You are here

Feed aggregator

Latest news - Next AFET Committee meeting on 19 May - Committee on Foreign Affairs

"In the context of the exponential growth of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the President of the European Parliament has announced a number of measures to contain the spread of epidemic and to safeguard Parliament's core activities.

On 2 April, the Conference of Presidents updated the EP's calendar of activities to introduce an extraordinary plenary session on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 April in Brussels, and additional dates for remote meetings for EP governing bodies, committees and political groups.

The current precautionary measures adopted by the European Parliament to contain the spread of COVID-19 do not affect work on legislative priorities. Core activities are reduced, but maintained to ensure that the institution's legislative, budgetary, scrutiny functions are maintained.

Following these decisions, the next AFET Committee meeting will take place on 19 May (via videoconference).


New Calendar 2020
Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: Europäische Union

Ould Maham appelle l’ancien président à confirmer ou infirmer les documents de la Somelec

CRIDEM (Mauritanie) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:54
Adrar Info - L’ancien président de l’Union pour la République (UPR), Sidi Mohamed Ould Maham, a demandé à l’ancien président, Mohamed...
Categories: Afrique

L’UE pourrait connaître une récession de 10 % très inégale entre pays

Euractiv.fr - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:46
Selon la Commission, la pandémie risque de plonger l’UE dans une récession « profonde », qui ferait chuter son PIB de 5 à 10 % et frapperait inégalement les États membres. Elle préconise donc une solution ambitieuse, innovante et rapide.
Categories: Union européenne

Artikel - Weniger Fahrzeugemissionen durch neue EU-Reifenkennzeichnung

Europäisches Parlament (Nachrichten) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:43
Kraftstoffeffizientere Reifen bedeuten weniger Emissionen. Dank der neuen EU-Reifenkennzeichnung werden Verbraucher besser über Kraftstoffeffizienz, Nasshaftung und Rollgeräusch informiert.

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: Europäische Union

Press release - MEPs to discuss citizens’ petitions related to COVID-19

European Parliament (News) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:43
Parliament’s Petitions Committee will debate citizens’ petitions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, 30 April at 10.00.
Committee on Petitions

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: European Union

Press release - MEPs to discuss citizens’ petitions related to COVID-19

European Parliament - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:43
Parliament’s Petitions Committee will debate citizens’ petitions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, 30 April at 10.00.
Committee on Petitions

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: European Union

Press release - MEPs to discuss citizens’ petitions related to COVID-19

Europäisches Parlament (Nachrichten) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:43
Parliament’s Petitions Committee will debate citizens’ petitions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, 30 April at 10.00.
Committee on Petitions

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: Europäische Union

Press release - MEPs to discuss citizens’ petitions related to COVID-19

Európa Parlament hírei - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:43
Parliament’s Petitions Committee will debate citizens’ petitions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, 30 April at 10.00.
Committee on Petitions

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Oberste Gesundheitsdirektorin Heidi Hanselmann warnt: «Bundesrat darf nicht leichtfertig vorpreschen»

Blick.ch - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:36
Die kantonalen Gesundheitsdirektoren befürchten, dass der Bundesrat die Massnahmen gegen das Coronavirus zu rasch lockern will. So drohe der Schweiz eine zweite Infektionswelle, warnt Präsidentin Heidi Hanselmann.
Categories: Swiss News

Highlights - Disinformation around the COVID-19 pandemic - EEAS Special Report - Committee on Foreign Affairs

On 30 April, the Committee onf Foreign Affairs will discuss with the Vice-President of the European Commission/ High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell the latest report by the European External Action Service about disinformation around COVID-19 pandemic.
The discussion will be an opportunity for MEPs to get more insight into the proliferation of disinformation activities related to Coronavirus around the world and in particular those targeting the EU and its wider neighbourhood.
Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: Europäische Union

China & India Ranked World’s Biggest Military Spenders Trailing US

Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:31

Credit: SIPRI

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 29 2020 (IPS)

China and India, which went to war back in 1962 largely over a disputed Himalayan border– and continue a longstanding battle for military supremacy in Asia– have set a new record in arms spending.

For the first time, the world’s two most populous nations, accounting for a total of over 2.7 billion people, are now among the top three military spenders, ranking behind the United States.

In its latest report on global military expenditures, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) says the five largest spenders in 2019, accounting for 62 per cent of expenditures, were the United States, China, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia, in descending order.

China’s military expenditure reached $261 billion in 2019, a 5.1 per cent increase compared with 2018, while India’s grew by 6.8 per cent to $71.1 billion.

Total global military expenditure rose to $1.9 trillion in 2019, representing an increase of 3.6 per cent from 2018 and the largest annual growth in spending since 2010.

“These numbers would be staggering in any context, but in the middle of a global pandemic we have even more reason to be alarmed,” said Tori Bateman, Policy Advocacy Coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee.

“Instead of spending trillions on preparing for destructive wars, the United States and other countries across the globe should be protecting and providing for their people by investing in public health,” he noted.

Dr. Natalie J. Goldring, a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Full Professor with the Security Studies Program in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, told IPS military spending by China and India likely reflects both their mutual rivalry within the region and their individual quests for power in the global context.

The two countries also faced a border standoff in 2017.

She pointed out that the SIPRI data indicate the extent to which many countries, especially the United States, have profoundly misplaced budget priorities.

Unfortunately, many national leaders seem to see military spending as an indicator of national prestige, said Dr Goldring, who is a Visiting Professor of the Practice in Duke University’s Washington DC program and also represents the Acronym Institute at the United Nations on conventional weapons and arms trade issues.

“From the perspective of those of us who support decreasing military spending, heads of state bragging about their countries’ military prowess often reflects toxic masculinity”.

President Trump is a prominent example of this phenomenon, she declared.

Credit: SIPRI

Asked about the record spending by the two Asian giants, Siemon Wezeman, Senior Researcher at SIPRI’s Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, told IPS: “The main reasons are: perception or even reality of threats.”

China, he pointed out, looks with suspicion and worry at its surroundings and its interests further away (including resources on which China is dependent from the Middle East and Africa; markets and protection of export transport lines on which it is also dependent).

This includes a worry about US power and intentions.

India, at war with Pakistan, has internal conflicts and fears a big and growing China hovering at the contested Chinese-Indian border, he noted.

China, being allied with Pakistan, friendly with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, also sees India’s unhealthy interest in the Indian Ocean, said Wezeman.

“They both think of themselves as major powers, and China even as a superpower.

And both seem to believe that any major or superpower status is partly based on military might,” he noted.

So, both are building up significant military forces not only for home defence but also for potential operations away from the homeland, armed with high-tech weapons from an expanding local arms industry – all expensive, said Wezeman.

Certainly for China, he argued, the military and the People’s Armed Police, (which we count as enough military-trained and equipped to be included in our estimate of China’s military spending) are a cornerstone of government control over the population.

According to SIPRI, the United States once again dominates the rest of the world in its military spending, accounting for 38 percent of global military spending in 2019, more than the next nine countries combined.

Reacting to the latest SIPRI report, 39 U.S.-based think-tanks, non-profits, and faith-based organizations released a statement calling on the U.S. government to reduce military spending, according to the American Friends Service Committee.

Meanwhile, China accounted for 14 percent of the global total military expenditures in 2019. India (3.7 percent), Russia (3.4 percent), and Saudi Arabia (estimated at 3.2 percent) were closely bunched in third, fourth, and fifth places.

Global military expenditure was 7.2 per cent higher in 2019 than it was in 2010, showing a trend that military spending growth has accelerated in recent years,’ said Dr Nan Tian, SIPRI Researcher.

‘This is the highest level of spending since the 2008 global financial crisis and probably represents a peak in expenditure.’

Asked about the negative impact of the coronavirus crisis on future military spending, Dr Goldring told IPS no one knows what the full consequences of the coronavirus will be.

She said economists warn of the prospect of a global depression, while also arguing that many countries are already experiencing recession.

The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently warned that the coronavirus is likely to return in the fall, and that it may be even more difficult to manage than is currently the case.

“It’s time for countries to reevaluate their priorities. Otherwise, although military spending and arms transfers may decrease as a result of the economic effects of the coronavirus, these decreases are likely to only be temporary.”

“The coronavirus tests countries’ willingness to put their people’s needs first. Unfortunately, we’ll only be able to determine in retrospect whether that has happened, as we examine the extent to which countries reallocate funds from military spending to meet people’s critical needs, including their needs for food, water, shelter, health care, and physical safety.”

“This is no time for business as usual,” said Dr Goldring

Wezeman said: “We don’t like to predict the future. Everyone agrees now that the covid-19 crisis will result in a severe economic crisis already this year”.

He said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects gross domestic product (GDP) to go down in many states or at least grow much less than expected just a few months ago.

“This will impact on government income and on spending priorities – while health care, social spending, investments to get the economy going again are probably in many states going to be a higher priority than defence.”

That is what happened, he said, in recent economic crises such as in 2008-2009 and the late-1990. In some states, cuts have already been made (e.g. Thailand, Malaysia).

However, military spending does not only depend on the economy — other issues are part of the decision on how much to spend, especially threat perceptions, that may be found in some states are more important than other government spending posts, he noted.

While some funds in military spending are more flexible (mainly on acquisitions of equipment) that can be cut fast, mostly spending is quite fixed (salaries and pensions make up a very large part of military spending in most states) and thus the cuts or reduced growth in military spending can only be implemented over a few years, Wezeman declared.

*Thalif Deen is a former Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services (DMS);
a Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International; and military editor Middle East/Africa at Jane’s Information Group.

The post China & India Ranked World’s Biggest Military Spenders Trailing US appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

MEPs agree on two-year bridging CAP divide

Euractiv.com - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:30
The European Parliament's agriculture committee has approved a negotiating mandate for upcoming talks with national ministers on a transitional period for EU farming subsidies. It pushes back Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform until 2023.
Categories: European Union

Idén nem lesznek középiskolai felvételik

Bumm.sk (Szlovákia/Felvidék) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:29
A középiskolák a tanulmányi előmenetelük alapján fogják felvenni a jelentkezőket – jelentette ki szerdai sajtótájékoztatóján Breanislav Gröhling oktatásügyi miniszter.

Gehts am 8. Juni schon los?: Geisterspiele spalten die Fussball-Schweiz

Blick.ch - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:28
Heute macht der Bundesrat in Sachen Sport ernst. Und er dürfte dem Spitzenfussball den Weg in eine Geisterspiel-Meisterschaft ebnen. Am 8. Juni könnte es losgehen.
Categories: Swiss News

Franciaország: 23.660 halálos áldozat

Bumm.sk (Szlovákia/Felvidék) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:20
Tömeges tesztelés, a tüneteket produkálók elkülönítése, az iskolák és a kereskedelmi egységek újranyitása, a tömegközlekedési járműveken a kötelező maszkviselés a legfontosabb pontjai a járvány miatt kihirdetett kijárási korlátozásokat május 11-től fokozatosan felváltó óvintézkedésekről szóló francia kormányjavaslatnak.

Article - Protecting press freedom during the Covid-19 pandemic

European Parliament (News) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:13
The Covid-19 crisis has hit the media sector hard at a time when it plays a crucial role in providing accurate information and countering disinformation about the pandemic.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: European Union

Article - Protecting press freedom during the Covid-19 pandemic

European Parliament - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:13
The Covid-19 crisis has hit the media sector hard at a time when it plays a crucial role in providing accurate information and countering disinformation about the pandemic.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP
Categories: European Union

|Libre Expression| Le général Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz: Incontrôlable ou incompris? (suite et fin)

CRIDEM (Mauritanie) - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:12
Ely Ould Krombelé - Mais au paravent j'ai connu le sous-lieutenant Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz en 1980 au Secteur Autonome de Kaédi,, et un peu plus...
Categories: Afrique

Naomi Austero (18) aus Dagmersellen singt auf dem neuen Album des Mundart-Rappers mit: Bligg entdeckte sie beim Après-Ski

Blick.ch - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:10
Davon können viele nur träumen. Zufällig entdeckte Bligg das Singtalent von Naomi Austero. Und spannte sie direkt für sein neues Album ein.
Categories: Swiss News

La France pourra-t-elle conserver son modèle d’armée ?

Blog Secret Défense - Wed, 04/29/2020 - 09:09
Force expéditionnaire + dissuasion nucléaire + forte demande de secours aux populations : est-ce supportable financièrement ? Le débat est indispensable.
Categories: Défense

Pages

THIS IS THE NEW BETA VERSION OF EUROPA VARIETAS NEWS CENTER - under construction
the old site is here

Copy & Drop - Can`t find your favourite site? Send us the RSS or URL to the following address: info(@)europavarietas(dot)org.