Eurosphere agenda: “Bratislava EU meeting”

Bratislava EU meeting: Merkel says bloc in ‘critical situation’

BBC News | Europe | World Edition

The EU is in a “critical situation”, the German chancellor says, as leaders meet to discuss ways to regain trust after the UK’s vote to leave the bloc.

Debate: Can the Bratislava summit mend the EU?

euro|topics

The leaders of the EU member states meet today in Bratislava to discuss how the Union should deal with the Brexit vote and the huge differences of opinion on what to do with refugees. European Council President Donald Tusk called in the run-up to the event for a “sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation”. Journalists observe the meeting with a mixture of hope and scepticism.

12 EU ministers back divisive trade deal with the US

EurActiv.com by Daniela Vincenti

Ministers from 12 EU countries have written to the bloc’s trade chief to back a planned trade accord with the United States, declaring clear support for negotiations that have divided opinion on both sides of the Atlantic.

France labour reform: Clashes during ‘last round’ of street protests

BBC News | Europe | World Edition

Riot police clash with protesters in France marching against labour reforms in what unions say will be the last of such demonstrations.

German restaurant in Islamic veil row after woman expelled

BBC News | Europe | World Edition

A restaurant manager in Bielefeld, north Germany, triggers a social media storm after expelling a woman wearing the Islamic full-face veil.

Debate: Will Spain be able to get rid of corruption?

euro|topics

Spain’s conservative and Socialist parties have been rocked by a series of corruption scandals. The former conservative mayor of the city of Valencia is on trial for money laundering while the Socialist ex-president of Andalusia is facing charges of embezzling public funds destined for schemes for the unemployed. The parties are immersed in a swamp of corruption, commentators are certain.

EU summit: World citizens’ hopes and fears

BBC News | Europe | World Edition

As Slovakia prepares to host a one-day informal meeting of 27 European Union heads of state and government, the BBC asks citizens from a range of countries their views on the future of the EU.

Refugees Pour Out of Turkey Once More as Deal With Europe Falters

NYT > Turkey by By CEYLAN YEGINSU

The number of refugees arriving in Greece nearly doubled last week, to more than 1,000. Many are realizing that an agreement to stanch the flow is not being enforced.

Oktoberfest security tightened over terrorism fears

BBC News | Europe

The site of the world’s biggest beer festival will be fenced off for the first time, with mandatory security checks for the millions of revellers expected to attend.

Into the unknown: Government surveillance after Brexit

open Democracy News Analysis – by Harmit Kambo

We’re living at the crux of two moments of political uncertainty. One is Brexit, and the other is the introduction of unprecendented surveillance powers. How might these uncertainties effect one another?

GCHQ Director Robert Hannigan. Photo: Ben Birchall / PA Archive/Press Association Images. All rights reserved.As the UK Parliament returns from its summer break, everyone’s back to talking about Brexit. But there’s another policy of existential significance to our democracy that we really need to be talking about. I refer here to the innocuously named ‘Investigatory Powers Bill’. The House of Lords are due to debate the ‘bulk powers’ – what we would call the mass surveillance measures – of the Bill over the coming days. We are literally weeks away from the most draconian and far-reaching surveillance legislation of any democracy becoming law.

Dutch police starts using eagles to take down rogue drones

The Next Web by Juan Buis

Not long ago we reported that the Dutch national police was training birds in its efforts to take down drones that are being operated illegally. After a seven-month-long trial, the force is now certain that well-trained birds will be able to help them with its tasks involving tackling rogue drones. In the video above the takedown team is seen in a demonstration of how an eagle might be used in a real-life situation. It’s in Dutch, but easy enough to follow: A VIP gets escorted to a meeting, where an enemy drone is lurking in the distance. The VIP is then led safely back to…

Tagged in: balkans, Bashar al-Assad, bbc, BBC News, bbc world service, Big-box store, Bryan Clark, copyright infringement, david miliband, Donald Tusk, europe, European migrant crisis, European Union, germany, greece, International Rescue Committee, List of islands of Greece, President of the European Council, President of the European Union, Refugee, Refugees of the Syrian civil war, syria, Syrian Civil War, turkey, united states

Erkan's Field Diary