EU & Europe

Image: A 1791 British caricature of an attempted mediation between Catherine (on the right, supported by Austria and France) and Turkey. Source: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZC4-6756.

Ample Reasons Why the West’s Break with Russia Must End

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – It’s time overdue for the West to make up with Russia. The contretemps over Ukraine, now played out over five years, is too long. As the world goes it doesn’t deserve so much attention. Ukraine in land mass may be a big country but its population is only 44 million and its national income per head a quarter of Russia’s.

The Ukrainian puppy’s tail has been wagging the West’s dog. It’s part of the West’s human rights commitment to stand up for the little man, but the Ukraine government’s behaviour at the time of its great upheavals didn’t deserve the large amount of support it was given.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 22 October 2019

Photo: 70 percent of the population in Africa are smallholder farmers. Credit: Crop Science Bayer.

Smallholder Farmers in Africa Get Lifeline from EU

By Jeffrey Moyo

MUREHWA, Zimbabwe (IDN) – Year after year since 2015, 56-year old Hapias Zindove has delivered hundreds of tonnes of soya beans to Zimbabwe’s Grain Marketing Board (GMB). With proceeds from soya beans, he – the father of seven children – has managed to send four of them to universities.

“I have risen from being a mere hands-to-mouth farmer to a big supplier of soya beans even to the GMB and big supermarkets in the country,” Zindove tells IDN in a ‘rugs-to-riches story’, as he rides on success in his farming endeavors.

: Jeffrey Moyo; THE WORLD; Africa; 19 October 2019

Photo: German, French, and Spanish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria call for people to join the Kurdish-Turkish conflict in Turkey. CC BY 3.0

The EU Pulled the Rug from Under the Kurds

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – Insurgencies may not die, but at least, like old soldiers, they usually fade away. Well, that seemed to be the case with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PKK. For the best part of five years between 2000 and 2005 there was a truce in Turkey’s bitter and savage civil war. But it did not last.

The Kurdish “problem” goes back to the Ottoman Empire. The rugged mountains where Turkey, Iraq and Iran meet have been called Kurdistan since the early 13th century, and the Kurds’ roots can be traced back at least 2,000 years. Most of the world’s 20m Kurds live in the region, although well over a million have emigrated to Istanbul, Baghdad, Tehran and Beirut, often assimilating well with the local people.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 15 October 2019

Photo: Russian Tupolev Tu-154M spy plane. CC BY 4.0

Experts Alarmed at Reports U.S. May Exit Open Skies Treaty

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN)— Yet another key arms control treaty – the 1992 Open Skies Treaty – is apparently on the verge of being abandoned by the U.S. and leading arms control and national security experts are warning that If President Donald Trump decides to unilaterally pull the U.S. out of the treaty, it would undermine the security and stability of the United States and European allies, including Ukraine.

: Santo D. Banerjee; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 10 October 2019

Photo: Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa addressing a full house in the Kirsch Auditorium at the Stata Center, which included many students in the MIT Portugal Program. Credit: Allegra Boverman | MIT News.

Portugal an Oasis of Social Democracy

Viewpoint by Reinhard Naumann

LISBON (IDN-INPS) – Until recently, polls indicated a clear victory for the Socialist Party (PS) in parliamentary elections in Portugal on October 6. Even the absolute majority seemed within reach for the PS under the leadership of current Prime Minister António Costa.

At the same time, the liberal-conservative parties, the PSD and CDS, were heading for historic lows. They had to fear that their total share of votes would fall below the 30 per cent mark and, in this way, lose their blocking minority against constitutional amendments by the left. A horror scenario for the conservative camp.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 04 October 2019

The Climate Crisis Cannot Be Solved by Capitalism

To Fulfil the Paris Agreement, Germany’s Climate Policies Need to Look Beyond Market-Based Strategies

Viewpoint by Kai Niebert*

ZURICH (IDN-INPS) – It’s time to get tough – that’s how Chancellor Angela Merkel set the tone for Germany’s climate policies in 2019. But the question remains: will the federal government manage to reduce emissions in line with its international obligations and help to end the climate crisis?

Warnings from government figures are coming thick and fast: Merkel calls the climate crisis a ‘challenge to humanity’, Vice-chancellor Olaf Scholz calls for ‘forceful steps’, and the Bavarian MP and environmental convert Markus Söder describes inadequate climate protection as ‘a sin’.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 01 October 2019

Collage with images from SDGs, ACP and EU websites. Credit: INPS-IDN.

ACP, EU Point to Crucial Linkages Between Sustainable Development and Climate Action

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than half of the UN members have issued a joint declaration in support of the 2030 Agenda, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) endorsed by the international community in September 2015, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change adopted three months later.

The joint declaration by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU) carries significant weight in terms of demonstrating a commitment to Agenda 2030 by countries which together account for over 1.5 billion people, one-fifth of the global population.

: J Nastranis; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 25 September 2019

Photo: Screenshot of joint ACP-EU press conference on 23 September at the UN. From left to right: Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica; Neven Mimica, European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development; Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Gambia; Patrick I. Gomes, Secretary General of the ACP Group of States. Source: UN Web TV

EU Joins 79 ACP States in Calling for ‘Bold Decisions’ to Achieve SDGs

By J. Tuyet Nguyen

NEW YORK (IDN) – Governments from Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and the European Union issued on September 24 a joint declaration calling for “bold decisions” to implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate change agreements, saying that the two programs are closely linked.

“Recognizing that the linkages between sustainable development and climate action, we reiterate our strong commitment to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change fully and effectively,” the groups said in a Joint Declaration issued in New York.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 24 September 2019

Cities Decide to Wage Battle Against Climate Change

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said that climate change is “the battle of my life”. The fact is that it’s a battle we are all fighting. The battle is taking place particularly in cities. The very basis of urban life is threatened: by rising sea levels, extreme temperatures, floods, droughts and storms. These are ravaging people’s homes, destroying infrastructure and jeopardizing vital access to basic services such as clean water and sewage.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 21 September 2019

Photo: A press conference was held at the conclusion of the 6th Meeting of ACP Ministers in charge of Fisheries and Aquaculture on 13 September to highlight the ACP Secretariat contribution to its members. Source: Samoa Observer | Vaitogi Asuisui Matafeo.

ACP Mobilises USD12 Billion in Resources for Members

By PACNEWS | Samoa Observer

APIA (ACP-IDN) – The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States has mobilised more than 4 billion Euros ($12 billion tala, the currency of Samoa) for projects in ACP countries, including Samoa over the past six years, according to its Assistant Secretary-General, Viwanou Gnassounou.

“We have projects in every area including private sector developments, climate change, trade, natural disasters monitoring, prevention,” Gnassounou said in an interview with the Samoa Observer.