Forbes | An Investor's Guide To The Collapse Of The European Union Forbes While Trump's tweets grab the headlines, Europe's perils are becoming harder to ignore. Greece's fiscal follies have surfaced once again, but that's not the EU's biggest threat at the moment. That award goes to Italy's banks. Currently, around 18% of ... |
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An Investor's Guide To The Collapse Of The European Union - Forbes
It has left UK taxpayers having to pay more than 130million for their unpaid debts according to a fresh analysis of Student Loans Company figures
ONE INfour EU citizens who study in England go home without paying a penny of their loans, the Sun can reveal.
It has left UK taxpayers picking up a bill of more than 400million for their unpaid debts.
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MPs said it exposed one of the many hidden costs of EU membership and demanded Theresa May use Brexit to stop taxpayers being ripped off.
Students from across Europe who choose to attend English universities get access to the same taxpayer-funded loan as British citizens.
But analysis of figures from the Student Loans Company reveal 18,600 have not paid back a penny and authorities cannot track them because they have returned overseas.
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The 25 per cent of EU graduates who fail to repay loans compares to an overall rate of just 2 per cent.
Furious Tory MPs have demanded Theresa May recoup the money owed by EU graduates in Brexit negotiations.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said there was no reason for EU students to be subsidised by UK taxpayers.
And Philip Davies told The Sun: This is an absolute scandal and shows the huge hidden cost of our membership of the EU to go on top of our 10billion a year membership fee.
Now we are leaving the EU the Government needs to ensure that we stop taxpayers being ripped off in this way.
The number of EU graduates placed in arrears for failing to repay loans reached 8,600 last year. A further 10,000 are not repaying because they are unknown to UK authorities.
Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said EU students who default on their student loans should be stopped at the border and treated in the same way as benefit cheats and tax evaders.
He called on ministers to include measures in the Higher Education Bill to introduce an online repayment scheme to make it easier for graduates to settle their debts. He said the Treasury could save 22 for every 1 spent if ministers copy a scheme brought in by New Zealand.
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Mr Hillman told The Sun: Tackling it is not rocket science. We should copy New Zealand, which has introduced carrots and sticks to raise repayment rates.
If you enter New Zealand owing money, you can be arrested at the border. They also have easy online repayment systems and hardship provisions for those who really cannot afford it.
He added: If Ministers are not prepared to amend the Higher Education Bill currently in the House of Lords, then Philip Hammond must tackle the issue in his next Budget. For every 1 spent chasing repayments from people overseas, he could get 22 in repayments.
That is an exceptionally high rate of return, much higher than other government policies.
David Kurten, Ukip's Education Spokesman,said: The scandal of EU students taking student loans from the British taxpayer and returning home without paying has gone on for years."
He added: "The scale of this scandal has now been revealed at over 400 million.
"Ukip have been saying for years that all students who are foreign nationals, including those from the EU, should pay their own University fees up front if they are studying in Britain. This is simple common sense.
"This is money which should all have been recovered, and could have paid for 15 brand new secondary schools.
"There is no excuse for this waste to continue: British money should be spent first on British people and services in this country, particularly in skills training for young people which has been neglected for far too long."
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One in four European Union citizens who study in England go home without paying a PENNY of their student loans - The Sun
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EU judges have thrown out a case brought by three asylum seekers challenging the legality of the EU-Turkey migrant deal by claiming Brussels was not responsible for the agreement.
Judges blamed inaccuracies in the press release about the deal which indicated the EU, rather than member states, had reached the agreement.
The General Court of the European Union said it lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case which saw Turkey agree to help EU member states tackle the migrant crisis in March 2016 after more than a million people arrived in Europe.
The evidence provided by the European Council shows that it was not the EU but its member states, as actors under international law, that conducted negotiations with Turkey in that area
General Court of the EU
Under the deal, which saw the EU agree to hand over at least 5billion to Turkey to help them stop the crisis escalating, migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands could be deported to back to Turkey.
Two Pakistani nationals and an Afghan national submitted applications for asylum after travelling from Turkey to Greece.
The nationals questioned the legality of the agreement and called for the court to annul the deal between the European Council and Turkey.
But judges threw out the case saying the deal was made between heads of EU member states and the Turkish government under international law and not by the European Council or any EU institutions sparking outrage.
In a statement, the court said: The Court takes the view that the evidence, provided by the European Council and relating to the meetings on the migration crisis held successively in 2015 and 2016 between the Heads of State or Government of the member states and their Turkish counterpart, shows that it was not the EU but its member states, as actors under international law, that conducted negotiations with Turkey in that area, including on 18 March 2016.
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Ankara agreed to the deal in exchange for billions of pounds in funding to help migrants, the promise of visa-free travel for its citizens to much of the EU, and accelerated EU membership talks.
Amnesty International criticised the decision, accusing the EU of sidestepping scrutiny.
John Dalhuisen, Amnesty Internationals Director for Europe and Central Asia, said: There is something very wrong when EU leaders negotiate a deal at an EU summit, publicise it as an EU deal and use EU resources to implement it, but then claim it has nothing to do with the EU in order to avoid judicial scrutiny.
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Migrants try to reach a rescue craft from their overcrowded raft, as lifeguards from the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue all 112 on aboard
The deceit involved in the EU-Turkey deal just keeps growing: first EU leaders pretend that Turkey is a safe country to return refugees to, then they wash their hands of all involvement when this deeply flawed deal comes under the microscope.
Shifting the blame will not change the fact that this deal has brought suffering to thousands of refugees and migrants, and there is an urgent need for it to be reviewed.
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Bungling EU says it NEVER made a migrant deal with Turkey as court rejects asylum bid - Express.co.uk
Four Central European nations have hammered out proposals for the European Union that are intended to strengthen the voice of member nations and avoid divisions, Poland's prime minister said Thursday.
Beata Szydlo spoke following a meeting with her counterparts from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
The meeting was held days ahead of the March 9-10 EU summit in Brussels and a special March 25 anniversary summit in Rome. A key issue at these meetings will be the future standing of the currently 28-member bloc after Britain leaves.
Szydlo said that the joint declaration of the so-called Visegrad Group for a "better Europe" was agreed on Thursday and will be presented in Rome.
It calls for EU institutions to take care of issues directly concerning Europeans, like security, protected borders, dignity, justice and equal treatment for each of the member states, Szydlo told a news conference.
One "serious problem" cited by the group was the lack of uniform food standards throughout the EU, which some central European members say means they receive inferior food.
"We believe there is a double standard on the European Union market," said Hungary's Viktor Orban.
"We have to avoid ... having Europe use our countries and markets as a garbage dump," Orban said.
The group appealed to EU officials to take a "serious approach" to the issue.
The declaration also calls for a strong EU market with no protectionism or divisions and for greater control by member nations over the legislative and decision-making processes. The group, which joined the club in 2004, says that EU decisions are made in Brussels by politicians who do not seek the opinions of the member nations.
Szydlo's talks with Orban, Slovakia's Robert Fico and Bohuslav Sobotka of the Czech Republic were also believed to have included the Polish government's opposition to a second term for Donald Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, as European Council head.
Tusk's 2 ?-year term ends in May. He is the only candidate for the position and enjoys general support, but is the long-time political rival in Poland of the leader of Poland's ruling conservative party.
This story has been corrected to show Orban's first name is spelled Viktor, not Victor; and to show the declaration is for a "better Europe" not "better union."
Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report
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Central European nations present plan for stronger EU - ABC News
The Front National leader is surging in the polls and a win would signal the end of Europe, Enrico Letta claimed yesterday.
He said the upcoming French election was even more important than the upcoming federal and presidential votes in Germany due to the formers place at the UN Security Council.
Mr Letta said: You would have the end of Europe. I think the European Union cant survive with Marine Le Pen in the European Council representing France. It will be game over.
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It comes after Marine Le Pen took a huge leap in polls, with 27 per cent of voters saying they now intend to vote for her in the first round of voting in April.
READ MORE: Will Marine Le Pen win the French presidential election?
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She has gained two per cent in the Le Figaro/LCI poll while her closest rival, centrist Emmanuel Macron, is currently garnering 25 per cent of the publics support.
However, Mr Macron, leader of 'En Marche!' is on Ms Le Pens heels as he gained four per cent of the first round vote, the poll found.
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Described as more democratic and republican than her nationalist father, she has led a movement of "de-demonization of the Front National" to detoxify it and soften its image
Of the voters who said they would be gunning for Marine Le Pen, 78 per cent said they definitely would, meaning her supporters are the most confident about who they will vote for, compared to 58 per cent for Republican Franois Fillon and 54 per cent for Mr Macron.
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However, polls are still pointing to an overall win by Mr Macron, who is polling at 58 per cent compared to 42 per cent for Ms Le Pen if the pair were up against each other in the final round.
A third of voters who took part in the survey said they still had not decided who to vote for, meaning there could still be a surprise result.
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Le Pen victory will DESTROY European Union, warns Enrico Letta ... - Express.co.uk