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The presidents of Russia and the US will meet in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss the pandemic, regional conflicts, nuclear weapons and bilateral relations. At the Nato summit Biden announced that he would offer Putin opportunities for cooperation but that he would also "lay down red lines" and "stand behind Ukraine's territorial integrity".

Cyprus apparently continues to process naturalisation applications from rich foreigners in exchange for money - although Nicosia officially suspended the programme in November after massive criticism from Brussels. The EU Commission has now issued another warning to Nicosia and is threatening legal action before the European Court of Justice. The Cypriot press is dismayed by the government's behaviour in the scandal.

After twelve years in office, Benjamin Netanyahu's mandate as Israeli prime minister has ended. The Knesset voted on Sunday by a razor-thin majority of 60 to 59 votes for an eight-party government coalition led by the ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett which includes Jair Lapid's liberal Future Party as well as an an Arab party, Ra'am, for the first time in the country's history. Europe's press takes stock of the changes that can and must be made.

Bulgaria is the first country to be visited by Laura Kövesi in her capacity as the European Union's Chief Prosecutor. Shortly before, she had rejected six of the ten candidates put forward by Bulgaria to join the new European Public Prosecutor's Office. The visit coincided with protests against Bulgaria's chief prosecutor Ivan Geshev and the launch of the campaign for the parliamentary elections on July 11, in which corruption is one of the main topics.

Kiemelkedően teljesít a magyar ügyészség, az uniós átlagot lényegesen meghaladó arányban emel vádat az Európai Csalás Elleni Hivatal (OLAF) igazságügyi ajánlásai nyomán – közölte a Legfőbb Ügyészség.

A közlemény szerint évről évre folyamatosan csökken az OLAF magyar ügyészséghez eljuttatott igazságügyi ajánlásainak a száma, és az OLAF egyre többször olyan ügyben tesz igazságügyi ajánlást, amelyben már folyik Magyarországon nyomozás. Emlékeztettek: az OLAF az uniós pénzekkel összefüggő adminisztratív szabálytalanságokat vizsgálja, büntetőjogi tényállást nem állapít meg, bűnügyi bizonyítást nem végez, erre sem felhatalmazása, sem pedig eszköze nincs.

Felhívták a figyelmet arra, hogy a magyar ügyészség – bár erre nincs törvényi kötelezettsége – a mindig követett protokoll szerint az OLAF igazságügyi ajánlása nyomán valamennyi esetben elrendelte a nyomozást, illetve amennyiben már folyamatban volt a nyomozás, az OLAF ajánlását a nyomozás irataihoz csatolták.

Az OLAF 2020-ra vonatkozó éves jelentéséből kitűnik, hogy a magyar ügyészség az OLAF-ügyek 67 százalékában emelt vádat. Ez a szám kimagasló eredmény, hiszen közel a duplája a 37 százalékos uniós átlagnak – írták.

Hozzátették: 2020-ban az OLAF összesen két igazságügyi ajánlást tett az ügyészi szervezetnek. Mindkét igazságügyi ajánlást már folyamatban lévő nyomozásban értékelte a hatóság. Az igazságügyi ajánlások száma évről évre csökken: 2016-ban tíz, 2017-ben hat, 2018-ban négy, 2019-ben három, míg 2020-ban két ajánlás érkezett – közölték.

Emlékeztettek arra is, hogy 2020. január 31-én Polt Péter legfőbb ügyész hivatalában fogadta az OLAF főigazgatóját, Ville Italát. A találkozón a felek megerősítették, hogy az uniós pénzeket érintő bűnügyi visszaélések kapcsán a szervezetek közötti hatékony információcserét és együttműködést továbbra is kiemelten fontosnak tartják. Emellett megállapodtak abban, hogy az eddig is jól működő szakmai kapcsolat további elmélyítése érdekében együttműködési megállapodást dolgoznak ki, amelynek véglegesítésére rövidesen sor kerül.

A magyar ügyészség és az OLAF szorosan együttműködik, mind vezetői, mind szakértői szinten rendszeresek a találkozók – hangsúlyozták.

The post Az uniós átlagot lényegesen meghaladó arányban emel vádat a magyar ügyészség az OLAF igazságügyi ajánlásai nyomán appeared first on .

Zuzana Čaputová köztársasági elnök kedden délelőtt Pozsonyban találkozott Andrzej Duda lengyel, illetve Zoran Milanović horvát államfőkkel.

La chaîne de télévision publique algérienne a diffusé dans le JT du soir, un reportage sur un prétendu activiste infiltré  du Hirak manipulé et financé par des forces occultes de l’étranger, une vidéo qui a suscité l’indignation générale chez les internautes qui ont dénoncé une tentative malsaine visant à discréditer le Hirak. La télévision nationale […]

L’article Vidéo de l’ENTV sur Hirak : la LADDH dénonce des pratiques illégales est apparu en premier sur .

SUMMARY

Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Russian Federation. The Observer Mission (OM) continues to operate 24/7 at both Border Crossing Points (BCPs). The overall number of border crossings by persons increased at both BCPs compared to the previous week. 

OPERATIONAL REMARKS

The OM is currently operating with 22 permanent international Mission members, including the Chief Observer (CO) and a First Responder.[1] The Mission is supported administratively by a staff member and the Chief of Fund Administration based in Vienna.

Update on COVID-19 measures

Activities have been impacted by COVID-19 and measures undertaken by the OM to ensure the safety and duty of care of its Mission members and compliance with measures set by the host country authorities. The Mission is continuing to keep the situation under review, in close contact with the OSCE Secretariat and the Chairpersonship. Following the host country’s recommendations, the observers are adhering to distancing. Due to the preventive measures taken by the central and regional authorities, the OM is faced with certain difficulties, but is still able to continue to fulfil its mandate without any limitations in its observation and reporting activities. During this reporting period, the vaccination process provided by the host country medical system continues on a voluntary basis. To date, 80 per cent of OM staff have now been vaccinated.

OBSERVATIONS AT THE BORDER CROSSING POINTS

Persons crossing the border

The profile of persons crossing the border can be categorized as follows:

1. Adults travelling on foot or by car with little or no luggage.
2. Persons in military-style outfits.
3. Families (often including elderly persons and/or children) travelling on foot or by car with a significant amount of luggage.

The average number of entries/exits increased from 8,689 to 9,306 per day at both BCPs compared to last week. During the reporting period, the majority of border crossings were to the Russian Federation, with an average net flow of 105 per day for both BCPs. The Donetsk BCP continued to experience much more traffic than the Gukovo BCP.

Responding to the COVID-19 situation, the host country closed its borders for the majority of foreigners starting from 18 March 2020. Among the exceptions of persons allowed to cross the border (which entered into force on 19 March) are Ukrainian citizens and stateless persons holding passports or identification documents proving permanent residence in certain areas of Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine. In addition, reportedly, due to the threat of the spread of COVID-19, starting from 10 April 2020, the organized passenger transport commuting between the non-government-controlled areas of Luhansk region of Ukraine and the Russian Federation was temporarily suspended and restored from 25 June.

Persons in military-style outfits

During the reporting period, the number of persons in military-style outfits crossing the border was three, compared to 15 last week; one person crossed into the Russian Federation while two persons crossed into Ukraine. These individuals crossed the border on foot.

Families with a significant amount of luggage

The OTs continued to report on families, sometimes with elderly persons and/or children, crossing the border at both BCPs with a significant amount of luggage, or travelling in heavily loaded cars. During this reporting week, no families were observed crossing into the Russian Federation while one family was observed crossing into Ukraine, compared to the previous reporting period when four families were observed crossing into the Russian Federation and one family into Ukraine.

Bus connections                                         

Regular local and long-distance bus connections continued to operate between Ukraine (mostly from/to the Luhansk region) and the Russian Federation. During the reporting period, the OTs observed an increase in the overall number of buses crossing the border at both BCPs (432 compared to 350 observed during the previous week). There were 214 buses bound for the Russian Federation and 218 bound for Ukraine.

On some occasions, the OTs noticed the bus drivers removing the itinerary signs from the windshields of their buses, while some buses did not display their route at all. The majority of long-distance buses commuting between the Luhansk region and cities in the Russian Federation had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region.

Trucks

During the reporting period, the OTs observed a slight increase in the overall number of trucks crossing the border at both BCPs (788 compared to 779 during the previous reporting week); 425 at the Gukovo BCP and 363 at the Donetsk BCP, 409 of these trucks crossed into the Russian Federation, and 379 crossed into Ukraine. Most of the trucks observed by the OTs had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region; however, on a daily basis, the OTs also noted trucks registered in Belarus, Georgia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, and trucks with “LPR” and “DPR” plates.

The OTs also continued to observe tanker trucks crossing the border in both directions. During the reporting period, the OTs observed a slight increase in the overall number of tanker trucks crossing the border at both BCPs (47 compared to 43 during the previous reporting week). These trucks were observed crossing the border at both BCPs. The trucks had the words “Propane” and “Flammable” written across the tanks in either Russian or Ukrainian. The majority of tanker trucks had hazard signs, indicating that they were transporting propane or a mix of propane and butane. All trucks underwent systematic inspection by Russian Federation officials, which could include an X-ray check. Due to the unfavorable observation position at the Gukovo BCP, the OTs continued to be unable to observe any X-ray checks.

Compared to the previous week, the total number of X-ray checks at the Donetsk BCP increased from 148 to 162. Of the total number of trucks scanned, 156 trucks (96 per cent) were bound for Ukraine, and the remaining six trucks (four per cent) were bound for the Russian Federation.

Minivans

The OM continued to observe passenger and cargo minivans[2] crossing the border in both directions at both BCPs. The OTs observed minivans predominantly with Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region; however, the OTs also saw minivans registered in the Russian Federation. During the reporting period, the OTs observed a slight decrease in the overall number of minivans crossing the border at both BCPs (127 compared to 134 observed during the previous week); 66 crossed into the Russian Federation and another 61 into Ukraine.

Trains

The OTs continued to pick up the sound of trains on the railway tracks located approximately 150m south-west of the Gukovo BCP. During the reporting week, the OTs heard trains on 38 occasions; the OTs assessed that 22 trains were travelling to the Russian Federation and the remaining 16 trains were travelling to Ukraine (more details are provided in the sections “trends and figures at a glance” below).

Visual observation was not possible because of the line of trees located between the train tracks and the BCP.

Other observations

The majority of vehicles crossing the border had Ukrainian licence plates issued in the Luhansk region or Russian Federation licence plates. A significant number of vehicles with “LPR” plates were also observed crossing the border in both directions on a daily basis. The OTs also observed vehicles with Georgian and Lithuanian licence plates and vehicles with “DPR” plates.

On 9 June at 04:54, the OT at the Donetsk BCP observed a minivan with Russian Federation licence plates entering the BCP from the Russian Federation. The van had the sign “200” on its windshield and the inscription “Ritual” (in Russian) on the side. Only the driver was observed on board. After undergoing border control procedures the vehicle left for Ukraine.

On 11 June at 01:11, the OT at the Donetsk BCP observed an ambulance with “LPR” plates and the inscription “Emergency medical help” written in Russian on the sides, crossing the border from Ukraine into the Russian Federation. The OT was unable to notice any other details from its position.

On 12 June at 13:52, the OT at the Donetsk BCP observed the arrival of an ambulance at the BCP from the direction of Ukraine. The ambulance had “LPR” plates and two paramedics, one male and one female in medical staff uniform, were observed on board. After undergoing border and customs control procedures, the vehicle crossed into the Russian Federation at 14:11. The same day at 19:32, the ambulance was observed crossing the border from the Russian Federation into Ukraine. The OT was unable to observe any other details from its position. 

On 12 June at 15:18, the truck with “LPR” plates carrying four jet engines (the main part of the engine, similar to the Klimov VK-1 and the Rolls-Royce Nene jet engines), which was under observation by the OTs at the Gukovo BCP since 25 April and reported in recent Weekly Updates, has left the BCP in the direction of the Russian Federation. Before departing, the Russian Federation customs officer performed a brief check of the rear part of the trailer without opening the cargo space. 

For trends and figures at a glance covering the period from 11 May 2021 to 15 June 2021, please see the attachment here.

[1] First responders are OSCE staff or Mission members deployed for a short period of time.

[2]Cargo minivans: light commercial vehicles with a maximum authorized mass of more than 3.5 t and not more than 7.5 t; with or without a trailer with a maximum mass of less than 750 kg (small cargo vehicles that correspond to driving licence C1).

The briefing with the Coordinator of the EP delegation is organised in anticipation of the inaugural plenary session that will take place on 19.06 in Strasbourg.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

The briefing with the Coordinator of the EP delegation is organised in anticipation of the inaugural plenary session that will take place on 19.06 in Strasbourg.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP