⊂ EUROPE ⊃
Greece to move refugees from overcrowded camps: On Monday, the Greek government announced measures to deal with the increase in migration flows, one day after a fire in the overcrowded Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesvos killed two people. The goal is for some 20,000 people to leave the squalid conditions in the islands‘ reception centres, Greek officials said. Other plans include the creation of detention centres for illegal immigrants and migrants who do not have the right to apply for asylum, high-level contacts between the Greek and Turkish governments to restart deportations to Turkey, and continued military support for coast guard patrols in the eastern Aegean Sea. A female Isil supporter was killed and seven others injured during an exchange of gunfire in a Syrian refugee camp. Germany is intensifying border checks, but Green party politician Irene Mihalic called the move a dangerous, anti-European signal.
washingtonpost.com, politico.eu (Greece); telegraph.co.uk (Syria); dw.com (Germany)
Hungary nominates Varhelyi for EU commissioner job: The EU Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee has confirmed its rejection of Romania’s Rovana Plumb and Hungary’s Laszlo Trocsanyi as EU commissioners, on the grounds that their financial affairs pose potential conflicts of interest. The incoming EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungary and Romania to present new nominees. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that Hungary’s top EU envoy in Brussels, Oliver Varhelyi, would step in as Budapest’s candidate for EU commissioner. Romania has yet to nominate a replacement candidate.
politico.eu, uk.reuters.com, dw.com
Trump was warned over Ukraine affair: US President Donald Trump was repeatedly warned by his own advisors that the Ukraine conspiracy theory that he and his lawyer were pursuing was completely debunked long before the president pressed Ukraine this summer to investigate his Democratic rivals, according to the „New York Times“. Democrats in Congress say in addition to the whistleblower, they also wish to speak with Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Trump on Monday escalated his attacks against the lawmaker leading the impeachment inquiry against him, suggesting that Representative Adam Schiff be arrested for treason. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo faces a deadline this Friday to release documents related to the Ukraine affair. The US justice ministry has confirmed that Trump sought help from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to investigate the origins of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The US administration has issued new sanctions against Russia over attempted interference in the 2018 midterm elections. Russia has tested an intercontinental missile, just a few months after the end of the INF treaty.
nytimes.com (Advisors); bbc.com (Giuliani); reuters.com (Schiff); faz.net (Pompeo); nbcnews.com (Australia); cbsnews.com (Sanctions); tagesspiegel.de (INF treaty)
Johnson to reveal Brexit plan: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will unveil a detailed Brexit plan to EU leaders within the next 24 hours, the „Telegraph“ reported Monday evening. The plan is expected to be based on the creation of an all-Ireland economic zone which would allow agricultural and food products to move between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without checks at the border. The government also suggested creating customs clearance zones in Northern Ireland and Ireland. The ideas, which mark a departure from Johnson’s promise not to put infrastructure on the border, are part of four unofficial papers submitted by the UK to the EU by Johnson’s team.
telegraph.co.uk, uk.reuters.com, bbc.com, theguardian.com
Investment partnership: EU and Japan join forces to counter US and Chinese initiatives euractiv.com
Euro zone: Unemployment falls to lowest rate in more than a decade reuters.com
World Trade Organisation: EU braces for impact in Airbus case politico.com
Council of Europe: Ukraine, Latvia and Lithuania boycott council because of Russia’s return spiegel.de, stern.de
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„Some adore her and some condemn her. I can only say: The facts are known to everyone.“
German EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger has refused to form an opinion on Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. He underlined that climate protection was not about Greta, but about the facts.
welt.de
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
France honours Chirac: World leaders and dignitaries gathered in Paris on Monday as France marked a national day of mourning for the late former French president Jacques Chirac. A funeral procession brought Chirac’s coffin to the St.-Sulpice church, where nearly 2,000 guests gathered for a religious service. One of Notre-Dame Cathedral’s main bells rang out to mark the procession’s departure, the first time it had tolled since a fire ravaged the building in April.
nytimes.com
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Class-action lawsuit against VW: A case pitting hundreds of thousands of owners of manipulated diesel cars demanding compensation opened against German automaker Volkswagen on Monday. A consumer rights group representing the plaintiffs says VW deliberately harmed buyers by installing motor control software that allowed vehicles to pollute far more on the road than under lab conditions. VW has insisted that the cars remained perfectly functional and that software fixes have removed the problem of illegal emissions levels.
france24.com, dw.com
Italy: Government lifts deficit goals reuters.com
France: Fessenheim nuclear plant to close next year reuters.com
Slovenia: Adria Airways files for bankruptcy reuters.com
Netherlands: Thomas Cook’s Dutch branch declares bankruptcy dutchnews.nl
Hungary: MOL to build polyol plant in eastern Hungary emerging-europe.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 ⊃
MEP earnings from side jobs: An analysis has found that high-earners are present in nearly all political groups in the EU Parliament. The 748 MEPs declared between €6.3m-€16.2m of annual outside income. But the non-aligned groups, to which the Brexit Party belongs, take in nearly double the average outside income of all MEPs combined.
theparliamentmagazine.eu