Feed aggregator

ÄNDERUNGSANTRÄGE 1 - 512 - Entwurf eines Berichts über die Umsetzung der Gemeinsamen Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik – Jahresbericht 2022
Ausschuss für auswärtige Angelegenheiten
David McAllister

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2022 - EP

Several thousand people rallied in Montenegro's capital on Thursday (17 November) calling for a snap election and the withdrawal of a controversial law that curbed presidential powers amid a deep political crisis in the Balkan nation.

Communication and Media Relations Section Alexandra Taylor

On 18 November, a four-day course aimed at further strengthening national capacity to counter the financing of terrorism concluded in Gevgelija, North Macedonia. The course was organized by the OSCE Secretariat’s Transnational Threats Department, with the support of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

Twenty-seven officials, including twelve women, actively participated in the course. They represented eight national agencies involved in countering terrorist financing, including the Republic of North Macedonia’s Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defense, the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption, the Customs Administration, Financial Police, Intelligence Agency, Financial Intelligence Office, and the Agency for National Security.

The participants learned to assess and disrupt terrorism by examining the “business model” of related groups. A team of local trainers presented techniques such as functional and vulnerabilities analysis, and auditing. By applying these on a localized scenario, inter-agency teams considered which financial disruption option would achieve maximum impact.

Organized with the financial support of the United States, the course is part of a comprehensive multi-annual training programme on countering the financing of terrorism, jointly implemented by the OSCE and UNODC in North Macedonia since 2021.

The programme is designed to support North Macedonia in building its counter terrorist financing framework and in complying with international commitments and standards, in particular UN Security Council Resolution 2462 (2019), and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards.

Eight years after 298 people died when Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down, a verdict has finally been handed down in Amsterdam. Two Russian citizens and one Ukrainian have received life sentences and must pay 16 million euros in compensation. They were accused of transporting a Buk air defence system from Russia to eastern Ukraine and using it to down the Malaysian jet. For commentators this is a landmark decision.

Inflation at over eleven percent, a rising national debt, a long recession ahead and a credit rating that took a beating in the brief Truss era: against this backdrop the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has unveiled a new budget plan. Tax hikes to the tune of 24 billion pounds and cutbacks of 30 billion aim to provide stability.

The research vessel Sanco Swift is currently conducting surveys to locate fossil fuel reserves in the Ionian Sea and west and southwest of Crete. If successful, a US-Greek consortium could start extraction around five years from now. Turkey also plans to look for reserves in the region. The national press debates whether Greece should press ahead with the exploration operations.

Just days before the FIFA men's World Cup kicks off in Qatar, the debate continues about how countries and individuals should position themselves vis-à-vis the event. Qatar's World Cup ambassador recently described homosexuality as "damage in the mind" and the host country has long been under fire over human rights abuses against workers during the construction of stadiums and infrastructure. Commentators discuss the calls for people not to watch the event.