It won’t be long before the essential raw minerals and commodities of the planet’s Far North such as rare earths, oil and gas get gobbled up by the industrialists.
On Wednesday, the Arctic Council granted China, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore new Observer States status. Essentially, the six nations gained rightful entry to listen in on meetings of the council, as well as propose and finance policies. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Denmark
Report: 10 EU Nations Call for Economic and Political Union, and a European Army
Pages five and six of the report (PDF file) detail the European Army.
In order to solve the euro crisis and survive in the modern world, European Union nations need to give up more powers, forge a political union and create new institutions like a European Army, 10 EU foreign ministers said in a report presented to EU officials on June 19.
Several of the finance ministers also called for the creation of what has been termed a “super-president” as a single figurehead for the union.
Sometimes called the “Berlin Group” or “Berlin Club,” the group began meeting at the suggestion of German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to reinvigorate European integration.
“We take the current crisis to be a wake-up call,” its interim report said. “Time for far-reaching reforms is short …. What we are ultimately talking about is making the European Union and the euro irreversible.”
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But the recommendations go beyond the current crisis. “New political and economic global players are gaining more influence,” said the report. “In dealing with these new powerhouses, we Europeans will only be able to uphold our values and pursue our interests effectively if we pool our strengths much more, both internally and in dealings with the outside world.”
In the long term, this means a “European Defense Policy,” which could include a “European Army” for some nations, the report said. When it comes to defense policy, “most foreign ministers feel that we should be more ambitious,” says the report.
In the shorter term, the European External Action Service (eeas)—the EU’s diplomatic, intelligence and military unit—must “be strengthened more.” The EU also needs “a more dynamic Common Security and Defense Policy, stronger eeas planning and command capabilities for civil-military operations, more pooling and sharing.”
The report also says, “We should also aim for a common seat in international organizations,” presumably referring to the EU’s longstanding goal of gaining a seat on the UN Security Council.
The group plans to continue meeting, focusing especially on how to make Europe “a global player.”
The 10 foreign ministers endorsing the report are from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain. French representatives also attended some of the meetings.
Full article: Report: 10 EU Nations Call for Economic and Political Union, and a European Army (The Trumpet)
10 countries for a United States of Europe
As Biblically phrophecied (Revelation 13:1,2; Daniel 7:24) and as mentioned here several times , ten nations [a mix of strong and weak (iron mixed with clay); Daniel 9:41-43] look to be forming in Europe, in a resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire. Whether it’s the mentioned nations or whether it’s happening now, only time will tell. Here’s the full article:
Ten EU foreign ministers participating in a “study group for the future of Europe” aim to exert pressure to transform the EU into a federation along the lines of the US. Together they have prepared what the front-page headline in Die Presse describes as a “Plan for transformation into a European state.” On 19 June, the ten ministers* presented an initial report to the EU officials who will likely benefit the most from the initiative: Commission President José Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker.
The “study group for the future” initiated by Germany’s Guido Westerwelle, which does not currently include an official French representative, proposes to put an end to the dominance of national government leaders and give greater authority to the European Commission – in particular the European Commission president, who will be elected by universal suffrage and granted the right to form a “governmental team”, making him or her the most powerful politician in Europe.
The group also recommends replacing European councils of ministers and heads of state with a chamber “of states” in the European parliament. National competencies, most notably the management of borders, defence and public spending will be transferred to the federation, “making membership of the euro irreversible.”
Die Presse argues that it is not surprising to see diplomats from countries which have lost all of their influence since the Treaty of Nice, signed in 2001, and even more so since the outbreak of the crisis, make a bid to play a more important role. However, the daily concludes –
A clearly defined democratic system resembling a state would probably not be in accord with the mood of several sections of the population. But everyone who wants to safeguard the euro, the single market and political stability, while preventing a widening wealth gap between the North and the South and a reinforcement of nationalist trends will ultimately accept that it is the best way forward.
* Foreign ministers from Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
Full article: 10 countries for a United States of Europe (presseurop)
Germany Hasn’t Given Up on a United States of Europe
Led by Berlin, a select group of 10 states has formed to ‘revive the ideal of a united Europe.’
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Created and led by Germany, the “Berlin Club” met for the first time on March 20 in Berlin. There’s a lot we haven’t been told about Europe’s latest club of elitists. What we do know is that it’s the brainchild of German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, that it is comprised of Europe’s most pro-unification states, and that it exists to reinvigorate the unification of Europe.
Germany is joined in the club by Poland, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Luxemburg, Spain, Denmark and France. The select group is scheduled to meet at least four more times to discuss proposals for closer integration, and plans to publish its conclusions in a final report. The club’s agenda is long, and includes discussions about European security and border control, fiscal and economic government, and ways to stabilize growth.
Yesterday, Presseurop translated an article from the Spanish abc newspaper reporting that “10 countries have formed the ‘Berlin Club’ to revive the European project.” According to the abc article, Berlin’s goal is to “create a kind of ‘club’ committed to developing formulas that, in these times of crisis, will revive the ideal of a united Europe” (emphasis added throughout). Since Europe’s financial crisis began in 2008, the EU has been hit with one crisis after another, with each being reported by many as another nail in the coffin of a United States of Europe.
Full article: Germany Hasn’t Given Up on a United States of Europe (The Trumpet)
Canada and Russia border buddies? May yet share maritime boundary
Two Canadian legal scholars have published a study showing how the push by northern nations for extended seabed territory in the Arctic Ocean could soon find Canada negotiating a maritime boundary with a new nextdoor neighbour: Russia.
Most of Canada’s borderlands and boundary waters separate this country from the United States. Canada also has maritime boundaries with Denmark and France, which oversees the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon south of Newfoundland.
But the possibility Canada and Russia might one day share a border has, until now, seemed unimaginable given the vast ocean distances separating the two countries, and the relatively modest 370-kilometre (200-nauticalmile) offshore zone within which nations are permitted to exercise exclusive jurisdiction and resource rights.
Full article: Canada and Russia border buddies? May yet share maritime boundary (Leader-Post)
