EU & Europe

Photo: Neven Mimica. Credit: EU Commission

ACP and the EU Should Stand United, Shoulder-to-Shoulder

By Neven Mimica

The author is EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development. Following are extensive excerpts from his statement opening the 35th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 18 June 2018 in Brussels. – The Editor

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – First and foremost, 2018 is a defining year as we get ready to discuss together the shape and direction of the partnership between the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Union beyond 2020.

Uniting over a hundred countries and around one and a half billion people, our longstanding partnership is unique one not only in terms of its cultural richness and diversity, but also in terms of its geographical scope and potential.

: Jaya Ramachandran; OPINION; 20 June 2018

Striving For Modernized Partnership

By Yuri Sterk

The author is Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. Following are extensive excerpts from his statement opening the 35th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 18 June 2018 in Brussels. He represented the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. – The Editor

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The 35th session of the Joint ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly is of particular importance. The opening of negotiations on our future ACP-EU relations, after the expiry of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, is fast approaching and negotiations are due to start by September 1, 2018. The outcome of parliamentarians' deliberations will feed into the shaping of our future ACP-EU relations.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 20 June 2018

Photo: EU trade mission led by Brussels-based Trade Affairs Officer of the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission, Roberto Cecutti visited the Kingdom of Lesotho's capital, Maseru, from 14-15 March 2018. Credit: European Union.

Lesotho Looks Forward To Post-Cotonou ACP-EU Agreement

By Ntsoaki Nkoe

MASERU (ACP-IDN) – Lesotho, a landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa, like many other member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group, has benefited from partnership with the European Union (EU) through financial assistance from the European Development Fund (EDF) and trade under preferential conditions, says Finance Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro.

The current ACP-EU partnership agreement adopted in 2000 in Cotonou, Benin, to replace the 1975 Lomé Convention and Georgetown Agreement – expires in February 2020. Work has begun to lay the groundwork for the future partnership between the ACP countries and the EU. The current agreement provides for the opening of negotiations by the end of August 2018 at the latest.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 16 June 2018

Photo: 43rd ACP-EU Council of Ministers Meeting on 31 May 2018 in Lomé. Credit: ACP Press

Why 79 ACP Countries and EU Must Enter Into New Partnership

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | LOMÉ (ACP-IDN) – The Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of 79 States and 28 European Union (EU) members expires on February 29, 2020. Formal negotiations for a successor Agreement should commence by August 2018.

With a view to underpinning preparations and execution of the negotiating process for a successor Agreement, the Council of Ministers of the ACP Group of States adopted on May 30, 2018 in Lomé, Togo, the core principles, a common approach and a policy framework document.

In pursuit of the implementation of the Council’s decisions, the Committee of Ambassadors initiated a number of activities, to guide preparations for the negotiations.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 03 June 2018

Photo: Joint Press Conference with Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva (second from left), and Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith (third from left), flanked by ACP Secretary General Dr. P I Gomes (second from right). Credit: ACP Press.

107 ACP-EU Countries Walk The Talk On Global Governance

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | LOMÉ (ACP | IDN) – African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union will walk the talk on global governance by organising joint activities during United Nations conferences this year, according to co-presidents of the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers.

The Council issued a joint declaration reaffirming its commitment to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to the attainment of the long-term goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

The joint activities ACP and EU have agreed are: the UN high-level political forum (HLPF) on sustainable development in July, the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit in September, and the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 03 June 2018

Photo: British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush shake hands after their press conference in the White House on 12 November 2004. From the start of the War on Terror in 2001, Blair strongly supported Bush's foreign policy, participating in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and 2003 invasion of Iraq. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Why Tony Blair Should Be Prosecuted Over Iraq

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Barack Obama was not a war criminal despite US involvement in wars in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and against ISIS. His predecessor George W. Bush was. Apart from anything else his administration tortured captives. Was the former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, the closest ally of Bush also a war criminal? And should he now be prosecuted and tried for war crimes?

Did Blair lie over the reason for going to war with Iraq – the supposed stockpile of weapons of mass destruction that he alleged Iraq possessed? It depends on how you define lie.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 29 May 2018

Image: Mirjam van Reisen in YouTube on Human Trafficking in the Sinai.

Dutch White Paper on Development Cooperation Beacons a New Discourse of Hope

Viewpoint by Mirjam van Reisen

Prof. Mirjam van Reisen, Ph.D. is member of the Dutch Council on International Affairs and author of Human Trafficking and Trauma in the Digital Era: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Trade in Refugees from Eritrea. She is Professor International Relations, Innovation and Care at Tilburg University and Professor Computing for Society at Leiden Centre for Data Science, at the University of Leiden. She is also the founding director of Europe External Policy Advisors and the Secretary General of Europe External Programme with Africa. – The Editor.

THE HAGUE (IDN) – A refreshing set of directives are offered by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherlands, Sigrid Kaag, in the policy document entitled 'Investing in a Perspective. Good for the World – Good for The Netherlands', approved by the Dutch cabinet on May 18, 2018.

: Mirjam van Reisen; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 20 May 2018

Iran Nuclear Deal Withdrawal 'Misguided', 'Serious Mistake'

By Barack Obama

The following is the text of former President Barack Obama's remarks on his successor Donald Trump's decision on May 8, 2018 to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal. The original appeared on Obama's Facebook https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/10155854913976749 - The Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN-INPS) – There are few issues more important to the security of the United States than the potential spread of nuclear weapons, or the potential for even more destructive war in the Middle East. That’s why the United States negotiated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in the first place.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 08 May 2018

Image: Creative Commons, Unsplash, Anders Wideskott

Parliament Moves To Block UK As Safe Haven For Dirty Money

By Robert Johnson

LONDON (IDN) – An estimated $21 to $32 trillion of private financial wealth is located, untaxed or lightly taxed, in secrecy jurisdictions around the world as the Financial Secrecy Index names tax havens, which play a key role in facilitating the illicit flow of money across borders.

"Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost some $1.26 trillion for developing countries per year; this amount of money could be used to lift those who are living on less than $1.25 a day above $1.25 for at least six years," according to the United Nations which aim to mend this unacceptable situation as part of the Sustainable Development Goal 16.

: Robert Johnson; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 04 May 2018

Photo: Prime Minister Modi with the Queen, the head of the Commonwealth. Credit: CHOGM.

The Buzz About India Planning To Capture The Commonwealth

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Indians who think that we have outdone Britain in all things British – such as the English language, cricket and the Westminster model and that only the Commonwealth remains to be captured – should think again.

Since the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held from April 16-20 in London, interested sections are trying to create a buzz on how the mantle to ‘revive’ the Commonwealth may fall on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declined to lend credence to these reports.