Mr Valdis Dombrovskis announced “a launch of a WTO trade and climate initiative, focusing on green goods”, acknowledging that “today, trade is about much more than just trade”. He intends to reshape the EU’s future trade policy to make it more sustainable, including in the Mercosur trade agreement where the EU must “find lasting solutions for the Amazon region” before its ratification.
“Europe needs to become more assertive”, he said, adding that EU’s trade partners using unfair practises will be met with new tools, including a new anti-coercion mechanism- if needed, even against the United States. With China, Mr Dombrovskis seeks to conclude the investment agreement now under negotiation while ensuring that the trade relationship is “restructured to be reciprocal, balanced and fair”.
Enforce sustainable trade deals in practice
MEPs welcomed the planned new trade defence measure but also emphasised that the EU’s tools must be sharp enough to ensure that “existing trade agreements don’t only work on paper but in practice, too.” On Transatlantic trade relations, some MEPs asked for the EU to prepare for the WTO judgment to impose USD4 billion worth of tariffs on US goods in the Boeing case.
Several MEPs called for a trade policy linked closely to the Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals, and a long-awaited proposal on enforcing sustainable development chapters in trade agreements through sanctions. Several MEPs expect a new trade commissioner to ensure the Mercosur deal is environmentally sustainable and to protect the respect for human rights in the investment deal with China.
MEPs asked the candidate about obligatory due diligence for companies to ensure sustainable supply chains, which Mr Dombrovskis pledged to propose. Other MEPs wanted to know about future steel safeguards against dumping on the EU market and prospects for an EU-UK trade deal.
Based on the committees’ recommendations, the Conference of Committee Chairs will assess the outcome of the hearing and forward its conclusions to the Conference of Presidents. The latter will carry out the final evaluation on 6 October and decide if the hearing can be concluded. If so, the plenary will vote on whether or not to approve the portfolio change on 7 October, in Brussels.
During her introductory speech, Ms McGuinness told MEPs that her guiding priority would be to put people front and centre of the roll out of the EU’s financial services architecture. The financial system must be used to underpin a more inclusive society. Ms McGuinness also said she would prioritise lending to the real economy, especially SMEs.
MEPs were also keen to sound out Ms McGuinness on these priorities in more detail. Many also asked her to commit to going further with legislation aimed at incentivising investments beneficial to the climate and the environment.
Capital markets union, banking union, and anti-money laundering
Many MEPs asked the Commissioner-designate how she planned to give new impetus to the completion of the capital markets union and the banking union, with a number of them warning that the obstacles laid down by some member states risked paralysing the whole process.
A number of MEPs also asked about the next steps that Ms McGuinness would take to tackle money laundering more efficiently, including on when exactly she would attempt to propose new legislation.
MEPs also raised the topics of Brexit, gender mainstreaming in the financial sector, crypto currencies, and taxation, among others.
Next steps
Based on the committee’s recommendations, the Conference of Committee Chairs will assess the outcome of the hearing and forward its conclusions to the Conference of Presidents. The latter will carry out the final evaluation on 6 October and decide if the hearing can be concluded. If so, the plenary will vote on whether or not to approve the Commissioner-designate on 7 October.
NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM As part of the European Union Climate Diplomacy activities and #EU4GreenKZ campaign, the European Union Delegation in Kazakhstan jointly with EU Member States and with the support of Nur-Sultan Mayor Office organized a tree-planting event at the EXPO site of Nur-Sultan city on September 30.
The event aims to contribute to the green and sustainable development of Nur-Sultan city and strengthen cooperation between Kazakhstan and the European Union.
During the solemn opening, EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan Sven-Olov Carlsson noted: «The EU commends Kazakhstan for having taken bold steps to move towards sustainable development. In 2013, Kazakhstan launched the Green Economy Transition Plan, which is one of the most ambitious in Europe and Central Asia region. The EU is proud to be a part of these achievements by contributing to the green development of the country both through our regional and bilateral programmes. Cooperation in the area of environment and green economy is also amongst the priorities of the EU–Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation agreement, which entered into full force in March 2020», the official website of the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan reads.
The welcoming remarks were also delivered by Ambassador of Germany Dr Tilo Klinner (Germany is currently holding Presidency of the Council of the EU), Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources Mr Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mr Margulan Baimukhan, and Deputy Akim of Nur-Sultan city Ms Malika Bekturova. Ambassadors and representatives of 21 EU Member States accredited to Kazakhstan were present at the event.
Altogether, the diplomats planted 27 trees (15 Christmas trees and 12 oak trees), which is the number of countries represented in the EU. The trees will serve as another symbol of friendship and joint commitment of Kazakhstan and EU to a green and sustainable future.
The EU is at the forefront of international efforts to fight climate change and supports partner countries’ efforts to address climate change, to protect the environment and ecosystems worldwide. During 2015-2018, the EU supported the transition of Kazakhstan to a green economy model through its 7 million euro bilateral programme aimed to contribute to Kazakhstan’s long-term environmental sustainability and inclusive economic development. Kazakhstan’s ambition to move to a green economy model is also well aligned with the EU’s regional priority to work together to enhance environmental, climate and water resilience in Central Asia. For today, the EU has 15 ongoing regional programmes covering the sustainable use of water, energy, environment and the water-food-energy nexus for the total amount of about €100 million, including its flagships on water and environment cooperation – WECOOP, NEXUS and the Central Asia Water and Energy (CAWEP) programme.
As part of the #EU4GreenKZ campaign, the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan also plans to announce on its social media pages an #Ecoselfie photo competition, to organize «Green Europe Tour» with Erasmus students, and a series of online green master classes.
Authorities declared a three-month state of emergency in early September after the worst flooding in 30 years.
To date, more than 860,000 people have had houses destroyed or damaged and more than 120 people have died.
Some 560 schools and thousands of health facilities have also been affected, compromising essential services to communities, especially in North Darfur, Khartoum, West Darfur and Sennar, which account for 52 per cent of all people affected.
#Sudan economic crisis, inflation, underdevelopment, floods, disease outbreaks, and conflict are ⬆️humanitarian needs: •Price of food basket ⬆️by 200% vs 2019 •Inflation reached 170% in August •9.6M people food insecure •Health costs ⬆️90% More: https://t.co/k93FDU7yttpic.twitter.com/bvBg2tQp43
The response by UN agencies and partners has reached more than 400,000 people so far, including emergency shelter and essential household items relief to over 181,000 flood-affected refugees, 1.87 million internally displaced people and Sudanese across the country.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 virus transmission has continued, with 13,653 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 836 deaths, according official data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Amid growing needs, surging inflation – reaching nearly 170 per cent in August – has caused a shortage of basic commodities and increased prices of some locally sourced supplies by 300 to 400 per cent.
“In some cases, by the time the procurement process is finalized, the supplies have increased prices, so that the original budgets are no longer valid”, said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke.
He explained that this meant the purchasing process had to begin again and “there is no guarantee that by the time that that process is done, that the prices will not have risen once again”.
Healthcare costs have also increased by up to 90 per cent, OCHA Sudan said in a recent tweet.
In Geneva, Mr. Laerke noted that the price of an average family food basket had increased by over 200 per cent since last year, based on World Food Programme (WFP) data, increasing pressure on already dramatic levels of food insecurity across Sudan, where 9.6 million people are described as “severely” in need.
Cash shortfalls and crop failure
Inflation has also affected the UN’s humanitarian partners which provide cash support to vulnerable families, as they are constantly having to adjust the amounts transferred, Mr. Laerke said.
Even with these adjustments, many families are no longer able to purchase what they need with the cash received: today, only one in four families who previously relied on outside assistance now receives it, the OCHA spokesperson said.
Another concern in Sudan is that large areas of farmland are under water or ruined just before harvest. “Most families in Sudan already spent around 65 per cent of their income on food, so these price hikes lead to increased hunger and less education, health and other services that families de-prioritize as they try to cope with the economic hardship”, Mr. Laerke explained.
UNFPA/Sufian Abdul-Mouty
A rapid needs assessment team from UNFPA pays a visit to women affected by floods in Khartoum, Sudan.
Increased risks to pregnant women
The UN population fund (UNFPA) has estimated that some 187,500 women of reproductive age are living in temporary flood shelters with minimal protection measures to ensure their safety and security. The damage to health clinics, hospitals and latrines poses further risks.
12,000 women are pregnant and more than 1,300 women will give birth in the coming month, said the agency. Of these women, 600 will likely experience complications in birth and require life-saving sexual and reproductive health services.
In addition to urgent health needs, displaced women face limited settlement options, and financial difficulties as a result of job loss. They also face increased risk of gender-based violence, with limited services threatened by damaged facilities and networks.
“Sudan needs immediate support to ward off this humanitarian crisis”, said said Massimo Diana, the UNFPA representative in Sudan. “Flooding means that economic livelihoods are destroyed and that disproportionately affects women. Stress means more domestic violence. Local health services are interrupted and support networks are disrupted.”
UNFPA has helped to rehabilitate 16 emergency obstetric and newborn care facilities in seven regions of Sudan, support that can mean the difference between life and death for displaced pregnant women.
Receiving the new recruits, who have chosen to dedicate “a period of their youth in the service of the Successor of Peter,” the Pope on Friday emphasized the crucial role of the family in the transmission of the faith. “The presence of your family members expresses the devotion of Swiss Catholics to the Holy See, as well as the moral education and good example by which parents have passed on to their children the Christian faith and the sense of generous service to their neighbour,” he said.
Pope Francis also took the opportunity to recall the “illustrious past” of the Pontifical Swiss Guard Corps. He told them his thoughts turned in particular to the “Sack of Rome,” which saw the Swiss Guards courageously defend the Pope, to the point of giving their lives.
“The memory of that event,” he said, “may evoke in you the danger of a spiritual ‘plundering’.”
“In today’s social context,” the Pope continued, “many young people run the risk of being stripped of their souls, when they follow ideals and lifestyles that respond only to material desires or needs.”
Pope Francis expressed the hope that the new recruits would make the most of all the positive things the city of Rome has to offer. “It is rich in history, culture and faith; therefore, take advantage of the opportunities offered to you to enhance your cultural, linguistic and spiritual background,” he said.
“The time you will spend here is a unique moment in your life,” the Pope commented. “May you live it in a spirit of fraternity, helping one another to lead a meaningful and joyfully Christian life.”
Fidelity to Christ
Pope Francis told the new guards, “The oath that you will take the day after tomorrow is also a declaration of fidelity to your baptismal vocation, that is, to Christ, who calls you to be men and Christians, protagonists of your existence.”
He went on to say, “With His help and the power of the Holy Spirit, you will serenely face the obstacles and challenges of life. Do not forget that the Lord is always at your side: I sincerely hope that you will always feel His consoling presence.”
In conclusion, Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to the entire Pontifical Swiss Guard Corps “not only for what you do, but also for how you do it.”
Then, quoting Saint Teresa of Calcutta, he said, “at the end of our lives we will not be judged for how many things we have done, but for how much love we have put into those things.”
The swearing-in ceremony of the 38 new guards was due to take place on May 4. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, it will now take place on 4 October. The ceremony will also be held behind closed doors, in accordance with current protection regulations.
Bulgaria is ready to join the production of face masks, protective clothing and ventilators amid the efforts of the EU to ensure own supply of protective equipment during the Covid-19 crisis, Bulgaria’s Premier Boyko Borissov said. On the second day of the extraordinary sitting of the European Council in Brussels, Premier Borissov said that the Council has found a relatively good balance to protect Greece and Cyprus and at the same time allow Turkey to undertake actions by December. Thus, cooperation will be enhanced and sanctions will be avoided, Boyko Borissov said.
All representatives of the Council contend that the military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh must stop and the countries involved in the conflict engage in dialogue immediately. We also share common stand on the opposition in Belarus, Premier Borissov said, quoted by BTA.
Macron’s discourse was a curtain-raiser of sorts for an upcoming draft bill against “separatist” threats, which officials say also include groups like white supremacists. But with many observers considering it clearly aimed at Islamist extremism, the legislation has already sparked sharp controversy well before its rollout later this year.
While some welcome the government’s so-called anti-separatisms drive as long overdue, leaders of France’s roughly six-million-strong Muslim community —western Europe’s largest — fear it may unfairly single them out.
“We’re near the end of Macron‘s first term,” said Jawad Bachare, director of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, which has sometimes been accused of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood. “And with each election there are the same questions about Muslims, and the financing of Muslim places of worship.”
Macron’s plan to defend France’s secular values takes specific aim at radical Islam
Macron’s address on Friday was closely followed, coming just days after two people were stabbed in front of Charlie Hebdo newspaper’s former headquarters — and as a trial unfolds over the 2015 terrorist attacks against the satirical French weekly and a kosher supermarket.
He announced the draft legislation would be introduced in December and described it as a was to preserve France’s secular state by keeping religion — including displays of religiosity — outside of education and the public sector. “Secularism is the cement of a united France,” Macron said.
Among other areas, the bill is expected to further crack down on foreign financing of mosques and private religious schools, bar foreign imams, increase surveillance of associations and individuals suspected of “separatism” — including in the public sector and in sports — and ban efforts threatening gender equality, including pre-marriage “virginity certificates” for Muslim women.
“There is no incompatibility between being Muslim and being a (French) citizen,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, the grandson of a Muslim immigrant, told French radio recently.
The recent attack outside Charlie Hebdo’s offices has reignited the Islamophobia debate
Rather, he said, the legislation aims to attack the “enemies of France” — terrorist but also political groups threatening “the French model of free expression, our way of living, the way we teach our children.” Macron, too, has called for protecting the nation against separatist forces. In a nod to Charlie Hebdo, he defended “the right to commit blasphemy.”
“There will never be any place in France for those who try to impose their own law,” the president said, “often in the name of a God, sometimes with the help of foreign powers.”
Deep divisions within French society
Successive presidents have tried to put a French stamp on Islam, ensuring the country’s large and diverse Muslim community is in line with its staunchly secular values. Macron is no exception, but has yet to translate promises to create an “Islam de France” into reality. The upcoming legislation may be a first step in that direction.
An Odoxa-Dentsu poll this month suggests many French back such an effort. More than three-quarters of respondents supported anti-separatism legislation, even though nearly half worried it might deepen divisions within the country.
Powering the government’s arguments is another recent survey — an IFOP poll finding some 74% of Muslims under 25 claiming to put their faith ahead of the French Republic.
“Let’s not be naive,” former Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls told a French newspaper recently, singling out two particularly conservative Islamic groups. “The real subject is the battle against political Islam of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists.”
Political commentator Alexandre del Valle agrees. A 2019 book he co-authored, The Project, describes the Muslim Brotherhood’s alleged quest to infiltrate and conquer the West.
“President Macron understood that he must reinforce the law and the system,” del Valle said, “because until now we were not able to face this strange separatism, this strange totalitarianism that was always hidden through religion.”
“Nobody is banning Muslims from going to the mosque,” he added. “We just want to ban their totalitarian, separatist and supremacist project.”
Not surprisingly, a number of Muslim leaders see things differently. The upcoming legislation, they argue, risks further stigmatizing the vast majority of French Muslims who practice their faith peacefully.
“This concept of separatism bothers me a lot,” Lyon Mosque Rector Kamel Kabtane told Le Figaro newspaper. “Because what separates? Not the Muslims, they just want to integrate.”
Parts of the French public support the planned legislation, others are worried it might deepen divisions within the country
This is hardly the first time Islamic practices have rubbed against France’s staunchly secular values. Previous measures banning face-covering niqabs, headscarves in schools and burkinis on beaches, for example, have provoked claims of intolerance and discrimination.
In an unmarked building down a narrow alley outside Paris — aimed to keep the association’s whereabouts discreet — Bachare of the anti-Islamophobia collective points to a steady uptick in anti-Muslim acts in recent years, particularly since the 2015 Paris terror attacks. They reached nearly 800 in 2019, according to his association’s statistics, a 77% increase in two years.
“Violence doesn’t belong to a certain community,” Bachare said. “Terrorism doesn’t belong to a single community. It’s a phenomenon that needs to be fought with every means possible. But it’s not right to stigmatize a whole community because one member committed terrorist attacks.”
He points to a recent example of lawmakers walking out of France’s National Assembly during the audition of a hijab-wearing student leader — although her body veil was legal.
“Islamophobia has become banal right now,” Bachare said, “to the point of becoming normal.”
From 1 September to 4 October, the Church celebrates the Season of Creation.
Christians around the world are encouraged during this period to renew our relationship with God and creation. This can be done through conversion, commitment and celebration – even as the world struggles with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
In a video message recorded before he returned to Manila and tested positive for Covid-19, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle highlights the importance of this month-long period themed “Jubilee for the Earth”.
The celebration ends on Sunday – the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi – who is also the patron saint of ecology.
“It is a season which is liturgical”, explains the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, “to celebrate in prayer, and especially in the Eucharist, the goodness of creation, signs of God’s bounty and love.”
A season with an ecological message
The Season of Creation, continues Cardinal Tagle, “is a celebration with a clear social ecological message, for the way we deal with creation is also carried over to our attitude toward life and human beings.”
“It is also a call to rediscover our vocation as stewards of creation.” Very often, he notes, “we behave like owners and forget that we are caretakers.”
The Cardinal also recalles “with joy and gratitude”, the celebration of the Season of Creation in the diocese of Imus and the Archdiocese of Manila – both in the Philippines.
Concluding his message, Cardinal Tagle enjoins everyone to celebrate in the Season of Creation, the interconnectedness in the family of creation and in the human family, especially with the poor.
Press statement by President von der Leyen with President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda,Prime Minister of Estonia, Jüri Ratas, Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, and Prime Minister of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš
Good morning,
I am very pleased to welcome the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to the European Commission. Today is a very important day for Europe. We are taking a big step toward connecting Europe. And we are showing European solidarity in action.
Last night, we awarded EUR 720 million from the Connecting Europe Facility to link the Baltic energy grid with the rest of Europe. This project is a landmark moment. It is a landmark moment in ending the isolation of the Baltic energy market. Most of the funding will go to a new interconnector in the Baltic Sea. And I cannot think of a better name than ‘Harmony Link’.
It will reduce the region’s over-dependence and over-reliance on a single source of energy imports by connecting it in full harmony to the rest of the European Union. It also looks into the future. The new offshore energy grid will bring electricity from renewables to all countries around the Baltic Sea.
And that is why I welcome the Baltic Declaration for Offshore Wind Energy signed this week by the Commission and eight Member States. This project is good for connecting Europe, good for our energy security, and it is good for the European Green Deal.
It demonstrates that in this Union, no matter where you are on the map, you are always at the heart of Europe.
With 35 votes in favor, 30 against and 1 abstention the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs has adopted a draft resolution on Bulgaria. It calls on the European Commission to continue monitoring judicial reform and the fight against corruption in Bulgaria.
The need for the government to ensure tighter control over spending of EU fundsand to immediately respond to fears that taxpayers’ money is being used to increase the wealth of those associated with the government has been pointed out, BNR reported.
Speaking to the Bulgarian National Radio, MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Elena Yoncheva said that this was not a resolution against Bulgaria, but in support of Bulgarian citizens and their desire to live in a country without corruption and with independent judiciary.
The resolution is not a binding one. It is yet to be discussed and voted on by the European Parliament.
On the 85th night of the anti-government protests in Sofia, one of the leaders of the event, Arman Babikyan, read part of the text of the resolution and said that Brussels had clearly heard the citizens in the square.
NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM As part of the European Union Climate Diplomacy activities and #EU4GreenKZ campaign, the European Union Delegation in Kazakhstan jointly with EU Member States and with the support of Nur-Sultan Mayor Office organized a tree-planting event at the EXPO site of Nur-Sultan city on September 30.
