European Union

Despite their excessive budget deficits the EU Commission has decided not to fine Spain and Portugal, pointing to the difficult economic situation in these countries and widespread Euroscepticism. Punishment alone achieves nothing, some commentators stress, backing the Commission's decision. Others point out that the two countries are now under huge pressure to reach their targets.

General : Only death and taxes are certain in life - as the cliché goes - but that doesn't mean you have to like either. In the case of taxes, it's made worse by not everyone paying their fair share. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament, 75% of all Europeans believe the EU should do more to fight tax fraud. Read on to find what the Parliament is currently working on to address the issue.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Only death and taxes are certain in life - as the cliché goes - but that doesn't mean you have to like either. In the case of taxes, it's made worse by not everyone paying their fair share. According to the latest Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the European Parliament, 75% of all Europeans believe the EU should do more to fight tax fraud. Read on to find what the Parliament is currently working on to address the issue.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

JZ
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Member State that issued a European arrest warrant is required to consider, for the purposes of deducting the period of detention served in the executing Member State, whether the measures taken against the person concerned in the executing State have the effect of depriving a person of liberty

Tomana and Others v Council and Commission
External relations
The Court of Justice confirms the restrictive measures imposed on Johannes Tomana, Attorney-General of Zimbabwe, and 120 other individuals and companies in Zimbabwe

The scourge of the City of London, the Frenchman who sought to regulate the British financial services industry piece by piece, the Brussels commissioner who had the former Bank of England governor banging on his desk has returned.

The European Commission’s announcement yesterday that Michel Barnier is to lead its Brexit negotiation team was, in a town notorious for leaks, a genuine surprise. In Britain, his return has been received coolly by the government, and has widely been seen as a provocation. Remember also that Barnier has form with David Davis, Britain’s Brexit minister; the FT here looks at their first run-in as Europe ministers in the mid-1990s.

But who really is Michael Barnier? And what clues can be drawn from his past in Brussels to guide us about how he will approach this job?

Read more

General : Parliament's Facebook page is one of the most popular platforms for people to follow what MEPs are working on. More than two million people use it to discover the latest news and discuss the latest issues. But what are they interested in the most? Read on as we reveal the five most popular Facebook post of the first six months of 2016.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : Parliament's Facebook page is one of the most popular platforms for people to follow what MEPs are working on. More than two million people use it to discover the latest news and discuss the latest issues. But what are they interested in the most? Read on as we reveal the five most popular Facebook post of the first six months of 2016.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

"On 26 July 2016, Mrs. Kirsi Henriksson, a senior diplomat from Finland, was appointed Head of the European Union mission in Niger, EUCAP Sahel Niger. She will take up her duties on 1 September 2016. She will replace Mr Filip de Ceuninck who had been in the position since 2013.

EUCAP Sahel Niger was launched in 2012 to support capacity building of the Nigerien security actors. The mission provides advice and training to support the Nigerien authorities in strengthening their security capabilities. It contributes to the development of an integrated, coherent, sustainable, and human rights-based approach among the various Nigerien security agencies in the fight against terrorism and organised crime. On 18 July 2016 its mandate was amended to also assist the Nigerien central and local authorities as well as the security forces in developing policies, techniques and procedures to better control and combat irregular migration.

Since 2014, Ms Henriksson has been the Deputy Head of Mission for EUCAP Sahel Mali. She has a background both from civilian CSDP, Crisis Management Centre Finland, Ministry of Interior and from academia. She has previously held positions such as: Acting Chief of Staff EUBAM Libya (May-Aug 2014); Head of Planning and Evaluation, EUBAM Libya (2014); Planning and Evaluation Officer, EUBAM Libya (2013-2014); Rule of Law expert, Evaluation and Best Practice Officer, EUJUST LEX Iraq (2010-2011); Head of Development, Crisis Management Center Finland (CMC Finland), Ministry of the Interior (MoI) Research CMC Finland, MoI (2007); Researcher and lecturer at the Department of History and Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, University of Tampere, Finland (1996-2006). She speaks Finnish, English, French, Swedish, German, and has a basic knowledge of Arabic.

The decision was taken by the Political and Security Committee."

(European Council - Press Release)

Tag: EUCAP Sahel NigerKirsi Henriksson

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The man who killed a priest in a small village of Normandy was under police electronic surveillance during the assault.

France woke up to another terrorist attack in a small town in Normandy on Tuesday, but attention is now focusing on one of the two assailants of the brutal assault.

who and why

Two assailant were shot dead by the police, but not before they had forced an 85-year old priest on his knees and slit the throat.

According to one of the nuns that the two terrorists used as human shield, Sister Danielle, the two men ritualized and recorded the murder.

The killing of Father Jacques Hamel in the small town of Rouvray near Rouen, shocked France: neither the place nor the target seemed likely.

Major urban centers seemed the target of choice.

Attention is now on the profile of the assailants and the possible political reactions.

The murderer of Father Hamel was not only well-known to authorities but actually fitted with an electronic tag at the time of the attack. He was the 19-year old Adel Kermiche. His accomplice was his 17-year old brother.

The brothers were local and the elder brother had been arrested trying to make his way to fight for the Islamic State in Syria.

Denounced by his family, he was first arrested in Germany in March 2015, when he was placed under judicial supervision. Then he tried again via Turkey in May 2015, when he was again detained and returned to France.

He was released in March 2016 on condition he wore an electronic tag and remain at home, except for week hours from 08.00 to 12.30. The attack occurred at 09.00, local time.

The so-called “news agency” of IS (Amaq) claimed responsibility for the attack.

political reactions

Reactions are mixed.

On the one hand, the regional Imam, Mohammad Karabila, denounced the “odious act” of a man he called “my friend”; the Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi. Rouen’s Catholic archbishop, Dominique Lebrun, called for unity and common prayer. President Hollande is to lead on Wednesday an interfaith meeting; he warned on Tuesday that the target of terrorism is democracy itself and called for unity.

On the other hand, the former President and current candidate Nicolas Sarkozy called for a “merciless” reaction, admonishing the Socialist government for being soft on its fight against terrorism. “There is no more time to be wasted,” Sarkozy said. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen also bided for a hardline position, suggesting mainstream parties failed on security.

(Reuters, AFP, AP, BBC, DW, France 24,)

The post The “priest killer” of Normandy was under electronic surveillance appeared first on New Europe.

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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s prime minister vowed to defend the country’s sovereignty in the South China Sea as he was re-elected Tuesday by the rubber-stamp National Assembly.

In his acceptance speech broadcast live on state television, Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on parties to respect and comply with international law and not to further complicate the situation.

“We must resolutely and firmly defend our independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, be determined to defend Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea and call on parties to respect and comply with international law and not to further complicate the situation,” Phuc said referring to the South China Sea in Vietnamese term.

An international tribunal two weeks ago rejected China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea in a case initiated by the Philippines. Vietnam is among the other claimants in the disputed area. China is ignoring the ruling, saying The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has no authority in the matter.

The 62-year-old Phuc won 485 votes from 494 assembly deputies elected in the general elections in May, after becoming prime minister in a vote of the old assembly in April.

In addition to the sea dispute, Phuc’s government faces a serious budget deficit, soaring public debt, an inefficient state economic sector and the worst drought in nearly a century in the southern Mekong Delta, the country’s rice bowl.

But Le Hong Hiep, a research fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute that studies Southeast Asia, said Phuc has surprised many observers and his critics by his pro-business attitude and down-to-earth approach in managing the economy.

“From his interventions to facilitate businesses to his comments on various economic issues, he has demonstrated that he is an active, capable and reform-minded leader that investors can rely on,” Hiep said in an email.

In his speech, Phuc also pledged to speed up reforms, fight corruption and build a transparent and accountable government.

Hiep said the current conditions of the economy force Phuc and his government to explore more reforms to maintain economic growth,

“Vietnam has reached the point of no return, where the government can’t afford to delay the much-needed reforms forever, especially regarding SOEs,” Hiep said referring to reforming the state-owned enterprises which have been slow when only small portions of shares of many major state companies were sold.

Economist Pham Chi Lan said Phuc has initiated many policies to facilitate businesses, but much more needs to be done to push his government agencies to implement them.

“Local and foreign experts have all recommended specific solutions … it’s now time to implement them,” she said “But it requires (the government) to go beyond itself.”

The assembly, with 96 percent of deputies being members of the Communist Party, is scheduled to approve Phuc’s 27-member cabinet before wrapping up its first session on Friday.

The post Re-elected Vietnam prime minister vows to defend sovereignty appeared first on New Europe.