EU & Europe

[IDN-InDepthNews – 20 January 2020] Photo: The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, addresses the Berlin Conference on Libya alongside the UN Secretary-General António Guterres (r). Credit: Federal Government/Guido Bergmann.

Berlin Conference on Libya Sparks Expectations of an End to Protracted Conflict

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) – A tiny glimmer of hope has emerged for Libya which has been torn by fighting between rival armed factions since the ouster of late ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Participants in a high-level ‘Berlin Conference on Libya’, hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on January 19, gave the go-ahead for the comprehensive ‘Berlin Process’ to put an end to the conflict and bring lasting peace to the oil-rich North African country trapped in clashing interests of Russia and Turkey – and other countries.

Participants agreed to respect the UN arms embargo and truce in the war-ravaged country. They pledged to establish an oversight mechanism to ensure long-term peace and put an end to the “disastrous humanitarian situation faced by thousands of civilians,” as UN Secretary-General António Guterres put it, in the face of conflict growing “deeper and more destructive”.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Middle East & North Africa; 20 January 2020

Photo: Ola Henrikson, IOM’s Regional Director for the EU, has asked Croatia – which assumed the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) – on 1 January 2020, to encourage any discussion on migration policy as a positive contribution of migrants for inclusive growth and sustainable development, including within the EU. Credit: European Union

New Research Pleads for Recognizing Contribution of African Migrants To Sustainable Development

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – A new set of European Commissioners has taken office in Brussels. The main migration focus of the previous cabinet of Commissioners was halting migration – which led to deals with third countries on stopping and returning refugees and migrants. People evacuated from Libya, for example, are brought to Niger and Rwanda, where they are processed before those successfully registered as refugees are taken to Europe – often after long processes filled with uncertainty.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 18 January 2020

Photo: Ukrainian troops in Donbass, March 2015. CC BY 2.0

Breaking the Impasse on Donbass

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The struggle for the Donbass region in the eastern and southern Ukraine goes on, seemingly never endingly. It’s now six years since dissident militias threw off the yoke of the central government in Kiev and declared their de-facto independence.

They were supported by Russian troops which at first president Vladimir Putin denied and then later admitted. It was the Russians who supplied the missile launcher that accidentally shot down a Malaysian airlines passenger jet. Altogether 17,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in this conflict.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 14 January 2020

Photo: A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Albania the morning of 26 November 2019, killing 51 people. Credit: UNDP

Rebuilding Albania After The 6.4 Magnitude Earthquake

By UN Development Programme

TIRANA (IDN-INPS) – A mother of three was found under the rubble hugging her three children. A 24-year-old student’s dream of becoming a dermatologist was cut short.

A family of eight was found under their collapsed four-storey concrete home. The youngest was two. There was only one survivor from that family — a 17- year-old boy, frozen with shock and unable to utter a word.

A 33-year-old had promised her husband, who passed away two years ago, that their daughter would follow his footsteps and become a painter; they both died.

: UN Bureau; THE WORLD; EU & Europe; 08 January 2020

Turbulent Start to a New Decade for Central Europe

Viewpoint by Wojciech Przybylski

In 2020, Central Europe will observe plenty of electoral races and will be exposed to a few important economic and security impulses, writes Wojciech Przybylski, Chairman of the Res Publica Foundation and Editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight where this article was first publisehd.

WARSAW (IDN-INPS) – In February parliamentary elections will be held in Slovakia which will result in fragmentation and instability. The ruling socialist SMER-SD party and its current coalition partners will not be able to form a governing coalition again.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 02 January 2020

The Fate of Indo-British Relations in The Aftermath of BREXIT

Viewpoint by Manish Uprety F.R.A.S. and Jainendra Karn *

NEW DELHI (IDN) – Will Uncle Christmas fulfill Nicola Sturgeon’s wish this year? In the aftermath of the British elections that painted England blue, Nicola presented her formal request for a fresh referendum on Scottish independence and has called for the Scottish parliament to be given permanent powers to hold subsequent referendums on independence from the UK.

A man of his words, Boris Johnson as the incumbent prime minister plans to redeem his pledge on BREXIT when Britain shall leave the European Union (EU) on January 31, 2020, and the Department for Exiting the European Union will be wound up.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 25 December 2019

79-Nation ACP & the EU Call for Implementing the Paris Accord

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS | MADRID (IDN) – The 79-nation African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union, which together make up more than half of the signatories to the Paris Agreement on climate change, have called for increased ambition at global level to close the gap between the commitments made so far and what would be necessary to meet the long-term global temperature goal of the Agreement.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 14 December 2019

Photo: The UN membership considered the 2015 Iran deal to be very fair. The Security Council gave it unanimous support. Indeed, the U.S. is now in breach of international law by opting out. Credit: UN Photo.

European Support for the US Has Backed Iran into a Corner

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The Europeans have not done well in countering President Donald Trump’s onslaught on Iran. When Trump unilaterally decided that the U.S. should withdraw from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, which committed Iran to winding down its nuclear research in return for the West, Russia and China (the latter two were also part of the deal) lifting sanctions which were crippling the Iranian economy, the Europeans huffed and puffed and then did little.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 10 December 2019

Photo: Although the German composer J.S. Bach never visited China in his lifetime, his statue now welcomes visitors entering Shanghai from the city's main railway station. CC BY-SA 3.0

Germany Must Help Shape Faltering Multilateral World Order

Viewpoint by Jiang Feng

Prof Dr Jiang Feng chairs the University Council of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) in China. This article first appeared on International Politics and Society Journal, published by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Brussels office.

SHANGHAI | BRUSSELS (IDN-INPS) – For German government representatives and top politicians visiting China, a quick trip to Shanghai has almost become obligatory. The city’s rapid development provides a wealth of reasons for admiration and astonishment. Germans are often surprised that it’s much more modern than people generally assume and that it offers a very different picture from the one conveyed in the German press.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 07 December 2019

Photo: Germany and UNIDO reinforce partnership through strategic talks. Credit: UNIDO.

Strategic Talks Reinforce UNIDO Partnership with Germany

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) – Germany and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have agreed to strengthen their partnership towards the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). During high-level strategic talks in Berlin, hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on November 26-27, Germany and UNIDO underlined the importance of each other as partners.