Terrorism: Jihadi supporters arrested in Spain, Germany

Eight people have been arrested in Spain and a further three in Germany for suspected links with jihadi groups, especially in Iraq and Syria, authorities said Monday.

A Spanish Interior Ministry statement said police detained the eight in Madrid early Monday on suspicion of recruiting jihadi militants for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
It said the cell was led by a person who lives in Spain but had previously been jailed in Guantanamo Bay after being arrested in Afghanistan in 2001.

Spain gave no immediate details on the nationalities of the arrested.

In Berlin, prosecutors' spokesman Martin Steltner said police on Saturday arrested a 30-year-old Frenchman suspected of "supporting a terrorist organization" by fighting in Syria for the group.

Steltner said the suspect, who wasn't named because of German privacy laws, was wounded in fighting. He has also allegedly appeared in ISIL propaganda videos.

A court will decide on his extradition to France in the coming weeks.

Read more: Jihadi supporters arrested in Spain, Germany | Boston Herald

EU Parliament: Conservatives propose Muslim for European Parliament President

The conservative ECR group has proposed Sajjad Haider Karim, who in 2004 became the first British Muslim MEP, to be the next European Parliament President. However, the candidacy appears to be a long shot.

Sajjad Karim, nominated as European Parliament Presidential candidate by the European Conservatives and Reformists’ group (ECR), has written to the leaders of all the main groups in the European Parliament seeking their backing.

He said that the image of the EU in the world had been tainted by the recent European elections, with the rise of extremist parties.

“I ask the group leaders: is it not now time to reinstate our values of tolerance, acceptance and diversity”, writes Karim, who was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, of Pakistani descent.  He adds he is relying on a track record of 20 years experience, as an elected public official, 10 of which have been served here in the European Parliament.

“I have served diligently working across groups and political divides always seeking consensus and delivery,” writes Karim, who was elected in 2004 for the Liberal Democrats, but joined the Conservative Party in November 2007.

Read more: Conservatives propose Muslim for European Parliament President | EurActiv

World Cup Soccer: Ruthless Dutch rip shell-shocked Spain to shreds - by Neil Maidmen

A rampant Netherlands team inflicted a heaviest World Cup defeat on holders Spain in over 60 years with a dazzling 5-1 demolition on Friday that sent shockwaves through the tournament.

The Dutch were nothing but brutal in a tetchy 1-0 final defeat by the Spaniards four years ago, but they set out to disrupt the champions' possession game and blew them away with two goals each from Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben.

Only once before had Spain conceded five times in a World Cup game, in a 6-1 loss to hosts Brazil in 1950. The mauling was also the worst ever start for defending world champions.

"Spain were always going to come at us and we catch them on the counter. My players did it perfectly. It's far better than we ever expected," Dutch coach Louis van Gaal told reporters.

Dutch revenge looked unlikely when Spain, also 2008 and 2012 European champions, went ahead in the Group B clash with a 27th- minute Xabi Alonso penalty after Diego Costa was brought down.

Read more: Ruthless Dutch rip shell-shocked Spain to shreds - Football | The Star Online

Is EU Foreign Policy Weak or clever ?: A promise barely noticed- Charlemagne

America's retreat from the woes of the world is worrying its friends in the Middle East. Jihadists are surging through Iraq; Syria uses chemical weapons without retribution; and the latest American attempt to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has failed. Is it time for Europe to help fill the vacuum?

Europeans always dream of exerting global influence commensurate with their economic weight. The Middle East’s problems have a way of washing up on Europe’s shores, be it boat people landing on the Mediterranean coast, or terrorists returning after being hardened by jihad in one or other civil war. And yet Europeans are struggling to be heard.

Take this week’s visit to Israel by José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. He expanded on what, in another time or place, would be a big promise: if and when the Israelis and Palestinians make peace, the EU stands ready to offer economic integration akin to that enjoyed by Norway and Switzerland. In Ukraine the power of a similar offer precipitated a civil war and geopolitical contest with Russia; in the Holy Land, though, the promise of “special privileged partnerships” was barely noticed. It is striking, that, separately, Israel chose not to vote in March on a UN motion sponsored by the West to condemn Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

If America elicits less respect from Israel these days, Europe is the object of much scorn. Europe is remembered as a Jewish graveyard and, latterly, is regarded as an economic basket-case. Even collectively, it packs far less military punch than America. The French- and British-led intervention that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in Libya has left a violent mess.

The European Union’s 28 member-states are divided between big, small, old and new members and, when it comes to Israel, between the guilt-ridden (Germany) and the disapproving (Sweden).

As with much else, EU foreign-policy positions are finely balanced compromises, so even important moves are lost in woolly formulations. Seeking to keep Israeli-Palestinian peace talks alive after John Kerry, the American secretary of state, declared a “pause” in his mediation, Mr Barroso said the hiatus was “untenable in the long run”; peace with the Palestinians was in Israel’s best security interest.

America is of paramount importance to Israel’s security. But Europe makes several vital contributions. Its sanctions on Iran helped bring the mullahs to the negotiating table; its money keeps the Palestinian Authority alive as a negotiating partner for Israel; and Europe is central in managing the Syrian refugee crisis.

To be heard, Europeans need to speak clearly about what a two-state solution means: the end of Israeli occupation of land captured in 1967 (with agreed land swaps and a deal on Jerusalem), but also the end of further Palestinian claims on the Jewish state created in 1948. Palestinian refugees will, overwhelmingly, return to the new state of Palestine, not their old homes in Israel.

Read more:Charlemagne: A promise barely noticed | The Economis

EU Tax Planning : Fight against ‘aggressive tax planning’ key issue for EU, says Rehn - by Suzanne Lynch

The fight against aggressive tax planning by multinationals will be one of the “key issues” for the European Parliament over the next five years, EU economics and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn has said.

“If there was one unifying message in the European elections, at least based on my campaign trail, . . . [it] is that we have to continue to act intensively against tax fraud, against tax evasion and against aggressive tax planning by multinational corporations.”

While declining to comment on the details of Wednesday’s announcement by the European Commission that it is investigating the Republic, Luxembourg and the Netherlands about tax arrangements entered into with specific companies, Mr Rehn welcomed the move. “I think it is very important that the commission has acted here,” he said.

“In the European Parliament in the next five years this will be one of the key issues and will be one of the key challenges for the commission.”

Speaking at an event hosted by European Movement Ireland and BDO in Brussels yesterday, Mr Rehn, who was elected as an MEP for Finland in last month’s European elections, said the European public had sent a clear message on the issue during the elections.

Read More: Fight against ‘aggressive tax planning’ key issue for EU, says Rehn - Economic News | Ireland & World Economy Headlines |The Irish Times - Fri, Jun 13, 2014

Immigration: Cameron gets backing for action on EU immigration 'abuse'

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with his German, Dutch and Swedish counterparts to tackle "abuse of free movement" in the European Union.

"We've agreed that we should work together to address the abuse of free movement," he said at a mini-summit on the European economy near Stockholm with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Ministers Fredrik Reinfeldt and Mark Rutte.

"It is a right that people should be able to move across Europe to work but they should not be able to free ride on the back of welfare systems," he added

Read More: Cameron gets backing for action on EU immigration 'abuse' - Yahoo News

France - Economy: Hollande taps bank economist to steer economic policy - by Emmanuel Jarry

Francois Hollande has chosen a senior economist at a U.S. bank as his new top economic advisor, an official in the French president's office said on Tuesday, as France tries to sustain a sputtering economic recovery.

Emmanuel Macron is stepping down as Hollande's advisor and will be replaced by Bank of America Merrill Lynch's chief European economist, Laurence Boone, the official said.

Boone holds a doctorate from the London Business School and sits on the board of French luxury goods group Kering.

Before joining Merrill Lynch in London, she was an economist at Barclays in Paris and before that worked at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Boone was not immediately available for comment, but in an earlier interview with Reuters, she said Hollande had little choice but to push ahead with his current policies.

 "Early elections would make his parliament majority collapse, switching to a policy completely focused on demand is not possible now in Europe, deeper reforms would not fit with the government’s strategy to keep the left of the party on board," Boone told Reuters on May 27. "This leaves the option of continuing like before, by default."

Read more: Hollande taps bank economist to steer economic policy - Yahoo News