developing and least developed countries. In attempts to liberalize the world trade, nevertheless, account has to be taken on the sensitivity of some sectors such as agriculture.

Reform the WTO

In the resolution MEPs ask for a structural reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to better guarantee an open, fair and non-discriminatory trading system based on shared and applied rules, which takes greater account of SMEs, micro-enterprises and innovative start-ups.

They say that the WTO and its rules have been essential to avoid "fully fledged and widespread protectionism" after the 2008 financial and economic crisis, however, they add that of the 1 244 restrictive measures recorded since the onset of the crisis, only 282 have been removed, and there was need for more action against such measures. "Failure to upgrade rules may lead to new and innovative ways of protecting domestic markets and producers", MEPs warn.

Plurilateral talks

Whereas MEPs remain fully committed to the "the enduring value of multilateralism", they commend the progress made to date on "plurilateral" initiatives, in particular the Trade Facilitation Agreement, ratified by MEPs in October this year, and call upon all WTO members to ratify it so that it can enter into force before still before the MC10.

They nevertheless remind that the ultimate objective of plurilateral deals was to bring in a critical mass of WTO members and "multilateralise them".

Involve parliaments

MEPs call on the Commission and Council to involve the EP closely in preparations for the MC10, and, if necessary, consulted MEPs during the Ministerial Conference. They also call other WTO members to strengthen the parliamentary dimension of the WTO and ensure that parliamentarians all over the world have better access to trade talks.

Background

The Tenth Ministerial WTO Conference will take place in Kenya from 15 to 18 December 2015 - the first time a WTO Ministerial Conference is held in an African country.

A delegation of 10 MEPs, led by EP's Trade committee chair Bernd Lange (S&D, DE) will attend the world trade talks Nairobi round.

The EU remains world's region with the most far-reaching parliamentary power over trade legislation.

EP CONCLUDES AMENDMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN PROPOSAL FOR WTO TRADE FACILITATION AGREEMENT

http://www.eubrasil.eu/en/2015/10/07/ep-concludes-amendments-of-the-european-proposal-for-wto-trade-facilitation-agreement/

This week the European Parliament (EP) published the amendments made to the European proposal already approved for the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is being ratified within the World Trade Organization (WTO). With the European Parliament step completed, the proposal goes to the European Council for approval by Member States. Only after that, the European Union will be ready for the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference (MC10) in Nairobi in December 2015 and will conclude the Doha Round.

The rapporteur of the proposal is the MEP Pablo Zalba Bidegain (Group of the European People’s Party – Christian Democrats) Vice-Chair of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), Co-Chair of the EP Delegation to the WTO and member of the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (DLAT).

The Trade Facilitation Agreement is a package of measures that covers issues including advanced rulings, transparency, goods in transit, specific issues responding to the concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and simplifying customs formalities. The agreement was negotiated in Bali (Indonesia) in December 2013 in a multilateral context but it wasn’t until December 2014 that it became part of the WTO law. To enter into force, two-thirds of the 161 WTO members will have to ratify the Agreement. Both the EU and the United States have committed to make it happen.

EUBrasil: What are the advances of the project that you wrote?

Zalba Bidegain: The Trade Facilitation Agreement is a very important achievement for the WTO. We are dealing with an agreement that if is to be defined with one word, that would be innovative. Innovative in the way it addresses trade facilitation, supporting greater transparency and proposing a special and differential treatment for non-developed and developing countries. The Agreement constitutes a tool to boost trade among WTO member countries, to fight border corruption and to encourage small and medium enterprises through a reduction in bureaucratic costs and a better access to information.

EUBrasil: WTO members are already working for countries to ratify this agreement before the end of the year. So far, how many countries have ratified the TFA?

Zalba Bidegain: To date, 18 members (Hong Kong, Singapore, United States, Mauritius, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, Korea, Nicaragua, Niger, Taipei, Switzerland, China, Liechenstein, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Belize) ratified the Protocol which incorporates the Trade Facilitation Agreement in Annex 1st of the WTO Agreement. It is a process that takes time because each member country has to ratify the Protocol internally, and, in cases such as the EU, it is necessary to get a clear and joint position among all 28 member states. I believe that we will reach and surpass the two-thirds needed given that many countries pledged to ratify the Protocol.

EUBrasil: The Trade Facilitation Agreement reduces the transaction costs of foreign trade, but some say it is much more symbolic than effective, and also add it is a way to divert attention from the central issues of the Doha Round and its possible failure. What is your opinion on these considerations?

Zalba Bidegain: There is no doubt the new approach that the Agreement is taking is symbolic, however it is not symbolic solely for its effectiveness. The agreement plans a differential treatment for underdeveloped and developing countries, allowing them to implement the provisions of the Agreement in a more flexible way according to their technical resources. To achieve implementation speed, developed countries will provide technical assistance to countries in need.

This approach leads to more developing countries being “encouraged” to ratify the Trade Facilitation Agreement and thus enjoying greater efficiency. The Doha Round began in 2011 with a focus on developing countries. If the Trade Facilitation Agreement achieves broad implementation, I believe we can qualify it as progress rather than a failure.

EUBrasil: Considering that the central theme of the Doha Round is agriculture, what can we expect from Nairobi for the global liberalization round not to be considered a failure?

Zalba Bidegain: We are facing a complex dilemma. On the one hand, in a globalized world, it is desirable to move forward on the multilateral level in order to involve as many countries as possible, but at the same time, it is increasingly difficult to get agreements between such diverse cultures and economies. I believe that the WTO is functioning well. The results to be obtained during the Nairobi Conference will depend largely on the willingness to work and reach a compromise that countries can embrace in December.

There is a consensus to proceed first with the Trade Facilitation Agreement in order to implement the rest of the package of measures adopted in Bali. We are talking about very sensitive issues, such as the subject of food reserves. Now we have to focus our efforts on achieving third party ratification of the Agreement by of the WTO members in order to know how far they can get in the negotiations on agriculture.

EUBrasil: How does the European Parliament see the three pillars of trade: elimination of export subsidies, market access and reduction of domestic subsidies?

Zalba Bidegain: The European Parliament supports the liberalization of world trade, as it has demonstrated in successive free trade agreements that the EU signed with other countries and regions. I have no doubt that regional mega agreements – such as TTIP or TPP- cannot be seen as damaging to multilateral agreements, but quite the opposite. Regional agreements have always existed, considering it was only recently that multilateralism has become less effective. We are trying to alleviate this shortage with the agreements as the TFA.

In this sense, I believe that the advances that we can get in agreements such as the TTIP, will serve as a testing ground to know what formulas may work better multilaterally – both for the elimination of subsidies, market access and reduction of domestic subsidies as well as in new areas.

EUBrasil: Nowadays is there any difference between the position of the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission with regard to what will be discussed in Nairobi?

Zalba Bidegain: As a major trading bloc, we have to show responsibility and do everything possible so that the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi is a success. The three are working together to be able to reach the goals.

No Madrid usciranno dalla UE Un rischio per tutti

«La Catalogna è europea perché è spagnola. Artur Mas ha ingannato molti catalani, continuando a dir loro: da indipendenti, resteremo sempre nella Ue. Ma non è così. Se Barcellona dichiarerà unilateralmente l’indipendenza dalla Spagna, la sua uscita dalla Ue sarà inevitabile, automatica. E sarà un rischio per tutta l’Unione». 

Pablo Zalba Bidegain, eurodeputato spagnolo del Partito popolare e vicepresidente della Commissione Affari economici e monetari all’Europarlamento, si dice «molto preoccupato» dai venti di secessione che soffiano da Barcellona. E non certo perché lui viene dalla Navarra. Lo preoccupano i riflessi sull’Europa intera. 

Perché? «Perché l’Europa vuole oggi abbattere le frontiere, non costruirne di nuove. Unire, e non creare fratture. E portare avanti l’idea federale, con gli Stati che cedono più sovranità all’Unione. Una dichiarazione di indipendenza catalana andrebbe esattamente nel senso opposto». 

Non pensa che Bruxelles, maestra di negoziati, potrebbe alla fine negoziare un’«uscita morbida» dalla Spagna per Mas e i suoi? «Impossibile. Sono gli stessi Trattati dell’Ue a sancire il destino di chi vuol secedere dal proprio Paese. E poi, la Catalogna ha una sua grande vocazione europea. Ma lo ripeto: è europea perché è spagnola». 

È ancora possibile un dialogo con Madrid? «Certo che sì: il governo popolare di Rajoy ha sempre la mano tesa verso Barcellona, è sempre pronto ad ascoltare e a parlare. Purché il dialogo resti entro i limiti della legalità: e cioè, che non vi siano dichiarazioni e iniziative unilaterali». 

La vostra memoria storica racchiude anche sangue e violenza: c’è il rischio di una nuova guerra civile? «Assolutamente no. A Barcellona devono soltanto formare un governo e poi cercare di risolvere i problemi concreti, quotidiani, dei loro cittadini: primo, combattere la disoccupazione; secondo, generare la stabilità necessaria perché arrivino gli investimenti, anche dall’estero». 

Ma la Catalogna ha anche le sue risorse. Non potrebbe avere una sua autonomia economica, se lasciasse Madrid? «No. Pensi solo che, in un caso del genere, tutte le sue imprese dovrebbero cominciare a pagare i dazi per esportare i loro prodotti nel resto della Spagna, o dei Paesi Ue».

 Eppure conta anche il voto popolare, la democrazia diretta... «Sì. Ma a Barcellona, come tutti sappiamo, i sostenitori dell’indipendenza hanno avuto in realtà meno voti di quelli che non la vogliono. Poi hanno vinto con i seggi, per via della legge elettorale. Però io continuo a credere nella vocazione europea dei catalani». 

Corrirere from pablozalba

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http://www.nextquotidiano.it/se-la-catalogna-lascia-la-spagna-uscira-dallunione-europea/