KARACHI: The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has indefinitely extended the suspension of Pakistan International Airlines flight operations in EU, “until all necessary information is available to decide on the way forward.”

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency had suspended the Third Country Operations Authorization (TCOA) to PIA in July 2020 initially for six months following the controversial and several time modified statement of the Minister of Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan regarding the verification of degrees of Pakistani pilots working in the national flag carrier and other airlines. The EASA decision to suspend PIA flight operations to EU had come in February 2021, after the International Civil Aviation Organisation made public a ‘Significant Safety Concern for Pakistan, indicating a serious degradation of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority certification and oversight capabilities. Later, the EASA extended the suspension for another three months till March 31st, 2021. In its latest review, the EASA rejected the PCAA offer and found it not to be helpful in removing the (EASA) concerns about the PCAA oversight and mentioned that under the legal instruments, the Third Country Operations Authorization must be revoked.

The EASA had communicated to the CAA and PIA that “their offer to use only flight crew and engineers not holding Pakistani licenses does not fully mitigate all concerns regarding the oversight capabilities of the PCAA. At this moment, the EASA therefore considers that not all conditions required to lift the suspension are met.

EASA should now revoke the TCOA (Third Country Operations Authorization) in line with EASA, ART.235(c)(1) of Part-ART.” But the EU agency let off the drastic action and chose to extend the suspension indefinitely till all necessary information is available.

In a breather to the national flag carrier, the EASA informed the PCAA, due to the on-going technical consultations between European Commission and PCAA, the exceptional circumstances arising from the current Covid- 19 crisis and the impending ICAO audit of CAA in coming months, “the EASA has opted not to revoke your TCO Authorisation but to further extend the suspension period until all necessary information is available to decide on the way forward.”

Turkey yesterday strongly rejected accusations that it snubbed Ursula von der Leyen, one of the European Union’s most powerful executives, because of her gender, insisting that the EU’s own protocol requests were applied during a meeting at the Turkish presidential palace.

Von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and European Council chief Charles Michel met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks on EU-Turkey relations on Tuesday.

The two guests were led into a large room for discussions with Erdogan, but only two chairs had been set out in front of the EU and Turkish flags for the three leaders. Von der Leyen stood looking at the men who took the chairs, expressing her astonishment with a “ehm” sound and a gesture of disappointment.

She was later seen seated on a large beige sofa, away from her male counterparts.

The images drew intense criticism on social media and accusations of gender discrimination.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey had come under “extremely unfair” criticism over the visit and alleged slight.

“Turkey is a deep-rooted state and this is not the first time that it has hosted a visitor,” Cavusoglu said.

“The protocol applied during its (international) meetings is in line with international protocol rules as well as the world-renowned Turkish hospitality traditions.”

Cavusoglu insisted that Turkish and EU officials in charge of protocol had held meetings before the visit and that the arrangement was in line with EU requests. “The protocol that was applied during the narrow-scope meeting that was held at our president’s office met the requests of the EU side. In other words, such a seating arrangement was made in line with the suggestions of the EU side,” he said.

The minister added that he felt obliged to lay the blame on the EU publicly after accusations from even “the highest levels of the EU.”

Facing a barrage of questions for the second straight day, EU Commission chief spokesperson Eric Mamer did not comment on the Turkish’ version of the incident, and tried to downplay it.

“If you look at the president’s statements, what she put on her Twitter account, etc … you will see that there is no mention of this event,” Mamer said.

“Let’s not exaggerate the importance that we gave to this event. We will make sure things are clarified so future missions go ahead according to a common perception of protocol measures.”

ISTANBUL: Turkey on Wednesday blamed the EU for seating arrangements that left European Commi­ssion chief Ursula von der Leyen without a chair during a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan and Turkish officials came under a torrent of criticism after images went viral of his meeting on Tuesday with von der Leyen and European Council president Charles Michel in Ankara.

The well-appointed room which the three leaders entered had only two chairs arranged next to the corresponding EU and Turkish flags.

Erdogan and Michel quic­kly seated themselves while von der Leyen — whose diplomatic rank is the same as that of the two men — was left standing.

“Ehm,” she said pointedly, while appearing to spread her arms in wonder.

Official images later showed her seated on a sofa opposite one taken by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Cavusoglu said on Thur­sday that criticism levelled against Turkey for the diplomatic blunder was “unfair”.

“The seating arrangements were made in line with the EU suggestion. Period. We would not be revealing this fact had accusations not been made against Turkey,” Cavusoglu told reporters.

“The demands and suggestions of the EU side were met and the proper protocol applied during the meeting,” he said.

The diplomatic faux pas was instantly branded “sofagate” on Twitter and became the dominant talking point of the first Turkey-EU summit in a year.

The meeting was aimed at a setting a more positive tone to relations after months of trouble on multiple fronts.

But it ended with European officials accusing Turkey — which last month withdrew from the landmark Istanbul Convention combating gender-based violence — of male chauvinism.

“First they withdraw from the Istanbul Convention and now they leave the President of European Commission without a seat in an official visit. Shameful. #Wome­nsRights,” wrote Spanish European Parliament member Iratxe Garcia Perez.

Some also questioned why Michel was so quick to take a seat.

The European Council president broke nearly a full day of silence on Wednesday by writing on Facebook that he realised that the scene gave “the impression that I was oblivious to this situation”.

But Michel blamed it on a “protocol blunder” by Turkey that he and von der Leyen decided to overlook at the time.

The two EU leaders “chose not to worsen it by making a public incident”, Michel wrote.

“I am sad that this situation eclipsed the major and beneficial geopolitical work that we carried out together in Ankara, and of which I hope Europe will reap the benefits.”

Von der Leyen herself used a post-summit press conference to stress that she had a detailed discussion with Erd­ogan about women’s rights.

“I am deeply worried about the fact that Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention,” she said.

European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the incident had “sharpened her focus on the issue”.

But Cavusoglu said Turkey knew perfectly how to follow diplomatic protocol and was simply complying with the instructions of a planning delegation sent by Brussels. “Turkey is a well-established state that hosts guests often and at every level,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2021

BRUSSELS, April 8 (Xinhua) — The European Commission on Thursday strongly condemned the violence in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the acts of violence that have occurred in Northern Ireland over the past days. Nobody has anything to gain from this. We call on all those involved to refrain immediately from these violent acts,” declared the commission’s chief spokesperson Eric Mamer on Twitter.

Leaders of Britain and Ireland also called for an end to the riots. “The way to resolve differences is through dialogue, not violence or criminality,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“I utterly condemn the violent attacks on police, a journalist, and bus driver over recent days in The North. Now is the time for the two Governments and leaders on all sides to work together to defuse tensions and restore calm,” tweeted Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.

The Northern Ireland Executive also said Thursday that it is “gravely concerned” by the recent riots in the region in which more than 50 police officers have been injured.

Riots erupted last week in Belfast, Northern Ireland between nationalists, loyalists and the police over the Northern Ireland Protocol, a post-Brexit trading arrangement which they claim has created barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain.

The latest development followed several nights of unrest in loyalist communities amid tensions over the Protocol within the Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union.

The Protocol, as an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement, was ratified by both the European Union (EU) and Britain and has been in force since Feb. 1, 2020.

“The protocol was agreed to protect peace and stability in Northern Ireland, to protect the Good Friday and Belfast agreement, to protect North-South cooperation, to avoid a hard border,” said European Commission spokesperson for EU-UK relations Daniel Ferrie.

On March 31, the European executive arm received a draft UK-EU work program from the UK, following the bloc’s request to be provided with “a credible roadmap with clear deliverables and milestones for the implementation of the protocol,” said Ferrie.

The document is currently being reviewed by the European Commission, and contacts at the technical level have been established between the two parties, he added.