Tsipras and Varoufakis tour Europe: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis are promoting their new program across Europe. Tsipras went to Brussels to meet Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Council President Donald Tusk and EU Parliament President Martin Schulz. Varoufakis met ECB chief Mario Draghi in Frankfurt. The European Central Bank does not want to take part in a potential Greek debt cut or extend the term of the Greek government bonds. The political tug of war about Greece’s future is making stakeholders nervous. Brussels is preparing for a panic-stricken run on the banks. ECB is considering the expansion of emergency loans.
theguardian.com, bloomberg.com, reuters.com, bbc.com
Separatists start major offensive: According to the Ukrainian military, the separatists have started an offensive in the east of the country. The sustained fire around Donetsk is preventing the evacuation of civilians. At least one grenade hit a hospital in separatist stronghold Donetsk. Many have been reported dead or injured. Ukrainian President Poroshenko is still counting on arms supplies from the United States. US President Barack Obama’s choice to become his fourth secretary of defense said he was inclined to provide arms to Ukraine to fend off Russian-backed rebels at his Senate confirmation hearing.
theguardian.com, reuters.com, washingtonpost.com
UN Child Rights Committee concerned over situation in Syria and Iraq: Since June, nearly 1,000 Kurdish peshmerga troops have lost their lives fighting against the IS militia in northern Iraq, while over 4,000 militia fighters were injured. The peshmerga play a key role in the fight against IS. After the murder of an air force pilot, Jordan’s king Abdullah II. annnounced a merciless war against the extremists. The UN Child Rights Committee has denounced the systematic killing of children by IS, including several cases of mass executions of boys, as well as reports of beheadings, crucifixions of children and burying children alive.
worldbulletin.net, npr.org, reuters.com, huffingtonpost.com
Malta calls for UN peace keepers in Libya: In Europe, concerns are growing about a disintegration of Libya and the creation of a place of retreat for Islamists. Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat warned Europe not to forget the south because of the Ukraine crisis. He calls for a united government in Tripoli who should then ask the United Nations to send a peacekeeping force. Libya is an important supplier of crude oil for the EU, as well as a transit point for illegal immigration.
europeonline-magazine.eu, timesofmalta.com
ECJ debates social benefits for EU citizens: The European Court of Justic is once again dealing with the question of whether or not EU job seekers have the right to receive social welfare benefits in Germany, if they are essential for securing an existence or fascilitating access to the employment market. On November 11th of last year the ECJ ruled that Germany can refuse welfare benefits to EU migrants if they have never held a job in the country or only moved there in order to secure social benefits. It is still unclear whether this rule applies to migrants who live in Germany and become unemployed. A judgement is expected in the next few months.
theguardian.com, sueddeutsche.de
TTIP could become blank cheque for financial market regulation: Michel Reimon, MEP of the Austrian Greens, has published a Commission proposal for the regulation of transatlantic financial markets in the TTIP agreement. According to the proposal, a newly created transatlantic committee, called „the Forum“, should negotiate regulations. Reimon sees this as a clear annulment of parliamentarian controls, since the parliaments will then only be able to pass legislation in accordance with the forum. The TTIP treaty outlines the forum and its margins, not the regulations for the financial markets themselves. Reimon warns that support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership could result in a blank cheque for financial market regulation.
tagesspiegel.de, computerworlduk.com
Rating agency S&P cuts ratings on several big European banks wallstreetjournal.com
EU agreement Bosnian parties give green light for reforms derstandard.at
Supporting the disadvantaged EU Commission helps unemployed youths with one million euros europa.eu
„These people haven’t dismissed highly paid consultants, for example, but rather cleaning ladies who cleaned the rooms and toilets at night.“
The new Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis criticizes the current crisis policies of the euro zone as wrong and accuses troika of ruining Greece.
zeit.de„For years, there has been a political debate about the „German question“ and about „German hegemony“ in Europe. Such terms imply that elements of German history are repeating themselves. Publicists such as George Soros and Martin Wolf are even writing about a new „German Empire“. The protests in Athens of the past few years show that this is not just an academic debate.“
Hans Kundnani, Research Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, compares German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Federal Republic with the German Empire under Bismarck.
lse.ac.uk
Orban between Merkel and Putin: Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban does not want to be internationally perceived as becoming isolated and attempted to exploit German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit on Monday to promote his own policies. Merkel put pressure on Orban over Russia, in an attempt to ensure Hungary sticks to the common European line on sanctions against Moscow. Orban voiced criticism over the negative economic effect of the restrictive measures on the EU’s own member states. Russian President Vladimir Putin is the next to visit Hungary on February 17th, followed by the Turkish, Georgian and Nato leaders soon after. Orban’s balance between the West and Russia is becoming increasingly precarious.
euobserver.com, bbc.com, financialtimes.com
Sarkozy loses fight on how to handle Front National: The conservative French opposition party UMP under former President Nicolas Sarkozy is fighting over how to handle the increasingly popular far right party Front National (FN). A run-off vote between a socialist and an FN candidate will take place this Sunday. The UMP is debating whether or not to give its supporters a recommendation for the socialist in order to prevent the election of the FN candidate. The party would thus take a clear stance against FN. After heated discussions, the party leadership decided with a narrow margin not to vote and to turn in empty ballots.
reuters.com, nytimes.com
Russian mother is released: A Russian mother-of-seven accused of treason has been released from custody on bail. Svetlana Davydova was released Tuesday night after more than 50,000 people, including Oscar-nominated director Andrei Zvyagintsev and Natalya Solzhenitsyna, widow of Nobel literature laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn, petitioned President Vladimir Putin to let the woman return to her children. Davydova was arrested by the intelligence service FSB eleven days ago after phoning the Ukrainian embassy to warn that Russian soldiers, in civilian clothes, may be heading to east Ukraine.
bloomberg.com, yahoonews.com, euronews.com
Nice attacker was known to police: The man who attacked three soldiers patrolling outside a Jewish community centre in Nice with a knife was apparently well known to police. French media report that he had already been sentenced six times for theft, insulting an officer, and drug offenses. Authorities searched the 30-year-old man’s apartment. The attacker allegedly attempted to leave for Turkey last week without a return ticket. Turkish officials sent him back to France.
euronews.com, bbc.com, cnn.com
Turkish authorities replace management of Gulenist bank: Turkish authorities have taken control of Bank Asya, the Islamic lender caught up in a feud between President Tayyip Erdogan and US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The banking watchdog BDDK had ruled in favour of the bank’s seizure and sacked the entire existing management team, citing a lack of transparency. Turkey’s move to seize control has prompted accusations of political meddling, the country’s opposition has denounced the seizure as a scandal.
financialtimes.com, yahoonews.com, reuters.com
Bounty on owner of Charlie Hebdo: The former Pakistani minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour has said he would give an extra 200,000 dollars to anyone who would kill the owner of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Bilour had originally announced that he wants to reward the families of the militants who attacked Charlie Hebdo’s office last month. The former railway minister is known for making political stunts to gain popularity.
dw.de
Spain Migrants attempt to climb border fence of Ceuta euronews.com
Kosovo Controversial minister Jablanovic no longer part of government yahoonews.com
Macedonia Major losses due to flooding euronews.com
4.99 euros spent abroad amount to one euro spent domestically. The Swiss show that they prefer to spent their holidays (and their money) in other countries, more so than any other eurozone nation. The Netherlands are ranked number two (4.35 EUR) before Austria (2.14 EUR). The Greeks are at the bottom of the list. One euro spent in Greece amounts to 0.33 spent abroad.
faz.net
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Customer loyalty in times of Rouble crisis: In order to avoid mass cancellations of Russian holiday trips, Turkey will grant 5,300 euros to all Russian passengers for the next two months to pay for jet fuel. The government took this step because it feared mass cancellation of flights due to the economic crisis in Russia and the depreciation of the ruble. This would boost tourism income and ease the burden for tour operators.
welt.de