The AGM of the Irish Section took place on Wednesday, December 14 at the offices of the European Commission on Dawson St.
Presenting his report AEJ Chairman Martin Alioth said it had been another turbulent year for Irish politics. Recounting the year’s lunches, he said before the General Election, on February 8th, Joan Burton (now Minister for Social Protection) alerted members during a lunch that the March EU Summit would finally settle the Euro crisis.
“As we now know, it did nothing of the kind. And none of the summits since has either,“ he said.
On May 5th, the outgoing editor of the Irish Times, Geraldine Kennedy, spoke passionately about Freedom of the Press while, at the same time, deploring some excesses of the tabloid press. On July 8th, Lucinda Creighton, Minister for European Affairs, spoke up for the merits of the EU and hinted at the need for closer fiscal co-operation.
Despite strenuous attempts by the Committee, it had not been possible to organise another lunch meeting after the summer break.
In November, a sizeable Irish contingent attended the Annual Congress of the International AEJ in Bucharest.
In her report to members, Internationa President Eileen Dunne said much of the work at international level in the past year had been about trying to raise the profile of the AEJ and keeping it going in times of financial difficulty.
As President, she received several invitations to conferences and other such during the year, and if she could not attend herself she made sure the AEJ was represented. Thus the AEJ was represented at the European and Economic Social Committee, Unesco, a day of protest in Istanbul, a Socialists’ congress in Brussels and many more. William Horsley was also on the road as he continued his great work on Media Freedom and, at this year’s Congress, a new pillar was established - Euroregional journalism – first mooted at the congress in Maastricht and now spearheaded by Dutchman Koos van Hoodt. There was also talk of a Journalists’ co-operation platform.
“Many of our colleagues continue to ply their trade in extremely difficult conditions – you will have seen that more than 60 journalists are still imprisoned in Turkey and we took part in a postcard campaign organized by the G9 platform (a grouping of various journalists’ organisations in Turkey) last month,“ she said. “At our Congress we also heard harrowing stories from Ukraine, Armenia and Moldova to name but a few….“
An Executive Committee meeting was held in Bratislava in May and the Annual Congress was held in Bucharest.
“We’re looking at streamling the organization – having a board rather than the Executive Committee which includes a member from each section,“ she said. “The statutes say the Ex Com must meet twice a year but that’s becoming increasingly difficult as delegates have to pay their own expenses… gone are the good old days of sponsorship and much credit is due to the Romanians who managed to organize this year’s Congress.“
This year the the biggest Irish delegation in memory attended the Annual Congress - eight signed up, seven travelled in the end.
It was hoped to return to Italy for the 50th Congress but that would not be possible – it now looked as if Maastricht may step up to the plate once again.
The Chairman also noted the death of two members in 2011, Jimmy Kelly (Belfast) and Ella Shanahan (Waterford).
As officers are elected for two years, there were no elections and the same officers continue for 2012.
EU Commisison lunch
The EU Commisison Representation Office hosted the annual AEJ Christmas lunch on Wednesday, December 14 in the Stephen’s Green & Hibernian Club. Members were welcomed by Office Director Barbara Nolan and ECOFIN official Nigel Nagarajan gave an update on the work of the Troika in putting Ireland back on a sound financial footing.
AEJ Chairman Martin Alioth thanked Ms Nolan and the Commission Rep for their support during 2011.
Dear Peter,
On the weekend of November 5/6, one of the two biggest muslim holidays, the Sacrifice Holiday, began.
To mark the occasion, the Freedom For Journalists Platform (GOP), which includes AEJ Turkey, began a national and international campaign of sending postcards to journalists in jail.
I would be pleased if you can distribute the attached list of jailed journalists (PDF) to all national sections, so that they can take one or several journalists from the list and send them a postcard from their country.
On the cards, one of the below sentences can be written
- BASIN ÖZGÜRLÜĞÜ MÜCADELENİZDE SİZİNLEYİZ, İYİ BAYRAMLAR...
(We are with you in your press freedom struggle, have a nice holiday...)
- HERKES İÇİN BASIN ÖZGÜRLÜĞÜ DİLEĞİYLE, İYİ BAYRAMLAR...
(Wishing press freedom for all, have a nice holiday...)
- ÖZGÜRLÜK VE DAYANIŞMA DUYGULARIYLA, İYİ BAYRAMLAR...
(With my feelings of freedom and solidarity, have a nice holiday...)
- ÖZGÜR BIRAKILMANIZ İÇİN MÜCADELEMİZ SÜRÜYOR, İYİ BAYRAMLAR...
(Our struggle for your freedom continues, have a nice holiday...)
And then just sign with name and country, (Peter Kramer - Belgium). It would be good to put AEJ also (Peter Kramer - AEJ Belgium) to somehow underline AEJ's presence. Nothing more.
If the letter is written in other languages the prison administration may not let the card go inside.
Attached is also a statement by Arne König.
Best
Dogan
Both Ireland and the wider European project are at perilous stages in their histories, the new Minister for European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton told the July lunch of the AEJ (July 8). Minister Creighton was the first Minister from the new Irish Government to address the Association.
“We all, journalists and politicians alike, have a responsibility to reject those serotypes and clichés, to be straight with people present the situation as it is rather than tart it up to in the hope of winning a few extra votes or selling a few extra newspapers,” she said. “For me, as a practitioner of politics this is very important. They say a politician thinks of the next election but a statesman thinks of the next generation. We need more of the latter in Ireland and in Europe.”
The European Union, as a political entity, is under serious pressure, she said. The traditional leadership of the bigger member states seemed to be weighed down with narrow domestic concerns, which was overriding their concerns for the Union as a whole. Small member states were equally guilty. European leaders were too often pre-occupied with the crumbs they could take from the Council table and flout in their own capitals, resulting in the dearth of forward vision and long term planning that was dogging the Union at present. Inward-looking nationalism should be, and must remain, a relic of the past.
“The them and us mentality has to end,” she said. “The only way the Union can progress and prosper is by political leaders realising its full potential and taking risks – electoral risks – to achieve it. “
Minister Creighton said Ireland needed to do the following:
“Ireland has benefited greatly from membership of the European Union and the Union has, in turn benefited from our membership. The synergy created by 27 nations working together far outweighs anything any one of us to ever dream of achieving on our own. For Ireland and Europe to emerge from the current challenges, it is clear that deeper co-operation and co-ordination between the European partners, within the European Union and the Eurozone, is in everyone’s best interests,” she concluded.
Press freedom is an essential cornerstone of democracy but it is under permanent pressure from a variety of sources, the Editor of The Irish Times, Geraldine Kennedy, told the Association of European Journalists in Dublin.
The purpose of journalism was to serve the public’s right to know, she said in an address to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
That principle had governed her decision to publish Colm Keena’s controversial news report in September 2006 on the payment of monies to then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern during the latter’s time as minister for finance some years beforehand.
“I make no apology – and I never have – for taking the steps required to bring that story to publication in the public interest and to protect journalistic sources in doing so,” Ms Kennedy said.
The protection of sources was a fundamental requirement of a free press and that was the reason The Irish Times fought to protect the source of the document which led to Mr Ahern’s resignation as taoiseach.
“We won a landmark judgment, enshrining the principle of journalistic privilege and the protection of sources in Irish law for the very first time."
The media were only as good as their sources: “We can’t compel people to answer questions, demand discovery of documents and all the other powers which are, rightly, reserved to the legal system.”
In her experience, “many of the best sources are people who act for the highest motives – they see something going wrong which they believe ought to be righted”.
But whatever a source’s motives, “he or she must have the full protection of anonymity and they must be able to rely upon the assurances of a journalist that they will not reveal their identities to anyone”.
People in positions of power tended to dislike the media and would take any excuse to limit the powers of the press.
“Unfortunately, the excesses of the media, mainly of the tabloid press in Ireland, sometimes give them just such an excuse in areas like privacy.
“We saw how close the last Government came to introducing a privacy Bill alongside the recent changes in the Defamation Act and, we should admit, for pretty understandable reasons,
“How many members of that last Government and/or their families have had their privacy invaded by the media for reasons of prurient rather than public interest?”
“It is important that the media, like all other institutions of power and influence, use their power and influence responsibly and are prepared to admit mistakes when they make them.
“For this reason The Irish Times has always been a strong advocate of a Press Ombudsman and Press Council to provide redress to people who feel aggrieved and act as a standard-setter for all elements of the media, including the Irish editions of British newspapers,” Ms Kennedy said.
Present: Eileen Dunne, Martin Alioth, Tim Ryan, Kevin Healy, Mike Burns, Simone Rapple, Tom MacSweeney, Rodney Rice, Andrew Sheppard, Dermot Scott, Seán MacCartaigh, Joe Carroll and Michael Fisher.
The Secretary, Martin Alioth, gave an account of the past year including the speakers who addressed the Association and the AGM in Turkey. Highlight for the Irish section was the election of Eileen Dunne as International President. She was the first woman ever to be elected President in the 50 year history of the Association.
Eileen Dunne reported on ongoing events at international level including the work of Press Freedom Officer William Horseley. She said the AEJ had now obtained observer status at the OECD and thee were increasing number of requests to attend various meetings.
Eileen said she was glad that International Secretary Peter Kramer had agreed to remain in office for a further two years.
She said there the next Executive Committee meeting is in Turkey in March. She also said that preparations had already started for the 50th anniversary of the AEJ which will be in 2012 and it was hoped this event might be staged in San Remo where the Association held its first meeting.
Treasurer Tim Ryan reported that the AEJ was in reasonable financial health. He thanked OSK for sponsoring the annual accounts and filing to the CRO. He outlined the main income and expenditure areas of the past year and asked those present if they could recruit one new member each during the year.
There was some discussion on potential speakers for 2001 and the names of the new Taoiseach, some outspoken Independent TDs and Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary were suggested. It was also suggested that a lunch in Belfast be investigated.
The following officers were elected for 2011: Chair: Martin Alioth, Secretary: Eileen Dunne, Treasurer: Tim Ryan. Committee: Seosamhín Ni Bheaglaoich, Shane Harrison, Lorna Reid, Joe Carroll and Simone Rapple.
The meeting then concluded.
The EU/IMF rescue package is not in the in the long term best interests of Ireland, Labour Party Deputy Leader and Finance Spokeswoman Joan Burton told the AEJ.
Speaking to the Association on Tuesday, February 8, Deputy Burton said the political turmoil in the Fianna Fáil party hindered it from the securing the best deal. The deal, as currently structured, she said would prove a roadblock to Irish recovery. Unless there was real growth, the economy could not recover and the terms of the deal could not be met.
“The European Union has a special summit scheduled for March 24th/25th,” she said. “Whoever leads the new Government will have to hit the ground running to represent Ireland at this vital meeting.”
There is, she said, growing evidence that the eurozone’s crisis resolution mechanisms are not working as intended and that summit has to establish a revised framework.
“There are frenetic negotiations going on already across Europe to find a revised set of tools to allow countries to establish their credit worthiness in a viable way. A form of negotiation is already underway. My party is contesting this election seeking a mandate from the voters to be a major player on Ireland’s behalf in those vital talks.”
“I think that there is now a more general understanding that a bailout trap exists in that the conditions imposed are such that escape is impossible,” she continued. “It is perverse to set 6 per cent as the interest rate on European funds – that is a full 3 per cent margin over the actual cost of those funds to the EU.”
An overview of the European Commission’s agenda for the 2011 was given the AEJ by new Director of the Irish Representation Office Barbara Nolan when she hosted the annual Christmas in the Stephen’s Green & Hibernian Club on Monday, December 13.
Among the items on the Commission’s agenda is the completion of the new fiscal programme. While there may be cuts in some areas, she said Irish Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn’s key portfolio of Research, Innovation & Science would be exempt.
On the recent EU/IMF deal, she said the rescue package was not just about Ireland but about the survival of the euro into the future. It was difficult to envisage any alternative.
“We stand or fall together,” she said.
Contrary to media reports, she said the level of interest being charged by the IMF on its loan was the same as the EU Commission when the figures were correctly calibrated.
Ms Nolan thanked the members for the opportunity to host the luncheon and wished everyone a Happy and Peaceful Christmas.
RTE newscaster Eileen Dunne has been elected President of the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) European-wide umbrella body. Ms Dunne, who is Chair of the Irish Section of the AEJ, was elected President during the AEJ’s 48th Annual Congress, held in Ordu, Turkey at the weekend. She succeeds Spanish President, Diego Garcedo.
Ms Dunne is the first ever woman President of the Association in its almost 50 year history and is the second Irish person to hold the position. Former RTE Foreign Affairs Editor Andrew Shepard held the office previously.
The former chief executive of the body that manages government debt has said he is "aghast" at the surge in the cost of our borrowing on international markets.
Addressing the Association of European Journalist (AEJ) today (September 17), Mr Michael Somers, who retired as chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) last year, believes when the final cost of the winding down of the now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank becomes clear next month, the markets should be calmer.
The interest rate -- or yield -- demanded by investors to lend money to Ireland hit a high of 6.33pc yesterday as international lenders voiced concerns about the cost of the banking crisis and the country's public finances with our €20bn budget deficit. Mr Somers was speaking on the day details of his €1m pay packet for 2008 emerged. He defended his €576,000 salary and bonus of €403,000 for 2008 and said "people can make up their own minds" if he was worth it.
On concerns about the high cost of government borrowing he said: "I certainly think it should come down. There's always a price to be paid for uncertainty and we're paying a fairly heavy price for it at the moment. Say the cost of Anglo and Irish Nationwide is €40bn to €50bn, the National Pension Reserve Fund would cover about half of that."
Although Mr Somers said he was not recommending that the fund be raided to fix the banks, he said ordinary "depositers" in Anglo had to be protected.
"We're going through an uncomfortable time and we'll get out of it, the question is at what cost?"
But he added that we needed to get out there and spread the message that things were not as bad as some abroad believed.
He said the reasons for downward spiral in the economy were well documented, including the Irish passion for buying property and the banks' lending sprees.
But we need to move forward despite "awful" aspects of the economy, including unemployment. "I think one quick-fix for the economy is promoting tourism. And we can up our game there."
The European Commission is to set up a European Vacancy Monitor which will give up-to-the minute
information on job vacancies across the whole of the European Union, the Director of the European
Commission Representation Office in Dublin said today (September 15).
In a farewell address to the Association of European Journalists, Mr Martin Territt said a key
challenge facing Europe was how we tackle the jobs issue in the future.
“For example,” he said, “notwithstanding a 10% unemployment rate across the EU, there are at the
same time some 4,000,000 job vacancies. So we must see how best we can match available skills
with vacancies through a European solution, something we will come forward with later in the year,
a European Vacancy Monitor. And we will pursue our interaction with the Member States on the
need for continuous upskilling of the workforce and investment in life-long learning.”
Mr Territt also suggested an amendment to the Irish Constitution to copper-fasten the EU’s
Stability and Growth Pact (SGP).
The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is an agreement among the members of the European Union
that take part in the Eurozone, to facilitate and maintain the stability of the Economic
and Monetary Union (EMU).
Based primarily on Articles 99 and 104 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community, it
consists of fiscal monitoring of members by the European Commission and the Council of Ministers.
It also provides for sanctions against offending members after multiple warnings.
Mr Territt said there must be must have greater macroeconomic surveillance and this must be
coupled with greater enforcement.
“I would, on a personal note, like to see this debate deepened and enriched within this Member
State,” he said. “I would clearly like to see consideration given, for example, to what role
the Oireachtas might afforded in the future in monitoring Ireland's performance viz a viz a
reformed SGP. Should consideration be given, for example, to copper-fastening the SGP's deficit
and borrowing provisions in this State's primary law, Bunreacht na hEireann? Something along
these lines has been done in Germany, so perhaps there are lessons to be drawn.”
If these types of questions, and others, could be teased out in public debate, then there could
be a more substantive European dialogue that hopefully would avoid the sterility of debate
around this or that percentage of fiscal tightening in a given budgetary year, he said.
Mr Territt, a former member of Commissioner David Byrne’s Cabinet, said Ireland and Europe must
continue on the path of more stringent financial supervision and regulation. The combined effects
of sound public finances and responsible, regulated financial markets should engender the necessary
confidence and economic solidity for sustainable growth and not just growth for growth's sake but
growth for jobs, sustainable growth and inclusive growth.
The chairperson of the AEJ, RTE newscaster Eileen Dunne paid tribute to Mr Territt for his years
of commitment and dedication to the European cause and in particular for his role in explaining,
in clear and simple detail, the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty.
Allowing Anglo-Irish Bank to collapse would have had enormous consequences, newly appointed chairman Alan Dukes told the June AEJ lunch (June 24).
In a largely off-the-record address to members, he said the aim of management was now to spread the huge losses over as many years as possible.
Speaking at a summer outdoor lunch, he said such a move would have had major consequence for the State’s borrowing facilities and for other banks. He said most of the banks’ problems arose from the huge drop in commercial property prices which he predicted would amount to 60 per cent from their peak in 2007 by the end of 2010.
Ireland must become more pro-active in the post-Lisbon Treaty Europe and encourage a better response
from the organs of Government, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin told the AEJ today (5 May).
Addressing the May lunch which also marked World Press Freedom Day (Monday, May 3), said form the level
of Cabinet to its Committee and across Government Departments a thorough and coherent engagement with the agenda is necessary.
“And to be effective, it cannot be simply reactive but should anticipate and act upstream on major developments – the elaboration of a new Financial Framework for the EU post-2014 and Ireland’s likely transition to being a net contributor, to take an example,” he said. “The Minister said the Lisbon Treaty had given the EU a new framework and instruments for tackling tasks. New arrangements take time to settle but good progress has been made in just five months since entry into force,” he said.
Working to bring the considerable innovation, the External Action Service into being is one of the items
that will recur on the agenda over the coming months, he said. It embodies a key objective of the Treaty,
to make the EU more visible and effective in its external relations.
“It should have top-class staff – a number of very good Irish candidates have put their applications in –
and in the end its composition should be representative of our Union as a whole,” he added.
An outline of the causes of the economic crisis in Ireland and how the Government was dealing with them
was given in an off-the-record address to the AEJ on March 3 by Dr Alan Ahearne, Advisor to the Minister
for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD.
There was a large attendance at the lunch, the first of 2010. AEJ chair Eileen said she was delighted
to introduce some new members including RTE’s Economics Correspondent Séan Whelan and former RTE and
BBC journalist Cathy Grieve.
Ireland’s outgoing EU Commissioner, Charlie McCreevy today (December 18) launched a caustic attack on
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and on the extent of French power and influence in the EU.
In a speech to the Association of European Journalists in Dublin, Mr McCreevy, who will shortly step
down as internal market commissioner, said the French president’s recent “coming out” on EU matters
had been instructive.
Pointing to Mr Sarkozy’s comment that the appointment of Michel Barnier to succeed him had been “a
defeat for Anglo Saxon capitalism,” Mr McCreevy said: “President Sarkozy has laid to rest once
and for all the myth that EU commissioners, certainly French ones, when they go to Brussels,
are expected to leave aside their home member state national interests and political priorities
and act exclusively in the community interest.
“What President Sarkozy’s statement tells us is that like many of his fellow countrymen, he does
not see the European Commission as a commission for the advancement of European interests. “He sees
it as a commission for the advancement of French interests.”
He added that the French president expected the French commissioner and his staff in the Berlaymont
to behave as though they were an annex to the Élysée Palace. “But I think Mr Barnier is strong enough
to resist such pressures,” added Mr McCreevy.
However, he went on to underline what he saw as the extent of French influence in Brussels and the
wider world over financial regulation, supervision and policy making.
“The influence of France in Brussels is impressive, though. People forget that the Brussels bureaucracy
was designed by the French almost as a copy of how the administration in Paris works.
“This has over the years given the French a huge advantage in knowing how to pull the levers of power.
And if you look around the commission you will see that the French have been masters in getting their
key people into some of the most powerful posts,” said Mr McCreevy.
“As my successor as commissioner for the internal market Mr Barnier will have responsibility for all
European financial services, accounting, auditing, company law, corporate governance, services of
general interest, patents, intellectual property rights, public procurement and the transatlantic
financial dialogue.
“But the tactical positioning and influence of the French in all of these areas and other tangential
areas stretches far beyond the European Commission.”
He said that in all the major areas of finance, services, trade, EU monetary policy and central
bank leadership the French “have scooped the pool, lock, stock and barrel”.
“So I salute President Sarkozy and his colleagues in the French foreign service and the finance
ministry for their extraordinary deftness and diplomatic and tactical coups,” said Mr McCreevy.
The Bishop of Killaloe, Most Rev Willie Walsh has warned the media not to become “oppressive”, as the Catholic Church had once been.
Addressing a meeting of the AEJ in Dublin on Friday, November 13, the Bishop also said the Ryan report did not do “full justice” to religious congregations, many of whose members were now “very broken and very sad”.
In his wide-ranging address, the bishop said he “lacks any enthusiasm for the Latin Mass” and was “saddened” that he could not feel free to take part in Communion at Church of Ireland services because of the rules in his own church. This was despite the fact that “in Ennis it was never suggested that Church of Ireland people are not welcome to receive in our church.”
He said he always had difficulties when told by the church that certain subjects were not for discussion. He was unhappy generally about exclusion by the church, citing the issues of second unions and homosexuality as examples.
Bishop Walsh, who this year celebrates his 50th anniversary as a priest and is 15 years a bishop, was speaking to the Association of European Journalists.
Referring to the sex abuse scandals, he said Ireland’s Catholic bishops “owe a debt of gratitude, though we may not feel it, to journalists for investigating and exposing this dreadful aspect of church life”.
In the past many would say the church was an oppressive influence, “and there was something oppressive about it,” he said. Now there was no doubt “the power of the church, politics, banks, developers” had been knocked. “There is a vacuum there,” he said. “I do think the media is the big power in the land and the big challenge for media today is not to use that power to oppress.”
Referring to the Ryan report, he said it would be “a second injustice [in addition to the abuse of children] if the religious alone were singled out to carry all the blame. All adults share some responsibility (for what went on then), but they didn’t want to know.”
He had been speaking recently to the leadership team of the Mercy congregation’s southern province, “women who have given their lives in the service of the church”, and who were “very broken, very sad”. They felt “let down by us, the bishops”.
Socialist MEP and anti-Lisbon campaigner Joe Higgins has written to the President of the European Commission,
José Manuel Barroso, asking him to sack Vice-President and Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani for having
taken part in a pro-Treaty campaign tour with the Chief Executive of Ryanair Michael O’Leary.
Addressing the AEJ today (September 25), Mr Higgins said the reason Mr Barroso did not sack the Transport
Commissioner was because “he would like to have been on the plane himself”! On Tuesday Commissioner Tajani
participated on a round-trip of Ireland with Mr O’Leary on a Ryanair Boeing 737 jet promoting a ‘”Yes” vote
in the upcoming referendum.
Describing the Transport Commissioner’s action as a disgrace, Mr Higgins compared it to Irish developer
Mickey Bailey taking the Chairman of An Board Pleanála out for a night of social drinking.
Mr Higgins also delivered a hard-hitting attack on the media, notably the print media, for being blatantly
on the “Yes” side of the debate. It was “quite astonishing,” he said and all objectivity had been lost.
The media had not criticised the Transport Commissioner for his actions which were totally in conflict with
his role as the regulator of the air industry.
Mr Higgins said the second Lisbon campaign would be remembered for the debates which did not take place.
The “Yes” side had tried to breathe fear into people by warning of Ireland’s isolationism, the potential
flight of capital from the country and other dire economic consequences if there was a “No” vote. He said
it was utterly false to assume foreign capitalists were at Dublin airport ready to leave the country if
the people rejected the Treaty. These people were in Ireland because of the large profits they made and
would only leave when profits dropped. In 2006, for example, foreign corporations had made profits
of €35 billion.
He said the Lisbon Treaty would copperfasten the European Defence Agency which had sold armaments to
countries such as Saudi Arabia “one of the most vicious regimes” in the world. The EU was supporting
both sides by, on the one hand, proclaiming the Charter of Fundamental Rights and, on the other, by
selling armaments to appalling governments.
However, Mr Higgins said he agreed with the latest findings of the Irish Times opinion poll which
showed 48 per cent would vote “Yes”, 33 per cent “No” with 19 per cent “Undecided” However, he said
there was still a full week of campaigning left.
Ireland for Europe Campaign Director, Pat Cox, has said that the Lisbon
Treaty is specifically designed to rebalance the existing treaties so that
market forces would be matched by extra social protections.
Mr Cox told a meeting of the Association of European Journalists in Dublin
today (September 10) that a rejection of the Treaty would mean that the more
heavily-market driven agenda in the Nice Treaty would prevail.
Mr Cox went on to suggest that Socialist Party MEP, Joe Higgins, who has
admitted to misquoting a key article in the Charter, as revealed by the
leader of the CPSU trade union, Blair Horan, certainly misunderstands,
whatever about misrepresenting, the implications of the Charter for workers
rights.
"Not only has Joe Higgins been exposed by a leading trade unionist as
having 'rewritten and falsified it {the Treaty} for his own purposes," he
also wants to reject the progressive provisions in Lisbon which call for "a
highly competitive social market economy, aiming at full employment and
social progress," said Mr Cox, whose independent people's campaign is
calling for Yes vote in the referendum on October 2nd.
"The Treaty also states that in defining and implementing its policies and
activities it has to take into account "the promotion of a high level of
employment, the guarantee of adequate social protection, the fight against
social exclusion, and a high-level of education, training and protection of
human health." (Article 9)
"These are entirely new provisions, not in the Nice Treaty, which will have
to be taken into account by the Commission when drafting proposals, by the
Council and the Parliament when they are voting and the European Court of
Justice when they are asked to decide on cases."
"This legally-binding re-balancing between market freedoms and social
protection is precisely why the likes of SIPTU, ICTU and the European Trade
Union Confederation have said that Lisbon is an improvement on the existing
Treaties and why they are advocating that workers vote Yes to enhance their
rights under EU law."
On Friday, May 28, the AEJ hosted a debate between two outgoing European Parliament candidates,
Eoin Ryan of Fianna Fáil and Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin.
In her remarks, Ms McDonald said the Lisbon Treaty, while not coming up very much on the doorsteps
was providing the “atmospherics” to the election. As far as she could see, Ireland still had no
guarantees on the second referendum and the same Lisbon Treaty was, by and large, being put to
the people again. The democratic decision of the people was being pushed aside. During the debate,
she Ireland had failed to grasp the opportunity for leadership.
The European election would largely be a referendum on the Government’s performance, she said and
there was deep disenchantment everywhere. The country simply could not “cut its way out of the
recession”. Unfortunately, Fine Gael had very little alternative to offer the people either.
In the absence of a directly elected Lord Mayor of Dublin, she said the MEPs were the only true
representatives of the whole city.
Outgoing MEP Eon Ryan said Europe could play a significant role in Ireland’s economic recovery.
People had forgotten during the Celtic Tiger era what funds were available to support business
and how to access them. Recently, he had been part of a team which had helped to secure €310
million for small businesses in Ireland. An example of this was the development of the nicotine
patch in Trinity College. A conference would be held in Dublin later this year to explain to
business how to avail of the EU grants.
Mr Ryan also pointed to Accenture’s recent decision to locate their world Head Quarters in
Dublin as a sign of the keen interest in locating in Ireland.
Europe was Ireland’s friend and people were simply being misled by incorrect information as
happened during the last Lisbon referendum. At this point in time, the upcoming European
elections were the most important ever for the Irish people.
The Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore has warned that concessions must not be
made by the Government to religious and social conservatives about the wording
of guarantees to be negotiated before the Lisbon Treaty is put to a second
referendum.
Addressing the AEJ in Dublin, he said since December, the Government has been
in talks with other EU states about securing agreement on texts that would reassure
Irish voters about neutrality, abortion, workers rights and “social and ethical issues”
– although the scope of the latter has never been defined.
Saying that guarantees on neutrality and abortion were simple since they were not
affected by Lisbon, Mr Gilmore criticised the Government for its decision not to keep
the Opposition firmly in the loop about the negotiations.
“I sometimes wonder why we are not seeing more progress at this end. My understanding
is that some issues have been raised,” he said.
“It is not finalised, and won’t be finalised until June. I wonder if there are
difficulties on that front.”
He said religious and social conservatives were seeking “belt-and-braces” guarantees to
ensure that Irish citizens would not be able to use the Charter of Fundamental Rights
to acquire rights under Irish laws “that would compromise the arrangements here about
education and certain social issues”.
While he did not express an opinion on the merits of such attempts, Mr Gilmore said the
conservatives’ actions showed that they were seeking a “firewall” about other social and
personal freedom issues, not just abortion.
“If the Government bends in that area it will cause the Labour Party and I think a very
considerable body of liberal opinion in this State quite an amount of concern if there
is an attempt to box off access to the European Court via the Charter of Fundamental
Rights on an agenda which is wider than just the abortion issue.
“I hope that there isn’t going to be a problem on this. We put down a marker on this last
December. Nobody has given me an answer. Abortion was an issue during the referendum.
It would be easy to get a statement that simply restates the Maastricht protocol, or
whatever.
“It is then a matter for the Irish Constitution. But what has been sought that is wider than
that has never been spelt out. Nobody has given a list. What are these social and ethical
issues?” he asked.
The Labour Party leader was lukewarm about the call made by Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny
that the Government needed to declare a date immediately for the second referendum.
“There is a certain degree of expectation that it is going to be around October. There is
merit in saying that a bit more clearly,” he said, though he showed little enthusiasm.
However, he said a Yes vote was vital. “Part of the problem that we have as a country
right now in terms of the international perception of us, the Lisbon decision has
contributed to it. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. The quicker we get back
on side the better we will be able to restore international confidence.”
There is now an ideal opportunity open to Ireland to re-invent itself, Fine Gael Deputy leader and Finance Spokesman Richard Bruton told the AEJ’s February lunch in Dublin.
Quoting President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who once said “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste”, he said Ireland could use the current economic crisis to create new standards and new ways of doing things.
In the past and during the boom years, he said Ireland had been low on scrutiny, soft on policy and partisan in regulation. In future, all organizations including all parts of the public service should be made accountable and only paid for delivery of service. There should be competition at all levels in organizations to be at the top level in being awarded contracts and delivering excellence in service.
He disagreed with the notion of a national government in the current climate saying there was a danger in agreeing compromise when what was needed was tough and often unpopular decisions.
There was a large turnout for the Annul AEJ Christmas lunch hosted by Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy on Monday, December 8. At the lunch Mr McCreevy presented Honorary Life Membership to longtime member Brian Farrell. He also made a special presentation, on behalf of the AEJ to Mary Killoran who is retiring from the European Parliament Office in Dublin.
Commission Press Officer Ruth Deasy raised a toast for Irish Chair Eileen Dunne who has been elected Vice-President of the AEJ in Europe.
At the Irish AGM, also held on December 8, Eileen Dunne, Dr Martin Alioth
and Tim Ryan were re-elected Chair, Secretary and Treasurer respectively.
Ireland’s day-to-day spending will have to be cut back sharply for years, the country's European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy warned a the Commissioner’s Annual Christmas Lunch for the Association of European Journalists..
"People shouldn't kid themselves into thinking that past spending levels are sustainable," he said. "Diminishing tax inflows cannot be replaced with ever rising levels of public sector borrowing in order to sustain spending levels that are simply not sustainable indefinitely."
Ireland should not believe that the financial markets will be happy indefinitely to lend more and more: "Investor appetite for Government debt is not limitless.We need to guard against this - otherwise we will be propelled into a downward spiral where rising borrowing costs have to be met by even deeper spending cuts," he said. Describing some of the economic problems as "mayhem", the Internal Market and Services Commissioner said: "I cannot say with any confidence that we are through the worst."
The world's problems are our problems, he added: "For some it will be losses of jobs. For others it will be cuts in pay. For many - as stock markets have halved - it will mean substantially reduced pensions. Governments everywhere are now having to think the unthinkable, and nothing - nothing - can be taken for granted," Mr McCreevy declared.
Criticising those unhappy with the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty referendum, he said: "You can't just flit in or out of democracy.
"You can't just like it when it gives you the result that you like, and not when it gives you the result you don't like," said the Commissioner. Despite this argument, Mr McCreevy then sought to argue that the Irish Government has respected the wishes of Irish people since the referendum defeat. He said he had not detected "any animosity" towards Ireland since the Lisbon No vote from other member states, though "at the highest levels there possibly would be a level of frustration".
However, he said, the vast majority of the European Union's day-to-day work is carried out by a myriad of little-known committees where Lisbon has had no effect.
However, he said it is possible other member states "are holding back to see what is going to happen in Ireland. Perhaps they are being wonderfully nice to us. There might be a little bit of that. These kind of things are very subjective."
Mr McCreevy's term in office is due to end next summer, though there is a chance that the outgoing Commission may be asked to stay on for a few months, until some conclusion is reached on Ireland.
The Irish economy may not fully recover until 2014 because the Government will have to raise taxes to restore stability to the public finances, Professor John FitzGerald of the Economic and Social Research Institute told the AEJ at a lunch on Tuesday, December 2.
Professor Fitzgerald, who specialises in longer term forecasts for the ESRI, said he did not see recovery in the global economy before the end of 2009 and it was likely to be 2010 for the EU as a whole.
"Then governments will have to rescue their large budget deficits. It could be 2012 before we see a return to rapid EU growth and Ireland will lag behind that," Mr Fitzgerald said. "Even to maintain public services at their present level will need a major increase in taxes. We had suggested a 2pc increase in the overall tax burden, but it may now need to be more than that," he said.
"The trouble with raising income tax, or even VAT, is that it discourages work," he continued. "I don't expect to see a property tax, but there may be a carbon tax, given the composition of the Government. However, there is resistance to that as well, especially from the opposition parties."
He said it would be preferable to have pay restraint in the public service rather than getting rid of large numbers of people.
"We are going to have deflation next year, with consumer prices actually falling. That makes the recent pay deal far more valuable. Even a 3pc rise in social welfare will represent a real increase of 2-4pc, depending on what happens to inflation in 2009."
He said there could be savings on the public capital programme, because of the fall in the price of land.
"Most of the cost of infrastructure went on buying land — 50pc to 70pc of it. The Government will get a much better bargain in the next few years."
Mr Fitzgerald said the situation was now similar to that of the 1980s and it would be five years or so before one could see what long-term damage had been done to the economy.
"I am more optimistic about the country having a bright future than I was in the 1980s but it will take time," he added.
The result of the Lisbon Treaty referendum of 12 June has created considerable challenges for Ireland and for all EU Member States, the Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment, Mary Coughlan TD told the AEJ.
The Tánaiste, who was the AEJ’s Guest at its October 1 lunch said together with our EU partners, Ireland must now find a way forward that respected the will of the Irish people, while accommodating the interests of all EU Members and providing for the future development of the Union.
“We now need to reflect very carefully on the outcome of the referendum and its implications for Ireland," she said.
The comprehensive research on the outcome of the Referendum identified the people’s key concerns and provided valuable information on public attitudes towards the EU, she said. The survey showed that people felt they did not have enough clear information in the run-up to voting day.
She added: “This lack of information was the single biggest reason given for the decision to vote ‘No’ or to abstain on 12 June. However, the results also show that our people want Ireland to continue to be fully involved in the Union. Seventy per cent agree that membership is a good thing, while a mere eight per cent disagree. These are the highest levels of satisfaction recently recorded in the EU. The research work will form part of the in-depth discussions we will be undertaking both domestically in Ireland and with our EU partners in the coming weeks."
The Tánaiste said the Union as an indispensable arena within which to pursue Ireland’s interests and to give effect to our national aspirations. This policy had served very well for the past 35 years and there was absolutely no desire or reason to depart from this successful formula.
On the WTO talks, she said what she would like to see is the membership of the WTO continuing to engage on this Round.
“I do not want to see countries withdraw into protectionism or enter into selected bilateral arrangements," she added. “This makes the trading environment complex and complexity is not in the interests of our exporters. We want to see the continuation of a strong and effective WTO devoid of complex and varied rules. “
She said she regretted that the parties were unable to come to an agreement last July.
“Our approach will be to continue to look for a comprehensive, balanced, fair and ambitious agreement that will deliver real gains for the poorest countries," she said.
The Irish Section recently signed a deal with OSK Auditors and Accountants who will audit the AEJ’s annual returns in return for sponsorship of the website www.aej.ie.
This follows the Irish Section’s incorporation as a limited company in 2007 and the consequent necessity to file annual returns to the Company’s Registration Office (CEO).
Caption: Pictured signing the deal are Tadhg O’Sullivan, Managing Partner OSK, Eileen Dunne, Chair, AEJ and Catherine Louth, Assistant Audit Manager, OSK
OSK is one of the country’s leading auditing and accounting firms based at the East Point Plaza in Dublin 3. The company has been providing quality and professional business advice to Irish businesses since 1985. It specialises in progressive Irish family owned businesses and thier clients include SMEs, multi-national groups; government bodies and sole traders (See www.osk.ie)
Welcoming the deal, Eileen Dunne, AEJ Chair said: “We are delighted to have this partnership with OSK which is another step in progressing the Association. We look forward to working with the company and to maintaining a close relationship with them."
The Irish section hosted Libertas Chairman Declan Ganley and Brendan Butler, Director of EU and International Affairs with IBEC at its May lunch meeting on Friday, May 23.
Arguing for a 'No' vote in the Lisbon referendum on June 12, Declan Ganley said that under the Common Commercial Policy, Ireland for the first time gives up the right to legislate on inflows of foreign direct investment from outside the EU, threatening our long-standing ability to attract high-value, technology-focused jobs to this country. Under the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, he said the future FDI policy of the European Commission may prioritise FDI flows to other developing states in Europe on the grounds of economic convergence and implement criteria which will identify Ireland as a comparatively advantaged state.
Arguing for a 'Yes' vote, IBEC's Brendan Butler described the Lisbon
proposal of rotating Commissioners equally between all Member States as "a
massive win for small countries". He also hit out at certain opponents of
the measure, who claim to have voted yes for all previous treaties, despite
the fact that the principle of a rotating Commission was a key provision of
the Nice Treaty, which Ireland endorsed in 2002. "Mr Ganley cannot have it
both ways. He cannot on the one hand say he is pro-EU and has voted in
favour of the Nice Treaty, while at the same time opposing a measure in the
Lisbon Treaty, which confirms the principle of a rotating system he himself
claims to have voted in favour of," he said.
Irish AEJ member Joe Carroll recently attended a meeting of the UK Section of the Association of European Journalists in London at which Christopher Walker of Freedom House presented their latest global survey on Freedom of the Press. Here is Joe’s report:
‘I was made very welcome by our British colleagues including Celia Hampton and William Horsley. There was a large turnout for the luncheon meeting at the usual venue of the London Office of the European Parliament.
The Freedom House report dealt with the situation in 195 countries in 2007 and showed a “clear decline" over the year since the previous report. At the meeting in London, Mr Walker concentrated on the situation in the 55 OSCE countries. He noted that press freedom is in a perilous state in Russia and many of its former Soviet Union republics. There has also been some decline in press freedom in Central and Eastern European countries. In the 25 countries under the heading of Western Europe, one, Turkey, is classified as “partly free".
There was a lively discussion chaired by William Horsley. A number of participants wondered if cultural differences are taken sufficiently into account by Freedom House when awarding ratings. One participant believed there was a bias in the survey against left wing regimes in Latin America where most countries are described as “partly free". Mr Walker was asked why the UK was ranked at 19 along with the Czech Republic and Lithuania. He said that this rating was due mainly to the British libel laws.
Ireland is ranked at 12. The report notes that the new defamation law now going through the legislature is an improvement on the existing one. But there are concerns about the proposed privacy law.
The discussion continued in a more informal fashion at the nearby Saint Ermin’s Hotel.
I was also invited to attend a meeting the next day, 2nd May, at the Frontline Club to celebrate World Press Freedom Day by a debate on the motion that “New Media is Killing Journalism." This debate was also chaired by a very busy William Horsley.
I have done a report on both of these events which was published in The Irish Times on 8th May in their World News section.
For those who would like to access the full Freedom House survey, it is available at www.freedomhouse.org.
Joe Carroll
May 2008
The AEJ Irish Section hosted a debate on the Lisbon Reform Treaty at the Stephen’s Green & Hibernian Club, Dublin 2 on Friday, April 10. Fine Gael MEP Mairéad McGuinness argued the case ‘for’ and Sinn Fein MEP May Lou McDonald the case ‘against’.
Ms McDonald argued that the treaty would create democratic deficiencies and that it failed to deliver good governance on the part of the EU. From a military perspective, the treaty advised “in the wrong direction", she said. Explicit public services such as health and education needed to be fenced off from Brussels and that did not happen in this treaty.
Ms McDonald said she also wished to quell the myth that being against the treaty amounted to being anti-Europe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sinn Fein argued a positive position on Europe.
She also read a paragraph from a letter from the President of the Constitution Affairs Committee which argued that all politically sensitive material should be left untouched until after the referendum in Ireland. In short, she said the clear answer to the question would a ‘yes’ vote lead Ireland on a positive path was ‘no’.
Arguing the case ‘for’, Mairead McGuinness said there was a clear need for more and fuller information and the biggest worry was that people would not vote at all. She herself had spoken to people and while many were quite unsure as to what the treaty contained, some were quite expert on it.
She said the suggestion was put about that by rotating the Commissioners after 2014, Ireland would lose out. However, all countries would have to rotate their commissioners and, so, there was total equality among larger and smaller states.
Europe, she said, worked on consensus and there were no winners or losers. This did not make for news headlines but the consensus system works.
It should be remembered, she argued, that the Lisbon Treaty was not created by two or three faceless bureaucrats in Brussels but by elected representatives of the people of Europe over a period of years.
After the presentations, the MEPs answered questions from members during a stimulating and lively debate chaired by Section chair Eileen Dunne.
On Friday, February 8, the Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance, Jillian Van Turnhout addressed the AEJ. Ms Turnhout is also a member of the European Economic and Social Committee, an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. (see www.eesc.europa.eu).
In her address she outlined the goals and activities of the Alliance which is a coalition of 80 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the area of children's rights and welfare in Ireland. The Alliance aims to secure the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Ireland.
At the end of January, the Alliance made a major submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children (see www.childrensrights.ie)
Ms Turnhout told the AEJ that she does not favour the holding of the vote on the Lisbon Treaty on the same day as the children’s referendum.
In a speech to the Association of European Journalists on Friday, January 11, the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) John O'Donoghue said the commercial pressures on the media meant that they constantly needed "news" about events that happened "yesterday". However the most momentous political achievements – such as the building of the EU and the Northern Ireland Peace process – were the result of long, slow processes and therefore did not fit easily with these demands of daily newspapers and broadcasters.
"The question I would like to pose today is whether the demands of daily journalism can lead to a certain trivialisation of politics", he said. "Do the momentous changes which have happened over periods of many years in European politics, in Northern Ireland, and indeed in relation to the Irish economy, get under-reported on a daily basis?
"The old saying, 'Rome wasn't built in a day' applies to all political endeavour. Political change is a slow process, the passage of legislation through the Oireachtas is a slow process. Does it therefore not suit the daily news media to report it well, and is there anything we as politicians and you as journalists can do to change this?"
In relation to politicians he asked: "Are there changes we could make to our procedures that would make the work of the Oireachtas more understandable, and more open to media coverage, without compromising its seriousness?
"I am encouraged by the fact that the Whips of the main parties have had a number of meetings since the current Dáil was elected and they are examining whether there are some changes to Dáil procedure they might consider. I am very pleased to have been able to use the Office of Ceann Comhairle to facilitate and encourage these discussions on Dáil reform."
In relation to the media he said: "I wonder do the demands of daily journalism lead to a certain trivialisation of politics, and a failure to portray the big picture." He said the daily reportage of minutiae meant the "big picture" of slow but steady political development could be missed.
"The Houses of the Oireachtas consider legislation over many days and weeks. The challenge for politicians is to ensure that this is done in a way that can interest and engage people.
He said the Houses of the Oireachtas were planning to set up a system to better inform journalists on what exactly Oireachtas committees are doing, which ones were due to make significant decisions on any particular day etc. "We have encouraged regional newspapers to publish a weekly report of events in the Oireachtas and this is going well. As I said, discussions are taking place on the possibility of Dáil reform.
"And in a constructive rather than a critical spirit I am asking the media to reflect on their own political and parliamentary coverage. Do the demands for those "something happened yesterday" stories sometimes prevent you from informing your readers of significant events and changes that are taking place in the Oireachtas? Do your readers know about important legislation that has been passed recently by the Oireachtas, or is being debated there at the moment? And if the answer is not always yes are there changes you can make to your processes of selecting news that will both increase public awareness and understanding of the work of the Oireachtas, and improve the service you provide to your readers as well."
For further Information please contact:
Dan Collins
Special advisor to the Ceann Comhairle
Ph: 087 2430315
Or the Public Relations Office
01- 618 3066/3166
The AEJ Media Freedom Representative William Horsley sent a letter to the Chairman of the Central Election
Commission in Russia, Mr Vladimir Churov, expressing concern about the “overwhelming evidence" of media bias
in favour of United Russia in the current State Duma election campaign.
Enrico Serra, historian and journalist, has passed away in Rome aged 93. In the 1960s he was International President of the AEJ and at one point Secretary-General of the Italian Section.
Mr. Serra began his career in journalism at a very young age and was for many years in charge of the Historical Department and archives of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was also a university professor and was considered to be one of the greatest experts and scholars on Italian diplomatic documents.
Mr. Serra also authored several fundamental books on the history of international relations. His last book, “Winston Churchill, luci e ombre" (Winston Churchill: the Light and the Shadow), was published earlier this year. Among his other appointments during his long life, he was Editor of the international affairs magazine “Relazioni Internazionali" and Director of the Research Department of Ispi, the Italian Institute for International Policy Studies