Support for EU freedom of movement rules 'eroding'

One of the most senior Dutch government ministers has said a fundamental EU principle, freedom of movement, needs to be radically reformed.

Deputy prime minister Lodewijk Asscher said support was falling across Europe over the way it has been implemented.

Free movement, which allows any citizen of an EU country to work anywhere across the bloc, had led to wages being undercut and jobs lost, he said.

Mr Asscher argued the Brexit talks were a chance to look again at the policy.

Reform, he told the BBC, would mean "less immigration" across the EU if undercutting wages was banned.

The stark attack on the way freedom of movement operates could be helpful to Theresa May as Britain looks to gain privileged access to the single market at the same time as controlling EU immigration once the UK has left the EU.

Mr Asscher is the leader of the Dutch Labour Party, which is in a coalition government with the People's Party for Freedom, led by the Netherlands' prime minister, Mark Rutte - who is seen as an ally of the UK.

Although Mr Asscher made it clear that he supported the principle of free movement, he said the rule had been used as a "business model" for lowering wages.

"In essence [what] we have seen happening [is] that free movement has become synonymous with a race to the bottom, with undercutting of wages, with unfair competition in the labour market and that has to do with the rules Europe has produced itself," said Mr Asscher, who is also the Dutch employment minister.

"It is not the principle, it is the rule that has become such a big issue. It means that here in the Netherlands, like in other countries, on the scaffolding [site] you can see a Romanian or Portuguese painter doing the exact same work as a Dutch painter right next to him that is allowed to earn two, three, four hundred euros less than the Dutch worker.

 "That means, of course, that the Dutch painter is out of work, out of a job," Mr Asscher said.

"It means the smaller company that cannot afford to hire internationally is out of work.

"It means the support for the principle - which in essence is good - is eroding.

"It has to change if we want to preserve the principle, if we want to preserve the support for the European Union.

"The problem is that it has become a business model, a business model for lowering wages.

"I think there would be less migration if the principle of equal pay for equal work had been honoured."

Whether free movement of workers has actually led to lower wages and fewer jobs - a key part of the referendum debate in the UK - is controversial and has been disputed.

The Dutch government is preparing for elections in March where immigration is one of the key issues.

Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom Party is running on a tough anti-immigration ticket and has called for a referendum on whether the Nether

 It has been gaining support and could be the largest party after the election.

Mr Asscher's move on freedom of movement is seen by some as an effort to shore up support for the Labour Party.

The deputy prime minister said that although the Netherlands was a natural ally of the UK, the EU would negotiate as a bloc and that Britain could not "have its cake and eat it", cherry picking which parts of the EU rule book it wanted to abide by in return for special access to the economically important single market.

"I think what is important with what both Angela Merkel [the German Chancellor] and my Prime Minister have said [is] that you can't just say 'I want this to happen' and have everybody else say yes.

"You need to make sure the change is to the benefit to all members.

"Not just because you want something done, you only want the dessert and not the other things.

"It would however be a mistake, a serious political mistake, if we don't use the Brexit momentum to look at what is wrong with the current European Union. We need it to change.

"It would be my hope, because we are so close to the UK, that there is a good deal between the EU and the UK.

"We have always been allies, and we are very important trading partners.

"We should not go out there to punish the Brits, we want them to prosper with us.

"However, a negotiation is a negotiation."

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Trump 'willing to work with Russia and China'

US President-elect Donald Trump says he is willing to work with Russia and China, providing they cooperate.

Mr Trump told the Wall Street Journal that newly-imposed sanctions on Russia would remain "at least for a period of time" but could then be lifted.

He also said the One China policy, in which the US no longer acknowledges Taiwan, was up for negotiation.

Meanwhile, a US Senate committee will probe claims Russia attempted to meddle in the presidential election.

In his interview, Mr Trump said sanctions on Russia could be lifted if Moscow helped Washington in the war against Islamic extremism and in other matters.

"If you get along and if Russia is really helping us, why would anybody have sanctions if somebody's doing some really great things?"

He said he hoped a meeting with President Vladimir Putin would be arranged.

With regards to Beijing, Mr Trump said China had to allow US companies to compete by floating its currency.

But he said he would not label China a currency manipulator the instant he took office.

He had already questioned the One China policy last month, provoking angry responses in Chinese state media.

'Full understanding'

Republican and Democratic leaders on the Senate Intelligence Committee vowed to follow their investigation "wherever it leads".

They will examine Russia's cyber activity and intelligence practices.

Interviewees will include members of the current US administration and President-elect Donald Trump's team.

A statement, released by the committee late on Friday, said: "We believe that it is critical to have a full understanding of the scope of Russian intelligence activities impacting the United States."

The committee will examine whether there were any contacts between Russia and people associated with the US political campaigns.

It said subpoenas would be issued "if necessary to compel testimony".

 The bulk of the work will be done behind closed doors, although the senators say they will hold open hearings when possible.

"The committee will follow the intelligence wherever it leads. We will conduct this inquiry expeditiously, and we will get it right," said the statement.

The senators said they would produce both classified and unclassified reports on their findings.

The story behind Trump allegations

How the claims emerged

When presidents and spies fall out

Trump investigates

Earlier this week, details emerged of an unproven dossier alleging that Russian security officials have compromising material on Mr Trump, which could make him vulnerable to blackmail.

The US president-elect said the claims were "fake news" and "phoney stuff".

He announced that his team would produce its own "report on hacking" within 90 days.

 The US released an unclassified intelligence report earlier this month, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the hacking of Democratic Party emails to damage Mr Trump's Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, and influence the election.

It also said Russia had used state-funded propaganda and paid social media users, or "trolls", to launch online attacks.

In December, US President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the country in response to the hacking allegations.

Russia says allegations that it ran a hacking campaign to influence the US presidential elections are "reminiscent of a witch-hunt".

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Joe Sutter, 'Father of the Boeing 747', dies

Joe Sutter, the man who led development of Boeing's 747 jumbo jet, has died aged 95.

Boeing's commercial aircraft boss Ray Conner said Sutter was "an inspiration" not just to Boeing but "to the entire aerospace industry".
The 747, which ushered in the long-haul travel era, first flew in 1969 before making its commercial debut in 1970.
It only lost its status as the biggest passenger aircraft in 2007 with the launch of the Airbus A380.
Sutter was in charge of the engineering team that developed the 747 in the mid-1960s.
He and his team became known as "the Incredibles" for producing the world's largest aeroplane in just 29 months.

Cautious beginnings

Ironically, Boeing did not initially expect to produce many passenger-carrying 747s.
In the 1960s, the future of commercial aviation was widely expected to be with supersonic airliners. The subsonic 747 was expected to become obsolete after a production run of about 400 craft.

Boeing thought it would largely be used as a freighter - which was why the pilots' cabin was placed on an upper deck - giving the aircraft its distinctive humped silhouette.
However, with the oil price rises of the 1970s, noisy and expensive supersonic flight was limited to just one commercial aircraft - Concorde.
The 747, on the other hand, has been continuously updated and improved throughout its life.
Production is likely to last until at least 2019, and so far the company has delivered more than 1,500 of the planes.

Engineering career

Joe Sutter was born in Seattle in March 1921, and took a summer job at Boeing in 1940 while studying for an aeronautical engineering degree.

His first job was working on Boeing's 1940s propeller-driven airliner, the Stratocruiser, and was then involved in most of the company's subsequent commercial aircraft.
After his retirement from Boeing after four decades in 1986, he continued working for the company as a consultant.
He also served on the Rogers Commission that investigated the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

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Adopt Swedish-style shareholder committee on pay, says MP

UK companies should adopt a Swedish-style shareholder committee in an effort to curb excessive pay for bosses, an MP has said.

The five biggest shareholders in large publicly-traded companies would sit on the committee, said Chris Philp, MP for Croydon South.
It would make decisions on pay and hiring directors.
His plan follows a call from Prime Minister Theresa May for tighter controls on corporate excess.
"I'm concerned that large shareholders in big public companies are simply not sufficiently engaged in taking responsibility for their investments in the companies they are invested in," he told Radio 4's Today programme.
"Reckless corporate behaviour and out-of-control executive pay" were symptoms of shareholders not being in charge of companies they own, he added.

'Taking responsibility'

The top five shareholders, based on holdings of at least a year, would be part of the committee.
Shareholders could decline to be on the committee, but would be "named and shamed," said Mr Philp, who is also a member of parliament's Treasury committee.
Large shareholders such as pension managers and fund managers should be "more involved in taking responsibility" on pay and governance, said Mr Philp, who published his proposals in a report with the High Pay Centre.
In July, Mrs May said she wanted to tackle the "unhealthy and growing gap" between "bosses" and "workers".
"It is not anti-business to suggest that big business needs to change," she said.

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Analysis: Dominic O'Connell, Today programme business presenter
At another time, Chris Philp's ideas for the reform of executive pay might have fallen on stony ground. But the Conservative MP has chosen his moment well; when she was campaigning to lead his party, Theresa May singled out chief executive remuneration in her one speech on policy.
The new Prime Minister is clearly in the market for a cunning plan to tackle fat cats, and Mr Philp's strategy - or parts of it - might fit the bill.
Mr Philp wants to force big institutional fund managers to take a greater interest in pay, and an active role in policing.
The top five shareholders of every large listed company would be asked to go on a governance committee, and named and shamed if they refused. No longer would fund managers be able to duck out of tough decisions on pay packets, or hide behind the convenient fiction of the "abstain" vote at shareholder meetings.
There are obvious problems with Mr Philp's scheme. Fund managers have in shown themselves ready and able to revolt on executive pay - witness the stunning defeat of BP's board over pay at its annual meeting last year.
The inconvenient truth is that most fund managers are happy with most pay schemes and are only minded to act in egregious cases. The shareholder committees might simply replicate this sleepy status quo.

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As shareholders are being taken to task by government, they have a target of their own in their sights.
A group of investors, led by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF), is at odds with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), a regulator for corporate governance and accounting standards.
At the heart of the row is whether investors and the public can trust company accounts.

'True and fair'

The row started when the FRC criticised a legal opinion which the LAPFF got from George Bompas QC on a point of company law. The LAPFF also employed Cherie Blair, the wife of Tony Blair, to argue its case.
Mr Bompas said in his opinion that new international accounting standards risked clashing with existing UK law that says companies must provide a "true and fair view" of their financial position.
Some shareholder groups, including the LAPFF, feel this clash has contributed to a range of scandals, from Tesco's accounting black hole to the collapse of HBOS and RBS.
The FRC wanted to say it had the government's backing, but now emails obtained under a freedom of information request showed the government actually refused to back the FRC's position and ordered it to tone down a response to the legal opinion.

'Real profits'

The LAPFF has written an open letter to FTSE 350 chairmen to show that the government would not back the watchdog.
"It's about whether we can trust the accounts and about whether the accounts have real profits which can find their way to shareholders' pockets or whether the accounts are imaginary," said Tim Bush, director or research at Pirc, which advises LAPFF.
The Financial Reporting Council said in a statement: "The FRC discusses policy issues on a regular basis with central government, as this [Freedom of Information] response shows.
"Our position on this issue is clear: the Companies Act 2006 does not require the separate disclosure of a figure for distributable profits.
"Ultimately interpretation of the Act is a matter for the courts. The FRC stands by what it has previously said on this matter."

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UK job market 'weak around Brexit vote'

Recruitment giant Hays has said the UK job market weakened "significantly" around the time of the EU referendum, but it is too early to judge the long-term impact of the vote.

The company also said it had seen "no evidence" of any impact of the vote in markets outside the UK.
Its comments came as it reported an 11% rise in pre-tax profits to £173m for the year to 30 June.
Its profits were driven by strong trading in Asia and the rest of Europe.
In the UK, Hays said net fees were flat, with trading "more challenging" towards the end of its financial year, which coincided with the run-up to the EU referendum.
Conditions were particularly challenging in local government and healthcare markets in the UK.
Hays also said conditions were tough in banking in the City of London, and there were weakening trends in the construction and property business towards the end of the financial year.
Hays chief executive Alistair Cox said: "Following the EU referendum, there is increased uncertainty in the UK market, but we have seen no evidence of any impact elsewhere.
"It is too early to tell what the longer term impact may be and as ever, we will monitor activity levels closely."
Kean Marden, an analyst at Jefferies, said: "In construction and property, London and larger corporates have been most impacted. To date, Hays has seen no evidence of contagion into Europe."
"We are mindful that July and August are seasonally quiet months for the industry and September (which can be one of the largest revenue contributors of the year) will provide more meaningful insight."
The UK comprises about a third of Hays' business. It employs about 9,200 people across 33 countries.
In the Asia Pacific region net fees grew by 4%, with Australia up 5%, boosted by strong public sector growth.
In continental Europe and the rest of the world, net fees increased by 15%.

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Ex-Air China manager charged in US with smuggling for Chinese military

A former manager at Air China has been charged with smuggling packages in and out of the US for Chinese military officials based in New York.

Ying Lin transported the packages on flights from China in exchange for gifts like Apple devices and duty-free liquor, US prosecutors said.
The contents of the packages were not disclosed in the court filing.
She is also accused of helping a Chinese national that was under investigation escape the country.
Ms Lin was first arrested in August 2015 on a different charge. The new indictment has her charged with five criminal counts, including smuggling and obstruction of justice.

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Mazda recalls 2.2 million cars over tailgate issue

Japanese carmaker Mazda has said it is recalling 2.2 million cars worldwide because of a defect in their tailgates.

The recall affects about 400,000 cars in Japan and 1.8 million sold on export markets.
The cause of the recall is paint having been wrongly applied to the tailgate, which could lead to corrosion. The issue has not led to any injuries or accidents.
Six models are affected, including the Mazda 3 and the CX-3 SUV.
The vehicles in question were produced between December 2007 and 2015.
In addition, the carmaker recalled another 110,000 cars sold domestically because of a computer issue with their diesel engines.
Mazda is Japan's fifth largest carmaker.

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