European-Sceptism: European commissioner is right: we can not let populism win ahead of facts on immigration

Vivane Reding, vice-president of the European commission, stated in a web chat last night that in the UK there is a perception of an “invasion of foreigners” coming to the UK to “steal jobs”.

“this supposed invasion of foreigners coming to the UK and stealing the jobs and stealing the social security and the health money……The fact and figures, and we all know this, show it is simply not true….I am mostly frustrated about the political leaders because what is leadership if you just try with populistic movements and populistic speech to gain votes?”

Indeed, if you were to take an overview of the UK’s press today then it would appear that all of our economic woes are due to ‘benefit scroungers’ and immigrants.

Ms Reading is right to point out that we have fallen into scapegoating immigrants, whipped up by populists such as Nigel Farage and the tabloids.

A quick look at some of the myths behind immigration illustrates as much: ‘They are taking our jobs’
 
This is a cry that has rung through the ages, be it the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. The historical data is undebatable that immigration helps creates jobs; the idea that employment is a zero-sum game of continual limited jobs either for immigrants or UK born workers is simply wrong.

An example of this is that in 2012 over 66 per cent of European immigration came from core EU community countries like Germany and France, providing skilled staff that are more “likely to be in higher managerial or professional occupations and they also earn 7.6 per cent (£2,035) on average more than UK workers”

In other words, the high skilled workers we need to be competitive in the world market.

To lose these young, motivated workers would be an economic disaster. As The Centre of Business Research states would be a catastrophy.

Read more: European commissioner is right: we can not let populism win ahead of facts on immigration | Left Foot Forward

Back To The European Community - by Rene Cuperus

The European Union needs a strong dose of John Gray philosophy. The European Project as it has developed over the years needs a strong antidote against hybris. An antidote against imperial overstretch. An antidote against technocratic materialism and the Brussels ‘one size fits all’ tyranny. And a Gray-ish antidote against naïve and dangerous utopian thinking. John Gray’s thoughts (and work) stand for a realistic common sense filter. For modesty. Self- constraint. And self-criticism.  

That’s what the European Project utterly needs, if it ever wants to be able to reconnect to the hearts and minds of the majority of the European people.

No misunderstanding. History forced us to become Europeans, to be Europeans. The historical legacy of Europe in the 20^th century should lead to intensive forms of cooperation, cross-border coordination between European nation states, to overcome national superiority thinking, ethnic definitions of national identity or cultural hostility.

History transformed us, Dutchmen, French, English, Swedes & Poles into Europeans. The bloody European civil war 1914-1945, the Communist and Nazi occupation, have made Europe into a ‘’language community’’. The common language being about war and oppression, persecution and lack of freedom. Being European means that one feels obliged to do everything possible never to let European peoples get into violent conflict, or under occupation, again.

That’s fair enough. Europeans we should be and have to be. But only to a certain extent. To certain limits. Defined by the radius of action of democracy, solidarity, shared values and cultural understanding.

Is Eutopia, the European Dream of Unity, the right and only answer to that? That remains the big question. Especially in these days of the eurocrisis.

Without such a fundamental debate about the future of the European project, the pan-European revolt of populism will gain more and more momentum.

Read more: Back To The European Community!

Cameron Gets Warning Lecture on EU Politics From Barroso - by Jonathan Stearns

European Commission President Jose Barroso said U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party risks losing 2014 legislative elections in Europe as it gets outflanked by Britain’s nationalist party.

Barroso told Martin Callanan, a Tory member of the European Parliament and head of its Conservatives and Reformists group, that he faced the threat of defeat at the hands of the U.K. Independence Party. UKIP’s leader is Nigel Farage, a prominent opponent of the EU.

“Increasingly your party and your group is looking like the UKIP,” Barroso told Callanan during a debate in the 28-nation legislature today in Strasbourg, France. “I start to have some doubts that you are going to be elected yourself in Britain, if it’s not UKIP that is going to be the first force in the British elections.”

The sniping follows Cameron’s decision this year to open the door to a possible U.K. departure from the EU, a step that would be unprecedented. In January, seeking to stave off growing anti-EU voices within the Tory party, Cameron promised to win back powers from European institutions and put continued membership in the bloc to a popular vote.

Farage, who is also a member of the EU Parliament, said at the time that it was UKIP’s “greatest achievement to date.”

“When it comes to be against Europe, the people, between the original and the copy, they prefer the original,” said Barroso, who is a former Portuguese prime minister. “That’s probably why they are going to vote more for Mr. Farage than for Mr. Callanan.”

The Tories have 27 of the U.K.’s 73 seats in the 766-seat EU Parliament. UKIP has 11 seats in the European assembly.

Callanan responded to the remarks by Barroso, who was appointed by EU governments in 2004 to head the Brussels-based commission, the EU’s executive arm, with a jibe of his own.

“It’s a bit rich for the unelected head of the European Commission to give us electoral advice,” Callanan said on the EU Parliament plenary floor, prompting a smile from Barroso. “But I suppose that’s typical of him.”

NOTE EU-Digest: it is high time that citizens of the European Union democratically elect a President of the EU rather than having an appointed figurehead.  

Read more: Cameron Gets Warning Lecture on EU Politics From Barroso - Bloomberg

Europe needs to change, let the debate begin - by Martin Schulz

It is not just former Eurosceptic Conservative ministers and Ukip supporters who are questioning the view that an 'ever closer union' is the answer to Europe's challenges.

For some, the idea is in freefall. Europe is living through rising eurosceptism, unacceptably high unemployment, especially among the young, and weak economic prospects.  This is worrying, for the moment people withdraw their support from an idea, the idea is finished. The more populist protest parties may see the European elections this time next year as an opportunity to score electoral successes.

As a convinced European I welcome the debate, but I recognise first that Europe needs to change course, something many in Brussels seem not to acknowledge. We are living beyond our means. Budgetary consolidation is essential, if only because we cannot bequeath a mountain of debt to our children.

Second, some structural reforms – to the labour market and on retirement ages - are essential. But the austerity policies currently being implemented in Europe are lopsided. It is taking too long for the structural measures and the necessary budgetary consolidation to take effect and, at long last, increase competitiveness.

In the meantime, some EU Member States are sliding ever deeper into a recession. Austerity, supposedly the cure, is threatening to undermine the European project.

Third (and this is surely a cause to warm a British Eurosceptic’s heart), the EU must tackle the vexed question of tax. Every year in the EU, €1 trillion is lost through tax evasion and tax avoidance – an enormous loss to the Union. This sum could be used to pay off debt, to set up youth guarantee schemes and to invest further in growth initiatives. European heads of state and government have a duty to agree on effective counter-measures at the EU summit in ten days’ time.

And yet, and yet. Just six months ago, the European Union was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. It was one of my proudest moments. Indeed, many of Europe's greatest successes are being taken for granted: Europe is the most prosperous continent on earth, Europeans can travel, work and live where they please. We enjoy a standard of living and a degree of protection of our fundamental rights which people in other parts of the world can only dream of.

Perhaps paradoxically, a new European awareness is emerging from the crisis. Europeans are recognising how interdependent they are. One country's failures can threaten the entire European economy, and can call into question the fruits of 60 years of integration. Peace, solidarity, and prosperity are not irreversible; only 27 countries, (28 when Croatia accedes to the EU on 1 July this year), working together can guarantee them. The peoples of Europe are taking a greater interest in what is happening on the other side of their countries' borders. People want to know what the retirement age is in other countries, what the top tax rate is, why young people are demonstrating in the streets of European capitals.

However, some governments still refuse to accept that they are already working in a European context. They prefer to cling to national sovereignty, to the familiar trappings of carefully orchestrated Brussels Summits at which they mount a last-ditch defence of their national interests and then present the outcome at home as a victory. In so doing, they disregard the fact that it is in their countries' very best interests that Europe should function properly. This, surely, is little more than posturing.

The European Parliament and the Council is currently discussing the EU's long-term budget 2014-2020. It’s an important issue, but sadly it best illustrates the short-termist lack of commitment of some Member States to the wider European interest.  It is clearly misguided of EU governments, including the UK government, not to shift investment towards research and development, education, training, foreign relations and development aid, areas where European added value are at their greatest.

The EU is about much more than its budget (capped at a meagre one percent of EU GDP since its inception).  The single market benefits the British economy hugely, and the EU remains by far the biggest destination for UK trade, accounting for almost 50 per cent of total exports The UK has played a leading role in forming many key EU policies (on the single market, overseas development, trade and climate change).  UK leadership in these areas has been highly appreciated and would be sorely missed should the British decide to exit.

Read more: Martin Schulz: Europe needs to change, let the debate begin - UK Politics - UK - The Independent

Soccer - European Champions League: Germany Extends Its Success to the Soccer Field - By Nicolas Kulish

France’s finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, warned on Tuesday against caricatures and misunderstandings over Germany’s handling of the euro crisis, but quickly qualified his conciliatory statement about the European Union’s most powerful country.

“There is one subject where Germany’s image is certainly bad,” Mr. Moscovici told an auditorium full of students at the Free University in Berlin. “Germany wins too often at soccer, particularly now in the Champions League.” 

Europe’s equivalent of the Super Bowl does not kick off for more than two weeks, but in a development that feels all too fitting under the current circumstances here, Germany has already won. Two German clubs, one from Dortmund in the Ruhr Valley and the other from Munich in deepest Bavaria, will face off for the European title, which means the nationality of the champion is already assured. 

The local news media are calling it the “dream final.” The daily newspaper Berliner Kurier summed up the mood in Germany perfectly in a front-page headline last week that read simply, “We versus us.”

“One thing is certain,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said. “Germany wins.”

Read more: Germany Extends Its Success to the Soccer Field - NYTimes.com

The Netherlands: Heavily indebted stodgy Netherlands is nation that’ll blow up euro ? - by Matthew Lynn

The Netherlands - economic decline?

The Netherlands has turned into one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world. It has slumped into recession, and shows very little sign of coming out of it. The euro crisis has been dragging on for three years now, but so far has only infected the peripheral nations within the single currency. But the Netherlands is a core member of both the euro and the European Union.

If it can’t survive in the euro zone, then the game really will be up. 

Holland has always been one of the most prosperous and stable nations with Europe — and one of the most pro-EU. It was a founding member of the union, and one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the launch of the single currency. With a rich, export-oriented economy, and plenty of successful multinational companies, you might suppose it had much to gain from the creation of the single economy that was meant to come into being once the euro was successfully launched. 

But instead it has started to play out a depressingly familiar script. It is blowing up in exactly the same way that Ireland, Greece and Portugal did — except on a slightly longer fuse. 

Low interest rates, set mainly to benefit the German economy, and lots of cheap capital, lead to a property boom, and an explosion of debt. From the launch of the single currency to the peak of the market, Dutch house prices doubled, making it one of the most over-heated markets in the world.

Note EU-Digest: Is this reality or more disgruntled Anglo-Saxon Eurosceptism ?

Read more: Stodgy Netherlands is nation that’ll blow up euro - Matthew Lynn's London Eye - MarketWatch

Europe - Op-ed: " It's all about the future, human rights, unity, dreams, innovation and investment, not narrow minded nationalism or austerity"

Far from solving the debt crisis, as promised, the current European seven year EU budget agreed upon by the European Council this past Friday, and the numerous fiscal consolidation plans around Europe could  eventually  result in higher debt-GDP ratios in the EU this year, according to recent research.

Several reports have now confirmed what economists and activists warned months and even years ago: that the economic crisis, triggered by the financial collapse of 2007-2008 and the subsequent state-sponsored bailout of banks and investment funds, has resulted in higher unemployment and poverty rates in every country.

According to figures published by the official European statistics office, Eurostat, youth unemployment in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain is presently above 30 percent.

The situation is particularly difficult in Greece, where youth unemployment has more than doubled since 2008, to reach 55.4 percent in 2012. In Spain, where a 37 percent youth unemployment rate was the norm in 2008, the crisis has rendered over 50 percent of the youth labor force jobless.

But a few setbacks in the greatest democratic and economic project ever attempted by mankind are nothing compared to the huge accomplishments of the past 50 years in what is now known, and highly respected around the world, as the European Union.  

The European Union born out of the destruction of war is designed to never again allow a war do to it what World War II did. To achieve this the nations of Europe agreed to sacrifice a large part of their national autonomy for the security of no more war and the efficiency of a huge free-trade zone. Over the years, nudged slowly and steadily on by visionary Euro-crats, the former rivals have gradually (and often reluctantly) morphed into a single union whose motto is "unity in diversity. which stresses sustainable and environmentally safe development.

Unfortunately, nationalism, paranoia, eurosceptism, self interest, corporate manipulation and greed has been trying to infiltrate and water down our European Dream.

Europe was never intended  to become a copy of America where charity is prized as a voluntary, private-sector phenomenon. or where tax cuts for the wealthy" embraces the trickle-down theory that, as the rich get richer, they'll lift the poor with them, caring for others out of the goodness of their hearts. In fact, the presence of millionaires among the poor is seen by some Americans as a motor that drives people to work harder to win the same big payoff.  Seventy percent of Americans believe the rich are rich because they're smarter and work harder, and the poor are poor because they're slackers; very few Europeans would agree with that notion.

Unfortunately, as statistics have shown us, the problem with the American Dream is the growing gap between rich and poor, making success a distant dream for those outside the bubble of wealth, and a crumbling infrastructure due to a lack of investment towards the upkeep and improvement of the infrastructure.

The American Dream emphasizes autonomy, national pride, and material wealth. Europe's vision of the future emphasizes community, cultural diversity, and quality of life. While America values hard work, property ownership, and a unilateral foreign policy, Europe champions more free personal time, better education and healthcare for all citizens,  human rights, and multi-lateralism. 

While the American Dream is personal, the European Dream is communal. This may seem naively altruistic, but ultimately Europeans recognize that looking out for the greater good is in their own best interests. And superstars are not as prized in Europe — where they say "the grain that grows taller will be cut first" — as in America.

Europeans strongly believe that their regulatory policies should be driven by the people's needs rather than corporate needs. One might conclude that, as American corporations continue their drive for profit at the expense of the environment, Americans are becoming second-class citizens in regard to chemical and environmental safety.

Europe must remain true to its values and not be overcome by multi-national corporate "sweet talk", or  cut back on social services, which are not there merely to help the poor, but to enrich the society's quality of life. While politics in the traditional nation-state mold deals primarily with government and the economy, Europe also stresses civil society — religion, arts, environment, human rights, education, health, and ethnic sub-cultures. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), which represent these aspects of a society (school groups, doctors' societies, church organizations, environmental groups, and so on), are the new kid on the political block, and are struggling for a place at the table. Europe understands that as multinational corporations become more powerful than governments , the governments will need the support of CSOs to remain valid players. 

The EU has been vigorously pursuing a vision of complete integration into one vast trans-European network. Powered by an initial investment of $500 billion, a futuristic grid of transport, energy, and telecommunications is making Europe one super-efficient playing field for commerce and communication. It has also  become a major player in space exploration with its own launching site in French Guiana while in the aircraft industry Airbus Industries is a company that is widely seen as an innovator in the business of airplane design and manufacturing. .

The EU is funding programs for over a million European students to go to high school in other member countries, and get job training or do volunteer service in another nation.

Weak links in the giant free-trade zone — like Portugal, Ireland and Greece — have been identified and are being brought up to speed with EU money. Today Portugal is laced by new freeways, and Ireland has a higher per capita income than England for the first time in history. Workers in poor regions are getting aid for education and to learn job skills.

Presently there are some 500 million people in 27 member countries who have EU citizenship. Just think of that accomplishment after a thousand years of killing. The visionary leaders of the European Dream, many of them in the Parliaments of the 27 member states or in the Pan European elected European Parliament, along with many Eurocrats in Brussels, are fostering a new political system that favors negotiation over ultimatums and cooperation over competition. It's plodding bureaucracy can seem clumsy and sometimes even laughable. But as an alternative to another devastating war every generation or two, it's a brilliant and peaceful vision.    

There is no place in Europe today for narrow minded nationalism, eurosceptism or inward looking destructive austerity programs.

The EU's power will grow, not by expanding sovereignty, but by broadening cooperation based on mutual interest


EU-Digest Op-ed

Under EU, independence feels viable to Europe's secessionists - by Henry Chu

During most of the last 1,200 years, this watery Italian city was a nation unto itself — powerful, prosperous and proud.

Now, many of its residents are convinced that their best shot at the future lies in turning back the clock.
Venice and the surrounding region, known as the Veneto, would be much better off as an independent state again, uncoupled from Italy, a growing number of people say. They're tired of paying billions of dollars in taxes to Rome, only to see the money frittered away on other, less productive parts of the country.

So this year, thousands of Venetians signed a petition demanding a divorce from their fellow Italians. A declaration of independence was delivered — by gondola, of course — to regional officials, who are mulling over a possible referendum on breaking away.

"We say we don't need Rome," said Lodovico Pizzati, an economics professor who is leading the campaign. "We have our right of self-determination."

Read more: Under EU, independence feels viable to Europe's secessionists - latimes.com

Eurosceptism: The British media is in love with the Euromyth

The invented tales about European Union policy have the ability to amuse and terrify the public. But Catherine Bearder, a Liberal Democrat MEP for South East England, explains why she has launched her Euromyth Buster campaign to make sure fact is not substituted for fantasy.  Let’s face it, is it any surprise people in the UK get exasperated by the European Union?

They are swamped with erroneous tales of alleged devious directives and barmy plans from ‘meddling Brussels bureaucrats’.

I have my favourites. There was the ‘fear’ sparked amongst the European male population after the story of the German man who claimed to have been made impotent by Euro coins. And even the rational were left reeling at news the EU was proposing to liquefy corpses and flush them down the drain.

You can take two stances: ignore, and let the drivel seep into the public subconscious, in the way grossly exaggerated tales of bendy bananas managed. Or, go armed with the truth, tackle myth-making when it crops up in the media and query suspected fabrication.

When a headline screams ‘EU disgrace’ or ‘look at what them lot are doing now’ (insert exclamation mark for extra anger), stick your hand up and question detail.

It is a relentless job, but one which those of us who believe in an effective place in the union must do. Rebutting falsehoods uttered about the European Union has become a full time job. The European Commission has introduced a policy of tackling negative coverage it regards as being distorted… or, just plain wrong. It gets hit hard, often because many UK tabloids seem to forget their journalistic duty to contact the commission for a comment on many of their stories.  I struggle to imagine other scenarios in which that would be the case. If a local newspaper is running a story criticising a council plan, they go to the Town Hall for comment.

If a police initiative is being scrutinized, a leading officer is asked for a quote. If a school is cutting classes, the headteacher or education authority is called upon to speak up. I took part in a radio debate last month, during which one caller said she wanted Britain out of the EU because it preached holocaust denial to school pupils.

The most surprising part was the polite acceptance of the viewpoint from the presenter. No attempt was made to question what was clearly rubbish. Those who pour scorn on our place in Europe are not keen for a frank and straightforward debate on the facts.

Read more: The British media is in love with the Euromyth | New Europe

Across Europe, leaders fear spectre of separatists breaking countries apart - by Ian Trainor

Amid the statuary, marble and lavish wood panelling inside Antwerp's Renaissance-era town hall, a slow revolution is being plotted. Strolling in the autumn sunshine outside, Martin Roef seems an unlikely radical, but the retired lawyer harbours few doubts about the machinations of the politicians inside.

"The problem's down south. It's the French-speakers. They eat from the north, they eat from us and they want it to stay that way. We should split up and make Flanders a separate country. We'd be better living together but separately. Perhaps De Wever will make a difference."

He is referring to the rising star of Belgian politics, who has just conquered the town hall in a victory that merits the term historic. Bart de Wever, leader of the New Flemish Alliance, is a separatist and nationalist bent on redrawing the map of the European Union. Like Alex Salmond in Edinburgh or Artur Mas in Barcelona, De Wever is far from a fringe extremist. He is a mainstream conservative who wants to break Belgium apart and whose support is soaring.

Read more: Across Europe, leaders fear spectre of separatists breaking countries apart | World news | The Guardian

EU Defence Force: Do the operations of the European Defence Force have democratic legitimacy?

Below is the currently accepted coat of arms of the European Defence Force (informal title), which British troops in the near future will be forced to wear.

EU-Defence Force

You may not have heard of this European Union military project, but it has been up and running for over a decade now.

It is run from the EU’s ‘Common Security and Defence Policy’ in Brussels and involves policing and humanitarian roles usually carried out by the United Nations and NATO.

Note EU-Digest: another badly researched and fear mongering story by the British Eurosceptic Daily Mail

For more: Do the operations of the European Defence Force have democratic legitimacy? | Mail Online

EU struggles to project itself as world power - by David Gardner

Even by the standards of recent European Union summits, last Thursday’s gathering of the leaders of the 27 member states in Brussels was a dispiriting affair. It was called to discuss how to engage strategically with emerging powers such as China and Russia. In the event, it was notable mostly for a shrill row between France and the European Commission over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s deportations of Roma. Once more, the EU looked feeble.

Note EU-Digest: a typical Anglo Saxon comment by a eurosceptic British journalist. At least arguments come into the open during these EU meetings and are not swept under the carpet.

For more: FT.com / Europe



- Sent using Google Toolbar"

The Anglo-Saxon Conservative Badmouthing of Europe continues - "Europe Sees Dreams of Power Wane as 'G-2' Rises" - by Marcus Walkere

Many Europeans have long dreamt of a multipolar world, in which diplomacy and international law replace American dominance and military muscle-flexing. But EU-style soft power is turning out to be less useful than expected in dealing with China and other rising powers.

"China and Russia see the world in totally realist, zero-sum terms," says Mr. Grant, adding: "If we want China to take us seriously we have to have hard power," or the ability to twist arms through economic, military or other means. The EU is inherently unsuited to wielding hard power "because it is not a state," says Francois Heisbourg, special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research, a Paris think tank.

When India's foreign ministry commissioned Mr. Kumar and other scholars to identify India's strategic interests for coming decades, the experts concluded India could ignore the EU's pretensions to be a world player. The EU has one "silver bullet" that could boost its external influence, Mr. Kumar says: admitting Turkey. "That would change the EU's demography, make it seem like less of a Christian bloc, and raise its acceptance" in Asia and the Middle East, he says. However, Turkey's EU membership talks have stalled amid growing mistrust on both sides.

Note EU-Digest: It is amazing how vindictive Anglo-Saxon conservative forces will become when the EU, or for that matter also more liberal forces in their own countries, take a different course economically or politically.

For more: Europe Sees Dreams of Power Wane as 'G-2' Rises - WSJ.com

Cafe Babel: EURO SCEPTICS - Czech Republic: EU equals protectionism equals communism? - by Pedro Picon

For the complete report from Cafebabel click on this link

EURO Sceptics: Czech Republic: EU equals protectionism equals communism? - by Pedro Picon

Miroslav Ševčík, head of the department of economics and social politics at the University of economics (Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, VŠE) in Prague, says plainly that 'a free market does not exist among the citizens of the EU.' He is referring to the ‘discriminatory' help given to agriculture, and the opening of the markets (Austria still has shares for Czech workers), among other things. It goes further when considering that the entrance of the Czech Republic into the EU was contrary to its interests. There wasn’t a lot of confidence in the European elections. 'It doesn’t matter who is sitting there (in the European parliament), this government is not in relation with reality, and they do not represent anybody.' They are working on lobbyist projects, following only their interests and not those of the people. The ‘eurocracy’ serves no purpose but to distort the market.

What to do to reconcile all the countries in the EU? 'The EU has to pass a larger reform if it wants to survive and return to it former principles,' says Ševčík. 'If it wants to survive it needs less bureaucracy and more liberty for its citizens.' Tlapa argues, 'Each country chooses which model they follow and which is the most effective in each case. The ambition to control everything in the state has showed itself, historically to be ineffective.' The minister concludes that, 'Sometimes, long-term solutions are painful.' But this is true for anything these days.

Telegraph.co.uk: Greeks turn their ire on the capital's goose-stepping guards - by Nick Squires

For the complete report from the Telegraph click on this link

Greeks turn their ire on the capital's goose-stepping guards - by Nick Squires

It was the equivalent of launching an attack on the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace. Gangs of Greek protesters, incensed by Saturday's fatal shooting of a 15-year-old schoolboy by a police officer, hurled rocks and other missiles yesterday at the ceremonial guard outside Greece's parliament. The presidential guards are one of the country's most familiar tourist sights, famous for their theatrical goose-stepping, skirted tunics and distinctly unmilitary black pom-poms on the end of their hobnailed boots. Normally they stand stock-still in parliament's dazzling white marble forecourt, in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Greeks accuse the centre-Right government of Mr Karamanlis of cronyism and corruption. A scandal over a property deal involving a powerful Greek Orthodox monastery led to the government's majority being reduced to just one seat in the 300-member parliament last month after Mr Karamanlis axed an MP. The economy suffers from crippling public debt and is suffering still from the budget blowout from the 2004 Olympics. The OECD predicts that Greece's economic growth rate will dip to a sluggish 2 per cent next year, as the manufacturing sector shrinks at a record pace.

Note EU-Digest: There is nothing sluggish in today's world economy about a 2% growth rate as this article of the Telegraph seems to imply. Certainly much better than Britain's economic growth at present. Fortunately also for Greece is that they are part of the Euro Zone, which has been a stabilizing factor of their economy. As usual this report by the Telegraph, like most of their articles covering the EU there is a distasteful undertone of Eurosceptisism.