Jan
29
List of Sherpas for EU Constitution negotiations
January 29, 2007 | 6 Comments
It is German EU policy at its best: keep the process as intransparent and secret as possible, name high-level bureaucrats for the negotiations and keep the interested public out of sight. This is how Angela Merkel wants to prepare the Berlin Declaration as well as the road map for a Constitutional settlement. The German Foreign [...]
Jan
25
Time table for Constitution discussion of Sherpas
January 25, 2007 | 1 Comment
Today I came across Honor Mahony’s article on EUobserver, where she presents the German presidency’s timetable for the Sherpa negotiations: “Until 25 March, the EU’s 50 birthday, all discussion between “focal points” – as the letter describes the member state appointees – is to focus on the anniversary declaration. The first meetings are running already [...]
Jan
24
My first words to Wallström and Barroso
January 24, 2007 | 3 Comments
Commissioner Wallström had invited this morning some of the big Brussels-based NGOs to a stakeholder discussion (among them JEF) on the Communication policy, the upcoming “Berlin Declaration” as well as the general way forward with the Constitution (at least this is what the invitation said). However, in their introductions Wallström and a surprise visitor Barroso [...]
Jan
20
Germans want Constitution showdown in 2007
January 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment
This ending week has seen some major re-activation of the Constitutional process on different fronts. Firstly, we have seen the re-shuffles in the EP which brought Pöttering into the chair. Even though he often appears uncritically close to Merkel and her Berlin crew, there is good ground to hope that he uses his 28-year-long experience [...]
Jan
10
EU must lead the way in Energy Innovation (Press Release)
January 10, 2007 | 1 Comment
The Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe) welcome the Commission’s proposal for common energy restrictions, presented on the 10th of January 2007. The climate challenge clearly demonstrates the importance of European and international federal structures and common global solutions. However, the common restrictions must only be a first step towards clear internal energy policies within the EU. [...]
Jan
5
(EU) Institutions should also matter to economic liberals
January 5, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Today’s press review at work included a challenging Opinion article from the International Herald Tribune (IHT) of January 4th 2007. It is written by Vladimir Dlouhy (former Czech political adviser) and Bill Emmott (former editor of the Economist) and called “The best idea: do nothing“. You can find the whole article on the IHT’s website. [...]
Jan
4
Kommission muss kleiner werden – Verheugen hat recht!
January 4, 2007 | 2 Comments
Endlich spricht es mal einer so deutlich – und zum richtigen Zeitpunkt – aus: Ja, die Kommission muss kleiner werden! Was Verheugen gestern im ZDF Morgenmagazin gesagt hat, ist ein zentraler Punkt der Überarbeitung der Verfassung. Auch wenn der Verfassungsvertrag schon ein Rotationsverfahren vorsah, stimme ich Verheugen zu, dass man dies eigentlich noch weiter fassen [...]
Jan
2
CAP reform: slowly but…
January 2, 2007 | 2 Comments
The more time she has to develop her policies, the better is my impression of Commissioner Fischer Boel. The Financial Times reports on 30th December (find the article here) that she acknowledges the end of full farmer salaries through CAP subsidies. Fischer Boel foresees that farmers will in the future receive parts of their pay [...]
Jan
1
Sprüche 2006
January 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Zitate zum schreihen, weinen, trauern, freuen, lachen, nachdenken… Zum Thema Türkeibeitritt: “Nehmt meine zwei Frauen, aber bitte lasst mir meine Hühner. Sie sind mein ein und alles.” – Türkischer Bauer nach Ausbruch der Vogelgrippe. Zum Thema Lebenslügen der CDU: “Wir müssen uns von der Lebenslüge verabschieden, dass niedrigere Steuern automatisch zu mehr Investitionen und damit [...]
Jan
1
German EU presidency – a playground for domestic politics
January 1, 2007 | 2 Comments
Any EU policy is ultimately a domestic national (if not regional) policy in Germany. Whatever the world and EU members might expect of the German EU and G8 presidencies in the first half of 2007, the scope of manouevre is limited by the grand coalition’s ability to unite domestically. In that sense, I find the [...]