Pokering over new financial support: On February 28th, the European part of Greece’s aid program will end. Without the financial support, Greece could soon become insolvent. The government in Athens plans to apply for an extension of the current aid program, the euro countries will have to agree. Difficulties are expected to arise in Germany and Finland. Germany and the EU reject the Greek demands for a debt writedown. German economists demand that the legal conditions for a Greek exit from the euro zone are created. Greek Prime Minister Tsipras wants more compensation for Nazi crimes in his country. Spain’s left party Podemos sees itself on the rise after the Greek elections and hopes for a similar success.
bloomberg.com, dw.de, theguardian.com
Europe commemorates the end of the Holocaust: The international commemoration ceremony at the former German extermination camp Auschwitz on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp in Poland stood under the sign of the survivors. Around 300 Holocaust survivors gathered along with several world leaders on Tuesday to remember the victims who did not survive. Representatives from 40 governments were present, along with German President Joachim Gauck, France’s President Francois Hollande and the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Commemorative events took place all across Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a commemoration at Moscow’s Jewish Museum and cautions against striving for world domination. In Budapest, Hungarian President Viktor Orban for the first time recognized Hungarian complicity in the Holocaust.
npr.org, telegraph.co.uk, bbc.com, nytimes.com
EU leaders threaten strengthening of sanctions: The European heads of state and government have asked their foreign ministers to consider imposing further sanctions on Russia in response to the continued fighting in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers decided to hold an extraordinary meeting after rockets were fired by pro-Russian rebels on the outskirts of Mariupol. OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier has complained about a lack of Russian cooperation with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Russian national Igor Strelkov, a former commander of pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine, has confirmed that the vote in the regional parliament of Crimea took place under compulsion and that only 36 members of parliament were present.
wallstreetjournal.com, financialtimes.com, bbc.com
Americans want a greater say in EU policy shaping : Europeans and Americans not only want to remove trade barriers with the free trade agreement TTIP, they plan to prevent the creation of any laws or regulations that could hinder trade whatsoever. No law, no environmental standard, no consumer protection regulation should be established without the other partner having a say in it. The U.S. is set to have a greater say in the legislation of European states and countries. Apparently TTIP will also involve the regulation of the financial markets. Stricter rules in the U.S. could thus become void. The regulation of the financial markets is set to be handled by a joint committee outside of the parliaments.
reuters.com, theecologist.org
Council calls for 2022 Qatar World Cup vote to be rerun: The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe has called on Fifa to rerun the vote to host the 2022 World Cup, claiming that the original process was radically flawed due to bribery and corruption. The Council claims that former Fifa vice-president Mohammed bin Hammam paid large sums of money to more than 30 African football officials in order to secure the votes for Qatar. The Sunday Times had published claims that Bin Hammam had distributed more than five million dollars in cash gifts, expenses and legal fees.
theguardian.com
New transparency register: A new and improved European Transparency Register was launched in Brussels by the Commission and Parliament. Its aim is to make EU-decision-making and the activities of lobbyists more transparent and more accountable, while making the database easier for lobbyists and the public to access.
europa.eu
Tourism 588 million people visited Europe in 2014. Europe is thus the most-visited region in the world bbc.com
CO2 German trade union IG Metall to mediate between Commission and automotive industry sueddeutsche.de
Ecofin Ministers discuss EU investment plan, financial assistance to Ukraine, and money laundering eu2015.lv
„I want to defeat the Fourth Reich.“
The ultranational Panos Kammenos, leader of the Independent Greeks party, is very outspoken and will now be Greece’s defense minister.
reuters.com„The Greek population is not suffering because of decisions made in Brussels or Berlin, but rather because of decades of failings by the elite of Greece.“
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble rejects any responsibility for the Greek economic conditions.
reuters.com
Tsipras presents new cabinet: Only two days after his election victory in Greece, new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of the leftist Syriza party has formed his government. Tsipras named academic economist Yanis Varoufakis as his finance minister. Former Communist politician Yannis Dragasakis took the deputy prime minister’s role that is expected to oversee economic issues. The defense portfolio went to Panos Kammenos, leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks party which is the junior partner in the Tsipras coalition.
reuters.com, theguardian.com
Anti-Semitism in France: France has the third-biggest Jewish community in the world. The number of anti-Semitic attacks in France has more than doubled to 851 incidents last year. In the year 2013 there had been 423 attacks recorded. With anti-Semitism rising in France, and their worries stoked by this month’s killing of four Jews in a kosher supermarket in Paris, French Jews now make up the largest group of new migrants to Israel. President Francois Hollande has announced comprehensive measures to fight racism and anti-Semitism in his country.
reuters.com, spiegel.de
Russia’s credit rating cut to junk: The rating agency Standard & Poor’s has cut Russia’s credit rating to junk. S&P gave Russia a rating of BB+, which puts it at the same level as Indonesia and Bulgaria. Russia’s monetary-policy flexibility has become more limited and its economic growth prospects have weakened, according to a S&P statement. The ruble dropped even further against the dollar in the wake of the announcement, falling 7.5 percent in late trading in Moscow.
bbc.com, bloomberg.com
Investigation into Litvinenko poisoning: Eight years ago in London, former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with polonium. His widow, Marina Litvinenko, has been fighting for eight years to have the courts investigate the case. The judge-led inquiry was officially opened yesterday by presiding judge Sir Robert Owen at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Marina says Alexander blamed the Kremlin as he lay dying in hospital, but Russia denies any involvement. According to the inquiry, Litvinenko may have been poisoned with polonium not once but twice. All relevant documents will finally be presented. The assessment is expected to be completed by Spring.
theguardian.com, bbc.com, telegraph.co.uk
Switzerland allows short-term work: As a result of the devaluation of the euro as compared to the Swiss franc, Switzerland is now open to short-term work in export-dependent companies. The government in Bern announced on Tuesday, that affected workers will be compensated. With appropriate legal measures, Minister of Economic Affairs Johann Schneider-Ammann plans to prevent the loss of jobs.
bloomberg.com
EU to organize its own gas transport: Russia has announced that natural gas currently flowing from Russia to the EU via Ukraine, will in the future only be delivered via Turkey through a new Russia-Turkey pipeline called Turkish Stream. It will substitute the cancelled billion dollar South Stream project. Europeans are now left to their own devices to organize the transport of gas to Europe.
euobserver.com
Great Britain Economy grows at 2.6 percent, best annual rate since 2007 yahoonews.com
France Five islamists detained euronews.com
France Unemployment at a record high with 3.5 million people jobless bloomberg.com
20,000 foreign figthers have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join and fight for militant groups, according to the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation.
newsweek.com
politjobs.de: Fraktion B90/DIE GRÜNEN im Hessischen Landtag sucht Parlamentarische/n Referent/in Bereich Innen, Recht, Kommunales, Justiziariat *** Public Affairs-Strategieberatung sucht wissenschaftliche/n Mitarbeiter/in in Teilzeit *** BMW, METRO und BDI suchen Stipendiat/innen für MBA Communication & Leadership und MBA Public Affairs & Leadership *** Ketchum Pleon sucht Senior Berater (m/w) Public Affairs / Corporate Affairs *** Ketchum Pleon sucht Junior Berater Public Affairs (m/w) *** UBER sucht Public Policy Manager, Western Europe *** Miller & Meier Consulting sucht Associate (m/w) Strategische Politikberatung *** DODS sucht Praktikantin/Praktikant *** Public Sector-Beratung sucht Consultant (m/w) Schwerpunkt Energienetze *** Public Sector-Beratung sucht Consultant (m/w) Schwerpunkt Telekommunikationsnetze *** INSM bietet Praktikum im Bereich politische Kommunikation *** BMI sucht Referentin/Referent *** eco sucht Juristen/in oder Politikwissenschaftler/in
politjobs.de, politjobs.de/submit (Inserat schalten)
How to survive an economic crisis: Eating less food, using red beets instead of imported lipstick and not spending any money on French lingerie: This is how Russians can survive the current economic crisis, according to politicians in Moscow. Since food has become almost 50 percent more expensive and the steady devaluation of the Ruble continues, many concerned Russians are turning to their political representatives. Russia’s politicians are not stingy with creative ideas and continue to emphasize the importance of togetherness.
yahoonews.com