Free Republic

Brussels (AFP) - The European Union has faced and survived a series of existential threats over the years but the coronavirus epidemic has exposed old wounds that could yet prove fatal. A debt crisis in Mediterranean countries, a series of refugee influxes and the ongoing saga on Brexit all rattled the European project but did not sink it. They may, however, have left it vulnerable to a new disease. "The germ is back," former European Commission president and one of the modern union's chief architects, Jacques Delors, told AFP on Saturday. "The climate that seems to hang over the heads...

The German government said it was barring entry to seasonal workers from abroad from Wednesday to stem the coronavirus outbreak, potentially leaving farmers with a dire shortage of manpower to harvest crops. “Seasonal and harvest workers will no longer be allowed to enter Germany within the framework of our border controls,” a spokesman for the interior ministry told a Berlin press conference. The ban will apply from 5pm and will be in place “until further notice”, he said, and includes people from EU countries. Around 300,000 seasonal workers come to Germany each year, mainly from Poland and Romania, to help...

Priti Patel has called for UK borders to be closed to stop people arriving from coronavirus hotspots. The Home Secretary is seeking support for her plans to stop passengers being able to fly in to the UK from countries with high levels of infections such as Iran, the US and China. Mrs. Patel believes flights from virus hotspots should not be allowed when the country is on lockdown to prevent its spread, The Daily Telegraph reported. The lack of a travel ban in the UK is in stark contrast to policies in the EU and the US, which have closed...

Viewed from above, the fields surrounding Büchel air base stretch out like a greenish-brown patchwork quilt, punctuated by the small villages and woodlands that make up the Eifel region in western Germany. Take a closer look at satellite imagery, and you can make out several dozen camouflaged airplane hangars. Hidden deep below them lies a carefully guarded secret: underground vaults housing American nuclear bombs that date back to the Cold War. […] In March 2010, Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, passed a cross-party resolution urging the government to “emphatically” work towards getting its American allies to withdraw all nuclear weapons from...

Cooking the books to keep people terrified, and for the economic takedown to continue apace? One can’t help but think… 627 new deaths with coronavirus, not from coronavirus. THAT’S one hell of a precision. Why was it edited out almost immediately? Oh, I think we ALL know why. Numbers are being cooked so that anyone who dies is tested, and if coronavirus is present, the person is counted as a CORONAVIRUS DEATH, even if they died from cancer, or a head injury, or… seasonal H1N1 flu. Remember, in the U.S., in an average flu season year, 150 people die EVERY...

The European Union has become obsolete. LINK

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday that gatherings of more than two people will be banned in public to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. “Our own behavior is the most effective way” of slowing the rate of infection, Merkel said of the unprecedented nationwide measures, which are initially slated to remain in force for two weeks. The new restrictions were agreed on by Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states in a telephone conference on Sunday. “Staying in public places is only permitted alone, with another person not living in the household or with members of one’s...

Russian army to send help to Italy after Putin's phone call Reuters Published 3:17 am Modified 3:23 am 8 A+ A- CORONAVIRUS | The Russian military will start sending medical help to Italy from Sunday in order to help it battle the new coronavirus after receiving an order from President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. Putin spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday, the Kremlin said, saying the Russian leader had offered his support and help in the form of mobile disinfection vehicles and specialists to help the worst-hit Italian regions. Italy recorded a...

...In the past, EU member states have shown solidarity. According to its website, since its inception in 2001, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has responded to more than 330 requests for assistance inside and outside the EU. In July 2018, for instance, when Sweden was facing widespread wildfires, primarily forest fires, EU member states sent firefighting assistance. The coronavirus outbreak, however, is different from geographically isolated crises, such as forest fires in a member state that can be managed by pooling firefighting or other resources. When an entire continent is in the midst of a highly contagious virus epidemic, solidarity...

Italian virologist says open borders & fears over “racism” crippled Italy’s response to coronavirus. Professor of Virology and Microbiology at the University of Padova Dr. Giorgio Pal told CNN that measures imposing travel restrictions and border controls were taken too late due to fears over political correctness. “There was a proposal to isolate people coming from the epicenter, coming from China,” Pal told CNN. “Then it became seen as racist, but they were people coming from the outbreak.” Italy is now the hardest-hit country in the world in terms of coronavirus deaths, with 4,825 people losing their lives. The need...

The German government is planning an economic aid package worth €822 billion to prevent companies from going under during the coronavirus pandemic. The planned funds are to be made available according to a draft bill seen by AFP on Saturday. The funds will go towards a slew of aid programs, including help for employees forced into shorter work hours. They may also be used to fund the partial nationalization of large enterprises in order to keep them afloat, according to the text. […] Germany’s so-called “debt brake” was written into its constitution in 2009, and limits a federal budget deficit...

As far-reaching, catastrophic and deadly as the consequences of the coronavirus crisis are and will continue to be, at some point the outbreak will end. However, by then the world will have changed as today's fears and suffering make a lasting impact. Many citizens in the wealthy West will call for a strong state that can provide better protection — and their calls will be louder than ever because only the state can fight pandemics.This is bad news for companies. More state means higher taxes, more bureaucracy and regulation, slower decision-making and less money for consumers, and that will mean...

European government and regulatory bodies have authorized the European Union’s telecom operators and internet service providers to apply exceptional measures, including the throttling of online speeds, to prevent network congestion amid increased demand as millions of Europeans are forced to stay home and use online collaboration and teleworking tools amid the coronavirus. The EU’s governing body, the European Commission, and the Body of the European Regulators of Electronic Communications (BEREC) gave the greenlight to telcos to take the necessary measures to ensure there is no disruption in online traffic. The move comes after Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for internal...

Italy has recapitalized its airline Alitalia, and France is considering similar moves to rescue affected companies. Now even Germany seems ready to use the ultimate weapon in the coronavirus battle: nationalization.Italy has stepped up efforts recently to keep its bankrupt flagship carrier Alitalia afloat, with a new €600-million ($647 million) loan under discussion as part of a plan to renationalize the airline. Meanwhile, the government in Paris has announced that the state would intervene in any way necessary to protect the country’s economic assets, with Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire saying that this could include capitalizing corporations or taking stakes...

Germany is calling up tens of thousands of reservists to help in the country’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Thursday. The army began mobilizing its first batches of reserve troops over the weekend, said the minister, adding that it will next standby “other reservist troops in through very targeted calls, and through a general call”. They would be used to help treat patients, resolve transport bottlenecks and provide support to police and local authorities as the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus soar. Europe’s biggest economy has a pool of 75,000 reservists for whom the...

Prince Albert of Monaco has tested positive for coronavirus, the royal palace said today. Authorities in the tiny state said the 62-year-old ruler had been tested for the pathogen at the start of this week. His diagnosis makes him the first known head of state to be infected with the virus. The Mediterranean enclave had confirmed nine cases of the virus in its latest update yesterday. The first was recorded on February 28.

With very little normal business being transacted in France, many foreigners will be worried about renewing their visas. However, due to the situation, authorities have announced that all current visas and titres de séjour residency permits will be extended by three months. With the country on lockdown and everyone ordered to stay at home apart from essential trips out, visits to préfectures to renew residency papers will not be possible. […] It does not apply to British people living here, who have a slightly different process to apply for a carte de séjour — they apply online via a special...

Germany must step up efforts to prevent and counter extremism and neo-Nazism, the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) said in a report published on Monday. The report also stated there is strong evidence for extensive racial profiling by German police. […] The report commended Germany’s efforts to fight racism and discrimination, noting that “Germany warmly welcomed an extraordinarily large number of asylum seekers in 2015” and “invested many resources” in their inclusive integration. However, the report said public discourse in the country has become increasingly xenophobic, noting “high levels of Islamophobia.” According to the ECRI,...

BRUSSELS - The European Union’s top official on Monday proposed a 30-day ban on anyone entering the bloc unless their travel is essential, to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, while insisting on the need to keep the internal borders between the 27 member states open as much as possible. Speaking after an extraordinary video-conference meeting of the leaders of the G-7 countries, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said travel restrictions should be in place for an initial period that can be prolonged if necessary. “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” von der...

Earlier, the Welt am Sonntag German newspaper reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had offered funds to lure CureVac to the United States, and the German government was making counter-offers to tempt it to stay. There was no comment immediately available from the U.S. embassy in Berlin when contacted by Reuters over the report. “The German government is very interested in ensuring that vaccines and active substances against the new coronavirus are also developed in Germany and Europe,” a Health Ministry spokeswoman said, confirming a quote in the newspaper.