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Ministerpräsident Pedro Sánchez wird am Freitag mit dem Vorsitzenden der Partido Popular (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, zusammentreffen. Das Treffen findet vor dem Hintergrund der wachsenden Spannungen wegen des umstrittenen Amnestiegesetzes statt.

La fédération algérienne de football a suspendu toutes les activités footballistiques jusqu’à nouvel ordre. Si une telle décision a été prise, c’est tout simplement suite […]

L’article La FAF suspend toutes les activités sportives en Algérie jusqu’à nouvel ordre est apparu en premier sur .

Andre Braugher a su insuffler de la comédie, de l'intelligence et du cœur à ses répliques dans la sitcom américaine.

Das bulgarische Parlament hat eine weitreichende Verfassungsreform verabschiedet, die nach Angaben der Regierungsmehrheit Teil der Verpflichtungen zu Veränderungen im Justizwesen ist und auf eine vollständige Schengen-Mitgliedschaft abzielt.

Many challenges remain before the EU's historically celebrated enlargement policy can be successfully revived, experts warn — after EU leaders managed to agree to open accession talks with Ukraine at the European Council in December.

Die tschechische Regierung hat am Mittwoch (20. Dezember) einen Vorschlag zur Änderung der Definition von Vergewaltigung und zur Einführung eines "Nein heißt Nein"-Prinzips gebilligt. Dieser Vorschlag muss allerdings noch vom Parlament gebilligt werden.

Nach 48-Stunden an intensiven Verhandlungen konnten sich Vertreter der EU-Staaten und des Europäischen Parlaments gestern auf neue Regeln zur Migration einigen. Damit endet das mehrjährige Tauziehen über eine Reform der veralteten Regeln.

Diffusée depuis 2022, la série télévisée Kızılcık Şerbeti cartonne en Turquie. Elle raconte la rencontre entre une famille religieuse et conservatrice et une famille libérale et laïque, à la faveur d'un mariage entre leurs enfants. Deux mondes que tout sépare et dont les personnages tentent de s'émanciper. Décryptage.

- Articles / Une - Diaporama, Courrier des Balkans, Turquie, Culture et éducation

Des militants des droits de l'homme se sont rassemblés vendredi dernier à Podgorica pour dénoncer un verdict jugé trop clément après qu'un nouveau féminicide a choqué le pays.

- Le fil de l'Info / Courrier des Balkans, Femmes violences, Monténégro, Défense, police et justice

Des militants des droits de l'homme se sont rassemblés vendredi dernier à Podgorica pour dénoncer un verdict jugé trop clément après qu'un nouveau féminicide a choqué le pays.

- Le fil de l'Info / Une - Diaporama, Courrier des Balkans, Femmes violences, Monténégro, Défense, police et justice

After the smashing success of using diabetes drugs for weight loss, concerns remain about the long-term effects — both for health and society.

Queuing up for registration in a city in South Asia. Credit: UN Photo / Kibae Park

By Alice Wolfle and Tanja Sejersen
BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec 21 2023 (IPS)

Have you ever tried to register a birth, a death or maybe your own marriage? Unfortunately, many of these vital events in Asia and the Pacific remain unregistered often with dire consequences for individuals, families and communities.

Civil registration can be a labyrinth to navigate, comprising of multiple stages with many bureaucratic hurdles. Such complex systems discourage individuals from either commencing or completing the arduous registration process.

But what if the process of registering a birth or death could be made less stressful for a new parent or a grieving relative? As an implementing partner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Data for Health Initiative, ESCAP has been working with selected countries in the region to improve their Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) systems using the CRVS Systems Improvement Framework.

This framework provides the tools for a participatory approach to identify bottlenecks and solutions to streamline registration processes. The framework has now been used in Niue, Maldives, Nauru, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, and Turkmenistan.

In many cases, people are not aware of the legal timeframes for registering vital events, leading to late registration of births often at school enrolment age, which often means having to pay additional late registration fees or the submission of additional documentation.

People living overseas may be unaware of the need to notify a vital event in their home country or are unable to visit a civil registration office to register the event. Lack of systems for recording overseas vital events in many countries means that events are either not captured, or in some cases may be double counted.

So, why is registering a vital event so complex?

In many countries, notification of a birth or death occurs at a health facility, but an individual must then register the event at a civil registration office. This multi-stage process means several trips to different offices for family members, which can be expensive and time-consuming, especially for those in remote areas.

Additionally, births or deaths occurring outside of health facilities frequently remain unregistered.

Civil registration processes are not only cumbersome for people attempting to register an event, but also for staff engaged in the process. Paper-based registration forms slow down the transfer of information between health facilities and civil registration offices and sometimes staff must (re)enter personal information by hand.

Where digital civil registration systems are used, staff often encounter obstacles in leveraging the potential benefits due to outdated ICT hardware and software, as well as limited internet connectivity. This ‘system’ may be something as simple as a spreadsheet or an MS Access database.

It is hardly surprising that this process is time-consuming for already understaffed facilities, often resulting in long queues at registration offices, not to mention the increased scope for errors or misplaced forms. In many countries, replacing lost forms or changing a mistake is akin to reaching a dead end in the registration labyrinth!

The lack of training and inconsistent forms for coding causes of death in line with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is also an issue. This means that accurate statistics on causes of death cannot be utilized by government agencies for future planning. Additionally, in many countries, the sharing of data may not be possible among government agencies due to regulations or the absence of integrated digital data systems. This means important data is not utilized to its full potential.

Once the main obstacles for registering a birth or death have been identified, stakeholders are able to develop redesigned civil registration processes. Although CRVS Business Process Improvement aims to encourage longer-term sustainable solutions to strengthen CRVS systems, (e.g., changing legislation, developing digitized platforms, improving interoperability, integrity and efficiency), ‘quick win’ solutions also constitute an important outcome of this work.

These facilitate immediate improvements that require minimal investment (e.g. amending a field on a registration form) to minimize the burden on families and combat the lack of awareness about the importance of registering vital events. ‘Quick win’ solutions may be used as an advocacy tool for increasing future resources for CRVS system improvements.

Examples of longer-term sustainable solutions have included the development of online registration forms, appointment booking systems, SMS mobile messaging communications and development of standard operating procedures for civil registry staff.

The process of implementing a simplified CRVS system is iterative, monitoring progress until complete and timely civil registration is achieved in the Asia and Pacific region as outlined in the Ministerial Declaration to “Get every one in the picture’ in Asia and the Pacific. A smooth experience encourages people to register events, increasing registration completeness alongside accuracy and timeliness of vital statistics, supporting the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development where no one is left behind.

Source: ESCAP

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Oncle AGBAYA

On vous l'avait bien dit, mon Neveu Patou dirige un pays de pagailleurs avec des pagailleurs partout ! Sinon ici comme ailleurs, mes cousins Calotins sont les procureurs principaux, des procès parfois en sorcellerie intentés aux pouvoirs publics, accusés d'être peu ou prou homophiles. D'ailleurs le 14 décembre, la Conférence Episcopale du Benin, publiait une déclaration, véritable galimatias entre un vibrant plaidoyer pour une procréation débridée et un mapouka qui se veut dénonciateur de l'homosexualité promue par les partenaires étrangers et que l'Etat devrait combattre ….
Mais mauvaise fin d'année, les voilà le bec dans l'eau, quand le Grand Boss Mitré, mon vieux Cousin Argentin depuis son Vatican, demande de bénir tous les couples même ceux où on s'encule, ou dans lesquels on se frotte les chattes …
Mais vous mes Neveux et Nièces qui jubilez en espérant que le Pape mette un accent particulier sur la bénédiction des couples polygames chez nous, vous êtes tous des pagailleurs !
VOTRE ONCLE AGBAYA

Earlier in December, Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. As she is imprisoned in Iran, her family accepted the prize in her name. EUobserver talked with her family.

Written by Drachenberg and Rebecca Torpey.

Despite predictions of a long and inconclusive meeting, EU leaders achieved a historic and highly symbolic agreement to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, grant candidate status to Georgia, and open accession negotiations with Bosnia and Herzegovina, once the latter complies fully with the membership criteria. Even if the European Council did not finalise discussions on the revision of the multiannual financial framework – which includes, inter alia, an aid package for Ukraine – it has moved much further towards an agreement than expected ahead of the meeting, with 26 EU leaders supporting the current proposal. The European Council held a strategic debate on the situation in the Middle East, but did not issue conclusions due to a lack of unity. EU leaders also addressed Ukraine, security and defence, migration, COP28, EU–Türkiye relations, the 2024-2029 Strategic Agenda and the fight against anti-semitism, racism and xenophobia.

1.     General aspects

The European Council began with the customary address by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. It saw the return of Donald Tusk, former European Council President from 2014-2019, as Polish Prime Minister, a function he had previously held from 2007 to 2014.

2.     European Council meeting Ukraine

Ahead of the meeting, the Prime Ministers of Estonia and Finland stressed the critical importance of supporting Ukraine, stating that ‘a resolute demonstration of unfaltering long-term support for Ukraine is paramount’. They called for strong budgetary and military support, and for a landmark decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. EU leaders reiterated their commitment to providing strong political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine, even if the lack of a decision on the €50 billion aid package appeared to be a setback.

In terms of military support, EU leaders stressed the importance of accelerating the delivery of missiles and ammunition, notably as part of the delayed initiative to provide one million rounds of artillery ammunition. They also called for more air defence systems for Ukraine, while Russia provided a timely reminder of how critical they were. EU leaders invited the Council to step up work on the reform of the European Peace Facility – an EU instrument which has provided military assistance to Ukraine – and increase financing. Following a European Council request last October, the High Representative (HR/VP) Josep Borrell presented a report on the EU’s future security commitments to Ukraine, which Member States are invited to take forward in the Council. The EU and the Member States will continue diplomatic work to ensure wide support for peace based on Ukraine’s Peace Formula, with a view to organising a Global Peace Summit.

Furthermore, the European Council took note, without endorsing them, of proposals on the use of extraordinary revenues resulting from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction in line with EU and international law.

EU leaders reiterated that Russia and its leadership should be held accountable for the war crimes they have committed, and encouraged the establishment of a tribunal for that purpose. Both Russia and Belarus have been urged to safely return unlawfully deported Ukrainian children and civilians. The European Council reaffirmed its support for the Council of Europe’s register, which tracks the damage caused by Russia’s war of aggression, and calls on states to sign and ratify the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and other International Crimes.

EU leaders condemned the military support for Russia’s war provided by Iran, Belarus and the DPRK; while not specifically naming China, they urged all countries not to provide material or other support for Russia’s war of aggression. The European Council also welcomed the adoption of the 12th package of sanctions, covering new sectors such as trade in diamonds, despite concerns that Austria would block the agreement. EU leaders reiterated the importance of Ukraine’s grain exports and the EU’s solidarity lanes for food security, particularly for countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Main message of the President of the European Parliament: President Roberta Metsola said that the EU had a moral and strategic obligation to continue political, military, humanitarian, and financial support to Ukraine.

Enlargement

Just after the February 2023 European Council meeting, President Zelenskyy had stressed the importance of opening talks on Ukraine’s EU future in the course of the year. Despite strong doubts ahead of the December 2023 meeting, the European Council managed to reach the historic decision to open accession negotiations with Ukraine – thus bypassing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s threats to block the opening of Ukraine’s accession negotiations. Even when entering the meeting room, the latter had said there was ‘no reason to negotiate membership of Ukraine now’. However, following a suggestion from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, he left the room to allow a unanimous decision to be taken. EU leaders also agreed to open accession negotiations with Moldova and to grant the status of candidate country to Georgia, with the caveat that the relevant steps set out in the Commission’s recommendations of 8 November 2023 be taken. Moreover, EU leaders asked the Commission to report before March 2024 on the progress in compliance with the membership criteria of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH); if BiH successfully meets the criteria, the European Council would open accession negotiations. EU leaders called on North Macedonia to accelerate its implementation of the changes listed in the Council conclusions of 18 July 2022. As a follow-up to the Western Balkans summit, which preceded the European Council meeting, EU leaders reiterated their commitment to the EU membership perspective of the Western Balkans, and called on them to speed up EU-related reforms and advance on regional economic integration.

Main message of the President of the European Parliament: President Metsola called for the EU to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, and advocated not diluting the ambitions of the Western Balkans.

Multiannual financial framework

Even if the European Council did not finalise its position on the revision of the multiannual financial framework (MFF), EU leaders moved closer to an arrangement than anyone had expected prior to the meeting, even participants such as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. President Charles Michel stated that the MFF revision, which in the latest negotiating box would reduce the fresh funding from €64.6 billion to €21 billion, is firmly supported by 26 EU leaders ‘in all its components and priorities’. Yet, despite attempts to revise the Ukraine proposal by shifting the balance between loans and grants, Orbán would not give in.

The 26 Member States agreed to reinforce new priorities with a total of €64.6 billion, of which €33 billion will be financed by loans and €10.6 billion by redeployments. Scholz stressed that the lion’s share of the reprioritisation of the EU’s budget will be financed through redeployments from the existing EU budget. Ukraine would be receiving an additional €50 billion, €2 billion would go to Migration and Border Management, €7.6 billion to Neighbourhood and the World, €1.5 billion to the European Defence Fund under the new STEP (Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform) instrument, €2 billion to the Flexibility Instrument and €1.5 billion to the Solidarity and Aid Reserve. These figures are significantly lower than the budget reinforcements requested by the European Commission and the European Parliament respectively. As unanimity is needed between Member States on this issue, Michel announced that the European Council will revert early next year to this topic, with the aim of ‘convincing all 27 of this proposal’. He subsequently announced that a European Council meeting will be held on 1 February. Michel and Scholz expressed their confidence that the EU will be able to reach an agreement with all 27 Member States.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ‘wholeheartedly’ thanked the 26 EU leaders for their support and stated that the Commission would work towards an agreement at 27, while also preparing alternatives ‘to have an operational solution’ whatever the result of the extraordinary meeting.

Main message of the President of the European Parliament: President Metsola called on EU leaders to reach an agreement which respects the prerogatives of the European Parliament as budgetary authority, find a structural solution for managing borrowing costs, make progress on own resources, preserve the Union’s shared values and not cut into flagship EU programmes.

Security and defence

EU leaders did not discuss security and defence at length, but agreed to step up their efforts to implement the Versailles Declaration and Strategic Compass through various initiatives, such as a European defence industrial strategy and a European defence investment programme, which the European Commission was urged to present swiftly. Finland stressed that, with the current Russian threat, a stronger European defence industry was urgent, while Estonia underlined the need for defence readiness in the EU and for a single market for defence, as reflected in the conclusions.

External relations Middle East

Considering the lack of a common EU position, flagged up by Borrell, EU leaders held a strategic discussion on the situation in the Middle East, without written conclusions. Michel stressed that the aim of the discussion was to focus on convergence where it existed among EU Member States and to identify where the EU needed to work towards it. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that the EU needed to have a common position in order to play a serious role in the conflict, but Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas noted how difficult it would be to achieve this.

Michel underlined the differences of opinion between EU Member States on the idea of a humanitarian pause. The Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, stated that the ‘room has changed’ since the October European Council and ‘there is now a clear majority in favour of a humanitarian ceasefire’. The European Council’s tone, when addressing the situation in the Middle East, has developed from the statement on 15 October. The invitation letter stated that Israel had the right to defend itself ‘against Hamas’ – the nuanced change could be a diplomatic way of indicating that Israel should do more to prevent the killing of civilians when trying to eliminate the terrorist threat of Hamas. Von der Leyen said that both sides needed to do their utmost to protect civilian lives, and Hamas had to release all hostages, adding that getting aid into Gaza was the Commission’s key priority.

EU leaders also considered the future in the region after the end of hostilities, notably options for the management of Gaza and ways of advancing on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Moreover, Borrell and the Commission will compile, for foreign ministers to consider, a list of violent Israeli settlers, who could face sanctions and be banned from travelling to the EU.

Main message of the President of the European Parliament: President Metsola said the EU could play an important role in planning for real, sustainable, lasting stability based on a two-state solution.

Migration

Although finding common ground for joint conclusions has proved difficult at recent meetings, notably in June 2023, EU leaders reiterated their comprehensive approach to migration. As stressed by Michel, the migration topic is a regular discussion point at European Council meetings, making it a ‘rolling agenda point‘. Thus, beyond the lack of lengthy conclusions, placing the topic on the agenda shows the willingness of EU leaders to address the issue and to develop a common EU approach.

While ahead of the meeting several Member States had pushed for increased funds for migration policy as part of the MFF revision, that could not be achieved at this stage as a result of Orbán’s veto. Yet, for now, EU leaders strongly condemned all hybrid attacks, including the instrumentalisation of migrants by third countries for political purposes, stating that the EU would not accept the ongoing hybrid attacks at its external borders launched by Russia and by Belarus.

Main message of the President of the European Parliament: President Metsola urged swift agreement on the asylum package ahead of the EU elections, to show citizens that their concerns are addressed.

Other items Strategic Agenda 2024-2029

As expected, EU leaders took stock of consultations on the next Strategic Agenda, due to be adopted by the summer of 2024 and defining the Union’s priorities for the next institutional cycle.

COP28

The European Council welcomed the COP28 conclusions, notably agreements to keep the 1.5°C objective within reach, for example by accelerating emissions reductions and phasing out fossil fuels.

EU–Türkiye relations

EU leaders noted the joint report by Borrell and the Commission on the state of play of EU–Türkiye relations, and said they intend to return to the topic at a forthcoming European Council meeting.

Fight against anti-semitism, racism and xenophobia

The European Council reiterated its condemnation of all forms of anti-semitism and hate, intolerance, racism and xenophobia, including anti-Muslim hatred.

Schengen

The Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, indicated that he hoped Bulgaria and Romania would be able to join the Schengen area by the end of 2023.

Read this briefing on ‘Outcome for the European Council meeting of 14-15 December 2023‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

The immense scale of transformation underway in the automotive sector should give Europe cause to rethink how it regulates in the interest of both consumers and the competitiveness of its industry, argues Sigrid de Vries.

Der Vorstoß von Slowakeis Ministerpräsident Robert Fico, die Justiz zu reformieren, stellt ein Risiko für die finanziellen Interessen der EU dar. Sie würde die Arbeit der Europäischen Staatsanwaltschaft beeinträchtigen, so ein Vertreter der Behörde.

In 2021, nitrogen dioxide pollution led to 52,000 deaths and short-term exposure to ozone led to 22,000 attributable deaths in the EU.

Die südeuropäischen Mitgliedsstaaten wie Griechenland und Italien begrüßten den neuen EU-Migrationspakt. Ob die neuen Regeln die Belastung der Länder an den Außengrenzen tatsächlich verringern werden, bleibt abzuwarten.