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Die EU-Staaten haben sich einstimmig darauf geeinigt, zukünftige Gewinne aus den in Europa eingefrorenen Vermögenswerten der russischen Zentralbank beiseite zu legen. Man plant, sie in einem ersten Schritt für den Wiederaufbau der Ukraine zu verwenden.

Tatjana Ždanoka, eine langjährige Abgeordnete des Europäischen Parlaments aus Lettland, ist angeblich eine Agentin, die mit russischen Geheimdiensten zusammenarbeitet. Dies geht aus einer gemeinsamen Recherche hervor, die das unabhängige russische Medienunternehmen The Insider am Montag (29. Januar) veröffentlichte.

Ein neuer Bericht, der von drei führenden europäischen Unternehmen veröffentlicht wurde, beleuchtet mehrere Trends der Quantentechnologie für das Jahr 2024. Anders als andere Regionen kann Europa laut dem Bericht mit einem stetigen Wachstum der Investitionen rechnen.

The Bulgarian prosecutor's office issued on Tuesday (30 January) a European arrest warrant for six Russian spies suspected of terrorist attacks targeting Bulgarian arms factories and warehouses.

Lundi (29 janvier), les États membres de l’UE ont décidé à l’unanimité de geler des milliards d’euros de bénéfices exceptionnels générés par les avoirs de la Banque centrale russe immobilisés en Europe, un premier pas vers leur utilisation pour la reconstruction de l’Ukraine après la guerre.

As it waits for the AI Act to take effect, Brussels should use its existing powers under competition law and the Digital Markets Act to challenge Big Tech’s growing influence over AI, writes Max von Thun.

Strengere Erstattungsregeln für die gemeinsame Beschaffung von in Europa hergestellten Verteidigungsgütern und eine Möglichkeit, Vetos zu umgehen, würden die Lieferungen an die Ukraine schneller und langfristiger machen. Dies geht aus einem internen Vermerk hervor, der Euractiv vorliegt.

La décision de la Banque centrale européenne de maintenir ses taux d’intérêt à un niveau historiquement élevé a suscité des inquiétudes quant à de possibles répercussions sur l’Allemagne, confrontée à un déclin de son secteur manufacturier et à une baisse de la confiance des entreprises.

Das kroatische Strafrechtssystem ist mit Fällen von Menschenhandel überflutet. Diese machten 2022 fast 15 Prozent der Fälle aus, wie Daten des Justizministeriums zeigen, berichtete die Tageszeitung Večernji List am Montag (29. Januar).

D’ici 2040, le secteur agricole de l’UE devrait réduire ses émissions de gaz autres que le CO2 d’au moins 30 % par rapport aux niveaux de 2015, le bétail et les engrais étant des éléments clés, selon un projet de communication sur les objectifs climatiques de l’UE à l’horizon 2040 consulté par Euractiv.

Members of the AFET Committee will meet on Tuesday 13 February in ANTALL 2Q2 (Brussels).

Meetings are webstreamed with the exception of items held "in camera".
AFET-SEDE-DROI calendar of meetings 2024
Meeting documents
Webstreaming
Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

UNRWA's funding is in jeopardy after allegations that some staff were involved in the Hamas' October 7 attack in Gaza. The concern is that UNRWA's humanitarian aid is crucial to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Credit: Hussein Owda/UNRWA

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 30 2024 (IPS)

The consequences of the investigation into the 12 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staffers allegedly linked to the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel have led to major donor countries pulling their support from the UN agency. However, the agency has appealed to the governments to continue the aid in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The first to suspend their funding was the United States on January 26. Since then, donor countries that have suspended funding include Britain, France, Germany, Finland, Canada, and the European Union.

The common reason cited was that funding would not be continued until an outcome was reached following an investigation into the allegations against the UNRWA staff members.

This UN agency is largely dependent on funding from donors, notably leading member states like the United States, which was its largest donor in 2022 with a contribution of more than USD 343 million. In that same year, the United States, Germany, and EU member states were among the largest individual donors, accounting for 61.4 percent of the agency’s overall funding.

Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric briefed reporters on Monday on the investigation into UNRWA after the Israeli government presented allegations that employees at UNRWA were involved in the October 7.

He confirmed that the UN Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS) has begun its investigation into the agency and that Secretary General António Guterres met with the head of OIOS to ensure that the investigation would be done “as swiftly and as efficiently as possible.”  He also informed reporters that Guterres would be meeting with the UN Permanent Representatives of UNRWA donor countries on Tuesday.

In a separate statement, Guterres expressed that he was “horrified by these accusations.” He also “strongly appealed to the governments that have contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations.”

It is crucial that UNRWA’s operations continue in the current humanitarian crisis because 2 million civilians in Gaza depend on the aid it provides.

“No other organization than UNRWA has the infrastructure to do the work that they do,” said Dujarric.

UNRWA’s operations range from providing schooling to shelters to running health care centers. Since the current war between Israel and Hamas, at least 145 UNRWA facilities have been damaged.

In a recent situation report from UNRWA, it was stated that 1.7 million displaced people were sheltered across emergency shelters, both public and those run by UNRWA, adding that these shelters were congested. Only four out of 22 UNRWA health care centers are operational, and 152 staff members have been reported dead. Meanwhile, 3,000 out of the 13,000 UNRWA staff members, the majority of whom are Palestinian, are still in Gaza, continuing their work.

Despite its crucial presence and the urgent needs it addresses, allegations of staff members’ involvement with Hamas have undermined support for UNRWA. The Israeli government provided a dossier to the United States, which detailed the allegations that at least 10 percent of UNRWA were part of Hamas. This dossier has not been shared with the UN, according to Dujarric.

While current measures by UNRWA were to single out the 12 staffers accused and terminate their contracts, the suspension of funds by the major donor countries will have undeniably impacted the entire agency’s operations. The UN has warned that the current funding is insufficient to meet the requirements until February. The fear is that the funds will run out within weeks.

In a statement, UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini stated that “it would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement, and political crises in the region.”

Lazzarini urged UNRWA to “strengthen its framework for the strict adherence of all staff to humanitarian principles” by calling for an additional independent investigation by outside experts in addition to the OIOS investigation.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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.À l’image de ce qui se pratique pour la culture en France et en Europe, le Rassemblement National et La France Insoumise proposent de mettre en place une « exception agri-culturelle », en retirant les produits agricoles des accords de libre-échange avec l’UE pour protéger les filières intérieures.

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Es sei unwahrscheinlich, dass die EU ihre Drohung wahr mache, Ungarn die Mittel zu kürzen, wenn Budapest einem 50-Milliarden-Euro-Hilfspaket für die Ukraine in dieser Woche nicht zustimmen sollte, teilten Experten Euractiv mit.

La Cour constitutionnelle a estimé que l'accord entre l'Albanie et l'Italie, qui prévoit la création de deux centres d'accueil pour demandeurs d'asile à Shëngjin et à Gjadër, ne violait pas la souveraineté nationale albanaise, malgré l'extraterritorialité accordée à ces centres. L'opposition s'indigne de la décision.

- Le fil de l'Info / Albanie, Questions européennes, Courrier des Balkans, Migrants Balkans, Populations, minorités et migrations

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Fiscalité TVA
Fraude à la TVA : l’employé utilisant les données de son employeur pour émettre de fausses factures est redevable du montant des taxes qu’elles mentionnent

Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej w Lublinie
Taxation
VAT fraud: Employee using her employer’s details to issue fake invoices is liable for the amount of the taxes entered on them

Dyrektor Izby Administracji Skarbowej w Lublinie
Adózás
VAT fraud: Employee using her employer’s details to issue fake invoices is liable for the amount of the taxes entered on them

Reti Televisive Italiane
Freedom of establishment
Hourly limit for television publicity spots: promotional announcements for radio programmes broadcast on television channels belonging to the same corporate group are not, in principle, announcements about those television channels’ own programmes