Top EU court backs UK migrant child benefits curb
The EU's top court on Tuesday backed Britain's right to limit child benefits to European migrants, backing up one of David Cameron's key planks of renegotiation - just nine days ahead of the country's EU referendum, reports EurActiv:
EUobserver reports that Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas praised the verdict for bringing "legal clarity" to the application of EU social rules. "The European Commission has consistently stressed that EU free movement is about free circulation of people, not free access to social benefits systems of the different member states," he told reporters…Schinas reminded journalists that social security was not harmonised at EU level: https://euobserver.com/social/133822
Norwegian MPs on Monday agreed to follow EU regulation of banking, insurance, pensions and securities, reports EUobserver. With 136 votes for and 29 against, the majority was big enough to sign the bill. Campaign group No to the EU said it was the "biggest concession of sovereignty since the European Economic Area agreement". Some 12,000 people also signed a petition opposing the bill: https://euobserver.com/tickers/133831
Norway's prime minister has bad news for U.K. Euroskeptics who hope to copy Oslo's relationship with the European Union if they get their way in next week's referendum. "They won't like it," Erna Solberg told POLITICO: http://www.politico.eu/article/eu-referendum-look-before-you-leap-norways-pm-tells-brexiteers/
[A] growing number of company bosses are taking the unusual step of writing to employees with a pitch for staying in the bloc, reports Bloomberg….executives of companies ranging from telecommunications provider BT Group Plc to textbook publisher Pearson Plc to weapons maker BAE Systems Plc have sent internal memos to make the case: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-14/-dear-colleague-u-k-bosses-make-case-to-staff-against-brexit
According to a survey by Edison Investment Research, reported by Politico, about 60 percent of directors at U.K. mid-cap companies will vote to remain in the EU, 36 percent will vote leave, and 4 percent is still undecided. Edison Investment Research surveyed the directors of more than 400 U.K. listed mid-cap companies in sectors such as industrials, retail, technology, and financial institutions: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmOTwTrssy5hGO9wAjfeM5jA2&fid=flinbox
Two scary quotes reported by Politico Morning Exchange: One from Bill O'Neill, head of the chief investment office for the wealth management unit at UBS: "I don't think the market is already priced for a Leave vote today." Meaning: There will be more jarring market movements, and possibly some blood on the carpet on June 24, if Britain decides to leave the EU. One from Strategas' Jason DeSena Trennert: "If Britain decides to leave the EU, it would not be difficult to imagine a recession on the Continent": https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmOTwTrssy5hGO9wAjfeM5jA2&fid=flinbox
Central banks around the globe are preparing financial backstops to mitigate market turmoil in case Britons vote next week to leave the European Union, hoping to buffer the real economy from any short-term impact, reports Reuters: http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-ecb-swaps-idUSKCN0Z01SH
Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said during a European Parliament meeting on Tuesday: 'For me it's not good enough for the U.K. to remain a member. I would like to see them once again become an active member. They once used to be. But they've become more and more passive.' Dijsselbloem stated his support for an In vote, and argued the topic of migration 'doesn't go away if you step out of the EU'. Politico Morning Exchange reports: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmOTwTrssy5hGO9wAjfeM5jA2&fid=flinbox
Wednesday's front page of the Dutch paper Algemeen Dagblad … reads, Don't Leave Me This Way. In English. Politico Morning Exchange passes on a tweet by the BC's Nick Sutton: https://dub129.mail.live.com/?tid=cmOTwTrssy5hGO9wAjfeM5jA2&fid=flinbox
"In the old case it was 'the economy, stupid,' but in this case it's … basically … 'it's immigration, stupid.' This is the issue. The real issue," Conservative MP and Leave campaigner Peter Bone told Politico. It is perfectly clear to him this is not just Middle England's EU referendum, this is Middle England's immigration referendum: http://www.politico.eu/article/middle-englands-immigration-referendum-brexit-road-trip-britain-middle-england/
Three decades after Greenland exited what is now the European Union, some of its politicians and business leaders say the vast Arctic territory should consider re-joining because of its slowness to diversify the economy away from fish, reports Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-greenland-idUSKCN0Z01PV
Two days after the deadly attack in Orlando and hours after a French police officer and his wife were killed, the European Commission unveiled measures Tuesday designed to help EU members tackle extremism and radicalization, reports Politico…The Commission's package of measures focuses mainly on education, employment and helping those already in prison, and has a strong focus on online activities: http://www.politico.eu/article/orlando-attack-commission-targets-radicalization-online-and-in-jails/
The UN Security Council on Tuesday (14 June) approved an EU operation to intercept ships suspected of arms smuggling to Libya, moving to shore up Tripoli's unity government as it battles the Islamic State group, reports EurActiv. The council unanimously adopted a resolution drafted by Britain and France that expands the mission of Operation Sophia, which has been combating migrant trafficking in the Mediterranean: http://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/un-authorises-eu-operation-against-libya-arms-s muggling/?nl_ref=14887403
A lobbying effort to delay the introduction of a new testing method for car emissions has failed, as EU countries on Tuesday (14 June) decided to stick to the starting date proposed by the EU Commission, reports EUobserver: The current test being used in laboratories is outdated and there are huge discrepancies between test results and emissions in the real world: https://euobserver.com/environment/133833
The Netherlands "will do its utmost" to reach a political deal on air quality targets for 2030 before its mandate as EU Council president expires at the end of this month, a source close to the presidency said Tuesday (14 June), reports EUobserver: https://euobserver.com/environment/133825
Homeowners will qualify for reduced repayment on their mortgages if they undertake energy efficiency renovations, and lower interest rates on loans to pay for them, under "pioneering" plans being drawn up by lenders for consideration by EU and global regulators, reports EurActiv in what it claims as an exclusive. Renovation will be rewarded with a lower risk profile for borrowers and for banks, if the scheme is taken up. That would translate to lesser monthly payments for homeowners, according to theEuropean Mortgage Federation and European Covered Bonds Council (EMF-ECBC): http://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/energy-efficient-renovation-could-lead-to-cheaper-mortgages/?nl_ref=14887403
The EU Council Tuesday extended the mandate of the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo (Eulex) for two years until 14 June 2018, reports EUobserver. It also approved a €63.6 million-budget providing for Eulex operations until the end of the year and for the special tribunal and special prosecutor's office for Kosovo war crimes in The Hague until June 2017. The mission was launched in 2008 after Kosovo declared its independence: https://euobserver.com/tickers/133827
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew into Brussels Tuesday (14 June) for 48 hours of development policy debate at the 10th annual EU Development Days., reports EurActiv: http://www.euractiv.com/section/development-policy/news/ban-ki-moon-visits-refugees-during-brussels-development-conference/
Courtesy of Peter Morris, European Movement in the North East