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FOLLOWING THE EUROPEAN UNION

 
 
Lord Ellpus
 
  1  
Wed 18 Jan, 2006 02:06 pm
nimh wrote:
Never thought I would say this, but: hip hip hooray for Angela Merkel!

Quote:
Merkel adopts hardline approach to Russia
The Independent

summary:

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, confronted Russia's Vladimir Putin on a range of difficult issues that her predecessor had studiously avoided. A fluent Russian speaker educated in East Germany, she tackled Putin on Moscow's nuclear co-operation with Iran, on the state of Russian democracy, and on the behaviour of Russian forces in Chechnya. She promised to monitor a controversial new law that would strictly regulate the activities of foreign human rights organisations in Russia, prompting Putin to assure her in public that the lawful activities of foreign human rights groups would be unaffected. She met citizens' rights groups, opposition MPs, and church leaders, at Germany's Moscow embassy.


I have a feeling that this lady will rock quite a few boats and end up being regarded as one of the best leaders that Europe has seen for a long time.


At least, that's what I hope......
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Wed 18 Jan, 2006 02:44 pm
If "her" government survives more than one year.
0 Replies
 
Lord Ellpus
 
  1  
Wed 18 Jan, 2006 02:51 pm
Quite, Walter.


What do you think of her so far? I know it's early days, but she seems to be getting pretty good press over here.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Wed 18 Jan, 2006 03:11 pm
Well, I'm quite surprised how she handles it.

On the other site, we don't hear much what she does - the "other half" of the coalition is somehow more present.

She really did a great job in Washington, despite the disruptive action from there (namely to launch shortly before the meeting with GWB that two German secret agents were collaborating with the USA/US military in Iraq during the invasion).

Her choices for the conservative cabinet members weren't the best - but that was mostly due to in-house problems within the CDU and her Bavarian sister party CSU.

Most conservative 'institutions' are strongly oposing the governments politicts (today, the doctors were on the streets in Berlin) - the Social Democrats can sell this much easier to their party members (since it's nearly exactly the same as was planned before).
0 Replies
 
JustWonders
 
  1  
Sat 21 Jan, 2006 09:32 am
Red tape 'turning best firms away from Europe'

By David Rennie in Brussels
(Filed: 21/01/2006)

Europe's most successful companies are turning their backs on EU markets because of red tape, a high-level report said yesterday.

The companies that Europe needed to survive were instead investing more money than ever in the United States and Asia, concluded the report, presented to the European Commission in Brussels.

The lack of investment was so dire that it threatened Europe's "comfortable" way of life. "Europe has to act before it's too late," said the report's author, Esko Aho, the former prime minister of Finland.

The findings made unsettling reading for the EU leaders, ripping into their pledges to build a "knowledge-based Europe" that would overtake America in 10 years.

The reality was the opposite. Not only were US, Chinese and Japanese firms outspending Europe on research and development, the gap with Europe was growing.

Perhaps most damagingly, Europe's most important countries were pouring more and more of their technology investment overseas, as they despaired of the European Union becoming "innovation friendly".

Unless EU governments took bold action to increase spending on research, freed labour markets so skilled workers could move more easily, and stopped pouring taxpayers' money into dying industries, Europe's post-war way of life was doomed.

The report said: "Europe must break out of structures and expectations established in the post-Second World War era that leave it today living a moderately comfortable life on slowly declining capital.

"This society, averse to risk and reluctant to change, is in itself alarming but it is also unsustainable in the face of rising competition from other parts of the world. For many citizens without work, or in less-favoured regions, even the claim to comfort is untrue."

Mr Aho refused to follow the lead of French or German politicians, who have attacked major corporations for investing overseas and called for more "economic patriotism".

He said: "We cannot blame them. They are trying to take care of global competitiveness. Unfortunately, these companies can survive without Europe, but Europe cannot survive without these companies. That is why Europe has to act before it's too late."

His report listed a string of gloomy indicators. In 1992, six out of the 10 top-selling pharmaceuticals were produced by European companies. In 2002, this figure had fallen down to two. European firms invested billions more in the United States than US firms invested in Europe.

The report called for better access to venture capital funding to finance innovative companies and more movement between universities and business. The total pool of risk capital investment spent in Europe had shrunk by 90 per cent since the height of the information technology boom in 2000.

European governments were criticised for continuing to pour state aid into dying industries such as cars, steel and textiles. As part of the so-called Lisbon agenda of 2001 EU leaders committed themselves to spending three per cent of their gross domestic product on research and development.

Halfway through the 10-year Lisbon agenda programme, the EU still spent a meagre 1.9 per cent, far behind the US or Japan.

The commission recently predicted that China, for long seen a source of nothing more than basic manufacturing, is spending so much on higher education and research that it would itself overtake the EU on research spending by 2010.

In productivity, the report noted that Europe badly needed to extract more productivity from each worker.
0 Replies
 
nimh
 
  1  
Sun 22 Jan, 2006 05:46 pm
This story is from 5 January, I hope things have changed still since then, I really think this is quite outrageous ...

Quote:
New Rules for Muslims in German State Blasted

[My] summary:

Getting German citizenship usually means signing an oath of allegiance to the constitution. Now, one state has begun singling out Muslims for tougher questioning, sparking an outcry.

The interior ministry of Baden-Württemberg said that potential Muslim Germans would face an interrogation, involving 30 questions on their political, cultural and social views. They inquire about their opinions on religious freedom, equality of the sexes, homosexuality, freedom of expression, the concept of honor, and forced marriage.

Those who fail to satisfy the authorites of their readiness to accept the Basic Law will be refused citizenship. The state also warned that intentionally fudged answers could lead to German citizenship being revoked years later.

The new measure will only be applied to applicants from 57 Islamic countries

Faruk Sen said the move was discriminatory and racist, and that the measure would hamper the willingness among foreigners to apply for German citizenship, in turn negatively impacting their integration.

Green politician Volker Beck suggested that, on the count of equal treatment for homosexuals, "the interior minister himself would probably fail the test."

"This is a decision that was taken by the interior ministry alone, we weren't part of it," said the head of the office of the state's Immigration and Justice Minister.
0 Replies
 
JustWonders
 
  1  
Sun 22 Jan, 2006 09:56 pm
nimh - I think there was a thread (or two) on that. Can't find them...too much weekend.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 12:42 am
Quote:
Madrid strikes historic deal on Catalonia self-rule

By Elizabeth Nash in Madrid
Published: 23 January 2006


The Spanish government reached a historic agreement with Catalonia yesterday that accepts Catalans' demand to be called a nation and extends their powers of self-rule.

Jose Montilla, Spain's Industry Minister and a senior figure in the Catalan Socialist Party, hailed it as "a great day for Catalans and Spaniards".

The Socialist Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, backed by the region's ruling left-wing coalition, clinched a long-awaited deal with Catalonia's conservative nationalist Convergence and Union Party yesterday, a breakthrough described by Madrid as a "global agreement".

The accord, if ratified as expected by parliament in coming days, resolves the most serious political problem that has dogged the Spanish government for a year. The revised statute of autonomy updates the one agreed in 1979 during Spain's fledgling democracy, and pushes the limits of the country's post-Franco constitution. The charter recognises Catalans' desire to be considered a nation and gives them joint equal powers with Madrid over the region's taxes.

The deal was achieved after laborious cross-party haggling that culminated in a marathon session on Saturday in Mr Zapatero's office in Madrid. The new statute is bound to be seen as a possible blueprint for a solution to the decades-long Basque conflict. If Mr Zapatero can pull that off, he will carve his name in Spanish history as the man who ended western Europe's last armed struggle for national identity.

The deal was struck hours after thousands of radical Basque nationalists rallied in Barakaldo, near Bilbao. Arnaldo Otegi, the leader of the banned Batasuna Party, seen as Eta's political wing, told supporters "the obstacles we face show we are approaching a process of solutions".

Spain's main opposition Popular Party remains opposed to the Catalan statute. It fears the revised charter could lead to the break-up of Spain, especially if the momentum is seized by the Basques and other regions. A PP spokeswoman condemned "a deal struck in secret ... disregarding the wishes of most Spaniards". The PP is a minority in Catalonia and the parliament in Madrid, and would not muster strength to block the accord.
More serious for Mr Zapatero is possible opposition from the pro-independence Catalan Republican Left (ERC), a partner in the region's left-wing coalition, which may face pressure from members to demand a stronger declaration of nationhood. The preamble of the draft describes Catalonia as a nation and a "nationality within Spain" in the main text.

Mr Zapatero met the ERC leader, Josep Lluis Carod Rovira, yesterday to ensure his support, which is crucial, because if the ERC quits the coalition the regional government could fall, throwing the whole agreement into doubt. The party said earlier it was "not satisfied" but "there was still opportunity to reach agreement." The ERC leader conceded in an interview with Barcelona's La Vanguardia newspaper yesterday that independence was not his immediate priority. "Only 16 per cent of Catalans want it... Everything depends on whether Spain grants Catalonia the instruments with which it feels comfortable."

The new charter also devolves to Catalonia powers over matters that affect it. Some, including administration of the region's railways and the acceptance of Catalan as an official language equal to Spanish, respond to long-held demands. Others, including responsibility for immigration into Catalonia, reflect changing social conditions over the past 25 years.

A senior general was sacked recently for suggesting the army might intervene if Catalan demands breached the constitution. Days later an army captain in Spain's African enclave of Melilla warned of "dismemberment of the fatherland". But General Felix Sanz, Spain's armed forces chief, urged troops yesterday to "be loyal, have confidence in their commander" and respect parliament and the constitution.
Source
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 12:45 am
And in neighbouring Portugal, the conservative Aníbal Cavaco Silva won the election for president in Portugal on Sunday.
A victory that is a blow to the governing Socialist Party.
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nimh
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 05:33 am
But an expected one, with Cavaco Silva the only rightwing candidate and the leftwing votes dispersed over four different candidates, one of whom the gerontic Soares and all polling in between 6% and 20% in the opinion polls ... what were they thinking?
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nimh
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 05:46 am
Italian Campaign Starts with Prodi on Top
2006/01/23 · Angus Reid Global Scan

The centre-left Union is the top political alliance in Italy, according to three recent voting intention polls. [..] Italian voters are scheduled to renew their legislative branch on Apr. 9. [..] On Jan. 20, Prodi said that the news broadcasts in the RAI, Mediaset and La7 television stations featured stories about Berlusconi for 186 minutes during the first 15 days of January, while only eight minutes were used to cover the Union leader's activities.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 06:49 am
The case against Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's most prominent writer, was dropped by an Istanbul court Sunday following a statement from the Turkish Justice Ministry.

Turkey throws out case against author Pamuk
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nimh
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 11:15 am
Rugova died! Last Saturday. How could I have missed that? Thats ... disturbing. Unrest and instability in Kosovo will now increase further, possibly drastically, and that right at the eve of the status talks.

Press mulls Rugova death

Kosovo mourners braced for leadership battle after mourns loss of 'Gandhi of the Balkans'

Rugova's death leaves vacuum in Kosovo
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 03:43 pm
German Chancellor Merkle (btw: was is the female version of chancellor?) was/is today again visiting Girac: opposite to what all believed before, talks seem to have ended in (nearly) complete harmony (which really surprised me!).

Merkel also defended the French leader's threat last week that France might use its nuclear weapons against state-sponsored terrorism.

And Chirac said he totally supported Merkel's position ...



Obviously, she was backing him in his election campaign - assistance between conservative 'relatives', I suppose.

Commentators here and (German) correspondants in Versailles are quite taken aback as well, while some French call it the new "tandem franco-allemand".
0 Replies
 
nimh
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 08:52 pm
nimh wrote:
This story is from 5 January, I hope things have changed still since then, I really think this is quite outrageous ...

You know, whenever the Germans think they can get away with something stupid, the Dutch are sure to try out something even more outrageous...

The latest idea from Dutch Integration Minister Verdonk: to require people to speak the Dutch language in public.

Yes, really.

The Dutch media, as the Radio Netherlands press review below shows, are skeptical - except for De Telegraaf, the country's biggest newspaper.

Quote:
Radio Netherlands Press Review Service
* Press Review - Monday 23 January 2006 - by Marijke van der Meer


[..]

Mentally disturbed

Today's papers are full of discussion, jokes, commentary and reporting about the latest proposal to bring decency and manners back into Dutch public life. The proposal is to require people to speak the Dutch language in public.

"What mentally disturbed compatriot could possibly get it into their head to require everyone to speak Dutch on the street?" asks a columnist in De Volkskrant. His answer, "Mrs Verdonk." As every Dutch person knows, that is "Iron" Rita Verdonk, our famous minister of integration and immigration. But as everyone in all fairness quickly adds, this time she was inspired by a new code of public conduct drawn up in Rotterdam.

"Rotterdam: the biggest port in the world, the heart of provincial Netherlands", says the Amsterdam-based De Volkskrant. "And we all know who the minister is talking about when she suggests sweeping foreign languages like so much litter off the streets. She is not talking about Polish, or Russian, or any other European language, but about sounds made by people with a Muslim appearance, who usually wear long robes and have a tendency to carry suspicious-looking packages under their arms."

Complaining

For De Telegraaf the idea of requiring people to speak Dutch in public, though it may seem childish, is not such an outrageous idea. "The failure to integrate minorities is often due to the lack of clarity about the norms of our society. A code of conduct could help everyone know what is expected of them."

The paper adds, "Immigrants should not hide behind a foreign language. It is silly to reject outright such a clear guideline from the start."

[..]
0 Replies
 
JustWonders
 
  1  
Mon 23 Jan, 2006 10:47 pm
Quote:
"The failure to integrate minorities is often due to the lack of clarity about the norms of our society. A code of conduct could help everyone know what is expected of them."


I don't see how it's possible to "require" that Dutch be spoken and I also see how resentment will form if the attempt is made, but I think I understand the reasoning.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Tue 24 Jan, 2006 01:36 am
Not from the EU, but a report related to the Council of Europe:


Quote:
Europe 'ignored detention of prisoners by the CIA'

By Stephen Castle in Strasbourg
Published: 24 January 2006

European governments turned a blind eye to the illegal transport and detention of prisoners by the CIA, an investigator from Europe's main human rights watchdog will argue today.

Dick Marty, a Swiss parliamentarian, will release interim findings from his inquiries on behalf of the Council of Europe, assessing a host of allegations concerning secret flights across EU airspace and illegal prisons. However, the inquiry is not so far thought to have uncovered any new evidence on the most sensitive of the allegations - the location of secret prison sites.

Instead, Mr Marty's report will focus on cases already in the public domain, including those of the Egyptian cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, allegedly kidnapped from Milan in 2003; and of a Lebanese-born German, Khaled el-Masri, who was allegedly abducted in Macedonia last year and flown to Afghanistan where he was held for four months.

Today's report marks the start, rather than the conclusion, of European efforts to get to the truth of CIA flight claims, which first surfaced last November.

The secretary general of the Council of Europe, Terry Davis, has invoked article 52 of the European Convention to ask all his 46 member nations to reply to a series of questions on the claims by 21 February. And last week the European Parliament agreed to set up a separate but parallel committee of inquiry which, though it will not be able to subpoena witnesses, has the power to embarrass governments by holding public hearings and making it clear who is refusing to cooperate.
European member states have been reluctant to press the US on the issue, leading to speculation that many were complicit in the CIA's activities. Yesterday, René van der Linden, chairman of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly said he "would like to see some parliaments [stand up to] the governments."

Mr Marty has been promised imagery of possible detention sites from the EU's satellite centre at Torrejon in Spain, though this has not yet been delivered, nor has he received flight log books from the Brussels-based air safety organisation Eurocontrol.

The allegations fall into two categories. The first and most serious is that prisoners were detained secretly in two east European countries. Human Rights Watch identified Romania's Kogalniceanu military airfield and Poland's Szczytno-Szymany airport as possible sites for secret detention centres, basing its claims on flight logs of CIA aircraft from 2001 to 2004. Both governments deny involvement.

Mr Marty has conceded that he faces an uphill battle in proving these allegations, since the facilities for which he is searching are likely to be small, and have probably been closed.

The second set of claims centres on secret CIA flights. Across the continent, governments have been forced to reveal possible involvement with the flights. Sweden says at least one plane with possible CIA links has landed in its territory. Denmark has identified 14 suspect flights, while Norway pinpointed three. And Austria's air force is investigating allegations that a US transport plane containing suspected terrorist captives passed through the neutral country's airspace in 2003.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Tue 24 Jan, 2006 01:40 am
A different view of the Chirc - Merkel meeting than I got yesterday by the Independent from the UK:

Quote:
Merkel and Chirac fail to hide the tension

By John Lichfield in Paris
Published: 24 January 2006

France and Germany have said they will draw up concrete plans to rescue the European Union from the wreckage of its proposed constitutional treaty.

President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Angela Merkel, in their first summit since her appointment, promised to kickstart the Franco-German "motor" to give "fresh impetus " to the EU. But the meeting in Versailles yesterday failed to dispel the impression that relations between the two allies had seen better times.

Ms Merkel refused to make any concession on France's request for a special EU exemption to allow a sharp reduction in VAT on restaurant meals in France. There was no sign either of any true meeting of minds on how the EU should move forward from the rejection of the proposed constitution by referendums in France and the Netherlands.

Although the VAT spat may seem trivial to outsiders, the French President first promised to reduce the VAT on restaurant meals to 5.5 per cent (down from a punishing 19.5 per cent) during his 2002 election campaign. The shift of restaurants from one VAT band to another must be approved by EU governments. It has been blocked until now by Germany, which is planning to raise its VAT rates next year.

Ms Merkel showed no willingness yesterday to withdraw Berlin's objections when the issue comes up for discussion in Brussels today. President Chirac indicated that he hoped for no more than a decision to put off a decision until another day.

However, the leaders promised to work closely on how the EU should recover from the rejection of the constitution. But they did not address the fundamental difference between the two countries. France wants to revive some of the constitution's ideas for streamlining EU decision-making and to ditch the rest. Ms Merkel says that she can only accept the whole treaty.
Instead, the French and German leaders promised to try to revive the partnership between the countries with a series of concrete proposals on EU research, employment, migration and energy policy at the European summit on 23 March. The warm words failed to disguise the fact that the Franco-German relationship has been, at best, idling since Ms Merkel came to power.

Partly, this is an inevitable consequence of the political timetable. President Chirac, weakened by his EU referendum defeat and his health, is approaching the end of his career, whereas Ms Merkel wants to make a fresh start. As a post-war child raised in East Germany, some fear that she will be tempted to spread Germany's diplomatic energies wider than previous chancellors. She will build strong relations with Russia, eastern Europe, the United States and Britain. France will also be an important partner but no longer the privileged partner of old.

In the Elysée Palace an even darker suspicion reigns: that Ms Merkel sees no point in developing a close relationship with a lame-duck M. Chirac, who is unlikely to be president beyond next spring. She has already forged friendly direct links with his possible successor, the Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy.

A willingness by Ms Merkel yesterday to allow French diners to eat cheaper restaurant meals would have shown that she wanted to work closely with M. Chirac, but it was a signal that she failed to give.


Today's French press sees it more or less the same.
0 Replies
 
Walter Hinteler
 
  1  
Tue 24 Jan, 2006 01:57 am
nimh wrote:
The latest idea from Dutch Integration Minister Verdonk: to require people to speak the Dutch language in public.


I've read in the Süddeutsche today that the language test for immigrants to the Netherlands, which will become mandatory and has to be done in embassies and sonsulates in the coutry of origin, costs 350 €.
With expected 14,000 applicants per year that's an plus of nearly 5 million € to the Dutch budget.


I like the article by the JOVD (which nimh might translate, if he has time for such :wink: ):
Quote:

JOVD is sprakelos
JOVD gelooft wél in Babylonisch Nederland
0 Replies
 
Lord Ellpus
 
  1  
Tue 24 Jan, 2006 02:00 am
...."A willingness by Ms Merkel yesterday to allow French diners to eat cheaper restaurant meals would have shown that she wanted to work closely with M. Chirac, but it was a signal that she failed to give.".......

WTF? How dare she?!!

The VAT in French restaurants is a matter of great concern to the whole of the EU, not just France!!.
Now, because of this German intransigence, holidaymakers in France will not only have to put up with mediocre fare, served in soulless palaces of plasticness by humourless superior waiters, they have to face the prospect of having to pay exhorbitant prices for the forseeable future.


I am sure that Ms Merkel's stubbornness in this matter will bring about the rapid decline of Europe, dragging the entire western free world along with it.

Shame one her!



....Of course, one idea could be that these restaurants actually charge somthing that could be regarded as approaching a realistic price in the first place, like most of the rest of Europe. Then there wouldn't be so much VAT to add onto the bill.
0 Replies
 
 

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