India-US-Japan-Australia Quadrilateral initiative explores partnership with EU

The first Summit of the India-US-Japan-Australia Quadrilateral initiative, or Quad, held on Friday explored a partnership with Europe amid the group’s idea to create a free, open rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
While three European nations — France, Germany and the Netherlands — have announced their Indo-Pacific visions envisaging wide-ranging ties with India, the European Union is in the midst of formulating its own Indo-Pacific strategy.

At Friday’s meeting, the four leaders of the Quad nations explored the possibility of joining hands with Europe where various states are drawing up plans to expand their engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, ET has learnt. “The plan is still at the nascent stage and the Quad is exploring the possibility to form a partnership with the EU,” a highly placed source told ET.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his trip to Portugal in early May for the India-EU Summit is expected to focus on forging partnership with the European Union for the Indo-Pacific region.

In a blog published on Friday coinciding with the Quad Summit, European Commission vice president and high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy Josep Borrell emphasised that the EU has a big stake in the Indo-Pacific region and should do its part to keep the regional order open and rules-based by stepping up engagement with India.

“Within the Indo-Pacific, India certainly plays a pivotal role. The EU and India have long shared a commitment to the rules-based international order and democracy … India has also decided to invest more in its relations with the EU, driven in part by China’s growing assertiveness and Brexit, requiring New Delhi to no longer see London as its sole entry point into dealing with ‘Europe’…,” according to Borrell.

Borrell said, “The next big opportunity to take EU-India cooperation forward will come in May, in Porto, when we should have a Summit with all EU27 heads of state and government attending, together with Prime Minister Modi, the President of European Council and the President of the European Commission. At that occasion, we hope to launch an EU-India Connectivity Partnership. It should cover the areas of digital, energy, transport and human connectivity, with the EU and India working bilaterally, but also by converging our efforts to better connectivity with third countries and regions.”

Borrell was equally emphatic about Beijing and noted that the EU is re-balancing its relations with China based on a strategy of treating China as a “partner, competitor and rival”.

“With China, we have a complex and demanding agenda, mixing cooperation on global issues with pushback where needed and a focus on reciprocity and strengthening EU resilience. We need to engage China because it does not make sense to ignore this great power. However, we need to engage while keeping our eyes wide open. I remain in close contact with state counsellor/foreign minister Wang Yi to pass EU messages and expectations on the bilateral and multilateral agenda. And together with President von der Leyen, I will submit a report on the state of implementation of the EU’s China policy to the March European Council,” Borrell wrote.

But Asia is big and diverse and should not be reduced to looking only at China, quite the opposite, Borrell said.

“In recent years, we have strengthened and diversified our ties with Japan, India, South Korea, Asean, Australia and New Zealand, complementing our traditional strong economic relations with more cooperation on foreign and security policy,” he wrote.

Borrell said the intention is for the EU to set out, in the coming months, a common vision for its future Indo-Pacific engagement.

Number of EU Citizens in UK Now Higher Than Before Brexit, Home Office Data Shows

There are some one and a half million more EU nationals living in the United Kingdom than before Brexit, according to UK Home Office figures.

The figures show that 4.6 million people have been granted the right to stay in the UK after Brexit under the EU Settlement Scheme launched by the British government. As The Times outlined in its Saturday report, there were 3.1 million EU citizens in the UK before Brexit.

As of 31 December 2020, around 5 million applications had been received, the Home Office revealed, with 90% received in England, 5% in Scotland, 2% in Wales and 2% in Northern Ireland.

The figures also state that the highest number of applications to remain in the UK was received from Polish, Romanian and Italian nationals.

The United Kingdom parted ways with the European Union at midnight on 31 January 2020, while remaining a part of the Customs Union and the Single Market for an additional ‘transition period’ year. The one year transition ended on 31 December 2020, marking the full departure of the UK from the bloc after a 47-year partnership.

The EU Settlement Scheme was launched by the British government to enable EU residents and family members to obtain UK immigration status so as to be eligible to apply for citizenship.

Will ‘Frexit’ Signal the ‘Beginning of the End’ of the European Union?

The currently ongoing COVID-19 health crisis has once again highlighted the deep inherent dysfunctions of the European Union (EU), claims analyst Laurent Herblay in an article for Le Figaro.

According to the writer, who has also been running the “free Gaullist” blog since 2007, an inadequate bureaucracy has been paralysing political action, without ever serving the citizens.

​For its staunch proponents, says the author, the EU was perceived as an ever closer, larger union which should be wielded to defend nations, protecting them from crises. However, the reality of Brexit, which saw the UK part ways with the bloc, and the health crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic pulverised these arguments.

Health Crisis Raises Questions

The pandemic raised awareness of the unfortunate consequences of the EU, says Herblay.

It glaringly revealed that the continent was the victim of ‘industrial desertion’, with practically no more local production of masks, and a large proportion of pharmaceutical production now located in Asia.

“Up to 80 percent of the active ingredients are produced outside our continent,” notes the analyst.

The situation is all the more appalling, he writes, as the country where the epidemic originated – China – has since benefited from the situation by massively boosting its production and export of medical products in 2020 to meet the demand of all the other countries.

At this point, Laurent Herblay points the finger of blame at the EU, claiming it negotiates trade agreements which allow these ‘relocations’ and refuses to support European trade preferences.

A year ago, we still thought France had an enviable health care system, says the analyst, however, the crisis has cruelly exposed the consequences of cuts made throughout the past years.

In 2019 warnings had been voiced that budget cuts, a government reduction in the number of beds and a serious lack of medical staff were leading France’s world-class health system to the brink of collapse and putting patients’ lives at risk.

Here again, the European Union is held responsible by the blog author, who denounces the EU recommendations to reduce healthcare costs in a never-ending race to boost the competitiveness of its member states.

​Applauding the USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 support package – the largest fiscal stimulus package in US history – the author stressed that the European response has been a ‘miserly’ 300 billion euros ($323 billion) in state aid to alleviate the economic burden of the pandemic.

EU ‘Jab Crisis’

Laurent Herblay also condemned the EU ‘vaccine fiasco’. He says that the successful coronavirus vaccine rollout of the UK demonstrates the EU’s complete failure to meet the challenge, he says, despite experts having recklessly proclaimed a year ago that Brexit would weaken Britain’s vaccine strategy.

“The EU has been so slow and bad in its negotiations that a growing number of European countries are starting to bypass it and obtain supplies from Russia or China,” he writes.

The UK was derided by many in the EU for failing to accept an invitation from Brussels and opting to ‘go it alone’.

However, the bloc’s vaccination procurement scheme has so far failed to deliver, with EU countries lagging significantly behind Israel, the UK and the US in administering jabs.

“What remains of the arguments of the supporters of the EU?”, asks the writer.

He claims that the EU, while failing to offer protection from any financial, economic or health crisis, has not allowed the nations within the bloc to build anything.

He complains that the European continent is merely a ‘market for US multinational companies or China’, with Washington continuously ‘imposing its will, fining our companies or pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal as it pleases’.

The EU, concludes the author of the blog, is just an additional and inadequate bureaucracy that paralyses and distracts us, without ever helping us.

In short, the author maintains that if there has never been a majority of French people wanting to leave the Eurozone, the crisis-riddled past few months have ‘poured water to the mill’ of those who urge an exit from the bloc.

Albeit difficult, leaving the EU is now feasible, as Brexit demonstrated, concludes the analyst.

Like ‘Leaving Prison’

In February, French politician, and Frexit campaigner Charles-Henri Gallois suggested that France or Italy would be next in line to follow in the footsteps of Great Britain and exit the EU.

In an interview with Martin Daubney on the Facebook programme “Brexit Unlocked”, Gallois argued that the two nations were “more interested to leave the euro currency and to leave the European Union”, adding that “we are definitely trying to remove Europe from each country”.

​A politician for the Les Patriotes party, Florian Philippot, claimed leaving the EU was like “leaving prison”.

Across the bloc, anti-EU forces in France, Spain and Italy have been urged to form a new Brexit-style political party.

However, the arguments of those supporting Frexit have been slammed by critics. Tory MP Sir John Redwood has claimed it would be “unthinkable” for France to leave the bloc.

“In France, there is obviously a challenge to the EU project. But so far all the parties that want to stay in the EU have had more numbers and votes and France has continued to support it. It is almost unthinkable that France would want to leave because France and Germany are the main drivers, the central axis of the European Union project,” the politician was quoted by UK media as saying.

European Union to give 17 million in aid to Caribbean – New York Carib News

Bridgetown – The Commissioner for Crisis Management within the European Commission, Janez Lenarčič, says that €17 million in humanitarian aid is being donated to address the needs of the Caribbean’s most vulnerable, which have been worsened by the pandemic.

“The EU continues to provide life-saving humanitarian aid support directly to the most vulnerable population. In Haiti as well as in the rest of the Caribbean, recurrent natural hazards further increase vulnerabilities, while also exacerbated by the coronavirus. In this challenging time, the EU is stepping up its long-standing humanitarian assistance to those most in need,” said Lenarčič, in a statement on Thursday.

From the amount behind donated, Haiti will receive €14 million to address extreme food insecurity, provide protection for migrants and victims of gang violence and increase resilience to disasters.

The EU estimates that 4.4 million people or 40 percent of the Haitian population will need humanitarian assistance in 2021.

“Due to its vulnerability to natural hazards, governance issues and high levels of poverty, Haiti has limited capacity to cope with recurring emergencies. Food shortages, malnutrition, recurrent disease epidemics, and additional humanitarian needs generated by an ongoing socio-political crisis require sustained humanitarian assistance,” the EU said.

Three million euros will go to the other islands to help with disaster preparedness and resilience interventions in at-risk communities.

Since 1994, the European Union has provided €183 million in humanitarian aid to the Caribbean, excluding Haiti.

This funding includes €50.8 million for disaster risk reduction and community resilience. (CMC)

European Parliament calls for repatriation of children from Syrian camps

The European Parliament has called for the repatriation of children from European Union countries held in Kurdish-run camps in northeastern Syria since the collapse of the Islamic State group.

In a resolution on Thursday marking 10 years of conflict in Syria, the parliament also reiterated its opposition to any normalisation of relations with President Bashar al-Assad’s government and dismissed forthcoming presidential elections in the country as “completely lacking in credibility”.

The parliament also called on EU states to continue to offer sanctuary to Syrian refugees, after Denmark earlier this month became the first EU member state to withdraw residency rights from Syrian refugees, after the government ruled that it was safe for 94 from the Damascus area to return home.

Noting that “Syria is not a safe country to return to”, it called on EU member states “to refrain from shifting national policies towards depriving certain categories of Syrians of their protected status, and to reverse this trend if they have already applied such policies”.

The resolution increases pressure on European countries to repatriate hundreds of children among about 12,000 foreign nationals – many of whom are suspected of links to IS – who have been held in the al-Hol and Roj camps since internationally backed Kurdish-led forces defeated the militant group in 2019.

It comes after Unicef last month called for repatriation and reintegration of all children being held in the camps, after at least three died and 15 were injured in a fire at al-Hol.

Humanitarian and human rights organisations have previously raised concerns about “violent, unsanitary and inhumane” conditions in the camps that have led to the avoidable deaths of hundreds of babies and infants.

Kurdish officials say they lack the resources to manage the camps effectively, and have called on countries to repatriate their own nationals. US officials and senior soldiers in the region have also called for repatriations and have offered assistance to countries willing to take back their own citizens.

Most EU member states, and other western countries including the UK and Canada, have so far refused to implement policies to bring home their own nationals, although some have repatriated children, mostly orphans, on an ad hoc basis.

Belgium, however, said last week that it would begin the repatriation of all Belgian children being held in the camps under the age of 12, in compliance with a court order.

The parliament’s resolution was welcomed by human rights groups and by family support groups for those being held in the camps.

Families for Repatriation International, a network of families and support groups, said the resolution was a “positive step”, but called for the repatriation of the children’s mothers as well.

“We need to keep building the momentum towards repatriation of all, including women without children and men in prisons,” FRI said on Twitter.

Yasmine Ahmed, the UK director of Human Rights Watch, said it was “time for European states to take action”.

The European Parliament resolution also said: “EU nationals suspected of belonging to terrorist organisations and detained in those camps should be tried in a court of law.” It called for the continuation of sanctions against Syrian government-linked individuals and entities involved in “repression”, and called for the prosecution of war crimes.

The parliament “strongly condemns all atrocities and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular by the Assad regime, but also by Russian, Iranian and Turkish actors, and calls on Russia, Iran and Hezbollah to withdraw all forces and proxies under their command”, the resolution said.

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European Union launches Young African Leaders Programme

The European Union in partnership with the European Union’s School of Transnational Governance has launched the Young African Leaders Programme, a three-month fully-funded fellowship that will take place in Florence, Italy between September and November 2021.

According to a notice issued on Friday by the Administrator: Thematic Programmes Delegation of the EU to Nigeria and ECOWAS, it is a pilot programme that provides a unique opportunity for policy professionals from Africa to further develop their competencies and skills in an international environment amidst scholars and practitioners.

The programme is open to African civil servants, journalists, entrepreneurs and NGO practitioners with a keen interest in and commitment to transnational policy issues and programmes relevant to African countries, including green transition, trade and regional governance, gender, digital technology and sustainability.

The Programme targets mid-career, high potential policy-makers, diplomats, and professionals from Africa, working in national and local authorities, regional, continental, international organisations and development partners, civil society organisations, academia, media and the private sector in Africa.

It is open to young female and male professionals, mid-career and executives alike, who are nationals of African countries, residing in Africa and are under the age of 45.

In the dynamic academic environment of the European University Institute in Florence, selected participants will take part in workshops, training and skills development sessions, conferences, study visits and field trips in Europe.

Interaction with the other fellows, policy-makers and the academic community at the EUI will make this a truly unforgettable experience.

The three-month leadership programme will take place between September and November 2021 and places are fully-funded with a grant of €2,500 per month.

The African experts are expected to live in the area of Florence for the duration of their stay.

The language of the programme is English.

Further information on the programme is available at: https://stg.eui.eu/africanleaders?msdynttrid=07e9Tf9h7davYtlXmvKYy8cXvwe3zGea2Xav_ZJ3hW4.

Deadline for application is March 31, 2021.

UK exports to European Union drop 40% in January

However, the head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, Suren Thiru, said: “The significant slump in UK exports of goods to the EU, particularly compared to non-EU trade, provides an ominous indication of the damage being done to post-Brexit trade with the EU by the current border disruption.

37/2021 : 11 March 2021 – Advocate General’s Opinion in Avis 1/19, Istanbul Convention

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European Parliament votes to lift immunity to Catalan leaders, wanted by Spanish justice

European Parliament votes to lift immunity to Catalan leaders, wanted by Spanish justice

Wednesday, March 10th 2021 – 09:20 UTC

Full article

Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati fled to Belgium in October 2017 along with other Catalan separatists

The European Parliament voted on Tuesday in favor of lifting immunity from the former leader of Spain‘s Catalonia region, Carles Puigdemont. Lawmakers also waived immunity for Toni Comin, the former Catalan health minister, and former regional education minister Clara Ponsati.

The trio fled to Belgium in October 2017 along with other Catalan separatists. They are wanted by Spain after holding an independence referendum that the Spanish government said was illegal.

In 2019, Puigdemont, Comin and Ponsati won seats in the European Parliament. This gave them protection in their positions as members of the EU assembly. But at the request of the Spanish judiciary, the parliament opened an inquiry into waiving their immunity. The parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee voted last month to recommend the move.

In the decision on Puigdemont, 400 legislators voted for the waiver of immunity, 248 were against and 45 abstained. The motions against Comin and Ponsati were adopted by 404 votes to 247, the parliament said.

The vote sends “a message that the problems of Catalonia are to be resolved within Spain and not at a European level,” Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told reporters in a statement.

The three MEPs have already announced that they will take the case to the EU’s highest court, the European Court of Justice.

European parliament strips Catalan leaders of immunity

Brussels/Barcelon —  The European parliament has voted to waive the immunity of the former head of Catalonia’s regional government and two other separatist lawmakers, taking them a step closer to extradition to Spain, where they are charged with sedition.

The chamber announced on Tuesday that EU MEPs had voted clearly in favour of stripping the immunity from prosecution of Carles Puigdemont and two former cabinet members, Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati.

The three told a news conference at the parliament in Brussels that they would appeal against the vote at the EU’s top court, a move that could extend legal proceedings for at least a year. Ponsati said they had strong legal grounds.

“It’s a sad day for the European parliament. We have lost our immunity, but the parliament has lost even more than that, as a result it has also lost European democracy,” Puigdemont said.

Puigdemont and Comin, who are in self-imposed exile in Belgium, formally became members of the European parliament in June 2019, while Ponsati, who is in Scotland, was officially a member from January 2020.

All are subject to European arrest warrants issued by Spain which is seeking their extradition related to their role in organising a 2017 independence referendum deemed illegal by a Spanish court.

The referendum brought on Spain’s biggest political crisis in decades and was followed by a unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament in October 2017, which prompted the central government to impose direct rule from Madrid and authorities to arrest separatist leaders.

Nine of them were convicted in Spain of the same charge of sedition in 2019 and sentenced to up to 13 years in prison.

Belgium has so far denied Spain’s extradition requests. A court in January refused to extradite Lluis Puig, another separatist former member of the Catalan government living in Belgium, over charges of misuse of public funds.

Puigdemont has also been charged with misuse of public funds.

Spanish foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said the parliament’s decision was a sign of “respect for the work of the Spanish justice system”. A European legislator cannot use his position to “protect himself from appearing in a national court”, she said.

“Problems in Catalonia are solved in Spain, not in Europe,” she said, defending a solution through dialogue.

Puigdemont’s party, Junts, tweeted that the conflict had stopped being an internal affair.

“We have brought it to the heart of Europe to continue denouncing the repression and political persecution of the Spanish state,” it said.

The European parliament said the events pre-dated their election and it was for national judicial systems of EU countries to determine criminal proceedings.

Reuters

Why is Uzbekistan relevant for the European Union?

Uzbekistan has been through significant policy changes over the past five years. Under the leadership of Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country has moved from an isolated dictatorship into a young democracy, from a shadow economy into a liberalised market, from a weak state into a regional player, writes Vita Kobiela.

Vita Kobiela is a communications co-lead of Volt Belgium, the first pan-European political party and movement.

Being at the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan has geostrategic importance not only for a rising China or historically present Russia but also for the European Union.

First of all, as a transport and transit hub, which lies at the heart of the Chinese New Silk Road Initiative, the Russian Eurasian project and the EU-Asia connectivity strategy, Uzbekistan creates a platform that connects the Eurasian continent and brings worlds’ economies together.

The country has already managed to fruitfully cooperate with China and Russia at the same time.

When it comes to Europe, even though the region (as well as Uzbekistan itself) has been for a long time neglected, surprisingly in 2019, the EU has become a top trade partner to all Central Asian states as a whole region, having 24,1% of their total trade.

This is also true for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, two regional leaders that are constantly improving their trade relations with the EU27, importing more to the EU than exporting.

In this sense, Uzbekistan is a perfect place for European businesses. The country has created one of the most favourable business environments in the region. It attracts foreign investors and companies that strive for more ambitious regional targets.

At the moment, Uzbekistan has more than 15 free economic zones and over 100 small industrial zones established to create the best opportunities for foreign investors and entrepreneurs, exempting them from many taxes and fees for up to 10 years.

Adding to this the World Bank ranking on the ease of doing business, which placed Uzbekistan high above its neighbours, and hundreds of European businesses already present in the country, shows that despite the geographic distance, massive Chinese investments, and Russian attempts to regain influence in the region, interaction and cooperation among the European and Central Asian region have continued to increase.

Secondly, Uzbekistan’s GDP is expected to reach that of Kazakhstan in 15 years’ time and continue to grow. In contrast to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan strives for its own economic model and destiny, based on its human capital and economic diversification.

In terms of regional cooperation, Mirziyoyevs’ initiatives for the settlement of problems accumulated in Central Asia (delimitation and demarcation of the boundaries between the Central Asian states, resolving water and border-crossing issues, and the first heads-of-state meeting for the fractious region in March 2018 – to name but a few) show that Uzbekistan is actively coordinating the development of the region.

What is more, the country has a keen interest in its stability, prosperity and freedom from external political influence.

Lastly, a stable and prosperous Central Asian region, confidently and independently balancing between Russian and Chinese influence, leading by the Uzbekistani example, will become a reliable energy partner of the EU.

Even today, with a complete Russian monopoly over gas export routes from Central Asia, the region is a source of significant energy imports for Europe.

It will become essential for the Europeans if the central Asian countries could manage to break Russia’s grip on the pipelines by launching, for example, the Trans-Caspian shipping route in cooperation with the EU.

This project may well serve Europe and Central Asia’s economies, which are capable of exporting a lot to the EU but physically cannot do it.

These are only a few arguments about why the EU must increase its visibility and capabilities in the region, relying on its external policies on Uzbekistan. No one could deny, however, that the arguments presented above – although they are rational – are more market-oriented, and that means not convincing enough for the European audience.

In terms of values, since 2016, Mirziyoyev followed an innovative policy to transform Uzbekistan’s decision-making processes, electoral legislation, encourage political competition, invigorate civil society, address human rights and the rule of law issues.

In doing so, he has already reshaped the domestic political landscape, changed the fundamental relationship between the citizen and state. Uzbekistan is indeed confidentially and surely moving towards democracy and the rule of law, thus stabilizing its society and reassuring both its citizens and foreign investors.

Uzbekistan is the ally of the European Union in supporting and promoting the principles of multilateralism. After many years of international isolation, new Uzbekistan has already initiated many UN resolutions, organised and keep organising global, international and regional forums, projects based on these principles.

Uzbekistani efforts were well-noted by the international community, as for the first time in its history, the country became a member of the UN Human Rights Council, the piece of news that speaks for itself.

Uzbekistan has shown a huge interest in upgrading relations with the EU. Through GSP+, support for membership of the WTO, and the negotiation of an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.

Furthermore, the country has proved many times that when it comes to climate, business, digital, educational, tourism issues, it clearly prefers to cooperate with the EU.

In conclusion, Europeans should acknowledge the boldness and enormous achievements of the country that is showing a political will to change its historic path and engage in important regional and global initiatives.

However, for Mirziyoyev’ efforts to succeed, Uzbekistan needs European support.

The country expects more technical and financial European assistance which is essential for research, innovation, technology and human resources training to boost its sustainable development, but above all political support, particularly in the light of the upcoming presidential elections.

The EU must therefore send a strong message of support and engagement to Uzbekistan.

Sculpture honours Daphne Caruana Galizia in European Parliament

A sculpture in tribute to murdered journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak has been placed in the European Parliament permanently.

The two metre high steel and iron sculpture has the words ‘Immortal Truth’ wrapped around it and emblazoned in lights above it. 

A phrase cut into its base says “In memory of Daphne Caruana Galizia and Ján Kuciak and all the journalists murdered for the truth.”

The journalists were both murdered outside their homes and within four months of each other. Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb in Bidnija, Malta in October 2017 and Kuciak in a village outside Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava.

Slovak artist Martin Mjartan created the sculpture, which is is being presented to European Parliament president David Maria Sassoli and will have a permanent place in the European Parliament building. The decision was taken this week by the College of Quaestors, of which Maltese MEP David Casa is a member.

European Parliament to seek carbon border levy by 2023

Tue, March 9, 2021, 7:11 PM·1 min read

BRUSSELS, March 9 (Reuters) – The European Union should impose carbon border costs on imports of certain industrial products by 2023, the European Parliament said on Tuesday.

By forcing companies to pay an emissions-based fee to sell polluting goods into Europe, Brussels aims to level the playing field for domestic firms and avoid companies leaving Europe to avoid CO2 costs – known as “carbon leakage”.

Parliament on Tuesday adopted amendments to a report aimed at influencing the European Commission’s proposal for the policy, due in June. Those amendments did not alter a draft plan to introduce the measure in certain sectors by 2023.

Parliament will rubber stamp its position on the overall report with another vote on Wednesday. (Reporting by Kate Abnett Editing by Marguerita Choy)