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European Union Tag

Posted by Amy Miller on September 20, 2015 3 Comments
Alexis Tsipras overcame fierce yet concentrated opposition from the Greek anti-austerity movement this Sunday as voters returned his far-left Syriza party to power. With just 25% of the vote in, the election was called for Syriza, causing the right-wing New Democracy party to concede defeat, and thus the opportunity to seize coalition-based control of parliament. Syriza is expected to end the count with around 35% of the vote, which will translate to around 144 seats in parliament---just short of a true majority. Tsipras is expected to form a government within three days, alongside leaders from the nationalist wing of Greek parliament. More from the BBC:
Mr Tsipras said his decision to call an early election was vindicated and that he had been given a clear mandate. He told thousands of jubilant supporters in central Athens: "In Europe today, Greece and the Greek people are synonymous with resistance and dignity, and this struggle will be continued together for another four years.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 16, 2015 0 Comments
Russia has been an important ally of Syria's during the Assad regime's four year struggle to maintain its hold on power. Moscow recently strengthened its support for the flailing Syrian military, and on Wednesday, Russian media broadcast a roundtable-style interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in which Assad placed the blame for the current European migrant crisis on Western intervention in Syria. Via WaPo:
“If you are worried about them, stop supporting terrorists,” said Assad, referring to Europe-bound Syrians. “This is the core of the whole issue of refugees.” He described U.S. and European criticism of his policies as “propaganda” that will create “more refugees.” ... Assad said that a solution to the conflict could not be found until “terrorism” is defeated. He called on Syrians to “unite” against terror, portraying his government as bulwark against groups like the Islamic State, which a U.S.-led coalition is attacking at its strongholds in Syria and Iraq. The coalition does not attack Syrian government assets. U.S. officials do not coordinate those attacks with Assad’s forces.
You can watch the full interview with Russian media here:

Posted by Amy Miller on September 15, 2015 9 Comments
Officials in Hungary are fielding criticism after authorities declared a state of crisis all along the country's southern border with Serbia. The border is now sealed, which means that migrants caught crossing into Hungary are doing so illegally; so far officials have detained 60 people, with more arrests expected. The state of emergency also expands police power and paves the way for troop deployment should the situation spiral out of control. Hungary has set up a "transit zone" alone the border for the purposes of screening migrants attempting to enter the country; only those who have applied for asylum will be allowed to enter. More from the New York Times:
As of Tuesday afternoon, Hungary said 48 migrants in the transit zone had applied for asylum, with 13 rejected and the rest under review — a tiny fraction of the number of migrants at the border. Hungarian officials said they were preparing to erect a fence along the country’s eastern border with Romania that would be similar to the one on the Serbian border.

Posted by Amy Miller on September 14, 2015 8 Comments
This weekend, Germany instituted controls at its border with Austria in an attempt to stem the flow of refugees into the country. They halted all inbound trains, and deployed riot police at entry points as officials attempted to maintain order; only those with "valid travel documents" were allowed to enter the country, prompting some commentators to lament at yet another dramatic change in Germany's policy toward the ever-increasing wave of migrants seeking asylum in western Europe. Today, however, Germany reversed its emergency protocols (which amounted to a 12-hour suspension of train access) and again allowed trains containing migrants to cross the border into Bavaria. Officials are now running offense against criticism that Germany's attempt to control its border somehow amounts to a violation of its previous commitment to help those seeking asylum. Via Fox News:
The temporary halt to train service was "not about a closing of borders and absolutely not a suspension of the basic rights to asylum," Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel insisted, defending the weekend's border controls in a letter to his Social Democratic Party.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 31, 2015 13 Comments
In early August, Europe's migrant crisis was thrown into full relief when the French port city of Calais became overrun by migrants hoping to cross the English Channel into the United Kingdom. Thousands of migrants, coming mostly from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan, crowded the port, and things quickly became dangerous. Statistically, it is easier to remain in the UK as a refugee than it is to remain in France under the same status. Migrants from non-EU countries who stay in places like France still have access to benefits and services, but run a much higher risk of being denied permanent asylum. Some countries, like Hungary, have taken a hard line approach to controlling how many migrants they allow within their borders. Western Eurozone leaders recently lashed out at Hungary over its continuing work to erect a fence along its southern border with Serbia, even over the demands of the Hungarian people that something---anything---be done to control the influx. Greece is having a similar problem; the flow of migrants into the already-struggling country has increased by 750% over last year's count.

Posted by Amy Miller on August 24, 2015 2 Comments
Greece's wild ride through the wake of the Eurozone mega-bailout continued to bounce along today as far-left lawmakers split off from the (already far-left) Syriza party to form their own rebel faction. Former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and his fellow malcontents now have three days to bolster the new Popular Unity party and cobble together a coalition government. (Previous efforts to seize control by Syriza's main opponent, the conservative New Democracy party, failed.) Lafazanis has no grand illusions about being able to do so, which means that Greek voters will head to the polls as early as September 20 to elect new representatives. The early election cycle snapped into place after embattled Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned last week amid harsh criticism from his colleagues over the terms of the multibillion dollar bailout. More from the New York Times:
"Some people think they can hide the consequences of the (bailout agreements) from the Greek people," Lafazanis said, commenting on Tsipras' decision to trigger elections, as he met with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to receive the mandate to form a government. "This is democratic backtracking, if not an undemocratic aberration."

Posted by Amy Miller on August 21, 2015 10 Comments
Greece received the first chunk of its multibillion euro bailout package yesterday---to the tune of 13 billion euros---but all is not well in Athens. Political opposition to the harsh austerity terms laid out by Eurozone creditors has caused a revolt in the far-left Syriza party and prompted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to tender his resignation and call for early elections. More from the BBC:
Alexis Tsipras made the announcement in a televised state address on Thursday. "The political mandate of the 25 January elections has exhausted its limits and now the Greek people have to have their say," he said. "I want to be honest with you. We did not achieve the agreement we expected before the January elections." Mr Tsipras said he would seek the Greek people's approval to continue his government's programme.
You can watch Tsipras' announcement here, via Reuters.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on August 10, 2015 13 Comments
The migrant crisis in Europe has now reached historic proportions. Unwilling to secure EU’s borders and coastline, the European leaders have surrounded their foreign policy to human traffickers and people smugglers. Among all the EU member states, Greece has been worst hit by the influx of migrants on its shores. According to United Nation’s figures, the number of refugees entering into Greece has gone up a whopping 750 percent compared to last year. Margaret Wente explains the motivation of the refugees swarming the Greek islands in her column for The Globe and Mail:
The moment these people set foot on Greek soil, or are rescued by the coast guard, they’ve won the lottery. They can’t be deported unless they have applied for asylum and been rejected – and that can take years. Nor can they be returned to any place that is deemed unsafe. Because continental Europe has no internal border controls, they can go wherever they want. And if they don’t report for their asylum hearing, the system can easily lose track of them.
In July 2015 alone, more than 50,000 migrants landed on Greek beaches. That means, more migrants entered Greece last month than in the whole of 2014. The influx could not have come at a worse time for the Hellenic Republic, almost on the verge of a financial collapse. In the face of mounting crisis in Greece, EU bureaucrats and leaders are acting clueless and pleading helplessness.

Posted by Vijeta Uniyal on August 06, 2015 17 Comments
Common sense is a rare commodity in Brussels (the seat of European Union's bureaucracy) when it comes to tackling the issue of mass immigration. The number of immigrants entering the European Union by land and sea has risen drastically in 2015. According to the UN, 153,000 migrants have crossed into Europe so far this year, marking a 150 percent spike compared to 2014. Considering the fact that many illegal immigrants prefer to stay undetected, the actual figures could be much higher. The European Union's response to the rising tide of immigrants is conspicuous inaction coupled with threats against individual EU member states who dare to undertake even the slightest of countermeasures. The EU bureaucracy is particularly irked by Hungary’s move to erect a 110 mile fence along its southern border. Wall Street Journal reports:

Posted by Amy Miller on August 01, 2015 8 Comments
While American activists languished in the debris of their Cecil the Lion meltdown/manhunt, people in Calais have been dealing with a perfect storm of union strikes, stampeding migrants, and a resulting travel standstill. Much has been made of the inconvenience to Brits attempting to cross the English Channel for a summer holiday, but the French city of Calais is truly in a crisis. Over the past week, thousands of migrants have flooded secure areas surrounding the Eurotunnel terminal in an attempt to enter the United Kingdom. At least 9 people have died during the attempt since June, and the very crush of those attempting to get close to access points has caused a dangerous and volatile situation in the city. The migrants, coming mostly from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Afghanistan, are fighting to get across the channel and into the UK for a variety of reasons---many are seeking jobs, or asylum---but all who come do so because it is statistically easier to remain legally in the UK than it is in France. The BBC created a video explaining things in more detail. Watch:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 30, 2015 4 Comments
The Security Subcommittee of The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing on July 28, 2015, on The Impact of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Movement The Tower has a write up on the full scope of the hearing. In a prior post, we featured the testimony of Daniel Birnbaum, CEO of SodaStream International, about the threats, intimidation and violence of the BDS movement directed at SodaStream for 8 years, Epic House Testimony – BDS in business of “Manipulation, Violence and Destruction” In this post, we focus on the testimony of Northwestern Univ. Law Professor Eugene Kontorovich Prof. Kontorovich's full written presentation (embedded at bottom of this post) contains important background as to the role Congress can play in opposing BDS consistent with U.S. law, policy and history of involvement in the issue. The subjects covered include:
  1. Background on Economic Warfare Against Israel
  2. U.S. Policy on Boycotts of Israeli Entities
  3. The Scope of Anti-boycott laws
  4. The Argument that Boycotts of Israel are Justified or Required by International law
  5. Potential European Measures and their Implications for International Trade Law
Here is Prof. Kontorovich's appearance before Congress:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on July 05, 2015 32 Comments
Live Video and Twitter feeds at bottom of post. The initial results from the referendum on Greece whether to agree to an austerity plan are pointing to a huge "No" vote. The Wall Street Journal reports:
A first official projection of Greece’s referendum outcome, based on early counting, said that at least 61% of Greeks voted “no” to creditors’ demands on Sunday, an outcome that—if confirmed—would set the country on a collision course with the rest of the eurozone. The projection, announced by the company Singular Logic, the official partner of Greece’s interior ministry in carrying out the referendum, was announced after some 20% of the vote had been counted. “The estimate from Singular Logic is that the result in favor of ‘no’ will exceed 61%,” a spokesman for the organizing company said.
Official results are posted here. .

Posted by Mike LaChance on July 01, 2015 7 Comments
What was once considered unthinkable has now happened. Having missed the June 30th deadline for payment on its debt, the country of Greece has effectively defaulted. This is going to have a considerable effect on the economy of the European Union, which Greece might now leave. It's likely that this situation will get worse before it gets better. First, the basic facts. Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post:
Greece fails to make key IMF debt payment Greece lost its financial lifelines Tuesday, as the country missed a crucial payment to the International Monetary Fund amid growing questions about whether it would be able to remain in the euro zone. Greek leaders had made a last-ditch attempt to come up with the necessary cash, asking European countries for a new bailout hours before its last ones were set to expire, but E.U. finance ministers rejected the request as unrealistic. The missed payment, confirmed by the IMF, was a landmark moment in Europe’s five-year battle to preserve its common currency. The E.U. finance chiefs were set to reconvene Wednesday as Greece’s cash dwindles and its banks remain closed. The ministers’ decision to hold firm was a sign that they believed they had successfully put in place the defenses­ against instability in Europe if a country left the euro zone. But as Greece became the first developed nation to miss a payment to the IMF, E.U. leaders were confronting the prospect of a European country plunging into intense financial misery as it was forced to abandon the currency.
In the coming days, you're going to hear some quibbling about whether or not this was a default.

Posted by Amy Miller on June 29, 2015 29 Comments
There are financial crises, and then there are financial crises. Greece is smack in the middle of the latter. Today Greek officials instituted drastic controls over the country's financial institutions, making it difficult (if not impossible) for citizens to access money locked down in bank accounts. Officials have limited cash withdrawals to just 67 USD per day, a move that is causing panic amongst those who either live paycheck to paycheck, or who rely solely on the use of cash to make ends meet.
The sense of unease was evident in the number of pensioners lining up at bank branches hoping they might open. Many elderly Greeks don't have ATM cards and make cash withdrawals in person, and so found themselves completely cut off from their money. "I came here at 4 a.m. because I have to get my pension," said 74-year-old Anastasios Gevelidis, one of about 100 retirees waiting outside the main branch of the National Bank of Greece in the country's second-largest city of Thessaloniki. "I don't have a card. I don't know what's going on. We don't even have enough money to buy bread," he said.
And here I thought relying on cash instead of the almighty plastic was a safe bet.

Posted by Mike LaChance on June 27, 2015 10 Comments
Greece and the Eurozone have been unable to reach an agreement ahead of a bailout deadline which quickly approaches on June 30th. If negotiations fail, Greece could leave the European Union and ultimately face economic collapse. The situation is already causing a dash for cash in the debt strapped country. Bloomberg reports:
Greeks Line Up at Banks and Drain ATMs as Tsipras Calls Vote Some Greek banks were beginning to limit cash transactions as hundreds of people lined up outside branches and drained cash machines after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a referendum that could decide his country’s fate in the euro. Two senior Greek retail bank executives said as many as 500 of the country’s more than 7,000 ATMs had run out of cash as of Saturday morning, and that some lenders may not be able to open on Monday unless there was an emergency liquidity injection from the Bank of Greece. A central bank spokesman said it was making efforts to supply money to the system.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 22, 2015 3 Comments
On February 10, 2015, I wrote about legislation introduced in the House targeting the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, whose goal is the destruction of Israel through economic, cultural and academic boycotts. The legislation, called the United States-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act, focuses on the "economic" boycott of Israel, expanding upon prior legislation implemented several decades ago in response to the Arab League Boycott of Israel. The legislation reportedly was intended to force European countries and companies, where the BDS movement has some influence, into adopting anti-BDS policies and procedures as part of a proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S. The EU would be forced to choose between a massive free trade agreement which would bring enormous economic benefits to the floundering EU, or the anti-Israel BDS movement. You could have a boost to European economies and employment, or you could have BDS, but you couldn't have both. The sponsors of the legislation presumably expect Europe to choose prosperity over anti-Israel activism. In reviewing the legislation initially, however, it was unclear to me whether the provisions would have the intended effect:

Posted by Mike LaChance on February 03, 2015 17 Comments
Greece's new prime minister Alexis Tsipras is finding out that his country's massive debt won't go away just because he wants it to. Maybe that's why Germany has a strong economy and Greece doesn't. Jane Wharton of Express UK reported:
Merkel refuses to write off Greece's debt In her first interview since Syriza won the Greek election last weekend, Angela Merkel has made it clear the debt stands but she hopes they stay in the eurozone. The far-left party stormed to victory last weekend with 36 per cent of the vote, promising to ditch austerity and renegotiate the country's £180billion bailout from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - also known as the troika. Their finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said this troika of global institutions is "rotten" and has refused to work with them to renegotiate bailout terms. Syriza is now beginning to roll back on the austerity measures imposed by the EU on the previous administration in exchange for the loans. However this morning the German Chancellor said that while Europe will continue to show solidarity with Greece and other nations hit by Europe's debt crisis, the debts must be repaid in full. Speaking to Hamburger Abendblatt, she said: "I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation. "There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt."
It's amazing what can happen when a politician is told he can't spend money he doesn't have. The Tsipras administration, which knows it doesn't have the negotiating power (or money) to defy reality has quickly adopted a new position.
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