"I have no time for the Europe of the blue flag and the little stars, some elevated ideal, " said Mr Rutte, speaking to Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad.

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Whether under the UN flag or the NATO flag, the new writ of leftist faith maintains that Europe can replace the IDF in defending the Jews.

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But that was much slower than at the start of 2007, and the worry now is that demand from Europe has started to flag.

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At question time on 28 June 2011, Labour's Lord Anderson of Swansea asked why the flag did not appear above Number 10 and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Europe day last month.

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