EU & Europe

Photo: An overview of Bangladesh textile industry. Source: FIBRE2FASHION.COM

A German Law Might Put an End to Human Rights Violations in Supply Chains

Viewpoint by Franziska Korn, Friedich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)*

BERLIN (IDN) – For over half a decade, the German government has been working to enact mandatory compliance for companies regarding human rights and environmental protection in their supply chains. The United Nations has also pushed for this measure. Adopted in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) provide for, among other things, corporate responsibility to respect human rights. In Germany, implementation is now entering the crucial final phase.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 24 July 2020

Collage of Magic Money and Sebastian Mallaby (Twitter), inventor of magic money.

EU & The Other Developed Countries Should Spend Some Of The 'Magic Money' To Help Africa

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – There is "Magic Money" around in case you didn't know. Not quite made out of thin air, but getting on that way. This is a phrase invented by the economic writer, Sebastian Mallaby, in the new issue of Foreign Affairs, America's leading foreign policy bi-monthly journal. It is a usually important and well-researched article. All policymakers should read it.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 21 July 2020

A Slaughterhouse for Workers

It’s Not Romanians Spreading The Virus, It’s Capitalism

Viewpoint by Vladimir Bogoeski *

BERLIN (IDN) – While the world heaps praise on Germany’s successful response to the Covid-19 pandemic, recent events have thrown a dark shadow on the shiny image. Although its political leadership, unlike that of France and the US, did not frame the pandemic discourse around a war analogy, the ‘collateral damage’ yielded by the German variety of capitalism during the pandemic is hard to overlook.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 19 July 2020

Photo: Law students of USMBA, university named after Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, a 18th century Sultan of Morocco, participate in skills-building workshops in preparation for opening a law clinic. February 2020, High Atlas Foundation.

The Forgotten Victims of COVID-19 Amid Migration Crisis

By Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts

As the Coronavirus pandemic sweeps the globe, closing cities and shutting borders, migrants fleeing violence, persecution, and seeking a new life are stuck in the midst of a health and economic crisis. In this article, Jacqueline Skalski-Fouts investigates how current conditions could affect the future of migrants impacted by the pandemic and what NGOs and governments can do to help. She is a Global Studies undergraduate student at the University of Virginia.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 14 July 2020

Photo: Algeria receives with full honours the skulls of 24 resistance fighters decapitated during French colonial rule that were held in storage in a Paris museum. Source: Algerian TV

France Returns Remains of Algerian Resistance Fighters

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – "The martyrs are returning home." Those were the words of noted historian Malika Rahal on learning that the remains of 24 Algerian resistance fighters, killed in the Algerian independence war of 1954-62, would be flown back to Algeria after years kept by the French in a museum’s storage area.

"The body parts of those who fought the conquest of their country are returning home after a very long stay in cardboard boxes at the Musee de l'Homme in Paris," Rahal said.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 July 2020

Photo: Polish president Andrzej Duda meets with soldiers assigned to the Tennessee Army National Guard's 2nd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment's Task Force Raider, during a visit to Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, March 6, 2019. Credit: SARAH KIRBY/U.S. ARMYring troops from Germany to Poland.

Russia Feels Threatened by Bigger US Presence in Poland

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia and the United States, since the end of the Cold War, have had confrontations on many issues, and it is highly unlikely if both will ever find something in common. There have been differences on regional issues from the Middle East and North Africa through Asia to Europe. Now the latest, that has drawn both global leaders into sharp antagonism is the proposed [re]deployment of US military forces from Germany to Poland.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 02 July 2020

What the EU's Corona Fundraising Tells us about Global Solidarity

Viewpoint by Inge Kaul

The writer, Dr Inge Kaul, is Senior Fellow, Hertie School, Berlin and Non-resident Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, Washington, DC.

BERLIN (IDN) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen organized two spectacular fund-raising events, one on May 4 and the other on June 27, 2020. The first drive collected €9.8 billion and the second €6.15 billion, including €4.9 billion announced together by the EU and the European Investment Bank.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 July 2020

Photo: Johnson visited the British Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma on 13 September 2020. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Boris Johnson's Merger of DFID – Will it Massacre UK’s ODA?

Viewpoint by Patrick I Gomes

The writer, Dr Patrick I Gomes, was Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States for five years until Angola's Ambassador to the European Union, Mr. Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, took over on March 1. The 79-nation inter-regional body officially became the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) on April 5, 2020. Dr Gomes was previously Ambassador of the Republic of Guyana, to the EU in Brussels.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 01 July 2020

Photo: Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Ciano pictured just before signing the controversial Munich Agreement in 29 September 1938. Credit: Federal German Archive, Koblenz CC-BY-SA 3.0

World War II: 75 Years on Doubts on the Origins

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – It is a common trait in mankind to apply to ourselves a generosity of interpretation which we do not extend to others. We find proofs of wickedness, using evidence that we would not use against our own. We play down the sins of ourselves, our own country and our leaders, past and present.

In the days of the Nazi government in Germany, there was an inbuilt tendency in the Allies' reporting to distort what Hitler was doing. For example, they wanted to pin on him the fact that in the early days of the war that he had started the indiscriminating bombing of civilians. In fact, it was begun by the directors of British strategy, as some of the more honest of them later boasted.

: Jonathan Power; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 30 June 2020

Image: EU building. Credit: Samynandpartners, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia Commons.

The European Union Still Hasn't Considered an Economic Proposal That Can Save It

Viewpoint by Marshall Auerback

The writer is a market analyst and commentator. This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) – On May 5, Germany's constitutional court ruled that parts of the European Central Bank's bond-buying operations to avert a mounting economic depression were illegal. In the wake of that decision, many new proposals have surfaced. First, the European Central Bank (ECB) added a further €600 billion to its earlier announced pandemic emergency purchase program (PEPP) to support Europe's rapidly faltering economy.