Thorny questions for Denmark and EU Council

Each EU Council presidency has to confront a number of difficult issues. Denmark is no exception. Here I am going to name but two thorny issues, both relating to the area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ), or justice and home affairs (JHA).


Schengen entry: Bulgaria and Romania

Wikipedia offers an overview of the Schengen Area covering 26 countries and 400 million people, with common external border controls, but free travel within.

The challenge for the Danish presidency is the Schengen entry of Bulgaria and Romania, approved by the European Parliament but still not clear of the Council.

On 9 December 2011 the European Council concluded (document EUCO 139/11, paragraph 15, page 6):

15. Recalling its discussions of June and October 2011, the European Council notes that all legal conditions have been met for the decision on Bulgaria's and Romania's accession to the Schengen area to be taken. It calls on the Council to adopt this decision as soon as possible. If necessary, the European Council will return to this issue at its March 2012 meeting.

Finland had dropped its resistance, but the entry was still vetoed by the Netherlands. The Danish Council presidency tries to find a way to clear the last obstacle (Novinite.com).

Can anything be done between now and 1 March 2012?


Hungary

The Fidezs government in Hungary has energetically legislated and governed away an astonishing number of European founding values, fundamental rights and legal rules.

Essentially, when an EU member state starts taking leave of the Copenhagen criteria, the crisis is political, and the responses should be political and principled, while the legal remedies are more limited. Primarily, the Europarties and the governments of the member states should react, but we have seen worrying lacunae and minimalistic approaches.

The Commission has now stated that Hungary has not taken effective action to curb its budget deficit. The Commission is also investigating the compatibility of new Hungarian laws with EU legislation regarding the independence of the national central bank, measures concerning the judiciary and in particular mandatory early retirement of judges and prosecutors at the age of 62 instead of 70 and the independence of the national data protection authority.

Liberal and centre-left parliamentarians in Denmark voiced serious concerns about core values of the European Union being threatened (EurActiv), but leaders of the EU member states have been awkwardly silent and the European People's Party has been legalistic and minimalistic in its belated response.


News and activities

You can follow events through the web pages of the Danish presidency, or subscribe to news by different channels. You can find and participate in Twitter discussion under the hashtag #eu2012dk, as well as follow the presidency @eu2012dk and its spokespersons in Brussels @SpoxBrx_DK.



Ralf Grahn

Europe 2020: National Reform Programmes posted

Yesterday we noted that the Stability or Convergance programmes and National Reform Programmes 2011 from Belgium, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland had been posted on the web pages of DG Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecfin) of the European Commission. In addition, there was the Stability programme of Slovenia.


EUROPE 2020

In this blog post we look for possible updates on the website of the Europe 2020 strategy. No updates are visible on the EU2020 front page.

You do not find them even under latest documents, but if you are inspired enough to search for member states' documents, you can find the first national programmes stashed away on the Europe 2020 website.

I do not know why the presentation has to be as discreet as this.

I do not understand why we find a slightly different set of documents on the EU2020 pages than the ones posted on the Ecfin pages.

Anyway, here are the six programmes you find if you look for member states' documents through the Europe 2020 pages right now.


Germany

The German National Reform Programme, in German:

Nationales Reformprogramm Deutschland 2011; Berlin 6. April 2011 (about 46 pages)


Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Convergence Programme and National Reform Programme, in Bulgarian:

(Bulgaria: Convergence Programme 2011-2014)

(Bulgaria: National Reform Programme 2011-2015)


Belgium

Belgium's National Reform Programme has been posted on the EU2020 website in French and in Dutch:

Programme national de réforme Belgique 2011; 15 avril 2011 (128 pages)

Nationaal Hervormingsprogramma België 2011; 15 april 2011 (121 pages)


Hungary

Both the Hungarian Convergence Programme and the National Reform Programme have been posted on the Europe 2020 web pages, in English:

Convergence Programme of Hungary 2011 – 2015 Based on the Széll Kálmán plan; Budapest, April 2011

National Reform Programme of Hungary Based on the Széll Kálmán Plan; April 2011 (86 pages)


ECFIN

Nine programmes in all have been posted on the Ecfin website (DG Economic and Financial Affairs).

Let us just fill in the missing programmes and versions.


Belgium

The Stability Programme from Belgium is not yet available in English, but we have versions in the national languages, Dutch and French:

Het Stabiliteitsprogramma van België (2011-2014); version 14 April 2011

Le programme de stabilité de la Belgique; version 14 April 2011


Slovenia

The Stability Programme of Slovenia is available, in Slovenian:

Program stabilnosti Dopolnitev 2011; Ljubljana, april 2011


Finland

SP

The Stability Programme of Finland is available in English, Finnish and Swedish:

Stability programme update for Finland 2011

Suomen vakausohjelman tarkistus 2011

Uppdatering av Finlands stabilitetsprogram

NRP

The National Reform Programme (NRP) of Finland has been given another heading, with the English and Finnish versions posted on the Ecfin page:

Europe 2020 Strategy – Finland's National Programme Spring 2011

Eurooppa 2020 -strategia – Suomen kansallinen ohjelma, kevät 2011

We can find the missing Swedish version through the web pages of the Finnish Ministry of Finance, concluding a full set:

Europa 2020-strategin – Finlands nationella program, våren 2011


Missing links

Even after combining the EU2020 and Ecfin websites, we still have no programmes from 21 out of 27 EU member states, and only one programme each from two of the six countries posted on the websites of the European Commission. Only Hungary and Finland offer both programmes in English.

A few working days remain until the end of April, when the programmes are due at the latest.



Ralf Grahn



P.S. Jon Worth, one of the best known and most widely read Eurobloggers, has returned with a number of interesting blog posts within a few days. Highly recommended.

EMU convergence programme Bulgaria

On 26 April 2010 the Council examined the updated convergence programme of Bulgaria, which covers the period 2009 to 2012:




COUNCIL OPINION on the updated convergence programme of Bulgaria, 2009-2012; published OJEU 27.5.2010 C 137/12.


The Council opinion presents the background:

Before the onset of the global economic and financial downturn Bulgaria had witnessed strong real GDP growth underpinned by fast credit expansion and large foreign investment inflows. The robust economic activity, however, was accompanied by increasing macroeconomic imbalances such as the build-up of a very large external deficit and private debt as well as substantial inflationary pressures. The FDI-led investment boom and high wage increases, far exceeding productivity gains, aggravated these imbalances. As the global economic crisis unfolded, economic activity was hit hard, resulting in a contraction of real GDP by 5 % in 2009.

The main goal of the medium-term budgetary strategy is to maintain a balanced general government budget throughout the programme period.

The government gross debt ratio is well below the Treaty reference value throughout the programme period. It is estimated at close to 15 % of GDP in 2009, slightly up from the year before.

As an EU member only from 2007, Bulgaria is not yet a part of the eurozone. The country has a lot to do to catch up with the rest of the union, which requires continued reform efforts.

After a more detailed discussion and given the need for sustainable convergence, the Council reached the following fairly benign conclusions, inviting Bulgaria to:

(i) continue implementing strict fiscal policies and adopt further consolidation measures to achieve the programme target for 2010 with a view to sustaining the on-going adjustment in the external imbalances and safeguarding investor confidence in the economy; in particular, contain public sector wage growth in order to contribute to overall wage moderation and improve competitiveness;

(ii) strengthen the efficiency of public spending by vigorously implementing the planned structural reforms in the area of public administration, healthcare, education, and pensions in order to boost productivity and ensure sustainable convergence within the European Union.

Further reading

Since the date of the Council opinion on Bulgaria, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission have published their convergence reports, which contain more detail and allow for comparison with other euro area hopefuls.



The ECB Convergence Report 2010 was published 12 May 2010. The 359 page report is available on the ECB website in 21 languages.



The Commission’s Convergence Report 2010, published 12 May 2010 under the responsibility of the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (226 pages).




Ralf Grahn

EU: Free movement Switzerland (Bulgaria & Romania)

The Swiss Confederation is the one EFTA country, which is not a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) ─ as are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway ─ so closer relations with the European Union and its member states have been built gradually on the basis of bilateral (and plurilateral) agreements.

The Wikipedia overview article Switzerland and the European Union (latest update 19 May 2009) describes the Swiss Confederation as a virtual member of the EEA or even the EU. (Despite the so called Guillotine Clause, given the importance of referendums in the Swiss constitutional system, the “even the EU” could be seen as an exaggeration.)




***


Accession and free movement

From the point of view of the European Union, the extension of free movement to Switzerland with regard to the latest EU entrants Bulgaria and Romania is now confirmed by the official publication of the relevant documents.


Council Decision

The first document is the formal Council Decision 2009/392/EC of 27 November 2008 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community and its Member States, of a Protocol to the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons regarding the participation, as contracting parties of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania pursuant to their accession to the European Union, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 20.5.2009 L 124/51.




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Protocol

The second document is the Protocol to the Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other, on the free movement of persons, regarding the participation, as contracting parties of the Republic of Bulgaria and Romania pursuant to their accession to the European Union, published OJEU 20.5.2009 L 124/53.



The Protocol, to be ratified, contains the substantial provisions, including the transitional clauses (limitations).



Ralf Grahn