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EU Reportedly Set to ‘Sideline Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier’ in a Bid to End Brexit Stalemate
The EU is set to sideline the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to try to end the persistent deadlock in negotiations, The Telegraph has reported citing sources. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is thereby expected to ultimately help arrange a trade deal between the bloc and the UK, with the heads of the 27 remaining member states reportedly set to take over the role of “sidelined” Barnier after von der Leyen’s speech on 16 September.
As an EU diplomat shared with The Telegraph, von der Leyen is expected to “set the scene to sideline Barnier and [the UK’s David] Frost to find a high level political solution”.
The talks on the EU behalf are expected to be led by the European Commission president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and President of the European Council Charles Michel.
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REUTERS / GONZALO FUENTES
EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier attends the MEDEF union summer forum “La Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France, LaREF”, at the Paris Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, August 26, 2020
The news came as Lord David Frost, Britain’s Brexit negotiator, issued a warning to Brussels suggesting the bloc’s demands on fishing and state subsidies could “limit the progress” potentially made next week.
Indicating that the UK could indeed be eyeing a no-deal divorce from the EU, Frost said that London has been clear about its position from the very beginning:
“The EU still insists we change our positions on state aid and fisheries if there are to be substantive textual discussions on anything else”.
“We will negotiate constructively but the EU’s stance may, realistically, limit the progress we can make next week”, he concluded.
Frost tweeted the comments after his European counterpart Michel Barnier said that while the UK can retain control over the waters washing its coasts, “the fish which are inside those waters” are “another story”.
The bloc has been scrambling to retain access for its fishing boats, while Downing Street is adamant that British trawlers operating in the area will be given priority.
Separately, Brussels is seeking a “level playing field” on state aid rules that would effectively tie Britain to EU regulations after the transition period comes to a close at the end of the year.
Just yesterday Boris Johnson insisted that the UK will “prosper mightily” regardless of the outcome of the trade talks. Confirming a readiness for “any eventuality”, the prime minister stressed they must make sure people understand that at the end of the year Britain is leaving the EU whatever it takes. “[…] we are leaving the EU, leaving the transition period. We will get through this”, Johnson vowed, reiterating his previous statement that it is “absolutely vital that our partners understand that the UK is going to do what we need to do”.
In late August, after rounds of negotiations on the subject resumed, Barnier lamented that the talks had actually gone “backwards” following months of lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, as both sides conceded a deal appears unlikely.
Two more rounds of trade negotiations are slated for later this month, with the first taking place in London next week.
Turkish expert criticizes EU’s double Standard toward Islam
Turkish expert criticizes EU’s double Standard toward Islam
During an illegal gathering on August 28, supporters of right-wing Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, who leads the anti-Islamic group Tight Direction (Stram Kurs), burned a copy of Holy Qur’an in the southern Swedish city of Malmo.
On Tuesday, (September 1), French Magazine Charlie Hebdo republished offensive cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) on the eve of the trial of suspects in a deadly attack on the paper’s office five years ago. In January 2015, two terrorists attacked the magazine’s offices in Paris, killing 12 people, many of whom worked for the publication. The attack, condemned by Muslims across the world, was allegedly a response to the magazine’s offensive cartoon of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) a few years earlier.
Anti-Muslim moves have been on the rise across Europe in recent years. Muslim leaders in Europe and around the world have reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of the anti-Muslim acts.
Moreover, the rise of far-right ideology and the propagation of anti-immigration policies have exacerbated the status of religious minorities in Europe particularly Muslims.
To shed light on the issue, we reached out to Turkish researcher and expert Deniz Caner.
“Although the Swedish authorities did not allow the demonstration of provocation against the Quran and imposed an entry ban on the so-called politician, on August 28, far-right street painter Dan Park and Danish racist politician Rasmus Paludan had been in Malmö for two weeks and also made many attempts to provoke Muslims,” Caner said.
“For 2 weeks, it seemed that these provocateurs were expected to burn the Qur’an in a completely helpless manner by the Swedish police,” she added.
Commenting on the European leader’s double standards regarding human rights, the Turkish expert highlighted, “While Europe, which accepts human rights and the rule of law as its basic principle, is very sensitive about anti-Semitism, it is still not able to prevent these ugly attacks against Muslims and Islam.”
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EU to reaffirm its support for Greek and Cypriot sovereignty at summit-Michel
European Union leaders will decide on a “carrot and stick” approach to Turkey when they meet on September 24-25, their chairman said on Friday, proposing a multi-party conference to defuse tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.
European Council President Charles Michel who spoke to Reuters and five other European news agencies in Brussels also said said the EU would reaffirm its support for Greek and Cypriot sovereignty.
The message was sent as a stand-off over oil and gas deposits simmered between EU members Cyprus and Greece on one side and the bloc’s uneasy NATO ally Turkey on the other.
The EU has already imposed minor sanctions against Ankara over the matter and the 27 EU leaders will tackle it again soon in Brussels. Michel, who will host the meeting, said the EU would reaffirm its support for Greek and Cypriot sovereignty.
“We will identify tools in our external policy, a sticks and carrots approach – what tools to use to improve the relationship and what tools to react (with) if we are not being respected,” he said. “We want to be respected.”
Michel, who is due to travel to Greece, Cyprus and Malta before the summit, also proposed an international conference on the eastern Mediterranean involving the key parties and NATO.
“That could be the best way to de-escalate in the region and offer a channel for dialogue,” he said, adding he had already floated the idea with Athens and Ankara. “What is happening, what has been happening the last few weeks, cannot go on.”
Michel said the gathering could discuss the thorny issue of maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, energy, security and migration. Last month Turkey sent a survey vessel, escorted by frigates, to explore for oil and gas in waters claimed by Greece, a move Athens said was illegal.
A collision between Greek and Turkish warships shadowing the survey vessel last month highlighted the risk of conflict.
Michel declined to discuss the specific incentives or punitive steps the bloc could take with respect to Turkey.
Ankara has long sought an upgrade of its customs union with the EU, a process that has stalled over President Tayyip Erdogan’s sweeping anti-terrorism legislation that underpinned widespread jailings of opponents following an abortive 2016 military coup.
Turkey’s long-standing request to join the EU is all but dead over Erdogan’s perceived authoritarianism.
At the same time, the bloc relies on Turkey to prevent millions of Syrian and other refugees and migrants on its soil from heading to the EU, where migration feuds have spurred the rise of eurosceptic nationalist parties in recent years.
The EU has already promised 6 billion euros to help Turkey host migrants, though Ankara has long complained the money was too slow to arrive. The bloc could agree more such funding in one example of a positive gesture to Turkey.
Granting Turkey’s wish for visa-free travel to the bloc, however, has long been contentious among EU member states that also object to Erdogan’s track record on human rights and the broad, post-coup crackdown on dissent.
Asked about potential EU sanctions before Michel’s comments, a spokesman for Erdogan’s AK Party said the bloc could not expect cooperation from Turkey if it were hit with penalties over the eastern Mediterranean.
(Reuters)
EU Demands Potential Veto on Britain’s Post-Brexit Laws, Regulations – Report
The European Union is demanding a potential veto on Britain’s post-Brexit laws and regulations to be inscribed in the trade agreement, The Times reported on Saturday, citing senior government officials.
According to the newspaper, the UK’s chief negotiator Lord Frost has dismissed this approach.
Since the negotiations have been hampered by Britain insisting on full autonomy after the divorce, the possibility of a no-deal Brexit is looming ahead as both sides have blamed each other for the lack of progress in the previous seven rounds. According to the negotiators, the sticking points include access to fishing waters, the arbitration of legal disputes, and the so-called level playing field, the set of common rules and standards that prevent unfair trade competition.
The eighth round of trade talks between the UK and the EU is due to begin in London on Monday.
European Union brings relief to flood victims in Sudan
In response to weeks of relentless heavy rains which have caused severe floods in 6 provinces in Sudan, the European Union has provided € 100.000 in humanitarian funding to assist the most affected families.
This EU funding will support the Sudanese Red Crescent in delivering much needed immediate relief assistance, such as shelter, blankets, basic essential items, and providing access to clean water and basic healthcare to 3500 families. It will also be used to sponsor volunteers to communicate on cholera and waterborne disease prevention, risk avoidance, and early warning systems on possible flooding or landslide threats.
The funds will benefit people in Blue Nile, Al Jazirah, and Khartoum provinces, and are part of the EU‘s overall contribution to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
Widespread floods and landslides have affected 6 provinces in Sudan after prolonged heavy rainfall, resulting in at least 65 deaths since late July, with over 134.000 people having lost their homes. Damaged or muddy roads are making access to the affected areas difficult. Destroyed water systems and stagnant water can raise the risk of waterborne diseases. For this reason, particular emphasis is being given to sanitation and hygiene measures in the affected areas.
Background
The European Union and its Member States are the world’s leading donor of humanitarian aid. Relief assistance is an expression of European solidarity with people in need all around the world. It aims to save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, and safeguard the integrity and human dignity of populations affected by natural disasters and man-made crises.
Through its Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department, the European Union helps millions of victims of conflict and disasters every year. With headquarters in Brussels and a global network of field offices, the European Union provides assistance to the most vulnerable people on the basis of humanitarian needs.
The European Union is signatory to a €3 million humanitarian delegation agreement with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to support the Federation’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF). Funds from the DREF are mainly allocated to “small-scale” disasters – those that do not give rise to a formal international appeal.
The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund was established in 1985 and is supported by contributions from donors. Each time a National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society needs immediate financial support to respond to a disaster, it can request funds from the DREF. For small-scale disasters, the IFRC allocates grants from the Fund, which can then be replenished by the donors. The delegation agreement between the IFRC and ECHO enables the latter to replenish the DREF for agreed operations (that fit within its humanitarian mandate) up to a total of €3 million.
For further information, please contact:
Mathias Eick, Regional Information Officer, [email protected], or +254-722 791 604
Issued on: Khartoum 23 August 2020
Discussions on ways to further advance the EU-Sri Lanka bilateral engagement
Sept 04, Colombo: Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union in Colombo Denis Chaibi along with the EU Ambassadors of Italy, the Netherlands and Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassies of Romania, Germany and France paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on 2 September 2020.
The Ambassadors offered congratulations to the Foreign Minister on his re-appointment and expressed the desire for continued closer cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Relations said.
It was noted that Europe was the number one destination for Sri Lanka’s exports and a major source of foreign direct investment and tourism.
The Ambassadors said that Sri Lanka has performed remarkably well in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and as a result, they were confident that European tourists would return to Sri Lanka, once the airports were reopened.
The Ambassadors also discussed the status of EU development assistance to Sri Lanka and expressed the desire to support the government’s economic development priorities. They briefed the Foreign Minister on the EU assisted ongoing projects in agriculture, vocational training, food safety, among others.
The Ambassadors also discussed proposed reforms and recent political developments following the election of the new government.
State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya and Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage also participated in the meeting.
EU Commission proposes ways to streamline travel restrictions
THE European Union (EU) should introduce a coordinated traffic-light system to provide clear information to people about the travel restrictions in place within the bloc due to the pandemic, the European Commission suggested on Friday.
The 27 EU countries have adopted a host of different, fragmented restrictions in recent months, confusing travellers.
“It is clear that we need more coordination,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said.
The commission’s proposal calls for a systematic, coordinated approach that would bring an end to the patchwork of restrictions.
Reynders’ colleague Ylva Johansson, commissioner for home affairs, said that the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control could publish an updated map of the bloc on a weekly basis, with colours codes to indicate the situation in each region.
Furthermore, to make restrictions less unpredictable, the EU’s executive body proposes countries notify the commission every Thursday about travel restrictions planned for the following Monday, for example.
For this approach to take effect, the commission’s proposal would have to be adopted by EU leaders.
Johansson also warned EU countries of adopting sweeping measures.
“Don’t take measures that are too big to meet the actual purpose,” she said.
NAN
– Sept. 4, 2020 @ 12:23 GMT /
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‘I don’t understand why Africa is still hungry’: UN envoy
‘I don’t understand why Africa is still hungry’: UN envoy’s plan to transform food systems for all.
Food systems involve all the stages that lead up to the point when we consume food, including the way it is produced, transported, and sold. Launching a policy brief on food security in June, UN chief António Guterres warned of an “impending food emergency”, unless immediate action is taken.
Ms. Kalibata told UN News that her commitment to improving food systems is closely linked to her early life as the daughter of refugees.
“I was born in a refugee camp in Uganda, because my Rwandan parents were forced to leave their home around the time of colonial independence in the early 60s.
Thanks to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), were given land, which allowed my parents to farm, buy a few cows, and make enough money to send me and my siblings to school. This allowed me to experience, first-hand, how agriculture, in a functioning food system, can provide huge opportunities for smallholder communities.
I took this appreciation with me when I eventually returned to Rwanda, as Minister for Agriculture, working with smallholders and seeing them grab every opportunity to turn their lives around against all odds. This was probably the most fulfilling period in my life.
Female farmers in discussion with former Rwandan Minister for Agriculture, Agnes Kalibata (far left).
But, I have also seen what can happen when threats like climate change, conflict and even more recently, a pandemic like Covid 19, hit the world’s farmers, especially those who are smallholders, like my parents were.
As a daughter of farmers, I understand how much people can suffer, because of systems that are breaking down. I often reflect that I, and other children of farmers my age that made it through school, were the lucky ones because climate change hits small farmers the hardest, destroying their capacities to cope.
My experience has shown me that, when food systems function well, agriculture can provide huge opportunities for smallholder communities. I am a product of functional food systems, and I am fully convinced of the power of food systems to transform lives of smallholder households and communities, and bring about changes to entire economies.
I’m extremely passionate about ending hunger in our lifetime: I believe it’s a solvable problem. I don’t understand why 690 million people are still going to bed hungry, amidst so much plenty in our world, and with all the knowledge , technology and resources.
I have made it my mission to understand why this is the case, and how we can overcome the challenges we see along the way. That is why I gladly accepted the offer by the UN Secretary General to be his Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit.
Traditional Hadong Tea Agrosystem in Hwagae-myeon, Korea, cultivate indigenous tea trees around streams and between rocks in hilly areas surrounding temples.
Why food systems need to change
Today’s food systems do not respond to what we need as people. The cause of death for one in three people around the world is related to what they eat. Two billion people are obese, one trillion dollars’ worth of food is wasted every year, yet many millions still go hungry.
Food systems have an impact on the climate. They are responsible for around one third of harmful greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change, which is interfering massively in our ability to produce food, upending farmers’ lives, and making the seasons harder to predict.
We have built up a lot of knowledge around the things that we’re doing wrong, and we have the technology to allow us to do things differently, and better. This isn’t rocket science: it’s mostly a question of mobilizing energy, and securing political commitment for change.
Galvanise and engage
The main impetus behind the Food Summit is the fact that the we are off track with all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that relate to food systems, principally ending poverty and hunger, and action on the climate and environment.
We want to use the Summit to galvanise and engage people, raising awareness about the elements that are broken, and what we need to change; to recognize that we’re way off track with the SDGs, and raise our ambitions; and to secure firm commitments to actions that will transform our current food systems for the better.
Pulling together the UN System
The UN system is already doing a lot of work in this area, and we’ve pulled together several agencies and bodies to support the Summit.
We have formed a UN Task Force to channel the existing research, so that nothing falls through the cracks, which will work closely with a core group of experts we have assembled, which is looking at scientific data pooled from institutions all around the world. At the same time, we are examining national food systems, to see what is and isn’t working.
We are going to pool all the information, evidence and ideas we receive, and create a vision for a future food system that benefits all.”
At a briefing on the Food Systems Summit held on Friday, Amina Mohammed, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, noted that a transition to more sustainable systems is already underway, with countries beginning to “take action and change behaviours in support of a new vision of how food arrives on our plate.”
UN Member States, she continued, are increasingly aware that food systems are “one of the most powerful links between humans and the planet”, and bringing about a world that “enhances inclusive economic growth and opportunity, while also safeguarding biodiversity and the global ecosystems that sustain life. “
EU seeks reduced reliance on others for RE minerals
- AP, BRUSSELS
Worried by an increasing dependency on the raw materials used to make smartphones, televisions and energy-saving lights, the EU on Thursday launched a new strategy to secure access to rare earth (RE) minerals and to reduce reliance on suppliers such as Chile, China and South Africa.
The EU is predicted to need about 60 times more lithium and 15 times more cobalt for electric vehicle batteries and energy storage by 2050. Its demand for rare earth materials in permanent magnets used in several technologies could increase 10-fold over the same period.
The COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the world’s increasing reliance on electronics and technology for remote work, education and communication, and the 27-nation EU enters a widening race to secure supplies for its communications, health, defense and space sectors along with the US, China and Japan.
“We have to drastically change our approach,” European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said. “We are largely dependent on unsustainable raw materials from countries with much lower environmental and social standards, less freedoms, [and] poor, unsustainable economies.”
The EU gets about 98 percent of its rare earth minerals from China. Turkey supplies 98 percent of its borate, while Chile meets 78 percent of Europe’s lithium needs. South Africa provides 71 percent of its platinum.
The European Commission has said that the EU’s mining potential is underused.
“We need to diversify supply and make better use of the resources within the European Union, where we would apply the highest environmental and social standards to that effect,” Sefcovic told reporters in Brussels.
The strategy aims to set up a European raw materials alliance with industry, investors, the European Investment Bank, EU member countries and others to help secure raw mineral supply chains.
The commission wants to start a partnership with Canada and interested African countries starting next year.
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