European Union

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David Cameron has had a frustrating week. Since the Panama Papers revealed the offshore dealings of his late father, the British prime minister has vainly tried to stop questions over his family potentially benefiting from tax avoidance. He first politely parried and demanded privacy, then changed tack, clarified his position, challenged his critics to provide evidence, then clarified three times more. Today we know a great deal about what Mr Cameron does not own. But it still isn’t over.

Through this mini-ordeal, Mr Cameron enjoyed one advantage. He can point to a record of championing transparency and fighting offshore corporate dodges. But now even this defensive shield is looking a little shaky.

The FT’s Jim Brunsden has dug deep into a bygone Brussels legislative battle over corporate secrecy and uncovered Mr Cameron’s intriguing personal role. He indeed pressed hard to expose beneficial owners of shell companies. But there was a caveat. In an EU law to tackle money laundering and end harmful secrecy, he wanted special treatment for trusts, discrete legal vehicles Brits have used for centuries to manage estates and pass assets down generations. That now looks a little awkward.

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Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU concerning the political situation in the Republic of the Congo following the presidential election
07/04/2016 14:05 Press release 170/16 Foreign affairs & international relations

On 4 April the Constitutional Court confirmed the result of the presidential election in Congo.

The fact that many opposition candidates stood for election, and the large voter turnout, testify to the democratic aspirations of the Congolese people, despite the serious flaws in electoral governance highlighted in the declaration by the European Union on 19 February. The post-electoral process has been marked by human rights violations, arrests and intimidation of the opposition and the media. This calls into question the credibility of the results.

The violent events which took place in Brazzaville on 4 April put Congo’s stability at risk. The EU calls on all stakeholders to show restraint and refrain from any act of violence or manipulation.

Democratic debate and respect for civil liberties are the best guarantee of the country’s stability and development. With a view to the forthcoming general election, the Congolese Government and all stakeholders must ensure that fundamental freedoms are respected and that a transparent electoral process, which reflects the will of the people, can actually be conducted. In this context, the EU reaffirms its willingness to continue its dialogue with Congo.

The Candidate Countries the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia* and Montenegro*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova, align themselves with this Declaration.

* - The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

Source

Tag: Congo

Aranyosi
Justice and Home Affairs
The execution of a European arrest warrant must be deferred if there is a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment because of the conditions of detention of the person concerned in the Member State where the warrant was issued

Facts are few and speculation abounds about the European Parliament’s special Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector—in short, the EMIS committee or Dieselgate inquiry.

While we wait for certainty, this document prepared by FleishmanHillard offers an overview of what is known: membership, leadership, mandate, and timetable.

FleishmanHillard overview of EMIS

There are 45 members, including 1 chairperson, 4 vice-chairs, 2 co-rapporteurs, and 9 group coordinators. 1 member is also the rapporteur on the Commission’s January Proposal for a Regulation on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles. In other words, nearly 40% of the EMIS members have some sort of formal function in the committee.

The members have already agreed on the broad direction and timetable; the details of what will be discussed and which guests will be invited are being thrashed out between coordinators and members and should be agreed during the April regular meetings and those to follow.

Currently, the status is that:

1. The rapporteurs are responsible for preparing a programme of hearings, which will be discussed by the coordinators. It appears that each group is currently preparing its list of guests to invite to appear before the committee. Keep in mind that the committee has already a calendar of 18 meetings, of two and a half hours each, for 2016, and has reserved the right to organise additional meetings in Brussels for hearings.
2. EMIS has asked the Parliament’s research division to prepare two briefings, one to cover the legal obligations of ‘economic operators’ which can mean the car manufacturers as well as testing centres, and a second to cover the implementation and enforcement of the legal obligations with a focus on penalties and the ban on defeat mechanisms.
3. The committee is planning missions, to be determined by the coordinators, though the number of missions will be limited to the minimum necessary.

Special committees happen once in a blue moon, so this offers an opportunity for MEPs to sink their teeth into a meaty issue that has the attention of the media as well as the interest of many European consumers. It is an occurrence to watch closely.

 

Michael Stanton-Geddes, Laura Rozzo and Ben Carpenter-Merritt