21 September 2013

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1. The EU got closer to a trade deal with Singapore after negotiators presented the text of the agreement. Trade in goods between the EU and Singapore was €52 billion in 2012 and in services €28 billion in 2011, with the European Commission estimating that the deal would boost EU exports to Singapore by around €1.4 billion euros over a decade. The EU is also negotiating trade deals with Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.

 

2. The European Commission’s Spanish vice-president, Joaquin Almunia, said in clear reference to Catalonia’s bid for independence from Spain, that "If one part of a territory of a member state decides to separate, the separated part isn’t a member of the European Union." Catalan president Artur Mas said in a New York Times article last week that “Catalans are deeply pro-European and we do not imagine a future outside the European Union."

 

3. A supporter of Golden Dawn, the Greek far-right, neo-Nazi party, stabbed and killed a left-wing musician, after dozens of Golden Dawn members chased the 34-year old and his friends. The murder comes a week after a group of Golden Dawn activists used iron bars to beat up Communist party campaigners putting up posters in the Greek capital. The incidents are a sign that the far-right group, which has consistently used violence against immigrants, is now also targeting Greeks who are against its practices and policies.

 

4. As Germans prepare to vote at the 22 September federal election a ZDF poll found that Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and her Liberal coalition partner are only 1% ahead of the Social Democrats, Greens and the leftist Linke party. The survey places Merkel’s coalition at 45.5%, while the opposition taken altogether would get 44.5%. The Christian Democrats would be the largest party, according to the poll, with 40% of the vote, whereas Social Democrats are expected to receive 27%. The Greens are at 9% and the anti-capitalist party Die Linke at 8.5. The Free Democratic Party, Ms Merkel’s preferred coalition partner is at 5.5%, just half a percentage point above the 5% threshold required to enter Parliament.

 

5. Hungary’s parliament has approved changes to the constitution after the EU, the United States and human rights groups had accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government of using constitutional amendments to limit the powers of Hungary’s top court and weaken democracy, moves which according to the European Commission run against EU norms and the principle of the rule of law.

 

6. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in a speech in London that "for a country like the UK to make its voice heard in the world, Europe does not work as a damper, but as a megaphone". Mr Van Rompuy argue that Britain would damage its standing in the world and miss out on beneficial trade deals if it was to leave the European Union.

 

7. Bulgaria’s opposition GERB right-wing party called a vote of no-confidence against the Socialist-led government accusing it of fuelling bureaucracy and holding up construction and infrastructure investment in its newly created ministry of investment planning. The coalition of the Socialists and the ethnic Turkish MRF party is one seat short of a majority in the 240-strong chamber, but enjoys the unofficial support of the nationalist Attack grouping which has 23 MPs.

 

8. Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, expressed the wish in an interview that Albania will join the European Union “within the next ten years”. The European Commission has laid out 12 key priorities that Albania must focus on if it is to join the EU, including strengthening the rule of law and property rights, as well as fighting against organised crime and corruption.

The European Movement UK is Britain’s longest standing pro-European organization, campaigning for decades to inform the debate around the benefits of EU membership. 

We are a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, funded exclusively by our members. Visit www.euromove.org.uk to see how you can join us and help keep Britain in the EU. 

 

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