Archive for the ‘European Union’ Category

Council of the EU expands sanctions against North Korea – POLITICO.eu

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, front | AFP via Getty Images

EU takes measures in line with latest UN Security Council resolution.

By David M. Herszenhorn

8/10/17, 3:58 PM CET

Updated 8/10/17, 5:19 PM CET

The Council of the European Union on Thursday expanded its sanctions against North Korea to align the EUs punitive measures with a new United Nations Security Council resolution.

In a statement, the Council said it had extended an asset freeze and travel restrictions to nine individuals and four organizations, including the government-owned Foreign Trade Bank, to an existing roster of 62 individuals and 50 organizations already under sanction.

The U.N. Security Council on Saturday adopted Resolution 2371 to toughen sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development programs.

In the latest exchange of bellicose rhetoric, Pyongyang warned that it would fire missiles at Guam in response to U.S. President Donald Trumps threat that North Koreas aggression would be met with fire and fury.

Separately from the sanctions that mirror measures by the U.N., the Council of the EU said that it has designated 41 individuals and seven organizations for punishment.

The EU has implemented all U.N. Security Council resolutions adopted in response to the DPRKs nuclear and nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, the Council said in a statement.

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European Union – Spain calls for eurozone budget and EU finance … – Express.co.uk

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Madrid this week called for a significant ratcheting up of federalisation of the blocs core economies, saying further amalgamation is the only way to save the troubled euro currency.

Prime minister Mariano Rajoy openly called for radical solutions in an address yesterday and vowed to put pressure on France, Germany and Italy to press ahead with completing the eurozone.

The Spanish leader is likely to find a close ally in French president Emmanuel Macron, who has also called for further federalisation, but could face resistance from Germany chancellor Angela Merkel.

Berlin is extremely reluctant to enter into any reform which will involve the pooling of sovereign debt, because it would effectively require German taxpayers to underwrite the entire eurozone economy.

Italian ministers may favour such a scheme given the dire state of their financial institutions, but a further ceding of sovereignty could be dangerous at a time when eurosceptic feeling in the country is running high.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Rajoy openly advocated the creation of a eurozone budget, EU finance minister and the establishing of eurobonds which would have to be underwritten by Germany.

The Spanish PM announced he would press the big three of France, Germany and Italy on the issue at a special eurozone summit on August 28, saying: We are going to continue to work to deepen economic and monetary union.

We are going to continue to work to deepen economic and monetary union

Mariano Rajoy

He urged: Spain is backing a European finance minister and a European budget which will progressively bring closer together living standards and the wealth of all European countries.

In a move likely to unnerve Germany, which is opposed to the pooling of eurozone debt, he added: Spain is going to bet on the existence of eurobonds, a European treasury emitting eurobonds.

His intervention comes after the Spanish finance minister Luis de Guindos also urged ambitious reform of the eurozone, including the creation of a European monetary fund and EU control over a certain percentage of national budgets.

Mr Macron has also put reform of the eurozone and single currency, which has overwhelmingly benefitted Germany at the expense of other member states, at the heart of his policy agenda.

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And the enigmatic centrist appears to have won some concessions from Berlin - historically opposed to upsetting the status quo - amid concerns dissatisfaction with the euro is fuelling anti-EU feeling.

Last month Mr Macron said: I have never reproached Germany for being competitivebut a part of German competitiveness is due to the dysfunctionalities of the eurozone, and the weakness of other economies.

However, any such reform risks further heightening eurosceptic sentiment as it would automatically involved a further ceding of sovereignty over fundamental tax and spending powers.

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European Union - Spain calls for eurozone budget and EU finance ... - Express.co.uk

10 years since the start of the crisis: back to recovery thanks to decisive EU action – EU News

The global financial crisis began 10 years ago and led to the European Union's worst recession in its six-decade history. The crisis did not start in Europe but EU institutions and Member States needed to act resolutely to counter its impact and address the shortcomings of the initial set-up of the Economic and Monetary Union. Decisive action has paid off: today, the EU economy is expanding for the fifth year in a row. Unemployment is at its lowest since 2008, banks are stronger, investment is picking up, and public finances are in better shape. Recent economic developments are encouraging but a lot remains to be done to overcome the legacy of the crisis years. The European Commission is fully mobilised to deliver on its agenda for jobs, growth and social fairness.

Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, responsible for the Euro and Social Dialogue, said: "Thanks to the determined policy response to the crisis the EU economy is now firmly recovering and the Economic and Monetary Union is stronger than before. We need to build on this progress, completing the financial union, reforming our economies to foster convergence, inclusiveness and resilience, and maintaining sustainable public finances. In doing so, we should pursue a balanced approach whererisk reduction and risk sharing go hand-in-hand and the unity of the single market is preserved."

Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, responsible for Economic Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: "Ten years after the global crisis began, the recovery of the European economy has firmed and broadened. We must use this positive momentum to complete the reform of our Economic and Monetary Union. Not all legacies from the past correct automatically. We have seen greater social and economic divergences develop in and among Member States. It is essential that our work going forward contributes to the real and sustained convergence of our economies."

Ten years ago today, on 9 August 2007, BNP Paribas became the first major bank to acknowledge the impact of its exposure to sub-prime mortgage markets in the United States, having to freeze exposed funds. In the years that followed, what was initially a financial crisis turned into a banking crisis and a crisis of sovereign debt, soon affecting the real economy. The European Union fell into the worst recession in its history, which left deep marks on our citizens, companies and Member States' economies.

In this adversity, EU institutions and Member States took strong political decisions to contain the crisis, preserve the integrity of the euro and to avoid worse possible outcomes. The EU has worked to regulate the financial sector and improve economic governance; bolster new and common institutional and legal frameworks; establish a financial firewall for the euro area; support countries in financial distress; improve Member States' public finances; pursue structural reforms and encourage investment; fight youth unemployment; improve banking sector supervision; increase the ability of financial institutions to cope with future challenges; and establish ways to manage and better prevent possible crises.

As a result of these actions, Europe's Economic and Monetary Union has been significantly overhauled and the European economy and notably the euro area economy is back in shape. The European recovery is sustained and unemployment is steadily going down. The number of Member States belonging to the euro has increased from 12 to 19 and the euro is now the second-most important currency in the world. Out of the eight EU Member States that received financial assistance, only Greece is still under a programme and is due to exit it in mid-2018. Only three Member States are now subject to the corrective arm of the Stability and Growth Pact, the so-called Excessive Deficit Procedure, down from 24 Member States at the height of the crisis. The Juncker Plan, or Investment Plan for Europe, launched in November 2014, is now set to trigger more than 225 billion across all Member States.

As robust as it is today, the EMU remains incomplete and the journey of the euro has just started. From the Five Presidents' Report of June 2015 to the reflection paper on the Deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union of May 2017, a lot of initiatives were taken in recent years to draw the lessons from the crisis and prepare the EU even better for future challenges.

For More Information

Reflection Paper on Deepening the Economic and Monetary Union

The Five Presidents' Report

The White Paper on the Future of Europe

Reflection paper on the social dimension of Europe

Reflection paper on harnessing globalisation

Follow Vice-President Dombrovskis on Twitter: @VDombrovskis

Follow Commissioner Moscovici on Twitter: @Pierremoscovici

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10 years since the start of the crisis: back to recovery thanks to decisive EU action - EU News

Border SHUT as Spain blames EU for immigration crisis – Express.co.uk

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Officials from a migrant centre in Ceuta, North Africa, which has been overwhelmed by the number of migrants arriving, have claimed immigration is an EU problem, not a Spanish problem.

Ceuta has become a magnet for African migrants hoping to reach Spain as it has the EUs only land border with Africa.

Early on Monday morning, almost 200 migrants from Guinea arrived in the Spanish city of Ceuta where they have been staying in a temporary centre for immigrants.

REUTERS

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African migrants react as they arrive at the CETI, the short-stay immigrant centre, after crossing the border from Morocco to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta

It is a problem for the European Union because the autonomous cities are the way to enter the continent

Ceuta immigration spokesman

Government delegate in Ceuta, Nicols Fernndez Cucurull, blamed a security failure in the surveillance of the border for the migrants managing to enter successfully.

A spokesman from the immigration centre said: It's not our problem and we're not going to solve it.

It is a problem for the European Union because the autonomous cities are the way to enter the continent.

Often these people go to countries like France or Germany.

He said the EU does not pay attention to Ceuta because it is outside the Schengen area, which has abolished border control between EU nations.

A source from the temporary migrant centre said: Here we meet their most urgent needs for a maximum of three months, until the police authorise their transfer to the host NGOs.

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This week the Spanish police also arrested 19 North African migrants hiding in fairground lorries after a funfair in Ceuta.

The comments come as Ceuta has decided to close its border crossing because of the sheer number of migrants arriving in the city in Morocco.

The week-long agreement with the Moroccan authorities involves closing the border crossing Tarajal.

Ceuta is home to 85,000 people, measures just seven square miles and lies just across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain.

It is protected by fences with barbed wire, video cameras and watchtowers and many migrants have died or been injured trying to enter the territory.

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Border SHUT as Spain blames EU for immigration crisis - Express.co.uk

European Union Says No To Electric Car Quotas – InsideEVs

5 hours ago by Mark Kane

Tiguan GTE concept

The European Union doesnt intend to follow in Chinas footsteps by introducing a minimum quota for all-electric or plug-in hybrid car salesor at least that is what they are saying publicly at this moment.

Renault ZOE

Currently in the EU there are only general emission requirements, that are designed to nudge(when testing is applied correctly anyway) manufacturers into selling more environmentally friendly vehicles, or pay penalties for exceeding the average norms.

With that said, in some other countries inside the Union, there are additional requirements for a certain percentage of sales to be zero emission, or low emission.

Generally speaking, the Commision is looking into ways to promote use of low carbon energy and transport, but none of them includes quotas for electric cars, the spokeswoman told reporters.

We do not discriminate between different technologies.

China is expected to set a 8% base requirement from 2018, while California (and other ZEV states) are promoting plug-ins through ZEV credits, that indirectly require the sale of plug-ins (2% of sales need offset viaZEV credits for 2018, 4% in 2019up to almost 16%in 2025), or force amanufacturer who falls short to buy credits from those who do sell plug-ins, to buy itself more time for compliance.

The European Union Commission declined quotas and underlined its stance, after the German newspaper Handelsblattstated that sourcesatthe European Commission were looking to setquotas for low emission cars, such as electric cars from 2025.

source: Reuters

Tags: europe, Europpe EV mandate

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European Union Says No To Electric Car Quotas - InsideEVs