The "foreign agents" law is in retaliation to conforms with the United States registering Moscow-controlled RT Television by the same term.

In a move condemned by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, US and other foreign media will have to present themselves as foreign agents on all paperwork and submit to intensive scrutiny of staffing and financing.

The 2012 law, which had applied only to non-governmental organisations, has now been formally extended to non-governmental organisations.

News that Prince Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle will be tying the knot in spring 2018 hasn't been greeted with universal joy from the wider public.

A large number saw it as a chance to unleash on social media and hit out at the "millions and millions" that will go towards staging yet another royal wedding - while, for example, the number of people flocking to food banks reaches a record high.

Saying 'no one cares', Mitch Quirk added in a comment on Facebook post: "Millions and millions spent on another pointless royal event while hundreds of thousands have to use food banks."

One pointed out that the millions come straight out of British taxpayers' pockets.

The French government is to open a new cultural and diplomatic base in the heart of Edinburgh, reinvigorating one of Scotland's oldest and strongest foreign alliances.

France has taken over one of the most prestigious buildings on the Royal Mile, the former chambers for Lothian regional council opposite St Giles Cathedral, as the new home for its consulate and its cultural institute.

The move comes after serious discussions over whether the consulate had a future at all, with some concerns over costs, and it is hoped that the new site will be more economically viable. Diplomats insist the relocation is not a political statement in support of Scotland's demands for greater autonomy or independence: they say France shares the European commission's reluctance to promote the break-up of EU member states.

The UK has bowed to EU demands on the Brexit divorce bill in a move that could result in the UK paying £50bn to Brussels, in an attempt to get France and Germany to agree to move negotiations to trade.

Non-stop behind-the-scenes negotiations have led to a broad agreement by the UK to a gross financial settlement of £89bn on leaving the bloc, although the British expect the final net bill to be half as much.

Worth noteing, Guardian alludes to a payment schedule it would rather not report, I suppose, anticipating an opportunity to dress UK demand for a "transition period" as a victory for "future partnership", or a PHASE II trade deal.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

This [Sweden's Migration Agency] trend has continued in 2017 and 1,718 applications have so far been submitted, bringing the total since June 2016 to just under 3,000.

Sweden first allowed dual citizenship in 2001, while countries like Spain still require applicants to forsake their British passport in order to be granted their new one. This has contributed to a comparatively a comparatively lower increase in applications. But Ireland received nearly 9,000 applications between June 2016 and 2017
[...]
Germany's Federal Office of Statistics has not yet made data for 2017 available but 2016 saw an increase to 2,685 applications, up from just 622 in 2015.
[...]
Denmark, also reported a significant rise, after Brits seeking Danish citizenship doubled between 2015 and 2016.

[Sweden] is still involved in a dispute about freedom of movement and personal freedoms.

According to the EU Rights Clinic, a UK-based association that helps people resolve problems to do with European rights, Sweden is in breach of EU law due to its "unduly strict" personal number rules, which govern how people access everything from healthcare to bank accounts. The so-called `personnummer' opens up private and public services but is only issued to EU citizens that can prove they will reside in Sweden for at least a year. But the case hinges on the fact that EU law says people should become eligible after three months [1][2].

Remember the IceSave.


Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

The Democratic Unionist Party has dramatically threatened to rethink its deal to prop up Theresa May in power if she compromises over the Irish border after Brexit.

Sammy Wilson, one of the DUP's 10 MPs, said the party would not accept any moves that would see Northern Ireland "treated differently than the rest of the UK".

The warning follows reports that further powers could be devolved to Belfast allowing rules in areas such as agriculture and energy to be aligned with the EU - rather than London.

It seems May's government is close to capitulating on all of the EU's demands: citizen rights, budget and Irish border. But it might just not have the Parliamentary power to make it through.

On the upside: a proper agreement within Article 50 seems an actual possibility at this stage. May has now to find the support among other parties.

And where in hell is Scotland right now?

luis_de_sousa@mastodon.social

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has signed off on the change in the voting system for the 2019 European elections, alerting several parties to the switch on Wednesday morning (29 November), including the leader of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), Jean-Christoph Lagarde.

European Movement France recently defended regional lists in an opinion-piece published on EURACTIV.fr, arguing that MEPs can be more effective on a local level.

archived:
2008 Italy
2013 lobbyists
"Some MEPs are elected in pan-European electoral districts, on the basis of transnational lists"
2017 : degressive proportionality
Oct
Sep

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

luis_de_sousa@mastodon.social