Coalition against Islamic State meets in Brussels: Foreign ministers of about 60 nations from the US-led Anti-IS coalition have met in Brussels. The coalition is satisfied with the results of the measures taken against Islamic State. 1,000 airstrikes have been carried out by the coalition so far in Iraq and Syria, halting the terrorist group’s progress. The coalition is expecting a longer campaign. The fight against the militants could last years, US Secretary of State John Kerry said.
reuters.com, ibtimes.com, washingtonpost.com
Germany and France to table joint investment projects: Germany and France aim to come up with joint investment projects focused on the digital economy. The euro zone’s two largest economies plan to partner up to provide digital networks in areas like education, health, transport, energy and public administration, and to improve broadband along the Franco-German border. France’s finance minister Michel Sapin announced that his government will make concrete proposals for structure reforms at the beginning of the year.
dw.de, euractiv.com
Euro hits two-year low: The euro tumbled to a two-year low Wednesday, falling as much as 0.7 percent against the dollar to 1.2302 dollars, the lowest since August 2012. Low inflation and a flagging economic recovery have ramped up the pressure on the European Central Bank to expand its program of asset purchases. With investors betting on further declines for the euro, the currency could rise once more if the ECB does not deliver as soon as some expect.
wallstreetjournal.com, cnbc.com
Italy gets fined for illegal waste: In its highest ever fine on an EU state, the European Court of Justice ordered Italy to pay 40 million euros for failing to tackle the dumping of illegal waste. The court announced further penalties of 42.8 million euros for every six months Italy failed to clean up hundreds of waste dumps. In case of improvements the Court will grant rebates to be applied to the total sum.
theguardian.com, reuters.com
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Europarler gegen europaweites Informationsdefizit: Mit einer breit angelegten Info-Kampagne wollen die Macher von „Europarler“ die Mitglieder des Europäischen Parlaments animieren, das vor der Wahl etwas gewachsene Interesse an EU-Themen hoch zu halten. Mittels einer Toolbox sind alle verbliebenen und neuen Europaabgeordneten eingeladen, auch in der komplizierten Findungsphase der ersten Tage in Brüssel und Straßburg den Draht in die Heimat nicht abreißen zu lassen.
europarler.eu
Ukraine is Europe’s most corrupt country: Transparency International has released its Corruption Perceptions Index 2014. The least corrupt countries are New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada and Australia. Germany, in 12th place, could not find its way into the Top Ten. Greece, last year the worst-ranking country in the EU, has improved slightly and ranks at place 69 together with Italy, Bulgaria and Romania. The country with the highest corruption rate in Europe is the Ukraine.
euobserver.com, reuters.com, latimes.com, transparency.org
Weidmann criticizes EU Commission for leeway on budget plans: German central bank President Jens Weidmann criticized the EU Commission’s decision to give countries with excessive budget deficits more time to get their fiscal problems under control, saying such leeway won’t help solve fundamental structural problems. EU authorities had warned France, Italy and Belgium that their budget plans for next year are at risk of missing EU targets, but didn’t demand further cuts from the three countries. Structural reforms in fiscal consolidation is crucial, Weidmann says.
wallstreetjournal.com
Ariane 6 ESA approves new generation low-cost space rocket euronews.com
Support EU helps Ukraine with 500 million euros euronews.com
Loss Former EU Commissioner Jacques Barrot died n-tv.de
„I am not against political appointees. I understand how the game is played, but here we are, a nation (Hungary) that is on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator getting in bed with Vladimir Putin and we’re going to send the producer of ‚The Bold and The Beautiful‘ as the ambassador.“
US Senator John McCain criticizes the appointment of Colleen Bradley Bell, a soap opera producer, as US ambassador to Hungary and causes a diplomatic scandal with his comments about Viktor Orban.
abcnews.com„I was number one on the ship after God.“
The captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, attempts to defend himself at his trial for manslaughter and abandoning ship, provoking the victims.
telegraph.co.uk
Incident at nuclear power station: An accident at a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya in southeastern Ukraine poses no danger to health or the environment, energy authorities said. The accident occurred at Zaporizhzhya, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, and was caused by a short circuit in its power outlet system. France’s public nuclear safety institute IRSN said it had not detected any unusual radioactivity in Ukraine after the accident. The reactor is not identical to the one in Chernobyl.
telegraph.co.uk, nbcnews.com, reuters.com
Swedish government collapses: Sweden will hold new elections in March following the collapse of its center-left government after only two months in power. A period of political uncertainty began after the populist, anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats joined the center-right opposition to vote down the government’s budget. Stefan Löfven, the Social Democrat prime minister, has made it clear that he would rather resign than rule with the opposition’s budget.
theguardian.com, bbc.co.uk, wallstreetjournal.com
Switzerland elects new President: Switzerland’s parliament elected Simonetta Sommaruga as the country’s president for 2015, replacing the head of the foreign affairs department, Didier Burkhalter, whose term is expiring. Sommaruga, a former concert pianist and the head of the country’s justice department will take over as head of the country’s cabinet on Jan, 1. 2015. She received 181 votes of 210 votes cast and will serve a one-year term. The post is largely ceremonial and rotates through the seven-member cabinet.
businessweek.com, wallstreetjournal.com
Hungarian government wants to speak with Senator McCain: Hungary has summoned the top US diplomat in Budapest, Andre Goodfriend, after US Senator John McCain described Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a „neo-fascist dictator“. The Hungarian government rejected the remarks, which it said were totally unacceptable. McCain had criticized the appointment of a former TV soap opera producer as ambassador to Hungary. Colleen Bell was unqualified for such a role, McCain said.
bbc.co.uk, reuters.com, theguardian.com
Protesters and police clash in Athens: Greek police fired teargas to disperse dozens of protesters who hurled petrol bombs at police and set alight cars and garbage containers in central Athens. 5,000 left activists marched in support of a self-proclaimed jailed anarchist who is on hunger strike seeking prison leave to attend university. Nikos Romanos was sentenced to prison on robbery charges in October. Despite the violence, no arrests or injuries have been reported following the riot.
mashable.com, yahoonews.com, reuters.com
France lowers deficit forecast: France says spending cuts and higher tax revenue will help lower its budget deficit next year although it will remain far above limits the government had pledged to achieve. Finance Minister Michel Sapin says that an extra 3.6 billion euros deficit cut will lower France’s deficit next year to 4.1 percent. Sapin has abandoned France’s pledge to bring its deficit below 3 percent in 2015, in line with EU rules that France itself had helped establish.
businessinsider.com, abcnews.com
Poland Germany Less car thefts at Polish-German border n-tv.de
Austria Government wants to reverse nationalisation of Hypo Alpe-Adria bank dw.de
Germany Heroic Turkish student Tugce honored at funeral euronews.com
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has issued a 363,615 euro cheque to cover his UMP party’s debt. Sarkozy had exceeded his budget while campaigning for president in the year 2012. As a result, the party had to pay this sum as a penalty.
n-tv.de, theguardian.com
politjobs.de: Public Sector-Beratung sucht Consultant (m/w) Smart Grid und intelligente Netze, Schwerpunkt Energienetze *** Public Sector-Beratung sucht Consultant (m/w) Smart Grid und intelligente Netze, Schwerpunkt Telekommunikationsnetze *** Public Sector-Beratung sucht Consultant (m/w) für den Bereich Breitband und Strategie *** Public Sector-Beratung sucht Projektassistenz (m/w) *** Strategieberatung sucht Berater/in Energieversorgung *** TEAS sucht Assistent/in der Geschäftsführung *** Hill+Knowlton Strategies sucht Senior-Berater/Director (w/m) Corporate & Public Affairs *** BJP sucht Junior-Projektleiter/in mit Schwerpunkt Regierungs-PR *** Zalando sucht Senior Manager (m/w) Public Affairs *** KAS sucht eine(n) Wissenschaftliche(n) Mitarbeiter(in) *** Berliner Energieagentur sucht Referent (m/w) Public Affairs *** Wirtschaftsrat der CDU sucht Persönlicher Juniorreferent (m/w) des Generalsekretärs *** Alfa Fellowship Program sucht Stipendiaten (m/w)
politjobs.de, politjobs.de/submit (Inserat schalten)
Mona Lisa in the Land of Smiles: The woman depicted in the Mona Lisa might be both a Chinese slave, and Leonardo da Vinci’s mother, according to a new theory from Angelo Paratico, a Hong Kong-based historian and novelist. If Paratico’s theory is correct, it means the 15th-century polymath was half-Chinese. However, the historian’s claims are tenuous. Users of China’s social networks were quick to express their incredulity, posting dozens of parodies of the painting.
businessinsider.com