David Cameron’s political private secretary Laurence Mann has written on behalf of the prime minister to Anita Segar, a senior Conservative party member in Oxfordshire and said that there would be no EU referendum because of the ‘very clear result’ of the referendum in 1975.
The European Union has held negotiations with the G7 and G20 groups of major economies in a bid to restore confidence in the global markets, after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut the U.S. top-tier AAA credit rating on Friday, a European Commission spokesman said on Monday.
Italy has had to pay much more to borrow than a month ago as investors continue to worry about its huge debts.
European Union counterterrorism officials are working to develop a variety of techniques, including quicker sharing of information and a better understanding of what triggers the rare radical to turn to violence, in an effort to prevent future attacks like the July 22 massacre in Norway.
But the effort, begun at a special meeting Thursday in Brussels that also included Norwegian representatives, came as officials acknowledged there may have been no way to prevent the attacks in Norway that killed at least 76 people _ and that potentially undetectable copycat attacks now present a significant risk.
«Clearly, one major risk is that somebody may actually try to mount a similar attack as a copycat attack or as a way of showing support,» said Tim Jones, principal adviser to EU counterterrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove.
Jones said that how such an attack was planned, and where it took place, would determine «whether it’s detectable or not.»
He said whatever approach is decided on to try to prevent such attacks would be multilayered.
In addition to better communication between countries and the study of trigger points that lead a person to become violent, he said the EU had already been working on a system of tracking or licensing precursors, such as fertilizer, that could be used to make explosives. And he said he hoped for a network of experts who would be able to spot troublesome behavioral signs at the local level.
However, Zbigniew Muszynski, the director of Poland’s counterterrorism department, said there were no hints that would have allowed Norwegian officials to prevent the massacre.
The experts at the meeting also received a briefing from Europol, the European police agency. In a statement, Europol said it had agreed with police chiefs from Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Sweden and Britain that its operations center in The Hague, Netherlands, would be expanded to include their senior experts.
The agency said that team would «urgently assess the wider implications of the incidents in terms of the threat from right-wing extremism across Europe.»
The new network held its first meeting Thursday, Europol said.
Italian business confidence fell more than economists predicted in July amid signs the recovery in the euro region’s third-biggest economy is losing pace.
07/20/2011
— Filed under: Business
Tags: business confidence, Italy
More than 12,000 extra crimes could be committed in Yorkshire each year, inspectors have suggested as figures showed Government cuts are hitting the region’s police forces harder than constabularies in the South.
Hungary’s government affirmed its 2011 and 2012 budget deficit targets on Thursday, but said new measures may become necessary after a European court ruling found its value added tax refund regulations breached EU law.
07/18/2011
— Filed under: Finance
Tags: budget cuts, Hungary
Portugal and Ireland should benefit from the latest euro-zone debt restructuring package, but that will not translate into any immediate rating upgrades for those countries, Standard & Poor’s said on Wednesday.
07/17/2011
— Filed under: Finance
Tags: debt, Ireland, Portugal
Ireland has once again recorded by far the highest natural growth in population in the European Union.
Political leaders in Europe have expressed growing criticism of the power exercised by the three major credit rating agencies. EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said breaking up the big three was one option.
07/15/2011
— Filed under: Politics
Tags: EU, rating agencies, US
