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King Charles intensifies UK-EU impasse on Northern Ireland tour

Donaldson said he was hopeful that on-off talks with the EU over reform of the protocol would “progress”, it reported, without quoting sources…reports Asian Lite News

King Charles III on Tuesday raised a fraught post-Brexit impasse between the United Kingdom and the European Union during a meeting with Northern Ireland’s feuding political leaders.

The new British monarch met the leaders at the royal estate of Hillsborough Castle as part of a UK tour following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

In a speech at Hillsborough, Charles pledged to “seek the welfare” of all Northern Ireland’s divided communities, stressing the queen had “never ceased to pray for the best of times for this place and its people”.

He held a reception with the party leaders after the speech, including the pro-UK Democratic Unionist Party’s Jeffrey Donaldson and Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein, which wants unification with Ireland.

Charles expressed keen interest in the issue of the Brexit-related Northern Ireland Protocol, engaging in a lengthy conversation with Donaldson over the issue, the domestic PA news agency reported.

Donaldson said he was hopeful that on-off talks with the EU over reform of the protocol would “progress”, it reported, without quoting sources.

Sinn Fein emerged on top in Northern Irish elections in May, but the DUP has refused to let the regional assembly reconvene unless London and Brussels abandon the protocol.

The pact entails checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from mainland Britain, prompting the DUP to fret that the territory is being gradually hived off from the UK.

But Donaldson welcomed conciliatory noises from the EU over potential changes to minimise the checks, PA said, as the new UK government presses legislation to overhaul the protocol on its own.

Charles meanwhile thanked O’Neill for Sinn Fein’s condolences over his mother’s death, PA reported.

After Hillsborough, a religious service was held in Belfast where Charles shook hands with Irish President Michael D. Higgins, in the king’s first meeting with another head of state.

The Sinn Fein speaker of Northern Ireland’s Stormont assembly, Alex Maskey, gave a reading at the service, before the king met well-wishers outside the cathedral and flew out to London.

ALSO READ-King Charles pledges to follow example set by Queen

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EU envoy slams Taliban for human rights violations

The remarks come at a time when global leaders have raised extreme concerns over an increasing number of human rights violations and girls’ education under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan…reports Asian Lite News

Special Envoy of the European Union for Afghanistan, Tomas Niklasson, on Monday raised his concerns over the surge in violations of human rights under the Taliban and said that the organization has failed to uphold any promises made.

The special envoy voiced his concerns at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC 51) in Geneva Monday, recalling that Afghanistan is a party to the Rome Statute, Khaama Press reported.

“The EU remains deeply alarmed by the increase of human rights violations and abuses and international humanitarian law violations in Afghanistan,” said the European Union in a statement. “Accountability must be ensured and, in this regard, we recall that Afghanistan is a party to the Rome Statute.”

The remarks come at a time when global leaders have raised extreme concerns over an increasing number of human rights violations and girls’ education under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, stated Khaama Press.

“The shrinking space for civil society and restrictions on human rights and fundamental freedoms remain a primary concern,” the statement added.

Under the atrocious rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, people from ethnic and religious minorities and groups, LGBTI persons, human rights defenders, journalists and other media workers suffer killings, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and a lot more on a daily basis.

However, the Taliban has denied the allegations of the international community time and again.

Reflecting on the overall security of the country, the Spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid said a “peaceful atmosphere” has been created in the country, where women and men could rightfully take part in Afghanistan’s development.

The human rights issues of extrajudicial killings by security forces; forced disappearances by antigovernment personnel; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment by security forces have become a regular affair in Afghanistan.

The issues include serious restrictions on free expression and media by the Taliban, including violence against journalists and censorship; severe restrictions on religious freedom as well as restrictions on the right to leave the country.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the plight of Afghan women has worsened in the country. Contrary to the Taliban’s claims, girls were stopped from going to school beyond sixth grade on March 23 and a decree on the women’s dress code was issued after a month. There are restrictions on movement, education and freedom of expression of women posing a threat to their survival.

Around 80 per cent of women working in the media have lost their jobs, and almost 18 million women in the country are struggling for health, education and social rights. (ANI)

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Macron calls for independent foreign policy

Macron acknowledged that the United States is an ally, but warned that “we do not want to depend on it”, reports Asian Lite News

France must stick to an independent foreign policy and build more balanced partnerships for multi-lateralism, President Emmanuel Macron said during an ambassadors’ conference.

In recent years, there were many unpredictable incidents including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, he told the diplomats, adding that France alone does not have the means to resolve these crises, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

Its interest is therefore to “build more and more balanced, equal, bilateral and regional partnerships”, Macron said.

The President said he aims to form a “stronger, more influential, more independent” France, and keep the country as a “balancing power” that builds peace and stability.

Speaking of European strategic autonomy, Macron told the French diplomats that the idea has become widespread across Europe.

“Above all, we have acted together, built a stronger Europe of defence, brick by brick. We have done so multilaterally and bilaterally. We have strengthened this European Union.

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron (Credit twitter @POTUS)

“It is indeed our independence that we are strengthening and consolidating. It is this same desire for independence that I also want at the geopolitical level,” he said, adding that Europe is “more and more autonomous”.

Macron acknowledged that the United States is an ally, but warned that “we do not want to depend on it”.

“France and Europe must therefore build this independence, which is also geopolitical. We do not have to be asked to choose how to guide our policy.”

Macron also said that France’s foreign policy aims to continue to build an effective multi-lateralism.

He said that France should multiply efforts in multi-lateralism, especially in public health, climate change and biodiversity.

For public health, Macron highlighted “the usefulness of international health cooperation” through the World Health Organization.

“I think our role should be to consolidate the World Health Organization as the bedrock of a useful multilateral institution. We absolutely must consolidate the principles of information sharing, transparency and scientific independence,” he noted.

Macron also highlighted the importance of multi-lateralism on climate change and biodiversity.

French President Emmanuel Macron

“For several years, it has been at the heart of our diplomatic action and our diplomatic successes,” he said.

In order to achieve the Paris Agreement, France should “convince our major partners among the developed countries, within the framework of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), to make maximum emissions commitments per capita”, he said.

But “in the same logic of fair distribution of effort,” developing countries “must be able to find financing agreements for the energy transition in our common interest and on terms that are less costly than in developed countries”, Macron noted.

“We cannot ask emerging countries to move faster and to make the choice between development and climate, with financing conditions that are much harsher than in our country.”

ALSO READ: Truss unsure is Macron is ‘friend or foe’

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US: No conditionality between Iran nuclear deal and IAEA probes

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. (File Photo: White House).

White House said the investigations led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “are not political” and “are not leverage or bargaining chips”, reports Asian Lite News

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested that there should not be any conditionality between a revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the conclusion of watchdog probes.

Addressing the media on Friday, Jean-Pierre made the remarks referring to the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and investigations related to Iran’s obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, reports Xinhua news agency

She said the investigations led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “are not political” and “are not leverage or bargaining chips”.

“We are unbending in our support for the IAEA’s independence… It would be preferable to return to the JCPOA without any open safeguard issues,” the Press Secretary added.

If the US makes the “right decision”, negotiations can be concluded quickly, Mohammad Marandi, an advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiation team, said on Friday.

“Iran has responded as promised. It’s time for the (US President Joe) Biden team to make a serious decision,” Marandi tweeted hours after Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that Tehran had given answers to the Washington on the European Union’s draft of a potential nuclear agreement.

“The submitted text has a constructive approach with the aim of finalizing the negotiations,” Kanaani said in a statement.

The US State Department confirmed they have received Iran’s response through the European Union (EU).

“We are studying it and will respond through the EU, but unfortunately it is not constructive,” a Department spokesman was quoted by some Western media outlets as saying.

“For the US, ‘constructive’ usually means accepting US terms. For Iran, it means a deal that is balanced and protected,” Marandi said.

Iran and the US are indirectly exchanging views about a recent EU proposal aimed at resolving the outstanding issues on the revival of the JCPOA.

Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to curb its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions on the country.

However, former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the agreement and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to drop some of its commitments under the pact.

The talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal began in April 2021 in Vienna but were suspended in March this year because of political differences between Tehran and Washington.

The latest round of the nuclear talks was held in the Austrian capital in early August after a five-month hiatus.

On August 8, the EU put forward a “final text” of the draft decision on reviving the deal.

ALSO READ: N-deal: US disagrees on Iran’s ‘constructive’ response

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Belgium urges EU to manage soaring energy prices

De Croo has therefore started talks with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to study possibilities of reducing energy prices…reports Asian Lite News

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has urged the EU to take responsibility to manage the skyrocketing energy prices that had reached an unsustainable level in recent weeks.

“It is only at (the) European level that we will succeed in reducing prices. Only Europe can achieve this,” he said on Wednesday.

The federal government and the representatives of Belgium’s federated entities met in Brussels on Tuesday in a Consultation Committee (CODECO) and managed to come up with additional measures to deal with soaring energy prices at national level, while at the same time calling on the EU to assume its responsibilities.

De Croo has therefore started talks with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to study possibilities of reducing energy prices.

“Since March, our country has been pleading for measures to be taken on gas prices, and in particular to achieve a freeze on gas prices,” he said, adding that von der Leyen announced at the beginning of the week that an emergency mechanism would be put in place to lower energy prices.

In view of the rising energy prices, CODECO has decided to extend all the support measures already in force until March 31, 2023. These include a 6 per cent VAT reduction on gas and electricity, reduction of excise duties on fuel, and extension of social tariffs and fuel vouchers to target groups.

Among other measures announced, the public authorities will lower heating. They will reduce the use of air conditioning and turn off the lights in every building.

The Belgian Prime Minister also called for the responsibility of every citizen to reduce their energy consumption.

In addition, negotiations, which aims to obtain from banks deferral of the mortgage payment, are also underway with the financial sector to help some people with higher energy bills. Negotiations with the financial sector in financing energy-saving measures are also underway.

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EU to suspend visa facilitation agreement with Russia

As the situation in the EU countries bordering Russia is becoming “challenging”, the top diplomat said these member states can take national measures to restrict EU entry through their borders….reports Asian Lite News

Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) member states have agreed to suspend a visa agreement with Moscow, making it harder for Russian citizens to obtain entry to the bloc.

“We agree today with EU foreign ministers on full suspension of the EU-Russia visa facilitation agreement,” Xinhua news agency quoted Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, as saying at a press conference after the Ministers’ two-day informal meeting here on Wednesday.

He said that until now, the 2007 agreement that makes it easier for Russian citizens to obtain Schengen visas, was “partially suspended” for special collectives and groups of Russians, officials and entrepreneurs, but now it is “fully suspended”.

“It means that it will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states,” Borrell said, adding that the process to get a visa is going to be “longer and more difficult.”

As the situation in the EU countries bordering Russia is becoming “challenging”, the top diplomat said these member states can take national measures to restrict EU entry through their borders.

This comes as Ukraine and some member states had called for a blanket ban, but others like France and Germany were opposed to the step, the BBC reported.

More than a million Russian citizens have travelled to the EU since Moscow began its ongoing invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The five EU countries bordering Russia — Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland — said in a joint statement that they could also introduce temporary bans or restrictions “in order to address imminent public security issues”.

Responding to the bloc’s decision, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Glushko said the EU was “shooting itself in the foot” and the move would not go unanswered.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also criticised the decision as a “half-measure”.

ALSO READ: EU to debate visa ban for Russians

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EU plans overhaul of electricity market  

EU President Ursula von der Leyen

Against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, wholesale gas prices spiked, resulting in more expensive electricity…reports Asian Lite News

“Skyrocketing” energy prices expose the limits of the European Union’s (EU) electricity market design, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said while announcing plans for a structural reform.

The market “was developed under completely different circumstances”, von der Leyen said on Monday.

“That’s why we, the commission, are now working on an emergency intervention and a structural reform of the electricity market,” she said, without elaborating on the changes under consideration.

The EU has grappled with surging energy prices for the last six months in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

An emergency meeting of EU energy ministers is planned for September 9.

Electricity prices in the European market are set by the most expensive energy source needed in production, currently gas-fired power plants.

Against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, wholesale gas prices spiked, resulting in more expensive electricity.

A reform of the European electricity market could revise this so-called merit order mechanism and allow consumers to pay less for cheaper electricity generated with solar and wind energy.

German Economy Minister Robert Ha beck also recently announced market reforms to separate customer prices for electricity from the rising cost of gas.

Praising EU efforts to end a chronic over reliance on Russian fossil fuels, von der Leyen cautioned against developing a new dependency on China for strategic raw materials like Lithium for batteries.

“Out of the 30 critical raw materials today, 10 are mostly sourced from China. So we have to avoid falling into the same dependency as with oil and gas,” von der Leyen said.

ALSO READ-Rift in EU on visa ban for Russians

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Borrell rejects blanket ban on Russians entering EU

Borrell said it was necessary to review some visa processes to certain groups of Russians but rejected a blanket ban…reports Asian Lite News

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that a complete ban on Russians entering the bloc was “not a good idea”, amid reports that member states were preparing to suspend a visa agreement with Moscow.

“I am not in favour of stopping delivering visas to all Russians,” Borrell told Austrian broadcaster ORF in an interview.

He said he didn’t believe that cutting off contact with Russian civilians would have positive results, and he also said he did not believe the idea would achieve the required unanimity among member states.

Borrell said it was necessary to review some visa processes to certain groups of Russians but rejected a blanket ban.

“We have to be selective, we cannot take a general measure,” he said, adding that he was sure there would be a balanced approach from EU foreign ministers due to meet in the coming week.

The idea of restricting Russian tourists to the EU has emerged recently after countries witnessed Russians arriving for summer holidays via neighbouring EU countries.

A visa issued by any one country grants access to all 26 members of the Schengen passport-free zone.

The Financial Times had earlier reported that EU member states were preparing to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia over the Ukraine war.

EU foreign ministers are set to give the suspension political backing at a two-day informal meeting in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday, the British newspaper said, citing three officials involved in the talks.

The move would widen the partial suspension imposed in February for Russian government officials and business leaders to now include civilian Russian applicants for EU visas, the Financial Times said.

Suspensions make the EU visa process more complicated, more expensive and more bureaucratic, as well as increasing waiting times for approval, according to European Commission guidelines.

Further measures to restrict EU travel for Russian nationals, such as a limit on the amount of EU visas to be issued or to ban travel entirely, have not been decided, the Financial Times said, citing the officials participating in the negotiations.

The Czech Republic, Finland and Estonia, after imposing their own visa restrictions, have pushed for an EU-wide decision and called for a total ban on Russian nationals travelling to the bloc.

Germany and the commission, however, have urged caution against banning tourist visas or prohibiting Russian nationals from travelling to the bloc completely. Critics have also raised humanitarian concerns.

The European Union has already slapped Russia with multiple rounds of political and economic sanctions after February’s invasion of Ukraine including a ban on Russian airlines from EU airspace.

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EU set to suspend visa agreement with Russia

The Czech Republic, Finland and Estonia, after imposing their own visa restrictions, have pushed for an EU-wide decision and called for a total ban on Russian nationals travelling to the bloc…reports Asian Lite News

EU member states are preparing to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia over the Ukraine war, a British daily reported on Sunday.

EU foreign ministers are set to give the suspension political backing at a two-day informal meeting in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Financial Times said, citing three officials involved in the talks.

The move widens the partial suspension imposed in February for Russian government officials and business leaders to now include civilian Russian applicants for EU visas, the Financial Times was quoted as saying by dpa news agency.

Suspensions make the EU visa process more complicated, more expensive and more bureaucratic, as well as also increase the waiting time for approval, according to European Commission guidelines.

Further measures to restrict EU travel for Russian nationals, such as a limit on the amount of EU visas to be issued or to ban travel entirely, have not been decided, the report said, citing the officials participating in the negotiations.

The Czech Republic, Finland and Estonia, after imposing their own visa restrictions, have pushed for an EU-wide decision and called for a total ban on Russian nationals travelling to the bloc.

Germany and the commission, however, have urged caution against banning tourist visas or prohibiting Russian nationals from travelling to the bloc completely. Critics have also raised humanitarian concerns.

The European Union has already slapped Russia with multiple rounds of political and economic sanctions after February’s invasion of Ukraine including a ban on Russian airlines from EU airspace.

The idea of restricting Russian tourists to the EU has emerged recently after countries witnessed Russians arriving for summer holidays via neighbouring EU countries.

A visa issued by any one country grants access to all 26 members of the Schengen passport-free zone.

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Twitter faces EU privacy probe

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) and France’s CNIL are following up on the whistleblower complaint….reports Asian Lite News

Twitter is now facing privacy probes in the European Union (EU) after the whistleblower complaint from its former head of security, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, created a storm worldwide.

Zatko’s complaints had references to European regulators, alleging that Twitter misled or intended to mislead regional oversight bodies over its compliance with local laws.

According to TechCrunch, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) and France’s CNIL are following up on the whistleblower complaint.

“If the accusations are true, the CNIL could carry out checks that could lead to an order to comply or a sanction if breaches are found. In the absence of a breach, the procedure would be terminated,” said the French watchdog.

In his complaint, Zatko said that in early 2022, “the Irish-DPC and French-CNIL were expected to ask similar questions, and a senior privacy employee told Mudge that Twitter was going to attempt the same deception”.

“Unless circumstances have changed since Mudge was fired in January, then Twitter’s continued operation of many of its basic products is most likely unlawful and could be subject to an injunction, which could take down most or all of the Twitter platform,” it added.

Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also asked Twitter to explain its user metrics after Tesla CEO Elon Musk complained.

“We note your estimate that the average number of false or spam accounts during fiscal 2021 continues to represent fewer than 5 per cent of mDAU,” the commission wrote to Twitter.

“To the extent material, please disclose the methodology used in calculating these figures and the underlying judgements and assumptions used by management,” the SEC added.

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