Centre for European Reform

One of the best EU think tanks, the Centre for European Reform runs a good-quality blog, which they populate with challenging opinions from their staff. Like Caroline Lucas' blog, the postings are perhaps fewer and further between than they might be, but CER does at least produce its thoughts in written form, if not on their blog, very regularly and frequently.

The blog looks at some of the big EU issues, such as the Constitutional Treaty (now the Reform Treaty), the EU's Middle East policy, the prospects for Turkish membership, and more. I'd like to see more postings on economic policy and on hot issues like data protection and privacy, but maybe that just reflects my personal bias. After all, they do plenty of excellent work in these areas (see their publications on competitiveness and on Justice & Home Affairs), so it's not like they don't have anything to say.

Perhaps motivation is low because of the low level of comments (to be fair, at the time of writing they're doing a lot better than I am on that score, but I'm still very new!). Chicken or egg?

Anyway, what they do post is of high quality, and I enjoy reading them from time to time.

Caroline Lucas MEP's Blog

Caroline Lucas' blog, on the UK's Guardian newspaper web site, is a good place to talk about EU environment policy. The UK Green MEP is well-known as one of the most articulate leaders of the environmentalist movement, and her postings are thoughtful and thought-provoking.

The most recent one (dated March 2007) is about the fundamental contradiction between the EU-US Open Skies agreement's goal of increasing air travel across the Atlantic and the carbon emissions cutting goal of EU environment policy. Commentators have pointed out that this is a classic case of non-joined-up thinking. The parts of the EU machine that care about air transport lead the dance on air transport policy. And the parts of the EU machine that care about the environment lead the dance on environment policy. And what you end up with is bound not to be as coherent as it might be.

The mechanics of this are interesting. Consider this scenario: The Commission's DG TREN (transport & energy) comes up with policy proposals for legislation liberalising air transport in Europe. These are the fruit of public consultations that have elicited reactions primarily from direct stakeholders in the air transport industry. The DG's proposals are run through an "interservice" procedure in the Commission, during which all the other DGs are supposed to be able to submit objections and propose changes. But this doesn't happen as much as it should, because the Environment Commissioner knows that the Transport Commissioner will block his next initiative if he blocks this one. The proposal is then published with minimal changes, and sent to the EP and Council for co-decision. The EP committee dealing with it specialises in transport and not environment. It likes the idea of liberalising the sector, and delivers a positive recommendation to the plenary, which follows the lead of its expert committee. After all, they are the experts, right? In the Council, the dossier is taken through the Transport Council, populated by transport ministers and transport officials at the lower levels. And this Transport Council, together with the EP led by its in-house transport experts, delivers a piece of legislation that liberalises the sector. It may even be a very good piece of legislation. But the most powerful, institutional avenues for getting environmental concerns heard are marginalised at best. The NGOs are left struggling to lobby transport-minded MEPs and transport-minded officials and ministers.

What happens when a piece of environmental legislation goes through co-decision? Exactly the same, but the tables are turned. Now the NGOs are in the driving seat, and industry is struggling to get its voice heard.

It's a pretty fundamental problem with the way decision making is structured in all the institutions, and it results in all-or-nothing outcomes like REACH on the one hand (which is regarded as catastrophic by industry), and Open Skies on the other (regarded as catastrophic by Greens like Caroline Lucas).

Anyway, this is supposed to be a post about that blog, and not a rant about the deficiencies of the EU decision-making process. But the fact that I have gone off on the rant is evidence enough that Ms. Lucas' blog gets you thinking. The quality of comments is relatively high, especially when compared to the propagandist and ideological stuff that afflicts blogs like that of Commissioner Wallstrom!

My only regret is that her postings are so far apart - her last one was in March 2007, and her last 10 go back as far as May 2006. My last 10 go back all of a week! So much good thought in that head of yours, Caroline, and so little of it shared with your readers! Give us more!

Religion in Second Life

Have you heard of Second Life? If not, I suggest you check it out. It is widely regarded as one of the most significant innovations in the online world - one with the potential for far-reaching effects on society.

It's a complete virtual world - fully fitted with time, space, "living" people, laws, money, an economy, and now, religion. Users can create an identity, called an "avatar", and interact with each other in an increasingly "real" way. Economic activity has taken off, with millions of dollars' worth of real money being spent every day. Property on Second Life is now worth real-life cash.

Some months ago the Commission announced it was looking into setting up an embassy in Second Life to provide information to curious users. I'd love to know if the EU is more surreal in Second Life than it is here...

Religion is still very much a minority interest on Second Life. I can think of several possible reasons but I am sure there are more: perhaps the online world attracts technology-minded people who are less likely to be interested in religious "superstition". Or perhaps "real-life" society inflates the appearance of religiosity through rituals such as Sunday churchgoing or Friday prayers at the mosque, and Second Life, as a fresh start, reflects people's beliefs more genuinely.

There are less than 1000 representatives of the major religions officially registered with the religious organisations that have sprung up on Second Life. The largest group is Christian, followed by Muslims, followed by Jews. But the absolute numbers are so small that the difference in size of the groups is hardly significant.

Which makes the fact that the Jesuits are now entering Second Life all the more interesting. Here is an opportunity for religious organisations from real life to test out their appeal to the world's youth in a unique, global environment - in an entirely new culture or civilisation that has no historical baggage to influence the outcome. There are no established churches, no state religions, no cultural or family pressures (yet). In other words, here is an opportunity to test the appeal of religions (paradoxically perhaps) in a more scientific way than has ever been possible before.

But indeed beyond science and perhaps more importantly, from a purely religious point of view, will the religions be able to bring more followers around the world into their respective types of union with the divine? After all, behind every avatar lies a soul potentially in need of spiritual nourishment.

This raises all sorts of questions and possibilities - could we see religiously-motivated or religiously-justified terrorism in Second Life? On the other side of the coin, could it be used to test out strategies and solutions for a wide range of social and religious problems? Imagine dialogue between Muslims and Jews in a world where there is no Temple Mount or Al-Aqsa mosque. Or between Muslim and Christian "Europeans" in a world where neither community has the advantage of political, geographic, economic, or social incumbency.

What about new advertising techniques? New political philosophies? New societal structures? And all these with the potential to spill over into real life. It really will be fascinating to watch. Or participate in...

Berlaymonster

One of the real gems of the Brussels Blogosphere is Berlaymonster, which adopts an irreverent and unashamedly humourous (and often critical) take on EU affairs. The best story on the main page at the time of writing is about the Commission's PR assault on the online world via YouTube, or, more precisely, EUtube. Most of the talk about the promotional material available on EUtube has been generated by the sexually explicit images taken from European films (subsidised by the EU).

How can you not love Berlaymonster when you read such priceless gags as:

"I always wondered what Ever Closer Union meant. That's pretty close."

"Aha, United in Perversity."

"Oof, he's no candidate for enlargement is he..."

"Well SHE clearly met the entry requirements."

"Is that what you call a horizontal strategy?"

And Berlaymonster asks for further submissions, so here's mine: "What ever happened to the precautionary principle?"

Great stuff.

Polish Plumbers Apply Here!

The Polish plumber was the bogeyman of European politics for the two years that the Services Directive was going through co-decision in the EU institutions, coinciding with the accession of Poland and seven other former Communist Bloc countries - perhaps not quite a hate figure, but certainly feared as the symbol of Eastern European workers coming to Western Europe to "take our jobs", working for East European wages. The Polish tourist board outflanked French trade unionists by using humour and publishing the now-famous poster of a hunky, wrench-toting, pipe-wielding Polish plumber addressing French lady tourists saying, "Je reste en Pologne. Venez nombreux!"

At the time, the argument went something like this: Polish plumbers will come in large numbers to "old" EU countries like France and Germany, will price local competitors out of the market, and will not contribute a penny to local taxes. This has all been proved to be nonsense by the UK and Ireland, which have no successfully hosted several hundred thousand Polish workers (not just plumbers), of whom the overwhelming majority pay taxes and fill labour shortages. Most EU Member States took advantage of a "phase-in period" for the freedom of movement for workers from the new Member States, and have seen very limited immigration. Germany and Austria retain these controls. What immigration there has been there seems to be part of the grey economy, with the workers legally present in the countries, but working illegally.

And now we have the German government acknowledging a skills shortage in Germany, and calling for immigration from the East to be made easier. Great! Let's all gloat at the Germans and say how pleased we all are that they were wrong. And wrong they undoubtedly were. But is it really that simple?

Now, I'm not an economist, but I know for a fact that Poland is facing severe shortages of skilled construction workers, and yes, plumbers! Word is, you can't get hold of a decent plumber anymore, because all the best, most enterprising ones, have moved West. Can it really be that good for Poland to lose large numbers of its best and brightest? Sure, it makes the government's drive to cut unemployment much easier - the stats are good even taking into account the fact that many who are working abroad are claiming unemployment benefits at home.

There seems to be a consensus that most of the emigration is temporary, that workers are sending money home and will return when the Polish economy begins to catch up. That may be the case, but in the meantime, Poland and some of the other new Member States are making do with shortages of their own.

Shouldn't this really be about addressing the need for better education and training in all EU countries, rather than moving skilled workers from low-wage countries to high-wage countries? Isn't the issue here that all EU countries need these workers, and aren't we making a mistake if we seek to solve the problem only through labour mobility?

Don't get me wrong - I am not in favour of closing the borders. But I don't see governments addressing this in a way that is sustainable for Europe - the German government has little interest in what's happening in Poland; it wants to find the easiest way to fix the skills shortage. Shouldn't policy be more consistently directed at addressing the underlying structural problem?

I don't know. Maybe national governments are taking this seriously and are doing lots to increase the skills of the local labour force, and the media aren't reporting on it. But I have my doubts.

I have a confession to make: I have used a Polish plumber, a Polish handyman, and a Polish-owned Belgian construction company here in Brussels. They are competitive on price, especially for the small jobs, and they do good work. By contrast, my experiences with Belgian plumbers have invariably been negative: rude, incompetent, late, untidy, and expensive. The Poles are "incontournable" in Brussels, but I expect the locals still rule the roost outside the big city.

A Fistful of Euros

A Fistful of Euros is a good, solid, multi-authored blog on general European affairs, not restricted to EU politics. Which makes it a refreshing change for those of us who spend so much time with our spectacled eyes glued to our EU navel that we feel s wee bit out of touch with the Real World!

It's somewhat left of centre in political sympathies, but reassuringly free of party politics and the inevitable defence of party lines that this entails.

A recent post that attracted my attention was from July 16, by Alex Harrowell, on the EU as a force for reform amongst its neighbours. This is a truism that you often hear in the Eurobubble, and the stock examples given are the EU's activities in promoting civil society in places like Georgia, Ukraine, and Russia, as well as the gradual adoption of the acquis communautaire and associated reforms in candidate countries such as Croatia and Turkey.

The nice thing about this post is that it gives an example of a specific EU action that has resulted in reform in a neighbouring country - the effect of the EU's blacklist of airlines on Moldova. Perhaps a little light on detail, but interesting nonetheless. If there are any Moldova experts reading this, I'd be curious to know if there was any background that A Fistful of Euros is missing and that might be important - e.g. pre-existing plans to ban the banned airline, the detailed context of national politics, the role of Russia and other neighbours, etc.

Anyway, A Fistful of Euros, well done for being thought-provoking. Keep up the good work.

EU Blog Reviews

The Brussels Blogosphere is sprawling. There is material out there to cater to most tastes and interests. On the left hand side of this page you will find a list of the blogs that I find particularly worthwhile. I have listed only blogs in languages I can read - which includes English, French, German, Dutch, and a wee bit of Polish and Italian. Not all those languages are represented, so any suggestions from readers are welcome.

I'm most comfortable in English, but will try occasionally to post in another language myself.

Some of the blogs I link to are simply essential, such as Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's blog - essential because of his role in the Constitutional Treaty and the Reform Treaty.

Others are worth reading for the insights they give into the way veteran pro-EU campaigners like the Federal Union and anti-EU campaigners like EU Referendum see the world.

Many are serious; some (like Berlaymonster) are not so serious.

Some are more informative, some are more geared to debate.

None of them, as far as I am aware, systematically review each other. That is something that I'd like to add to the landscape - an opportunity to discuss the Brussels Blogosphere in detail: its heroes and villains, facts and myths, hot policy debates, key players, etc. Hopefully this will become a place where opinions can be aired freely (and moderated in a neutral fashion by me).

I will simply start at the top of the list and work my way southwards...

A Humourous Take on the Future of the UK Conservative Party

Apologies to readers who do not follow UK politics with any interest. As the UK is "the Member State that I know best", I try to keep up with developments across the Channel.

This opinion piece on the future of the Conservative Party from the Daily Telegraph is worth a read for a laugh. I think no one but a die-hard Labour supporter would be able to wish this to come true...

Comission Directory

This resource is probably better known than the comitology document register, but I do come across Brussels insiders who don't know about it. Regardless, it would certainly be of interest to outsiders who want to get hold of the right official.

I am not aware of any such directory for a national administration; if any readers are, I'd love to hear about it.

The Directory's best feature is its hierarchical structure. You can start at the Commission level, work down through the Directorate-General, the Directorate, and then the unit. But you can also search for officials whose names you know in the name search.

http://ec.europa.eu/staffdir/plsql/gsys_page.display_index?pLang=EN

This is not quite the same as IDEA, which is the online directory for all EU institutions, and has similar functionality. IDEA will only take you down to the Head of Unit level. Also helpful for most enquiries, since the Head of Unit's office can pass you on to the relevant official, but not much use if you really want to talk to an official privately.

Next step? Email addresses...

English & the EU

Anyone interested in the dynamics of language in the EU institutions should read the Economist's Charlemagne column in the July 21st edition . Interesting stuff. Is the dominance of English in Brussels good for the institutions? Is it good for the native English-speakers in Brussels (British and Irish EU officials, British, Irish, American, Australian, Kiwi, Indian, South African etc journalists, lobbyists, and diplomats)?

It's a complex question that doesn't lend itself to a simple answer. But my experience is that being a native English speaker has been a tremendous advantage in one area, at least. And that is in the preparation of documents. I have lost count of the times that non-native English-speaking colleagues, friends, or contacts have come to me asking me to check the grammar, the style, and the spelling of their position papers, letters, press releases, etc.

Every time I do such proof-reading, I have an opportunity to subtly change shades of meaning, and probably do so unconsciously. If you extrapolate this experience to the whole Brussels EU policy community, you come to the inevitable conclusion that among EU citizens, the Brits and Irish have a distinct advantage in this department. Over time, the cumulative effect of this extra input must be significant. If you have any specific examples of changes that have occurred as a result of this process, I'm interested!

Resources Postings

From time to time I intend to publish information about a resource. It might be anything - a web site or page that is useful for information-gathering, for example - but will ususally be web-based.

My first featured resource will be helpful to lobbyists who follow Brussels' notorious "comitology" committees (see Wikipedia if you don't know what comitology is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comitology). I only discovered this resource very recently, having long been deeply suspicious of comitology committees and their workings. It's the European Commission's comitology register, and it contains not only a list of the scores of committees, but more importantly, a search function that allows access to many of the key comitology documents.

You can search by various criteria. I find it most useful to search by committee. The committees are organised by Directorate-General of the European Commission by which the committee is chaired. The drop-down box is very badly designed, but if you click on it and type in "E", for example, you come to the committees chaired by DG EAC (Education and Culture). Further down, you come to ENTR (DG Enterprise) and then ENV (DG Environment).

The most interesting type of document you can find is the Voting Results - they often contain details of votes taken in committee, including how many Member States voted in favour of a Commission proposal, against, or abstained. This, combined with the information on the number of votes under QMV (Qualified Majority Voting), can often tell you pretty precisely which Member States voted how, despite the secrecy of the vote.

Pretty rudimentary functionality, but quite powerful. I'm finding it very useful, as it eliminates the need to rely on busy friends and contacts for leaked copies...

Here's the link:

http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regcomitology/registre.cfm?CL=en

Sleepy Summer

Brussels is in the process of shutting down for "The Summer Break". Hordes of officials, lobbyists, journalists, and ordinary residents are heading for the airports and the motorways, aiming for sunnier destinations. My street is emptying at a frightening pace - about 50% of the cars normally there have disappeared; the trip into work by metro or on the roads is eerily quiet. Another month of peace before everyone descends on Brussels again towards the end of August...

I learned soon after arriving that late July and August were not times to find people at their desks. Those you do find are often covering for several, luckier, colleagues, and are overworked and stressed.

Hello

Hello and welcome to my new blog, Brussels Comment! I hope you'll find it thought-provoking, informative, and enjoyable. It aims to appeal to a broad range of readers interested in the EU - from the Brussels professionals to the curious outsiders to perhaps even the journalists, there should be material for all to get their teeth into. I'd love to know your thoughts on format, content, and style. Happy reading!