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BRUSSELS: The European Union will hold high-level talks with the United States in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss a possible US airline ban on carry-on computers.

The US Department of Homeland Security sparked deep concern in Europe last week when it said it would soon decide on extending to European airlines a ban on eight mostly Muslim countries.

"The commission will host high-level talks at the political and technical level with the US authorities this Wednesday afternoon in order to jointly assess any new threats and work toward a common approach to address them," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said at a press conference Monday.

Schinas said Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc took part in a conference call Friday with Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to discuss the possible laptop ban.

But he could not say whether Kelly would attend the talks Wednesday.

A US ban on now ubiquitous laptops could cause havoc, with more than 3,250 flights a week scheduled to leave EU airports for the US this summer, according to industry data.

Some experts also say there is a security risk in putting them with checked luggage given the danger of their batteries catching fire.

In March, Washington banned passengers from eight countries in North Africa and the Middle East from bringing laptop computers, tablets and other electronic devices larger than cellphones as carry-on items.

Britain followed with a similar ban applying to incoming flights from six Middle East and North African countries.

The move, which requires passengers to put the devices into checked baggage, came amid concerns that jihadist groups were devising bombs disguised as batteries in consumer electronics items.

A bomb that blew a hole in the fuselage of a Somali airliner in February 2016, killing one person, is believed to have been built into a laptop computer carried into the passenger cabin.

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European Union, United States to discuss possible airline laptop ban on Wednesday - Economic Times

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The consequences of Britain's withdrawal from the union would not just be a loss for the UK's scientific community but the continent as a whole, Irelands chief science adviser Mark Ferguson said.

Mr Ferguson was one of several experts discussing the impact of Brexit on European research, during a panel discussion at the Royal Institution in London this week.

Rolf Tarrach, president of the European University Association, said European researchers still wanted to work with colleagues in the UK, Times Higher Education reported.

But he added: "If you are so interested in working with all the other [countries], you are saying that you are less interested in working with your European colleagues. That is something that we feel.

He said the push to broker deals and partnerships with other nations in different continents could a danger to UK-EU relations.

There are also concerns that the European research budget would dwindle if Britain was to withdraw from all the EU's scientific programmes, taking its funding with it.

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And there is confusion over whether will make any professional or financial contribution to FP9, the European Commission's ninth research funding programme which begins in 2021.

While Theresa May's Conservative government has indicated a clean break from all EU activities, Ole Petersen, vice-president of Academia Europaea, said: "The values espoused by the UK Government are not the values of the academic community."

Scientists in Europe still retain hope that Britain will come to a Swiss-style agreement with the EU over sharing resources and participating in research despite not being a full member of the bloc.

See more here:
European Union science will SUFFER after Brexit, boffins claim - Express.co.uk

New York Times

Britain and the EU Are Breaking Up, but They're Still Partying Together New York Times The British Embassy participated in European Union Day on Saturday, an annual celebration in the spring in Washington. Credit Justin T. Gellerson for The New ... and more »

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Britain and the EU Are Breaking Up, but They're Still Partying Together - New York Times

The European Union could end up paying a Brexit bill to Britain instead of the other way round, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told The Daily Telegraph in an interview on Saturday.

Juncker thinks its the Hotel California where you can check out but you can never leave. He is wrong

Boris Johnson

Asked if he believed that Britain might end up receiving a payment, Johnson replied: I do, I think there are very good arguments.

There are assets that we share, that we have paid for over the years and there will need to be a proper computation of the value of those assets, said Johnson, one of the leading lights in last years Brexit referendum campaign.

Johnson dismissed as absurd the various estimates for the exit fee that would have to be paid by Britain, which some reports have said could be as high as 100 billion (US$109 billion).

They are going to try to bleed this country white with their bill, he said, threatening that Britain could definitely walk away from the negotiations without paying anything.

The payments that London must make to settle financial commitments made when it was a member are considered one of the most difficult Brexit issues and are a top priority for the talks.

A report in the Telegraph earlier this week said British officials estimated that Britain was entitled to 9 billion (US$11.6 billion) in funds held by the European Investment Bank and 14 billion of other EU assets including property and cash.

Johnson also criticised the shameful leaking of details of a meeting in Downing Street last month between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Brussels is ruthless in its negotiating techniques. They are going to play dirty. We have got to be very wary and intellectually very firm, the former London mayor said.

Quoting a famous Eagles song, he added: Jean-Claude Juncker thinks its the Hotel California where you can check out but you can never leave. He is wrong.

Tensions between Brussels and London have risen in the run-up to Britains general election on June 8, with the government accusing EU officials of meddling in the election campaign.

Link:
'European Union may end up paying Britain's Brexit bill,' says foreign minister Boris Johnson - South China Morning Post

Members of the European Parliment visited Africa yesterday in an attempt to expand and export its "prosperous open-border model".

During the meeting, European Parliamentarians held talks with their Pan African counterparts in Midrand, South Africa.

In a shock development, the African Union (AU) agreed plans to introduce a single passport modelled on the EU's Schengen area, which permits free movement of people.

The deal will see the European project, which has come under growing domestic criticism, become a global initiative.

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Sceptics argue that this deal would encourage militant groups such as Boko Haram and exacerbate public health crises.

Powers in Brussels have long tried to spread its borderless model beyond the European continent.

The Schengen zone has abolished internal borders to enable passport-free movement across the EU bloc.

AU leaders announced that, with the help of the EU, they plan on turning the continent into one of "seamless borders".

They want to abolish the need for Africans visiting African countries to require a visa by 2018, as well as agree on a free trade deal across the continent.

Michael Gahler, a German politician and member of the European Parliament, told SABC: "We have experience of working together, trading together, making policies together.

"Having open borders has brought us prosperity and jobs. We will try to encourage and push Africa to act together."

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Open borders has brought the EU prosperity and jobs

Michael Gahler

EU High Representative Federica Mogherini added: "Every obstacle we may face is a common challenge, and Africa's hope is our hope.

"A strong Africa matters to Europe; our friendship matters to our people.

"Only by joining forces and working in partnership can we provide our youth with a more hopeful and peaceful future.

"Today, we don't simply look at what we can do for Africa but what we can do with Africa, together."

SABC

An AU spokesman told SABC: "The specific aim of the passport is facilitating free movement of persons, goods and services around the continent in order to foster intra-Africa trade, integration and socio-economic development."

Chairperson of the AU, Dr Nkosazana Dlaimini Zuma, said the innovation was a steady step toward the objective of creating a strong, prosperous and integrated Africa, driven by its own citizens.

Dr Zuma added: "It is up to all of us to hold our countries to that decision so that indeed Africans can move freely among other African countries."

Originally posted here:
Brussels tries to export European Union's open-border model to Africa - Express.co.uk