News > EM UK: EU News Round up
EM UK: EU News Round up
8 December 2013
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1. The EU Ministers of Home Affairs discussed a Commission communication on the free movement of EU citizens and their families, based on data provided by 22 Member States, including the UK. The overwhelming majority of Member States spoke in support of free movement of persons and agreed that it is a core principle of the European Union, a cornerstone of the Single Market and a fundamental right of all EU citizens that should be upheld and promoted. They also agreed that individual cases of abuse should not be blown out of proportion but rather have to be combated within the existing legal framework and in cooperation with local authorities in the Member States where they occur. Several member states made reference to the negative role of the media, in the UK in particular, and cautioned against the use of political statements based on generalisations that can fuel populist sentiments and negatively affect public opinion.
2. Greece has unveiled its priorities for a "Spartan" Presidency, as the Head of its Permanent Representation to the EU called it, one that will feature no superfluous spending. Greece’s top priorities during its 6 months on the helm of the EU Council are to continue work on the resolution of the economic and financial crisis, safeguarding the common currency and dealing with unemployment by boosting growth. The "Compact for Growth and Jobs" would be at the core of the Greek Presidency’s work, including pending legislation on the Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF). The need to support SMEs was emphasized in order to create more jobs across the EU. Greece’s aim is to deepen the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), coordinate national fiscal policies, and to "lay the foundations of ever-prosperous, well-coordinated EMU solidarity". Greece will focus on taking forward work on the Banking Union and seek an agreement with the European Commission on the latest SRM proposal. Ambassador Sotiropoulos said at an EPC event that the European social model has to be preserved and that the Greek Presidency’s task will be to promote solidarity on many dossiers, including the social dimension which should not be neglected.
3. A report by the European Commission’s legal service argues that the Financial Transaction Tax, which is to be adopted by 11 EU members states, "has no impact on the freedom of non-participating member states to exercise their own tax competence in whatever manner they see fit." The Commission’s report is a response to a report by the EU Council’s legal service which argued that the proposal is "not compatible" with EU law. The Council’s opinion added that the tax "infringes upon the taxing competences of non-participating member states" and is "discriminatory and likely to lead to distortion of competition. According to press reports the Commission paper concludes that "what the Council perceives as discrimination is in reality nothing but a disparity between different national tax regimes". According to the proposals, the tax will be levied at a 0.1% rate for bond transactions and 0.01% for derivative trades, potentially also catching high-frequency trading. The aim of the tax is to tackle speculation in the bond and derivatives markets and is expected to make banks pay about €35 billion a year. Critics say that it will be consumers that will have to bear the costs. The UK, home of Europe’s largest financial centre, and Luxembourg, have filed legal challenges against the tax at the European Court of Justice.
4. A study by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, a foundation associated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the German centre-right party, states that right-wing populist parties have "established themselves as relevant political forces" in most European countries. "Harsh EU criticism is part of the regular repertoire" according to the report, with all populist parties being against immigration, pluralism, cultural diversity as well as European integration. The study argues that politicians should not ignore the role of these parties in the political landscape but confront their rhetoric, "empty political phrases from right-wing and national-populist parties should be debunked through direct thematic confrontation," it recommends.
5. The European Commission fined 8 banks, including Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale and Citigroup, €1.7bn for forming illegal cartels to rig the benchmarks used to determine the cost of lending, one of the most brazen violations of conduct since the financial crisis. The benchmarks involved are the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, the Tokyo interbank offered rate and the euro area equivalents. They are used to price hundreds of trillions of dollars in assets ranging from mortgages to derivatives. The European Commission said it would continue to investigate Credit Agricole, HSBC, JPMorgan and brokerage ICAP for similar offences.
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