EU and European weekly roundup week ending April 5th

Sunday

• The European Commission believes that Bulgaria is changing the rules to avoid EU scrutiny over a gas pipeline
• Polish PM proposes that the EU pay for 75% of the infrastructural costs to break the dependency on Russian gas
• Germany is ready to provide military assistance to the three Baltic nations, all former Soviet republics, as part of NATO efforts to counter fears over Moscow’s swift absorption of Crimea, German weekly Der Spiegel has reported

Monday

• Warsaw Metro extension built with €803 million from the EU is on schedule to open in September
• Tax incentives and subsidies on electric cars cost Holland €500 million in lost tax revenue
• Public debt in France amounted to 93.5 percent of GDP in 2013 compared with 90.6 percent the previous year
• Germany has said its air force is ready to increase security on Nato’s border with Russia despite their promise not to escalate the crisis
• The EU has arranged for financing of €42 billion in funding for African projects since 2007
• Since the economic crisis began, suicide rates are up 36% annually in Greece
• 70% of Dutch people have doubts over the EU
• Evidence comes to light how Spain tried to deceive the world about the financial crisis
• The EU Funds “makover” of Romanian ‘Painted’ Monastery with €3 million
• The EU’s Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs says that aid to Africa is not connected to reform
•  Romania’s former Economy Minister gets 4 years in jail for abuse of power
• EU threatens to take Portugal to the European Court Justice over incorrect application of the EU’s bus & coach passenger rights regulation.
• EU publishes final report on debt redemption fund and eurobills and concludes that a treaty change is necessary
• A study conducted by Ixè institute for the Italian broadcaster Rai3 found that 43% of Italians want to quit the Euro & return to the Lira

Tuesday

• Over the next 7 years the Commission aims to spend more than €2 billion in supporting energy in Africa.
• Greece gets its next €8.3 billion
•  A draft EU blacklist to be implemented in case of further escalation in Ukraine contains Putin’s pet labrador
• France likely to ignore EU rules on budget deficit
• The EU spends €188.8 million for consumers “to fully enjoy their consumer rights”
• New car sales in the Netherlands have dropped to the lowest in 45 years.  What recovery?
• Albanian Prime Minister visits Merkel to make case for entry into EU
• Only 25% of Czechs support adoption of the Euro

Wednesday

• Number of Romanian jobseekers applying for UK work doubles
• The EU is relaxing rules for non-EU immigrants to make it easier for them to gain access to the job market
• EU commissioner says that Albania is on track for EU membership
• EU grant Bulgaria €133 million for to subsidize vine growing and wine production

Thursday

• EU fines Goldman Sachs and 8 cable firms for operating a cartel
• Germany has largest number of highly-polluting energy plants in the EU – some emitting as much CO2 as Slovenia according to Spiegel Online
• Spanish PM’s former party treasurer accused of creaming €48.2 million from a slush fund in political corruption trial
• EU approves establishment of the European Space Surveillance and tracking (SST) Framework.  Cost €10 million a year
• If the EU is unanimous in its condemnation of Russia, why did Hungary sign a €10 billion deal with them this week?
• New EU law law requires the introduction of labels to inform buyers of the noise levels of new cars

• New law also requires the addition of sound to hybrid and electric vehicles to alert pedestrians.
• European Banking Federation says new Savings Tax Directive is disruptive & inconsistent with international guidelines
• European Parliament President Martin Schulz used his prerogative & removed a paragraph critical of his stewardship in a key committee report
• N secretary general says EU should agree its 2030 emissions target at June European Council.
• Over 2,300 religious institutions in Romania receive €5 million EU farm subsidies
• The EU gives Greece €389 million to modernize public administration
• The ECB is considering Quanitative Easing.  This will plunder European savings just to prop up a political folly

Friday

• France will ignore EU’s rules on budget deficits
• EU signs off the Commission’s 2012 accounts with reservations over high error rates in agriculture & regional policy spending by members
• The EU It also postponed approving the 2012 accounts of the Council because of its lack of cooperation
• The EU refused to sign off accounts for the electronic communications regulatory body BEREC due to shortcomings in budgetary management.
• “Error rates” in agricultural and regional EU spending (i.e. theft & fraud) leapt to 7.9% and 6.8% up from 4.7% the previous year
• MEPs identify high level of errors in rural development expenditures and inefficient checks on organic production
• MEPs state that in regional policy the main stumbling block was the poor quality of first-level audits at member state level.
• EU’s satellite Copernicus lifted off safely yesterday . At a cost of €3.786 billion that’s a relief
• The EU hands €50 million to Cyprus
• Now Finland is in violation of EU fiscal rules
• Bulgaria changes the law to get around EU legislation on gas pipeline
• Dutch PM says “Election of Commission president ‘will not restore trust in EU”  That ship sailed a long time ago
• The EU announces specific funding programmes for the Roma peoples
• The EU hands €200 million to Sweden to upgrade their mobile phone network
• The EU hands €300 million to Romanian universities