European Union

The EU is working on new export rules for so-called dual-use goods to prevent them being misused in human rights violations.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

AMENDMENTS 1 - 28 - Draft opinion Assessment of the implementation of Article 50 TEU
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Kati Piri

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Agnès Callamard, a French former UN investigator, has told The Guardian newspaper that a senior Saudi official twice threatened her UN colleagues that he would have her killed if she did not stop digging into Saudi Arabia's 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Callamard would be "taken care of," the Saudi official said. It was "a death threat. That was how it was understood," she told the British newspaper Monday.

China and Russia have called for a UN meeting to seek international support against EU and US human-rights sanctions.

European Council president Charles Michel announced on Twitter that US president Joe Biden will join the video-summit of EU leaders on Thursday. "Looking forward to welcome @POTUS at this week's European Council meeting", Michel said. "I have invited the president of the US to join our meeting for him to share his views on our future cooperation. Time to rebuild our transatlantic alliance," he added.

Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to decide on new measures to halt the rise of infections and hospitalisations, Le Soir writes. On the table is a strict lockdown of three weeks, with the closure of schools, non-essentials shops and malls. Bars and restaurants are already closed, with a curfew of 10PM in Brussels and midnight in the rest of the country.

More than 250 MEPs and national parliamentarians on Tuesday urged the EU to support the temporary waiver of certain obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). India and South Africa first call for a temporal patents waiver. Increasing the accessibility and availability of vaccines would "require wider sharing of proprietary technology and know-how…especially with low- and middle-income countries," they said in a statement.

Spain on 30 March will be lifting a travel ban from the UK, the Spanish government said. The move comes amid a relatively rapid vaccination rollout in the UK. However, the UK has for the moment imposed a travel ban to all foreign destinations but is set to review the policy in April. A Spanish government spokesperson said flight restrictions from Brazil and South Africa would be lifted 13 April.

Both France and Germany summoned China's ambassadors to their respective countries over recent sanctions against EU officials imposed by Beijing. In a statement, Germany's foreign ministry described the sanctions as "an inappropriate escalation that unnecessarily strains ties between the EU and China." An unnamed French official made similar remarks to Reuters news agency amid a brewing Twitter spat and insult slinging with China's ambassador in Paris.

"We are not seeking an outright ban on vaccine exports but we expect manufacturers to live up to their contractual obligations," EU Commission vice president Maroš Šefčovič said.

The 'super trialogue' on the knotty issue of Common Agriculture Policy reform later this week aims to give a rough approximation of the different institutions positions. However, there are still big differences between national capitals and the European Parliament.

Cyprus has rejected a draft prepared by EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell for a summit of EU leaders this week, which seeks to deepen trade ties with Turkey, describing it as "totally unacceptable," Ekathimerini writes. The offer of closer economic links, mixed with threats, reflects the complex relationship between Turkey, an EU candidate, and the world's largest trading bloc, which have drifted apart but are now seeking improved ties.

German federal and state leaders have agreed on a even-tighter shutdown over the Easter holidays, Deutsche Welle reports. "We are in a new pandemic" due to the spread of coronavirus variants, chancellor Angela Merkel said. Germany is extending its current lockdown through to April 18, and will impose an even stricter lockdown from April 1 to April 5 when shops, including grocery stores, will largely have to close.

The one key question that needs to be asked is – will this proposed new legislation aid the required economic recovery or could it have an actual negative effect?

President of the Portuguese Business Confederation, António Saraiva, is at the heart of an apparent conflict of interests.

MEPs on the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Legal Affairs committees exchanged views with experts on lessons learned from the Wirecard collapse and shortcomings in supervision.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

MEPs on the Economic and Monetary Affairs and Legal Affairs committees exchanged views with experts on lessons learned from the Wirecard collapse and shortcomings in supervision.
Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Legal Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Statement by leading MEPs following the decision by Chinese authorities to sanction the Subcommittee on Human Rights and other European entities and officials.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Statement by leading MEPs following the decision by Chinese authorities to sanction the Subcommittee on Human Rights and other European entities and officials.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

Statement by leading MEPs following the decision by Chinese authorities to sanction the Subcommittee on Human Rights and other European entities and officials.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP