European and Regional Innovation Scoreboards 2021 – Questions and Answers
European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 21 Jun 2021 European and Regional Innovation Scoreboards 2021 – Questions and Answers.
European Innovation Scoreboard: Innovation performance keeps improving in EU Member States and regions
European Commission Press release Brussels, 21 Jun 2021 The Commission has today released the European Innovation Scoreboard 2021, which shows that Europe’s innovation performance continues to improve across the EU.
Ebola outbreak in Guinea declared over
The Ebola outbreak that emerged in Guinea in mid-February was declared over today. It was the first time the disease resurfaced in the country since the deadly outbreak in West Africa that ended in 2016.
Guinean health authorities declared the outbreak on 14 February 2021 after three cases were detected in Gouecke, a rural community in the southern N’zerekore prefecture, the same region where the 2014–2016 outbreak first emerged before spreading into neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone and beyond.
A total of 16 confirmed and seven probable cases were reported in Guinea’s latest outbreak in which 11 patients survived and 12 lives lost. Shortly after the infections were detected, national health authorities, with support from World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, mounted a swift response, tapping into the expertise gained in fighting recent outbreaks both in Guinea and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“I commend the affected communities, the government and people of Guinea, health workers, partners and everyone else whose dedicated efforts made it possible to contain this Ebola outbreak,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Based on the lessons learned from the 2014–16 outbreak and through rapid, coordinated response efforts, community engagement, effective public health measures and the equitable use of vaccines, Guinea managed to control the outbreak and prevent its spread beyond its borders. Our work in Guinea continues, including supporting survivors to access post-illness care.”
WHO helped ship around 24 000 Ebola vaccine doses and supported the vaccination of nearly 11 000 people at high risk, including over 2800 frontline workers. More than 100 WHO experts were on the ground coordinating key aspects of the response such as infection prevention and control, disease surveillance, testing, vaccination and treatment using new drugs. Collaboration with communities was also enhanced to raise awareness about the virus and ensure their involvement and ownership of the efforts to curb the disease.
“Although this Ebola outbreak flared up in the same area as the West Africa one which killed 11 000 people, thanks to new innovations and lessons learned, Guinea managed to contain the virus in four months,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We are getting faster, better and smarter at fighting Ebola. But while this outbreak is over, we must stay alert for a possible resurgence and ensure the expertise in Ebola expands to other health threats such as COVID-19.”
WHO continues to support Guinea in its efforts to remain vigilant, maintain surveillance and build capacity to respond quickly to a possible resurgence of the virus. An Ebola laboratory, treatment infrastructure, logistics capacity and infection prevention measures have been reinforced to better respond to the disease as well as other health emergencies.
While the latest Ebola outbreak was limited to Guinea, to prevent cross-border infections, WHO supported six of the country’s neighbours to ramp up preparedness measures, including stepping up surveillance and screening at border crossings and within high-risk communities, as well as enhancing coordination between governments and the respective health services.
Support to Ebola survivors is also crucial. Genome sequencing found that the virus behind Guinea’s just-ended outbreak was similar to that identified in the 2014–2016 outbreak. Though more studies are needed to fully understand how the two outbreaks may be linked, Guinean health authorities reactivated a surveillance programme for survivors to provide long-term monitoring and after-care support.
In support of the government’s efforts to curb the outbreak, WHO worked with other United Nations agencies and partners such as the African Development Bank, Alliance for International Medical Action, African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, European Union Delegation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Germany, Japan, the International Organization for Migration, Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, Team Europe, Terre des Hommes, United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, United Nations Children’s Fund, United States Agency for International Development, World Bank and World Food Programme.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa. 
In Montenegro, a minister was fired for denying the Srebrenica genocide
The Montenegrin parliament adopted a resolution on the 1995 Srebrenica genocide and fired Justice Minister Vladimir Leposavic, who denied it was an “unequivocally established” fact.
The adopted document prohibits the public denial of the committed crimes, Balkan Insight reports.
The resolution condemns the Srebrenica genocide, in which Bosnian Serb forces killed about 8,000 men from the Muslim community. It is noted that Montenegro, which is taking a step, is expressing its commitment to the protection of human rights as part of its European integration process.
The ruling pro-Serbian Democratic Front party voted against the resolution and boycotted parliament, which could affect the government’s stability, the statement said.
The country’s Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic started a procedure for the removal of Vladimir Leposavic in April, which is why the Democratic Front demanded his resignation and demanded a new coalition agreement.
The Srebrenica enclave, which was declared a “security zone” by the UN Security Council in April 1993, was seized by the Bosnian Serb army in July 1995. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found that between 7,000 and 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed. The investigation established that the killings were carried out by the Republika Srpska Army under the command of General Ratko Mladic.
France stamped the “seizure of power” by Russia in the CAR
France has accused Russia of “seizing power” in the Central African Republic (CAR), acknowledging that CAR cooperation with Russian “mercenaries” has forced Paris to reduce its military cooperation, AFP reported.
Earlier this month, the French military cut off budget aid and military co-operation with the CAR, accusing the African government of being an “accomplice” in a Russian-backed anti-French disinformation campaign.
The CAR has become a key area in the dispute over the role of the Wagner mercenary group in Africa (the Kremlin’s weapon, which does not officially exist), run by shady Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigogine, a close confidant of President Vladimir Putin.
“In the Central African Republic, there is a form of seizure of power, and in particular military power, by Russian mercenaries,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television, adding: “We are fighting this and it has made us to take measures to withdraw a certain number of our troops. “
He said the Russian military had bypassed CAR President Faustin Archang Tuadera and exploited the country’s wealth.
One of the poorest countries in the world, the CAR has been chronically unstable since gaining independence from France in 1960.
In 2013, France launched a 3-year military operation to stop sectarian violence after then-President Francois Bozize was ousted by predominantly Muslim rebel groups.
The CAR’s closer relationship with Moscow dates back to 2018, when Russia sent “instructors” to help train its armed forces and provided it with small arms, receiving relief from the UN arms embargo.
Last December, under a bilateral co-operation agreement, the Kremlin sent several hundred troops to fortify Tuadera, which was threatened by a rebel offensive.
The Russians also provide personal protection for the president, and his influential national security adviser, Valery Zakharov, is Russian.
In an interview with the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche on May 30, French President Emmanuel Macron said that “anti-French talks have given legitimacy to the predatory Russian mercenaries at the top of the state. Tuadera is now a hostage of the Wagner group.”
In July 2018, three Russian journalists investigating Wagner’s operations in the CAR for investigative media – Orhan Jemal, Alexander Rastorguev and Kiril Radchenko – were killed in an ambush.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oligarch in exile and a critic of the Kremlin, is funding their project, and the investigation he backed linked their murder to Prigogine.
But Russian investigators denied the allegations, insisting the trio had died in a robbery.
Prigogine, who has been sanctioned by both the EU and the United States, has denied allegations of links to Wagner and denied any role in the conflicts in Africa.
HOW TWO BOYS FOUND A 150-YEAR-OLD FLAG AND ITS WAY TO THE MUSEUM
We recall this curious story on the eve of July 4 (Independence Day, also commonly known as the Fourth of July, marks the date that the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776).
In 1959, the Smithsonian Institution received a letter from Mrs. James Wade offering to sell a linen flag with an ink image of an eagle bearing the portrait of the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, triumphantly, framed in a halo of seven-pointed stars. his face has a ribbon on which he writes: “T. Jefferson, President of the United States. John Adams is no more.
Today, the flag, one of the few surviving artifacts from the 1800 U.S. election, is housed in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
But how did Mrs. Wade become the owner of such a significant part of American history? She says that in 1958, her 14-year-old son Craig and his 11-year-old brother Richard discovered the relic in a ditch next to a railroad track near Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The older son takes her home and hangs her on the wall of his bedroom. The family realized its importance only after the brothers took it to school to show it, and the teachers recommended that it be shown in a local museum.
The curators of the museum’s “Department of Political and Military History” have always wondered whether the story with the two boys is true or not. And one day they just decide to look for them on Facebook to ask them…
“I’m so amazed you found me,” said Craig Wade, who currently lives in Anchorage, Alaska. Sixty years after finding the flag on a dusty road during their summer vacation, Craig and Richard Wade are now retired soldiers.
Their memories of finding the flag are strikingly similar to each other, as well as to the evidence and information that curators find in their files and archives.
A year after the boys found the flag, the family consulted with experts from state history societies and professors at Harvard University. After a physical examination, they agree that the artifact is authentic and belongs to a museum. “All of us here [at the Massachusetts Historical Association] who saw Jefferson’s flag were convinced of its undoubted authenticity and considered it a truly remarkable object,” Lyman Butterfield, editor-in-chief of The Adams Papers, told the Smithsonian.
It is alleged that several institutions made suggestions to Ms. Wade before she contacted Smithon. The newspapers have since said that she was initially offered between $ 50 and $ 100, but in fact her find is difficult to estimate because it is incredibly unique.
In 1959, she told the Mansfield News and Times: “I don’t know whether to sell it to a museum or keep it. And if I have to sell it, do I have to get $ 100 for it, or $ 500, or $ 1,000? What is its price?
The Smithsonian receives the flag on a short-term loan. The museum staff makes their own review of the materials of the banner and agrees with the findings of other experts that the banner is really real. They turned to other institutions, including the Massachusetts Association of History, the University of Virginia, Princeton University and Monticello, to see if anyone was familiar with the site. Everyone is enthusiastic about the flag, but says they have never seen it.
To help acquire the flag, the museum turned to Ralph E. Becker, a lawyer in Washington and a big collector of the political American, who would eventually donate his collection to the Smithsonian. Using his political contacts, Becker arranged for Clarence Barnes, a former Attorney General of Massachusetts, to advise the Wade family in negotiations to sell the banner. Ms. Wade initially asked for $ 5,000, but eventually accepted Becker’s $ 2,000 offer (about $ 17,000 in today’s dollars) and in 1961 a final agreement was reached for Becker to personally purchase the banner and donate it to the museum.
Craig Wade remembers well the summer when he and his brother found the flag. He remembers that his mother sent them to stay with relatives for a while during the summer holidays – this would be a holiday for both her and the boys, who come from a family with ten children. “I was in 7th grade in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Our mother sent us in the summer, for a few weeks, to stay with Aunt Selma and Uncle George, who lived in Pittsfield, ”explains Wade.
Their great discovery comes when they walk one afternoon. “So we did what the kids did, you know, we walked to the railroad tracks in Pittsfield and there we saw a box. We saw a box next to the railroad tracks in the ditch, and I opened it,” This is cool”. My brother Ricky, he was throwing rocks or doing something else at the time, so I put it in my jacket and kept going… Did you know that we were walking on the side of the railroad tracks where we shouldn’t have been and I think it probably fell from a vehicle if I have to guess. Someone may have moved, ”Wade recalls.
“Freedom is important. When people choose what they want, it’s good for them and for us!”
The above quote is from the former president of Iran from the 90s of the last century, Hashemi Rafsanjani, before his death was called the “great king” of politics in Iran because of his influence on it, said something extremely simple, but at the same time more and more complicated when it comes to the country in question.
Ebrahim Raisi’s victory in the presidential election embodies, above all, that of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the associated revolutionary institutes in the Islamic Republic. Raisi, a former prosecutor and chief judge of the country’s Supreme Court, is widely seen as Ali Khamenei’s future successor, and the presidential institution as a springboard to the ayatollah’s seat. Ali Khamenei himself was the country’s president in the 1980s during the rule of Islamic Republic founder Ruhollah Khomeini.
And although Raisi lost the previous presidential election in 2017 to incumbent President Hassan Rouhani (by almost 20% or 8 million), this time the mullahs’ regime did not take any risks and paved the way for its favorite to the presidency. This was done through the Board of Trustees, a body whose job description is to assess the suitability of candidates for elective positions as to whether they are doctrinably exemplary under Islamic Republic law. This institute disqualified any candidate who could actually be a competitor to Raisi (from the pragmatically conservative Ali Larijani to the reformer and incumbent Vice President Eshak Jahangiri).
As an attempt to mimic the choice given, the Board of Guardians admitted Abdulnaser Hemati, among several other figures, to the race. Being a technocrat, Hemati is unattractive and relatively unknown; he also became an easy target for the country’s hardliners in the run-up to the election, as Hemati was head of the Central Bank of Iran, which has to do with the devaluation of the local rial. With the technocrat’s admission to the election, the mullahs’ regime did something unique: it designed not only who to win, but also against whom to win their favorite.
Hemati’s participation in the election provided two options for reformers and moderate voters in the country: whether to support him with their vote or not to vote at all. Despite calls from reformers such as Mehdi Karubi and Mohammad Khatami for people to go out and vote, most moderate and reform-minded voters chose to stay home, refusing to legitimize the way the regime censored their electoral options.
There was an outflow of voters in the last parliamentary elections in 2020, when the Board of Trustees also did not allow a number of prominent figures to run for the Mejlis, which is why the hardliners won an easy and convincing victory.
Two things apply to the presidency, which constructs both the executive branch and the Majlis in Iran. One is that they – although not always – serve as a vent for the electorate against the regime, because the principle of these institutions is based on the electoral principle. That is why the presidency of the Islamic Republic was won by candidates who are against the regime’s favorites (such as Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani), and the 2020 Majlis elections edited the current majority of moderates and reformers. The second relevant thing about these institutions, however, is that they do not actually have the kind of power that a presidency (without a prime minister) and a parliament in a republic assume. It is on the basis of the latter that Raisi’s victory in the presidential election will not actually bring about any changes in Iran’s foreign policy. There are three main reasons for this.
Once upon a time, because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, Pasdaran, remains the absolute holder in the formation and implementation of the country’s security and foreign policy in the most important regions for Iran (parallel to the fact that Pasdaran is increasingly emerging as a conglomerate with significant economic assets in the country). In protest, although he did not resign, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif resigned two years ago. With President Raisi and the number one diplomat appointed by him, there will be no friction between the country’s foreign ministry and Pasdaran.
Secondly, because Iran’s diplomatic corps is often surrounded by Ayatollah Khamanei’s special envoys (Ali Larijani – for China, Ali Velayati – for Russia; Kamal Harazi – for Germany, etc.).
Third, because important decisions in the country’s foreign policy, including reflecting neighboring departments such as national security and defense, are voted on by the Supreme National Security Council (SJC), in which the foreign minister is only one of 12 (in some cases 13) the member, and the decisions of the SJC shall enter into force after approval by the Ayatollah. However, the President of the country, who has a quota of ministers in this body, is also a voice in the SJC. Therefore, the figure of the president, although not structurally decisive, given that it is blocked by other institutions, the president is not insignificant.
For example, the current Iranian government, led by President Hassan Rouhani, has advocated dialogue with the West and Iran’s economic cooperation with the world. However, Hassan Rouhani’s efforts in these directions were systematically torpedoed by Pasdaran and finally sunk by the US withdrawal from the Nuclear Deal, which led to the resumption of old and the introduction of new sanctions against Tehran. Against this background, Rouhani himself failed to fight for the expansion of civil rights in the country, and the crisis with Kovid – 19 complicated the already complicated by the sanctions situation with the country’s economy.
And this whole set of circumstances has led to widespread frustration among those people in Iran who want to inject them with less ideology and a more decent income. This meant that Ibrahim Raisi could have won this election without relying on the arbitrariness of the revolutionary institutions. Precisely because of the frustration and low mobilization to vote among moderate and reform-oriented voters.
With the victory of Ibrahim Raisi in the presidential election, Ali Khamenei has secured a trusted person to propose the next composition of the government, in which the spaces for points of view other than dogmatic-revolutionary ones will be further narrowed. And in the long run, the main candidate to replace him in the most important position in the country as Iran’s supreme leader. Competitive advantages Raisi’s CV includes things like that he is aware of the regime’s dark secrets (from the seizure of property by people after the 1979 revolution, through his role as a prosecutor in the executions of political prisoners, to the current financial flows around the various religious foundations associated with the ayatollah) and has already been sanctioned by the United States.
Meanwhile, the ayatollah and Pasdaran have lost something convenient for them: the opportunity to blame the moderate government of Rouhani as to blame for any failure of the country’s economic and social systems. Now the mullah regime will have to find another scapegoat.
Neither the appeals from the mosques in Friday prayers nor the television instructions of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei helped. According to preliminary information, the turnout in yesterday’s presidential election in Iran was record low for the standard high in the country (official data will be announced later).
Without a signed document: Zoran Zaev surprisingly left Sofia
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Zoran Zaev will participate today in the summit of the Western Balkans in Vienna, informs the Skopje TV channel “TV 21”.
Zaev surprisingly left Sofia early in the morning, Epicenter.bg added, although he was expected to continue his visit to Bulgaria today and to sign a document with Radev’s caretaker government on relations between the two countries.
Zaev: “Any talk about the future of Europe without the Western Balkans is meaningless.”
Last night, Zaev had a second meeting with Prime Minister Stefan Yanev, according to whom it became known yesterday that the Macedonian Prime Minister had come to Sofia with a specific proposal in connection with the start of negotiations on Skopje’s accession to the EU. Talks with the Bulgarian government continued until late last night. The point of conflict in the negotiations was Zaev’s insistence on Bulgaria’s official recognition that documents between the two countries are signed in “Macedonian”.
Sofia rejects this wording and insists on the expression “official language of PCM”, as enshrined in the 2017 Treaty.
Iran has a new president
Sayyid Ebrahim Raisol-Sadati, commonly known as Ebrahim Raisi will be Iran’s new president, according to data from the partial counting of votes from yesterday’s presidential election in the country. He leads convincingly in front of the other three candidates, BNR writes.
Shiite cleric Ebrahim Raisi, who heads the judiciary, has ultra-conservative views. He is under US sanctions.
The president of Iran is the second highest-ranking official in the country, after the supreme leader. He has a significant influence on domestic policy and foreign affairs, but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all state issues.
Raisi’s three rivals and incumbent President Hassan Rohani congratulated him on his victory.
So far, Raisi has received 62 percent of the vote, or nearly 18 million of the 28 million ballots cast.
59 million Iranians had the right to vote. 600 people were registered to vote, but only seven received approval from the Board of Trustees.
Three of these candidates withdrew just a day before the vote.
Ebrahim Raisi, a 60-year-old cleric, has served as a prosecutor for most of his career. He was appointed head of the judiciary in 2019. Raisi declared himself the most suitable person to fight corruption and solve Iran’s economic problems.
However, many Iranians and human rights activists have expressed concern about his role in the mass executions of political prisoners in the 1980s.
Foreign Ministry explained the absence of Russian media at Biden’s press conference
Zakharova commented on the absence of Russian journalists at Biden’s press conference, RIA Novosti reported.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova believes that Russian journalists were not present at the press conference of US President Joe Biden in Geneva, as the American side is afraid of uncomfortable questions.
A summit between Russia and the United States took place the day before. After him, the presidents held press conferences.
Representatives of foreign media attended the press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin. There were no Russian journalists at Biden’s press conference.
“It’s bad that the Americans didn’t let Russian journalists to their press conference … We had just American journalists in the forefront,” Zakharova said, speaking on RTVI.
Answering the question why Russian journalists were not allowed in, Zakharova said: “I think they are afraid of … uncomfortable questions.”
“The whole story is about non-censoring of the media space, lack of control over journalists, freedom … all theory, practice – that’s it!” she added.
“But not allowing Russian journalists to attend a separate conference on the American side or not inviting them in advance – that was their big loss, they were absolutely wrong,” Zakharova summed up.
Biden teaches American journalists optimism by criticizing their negativity about meeting with Putin.
US President Joe Biden criticized the American press for being negative about the summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. “You are negative,” Biden told reporters at Geneva airport before flying to the United States.
“To report, you have to be negative … You never ask positive questions,” the US President said.
“Guys, I don’t want to drive you crazy because I know you want negative views,” he added.
Biden stressed that he would not share with the press any further expectations or details of the meeting.
Belgian Court orders AstraZeneca to deliver vaccine doses to the EU – Questions and Answers
European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 19 Jun 2021 Why did the European Commission start this Court proceeding and what did it intend to obtain?
The company announced in January that it would not be in a positio…
Erdogan urged the European Union to get rid of blindness and accept Turkey
According to RIA Novosti from Ankara, Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan called on the EU to get rid of blindness and accept Turkey, without which it will not be able to become a center of attraction and power.
“We want to finally come to the result of our many years of striving for the EU. It is impossible for the EU to become a center of gravity and power without Turkey’s presence in it. We want the EU to get rid of the blindness it has fallen into as soon as possible,” Erdogan said. speaking at the summit of the countries of southeastern Europe in Antalya. The broadcast was conducted on Twitter by the Turkish leader.
Turkey in 1963 signed an association agreement with the EU (at that time – the EEC), and in 1987 applied for membership in the union. However, accession negotiations began only in 2005, and were repeatedly suspended due to disagreements. 16 out of 35 chapters of the negotiation dossier are now open.
Turkey beyond Erdogan: How the EU risks letting down Turkish democrats
„The Turkish president no longer commands all before him. The EU should turn its attention to supporting democratic forces in the country.“ Kati Piri
This commentary is part of an ECFR discussion on a positive agenda for the EU and Turkey. The discussion includes previous commentaries by Ibrahim Kalin and Miguel Berger.
Kati Piri is a member of the Dutch Parliament.
After being held at arm’s length for several years, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is to meet with Western leaders once again. Last week he saw US president Joe Biden, as well as several NATO and EU leaders. Next week, the European Council will decide whether to deliver on the European Union’s past promise of a “positive agenda” with Turkey – and maybe even upgrade trade relations between the two.
Early last year, Erdogan began openly encouraging hundreds of thousands of migrants to cross the border into Greece, where people got stuck in no man’s land at the border. Last summer, a military confrontation between Turkey and EU member states appeared to become a serious threat, caused by disputes over Turkey’s exploratory gas drillings in waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus. Meanwhile, Turkey’s supposed EU accession process has made no difference to its growing abuse of democracy and fundamental rights.
Armenian Assembly of America Statement on Parliamentary Elections in Armenia
WASHINGTON, D.C., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, UNITED STATES, June 18, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) has long advocated for and welcomes the democratic progress of Armenia. We commend the Armenian people for their civic engagement and continued participation in elections where they have regularly turned out in large numbers.In 2018, the United States congratulated the people of Armenia on the conduct of their December 9 parliamentary elections and the International Election Observer Mission involving the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and the European Parliament (EP) found that “the 9 December [2018] early parliamentary elections were held with respect for fundamental freedoms and enjoyed broad public trust that needs to be preserved through further electoral reforms.”
For Sunday’s elections, multiple observer groups are present from the OSCE, Europe, the Eurasian Union, and the United States. We look forward to their assessments once again.
The Assembly takes note of the vigorous campaigns being waged, the vibrancy of free speech, and the diverse voices that are putting forward their views about the important issues surrounding the security and future of the Armenian people in the aftermath of last Fall’s devastating war launched by Azerbaijan with the full backing of Turkey. The Assembly agrees with the recent statement issued by Artsakh’s National Assembly that “Erdogan’s uninvited visit to Artsakh’s occupied territories, in particular Shushi, [is] a threat and a new attempt to display force. This is the continuation of the opening of [the military] ‘trophy park’ in Baku which supposes adoption of new moral and psychological pressures against the Armenian people in the post-war period.”
Armenia’s record on democracy stands in sharp contrast to the Erdogan and Alivev regimes’ records in Turkey and Azerbaijan; another successful election in Armenia will give the United States an excellent opportunity to reward democracy and also take a stand against further ethnic cleansing and encroachment on Armenia’s independence. In 1915, and after World War I, following the Armenian Genocide, Armenians were left to face alone similar threats which led to Sovietization and the continuation of the Genocide. We are dedicated to seeing that history does not repeat itself.
The Assembly strongly supports the rule of law and good governance both in Armenia and Artsakh. Respecting the will of the people and the building of robust democratic institutions are cornerstones of any democracy. The Assembly believes that Armenia’s young democracy, like Artsakh’s, deserves support. The results of Armenia’s June 20th parliamentary elections should serve as an opportunity for the country to come together and chart a course for a future that unites everyone.
We all understand this election is taking place in the context of extreme loss, pain, and continuing aggression. Democratic elections and coming together to deal with these existential challenges are all the more important now. We continue to be proud of those showing such spirit and resilience.
EUBAM Libya: Council extends mandate for a further two years
The Council today decided to extend the mandate of the European Integrated Border Management Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya) for a further two years until 30 June 2023.
In its renewed mandate, the mission is tasked with assisting the relevant Libyan authorities in the building of state security structures in Libya, in particular in the areas of border management, law enforcement and criminal justice, with a view to contributing to efforts to disrupt organised criminal networks involved notably in smuggling migrants, human trafficking and terrorism in Libya and the Central Mediterranean region. The mission also coordinates and implements projects with international partners in the fields of its engagement.
In the context of a recent strategic review of the mission the Council today also decided to extend the mission’s mandate to support UN-led efforts for peace in Libya as part of the Berlin Process, within the scope of the mission’s core areas of engagement.
EUBAM Libya was launched on 22 May 2013 and is headed by Ms Natalina Cea (Italy).
Daily News 18 / 06 / 2021
European Commission Daily news Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 NextGenerationEU: la Commission approuve les plans pour la reprise et la résilience du Danemark et du Luxembourg
La Commission européenne a adopt&…
Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Insurance Ireland for restricting access to a data sharing platform
European Commission Press release Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 The Commission has informed Insurance Ireland, an association of Irish insurers, of its preliminary view that it breached EU antitrust rules by restricting competition in the Irish motor vehicle insurance market.
Europe ramps up strain on tech giants
The European Union’s top court ruled Tuesday that tech giants regulated by privacy officials primarily in one EU country can still face legal action by privacy officials based in another member country. The ruling opens the door to more litigation against Big Tech by country-level European data watchdogs.
Separately, the UK’s antitrust regulator said Tuesday it is investigating Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL)‘s dominance in mobile operating systems, app stores and web browsers.
The announcements mark the latest governmental challenges to Big Tech across the Atlantic, where scrutiny by regulators and policymakers have added to US policymakers’ own efforts to rein in large, dominant platforms.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the two companies’ power in mobile ecosystems could be leading to higher prices in apps and digital advertising, as well as potentially reduced innovation and less competition.
“Apple and Google control the major gateways through which people…
The post Europe ramps up strain on tech giants appeared first on CaymanMama.com | News.
World Refugee Day: Joint Statement by the European Commission and the High Representative
European Commission Statement Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 This World Refugee Day, our message is clear: the EU is committed to bring an end to the pandemic everywhere and leave no one behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven just how interdependent our world is. Our humanity is only as strong as our support for the most vulnerable people.
Questions and answers: European Commission endorses Luxembourg’s €93 million recovery and resilience plan
European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 How did the Commission assess Luxembourg’s recovery and resilience plan?
The Regulation ensures a transparent assessment on the basis of 11 criteria against the…
NextGenerationEU: European Commission endorses Luxembourg’s €93 million recovery and resilience plan
European Commission Press release Brussels, 18 Jun 2021 The European Commission has today adopted a positive assessment of Luxembourg’s recovery and resilience plan.