First set of UN troops could leave DR Congo by June, says peacekeeping chief

The first group of United Nations troops could leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the end of June, as requested by the Government, the world body’s top peacekeeping official said today following a visit to the country.

Violence continues to claim lives in Somali capital, UN says

The ongoing clashes in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, continue to spark the concern of the United Nations, which reported today that violence this week claimed some 35 lives.

Mobile botnets threaten smartphone chaos

Mobile botnets pose a new security threat, says Jim Giles

Ban pledges $10 million for post-quake assistance during Chile visit

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to release up to $10 million in United Nations funds to support relief and recovery efforts in Chile, as he began a two-day visit to see the earthquake damage and assess how the world body can help.

UN officials herald upcoming election as milestone for Iraq

As millions of Iraqis prepare to head to the polls on Sunday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top envoy in the country stressed the importance of the parliamentary election and voiced their hope for a strong and peaceful turnout.

Secretary-General arrives in Chile for post-quake visit

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in the Chilean capital, Santiago, where he will meet later today with President Michele Bachelet and President-elect Sebastián Piñera, as part of a two-day visit to see the earthquake damage and assess how the United Nations can help.

Taxing questions

The EU’s new Taxation Commissioner Algirdas Semeta has announced that he is planning to revive previously shelved plans for an EU-wide carbon tax, aiming to set a minimum levy of €10/tonne of CO2 emitted (although the exact level is a bit unclear) from energy sources such as petrol, coal, and natural gas when they are used as motor and heating fuel, or to produce electricity.

Based on the Commission’s previous proposal we’ve calculated that such a tax would cost the UK economy at least £3.2bn a year. This cost will hit poorer consumers and small businesses disproportionately hard.

Is the cost worth it? Well, a carbon tax can, and has worked in some member states - Sweden being the most conspicous example (the country has cut carbon emissions by 9% since introducing a carbon tax in 1991, while the economy has grown by 48% during the same time period). Unlike the EU’s flawed Emissions Trading Scheme, a carbon tax would create a firm price on carbon (although still largely arbitrary) and ensure that polluters have to pay rather than being rewarded. This, in turn, would provide a strong incentive to switch to, and invest in, green energy. If replacing other, poorly targeted, CO2 policies a carbon tax could be the right way to go.

But apart from this discussion, the proposed tax raises two further important issues.

Firstly, why an EU-wide harmonised tax? We must remember that the EU already has all manner of climate change policy instruments playing different tunes. It has an extensive cap-and-trade system for large emitters of CO2, such as power generators and heavy industry. It has heavily prescriptive renewable energy targets and biofuel targets (the latter of which even the Commission now admits might be a mistake). It also has various other environmental regulations restricting emissions such as the Large Combustion Plant Directive, which will force the closure of nine of the UK’s power plants by 2015.

Those in favour of an EU-wide tax say that it must be harmonised across Europe in order to avoid ‘distortions to the Single market’. However other countries, Sweden for instance, have successfully implemented a domestic carbon tax without any detrimental impact on their economies.

But more importantly, if the stated end goal is not EU tax harmonisation in and of itself but emissions reduction, all that really needs to be decided at an EU level is the extent of the emissions reduction targets. As for the means, who cares? The job of meeting these targets should be left up to member states, who are best equipped to devise a policy mix tailored to their individual circumstances - and when it comes to energy, these are often very diverse.

A carbon tax may be a cost-effective option, or it may not. But it should not be the European Commission’s job to decide.

This leads us to the second issue. There are understandable concerns that the Commission has an ulterior motive for its carbon tax. While the current proposal would see member states collecting the revenues from any tax, such “eco taxes” have long been seen by many within the Commission as a way of directly financing the EU budget - a view shared by EU President Herman Van Rompuy.

If such a carbon tax were established, it would clearly create an obvious focal point for those calling for an EU funding stream that bypasses member states’ treasuries, with the ultimate aim being a direct tax.

All the more reason to follow a pragmatic approach that concentrates on the stated aim of cutting emissions at the lowest cost to businesses and consumers, rather than creating yet more centralised and complex EU rules that limit member states’ ability to tailor climate change policies to their own needs.

The Karlsruhe factor

As riot police today were forced to use tear gas against violent crowds in Athens protesting against further Greek spending cuts to narrow the country’s budget deficit (and save the eurozone), we recieved another reminder of German opposition to any cross-border rescue operation.

Travelling to Germany today to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Greek PM George Papandreou insisted that Greece is not seeking money from the EU. According to Le Monde, German Economic Minister Rainer Brüderle said in response: “Papandreou has said that he doesn’t want a cent. In any case, the German government will not give a cent”.

Meanwhile, German daily FAZ looks at another obstacle to a Greek bailout: the German Constitutional Court. Based in Karlsruhe, this Court is very much the X-factor in EU integration, as evidenced by the extrordinarily sceptical ruling it delivered on the Lisbon Treaty. Apparently, a spokesperson for Angela Merkel has let it slip that the Chancellor privately fears that a bailout would provoke the country’s Constitutional Court to take action, possibly blocking the whole operation. It’s article 32 of Germany’s “Law on the Federal Constitutional Court” (Gesetz über das Bundesverfassungsgericht) that is the sticking point.

This article says that,

In a dispute the Federal Constitutional Court may deal with a matter provisionally by means of a temporary injunction if this is urgently needed to avert serious detriment, ward off imminent force or for any other important reason for the common weal.

In plain English, a bailout operation of Greece could become Karlsruhe territory. Specifically, the Court could interevene against what it considers a breach of the law - in this case the EU Treaties’ ban on bailouts and extending credit lines to other member states.

Former federal judge Paul Kirchhof is quoted by FAZ saying that “If parliaments and MPs feel that their rights have been violated, they can appeal to the Constitutional Court.” Based on such an interpretation of Article 32, notes FAZ, the Karlsruhe judges can block Merkel if she decides to help financially.

All of this is speculation of course, but an interesting indication of the forces at work in Germany at the moment - and the massive opposition that a bailout could provoke.

Honduras: UNESCO head condemns deadly attacks against journalists

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with upholding press freedom today spoke out against a recent shooting two journalists in Honduras, resulting in one of their deaths, calling it an attack against all people of the nation.

Greek Workers Say: ‘Let the Rich Pay’

Euro crisis: Greek workers say: ‘Let the rich pay’

By John Catalinotto
Published Mar 3, 2010 8:49 PM

A second general strike in two weeks shows that Greek workers are standing up to the bosses’ and bankers’ attempt to force them to pay the costs of a problem the workers had no responsibility for creating: the capitalist economic crisis. This determined resistance is what’s behind the headlines on the financial pages about the euro’s stability and European Union negotiations with the Greek regime.

Two million Greek workers stayed away from their jobs on Feb. 24. Factories, offices, large retail stores, seaports and airports were closed. Workers and youths took to the streets in 70 cities throughout Greece. “Reject the government plan, the rich should pay for the crisis,” read the banner leading the demonstration in Athens.

The militant mood on the street contrasted with the discussions among bank boards of directors, government officials and the capitalist-controlled media throughout the European Union. The EU itself is an instrument of big business, a coalition of capitalists arrayed against the European working class and the nations in the former colonial world. Its ruling-class media try to portray the Greek people in general, especially the workers, as unwilling to work hard and make the necessary sacrifices — to save the capitalist economy.

Europe’s financial bosses are insisting that before they will “bail out” the Greek government with loans, it must impose an even harsher austerity on the workers than the taxes, wage cuts, hiring freezes, and increase in retirement age and social-service cutbacks already proposed. They aim to force the government to crack down on the workers — using the excuse that this is needed to overcome the financial crisis. They then want to impose cutbacks on workers throughout the EU, even in countries where the debt problems are less critical.

U.S. bankers are also part of the mix. Goldman Sachs arranged large parts of the Greek debt and expects the Greek government to squeeze its debt payments from the Greek workers.

Greece has a social democratic government led by Prime Minister George Papandreou of the PASOK party. Many workers voted for it precisely to avoid this vicious attack, but PASOK has instead led the offensive against them. Unlike its capitalist overlords in Berlin and Brussels, PASOK has to directly confront the Greek workers’ growing anger.

A half-million workers had struck on Feb. 10, called out by the PAME union federation, which is close to the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). This time the GSEE union federation and other unions closer to the social democrats joined the strike, many walking out for the first time, and some joined the PAME-led marches. (inter.kke.gr)

Their placards read: “Here is the money: the deposits of the enterprises in 2004 were 36 billion euros; in 2009, 136 billion euros. 250,000 workers receive a salary of 740 euros [approximately $1,000 per month]. At the same time, 700 billion euros are in the pockets of the big enterprises.” (inter.kke.gr)

A refreshing aspect of the Greek protests is that the speakers and slogans reject the ruling-class argument that “joint sacrifice” is needed from the population. By “joint sacrifice,” the bankers mean that workers must give up pay, benefits and often their jobs, in order to rescue the profits and debt payments to the rulers.

They argue that these sacrifices will restore the capitalist economy. But, just as in the U.S., official unemployment in the EU has grown to just under 10 percent, and whatever capitalist recovery has taken place has also been jobless. The Greek workers say that if sacrifices are needed to save capitalism, then “Let the rich pay!”

This attitude is spreading. In Spain, where official unemployment is 19 percent, two of the union federations, the CCOO and the UGT, protested in Madrid on Feb. 23 against the government’s austerity plans. In Portugal a one-day general strike of the public sector rejecting an extension of the wage freeze is planned for March 4. Both countries have Socialist Party governments, but these social democrats are carrying out severe attacks on the workers.

French and German working-class resistance has been more sporadic, but it’s there. Lufthansa’s 4,500 pilots held a short strike in February. In France, workers at six French oil refineries and then air traffic controllers walked out.

In the U.S. the relative passivity of the unions has allowed the bosses to take the offensive, laying off, outsourcing and cutting benefits while paralyzing even the minimal efforts of the Barack Obama administration to pass modest reforms to health care or extend unemployment payments. Part of fighting back is realizing, as the Greek workers are saying, that the bosses created the crisis and should pay for it.

At a mass rally at Omonia Square, in Athens city center, union leader Yiannis Tolis said: “The forces of capital and its political representatives understand that the more they blackmail and intimidate the workers, the more they try to mislead them and place new burdens upon them, the more anger and indignation they cause. They dread the perspective of the general uprising of the workers. …

“They are mistaken if they believe that they can manipulate the peoples’ will, once it is on the path of the class struggle. History has proved that when the river flows it cannot retrace its path.” (inter.kke.gr)
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