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The 2017 European Student Conference (ESC 2017), hosted at Yale University Friday-Saturday, Feb. 10-11, will bring together 100 undergraduate and graduate students from universities across the United States and Europe to address some of the major challenges for the European Union. The theme of this years conference is "Reforging the Social Contract in Europe."

The event is hosted by European Horizons is a United States-based, non-partisan think-tank devoted to exploring the meaning of European identity, modernizing and reforming the concept of the social market economy, advancing the cause of European integration, and deepening transatlantic relations.

Participants at ESC 2017 will have the opportunity to craft policy perspectives that shed light on European challenges in addition to entering into a debate with professors, current and former decision-makers from Europe and representatives of European institutions. Participants will also draft a concrete plan of action for implementing the policy visions and strategies that they develop in the workshops.

The conference is structured around three main formats: keynote speeches, panels, and workshops. The first day of the conference will begin with an opening ceremony with keynote speaker David OSullivan, ambassador of the European Union to the United States, before focusing on the first two workshop sessions: each featuring a policy adviser, professor, and moderator. The themes of the workshops include identity, migration, political legitimacy of institutions, productivity, foreign and security policy, and entrepreneurship.

The afternoon will feature an European Horitzons Chapter Information Session after the Opportunities of Brexit panel. Moderator Eileen OConnor, formerly with the U.S. State Department and now vice president of communications at Yale, will lead the discussion with panelists Ambassador Peter Wittig from Germany, Ambassador Grard Araud from France, OSullivan, Professor Robert Shiller of Yale, and Catherine Stihler, a member of the European Parliament.

The second day of the conference will begin the European Public Sphere panel, where moderator Michael Kaczmarek from the European Parliament Research Service (EPRS) will talk with participants Kevin Delaney from Quartz, Martin Sandbu from the Financial Times, Eschel Alpermann from EPRS, and Alexander Goerlach of Harvard. Participants will also have a third workshop to continue their discussions and policy proposals.

See a detailed schedule of the conference.

European Horizons convenes several conferences throughout the year, publishes research and policy papers through its academic journal, The Review of European and Transatlantic Affairs, and maintains chapters across universities in the United States and Europe. For more information, visit http://www.europeanhorizons.org.

ESC 2017 is co-founded by the European Union as a Jean Monnet Activity under the Erasmus+ Programme. Rene Haferkamp of Harvards Center for European Studies is the special adviser for ESC 2017. The event is supported by the European Commission and Erasmus+.

For further information, contact Nicholas Romanoff, president of the European Horizons Chapter at the University of Chicago at nromanoff@uchicago.edu or (646) 385-5823.

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Student conference to address challenges facing European Union - Yale News

The European Parliaments lead Brexit negotiator has said that the European Union needs to reform or it risks disappearing completely.

Speaking to the BBC World Service on Wednesday, Guy Verhofstadt said that there are multiple sources of pressure on the bloc.

If we look to the pressure on the European Union at the moment [President Donald Trump] is bidding on the designation of the European Union and also Vladimir Putin who wants to divide the European Union, he said.

Then theres also the threat of jihadism and then internally we have enormous pressure by nationalists, populists, the whole question of Brexit, so its an existential moment for the European Union, he added.

He said that it is now the time to reform, otherwise it could disappear.

Mr Verhofstadts warning echoes a speech he made in London in January during which he said that the European trading bloc was facing a three-pronged attack from outside forces.

Two of the forces were Russian President Putin and radical Islamism; the third, he said, is Mr Trump, he said.

I have just come back from the US and my view is that we have a third front that is undermining the EU ... and that is Donald Trump, he said at the time.

Commenting on Brexit earlier last month, Mr Verhofstadt, who is the former prime minister of Belgium, said that Theresa May is creating an illusion after the prime minister outlined Britain's plan for leaving the EU at a landmark speech at Lancaster House.

He also said that it was not very helpful that there had been discussions about Britain becoming a tax haven after the split.

I think it creates an illusion that you can go out of the single market and the customs union and you can cherry pick and still have a number of advantages, he said at the time.

Excerpt from:
European Parliament's lead Brexit negotiator warns European Union could 'disappear' - The Independent

LONDON An independent Scotland would not be part of the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday.

A majority of Scots backed staying in the EU in last year's referendum and the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), which lost a bid for independence in 2014, has said there should be another vote on the issue if its views on Brexit are rejected in upcoming divorce negotiations with Brussels.

On Tuesday, Scotland's devolved parliament rejected May's Brexit plans in a symbolic, non-binding vote.

Asked by an SNP lawmaker whether she would go ahead and trigger Britain's divorce from the EU without agreeing a UK-wide negotiating position, May said: "He constantly refers to the interests of Scotland inside the European Union - an independent Scotland would not be in the European Union."

(Reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Stephen Addison)

LONDON British employers expect to offer less generous pay deals this year compared with 2016 despite rising inflation, probably putting pressure on consumer spending as the year goes on, a Bank of England survey showed on Wednesday.

EDINBURGH Support for Scottish independence rose last month after British Prime Minister Theresa May came out in favour of Britain making a clean break with the European Union, a BMG survey for Herald Scotland showed on Wednesday.

BEIJING/LONDON China has invited British Prime Minister Theresa May to attend a major summit in May on its "One Belt, One Road" initiative to build a new Silk Road, diplomatic sources told Reuters, as London said she would visit China this year.

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May says an independent Scotland would not be in the European Union - Reuters UK

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini issued a statement on Tuesday in criticism ofthe Regulation Bill adopted by the Knesset, which will retroactively legalize thousands of West Bank settlement homes built on private Palestinian land.

"The European Union condemns the recent adoption of the 'Regularization Law' by the Israeli Knesset on 6 February. This law crosses a new and dangerous threshold by legalizing under Israeli law the seizure of Palestinian property rights and effectively authorizing the confiscation of privately owned Palestinian land in occupied territory. The law may provide for 'legalizing' numerous settlements and outposts previously considered as illegal even under Israeli law, which would be contrary to previous commitments by Israeli governments and illegal under international law.

Mogherini (L) and Netanyahu (Photo: Amit Shabi)

"In passing this new law, the Israeli parliament has legislated on the legal status of land within occupied territory, which is an issue that remains beyond its jurisdiction," said Mogherini. "Should it be implemented, the law would further entrench a one-state reality of unequal rights, perpetual occupation and conflict," the statement continued.

Mogherini (Photo: AFP)

The EU, also in line with recently adopted UN Security Council resolution 2334, the statement went on, "considers Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory to be illegal under international law and condemns the recent settlement announcements. As identified in the recommendations of the report by the Middle East Quartet, such settlements constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten the viability of a two-state solution.

Mogherini's statement then said that "the EU urges the Israeli leadership to refrain from implementing the law and to avoid measures that further raise tensions and endanger the prospects for a peaceful solution to the conflict, so as to reaffirm unequivocally through actions and policy its continued commitment to a two-state solution in order to rebuild mutual trust and create conditions for direct and meaningful negotiations."

With her somewhat belated statement, Mogherini thus joins numerous represetnatives of other international bodies and nations to come out against the approved bill, such as UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres, whose bureau expressed his objection to the bill earlier Tuesday evening.

"The Secretary-General deeply regrets the adoption of the so called "Regularization bill" on 6 February by the Knesset. This bill is in contravention of international law and will have far reaching legal consequences for Israel," said the statement ascribed to Guterres.

Eariler, a Palestinian Cabinet minister on Tuesday called on the international community to punish Israel for a contentious new law, just hours after the Knesset adopted the law.

French President Franois Hollande called on the Israeli government to repeal the law, warning that it marked the beginning of annexation.

More here:
European Union adds to condemnation of Regulation Bill - Ynetnews

Washington D.C. Moroccos warning to the European Union over their trade deal is a breath of fresh air in the otherwise stale Moroccan diplomatic dealings with Europe.

After enduring years of economic, diplomatic and public relations manipulation at the hands of some European nations, the Moroccan diplomacy is rousing with a new assertive approach to defend its vital interests and to build a relationship based on mutual respect and shared interests. Morocco warning to the EU is away overdue.

The EU needs to reconsider its neo-colonialist approach to its economic relations with Morocco. For years, the North African nation has been a good neighbor, an understanding partner, a flexible negotiator and an active cohort in every common pursuit with Europe, Yet, the European attitude has been arrogant, hypocrite and condescending.

Since his accession to the throne, King Mohammed VI made every efforts to build strong and equitable relations with Europe especially Spain and France. While Paris has been a good friend, Madrid has been flaky, unreliable and double-dealer.

From its unconditional cooperation in stopping illegal immigrations and drugs to its proactive support in tracking terrorists and extremists, Morocco has been a model partner for the Europeans. To the contrary, Brussels has been second-guessing Moroccan positions in the Sahara conflict opposing the Kingdom to Algeria. The EU has taken Morocco for granted for years and views Rabat sympathetic positions on immigration and security as a weakness and vulnerability.

Moroccos opponents, namely Algeria and its allies, have portrayed the Moroccan-European relations as one way street where the North African nation collects all kinds of benefits and grants as handouts. The truth is that both entities gain form a healthy bilateral trade.

The strengthening of the Moroccan economy is good for the EU since it strengthen the domestic market and enhance the purchasing powers of the locals who tend to buy European products. A trade hiatus would damage some European economies that deals extensively with Morocco and would lead to great instability and insecurity in the Mediterranean and an unescapable wave of migration and illicit drugs.

The recent harassment in some European ports of the Norwegian vessel Key Bay, that was transporting fishing oil from a Moroccan port to Europe, is unacceptable. In fact, Morocco should counter any attempt to block Moroccan agriculture products from entering into the European market by a halting intelligence and security cooperation with the EU.

Furthermore, Morocco should expel Spanish fishing boats from its territorial waters. Spaniards cannot have their cake and eat it. Morocco may not be looking for confrontations; however, such unfriendly attitudes cannot go unnoticed and unanswered.

If the EU decides to pick and choose the type of Moroccan fishing and farming merchandise to allow into its territory based on the origins of the product, then Rabat should also establish the kind of cooperation needed to keep this selective relations alive. Nevertheless, the deal should not stay as it stands today unless the EU treats all Moroccan products equally.

A Moroccan product , be it from Tangier or Laayoune, is made in Morocco the same way as a Spanish product that is manufactured in Madrid, Barcelona or Bilbao is sill made in Spain.

Morocco has kept the Western Mediterranean in a largely peaceful atmosphere when it can easily create periods of tension that would develop into political crisis for some European governments. Rabat understanding attitudes on immigration and shared intelligence alone is key to political stability in some European capitals.

Regardless of the fate of the Morocco-EU deal, Rabat should expand its economic outreach further in Africa and build stronger commercial ties with India, China, Japan and Russia. Furthermore, the close diplomatic and political bonds between the Kingdom and the Arab Gulf monarchies should translate into even bigger economic ties. Moroccos newfound markets will easily offset EU investments and grants offered to Rabat.

Moroccan officials need to do their part also by appointing competent ambassadors who are well equipped to deal with the types of judicial hurdles the country will encounter in Brussels.

Moroccan embassies, in some European capitals, need to have resident legal experts familiar with the Western Sahara conflict. Moreover, economic attaches at Moroccan diplomatic missions should have strong negotiation skills and a good knowledge of the legal aspects of the Sahara dossier.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent any institution or entity.

Morocco World News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Morocco Should Stand Up to the European Union Trade Provocations - Morocco World News