A peine un mois après son décès, les scénaristes américains se penchent déjà sur un biopic de Steve Jobs. Ils imaginent bien George Clooney dans le rôle titre.

Le cheveu grisonnant et le regard malicieux de Steve Jobs pourraient être reproduits par George Clooney. Le co-fondateur d’Apple a laissé une trace indélébile dans notre société, une raison suffisante pour faire de sa vie un film. Aaron Sorkin, le scénariste de The Social Network serait déjà pressenti pour adapter la biographie du génie de l’informatique au cinéma. Pour incarner le personnage principal de ce qui s’annonce déjà comme le biopic le plus attendu des années à venir, rien de moins que Georges Clooney.

L’acteur américain n’a pour l’instant pas fait de déclaration pour confirmer cette information. Le site Codiller.com qui a annoncé la mise en place de ce projet révèle qu’un autre acteur serait en lice pour incarner Steve Jobs à l’écran. Noah Wyle, issu de la série Urgence tout comme George Clooney, se verrait bien également dans la peau de Steve Jobs. Avantage pour lui, il a déjà incarné le personnage dans le téléfilm Pirates of Silicon Valley. Dans cette fiction réalité il donnait la réplique à Anthony Michael Hall dans le rôle de Bill Gates.

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Aucun nom en revanche ne circule pour l’instant au sujet de l’interprétation du créateur de Windows, meilleur ennemi de Steve Jobs. George Clooney qui a déjà incarné de nombreux personnages charismatiques au cinéma donnerait avec ce rôle une nouvelle dimension à sa carrière. Les accros de la pomme sont d’ores et déjà prêts à juger celui qui osera s’attaquer au mythe Jobs.

UK supports non-binding renewable energy goal

‘Green growth group’ of mainly western member states pushing 2030 targets, but eastern countries have major concerns.

On the eve of a meeting of energy ministers from the European Union member states, the UK government said that it supports a European Commission proposal for an EU renewables goal for 2030 that is binding only at EU level.

Ed Davey, the UK’s minister for energy and climate, said at a meeting of environment ministers in Brussels yesterday (3 March) that his government can support a proposal for an EU-level renewable energy target, as long as it does not contain binding national targets. The UK had been opposed to any target for renewable energy after 2030.

Last month the Commission put forward a proposal that would set a new binding target for emissions reduction – a 40% reduction from 1990 levels by 2030. That is an increase from a 20% target for 2020.

But the Commission decided not to continue the policy of having a nationally binding targets for renewabes, instead setting an EU-level goal only.

East-west divide

Ministers from 13 member states have signed a joint declaration supporting the Commission’s proposal. This ‘green growth group’ includes the UK, France, Italy, Germany and other mainly western European countries. But this group is meeting resistance from countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria – who are wary of the targets.

During yesterday’s discussion, the first time the issue has been discussed at ministerial level, ministers from central and eastern European countries expressed concern about how the burden of the EU-level emissions reduction target will be split among member states. They want to see an agreement on burden-sharing before any target is agreed.

The Commission, as well as the ‘green growth group’ member states, are aiming for an agreement on the target by EU leaders either at this month’s European Council or the summit in June.

However, Poland wants a slower approach. Warsaw wants any target agreed now to be conditional on equivalent action by other global powers at a UN climate summit in 2015. This is adamantly opposed by most western European countries, who say an agreement is needed quickly in order to stimulate movement from global partners.

“The EU should present a provisional goal which will be finally accepted only if the new [2015] agreement will be understood by the EU as a universal one [applying to all large global players],” said Marcin Korolec, Polish climate envoy.

Speaking at a conference of the ‘green growth group’ after yesterday’s council, Davey said he believes the doubting countries can be brought on side before the March European Council.

“The Poles, Slovaks, Czechs and Bulgarians havevoiced some concerns, and we need to listen to them, we need to find a way to meet their realistic asks,” he told journalists.

Russia’s military action in Ukraine over the weekend has loomed large over the ministers’ meeting. Connie Hedegaard, European commissioner for climate action, told environment ministers yesterday that the situation in Ukraine shows that the EU needs to expand renewables in order to achieve energy independence.

But Eastern European member states are concerned that the targets would hamper energy independence by forcing them to abandon what little domestic energy sources they have, be it coal or shale gas.

Davey said setting a target for 2030 will help build new domestic energy sources. “This is about energy security – this package can stimulate the investment that our central and eastern European friends need.”

Discussions will continue among EU energy ministers today.

MEPs vie with Van Rompuy for power of initiative on Commission presidency

Parliament suspicious of plan for European Council to meet two days after election.

The leadership of the European Parliament has responded swiftly to counter what it sees as a move by Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, to take the initiative on deciding who is appointed to the presidency of European Commission.

MEPs reacted with alarm to the disclosure by Van Rompuy last week that he was scheduling a meeting of the European Council – the leaders of the national governments – on Tuesday 27 May, a mere 48 hours after the results of the European Parliament elections are announced on Sunday 25 May.

The current leadership of the Parliament is afraid that the European Council will pre-empt decisions on who should be appointed to the European Union’s top jobs – as well as the president of the Commission, the next president of the European Council and next foreign policy chief will also be chosen this summer.

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, announced that he would convene an informal meeting on the morning of 27 May of the current leaders of the political groups in the Parliament. The promptness of the Parliament’s response shows that it regards the revised appointment procedure for the president of the Commission as an important trial of strength between the two institutions.

Schulz himself will be the candidate of the centre-left to succeed José Manuel Barroso as president of the Commission.

But in the immediate aftermath of the elections, the Parliament will be lacking form and leadership. No meeting of the full Parliament is scheduled until 1-3 July and the membership of the political groups that make up the newly elected Parliament will will not be settled until 24 June.

Joseph Daul, the leader of the group of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), said he would meet Van Rompuy next week to “clarify” that the informal European Council indeed was not an attempt to encroach on the Parliament’s prerogatives in the appointment procedure.

The presidency of the Commission is for the first time being decided using the rules of the Lisbon treaty, which say that the European Council will propose to the Parliament a candidate for Commission president “taking into account the elections to the European Parliament and after having held the appropriate consultations”.

“It is us who must take the initiative,” said Hannes Swoboda, the leader of the centre-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the second-largest group in the current Parliament. He admitted to “a certain conflict between Mr Van Rompuy and us”.

“Our interpretation of the Lisbon treaty is that the European Parliament has the task to propose a candidate to the [European] Council and after the discussion by the Council this proposal would come back to the Parliament because it is us who must decide and, in the end, vote,” he said.

Van Rompuy cancelled a meeting of the European Council that had been scheduled for mid-May, in favour of the informal meeting two weeks later.

A Council official said that the goal was for the national leaders to map out the process of appointing a Commission president rather than to discuss actual names. Another official said that the aim was to avoid any vacuum between the elections on 22-25 May and a regular meeting of the European Council scheduled for 26-27 June, when the national leaders are supposed formally to agree on their nomination for the Commission presidency.

The nominee will have to win the support of an absolute majority in the Parliament, ie 376 MEPs, to be appointed. Complications might arise if the new Parliament has a much enlarged contingent of Eurosceptic MEPs.

Parliament sources said that Van Rompuy would meet the political group leaders in April to discuss the timing of the negotiations between the institutions.

Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-leader of the Green group in the Parliament, described Van Rompuy as an “agent provocateur” and said that the right moment to propose a Commission president was around one month after the elections, when the political groups have been formed in the Parliament.

“Any proposal made by the Council before the Parliament reconvenes will be rejected, no matter who it is,” he said.

Sylvie Goulard, a French liberal MEP, said that Van Rompuy’s move was “once again the same politics that tries to impose the views of the European Council on the European Parliament”.

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Dombrovskis withdraws from EPP candidate race

Speculation that Barnier may withdraw tonight, leaving Juncker unopposed.

Valdis Dombrovskis, the former prime minister of Latvia, has today (6 March) withdrawn from the contest to be the centre-right European Peoples’ Party (EPP) candidate for president of the European Commission. He said the EPP should rally behind one nominee – Jean-Claude Juncker.

“To achieve the best results EPP must unite its efforts to support Jean-Claude Juncker’s candidacy to EC president,” Dombrovskis said in a tweet from the EPP congress in Dublin, which opened this morning.

This leaves Juncker, the former prime minister of Luxembourg, and Michel Barnier, the European commissioner for the internal market, from France, as the only candidates for tomorrow’s delegate vote in Dublin. There has been speculation that Barnier may step aside tonight as well, leaving Juncker unopposed. However EPP sources say this is not likely.

German MEP Martin Schulz was elected by 91% of delegates at the centre-left PES party congress in Rome on Saturday (1 March). Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt stood unopposed at the liberal ALDE party’s congress in Brussels on 1 February, when the European commissioner for the budget, Olli Rehn from Finland, dropped out of the contest following a backroom deal with Verhofstadt.

Europe’s 12 centre-right heads of government are currently at an emergency summit on Ukraine in Brussels. But they will fly to Dublin tonight for a dinner of centre-right leaders.

EU to start talks on deal with Cuba

Mandate would involve stronger trade relations in exchange for improvements on human rights.

Foreign ministers from the European Union’s member states will on Monday (10 February) give the green light for talks on an economic and political agreement with Cuba, the EU’s most significant move in almost six years to develop relations with the communist state.

The mandate, which is scheduled to go through without debate, would require the European Commission and the European External Action Service to require steps to expand human rights in return for stronger trade relations. The start of talks would also consolidate a common EU position towards Cuba.

The EU suspended relations in 2003 after the Cuban authorities threw 75 dissidents into jail. The EU re-established contacts in 2008, after the prisoners’ release, but engagement has largely been limited to the provision of €86 million to fund post-hurricane reconstruction, along with programmes related to energy and education.

The idea of a bilateral agreement has been gestating in the EU’s institutions since October 2010, when the member states asked the EEAS to launch a “reflection” – as it described the process – on the future of EU-Cuba relations. Two years later, in November 2012, foreign ministers asked the EEAS to explore whether a common EU policy could be maintained.

Over the years, 15 member states have gradually come to bilateral agreements with Cuba individually, and Frans Timmermans, the Dutch foreign minister, in January called for the EU “to revise its position on Cuba”. Spain and Italy are among the traditional proponents of stronger ties.

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However, the countries that have traditionally taken the strongest line on human-rights conditions being part of the talks – the former communist countries – have enjoyed support from a range of northern European states. It was Germany that made the most recent intervention, asking for reassurance from the EEAS about human rights.

Member states say they intend to keep a close eye on the course of talks, and the inclusion of the EEAS as a joint negotiator is seen as a signal of the highly political character of the negotiations. The Commission often negotiates political agreements together with trade agreements on the EU’s behalf, as it is currently doing in the case of Japan. It is not clear, however, when the talks with Cuba would start. A diplomat said that he expected a low-profile process.

Czech commissioner: a possible return

Can Pavel Telicka have a second turn as the Czech Republic’s European commissioner – a post he held ten years ago?

It is not unprecedented for an ex-European commissioner to return to the college after an interruption: the examples of Claude Cheysson (1973-81 and 1985-89) and Michel Barnier (1999-2004 and 2010-present) show that France is not averse to recycling its commissioners. But engineering such a feat in the turbulent pool of Czech politics is a big ask. Telicka, who had been the Czech ambassador to the EU before the country joined the EU, was made the commissioner from May 2004. But when it came to the formation of the new Commission later that year he was dropped in favour of Vladimír Špidla who had, as prime minister, nominated him in the first place a few months earlier.

Now Telicka is the preferred candidate for the Commission of ANO, which is the party that won most seats in the European Parliament elections, with him at the head of the list. But ANO is only the second-largest party in the national government. The Social Democrats (CSSD) have chosen Pavel Mertlík, a former finance minister, as their preferred commissioner.

Deadlock appears likely, which might improve the chances of Zuzana Roithová, an ex-health minister. She was an MEP for the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) for ten years (2004-14), which would guarantee her an easy ride in front of the Parliament. Telicka, on the other hand – and this is where he differs from Cheysson and Barnier – after leaving the Commission spent some years out of politics as a consultant. That might make his nomination hearings more interesting.

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Commission prepares guidelines on shale gas

Plan to propose legislation harmonising rules on fracking to be scrapped in favour of non-binding advice.

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Guidelines on shale gas exploration to be adopted by the European Commission next week (22 January) will provide greater clarity for the extractive industry and rule out the prospect of cumbersome European Union-level restrictions on the practice of hydraulic fracturing, according to a draft seen by European Voice.

The process, known as ‘fracking’, uses a horizontal well to blast a water/chemical mixture into fissures in the rock. Concerns have been raised about contamination of groundwater and causing small earthquakes.

The Commission, under significant pressure from environmentalists and some member states such as France which have banned fracking, had been considering proposing binding EU-wide rules covering environmental damage and safety. The Commission’s environment department had even drafted such possible legislation.

But there has also been warnings from the oil and gas industry and pro-shale countries such as Poland and the UK that adding needless bureaucracy would inhibit exploration and prevent the EU from taking advantage of an indigenous, lower-carbon (compared to coal) energy source. They say existing EU and national laws on drilling already cover fracking.

The guidelines will seek to co-ordinate the national policies of those member states that choose to extract shale gas, but other member states will still be free to have national bans, according to a draft.

However the draft stipulates that if the Commission finds that member states are not following the recommendations, the EU could make them legally binding in 2015. The recommendations include conducting site inspections for the possibility of groundwater contamination, restricting drilling in areas prone to floods or earthquakes and monitoring methane emissions and fracturing fluid.

Tensions on this subject are running high within the Commission, according to sources. Janez Potocnik, the commissioner for the environment, has suggested behind the scenes that it would be better to put forward nothing at all rather than weak non-binding guidelines.

The greater clarity will be seen as a green light for the UK and Poland to increase exploration activities. Yesterday (13 January) British prime minister David Cameron announced that local councils will be financially rewarded for allowing fracking within their localities. They could keep double the amount in taxes from these operations as would normally be collected.

Change in Van Rompuy’s office

Richard Corbett, a member of the private office of Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, is to leave at the end of February as he seeks a return to the European Parliament.

He was a British Labour MEP between 1996 and 2009, when he lost his seat, but is now standing again. Corbett, 59, has been handling relations with the Parliament, as well as being something of a spokesman for Van Rompuy with the British media, but will not be replaced in Van Rompuy’s private office, where relations with Parliament will be handled by Alice Richard. The sensitivity of those relations has been obvious in recent days as the Parliament’s leadership reacted sharply to Van Rompuy’s declaration that he would be calling a meeting of the European Council two days after the Parliament’s elections. Some MEPs accused him of trying to pre-empt discussions over the appointment of the next president of the European Commission.

The Red Devils will go up against their record goalscorer at Pride Park and the reunion only serves to underline the size of the void he left behind

On Thursday evening, Manchester United will take on Derby County in the fifth round of the FA Cup. It means a reunion with Wayne Rooney – a player they have yet to replace.

Rooney, of course, remains a legend at Old Trafford. During his 13-year stay, he became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. His tally of 253 goals is unlikely to ever be surpassed.

However, it is worth remembering that Rooney could have left long before 2017. Indeed, United almost lost Rooney in the summer following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

More teams

The manager told the press that the striker had put in another transfer request, though that might have been a proclamation designed to force him out of the club in his last move in charge of United.

Regardless, Rooney remained in Manchester, which was perhaps surprising given the intense interest from Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in his services, not to mention the libel dispute between the England international and Ferguson’s successor, David Moyes.

Ultimately, United decided that it would be too risky to lose both Rooney and Ferguson in a single window and the forward was eventually given a £300,000-a-week contract renewal, which he signed in early 2014.

While that appeared to be the right move for the club at the time, to prevent chaos overtaking United immediately in the aftermath of Ferguson, he was never able to make a compelling case for his inclusion from that point on.

Poor fitness, diminishing pace and an increasingly weak first touch meant that Moyes, Louis van Gaal and then even Mourinho all attempted to shift him around the pitch to let him flourish, only to discover he was simply no longer capable of performing in the English top flight.

In truth, Rooney’s form had been on the wane since 2010, but Ferguson’s expertise had kept the side winning despite underinvestment.

The signing of Robin van Persie was a masterstroke that yielded one final Premier League title as it helped replicate Rooney’s once explosive qualities, while Shinji Kagawa was brought to the club in an attempt to add vim and guile to the midfield, further reducing the dependence on Rooney. 

Ultimately, Kagawa failed to properly adapt and Moyes’ miserable tenure arrested more than just the Japanese player’s progress.

With Van Persie a shadow of himself in the absence of the inspirational Ferguson, United needed Rooney to step up, or to properly replace him. They managed neither. And they are still searching for a successor.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had wanted Cesc Fabregas and Gareth Bale to launch Moyes’ time at the club. Each of them probably would have been a huge success at Old Trafford, but instead Marouane Fellaini was bought in last-minute desperation.

Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria came and went, with the Argentine’s reported hatred for United only matched by the average United fan’s hatred for his unimpressive efforts.

Mourinho and Woodward would have been delighted if Paul Pogba had proven himself capable of being the club’s new talisman, but during the Portuguese’s tenure, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic provided sufficient brio and individual determination to make a difference to results.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was another busted Dortmund flush, unable to apply himself convincingly. Alexis Sanchez should have been a sure thing; instead his lasting impression will be as a depreciating asset on the club’s financial ledger.

The club do at least appear aware that there are problems in attack and midfield, and have finally started to properly address the weakness.

Both Woodward and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer expected to sign Erling Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg in January, but, in circumstances that recall Woodward being surprised to see Bale in Madrid as he watched television, he turned up in Dortmund instead.

In something of a panic, United eventually signed Bruno Fernandes from Sporting C.P. after a brief period of brinkmanship between the two clubs and advisor Jorge Mendes. Now, the club have an attacking midfielder who can finally burst from deep and create chances, as Rooney did at his peak in United’s last great team, when he played interchangeably with Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez in attack.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Glazer family-owned club still plan to build out their offensive options, instead of doing just enough to get by.

Pogba is expected to leave for Real Madrid or Juventus, and so plans are being made to bring in at least one of Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho and James Maddison, though that presupposes that Harry Kane does not become the priority should he attempt to force his way out of Tottenham this summer.

While too much time has passed for the club to think of it in such a way, with the team’s makeup changing from one season to the next, it is perhaps worth considering that United are simply looking for what Rooney once offered: he was an energetic forward, a deft playmaker, an energetic hustler and a leader.

As he retreated into himself, becoming one-dimensional and personally introverted before eventually departing, other players should have stepped up to cover for those weaknesses. But none have done so adequately.

The same could be said of the managers since Ferguson, of course.

The Scot and Rooney may have ultimately had an unsustainable relationship, but until the club find such two determined characters to drive them forward on and off the field, United will continue to struggle.

Mediaset receives boost in state aid case

Commission letter estimating state aid at €5 million is not binding on national court, ECJ rules.

Mediaset, a company founded and largely owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, received a favourable verdict from the European Court of Justice today in its state aid dispute with the Italian government.

The ECJ ruled that the Italian court dealing with the case – in which the Italian government is seeking to recover state aid from Mediaset that was deemed illegal by the European Commission in 2007 – is free to determine the value of the aid to be reimbursed.

The Tribunale civile di Roma had asked the ECJ whether it was bound by a Commission letter that had estimated the amount to be recovered at €5 million.

A legal expert commissioned by the Italian court had contradicted the Commission’s letter, arguing that Mediaset may not have benefitted from the illegal state aid and therefore would not need to reimburse any money.

Although the state aid decision is binding, “the same cannot be said of the letters sent subsequently by the Commission to the Italian Republic as part of the exchanges to ensure the immediate and effective execution of that decision”, the ECJ ruled.

In 2007, the Commission found that the Berlusconi government had broken EU state-aid rules during Italy’s switchover from analogue to digital television. It had favoured terrestrial and cable broadcasters, such as Mediaset and state-owned channel Rai, at the expense of satellite broadcasters, in particular Sky Italia. The government had not notified the Commission about the subsidies, worth approximately €200m.

Mediaset has lost two appeals against the decision before European Union courts.