European Commission Speech Brussels, 23 Mar 2021 Good morning everybody,
Recently we have become used to talking about plans A and plans B, whereby plan B is developed just in case, if things are not going as …
Press Statement by Commissioner Sinkevičius following the AGRIFISH Council on 23 March 2021
Bosnia and Herzegovina: EIB provides €40 million for improving the urban transport network in the Canton of Sarajevo
To support the transition to more sustainable transport modes, the European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing €40 million for the reconstruction of the urban transport network in the Canton of Sarajevo.
- The first EIB financing for sustainable mobility in the Western Balkans
- €40 million for more efficient, cleaner and safer transportation in Sarajevo
- The EIB has provided financing of €1.6 billion to build better roads in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The financing, provided on the most favourable terms, will enable modernisation and extension of the tram and trolley bus networks by replacing existing vehicles and building new tramlines and tracks. These improvements will significantly increase safety and reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the surrounding municipalities.
The establishment of a more efficient and reliable public transit system is expected to enable a shift of passengers from private to public transport modes. As a result, it will help to reduce commute times, greenhouse gas emissions, noise levels and the number of traffic accidents in the Canton of Sarajevo. The project will contribute to the fulfilment of the EU Strategy for the Western Balkans and the EIB’s climate action goals for the region relating to sustainable transport.
The EIB Vice-President responsible for the Western Balkans, Lilyana Pavlova, said: “The COVID-19 crisis imposed a new priority for us as the EU bank – to ensure that the recovery for the pandemic is green. Sustainable mobility is a key step in that direction and we are glad that we have signed the financing for this important investment for the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project will contribute to the fulfilment of the EU Strategy for the Western Balkans and to the development of cleaner, modern and efficient transportation infrastructure across the region, for the benefit of its people and the environment alike.”
The Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH, Vjekoslav Bevanda, stated that yet another important contract has been signed for the project aimed at improving the quality of life for citizens in the Canton of Sarajevo and contributing to environmental protection. “It is very well known that Sarajevo suffers from many problems with urban transport and traffic jams, but also with air pollution, which is the result of all these issues. This is one among very few projects that will help in overcoming these difficulties. Therefore, we are grateful to the representatives of the EIB for supporting such a high-quality and important project for the people of Sarajevo, but also for all those who come to visit the city”, said Minister Bevanda.
The Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH, Ambassador Johann Sattler, said: “Urban mobility and sustainable, green public transportation are high on the agenda of the European Union. This project will support a shift to more environmentally-friendly public transportation and provide citizens with more affordable, accessible, healthier and cleaner alternatives in Sarajevo. As such, it is also contributing to the collective effort to reduce air pollution, a major threat to climate and citizens’ health.”
To date, the EIB has invested €1.6 billion in the modernisation of transport infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina, contributing to better connectivity of the country with the region and the European Union. The majority of these funds were allocated to Corridor Vc, which is one of the most important regional investments for the EIB.
Buddhist Times News – Buddhist stupa restoration begins
Buddhist stupa restoration begins
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Buddhist stupa near Shingardar village. PHOTO: FAZAL KHALIQ/EXPRESS
By — Shyamal Sinha
The Archeology Department has started restoration work on the Buddhist stupa in Landi Kotal in Khyber Pakthunkhwa’s Khyber tribal district.
Lanḍī Kōtal is a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, and the administrative capital of Khyber District. It was one of the largest towns in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and is located 1,072 metres (3,517 ft) above sea level, on the route across the mountains to the city of Peshawar. Landi Kotal is at the western edge of the Khyber Pass that marks the entrance to the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan, which is located just 5 kilometres (3 mi) to the west.
Landi Kotal is a tourist destination.Landi Kotal was the westernmost part of the Khyber held by the British during their rule of the Indian subcontinent.
The stupa is a historical archeological site located in Landi Kotal by the PakAfghan road which is severely damaged. Talking to The Express Tribune an official of the Archeology Department and project supervisor Ehsan Javed said that the financial resources for the preservation work had been provided by the World Bank. The restoration and preservation of the stupa is the first project in the first phase of preservation process in the newly merged districts.
“This stupa belongs to the initial stages of Buddhism in the Khyber Pass which is considered a gateway to the Indus delta. We have found a coin which dates back to the first century which means that it is at least 2000 years old,” said Ehsan Javed, adding the stupa is 65 percent destroyed as locals had made tunnels in it in search of treasure and it was vandalized by antique hunters too openly. He said that locals were being employed in digging and other physical work on the site.
“Khyber Pass has its own importance in the history of the Subcontinent. It was used by invaders and religions including Buddhism, Mughals, Romans and Muslims to reach India. There is only one large surviving stupa here which is locally called Shpola Stupa,” he said. “The preservation process was started in December 2020 but due to winters only 15 percent of excavation was conducted. These initial excavations confirmed that the stupa is a relic from the early stages of Buddhist incursions in these areas.
The 2nd century stupa may have been constructed towards the end of the Kushan Empire or according to some sources soon after third to fifth centuries. It is the most complete Buddhist monument in the Khyber Pass. It is a reminder of the great Kushana Empire and Buddhism nexus which is often depicted in Gandhara artefacts. Gandhara sculptures were excavated at this very stupa and are now housed in the museum in Peshawar.
Two sculptures in pieces and incomplete condition have been found,” he said, adding that the preservation process will take two years and a half to complete. “This would attract tourists to the militancy-stricken area as Shalpa Stupa is the only large stupa in the former Fata. There were several smaller ones which have been destroyed by the locals, including one at Ali Masjid,” he said.
Source — Tribune ,pak
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Germany: EIB provides €50 million in risk financing to Wachstumsfonds Bayern 2
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide up to €50 million in risk financing to Wachstumsfonds Bayern 2 (WBF2), a venture capital fund set up on the initiative of the Free State of Bavaria. WBF2 is run by fund manager Bayern Kapital GmbH.
- Transaction is strong signal for the German venture capital market
- The EU bank is providing risk financing under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe
Its target size is €165 million, with LfA Förderbank Bayern (“LfA”) having already committed to an investment of up to €115 million. The transaction is the first EFSI-backed project in Germany with a regional promotional bank and will provide another strong signal to the German venture capital market as Germany’s VC investments are still below the EU average.
The EU bank is providing this EFSI-backed risk financing as part of the Investment Plan for Europe. EFSI is the central pillar of the Investment Plan under which the EIB and the European Commission are working closely as strategic partners to boost investment and create jobs and growth by making smarter use of new and existing financial resources. The EIB financing, supported by EFSI, will have a significant impact as it provides financial support and flexibility to Bavaria’s innovative start-ups in, for example, robotics, digitisation, industrial manufacturing processes, artificial intelligence or life science, enabling them to maintain their early-mover advantage, scale up their business and continue their expansion.
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, in charge of the EU bank’s activities in Germany, emphasised: “I very much welcome the cooperation with LfA Förderbank Bayern to set up WBF2. Highly innovative start-ups are recognised as key sources of employment, productivity growth and sustainable jobs. For the EIB, with the backing of the Investment Plan for Europe, supporting investment that is aimed towards greater competitiveness is a top priority. This counts even more in the current difficult economic environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Hubert Aiwanger, Bavarian State Minister for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, welcomes the EIB’s entry into WFB2: “The €50 million from the EIB will make WFB2 even more effective. This means that even more Bavarian start-ups will receive reliable support for large-volume financing rounds and will be able to press ahead with their internationalisation strategies, the opening up of new markets, as well as approval studies and the further development or diversification of their own product ranges. Expansion financing for high-tech companies ultimately benefits the entire European business space. Many innovative business models are created in various industries of the future, thus also generating a large number of new, future-proof jobs.”
Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, said: “I am glad to see the support from the European Fund for Strategic Investments for Bavaria’s Wachstumsfonds Bayern 2, a venture capital fund that will help finance innovative German start-ups in fields like robotics, digitisation, industrial manufacturing, artificial intelligence or life sciences to grow their operations and maintain their competitive edge. Start-ups and innovations remain central to Europe’s future prosperity and a key source of new jobs.”
Technology-focused start-ups located across Bavaria work on innovative business models day in, day out,” said Dr Otto Beierl, the Chairman of the Management Board at LfA Förderbank Bayern. “One of the biggest hurdles such companies face is the capital-intensive financing that is needed during the growth phase, the period when companies work to increase the market penetration of their products and expand their market position. Wachstumsfonds Bayern 2, a fund that always acts as a co-investment partner, plays a key role in lining up private investors alongside public sector capital in the financing of start-ups. For this reason, we are really pleased about the European Investment Bank’s decision to mobilise additional capital for innovations ‘made in Bavaria’ by offering this important pillar of financing.”
Background information
About LfA
LfA Förderbank Bayern, founded in 1951, is the specialist promotional bank of the Free State of Bavaria. Its mandate is to use the instruments of a bank to provide financial support for the projects of commercial companies and professions in almost all branches of industry and for other measures designed to improve Bavaria’s economic, transport, energy and environmental structure.
About Bayern Kapital GmbH
Bayern Kapital GmbH, based in Landshut, was founded on the initiative of the Bavarian government in 1995. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bavarian LfA Förderbank . As the venture capital organisation of Bavaria, Bayern Kapital provides equity capital financing for the founders of young innovative technology companies in Bavaria. Presently Bayern Kapital manages 12 investment funds with a total volume of around €500 million. So far, it has invested roughly €350 million in about 290 innovative companies in various technology sectors including life science, software & IT, medical technology, materials and new materials, nanotechnology and environmental technology. As a result, more than 8 000 long-term jobs in sustainable companies have been created in Bavaria.
France: EIB co-finances the construction of an offshore wind farm
France: Investment Plan – EIB co-finances the construction of an offshore wind farm in Calvados for €350 million.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a €350 million credit line to a consortium made up of EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge and wpd to co-finance the construction of a wind farm off the coast of Courseulles-sur-Mer in France. This financing will be guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.
- EIB acts as major partner in French renewable energy project implemented and operated by the EDF Renouvelables, Enbridge and wpd consortium.
- Comprising 64 wind turbines located 10 to 16 km off the coast of Calvados, the wind farm will have a capacity of 450 MW.
- Investment guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the central pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.
Totalling an estimated €2 billion, the project involves the construction of 64 wind turbines located over 10 km off the French coast. With a capacity of 450 MW, it will produce the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 630 000 people, i.e. over 90% of the population of Calvados. It is expected to enter service in 2024.
Construction is expected to last three and a half years and will create over 1 000 direct jobs in Normandy, particularly in Le Havre where the wind turbines will be manufactured and assembled in a Siemens Gemesa factory currently being built. During the life of the wind farm, the project will enable the creation of around 100 long-term jobs at the port of Caen-Ouistreham for maintenance operations.
The EU bank has recognised expertise in financing offshore wind farms. In 2020, the EIB co-financed France’s largest offshore wind farm project off the coast of Fécamp (also in Normandy) in a consortium of the same organisations. This financing is also guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
The European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said: “The Investment Plan for Europe is backing the construction of a new wind park in the west of France. The project will provide clean energy to some 630 000 people and create over 1 000 jobs in the process. This is another step towards achieving our goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and showcases the economic potential of going green.”
“This second financing of an offshore wind farm in Normandy, France confirms that our transformation into the EU climate bank is picking up speed,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “This operation consolidates our expertise in fixed and floating offshore wind turbines, like other innovative projects that we are financing elsewhere in Europe.”
Investors urge Europe to prioritise climate in agriculture reform
A $2 trillion group of investors on Monday (22 March) urged the European Commission to be more ambitious in its planned overhaul of the bloc’s huge farming subsidy programme to fight climate change and protect biodiversity.
Ahead of a meeting of agriculture ministers from European Union countries on Monday, the group said proposed reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy needed to go much further to align with the EU target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Led by Legal & General Investment Management and think-tank Chatham House, the group made four recommendations, including reducing direct support for commodities with high emissions, such as red meat and dairy.
Financial support should be linked to the cost of efforts that protect the environmental, and incentives should be redesigned to put a value on sustainable agriculture, rather than boosting production at the expense of climate concerns.
Farmers should also be eligible for EU funds to help them transition away from high-emitting activities, the group said.
“As long-term investors, and stewards of our clients’ assets, we engage with businesses across the food and agriculture sector to help them transition towards a net-zero economy,” said Alexander Burr, ESG Policy Lead at Legal & General Investment Management.
“However, to truly effect change we seek stronger action from policymakers,” he said.
Agriculture accounts for around 10% of EU emissions.
A European Commission representative said it is committed to negotiating a farming policy that will support EU green goals, and its proposals would increase funding for sustainable schemes like carbon farming or organic production.
“The Commission supports a new CAP that includes strong environmental and climate ambition,” the representative said.
The investor group also includes Aviva Investors, Robeco and the FAIRR Initiative, an investor group focused on the food sector. FAIRR said it would consult its members, who manage a collective $30 trillion, on further areas of engagement on the issue.
Cardinal Erdő launches Amoris Laetitia Family Year in Hungary – Vatican News
By Stefan J. Bos
At the Mass, organized in a closed circle due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cardinal Erdő prayed for God’s blessing to grant families strength. In published remarks about the Mass, he made clear that prayer was the best way to open Pope Francis’ family year in Hungary.
The Mass was also an attempt to prepare the Church for the arrival of Pope Francis, who will travel to Hungary’s capital in September to participate in the closing Mass of the 52nd Eucharistic Congress.
Erdő had announced recently that the Pope was to appear at the 2020 International Eucharistic Congress, an annual Catholic clergy and laypeople gatherin, but that it had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic that authorities say killed more than 18,000 people in Hungary alone. The Cardinal explained that Pope Francis would instead visit the final day of the eight-day Congress in Budapest on September 12.
That visit comes as an encouragement to the many Hungarian families struggling to survive as the European Union nation of nearly 10 million people faces economic challenges.
Traditional Family
Hungary’s family affairs minister, Katalin Novák, wrote in a letter read at the Mass, that she appreciates that families could always count on Christian Churches’ service. She said that Church support was crucial as the government believes that the traditional family, which she called a “cornerstone of Christian life and culture,” is under attack.
Though Hungary’s population is still declining, the government claims its pro-family policy helped increase the number of marriages by 80 percent since 2010.
Miklós Soltész, the state secretary for church relations and ethnic minorities, said at the Mass that the number of couples deciding to have children has also grown.
1.4 million with tuberculosis, lost out on treatment during first year of COVID-19
Latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) from more than 80 countries, showed a reduction in treatment of 21 per cent in the first year of the pandemic, compared with 2019.
The biggest differences were in Indonesia (down 42 per cent), South Africa (41 per cent), the Philippines (37 per cent) and India (25 per cent).
“The disruption to essential services for people with TB is just one tragic example of the ways the pandemic is disproportionately affecting some of the world’s poorest people, who were already at higher risk for TB,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
Universal care a priority
“These sobering data point to the need for countries to make universal health coverage a key priority as they respond to and recover from the pandemic, to ensure access to essential services for TB and all diseases.”
TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killers.
Each day, nearly 4,000 people die from TB and close to 28,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease. Global efforts to combat it have saved an estimated 63 million lives since the year 2000.
Ahead of World TB Day on Wednesday 24 March, WHO pointed out that some countries have already taken steps to sidestep the impact of new coronavirus on the delivery of TB services.
Successful policies have included expanding the use of digital technologies such as computer-aided diagnosis in chest X-rays – particularly beneficial in countries lacking sufficient numbers of trained radiographers – along with the provision of remote advice and support and providing home-based TB prevention and care.
10 million a year infected
Despite these innovations, many people who have the preventable disease are still unable to access the care they need. Globally, some 10 million people fall ill with TB every year.
“WHO fears that over half a million more people may have died from TB in 2020, simply because they were unable to obtain a diagnosis,” WHO said, adding that this is by no means a new problem; before COVID-19 struck, the gap between the estimated number of people developing TB each year and the annual number of people officially diagnosed with the virus was about three million.
“The pandemic has greatly exacerbated the situation,” the UN health agency said.
Recommended steps
In new recommendations to help health authorities tackle the problem, the WHO urged systematic TB screening for the following groups: household and close contacts of people with TB, people living with HIV, people in prisons and detention centres, people exposed to silica (mainly miners).
Community screening is beneficial in vulnerable populations with limited access to health care, WHO insisted, such as urban poor communities, homeless communities, migrants, refugees, remote isolated communities, and other vulnerable or marginalized groups.
Further drug innovations have meant that health professionals should also encourage patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis to adopt the new shorter and fully oral medicine regime, which no longer has an injectable element.
This shorter regimen is nine to 11 months long “and research has shown that patients find it easier to complete the regimen, when compared to the longer regimens which last up to 20 months”, WHO said.
U.S. And European Union Hit China With Sanctions Over Treatment Of Uyghurs
/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6058bcbc0bdf2661a1831d09/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=2880&cropY1=22&cropY2=1642&w=696&resize=696,0&ssl=1 "U.S. And European Union Hit China With Sanctions Over Treatment Of Uyghurs")
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‘He was a kid with a million questions’: Fauci to star in children’s book
The leading US public health expert Anthony Fauci will be the subject of a new book – for children.
Dr Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor will be published on 29 June by Simon & Schuster.
The publisher told CNN the book was not endorsed by Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who has now served seven presidents but who rose to international fame last year as the coronavirus pandemic took hold. But the writer, Kate Messner, said she had spoken to Fauci “at the edges of his long work days”.
“Before Tony Fauci was America’s doctor,” she said, “he was a kid with a million questions, about everything from the tropical fish in his bedroom to the things he was taught in Sunday school.
“‘I’m really hopeful that curious kids who read this book – those we’re counting on to solve tomorrow’s scientific challenges – will see themselves in the pages of Dr Fauci’s story and set their goals just as high.”
At points in the last year it seemed Fauci’s chief goal was just not to be fired, as his frank advice clashed with Donald Trump’s inconsistent, politically motivated and often plain bizarre statements on the pandemic and how it might be contained.
But Fauci survived and even flourished while other members of the former president’s taskforce saw their reputations battered or were fired outright. According to Johns Hopkins University, by Monday more than 542,000 Americans had died of Covid-19, out of a case count of nearly 30m. The case count has slowed as the Biden administration has supervised a rapid vaccine rollout, though virus variants and public behaviour still pose considerable threats.
Recently turned 80, Fauci maintains powerful appeal among the young. In December, as Covid vaccines began to be used across the US, he told children he had saved Christmas by flying to the North Pole and giving Santa a shot.
The same month, he discussed with the Guardian the dominant theme of his career before Covid, the search for a cure for HIV and Aids.
“I’ve been in a very unique position of now being one of the very, very few people who were there from the very first day of HIV,” he said.
A friend reported Fauci as saying: “The one thing that I still have left that I want to do is put an end to” HIV.
Fauci is not the first beloved modern public figure to have his or her story told for children. For just one example, books about the late supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – who was also from Brooklyn – have flourished.
According to an Amazon page for the book about Fauci, Messner and illustrator Alexandra Bye will offer children a story about “a curious boy in Brooklyn, delivering prescriptions from his father’s pharmacy on his blue Schwinn bicycle.
“His father and immigrant grandfather taught Anthony to ask questions,” the blurb says, “consider all the data, and never give up – and Anthony’s ability to stay curious and to communicate with people would serve him his entire life.”
The publisher also promises “a timeline, recommended reading, a full spread of facts about vaccines and how they work, and Dr Fauci’s own tips for future scientists”.
