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WORCESTER businesses are being encouraged to take advantage of a workshop where residents can find out more about European Union funding opportunities.

Worcestershire MEP James Carver is urging rural business representatives to take advantage of European Union funding opportunities, by learning more at the pie and pint workshop sessions being held in October and November.

The MEP, who represents the county along with the wider West Midlands and is a member of the European Parliaments regional development committee, said a range of EU funding opportunities are available.

Until the end of the Brexit negotiations when we leave the EU the UK will continue to be a net contributor and its important that British firms take advantage of the funds acquired largely through the contributions of our taxpayers, said Worcester resident Mr Carver.

These workshops are a great idea and I hope businesses will take advantage of the chance to talk to experts who can inform them of the details and provide support in drawing up bids.

Firms that have already benefited from similar funding will also be on hand to share their experiences of the funding process and to outline the benefits to their businesses.

The workshops will take place on Thursday, October 12, at Evesham United Football Club, Spiers and Hartwell Jubilee Stadium, and on Thursday, November 2, at Leysters and Middleton Village Hall, Leysters.

They are being run in partnership between Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, Country Land and Business Association, National Farmers Union and the Worcestershire County Council LEADER Programme.

To register a place on the Pie and Pint workshops call Worcestershire Business Central on 01905 677 888 or email info@business-central.co.uk

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Worcestershire businesses encouraged to take advantage of European Union workshop funding opportunities by MEP - Worcester News

Axel Schmidt | Getty Image

French President Emmanuel Macron at a press conference at the Chancellery on May 15, 2017 in Berlin, Germany.

"Your victory is a sign of hope," European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted in response to Macron's win. "For a Europe that protects, wins and looks to the future."

Optimism for the European Union has surged since Macron's election, according to new research by Oxford Economics published Friday. Only 19 percent of businesses cite a eurozone break-up as the key medium-term risk for the global economy, down from 28 percent in the second quarter survey and the lowest level in more than a year.

Jamie Thompson, Head of Macro Scenarios at Oxford Economics, told CNBC via phone on Friday upbeat sentiment about the eurozone correlates with a drop in concern over European populism.

"Since the Le Pen defeat, concerns about that have collapsed," Thompson said. "Of the eight top risk categoriespopulism is basically at the bottom."

European leaders have stressed the importance of an integrated EU in response to Trump's populist and protectionist threats. The EU and Japan negotiated a major trade deal ahead of the G20 summit that would remove tariffs on some exports between the two blocs.

"The depth of this agreement goes beyond free trade it shows that closing ourselves off to the world is neither good for business, nor for the global economy, nor for our workers," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement in July.

EU leaders are also taking steps towards creating more military cooperation across the union. The new European Defense Fund aims to generate more than $6 billion per year after 2020 in defense research and development.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed calls for a stronger, more united EU in a speech in Munich in May, saying Europeans must "take our fate into our own hands." Merkel pledged to increase Germany's military spending to two percent of its GDP, amid Trump's repeated demands that EU allies must pay more for defense.

"The times in which we can fully rely on others are somewhat over," Merkel said in her speech in Munich in May this year.

Continue reading here:
How Trump's criticism of the EU makes the region stronger - CNBC

The U.K. will this week seek to regain momentum in the Brexit talks by publishing outlines of its negotiating positions, after two key ministersended their disagreement overa post-European Union transition period.

Photographer: Jasper Juinen/Bloomberg

The government plans to issue three discussion papers ahead of the next round of discussions, scheduled to start Aug. 28 in Brussels, Brexit Secretary David Daviss office said in a statement on Sunday.

The documents -- setting out proposals for Northern Ireland and the border with Ireland, continuity on the availability of goods, and confidentiality and access to official documents after Brexit -- will seek to prove the U.K. is ready for talks to advance to the next stage, according to the statement.

Britain is struggling with the negotiations, and the sluggish pace so far has sparked concerns the March 2019 exit deadline will arrive without a deal being reached. The EUs chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, warned ambassadors last month that the lack of progress meant talks on the future relationship with the U.K., including a free-trade agreement, might not be possible by the next summit of the bloc in October and might have to extended.

"Ive launched this process because, with time of the essence, we need to get on with negotiating the bigger issues around our future partnership to ensure we get a deal that delivers a strong U.K. and a strong EU," Davis said. "Its what businesses across Europe have called on both sides to do and will demonstrate that the U.K. is ready for the job."

In a further sign that Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative Party is seeking to show a united front, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and Trade Secretary Liam Fox published a joint statement in which they said a transition period following Brexit isnt a way for Britain to stay in the European Union through the back door.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, the two cabinet members said that we are both clear that during the period Britain would be outside the single market and the customs union and will be a third country not party to EU treaties.

The ministers were seen being on opposing sides on Brexit, with Hammond championing a business-friendly approach in which Britain gradually leaves the EU, while Fox sought as short a transition as possible and for the U.K. to have the freedom to immediately negotiate trade deals.

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While Mays government seeks to demonstrate to voters and the EU that it has a coherent position, there are still disagreements between the U.K. and the bloc over how to approach negotiating a future trade deal. Barnier has maintained that negotiators must make progress on the rights of EU and British citizens, the border with Ireland and Britains exit payment before discussing a deal. May wants an accord before leaving.

"Weve been crystal clear that issues around our withdrawal and our future partnership are inextricably linked, and the negotiations so far have reinforced that view, the Department for Exiting the EU said in the statement released Sunday. These papers show we are ready to broaden out the negotiations."

A series of broader future partnership papers will also be published in the run-up to the October negotiating session. The first of these will set out proposals for a new customs agreement.

EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Oct. 19, then again on Dec. 14.

More here:
UK Seeks Brexit Momentum With EU as Key Ministers End Dispute - Bloomberg

Rebecca Brambilla

Policy Researcher at Politheor

Rebecca has a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt in Munich. Her main academic interest lies in the fields of Foreign Affairs, International Development and Global Governance. During her studies, Rebecca worked as an intern for the social start-up Serlo Education in Munich and for the Blossom Hill Foundation in New Canaan, Connecticut. Passionate about human rights and global development, she has volunteered for local NGOs in Kenya, India and the United States.

Forget about foreign conflict, instability and terrorism: cyber security attacks are quickly becoming the biggest threat to European democracies. Over the past ten years, we have witnessed a steady and worrisome increase in online criminal activity, with cases of theft, espionage and data extraction on the rise. What were once merely disruptive threats have now become destructive attacks. Dealing with cyber attacks will require more than legislative proposals and mainstreaming cybersecurity.

The main targets so far have been businesses, alongside banking, telecom and defence, but with the 2016 US election, the focus of cyber attacks seems to have shifted towards governments and national parties. The state-sponsored cyber attacks against the Democratic Party and the subsequent leak of stolen information reflect a trend towards highly-publicised, overt campaigns designed to destabilize and disrupt organisations and sovereign countries.

European countries are no stranger to episodes of software piracy either: case in point, the hacking of French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macrons campaign allegedly perpetrated by APT 28, a group linked to the Russian military intelligence, and the subsequent diffusion online of nine gigabytes of private data, hours before the French election. Four months before, at least ten members of the German Bundestag were also victim of an attempted cyber attack. Here the hackers used advertising on the Jerusalem Post website to spear-phish users and redirect them to a malicious site.

Both the DNC hacking and the cyber attacks on the German Parliament and on En Marche should be viewed as cautionary tales, especially since a number of European Union member states will be holding their general elections in the upcoming months, including Germany and Italy.

The efforts by foreign agents to destabilize elections should be met with readiness and resolve. Yet according to this years UN global cyber security index, most European countries do not have enough effective measures in place to counter this menace. Only two EU countries made the top ten: Estonia and, ironically, France.

The UN recommends implementing prevention and mitigation measures to reduce the risks posed by cyber-related threats. The EUs official cyber security strategy dates back to 2013 and, while it has had promising but not entirely satisfactory results, it undoubtedly needs updating.

After a mid-term review of the Digital Single Market strategy carried out at the beginning of 2017, the following suggestions pertaining cyber security within the EU were made: a review of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy by September 2017 and additional measures on cyber security standards. The Commission has additionally pledged 600 millions of EU investment for research and innovation in cyber security projects during the 2014-2020 period.

The United States have increased their budget for cyber security from 5.5$ billion in 2016 to 7$ billion in 2017, and are planning to invest 35$ billion in the next five years. It is safe to assume that other superpowers like China and Russia are doing the same.

It is now clear that the biggest threat many European nations face at the moment is foreign interference in their elections, which will inevitably undermine the democratic process. Cyber warfare should be viewed as a matter of national security, just as terrorism is. It is in the interest of European states and European institutions to be prepared to confront cyber attacks and to protect the civil society from them.

The funds allocated by the Commission for cyber infrastructure pale in comparison to what other global superpowers spend on cyber defence, showing that this issue has not yet gained the significance it should.

The Commission needs to recognize the urgent necessity of proper cyber infrastructure and increase the budget for cyber defence. Moreover, these funds need to be allocated wisely if we want to make sure no hacking incidents obscure the results of the next elections.

One obvious option the Commission has to improve online security for its member states is enhancing public-private partnerships in regards to cyber defence.

The Commission already recognized the potential of public-private partnerships in tackling cyber threats. But while the underlying goal is to foster cooperation at early stages of the research and innovation process, its reach shouldnt stop at the traditional fields of energy, health, transport and finance. Instead, it should be made effective for government institutions and political parties as well. The number of start-ups specialized in cyber defence is thriving: the Commission ought to make sure those businesses get appropriate funding in order to scale up their operations.

Enhancing funding and encouraging public-private partnerships in the field should be taken into account in the review process of the EU Cybersecurity Strategy. Continuous investments need to be made in cyber security measures. It is crucial for the EU to make sure software capabilities of its member states are fit to resist foreign attacks.

Modern warfare is swiftly moving to the virtual front: if the European Union wants to stand a chance in this fight, it becomes imperative that member states are fully prepared to defend themselves from the cyber attacks of criminal organisations, terrorists or indeed state-sponsored agents. The stakes havent been higher.

Tags: Cybersecurity, elections hacking, EU, IT, Op-ed

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Cyber security: what lessons the European Union can learn from the French election - Politheor: European Policy Network

Accounting for 23 percent of GDP worldwide, the United States has dominated the global economy for over 70 years. However, the US attitude towards trade policy has changed significantly since the new administration took office. President Donald Trump has removed the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), slowed the progress of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and called into question the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

With these notable changes in policies, the United States is no longer situated at the forefront of international trade, and in its absence the European Union has stepped in. The European Union recently signed a free trade agreement with Canada, finished free trade negotiations with Japan, and has essentially replaced the United States as the leader in global trade policy.

In recent years, there has been a significant rise in free trade agreements. This rise can be attributed to the lack of movement in the most recent round of trade negotiations among World Trade Organization (WTO) members, as well as the organizations inability to set world standards. The WTO was created to negotiate trade agreements and remove obstacles to international trade. While the WTO had success in the early stages of removing tariffs, issues with non-tariff barriers have slowed down negotiations. As less progress is made through the WTO framework, even more emphasis will be placed on free trade agreements and their ability to shape global trade policy.

TPP and TTIP were significant trade deals, not just for the United States and its signatories, but also for the world more broadly. The Brookings Institution conducted a study on the impact of TPP, stating the agreement was significant because it represented 60 percent of global GDP and 50 percent of international trade, in addition to bringing together both developed and developing countries in the Pacific Rim. TTIP represented nearly half of the worlds GDP and, as Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Michael Czinkota states, it was the Wests last best opportunity to set global rules as the emerging markets continue to gain ground. NAFTA, when instated, was the most comprehensive free trade agreement in terms of gross domestic product. The removal and stalling of these agreements leaves the United States no longer as the rule-setter for new trade policies, but as a follower to the decisions made in European free trade agreements.

In February, the European Union ratified its free trade agreement with Canada, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). With plans for it to be in effect by September, this agreement will represent the most comprehensive trade agreement in the world. Besides the standard reduction of tariffs between the two countries, CETA addresses issues such as trade of services, simplifying technical and regulatory standards, and greater protection for intellectual property to reduce as many non-tariff barriers as possible. The most significant advantage the European Union has gained from this agreement, though, is access to the North American market EU companies can now compete with US exporters in the Canadian market. Overall, CETA represents two strong, Western trade powers setting the global standards on non-tariff barriers yet to be addressed on the world stage.

Prior to the G20 summit held in July, the European Union and Japan concluded discussions on their free trade agreement. For both powers, it represents the commitment to improving global trade despite the United States new turn towards America First policies. With the fourth largest economy in the world and the EUs second largest Asian trading partner, Japan is a huge market for the European Union. The agreement also demonstrates the benefits of being part of the European Union and is the first agreement concluded post-Brexit. For Japan, it will be the largest trade agreement made to date and provide their car manufacturers with greater access to the European Union, a market which was once heavily restricted. Both sides believe this agreement will encourage other countries to further reduce barriers and value free trade even without US support.

In addition to CETA and the EU-Japan agreement, the European Union has a free trade agreement with South Korea, which went into effect in 2015, as well as pending agreements with Singapore and Vietnam. While all will benefit from the higher standards being set by the European Union and its new trading partners, US companies will begin to feel pressure in current markets as EU companies gain preferred access through these new deals. Since 2000, the European Union has enacted over 30 trade agreements with countries in Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and South America. In the same time frame, the United States had enacted only 20 trade agreements with a more narrow focus on South and Central America. As the European Union continues to build agreements with more countries, it gains a larger role in defining global trade policy.

As long as the United States continues to follow its America First policies, the European Union will set the global trade standards and rules with its free trade agreements. The European Union has the largest free trade agreement in the world with Canada and it is forming more agreements with key nations. As free trade agreements become the new tool for defining global trade policy, recent developments could mark the end of US-dominated trade policy and a beginning of a new era led by the European Union.

Nicole Gunkle is a Fellowship Editor at Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). Her focus is on European Affairs and International Trade with a particular interest in the European Union. Nicole holds a MA in International Affairs from American University.

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Meet the New Global Trade Leader: the European Union - HuffPost