"A British exit would be devastating......for Britain" says leading US newspaper

A British exit would be devastating, not least for Britain, whose own union of England and Scotland would probably cease to be, says op-ed columnist Roger Cohen, writing from Berlin, in the New York Times. Every fiber of pragmatism in the land of continuity par excellence suggests Britain will not throw itself over a cliff. Even here in the capital of the unimaginable I refuse to believe it. But the unimaginable must be taken seriously if it is to be averted: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/opinion/europe-and-the-unthinkable.html?emc=edit_ee_20160611&nl=todaysheadlines-europe&nlid=74103272

The upcoming referendum, on 23 June, would not immediately end Britain's 43 year-old EU membership. That would take years to negotiate. But a vote to leave would be a political and economic shock of global proportions, says EUobserver...[T]he votes are being won and lost amid tabloid scaremongering and political punch-ups: https://euobserver.com/agenda/133788

The New York Times reports that a British judge ruled on Friday in favor of six Lithuanian migrant workers who said they had been lured to Britain with the promise of decent employment but ended up in conditions resembling servitude, catching chickens without adequate pay or access to facilities where they could bathe, rest, eat or drink: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/world/europe/britain-migrant-lithuanian-chicken-catchers.html?emc=edit_ee_20160611&nl=todaysheadlines-europe&nlid=74103272&_r=0

EU interior ministers agreed on Friday (10 June) to tighten gun control rules in the aftermath of the Paris and Brussels terror attacks, reports EUobserver: https://euobserver.com/justice/133785

The European Commission today (June 10) formally prolonged its fruit and vegetable support measures for another year, reports Politico Agri and Food. The measures, introduced in 2014 to help the sector cope with the loss of the Russian market, has the EU pay for fruit and vegetables to be distributed for free elsewhere - whether to charities or for use in animal feed. This scheme will continue until at least June 2017: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmJqtE_vcu5hGVQwAhWtgBXA2&fid=flinbox

The EU and six Southern African countries - Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa - signed an Economic Partnership Agreement today (June 10), the European Commission has announced, reports Politico: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cm2gnqxvsu5hGMTwAhWtez_g2&fid=flinbox

Courtesy of Peter Morris, European Movement in North East