EU – Page 64 – Slugger O'Toole

de Juana Chaos loses extradition appeal [in absentia]

Pete Baker on May 3, 2012, 9:01 pm

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Despite their client jumping bail in March 2010, and disappearing into the ether, lawyers acting on behalf of the convicted ETA killer, Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos, continued “with instructions” in the appeal against his extradition to Spain to face a charge of glorifying terrorism. Two years later, and Belfast High Court has dismissed that appeal. [Where are they sending the bill? – Ed] Good question. From the BBC report Judges ruled that while the European Arrest Warrant was “unquestionably imperfect”, it was …

Euro crisis: April is the cruellest month…

Pete Baker on April 30, 2012, 5:27 pm

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Apart from all the others… And it doesn’t matter how big your umbrella is. BBC Europe editor, Gavin Hewitt, on springtime in Europe What is being exposed is a major flaw with Mrs Merkel’s fiscal pact. It is undemocratic. It ties the hands of future governments – and that, of course, was its intention but it doesn’t stop voters opposing further cuts. In the eurozone, deficits are being reduced. But debt – in many cases – is still growing. Growth …

Yes, Ireland can apply to the IMF for money, but…

Mick Fealty on April 30, 2012, 9:25 am

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If you want proof that SF dropped the ball on the anti case last week by putting partial quotes from Karl Whelan and two other eminent economists, it’s the fact that they have lent their own authority to an economist who is way off base from their own anti Fiscal Compact position. On Morning Ireland this morning Whelan gently debunked the idea, arising from (though strictly speaking, not contained within) a Sunday Times’ story yesterday that Ireland would be able …

The Biggest Issues – what happens when talk radio goes awry?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 28, 2012, 7:30 pm

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One day I’ll have time to listen to the Afternoon Play Afternoon Drama live on Radio 4 while sitting on a comfy chair with a hot cup of tea in my hand. Until the mortgage is paid off, I have to settle for dipping in and out every week or two. Last Tuesday’s play – The Biggest Issues – was written by Annie McCartney, recorded and produced in Belfast. [Click on the link to listen.] Set in a fictitious – …

Is the Governor of the Central Bank “representative” or “independent”?

Mick Fealty on April 27, 2012, 3:40 pm

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The ‘controversy’ arising over the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland Patrick Honohan’s endorsement of a Yes vote, is possibly the least important aspect of his speech to the IEA. Padraig Mac Lochlainn believes Honohan should not have publicly said Yes because: “…public servants, which Governor Honahan is, are paid by the taxpayer and therefore representative and accountable to all taxpayers.” The Minister of Finance demurs: “Patrick Honohan is independent as governor of the Central Bank and is quite …

Quote of the day…

Mick Fealty on April 27, 2012, 8:48 am

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This appears in a few papers this morning, but Miriam Lord has the best set up line: A Noonan one-liner is always flagged by a slow-growing smile and a drawled “yah know” as an opener. He thought it a mistake that Sinn Féin “as people who have such long experience of the courts system” were “drawing witnesses from the prosecution in to justify their position”. That would be referring to the miscued leaflet quotes… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of …

Father Brian D’arcy told to submit copy to Church censor…

Mick Fealty on April 26, 2012, 5:27 pm

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And another liberal priest is brought to account by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith… It is understood that his column is now run past a church censor, though none has been changed as a result. The disciplining of Fr D’Arcy brings the number of Irish priests censured by Rome to six. The action against the priest was taken by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) last year after an anonymous complaint. Fr D’Arcy has …

Referendum: Hollande “is not intending to renegotiate the fiscal pact itself”…

Mick Fealty on April 26, 2012, 12:02 pm

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One of the problems the Yes camp will have to contend with is the shifting sands in Europe (see Arthur Beesley for the latest political collapse in the Netherlands, far from the feckless PIGS…) And indeed the front page of today’s Irish Times carries a story on the leading contender for the French Presidency, Francois Hollande, and his reference to the capacity of Ireland to say No in the up coming referendum: “There will be a renegotiation,” Mr Hollande said. …

Referendum and the Euro crisis: “Its unravelling, if it comes to that, will look very different.”

Mick Fealty on April 25, 2012, 6:16 pm

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Even though David Begg could not get the numbers in the ICTU to call for a Yes vote for the Fiscal Compact Treaty, he has clearly has some of concerns of his own about where a No vote would take Ireland. RTE reports this afternoon that “he voiced fears that rejection would mean exclusion from the European Stability Mechanism, the consequences of which could be very difficult.” The disaffection with a Europe that ten years ago was paying into the Irish …

Euro crisis: “It is nice to have a big umbrella…”

Pete Baker on April 23, 2012, 5:04 pm

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The Guardian’s Economics blog starts with an interesting observation Those who watched Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund a year ago say he played a blinder. Although he was to leave Washington under a cloud shortly afterwards, DSK impressed with his no-nonsense approach to his fellow Europeans. The IMF‘s managing director asked Jean-Claude Trichet, then president of the European Central Bank (ECB), and Christine Lagarde, at the time France’s finance minister, who they thought they …

“At present persons granted an Irish visa are not permitted to use that visa to travel to the UK.”

Pete Baker on April 23, 2012, 2:36 pm

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Not that we didn’t already know that… However, the Northern Ireland Tourism Minister, the DUP’s Arlene Foster, fielded a number of NI Assembly questions back in Feb/March on the issue of the Irish Government’s “Visa Waiver Scheme for nationals of 16 countries who hold a valid visa for entry into the United Kingdom.” Here is one of her answers I discussed this issue with Hugo Swire, NIO Minister of State last month. The Republic of Ireland, ROI, introduced a visa …

Orange EU Funding: An Opportunity to Exercise Responsible Society

Of This Island on April 20, 2012, 4:01 pm

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Following the news that The Loyal Orange Order have received a grant of almost £900,000 from the European Union to help address the legacy of the Troubles and encourage cross-community interaction, people across the island of Ireland can only stand back in expectation of what is to follow. Unsurprisingly, the decision has been met with support by many members of the Unionist camp, not least in the halls of Stormont. DUP MEP Diane Dodds triumphantly proclaimed that, “this money will …

Austerity versus Stability Treaty: A volatile mix of politics and economics?

Mick Fealty on April 19, 2012, 2:41 pm

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These days, the Republic seems to have more Referenda than Northern Ireland used to have fresh elections to new Parliaments/Assemblies/Conventions. For country in which policy plays so minor a role in public elections, this is generally where the established parties struggle to explain their own foreign policy decisions to a sceptical public… For now, according to the Irish Times poll the Aye’s have it, if you discount the highest number in the count (i.e. Don’t Knows) by 58 per cent …

Euro Crisis: “Germany is not pursuing these manoeuvres out of malice…”

Mick Fealty on April 17, 2012, 2:34 pm

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As Pete noted yesterday, things are never quite as they seem with the Eurozone. Paul Krugman writing in today’s New York Times bemoans the shortsightedness of Europe’s politician, but in it he makes an important category error when he describes the ECB as the European equivalent of the Fed… But he does suggest what has previously been thought unthinkable: “…in the 1930s — an era that modern Europe is starting to replicate in ever more faithful detail — the essential …

Euro crisis: “Barroso absolutely confident that Spain can meet its economic challenges.”

Pete Baker on April 16, 2012, 3:02 pm

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With Spain probably in recession, again, and the cost of its government borrowing topping 6%, again, European Commission president José Manuel Barroso is being ridiculed for his optimistic futuring. As the Guardian’s Eurozone crisis live-blog notes European Commission president José Manuel Barroso has just been quizzed about the eurozone crisis, at a summit on sustainable energy. Barroso attempted to calm fears, telling his audience that he is “absolutely confident that Spain can meet its econonic challenges”. Alas, Barroso didn’t explain …

ECB self censoring its own comms with an (overly?) sensitive Irish marketplace?

Mick Fealty on April 16, 2012, 1:06 pm

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In the digital age, edits get noticed. Clearly there are some details about the ECB’s bail out for banks that it didn’t want too widely publicised in Ireland… Jörg Asmussen, a German member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, where he has responsibility for international and European relations… Perhaps Mr Asmussen has inherited the Danish penchant for speaking plainly from his Flensburg home but on Friday in a speech to the IEA in Dublin, he said: “…the …

The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman) – an insight into a newspaper that’s maybe not so fictional

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 16, 2012, 9:00 am

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The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman) book cover

‘news’ is often a polite way of saying ‘editor’s whim’ Given the shift from print to online and e-ink, maybe Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists was a suitable first first book for me to finish reading on the Kindle. Considering the economic pressures on the newspaper industry, his novel perhaps captures the spirit and soul of a trade that is spinning down the plug hole, soon never to be seen again: a Lake Wobegon of the newspaper trade, complete with its …

Through it on in…

Pádraig Belton on April 13, 2012, 2:00 pm

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Apparently the European Commission are worrying there aren’t very many UK applicants for the EU civil service. The FCO sent round an email late last night encouraging all and sundry to ‘through their name in the hat’: (Memo to applicants: just tell them it’s British English.) Pádraig Belton30 year old journalist thing. Buys loo roll on eBay. scribd.com/padraigbelton

John Bercow: What should a 21st century Parliament look like?

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 5, 2012, 10:34 pm

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Political Studies Association

The Speaker of the House of Commons was omni-present on the last day of the Political Studies Association conference. After a morning session with NICVA, a post lunchtime session on engagement and impact, he wrapped up the conference by delivering the closing lecture. School children studying politics packed the room, more than making up for conference delegates who had left for early flights. listen to ‘John Bercow: What should a 21st century Parliament look like?’ on Audioboo In asking “what …

Mr Speaker, the Lord Speaker, and no chance of a job swap with Willie Hay!

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 5, 2012, 5:31 pm

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Political Studies Association

NICVA organised a fringe event at the last day of the Political Studies Conference in Belfast. Representatives from voluntary and community groups had a change to listen to and question the Speakers of the Houses of Commons and Lords, and think through ways in which they could contribute to a healthy democracy. listen to ‘Mark Shepherd from @stratagemni – political structures overview’ on Audioboo Stratagem’s Mark Shepherd – who’s a reputation for being able to explain d’Hondt – first gave …