European Commission

Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet US President Donald Trump in Helsinki, Finland on July 16 but most of the talks will focus on the Syrian conflict [PPIO]
 
A week after resorting to the World Trade Organization in its complaint against US tariffs on Russian steel and aluminum, Moscow has raised its duties from 25 to 40 per cent on some US imports.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin said the rise was to compensate for more than $500 million loss in exports expected due to the US tariffs.

(CD) — In a move welcomed by conservationists, the executive arm of the European Union (EU) on Monday proposed a ban on 10 common single-use plastics that, together with fishing gear, account for about 70 percent of marine litter across Europe. 500,000 tonnes of EU plastic waste end up in the sea every year.Building on our #PlasticsStrategy, we're tackling […]

World leaders including Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping have warned Trump that his protectionist policy is a lose-lose for the world [PPIO]
A number of prominent economists, including 14 Nobel prize winners, have warned the Trump administration that protectionist measures such as tariffs won’t only end in trade wars, particularly with China, but could lead to the type of depression which broke global markets in the 1930s.

US industry will likely take a hit, some argue as top economic advisor to the White House resigns.
US manufacturers fear a global backlash and trade war which could hurt jobs and local output [Xinhua]
 
Late on Wednesday, the European Commission issued a press release in which it stated that it hoped Europe would be exempt from the aluminum and steel tariffs suggested by US President Donald Trump.

In stark contradiction to a frequent refrain of the Republican Party in the United States, the European Union reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent and grew its economy by 53 percent in the last quarter century.
The European Commission revealed its figures at the start of the United Nations Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany, on Tuesday.
According to climate commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, the quest to cut CO2 emissions is a key reason why the EU economy continues to grow.

The UK car industry is attempting to weaken European efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars, Unearthed can reveal.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) – which represents UK-based manufacturers – responded to a European Commission consultation arguing that it should slow down the rate at which companies are required to reduce CO2 emissions levels and opposing targets for electric cars.
US oil major, Exxon Mobil, also wrote to the Commission stating that promoting the market uptake of electric vehicles is “unimportant”.

Mark Anderson
TRUTH HOUND
CHICAGO, Ill. – The “Disruptive Forces Changing Cities,” program, conducted by the Chicago Council of Global Affairs Sept. 15, was a textbook case of an elite organization pursuing a tightly planned, dictatorial society—while sounding like it’s seeking a democratic, promising vision of fairness and prosperity for all.

Mr J.K. sent this article about the bailout of Banco Monte dei Paschi di Sienna in Italy and some other banks, to the tune…
The post BANK BAILOUT IN ITALY, AND A PROBLEM LOOMING IN BETWEEN THE ... appeared first on Giza Death Star.

A protester takes part in a rally against the privatization of the state-run water utility, in Thessaloniki, Greece.(AP/Nikolas Giakoumidis)

Confirmation that the EU Commission has dropped its opposition to Nord Stream 2 – the giant gas pipeline Russia is building through the Baltic to supply natural gas directly to Germany – effectively ends whatever doubts previously existed about the project.
More importantly, it also means Russia has won the energy war, which has been raging around the issue of Russian gas supplies to Europe over the last decade and a half.