Cash from Qatar? European Parliament Rocked by Corruption Scandal • FRANCE 24 English

Dec 12, 2022 | Just when the on-field drama of the football finally seemed to be eclipsing all else coming out of Qatar, the World Cup hosts back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons: Doha denies any part in the piles of cash uncovered by Belgian police or the arrests that include a vice-president of the European parliament. The greasing of the wheels came as the EU started to ponder visa-free travel to Qatari citizens. Why would the Gulf emirate even want the waiver?

Qatar Bribery Probe Rocks EU Parliament | DW News

Dec 12, 2022 | A vice president of the European Parliament has been charged with corruption over allegations that World Cup host Qatar paid huge bribes to influence EU policy. Eva Kaili has been stripped of her powers after investigators reportedly found bags of cash in her home. She's one of four people arrested so far in connection with the scandal.

European Parliament’s Chief Brexit Negotiator - Guy Verhofstadt

HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Belgium's former Prime Minister and current MEP Guy Verhofstadt, an EU politician who'll be at the heart of the complex negotiations over a Brexit deal.
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European Parliament Leaders Call on EU to Reject Trump's Likely Ambassador Pick

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: Heads of parliament’s main political parties issue unprecedented call opposing Ted Malloch, who likened his goal to ‘bringing down the Soviet Union’

The European parliament’s main political parties are making an unprecedented attempt to block Donald Trump’s likely choice as ambassador to the European Union from EU buildings, describing him as hostile and malevolent.

In a startling move that threatens a major diplomatic row, the leaders of the conservative, socialist and liberal groups in Brussels have written to the European commission and the European council, whose members represent the 28 EU states, to reject the appointment of Ted Malloch.

Malloch, a businessman who stridently supported Brexit ahead of the vote in June, is said to have been interviewed for the post by Trump.br />
When recently asked by the BBC why he was interested in moving to Brussels, Malloch replied: “I had in a previous career a diplomatic post where I helped bring down the Soviet Union. So maybe there’s another union that needs a little taming.” » | Daniel Boffey in Brussels | Thursday, February 2, 2017

European Parliament Votes to Suspend Turkey Membership Talks

Nigel Farage Tells MEPs: Most of You Have Never Done a Proper Job

Nigel Farage addresses an emergency meeting of the European Parliament to discuss Brexit plans. MEPs shake their heads, boo and jeer throughout his speech. He accuses them of trying to impose a political union by stealth.

Marine Le Pen Attacks EU Project and Angela Merkel (October 7, 2015)

France's Front National leader Marine LePen lets rip against visiting guest German chancellor Angela Merkel on the whole European Union project. She says she accepts the honour of being "anti-Merkel".

France: Hollande Warns of "Total War" If Syrian Crisis Is Not Ended

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande held a joint speech in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Wednesday, where they addressed the ongoing refugee crisis and the Syrian conflict.

Netanyahu Slams European "Hypocrisy" as Court Orders Removal of Hamas from Terror Blacklist

Masked Hamas members take part in a rally in support of the
armed Palestinian factions in Rafah

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Decision to remove group from list on "technical" grounds comes as European parliament votes in faour of Palestinian statehood

Benjamin Netanyahu accused Europeans of failing to learn from the Holocaust on Wednesday after Europe's second highest court removed the Palestinian militant group Hamas from the EU's terror blacklist.

The Israeli's prime minister's furious broadside came on a day of frenetic diplomatic manoeuvering that saw the European parliament adopt a resolution backing Palestinian statehood while Palestinian officials at the UN prepared to table a motion setting a timetable for a peace agreement.

Mr Netanyahu ignored those developments in remarks issued by his office but instead focused on the European court decision, along with a meeting in Switzerland of signatories to the Geneva Convention which he said was aimed at examining war crimes allegations levelled against Israel.

"Today we witnessed staggering examples of European hypocrisy," the Israeli leader said, pointedly comparing European conduct to the "friendship of the people of the United States" in remarks welcoming the visit of Joni Ernst, a newly-elected US Republican senator.

"In Geneva they call for the investigation of Israel for war crimes, while in Luxemburg the European court removed Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations.

"Hamas that has committed countless war crimes and countless terror acts. It seems that too many in Europe, on whose soil six million Jews were slaughtered, have learned nothing.. The friendship we see from the United States stands in complete contrast to what we are seeing regretfully in Europe." » | Robert Tait, Jerusalem | Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Nigel Farage - "Mr Samaras, You're Not in Charge of Greece" (January 15, 2014)

Nigel Farage MEP speaks to the Greek prime minister in the European Parliament.

THE OBSERVER: Nigel Farage becomes popular in Greece after outburst against the PM: Ukip leader claims he received deluge of support after giving Antonis Samaras a dressing down in European parliament » | Helena Smith in Athens | Saturday, January 18, 2014

French Far-right Leader Stripped of Immunity

AL JAZEERA: Marine Le Pen loses legal immunity as EU Parliament deputy, exposing her to possible prosecution over racism charge.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been stripped of her European Parliament immunity and may now face charges of racism over comments she made comparing Muslims praying on streets to Nazi occupation during World War II.

Parliamentarians voted on Tuesday to ratify the decision, as recommended by a judicial committee, so that Le Pen, who leads the French National Front party, could defend herself against a charge of inciting racial hatred brought by French prosecutors in 2011.

Le Pen, who was present for the vote, said she stood behind her comments and looked forward to defending them in front of a judge.

"I'm going to defend myself ... and I'm absolutely convinced that the court will rule in my favour and protect my right to say to the French the truth about the situation, notably prayers in the streets but not only that," Le Pen said in an interview on French television.

If found guilty of inciting racial hatred, she would face a maximum penalty of one year in prison and $60,000 in fines. » | Source: Agencies | Tuesday, July 02, 2013

'Holocaust Must Serve as Warning for All Time'
YNET NEWS: Speaking at European Parliament event for International Holocaust Remembrance Day EUP President says German people are responsible for 'keeping memory alive'

Iran and the current anti-Semitism in Europe were the main subjects at the official International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels which launched the remembrance day's commemoration events.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked on January 27, the day when 67 years ago, the Red army liberated the Auschwitz extermination camp.

Speaking at the event, EU Parliament President Martin Schulz said “The German people of today are not guilty (for the Holocaust), but responsible for keeping the memory alive.

"For me, this means that whoever is representing the German nation has one important duty: to take into account our responsibility for the Jews in the world...The Holocaust must always be fresh in our minds and souls, in the conscience of humanity, and should serve as an incontrovertible warning for all time." » | Aviel Magnezi | Friday, January 27, 2012

Speech of Mr. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament

Barroso's 2011 State of the European Union Speech - Highlights
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, told the European Parliament on Wednesday delivered his 2011 State of the European Union speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: EC president Barroso urges deeper economic integration: The EU faces the “biggest crisis in its history” as it struggles to hold the eurozone together amid the sovereign debt crisis, Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president has admitted. » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels Correspondent | Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Nonie Darwish Addressing the European Parliament (April 2009)
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EU Oligarchs Help Far Right Prosper
THE AUSTRALIAN: THE leaders of the European Union hate elections to the European Parliament. Why? Because these caricatures of democratic decision-making expose the contempt with which the European public regards the oligarchy that runs the EU.

A survey of 27,000 EU citizens commissioned by the European Parliament indicates that on average only 34per cent of them planned to vote in the elections. In Britain, 30 per cent of the respondents indicated they would definitely not vote.

Voter apathy tells only part of the story. There is considerable evidence that lack of interest in the EU elections is fuelled by a powerful sense of distrust, dissatisfaction and frustration. One German survey of 12,000 Europeans shows 60 per cent of the respondents assumed that one reason why so many of them are not inclined to vote is because they are "being lied to in election promises". Almost half said they "cannot improve anything by voting". In Poland and Finland, about two-thirds of the respondents expressed this fatalistic attitude.

Typically the EU political elite presents voter apathy as the unfortunate consequence of public misperception. They suggest that their good works are not appreciated by a public that simply does not get what they do. Public disengagement is rarely presented as an indictment of EU institutions. "It's not that people are staying away from these elections because they are critical of the European Union and its political process," claims Hermann Schmitt of the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research. From this perspective the public's lack of interest is interpreted as simply a problem of presentation. That is why the European Commission sought to woo young voters with cool election ads on MTV networks.

However, there is considerable evidence that public disengagement is not the unintended consequence of poor public relations but the outcome of a project that explicitly attempts to distance political decision-making from the gaze of European citizens.

The distinct feature of the EU's political process is that it is self-consciously founded on the principle of insulated decision-making. From the standpoint of the European political elites, one of the virtues of EU institutions is that they insulate them from the kind of public pressure and forms of accountability that they experience in their national parliaments. Consequently the EU is able to adopt policies that would often prove contentious and difficult to justify in a more open national parliamentary setting.

In effect, politicians can continually hide behind the EU's invisible decision-making process and claim "it wasn't my idea" before adding that "unfortunately we have no choice but to go along with this Europe-wide directive".

Insulated decision-making relies on institutions that are in effect outside the realm of public scrutiny. As Bruno Waterfield writes in an important study for the Manifesto Club, "a unique form of 21st-century statecraft has emerged" that allows "expanding areas of public authority to retreat into a closed, private world of bureaucrats and diplomats". In effect most EU legislation is formulated by the hundreds of secret working groups set up by the Council of the EU.

Most of the sessions of the Council of Ministers are held behind closed doors and the unelected European Commission has the sole right to put forward legislation. Yet most of the decisions taken by the European Council are concerned with subjects that were previously discussed in national legislatures. These are public-free institutions that are designed to bypass conventional forms of democratic accountability.

The inevitable consequence of the institutionalisation of insulated decision-making is that it diminishes the capacity of European politicians to motivate and inspire their electorate. What appears as a problem of presentation is actually an expression of a style of communication that is suitable for behind-the-scenes manoeuvring but not for public engagement. Invariably they come across as what they really are, bureaucrats, rather than as political leaders. Their ineptness has been exposed time and again as they proved unequal to the task of gaining support for the proposed EU constitution in national referendums.

Is it any surprise that they have decided that referendums are not needed for implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon? >>> Frank Furedi | Thursday, June 04, 2009

Rachida Dati Remains Loyal to Nicolas Sarkozy Despite Losing Cabinet Post
THE TELEGRAPH: Rachida Dati, France's justice minister, on Sunday remained loyal to President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying it was her job to "go out into the field" in her first public reaction since losing her cabinet post to run for the European parliament.

While the move for France's first top-level minister of North African origin from the cabinet to Strasbourg was widely seen as a humiliating step down, Miss Dati remained stoically upbeat.

"A female or male politician's career isn't about owning a mandate or being nominated to a post; it's about going out into the field convince [people] about our ideas," said the 43-year old single mother.

In a leadership gathering of Mr Sarkozy's ruling UMP – where he anointed the party's new leader, Xavier Bertrand - the president made it plain that his former protégée should be thankful that her departure was not more brutal.

"The life of a government is made of departures and returns. I myself have been through it in far less amicable conditions that [sic] those reserved for you," he said to a stony-faced Miss Dati. >>> By Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, January 26, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>

”Expel Islam from Europe”
PAKISTAN DAILY: The controversial Danish People's Party member of the European Parliament Mogens Camre spoke at the DPP's annual meeting Sunday, calling to expel Islam from Europe.

"Islam cannot be integrated. Islam will dominate Europe. And Islam is incompatible with our values. Therefore Islam will be thrown out of Europe. This little land is ours, we forged it ourselves. And we will govern it ourselves and decide ourselves who will live in it and how they will behave. And we will fight until Denmark is again free," said Camre, to loud applause.

Last year a similar statement by DPP member Merethe Egeberg Holm caused a commotion, when she said "Out with all Muslims in Europe and in with Jews instead!" That was her last speech as after last year's meeting, she was expelled from the party.

Camre met with harsh criticism for his statement. Kamal Qureshi (Socialist People's Party) compared the DPP politicians to Danish Nazi head Jonni Hansen. He also hit out at his colleagues in parliament, whom he thinks are keeping too quiet. Both the reigning party and the opposition should distance themselves from the statements. [Source: Pakistan Daily] | September 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Fjordman: European Parliament Bans Opposition
BRUSSELS JOURNAL: The European Union, the "free trade organization with a few added extras," is officially turning into a pan-European dictatorship. The Daily Telegraph reports:

The European Union assembly's political establishment is pushing through changes that will silence dissidents by changing the rules allowing Euro-MPs to form political groupings. Richard Corbett, a British Labour MEP, is leading the charge to cut the number of party political tendencies in the Parliament next year, a move that would dissolve UKIP's pan-European Eurosceptic "Independence and Democracy" grouping. Under the rule change, the largest and most pro-EU groups would tighten their grip on the Parliament's political agenda and keep control of lavish funding.

The EU already has clear authoritarian leanings and is moving in a totalitarian direction with astonishing speed.

The pace with which these changes are occurring is so breathtaking that it even surprises me sometimes, and I'm one of the most militant anti-EU persons around. Within the past two years, EU leaders have ignored the referendums in several countries rejection the EU Constitution. The Lisbon Treaty is virtually identical to the Constitution, and is now being pushed through without referendums, with the exception of Ireland. This Constitution/Lisbon Treaty will more or less dismantle the existing nation states throughout much of Europe, which constitutes high treason against dozens of countries simultaneously.

That's bad enough. What's worse is that the same EU leaders, including the British Foreign Minister, the French President and the German Chancellor, have officially announced the enlargement of the EU to include Muslim North Africa and the Middle East. A proposed European Arrest Warrant lists a number of crimes, including terrorism, armed robbery, rape, and racism and xenophobia, which are punishable throughout the EU. The European Arrest Warrant requires that anyone who is charged by a member state under the listed group of offenses (which could cover just about anything) may be arrested by the authorities of the issuing state within any other member state. The accused must then be transited for trial to the issuing state within ten days, without any interference, judicial or otherwise, by the executing state. European Parliament Bans Opposition >>> From the desk of Fjordman | May 28, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback - UK)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardback - UK)