Retention of EU commissioner key treaty issue for Irish Yes vote

Retention of an Irish commissioner is among the issues the government is discussing with EU colleagues in advance of making a decision on another Lisbon treaty referendum, minister for foreign affairs Micheál Martin said yesterday, reports the Irish Times.

Martin said the government accepted the decision of the people in the last referendum and they had to be listened to.

The Belfast Telegraph add that the move comes as a poll published on Monday in the Irish Times shows that a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has a good chance of being carried.

The survey indicated that 43% per cent of Irish voters said they would vote yes if Ireland could retain an EU commissioner and if certain other concerns were addressed.

EU warning over Chinese toy safety

Le Figaro reports that the European commission has signalled a sharp increase in the number of dangerous products – especially toys – produced in China and sold in the EU.

Speaking after an EU-US-China meeting in Brussels on Monday, consumer protection commissioner Meglena Kuneva and her US counterpart, Nancy Nord, warned that children were particularly at risk because of poor quality production.

Beijing, meanwhile, said it took such issues extremely seriously, but noted that there is often a lack of supervision by EU toy brand owners over their suppliers in China.

FT Europe also reports on Monday’s agreement between the EU and China to strengthen their cooperation on product safety standards.

The paper says the move follows the so called “summer of recalls” which saw Chinese toys pulled from shop shelves across the world, due to fears over their safety.

The Wall Street Journal adds that after the agreement was sealed, US consumer product safety commissioner Nancy Nord joined her EU and Chinese colleagues to discuss further three-way cooperation, including the possibility of setting up common safety standards for toys.

UK and US "leadership" on financial crisis questionable, says Eurogroup chair

Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker has said that the UK and the US should not claim to have shaped Europe's response to the global economic crisis, as they have rejected attempts at financial regulation in the past, reports the Guardian.

"Two years ago at the G7 meeting under the German presidency of the G7 we were fairly blunt in calling for more elaborate rules for the financial markets," Juncker told the European parliament.

Michel angry at development funding blockage

In a televised interview posted on Le Monde’s website, European development commissioner Louis Michel has vented his anger at the lack of progress in development funding.

In particular, the Belgian commissioner is angry that €1bn set aside to support European farmers if prices drop significantly – which was not the case in 2008 – have not been freed to fund development programmes.

Kilroy urged to give up his MEP salary

Pressure is mounting on UK MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk to give up his parliamentary salary and expenses while he spends weeks in Australia taking part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, reports the Daily Mail

Last week a former political colleague in the UK Independence Party - which Kilroy-Silk left in 2005 - suggested the ex-television presenter should give his EU pay and perks during his well-paid time in the jungle to charity.

And now Labour MEP Glyn Ford is asking for a parliament ruling on whether an MEP paid to be away from his political duties should have his political earnings suspended.

 

MEP bullish over party leadership bid

MEP Benoit Hamon tells Libération he is confident of winning through to the second round in this weekend’s vote for a new leader of the French Socialist party.

Hamon is up against former presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, whom the paper notes remains a divisive figure among the party faithful, and Martine Aubry, daughter of Jacques Delors and author of the infamous 35-hour working week.

The MEP, who represents the left of the Socialist party, has a surprisingly large level of support among party members, although Royal remains ahead in the polls.

But there appears to be growing support for an “anti-Ségo” candidate – most likely Aubry – according to Le Figaro, a move denounced by the leader of the Poitou-Charentes region.

EU should investigate UK energy firms, says consumer watchdog

The UK government's consumer watchdog has said that energy firms should face an EU legal inquiry for failing to pass on price cuts, reports the Telegraph.

The watchdog Consumer Focus wants the European commission to investigate whether by tying gas prices to oil prices, energy firms are preventing free competition that would bring household bills down. The request for an inquiry was made in a letter to Neelie Kroes, EU competition commissioner.

EU records trade deficit following surplus last year

The EU statistics office has revealed that a sharp increase in imports pushed the eurozone into a trade deficit in September compared with a surplus a year earlier, reports the IHT.

The external trade deficit of the 15 eurozone countries totalled €5.6 billion, compared with a deficit of €9.4 billion in August and down from a €2.9 billion surplus in September 2007.