Holland's Ukraine vote - by Andrew Stuttaford

A majority of Dutch voters is opposed to the Netherlands’ ratification of the European Union’s association agreement with Ukraine, a new poll ahead of an April 6 referendum on the issue showed Saturday.

The poll, conducted by the Dutch public broadcaster’s program EenVandaag, is the first barometer on the April 6 vote. It found that over 50 percent of voters “are certain” to reject the Ukraine agreement, while another quarter of respondents said they’ll “likely” reject the deal. Over half of respondents also said they will certainly cast a ballot, while another 17 percent said they’d “most likely” vote.

The threshold for the referendum to be taken into account is a turnout of 30 percent. The organisors of the referendum are the eurosceptic think-tank Forum for Democracy, the eurosceptic news website Geenstijl.nl (which gained notoriety for exposing the practice of MEPs signing in to claim their daily allowance before sodding off) and Burgercomité EU, the campaign for a full referendum on EU membership.

Geert Wilders, the leader of the populist anti-EU and anti-immigration PVV party which is currently leading in the opinion polls has been an enthusiastic supporter of the campaign, although the organisers have done their best to keep their distance from him and party politics in general.

The VVD, the main party in the Dutch coalition, has dubbed the organisers of the initiative as “friends of Putin”, a sensitive accusation in the wake of the shooting down of flight MH17 last year.

The question of the EU’s relations with both Russia and Ukraine has been a factor in the campaign; the Association Agreement is unpopular some quarters as there are fears Ukraine will benefit from greater financial support from Dutch taxpayers and that the move to remove visa requirements for Ukrainians will lead to greater immigration from that country.

There are also concerns that the deal effectively commits the Netherlands to side with Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. However, that said, this should first and foremost be seen as a proxy for many Dutch citizens’ desire for a broader debate about the EU and the direction it is heading in. Given that a full on referendum about EU membership is explicitly excluded in the [Dutch] legislation establishing the referendum mechanism, campaigners latched onto the EU-Ukrainian Association Agreement as the best option for forcing the debate.

They needed a piece of EU legislation which was yet to come into force and upon which they could hang their broader concerns, this agreement seemed to fit the bill. Thierry Baudet, an author and academic who launched the Forum for Democracy has said that “We will put the question of the EU on the agenda with a broad focus on all aspects of the EU.” More generally, it is also reflective of the wider anti-establishment mood that is sweeping across much of Europe. Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/429509/hollands-ukraine-vote

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FIFA: Football - Instant Replay: Dutch FA hopes to trial video technology during matches

The Netherlands may become one of the first countries to trial video help for football referees after a recommendation from the game's rule-making body, the Dutch football federation said Friday.

If the move is approved by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), then the Dutch FA (KNVB) hopes to put it to the test in 25 matches during the Dutch Cup during the 2016-2017 season.

Football moved closer to giving match officials video assistance on Thursday when the IFAB announced it has strongly recommended beginning trials.

The proposal will now go to the IFAB's general meeting in Cardiff on March 4-6 for approval.

"If it is approved in March, then we are going to experiment with it in the Netherlands during the Cup," KNVB told AFP in an email.

"We would hope to try out video assistance in about 25 Cup matches."

Such video help would not replace the traditional ref, but could be consulted for decisions that might change the match outcome such as contentious goals or penalties and red cards.   

Read more: Flash - Dutch FA hopes to trial video technology during matches - France 24

Britain: Cameron's Annus Horribilis - by Denis MacShane

Will 2016 be the annus mirablis or the annus horriblis for David Cameron? Rarely has a British prime minister confronted his destiny quite so directly as Cameron, who celebrates his 50th birthday in 2016.

 In January 2013, he announced that Britain would hold a referendum on staying in or leaving the European Union. In the three years since, he has won a second term of office and also announced that he would stand down as prime minister before the next election in 2020.

Unlike Margaret Thatcher, who celebrated her tenth anniversary as British prime minister in 1989 by saying that she intended “to go on and on and on” (and found herself ousted a year later), Mr. Cameron is not insisting he must stay in power as Britain’s leader forever.

In 2005, Cameron and I discussed his bid to be leader of the Conservatives. I said to him if he did become leader, he stood a good chance of being Prime Minister. But I also urged him to reduce the temperature of the obsessive euroscepticism that had completely infected his Tory Party.

He smiled and said “I am much more eurosceptic than you imagine, Denis.”He was telling the truth. Cameron is a member of a generation that entered political life in the 1990s, as their goddess, Margaret Thatcher, turned against Europe. She denounced Jacques Delors and European integration in the House of Commons.

After her dismissal as prime minister in 1990, Mrs. Thatcher became the patron of political euroscepticism which quickly infected the entire right-wing landscape in Britain.

Read more: Cameron's Annus Horribilis - The Globalist

Is the EU imploding?The Europe Question In 2016 - by Nouriel Roubini

At the cusp of the new year, we face a world in which geopolitical and geo-economic risks are multiplying. Most of the Middle East is ablaze, stoking speculation that a long 

Sunni-Shia war (like Europe’s Thirty Years’ War between Catholics and Protestants) could be at hand. 

China’s rise is fueling a wide range of territorial disputes in Asia and challenging America’s strategic leadership in the region. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has apparently become a semi-frozen conflict, but one that could reignite at any time.

There is also the chance of another epidemic, as outbreaks of SARS, MERS, Ebola, and other infectious diseases have shown in recent years. Cyber-warfare is a looming threat as well, and non-state actors and groups are creating conflict and chaos from the Middle East to North and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Last, but certainly not least, climate change is already causing significant damage, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and lethal.

Yet it is Europe that may turn out to be the ground zero of geopolitics in 2016. For starters, a Greek exit from the eurozone may have been only postponed, not prevented, as pension and other structural reforms put the country on a collision course with its European creditors. “Grexit,” in turn, could be the beginning of the end of the monetary union, as investors would wonder which member – possibly even a core country (for example, Finland) – will be the next to leave.

If Grexit does occur, the United Kingdom’s exit from the EU may become more likely. Compared to a year ago, the probability of “Brexit” has increased, for several reasons. The recent terrorist attacks in Europe have made the UK even more isolationist, as has the migration crisis. Under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour is more Euroskeptic. And Prime Minister David Cameron has painted himself into a corner by demanding EU reforms that even the Germans – who are sympathetic to the UK – cannot accept. To many in Britain, the EU looks like a sinking ship.

If Brexit were to occur, other dominos would fall. Scotland might decide to leave the UK, leading to the breakup of Britain. This could inspire other separatist movements – perhaps starting in Catalonia – to push even more forcefully for independence. And the EU’s Nordic members may decide that with the UK gone, they, too, would be better off leaving.

As for terrorism, the sheer number of homegrown jihadists means that the question for Europe is not whether another attack will occur, but when and where. And repeated attacks could sharply reduce business and consumer confidence and stall Europe’s fragile economic recovery.

Those who argue that the migration crisis also poses an existential threat to Europe are right. But the issue is not the million newcomers entering Europe in 2015. It is the 20 million more who are displaced, desperate, and seeking to escape violence, civil war, state failure, desertification, and economic collapse in large parts of the Middle East and Africa. If Europe is unable to find a coordinated solution to this problem and enforce a common external border, the Schengen Agreement will collapse and internal borders between the EU member states will reappear.

Note EU-Digest: Europeans must keep history in mind when looking at the future - united we stand - divided we fail - There is no alternative.

EU relationship with Saudi Arabia - 7 reasons the EU shouldn't be allies with Saudi Arabia & 1 reason why it still is

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia continues to be one of  Europe's key international allies with ministers, Heads of State and even Royal families making every effort to keep the hard-line Middle East kingdom on Europe's side.

But while Europe has no problems with the US forcing them to impose tough sanctions on countries like Russia for their war with Ukraine, the EU often falls deadly silent amid claims of human rights abuses and war crimes by Saudi Arabia.

This attitude is remarkable for the EU, which claims to cherish human rights and always stands ready to protect it by all means possible. This while the Saudi royal family regularly face accusations of overseeing a brutal regime where political opponents are executed, all criticism is censored and women are second-class citizens.

A kingdom which has also faced claims it is the breeding ground of Islamist terror groups across the world.

Here are seven reasons why the EU shouldn't be friends with Saudi - and one multi-billion EURO reason why it still is…

Crime and Punishment : Documents show ISIS & Saudi Arabia prescribe near-identical punishments for crimes.

Death Penalty: A recent report by human rights charity Reprieve found 171 people are currently facing execution in Saudi Arabia.

Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of these were sentenced to death for non-violent offences, including the attendance of political protests.

Those found protesting against the kingdom's rulers are convicted of 'corrupting the Earth' - a charge which carries the death penalty.

Censorship:  The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights branded the public flooding a "cruel and inhuman punishment… prohibited under international human rights law".

Amnesty International has accused Saudi's hardline rulers of systematically wiping out almost all human rights activism in the country over the past few years, much of it under the disguise of 'counter-terror' laws.

Peaceful activists from one leading group are are said to have been rounded up, beaten and given long prison sentences in an effort to “wipe out all trace” of the organization.

It followed fears among the Saudi royal family that the 2011 'Arab Spring' uprisings could inspire a similar revolt against themselves.

Treatment of women : Apart from considering women inferior to men Saudi Arabia  is the only country in the world that bans women from driving.

War Crimes:  Since civil war broke out in Yemen this year, a Saudi-led coalition has carried out airstrikes against Houthi rebels who overthrew the country's government.

Riyadh has frequently been accused of war crimes with hospitals, schools, markets, aid warehouses, charity offices and refugee camps all said to have been targeted by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes.
 

By September more than 2,200 civilian deaths had been registered.

One report by Amnesty International documented the use of internationally-banned cluster bombs while the body of a one-year-old baby was found in wreckage with his dummy still in his mouth.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is currently considering legal action against the Government unless it stops allowing British-produced arms being sent to Saudi amid concerns of war crimes in Yemen.

 

Is Saudi Arabia inspiring fanatical extremism?: Since the 9/11 terror attacks in New York in 2001 - when 15 of the 19 al-Qaeda hijackers were found to be Saudi nationals - the kingdom has faced regular claims it is helping to breed Islamic extremism and terror groups across the world.
 

The fanatical 'Wahhabi' strain of Islam, which is centred in Saudi Arabia, is now said to be closest ideology to that of ISIS - with some claiming the views espoused by Saudi's Wahhabist clerics inspired the growth of the terror group.

Saudi has also faced accusations it has tried to export puritanical Wahhabism abroad over the last three decades, at a cost of  €100B

 

The cash is spent on building mosques or establishing madrassas - religious schools - in other Muslim nations such as Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and parts of Africa.

Are the Saudi's Funding ISIS ? : Saudi Arabia has strongly denied it has provided funding to ISIS, with officials pointing to new laws it has brought in to prevent money from the kingdom going to jihadist groups.

But their denials still haven't stopped accusations from some British politicians of a link between the financing of ISIS and Saudi Arabia.

Last month former British Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown claimed ISIS was continuing to be funded by wealthy individuals from both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

He said: "I don't say the governments have been doing it, but their rich businessmen certainly have."
Saudi money and weapons for anti-regime forces have poured into Syria soon after the country plunged into civil war.

Why are so many EU states still ever so closely connected to Saudi Arabia?: It comes down to one simple answer - Arms Sales : (click) EU arms sales contributed to a large extend in propping up Saudi Arabia's military and indirectly also contribute to increased  terrorism and violence in the Middle East.

 

British figures show that Saudi Arabia has twice as many British-made warplanes as the entire RAF, and these same Government figures show two-thirds of British-made arms go to the Middle East with Saudi by far the major buyer.

 

On a global scale the above picture becomes even more interwoven and complex when we include the US in this scenario. They are not only the closest Saudi Arabia ally, but the US is also the major exporter of arms to the Kingdom. 

Just recently the U.S. approved a $1.29 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, despite widespread mounting evidence of the country’s mass atrocities and possible war crimes in neighboring Yemen.  

 

This sale included  over 10,000 bombs, munitions, and weapons parts produced by Boeing and Raytheon. of which 5,200 Paveway II “laser guided” and 12,000 “general purpose” bombs. “Bunker Busters,” designed to destroy concrete structures. 

 

Total US arms sales to the Saudi Kingdom last year are estimated to have been close or over $50billion.

 

As the Shakespearean saying goes: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". 

EU-Digest

EU Presidency: ′Turbulent times′ as Netherlands takes over EU presidency

The Netherlands has taken over the rotating presidency of the European Union, at something of a challenging time. Amid disputes about migration, austerity and strife with Russia, the bloc's solidarity appears stretched.

Europe's influx of migrants as well as the threat of terrorism and geopolitical changes in the east were all creating difficulties for the EU, a Dutch government report into the state of the EU said. The document went on to point out the "the threat of fragmentation" within the bloc.

"The EU is being severely put to the test," said the report.

The Netherlands is experienced at holding the EU's six-month-long rotating presidency, having already taken on the mantle 11 times. This time around, the pressure of organizing high-level meetings and brokering legislative deals will be all the greater.

"It is incumbent on the Netherlands to help the EU find common solutions in these turbulent times," the state of the union report reads. "Unity and resolve are needed at all levels."

Read more: ′Turbulent times′ as Netherlands takes over EU presidency | News | DW.COM | 01.01.2016

EU warns of "dangerous consequences" of Saudi cleric execution in weakly worded statement

Is the EU a toothless tiger?

The European Union's foreign policy chief warned today, Saturday January 2, that Saudi Arabia's execution of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric risked "dangerous consequences" by further inflaming sectarian tensions in the region.

The kingdom executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday alongside dozens of al Qaeda members, signalling that it would not tolerate attacks, whether by Sunni jihadists or from its Shi'ite minority.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, reiterating the bloc's opposition to the death penalty and mass executions in particular, said Nimr's case raised serious concerns over freedom of expression and the respect of basic civil and political rights in Saudi Arabia.

"This case has also the potential of inflaming further the sectarian tensions that already bring so much damage to the entire region, with dangerous consequences," she said, urging Saudi authorities to promote reconciliation between different communities in the country.

Note EU-Digest: A very weak statement by the EU in reaction to Saudi Arabia's barbaric behavior in total disrespect of basic human rights laws. 

The weak statement condemning Saudi Arabia by the EU foreign policy chief of the EU was obviously inspired by the fear of economic reprisals by Saudi Arabia (oil deliveries and EU weapons industry sales boycott) and of course, not to anger their "big boss" the US,  who are backing the totally unreliable, so-called, "Islamic Nations Military alliance", under the leadership of the Saudi's, which supposedly will combat ISIS, but in reality have quite a different political objective.  

It is high time the EU reviews its overall global foreign policy objectives and for the short term specifically takes a critical look at the Middle East policies, which to say the least, have been a total disaster so far.

Read more: EU warns of "dangerous consequences" of Saudi cleric execution | Daily Mail Online