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EU warns former head Barroso about professional secrecy in his Goldman Sachs Brexit contract
The European Commission said its former head Jose Manuel Barroso will be bound by EU rules of professional secrecy at his controversial new job for US investment bank Goldman Sachs. The bank has hired Barroso, who headed the executive of the 28-nation European Union from 2004 until 2014, as an advisor on the British public's June 23 vote to leave the EU, drawing fire from leftist politicians in Europe. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesWhoa, this could be a blow for Barroso. None of that “I know how things work and I know who's bent” stuff. Why didn't the Commission add “And we'll be watching”?
Jul 14th, 2016 - 02:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I can't imagine Barroso doesn't know the terms of his employment. It seems unnecessary to make such a public statement about it.
Jul 14th, 2016 - 06:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Rotten to the core.
Jul 14th, 2016 - 07:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Was rotten and corrupt , is rotten and corrupt, and always will be rotten and corrupt until is collapses.
Jul 14th, 2016 - 07:48 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So is the hard evidence for either bottom or corrupt?
Jul 15th, 2016 - 12:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0Hearsay and opinion are not evidence.
There is,howevet,evidence for accusations of being misguided and misled.
My fairly neutral observations of the EU are that it has done far too little in many important areas (like the current immigration surge and failure to create an EDF) whilst wasting time worrying about utter trivia like the famous banana and sausage regulations.
Mainly,and probably purely for structural reasons,it lacks clear leadership.
It also lacks a currency,until the ECB is the bank behind the Euro.
Like all governments that seek to appear to be democratic it is expensive to run and too slow and hesitant to act.
The only thing worse than not enough democracy is too much,most of Europe is comprised of groups of potty little princeling states masquerading as Nations.One day they may be,but in the meantime they need firm leadership and direction.
Sadlythe UK,France and Germany could have given that,as a tripod is stable,but with one leg removed it will fall.
Brexit is Europe's loss,the UK will survive bit the united Europe dream may not.
Nobody gains much from this rather potty decision to leave,lragely made by the people who will suffer most,the wilfully ignorant.
M
@M
Jul 15th, 2016 - 01:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0Are these potty decision makers that voted to leave the EU also an example of “too much democracy”, like the little princeling states you referred to above?
Do you think some more firm leadership and direction might have prevented Brexit from happening?
The BBC have quoted an estimate suggesting 4.4% of the EU's total budget is misused.
Jul 15th, 2016 - 06:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0That is a staggering amount of dosh.
At the same time fraud in UK Govt is estimated at around 0.02%.
Rotten to the core.
Then we have Greece tax arrangements and their 40 something retirement plans, not to mention the Italian mafia and non existent olive groves.
To bushpilot I reply ,“,yes,of course,” and to Englander,or perhaps he should call himself little Englander I would observe that he is not comparing like with like.
Jul 15th, 2016 - 08:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0The NHS budget alone would account for more than ,4.4% totally wasted or miss-spent.
R
Happy to be called a little englander if it makes you happy.
Jul 15th, 2016 - 11:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0You, on the other hand are no wizard.
Trying to justify waste by quoting waste elsewhere is shall we say...interesting.
You do know a lot of those stories like the 'bananas' were mis-reported? I think it was actually BoJo who started the banana story as a bit of a jape.
Jul 15th, 2016 - 12:56 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It is true that MEP's are grossly overpaid. Look at Farage and his wife trousering 500,000 per year. At one time no one actually knew how many people worked at the EU headquarters.
@Merlin 8,6,5
Jul 15th, 2016 - 02:55 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If a people want to make a decision directly, instead of leaving that decision to their elected officials, that is their prerogative.
A decision to join their people to a larger group is a decision that a people will ultimately want to make themselves.
Sometimes they don't trust that a distant, and wealthier, group of politicians is going to be making wiser, better decisions for the people as a whole. Usually they do trust those distant politicians, but not always.
It is likely your very same thinking that caused enough people to vote to leave. People have to decide for themselves. “Firm” leadership with “less” democracy backfires.
I am certainly not justifying waste,anywhere.
Jul 15th, 2016 - 03:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0But why pick on waste to garotte the EU with when there are far more fundamental issues that it could be criticised for.
It is as daft as voting for Brexit because of immigration,the immigrants are doing useful jobs and making a net contribution to the taxpayer
If you want to pick on someone then why not go to the root of the problem and have a go at the millions on benefits who apparently don't want the jobs.
Or a government that lets them get away with it.
The EU became too big and too integrated too quickly for many people,me included,but that might have been fixed if the U K were still in it with its feet on the brakes.
As it is,well,thev wind has been down,wait to reap the whirlwind
M
The EU is a huge problem but wanting the UK to stay in just to frustrate the rest of the Continent with its foot on the brake doesn't sound right for anybody.
Jul 15th, 2016 - 06:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Immigration was an issue in the referendum and people have the right to agree or disagree as to whether the influx has been positive on UK society. A lot will depend on where in society you stand. Generalising about the unemployed not wanting to work is not helpful. I would agree however that benefits are still too high and should be reduced.
As for reaping the whirlwind, we haven't left yet, we haven't even served notice.
Next year you might find a lot of Frenchies turning to the far right and demanding their very own Frexit.
Nothing would surprise me less!
Jul 15th, 2016 - 09:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That is why I said that the UK would survive,but the EU might not.
People blame immigrants for their own idleness,incompetence and wilful ignorance.
It's much easier than admitting the problem is you and fixing it.
When the immigrants came over and got all these jobs the scroungers said were not there they had no money and spoke little English.
Unlike the residents,who could have walked in to almost any of those jobs in 24 hours,if they had wanted to.
Again,the feckless residents said they were taking all the school places and NHS services.Most of them are single and have better things to do than waste NHS time,they leave that to the hypochondriac resident idlers.
Fortunately it is very likely that those who voted for Brexit will suffer most,that would certainly be justice.
In fact I doubt that the long term effect will be huge,for good or bad.
M
Merlin
Jul 20th, 2016 - 09:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Given your own less than ringing endorsement of the EU - why would you choose to remain ?
It was very much an on balance decision.
Jul 21st, 2016 - 08:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0I doubt that it costs us much,in reality,and even if the costs were a problem there are a multitude of economies that I would make first.
All of them very unpopular with those who think they were born wth a right to spend other people's money!
Actually getting out of thevEU will be very expensive,once we are out then it is hard to see that it might cost much,if anything.
It is inconceivable that either the UK or the EU are going to erect significant tariff barriers,and we actually need the Eastern European migrants to pick the cabbages,dont we.
Full European integration was always going to take a couple of centuries,and it still will,this is just a hiccuping.
M
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