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

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn+var sbFBAPPID = '457641991045477';

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.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn+var sbFBAPPID = '457641991045477';

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.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn+var sbFBAPPID = '457641991045477';

BANGKOK (AP) — The niece of an army conscript who was tortured to death by soldiers was arrested Tuesday on a complaint filed by the Thai military over her internet postings.

Naritsarawan Kaewnopparat last year had posted photos of her uncle’s body and information about the torture he endured. She was arrested at her workplace in Bangkok on charges of criminal defamation and violating the Computer Crime Act.

Military personnel are rarely prosecuted for human rights abuses or other crimes in Thailand, and the military government that seized power in May 2014 has clamped down on free speech.

Naritsarawan won 7 million baht ($200,000) compensation in a malfeasance suit against the army, the defense ministry and the prime minister’s office, but the actual perpetrators went unpunished.

The army’s own investigation concluded Wichian Puaksorn was tortured by about 10 soldiers as punishment when he tried to run away a second time from his camp in the southern province of Narathiwat in June 2011. It said a first lieutenant gave the order and that Wichian was kicked, beaten and dragged across concrete; salt was rubbed in his wounds before he was wrapped in a sheet and beaten again.

“Naritsarawan acted as a representative and advocate in the place of her late uncle’s mother,” said Preeda Nakphew, an attorney for the Cross Cultural Foundation advocacy group. “She fought his case in court and was already paid compensation for his death, so it is unclear as to why the police are acting on this arrest warrant now.”

In a separate case, three human rights activists who were tried on similar charges after being sued by the army will hear the court’s verdict on Wednesday. The charges involve a report the three issued alleging torture by security forces in Thailand’s southern provinces, where a Muslim insurgency has lasted more than a decade. They face the prospect of five years behind bars and a fine of $4,800.

Amnesty International called for Thai authorities to drop the charges and instead investigate the serious allegations the activists’ report raised. “It is the state’s duty to protect human rights activists, not to shield security forces from accountability,” said Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty in a press release.

The report issued in February described acts of torture in the southern provinces as systematic and said that in spite of complaints and campaigns by victims and rights organizations, “the state has not taken any significant action to prevent and address torture.”

Government spokesman Winthai Suvaree said in response to their report that there was no evidence to back allegations of torture.

The post Niece of Thai army torture victim sued for internet postings appeared first on New Europe.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on LinkedIn+var sbFBAPPID = '457641991045477';

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan half-brother of President Barack Obama said Tuesday he supports Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and not the candidate his brother has endorsed, Hillary Clinton.

Malik Obama told The Associated Press he thinks Trump has a lot of energy and is very straightforward.

“Clinton is not honest because she says that she did not reveal any classified information, and she did. And I don’t see that kind of person being the president of the United States,” he said.

Also, “I do not support same-sex marriage,” he said. “I am Muslim, it’s something God would not approve. The Republican Party doesn’t stand for that.”

Malik Obama also expressed disappointment that his half-brother hasn’t done more to support his Kenyan family and the country. The president’s father was Kenyan.

“I am upset and disillusioned. When he became president there was a lot of excitement and there was a lot of hope that he would do many things for us and the country,” he said. “I don’t think he has accomplished that.”

Trump has tweeted his surprise at Malik Obama’s stance: “Was probably treated badly by president – like everybody else!”

Malik Obama, 58, stirred up controversy in 2010 when he took a teenager as his third wife. He ran for governor in his home county of Siaya in 2013 and lost by a landslide. He was unhappy that his half-brother did not endorse him.

The father of President Obama and Malik Obama died in a car crash in 1982, leaving three wives, six sons and a daughter. All his children except Malik and the youngest, George Obama, live in Britain or the United States.

The post Obama’s Kenyan half-brother says he supports Donald Trump appeared first on New Europe.