Brussels briefing
The speeches of Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Chancellor Angela Merkel during his Berlin visit were so unalike, they could have been talking about completely different things.
That is because they were.
Germany sees the euro crisis, Ireland’s banking debacle and the EU’s EMS fund in an utterly different way to the Irish.
While Ireland sees the EU as a kind of mutual aid society, Germany, or at least this government, sees it as a self-help group.
So Ireland is doing fine and must continue to get itself out of the logical consequences of its foolish Celtic Tiger years, says Germany.
Wishing to be seen as “special” is like a child seeking attention and they will agree — just to stop the tantrums.
Negotiations on the EU’s budget for the next six years begin in earnest today.
The Commission costed all the things the member states say they want the EU to do, and came up with a bill of €1 trillion.
With every country wanting to get more back than they put into the pot and the big payers supporting recessionary policies even in the middle of a recession, a lot will be left undone. Reports say the result could be a cut of about a fifth to the proposed budget.
So talks about funding jobs and growth and extending Europe’s political clout around the globe will be just that — talk.
Marian Harkin, hard- working independent MEP, has been fighting an uphill battle to have the EU’s globalisation fund extended to include other workers who lose their jobs, including farmers.
Tomorrow MEPs in the Employment and Social Affairs committee of the European Parliament vote on her report, but the road ahead is uncertain, given that some countries are pushing to dump the fund altogether after 2014.
Irish workers have benefited more than any from the fund, though the results from the first recipients, Dell workers, was extremely poor compared to those in other countries, due to poor government management.
During its EU presidency Ireland will push to keep the fund and convince countries that could block it to change their minds.
Increasing talk of independence for Spain’s Catalonia region and for Scotland has concentrated minds on whether they would remain in the EU or not.
While both potentially new countries want to remain a member, the lawyers say they would have to reapply and could not assume anything.
This view of course suits Britain and Spain’s purposes as they see it as an incentive for the two regions not to break away.
But then lawyers appear to be able to produce a solution to suit everyone when the political atmosphere requires it.
Many of the dazzling smiles of celebrities are thanks to more than a modicum of airbrushing, but still real live people want to emulate the sparkle.
Bleach — hydrogen peroxide is the main ingredient in commercial teeth whiteners. The EU has at last gritted its teeth and produced legislation to ensure that products with more than 6% bleaching substances and more than 0.1% hydrogen peroxide are banned from over-the-counter sales, and anything stronger is confined to dentists.
Former medical worker and Labour MEP Phil Prendergast said she is happy that whiteners are limited to over 18s, and that pregnant women and those who usually need their teeth whitened the most — smokers and drinkers — are warned to use very little and seldom.
Consumers are unwittingly buying goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank because EU member states, including Ireland, are failing to insist products’ origins are clearly labelled.
Half a million settlers benefit from Israeli government subsidies and open access to export markets, while 4m Palestinians are hindered by Israeli restrictions.
A report, Trading away Peace, from a coalition of 22 NGOs including Christian Aid and Trócaire, shows the EU imports more from occupied Palestinian territories than from Palestinians, with many of the goods labelled as being from Israel. At a minimum, they say, countries should insist goods’ origins are correctly labelled.
Tyres account for up to 30% of a car’s fuel consumption — and some tyres can cut petrol costs by up to €230 a year.
The problem up to now has been to tell which tyre is best, but new labelling should help, with tyres labelled from A — the best to G — the worst.
The labels rate not just energy consumption, but also the tyre’s wet-grip and external rolling noise.
A raft of other requirements also come into force this week, including seat-belt reminders, easier child seat anchorages, protection from shifting luggage, and gear shift indicators to encourage fuel savings. The new regulation replaces about 50 individual directives.
For the past four decades the EU has operated a more open trade scheme for the least developed countries, allowing the poorest to export as much as they can of their produce into the EU without adding tariffs or taxes.
This has just been revised to come into force in 2014 and reflects the greater development of countries like Argentina and Brazil for instance that move out of the scheme while expanding it for the poorer countries
The EU will give 49 least developed countries complete access and more limited scope to 40 other low and lower-middle income countries.
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