Europe tightens up financial market rules - but Britain once again "odd man out"

The Europe Union is to tighten regulation of financial markets under a deal to prevent any repetition of the rampant speculation which helped bring down banks and crash the global economy.

After two years of tough talks, the European Parliament and negotiators for the 28 member states agreed a deal in principle that sets new rules to regulate the market, known as MiFID II.

"These new rules will improve the way capital markets function to the benefit of the real economy," said the EU's Financial Markets Commissioner Michel Barnier.

"They are a key step towards establishing a safer, more open and more responsible financial system and restoring investor confidence in the wake of the financial crisis."

Barnier first pushed for the new rules in 2011 at the height of the eurozone debt crisis which was sparked by the 2008 global financial crash.

They aim to curb speculative trading in commodities and to regulate high-frequency trading so as better to protect investors and make the markets less crisis prone.

They will apply to investment firms, market operators and services providing post-trade transparency information in the European Union, a parliament statement said.

They will notably force market players to buy and sell financial instruments on regulated markets comparable to stock exchanges to ensure that all trading is tracked by MiFID.

 

International aid group Oxfam welcomed the deal but warned of the dangers of exemptions, especially for Britain which is home to one of the world's largest financial markets in London.

"Today's decision marks a good start in tackling 'gambling' on food prices which are a matter of life and death to millions," Oxfam said.

But "the deal is far from perfect," Oxfam said." Unjustified exemptions were granted to powerful lobbies and limits will be set nationally, rather than at the European level.

"There is a real risk, particularly in the UK, of ineffective sky high limits triggering a regulatory race to the bottom between European countries," it said in a statement.

Read more: Europe tightens up financial market rules - Yahoo News

Food Quality: Netherlands is country with most plentiful, healthy food: Oxfam - by Patricia Reaney

The Netherlands nudged past France and Switzerland as the country with the most nutritious, plentiful and healthy food, while the United States and Japan failed to make it into the top 20, a new ranking released by Oxfam on Tuesday showed.

Chad came in last on the list of 125 nations, behind Ethiopia and Angola, in the food index from the international relief and development organization.

"The Netherlands have created a good market that enables people to get enough to eat. Prices are relatively low and stable and the type of food people are eating is balanced," Deborah Hardoon, a senior researcher at Oxfam who compiled the results, said in an interview.

"They've got the fundamentals right and in a way that is better than most other countries all over the world."

Oxfam ranked the nations on the availability, quality and affordability of food and dietary health. It also looked at the percentage of underweight children, food diversity and access to clean water, as well as negative health outcomes such as obesity and diabetes.

European countries dominated the top of the ranking but Australia squeezed into the top 12, tying with Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Luxembourg at No. 8.


Read more: Netherlands is country with most plentiful, healthy food: Oxfam | Reuters

EU Immigration Policies: EU official accuses UK of spreading ‘myths’ and telling tales about immigration

In a scathing attack on the UK’s immigration policy, a UN official has slammed London for peddling “myths” about an “invasion of foreigners”. Viviane Reding, vice president of the EU Commission, said the scare tactics are part of a strategy to win votes.

Speaking on a webchat on EU citizenship, Reding said British politicians were putting the future of the UK in jeopardy for the sake of their political ambitions. She warned that the political rhetoric about the impending arrival of a wave of migrants, who will take jobs and leech off the welfare system, was a “myth”
 
“Most of the things which are told to the people in Great Britain are myths, [and] have nothing to do with reality.", said Reding.

Reding argues that in fact the arrival of EU migrants, in fact, stimulated the UK economy, causing GDP to grow by “3-4 percent”.
 
“I am mostly frustrated about the political leaders because what is leadership if you just try with populistic movements and populistic speech to gain votes?” said Reding.

She appealed to all of the “reasonable forces” in Britain to dispel the distorted version of events that the UK government has created and explain to people what the European Union really is.

"You are destroying the future of your people, actually,” said Reding, condemning Prime Minister David Cameron’s policy of “populism” and “Euroscepticism”.
 
Reding’s come off the back of a flurry of rhetoric from EU leaders condemning new immigration policies that have been implemented by the UK government. Prime Minister David Cameron has moved to cut immigration to the UK.

Furthermore, the government is also taking measures to restrict migrants’ access to the British welfare system.

Recently David Cameron said he would like to change treaties with the EU that would allow him to cut child benefit for workers from other EU countries.


Almere-Digest

Greece takes over EU presidency

The Greek premier Antonis Samaras told MEPs of the EU Parliament in Strasbourg that his government’s economic reforms were working.

“I know that many things have been said in this room- positive and negative- about this period. But we should keep one thing here: Greece kept its commitments and honored its signature. In other words: We delivered.”

One centre-right German MEP said Greece’s economic woes would not hamper its presidency.

“I do trust Greece. I had a meeting with Prime Minister Samaras and Vice Prime Minister Venizelos, I have the impression that they have clear idea and.priorities. And I think that Greece should have a chance as every presidency before.”

But for the leader of the far-left group, scant attention is being paid to the plight of ordinary people.
UKIP MEP Nigel Farage told parliamentarians that the country was not a real democracy whilst it had to answer to the troika.

“A country in the desperate state Greece is in, and much of it because of the idiotic decision to join the euro itself, the fact that Greece has taken over the presidency of the European Union, I mean frankly it is as much as I can do to stop myself laughing.

Samaras said that he planned to put structrual reforms to boost jobs and growth at the heart of his agenda over the next six months.

Almere-Digest 

Google: Questionable Anti-Freedom of Speech action by Google after it blocks Dutch Politician 'Geert Wilders' account

Google has deactivated the mail account of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders following complaints that the anti-Islam politician was using it to spread anti Islam initiative.

“Unbelievable; Google just blocked the account. It seems Mohammed Rabbae’s complaint was successful,” Wilders tweet was quoted by NL Times on Friday, December 27.

Wilders’ was referring to the complaint presented by Rabbae on behalf of the National Council of Moroccans at Google that Wilders was abusing its service.

Rabbae’s move followed many other complaints that were lodged against Wilders after he came out with his anti-Island sticker a week ago; it read “Islam is a lie. Mohamed is a criminal. The Qur’an is poison.”

The politician claimed the sticker was not meant as an action against Muslims.

After Google’s move, Wilders launched a new account where people may order his sticker.

 "Regardless if one agrees with Wilders or not, but this action by Google is unheard of in a democratic country like the Netherlands or for that matter any EU member state as it relates to secularism and freedom of speech" said a member of the Dutch CDA political party.

Almere-Digest

On the US Political Scene: Watergate and Washington Bridge -"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" - by RM

President Richard Nixon: "I am not a crook"

The French have this wonderful saying: "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" which in essence in any language indicates a certain disillusionment or resignation regarding whatever is being talked about.

For example: a company might make all kinds of policy changes, but the personnel issues are unaffected. 

Or a couple go to marriage counseling, but continue fighting about everything. 

A new sheriff comes to town, but there is no noticeable impact on crime. New people, new promises, but the same old problems - plus ça change....

Governor Chris Christie:" I did not know"

Last week Thursday, Christie said, "I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge."  

This Wednesday morning, news outlets around the USA released emails that strongly implied that in September a top aide to New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie planned a dangerous traffic jam near the George Washington Bridge to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee. After over seven hours of silence, Christie—a possible presidential candidate in 2016—released a statement denying he had knowledge of the aide's actions. Up until then, Christie and his aides made numerous statements claiming his office had no involvement in the scandal.

For some reason it brought back memories of Watergate and President Nixon's press conferences and statements at that time .

Some forty one years ago on November 17, 1973,  Richard Nixon declared: "I am not a crook", as the President at the time of the Wagtergate scandal vigorously defended his record during the case and said he had never profited from his public service. 

"I have earned every cent. And in all of my years of public life I have never obstructed justice," Mr. Nixon said. "People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got."

In an hour-long televised question-and-answer session with 400 Associated Press managing editors, Mr. Nixon was tense and sometimes misspoke. But he maintained his innocence in the Watergate case and promised to supply more details on his personal finances and more evidence from tapes and presidential documents.

Yesterday January 9, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did a full blast, full house, two hour Press conference, responding to the George Washington Bridge traffic jam that had exploded on Wednesday and appeared to have imperiled his presidential aspirations.

He announced that he was firing the staffer responsible and that he would cut ties with one of his top political aides, and would be investigating what other abuses might be left uncovered. He then took round after round of questions in which he fulfilled most of the compulsory mea culpa requirements .

Governor Christie apologized, took responsibility, called himself “embarrassed and humiliated,”and even used an old Truman quote that  "the buck stops here" in addition to expressing regret, denouncing the affair several times as "callous" and "stupid", and announced that he was going to be visiting the injured parties.

Somewhere it became more clear what the French mean by "Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose ".

EU-Digest

Turkey: Europe Should Say No to Turkey for Good - by Michael Rubin

Not only does Turkey dream about being a member of the European Union, but the future of Europe depends on it. At least that is the narrative put forward by both American officials and many European diplomats for quite some time. In 2009, for example, President Obama said that European Union membership would “firmly anchor” Turkey in Europe.

Whether out of conviction or a desire for access, some U.S.-based Turkey analysts also push the line, and suggest that EU membership will further Turkey’s reform and bolster Europe’s economy.

Such sentiments may be politically correct, but they are nonsense. Rather than become more democratic or truly reform, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has transformed Turkey into a banana republic. In recent days, he has not only fired police chiefs across the country to ensure that his own personal cronies take their place, but has moved to punish Zekeriya Öz, the prosecutor once embraced for targeting Turkey’s generals, but who now is a pariah for questioning those in the prime minister’s inner circle. On Tuesday, Öz released a statement detailing the threats he received. “Soon after the first wave of warrants,” he wrote, “I was called to a meeting by two people from the high judiciary.

We met in a hotel in Bursa. They told me that Erdoğan was very angry with me. They asked me to write an apology letter to Erdoğan and stop the investigations. Otherwise I would have to suffer the consequences ….”
 Despite the constant threats he now receives, Erdoğan has stripped him of security. He is, effectively, a dead man walking.

At its root, the reason for the corruption scandal targeting Erdoğan’s inner circle was the prime minister’s targeting of a network of lucrative test-prep centers run by adherent of Fethullah Gülen. That many Western-leaning Turks, diplomats, and journalists now place their hopes in Gülen, a shadowy religious cult leader whose about-face has been motivated not by democratic enlightenment but personal spite and greed, reinforces the notion that not only is Turkey not ready for Europe, but it never will be.

Within Turkey, demography favors the conservative, Islamist-leaning followers of Erdoğan. Both Erdoğan and Gülen’s recent behavior show that real democratic culture has not accompanied the much-heralded reforms implemented by Erdoğan.

No matter who comes out in Turkey’s political struggle, it is time once and for all to put to rest the idea that Turkey will ever join Europe, nor should it. Enabling Turkish membership into the European Union would at this point be little different in effect than allowing Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, or Libyan accession. Policy must be based on reality, not wishful thinking. Erdoğan should go down in history as the man that ruined Turkey’s decade-long dream.

Read more: Europe Should Say No to Turkey for Good « Commentary Magazine