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PUBLISHED: 17:45 10 July 2017 | UPDATED: 17:45 10 July 2017

Bonnie Greer

The coffin for late former chancellor Helmut Kohl at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

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La construction europenne est fragilise par la prolifration bureaucratique et le scepticisme croissant qui en dcoule.

The European construction is weakened by bureaucratic proliferation and the growing scepticism that ensues, Emmanuel Macron announced at his gathering of legislators at Versailles.

Summoning what could only be described as the full De Gaulle, the pomp of the new president was called Pharaonic by Jean-Luc Mlenchon, who boycotted the Congrs. But Macrons statements about the EU were positively 21st century, as they seemed to have been illustrated by a reported incident at Strasbourg that very day.

The European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, was furious at the tiny number of MEPs who had come to the chamber of the parliament to hear a speech by the Prime Minister of Malta. He called the body ridiculous and accused it of lacking respect for the smaller nations of the EU.

The president of the Parliament, Antonio Tajani, asked Juncker in Italian to back off. Tajani moved to French and instructed Juncker to mind his language and not to call the parliament ridiculous.

There are 751 MEPs. Only a reported 30 showed up for the speech, which was an account of Maltas six month presidency. Juncker, former prime minister of Luxembourg, pointed out that this absenteeism was typical and that if Angela Merkel or Macron had been there, all 751 MEPs would have been in attendance. There was reported anger, too, at the small number of attendees when the president of the Marshall Islands came to address the parliament after a journey that had to have been approximately 18 hours long. The reality of the bigger nations commanding respect, and the smaller nations having to struggle to get any at all is not particular to the EU but it reinforces the negative narrative of an organisation that many consider no longer fit for purpose.

For example: all MEPs are expected to attend whats called plenary sessions once a month in Strasbourg. They have to sign an official register to prove that theyve attended a plenary and in return receive 306 euros a day to cover expenses. There are accusations of MEPs signing in for half days and then going elsewhere the same accusation levelled at peers in the House Of Lords. Except that the EU is a conglomerate of sovereign nations, each with its own story, its own challenges.

Now with the sheer chaos of Brexit; the tragic and urgent reality of immigration from Africa which is bringing Italy and Greece to breaking point; the rise of right-wing populism; and the arrival of a charismatic dynamo from France in the person of its new president who may or may not be good news for the European project, it is a tricky time for the EU.

An intelligent question would be: what is the EU for now? What is its meaning?

The irony and poignancy of the deaths of Helmut Kohl and Simone Veil so close to one another remind us of something lost in the tumult of our time, a time most of us only know as having always been this way. How could we have known any other?

Only an expert can unravel the labyrinth of post-war German politics. A nation carved in two by its vanquishers determined to stop a momentum that had been driving forward, more or less, since the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it was a miracle that Germany had any politics at all. And a miracle was what Germany was. It was aided by American money and a USA determined to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Millions of us were born and grew up under the reality of an East Germany and a West Germany. A broken nation that deserved to be broken. Needed to be broken for the peace of Europe itself.

At the height of the whole thing, there came The Wall, a monstrosity erected by the Soviet Union on which people literally died. The Berlin Wall became a metaphor for both the restrictions and oppression of the Soviet Union, and the blue jeans and rock and roll of the West. The West was America and Great Britain and the freedom to do what you wanted.

Kohl, who had joined the Hitler Youth in the last days of the Second World War took no part in this. He was a conservative and no saint, either. His last days were mired in political scandal; intrigue and shame. A famous German satirist once labelled him Don Kohleoni.

The left hated him and called him a pear because of his shape. They ridiculed him without mercy. But the Pear was also a political talent-spotter. Angela Merkel is his protge.

Outside of Germany he is now and will be remembered for German reunification and European integration. And the picture of him holding hands in solidarity with another wily political operator, Franois Mitterrand, during a ceremony, will endure. Kohl was buried with the flag of the EU draped on his coffin, a German who had come to embrace something much bigger than Germany.

Simone Veil, who died almost two weeks after Kohl, like him, embraced Europe. But unlike Kohl, Europe, in the reality of her native land and Germany itself, had tried to kill her. Veil, Jewish and born in Nice, was transported to Auschwitz. French Jews were rounded up and sent to their deaths with a zeal which even surprised Nazi officials, and is still a scar on the nation. Her brother and father disappeared in a truck heading for Lithuania, and her mother died of typhus in Belsen. You were murdered in Auschwitz but you passed away in Belsen, a survivor once said. In short, in Bergen Belsen people were left to rot. But this Nioise survived to return to speak at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2005 for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.

Like Kohl, she was a passionate European. She became an MEP and eventually president of the Parliament. She also served on various committees. For her, bringing France and Germany together was an act not only of necessity, but of supreme intelligence. France, with its border with Germany, its long history of conflict and hatred, became, for Veil, a kind of workshop for her own rebirth.

The European Union can be said to have been, for her, at once a reality and a promise. She and Helmut Kohl must have had no illusions about it. But they were Europeans. They pushed against the boundaries of their own countries. They remade them as Idea. And Purpose.

I was told once that what I really didnt get about Brexit is that it is really English nationalism by another name. Maybe that explains why Brexit is still being driven though in the light of a flip/flop pound; the possibility of real trouble in Northern Ireland; the reality of investment banks looking away from the City of London and toward Frankfurt and Dublin; a Civil Service having to shore up its expertise to handle hundreds of new laws to replace European laws; inflation rising because of the fluctuating currency; science agreements in turmoil; workers not coming over to work in the fields. The list will get longer. And more complex.

Maybe Emmanuel Macron, born in the 1970s, can begin to bring some kind of understanding of the new reality facing this part of the world, especially in the face of the economic powerhouses of the USA and China, and in not very long: India. He demands reform. The EU needs it, and it is possible.

Everybodys buying Europe now, an American investor has said recently. Just when GB is selling it.

But first it was Helmut Kohl and Simone Veil who helped to make it.

Read more here:
The European Union will not die with the giants who built it - The New European

Brussels: The European Union has hailed the defeat of the Islamic State group in Mosul as a "decisive step" in fighting terrorism but called on Iraqis to work together to improve their country.

Representational image. Reuters

Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi earlier announced that pro-government forces had retaken the second city from Islamic State after a months-long battle that killed thousands of civilians and forced nearly a million people from their homes.

"The recovery of Mosul from the hands of (Islamic State) marks a decisive step in the campaign to eliminate terrorist control in parts of Iraq and to free its people," the EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and its aid commissioner Christos Stylianides said in a joint statement on Sunday.

But they urged Iraqis to pick up the pieces of their country, parts of which were easily overran by Islamic State three years ago.

"It is now essential that a process of return and the re-establishment of trust between communities begins, and that all Iraqis are able to start building a shared future," they said.

Islamic State still controls swathes of western Iraq including much of the desert Anbar province and rival forces, which largely cooperated against the jihadists in Mosul, are expected to compete for a share of the spoils.

Abadi himself has faced accusations of incompetence and corruption in his government, and followers of popular cleric Moqtada Sadr have staged large protests in Baghdad calling for electoral reform.

More:
European Union hails liberation of Mosul, urges Iraqis to rebuild their country - Firstpost

LONDON The British government is confident it can get legislation to begin the process of transferring European Union law into British law through parliament, Prime Minister Theresa May's deputy said on Monday.

The Repeal Bill, which the government says will help achieve a smooth transition as Britain leaves the EU, will transpose EU law and also repeal the 1972 European Communities Act which formalises Britain's EU membership.

"I'm confident that we can get this legislation through parliament," First Secretary of State Damian Green, who is effectively May's deputy, told Sky News, adding that he expected lots of debate along the way.

Green said although the bill, which is due to be presented to parliament this week, was complex from a legislative point of view, it was a simple concept.

May's Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority at an election last month, and were forced to secure a deal with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to support her on key votes in parliament.

(Reporting by Michael Holden and Kylie MacLellan, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

LONDON The cladding system used on London's Grenfell Tower would only have met British regulatory standards if the two main materials had passed a key safety test together, according to a Reuters analysis of the building code and data on the materials.

LONDON TalkTalk Telecom Chief Financial Officer Iain Torrens will step down this year, continuing the reshaping of the British company's top team under founder and Executive Chairman Charles Dunstone.

LONDON Britain's scheduled exit from the European Union may never happen because its main political parties are too divided on the issue, said Vince Cable, a veteran lawmaker bidding to lead the fourth largest political party, the Liberal Democrats.

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May's deputy says confident can get EU repeal bill through parliament - Reuters UK

Could Brexit be ditched?

Thats a question being asked at Westminster.

The idea that the United Kingdom could remain part of the European Union after all was raised by the BBC last week. It reported that some people involved in the Brexit process believed that an economic downturn could mean the UK stays in the EU after all.

Another possibility would be for the UK join the European Economic Area, which means you have to obey EU rules but also keep many of the benefits of membership.

This would allow politicians to say theyve accepted the result of the 2016 EU referendum, when 52 per cent of voters backed Brexit, while avoiding a full break.

As things stand, the UK is due to leave the EU by March 2019. Thats still the most likely outcome.

But other options are starting to look possible too.

For one thing, employers are getting increasingly nervous. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which represents larger firms, last week called on the Government to ensure the UK remains in the single market and the customs union even after the March 2019 deadline for leaving the EU.

The EU single market is the agreement that guarantees the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour between countries.

And the customs union means that there are no customs duties levied on goods travelling between countries, and also no delays when goods cross borders.

The CBI says its not trying to stop Brexit, but it wants to have as much continuity as possible.

In a lecture at the London School of Economics, CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn said: This is not about whether we are leaving the EU, it is about how. Once the Article 50 clock strikes midnight on 29th March 2019 the UK will leave the EU.

Our proposal for a limited transition period paving our way to a new future. This common-sense approach would bring continuity to firms in the UK and the EU and protect investment today.

In practice, however, any transitional arrangements could easily end up being permanent.

And remaining members of both the single market and the customs union would mean that we continue to be bound by EU rules. For example, wed continue to have freedom of movement with other EU countries, allowing European migrants to come here to work, and wed be unable to sign our own trade deals with other countries.

It depends partly on how much the Government, or the opposition parties, share the concerns of employers about threats facing the economy.

Michel Barnier, the French politician who is now the EUs Brexit negotiator, insisted last week that the UK simply cant retain the benefits of single market membership, which allows the UK to trade with EU countries, without being a member.

He said: I have heard some people in the UK argue that one can leave the single market and keep all of its benefits that is not possible.

I have heard some people in the UK argue that one can leave the single market and build a customs union to achieve frictionless trade that is not possible.

But he also said it wasnt possible to keep the benefits of the customs union if we leave the EU.

He said: By choosing to leave the Union, you move to the other side of the external border that delineates not only the customs union but also the area in which the rules of the internal market are adopted and implemented.

Only the combination of the internal market and the customs union guarantees the free movement of goods.

Some supporters of Brexit insist there is no doubt about leaving.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Conservative MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumbria and a strong Brexit supporter, said: It is mischief making by those who lost the battle.

Government really is now all Brexit facing.

She added: The machinery is entirely focused on Brexit. So yes, we will get a full Brexit.

The question is probably only what cheque size we have to write to appease the accountants at the European Commission, who are cross that they are going to lose 19 or 20 billion a year out of their budget.

But its without question that the machinery of government is now doing what the British people asked them to do.

International trade secretary Liam Fox, a staunch Brexiteer, was in no mood for compromise last week, as he told the House of Commons that sections of the media including the BBC were trying to stop Brexit.

He told MPs: It does appear that some elements of our media would rather see Britain fail than see Brexit succeed . . . I cannot recall a single time in recent times when I have seen good economic news that the BBC didnt describe as despite Brexit.

See the rest here:
Could the UK stay in the European Union after all? That's the question being asked at Westminster - ChronicleLive

As Japan struck a multinational trade agreement in principle Thursday with the European Union, farmers in Montana watched from the outside with their noses pressed against the glass.

Japan is a top three customer for Montana commodities, the states largest grain buyer in the Asian Pacific, where roughly 80 percent of Montanas hard red spring and hard red winter wheat is exported.

The deal with the European Union promises to sew up trade terms for one third of the world economy. It was not unlike the U.S.-brokered, 13-nation Trans Pacific Partnership that Montana farmers had hoped would level the playing field for Montana products in Japan and other Pacific countries by removing tariffs and other restrictions.

TPP nations accounted for 42 percent of the worlds gross domestic product, according to the U.S. Trade Representative. Would-be partners like Vietnam had economic growth that was three times that of more advanced nations. The deal fell apart under a new wave of nationalism in the United States. It was declared dead the day President Donald Trump took office.

Were seeing this as a direct result of us pulling out of TPP, said Gordon Stoner, an Outlook farmer and National Association of Wheat Growers past president. As long as we were at the table with TPP, Japan was not going to upset the apple cart with us.

The Trump administration has promised a bilateral agreement with Japan that includes parts of the TPP deal that the president likes, though while campaigning in 2016, Trump wrote off TPP and other multinational trade deals, like the North America Free Trade Agreement as disastrous for the U.S. employment, particularly manufacturing.

For Stoner and other Montana farmers with a voice on national farm economic issues, the issue with the bilateral trade talks is time. The United States invested years in making TPP work. Switching to bilateral agreements could take several more years.

Whether the EU deal will hurt Montana grain trade remains to be seen. Europe and the United States compete directly in global wheat markets, but on specific grain types like Montanas hard red spring and winter wheat varieties, Europe may not be a threat. Those high-protein varieties arent grown everywhere.

Asian millers are used to importing those grains from Montana and North Dakota. The majority of Montanas large grain elevators, designed to load mile-long trains bound for Pacific Northwest ports, are at least partially owned by Asian corporations.

Stoner is hopeful theres enough of an Asian stake in the Montana grain trade and a unique enough offering by Montana farmers to gird against an EU trade deal.

A deal between Japan and the EU is generally unfavorable for the United States, said Vincent Smith, economist at Montana State University, who specializes in agricultural policy and international trade.

The United States buys steel from both Japan and European Union nations. Manufacturers in the United States could also be affected by a Japan-EU trade agreement.

The obvious win for Japan is easier sales of Japanese automobiles in Europe, an arrangement that will likely increase the price of Japanese autos in the United States by virtue of increased demand in the EU.

The biggest story is what it says about the U.S., Smith said. Is this another indicator that the U.S. is less important in the world, particularly because of the presidents attitude, at least as he articulates it to world trade?

The world is saying If your administration is going to assume that it can play by any rules it chooses, then were not going to worry about you. Were going to work in another direction.'

There are Montanans who were opposed to the TPP regardless of what it meant for the states $5 billion agricultural economy.

Matthew Koehler, of the Wild West Institute, said the inclusion of underdeveloped nations with labor policies that permitted child factory workers, poor working conditions and low pay, was reason enough oppose TPP. There were environmental policies related to industry that also didnt line up with policies in the United States. Even if the U.S. insisted those policies improve, trade terms still werent supportive of U.S. workers, Koehler said.

"The EU and Japan are very similar economies. They have similar regulations governing a lot of things like the rights of workers, protecting the environment, Koehler said. The TPP was including countries where slave labor was still allowed.

The TPP nations were Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the United States.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Lee Montana newspapers in May that the inability of lesser-developed countries to meet trade terms easily met by the United States and Japan suggested that a bilateral agreement would be more relevant.

Excerpt from:
Japan and EU strike trade deal as Montana farmers look on - Billings Gazette