Cameron faces leadership questions over Europe

By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron faced questions about his leadership on Tuesday after he bowed to pressure from inside the ruling Conservative Party to bring forward draft legislation enforcing a referendum on Britain's European Union membership.

Just hours after U.S. President Barack Obama cautioned against rushing towards the EU exit, Cameron was forced by a rebellion in his party into promising a bill that would pave the way for an in-out vote on Europe.

Cameron denied the move was a desperate measure to placate his increasingly restive and eurosceptic party, where many see the EU as an oppressive and wasteful "superstate" that threatens Britain's sovereignty.

"I think when all the dust has settled people will be able to see the substance of the issue," he said.

"That is that one party, the Conservatives, has a clear agenda: renegotiate, change Europe, have a referendum on it - the others parties don't take that approach," he told Sky news.

On the contrary, he said, he had shown leadership on the issue.

"The whole reason that we are now having this debate is because of the act of leadership I gave," he told ITV News, referring to an earlier promise to hold a referendum.

Yet the more ground Cameron concedes to his eurosceptic MPs, the more they want, deepening the 25-year battle in his party over Europe and undermining his own chances of leading it to victory in a general election set for 2015.

Divisions over Europe helped bring down the last two Conservative prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and John Major, and many politicians compared Cameron's position to that of Major whose premiership was riven by rows over Europe.

"There is no way that he (Cameron) can give in any further because he's undermining his own position," said Sheila Gunn, who served as spokeswoman to Major.

RISKY PATH

Conservative MPs who back the new bill deny the move undermines Cameron. For them, it is a way of showing a sceptical public that the Conservatives really do want a referendum on Britain's EU membership, but are being held back.

The party's Liberal Democrat partners in coalition government are pro-Europe and oppose a referendum, while the opposition Labour party says it does not support a vote on the EU in 2017, the date proposed by Cameron earlier this year.

"We've set out our position and published this bill to give the British people an in-out referendum on Europe ... Now it's vital to hear whether Labour and the other parties are actually prepared to trust the British public," Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said in a statement.

Cameron's advisers hope the draft bill on an EU vote will end internal bickering. A Downing Street spokesman insisted Cameron was still in charge.

History shows Cameron is treading a risky path.

The three eurosceptic Conservative Party leaders who followed Major failed to get into power, and Cameron's capitulation over the new EU referendum bill has created the impression he is not in control of his own party.

"David Cameron's weakness has turned a European issue into a leadership issue," Labour foreign affairs spokesman Douglas Alexander said.

In January, Cameron promised to renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership and then hold a referendum by the end of 2017 in a speech meant to draw a line under the issue.

But some MPs had called for further concessions and media reports said Cameron's leadership could be challenged.

Cameron's potential rivals include London Mayor Boris Johnson and Education Secretary Michael Gove.

"RED LINE"

Cameron believes his decision to publish the draft bill will silence his eurosceptic MPs until the next election.

"This is our red line," one senior Conservative source said of the bill. "We're not going to give them any more ground."

Despite his latest concession, up to 100 eurosceptic Conservative members of parliament are still expected to criticise the government's legislative plans on Wednesday because they didn't include a bill promising a vote on EU membership.

Since coming to power in a coalition government three years ago, the Conservatives have been rattled by the popularity of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which campaigns for Britain's withdrawal from the EU and tighter immigration laws.

A Guardian/ICM poll showed that UKIP's support had surged to a record high of 18 percent, while support for Britain's traditional parties had fallen by 4 percentage points each.

UKIP took a quarter of the vote in local elections this month. Unless Cameron can convince his party he can win the next election he is likely to face more challenges to his leadership.

"With the story changing every day, it's very reminiscent of the old John Major days where, really, the government appears to be being blown around by events," said UKIP leader Nigel Farage.

The Guardian poll put Labour on 34 percent, the Conservatives on 28 percent and the Lib Dems on 11 percent.

UKIP's poll rating has climbed steadily since Cameron set out his EU strategy in January.

Cameron's bid to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership has worried the United States, which has warned London that it would lose influence in the world if it did leave the world's biggest economic bloc.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Abbas, William James, Costas Pitas and William Schomberg; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn; Editing by Giles Elgood)

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Jewish group warns of neo-Nazi parties in Europe

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The World Jewish Congress said Tuesday it is greatly concerned about the emergence of neo-Nazi parties such as the Golden Dawn in Greece, Jobbik in Hungary, and Germany's National Democratic Party.

A study presented at the WJC assembly in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, highlighted the links regarding the strengthening of such extremist groups, the European economic crisis and latent Nazi-type tendencies.

"Although neo-Nazi style movements and ideologies are present in other parts of the world, it is unsurprising that an ideology that was born in Europe should be most likely to show a resurgence in Europe inside the party political system," the study said.

Among its recommendations, the study said mainstream parties should quarantine neo-Nazi groups by refusing to appear with them at public events or meeting with them in private.

The "economic crisis, which has nurtured the neo-Nazi cause, may endure or worsen," the document said. "We must be prepared for all eventualities."

In a resolution adopted by the World Jewish Congress at the end of its three-day meeting, the group led by U.S. businessman Ronald Lauder urged countries whose constitutions allow it to urgently consider banning neo-Nazi parties or organizations "posing a threat to the safety and well-being" of minorities.

One concern of the group is Golden Dawn, Greece's third most popular party. The party, which was once marginal, is fond of Nazi literature and symbols but rejects the neo-Nazi label. Hungary's Jobbik is the second-largest opposition group in parliament, having won 16.7 percent of the vote in 2010. Germany's far-right National Democratic Party has deputies in two of Germany's 16 regional assemblies but no representation at the federal level.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's speech at the start of the WJC meeting on Sunday was criticized by the Jewish organization for failing to specifically mention the threat posed by Jobbik.

On Tuesday, however, Lauder said he was told about a recent interview Orban gave to the Yedioth Ahronoth Israeli newspaper in which the prime minister called Jobbik "an increasing danger" to Hungarian democracy.

"This was a strong statement about Jobbik," Lauder said, apologizing for not knowing sooner about the interview published last week. "I would like that to be put in the record that the prime minister really did take a stand against Jobbik and I appreciate that."

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Furious with Europe, British fishermen lament demise of trade

ABOARD THE WHITBY ROSE, North Sea (Reuters) - His eyes fixed on the North Sea horizon, British skipper Howard Locker steers his boat far out to sea where he hopes to stumble on enough fish to save the day.

But things are not looking good for Locker - one of the last remaining trawler men in the north-eastern town of Whitby where fishing quotas, climate change and decades of overfishing have crushed the local fishing industry.

"The market has collapsed," said Locker, who has been fishing out of the harbour for more than 40 years. "When I was 16, I couldn't believe I'd be scraping a living like this."

"We are the last of the great hunters. A lifetime at sea. For what?" Locker added, as gusts of icy wind lashed his face.

Like Locker, most residents of this traditional fishing town are angry. And the focus of that anger is the European Union.

Negotiating fishing quotas with Brussels has long been a source of friction for Britain. The European Union sets limits on how much fish EU member states can catch every year, saying it helps conserve stocks and protect the health of the seas.

But in places like Whitby, home of centuries of seafaring, people blame the EU for destroying their livelihoods.

In the debate on whether Britain should leave the club altogether in a possible referendum by 2017, for many living off the sea, the answer is clear.

"Out. Definitely. I would want to be out of the EU," said Malcolm Ward, 56, a fisherman from the nearby fishing port of Scarborough, as he gulped down beer in a pub called The Newcastle Packet where fishermen have drank for generations.

"I don't know anyone who would vote to be in it," he added, as other fishermen, their arms adorned with faded tattoos of fish and anchors, nodded and repeated: "Out, out".

In this windswept part of Britain, where people have lived off fishing at least since Roman times, the shoreline is dotted with centuries-old fishing villages and towns.

The trade has gone though much turmoil over the centuries, including an 80-year-long obsession with whaling which dominated local fisheries in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The British fishing fleet is now one of Europe's biggest, employing more than 10,000 people - which makes the country one of the EU's top three producers along with Denmark and Spain.

But the future looks bleak, and the mood is dark.

Fish stocks are being depleted rapidly all over the planet and maritime economies are suffering across the globe because of over-fishing and climate change - unpredictable factors which, unlike EU quotas, cannot be resolved through negotiations.

"The change has been very dramatic. It's quotas and conditions that aren't making it worthwhile to do fishing here anymore," said Richard Lawton, Whitby assistant harbourmaster.

"Whitby fishermen might be the one group of people who would vote to come out of the EU," he added, speaking in his office cluttered with nautical almanacs and maps of the harbour.

Locals agree. "Years ago, that quayside was full of boats. It's a miserable fishing atmosphere now," said Steve Boocock, 32, a fish retailer. "People will vote to come out (of the EU)."

DECLINE

Once a bustling port, Whitby is now a shadow of its former self in terms of fishing. The harbour is empty and quiet. Flocks of seagulls swoop over a small fleet of rusty fishing boats. Only 200 people are left employed in fishing.

Landings of valuable white fish such as cod are down to about 10 percent of the total, as local fishermen try to diversify into prawn and crab fishing to make ends meet.

Ian Havelock, chair of the local town council's harbour committee, estimated the industry has shrunk by 85-90 percent from its heyday in the 1980s - which is when the EU started to impose quotas to help replenish North Sea stocks.

"I was brought up in the heart of the fishing area. It was so very, very different," said Havelock. "There were fishing families in just about every house. It was prosperous."

The town's survival now largely depends on crowds of tourists coming down to see the ruin of an imposing Gothic abbey perched on a steep cliff top - a moody place said to have inspired Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel, Dracula.

The fishermen say climate change has also been a big factor. Global warming has expanded fish habitat northwards, with stocks sometimes disappearing from the waters off the Yorkshire coast for weeks on end. Boats return at dawn with largely empty nets.

Often schools of fish reappear unpredictably, resulting in bumper catches and much jubilation - but then EU quotas kick in, forcing skippers to dump the excess catch in the sea to avoid hefty EU fines.

Unable to make money from fishing, many fishermen rely on jobs guarding offshore oil and gas pipelines. Ironically for a town which blames the EU for everything, this has attracted intrepid job seekers from the EU itself.

"Oil is better money than fish," said Sergei Bartulans, 33, a captain from Latvia who operates a former fishing trawler called the Maggie M to assist North Sea oil drilling research.

"Before, they used to go out on ships like this to fish. But now people like me are taking over. The industry here is dying."

The EU may be an easy scapegoat, but some fishermen do concede it is probably decades of unrestrained over-fishing, climate change and other factors that are to blame.

"Five or seven years ago we had about 28 trawlers around here. There is about two now," said Joe Storr, 58, whose family has been in fishing for generations. He recently gave up white fishing, making ends meet by catching lobsters off the coast.

"At the end of the day, a lot of it is self-harmed. I think they've slaughtered it really. ... The fish isn't there now."

EU WATCHING

Back onshore in Whitby harbour, an old metal box with the gold stars of the EU flag greets fishermen coming back from sea - this is where log notes detailing their daily catch levels are collected by maritime authorities enforcing EU rules.

Many scoff at the sight. "I am not European. I am British," said Locker the skipper as he steered his boat into the harbour.

He showed a crumpled piece of paper where he had scrawled his monthly quotas: 400 kg of monkfish, 1.25 tonnes of cod, two tonnes of haddock. As he spoke, a lone seal played in the wake of his boat, hoping for a share of Locker's catch.

The EC says it is aware of the plight of local communities.

It has proposed to reform its quota system to introduce a new concept known as "maximum sustainable yield" which replaces annual quotas with multi-year plans that would help conserve stocks while giving fishermen more opportunity to make money.

"By bringing fish stocks back to sustainable levels, the reformed policy will bring new prosperity to the fishing sector and end its dependence on subsidies," said a spokesman for EU fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki.

Officials say decades of overfishing have cut the profitability of up to 40 percent of EU fleets, and a lull in fishing for a few years would allow stocks to recover.

The EU also says if stocks were exploited sustainably according to long-term advice, sizes would increase by about 70 percent. Catches would increase by around 17 percent and incomes could increase by 24 percent for fishermen - or by the equivalent of about 1.8 billion euros (1.6 billion pounds) - per year.

But for men like Locker, business is barely profitable. "It's just not viable. For the last 20 years all the government and the EU have done was, cut, cut, cut, cut quotas," he said.

For now, he is worried about his son who wants to make a career out of fishing. There is no future in it, Locker said.

"He said he wanted to go fishing. I could've killed him. Honestly. And he loves it," Locker said with joking frustration as he looked at his son from the window of the skipper's cabin.

"I have a little grandson, two-year-old. If he ever thinks of buying a (fishing) rod, I am going to hit him with it. I am."

(Additional reporting by Charlie Dunmore in Brussels, Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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US, Europe move to expand role in Syrian conflict

ROME (AP) — The United States and some European allies are edging closer to direct involvement in Syria's civil war with plans to deliver meals, medical kits and other forms of nonlethal assistance to the rebels battling President Bashar Assad.

The U.S., Britain, France and Italy aren't planning to supply the Free Syrian Army with weapons or ammunition. But moves are afoot to significantly boost the size and scope of their aid to the political and military opposition. Such decisions could be announced as early as Thursday at an international conference on Syria in Rome.

Britain and France are keen to give the rebels the means to protect themselves from attacks by Assad's forces, including Scud missiles fired in recent days against the city of Aleppo, U.S. and European officials say.

Assistance could mean combat armor, vehicles and other equipment not deemed to be offensive, the officials said. It could include training in battlefield medical care and the protection of human rights, they said.

For now, the Obama administration is advancing more modestly. It is nearing a decision whether to give ready-made meals and medical supplies to the opposition fighters, who have not received direct U.S. assistance.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to announce the new contributions at the Rome conference, in addition to tens of millions of dollars intended for rule of law and governance programs.

The shifts in strategy are part of a step-by-step process that could lead to direct military aid to carefully screened members of the Free Syrian Army if the nearly 2-year conflict continues. Some 70,000 people have died in the fighting.

The European Union last week renewed an arms embargo against Syria for three months. But foreign ministers made clear that the decision could be reviewed while they look at ways to increase pressure on Assad to leave.

Washington has provided $385 million in humanitarian aid to Syria's war-weary population and $54 million in communications equipment, medical supplies and other nonlethal assistance to Syria's political opposition. The U.S. also has screen rebel groups for Turkey and American allies in the Arab world that have armed rebel fighters.

No U.S. dollars or provisions have gone directly to rebels. That decision reflects concerns about forces that have allied themselves with more radical Islamic elements since Assad's initial crackdown on peaceful protesters in March 2011.

Kerry said Wednesday in Paris that both the U.S. and Europe want a negotiated solution to the crisis and would speak to the leaders of the Syrian National Coalition about that. He also said the world must be prepared to do more to support the rebels and he accused Assad's government of engaging in "criminal behavior."

"We want their advice on how we can accelerate the prospects of a political solution because that is what we believe is the best path to peace, the best way to protect the interests of the Syrian people, the best way to end the killing and the violence," he said at a news conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

"That may require us to change President Assad's current calculation," Kerry said. "He needs to know that he can't shoot his way out of this. And so we need to convince him of that, and I think the opposition needs more help in order to be able to do that."

Fabius offered a similar assessment.

"The situation is unbearable and we need to find the means to a transition and for Assad's departure," he said. "We agree all of us on the fact that Mr. Bashar Assad has to quit."

Britain's Foreign Office also said it would increase its support for Syria's opposition.

The possibility of a sudden change in U.S. strategy comes as President Barack Obama begins a second term and Kerry succeeds Hillary Rodham Clinton as the top U.S. diplomat.

Freed from the constraints of a re-election campaign, administration officials say there is greater leeway now for new approaches than last year, when Obama rebuffed a plan by Clinton, then-CIA Director David Petraeus and then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to arm the Syrian rebels.

The administration remains cautious, officials say, and is resisting European pressure to expand military aid to include the kind of items that Britain and France are considering.

Few Americans want to see their country dragged into another war of complicated loyalties and sectarian rivalries in the Muslim world, a little more than a year after leaving Iraq and with 66,000 U.S. combat troops still in Afghanistan.

Administration officials say they don't have enough assurances that rebel units under the sway of Islamic fundamentalists won't turn their weapons on Israel or other U.S. allies and fragile states in the region.

Lebanon is torn by some of the same internal sectarian divisions as Syria and Jordan is struggling with its political reform path.

Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, warned on Wednesday that a victory by Syrian rebels would lead to more fighting in Iraq and a new haven for al-Qaida.

Greater instability in any of Syria's neighbors would pose a whole new set of problems.

Still, officials said the U.S. was considering a gradually upgraded involvement in Syria to bolster moderate forces within the rebel ranks and help the fledgling political opposition win greater backing among Syrians, especially minority groups that have remained largely loyal to Assad and his government.

Debate within the administration on how best to accomplish these goals has increased in recent months as diplomatic efforts have failed to end the war. The Syrian opposition insists that only weapons, intelligence support and other forms of military aid truly can tip the balance.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a potential 2016 presidential candidate, urged the administration to consider lethal aid.

"We should want the best organized, the best equipped and most dominant groups in the opposition to be groups that are friendlier to our national interests," Rubio, a Florida Republican, said Wednesday at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The position is similar to one Kerry held as a senator, and one he reminded reporters of this week when he proposed the creation of opposition safe zones and suggested providing rebels with U.S. weaponry.

But in his first month as secretary of state and on his first official trip overseas, the 2004 presidential candidate has been vaguer.

"We have a lot of ideas on the table, and some of them, I am confident, will come to maturity by time we meet in Rome," Kerry said this week. "Others may take a little more of a gestation period, but they're no less part of the mix and part of the discussion.

"What I can tell you is we are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind wondering where the support is or if it's coming, and we are determined to change the calculation on the ground for President Assad."

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Klapper reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Kenneth Thomas in Washington, Sylvia Hui in London, and Silvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

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