Farmers at risk from Leave
Ultimately, separating from the [EU] is highly unlikely to yield the economic bounty supporters have promised and it would leave Britain more isolated and probably poorer, writes the New York Times in an editorial: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/opinion/leaving-the-eu-would-hurt-britains-economy.html?emc=edit_ee_20160307&nl=todaysheadlines-europe&nlid=74103272&_r=0
The UK farming and food sector has disproportionately more to lose from withdrawal from the EU than any other sector of the UK economy and with very little 'upside' apparent, writes Paul Brannen, MEP (for North East England) and Labour's Agriculture and Rural Development Spokesperson in the European Parliament, in an op-ed in EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/all/opinion/brexit-puts-uk-farmers-at-risk/
The migration crisis has come to challenge European solidarity, the principle of free movement and the EU's dedication to human rights. Now, more than ever, the EU needs to live up to its embodied promise to never repeat the divisions and ensuing horrors of World War II, writes Petros Fassoulas,Secretary General of European Movement International.in EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/seizing-opportunity-from-crisis-will-help-redefine-our-common-goals/
As the refugee crisis continues, EU governments should respond with leadership and avoid knee-jerk reactions, writes Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in an op-ed in EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/opinion/eu-leaders-should-avoid-reactionary-solutions-to-refugee-crisis/
Europe risks suffering "long-term damage" due to ill-prepared policies to integrate refugees and asylum seekers, the OECD has warned, while European nations start preparing for the worst, EurActiv reports: http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/europe-neglects-integration-of-refugees-as-humanitarian-tragedy-looms/
Member states' unwillingness to cooperate leaves them wide open to VAT fraud, the European Court of Auditors said on Thursday (3 March). This weakness costs the EU as much as €168 billion per year. EurActiv France reports.
EU-funded agricultural projects in Colombia that make use of former coca plantations could be expanded if a fragile peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces guerrilla movement (FARC) survives, EurActiv reports.. They are part of an EU-funded project that aims to foment peace in regions around the world and create income for local communities: http://www.euractiv.com/section/development-policy/news/former-coca-plantations-given-new-purpose-by-eu-funding/
Germany, France and Britain pressed the European Union for more ambitious greenhouse gas targets at a meeting of environment ministers on Friday (4 March), clashing with the EU executive and several eastern and central European states: reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/climate-environment/news/eu-countries-press-for-tougher-emissions-targets-after-paris-deal/
Margrethe Vestager, EU competition commissioner, is already having a busy 2016 and is expected to move ahead in the coming months in the antitrust case she filed against Google, in which she has accused the company of favoring some of its own services in search results over those of rivals. She is interviewed in the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/technology/europes-antitrust-enforcer-on-google-apple-and-the-year-ahead.html?emc=edit_ee_20160307&nl=todaysheadlines-europe&nlid=74103272
With thanks to Peter Morris, European Movement in the North East