Union européenne

Cologne est en état de siège ce week-end. La ville allemande héberge le congrès du parti populiste d’extrême droite AfD, ce qui donne lieu à plusieurs contre-manifestations. Un congrès marqué par ailleurs par des tensions internes.

Un jeune néonazi a tué deux personnes ont été tuées ce vendredi 21 avril dans les locaux du FSB dans l'Extrême-Orient russe. Les faits se sont produits à Khabarovsk, une ville située sur le fleuve Amour, à la frontière avec la Chine.

Une revue de presse présentée en partenariat avec Le Courrier des Balkans

La crise est finie pour les milliardaires russes, plus nombreux et plus riches, d'après le classement annuel du magazine Forbes. Dans le même temps, le nombre de pauvres en Russie a lui aussi explosé.

DROI delegation acknowledges significant progress in access to education, health care and drinking water.

"The purpose of our visit was to gather information, to learn about the achievements of the Bolivian government and to encourage the government to further improve the human rights situation in Bolivia. Discussions with our interlocutors focused notably on the rights of indigenous people, children and women (especially violence against women), prison conditions, freedom of association, the situation of civil society, reparations to victims of the military dictatorship, and the independence of the judicial system."
Full statement
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

AFET and DROI chairs condemn the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict and call for an immediate restarting of negotiations.

"The use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict must be considered as an extremely concerning act. In view of the very recent developments, we call for the need to urgently bring all the involved parts back to the negotiation table, in order to find a political solution for the Syrian conflict, which has already caused thousands causalities and refugees. The immediate recovery of the negotiations is vital if we want to avoid that the current situation turns into a spiral of violence, with uncontrollable effects and if we want to avoid that this conflict degenerates into a large-scale armed conflict."
Full statement
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

"Stand up in defence of human rights and honour your commitments to the human rights conventions", urges DROI Chair.

"States have to honour their commitments to the human rights conventions, which they have ratified", said Subcommittee on Human Rights Chair Antonio Panzeri concerned by the increasing number of cases of reprisals and intimidation against human rights defenders, during a visit to the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council's on 20 and 21 March 2017."
Full statement
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

"Open debates on political rights and freedom of expression and religion are vital", says DROI Chair

This week from 21-23 February, the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) visited the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to engage in constructive dialogue, to assess the human rights situation, the country's achievements in the field of socio-economic development, to discuss the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement's potential impact in improving the livelihood of the population, including people with disabilities, and also to develop inter-parliamentary dialogue between the EP and the National Assembly of Vietnam with a view to sharing experiences.
Full statement
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

DROI delegation acknowledges significant progress in access to education, health care and drinking water. Five members of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI), Cristian Dan Preda (EPP, RO), Joachim ZELLER (EPP, DE), Ana GOMES (S&D, PT), Francisco ASSIS (S&D, PT) and Ignazio CORRAO (EFDD, IT) visited Bolivia on 18-20 April.
As the EP delegation yesterday concluded its visit to Bolivia, the chair of the delegation, Cristian Dan Preda, has stated: "The purpose of our visit was to gather information, to learn about the achievements of the Bolivian government and to encourage the government to further improve the human rights situation in Bolivia. Discussions with our interlocutors focused notably on the rights of indigenous people, children and women (especially violence against women), prison conditions, freedom of association, the situation of civil society, reparations to victims of the military dictatorship, and the independence of the judicial system.
Further information
Full Statement
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

La guerre dans l'est de l'Ukraine continue de faire rage. Le conflit a aussi des conséquences désastreuses sur l'économie et les infrastructures de la région. La ville portuaire de Marioupol, sous contrôle ukrainien, vient ainsi d'annoncer qu'elle devait couper l'eau chaude à ses habitants, au moins jusqu'au 15 octobre.

Séance plénière : Promouvoir la diversité de l’Europe, soutenir le secteur de la culture et développer son plein potentiel économique : tels sont les objectifs de l’année européenne du patrimoine culturel qui sera célébrée tout au long de 2018. Ce jeudi 27 avril, les députés réunis en session plénière à Bruxelles donneront leur approbation finale à cette initiative. Visionnez notre entretien avec Mircea Diaconu, député libéral roumain en charge du dossier, pour en savoir plus.

Source : © Union européenne, 2017 - PE

On Tuesday 18th, Theresa May has called for snap general election “to make a success of Brexit”. She claimed that division at Westminster could obstruct the Brexit negotiations. Election would help to unify Parliament and to prevent instability.

“I think it is right now to ask the British people, to put their trust in me and the Conservative Party to deliver on their vote last year a Brexit plan that will make a success for this country and deliver a stronger, fairer global Britain in the future”, she said.

As a reminder, Theresa May became prime minister after British approved Brexit in June 2016. David Cameron, who had campaigned against leaving the European Union, resigned when Brexit passed. Currently the conservative party hold 330 seats out of 600. This is thus a small majority. The snap election could increase this majority and allow her to pass the Brexit legislation more easily.

The House of Commons has voted this proposal on Wednesday. To agree the vote Theresa May needed two-thirds of all MPs (so 434 MPs). Finally 522 MPs were in favour while 13 were against. Therefore British will go to the polls on June 8 instead of 2020. The question is: why are certain MPs reluctant? Of the 13 all but two were against the Brexit and had campaigned to stay in the European Union.

A short election campaign of less than 2 month will now begin in UK. Theresa May already announced that she would not participate to TV debates before election. “I believe in campaigns in which politicians actually go out and meet the voters”

Will Brexit be at the heart of the election campaign? Until now Theresa May sticks to her formal document setting out her desire for more control over immigration, leaving the single market and removing the UK from the jurisdiction of the European courts.

One thing is certain: elections in Europe are full of surprises!

Margaux Etienne

 

Sources / to find out more:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/18/breaking-theresa-may-make-statement-downing-street-1115am1/

http://www.euronews.com/2017/04/19/uk-to-hold-snap-general-election-on-june-8

http://www.euronews.com/2017/04/19/who-are-the-13-rebel-uk-mps-who-voted-no-to-a-general-election

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/04/20/britains-prime-minister-theresa-may-called-a-snap-election-heres-what-that-means/?utm_term=.01f831b645a1

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/18/theresa-may-rules-out-participating-in-tv-debates-before-election

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/19/election-will-give-uk-strongest-hand-in-brexit-talks-says-theresa-may

 

 

 

 

Classé dans:Fact of the day, Uncategorized Tagged: elections, Theresa May, UK

Parliament deplores the arrest of Pastor Evan Mawarire and political violence against human rights defenders in Zimbabwe, calls for the release of Ukrainians illegally detained in Russia and urges the Philippines to release human rights advocate Senator Leila M. De Lima, detained on drug-trafficking charges, in three resolutions voted on Thursday 16 March.
Zimbabwe, the case of Pastor Evan Mawarire
Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia and situation in Crimea
Philippines, the case of senator Leila M. De Lima
Press Statement
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The European Parliament urges the Russian authorities to release opposition politician Alexei Navalny and other detained demonstrators, condemns the crackdown on peaceful protestors and arrests of human rights defenders and journalists in Belarus, and calls on the government of Bangladesh to close loopholes in new legislation that provide legal authorisation for child marriage, in three resolutions voted on Thursday 6 April.
Russia, the arrest of Alexei Navalny and other protestors
Belarus
Bangladesh, including child marriages
Press release
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

EU priorities for the UN Human Rights Council sessions in 2017
EU priorities for the UN Human Rights Council sessions in 2017
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

A trois jours du premier tour de l'élection présidentielle, placée sous haute surveillance en raison de la menace djihadiste, un attentat a été perpétré jeudi 20 avril à 21h sur les Champs-Elysées à Paris. Selon le dernier bilan, un policier a été tué et deux autres blessés, l'assaillant a quant à lui été abattu mais, officiellement, son identité demeure confidentielle. Les candidats à la présidentielle ont appris cette tragique nouvelle en direct, lors du dernier grand rendez-vous politique télévisé avant le premier tour de l'élection du 23 avril prochain. Une concomitance de ces deux événements qui pourrait, selon la presse française et étrangère, avoir un impact réel sur les résultats du scrutin de dimanche.

Général : « Le message du Parlement européen est clair : défendre fermement les intérêts des citoyens est notre première priorité », a déclaré le Président Antonio Tajani en visite à Londres ce jeudi 20 avril. Avec la Première ministre du Royaume-Uni Theresa May, il a notamment évoqué les lignes rouges des députés sur les négociations à venir autour du Brexit.

Source : © Union européenne, 2017 - PE

Le chef du parti travailliste britannique Jeremy Corbyn est entré en campagne dès ce jeudi 20 avril avec un premier grand discours après le feu vert du Parlement à la tenue d'élections législatives anticipées le 8 juin prochain. Le dirigeant de la principale formation d'opposition a mené une charge contre l'élite représentée selon lui par les conservateurs au pouvoir, qu'il affirme pouvoir battre malgré des sondages au plus bas.

C'est en novembre dernier, lors d’une convention à Saint-André-lez-Lille (Nord), que Jean-Luc Mélenchon a présenté ses dix mesures prioritaires pour 2017. Depuis la création de son nouveau parti en février 2016, le candidat de La France insoumise (FI) affûte son programme. Et dans le discours du député européen, réélu en 2014, l'Europe occupe une place particulière. A ce sujet, ses convictions ont évolué, particulièrement dans les dernières semaines de la campagne présidentielle.

The Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Committee on International Trade will hold a joint hearing on 'Business and human rights in EU External Policies: due diligence, non-financial reporting and access to remedies'
Human rights has become a topic of importance for the European Union in relation to trade and is ever more present when the EU is negotiating new agreements with third countries. Notwithstanding the positive achievements realized to date there are still several challenges ahead if we are to fully integrate the human rights perspective into the business dimension. The joint hearing is divided into three panels: the first panel on Corporate Social Responsibility and global value chains, the second will analyse the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and access to remedies, while the third will focus on the UN intergovernmental working group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP