Don Quijones— Did the European Court of Justice Just Torpedo the Mother of All US Trade Agreements?

Europe’s already rocky trading relationship with the U.S. just got a whole lot worse. Thanks to one young man’s battle against one of the world’s biggest tech companies, data traffic underpinning the world’s largest trading relationship has been thrown into jeopardy.

As the Wall Street Journal warns, hanging in the balance could be billions of dollars of trade in the online advertising business, as well as more quotidian tasks such as storing human-resources documents about European colleagues.

When, in 2013, the Austrian law graduate Max Schrems filed a data-privacy-infringement lawsuit against Facebook after Edward Snowden had revealed the full extent of the company’s collusion with the NSA, little could he have imagined the impact he would end up having. Now, two years later, the European Court of Justice has ruled that the Safe Harbor Agreement that has governed EU data flows across the Atlantic for some 15 years is no longer valid.…

As WOLF STREET previously reported, TiSA appears to have three primary goals: 1) privatize all services; 2) rip up national and regional financial regulations and 3) spread the U.S. approach to data protection — i.e. no protection — around the world…

Battle brewing against US overreach.

Raging Bull-Shit
Did the European Court of Justice Just Torpedo the Mother of All US Trade Agreements?
Don Quijones

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard — Greece threatens top court action to block Grexit

Greece has threatened to seek a court injunction against the EU institutions, both to block the country's expulsion from the euro and to halt asphyxiation of the banking system.

“The Greek government will make use of all our legal rights,” said the finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis.
“We are taking advice and will certainly consider an injunction at the European Court of Justice. The EU treaties make no provision for euro exit and we refuse to accept it. Our membership is not negotiable,“ he told the Telegraph....

Greek officials said they are seriously considering suing the European Central Bank itself for freezing emergency liquidity for the Greek banks at €89bn. It turned down a request from Athens for a €6bn increase to keep pace with deposit flight.

This effectively pulls the plug on the Greek banking system. Syriza claims that this is a prima facie breach of the ECB’s legal duty to maintain financial stability. “How can they justify setting off a run on the Greek banking system?” said one official.

The Telegraph
Greece threatens top court action to block Grexit
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

ht Clonal

Bill Mitchell — European Court of Justice effectively rules that Eurozone is a shambles

Bill looks at the law and EZ internal politics (power structure).

Cutting to the chase:

The fact that the ECB joined the Troika, which included the IMF, a non-European, non-elected, non-accountable organisation, is evidence of how far removed from a democratically-organised federation the Eurozone is.

I have no doubt that the ECB is acting as a fiscal authority, which the European Treaties explicitly banned. The fact that the European Court of Justice has conveniently overlooked the aberrant behaviour by the ECB, is like all things Eurozone, ad hoc.

Everyone knows that if the Bundesbank was to get its way, the Eurozone would have collapsed long ago. So the officials work at the margins to keep their ugly system alive and the European Court of Justice conveniently plays along to allow them to do that – while the elephant in the room – the lack of a true fiscal authority at the federal level – stomps on millions of unemployed and pensioners, and, in the case of Greece, destroys the viability of a nation.

Some time in the future, humanity will look back on this period as a Dark Age overseen by megalomaniacs parading as the Eurogroup or the IMF etc. All pushing the neo-liberal Groupthink and denying reality.

The European Court of Justice ratification of the ECB behaviour tells us that democracy is dying in the Eurozone as currently constituted and enforced by the Troika....

When we read the statements by the Dutch head of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem that the Eurogroup is an “informal body” which can decide what it likes, we know that democracy is in danger in Europe. Especially, when the Eurogroup takes instructions from the IMF....

Bill Mitchell – billy blog
European Court of Justice effectively rules that Eurozone is a shambles
Bill Mitchell | Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

John Helmer — Austrian Court Starts Legal Dominoes Falling – Next, Political Scheming To Be Declared Illegal In Eu Sanctions Against Russian Corporations

Last week a Vienna, Austria, court ruled that US government charges against Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash are unsubstantiated and unlawfully motivated by political scheming. Next up for the rule of evidence and of law — the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg must judge whether European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia are unsubstantiated and unlawfully motivated by political scheming.

Dances with Bears

Austrian Court Starts Legal Dominoes Falling – Next, Political Scheming To Be Declared Illegal In Eu Sanctions Against Russian Corporations

John Helmer

John Helmer — European Court Of Justice Introduces The Anti-Rasmussen Rule — Sanctions Cannot Be Imposed By Reason Of Fabrication, Lies, Disinformation

In a judgement issued in Luxembourg on Thursday, September 18, the court ruled that the European Union(EU) cannot lawfully introduce sanctions against states, corporations, state organizations, or individuals without stating reasons which can be substantiated in evidence to a standard of proof tested in court....

In October 2012, the EU banned transactions with Iranian banks and financial institutions, as well as the import, purchase and transportation of natural gas from Iran, the construction of oil tankers for Iran, and the flagging and classification of Iranian tankers and cargo vessels. 

After the sanctions campaign commenced, Bank Mellat went to court in the UK and the EU Court of Justice, challenging the allegation that it was connected to Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. The bank commenced litigating in London in November 2009. Almost five years later, in June of this year, Bank Mellat won a ruling from the UK Supreme Court, the final court of appeal, rejecting the basis in evidence for the sanctions imposed on the bank. This followed a similar condemnation by the European Court, issued in January 2013. That story, and the two court judgements, can be read here. 

“Mere allegations” were inadmissible to support sanctions, the two courts have ruled....

This week, the Central Bank of Iran won a separate lawsuit against the EU. The new ruling can be read here.

Dancing with Bears
European Court Of Justice Introduces The Anti-Rasmussen Rule — Sanctions Cannot Be Imposed By Reason Of Fabrication, Lies, Disinformation

John Helmer