L.A.T.1961 Posted February 22 #1 Share Posted February 22 (edited) There are few benefits for having to follow group think policy within the EU. One is to be awarded an Agency of some sort. The latest one up for grabs has attracted the usual scrum of desperate members attempting to show its electorate what a good idea EU membership is. Dublin is in the running and has been throwing everything at the chance of hosting the Agency and its 400 jobs, along with eight other cities. France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Austria. So important are these Agencies, seen by Brussels as sweeteners, the procedure is rigorous. "Ambassadors for all 27 member states will give their top three preferences in the first round of a secret ballot, and if there is no clear winner, the voting goes into a second and then third decisive round. The parliament will have its own vote." Lets see who Brussels think are deserving Europeans and next in line for a reward. 😉 https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0222/1433715-eu-anti-money-laundering/ Edited February 22 by L.A.T.1961 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsnotoutthere Posted February 22 #2 Share Posted February 22 'EU anti-money laundering' can't decide if that's satire or irony. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.A.T.1961 Posted February 22 Author #3 Share Posted February 22 Edge of the seat stuff. 🤑 Dublin Awaits Decision in High Stakes EU Agency Bid As the decision looms, the complexities of EU politics come to the fore. The selection process has laid bare the intricate dance of influence and interest that characterizes EU decision-making. Ireland's bid, while strong on its merits, faces skepticism from powerful political blocs. The European People's Party and the Socialists and Democrats, key players in the Parliament, have not included Dublin in their preferred shortlist 😲 highlighting the uphill battle faced by the Irish capital. This scenario underscores a broader narrative within the EU: the tension between larger member states wielding significant political clout and smaller nations striving for a more prominent role on the European stage. https://bnnbreaking.com/world/europe/dublin-awaits-decision-in-high-stakes-eu-agency-bid-amid-anti-money-laundering-clampdown Whoever finally has the honor of hosting this Agency the UK won't be subject to the new quango's rulings or pay toward its running costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.A.T.1961 Posted February 22 Author #4 Share Posted February 22 Latest news Dublin has lost out in its bid to house a new EU anti-money laundering agency. "The European Union's new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be based in the German city of Frankfurt. The decision followed a joint vote by MEPs and EU ambassadors on Thursday. If successful, 750 full-time EU agency jobs would have been brought to Dublin next year with as many as 10,000 support jobs." So the Germans won it. Are we surprised, I think not. Ireland did not even make the runoffs. Given Irelands prominent role as brexit attack dog for brussels you might think some pay back was in order but apparently that's all water under the Liffey bridge. I think Irelands next application should be for a Guinness drinking Agency. Might be a safer bet.🍺 https://www.newstalk.com/news/dublin-loses-bid-for-new-eu-anti-money-laundering-authority-1645054 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pellinore Posted February 22 #5 Share Posted February 22 Another reason for Brexit- London has long been known as the "money laundering capital of the world": Why is London so attractive to tainted foreign money? (economist.com) You Brexit supporters don't realise the irony. Tax evasion has been recognised as one reason for leaving the EU, now protection of money laundering is another benefit? Only if you are very wealthy, the ordinary tax-payer loses out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destination Unknown Posted February 23 #6 Share Posted February 23 (edited) 3 hours ago, pellinore said: Another reason for Brexit- London has long been known as the "money laundering capital of the world": Why is London so attractive to tainted foreign money? (economist.com) You Brexit supporters don't realise the irony. Tax evasion has been recognised as one reason for leaving the EU, now protection of money laundering is another benefit? Only if you are very wealthy, the ordinary tax-payer loses out. Oh we see the irony pellinore, it's just a pity you don't. Jean-Claude Juncker was Prime Minister of Luxembourg for eighteen years before getting his cushy job at the EU. It was under Juncker's leadership that Luxembourg rose to become the EU's main 'In House Tax Haven' and money-laundering facility. 🤦👇👇👇👇 https://www.icij.org/investigations/luxembourg-leaks/why-has-the-european-commission-not-investigated-lux-leaks-tax-deals/ Q: Was Brexit About Tax Avoidance? A: No. 👇👇👇👇 https://www.politax.com/post/was-brexit-about-tax-avoidance Q: Was Brexit About Tax Avoidance? A: No. 👇👇👇👇 https://fullfact.org/online/brexit-not-concealing-offshore-accounts/ Q: Was Brexit About Tax Avoidance? A: No. 👇👇👇👇 https://www.bbc.com/news/50168357 Edited February 23 by Destination Unknown 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsnotoutthere Posted February 23 #7 Share Posted February 23 https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/04/14/who-is-who-in-the-european-parliament-corruption-scandal 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted February 23 #8 Share Posted February 23 16 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said: Latest news Dublin has lost out in its bid to house a new EU anti-money laundering agency. Congratulations! 16 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said: Edge of the seat stuff. 🤑 Only for you, apparently. You have taken the time to start this thread and trawl through various online news sources seeking information to share. Dublin losing 400 EU agency jobs it never had is of no consequence at all, except to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.A.T.1961 Posted February 23 Author #9 Share Posted February 23 7 hours ago, Ozymandias said: Congratulations! Only for you, apparently. You have taken the time to start this thread and trawl through various online news sources seeking information to share. Dublin losing 400 EU agency jobs it never had is of no consequence at all, except to you. The important thing to see here is I started the thread without any knowledge of the eventual outcome, a risk if all I want to do is point score. 😉 Surprisingly, for some, had Ireland won I would not have been upset. I just thought as an EU watcher, something that seems to be lacking among the pro EU lobby here, it would be interesting to show in real time how the political project actually grinds its gears. It should be a salient demonstration how the EU works instead of how some commentator's say it works. The big dogs rule and the rest wait for crumbs and this time Ireland was denied a crumb. But keep waving the Blue flag it does distract the mind. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted February 24 #10 Share Posted February 24 13 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said: The important thing to see here is I started the thread without any knowledge of the eventual outcome, a risk if all I want to do is point score. 😉 Surprisingly, for some, had Ireland won I would not have been upset. Of course not. That is why, in your very first post, you used Ireland's national broadcaster RTE to introduce the topic of the thread and singled out Dublin as one of those 'desperate members' who was 'throwing everything at the chance of hosting the Agency' and asked with a wink 😉 'who Brussels think are deserving Europeans and next in line for a reward.' 13 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said: I just thought as an EU watcher, something that seems to be lacking among the pro EU lobby here, it would be interesting to show in real time how the political project actually grinds its gears. For all your EU watching you are nevertheless ignorant of how this EU process works. I am not surprised. 13 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said: It should be a salient demonstration how the EU works instead of how some commentator's say it works. The big dogs rule and the rest wait for crumbs and this time Ireland was denied a crumb. But keep waving the Blue flag it does distract the mind. The EU did not deny us a crumb. This process was a democratic one in which all 27 member states voted in repeated rounds for their choice of where the Anti-Money Laundering centre should be located. Paris, Rome, Madrid, Vienna, Brussels, Vilnius and Riga all lost. Were they denied crumbs by big bad Germany? On 2/22/2024 at 9:20 PM, L.A.T.1961 said: Latest news Dublin has lost out in its bid to house a new EU anti-money laundering agency. "The European Union's new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be based in the German city of Frankfurt. The decision followed a joint vote by MEPs and EU ambassadors on Thursday. If successful, 750 full-time EU agency jobs would have been brought to Dublin next year with as many as 10,000 support jobs." So the Germans won it. Are we surprised, I think not. Ireland did not even make the runoffs. Brussels, Vienna, Vilnius and Riga never made it passed the first round either, and Madrid, Paris and Rome all missed out in the runoffs. How did Germany manage to pull that off?! Did they bribe everyone who voted? What are you suggesting? On 2/22/2024 at 9:20 PM, L.A.T.1961 said: Given Irelands prominent role as brexit attack dog for brussels you might think some pay back was in order but apparently that's all water under the Liffey bridge. I think Irelands next application should be for a Guinness drinking Agency. Might be a safer bet.🍺 Ah! That explains everything. Who'd have thought?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.A.T.1961 Posted February 25 Author #11 Share Posted February 25 On 2/24/2024 at 11:27 AM, Ozymandias said: The EU did not deny us a crumb. This process was a democratic one in which all 27 member states voted in repeated rounds for their choice of where the Anti-Money Laundering centre should be located. Paris, Rome, Madrid, Vienna, Brussels, Vilnius and Riga all lost. Were they denied crumbs by big bad Germany? Brussels, Vienna, Vilnius and Riga never made it passed the first round either, and Madrid, Paris and Rome all missed out in the runoffs. How did Germany manage to pull that off?! Did they bribe everyone who voted? What are you suggesting? Ah! That explains everything. Who'd have thought?! It appears to me the same conclusion, to give Germany the Agency, could have been done more cheaply and without the need of a selection process by just giving the job to Germany, It was obvious from the start this would be the outcome given German, self proclaimed, significant credentials. But it would have caused consternation from others if Germany had just been handed the prize. So Germany can now say they won it fair and square, if challenged, when everybody knew that was always going to be the outcome. To see this going on and then to deny its a problem is why the EU is still in operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Wellington Posted February 25 #12 Share Posted February 25 (edited) On 2/22/2024 at 11:31 PM, pellinore said: Another reason for Brexit- London has long been known as the "money laundering capital of the world": Why is London so attractive to tainted foreign money? (economist.com) You Brexit supporters don't realise the irony. Tax evasion has been recognised as one reason for leaving the EU, now protection of money laundering is another benefit? Only if you are very wealthy, the ordinary tax-payer loses out. You do know a vast number of the worlds businesses use our tax havens. Officially our GDP is $3 trillion but we have no idea how much money is generated in those tax havens. If a holding company located in a haven agrees a business deal, makes a huge sale, and just mere bank charges, are kept off the UK books. We don`t want your self enforced poverty thanks, leave our tax havens alone. Edited February 25 by Electric Scooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Wellington Posted February 25 #13 Share Posted February 25 (edited) Its estimated the GDP of our tax havens amounts to 10% of global GDP which would value it at about $8.4 trillion as of 2020: workshop-hf-and-alstadsaeter-paper.pdf (bankofengland.co.uk). So its probable value by now is going to about about $9 trillion. The corporate tax rates range from about 3% to 6% for our tax havens. So whats the UK spending all the money on, by what mechanism is it being collected, and how does it find its way to the City of London? Something funny is going on with the IRS and IMF too. Edited February 25 by Electric Scooter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.A.T.1961 Posted February 28 Author #14 Share Posted February 28 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pellinore Posted February 28 #15 Share Posted February 28 6 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said: This is the real reason for Brexit: the urgency to escape from the transparency the EU was trying to establish. That's what "Take Back Control" meant- not give control to UK citizens but keep control for the very wealthy. It was said that if you vote for Brexit, you are either very stupid or very wealthy- to check which you are, check your bank balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destination Unknown Posted February 29 #16 Share Posted February 29 (edited) 1 hour ago, pellinore said: This is the real reason for Brexit: the urgency to escape from the transparency the EU was trying to establish. That's what "Take Back Control" meant- not give control to UK citizens but keep control for the very wealthy. It was said that if you vote for Brexit, you are either very stupid or very wealthy- to check which you are, check your bank balance. Not it wasn't. Why do you rabid Remoaners always invent any number of your own "reasons" why Remain LOST the vote, instead of actually accepting the real reason why Remain LOST? I've already debunked your "reason" why Remain LOST in post #6 above, so why are you repeating that same lie again? Why do you Remoaners NEVER address the real reason why Remain LOST was because the EU is a wannabe federal European Superstate that nobody ever even voted to join in the first place, but one that has been imposed on us through stealth without our consent? Why do you NEVER say that pellinore? Is it because you don't want to accept the truth about your beloved EU, so you have to lie to yourself and invent ficticious reasons why you LOST instead? Edited February 29 by Destination Unknown 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Wellington Posted February 29 #17 Share Posted February 29 11 minutes ago, Destination Unknown said: Not it wasn't. Why do you rabid Remoaners always invent any number of your own "reasons" why Remain LOST the vote, instead of actually accepting the real reason why Remain LOST? I've already debunked your "reason" why Remain LOST in post #6 above, so why are you repeating that same lie again? Why do you Remoaners NEVER address the real reason why Remain LOST was because the EU is a wannabe federal European Superstate that nobody ever even voted to join in the first place, but one that has been imposed on us through stealth without our consent? Why do you NEVER say that pellinore? Is it because you don't want to accept the truth about your beloved EU, so you have to lie to yourself and invent ficticious reasons why you LOST instead? I see the kind of determinism in him needed to get a degree or climb Everest. Such a loss, if only he would direct his efforts into something worthwhile that he could win. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozymandias Posted March 1 #18 Share Posted March 1 On 2/25/2024 at 5:02 PM, L.A.T.1961 said: It appears to me the same conclusion, to give Germany the Agency, could have been done more cheaply and without the need of a selection process by just giving the job to Germany, It was obvious from the start this would be the outcome given German, self proclaimed, significant credentials. But it would have caused consternation from others if Germany had just been handed the prize. So Germany can now say they won it fair and square, if challenged, when everybody knew that was always going to be the outcome. To see this going on and then to deny its a problem is why the EU is still in operation. This is a wilful misrepresentation of the actual democratic process involved and clearly demonstrates your prejudice and/or ignorance of the matter. There were 8 candidates for the agency. 19 member states did not compete for the agency. Those who did each made presentations supporting their case and all 27 member states voted for their preferred options in an open contest. Those are the simple facts. The mind boggles that anyone prefers instead to construct some ridiculous conspiracy theory about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.A.T.1961 Posted March 1 Author #19 Share Posted March 1 10 hours ago, Ozymandias said: This is a wilful misrepresentation of the actual democratic process involved and clearly demonstrates your prejudice and/or ignorance of the matter. There were 8 candidates for the agency. 19 member states did not compete for the agency. Those who did each made presentations supporting their case and all 27 member states voted for their preferred options in an open contest. Those are the simple facts. The mind boggles that anyone prefers instead to construct some ridiculous conspiracy theory about it. As you must have missed it I will reup post # 3 "As the decision looms, the complexities of EU politics come to the fore. The selection process has laid bare the intricate dance of influence and interest that characterizes EU decision-making. Ireland's bid, while strong on its merits, faces skepticism from powerful political blocs. The European People's Party and the Socialists and Democrats, key players in the Parliament, have not included Dublin in their preferred shortlist 😲 highlighting the uphill battle faced by the Irish capital. This scenario underscores a broader narrative within the EU: the tension between larger member states wielding significant political clout and smaller nations striving for a more prominent role on the European stage." Or is this article a bit too nuanced for you. 😈 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenMindedSceptic Posted March 2 #20 Share Posted March 2 Should be in Brussels, it'll save time, mileage claims, no flights or hotels needed... just lock up the MEP's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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