WROCLAW - Greece will significantly reduce its participation in Nato and EU military missions due to the economic crisis in the country, Greek National Defence Minister Panos Beglitis announced on the sidelines of an informal EU defence ministers' Council held here on Friday. Perhaps Israel could help out...
He said that the ministry was preparing to cut down Greece's participation in the Nato and EU missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Somalia. Beglitis made it clear, however, that Greece would not withdraw entirely and will continue to maintain a small presence as long as the international missions continued to exist.
Brussels civil servants are refusing to discuss austerity measures aimed at cutting the cost of the EU -- and claim that having to work a 40 hour week would ruin the "attractiveness" of their jobs. Jeez, I guess if they do it...you'll all have to quit and look for other more attractive jobs then, right? Right? If a unionized civil servant isn't doing his job 37 1/2 hours a week, what's the point of asking him to not do his job 40 hours a week?
Trade unions representing the EU's army of 55,000 officials have refused to discuss proposals for a 40 hour working week -- an extra 2.5 hours -- the key measure in a Brussels drive to save taxpayers £870 million a year by 2020. Ve vill not doo eet, feelthy bourjwahzee peeg dawgs!
The longer week is vital to a European Commission plan to save money by cutting the number of EU officials by five per cent at a time when national public sector workers are facing huge redundancies and sweeping austerity programmes. Here's an idea. The next big snow storm, say that only "essential personnel" have to report to work. Whoever doesn't show up...fire them. And thank them for proving your point. It's Belgium. I don't think they have big snowstorms, although it does get brisk along the coast.
But the measure, already regarded as minimal by cash-strapped national governments seeking to cut their EU contributions, has been rejected outright by trade unions representing civil servants who are among the best rewarded in the world.
"The unions and staff associations replied to this proposal with a categorical 'Niet!'," the Equipe d' Union Syndicale, a group of trade union leaders, told its members.
"The attractiveness of the European civil service would deteriorate. It would be a socially-backward step that the unions and staff associations reject emphatically." Of course the service will still suck...we will not jeopardize our traditions! Sounds like the unions called in their Greek compatriots to stiffen their collective spines...
Martin Callanan, the leader of the European Conservatives, said: "Public sector staff the world over are facing cutbacks and wage freezes. But here in Brussels they seem to think they live in an economic microclimate where money grows on trees and the world owes them a very comfortable living." Yeah...so? Vat ees your point, fascist peeg?
"They need to get real and start to talk to us about how they can help Europe out of this crisis." If there was no crisis Europe would need a lot fewer bureaucrats, apparatchiks and nomenclatura. And we're not going to let that happen, are we? Well, ARE WE?
The EU staff unions are also opposed to any changes to a generous flexitime scheme that meant that 2,000 Brussels officials, earning from £104,000 to £185,000 a year, were entitled to three months off work on full pay last year.
Despite being paid six figure salaries, the EU's most senior civil servants have been allowed to join the scheme, originally meant for lower paid secretarial staff, that gives them an extra 24 days off work every year for those that put in an extra 45 minutes a day in the office. Hey! Look what peasants are getting away with!
How wasteful! We've gotta get in on that!
HARRRRUMPH HARRRRUMPH HARRRRUMPH...
The perk comes on top of annual holidays of 24 days as well as seven days off for public holidays, and in 2010, 11 "non-working" days out of the office when the Brussels institutions are closed in summer and at Christmas. The allowances mean that last year many EU staff were entitled to 66 days, 13 weeks or a over quarter of the year off work. And I'm sure they're real heavy lifting jobs too..
In response to a commission request that senior management grades be taken out of the scheme, EU staff trade unions have demanded the opposite, that "principle of recuperation needs to be consolidated". Tell them to go on strike. See what happens...
Stephen Booth, of the Open Europe pressure group, said: "This protest shows a complete lack of self-awareness and is an insult to taxpayers all over Europe who face falling living standards and the threat of redundancy."
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#1
We have to protect our phoney baloney jobs here, gentlemen! We must do something about this immediately! Immediately! Immediately! Harrumph! Harrumph! Harrumph!
#2
This is a grand gesture. Now Israel needs brought into the deal. USA should broker a deal to mend things a bit. Some stability must be the end result.Look how things are going now. Do we want more tension in this part of the world. The gas has always been there. New wealth, then work a deal.Turkey desperately needs this. Should this gesture be refused then things will get much worse. Money doesn't buy happiness but it can help. Again watch Russia, they are drooling over this.
#3
Do we want more tension in this part of the world
It doesn't matter what we want, Dale. Turkey wants it. Paying this Danegeld will quickly not keep them from demanding more until the Ottoman empire is reconstituted with them in charge.
#6
The Turks need to back off or become a footnote in history. Their neo-Ottoman approach will make the Israelis more likely to spend the money from the natural gas fields on military equipment with which to defend the fields. And Turkey cannot take the fields and hold them, at best they can do some damage and then the Bosporus Straits are closed indefinitely, crippling the Turkish economy.
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