French Presidential Election

[Razgovory]

I heard Obama's lost his jump shot!

Doesn't matter.  I bet Sarko's wife can beat him at a game of hoops.

[Sheilbh]

FT Brussels Blog has the details on potential Franco-German changes to Schengen:

New borders inside Europe? A Franco-German push
April 20, 2012 11:27 am by Peter Spiegel

The issue of the European Union's passport-free travel zone has become a political hot potato again, thanks in part to Nicolas Sarkozy, who has warned during his presidential re-election campaign that France would withdraw from the border agreement unless more safeguards are adopted.

With just days before voting in the first round of the French election, Sarkozy's government is pushing the issue back onto the EU agenda, this time with German assistance.

In a joint letter sent to the Danish presidency, Claude Gueant, the French interior minister, and Hans-Peter Friedrich, his German counterpart, are calling for countries to be granted the right to re-impose border controls unilaterally for 30 days if national authorities believe other countries – particularly on the EU's southern and eastern frontiers – aren't securing their borders.

A leaked copy of the letter Brussels Blog got its hands on (in French) can be read here. A look at the proposal (in English) after the jump...

The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, has already tried to deal with this issue, proposing a much narrower right for national authorities to re-impose border controls under the so-called Schengen system: national governments could do it for five days, but that period can't be extended without approval from Brussels. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Commission proposal gives the Commission a strong role in deciding whether the controls should be lifted.

The new Franco-German proposal essentially writes the Commission out of the process. It says the Commission would have a role "in the field of early detection" and "coordination of measures to support" national efforts. But other than that, the power to re-impose borders would be left to individual countries and, after 30 days, the European Council of national governments – not the technocratic Commission – would get to decide whether the border controls should be extended:

if the operation of the Schengen area is compromised, the other member states must have, ultimately, the possibility of reintroduce checks at internal borders for a period not exceeding 30 days. After these 30 days, the Commission would recommend to the Council whether to continue or discontinue the internal border controls. The decision itself would be up to the Council, as would the task of coordinating measures to be taken in such an exceptional situation.

The letter asks the Danes to bring up this new "mechanism" at the next meeting of EU interior ministers at the justice and home affairs council next week, which would fall in between round one and two of the French presidential elections. But Danish officials have indicated they don't want to do it, and are likely to wait for the subsequent meeting in June.

The target of these new controls isn't mentioned specifically, but it seems pretty clear that Paris and Berlin are talking about Greece, which has become the entry point of choice for immigrants from the Middle East and north Africa, thanks to its porous border with Turkey. Accusations have been flying for months that Greece is not living up to its Schengen responsibilities, and Frontex, the EU border control agency, has had to send reinforcements to back up Greek border guards. On the very first of the three pages, the Franco-German letter makes pretty clear they're talking about Greece:

Member states situated in southern and eastern borders of the EU have already made significant efforts to fight illegal immigration and protect the external borders against current threats.... Standards to protect our external borders are now in effect harmonized, but we only have a few options at our disposal to react when those standards are not complied with. We need a mechanism of assistance to ensure the implementation of common standards. We also need a mechanism for compensation if a member state, in spite of the aid it was given, is unable to perform its obligations to protect the EU's external borders.

This seems like a policy mainly designed to help Sarko win re-election

[derspiess]

This seems like a policy mainly designed to help Sarko win re-election

Possibly, but it's still the right thing to do IMO.

[Zanza]

From Le Monde:
28,4 % François Hollande
25,5 % Nicolas Sarkozy
20 % Marine Le Pen
11,7 % Jean-Luc Mélenchon
8,5 % François Bayrou

80.3% turnout

[Cecil]

Interesting. Seems to indicate a bigger right wing support than was initially expected. Though maybe not all of that translates into Sarkozy support it will make for an interesting second round.

[Martinus]

From Le Monde:
28,4 % François Hollande
25,5 % Nicolas Sarkozy
20 % Marine Le Pen
11,7 % Jean-Luc Mélenchon
8,5 % François Bayrou

80.3% turnout

Amazing turnout. Grats for keeping democracy real.

Allons enfants de la patrie 

[Martinus]

Interesting. Seems to indicate a bigger right wing support than was initially expected. Though maybe not all of that translates into Sarkozy support it will make for an interesting second round.

I'd imagine both Melanchon and Bayrou's supporters will switch to Hollande.

[Martinus]

This seems like a policy mainly designed to help Sarko win re-election

Possibly, but it's still the right thing to do IMO.

Not really. Fortunately, shits like you don't have a say in European politics.

[Lettow77]

 Historic new successes for FN under its amiable new leadership

FN's inroads may pay greater dividends in the future after Hollande wins the election and France's problems worsen.

[citizen k]

Historic new successes for FN under its amiable new leadership

FN's inroads may pay greater dividends in the future after Hollande wins the election and France's problems worsen.

I imagine Mélenchon will also benefit from deteriorating conditions.

[Martinus]

Historic new successes for FN under its amiable new leadership

FN's inroads may pay greater dividends in the future after Hollande wins the election and France's problems worsen.

Your father is an alcoholic and he hates you. You have no future. Please kill yourself.

[Razgovory]

If Marty hadn't put me on ignore he'd know that Lettow's dad is dead as is his mother.

[Neil]

Martinus has a future.  AIDS.

[Duque de Bragança]

Interesting. Seems to indicate a bigger right wing support than was initially expected. Though maybe not all of that translates into Sarkozy support it will make for an interesting second round.

I'd imagine both Melanchon and Bayrou's supporters will switch to Hollande.

Mélenchon, yes. Bayrou, I wouldn't count so much on it. A third of them at most perhaps.

[Duque de Bragança]

From Le Monde:
28,4 % François Hollande
25,5 % Nicolas Sarkozy
20 % Marine Le Pen
11,7 % Jean-Luc Mélenchon
8,5 % François Bayrou

80.3% turnout

Mélenchon !
Sad for Bayrou, though.
Cheminade will be waiting for the shuttle to Mars for a long time too