By Gene Miller and Chris Gillibrand
 
Where would we be without Brussels:

José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, is facing criticism from his own ranks over what some commissioners believe is a tendency to cave in too readily to pressure from big member states.

The two cases concern Germany’s alleged failure to implement a directive enabling companies to deploy staff in other member states, and the country’s barriers to chimney sweeps from abroad.

First they came for the Polish plumbers and I said nothing. Now they come for the chimney sweeps... Who’s next?!?
  

Picking the same old pocket, only deeper

Compulsory donations to a religious belief (Gaia PBUH) gaining the color of law:

In the face of stiff opposition from the airline industry, the European Union moved forward Wednesday with plans to impose extra charges on foreign and domestic carriers that pollute too much.

“We are showing our determination to fight climate change,” said Europe’s environment commissioner, Stavros Dimas, who announced the proposal Wednesday in Brussels. “This is one way to persuade other countries to come along with us.”

Stick it to the man you say:

If enacted, the measure could drive up costs for airlines, potentially leading to higher airfares for travelers.

And as deep as you can get into the article (last paras):

The international air transport group said that Europe’s proposal could still cost airlines globally up to 2.9 billion euros ($3.8 billion) a year to buy allowances starting in 2012, when the rules are expected to cover all flights in and out of the union.

But European officials said that airlines should be able to pass much of the extra costs on to passengers, who would face increases in ticket prices of $2 to $12 for a trip within the European Union over the next decade. Officials said a return flight to New York might cost an additional $10 to more than $50, depending on how much individual airlines would have to pay for extra carbon allowances.

Still think big business pays for all those “social justice” taxes and regulations?
 

Predictions Made Easy
 
It does not take to deep a thinker to see what is coming down the road as it relates to this development:

Two hours before Bulgaria enters the European Union on January 1, it will close down part of one of its main nuclear reactors, sacrificing valuable energy exports.

The decision has been made reluctantly but is part of the price of entry to the Union which, with the New Year arrival of Romania and Bulgaria, will grow to 27 members.

Reactors 3 and 4, each with a capacity of 440 megawatts (MW), at the plant at Kozloduy in the northeast of the country will cease to operate for security reasons.

Their output “is roughly equal to the annual energy exports of the country,” the plant’s production director Kiril Nikolov told AFP.

Oh, the prediction...

Bulgaria is the chief supplier of electricity to the Balkan states.

...Less electricity (supply) + Same or greater need for electricity (demand) = Possible shortages but definite price increases. A lose-lose situation for all involved.

But what have come to expect when it comes to energy decisions coming out of Europe.

Vladimir Branov, an operator on Reactor 3, said the closure decision lacked logic. “Purely political criteria have been applied,” he said.That view is widely shared by the public at large and is “the chief reason behind Euroskepticism,” according to political scientist Andrei Raichev.

The EU is due to pay Sofia -550 million ($725 million) to make up for the closure of the four reactors and encourage economy in the use of energy. In the view of Nikolov, “it is ridiculous to talk of compensation,” since the plant has been stripped of production capacity worth -3--4 billion. European diplomats in Sofia say the issue is closed.

To our Bulgar brothers and sisters, welcome to Europe. More pounds of flesh to come. 

 
Cheese Wars
 
The EU gives unwelcome advice to the Czechs...
 
A popular Czech dairy product, a creamy cheese traditionally marketed under the name “Pomazankove maslo,” has to change its name. Under EU norms, anything called butter (“maslo” in Czech) must contain at least 80% of butterfat. The Czech “pomazankove maslo” does not qualify as it contains only between 30 and 40% of butterfat. The Czech dairies are up in arms – the cost of new packaging alone is estimated at 20 million crowns (almost a million US dollars).
 
… and goes to war with English cloth-bound cheddar cheesemakers who threaten to punch a hole in the ozone layer.
 
Methyl bromide is needed to destroy cheese mites during maturation. Brussels banned Methyl bromide because of its harmful effect on the planet’s ozone layer. The British producers of cloth-bound cheddar say their survival is threatened. According to Clare Cheney, of the Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association, “This is a premium farmhouse cheese that matures for up to two years. If you cannot control the mites it would not last 10 months. They would eat through into the cheese.”