(Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron conceded on Sunday that Scotland had what it takes to be an independent nation, but said it currently enjoyed "the best of both worlds", imploring it not to break the United Kingdom apart.

Stepping up his government's campaign to hold Britain together ahead of an independence referendum expected next year, Cameron urged Scotland not to sever a union with England that dates back 306 years.

"Put simply: Britain works. Britain works well. Why break it?" he wrote in an article published in Scottish newspapers.

(Reuters) - French efforts to divert Europe from economic austerity have foundered twice in a week due to German resistance, underlining a growing policy divide that is hobbling the core partnership.

Berlin rejected President Francois Hollande's call on Tuesday to set a mid-term target for the euro, a move he hoped would bring the single currency down to a level that would make it easier for French industry to sell its goods abroad.

Three days later, German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined forces with Britain's David Cameron at a Brussels summit to push through the first ever cut in the 27-nation's budget, taking an axe to spending on infrastructure projects backed by Paris.

"Is it the budget I would have liked if it was just up to me? No. But the problem with Europe is that there are others involved," a resigned Hollande told reporters after all-night talks secured a deal on EU funding from 2014-2020.

The European Parliament will vote by secret ballot on the EU's 2014-2020 budget, its centre-left President Martin Schulz and Joseph Daul, the leader of the centre-right European People's Party, said yesterday (7 February).

Schulz, speaking at a late-night news conference, confirmed Daul's earlier statement that the use of the special procedure was planned.

Under parliamentary procedures, one-fifth of MEPs can request the Parliament hold a secret ballot instead of have their votes recorded. The vote is expected within three months, as some 80 legislative acts accompanying the EU budget should be prepared in the meantime.

EurActiv understands that the unusual procedure is aimed at preventing national governments from bullying MEPs by threatening to expose their votes.

The European Commission released its cybersecurity strategy yesterday (7 January) to address concerns and promote greater internet safety.

But the obligation put on EU member countries to report cyberattacks are "vague" and appear to do little to protect EU citizens' data stored outside the EU, Wim Nauwelaerts, a privacy and data security lawyer with Hunton & Williams firm, told EurActiv.

The EU-wide strategy aims at establishing cross-border cybersecurity rules and practices, and coordinated attack response. Companies and public bodies will also have to report significant attacks to the Commission, which took the unusual step of publishing a list of companies to which this may apply, including Google, the retailer Amazon, eBay and a number of telecoms and cloud service providers.

It also contains a legislative proposal obliging member states to designate a national competent authority for network information service, and set up a functioning computer emergency response team.

In an article published in the monthly magazine "UNFOLLOW" I read that annual tax losses from smuggling marine oil in Greece, a country under EU/IMF/EIB supervision, is estimated at €500 million by the Customs Authorities, €1.5 billion by the ministry of finance, while the market estimates it at €3 billion (tax losses per year without counting penalties).

Allegedly, there are some 1,500 fuel tanks illegally storing smuggled oil in Greece, mostly located in Lavrion, 60km south of Athens.

This is the essence of the story and if one takes the ministry of finance's version, for the €1.5 billion tax evasion per year the corresponding VAT (at 23%) is €350 million. Considering the market estimates, the annual VAT losses (which concern both Greek and EU budgets) rise to €700 million per year.

(ROME) - Italy's outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti said on Sunday the European Union fears Silvio Berlusconi's return to power and his potential negative effect on the euro should his party win this month's election.

"Berlusconi has disappointed me, he's missed all his important meetings and has betrayed the liberal revolution," said Monti, who succeeded the billionaire tycoon as prime minister in November 2011.

"The EU fears his return because it has had enough of the lack of financial discipline and inability to make decisions that puts the eurozone in danger," Monti said on the Berlusconi-owned TgCom24 television channel.

The commission's five year review into the Reach regulation has found that the use of chemicals in the EU has become "considerably safer".

The registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals regulation (Reach) came into force in 2007 and was hailed as a significant piece of environmental legislation by the former environment commissioner Stavros Dimas.

Part of the regulation requires the commission to review progress and publish a general report looking at its operation and whether it is meeting its main objectives.

The report, released on Tuesday, found that "Reach functions well and delivers on all objectives that at present can be assessed," although it did highlight some areas which need to be improved.

Unrest in Slovenia is continuing for a fourth month on, with tens of thousands of protesters gathering in major cities, including capital Ljubljana, to request the resignation of PM Janez Jansa.

Late Friday evening, police used teargas to dispell a 20,000 strong crowd gathered around the Parliament in Ljubljana.

Protesters have requested Jansa's resignation, and have accused the government of widespread corruption, after it was revealed that the PM had failed to declare income worth more than EUR 200,000.

It is 50 years since activists bombed a power transformer at one of the most controversial construction projects in modern Welsh history.

The Tryweryn reservoir saw the Meirionnydd village of Capel Celyn drowned to provide water for Liverpool.

Two activists were jailed after planting explosives at the site in February 1963.

On Saturday, more than 100 people gathered to mark the incident.

Eugenio Scalfari, one of Italy's most respected political commentators, says an election upset in Italy is possible; he said Silvio Berlusconi and Beppo Grillo are gaining support among people fed up with the policy of austerity; sees no chance of pre-election alliance between the two, but the possibility of a re-grouping of the right post-election; the polls push Pier Luigi Bersani into an alliance with Mario Monti as the right solidifies its poll ratings;  Silvio Berlusconi has his €50bn stimulus would lead to increase in economic growth by 0.5%; Ignazio Visco has called for more powers for the Bank of Italy to interfere with reckless banks and their managers; BoI confirms that only Monte dei Paschi has received special support from the BoI; Lucrezia Reichlin writes that the bailout for MPS only delays the inevitable nationalisation; the FT has the story that a bail-in of insured depositors is among one of three options by the eurogroup for Cyprus;  Annette Schavan, Merkel's science minister, resigns in a blow to the chancellor; an EU draft law wants to force banks to participate in Euribor panel; Spain's opposition leaders gave a strong anti-austerity message, and warns that euroscepticism is rising in Spain; an eleven-day garbage collection strike ends in Seville after workers accept a pay cut; Mariano Rajoy publishes his tax declaration in the attempt to persuade that he is clean; the strategy of the Spanish government is now to deflect from the scandal by pointing out that it pales in significance to what has been happening elsewhere; there were large demonstrations in Slovenia after it became known that the country's PM failed to declare income;  the Greek government offers people a laxer schedule to pay overdue taxes; Antonis Samaras got a relatively good deal out of the EU budget negotiations; government also proposes legislation to force union to cast members' ballots before calling a strike; Irish central bank governor criticises banks for failing to deal with mortgage crisis; Ireland's opposition Fianna Fail has staged a miraculous recovery in the opinion polls; Wolfgang Munchau welcomes the deal on Ireland's promissory notes, but says there should be no mistake that this is monetary financing; Le Monde says Mario Draghi has been a lot more effective in talking down the euro's exchange rate than Francois Hollande; the French president, meanwhile, declares that the trouble with the European Union is that other people are involved in decision-making.

Pope Benedict XVI is to resign, the Vatican has confirmed.

Italian news agency ANSA reports Pope Benedict XVI is to resign

This is a link to live text with updates.

Via the Courrier International, the original is from Izvestia.

The privileged position of the UK is pretty interesting... and I would be interested to hear an official explanation from Cameron. Likewise, Germany gets a good rate, despite the huge cost of the Nordstream pipe.

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II}