French Economy Minister LeMaire +EU Commissioner Vestager: with GAFA Tax =EU Sovereignity+Technology
*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- An exceptional and well attended EU Parliament's joint Hearing from its Economic and Monetary as well as Tax Fraud/Evasion and Financial Crime Committees, followed by a Citizens' Consultation event, Together with EU Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, at the prestigious Strasbourg's Town Hall, (there where CoE had been Created by European Heads of State/Goverments 70 Years ago), offered a Timely Opportunity for the Young but already Experienced French Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, (former EU affairs and later Agriculture Minister, etc), a key Political Ally of President Emmanuel Macron, to Strongly Urge for EU Decisions at the forthcoming December 2018 EU Summit in Brussels, to Tax the Big Rich Companies exploiting Internet services, and making Fortunes of Billions € by harvesting European Peuple's Data free of charge : all Foreign and all American, such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon (GAFA) etc.
A quite Popular Idea at this Side of the Atlantic Ocean, but also facing some Concerns by certain EU Member States, so that its Final, Total and Prompt Adoption of all those relevant Measures wouldn't seem obvious to everybody, as Debates with several Positive, but also hesitaht MEPs revealed...
But Bruno Le Maire, backed by EU Commissioner Vestager, Highlighted an even Stronger Inventive, apparently able to Boost Wider Support even among those currently hesitating : Such a demonstration of EU's Financial Sovereignity, could and should also Help to settle another Big Issue in nowadays Global Digital landscape : To Develop, in parallel, a much Needed European Giants' Industry of brand New Digital Products at the World Wide Web, by mastering Modern Key Technologies !
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- When even our European SMEs, Craftsmen, Independent Workers, etc., are Taxed sometimes from 12% up to 25%, but the Global US Giant Company "Google" doesn't pay, practically, No Taxes, f.ex. while based in Ireland, it's Not Acceptable !, he Criticized, applauded by several People.
-"Don't be Afraid !", he vigouresly launched to Sympathizers, after some Other Critics (f.ex. a MEP) had found Pretext in certain Other EU Member States' alleged Hesitations, in order to make Pessimist Predictions for that Project to Tax GAFAs.
+ "I Won't Stop !", vowed Bruno Le Maire, Adding that, for Europe, to "Be Sovereign, is Also to have Our Own Technologies", in order to Build "an Industrial Plan" for EU Member Countries, "All Together", as he highlighted.
- For that purpose, we (EU) must Attract the Best Researchers, Invest, and Coooperate, the key French Minister resumed in a nutshell.
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++ And, Then, "if we (EU) Open up", in International Trade, concerning Digital/Internet products, "they (mainly the USA's Big Companies) Must Open" too !, stressed EU Commissioner Vestager.
Vestager has Recently become World Famous for having dared ask "Google" to pay considerable Taxes from the Profits it makes in Europe.
- "I am Not for a Trade War", ensured Le Maire. But, "I believe in Solidarity between European Businesses", and in the "European Preference !", he added, pointing, f.ex., at the use of French-European "QWant" Search Engine, etc.. (While some still Remember that Good European Search-Engine "All The Web", which was finally Bought by USA's "Yahoo", and "killed" by simply incorporating it partly in its own engine)...
- Meanwhile, f.ex. for "the Protection of (personal) Data", the key French Minister pleaded for "a European Way" to do such things, which would be "Not the American Way", "Neither the Chinese way", as he said.
- To those MEPs who claimed that there were still Obstacles inside EU Council, citting f.ex. Ireland (where "Google" and/or "Apple" for Europe are Headquartered, etc), and/or Germany, allegedly "afraid that the USA may react by Taxing their Car Exports", etc, he calmly Replied by reminding that he was in favor of a close Franco-German Cooperation in main EU affairs, pleading for a Joint Position "at the End of the Year" 2018, as well as that he had "Spoken about that with Wolfgang Schäuble", (ChristianDemocrat/EPP,when he still was Minister for Financial affairs, before becoming, recently, President of the Bundestag : See ..., etc), and that the new German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, (Socialist), would be now favourable to GAFA's Tax. For that purpose, he plans to Visit Germany and even Ireland, (with which he said that a Solution meeting its real, legitimate interests, could be found).
Obviously, by Highlighting the prospect to build a European Digital Industry, Germany may be more Motivated to play the game... Chancellor Angie Merkel, (as well as a lot of Mainsream German Medias), had already shown a lively Interest to Boost Independent European Digital products, as early as since the aftermath of the 2013 Snowden Scandal on US Mass Spying even on EU Countries' Officials, (as an unforgetable EU Summit, October 2013 in Brussels, had clearly shown : See, f.ex., among others, also : .....)
- "Together, We (EU's key Countries) can be Strong. But, one Alone, would be Swept away by Globalisation, Bruno Le Maire warned, as a matter of general principle.
- At any case, "Digital Taxation" is an "Important" Issue, where "we (EU) Need better Monitoring", while France vowed to use, during the "Next Year" (2019), its G7 - G20 Presidency in order "to Fight Better against Tax Evasion" at Global level, Bruno Le Maire anounced.
But the most obvious Question, spontaneously popping up for anyone who followed Both MEPs' and EU Citizens' Debates Today in Strasbourg, naively but sincerely and logically is :
- "When shall we have a good European SmartPhone ?"...
Something, indeed, that even the experienced ChristianDemocrat/EPP Party's President, former Long-Time Strasbourg's MEP and Chairman of the EPP Group in EU Parliament, Joseph Daul, had vowed to Discuss with the New French President, already since 2017...
A fortiori, when one knows that even the 1st Mobile Phone in the World, as well as the 1st evolved SmartPhone, were Both built in Europe in the Past, by Finland's Nokia, (which has Recently returned back to Independent Production).
But Minister Bruno Le Maire, who Saluted Friendly "Eurofora" (which had been Invited to Both Events), when he Arrived Today in Strasbourg, had, afterwards, to run fast to catch his TGV for Paris, so that this key Question was practically postponed for later-on...
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ECHR's President to "EuroFora" on Journalists Gongadze and Adali murders : Principles must apply to all States, without discrimination.
+ ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression (See below).
European Court of Human Rights' President, Jean-Paul Costa, questioned by "EuroFora" on Journalists' murders, as in Gongadze and Adali's cases etc., strongly stressed all CoE Member States' obligation to make efficient Investigations to find and punish those responsible, and underlined that ECHR's case-law's principles must apply to all without any discrimination.
His call was clearly supported by various Top MEPs who denounced a risk of "Double Standards" if some Journalists' murders are investigated, while others don't.
To avoid such risks, CoE's Parliamentary Assembly adopted a Resolution, on the occasion of Ukranian Journalist Gongadze's murder, "stressing", as a matter of general Principle, "the importance it attaches to the safety of Journalists and political activists, especially those linked to opposition groups, in ALL member states of the CoE". All "crimes against journalists and political activists must be investigated ... as a matter of priority, without political interference".
Costa was replying to "EuroFora"s question on the fact that, after CoE's Committee of Ministers, also CoE's Assembly had just adopted a Resolution on Gongadze murder case, based on an ECHR's judgement of 2005, asking a full Investigation from Ukraine, who has found and condemned in 10 years of jail 2 executants, but not yet the instigators.
While nothing similar was yet done for dissident Turkish Cypriot Kutlu Adali's murder, with 5 bullets shot at his head out of his Family's home in the territories of Cyprus occupied by Ankara's army, despite another ECHR's judgement of the same year 2005, and despite Turkey's claim that nobody was found among those responsible for the murder, and that there was nothing more to do..
In order to be credible and efficient, CoE's mechanisms shouldn't find a way to at least ask for full investigations of all Journalists' murders anywhere they might be committed, without exceptions ?
- "On the larger question that you raised, I'd like to say, since we are in a period of stock-taking on ECHR's 50 Years, that the Court's case-law developed certain concepts ....such as the Positive obligations of States, part of which are also the procedural obligations", started to reply ECHR's President.
- "Whenever Journalists, Lawyers, Defenders of Human Rights, or even simple Citizens are murdered, the States are held responsible, not only if its their own security forces' agents who committed these murders, but also if they didn't make sufficiently substantial and efficient Investigations", he stressed.
- "I want to strongly underline that we (ECHR) have found in many cases numerous violations of Articles 2 and 3 against States, ....(about) murders or torture, ...because they didn't make enough Investigations in order to try to find and punish those responsible".
- "We (ECHR) do that vis-a-vis all 47 (CoE) Member States, without any discrimination".
"Naturally, the circumstances in each particular case may be differend, and we can't ommit to apply the rules of proof, or the rules of criminal procedure".
"But we try, by all means, to apply these principles of our case-law, to all States", he concluded.
Costa's call was strongly supported by several Top CoE MEPs, from various Political areas
- "To investigate the murder of one Journalist, and not of another, looks like Double Standards", denounced the President of EuroLeft Group in CoE's Assembly, Dutch MEP Tiny Cox.
- "What is the reason ? Politics or specificity of a case ? Of course, if Cyprus and Turkey are involved, it's always a Political case"..
- "Murders of Journalists should always be fully investigated, because killing Journalists is not only killing persons, but also killing Free Press". "We (CoE's Assembly) should do our outmost to help People who are working on Free Press and they are under threat or murdered".
Because for Free Politics, Free Press is a pre-requisitive : Parliamentarians cannot function without a Free Press. Not investigating, is not protecting ourselves".
So we should investigate all Journalists' murders : We are talking about Gongadze, about the Cypriot man (Adali), about the Journalist murdered in Moscow one week ago, etc", Cox concluded
- "CoE can' look at these cases differently. CoE can't wear Blinckers !".
- "If the one is investigated, so has to be also the other. Why there wasn't full investigation ? Why's that ?", wondered British Socialist MEP, Alan Meale.
- "A good idea" would be to "make a Motion for Resolution", and "join all Journalists' murders. Adali and Gongadze etc", said to "EuroFora" EU Parliament Political affairs Committee's President, Goran Lindbland, ChristianDemocrat MEP from Sweden.
(See also earlier News at "EuroFora" on similar issues).
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ECHR's Statistics on Freedom of Expression :
Almost Half of condemnations by ECHR for violations of Freedom of Expression in 2008, concern Turkey : 20 out of a total of 48 for all CoE's Member States.
Russia, Poland, France and Moldova were condemned only 3 times. Romania, Greece, Portugal, 2 times, and the other CoE Member States only 1 time, or none.
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During the last Decade : 1998 - 2008, Turkey was condemned for violating Freedom of Expression in ..169 cases, while Austria only in 24.
France and Moldova in 14 and 13, respectively, closely followed by Russia and Poland with 11 and 10, respectively. The rest of CoE Member States had less than ten condemnations.
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