South America: Corporations, Environment and pollution: Coca-Cola And Nestlé To Privatize The Largest Reserve Of Water In South America

Private companies such as Coca-Cola and Nestlé are allegedly in the process of privatizing the largest reserve of water, known as the Guarani Aquifer, in South America. The aquifer is located beneath the surface of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and is the second largest-known aquifer system in the world. 

Reported by Correiodo Brasil the major transnational conglomerates are “striding forward” with their negotiations to privatize the aquifer system. Meetings have already been reserved with authorities of the current government, such as Michel Temer, to outline procedures required for private companies to exploit the water sources. The concession contracts will last more than 100 years. 

The first public conversation about this dilemma was scheduled on the same day the process of voting for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff was opened. As Central Politico reports, “This coincidence was fatal for the adjournment of the meeting.”

“There must be another list of projects to be granted or privatized in the medium term, with auctions that may occur in up to one year, such as Eletrobras energy distributors and freshwater sources,” adds the news site, translated via Google from Portuguese. 

This issue extends beyond South America, as all humans will be affected by the decision to privatize the second-largest aquifer system in the world. Essentially, the corporations are profiting off a natural resource that should be freely available to all. 

Under the Guarani Aquifer Project’s Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development Project, known as ANA’s Guarani Aquifer Project (SAG), the aquifer would be managed and preserved for present and future generations. Following the conservatives’ victory in Argentina and the coup d’état, pressed for by the ultra right in Paraguay and Brazil, only Uruguay was left to vote on the privatization of the aquifer. 

Approximately two-thirds (1.2 million km²) of the reserve is located in Brazilian territory, specifically in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Future generations will ultimately suffer if this deal goes through, which is why human rights organizations around the world are getting involved.

 Read more: Coca-Cola And Nestlé To Privatize The Largest Reserve Of Water In South America

Britain to expel 23 Russian diplomats over ex-spy poisoning - by William Booth and Matthew Bodner

 British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday ordered the immediate expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats believed to be involved in espionage, in the first reprisals against Moscow for a chemical attack on a former double agent.

May, speaking to Parliament, said the response would include a halt to high-level meetings between British and Russian officials and the cancellation of a planned visit to Britain by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

She also said the royal family and government ministers would boycott this summer’s World Cup soccer tournament in Russia. More countermeasures — some clandestine — are under consideration.

May said Russia’s dismissive response to her demand for an explanation has “demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events.”

Read more: Britain to expel 23 Russian diplomats over ex-spy poisoning - The Washington Post

Britain - Russian Spy Case - Putin is 'tearing up the international rulebook' - EU must show solidarity against Putin's Mafia practises regardless of BREXIT

Britain had hoped for a different scenario but it's now heading into a major showdown with Russia, a senior official at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank told Euronews TV.

As tensions mount between the UK and Russia over the poisoning of a former double agent on British soil, Russian President Vladimir Putin appears ready to "tear up completely the rulebook of international behaviour," a senior official at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank has told Euronews.

Prime Minister Theresa May gave Russia until midnight on Tuesday to explain how former spy Serguei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the southern English city of Salisbury with a nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union.

Moscow has fiercely denied any connection to the poisoning and says the UK is whipping up anti-Russian hysteria. RUSI International Director Jonathan Eyal said in a Skype interview that May's move had not intended – at least initially – to be an ultimatum.

"As the British prime minister sees it, she was basically trying to give the Russians at least a possibility of getting out of a difficult situation. She hinted at the possibility that they may suggest that these are chemical compounds that have escaped from government control," Eyal said.

"But it is already clear that there is nobody in Moscow in any mood whatsoever at the moment to take that elegant way out and to prevent a much bigger showdown."

Eyal says the UK could cripple the Russian embassy in London by expelling a raft of diplomats, including the Russian ambassador. But any diplomatic retaliation would be more effective if the UK could show it has the support of its European allies.

"I think what will be watched very carefully in Moscow is if Britain is out on a limb on this one, or if the British government manages to carry its allies with it," Eyal said

 May, who said on Monday (March 12) it was "highly likely" that Russia was behind the Skripal poisoning, has already won support from the European Union, which denounced the attack as "shocking."

"As things currently stand, it appears that President Putin in Moscow believes that there is no hope for any good relations with the West, and therefore it’s his turn to tear up completely the rulebook of international behaviour."

Note EU-Digest: Now is the time for the EU to stand firm together with Britain and provide complete support against these Mafia practices of President Vladimir Putin's Government. This is also the time for the EU to put Brexit on the back burner and take up the fight against these totally unacceptable crimes committed on the territory of Britain (EU) by a foreign power.

As to the lip service provided by the US President Trump to Theresa May, one should consider these assurances of support "dubious", given that the US Trump Administrations relationship with the Russian government is still under investigation by the FBI.

EU-Digest

Brexit: Anti-EU and Trump admirer Nigel Farage criticised for saying he will keep EU pension-by Hannah Summers

The Guardian reported that Nigel Farage has sparked outrage by refusing to give up his taxpayer-funded EU pension after Brexit, asking: “Why should my family suffer?”

It is understood the 53-year-old former Ukip leader will be entitled to an annual pension of £73,000 when he reaches the age of 63.

The pension could be part-funded by Britain’s estimated £50bn Brexit “divorce bill”, which Farage has criticised as too large, leading to accusations that the MEP for South East England was a “shameless hypocrite”.

Farage defended the arrangement when challenged on BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show. Asked if he would accept the EU pension money, he replied: “Of course I would take it. I have said that right from day one. Why should my family and others suffer even more?”

Note EU-Digest: What a hypocrite !

Ireland - Artificial Intelligence: Ireland committed to digitisation of EU economy, says minister

Ireland’s commitment to the digitisation of the EU economy is to be raised during a high-level meeting in Brussels on Monday.

Minister for Trade Pat Breen will also discuss issues relating to EU competitiveness, including the 25th anniversary of the single market and EU industrial policy when he meets European commissioner for digital economy and society, Mariya Gabriel later.

The Clare TD said: “Digitisation is increasing on a vast scale and Ireland continues to be regarded as one of the EU’s digital front runners.

“We fully support the overall DSM (digital single market) agenda and the Government sees obvious synergies between digital policy initiatives at EU level and national policy.

“In particular, we want to underline the benefits to small and medium enterprises that the DSM will bring in terms of market access and opportunities for growth.

“In helping to progress the DSM, Ireland will continue to strive for outcomes which are pro-trade, pro-enterprise and pro-innovation.”

The DSM is one in which the free movement of people, services and capital is ensured, and where the individuals and businesses can seamlessly access and exercise online activities under conditions of fair competition, and a high level of consumer and personal data protection, irrespective of their nationality or place of residence.

The strategy was endorsed by the European Council in June 2015.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence will be the central theme when Europe’s nine digital front runner countries meet in Dublin in May.

Mr Breen added: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an exciting development that is shaping a new reality for Irish businesses and creating significant new opportunities for innovation across all industries.
“The meeting in May will be an opportunity for both the international AI dimension and the Irish AI ecosystem to be showcased.”

Read more:Ireland committed to digitisation of EU economy, says minister - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk 

EU-US Relations: Trump’s War on Europe Is Revving Up – by Julie Smith, Rachel Rizzo

Since U.S. President Donald Trump took office just over a year ago, America’s relationship with the European Union has been little more than an afterthought. That shouldn’t be surprising. Trump’s views toward the EU have been consistently negative for years. During the presidential campaign he made several disparaging remarks about the EU, including that it was created to “beat the United States when it comes to making money.” He also openly supported Brexit. Making matters worse, Trump has forged a close relationship with Nigel Farage, the far-right, anti-immigration, anti-establishment leader of the U.K. Independence Party who has served as Trump’s tutor on the EU since late 2016. Despite Trump’s negatives views of the EU, though, it wasn’t clear over the past year exactly how those views would play out in terms of actual policies.

Until now. In recent days, Trump has launched a two-front war with the European Union.

At first, it appeared that the Trump administration’s policy toward the EU would simply be one of benign neglect. The president has yet to appoint an ambassador to the EU, and there are no signs that anyone at the White House is in a rush to change that. The EU also barely secured mentions in the various strategy documents the administration has been rolling out in recent months. In the National Security Strategy, the U.S. relationship with the European Union is cited only once in the context of “ensuring fair and reciprocal trade practices,” and “eliminating barriers to growth.” Similarly, in his sole speech on Europe, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hardly mentioned the EU. In fact, America’s multibillion-dollar trade relationship with the EU, long the cornerstone of our relationship with Europe, doesn’t appear anywhere in that speech.

But this week, Trump announced he would place 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum imports. The move wasn’t directed specifically at Europe, as the United States imports steel and aluminum from several countries around the world. But that didn’t ease the shock of European policymakers who were stunned last Friday (like many of Trump’s own advisors and Congress) when Trump first mentioned that he was going to take actionable steps toward such a protectionist agenda.
Given the magnitude and importance of the United States’ trade relationship with Europe, one would assume that the president would create a special carve out for America’s closest allies. Trump made no mention of such an arrangement for Europe although the White House will create exemptions for Canada and Mexico.

EU officials are furious and have threatened retaliation through their own set of import tariffs. That obviously hasn’t sat well with the President who tweeted just days ago: “If the E.U. wants to further increase their already massive tariffs and barriers on U.S. companies doing business there, we will simply apply a tax on their cars which freely pour into the U.S.” Many are now predicting that the United States is on the verge of starting a trade war with Europe — and they might be right.

Unfortunately, trade isn’t the only area where the Trump administration is directly challenging the EU. The president and his advisors have also decided to take a hostile stance toward recent EU efforts to strengthen defense cooperation and integration across the Continent. This is an odd reaction given that over that past year Trump’s main criticism of Europe is that it shirks defense spending and burden-sharing.

To be sure, the United States has admittedly had a long, complicated past with European defense. Ever since Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac signed the Saint-Malo declaration in 1998, which recognized the need for Europe to develop autonomous, credible military forces, American presidents from Clinton to Bush to Obama have warned about unnecessary duplication with the NATO alliance.

But over time, even the strongest EU skeptics have come to realize two things. First, EU ambitions aren’t that great. Europeans aren’t trying to build an EU army. Second, to the extent that the EU makes progress on strengthening its defense forces, those efforts will ultimately benefit both the EU and NATO. That’s why the Trump administration’s approach toward the EU is so counterintuitive and counterproductive.

Whether it’s on trade policy or security policy, America needs a strong, economically sound, and capable Europe with close ties to the United States. Collectively, Europe and the United States face a litany of common challenges from Russian efforts to undermine Western democracies to instability across the Middle East to the need to prepare for the post-manufacturing economy. To effectively address these challenges, the United States and Europe need to act together. Doing so becomes increasingly difficult when the two continents are engaged in a trade war or when the Unite States pushes back on European efforts to build the exact capabilities we claim they lack.

The Trump administration needs an EU policy (and an ambassador to match) that can strengthen, not undermine, our relationship with Europe. It’s an imperfect relationship but it’s the best one we’ve got

Note EU-Digest: the EU Commission and Parliament  should, as the saying goes, "stop crying over spilled milk", since they knew even before the start of the US's Trump Administration, that Trump was not only a Populist and Nationalist, who embraced the idea of Brexit, but also  on very friendly terms with many European populists, like Farage, who he openly endorsed to become the British Ambassador to the US., and the list goes on and on. 

So given Trump's actions as the President of the US, at this point in time, it is certainly not wise for the EU Commission, or for that matter, most EU member states, to "snuggle-up" to the US's Trump Administration, as it has now been proven beyond any doubt, that Trump is only in favor of the EU, when he tells them to jump and  the EU responds with "how high Mr. Trump 

Given the above sequence of events the EU must show some more muscle in dealing with the US's Trump Administration and their policies, orchestrated by a narcissist, who, if we like it or not was elected President of the USA.  

Read more: Trump’s War on Europe Is Revving Up – Foreign Policy

USA: Trump Tariffs - EU insists on US tariffs exemption - by Eric Maurice

The EU is trying to be exempted from tariffs on steel and aluminum to be imposed by US president Donald Trump and avoid a trade war between close allies.

"Europe is certainly not a threat to American internal security, so we expect to be excluded," EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said in Brussels in Friday.

She insisted that "nobody has an interest of escalating this situation."

Malmstroem will meet US trade representative Robert Lighthizer on Saturday, along with Japan's trade minister Hiroshige Seko.

She will argue that EU companies are not state-subsidised nor in overcapacity, and that therefore they are not a source of "unfair trade" with the US.

She will also insist that US tariffs fail to address the main problem on the global steel market: China's overcapacity by state-owned companies.

"We agree on the problems, not on the remedy," said an EU official on Friday, insisting that tariffs are "a prescription for the wrong illness".

"Overcapacities will be on the agenda" of Saturday's meeting, European Commission vice president Jyrki Katainen confirmed. ??He warned however that the dispute will not be solved on Saturday.

"Tomorrow's meeting is a meeting, not the meeting," he said, adding that "most probably the discussion will continue."

He added that the EU was still preparing to impose counter-measures, including tariffs on US products.

"We are hoping we are not forced to use them," he said, but warned that "if the worst case scenario happens, we are ready to take the US to the WTO [World Trade Organization] court."

Read more: EU insists on US tariffs exemption