G20: Merkel takes aim at Trump ahead of stormy G20 summit

Merkel said that discussions at the July 7-8 gathering of world leaders in Hamburg would be difficult given Trump's climate scepticism and "America First" stance, but that she was determined to seek a clear commitment for the Paris accord against global warming and a pledge against protectionism.

When Trump announced in early June he would withdraw from the Paris deal, "we knew that we could not expect discussions to be easy" at the G20 summit, 

 

Merkel told the German parliament"The differences are obvious and it would be dishonest to try to cover that up. That I won't do," she said, adding that the US exit from the 2015 Paris pact had made Europe "more determined than ever" to make the accord a success.

Without naming names, she also warned that "those who think that the problems of this world can be solved with isolationism or protectionism are terribly wrong" and pledged to seek a "clear signal for open markets and against sealing off" at the summit.

Read more: Merkel takes aim at Trump ahead of stormy G20 summit | SBS News

G20: Angela Merkel sketches vision of France-German led Europe

Germany and France will take a greater role in leading the European Union, and Europe must take a greater role in leading the world. That would be one way of summarizing Angela Merkel's speech to the German parliament on Thursday.

Merkel began her 30-minute address by reporting on the EU summit last weekend and discussing the bloc's prospects as it negotiates the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the union.

Significantly, Merkel spoke of "France and our other partners in the EU." She said that she had specifically talked with French President Emmanuel Macron about a "medium-term plan for deepening the EU and the euro zone." She also added that German and French interests were "connected in the closest possible way."

The German chancellor argued that the EU was recovering from its economic crisis, with all 27 remaining members recording growth and lower unemployment. The UK, Merkel suggested, was no longer at the center of European plans.

"Our priority is to prepare for our own future within the European Union, regardless of the Brexit," Merkel said.

Read more: G20: Angela Merkel sketches vision of France-German led Europe | News | DW | 29.06.2017

The Netherlands: Srebrenica - Dutch UN peacekeepers at fault

Via euronews: Dutch peacekeepers ‘acted illegally’ over Srebrenica massacre http://www.euronews.com/2017/06/27/a-hague-court-rules-dutch-soldiers-acted-illegally-ahead-of-1995-srebrenica/

German Economy: Only the World Can Stop Germany as Business Climate Hits Record - by Carolynn Look

tt seems the sky is the limit for Germany’s economy.

Business confidence -- logging its fifth consecutive increase -- jumped to the highest since 1991 this month, underpinning optimism by the Bundesbank that the upswing in Europe’s largest economy is set to continue.

With domestic demand supported by a buoyant labor market, risks to growth stem almost exclusively from global forces.

“Sentiment among German businesses is jubilant,” Ifo President Clemens Fuest said in a statement. “Germany’s economy is performing very strongly.”

Read more: Only the World Can Stop Germany as Business Climate Hits Record - Bloomberg

The Netherlands: Going Dutch; Netherlands Pains To Find New Government And Might Embrace Christian Traditionalists - by Marcel Michelson

 More than three months after indecisive parliamentary elections, Dutch political parties are still at loggerheads to find a government with majority backing in parliament.

Following several permutations, and excluding the ultra-right PVV party of populist Geert Wilders, the next government looks set to become a centre-right coalition with the CHU Christian traditionalists. Perhaps it is wise to name a neutral cabinet instead.

While some people in Britain and France would like to see a more proportional electoral system like in the Netherlands, the Dutch elections resulted in a myriad of 13 elected parties splitting 150 seats out of 28 parties that participated.

The VVD liberals of Prime Minister Mark Rutte lost five percent points of the votes but remained the biggest party with 33 seats, ahead of the PVV that obtained 20 seats, Christian CDA at 19, centrist D66 also at 19 and Green Left at 14 seats, a gain of 10. SP also had 14 seats.

Read more: Going Dutch; Netherlands Pains To Find New Government And Might Embrace Christian Traditionalists

EU-Brexit talks 'will not consume EU', Angela Merkel warns Britain - by Jennifer Rankin

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has warned Theresa May that the EU will not allow itself to be consumed by the Brexit negotiations, as the British prime minister’s offer on citizens’ rights was dismissed by Europe’s leaders as vague and inadequate.

Emerging from a two-day summit in Brussels, where the issues discussed ranged from tackling the spread of terrorist propaganda on the internet to plans for cooperation on defence, Merkel insisted that her priority was not the Brexit talks, but steering the EU to a better future.

In response to May’s offer on citizens’ rights after Brexit, she also warned that the UK and the EU had a “long way to go” if they were going to reach agreement on the issue.

In a symbolic joint press conference with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, Merkel said: “That was a good beginning, but – and I’m trying to word this very carefully – it was not a breakthrough.

Read more: Brexit talks 'will not consume EU', Angela Merkel warns Britain | Politics | The Guardian

EU: It′s cool to be pro-EU with popular French President Emmanuel Macron

A year ago, the European Union was in a world of woe. The UK wanted out, populists were rising in the polls and Donald Trump predicted more countries would follow in the footsteps of Brexit - and that they'd be better off for it. EU public relations staffers were continuing their desperate search for that elusive "narrative" that would make Europeans feel like they were part of a winning team.

All eyes were on the Dutch elections in March,the first domino in the lineup. If far-right nationalist Geert Wilders made significant gains on Prime Minister Mark Rutte, it would be the harbinger of a bigger disaster to come: French voters choosing the National Front's Marine Le Pen as their next president.

Rutte's win, if not particularly inspiring, provided the EU with some space to breathe. And by then it was obvious that newcomer Emmanuel Macron and his just-created "En Marche" movement were encroaching on France's old guard from both the left and the right with an undeniable energy, derived in part from being pro-EU and proud of it. By the time Macron made the long dramatic walk to give his acceptance speech accompanied by the EU - not the French - anthem, the tide of public sentiment had already turned in the EU's favor, with Macron sitting atop the crest of the wave.

Last week that feeling was quantified and described as a dramatic rebound by the Pew Research Center in a survey on public approval. It found that people in nine of the 10 member states surveyed - all but Greece - now view the EU favorably, "including 74 percent in Poland, 68 percent in Germany, 67 percent in Hungary and 65 percent in Sweden." That's true even in the UK, according to Pew.

Read more: It′s cool to be pro-EU with popular French President Emmanuel Macron | Europe | DW | 22.06.2017