Chris Gilson and Stuart A Brown take a look at the week in Brussels blogging.

The EU centre 

The European Citizen previewed European Commission President José Manuel Barroso’s annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, anticipating that he would concentrate on the integration needed for an economic union. During the speech itself, Debating Europe provided running commentary, before the European Citizen assessed the final content, concluding that although it had a much clearer vision than some of Barroso’s previous speeches, it needed “to do a better job of making the case for a certain type of union rather than the more generalised pro-European rhetoric that we got.” 

Zoltan Massay-Kosubek at BlogActiv.eu weighs the pros and cons of another term for President Barroso as suggested by the Vice-President, Viviane Reding this week. He concludes that a third term for Barroso would not be democratic and that fresh talent should instead be taken advantage of.

The European Citizen looks at recent comments by Former ECB President Jean Claude Trichet that the European Parliament should be able to stand in for national parliaments, saying that it turns the current idea about the EU’s democratic deficit on its head.

Elsewhere FinancialGuy at BlogActiv.eu says that the EU crisis has all the hallmarks of a soap opera, and that it is no wonder that people often find it difficult to follow, while Elio Pennissi wonders how the Eurozone can promote a better sense of belonging among its citizens, and Debating Europe asks, should the EU be studied in schools?

Styliani Kampani has a detailed look at the prospects of Serbia joining the EU. The article notes recent criticism by the IMF and the World Bank over Serbian plans to reduce the independence of the country’s central bank: “The Serbian government’s move to exert greater control on the central bank is an echo of the recent changes in Hungary and Romania that have also seen their governments accused of undermining independent institutions – though Serbia has not gone as far as its neighbors. The market and rating agencies naturally replied with “poisonous arrows” – increasing lending rates – as to punish the disobedient students by giving them bad grades.”

EU Foreign policy and the European neighbourhood

Revolting Europe looks at the recent tragic events of shipwrecked migrant boats in the Mediterranean sea alongside what they say are the EU’s ‘anti-immigration’ policies.

European Geostrategy wonders, given the US’ waning attention towards Europe and the UK’s slow disengagement from the EU, if Europe will remain ‘Western’ in the future.

On her blog this week, EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmström comments on her recent meeting with Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s recently elected Prime Minister, to discuss that country’s progress towards EU accession. She says that while the country is serious about reforms in areas such as asylum policy and the justice system, there is still a great deal of work to be done. The EU will similarly be watching Georgia as it conducts its elections in October, according to the FRIDE blog, which also has an interview with Daniel Keohane on the recent suggestion by Mohamed Al Zawahiri that a truce may be possible between Al-Qaeda and the West.

The Euro Crisis

On Saturday, Au café de l’Europe reflects on the previous week’s decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) to intervene in government bond markets, saying that while the policy will likely stabilize the Euro, it is not without its risks. Craig Willy rounds up commentary on the decision, and ends pondering whether or not Mario Draghi, the President of the ECB, is now in fact, the real president of Europe. Meanwhile, Place du Luxembourg says that after the ECB’s announcement, the ball is now in the corner of the member states who must request and approve assistance from and to each other. Verfassungsblog also has a good analysis of the legality of the ECB’s move; while Protesilaos Stavrou at BlogActiv.eu takes a more negative outlook on the plan, noting that: “the OMT has been concocted to facilitate the bailouts of Spain and Italy and not to repair the monetary transmission channels across the euro area, as was the proposition of Mr. Draghi.”

This week, the German Constitutional Court decided on the legality of the Eurozone Stability Mechanism (ESM), the next funding programme that would provide bailouts to stricken Eurozone member states. In the final ruling the court gave the go ahead both to ESM and the fiscal treaty. In the aftermath Open Europe asks whether the ruling is good news for Germany and Europe, while Lost in EUrope says that even if the ESM had been rejected, then the ECB and the current European Financial Stability Facility would continue to act.

Meanwhile Cecilia Malmström, from the European Commission, outlines the formulation of Commission proposals on the supervision of European banks.

Across Europe

This week saw national elections in the Netherlands. Open Europe previewed Wednesday’s vote, saying that “the most likely outcome remains a centrist, pragmatic coalition, which clearly is the preferred option in Brussels and Berlin”. This prediction was more or less realised in the final results, as the European Citizen writes, with the two mainstream parties of the centre making significant gains and the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) losing support.

Elsewhere, in Poland, Gavin Rae looks at the consequences for the Polish economy should its public debt rise above 60 per cent of GDP. There is a strict legal limit on public debt within Poland, which ensures that if it rises above the 60 per cent threshold then the next budget must balance the books.

Sport and Citizenship at BlogActiv.eu looks at ways that European football clubs can reduce racism at matches, saying that they must play a major preventative role.

Debating Europe looks at whether or not it would be possible for the UK to become a kind of “Greater Switzerland”, outside of the EU.

Marek Siwiec MEP, writing at BlogActiv.eu says that it now only 50 days until elections in the Ukraine, which will be occurring against the backdrop of accusations of corruption against President Yanukovych. The EU will be sending 15 MEPs as observers, and if the elections are in fact, free and fair, then this may open doors to closer ties with the EU.

And finally… 

Ahead of European Commission President Barroso’s annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, John Worth proposed a game of ‘Barroso Bullshit Bingo’, with some of his past ‘buzzwords’.

What has EU President Herman von Rompuy been up to? Well, this week, he visited Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and met with the new President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi.

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Note:  This article gives the views of the author, and not the position of EUROPP – European Politics and Policy, nor of the London School of Economics.

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