Credibility test for Europe
EU approves a “climate package” and renews the Lisbon Process
The recent summit of the EU leaders in Brussels ended by signing a historical agreement-the climate package. This EU Council will “remain in the history of Europe,” President Nicolas Sarkozy of France stated. Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, praised the summit: “Europe has passed its credibility test and showed that the world can follow its example.»
Indeed, in spite of the existing disagreements, apart from the above-mentioned package the EU leaders approved the EU economy recovery plan and unblocked the desperate situation with the Lisbon Treaty.
According to the approved climate and energy package, or the so-called 20-20-20 plan, greenhouse gas emissions will be cut by 20 percent from the 1999 levels by 2020, the share of renewable energy in the overall structure of energy consumption will rise to 20 percent, and overall energy consumption will be cut by 20 percent. It envisages that starting from 2013 greenhouse gas emission quotas will be purchased at open auctions. And this rule will be mandatory for all the companies operating in the sector of electric energy production that now have free-of-charge gas emission quotas and produce 40 percent of the total amount of greenhouse emmissions.
As a lever of the EU’s economic growth, the EU leaders approved the €200-billion financial stimulus proposed by the European Commission, which is 1.2 percent of the EU’s gross domestic product. The recovery plan calls for more expenditures on environmentally clean public transport, development of the Internet, and improvement of the energy infrastructure. It also provides for increasing budgetary discipline, easing the tax burden for the economy, relaxing administrative load for businesses, and reducing the refinancing rate of the European Central Bank.
The EU leaders agreed to compromise with Ireland so that this country ratified the Lisbon Treaty, which determines the principles and mechanisms for the EU’s more efficient functioning. Ireland, on its part, agreed to organize a repeated nationwide vote by Nov. 1, 2009, before the mandate of the European Commission ends. In their turn the EU partners promised Dublin the right to have its own Irish Eurocommisar in the European Commission. Ireland also demanded that the EU approve a declaration guaranteeing that Ireland’s neutrality, tax system, and legislation, such as the anti-abortion law, will remain untouched.
The leaders of the EU member countries formally approved Slovakia’s accession to the Eurozone from Jan. 1, 2009. As of now, 15 EU member countries have adopted the European single currency: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, and Malta.
