Britain and the EU: David Cameron sets out EU reform goals

David Cameron has outlined his four goals for reforming the UK's membership of the EU, including restrictions on benefits for people coming to the UK.

He said Britain faced a "huge decision" in the in/out referendum promised before the end of 2017.

But he said he was confident of getting what he wanted from reform talks.

Anti-EU campaigners say the talks are a "gimmick" - and the European Commission said the UK's benefits proposals could break free movement laws.

Mr Cameron formally set out his demands in a letter to the president of the European Council Donald Tusk saying four objectives lie at the heart of the UK's renegotiations:

    *Protection of the single market for Britain and other non-euro countries
    *Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the "burden" of red tape
    *Exempting Britain from "ever-closer union" and bolstering national parliaments
    *Restricting EU migrants' access to in-work benefits such as tax credits

Mr Cameron hit back at claims by former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson that the four goals were "disappointingly unambitious", saying they reflected what the British people wanted and would be "good for Britain and good for the European Union".

"It is mission possible and it is going to take a lot of hard work to get there," said the prime minister.



David Cameron sets out EU reform goals - BBC News

EU Privacy Laws: Facebook given 48 hours to quit tracking Internet users in Belgium

Facebook has been given 48 hours by a Belgian court to stop tracking Internet users who don’t have profiles with the social media company, or face fines of up to 250,000 euros a day.

The order follows a case lodged by Belgium’s privacy watchdog in June which said Facebook indiscriminately tracks Internet users when they visit pages on the site or click “like” or “share”, even if they are not members, the court said.

Facebook said it would appeal against the decision.

“Today the judge… ordered the social network Facebook to stop tracking and registering Internet usage by people who surf the Internet in Belgium, in the 48 hours which follow this statement,” the court said.
“If Facebook ignores this order it must pay a fine of 250,000 euros a day to the Belgian Privacy Commission.”

Read more: Facebook given 48 hours to quit tracking Internet users in Belgium | euronews, world news

Climate Change Could Push 100 Million Into Poverty by 2030: World Bank

There’s no doubt that President Obama is trying to shape a climate legacy and that showing leadership on all things climate related is his way of doing so. Accordingly, the President had already made a groundbreaking climate deal with Chinese premier Xi Jinping. Coming roughly a year ago, it neutralized what might otherwise have been the biggest issue in global climate talks — that is, what China will do.

And then, earlier this year, Obama’s administration delivered the finalized Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the U.S.’s push to cap its own emissions. This was all about walking the walk and cleaning up our own house.

So what was left when it came to showing leadership? Well, the major symbolic move of rejecting a pipeline that environmentalists have extensively rallied against, and that has come to symbolize the notion that many new fossil fuel projects won’t be able to go forward if the U.S. and world stay committed to the goal of not allowing warming beyond 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels.

Read more: How Obama’s Keystone XL rejection gives him momentum for the Paris climate talks - The Washington Post

The Netherlands - culture: How China Conquered the Dutch - by NINA SIEGAL

In 1558, a single Portuguese trading ship returning from Asia carried 1,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain. A Dutch ship making the same journey 50 years later brought 60,000 pieces. And by 1638, about 900,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain were transported via Dutch trading vessels.

In the span of one century, the fine, thin, white ceramics made from a clay called kaolin and fired in blazing hot kilns went from being a unique treasure for a handful of wealthy European connoisseurs to a common household item, especially in the Netherlands.

Today, this porcelain is known in everyday English usage as china, and as early as the 17th century it was already being copied throughout Europe.

How did china and other Asian commodities, such as Japanese lacquer chests, Ceylonese ivory cabinets and Indian silks, first come to the Western world, and what impact did the European appreciation for them have on the kinds of products that were produced? These are the questions raised in “Asia in Amsterdam,” an exhibition that opened at the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum on Oct. 17 and runs until Jan. 17, when it will move to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass.

 Read more: How China Conquered the Dutch - The New York Times

The Netherlands: football: Blind calls Depay into Dutch squad, retains Robben |

Netherlands coach Danny Blind has called Manchester United forward Memphis Depay into his squad for the friendly matches against Wales and Germany, while retaining Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben.

Depay was a surprise omission from the provisional squad on Monday and Blind questioned the former PSV star's ability to work as a team player as his country seeks to rebuild from their failure to reach Euro 2016.

Blind also suggested fitness problems were a factor in Depay's absence, but he went on to feature as a substitute in United's 1-0 Champions League win over CSKA Moscow on Tuesday.

Robben was also in midweek Champions League action, making an instant impact from the bench to score in Bayern's dominant 5-1 victory against Arsenal.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid attacker recently returned to fitness due to a thigh problem and suggested on Thursday that he would require a green light from his club to turn out on international duty.

"We will have to wait and see whether I will play against Wales and Germany. I will discuss my situation with the club to see what is a sensible decision here," Robben told SBS6.

Like Depay, Ajax midfielder Riechedly Bazoer is named in the 24-man squad despite not being present on the provisional list, although Fenerbahce striker Robin van Persie remains a high-profile absentee.

Vurnon Anita, Karim Rekik, Jeroen Zoet and Anwar El Ghazi failed to make the final cut, although Ajax forward El Ghazi suffered an ankle injury during his club's 0-0 Europa League draw against Fenebahce on Thursday and is set to spend two weeks on the sidelines.

Feyenoord midfielder Marko Vejinovic has had his maiden call-up confirmed for the trip to Cardiff on November 13 and Hannover's HDI-Arena four days later.

  Read more: Blind calls Depay into Dutch squad, retains Robben | FourFourTw

The Netherlands: Health groups: We need a “smoke free” generation; 1 in 3 can’t quit cigarettes - by Janene Pieters

Three health organizations have joined forces and launched a campaign for a “smoke free generation”. The campaign aims to have children grow up in a smoke-free environment and without the temptation to start smoking.

 Figures released by Statistics Netherlands on Friday shows that one in three smokers recently tried to quit smoking and failed. Young smokers and female smokers have a particularly hard time quitting.


The three health organizations that initiated this campaign are the Hartstichting (Heart Foundation), KWF Kankerbestrijding (the Dutch Cancer Society) and Longfonds. (Lung Fund), the Hartstichting announced recently

According to the organizations, 20 thousand people in the Netherlands die every year due to smoking and second hand smoke – more than the number of deaths caused by alcohol, drugs, crime and traffic combined. And yet about 100 kids start smoking in the Netherlands every day.

The organizations have therefore decided to intervene. They will promote various large and small initiatives that work towards a smoke-free environment for children. This includes smoke-free school yards and sports associations, among others. They also want to provide better information and support for young parents.

The organizations will help health centers to advise young and new parents on how they can raise their children smoke-free and assist them in this. As the child grows older, schools and sports clubs can help the parents provide a smoke-free environment for their kids.

“Parents with children should have the opportunity to let their child grow up completely smoke-free. Parents who choose to do so should be able to prevent their children continuously being confronted with the bad example of smoking people and without the temptation of shiny packets and added flavors to cigarettes.” the Hartstichting writes.

Read more: Health groups: We need a “smoke free” generation; 1 in 3 can’t quit cigarettes - NL Times

Migrants: EU forecasts three million migrant arrivals by 2017

The EU Commission has said it expects three million migrants to arrive in the 28-nation bloc by 2017. The migrant influx is expected to provide a small boost to the economy, the EU's economic commissioner said.

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, published its European Economic Forecast for 2015 to 2017 on Thursday, stating that "three million persons" are expected to arrive in the 28-nation bloc by 2017.

"This corresponds to an increase in the population of 0.4 percent after taking into account that some asylum seekers will not qualify for international protection," the report noted.

The EU's executive body added that it expects one million arrivals in 2015, with another 1.5 million in 2016, until the rate drops to half a million in 2017.

EU economic commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that the surge in migrant arrivals could provide a small but noteworthy boost to the bloc's economy.

"There will be an impact on growth that is weak but positive for the EU as a whole, and that will increase GDP (gross domestic product) by 0.2 to 0.3 percent by 2017," Moscovici said in a statement on Thursday.

Read more: EU forecasts three million migrant arrivals by 2017 | News | DW.COM | 05.11.2015