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is meaningful citizen participation in government possible? October 23, 2012

Posted by Bradley in : governance , add a comment

After the Presidential debates – endless reiterations of the same rather meaningless and often misleading slogans – where the viewers of the debates are encouraged to make their voting decisions on the basis of who performed better in the debate it’s complicated to think about the idea of citizen participation in government. But there’s lots of information available about the Presidential candidates, even if it’s hard to slog through the sludge of representation and misrepresentation. Making decisions about the downballot is even more complicated.

This isn’t the only election happening right now:

In the UK there’s an experiment going on to have elected Police and Crime Commissioners to hold Chief Constables and police forces to account(under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011). Elections are to be held on November 15th and there’s some rather scary advertising going on with posters for bus shelters suggesting that criminals want voters to stay home on November 15th. And video ads with the same message:

This is a bit odd- as if the police will just stop fighting crime if people don’t show up to vote. Especially as funding cuts are a larger problem for the police than any lack of citizen participation in voting could be. Presumably the ads are about emphasizing the idea that it is important to be tough on crime. And they suggest the crimes it is important to be tough on are scary ones such as vandalism, burglary, and mugging. Not financial crimes such as fare dodging and fraud.

And making people aware of the fact of the elections doesn’t help them to decide who to vote for. There’s a website which will have information about the candidates as of October 26th. But you can see the list of candidates elsewhere, for example at the website of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.

In Humberside John Prescott is a candidate. But there are a number of other candidates: Godfrey Bloom (UKIP), Simone Butterworth (Liberal Democrat), Paul Davison (Independent) (“I retired this year after 30 years with Humberside Police as a Chief Superintendent in charge of policing the East Riding”), Neil Eyre (Independent) (“Most people don’t want politics and policing in the same melting pot”), Matthew Grove (Conservative) and Walter Sweeney (Independent). Matthew Grove says that Gordon Wasserman, the Goverment’s advisor on policing and criminal justice, says he is the “ideal person” to be the PCC. But that’s because they are both conservatives. So how can citizens decide whom to support?

eu summit and banking union October 19, 2012

Posted by Bradley in : eu, financial regulation , add a comment

The final Presidency conclusions differed a bit from the draft. For example, the roadmap the European Council wants in December is now to include “concrete proposals” to achieve the following:

The process towards deeper economic and monetary union should build on the EU’s institutional and legal framework and be characterised by openness and transparency towards Member States which do not use the single currency and by respect for the integrity of the Single Market.

The draft had the objective but not the concrete proposals idea. There’s also some redrafting of the timetable- the SSM legislative framework is to be agreed by the new year and operational implementation will follow. The language about the accountability of the ECB changed. Now:

There is a need to ensure a clear separation between ECB monetary policy and supervision functions, and the equitable treatment and representation of both euro and non-euro area Member States participating in the SSM. Accountability takes place at the level at which decisions are taken and implemented. The SSM will be based on the highest standards for bank supervision and the ECB will be able, in a differentiated way, to carry out direct supervision. It will also be in a position to use the effective powers conferred on it by the legislation as soon as it comes into force. In addition, it is of paramount importance to establish a single rulebook underpinning the centralised supervision.

This is still not a model of clarity. And they kick the can down the road on voting in the EBA:

It is important to ensure a level playing field between those Member States which take part in the SSM and those which do not, in full respect of the integrity of the single market in financial services. An acceptable and balanced solution is needed regarding changes to voting modalities and decisions under the European Banking Authority (EBA) Regulation, taking account of possible evolutions in the participation in the SSM, that ensures nondiscriminatory and effective decision-making within the Single Market. On this basis, the EBA should retain its existing powers and responsibilities.

The conclusions state that within the euro area “Strong mechanisms for democratic legitimacy and accountability are necessary”. But whereas the draft conclusions suggested that the EU should explore the idea of enhancing the role of the social partners, this language does not appear in the final conclusions.

Update: Although there’s not much sign of agreement on critical details, some groups have reacted positively to the summit. For example, the EESC:

The EESC is pleased to learn that, even though belated, a European banking union will come to life. It is crucial that the Member State governments have the breadth of vision to create more Europe, handing over some powers and ensuring that they can be applied, in order to achieve effective European governance that is socially useful and economically efficient. New and stricter rules will offer security to people and markets.

english-only consultations are maladministration in the eu October 18, 2012

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I noted the other day that the Commission’s consultation on “the lists of product and service markets within the electronic communications sector susceptible to ex ante regulation” involved a questionnaire that was published only in English. The consultation was initiated only days after the Ombudsman decided that English-only consultations in the EU involved maladministration:

The Commission should ensure that all European citizens are able to understand its public consultations, which should, as a matter of principle, be published in all the official languages. Its failure to do so is an instance of maladministration.

The Ombudman wrote:

The Ombudsman agrees with the Commission that the publication of legislative proposals in all languages is necessary to enable citizens to exercise their “right to participate in the democratic life of the Union” (Article 10 (3) TEU). However, the Ombudsman cannot accept that such publication is sufficient to guarantee that right. On the contrary, it is at the preceding stage, that is, when the Commission’s mind has not yet been made up and its proposals have not yet been adopted as such, that citizens should be called upon to participate and to express their view(s) concerning future legislation and, in so doing, have an impact on decision making in the EU. EU law and the rights it grants to EU citizens are not meant to remain a dead letter. It is hard to imagine how citizens could actually enjoy a right guaranteed by the Treaty and have a direct say in the Union’s affairs, if they are only aware of the Commission’s position once it has been established and the formal legislative process has begun. This may be possible, to some extent, for well-resourced lobbying organisations representing specific interest groups, but not for the vast majority of ordinary citizens.

Will the Commission do what the Ombudsman says it should do? Or not?

eu summit: not much visisble progress on european banking union October 18, 2012

Posted by Bradley in : financial regulation , add a comment

The Draft Conclusions of the European Council Meeting (via euractiv) don’t suggest that there’s much progress on achieving the European Banking Union although they urge legislators to make progress. Meanwhile, in a speech in Poland, Andrea Enria of the EBA worried about the future of the single market as domestic bank regulators “strongly encourage a de-risking process which also entails lower exposures to counterparts in other more fragile or stressed Member States.” And he made the expertise argument again as a way of resolving the banking union issues:

I would invite to think out of the box and consider also decision making mechanisms that are less based on country representation and more on technical skills and accountability frameworks. We need the best people we have in Europe to design high quality rules and implement effective supervision, in the common interest of savers in the whole area; and we need mechanisms to ensure that their decisions do not unduly penalise any actor in the Single Market. More reliance on independent decision making bodies, composed of experts selected on the basis of their technical skills, would put all countries, in and outside the euro area, on the same footing. It would ensure that decisions are taken in the best European interest, not as a compromise amongst different national positions. Monitoring mechanisms could then ensure appropriate representation of all the Member States, high quality and unbiased processes, and the possibility to call back decisions that are not considered of an appropriate standard.

In a speech at the BBA’s conference Stephen Majjoor of ESMA said this:

I want to emphasise that for large parts of the financial markets the distinction between Eurozone and non-Eurozone member states has very limited relevance. For example, market infrastructures, investment firms, and investment funds span the Eurozone and the non-Eurozone and in all the directives, regulations, technical standards and guidance that are within ESMA’s scope, the Eurozone/non-Eurozone distinction hardly ever plays a role.
In other words, the rationales for developing a single rule book, consistent supervision and a single securities market are not affected by the integration of the Eurozone. We should remain focused on the economic benefits of the single market in securities for all 27 member states and jointly continue our important work of achieving a single rule book and a consistent approach to supervision.

These ideas of having technical experts make the rules and emphasizing the single-rule book seem designed to appeal to financial institutions based outside the eurozone, suggesting that they might benefit from going along with the European Banking Union/Single Supervisory Mechanism. But the broad brush rhetoric runs up against concern about the details (see, for example this report prepared for the International Regulatory Strategy Group of the City of London by Anita Millar).

Update: In report published today the UK’s House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee (focusing on the EU proposals about the EBA/SSM and on the UK Government’s reaction (described in the report)) wrote:

there is potential for harm to UK interests, particularly in relation to the single market. So we presume the Prime Minister will be cautious in expressing any support during the forthcoming European Council for the elements outlined in the report…As for the role of national parliaments in ensuring democratic legitimacy and accountability we are concerned: at the implications of the apparent presumption in the report about the primacy of the European Parliament; and the presumption that democratic legitimacy and accountability of a new strengthened EMU framework and cooperation under Article 13 of the SCG treaty should only be explored within the context of the European Semester.
We remind all concerned in this debate that national parliaments are representative of sovereign states. Incidentally, we note the rather odd phraseology — “we can use” — the Minister deploys. We presume he does not actually mean that governments use parliaments… These matters are of high importance for the UK…we recommend ..[a debate] for three hours on the Floor of the House..In making this debate recommendation we note, notwithstanding the Minister’s comments, that the document will not be cleared from scrutiny until the debate takes place and take the view that actions by the Government which amounted to agreement of the report would be a serious breach of the scrutiny reserve.

eu consultation: only english-reading stakeholders need respond October 16, 2012

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I have been thinking about stakeholder definition in consultations in the EU recently. I have been particularly interested in the ways that different groups within the Commission define the stakeholders they are concerned with in different ways. Thus consultations that seem to be technical consultations sometimes invite consumer responses whereas other similarly technical consultations do not. And sometimes there’s a stakeholder definition which says anyone can respond but we are really interested in contributions from the following people and entities (i.e. the ones whose responses we will really focus on). The public consultation on the revision of the Recommendation on relevant markets (2007/879/EC) (deadline for responses Jan. 8, 2013) defines the “target group” as follows:

The consultation is open to all citizens and organisations concerned with the market-based approach to regulation within the electronic communications sector in the EU.
Contributions are particularly sought from public authorities (including National Regulatory Authorities and National Competition Authorities), the Body of European Regulators in Electronic Communications (BEREC), Member States, the electronic communications industry, research institutions and universities, consumer advocacy groups and other interested parties.

The tacking on of the “other interested parties” seems to modify the exclusiveness of the description of the people from whom contributions are particularly sought. But does it really, or are these words designed to counter the sort of critique I made before the quote. In some ways this doesn’t matter very much as the people who want to comment on the issues will do so whether they feel they are in the defined target group or not. But perhaps the target group definiition has an impact on press coverage of consultations?

Anyway, the questionnaire is only being published in English. Given that the EU is supposed to be committed to multilingualism I don’t understand this, although this sort of thing happens more often than we might like to think. And it’s one way of limiting responses to those who may have technical expertise.

treadmill stories October 13, 2012

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Discourse.net rounds up the story here, and the Haggler writes here. Oh, and we seem to have newspapers now.

the future of eu banking supervision October 10, 2012

Posted by Bradley in : financial regulation , add a comment

What will the European Banking Union look like (if it gets off the ground)? Andrea Enria of the EBA spoke to the European Parliament. He intimated that the Single Supervisory Mechanism could involve delegation by the ECB of “operational conduct of day-to-day supervisory oversight” to national authorities. He suggested that the problems of thinking about adjusting the voting mechanisms in the EBA Board of Supervisors (this is the problem of how to allocate voting between the euro and non-euro area states) should be resolved by moving away from country representation:

While I understand these concerns, I am very worried that the solution could simply raise the required votes for approving a proposal, coming very close to a unanimity principle. Our ability to decide could be seriously hampered. I would suggest that new mechanisms for decision making be considered, which are less based on country representation and country weights. After all, the EBA is requested to make technical decisions that work for the Single Market, not to craft compromises amongst representatives from Member States. The mechanisms of independent panels and reverse majority voting proposed by the Commission for decisions on cases of breach of law and mediation could possibly be adapted and applied also in our standard setting function.

While this approach (if the Member States could agree on it) could get past the euro-area/ non-euro-area issues, I’m not a great fan of the idea that financial regulation is merely technical and should therefore be developed by groups of experts.

jinxed? October 10, 2012

Posted by Bradley in : life , 1 comment so far

After we solved the treadmill problem (we hope) (which the consumerist notes here) we developed a newspaper delivery problem. We stopped the newspapers for the weekend and somehow that was treated as a signal we didn’t want to have newspapers delivered any more.

how to use fines for financial misconduct October 8, 2012

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The UK plans to change the rules so that fines for financial misconduct benefit the armed forces through the Armed Forces Covenant:

The additional funding can be made available in 2012-13 due to amendments which will be brought forward to the Financial Services Bill later this year. The amendments will mean that, in future, regulatory fines revenue in excess of enforcement case costs for the year will go to the Exchequer.

And the monies involved include the Barclays Libor fine.

I can understand why the Treasury would think that fines should contribute to the general welfare rater than reducing licensing fees for the financial industry. I don’t see quite why the Treasury wants to link financial misconduct to supporting people who have served their country in this way. Do they think that the financial regulators will act more aggressively in enforcement to benefit veterans? Surely not. And linking help for the armed services to what must be a quantitatively unpredictable source of funds seems odd to me.

saturday promenade October 8, 2012

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A view from the highline

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