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February 28, 2019
February 26, 2019
Child Sex Abuse : Silent hypocrisy reigns at most Christian denominations about sexual crimes committed in Catholic Churches against minors - by "a follower of Jesus"
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| "You are my children never forget that" |
What is amazing is that most Christian denomination, from Evangelicals to Orthodox, so far, have put their head in the sand and not come out condemning these practices jointly or individually.
Just in case they have forgotten, here is a direct quote from the Bible, as to the place children take in the teachings of Jesus.
"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
— Matthew 18:1-5
By not speaking out openly against these sexual crimes committed against minors by fellow Christian denominations, Christian denominations in general won't be taken seriously, whatever they do or say.
EU-Digest
Britain - Brexit: Labour prepared to back new Brexit referendum
Jeremy Corbyn has told Labour MPs the party will move to back another
vote if their own proposed Brexit deal is rejected on Wednesday.
Labour's Emily Thornberry said if the parliamentary process ended with a choice of no deal or the PM's deal, the public should decide.
Theresa May is under growing pressure to delay the 29 March Brexit date.
Labour have not yet made clear what their proposed referendum would be on, but a party briefing paper to MPs says that any referendum would need to have "a credible Leave option and Remain".
The prime minister, who will update MPs on the negotiations on Tuesday, has insisted the UK can still leave next month as planned.
The UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016, but the withdrawal deal Mrs May negotiated with the EU has to be agreed by MPs - and it suffered a huge defeat by them last month.
Mrs May has ruled out a "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal this week - saying one would be held by 12 March - but she will give MPs the chance to have their say on how the next steps for Brexit.
MPs will be able to table amendments to a government motion, putting forward their proposals on what they think should happen next.
Read more: Labour prepared to back new Brexit referendum - BBC News
Labour's Emily Thornberry said if the parliamentary process ended with a choice of no deal or the PM's deal, the public should decide.
Theresa May is under growing pressure to delay the 29 March Brexit date.
Labour have not yet made clear what their proposed referendum would be on, but a party briefing paper to MPs says that any referendum would need to have "a credible Leave option and Remain".
The prime minister, who will update MPs on the negotiations on Tuesday, has insisted the UK can still leave next month as planned.
The UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016, but the withdrawal deal Mrs May negotiated with the EU has to be agreed by MPs - and it suffered a huge defeat by them last month.
Mrs May has ruled out a "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal this week - saying one would be held by 12 March - but she will give MPs the chance to have their say on how the next steps for Brexit.
MPs will be able to table amendments to a government motion, putting forward their proposals on what they think should happen next.
Read more: Labour prepared to back new Brexit referendum - BBC News
February 25, 2019
British EU Relations: More Brexit talks early next week after no breakthrough in Brussels - by Irene Kostaki
The EU’s 27 ambassadors met on February 21 to assess the Brexit talks
that took place in Brussels earlier in the week and are awaiting any
progress in the discussions that are planned to take place in the week,
EU sources confirm.
The European Union’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, debriefed the bloc’s ambassadors about the talks between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and UK Prime Minister Theresa May on February 20, as well as a discussion Juncker had with his team on the EU side with the UK’ Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay and Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
After assessing the meetings, the UK side has pushed forward the ‘guarantees’ that were agreed upon during the February 20 talks between Juncker and May.
“Yesterday, the Prime Minister reiterated that the simplest way to get legally binding changes to the (Irish) backstop is to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement. That remains the (UK) government’s position,” said the spokesman from the Department for Exiting the European Union, adding that the focus of the two will now be on “guarantees relating to the backstop that underline, once again, its temporary nature and give an appropriate legal assurance to both sides, as well as alternative arrangements and a political declaration, to reach a mutually acceptable agreement”.
The issue of the Irish backstop has been one of the most contentious issues that have plagued the still-unresolved negotiations between Brussels and London. The backstop is designed as an insurance policy, that, in the event that the two sides cannot reach an agreement before the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, Northern Ireland will remain within the European Union’s regulatory and customs arrangements indefinitely to prevent the emergence of a hard border.
Barclay and Cox “held productive talks with Barnier and his team” to discuss both sides’ current talking points and to reposition their focus on what can be done to conclude a “successful” deal as soon as possible.
“There was an agreement that the talks should now continue urgently at a technical level until the teams of the chief negotiators meet again early next week. Meanwhile, the Attorney General (Cox) will explore further legal options with Barnier’s team.
The EU’s position, at this point, is clear in that the bloc’s approach to the backstop remains unchanged and the leaders of the European Union are determined not to hold a special ‘Brexit Summit’ unless it is clear that a deal has the needed support in the House of Commons to pass. Thus far, however, the sort of consensus that Brussels is looking for from their British counterparts remains elusive.
Juncker has been very vocal in expressing the sentiment of many others all of whom have grown tired of the stalled negotiations, saying, “I have something like Brexit fatigue.” Juncker still believes that a no-deal scenario for the UK is the most likely given the narrow five week timeframe that London has to pass the deal.
Read full report here: More Brexit talks early next week after no breakthrough in Brussels
The European Union’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, debriefed the bloc’s ambassadors about the talks between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and UK Prime Minister Theresa May on February 20, as well as a discussion Juncker had with his team on the EU side with the UK’ Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay and Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
After assessing the meetings, the UK side has pushed forward the ‘guarantees’ that were agreed upon during the February 20 talks between Juncker and May.
“Yesterday, the Prime Minister reiterated that the simplest way to get legally binding changes to the (Irish) backstop is to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement. That remains the (UK) government’s position,” said the spokesman from the Department for Exiting the European Union, adding that the focus of the two will now be on “guarantees relating to the backstop that underline, once again, its temporary nature and give an appropriate legal assurance to both sides, as well as alternative arrangements and a political declaration, to reach a mutually acceptable agreement”.
The issue of the Irish backstop has been one of the most contentious issues that have plagued the still-unresolved negotiations between Brussels and London. The backstop is designed as an insurance policy, that, in the event that the two sides cannot reach an agreement before the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, Northern Ireland will remain within the European Union’s regulatory and customs arrangements indefinitely to prevent the emergence of a hard border.
Barclay and Cox “held productive talks with Barnier and his team” to discuss both sides’ current talking points and to reposition their focus on what can be done to conclude a “successful” deal as soon as possible.
“There was an agreement that the talks should now continue urgently at a technical level until the teams of the chief negotiators meet again early next week. Meanwhile, the Attorney General (Cox) will explore further legal options with Barnier’s team.
The EU’s position, at this point, is clear in that the bloc’s approach to the backstop remains unchanged and the leaders of the European Union are determined not to hold a special ‘Brexit Summit’ unless it is clear that a deal has the needed support in the House of Commons to pass. Thus far, however, the sort of consensus that Brussels is looking for from their British counterparts remains elusive.
Juncker has been very vocal in expressing the sentiment of many others all of whom have grown tired of the stalled negotiations, saying, “I have something like Brexit fatigue.” Juncker still believes that a no-deal scenario for the UK is the most likely given the narrow five week timeframe that London has to pass the deal.
“This Brexit thing is deconstruction, it’s not construction. Brexit is
the past, it’s not the future” Juncker said. Focusing on his efforts in
the coming days, Juncker said, “we are trying to deliver our best
efforts in order to have Brexit be organised in a proper and civilised
way that is well-thought-out.” He later went on to lay the blame on the
British parliament for its inability to pass legislation needed to
complete the Brexit process.
“Every time they are voting, there is a majority against something. There is never a majority in favour of something,” said Juncker “If a no-deal happens, and I can’t exclude this, this will have terrible economic and social consequences both in Britain and on the Continent…my efforts are oriented in a way that the worst can be avoided, but I’m not very optimistic when it comes to this issue.”
“Every time they are voting, there is a majority against something. There is never a majority in favour of something,” said Juncker “If a no-deal happens, and I can’t exclude this, this will have terrible economic and social consequences both in Britain and on the Continent…my efforts are oriented in a way that the worst can be avoided, but I’m not very optimistic when it comes to this issue.”
Read full report here: More Brexit talks early next week after no breakthrough in Brussels
February 23, 2019
EU - Saudi Relations: EP budget chair seeks clarity on Saudi lobbying and College of Europe - Nikolaj Nielsen
The EU-funded College of Europe must clarify its financial ties to
Saudi Arabia, the chair of a powerful European Parliament (EP) budgetary
committee has said.
The demand follows revelations last week by this website that the Saudis had paid the College of Europe to meet MEPs in a closed-door briefing at the EP as part of what the post-graduate institute describes as an "information or training exercise".
"This is clearly a type of action, which characterises a lobbyist organisation," said German centre-right MEP Ingeborg Graessle, who presides over the EP's budgetary control committee, in a letter sent on Wednesday (20 February) to College of Europe rector Jorg Monar and seen by EUobserver.
The Saudi-EP meeting on 19 February came less than a week after the EU parliament had passed a resolution condemning the abuse of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
It also followed recent moves by the European Union to put the Kingdom on a terror finance blacklist, as well as an arms embargo by Germany and several other EU states over the Saudi regime's murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October.
"Bearing in mind that the College of Europe receives funds from the EU budget, we as the discharge authority of the EU, need to have a clear picture of your undertakings in order to safeguard the interests of EU taxpayers," Graessle said in her letter.
Read more at: EP budget chair seeks clarity on Saudi lobbying and College of Europe
The demand follows revelations last week by this website that the Saudis had paid the College of Europe to meet MEPs in a closed-door briefing at the EP as part of what the post-graduate institute describes as an "information or training exercise".
"This is clearly a type of action, which characterises a lobbyist organisation," said German centre-right MEP Ingeborg Graessle, who presides over the EP's budgetary control committee, in a letter sent on Wednesday (20 February) to College of Europe rector Jorg Monar and seen by EUobserver.
The Saudi-EP meeting on 19 February came less than a week after the EU parliament had passed a resolution condemning the abuse of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
It also followed recent moves by the European Union to put the Kingdom on a terror finance blacklist, as well as an arms embargo by Germany and several other EU states over the Saudi regime's murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October.
"Bearing in mind that the College of Europe receives funds from the EU budget, we as the discharge authority of the EU, need to have a clear picture of your undertakings in order to safeguard the interests of EU taxpayers," Graessle said in her letter.
Read more at: EP budget chair seeks clarity on Saudi lobbying and College of Europe
February 22, 2019
BRITAIN: Theresa May to face ministerial revolt over a no-deal Brexit
Theresa May faces ministerial revolt over no-deal Brexit
Read more at:
February 21, 2019
February 20, 2019
The Netherlands: Dutch economy braces for Brexit shockwave
'A bit messy on the other side': Dutch economy braces for Brexit shockwave
Read more at:
February 19, 2019
The Netherlands: British citizens in the Netherlands and Brexit: A quick update as to your status if Brexit happens
Brexit: If there is a deal
The right of residence for UK nationals living in the Netherlands or Dutch nationals living in the UK is no longer a topic of debate. If an agreement is reached in time, it is likely that the section on rights of residence will be taken from the voted down Agreement. You can find an overview of your rights in the case of an agreement here.
Brexit: if there is No-Deal
The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has made known what the rights of British citizens and their family members in the Netherlands are in case of a No-Deal.
During the transition period from March 29, 2019, until July 1, 2020, British citizens and their family members legally residing, working and / or studying in the Netherlands before March 29, 2019, will keep these rights of residence.
During the transitional period, you will need to apply for a Dutch residence permit. You will receive an invitation from the IND to apply for this permit. To obtain a Dutch residence permit, you need to comply with the requirements for residence laid down in EU Law:
- Employees or self-employed persons must continue to be employed or self-employed.
- Economically inactive residents must have sufficient resources not to become a burden on the social assistance system of the Netherlands and have comprehensive health insurance coverage.
- Students must be enrolled at a recognised private or public educational institution accredited or financed by the Dutch government, and have sufficient resources to not become a burden on the social assistance system of the Netherlands as well as have comprehensive health insurance coverage.
British students will retain their rights to statutory tuition fees and student finance if they meet the conditions applying to EU citizens.
After 5 years of legal residency in the Netherlands, you can apply for a Dutch permanent residence permit. If you already have a Dutch residence permit (temporary or permanent), nothing will change for you.
If you have an EU permanent residence permit, the IND will automatically change your permit to a Dutch permanent residence permit. IND will inform you as soon as your national permanent residence permit is ready for collection.
Do you hold another EU-nationality besides your UK nationality? You will keep your right of residence as an EU-citizen after Brexit if you continue to meet the requirements laid down in EU law.
You can find a complete No-Deal overview here.
Coming to the Netherlands post-Brexit
According to IND, you will need to fulfill the same conditions to obtain residency as any other non-EU citizen.
However, you will be exempt from the requirement to obtain a provisional residence permit (machtiging tot voorlopig verblijf or mvv) in order to travel to and enter the Netherlands for a potential long-term stay.
This means that you can first travel to the Netherlands and submit an application for residency after arrival.
Dual Citizenship
When it comes to Brexit, political initiatives have been tabled to allow British nationals living in the Netherlands to keep their UK nationality when obtaining Dutch nationality and vice versa. However, the outcome of these initiatives is most uncertain.
Luckily, the current Dutch Nationality Act already creates the possibility to obtain dual citizenship.
In case you have any further questions relating to Brexit or dual citizenship, you can contact the Dutch Government IND office or a legal office specializing in Dutch immigration laws.
EU-Digest
February 16, 2019
Agri-Finance:The Major Players in Agri-Finance - by Shawn Williamson
A few years ago an accountant I know told me about some of her clients. They were a couple of guys on a mission to assemble hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. farmland for a Canadian pension fund. That’s when I started to realize there’s a lot more going on in the world of agri-finance than you hear about. Here are some of the big players in the agri-finance universe.
The types of players include banks that specialize in agricultural loans, non-bank finance companies that do land and equipment loans, farmer-owned lending co-ops, REITs that own and manage farm real estate, private equity funds that buy cropland, sovereign wealth funds, and, of course, pension funds.
One of the big agri-finance players, the Dutch Rabo AgriFinance in Chesterfield, Missouri, is headquartered only half an hour from my office. I recently sat down with their executive vice president, Curt Hudnutt, to talk about their market share in ag lending and the overall condition of agricultural loans. Rabo makes land, operating, and equipment loans. The company also sells crop insurance and offers commodity price hedging.
One of my goals was to show you the five largest agricultural lenders in the United States. Sounds easy, right? It isn’t. You have to pull together data from the Federal Reserve and beyond, and you have to specify the criteria. Are you talking about banks that do more than half of their lending to farms, dollars in farm real estate loans, number of farm loans, or some other metric? I think the fairest way to rank them is by how many dollars in ag loans a retail lending entity held as of the end of the most recent quarter. I thought this list would just be five large banks, but I was wrong. Here are the top five ag lenders as of September 30, 2018:
The types of players include banks that specialize in agricultural loans, non-bank finance companies that do land and equipment loans, farmer-owned lending co-ops, REITs that own and manage farm real estate, private equity funds that buy cropland, sovereign wealth funds, and, of course, pension funds.
One of the big agri-finance players, the Dutch Rabo AgriFinance in Chesterfield, Missouri, is headquartered only half an hour from my office. I recently sat down with their executive vice president, Curt Hudnutt, to talk about their market share in ag lending and the overall condition of agricultural loans. Rabo makes land, operating, and equipment loans. The company also sells crop insurance and offers commodity price hedging.
One of my goals was to show you the five largest agricultural lenders in the United States. Sounds easy, right? It isn’t. You have to pull together data from the Federal Reserve and beyond, and you have to specify the criteria. Are you talking about banks that do more than half of their lending to farms, dollars in farm real estate loans, number of farm loans, or some other metric? I think the fairest way to rank them is by how many dollars in ag loans a retail lending entity held as of the end of the most recent quarter. I thought this list would just be five large banks, but I was wrong. Here are the top five ag lenders as of September 30, 2018:
- Farm Credit Services of America (ACA)
- Farm Credit Mid America (ACA)
- MetLife Insurance
- Rabo Agrifinance / Rabo Bank NA
- Compeer Financial (ACA)
EU Renewable Energy: The Netherlands still trailing behind on EU renewable energy targets
The Netherlands is trailing the rest of Europe when it comes to reaching
sustainable energy targets, according to new figures from the European
statistics agency Eurostat.
In 2017, just 6.6% of the energy used in the Netherlands came from sustainable sources, but the target is 14% by 2020, Eurostat says. Luxembourg, where 6.4% of energy consumption derived from biofuels, hydro or wind power, solar or geothermal energy in 2017, has a 2020 target of 11%.
The Eurostat statistics show 11 EU countries had already reached their targets two years ago. In Sweden, for example, more than half the energy is sustainable.
The EU as a whole aims to make sure 20% of gross final energy consumption comes from renewable sources by 2020
Read more at: The Netherlands still trailing behind on EU renewable energy targets - DutchNews.nl
In 2017, just 6.6% of the energy used in the Netherlands came from sustainable sources, but the target is 14% by 2020, Eurostat says. Luxembourg, where 6.4% of energy consumption derived from biofuels, hydro or wind power, solar or geothermal energy in 2017, has a 2020 target of 11%.
The Eurostat statistics show 11 EU countries had already reached their targets two years ago. In Sweden, for example, more than half the energy is sustainable.
The EU as a whole aims to make sure 20% of gross final energy consumption comes from renewable sources by 2020
Read more at: The Netherlands still trailing behind on EU renewable energy targets - DutchNews.nl
February 15, 2019
Turkey: Erdoğan’s aggression against Turkey’s Kurds—it’s personal - by Cemal Ozkahraman
Against the background of Turkey’s affiliation to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the European Union’s official recognition of its candidature for full membership at the Helsinki Summit in 1999 gave hope to Kurds concentrated in east and south-east Turkey that they would soon obtain political rights enabling them to represent their own regions and stimulate their culture and identity. Indeed, despite the continuation of the Turkish state’s customary denial of Kurdish realities, during the early years of the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan there was some alleviation of its treatment of the Kurds. Particularly since the June 2015 general election, however, Erdoğan’s government has returned to the old ways, clamping down on the Kurds, imprisoning their elected politicians and members of their People’s Democratic Party (HDP), notably its former leader, Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been jailed in the face of ECHR demands that he should be released.
Why did such militant antagonism towards the Kurds resurface just at the time when Turkey was on the verge of achieving a lasting peace with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)? Part of the reason is that Erdoğan is manoeuvring to regain popularity among Turkish voters before the local elections in March. Being very conscious of Turkish sensitivity with regard to Türklük (‘Turkishness’) and devlet bekasi (state security), Erdoğan constantly implies that the HDP and Demirtaş are terrorists and traitors, accusing them of supporting the PKK. By creating enemies and then spreading fears that these enemies are attempting to destroy Turkish unity, he had previously achieved substantial voters’ support for the continuation of his ‘sultanate’, enabling him to reinforce his aim of a Sunni-based, nationalist, one-party-state system of autocratic militarist enforcement in Turkish politics. He has been consistent in trying to achieve this by touching on the Turkish electorate’s most sensitive nerves, Türklük and devlet bekasi.
But this is not the only reason for his severity. It can only be fully comprehended by seeing it in terms of resentment—an autocrat’s revenge—with the HDP the most direct object for punishment.
Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the 2002, 2007 and 2011 elections, holding a majority of seats for 13 years. This enabled him to minimise the impact of traditional opposition forces, including the military and Turkish ruling elites, the ‘Kemalists’ (followers of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk). To cement his vision of Atatürk’s Turkey, Erdoğan seeks absolute domination, and this can only be achieved by a presidential, rather than parliamentary, system.
Read more:Erdoğan’s aggression against Turkey’s Kurds—it’s personal • Social Europe
February 14, 2019
Belgium - Antwerp: "Cocaine's new gateway into Europe"
Belgian Authorities report that last year they seized $ 2.5 billion of Cocaine
Read more at:
February 13, 2019
The Netherlands: Dutch newspaper AD uses misleading headline which could favor populist, nationalistic - anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies - by RM
A recent headline by Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD) which stated "Fuss in Germany about proposal to change English language courses in primary schools to Turkish". is misleading, especially if you just read the headline and not the whole story.
If you take the time to read the whole story - however - you quickly realize the heading is misleading.
This change of language from English to Turkish will in reality never happen in Germany or in any other country in the EU.
These kinds of headlines, however, are obviously "grist to the mill" for the nationalist, anti-immigration, populist parties in the Netherlands and Europe, which are mainly supported by people, who do not want to look any further "than their noses are long", to see the dangers of populism.
This regardless of the fact that there are plenty of examples of populist inspired and created political chaotical disasters in the world, including the emergence of a Trump in America, Orban in Hungary , Giuseppe Conte in Italy, and the Brexit drama, the supporters of the populist movement still have their head in the sand.
As the European parliamentary elections this coming May are quickly approaching, it is good to remember that famous saying "A warned person counts for two".
It is high time, that we the people of the EU stop this so-called "populist movement", before they destruct our future, and that we take our purpose of being a democratic counter-balance to the many evil forces surrounding us, more seriously
For the original AD newspaper report in Dutch click on this link Ophef in Duitsland over voorstel om Engels op basisschool te vervangen door Turks | Buitenland | AD.nl
If you take the time to read the whole story - however - you quickly realize the heading is misleading.
This change of language from English to Turkish will in reality never happen in Germany or in any other country in the EU.
These kinds of headlines, however, are obviously "grist to the mill" for the nationalist, anti-immigration, populist parties in the Netherlands and Europe, which are mainly supported by people, who do not want to look any further "than their noses are long", to see the dangers of populism.
This regardless of the fact that there are plenty of examples of populist inspired and created political chaotical disasters in the world, including the emergence of a Trump in America, Orban in Hungary , Giuseppe Conte in Italy, and the Brexit drama, the supporters of the populist movement still have their head in the sand.
As the European parliamentary elections this coming May are quickly approaching, it is good to remember that famous saying "A warned person counts for two".
It is high time, that we the people of the EU stop this so-called "populist movement", before they destruct our future, and that we take our purpose of being a democratic counter-balance to the many evil forces surrounding us, more seriously
For the original AD newspaper report in Dutch click on this link Ophef in Duitsland over voorstel om Engels op basisschool te vervangen door Turks | Buitenland | AD.nl
February 12, 2019
Britain - Brexit: British Food Industry warns Government on Brexit disaster
Food industry warns Government on Brexit 'crisis'
Read more at:
February 11, 2019
The Netherlands and Brexit: Netherlands wins Brexit spoils amid corporate relocation talks
Brexit is driving companies out of the UK, and the Netherlands is raking in the corporate refugees.
About 250 companies are in talks with the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency to potentially relocate activities to the country, according to a statement published on Saturday. The candidates would join 42 companies that made the move last year, and the 18 early birds in 2017.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the largest Brexit wave is yet to come,” Jeroen Nijland, who heads NFIA, said in a telephone interview. “It normally takes about six months to two years from the first conversation we have with a company before it makes a decision, and our pipeline is now bigger than in earlier years.”
The Netherlands has emerged as one of the winners in securing businesses that seek to leave the UK because of Brexit, vying with countries like Germany, France and Ireland. The country, which bagged the European Medicines Agency — an EU agency moving from London to Amsterdam — is initially luring corporate entities in the financial and media sectors, both of which require permits to operate in the bloc, Nijland said.
The growth of Amsterdam as a trading hub will boost the Dutch share of European equity trading to around a third from five% currently, the financial markets regulator AFM estimates. The watchdog also expects the country to capture nearly 90% of European bond trading.
The media industry is another area where the Netherlands has picked up wins. Discovery Inc said in January it’s applying for broadcast licenses in the Netherlands to ensure its pay-TV channels will continue to show across the European Union in the event of a no-deal Brexit when the UK leaves the bloc on March 29.
Read more: Netherlands wins Brexit spoils amid corporate relocation talks
About 250 companies are in talks with the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency to potentially relocate activities to the country, according to a statement published on Saturday. The candidates would join 42 companies that made the move last year, and the 18 early birds in 2017.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the largest Brexit wave is yet to come,” Jeroen Nijland, who heads NFIA, said in a telephone interview. “It normally takes about six months to two years from the first conversation we have with a company before it makes a decision, and our pipeline is now bigger than in earlier years.”
The Netherlands has emerged as one of the winners in securing businesses that seek to leave the UK because of Brexit, vying with countries like Germany, France and Ireland. The country, which bagged the European Medicines Agency — an EU agency moving from London to Amsterdam — is initially luring corporate entities in the financial and media sectors, both of which require permits to operate in the bloc, Nijland said.
The growth of Amsterdam as a trading hub will boost the Dutch share of European equity trading to around a third from five% currently, the financial markets regulator AFM estimates. The watchdog also expects the country to capture nearly 90% of European bond trading.
The media industry is another area where the Netherlands has picked up wins. Discovery Inc said in January it’s applying for broadcast licenses in the Netherlands to ensure its pay-TV channels will continue to show across the European Union in the event of a no-deal Brexit when the UK leaves the bloc on March 29.
Read more: Netherlands wins Brexit spoils amid corporate relocation talks
February 10, 2019
The Netherlands and Global Agriculture Exports: Where Is the World's Next Meal Coming From? by Ingeborg van Lieshout
While the Netherlands has been a major food exporter for many years, its
production continues to rise — it increased 7 percent between 2016 and
2017, and 25 percent between 2010 and 2017, according to the Dutch
Ministry of Agriculture, though it rose just 0.2 percent between 2017
and 2018. The U.S., meanwhile, increased its agricultural exports 4
percent year on year in the first 10 months of 2018 … though its
agricultural exports in October 2018 alone were the lowest for any
October since 2011, according to USDA data. The Netherlands saw $104.6
billion in agricultural exports in 2017, compared to the U.S.’s $140.5
billion.
The Netherlands put an emphasis on agricultural production in the post-World War II era, following the Hongerwinter of 1944, when famine killed an estimated 22,000 people. Now the country comes first on Oxfam’s Global Food Index, indicating that its citizens, who are now the world’s tallest on average, get enough to eat and have access to healthy food. But with an increased emphasis on sustainability — and skepticism of efficiency above all else — Dutch farming has seen major strides in problem areas like antibiotic use in livestock, which saw its use in veterinary medicine decrease by a third between 1999 and 2015.
More than that, the Netherlands is making great strides when it comes to the food of the future — technology that isn’t likely to stay in the Netherlands but could instead help the world feed itself. “The Dutch have the most productive, efficient and innovative food production system in the world, forced by lack of space,” explains His Royal Highness Constantijn Van Oranje, brother of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and a special envoy for Dutch business accelerator StartupDelta. “Our next challenge is to make this sector a global agritech exporter and leader in building fully circular sustainable food supply chains.”
And they’re doing just that. For example: Raising livestock takes an enormous amount of arable land and clean water, but Dutch startup Mosa Meat raised $8.5 million last year to develop a process that grows meat in a lab using animal cells rather than butchering in a traditional way. Five years ago, they created a hamburger — one that they estimate cost $330,000 to produce. Now they say the individual patties, which are expected to be on the market in 2021, should cost less than $10 each. “The taste of in-vitro meat … ” explains founder Mark Post, a Professor of Vascular Physiology at Maastricht University, “ … is exactly the same as ordinary meat.” If it catches on, it could drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 15 percent of which are produced by animal agriculture.
And from meat to potatoes: Last month, Dutch potato breeding company Solynta announced that it has instituted a hybrid breeding program for the crop that will allow it to swiftly select for favorable traits. Solynta’s aim is to make potato growing seed-based — potatoes are currently grown from seed tubers — which they say will allow a 25-gram bag of seeds to do the work now being done by 2,500-kilo shipments of tubers. The Netherlands is the world’s biggest exporter of potatoes, but Solynta’s seeds, which they say are resistant to blight, could make potato production scalable in times of famine, as well as reducing the amount of time it takes to breed new varieties by 60 percent.
Read more: Where Is the World's Next Meal Coming From? The Netherlands | Acumen | OZY
The Netherlands put an emphasis on agricultural production in the post-World War II era, following the Hongerwinter of 1944, when famine killed an estimated 22,000 people. Now the country comes first on Oxfam’s Global Food Index, indicating that its citizens, who are now the world’s tallest on average, get enough to eat and have access to healthy food. But with an increased emphasis on sustainability — and skepticism of efficiency above all else — Dutch farming has seen major strides in problem areas like antibiotic use in livestock, which saw its use in veterinary medicine decrease by a third between 1999 and 2015.
More than that, the Netherlands is making great strides when it comes to the food of the future — technology that isn’t likely to stay in the Netherlands but could instead help the world feed itself. “The Dutch have the most productive, efficient and innovative food production system in the world, forced by lack of space,” explains His Royal Highness Constantijn Van Oranje, brother of Dutch King Willem-Alexander and a special envoy for Dutch business accelerator StartupDelta. “Our next challenge is to make this sector a global agritech exporter and leader in building fully circular sustainable food supply chains.”
And they’re doing just that. For example: Raising livestock takes an enormous amount of arable land and clean water, but Dutch startup Mosa Meat raised $8.5 million last year to develop a process that grows meat in a lab using animal cells rather than butchering in a traditional way. Five years ago, they created a hamburger — one that they estimate cost $330,000 to produce. Now they say the individual patties, which are expected to be on the market in 2021, should cost less than $10 each. “The taste of in-vitro meat … ” explains founder Mark Post, a Professor of Vascular Physiology at Maastricht University, “ … is exactly the same as ordinary meat.” If it catches on, it could drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 15 percent of which are produced by animal agriculture.
And from meat to potatoes: Last month, Dutch potato breeding company Solynta announced that it has instituted a hybrid breeding program for the crop that will allow it to swiftly select for favorable traits. Solynta’s aim is to make potato growing seed-based — potatoes are currently grown from seed tubers — which they say will allow a 25-gram bag of seeds to do the work now being done by 2,500-kilo shipments of tubers. The Netherlands is the world’s biggest exporter of potatoes, but Solynta’s seeds, which they say are resistant to blight, could make potato production scalable in times of famine, as well as reducing the amount of time it takes to breed new varieties by 60 percent.
Read more: Where Is the World's Next Meal Coming From? The Netherlands | Acumen | OZY
February 9, 2019
EU: European experience with migration shows that border walls don't stop migration
Aging Europe needs immigration, but in order to achieve this in an
organized and orderly way it needs unity of purpose, better planning,
and certainly no border walls
February 7, 2019
Global Warming - The Netherlands and Belgium: Thousands of students join climate protests in the Netherlands - by Michael Staines
At least 10,000 students have skipped class in the
Netherlands to join a major protest demanding greater action on climate
change.
It comes as thousands of teenagers in Belgium skipped school for the fourth Thursday in a row to join the protests.
Similar marches have been held in Sweden, Germany and Switzerland.
It comes as scientists yesterday confirmed that the last five years have been the warmest on record.
Organisers of this afternoon's protest in The Hague in the Netherlands said they were aiming to send a wake-up call to politicians.
It comes after the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency said the national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by next year - when compared to 1990 levels - was out of reach.
Organizers say the movement is gathering momentum with a global protest scheduled for March
Read more: Thousands of students join climate protests in the
It comes as thousands of teenagers in Belgium skipped school for the fourth Thursday in a row to join the protests.
Similar marches have been held in Sweden, Germany and Switzerland.
It comes as scientists yesterday confirmed that the last five years have been the warmest on record.
Organisers of this afternoon's protest in The Hague in the Netherlands said they were aiming to send a wake-up call to politicians.
It comes after the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency said the national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by next year - when compared to 1990 levels - was out of reach.
Feeling proud: an estimated 10,000 students marching through The Hague to protest climate change. #klimaatspijbelaars #KlimaatSpijbelen pic.twitter.com/kH6lcyxtdX
Organizers say the movement is gathering momentum with a global protest scheduled for March
Read more: Thousands of students join climate protests in the
The Netherlands and US Big Pharma Clash: US "Big Pharma" lashes out at Dutch Government for wanting to control pricing
Note Almere-Digest: It looks like the US Pharmaceutical Industry is
also trying to use the same heavy handed political tactics and arguments
in the Netherlands like they are used to doing in America. In the
Netherlands they are doing their lobbying through their membership in
the local chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce, which even has a
specific Pharmaceutical Committee within that organization. US Big
Pharma and Chemical Industry Lobbyists are also swarming all over the EU
parliament to promote their products and influence the European
decision makers.Hopefully the Dutch Government and the EU Commission
will continue to resist these devious attempts to influence the
government decision makers
Read more at:
https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2019/02/06/netherlands-novartis-vertex-drug-prices/
Read more at:
https://www.statnews.com/pharmalot/2019/02/06/netherlands-novartis-vertex-drug-prices/
February 6, 2019
February 5, 2019
EU-US Relations: Europeans fear Trump may threaten not just the transatlantic bond, but the state of their union - by Dan Balz and Griff Witte
As President Trump prepares to deliver
his second State of the Union address, the leaders of the United
States’ closest allies in Europe are filled with anxiety
.
Read more: Europeans fear Trump may threaten not just the transatlantic bond, but the state of their union - The Washington Post
.
They
are unsure of whom to talk to in Washington. They can’t tell whether
Trump considers them friends or foes. They dig through his Twitter feed
for indications of whether the president intends to wreck the European
Union and NATO or merely hobble the continent’s core institutions.
Officials
say Trump, by design or indifference, has already badly weakened the
foundation of the transatlantic relationship that American presidents
have nurtured for seven decades. As Sigmar Gabriel, a former German
foreign minister, put it: “He has done damage that the Soviets would
have dreamt of.”
European leaders worry that
the next two years could bring even more instability, as Trump feels
emboldened, and they are filled with fear at the prospect that Trump
could be reelected. The situation has left the continent facing a
strategic paradox no one has managed to crack.
“We can’t live with Trump,” Gabriel said. “And we can’t live without the United States.”
In more than two dozen interviews in London, Paris and Berlin — the
three European capitals at the heart of the Western alliance —
government officials, former officials and independent analysts
described a partnership with Washington that, while still working
smoothly at some levels, has become deeply dysfunctional at others.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime
Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron have tried
different strategies, but all have struggled to develop consistent and
reliable relationships with Trump. Lacking a better alternative, the
dominant European approach has been to wait him out and hope the damage
can be contained.
In all three capitals, there
is talk about somehow trying to go it alone, if necessary — to chart
Europe’s course. Merkel stated it as bluntly as anyone when she said in a
Munich beer hall that Europe must “take our destiny into our own
hands.”
That
was two years ago this spring, and since then, Europe has taken only
cautious steps in that direction — proposals for a European army being
one example. Despite modest increases in European defense spending, the
United States continues to account for over two-thirds of military
spending among NATO members. Europe struggles to keep big, multilateral
initiatives alive without American support.
European
officials continue to work as hard as ever to preserve relationships
with the president and the administration, despite fears and
frustrations.
“We manage,” said a senior
European politician, who like others in government spoke on the
condition of anonymity to freely discuss a sensitive relationship.
“Governing by tweets is not the same as governing by diplomatic
engagement. It’s a different process. But it’s something we accept and
adapt to. I don’t think that our surprise on a daily basis is any
greater than that of his own administration.”
Others,
often those who are no longer in government, express a less sanguine
view. They see a president ticking through his campaign promises and
notice uncomfortably that Europe is on the wrong end of many of them.
Littered among the wreckage, as seen by the
Europeans: an all-but-ruined Iran nuclear deal, tit-for-tat tariffs, a
global climate accord that is missing the world’s largest economy, a
possible arms race triggered by the cancellation of a key nuclear
treaty, and a unilateral retreat from Syria without even a courtesy call
to allies that work alongside U.S. forces.
More than any one issue, however, there is the sense that Trump and Europe are fundamentally at odds.
Note EU-Digest: Hopefully the EU will be able to defend itself over the coming two years or less against this loud-mouth, uncouth ego-maniac, spoiled bully, before he is either locked-up, or impeached.
Note EU-Digest: Hopefully the EU will be able to defend itself over the coming two years or less against this loud-mouth, uncouth ego-maniac, spoiled bully, before he is either locked-up, or impeached.
February 4, 2019
February 3, 2019
EU Economy: Netherlands' Central Bank President Knot: "European economy 'very much okay'
 |
| Netherlands Parliament and offices of the PM in the Hague |
Speaking on Dutch television last Sunday, Knot, who also sits on the European Central Bank’s governing council, said subdued inflation was troubling, but it was “premature” to talk about a possible recession.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi acknowledged on Thursday that economic growth in the euro zone was likely to be weaker than earlier expected due to the fall-out from factors ranging from China’s slowdown to Brexit.
Knot, usually viewed as one of the more hawkish members of the governing board, said the bloc would see “a few quarters of slightly lower growth, and that’s mostly due to foreign trade.”
Internal demand remained “very good”, he said.
A Reuters report by by Toby Sterling; editing by John Stonestreet
February 2, 2019
EU-Japan Trade deal: Five things about the world's biggest trade deal
EU-Japan trade: Five things about the world's biggest deal
Read more at:
February 1, 2019
British Brexit Disaster: EU fears short article 50 extension will mean no-deal Brexit in June - by Daniel Boffey
EU officials fear Theresa May
is setting the UK on course for a no-deal exit at the end of June
because she will not have the political courage to ask for the longer
Brexit delay they believe she needs.
Senior figures in Brussels have been war-gaming the likely next steps by the British government, and believe a delay to the UK’s exit date of 29 March is inevitable.
But they fear the prime minister’s strategy of seeking simply to survive from day to day will lead to her requesting an inadequate short three-month extension for fear of enraging Brexiters in the Conservative party.
EU officials and diplomats said the danger of the UK then crashing out in the summer was an underappreciated risk given that the escalation of no-deal planning and the cries of betrayal by Brexiters would give momentum to a cliff-edge Brexit.
On Thursday the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, became the first cabinet minister to admit that the two years of negotiations allowed under article 50 may have to be prolonged, describing the Brexit impasse as “a very challenging situation”.
EU sources suggested it was unlikely that the heads of state and government of the 27 member states would reject such a request given the pressure that would be applied from the business community.
On Thursday, Portugal’s foreign minister, Augusto Santos Silva, said he believed a delay would be the wisest course given May’s hopes of a renegotiation.
Read more: EU fears short article 50 extension will mean no-deal Brexit in June | Politics | The Guardian
Senior figures in Brussels have been war-gaming the likely next steps by the British government, and believe a delay to the UK’s exit date of 29 March is inevitable.
But they fear the prime minister’s strategy of seeking simply to survive from day to day will lead to her requesting an inadequate short three-month extension for fear of enraging Brexiters in the Conservative party.
EU officials and diplomats said the danger of the UK then crashing out in the summer was an underappreciated risk given that the escalation of no-deal planning and the cries of betrayal by Brexiters would give momentum to a cliff-edge Brexit.
On Thursday the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, became the first cabinet minister to admit that the two years of negotiations allowed under article 50 may have to be prolonged, describing the Brexit impasse as “a very challenging situation”.
EU sources suggested it was unlikely that the heads of state and government of the 27 member states would reject such a request given the pressure that would be applied from the business community.
On Thursday, Portugal’s foreign minister, Augusto Santos Silva, said he believed a delay would be the wisest course given May’s hopes of a renegotiation.
Read more: EU fears short article 50 extension will mean no-deal Brexit in June | Politics | The Guardian
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