Der Spiegel not all pro-Juncker: 'He is no friend of the Germans'

Germany's Spiegel (magazine and online news agency), has been vocal in its criticism of David Cameron for
his objection to Jean-Claude Juncker as the next Commission President, on the premise that he is blocking the democractic choice in Europe.

Spiegel's editing director, Nikolaus Blome wrote a piece for today's FT arguing that:

To many member countries, backing Mr Juncker has become a strong symbol for promoting democracy and transparency in Europe. The British government would be ill-advised to laugh at this sentiment.

However, scratch beneath the surface, and you will find that even in Germany, Juncker's is a troublesome prospect. Spiegel columnist and editor, Jan Fleischauer, today argues that, "Juncker is no friend of the Germans".

Fleischauer continues:

Or better said, Juncker is only a friend of the Germans, so long as they continue to pay for the debts of their neighbours without grumbling too loudly about it..[He] is one of those people who dream of making the monetary union a debt union.

Fleischauer points out that at the the height of the eurocrisis, when the German government was hesitating before providing more bailout money, Juncker said:

This is part of the problem, to behave as though Germany is the only virtuous country in the world that has to foot the bill for all other countries. This is highly offensive to the others.

When the German goverment insisted on stricter budgetary discipline in peripheral countries, Juncker's interjection was:

Why exactly does Germany constantly allow itself the luxury of formulating domestic policy in all euro-related questions? Why does Germany treat the eurozone as a subsidiary?

And on eurobonds, which Germans have pretty much ruled out, Juncker said:

This approach, building taboo-zones in Europe, and not engaging with the ideas of others, is a very un-European way of doing European business. Germany is thinking a bit simplistically there.

Fleischauer then challenges the premise that Juncker is the 'democratic' choice, arguing that his bid for Commission President was "fraudulent" from the very start. He adds: 

What one could call a rigged game anywhere else, is called democracy in Brussels: First, one makes citizens believe they can vote on something, that in reality, is in the remit of the heads of [national] governments. When [government heads] subsequently insist on their right to ignore the self-nomination of the candidates, then it is painted as neglecting the vote of people.

Fleischauer concludes that, “The only person who can come between [Juncker and the Commission Presidency] is the German Chancellor…One can only hope that [Merkel] says no to Juncker.”

Meanwhile, Bild, Europe's largest tabloid that actively came out in favour of Juncker's presidency, strikes a more nuanced tone today, writing that Merkel didn’t agree on the concept of ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ “from the start,” because she knew “there would be “no agreement” in the Council. The piece adds that Merkel could ultimately “live” with Juncker in the post, because:

 The head of the Commission dances to the tune of the heads of the member states: not vice versa.

Interesting stuff then, showing that even in Germany, neither Juncker nor the process of his selection are universally endorsed.

I-spy: EU-US trade talks under threat?

To what extent have the latest leaks harmed the EU-US trade talks?

Fugitive whistleblower Edward Snowden’s leaks just keep giving.

First there was Prism, then Tempora. And now, as reported by online by German magazine Der Spiegel over the weekend:  the US has allegedly been spying on EU missions and institutions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Here's a round-up the European response at the national and EU levels:

National

The leaks have caused the most outrage in Germany, which was allegedly monitored more than other countries, leading the Federal government to respond on Monday.

"If it is confirmed that diplomatic representations of the European Union and individual European countries have been spied upon, we will clearly say that bugging friends is unacceptable...We are no longer in the Cold War", said a government spokesman in Berlin. He added that Chancellor Merkel will soon be speaking to President Obama about the matter.

Other German politicians that had been clamouring for a US explanation include German President Joachim Gauck (who quoted Benjamin Franklin: "Those who give up liberty to gain security will lose both'"), Vice-Chancellor Philipp Roesler and Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger. The SPD, the Greens and Die Linke had also been agitating for Chancellor Merkel to intervene.

France isn't happy either, with French President François Hollande calling for an "immediate" end to the alleged spying if the EU-US trade negotiations are to continue. "We cannot accept this kind of behaviour between partners and allies...There can be no negotiations or transactions in any areas until we have obtained these guarantees, for France but also for all of the European Union, for all partners of the United States."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius added the reports were "completely unacceptable," if corroborated, while his colleague, Christiane Taubira, the Justice Minister,  called US actions “an act of unqualified hostility.”

Italy’s Defence Minister Mario Mauro weighed in this morning, saying that US-Italian relations would be “compromised," if the reports are true. "If we are allies, if we are friends, [then] it’s not acceptable that someone in this relationship behaves like the Soviet Union used to behave towards its satellite states,” he added.

EU

EU officials, political groups and MEPs are miffed too.

Catherine Ashton, The EU's foreign policy chief said the EU is seeking  “urgent clarification." Meanwhile Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, said he was “deeply worried” by the reports, and warned of a “severe impact” on EU-US relations if they are true (remember, the EP's role in EU trade talks was enhanced under the Lisbon Treaty).

Schulz told French radio station France 2 that the US had crossed a line,"I was always sure that dictatorships, some authoritarian systems, tried to listen ... but that measures like that are now practiced by an ally, by a friend, that is shocking, in the case that it is true."

This was echoed by Viviane Reding,  the EU justice commissioner: “Partners do not spy on each other,” she said. “We cannot negotiate over a big transatlantic market if there is the slightest doubt that our partners are carrying out spying activities on the offices of our negotiators."

“How should we still negotiate [a free trade agreement with the US] if we must fear that our negotiating position is being listened to beforehand?” said Elmar Brok, the chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

In an interview, Czech MEP Libor Roucek, the deputy chairman of the S&D group for Foreign Affairs and Transatlantic Relations, said he "can't exclude the option that [he's] being monitored by the US secret services."
 
Some went further, calling for a suspension of the US-EU trade talks altogether. This included the European Parliament's Green Group, and MEPs like the Dutch social democrat Thijs Berman: "[The] US spies on EU diplomats. That's not how we can negotiate a free trade deal. Suspending is logical step," he tweeted on Sunday.

Press
 
The revelations have caused an uproar in the European press (Le Parisien’s ‘hammy’ front page of Obama ‘listening in' captures the general drift), and most of all in Germany. 

Spiegel Online published a commentary today that not only criticised America, but also the lack of action by the government.“The federal government has failed to protect Germans from America’s spy-attacks. This is unacceptable to citizens," it says, calling for an “independent education”  for the US from the German Constitutional Court and a European Committee.

Meanwhile, Austrian Daily Der Standard published a commentary that diverged from the general thrust of European media feeling. Spying is to be expected says the piece: "It would be surprising indeed if the opposite were the case. Being spied on by an ally is about as normal as the systematic surveillance of political opponents."
  
Perhaps Der Standard is right that much of this skulduggery does go on, even amongst allies. But, still, although this is unlikely to deal a fatal blow to EU-US trade talks, the political consequences could well be that certain European countries dig their heels in a little firmer in the negotiations.

On a more general note, for individuals concerned about their privacy and civil liberties, this type of issue only heightens fears that the increasing amount of personal data shared among EU governments isn’t safe and that the protections are inadequate.

In recent years the EU has been developing more and more data sharing databases, and it is not always clear to the general public what happens to their data – this will only fuel ‘big brother’-type fears that is open to misuse, abuse or simply could be accessed by anyone.

Why not shrink the European Commission?

The online edition of German weekly Der Spiegel reports on "secret" plans by EU heads of state and government to stick to the 'one country, one EU Commissioner' principle, despite the number of Commissioners being set to rise to 28 following Croatia's entry in July.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, from November 2014, the number of Commissioners is supposed to correspond to two-thirds of member states, but national governments can agree to keep things as they are by unanimous decision. Der Spiegel estimates that keeping 28 Commissioners instead of 19 would come at an extra cost to European taxpayers of at least €13.5 million a year. So why, the article asks, are Germany, France and the UK keen to keep one Commissioner per country?

A couple of points need to be made here.

• The plans are hardly a secret. Going back to the days of the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, Ireland was given reassurances that the 'one country, one EU Commissioner' principle would stay (see the conclusions of the June 2009 European Council summit). Also, a European Council decision on the subject was drafted last October - and only needs to be rubber-stamped by EU leaders (see here).

• In the UK, Parliament has already cleared the draft decision for approval via the European Union (Approvals) Act 2013.

That being said it is increasingly hard to defend the growing size of the EU Commission, not least because it gets increasingly difficult to find a credible portfolio for everyone. To accommodate for Croatia's entry, for instance, the Health and Consumer Protection portfolio will be split into two separate posts.

The big question is, would it be so bad if the number of Commissioners was reduced and the proliferation of Commission DGs slim-lined into more rational departments?

True, smaller memebr states may take offence (larger ones like the UK would virtually be guaranteed a Commissioner). However, member states without a Commissioner for one rotation period could be given deputy Commissioners instead. Surely, there would be more influence to be had as Deputy Commissioner for Internal Market than as Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth?

Nevertheless, EU leaders look set to rubber-stamp the 'one country, one Commissioner' decision - so we'll continue to have 28 EU Commissioners after 2014. At the very least, if we are going to have an extra Commissioner, the European Commission should be obliged to find savings so net spending does not increase. Our report on reforming the EU budget from last June included some suggestions.