The real Muslim civilisation. Not all the Muslims living in Europe are fanatics - far from it - and those who want to live and work in harmony with the European people in their host country have spoken out. They have done this in their European country of residence - which is often the country where they were born - with slogans such as Islam wants peace and even Jihadist murderers. And they have done this as a group - 120 Muslim religious authorities from all over the world have distributed a text which states, in particular: Islam forbids the killing of innocent people. It forbids slavery. It forbids forced conversion.
Of course, it might sometimes be wondered whether the positions taken - in France, for example - are always sincere or are sometimes dictated by the Muslim population's concern for their jobs and their social life. This is possible. But the Muslim contribution to global civilisation is a reality.
Unacceptable departures. This reminder of Muslim civilisation does not, however, remove unacceptable exceptions. Gilles de Kerkhove, the European counter-terrorism coordinator, has highlighted the number of European citizens (in other words those of mainly Arab origin who have European citizenship) who have left to fight in Syria and Iraq. There are over 3,000 of them. Some have died fighting, some are still on the ground, and others have come back home with pretty clear intentions. On European territory, they are - or should be - under surveillance. The difficulty, in my opinion, is to know whether they should lose their European citizenship. Does a European citizen have the right to make war for a third country and to return to Europe to conduct him/herself as a European here? The EU member states' constitutions are strict on this subject, but the question is worth asking.
Is oil a cursed commodity? It might be wondered how far the Daesh murderers are really motivated by their religious faith, or just by greed. Auri sacra fames, said Virgil. Before the bombing by the Americans and allies, this claimed new State produced 80,000 barrels of oil per day, with daily profits of $3 million, which is likely to double very quickly!
Furthermore, wasn't oil the number one issue in the Russia-Ukraine disagreements? It's important not to forget that Russian gas transiting Ukraine is a crucial source of energy for the EU. This dependence obliges Brussels to seek and accept difficult arrangements (right up to negotiating the possibility of obtaining some additional gas supply from Norway this winter), but it should instead lead Brussels to hold firm - but open - discussions with Moscow (rather than prolonging the ruinous conflict that we are all well aware of).
European budget ups and downs. Everyone knows full well that the EU has to confront financial difficulties which require of it effort and sacrifice. The approach of winter increases these difficulties. The Community institutions last week discussed the budgetary situation, and EUROPE reported on this in detail, despite the meeting being conducted behind closed doors (see EUROPE 11163). Those who were at the meeting took note of the situation. At the end of last year, the backlog of payments reached €23 billion and the 2014 budget has virtually been used up. Jacek Dominik, the commissioner responsible for this area, underlined the urgency for amending budgets which, according to diplomatic sources, involve payments for the member states of around another €700 million. What is more, very heavy deficits have been flagged up in several areas - including cohesion policy and the Erasmus programme (its payments are blocked). Funding for cohesion policy and for action on the climate (Life) has been suspended. These are only examples. What is more, in the neighbourhood policy (covering Ukraine, but also Georgia and Moldova,) “the lack of means poses a risk to the reform strategies”.
A new budget trialogue bringing together the Council, Commission and Parliament is planned for 15 October and it will be followed by conciliation meetings between the institutions. In the meantime, the situation will be made still worse if the EU remains engaged in the absurd battle with Russia.
Clarity on the Ukraine issue is not close at hand. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has set the date for his country's official request for EU accession in six years' time (although, as we are well aware, the EU isn't even thinking about this). And Ukraine's prime minister, when speaking at the United Nations recently in New York, called on the world not to stop the sanctions against Russia until Ukraine has control of the whole of its territory. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian authorities plan the temporary closure of 2,300 km of the border with Russia. The Ukrainians who consider themselves Russian would, of course, remain on the Ukrainian side. It can be seen, then, that the Ukrainian issue is far from over. For the EU, an end to its concerns is not close at hand.
(FR)