EU: Brussels greenlights Italy's €191.5 billion COVID-19 recovery plan

The European Commission on Tuesday gave the green light to Italy's €191.5 billion recovery plan, said its president Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Premier Mario Draghi at a joint press conference.

Read more at: Brussels greenlights Italy's €191.5 billion COVID-19 recovery plan | Euronews

EU - US relations: EU overrules France and green lights talks with US

Amid trade war fears, EU overrules France and green lights talks with USA European Union countries on Monday overruled France and gave the green light for Brussels to open trade talks with Washington as soon as possible and defuse trans-Atlantic tensions.

Read more at: 

http://www.france24.com/en/20190415-eu-trade-war-talks-washington-frances-objection-usa-trump-juncker-business

Democracy: "The Kleptocracy gets green light" - US Supreme Court Strikes Down Overall Political Donation Cap - by Adam Liptak

The US  Supreme Court on Wednesday continued its abolition of limits on election spending, striking down a decades-old cap on the total amount any individual can contribute to federal candidates in a two-year election cycle.

The ruling, issued near the start of a campaign season, will very likely increase the role money plays in American politics.

The 5-to-4 decision, with the court’s more conservative members in the majority, echoed Citizens United, the 2010 decision that struck down limits on independent campaign spending by corporations and unions. 

Wednesday’s decision seemed to alter campaign finance law in subtle but important ways, notably by limiting how the government can justify laws said to restrict the exercise of First Amendment rights in the form of campaign contributions.

The court’s 88-page decision reflected sharply different visions of the meaning of the First Amendment and the role of government in regulating elections, with the majority deeply skeptical of government efforts to control participation in politics, and the minority saying that such oversight was needed to ensure a functioning democracy.

In a dissent from the bench, Justice Stephen G. Breyer called the majority opinion a disturbing development that raised the overall contribution ceiling to “the number infinity.” “If the court in Citizens United opened a door,” he said, “today’s decision may well open a floodgate.”

Such oral dissents are rare, and they signal deep disagreements. But Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Breyer noted from the bench that the other side’s arguments were well presented.

Note EU-Digest: Philly.com writes the following about the about theUS Supreme Court ruling  under the heading "The Supremes put the exclamation point on "kleptocracy!"  - "Consider this: It's been reported that the billionaire Koch Brothers spent close to $400 million on their conservative network for the 2012 election - and that was long before the McCutcheon ruling came down. That's because previous court rulings -- most famously the Citizens United case in 2010 -- have long meant that any laws attempting to stop billionaires (both conservative and liberal billionaires, for what it's worth) from buying elections were already a lost cause. The Roberts court has held that -- even in a time with record levels of income inequality -- money is just a form of free speech. It's just that a handful of very privileged people are able to speak through a megaphone as big as the Ritz". Yes indeed, the Kleptocracy has been given the green light

and that was long before the McCutcheon ruling came down. That's because previous court rulings -- most famously the Citizens United case in 2010 -- have long meant that any laws attempting to stop billionaires (both conservative and liberal billionaires, for what it's worth) from buying elections were already a lost cause. The Roberts court has held that -- even in a time with record levels of income inequality -- money is just a form of free speech. It's just that a handful of very privileged people are able to speak through a megaphone as big as the Ritz.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Our-new-plutocratic-overlords-tack-on-another-run.html#Cwuc5GKSV7gWyiGo.99

Consider this: It's been reported that the billionaire Koch Brothers spent close to $400 million on their conservative network for the 2012 election -- and that was long before the McCutcheon ruling came down. That's because previous court rulings -- most famously the Citizens United case in 2010 -- have long meant that any laws attempting to stop billionaires (both conservative and liberal billionaires, for what it's worth) from buying elections were already a lost cause. The Roberts court has held that -- even in a time with record levels of income inequality -- money is just a form of free speech. It's just that a handful of very privileged people are able to speak through a megaphone as big as the Ritz.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/attytood/Our-new-plutocratic-overlords-tack-on-another-run.html#Cwuc5GKSV7gWyiGo.99

Read more: Supreme Court Strikes Down Overall Political Donation Cap - NYTimes.com