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You may know that we Hungarians never give up the fight, Orbn said defiantly, and I will today once again try to apply the power of common sense in this debate.

Orbn was referring to specific EU complaints about Hungarys unilateral opposition to the heavy-handed pressures of American financial speculator George Soros, a major financer of abortion and open immigration throughout the world. Yet in his address, the Prime Minister went further, asserting Hungarys right to self-governance and challenging the EU to acknowledge the state of crisis into which it has fallen.

He also came to the meeting to showcase the substantial economic progress made by Hungary in recent years, thanks to free market policies of fiscal restraint and pro-business legislation that fly in the face of European bureaucracy, social assistance and hyper-regulation.

In 2008 we started from a point where Greece was, Orbn recalled. The government of Hungary at the time was the first to turn to the Monetary Fund and the EU for a loan. Since then, we have fully repaid this money, ahead of maturity.

Since then, we have created hundreds of thousands of jobs. Hungary is on the road to the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union. This is 4% currently. We have created a workfare society, we are giving jobs instead of benefits to everyone who wants to work, he said.

Our aim is full employment, Orbn continued. Our budget deficit has exceeded the level you required for years it was 1.8% recently the state debt is decreasing, and our economic growth is steadily around 4%.

Acknowledging that Hungary still has a number of problems to solve, Orbn said that his nation has reason to be proud. I am convinced that the success of Hungary is also a European success, and the EU is in great need of success stories nowadays. It would be foolish if this fact did not get enough attention, due to ideological differences, he said.

While reiterating Hungarys commitment to the EU, the Prime Minister said bluntly that we are in many respects dissatisfied with the functioning of the European Union.

We are formulating criticism because we want to correct mistakes and we want to reform the European Union. We are convinced that we can only regain the trust of citizens towards European institutions, if we do everything we can to eliminate the causes of bad and inefficient operation.

While repeating the basic stance of the Hungarian government in opposition to the EUs open borders policy toward economic migrants, Orbn suggested that the EU should allow the Hungarian people the right to control their own borders as well as their fiscal policy.

Our vision, he said, is based on a strong Europe of strong member states. In such a Europe, member states bear responsibility instead of running away from it. Responsibility for state debt, the budget and border protection.

In an open challenge, the prime minister said that he wanted to influence decisions by using the tools of debate, reasoning and persuasion, and called on other EU member states to do the same. Whoever does not like the position of our country, he said, should contend their own arguments with ours, so we can fight this debate, but please, do not condemn us because Hungary has her own, independent opinion.

Hungary is a proud country, Orbn said. Hungarians have always considered themselves an important nation, devoted to the Christian values of Europe.

And while promising Hungarys commitment to the European Union, Orbn said that his people will only support the European Union if it is fair and built on open debates, capable of admitting that it needs reform from time to time.

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Hungarian Prime Minister Challenges European Union in Fiery Address - Breitbart News

WASHINGTON The European Union has called for Arkansas to cancel its scheduled execution Thursday of 38-year-old Kenneth Williams.

In a letter Wednesday to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson(R), EU Ambassador to the United States David OSullivan wrote that the union wishes to make an urgent humanitarian appeal on Williams behalf.

In 1999, Williams, who was already serving a life sentence for kidnapping and murder, escaped from prison and killed a 57-year-old farmer, Cecil Boren, according to USA Today. He then fled to Missouri, where he killed another person in a traffic accident. Williams was sentenced to death in August 2000.

It is my understanding that evidence was introduced at trial to show that Mr. Williams was intellectually disabled, OSullivan wrote. While at the time there was no categorical exclusion for the execution of the intellectually disabled, this is now the case. I also understand that three doctors have submitted reports to the courts this week finding that Mr. Williams meets the definition of intellectual disability. I believe this evidence should be heard and that Mr. Williams should not be executed.

Williams is one of eight inmates that Arkansasplanned to executethis month before its supply of a lethal injection drug expired. Last week the state executed Ledell Lee. On Monday, it carried out a double execution the nations first since 2000, putting to death Jack Jones and Marcel Williams. Four inmates have been granted a stay of execution.

Arkansas Department of Corrections via Reuters

In his letter, OSullivan said the states string of executions had regrettably put an end to the de facto moratorium on capital punishment in Arkansas since it executed a man in 2005. And he called the pace with which Arkansas is carrying out these executions unprecedented.

The European Union is opposed to the use of capital punishment under all circumstances and accordingly aims at its universal abolition, seeking a global moratorium on the death penalty as a first step, OSullivan wrote. We believe that the elimination of the death penalty is fundamental to the protection of human dignity, and to the progressive development of human rights on a global scale.

He added that while the EU recognizes the serious nature of Kenneth Williams crimes and offers its sincere sympathies to the victims families and friends, it does not believe that their loss will be mitigated by the death of Mr. Williams.

In an essay published earlier this month by The Marshall Project, Williams addressed his looming death.

God has transformed me, and even the worst of us can be reformed and renewed. Revealing these truths meant more to me then being granted clemency. Im still going to eventually die someday, but to stand up for God in front of man, thats my victory.To the families of my victims, to whom I have brought pain, great loss, and suffering, as shallow as I am sorry for robbing you of your loved one can sound, I would rather say it, and mean it, than not say it at all.

The state of Arkansas is facing two federal lawsuits over this months parade of executions. On Wednesday, the Arkansas Supreme Court denied all requests for stays of execution for Williams, KARK 4 News in Little Rock reported. He is scheduled to be put to death at 7 p.m. CDT Thursday.

Heres the letter from Ambassador OSullivan:

Original post:
European Union Pleads For Arkansas To Stop Execution - Huffington Post

Frances centrist presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron said he would push for European Union sanctions against Poland and any other states accused of violating EU principles if he wins Frances presidency.

In the next three months after I am elected, there will be a decision on Poland, Macron told reporters of several regional French newspapers including Ouest-France. You cannot have a European Union which argues over every single decimal place on the issue of budgets with each country, and which, when you have an EU member which acts like Poland or Hungary on issues linked to universities and learning, or refugees, or fundamental values, decides to do nothing.

Macrons comment indicates the staunchly pro-EU candidate, who promises to reassert Frances leading position within the bloc and play an integral role in shaping its future, will actively enforce the blocs democratic liberal values at a time when EU leaders are faced with reshaping and shoring up solidarity within the union pre-Brexit.

EU leaders have tangled with Poland and Hungary in recent months over the issue of refugee quotas and Brussels has expressed its concerns over what it perceives as rising authoritarianism in both countries.

Both Poland and Hungary have blocked European Commission plans to resettle refugee and migrant arrivals throughout the bloc and on Friday, Hungary announced it had completed a second three-metre high fence along its border with Serbia.

In January Polands ruling Law and Justice party tightened its control on Polish media organisations which prompted demonstrations in Warsaw and condemnations by press freedom groups. The country is also working on regulations which would allow Warsaw to detain asylum seekers in border camps a policy already in place in Hungary.

And this week, Brussels war of words with Hungarys PM Viktor Orban escalated as it launched official infringement proceedings against Budapest over a controversial law governing universities that EU Parliament Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt called paranoid.

The EU Commission has stopped short of imposing sanctions on its own members for non-compliance. Its a decision Macron said he is against.

When the rights and values of the European Union are not respected, I want sanctions to be taken, Macron said.

Macrons message echoes that made by the European Commission earlier this month; it is considering fining member states for failing to reach their migrant quotas.

In a statement released earlier this month, the Commission said if member states do not increase their relocations soon, the Commission will not hesitate to make use of its powers for those which have not complied.

Hungary is challenging the Commissions forced relocation plan in the European Court of Justice. A decision is due on May 10.

More than one million people have come to Europe, mostly via Greece and Italy. The two countries have called for and applied pressure on Brussels to guarantee increased cooperation among EU states to shoulder the burden of the migrant crisis affecting Europe since 2015.

As many as 14,000 people currently in Greece are eligible for relocation throughout the bloc.

But countries along migrants land-route to western Europe including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania oppose the scheme.

With nine days to go before the French runoff election, recent polls suggest Macrons lead over far-right challenger Marine Le Pen has narrowed after Frances first round vote.

Macron is still projected to win the May 7 vote with an estimated 60 percent of votes.

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France's Macron wants sanctions on Poland, others, for violating EU principles - euronews

GETTY

The failed Democratic candidate had devised a strategy which included dispatching officials on a tour of the continent to drum up support and publicly denouncing critics of the project in White House statements.

She wanted to develop a closer relationship with Brussels during her tenure, building on the foundations laid by Barack Obama, and felt that the European Union needed more support from Washington.

The strategy was revealed by Julianne Smith, who was the head of Mrs Clintons Europe team during last years presidential election campaign, in an interview with EurActivs Jorge Valero.

She suggested that if elected President the Democratic nominee would have been prepared to wade full on into domestic European politics in a way even her predecessor generally eschewed.

GETTY

Mr Obama was heavily criticised when he took a clear stance on Brexit, telling British voters that the UK would be back of the queue for a trade deal if they voted to leave the EU.

The ill-advised intervention was broadly seen as being of huge help to the Leave campaign, which made huge capital out of the perception that a US President was trying to boss Britain around.

It appears Ms Clinton would have carried on in that vein, however, with her top advisor suggesting she would have condemned the eurosceptic stance currently being taken by countries like Hungary.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban is currently embroiled in a series of rows with Brussels over his policies on migration, an attempt to shut down a university owned by George Soros and a Stop Brussels consultation on repatriating certain powers.

Asked what the Democrats strategy would have been, Ms Smith replied: We could work with the European partners to call out countries that are rolling back democratic reforms.

There could be political statements that are made in tandem between Washington and Brussels to call out, for example, what Orban did to the Central European University.

She added: There could be visits by US officials to European capitals to show resolve and unity in the face of Russian aggression.

There was a broad feeling among the team and Clinton herself that Washington would need to extend a hand and build on the partnership between Barack Obama and Angela Merkel, and have a closer relationship to many of the leaders in Europe and Brussels, and work with our European allies to strengthen our cooperation.

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In her interview she also laid into Donald Trump, who shocked the world by beating Mrs Clinton in last Novembers election, saying the Republican had no plan for US relations with the EU.

Brussels has been alarmed by Mr Trumps eurosceptic stance, with the US President having been a vocal backers of the campaign for Britain to leave the EU.

Relations plunged into the deep freeze following the Republicans election in November, with Germany and its leader Angela Merkel becoming a particular focus of his criticism.

He has since softened his tone somewhat, although he has still made clear his preference for dealing with individual countries rather than supranational organisations.

The rest is here:
Clinton plan to save EU: Democrat plotted to meddle in European politics to shore up bloc - Express.co.uk

This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts.

Among the many holidays in the Jewish calendar, May could easily be called Israel Month.

It begins with Memorial Day, which commemorates the fallen soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces, and is followed immediately by Yom Haatzmaut, Israels Independence Day. Several weeks later comes Jerusalem Day, celebrating the citys reunification in 1967.

Of the three, though, only Israeli Independence Day, which falls this year on May 2, is widely celebrated by Jews outside of Israel. JCCs and college Hillel groups organize pro-Israeli events, invite Israeli speakers and nosh on felafel and hummus.

Although those events arguably serve an important purpose by publicly declaring solidarity with the State of Israel, I confess I rarely go to the festivities because I find them uninspiring. I prefer connecting to Israel in a more personal way throughout the year. On Tuesday evenings I go to an Israeli folkdance class, and every Shabbos afternoon I get together with a group of friends to read Israeli literature together.

And whenever I buy a bottle of wine, I choose one made in Israel.

Rukhl Schaechter

It amazes me to see the growing number of sophisticated wines - Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz - produced by Israeli companies today, especially when I compare it to the stark, primitive conditions in Israel during the 1970s when most homes and stores didnt even have air-conditioning for relief during the hot and sweaty Tel Aviv summers, and when telephone conversations were often cut short because of bad connections.

Youve come a long way, Israel.

One reason I buy Israeli-produced wines is because of their high quality. (Last year, Wine Spectator Magazine scored 120 Israeli wines as outstanding). But another reason is to combat the troubling growth of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement (BDS), especially among certain political circles in Europe. These groups dont just condemn the present Israeli government (a legitimate action in any democracy) but the very existence of a Jewish state at all.

Most disturbing is seeing high-ranking political leaders complicit in the move to boycott Israel. Two years ago, Mayor Ilmar Reepalu in Swedens third-largest city, Malmo, permitted the organization Isolate Israel to use a city-owned building during its Israeli Apartheid Week, and openly urged Malmos shop owners to not sell Israeli products.

Last year, former London Mayor Ken Livingston, known for his anti-Israel sentiments, advocated for an international boycott on Israeli products, telling an interviewer that I never buy anything that comes from Israel. I like dates, but I dont buy dates that come from Israel, he said.

Its surprising then that so little has been mentioned of a bold step taken recently made by the European Union with very positive ramifications for Israel: for the first time, its annual report on commercial competition has included a clear rejection of boycott initiatives Although the document doesnt mention Israel by name, the reference is clear when it states that the European Commission underlines the need to fight against unfair collective boycotts, since no other country is targeted in this way.

The statement on boycotts was introduced by Fulvio Marusciello, a pro-Israel European Parliament lawmaker from Italy. His spokesperson confirmed that he introduced the clause to translate for the first time into EU commercial policy the stated objections of EU leaders to BDS.

Marusciello isnt the first high-ranking European Union official to condemn attempts to boycott Israel. The former president of the European Parliament, German politician Martin Schultz, has said that the EU would not support these initiatives, as have other EU politicians in their public speeches. But this is the first time that an anti-boycott stance appears in an official European Parliament document.

In the face of the growing influence of the BDS movement, it couldnt have been easy for Marusciello to convince other EU leaders to adopt this bold anti-boycott stance in official policy. He deserves praise his courage.

Rukhl Schaechter is the editor of the Yiddish Forward.

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European Union Aids Israel With Anti-BDS Policy - Forward