Cameron expected to press for tougher restrictions on migration from future EU member states At today’s summit meeting, EU leaders will discuss the start of the EU accession process with Serbia and consider moves to grant Albania “candidate status”. David Cameron is expected to press the case for reconsideration of current EU rules to introduce new criteria by which citizens of newly-added member states would not receive full rights to live and work elsewhere in the EU until their country’s prosperity had reached a certain level. A Downing Street source said, “You can expect the Prime Minister to use it as an opportunity to reiterate his concerns.”Times Independent
EU member states agree to “deepen defence cooperation”
EU member states agreed yesterday to make a “strong commitment to the further development of a credible and effective CSDP , in accordance with the Lisbon Treaty.” Measures include more flexible and deployable EU Battle groups, changes to how EU missions are financed as well as co-operation on drone, satellite, refuelling aircraft and cyber-security development “supported by the European Defence Agency”. Referring to reports that France had hoped to allow for EU funding of its current mission in the Central African Republic, Le Monde cites President Hollande as saying, “We got what we could get”, while adding that he hopes to transform it into an EU mission but that only Poland has so far expressed willingness to get involved. David Cameron said, “It makes sense for nation states to co-operate over matters of defence to keep us safer”, before stating the EU summit conclusions did not refer to an EU army.
Irish Times Telegraph Irish Times: Ashton European Voice European Voice 2 Euractiv BBC Welt Welt 2 Reuters FAZ Le Monde Times Irish Independent European Council conclusions: Security and Defence Policy
Open Europe’s analysis of the reform scenario from last week’s simulated UK-EU negotiations is cited in the Sun. Open Europe Director Mats Persson is quoted as saying, "Sweeping EU reform is fully possible but it will take a lot more than the UK government has displayed so far to achieve it. Downing Street must seriously raise its game.
Open Europe briefing Sun
EU leaders have pushed back a decision on ‘reform contracts’ for eurozone countries until October 2014. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the press, "There is still more work to be done on this…I suggested we then postpone until December 2014, but the Presidents of the Commission and the Council said they still wanted to get it done during their term. There was a strong support to do it by October."
EUobserver European Voice Süddeutsche ANSA Repubblica
Rating agency Standard & Poor’s has downgraded the EU from AAA to AA+, citing disagreements over a centralised support mechanism, fragile financial profiles and the downgrades of member states as reasons for the move.
FT Reuters Telegraph live blog WSJ FR
The Portuguese Constitutional Court has struck down government plans to cut retired civil servants’ pensions by 10% to bring them in line with private sector workers’. The measure was expected to save almost €400m a year. Diário Económico notes that the Portuguese government is considering new tax hikes to raise the money.
Público Diário Económico El Pa�*s WSJ FT
In the Times, Professor Dieter Helm writes that, as a result of the Government’s incorrect assumption that the cost of gas and electricity would necessarily rise, “Britain has chosen some of the most expensive technologies on a crash course to meet a short-term 2020 European Renewables Directive.”
Times: Helm
On his Telegraph blog, Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan argues that David Cameron’s decision to use the Parliament Act to force James Wharton’s EU referendum Bill through the House of Lords “is tactically clever, constitutionally proper and democratically apt”.
Open Europe blog Telegraph blog: Hannan
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