ECJ says Commission can be challenged over reviews.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that environmental groups can take the European Commission to court if it refuses their request to review a decision.
The judgment, delivered by the General Court in Luxembourg on 14 June, found that the European Union’s Aarhus regulation of 2006 is too restrictive in its interpretation of the United Nations’ Aarhus convention, which sets out procedural rights for the public’s involvement in environmental decision-making. The EU and all its member states have ratified the convention; Ireland yesterday (20 June) became the last member state to ratify it.
The applicants in the case – Stichting Natuur en Milieu, a Dutch environmental group, and the Pesticide Action Network Europe – welcomed the judgment and called on the Commission not to appeal against it. A Commission spokesman said: “The Commission is studying the court judgment very carefully and will then decide whether or not to lodge an appeal.” The Commission has two months and ten days to file an appeal.
The two groups had asked the Commission in 2008 for an internal review of a regulation that set standards for pesticide residues in food. The Commission rejected the request, arguing that the legal nature of the pesticides regulation put it outside the scope of the Aarhus regulation. The ECJ has now ruled that the Aarhus regulation incorrectly implements the convention and that the convention prevails over implementing legislation.
The member states of the European Union are in a stand-off with MEPs over changes to the Union’s financial regulation, which sets the rules for how EU money is spent.
The agreed ambition of the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and the European Parliament is to revise the existing rules before an agreement is reached on the next multi-annual financial framework (MFF) for EU spending in 2014-20.
The financial regulation goes into exhaustive detail about the procedure for adopting and implementing the EU’s budget and for presenting and auditing the accounts. Negotiators from the three institutions have had more than 20 rounds of talks since October. They met on 1 June and again on Tuesday (12 June) in Strasbourg. Although they have reduced the areas of disagreement, the MEPs are still at odds with the Council over how to improve the EU’s record on spending in the member states.
MEPs want to impose greater obligations on national authorities where management of EU money is shared by the Commission with national paying authorities. Spending through such shared management covers roughly 80% of the EU’s budget, including regional aid and much agricultural spending, and is where most irregularities and errors are found.
The Commission retains overall responsibility for such funds but has limited powers to correct mistakes or reclaim misspent money.
MEPs want the national administrations to be required to provide declarations of assurance, signed at a political level – ie, by ministers – for their management of EU money.
Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK are already providing such declarations voluntarily. But the rest of the Council is resistant to the idea and Denmark, which holds the presidency of the Council of Ministers, made it clear at Tuesday’s negotiation that it had no mandate from the other member states to compromise on the issue.
Compromise rejected
A Danish compromise text, which said that member states “may” provide a national declaration on their spending of EU funds, has been rejected by the other member states, which fear that such declarations might in future become mandatory. Member states accuse the Parliament of seeking to micro-manage EU spending.
Agreement appears close on a range of other issues, but Ingeborg Grässle, a centre-right German MEP who is the Parliament’s lead negotiator on the financial regulation, said that without movement on shared management it was difficult to envisage progress on the regulation overall.
Grässle said that the success of the EU’s future cohesion spending would depend on tough provisions on shared management. She called the current rules a “recipe for future scandals”. “We will not give in on this point,” she said.
“It is utterly unacceptable that for ten years we have had member states leading the list of violations against EU rules and yet they continue to draw money from the EU,” she said, pointing the finger particularly at Italy and Spain.
Jan Mulder, a Dutch Liberal MEP, said that the member states were “flexing their muscles across the board”, from the financial regulation to Schengen. But, he said, those governments that were willing to provide national declarations should be rewarded with less stringent spending controls from the Commission.
Mulder said that having agreement on the financial regulation was “essential” for negotiations on the MFF. Those negotiations are entering a new phase, with EU leaders scheduled to discuss the MFF at their summit on 28-29 June. Yesterday (13 June), the Parliament called for an increase in the EU’s own resources, notably through a tax on financial transactions. MEPs, together with the Commission, are fighting moves by member states to freeze or reduce the EU’s multiannual budget. The Commission’s proposal of last June sets the overall spending in 2014-20 at €1,025 billion.
The Portugal international midfielder has made an immediate impact at Old Trafford and intends to take his game to even greater heights in the future
Bruno Fernandes considers himself to be “different from the others” at Manchester United, with the Portuguese helping to fill the void created by Paul Pogba’s fitness struggles.
The Red Devils found themselves in the market for creative inspiration during the January transfer window.
Having seen World Cup winner Pogba restricted to just eight appearances by injury, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was eager to find more energy and goal threat in his engine room.
More teams
Fernandes has provided that, with the 25-year-old quickly becoming a talismanic presence, but he is eager to point out that he is not cover or a replacement for anybody.
He believes that he provides a skill set at Old Trafford that nobody else has, with his game based on calculated risks and striving for continuous improvement.
“I think I’m a different player from the others,” Fernandes told Sky Sports.
“Everyone has a different mould to play, maybe I take more risks, maybe other players don’t take as many, maybe I shoot more, some players pass more, some of the players make more tackles, everyone is different in a club. Some players are similar but they’re never the same player.
“I’m a player who normally likes to take the risk, give the last pass and try to give more assists to my team-mates so I need to take the risk. It doesn’t matter for me if someone off the field is not happy about my pass, I will respect it but I will keep trying.
“Normally, everyone says the guys who are good on the ball are not good enough off the ball. I try to be better with the ball but also have in my mind these kinds of thing like the reaction when I lose it, being hungry when things don’t go wrong and hungry when you pass and it goes to your partner, but it’s not good enough and you need to do a little bit more.
“I think I look at the details because if you want to be better and one of the best, you need to look at the details. It’s not about finishing the game and if you get an assist and have a good game, you don’t need to watch the game to see if you made some mistakes or not.
“And when you think ‘today I didn’t play really well so I need to watch everything and see where I did my mistakes’. Sometimes, when I feel like I played a bad game, I don’t watch [it back]. I have in my mind that I need to do better and I know what I did wrong because you know what is the wrong pass, the wrong shot, the wrong decision and when you do well, you have to look.
“Maybe you have an assist but you need to look at if that assist can be better because sometimes, it be better but you can’t do better. It’s difficult to explain but think I need to look at the details to be better.”
Fernandes has contributed three goals and four assists to the United cause across Premier League and Europa League competition, but is currently taking in an enforced break alongside the rest of his Red Devils colleagues as English and European football shuts down amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner for the digital agenda, has expressed her frustration at delays within the European Commission in overhauling the EU’s rules on copyright licensing.
In an interview with European Voice, Kroes said that she “cannot explain” why the Commission has not yet come forward with proposals to make it easier for music to be licensed in more than one EU country.
Her remarks will be seen as a thinly veiled criticism of the team headed by Michel Barnier, the European commissioner for the internal market, which is in charge of the policy. Kroes said that in meetings of the college of commissioners she frequently spoke in favour of a change, but described trying to push the issue forward as a “negative experience”.
“I can’t understand that it takes so much time and I am absolutely frustrated,” she said.
Music licensing is organised by collecting societies in each country. While some have indicated that they are ready to adapt to the internet age and have recruited chief executives with ICT backgrounds, others are more resistant to change. Critics also claim that they are not transparent and favour larger artists over smaller ones.
“It is about the organisation, the management of collecting societies that are old-fashioned, that are not in line with what we, as a whole, in the digital single market, could offer to people,” said Kroes. “You have to change that and it was promised that it was on the table two years ago.”
Kroes warned that there was a risk of abuse of the system: the danger was that “you are not giving the money that you are collecting to the artists”.
Kroes said she was in favour of a mixed approach, by which licences could be acquired on a national or EU-wide basis.
Officials working for Barnier have indicated that proposals would be published in June. They say that the length of time taken to formulate a proposal reflects a determination to achieve the widest possible support during the legislative process.
The plan is to make it easier for collecting societies to arrange pan-EU licensing and include measures to ensure that societies are transparent in their distribution of revenues. “The directive of 2001 badly needs a review and I can’t explain why it takes so long,” Kroes said. “We are now half-way through this Commission and we know how long it takes to come to a legal decision.”
Effective partnerships
Kroes contrasted her dealings on this issue with her work in partnership with John Dalli, the European commissioner for health and consumer policy, on e-health proposals, and with Siim Kallas, the commissioner for transport, and Günther Oettinger, the commissioner for energy. “John [Dalli] and I are, to the outside world, buddies,” Kroes said. “John is the portfolio holder for health, no doubt about that, but I am instrumental and we are both aware that, with the problems and challenges of ageing, e-health is absolutely fascinating.”
Kroes’s problem is that many of the ICT issues she champions overlap with the work of other commissioners, some of whom may not fully support her more liberal approach. She is keen to stick up for the “openness” of the internet – a concept generally defined as the desire to break down copyright obstacles, to guard against governments or businesses blocking websites, and to prevent internet providers being able to force people to use some websites rather than others.
But, despite this fundamentally liberal approach, her argument is more nuanced than some of her critics give her credit for. She said that openness should not come at the expense of privacy or safety or by curtailing internet firms’ innovative offers. “There is a lot of misunderstanding about open internet,” she said. “You need rules of the game.”
This will be particularly true as the level of internet use increases. Some telecoms companies have already signalled that they want to charge people different amounts depending on what they use the internet for.
Consumers could be charged more for downloading films or chatting on voice communication services such as Skype, for example. Telecoms companies argue that this would enable them to control internet traffic more easily, to ensure networks run smoothly.
Kroes will shortly launch a consultation on ‘net neutrality’, but she hinted that she would not favour banning telecoms companies from offering packages that limit use, because this would promote competition.
“The consumer is king,” she said. “The new services are asking for more capacity, but as long as there is more demand than supply, I am in favour of competition,” she said.
The Dutch commissioner sees no difference in her net- neutrality philosophy and her approach to all of her work: from lowering the cost of using a mobile phone abroad to making sure that there is enough radio spectrum to cope with new mobile services.
“Everything is connected to everything else,” she said. “Roaming, competition, spectrum; the fact you can just jump to another [phone company] and do that in a very short period and take your number with you.
“Do not underestimate the consumer. They are getting more into the position where they do not accept what was common in the past. Things take time.”
Virgil van Dijk has promised that Liverpool “are still bringing the title to our fans” despite the suspension of the Premier League suspension.
The Premier League has been temporarily stopped until early April as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
There is uncertainty as to how and when the authorities will proceed with the campaign, or even whether they will at all.
While some are championing the idea of cancelling the campaign in its entirety and voiding the expected Liverpool title win, Van Dijk has promised that a first top-flight championship since 1990 will be delivered one way or another.
The Dutchman hopes to avoid the ‘fear’ of many at the club ‘fear’ – that it will be lifted inside an empty stadium with fans prevented from watching due to the coronavirus.
“If we won it in an empty stadium and the fans weren’t there, I’d be gutted for them.
“Obviously, if there are no fans at Anfield, then it will be a bit of a blow – no one wants to play games without the fans.
“Until a decision is made on how we go on from here, then we just have to deal with it. But when it happens, we are still bringing the title to our fans, definitely.”
Man United are ready to offer Dean Henderson a bumper new contract to fend off interest from Chelsea.
Henderson has emerged as a primary goalkeeping target for Chelsea, who are yet to decide whether to keep the faith in Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The Sun on Sunday say Frank Lampard is keen on Henderson, who has impressed over the past two seasons with Sheffield United.
The Blues are contemplating an offer of up to £50million to tempt Man United into a deal for someone who has not yet even played a first-team game for them.
OPINION: What will happen to Dean Henderson this summer?
But Man United would be willing to give Henderson a contract worth £100,000 per week as they consider him a natural replacement for David de Gea when the Spaniard moves on.
It would be the fourth contract Henderson has signed for Man United, whose youth system he joined in 2011 from Carlisle.
They would even allow Henderson to decide his own short-term future, whether it involves competing with De Gea for a starting spot at Old Trafford or going out on loan again, likely to Sheffield United once more.
The Blades, for their part, would love to sign Henderson permanently but realise their chances of anything other than another loan are remarkably slim.
West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna found it “absolutely unacceptable” that their match against Arsenal went ahead a week ago.
The Gunners match against Manchester City last Wednesday was the first match to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The move came after a positive test for Covid-19 was returned by Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis – whose side played at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on February 27.
FEATURE: The Premier League’s coronavirus options: Void, postpone or ‘formula’?
However, Arsenal’s match against West Ham went ahead ten days later and Ogbonna believes that match should’ve been cancelled.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable that our game against Arsenal did go ahead,” Ogbonna told Corriere della Serra.
“They’d played Olympiakos and the Greek team’s owner had already been struck down with the virus. It almost seems as if someone needs to die in order for timely decisions to be made.
“It’s not a footballing matter, but it’s entrenched in the country’s mentality. They haven’t fully grasped the risk surrounding this virus which can be spread in just a few seconds if you don’t behave in the correct way.
“I haven’t been tested, which is further proof of the lax attitude here, to say the least.”
The F365 Show has so far escaped the wrath of coronavirus. So we’ll be back every Thursday (probably) with more irreverent nonsense intriguing insight. Subscribe here.
Bruno Fernandes insists his arrival at Manchester United is not the only reason why the club’s fortunes have improved on the pitch.
After an inconsistent first half of the season, United are unbeaten in the nine games Fernandes has featured in since his £47million January move from Sporting Lisbon.
In the Premier League, United are unbeaten in five games and up to fifth place, firmly in the battle for Champions League places.
Fernandes, 25, told Sky Sports: “We can talk about a new start after Bruno, but it’s not about Bruno, it’s about the team.
“One player doesn’t change a team. A team changes when everyone pushes together for the same side.”
The Portugal international shone in last week’s derby victory over Manchester City at Old Trafford and got involved in a spat with opposition manager Pep Guardiola late in the game.
The pair exchanged words and Fernandes then put a finger to his lips in a ‘shush’ gesture towards Guardiola.
Asked about the incident, Fernandes said: “I talked about this with some friends. Some people think, ‘Pep won everything, who is Bruno to do this to him?’
“But at that moment the words he told me made me mad. I have respect for Pep and what he has won and what’s he done for football.
“But he didn’t respect me and he doesn’t deserve my respect at that moment on the pitch.”
Fernandes, who said he “didn’t think twice” about joining United, has already made a strong impact and he hopes to go on doing so for many years to come.
He said: “I want to be the best I can and if it is possible be remembered like one of the best in Manchester.”
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Les Anglais et les Kenyans avaient déjà tenté le coup. C’est au tour de l’Allemagne de produire une comédie musicale dont le héros est le président américain, : découvrez L’Espoir- Histoire Musicale d’Obama. Click Here: Geelong Cats Guernsey
Barack Obama superstar! Son destin est si exceptionnel qu’il fait un héros parfait pour toutes sortes de productions artistiques. Et, ce qui ne gâche rien, il est grand, il est beau, et il a le rythme dans la peau.
Pour autant, ce n’est pas le vrai Barack Obama qui montera sur scène dimanche soir lors de la première de Hope à Frankfort – en français L’Espoir, Histoire Musicale d’Obama, mais le comédien qui l’incarne, Jimmie Wilson. Pour une somme comprise entre 40 et 150 euros, nos voisins germaniques peuvent s’offrir ces jours-ci deux heures de grand spectacle à la sauce américaine et revivre l’histoire de son élection.
«Vêtu d’un gilet en tricot, chantant dans son micro, Barack Obama déambule sur la scène, fait la cour à Michelle avec une chanson d’amour, raconte le Spiegel allemand. Plus tard, en costume cette fois, il se lance dans une euphorique version de Yes We Can.»
Le producteur, un certain Randall Hutchins, en a eu l’idée dès le début de la campagne électorale du sénateur de l’Illinois. Résultat: un son et lumière impressionnant dans lequel on chante, on danse, et où tous les protagonistes de la dernière grande aventure électorale américaine ont leur place sur scène:
, bien entendu, mais aussi un
assez rock et l’inénarrable Sarah Palin, avec bas résille et gogo danseuses…
Les producteurs de cette comédie musicale espèrent bien ne pas s’en tenir à l’Allemagne et conquérir le public outre-Atlantique. Cette merveille kitsch fera sans doute bien rigoler le nouveau patron de l’Amérique et le rassurera sur le fait que les Européens sont toujours dingues de lui. Mais il y a peu de chances qu’il puisse compter sur ce vibrant hommage pour récupérer des points de popularité sur ses terres…
J.S
Vendredi 15 janvier
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Le tribunal pénal du comté de Californie a rejeté hier la proposition des avocats de de le juger par contumace- en son absence.Ils vont faire appel.
Éviter l’extradition vers les Etats-Unis va être décidément très difficile pour Roman Polanski. Le réalisateur de 76 ans accusé d’un viol sur mineure datant de 1977 ne pourra pas être jugé par contumace, c’est-à-dire en son absence. Le juge californien chargé du dossier a suivi l’avis que le procureur avait formulé la semaine dernière.
Actuellement assigné à résidence à Gstaadt, en Suisse, le réalisateur refuse depuis son arrestation d’être transféré vers les États-Unis pour être à nouveau jugé. «Cela m’attriste de la dire mais Polanski ne fait pas confiance au système judiciaire américain, a déclaré l’un de ses avocat, et ce système ne lui a donné aucune raison de lui faire confiance.»
L’audience où était examinée la demande de jugement par contumace a d’ailleurs été particulièrement animée. Les défenseurs de Polanski reprochent au juge Peter Espinoza de vouloir créer un «show» en obligeant le réalisateur à être jugé aux États-Unis.
Or, pour le juge, ce n’est pas à l’accusé, au «criminel reconnu coupable, ce violeur d’enfant» de «dicter» à distance la conduite de l’affaire. Il refuse de le traiter différemment sous prétexte que c’est une célébrité.
Roman Polanski avait été arrêté à son arrivée en Suisse, où il devait recevoir un prix pour l’ensemble de son oeuvre au Festival du film de Zürich. Il avait ensuite été libéré sous caution et assigné à résidence dans son chalet de Gstaadt.
En 1977, Polanski avait avoué avoir eu des relations sexuelles avec une mineure de 13 ans. Il avait passé 42 jours en prison et avait ensuite pris la fuite pour ne pas risquer d’être emprisonné plus longtemps.
Les avocats de Polanski enjoignent le juge Espinoza à respecter la promesse faite à l’époque par le juge Rittenband, selon laquelle Polanski n’écoperait pas d’une peine supplémentaire.
Ils vont faire appel de cette décision, nouveau rebondissement dans l’affaire.
C.C.
Samedi 23 janvier 2010
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