DT
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World
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2017
Brexit and Trump top southern EU nations summit discussions n AFP, Lisbon Leaders of seven southern European Union nations met in Lisbon on Saturday, seeking a united front against Brexit and the new protectionist administration of US President Donald Trump. The mostly centre-left leaders taking part – the second summit of southern EU leaders in four months – are also expected to renew action to boost flagging growth and tackle the migrant crisis. Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa shook hands and embraced Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Francois Hollande and the other leaders as they arrived. Faced with the rise of “protectionism and populism”, the EU needs urgent reforms to “surpass the economic, social and political legitimacy crisis which is weakening it,” Costa said ahead of the event. Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Malta are the other countries present. Hollande warned Friday after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin that Trump’s administration poses “challenges” to “our trade rules, as well as to our
From left to right, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Spanish Prime Minister Maiano Rajoy, French President Francois Hollande, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Cupriot President Nicos Anastasiades, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni pose for a group photo at Belem cultural center in Lisbon on January 28 AFP ability to resolve conflicts around the world”. Trump has rattled America’s traditional European allies with a range of radical policy plans. He has called Nato “obsolete”, announced he would rip up a planned transatlantic trade plan and supported Britain’s move to leave the EU, calling it a “wonderful
thing” on Friday during a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.
Politically weak leaders
It includes some of the nations hardest hit by the financial crisis. Portugal and Greece both got international bailouts worth tens of billions of euros which came with
demands for tough austerity measures and economic reforms. The leaders will issue a joint statement after the meeting. It is expected to focus on the need to boost growth and investment in Europe. Economic growth “must be at the centre” of the EU’s policies, Gentiloni said Friday in Madrid after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. He also urged Brussels to show “flexibility” when it enforces deficit rules. “Simply I think Italy needs expansionary economic policies,” he said. The Lisbon summit comes ahead of a February 3 meeting of EU leaders in Malta to look at the future of the bloc without Britain, its second-largest economy and its richest financial centre. Analysts said forging a common front will be hard as southern EU nations have different priorities and many of the leaders who will be at the Lisbon summit are politically weak. Hollande is not a candidate in France’s presidential election later this year and his Socialist party is trailing in the polls. l
Iraq roots out Islamic State? n Reuters, Mosul More than two years after the militants took over Mosul and proclaimed a caliphate for all Muslims, Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition have retaken the eastern half of the city, and now have the west in their sights. Although thousands of militants have been killed since the start of the campaign three months ago, Islamic State is expected to live on, going back underground and reverting to its insurgent tactics of old. That means the enemy will be less visible to Iraqi forces, and the fight against it more covert. As Iraqi forces rout Islamic State from the east, they are learning more about the workings of the militant group, which left behind a formidable paper trail. On Fatlawi’s desk was a stack of documents recovered from Islamic State bases in northern Mosul, including diagrams for making unmanned aircraft and two Russian passports from which the pages containing personal details had been torn out. The passports appeared unused, except for a single stamp upon entrance to Turkey in 2013. There were also internal commu-
nications sent from senior Islamic State members to mid-ranking commanders, with instructions not to use earphones whilst on duty, and to smile and speak nicely to their subjects in order to “increase affection amongst all”.
‘Dying of fear’
Iraqi forces have relied on locals to inform on those who collaborated with Islamic State as they enter each new district, but the security apparatus is beginning to conduct more systematic checks. In one of the last neighbourhoods to have been cleared on the eastern side of the river, billboards still welcome visitors to the Islamic State, and the corpses of militants lying in the road have not been rotting for long enough to smell. “He is called Abu al-Harith,” said captain Aras, identifying a militant who drew his last breath near a dumpster as Yemeni before turning away to retch. On a street nearby, children play as though nothing has happened, and men emerge from their houses acclimatising to the new reality of Iraqi soldiers patrolling the streets instead of Islamic State. One resident still had a full beard
Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, centre, celebrates with Iraqi people as they raise the Iraqi flag in the same place where Islamic State militants raised their flag two years ago in Mosul on January 27 REUTERS and wore his trousers tucked into his socks, in keeping with the dress code imposed by Islamic State – modelled on the way the Muslim Prophet Mohammed is thought to have dressed in 632 AD. The rules were enforced by the Hisba or vice squad, which cut people’s trousers if they fell below the ankle, and whipped or fined those who trimmed their beards. A trail of spent bullet casings marks the route by which the mili-
tants were driven back by Iraqi forces down a narrow alley towards the river Tigris. As the army advanced, the militants forced some residents out of their homes, using the dwellings to mount a futile defence of the area, and torching them as they withdrew. “They were dying of fear,” said Abu Malek, describing how a small group of fighters had threatened him to get out of his house at gunpoint. “They were all young children”. l
Britain’s May meets Erdogan to seek stronger ties with Turkey
n AFP, Ankara
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday was holding talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a first visit to Turkey as premier aimed at forging a new trading relationship before Britain leaves the EU. Fresh from meeting new US President Donald Trump at the White House, May held some three hours of talks with Erdogan and was also to meet Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on a one-day visit to capital Ankara. As is traditional for any visiting leader, she started the visit by laying a wreath at the mausoleum of Turkey’s modern founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. May is looking to strike a delicate balance between showing Britain’s keen interest in expanding trade with Turkey while echoing European alarm over the magnitude of the crackdown since the July 15 failed coup. Following Britain’s June vote to leave the European Union, both sides are now looking to bring a new dynamic to relations, with London seeking to firm up post-Brexit trade deals with non-EU states. May’s visit is also seen as the first to Ankara by a top Western leader since the uprising, although then US vice president Joe Biden held talks with Erdogan in August. Her visit came hours after Erdogan had hosted the American actress Lindsay Lohan – a keen supporter of Erdogan’s vision of a multipolar world – in his vast presidential palace in Ankara. ‘Engagement with Turkey’ May’s spokeswoman said increased security cooperation, especially on aviation, and a new trade relationship post-Brexit would top the agenda at the talks. Countering criticism from MPs that Britain was cosying up to Turkey while turning a blind eye to its human rights record, the spokeswoman emphasised that there were no issues May would steer away from. “She thinks it’s important – and in the UK’s national interest – to engage with Turkey on a range of issues from defence and security cooperation to capitalising on trade opportunities,” she said. She added: “I don’t think there are any issues that the prime minister is afraid to bring up.” The spokeswoman said Britain was quick to express its support for the Turkish government after the coup bid but indicated London was closely following the extent of the crackdown. l