Feed aggregator

551248 Public Affairs Unit, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Katya Andrusz

The March 2023 parliamentary elections in Estonia were competitive and pluralistic and the election process, including internet voting, was administered efficiently, with minor technical difficulties. While trust in the internet vote remains high, some parties publicly questioned its integrity, often as part of their campaigning. The legal framework constitutes a sound basis for the conduct of democratic elections and ensures equal participation of national minorities. The integrity of political financing is ensured, but some aspects, such as campaign funding limits and third-party campaigning could be further improved.

These are some of the main conclusions of the final report published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The report offers 16 recommendations to bring elections in Estonia closer in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.

Key recommendations include:

• Proactively addressing all concerns raised by some election stakeholders who distrust the results of internet voting;

• Putting in place a quality assurance process that includes the comprehensive testing of the internet voting system before deployment;

• Explaining the process and timeline for reporting results in due time before election day;

• Amending law to establish deadlines by which unpaid bills related to campaign expenditures must be serviced;

• Mandating that all campaign advertisements include information on who produced and paid for them;

• Introducing campaign spending limits to avoid escalating campaign expenditure and enhance equity among parties and candidates;

• Including in the law a comprehensive definition of what activities of unaffiliated third-party organizations constitute election campaigning and provide for their accountability;

• Making efforts by the authorities and political actors to lessen the divisive rhetoric in political discourse and during the election campaign to prevent alienation and marginalization of minority groups.

ODIHR deployed an Election Expert Team (EET) on 22 February 2023 to observe the parliamentary elections. The EET focused on internet voting, party and campaign finance and minority issues. All 57 countries across the OSCE region have formally committed to following up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.

Le cabinet fédéral allemand a adopté sa nouvelle stratégie nationale sur les données mercredi, avec pour objectif d’utiliser plus efficacement les données générées, de renforcer l’innovation numérique et d’améliorer la compétitivité.

The French government will release €4 billion in subsidies in the form of public-private contracts for the development of low-carbon hydrogen projects as part of the country's updated national hydrogen strategy.

Nach einem zweitägigen Tunesien-Besuch forderte der EVP-Vorsitzende Manfred Weber, die EU auf, ihre Haltung gegenüber dem südlichen Mittelmeerraum zu überdenken. Im Juni und Juli hatte die EU ein Migrationsabkommen mit dem Land ausgehandelt.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea, which Beijing on Thursday (31 August) said should be viewed rationally and objectively.

Une louable initiative ! Le ministère de la Culture et des Arts a annoncé la publication de seize mille (16 000) exemplaires de livres d’auteurs algériens en […]

L’article Le ministère de la Culture publie 8 livres d’auteurs algériens en braille est apparu en premier sur .

Les efforts de prévention sont essentiels pour lutter contre le fardeau des maladies non transmissibles (MNT) en Europe, selon un projet de rapport présenté par les eurodéputés mercredi (30 août).

Wenn die Ukraine nicht die Unterstützung erhält, die sie braucht, wird das ganz Europa teuer zu stehen kommen, so Litauens Außenminister Gabrelius Landsbergis. Er regte zudem an, den Transit von Gütern mit doppeltem Verwendungszweck einzuschränken.

Der Landwirtschaftsausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments hat vorgeschlagen, die Vergütung und den Handel mit negativen Emissionszertifikaten in der Landwirtschaft zu ermöglichen, statt lediglich die Zertifizierung von Klimasenken EU-weit zu regeln.

L’Algérie vient de franchir une étape importante dans sa bataille contre la spéculation qui sévit autour des véhicules neufs de la marque Fiat. Cette démarche […]

L’article Spéculation sur les véhicules neufs Fiat : nouveau tour de vis en Algérie est apparu en premier sur .

Psychische Krankheiten werden in Europa häufiger und sind vor allem seit der Covid-19-Pandemie auf dem Vormarsch. Im Gesundheitsausschuss des EU-Parlaments wurde nun die erste Version eines Berichts zur psychischen Gesundheit vorgestellt.

Dear readers, Welcome back to EU Politics Decoded, where Benjamin Fox and Eleonora Vasques will bring you a round-up of the latest political news in Europe and beyond every Thursday. In this edition, we look at the early moves by...

Le ralentissement de l’économie chinoise serait-il une bonne nouvelle pour l’Europe ? Alicia García-Herrero, économiste en chef pour la région Asie-Pacifique chez Natixis, répond à EURACTIV par la positive, affirmant que cela contribuera à réduire l’inflation en Europe.

La compagnie aérienne nationale, Air Algérie, a précédemment annoncé l’application de nouveaux tarifs pour les bagages supplémentaires en cabine. Une nouvelle qui n’a pas forcément […]

L’article Air Algérie adopte une nouvelle franchise pour les bagages en soute est apparu en premier sur .

A delegation of AFET members will travel to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from 21 to 25 August 2023. The AFET delegation will discuss the regional developments and the potential for closer cooperation in the current challenging geopolitical context, including the impact of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the introduction of EU sanctions on Russia.
Location : Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
Press release
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of AFET members will travel to Japan and Taiwan from 24 to 27 July 2023. This mission would contribute to strengthening the cooperation with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific region. The AFET visit to Japan and Taiwan will allow discussing the regional dimension and further geopolitical developments in both the Indo-Pacific and the South China Sea region.
Location : Japan and Taiwan
Press release
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

Durant les heures qui ont suivi le renversement du président Gabonais Ali Bongo, plusieurs de ses proches ont été mis aux arrêts par les nouvelles autorités militaires.

A delegation of AFET Members travelled to Santiago and Valparaíso (Chile) and Brasília (Brazil) from 18 to 23 June 2023. The main goal of this mission was to discuss how to make a qualitative leap in the EU-Latin America strategic bi-regional partnership in view of the CELAC-EU Summit on 17-18 July 2023.
Members held meetings with Chilean and Brazilian authorities to discuss global and regional security dynamics against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the assertive behaviour of China. The visit allowed to exchange views on the state of bilateral relations in view of the forthcoming ratification of the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement by the European Parliament and reinvigorating the strategic partnership with Brazil.
Location : Chile and Brazil
Interviews to the Chair of the delegation, Mr David MCALLISTER (EPP
     La Tercera (Chile)
     Globo (Brazil)
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A delegation of seven AFET Members travelled to Washington D.C. and Wisconsin, United States from 15 to 19 May. The main goal of the mission was to establish and deepen the political dialogue with the US administration and meet counterparts in Congress, following the US mid-term elections. Members held meetings with Government and Congress representatives in Washington D.C., as well as think tanks
The visit to Wisconsin, a swing and bellwether State, provided AFET members with an in-depth look into the political climate of grass-roots America from a transatlantic perspective. In addition to meeting the political authorities and institutions of the State of Wisconsin, Members also met management and students form the Jean Monnet Programme on European and Global studies at the University of Madison - Wisconsin, representatives of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and the Trade Unions.The mission was the first AFET mission to the US under the Biden administration and also the first AFET mission to Wisconsin.

The visit in Wisconsin allowed members to feel the political temperature outside Washington D.C. and particularly in a state like Wisconsin, which is in a very special political situation due to the gerrymandering and the resulting blockages of the legislative process.

Location : Washingnton D.C and Wisconsin,U.S
Mission report
Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP

A kilencvenes évek közepén még javában tartott a papíralapú promóciós anyagok kora. A hazai repülőnapokra érkező cégek a várható vadászgép-típusváltás kapcsán, bőkezűen osztogatták a kisebb-nagyobb brosúrákat, tájékoztató kiadványokat és posztereket a sajtónak és a nagyközönségnek egyaránt. Ezek általános adatokat tartalmazó, túl sok érdemi információ nélkül szerkesztett színes kiadványok voltak, mégis nagy népszerűségnek örvendtek, hiszen a kereskedelmi internet szolgáltatás – felejthetetlen betárcsázós hangjával – csak ekkoriban indult el Magyarországon, és hasonló képanyagokat egy-két kivételtől eltekintve leginkább a nyugati repülőmagazinokban láthattunk. Ebbe az albumba a Lockheed Martin, a McDonnell Douglas / Boeing és a Saab kiadványaiból válogattam. A negyedik nagyágyú, a Dassault anyagaiból egy sem jutott el hozzám.  

[...] Bővebben!