"I understand that Tusk it's OK": Has the Cypriot President just spoiled it all?

As we wrote in our round-up of EU leaders' doorsteps, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is the favourite for the European Council President post but it was not yet a done deal. However, have we just inadvertently had confirmation that Tusk has landed the job?

Watch this video from around 16:30 in:



Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades tells outgoing European Council President Herman Van Rompuy:

"We have news, I understand that Donald [Tusk] it's okay."

And Van Rompuy replies:

"Yes, but keep it."

That sounds like a bit of a spoiler, but we will keep following the summit and provide you with real-time updates on Twitter just in case there are any last minute surprises.

What the Egyptian crisis tells us about the (in)effectiveness of EU aid

As the crisis in Egypt continues to intensify by the day, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and Commission President José Manuel Barroso warned in a joint statement yesterday that the EU would "urgently review in the coming days its relations with Egypt" - including the new aid package worth around €5 billion that was pledged to Cairo last year.

EU member states' ambassadors are holding talks today, followed by a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Wednesday. For the moment, though, Egypt's new military-backed government does not seem very impressed by threats coming from Brussels. As Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy put it,

"I want to determine what is useful and what is not and what aid is being used to pressure Egypt and whether this aid has good intentions and credibility. We are not looking to replace one friend with another but we will look out to the world and continue to establish relations with other countries so we have options."

There is plenty of political posturing in Mr Fahmy's words, but this kind of reaction inevitably raises questions over how the EU has handled its relations with Northern African countries over the past few years, particularly via the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). 

In a report we published in May 2011, we stressed how, in the name of 'stability', the EU had consistently increased funding allocations for countries like Egypt and Tunisia, despite the European Commission itself noting limited progress on human rights and democratic reform over the years. In particular, we argued that the Commission's reliance on so-called 'budget support' - whereby EU aid money is given directly to neighbouring countries' governments and then directed towards specific projects by the latter - was clearly problematic, given the lack of transparency on how these funds were used.

The European Court of Auditors recently made a similar criticism in a tough report on EU aid to Egypt, where it suggested that the European Commission had been "too flexible" in assessing whether the Egyptian authorities were actually meeting the conditions for granting 'budget support'. The Court noted that,

"The Commission and EEAS [the EU's diplomatic service headed by Baroness Catherine Ashton] have not been able to manage EU support to improve governance in Egypt effectively. This was partly due to the difficult conditions they have faced in Egypt but also to shortcomings in the way the Commission and EEAS have managed their cooperation with Egypt."

The recent events in Egypt add one further element of concern. Despite its generous funding (Egypt was initially allocated approximately €1 billion for the period 2007-13, around 60% of which via 'budget support'), the EU seems to have failed to gain any significant leverage on the Egyptian establishment. Calls to stop the violence have been ignored - and the threat to stop the disbursement of aid has so far been openly snubbed.

This is of course a complex political situation and the circumstances are difficult, but given that the ENP is a very political aid instrument (seen by the EU as a tool to exercise its 'soft power'), it is getting increasingly difficult to see what value it has added in the case of Egypt.

Barroso's Christmas wish list

Christmas is approaching and, in that spirit, José Barroso, the President of the European Commission, has written himself a wish list of presents for the EU member states (and particularly the Eurozone) to hand over. The Christmas wish list, or as Barroso puts it "A Blueprint for a deep and genuine EMU" is as follows:

For the next 18 months:

Wish number one: the "rapid adoption of current Commission proposals such as the two-pack and the Single Supervisory Mechanism" - i.e giving the ECB powers over eurozone (and perhaps other) financial supervision.
Wish number two: a eurozone "rebalancing" budget in addition to the EU budget. - more money.
Wish number three: a "Convergence and Competitiveness Instrument" for the eurozone - mutual contracts to enforce bailouts and deficits.
Wish number four: "external representation of the euro area in international economic and financial organisations and fora." - some more foreign postings.

And thinking ahead for next Christmas (next 18 months to 5 years):

Wish number five: deeper [eurozone] coordination in the field of tax policy issues as well labour markets
Wish number six: an "autonomous" and enhanced eurozone fiscal capacity that will  "rely solely on own resources" - a eurozone tax, budget and treasury- perhaps a financial transaction tax?
Wish number seven: a "power of intervention in the design and implementation of national fiscal policies"
Wish number eight: "The common issuance... of so-called eurobills", requiring a treaty change - but will the German taxpayer want to underwrite (and perhaps lose) money lent to Greece?

For the Christmas after that (for 5 years time):

Wish number nine: "extend the competences of the Court of Justice, i.e. by deleting Art. 126 paragraph 10 TFEU and thus admitting infringement proceedings for Member States or by creating new, special competences" - i.e further power over national economies.
Wish number ten: "a commensurate involvement of the European Parliament in the EU procedures. The European Parliament, and only it, is that Parliament for the EU and hence for the euro."

And this would leave you with Barosso's ultimate wish: "a banking union, a fiscal union, an economic union [and] as a fourth element, appropriate  democratic legitimacy and accountability."

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's response to the proposals was: “It is good that the EU commission is putting forward proposals for a stronger co-operation in the eurozone. But eurobonds, bills or any other form of joint debt liability in Europe are going in the wrong direction."

To many the proposals may seem alarming, but in truth, most of these proposals have been floating around for a long time. The novel aspect was the proposed time frame outlined by the Commission and combining them in a single vision. Notably though, many similar proposals by the Commission have resulted in very little, especially since the eurozone crisis has put an increasing emphasis on the intergovernmental decision-making found in the European Council.

Herman Van Rompuy's own list (expected at the December summit) which will probably be more modest and less eye-catching is likely to be more important simply because it more closely reflects the views of the key decision makers in the process.

Meet the EU budget 'veto team'

This EU budget stuff can come across as pretty dull and confusing. To lighten things up a bit, we will turn to the universal language of football. So meet the EU budget 'Veto Team' - the eleven EU leaders that so far have threatened to veto the EU budget unless they get a better deal. Needless to say, given that this is its first outing, the eleven-man team is far from a cohesive unit - with lots of big egos and players who play for themselves.

(Click to enlarge the picture)

CF: David Cameron leads the line, ready to strike and seen as the most likely to pull the trigger on any veto.

RW: Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt at right winger hugging the line (sticking to his guns), happy to put in a shift for the team and more likely to offer an assist/support for Cameron than to deliver the final blow himself.

AM: French President François Hollande is the mercurial trickster playing between the lines but not quite sure of his role or his aims. Ultimately a selfish player (as are many of the others) but whose own personal gain could ultimately be detrimental to the rest of the team.

DM: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is playing the stoic holding role, refusing to budge and occasionally gesticulating wildly at the referee, although never actually getting into the danger zone at the forefront of the action. More likely to break up play and provide a stumbling block than deliver a knockout blow to the opposition. Unlike the rest of the team, not here on merit (elected) but parachuted in by the powers above.

LW: Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho takes on the Cristiano Ronaldo role as a marauding left winger and not just because of the nationality. His red line that Herman Van Rompuy's proposal is unacceptable makes him more of a threat than many expected. Under pressure to perform from his home fans (electorate) he needs to put in a big showing – the question remains though whether he will rise to the challenge or crumble under the pressure.

MC: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is playing the 'box-to-box midfielder' role, akin to the days of Johan Cruyff's 'total football'. Usually more inclined to side with Germany (the opposition), Rutte finds himself dragged end-to-end with action not quite sure where he should be or where he is best suited. One things for sure, his hometown team (the VVD party) would love to see him score.

LB: Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, naturally inclined to the left, find himself at left back. His demands are relatively minor and he’s not a regular in this team (usually part of the core EU group whose views align closely). He’ll put up a fight for a bit but he’s not a star player in this game.

CB: The towering centre-back, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt provides a solid spine to the team. Not one of the more flashy players but they know their job and what they want out of it (a clean sheet). Unlikely to score (pull the veto) but will definitely provide a blocker against any increases in the budget.

CB: Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann is another unfamiliar member of the team. Stuck in at centre back because of its experience in the eurozone crisis and playing a key blocking role in minimising the liabilities. Unfortunately, his aims are different in this game and, as with Hollande, he may end up scoring an own goal (getting more spending in the budget).

RB: Romanian President Traian Basescu, at right back, is there as a late replacement and now a token entry. The previous incumbent (Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta) looked set for an interesting game, but after the substitution this role is unlikely to provide much action.

GK: Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis is in goal because, well, the smallest kid always gets stuck with the worst job.
 

The long queue of potential 'EU budget vetoes': Who will join next?

Update 21 November, 16:15

Portugal has stepped up its rhetoric by a notch, and has now joined the group of countries that have explicitly threatened to use their veto. Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho told MPs, "The proposal that has been tabled [by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy] is completely unacceptable for Portugal. By saying this, I mean that I would block a decision [by EU heads of state and government] that had this proposal as its final result."

In practice, this means that one third of EU member states have so far explicitly said that they are ready to veto the next long-term EU budget.  

Update 21 November, 10:40

Another day, another EU budget veto threat - this time from Latvia. Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis has said that his country is prepared to veto the 2014-2020 EU budget unless it gets a better deal on agricultural subsidies and cohesion policy.

Update 20 November, 17:00

Italy has today officially moved to the group of countries that have explicitly threatened to veto the 2014-2020 EU budget. Italian Europe Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said Italy will be "ready to use its veto" if it considers that the next long-term EU budget is "harmful for the country and burdensome for the Italian taxpayer."

Also, Portugal added its voice to the group of member states that consider Van Rompuy's proposal "unacceptable", but stopped short of threatening a veto. 
 
And here's our original blog post,

You will have read a slew of stories about how the UK is threatening to veto the EU leaders' budget talks later this week and the various terrible consequences that will follow should it do so. The FT has a story today that EU diplomats are working to "circumvent" the UK's veto by moving to annual Qualified Majority Voting, which actually only means that they're working on a scenario for a roll-over, should a deal fail to be struck (we've already looked at that scenario in detail here) so don't get too excited.    
As some European sources have put it, a "miracle" would be needed to strike a deal on the 2014-2020 EU budget when EU leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday and Friday. And the UK is certainly not alone when it comes to putting its veto on the table. In fact, veto threats are flying around all over the place - we count seven veto threats in total. Here is a list of EU member states who have either explicitly threatened to veto the next long-term EU budget or said they are unhappy with the compromise currently on the table - which means they could wield their veto unless something changes.

UK: Has threatened to veto any proposal which does not involve, at worst, a freeze based on 2011 payments.

Denmark: Has warned it will use its veto unless it gets a rebate worth 1 billion DKK (slightly over £100 million) from the 2014-2020 EU budget.

France: Has said the compromise proposal put forward by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy "is not a basis for negotiations". Paris wants EU farm subsidies to be kept at least at 2013 levels, and said it will threaten to veto the talks should CAP spending be radically changed.

Sweden: Has hinted at using the veto in the past and believes Van Rompuy's proposal still does not go far enough. According to Swedish Europe Minister Birgitta Ohlsson, what is missing is "a clear model for reducing agriculture subsidies".

Austria: Has threatened to veto the long-term EU budget unless two conditions are satisfied. Firstly, Austria wants to continue receiving its 'rebate on the UK rebate' over the next seven-year EU budget period. Secondly, the Austrian government is opposed to cutting the rural development component of the CAP.

The Netherlands: Does not want to see the annual or long-term EU budget increase above inflation, and explicitly said it will use its veto if necessary.

Romania: Has warned it could use its veto, calling Van Rompuy's proposed cuts to farm subsidies and regional funds "unacceptable".

Italy: Has not threatened to veto the talks but dismissed Van Rompuy's compromise, saying it is "not a positive contribution" to the negotiations. Italy wants to see its net contribution to the EU budget cut, the reason being that its GDP per capita has now slipped slightly below the EU-27 average. Rome also opposes cuts to farm subsidies and cohesion policy.

Spain: Has rejected Van Rompuy's proposal as "unacceptable". Reports have suggested that, under the proposal, Spain risks losing up to €20 billion in total over seven years in both farm subsidies and cohesion funds. However, Madrid is still to drop the "V" word.

Poland: Has not explicitly threatened to wield its veto, but is clearly not happy with Van Rompuy's proposed cuts to EU regional spending. Poland is trying to muster support from other net recipients from the EU budget, such as Portugal - the so-called 'Friends of cohesion group'.

So, it looks like circumventing a veto on the 2014-2020 EU budget would mean much more than circumventing the UK.

A busy day in Euroland

It’s been another busy day in the eurozone crisis, with European Council President Herman van Rompuy putting out his report on the prospects for treaty change and greater eurozone fiscal integration and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy sending a letter to Van Rompuy with their take on the issue. That’s just the formal announcements, not to mention the usual rumour mill of giant bailout funds, ECB and IMF intervention and a UK referendum.

To help digest this mass of info, we’ve picked out some of the key points from each text along with our thoughts on them.

Van Rompuy report:

- Need to enhance credibility of debt and deficit rules and ensure full compliance. Greater budgetary discipline to move euro area to true economic union. Commitment to balanced budgets.
- All introduced into national law – the ECJ would judge whether these rules had been correctly implemented.
- Two processes for achieving this: revise Protocol No 12 (in annex of treaty) or full treaty change with amendment to Article 48.
- Changing protocol 12, which relates to excessive deficit procedure, has the advantage of only requiring unanimous approval in the Council, therefore does not need national ratification and avoids triggering an Irish referendum.
- Amending article 48 would be a lengthy process but reforms could be much more far reaching including – automatic sanctions using EU institutions, specifically enhanced Commission oversight of budgets.
- Longer term move towards common debt issuance.
- Adhere to “well established IMF principles and practices” with regards to private sector involvement in future bailouts. Basically, rewrite the ESM treaty so that private sector losses are not encouraged. Also make most ESM decisions QMV.
- Allow ESM to recapitalise banks directly and have the “features of a credit institution”. This likely means that it should be able to borrow from the ECB.
- Review the clause which limits lending capacity of EFSF and ESM jointly – to allow them to run in parallel.

Merkel and Sarkozy letter:

- Commitment to push ahead with broad treaty changes although willingness to work with just 17 eurozone members.
- Regular eurozone summits (twice a year usually but once a month in the crisis). Focus on policies to foster growth, competitiveness and fiscal stability. “Ministerial Eurogroup” to prepare for meetings and enforce decisions.
- Framework of prevention using ECJ to ensure that fiscal rules are correctly transposed in national framework.
- Foster growth and competitiveness through eurozone convergence and integration on: financial regulation, labour markets, harmonisation of corporate tax base, introduction of eurozone FTT and more efficient use of European funds.
- Automatic sanctions for states which breach 3% deficit rule (can be reversed by QMV vote). Continuous failings will result in increasing interventions.
- Move forward ESM to 2012, rewrite clauses so it’s clear PSI in Greece was an exceptional occurrence. Decisions on ESM made by 85% QMV (based on ECB capital shares).

So, all in all a lot of words without saying much we didn’t already know. It is clear though that both documents line up fairly closely on many key issues. One area where they don’t agree, and where Merkel is apparently annoyed by Van Rompuy’s proposal, is the plan for the ESM and EFSF to run in tandem offering a boosted bailout fund.

Other things that caught our eye include: common corporate tax base - good luck getting Ireland to agree that, especially after all the austerity they have successfully introduced - and the plan for the eurozone FTT, which they seem determined to push ahead with, no matter how much havoc it would wreak on the European financial system.

In any case, as always, this doesn’t fill us with hope for the summit. If anything these plans are likely to be watered down through the negotiations, despite already looking relatively similar to the toothless stability and growth pact. Even if finalised in their current form the plans will only provide more austerity and take some time to implement. The (misguided) hope still remains that they will encourage the ECB to step up its bond buying – although if we were the ECB the commitment doesn’t seem large enough or credible enough for us to put our independence and principles on the line.

Another President, really?

It’s been yet another day of uncertainty in the eurozone, with market fears over euro debt sending shares plunging across the globe and with EU leaders all over the place.

Amid the confusion, France has stepped up again with calls to strengthen the role of the Eurogroup, the forum where eurozone finance ministers get together to make policy decisions.

The groundbreaking proposal?

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy should take the lead and also be the ‘President for the Eurozone’. They now have Germany onside, and both will push the proposal over the next few months.

What’s interesting is that this would dramatically sideline, and perhaps eventually exclude, the role of the Eurogroup Chairman, currently held by the Luxembourg PM and uber-federalist Jean-Claude Juncker. Reuters claims that member states’ leaders may be inclined to support the proposal due to the allegedly “lacklustre performance” of Juncker, who’s been around the euro-block for some time now. We’re not surprised that he’s feeling jaded.

We see what they're trying to do - the Eurogroup is in desperate need of some coherence. But giving Van Rompuy another title? Will that really make anyone happier?

PolitbEUro

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy got another hostile reception at the European Parliament yesterday. Briefing MEPs on last Friday's summit of EU leaders, he did his best to play down the disagreements that dominated the summit.

German Green MEP Rebecca Harms (pictured here with sunflowers) wouldn't have any of that however. Likening Van Rompuy's speech to the statements made by the Politburo, the main decision-making body in the Soviet Union, she said:

No matter how meagre the results are, we always get reports of how smooth everything went. We need more honest declarations which pinpoint the problems.

We'll not pass judgement on whether the USSR bureaucrat swipe is an improvement on the "damp rag" comparison made by UKIP Chief Nigel Farage last year.

But we suspect that briefing MEPs isn't Van Rompuy's favourite activity...

Policy before institution, please

In regards to Egypt, institutional Europe was lacking a clear line until [French President] Nicolas Sarkozy, [German Chancellor] Angela Merkel and David Cameron decided to put pressure on [Egyptian leader] Hosni Mubarak to implement the ‘political, economic and social reforms’ he had pledged. Until then, Catherine Ashton, the voice of [the EU’s] diplomacy, and Herman Van Rompuy, President of the [European] Council, had been grinding topical phrases about the rejection of violence and the necessity of dialogue.

- An article in today's Le Figaro criticises the EU’s response to the recent crises in the Arab world and summarises the problems inherent in the EU's confused foreign policy set-up, i.e. institutions without real policies.

Clueless politicians

We were reminded of this spectacularly inaccurate assessment the other day (from our "How the EU-elite got it wrong on the euro" briefing):

"The euro has been a rock of stability, as illustrated by the contrasting fortunes of Iceland and Ireland. Joining the single currency would be a major step [for the UK]".

- Former MEP Richard Corbett, back in 2009.

Having lost his seat in last year's European elections, Corbett is now working as an adviser to EU President Herman Van Rompuy (hopefully staying well clear of anything to do with monetary policy).

More quotes from clueless politicans to follow...

In the words of a true EU statesman

European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, presented his imaginatively titled new book yesterday - "Inside the world of Herman Van Rompuy" to a Brussels audience with bated breath.

But those interested in Van Rompuy's exploits as a top EU statesman would have been surprised to hear him declare:

"I don't speak here as a politician but as a free man. I don't have any voters. And I also prefer readers to voters".

Remember, this is the president of an organisation consisting of 27 democratic countries - full of voters!

Now, what does this say about the mindset at the top of the EU? And will this comment make European taxpayers feel better about handing over billions extra (including between £450 mn and £900 mn from UK taxpayers in 2011 alone) to an organisation whose head apparently "has no voters"?

Obama to meet with the EU's various Presidents after all

Looks like U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with his "European counterparts" (at least in terms of pay, they're on par), Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, after all. A NATO summit in Lisbon on 20 November will be used to make up for the Obama Snub earlier this year.

"Presidents Van Rompuy and Barroso are looking forward to this opportunity to meet again with President Obama to reaffirm the transatlantic agenda and advance EU-U.S. cooperation on issues of mutual concern," the Commission said today.

Now, the big question is: who will get the opportunity to shake the great man's hand first?

The accidental EU President?

In an interview with Le Pèlerin Magazine, Herman Van Rompuy reveals that he tried everything in his power not to become EU President. “Until the last minute, I did anything I could to refuse this appointment”, he says, adding that he even asked Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt to remove his name from the list of candidates.

Hmm, doesn't sound particularly credible.

Back in November 2009, Belgian newspaper De Standaard reported the following:

at a dinner on 28 October the French-German axis went to work: Sarkozy supported Merkel's candidate, Herman Van Rompuy. The day after at the European summit in Brussels the two asked whether the Belgian would possibly accept the job. The PM was up for that, and started a tour of the capitals in order to present himself. He was liked.

He may be the accidental EU President, but he's not that accidental. Politicans, after all, tend to be attracted by power - even haiku-writing ones.

"Figure it out and let us know"...

was the message, according to the WSJ, that the US State Department chose to leave on the EU's voicemail this weekend, presumably while the Spanish, who hold the EU Presidency, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso all wrestled with each other as they failed to answer the phone.

Although this isn't strictly true, it's an image that fits with the 'Kissinger question' of "who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?", if he ever actually said it that is.

What is true is that President Obama has pulled out of the annual EU-US summit this spring and one of the reasons is that the EU's various presidents have been so busy arguing over who would get to shake his hand first that they apparently forgot to send out the invitations.

In the words of a State Department official, "We don't even know if they're going to have one [a summit]. We've told them, 'Figure it out and let us know.'"

A more diplomatic official said, "Who attends from the US and at what point will depend on who's calling the meeting. There's a competition in Europe because you now have the standing EU architecture."

This was supposed to be the first high-level EU-US summit after the entry into force of the EU's 'magical cure', also known as the Lisbon Treaty, which was billed as the answer to the EU's inability to deal with the outside world as one, creating a President, a Foreign Minster, and a diplomatic service.

But it turns out Obama doesn't seem that bothered about coming round to watch the EU play with its new toys. For some strange reason the US President thinks it's more important to travel to Asia in the spring, to South Africa in the summer and to Portugal for the NATO summit in the Autumn.

Just a thought but maybe that's because there will be people there with something more important to say..

Not to be underestimated

In a letter in the Evening Standard yesterday we argued that the EU's new President, Herman Van Rompuy, should not be underestimated.

Just looking through Nicolas Sarkozy's press conference in Brussels last week, this is reinforced.

Sarko describes Van Rompuy as “an extremely determined man who knows exactly where he's going, he's a perfect connoisseur of European politics.”

He says:

“I genuinely find that Herman's views reflect mine: he's a man who knows very precisely where he's going. And if people are criticizing him for not being determined and being too flexible, they risk having some rude surprises, some rude surprises. Don't confuse things, thinking that a tolerant man who's a bit reserved, perhaps a bit modest, can't have firm beliefs. So talk to those who know him well about them and you'll see. I'm going to tell you something: I think he's one of the strongest personalities around the Council table. Don't see that as in any way belittling the others.”

There are a couple of other telling quotes in there too.

Asked why Cathy Ashton got the job of EU Foreign Minister, Sarkozy is clear that this was about rewarding her for pushing the Lisbon Treaty through Parliament and seeing off calls for a referendum:

“Listen, really, this is important, she played an essential role in getting the Lisbon Treaty through the House of Lords, which wasn't nothing, you will agree. She is one of the British political figures – though it's in no way up to me to judge – who most strongly promoted the Lisbon Treaty issue. I've also had occasion to express my gratitude to Gordon Brown for the responsibilities he shouldered, but right the way through the Lisbon process – and you know how fiercely it was discussed in the United Kingdom, it isn't a secret for anyone – she was constantly in favour of it, she supported him courageously. And, after all, we were very happy to find British political women and men to get it through when a section of the British political class was asking for a referendum, as you know as well as I do.”

Lastly, check out his tone here:

“remember Nice and look where we've got to now, the Irish had to be consulted twice, we had to have the presidential election in France to overcome the 'no', same thing in Holland. Then, in the space of a few weeks we had to choose a team; it's been done, without drama, without scandal, without fuss. It's done.”

Tsk - those pesky Irish getting it wrong eh - they "had to be" consulted twice.... !

Yeah, Sarko, just like last week's seamlessly smooth EU summit - what a success that was - not a total embarassment at all... not a monumental contradiction of everything you've been saying about making the EU more democratic, nooo...! A great success, no scandal or fuss at all, we're quite sure the citizens of Europe are all perfectly happy with the whole thing.

Wie is die jeugdige Belgische lobbyist?

Open Europe's man in Brussels, Pieter Cleppe, has stirred up quite a storm over in Belgium with his revelations about the frontrunner for the EU Presidency, Herman Van Rompuy.

Pieter, a Flemish-speaking Belgian lawyer (who also happens to be the nephew of former Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt) was behind information about Van Rompuy's EU federalist credentials uncovered by the Telegraph on Monday and pursued further by many other papers over the last couple of days.

As a result, Ter Zake, Belgium's most-watched Flemish news programme, last night featured a whole piece on Pieter and Open Europe.

You can catch the clips here:
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/mediatheek/programmas/terzake/2.7921/2.7922/1.636758

http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/mediatheek/programmas/terzake/2.7921/2.7922/1.636759

And for those of you who can actually understand Dutch, Pieter also has an op-ed in Belgian daily De Morgan today.