EU initiative to let young people discover Europe by rail

Thanks to backing by MEPs, between 20,000 and 30,000 18-year-olds will have the chance to travel in the EU by rail this year. In the future more young people will benefit from the Discover EU initiative, which was first proposed during Parliament's European Youth Event (EYE) in 2014.

How it will work

About 15,000 people will enjoy the chance to travel Europe by rail between 9 July and 30 September. Any European citizen who will be 18 on 1 July can apply for tickets online in the first round from midnight CET on 12 June until midnight CET on 26 June. A second call for applications will be launched later this year.

Participants will be able to travel up to 30 days to as many as four EU countries. Travel will be mainly by rail, but also by bus and ferry to ensure wide access. Flights will be allowed in exceptional cases where no other form of transport is available. This could be for example for people coming from remote areas or outermost regions.

Participants with reduced mobility or special needs may be eligible for extra help, for example support with the costs for an accompanying person or dog for those with a visual impairment.

More information on the initiative is available on the European Youth Portal.

EU-Digest

G7-Trump creates Chaos at G7 - as he calls for total barrier-free trade within the G7 and a return of Russia to the group

G7 Chaos: Merkel and Trump staring each other down

Despite imposing tariffs on major US allies, the anti-globalist president has called for free trade within the G7. He also insisted US allies would be forced to concede to US trade terms because the US "can't lose."

Trump, who railed against globalization in his election campaign, said he wanted all G7 nations to remove any tariffs, subsidies and other trade barriers.\

"You go tariff-free, you go barrier-free, you go subsidy-free," Trump opined, calling it "the ultimate thing." He said other world leaders reacted positively to the idea.

His economic adviser Larry Kudlow backed up the call, saying, "We’re going to clean up the international trade system."

But Trump's claims that he is in favor of global free trade would appear contradictory to his recent imposition of tariffs on US allies, much to their collective discontent.

Trump insisted US allies would yield to his demands of a trade rebalance, warning that the US would crush any opposition in a potential trade war.

"If they retaliate they're making a mistake …We win that war 1,000 times out of 1,000."

"They do so much more business with us than we do with them that we can't lose … When you’re down $375 billion you can't lose," he said, likely referring to the trade imbalance with China.

He said he could tell from the smiles of European leaders at the G7 that they knew that "the gig is up" and that they would negotiate terms with Washington.

Trump repeated his call for Russia to be allowed back into the alliance of world powers. It was kicked out of the G8 in 2014 for annexing Crimea from Ukraine.

"We're looking for peace in the world. We're not looking to play games."

"I think it would be good for Russia, I think it would be good for the US, I think it would be good for all of the countries of the current G7."

But when asked about returning to the G7 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow "never asked anyone to return" to the G7 and that Russia was happy working with the G20.
 
EU-Digest

Britain-Breexit: A 14th straight YouGov poll shows Britain wishes it had never voted to leave the EU - by Jim Edwards

The British public has moved solidly into “Bregret” territory as a 14th straight YouGov poll shows that a majority of people now believe the decision to leave the EU was “wrong.” This was the most recent poll result:

• In hindsight, do you think Britain was right or wrong to vote to leave the European Union?
• Right: 43
• Wrong: 44
• Don’t Know: 13
• Source: YouGov poll published May 20, 2018.

The 1% difference is within the margin of error. However, a majority of the British have believed Brexit is “wrong” since about summer 2017, according to YouGov’s polls. Prior to that, they were marginally in favour of the EU Referendum result from 2016.

Read more: A 14th straight YouGov poll shows Britain wishes it had never voted to leave the EU

G7: Confronting the risks of Global Trade implosion

For the full report go to:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-07/g7-meeting-the-next-risk-that-global-trade-implodes/9845854

The Netherlands: Dutch prime minister to meet Donald Trump in July

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte will meet US president Donald Trump at the White House on July 2, the NRC reported on Wednesday.

The paper bases its claim on sources in the US and in The Hague, but the state information service RVD has not commented on the report. The Netherlands is the third biggest foreign investor in the US. Talks between the two leaders are now being prepared at a civil service level, the paper said.

The talks are expected to include Trump’s new tariffs on European steel and the EU’s response, as well the US decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris agreement on climate change.

Read more: Dutch prime minister to meet Donald Trump in July: NRC - DutchNews.nl

The Netherlands: Dutchman Alex van der Zwaan only person to be jailed in Mueller Probe

Alex van der Zwaan, only person to serve time in Mueller

For the complete report go to:

investigation, deported http://flip.it/wsaVfI

Personal Privacy: Is your phone listening to you even after it seems off?

Your Phone Is Listening and it's Not Paranoia

For the complete report go to:
http://flip.it/OoQ6AA