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EU should put economic growth before budget rules, says Barroso
The commission will press for the most flexible possible implementation of euro-zone budget rules after world leaders agreed in Washington to a set of measures aimed at boosting economic growth, reports the Irish Times
Speaking after the G20 summit at the weekend, commission president José Manuel Barroso said that although the stability and growth pact had to be respected, increasing economic growth was a vital European interest.
The IHT reports that forecasts from the European commission estimate that the economy in the 15 countries that use the euro may already be in a recession and will barely grow next year, expanding just 0.1 percent as the financial crisis hits hard.
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Growing support for Lisbon Treaty, says Irish Times poll
A new poll commissioned by the Irish Times shows growing support for the Lisbon Treaty among middle-class voters.
The paper says that working-class voters are still against the treaty as are most A majority of women and young people but Ireland’s farmers are now decisively in the Yes camp.
Forty-three per cent of respondents to the Irish Times poll said they would vote in favour of the treaty if minor changes were made to take Irish concerns into account, adds the Belfast Telegraph.
The new poll suggests that the Irish government would narrowly win a second Lisbon treaty vote, adds the Irish Independent.
The Irish Times in another article reports that the government is to make a decision shortly as to whether or not it will hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
Speaking on RTÉ Television's Foreign Affairs minister Micheál Martin said that the government would decide in advance of the next European summit, which takes place in Brussels on December 11th and 12th.
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Iceland mulls EU entry by 2011
Iceland's prime minister has said he will set up a special panel to investigate whether the island state should join the EU.
A weekend report by FT Europe says the decision reflects growing public pressure, with public support for the move rising from around 50 per cent before the recent financial crisis that caused the collapse of Iceland's banking system, to around 70 per cent.
The paper quotes prime minister Geir Haarde as saying, “We have always said that we will assess at any given time how we cooperate with Europe," he said. "This process will help us make our future decisions.”
The paper adds that Icelandic foreign affairs officials are thought to have already to have drawn up preliminary plans for a formal an application in 2009 and eventual entry in 2011.
Elsewhere, Europe’s press also report on Sunday’s announcement by Reykjavik that it has reached a preliminary deal with Britain and other European countries on guidelines for dealing with foreign depositors over the collapsed internet bank Icesave.
Te deal should now pave the way for Iceland to access funds from the IMF, following threats by the UK and others insisting that the country on guaranteeing foreign deposits before receiving IMF funding.
Sarkozy calls on US to reconsider missile shield plans
French president Nicolas Sarkozy has told the next American administration that plans for a US missile shield in Eastern Europe are misguided, and won't make the continent a safer place, reports the Guardian.
"Deployment of a missile defence system would bring nothing to security ... it would complicate things, and would make them move backward," Sarkozy said at a news conference with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, during the G20 summit in Washington on Friday.
EU monitors allegedly shot at in Georgia
EU cease-fire monitors in Georgia say they were shot at near a breakaway region in the former Soviet republic, reports the IHT.
The mission, which consists of 225 people, said a statement Sunday that shots were fired as they investigated the shooting death of a Georgian policeman near the border with Abkhazia. They called the incident "unacceptable" and asked Abkhaz authorities to investigate.
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EU slaps trade charges on Chinese candles
The EU put anti-dumping duties on Chinese-made candles and non-alloy steel products on Saturday, approving an earlier-flagged move as leaders at the G20 summit called for countries to avoid trade protectionism, reports the Guardian
With trade disputes between Brussels and Beijing on the rise, the move comes as Chinese officials met their European counterparts at the Group of 20 advanced and emerging nations in Washington.
