Feed aggregator

A trencséni rendőröket az egyetemi kórházába hívták, hogy segítsenek megfékezni egy agresszív beteget, aki nem bírta a várakozást. A 43 éves részeg férfit nem sikerült lecsillapítani, sőt ollóval az egyik rendőrre támadt.

Der Versuch deutscher Verleger, das Europäische Medienfreiheitsgesetz in eine Richtlinie umzuwandeln, scheint angesichts des breiten Widerstands gegen die Verwässerung des Vorschlags ins Stocken geraten zu sein.

In many EU member states, access to services is dependent on successful refugee status determination. Until then, asylum seekers may not be able to get housing, education, or jobs and can also face significant barriers to receiving psychosocial support.

Written by Katarzyna Sochacka and Clare Ferguson.

Among the highlights of the March I plenary session was a debate on the conclusions of the special European Council meeting of 9 February and the preparation of the European Council meeting of 23-24 March 2023, with Charles Michel, the President of the European Council. Members also debated the failure of the Silicon Valley Bank and its implications for European financial stability, a common EU response to save lives at sea, the need to ensure transparency and accountability in the light of alleged conflicts of interest, combatting organised crime in the EU, human rights defenders working in the field of sexual and reproductive health rights, cross-border adoption from third countries, the Bridgetown Agenda on development finance, long-term commitment to animal welfare, and strengthening EU defence in the context of the war in Ukraine.

Members also debated statements by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, on the deterioration of democracy in Israel and the consequences on the occupied territories, on the situation in Georgia, and on the challenges facing Moldova.

During a ceremony celebrating International Women’s Day, in addition to statements by the Presidents of the Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Samantha Cristoforetti, an astronaut from the European Space Agency and former commander of the International Space Station, and Shirin Ebadi, Iranian activist and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, gave speeches.

Finally, Members heard and debated a ‘This is Europe’ address by Gitanas Nausèda, President of Lithuania.

Data act

Parliament considered and adopted a position for trilogue negotiations on the proposed data act, aimed at governing fair access to and use of data in the EU, on the basis of a Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) report. The report seeks to clarify which data are covered by the legislation, strengthen protection of trade secrets, ensure fairer contracts for customers, and provide them with more power to switch provider. It also demands fair remuneration for access to data, and sets the terms for ‘public emergency’ access to privately held data.

Outcome of negotiations on ‘Fit for 55’ proposals

In a joint debate, Members assessed the outcome of negotiations on several ‘Fit for 55’ proposals aimed at reducing EU greenhouse gas emissions by 55 % by 2030. Members adopted a provisional agreement, endorsed by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), on revising the Effort-sharing Regulation. The legislation sets binding targets for each EU country to reduce emissions not covered under the emissions trading system (ETS), which now need updated to reflect the EU’s increased climate ambition. The revision requires a just and socially fair transition, with Parliament insisting on reinforced corrective action, transparency, and the importance of scientific advice. Parliament also formally adopted a provisional agreement on revising the market stability reserve for the EU ETS, which adjusts the number of allowances in the reserve, the auctioning of which provides significant revenue for EU countries. In addition, Members adopted a text agreed between the co-legislators on revising the Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry Regulation (LULUCF), which manages carbon removals through sustainable forestry and land management. While some of Parliament’s demands for a stronger framework, and environmental and economic monitoring were not addressed, a review is scheduled for 2025.

Energy performance of buildings

To further reduce the energy wasted through badly insulated and energy-inefficient buildings, Parliament adopted its position for negotiations with the Council on accelerating action under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Parliament’s discussion follows an ITRE committee report on the proposed revision of the directive, seeking to set an earlier zero-emissions deadline for all new buildings. Fossil fuel heating systems should disappear altogether by 2035, with residential buildings set to reach EPC class E by 2030. Where renovations would lead to rent rises not compensated by energy savings, however, the report seeks an exemption for public social housing.

European Citizens’ Initiative: ‘Save bees and farmers!’

Parliament debated a European Citizens’ Initiative, backed by over 1 million citizens, calling for bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment. Reacting to declining bee populations, the initiative seeks an EU response to redress the balance between priorities on food security, the environment and agricultural practices.

EU relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan

Members debated and adopted Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) own-initiative reports on EU-Armenia relations and EU-Azerbaijan relations seeking to advance discussion on a future Armenia–Azerbaijan peace treaty to address the root causes of the conflict.

Guidelines on human rights defenders

Members debated and adopted an AFET own-initiative report on EU guidelines on human rights defenders assessing the framework for protecting human rights activists working in non-EU countries. The report calls for consistent application of the EU guidelines, to a wider range of rights defenders, and for specific support for those defending women’s sexual and reproductive rights.

Windsor framework

In a joint debate on relations with the United Kingdom, Members debated a Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) implementation report on the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU. They also heard a Commission statement on the recently agreed Windsor framework. The framework seeks to facilitate the movement of goods under the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (the part of the Withdrawal Agreement seeking to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, and safeguard the all-island economy, the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement and the integrity of the EU single market). The chairs of the European Parliament’s UK Contact Group and Parliament’s delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly have welcomed the Windsor framework, but also promised detailed parliamentary scrutiny and thorough monitoring of its implementation.

Question time

Commissioner Kadri Simson answered Members’ questions on how to ensure energy security in the EU in 2023. Subsequently, the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, answered questions on how to strengthen trans-Atlantic ties to face global multilateral challenges.

Opening of trilogue negotiations

Members confirmed, with a vote, the mandate for negotiations from the ITRE committee on a proposal for a regulation on European Digital Identity framework.

Members also confirmed, without voting, ten mandates to enter into interinstitutional negotiations, three from the ITRE committee, on reports on the internal markets for renewable and natural gases, and on a report on a high common level of cybersecurity in EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies; three from the Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) committee, on reports on amendments to the markets in financial instruments rules, MiFID 2 and MiFIR, and on the regulation on central securities depositories; one from the Legal Affairs (JURI) committee on geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products; one from the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) committee on alignment with EU rules on the protection of personal data, and two from the joint LIBE/JURI committee on proposals for a directive and regulation on digitalisation of cross-border judicial cooperation.

Read this ‘at a glance’ on ‘Plenary round-up – March I 2023‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Le 15 mars 2023, la Gendarmerie Nationale a publié un communiqué via sa page « Tariki » afin de rappeler l’importance de la surveillance technique des véhicules […]

L’article Contrôle technique automobile en Algérie : la gendarmerie avertît les conducteurs est apparu en premier sur .

Sous la pression de l’UE, l’Albanie a déclaré jeudi qu’elle renonçait temporairement à son projet de système de « passeports dorés », alors qu’elle tente de progresser sur le chemin de l’adhésion à l’Union européenne.

Plans to stop hunters bringing body parts of endangered species to Great Britain are approved by MPs.

Zuzana Čaputová államfő elfogadja a megbízott kormány MiG-29-es vadászgépek átadásával kapcsolatos döntését. Elfogadhatónak tartja azt is, hogy erre kormányközi megállapodás keretében kerül sor, bár jobb lett volna, ha parlamenti határozatot is elfogadnak erről – tájékoztatta a TASR-t Martin Strižinec elnöki szóvivő.

Les tirages au sort des 3 compétitions européennes ont été effectués. Ainsi, on connaît désormais les 1/4es de finale de la Ligue des Champions, de […]

L’article Champions League – Conference League 2023 : quels adversaires pour les joueurs algériens ? est apparu en premier sur .

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and the market turmoil of the past week must push EU policymakers to rethink their approach to banking regulation and keep regulatory standards high, MEP Jonás Fernández told EURACTIV.  

À la suite d’une importante fuite survenue jeudi, une rumeur de contamination de l’eau potable a circulé sur les réseaux sociaux. Les faits ont été dénoncés à la police.

Le cancer du col de l’utérus concerne les cellules du col de l’utérus. Des examens gynécologiques réguliers, des tests de Papanicolaou et des rapports sexuels […]

L’article Cancer du col de l’utérus : symptômes, causes, et traitement au Centre Médical Anadolu est apparu en premier sur .

Ismeretlen férfi holttestére bukkantak csütörtökön a Dunában Pozsonynál, a Dunacsúnyi Vízerőmű közelében. A rendőrség gyilkosság ügyében nyomoz, a helyszínre érkező orvos a halál pontos okának megállapítására elrendelte a boncolást.

Le président de la République, Abdelmadjid Tebboune a procédé à un remaniement partiel du Gouvernement au niveau de plusieurs départements ministériels, dont le ministère du […]

L’article Tayeb Zitouni remplace Rezig à la tête du ministère du Commerce, qui est-il ? est apparu en premier sur .

'The road to Kabul airport was a one-way street, - We couldn't go back. Not to pick up clothes, computer or notebooks, says Afghan journalist Seyar Sirat. Credit: Journalists on the scene of attack against journalists in Tabian Cultural Center, Mazar-e-Sharif, March 11 2023

By Gie Goris
BRUSSELS, Mar 17 2023 (IPS)

Every year, Afghan journalists celebrate their national day on 18 March. This year, there is little reason to party, because of general restrictions, increasing intimidation and a recent attack on journalists. However, at a unique gathering in Brussels, Afghan journalists showed resilience.

‘I have always felt good at my desk,’ says Seyar Sirat. ‘I am rather introverted by nature, and so spending hours in front of my screen for TOLO News was a blessing rather than a curse. Until 15 August 2021, when the world of Afghanistan began to crumble. But even that morning, I continued to work with concentration until the moment the news arrived that President Ashraf Ghani had left the country. That was the moment some people burst into tears. That was the moment I left.’

What we should resist is the idea that Afghan media is helped by helping Afghan journalists flee the country. There they become package deliverers, taxi drivers or cooks, while the country needs their expertise, commitment and courage

Sirat tells his story at the first international gathering of Afghan journalists since the day Kabul fell. Some journalists were able to come over from Afghanistan, others travelled from various European countries where they now live and try to work. And where they have to try to build a second life, “like newborn babies”, as Sirat puts it. In a new language, in a foreign context, but with intense and family ties to the homeland. And with deep, mental scars.

‘The road to Kabul airport was a one-way street,’ Sirat observes visibly emotional. ‘We couldn’t go back. Not to pick up clothes, computer or notebooks. Not to go back to work or old life. Those three days and nights around and at the airport are the most tragic and traumatic moments of my life.’

 

Dead and injured

There is no shortage of trauma, among Afghan journalists. A colleague from the north of the country informed me of this just a few days ago that on 11 March, in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, there was an attack on a meeting of local journalists from various media. The toll was heavy: three dead and 30 injured, including 16 journalists. Te Afghanistan Journalists Centre confirms. The attack, meanwhile, was claimed by IS-KP, the local branch of Islamic State.

After the attack in Mazar-e-Sharif, a number of journalists ended up in hospital. Even there, they were not reassured by the armed representatives of the current rulers. ‘They should have killed you all,’ they heard from the Taliban, who had to guard and protect them.

In his opening address to the meeting of Afghan journalists in Brussels on 15 March, EU Special Envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson also referred to that recent tragedy and put it in the broader context of a dramatic deterioration of human rights and rule of law since the Taliban took power. He cited the recent report by UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, who was able to document 245 cases of press freedom violations since August 2021. These include not only attacks, but also arrests, arbitrary detention, physical violence, beatings and torture. ‘Most of you will say that this figure is an underestimate,’ Niklasson said. All the journalists present nodded.

 

Lost space

The trauma does not begin for everyone on 15 August 2021. ‘At least 120 journalists from home and abroad have been killed in Afghanistan over the past 20 years,’ Hujatullah Mujadidi, director of the Afghan Independent Journalist Union, noted in his opening remarks to the meeting. ‘Afghanistan had 137 TV stations, 346 radio stations, 49 news agencies and 69 print media until two years ago. Together, these accounted for 12,000 jobs. Little of that remains. 224 media platforms meanwhile closed their doors and at least 8,000 media workers – including 2,374 women – lost their jobs.’

‘We had finally created space for ourselves after centuries of restrictions,’ says Somaia Walizadeh, a journalist who was able to flee the country. ‘That space has been taken away from us again. Of the few media that were founded, run and nurtured by women, a few still exist. But even there, men now call the shots.’ Reporters Without Borders states that in half of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, not a single female journalist is still employed and more than eighty percent of female journalists are out of work. RSF also estimates that 40 per cent of media platforms have ceased to exist and 60 per cent of all media workers became unemployed after August 2021. No wonder, then, that some 1,000 journalists have already fled abroad.

 

The heart of the problem

Those who want to do real and independent journalistic work in Afghanistan come up against one difficulty after another. “It was never easy to get reliable information,” says Somaia Walizadeh, “but today it is quasi-impossible. According to her colleague Abid Ihsas, who remains active in Afghanistan, this has to do with the fact that journalists on the ground face Taliban fighters ‘who do not know or recognise the importance of independent media.’ But it doesn’t stop there, he says, because the entire administration under the current authorities is extremely centralised and hierarchised. ‘Every detail and every shred of information has to be approved and released by a higher authority every time.’

But the real root of the problem, according to Ihsas, lies in the deliberately created ambiguity. There is a 10-point regulation – which is very vague – but no real media law. ‘It is never clear what is allowed according to the authorities and what is not. Ultimately, it depends on the moment and the person in front of you. Usually, the rules are communicated verbally and ad hoc. This not only leads to a lot of outright censorship, but also too much self-censorship due to the constant uncertainty.’ Rateb Noori, a refugee journalist, summed it up this way: ‘The fact that relatively few journalists are in jail is not even good news in these circumstances. It mainly shows how effective the intimidation is.’

The insecurity also applies to what journalists do outside their formal assignment. ‘Forwarding a WhatsApp message or liking a tweet or FB message can already get you in trouble,’ says Ahmad Quraishi, director of the Afghanistan Journalists Centre. Other problems he identifies: ‘There are very limited lists of journalists invited to press conferences or given access to those in charge. These almost never include women, and if they do, they are additionally screened and checked.’

Fariba Aram adds that foreign journalists are treated much better than domestic colleagues. ‘It seems that those in power still want a reasonable image in the rest of the world, while in Afghanistan they are averse to anything journalistic,’ she says. Hujatullah Mujadidi of the Afghan Independent Journalist Union confirms that: They are trying to divide us. International against national. Diaspora against interior. “Good media” against “bad media”. That is why it is crucial that journalists and media continue to speak and negotiate with one voice,’ he concludes. True as that be, maybe Tomas Niklasson put it better when he described the journalists in the room as ‘not united, as this is overly ambitious, but connected’.

 

The hard hand and the long arm of power

Legal uncertainty, censorship, lack of access to information and economic difficulties combine to form an almost insurmountable obstacle for Afghan journalists. And for the hundreds of journalists who continue to practise their profession from Europe, Pakistan, Australia or North America. Indeed, they face the same barriers to information and have to navigate with extreme caution what they write or bring, as there is always a chance that family members left behind will pay the price for their truth-telling.

Someone testified about an article he was to write for an international news site on climate change and air pollution. The requested information never came, but the statement that they knew where his family lived, did. Rateb Noori also had a similar experience. His news site investigated a story on the de facto lifting of the requirement for women to appear on TV wearing a face mask. In that case, it was not the journalist’s family that was threatened, but local colleagues – even though they thought they were safe at their changing hiding addresses.

 

What to do?

Analysing the current situation proved to be the simple part of the programme. When asked what could or should be done about it, Afghan journalists and their international partners from the EU, Unesco, RsF and the International Federation of Journalists got little beyond tentative ideas. ‘You cannot solve problems that are more than 20 years old in a matter of weeks,’ argued Najib Paikan, who recently had to shut down his own TV station. ‘But what we should resist is the idea that Afghan media is helped by helping Afghan journalists flee the country. There they become package deliverers, taxi drivers or cooks, while the country needs their expertise, commitment and courage.’

That earned Paikan applause, even though everyone knew that leaving is the choice of a large section of now desperate journalists. Moreover, the problems do not disappear when you cross the border, Wali Rahmani, a fugitive media activist, noted. ‘Hundreds of journalists are stuck in Pakistan and are only concerned with survival. Food and shelter for themselves and for their families. They too are entitled to international support.’

 

At the awards

On the sidelines of the conference in Brussels, the annual Journalist of the Year Awards were also presented. The 2023 Awards went to Mohammad Yousuf Hanif of ToloNews, Mohammad Arif Yaqoubi of Washington-based Afghanistan International TV, and Marjan Wafa, reporter for Killid Radio. Over the past 10 years, a total of 14 journalists received the award, including five women.

La Bulgarie a cessé de recevoir du gaz russe après que Gazprom a interrompu unilatéralement les livraisons en avril dernier. Cependant, ЕURACTIV Bulgarie a révélé que les deux pays sont en désaccord sur le montant de la dernière facture.

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2023 - EP

A Manchester United újfent spanyol ellenfelet kapott a labdarúgó Európa-ligában, a negyeddöntőben a Sevillával találkozik, míg a Juventus ellenfele a portugál Sporting lesz a legjobb nyolc között.

Le titre de la deuxième banque suisse a atteint un plus bas historique à 1,50 franc cette semaine. Le coup de pouce à 50 milliards de la Banque nationale n’a pas vraiment stabilisé les choses. 

With historical falsifications and manipulations rampant on social networks, history can be used as a tool for propaganda. Teaching in Europe must encourage critical thinking and multiple perspectives, Portuguese education minister João Costa told EURACTIV.