EU-Economy: European Commission upgrades economic forecasts - by Sam Fleming

The European Commission has sharply raised its economic forecasts for the coming two years, as an accelerating vaccination campaign helps the eurozone recover from the historic blow delivered by the pandemic.

The euro area will expand by 4.3 per cent this year and 4.4 per cent in 2022, Brussels said on Wednesday, compared with previous forecasts for 3.8 per cent growth in both years. As a result, all member states are now expected to regain their pre-crisis output levels by the end of next year, following a historic 6.6 per cent slump in 2020.

The stronger outlook was driven by the rising vaccination rates and the prospect of lockdowns easing across the region, as well as improving export demand driven by a global rebound. Brussels for the first time fully factored in the impact of the €800bn Next Generation EU economic relaunch package, which is expected to begin paying out in the second half of the year.

“The shadow of Covid-19 is beginning to lift from Europe’s economy,” said Paolo Gentiloni, the EU’s economics commissioner. “After a weak start to the year, we project strong growth in both 2021 and 2022. Unprecedented fiscal support has been — and remains — essential in helping Europe’s workers and companies to weather the storm.”

Read more at: European Commission upgrades economic forecasts | Financial Times

The Netherlands: Dutch tulip farmers are hoping for a post-pandemic boom

The Netherlands, which produces some 90 percent of the world’s tulips, has seen its renowned floral market wilt before. The most famous instance was back in the 1630s, when tulpenmanie (tulip mania) meant the value of a single flower bulb soared up to 10 times the average worker’s annual income before the market suddenly crashed in 1637.

Prices didn’t exactly bottom out in the spring of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced borders to snap shut. But lockdowns and market closures meant the worldwide demand for the country’s famed flowers and bulbs dropped significantly. Dutch growers had to destroy hundreds of millions of tulips, daffodils, and other blossoms or sell them at far cheaper prices than in past years.

“A total of 11.4 billion flowers and plants were traded in the Netherlands in 2020, a decrease of 7.8 percent compared to 2019,” says Michel van Schie, a spokesperson for industry conglomerate Royal FloraHolland. The country’s international export market wilted from 6.235 billion euros (7.583 billion U.S. dollars) in 2019 to 5.974 billion euros (7.266 billion U.S. dollars) in 2020.

Read more at: Dutch tulip farmers are hoping for a post-pandemic boom

Shipping Industry: Netherlands Will Vaccinate Seafarers Working on Dutch Ships

Seafaring organizations have been highlighting the challenge of vaccinating seafarers during the pandemic calling for special programs and considerations that recognize their role as key workers in the global supply chain. Responding to the need, the Netherlands announced that starting in mid-June all seafarers regardless of nationality who work on seagoing vessels under the Dutch flag or under Dutch management will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations under a program managed by the Royal Association of Dutch Shipowners (KVNR).

Read more at: Netherlands Will Vaccinate Seafarers Working on Dutch Ships

Netherlands - Calvinists: In the Netherlands, traditional Calvinists refuse vaccines and social distancing

In the Netherlands, Protestants make up around 16 percent of the population and a small group of traditional Calvinists are opposed to vaccination and social distancing. Most of these believers, who live in a region known as the "Bible Belt", were never vaccinated as children and are opposed to the idea of injecting sickness into a healthy body. Despite surging case numbers, they continue to attend Sunday services without face masks. But amid some of the country's highest Covid-19 infection rates, some of them are starting to shift their mindset. Our regional correspondents report.

Read more at: In the Netherlands, traditional Calvinists refuse vaccines and social distancing - Focus

The Netherlands: Record number of people euthanized in Netherlands in 2020: report

A record number of people were euthanized in the Netherlands last year. Some who died suffered from psychiatric issues, according to Dutch News NL. Both the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium are known for their progressive euthanasia laws that have expanded the scope beyond patients suffering from a terminal disease.

Each year, the RTE Regional Euthanasia Review Committees analyze all deaths by euthanasia to check whether they met the six criteria dictated by the law for euthanasia or doctor-assisted suicide. In total, 6,938 patients died in this manner in the Netherlands last year. The RTE determined that two cases didn't meet the six requirements.

Read more at: Record number of people euthanized in Netherlands in 2020: report | World | The Christian Post

Malware: New Android malware targeting banks in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands

A new Android trojan has been identified by security researchers, who said on Monday that once it is successfully installed in the victim's device, those behind it can obtain a live stream of the device screen and also interact with it via its Accessibility Services.

The malware, dubbed "Teabot" by security researchers with Cleafy, has been used to hijack users' credentials and SMS messages to facilitate fraudulent activities against banks in Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Read more at: New Android malware targeting banks in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands | ZDNet

USA: CDC Reports 2 More Infant DEATHS Following Experimental COVID Injections During Clinical Trials

The CDC released more data in their Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) today, and it included two new deaths of infants age 2 and age 1.

While none of the COVID injections have emergency use authorization for children under the age of 17 yet, there are ongoing trials with children being injected with the experimental shots as young as 6 months old.

One of the infants who died was apparently in a Pfizer trial, while the other one was apparently in a Moderna trial.

Read more at: CDC Reports 2 More Infant DEATHS Following Experimental COVID Injections During Clinical Trials