EU: How some migrants are switching to Romania in their bid for Europe - by Chris Harri

Migrants have seemingly changed tack in their bid to reach Europe, it’s emerged.

More than 150 people – mainly from Iran and Iraq – crossed the Black Sea from Turkey and were rescued at Midia on Romania’s eastern flank on Tuesday August 12th.
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It’s part of a new trend over the last month that has seen around 470 migrants arrive in the EU country.

It comes as EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker called for Romania to be part of the Schengen Area, potentially making it easier for migrants to move westwards once in Europe.

The route has been used in the past.

It hit a five-year high in 2014 with around 430 arrivals but numbers then dropped off, falling to 68 in 2015 and just one last year.

Gabriela Leu, a spokeswoman for UNHCR’s office in Romania, told Euronews: “Sea crossing are dangerous and the fact people are putting children on these boats shows they have to be very desperate.

Read more: How some migrants are switching to Romania in their bid for Europe | Euronews

EU State of the Union: Juncker says EU to 'move on' from Brexit and calls for "One speed. One currency. One president"

President Juncker gives State of the 
Union address to the EU Parliament

Preesident Jean-Claude Juncker declared : "the “wind is back in Europe’s sails” in an an often very personal State of the Union speech, in which he gave his vision for the future of the European Union after the UK makes its “tragic” departure in 2019.

President Jean-Claude Juncker in his speech (often interrupted by applause) argued for a more unified and politically-accountable European Union after Brexit, which would combine the presidencies of the Commission and the Council into one (universally elected?), complete the euro currency zone, and generally push the bloc to take “a democratic leap forward” in unison and at a single speed.

The European commission president said he would always be sorrowed by the UK’s decision to leave the EU. “This will be a very sad and tragic moment in our history, we will always regret this”, he said before responding to heckling from Nigel Farage, President Trump's "soul mate", by retorting: “I think you will regret this soon, I might say.”

Calling for a special summit in Romania on the 30 March 2019, the first day of an EU of 27 member states rather than 28, Juncker said he hoped the continent would “wake up” that day to a new more unified bloc.

Juncker’s annual address to the European parliament in Strasbourg was notably more upbeat about the future than his speech a year ago, with economic growth outstripping the US and unemployment at a nine-year low. The commission president and former prime minister of Luxembourg  insisted the bloc should seize the moment to make widespread reforms. “As Mark Twain wrote, years from now we will be more disappointed by the things we did not do, than by the ones we did,” he said.

"On the 30 March 2019, we will be a union of 27 and I suggest we prepare very well for that date.”

Juncker added that the council should adopt qualified majority voting, rather than unanimity, on foreign policy issues and drive forward in European defence. “By 2025 we need a fully-fledged European defense union,” he said.

He also added the EU would establish a European cybersecurity agency. “Cyber-attacks know no borders and no one is immune,” he said.

Juncker told MEPs he intended to start trade talks with Australia and New Zealand, and promised to legislate to protect strategic interests from foreign purchases through industrial screening.

A joint statement from the French, German and Italian governments following the speech endorsed the move. The German minister for economic affairs, Brigitte Zypries, said: “We must avoid other states benefiting from our opening to advance their own industrial policy interests.”

Juncker added that the EU would respond to the “collapse of the ambitions in the US” on climate change by stepping into the vacuum and ensuring that Europe protected the world. “Let’s catch the wind in our sails”, he told MEPs.

However, he ruled out Turkey’s accession to the EU in the “foreseeable future”, and, in his strongest comments to date on the issue, he condemned the country’s slide into authoritarianism under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“Turkey has been moving away from the European Union in leaps and bounds,” Juncker told MEPs. “Journalists belong in editorial offices amid a heated debate, and not in prison. I appeal today to the powers that be in Turkey: let our journalists go, and not just our journalists.”

The EU President also proposed combining the Commission and Council presidencies — a move that would transform the EU leadership and consolidate authority in a single figure who would campaign for the post.

“Europe would function better if we were to merge the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council,” Juncker told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
“Europe would be easier to understand if one captain was steering the ship.”

Mr. Juncker. who is originally from Luxembourg spoke at times in German, French and English. His speech was simultaneously and individually translated for members of the EU Parliament in their own local language 

For the video with the complete speech of President Juncker click here. 

 EU-Digest

Brexit: EU's Juncker Slams U.K. on Brexit as Fractious Talks Resume - by Ian Wishart and Nikos Chrysoloras

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker joined the bloc’s chief negotiator in lashing out at the U.K. for failing to prepare for Brexit talks, as the third round of negotiations looked set to produce little progress.

“I’ve read all the position papers produced by Her Majesty’s government and none of them is satisfactory,” Juncker said on Tuesday at a conference in Brussels, as talks between the U.K. and the EU resumed. “There is still an enormous amount of issues that remain to be settled.”

The stage had already been set for an intense round of negotiations after chief negotiator Michel Barnier and Brexit Secretary David Davis met on Monday for the first time since July and candidly aired their frustration at each other’s approaches. Barnier said time was running out, as the U.K. continued in its bid to change the order of topics discussed.

Read more: EU's Juncker Slams U.K. on Brexit as Fractious Talks Resume - Bloomberg

European Union - EU boss threatens to break up US in retaliation for Trump Brexit support - by Nick Gutteridge

In an extraordinary speech the EU Commission president said he would push for California, or Ohio and Texas to split from the rest of America if US President Donald Trump does not change his tune and become more supportive of the EU.

The remarks are diplomatic dynamite at a time when relations between Washington and Brussels are already strained over Europe’s meagre contributions to NATO and the US leader’s open preference for dealing with national governments.

A spokesman for the bloc later said that the remarks were not meant to be taken literally, but also tellingly did not try to pass them off as humorous and insisted the EU chief was making a serious comparison.

They are by far the most outspoken intervention any senior EU figure has made about Mr Trump and are likely to dismay some European leaders who were hoping to seek a policy of rapprochement with their most important ally.

Speaking at the centre-right European People Party’s (EPP) annual conference in Malta yesterday afternoon, the EU Commission boss did not hold back in his disdain for the White House chief’s eurosceptic views.

He said: “Brexit isn’t the end. A lot of people would like it that way, even people on another continent where the newly elected US President was happy that the Brexit was taking place and has asked other countries to do the same.

“If he goes on like that I am going to promote the independence of California, Ohio and Austin, Texas in the US.”

Mr Juncker's comments did not appear to be made in jest and were delivered in a serious tone, although one journalist did report some "chuckles" in the audience and hinted the EU boss may have been joking. The remarks came in the middle of an angry speech in which the top eurocrat railed widely against critics of the EU Commission.

And reacting to the furore which followed them, EU Commission deputy chief spokesman Alexander Winterstein explained: "You will have seen that this is not the first time the President draws this analogy and I think he’s making a point that is as simple as it is valid.

"He does not suggest that certain states should secede from the United States and at the same time I think he considers it also not terribly appropriate for other heads of states to suggest that member states of the EU leave the EU. So I think that’s the comparison that he’s drawing."

Read more:  more: European Union - EU boss threatens to break up US in retaliation for Trump Brexit support | Politics | News | Express.co.

EU′s Juncker unveils post-Brexit vision for bloc

Presenting five options to the European Parliament recently Juncker said it was time for European Union members to once again become "pioneers" to carve out a new future for the EU at 27, referring to the bloc's 27 remaining members after the UK withdraws.

His speech comes just weeks before British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, to begin the country's official divorce proceedings from the EU.

The former Luxembourg prime minister insisted that "as painful as Brexit will be, it will not stop the EU as it moves to the future."

Juncker laid out five "pathways to unity" for EU leaders to consider at a special summit in Rome on March 25 to mark the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding treaty.

Another option would see Brussels pull back from many areas, including regional development, health, employment and social policy. Alternatively, the bloc could maintain the status quo, Juncker said, with limited progress on strengthening the euro single currency and limited defense cooperation.

The fifth option would involve a more federalist approach, "sharing more power, resources and decision-making across the board."

During his speech, Juncker hit out at "permanent Brussels bashing" by populist politicians all over the bloc, insisting that the EU was not responsible for each country's problems.

But he conceded that Brussels had often been put on a pedestal, and had failed to keep many of its ambitious promises, for example, addressing the bloc's high unemployment rate.

Looking to the future, Juncker said: "Our task will be to say clearly what Europe can and cannot do."

He called for EU states to respond to his suggestions by the end of the year, and decide on a course of action by the European Parliament elections in June 2019.

Read more: EU′s Juncker unveils post-Brexit vision for bloc | News | DW.COM | 01.03.2017

The Bruxelles Tragedy: US failed Middle East policy indrectly responsible for Brussels terror attacks - by Claire Bernish

Brussels Landmark Statue "Manneke Pis" says it all

Before the bodies had been counted. Before the injuries had been assessed. Before any group claimed responsibility for perpetrating the attacks in the Belgian capitol Brussels, the lazy condemned the entire religion of Islam.

This blame, meted out to a religion whose tenets expressly forbid killing innocents — “it is as if he had slain mankind entirely” — lacks fundamental logic. Worse, it lacks precision.

Without precision and studied consideration of the conditions which culminated in these acts of terrorism, one Bruxelles Landmark Statueguarantee can be cemented: future attacks.

Why? Because humans have an unironic penchant for neglecting lessons from past mistakes — and an unfaltering blindfold as if their present actions exist in a vacuum. Indeed, blaming an entire religion for the actions of a few falsely claiming they follow its teachings might be precisely what the ignominious war machine of U.S. imperialism needs. In fact, modern-day terrorism exists because of the actions of a specific religion — and it isn’t Islam.

Imperialism, and its roots planted firmly in statism, inarguably create, foster, and perpetuate terrorism at an alarming rate. An active military campaign and overarching surveillance program ostensibly embarked upon to demolish terrorism — anywhere on the planet — instead manufacture terrorism at an increasingly rapid rate.

This cyclical structure isn’t difficult to comprehend, yet it somehow escapes those eager to scapegoat blame on the undeserving — because xenophobia.

For years, the United States military and its over-inflated budget have bombed the hell out of predominantly Muslim countries — doing a bang-up job of mostly missing intended targets, instead killing civilian non-combatants more than of the time by some estimates. U.S. foreign policy’s relentless hammer created the staggering refugee crisis as civilians — either having their homes destroyed by bombing or from justifiable fear it could happen — by the millions feel they have no choice but to escape.

Worse still, the U.S.’ vying for natural resources — oil, opium, rare earth metals, and more — have caused a complex juggernaut of proxy wars with sometimes contradictory aims. This wrangling to exploit countrysides in otherwise peaceful countries stands as classic imperialist dogma: they have it, the U.S. government wants it, and the military is promptly deployed to make it happen.

Largely downplayed in this cycle are countless corporations pulling the strings — directly driving hegemonic foreign policy.

Would we need to invade Afghanistan for its insanely profitable opium crops without Big Pharma? Doubtful. Would we need to partner with Saudi Arabia — not only a notorious human rights abuser, but one of the most despised countries in the Middle East — were it not for its enormous stores of oil? No way.

Would Syria be the quagmire it has become if it weren’t geostrategically integral for a proposed oil pipeline? Nope.

War has been called ‘endless’ for justifiable reasons — but it wouldn’t be so without imperialism driving its existence. Violence is its tool. But endless violence isn’t without consequences.

Terrorism holds undeniable responsibility for the attacks in Brussels, but it didn’t manifest because of Islam.

Blaming Islam is the lazy way out of holding those ultimately responsible for its rise — and secures its perpetuation. But it doesn’t mean Islam is to blame.

Note EU-Digest: as has been mentioned many times before  - the EU, in addition to numerous other urgent changes it needs to make to avoid self-destruction, must establish it's own Middle East foreign policy based on economic development and trade, and completely "divorce" itself from the many years of failed US Middle East policies.

Read also: America Should Take Responsibility for the Brussels Terror Attacks

European Parliament backs Juncker′s refugee plans

European lawmakers have backed European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's proposals for coping with a massive influx of migrants. The vast majority of the people on the move have been heading for Germany.

Members of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to support Juncker's proposals, with 432 voting in favor of the non-binding resolution and just 142 against, with 57 abstentions.

A statement posted on the European Parliament's website said the lawmakers backed the Commission's proposal to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers from Italy, Greece and Hungary. This came a day after it backed an emergency proposal for relocating 40,000 asylum seekers.

It also said that a majority of lawmakers believed that the bloc's "Dublin rules," which determine in which member state any given migrant is required to register, should be amended through a "fair, compulsory allocation key" taking into account "the integration prospects and the specific cases and needs of asylum seekers themselves."

The MEPs also expressed support for the idea of drawing up a common EU list of safe countries of origin and a compulsory resettlement plan under which members states would be required to take in refugees from third countries.

Read more: European Parliament backs Juncker′s refugee plans | News | DW.COM | 10.09.2015

The European Commission: The Secret Mission Of VP Frans Timmermans - by Rene Cuperus:

Frans Timmermans the EU's point man

Frans Timmermans former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs (Social Democrat)  is now Juncker’s number two in the new European Commission. Formally in charge of ‘Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights,’ his more difficult undertaking will likely be the informal task of keeping the UK in the EU.

The 2013 Dutch Kings’s Speech (Speech from the Throne, ‘’Troonrede’’) by Dutch King William Alexander at the opening of the new Dutch parliamentary year, provoked a lot of reactions, both domestically and internationally. In the speech, it seemed as if the Dutch post-war welfare state was abolished, substituted by a so-called ‘’participation society’’ based on mutual individualism.

This was only partly true. Indeed, the coalition of conservative liberals (VVD) and social-democrats (PvdA) did design and put into action an unprecedented decentralisation operation towards city councils and social organizations (care, employment), but in terms of rights, one cannot seriously argue that the Netherlands is getting rid of its welfare state.

This popular Dutch Foreign Minister is now ‘’the second man’’ of the new Juncker European Commission. It is unclear at this moment whether his portfolio in the Commission as ‘’First Vice-President, in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights’’ is really a powerful job in the Berlaymont hierarchy. 

Some say that given his personality, language skills, and good connections with Juncker, as well as his huge European and international network, Timmermans will perform outside the boundaries of his formal functional profile, and will play an important role in international affairs and European foreign policy. He might even become one of the strongest figureheads for European Social Democracy political grouping in Brussels.

I (Rene Cuperus) myself argued – in an article writtenearlier  together with Adriaan Schout of Clingendael, the Dutch Chatham House – that the secret mission for Frans Timmermans might be helping to prevent ‘’Brexit’’ from happening.

Read more: Rene Cuperus: The Secret Mission Of Frans Timmermans

EU's New President: Pro-EU Juncker wins parliamentary endorsement for powerful EU job

Luxembourg’s former conservative premier Jean-Claude Juncker won the endorsement on Tuesday of the European Parliament to become president of the powerful European Commission for the next five years.

Despite sharp opposition from Britain and Hungary, Mr Juncker had been put up as a candidate for the job by 26 of the European Union’s (EU’s) 28 leaders, but needed a majority of at least 376 votes in parliament to take up the post.

He mustered 422 votes in favour — with 250 votes against, 47 abstentions and 10 spoiled ballots — which was a little short of the 480 legislators that make up the three main groups: the conservatives, the social-democrats and the liberals.

Ahead of the ballot, Mr Juncker made a heartfelt plea to revive both Europe’s economy and spirit as he laid out his vision for the future.

"Europe has lost much of its credibility, the gap between the EU and its citizens has grown," he said.

The vote paves the way to an extraordinary EU summit on Wednesday in Brussels that will allow EU leaders to complete a jigsaw of appointments for the next few years, including a new EU foreign policy chief as well as a successor to Herman van Rompuy as EU Council president.

Read more: Juncker wins parliamentary endorsement for powerful EU job | Europe | BDlive

EU Unity: U.K. Loses Big Vote On The Future Of Europe — Now What? - by Marilyn Geewax

The European Union made history Friday by bringing three of Russia's neighbors — Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova — under its economic tent.

The of trade agreements will push European influence deep into a region that Russia would like to dominate. In light of recent Russian aggression in Ukraine, that's a big deal.

But in Brussels, Belgium, generated a second major headline later in the day.

Leaders of the European Union's 28 member states voted on the next president of the European Commission, which serves as the EU's executive branch.

The president sets the policy agenda, enforces rules and represents Europe abroad — so it's the most powerful position in the EU. Friday's vote ended up 26-2 in favor of Jean-Claude Juncker, a former prime minister of Luxembourg.

But the outcome matters because the losing votes belonged to the United Kingdom and Hungary. And they were deeply, totally, seriously opposed to Juncker — so much so that his victory could trigger an eventual reconfiguring of the EU in ways not favorable to the U.S.

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron sees Juncker as a political fixer, a crony-type politician with a reputation for drinking too much and defending the EU bureaucracy too vigorously. And the U.K. and Hungary fear that Juncker wants to take away too many powers from sovereign states.

The 26 leaders who voted for Juncker insist that , they had to nominate the Luxembourger, who will now go on to get rubber-stamp approval from the European Parliament in mid-July.

After the vote, Cameron called the outcome "a serious mistake" and promised to . He said pushing reforms would involve "a long, tough fight."

EU-Digest

EU's new President Jean-Claude Juncker - Profile

Jean-Claude Juncker

Among EU government leaders only the UK and Hungarian prime ministers voted against him at an EU summit on 27 June.

Crucially Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel backed his bid - after some hesitation - as did the centre-left leaders of France and Italy.

There are many voices in the European Parliament too who argue that Mr Juncker should get the job. The parliament believes the choice of European Commission president now has to reflect the election result.

Yet he is a controversial figure in the EU, as a leading advocate of deeper EU integration, and is often called a "federalist"
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A veteran of Brussels deal-making, he headed the powerful Eurogroup - the eurozone finance ministers - at the height of the eurozone crisis, when crucial decisions were taken about austerity and bailout conditions.

He was prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and one of the architects of the euro.

But according to Pierre Leyers, financial editor of the daily Luxemburger Wort, it is misleading to call him a "federalist". "He wants deeper integration, but not a European superstate," he told the BBC.

Mr Leyers argues that coming from a tiny country has enhanced Mr Juncker's influence in the EU, odd though that may seem to people unfamiliar with Brussels politics.

Luxembourg was a founding member of the community which became the EU and, sandwiched between France and Germany, "it had no choice but to try to be on good terms with its neighbours", Mr Leyers said.

 "So some Luxembourg politicians were always good negotiators and diplomats, to get France and Germany together."

The drive for post-war reconciliation shaped Mr Juncker's political views.

But some of his past remarks have raised eyebrows, suggesting a less than firm commitment to democracy.

Ahead of the French vote on the European Constitution in 2005 he said: "If it's a Yes, we will say 'on we go', and if it's a No we will say 'we continue'"
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And in 2011 he said "monetary policy is a serious issue - we should discuss this in secret, in the Eurogroup... I am for secret, dark debates".

His greatest EU challenge has been shoring up the eurozone since the 2008 financial crash, when Greece's colossal debts, and those of other struggling eurozone countries, threatened the very survival of the single currency.

Mr Juncker is a strong advocate of a European "solidarity" union - an EU that strives to raise living standards in its poorest regions and sectors.

He has not explained how an EU-US free trade deal might impact on EU social protection policies, which currently cost the EU many billions through support for farmers and projects to help poor communities.

He claimed that such a deal would give each European an extra 545 euros (£443; $742) - an exaggeration, according to a fact check by Eurovision, which hosted the debate.

He has also defended the Common Agricultural Policy, saying agriculture employs about 30 million Europeans. But the UK government is among the many critics who say the CAP is wasteful and want more of the EU budget spent on digital technologies, research and investment in small businesses.

Mats Persson, director of the Open Europe think-tank, says Mr Juncker is associated with the EU of the 1980s and 1990s, echoing a criticism attributed to UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

After an election that saw a surge in support for Eurosceptic parties, that connection with past EU policies may be a disadvantage, Mr Persson told the BBC, adding that Mr Juncker was "sidelined quite a bit during the eurozone crisis" and "ran a vague election campaign".

However, Mr Juncker is not vague about the political risks of taking tough economic decisions. He once said "we all know what to do, we just don't know how to get re-elected after we've done it"

EU-Digest

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