Ukraine crisis: Nato plans (not approved by France, Germany, Spain and Italy) east European bases to counter Russia - by Ian Traynor

NAT)O says it is to deploy its forces at new bases in eastern Europe for the first time, in response to the Ukraine crisis and in an attempt to deter Vladimir Putin from causing trouble in the former Soviet Baltic republics, according to its secretary general.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the organisztions's summit in Cardiff next week would overcome divisions within the alliance and agree to new deployments on Russia's borders – a move certain to trigger a strong reaction from Moscow.

He also outlined moves to boost Ukraine's security, "modernise" its armed forces and help the country counter the threat from Russia.

Rasmussen said: "We will adopt what we call a readiness action plan with the aim to be able to act swiftly in this completely new security environment in Europe. We have something already called the Nato response force, whose purpose is to be able to be deployed rapidly if needed. Now it's our intention to develop what I would call a spearhead within that response force at very, very high readiness.

"In order to be able to provide such rapid reinforcements you also need some reception facilities in host nations. So it will involve the pre-positioning of supplies, of equipment, preparation of infrastructure, bases, headquarters. The bottom line is you will in the future see a more visible Nato presence in the east."
Poland and the three Baltic states have been alarmed at the perceived threat from Russia and have been clamouring for a stronger Nato presence in the region. They have criticised what they see as tokenism in the alliance's response so far.

But the issue of permanent Nato bases in east Europe is divisive. The French, Italians and Spanish are opposed while the Americans and British are supportive of the eastern European demands. The Germans, said a Nato official, were sitting on the fence, wary of provoking Russia.

Note EU-Digest: This kind of rhetoric and sabre rattling will only increase the problems as it will be seen as provocative by Russia. The only solution seems to be a negotiated settlement which clearly defines the borders of Russia and EU-Member States and protects all ethnic minorities.

Read more: Ukraine crisis: Nato plans east European bases to counter Russia | World news | The Guardian

Traffic Fatalities: The world map of driving deaths

A new report from the International Transport Forum finds that the United States had more road deaths per capita in 2012 than Canada, Australia, Japan, and all of the European nations that reported data.

Read more: The world map of driving deaths - Vox

EU Economy: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stage

The eurozone's growing fears of deflation will be stirred again on Friday when preliminary consumer price data for August will be issued with signs that the European Central Bank (ECB) could be looking at bolder steps to help the region's stagnant economy.

Analyst polled by Reuters forecast the annual inflation rate to slip to 0.3 per cent from 0.4 per cent in July, falling even further below the ECB's target of below but close to two per cent and mired deep in what the bank calls the "danger zone." The ECB cut interest rates in June and promised banks cheap long-term loans starting in September and any new measures before those loans kick in had been considered unlikely.

However, in remarks that opened the door to possible policy action at the bank's next meeting in September, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Friday that the bank is prepared to respond with all its "available" tools should inflation drop further.

Speaking at a global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Draghi said he is confident that the steps already announced, helped by a weaker euro would boost demand in the ailing economic bloc. But in stronger language than he has used in the past, he stressed the central bank stands ready to do more. "The (ECB's) governing council will acknowledge these (economic) developments and within its mandate will use all the available instruments needed to ensure price stability over the medium term," he said.

The main weapon at the bank's disposal, printing money to buy bonds, known as Quantitative Easing (QE), is still opposed by Germany's Bundes bank which plays down the danger of deflation. In his remarks on Friday, Draghi did not mention the policy specifically, but a growing number of analysts believe it is only a matter of time before the ECB follows the path already trodden by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

"The ECB will ultimately move to QE unless the euro weakens appreciably," said Riccardo Barbieri, chief European economist at Mizuho, adding that, "In the near term stagnation and near-zero inflation in the eurozone are almost a certainty. Developments in Ukraine will continue to be a major focus for markets, with the negative headlines of recent weeks having pushed German bond yields to new lows."

Read more: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stagEU Economy: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stag

Germany: no Iraq combat troops or weapons to PKK

Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out sending German combat troops to Iraq and is dismissing suggestions her country could send weapons to the separatist Kurdish PKK movement.

Germany said last week it is prepared to arm the regional Kurdish government forces battling Islamic militants in northern Iraq. It's still determining what to send them.

Sunday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper reported some German government lawmakers also are considering arming the PKK, which the EU classifies a terrorist organization. Merkel, however, said the group "does not come into question as a recipient" of German arms.

Merkel said in an interview with ARD television Sunday that Berlin "will not under any circumstances send combat troops to Iraq" and has no "concrete plans" to send troops in any other function, such as training.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/24/4306434/germany-no-iraq-combat-troops.html#storylink=cpy

Read more: BERLIN: Germany: no Iraq combat troops or weapons to PKK - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com

EU-Digest Poll Shows Majority EU Citizens (56.25%) feel Britain Should Get Out Of The EU

The most recent EU-Digest poll which posed the question "Should Britain Quit The EU?" based on 4 possible answers showed a majority of European Citizens want Britain out of the EU.

The answers which got most votes for why Britain should leave the EU were - "Yes - they are more loyal to the US than the EU" - 31.25% and "Yes - they have never been a trustworthy partner" - 25%

This month new Poll to last through September 22, 2014 poses the following question:

SHOULD EU CITIZENSHIP FOR CITIZENS WHO SYMPATHIZE OR JOIN ISIS BE REVOKED?

The above action would probably also require most EU member states to legislate new laws for approval by their local parliaments.

EU-Digest

EU - Who Pays the Most for Russian Gas in Europe and Why - by Varvara Fomina

Following the revolution in Ukraine, the ousting of ex-President Viktor Yanukovich and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Gazprom, Russia’s sole natural gas exporter, has almost doubled Ukraine’s natural gas price.

According to the state-run gas giant, the price was raised due to the cancellation of two major discounts.
One of the discounts was granted to Ukraine for permitting the Russian fleet to use Crimea’s city of Sevastopol as its base. When Crimea became part of Russia, the agreement and the discount were canceled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early April. The second discount, for timely payments, was canceled a few days later because Ukraine failed to fulfill its obligations to get a discount. Western political leaders have accused Russia of energy bullying and threatened it with sanctions.

In May, Russia signed a 30-year deal, worth $400 billion, to deliver gas to China. The media speculated on the reasons why, after 10 years of unsuccessful negotiations, the two countries managed to come to an agreement. One of the assumptions was that the deal was Putin’s reaction to the potential threat of European sanctions against Russia following the Crimean crisis.

During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in May, Alexey Miller, CEO of Gazprom,said the recent contract between Russia and China will likely influence gas pricing in the European market. With many details to discuss and hundreds of kilometers of pipelines to build, it is unclear what the selling price for China will be, or in what ways the contract can affect Europe.

According to Dr. Mikhail Korchemkin, managing director of East European Gas Analysis, a consulting company, the agreement between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corp. will not affect the price of Russian gas sold to Europe. “First, European prices are set by existing contracts,” Korchemkin said. “Second, East Siberian gas fields are not connected to Europe, so this gas cannot be sold to Europe.”

However, the setting of gas prices for European countries raises a lot of questions. The price varies from country to country. Gazprom is secret about commercial transactions, and the terms of agreements for long-term gas contracts are generally not disclosed. In Europe there is no market price for natural gas, as such. Also, there is no standard formula that would define gas prices for wholesale customers.

In the late 1960s, Gazprom introduced the contract model, in which gas prices were tied to oil prices. In 2012, the European Parliament called for liberalization of the gas market. The new model implies the development of an integrated European system of gas indexation, which would allow European gas companies to trade with gas providers on a more predictable basis. Instead of being dependent on oil price dynamics, gas prices would be set in gas hubs (centers of market trading).

Read more: Who Pays the Most for Russian Gas in Europe and Why | Student Reporter

The Netherlands: New law proposed to revoke Dutch Citizenship for citizens who partricipate in Jihadist activities

Dutch citizenship can be revoked for citizens who participate in Jihadist training camps or for those  participating as an instructor in those training camps or those who  become involved in the transfer of specific skills to Jihadist terrorists.

The proposal  bill by the Dutch Minister of Security and Justice has been agreed on by the National Council of Ministers.  

The proposed  law will be be reviewed by the Dutch Council of States of the Kingdom after which it will be presented to the Parliament for approval. 

The measure is part of a more integrated approachby the Dutch Government to control Jihadists and their supporters activities in the Netherlands.

Oppinion polls show the bill is supported by a large majority of the Dutch population.

EU-Digest

What happens in Europe, doesn't stay in Europe: US giants accused of breaking EU privacy pact - by Jennifer Baker

More than 30 big US tech firms are breaking international agreed-upon US-EU Safe Harbor commitments to safeguard Europeans’ data, according to a complaint filed with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday.

The Washington-based Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) claims tech giants such as AOL, Adobe, Salesforce, Datalogix, Marketo, BlueKai, Criteo, Merkle and others are ignoring their promise to keep EU citizens’ data private – as opposed to sharing it with other organizations.

None of these companies have responded to requests for comment, but we'll update when we hear more. The CDD claims "these companies are compiling, using, and sharing EU consumers’ personal information without their awareness and meaningful consent, in violation the Safe Harbor framework."

The Safe Harbor agreement is a legally enforceable but voluntary "code of conduct" for US businesses that process European citizens’ data. The bilateral deal was reached in 2000 and is supposed to guarantee Europeans data privacy in line with the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive, but following the Snowden revelations last year, many don’t believe it is worth the paper it’s printed on.

The deal let the US off the hook of having to comply with data privacy adequacy requirements for transferring data outside the EU and instead allowed companies to sign up to the agreement on a case-by-case basis. Currently 4,767 companies have so far signed up.

These companies are then authorised to display a logo showing that they are part of the scheme and the rules can be legally enforced. But last year Galexia, an Australian-based consulting company on internet law and privacy, carried out research into the Safe Harbor membership scheme and claimed it had found that around one in every seven claims is false.

According to the CDD, the 30-odd companies in the complaint are actively involved in “data profiling”.
“Our investigation found that many of the companies are involved with a web of powerful multiple data broker partners who, unknown to the EU public, pool their data on them so they can be profiled and targeted online," said CDD executive director, Jeff Chester.

The group has also claimed that the FTC is failing to enforce the Safe Harbor rules. Compiling, using and sharing EU consumers' personal information without their awareness, consent, or ability to opt out is in violation the Safe Harbor framework. In such cases the FTC could enforce sanctions.

Representatives of the EU and US are currently in negotiations to create a new, so-called data privacy “umbrella agreement” which would – possibly – give Europeans the same rights of redress as American citizens if their data is used inappropriately.

In the meantime, many in the European Parliament have called for the Safe Harbor agreement to be suspended. Following an investigation into the NSA spying revelations last year, the parliament voted to suspend the deal, but the European Commission, which would have to act on such a vote, has not done so, preferring instead to continue the “umbrella” negotiations.

Note EU-Digest: If the EU Commissions is able to override the EU Parliament on issues of Personal Privacy etc. there is something horribly wrong with the application of Democratic rule in the EU. In case the so-called "umbrella" rule ever gets implemented without proper review by the EU and national parliaments European citizens will find their personal rights even more curtailed than they are now. The EU Commission and the EU parliament better get their act together.

Read more: What happens in Europe, doesn't stay in Europe: US giants accused of breaking EU privacy pact • The Register

ISIS: A Short History

As a multinational jihadist rampage continues to engulf Syria and Iraq in a genocidal bedlam of massacres, crucifixions and beheadings, it is acknowledged in the NATO capitals only with acute embarrassment that the most effective fighting force arrayed against the Sunni Islamist mayhem is itself listed by NATO powers as a terrorist organization.

The absurdly last-minute American airstrikes of recent days have certainly stalled the jihadist “Islamic State” in its effort to overrun Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government. But on the ground, the most effective armed defence of Irbil, and of the besieged Yazidi community in the Sinjar Mountains, is being mounted by the Syrian Local Defence Forces (YPG).

The YPG is the Syrian military wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (the PKK), outlawed in Canada, the United States and Europe mainly due to its long-running insurgency across the Iraqi border in Turkey, a NATO member. Until last year’s truce agreement between the Turkish government and the Kurdish-nationalist PKK rebels, Turkish Kurds had been subjected to brutal discrimination and oppression by the government in Ankara.

The Islamic State’s genocidal assault upon hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians, Yazidis and other minority groups in recent weeks constitutes the worst humanitarian catastrophe to unfold in Iraq since Saddam Hussein’s similarly genocidal campaigns against the Kurds during the late 1980s. It was only when the world’s attention was riveted by the calamity of thousands of Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar last week that the Obama administration was shamed into action.

For years, the PKK-YPG has maintained an intimate and affectionate relationship with Iraq’s marginalized Yazidis – followers of an ancient religion rooted in Zoroastrianism with both Muslim and Christian influences. Marxist and “hard left” in its founding orientation, the PKK-YPG has lately engaged in only the most friendly rivalries with its political adversaries in Iraqi Kurdistan – the ruling free-market Kurdish Democratic Party and the democratic-socialist Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Quite apart from the valiant fight YPG fighters have waged against the Islamic State’s jihadists in informal collaborations with the mainline U.S.-backed Kurdish peshmerga (“those who face death”), it is also exceedingly awkward that the Islamic State’s terrorist conquests in Iraq owe their origins to U.S. president Barack Obama’s abandonment and ultimate betrayal of the democratic revolution in Syria.

Read more: GLAVIN: Our best ally in Iraq is listed by NATO as a terrorist organization | Ottawa Citizen

EU Economy: Draghi’s EU bond bailout kindness ends up biting him - by Eric Reguly

Samuel Johnson’s droll remark – “when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully” – could have applied to the euro zone before the European Central Bank (ECB) launched its save-Europe mission.

Between 2009 and mid-2012, European economies were unravelling at an alarming pace. Three of them – Greece, Ireland, Spain – were kept alive by international bailouts; a fourth, Spain, received a backdoor bailout in the form of a bank rescue. The governments of those countries went into panic mode. Banking systems were propped up and overhauled, budgets were cut with alacrity, market and labour reforms were put in place.

The widespread strikes, demonstrations and riots from Athens to Barcelona were grim evidence of the pain suffered by everyone.

Today, the vaunted euro zone “recovery” is not worthy of the name. Fresh data released this week put Italy back into recession, with back-to-back quarterly contractions. France is flat-lining and in danger of slipping back into recession, too. German industrial production is on the wane, suggesting that the country’s second quarter will show no growth.

The International Monetary Fund predicted last month that the 28-country euro zone would grow by a mere 1.1 per cent this year. With Italy back in recession and disinflation threatening to turn into outright deflation – the euro zone’s July inflation figure was only 0.4 per cent – all bets are off for an economic rebound that will create jobs and bring down crushing national debt levels. On Thursday, after the ECB’s rate-setting meeting, Mr. Draghi said the recovery remained “weak, fragile and uneven.”

What went wrong? To be fair to Mr. Draghi, the poor man has used every monthly policy meeting since 2012 as a platform to beg governments not to give up on austerity and economic reforms. It hasn’t worked.

Read more: Draghi’s EU bond bailout kindness ends up biting him - The Globe and Mail

Turkey: Erdogan ‘wins’ Turkey presidential elections

Tayyip Erdogan has become Turkey's first popularly-elected head of state after winning a presidential election on Sunday, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on his Twitter account."The chairman of the AK Party and the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has become the first president elected by the people," Bozdag wrote.

His office confirmed the message was published on his official account. Tayyip Erdogan won the election with just over 52 per cent of the vote, Mustafa Sentop, deputy chairman of the ruling AK Party, said.

However, Turkey's electoral authorities are not officially due to announce their first results until today, with final figures due later in the week, but Erdogan, 60, is expected to make a victory address later on Sunday. 

For the first time Turkey — a member of Nato and longtime hopeful to join the EU — has directly elected its president, who was previously chosen by parliament, and Erdogan is hoping for a massive show of popular support.

"Our people will make an important decision for Turkish democracy," said Erdogan as he cast his vote in Istanbul alongside his wife Emine and two daughters and two sons.

Erdogan indicated that he planned to revamp the post to give the presidency greater executive powers, which could see Turkey shift towards a system more like that of France if his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is able to change  the constitution.

Read more: Times of Oman | News :: Erdogan ‘wins’ Turkey presidential elections

The Netherlands: Electronic "OV-Chipkaart" for public transportation ticketing not 'user firendly' and an anti-dote for tourists

Almere Muziekwijk station (photo EU-Digest)

The recently launched "OV-Chipkaard "in the Netherlands for people who want to use the Dutch Public Transportation system is turning out to be not  very user friendly and certainly costly for visiting tourists.

The problems become even more complicated when one wants to make use of the special 40% discount on train travel outside of morning rush hours.

This card has to be activated to be used as an OV-chipkaart. To do so you must make an account at the OV-chipkaart website. The website considers the sentence 'activating the card' as 'buying a product in the webshop'. 

But then the card is still not active. You have to 'collect your product' at a ticketing machine or service desk.

The result is that many elderly people no longer travel on buses, trains or trams, as they find, buying and charging an anonymous card too complicated.

We're talking about a user group of travelers who are not very computer literate, and we're asking them to virtually transfer money from their account to a card, where some are not even used to making a withdrawal at an ATM machine with a  debit card.

One can expect that very few of this group which is continuously growing larger will be activating their personalized "OV-chipkaart,  if the system and the activating process remains as complicated and unfriendly as it is today.

What one can describe in politically correct terms is to make it possible that 'technology averse' people or tourists should be able to simply go to a 24 hr. service desk and get help to activate their card.

Especially also for those people for whom public transport is their only way of getting around.

As it stands now, the Dutch OV-Chipkaart is not user friendly and certainly too costly and complicated for local users and tourists

It is high-time something gets done by the Netherlands Ministry of  Transportation about this "OV-Chipkaart" disaster. 

EU-Digest

The Netherlands: "if we don't watch out, we might all soon be working for the Chinese

In an interview, during the European parliamentary elections, with the Dutch daily Volkskrant, Anette Nijs, a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) who also was the State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science in the Dutch Government of  Balkenende I and II  from 22 July 2002 until 9 June 2004, and also Member of the Dutch House of Representatives from 30 January 2003 until 27 May 2003 and again from 7 June 2005 until 30 November 2006, expressed her concern about weakening of EU and US economic power as opposed to that of China.

"I'm not afraid of China, but emerging countries, with China in the lead, have two engines: the market and the state. We can not compete with that. If China is a large contract in India close to the electrical infrastructure, then the command to Chinese companies. I'd rather not see that happen in Europe. We must therefore ensure that Europe remains at the economic summit. I travel a lot and see what the Chinese do. They build new ports, which will hit Rotterdam directly. They build huge airports that goes Schiphol brands. Their technology is very advanced, which Philips will notice. "
 
" At the Shanghai Asia Summit, and I suggested to the Chinese PM that China include research questions to combat air pollution put on the Internet. China needs to develop the best proposals and solutions available to the rest of the world. 

China is still not soing the right things as a developing country. But in the Netherlands and the US, they are already talking about the 'new poor'. Labor costs in the auto industry in Detroit are lower than those in China. As the Netherlands and the other countries in the EU are not careful we will soon be the new low-wage countries and probably working for Chinese companies " 

She also stressed the fact that the political elite within the EU member states should abandon their focus on just their own national interests but instead  focus on broadening and strengthening the unity among EU member states.

EU-Digest