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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NSA Spy Scandal: Europe's High Court Will Look at Facebook's Possible Role in NSA Spying - by Carol Matlack

Did Facebook (FB) illegally let the U.S. National Security Agency spy on its European users? That question is to be considered by the European Union’s highest court, after an Irish judge questioned whether data that the social network transferred from Europe to its U.S. servers might have fallen into the hands of the spy agency.

In a ruling today, Irish High Court Judge Gerard Hogan asked the European Court of Justice to decide whether Irish regulators should investigate the data transfers, which have been permitted under a transatlantic agreement that assumes U.S. privacy protections are comparable to those in the EU.

 Privacy advocates, led by an Austrian law student named Max Schrems, contend that Edward Snowden’s revelations about the NSA’s Prism program showed that the agency conducted “mass and largely unsupervised surveillance” of Facebook users’ data.

Schrems took Ireland’s national data regulator to court after it refused to consider his complaint and dismissed his arguments as “frivolous and vexatious.” But Judge Hogan said Snowden’s disclosures had “exposed gaping holes in contemporary U.S. data protection practice” that could undermine the U.S.-EU agreement.

He asked the European court to determine whether an investigation of Facebook’s data transfers was warranted in light of the disclosures. The case was filed in Ireland because Facebook’s European operations are headquartered there.

Read more: Europe's High Court Will Look at Facebook's Possible Role in NSA Spying - Businessweek

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Terrorism: Jihadi supporters arrested in Spain, Germany

Eight people have been arrested in Spain and a further three in Germany for suspected links with jihadi groups, especially in Iraq and Syria, authorities said Monday.

A Spanish Interior Ministry statement said police detained the eight in Madrid early Monday on suspicion of recruiting jihadi militants for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
It said the cell was led by a person who lives in Spain but had previously been jailed in Guantanamo Bay after being arrested in Afghanistan in 2001.

Spain gave no immediate details on the nationalities of the arrested.

In Berlin, prosecutors' spokesman Martin Steltner said police on Saturday arrested a 30-year-old Frenchman suspected of "supporting a terrorist organization" by fighting in Syria for the group.

Steltner said the suspect, who wasn't named because of German privacy laws, was wounded in fighting. He has also allegedly appeared in ISIL propaganda videos.

A court will decide on his extradition to France in the coming weeks.

Read more: Jihadi supporters arrested in Spain, Germany | Boston Herald

EU Parliament: Conservatives propose Muslim for European Parliament President

The conservative ECR group has proposed Sajjad Haider Karim, who in 2004 became the first British Muslim MEP, to be the next European Parliament President. However, the candidacy appears to be a long shot.

Sajjad Karim, nominated as European Parliament Presidential candidate by the European Conservatives and Reformists’ group (ECR), has written to the leaders of all the main groups in the European Parliament seeking their backing.

He said that the image of the EU in the world had been tainted by the recent European elections, with the rise of extremist parties.

“I ask the group leaders: is it not now time to reinstate our values of tolerance, acceptance and diversity”, writes Karim, who was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, of Pakistani descent.  He adds he is relying on a track record of 20 years experience, as an elected public official, 10 of which have been served here in the European Parliament.

“I have served diligently working across groups and political divides always seeking consensus and delivery,” writes Karim, who was elected in 2004 for the Liberal Democrats, but joined the Conservative Party in November 2007.

Read more: Conservatives propose Muslim for European Parliament President | EurActiv

World Cup Soccer: Ruthless Dutch rip shell-shocked Spain to shreds - by Neil Maidmen

A rampant Netherlands team inflicted a heaviest World Cup defeat on holders Spain in over 60 years with a dazzling 5-1 demolition on Friday that sent shockwaves through the tournament.

The Dutch were nothing but brutal in a tetchy 1-0 final defeat by the Spaniards four years ago, but they set out to disrupt the champions' possession game and blew them away with two goals each from Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben.

Only once before had Spain conceded five times in a World Cup game, in a 6-1 loss to hosts Brazil in 1950. The mauling was also the worst ever start for defending world champions.

"Spain were always going to come at us and we catch them on the counter. My players did it perfectly. It's far better than we ever expected," Dutch coach Louis van Gaal told reporters.

Dutch revenge looked unlikely when Spain, also 2008 and 2012 European champions, went ahead in the Group B clash with a 27th- minute Xabi Alonso penalty after Diego Costa was brought down.

Read more: Ruthless Dutch rip shell-shocked Spain to shreds - Football | The Star Online