Brexit: EU's Juncker Slams U.K. on Brexit as Fractious Talks Resume - by Ian Wishart and Nikos Chrysoloras

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker joined the bloc’s chief negotiator in lashing out at the U.K. for failing to prepare for Brexit talks, as the third round of negotiations looked set to produce little progress.

“I’ve read all the position papers produced by Her Majesty’s government and none of them is satisfactory,” Juncker said on Tuesday at a conference in Brussels, as talks between the U.K. and the EU resumed. “There is still an enormous amount of issues that remain to be settled.”

The stage had already been set for an intense round of negotiations after chief negotiator Michel Barnier and Brexit Secretary David Davis met on Monday for the first time since July and candidly aired their frustration at each other’s approaches. Barnier said time was running out, as the U.K. continued in its bid to change the order of topics discussed.

Read more: EU's Juncker Slams U.K. on Brexit as Fractious Talks Resume - Bloomberg

Poland tells EU its overhaul of judiciary in line with EU standards

Poland said on Monday that the legislative process overhauling its judiciary is in line with European standards and called the European Commission’s concerns about rule of law in the country groundless.

On July 26, the Commission said it would launch legal action against Poland over the reforms and gave Warsaw a month to respond to concerns that the process undermines the independence of judges and breaks EU rules.

Last month, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into a law a bill giving the justice minister the power to replace heads of ordinary courts, but after mass street protests blocked two other bills.

Read more: Poland tells EU its overhaul of judiciary in line with EU standards

Hungary severs diplomatic ties with the Netherlands

Hungary is suspending high-level diplomatic ties with the Netherlands in a row over the relocation of asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy.

The country is recalling its ambassador to the nation following remarks made by the Dutch ambassador which criticised Hungary for its stance.

The Hungarian foreign minister said his country’s decision was "one of the most radical steps in diplomacy" and that it would ask the Dutch foreign ministry for its position on the statements of Ambassador Gajus Scheltema, published Thursday in Hungary by the 168 Ora magazine.

Peter Szijjarto said Scheltema - already scheduled to leave Hungary soon - was no longer welcome at any Hungarian ministry or state institution.

"We won't settle for an explanation behind closed doors," he added.

In the interview, Scheltema was critical of Hungary's unwillingness to participate in a European Union plan to relocate asylum-seekers from Greece and Italy.

He also criticized the Hungarian government's campaign against billionaire financier and philanthropist George Soros and drew parallels between the government's efforts to "create enemies" and those of the Islamic State group.

Note EU-Digest: It seems the Hungarians are only interested in the benefits of being a member of the EU and not in living up to the obligations. Shame on them. 

 Read more: Hungary severs diplomatic ties with the Netherlands - The National

Spain Terrorist Attacks: King Felipe joins thousands on anti-terrorism march

Hundreds of thousands marched in Barcelona in a show of unity on Saturday evening, with chants of “I am not afraid”, after two terrorist attacks in the Spanish region of Catalonia last week left 15 dead.

The march was led by shopkeepers and residents of the city’s central boulevard, Las Ramblas, where a van ploughed into pedestrians on 17 Aug, killing 13 and injuring over 100.

The crowd applauded representatives of the police, fire services and medical professions, who were also prominent.

Spain’s King Felipe VI, prime minister Mariano Rajoy and the head of Catalonia’s regional government, Carles Puigdemont, dressed in dark suits, walked in the throng as people cheered while carrying red, yellow and white roses – the colours of Barcelona.

Read more: Spain attacks: King Felipe joins thousands on anti-terrorism march | World news | The Guardian

European Railways: Why interrailing as an adult is the best way to explore Europe - by Chris Beanland

Interrailing should be a compulsory teenage rite of passage – no wonder the EU recently floated the idea of giving out free passes to all 18-year-olds. What better way to protect this beautiful, but fragile union than by showing the next generation what they have in common with each other and how many hi-jinks they can get up to in neighbouring European countries?

It was my first taste of independent travel too – 17 summers ago, though it seems like yesterday. Back then it was a Karrimor loaded with band T shirts, Lonely Planet Europe On A Shoestring and bank robber sacks of change for telephone boxes. This time, instead of sleeping cars, hostels and that tangy scent of socks, there were nice hotels and the scent of understated luxury. Three’s Feel At Home free roaming contract and my iPhone brought the whole experience into the 21st century, and meant home was only the touch of a button away.

It was a cultural whip round the first time, but it was also a piss up – getting out of your tree being the sine qua non of teenage travelling – that resulted in lost cash cards, nearly getting into fights on night trains and passing out on deck chairs on Positano Beach. And I met so many people – this was social networking avant la lettre, coming across fellow flaneurs from Australia, Canada, Finland, and making firm friends, if not for life then at least for a night.

Interrailing as an adult was much more relaxed and even more cultured, with less boozing and earlier mornings. I sped through Rotterdam’s Docklands on a watertaxi, climbed all over Tomas Saraceno’s incredible spiderweb netting art installation five floors above the ground of Dusseldorf’s Modern Art Gallery, had a sneak preview of some of the exhibits at Kassel’s famous art festival, Documenta (documenta.com), saw Eileen Gray furniture at Munich’s Design Museum, drank at Wes Anderson’s Bar Luce in Milan’s Fondazione Prada, and explored Novi Belgrade’s mind-blowing brutalist architecture.

The food was better this time around too. Back in 2000 I had inadvertently explored the premise “how can a human function on pizza alone for three weeks?” shortly after enduring the very worst meal of my entire life (do not ever accidentally order the minced heart and lung soup at Worgl station buffet).

This time I ate mushroom arancini with a vegetable mayonnaise in an old swimming pool in Rotterdam (alohabar.nl) and fresh white asparagus at the BMW Welt’s restaurant. Even the train food was good – on Deutsche Bahn’s ICE I chowed down on lamb kofte with yoghurt and mashed carrots in the Bordrestaurant.

Read more: Why interrailing as an adult is the best way to explore Europe | The Independent

Insurance Industry: Is your insurance business an ‘omnichannel’ business?

Omnichannel: It’s a buzzword that’s thrown around a lot in business circles, but what does it really mean, and is your business an omnichannel business?

While at its essence, omnichannel simply means to offer multiple channels, in the modern business landscape a true omnichannel business is considered one that offers a seamless customer experience across various platforms – and it’s increasingly important for insurers to get right.

Earlier this month, the insurance industry was warned to do more to stop creating problems for its customers, as ratings for the sector slipped compared to last year. In a competitive market, insurance companiesmneed to differentiate themselves by more than just price, we were told by The Institute of Customer Service.

But alongside providing customers with a problem-free experience, insurance firms need to focus on becoming genuine omnichannel businesses which offer consumers a smooth journey, according to The Institute’s CEO.

“We talk a lot about omnichannel and the need to have lots of different channels, but often organizations we force people to use a particular channel,” Jo Causon told Insurance Business. Today, it’s no longer enough to simply be present on a range of platforms – consumers want to be able to carry out the service that they require on the channel of their choosing.

Recent evidence suggests the industry hasn’t quite got to grips with that idea yet: a survey ranking UK general insurers on their digital offerings found that just 4% offered full digital claims services, forcing customers to pick up the phone.

Read more: Is your insurance business an ‘omnichannel’ business? | Insurance Business

Netherlands - Terrorism: Rotterdam incident: Police stop van containing gas cylinders as rock concert cancelled over 'terror threat'

City of Rotterdam

Police in the Netherlands say they have stopped a van with Spanish number plates containing a number of gas bottles, as a terror alert in Rotterdam triggered the cancellation of a concert by an American rock band.

The band, Allah-Las, was due to play on Wednesday evening at the Maassilo venue.

Concert organizer Rotown released a statement saying they had been advised by the authorities to cancel the show.

It came after the van, parked near the venue, was discovered by police.

Rotterdam's mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, said the van's driver had been detained and was being questioned.

Mr Aboutaleb said the concert was cancelled after a tip-off from Spanish police, who are continuing to investigate a twin terror attack in Catalonia that left 15 people dead.

A counter-terrorism official said late on Wednesday the detained van was not connected to the recent vehicle attacks in Spain.

Definition of Terrorists: "A group of mentally disturbed, brain-washed people, who do not respect  "democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs."

Read more: Rotterdam incident: Police stop van containing gas cylinders as rock concert cancelled over 'terror threat' | The Independent