EU Commission: A new team to defend Europe’s economic sovereignty – by Jorge Valero

Achieving a “more assertive” Europe that can improve its competitiveness and sovereignty in an increasingly hostile world.

These are the main guidelines of President-elect Ursula von der Leyen to the new College of Commissioners, unveiled on Tuesday (10 September).

Europe is losing ground in the digital race that is reshaping the economy and society at large. China is now considered a “systemic rival”, while the US is no longer a reliable partner since the election of Donald Trump, with preparations underway in Washington to step up the trade war against Europe. 

According to Ursula von der Leyen, this is why the protection of Europe’s sovereignty – and its economic might – has to be top of the agenda for her new team of commissioners.

 Read more: A new team to defend Europe’s economic sovereignty – EURACTIV.com

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Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon: Parliament suspension may make Scottish independence 'inevitable'

Boris Johnson‘s controversial decision to suspend Parliament in the build up to Brexit may be the moment that Scottish independence became “completely inevitable”, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The Scottish First Minister claimed that support for leaving the UK was growing with each passing day, accusing the Prime Minister of acting like “some kind of tinpot dictator”.

She also said the suspension proved Mr Johnson would be willing to shut down the Scottish Parliament to achieve his political aims, a suggestion she had previously regarded as “silly”.

But the Scottish Conservatives backed the move, arguing there would still be “ample” time for MPs to debate Brexit and describing the SNP‘s reaction as “predictably hysterical”.

Read more: Nicola Sturgeon: Parliament suspension may make Scottish independence 'inevitable'

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Spain:Unity Survives, as Catalan local government suspends declaration of independence

Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont 
suspends declaration of independence

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, has pulled the region back from the brink of an unprecedented showdown with the Spanish government by announcing that he will suspend a declaration of independence to pursue negotiations in the hope of resolving Spain’s worst political crisis for 40 years.

Addressing the Catalan parliament on Tuesday evening, Puigdemont said that while the recent referendum had given his government a mandate to create an independent republic, he would not immediately declare unilateral independence from Spain.

“We propose the suspension of the effects of the declaration of independence for a few weeks, to open a period of dialogue,” he said.

“If everyone acts responsibly the conflict can be resolved in a calm and agreed manner.”

Hours before the announcement, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, had appealed to Puigdemont to step back from a unilateral declaration of independence and begin dialogue with the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy.

Rajoy has shown himself willing to take the drastic step of invoking article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which allows the central government to take control of an autonomous region if it “does not fulfill the obligations imposed upon it by the constitution or other laws, or acts in a way that is seriously prejudicial to the general interest of Spain”.

The Spanish prime minister has repeatedly pointed out that the referendum and the laws underpinning it are a violation of the Spanish constitution, which is based “on the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards”.

His government insists the Catalan question is an internal Spanish matter, and has promised to use all the legal and constitutional means at its disposal to try to stop the regional government’s manoeuvres. It has also deployed thousands of Guardia Civil and national police officers to Catalonia.

Note EU-Digest: Some background on Catalonia and their quest for independence: 


Catalonia has a total population of 7.5 million people. 

On the October 1, polling results, reported by the Catalan government, from the illegally declared referendum by the Spanish government -  it showed the "Yes" side had "won", with 2,044,038 (92.01%) voting for independence and 177,547 (7.99%) voting against, on a turnout of only 43.03% of the eligible voters.

Even though the referendum was held, it must be noted that based on Catalan law, the referendum should not have been held  re: Catalan Statutes of Autonomy - which states that a two third majority is required in the Catalan parliament, before any changes to the Catalonia's Political status can be made.

There was no 2/3 majority, when the vote was held in the Catalan parliament, to approve the holding of a referendum.  It was, however, decided by the ruling parties in the Catalan parliament that a simple majority vote in the Catalan parliament would be sufficient to hold the referendum  

In addition, the holding of the referendum itself, was also declared illegal, based on the Statutes of the Spanish Constitution.  Consequently the holding of a Catalan referendum was also suspended by the "Constitutional Court of Spain" on 7 September 2017. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Carlos Puigdemont still went ahead with the referendum.

Bottom-line the Catalan government, and its President Carles Puigdemont broke every Spanish law there was to break. 

Mr. Puigdemont and several of his cohorts can consider themselves very lucky not to have already been arrested and prosecuted. It could, however, still happen, if they continue to pursue this absurd nationalistic goal. 

EU-Digest

European Defence Union: EU needs own independent military power and leave NATO and Middle East mess

European Defence Force

Daniel Mützel writesin EurActiv.de: "The EU is stepping up its efforts on common defence policy and a “coalition of the willing” could quickly deploy EU troops and promote common defence projects. EurActiv Germany reports.

How under threat is Europe? The question has worried European security policy lawmakers for some time and the events of 2016 have escalated concerns.

Back in June, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini presented her Global Strategy, which called for an EU-wide integrated security community to tackle instability on Europe’s doorstep.

Another white paper produced by the German and French foreign ministers a few months later warned against an “erosion” of the EU and called for stronger military cooperation between member states".

Many people feel that NATO has in fact outlived its purpose of a combined US - European Defence force to protect Europe during the cold war. Instead NATO has dragged most if not all of its European member states into costly US "military advetures" in Afghanistan and the Middle East, which all have been basically total failures and created an incredible Refugees problem for both the EU and Turkey.

As to the present military situation in Syria and the NATO's effectiveness there, one can only qualify that as a total disaster.
.
A report recently discussed in the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee shows how far Brussels has moved forward with the idea.

Hardly any other EU document better describes how the perception of European security politicians has changed in reaction to global events.

It alleges that the EU is now “surrounded by an arc of instability”, which includes “terrorism, massive refugee flows, or disinformation campaigns”.

The report also adds that since international relations are now dominated by power politics again, “defence and deterrence capabilities” are crucial when it comes to diplomacy. It concludes that the EU has to use its “unrivalled soft power with hard power.

EU-Digest

Scotland seeks independence: Nicola Sturgeon: second Scottish independence poll highly likely - by Severin Carrell Libby Brooksand

Scotland is on the brink of staging a fresh referendum on independence after Nicola Sturgeon requested talks with the EU on separate membership after the UK’s vote to leave.

The first minister said she believed a second referendum on independence was highly likely after Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain within the EU, but was unable to prevent the leave campaign winning by 52% to 48% across the UK as a whole.

Sturgeon said that was a “democratic outrage” and constituted the clear, material change in Scotland’s circumstances referred to in the Scottish National party’s carefully worded manifesto commitment in May to hold a second independence vote if needed.

“It is a significant material change in circumstances. It’s a statement of the obvious that the option of a second independence referendum must be on the table, and it is on the table,” she said.

Sturgeon announced that she was instructing Scottish government officials to draft fresh referendum legislation for Holyrood, only two years after her party lost the first independence vote in 2014, to ensure it could be held quickly if enough Scottish voters backed it.

UK government sources said David Cameron, who quit as prime minister after the referendum defeat, was anxious that his successor make sure the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland government were closely involved in the UK’s Brexit negotiations to avoid increasing Scottish grievances and fuelling the case for independence.

Sturgeon’s cabinet will meet in emergency session on Saturday morning at her official residence Bute House, and is expected to agree plans to put forward referendum legislation in September’s programme for government.

Read more: Nicola Sturgeon: second Scottish independence poll highly likely | Politics | The Guardian