Tag Archives: EU

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EU Summit: Europe Moves Towards a Banking Union

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This week leaders from across Europe have been meeting to discuss the continued crisis across the eurozone. The talks have centred around increasing integration of the eurozone banking sector. The talks have been hailed as a success by French President Francois Hollande, and other European leaders, after agreement was reached as to increasing integration of the banking system. The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) will be put it place by January 1st 2013, and will make it possible for the new European Stability Mechanism to be used recapitalise European banks, without increasing sovereign debt. The SSM is thought to be the first step towards a full banking union across the eurozone.

This is particularly important for Spain, who’s banks are still a major cause for concern, and many hope they will be able to hold out until the SSM is in place.

Germany has voiced concerns over the speed of banking integration, warning that the road map for the setting up of the SSM may not be long enough, due to the complex legal issues that have to be worked through.

The UK is also uneasy about the prospect of a full banking union within the eurozone. Although Britain are not part of the euro, the City of London by far has the largest banking sector in Europe, and it is feared that in any future decisions about financial regulation the UK will be outvoted.

However, the Summit was overshadowed by the continuing chaos in Greece, with fresh anti-austerity protests, in which a man died. Greece could run out of money by the end of November. The EU are awaiting a key report from the “troika” of international lenders – the ECB, European Commission and International Monetary Fund. The findings of the report will be key in deciding whether or not to give Greece any more money.

News

The European Union Have Been Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

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The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the European Union, the move has left many baffled. The committee who decides on the winners of the Nobel Prize said it was recognising the work the EU has done to transform Europe from a continent of war, to one of peace.

However, many have been quick to point out the peace of Europe, after the Second World War, was not won by the EU; but by the work of Britain, America and even Russia- and later by NATO – with America picking up much of the bill. Within Germany itself the nation transformed itself out of the devastation left by Hitler to reject fascism and build a peaceful society and a robust economy.

The awarding of the prize to the EU has caused further anger because of the deep divisions that exist across the continent at this time. As violent riots erupt across European cities, and many see the actions of the EU to be robbing nation states of their democratic rights, questions have been asked as to why the EU is worthy of this accolade.

The award was all the more surprising given the Nobel Prize committee are based in Norway, one of the few European countries not to be a member of the EU. However, it has now emerged the most eurosceptic member of the committee, Aagot Valle, was ill this week, and therefore not part of the decision. Had Valle been present he would have almost certainly vetoed the decision. The committee now has questions to answer as to it’s political ethics in awarding the prize to the EU.

“The award of the prize will stir a massive controversy in Norway,” Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Oslo-based Peace Research Institute, told Reuters on Friday. “Many politicians here would see this as undue meddling in the internal affairs of Norway by the Nobel Committee.”

This is not the first time the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded controversially. In 2009 Barak Obama was given the prize, and in 1994 Yasser Arafat.

News

Angela Merkel recoils from Greek showdown on Spain contagion fears – Telegraph

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Angela Merkel recoils from Greek showdown on Spain contagion fears – Telegraph.

Angel Merkel

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been visiting Athens today, for the first time in three years. She comes at a time when Greece is looking for the next €31.5bn tranche of aid. Without the aid Greece will run out of money by the end of November. Recent figures show Greece has been in recession for 5 years, it’s economy has shrunk by 22%, and youth unemployment is currently at 55%.

Mrs Merkel was met with angry protestors and required 6,000 police officers to protect her. Greeks, and the Greek media, greeted her with Nazi insults.

Both the EU and IMF have been insistent that Greece steps up austerity measures in order to receive the money. However, Mrs Merkel came to Athens with a softer tone than Athens has previously heard.

There has been mounting pressure on Germany not to allow Greece to default, thus forcing her out of the eurozone. If Greece were to exit, then Spain would likely follow, and the euro would break up. Also tougher austerity measures could result in the collapse of the pro-Europe ruling coalition. If the Greek government collapses it would likely be replaced by either a far-right or far-left alternative. That could destabilise the entire region, affecting the Balkan region and Turkey, something no one wants to see.

It is likely Greece will receive the next instalment of money, however the €31.5bn will only keep Greece afloat a few more months. And as time passes both Spain and Portugal are edging closer to requiring more bailouts.

News

Europe’s a soft touch for the world’s most dangerous terrorist – Telegraph

Europe’s a soft touch for the world’s most dangerous terrorist – Telegraph.

The world’s most dangerous man is an Iranian, and the head of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. He is Qassem Suleimani. He works closely with Hizbollah and has mastermind mass murder in dozens of countries.

If Iran are allowed to build a nuclear device, it is one Suleimani and his terrorist groups will have access to.

However, in Europe Hizbollah has charitable status. The European Union does not recognise Hizbollah as a terrorist organisation. Therefore, Hizbollah are able raise millions in Europe and recruit in European universities. When confronted with this, EU officials asked for the “tangible evidence” for Hizbollah’s terrorist activities.

The head of Hizbollah has admitted that if they were placed on the European terrorist list it would “destroy Hizbollah”, by drying up their finances.

News

Christians fight for rights at work in European court – Home News – UK – The Independent

Christians fight for rights at work in European court – Home News – UK – The Independent.

Four Christians who faced disciplinary action in their respective jobs have taken their cases to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to argue their cases.

Two of the cases involve the right to wear crosses at work, another involves a marriage counsellor who lost his job after expressing reluctance at giving sex therapy to gay couples, and the final case, a registrar who would not perform civil partnerships for same-sex couples.

The four have delivered their cases to the court, arguing their right to religious freedom is a stake. The landmark case will have consequences for future cases in the UK, and Europe.

Furthermore, a top British QC has said that Christians should, “leave their beliefs at home or get another job”. However, some Christians feel there is a different set of standards for Muslims, with employers adapting dress codes to accommodate the headscarf for female employees, for example.

The European Court is expected to give it’s verdict shortly.

News

EU funding Orwellian artificial intelligence plan to monitor public for “abnormal behaviour” – Telegraph

EU funding Orwellian artificial intelligence plan to monitor public for “abnormal behaviour” – Telegraph.

The European Union has undertaken a five year research program to develop computer programmes which will be able to profile entire nations. “Project Indect” will use artificial intelligence to build “agents” capable of detecting “abnormal behaviour” on the internet.

Project Indect’s website says its main objectives include “to develop a platform for the registration and exchange of operational data, acquisition of multimedia content, intelligent processing of all information and automatic detection of threats and recognition of abnormal behaviour or violence”.

It talks of the “construction of agents assigned to continuous and automatic monitoring of public resources such as: web sites, discussion forums, usenet groups, file servers, p2p [peer-to-peer] networks as well as individual computer systems, building an internet-based intelligence gathering system, both active and passive”.

Project Indect has received nearly £10 million in funding from the British taxpayer, and has many civil liberty groups worried. With Shami Chakrabarti of the human rights group ‘Liberty’ describing such mass surveillance of a country a “sinister step”, but doing so on a European scale “positively chilling”.

News

EU leaders seek to avert euro collapse at key summit – EUROZONE – FRANCE 24

EU leaders seek to avert euro collapse at key summit – EUROZONE – FRANCE 24.

As the European Union summit begins, the ongoing crisis will dominate talks. Ahead of the summit Angela Merkel has already ruled out the introduction of Eurobonds, saying that the appropriate measures are not in place for such a move.

Europe appears more divided than ever, with Spain and Italy calling for EU help to bring down their high borrowing costs; and Angela Merkel dismissing their calls for assistance.

The German’s are worried at French calls for debt polling, instead of focusing of debt reduction. Angela Merkel said, “I fear that at the summit we will talk too much about all these ideas for joint liability and too little about improved controls and structural measures,” 

News

Could France Need a Bail-Out?

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The former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has spoken ahead of next week’s G20 summit in Mexico, about the prospect of a required bailout for Italy and France. Gordon Brown has called for the G20 to begin to draw up a “concerted global action plan” to deal with the crisis.

This comes after German Chancellor Angela Merkel, attacked the French President Francois Hollande for allowing the French economy to stall. She also echoed Mr Brown’s comments, warning that Hollande’s socialist policies could lead to France being enveloped by the debt crisis.

Last year, when officials began to speak of the contagion spreading to Italy and Spain, no solid measures were put in place, and now we are on the brink of Spain requiring a full bail-out (the bailout currently under consideration is only to bailout their struggling banking system). Spain and Italy were both labelled at the time as “too big to fail”.  At that time the thought of a French bailout was unthinkable.

However, it is expected that the summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, will see world leaders continuing to pressure Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to Eurobonds. Mrs Merkel has left Germany for the summit, remaining steadfast in her tough austerity stance – in the face of French opposition from Francois Hollande, and with President Obama also backing the new French President.

 

News

Could the Euro Break Up?

Markets continue to tumble across the globe, as the Euro crisis deepens. Since the election in Greece, no new coalition government has been formed, so no agreement reached on the austerity cuts to satisfy agreements with euro partners. The German Chancellor has now told Greece, if they do not stick to their bailout agreements, they will be expelled from the Euro.

In Greece 70% voted for parties against the EU-IMF imposed austerity, but 69% of Greeks want to remain in the Euro. A leaked report has shown that Germany are drawing up plans for a Greek exit from the Euro.

But this has significant dangers:

  •  If Greece goes – will Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland want to follow?
  • What happens to the greek debt? It’s in Euro’s not drachma, ….Greece’s creditors would loose billions.
  • The European banking system is already on it’s knees, Greece’s exit could see major banks across Europe collapse.
News

EU and IMF Preparing for a Greek Exist

As the crisis in Greece continues, EU leaders and officials from the IMF, are publicly talking about the possibility of Greece leaving the Euro.
Before now, this was said to be unthinkable.

But as the crisis deepens an exit is looking more likely despite the high financial costs.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has called on the Greece to hold a referendum on the Euro.

Despite the Greek people voting against EU-IMF austerity in the elections, polls still show about 70% of the country want to remain in the Euro.

However, Germany have made it clear, to remain in the Euro, they have to stick to their austerity obligations.

Also in Europe, Ireland’s banks are still struggling and it’s thought Ireland will soon need a second bail-out.

News

European Union to Bring New Data Protection Laws

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The EU has passed new laws which will significantly improve data protection for individuals online. The web has highlighted many data protection issues, and these will only increase. In the past, Facebook has come under attack for not being careful enough with it’s users personal information, and the case of Sony, when 77 million customers had their personal information stolen by hackers, made it very real what can happen to your personal data when mishandled.

The new laws will not only impose heavy penalties on those who breach the new rules, but also give individuals new rights as well, including the “right to be forgotten”.

As we increasingly use cloud technology and have our personal details stored all over the world in massive servers, we need to know those who control this information are doing so in a safe and responsible manner.

 

News

European Summit December 8th

December 8th will see the European Union Summit meet again in Brussels. Top of the agenda will be the Euro Crisis. This will be a crucial meeting, and the heads of state have to come up with a plan to quickly forge a way through the economic woes of Europe.

In their last summit they came up with the plan for a €1 trillion bailout fund, since then they have been unable to secure investment to the fund. Furthermore, the crisis has deepened with the other measures making little impact, apart from buying a little time. Therefore, this month’s summit is all the more important. Top of the agenda will be the formation of some sort of fiscal union, but the Germans are still refusing to allow the creation of Eurobonds or the ECB to become lender of last resort. However, they are insisting on “total oversight” of any new fiscal union. For example, already the Irish Prime Minister this week discovered the German Bundstag have obtained copies of the Irish budget and are closely studying it, even before the Irish legislators have seen it. What the German’s are asking for in return for the fiscal union, is unprecedented power over the Eurozone… do you think Greeks and Italians etc will happily sit back and allow Berlin to control their public finances?

Obama is pressing Cameron to bash German and French heads together to come up with the goods, and the Bank of England’s governor has said failure to do so would result in a worse financial crash than the 1930’s. As the Telegraph says, “The 1930’s saw mass unemployment and financial calamity, with stock markets losing 90 per cent of their value. More ominously still, 1930-39 was the decade when mainstream politicians lost control of events, when the Nazi’s rose to power and the far Right took charge in Europe. By the end of the decade the world was at war, and the Holocaust – the greatest crime in human history – was about to begin in earnest.” In the natural, the financial chaos of the 1930s helped Hitler win power in Germany, as he promised them prosperity and strength. The failure of the Euro will have far wider implications on the world than we could ever think or imagine.

Europe needs the mantle on Prophet TV at this time. In the past, low support has hampered the missions Prophet TV has carried out into Europe, so please support the work of God in Europe at this crucial time.

 

News

The Death of the Euro?

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The Euro crisis is thought to be entering it’s most critical phase. A toxic mix is contributing to a complete loss of confidence in the Euro as a currency, and the policy makers involved in it’s management.

Countries across Europe are beginning to see their borrowing costs rise, as fear spreads from nation to nation. Italy and Spain are both in the danger zone, and France has received repeated warnings that their credit rating is at risk of being cut. Now, what many believed to be unthinkable, Germany is struggling to attract investors on the bond market.

The Euro bailout deal, looks more and more uncertain, as Europe struggles to raise the €1 trillion it requires for it’s bailout fund. Logically, you do not need to be an economist to know Europe is not a sound investment at present.

However, this is beginning to look like end game. UK banks are now openly making plans for the biggest default in history, and the unorderly break up of the Eurozone. American investors are trying to take money out of Europe as quickly and decently as they can. British embassies in Eurozone nations, have even been told to start preparations to help Britons caught up in riots, in the wake of the Euro collapse. Even the lethargic Europhiles, who have seemed to be one step behind this entire crisis, are beginning to wake up to the fact they have very little time and few options.

Although most believe the politicians and Eurocrates will seek to do all they can to ensure the survival of the Euro, they may have ran out of time, thanks to the rapidly increasing investor panic, the worsening economic outlook, the perceived refusal of the Germans to accept a fiscal union (although lessing this to many of the other Eurozone nations may prove highly problematic) and the rejection by the European Central Bank (ECB) to act as lender of last resort.

It would take very little to cause the Euro to collapse within weeks, rather than months. However, the big test will come in January when Italy needs to raise € 30 billion.  If it cannot do so, then Italy will default. With the fear in Europe that the business sector has dried up, and 2012 looks like there will be a deep recession throughout Europe, fuelled by the austerity measures which are already crippling Greece’s economy.

Even at this eleventh hour, there is still a little hope. Policy makers need clear vision, and wisdom if Europe is to find her way through this crisis. Support Prophet TV so we can run missions into Europe. It will be anarchy if it all collapses, and not only Europe will be affected but the whole of the western economy including the USA.

 

News

EU Threatens To Sue The UK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=141aL2yfm-s

November 2011

The European Union has threatened to sue the UK if the British government do not  relax their benefit rules. Currently EU nationals must pass a “right to reside” test in order to claim the generous welfare benefits available. The EU argues that the UK criteria is too tough and ought to come in line with the more generous EU rules.

For many years now, there has been an open border system in operation between the member states of the European Union, and this has made travel between the nations readily accessible. As the EU has expanded in recent years, to allow less affluent nations to enter, nations like the UK have been anxious to stem the tide of EU wide immigration.

When Poland joined the EU in 2004, over 600,000 Polish economic migrants came to the UK. This massive wave of immigration was not supported in improvements to health care provision and school places. As a consequence some areas are struggling to cope with the massive influx of people seeking to access services.

As a consequence, the UK government has sought to limit EU immigration, especially since other eastern European nations have become members. If the EU is successful in changing the UK rules, it will cost the UK government an extra £2.5 billion, at a time when the government is seeking to drastically reduce the nations welfare bill.

The British government are incensed by this interference from Brussels, with the Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, saying “These new proposals pose a fundamental challenge to the UK’s social contract. They could mean the British taxpayer paying out over £2 billion extra a year in benefits to people who have no connection to our country and who have never paid-in a penny in tax.

“This threatens to break the vital link which should exist between taxpayers and their own government.” He added: “I sense this is part of a wider movement, coming in the same week as the proposals for a financial transactions tax across Europe, which threatens to punish UK banks by decreasing their competitiveness abroad.”

Brussels have given the UK two months to comply, or the nation will be taken to the European Court, although Britain has been supported by France and Germany in opposing this move.