July 3rd, 2008
I represented whodoicall.eu at the New Statesman New Media Awards last night in London. We were finalists in the Campaigning for Change Award and were beaten to the prize by The Big Green Switch. As you’ll see from the site their effort is rather better resourced than our site is! Plus I think using the web to change people’s behaviour regarding the environment is more en vogue at present than talking about the EU.
So what were the awards like? I felt rather like a familiar outsider there – the shirt-but-no-tie, geeky but creative, brandish a Moo card – environment was one in which I felt relaxed. Yet apart from Sunny, Nosemonkey, John Band and Paulie (fellow UK political bloggers) I knew no-one, and yet it seemed everyone else knew who was going to win as they had all been there and done it before.
Overall it was fun to even be there, and next year we’ll back for an even better shot at it!
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June 26th, 2008
Wow. I haven’t posted about this until now because I didn’t quite believe it until they sent me the ‘Finalist’ button to put on the site, but whodoicall.eu is a finalist in the Campaign For Change category in the New Statesman New Media awards. We’re up against 2 major websites in the final – The Nag and Big Green Switch – both of which have much bigger budgets and audiences than we do. Quite frankly I’m super content to even have managed to get to the final to be up against sites as big as those. More news from the awards ceremony next week!
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June 20th, 2008
So Ireland has voted No to the Treaty of Lisbon. For now, in some strange way, that’s ended the work we were doing here at whodoicall.eu – the Treaty of Lisbon would have created the President of the European Council position that would have been merged with the President of the European Commission according to our proposal. But on the other hand we were in favour of the Treaty of Lisbon precisely because it makes the EU a bit more democratic. So what now?
It strikes me that the essential reason we embarked on the whole idea of whodoicall.eu was still as valid as ever – the need for the EU to have one figurehead, the head of the executive, and for that person to be democratically accountable. Indeed Brian Cowen, the Irish Prime Minister, has stated that that lack of democratic accountability of the President of the European Council as proposed by the Treaty of Lisbon was one of the main concerns of the Irish people.
So while the means to the end – the Treaty of Lisbon – may be on ice for now, the very idea of One President of the EU is more valid than ever. So in some shape or form whodoicall.eu will continue – I look forward to your comments about how that may be so.
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June 4th, 2008
A new website has been launched with an online petition, calling for at least one woman to be nominated for one of the top four EU positions up for grabs in 2009 - Commission President, European Council President, High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, and President of the European Parliament (not sure why the latter is in there – it doesn’t have the standing of the others). This line argued for previously by Margot Wallström, while this campaign is run by Danish Social Democrat MEP Christel Schaldemose. The website for the campaign is rudimentary at the moment, but they claim to have more than 700 signatures already.
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June 1st, 2008
Un couple plus les députés européens sont entrés dans le débat sur la future présidence modalités de l’UE.
Néerlandais MPE Vert Kathalijne Buitenweg écrit un blog sur whodoicall.eu (en néerlandais uniquement) et à partir de ce lieu étrange machine de traduction, il est clair que Buitenweg d’accord avec bon nombre des points que nous soulevons ici à whodoicall.eu
Pourquoi l’UE ont deux présidents? Que personne ne comprend. Le risque est remarquable que les deux titulaires de fonctions dans des uns et des autres eaux de s’asseoir, parce qu’ils sont à la fois comme président de l’Europe.
Plutôt étrange traduction du néerlandais en disant “de deux ambtsdragers dans elkaars vaarwater gaan zitten”, mais vous est venue l’idée.
Richard Corbett a également lié ici de son blog, mais il n’indique pas explicitement qu’il soutient nos idées… Pourtant nous sommes très heureux pour un lien! Les deux députés sites ont également été ajouté à notre encadré liens.
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June 1st, 2008
Commission Vice President Margot Wallström semble être à la tête d’une personne une campagne pour obtenir une femme à être choisi pour l’un des 3 premiers emplois qui s’offrait en 2009 dans l’UE – Le président du Conseil européen, Président de la Commission européenne et étrangère de l’Union européenne Ministre. Elle a écrit dans Le Monde cette semaine sur la question et la question est suivi par Mark Mardell et The Economist. Ce n’est pas une idée nouvelle de Wallström (nous avons affiché à ce sujet en Février), mais aucun de ses candidats ont suggéré encore été mentionnés sur la rumeur moulin.
Wallström fait face à 3 problèmes dans ses efforts pour obtenir une femme dans l’une des trois premières positions. Tout d’abord la liste des candidats possibles n’est pas si longtemps – la plupart des gouvernements nationaux, et en particulier ceux des plus grands États membres 4, restent dominés par les hommes. Merkel est la principale exception à cette règle, mais son gouvernement n’est pas exactement de rupture avec d’autres femmes. Deuxièmement, le débat sur les postes est en cours entre les capitales des pays plutôt que dans manière franche et ouverte – de façon quelle que soit Wallström dit, je ne crains-un est à l’écoute. Troisièmement, Blair (et peut-être aussi Juncker, Rasmussen et Ahern, et Barroso pour la Commission) ont activement fait des signes qu’ils sont intéressés dans les premières positions. Wallström catégoriquement règles elle-même et il n’ya pas de femme encore faire un effort pour obtenir des nouvelles de leur candidature à l’air libre.
Polly Toynbee, écrit en e! Sharp magazine [PDF], estime Wallström, elle-même devrait aller pour …
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May 26th, 2008
There is new speculation on the President… According to ORF Sarkozy is bringing ex-Spanish PM Felipe Gonzalez into the game. At the same time Austrian daily Standard writes that German diplomates from the Merkel circles are increasingly supporting former Austrian PM Schüssel for the post because Juncker’s demands for a big staff cannot be met.
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May 23rd, 2008
Commission Vice President Margot Wallström seems to be leading a one person campaign to get a woman to be chosen for one of the top 3 jobs up for grabs in 2009 in the EU – President of the European Council, President of the European Commission and EU Foreign Minister. She has written in Le Monde this week about the issue and the issue is followed up by Mark Mardell and The Economist. This is not a new idea from Wallström (we posted about it in February) but none of her suggested candidates have yet been mentioned on the rumour mill.
Wallström faces 3 problems in her efforts to get a woman into one of the top three positions. First of all the list of possible candidates is not that long – most national governments, and especially those of the largest 4 Member States, remain dominated by men. Merkel is the main exception to this, but her government is not exactly bursting with other women. Secondly, the debate about the top jobs is being conducted between national capitals rather than in an open and frank manner – so whatever Wallström says I fear no-one is listening. Thirdly, Blair (and possibly also Juncker, Rasmussen and Ahern, and Barroso for the Commission) have actively been making signs that they are interested in the top positions. Wallström categorically rules herself out and there is no woman as yet making an effort to get news about their candidacy out in the open.
Polly Toynbee, writing in e!Sharp magazine [PDF], thinks Wallström herself should go for it…
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May 19th, 2008
A couple more MEPs have entered the debate about the future Presidency arrangements for the EU.
Dutch Green MEP Kathalijne Buitenweg writes a detailed blog post about whodoicall.eu (in Dutch only) and from this rather strange machine translation it’s clear that Buitenweg agrees with many of the points we raise here at whodoicall.eu
Why does the EU have two presidents? That nobody understands. The risk is great that the two office-holders in each other’s waters sit down, because they are both as president of Europe.
Somewhat strange translation of the Dutch saying ‘de twee ambtsdragers in elkaars vaarwater gaan zitten’ but you get the idea.
Richard Corbett has also linked here from his blog, although he does not explicitly state that he backs our ideas… Still we’re very glad for a link! Both MEPs’ sites have also now been added to our sidebar links.
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May 19th, 2008
According to Welt am Sonntag from yesterday a package deal (s. my blog and more from Jon’s blog about the Miliband aspect) has been reached for the EU top posts. Jean-Claude Juncker will become president of the European Council while the job as EU foreign minister is given to David Miliband, current UK foreign minister.
Now the eternal front-runner Juncker will finally get what he was going to get right from the start. What remains to be seen is, however, when he will take up his job. Will it alreay be in January or will it be postponed until after the EP elections and in parallel to the start of the new Commission in November 2009?
A number of influential MEPs have already suggested that just one member state might delay the formal ratification (e.g. the German president by postponing his signature) so that the new setting will only be effective for the second half of 2009.
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