Group items tagged

The Danish discussion on whether to have a referendum on the new EU draft Treaty has taken another twist after the country's main opposition party changed course and called for a political discussion on the issue - instead of just a legal discussion as the government wants. The opposition leader, social democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt, wants Denmark to enter into a political discussion once the treaty text has been negotiated and not just wait for a legal assessment.

The UK has secured its opt-out from EU justice measures in the bloc's new Reform Treaty but with tough conditions attached. Under draft rules agreed earlier this week by EU legal experts, the UK could be excluded from EU justice laws that are already signed up to by other member states

The Dutch government on Friday decided against holding a referendum on the new EU treaty – but parties in the Dutch parliament look set to ignore this decision and push for an own-initiative poll.

On the occasion of the Portuguese Presidency launch, Prime Minister José Socrates and Commission President José Manuel Barroso united to urge Poland and other member states to stick to their commitments on the EU Reform Treaty, as nationalist Polish politicians vowed to undermine it. Related: LinksDossier:   The Portuguese Presidency: In Brief LinksDossier:   The EU's 'Reform Treaty' Brief News: Polish nationalist politicians rallied in their opposition to the new Treaty on 2 July, which may endanger a swift agreement on a new EU Treaty at an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), about to start on 23 July. Roman Giertych, leader of a government coalition party, the League of Polish Families, announced that he would strive to undermine the Treaty. "We will start a campaign against the Treaty because, thanks to Germany, it includes amendments that are putting EU interests ahead of Poland's interests," the nationalist leader told reporters on 2 July.

What will be the theme of the new Reform Treaty, the outlines of which were agreed at the weekend? Will it have a big idea to give it meaning and purpose, or will it, like the Nice treaty, linger on, pointless and lamented. The answer lies in the enhanced capacity for the EU to act on the world stage. At present, the representation of the EU to third countries is divided three ways between the High Representative for the CFSP, the European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, and the foreign affairs minister of the member state that holds rotating presidency. Not surprisingly, this can sometimes be confusing.

MEPs in the constitutional affairs committee generally agreed that the term should be defined as widely as possible. They also agreed that the European Commission and parliament should set up a common register of all the lobbyists in Brussels, with estimates suggesting there are around 15,000 of them in the city pressing their case at the European institutions.

or his part, Mr Stubb says he is not out to demonise lobbyists, whose activities have come to light recently during the ferocious lobbying on legislation that took place during the development of the chemicals, services and software patent laws. He points out that it is much easier to get information as a civil servant, but that as an MEP, "you are out of the [information] loop and interest groups are good sources of information."

Poland will not take part in any intergovernmental talks on a new EU treaty that do not discuss EU voting rights, but the square root voting model is open to negotiation, Polish officials said, indicating a willingness to compromise. "If there's no possibility to discuss such an important item as the voting issue, then there's no point in having an intergovernmental conference [IGC]," a Polish delegate said, speaking before the 27 teams of sherpas - EU member state negotiators - sat down in Brussels at 17:00 local time on Tuesday evening (19 June).

At the moment, it is not clear whether the president's post - essentially representing the European Union externally - should have some sort of staff. There are currently no provisions for this in the treaty. In addition, there is the thorny issue of all the pending EU laws that may be affected by the fact that the entry into force of the treaty will see MEPs have full co-decision rights.

The meeting of the 27 teams of sherpas - EU member state negotiators – showed there are still divisions in six areas - the Charter of Fundamental Rights, primacy of EU law over national law, the transfer of power between the EU and member states, common foreign and security policy, the role of the national parliaments and the voting system. The Charter of Fundamental Rights, listing citizens' social and civil rights, prompted the hottest debate last night, with strong arguments flying from both camps. The German Presidency has suggested there should be only a reference to the charter in the new reform package, but the UK continues to oppose it becoming a legally binding document. Similarly, Berlin has suggested dropping from the treaty the controversial line stating that EU law has primacy over national laws, and instead putting it in a separate declaration, which would accompany the treaty. But some EU capitals are not yet ready to accept the watered-down compromise.

With just three days to go to a tense summit on the future of the EU treaty, Poland has still not decided if prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczysnki or president Lech Kaczynski will go to Brussels, in a move that could indicate how hard Poland will fight for voting system reforms.

The question comes amid an ugly disagreement between Warsaw and the German EU presidency over EU voting weights - an elaborate calculus on power sharing that kicks in on the rare occasions that EU members cannot agree on new laws by consensus. Berlin and almost all other EU members want to go for a "double majority" system, which gives big states more power vis-a-vis medium-sized countries than the current "Nice" system. But Poland is pushing for a middle way, based on the "square root" of member states' populations.

Former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez wants to restore Europe's economic and geopolitical influence on the global stage as the head of a new 'reflection group' launched by EU leaders at a summit in December. However, the question of whether it will deal with enlargement remains open. Related: News:   UK, France clash on future EU vision Analysis:   Europe's future: a chance for wise men?

Press articles Financial Times: Rebel seeks innovators to shake up Europe (15 January 2008)

With just three years of European Union membership under its belt, Slovenia will take on the EU presidency today (1 January) landing itself a highly politicised agenda. Of all the issues that the small ex-Yugoslav state will have to deal with over the next six months, two are set to dominate the agenda - the Kosovo question and the EU renewable energy package.