Sir Michael Fallon is pressing NATO members to step up defence spending during a two-day defence ministerial at NATO’s HQ in Brussels, following his first meeting with US Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Reflecting the strength of the UK-US Defence relationship, Sir Michael was the first minister Secretary Mattis called after his appointment and their hour-long meeting at NATO’s HQ was the first bilateral working session today.

During their recent phone call, shortly after Secretary Mattis’ confirmation, both ministers agreed on the need for NATO to be more agile and responsive so it can respond faster to new threats including cyber and terrorism.

In July NATO confirmed that the UK meets the two per cent spending target, which includes a £178bn equipment plan and rising defence spending every year of this parliament.

The Defence Secretary spoke to fellow ministers to call for other states to spend both 2% overall and to spend 20% of that on new equipment to help tackle threats.

In his face-to-face meetings with Secretary Mattis Sir Michael reassured him that the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with the US in calling for NATO to be more agile to meet new threats in the fields of cyber warfare and counter terrorism.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said:

NATO has been a guarantee of mutual security for more than half a century. Britain is now calling for our partners to step up and share burdens on spending and help it become more agile in dealing with new threats including cyber and terrorism.

As leading player in the Alliance we recognise the importance of backing up our operational and exercise commitments with investment in new equipment to deal with threats to our security.

Sir Michael is discussing the UK’s leadership in NATO. The UK’s Enhanced Forward Presence deployment to Estonia is gathering momentum, seen this week in a 600-strong exercise in Sennelager in Germany which features British personnel from the Battle Group for 5 RIFLES. Hundreds of British troops including 5 RIFLES personnel from Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire have spent the last week exercising with four Challenger II tanks, Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicles and Jackals – alongside Estonian, French and Danish troops.

The deployment of 800 British personnel to Estonia under EFP is part of a package of measures that the UK is leading in NATO this year. These include leading the land element of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force with 3,000 British troops ready to deploy rapidly to threats wherever they arise in the Alliance, and committing RAF Typhoon aircraft to the NATO Southern Air Policing mission to offer reassurance to in the Black Sea region.

Over the two-day ministerial, defence leaders will discuss issues such as protecting NATO’s southern border, developing NATO’s deterrence and defence posture, and strengthening the transatlantic bond.

Kevin Crofton joins the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult with a 25-year career in the semiconductor industry. He has executive experience in the UK and USA, currently acting as President of SPTS Technologies in South Wales, and Corporate Vice President of Orbotech Inc.

His experience and insight will be invaluable in establishing the Catapult within the rapidly growing compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales.

It is the 11th Catapult to be opened by Innovate UK.

The market opportunity for the UK

Compound semiconductors are at the heart of many devices we use today, from smart phones to tablets and satellite communication systems. They are central to the development of new technologies including:

• 5G network
• high-efficiency lighting
• power electronics for next-generation electric vehicles
• new imaging techniques in security and health diagnostics

Data from the BCC Research and MarketsAndMarkets forecasts the global market for compound semiconductors to be in the range of £75 billion to £125 billion by 2025. There is a market opportunity for the UK due to its world-class research base in this field, which has led to the creation of many companies along the value chain.

Maximising business and research opportunities

Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, Jo Johnson said:

The government’s investment in the Compound Semiconductor Application Catapult is testament to our track record as a leader in advanced electronics – a strength that we will build on through our Industrial Strategy to ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of innovation.

The appointment of Kevin Crofton as Chair and his wealth of industry experience will help drive this and continue the Catapult’s vital role in developing new technologies.

Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns said:

Much of the advance technology powering our mobile phones and other devices is being pioneered right here in Wales. The new research centre will underline our reputation as a world leader in semiconductors and, with Kevin Crofton at the head, put us in the front row of digital development.

Innovations like the Catapult will lead to the creation of more high skilled and high paid jobs in Wales.

Innovate UK Chief Executive Ruth McKernan said:

Kevin’s experience and expertise will spearhead the development of the new Catapult, and ensure we are maximising the business opportunities from the important compound semiconductors market.

Kevin Crofton added:

I look forward to helping to guide the Catapult’s vital contribution to the compound semiconductor industry in the UK.

We expect the Catapult to bridge some of the primary research, development and test challenges that exist in the UK compound semiconductor sector. This should help to accelerate innovation among existing businesses and to aid spin-out companies in their success.

15 February 2017

Keith Taylor MEP: ‘CETA is a bad deal for the people of Britain, Europe, and even Canada, but a great deal for multinational corporations keen to escape the democratic oversight of national parliaments.’

Jean Lambert MEP: ‘To believe that CETA will bring more and better jobs to those who need them is pure wishful thinking.’

Molly Scott Cato MEP: ‘Conservatives in the European and UK Parliaments have been the biggest cheerleaders for CETA, and they are hoping the deal will still apply to Britain post-Brexit, and, most concerningly, the Minister for Trade, Liam Fox, has even put CETA forward as a model for future UK trade deals.’

Green MEPs are warning that Brexit will not free the UK from toxic trade deals as the European Parliament votes to green-light CETA, the controversial EU-Canada trade deal.
 
The deal, which has been long opposed by trade justice campaigners, trade unions, European Green Parties and millions of citizens in the EU and Canada, was voted through by a majority of MEPs during a plenary session in Strasbourg today.

Greens/EFA MEPs were among the only UK representatives to vote against the deal. Conservative and Lib Dem MEPs are expected to have voted to support CETA* with a number of Labour MEPs expected to have joined them* despite pressure from trade unions, the Shadow Minister for International Trade, and even the Party’s own Head of Trade Policy.
 
Opposition to CETA has focused primarily on the provision to allow multinational corporations to sue democratically elected governments in ‘extrajudicial’ and ‘secretive’ courts if they feel their financial interests are threatened by any policies enacted by those governments.
 
Greens have also argued that the trade deal will be bad for workers’ rights, climate action, animal welfare, and chemical and product safety.
 
Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South East and a member of the European Parliament’s Environment committee, said:
 
“CETA is a bad deal for the people of Britain, Europe, and even Canada, but a great deal for multinational corporations keen to escape the democratic oversight of national parliaments. It is little wonder that it is citizens across Europe and in North America that are the loudest and more determined opponents of this toxic trade deal.”
 
“Canada has a long track record of taking legal action against European countries’ environmental laws and is fundamentally opposed to high chemical and pesticide safety legislation. Canada is also home to more than half of the world’s mining companies and pursues an active policy of exporting fuels derived from highly polluting tar sands. In that context, it is extremely worrying that CETA’s ‘commitments’ on environmental standards remain unenforceable. Greens will continue to oppose any agreements that lock us into fossil fuel dependence and damage our climate goals.”
 
Jean Lambert, Green MEP for London and a member of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs committee, said:
 
“To believe that CETA will bring more and better jobs to those who need them is pure wishful thinking. Research shows this proposed trade agreement is more likely to continue widening the gap between low and high-paid workers and offers no safeguards for existing labour standards. Many trade unions oppose CETA and so did the European Parliament’s Employment Committee, of which I’m a member. We need to invest in quality jobs, not widening the gaps.”
 
“There are many other problems too, which is why Green MEPs highlighted 12 Reasons to oppose CETA, and why we voted against it today in the European Parliament. It’s extremely regrettable that a majority of MEPs didn’t heed our concerns, and have instead today voted for CETA to go ahead. It’s now up to national parliaments across Europe to take action to block this damaging deal.”

Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for the South West and the Green Party’s Brexit Spokesperson, drew attention to divisions within Labour, an issue she highlighted in a News Statesman article today. She said
 
“With trade, as with Brexit, Labour are exposing how weak they are as an opposition. The Party is hopelessly split between backing the citizens of Europe and caving into corporate power.

“Their long-time Trade coordinator in the European Parliament, David Martin, has been a forceful supporter of CETA and has strenuously opposed the Greens for their opposition to the anti-democratic aspects of this treaty. No wonder their shadow trade minister can only persuade half his MPs to vote against this toxic deal.”

“The weakness of socialists across Europe to protect citizens against the worst aspects of corporate globalisation is driving people towards the forces of the Right, thereby fanning the flames of fascism.”

Conservative MEP Charles Tannock reiterated during the debate in Strasbourg that the UK Government sees CETA as a model for future UK trade deals. Molly continued:

“Conservatives in the European and UK Parliaments have been the biggest cheerleaders for CETA, and they are hoping the deal will still apply to Britain post-Brexit, and, most concerningly, the Minister for Trade, Liam Fox, has even put CETA forward as a model for future UK trade deals. It is clear that Brexit will not free Britain from toxic trade deals.”

Notes

* Roll call vote results are yet to be published.

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15 February 2017

* Employment may be up but almost 4 million [1] people have insecure jobs which barely make ends meet

The Green Party has said figures [1] which show employment is at the highest rate ever should not be allowed to mask the insecurity facing so many families in Britain today as wage growth slows.

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“These latest figures should not mask a job market built on sand. Wage growth has slowed just as the inflation rate hits its highest level in two years. Almost 4 million [2] people are still in insecure jobs which barely allow them to make ends meet. People need quality jobs they can build a life on.

“With the Government threatening to push Britain off the Brexit cliff-edge the endemic insecurity across the country risks getting much worse, as people’s livelihoods are sold down the river by a Prime Minister threatening to turn this country into an offshore tax haven.

“In this age of insecurity we should be thinking big about how we build an economy that works for everyone. That’s why the Government should follow the lead of countries like Finland which are investigating the merits of introducing a basic income, to stop people falling into poverty, while providing the choice, security and stability they need.”

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