European Union - General discussion

[spyretto]

Originally Posted by coolasfcuk

well, congratulations to me i guess, Bulgaria is part of the EU from today ... wether we were really wanted or not

You didn't want to ?
Well, to be honest I think the move was a little premature, but so were those of 2004.
It'll take a while for the new member states to be frully integrated.

[freddie]

And we officially accepted Euro as our national currency. Goodbye tolar, hello confusion and high-value steel coins.

Bank of Slovenia declared our citizens functionally unable to perform simple multiplications and proceeded with it's plan of sending everyone a daft little pocket calculator, which makes direct Euro-Tolar conversions. Sadly though it turns out people who're thick enough to have problems with simple "Euro-amount-times-239" calculations are also the ones who're having problems operating a pocker calculator. Go figure.

[haku]

The EU parliament has officially condemned the CIA renditions conducted by many EU states.

For several years, people in Europe have been illegally abducted, detained and tortured with the complicity of our own governments, you would expect such behavior from the Gestapo, the Stasi or the Securitate, not from modern law enforcement agencies, i applaud the EU parliament for officially condemning those outrageous activities.
Shame on those who have collaborated with those operations and decided that violating EU laws and people's basic rights was worth it just to please the US government, it's a disgrace and an insult to everything the EU stands for.

[haku]

France set to overtake Germany as biggest EU state

[Talyubittu]

Originally Posted by haku

France set to overtake Germany as biggest EU state

good thing i'm learning both languages haha. interesting article - thanks for posting it.

[haku]

The EU parliament is to investigate an anti-homosexual law that is currently being drafted by the Polish government. If Poland was to pass such a law, it would violate EU anti-discrimination rules and would lead to sanctions.

Unfortunately the current Polish government has been dangerously drifting into far-right fundamentalist views, causing concern in other EU states.
For example Poland has recently proposed that a reference to "god, christianity, and creationism" be added to European common values in the text celebrating the 50th anniversary of the EU, that proposal has of course been rejected.

[QueenBee]

That's just disgusting

[Talyubittu]

Originally Posted by QueenBee

That's just disgusting

Ya...very.

[haku]

50 reasons to love the European Union
As the EU celebrates its anniversary, The Independent looks at 50 benefits it has brought, and asks: "What has Europe done for us?"

1. The end of war between European nations
While rows between England, France and Germany have been a feature of EU summits, war between Europe's major powers is now unthinkable. The fact that the two world wars that shaped the last century now seem so remote is, in itself, tribute to a visionary project that has permanently changed the landscape. As the EU celebrates the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome it is clear that while the detailed topography will always be difficult to agree, it is an extraordinary achievement that we are standing on common ground.

2. Democracy is flourishing in 27 countries
Spain, Portugal, Greece, and the EU's 10 ex-Communist countries are parliamentary democracies. None of these nations were truly free in the decades following the Second World War. Each is now a democracy anchored within the EU and is unlikely to change course.

3. Once poor countries like Ireland, Greece and Portugal prospering
EU subsidies well spent have been crucial to the lift-off of the Irish economy. Once firmly in Britain's economic shadow, the Celtic tiger has emerged. Gross domestic product per capita in Ireland in 2005 was 137.1 per cent of the EU average, compared to 116.8 per cent in the UK.

4. The creation of the world's largest internal trading market
The 27-nation EU now around 500m people making it the world's largest economic trading bloc. By comparison the US has a population of around 300m. The old EU 25 had 19.2 per cent of the World's exports as compared with 14.4 per cent from the US. This gap is set to grow following the last enlargement in January to 27 member states.

5. Shopping without frontiers has given consumers more power
European consumers can buy goods for their own use in whichever EU country they choose - in person, on the internet, over the telephone, or by mail order - without paying additional taxes. This competition is driving down prices and increasing quality

6. Co-operation on continent-wide immigration policy
Though EU countries set immigration levels the EU is increasingly active in the fight against illegal migration and in trying to match the labour needs of European countries to the supply of migrants. On the downside, the EU is increasingly an impregnable fortress and many lose their lives trying to get here by boat from Africa

7. Crime-busting co-operation, through Europol
This provides a clearing house for EU police forces. The police in EU member states can now use an EU arrest warrant to get suspects moved from one country to another where they will face serious charges without lengthy extradition procedures.

8. Laws which make it easier for British people to buy property in Europe
It may not be good for the environment but access to second homes a short-haul flight away has fulfilled the dreams of millions of Britons. Retirement or regular holidays from the south of Spain to the east of Bulgaria has become a reality for many and a legally safeguarded one at that.

9. Cleaner beaches and rivers throughout Europe
EU law and peer pressure - including annual reports - have forced the UK to clean up its act, for example bringing the once-dirty waters off Blackpool beach up to standard. The first EU legislation was passed in 1976 with two more pieces in 2002 and 2006. Now you can monitor the quality of bathing water by checking on a website.

10. Four weeks statutory paid holiday a year for workers in Europe
The EU Working Time Directive ensures that all Europeans get at least four weeks of paid holiday per year. In the US many workers get a fortnight. The same directive provides for 11 hours rest in every 24 and one day of rest per week plus a rest break if the working day is longer than six hours. Minimum standards are set for paid maternity and paternity leave.

11. No death penalty (incompatible with EU membership)
No EU member state has the death penalty and reintroduction of capital punishment would not be compatible with EU membership. Even countries outside the EU are having to review their policies if they want to be considered for membership of the club, most notably Turkey.

12. Competition means cheaper phone calls
Since the liberalisation of telecommunications in the 1980s loosened the grip of the monopolies, prices have plummeted. The European Commission says the cost of international calls in the EU has fallen by 80 per cent since 1984.

13. Small EU bureaucracy (24,000 employees, fewer than the BBC)
Despite the eurosceptic claims, the number of EU officials is surprisingly small. After the scandal of 1999 when the Brussels based European Commission resigned, strict new rules were imposed on spending.

14. Making the French eat British beef again
When the BSE crisis subsided and British meat was judged safe, the European Court of Justice ordered France to resume imports. France contested the ruling but had no alternative in the end. By contrast, the US retains an embargo.

15. Minority languages, like Irish, Welsh and Catalan recognised and protected
Minority languages are gaining recognition. Be it Irish, Welsh or Catalan, minority languages are getting a greater role thanks to the EU which even has a Commissioner for Multilingualism. Irish became an official language of the EU this year. Catalans have lesser language rights because their tongue is official only in one part of Spain, their member states. The EU - with 23 official languages - is doing more to keep lesser tongues alive than some individual member states.

16. Europe is helping to save the planet with regulatory cuts in CO2
The EU has announced the most ambitious targets for curbing carbon emissions, promising a cut of at least one-fifth on 1990 levels by 2020. Other parts of the world are being challenged to follow suit. The EU also has blazed a trail with its carbon emissions trading system which, despite teething troubles, is still a model for other parts of the world.

17. One currency from Bantry to Berlin (but not Britain)
The Euro is now the only real alternative to the dollar on the international stage. You can travel throughout 13 countries and use one currency. Slovenia became the 13th and latest nation to join the single currency this year. Several more nations have yet to meet the necessary criteria.

18. Europe wide bans on tyrants like Robert Mugabe
Smart sanctions on the Zimbabwean President and his cronies have been negotiated through the EU and prevent those on a list from visiting all 27 nations. Though countries differ in the way they believe the EU should treat the government in Harare, they all agreed to renew the sanctions for another year.

19. The EU gives twice as much aid to developing countries as the US
The European Union and its member states paid out more than ?43bn in 2005 in public aid to developing countries. This is the equivalent of 0.34 per cent of GNP of the 25 member states, and is higher than the per capita aid levels of the United States at around 0.2 per cent. More than ?7bn is channelled through the EU.

20. Strict safety standards for aircraft
Airlines deemed to be unsafe are now banned from travelling into any EU country. Recently some of Pakistan's national carrier were barred because of safety fears.

21. Free medical help for tourists
Any citizen of a European country is entitled to free medical treatment if he or she is taken ill or suffers an accident in another member state. So long as you carry the correct form from your national health service, no questions will be asked.

22. EU peace-keepers operate throughout the world
The EU is building its crisis intervention force and has taken over operations in Bosnia from Nato. EU forces have also been in action in Africa helping avert humanitarian crises. In addition the EU has a big policing project.

23. easyJet and Ryanair can fly anywhere without national rules protecting high cost flag carriers due to liberalisation of air travel
easyJet and Ryanair can fly anywhere without the national rules protecting high-cost flag carriers due to liberalisation of air travel. Any airlines granted a licence in an EU country - meeting safety standards and other conditions - can operate services anywhere within the EU. Between 1992 and 2000 prices at the cheaper end of the market fell by 40 per cent.

24. Introduction of pet passports
Since 2004 travelling across borders with pets has been easier. In addition to pet passports with a vaccination certificate pets require permanent identification which can be either a tattooed code on the skin or a microchip which can be read by a special machine. In the future the microchip is likely to be obligatory.

25. It will soon take only two hours from London to Paris by Eurostar
The Channel Tunnel, and high-speed lines in France and now Britain are not, properly speaking, EU projects. However, the tunnel was built partly as a means of reducing the mental barriers between Britain and the Continent. With the opening of the final section of Britain's fast line to St Pancras this year, trains will travel to Paris in two hours.

26. Prospect of EU membership has forced modernisation on Turkey
The presence of an affluent and stable bloc to its west has given the modernisers in Turkey the ally they needed to create a democratic constituency for change. That change has been pushed through with the promise of a European future.

27. Unparalleled rights for European consumers
Any consumer can send back a product if it breaks down within two years of purchase. Manufacturers often claim that they offer only a 12 month guarantee, but EU law states otherwise and consumers are demanding their rights.

28. Study programmes and cheap travel means greater mobility for Europe's youth
Through the Erasmus programme, in the 2003-4 academic year, 7,500 UK students spent between three and 12 months at a university in one of the other member states.

29. Food labelling is much clearer
All ingredients used in food products must be listed. Any GM ingredients must be mentioned as must colouring, preservatives and other chemical additives.

30. End of the road for border crossings (apart from in the UK)
Frontier posts have been abandoned between the 15 countries that have implemented the Schengen accords. This agreement means that EU nationals crossing most borders in continental western Europe do not need to show passports. The newer nations plan to join in soon.

31. Compensation for air delays
Passengers must get immediate help if their flight is delayed by more than a few hours, cancelled without notice or if they are denied boarding because the plane is overbooked. The carrier must make alternative travel arrangements unless the passenger asks for their money back instead. Depending on the length of the delay they must provide food and refreshments and accommodation if necessary.

32. Strict ban on animal testing for the cosmetic industry
Since November 2004 the EU has banned animal testing on finished cosmetic products entirely. Remaining safety testing on animals of ingredients for cosmetics will be ended.

33. Greater protection for Europe's wildlife
Tough European laws protect birds, flora and fauna, although the EU bird directive is widely flouted in southern Europe, particularly in Malta where 2m migratory birds are shot each year, including 80 protected species which are shot or trapped by hunters.

34. Regional development fund has aided the deprived parts of Britain
Some of the UK's poorest regions have benefited from massive handouts from the EU which has been used to regenerate some of the country's most run-down areas. Scotland's Highland and Islands have benefited enormously as have the Welsh mining valleys, Cornwall and deprived inner cities like Liverpool.

35. European driving licences recognised
Driving licences issued in one EU country are valid in any other, providing they are modern, EU-standard, ones with a photo identity. This means that the old days of having to gain translations for a UK permit to drive in Italy are over.

36. Britons now feel a lot less insular
A famous newspaper headline (perhaps apocryphal) once read "Fog in Channel; Continent Cut Off". Remember the 1960s, when Ostend seemed like an exotic destination? EU membership has not dried up the English Channel but is has helped to remove the psychological barriers between Britain and the continent.

37. Europe's bananas remain bent, despite sceptics' fears
The suggestion that the EU wanted to impose straight bananas, or blue bananas, or ban all but Caribbean bananas, is one of the oldest of Euro-myths. Obsessive euro-harmonisation of rules is a thing of the past.

38. Strong economic growth - greater than the US last year
The EU's ambition to overtake America economically by 2010 has been ridiculed. The German economy has picked up with the UK and Nordic nations are performing strongly. Even Italy, thought to be in dire straits last year, is clocking up reasonable growth. The European Commission said it expects the economy of the 27-nation European Union to grow 2.7 per cent this year, ahead of the US's estimated 2.5 per cent

39. Single market has brought the best continental footballers to Britain
The Bosman ruling, based on European law, and other decisions, have freed up football transfers. From Eric Cantona to Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo, British fans have been enjoying watching Europe's finest talent for the past 15 years.

40. Human rights legislation has protected the rights of the individual
The introduction of the Human Rights Acts has provided a legal framework to prevent abuses of power.

41. European parliament provides democratic checks on all EU laws
The European Parliament, directly elected since 1979, has been given increased powers over the years. The parliament has made a significant impact in areas ranging from the environment to animal rights.

42. EU gives more, not less, sovereignty to nation states
Switzerland and Norway, two independent countries have little or no negotiating leverage when they deal with the EU. In fact they have less sovereignty than member states who decide the policy. Britons are more able to control their own destiny - in areas from international trade, to environmental protection, to consumer rights - because they are part of a 27 nation, democratic bloc. Real sovereignty, rather than theoretical sovereignty, is enhanced by EU membership.

43. Maturing EU is a proper counterweight to the power of US and China
As it develops common foreign and defence policies, the EU is finding its voice. Europe's interests and those of America and the emerging powers, such as China and India, will sometimes coincide, sometimes conflict. Could Britain's interests be protected if we stood alone or if we became a junior partner of the US?

44. European immigration has boosted the British economy
Hundreds of thousands of Poles commute between Poland and Britain. More surprisingly the economies of both countries are booming. The UK economy has benefited from a surge of well-qualified, highly motivated workers.

45. EU common research programme
Job opportunities and Europe-wide access to education mean there really are Europeans now who see the need to speak at least three modern languages.

46. Europe has set Britain an example how properly to fund a national health service
Some continental countries have health funding problems but several, the Dutch in particular, provide quality care while keeping down costs. It took the EU to rule that British patients had a right to seek care abroad.

47. British restaurants now much more cosmopolitan because of European influences
Britain has become - let us admit it - a more continental country in the last 34 years. We now care about what we eat. Nowhere has this been more marked than in the quality and variety of food being offered in our restaurants.

48. Mobility for career professionals throughout Europe
Professionals from doctors to architects now have a right to have their national qualifications recognised across the EU. Language and cultural barriers will always remain a problem for professionals but there are can no longer be purely protectionist obstacles to a career in another EU country.

49. Europe has revolutionised British attitudes to food and cooking
Despite major drawbacks, the bloated Common Agricultural Policy has enabled small family farmers to flourish in Europe. Its support has led to the birth of the Slow Food movement and arrival in British towns of farmers markets, growing with quality organics produce. Bon appetit!

50. Lists like this drive Eurosceptics mad
In the Daily Mail-Sun universe, the EU can never do any good. Brussels is an insane bureaucracy, which secretly plots to have all donkeys painted blue (with yellow stars). The 50th birthday of the European project is a time to celebrate the many positive things which the EU has brought us.

The Independent (UK)

[dradeel]

Originally Posted by haku

50 reasons to love the European Union

I enjoyed reading this. Just confirms my wish for Norway to someday join EU - hopefully not in too many years...

Originally Posted by haku

50. Lists like this drive Eurosceptics mad

[spyretto]

3. Once poor countries like Ireland, Greece and Portugal prospering
.

Dunno about Ireland and Portugal but I wouldn't call what's happening in Greece right now "prospering". Oh yeah the big corps and the banks prosper but the common people are relying on loans that are gonna have a tough time repaying as they're passed on to their kids and maybe the grand-kids. So this is a side-effect of the overt capitalism coming to our country - live a life on loans and don't care about tomorrow, an unknown situation until recently to the traditionally economicaly-modest-small-means-surviving Greek. Well, not anymore...

Spain, Portugal, Greece, and the EU's 10 ex-Communist countries are parliamentary democracies

This is a bit nonsensical too, Greece has uninterrupted democracy since 1974. Monarchy and the junda were all pre-1974. The guy is abviously not well informed as far as Greece is concerned.
Greece had applied to be a member state since the late 50's when the whole thing started - that didn't stop the junda taking power in their hands. The membership talks resumed after Greece got rid of the dictators and re-installed democracy, so I guess the European Community at the time were unable to prevent anything.
Things are getting hairy between Greece and the Turks again, well we'll see what the EU can prevent this time around.

The stuff about Britain, most of them seem close to the truth ( food and health services in particular ). But is food and restaurants really that important? I mean getting a better health service to follow the examply of the Dutch or whoever would be a step ahead that would qualify as a reason but it's not really happening , is it?. And I didn't know the Poles boosted the Brits economy, this is I guess debatable... Otherwise they wouldn't want to impose bans is it? well now they might have to think twice if things are as rosy as described on the Independent.

I'm all for Europe but whoever wrote this is very euro-friendly, hehe

[dradeel]

Originally Posted by spyretto

And I didn't know the Poles boosted the Brits economy, this is I guess debatable...

Do not underestimate Polish workers... There are even a huge flow of polish workers to Norway ... they are cheaper and they are more efficient as they actually finish their work quickly without whining before moving over to a new project and they do just as good work as any norwegian worker. This is mostly in the construction business...

Work that locals are getting too lazy to do are left for the ones who wants to do a good job - Polish summer-time workers (more and more are coming anytime during the year now tho), and they get rewarded with more work offers. This means more competition and forces businesses to think new. Which again means cheaper prizes and a pick-and-choose role for consumers when it comes to quality and price. It actually has made a difference here... so yeah, I'm guessing it's somewhat the same in Britain.

[spyretto]

a similar thing happened in Greece with the Albanians and they weren't even EU...so when is Albania joining the force?

[haku]

Originally Posted by spyretto

when is Albania joining the force?

Around 2015, it's the informal target date for the rest of the Western Balkans to join the EU.

Most EU states favor a rather quick integration of the Western Balkans anyway since at that point the EU will have more or less reached its final borders. With enlargement done and over with, the EU will be able to fully focus on internal matters with stable external borders.

******

An interesting interview with Max Kohnstamm, a man who worked with the founding fathers of the EU right after the end of the second world war.

'We had no time to philosophise about this revolution'

It was during a trip to a destroyed Germany in 1947 when Max Kohnstamm, a Dutchman working as a private secretary for queen Wilhelmina, became deeply convinced that Europe should take "common responsibility" for its post-war future.

"That journey made a great impression on me," says Mr Kohnstamm who just a few years later became one of the pioneers of European integration and a close collaborator of EU 'founding father' Jean Monnet.

"I was especially overwhelmed by the unimaginable destruction of Germany," the now 92 year-old tells EUobserver in his home in the Belgian Ardennes.

"When you saw children crawling out of the from the ruins it appeared hard to defend that these children were guilty of Auschwitz," he states.

During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Mr Kohnstamm himself had spent periods in the concentration camp of Amersfoort and the prisoner camp of Sint-Michielsgestel.

But seeing Germany's despair, it became evident to him that "the reconstruction of the Dutch economy would lead to nothing if at the other side of the border, the desert would start."

On the other hand, Dutch memories of Nazi agression were still very fresh. "What sense does it make to have the Ruhr area in full swing if used to produce bombs which can be thrown at Rotterdam?"

When Mr Kohnstamm worked as a foreign ministry official in 1948-1949, political circles in The Hague were already searching for solutions for the difficult German question, mooting plans to integrate Germany in some sort of pan-European economic structure.

'This step had to succeed'
But it was France's foreign minister Robert Schuman who in May 1950 presented - in Mr Kohnstamm's words - a "revolutionary" plan to put Franco-German production of coal and steel under a common High Authority, in a scheme open to other countries that might be interested.

Immediately inspired by the Schuman plan, Mr Kohnstamm became a member of the Dutch delegation in negotiations between six nations on what was to become a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

The ECSC talks were chaired by another Frenchman who had been the real brain behind the Schuman plan - Jean Monnet, at that time the head of the French General Planning Commission.

"At the opening of the negotiations, Monnet very clearly stressed the revolutionary nature of this process," Mr Kohnstamm recalls on the first round of the talks, which he describes as "to a large extent informal" with a small number of people.

"On the nature of the revolution, we did not philosophise a lot. There was no time for that. We made this step and it had to succeed. If it failed, there would not be much more left to think about."

Meanwhile, West Germany was an equal partner in the talks - something which was not that self-evident, even if the upcoming Soviet threat made re-engagement of the Germans a matter of urgency.

One close Monnet aide, Etienne Hirsch, had lost his parents in Auschwitz. "But he negotiated with the German delegation on the basis of equality. That was proof of a greatness of vision."

Meanwhile for the Netherlands - strongly oriented towards the UK and the US - it was hard to swallow that the British had chosen to stay out of the talks.

"The Germans were hated by a large part of the population, the Italians we had never really taken seriously, we did not trust the French and we didn't really trust the Belgians either," Mr Kohnstamm describes the early post-war atmosphere in the Netherlands.

Monnet's view on the world
But the revolutionary negotiations succeeded, and Mr Kohnstamm was rewarded in 1952 with a job as the first Secretary of the High Authority - the executive body - of the European Coal and Steel Community.

Mr Kohnstamm worked directly under Jean Monnet who served as the ECSC's first president, leading to a close working and personal relationship between the two.

The Dutchman also followed Monnet when he switched from the ECSC to the so-called Action Committee for the United States of Europe, a pressure group lobbying for further European integration from 1956 onwards.

During those years, he gradually developed an understanding of Monnet's deeper motivations, which the Frenchman did not often share with others.

Monnet had no end-goal in sight for the European project, but rather saw it as a "process without an end," Mr Kohnstamm says.

"For Monnet, terms like federation or confederation – those were words. But the process was clear – a process through which people started to realise that they had a common responsibility."

"One of the rare times when our conversations did go in-depth, Monnet said: look, freedom of goods, services, people, capital is very important and necessary, but what this is really about is to get people to understand that it's not about my interest against your interest, but that in this world, only common solutions are possible."

Message for the future
This was, according to Mr Kohnstamm, Monnet's "view on the world" - a view which the Dutchman wants to pass on to younger generations. His message on the occasion of the EU's 50th birthday is directed to world leaders rather than to Europe alone.

Mr Kohnstamm says he is "not very worried" about the EU's current constitutional crisis and believes the integration process is "continuing."

"The essential element of it is the common decision-making and the European Court in Luxembourg. The greatest triumph has been that in these 50 years, not a single government has said – well, the heck with it."

"But on the level of world politics, we are busy returning to the balance of power as the regulating principle," he says expressing deep concern about the power politics of the US in particular, citing various examples such as Washington's recent coalition-building efforts with Japan and Australia against China.

"We know from our own history what that leads to...If you want to put it in a very dark way: the European Community was created not before, but only after 40 million people were killed."

By Mark Beunderman

[haku]

Text of the Berlin Declaration

Declaration on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the signature of the Treaties of Rome

For centuries Europe has been an idea, holding out hope of peace and understanding. That hope has been fulfilled. European unification has made peace and prosperity possible. It has brought about a sense of community and overcome differences. Each Member State has helped to unite Europe and to strengthen democracy and the rule of law. Thanks to the yearning for freedom of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe the unnatural division of Europe is now consigned to the past. European unification shows that we have learnt the painful lessons of a history marked by bloody conflict. Today we live together as was never possible before.

We, the citizens of the European Union, have united for the better.

I

In the European Union, we are turning our common ideals into reality: for us, the individual is paramount. His dignity is inviolable. His rights are inalienable. Men and women enjoy equal rights. We are striving for peace and freedom, for democracy and the rule of law, for mutual respect and shared responsibility, for prosperity and security, for tolerance and participation, for justice and solidarity.

We have a unique way of living and working together in the European Union. This is expressed through the democratic interaction of the Member States and the European institutions. The European Union is founded on equal rights and mutually supportive co-operation. This enables us to strike a fair balance between Member States' interests.

We preserve in the European Union the identities and diverse traditions of its Member States. We are enriched by open borders and a lively variety of languages, cultures and regions. There are many goals which we cannot achieve on our own, but only in concert. Tasks are shared between the European Union, the Member States and their regions and local authorities.

II

We are facing major challenges which do not stop at national borders. The European Union is our response to these challenges. Only together can we continue to preserve our ideal of European society in future for the good of all European Union citizens, This European model combines economic success and social responsibility. The common market and the euro make us strong. We can thus shape the increasing interdependence of the global economy and ever-growing competition on international markets according to our values. Europe's wealth lies in the knowledge and ability of its people; that is the key to growth, employment and social cohesion.

We will fight terrorism and organised crime together. We stand up for liberties and civil rights also in the struggle against those who oppose them. Racism and xenophobia must never again be given any rein.

We are committed to the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the world and to ensuring that people do not become victims of war, terrorism and violence. The European Union wants to promote freedom and development in the world. We want to drive back poverty, hunger and disease. We want to continue to take a leading role in that fight.

We intend jointly to lead the way in energy policy and climate protection and make our contribution to averting the global threat of climate change.

III

The European Union will continue to thrive both on openness and on the will of its Member States to consolidate the Union's internal development. The European Union will continue to promote democracy, stability and prosperity beyond its borders.

With European unification a dream of earlier generations has become a reality. Our history reminds us that we must protect this for the good of future generations. For that reason we must always renew the political shape of Europe in keeping with the times. That is why today, 50 years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, we are united in our aim of placing the European Union on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009.

For we know, Europe is our common future.

[haku]

EU countries to scrap extra charges for cross-border payments

EU finance ministers have unanimously supported a new package of rules for making payments across the union without extra charges. The move could lead to cross-border payment transactions costing the same as payments within one member state.

The so-called Payment Services Directive, adopted on Tuesday (27 March), provides the legal framework for a single payments area - with no national barriers to impede companies from offering their services across borders and no extra fees for consumers to use their debit or credit cards abroad or send money anywhere in the EU.

The European Commission believes that the reduction of costs will save the EU economy ?50-100 billion per year and make it simpler and cheaper for Europeans to make cross-border payments.

The package should provide conditions for new types of payment services offered for example by mobile operators or supermarkets. Payment firms will be allowed to issue credit to someone in another country for up to 12 months.

Under the new rules, companies that wire migrant workers' salaries home will be allowed to operate in other EU member states without having a base there, while it will be easier for consumers to set up direct debits to banks in another EU country.

"Assuming that the compromise text is acceptable to the European Parliament, the payment services directive will ensure that consumers benefit from high level of protection and a broader choice of payment services," EU internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy told journalists after the ministerial meeting.

While member states objected to some technical details regarding the new rules, they agreed to go ahead with the legislation and tasked the commission to review its functioning three years after it is implemented at national level - scheduled for November 2009.

Brussels argues that more efficient and competitive payments market should also lead to cuts in fees for basic banking services, for which Europeans pay on average from ?34 to as much as ?252 per year.

EU Observer


I think this will make everybody in Europe happy.

[haku]

Poland to fight for 'square root' law in EU treaty

Poland plans to propose a new voting system in the upcoming EU treaty talks that will be based on square roots of populations instead of simple populations. The so-called "Penrose square root law" would give Warsaw more say against Berlin, with one Polish official already talking about potential Polish vetoes.

The plan was confirmed by Poland's lead negotiators on the new treaty, Marek Cichocki (a historian) and Ewa Osniecka-Tamecka (a senior Polish official), to Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza on Wednesday (28 March) - three months before the June EU summit hopes to clinch agreement on a "roadmap" for a new text.

"If other countries do not want to discuss our proposal, we will take the last resort," Ms Osniecka-Tamecka said, on the possibility of a Polish veto on constitution talks. The new voting plan would be a "Polish historical rebate" for the fact that "for 50 years Poland for no fault of its own was outside EU integration," Mr Cichocki added.

The current draft constitution has a so-called double majority system, which requires at least 15 out of 27 EU states which represent at least 65 percent of the total EU population to get a decision through. Similar rules exist for establishing "blocking minorities" to stop reforms from going ahead.

Poland's Penrose system requires at least 14 out of 27 EU states which represent at least 62 percent of national votes, which are awarded on the basis of square roots of population. In the draft constitution Germany has 82 population "points" while Poland has 38. In the Penrose scheme, Germany has nine votes and Poland has six.

Lionel Penrose was a British mathematician of the 1940s, whose ideas on game theory keep on bobbing up in EU debate. Ms Osniecka-Tamecka - who runs Poland's EU integration office, UKIE - told Polish press she hopes for French, British, Dutch, Romanian and Czech support. The Polish opposition party, Civic Platform, already backs the idea.

The issue of voting rights is at the heart of the EU's intricate power balance. If draft constitution ideas on extending the range of issues subject to qualified majority voting instead of consensus go forward, voting rights will carry even more importance. Issues such as immigration and budget deficit procedures are set to undergo the shift to qualified majority.

Voting rights are also a hot topic in future enlargement. The existing double majority would have no problem coping with Croatia or Macedonia. But if Turkey - which reopened EU accession talks this week - joins in, say, 2020, when it is forecast to have a population of almost 90 million, it would immediately become the most powerful EU state.

But with Germany last weekend setting a daring timetable of ratifying a new EU treaty by 2009, Poland's suggestion to open the Pandora's Box of voting is unlikely to go down well. German chancellor Angela Merkel's man in the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, has already pleaded with Warsaw to leave voting alone.

Speaking to EUobserver in Warsaw in February, when the Penrose idea was already doing the rounds, the head of Polish think-thank demosEUROPA Pawel Swieboda speculated that Penrose could be a Polish bluff, with the real government position being to keep the existing double majority system but to cap the maximum population weight at, say, 70, so that no country, no matter how populous, could dominate the club.

The latter idea would also address the Turkey challenge.

The Polish expert's advice to Warsaw is that the best way to secure lasting influence in the EU would be to "ratify the constitution as it stands, ratify it now." But his advice clashes with the Kaczynski twins' view of Brussels, who see it as an arena of competing national interests where solidarity is a fable.

EU Observer


The current Polish government has really decided to turn Poland into the most troublesome EU state.

"Square roots of population" to determine voting rights of EU states, how is that even remotely democratic? That would mean that EU citizens would be worth more or less depending on which EU state they live in, that would be completely unfair. Voting rights must reflect exactly the size of the population of a given EU state, 1 man = 1 vote.

[freddie]

Mwahaha... they can keep dreaming.

[haku]

EU agrees breakthrough hate-crime law

After six years of political wrangling, the European Union has agreed to make incitement to racism and xenophobia a crime across the 27-nation bloc, setting a jail sentence of at least one to three years. But the text avoids controversial terms such as the Holocaust and crimes under the Stalin regime.

The deal agreed by justice ministers on Thursday (19 April) "proves that the EU now has moral responsibility and not only on the economy" EU home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini said.

"There is no safe haven for racist violence, anti-Semitism or people inciting to xenophobic hatred," he added, underlining the text agreed by ministers is "a right balance between fully respecting freedom of speech and punishing any criminal actions, not ideas."

Under the new law, offenders will face up to three years in jail for "public incitement to violence or hatred, directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin."

The same rules will apply to people "publicly condoning, denying, or grossly trivialising crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes," but only those recognised under statutes of the International Criminal Court.

According to German justice minister Brigitte Zypries, speaking on behalf of Berlin's six-month EU presidency, the EU-wide sentencing framework is "an important political signal...especially to the young generation."

However, the wording has been carefully chosen to make it acceptable to the UK, Ireland and the Scandinavian countries, who were particularly worried about the scope of freedom of speech.

Denial of the Holocaust is allowed under British freedom of speech rules, unless it specifically incites racial hatred.

On the other hand, the three Baltic countries and Poland and Slovenia - all carrying the burden of a communist past - gave up their demand that crimes under the Stalin regime in the former Soviet Union also fall under the bill's scope.

In exchange, a declaration saying the EU will organise high profile public debates on totalitarian regimes accompanies the new law. "This is our political response to those concerns," Mr Frattini said.

EU Observer

[fanoff]

Voting rights are also a hot topic in future enlargement. The existing double majority would have no problem coping with Croatia or Macedonia. But if Turkey - which reopened EU accession talks this week - joins in, say, 2020, when it is forecast to have a population of almost 90 million, it would immediately become the most powerful EU state.

That's why EU doesnt seem to get Turkey in,not the protecting human rights or reforms or someting.