BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is arming itself with a new ability to impose punitive tariffs on the United States and other trading rivals that refuse to resolve disputes after Washington’s paralysis of the World Trade Organization.

A day before Joe Biden becomes U.S. president, the European Parliament voted 653 to 10 on Tuesday for the enforcement law, which is likely to enter force by early March.

The law is designed to protect the bloc’s interest in cases normally be handled by the WTO. Luxembourg lawmaker Christophe Hansen said it should deter others from deploying “Trump-era tactics”.

“The day after we vote on this amendment a new U.S. president takes office. Together we can find solutions to bridge our differences and together we can bring the WTO back to speed,” he told parliament late on Monday.

The WTO’s Appellate Body, which has acted as a supreme court for international disputes, was left with too few adjudicators to make rulings in December 2019 after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration blocked new appointments.

Any WTO member unhappy with the decision of a lower-level WTO panel can now appeal into a void, leaving a case in legal limbo.

Under the new law, the EU will be able to take retaliatory action if another country denies it a settlement in this way.

The EU has agreed an interim appeals system with trading partners, including Australia, Brazil and China, but not the United States.

“With this vote, you will allow Europe to convey a message to its trading partners – rules exist and they need to be respected,” French lawmaker Marie-Pierre Vedrenne said.

The enforcement law is one of a series of measures to defend EU markets. The European Commission has also committed to propose this year new rules to protect the bloc against “coercive” action by others.

MAPUTO – A combined total of €7.6 million in funding from the European Union (EU) is helping the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) address the growing food needs in Mozambique driven by climate change, insecurity, displacement and the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also strengthening national capacity to respond to natural disasters.

Thanks to generous donors like the EU, WFP has been providing vital food assistance to nearly 323,000 people affected by the crisis in Cabo Delgado where escalating violence has displaced over 565,000 people.

“Despite challenging and unprecedented developments over the last few months, our partnership with WFP has ensured uninterrupted assistance to many vulnerable families in Mozambique, and especially to the increased number of persons displaced in Cabo Delgado,” said Annabelle Vasseur, EU Humanitarian Aid Technical Assistant in Mozambique.

The EU is also one of the partners of WFP’s lean season response in Sofala, Manica, Tete, Gaza, Maputo-Province, and Inhambane. Thanks to donations such as the one from the EU, WFP plans to provide food assistance to nearly 470,000 people, while also helping the National Disaster Management Institute (INGC) strengthen its capacity to prepare for and respond to disasters using unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, which efficiently gather essential data.

“The needs in Mozambique have been growing every day. We are grateful to the EU for the continued support that allows us to reach those who need the most”, said Antonella D’Aprile, WFP’s Representative and Country Director for Mozambique. “The EU’s continuous investments in innovative technologies have also played a key role in national preparedness efforts enabling to save lives and conduct assessments in the immediate aftermath of sudden-onset natural disasters”.

Funding from the EU is also allowing WFP to develop life-changing innovations for longer-term climate resilience of communities in drought-prone districts of Gaza and Tete. One of these innovations is the development of an early warning system, which helps farmers prepare for prolonged dry spells. When fully operational, this system will improve farmers’ resilience to natural hazards and reduce the potential damage to the livelihoods and of smallholder farmers.

The European Union is a long-standing partner to WFP, contributing over €32.8 million towards WFP’s activities across Mozambique over the past five years.

The United Nations World Food Programme is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top migration official on Tuesday criticized Bosnian authorities for failing to properly care for hundreds of migrants living in sub-zero temperatures on its territory, warning the Balkans country of its obligations if it hopes to join the EU.

Bosnia has faced sharp criticism for leaving around 1,000 people without shelter after a fire gutted the makeshift Lipa refugee camp near the northwest border with EU-member Croatia just before Christmas. The authorities at first said they would move the migrants to another location, but finally set up military tents at the site instead after locals elsewhere protested.

“Bosnia-Herzegovina must show it’s capable of managing migration. It must take responsibility, address the humanitarian situation,” Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told EU lawmakers.

“As a country with a perspective of EU accession, we expect Bosnia-Herzegovina to work on sustainable, long-term solutions, to set up facilities evenly distributed across the full territory of the country,” Johansson said. She said she would visit the area in February.

The problem is not new. Bosnia has been widely criticized in recent years for mishandling the arrival of thousands of people, many fleeing war and poverty. The politically unstable and impoverished Balkan country is still recovering from its own war in the 1990s.

Divided into two feuding entities, Bosnia lacks a unified policy on migrants. The Serb-run part of the country has refused to accept any, and the overburdened northwestern region has complained it has been abandoned despite help from international organizations.

Migrants come to Bosnia with the aim of reaching Croatia before moving on into Western Europe. Many have complained about being pushed back, which is illegal under international refugee law, and violence at the hands of Croatia’s police.

Johansson said thanks to EU help, around 900 people at the site in Bosnia now have shelter in weather-proof tents, with access to heating and food supplies.

“Thanks to our action, the situation has improved, but only from grave to serious. Stopping immediate risk to life is the beginning, not the end, of ensuring acceptable, dignified living conditions,” she said.

The Lipa camp was only ever set up as a temporary measure to cope with the impact of the coronavirus over the summer. Bosnian central authorities wanted to move some migrants to a nearby facility at Bira, but local authorities blocked the move as protests erupted.

“Winter has a long way to run and I must admit that it is frustrating to have to set up tents and temporary shelters when we have an empty, fully equipped and winterized facility just 30 kilometers (19 miles) down the road,” Johansson said.

Jovana Gec in Belgrade contributed to this report.

January 19, 2021 – 16:08 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) plans to clear the Boeing 737 MAX to fly again next week, 22 months after the plane was grounded following two fatal crashes, AFP reports.

“For us, the MAX will be able to fly again starting next week,” after publication of a directive, EASA director Patrick Ky said in a video conference.

“We have reached the point where our four main demands have been fulfilled,” Ky said during the conference, organised by the German association of aviation journalists.

The MAX was grounded in March 2019 after two crashes that together killed 346 people — the 2018 Lion Air disaster in Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines crash the following year.

Investigators said a main cause of both crashes was a faulty flight handling system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS. Meant to keep the plane from stalling as it ascends, the automated system instead forced the nose of the plane downward. The findings plunged Boeing into crisis, with more than 650 orders for the 737 MAX cancelled since last year.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered Boeing to revamp the jet and implement new pilot training protocols, before finally approving the plane for a return to service in November.

Ky had already indicated in October that EU approval was likely after Boeing promised a new sensor would be added to prevent the type of problems that caused the crashes.