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February 28, 2019
European Airline Industry: Dutch surprise France by taking airline stake
Air-France KLM: Dutch surprise France by taking airline stake
February 26, 2019
Child Sex Abuse : Silent hypocrisy reigns at most Christian denominations about sexual crimes committed in Catholic Churches against minors - by "a follower of Jesus"
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| "You are my children never forget that" |
What is amazing is that most Christian denomination, from Evangelicals to Orthodox, so far, have put their head in the sand and not come out condemning these practices jointly or individually.
Just in case they have forgotten, here is a direct quote from the Bible, as to the place children take in the teachings of Jesus.
"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”
— Matthew 18:1-5
By not speaking out openly against these sexual crimes committed against minors by fellow Christian denominations, Christian denominations in general won't be taken seriously, whatever they do or say.
EU-Digest
Britain - Brexit: Labour prepared to back new Brexit referendum
Jeremy Corbyn has told Labour MPs the party will move to back another
vote if their own proposed Brexit deal is rejected on Wednesday.
Labour's Emily Thornberry said if the parliamentary process ended with a choice of no deal or the PM's deal, the public should decide.
Theresa May is under growing pressure to delay the 29 March Brexit date.
Labour have not yet made clear what their proposed referendum would be on, but a party briefing paper to MPs says that any referendum would need to have "a credible Leave option and Remain".
The prime minister, who will update MPs on the negotiations on Tuesday, has insisted the UK can still leave next month as planned.
The UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016, but the withdrawal deal Mrs May negotiated with the EU has to be agreed by MPs - and it suffered a huge defeat by them last month.
Mrs May has ruled out a "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal this week - saying one would be held by 12 March - but she will give MPs the chance to have their say on how the next steps for Brexit.
MPs will be able to table amendments to a government motion, putting forward their proposals on what they think should happen next.
Read more: Labour prepared to back new Brexit referendum - BBC News
Labour's Emily Thornberry said if the parliamentary process ended with a choice of no deal or the PM's deal, the public should decide.
Theresa May is under growing pressure to delay the 29 March Brexit date.
Labour have not yet made clear what their proposed referendum would be on, but a party briefing paper to MPs says that any referendum would need to have "a credible Leave option and Remain".
The prime minister, who will update MPs on the negotiations on Tuesday, has insisted the UK can still leave next month as planned.
The UK voted to leave the EU in a referendum in June 2016, but the withdrawal deal Mrs May negotiated with the EU has to be agreed by MPs - and it suffered a huge defeat by them last month.
Mrs May has ruled out a "meaningful vote" on her Brexit deal this week - saying one would be held by 12 March - but she will give MPs the chance to have their say on how the next steps for Brexit.
MPs will be able to table amendments to a government motion, putting forward their proposals on what they think should happen next.
Read more: Labour prepared to back new Brexit referendum - BBC News
February 25, 2019
British EU Relations: More Brexit talks early next week after no breakthrough in Brussels - by Irene Kostaki
The EU’s 27 ambassadors met on February 21 to assess the Brexit talks
that took place in Brussels earlier in the week and are awaiting any
progress in the discussions that are planned to take place in the week,
EU sources confirm.
The European Union’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, debriefed the bloc’s ambassadors about the talks between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and UK Prime Minister Theresa May on February 20, as well as a discussion Juncker had with his team on the EU side with the UK’ Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay and Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
After assessing the meetings, the UK side has pushed forward the ‘guarantees’ that were agreed upon during the February 20 talks between Juncker and May.
“Yesterday, the Prime Minister reiterated that the simplest way to get legally binding changes to the (Irish) backstop is to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement. That remains the (UK) government’s position,” said the spokesman from the Department for Exiting the European Union, adding that the focus of the two will now be on “guarantees relating to the backstop that underline, once again, its temporary nature and give an appropriate legal assurance to both sides, as well as alternative arrangements and a political declaration, to reach a mutually acceptable agreement”.
The issue of the Irish backstop has been one of the most contentious issues that have plagued the still-unresolved negotiations between Brussels and London. The backstop is designed as an insurance policy, that, in the event that the two sides cannot reach an agreement before the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, Northern Ireland will remain within the European Union’s regulatory and customs arrangements indefinitely to prevent the emergence of a hard border.
Barclay and Cox “held productive talks with Barnier and his team” to discuss both sides’ current talking points and to reposition their focus on what can be done to conclude a “successful” deal as soon as possible.
“There was an agreement that the talks should now continue urgently at a technical level until the teams of the chief negotiators meet again early next week. Meanwhile, the Attorney General (Cox) will explore further legal options with Barnier’s team.
The EU’s position, at this point, is clear in that the bloc’s approach to the backstop remains unchanged and the leaders of the European Union are determined not to hold a special ‘Brexit Summit’ unless it is clear that a deal has the needed support in the House of Commons to pass. Thus far, however, the sort of consensus that Brussels is looking for from their British counterparts remains elusive.
Juncker has been very vocal in expressing the sentiment of many others all of whom have grown tired of the stalled negotiations, saying, “I have something like Brexit fatigue.” Juncker still believes that a no-deal scenario for the UK is the most likely given the narrow five week timeframe that London has to pass the deal.
Read full report here: More Brexit talks early next week after no breakthrough in Brussels
The European Union’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, debriefed the bloc’s ambassadors about the talks between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and UK Prime Minister Theresa May on February 20, as well as a discussion Juncker had with his team on the EU side with the UK’ Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Stephen Barclay and Britain’s Attorney General Geoffrey Cox.
After assessing the meetings, the UK side has pushed forward the ‘guarantees’ that were agreed upon during the February 20 talks between Juncker and May.
“Yesterday, the Prime Minister reiterated that the simplest way to get legally binding changes to the (Irish) backstop is to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement. That remains the (UK) government’s position,” said the spokesman from the Department for Exiting the European Union, adding that the focus of the two will now be on “guarantees relating to the backstop that underline, once again, its temporary nature and give an appropriate legal assurance to both sides, as well as alternative arrangements and a political declaration, to reach a mutually acceptable agreement”.
The issue of the Irish backstop has been one of the most contentious issues that have plagued the still-unresolved negotiations between Brussels and London. The backstop is designed as an insurance policy, that, in the event that the two sides cannot reach an agreement before the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU, Northern Ireland will remain within the European Union’s regulatory and customs arrangements indefinitely to prevent the emergence of a hard border.
Barclay and Cox “held productive talks with Barnier and his team” to discuss both sides’ current talking points and to reposition their focus on what can be done to conclude a “successful” deal as soon as possible.
“There was an agreement that the talks should now continue urgently at a technical level until the teams of the chief negotiators meet again early next week. Meanwhile, the Attorney General (Cox) will explore further legal options with Barnier’s team.
The EU’s position, at this point, is clear in that the bloc’s approach to the backstop remains unchanged and the leaders of the European Union are determined not to hold a special ‘Brexit Summit’ unless it is clear that a deal has the needed support in the House of Commons to pass. Thus far, however, the sort of consensus that Brussels is looking for from their British counterparts remains elusive.
Juncker has been very vocal in expressing the sentiment of many others all of whom have grown tired of the stalled negotiations, saying, “I have something like Brexit fatigue.” Juncker still believes that a no-deal scenario for the UK is the most likely given the narrow five week timeframe that London has to pass the deal.
“This Brexit thing is deconstruction, it’s not construction. Brexit is
the past, it’s not the future” Juncker said. Focusing on his efforts in
the coming days, Juncker said, “we are trying to deliver our best
efforts in order to have Brexit be organised in a proper and civilised
way that is well-thought-out.” He later went on to lay the blame on the
British parliament for its inability to pass legislation needed to
complete the Brexit process.
“Every time they are voting, there is a majority against something. There is never a majority in favour of something,” said Juncker “If a no-deal happens, and I can’t exclude this, this will have terrible economic and social consequences both in Britain and on the Continent…my efforts are oriented in a way that the worst can be avoided, but I’m not very optimistic when it comes to this issue.”
“Every time they are voting, there is a majority against something. There is never a majority in favour of something,” said Juncker “If a no-deal happens, and I can’t exclude this, this will have terrible economic and social consequences both in Britain and on the Continent…my efforts are oriented in a way that the worst can be avoided, but I’m not very optimistic when it comes to this issue.”
Read full report here: More Brexit talks early next week after no breakthrough in Brussels
February 23, 2019
EU - Saudi Relations: EP budget chair seeks clarity on Saudi lobbying and College of Europe - Nikolaj Nielsen
The EU-funded College of Europe must clarify its financial ties to
Saudi Arabia, the chair of a powerful European Parliament (EP) budgetary
committee has said.
The demand follows revelations last week by this website that the Saudis had paid the College of Europe to meet MEPs in a closed-door briefing at the EP as part of what the post-graduate institute describes as an "information or training exercise".
"This is clearly a type of action, which characterises a lobbyist organisation," said German centre-right MEP Ingeborg Graessle, who presides over the EP's budgetary control committee, in a letter sent on Wednesday (20 February) to College of Europe rector Jorg Monar and seen by EUobserver.
The Saudi-EP meeting on 19 February came less than a week after the EU parliament had passed a resolution condemning the abuse of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
It also followed recent moves by the European Union to put the Kingdom on a terror finance blacklist, as well as an arms embargo by Germany and several other EU states over the Saudi regime's murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October.
"Bearing in mind that the College of Europe receives funds from the EU budget, we as the discharge authority of the EU, need to have a clear picture of your undertakings in order to safeguard the interests of EU taxpayers," Graessle said in her letter.
Read more at: EP budget chair seeks clarity on Saudi lobbying and College of Europe
The demand follows revelations last week by this website that the Saudis had paid the College of Europe to meet MEPs in a closed-door briefing at the EP as part of what the post-graduate institute describes as an "information or training exercise".
"This is clearly a type of action, which characterises a lobbyist organisation," said German centre-right MEP Ingeborg Graessle, who presides over the EP's budgetary control committee, in a letter sent on Wednesday (20 February) to College of Europe rector Jorg Monar and seen by EUobserver.
The Saudi-EP meeting on 19 February came less than a week after the EU parliament had passed a resolution condemning the abuse of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
It also followed recent moves by the European Union to put the Kingdom on a terror finance blacklist, as well as an arms embargo by Germany and several other EU states over the Saudi regime's murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October.
"Bearing in mind that the College of Europe receives funds from the EU budget, we as the discharge authority of the EU, need to have a clear picture of your undertakings in order to safeguard the interests of EU taxpayers," Graessle said in her letter.
Read more at: EP budget chair seeks clarity on Saudi lobbying and College of Europe
February 22, 2019
BRITAIN: Theresa May to face ministerial revolt over a no-deal Brexit
Theresa May faces ministerial revolt over no-deal Brexit
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