Photo by Jack Ward on Unsplash The European Union cannot tackle social, economic and territorial disparities through Cohesion Policy alone. All EU initiatives and policies, like the post-COVID recovery plan NextGenerationEU, should fight against inequalities and promote cohesion, which must be a fundamental value of the European Union. This is the main message of the opinion on the…
Author: Our Staff Correspondent
Support for Environmental Causes Growing
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash Despite the recession, philanthropic support for environmental causes is increasing, says a new report. This is one of the key messages to emerge from the 6th edition of an annual assessment. Called “Environmental Funding by European Foundations” it is claimed to be the most comprehensive report that has ever been published on environmental philanthropy across…
Final Decision of London Court of Appeal Confirms Irrevocable Rejection of Polisario Petition
Photo by Alex Vasey on Unsplash The London Court of appeal irrevocably dismissed, on Thursday, the appeal by the pro-separatist NGO “WSC” against a previous decision by the administrative Court, rejecting its application to reconsider the Association Agreement between Morocco and the United Kingdom. This third setback since last December for the enemies of Morocco’s territorial integrity confirms…
G7 Statement on Ukraine
Photo by Viktoria Evseenkova on Unsplash Ukraine remains firmly on the EU agenda, both with EU leaders and for MEPs. The ongoing war in the country will be the subject of a week of special events in the European Parliament next week, back after its recess. Before that, though, at their meeting in Hiroshima, we, the leaders of…
South Africa Branded High Risk for Money Laundering and Financing Terrorism
Photo by Fred Moon on Unsplash The European Commission has updated its list of “high risk” third country jurisdictions presenting strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes. Two third-country jurisdictions were added to it: Nigeria and South Africa, while two other jurisdictions were taken off the list – Cambodia and Morocco. This list takes into account the changes decided at…
The Single Market at 30
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash The EU admits there is “persistent uncertainty” stemming from Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. But it also says that the European economy “continues to show resilience in a challenging global context.” Lower energy prices, abating supply constraints and a strong labour market supported moderate growth in the first quarter of 2023, it…
EU Data Privacy
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash MEPs are in the United States this week for meetings with their U.S. counterparts working on EU-US cooperation on justice and home affairs. The delegation in Washington D.C. includes LIBE chair Juan Fernando López Aguilar and S&D spokesperson for justice and home affairs Birgit Sippel. They will speak to counterparts about the…
Fallout from Gabriel Resignation
Photo by Georgi Kyurpanov on Unsplash Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has praised outgoing EU commissioner Mariya Gabriel following her shock resignation. Gabriel, the European Commissioner for innovation and research, quit on Monday to focus on helping to form Bulgaria’s next coalition government. She had served as European Commissioner since 2017, when she replaced Kristalina Georgieva, now…
EU Must Avoid Chain Reaction in Sahel
Photo by Timon Gschwind on Unsplash MEPs have underlined the need for a coordinated humanitarian response to help those already in need in Sudan. They say this is also needed to prevent the conflict from spreading over into neighbouring countries. Members have now called on European authorities and leaders to do their utmost to push both parties in…
Call to Respect Human Rights in Algeria
Photo by George Pagan III on Unsplash MEPs have backed three resolutions on the respect for human rights in Algeria, Belarus and Myanmar. Deputies, at their session in Strasbourg, urged the Algerian authorities to “immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and charged for exercising their right to freedom of expression.” They say these include the prominent journalist Ihsane…