Framework for Public-Private Partnerships

The European Commission presents a framework for encouraging the use of public private partnerships (PPPs) to meet existing and future needs for investment in public services, infrastructure and research in Europe.

The framework involves:

• increased funding for PPPs through working with the EIB, by re-focusing existing Community instruments and by developing guarantee instruments for PPP financing;
• in cases involving EU funding, better rules and procedures in order to ensure a level playing field between wholly publicly managed projects and those managed under PPPs;
• a more effective framework for innovation, including the possibility for the EU to participate in private law bodies and directly invest in specific projects;
• considering an EU legislative instrument on concessions, based on the ongoing Impact Assessment;
• improved information dissemination and exchange of best practice; including the creation of a new PPP group in which relevant stakeholders can share their concerns and further ideas with regard to PPPs.

David Cameron on EU – Just a Little Bit Softer

The leader of the British Conservative Party, David Cameron, has delivered a speech on the EU. One issue has obviously dropped off the Tory agenda – there will be no new referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. The reason – holding a referendum now will be like holding “a referendum to stop the sun [from] rising in the morning”.

One of the concrete steps for a possible future Tory government will be to prohibit, by law, the transfer of power to the EU without a referendum. Cameron also proposes a new law “to make it clear that ultimate authority stays in this country, in our Parliament”. The third measure is to require all changes in primary EU law without a new ratified treaty (the so-called pasarelles) to be subject to “full approval by Parliament”.

Cameron demands also new opt-outs for Britain:

• opt-out from the Social Chapter;
• new, better opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
• limiting the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction over criminal law to its pre-Lisbon level.

Cameron recognizes that these new opt-outs are subject to approval by all the Member states of the European Union.

 

Post-2013 EU Budget Overhaul?

The EU Observer says that the first principle draft of EU budgeting post-2013 shows significant changes in budget priorities. Agricultural and regional aid in its current form is significantly reduced. Regional aid for wealthy Member States is scrapped to a large extent. Jobs, climate change and foreign policy are the three priorities in the budget draft.

Proposal for a Single EU Asylum Procedure

The European Commission has proposed amendments to the Directive 2004/83/EC on qualification and status of persons in need of international protection and the Directive 2005/85/EC on asylum procedures.

The most important proposal aims at creating a single asylum procedure by ensuring the simplification and rationalization of existing asylum procedures.

German Aid to Opel Was Not, Well, Conditional

On Friday Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes had written to the German Economy Minister, voicing doubts about Germany’s offer to provide 4.5 billion euros in financial aid for Opel as part of the deal with Canadian Magna and Russian Sberbank. As Euractiv points out, the German government said repeatedly it had a “clear preference” for the Magna bid as it offered Opel the most promising future and would protect German jobs.

Now Germany’s government has written a letter to GM and the Opel trust assuring them that the €4.5bn of government aid for the deal was not dependent on Magna and Sberbank being the winner, and was available to all bidders. Quite convincing.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung explains that arguments for the deal have nothing to do with Community competition law. But of course. Community competition law is a decoration we wear when the weather is appropriate.

Long-Term Financial Risks for Member States

The European Commission has issued a report on the sustainability of public finances in Member States. The report groups countries based on their medium- and long-term risk profiles.

To my surprise Bulgaria is in the lowest risk group together with Denmark, Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The countries whose public finances are most at risk in the medium term are Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The report proposes a policy framework for improving the sustainability of public finances that includes:

• Deficit and debt reduction;
• Increasing employment rates;
• Reform of pension and healthcare systems.

The Economic and Financial Crisis – the EU Legal Perspective

A new, useful report by Prof. Sideek Mohamed Seyad provides a legal analysis of the global financial crisis from a European perspective.

According to Prof. Seyad, it is difficult to coordinate a common approach in an emergency situation under the EU legal system. One of the reasons is that the European Union has no competence to legislate in some areas, such as taxation. In other sectors, such as the cross-border provision of banking services, regulation is to a great extent handled at the national level.

The report says that in responding to the crisis, national interests began to override the broader goal of European integration as Member States adopted various measures to protect their own industries.

A general conclusion is that the future stability and unity of the EU would largely depend on the restoration of normalcy in the eastern part of its territory.

Codified Directive on Work Equipment Safety

The codified Directive 2009/104/EC concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work, has been published in the Official Journal.

The directive lays down minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work

G-20 – What Economic Decision-Making?

It is said that the Group of 20 (G-20) is set to become the premier coordinating body on global economic issues. But what does it mean?

Indeed, the summit statement says that G-20 is “to be the premier forum for our international economic cooperation”. The statement outlines three areas of cooperation:

• G-20 members will agree on shared policy objectives;
• G-20 members will set out medium-term policy frameworks and will work together to assess the collective implications of national policy frameworks;
• G-20 Leaders will consider, based on the results of the mutual assessment, and agree any actions to meet common objectives.

The G-20 is perceived as an efficient forum that now allows for the inclusion of developing countries in the global economic and financial governance. One of the most important tasks ahead of G-20 appears to be the reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other global financial institutions.

Other experts, however, claim that the process of reform cannot be restricted to the G-20 or similar associations that exclude so many of the world’s countries. That is why G-20 cannot replace a fully legitimate and universal international organization, such as the IMF.

An additional critique is that large countries like Bangladesh or Nigeria are missing and that Europe is over-represented in the G-20 forum—which cripples democratic representation .

My Blog on Climate Change

I now participate in TH!NK2 Climate Change – a 3 month blogging competition with a focus on UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) in December 2009.

You can check my posts on this topic here.