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Guy Verhofstadt has dismissed Theresa Mays claim that the election will help Britain secure a better deal. Photograph: Stephanie Lecocq/EPA

Theresa Mays claim that she will be strengthened in the Brexit talks by a general election victory has been dismissed as nonsense by the European parliaments Brexit coordinator, who has condemned the prime minister as a political opportunist.

In an outspoken attack, Guy Verhofstadt suggests the prime minister was motivated by party political considerations rather than the national interest in calling a poll for 8 June.

Writing in the Observer, the former Belgian prime minister, who will play a key role in the coming Brexit negotiations, describes the election announced by May on Tuesday as an attempted power grab by the Conservative party, who wish to take advantage of a Labour party seemingly in disarray to secure another five years of power, before the reality of Brexit bites.

Verhofstadt further claims that putting more Tory MPs in the House of Commons will do nothing to bolster the British prime minister when it comes to the talks in Brussels. The latest polls have the Tories about 20 percentage points ahead of Jeremy Corbyns Labour party.

The theory espoused by some, that Theresa May is calling a general election on Brexit in order to secure a better deal with the EU, is nonsensical, he says.

We can only conclude that many British politicians and the media still dont fathom how article 50 will work in practice. Will the election of more Tory MPs give Theresa May a greater chance of securing a better Brexit deal? For those sitting around the table in Brussels, this is an irrelevance.

Justifying her surprise decision to call a general election, May told the Commons last Wednesday that every vote for the Conservatives would make me stronger when I negotiate for Britain with the European Union.

She claimed that she needed protection from the Labour party, who had threatened to vote down a future deal; the Liberal Democrats, who wished to grind business to a halt; and the House of Lords, which has an anti-Brexit majority.

However, it has been suggested that rather than seeking to bolster herself against opponents of Brexit by gaining a larger majority, May is actually hoping to diminish the power of the hardline Brexiters in her own party, who would rather the UK crash out of the EU without a deal than see her come to a compromise.

Describing the latest developments in British politics as surreal, Verhofstadt writes: Many in Brussels remain concerned that the chances of a deal are being eroded by the British prime ministers tough negotiating red lines and her lack of political room for manoeuvre domestically, yet there is no guarantee that a sprinkling of additional Conservative MPs on the backbenches of the House of Commons will provide this.

He adds: As with the Brexit referendum, which many European leaders saw as a Tory cat-fight that got out of control, I have little doubt many on the continent see this election as once again motivated by the internal machinations of the Tory party.

With reference to a TV clip of a dismayed British voter being told of another election in the UK, which went viral on the internet last week, he writes: The BBC video of Brenda from Bristol, so openly decrying another political campaign, was viewed far beyond the white cliffs of Dover. Indeed, it appears this election is being driven by the political opportunism of the party in government, rather than by the people they represent.

Verhofstadt strikes a pessimistic note about the Brexit talks, which will now take place after the UKs general election in June. He warns that, as it stands, unless the UK government requests transitional arrangements to the contrary, and these requests are agreed by all EU countries, UK citizens will have no more of a right to holiday, travel and study in EU countries than tourists from Moscow or students from Mumbai.

He also lambasts David Daviss Department for Exiting the European Union for claiming that the two EU agencies currently based in London the European Banking Authority and the European Medicines Agency might stay in the UK after Brexit. The department made the claim after this newspaper revealed that the selection criteria for the coming contest between member states seeking to gain the agencies are to be published at the end of this month.

Verhofstadt writes: As the Observer has reported, leaving the European Union means the EU agencies based in the United Kingdom will be relocated.

I expect this will be approved by EU leaders as soon as June, if not before. Contrary to the obscure claims by UK government officials, the EUs crown jewels of the European Banking Authority and the European Medicines Agency will not remain in a post-Brexit Britain, paid for by EU countries.

This is not, as the Daily Express has already decried, a punishment. This is another logical consequence of Theresa Mays article 50 letter. This decision will not be up for negotiation.

The president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, will be meeting May in Downing Street on Wednesday to discuss the process for the two years of negotiations allowed under article 50 of the Lisbon treaty.

The EU will formalise its broad political goals for the negotiations at a summit next Saturday in Brussels. The more detailed European commission directives for its chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, will be adopted at the end of May, after which the EU will be ready to start talks, with citizens rights, the UKs financial liabilities and the border in Ireland the priorities.

Keir Starmer, the shadow brexit minister, said: Guy Verhofstadt asks, what is the purpose of this general election? The answer is simple. The prime minister is attempting to crush all challenge to her hard Tory Brexit approach at home and to negotiate by threat and demand abroad. As Guy Verhofstadt rightly points out, far from helping negotiations with the EU, the prime ministers stance is eroding the chances of achieving the best deal for Britain.

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Election is a Tory power grab, says EU Brexit chief - The Guardian

ByStephen Beard

April 20, 2017 | 2:00 PM

On est chez nous! The phrase, which means this is our home, thunders around a sports stadium in northeastern Paris. Some 6,000 supporters of the far-right National Front party are in full cry at a campaign rally as they await the arrival of their heroine, the leader of their party and a front-runner in Frances presidential election, Marine Le Pen.

On est chez nous is a battle cry for the National Front and conveys two connected messages: We have too many immigrants coming to France and We dont like the European Union running our country.

Jean Cautirot, who was at the Paris rally, said he and his fellow party members resent Europes passport-free zone because it facilitates the influx of more migrants, which France does not want and cannot afford. Cautirot detests any EU involvement in French domestic affairs.

Im in favor of Europe so long as we just work together, but Im against a European dictatorship. We dont need to be ordered about by Brussels. The majority of French people dont want that. We are perfectly able to govern ourselves, he said.

Marine Le Pen has pledged that if she wins, she will immediately pull out of the passport-free zone and renegotiate a much looser relationship with the EU. Then shell hold a referendum on whether France should leave the single currency and perhaps the bloc as well. Jean-Paul Martin, a retired art gallery manager and Front supporter, knows already how he would vote.

I would vote for Frexit, absolutely, absolutely, he told Marketplace. "I think we do not take any benefit from the European Union.

That will surprise many Brits, who for many years harbored the suspicion that the EU was set up mainly for the benefit of the French in order to contain the economic powerhouse next door, Germany. The euro was a French idea. But theres little doubt that today many French people are disillusioned with the EU and with the euro.

With the euro, our purchasing power has gone down," said Danielle Oger, a Front voter. "I feel it, and other French people feel it for sure,

Shes right. When the single currency was launched more than 15 years ago, French and German consumers had roughly equal purchasing power; today, the Germans are 17 percent better off. Analysts point out the discrepancy is mainly due to Frances failure to reform, but many French people blame the euro, and it shows in the opinion polls. Last year, a major survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that the French are less positive about the EU than even the Brits. And the Brits have voted to leave.

Karim Amellal,a Franco-Algerian writer and entrepreneur, said the French have clearly fallen out of love with Europe.

In France, people dont believe the European Union can solve their problems anymore, he said. Problems like an unemployment rate of 10 percent, which is twice the rate of other major economies, like Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. But Amellal, whos pro-EU and anti-National Front, does not believe the French would ever vote to leave the Union.

Its obvious that the cost and the economic disruption would be huge. And I think when people think about that, they will realize that leaving the single currency and the EU is not the answer, he said.

Amellal is reassured that an EU referendum is unlikely in France because, as the polls indicate, Le Pen may get through the first round of the election on Sunday, but she will probably not win the second round, and therefore will not be the next president of France. But no one can be sure of the outcome of this highly unpredictable election or its longer-term repercussions. It has already stoked up some powerful nationalist sentiment in a key member state of the European Union. At Le Pens rally in Paris this week, the crowd sang the National Anthem three times in the middleof her speech.

Read the original here:
French voters are turning against the European Union - Marketplace.org

Commissioner Neven Mimica announces further EU support to Haiti on an official visit to the country

During an official visit to Haiti after the appointment of a new Government, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica announced a new EU aid package.

The first of which is a special allocation of 18.5 million (14.5 million in exceptional budget support and 4 million for an agricultural project) in response to Hurricane Matthew which hit the island in October 2016 and caused widespread damage to housing, agriculture, and infrastructure. The EU had also provided initial emergency relief last year when the hurricane struck the country.

Commissioner Mimica said: "Through our new support we clearly show the solidarity of the European Union towards Haiti. We remain committed to supporting the Haitian population and the reconstruction and stabilisation of the country."

The second part of support through the signature with the Prime Minister S.E.M Jack Guy Lafontant is a 45 million agreement for the construction of the National Road #3, connecting Port-au-Prince to the northern town of Cap Haitian, the second biggest town and port of Haiti.

Commissioner Mimica added: I am aware that the people of Haiti have suffered for many years from poor road conditions. The EU is committed to the completion of the National Road #3 all the way from Port-au-Prince to Cap Haitian. I am delighted to be signing this project which will help the development of the island. This road will facilitate community access to health centres, schools and other services.

Background:

Haiti remains the poorest country in the Latin America/Caribbean region. It is, in addition one of the most unequal with an alarming Gini coefficient of 0.592 (one of the highest in the world), and chronic political, socio-economic and environmental fragility. Haiti receives around 42% of the financial assistance allocated to the Caribbean region under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) (2014-2020).

More information on the European Development Fund:

In line with the country context and as reflected in the national development strategies of Haiti, the EU strategic objectives pursued in the 11th EDF include:

More information on the EU's crisis response to Hurricane Matthew:

Matthew, a category 4 hurricane, made landfall in Haiti on 4 October 2016, causing widespread flooding and damage to housing, agriculture, and infrastructure. At least 2.1 million people were affected, including 894,000 children. Of them, 1.4 million were in need of assistance, including 500,000 children, with at least 125,000 requiring protection from exploitation, violation, and abuse (United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs figures of November 2016).

In this context, the European Commission provided humanitarian aid worth 19.7 million to cover immediate needs in relation to food and nutrition security, water and sanitation, education, shelter and protection.

Furthermore, the Commission mobilised 18.5 million under the State Building Contract and the Southern Food Security project to support the Government in its post-Matthew reconstruction and agricultural rehabilitation efforts.

IP/17/1022

Press contacts:

Carlos MARTIN RUIZ DE GORDEJUELA (+32 2 296 53 22)

Nabila MASSRALI (+ 32 2 296 92 18)

Daniel PUGLISI (+32 2 296 91 40)

General public inquiries: Europe Direct by phone 00 800 67 89 10 11 or by email

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The European Union increases its support for Haiti - Reliefweb

World powers such as France, Germany, Britain and China have an obligation to stop North Korea from triggering a worldwide crisis over its nuclear weapons program, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, warned Thursday. As tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have risen in recent days, with both nations exchanging increasingly tough warnings about potential military strikes, Mogherini saidEurope and China must work together "in times of growing tensions and geopolitical unpredictability" to avoid an outbreak of war in the Korean Peninsula.

"Everyone understands that the crisis withNorth Koreawill have a global fallout," she said during aspeech at Tsinghua University in China as part of a three-day trip to discuss trade and geopolitics. Mogherini said shebrought up her concerns aboutNorth Korea during talks this week with Chinese officials in Beijing.

She said the EU and China havea "common responsibility and an interest to avoid a military escalation in the Korean Peninsula, to push for North Korea to abide by its international obligations and re-engage with the international community, and work together for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula."

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Her remarks came asEuropean Union officials are debatinghow to respond to North Korea's nuclear threats. The EU, a major trade partner with South Korea and Japan,increased sanctions against Pyongyang in March, including banning its members frominvesting in North Korea's mining, refining and chemical industries. A statement at the time calledthe isolated nation's nuclear and missile tests "a grave threat to international peace and security in the region and beyond." But officials in Germany and Sweden have called for maintaining diplomatic ties withPyongyang and continuing to sendhumanitarian aid to North Koreans.

Mogherini said the threat from North Korea should be obvious to all. She shared during her speech how her 12-year-old daughter hadrecently raisedquestions about the potential fornuclear war in the region if the situation further deteriorated, the Associated Press reported."If a 12-year-old in Europe understands the risks of an escalation, (in) such a faraway place from home, it is quite self-evident that we have common responsibilities," Mogherinisaid.

North Korea has warned in recent months that it could use its growingnuclear weapons program to attack the U.S. or South Korea.PresidentDonald Trumphas urged China, a close Pyongyang ally, to use its influence to persuadeNorth Korea to give upits nuclear and missile programs and stop threatening other nations.

Pyongyang has so far remained undeterred.The North Korean government warned Thursday in the state-run Rodong Sinmun, the officialnewspaper of North Koreas Workers Party,of a super-mighty preemptive strike against the U.S. military that "will completely and immediately wipe out not only U.S. imperialists' invasion forces in South Korea and its surrounding areas but the U.S. mainland and reduce them to ashes."

Vice PresidentMike Pencesaid Wednesday while visiting Tokyo thatthe U.S. would respond with an "overwhelming and effective" military strike if North Korea attempts to execute any of its threats against Washington.

Excerpt from:
North Korea War Would Have 'Global Fallout,' European Union Policy Chief Warns - Newsweek

The European Union is expecting Britain to pay the full cost of relocating two major EU agencies from London back to the EU after Brexit, in the latest signal that Brussels intends to play hardball over the costs of UK withdrawal from Europe.

The plan, revealed in a leaked draft of the European Commissions Brexit negotiating mandate, looks certain to raise the temperature of the debate over Britains so-called Brexit bill.

Europe is expecting to reclaim two of its most prestigious UK-based agencies,covering banking and medicine regulations, which employ hundreds of highly skilled staff in offices based in Londons Docklands.

Last week David Davis, the Brexit secretary, indicated that Britain did not accept that the agencies would necessarily have to be relocated inside the EU after Brexit - a position that was swiftly rejected by senior figures across Europe.

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Brussels demands the UK foots the bill to relocate London-based EU agencies after Brexit - Telegraph.co.uk