Tag: EU

PlatinuPlatinum Jubilee: Queen marks 70 years in power by firming up future of the monarchy for Charles and Camillam Jubilee: Queen Elizabeth marks 70 years as monarch

 

Katie Grant – February 6, 2022

The Queen has marked 70 years on the throne by renewing a promise to “always be devoted” to public service and expressing her “sincere wish” that the Duchess of Cornwall will eventually take the title Queen Consort.

In a message to the nation on Accession Day, the 95-year-old monarch conveyed her hope that when, “in the fullness of time”, her eldest son, Prince Charles, ascends the throne, the public will rally behind him and his wife Camilla.

Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI, and of her ascension to the throne, Elizabeth II reflected on the past and paved the way for the future of the monarchy, pointedly paying tribute to Camilla’s “loyal service”.

Remarking on what the anniversary means to her, the Queen said: “It is a day that, even after 70 years, I still remember as much for the death of my father, King George VI, as for the start of my reign.”

She continued: “As we mark this anniversary, it gives me pleasure to renew to you the pledge I gave in 1947 that my life will always be devoted to your service.”

The monarch, who is the first British sovereign in history to celebrate seven decades on the throne, also spoke of her “sense of hope and optimism” as the country prepares to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee this summer.

“I am reminded of how much we can be thankful for,” she said, pointing to the “extraordinary progress socially, technologically and culturally” that she has witnessed during a record-breaking reign.

She stressed how “fortunate” she felt to have enjoyed the “steadfast and loving support” of her family.

https://inews.co.uk

US envoy in Europe says ‘drumbeat of war is sounding loud’

Laura Kelly – January 13, 2022

Washington’s envoy in Europe on Thursday issued a stark warning of war in Eastern Europe amid Russia’s military buildup on Ukraine’s border but said the U.S. and the majority of its allies support ongoing dialogue to tamp down tensions.

“We’re facing a crisis in European security. The drumbeat of war is sounding loud, and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill,” said Michael Carpenter, the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Carpenter spoke with reporters following a meeting of the OSCE focused on advancing diplomacy between the U.S., Europe and Russia, the conclusion of an extraordinary session of three diplomatic meetings on the continent this week and in response to Russian military provocations.

“There’s close to 100,000 troops on the Russian side of its border with Ukraine. Their presence and the live fire measures being carried out are raising many questions about Moscow’s intention,” Carpenter said.

https://www.msn.com

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Accuses Germany of Using EU to Create ‘Fourth Reich’

Chris Tomlinson – December 26, 2021

Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the country’s governing ruling Law and Justice party (PiS), has accused Germany of trying to create a “Fourth Reich” by pushing for a European Union federal state.

Mr Kaczyński made his comments this week during an interview with Polish media, explaining that the term “Fourth Reich” was not so much a reference to the Third Reich of National Socialist Germany as to the “First Reich” of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Polish conservative added that if his fellow countrymen were to agree to further federalisation of the European Union “we would be degraded in various ways” and said that such a change to the EU would amount to a “modern subjugation” of the Polish people, Kronen Zeitung reports.

The comments come after the new German left-green-liberal coalition government agreed to push for further federalisation of the European Union as part of the “traffic light coalition” deal that was agreed upon earlier this month.

Last week, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz made his first visit to Poland to meet with Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, with the latter noting his opposition to a centralised EU superstate and saying such a move would be “bureaucratic centralism” and adding that “Europe will be strong if it is a Europe of sovereign states.”

Scholz did, however, express support for Poland’s ongoing migrant crisis engineered by Belarus, with Scholz agreeing that it was a form of “hybrid warfare” during his visit.

“I described to the Chancellor the changed tactics that the [Alexander] Lukashenko regime is now using in this artificially triggered migration crisis, the use of people as living shields, as weapons,” Prime Minister Morawiecki said.

https://www.breitbart.com

EU Official Warns Of ‘Rolling Blackouts’ As Energy Crisis Worsens

Tyler Durden – December 1, 2021

Europe’s energy crisis is about to get a whole lot worse as the Northern Hemisphere winter is just weeks away. New risks are emerging across the continent that households and companies might have to scale back on power use or even plan for rolling blackouts.

There is no immediate fix to the energy crisis that comes from the supply side, with Russia’s Gazprom, the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe, only pumping what it has. At the same time, EU stockpiles remain well below trend.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Italy’s government is ready to combat soaring energy prices for households, according to Bloomberg.

“We set aside 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in June and over 3 billion euros in September,” Draghi said. “We are now taking steps in the budget and are prepared to continue doing so, with particular attention to the most vulnerable.”

“Given the current energy supply system, a blackout cannot be ruled out” across Europe, Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said, adding that “it’s important to neutralize the impact of increased energy bills on households and companies in the fairest way possible.”

Even before the winter season arrives, cold weather is driving energy prices across Europe to record highs. The massive rally in European gas prices is not diminishing anytime soon. Gas prices at the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark gas price for Europe, jumped to €100 per MWh, adding more pressure on households who are already dealing with rapid food and shelter inflation.

The long-awaited activation of Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany would ease the natural gas crunch. Still, the project continues to hit regulatory snags from German regulators who recently suspended the certification process of the pipeline. What this could mean is flows might not start until spring.

https://www.zerohedge.com

Europe Under Attack: Polish Border Guards Again Defend Border From Belarus-Backed Migrants

Chris Tomlinson – November 26, 2021

Poland remains under sustained attack from the Belarus side of its eastern border, with a group of at least 200 migrants making an attempt to storm the nation Wednesday night, according to Polish border guards as tensions continue to build.

Polish border guards stated that the group of 200 or so migrants made an attempt to storm the border on the evening of November 24th near the village of Czeremcha, just over an hour drive from the Belarusian city of Brest.

Border Guard spokeswoman Anna Michalska commented on the incident, telling news agency Reuters, “They were trying to break through the border, attacking the border,” and added, “They were throwing branches and stones and the attempt was stopped by our officers.”

On Thursday, Polish broadcaster Radio Kielce reported that within the last day alone, Polish board guards had reported at least three attempts by migrants to attack and storm the border, some of them using stones to attack officials as well as laser in an attempt to blind them.

Spokeswoman Michalska stated that the migrants were being actively helped by Belarusian authorities saying that Belarus had attempted to hide their support for the migrants but were now helping cut security fencing and were providing tools to migrants as well.

https://www.breitbart.com

As the European Parliament threatens to sue the European Commission, it’s clear the EU is ripping itself apart over Poland

Paul A. Nuttall – October 22, 2021

The repercussions over Poland’s unwillingness to adhere to European law are increasing by the day, with the EU leaders divided and its institutions at war. However the situation is resolved, it’s proving very damaging to the bloc.

Poland’s refusal to bow to European Union pressure has revealed a fissure at the heart of the bloc. Brussels simply does not know how to proceed in its battle with Poland over the supremacy of EU law. Some want the Poles punished now, others want more negotiations, while Hungary is steadfastly standing by its ally.

European leaders met on Thursday in Brussels to discuss the situation. The European Council summit was, however, a torrid affair with leaders unable to agree over how to handle the tense situation. The issue was deemed so delicate that European Council President Charles Michel attempted to keep it off the agenda, only for France and other Western members to demand its inclusion.

Indeed, it seems that Michel’s instincts were correct, as its inclusion only revealed how divided European leaders are about how to deal with Poland. Some wanted to see the country punished for its insubordination, some supported the Poles’ stance, and others were keen to see a compromise.

In one corner were French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte who want to see Poland penalised for its actions. Indeed, Rutte said “the independence of the Polish judiciary is the key issue we have to discuss. It is very difficult to see how a big new fund of money could be made available to Poland when this is not settled.”

Rutte also attempted to have the leaders temporarily end Poland’s voting rights until the situation was sorted, although he failed to garner enough support for this penalty.

https://www.rt.com

Germany, 4 EU states launch military reaction force initiative — report

DW – October 21, 2021

Germany and four members of the European Union have launched an initiative to establish a bloc-wide rapid reaction force for future military crises, the German news agency dpa reported on Thursday.

The initiative, which also draws in Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia, aims to expand the existing EU battle groups, which are multinational military units of 1,500 personnel each on standby to respond to crises.

The new force is expected to include space and cyber capabilities, along with special forces and air transport.

The five countries said recent events in Afghanistan have shown that the EU must be able to act swiftly, according to a document cited by dpa.

To this end, the availability, readiness, deployability and competence of the forces had to be improved, the document added.

In order to provide greater flexibility, the five states also proposed using Article 44 of the EU Treaty, which has never been activated before.

The article allows coalitions of willing member states to carry out security activities with the permission of other non-participating countries.

The plan also calls on EU member states to utilize more regional cooperation arrangements. It does not, however, make any specific proposals on the size of the force in terms of personnel.

https://www.dw.com

Warsaw’s step towards Polexit shows that West’s attempt to recreate Soviet Union in form of EU was doomed to failure

RT – October 8, 2021

Paul A. Nuttall is a historian, author and a former politician. He was a Member of the European Parliament between 2009 and 2019 and was a prominent campaigner for Brexit.

The Mexican standoff between Warsaw and Brussels has taken a turn for the worse as Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that some EU laws are in direct conflict with the Polish Constitution.
This represents a direct challenge to the principle that EU law is supreme in its member states.

The tribunal judgement on Thursday found that the EU institutions often “act beyond the scope of their competences.” Poland’s Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro welcomed the ruling as it “set the constitutional limits of European integration and permissible EU interference in Polish cases.” 

Naturally, this judgement has provoked outrage in Brussels. The European Commission responded in typical robust fashion, stating that “All rulings by the European Court of Justice are binding on all Member States’ authorities, including national courts.”

Moreover, the Commission made it clear that it would “not hesitate to make use of its powers under the treaties to safeguard the uniform application and integrity of union law.” In other words, Poland backs down or punishment is in the post.

And what will these punishments be? Well, as ever with the EU, the punishment will be financial reprisals. It’s a bit like when a naughty child has their pocket money withheld from an irate parent.

https://www.rt.com

Macron Willing to Trade France’s UN Security Council Seat to Brussels in Exchange for an EU Army

Kurt Zindulka – September 23, 2021

President Emmanuel Macron is willing to trade control of France’s permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council to Brussels in exchange for European Union member states backing his plan to forge an EU Army, an ally of the French leader has said.

Macron, who at the start of his presidency declared that he wished to govern like the Roman God Jupiter, is set to become the European Union’s most influential leader with Chancellor Angela Merkel set to step down after Sunday’s elections in Germany.

Part of this Jupitarian strategy will be to push for the creation of a centrally controlled European Army with France at the helm in the wake of President Biden’s bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan and the AUKUS defence pact signed between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

In order to accomplish the lofty goal of a centralized European military force, Mr Macron is reportedly willing to cede control of France’s permanent position on the UN Security Council.

A close Macron ally, Sandro Gozi told The Telegraph: “I think that if we move on these things we can put on the table also the discussion on the Security Council.”

The former Italian Europe minister and current transnational MEP for Macron’s party in Brussels added: “We must be prepared to confirm our transatlantic alliance but also to become adult in terms of our security and take on our responsibility… Certainly, Macron will push a lot. I would say this is probably his highest priority now.”

France is currently the only EU member state to have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council after the UK left the bloc at the beginning of this year. While Brussels does not have a seat on the influential body, it sits in “observer” status.

The indication of a potential trade of the UN seat for a France-led EU Army comes as the French are set to take control of the rotating EU presidency on January 1st. President Macron is set to lead a joint summit on European defence alongside the EU Council president and close Macron ally Charles Michel during the six-month period in which France controls the presidency.

“This is a unique opportunity for him and for Europe,” said Mr Gozi.

https://www.breitbart.com

EU Chief Von der Leyen Says Europe Must Build the ‘Political Will’ for an EU Army

Kurt Zindulka – September 16, 2021

The European Union needs to build the “political will” to craft an army of its own, President Ursula von der Leyen said in her State of the Union speech on Wednesday.

Addressing the European Parliament in Brussels, the EU Commission chief said that in the wake of President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the bloc should look towards the formation of a “European Defence Union”.

“In the last weeks, there have been many discussions on expeditionary forces. On what type and how many we need: battlegroups or EU entry forces. This is no doubt part of the debate – and I believe it will be part of the solution,” von der Leyen said.

“But the more fundamental issue is why this has not worked in the past… What has held us back until now is not just a shortfall of capacity – it is the lack of political will.

“And if we develop this political will, there is a lot that we can do at EU level.”

The former German defense minister argued for a more centralized command structure of the militaries of Europe rather than what she termed as the “fragmented” system in place now, saying: “This is why the EU could consider its own Joint Situational Awareness Centre to fuse all the different pieces of information.”

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germany’s current defence minister, hailed the speech, writing: “Ursula von der Leyen is right… Real EU defence depends on the political will of member states. That’s why Germany and France must lead.”

The speech from the EU President comes amid a growing consensus in Brussels for a fully-fledged EU Army in the wake of Afghanistan.

https://www.breitbart.com