Britain - EU Relations: EU negotiator Michel Barnier calls Boris Johnson′s Brexit stance ′unacceptable′

Since taking office on Wednesday and filling his Cabinet with hard-line Brexiteer politicians, Boris Johnson has insisted on striking a new deal with the European Union that would omit the so-called backstop for preventing a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and the British territory of Northern Ireland.

In an email to national governments on Thursday, EU negotiator Michel Barnier wrote that Johnson's demand was "of course unacceptable and not within the mandate of the European Council."

"No deal will never be the EU's choice, but we all have to be ready for all scenarios," Barnier wrote. The EU had to be ready for  Johnson giving "priority" to planning for a no-deal exit, "partly to heap pressure on the unity" on the remaining 27 member states, he added.

Current President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed Barnier's comments he spoke with the new British premier on Thursday. "President Juncker listened to what Prime Minister Johnson had to say, reiterating the EU's position that the Withdrawal Agreement is the best and only agreement possible — in line with the European Council guidelines," Juncker's spokeswoman said after the telephone conversation.

"President Juncker reiterated that the Commission remains available over the coming weeks should the United Kingdom wish to hold talks and clarify its position in more detail," she said.

A spokesman for Johnson's office said the prime minister had told Juncker the backstop would have to be abolished to avoid a no-deal Brexit. Johnson also stated that the withdrawal agreement made between Prime Minister Theresa May and the US would not pass parliament in its current form.

Britain-EU Relations: EU negotiator Michel Barnier calls Boris Johnson′s Brexit stance ′unacceptable′ | News | DW | 25.07.2019

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The Netherlands - Cinema: Rutger Hauer, star of Blade Runner, dies aged 75 - by Andrew Pulver

Rutger Hauer

Rutger Hauer, the Dutch actor best known for his role as android Roy Batty in seminal sci-fi film Blade Runner, died at the age of 75. His website announced the news, saying that Hauer had died on Friday “after a very short illness… Rutger passed away peacefully at his Dutch home”.

Director Guillermo del Toro was among those paying tribute, calling him “an intense, deep, genuine and magnetic actor that brought truth, power and beauty to his films”.

Hauer’s appearance as the blond-haired “replicant” Batty in Ridley Scott’s 1982 film remained his signature, with Hauer writing much of the dialogue for his memorable final speech.

Dutch Actor Rutger Hauer, star of Blade Runner, dies aged 75 | Film | The Guardian

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Britain - EU relations: EU welcomes Johnson by rebuffing his Brexit plans - by Eszter Zalan

The EU has welcomed Boris Johnson, the next UK prime minister, with scepticism as the new Conservative leader promised his party peers to deliver Brexit by the end of October.

The former mayor of London and ex-foreign minister Johnson won 66 percent of the votes in the Conservative party leadership race to succeed Theresa May, against foreign minister Jeremy Hunt, party officials announced on Tuesday (23 July).

French president Emmanuel Macron and the next president of the EU commission, Ursula von der Leyen, immediately congratulated Johnson, and said they looked forward to constructive talks with him.

"I'm looking forward to having a good working relationship with him," von der Leyen told a joint news conference with Macron in Paris.

"We have the duty to deliver something which is good for people in Europe and in the UK," she said.

Von der Leyen has earlier stated that she would be open to an extension of the Brexit deadline, currently 31 October, but that would have to be decided by EU leaders at their summit in mid-October.

While EU leaders want to avoid a no-deal Brexit, most of them are frustrated with the ongoing political crisis in the UK.

Read more at: EU welcomes Johnson by rebuffing his Brexit plans

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EUROVISION SONG COMPETION: Rotterdam and Maastricht remain in the running to host 2020 song festival

Read full report at:: 

https://nltimes.nl/2019/07/17/rotterdam-maastricht-still-running-host-eurovision-song-competition

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Middle East Crises - Consequences of the Trump Administration dysfunctional Middle East policy: U.S. military has begun reoccupying Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia - by Courtney Kube

"In June the U.S. military began moving equipment and hundreds of troops back to a military base in Saudi Arabia that the U.S. deserted more than 15 years ago, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the deployment.

Over the coming weeks the deployment to Prince Sultan Air Base, intended to counter the threat from Iran, will grow to include fighter jets and Patriot long-range missile defense systems, the officials said. The Patriots have already arrived at the base and should be operational in mid-July, while the aircraft are expected to arrive in August.

Several hundred U.S. service members are already on site preparing the facility south of Riyadh, which is controlled by the Royal Saudi Air Force, a number that will grown to more than 500 after the arrival of an air squadron.

The US officials said the deployment focuses on defensive capabilities, with Patriot batteries for missile defense and the fighter jets intended to defend U.S. forces on the ground. But they acknowledged the aircraft could be used offensively as well."

Note EU-Digest:  It seems that the wheels are coming off the Trump's Administration dysfunctional Middle East foreign policy, which, unfortunately, is getting very little in-depth scrutiny, by either the Press, or government sources, specially those in Europe. 

The fact is that the US, by unilaterally getting out of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany, and the EU, back in 2015, is the direct cause of the present crisis in the Middle East.  

Read more: U.S. military has begun reoccupying Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia

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Iran-US relations:Trump Blew Up The Iran Nuclear Deal. Now He Wants Allies To Help Him Get An Iran Nuclear Deal. - by S.V. Date

Having estranged allies with threats and false accusations, President Donald Trump now faces dealing with the latest crisis he has generated, Iran, without any allies at all.

Trump prepares to meet Thursday and Friday with leaders of the world’s largest industrial economies at the G-20 summit in Japan with the idea, according to the White House, of gaining their cooperation in lowering tensions with Iran. “This is a chance for the president to engage with a number of different international leaders, among our closest partners and allies, to obtain their support and to have discussions about how we can encourage Iran to enter into negotiations,” a senior administration official said this week on condition of anonymity.

Read more :Trump Blew Up The Iran Nuclear Deal. Now He Wants Allies To Help Him Get An Iran Nuclear Deal. | HuffPost

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Global Economy: Central Bankers Are Sick of Rescuing the World Economy Alone - by William Horobin and Simon Kennedy

Global central bankers are again in the driving seat when it comes to propping up the world economy, but many are demanding governments join them in the rescue effort.

Amid slowing global growth, the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and perhaps even the Bank of Japan are all set to ease monetary policy in coming months. But with less room to act than in the past, their leaders are telling politicians they will need to assist if a downturn takes hold.

The pressure could be applied in person on Wednesday when central bankers and finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations meet for talks north of Paris. They convene at a hazardous juncture for the global economy, as an unpredictable trade war risks precipitating a deeper downturn, and some bond markets hint at a growing possibility of a recession.

G-7 host nation France may even offer a reason to take note. President Emmanuel Macron’s 17 billion euros ($19.2 billion) of support for consumers in response to the Yellow Vests protests may have been contrary to his deficit-reduction mantra, but is proving fortuitous amid a global slowdown. French growth in 2019 is expected to outpace the euro-area average for the first time in six years.

“We are seeing political risks rising everywhere, so addressing the lack of growth that benefits all is quite urgent,” said Laurence Boone, chief economist at the OECD. “That cannot be achieved only through monetary policy.”
 
France’s GDP is expected to be more resilient than peers this year.

While Powell of the US has warned the U.S. fiscal position is unsustainable in the long-run, he said last week it’s “not a good thing to have monetary policy being the main game in town.”

The U.S. got a boost in 2018 from President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion tax overhaul, but that effect is fading.

Read more at: Central Bankers Are Sick of Rescuing the World Economy Alone - Bloomberg

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