When the new Barroso II Commission finally is allowed to start working, at least two Commissioners face the urgent task to update the web pages and step up the communication effort of their services. They are Viviane Reding (Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship) and Cecilia Malmström (Home Affairs).
For some inexplicable reason, we have seen that the current Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security would remain intact, although the European Union is getting a “justice minister” and an “interior minister”.
If true, this means that the two Commissioners will have to agree on the steps to take, but one thing is crystal clear. In these policy areas with a direct impact on EU citizens, something needs to be done – and quickly.
The briefest tour of the web pages of DG Justice, Freedom and Security makes it abundantly clear that the website has to be redesigned and updated. Currently this DG probably has the worst web presence among the Commission services.
If Director-General Jonathan Faull has been mentioned as the new chief of Internal Market and Services for Commissioner Michel Barnier, directing communications and web design cannot have been among the merits counted for the new job.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Cross-border communication is a necessity in the European Union and beyond, with scrutiny by active citizens. At the same time Euroblogs are an agreeable way to brush up one’s skills in foreign languages.
While resolutely outside the European Union, Norway is part of the European Economic Area (EEA). Thus, EU has profound implications for Norway, and Norwegian opinions are of European interest.
Written by Norwegian journalists, Europabloggen.no (in Norwegian) bridges the communication gap between the EU and Norway.
Europabloggen.no is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Saturday, 30 January 2010
EU aid for trans-European networks (TENs)
The European Union contributes to the establishment and development of trans-European networks (TENs) in the areas of transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructures.
The EU can contribute by granting aid to projects of common interest. The EU aims at promoting the interconnection and interoperability of national networks as well as access to such networks.
A new codified Regulation 67/2010 on TEN aid has now been officially published, but because it was adopted before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force it refers to Community financial aid and to the EC Treaty:
REGULATION (EC) No 67/2010 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 30 November 2009 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks (codified version); published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 30.1.2010 L 27/20.
Lisbon Treaty – TFEU
Now that the Lisbon Treaty has entered into force, the provisions on trans-European networks are found in Title XVI of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Articles 170 to 172 TFEU (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115/124-125).
Ralf Grahn
P.S.The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union and other legal developments within the EU are of pan-European interest.
EU Law Blog is ‘a web log about European Union law for students, academics, practitioners and anyone else who may be interested in it’.
The highly recommended EU Law Blog is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs: politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European legal and political issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
The EU can contribute by granting aid to projects of common interest. The EU aims at promoting the interconnection and interoperability of national networks as well as access to such networks.
A new codified Regulation 67/2010 on TEN aid has now been officially published, but because it was adopted before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force it refers to Community financial aid and to the EC Treaty:
REGULATION (EC) No 67/2010 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 30 November 2009 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks (codified version); published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 30.1.2010 L 27/20.
Lisbon Treaty – TFEU
Now that the Lisbon Treaty has entered into force, the provisions on trans-European networks are found in Title XVI of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Articles 170 to 172 TFEU (OJEU 9.5.2008 C 115/124-125).
Ralf Grahn
P.S.The judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union and other legal developments within the EU are of pan-European interest.
EU Law Blog is ‘a web log about European Union law for students, academics, practitioners and anyone else who may be interested in it’.
The highly recommended EU Law Blog is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs: politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European legal and political issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
New EU Ecolabel Regulation 66/2010
The European Union has a new Regulation No 66/2010, which lays down rules for the establishment and application of the voluntary EU Ecolabel scheme. It repeals Regulation (EC) No 1980/2000 (subject to transitional provisions).
REGULATION (EC) No 66/2010 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel.
This text with EEA relevance was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 30.1.2010 L 27/1. As a Regulation, it is directly applicable in the EU member states.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. EU Law Blog is ‘a web log about European Union law for students, academics, practitioners and anyone else who may be interested in it’.
The highly recommended EU Law Blog is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs: politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
REGULATION (EC) No 66/2010 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 November 2009 on the EU Ecolabel.
This text with EEA relevance was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 30.1.2010 L 27/1. As a Regulation, it is directly applicable in the EU member states.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. EU Law Blog is ‘a web log about European Union law for students, academics, practitioners and anyone else who may be interested in it’.
The highly recommended EU Law Blog is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs: politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Friday, 29 January 2010
4th Data Protection Day 28 January 2010 in Europe
On the fourth Data Protection Day the Council of Europe issued a communication highlighting the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (Strasbourg, 28.I.1981).
Europeans' privacy will be big challenge in the next decade, said Commissioner Viviane Reding for the European Union in an informative press release, which set out both the existing rules (with useful links) and the challenges ahead (IP/10/63).
However, Reding did not mention specific dark clouds on the horizon, such as the SWIFT agreement, the ACTA negotiations or the possible resurrection of IPRED2.
Just one example, for starters; here are some questions where the Council and the Commission should respond in a more constructive manner than what we have seen to date:
MEP Alexander Alvaro (ALDE) on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Citizens’ rights should be remembered and protected every day of the year.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Cross-border communication is a necessity in the European Union and beyond, with scrutiny by active citizens. At the same time Euroblogs are an agreeable way to brush up one’s skills in foreign languages.
Turkish blogger Erkan Saka collects and comments on a plethora of issues relevant to contemporary life, politics and culture, offline and online. Erkan’s Field Diary (in English) is a must read among Euroblogs.
Erkan’s Field Diary is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Europeans' privacy will be big challenge in the next decade, said Commissioner Viviane Reding for the European Union in an informative press release, which set out both the existing rules (with useful links) and the challenges ahead (IP/10/63).
However, Reding did not mention specific dark clouds on the horizon, such as the SWIFT agreement, the ACTA negotiations or the possible resurrection of IPRED2.
Just one example, for starters; here are some questions where the Council and the Commission should respond in a more constructive manner than what we have seen to date:
MEP Alexander Alvaro (ALDE) on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Citizens’ rights should be remembered and protected every day of the year.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Cross-border communication is a necessity in the European Union and beyond, with scrutiny by active citizens. At the same time Euroblogs are an agreeable way to brush up one’s skills in foreign languages.
Turkish blogger Erkan Saka collects and comments on a plethora of issues relevant to contemporary life, politics and culture, offline and online. Erkan’s Field Diary (in English) is a must read among Euroblogs.
Erkan’s Field Diary is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Growing opposition against EU-USA SWIFT or TFTP agreement
Active opposition against the so called SWIFT agreement on the rendition of financial data from the European Union to the United States of America seems to be growing among experts, in the European Parliament and beyond.
One the one hand, there is the interim TFTP agreement the member states’ governments (Council) wanted to enter into force on 1 February 2010, without burdening the European Parliament with scrutiny. On the other hand, there are plans for a long term agreement, but the Council has been less than zealous in engaging the European Parliament.
Members of the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) have not taken the combination of pressure secrecy from the Council and the European Commission kindly, as seen in SWIFT interim agreement: Civil liberties Committee to vote on 4 February (27 January 2010).
The procedure file NLE/2009/0190 EU/USA agreement: processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program on Oeil, the Legislative Observatory of the European Parliament, tells us the basic facts about the existing documents:
1) COUNCIL DECISION on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (document 16110/09), meant to enter into force provisionally from 1 February and remaining in force until 31 October 2010. This interim agreement has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union as Council Decision 2010/16/CFSP/JHA, OJEU 13.1.2010 L 8/9 & 11.
2) The previous initial legislative document contains the Commission’s proposal on the conclusion of the TFTP Agreement; 17 December 2009; COM(2009)0703 final.
3) COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; dated 20 January 2010; Council document 5305/10. The meaning of the document is somewhat unclear. Is it a belated attempt by the Council to ask for the consent of the European Parliament with regard to the interim agreement after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty? Or is it meant to cover the planned long term agreement? Anyway, the “attached” substance of the agreement is missing.
LIBE
The LIBE Committee has been doing what such parliamentary committees are supposed to do: gathering information about the impact of the TFTP Agreement on fundamental rights of EU citizens.
The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (Working Party on Police and Justice) has expressed concerns on data protection grounds.
The European Data Protection Supervisor considers that not enough elements have been provided so far to justify the necessity and proportionality of such a privacy-intrusive [TFTP] agreement, which in many aspects overlaps with already existing EU and international instruments in this area.
Political reactions
Given the evidence, political reactions have continued, but they have also become sharper.
In December 2009 the liberal group ALDE pushed for an agreement with the other political groups on two conditions for EP approval: that Parliament has full access to all relevant documents and information connected to the SWIFT agreement and that Council's negotiating mandate for the longer-term agreement, to replace this interim agreement expiring by 31 October 2010, fully reflect Parliament' stated concerns in its resolution of September; in Parliament sets conditions for granting consent to SWIFT agreement (17 December 2009).
Practically all the political groups expressed concerns and conditions during the EP’s SWIFT debate on 20 January 2010.
The Greens-EFA parliamentary group has opted for rejection of the SWIFT agreement as a breach of fundamental rights, quoting home affairs spokesman Jan-Philipp Albrecht: EU-US SWIFT bank data agreement: Parliament must stop Council in its tracks (27 January 2010).
The Pirate Party is going to vote for rejection of the SWIFT Agreement in the European Parliament, says Henrik Alexandersson, who posts a press release (in Swedish): Piratpartiet röstar nej till SWIFT-avtalet (28 January 2010).
Euroblogs
Netzpolitik.org (in German) has been keeping a close watch on the SWIFT agreement process. Recommended reading.
Piratpartiet live has aggregated a number of blog posts opposing the SWIFT agreement (mostly in Swedish). Here are but two examples:
Maloki says no to the SWIFT Agreement: Nej till SWIFT-avtalet! (28 January 2010).
Anna Troberg: Piratpartiet säger nej till SWIFT-avtalet (28 January 2010).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Cross-border communication is a necessity in the European Union, with scrutiny by active citizens. At the same time Euroblogs are an agreeable way to brush up one’s skills in foreign languages.
Even when discussing French political and legal events, Diner’s room retains a European and human perspective well worth consideration beyond the borders of France.
Diner’s room (in French) is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
One the one hand, there is the interim TFTP agreement the member states’ governments (Council) wanted to enter into force on 1 February 2010, without burdening the European Parliament with scrutiny. On the other hand, there are plans for a long term agreement, but the Council has been less than zealous in engaging the European Parliament.
Members of the EP Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) have not taken the combination of pressure secrecy from the Council and the European Commission kindly, as seen in SWIFT interim agreement: Civil liberties Committee to vote on 4 February (27 January 2010).
The procedure file NLE/2009/0190 EU/USA agreement: processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program on Oeil, the Legislative Observatory of the European Parliament, tells us the basic facts about the existing documents:
1) COUNCIL DECISION on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (document 16110/09), meant to enter into force provisionally from 1 February and remaining in force until 31 October 2010. This interim agreement has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union as Council Decision 2010/16/CFSP/JHA, OJEU 13.1.2010 L 8/9 & 11.
2) The previous initial legislative document contains the Commission’s proposal on the conclusion of the TFTP Agreement; 17 December 2009; COM(2009)0703 final.
3) COUNCIL DECISION on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; dated 20 January 2010; Council document 5305/10. The meaning of the document is somewhat unclear. Is it a belated attempt by the Council to ask for the consent of the European Parliament with regard to the interim agreement after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty? Or is it meant to cover the planned long term agreement? Anyway, the “attached” substance of the agreement is missing.
LIBE
The LIBE Committee has been doing what such parliamentary committees are supposed to do: gathering information about the impact of the TFTP Agreement on fundamental rights of EU citizens.
The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party (Working Party on Police and Justice) has expressed concerns on data protection grounds.
The European Data Protection Supervisor considers that not enough elements have been provided so far to justify the necessity and proportionality of such a privacy-intrusive [TFTP] agreement, which in many aspects overlaps with already existing EU and international instruments in this area.
Political reactions
Given the evidence, political reactions have continued, but they have also become sharper.
In December 2009 the liberal group ALDE pushed for an agreement with the other political groups on two conditions for EP approval: that Parliament has full access to all relevant documents and information connected to the SWIFT agreement and that Council's negotiating mandate for the longer-term agreement, to replace this interim agreement expiring by 31 October 2010, fully reflect Parliament' stated concerns in its resolution of September; in Parliament sets conditions for granting consent to SWIFT agreement (17 December 2009).
Practically all the political groups expressed concerns and conditions during the EP’s SWIFT debate on 20 January 2010.
The Greens-EFA parliamentary group has opted for rejection of the SWIFT agreement as a breach of fundamental rights, quoting home affairs spokesman Jan-Philipp Albrecht: EU-US SWIFT bank data agreement: Parliament must stop Council in its tracks (27 January 2010).
The Pirate Party is going to vote for rejection of the SWIFT Agreement in the European Parliament, says Henrik Alexandersson, who posts a press release (in Swedish): Piratpartiet röstar nej till SWIFT-avtalet (28 January 2010).
Euroblogs
Netzpolitik.org (in German) has been keeping a close watch on the SWIFT agreement process. Recommended reading.
Piratpartiet live has aggregated a number of blog posts opposing the SWIFT agreement (mostly in Swedish). Here are but two examples:
Maloki says no to the SWIFT Agreement: Nej till SWIFT-avtalet! (28 January 2010).
Anna Troberg: Piratpartiet säger nej till SWIFT-avtalet (28 January 2010).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Cross-border communication is a necessity in the European Union, with scrutiny by active citizens. At the same time Euroblogs are an agreeable way to brush up one’s skills in foreign languages.
Even when discussing French political and legal events, Diner’s room retains a European and human perspective well worth consideration beyond the borders of France.
Diner’s room (in French) is listed among 522 great Euroblogs (at the latest count) on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, more than thirty policy areas, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
Bloggingportal EU anniversary roundup
Happy Birthday to EU,
Happy Birthday to EU,
Happy Birthday, Dear Bloggingportal,
Happy Birthday to EU!
Bloggingportal.eu
The first anniversary of the multilingual blog aggregator Bloggingportal.eu 26 January 2010 was recorded by a number of stalwarts of the Euroblogosphere and some others interested in European affairs. Here is a roundup of some of the felicitations.
In One year Bloggingportal.eu Kosmopolito noted more than 500 euroblogs, 25 editors and thousands of visitors. The European Journalism Centre (EJC) features Bloggingportal.eu as a resource.
Ein Jahr aggregierte Euroblogs was the headline of Europaeum’s assessment of the first year.
Eurosocialist chipped in with Happy Birthday to Bloggingportal.eu! And her French double, Eurosocialiste chirped: Bon anniversaire Bloggingportal.eu !
Un européen jamais content reflected upon Bloggingportal, 1 an déjà !
Happy birthday! said Writing for (y)EU (the EP web editors).
Matizandrea’s Blog sent greetings : Buon compleanno Bloggingportal.eu
Eurocentric noted his positive comments in Celebrating 1 Year of Bloggingportal.eu.
Julien Frisch called it the most important innovation of the Euroblogosphere: Happy birthday, Bloggingportal.eu!!!
Today the first Bloggingportal.eu newsletter appeared. Sign up and give feedback!
Euroblog reflections
Following or participating in the debate about the European Union within national confines is far from enough, if you want to understand what the EU is doing and where it is heading. Cross-border discussion on European integration is essential, especially if you are exposed to the fire and brimstone propaganda of much of the English press and UK political discourse.
At the same time you can brush up your language skills in an enjoyable manner, by reading great euroblogs such as Coulisses de Bruxelles.
Written by Jean Quatremer, Coulisses de Bruxelles is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled. You can propose a blog on European affairs for inclusion, if it is not already listed.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Ralf Grahn
Happy Birthday to EU,
Happy Birthday, Dear Bloggingportal,
Happy Birthday to EU!
Bloggingportal.eu
The first anniversary of the multilingual blog aggregator Bloggingportal.eu 26 January 2010 was recorded by a number of stalwarts of the Euroblogosphere and some others interested in European affairs. Here is a roundup of some of the felicitations.
In One year Bloggingportal.eu Kosmopolito noted more than 500 euroblogs, 25 editors and thousands of visitors. The European Journalism Centre (EJC) features Bloggingportal.eu as a resource.
Ein Jahr aggregierte Euroblogs was the headline of Europaeum’s assessment of the first year.
Eurosocialist chipped in with Happy Birthday to Bloggingportal.eu! And her French double, Eurosocialiste chirped: Bon anniversaire Bloggingportal.eu !
Un européen jamais content reflected upon Bloggingportal, 1 an déjà !
Happy birthday! said Writing for (y)EU (the EP web editors).
Matizandrea’s Blog sent greetings : Buon compleanno Bloggingportal.eu
Eurocentric noted his positive comments in Celebrating 1 Year of Bloggingportal.eu.
Julien Frisch called it the most important innovation of the Euroblogosphere: Happy birthday, Bloggingportal.eu!!!
Today the first Bloggingportal.eu newsletter appeared. Sign up and give feedback!
Euroblog reflections
Following or participating in the debate about the European Union within national confines is far from enough, if you want to understand what the EU is doing and where it is heading. Cross-border discussion on European integration is essential, especially if you are exposed to the fire and brimstone propaganda of much of the English press and UK political discourse.
At the same time you can brush up your language skills in an enjoyable manner, by reading great euroblogs such as Coulisses de Bruxelles.
Written by Jean Quatremer, Coulisses de Bruxelles is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled. You can propose a blog on European affairs for inclusion, if it is not already listed.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Ralf Grahn
EU Law: Humanitarian aid and other thematic files
The European Union is one of the principal international actors trying to alleviate the suffering caused by the natural disaster in Haiti. Humanitarian aid and assistance for long term development are needed from the more fortunate parts of humanity.
Eur-Lex, the legal portal of the European Union, has published a new thematic file on EU legislation in the field of humanitarian aid: emergency aid, food aid and aid for refugees.
The file on humanitarian aid law contains legislative instruments, preparatory acts and other acts.
Thematic files
There are now thematic files on EU law available in the following areas:
• Humanitarian aid (22/01/2010)
• Climate change (03/12/2009)
• Nuclear safety (12/11/2009)
• Food safety (11/11/2009)
• The milk market (28/10/2009)
• REACH – An integrated system for registering, evaluating, authorising and placing restrictions on chemical substances (23/09/2009)
• ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (07/09/2009)
• The common agricultural policy (CAP) (21/07/2009)
• Renewable energy (26/06/2009)
• The European Parliament (26/05/2009)
• The common fisheries policy (CFP) (13/05/2009)
• Human rights (23/04/2009)
• Possession of fire arms (26/03/2009)
• European health strategy (13/03/2009)
• European Union policy in the field of research and innovation (27/01/2009)
• The visual characteristics of the euro coins (29/01/2009)
• Endangered species (09/12/2008)
• Rules on alcohol consumption (18/11/2008)
• Prevention and recycling of waste (25/09/2008)
• Multilingualism in the EU (15/09/2008)
• Air safety (10/09/2008)
• European Neighbourhood Policy (25/08/2008)
• Air passenger rights in the European Union (19/08/2008)
• External relations EU - Turkey (18/08/2008)
• Immigration - Asylum (08/08/2008)
• Customs Tariff (31/07/2008)
• Avian influenza (30/07/2008)
• Fight against terrorism (16/07/2008)
• Personal Data Protection (10/07/2008)
• Campaign against smoking (08/07/2008)
• Recognition of diplomas and qualifications in the European Union (26/06/2008)
• Protection of children (26/05/2008)
• Travelling and disabilities (15/05/2008)
• Employment (24/04/2008)
• Protection of privacy (09/04/2008)
• Money laundering (27/03/2008)
• Freedom of expression (04/03/2008)
• Non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all in the EU (01/02/2008)
• Consumer protection (15/11/2007)
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (19/07/2007)
• The fight against corruption (16/05/2007)
• Value added tax (VAT) (29/11/2006)
• Cosmetic products (25/10/2006)
• Football (06/06/2006)
• Lisbon Strategy (17/05/2006)
• Security of energy supply (07/02/2006)
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Following or participating in the debate about the European Union within national confines is not enough, if you want to understand what the EU is doing and where it is heading. At the same time you can brush up your language skills in an enjoyable manner, by reading great euroblogs such as Coulisses de Bruxelles.
Written by Jean Quatremer, Coulisses de Bruxelles is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled. You can propose a blog on European affairs for inclusion, if it is not already listed.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Eur-Lex, the legal portal of the European Union, has published a new thematic file on EU legislation in the field of humanitarian aid: emergency aid, food aid and aid for refugees.
The file on humanitarian aid law contains legislative instruments, preparatory acts and other acts.
Thematic files
There are now thematic files on EU law available in the following areas:
• Humanitarian aid (22/01/2010)
• Climate change (03/12/2009)
• Nuclear safety (12/11/2009)
• Food safety (11/11/2009)
• The milk market (28/10/2009)
• REACH – An integrated system for registering, evaluating, authorising and placing restrictions on chemical substances (23/09/2009)
• ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (07/09/2009)
• The common agricultural policy (CAP) (21/07/2009)
• Renewable energy (26/06/2009)
• The European Parliament (26/05/2009)
• The common fisheries policy (CFP) (13/05/2009)
• Human rights (23/04/2009)
• Possession of fire arms (26/03/2009)
• European health strategy (13/03/2009)
• European Union policy in the field of research and innovation (27/01/2009)
• The visual characteristics of the euro coins (29/01/2009)
• Endangered species (09/12/2008)
• Rules on alcohol consumption (18/11/2008)
• Prevention and recycling of waste (25/09/2008)
• Multilingualism in the EU (15/09/2008)
• Air safety (10/09/2008)
• European Neighbourhood Policy (25/08/2008)
• Air passenger rights in the European Union (19/08/2008)
• External relations EU - Turkey (18/08/2008)
• Immigration - Asylum (08/08/2008)
• Customs Tariff (31/07/2008)
• Avian influenza (30/07/2008)
• Fight against terrorism (16/07/2008)
• Personal Data Protection (10/07/2008)
• Campaign against smoking (08/07/2008)
• Recognition of diplomas and qualifications in the European Union (26/06/2008)
• Protection of children (26/05/2008)
• Travelling and disabilities (15/05/2008)
• Employment (24/04/2008)
• Protection of privacy (09/04/2008)
• Money laundering (27/03/2008)
• Freedom of expression (04/03/2008)
• Non-discrimination and equal opportunities for all in the EU (01/02/2008)
• Consumer protection (15/11/2007)
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (19/07/2007)
• The fight against corruption (16/05/2007)
• Value added tax (VAT) (29/11/2006)
• Cosmetic products (25/10/2006)
• Football (06/06/2006)
• Lisbon Strategy (17/05/2006)
• Security of energy supply (07/02/2006)
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Following or participating in the debate about the European Union within national confines is not enough, if you want to understand what the EU is doing and where it is heading. At the same time you can brush up your language skills in an enjoyable manner, by reading great euroblogs such as Coulisses de Bruxelles.
Written by Jean Quatremer, Coulisses de Bruxelles is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled. You can propose a blog on European affairs for inclusion, if it is not already listed.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
EU consumer protection: Product safety notifications can save lives
In the policy area of consumer protection, there is now a consolidated version, updated per 1 January 2010, of the EU’s General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) 2001/95:
DIRECTIVE 2001/95/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 December 2001 on general product safety; (Text with EEA relevance); 2001L0095
Serious risks
Article 12 of Directive 2001/95/EC established a Community Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ for the rapid exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission on measures and action taken in relation to products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.
Non-serious risks
The notification procedure established under Article 11 of Directive 2001/95/EC provides for an exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission on measures adopted in relation to products posing a non-serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.
Information and notifications
The European Commission has now replaced its Decision on product safety information and notifications by new guidelines:
COMMISSION DECISION of 16 December 2009 laying down guidelines for the management of the Community Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ established under Article 12 and of the notification procedure established under Article 11 of Directive 2001/95/EC (the General Product Safety Directive); published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 26.1.2010 L 22/1
Consumer protection is an area where the European Union can literally help to save life and limb.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Christian Engström, Pirate MEP, challenges established interests and business models by presenting the views of the Pirate Party on reforming the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). The blog posts are in Swedish or English.
Christian Engström’s blog is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
Now is the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
DIRECTIVE 2001/95/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 December 2001 on general product safety; (Text with EEA relevance); 2001L0095
Serious risks
Article 12 of Directive 2001/95/EC established a Community Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ for the rapid exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission on measures and action taken in relation to products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.
Non-serious risks
The notification procedure established under Article 11 of Directive 2001/95/EC provides for an exchange of information between the Member States and the Commission on measures adopted in relation to products posing a non-serious risk to the health and safety of consumers.
Information and notifications
The European Commission has now replaced its Decision on product safety information and notifications by new guidelines:
COMMISSION DECISION of 16 December 2009 laying down guidelines for the management of the Community Rapid Information System ‘RAPEX’ established under Article 12 and of the notification procedure established under Article 11 of Directive 2001/95/EC (the General Product Safety Directive); published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 26.1.2010 L 22/1
Consumer protection is an area where the European Union can literally help to save life and limb.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Christian Engström, Pirate MEP, challenges established interests and business models by presenting the views of the Pirate Party on reforming the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). The blog posts are in Swedish or English.
Christian Engström’s blog is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
Now is the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
New EU Birds Directive 2009/147
One of the classics of environmental legislation, the European Union’s Birds Directive 79/409 has been codified for the sake of clarity and officially replaced by a new Directive:
DIRECTIVE 2009/147/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (codified version); Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 26.1.2010 L 20/7
Codification
Within the framework of better regulation, this is how the European Commission’s glossary explains the meaning of codification:
The Legal service of the Commission offers additional information about codification.
A Worker Reads History?
Bertolt Brecht wrote the poem Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters (A Worker Reads History), where he questioned the traditional presentation of historical events through great men.
For some reason Brecht’s poem occurred to me, when I wondered if a Directive with most of the substance annexed in Latin can be said to have been published in the official languages of the European Union (and its member states).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Christian Engström, Pirate MEP, challenges established interests and business models by presenting the views of the Pirate Party on reforming the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). The blog posts are in Swedish or English.
Christian Engström’s blog is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
This is the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
DIRECTIVE 2009/147/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (codified version); Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 26.1.2010 L 20/7
Codification
Within the framework of better regulation, this is how the European Commission’s glossary explains the meaning of codification:
Codification
In a wide sense, used in some Member States, codification means gathering all legislation on a particular topic into a single "book" (e.g. penal code). In a narrow sense, and as used in the EU context, codification consists of the adoption of a new legislative act which incorporates and repeals the previous ones (i.e. the basic act and all amending acts). This makes the law clearer and more easily accessible without changing its substance.
The Legal service of the Commission offers additional information about codification.
A Worker Reads History?
Bertolt Brecht wrote the poem Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters (A Worker Reads History), where he questioned the traditional presentation of historical events through great men.
For some reason Brecht’s poem occurred to me, when I wondered if a Directive with most of the substance annexed in Latin can be said to have been published in the official languages of the European Union (and its member states).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Christian Engström, Pirate MEP, challenges established interests and business models by presenting the views of the Pirate Party on reforming the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). The blog posts are in Swedish or English.
Christian Engström’s blog is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
This is the one year anniversary of Bloggingportal.eu. During this first year the number of blogs almost doubled.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Monday, 25 January 2010
EU Creative content consultation contributions online
The contributions to the European Commission’s public consultation on creative content in a European digital single market are now online, divided into the following contributor categories: member states/public bodies, European associations/NGOs, companies and citizens.
The responses are based on the Commission’s reflection document on creative content (22 October 2009).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Chasing Brussels is an audioblog, offering podcasts of discussions between eurobloggers on recent events and challenges facing the European Union.
Chasing Brussels is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
The responses are based on the Commission’s reflection document on creative content (22 October 2009).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Chasing Brussels is an audioblog, offering podcasts of discussions between eurobloggers on recent events and challenges facing the European Union.
Chasing Brussels is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
If you are interested in the EU or the euroblogosphere, you can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Britain exiting the EU: Norman Tebbit proposes divorce
Norman Tebbit, a former chairman of the UK Conservative Party, has recently written two Telegraph columns where he sees the underlying history and culture which have formed the institutions of the other EU members as deeply different and hostile to British ones.
Tebbit imagines that citizens’ rights guaranteed under European constitutions [and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights] are less than “rights” for UK subjects under common law (including parliamentary supremacy?).
Tebbit concludes that Britain should leave the European Union and start thinking about the nature of its future relationship with Europe: I used to believe that Britain had a lot in common with Europe. How wrong I was (20 January 2010) and Britain and the EU: time for a divorce (22 January 2010).
A short while ago, the first column had received 396 comments and the more recent one 261, most of them enthusiastic.
Soon a general election will offer Her Majesty’s subjects the opportunity to elect a Parliament prepared to move from Tebbit’s proposal to a filing for divorce. It would, however, require a major shift, because the current leadership of the three major parties is against secession.
Should David Cameron be ousted, or the majority handed to either UKIP or the BNP?
If Britain sorts out its intention to leave, the Lisbon Treaty guarantees the right for each EU member state to withdraw from the union, although most sane persons agree on the usefulness of a negotiated settlement and a deal on the future relationship.
In my humble opinion, the Norman Conquest (1066) and Magna Carta (1215) offer scant advice on the future of Britain in the world and its relationship with the rest of Europe after withdrawal. Some serious thought should go into that ahead of the general election in order to make the divorce case convincing.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. The UK is a heavyweight among EU member states, and Charlemagne’s notebook (The Economist) offers a gateway to some important shades of British thought about European integration.
Charlemagne’s notebook is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Tebbit imagines that citizens’ rights guaranteed under European constitutions [and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights] are less than “rights” for UK subjects under common law (including parliamentary supremacy?).
Tebbit concludes that Britain should leave the European Union and start thinking about the nature of its future relationship with Europe: I used to believe that Britain had a lot in common with Europe. How wrong I was (20 January 2010) and Britain and the EU: time for a divorce (22 January 2010).
A short while ago, the first column had received 396 comments and the more recent one 261, most of them enthusiastic.
Soon a general election will offer Her Majesty’s subjects the opportunity to elect a Parliament prepared to move from Tebbit’s proposal to a filing for divorce. It would, however, require a major shift, because the current leadership of the three major parties is against secession.
Should David Cameron be ousted, or the majority handed to either UKIP or the BNP?
If Britain sorts out its intention to leave, the Lisbon Treaty guarantees the right for each EU member state to withdraw from the union, although most sane persons agree on the usefulness of a negotiated settlement and a deal on the future relationship.
In my humble opinion, the Norman Conquest (1066) and Magna Carta (1215) offer scant advice on the future of Britain in the world and its relationship with the rest of Europe after withdrawal. Some serious thought should go into that ahead of the general election in order to make the divorce case convincing.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. The UK is a heavyweight among EU member states, and Charlemagne’s notebook (The Economist) offers a gateway to some important shades of British thought about European integration.
Charlemagne’s notebook is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Near Nada: EU General Affairs Council 25 January 2010
The quantity and quality of information ahead of the General Affairs Council meeting Monday 25 January 2010 is derisory.
The agenda tells us that the ministers will be occupied between 10:00 and 15:00 hearing and discussing one agenda item, the Spanish presidency programme.
Although I am convinced that the governments of the EU member states have studied the programme carefully, nobody was gracious enough to add a link to the document in this public information, so I will do it:
The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010
In a few paragraphs, the one page background note runs through some of the headline level activities during the first six months of this year, without adding anything of interest or value for those who follow EU affairs.
No additional items, supporting documents, links – nada.
Still, let us savour the last paragraph before the obligatory press conference:
I fully support the noble aim of fostering close links with the citizens of the EU and building our support and involvement.
How about decent advance information – for a start?
Ralf Grahn
P.S. The UK is a heavyweight among EU member states, and Charlemagne’s notebook (The Economist) offers a gateway to some shades of important British thought about European integration.
Charlemagne’s notebook is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
The agenda tells us that the ministers will be occupied between 10:00 and 15:00 hearing and discussing one agenda item, the Spanish presidency programme.
Although I am convinced that the governments of the EU member states have studied the programme carefully, nobody was gracious enough to add a link to the document in this public information, so I will do it:
The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010
In a few paragraphs, the one page background note runs through some of the headline level activities during the first six months of this year, without adding anything of interest or value for those who follow EU affairs.
No additional items, supporting documents, links – nada.
Still, let us savour the last paragraph before the obligatory press conference:
For the Union to enhance its global role and influence it needs to foster close links with its citizens and build their support and involvement. To this end, the Spanish Presidency aims to strengthen the rights, civil liberties and security of Europe's citizens and promote real equality between men and women.
I fully support the noble aim of fostering close links with the citizens of the EU and building our support and involvement.
How about decent advance information – for a start?
Ralf Grahn
P.S. The UK is a heavyweight among EU member states, and Charlemagne’s notebook (The Economist) offers a gateway to some shades of important British thought about European integration.
Charlemagne’s notebook is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Friday, 22 January 2010
Industry views on European Digital Agenda 2010-2015
The EU’s current information society strategy i2010 is near the end of its shelf-life. The European Commission has held an online public consultation on the post-i2010 European information society strategy and the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union contributed with the Visby agenda, a declaration based on a conference and a report on A Green Knowledge Society (66 pages).
The current holder of the rotating EU Council presidency Spain arranged an international meeting with representatives of the European information and communication technology (ICT) businesses on 18 January 2010.
The invited industry associations presented a report, which feeds into the process of devising the post-i2010 strategy: the European Digital Agenda (or as the Spanish government wants it to be remembered, the Granada strategy, to be presented at the informal meeting of the telecommunications and information society ministers in Granada on 19 to 20 April 2010):
Industry partnership contribution to the Spanish presidency – Digital Europe Strategy – Recommendation of the European Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry to the Spanish Presidency of the European Union (80 pages)
The report contains executive summaries in English, Spanish, German and French, an Introduction and sections on: Productivity And Growth – ICT Supporting European Industry; Sustainability; Creative Content In The Digital World; Trust; Participation For All; Trade/Market Access; Reduction In Administrative Burdens; Contributors.
There is nothing wrong with business interests openly putting forward their views on economic and technological progress and job creation, but it is as important that other societal interests are active and vigilant, and that the political processes are fully open to them.
What has the Spanish presidency planned with respect to civil society views?
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading Euroblogs. On Bruxelles2 (in French) the journalist Nicolas Grosverheyde writes expertly about the security and defence issues facing the European Union.
Bruxelles2 is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
The current holder of the rotating EU Council presidency Spain arranged an international meeting with representatives of the European information and communication technology (ICT) businesses on 18 January 2010.
The invited industry associations presented a report, which feeds into the process of devising the post-i2010 strategy: the European Digital Agenda (or as the Spanish government wants it to be remembered, the Granada strategy, to be presented at the informal meeting of the telecommunications and information society ministers in Granada on 19 to 20 April 2010):
Industry partnership contribution to the Spanish presidency – Digital Europe Strategy – Recommendation of the European Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry to the Spanish Presidency of the European Union (80 pages)
The report contains executive summaries in English, Spanish, German and French, an Introduction and sections on: Productivity And Growth – ICT Supporting European Industry; Sustainability; Creative Content In The Digital World; Trust; Participation For All; Trade/Market Access; Reduction In Administrative Burdens; Contributors.
There is nothing wrong with business interests openly putting forward their views on economic and technological progress and job creation, but it is as important that other societal interests are active and vigilant, and that the political processes are fully open to them.
What has the Spanish presidency planned with respect to civil society views?
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading Euroblogs. On Bruxelles2 (in French) the journalist Nicolas Grosverheyde writes expertly about the security and defence issues facing the European Union.
Bruxelles2 is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Discrimination frustrates free movement in the EU
The free movement of people has been an aim since the 1957 EEC Treaty. Discrimination on grounds of nationality has been prohibited for as long. Directive 2004/38 on the right of the citizens of the (European) Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States is supposed to enhance and protect these rights.
However, restrictive and discriminatory practices persist in the EU member states, making a mockery out of citizens’ rights. A short blog post on Talking about the EU – Moving on up (21 January 2010) – started a revealing discussion about Kafkaesque experiences of absurd practices facing people who move from one EU country to another (Britain).
From Sainsbury’s not accepting EU identity cards to problems opening a bank account, renting a flat or getting a contract for a mobile phone or broadband access, the ingenuity of private firms and landlords to frustrate movers seems endless.
This is an important discussion about the everyday experiences of EU citizens. You can contribute to the discussion on Talking about the EU.
What have you or your expat friends experienced?
What should be done?
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading Euroblogs. On Bruxelles2 (in French) the journalist Nicolas Grosverheyde writes expertly about the security and defence issues facing the European Union.
Bruxelles2 is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
However, restrictive and discriminatory practices persist in the EU member states, making a mockery out of citizens’ rights. A short blog post on Talking about the EU – Moving on up (21 January 2010) – started a revealing discussion about Kafkaesque experiences of absurd practices facing people who move from one EU country to another (Britain).
From Sainsbury’s not accepting EU identity cards to problems opening a bank account, renting a flat or getting a contract for a mobile phone or broadband access, the ingenuity of private firms and landlords to frustrate movers seems endless.
This is an important discussion about the everyday experiences of EU citizens. You can contribute to the discussion on Talking about the EU.
What have you or your expat friends experienced?
What should be done?
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading Euroblogs. On Bruxelles2 (in French) the journalist Nicolas Grosverheyde writes expertly about the security and defence issues facing the European Union.
Bruxelles2 is listed with more than 500 great Euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Thursday, 21 January 2010
European Parliament to vote on EU-USA TFTP (SWIFT) interim Agreement (Updated)
After yesterday’s debate in the European Parliament it looks like the EP and the Council have found a way forward, at least with regard to the procedure to follow. See the EP’s press release: SWIFT: European Parliament to vote soon on the interim agreement (20 January 2010).
The European Parliament will vote on the interim agreement and it will be allowed to participate fully in the drafting of the long term agreement, according to the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Council’s explanations about delays caused by translation sound a bit fishy, because the interim agreement should have existed in all the official EU languages on 30 November 2009, when it was adopted by the Council, and it was published in the Official Journal of the European Union 13 January 2010. If a draft or aims for the long term agreement exist, one would expect at least an English language version to be available.
The European Parliament has previously stated its concerns regarding fundamental rights. Now it looks as if it is going to be able to check how the Council intends to meet them.
Update 21 January 2010, about 17:05 EET: The EP's press release has been updated. The vote has now been scheduled for 9 February 2010.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. If business leaders, top officials and political heavyweights have a European newspaper in common, it is The Financial Times. FT bureau chief Tony Barber writes the recommendable Brussels blog (Financial Times), listed together with more than 500 great euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
The European Parliament will vote on the interim agreement and it will be allowed to participate fully in the drafting of the long term agreement, according to the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Council’s explanations about delays caused by translation sound a bit fishy, because the interim agreement should have existed in all the official EU languages on 30 November 2009, when it was adopted by the Council, and it was published in the Official Journal of the European Union 13 January 2010. If a draft or aims for the long term agreement exist, one would expect at least an English language version to be available.
The European Parliament has previously stated its concerns regarding fundamental rights. Now it looks as if it is going to be able to check how the Council intends to meet them.
Update 21 January 2010, about 17:05 EET: The EP's press release has been updated. The vote has now been scheduled for 9 February 2010.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. If business leaders, top officials and political heavyweights have a European newspaper in common, it is The Financial Times. FT bureau chief Tony Barber writes the recommendable Brussels blog (Financial Times), listed together with more than 500 great euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, your useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed for new blog posts appearing on Bloggingportal.eu.
By the way, I also discuss European issues in Finnish on Eurooppaoikeus and in Swedish on Grahnblawg.
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
Karel De Gucht on international trade – with comments
The Summary of hearing of Karel de Gucht – Trade (12 January 2010) published by the European Parliament mentions most of the big issues facing the future trade Commissioner and the common commercial policy of the European Union, but the answers as summarised give little away.
Let us turn to the written answers sent by the Commissioner-designate Karel De Gucht to the Committee on International Trade of the European Parliament ahead of the hearing (7 pages).
De Gucht welcomed the strengthened role of the European Parliament under the Lisbon Treaty, as reinforcing the democratic legitimacy, effectiveness and transparency of the EU’s trade policy. The EP should have all the information needed to play its enhanced role. He promised that the EP will be informed and have an opportunity to express its views and make recommendations on major developments at all stages of trade negotiations (pages 4 and 5).
De Gucht stated his commitment to open markets backed up by rules-based international trading system, when he laid out his three priorities for the future Commission term (page 5-6):
1) A rapid conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) would boost the global economy and create jobs. It would also prevent a protectionist spiral.
2) Bilateral and regional trade relationships are needed to complement the multilateral system, because key issues such as investment, public procurement, competition, intellectual property and other regulatory questions are currently insufficiently covered by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
3) Ensuring that trade policy works for people, in the EU and elsewhere, especially in developing countries. As an integral part of the Commission’s EU 2020 vision, trade policy must be at the service of broader policy goals, delivering results for citizens. In addition to economic benefits, trade policy can promote European values such as human rights, social justice and the protection of the environment.
Trade is an EU policy area with little legislation, but trade agreements with third countries and within the WTO framework, said De Gucht who mentioned several ongoing negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs); page 7:
• Korea
• Andean Community: Peru and Colombia
• Central-America (perhaps)
• Iraq (partnership and cooperation agreement)
• A number of economic partnership agreements during 2010
Legislative proposals:
• EU rules on certainty for foreign investors
• An implementing Regulation on safeguard measures in relation to the FTA with Korea
• Review and renewal of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
• Updating the trade defence measures
Comments
Well-rounded replies reveal little about the crucial issues and the choices to be made between different interests. We turn to some additional viewpoints and oral answers presented on blogs and other media in order to find potentially divisive issues.
Latin America
The blog IP tango reports that in trade discussions with Mercosur the sensitive issues reamin the same: for Mercosur some industries, services and also intellectual property, and for the EU agriculture.
With regard to the nations of Isthmus (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panamá), IP tango notes that negotiations had already started, but were suspended after the coup in Honduras (June 2009). An offer has been presented by the Isthmus nations, but the EU has not replied. See: The EU meeting with Latin America: will be May the month to see Association Agreements between the two? (19 January 2010).
India
Indian and European negotiators will focus on whittling down differences over market access and intellectual property rights when they meet next week to push for a bilateral trade pact, reports the International Business Times: India, EU to focus on trade deal hurdles next week (19 January 2010). Problematic issues include sensitive issues like climate change and child labour, inclusion of public procurement, costly certificates for fruit exports to the EU, conformity procedures for the EU mark, and patent protection (including generic drugs).
China
Roddy Thomson for AFP reported on De Gucht’s comment on a “deliberate” policy by China to keep its currency undervalued, a “major problem” for global economic recovery: Incoming EU trade chief lashes out at China (12 January 2010).
Big business: Boon or bane?
European economic and business interests are an ideologically divisive issue. Some see corporate lobbying as a danger for higher European values in the world. Others perceive that external trade lies at the heart of promotion of our economic interests and the pursuit of prosperity, and judge the EU’s role accordingly.
Here are samples of both approaches.
On the Brussels Sunshine blog dedicated to more transparent lobbying, Pia Eberhardt commented on what she saw as De Gucht’s evasive answers and doubtful record on promoting the interests of big business above civil society: De Gucht on shaky ground on corporate lobbying (13 January 2010).
Global Issues picked up the same arguments, seeing Karel De Gucht, the incoming commissioner for external trade, as a champion of the interests of multinational companies: Europe: Shadow Falls Over New Leaders (18 January 2010).
From a viewpoint favourable to free trade, Tony Barber on the FT Brussels blog saw Karel De Gucht’s EP hearing performance as the best one that far, when he wasn’t afraid to speak frankly about his opposition to a carbon border tax, a policy favoured among others by French President Nicolas Sarkozy: [Untitled] (13 January 2010).
Blogger and international trade attorney Scott Lincicome hailed 12 January 2010 as A Great Day in the Fight Against Green Protectionism, starting with the statement: The EU’s new trade chief sounds great. Not only does Karel de Gucht oppose carbon tariffs out of practical and trade war concerns, but he also advocates multilateral agreement to eliminate barriers to trade in environmental goods.
Toby Vogel on the European Voice gave De Gucht four stars for his conduct during the EP hearing: De Gucht gives strong performance (12 January 2010).
Through the free trade think-tank ECIPE, big business itself calls for A modern trade policy for the European Union (January 2010; 38 pages).
***
The common commercial policy is an exclusive competence of the European Union, and with the enhanced powers of the European Parliament at least some of the political choices are going to appear more frequently on our television and PC screens.
Ralf Grahn
J.K. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading EU-related blogs. Coulisses de Bruxelles, written by the journalist Jean Quatremer for the French newspaper Libération is an essential source of information and opinions about EU politics, and many of the comments on the blog are both educated and readable.
Growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates the posts of more than 500 euroblogs at one convenient address. You can subscribe to the RSS stream.
If you write a blog on European affairs, such as politics, policies, communication, economics, business, finance, civil society or law, you can submit your blog for inclusion.
Let us turn to the written answers sent by the Commissioner-designate Karel De Gucht to the Committee on International Trade of the European Parliament ahead of the hearing (7 pages).
De Gucht welcomed the strengthened role of the European Parliament under the Lisbon Treaty, as reinforcing the democratic legitimacy, effectiveness and transparency of the EU’s trade policy. The EP should have all the information needed to play its enhanced role. He promised that the EP will be informed and have an opportunity to express its views and make recommendations on major developments at all stages of trade negotiations (pages 4 and 5).
De Gucht stated his commitment to open markets backed up by rules-based international trading system, when he laid out his three priorities for the future Commission term (page 5-6):
1) A rapid conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) would boost the global economy and create jobs. It would also prevent a protectionist spiral.
2) Bilateral and regional trade relationships are needed to complement the multilateral system, because key issues such as investment, public procurement, competition, intellectual property and other regulatory questions are currently insufficiently covered by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
3) Ensuring that trade policy works for people, in the EU and elsewhere, especially in developing countries. As an integral part of the Commission’s EU 2020 vision, trade policy must be at the service of broader policy goals, delivering results for citizens. In addition to economic benefits, trade policy can promote European values such as human rights, social justice and the protection of the environment.
Trade is an EU policy area with little legislation, but trade agreements with third countries and within the WTO framework, said De Gucht who mentioned several ongoing negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs); page 7:
• Korea
• Andean Community: Peru and Colombia
• Central-America (perhaps)
• Iraq (partnership and cooperation agreement)
• A number of economic partnership agreements during 2010
Legislative proposals:
• EU rules on certainty for foreign investors
• An implementing Regulation on safeguard measures in relation to the FTA with Korea
• Review and renewal of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
• Updating the trade defence measures
Comments
Well-rounded replies reveal little about the crucial issues and the choices to be made between different interests. We turn to some additional viewpoints and oral answers presented on blogs and other media in order to find potentially divisive issues.
Latin America
The blog IP tango reports that in trade discussions with Mercosur the sensitive issues reamin the same: for Mercosur some industries, services and also intellectual property, and for the EU agriculture.
With regard to the nations of Isthmus (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panamá), IP tango notes that negotiations had already started, but were suspended after the coup in Honduras (June 2009). An offer has been presented by the Isthmus nations, but the EU has not replied. See: The EU meeting with Latin America: will be May the month to see Association Agreements between the two? (19 January 2010).
India
Indian and European negotiators will focus on whittling down differences over market access and intellectual property rights when they meet next week to push for a bilateral trade pact, reports the International Business Times: India, EU to focus on trade deal hurdles next week (19 January 2010). Problematic issues include sensitive issues like climate change and child labour, inclusion of public procurement, costly certificates for fruit exports to the EU, conformity procedures for the EU mark, and patent protection (including generic drugs).
China
Roddy Thomson for AFP reported on De Gucht’s comment on a “deliberate” policy by China to keep its currency undervalued, a “major problem” for global economic recovery: Incoming EU trade chief lashes out at China (12 January 2010).
Big business: Boon or bane?
European economic and business interests are an ideologically divisive issue. Some see corporate lobbying as a danger for higher European values in the world. Others perceive that external trade lies at the heart of promotion of our economic interests and the pursuit of prosperity, and judge the EU’s role accordingly.
Here are samples of both approaches.
On the Brussels Sunshine blog dedicated to more transparent lobbying, Pia Eberhardt commented on what she saw as De Gucht’s evasive answers and doubtful record on promoting the interests of big business above civil society: De Gucht on shaky ground on corporate lobbying (13 January 2010).
Global Issues picked up the same arguments, seeing Karel De Gucht, the incoming commissioner for external trade, as a champion of the interests of multinational companies: Europe: Shadow Falls Over New Leaders (18 January 2010).
From a viewpoint favourable to free trade, Tony Barber on the FT Brussels blog saw Karel De Gucht’s EP hearing performance as the best one that far, when he wasn’t afraid to speak frankly about his opposition to a carbon border tax, a policy favoured among others by French President Nicolas Sarkozy: [Untitled] (13 January 2010).
Blogger and international trade attorney Scott Lincicome hailed 12 January 2010 as A Great Day in the Fight Against Green Protectionism, starting with the statement: The EU’s new trade chief sounds great. Not only does Karel de Gucht oppose carbon tariffs out of practical and trade war concerns, but he also advocates multilateral agreement to eliminate barriers to trade in environmental goods.
Toby Vogel on the European Voice gave De Gucht four stars for his conduct during the EP hearing: De Gucht gives strong performance (12 January 2010).
Through the free trade think-tank ECIPE, big business itself calls for A modern trade policy for the European Union (January 2010; 38 pages).
***
The common commercial policy is an exclusive competence of the European Union, and with the enhanced powers of the European Parliament at least some of the political choices are going to appear more frequently on our television and PC screens.
Ralf Grahn
J.K. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading EU-related blogs. Coulisses de Bruxelles, written by the journalist Jean Quatremer for the French newspaper Libération is an essential source of information and opinions about EU politics, and many of the comments on the blog are both educated and readable.
Growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates the posts of more than 500 euroblogs at one convenient address. You can subscribe to the RSS stream.
If you write a blog on European affairs, such as politics, policies, communication, economics, business, finance, civil society or law, you can submit your blog for inclusion.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Puzzling EP action over EU-USA bank data deal?
What is happening between the European Parliament and the Council? I have to admit that I was puzzled, even shocked when I saw that the EP is threatening the EU Council with political blackmail.
EUobserver reports that the European Parliament threatens to derail EU-US bank data deal (18 January 2010). According to the article, EP president Jerzy Buzek has sent a second letter to the Council, demanding more information about the so called interim SWIFT agreement, also known by the acronym TFTP (Terrorist Finance Tracking Program).
The European Parliament wants full access to information related to the interim agreement, and the EP wants its concerns to be fully reflected in the negotiating mandate for the planned long-term agreement after the end of October, writes Valentina Pop for EUobserver.com.
Late November 2009 Grahnlaw wrote about the upcoming decision of the Council of the European Union to approve the so called SWIFT Agreement to hand over European banking data to the United States, and early December we reported on the decision, taken on the last day before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force.
The Decision by the Council of the European Union on the signing of the so called SWIFT or TFTP Agreement was later officially published, which we reported on:
COUNCIL DECISION 2010/16/CFSP/JHA of 30 November 2009 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 13.1.2010 L 8/9.
This contained the formal decision on signing, as well as a provision and declaration on provisional application of the Agreement.
The annexed contents of the TFTP / SWIFT Agreement were here.
Parliament v Council
The Council deliberately adopted the TFTP / SWIFT Agreement on the last day before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and the European Parliament became more fully involved in the conclusion of international agreements. (Cf Article 218 TFEU).
The news report seems to indicate that the EP action stems from the Parliament’s desire to “be immediately and fully informed at all stages of the process” (Article 218(10) TFUE).
Fair enough, the European Parliament wants to be taken into account from day one, even if the issue may seem more like a continuation of the interim solution than a totally new agreement.
The EUobserver article also seems to indicate that the European Parliament is not convinced about the privacy and data protection guarantees for European businesses and citizens in the interim agreement.
On 17 September 2009 the European Parliament had adopted a non-legislative resolution P7_TA(2009)0016 on the envisaged international agreement to make available to the United States Treasury Department financial payment messaging data to prevent and combat terrorism and terrorism financing.
The resolution doubted if a separate agreement was the right way to proceed, given the framework of the EU-US agreement on legal assistance to enter into force on 1 January 2010, and it went on to lay down a number of “minimum” assurances the EP found necessary.
If I understand correctly, the European Parliament is not only showing off, but has procedural and substantive concerns it wants to see addressed.
At first I was a bit shocked when I read about the EP’s threat of political blackmail, but after reading the resolution I think that the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union should come up with a constructive and cooperative response today in Strasbourg.
The rule of law, privacy and data protection are fundamental EU values. They are not to be treated lightly, even in the combat against terrorism, the importance of which the European Parliament stressed in its resolution:
Ralf Grahn
P.S. On Verfassungsblog (in German) Max Steinbeis writes expertly on German and European issues of constitutional law. Verfassungsblog is a fine example of a specialist blog in the Euroblogosphere, listed together with more than 500 great euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
By the way, euroblogs are an excellent means to brush up your foreign language skills while learning about or debating our common challenges.
EUobserver reports that the European Parliament threatens to derail EU-US bank data deal (18 January 2010). According to the article, EP president Jerzy Buzek has sent a second letter to the Council, demanding more information about the so called interim SWIFT agreement, also known by the acronym TFTP (Terrorist Finance Tracking Program).
The European Parliament wants full access to information related to the interim agreement, and the EP wants its concerns to be fully reflected in the negotiating mandate for the planned long-term agreement after the end of October, writes Valentina Pop for EUobserver.com.
Late November 2009 Grahnlaw wrote about the upcoming decision of the Council of the European Union to approve the so called SWIFT Agreement to hand over European banking data to the United States, and early December we reported on the decision, taken on the last day before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force.
The Decision by the Council of the European Union on the signing of the so called SWIFT or TFTP Agreement was later officially published, which we reported on:
COUNCIL DECISION 2010/16/CFSP/JHA of 30 November 2009 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 13.1.2010 L 8/9.
This contained the formal decision on signing, as well as a provision and declaration on provisional application of the Agreement.
The annexed contents of the TFTP / SWIFT Agreement were here.
Parliament v Council
The Council deliberately adopted the TFTP / SWIFT Agreement on the last day before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and the European Parliament became more fully involved in the conclusion of international agreements. (Cf Article 218 TFEU).
The news report seems to indicate that the EP action stems from the Parliament’s desire to “be immediately and fully informed at all stages of the process” (Article 218(10) TFUE).
Fair enough, the European Parliament wants to be taken into account from day one, even if the issue may seem more like a continuation of the interim solution than a totally new agreement.
The EUobserver article also seems to indicate that the European Parliament is not convinced about the privacy and data protection guarantees for European businesses and citizens in the interim agreement.
On 17 September 2009 the European Parliament had adopted a non-legislative resolution P7_TA(2009)0016 on the envisaged international agreement to make available to the United States Treasury Department financial payment messaging data to prevent and combat terrorism and terrorism financing.
The resolution doubted if a separate agreement was the right way to proceed, given the framework of the EU-US agreement on legal assistance to enter into force on 1 January 2010, and it went on to lay down a number of “minimum” assurances the EP found necessary.
If I understand correctly, the European Parliament is not only showing off, but has procedural and substantive concerns it wants to see addressed.
At first I was a bit shocked when I read about the EP’s threat of political blackmail, but after reading the resolution I think that the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union should come up with a constructive and cooperative response today in Strasbourg.
The rule of law, privacy and data protection are fundamental EU values. They are not to be treated lightly, even in the combat against terrorism, the importance of which the European Parliament stressed in its resolution:
Recalls its determination to fight terrorism and its firm belief in the need to strike the right balance between security measures and the protection of civil liberties and fundamental rights, while ensuring the utmost respect for privacy and data protection; reaffirms that necessity and proportionality are key principles without which the fight against terrorism will never be effective.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. On Verfassungsblog (in German) Max Steinbeis writes expertly on German and European issues of constitutional law. Verfassungsblog is a fine example of a specialist blog in the Euroblogosphere, listed together with more than 500 great euroblogs on growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance, business, civil society and law.
By the way, euroblogs are an excellent means to brush up your foreign language skills while learning about or debating our common challenges.
Monday, 18 January 2010
EP hearing Michel Barnier: Intellectual property rights
The web pages of the European Parliament are overflowing with written and audiovisual material on the hearings by the EP committees of the Commissioners-designate, although the last scheduled hearings have yet to take place today and tomorrow.
Since the 1957 EEC Treaty of Rome, the common market has been a core aim of European integration. The Lisbon Treaty consistently uses the newer term internal market.
The internal market is envisioned as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the treaties, notably the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 26(2) TFEU).
The internal market is generally a shared competence between the European Union and the member states (Article 4(2)(a) TFEU).
In other words, the internal market is one of the core responsibilities of the European Commission, and it is one of the heavyweight portfolios within the Commission.
The designated internal market Commissioner for [2009] to 2014 is Michel Barnier, a former Commissioner and MEP, as well as French government minister.
Without going into the recorded hearing with Barnier, we notice that the summary of his hearing brought nothing to light with regard to intellectual property rights (IPR):
Summary of Hearing of Michel Barnier – Internal Market and Services (13 January 2010)
Highly political issues such as the social nature of the internal market and the future of financial regulation dominated the Barnier hearing summary on EurActiv.fr as well.
In his written answer to the relevant EP committees, Barnier had presented the knowledge based economy as a priority, including the reinforcement of IPR:
In his written answer Barnier had the following to say regarding IPR when he outlined coming legislative proposals:
In the pipeline
We know that intellectual property rights are crucial in the digital age, also as bones of contention. We also know that “manifold initiatives” are in the pipeline to enhance IPR protection in the European Union, with regard to the internal market and criminal law (IPRED2). In parallel with the internal market, secret external trade negotiations are ongoing, with the aim to conclude a plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
To get a picture of the concerns of citizens, users and consumers, it is worthwhile to look at the questions prepared by La Quadrature du Net ahead of the hearing on copyright and freedoms in the digital age (12 January 2010).
Ralf Grahn
J.K. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading EU-related blogs. Valéry-Xavier Lentz writes a blog, where he deals with Internet issues as well as French and EU politics. Growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates the posts of more than 500 euroblogs at one convenient address.
If you write a blog on European affairs, such as politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law, you can submit your blog for inclusion.
Since the 1957 EEC Treaty of Rome, the common market has been a core aim of European integration. The Lisbon Treaty consistently uses the newer term internal market.
The internal market is envisioned as an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured in accordance with the provisions of the treaties, notably the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Article 26(2) TFEU).
The internal market is generally a shared competence between the European Union and the member states (Article 4(2)(a) TFEU).
In other words, the internal market is one of the core responsibilities of the European Commission, and it is one of the heavyweight portfolios within the Commission.
The designated internal market Commissioner for [2009] to 2014 is Michel Barnier, a former Commissioner and MEP, as well as French government minister.
Without going into the recorded hearing with Barnier, we notice that the summary of his hearing brought nothing to light with regard to intellectual property rights (IPR):
Summary of Hearing of Michel Barnier – Internal Market and Services (13 January 2010)
Highly political issues such as the social nature of the internal market and the future of financial regulation dominated the Barnier hearing summary on EurActiv.fr as well.
In his written answer to the relevant EP committees, Barnier had presented the knowledge based economy as a priority, including the reinforcement of IPR:
Developing a knowledge-based economy: I intend to adapt our intellectual property rights strategy to meet new challenges. The European intellectual property system must be modernised and reinforced in order to promote the knowledge-based economy. I am in favour of an exhaustive and consistent framework for copyright law which will enable us to meet new challenges such as digitisation. Negotiations on the Community patent and the unified patent litigation system must be concluded. To enable European enterprises to realise their full potential for innovation and creation, a modern intellectual property framework is required which will stimulate investment and technological progress and facilitate access to knowledge and its dissemination.
In his written answer Barnier had the following to say regarding IPR when he outlined coming legislative proposals:
In the area of intellectual property rights, I would like to see the development of a consistent legal framework. I will ensure the finalisation of the legislative work on the Community patent and the patent litigation system. I am also planning to modernise the legal framework for trademarks. I intend to reinforce the legal framework relating to the respect of intellectual property rights, which will be further supported by the Counterfeiting and Piracy Observatory.
In the pipeline
We know that intellectual property rights are crucial in the digital age, also as bones of contention. We also know that “manifold initiatives” are in the pipeline to enhance IPR protection in the European Union, with regard to the internal market and criminal law (IPRED2). In parallel with the internal market, secret external trade negotiations are ongoing, with the aim to conclude a plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
To get a picture of the concerns of citizens, users and consumers, it is worthwhile to look at the questions prepared by La Quadrature du Net ahead of the hearing on copyright and freedoms in the digital age (12 January 2010).
Ralf Grahn
J.K. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading EU-related blogs. Valéry-Xavier Lentz writes a blog, where he deals with Internet issues as well as French and EU politics. Growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates the posts of more than 500 euroblogs at one convenient address.
If you write a blog on European affairs, such as politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law, you can submit your blog for inclusion.
Sunday, 17 January 2010
EU 2020 strategy and credibility gap
Challenging times lie ahead for the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union and for the second Barroso Commission, finally allowed to start its work on 1 February 2010 (we hope).
In Lisbon in the year 2000 the European Council had set the strategic aim for the European Union for the next decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.
After a decade of insufficient reforms, dismal results, growing disappointment and increasing lack of credibility, the heads of state or government sit amidst a severe financial crisis, a sharp economic downturn and rising unemployment.
Still, the process to create the strategy for the following decade is in full swing. Friday 15 January 2010 was the last day for contributions on the Commission’s consultation paper for the EU 2020 strategy:
Commission Working Document: Consultation on the future “EU 2020” strategy; Brussels, 24.11.2009 COM(2009) 647 final (13 pages)
The Commission laid out the following general priorities for the EU 2020 strategy (page 4), although they were presented in more detail later:
When Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero flew a kite, calling for sanctions against non-reforming countries, his idea was quickly shot down. But butchering the idea of the head of government of Spain, the member state holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, did nothing to make the problem go away.
As far as we know, the process towards the new EU 2020 strategy is going to occupy three summits. President Herman Van Rompuy has convened an extraordinary (informal) European Council 11 February.
The spring European Council is traditionally engaged with all aspects of the economy. This time it is going to meet on 25 to 26 March 2010.
Final adoption of the EU 2020 strategy is foreseen for the last meeting of the European Council during the Spanish Council presidency, on 17 to 18 June 2010.
The European leaders have exactly five months to find the resolve to turn the European Union into an economic power-house, instead of a decaying industrial museum.
Will they find it?
Their credibility and our future are on the line.
Ralf Grahn
J.K. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading EU-related blogs. Cédric Puisney writes a blog (in French) Un européen jamais content, where he deals with EU politics. Growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates the posts of more than 500 euroblogs at one, convenient address.
If you write a blog on European affairs, such as politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law, you can submit your blog for inclusion.
In Lisbon in the year 2000 the European Council had set the strategic aim for the European Union for the next decade: to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.
After a decade of insufficient reforms, dismal results, growing disappointment and increasing lack of credibility, the heads of state or government sit amidst a severe financial crisis, a sharp economic downturn and rising unemployment.
Still, the process to create the strategy for the following decade is in full swing. Friday 15 January 2010 was the last day for contributions on the Commission’s consultation paper for the EU 2020 strategy:
Commission Working Document: Consultation on the future “EU 2020” strategy; Brussels, 24.11.2009 COM(2009) 647 final (13 pages)
The Commission laid out the following general priorities for the EU 2020 strategy (page 4), although they were presented in more detail later:
(1) Creating value by basing growth on knowledge. Opportunity and social cohesion will be enhanced in a world where innovation makes the difference in both products and processes, harnessing the potential of education, research and of the digital economy;
(2) Empowering people in inclusive societies. The acquisition of new skills, fostering creativity and innovation, the development of entrepreneurship and a smooth transition between jobs will be crucial in a world which will offer more jobs in exchange for greater adaptability;
(3) Creating a competitive, connected and greener economy. The EU should compete more effectively and increase its productivity by a lower and more efficient consumption of non-renewable energy and resources in a world of high energy and resources prices, and greater competition for energy and resources. This will stimulate growth and help meet our environmental goals. It will benefit all sectors of the economy, from traditional manufacturing to new hi-tech start-ups. Upgrading and inter-connecting infrastructure, reducing administrative burden and accelerating the market uptake of innovations will equally contribute to this goal.
When Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero flew a kite, calling for sanctions against non-reforming countries, his idea was quickly shot down. But butchering the idea of the head of government of Spain, the member state holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, did nothing to make the problem go away.
As far as we know, the process towards the new EU 2020 strategy is going to occupy three summits. President Herman Van Rompuy has convened an extraordinary (informal) European Council 11 February.
The spring European Council is traditionally engaged with all aspects of the economy. This time it is going to meet on 25 to 26 March 2010.
Final adoption of the EU 2020 strategy is foreseen for the last meeting of the European Council during the Spanish Council presidency, on 17 to 18 June 2010.
The European leaders have exactly five months to find the resolve to turn the European Union into an economic power-house, instead of a decaying industrial museum.
Will they find it?
Their credibility and our future are on the line.
Ralf Grahn
J.K. Educate yourself and brush up your language skills by reading EU-related blogs. Cédric Puisney writes a blog (in French) Un européen jamais content, where he deals with EU politics. Growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu already aggregates the posts of more than 500 euroblogs at one, convenient address.
If you write a blog on European affairs, such as politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law, you can submit your blog for inclusion.
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Internet and IPR in EP hearings of EU Commissioners: Neelie Kroes
La Quadrature du Net has been active on many fronts, submitting replies to Commission consultations on copyright and the coming EU 2020 strategy as well as distributing questions ahead of the European Parliament’s hearings with various candidate-Commissioners responsible for various issues related to the Internet. There is a press release following up the hearing with Neelie Kroes: Commissioner Kroes commits herself to Net neutrality (15 January 2010).
Europaeum presents the context for the hearing of Neelie Kroes, designated for the European Digital Agenda (in German): Neelie Kroes muss in die Verlängerung, und wir leider draußen bleiben (15 January 2010).
Europaeum linked to Netzpolitik.org where Simon Columbus reported on Kroes’ statements in favour of net neutrality as well as European fundamental rights in the ACTA negotiations, but noted that she was quite cautious on copyright: Neelie Kroes für Netzneutralität, muss aber nachsitzen (15 January 2010).
Swedish blogger Henrik Alexandersson offers a few personal reflections on the hearing of Neelie Kroes, as well as links to EurActiv and Swedish media: Mer om Kroes… (15 January 2010).
Earlier Alexandersson had offered his impressions of the new Commission and the web, with remarks on Neelie Kroes’ replies on ACTA, net neutrality and copyright: Den nya kommissionen och nätet (14 January 2010).
The press service of the European Parliament offers a Summary of the hearing of Neelie Kroes – Digital Agenda (14 January 2010).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. On Stanley’s blog, Stanley Crossick writes expertly on European issues and the growing importance of the EU’s relations with China. Stanley’s blog is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
Europaeum presents the context for the hearing of Neelie Kroes, designated for the European Digital Agenda (in German): Neelie Kroes muss in die Verlängerung, und wir leider draußen bleiben (15 January 2010).
Europaeum linked to Netzpolitik.org where Simon Columbus reported on Kroes’ statements in favour of net neutrality as well as European fundamental rights in the ACTA negotiations, but noted that she was quite cautious on copyright: Neelie Kroes für Netzneutralität, muss aber nachsitzen (15 January 2010).
Swedish blogger Henrik Alexandersson offers a few personal reflections on the hearing of Neelie Kroes, as well as links to EurActiv and Swedish media: Mer om Kroes… (15 January 2010).
Earlier Alexandersson had offered his impressions of the new Commission and the web, with remarks on Neelie Kroes’ replies on ACTA, net neutrality and copyright: Den nya kommissionen och nätet (14 January 2010).
The press service of the European Parliament offers a Summary of the hearing of Neelie Kroes – Digital Agenda (14 January 2010).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. On Stanley’s blog, Stanley Crossick writes expertly on European issues and the growing importance of the EU’s relations with China. Stanley’s blog is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
EU: “Manifold initiatives” for enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR)
The blog post Innovating Europe and the knowledge society (15 January 2010) looked at what the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union held in store for the knowledge society (European Digital Agenda) generally. In a nutshell: positive, but vague.
Now we turn to what the presidency programme tells us more specifically about intellectual property rights:
The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010: Innovating Europe (52 pages).
ACTA?
Under the Common Trade Policy, on page 25, Spain makes the following promise:
This leaves us with some questions: Does the “Trade Agreement against Forgery” mean the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)? If this is the case, why not use the proper name of the treaty soon being negotiated in a new round in Mexico?
Criminal sanctions
Criminal sanctions are in the pipeline against infringements of intellectual property rights. Under Criminal justice, the following paragraph seems to promise new legislative proposals (page 32):
Internal market?
Under the Domestic Market (probably meaning the internal market) the presidency programme sets out the objective to reinforce IPR protection by “manifold initiatives” (page 35-36) (The Community brand name probably means trademark):
Internet
Better protection of intellectual and industrial property rights are promised on the Internet as well, under Telecommunications (page 38):
Citizens’ rights?
“Manifold initiatives” are in the pipeline to enhance IPR protection in the European Union, with regard to external trade, criminal law, the internal market and the Internet.
The lack of transparency is worrying with regard to ACTA, a resurrected IPRED2 and other future proposals.
Even if the Spanish presidency programme is full of references to human rights and fundamental freedoms, users’ rights in the digital era are exempt, except for the promised debate on broadband access as a universal service obligation (page 38).
There are no guarantees of a fair deal for consumers and citizens against unduly restrictive commercial practices or draconic enforcement measures.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Stephen Spillane blogs about Irish and European politics. Stephen Spillane is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
Now we turn to what the presidency programme tells us more specifically about intellectual property rights:
The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010: Innovating Europe (52 pages).
ACTA?
Under the Common Trade Policy, on page 25, Spain makes the following promise:
The Markets Access Strategy will be bolstered and work will be geared to opening Public Tender markets, effective effective observance of intellectual and industrial property rights, and the conclusion of the Trade Agreement against Forgery.
This leaves us with some questions: Does the “Trade Agreement against Forgery” mean the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)? If this is the case, why not use the proper name of the treaty soon being negotiated in a new round in Mexico?
Criminal sanctions
Criminal sanctions are in the pipeline against infringements of intellectual property rights. Under Criminal justice, the following paragraph seems to promise new legislative proposals (page 32):
Protection instruments in the fight against intellectual and industrial property piracy should also be improved.
Internal market?
Under the Domestic Market (probably meaning the internal market) the presidency programme sets out the objective to reinforce IPR protection by “manifold initiatives” (page 35-36) (The Community brand name probably means trademark):
Safeguarding and protecting intellectual and industrial rights will be reinforced at Community level through manifold initiatives in the fight against piracy and forgery. With regard to industrial property, work will continue on the Community brand name file. As to the Community patent and the litigation system for the European patent, a constructive search for efficient and non-discriminatory solutions will be pursued, renewing efforts to improve companies’ management of these rights, particularly by SMEs.
Internet
Better protection of intellectual and industrial property rights are promised on the Internet as well, under Telecommunications (page 38):
Efforts will be put into the approval of the New 2010-2015 Strategy to promote the Information Society (i2010 follow-up). The Presidency will encourage a joint debate with Member States to improve Information Society indicators, as well as the deployment of cutting-edge networks, increased networks security and protection of intellectual and industrial property on the Internet.
Citizens’ rights?
“Manifold initiatives” are in the pipeline to enhance IPR protection in the European Union, with regard to external trade, criminal law, the internal market and the Internet.
The lack of transparency is worrying with regard to ACTA, a resurrected IPRED2 and other future proposals.
Even if the Spanish presidency programme is full of references to human rights and fundamental freedoms, users’ rights in the digital era are exempt, except for the promised debate on broadband access as a universal service obligation (page 38).
There are no guarantees of a fair deal for consumers and citizens against unduly restrictive commercial practices or draconic enforcement measures.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Stephen Spillane blogs about Irish and European politics. Stephen Spillane is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Innovating Europe and the knowledge society
Since yesterday I have been able to access the work programme of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union in English and in Spanish:
The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010: Innovating Europe (52 pages).
Programa de la Presidencia Española del Consejo de la Unión Europea 1 de enero a 30 de junio 2010: Innovando Europa.
The name – Innovating Europe – sounds promising from the perspective of the European knowledge society.
Now we take a look at the contents (using the English version of the work programme).
EU 2020
The government of Spain evokes the new growth and employment strategy (aimed to succeed the ill-fated Lisbon strategy) as a coordination instrument to structure a new growth model. The need for increased efficiency and commitment by member states is correctly stated. The comparative advantage of the European economy should be based on competitiveness, innovation and knowledge (page 8):
The European Research Area (ERA) and R&D&I activities are dealt with on page 36 to 37.
Telecommunications
Under the Transport, telecommunications and energy (TTE) Council formation the Spanish presidency promises to promote a debate about the approval of a European Charter of Rights of Telecommunication Service Users, which should include broadband access as part of the Universal Service (page 38).
The Spanish Council presidency will promote E-government services:
Information society
Still under telecommunications, but worth full quotes are the paragraphs on the new information society strategy, known as the European Digital Agenda. It is planned to succeed the current i2010 strategy (page 38):
European Council
The presidency programme is quite vague. The crucial matter is how these general aims are going to be translated into ambitious decisions, which lead to concrete and decisive action, mainly in the member states.
The European Council is the institution which provides the European Union with the impetus for its development, but the heads of state or government are also the ones who set the limits.
After the disappointing decade of the Lisbon strategy, the success or failure of the Spanish Council presidency will depend on what it manages to feed into the extraordinary European Council on 11 February and the Spring European Council on 25 to 26 March 2010.
It is a tall order.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Written by Conor Slowey, in Northern Ireland, The European Citizen deals with political and legal issues of European integration in a thoughtful manner. The European Citizen is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010: Innovating Europe (52 pages).
Programa de la Presidencia Española del Consejo de la Unión Europea 1 de enero a 30 de junio 2010: Innovando Europa.
The name – Innovating Europe – sounds promising from the perspective of the European knowledge society.
Now we take a look at the contents (using the English version of the work programme).
EU 2020
The government of Spain evokes the new growth and employment strategy (aimed to succeed the ill-fated Lisbon strategy) as a coordination instrument to structure a new growth model. The need for increased efficiency and commitment by member states is correctly stated. The comparative advantage of the European economy should be based on competitiveness, innovation and knowledge (page 8):
The New Strategy should offer a renewed momentum to investment in research, development and innovation, for which the new European Innovation Plan will be crucial.
The European Research Area (ERA) and R&D&I activities are dealt with on page 36 to 37.
Telecommunications
Under the Transport, telecommunications and energy (TTE) Council formation the Spanish presidency promises to promote a debate about the approval of a European Charter of Rights of Telecommunication Service Users, which should include broadband access as part of the Universal Service (page 38).
The Spanish Council presidency will promote E-government services:
Citizens’ rights will also be enhanced through the 2010-2015 European Action Plan for Electronic Administration, advancing on the right to communication via electronic media and electronic identification of citizens.
Information society
Still under telecommunications, but worth full quotes are the paragraphs on the new information society strategy, known as the European Digital Agenda. It is planned to succeed the current i2010 strategy (page 38):
Efforts will be put into the approval of the New 2010-2015 Strategy to promote the Information Society (i2010 follow-up). The Presidency will encourage a joint debate with Member States to improve Information Society indicators, as well as the deployment of cutting-edge networks, increased networks security and protection of intellectual and industrial property on the Internet.
The Internet of the Future will be boosted: new products, applications, processes and services, all of them resulting from the aforementioned reforms and current and future sector trends.
European Council
The presidency programme is quite vague. The crucial matter is how these general aims are going to be translated into ambitious decisions, which lead to concrete and decisive action, mainly in the member states.
The European Council is the institution which provides the European Union with the impetus for its development, but the heads of state or government are also the ones who set the limits.
After the disappointing decade of the Lisbon strategy, the success or failure of the Spanish Council presidency will depend on what it manages to feed into the extraordinary European Council on 11 February and the Spring European Council on 25 to 26 March 2010.
It is a tall order.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Written by Conor Slowey, in Northern Ireland, The European Citizen deals with political and legal issues of European integration in a thoughtful manner. The European Citizen is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Better EU communication: European Parliament
The web pages of the European Parliament are overflowing with material on the hearings of the designated members of the European Commission. Formally, the EP votes on the Commission as a body, but the hearings are conducted with the individuals chosen, and less formally the Parliament can communicate its views to Commission president José Manuel Barroso and the governments of the EU member states. If the EP decides to play hardball, it can block the whole nomination.
The web editors of the European Parliament are probably fully occupied by the multimedia circus right now, but soon enough they may be able to return to the long-term issue of the EP’s communication.
In a positive sign of the times, the web communications team of the European Parliament was allowed to launch a blog ahead of the June 2009 European elections and to experiment with other social media.
Luckily the blog Writing for (y)EU survived the elections, and it has continued to discuss the challenges of communicating Europe in 22 languages in the digital era.
The recent blog post Help! It’s a blank sheet moment... (6 January 2010) was an engaging invitation for readers to chip in with ideas for improvement of the official EP website.
A short while ago, this invitation had led to 21 comments, most of them constructive. Since the web team featured the post on the home page, it is easy to find for those who want to contribute.
Julien Frisch was the one who set the ball rolling, by publishing a post with detailed proposals on his own blog: Renewing the European Parliament website: First thoughts (8 January 2010).
There are still many “heavy users” out there, who could communicate their experiences and expectations by commenting: public officials, business interests, journalists, consultants, researchers, teachers, students etc. In addition, there are those who are experts on web communication and website design.
The Swedish website set new standards for the Council presidencies (and as such, is an example worth studying). (User-friendly communication by presidencies and the other EU institutions might set things in motion with regard to the Council proper).
European citizens now have the chance to contribute to the improvement of the website of an important EU institution, the European Parliament.
Please, do.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Regards-citoyens (in French) is a highly productive “factory” of news and analysis on EU politics and policies, with both own writing and reposted quality articles from newspapers and other blogs. Regards-citoyens is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
The web editors of the European Parliament are probably fully occupied by the multimedia circus right now, but soon enough they may be able to return to the long-term issue of the EP’s communication.
In a positive sign of the times, the web communications team of the European Parliament was allowed to launch a blog ahead of the June 2009 European elections and to experiment with other social media.
Luckily the blog Writing for (y)EU survived the elections, and it has continued to discuss the challenges of communicating Europe in 22 languages in the digital era.
The recent blog post Help! It’s a blank sheet moment... (6 January 2010) was an engaging invitation for readers to chip in with ideas for improvement of the official EP website.
A short while ago, this invitation had led to 21 comments, most of them constructive. Since the web team featured the post on the home page, it is easy to find for those who want to contribute.
Julien Frisch was the one who set the ball rolling, by publishing a post with detailed proposals on his own blog: Renewing the European Parliament website: First thoughts (8 January 2010).
There are still many “heavy users” out there, who could communicate their experiences and expectations by commenting: public officials, business interests, journalists, consultants, researchers, teachers, students etc. In addition, there are those who are experts on web communication and website design.
The Swedish website set new standards for the Council presidencies (and as such, is an example worth studying). (User-friendly communication by presidencies and the other EU institutions might set things in motion with regard to the Council proper).
European citizens now have the chance to contribute to the improvement of the website of an important EU institution, the European Parliament.
Please, do.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Regards-citoyens (in French) is a highly productive “factory” of news and analysis on EU politics and policies, with both own writing and reposted quality articles from newspapers and other blogs. Regards-citoyens is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
Better EU communication: Council presidency Sweden and Spain
Substance and communication are both necessary ingredients in the European information society, and the European Union has an important role to play with regard to both aspects.
Besides doing a good job on the political side, the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union was the best to date in terms of communication.
The Swedish website was structured clearly according to Council configuration. It was usually easy to navigate from brief press releases to more detailed documents through the links on offer. The officials responsible for media contacts were announced on the web pages. Press officers communicated through Twitter. Blog posts by journalists and citizens were not only monitored through Twingly, but posted on the relevant pages, giving access to real life reactions, positive and critical.
I recorded my first impressions of the Spanish presidency’s web communications on the first days: European Digital Agenda in 2010 on first day of Spanish Council presidency (1 January 2010) and Spain’s EU Council presidency website: New treaty – old communications (Updated) (2 January 2010).
Two weeks into the rotating Council presidency it is time to return to the Spanish website with a few observations.
As a matter of opinion, the Spanish website is not as well structured or as easy to navigate as the Swedish one. The overall impression is more old-fashioned.
As an improvement, links to social networks have now been established, but they only led to the “sign in” pages of these services, not to contents.
Press releases and announcements of meetings rarely offer links to additional information in a progressive fashion. Although we are at the beginning of six months, it would be an exaggeration to call the website rich in content.
The mishap when someone manipulated a link which landed visitors on a spoof page with Mr Bean brought a certain amount of unwelcome publicity, and resulted in the crash of the Spanish website due to great numbers of visitors. The site has been down occasionally later as well.
I have been wondering about the RSS feed for news displayed on my blog. Despite various press releases from the Spanish presidency, the items displayed have been practically frozen for days. Should I blame the presidency, or is there a problem on my blog?
Earlier I wondered that the Spanish presidency offered only a summary of its political programme, which raised the question where the full programme was (if any). A few days ago a link appeared, which seemed to promise the programme in full, but repeatedly it led to an error page.
Yesterday was the first time I finally stumbled upon the full document: The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010: Innovating Europe.
The presidency programme exists in Spanish as well: Programa de la Presidencia Española del Consejo de la Unión Europea 1 de enero a 30 de junio 2010: Innovando Europa.
The English and the Spanish version of the presidency website seem to offer the same information. There is no French version of the presidency programme, but generally the press releases seem to be available in French as well.
Two weeks into the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union, the interim report card shows some improvement, but leaves us hoping for a significant rise on the learning curve towards the knowledge society, the European Digital Agenda.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Mount EUlympus, by Andre Feldhof, offers a citizen’s perspective on EU affairs. Mount EUlympus is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
Besides doing a good job on the political side, the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union was the best to date in terms of communication.
The Swedish website was structured clearly according to Council configuration. It was usually easy to navigate from brief press releases to more detailed documents through the links on offer. The officials responsible for media contacts were announced on the web pages. Press officers communicated through Twitter. Blog posts by journalists and citizens were not only monitored through Twingly, but posted on the relevant pages, giving access to real life reactions, positive and critical.
I recorded my first impressions of the Spanish presidency’s web communications on the first days: European Digital Agenda in 2010 on first day of Spanish Council presidency (1 January 2010) and Spain’s EU Council presidency website: New treaty – old communications (Updated) (2 January 2010).
Two weeks into the rotating Council presidency it is time to return to the Spanish website with a few observations.
As a matter of opinion, the Spanish website is not as well structured or as easy to navigate as the Swedish one. The overall impression is more old-fashioned.
As an improvement, links to social networks have now been established, but they only led to the “sign in” pages of these services, not to contents.
Press releases and announcements of meetings rarely offer links to additional information in a progressive fashion. Although we are at the beginning of six months, it would be an exaggeration to call the website rich in content.
The mishap when someone manipulated a link which landed visitors on a spoof page with Mr Bean brought a certain amount of unwelcome publicity, and resulted in the crash of the Spanish website due to great numbers of visitors. The site has been down occasionally later as well.
I have been wondering about the RSS feed for news displayed on my blog. Despite various press releases from the Spanish presidency, the items displayed have been practically frozen for days. Should I blame the presidency, or is there a problem on my blog?
Earlier I wondered that the Spanish presidency offered only a summary of its political programme, which raised the question where the full programme was (if any). A few days ago a link appeared, which seemed to promise the programme in full, but repeatedly it led to an error page.
Yesterday was the first time I finally stumbled upon the full document: The Programme for the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 1 January – 30 June 2010: Innovating Europe.
The presidency programme exists in Spanish as well: Programa de la Presidencia Española del Consejo de la Unión Europea 1 de enero a 30 de junio 2010: Innovando Europa.
The English and the Spanish version of the presidency website seem to offer the same information. There is no French version of the presidency programme, but generally the press releases seem to be available in French as well.
Two weeks into the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union, the interim report card shows some improvement, but leaves us hoping for a significant rise on the learning curve towards the knowledge society, the European Digital Agenda.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Mount EUlympus, by Andre Feldhof, offers a citizen’s perspective on EU affairs. Mount EUlympus is one of the more than 500 great euroblogs on steadily growing multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, communication, economics, finance and law.
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
EU: Criminal enforcement of IPR? Resurrection of IPRED2?
In the blog post EU IPR enforcement discussion (12 January 2010) we mentioned the conference arranged by the Swedish presidency of the Council of the European Union: Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, with a Special Focus on Trademarks and Patents (15 December 2009).
Monika Ermert has written an illuminating post on the blog of Intellectual Property Watch: ACTA May Prompt Quick Restart To EU Harmonisation Of Criminal Enforcement Of IP (21 December 2010).
According to Ermert’s sources, the European Union seems to be preparing for the adoption of the “gold standard” of enforcement, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The European Commission is preparing for a quick restart of a legislative process in the EU to harmonise criminal law sanctions. The Commission may table the new IPRED2 proposal in May or June 2010.
EU Stockholm Programme
In December 2009 the European Council adopted The Stockholm Programme – An open and secure Europe serving and protecting the citizens (dated 2 December 2009; Council document 17024/09).
Under Economic crime and corruption, the European Council calls for criminal sanctions against IPR infringements (page 49):
Draft Council Resolution
The draft Council Resolution (document 5022/10) on the Commission Communication Enhancing the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the internal market was discussed yesterday in the Council’s Working Party on Intellectual Property.
The draft Resolution contained an invitation to the Commission (page 5):
Criminal IPR sanctions are in the pipeline, but we don’t know their scope, either internationally (ACTA) or in the internal market (IPRED2 redux), but the two are connected.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. The blog of Melania Coman (in Romanian) mixes personal reflections with information about EU structural funds, funding grants, SME loans and news on finance. Her blog could well apply for listing among the more than 500 great euroblogs on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, economics, finance and law.
By the way, euroblogs are an excellent means to brush up your foreign language skills while learning about our common challenges.
Monika Ermert has written an illuminating post on the blog of Intellectual Property Watch: ACTA May Prompt Quick Restart To EU Harmonisation Of Criminal Enforcement Of IP (21 December 2010).
According to Ermert’s sources, the European Union seems to be preparing for the adoption of the “gold standard” of enforcement, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The European Commission is preparing for a quick restart of a legislative process in the EU to harmonise criminal law sanctions. The Commission may table the new IPRED2 proposal in May or June 2010.
EU Stockholm Programme
In December 2009 the European Council adopted The Stockholm Programme – An open and secure Europe serving and protecting the citizens (dated 2 December 2009; Council document 17024/09).
Under Economic crime and corruption, the European Council calls for criminal sanctions against IPR infringements (page 49):
Counterfeiting is a serious danger for consumers and economies. The Union must improve studies of this phenomenon and ensure that greater account is taken of law enforcement aspects in the work of the future European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy. The European Council calls upon the Council and the European Parliament to consider as soon as possible legislation on criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Draft Council Resolution
The draft Council Resolution (document 5022/10) on the Commission Communication Enhancing the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the internal market was discussed yesterday in the Council’s Working Party on Intellectual Property.
The draft Resolution contained an invitation to the Commission (page 5):
… in close collaboration with the Member States, to analyze the application of the Directive 2004/48/EC, including an assessment of the effectiveness, of the measures taken and, while taking account of the rapidly developing digital environment, if necessary propose appropriate amendments.
Criminal IPR sanctions are in the pipeline, but we don’t know their scope, either internationally (ACTA) or in the internal market (IPRED2 redux), but the two are connected.
Ralf Grahn
P.S. The blog of Melania Coman (in Romanian) mixes personal reflections with information about EU structural funds, funding grants, SME loans and news on finance. Her blog could well apply for listing among the more than 500 great euroblogs on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, economics, finance and law.
By the way, euroblogs are an excellent means to brush up your foreign language skills while learning about our common challenges.
EU USA SWIFT or TFTP Agreement officially published
Late November 2009 we wrote about the upcoming decision of the Council of the European Union to approve the so called SWIFT Agreement to hand over European banking data to the United States, and early December we reported on the decision, taken on the last day before the Lisbon Treaty entered into force.
The Decision by the Council of the European Union on the signing of the so called SWIFT or TFTP Agreement has now been officially published:
COUNCIL DECISION 2010/16/CFSP/JHA of 30 November 2009 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 13.1.2010 L 8/9.
This contains the formal decision on signing, as well as a provision and declaration on provisional application of the Agreement.
The annexed contents of the SWIFT Agreement are here:
AGREEMENT between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; OJEU 13.1.2010 L 8/11.
The TFTP Agreement is in force until 31 October 2010, but the parties have undertaken to negotiate for a long-term agreement (Article 15).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Matizandrea’s Blog (in Italian) is an active and knowledgeable participant in the European blogosphere. Matizandrea’s Blog is listed together with more than 500 great euroblogs on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, economics, finance and law.
By the way, euroblogs are an excellent means to brush up your foreign language skills while learning about or debating our common challenges.
The Decision by the Council of the European Union on the signing of the so called SWIFT or TFTP Agreement has now been officially published:
COUNCIL DECISION 2010/16/CFSP/JHA of 30 November 2009 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) 13.1.2010 L 8/9.
This contains the formal decision on signing, as well as a provision and declaration on provisional application of the Agreement.
The annexed contents of the SWIFT Agreement are here:
AGREEMENT between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program; OJEU 13.1.2010 L 8/11.
The TFTP Agreement is in force until 31 October 2010, but the parties have undertaken to negotiate for a long-term agreement (Article 15).
Ralf Grahn
P.S. Matizandrea’s Blog (in Italian) is an active and knowledgeable participant in the European blogosphere. Matizandrea’s Blog is listed together with more than 500 great euroblogs on multilingual Bloggingportal.eu, a useful one-stop-shop for fact, opinion and gossip on European affairs, i.a. politics, policies, economics, finance and law.
By the way, euroblogs are an excellent means to brush up your foreign language skills while learning about or debating our common challenges.
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