Category Archives: European Union

European Union, Government, Politics, Scotland

Scottish independence and the other five unions…

FIRST MINISTER OF SCOTLAND PROVIDES CLARITY ON INDEPENDENCE

The First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, has said that a separate Scotland would abandon only one of its ‘six unions’ on gaining independence.

Mr Salmond said only the historic ‘political union’ between Scotland and the rest of the UK would be destroyed by a Yes vote in next year’s referendum on Scottish independence.

The First Minister of Scotland made clear that five other unions would remain intact: the ‘currency union’, membership of the European Union, a defence union through NATO, the Union of the Crowns and a ‘social union between the people of these isles’.

Mr Salmond has already tried to allay Scottish voters’ fears by promising to keep the Queen as Head of State, to continue use pound sterling as the currency in Scotland, and to share welfare services with England following a referendum victory.

The SNP leader also gave a pledge that an independent Scotland could remain part of a United Kingdom because the term first came into use before the 1707 Act of Union.

Those who oppose Scottish independence have claimed that the speech delivered by the First Minister signals a shift in SNP policy towards ‘independence lite’. They also say that Mr Salmond cannot guarantee EU and NATO membership as Scotland would have to apply and enter into tough negotiations. Unionists are also promoting the view that it would be highly unlikely that Westminster would agree to a pound-sterling ‘currency union’. This, despite the fact that pound sterling is as much Scottish as it is English, and, how would Scotland be expected to pay its fair share of the national debt if a pound-sterling currency union did not prevail?

The SNP leader’s speech, in Nigg in Easter Ross, last Friday, marked the start of a summer tour that will see Mr Salmond taking the case for independence to the Scottish people.

In his speech, Mr Salmond said:

… We must address and fundamentally change the political and economic union as a matter of urgency. This political union is only one of six unions that govern our lives today in Scotland – and the case for independence is fundamentally a democratic one.

… A vote for independence next year will address the democratic deficit which sees policies like the punitive Bedroom Tax, the renewal of Trident or Royal Mail privatisation imposed on Scotland against the wishes of Scotland’s democratically elected representatives.

… But that will still leave five other unions intact. We will embrace those other unions while using the powers of independence to renew and improve them.

Mr Salmond said a ‘social union’ would still unite ‘all the peoples of these islands… People will still change jobs and move from Dundee to Dublin, or from Manchester to Glasgow. With independence, we will continue to share ties of language, culture, trade, family and friendship.

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Britain, European Union, Google, Government, Technology

Google told its privacy rules are illegal…

Britain’s data protection watchdog has said that Google’s privacy rules are illegal and leave internet users in the dark about how their personal details will be used.

Google’s latest guidelines, published last year, are ‘baffling’ and must be overhauled, the Information Commissioner’s Office has ruled.

The online search giant will face ‘formal enforcement’ such as a fine of up to £500,000 or a court order if it does not change its privacy rules by September 20.

The company has already received similar warnings from data protection authorities in France and Spain.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said Google’s updated privacy policy raises serious questions about its compliance with the UK Data Protection Act. In particular, it believes that the updated policy does not provide sufficient information to enable UK users of Google’s services to understand how their data will be used across all of the company’s products. The ICO says that Google must now amend their privacy policy to make it more informative for individual service users.

This is not the first time Google has been castigated by the ICO. The company was told just last month to delete snooping data it illegally harvested from British families or face criminal action.

Last year Google sought to make its privacy policies across its various internet interfaces, including YouTube and G-Mail, simpler.

Separate documents on how it would use data collected from each of its websites were condensed into a single file. But the ICO said the details were watered down, and ordinary people would have no idea after reading the file how their personal details, such as email addresses or website viewing history, would be used by Google.

The Data Protection Act, which the ICO says is breached by Google’s current policy, seeks to safeguard the personal information of internet users.

The Act rules that personal information gathered must be stored securely, must not be kept for longer than is necessary, and must not be transferred to an organisation in another country.

Google’s privacy policy states: ‘We collect information to provide better services to all of our users – from figuring out basic stuff like which language you speak, to more complex things like which ads you’ll find most useful or the people who matter most to you online.’

Google says that its privacy policy respects European law and allows the company to create simpler, more effective services. It also says it is fully engaged with the authorities on this issue.

Previously, the company had been branded ‘immoral’ by MPs for avoiding the payment of British taxes and funnelling profits to an offshore tax haven in Bermuda.

Privacy campaigners have also expressed concerns. Big Brother Watch, a privacy campaign group, said that this is the latest confirmation that consumers are being kept in the dark about what data on us Google collects and how that data is used.

A statement issued by Big Brother Watch, said:

… The main issue is that sanctions must be strong enough to make Google take real action, rather than the previous meagre penalties that are seen as a cost of doing business.

… Regulators around the world must ensure that concrete steps are taken to uphold rights and stop Google routinely trampling on our privacy.

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European Union, Government, Intelligence, National Security, United States

U.S. spying report on EU offices has angered European officials…

A report by the U.S. National Security Agency that suggests it spied on EU offices has infuriated European officials.

The European Union has warned that if the report is accurate it will have tremendous and wide reaching repercussions. Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament, said he was deeply worried and shocked about the allegations and has stressed that if the allegations prove to be true it would have a severe impact on EU-US relations. Acting on behalf of the European Parliament, Mr Schulz has demanded full clarification and is seeking further information from the U.S. authorities on these allegations.

Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the German Justice Minister, said that if the accusations were true that would be reminiscent of the Cold War. The German minister has also asked for an immediate explanation from the United States.

Citing information from secret documents obtained by former NSA employee Edward Snowden, the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel reported that several U.S. spying operations targeted EU leaders.

Der Spiegel says the documents from Snowden describe how the National Security Agency bugged EU officials’ Washington and New York offices and conducted an ‘electronic eavesdropping operation’ that tapped into an EU building in Brussels.

Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic operations in the White House, said he had not seen the report and would not comment on unauthorised disclosures of intelligence programs. Mr Rhodes did say, though, that the United States does work very closely with its European partners and has very close intelligence relationships with Europe.

Michael Hayden, a former director of the CIA and NSA, whilst having been out of government for some five years, said he didn’t know whether the report was true. Mr Hayden was clear, however, on a number of points confirming that the United States does conduct espionage and, that in relation to the US’s Fourth Amendment, which protects the privacy of Americans, does not amount to an international treaty. The former CIA director was also reticent about Europeans looking first to what their own governments are doing in respect to international espionage.

Der Spiegel’s report comes at a particularly sensitive time. The first round of negotiations for a trans-Atlantic trade agreement between the United States and the European Union are set to start next month in Washington.

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