The Netherlands: Amsterdam has the most expensive parking in the world

Amsterdam has topped another global list this week, only this time the honor is not nearly as friendly as a title like Best Place to Live, or the Safest City in the EU. Drivers resource website and app Parkopedia has named the Dutch capital the most expensive city globally for street parking.

Read more at:
https://nltimes.nl/2019/12/08/amsterdam-expensive-parking-world

The Netherlands: The Province of Brabant remains the favorite base for foreign multinationals

BOM Foreign Investments again broke its own record when it came to job creation in the province of Brabant last year, with 1,661 new jobs created in 2014 thanks to foreign companies either moving to the region or expanding their operations there.

These companies also invested €154.2 million in the province, the Brabant Development Agency (BOM) announced yesterday at its biennial Investors Day.

The 2014 figures yet another gain for BOM Foreign Investments over the preceding year, when 1,313 jobs were created and investments stood at €52 million.

Read more at: Brabant remains the favorite base for foreign multinational

EU-US Relations: Trump escalates fight over tax on tech giants - by Naomi Jagoda and Emily Birnbaum

The long-running fight between the U.S. and Europe over how to tax American tech giants is heating up.

The Trump administration on Monday proposed retaliating against France for a tax on digital services, floating $2.4 billion in tariffs, and Paris is vowing to hit back. 

The dispute is raising pressure on international negotiators to develop a framework for taxing tech companies whose businesses span the globe. But as the complicated talks unfold, the U.S. is threatening to launch more investigations.

 Read more at: Trump escalates fight over tax on tech giants | TheHill

NATO: Macron spars with US and Turkey over Nato - by Nikolaj Nielsen

EU Defense Force: Europe needs to control it's own destiny

The presidents of France, Turkey and the United States sparred over Nato as the 29 leaders of the 70-year old alliance gathered in London.

In a late night tweet on Tuesday (3 December), French president Emmanuel Macron entrenched his views on the future of the fraying alliance.

"We can't put money and pay the cost of our soldiers' lives without being clear on the fundamentals of what Nato should be," he said.

The position follows his earlier comments describing Nato as "brain dead", given Turkey's October invasion into north-east Syria, displacing tens of thousands of people.

After US president Donald Trump abandoned the Kurdish militias, who had fought alongside US and French troops in the struggle against the Islamic State, Turkey moved in.

Note EU-Digest: Macron is right on this one. US President Trump pulled out of Syria without consulting any of his NATO partners, except possibly Turkey, and created a chaos at the border between Syria and Turkey. It is high time the EU gets off the lap of the US and creates its own military defense force, which focuses on the interests of Europe.

Read more at: Macron spars with US and Turkey over Nato

USA: Why is tourism to the United States on the decline? - Gun violence

The decrease isn't steep, but any decline is seen as alarming, given the overall rise in global tourism.

One of the major reasons for this decline in tourism to the US is the fear of gun violence in America, which is widely publicized around the world.

Read more at:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2019/09/06/more-people-are-traveling-world-than-ever-number-coming-america-is-dropping/

Belarus’s Soviet Economy Has Worked Better Than You Think

Belarus kept old factories, jobs, and social services alive after communism. Now that model is under threat from Russia.

Read more:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-27/belarus-s-soviet-economy-has-worked-better-than-you-think?utm_source=pocket-newtab

The Netherlands-USA Relations - Global Warming - Tampa Teams Up With Netherlands to Deal With Climate Change - by Dalia Dangerfield

The Bay Area and the Netherlands are teaming up to raise awareness on climate change. 

• Tampa working with Netherlands on climate change
• Tampa Chief of Staff John Bennett toured Netherlands to get ideas
• Tampa to develop action plan with ideas

Tampa Chief of Staff John Bennett was invited to the Netherlands by Dutch Leaders to learn how their country deals with climate change.

"When you're riding around the country, it looks like any other country, but when you know what you're looking at, you're like 'wow that's a neat project," Bennett said.

The Netherlands is very vulnerable to floods and storm surge.  Their answer includes using natural resources as a defense. Something Bennett agrees with.

"Lets use nature as much as possible instead of putting more infrastructure in place," Bennett said.

 Read more at: Tampa Teams Up With Netherlands to Deal With Climate Change