Hacking off the neighbours
Most French political parties officially support the United Kingdom's continued membership of the EU. But cracks in the veneer are beginning to show, as more and more individual French politicians back Brexit. EurActiv France reports. For Karine Berger, a Socialist MP, the way the UK handled the negotiation process caused serious trust issues.
Supervisors of the European Central Bank are questioning banks over their preparations for a
possible British exit from the European Union and the ensuing reaction in foreign exchange markets, Handelsblatt, followed up by EurActiv, reported on Wednesday (9 March). The possible consequences of a 'Brexit' for financial markets and individual banks have become the top concern at the ECB over the last few weeks, the German newspaper reported: http://www.euractiv.com/section/uk-europe/news/ecb-questions-banks-over-brexit-preparations/
European Parliament lawmakers accused the EU Wednesday (9 March) of giving Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the "keys to the gates of Europe" through a migration crisis deal with Ankara, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/security/news/eu-parliament-slams-sultan-erdogan-on-turkey-deal/
Progress was made in the latest round of TTIP talks, but negotiators have a long way to go if the deal is to be signed before Barack Obama leaves office, according to a briefing in EurActiv by Michael McKeon, project manager for transatlantic relations at the Washington DC-based Bertelsmann Foundation: http://www.euractiv.com/section/trade-society/opinion/latest-round-of-ttip-talks-a-momentum-boost/
A decade after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of New Orleans, the American city is still in the process of rebuilding and is now setting its sights on foreign trade and foreign investment, especially when it comes to the European Union and TTIP, reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/trade-society/news/new-orleans-looks-to-eu-and-ttip-to-rebuild-fortunes/
Regional environment ministers in the Brussels and Wallonia jurisdictions in Belgium have said they will ban glyphosate - a pesticide which some say probably causes cancer and whose EU stamp of approval is up for renewal, EUobserver reports. The ministers…said Tuesday (8 March) in a joint statement that they were "stunned" that Belgium's federal government had supported a European Commission proposal to renew glyphosate approval for another 15 years: https://euobserver.com/environment/132634
The European Parliament has called on the European Commission to end its agreement with tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI), reports EUobserver. The tobacco accord, which is to expire in July, made the EU and PMI into partners in the fight against cigarette smuggling: https://euobserver.com/economic/132621
The European Commission has asked Spain to reduce its deficit to 2.8 percent of GDP this year instead of the expected 3.6 percent, reports EUobserver. The commission recalled that in 2013 Spain was given until 2016 to reduce its deficit. Madrid must inform the commission of its plans by April: https://euobserver.com/tickers/132627
Witht hanks to Peter Morris, North East in Europe