The 'secret' EU summit documents from The Telegraph

[PaddyJoe]

The EU must be getting fed up of the Brits. They're constantly leaking this stuff:

The “limite” text - published exclusively by The Daily Telegraph, is secret, restricted for the "eyes only" of diplomats and officials preparing for the 28 and 29 June European Council in Brussels.
Most of the text, the annexed “Compact for Growth and Jobs”, are deals on project bonds and other small scale EU initiatives that FranCois Hollande is trumpeting as a €120bn “growth pact”.
The first draft is relatively uncontroversial because the eurobond and "banking union" issues are currently all too sensitive to be committed to paper for officials.
Other so-called "non-papers" are circulating at a top secret level between national capitals and Brussels.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/f...ng-union.html#

[PaddyJoe]

Can't copy and paste unfortunately but there's a few interesting lines in there:

The signatories of the ESM Treaty will ensure its entry of force by 9 July 2012

[PaddyJoe]

Sounds a bit two speed to me. Wonder what Lucinda and Enda have to say on this?

The Member States taking part in the Euro Plus Pact are committed to further deepen the coordination of their economic policies, with the objective of improving competitiveness and thereby leading to a higher degree of convergence reinforcing the single market economy.
Participating Member States accordingly agree to identify common concrete political objectives and subscribe to additional concrete commitments

[riposte]

Participating Member States accordingly agree to identify common concrete political objectives and subscribe to additional concrete commitments

12.5% maybe?

[PaddyJoe]

In case anybody is wondering what the Euro Plus Pact is:

The Euro-Plus Pact, also initially called the Competitiveness Pact or later the Pact for the Euro,[1] is a 2011 plan in which some member states of the European Union make concrete commitments to a list of political reforms which are intended to improve the fiscal strength and competitiveness of each country.
The plan was advocated by the French and German governments for more widespread adoption by other Eurozone countries. As such it is designed as a more stringent successor to the Stability and Growth Pact, which has not been implemented consistently. It was adopted in March 2011 and uses the EU's Open Method of Coordination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_Plus_Pact

[C. Flower]

In case anybody is wondering what the Euro Plus Pact is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_Plus_Pact

Competitiveness

This area of the pact is the same as addressed in Abolishing Wage Indexation. It will be evaluated by the national Unit Labour Cost (ULC), a quantitative measure of wage costs, and is to be addressed by both reducing the cost of labour as well as increasing productivity. Labour costs are to be reduced by reforming the "degree of centralisation in the bargaining process", the "indexation mechanisms" as well as decreasing wages in the public sector. Productivity is to be increased by deregulating industries as well as improving infrastructure and education.

Employment
The goal will be evaluated by quantitative measures of long term and youth unemployment rates, and labour participation rates. This aim is to be achieved by promoting the “flexicurity” model as well as "lowering taxes on labour" and "taking measures to facilitate the participation of second earners in the work force".

Public finances
Indicated as being the most important aim of the pact this objective is to be addressed by increasing the "sustainability of pensions, health care and social benefits" as well as implementing "national fiscal rules." Increasing the sustainability of pensions, health care and social benefits means limiting the liability of the government to a more manageable level, this will be done by "limiting early retirement ... in the age tranche above 55" as well as implementing "schemes and using targeted incentives to employ older workers" reducing the burden on pension systems.

One of the most stringent conditions of the pact is given with respect to fiscal rules:
"Participating Member States commit to translating EU fiscal rules as set out in the Stability and Growth Pact into national legislation."
When implementing a balanced budget amendment "Member States will retain the choice of the specific national legal vehicle to be used" provided that it has a "sufficiently strong binding" condition and a "durable nature." The pact recommends a constitutional amendment or framework law that is formulated as either a "debt brake, rule related to the primary balance or an expenditure rule." Additional it should "ensure fiscal discipline at both national and sub-national levels" in case these have autonomy to issue debt or other liabilities.

Financial stability
The Financial stability will be measured quantitatively with respect to the "level of private debt for banks, households and non-financial firms." With assistance from the President of the European Systemic Risk Board countries are expected to put into place "national legislation" to resolve these in case they exceed benchmark levels.

Tax policy coordination
Developing a common corporate tax base could be a revenue neutral way forward to ensure consistency among national tax systems while respecting national tax strategies, and to contribute to fiscal sustainability and the competitiveness of European businesses. Tax policy coordination is also expected to strengthen best practices sharing and fight against fraud and tax evasion. Direct taxation remains a national competence.[2]

Wikipedia says that Ireland has adopted this without caveats, which would suggest that the Government agreed in the desirability of ending the right to decide our corporate tax rate.

All wealth is generated by the labour of people at work.
In attempting to restore the rate of profit after a bubble, and to rebuild private wealth for those who own capital, the only means of increasing the production of value is to enforce longer working hours, reduced pension rights and to take away rights to holidays, sick pay, etc.

Removing Trade Union rights to negotiate at national level would be a political necessity to force these measures through.

The gap in Europe between the notional wealth floating about - bits of paper, electronic forms - is so immense that there is no good reason to believe that even the most draconian implementation of these measures would result in functioning economies. The response at the stage of failure in the last century was war. Recovery in Europe only took place after WW2 in which huge amounts of productive capacity were wiped out, and in which some of the massive resource wealth of the US was put into Europe to create a buffer against the Soviet Union.

Europe is a region at this stage historically in a decline, with stripped out carbon fuels and an ageing work force.

European government leaders are not aiming at a recovery, which is beyond their powers. They are aiming at maintaining the wealth of the rich and powerful international class of which they themselves are part.

Why no referendum ?

Criticism

The plan has been criticised for impinging on the sovereignty of countries due to its authority to set policy in areas that were previously under national sovereignity. The reforms that the pact contain have also been criticised as being too harsh, or conversely called into question for not being strict enough in its requirements to implement reforms.[11]. In the other hand, some leaders agree that in order to avoid dangerous nationalisms, and have fiscal and economic governance it is necessary to transfer sovereignty.[12].