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July 21, 2018

EU Google Fine: Trump slams EU over $5 billion fine on Google

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday criticized the European Union over a record $5 billion (3.84 billion pounds)fine EU antitrust regulators imposed on Google, saying the bloc was taking advantage of the United States.

EU officials on Wednesday also ordered Google to stop using its popular Android mobile operating system to block its rivals, adding to trade tensions between Washington and Brussels.

Note EU-Digest: The Pot Calling the Kettle Black.

Read more: Trump slams EU over $5 billion fine on Google | Reuters

July 19, 2018

EU, US relations sinking further after divisive Trump tour - by Raf Casert

After a week of the worst barrage of insults yet from U.S. President Donald Trump, the European Union is looking westward toward the White House less and less.

Making it worse, Trump spent Monday cozying up to EU adversary Vladimir Putin in an extraordinary chummy summit with the Russian leader in Helsinki.

Never mind. In an age when Trump has made political optics all-important, on Tuesday the EU struck back. Key EU leaders were in the far east in Japan and China looking for the trust, friendship and cooperation they could no longer get from a century-old ally.

Trump's embrace of Putin and the EU's Asian outreach highlight the yawning rift, widening more by the day, in a trans-Atlantic unity that has been the bedrock of international politics for the better part of a century, as countless graves of U.S. soldiers buried in European soil bear witness to.

Trump's abrasiveness and "America First" insistence had been a given even before he became president. Europe's increasing resignation to letting go of the cherished link to the White House is much more recent.

After last week's brutal NATO summit where Trump derided Europeans as freeloaders, EU chief Donald Tusk spoke on Tuesday of "the increasing darkness of international politics."

"This Helsinki summit is above all another wake-up call for Europe," said Manfred Weber, the German leader of the EPP center-right group in the European Parliament, the legislature's biggest.

"We Europeans must take our fate in our own hands."

It was a startling sentiment coming from someone who hails from the same German Christian Democrat stock as Angela Merkel, Helmut Kohl and Konrad Adenauer, staunch supporters of the trans-Atlantic link over the past three-quarters century.

There have been other signs of the growing European detachment from the White House, especially after Trump pulled out of the global climate agreement and the Iran nuclear deal the EU brokered.

"With friends like that, who needs enemies?" Tusk asked two months ago.

Soon, Trump had also piled on economic punishment with punitive tariffs on European steel and aluminum.

Then came the NATO summit. Already viewed with apprehension, reality turned out to be worse.

First, Trump called Germany, the powerhouse of the European Union, "captive" to Russia. Then he suggested that Britain should "sue" the EU over Brexit terms. Finally, he finished off by calling the 28-nation bloc a trade "foe."

"For Trump, the categories of friend, ally, partner, opponent, enemy don't exist. For him there is only his own ego," said the head of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee, Norbert Roettgen.

So little wonder the EU has turned for friends elsewhere — and found one Tuesday in Japan, where the bloc said it put in place "the largest bilateral trade deal ever."

Up to two years ago, that was supposed to be the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, trade deal between the EU and the United States. But Trump quickly let it be known that such an international agreement would not happen on his watch.

"This is an act of enormous strategic importance for the rules-based international order, at a time when some are questioning this order," Tusk said at a joint news conference in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We are sending a clear message that we stand together against protectionism."

Despite it all, until last week there had remained hope that on the most critical of geopolitical security issues, Trump would remain true to American ideals. Instead, he unleashed unprecedented criticism at the NATO summit.
 
Fully extracting itself from the United States, though, is a daunting challenge for Europe.

Militarily, with the exceptions of France and Britain, the European allies have lived under the nuclear umbrella of the United States since World War II. Defense cooperation outside of U.S-dominated NATO is only now taking off and the blocked Brexit negotiations make such a prospect fraught with uncertainty.

That military dimension, and the bond between Europe and the United States, have a special resonance in nations like Poland and the Baltic states, which had long been under the thumb of Moscow before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Hence, Monday's Helsinki summit was seen with apprehension that Trump might make dramatic concessions to Putin and leave parts of Europe with too little protection. In Poland, the 1945 Yalta Conference is seen as a symbol of political treason because, without Poland's participation and against Poland's will, it put the country under Soviet control for decades, until 1989.

Read: EU, US relations sinking further after divisive Trump tour

EU Versus Google: Brussels lashes a historical fine to Google for domain abuse with Android

EU Versus Google: Unfair Monopoly Position
Brussels launches its strongest offensive against Google. The European Commission is now ready a record fine for U.S. giant for abuse of dominant position through Android, its mobile operating system, which use virtually all less Apple manufacturers.

The technological signature requires brands that use this system default installation of ir own applications like Google search engine or Chrome browser.

This is one of practices that European authorities judge against competition and which worth greatest punishment imposed by an antimonopoly case (about 4 billion euros). The previous record was also reached by Google. The decision stresses even more already complex transatlantic relationship.

The sanction, according to sources close to the case, is around 4 billion, the largest ever imposed by the European Commission

The Android process is now completed, after several years of research, and decision is expected to be communicated on Wednesday, as country has been able to know. The European Commission was clear that it would close case before holidays, but had hesitated to impose sanction on American firm last week or this.

The level of confrontation reached with US President Donald Trump's visit to NATO summit in Brussels advised him to postpone fine. The Community executive has tried, at same time, to take away as much as possible this initiative from visit that President of this institution, Jean-Claude Juncker, will make to Trump next week in White House. Both institutions confirmed this Tuesday that meeting will be held on 25 July. However, effect it causes in spirit of American tycoon is uncertain.

The great technology has never been Trump's favorite sector, which was very close to former president, Barack Obama. The penalty for abuse of dominant position with Android will surpass 2.424 billion taxes in 2017 also to Google for systematically favoring Google Shopping, its service of comparison of prices.

The reason is that scope of Android case is much higher than price compared, since 90% of mobiles in Europe incorporate Android. And that quota has grown vertiginously in recent years.

Read more: Brussels last a historical fine to Google for domain abuse with Andr

July 17, 2018

Global Innovation Index: The Netherlands takes 2nd place in 2018 Global Innovation Index- by Mina Solanki

The Netherlands has moved up to second place on this year’s Global Innovation Index (GII), by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization. The GII ranks the innovation performance of almost 130 economies from around the world.

This year marks the 11th edition of the GII, which reviews 126 economies. The theme of the 2018 edition is “Energizing the World with Innovation”. This edition looks at the energy innovation landscape of the coming decade and possible breakthroughs that could be made in the areas of consumption, distribution, storage and energy production.

To assess countries, the GII uses 80 indicators that then fall under seven pillars. The average score of the first five pillars equals the Input Sub-Index and the average score of the last two pillars makes up the Output Sub-Index. Each pillar has three sub-pillars with a varying number of indicators. The pillars are as follows:
  • Institutions
  • Human capital and research
  • Infrastructure
  • Market sophistication
  • Business sophistication
  • Knowledge and technology outputs
  • Creative outputs
The number one country this year was Switzerland, which also took first place in 2017. The Netherlands came in second and was followed by Sweden, which dropped a place this year. In fourth place was the United Kingdom, climbing a place this year, and in fifth place, Singapore, moving up two places. The top 10 countries are as follows.
  1. Switzerland
  2. The Netherlands
  3. Sweden
  4. Britain
  5. Singapore
  6. United States of America
  7. Finland
  8. Denmark
  9. Germany
  10. Ireland
Read more: The Netherlands takes 2nd place in 2018 Global Innovation Index

USA: European and many other countries around the world now giving the middle finger to the US

July 14, 2018

The Netherlands - Weather: Summer is here to stay in the Netherlands- by Mina Solanki

It looks like the summer weather in the Netherlands is here to stay, at least until the end of next week. So, if you haven't already, now is the perfect time to take that trip to one of the Netherlands’ beaches or city beaches. Or, if you prefer, take advantage of the good weather and head on over to a national park or zoo.


On Thursday, July 12, frequent sun and temperatures ranging from 23C to 27C are forecasted. According to Weerplaza, up until the end of next week, July 22, the weather is expected to stay warm at 25C or higher.

On Monday, July 16, temperatures could even reach tropical values of 30C or above. This increase in temperature may make it feel rather stifling outside, as opposed to pleasant.

The Weerplaza weather model gives rather warm weather for the week of 23 to 29 July, especially in deep inland areas. In coastal areas, relatively higher temperatures can be expected, however, these are not as notable as in other areas of the Netherlands. During this week, a few rain showers are highly likely. 

Read more: Summer is here to stay in the Netherlands