The Londoner

By Sikander Hayat 23rd of the June 2016 will always be remembered by the people of United Kingdom . People have spoken and they want out. United Kingdom is out of the EU and Pound is down to the value it has not seen in many decades. This is the most momentous and seismic event after 1945. What is going to happen is anyone's guess as most people are coming to grips with the new reality. The sheer weight of immigration forced British people to leave European Union . In the short to medium term, British economy will come under great stress from the uncertainty created by the Brexit. There is a danger that jobs will be moved from London to European Union centres and London may lose a lot of business to rival cities within the Union. It will take at least two years for the negotiations to conclude between UK and EU on terms of exit. David Cameron has resigned but will stay on till October when new PM will be selected who will trigger article 50. Article 50 st...

The French finance minister, Michel Sapin, has announced a series of initiatives to improve the tracking of terrorism financing, Le Monde newspaper reports. The measures include better supervision of prepaid bank cards, which the ministry believes played an important role in the preparation of the 13 November attacks. The new measures will make it harder for card users to remain anonymous. Currently, prepaid cards can be recharged without identity checks, so long as they do not exceed 2,500 euros over one year, according to the AFP news agency. "There are new means of payment which have been created which should be on our radar," Bruno Dalles, head of the finance ministry's Tracfin intelligence unit, told AFP.    Read the full story at bbc.co.uk

by Apurvaa Subramaniam So you have decided to study in Munich . Well done, you have chosen wisely. Munich, the capital of Bavaria, famous for the Oktoberfest , is also home to a host of universities including 2 of Germany’s elite universities  Technical University of Munich (TUM) and  Ludwig Maximilians University  (LMU). Here are some tips on how to make the most of your student life in Munich and experience the true “ Münchner Gemütlichkeit ”. Editor's note: Don't miss out to have a look at the exciting  study programmes offered in Munich ! Before Arriving Plan and prepare in advance Once you have are accepted to a university in Munich, it is essential to start your preparations as soon as possible, ideally at least 2 or 3 months before your arrival. Visa Non EU citizens usually require a Residence Permit to study in Germany. Keep all the required documents ready and apply well in time. Depending on your nationality, the visa may take up to 4-6 w...

A glance in your purse or wallet and it's easy to decide: You need some cash and so a part-time job. Perhaps you'd like to gain some experience in the German job market ? Or make new contacts and put yourself to the test? There are plenty of reasons why students go to work while also studying. Just like the paths to a dream job . Waiting, cleaning, babysitting You can best top-up your budget by taking a job at a university department, in one of the libraries or at another uni institution. Waiting is THE classic student job in cafés, pubs or bars . Other students look after guests at exhibitions and trade fairs, or work as delivery drivers and cycle couriers, go cleaning, work in a copy shop, or as a babysitter and so on. You should also check the noticeboards ( Schwarzesbrett) at uni, in the libraries, supermarkets and so on. Many unis also have a job agency service for students. Contact student services or the local job centre ( Agentur für Arbeit ). Five...

Working during studies How much are you allowed to work? Finding work Social insurance contributions and taxes - quite simple! With or without an income tax card? Working during studies Earning money alongside studying is a way of life for many students in Germany. The latest social survey carried out by the Deutsche Studentenwerke shows that in total around two thirds of all students go to work. For international students in particular a side job is an important means of subsistence. However, for students who do not come from the EU or EEA countries, work is restricted. Things are different for the majority of Europeans who practically stand on equal terms with German students and have free access to the job market. Two warnings: If you work too much and not in line with your qualifications, you lengthen the time of study. You should only use lecture-free time for going to work. The job market for students is getting more and more difficult; jobs are...

WASHINGTON – The Schengen Treaty, which is one of the basic tenets of the European Union and allows people to move freely among member countries, is increasingly being threatened as the economic situation throughout Europe becomes progressively serious, according to a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. What the treaty did was eliminate border controls among the E.U. members. It has become what has been described as one of the most visible symbols of that union. Nations throughout Central Europe to West European have done away with their internal border controls. Twenty-six countries belong to the Schengen Treaty, which includes all of the E.U. countries except the United Kingdom and Ireland. Other non-E.U. countries which are signatories to the Schengen Treaty are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. For Europe, the Schengen Treaty has not only been a symbol of unity but also success of the E.U. – until now. With the influx of people from non-E.U. coun...

Europe clearly has bipolar disorder. Its summits demand a single-minded focus on austerity, to correct past budget excesses. Then many of its politicians, most especially France’s Francois Hollande, reject such notions out of hand and seem determined to return to the fiscal profligacy that created today’s financial crisis. Neither course is very helpful. The latter spendthrift route has already proved unsustainable, a verdict recently reached by the credit rating agencies in response to President Hollande’s seeming embrace of the old ways. The former austerity risks a vicious cycle in which fiscal restraint creates economic decline, which enlarges deficits and evokes still more restraint. Greece’s latest agony, as well as recession elsewhere on the continent, speak loudly to this dysfunction. Europe and France in particular need a different mix. Recent news certainly makes clear the fruitlessness of austerity alone. The Eurozone broadly has sunk deeper into recession. A...

All my life I've been a Europhile . My dad worked for a Belgian company. I was a high school exchange student to Switzerland in 1958. My first posting as a Foreign Service officer was as vice consul to Rotterdam . I lived in Brussels for five years in the 1970s as head of Scott Paper Company's European marketing operations. I take my family to Europe frequently and maintain a wide range of work and other activities there. Through all the vicissitudes of mid-night negotiations, I admired the dedication and vision of the negotiators who were building the European Union . I believed in the vision of a united Europe and welcomed the advent of the Euro as a major step along the way. When the recent crisis first broke three years ago, I welcomed it, thinking that surely it would be a catalyst for Europe to move to full financial integration and to greater political integration on the way toward realizing the vision of a truly united Europe. I was wrong, and I have come to real...

When the European Union picks up the Nobel Peace Prize it was awarded last week, its delegation should include not only diplomats and politicians, but also an illegal immigrant. I nearly choked on my tea when I heard the EU had won the prize for its 60-year commitment to reconciliation, democracy and human rights. I thought its lingering debt crisis and other political woes would make it an unlikely candidate for such an honor. As a fairly recent transplant from London, I also had another, more personal concern: Although the EU’s 27 member countries and 500 million people have made impressive strides toward ending centuries of conflict, they have yet to define what it means to be European. I taught anthropology and sociology at the University of East London. My students were mostly born in England, but had cultural backgrounds stretching from Jamaica to Pakistan to Nigeria. Few described themselves as European. Although they lived in England, they were not fully embraced ...

Britain could restrict the immigration of Greeks and other citizens of euro zone countries affected by Europe's sovereign debt crisis in the event of "extraordinary stresses and strains", Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday. "The legal position is that if there are extraordinary stresses and strains it is possible to take action to restrict migratory flows, but obviously we hope that doesn't happen," he told a parliamentary committee. "I would be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep our country safe, to keep our banking system strong, to keep our economy robust," he added. European Union rules allow the free flow of people to live and work around the group's 27 member states, but fears have mounted in Britain of a wave of migrants from struggling states such as Greece and Spain if their economies continue to worsen. Read the full story here. 

Far right and anti-Islamic groups are due to hold a rally in  Denmark  on 31 March organised by the  English Defence League  (EDL) which it claims will be the start of a pan-European movement. The rally will take place a few weeks before the start of the trial of  Anders Behring Breivik ,   the far right  extremist who has confessed to the murder of 77 people in Norway last July, and is expected to attract supporters of at least 10 anti-Islamic and far right groups from across the continent. It is the second time the  EDL has tried to hold a meeting in Europe . In October 2010 about 60 supporters turned up to a planned rally in Amsterdam and were  attacked by Ajax football fans and anti-fascists . Read the full story here.  HOME