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European Union Tag

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 27, 2016 16 Comments
There is no single reason Britons voted to sever ties with the European Union, but for many, decentralized, unelected foreign bureaucrats with bone-headed, meddlesome ideas was all the convincing needed to call it quits. So ridiculous were some of the EU's proposed regulations that even the wildest American legislators look somewhat sane by comparison. Forget migrant assimilation difficulties, terrorism, and financial woes. What and how people ate became a regulatory priority. Sound familiar? A handful of overly nitpicky proposals provide a glimpse into a microcosm of over-reach frustration.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 27, 2016 8 Comments
People inside the Labour Party have accused party leader Jeremy Corbyn and his office of hampering the party's campaign to keep Britain in the European Union. From The London Times:
Alan Johnson, the former home secretary, said that it often felt as if figures in the leader’s office were “working against the rest of the party and had conflicting objectives”.

Posted by New Neo on June 26, 2016 19 Comments
To be quite blunt about it, a great many people in Britain have just given a big middle finger to leaders who have ignored their concerns about national identity and autonomy, and their right to make decisions within their own country about the nature of that country. These principles used to be the bulwarks of a democracy such as Britain, with a long and proud tradition that has not yet died. Although the EU plan was designed to weaken that tradition---and probably has to a certain extent---the tradition is still strong enough, and the provocation great enough, to cause a majority of British voters to give a big resounding "no" to an EU scheme they've found to be increasingly intolerable, with diminishing rewards and increasing drawbacks. Anti-EU feeling among the people of member-states isn't limited to Britain, although it may be strongest there because Britain was a relative latecomer to the EU and retains some of its non-continental island identity. But nationalist movements are afoot in France, and Donald Trump represents the American version (although of course we're not in the EU and therefore have no need to vote to get out of it).

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 25, 2016 31 Comments
Could there have been bona fide reasons for Brexit? Not if you believe Joy Reid. On her MSNBC show today, Reid suggested that old and rural voters, who tended to vote Leave, had "hijacked the future of the young." She also blamed voter discontent on Prime Minister David Cameron's "austerity" program. Guess Reid reckons that people would have been happier with a UK that looked like Greece. Ron Insana chimed in to suggest that older voters were "re-romanticizing" their past, leading Reid to see a symmetry with Trump campaign, which she claims is being driven by the "nostalgia voter."

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 24, 2016 28 Comments
The reaction to the British vote to leave the EU focuses heavily on the money. It will cost Britain jobs. The Pound is getting pounded. The EU will extract a price as bureaucratic retribution. Britain shot itself in the economy. The departure allegedly will destroy young people, female workers, the arts, science, universities and students, just about everything else British, and even .... Massachusetts! The pre-vote analysis summed up the issues broadly as follows: "Remain" voters focused on the economy, while "Leave" voters focused on immigration, sovereignty, loss of control to the EU bureaucracy.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 24, 2016 18 Comments
So last night the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Of course, everyone has an opinion. When I say everyone I mean everyone. This is by far the best reaction. Of course, I'm biased since I'm American. https://twitter.com/GlomarResponder/status/746146090198700033 Second best tweet:

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 23, 2016 35 Comments
The United Kingdom has voted to stay or leave the European Union. They closed the polls and people have started counting the votes. The results remained close, but the Leave campaign is inching closer and closer to reality. https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/746186028239683585 https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/746187969980076033 This is the best #Brexit tweet so far: https://twitter.com/GlomarResponder/status/746146090198700033

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 16, 2016 11 Comments
British Member of Parliament (MP) Jo Cox died after a middle aged man shot her on the street in Birstall, located near Leeds. The police arrested Thomas Mair, 52. Some eyewitnesses said he yelled "Britain first!" when he shot her, but others dispute the claim. Some in Britain have pushed the country to leave the European Union. Mair attacked Cox after she held her weekly office hours with constituents:
"The gun went off twice and then she fell between two cars and I came and saw her bleeding on the floor," shop owner Hichem Ben Abdallah told ITV News. Clarke Rothwell told the BBC that the suspect, who was wearing a baseball hat, lunged at Cox with a knife after he opened fire. "People were screaming and running from the area," Rothwell added.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on June 02, 2016 18 Comments
According to UK Armed Forces Minister Penny Mordaunt, Britain must join a European Union Army under Brussels’s direct command if the country stays within the EU. The ominous revelation comes as British voters are heading towards a historic ‘in-out’ referendum on June 23. What could only be described as cynical manoeuvring, EU bosses intends to table the plan a day after the British referendum -- concealing the totalitarian nature of the ‘European Project’ from the British voters. Mordaunt made it clear that if her country were to stay in the EU as a result of a "remain vote", her government would be “powerless” to stop the formation of an EU Army. Furthermore, UK would be “bound to support” and bankroll such an Army under the provisions of existing Lisbon treaty. “As usual with the EU, the plan for this army would see Britain paying highest price and but getting a raw deal. They've done that with our budget, I'm not going to let that happen to our armed forces,” Minister Mordaunt told the UK voters. The preparations for new pan-European Army outside the framework of NATO are long under way. Germany and The Netherlands have reportedly merged their army and naval assets to form a core fighting force that would serve as the basis for a new EU Army. NATO officials had recently accused France of neglecting its commitment to NATO-alliance by diverting resources to build an EU Army.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 27, 2016 2 Comments
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) continues to take advantage of the migrant issue by blending their fighters and shipping them through Europe. Smuggler Abu Walid told CNN that ISIS has contacted people in his business in Libya in the past two months, offering up to $40,000 for 25 people. Libyan officials told the new outlet they have found ISIS members attempting to sneak into Europe disguised as migrants seeking a better life:
A senior Libyan military intelligence official in Misrata, Ismail Shukri, said that ISIS militants sought to disguise themselves by traveling with "their families, without weapons, as normal illegal immigrants." "They will wear American dress and have English language papers so they cause no suspicion."

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 26, 2016 1 Comment
Portuguese intelligence officers have decided to search for other moles after they discovered one of their own passed NATO secrets to Russia. Italian police arrested Frederico Carvalhão, a senior officer in Portugal's SIS intelligence service, along with an alleged Russian SVR intelligence agent. However, SIS believe others helped Carvalhão extract confidential and sensitive information. The Telegraph reports:
Augusto Santos Silva, the Portuguese foreign minister, confirmed on Wednesday that there was “an ongoing judicial investigation” into the case. The focus is believed to be on discovering who helped Mr Carvalhão extract top-secret documents from Ameixoeira Fort, the SIS headquarters in Lisbon. The use of USB sticks is prohibited inside Ameixoeira, access to all printed documents is registered and those classified as secret have an invisible watermark to allow for the detection of anyone who has removed them. Yet Mr Carvalhão was allegedly caught while handing over six "top secret" documents covering Nato defence systems, the communication infrastructure between member countries and military bases.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 23, 2016 5 Comments
Independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen, backed by the Green Party, has become Austria's new head of state. He barely beat Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer. The Interior Ministry counted over 700,000 ballots, almost 12% of the country's registered voters, to determine the winner. Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka announced the results:
Van der Bellen reached 50.3 percent, 49.7 Hofer . In absolute terms, the scarcity of the result is visible: 2,254.484 votes could gather Van der Bellen, Hofer 2,223.458. The difference amounts to just 31,026 votes. The turnout was 72.7 percent, significantly higher than the first ballot reached 68.5 percent.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 29, 2016 23 Comments
I LOVE cheese. ALL the cheese. Me, basically: giphy So I was thrilled to learn America has a Cheese Mountain. Well, kind of.

Posted by Mike LaChance on April 28, 2016 4 Comments
Austria is also in the midst of a presidential election and the subject of the migrant crisis is playing a significant role. The nation's conservative party is doing very well. BBC News reports:
Austria election: Far-right tops first round of presidential vote Austria's far-right Freedom Party candidate has come top in the first round of presidential elections, preliminary results show. Norbert Hofer has about 36% of the votes for the mostly ceremonial role - not enough to avoid a run-off in May. He is likely to face Alexander Van der Bellen, an independent contender backed by the Greens, who is polling 20%. For the first time since World War Two, the candidates from Austria's two main parties did not make it to the run-off.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 11, 2016 2 Comments
Last week, Kemberlee covered the Panama Papers scandal that is rocking much of the world, and there certainly has been a lot of buzz about the fact that few Americans, maybe only one, appear to have taken part in the tax evasion scheme run out of Panama.  In the wake of the revelations, Iceland's Prime Minister has resigned, and there are calls for David Cameron to do the same. The Guardian reports:
After a torrid week, which ended with calls from MPs for his resignation, Cameron aimed to move the focus to his party’s record as he launched the Conservative campaign for next month’s local elections. . . . . The prime minister was accused of misleading the public after he issued several statements before finally admitting he had benefited from his late father’s offshore investment fund Blairmore. The details of the fund were contained in documents leaked from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 03, 2016 7 Comments
In the wake of the EU deal to return refugees to Turkey en masse, Greece is preparing for further violence and protests. The Guardian reports:
The Greek government is bracing itself for violence ahead of the European Union implementing a landmark deal that, from Monday, will see Syrian refugees and migrants being deported back to Turkey en masse. Rioting and rebellion by thousands of entrapped refugees across Greece has triggered mounting fears in Athens over the practicality of enforcing an agreement already marred by growing concerns over its legality. Islands have become flashpoints, with as many as 800 people breaking out of a detention centre on Chios on Friday.
The Greek government is expecting more violent protests and riots as the implementation begins tomorrow.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on March 31, 2016 6 Comments
British intelligence agency MI5 is reportedly tracking up to 25 ISIS terror plots threatening to bring Brussels-style devastation on to British streets. Security forces have increased surveillance on as many as 50 Islamists believed to be planning eminent terror attacks in the country. Despite ramped up counter-terrorism measures, senior security officials fear that there might be other undetected sleeper cells in the country capable of carrying out terror attacks without prior warning. In a related development, British government has raised concerns over a potential attack on country's nuclear power plants. Officials warned that ISIS terrorists operating on British soil could try to get hold of nuclear material or carry out cyber-attacks on nuclear reactors.
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