Germany: Munich's blackout on Thursday remains a mystery

 Munich experienced its most extensive power blackout in two decades today when half a million people sat in darkness this morning at 7 am. U-Bahns, S-Bahns and trams ground to a standstill and non-functioning traffic lights caused chaos on the roads as well. The fire-brigade had their fair share to do when many people had to be rescued from lifts, and fire alarm systems went off for no apparent reason. It took about an hour until electricity was restored to all affected parts of the city.

There were about 1000 distress calls to the Fire department between 7 and 9 am - five times more than on a normal morning. In one of the U-Bahns, some commuters had to sit tight for up to 45 minutes before the train resumed its journey.

"We're dealing with probably a technical failure," said the head of SWM-network services, Eduard Bauer. The defect occurred in an interface into the grid from Eon Bavaria. It is still unclear as to what exactly happened.

Read more: Munich's blackout on Thursday remains a mystery

Is Spain selling out European strategic interests by wooing foreign investors with residence permits?

Spain's measures against the country's real estate crisis are getting ever more desperate. Now the government hopes to lure foreign investors with promising residence permits. However, critics strongly condemn the plan.

The initiative is primarily aimed at Russian and Chinese investors who would otherwise need a European Union visa.

The houses are on the Spanish coast, around big cities, or out in the countryside. They stand in various states of completion after first going up during the boom years. Today, they are a symbol of the country's deep crisis.

In 2006 alone, some 900,000 apartments were built in Spain. Back then, real estate agents and construction companies cashed in on the boom, people were eager to buy, and prices for houses and apartments went through the roof. After all, banks were handing out cheap credit. Even people who didn't have any capital of their own, and essentially couldn't afford to shop for real estate, got credit from the banks. Most buyers simply assumed that prices would continue to rise. But then the bubble burst. It's estimated that around 1 million apartments are empty. Since the beginning of the crisis, prices are estimated to have dropped by more than 30 percent.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy believes "the building sector has to get ahead again. The buildings have to be sold - and at proper prices."

Juan Rosell, president of the CEOE trade association, welcomes the plan, saying, "We've got to look into everything that could increase the real estate business."

However, the CO union sees things from the point of view of class politics. The government would make access for wealthy foreigners easy while curtailing the rights of foreign workers.
The opposition isn't sold on the plan, either. Marisol Perez Dominguez, immigration spokeswoman for the socialist PSOE party, accuses the government of linking residence permits with economic interests.

"Instead, they should stem the tide of immigration so we won't have more and more empty apartments while more and more people are on the street," she says.

Immigrant organizations have also criticized the idea.

Note EU-Digest: the European Parliament should look into this. If other cash strapped EU countries start allowing this the EU could eventually find itself being controlled by foreign interests. Instead non EU investors could be provided with national residency papers instead of a EU wide residency status.

Read more: Spain woos foreign investors with residence permits | Europe | DW.DE | 24.11.2012

Russia: Opposition Plans Anti-Kremlin March for Dec. 15

The opposition's Coordination Council has announced plans for a march and rally to be held in central Moscow on Dec. 15, a date chosen to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the anti-Kremlin protest movement.

The plans were finalized at a council meeting Saturday, and organizers posted details of the so-called "March of Freedom" the same day on Facebook.

Prominent opposition figures including anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny, TV personality Ksenia Sobchak and Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov earlier backed plans to take to the streets to voice discontent with President Vladimir Putin's rule.

According to Udaltsov, who posted a rally manifesto on Facebook on Saturday, the protest will call on authorities to free political prisoners, undertake a far-reaching program of political and economic reforms and call new presidential and parliamentary elections.

Under Russian law, protests have to be sanctioned by authorities for a specific place, time and number of participants.

Read more: Opposition Plans Anti-Kremlin March for Dec. 15 | News | The Moscow Times

European Pharmaceutical Industry: European Parliament starts clinical trial talks; EGA chief resigns

The European Parliament is about to start discussions regarding Clinical Trials that are vital to get the best quality medicines for patients throughout the European Union. The trade group European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) says it strongly supports the efforts by the European institutions for the work they are undertaking on such an important subject.

In July 2012, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation on Clinical Trials to resolve a number of problems identified with the current legislation. In the legislative process this proposal is now subject to discussions by the European Parliament and the Council representing the 27 Member States and in parallel by all stakeholders affected by it. One of the key changes proposed concerns the assessment and decision system for clinical trial applications. In the proposal the Commission defines the regulatory environment and the objectives to be achieved. Fulfilling these requirements will need a critical review of the options for national clinical trial approval systems in the Member States and the types of collaboration between competent authorities and research ethics committees.

Richard Bergstrom, director general of EFPIA, speaking yesterday, said: “Medicines should benefit patients. We support measures that enhance the way they are used and enable the industry to continue to innovate. These measures include improved transparency. As a global industry, we are focused on working towards responsible transparency, as shown by the commitments already made. Building on these initiatives, we recognize and take seriously our responsibility to lead in advancing transparency, and propose that this needs to be part of a comprehensive initiative involving all stakeholders.”

Greg Perry, director general of the European Generic Medicines Association (EGA), has announced his departure at the end of the year in order to lead the UNITAID founded Medicines Patent Pool in Geneva. Based at the World Health Organization, UNITAID is an innovative organization dedicated to increasing access to medicines for HIV, TB, and Malaria.

Read more: European Parliament starts clinical trial talks; EGA chief resigns - Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology News - Pharma Letter

Cyprus bailout talks make 'good progress'

Cyprus' potential international creditors said Friday they have made "good progress" in negotiations on a possible bailout for the crisis-hit country.

Despite earlier hopes that a deal was imminent, they said long-distance talks would continue on securing an agreement that will make Cyprus the fourth euro country to receive international help with its debts.

Representatives from the so-called troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund said they are awaiting the preliminary results of an investigation into how much Cyprus' ailing banks will need to shore up their finances.

This will help determine the size of a bailout that won't push the country's debt to unsustainable levels.

Read moreCyprus bailout talks make 'good progress' - Business - CBC News

European Banking Federation wants Basel 3 postponed

European Banking Federation has requested a postponement of the introduction of Basel 3 after the United States decided to postpone its application 'sine die'. The announcement was made by Italian Banking Association director general Giovanno Sabatini during a meeting in Gubbio.

On November 21 a two-page letter was sent to the European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Financial Services, Micheal Barnier, to highlight the imbalance between European banks and their US counterparts. ''We are very concerned over the effects that the recent announcement by US authorities could have on the international competitiveness of European banks, especially at a time in which they are facing a radical change in rules for capital requirements, liquidity buffers, leverage ratios and also a new organization of eurozone supervision,'' wrote the head of the European Banking Federation, Christian Clausen, in the letter to Barnier.

''Instead,'' he added, ''our American competitors will not have to abide by the obligations that were at the same time imposed on them, and they will not have to do so in the foreseeable future either. US banks will only have to comply with the capital levels laid down in the original Basel agreement.'' He went on to stress that among European banks, ''given the reluctance shown by the American authorities to implement Basel 2.5, and now Basel 3, there are growing concerns that the American commitment to move towards a more careful system is wavering. In Europe there is much concern ''that unequal competition in the international and domestic capital markets, deriving from varied application of the new rules on capital requirements by the US, would be highly disadvantageous for European banks, the profitability of which is exposed to ever more pressure, and could make them less able to support economic recovery in Europe.'' This is why the federation has asked for a possible ''postponement of the entrance into effect of the new rules until January 2014''.

Note EU-Digest: Many European parliamentarians and advocacy groups reflecting the opinion of their constituencies have expressed the hope that Basel 3 won't get postponed. 

They see this as a delaying tactic by the Banking and Financial sector to avoid the implementation  of more stringent controls on their activities. 

Even if Basel 3 is only accepted by European Governments and not  by the US Government it will still influence the US financial and banking sector.

Read more: Latest Online News | Agenzia Giornalistica Italia | AGI

Bulgaria Expects Over EUR 2B in EU Funds in 2014-2020

Bulgaria hopes to receive over EUR 2 B in EU funds in the 2014-2020 programming period and their absorption has already been planned and divided among infrastructure projects, according to Ivaylo Moskovski, Minister of Transport, Information Technology, and Communications.

In a Saturday interview for Darik radio, he said that over 60% of the investments in the sphere of infrastructure in Bulgaria came exclusively from EU funds.

Moskovski explained that EUR 700 M of the total would be spent on the completion of the Struma Highway section running through the Kresna Gorge, while another EUR 700 M would go to the section connecting the towns of Septemvri and Dragoman.

He made clear that the remaining part of the EU money would be allocated to the completion of the Hemus Highway stretch from Veliko Tarnovo to Sofia and to the Sofia subway section connecting downtown Sofia to the northern part of the city.

However, Bulgaria's EU funding for the 2014-2020 programming period remains largely unclear after the failure of EU leaders to reach agreement on the long-term budget of the bloc during the 2-day special EU summit in Brussels.

 Read more: Bulgaria: Bulgaria Expects Over EUR 2B in EU Funds in 2014-2020 – Transport Minister - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency

EU trillion-euro budget summit ends in failure with Britain as the main spoiler

Talks on the European Union's trillion-euro budget ended in deadlock Friday as leaders of the bloc's 27 member states failed to overcome seemingly irreconcilable differences on how to reduce spending.

"There is no agreement," said one official at the Brussels summit.

Tensions between rich and poor states and Britain's demands for austerity in the budget for the seven years from 2014 to 2020 had set the summit on a rocky course from the start.

Britain was cast as the potential chief spoiler at the meeting, with Prime Minister David Cameron threatening to wield his veto unless spending is frozen in real terms, arguing that at a time of austerity at home the EU must also make cuts.

Britain, like many countries across Europe, is responding to economic crisis with major public spending cuts and Cameron argues that at a time of austerity at home the EU must also make deep cuts.

Nearly a year after he angered his European counterparts by vetoing a pact to resolve the eurozone crisis, Cameron was again at odds with them by demanding cuts to the perks enjoyed by so-called "eurocrats" -- the well-paid EU civil servants frequently targeted by the British press.

Read more: EU trillion-euro budget summit ends in failure - The Economic Times

Russian WTO membership strengthens Hamburg’s position as Russia’s major European trade partner

The start of Russia’s WTO membership on 22 August 2012 will give trade relations with Europe a significant boost. “The dismantling of trade barriers will strengthen Hamburg’s role as the leading hub of Russia’s trade with the European Union and the world“, says Jutta Ludwig, CEO of HWF Hamburg Business Development Corporation. She continues: “Hamburg’s trade relations with Russia date back to the first days of the Hanseatic League and have been renewed ever since. Already, some 120 companies with Russian roots have chosen Hamburg for their expansion into the EU. By future simplifications of the commercial law, Hamburg’s position in Russian trade and as bridgehead of the Russian economy will be further strengthened.

This evaluation is confirmed by Dr. Sergey P. Ganzha, Consul General of the Russian Federation: “With the Russian Federation joining the WTO, the good trade relations with Hamburg will be strengthened by establishing common international standards. The interest of Russian companies in Hamburg has been growing for a long time. This development will be furthered and positively stimulated by Russia’s WTO membership.“

The Port of Hamburg is of particular importance to Russia. It is the central hub for Russia’s trade with the European Union. Claudia Roller, CEO of Hafen Hamburg Marketing e.V., explains: “With Russia joining the WTO in the middle of this year, trade barriers will gradually be further abolished. This also contributes to the benefit of the Port of Hamburg, as it is closely tied to the Russian market. For the port of the Elbe metropolis, Russia has become the second-most important trade partner in container traffic. Undeterred by the fluctuations in the global economy, the container handling increased by more than 35 per cent to 595.000 TEU in 2011.

Read more: News | Port of Hamburg

Shipping: As Panama Canal expands, Latin America rushes to be ready - by Jim Wyss, Jacqualine Charles, and Mimmi Whitefield

Standing atop a hulking crane at this country’s largest Pacific port, Alejandro Echeverri pointed out scurrying workers below reinforcing pylons, preparing the ground for an extended pier and tending to a dredging boat that has been deepening the harbor.

As the planning director for the Buenaventura Regional Port Authority, Echeverri says his job is to be a “futurologist” and try to stay ahead of the industry. Right now, the industry’s future is high stakes and under the sway of a singular event: the expansion of the Panama Canal, which will make the ships that straddle the seas larger and heavier than these ports have ever seen.

The industry “doesn’t care what ports need to do to be ready or what it costs,” Echeverri said. “If you’re not ready, they’ll simply take you off their route.”

Ports throughout the Americas and the Caribbean are rushing to be ready for the post-Panamax future. Currently, the Panama Canal can handle ships 965 feet long that need a depth of 39.5, a size known as Panamax. Once the expansion is complete in 2015, the canal will be able to accommodate ships 1,200 feet long with a 50-foot draft — and shippers are already building to those dimensions.

Read more: BUENAVENTURA, Colombia: As Panama Canal expands, Latin America rushes to be ready - Americas - MiamiHerald.com

Anger in Egypt Over Power Grab by President Morsi - by Liam Stack

Protesters torched the offices of Egypt’s ruling Islamist party in several cities on Friday during an outpouring of public anger one day after President Mohamed Morsi issued a sweeping decree granting himself broad new powers and putting his decisions above any challenges by the country’s courts.

Protesters also set fire to the offices of the ruling Freedom and Justice Party in the seaside city of Alexandria, long a stronghold of Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Mr. Morsi was a leader until he resigned to run for president. Party offices also burned in the Suez Canal cities of Port Said, Suez and Ismailia.

Read more: Anger in Egypt Over Power Grab by President Morsi - NYTimes.com

Europe budget talks heading for collapse

A special summit of the European Union leaders in Brussels to reach a deal on its next seven-year budget appeared heading for a collapse after their negotiations got bogged down on Thursday night in a dispute over plans to boost the budget. 

Summit host, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy, adjourned the meeting till mid-day on Friday. This is after day-long bilateral discussions among the E.U. leaders, a series of meetings with the E.U. executive and a joint meeting failed to bridge the deep divisions between those demanding significant spending cuts and those supporting the plans to increase the budget. 

The European Commission in its draft budget had proposed a 5 per cent hike to more than €1.09 trillion ($1.35 trillion) for the period from 2014 to 2020. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is among the leaders seeking a reduction in the draft budget, expressed doubts whether an agreement can be reached at the two-day summit.

She indicated that another summit may be needed, possibly at the end of this year or early next year, to clinch a final deal.

Read more: The Hindu : News / International : Europe budget talks heading for collapse

Europe Could Be 100% Renewable by 2050, If It Gets Its Act Together - by Martin Abbeglen

It's not just top European scientists who believe a 100% renewable future is possible. Paul Hockenos of Renewable Energy World posts on a new report from the Heinrich Böll Foundation, which claims that Europe could be 100% renewable by 2050.

Possible should not be confused with easy, however. Among the report's findings, writes Hockenos, is an observation that Europe is in desperate need of a more coherent, consistent approach to energy policy. Much like the need for greater fiscal unity to avert a Eurozone meltdown, the complex mix of targets, subsidies and priorities represented by each member nation represents a major obstacle to progress:

Since grid construction needs as long as ten years to be realized, potential grid investors would need an unshakable commitment to renewable energies to invest in such a costly project. The report underscores a number of measures to get the ball on an all-European system rolling, including a "review" of the EU treaty that stipulates that the national states have full authority to determine their own energy supplies as they wish. Ultimately there must be a guarantee that nationally minded states don't obstruct plans for an European grid system.

As for Europe's current energy markets, they too tend to reflect national priorities and a fossil fuel-dominated system that the EU is supposedly committed to phasing out. The report argues that "open and hidden" subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear must be abolished in order to even the playing field between renewable and conventional energies.

Read Europe Could Be 100% Renewable by 2050, If It Gets Its Act Together : TreeHugger

Should Europe Emulate the US? - by Jean Pisani-Ferry

Paul Krugman, the Princeton University economist and blogger, recently summarized diverging transatlantic trends as follows: “Better here, worse there.” It is a shocking observation: as recently as in 2009, European politicians and commentators lambasted the US for being at the root of the financial turmoil and hailed the euro for protecting the continent from it.

Unfortunately for Europe’s boosters, the facts are unambiguous. According to the European Commission, US per capita GDP is expected to return to its 2007 level next year, whereas it is expected to remain 3% below that level in the eurozone.

Likewise, unemployment was roughly the same on both sides of the Atlantic in 2009-2010, but it is now almost four percentage points lower in the US. Capital expenditure in the US is recovering more strongly, and exports are picking up. Even inflation is likely to be lower in America than in Europe this year.

The one area where Europe is posting better results is public finances. In 2012, the aggregate fiscal deficit in the eurozone is expected to be slightly above 3% of GDP, compared to more than 8% in the US.

There are two competing explanations for Europe’s relative malaise. One is the claim that Europe is paying the price of misguided austerity. The other is that the US, too, will eventually face its day of fiscal reckoning, and that Europe had no choice but to start it earlier: as the euro crisis demonstrates, things would have been worse had austerity been postponed.

There is truth in both views, but both overlook an important part of the story. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the US and Europe (including the United Kingdom) adopted opposite strategies. President Barack Obama’s administration and the US Federal Reserve gave priority to healing the private sector. After expeditiously restoring confidence in the banks by forcing them to undergo severe stress tests, they gave households time to repair their balance sheets. The task for economic policy was to compensate for the resulting shortfall in private demand until households eventually recovered. Fiscal consolidation was put on hold (although some did occur, owing to the balanced-budget rules of most US states), and monetary policy was geared toward flattening the yield curve.

Europe, by contrast, put early emphasis on restoring fiscal sustainability, but neglected its private-sector maladies. As early as the second half of 2009 – that is, before bond markets got nervous – policymakers’ top priority was to find the exit from fiscal stimulus. Private-sector problems were overlooked on the way out. Banks, for example, were said to be in good shape, whereas several were barely solvent. Households were assumed to be ready to consume, although, in Spain and elsewhere, many were over-indebted. And labor-hoarding was encouraged at the expense of productivity and profitability.

As a result, Europe emerged from the recession with too many zombie banks, wounded households, and struggling companies. In Germany, the private economy was fit enough to recover, but this was less true in southern Europe or even France.

The UK, which has not suffered directly from the euro crisis, is an interesting test, for it also followed the European strategy. Instead of the productivity surge experienced in the US, it has gone through a sort of productivity holiday, with serious consequences. The Bank of England’s latest Inflation Report reckons that UK productivity is 10% below pre-crisis trends, owing to low investment and a slowdown of the Schumpeterian process of creative destruction. As in continental Europe, productivity has suffered from a combination of insufficient profitability and dysfunctional capital markets. Unit labor costs have risen, and potential output growth has fallen.

Neglect of the private sector has left Europe in a sad quandary. On the supply side, permanently lower output makes fiscal adjustment even more compulsory; but, on the demand side, a weak private economy lacks the resilience needed to weather fiscal retrenchment.

At this stage, struggling European countries evidently cannot afford to put public-sector adjustment on hold to concentrate on private-sector balance sheets. Nor should they take inspiration from America’s “fiscal cliff” theater. Nonetheless, the US approach holds three lessons.

CommentsFirst, banking-sector repair should be policymakers’ top priority wherever it has not been completed. Second, the pace of consolidation should remain moderate as long as private demand remains constrained by deleveraging or credit restrictions. Finally, attention should be paid to the balance between fiscal tightening and supply-side reforms: whenever appropriate, more priority should be given to the latter than has been the case so far.

Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/why-america-s-economy-is-recovering-faster-than-europe-s-by-jean-pis

Europe sets modest goals for space - by Edwin Cartlidge

Europe’s space chiefs are hailing the two-day meeting at which research ministers hammered out Europe’s priorities in space as a success, despite them getting less money than they had hoped. At the 20–21 November meeting in Naples, Italy, the ministers agreed to give the European Space Agency (ESA) €10.1 billion (US$13 billion) over the next several years, somewhat less than the total €12 billion cost of the project proposals considered at the meeting.

The level of funding is a significant achievement given current economic difficulties, says Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA’s director-general. He adds that he is pleased that ministers managed to strike deals on a number of thorny issues, including how to replace the Ariane 5 satellite-launching rocket and how to fund Europe’s contribution to the International Space Station (ISS).
“It was a very difficult meeting,” he says. “There was a lot of stress, a lot of discussions. But we can say it was a big success. Space is no longer about expenses, it is an investment.”

The ministers from ESA's member countries, which currently number 20, meet every few years to set funding levels for all of the agency's activities. All member states have to contribute towards the mandatory activities, centred on the scientific programme, which develops space-based telescopes and other scientific instruments, and they can then choose which of the other areas, such as telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation or launcher development, they participate in. With flat funding of about €500 million per year for 2013–17, the scientific programme takes a cut in real terms, although it is not yet clear which missions will be affected as a result.

Read more: Europe sets modest goals for space : Nature News & Comment

France - Sarkozy Questioned Over Campaign Funds - by Steven Erlanger

After more than 10 hours of questioning by an investigative judge in Bordeaux on Thursday, former President Nicolas Sarkozy was put under caution as a witness who could face charges related to accusations that his 2007 election campaign received illegal donations from one of France’s richest people, Liliane Bettencourt, the L’Oréal heiress. Mr. Sarkozy was not formally indicted but questioned as a witness under caution, meaning that evidence obtained could be used against him in a future prosecution, the Bordeaux prosecutor told French news agencies.

The accusations stem from Mr. Sarkozy’s first presidential campaign; no longer president, he has lost his legal immunity. Mr. Sarkozy denies that he took any money from Ms. Bettencourt, now 90, or that his campaign benefited from any illegal fund-raising. Ms. Bettencourt’s former accountant told the police that she handed over 150,000 euros (about $192,000) in cash and was told the money would go to the Sarkozy campaign.

Mr. Sarkozy’s party, the center-right Union for a Popular Movement, is in the midst of a prolonged and bitter leadership fight. A Sarkozy protégé, Jean-François Copé, and a former prime minister, François Fillon, both claim victory in an internal party vote. Reports on Thursday said Alain Juppé, a former prime minister and foreign minister who helped found the party, would serve as a mediator. Mr. Sarkozy’s own popularity has been rising again. 

Read more: France - Sarkozy Questioned Over Campaign Funds - NYTimes.com

Gaza Cease-fire holds as Hamas claims victory - by Daniel Polit

After eight days of a bloody conflict, quiet returned to Gaza Thursday as a cease-fire brokered by Egypt, along with the United States, appeared to be holding. Gazans took to the streets to celebrate the end of the worst cross-border fighting in four years as Hamas leaders said that Israel’s decision not to send in ground troops was a sign of new Hamas power, reports the Associated Press. Israel also tried to claim victory, saying it had killed several senior leaders and weakened Hamas’ military capabilities, but the mood of its citizens was decidedly mixed. Although some were clearly grateful for the peace and quiet, there was also much frustration, particularly in southern Israel, amid claims that the operation was abandoned too quickly.

Without a doubt, the key part of the deal is that it has so far managed to avoid a ground war that Israel had threatened could take place. But “it leaves the crux of the conflict unresolved, with neither side winning major concessions” and both Israel and Hamas warning they’re ready to take up arms again if the deal collapses, notes the Washington Post. Despite the widespread skepticism, there is also some (very premature) optimism that the cease-fire could launch a new era of relations between Hamas and Israel that might just bring an end to rocket fire from Gaza and perhaps even open the borders of the Palestinian territory.

Schools remained closed in southern Israel Saturday as what appeared to be a false alarm in the morning sent people rushing to shelters. A total of 162 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, including 37 children, were killed during the conflict, Reuters reports. The nearly 1,400 rockets that were fired into Israel killed four civilians and two soldiers. Although Israel said several rockets were fired from Gaza shortly after the cease-fire came into force late Wednesday, there were no injuries and Israel didn’t respond, reports the Guardian.

Read more: Gaza Cease-fire holds as Hamas claims victory

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

Thanksgiving : From Europe came the Mayflower and the rest is history

First Thanksgiving celebration

In September 1620, a merchant ship called the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, a port on the southern coast of England. Typically, the Mayflower’s cargo was wine and dry goods, but on this trip the ship carried passengers: 102 of them, all hoping to start a new life on the other side of the Atlantic. Nearly 40 of these passengers were Protestant Separatists–they called themselves “Saints”–who hoped to establish a new church in the New World.

After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts  Bay, where the Pelgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore, where they received an astonishing visit from an Abenaki Indian who greeted them in English. Several days later, he returned with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition.

Squanto taught the Pilgrims, weakened by malnutrition and illness, how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped the settlers forge an alliance with the Wampanoag, a local tribe, which would endure for more than 50 years and tragically remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast where God was thanked for the many blessings during the year past and he also invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. This feast became known as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—although the Pilgrims themselves may not have used the term at the time—the festival lasted for three days. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer.

Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations.

At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward".

That is how Thanksgiving became an American tradition.

Through the years the religious meaning of the festivity has been gradually been replaced, turning it more into a family event with family members coming together from every area of this vast country to share a Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. This year some 50 million Turkey's will end up on the dinner tables of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving. Total sales of Turkey's this year are expected to reach $4.37 billion.

Thanksgiving in America is also seen as the kick-off  for the Christmas shopping season by the commercial world, with the day after Thanksgiving "Black Friday" super sales day bonanza as the crowning  event of  a four weeks shopping frenzy ending with the Day after Christmas super sales.

EU-Digest      

China factory data boost Europe stocks - Europe Markets - MarketWatch

European stock markets were on track for a fourth day of gains Thursday, as upbeat Chinese factory data lifted the global trading mood, and a cease-fire in the Middle East brought relief.

U.S. markets were closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, which could keep trading volumes in Europe thinner

China factory data boost Europe stocks - Europe Markets - MarketWatch