European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso blames US banks for Eurozone crisis at G20 summit

As European leaders come under intense pressure to resolve the sovereign debt crisis, Mr Barroso told a Canadian journalist Europe had not come to the resort town of Los Cabos to receive 'lessons'.

'Frankly, we are not here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or in terms of how to handle the economy,' he said in answer to a question on why North Americans should help the EU.

'This crisis was not originated in Europe; seeing as you mention North America, this crisis originated in North America and much of our financial sector was contaminated by, how can I put it, unorthodox practices, from some sectors of the financial market.'

Last night UK prime minister David Cameron joined German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande and Italian premier Mario Monti for talks with US president Barack Obama on the eurozone crisis, described by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as 'the single biggest risk for the world economy'.

Note EU-Digest: Barroso is right, but where the EU failed is not to act more aggressively against certain sectors of the financial industry which are still causing major havoc in economies around the world and specifically in Europe.

Read more: European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso blames US banks for Eurozone crisis at G20 summit | Metro.co.uk

Germany slams Barroso joint bonds as irresponsible by Erik Kirschbaum

Roesler, German Vice Chancellor and also Economy Minister, said in a radio interview that European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made a mistake last week by suggesting euro zone bonds could be issued once new, intrusive laws to ensure budgets of euro zone countries do not break EU rules are in place.

"I find it irresponsible of Mr. Barroso to re-open this discussion on euro zone bonds again," Roesler told Berlin's InfoRadio network, using language that went beyond Chancellor Angela Merkel's term "extraordinarily inappropriate."

Roesler, leader of the Free Democrats (FDP) junior coalition partners to Merkel's conservatives, said joint bond issues would be wrong for Germany and Europe because they would ease the pressure on indebted countries to reduce their deficits.

For more: Germany slams Barroso joint bonds as irresponsible | Reuters

Uzbekistan: Why does the EU give credibility to such dictators as Islam Karimov? by Simon Tisdall

"Europeans recoiled in horror at the mass killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters in Andijan, Uzbekistan, on the orders of the authoritarian government of President Islam Karimov in May 2005. The European Union imposed sanctions, including a visa ban and an arms embargo, and demanded an independent inquiry. But six years is a long time in politics. Memories fade, attention shifts elsewhere.

All the same, the feting in Brussels this week of the defiantly unrepentant Karimov, a serial rights abuser, represented a disturbing EU volte-face and an undeserved success for the Uzbek dictator. The sanctions, which never had much effect, were quietly dropped in 2009. An independent inquiry was never held. Nobody was held to account for the murders. Instead, hard-nosed EU and Nato interest in maintaining supply routes to Afghanistan, and in Uzbek energy reserves, now takes precedence.

José Manuel Barroso, the commission president, defended his meeting with Karimov, saying he had pressed his visitor hard on human rights and political prisoners during talks that focused primarily on security and energy.

The Karimov embarrassment, while grave, is a familiar one for Brussels. Similar contradictions in EU policy, and those of its members, have recently become apparent in the cases of Belarus, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China and Hungary.

The problem is clear. The EU must decide whether it is first and foremost a champion of universal values and human rights, which Barroso claims stand "at the heart" of its foreign policy – or if its collective strategic security, political, economic and commercial interests are paramount and will primarily dictate its foreign policy actions. Either the EU believes in its founding principles, and takes strong political and legal action to uphold them, or it does not. It cannot have it both ways."

For more: Why does the EU give credibility to such dictators as Islam Karimov? | Simon Tisdall | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

EU's Barroso promises measures against speculators

European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says he will field new proposals by the end of the month to tackle some of the actions of market speculators, who many have blamed for making the financial crisis worse.

For more: EU's Barroso promises measures against speculators - BusinessWeek

EUbusiness/EU-Digest: New European Parliament considers Barroso weak President and looks to flex political muscle

For the complete report from EUbusiness.com click on this link

New European Parliament considers Barroso weak President and looks to flex political muscle

The freshly-elected European parliament meets Tuesday for its first plenary session, keen to test the new political muscle it will develop once the EU's new reform package enters force. In a short session, starting in earnest in Strasbourg, the 736-member assembly will elect its president, but not the head of the EU's executive arm, the European Commission. Despite pressure to vote this week on the return of Jose Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term as president of the commission, the lawmakers have taken a stand and postponed any endorsement until the autumn.In the parliament, which sits in Brussels as well as Strasbourg, he has the backing of his own centre-right bloc, but doubts remain as to who exactly will endorse him, and he is reluctant to rely on fringe parties for backing.

The Greens in particular see Barroso as a lackey of the member nations, and have expressed bewilderment that no one else can be found. "We do not trust him to wholeheartedly implement the policies that Europe urgently needs," Greens leaders said in a statement. The commission is responsible for drawing up legislation that impacts daily on the lives of almost half a billion Europeans, as well as enforcing the rules already in place. It will have a budget of 138 billion euros in 2010.

Spiegel Online: EU Summit: Nomination Dispute Weakens Barroso - by Carsten Volkery

For the complete report from the SPIEGEL ONLINE click on this link

EU Summit: Nomination Dispute Weakens Barroso - by Carsten Volkery

The EU's 27 leaders unanimously backed Jose Manuel Barroso for a second term as European Commission president on Thursday. However, the European Parliament is threatening to block his appointment and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is warning against a "cliffhanger that goes on for months." Europe's governments are deeply worried about the powerful movement to block Barroso that has emerged in the parliament. Martin Schulz, the chairman of the Socialist bloc in parliament and a member of Germany's center-left Social Democrats, has warned that Barroso doesn't have the support of the needed majority of members of the parliament (MEPs). Schulz says his bloc was "not willing" to make a decision as soon as July. Meanwhile Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who chairs the Green group in the European Parliament, has already called on the EU Council, the council of ministers from all member states, to drop Barroso.

there are the complaints about Barroso's performance. "His record is poor," says Schulz. Barroso is regarded as a procrastinator, someone who is always running to catch up with the zeitgeist. At first he was an advocate of further liberalization of the markets, but then, as soon as the financial crisis reared its ugly head, he suddenly discovered his social conscience. On the other hand, he doesn't seem to have come up with any ground-breaking ideas during his first years at the head of the Commission. The conservatives need supporters from the other groups in parliament to vote for Barroso because they are still 105 votes shy of a majority.

Atlantic Community:.org/EU-Digest: "An Opponent to Barroso Would Reduce EU's Democratic Deficit" - by Marek Kubista

Jose Manuel Durao Barroso

For the complete report from the Atlantic Community.org click on this link

"An Opponent to Barroso Would Reduce EU's Democratic Deficit" - by Marek Kubista

The European elections are fast approaching, yet there is little suspense in the air. Perhaps that’s because the outcome is pre-determined: the PPE will win and Jose Manuel Durao Barroso will be reappointed. In April, the left will be given a final chance to decide on a candidate and strengthen European democracy. The deal had been brokered three months before the actual elections: Barroso will stay in Brussels for another 5 years. During the European Council Summit on March 19, the French, German and Italian governments officially expressed their support to his reappointment. The British, Portuguese and Spanish governments did so months ago. What is striking is that leaders like Sarkozy showed little enthusiasm for the idea, but no other “rightist” candidate was acceptable to Member States.

This is surprising as Barroso's policy during his first term in office was one of the worst ever to be carried out from a European Commission President. Under his mandate, three different countries rejected both the Constitutional Treaty and the Lisbon Treaty. He has without doubt failed to justify and promote a new project for European citizens. Indeed, the few significant projects which he endorsed, like the energy-climate package, proved limited when adopted. Barroso's refusal to challenge Member States reveals the prioritizing of personal ambition over serving the European Commission's mission

Note EU-Digest: To some Mr. Barroso(53) never seems to show any form of charisma and appears more like a loyal civil servant trying to avoid controversy. On the other hand he has quite an interesting background. Barroso was the Prime Minister of Portugal from April 6, 2002 until the 29th of June 2004, before he took the Presidential position in the EU Commission from the previous president Italian Romano Prodi. During his tenure in Portugal as PM, Barroso supported the US war in Iraq which provoked much protest within the local society and government. Barroso became active in politics in 1974 when he joined the Carnation Revolution (25 April 1974) and has been a member of the Social Democratic Party since 1980. Barroso also was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Portugal from 1992 to 1995. In the year 1999 Barroso was elected president of the Social Democratic Party. Barroso became a member of the European Movement in 1991, a result of his interest in the EU, and prior to that he founded the University Association for European studies in 1979. Barroso graduated from the University of Lisbon with a degree in Law and received an MSC in Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.