⊂ EUROPE ⊃
May’s government defeated on key Brexit legislation: British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government endured its first House of Commons defeat on Brexit legislation Wednesday, after MPs voted in favour of an amendment that guarantees them a say on the final divorce deal. 12 conservative MPs rebelled against the government to back the amendment to the EU withdrawal bill, voting with opposition parties to defeat the government by 309 votes to 305. The EU Parliament has urged EU leaders to allow the next phase of Brexit negotiations to start, backing a motion that recognised the talks had advanced sufficiently as a well a line criticising Britain’s lead negotiator David Davis.
politico.eu, reuters.com
Criticism of Tusk migration note: European Council President Donald Tusk has sparked controversy with a note on migration that has been called „anti-European“ by EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. Tusk’s note raised the question of whether the European Council president is overstepping his role as facilitator of consensus by engaging in making proposals, a job reserved for the EU Commission in the bloc’s political and institutional balance. An EU source, however, said Tusk was not imposing any role in this process, but only wanted to spur debate by asking difficult quesitons.
euobserver.com
Venezuela’s opposition takes EU human rights prize: Venezuela’s opposition received an EU prize for human rights on Wednesday and urged the world to keep a close eye on an upcoming presidential election where it aspires to end two decades of socialist rule in the OPEC nation. The Sakharov Prize is awarded each year to people around the world who make an exceptional contribution to human rights.
reuters.com, euronews.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
Lufthansa drops plan to buy Air Berlin’s Niki: Austrian leisure airline Niki grounded all flights after Deutsche Lufthansa dropped its plan to buy the carrier from collapsed parent Air Berlin. The company, which was Air Berlin’s most valuable asset, will stop flying for the time being, it said in a statement Wednesday after filing for insolvency at a court in Berlin. The move came after EU competition regulators opposed the Lufthansa deal.
bloomberg.com
Doner kebabs survive EU lawmaker vote on additives: Doner kebab vendors across Europe won a victory in the EU Parliament on Wednesday when European Union lawmakers failed to outlaw additives regularly used to preserve taste and moisture. The EU Commission had proposed permitting the use of phosphates in frozen kebab meat to reflect current practice. The chemicals are theoretically banned in kebabs, but the rule is seldom enforced.
reuters.com
Defence: MEPs advocate stronger EU foreign and defence policy europarl.europa.eu
Bank: ECB to keep oversight of France’s Credit Mutuel after court win reuters.com
Myanmar: Two Reuters journalists arrested reuters.com
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„Due to the unexpected collapse in proceeds from the sale of Niki, it is possible that only a part of the government guaranteed loan from KfW to Air Berlin will be repaid. The government will do everything it can to limit the damage to the tax payer.“
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert says Berlin greatly regrets a decision by the EU Commission to block Lufthansa’s planned purchase of airline Niki.
reuters.com
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Netherlands to take Germany to court over road tax: The Netherlands will join Austria in taking the German government to the European Court of Justice over its controversial road toll bill, the Dutch transport ministry announced on Wednesday. The news casts further doubt on the prospects of the bill ever coming into effect, with controversy having surrounded it since it was first proposed in 2013. The EU Commission rejected the bill as discriminatory in 2015 and then a raft of changes in 2016 preceded its eventual passage through the German parliament.
dw.com
Urgent need for Sahel anti-terror force: German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the summit of leaders on Wednesday that making a counter-terrorism force operational on the ground in the Sahel was a matter of urgency. She said Germany was ready to provide about one billion euros between 2017 and 2021 to support the Sahel mission. The conference in La-Celle-Saint-Cloud, west of Paris, was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and attended by leaders of five West African countries known as the G5.
dw.com
Man dies after being beaten for wearing suspenders in Spain: A 55-year-old man died in Zaragoza on Tuesday night as a result of the beating he received last week by a leftist radical who didn’t like the suspenders he was wearing. The suspenders were in the colors of the Spanish flag. The alleged attacker had already served a five-year sentence for assaulting a local police officer in the Catalan capital.
welt.de
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shoepassion.com
France worries over renationalisation of Common Agricultural Policy: After the presentation of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2021-2027, farmers’ unions and French politicians are worried about the declared ambition to put member states and the regions in control of the disbursement of agricultural aid.
euractiv.com
Canal: Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia want to connect the Mediterranean with the Danube handelsblatt.com
David Cameron to Trump: Your fake news act is dangerous politico.eu
⊂ 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 ⊃
German lawmakers opt to increase own pay: A decision on Wednesday that the Bundestag’s 709 members get a pay raise next June drew criticism from a tax austerity lobby group as well as the outer edges of the political spectrum. The Federation of Taxpayers said the planned rise gave the wrong signal while Germany remained without a new federal government in the wake of its September 24 election.
dw.com