Tag: European Union

Polish minister suggests country could quit EU due to ‘blackmail’ over judicial reforms

RT – August 6, 2021

Poland’s justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro, has indicated that his government could consider leaving the EU bloc over “illegal blackmail” attempts by its top court amid a dispute over proposed judicial reforms.

Speaking to Polish daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita, Ziobro slammed the EU ahead of an August 16 ruling to obey a decision from the Court of Justice or face potential financial repercussions, threatening that his country would not remain in the EU “at any cost.”

The warning to EU officials about their dictation of Poland’s domestic affairs was paired with a firm declaration that the government would not succumb “to the illegal blackmail of the European Union carried out by the Court of Justice.”

The belief that the EU is a good uncle and gives us money, and that we should accept all its demands at all costs, is propaganda and false.

Ziobro, who leads the United Poland party, the junior member of the governing coalition, has led the judicial reforms the EU have argued undermine the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law – a key principle of the bloc.

The disagreement between the EU and Poland centers on the member state’s judicial reforms, which began to be introduced after the Law and Justice Party took office in 2015. The reforms made changes to the retirement age of Supreme Court justices, resulting in the removal of 20 judges, changes to the term length of ordinary court judges, and the implementation of a measure allowing for justices to be investigated and punished for court rulings.

https://www.rt.com

Poland’s Tusk says conflicts with EU could eventually end the bloc

– July 16,2021

WARSAW, July 16 (Reuters) – Poland and Hungary’s conflicts with the European Union could start a process that results in the bloc falling apart, former European Council President Donald Tusk warned on Friday, amid a worsening standoff over democratic standards.

Brussels is at loggerheads with Warsaw and Budapest over issues such as the independence of the judiciary and press freedoms, a conflict which deepened this week as Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled the country should not comply with demands from the EU’s top court, while the European Commission took legal action against both countries over LGBT rights. read more

“If more of these kinds of countries are found who insist on damaging… the European Union it may simply mean the end of this organisation,” Tusk, who has returned to domestic politics as leader of Poland’s main opposition party Civic Platform (PO), told private broadcaster TVN24.

Surveys show an overwhelming majority of Poles support EU membership, and there is no legal way to throw countries out of the bloc.

However Tusk, who helped steer the European Union through a tumultuous period marked by Brexit, said the risk of an eventual exit existed.

“We will not leave the EU tomorrow, and the EU will not fall apart the day after tomorrow. These are processes that can take years,” he said.

https://www.reuters.com

G20: Finance ministers meet to discuss global tax reform

DW – July 9, 2021

The Italian city of Venice is set to host a summit of finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 countries on Friday.

Top of the agenda is implementing a  global tax reform, spearheaded by the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, that proposes a minimum corporate income tax of 15%.

Some 130 countries already backed the plan, brokered by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The minimum tax rate would bring in an estimated $150 billion (€127 billion) in additional tax revenues globally.

Who benefits most from tax reform?

The G20 members, which comprise the world’s largest economies and account for over 80% of global GDP, are expected to be the main winners from the planned tax reform.

Tax havens that slashed their corporate taxes to incentivize multinational companies to set up headquarters there would lose out the most.

Nevertheless, many, such as Panama and Bermuda, have signed up.

Countries will have until the end of 2023 to put the proposed tax reform into law. But ministers may question the ability of the US government to get such a proposal through the hotly divided US Congress where Republicans have already fought against US President Joe Biden’s domestic tax plans.

Pockets of resistance

Not all countries have agreed to the deal, however, with EU member states Ireland, Estonia and Hungary holding back.

https://www.dw.com

Global Vaccine Passports Have Arrived Courtesy of Google, EU

PJ Media – July 8, 2021

On June 30th, 2021, the Google Developers blog announced the launch of vaccine passports in Android through its Passes API.

Less than 24 hours later, the European Union, long mired in a sea of national standards for digital jab records, rolled out its EU-wide vaccine passport.

Two completely different vaccine passport schemes unveiled on the same day, encompassing the whole of the Western world? What are the odds!

Exceedingly low, of course. This level of coordination belies yet another blitz in the ongoing rollout of a global, technofeudal control grid. The EU has arguably been at the forefront of this rollout – its standardized digital jab certificate is little more than an aggregator for the draconian technology now operating at the Nation-State level.

Adoption of this unified standard is already approaching 100% of EU Member States. Doublethink rhetoric of restoring the Schengen Area’s “freedom of movement” abounds, even as additional barriers to travel are erected.

In this sense, Google and the US are playing catch-up. While de facto vaccine passports have been implemented sparingly in places like New York, California, and Hawaii, an ever-expanding number of States have banned the notion outright.

Yet herein lies the insidiousness of the public-private partnership model: Technocrats can use governments where it suits them, corporations where it does not, and an increasingly bizarre fusion of the two where necessary. Even the propaganda rollout surrounding jab passports is bifurcated by this model, with the EU using official government bulletins while Google syndicates the news via trendy tech blogs.

And though many States in the US have passed legislation or executive action to curb the implementation of vaccine passports, Google could care less.

https://privacytogo.co

Will there be another EU ‘exit’ – over homosexuality?

Patrick J. Buchanan – July 1, 2021

Respect LGBT rights or get out of the EU, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte instructed Hungary’s Viktor Orban at last week’s gathering of the European Union in Brussels.

According to Reuters, attendees described it as the “most intense personal clash among the bloc’s leaders in years.”

What caused the clash?

Hungary just passed a law that bans schools from using materials seen as pro-homosexuality. According to the AP, the new law “prohibits sharing content on homosexuality or sex reassignment to people under 18 in school sex education programs, films or advertisements.”

Rutte eagerly related details of his confrontation with Orban: “It was really forceful, a deep feeling that this could not be. It was about our values; this is what we stand for.”

“I said, ‘Stop this; you must withdraw the law, and if you don’t like that and really say that the European values are not your values, then you must think about whether to remain in the European Union.'”

Orban calls himself a freedom fighter and defender of traditional Catholic values who believes in democracy but not liberalism: “The Hungarian nation is not a mere pile of individuals.”

https://www.wnd.com

EU Launches “Digital Wallet” In Latest Step Toward ‘Cashless Society’

Tyler Durden – June 02, 2021

Despite the concerns about digital privacy being invaded by the “vaccine passports” that Europe has demanded of travelers, the EU is pressing ahead with plans to launch a “digital wallet” that would carry digital copies of a drivers’ license and credit cards (sort of like Apple Pay does) as Europe continues its transition away from cash.

According to the FT, the EU is preparing to unveil its plans for the bloc-wide “digital wallet” on Wednesday. The product is the result of what Brussels described as several states’ demands for the EU to create a digital tool to access important records and other products and services via the smartphone.

A digital wallet could store payment details and passwords, and allow citizens from all 27 countries to log into local government websites or pay utility bills or perhaps even merchants using a single recognized identity.

Like with other smartphone apps, the digital wallets will be accessed via fingerprint and/or retina scanning. It can also serve as a vault where users can store official documents such as a driver’s license. Using the wallet will not be compulsory, but EU citizens who chose to sign up would benefit from an extra-secure digital ecosystem and greater flexibility ideal for post-pandemic life.

“The new digital ID will give every European the keys to their digital twin,” Thierry Breton, and EU commissioner in charge of digital policy, said in a speech earlier this year.

EU officials plan to make it illegal for companies to use any data gleaned from these ‘digital passports’ for marketing or any other commercial purpose, the FT said. Brussels is engaged in discussions with member states to provide guidelines on technical standards for the rollout of the digital wallet, which is expected to be fully operational in about a year.

https://www.zerohedge.com

French soldiers warn of civil war in new letter

BBC – May 10, 2021

A new open letter has been published in France warning of the threat of civil war and claiming to have more than 130,000 signatures from the public.

The message, published in a right-wing magazine, accuses the French government of granting “concessions” to Islamism.

“It is about the survival of our country,” said the text, said to be issued anonymously by soldiers and appealing for public support.

The French government condemned it, as well as a similar letter last month.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called the latest letter a “crude manoeuvre” and accused its anonymous signatories of lacking “courage”, AFP news agency reported.

The letter to the government last month came from semi-retired generals. The minister in charge of the armed forces, Florence Parly, said they would be punished for defying a law that forbids reservists or serving members of the military from expressing opinions in public on religion and politics.

However, far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a candidate in next year’s presidential election, spoke out in support of the estimated 1,000 servicemen and women who backed the April letter.

The new text was published late on Sunday by Valeurs Actuelles, although the numbers and ranks of its original signatories – said to be active members of the military – remain unclear.

https://www.bbc.com

‘Frexit’ on Horizon? Ex-Brexit Chief Negotiator Barnier Reveals What May Prompt France to Leave EU

– April 17, 2021

The remarks came after the latest poll conducted by the French think tank IFOP, which revealed that Marine Le Pen, who leads the party National Rally, would prevail over Emmanuel Macron by two percentage points in the first round of the 2022 presidential election in France.

Macron himself told the BBC in 2018 that the French people would probably vote to secede from the EU if they were to hold an analogue of the Brexit referendum.

He argued that “you always take a risk when you have such a [Brexit-like] referendum, just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in a very complicated aspect”, adding at the same time that since the context in the UK and France “was very different” he doesn’t want to “take any bets”.

Macron also made it clear he would also welcome Britain’s hypothetical return to the EU, stating that he both respects and regrets the Brexit vote.

https://sputniknews.com

Court Rules Against Campaigner’s Bid to Hold Scottish Independence Vote Without UK Govt’s Consent

Sputnik News – February 5, 2021

The claim comes ahead of parliamentary elections in May, pending the Scottish National Party remains in power and pushes for a second vote on independence after failing to receive backing from UK prime minister Boris Johnson.

A Scottish Independence campaigner has lost a bid to seek backing from a top civil court in Edinburgh, Reuters reported on Friday.

Scotland’s Court of Session ruled against campaigner Martin Keatings, who sought legal support for his claim the Scottish parliament could hold a fresh vote on independence from the United Kingdom without approval from Downing Street.

The Court of Sessions dismissed the case, stating Keatings argument was hypothetical and premature, and did not express a view concerning the legality of the case, Reuters added.

The news comes amid calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence, namely after Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs, Michael Russell, said a vote could take place in June after Holyrood unilaterally passes further legislation to approve the process.

https://sputniknews.com

In outright defiance of UK PM, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon’s party promises second independence referendum after pandemic

RT – January 23, 2021

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is standing by her threat to hold a fresh referendum on independence if her party wins the May elections, despite Boris Johnson saying another one should not take place until at least 2055.

Sturgeon likened UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to a “cowering tim’rous beastie” – a line from the poem ‘To a Mouse’, about a scared mouse, by Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns – during an interview with the BBC on Sunday. The Scottish leader also accused Johnson of being “frightened of democracy” by opposing another Scottish referendum until at least 2055 – just over 40 years after the last referendum in 2014, when a 55 percent majority of Scots voted against independence.

“The polls now show that a majority of people in Scotland want independence,” Sturgeon declared, adding, “If the SNP win the Scottish election in a few months’ time on a proposition of giving people that choice, then what democrat could rightly stand in the way of that?”

She added, “Boris Johnson clearly just fears the verdict and the will of the Scottish people.”

Various polls have repeatedly showed that a majority of Scots now support independence, with the most recent placing the number at around 52 percent. It was the 20th poll in a row to show that a majority of Scots support independence.

On Saturday, the SNP revealed in its “roadmap to a referendum” that a draft independence referendum bill “would be enacted if an SNP Scottish Government is re-elected with a majority to do so” in the May 2021 elections. The party claimed that such a referendum would be beyond any “legal challenge” from the UK government, though it stressed that any referendum would only be held after the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.rt.com