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Chairman of Capital Economics, Roger Bootle, has said that Germany alone will not be enough to fund the European Union.

German taxpayers pay record sums into the EU and are set to pay more than any other member state after Brexit to make up the short fall.

In 2015, Germany paid an unprecedented total of 13.3billion to remain a part of the union.

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Within the eurozone, if its leaders press on to fiscal union, Germany will be asked to become the magic money tree in relation to most of the rest of the union

Roger Bootle

Writing for The Telegraph, he said: Over the last few weeks of election campaigning, we have seen how democratic politics naturally produces an escalation of demands on the the public purse as politicians, and voters, seem to believe in the magic money tree that will produce the goodies that they want.

Within the eurozone, if its leaders press on to fiscal union, Germany will be asked to become the magic money tree in relation to most of the rest of the union.

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Jeremy Corbyn during a visit to Hackney Marshes Football Pitches, to highlight Labour's manifesto commitment to ensure 5% of the Premier League's television rights income is diverted to the grassroots game, during a General Election campaign

Mr Bootle said that the role of permanent provider for the European Union is not one that Germany is going to take on lightly.

The economist said that the EU payments are grudgingly accepted by the German taxpayer, but still resented.

The German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, has also said that it is important to have a strong France as Germany alone is not able to hold Europe together.

Some member states have already made it clear that they are not willing to pay more into the EU budget to make up for the UKs departure.

The UK has acted as one of the main contributors to the EU budget; in 2014 it was the fourth largest national contributor to the budget after Germany, France and Italy.

German commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, has said that Germany as well as other net contributors will have to increase the amount of money that they pay into the bloc.

Mr Bootle has labelled Brexit as the UKs Great Excape claiming the European Union and its single market is a disaster.

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Germany faces future of being the European Union's 'magic money ... - Express.co.uk

BRUSSELS European Union leaders meeting next week will agree to boost cooperation in the areas of security and defense and express support for global trade and the Paris agreement on fighting climate change, according to a draft joint statement.

The EU leaders will convene in Brussels on June 22-23, in the same week that long-awaited talks on Britain's exit from the bloc are due to begin in the biggest setback for European integration in six decades.

Determined to show that an EU of 27 - minus Britain - can still thrive, the bloc is pushing for closer defense ties, something London has long opposed.

"The joint development of capability projects commonly agreed by Member States to fill the existing major shortfalls and develop the technologies of the future is key to fulfilling the EU level of ambition," the document reads.

It gives top EU backing to the already-proposed joint financing for research and development in Europe's fractured defense industry, and pushes for working out financing details for the bloc's joint battle groups that have never been used.

France and Germany revived talk of the EU's long-stalled efforts at expanding military cooperation following the Brexit referendum a year ago.

"It must be our goal to develop common, pan-European capabilities," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told fellow conservatives on Tuesday, adding that she and French President Emmanuel Macron had agreed to work together more closely to strengthen defense and security.

Merkel said trans-Atlantic ties would remain critically important, but the EU needed to expand its ability to deal with regional conflicts and protect its external borders.

"We simply have to take on more responsibility," she said.

U.S. President Donald Trump's uneasy relationship with Europe and lukewarm stance on NATO have given the tentative push for more defense cooperation greater momentum.

"FAIR" TRADE

The draft conclusions mirrored much of the language favoring open markets previously seen from EU leaders, though with a greater emphasis now on "fair" as well as "free" trade. The document said the EU saw merit in seeking further steps to create stronger trade defenses and screen foreign investments.

France, Germany and Italy have mooted the idea of allowing the EU to block Chinese investment in Europe, partly because European companies are denied similar access in China and because of risks that Beijing may acquire prized European technology.

An EU-China summit earlier this month was overshadowed by divisions on trade.

The leaders will encourage progress in free trade talks with Mexico and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and say recent progress in negotiations with Japan "paves the way for an early political agreement".

Despite Trump's announcement that he was pulling the United States out of the global accord on climate change, EU leaders are due to express their full backing for the accord.

"The European Council strongly reaffirms the EU commitment to swiftly and fully implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change," they will say.

"The Agreement remains a cornerstone for global efforts to effectively tackle climate change, and cannot be renegotiated."

(Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop and Andreas Rinke; Editing by Gareth Jones)

ANKARA/DUBAI Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday denounced the isolation of Qatar by neighboring states as a violation of Islamic values and akin to a "death penalty" imposed in a crisis that has reverberated across the Middle East and beyond.

LONDON Britain entered a sixth day of political limbo on Wednesday with Prime Minister Theresa May yet to seal a deal to prop up her minority government and facing calls to soften her stance on Brexit days before negotiations on leaving the EU begin.

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EU leaders to back closer defense ties, Paris climate accord - summit draft - Reuters

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Originally posted here:
Roaming charges to end across the European Union, but callers are warned about a huge catch - The Independent

Top EU and British figures held talks about talks on Brexit Monday but failed to nail down a date for the start of negotiations amid the fallout from Britains chaotic election, officials said.

The two-year negotiation process between EU Brexit chief Michel Barnier and Britains Brexit minister David Davis had been due to formally start on June 19.

But that looks increasingly unlikely as Conservative British Prime Minister Theresa May fights for her political life after unexpectedly losing her majority in parliament.

In Brussels on Monday Barnier met Olly Robbins, a senior official in Daviss ministry, and Britains ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow to discuss arrangements for the talks following the election shock.

They agreed to have further contact at technical level this week. As of yet, no date for opening the negotiations has been agreed, an EU official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The EU stands ready to begin negotiations.

The arrangements under discussion include dates and the sequencing of talks -- the EU wants four-week cycles of negotiations, each covering one topic -- once they do actually get started.

European Commission spokesperson Alexander Winterstein earlier declined to provide a likely start date.

When will be the point from moving to talking about talks, to more detailed talks, I cannot say. This doesnt depend entirely on us, Winterstein told a daily briefing.

Brussels has warned that time is running out to start the talks on divorce terms and a future trade deal, with Britain set to leave the EU come what may in March 2019.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said last Friday that Brussels would be ready at half past nine the next morning if Britain was ready.

London has said it wants the Barnier-Davis talks to start as scheduled next Monday, but since Thursdays election it has not formally committed to the date.

Davis told BBC radio on Monday that the government stood by its threat to walk away with no deal if talks -- when they do eventually start -- break down.

Mays catastrophic showing in Thursdays election has caused consternation in the EU, which is keen to push through the disruptive Brexit process as soon as possible.

Obviously its not great that things are being delayed, an EU source said on condition of anonymity, adding that Brussels officials had been glued to their TV screens and Twitter for the British election results.

See more here:
Britain, European Union fail to agree on starting date of Brexit negotiations - Hindustan Times

Politics

The Burundian government accuses the European Union of attempting to change the regime in Burundi. The EU denounces the accusations saying they are false.

Demonstrations in Bujumbura against another candidacy of Pierre Nkurunziza for the 2015 elections

The accusations made in this communiqu issued on June 5 are serious. Bujumbura accuses the EU delegation of not only being involved in sabotaging the 2015 electoral process but also fueling the desire to operate a regime change in Burundi.

The Government indicates that it will even analyze in depth the likely influences that the European Union policy against Burundi would have exerted in the making of some decisions.

According to the government in place, the European Union has provided funding to natural or legal persons involved in the destabilization of the Republic of Burundi. These people are currently under an international arrest warrant issued by the Burundian judiciary, said Secretary-General and Government spokesman, Philippe Nzobonariba, who read the statement.

The evidence put forward by the Burundian government is a document circulating on the Internet. it shows contracts between the European Union and the international NGO War Child in 2014. The document shows that the European organization financed at the time the evacuation of several human rights defenders or their families from Burundi.

The European Union rejects the allegations

The European Union backs a program for supporting human rights defenders.

The EU denied these accusations on Wednesday. They described the accusations of destabilizing Burundi as false. We formally refute these accusations. They are based on a deliberately wrong interpretation of a program of support for human rights defenders.

The EU delegation said the EU foreign policy is based on the promotion of human rights and the protection of their defenders throughout the world. Any lasting settlement of the crisis in Burundi must take into account the ongoing and past human rights violations and the protection of the people and organizations working in this regard.

The EU delegation also emphasized that the EU is a long-standing partner of the Republic of Burundi and its people. It supports the mediation efforts of the East African Community and continues its development cooperation in direct support to the Burundian population.

Burundi is under sanctions taken by the EU since March 2016. The European organization, whose aid accounted for 20% of the budget, decided to freeze the direct aid allocated to the Burundian government. The European Union wielded the Cotonou Agreement to demand its respect by Bujumbura. The agreement was signed by African states, including Burundi on the one hand, and the European Union on the other hand. Article 96 stipulates that the parties undertake to respect democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law.

Wolfram Vetter, Head of the European delegation, has so far indicated that conditions have not yet been met to resume giving budget support to the Government of Burundi as human rights violations, cases of torture and disappearances continue to be reported.

He also mentioned the reduction of the media space and that of civil society.

>>Reactions

War Child Holland

Peter Schouten, War Child Holland Spokesman, said that there were indeed contracts signed by the European Union, represented by the European Commission, and War Child Holland. We ended these contracts in 2015 immediately after the headquarters of our organization concluded that they were not within our mandate in Burundi.

Peter Schouten says these contracts with the European Union have thus ended. At this moment, War Childs first interest is in the well-being of children in Burundi. They are Burundis bright future and War Child wants to help them by providing psychosocial support, protection and education to them.

Pacifique Nininahazwe: I have benefited from the Protect Defenders

This human rights activist indicates that there is a UN declaration on human rights defenders, since 1998 adopted by the General Assembly, in the presence of Burundi. The EU has recently adopted a very important program: the Protect Defenders, which also exists in countries such as the United States of America and Ireland. This program is public and provides for evacuation in case of people whose lives are very much in danger. According to Pacifique Nininahazwe, in December 2014, his family was evacuated when it learned of an imminent attack against it. I had just toured Brussels at the EU, Geneva at the United Nations and Sweden. Everywhere I went, I had a firm speech against the third term of Nkurunziza. He says several organizations have made statements about his safety. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights, Michel Forst, alerted the authorities and diplomats. Two policemen were assigned to his home. It is normal that the mechanisms of protection of human rights defenders have worked in my favor in this situation. According to Pacifique Nininahazwe, the governments statement rather confirms the importance of this kind of mechanisms for protecting human rights defenders. I feel that the authorities regret that I did not die in December 2014. I am pleased that many other Burundi human rights defenders, including journalists, have also benefited from the protection of these mechanisms.

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IWACU English News | The voices of Burundi Burundi charges ... - IWACU English News (satire) (press release) (subscription) (blog)