ISIS : Turkey MPs back Iraq-Syria deployment

Turkey's parliament has backed a motion that could allow its military to enter Iraq and Syria to join the campaign against Islamic State (IS) militants.

The resolution - passed with a three-quarters majority - will also permit foreign troops to use Turkish territory for the operation.

Turkey has been under pressure to play a more active role in the US-led fight.
The government dropped its reluctance to combat IS militants directly after the release of 46 hostages last month.

The Turkish citizens had been held by IS in northern Iraq.

However, Turkey still remains wary of retaliation by IS and also fears helping Kurds, who are fighting the militants. Turkey has fought a long civil war with its Kurdish minority.

Read more: BBC News - Islamic State: Turkey MPs back Iraq-Syria deployment

Climate Change: Europe’s Fading Climate Policy Ambitions - by Bela Galgoczi

Europe is losing momentum in greening its economy, and its former leadership in this area is eroding rapidly. Indeed, after a 60% drop in clean energy investment in 2013 compared to the 2011 peak, Europe has become the global laggard in this regard.

Alongside this collapse in clean energy investment, due mostly to austerity and policy uncertainty, it is also disappointing to see that progress in energy efficiency – a key element on the path to decarbonisation – has been extremely modest to say the least.

According to Eurostat, between 1990 and 2010 EU27 final energy consumption grew by seven per cent; for the household sector the increase was 12%. The effects of energy saving investments, a priority of the EU2020 Strategy which placed the main emphasis on insulation and the retrofitting of buildings, are barely visible and achievement of the 2020 energy efficiency targets is seriously in question.

Much of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Europe was actually attributable to slow growth and recession. Europe, all in all, is losing clout.

Read more: Europe’s Fading Climate Policy Ambitions - Social Europe Journal

EU - Economy: Greece prepares to wave goodbye to troika

Greece has had many judgement days over the last year but the latest meeting of the troika could be one of the last.

Inspectors from the EU, ECB and the International Monetary Fund have been gathering to review the country’s progress on economic reforms, and our correspondent says it could be the final gathering if Greece ends its loan dependence.

“The International Monetary Fund is the big thorn in the side of the Greek government that wishes this to be the last time they visit Athens for an audit. With the primary surplus steadily above target, Greece will try to stay away from needing further IMF help. But there’s a long way to go before a definitive decision is made,” said Symela Touchtidou.

Athens has had its successes; besides a primary budget surplus, unemployment has dipped slightly from its record high of 28 percent in June, although it remains among Europe’s highest. Crucially, its economy is set to grow in 2014 after a six-year recession.

The Greek government also remains hopeful after announcing a series of tax relief measures this month for the first time after four years of austerity. The troika will looking to see if the government can compensate for those cuts.

Read more: Greece prepares to wave goodbye to troika | euronews, economy

EU-US Trade Negotiations: European Activists Say They Don't Want Any U.S. 'Chlorine Chicken' :by Susanna Capelouto

Mute Schimpf doesn't want to eat American chicken. That's because most U.S. poultry is chilled in antimicrobial baths that can include chlorine to keep salmonella and other bacteria in check. In Europe, chlorine treatment was banned in the 1990s out of fear that it could cause cancer.


"In Europe there is definitely a disgust about chlorinated chicken," says Schimpf, a food activist with Friends of the Earth Europe, an environmental group.

The chlorine vs. no chlorine debate has come up a lot recently in the context of a massive trans-Atlantic trade agreement. This week, negotiators from Europe and the U.S. are meeting in Washington for a seventh round of talks aimed at creating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP.

 Read more: European Activists Say They Don't Want Any U.S. 'Chlorine Chicken' : The Salt : NPR

The Evil Alliance: ISIS reconciles with al-Qaida group as Syria air strikes continue - by Martin Chulov

The Evil Alliance: ISIS and al-Qaida

Air strikes continued to target Islamic State (Isis) positions near the Kurdish town of Kobani and hubs across north-east Syria on Sunday, as the terror group moved towards a new alliance with Syria’s largest al-Qaida group that could help offset the threat from the air.

Jabhat al-Nusra, which has been at odds with Isis for much of the past year, vowed retaliation for the US-led strikes, the first wave of which a week ago killed scores of its members. Many al-Nusra units in northern Syria appeared to have reconciled with the group, with which it had fought bitterly early this year.

A senior source confirmed that al-Nusra and Isis leaders were now holding war planning meetings. While no deal has yet been formalized, the addition of at least some al-Nusra numbers to Isis would strengthen the group’s ranks and extend its reach at a time when air strikes are crippling its funding sources and slowing its advances in both Syria and Iraq.

Al-Nusra, which has direct ties to al-Qaida’s leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, called the attacks a “war on Islam” in an audio statement posted over the weekend. A senior al-Nusra figure told the Guardian that 73 members had defected to Isis last Friday alone and that scores more were planning to do so in coming days.

“We are in a long war,” al-Nusra’s spokesman, Abu Firas al-Suri, said on social media platforms. “This war will not end in months nor years, this war could last for decades.”

Read more: Isis reconciles with al-Qaida group as Syria air strikes continue | World news | The Guardian

The Canada-EU trade deal: Signed, not sealed

In October last year, Stephen Harper, Canada’s prime minister, flew to Brussels to sign a trade-and-investment deal in principle between Canada and the EU. On September 26th, the two sides announced the close of negotiations. But despite the back-slapping there may still be work to be done. Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s economy minister, objected strenuously this week to a clause in the deal that would allow companies to sue governments if they felt their rights had been infringed.

The clause is common in bilateral investment deals and initially attracted little attention in the Canada-EU negotiations. But it has become a flashpoint in another set of trade negotiations, between the EU and the United States. The European Parliament, a range of environmental and civil-society groups, and certain German politicians oppose it because they feel it gives multinational firms too much power in their dealings with government.

During a debate in Germany’s Bundestag about the two sets of EU talks, Mr Gabriel said “it’s completely clear we reject these investment-protection agreements” and that the debate was not over yet. In Ottawa, Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, questioned whether Mr Gabriel was speaking for the German government, saying that all official communications he had received from Germany were “absolutely in favor of this agreement”.

The text of the trade deal must go through a legal review and translation before being presented to the Canadian and European parliaments for ratification. Reopening it now would kill the agreement, according to Karel De Gucht, the European trade commissioner.

It would also be a blow to Mr Harper. The deal goes well beyond the traditional fare of lower tariffs and higher farm quotas. It also makes it easier for companies in both areas to compete for large government contracts, closes gaps in intellectual-property rules, and allows for mutual recognition of some professional certifications.

Note EU-Digest:  any clause in the deal that would allow companies to sue governments if they felt their rights had been infringed must not be accepted by the EU parliament in any way, shape or form.

Read more: The Canada-EU trade deal: Signed, not sealed | The Economist

Britain dodging EU laws and UK taxpayers now face huge bill from EU jobless - by Alison Little

European Union rules require a member state where a foreign worker has paid National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to reimburse the person’s home country for certain benefits, mostly Jobseeker’s Allowance, paid when they return.

Britain insists it will hand over the cash only where the person has paid NICs here for long enough to qualify for the benefits had they stayed in the UK and been unemployed.

But a group of Eastern European countries has signalled they will work together to step up pressure on the UK to bow to a non-legally binding recommendation from an EU committee that states should reimburse each other regardless of their own rules.

The Czech Republic said it was working with Hungary, Slovakia and Poland who all claim Britain owes them millions.

Czech Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Michaela Marksova yesterday  said her country had received just £800,000 from Britain in payments for unemployed returning Czechs when it was owed an estimated £3 million.

In a radio interview she accused UK authorities of dragging their heels and dodging their EU responsibilities.

Read more: UK taxpayers face huge bill from EU jobless who go home | UK | News | Daily Express