DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
A Europe of blocs? (WORLD TRADE BLOCKS....YES)
Mark Mardell 30 Apr 08, 12:01 AM
The French President nearly upset the EU apple-cart when he proposed a Mediterranean Union including EU and non-EU countries around that sea. How far will the Poles go when they make proposals for a similar Baltic-to-the-Black-Sea Union? The idea was a little noticed result of the European Council meeting back in March. Then, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested that if Turkey and the countries of North Africa could link up with the EU countries bordering the Med, it was only fair the East should have the same opportunities.
He was given the go-ahead, perhaps to both balance President Sarkozy's brainwave, and perhaps to further down-grade it. Perhaps a rather brutal move, as it had already been thoroughly and efficiently eviscerated by Chancellor Merkel.Polish diplomats do not see their plan as ambitious as the Mediterranean, but argue that if the French, Italian, Spanish and Greeks can link up with countries in North Africa and negotiate with the rest of the European union as a bloc, then they should be allowed to do the same alongside Georgia and Ukraine. I presume the link-up would be between the 10 former communist countries of the East and those six in the relevant European neighbourhood policy.As far as I know, there will be no invitation to Russia to join this would-be new power bloc. The Poles point out that at the moment they, and the EU members in the region, can only talk to the European Union as individual nations. The suggestion is those next to the Med would get an unfair advantage. Part of this is no doubt there's gold in them there hills: such an organisation would of course get more EU money for the region. More cash is a reasonable goal in itself, but I wonder about the consequences.
Sometimes countries do argue within the European Union as regional blocs, but more often they don't. Mr Tusk's report, to be presented to the other leaders in June, is probably of not much moment in itself but is it the beginning of a trend? And would that trend be a dangerous undermining of EU solidarity, or a realistic recognition of other identities and alliances ?
EU attempts to woo Serbia with pre-accession deal
29.04.2008 - 17:44 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
EUOBSERVER / LUXEMBOURG – With just over a week to go until what is being billed as decisive elections in Serbia, the EU on Tuesday (29 April) sent a strong political signal to the western Balkan country that its future belongs in the European Union.In a piece of political manoeuvring that gives the pro-EU forces in Belgrade something to use at home but upholds a key European demand, both sides signed a pre-membership deal at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg.The deal came after the Netherlands and Belgium dropped their opposition to the move but on condition that the implementation of the agreement depends on Belgrade's cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal.This is a good day, a happy day for both Serbia and the EU, Slovenian foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said after signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) in Luxembourg.Europe is ready to go a common way with Serbia and now the European future of Serbia is in the hands of the Serbian people, he added.Serbian President Boris Tadic, who flew from Belgrade especially for the signing ceremony after a call from Mr Rupel earlier on Tuesday, said he was also extremely pleased that Serbia is entering a contractual relationship with the EU.
Signing the SAA constitutes an important step towards eventual EU membership and this in turn will ultimately bring about a final reconciliation of the peoples of the western Balkans, he added.The decision was taken on Tuesday morning after Belgium and the Netherlands agreed to sign the SAA.The two countries had originally said that Serbia must first fully cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and arrest war crimes indictee Ratko Mladic.
Signing but not implementing
They yielded to the pressure of other EU states – who have been prepared to sign the agreement for weeks - on condition that Serbia will not get any concrete benefits from the agreement until Belgrade is judged as fully cooperating with the ICTY.Normally, ratification of such documents is launched immediately after they are signed.But in this case, the lengthy process will not start until all EU member states unanimously agree that Belgrade's cooperation with the ICTY is sufficient.This could happen at the earliest in July, with a report on the matter by UN war crimes prosecutor Serge Brammertz expected in June.
Rejection by Serbia's prime minister
Meanwhile, the party of Serbia's prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, has reiterated its opposition to signing the SAA and said the country's parliament would never ratify the document, according to Russian news agency Itar-Tass.On Monday, Mr Kostunica himself said again that the SAA undoubtedly represents an act against the state, an anti-constitutional act.The Serbian premier argues that the fact that a majority of EU countries has recognised Kosovo's independence has changed the political situation, and has called for talks with the EU on this new reality.Whether the EU's concession has worked will become evident on 11 May when President Boris Tadic's pro-Western Democrats will face off against the radical and nationalist parties in Serbia.
