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The refugee crisis that hit Europe in 2014 has reinforced anti-Islamic sentiments across EU member states. Islamophobia has now become a matter of everyday politics and populist leaders are investing heavily on this issue. Islamophobia, however, is not a new phenomenon in Europe. Some electorally successful political parties owe their luck to the exploitation of the widespread hatred against Muslims and their religion. In France and the Netherlands, for instance, islamophobia is an old phenomenon and one that is well-rooted in society.

But the current refugee crisis has also revealed that the dangers associated with Islam are in actuality part of a very well presented narrative. Populists in many EU member states, including those that were not obliged to take in considerable numbers of Syrians or other Muslim asylum-seekers, see an Islamic threat in the faces of the refugees.

Polish nationalists, for instance, worried their Christian identity was at stake when they learned that their country, with a population of 38 million, was slated to receive several thousand Muslim refugees. Slovaks, Hungarians and Czechs were also quick to react against any obligation to take in non-Christian refugees.

These anti-Muslim fanatics described themselves as ‘good patriots’ and ‘good Christians’. It became clear that local politicians’ rhetoric is not restricted to politics, but very often crosses into theology.

A few days ago, for example, one of the leaders of Germany’s Alternative of Germany (AfD) – a Europhobic party – argued that Islam cannot exist in harmony with democracy and with European values. The AfD leader said: “Islam is in itself a political ideology that is not compatible with the basic law”. Meanwhile, in Poland there were aggressive reactions against Pope Francis’ visit to the Greek island of Lesbos where he met with refugees.  In the Netherlands, the far-right party has repeatedly called for the closure of all mosques.

There are also countless other similar declarations against Islam being made by populist politicians and there are acts of aggression against Muslims in many EU member states.

It is obvious that populists either don’t realise the political dangers of their words and actions, or they don’t care as long as it serves to their potential electoral advantage.

But Islamophobia is, at the same time, a political risk and a direct threat to the core European values. There are millions of European citizens who are Muslim. Just like there are other Europeans who believe in other religions.   There are Europeans who are Muslim because their ethnic or religious groups are in Europe even before many modern states were born. Poland, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus, for instance, have thousands of citizens who are of the Muslim faith.

So why should we question their European identity? Why should we make them feel rejected by the entire European community, which is just as much theirs as it is ours?   

There are also millions of European citizens who are second or third generation immigrant Muslims. Their fathers or grandfathers arrived in Europe and became sincere and devoted citizens. They were also part of the economic and industrial revival of many EU states, including Germany, France, Belgium and Sweden. So why should we deny them what they acquired over generations? The political risk of Islamophobia is great. It raises a deep and unbridgeable divide among Europeans.

Islamophobia and the populists who exploit this phenomenon, however, are directly rejecting the core European value of tolerance. During the making of European Union, religious freedom, respect for every religion, was a question of principle. And it is still one of the key pillars of European culture.

Our dark past, which is riddled with crimes against humanity based on religious principles, should alert us of the lurking dangers. This is why the vulgar and unprincipled use and abuse of Islamophobia by modern populists must be condemned as anti-European.

The post The dangerous path of Islamophobia appeared first on New Europe.

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Demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and respected by the European Institutions, contingency measures are additional measures that should be legislated in such a way as to allow for their automatic activation and execution.

“The contingency measures need to be credible, legislated up front, automatic and be based on objective factors, which will trigger these contingent measures,” said Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem. He was speaking after the April 29 Eurogroup meeting in Amsterdam that ended in agreement about the need to legislate such measures.

However, speaking just a few minutes after Dijsselbloem, Greece’s Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos explained that Greece cannot pass such measures for the simple reason that Greek legislation does not allow for this.

However, Greece has already legislated the “zero deficit clause” on Social Security Funds. This is a type of contingency measure that would allow Social Security Funds to be viable, by pulling a red line to deficits.

But the implementation of this measure has been technically postponed by the Syriza-Anel coalition government. The provision, however, returned in Greece’s third Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the third bailout programme.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has supported the Greek government’s view that there was no need to legislate any contingency measures in the beginning. The government argued that if the other Institutions asked Greece to do so in order to remain in the programme – this goes to the IMF’s side – they wouldn’t leave the table. 

European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici had told reporters in Brussels before the Eurogroup meeting date was finalised that creditors must respect Greek law, which forbids legislating up front on future developments. “It is not necessary to have a precise and detailed set of measures, but a mechanism that shows precisely how such measures will be taken if this is judged necessary,” he said.

On the contingency package issues, he said: “The EU wants IMF on board at the programme.”

“We are 99 % there on the first package. As for the contingency mechanism, which, in our view, is not really justified by data, but politically necessary, let’s work on that,” he said referring to the 3% cuts on Greek GDP package. The contingency measures refer to demands to cut a further €3.6bn in future.

The question now is whether time is an issue or if the Greek government and the other Institutions just give more time? The answer to this question is no. Moscovici clarified that a final deal can “on no account wait until July,” as it is well understood that Greece needs a bailout package instalment in order to repay debts.

Several months ago, the Greek side had referred to May as a closing date as “late”. This was when Tsakalotos told the Greek Parliament that “if the review finalises in May or June, we are burned”. As such, any further delay would be bad for the Greek economy, as budgets are already tight for Athens.

After all, Greece should have already finalised its first review six months ago, in November 2015. Keeping the country in an on-off position with constant talks ultimately discourage investors. This is why Greece would like to achieve a one-off review per year – each spring – that would result to trigger this contingent fiscal break mechanism.

The issue is also political, as Europe needs to wrap up the Greek bailout case by June because other projects are coming up in the horizon as the summer approaches. For instance, the migration crisis could spike during late spring and summer. If this is the case, more attention and energy will need to be dedicated to this issue. Also, Greece would not want a repeat of last summer, as the migration crisis has already put too much pressure on tourism, the so-called “heavy industry” of this southern European country.

Expectations of the May 9 Eurogroup

The current situation, however, must not be mistaken for 2015.  All sides may keep expectations low at this Eurogroup by focusing on the realistic outcomes of such an extraordinary Eurogroup, but the joint announcement of all four Institutions doesn’t lie. Much progress has been made, the deal has to close soon and all sides know this very well.

So at this extraordinary meeting, the Greek government and the EU are expected to work on a package of contingency measures. The message this time is: “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”.

On debt talks, the aim is also to put it on the table on May 9. This is something the Greek government is hoping will happen. The debt talks are not expected to be as fruitful as the Greek side may have imagined when the third bailout package was agreed last summer, as the IMF is never fond of big debt restructuring and cuts.

What impression did the past dramatic week leave us with? European Institutions seem unable to conclude on common numbers and solutions for Greece, while differences remain between the EU member states. For instance, Germany, Austria and the Netherland are playing hard ball with Greece, while Italy, France and Portugal are offering a helping hand to Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his government. Greece may end up with a successful review and contingency measures in the same basket, suggesting to future investors that there is a lack of trust on the country’s ability to achieve goals.

What’s more, the 3% measures should prove themselves to be sufficient in the long run, as many consider this package as a 2018 ticking bomb, where pensions are to collapse, even if the first package on the Social Security Fund reform is implemented. Primary residence auctions to non-preforming loans settlement may run unprotected at the end of 2017 as well. This also worries the opposition, as it is a never-ending story of the past government, passing the hot potato to the next, while presenting technical, short-term and overall fake improvements in macroeconomic terms.

As the date with the Eurogroup approaches, the Greek government keeps playing best tactics, applying pressure to Dijsselbloem to meet with Michel Sapin and Wolfgang Schaüble before the meeting. Hard work is expected to resume on May 3, as Greek officials return from their Orthodox Easter break and Greece gets back to its spring review decisions and reality.

The post Back to Eurogroup appeared first on New Europe.

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Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said full-year profit increased almost five-fold in 2015, which means the government might rely on the state energy giant to plug a hole in the state budget.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev two weeks ordered state companies to pay 50% of their 2015 net profits under Russian or international accounting standards in dividends.

“Gazprom, the company, doesn’t look to be willing to ask for any exemptions so it seems Gazprom will pay,” Natalya Orlova, chief economist at Russia’s Alfa Bank, told New Europe by phone on April 29. “Basically this year they will approve the dividend payout ratio. I think it’s 50 percent of their profits and the state as a major shareholder will receive a proportion.”

Gazprom will make its dividend decision based on the government’s directive, Bloomberg quoted Igor Shatalov, first deputy head of the company’s finance department, as saying on April 28 on a conference call, adding that the board will review its dividend recommendation on May 19. Dividend policies should “balance the interests” of a company and its shareholders, Shatalov said.

Gazprom said in a statement on April 28 net income rose to 787 billion rubles ($12.2 billion) in 2015 from 159 billion rubles in 2014.

Total sales (net of excise tax, VAT and customs duties) increased by 483,507 million rubles, or 9%, to 6,073,318 million rubles for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to the year ended December 31, 2014. The increase in sales is mainly driven by the increase in sales of gas to Europe and other countries, Gazprom said.

The Russian energy giant meets about 30% of Europe’s gas demand. Europe remains one of Gazprom’s most lucrative markets. Gazprom Management Committee Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said earlier in April that Gazprom’s export to Europe would stay above 160 billion cubic metres in 2016.

Orlova said the two companies that will refurbish the budget are Gazprom and Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil producer. “This is just one of the instruments to resolve the budget problem but the dividends per se will not be enough,” she said.

On April 22, Gazprom’s domestic rival, state-run Rosneft said its board had recommended paying a dividend of 11.75 rubles per share on its profits last year, up from the 8.21 rubles paid for 2014. The dividend payout will total 124.5 billion rubles ($1.87 billion), or 35% of Rosneft’s net profit under the international financial reporting standard (IFRS), the company said in a statement. The payout is less than the dividend rate of 50% of net profits that the government has ordered state-owned companies to pay. Orlova noted that Rosneft has a higher debt burden and plans to boost capital expenditure.

The Russian economy has plunged into recession since 2014 amid the drop of global oil prices and Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and involvement in Eastern Ukraine. “If oil will keep climbing and oil will go to 50 dollars per barrel the budget is balanced,” Orlova said. “So if oil will keep continue to climb and reach 50, then all problems solved for this year.”

follow on twitter @energyinsider

The post Gazprom to the Rescue! appeared first on New Europe.

Tuesday 3 May 2016
EU-Japan Leaders' meeting
17.25 Arrival of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe welcomed by President Donald Tusk and President Jean-Claude Juncker
17.30 Press statements
17.45 Leaders' meeting
18.30 Working dinner
More information on media registration for the event here

Thursday 5 May 2016
Rome
16.30 Bilateral meeting with President Sergio Mattarella
18.30 "State of the European Union" panel discussion of President Donald Tusk, President Jean-Claude Juncker and President Martin Schulz together with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi

Friday 6 May 2016
Rome
09.20 Bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi
10.30 Joint audience with the Holy Father Pope Francis

International Charlemagne Prize award ceremony to Pope Francis
12.22 Speech by European Parliament President Martin Schulz
12.28 Speech by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker
12.34 Speech by President of the European Council Donald Tusk

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Government departments in the United Kingdom lost more than €830m in fines for errors in spending European Union cash, according to the cross-party House of Commons Public Accounts Committee.

As reported by Bloomberg, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne must now take urgent action to improve administration. Britain had the sixth-worst record in the 28-nation bloc for having to return money for farming that was “not used or administered in accordance with EU regulations and national rules”.

“Government inaction on EU penalties is costing taxpayers dear,” Meg Hillier, a Labour lawmaker and chairwoman of the committee, said in an emailed statement. “Money intended to support projects and programmes in the UK is instead being lost. The apparent lack of practical concern about this fact until recently will anger many people, whatever their views on Britain’s EU membership.”

Only Greece, Romania, Portugal, Bulgaria and Cyprus had to pay back more money between 2005 and 2015, the committee said, citing National Audit Office data.

“As a priority the Treasury and departments must identify the reasons they keep being penalized and take whatever action is necessary to rectify their mistakes,” Hillier said. “The experiences of EU member states, the UK private sector and UK universities point to some simple overall conclusions: the government has much to learn and the sooner it learns it, the better.”

The post Why the UK is losing millions for EU funding errors appeared first on New Europe.

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Bernie Sanders has in effect accepted his campaign will not secure the Democratic nomination but has vowed to remain in the primaries to affect the policy agenda of the party.

The Vermont Senator and his advisers have made clear their objective now is to set terms for the party’s platform. Key demands are a federal minimum tax of $15 an hour, a single payer healthcare system (i.e. employer only), and a comprehensive plan against climate change. Sanders has brought into the campaign a number of issues that Hillary Clinton will oppose, including his opposition to the Keystone Pipeline and the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal, that is, a legacy issue for Barack Obama.

But, Sanders will also want to see that Democratic Party primaries become more accessible to non-party insiders. He will want the elimination of superdelegates as well as an open voting register for “independents,” that is citizens that are not party members.

Clinton will not want to appear as giving in on all policy demands put forward by the Vermont Senator, recalling that in 2008 she backed Senator Barack Obama without preconditions.

Sanders has resolved to be disruptive, Fortune magazine reports. The main precedent for such a convention is the Jimmy Carter versus Ted Kennedy 1980 convention. The nominee Carter at the time was forced to make a number of concessions and seeks reconciliation.

His work will focus on party committees. With 20% of delegates in each policy committee – a threshold that Sanders will easily reach – he can propose amendments that will make it to the floor of the open convention. He could thus pick public fights on policy issues that can hurt the Clinton campaign if they are opposed, such as the $15 minimum wage demand. However, opposition on electoral rules is not likely to be as harmful and this is a fight in which Clinton will have the support of the Democratic Party establishment.

The post Sanders sets policy terms to back Clinton appeared first on New Europe.

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North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un has reportedly refused to accept the resignation of one of his senior officials who requested to resign because he was “overcome with stress”.

The resignation is reportedly not the only one, suggesting Kim Jong Un doesn’t have adequate levels of support from top cadres of the Korean Workers’ Party.

United Press International (UPI) quoted Ko Young-hwan, a former North Korean diplomat and defector, as saying that many senior North Korean officials are fearful of the “unpredictable” Kim and they “never know what could happen next”.

“Many high-level cadres are turning their backs on Kim and exiting the regime,” he added, noting that ordinary North Koreans have also “given up hope” in the future of the Kim regime.

According to Seoul’s unification ministry, official idolisation of Kim, who inherited power from his father, has increased, and has accelerated further since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January.

The post North Korea’s Kim Jong Un growing unpopular appeared first on New Europe.

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Slovakia’s Finance Minister Peter Kažimír was reportedly surprised when the European Union’s statistical service Eurostat revealed the country’s public finance deficit for 2015 was actually well above target and much higher than figures presented by the government.

As reported by The Slovak Spectator, the public finance deficit last year was at 2.97% of GDP, Eurostat reported in its regular spring notification on April 21. In doing so, it refused to acknowledge some of the payments that the government had booked as revenue. Kažimír said he was surprised, adding that in the past such operations were never questioned by Eurostat.

“Such surprises from the side of Eurostat at the very last moment are not fair and we will insist on more discussions about this topic,” he said. Slovakia entered notification proceedings with a deficit of 2.56%.

Despite consultation, Eurostat did not acknowledge as revenue repayments of more than €117m in financial aid from rail firm ZSSK Cargo, or payments from the State Fund for Development of Housing (ŠFRB) of almost €200m.

Analysts see Slovakia’s fiscal deficit of 2.97% of GDP as a failure to meet the 2.49% targeted in the state budget.

Compared with 2014, Slovakia’s fiscal deficit increased and if Greece, which continues to struggle with its major financial problems, is omitted, Slovakia is the only member of the EU whose deficit increased year on year.

Slovakia entered the notification negotiations with a deficit of 2.56%, including corrections of 0.3% of GDP related to drawing of EU funds on which the finance ministry did not have any influence, Finance Ministry spokeswoman Alexandra Gogová told The Slovak Spectator.

Meanwhile, the Fico government is targeting a balanced budget by 2020, a postponement of this goal by two years from the original date of 2018.

“I perceive the postponement… as a de facto confession [of the government] that this goal will be not met,” Martin Reguli, analyst from the F. A. Hayek Foundation, told The Slovak Spectator. “I do not expect keeping of this obligation as realistic as priorities will probably emerge, especially in public investments and social programmes.”

Peter Goliaš, from the Institute for Economic and Social Reforms (INEKO) think tank, points to irresponsible governance since 2014.

“The government has preferred bigger spending to revitalisation of public finances,” Goliaš told The Slovak Spectator. “I expect the same development also this year when instead of the planned 1.9% deficit we get near 3%.”

The post EU statistics show Slovakia’s deficit on the rise appeared first on New Europe.

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The European Union will first divorce Britain and then negotiate a new relationship in the event of Brexit, Reuters reported on Thursday.

If Britain votes out in June 23, 2016 the final exit would come on July 1st, 2018. Negotiations for an EU partnership agreement would begin then. In the meanwhile, trade ties would be disrupted.

The EU is Britain’s biggest trade partner and no doubt a singnificant market for a number of EU member states. But, it is understood that neither Brussels not London would want a prolonged negotiation period before the divorce comes into effect. .

The Treaty of Lisbon envisages a two year transition period for states that leave. The two year period would be used to settle pending budget balances from and to London, the issue of pensions for British EU civil servants, and the relocation of EU agencies from the U.K. However, this would not mean the Britain’s relations with the EU would continue on a “business as usual” mode. The two year period would be disruptive.

EU officials remain confident that Britain will ultimately vote “Remain” on the June 23 referendum on EU membership. However, there are already contingency plans being drawn, beginning with a brief two-day summit planned for Sunday, June 26 in case the vote is to leave. The summit would take place without British participation and could set a roadmap for subsequent action.

The “Out” and “Leave” campaigns believe that London will be able to negotiate a “special status” effective immediately, pointing out that Britain is the fifth largest economy in the world and that the free trade market “from Turkey to Iceland” will continue to be accessible to British products.

However, this will be politically difficult to achieve a minimally disruptive exit. Both Germany and France go to the polls in 2017 and it will be politically impossible to grand Britain special rights during the transition period. Moreover, it is clear that both Brussels and EU member states will try to make the case that leaving the EU does not pay.

Leave campaigners suggest that this is only scaremongering.

In the event of a Remain vote, the Commission has in place a seven member UK Task Force that will help implement the agreement secured by David Cameron in February. The agreement is automatically annulled if Britain votes to Leave.

The post EU sources: Brexit means divorce first, negotiations later appeared first on New Europe.

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Foreign non-profit organisations in China will be supervised by the police, according to a controversial law passed by Chinese legislators on April 28. This is reportedly part of President Xi Jinping’s ongoing efforts to eliminate what the government sees as unwanted influences from overseas.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, earlier versions of the law drew an outpouring of opposition from foreign governments, rights groups and academics for being overly broad and treating foreign nonprofits as a security threat. The final version passed by legislators is narrower in scope and addresses some of these criticisms.

For instance, the new law exempts professional exchanges and cooperation involving foreign hospitals, schools and science and engineering groups and effectively grandfathers in groups already legally registered. But left unchanged in the law is the controversial provision putting the public security ministry in charge of the registration process for the overseas groups.

The law also requires that, once registered, groups publish online annual reports including financial information for all activities. The law authorises the police to search nonprofits’ offices and summon their representatives at will.

“China has a positive, open and welcoming attitude toward overseas nongovernmental organizations that come here to engage in friendly exchanges, interactions and cooperation,” Zhang Yong, vice director of the legal committee of the National People’s Congress, told a press conference in Beijing on April 28.

“But – and I don’t think there’s any need to mince words – there is certainly a very small minority of foreign NGOs which intend to or have already damaged social stability and national security,” he said, adding that nearly 10,000 foreign non-profits operate in China and the vast majority had no way to register legally.

According to The Wall Street Journal’s report, the tenor and aim of the new law fits with a wide-ranging campaign under President Xi to galvanize Chinese society against foreign ideologies and influence and to bolster support for Communist Party rule.

The law warns that any activities that threaten national security or ethnic harmony will be punished.

The post China passes controversial law on foreign NGOs appeared first on New Europe.

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Overcoming years of poor health and crisis, the eurozone economy grew at its fastest pace in five years in the first quarter, driven by unlikely stars such as France and Spain.

The eurozone’s economy has thus finally recouped all the ground lost in the recessions of the past eight years after official figures Friday showed that the 19-country single currency bloc expanded by a quarterly rate of 0.6 % in the first three months of the year.

Blowing past both the U.S. and British economies, the latter weighed down by uncertainty over possibly leaving the Europe Union, euro zone growth doubled from the previous quarter, beating even the most optimistic expectations on healthy household consumption and a rebound in investments.

The scale of the increase reported by Eurostat in a preliminary estimate was totally unexpected — the consensus in the markets was for a more modest rise to 0.4 % from the previous quarter’s 0.3 %.

Eurostat said the increase means that the eurozone economy is now 0.4 % bigger than it was in the first quarter of 2008, before the deep recession stoked by the global financial crisis. Since then, the eurozone has had a torrid time, falling in and out of recession as the global financial crisis morphed into a debt crisis that at various times has threatened the future of the euro currency itself.

The eurozone’s recovery of the ground lost over the past few years has lagged other major economies, including the U.S., by years.

Still, it’s a signal that the eurozone’s finally gaining some economic momentum. The first-quarter rise came in spite of concerns stoked by the huge volatility in financial markets in the first couple of months of the year that centered on worries over the Chinese economic outlook and the sharp fall in the price of oil.

In a further positive development, Eurostat reported that the unemployment rate across the region fell to 10.2 % in March from the previous month’s 10.4 %, bringing it to its lowest since August 2011.

Though these figures are encouraging, the eurozone remains afflicted by low inflation. Eurostat said in a separate report that consumer prices in the year to April fell by 0.2 %. That’s down from the previous month’s annual rate of zero and below market expectations for a more modest decline to minus 0.1 %. The core rate, which strips out the volatile items of food, alcohol, tobacco and energy, also declined to 0.8 % from 1 percent. (with AP, Reuters)

The post Eurozone growth rate unexpectedly doubles, past US, Britain appeared first on New Europe.

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Belgium is updating its precautions for dealing with nuclear accidents.

Health Minister Maggie De Block has reviewed current rules on the distribution of iodine pills from 20km from the epicenter of an accident to 100km. That is in effect the Belgian population as a whole, the Minister explained.

But, there is no reason to worry. In joining Germany and the Netherlands in extraordinary measures to deal with a nuclear accident, Belgium is simply updating its readiness plans.

According to Minister De Bock, this is a reaction to the lessons learned in March 2011 in Fukushima rather than a reaction to concerns raised by Germany and the Netherlands regarding the safety of Belgian nuclear reactors.

Belgium is reflecting on the lessons learned by a nuclear accident triggered by a quake and a subsequent tsunami, which leads policy makers to the conclusion that Iodine tablets must be distributed in a bigger radius from the highly implausible accident, the energy regulator assures the public.

Residents of the region around Fukushima were indeed handed iodine pills after the accident, which provides some protection against radioactive iodine and, therefore, thyroid cancer. Other radioactive elements of course will remain active.

On April 20th, the German government asked Belgium to shut down two nuclear reactors citing security concerns. The German Environment Minister, Jochen Flasbarth, said that this was indeed an unprecedented request, but it reflects serious concerns. German authorities are not satisfied the two reactors are safe. Belgian authorities are completely satisfied that the two reactors are safe.

Concerns by Germans and Dutch focus on Tihange-2 and Doel-3 atomic plants. They were put back in operation in November 2015, after being closed for 20 months pending a safety probe. Belgium’s regulator AFCN stands by the view that the two reactors are safe, but they would work with German counterparts to address concerns Bloomberg reports. It is unclear whether such fears have been addressed.

What is clear is that the Netherlands reviewed its policy on iodine tablets in March, so that pregnant women and minors are given the pills within 100km of the Borssele and Doel reactors.

The German city of Aachen, on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, keeps in store 300,000 iodine tablets to ward off thyroid cancer. The city is pursuing litigation action against the reactors.

And Belgium is now taking its own precautionary measures.

Belgium has planned to gradually phase out its nuclear sector by 2025. Until that time, Electrabel, plans to make the most out of its assets. Nuclear power provides 50% of Belgium’s domestically produced electricity.  The two reactors in question are operated by Engie, Elactrabel’s Belgian subsidiary. The two reactors currently produce 14% of Belgium’s electricity.

(BBC, Bloomberg, DW)

The post Belgium prepares for a nuclear accident, but there’s nothing to worry about appeared first on New Europe.

DRAFT REPORT on EU strategic communication to counteract propaganda against it by third parties
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Anna Elżbieta Fotyga

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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In an interview published by the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter on Friday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warns that Russia will be scaling up “military-technical” measures against Sweden if Stockholm moves closer to NATO.

“It is every country’s right to decide the arrangements for their safety, but one must understand that if the military infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders , then we will of course take the necessary military-technical measures. Nothing personal in it, it is just pure business,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov was clear that if Sweden moved from neutrality to NATO relations would change, not because Sweden would be seen as an aggressor but because its military infrastructure would be integrated with NATO’s supreme command.

The nature of measures to be taken were not specified.

Responding to criticism of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Lavrov argued that that was a direct response to an “armed coup d’etat in Kiev.”

He went on to accuse Foreign minister Margot Wallström to have opened a window to ”Russofobia,” not least by joining economic sanctions against Russia. Defiantly, he said that Russia did not need the rest of the world.

“I just want to say that now we can only rely on ourselves , we have all that is needed . Thankfully left God and our ancestors us a country can be self-sufficient,” Lavrov said.

This is not the first time Moscow has issued stark warning against Stockholm’s closer relations with NATO. In September, Russia’s ambassador to Sweden, Viktor Tatarintsev, was invited to explain a Russian Foreign Ministry warning that if Sweden were to join NATO there would be “consequences” and “countermeasures.”

At the time, the Swedish Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom, stated that “we don’t think anyone should be threatening us.” The ruling Social Democratic Party in Sweden has traditionally favored a distance from the Alliance or non-membership. But, Swedish support for NATO membership has been surging. The Swedish opposition too has been rethinking its defense policy, including the Centre Party that moved from its traditional position of neutrality in favor of joining the alliance in August 2015.

Funding of the armed services has increased as have violations of Swedish airspace by Russian jet fighters. At the heart of the argument is Article V and commitment to collective mobilization, that is, a deterrent that Stockholm is considering increasingly useful.

The post Lavrov warns Sweden to stay clear of NATO appeared first on New Europe.

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A wide variety of backgrounds, such as diplomats, developers, designers, NGOs, meet on 29 and 30 April, in Brussels, to  build applications that give citizens more insight and usable information about European decision-making. A Diplohack is a hackathon focused on creating synergies between the skill sets of people from these areas.

Download this video here.

Political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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Labour's Ken Livingstone is swarmed by reporters after a BBC appearance on Thursday.

Even by the savage standards of British political combat, the scenes that played out in central London yesterday were extraordinary. John Mann, a longstanding Labour MP, tracked down former London mayor and left-wing Labour stalwart Ken Livingstone to accuse him of being a “disgusting racist” and “Nazi apologist”, a confrontation captured by cameras from, among others, Channel 4 news and the BBC’s political correspondent Vicki Young. Just an hour later, Mr Livingstone was suspended from Labour, a party which he joined nearly 50 years ago.

The scrap was just the latest in a bitter internecine war over senior party members making remarks which many consider overtly anti-Semitic. The Mann-Livingstone feud was sparked by the previous day’s suspension of yet another Labour MP, Naz Shah,after two-year-old social media posts surfaced where Ms Shah endorsed a “Solution for the Israel-Palestine Conflict” that would “relocate” Jews from Israel to the US, touting a minimal “transportation cost”. Mr Livingstone went on BBC radio yesterday morning to defend Ms Shah, arguing she was the victim of the “Israeli lobby” and that her comments were “over the top” but not anti-Semitic. “Let’s remember when Hitler won his election in 1932 his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel,” Mr Livingstone continued. “He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.” Mr Mann angrily shouted that those remarks amounted to “rewriting history”.

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