BREXIT: Opinion: On UK ′Brexit,′ Obama is thinking US - not EU

The UK has to stay in the EU, Barack Obama says. Only then will it be able to continue to play a role on the international stage. More than anything, he has US interests in mind, Gero Schliess writes in Washington.

Some observers may have rubbed their eyes in disbelief: For the longest time, the Americans had gone out of their way to avoid EU matters. Yet, suddenly US President Barack Obama (right in photo) is concerned about the unity of Europe, urgently advising the British that they should not turn their backs on the "Group of 28."

 It remains to be seen whether Obama has done himself any favors with his unusually public plea. Euroskeptics in Britain have already said they will not tolerate his meddling.

The president has repeatedly stated that he cannot imagine a European Union without Britain. However, he has never expressed himself so directly in public. Has Obama become a convinced European? Has he come to appreciate a strong and unified Europe in light of the increasing gravity of global crises? That is only part of the truth.

The rest is that he is concerned with US interests.

Read more: Opinion: On UK ′Brexit,′ Obama is thinking US - not EU | Europe | DW.COM | 25.07.2015

Spain: Catalan parties agree referendum on independence within two years

The center-right Catalan nationalist bloc CiU and the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) on Wednesday reached an agreement to call for a referendum on independence for Catalonia within two years.

The deal paves the way for Artur Mas to remain premier of the region. The CiU emerged as the biggest party in regional elections held last month but fell short of the absolute majority it was seeking. ERC was the second most voted party. The two sides still have to agree on the budget for next year. The accord on the referendum states that it must be held before the end of 2014 but does not give a specific date.

In a parallel development, the CiU, the ERC and other Catalan parties — with the exception of the local branch of the ruling Popular Party — reached an agreement not to implement the reform of the education system put forward by Education Minister José Ignacio Wert, which restores Castilian Spanish to the same level in the classroom as co-official regional languages such as Basque or Catalan.

The accord says the parties will adhere to the Catalan Education Law, which promotes immersion in the Catalan language. The parties described Wert’s proposals as “unacceptable” as they “prevent linguistic immersion by segregating pupils on the basis of language.”

Note EU-Digest: it might be helpful to hear from nationalist leaders in Catalan and Scotland as to  the reasoning why small regional areas want to break away and become independent states,  and how they see their mini-states sustaining themselves economically?

Read more: Catalan parties agree referendum on independence within two years | In English | EL PAÍS

A European Union of More Nations? - by Steven Erlanger

Catalonia may be the catalyst for a renewed wave of separatism in the European Union, with Scotland and Flanders not far behind. The great paradox of the European Union, which is built on the concept of shared sovereignty, is that it lowers the stakes for regions to push for independence.

While a post-national European Union may be emerging out of the euro zone crisis, with a drive for more fiscal union and more centralized control over national budgets and banks, the crisis has accelerated calls for independence from member countries’ richer regions, angry at having to finance poorer neighbors. 

Artur Mas, the Catalan president, recently shook Spain and the markets with a call for early regional elections and promised a referendum on independence from Spain, although Madrid considers it illegal. Scotland is planning an independence referendum for the autumn of 2014. The Flemish in Flanders have achieved nearly total autonomy, both administrative and linguistic, but still resent what they consider to be the holdover hegemony of the French-speakers of Wallonia and the Brussels elite, emotions that will be on display in provincial and communal elections Oct. 14. 

There are countless things that hold unhappy countries, like marriages, together — shared history, shared wars, shared children, shared enemies. But the economic crisis in the European Union is also highlighting old grievances.

Read more: A European Union of More Nations? - NYTimes.com

Scotland: Bilingual children outperform their peers

Bilingual children outperform children who speak only one language in problem-solving skills and creative thinking, according to new research.

The University of Strathclyde studied primary school pupils who spoke English or Italian – half of whom also spoke Gaelic or Sardinian – and found that bilingual children were significantly more successful in the tasks set for them.  Gaelic-speaking children were, in turn, more successful than the Sardinian speakers.

The differences were linked to the mental alertness required to switch between languages, which could develop skills useful in other types of thinking. The further advantage for Gaelic-speaking children may have been due to the formal teaching of the language and its extensive literature.

Dr Fraser Lauchlan, an honorary lecturer at the University of Strathclyde's School of Psychological Sciences and Health, led the research which was conducted with colleagues at University of Cagliari in Sardinia. He said: "Bilingualism is now largely seen as being beneficial to children but there remains a view that it can be confusing, and so potentially detrimental to them. Our study has found it can have benefits, not only in language but in arithmetic, problem solving and enabling children to think creatively."

Read more: Bilingual children outperform their peers | Herald Scotland

Why is the North of England so Eurosceptic? - by Ed Jacobs

Northern England's three regions benefit from stacks of EU funding, but polls show little gratitude. A "ticking time bomb" is how one Yorkshireman has previously described the issue of Europe for the Conservatives. In the week that the Prime Minister saw the largest post-war rebellion on Europe over whether to hold a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, it would be difficult to disagree with the Foreign Secretary and Richmond MP, William Hague's advice to David Cameron.

As rebel upon rebel on the government benches in the House of Commons argued on Monday that it was time the people had their say, and were given an opportunity to decide for themselves about the UK's future relations with Europe, both the Government and opposition front benches had a clear argument: in the week that EU leaders faced what were billed as crunch talks to address the crisis engulfing the euro-zone, the top priority was avoiding a full scale economic and financial meltdown across the continent.

Yet despite the argument that the country does not need the distraction of a referendum, polling carried out by ComRes for ITV News this week clearly showed a deep rooted euro-scepticism across northern England. Asked about their attitude towards referendum, 69% of those questioned across the three northern regions supported a vote. Only the two Midlands regions matched that.

For more: Why is the North so Eurosceptic? | UK news | guardian.co.uk

Alternative Energy: Tapping into the power of the sea brought to a halt by David Cameron in Britain

In Great Britain and other European countries, companies are preparing to use the energy of ocean waves and tides to produce electricity. The UK is hoping to produce as much as 5 percent of its electricity needs with tidal power plants.

Great Britain had hoped to soon be able to take the global lead in tapping the power of tides and produce clean energy. This single power plant was expected to cover 5 percent of the country's electricity needs by providing 8.6 gigawatts of CO2-free electricity, the equivalent of about eight nuclear power plants -- but without the pesky waste.

The tidal range at the mouth of the Severn, Britain's largest river, is 15 meters. The previous British Labour government of Gordon Brown had wanted to put this enormous force to use with its Severn Barrage project. The barrage was planned to hold back water at high tide like a dam, and 216 giant turbines -- each about 9 meters in diameter -- and to be powered up as the water ebbed.

Tidal power could also be put to good use in Germany, argues Kai-Uwe Graw, a professor for hydraulic engineering at the University of Leipzig. Graw says sufficient flow velocities -- around three meters per second is optimal -- can be found on parts of the island of Sylt near the German-Danish borner.

Graw began raising awareness about tidal power's potential back in the 1990s. In his opinion, tidal power plants can easily be compatible with coastal conservation efforts. One benefit is that the facilities extract some of the energy from tides, which could help to reduce the kind of beach and coastal erosion that has been a major problem for Germany on North Sea islands like Sylt in recent years.

Unfortunately the new British Conservative government of David Cameron sounded the death knell for the world's largest tidal energy project – to be built across the Severn estuary between Somerset and south Wales – when it recently ruled out the use of public funding for this, what they considered,  controversial euro 23B plan.

The announcement obviously pleased some environmentalists, who were worried about the impact on bird life in the estuary, but others say such spending cuts made a mockery of David Cameron's pledge to be the "greenest government ever".

For more: EU-Digest

Top British police slam hiring of US gang crime expert

British police chiefs on Sunday hit back at Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to enlist a U.S. crime expert after last week's riots, as the conservative leader vowed "zero tolerance" against street violence.
 

Cameron, criticized by some in his party as being too liberal on crime and punishment, has taken a tough stance after four nights of looting and arson hit cities across England.

The prime minister, who has suggested the initial police response to the riots was too timid, has enlisted former New York, Los Angeles and Boston police chief William Bratton to advise his coalition on how to tackle street gangs, which he blamed for much of the violence.

But senior police officers, who have criticized the Conservative-led coalition's plans for police cuts, have reacted sceptically to the plan. "I am not sure I want to learn about gangs from an area of America that has 400 of them," Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, told the Independent on Sunday"It seems to me, if you've got 400 gangs, then you're not being very effective. If you look at the style of policing in the States, and their levels of violence, they are so fundamentally different from here," said Orde, a front runner for the position of head of London's police.
 

For more: Top British police slam hiring of US gang crime expert - UNITED KINGDOM - FRANCE 24

Libya: Is Gaddafi Mocking the International Community?

While the international community battles over road maps, peace talks and cease fire plans, saying they are in touch with the Libyan government, one leader, Muammar Gaddafi seems blissfully unaware that he supposedly is on the brink of accepting a deal that will force him to step down from power.

Ridiculing all the parties involved either on a military or diplomatic level, the Libyan dictator has ruled out any negotiations with rebels over the future of the North African country.

Despite U.S. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton attending a meeting in Turkey last week, to discuss the future of Libya with officials from 32 countries, Gaddafi on Thursday, proved that he still rules and has no intention of leaving.

Note EU-Digest: At this point the UN/NATO/EU exercise to oust Libyan dictator Gaddafi has become a total comedy and one can only wonder with great concern how this will end.


For more: Libya: Is Gaddafi Mocking the International Community? - International Business Times

Britain: The questions hanging over Murdoch, USA - by Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan

The contagion affecting News Corp has spread rapidly in the US. The FBI is investigating potential criminal hacking of the voicemails of victims of the 9/11 attacks. Lawmakers and grassroots groups are also calling for an investigation into whether the bribing of police was a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. As News Corp is a US corporation, registered in the business-friendly state of Delaware,even bribery abroad could lead to felony charges in the US.

One likely consequence would be what Corporate Crime Reporter's Russell Mokhiber calls "a wishy-washy non-prosecution settlement" wherein News Corp would admit to the crime without being convicted, and pay a financial settlement. Mokhiber noted that, in a 2008 FCPA case against Siemens for widespread bribery, Siemens paid $800m but avoided a criminal conviction that would have jeopardised its standing as a US defense contractor.

Meanwhile Murdoch runs his media empire in the US as an unvarnished political operation. Fox News Channel, run by career Republican operative Roger Ailes, is home to the most consistently vitriolic critics of Barack Obama. Leaked memos and emails from Fox vice-president of News, John Moody, and Washington managing editor Bill Sammon allegedly offer evidence of top-down directives to control the message throughout the news day, from linking Obama to Marxism and socialism, to denigrating a public option in the US healthcare debate, to promoting scepticism about climate change.

For more: The questions hanging over Murdoch, USA | Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan | Comment is free | The Guardian

Britain’s euroscepticism hardens - by Jonathan Jones

With the European financial crisis rumbling on, anti-EU sentiment in Britain is deepening. Two polls — one by YouGov for PoliticsHome and the other by Angus Reid — show that 50 per cent of the public would vote for Britain to leave the EU if there was a referendum.

Despite all this, the majority of the public think Britain will still be an EU member in 2021. Given the seemingly strong support for leaving, this may seem surprising, but there are a few reasons why they might be right. For one thing, David Cameron seems determined to make sure that Britain gets more out of the EU.

For more: Britain’s euroscepticism hardens | The Spectator

Britain: Gordon Brown: History will charge Europe's leaders with West's decline - Gordon Brown

When the history of the 21st century is written, people will rightly ask why it was that Europe was found wanting during its most intractable economic crisis.

They will ask why Europe slept as an undercapitalized banking system floundered, unemployment remained unacceptably high, and the continent’s growth and competitiveness plummeted.

Worse still, if a reconstruction plan does not come soon, Europe’s leaders will be charged with “the decline of the West” and then face accusations for being, in the words of Winston Churchill about the 1930s, “resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity and all-powerful for impotence.
”
For more: Gordon Brown: History will charge Europe's leaders with West's decline - CSMonitor.com

Do African Leaders Support Democracy Or Do They Support Anyone In Power??

Most African heads of state say they are in favor of democracy, but when it comes to their own power, many toss democracy aside in order to keep their grip on power.

That contradiction is evident at the African Union summit currently being held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The leaders of 52 of Africa's 53 states have gathered for the 17th AU summit June 30 and July 1. Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the longtime president of Equatorial Guinea, opened the summit by blaming outside "agents" for sparking pro-democracy demonstrations in countries across Africa including his own.

"The intervention for human rights are nowadays causing a massive scourge," said Obiang at the opening of the AU's bi-annual summit in Malabo, according to Associated Press. "The uncounted number of victims, among them women and children, displaced people and the destruction of economic infrastructure does not justify such interventions. Instead of providing solutions to problems we are complicating and worsening world conflicts."

Embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is casting a long shadow at the AU summit. The AU has an ad hoc committee charged with dealing with the Libyan crisis and it has issued numerous statements supporting Gaddafi and advocating talks between the Libyan leader and the rebels fighting to overthrow him. But now there are signs that the AU committe is pulling away from its support for Gaddafi. The committee said Thursday in Malabo that it will submit new proposals on Libya to the AU summit.

Britain's Minister for Africa Henry Bellingham attended the first part of the conference and said he had met with many of the foreign ministers of the 53 member nations attending the conference, and found that even those who were previously reluctant to call for Gadhafi's ouster are now privately agreeing that he should go. The loss of support from the African Union would be an especially bitter blow to Gaddafi, who was the driving force to create the organization. Gaddafi donated millions of dollars to transform the Organization of African Unity into the AU in 2002 and he contributed money to keep the AU functioning.


As the leaders discuss how to help Africa's poor, they will be sitting in luxury at the Sipopo Resort. Critics of Obiang say the money spent on developing Sipopo, including a 6-lane highway, luxury villas, several towers, a golf course, and other finishing touches could have instead been spent on the poor of Equatorial Guinea,

For more: African Union | Malabo | Equatorial Guinea | Obiang | Gaddafi

France: Sarkozy lashes at U.S., defends Libya campaign

French President Nicolas Sarkozy derided the low U.S. profile in the international campaign in Libya, saying Friday that France and Britain are carrying most of the burden and will stay until Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi leaves.

While other European leaders pushed Friday for some kind of political solution in Libya, the French leader strongly defended the NATO-led military operation -- and NATO itself. He refuted comments by U.S. Defense Minister Robert Gates that the alliance's future could be in doubt because of European reluctance to exercise military might.

"I wouldn't say that the bulk of the work in Libya is being done by our American friends," Sarkozy told reporters in Brussels at a European Union summit. "The French and English and their allies are doing the work."

Seven NATO members are now participating in air strikes: Britain, France, Belgium, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Italy. But, as Gates said, most of NATO's 28 members, including Germany, have refused to join the strike mission in Libya.


For more: Sarkozy lashes at U.S., defends Libya campaign - Libya - Salon.com

Credibility crisis for UK in Europe - by Michelle Price and Ben Wright

"The UK is suffering from a lack of political credibility in Brussels, which is diminishing its ability to influence a range of European financial services reforms." This threatens to undermine London’s status as the dominant international financial center, according to senior financial executives and lobbyists in the City of London.

Anthony Belchambers, chief executive of the London-based Futures and Options Association, said: “London does not have the same presence or credibility in Brussels since the crisis.” Another senior City of London lobbyist, who asked not to be identified, said: “The London brand is damaged and no one is listening to us.”

The comments came in response to a speech by David Lidington, the UK minister for Europe, who last month urged the City of London to step up its efforts to court European policymakers and “dispel the myth of Anglo-Saxon isolationism”.

For the complete report go to: efinancial News

Canadian military decisions on Libya on hold until after election says PM Harper

Amid calls by Libyan rebels for more airstrikes by the international coalition seeking to weaken Moammar Gadhafi’s grip on power, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says Canada is standing pat. “We’ll continue to discuss this with allies,” Harper said Friday on the campaign trail in Thornhill.

“But we’ve been clear we’re not putting Canadian soldiers on the ground, and in terms of any requests for additional participation, we will not make those kinds of commitments during an election campaign.”

The Western alliance is struggling to overcome differences over the Libya mission, with Britain and France also seeking more strikes by other NATO nations, particularly the U.S.

For more: Canadian military decisions on Libya on hold until after election: Harper - thestar.com