EU: Asylum applications in the EU drop significantly according to EASO - by Irene Kostaki

A significant drop in the number of asylum applications in the EU has been seen by the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), according to its annual report, published on June 18.

According to the data published, migratory pressure decreased for the second year in a row throughout 2017 on the eastern and central Mediterranean migration routes. An unprecedented upsurge, however, was seen on the western Mediterranean route. The EU’s asylum office counted 728,470 applications for international protection in 2017, a 44% drop from the 1.3 million applications in 2016.

While the overall number of asylum applications registered in 2017 dropped, some countries still noted considerable increases. Syria (15%), Iraq (7%) and Afghanistan (7%) remained the top three countries of origin of applicants in the EU. These were followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, Eritrea, Albania, Bangladesh, Guinea, and Iran. Syrian asylum seekers numbered 108,020 in 2017, a 68.4% decrease since 2016.

The latest figures for the first four months of 2018 highlight a further drop in the number of applications submitted, as between January and April saw approximately 197,000 individuals seeking international protection in the EU. The number was a far a lower number than in the same period in 2015, but higher than the pre-crisis levels of 2014.

The decrease in the number of applications lodged in the EU was distributed across most citizenships of origin to different extents, but with some noteworthy exceptions. In particular, nationals of Venezuela and Georgia have been increasingly applying for asylum in far higher numbers since 2017, increasing by 75 % and 133 %, respectively. The number of Georgian applicants has skyrocketed since the small post-Soviet state was given a visa-free travel regime with the Schengen Zone in 2017.

Read more: Asylum applications in the EU drop significantly according to EASO

The Global Order: Trump aims for the total destruction of the established order, including all alliance partnerships the US ever entered into - by Stephan Richter

Trump: The Most Disruptive Global Start-Up Ever By Stephan Richter Trump aims for the total destruction of the established order, including all alliance partnerships the United States ever entered into. Trump aims for the total destruction of the established order, including all alliance partnerships the United States ever entered into. The post Trump: The Most Disruptive Global Start-Up Ever appeared first on The Globalist

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For the complete report click here;

https://www.theglobalist.com/donald-trump-global-order-china-startup-disruption/#noredi

Turkey - Presidential Elections: Can Erdogan's economic record help him keep seat amid challenges? - by Umut Uras

Sitting by his small telephone sale and repair shop in the buzzing Istanbul district of Besiktas, Hasan Kus is pessimistic about the future of Turkey's economy.

A little over a week before the country's key elections, the 44-year-old believes the financial situation will worsen regardless the outcome of the June 24 polls. "People are merely trying to pick the better scenario, compared to the other ones," says Kus, before trying to sell a phone charger to a customer.

The economy is going to be a decisive factor in the upcoming vote that will transition Turkey from a parliamentary system to an executive one, in line with constitutional changes approved in a referendum last year.

The presidential and parliamentary polls will be held under a state of emergency, in place since July 2016 following a failed deadly coup blamed by the government on the movement of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based self-exiled religious leader.

On the economic front, the polls come against a conflicting backdrop of skyrocketing growth rate - up 7.4 percent last year - and a depreciating currency.

The Turkish lira dropped more than 20 percent against the US dollar this year, prompting the Central Bank to raise interest rates multiple times to shore up one of the world's worst-performing currencies. Meanwhile, both inflation and current account deficit are on the rise.

Under these circumstances, the Turkish electorate appears divided about who is best equipped to deal with the ongoing economic uncertainties.

Voters who blame the uncertainty on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) believe change is needed after 15 years to correct the policies that spawned the current problems.

Note EU-Digest: It is time for a change in Turkey after 15 years of Erdogan. President Erdogan has brought Turkey close to total economic ruin, and based on latest polls can only win the upcoming Presidential elections if he succeeds, once again, to have his associates fiddle with the ballot boxes and votes to change the outcome....? 

Read more: Can Erdogan's economic record help him keep seat amid challenges? | Turkey News | Al Jazeera

EU nations back retaliating against U.S. steel tariffs - by Philip Blenkinsop

European Union countries on Thursday unanimously backed a plan to impose import duties on 2.8 billion euros ($3.3 billion) worth of U.S. products after Washington hit EU steel and aluminum with tariffs at the start of June, EU sources said.

The European Commission has also launched a legal challenge against the U.S. tariffs at the World Trade Organization. In addition, it is assessing the need for measures to prevent a surge of imports of steel and aluminum into Europe as non-EU exporters divert product initially bound for the United States.

Read more" EU nations back retaliating against U.S. steel tariffs | Reuters

French - Italian relations: MIGRATION DISPUTE HEATS UP

Via euronews: Migration dispute escalates between France and Italy

For the full report go to:

http://www.euronews.com/2018/06/13/migration-dispute-escalates-between-france-and-italy

EU - LGBTQ - Poland: Same-sex spouses have equal residency rights across EU, top court rules - contributor Agata Pankow

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled recently that all member states must grant residency rights to same-sex spouses, regardless of whether or not such unions may legally be officiated in that country.

The decision has direct implications for Poland and six other countries in which same-sex marriage is not recognized by national law – and it is already drawing criticism from traditionalists and euroskeptics alike.

The case originated in Romania, where native Adrian Coman was fighting for residency rights for his American husband, Clai Hamilton. They had married in 2010 in Brussels, where Coman worked for the European parliament. However, like Poland, Romania does not recognize same-sex partnerships, and after being challenged in the Romanian constitutional court the case was referred to the ECJ.

According to European Union law, a non-EU citizen is allowed to reside in the same member state as their EU citizen spouse. This word “spouse” turned out to be key, as ultimately Europe’s highest court ruled that the term was gender-neutral.

The decision narrowly affects residency rights – it does not touch the status quo of allowing EU member states to determine their marriage laws on an individual basis.

Nevertheless, some see it as an over-assertion of power by Brussels. Few countries are warier of this than Poland, which, along with Latvia and Hungary, sent representatives to a hearing Luxembourg last year to argue against the gay couple’s claim.

For his part, ECJ president Koen Lenaerts seemed not to disagree that this could be part of a larger push to unite the EU in recognizing same-sex marriage generally, calling the debate “exactly the same” as the one in the US. (In 2015, the US Supreme Court struck down several states’ same-sex marriage bans in a ruling against Ohio’s refusal to recognize a same-sex marriage performed in Maryland, essentially legalizing it everywhere.)

Whether or not the government of Poland – which remains relatively Catholic and conservative compared to most of the EU – decides to resist the ruling remains to be seen. It would not be the first time that Warsaw has bucked Brussels: Last year the government drew the ire of the European Commission for its highly controversial court reforms, and it defied an order by the ECJ to halt logging in the ancient Białowieża Forest on the pretense of “public safety.”

Furthermore, it is still possible for courts in Romania to appeal the verdict of this particular case, a process which could take up to two years.

LGBTQ activists, on the other hand, are celebrating the EU court’s decision as a watershed moment for their rights. Campaign Against Homophobia (Kampania Przeciw Homofobii), founded by Polish politician and gay icon Robert Biedroń, said that they look forward to the reaction of the government, calling the ruling evidence that “two million [LGBTQ] citizens cannot be ignored.”

There is a complex and inconsistent history of gay rights in Poland, where, exceptionally, homosexuality has never been criminalized. Now Poland joins Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia in prohibiting gay marriage. The 22 other EU member states recognize gay marriage and/or civil partnerships between same-sex couples.

Read more: Same-sex spouses have equal residency rights across EU, top court rules | The Krakow Post

North-Korea - US Summit: Full text of the U.S.-North Korea agreement signed by Trump and Kim

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed an agreement after their nuclear summit on Singapore on Tuesday. Here's the full text of the document, as released by the White House.

President Donald J Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) held first historic summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018.

"President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un conducted a comprehensive in-depth and sincere exchange of opinions on the issues related to the establishment of new US-DPRK relations and the building of a lasting an robust peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Convinced that the establishment of new US-DPRK relations will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean peninsula and of the world, and recognizing that mutual confidence building can promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un state the following:

1. The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity
2. The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula
3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

Having acknowledged that the US-DPRK summit — the first in history — was an epochal event of great significance in overcoming decades of tensions and hostilities between the two countries and for the opening up of a new future, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un commit to implement the stipulation in this joint statement fully and expeditiously.

The United States and the DPRK commit to hold follow-on negotiations, led by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and a relevant high-level DPRK official, at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes of the US-DPRK summit.

President Donald J Trump of the United States of America and Chairman Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have committed to cooperate for the development of new US-DPRK relations and for the promotion of peace, prosperity, and security of the Korean Peninsula and of the world".

Note EU-Digest: Apart from being a PR Photo-Op; for a ruthless oppressive dictator, who has killed not only many of his own citizens, but also family members, and an ego-maniac President, this so-called "agreement" basically only reaffirms earlier US -North Korea agreements, and certainly does not deserve for Mr. Trump to get a Nobel Peace prize.

Read more: Full text of the U.S.-North Korea agreement signed by Trump, Kim