The EU and the US need to find ways to restore their mutual trust so as to enable them to build a joint economic area under the Transatlantic Partnership agreement (TTIP), said Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee chair Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), opening Tuesday’s debate with the US Senate’s European Affairs Sub-Committee chair Chris Murphy and […]
MEPs Supporting Colombian ‘Mujeres por la Paz’ Peace March
More than 15 MEPs from the European Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, the Greens European Free Alliance and the European United Left have sent a letter of support for a march organized by the Women for Peace network ‘Mujeres por la Paz’ . The peace movement aims to ensure that neither the Colombian Government nor rebel movement […]
EU Cyber War Capabilities, Ashton Must Clarify Says Schaake
Dutch Member of European Parliament Marietje Schaake (ALDE/D66) has called on EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to provide clarification on the European Union’s developing offensive capabilities in cyber defence. “It looks like Ashton is aiming for European offensive capabilities to counter threats against critical European ICT infrastructure.” “While cooperation in conventional defence is lagging […]
EU-China Summit, “Two Major Forces For Peace, Markets, Human Progress”
China and the EU are two major forces in maintaining world peace, two important markets to promote common development and two civilizations to advance the cause of human progress, said Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China at the commencement of the 16th China-EU Summit, in Beijing. In a meeting with European Council President Herman […]
€1 Billion For Central Asian Development, Announced By Commission
Around €1 billion will be made available to support the development efforts of Central Asian countries between 2014-2020, has today announced EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs. This amount includes the bilateral allocations for Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and regional allocations and multi-country funds, to support the region’s efforts on sustainable management of natural […]
Washington – Reding’s Christmas Dinner With The In-Laws… and about that puppy that got run over on the driveway.
The NSA was there, on almost every item of the agenda. Much like Christmas dinner with the in-laws, it would be impolite to get too upset about that time Uncle Sam reversed over the new puppy in the driveway. And so, cousin NSA sat in the corner as the grown-ups talked about how bad the […]
She’s On The Money – Sophie in’t Veld Welcomes SWIFT Probe, Condemns Double Standards
“Just last week, the Belgian and Dutch data protection authorities announced an inquiry into alleged unauthorised access to the SWIFT servers; I wholeheartedly welcome this,” said Dutch MEP, Sophie in’t Veld (D66, ALDE). “The main server is located in the Netherlands, and SWIFT headquarters are based in Belgium,” said in’t Veld, adding: “The Dutch authorities […]
It’s Democracy, Dam It Brazil!
Amazon deforestation increased by 28% between August 2012 and July 2013. Brazil’s Environment Minister, Izabella Teixeira, said the government is trying to reverse this “crime” – much like the ruling party has tried to reverse charges against politicians and businessmen convicted in the nation’s biggest corruption trial. Jose Dirceu, Chief of Staff to former President, […]
TTIP Negotiations. Round Two. Seconds Out.
Negotiators meet for the second round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks. The EU and U.S. EU negotiators met in Brussels yesterday for the first day in a second round of talks to foster progress in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The beginning of the week will be devoted to discussions on investment […]
Brutal Reality of Colombian Peace Negotiations Unveiled To Deputies
Women are the first to suffer the brutality of war and are largely ignored during peace negotiations. “This state of affairs must change,” said Nahla Valji, New York office of UN Women. Valji was speaking at the European Parliament at a debate on the inclusion of women within the current Colombian peace talks. Valji said: […]