Skip to main content

Home/ European Union/ Group items tagged germany

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

13.12.10: Treaty change to provide for a permanent European Stability Mechanism from mi... - 0 views

euobserver.com/31489

eu-policies currency-policy economic-policy euro eurozone lisbon_implementation eu-policy_memberstates germany constitutional_court

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 13 Dec 10 - Cached

  • A two-sentence paragraph to be inserted into the Lisbon Treaty will prepare the legal groundwork for a permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM) from mid-2013 onwards, under which the costs of future eurozone bail-outs may also be shared by sector private sector participants.

    "The member states whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality," reads the paragraph, contained in draft EU summit conclusions seen by this website on Monday (13 December).

  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pressed EU leaders to accept the treaty change as she fears Germany's powerful constitutional court may raise objections to the €440 billion temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), agreed in May and set to provide aid to Ireland. While EU policymakers insist the temporary facility and earlier aid to Greece do not contravene the EU treaty's 'no bail-out clause', Berlin is keen to remove any legal uncertainty, with a number of legal challenges currently under examination by the German court.
  • The treaty change is to take place under a new procedure introduced under the Lisbon Treaty - the simplified revision procedure - allowing for limited treaty changes without the setting up of a convention, on condition that new powers are not transferred from the national to EU level. In the draft conclusions, EU leaders also call on euro area finance ministers and the commission to finalise work on setting up the permanent aid mechanism, including features that could force sovereign bond holders to accept diminished returns on their investments, should a eurozone government be forced to call for aid under the ESM from 2013 onwards. The move stands in marked contrast to aid terms recently agreed for Ireland, under which holders of Irish sovereign debt and senior debt in Irish banks were not forced to accept a 'haircut.' Instead, Irish taxpayers will indirectly pay back the €85 billion borrowed from the EU-IMF for many years to come. Analysts say this move was partially designed to prevent further instability in the European banking sector, with many firms considerably exposed to the Irish market.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

27.10.08: EU defence minister supports EU army - 0 views

euobserver.com/27000

eu-policies cfsp esdp eu-policy_memberstates uk

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 28 Oct 08 - Cached
  • The freshly appointed UK defence secretary has publicly supported the idea of a European army, a key ambition of the French EU presidency.
  • In 2007, during French Bastille Day celebrations in which troops from every EU member state marched down the Champs-Elysees, Mr Sarkozy said the EU should construct a unified military. The Bastille comments followed similar remarks from German Chancellor Angela Merkel in March of the same year on the occasion of the EU's 50th birthday. At the time, she said in an interview that she supported the idea of a unified EU army. However, the UK, the largest of the EU's big-three military spenders ahead of France and Germany, has until now opposed the idea of a common EU force, arguing that it would unnecessarily duplicate tasks performed by NATO. According to the Lisbon Treaty, rejected in June by the Irish in a referendum, the North Atlantic alliance "remains the foundation of the collective defence of [EU] members," with NATO always headed by a US general, however.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

12.12.08: Ireland has a diplomatic victory but the real winner is Europe - 0 views

euobserver.com/27296

summits constitution lisbon-treaty ratification eu-policy_memberstates ireland options_after_Irish_No

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 12 Dec 08 - Cached
  • But the deal struck, which allows the ratification process to resume in Ireland, with a view to ratification by the end of 2009, maintains the package of institutional reforms that will allow the EU to be better able to deal with these long-term political problems. So, what was agreed and what does it all mean?
  • All governments had agreed that the size of the European Commission should be cut down, as successive enlargements of the European Union turned the Commission from a compact executive into a miniature assembly, and several governments were reported as being reluctant to give up on this reform. This is a major coup for the Irish.
  • In return, the Irish government has committed itself to ratifying the treaty by the end of the term of the current Commission, paving the way for a second referendum on the treaty by October 2009. As far as the composition of the Parliament is concerned, next year's European elections will (if the treaty has not been ratified) elect 736 members. Following ratification, the twelve EU countries due to gain extra seats in the Parliament will obtain them at that point, while Germany will temporarily keep the three extra seats that it would have lost in the event of Lisbon being ratified before the elections. In the absence of a ratified treaty, the six month rotating presidency of the European Council will continue. The Czech presidency will take place, while the following presidency in the second half of 2009 will be responsible for making the arrangements of the new permanent presidency and the proposed External Action Service and Foreign Affairs Council.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

10.09.08: EU keeps door half-open for Ukraine - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-175221

neighbourhoodpolicy ukraine

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 11 Sep 08 - Cached
  • By keeping Ukraine's EU accession prospects alive, European Union leaders yesterday (9 September) steered clear of creating a "damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't" situationby balancing a desire to encourage the country's pro-Western leadership with concerns not to further radicalise Moscow in the wake of the Georgia crisis.
  • The EU appeared to be divided at the summit, with France, Germany and Italy advocating a cautious approach to Moscow, while Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Baltic states expressed their wish to develop stronger ties with the EU's eastern neighbourhood after the Georgia crisis. 
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

05.09.08: EU ministers map out Georgia peace mission - 0 views

euobserver.com/26696

belarus cfsp esdp eu-policies georgia russia ukraine

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 05 Sep 08 - Cached
  • The final shape of an EU security mission to Georgia and broader EU-Russia relations will top the agenda of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in France this weekend. The possibility of relaxing sanctions against Belarus and prospects for a new Ukraine treaty will also come up for debate.
  • It remains uncertain if the unit will be composed of EU-badged policemen or soldiers however, if it will stand alongside OSCE monitors or be part of an OSCE-led team and if it will have access to the Georgian breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
  • The Avignon meeting will also examine if the EU should relax sanctions against Belarus, which last month released three political prisoners and promises to hold its free and fairest-ever parliamentary elections on 28 September.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The Evian summit had been due to see the signing of the political chapter of a new "Association Agreement" and the launch of talks for future visa-free travel to Europe. But Germany has blocked the insertion of a phrase saying the EU "recognizes" Ukraine's accession "perspective" in the treaty preamble, with Ukraine saying it will not sign a watered-down text.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

21.11.08: Lisbon treaty storms through Swedish parliament - 0 views

euobserver.com/27154

constitution lisbon-treaty ratification eu-policy_memberstates sweden germany poland czechia

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 21 Nov 08 - Cached
  • The Swedish parliament late on Thursday (20 November) adopted the Lisbon treaty by a sweeping majority, becoming the 23rd EU country to ratify the text. The treaty was passed by 243 votes against 39 at 23:30 local time, with 13 abstentions and 54 deputies absent from the 349-seat legislature, the Riksdag.
  • Final four The Swedish result comes after Ireland voted No to Lisbon in a referendum in June. A small crowd of anti-Lisbon campaigners protested outside the Swedish embassy in Dublin on Thursday, saying the Irish government should have told Sweden the treaty is dead. The Czech Republic is awaiting a constitutional court verdict on 25 November before resuming parliamentary ratification. A German constitutional court verdict is expected in early 2009. The Polish president has refused to sign off on the treaty unless Ireland overturns its No.
  • Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 21 Nov 08
     
    Lisbon treaty storms through Swedish parliament
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

11.02.09: German judges express scepticism about EU treaty - 0 views

euobserver.com/27586

constitution lisbon-treaty ratification eu-policy_memberstates germany constitutional_court

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 11 Feb 09 - Cached
  • Several of the eight judges in charge of examining whether the EU's Lisbon Treaty is compatible with the German constitution have expressed scepticism about the constitutional effects of further EU integration. According to reports in the German media, the debate during the crucial two-day hearing starting on Tuesday (10 Februrary) on the treaty centred on criminal law and the extent to which it should be the preserve of member states rather than the EU.
  • In all, four of the eight judges questioned the Lisbon Treaty.
  • On Wednesday, the court is to examine article 146 of Germany's constitution, which says that a referendum may be called if the constitutional order in the country is changed to the detriment of Germany's current constitution – the Grundgesetz or Basic Law. The court could therefore ask for a referendum, concludes the Suedeutsche Zeitung.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

10.02.09: German court to begin hearing on EU treaty - 0 views

euobserver.com/27579

constitution lisbon-treaty eu-policy_memberstates germany constitutional_court ratification

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 10 Feb 09 - No Cached
  • Germany's highest court will today (10 February) begin a hearing on whether the EU's Lisbon treaty undermines the country's own constitution by weakening the power of the national parliament. The hearing is to last two days, an exceptionally long time, seen as an indication of how seriously the court is taking the challenge.
  • The judges will look at whether the Lisbon Treaty - designed to improve decision-making in the EU - is not democratic, and therefore anti-constitutional, because it takes away power from Germany's parliament.
  • So far, the treaty has been through most of the process - it has been approved by both houses of parliament and signed by Germany's president. But the final step of ratification, handing the papers over in Rome, has been postponed pending the court decision. The judgement is expected to be made in two to three months. But even if the court comes out in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, the process may not be over. Last month, a separate group handed in another complaint on the treaty, listing political and economic faults. The court has yet to decide whether to take on the case. Elsewhere, the fate of the treaty remains uncertain too. The Czech Republic has yet to begin ratification of the treaty, while Ireland is facing a second referendum on the document after its citizens rejected it last June. Poland's President, meanwhile, has said he will not sign the treaty until it has been accepted in Ireland.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

27.01.09: German constitutional court handed new complaint on Lisbon Treaty - 0 views

euobserver.com/27482

constitution lisbon-treaty eu-policy_memberstates germany ratification constitutional_court

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 27 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Germany's constitutional court has been handed a second complaint over the EU's Lisbon Treaty with the potential to delay the country's final ratification of the document for several months. The new legal action, running to over 200 pages, is concerned with economic as well as political issues, which the complainants say are not addressed by the Lisbon Treaty.
  • They say that the constitutional court cannot approve the Lisbon treaty because it "strengthens the current practice of dismembering the division of powers and mixing of competences." The complaint is being brought by Markus Kerber, a commercial lawyer, Dieter Spethmann, a former chief executive of Thyssen, former MEP Franz Ludwig Graf Stauffenberg and economist Joachim Starbatty.
  • The court now has to decide whether it will accept to proof their case. If it does, it is likely to take several months to come to a decision. This could delay the German government's timetable for the treaty, which it would like in place across the bloc by the end of the year.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

22.01.09: Member states divided over condemning Israeli attacks on UN - 0 views

euobserver.com/27454

eu-policies cfsp eu-policy_memberstates

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 22 Jan 09 - Cached
  • European Union member states are sharply divided over whether to condemn Israel for its bombing of UN schools and other buildings during its 23-day war on Gaza. Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania are opposed to condemning the shelling of UN Relief and Works Agency infrastructure and do not want the EU to call for an international investigation of alleged war crimes by both Israel and the Hamas governors of Gaza, according to sources close to discussions amongst EU diplomats.
  • At the other end of the table, a coalition of five member states, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland and Sweden, is demanding that the bloc call for an international investigation in its conclusions to come out of a meeting of EU foreign ministers next week.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

21.01.09: German constitutional court to examine Lisbon treaty - 0 views

euobserver.com/27452

constitution eu-policy_memberstates germany constitutional_court lisbon-treaty ratification

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 21 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Germany's constitutional court is preparing for an unusually long hearing on the EU's Lisbon treaty in a process that will help determine the fate of the document across the European Union. Over two days next month (10-11 February) the court's judges will discuss whether the treaty breaches Germany's constitution.
  • The court is considering a complaint brought by conservative MP Peter Gauweiler, who has argued that the treaty infringes on the rights given to German citizens in their country's constitution by allowing a foreign court - the European Court of Justice - to decide upon such issues. He also argues that the treaty undermines the power of Germany's own parliament, the Bundestag.
  • The Czech Republic, Poland and Ireland also have yet to complete ratification. The Czech parliament is due to debate the charter at the beginning of February. If it passes parliament, it then faces another hurdle in the shape of the country's eurosceptic president, Vaclav Klaus, who must also give his approval. Ireland is having another go at ratifying the treaty after it was rejected by Irish citizens last June. The second referendum will take place in the autumn. The result will directly influence Poland's treaty situation. Polish President Lech Kaczynski has said he will only give the nod to the treaty if Ireland's referendum produces a Yes vote.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

13.03.09:Topolánek: Stopping enlargement is a 'road to hell' - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-180275

enlargement enlargementpolicy_eu enlargementpolicymemberstates czechia Czech_Presidency_2009 germany netherlands enlargementpolicy_candidates enlargement_fatigue

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 14 Mar 09 - Cached
  • Czech Prime Minister and current EU presidency holder Mirek Topolánek today (13 March) warned that stopping enlargement and introducing new barriers in Europe is a "road to hell". He was writing in English during an online chat session, in response to a question from EurActiv.
  • As EU countries are only expected to offer Croatia a realistic chances of joining the bloc in the near term, holding back the membership aspirations of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania, Topolánek, who had just returned from a tour of the region, strongly advocated a more generous approach to the Western Balkans.  "The citizens of the countries which try to prevent further EU enlargement are opposing the principal idea of the European Community. The civilisation mission and the enlargement of a space of security, prosperity and freedom must be perpetuated, since these are the values upon which the EU was founded. Introducing new iron curtains, barriers or walls is a road to hell," Topolánek said. 
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

27.02.09: Germany may bail out troubled eurozone states - 0 views

euobserver.com/27690

eu-policies eu-policy_memberstates economy financial_crisis emu euro monetary-policy

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 27 Feb 09 - Cached
  • German chancellor Angela Merkel has given the strongest signal to date that her country may come to the rescue of embattled eurozone economies. "We have shown solidarity and that will remain so. We should use Sunday's summit [in Brussels] for member states affected to give an honest report of their situation," she said on Thursday evening (26 February) at a press conference in Berlin.
  • Certain conditions are likely to be attached to any support plan offered by Berlin. While Ms Merkel refused to be drawn on the exact nature of financial support, she made it clear that action to tackle excessive budget deficits would be a stipulation for receiving aid. She indicated such action could be carried out under Article 100 of the Maastricht Treaty that allows financial assistance to be given to countries experiencing "difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control." "Of course there is a certain interpretative room to manoeuvre in the stability and growth pact and a country like Ireland that has been hit quite hard by the banking crisis is clearly in a different situation to a country like Slovakia with fewer banks," said Ms Merkel.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

02.04.08: 'Old' and 'new' Europe divided at NATO Summit - 0 views

www.euractiv.com/...article-171288

cfsp eu-policies eu-policy_memberstates france nato romania

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 03 Apr 08 - Cached
  • EU divisions were apparent on the eve of the NATO summit in Bucharest on 2-4 April with several heavyweights, including France, opposed to the planned Eastern expansion of the military alliance. EurActiv Romania contributed to this report from Bucharest.
  • Several EU heavyweights (Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium) are opposed to such a project.  In the meantime, several representatives of the new EU members expressed their support for opening the NATO door to Kiev and Tbilisi.
  • French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that President Nicolas Sarkozy would oppose the idea at the Summit in Bucharest. "France is not green-lighting Ukraine and Georgia's accession. Paris has a different opinion to that of the US on the matter", Fillon told France Inter Radio, quoted by Rompres. Romanian President Traian Basescu, who is hosting the largest-ever summit of NATO's 26 member states, stated that including Ukraine and Georgia in the MAP is "a logical step from the Romanian point of view". 
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

08.05.08: German froeign minister favours EU army - 0 views

euobserver.com/26107

cfsp esdp eu-policies eu-policy_memberstates france germany

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 09 May 08 - Cached
  • Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has indicated he would like to see a European army established. Speaking at a Social Democrat security policy conference in Berlin on Monday (5 May), Mr Steinmeier said he favoured the setting up of a "European armed force" and that he would like to see moves in this direction speeded up.
  • The German politicians' comments appear to be in line with the views of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has in the past made several statements on the need for common European defence.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

11.07.08: 1.2 billion € investment in Kosovo - 0 views

euobserver.com/26479

candidate_countries_economy enlargement enlargementpolicy_eu kosovo westernbalkans

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 11 Jul 08 - Cached
  • The international community has pledged to invest €1.2 billion toward the rebuilding of Kosovo, with the European Commission alone putting aside €508 million to fill in the gaps in Pristina's financial needs from 2009 to 2013.
  • Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia in February of this year, is one of Europe's most under-developed economies and is highly dependent on foreign subsidies. From 1999 to 2007, when under the direct administration of the United Nations, Pristina benefitted from over €3.5 billion in reconstruction assistance. However, the official unemployment rate remains a worrying 43 percent, with youth unemployment estimated even higher, at around 60 percent. Kosovo's economy grew by 4.4 percent in 2007, with an inflation rate of 13.6 percent as of April, 2008. The largest chunk of money for Kosovo is to come from the European Commission, followed by an American contribution of some $400 million. Beyond the EU's own funds, member state Germany has pledged €100 million, and the UK has confirmed an aid package worth £23 million.
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

01.07.08: Polish president declines to sign EU treaty - 0 views

euobserver.com/26424

constitution eu-policy_memberstates germany lisbon-treaty poland ratification

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 01 Jul 08 - Cached
  • The Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, has indicated he will not sign the Lisbon treaty until Ireland gets over its No vote, dealing a strong blow to EU attempts to revive the pact. German ratification also went on hold Monday (30 June), pending a Constitutional Court decision early next year.
  • The Polish parliament passed the treaty in April, but Mr Kaczynski must now sign a Ratification Act to finalise the process. The president told Dziennik his general approach to EU diplomacy is to give Poland more clout by protecting national interests at every turn. "My politics is a way to make sure the telephone number of the Polish president or prime minister is frequently used by Berlin, Paris, London or other capitals," he said.
  • "The principle of unanimity is binding here," he added, explaining that Poland must protect small EU countries' rights as it is not a major power itself. "If the principle of unanimity is broken once it will cease to exist forever. We are too weak to accept this kind of solution."
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The Lisbon treaty had already suffered a fresh setback on Monday, when German President Horst Koehler refused to sign the document until the country's Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe rules on two legal challenges by right-wing MP Peter Gauweiler and leftist party Die Linke (The Left).
Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann

28.08.08: Germany's relations with Russia threaten EU-Ukraine relations - 0 views

euobserver.com/26653

cfsp enlargementpolicy_eu enlargementpolicymemberstates eu-policies germany neighbourhoodpolicy ukraine

shared by Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 29 Aug 08 - Cached
  • Germany's close relations with Russia are the main obstacle to signing a major EU-Ukraine treaty at the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit in France, Ukraine diplomats say, warning that failure to seal the deal will signal to Moscow that it can veto EU policy on post-Soviet states.
  • "There are maybe two or three countries who are strong opposers, strong sceptics," Ukrainian deputy foreign minister Konstantin Yeliseyev said in Brussels on Thursday (28 August), commenting on EU reluctance to state clearly that "the future of Ukraine lies in the European Union" in the preamble to the new treaty
« First ‹ Previous 41 - 60 of 87 Next › Last »
Showing 20▼ items per page