⊂ EUROPE ⊃
Refugees protest in Idomeni and Lesbos: Refugees protested against conditions at Greece’s makeshift border camp Idomeni. The Greek government has told them that the Macedonian border will not re-open, and is urging them to take the buses being provided to transport them to official reception centres. But on Monday, the camp is still buzzing with rumours of other options. During a visit by Heather Higginbottom, US Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, refugees at an internment camp on the Greek island of Lesbos demanded freedom and respect for their human rights. Amnesty International warns that Turkey’s forcible return of 30 Afghan asylum seekers just hours after the EU-Turkey refugee deal came into force shows that implementing the deal would risk refugees’ lives.
euronews.com, amnestyusa.org
Steinmeier criticizes EU partners for Balkan route closure: Border closures along the so-called Balkan route used by refugees have caused a humanitarian crisis for Greece, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Monday. Getting rid of your own problems by putting European partners in distress is not the way to treat one another, the Foreign Minister said. Steinmeier also said that without the refugee deal that the EU recently struck with Turkey, there would be 100,000 people trying to survive in the mud on the Greek-Macedonia border. Currently around 11,000 people are stuck at the closed border crossing at Idomeni.
dw.com
Belgium frees man charged in Brussels terrorist attack: Around one week after the attacks in Brussels, the death toll climbed to 35 victims, excluding the suicide attackers. The country’s health ministry said Monday four additional people had died in the hospital. Belgian authorities released a man Monday they wrongly arrested as a suspected attacker. After DNA tests failed to place Faycal C. at the scene of the attack and in other key locations, Belgian authorities were forced Monday to redouble their efforts to find the attacker. On 24 March, EU ministers responsible for Justice and Home Affairs as well as representatives of EU institutions met, reaffirming that the EU stand determined to fight against terrorism.
wsj.com, consilium.europa.eu (Interior ministers)
Germany criticises helicopter money: Ever since ECB President Mario Draghi mentioned the idea of helicopter money – that is, putting central bank money directly into the economy – and described it as very interesting, several politicians and economists have criticised the idea. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, German FDP chief Christian Lindner, Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann and Ifo President Hans Werner Sinn are among the critics. Sinn even urged the German government to amend the Maastricht Treaty.
welt.de
Refugee crisis: Frontex calls for more police officers euractiv.de
Agreement with Parliament: Uniform technical requirements for inland waterway vessels in Europe consilium.europa.eu
Transport Commissioner Bulc: Statement on one-year anniversary of the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 europa.eu
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„For years we have been talking about a better data exchange in Europe. (…) Instead, the individual EU member states are sitting on their data.“
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel says data exchange between the police, the judiciary, and the EU authorities across the bloc could be improved.
welt.de
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Turkey denounces criticism: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Britain’s consul general over a picture taken at the espionage trial of two journalists. Erdogan did not name the diplomat. But the British consul general, Leigh Turner, on Friday tweeted a photograph of himself with Can Dündar, editor of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, before the start of the hearing. Erdogan harshly criticised western diplomats after several showed up on Friday to support Dündar and his colleague Erdem Gül on the first day of their trial in Istanbul. According to reports, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned Germany’s ambassador last week over a satirical broadcast by German television station NDR.
theguardian.com (Britain), yahoonews.com (Germany)
Human rights commissioner as head of Russia’s central election commission: Ella Pamfilova, who was occupying the post of Commissioner for Human Rights, was elected the new chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russia. The Kremlin hopes that as a result, the upcoming parliamentary election in six months will be subject to less criticism from the opposition and international election monitors.
derstandard.at
New rules to hold bankers responsible: Public anger that so few senior bankers were punished after taxpayers bailed out the industry in the financial crisis has led to rules which make it easier to hold them to account. The Senior Managers Regime replaces a system that UK lawmakers criticised for giving illusory control over individuals with little prospect of enforcement action. A step change in banking rules, it will allow regulators to pin blame on named people rather than just firms, which lawyers said has triggered anxiety among top bankers.
reuters.com
Ireland commemorates Easter Rising: On Sunday, Ireland staged a military parade as it marked the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, a botched but historically significant rebellion against British rule. Hundreds of thousands of people lined Dublin’s streets to watch 3,600 members of Ireland’s military and emergency services take part in a five-hour, three-mile procession. Synchronised wreath-laying ceremonies took place in counties Cork, Meath, Wexford, Galway and Dublin.
usatoday.com, bbc.com
Nothing new in Spain: In the three months since the December 20th election, attempts to form a government have failed. It is unlikely that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will be confirmed in his office before a potential new election. It is, however, possible that Pedro Sanchez, the leader of Spain’s Socialists, could form a government by May, as long as anti-austerity upstart Podemos accepts Sanchez as prime minister. Sanchez wants to negotiate until 23 April.
euractiv.de
Germany: Kurds attack demonstration in Aschaffenburg faz.net
Czech Republic: Pro-Tibet activists deface Chinese flags as President Xi arrives in Prague euronews.com
⊂ DATA ⊃
Nearly 26,000 people died on the roads in Europe last year, a new report shows. The lowest fatality rates are in Malta, Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands. The highest are in Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia and Lithuania.
euronews.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 ⊃
Merkel goes to La Gomera: Last weekend, a lot of the 20,000 residents of the island kept an eye out for the German chancellor. Angela Merkel travelled to La Gomera with her husband for an Easter vacation. Although this isn’t Merkel’s first time on the island, several people went on “Merkel Watch” to catch a glimpse of her.
handelsblatt.com