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EU observer mission denied access to key areas in Georgia
The EU begins is observer mission to Georgia today, says Deutsche Welle, despite Russian protests that the envoys won’t be allowed in any of the so-called buffer zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The website says the EU had wanted to secure the complete withdrawal of forces from the two troubled regions, but this had been completely ruled out by Moscow.
It quotes French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, representing the EU under the French presidency. “This is all really very incomplete, as I and everyone else know. But in the first instance it was for us a matter of getting a date for a Russian withdrawal from the parts of Georgia that border with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”
Under a six-point plan brokered by the French last month, Russia is due to withdraw from the buffer zones 10 days after the deployment of the EU mission.
The Irish Independent says that Vitaly Manushko, a Russian military spokesman, said the EU observers would only be allowed to monitor an area from the north of the strategic town of Gori to the administrative boundary of South Ossetia.
The paper goes on to say that Georgia has accused Russia of deliberately trying to sabotage the EU mission.
El País, meanwhile, quotes EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who said he was optimistic that the 10-day deadline would be met. "I'm optimistic that all parties will keep fulfil their side of the deal," he said on a visit to Tbilisi on Tuesday.
EU to install 'strip search scanners' at airports
The Belfast Telegraph reports on the EU’s intention to install what it calls “strip search scanners” at airports across the 27-member bloc.
Under a directive which could come into force by 2010, the paper says the EU is following the US, where 3D body scanners have been in use in Los Angeles and New York airports.
Fears have been raised over how intrusive the scanners are, the paper goes on, as they give very realistic virtual images of the ‘naked’ human body.
The paper quotes chair of parliament’s transport committee Paolo Costa, who is concerned over how the images will be stored.
“What will the impact of the use of body scanners be on passenger health? What will the impact be on passenger privacy?” he asked in a letter to the commission last week.
“How will the image data be held and how will it be destroyed?”
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EU urges US to restore financial bail-out deal for banks
EU leaders urged the US to quickly restore its defeated bank bail-out proposal and stabilise the global financial system, as member states across Europe began to assist their own banks, reports the IHT.
"The US must take its responsibility in this situation, must show statesmanship for the sake of their own country, and for the sake of the world," said a spokesman for the European commission.
Meanwhile Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan criticised American efforts as too slow and called on leaders across the EU to follow the Irish example, where the government has unveiled an unlimited guarantee on deposits at six domestic banks.
Jouyet to quit French government after EU stint
France’s Europe minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet will quit the government in 2009 once his country’s EU presidency is over, Le Figaro reports.
Jouyet, a Socialist member of the centre-right government, said he did not want to be a politician, and that he had underestimated the level of commitment necessary for the post.
The former tax inspector said he thanked Nicolas Sarkozy for inviting him into the government, even if he had often disagreed with some of his more right-wing policies such as DNA testing for immigrant families.
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Minimum maternity leave to increase across EU
The European commission is set to extend maternity leave across the EU to a minimum of 18 weeks, says El País, in the face of falling birth rates in Europe.
The paper says the move is less altruistic than logical, because women are less likely to leave work to care for children if their job caters to their needs.
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Maltese hunters defy EU as bird slaughter continues
The Telegraph today reports on the continuing illegal slaughter of migrating birds over Malta, which the paper say has brought renewed demands for tougher action against Maltese hunters.
The paper adds that a rogue element of the island's 12,000 hunters is still defying EU laws and the that Maltese government faces legal action in the European court of justice over its failure to curb the spring hunting and trapping of wild birds.
The Mediterranean island is an important staging post for birds that migrate from Europe into north Africa. The paper says that thousand of birds, including rare birds of prey, are being blasted from the sky.
The paper adds that over the past two weeks, birdwatchers from all over Europe have made their way to the island to assess the population of migrating birds and to witness and record the slaughter for themselves.
Geoffrey Saliba, BirdLife Malta's campaign coordinator, said: "If our government does not stop seeing the hunting issue as an argument between two sides, the slaughter will continue. Illegal hunting across Malta is a national and international problem and a criminal act that defies national and international law and it must be stopped now."
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EU ministers to debate car-friendly emissions proposal
After last week’s decision by MEPs to toughen emissions targets for new cars, Libération reports that EU environment ministers will today debate a more pro-industry proposal.
The French-led proposal, drawn up by a panel of experts, is in essence the deal agreed between Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel in June, namely that just 60 per cent of new cars need to meet a 130g/CO2 per km target in 2012 - the remaining 40 per cent would have until 2015.
MEPs had said all cars needed to meet a target of 120g/km by 2012, but Greenpeace notes that the French proposal does not include a further seven grammes of CO2 that can be spared through other technology such as better tyres – essentially meaning that cars will be allowed to emit 137g/km.
The paper notes that car makers had pledged to reduce emissions to 140g/km by this year as part of a voluntary agreement, and adds that they are nowhere near achieving that target.
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Paris to host EU financial crisis summit
The European members of the G8 group will meet in Paris to discuss potential plans for a bail-out of the financial sector, Le Monde reports.
There is little chance of a US-style injection of cash, not least because Europe’s banking sector is far stronger than that in the US, said Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Junker.
The European commission will on Wednesday come forward with its own proposals for bolstering the EU banking sector.
