The latest BigPictureBrussels from Grayling looks at the political priorities of the Danish Presidency of the EU and the likely impact Denmark will make during its 6 month term. Denmark takes on the Presidency of the European Union at a time of crisis and uncertainty. Only days after the highly-charged and bad-tempered Summit in Brussels, the Danish Government unveiled its list of priorities for the Presidency. Amid signs of the inter-governmental agreement on fiscal co-ordination and budgetary surveillance unravelling, Denmark is prioritising the Eurozone with the aim of keeping the show on the road. Read More
On 12 December Jonny Wilkinson announced that he is retiring from international test rugby. “Jonny Who?” non-rugby fans may ask. “And why is there sporting news on a blog dedicated to the world of EU affairs?” ask other readers.
So, who is Jonny Wilkinson? Jonny Wilkinson is a legend of world rugby, respected and admired by fans all over the world. He played through four world cups, won one of them by slotting the winning drop goal in the dying seconds of extra time, played a total of 91 test matches for England and 6 for the British & Irish Lions, and scored 1,246 test points, which makes him the second highest scorer in rugby history.
But why does this feature on an EU-related blog? First of all, with all this UK-bashing going on in EU-Brussels right now, it is good to think of some of England’s greats, thereby trying to deescalate – at least a bit – the current discussions. Of course, there is also the crucial factor that the author of these lines is a rugby fanatic. But mostly, because he (Jonny, not the author) is an inspirational figure both on and off the pitch.
Constantly striving for perfection, he (again, Jonny, not the author) was a model of hard work and dedication. He is said to be the first on the pitch and the last one to leave it during training sessions – this resulted in his almost surgical precision when it came to slotting penalties, conversions, and drop goals.
He was the kind of player who was not afraid of doing the dirty work when his team needed it. As the cliché goes, he really did wear his heart on his sleeve and put his body on the line for his team
As well as being one of the world’s best players, he is also one of the world’s most modest players. Never did he seek the limelight, and he always put his team first. Full of respect for his team mates and opponents, he learnt French when he came to Toulon in 2009 and speaks it in very well.
So, again, what does all this have to do with the world of EU affairs? Well, hard work, dedication, humility, respect, and intelligence are qualities which will be needed to get through the current crisis. As such, Jonny is a role model for all EU affairs professionals and European politicians.
- Christian
As you know the Grayling team are a diverse bunch of people – not only do we come from 15 different countries, we also have various ranges of physical fitness – some of us are fitness fanatics, others like to pick up the bat and ball occasionally, whilst others prefer to sit on the sofa and watch the TV all evening.
But not anymore!
On 2 October we will be running the Brussels mini-marathon in aid of an organisation close to our hearts, the European Network Against Racism Foundation (ENAR).
Since we all hail from different cultures, we want to increase awareness of anti-racism and discrimination in all its forms and – of course – raise as much money as we can!
Given that we will all shortly have to become fitness fanatics (a bigger life change for some than others!) we would love to have your support as we run round Brussels for this worthy cause.
If you click here you can access our sponsorship page from which you can donate as much or as little money as you wish. You can even come and cheer us on during the day itself (and try and identify the couch potatoes among us!)
If you want to know more about the ENAR just let us know – many thanks for your support!
- Rob
Grayling is proud to present you with the latest edition of Espresso, which this month focuses on the 
Polish Presidency.
Articles include:
- An introduction by the General Manager of Grayling Poland, Ewa Szejner, on the “inside view” of the Presidency
- How Poland will move forward on energy
- A review of the Hungarian Presidency
- How Poland plans to bring together business and the NGO community
- …and an interview with Wojciech Bialozyt, Account Manager, Grayling Poland, on what the next six months hold.
You can access this month’s Espresso by clicking here.
Happy reading!
- Rob
After contaminated meat and bone meal fed to cows was found to be the cause of mad cow disease, the European Union ten years ago put a total ban on the use of meat meal in feed for animals bred for food production.
- “I’m no cannibal…”
Today however, the Union is reconsidering this ban, as a huge amount of animal proteins is effectively lost.
According to the European Food Safety Authority, the risks are negligible. That said, the Parliament is requiring specific conditions such as keeping the bans on cannibalism (i.e. pigs eating the remainders of other pigs), ensuring that parts of animals that have been linked to transmissible diseases affecting the brain and nervous system (i.e. BSE among cows) will not be used for the production of meat and bone meal, and that animal remains are only fed to non-herbivores such as pigs and chicken.
Even so, as a vegetarian, it still appears unnatural for me – as does the fact that most of the candy, yoghurts, cakes, ice-creams etc. we eat contains animal remains in the form of gelatine, commonly known as E441, which is derived in most cases from pork skin.
Moreover, for people who follow a specific diet due to religious belief, confusion can also arise: after all, is a chicken which has been fed pork still Kosher or Hallal?
Hundreds of people died as a result of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the human variant of BSE. Millions of animals were put down due to infectious diseases, or even in the case of a suspicion of contamination.
People were shocked to find out that farmers had cannibalised their cattle. At a time when consumers are much more aware of what they eat and are more inquisitive than before, it will be interesting to see the public’s reaction to these plans.
- Lieneke
As the second so-called “new” Member State to take over the EU Presidency after the much-maligned Czechs in the first half of 2009, Hungary was eager to showcase itself and demonstrate its leadership potential. 
However, due to circumstances both inside and outside its control, it is hard to assess the Hungarian Presidency as anything other than a slight disappointment.
The big story of the last six months – indeed the last year – has been the Euro crisis, but as a non-Eurozone member Hungary was forced to retreat to the shadows whilst the two Jean-Claudes (Juncker and Trichet) hammered out a series of provisional solutions together with the big-hitters in the Council, President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel.
This, in addition to the degrading of the rotating EU Presidency following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, also prevented Hungary from taking leadership on the issue of fiscal governance, which has divided both the EU and the Eurozone.
Yet Hungary also managed to shoot itself on the foot on several occasions, particularly at the beginning of its tenure, insodoing calling to mind their Czech predecessors.
The now infamous “media law”, which is causing concern for the Commission regarding its treatment of the press, the imposition of emergency taxes on foreign companies in Hungary, and an ill-judged carpet placed in the Council building which appeared to reference the idea of a much larger “Greater Hungary”: all emphasised the gap between established core European values and a Hungary that in recent months has been treading on dangerous ground.
But what of the successes?
It is true that Hungary has been key in supporting Croatia’s accession process, which now looks likely to take place on 1 July 2013, and has also successfully pushed through EU strategies on the Danube region and the Roma people – both of which give a distinct Hungarian flavour to this particular EU Presidency.
And yet, in these areas too, Hungary has been found somewhat wanting. Whilst Croatia was indeed a success, particularly given the supposed “enlargement fatigue” plaguing the EU today, the much heralded “Eastern Partnership” Summit has been pushed back for the Poles to organise in September, the Danube Strategy lacks teeth and does not bring any new funding to the table, whilst the Roma Strategy only affects a handful of Member States, as worthy as it may be.
Since the Lisbon Treaty came into force, EU Presidencies have had to focus even more on compromises. However, decision-making in the EU has always been centred on so-called “horse-trading” between various interests, and as ever the devil is in the detail.
This is why, when looking to influence the decision-making process within the Council, it is critical to focus on the Presidency as well as the other 26 Member States.
Building consensus across national boundaries is, after all, what EU decision-making is all about.
- Rob
When the press starts writing about budget negotiations, I always read the word “net contributor” at some point. And every time I read that word I am overocme by surprise and bafflement by the lack of either reflection or hypocrisy with which it is used both by journalists and politicians.
First of all, the EU is – by definition – a community in which solidarity amongst its members is necessary in order to make it work, something which is too often forgotten.
Yet, even without being a “Euro-enthusiast”, there are obvious reasons why the word “net contributor” does not make any sense.
Let’s get the facts straight.
What is a net contributor? Quite intuitively, it is a Member State which is getting less out of the budget than it pays into it. Fair enough.
But is everything that Member States are paying into the budget their own money, or is it sometimes EU resources, which they are in fact just collecting? Quite often, it is the latter.
As the EU has a Common Trade Policy (which allows the EU to be an important worldwide player), much of the EU’s own resources are represented by tariffs.
Hence, some of the net contributors are only collecting monies which are the EU’s and spreading it around. This is especially the case for the Netherlands, where the so-called “Rotterdam-effect” leads to significant contributions.
One could argue that it is this Member State’s administration which has to do all the work, and that it is therefore their money as well – true, and this is why the country is allowed to keep 25% of the tariffs it is collecting. Quite a fair deal I would say.
And how do you quantify how much one gets? Is it only through what is coming out of the budget? Or do budgetary decisions and EU rules have implications which go beyond simple financial transactions?
It needs to be reiterated that the EU is a guarantee for peace and welfare on our continent, something which is worth investing in.
Yet, there are other reasons which show that the term net contributor does not make any sense:
- Most of the structural funds also benefit richer countries – first, because structural funds often create infrastructure, which is relied on by all Member States, including so-called net contributors. Furthermore, since many projects are international projects, it is possible that companies from richer countries profit from funds transferred to poorer countries.
- EU policies also create social welfare, especially in richer countries – The internal market is a success story for all EU countries, and especially Germany, the largest “net contributor”. Some policies cannot be quantified in budgetary terms, but in the end everybody should know that through EU policies we all get more out than we pay in.
The term “net contributor” is therefore flawed , leading to rebates which make no sense (and not just the British rebate – take a look at the list of rebates at the end of this report) and neither brings the EU closer to its citizens nor helps them to understand it.
- Christian
Spring is traditionally seen as the season of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. Yet in Brussels, despite the unseasonably warm weather, this could be the Spring of discontent.
In recent months Portugal has been the third country to effectively request a bailout from the Eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – this after the former government’s “austerity” proposals had come up against a brick wall in the form of the Portuguese Parliament. With outside intervention now inevitable, the new government’s hands will be tied in any case.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the continent, the Finns have announced their apparent opposition to continually bailing out their
Southern partners. The impressive showing of the True Finns party means that it will now likely sit as the main opposition in the Parliament and raises serious questions about the political will in the Member States when it comes to propping up failing economies.
Moreover, talks of Greece “restructuring” its debt are hardly reassuring to Eurozone ears. And if Spain were to join the debtors, it would really put the Eurozone in a downward spiral.
That’s for the euro – but there are wider concerns within the EU which are causing the 27 nation bloc to strain at the edges.
The EU’s budget is being called into question by the net contributors, including the UK and France, who are arguing for “austerity” to be transferred from the national to the EU level and reject any significant increase.
In the opposite corner is a larger group of countries, many of whom are net recipients of EU funds for their regions which lag behind the EU average – and the European Commission.
The battle for the budget has been a perennial highlight of Brussels, but with the current economic and financial context and voters disenchanted, the stakes are higher.
Meanwhile at the EU’s southern fringes there continues to be concern about a supposed flood of immigrants from North Africa following the region’s “Arab Spring”. Once again, the EU’s solidarity is being called into question, with Franc unilaterally closing its border with Italy to prevent what it sees as a possible influx of French-speaking migrants making their way northwards.
Further north, Denmark also decided to reinstall border controls, ostensibly to reduce crime, but in practice to appease the Danish People’s Party, an anti-immigrant party which the government relies on for support.
Previously EU crises had either been bound up in Treaty reform (e.g. the failed Constitution referenda) or in the EU’s lack of competitiveness on the world stage.
Today, the EU seems to be tearing itself up from the inside. Paradoxically, the deeper you integrate, the more likely fissures will open up (e.g. Schengen and the Eurozone). The test for the EU will be whether it can withstand the tensions raging from within, rather than without.
- Rob
Walking round Porto, Portugal’s second city, over a long weekend, one is struck by how little the country’s near bankrupt economy is affecting daily life on the street.
Porto - this might be as good as it gets
Restaurants on the riverfront overflow with visitors from all four corners of Europe, two shiny new cable cars ply their way up the steep hills leading off from the river, and a slick new metro whisks commuters from their homes in the outlying suburbs to the hustle and bustle of the business district.
Even the May Day parades, whilst as noisy as ever, seemed to fail to rouse much excitement on a sleepy Sunday morning.
And yet this is a country that has gone cap in hand to its fellow Eurozone members and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with a bailout plan likely to total in the region of €80 billion.
Always one of Western Europe’s poorest countries, Portuguese citizens will very soon be hit with paying back a loan to their richer neighbours which they can probably ill-afford.
Whilst German taxpayers can therefore rest easy, the old and the soon-to-be old in the poorer districts of Porto must start to scrimp and save already as pensions look set to shrivel like the sardines on the tourists’ plates.
Meanwhile Porto’s lively student fraternity must fear for their future employment just as their local drinking holes must fear for their business.
New elections will be held in early June after the incumbent centre left government resigned its post following its failure to push its austerity package through Parliament. Any incoming government will therefore face significant pressure not to introduce cuts – and yet further delay will only deepen Portugal’s troubles.
Is default a distinct possibility? And who will be next? Perhaps Belgium, the home of the EU institutions and currently without a government for a world record 11 months?
With countries seeming to fall like dominoes, it must be asked how long the Eurozone can continue to bail out ailing Member States without permanently damaging the Euro’s image both at home and abroad. Perhaps it is already too late. Certainly political will in Europe seems to be at breaking point already, and the end is not yet in sight.
Whatever happens, it is likely that the May Day parades on Portugal’s streets will be bigger and noisier next year.
- Rob
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