⊂ EUROPE ⊃
First EU summit after Brexit referendum: Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, EU leaders met in Brussels without British Prime Minister David Cameron in an informal format to discuss the practical implications of the UK vote to leave the EU and the EU’s future without Britain. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker expressed anger over how Cameron campaigned for the UK to stay in the EU. An EU summit on 16 September in Bratislava will kick off the discussion on the future of EU following Brexit.
euractiv.com
EU leaders on collision course with European Commission over CETA: The Commission’s announcement that the EU-Canada trade deal will be concluded without the involvement of national parliaments has sparked debate at the EU summit in Brussels and was met with outrage in a number of countries. In Berlin, German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said that the Commission risked eating up any goodwill. Pushing CETA through in this manner would add fuel to the fire of conspiracy theorists when it comes to planned future free trade agreements, like TTIP.
euractiv.com
ECB sees Brexit vote hitting eurozone growth: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told EU leaders on Tuesday that Britain’s decision to leave the EU could reduce eurozone growth by a cumulative 0.3 to 0.5 percent compared to previous estimates over the next three years, an EU official said. The ECB will wait to see the economic impact of Britain’s vote to leave the EU before deciding whether to respond by using its policy tools, Vice President Vítor Constâncio said Wednesday.
wsj.com, uk.reuters.com
Human rights organisations slam new EU-Africa migrant pact: Brussels wants to work more closely with African countries in order to stem the flow of refugees to Europe. The groups Pro Asyl and Doctors Without Borders have sharply criticised the EU’s new plan. Pro Asyl said on Wednesday that Brussels‘ migrant policy was morally unacceptable, and spoke of an erosion of human rights. Günter Burkhardt, the head of the organisation said the EU states had adopted a mentality of out of sight, out of mind when it came to migrants by making other countries do the dirty work for them.
dw.com
Referendum: Brexit inspires Dutch eurosceptics to demand similar referendum vote ft.com
Despite Brexit: English will remain an official language of the EU euractiv.com
Schäuble: Portugal won’t need more aid if it sticks to rules reuters.com
Council conclusions: Food losses and food waste consilium.europa.eu
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„If again and again agreements are made and not complied with, then this does not create a basis for trust, it creates euro skepticism.“
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble believes the EU Commission is partially to be blame for the crisis of confidence in the EU.
deutschlandfunk.de
„The status quo in the long run is not sustainable. The longer concrete progress fails to materialise, the greater the risk of renewed escalation.“
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is in the South Caucasus trying to get Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve tough issues.
dw.com
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Terrorism in Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone with US President Barack Obama, who said he strongly condemned Tuesday’s suicide bomb attack in Istanbul which killed 41 people and injured more than 200. The NATO member forms part of the US-led coalition against Islamic State, which is suspected of perpetrating the attack. Obama said Wednesday that the US and its allies wouldn’t rest until terrorist networks had been dismantled across the globe.
reuters.com, wsj.com
Sturgeon in Brussels to discuss keeping Scotland in the EU: The Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has paid a visit to Brussels amid growing backlash over the UK referendum on leaving the EU. Sturgeon said EU leaders were sympathetic to her position. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy commented that Spain would veto talks for Scotland to join the EU. Campaigners and victims are reporting a rise in racist abuse since the referendum. British Prime Minister Cameron has told Jeremy Corbyn to resign as Labour leader, claiming it is not in the national interest for him to continue.
dw.com, theguardian.com (racism), bbc.com (Cameron)
Syriza down in polls: A new poll shows most Greeks concerned about the impact of a Brexit on their country. The Pulse survey puts the conservative party New Democracy out in front with 30 percent and the ruling party Syriza second on 23.5 percent, down from 35.5 percent. The Greek government and its European creditors have agreed on a basic package of measures worth 5.4 billion euros.
faz.net
France and the “Frexit”: Since 2013, Marine Le Pen, the head of France’s far-right National Front, has maintained that, if she attains power, she will hold a referendum on France’s membership in the EU within six months. A survey in March found that 53 percent of French voters would support such a referendum, and another, published on Wednesday, found that only 45 percent are certain they would vote to remain. On Friday, Le Pen proclaimed Britain’s vote a first concrete step toward her vision.
newyorker.com
Russia: Moscow eases sanctions against Turkey cnn.com
France: Police investigate death threats against surviving Charlie Hebdo staff telegraph.co.uk
Ukraine: Over 9,400 killed in Ukraine conflict in two years derstandard.at
⊂ DATA ⊃
77 percent of EU citizens indicated confidence in the foreign policy acumen of US President Barack Obama. In the same average of European attitudes, just 9 percent said they are confident in Donald Trump, while 85 percent said they have at least some reservations.
politico.com
⊂ JOB-BOARD ⊃
politjobs.eu: 350.org seeks campaigner *** Steltemeier & Rawe seeks Senior Associate (m/f) *** 1&1 sucht EU Public Affairs Manager VKU sucht Referentin/en *** Afore Consulting seeks Junior Consultants in European Public Affairs
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
⊂ MALFUNCTION ⊃
Morrisons to complain about Aldi advertisement: In Great Britain, the supermarket Morrisons is to make a new complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority about discount chain Aldi. The news comes on the day that the ASA upheld a complaint by Morrisons that three Aldi adverts were misleading. Morrisons said that despite Wednesday’s ruling, Aldi had launched another similar price comparison advert which was just as unfair. Morrisons latest complaint is about a price comparison TV advert tied to the Euro 2016 football competition.
bbc.com