Refugee emergency: temporary EU relocation

Yesterday, the interior ministers of the EU member states reached a decision on one important solidarity measure in the face of the refugee emergency: temporary relocation to alleviate the burden of Greece and Italy.

International protection – temporary measures

On 17 September 2015 the European Parliament had adopted its favourable opinion (text here P8_TA-PROV(2015)0324) on the emergency proposal for temporary relocation, and yesterday (22 September) theJustice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council adopted this important proposal from the refugee and migration agenda of the European Commission.

With regard to solidarity it is worth noticing that Ireland has expressed its intention to participate, while Denmark and the United Kingdom remain bystanders.

We note that Hungary was intended to be a beneficiary in the Commission proposal for a Council decision establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy, Greece and Hungary, COM(2015) 451 final (plus annexes).

At the time of writing the adopted decision – renamed and adapted after Hungary declined help - had not been published in the OfficialJournal of the European Union (OJEU), but available through a link on the web page of the JHA Council meeting:

COUNCIL DECISION establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece (document 12098/15)

In a nutshell

The web page of the JHA Council meeting explains the decision in a nutshell:

This decision establishes a temporary and exceptional relocation mechanism over two years from the frontline member states Italy and Greece to other member states. It will apply to 120 000 persons in clear need of international protection who have arrived or are arriving on the territory of those member states as from six months before the entry into force until two years after the entry into force.

According to the decision, 66 000 persons will be relocated from Italy and Greece (15 600 from Italy and 50 400 from Greece) . The remaining 54 000 persons will be relocated from Italy and Greece in the same proportion after one year of the entry into force of the decision.

During the press conference (video) Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's minister for immigration and asylum, admitted that the Council did not achieve consensus, but the qualified majority went well beyond the requirements of the treaties.

As for other legal acts, all member states are expected to implement the decision. However, the decision can be adapted for a member state facing an emergency situation.

European Council

Today, 23 September 2015, the members of the European Council meet informally to discuss an overall approach to the refugee crisis and the necessity to establish a credible European migration policy.

In his invitation letter, EUCO president Donald Tusk is also appealing to EU leaders to urgently provide financial donations to the World Food Programme for food support to the 11 million people in Syria and in the region.

Ralf Grahn

Euro crash or rescue?

We have gone from a crisis in the eurozone to a crisis of the euro area and currency.

A stark warning from The Economist. According to the the Free exchange blog, the eurozone is in a death spiral. Only a guarantee for sovereign debt from the European Central Bank and a major commitment from the core economies to bail out the periphery, plus substantial labour market, public-sector, and tax reforms in the weak economies, can prevent financial collapse and break-up.

The United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and others have told the eurozone to put its house in order before they put fresh money on the table.


Germany and France

The German chancellor Angela Merkel and the French president Nicolas Sarkozy have claimed leadership of the eurozone, bilaterally, through the new eurozone summit structure recently endorsed (point 7) and the Frankfurt group.

Merkel and Sarkozy are thus the ones to judge on the outcomes at eurozone level, including how they approach new responsibilities for the ECB.

According to Reuters UK, Merkel and Sarkozy are preparing for something else: a retrenched, core country eurozone heading toward deeper economic integration, including on tax and fiscal policy.


Multi-speed Europe?

Splitting the euro area would mean the emergence of an increasingly multi-speed Europe: 1) the core euro area, 2) the dropouts, 3) the prospective entrants (Sweden?), 4) Denmark and the United Kingdom with opt-outs, as well as 5) countries joining the European Union at some point.

EU Treaty changes need the agreement and ratification of all member states, hardly a piece of cake. There are no indications of democratic government at the level of such a core eurozone (outside EU structures), but the more monumental a question, the less transparency and good governance are in evidence.

Paradoxically, where intergovernmentalism has failed, Merkel and Sarkozy seem to contemplate more of the same.


Second update 10 November 2011: Ulrike Guérot of the ECFR writes about the stubborn refusal to advance on the road of European democracy and legitimacy: Germany in Europe: the politics of disintegration.


The Wall Street Pit discusses the Franco-German plans, putting emphasis on if the European Central Bank will act to prevent meltdown in Greece and Italy or concentrate on curtailing losses.

The governance conundrum would became even more tangled, already comprising: The so called market forces, the individual EU member states, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy who have claimed leadership, the Frankfurt group, the Euro Group (17 or less) and chairman Jean-Claude Juncker, the euro summits (17or less) and president Herman Van Rompuy, the Ecofin Council (all 27 member states) and the Council presidency (Poland), the European Council (27) and president Herman Van Rompuy, the European Central Bank and president Mario Draghi, the European Commission through president José Manuel Barroso and Ecfin commissioner Olli Rehn, the G20 and its members, and the IMF.


Update 10 November 2011): More thoughts on the subject are offered by Charlemagne's notbook (The Economist) in: Two-speed Europe, or two Europes? - Let me add that president Sarkozy has shown that he does not understand the intrinsically democrativc nature of ”federalism”.


Greece and Italy have been very much parts of the problem these last days, because they have lost the trust of markets and politicians.


Greece

According to BBC News Europe, the discussions to form a government of national unity keep rumbling on in Greece.


Italy

By yesterday Italian state bonds had become ruinously expensive, but according to Reuters there are some signs that the parliament would pass emergency legislation within the next days and that prime minister Silvio Berlusconi would make way for a government of national unity, headed by Mario Monti.

If Greece and Italy fail, the crash of the euro may take down other countries as well.



Ralf Grahn

Eurozone reports and reactions – Italy hot stuff

Yesterday evening the chairman of the Euro Group, Jean-Claude Juncker, held a press conference (recorded, including questions and answers 35:33), together with the Commission vice-president Olli Rehn and the EFSF chief executive officer Klaus Regling.


Media reports and reactions

We take a look at some reports and reactions in the media regarding the eurozone meeting.

Bloomberg reports that payment of the next tranche of loan aid to Greece is possible by mid-December if the new government and the two main parties give a written commitment to the bailout terms, according to Juncker, who also replied that he knew who was going to be the following Greek prime minister.

Despite Juncker's answer about the next Greek prime minister, there is still no agreement according to Reuters. The report paints the former ECB vice-president Lucas Papademos as the front runner to head the transitional government of national unity until the election 19 February 2012. However, the news agency hedges its bets by mentioning the European ombudsman Nikoforos Diamandouros and the envoy to the IMF Panagiotis Roumeliotis.

Reuters provides quotes from the document on EFSF leverage Regling mentioned.


Italy hot stuff

Juncker pointed out that Italy is not undergoing an EU rescue programme. However, Italy experienced unprecedented speculation yesterday, from at least three angles.

Media speculated wildly on (1) the possible resignation of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and (2) Italian bond yields surged towards the 7% level. Both bonds and (3) the stock market fluctuated on the conflicting rumours, positively on resignation and negatively on denial.

In the background we have a vote of confidence in the Italian parliament today, as well as the economic reforms sketched by Berlusconi.

Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi promised a string of reforms to the European Council 26 October 2011 and the European Central Bank, as described by EurActiv, Reuters and The Guardian. The Corriere della Sera had a report, but also the full text of Berlusconi's letter (in Italian).

The finance ministers meeting in the Ecofin Council today will keenly follow the political developments in Italy and the market reactions, and want to hear about concrete plans to put the promised reforms into practice.



Ralf Grahn

Eurozone: Credible Italy?

We have looked at the background and gaps and filled the Ecofin file with recent EU and eurozone statements. We are anxiously eyeing Greece, but we also know that we are all aboard the Greek rollercoaster on the slopes of the Apennines.

The EU finance ministers meet in the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) Tuesday 8 November 2011, after the meeting of the Euro Group this evening, to take stock of developments and to chart a route to safety.

If Greece is a big problem, Italy is both big and a problem of proportions for the stability of the euro area as a whole.


Italy

The news out of Italy is far from reassuring.

According to Reuters, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has one day left to win over waverers and to see off party rebels, before a crunch vote on Tuesday. On Friday the yield of Italian bonds reached more than 6.4 per cent, there is uncertainty of Italy's commitment to EU and IMF monitoring and the bond-buying programme of the European Central bank is conditional on the concrete delivery of structural reform.

Calls for Berlusconi's resignation and the possibility of early elections add to the muddled picture, while the G20 summit left the eurozone with warm words, but no money to top up the EFSF, as reported by CNN (here and here).

Bloomberg sees that the Italian yield surge has already set Berlusconi on the path to bailout. Italy has to refinance 37 billion euros of bills and bonds by year-end and another 307 billion euros in 2012, although the big and diversified real economy of Italy offers some silver lining.



Ralf Grahn

Eurozone finance ministers Monday: background and gaps

The finance ministers of the Euro Group meet to ride the Greek rollercoaster on the slopes of the Apennines, well after markets open and close in Europe Monday, 7 November 2011.

Are we going to see solutions emerging in Greece and Italy ahead of the eurozone meeting and the full Ecofin Council on Tuesday?

The Annex to the Council background note offers a convenient one page summary of the ongoing work to alleviate the crisis in the eurozone (page 6). The overview would have been even better, had it linked to the relevant documents (although two documentary links about other items are provided in the preceding main text).

The documents of the Ecofin open sessions have not been updated (yet).

There are some gaps to fill. Observers of the European Union (eurozone) need the relevant documents, plus information about possible weekend developments in Greece and Italy.

For lively discussion about the eurozone challenges I recommend the multilingual aggregator of 873 euroblogs Bloggingportal.eu. You can read, comment and share.



Ralf Grahn

Eurozone: Athens, Byzantium and Rome

We continue our exploration of euroblogs through the multilingual aggregator Bloggingportal.eu in our quest for views on the crisis in the eurozone. We visit the capitals - Athens, Byzantium and Rome – cradles of European civilisation.


Athens

Gulf Stream Blues asked: Was it all for nought? Maybe Papandreou hoped that if the Greek people themselves are forced to make the same choice he is now faced with, they too will conclude there is really no other option for the country.

Europaportalen.se noted that the Greek referendum is off the table, but Papandreou has not resigned. There are signs of some sort of cross-party solutions taking shape (in Swedish).


Byzantine politics?

According to the bilingual EUropeanista blog a referendum in Greece, at first sight a perfectly and healthy democratic act, hides treason. Greece is being betrayed, one more time, by a corrupted and incompetent political class.

Since prime minister George Papandreou has lost the confidence of his party and parts of his government, Vassilis Monastiriotis sees basically two options. One is a new party leader, Evangelos Venizelos being the only serious candidate. More probable solution is cross-party agreement on a transitory unity government to ratify the 26-27 October 2011 euro(zone) summit agreement ahead of an early election. Papandreou and the referendum seem to be goners, but the problems of instability and lack of legitimacy set to remain for Greece.


Roma aeterna?

The Open Europe blog notes the defection of two of PM Silvio Berlusconi's MPs to the Christian Democrats. The government meeting on new emergency measures and the arguments with finance minister Giulio Tremonti further weakened Berlusconi's leadership, as did a letter by six of his MPs calling for his resignation. The speaker of the lower house, Gianfranco Fini, publicly criticised the prime minister. The interest rates on Italian state bonds are worryingly high.

Papandreou is obviously finished, writes Georgi Gotev, but a failing Italy would trigger a tsunami effect. He wants Berlusconi to quit and Mario Monti in the role of Pulcinella.


Vadum Francorum

Arthur Goldhammer noted that the European Central Bank dropped its leading rate by 0.25%. So did Patrice Cardot.


Citius, Altius, Fortius

Many leaders acts as if the world hadn't changed in twenty years, opined Gunnar Hökmark MEP (in Swedish). Papandreou has wilfully undermined the confidence in him and his government. Italy is in dire need of strucural reforms. The EU more broadly has for a long time needed competitiveness, but little has been achieved. In the United States two parties prevent needed fiscal policies.


G20

Arnaud Leparmentier picked some interesting quotes from the G20 leaders.


Habent sua fata libelli

The viewpoints are different, but they all represent a part of the European public sphere, for the enlightenment of readers. Earlier roundups in the eurozone series concern possible exitus letalis, more Greek dra(ch)ma, vanishing marble(s), the need for democratic and robust government at European level, as well as calls to and from Athens.



Ralf Grahn

Containing eurozone and US jitters?

Italy and Spain have faced increasing pressure from the bond markets, as well as outspoken calls to put their house in order.

To shift you into the right mood, Place du Luxembourg offers a detailed view of last week's bond yields and developments in the eurozone, with an abundance of references.

Not only vacations of political leaders and central bankers, but weekends too, were cut because of the credit downgrade of the United States and sour bond markets in the euro area.


Sarkozy and Merkel

The French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the German chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint statement, where they reiterated their full support for the implementation of the agreement at the eurozone summit 21 July 2011.

They wish for the rapid approval of the decisions by the national parliaments, and they welcome the decisions by Italy and Spain to speed up budgetary consolidation and reforms for improving competitiveness. See (in French):

Zone euro – Communiqué franco-allemand


ECB Trichet

After a telephone conference of the Governing Council, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Jean-Claude Trichet issued a statement, which welcomed the announcements made by the governments of Italy and Spain concerning new measures and reforms in the areas of fiscal and structural policies. The Governing Council considers a decisive and swift implementation by both governments as essential in order to substantially enhance the competitiveness and flexibility of their economies, and to rapidly reduce public deficits.

The statement required full implementation by Italy and Spain of the new measures, as well as by all the eurozone countries with regard to both their national commitments and the decisions by the euro area summit 21 July.

On these conditions, the ECB dangled the hope of intervening through its Securities Markets Programme:

7 August 2011 - Statement by the President of the ECB


Italy

During the week, Italy was hit by prohibitively high rates to (re)fianance its public debt. At a press conference 5 August 2011, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and finance minister Giulio Tremonti announced measures to accelerate the reduction of the public deficit and to introduce structural reforms.

Il Sole 24ore explains that anticipated budget cuts will balance the Italian budget already in 2013, instead of 2014: Anticipo 23 miliardi per i tagli. More on the government proposals, including a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, here, and on the demands of the ECB here.


Spain

In the other big eurozone country hit by the bond markets, El País offers us an overview of the new measures by the Spanish government and finance minister Elena Salgado during the weekend: Salgado detalla un plan de ajuste de 5.000 millones ante la présion europea.


G7 statement

The Financial Times has gained access to and published the statement by the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 countries, who promise action and liquidity.

This morning the markets in Asia have not been jubilant, but perhaps we should wait for the details of various measures to emerge and be digested.



Ralf Grahn

Sarkozy and Berlusconi: Helping or hurting their countries?

One of the questions in the wake of the French “Romagate” affair is how it affects the international standing of France. Regards citoyens republished an article by Christian Lequesne in Le Monde: L’attitude du pouvoir vis-à-vis de l’Europe isole la France au lieu de renforcer son rôle.



Lequesne, who is director of CERI (Centre for International Studies and Research), identifies four different elements in president Nicolas Sarkozy’s intergovernmental view of the European Union. This view is counter-productive, and it leads to isolation.


Thomas Friang and Solène Meissonnier speak about an insolent sovereignty in Le Taurillon, when they predict that the Roma policy of the French government will affect the building of Europe, as well as France’s international standing: Une souveraineté insolente.



The only other major EU member state to give the French government clamorous support is Silvio Berlusconi’s Italy. Therefore it is interesting to see how Ferruccio Pastore deals with Paris and Rome in Affari Internazionali: L’asse Parigi-Roma scuote le fondamenta dell’Ue.

According to Pastore the split at the European Council concerned a fundamental question about EU citizenship: does it belong to the poor. The axis between Paris and Rome looks like a precarious alliance between two leaders in crisis. The opened crack concerns the very foundations of the community project.



Also in Affari Internazionali, Bruno Nascimbene writes about the Roma and EU citizenship: La disputa dei rom e i diritti dei cittadini dell’Ue.

Nascimbene discusses EU citizenship, discrimination, free movement, ‘voluntary’ repatriation and the requirement to decide on a case by case basis.


All in all, it looks like Sarkozy and Berlusconi have harmed their countries much more than they have helped.




Ralf Grahn



P.S. The multilingual aggregator for EU related blogs keeps growing. There are now 669 Euroblogs listed on Bloggingportal.eu. You can take a look at the stream of all new posts, or following the editors' choices on the front page. You can also subscribe to the streams and the newsletters without cost.



Bloggingportal.eu needs a few more voluntary editors to tag posts according to subjects. Why not keep informed by reading about European affairs, improve your language skills and do something useful by joining the team of editors?

Sarkozy’s “Romagate”: Berlusconi or Mugabe?

The Bloggingportal.eu blog headlined its Week in Bloggingportal France vs. Europe, but more than yesterday’s news the French crackdown on illegal Roma camps is a fountain of learning about how the European Union (mal)functions.



Charles Forelle on the WSJ Real Time Brussels blog linked to a story in Le Point where the French senator Philippe Marini’s regrets at the existence of Luxembourg had led prime minister François Fillon to offer excuses to the Grand Duchy.

Forelle went on to instigate his readers to find (or invent) more extravagant ripostes.

What on earth should we think of?



Daniel Mason on The Endless Track saw that the discussion should be conducted without referring to the Nazis.



The advice of Charlemagne’s notebook was: Don’t mention the war.



Way back European Alternatives presented the “security package” of Silvio Berlusconi’s government in Italy after the 2008 elections, and the European Union’s lack of real action.



Massimo Merlino wrote a detailed analysis called: The Italian (In)Security Package – Security vs. Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights in the EU (downloadable here).



According to Michael Day, in The Independent, Berlusconi has given his full support to France's controversial decision to forcibly repatriate thousands of Roma people to Eastern Europe.


If we play along, and leave Hitler outside, isn’t Berlusconi the obvious reference for Sarkozy’s ethnically motivated crackdown on Roma?



The French authorities have been at pains to explain that they have targeted only illegal Roma and Travellers settlements. So was, according to Robert Mugabe, the demolition of homes in Zimbabwe during the so called Operation Drive Out Trash (source: Wikipedia).

So how about Mugabe, if we look for role models beyond Europe?

President Sarkozy must have thought that the European Commission would roll over, since it had not confronted Berlusconi seriously, but regardless of the legal consequences Sarkozy has also chosen his company internationally.




Ralf Grahn

Exploiting France’s “Romagate” for party political ends? European Parliament

"I sincerely hope that following the deletion of any explicit reference to Roma in the circular in question, France will redress other legal and procedural shortcomings as well. I also hope that the European Commission will take the necessary actions if the French measures prove to be discriminative and the rights of Roma as European citizens are not fully guaranteed", said the Hungarian member of the European Parliament Lívia Járóka in a press release on the web pages of the EPP group.

So far, so good, but Járóka went on to say:

It is vital, however, that the Roma issue is not taken hostage in a squabble between the Commission and a Member State, or abused by political groups for short-sighted and cheap political purposes.

When the president of the European People’s Party Wilfried Martens welcomed the conclusions of the European Council, he said:

Also the Roma issue was discussed at the EPP Summit and all parties involved were able to air their differences in a positive and constructive manner. It is very unfortunate that our political opponents tried – unsuccessfully – to exploit this delicate issue and to use it as a weapon against us.

(I’ll leave the positive and constructive airing of differences aside, although it appeals to my sense of humour.)



EPP wrong-footed?

Our series on the French “Romagate” affair have stayed clear of party politics this far, but the government actors in Italy and France, the heads of state or government convening in the European Council, and the European Parliament (even the Commission, although tempered by the general interest) have their party political ties.

Do party politics explain some of the stances taken, such as the defensive posture of the European People’s Party?

Let us look at the European Parliament.



The summary of the Roma debate in the European Parliament showed marked differences between the political groups.



The resolution adopted by the EP plenary 9 September 2010 called for France to end all expulsions of Roma, as well as intervention by the Commission, the Council and the member states. The resolution as a whole was approved by 337 votes to 245 (with 51 abstentions).



According to the Legislative observatory Oeil, the text adopted in plenary was tabled as a joint resolution by the S&D (Socialists and Democrats), ALDE (Liberals and Democrats), Greens/ALE (Greens/European Free Alliance)and GUE/NGL (European United Left/Nordic Green Left).



This defeated the evasive or long grass motion for a resolution tabled by the centre-right EPP (European People’s Party (Christian Democrats)) group, with the lead government party in most EU member states, and the ECR group (European Conservatives and Reformists, which includes the UK Conservatives, the bigger coalition party) to wind up the discussion.



The Socialist-Liberal-Green-Left motion for a resolution also prevailed over the sovereignty oriented motion by the EFD group (Europe of Freedom and Democracy, which includes the UK Independence Party and the Italian Lega Nord).



The largest political group in the European Parliament is the EPP with 265 members. Of these, 29 (including the group leader Joseph Daul) come from France, whereas 35 are Italians, both contingents tied to the domestic government.



Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy and president Nicolas Sarkozy have been the main leaders of government crackdowns on Roma, challenging what Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty called the benevolent self-image of Europe.

Even if the members of the European Parliament are joined in party political groups (Europarties), they have both their nationality and their domestic party political affiliation.

Sadly, I must say, the EP Roma resolution was not the finest hour for the European People’s Party as a defender of EU citizens’ rights. The EPP got wrong-footed by its government ties. This, in my view, explains the defensive posture. Accusations that others exploit the issue have a hollow ring to them.




Ralf Grahn

EU: Stability programme Italy

Start by reading the background remarks on economic policy coordination in the European Union, in the blog post EU: Useful stability and convergence programmes? (3 June 2010).

You can then move on to the EU Council opinion on the stability programme of Italy, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU):



COUNCIL OPINION on the updated stability programme of Italy, 2009-2012; OJEU 1.6.2010 C 142/13



Economic background


The Council of the European Union started its 26 April 2010 assessment of the updated stability programme of the eurozone country Italy, which covers the period 2009 to 2012, with the following observations about the economic situation:

While the low indebtedness of the household sector and a relatively solid financial sector have provided some shelter from the global financial crisis, deep-seated structural weaknesses giving rise to unsatisfactory productivity growth had weakened the Italian economy long before the global downturn. After having contracted for five quarters, GDP rebounded in the third quarter of 2009, but declined again slightly in the fourth quarter. The recession has taken its toll on the labour market with a lag: in 2009, its impact materialised more in terms of hours worked than of headcount employment, with many workers, in particular in the hardest hit manufacturing sector, accessing the wage supplementation fund to complement their salary for the fewer hours worked. The government's policy response to the crisis was adequate in view of the very high government debt, in a context of increased risk aversion. Since the last quarter of 2008, the government approved several measures to shore up the stability of the financial sector, restore confidence and offer relief to distressed firms and households. According to the government's estimates, the recovery measures were fully financed by redeploying existing funds and increasing revenues, with no effect on the deficit. Notwithstanding the government's prudent fiscal stance, the impact of the economic downturn on the Italian public finances has been significant. The government deficit ratio doubled between 2008 and 2009, to 5,3 % of GDP (confirmed in the statistical office's estimate released on 1 March 2010). This, in conjunction with the very high government debt ratio, led to the Council deciding that Italy was in excessive deficit on 2 December 2009, with a deadline for the correction of this situation by 2012. Besides fiscal consolidation, which is a condition to keep public finances on a sustainable path, the key challenge for Italy's economic policy in the coming years will be to foster a swift and durable recovery in productivity growth so as to restore competitiveness and raise the country's low potential GDP growth. Far-reaching structural reforms are key to addressing the productivity challenge. In addition, restoring competitiveness in the short term also requires ensuring that wage developments are better aligned with productivity developments.

Council recommendation

After a detailed discussion, and in the light of the recommendation under Article 126(7) TFEU of 2 December 2009, the EU Council invited Italy to:

(i) rigorously implement the planned budgetary adjustment, in particular carry out the fiscal consolidation in 2010 as planned and back up the planned consolidation for 2011 and 2012 with concrete measures, standing ready to adopt the required consolidation measures in case the macroeconomic scenario underpinning the Article 126(7) Recommendation materialises; seize, as prescribed in the EDP recommendation, any opportunity beyond the fiscal efforts, including from better economic conditions, to accelerate the reduction of the gross debt ratio towards the 60 % of GDP reference value;

(ii) ensure that the implementation of the reform of the budgetary process improves the conditions for expenditure control and helps sustain the objective of sound public finances and that the rules governing fiscal federalism improve the accountability of local governments and foster efficiency.

Italy is also invited to improve compliance with the data requirements of the code of conduct in view of the indicative nature of revenue and expenditure projections in the outer years and to provide more information on the broad measures underpinning the envisaged consolidation in these years in the EDP [excessive deficit procedure] chapter of the forthcoming updates of the stability programme.

These assessments and Council opinions are hardly “media sexy”, but they are important. Should you take an interest?




Ralf Grahn

Italian Chamber of Deputies approved Lisbon Treaty

Today the Italian Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei deputati) unanimously voted to approve the EU Treaty of Lisbon:

“Seguito della discussione del disegno di legge:

S. 759 - Ratifica ed esecuzione del Trattato di Lisbona che modifica il Trattato sull’Unione europea e il Trattato che istituisce la Comunità europea e alcuni atti connessi, con atto finale, protocolli e dichiarazioni, fatto a Lisbona il 13 dicembre 2007 (Approvato dal Senato). (1519)”

Source: www.camera.it

The Italian Senate (Senato della Repubblica) earlier voted unanimously for approval, 286 against 0.

The Deputies’ vote concludes the parliamentary stage of ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in Italy.


Ralf Grahn

Italian Senate approved Lisbon Treaty

Wednesday evening the Italian Senate (Senato della Repubblica) debated the government bill on ratification of the EU Lisbon Treaty:

“2. Ratifica ed esecuzione del Trattato di Lisbona che modifica il Trattato sull'Unione europea e il Trattato che istituisce la Comunità europea e alcuni atti connessi, con atto finale, protocolli e dichiarazioni, fatto a Lisbona il 13 dicembre 2007 - Relatore DINI (759)”

The Senate voted unanimously for approval (286) against 0.

Source: Mercoledì 23 luglio 2008, Ratifiaca del Trattato di Lisbona : via libera all’unanimità
http://www.senato.it/notizie/index.htm

The Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei deputati) still has to vote on the Lisbon Treaty.


Ralf Grahn

Lisbon Treaty ratification count 22 and 367

Belgium is the latest European Union member state to complete the parliamentary ratification process of the Treaty of Lisbon.

Reuters reports ‘Belgium completes approval of EU Lisbon treaty’:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1051159420080710

The 22 member states where the parliamentary ratification is concluded account for 367.8 million Europeans (about 74 per cent of the total EU population of 495.1 million).

The group of slow, undecided or negative member states has now shrunk to five, with the following population numbers (millions):


The Czech Republic 10.3

Italy 59.1

Spain 44.5

Sweden 9.1

---

Ireland 4.3


***

As of yesterday evening, four out of five member states (81 per cent), representing almost three quarters of the total EU population (74 per cent), have concluded the parliamentary ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.



Ralf Grahn

Lisbon Treaty ratifiers represent 357 million Europeans

If we take the latest Eurostat figures (as of 1 January 2007), the total population of the European Union is 495.1 million.

The 21 member states where the parliamentary ratification is concluded account for 357.2 million Europeans (about 72 per cent of the EU total).

The slow, undecided or negative member states have the following population numbers (millions):

Belgium 10.6

The Czech Republic 10.3

Italy 59.1

Spain 44.5

Sweden 9.1

---

Ireland 4.3


***

As of today, we have 77 per cent of the member states, representing 72 per cent of the total EU population, behind the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

Is the Irish electorate a better judge on the future of Europe than the national parliaments?


Ralf Grahn

Netherlands: Lisbon Treaty ratification 21

The Second Chamber of the Netherlands Parliament or the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal) had approved the EU Treaty of Lisbon 5 June 2008 by an overwhelming majority, 111 against 39. From there the ratification bill went to the Senate.

Today, 8 July 2008, the indirectly elected Dutch First Chamber or Senate (Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal) voted to approve the Lisbon Treaty.

Source NOS ‘Eerste Kamer akoord met EU-verdrag’:

http://www.nos.nl/nos/artikelen/2008/07/art000001C8E0E8A41A39C4.html

The Dutch Senate vote concludes the parliamentary ratification process in the Netherlands, which becomes the 21st EU member state to approve the reform treaty.

***

The five remaining member states more or less on course are:

Belgium, with its manifold parliaments

The Czech Republic, a source of uncertainty and notably the next rotating EU Council president after France

Italy, where the new Berlusconi government after the elections has issued its ratification bill

Spain, where the Senate has yet to vote, but the Congress of Deputies voted a crushing 322 to 6 for approval

Sweden, with its slow timetable, where the government has issued its ratification bill only last week; notably the third EU Council president of the 18 month troika or trio: France, Czech Republic, Sweden


For details on dates and votes you can check for instance Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lisbon#Ratification

***

The sixth member state, off course, is ‘pro-European’ Ireland where the Lisbon Treaty was rejected by a referendum.

***

Two questions to think about:

Has anyone found even one pro-European reason for the Irish ‘no’ vote?

Has anybody detected generally sustainable arguments for the use of national referenda?



Ralf Grahn

Reforming EU institutions and democracy

What to do if the size and the rules of the European Union prevent reform? The Italian president Giorgio Napolitano has called for a more firm and coherent engagement between integrationist states. The European Union needs a new democratic surge.

Napolitano’s speech can be found on the web pages of Notre Europe in Italian and French:

http://www.notre-europe.eu

Here is an extract from the French language version:

La Communauté, et puis l’Union, se sont au fur et à mesure élargies jusqu’à atteindre 27 Etats
membres. Mais le moment de la preuve est venu : si, dans cette dimension et avec les règles
actuelles, l’Union montre qu’elle ne peut pas fonctionner et qu’elle ne peut pas non plus
changer ses règles, il faut alors trouver les formes d’un engagement plus ferme et plus
cohérent entre ces pays qui se sont reconnus dans les choix d’intégration et de cohésion plus
avancés, comme celui de la monnaie unique, celui de l’Euro et de la zone Euro.
Et il faut comprendre que le vote en Irlande a plus que jamais radicalement posé un problème.
Le problème des rapports entre gouvernants et gouvernés dans l’Europe unie, le problème de
la participation et du consensus des citoyens.
L’Union européenne – si souvent accusée de manquer de « capacity to deliver » - ne pourra
pas augmenter son efficacité sans réformes et moyens adéquats, et sans un nouvel élan
démocratique.

***

The maturity test of the European Council is going to be if it succeeds in achieving both institutional and democratic reform.


Ralf Grahn

Umberto Campagnolo (in Swedish)

Altiero Spinelli, Ernesto Rossi och Eugenio Colorni var ingalunda ensamma om visionen att säkra fred och framsteg i Europa genom en federation. Diskussionen bland europeiska intellektuella var livlig före och efter krigsslutet.

Umberto Campagnolo (1904–1976) studerade folkrätt för Hans Kelsen i Schweiz och doktorerade om nationerna och rätten. År 1945 utnyttjade han sin juridiska sakkunskap som utgångspunkt för ett program för ett enat Europa. Skriften har år 2004 publicerats i en ny utgåva, med en inledning av Lorella Cedroni.

I Europeiska förbundsrepubliken, ’Repubblica Federale Europea’, utgick Campagnolo från att Europa, trots sin mångfald, var en etisk, kulturell och civilisatorisk enhet samt en ödesgemenskap.
Återstod att forma Europa till ett politiskt samfund.

Nationalstaterna, allianserna och maktpolitiken hade lett till världskrigen. Den så kallade internationella rätten (folkrätten) var ingen rättsordning, eller ordning av något som helst slag. Verksam var rätten enbart i stöd av staternas goda vilja eller egenintresse. Verkligheten formades av den starkares rätt, strävan till maktbalans och bräckliga koalitioner.

En union mellan regeringar är enbart en allians, anförs i ett citat av John Stuart Mill.

Den så kallade moderna internationella rätten hade fört med sig Nationernas förbund, Internationella domstolen, obligatoriskt skiljeförfarande, kollektiv säkerhet och nedrustning. Organisationen skulle trygga respekten för den internationella rätten, vid behov med våld. Men besluten krävde enhälliga överenskommelser mellan de stater som hade intressen i frågan, mellan de direkt inblandade och mellan organisationens alla medlemmar. Inte heller detta var en rättsordning; inte heller detta kunde fungera så länge staterna var suveräna.

Campagnolo förordade inte en gradvis skeende ekonomisk integrering som metod, eftersom de politiska förutsättningarna går före ekonomin. Det gällde att med en gång forma Europas nationer till en gemensam, federal stat, med alla de element och befogenheter som behövs; en verklig rättsordning.

Till skillnad från en del andra författare föredrog Campagnolo att kalla den nya staten för Europeiska förbundsrepubliken, inte Europas förenta stater. Enligt honom fanns det teoretiska, historiska och politiska skäl för valet av namn.

En federal stat är en stat i ordets fulla betydelse, även om autonomin för nationerna och delarna kan vara större än i en enhetsstat.

Förbundsstaten bygger direkt på individerna, inte på medlemsstaterna. Federationen skulle baseras på liberala och demokratiska principer.

Federalismen var inte ett ställningstagande i ekonomiska och sociala frågor. Det är inte grundlagen som skall avgöra om förbundsstaten utvecklas i liberalistisk eller socialistisk riktning. Inom ramen för frihetliga och demokratiska principer skulle de politiska valen göras genom statens normala verksamhet (de politiska krafternas spel).

Ralf Grahn


Litteratur:

Umberto Campagnolo
Repubblica Federale Europea
Unificazione giuridica dell’Europa
Introduzione de Lorella Cedroni
Rubbettino Editore, 2004

Ernesto Rossi (in Swedish)

Europa i tanke och handling, ’europeismo’, är levande verklighet i Italien. Populära och vetenskapliga publikationer utkommer i en strid ström med många förgreningar: kulturella, biografiska, historiska, politiska, juridiska och ekonomiska.

Ett vackert uttryck för minnesvården är nya utgåvor av äldre, annars svåråtkomliga skrifter med betydelse för Europatanken. Ett exempel är faximilutgåvan 2004 av ’Gli Stati Uniti d’Europa’ (1944) av Ernesto Rossi (1897–1967).

Rossi samarbetade med Altiero Spinelli då Ventotenemanifestet skrevs (1941), deltog år 1943 i bildandet av den europafederalistiska rörelsen, Movimento Federalista Europeo (MFE), och fortsatte sin europafederalistiska gärning under landsflykten i Schweiz.

Det var under tiden i Schweiz han författade sin skrift om Europas förenta stater, en klassiker inom den federalistiska litteraturen.

Enligt Rossi var de suveräna nationalstaterna och den därav följande internationella anarkin oförenliga med förverkligandet av frihet, demokrati och social rättvisa. Ett enat Europa behövdes för att förhindra nya krig. Tyskland måste bli en del av det enade Europa.

Endast ett federalt system, i likhet med USA eller Schweiz, kunde trygga en demokratisk ordning för att hantera det ökande ömsesidiga beroendet mellan länderna i Europa.

Rossi beskriver klart de grundläggande principerna för den federala staten.

Federationen är en verklig stat, med en regering som ansvarar för utrikespolitiken, en armé som ersätter de nationella försvarsstyrkorna och en högsta domstol som tolkar förbundsstatens grundlag och avgör möjliga tvister mellan medlemsstaterna samt mellan dem och förbundsstaten.

Individerna (medborgarna) utgör grunden för den demokratiska federationen, inte staterna. På de områden där federationen är behörig, gäller dess lagstiftning medborgarna direkt.

För att kunna sköta sina uppgifter måste förbundsstaten ha behörighet rörande utrikeshandeln, flyttningsrörelserna, valutan och kolonierna.

Ralf Grahn


Litteratur:

Ernesto Rossi
Gli Stati Uniti d’Europa
Edizione anastatica a cura di Sergio Pistone
Celid, 2004

Vänstern och Europa (in Swedish)

Ännu i dag ser man tidvis fördömande uttalanden om den europeiska integrationen som ett högerprojekt. Påståendena baserar sig framför allt på att det var på ekonomiska områden, Europeiska kol- och stålgemenskapen samt Europeiska ekonomiska gemenskapen, de första nydanande organisationerna uppstod.

Andra politikområden har småningom lagts till, men kärnfrågorna med kontinental (och interkontinental) räckvidd präglas fortfarande av ineffektiv mellanstatlighet och demokratiska underskott.

Hur långt är de traditionella vänsterpartiernas ideologiska låsningar en förklaring till den europeiska integrationens inriktning och outvecklade tillstånd?

En historisk tillbakablick kan vara på sin plats.

Piero Graglia skildrade i ljuset av de förment internationalistiska kommunist- och socialistpartiernas nederlag mot fascismen i Italien, där Benito Mussolini grep makten år 1922, kampen mot fascismen, först i Italien, sedan i landsflykt i Frankrike och – efter Adolf Hitlers maktövertagande i Tyskland år 1933 – i ett europeiskt sammanhang.

De traditionella vänsterpartierna, kommunistiska och socialistiska, lyckades inte lösgöra sig från sina tidigare klassbundna ramar.

Carlo Rosselli (1899 – 1937) hade utvecklat sin egen ideologiska syn i boken ’Socialismo liberale’ (1928), med inspiration i det brittiska labourpartiets förhållandevis pragmatiska politik. Under exilen i Frankrike övertygades Rosselli och kretsen kring tidskriften ’Giustizia e Libertà’ allt mera om att kampen mot fascismen och mot nationalsocialismen hade europeiska dimensioner. Därför behövdes också europeiska lösningar.

Efter fascismens och nazismens fall skulle Europa nyordnas enligt demokratiska och federala principer, Europas förenta stater, hävdade Rosselli, som i juni 1937 mördades på fransk mark av den italienska regeringens handgångne män.

Ralf Grahn


Litteratur:

Piero Graglia
Unità europea e federalismo
Da ”Giustizia e libertà” ad Altiero Spinelli
Il Mulino, 1996