News Archive – October 2014

EUROPEAN UNION:
European Central Bank to take over as eurozone banking supervisor
Japan Times, Oct 31, 2014 – The European Central Bank will take over as Europe’s banking watchdog Tuesday in a historic shake-up of the financial system aimed at preventing a repeat of the crisis that nearly led to the collapse of the euro…. The new watchdog, the Single Supervisory Mechanism or SSM, will be responsible for the direct supervision of the eurozone’s 120 largest banks, representing 85 percent of total banking assets in the euro area.
Are you ready? Only two months left before new European VAT rules will be in force
PocketGamer.biz, Oct 31, 2014 – The new European rules for the value added tax (VAT) of the digital goods and services will enter in force on the 1st of January 2015…. These changes will apply for all companies on Earth providing digital goods and services for consumers in the European Union, even if they are not based in Europe.
Russia, Ukraine agree gas deal
The Daily Star (Bangladesh), Oct 31, 2014 – Russia has agreed to resume gas supplies to Ukraine over the winter in a deal brokered by the European Union. The deal will also ensure gas supplies to EU countries via Ukraine are secure.

UNASUR & REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
Rousseff commences changes, but has a long way to go
CCTV (China), (Oct 31, 2014 – For the Union of South American Nations (Unasul), instead of putting free trade in the first place, Rousseff should underline the integration of infrastructure, energy, and production chain in South America, and further enhance ‘unity and self-reliance’ in South America. In comparison, Rousseff’s re-election is good news for South American integration. And although there are many problems and difficulties in the process, integration in South America tops every South American country’s foreign policy.
As China has replaced the United States as Brazil’s largest trading partner, the U.S. has become less important for Brazil.

AFRICAN UNION – EAC:
US keen to ease trade hurdles in East Africa
IPP Mecia (Tanzania), Oct 31, 2014 – The visiting US Secretary of Treasury, Jacob Lew …. said the US government, being the leading contributor to the World Bank (WB) and the African Development Bank (ADB), will continue to contribute to the two banks which are both major financiers of the infrastructure and policy reforms across the East African Community.

 ARAB LEAGUE & ISRAEL:
‘Bilateralism has failed, time to bring in the Arab world,’ says Rabin’s son
Times of Israel, Oct 30, 2014 – Efforts to broker a bilateral peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians have failed and should be replaced by a multilateral approach based on the Arab Peace Initiative, the son of slain Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin told The Times of Israel Thursday. High tech entrepreneur Yuval Rabin, 59, chairs the Israeli Peace Initiative, a grassroots organization launched in 2011 to prompt Israeli leaders to put forward a comprehensive counter-bid to the Arab Peace Initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and endorsed by the Arab League five years later.

 EUROPEAN UNION:
Italy and France Blink in Budget Battle With European Union
New York Times, Oct 28, 2014 – France and Italy avoided a political collision with the European Union on Tuesday when officials in Brussels indicated that they would approve the countries’ 2015 budgets after last-minute adjustments in the spending plans…. In effect, the French and Italians have promised to make serious budget-cutting efforts, and officials in Brussels have agreed to believe them.
In blow to PM Cameron, MPs criticise UK’s immigration ‘mess’ – Yahoo News UK, Oct 29, 2014 – Opinion polls show immigration is a major concern for voters and it has fuelled the rise of the UK Independence Party, which may scupper Cameron’s chances of staying in power after the May election by splitting the right-wing vote. UKIP backs more immigration curbs and Britain’s exit from the European Union. In a damning report, parliament’s Public Accounts Committee said the government could not track people through the system….
Claims immigrants are ‘swamping’ British towns were ‘careless’, Michael Fallon admits – The Telegraph (London), Oct 27, 2014 – The Defence Secretary has since said that he had been “careless in the exact words” he had used but that there is an “issue” of immigrants from the EU putting pressure on services, housing and schools in some areas of Britain.

EURASIAN UNION:
Failure to Sign Iran Nuclear Deal Could Lead to Int’l Crisis: Experts
RIA Novosti, Oct 28, 2014 – “Outside of Iran, in its external politics, Iranian-Russian and Iranian-Chinese relations will be activated [if the agreement is not signed]. I don’t exclude an agreement resembling an alliance. It will show that Iran doesn’t just need the United States,” Safarov said, noting that this could also lead to Iran entering the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union. “From being competitors, we will become energy allies. Russia is interested in this,” he added.

UNASUR:
And the loser in Brazil is – neoliberalism
Asia Times, Oct 28, 2014 – Politically, in a nutshell, Rousseff’s narrow victory is crucial for the future of a progressive, integrated South America. It will reinvigorate Mercosur – the common market of the South – as well as Unasur – the union of South American nations. This goes way beyond free trade; it’s about close regional integration, in parallel to close Eurasia integration.
Rousseff’s win is good news for Mercosur
Buenos Aires Herald, Oct 27, 2014 – “It means that the south-south agenda, the Mercosur agenda and the Unasur agenda will remain in place,” Mónica Hirst, a leading Brazilian analyst and Di Tella University professor, told the Herald.
Unasur Leader Calls for ‘Re-industrialization’ in Latin America
The former Colombian president will travel to Spain this week to speak on strengthening dialogue between Latin America and Europe.
teleSur, Oct 26, 2014 – Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), Ernesto Samper, …. said “we have to prepare ourselves for an economic downturn,” saying the demand for resources from China and Europe in oil and gas as well as the strength of the dollar will steadily slowdown.

GCC:
Poll of legal Gulf Arab residents negative to U.S., backs peace with Israel
World Tribune, Oct 26, 2014 – In a report on Oct. 23, the institute said 61 percent of Saudis support a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Support in the UAE and Kuwait — each with a large Shi’ite minority — was said to have reached 58 percent and 53 percent, respectively….. Institute researcher David Pollock said …. five percent of Saudis support ISIL, with a lower percentage in Kuwait and the UAE.
IMF calls on Gulf countries to make economic reforms
Middle East Monitor, Oct 26, 2014 – Kuwait’s Finance Minister, Anas al-Saleh, said the decline in oil prices was hampering financial conditions, economic reforms and investment expenditure programs in Gulf Cooperation Council countries…. adding that regional and international political issues are putting pressure on Gulf countries to form an extensive economic vision.

AFRICAN UNION – EAC, COMESA, SADC:
Three blocs finalise plan for Africa’s biggest free trade area
The Star (Kenya), Oct 27, 2014 – A committee of ministers from three trade blocs covering East and Southern Africa has agreed on a common free trade area, which will be officially announced in mid-December. The tripartite FTA will bring together the East African Community, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Southern African Development Community, forming the largest trade bloc in the continent.

EUROPEAN UNION:
Britain will have to pay extra €2.1bn into EU budget by December
The Guardian (London), Oct 23, 2014 – Britain has been told it must pay an extra €2.1bn (£1.7bn) into the European Union budget by the end of next month because the UK economy is doing better relative to other European economies. The demand is certain to be used against David Cameron by the growing camp who want the UK to quit the EU…. The bombshell, first reported by the Financial Times, was dropped into the middle of an EU summit in Brussels….
UK caught up in new EU budget row
BBC, Oct 24, 2014 – About a week ago the UK learned that it would have to pay a surcharge of £1.7bn (€2.1bn) to the EU by 1 December…. There is, however, little that the UK can do about it. The figures are at the discretion of the European Commission.

UNASUR:
CAN and UNASUR promote convergence in regional integration
China Xinhua News Network (CNC), Ocy 22, 2014 (Google Translate) – The Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) agreed today in the city of Lima to work in a “joint” to promote the convergence of different regional integration mechanisms …. to “seek convergence spaces to avoid duplication and join forces.” They noted that there are points in common with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) comprising twelve regional nations, Pacific Partnership (AP) and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of America (Alba).

ASEAN’S REGIONAL ‘COMMON CORE’:
Brunei joins ASEAN bid to improve regional education
AsiaOne (Singapore), Oct 21, 2014 – The launching ceremony was through the collaboration of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) and United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office East Asia and the Pacific (UNICEF EAPRO)…. Dr Witaya Jeradechakul, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, in a welcoming speech said that SEA-PLM is a regional approach for system level monitoring of learner achievements which covers numeracy, literacy and 21st century /global citizenship skills.
Asean Economic Community in place, integration process to continue beyond 2015, says Muhyiddin
New Straits Times (Malaysia), Oct 20, 2014 – “I need to stress the AEC is an on-going process and 2015 should not be taken as the end date but rather the completion of the first step of measures towards the ultimate goal of a fully integrated economic community,” [Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin] said….

EUROPEAN UNION:
Britain is ‘lighting a fire’ under the European Union, says Philip Hammond
Public consent on Europe is ‘fragile’, foreign secretary told the House of Commons
The Telegraph (London), Oct 17, 2014 – Britain is “lighting a fire under the European Union” by holding an in-out referendum on membership, Philip Hammond said today…. Mr Hammond warned public consent for the EU is “fragile, to put it diplomatically” because the trading bloc has “morphed” into a “putative superstate” since voters were last given a say in 1975.
EU urges members to submit draft budgets
Boston Globe, Oct 16, 2014 – EU authorities Wednesday warned eurozone countries, including France and Italy, to hand in their draft budgets by the end of the day under rules aimed at staving off future financial crises. Since the revelation of a huge hole in Greek finances five years ago set off a devastating debt crisis, member states of the currency bloc must submit draft budgets to the European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, by mid-October.
EU May Override Elected Government on French Budget
By Alex Newman, The New American, Oct 14, 2014 – The bankrupt Socialist rulers of France are under attack by the monster they helped create and empower. This week, French officials are facing off against European Union finance bosses over a bloated national government budget — EU bosses say the numbers must be slashed before they can be “approved” by Brussels, but French politicians are refusing.
Despite dissent among European populations, the EU now has claimed more authority over member countries than the U.S. federal government has over the states, since the U.S. government has no constitutional power to review states’ budgets.

SAARC:
India calls for building SAARC power grid
Economic Times (India), Oct 17, 2014 – Addressing the fifth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation energy ministers meet here, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said that with the implementation of such a grid, hydel power generated in India’s northeast, for instance, could be transported via Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, on to Afghanistan, or offshore wind projects set up on the Sri Lankan coast could supply power to Pakistan or Nepal.

GCC:
GCC’s Defense Cooperation: Moving Towards Unity
Eurasian Review, Oct 17, 2014 – The ambition to provide the GCC with credible military capabilities has been reinforced by the decision taken during the 34th GCC’s Summit – held in Kuwait City on December 10-11 2013 – to set up a unified military command structure. This command will have a force of around 100,000, half of which would be contributed by Saudi Arabia, the main advocate of this initiative. This indicates that GCC members are coordinating air, land, and marine forces under one common structure.GCC:
GCC to set up joint naval force – Asharq Alawsat, Oct 16, 2014 – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is mulling the establishment of a joint naval force as a precautionary step to protect the waters of the Gulf from potential terror threats, a senior Kuwaiti official said Wednesday.

NORTH AMERICA:
CFR Globalists Outline Strategy for North American Community

By Alex Newman, The New American, Oct 13, 2014 – The global government-promoting Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) published a new report this month demanding further integration of North America, calling for deeper “cooperation” on everything from energy, law enforcement, and healthcare to labor regulations, trade, and education…. “The foundation for U.S. foreign policy in years to come should be ‘Made in North America.’”

ASEAN:
Moving too slowly towards an ASEAN Economic Community
By Jayant Menon, Asian Development Bank, EastAsiaForum, Oct 14, 2014 – Accommodating AEC accords will not be easy when they require changes to domestic laws or even the national constitution…. If the AEC is to be more than a display of political solidarity, ASEAN must find a way to give the commitments more teeth. The 2015 deadline should be viewed not as the final destination but as a milestone on the slow and long journey towards the AEC. Dr Witaya Jeradechakul, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, in a welcoming speech said that SEA-PLM is a regional approach for system level monitoring of learner achievements which covers numeracy, literacy and 21st century /global citizenship skills.
Jayant Menon is Lead Economist at the Office of Regional Economic Integration, Asian Development Bank

Dr Witaya Jeradechakul, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, in a welcoming speech said that SEA-PLM is a regional approach for system level monitoring of learner achievements which covers numeracy, literacy and 21st century /global citizenship skills. – See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/brunei-joins-asean-bid-improve-regional-education#sthash.3KBQHVFY.dpuf

ASEAN & ‘REGIONAL HEALTHCARE’ :
Balancing Healthcare Innovation & Cost
Asian Scientist Magazine, Oct 13, 2014 – “Life threatening illnesses like H1N1, SARS, MERS-CoV and Ebola virus, must be contained and managed on a cross border basis. Because of the importance of collaboration in emergency healthcare situations, the issue of improving regional healthcare systems is one of the top priorities identified under ASEAN integration, set to take place in 2015.”
ASEAN single-visa scheme sought – Philippine Star, Oct 13, 2014 – Two lawmakers have filed a resolution urging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to call for a single-visa scheme among the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) …. which will allow non-ASEAN nationals to enter ASEAN states using a single visa. The proposed measure is similar to Europe’s Schengen visa which allows a holder to travel to 25 member countries using a single visa.

GCC:
GCC studying unified tourist visa for expats
Peninsula Qatar, Oct 13, 2014 – Expatriates in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries may soon be able to travel across the region after the introduction of a unified tourist visa system. A proposal to issue common tourist visa to expatriates for GCC countries other than the one where they and their families are based is on the agenda of a ministerial meeting.

EURASIAN UNION:
West to learn if sanctions softened Russia on Ukraine
MENAFN – AFP, Oct 12, 2014 – But the final answer may only emerge after a likely meeting in Milan on Friday between Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko — their third since Kiev’s switch of allegiance this year from Moscow to the West…. They also failed to convince Poroshenko that Moscow had not orchestrated the uprising to punish Kiev for its decision to ditch a Kremlin-led trade bloc, the Eurasian Economic Union, and sign a landmark agreement with the European Union instead.

‘MADE IN THE EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION’:
Eurasian Economic Union replaces Eurasian Economic Community
TASS (Russia), Oct 10, 2014 – Russia’s presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters “On January 1, 2015 EAEC will be replaced by the Eurasian Economic Union.” EAEC “has a large-scale legal base (215 agreements) for multilateral trade and economic cooperation, which offered a base for development of Eurasian integration.”
MP: Economic integration in EEU will facilitate development of its member states
Belarusian News, Oct 9, 2014 – The union is the new subject of international law in the area of economic integration, which will protect the interests of our country, sell our products to third countries under the trademark “Made in the Eurasian Economic Union”,” Nikolai Ivanchenko said.

EUROPEAN UNION:
Euroskeptic Party Wins First U.K. Parliamentary Seat
U.K. Independence Party’s Victory Pressures Prime Minister Ahead of General Elections
Wall Street Journal, Oct 9, 2014 – Douglas Carswell, who had held the seat for Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party since 2005 but defected to UKIP in August, took 21,113 votes, or 60% of the total cast, results showed early Friday. That was more than double the 8,709 votes won by the Conservative candidate…

EURASIAN UNION:
EurAsEC to be disbanded
Vestnik Kavkaza (Russia), Oct 8, 2014 – EurAsEC [Eurasian Economic Community] has played an important role in intensifying Eurasian integration processes, the development of the Customs Union, the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and formation of the Eurasian Economic Union.

EUROPEAN UNION:
Lord Hill: UK will remain member of European Union beyond 2017 referendum
Tory peer makes bold prediction ahead of second grilling by MEPs [Euopean Parliament] in relation to financial services commissioner post
The Telegraph (London), Oct 7, 2014 – The unelected Tory peer’s comfortable prediction that Britain will remain in the EU regardless of reform or treaty change will dismay Eurosceptics in his party. Lord Hill has been forced, under the threat of rejection by the European Parliament, to distance himself from British policy on the EU, including important safeguards to protect the City of London.
David Cameron promises to withdraw Britain from the European Union (yes – I mean it)
The Telegraph (London), Oct 5, 2014 – Free movement of people within the European Union flows directly from the concept of EU Citizenship. Indeed, more than that – prior to 1993 Europe was called the “European Community” and the switch to the name “European Union” was connected to the establishment of EU citizenship…. To restrict the rights of EU citizens to move freely to the UK would be to withdraw the UK from the EU citizenship area – i.e. from the European Union….
Britain part of group of EU countries pushing for firmer border controls over Isil threat
The Telegraph (London), Oct 4, 2014 – While Britain is not a member of Europe’s Schengen borderless zone, British security officials are concerned that terrorists are using passport free travel within the EU, and the lack of systematic controls on its borders, to evade detection.
The “free movement of people” across national borders within EU-style regional blocs is the globalist goal throughout the world, including “North America.”

ASEAN:
ASEAN must act quickly on a truly single sky
China Post, Oct 7, 2014 – Andrew Herdman, director-general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines …. noted it took the EU more than two decades to develop the single aviation market, which is still a work in progress…. ASEAN must move faster, especially if one considers the threats from improving airlines from China and India…
‘ASEAN POWER GRID’:
ASEAN to integrate power supplies to cut costs
Pattaya Mail (Thailand), Oct 3, 2014 – The 32nd ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM) agreed to integrate the ASEAN energy market including electrical power trading among countries in the region to cut electricity generation costs and boost the global competitiveness of the region…. “The good thing is that the ASEAN Power Grid project will begin and progress,” the energy minister said. The AMEM also discussed gas pipeline development…

ARAB LEAGUE:
The US Bombs the Terrorists It Once Supported
RIA Novosti (Russia), Oct 2, 2014 – As for the Islamic State, it is the product of a civil war in Syria that the US itself incited. Though the Syrian government repeatedly offered negotiations to settle the conflict in Syria and agreed to peace plans proposed by the Arab League and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the US declared that its government was illegitimate and insisted on the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad. When that did not happen, the US sponsored the creation of yet another insurgency, arming and supporting rebels who it again “failed to notice” were Islamist terrorists (and even cannibals). Out of this insurgency the Islamic State emerged.

EURASIAN UNION:
Russian President Confirms Interest in Ties with Latin America
Prensa Latina, Oct 2, 2014 – Putin said that Russia is close to completing, along with Armenia and Kyrgystan, its adhesion to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and …. would like to see the EEU establish close relationships with other integration groups, both in Europe as well as in Asia, he added. The Kremlin head said that the interaction would bring stability to the global economy, and emphasized that it it was especially important to be able to engage in dialogue with the European Union….

GCC:
Obama coalition partner accused of aiding ISIS
Sources: Goal is brokered truce with contingent fighting in Syria
WND, Oct 1, 2014 – Qatar is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council of six Arab nations that publicly committed to Obama’s coalition to fight ISIS…. WND reported in June that, according to Jordanian and Syrian regime sources, Saudi Arabia has been arming ISIS and that the Saudis are a driving force in supporting the al-Qaida-linked group.

UNASUR:
Latin American Leftists Warn of Threats to ‘Progressive’ Change
Latin American Herald Tribune (Venezuela), Oct 2, 2014 – Left-wing representatives from Germany, Spain and Greece attended the event to learn from the Latin American experience,…. In the final declaration, the ELAP, organized by Ecuador’s leftist PAIS Alliance, urged all the progressive Latin American governments to strengthen integration and support efforts such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Union of South American Nations … among others.

AFRICAN UNION – EAC:
Regional trade union urges free movement of labour within EAC
Coastweek (Kenya), Oct 2, 2014 – The East African Trade Union Confederation (EATUC) has called on East African Community (EAC) member countries to ease movement of labour by removing barriers on cross-border employment within the trading bloc.

EURASIAN UNION:
Russian, Kazakh Lawmakers OK Eurasian Economic Union
Radio Free Europe, Oct 1, 2014 – It is scheduled to officially start functioning from January 1, 2015. Moscow has been pressuring former Soviet republics to join the Customs Union and the EES, saying the latter will be modeled after the European Union.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *