The European Union’s top officials are breathing a sigh of relief as Joe Biden prepares to take over as president of the United States
ByThe Associated Press
January 20, 2021, 9:08 AM
• 2 min read
BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top officials breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday that Joe Biden will be taking over as president of the United States, but they warned that the world has changed after four years of Donald Trump and that trans-Atlantic ties will be different in the future.
“This new dawn in America is the moment we’ve been awaiting for so long,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, hailing Biden’s arrival as “resounding proof that, once again after four long years, Europe has a friend in the White House.”
“The United States are back, and Europe stands ready to reconnect with an old and trusted partner to breathe new life into our cherished alliance,” she told EU lawmakers, hours before Biden was to be sworn in at his inauguration ceremony in Washington.
European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs summits between the EU’s 27 heads of state and government, said that trans-Atlantic relations have “greatly suffered in the last four years. In these years, the world has grown more complex, less stable and less predictable.”
“We have our differences and they will not magically disappear. America seems to have changed, and how it’s perceived in Europe and the rest of the world has also changed,” said Michel, whose open criticism of the Trump era contrasted starkly with the silence that mostly reigned in Europe while the Republican leader was in the White House.
This change, Michel said, means “that we Europeans (must) take our fate firmly into our own hands, to defend our interests and promote our values,” and he underlined that “the EU chooses its course and does not wait for permission to take its own decisions.”
The Europeans have invited Biden to a summit, quite probably in Brussels, in parallel with a top-level NATO meeting as soon as he’s ready. Michel said the EU’s priority is to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, rebuild the global economy and boost security ties with America.
The heads of the diplomatic missions of EU Member States in the Republic of North Macedonia, led by EU Ambassador David Gere, at their regular annual meeting with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev showed particular interest in resolving open issues with the Republic of Bulgaria, which resulted in no consensus on the negotiating framework for North Macedonia in Brussels, reports the “Sloboden Pecat”, quoted by BTA.
The meeting, as reported by the government press office, highlighted the unanimous opinion that the process should proceed as quickly as possible and end with the start of negotiations of the country with the EU. Prime Minister Zaev has stressed that it is important for the Republic of North Macedonia to continue the dialogue with Bulgaria in the spirit of mutual respect and through the realization of the Friendship Treaty as well as more intensive cooperation in different spheres.
The membership of the Republic of Macedonia in the EU does not have an alternative, Reev repeated. He has informed the ambassadors about the current and most important activities in the integration process of the country.
VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski and vice-president of the party Alexander Nikoloski had a meeting in Budapest with the Prime Minister of Hungary and Fidesz party leader Viktor Orban and a working breakfast with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjrto, reports “Nezavisen Vesnik”.
At the meeting, Mickoski spoke about his country’s blocked European integration and asked Hungary for help. The conversation with Orban was focused on the excellent friendly relations that exist between the sister parties VMRO-DPMNE and Fidesz. At the working breakfast with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, the parties discussed the strategic priorities of the country related to the membership of the Republic of North Macedonia in the European Union.
Two days ahead of the meeting of European leaders on a coordinated response to the Covid-19 crisis, the European Commission set out a number of actions needed to step up the fight against the pandemic.
The Commission has called on member states to accelerate the roll-out of vaccination across the EU: by March 2021, at least 80% of people over the age of 80, and 80% of health and social care professionals in every Member State should be vaccinated. And by summer 2021, member states should have vaccinated a minimum of 70% of the adult population.
The Commission also called on member states to continue to apply physical distancing, limit social contacts, fight disinformation, coordinate travel restrictions, ramp up testing, and increase contact tracing and genome sequencing to face up to the risk from new variants of the virus. As recent weeks have seen an upward trend in case numbers, more needs to be done to support healthcare systems and to address “Covid-fatigue” in the coming months.
Key actions for member states, the Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which will help reduce risks and keep the virus under control:
Speeding up the roll-out of vaccination across the EU
• By March 2021, at least 80% of people over the age of 80, and 80% of health and social care professionals in every Member State, should be vaccinated. • By summer 2021, Member States should have vaccinated 70% of the entire adult population. • The Commission, Member States and the EMA will work with companies to use the EU’s potential for increased vaccine manufacturing capacity to the fullest. • The Commission is working with Member States on vaccination certificates, in full compliance with EU data protection law, which can support the continuity of care. A common approach is to be agreed by the end of January 2021 to allow Member States’ certificates to be rapidly useable in health systems across the EU and beyond.
Testing and genome sequencing
• Member States should update their testing strategies to account for new variants and expand the use of rapid antigen tests. • Member States should urgently increase genome sequencing to at least 5% and preferably 10% of positive test results. At present, many Member States are testing under 1% of samples, which is not enough to identify the progression of the variants or detect any new ones.
Preserving the Single Market and free movement while stepping up mitigation measures
• Measures should be applied to further reduce the risk of transmission linked to the means of travel, such as hygiene and distancing measures in vehicles and terminuses. • All non-essential travel should be strongly discouraged until the epidemiological situation has considerably improved. • Proportionate travel restrictions, including testing of travellers, should be maintained for those travelling from areas with a higher incidence of variants of concern.
Ensuring European leadership and international solidarity
• To ensure early access to vaccines, the Commission is to set up a Team Europe mechanism to structure the provision of vaccines shared by Member States with partner countries. This should allow for sharing with partner countries access to some of the 2.3 billion doses secured through the EU’s Vaccines Strategy, paying special attention to the Western Balkans, our Eastern and Southern neighbourhood and Africa. • The European Commission and Member States should continue supporting COVAX, including through early access to vaccines. Team Europe has already mobilised €853 million in support of COVAX, making the EU one of COVAX’s biggest donors.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “Vaccination is essential to get out of this crisis. We have already secured enough vaccines for the entire population of the European Union. Now we need to accelerate the delivery and speed up vaccination. Our aim is to have 70% of our adult population vaccinated by summer.
“That could be a turning point in our fight against this virus. However, we will only end this pandemic when everyone in the world has access to vaccines. We will step up our efforts to help secure vaccines for our neighbours and partners worldwide.” – TradeArabia News Service
SENSATIONAL and lyricist afro-pop singer Austin-Jerry Adebiyi Akingbolu aka Jerry Pay has said that his song ‘Red Bible’ is not pro-cultism or anti-religious.
In a recent chat, JerryPay said the song is an inspirational song that speaks more about religion and how religion has damaged the whole universe.
According to him, the song is a very strong and touchy soul music with inspiring messages. “When people listen to the song, they do understand my message, and what most of them first ask as a question is why did you make this kind of a song? Do you think you have the heart to push this kind of a song, but like I used to tell them, I’ve got everything that is because I took my time, it took me almost 10 years to get to this place, and it took me 10 years to be in this place I am now, listen to me, I have to do something that when people listen to me, they must look for that damage. So this Red Bible, it talks about religion, and it does not glorify any religion, it talks about how our religion has damaged the society, and the universe we’re living in today,” JerryPay said.
A music writer and performer based in Paris, Jerry Pay hails from Ekiti State, South-west Nigeria.
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JerryPay’s new EP has songs like 9490; Celebrity; Evidence; No One Is Dying and How Do You Know.
The singer recently hosted top personalities in the entertainment industry to the listening party of his new six tracks EP titled ‘Sun Beneath The Sea.’
EU, US Exert Pressure On Mnangagwa To Probe Violation Of Human Rights
20 January 2021
The European Union (EU) and the United States of America have both expressed concern over the Zimbabwean government’s failure to probe the disproportionate use of force by security personnel against civilians in January 2009.
In a statement posted on its Twitter handle, the EU in Zimbabwe demanded an end to impunity and the prosecution of human rights violators. It said:
Two years on, investigations are lacking and impunity continues to prevail on human rights violations perpetrated in #Zimbabwe in January 2019. #NoZIMpunity.
In a related development, the U.S. Embassy in Harare queried why Zimbabwe has not yet prosecuted and convicted the security forces accused of rape, torture, and killing civilians in January 2019. It said in a tweet:
Two years. When will Zimbabwe investigate, prosecute, and convict government security forces accused of rape, torture, and killing civilians in Jan 2019? Two years is too long to seek justice/answers/accountability.
Zimbabwe descended into anarchy characterised by the looting of businesses and barricading of roads in January 2019 after the government unilaterally hiked the price of fuel by over 150 per cent.
In response to the fuel riots, the government blocked the internet for several days and unleashed security forces on civilians resulting in the death of over 20 people and serious injuries to hundreds.
There were also allegations of some rogue members of the security services moving from door-to-door raping women who were too terrified to report the abuse for fear of victimisation.
The Zimbabwean government denied the reports insisting that “terrorists” and a “third force” were responsible for the violence.- Pindula News
Jobs and investment are likely to continue to leave the City of London for the European Union due to Brexit, Ireland’s EU commissioner Mairead McGuinness said as she launched a plan to strengthen the bloc’s financial system.
<p class="no_name">“There has been this discussion around movement of employment and investment. Already some has happened and it is likely that more will follow,” Ms McGuinness said.</p>
<p class="no_name">“While that is happening, it isn’t our objective that we’re trying to take some of the one million people’s jobs that are in the <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_location=United+Kingdom" rel="nofollow">United Kingdom</a>. But we are trying to take account of Brexit,” she added.</p>
<p class="no_name">The <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=European+Commission" rel="nofollow">European Commission</a> has not yet made a series of equivalence decisions on British financial services, which would ease access for UK banks and financial firms to the single market by effectively deeming British regulations to be on par with those of the EU.</p>
<p class="no_name">Ms McGuinness, who is in charge of financial markets and services, said that the commission was still lacking clarity on the British government’s intentions regarding regulation, and on how much it will seek to diverge from its past alignment with the bloc.</p>
<h4 class="crosshead">Equivalence</h4><p class="no_name">The commission would only grant equivalence where it is in the EU’s strategic interest, she added.</p>
<p class="no_name">It comes after the biggest political group in the EU called for a strategy to encourage crucial sectors of the financial industry to relocate into the bloc.</p>
<p class="no_name">“We need a clear step-by-step masterplan that helps key financial sector businesses move from the United Kingdom to the European Union,” said MEP <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=Markus+Ferber" rel="nofollow">Markus Ferber</a>, who is finance spokesman for the right-wing European People’s Party, which includes <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=Fine+Gael" rel="nofollow">Fine Gael</a> in its grouping.</p>
<p class="no_name">This week, mayor of London <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=Sadiq+Khan" rel="nofollow">Sadiq Khan</a> wrote in the Financial Times that the City of London had been “sidelined” in the Brexit talks and that Britain’s trade deal with the EU was “effectively a no-deal Brexit for finance”.</p>
<p class="no_name">A new strategy unveiled by Ms McGuinness on Tuesday aims to reduce the bloc’s dependence on financial services outside its jurisdiction.</p>
<p class="no_name">The plan seeks to develop greater capacity within the EU in financial market infrastructure and to bolster the international role of the euro as a currency.</p>
<p class="no_name">This is important to “shield our economy and financial system from foreign exchange shocks, reduce reliance on other currencies and ensure lower transaction, hedging and financing costs for EU firms,” commissioner for the economy <a class="search" href="/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=Paolo+Gentiloni" rel="nofollow">Paolo Gentiloni</a> said.</p>
Renewable energy growth has reduced greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution and delivered a range of other co-benefits since 2005, according to a new briefing document released by the European Union’s (EU) European Environment Agency (EEA) on Monday.
Renewables, which include biomass in this report, have risen to 34% of all electricity generation, doubling since 2005, but fossil fuels still produce the largest share, at 38% of total generation in 2019. One quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions come from the electricity sector in the EU.
The briefing cites a detailed life-cycle analysis of renewable energy conducted by the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), published in late December 2020.
The research compares the impacts of renewable energy, both positive and negative, to a counterfactual scenario in which no new renewables were built. Emissions, air pollution, acidification and eutrophication (in which bodies of water become excessively oxygenated, damaging ecosystems) were all improved by renewable energy growth.
The outcomes for freshwater eco-toxicity were a net decrease, because “solar PV has a relatively high impact intensity for ecotoxicity because of the emissions of metal, related to mining and smelting operations, and chlorine from the purification of solar-grade silicon,” however some of thsse impacts were offset by wind.
Land impacts were greater due to renewable use, but the vast majority of this had come from the high usage of biomass in the EU. The bulk of emissions reductions from the use of renewables came from onshore wind power, follower by rooftop and utility scale solar, and then by biomass.
The growth of renewable energy resulted in avoiding the use of 145 mega-tonnes of oil equivalent of fossil fuels 2018; roughly equivalent to the gross final energy consumption of France. Of this amount, 39% was solid fuels and 31% was gaseous fuels. Similarly, the emissions avoided due to the growth of renewables in the EU was roughly equivalent to the total GHG emissions of France, for the year of 2018.
The full report finds that offshore and onshore wind, and solar PV energy avoided 30, 161 and 79 megatonnes of CO2, respectively, and 270 in total for the year 2019. This compares to 38 MTCO2 from biogas and 33 MTCO2 from solid biomass, for renewable electricity.
For the EU’s climate pledges to be met, renewable energy must grow to nearly 70% of all EU generation by 2030 and to more than 80% by 2050, which in turn allows other sectors to reduce emissions through electrification, such as road transport.
The EU proposes several pathways for reducing the impacts of this growth in renewable energy, such as prioritising better end of life material recovery for solar PV. Among renewable technologies, PV has a relatively high emissions impact in the manufacturing process, and as such, the EU proposes increases the proportion of clean electricity used in PV manufacturing to bring down this emissions intensity.
Demand-side management, such as energy and resource efficiency, circular business models and lifetime extensions for non-combustible power sources can all help, as can improved effort to site and design large-scale renewable projects to better suit local and broader ecosystem needs.
“STOP THE STEAL” 2020 PRESIDENTIAL WRITE IN CANDIDATE PETER W SHERRILL JOINS FORCES TO “HALT” THE AFRICAN UNION ELECTION – Book Publishing Industry Today – EIN Presswire
The March for Life, bringing many thousands of people to Washington DC each year to protest abortion, is to be virtual this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and security concerns.
A statement posted at marchforlife.org asks participants to stay home this year and join the march virtually, The Alabama Baptist reported.
“For the first time since 1974, when it first began, the message of the national March for Life to participants is: Stay home,” Catholic News Service reported.
The announcement was made after the National Park Service announced it is closing the National Mall through Inauguration Day on Jan. 20 due to security concerns following riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
A statement posted at marchforlife.org asked participants to stay home this year and join the march virtually.
America Magazine, the Jesuit Review ran a story headlined, “Dear March for Life organizers: Thank you for canceling the in-person march.”
The march protests the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, the mantra of the prochoice movement, that supports the right to abortion.
The Jan. 29 march, which has been held each January since 1974 on the Mall, will be streamed online, except for a small group of antiabortion leaders who will march to the Supreme Court that day, the group said in a statement, The Washington Post reported.
The marchers “will represent pro-life Americans everywhere who, each in their own unique ways, work to make abortion unthinkable and build a culture where every human life is valued and protected.”
Groups like the March for Life have been strong supporters of President Donald Trump and believe his selection of three conservative Supreme Court justices — as well as hundreds of conservative lower court judges — will lead to significant legal limits on abortion.
In one of his last official acts as president, Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 18 identifying scores of historical figures to be honored in the new National Garden of American Heroes, among them March for Life founder Nellie Gray and famous radio and television preacher Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Lifesite News reported.
Trump ordered the creation of the new national park in July 2020, announcing that it would be a “vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.”
The March for Life statement said, “The protection of all of those who participate in the annual March, as well as the many law enforcement personnel and others who work tirelessly each year to ensure a safe and peaceful event, is a top priority of the March for Life.
“In light of the fact that we are in the midst of a pandemic which may be peaking, and in view of the heightened pressures that law enforcement officers and others are currently facing in and around the Capitol, this year’s March for Life will look different.”
Driscoll and daughter, Real Faith Ministries Director, Ashley Chase, release book today, January 19, in partnership with Charisma House Publishing
ORLANDO, Fla. — As a young father, bestselling author and pastor, Mark Driscoll, remembers reading Bible stories and teaching his first-born daughter, Ashley, how to pray the way God’s children talk to their dad. Today, at a time when Americans may feel isolated, anxious, or disconnected, Driscoll and daughter, Real Faith Ministries Director, Ashley Chase, believe prayer can be a powerful, life-changing vehicle for help.
But all too often, especially during uncertain times, prayer does not come easy. There are many books on prayer and about Jesus, but there are very few on Jesus’ prayer life. His was the perfect prayer life and a model for how to pray. So, why, how, and where did Jesus pray?
Driscoll and Chase answer these questions and invite readers to experience the presence of God through an ever-deepening, life-giving, burden-relieving, and hope-lifting relationship with Jesus Christ in their new book, “Pray Like Jesus: Learn to Pray to God as Father,” ISBN-13: 978-1-62999-926-5, releasing today (January 19), in partnership with Charisma House Publishing. Watch a message from Driscoll and Chase here.
“Whether you find yourself relating more to one or the other of us, our prayer is that by the end of this book, you’ll discover that you’ll have a new perspective of your relationship with God,” says Driscoll. “Once you know who your Dad is, it’s a lot easier to talk to Him.”
Many people seeking God statistically value prayer and try to have a richer prayer life. However, most people struggle to build any momentum in their prayer lives when they fall into a rut or do not understand how easy it is. In “Pray Like Jesus,” the father/daughter duo looks at Jesus’ teachings about prayer and how he modeled talking to God. The discussion is biblical, practical, and easy to read.
“It is an honor to be able to share stories of how God has used prayer to grow my faith and mold me as a believer. I love that prayer requires us to be dependent on God, much like a child who is helpless without a parent,” says Chase. “God loves to bless His children, and since He is the only one who truly knows and can fill our needs, who better to go to in this often-tumultuous life?”
Driscoll and Chase’s book teaches how to pray more earnestly, more joyously, more humbly, more frequently, more naturally, and more fruitfully. It will help readers understand how to make prayer a central part of life and direct each day. The book includes a sermon series for churches, ministries, and small groups, daily devotionals, a small-group study guide with discussion questions, and suggested prayer activities.
For additional information, including a free sample chapter of “Pray Like Jesus,” visit driscollbooks.com.
About Mark Driscoll Mark Driscoll is a Jesus- following, mission-leading, church-serving, people-loving, Bible-preaching pastor, and the author of many books, including “Real Marriage” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” He is the pastor of The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. With a skillful mix of bold presentation, accessible teaching, and unrelenting compassion for those who are hurting the most, Pastor Mark has taken biblical Christianity into cultural corners rarely explored by Evangelicals. He and his wife and ministry partner, Grace, have three sons and two daughters.
About Ashley Chase Ashley Chase is the Driscolls’ oldest of five children. She studied theology at Capenwray Bible College in Costa Rica, is a graduate with honors from the master’s program at the Barrett Honors College, and a gifted Bible teacher. She is the Missions Director at The Trinity Church, Ministry Director for Real Faith, and was a campus leader for the prayer tent that prayed day and night for an entire school year at Arizona State University, one of the largest universities in America.
About Charisma House Charisma House empowers people through Spirit-inspired resources. It is the leading publisher of diversified Christian resources motivating people to fulfill God’s purpose. For more than 20 years Charisma House has published books, including 14 New York Times bestsellers that challenge, encourage, teach, and equip Christians.
Publicity Department Charisma House Publishing [email protected] (615) 331-8538
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.
