FOLLOWING THE EUROPEAN UNION

Why is it that people have a financial blind spot when it comes to the EU?

Lord Ellpus wrote:

Why is it that people have a financial blind spot when it comes to the EU?

What is this obsession with the EU that makes any mention of it, however trivial, get some Brits ranting and raving? Like Pavlov, it is.

Seriously - do you really think that if the British government holds a big presentation or meeting, British journalists are not provided with Internet access points? Of course they are. Governments are usually pro when it comes to facilitating those who report their actions.

One can only wonder about the indifference to reporters from abroad noted here. As the article says, "an obsession with domestic media [has] helped create the problems with the foreign press".

Just adding that I quoted the above - "an obsession with domestic media [has] helped create the problems with the foreign press" - from an UK paper.

Well, LE, you should ask Her Majesty's Government Prime Minister why he invited to this place.

My point in all of this non story is, why the hell don't we use brussels?
Why do we all go to the totally unneccesary expense of holding these spin sessions anywhere else?

Comments
"...so people would have to wait for that to be resolved first"

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"We need to see what the winner's attitude to our world-domination plans will be..."

Hadi Uluengin in Hurriyet

If Merkel, who has shown antipathy towards Ankara, had gained an overwhelming victory, countries such as Austria, Cyprus and even France, which are already very enthusiastic about blocking us, would certainly have made use of it. That issue is now closed - and more importantly, the general and long-term risk of German opposition has been eliminated.



Erdal Safak in Sabah

There are already comments in France saying that Merkel's defeat has turned Sarkozy's plans upside down, so we can look at the EU process more hopefully. Chirac, who has been moving towards the option of a privileged partnership for Turkey because of the Sarkozy factor, may gradually return to his old line.



Gila Benmayor in Hurriyet

Merkel's inability to gain the result she expected has been to our benefit. She will not be able to raise her voice very loudly ahead of the 3 October negotiations or afterwards. Another good thing is that Sarkozy has lost an important ally.



Semih Idiz in Milliyet

The results of the general election in Germany have both comforted and pleased Ankara ahead of 3 October. They have shown that opposing Turkey's EU membership does not provide as much benefit in German politics as was thought and that the political cost of giving strong support to Turkey on this issue is not as high as some have said.



Fehmi Koru in Yeni Safak

The first real result of this situation may be that Angela Merkel, who did not achieve the success she expected, will have to play down her obsession with Turkey. Merkel is not in a position to prevent the start of the EU negotiation process on 3 October, and Schroeder will probably maintain his interest in Turkey.

I do not believe for a second that Turkey is a dead issue for the EU.

EU admits constitution is on ice

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has acknowledged that the EU will not have a constitution for "at least two or three years".
He said that the text was unlikely to be ratified in the near future, after French and Dutch voters rejected it.

However, Mr Barroso said this should not mean paralysis in Europe.

He said it was important to convince citizens of the relevance of the EU by creating jobs, improving security and protecting the environment.

Brainstorming

"In all probability, at least for the next two or three years, we will not have a constitution," he told reporters in Brussels.

The failure of referendums in France and the Netherlands earlier this year led an EU summit in June to call for a period of reflection, rather than risk further rejections in other countries.
The constitution cannot become law unless it is ratified by all EU members. So far 12 have approved it, but only two of them by referendum.

The Commission spent Tuesday "brainstorming" at a chateau in southern Belgium about the future of Europe.

Mr Barroso insisted on Wednesday that the EU should not be nostalgic for the constitution, but should make the most of the existing treaty framework.

"Let's get things done that ordinary people can see and appreciate," he said.

Budget plea

He added: "We don't want a mediocre, defensive Europe that tries to bury its head in the sand to avoid the realities of the 21st Century."

He said Europe had to modernise its economic and social models to cope with its ageing population and an "unacceptable" level of unemployment.

And he urged the UK, which holds the presidency of the European Council, to make progress on solving a row over the EU's 2007-2013 budget.

He said this would give a crucial signal that the EU can go forward.

The problems over the constitution and the budget provide the backdrop for an informal summit of European leaders at Hampton Court to be held in London at the end of October.

The UK presidency says this will focus on how to provide social justice and competitiveness in the context of globalisation, and how to make policies in areas such as justice and home affairs, foreign policy and defence work better for the people of Europe.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/4268094.stm

Published: 2005/09/21 14:09:14 GMT

The largest recipient of EU funds in 2004 was Spain (€ 16.4 billion) ahead of the the populous member states, France (€ 12.9 billion), Germany (€11.7 billion), Italy (€10.4 billion), and the UK (€7.1 billion). Spain is the largest recipient of funds under structural operations, followed by Germany, Italy and Portugal.

Funds for new member states have only started to flow. Poland (€2.7 billion) comes at the 10th place of EU-25. All new Member States recorded a positive net balance, amounting to € 2.9 billion for 2004, an increase of € 1.3 billion compared with 2003, before they joined.

In terms of percent of gross national income (GNI) Greece (3.52 % of national GNI) and Portugal (3.35 %) received relatively most funds, followed by Lithuania (2.81 %), Estonia (2.50 %) and Latvia (2.46 %).

Drastic reforms of the European welfare state are unavoidable, say the conservative and liberal market reformers, and they insist that its not even so much a question of ideology, but one of simply facing the facts. The birth rate in Europe is ever shrinking, the baby boomers of ´45 are nearing retirement, and from thereon, the proportion between tax-paying working persons and those receiving pensions or other state benefits will simply become steadily more disadvantageous. It will simply become impossible, they say, to keep on affording a socialdemocratic welfare state.

One counterargument is that of immigration. Despite the current Europe-wide backlash against immigration, it will remain just as much a fact of life. And immigrants tend to be of working age. (SNIP--see thread)

That counterargument right now is electorally hopeless in many countries, though. But the French, of all Europeans arguably the most averse to the recipes of the free market dogmatics, are exploring other alternatives to save the welfarestate. In addition to following the example of the Scandinavian countries, where women- and parent-friendly workplace policies allow families to combine jobs for both parents and child care without having to jump through expensive or exhaustive hoops (good, affordable child care, availability of part time work, avoiding the workplace mentality where those who aren't work-aholic are given up on, career-wise), the French are going for a conscious encouragement of larger families.

Quote:

Bébé-boom: Paris encourages the wish of many French to have three children