Almere-Digest

January 22, 2019

US - EU Relations: Trump backstabbing EU in favor of Russia

When will Europe wake-up to the fact they can't trust the US Trump Administration. It is high time they do. Wake-up EU Commission !!!!

January 20, 2019

Britain - Brexit: Latest Brexit Poll shows UK would remain if they were allowed to vote again

Latest Brexit poll shows UK would now vote to remain as ‘crossover day’ looms

January 19, 2019

EU - Military - Foreign Policy: German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls for greater military cooperation in EU countries ahead of EU parliamentary elections in May - by Alex Daniel

Up Yours Donald !

Angela Merkel has said the European Union should cooperate more in developing weapons systems in a bid to push back against a growing wave of euroscepticism before the European parliamentary elections in May.

In a speech to her Christian Democrats party (CDU) she said: “It is good that after several decades we want to develop a common defence policy ... We must develop weapons systems together.”

“We have very strict export rules, others have less strict rules ... But anyone who develops an airplane with us would also like to know whether they can sell the plane with us,” she said.

Merkel has repeatedly stressed the importance of Germany’s partnership with France, saying on her weekly podcast this week the friendship was “far from a given after centuries of military conflict between our countries”.

“We want to give an impulse to European unity,” Merkel said.

In November the German Chancellor went as far as to call for the creation of a European Army, stressing that such an effort would not mean an end to the US-led Nato.

Note EU Digest: Given the present political climate in the US, the EU can not forever rely on the NATO being there, and must get off Grandpa's knee to take some more independent decissions of their own, as it relates to their defence and foreign policies.

EU-Digest

January 18, 2019

China-EU Trade Relations: It’s Official: EU Imposes Anti-Dumping Duties on E-Bikes Imported from China

Today the European Commission has imposed anti-dumping as well as anti-subsidy duties on e-bikes imported from China. The Commission has opted for the imposition of per company targeted dumping duties.

The dumping duties vary from 73.4 percent for the Bodo Vehicle Group, 24.6 percent for Giant Electric Vehicle to 33.4 percent for the majority of Chinese e-bike exporters

All other Chinese e-bike exporters are hit by a 79.3 percent anti-dumping duty. More to follow later. See also the attached EU document including the Annex on the impositions of the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.

Read more at: It’s Official: EU Imposes Anti-Dumping Duties on E-Bikes Imported from China

January 17, 2019

Russia - Chechnya - LGBT Community: gay purge includes torture and killings

Arrests, torture and deaths part of Chechnya ‘gay purge’ accusations from Russian LGBT network

January 16, 2019

EU - Economy - EURO: 20th. Anniversary of the EURO

European parliament marks 20th anniversary of euro

Note EU-Digest: A success story - 20 years EURO (€) currency. Remember those days before the EURO when driving by car from Holland to France, via Belgium and Germany, and having to exchange Dutch guilders to Belgian francs, German marks and French francs, paying the bank a percentage for each currency exchange they made, and also stopping at each border for custom controls. It is difficult to understand how some people want to go back to those "old days" before the EU and the € .Yes indeed #LoveTheEuro and #LoveTheEU

January 15, 2019

Biking: The Netherlands will pay people to ride bikes - by Andrea Lo

With 17 million residents and 23 million bicycles, the Netherlands already has more bikes than people. Now, it wants to get even more cyclists on the roads -- and will pay people to do it.

The Dutch government recently announced that it will invest $390 million (€345 million) in cycling infrastructure to get 200,000 more people commuting by bike in three years' time.

Fifteen routes will be developed into "cyclist freeways" (highways that cater to those on bikes), 25,000 bike parking spaces will be created and more than 60 bike storage facilities will be upgraded, according to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

"My ambition is to ensure that people can easily get to work or school, or visit family and friends," says Stientje van Veldhoven, state secretary for that department, who is spearheading the project.