Van Rompuy is the First President of the European Council

Herman van Rompuy has been appointed as the first President of the European Council – a new post created with the Treaty of Lisbon. In his first public appearance, he has outlined some of his priorities on the post:

• Continuity, especially for multiannual dossiers such as the financial perspectives and the Lisbon Strategy;
• Economic and social agenda;
• Environmental and energy challenges;
• Greater security and justice for the European citizens.

Interestingly, Mr. van Rompuy believes that “every country should emerge victorious from negotiations”. He also thinks that institutional debate in the EU “is closed for a long period”.

The post of High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy goes to Catherine Ashton. Her appointment will have to be approved by the European Parliament. Pierre de Boissieu will be the Secretary-General of the Council.

The reactions to these appointments are diverse. One thing is clear – both Mr. van Rompuy and Mrs. Ashton do not have substantial foreign policy experience.

Quentin Peel says that the choice shows what a powerful role the European parliament has come to play in EU politics. He also says that the immediate reaction in Washington was one of shock and disappointment. This somewhat contradicts the news that the US welcomes EU appointments. Andreas Ross says this is an example of old-school EU compromise. Christopher Bickerton says in an interview to the LA Times that “the whole thing has descended into farce…it’s made the European Union seem more of a joke than a reality.”

Results from the EU-Russia Summit

So what are the particular results of the last EU-Russia summit? First, the parties signed financing agreements for five cross-border co-operation programmes (CBC) under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI).

Second, Russia claimed to support the energy security of the EU, though doubts remain.

Third, Russia has pledged to support the EU position on climate policy, but details remain vague.

 

Van Rompuy Still Not “Consensual”

FT reports that there’s still no consensus on the election of the first President of the European Council. The newspaper says that the Swedish presidency is positioning Herman Van Rompuy as the leading candidate, but the difficulty remains to find a suitable candidate for the post of High Representative on the Foreign and Security Policy.

 

 

Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia About to Get Visa Free Travel

The European Parliament has adopted an amendment to Regulation (EC) No 539/2001 listing the third countries whose nationals must be in possession of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals are exempt from that requirement.

The amendment will allow citizens of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia to travel freely to and from the European Union for short-term visits without having to obtain a visa first. The amendment will enter into force on December, 19th, after confirmation by the Council.

The exemption from the visa requirement will apply to Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina after an additional assessment by the Commission.

Remembering Communism

There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit.

Napoleon Bonaparte

 

Twenty years ago on that day the Berlin Wall fell down. This was the beginning of the end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe.

Today I would like to say a few words about this disastrous ideology. It has brought huge suffering in Eastern Europe. Millions of decent, hard-working people in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania were killed, imprisoned, tortured, raped, intimidated and abused. Millions more fell victims to Communism in Asia.

This regime was totalitarian, just like Nazism. Totalitarian regimes have one particular feature so well exposed by Juan José Linz – the power is concentrated in a small group that is not accountable to anyone and cannot be stripped of power with peaceful means.

To keep their power, Communist leaders were ready to do everything necessary. And they did it, crushing ruthlessly any resistance, destroying human lives, debilitating culture, and undermining common human values.

This dehumanizing aspect of Communism is probably its most important, and most evil, feature.

Today we are celebrating twenty years of Communism-free Europe. But we should not be celebrating at all.

Communism is alive and kicking, at least in my country. Even today the henchmen of the Communist regime still play an important role in the Bulgarian society. The sons and grandsons of the Communist leaders are active politicians, magistrates, and businessmen. We now know that many of the participants in the transition process to democracy were former agents or collaborators of the Communist state security services.

Worse, even today Bulgarians are nostalgic about Communism. Only 13% believe that today we are “better”, while 62% of Bulgarians say we are “worse” economically than under Communism. Sometimes the idea of a “strong hand” is presented to the public in subtle, tempting tones by experienced political engineers.

Let me be clear. The integration into the European Union is the one and only true external guarantee of the democratic political process in Bulgaria. But this is not enough. Should we forget the past, should we cherish the rotten fruit of authoritarianism, no one and nothing will save us.

 

Report on Trade Restriction Measures

The European Commission has published a report on potentially trade restrictive measures introduced between October 2008 and October 2009 by the European Union’s (EU) major trade partners. 223 new trade restrictive measures were reported as planned or introduced since October 2008.

The report says that a protectionist worst-case scenario has been avoided as the measures taken so far are rather limited in scope, relative to fears and previous experience with economic downturns.

 

GM Drops Opel Deal with Magna and Sberbank

The board of directors of General Motors has decided not to finish the deal for the sale of carmaker Opel to a consortium of the Canadian Magna and Russian Sberbank. The has been a subject of investigation by the European Commission for illegal state aid.

The European Commission has said that it is now ready to examine any revised state-aid package that might be offered by the German government in the light of GM’s surprise announcement.

The German government has claimed that the financial aid for Opel was not conditional. I fail to understand, then, the reaction of Jürgen Rüttgers, premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, who said: “General Motors’ behaviour shows the ugly face of turbo-capitalism. That is completely unacceptable.” Rainer Brüderle, Germany’s new economics minister, has also said: “The behaviour of General Motors towards Germany is totally unacceptable.”

To my humble opinion the wording of the German reaction is utterly unacceptable itself. The German government has said in writing to the European Commission that the €4.5bn of government aid for the deal was not dependent on Magna and Sberbank being the winner, and is available to all bidders.

Is it available to all bidders or is it not available or what?

 

A Speech That Should Be Listened To

This is a video of the speech by German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressing a joint meeting of the US Congress. Worth listening to.

Turkey Drifts from the West?

There are three pieces of analysis that tackle the obvious drift of Turkish foreign policy away from the European Union and the United States.

Dan Bilefski in the New York Times reports on a multitude of viewpoints on the new direction of Turkish foreign policy towards the East. He deals with the problem of the Turkish accession to the European Union and the cultural and economic prerequisites for the re-orientation. He says that even a partial collapse of accession talks with the European Union would have far-reaching consequences. I find interesting the quote from Cengiz Aktar that rather than worrying that Turkey is moving toward the East, the West should fear a wounded Turkey turning to Russia.

Daniel Pipes says that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu envisions reduced conflict with neighbors and Turkey emerging as a regional power, a sort-of modernized Ottoman Empire.

Philip Stephens in the Financial Times believes that Turkey still wants to be part of Europe. And on every challenge – from energy, from terrorism, drugs and migration to trade and investment – Europe has an immutable interest in nurturing a democratic, west-facing Turkey.

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.