Traffic Fatalities: The world map of driving deaths

A new report from the International Transport Forum finds that the United States had more road deaths per capita in 2012 than Canada, Australia, Japan, and all of the European nations that reported data.

Read more: The world map of driving deaths - Vox

EU Economy: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stage

The eurozone's growing fears of deflation will be stirred again on Friday when preliminary consumer price data for August will be issued with signs that the European Central Bank (ECB) could be looking at bolder steps to help the region's stagnant economy.

Analyst polled by Reuters forecast the annual inflation rate to slip to 0.3 per cent from 0.4 per cent in July, falling even further below the ECB's target of below but close to two per cent and mired deep in what the bank calls the "danger zone." The ECB cut interest rates in June and promised banks cheap long-term loans starting in September and any new measures before those loans kick in had been considered unlikely.

However, in remarks that opened the door to possible policy action at the bank's next meeting in September, ECB President Mario Draghi said on Friday that the bank is prepared to respond with all its "available" tools should inflation drop further.

Speaking at a global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Draghi said he is confident that the steps already announced, helped by a weaker euro would boost demand in the ailing economic bloc. But in stronger language than he has used in the past, he stressed the central bank stands ready to do more. "The (ECB's) governing council will acknowledge these (economic) developments and within its mandate will use all the available instruments needed to ensure price stability over the medium term," he said.

The main weapon at the bank's disposal, printing money to buy bonds, known as Quantitative Easing (QE), is still opposed by Germany's Bundes bank which plays down the danger of deflation. In his remarks on Friday, Draghi did not mention the policy specifically, but a growing number of analysts believe it is only a matter of time before the ECB follows the path already trodden by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

"The ECB will ultimately move to QE unless the euro weakens appreciably," said Riccardo Barbieri, chief European economist at Mizuho, adding that, "In the near term stagnation and near-zero inflation in the eurozone are almost a certainty. Developments in Ukraine will continue to be a major focus for markets, with the negative headlines of recent weeks having pushed German bond yields to new lows."

Read more: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stagEU Economy: Europe fears deflation as Ukraine stays centre-stag

Germany: no Iraq combat troops or weapons to PKK

Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out sending German combat troops to Iraq and is dismissing suggestions her country could send weapons to the separatist Kurdish PKK movement.

Germany said last week it is prepared to arm the regional Kurdish government forces battling Islamic militants in northern Iraq. It's still determining what to send them.

Sunday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper reported some German government lawmakers also are considering arming the PKK, which the EU classifies a terrorist organization. Merkel, however, said the group "does not come into question as a recipient" of German arms.

Merkel said in an interview with ARD television Sunday that Berlin "will not under any circumstances send combat troops to Iraq" and has no "concrete plans" to send troops in any other function, such as training.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/24/4306434/germany-no-iraq-combat-troops.html#storylink=cpy

Read more: BERLIN: Germany: no Iraq combat troops or weapons to PKK - World Wires - MiamiHerald.com

EU-Digest Poll Shows Majority EU Citizens (56.25%) feel Britain Should Get Out Of The EU

The most recent EU-Digest poll which posed the question "Should Britain Quit The EU?" based on 4 possible answers showed a majority of European Citizens want Britain out of the EU.

The answers which got most votes for why Britain should leave the EU were - "Yes - they are more loyal to the US than the EU" - 31.25% and "Yes - they have never been a trustworthy partner" - 25%

This month new Poll to last through September 22, 2014 poses the following question:

SHOULD EU CITIZENSHIP FOR CITIZENS WHO SYMPATHIZE OR JOIN ISIS BE REVOKED?

The above action would probably also require most EU member states to legislate new laws for approval by their local parliaments.

EU-Digest

EU - Who Pays the Most for Russian Gas in Europe and Why - by Varvara Fomina

Following the revolution in Ukraine, the ousting of ex-President Viktor Yanukovich and Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Gazprom, Russia’s sole natural gas exporter, has almost doubled Ukraine’s natural gas price.

According to the state-run gas giant, the price was raised due to the cancellation of two major discounts.
One of the discounts was granted to Ukraine for permitting the Russian fleet to use Crimea’s city of Sevastopol as its base. When Crimea became part of Russia, the agreement and the discount were canceled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early April. The second discount, for timely payments, was canceled a few days later because Ukraine failed to fulfill its obligations to get a discount. Western political leaders have accused Russia of energy bullying and threatened it with sanctions.

In May, Russia signed a 30-year deal, worth $400 billion, to deliver gas to China. The media speculated on the reasons why, after 10 years of unsuccessful negotiations, the two countries managed to come to an agreement. One of the assumptions was that the deal was Putin’s reaction to the potential threat of European sanctions against Russia following the Crimean crisis.

During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in May, Alexey Miller, CEO of Gazprom,said the recent contract between Russia and China will likely influence gas pricing in the European market. With many details to discuss and hundreds of kilometers of pipelines to build, it is unclear what the selling price for China will be, or in what ways the contract can affect Europe.

According to Dr. Mikhail Korchemkin, managing director of East European Gas Analysis, a consulting company, the agreement between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corp. will not affect the price of Russian gas sold to Europe. “First, European prices are set by existing contracts,” Korchemkin said. “Second, East Siberian gas fields are not connected to Europe, so this gas cannot be sold to Europe.”

However, the setting of gas prices for European countries raises a lot of questions. The price varies from country to country. Gazprom is secret about commercial transactions, and the terms of agreements for long-term gas contracts are generally not disclosed. In Europe there is no market price for natural gas, as such. Also, there is no standard formula that would define gas prices for wholesale customers.

In the late 1960s, Gazprom introduced the contract model, in which gas prices were tied to oil prices. In 2012, the European Parliament called for liberalization of the gas market. The new model implies the development of an integrated European system of gas indexation, which would allow European gas companies to trade with gas providers on a more predictable basis. Instead of being dependent on oil price dynamics, gas prices would be set in gas hubs (centers of market trading).

Read more: Who Pays the Most for Russian Gas in Europe and Why | Student Reporter

The Netherlands: New law proposed to revoke Dutch Citizenship for citizens who partricipate in Jihadist activities

Dutch citizenship can be revoked for citizens who participate in Jihadist training camps or for those  participating as an instructor in those training camps or those who  become involved in the transfer of specific skills to Jihadist terrorists.

The proposal  bill by the Dutch Minister of Security and Justice has been agreed on by the National Council of Ministers.  

The proposed  law will be be reviewed by the Dutch Council of States of the Kingdom after which it will be presented to the Parliament for approval. 

The measure is part of a more integrated approachby the Dutch Government to control Jihadists and their supporters activities in the Netherlands.

Oppinion polls show the bill is supported by a large majority of the Dutch population.

EU-Digest

What happens in Europe, doesn't stay in Europe: US giants accused of breaking EU privacy pact - by Jennifer Baker

More than 30 big US tech firms are breaking international agreed-upon US-EU Safe Harbor commitments to safeguard Europeans’ data, according to a complaint filed with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday.

The Washington-based Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) claims tech giants such as AOL, Adobe, Salesforce, Datalogix, Marketo, BlueKai, Criteo, Merkle and others are ignoring their promise to keep EU citizens’ data private – as opposed to sharing it with other organizations.

None of these companies have responded to requests for comment, but we'll update when we hear more. The CDD claims "these companies are compiling, using, and sharing EU consumers’ personal information without their awareness and meaningful consent, in violation the Safe Harbor framework."

The Safe Harbor agreement is a legally enforceable but voluntary "code of conduct" for US businesses that process European citizens’ data. The bilateral deal was reached in 2000 and is supposed to guarantee Europeans data privacy in line with the 1995 EU Data Protection Directive, but following the Snowden revelations last year, many don’t believe it is worth the paper it’s printed on.

The deal let the US off the hook of having to comply with data privacy adequacy requirements for transferring data outside the EU and instead allowed companies to sign up to the agreement on a case-by-case basis. Currently 4,767 companies have so far signed up.

These companies are then authorised to display a logo showing that they are part of the scheme and the rules can be legally enforced. But last year Galexia, an Australian-based consulting company on internet law and privacy, carried out research into the Safe Harbor membership scheme and claimed it had found that around one in every seven claims is false.

According to the CDD, the 30-odd companies in the complaint are actively involved in “data profiling”.
“Our investigation found that many of the companies are involved with a web of powerful multiple data broker partners who, unknown to the EU public, pool their data on them so they can be profiled and targeted online," said CDD executive director, Jeff Chester.

The group has also claimed that the FTC is failing to enforce the Safe Harbor rules. Compiling, using and sharing EU consumers' personal information without their awareness, consent, or ability to opt out is in violation the Safe Harbor framework. In such cases the FTC could enforce sanctions.

Representatives of the EU and US are currently in negotiations to create a new, so-called data privacy “umbrella agreement” which would – possibly – give Europeans the same rights of redress as American citizens if their data is used inappropriately.

In the meantime, many in the European Parliament have called for the Safe Harbor agreement to be suspended. Following an investigation into the NSA spying revelations last year, the parliament voted to suspend the deal, but the European Commission, which would have to act on such a vote, has not done so, preferring instead to continue the “umbrella” negotiations.

Note EU-Digest: If the EU Commissions is able to override the EU Parliament on issues of Personal Privacy etc. there is something horribly wrong with the application of Democratic rule in the EU. In case the so-called "umbrella" rule ever gets implemented without proper review by the EU and national parliaments European citizens will find their personal rights even more curtailed than they are now. The EU Commission and the EU parliament better get their act together.

Read more: What happens in Europe, doesn't stay in Europe: US giants accused of breaking EU privacy pact • The Register