⊂ EUROPE ⊃
EU summit agrees to extend economic sanctions on Russia: European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to prolong for another six months the bloc’s economic sanctions on Russia, imposed over the annexation of Ukraine’s peninsula of Crimea and Moscow’s support for rebels in east Ukraine. Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have led criticism of a proposal from European Council President Donald Tusk, who has described refugee quotas as divisive and ineffective. At the summit EU nations also launched a pact between 25 EU governments to fund, develop and deploy armed forces together.
reuters.com, theguardian.com, politico.eu
May on course to deliver Brexit: British Prime Minister Theresa May has said the UK is on course to deliver on Brexit as she arrived in Brussels, the day after her first Commons defeat as prime minister. She said she was disappointed at the vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill, but the legislation was making good progress. MPs backed an amendment giving them a legal guarantee of a vote on the final Brexit deal struck with Brussels.
bbc.com
EU defends airline decision: The insolvency of Niki airlines could have been avoided if Air Berlin had heeded the EU’s early warning that its deal with Lufthansa faced hurdles, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said on Thursday. Lufthansa’s failure to salvage Austrian holiday airline Niki may slow expansion of the German carrier and its budget unit Eurowings, but it is still expected to benefit from the resulting drop in competition in the short term.
uk.reuters.com
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Lions Club Brussels-Charlemagne: Do good and gain good. – The 8th edition is led by the slogan “Children are our future”. All raised funds will be used to support a private shelter named “Arbre de vie” and the “Action Medeor”, an initiative to prevent and treat malaria in two hospitals in the Republic of Congo. Amazing prizes worth around 12.800 Euro and tickets from the oldest non-profit lottery “Deutsche Fernsehlotterie” are hidden behind the windows. With a little luck you can profit on the 24th from an additional raffle or become a millionaire in 2018. Order here projects@lions-charlemagne.be – www.lions-charlemagne.be
Italy condemned for failing to recognise same-sex marriages: The European Court of Human Rights has condemned Italy for failing to recognise same-sex marriages. Italy’s refusal to allow same-sex couples married abroad to register their union, either as a marriage or under any other form, deprives them of legal protection and results in a breach of their rights to have a family, the Strasbourg-based court ruled.
euractiv.com
United States: FCC repeals net neutrality rules nytimes.com
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„I believe we do not only need solidarity in managing the external factors of migration, which is important, but also solidarity inside the European Union.“
Germany will not accept a system of selective solidarity in tackling the influx of migrants into the EU, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.
reuters.com
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Poland’s new PM sees punishment from Brussels coming: Newly appointed Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday he expected the EU Commission to launch an unprecedented punishment procedure against Warsaw next week after months of wrangling over the rule of law. Morawiecki defended the judicial changes pushed over two years by his predecessor from the Law and Justice (PiS) party, saying they were necessary to heal the courts.
reuters.com
Belgium ends extradition case against Puigdemont: A Belgian court formally closed extradition proceedings against deposed Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont on Thursday, after Spain dropped the European arrest warrant against him. Spain’s security forces are reinforcing the borders to prevent a possible surprise return by Puigdemont ahead of next week’s crucial elections in Catalonia.
faz.net, telegraph.co.uk
Anti-terror raids in Berlin linked to Amri: German police searched nine apartments and other properties in Berlin and the state of Saxony-Anhalt on Thursday morning as part of ongoing investigations into Germany’s Islamist scene in the aftermath of last December’s Christmas market truck attack. The searches were part of an ongoing investigation into four suspects, aged between 18 and 21, alleged to either be Isis members or planning a serious terrorist attack.
dw.com
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shoepassion.com
Greek unions strike: Greek workers walked off the job for a 24-hour general strike on Thursday, protesting measures of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras‘ left-led coalition government. The strike halted ferry services to the islands, closed state schools, and left public hospitals accepting only emergency cases. Greece’s jobless rate fell to 20.2 percent in July-to-September from 21.1 percent in the second quarter.
spiegel.de, reuters.com
As of 2019: Croatia wants to be a member of the Schengen area handelsblatt.com
Mediterranean: Cyprus, Egypt, Greece agree to bolster maritime security washingtonpost.com
⊂ JOB-BOARD ⊃
politjobs.eu: Bitkom sucht Referent europäische Digitalpolitik (w/m) *** Int. Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory seeks Innovation Project Manager *** Int. Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory seeks Project Assistant for EU Funded Projects *** PwC seeks Public Affairs Senior Manager Belgium *** Johnson & Johnson seeks Policy Assistant, Government Affairs & Policy EMEA *** Public Policy Manager, Connectivity *** Ryanair offers Public Affairs internship
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
⊂ MALFUNCTION ⊃
Comparing Obama and Trump: US President Donald Trump has told nearly six times more lies in the first ten months of his presidency than former President Barack Obama did in his entire 8-year term, according to data collected and published Thursday in the „New York Times“. The newspaper says it applied the same standard to both presidents and counted only demonstrably and substantially false statements. It didn’t count repeated mentions of the same falsehood.
nytimes.com, fortune.com