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Imagine a scenario in which the chief bureaucrat of the European Union proclaims that its fundamental values include promoting homosexuality and transgenderism to minors. This reads like poorly crafted, euroskeptic propaganda. Odd as it may sound, this exact situation transpired following the Hungarian Parliament's passage of a controversial new law.

While Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, portrays the law as borderline criminalizing all things related to gay advocacy, the reality of the situation is not so dramatic. As part of sweeping legislation intended to combat pedophilia, conservative members of the Hungarian government proposed an amendment that would prohibit exposing children to content that encourages homosexuality or transgenderism. The law, including this amendment, easily passed Parliament and awaits Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's approval. Brussels finds this deeply disturbing.

Hungary is a Catholic nation, and so preventing children from viewing sexually immoral content seems like a reasonable enough thing for its government to pursue. The people of Hungary overwhelmingly support their socially conservative government, and the government acts to fulfill the mandate of its people. Hungary's process, given this, appears to be without fault. Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, it has been pretty much universally accepted that being a sovereign state necessitates having sole dominion over one's domestic affairs. EU officials, however, are seeking to relitigate the centuries-old consensus on statecraft.

What one thinks about the merits of the Hungarian law is irrelevant. The prospect of an unelected gang of foreign magistrates vetoing it should raise concern within any EU member state that values sovereignty.

Admittedly, the European Court of Justice, the body that would determine if Hungarian law is in line with EU regulations, is limited in its enforcement capability. At best, the court could impose recurring daily fines on the Hungarian government. Though with growing centralized power in the union, and a potential pan-European army on the horizon, the EU could become more heavy-handed with its judgments in due time.

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All the more reason to get out while it is still possible.

Boris Johnsons Brexit has had less than ideal economic ramifications. Foreign investment is down, trade has been complicated, and many of the nations industries have had trouble adjusting to the novel financial environment they have found themselves within. The people of the United Kingdom, however, are sovereign (officially, the queen is sovereign, but you get the idea). The government elected by the British people is the sole body responsible for creating laws for the British people. The same cannot entirely be said about many of the U.K.'s EU-affiliated continental brethren.

This raises the question: What degree of economic difficulty should a people be willing to endure to retain their political independence?

There, of course, is no clear answer to this question.

Europe is ideologically diverse. States in the East bloc that were left-wing authoritarians 30 years ago have swung to the religious Right, likewise, Nazi Germany was directly preceded by the relatively progressive Weimar Republic. Modern Europe, and by extension the EU, are not immune to such philosophical oscillation.

Should extremists, left or right, ever come to control the EU, they would undoubtedly wield power to move the rest of Europe into compliance with their radicalism. Any member state that resisted would be subject to punishment, with the will of its people at risk of violation.

Europeans must consider the degree to which they value self-determination. Perhaps it is true that the short-term struggles associated with decoupling from the union are a worthwhile sacrifice to reclaim self-governance.

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Tags: Hungary, European Union, LGBT, United Kingdom, Viktor Orban

Original Author: Robert Schmad

Original Location: The European Union shows Hungary why it should exit

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The European Union shows Hungary why it should exit - Yahoo News

A woman working on her laptop in Paris on May 26, 2020. Photo by Arnaud Finistre / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect.

With autocratic regimes more aggressively restricting freedom of speech on the internet, it is all the more important for the European Union (EU) and the United States to put forward a positive, alternative model of online regulation, said two European Commission policy officials Wednesday at the 360/Open Summit, hosted by the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab.

Prabhat Agarwal, head of the Commissions Digital Services and Platforms unit, and Gerard de Graaf, director for the digital transformation in the Commissions Communications Networks, Content and Technology directorate-general, were the leading drafters of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The bill is a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive regulatory framework for governing digital services proposed by the European Commission to EU lawmakers in December. Aimed at making the internet safer while protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms, the DSA takes on modern digital challenges from content moderation to transparent data reporting and oversight.

The DSA is currently being considered by the European Parliament and European Council for revision, with the goal of passing it in early 2022. And its wide-ranging scope makes it more than just an EU regulation; its a potential model and the only fulsome democratic standard with which to engage at the moment, said moderator Rose Jackson, director of the Democracy & Tech Policy Initiative at the Digital Forensic Research Lab.

Below are some of the highlights from their discussion.

Nick Fouriezos is an Atlanta-based writer with bylines from every US state and six continents. Follow him on Twitter @nick4iezos.

Fri, Jun 25, 2021

Top tech journalists joined the 360/Open Summit, hosted by the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab, to discuss how tech platforms can enhance accountability and transparency

New AtlanticistbyNick Fouriezos

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Behind the European Union's plan to rewrite the rules of online life - Atlantic Council

The Moroccan Confederation of Agriculture and Rural Development (Comader) has decided to defend Morocco's position against "certain false allegations regarding Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the European market."

According to the entity, if there has been no significant alteration in the fruit and vegetable trade relationship between the EU and Morocco since the entry into force of the trade agreement between them in November 2012, it is because the bilateral relationship is mutually beneficial. "This enables the sustainable development of agricultural communities in Morocco and the EU, as well as having high-quality products in EU supermarkets, especially outside the European harvest season," the Comader stated.

"Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the European Union market only account for 2% of the market. Thus, it's hard to understand how this 2% can be so damaging to European fruit and vegetable production."

"It's a shame that the different interest groups take advantage of the difficult conditions that all operators in the Mediterranean agri-food sector face, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit, to question the free trade agreement that benefits the EU more than Morocco, as is demonstrated by the agricultural trade balance. This agreement brings prosperity and economic dynamism that is extremely necessary at this time," said Mohamed Alamouri, the president of Comader.

Regarding other false allegations about Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the British market, he stated that "contrary to the information disseminated by some organizations, Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the British market are carried out under a quota system that is similar to that of the EU, although this is an aberration as the UK is not a large producer of fruit and vegetables."

The entity insisted that the total quotas for fruit and vegetables provided for in the agreement between Morocco and the United Kingdom only account for 1.2% of all the UK's imports of fruit and vegetables.

Finally, the Comader assured that it was always open to dialogue with farmers and peasants on both shores of the Mediterranean and that it was happy that the Generation Green Moroccan agricultural strategy launched in 2020 which was hailed by the European Commission in its new strategy for the southern zone, especially for its contribution to the sustainability of the agri-food sector, continued to be a priority shared by all.

Source: agroinformacion.com

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"Moroccan fruit and vegetable exports to the European Union market only account for 2% of the market" - FreshPlaza.com

A meeting of the European Unions leaders last week fell short of expectations. The summit, which focused on relations with Russia and Turkey, ultimately yielded a result that unsettled Moscow and did not satisfy Ankara.

The German-French proposal to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin was rejected. Furthermore, the leaders agreed on the need for a stronger response to Russias potential violations in the future and talked about fresh economic sanctions. The Russian government said that the EU had been taken hostage by an aggressive minority.

At the same time, a positive yet minor step was taken regarding Turkey, with which the EU leaders had committed to a "positive agenda" in December and March.

In their final communique, the Europeans conceded that developing their relations with Turkey was in the blocs strategic interest, yet did not go further than offering 3 billion euros ($3.58 billion, TL 31.39 billion) for Syrian refugees.

The high-level meetings on the customs unions modernization and pressing issues such as migration, health care, climate, counterterrorism and regional matters, have been spread over an extended period of time.

There was no mention of visa liberalization or the opening of new chapters in accession talks either.

Indeed, Turkeys Ministry of Foreign Affairs described that outcome as far from the necessary steps expected to be taken.

In a written statement on June 18, it welcomed the EUs acknowledgment of de-escalation, yet warned that it is clearly a delaying tactic, a lack of political will, and an abuse of membership advantages by certain EU states to postpone concrete decisions for the implementation of the positive agenda, including the modernization of the Customs Union. Refraining from making a reference to our candidate status in the text confirms this assessment.

The ministry also noted that degrading cooperation on migration to financial contributions alone was a mistake and stressed that the EUs remarks on Cyprus reflected the Greek and Greek Cypriot positions.

Some may find it satisfactory that a mildly positive agenda has replaced the threat of sanctions in EU-Turkey relations. There is the looming risk of a slowdown, however, due to the upcoming German and French elections. It remains unclear who will replace German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nor has French President Emmanuel Macrons fate been decided.

To make matters worse, the EU, which prioritizes consensus among its members, seems incapable of making bolder decisions pertaining to its own strategic interests.

Although U.S. President Joe Biden's administrations commitment to strengthening trans-Atlantic relations serves the EUs interests, managing the rise of China remains a challenging task. Washington has not even entirely lifted its pressure on Berlin over the Nord Stream 2.

The main problem is that the European Union cannot build a relationship with Russia and Turkey that serves its long-term interests. It cannot look beyond counterterrorism and migration.

The bloc, which has always found it difficult to set a common policy, now has to wait for elections in Germany and France. That Brussels, under the influence of some anti-Turkish states, took a minor step toward Ankara as an indirect stalling attempt, suggests that the future must be carefully managed.

Although the European summits unsatisfactory outcome was hardly surprising, both sides need to make an effort to maintain the positive atmosphere, which emerged in recent months.

Brussels delivered a weak response to Ankaras calls for a new chapter. The weakness of that response will add to the workload of diplomats in coming months, as they attempt to prevent fresh tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and between Turkey and Greece.

Indeed, the quest for cooperation is better than escalation.

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Is the last EU summit surprising? | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

These spool-shaped weights from Tiryns, in Bronze Age Greece, weighed about the same as their counterparts in other parts of Europe and the Middle East.

By Andrew CurryJun. 28, 2021 , 3:00 PM

Merchants of the Bronze Age faced the same problem as merchants from London to Lisbon today: how to know youre getting what you pay for in a transaction. It usually takes a ruling authority, like a king, pharaoh, or perhaps the European Union, to establish standard weights, which amount to a unit of value in the age before coins and bills.

A new study suggests merchants in Bronze Age Europe were an exception: Through informal networks, Mesopotamian merchants established a standardized system of weights that later spread across Europe, enabling trade across the continent. The advance effectively formed the first known common Eurasian market more than 3000 years ago.

This is quite a blow to the idea that elites or a central authority is running the show, says Leiden University archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers, who was not involved with the work. The [researchers] make a really good case.

Standard weightsused by merchants to trade goods of equivalent valuewere invented in Egypt or Mesopotamia 5000 years ago. By 3000 years ago, they had spread across Europe, where some graves included pouches or boxes containing bone balance beams, tweezers for picking up scraps of gold or silver, and stone weights.

For more than 100 years, historians have assumed that weight standards were handed down from on high, first created by a king or religious authority to collect taxes or tribute, then later adopted by merchants. The first artifacts to clearly be weights, for example, were found in the highly stratified civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. But Bronze Age Europe boasted few such states when weights proliferated.

To find out whether standardization without centralization was possible, Georg August University of Gttingen archaeologists Lorenz Rahmstorf and Nicola Ialongo spent nearly 10 years visiting museum collections and weighing stones and other objects they thought might have been used for commerce. They analyzed weights from previously excavated sites spanning nearly 3000 years in Europe, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia.

To their surprise, more than 2000 such objects crafted over the course of 2000 years and an area spanning nearly 5000 kilometers weighed nearly the same amountbetween 8 and 10.5 grams from Great Britain to Mesopotamia. Over the time spans involved, the consistency was remarkable, they report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It is like we were still using the Roman systems of measurement [today], with just some minor variations, Ialongo says.

In Mesopotamia, that unit was referred to as a shekel. Weight systems in Europe were only slightly different from weight systems in Anatolia, which were only slightly different than in Mesopotamia, Ialongo says.

The researchers suggest that in all these areas it was merchants who kept the weights standard, because it was in their interest to do so. Each time traders met, the archaeologists write, they would bring out their own scales and weights and compare themor introduce them to new traders. With enough time and contacts, a standard system emergedlaying the groundwork for the equivalent of an integrated market from Great Britain to Babylon. The weight units were regulated by the market, Ialongo says.

To test its model, the team came up with a unique experiment. Using replica Bronze Age bone balance scales, co-author and Gttingen archaeologist Raphael Hermann carved 100 weights out of stone. Each new weight was modeled randomly from the weights already produced: Weight two was based on weight one, but weight three could be modeled on either weight one or weight two, weight 10 could be modeled from any of the previous nine, and so on.

Human error, combined with the slight imprecision of the ancient balance, led to deviations up to 25 grams from the original 153-gram weight. But the drift tended to stay within 5%, still within a range that would have been acceptable in an ancient marketplace, Rahmstorf says. In a system where all the weights were copied from a central standard under palace supervision, the deviations would have been much smaller.

When the researchers plotted their own weights on a graph, the pattern matched the distribution of the ancient samples they had found.

The research helps explain how far-flung Bronze Age societies traded across long distances, says Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz archaeologist Christopher Pare, who was not involved in the research. Complex systems are perpetuated by convention and exchange, rather than a central authority. Its fascinating.

In a related study, published last month in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Ialongo and colleagues found nearly 3000 bronze fragments from the same time period in hoards in central Germany and Italy that were all multiples of the same 10-gram weight. That suggests people in both regions were using hacked-up bronze in standard amounts as an early form of currency, Ialongo says.

However, Pare and others caution that its tricky to apply modern economic concepts to the distant past. Pare notes that when 19th century archaeologists applied their concepts of how societies were organized to the question of weights, they concluded a king must be in charge. The idea of the market standardizing itself fits a little too well into our modern neoliberal discourse, he says. Should we really be using these terms to talk about societies which are so foreign to us?

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These ancient weights helped create Europe's first free market more than 3000 years ago - Science Magazine