Europe

France is opposed to Brexit Britain becoming a “tax haven” on the EU’s doorstep, a French government minister has said. French minister Amélie de Montchalin told C News television on Thursday: “I do not want to have a tax haven at the gates of Europe.”The State Secretary for European Affairs made the comments after Prime Minister Boris Johnson had sent European leaders his new Brexit plans. Expressing concern the UK may obtain an advantage over Europe, Ms de Montchalin said: “We have to look at whether standards are being met.” “We ask our companies to respect environmental, social, and fiscal issues. We must be able to work fairly,” she added. France is not the only EU Member State to fear a competitor unfettered by Brussels rules across the English Channel. In September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was worried that Brexit would result in having an “economic competitor at our door”. “The … [Read more...] about France Frightened of ‘Tax Haven’ Brexit Britain ‘at the Gates of Europe’

While concern grows over possible increased mass migration as a result of regional military power Turkey entering the Syrian conflict, Europe as already experienced a 10-per-cent increase in arrivals in the last year. As of the 24th of September, around 487,000 asylum applications have been filed by migrants in the EU, Switzerland, and Norway over the previous 12 months, reports the German newspaper Die Welt. That number is 10-per-cent higher compared to the same period last year, according to the European Asylum Support Office.The countries from which the largest number of migrants came to the European Union were Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Iraq, Pakistan, Colombia, and Turkey. The countries absorbing the most asylum seekers were Germany, France, and Spain. 500 Illegal Migrants Land on Greek Island in One Day https://t.co/Bwb2DxfvRW — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 31, 2019 One of the countries hardest hit by the increased flow of migrants has been Greece. In … [Read more...] about Report: Migrant Numbers Arriving in Europe Surge in 2018-19

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán vowed that Hungary will “use force” to protect its southern border from waves of migrants if Turkey carries out its threat to direct 3.6 million people to Europe. Speaking to the Hungarian private broadcaster HirTV, Orbán warned in comments reported by euronews: “If Turkey sets off further hundreds of thousands on top of this, then we will need to use force to protect the Hungarian border and the Serbian-Hungarian frontier, and I do not wish for anyone that we should need to resort to that.”Orbán’s comments come after the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, continued to threaten the European Union not to oppose his actions in Syria: “I say it again. If you try to label this operation as an invasion, it’s very simple: we will open the gates and send 3.6 million refugees your way.” Turkey, Hezbollah Order EU to ‘Kneel’ or ‘We Open the Gates and Send … [Read more...] about Hungary: Orban Will ‘Use Force’ If Turkey ‘Opens the Gates’ of Europe to Migrants

On this day in 1956, the Hungarian people rose up against their Soviet occupiers, an important chapter in the history of a country which jealously guards its freedom, and remains at odds with a European Union which continues to push for integration and conformity. Statues were torn down, members of the brutal secret police lynched, and flags burned. Ordinary people also celebrated in the streets — until it became clear that support from the West to make the revolution permanent was not coming, and the Soviets sent in the tanks to put it down.In the end, over 3,000 were killed in that ill-fated fight to make a country free. Hungary and the rest of Central Europe eventually found its freedom when the Soviet Union finally crumbled in 1989, and years later were accepted into the European Union. But it has been clear since that Hungary — much like Poland — has not taken well to the EU’s particular idea of democracy. A sculpted head of Stalin, knocked off its statue … [Read more...] about 1956 Hungarian Revolution: Why Central Europe Seems to Care More About Freedom Than the West

The commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman, apparently isn't too concerned that Tiger Woods said that "I don't think anybody really watches hockey anymore," nor is he worried that hockey critics say the sport is at second- or third-rate levels because of the 2004-05 lockout. (He also did not have a comment yesterday in Ottawa about the ongoing threats of punishment against the Rangers by the league, as covered by Kevin Greenstein in today's paper.) Because of Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, the success of the outdoor game on New Year's Day, the strengthening of the Canadian dollar, and maybe the product itself, the NHL has garnered positive attention in the past few months and heads into the offseason in pretty good shape. Woods himself has endorsed the game, saying that he "love[s] the sport," but would rather see a game in person. He just doesn't like watching it on television because "TV doesn't do justice to [the sport]." But television is important to the … [Read more...] about Owner Woes, Europe on Bettman’s Summer List