Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

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WORLD NEWS Thursday 28 sepTember 2017
France, Germany Germany:
quell train-making
merger concerns Schaeuble set to become new parliament speaker

PARIS (AP) — Siemens and
Alstom say their train-mak- By GEIR MOULSON
ing merger will save 470 Associated Press
million euros ($555 million) BERLIN (AP) — Wolfgang
a year and help European Schaeuble, Germany’s fi-
industry stand up to swell- nance minister for the last
ing Asian competition — eight years and a key fig-
but they insist it’s not just ure in the eurozone debt
about cost cuts. crisis, looks set to become
It’s not about a German in- the new speaker of Ger-
dustrial heavyweight gob- many’s parliament.
bling up a French national The leaders in parliament
jewel, either, the two com- of Chancellor Angela
panies and the French and Merkel’s Union bloc said
German governments ar- Wednesday that they plan
gued Wednesday, despite to nominate Schaeuble,
uproar from across the 75, next month as the
French political spectrum speaker — a job that tra-
over the deal. ditionally goes to the big-
Shares in both companies gest party. Winning the job
rose Wednesday, and Sie- would mean that he won’t
mens and Alstom went to serve in the new Cabinet.
lengths to market it as a “We are glad that Wolf-
“merger of equals.” gang Schaeuble has said In this June 28, 2017 photo, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble addresses the media in
French unions remain wor- he is prepared to be a Berlin. German media report that Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble is set to become parlia-
ried about potential job candidate,” caucus lead- ment’s new speaker.
losses when Alstom SA be- er Volker Kauder said. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
comes Siemens Alstom af- The speaker is usually the nationalist Alternative rozone’s troubles. sibly including the Finance
ter the deal announced elected with cross-party for Germany, or AfD, for Sunday’s election weak- Ministry.
Tuesday. support. the first time. The party won ened Merkel’s conserva- The Free Democrats’
The French government The job — which in pro- 93 of the 709 seats in par- tives but still left them with leader, Christian Lindner,
owns 20 percent of Alstom tocol terms is Germany’s liament after a campaign easily the biggest par- immediately endorsed
and intervened repeated- second-highest, behind that centered on shrill liamentary group. Their Schaeuble’s candidacy for
ly in the past to protect the the president but ahead of criticism of Merkel and her center-left partners in the speaker.
struggling maker of high- the chancellor — is vacant 2015 decision to let in large outgoing government, the “Wolfgang Schaeuble has
speed TGVs and its jobs. because incumbent Nor- numbers of migrants. Social Democrats, crashed a natural authority that is
The merger “contains also bert Lammert didn’t seek Schaeuble would bring de- to their worst result since of particular significance
a political message,” Sie- re-election to parliament cades of experience to the World War II and vowed to at the head of the German
mens President Joe Kae- in Sunday’s vote. Lammert, job. He is the longest-serv- go into opposition. parliament in these times,”
ser told reporters in Paris. a fellow conservative, has ing member of parliament, That leaves Merkel seeking he said.
“A global business needs been speaker since Merkel which he joined in 1972. He a new coalition with the The Social Democrats also
a global view” instead of became chancellor in served twice as Germany’s pro-business Free Demo- signaled their support.
a nation-focused mindset, 2005. interior minister, helping ne- crats and the traditionally Schaeuble is “a very ex-
he said. His successor will likely face gotiate the country’s reuni- left-leaning Greens, a com- perienced politician who
The merger was an- a tougher job running a fication in 1990. As finance bination that has never has seen it all and has the
nounced just two days af- lower house that has six minister since 2009, he has been tried in a national necessary authority,” their
ter German elections that political groups rather than been a powerful figure government. Those parties newly elected chief whip,
saw a nationalist party gain four in the outgoing par- in shaping the austerity- are expected to insist on Carsten Schneider, told the
parliament seats for the first liament. Those will include heavy response to the eu- securing key ministries, pos- news agency dpa. q
time in decades. Russia:
“The merger will lead to
a more balanced global All remaining chemical weapons destroyed
footprint,” he said.
Alstom is strong in Africa, By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV seven facilities built in Rus- statement. “It’s truly a historic event,
India, Central and South Associated Press sia to destroy chemical The OPCW oversees global given the huge size of the
America, while Siemens MOSCOW (AP) — Rus- weapons in an effort that efforts to eliminate stock- chemical arsenals inher-
is strong in China, Europe sia on Wednesday com- has spanned two decades piles under the Chemi- ited from Soviet times, big
and the U.S., he added. pleted the task of destroy- and cost billions of dollars. cal Weapons Convention enough to entirely destroy
French Finance and Econ- ing its huge, Cold War-era Ahmet Uzumcu, director- that took effect in 1997. life on Earth several times,”
omy Minister Bruno Le Maire chemical weapons stock- general of the Organiza- It says over 96 percent of Putin said in a video call
told reporters Wednesday piles, winning praise from tion for the Prohibition of the weapons declared by with officials in Kizner. “This
that the deal is crucial giv- an international chemical Chemical Weapons, com- the convention’s 192 par- is a huge step toward mak-
en growing competition weapons watchdog. mended Russia for achiev- ticipants have been de- ing the world of today more
from Chinese train makers Russian officials reported ing a “major milestone” stroyed.Putin noted that secure and balanced.”
to meet worldwide de- the destruction of the with the destruction of its Russia wrapped up the In a shot at the United
mand for the kind of high- country’s last remaining ar- chemical arsenals. destruction of its chemical States, Putin criticized it for
speed trains once exempli- tillery projectile filled with “I congratulate Russia and weapons stockpiles ahead lagging behind in disman-
fied by Alstom’s TGVs. VX toxic agent to President I commend all of their ex- of schedule, adding that tling its chemical arsenals.
The French state will no lon- Vladimir Putin. The work perts who were involved for the effort underlined the “We expect the U.S., as well
ger have a role in the new took place at the Kizner their professionalism and nation’s commitment to as other nations, to fulfill all
company. facility in the Urals, one of dedication,” he said in a nonproliferation efforts. their obligations,” he said.q