EU –

Budget could be Cowen’s last action

November 24, 2010 By ryangavan Leave a Comment

By Ryan C. Gavan and Edoardo Zandona

Tough times for Taoiseach Brian Cowen (Image:Telegraph)

The Irish austerity budget is likely to be Brian Cowen’s last action as Taoiseach , as he is set to call an election early in the New Year.

The budget was set to be announced on December 7th but after mounting political pressure, an announcement will be made this afternoon. The aim will be to set out the plans to reduce the country’s deficit to 3% of GDP by 2014.

This will lead to welfare cuts and tax rises of up to 50% for low paid workers. The minimum wage is set to be cut by 13% and middle class families will lose tax credits.

The IMF and the EU have sanctioned an extensive bailout package of €90Bn to the Irish govenment.

The Irish government states, “providing assistance to Ireland is warranted to safeguard financial stability in the EU and Euro area.”

Initially, they did not wish to accept the bailout package, feeling confident the problems could be resolved without a handout. After extensive meetings with EU finance ministers it was accepted on Sunday evening.

In a reversal, Cowen rejected calls from junior coalition partners the Greens to hold a snap election.

After discussions with his own parliamentary party last night, Cowen stated he will, ” seek the dissolution of Dail Eireann and enable the people to determine the responsibilities of government in the challenging period ahead.”

He has denied accusations that he is ”hanging on” to power.

This could be welcomed by Sinn Feinn, who called for a vote of no confidence in the Taoiseach yesterday. The party has seen increased support in recent times, prompting Gerry Adams to say that he will stand in Louth for election to the Dail.

It has been recently reported that Ireland’s international credit rating has been dropped by Standard and Poor’s from AA- to A. This could have a great impact on the overall economy due to Ireland being highly dependent on oversees investment. The view that they may have difficulty repaying loans could increase interest rates and cause further problems.

Ireland’s debt crisis is the result of the property market crash, starting in 2008. After the huge economic boom, house prices have fallen by up to 60% and the banks have held bad assets ever since.

Aiding to matters is the part-nationalisation of many of the country’s banks, turning into state-held debt.

Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan stated “an increase in corporation tax will not be a condition of the bailout.”

Ireland has the lowest level of corporation tax in the Eurozone at 12.5% which has come under scrutiny by other EU member states, such as Germany and France.

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business Tagged With: economics, EU, Euro, Euro Zone, Finance, Ireland, Irish Politics, Politics, recession

Spain and Portugal Pressure Dublin, But No Irish Bail Out Request say’s EU

November 15, 2010 By foypaul Leave a Comment

by Paul Foy

Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan

Portugal and Spain have called on the Irish Government to accept financial help from the EU, as countries borrowing rates suffer as a result of the Irish crisis.

Irish Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan will discuss the crisis tomorrow with his European counterparts in Brussels, and the Spanish and Portuguese are hoping that Ireland will accept the aid to protect the rest of it’s Euro Zone partners. But the European commission today confirmed that Ireland has not applied to tap the 60 billion euro rescue fund.

This goes against claims made by Fine Gael, the main opposition party at the weekend, that the government had already applied to the EU for aid.

Fine Gael’s financial spokesman, Michael Noonan said: “I’m extremely concerned. I think the reports (of an imminent bailout) over the weekend are true … I think there is European intervention underway.”

Calls to request the bail out reached fever pitch this week, as interest on Ireland’s 10 year bonds reached 9%, although this has now subsided to 8.3%. The Bank Of Spain governor, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, said he hoped that an “appropriate reaction” from Ireland would calm the markets further.

He later told reporters: “The situation in the markets has been negative due in some part to the lack of a decision by Ireland. It’s not up to me to make a decision on Ireland, it’s Ireland that should take the decision at the right moment.”

If Ireland where to tap the monetary fund, Britain could have to pay up to 7 billion, as the previous government signed an agreement the day before David Cameron was made Prime Minister, which makes Britain responsible for 13.6% of the 50 billion pound fund. This could fall directly to British tax payers, depending on how any deal were to be structured

The UK government declined to say how much an Irish rescue package could cost British taxpayers. “There has been no application (from the Irish government for emergency funding) and we won’t speculate on it,” said a spokesman for the Treasury this morning, but Prime Minister David Cameron said Ireland was a key trading partner and its stability was very much in the country’s interests:

“If you look at the Irish economy, Ireland is an enormously important trading partner with Britain. It’s a fact that we actually export more to Ireland than we do to Brazil, Russia, India and China combined,” he told parliament.

“Now, that is a rebuke to us, we’ve got to do better with those other countries. But Ireland is an extremely important trading partner and stability in the Irish economy and success in the Irish economy is very much in Britain’s interest.”

Dublin is resisting pressure to ask for help because the bailout terms would be severe. Ireland would have to partially surrender sovereignty over its budget and could also be forced to increase its low corporation tax rate of 12.5%, a cornerstone for attracting foreign direct investment from major multinational corporations such as Dell.

The Irish Govt has funds the keep the country running until Summer 2011, which makes it unlikely that it is facing the same fate as Greece. It is probable that this time will be used to try and kick start the economy, starting with an upcoming budget in which savage cuts are expected across the board.

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business Tagged With: Bank Of Spain, David Cameron, EU, Irish Government

International news in brief

October 29, 2010 By Mairi Thomson Leave a Comment

EU leaders agree new eurozone rules

Rules designed to avoid another financial crisis have been agreed at an EU leaders’ summit. Leaders agreed to give the EU power to monitor national budgets, and have resolved to create a permanent fund to help the euro through difficult periods. Officials from the EU said the eurozone came close to collapse earlier this year because it lacked a fund to help keep it afloat.

North and South Korea exchange fire

Troops in North and South Korea have exchanged fire across the border, according to South Korean officials. Reports say North Korea fired twice at a frontline unit in Hwacheon, 56 miles north-east of Seoul. South Korean soldiers returned fire three times. Officials say it is not clear if North Korea’s initial shots were deliberately intended to provoke South Korean troops on one of the worlds most heavily fortified borders.

Bad weather affects tsunami relief

Efforts to help survivors of Monday’s tsunami in Indonesia have been hampered by bad weather. More than 400 people have been confirmed dead, with heavy rain and high tides making it difficult for boats to deliver aid to survivors on the Mentawai islands, located off the west coast of Sumatra. 300 people are still missing, with bodies still to be recovered from coastal regions. Officials in charge of the disaster relief mission plan to start distributing aid by air, but reports from the area say there are not enough helicopters to reach all of the affected places.

Afghan drug labs destroyed in US-Russian operation

Agents from Russia and the US have joined together to destroy drug laboratories in Afghanistan, according to the head of Russia’s drug control agency, Viktor Ivanov. Agents seized more than a tonne of heroin and opium in the raids which took place near the border with Pakistan on Thursday. The drugs had a street value of £157m and are believed to have been destined for Central Asia. This is the first time a joint operation of this nature has taken place between Russia and America.

New Zealand passes Hobbit law

New Zealand’s parliament has passed legislation which means production of the two Hobbit films will be kept in the country, after making a deal with Warner Bros to keep the £315m ($500m) project. A dispute between Warner Bros and acting unions had endangered the production of the film in New Zealand, with Warner Bros threatening to move the project to another location. The government agreed to change labour laws after acting unions protested about terms and conditions. The deal between Warner Bros and the NZ government also included additional tax breaks and help with marketing costs.

Filed Under: News in Brief Tagged With: afghanistan drugs, disaster relief, EU, Eurozone, new zealand, North Korea, south korea, the hobbit, tsunami

News Round Up

November 20, 2009 By journalismbehr Leave a Comment

By Michael Behr and Meghan Brown

All today’s biggest headlines, fast and snappy.

Attributions

LucVanBraehe@flickr
World Economic Forum@flickr
marcn@flickr
kpmark@flickr
byranv2@flickr
A4Aaforarchitecture@flickr
rockfota@flickr
stuartcaie@flickr
Tim duncan
Philipfossie@flickr

Filed Under: News in Brief Tagged With: afghanistan, airport, book, Charlotte, Clinton, Edinburgh, EU, festival, Football, Henry, Herman, Hilary, Jordan, Katie, MSPS, News, President, Price, Rompuy, round, Square, statue, stolen, Therry, tits, up, Van

EU’s new president promises more integrity

November 20, 2009 By Janos Leave a Comment

Janos Gal reports

European heads of state have chosen Herman van Rompuy to be the European Union’s first president after a state dinner.

Herman van Rompuy, Belgium’s prime minister will be the new president and Baroness Catherine Ashton, European Commissioner for the United Kingdom will be the foreign secretary.

The president will be the most senior figure in the European Union and the foreign secretary will represent all member countries abroad.

Van Rompuy said he will respect the diversity of the union and will work for a stronger and more united bloc.

He added: “I will listen carefully to everyone and I will make sure that our deliberations will turn into results for everyone.”

US President Barack Obama said the appointments would “strengthen the EU and enable it to be an even stronger partner to the United States”.

However, not everybody cheered at the idea of having an EU president. Gerard Batten, UKIP MEP for London said the appointment of a president only adds insult to injury.

He said: “It’s bad enough having the Lisbon Treaty rammed down our throats but a president from a nothing country telling us we shouldn’t exist? They are jackals biting the lion’s tail.”

The post is being created under the Lisbon Treaty, which comes into effect on 1 December. The treaty is intended to make the EU bloc a stronger global force.

The European Union is a bloc of 27 nations. Up to now its presidency has been held by each member state in turn for six months, chairing and organizing Council meetings.

The new president’s role will be more permanent and he will preside over the European Council’s meetings every six months and will call for special meetings if necessary, according to Reuters.

He will chair the EU Council, which brings together the heads of state or government of the 27 member states, has legislative and budgetary powers which it shares with the European Parliament, and is the main policy-making body.

The post comes with chauffer driven cars, a brand new £280m headquarter, an annual salary of £250.000 and a potential annual pension of 70% of his salary.

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: baroness ashton, belgium, EU, european commission, european union, President, van rompuy

Save Our Herbs Campaign – Henry VIII’s Surprise Visit To Parliament

November 11, 2009 By jennif90 Leave a Comment

Herbs - Citydirt.net

By Jennifer Flett

MSPs showed their support outside Scottish Parliament yesterday as members of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, concerned constituents and herbal medicine students gathered for a mass lobby.

Under a new EU directive (THMPD) after April, 2011 the public will only be able to buy licensed herbal remedies, which campaigners say, limits the range of medicine people can acquire, at the same time compromising their safety if they then look online for alternatives and possibly poor quality products.

In an attempt to highlight the need for statutory regulation of traditional medicine practitioners, lobbyists wore period Henry VIII costumes.

Their eye-catching costumes were a new ploy to generate more public and media interest, Keren Brynes MacLean from The Kirkcaldy Herbal Clinic who donned one costume said,

“We’re coming at it from a slightly different angle with the Henry theme, you would never expect Henry VIII to turn up at the Scottish Parliament!”

“The 16^th century monarch set up a Herbalists Charter as a starting point of an alternative health care system which is now largely outdated and the period costumes are to put the message across that legislation needs to be modernised”

One herbal medicine student, Alison Baird, from Edinburgh Napier University stated that,

“ At the moment anyone can call themselves herbal medicine practitioners, we need our MSP’s to put more pressure on Government to regulate herbal practitioners and to become integrated into the health care system.

Members of the society believe statutory regulation would allow the public to have the opportunity to access prescription herbs by properly trained practitioners and that without access to a full range of remedies the market will collapse due to a lack of business.

MSPs, came down to speak to campaigners frequently throughout the day to answer constituents’ questions on what government will do for their cause

Shadow Health Secretary, Mary Scanlon explained;

“ I don’t feel that the Save Our Herbs Campaign have communicated effectively with politicians as I don’t know enough about the cause.”

In order to address this problem Scanlon suggested an organised reception with other MSPs.

Campaigner MacLean said of the decision that she thinks they have showed themselves to be, “a cohesive body of professionals, with a lot of public interest.”

The final consultation ran by the Department of Health will be held on the 16^th November to find out whether people think traditional medicine practitioners should be regulated, or not.

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: EU, MSP, Scottish Parliament

Eastern Europe turns a green leaf

October 21, 2009 By hedonald Leave a Comment

By Heather Donald

Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic have surged ahead with renewable energy development despite claims that they are falling behind the rest of Europe.

According to Rod Christie, the General Electric president for central and eastern Europe, Romania has a very good wind resource and has just started to build the biggest wind farm outside of the US. The 600 Megawatt plant is due to be completed by 2011. Romania has also implemented legislation to safeguard renewable energy development and they are already leaving Poland behind in the race to be green.

Hungary and the Czech Republic have also followed Romania’s lead and created policies to help smaller biogas generators get on to the national grid. The EU’s structural

Image courtesy of google images

funds have supported some of these policies. They will also support Poland’s capture and store clean coal initiative.

Chris Coakley, a spokesman for the greens in the European parliament, commented: “The EU’s binding 20% renewables target for 2020 is good for the climate and good for the economy too, because it is expected to create over two million jobs in Europe. This has helped to give a great push for renewables, including in the EU’s newer Member States.” It would appear that some political parties see Eastern Europe’s bid for renewable energy as a positive yet necessary development, especially under EU legislation.

This is echoed by Linda McAvan a Labour spokesman on climate change as she describes the EU’s stringent policy plans. “Last year MEPs and Ministers agreed a package of laws to help the EU tackle climate change. This is part of our preparations for the UN Copenhagen climate change talks at the end of this year where Europe is pledging ambitious emission reductions. As part of the package, each country in Europe has signed up to a target for increasing its share of renewable energy by 2020. The UK is doing its bit – we will see a big expansion of wind, solar, biomass and other technologies. And we will see similar moves in other EU countries, including in Central and Eastern Europe. I very much welcome this.”

Eastern Europe is steadily moving towards green energy in a race for 2020.

Filed Under: All Politics, Economy and Business, Science and Technology Tagged With: climate change, EU

Scotland’s ‘mass murdering mink’ to be exterminated

February 4, 2009 By Infotrace - Andrew Moir Leave a Comment

by Andrew Moir

One of Scotland’s most ruthless predators could soon be completely eradicated, according to plans laid out by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.

The American Mink is a vicious predator that kills far beyond what it needs for food. It has already placed several bird populations in danger and is even known to kill household pets and cut through fencing with its sharp teeth.

The extermination will be funded by the EU and is based on an appeal led by Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. It would take place in the Cairngorms National Park and in the Western Isles, where the mink population are based.

The Hebridean Mink Project, a branch of Scottish Natural Heritage, aims to protect the indigenous nesting bird population on the Islands by eradicating the mink.

The project is being run over the course of 5 years at the cost of £5million. Already 800 hundred have been captured of the estimated population of 1500. If the Western Isles scheme is a success then this could prove crucial in securing funding for a national project, which could cost up to £20million.

Already several schemes exist locally to exterminate the animal which is part of the same family as weasels and otters.

The mink are caught using traps using either fish bait or an oil captured from the gland of a mink. They are then humanely disposed of with a single shot from an air gun while still in the traps. The Hebridean project’s staff consists of 12 trappers and a PhD research student.

American mink were brought to the UK in the 1950s as part of the fur trade and were released into the wild by animal rights activists with several protests from the 1960s onwards. Their instinct to kill on mass is due to the cold conditions of their native environment in North America where they are able to store food in the frozen wasteland.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: animal rights, EU, extermination, funding, hebridean mink project, mink, Scotland, scottish natural heritage, western isles

Russia is not the only one to blame over gas crisis

January 8, 2009 By Claire Charras Leave a Comment

By Claire Charras

Mary Dejevsky chief editorial writer, columnist and Russian specialist for The Independent gave Dunedin Napier News this exclusive interview on the Russian and Ukranian gas crisis. After a row over who owed what, Russia decided to cut off Ukraine’s gas supplies leaving the rest of Europe with a quarter less supplies.

Is it strategic of Russia to have cut off gas supplies over the coldest months of winter?
Of course not, but there are two qualifications. First, Russia and Ukraine have been negotiating, without success, for at least half a year, and the agreement expires at the end of the calendar year. Maybe that is another change that needs to be made. The other is that there is a dispute about who actually cut off the gas, or at least who is responsible. Russia says that Ukraine cut off the gas to force the EU to put pressure on Russia. It also says that it only cut off the gas to Ukraine when Ukraine started siphoning off gas for itself, which it wasn’t paying for – and so depriving EU countries of gas. This is all part of the dispute. [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: EU, Gas crisis, Mary Dejevsky, Russia, The Independent, Ukraine

Scottish fishermen under threat

December 18, 2008 By srhouston Leave a Comment

BY Sven R. Houston

Up to two thousand Scottish fishermen could lose their livelihood under a new EU proposal.

An annual summit is to be held in Brussels to determine the fishing restrictions for 2009, which aims to ban the fishing of cod, haddock and whiting off Scotland’s West coast.

Fishermen in the region agree that stock levels are alarmingly low and that actions must be taken, however, they insist the method being proposed could force them out of work.

Under the new proposal all boats will be required to use a ‘separating grid’ on their nets, which would essentially ensure that threatened species could escape the nets.

Uncertain future. Photo by Tina Norris/Rex

Bertie Armstrong, chairman of the Scottish Fisherman’s Federation, insists the smaller boats used in the region are incapable of accommodating such equipment:

“The proposal for separator grids for the fishery, which is the bread and butter of the West coast fleet, will effectively close fishing down on the West coast. This would be politically and economically unacceptable and will be opposed at industry, Scottish and UK government levels.”

Armstrong has instead called for a more ‘sensible’ approach that would still allow the threatened species to escape. He points to past stock-conserving initiatives by Scottish fishermen:

“We are calling on the EC to give due recognition of our efforts and to accept our alternative conservation proposals.”

A new plan also to take effect is aiming to sustain the cod levels, with the main feature being increased fishing quotas in return for a reduction in ‘discarding’. In other words, fishermen are being forced to severely cut down the amount of fish they throw back into the sea. This too, is met with concern by Armstrong:

“These recently agreed cod recovery measures will prove a major challenge for the Scottish fleet in 2009. We are committed to reducing discards but it is vital that the new rules are capable of practical application.”

Filed Under: Economy and Business, Uncategorized Tagged With: EU, proposal, restrictions, scottish fishing, west coast

Bail out tussles in Brussels

December 11, 2008 By Charlotte Morgenthal Leave a Comment

At a time of bleak economic news where the Sterling is nearly matching the value of the Euro, the pound reaching an extraordinary low today – European heads of state gather in Brussels. The atmosphere is tense.

At PMQs Gordon Brown had a Freudian slip, saying that the government “saved the world” instead of “saved the banks”. At least he is supposed to be the ‘saviour of Europe’. His suggested bail out plan was officially taken up as an economic recovery plan by the European Commission. It is supposed to be decided on for all the other European member states in the current European Council meeting in Brussels.

“It’s the best way to restore citizens’ confidence and counter fears of a long and deep recession”, Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso told the BBC in November this year.

However, some member states like Germany which alreadyhave implement national measures to save their economies oppose a joint approach.

The United Kingdom implemented a £ 12.5 bn VAT cut last month which was harshly criticised by Germany’s finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck in a Newsweek interview yesterday. Steinbrueck said that the UK measures were “crass” and “breathtaking” and also said that a great rescue plan “doesn’t exist!” He said the cut would only pull the UK into greater debt instead of helping consumers.

Germany has already spent around £ 370.4 bn on a bail out of its banks, far more than the EU bail out plan is expected to raise. It is therefore now cautious about spending even more.

Other issues expected to be discussed at the summit are the Irish “No-Vote” on the Lisbon Treaty and climate change policies.

Filed Under: All Politics, Uncategorized Tagged With: Bail-out, Barroso, British Pound, Brown, Brussels, climate change, Council meeting, economy, EU, Euro, Eurozone, lisbon treaty, Merkel, newsweek interview, Sarkozy, steinbruck, steinbrueck

European Commision Legalises Nobbly Carrots!

November 13, 2008 By debzsmith Leave a Comment

6067796041 Debbie Smith

The law that prevents wonky fruit and vegetables being sold in supermarkets is being changed by the European Union.

You may not have realised it but not all fruit and vegetables are cosmetically perfect like the ones you buy in the local supermarket. Carrots do grow with nobles, and cucumbers curved, but until today supermarket caught selling these could face criminal prosecution.

Cucumbers were the first to be regulated by the EU in 1988, the legislation stated that Class I cucumbers must “be reasonably well shaped and practically straight (maximum height of the arc: 10 mm per 10 cm of the length of cucumber)”. Class II “slightly crooked cucumbers may have a maximum height of the arc of 20 mm per 10 cm of length of the cucumber”.

However a “slightly crooked” cucumber with a blemish would have no chance and would simply be allowed to rot and go to waste.

This morning a vote by the EU committee ruled that “marketing standards” for 26 fruits and vegetables including carrots, asparagus and onions was to be lifted however the regulations would still apply for a further ten which would include apples and kiwi fruits.

Michael Mann, the European Commission’s Agriculture spokesman told BBC Radio4′s World at One: “We are glad we are getting rid of these standards because frankly this is not the sort of thing that we should be regulating in the EU.”

The repealing of “marketing standards” for the lucky list of 26 could help save consumers money as they are unlikely to be sold at as high a price as their aesthetically pleasing relatives.

It should also cut down on the amount of edible produce wasted. Estimates suggest that a fifth of onions are thrown away each year as they do not meet the standards required.

The Rural Payments Agency was responsible for enforcing the law until this morning and reported that they prosecuted about 5 retailers per year for breaching the regulations.

Bananas however will still be regulated under a separate legislation, this states that they must be at least 14cm long and 27mm thick in the middle. As Michael Mann explained: “Bananas are a much more complex case.”

For those of us willing to embrace the world of wonky veg, we will likely have to wait until July next year before tucking into crooked courgettes and other deviant vegetables.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Uncategorized Tagged With: EU, fruit, vegetables, wonky