EU Membership for Ukraine

"The Commission recommends that the (EU) Council opens accession negotiations with Ukraine," said the Brussels-based European Commission.

It added the talks should formally be launched once Kyiv satisfied remaining conditions related to stepping up fight against corruption, adopting a law on lobbying in line with EU standards and strengthening national minority safeguards.

The recommendation is an important milestone on Kyiv's road to Western integration and a geo-political gambit for the EU as Ukraine has been fighting against a large-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.  READ MORE...

Germany, European Union, and Twitter

A senior German official said on Thursday Twitter should join other tech firms in being directly monitored by the European Commission, saying the company’s erratic behaviour under new owner Elon Musk posed a threat to free speech.

Sven Giegold, the state secretary in charge of competition policy at Germany’s economy ministry, pointed to Twitter’s abrupt suspension of journalists’ accounts and restrictions on the access to some links.

In a letter to two European Commissioners, Giegold called on the EU to launch an investigation and said the Commission should act to prevent what he called Twitter’s “anti-competitive behaviour”.

Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The European Commission confirmed receiving the letter and said it would reply in due course, adding that it was following the developments at Twitter closely.

“General terms and conditions that change almost every hour, erratic justifications for extensive restrictions on links and the blocking of journalists threaten freedom of competition and pose a risk to freedom of expression, information and the press,” Giegold wrote on Twitter, while sharing his letter.  READ MORE...

What is Sovereignty?

Sovereignty is the bedrock of international relations. The concept lays out basic rules for how countries are allowed to interact with one another. In principle, it means countries get to control what happens inside their borders and can’t interfere in what happens elsewhere. 

This protects countries from being invaded over internal matters.But the concept of sovereignty doesn’t play out perfectly in reality. There are limits to the control a country can exercise over what happens inside its borders. 

In the case of grievous human rights abuses like genocide, many countries argue breaches of sovereignty should be allowed on humanitarian grounds. Meanwhile, dozens of countries around the globe choose to give up a degree of sovereignty to join organizations like the European Union and the World Trade Organization.

Today, as the world grows increasingly interconnected, what constitutes a violation of sovereignty is up for interpretation—and world leaders have to decide how to tackle problems like climate change and terrorism that know no borders.

Global Concerns of Women at Davos - WEF

At the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda Week back in January, some of the world’s highest-profile women leaders shared their thoughts on the biggest challenges facing us today – and how to tackle them.

As these thoughts came before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they don't reflect the new reality of the world's geopolitical challenges and all that they involve. You can read more about this on Agenda.

1. Rebuilding trust
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, “This year, like never before, trust is the most valuable currency when we speak about the state of the world. Trust in science and vaccines can make a difference between life and death. 

Trust among countries can tilt the balance of international affairs towards cooperation instead of conflict. Trust in functioning societies based on the rule of law channels higher levels of long-term private investment, giving these societies an edge over competitors – and this trust is also essential to all of Europe’s main ambitions.”  READ MORE...

EU Sanctions on Russia

 

VIENNA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A package of sanctions prepared by the European Union in case Russia invades Ukraine includes measures targeting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline connecting Russia to Germany, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Monday.

"Certification (of the pipeline) would then be stopped (if Russia invaded). There is no question about that. That therefore means that Nord Stream 2 is part of the sanctions," Nehammer told a news conference.

The pipeline has been built but is not yet operational as it is awaiting German and EU regulatory approval. read more

EU's Green Investment Controversy

Defining nuclear and gas as sustainable has led to calls of greenwashing, threats of legal action from some EU countries and a lot of column inches dedicated to the obscurely titled 'taxonomy' system.

But what is all the fuss about?

On Wednesday, the European Commission is set to sign off on its latest plans for the EU’s taxonomy labelling system, which helps private investors identify which energy investments are sustainable.

The aim is to direct money into sustainable energy sources and help the bloc achieve its ambitious plan of being carbon neutral by 2050.

The current proposal has caused a stir by labelling nuclear and gas as sustainable sources of energy, something that has caused outrage from green activists and organisations.


When the Commission adopts the act, the Parliament and Council will have two months to raise any objections. Failing this, it will enter into force.

A majority of MEPs or 20 out of 27 member states could block the plans, but before that happens the arguments for and against marking the two energy sources as sustainable will have to be laid out.

Nuclear energy
For many, nuclear represents the perfect opportunity to maximise energy output, while minimising carbon emissions. For others, it symbolises just another environmental problem, with a solution to the disposal of radioactive waste yet to be found.

For French MEP Christophe Grudler, there is no other alternative but to include nuclear energy as a sustainable source.

“If we want to meet the Green Deal goals, we have no choice. We have to include nuclear in the taxonomy,” Grudler told Euronews.

“The question is, do we want to meet the Green Deal goals? If we want to do it, we need decarbonised energy, like nuclear. The Commission said we need around 15% of nuclear in the energy mix in 2050 to meet the goal.”

On nuclear waste, the European lawmaker – who is member of French President Emmanuel Macron’s ‘La République En Marche!’ party – says people are working hard to find an answer to the problem.  READ MORE...

Robots Take Jobs

PhonlamaiPhoto | Getty Images


Robots could take over 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world by 2030, economists claimed Wednesday.

According to a new study from Oxford Economics, within the next 11 years there could be 14 million robots put to work in China alone.

Economists analyzed long-term trends around the uptake of automation in the workplace, noting that the number of robots in use worldwide increased threefold over the past two decades to 2.25 million.

While researchers predicted the rise of robots will bring about benefits in terms of productivity and economic growth, they also acknowledged the drawbacks that were expected to arise simultaneously.

“As a result of robotization, tens of millions of jobs will be lost, especially in poorer local economies that rely on lower-skilled workers. This will therefore translate to an increase in income inequality,” the study’s authors said.

However, if robot installations were boosted to 30% more than the baseline forecast by 2030, researchers estimated it would lead to a 5.3% boost in global GDP that year.

“This equates to adding an extra $4.9 trillion per year to the global economy by 2030 (in today’s prices) — equivalent to an economy greater than the projected size of Germany’s,” the report said.

Regional vulnerabilities
According to the report, the number of robots installed in workplaces in the past four years is the same as the number put to work over the eight years previous.

Approximately every third robot in industry is now installed in China, researchers found, with the world’s second-largest economy accounting for around one-in-five of the global stock of robots.

It was predicted that by 2030, more than 1.5 million jobs would have been lost to robots in the United States. In China, that number was expected to exceed 11 million. Across EU member states, almost 2 million people would lose out on employment because of automation, the report said.

When it came to job losses, the most vulnerable states in the U.S. included Texas, Louisiana and Indiana, with Oregon named the most susceptible to the negative effects of automation.

The regions of Chemnitz, Thuringen and Oberfranken were most vulnerable in Germany, while the Midlands and North West of England were Britain’s most vulnerable regions.  READ MORE...




https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/26/robots-could-take-over-20-million-jobs-by-2030-study-claims.html

Malta Legalizes Cannibus

IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS

Image caption,Supporters of the bill celebrated outside Malta's Parliament House on Tuesday

Malta has become the first EU country to legalise the cultivation and personal use of cannabis.

Adults will be allowed to carry up to seven grams of cannabis, and grow no more than four plants at home.

But smoking it in public or in front of children will be illegal.

Several other nations have similar plans, such as Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Countries like the Netherlands tolerate cannabis use in certain circumstances.

Malta's parliament voted in favour of the reform on Tuesday afternoon, with the bill winning 36 votes in favour and 27 against.

Equality Minister, Owen Bonnici, said the "historic" move would stop small-time cannabis users from facing the criminal justice system, and would "curb drug trafficking by making sure that [users] now have a safe and regularised way from where they can obtain cannabis".

However, Malta's opposition Nationalist Party voted against the change.

In October, its leader Bernard Grech - who initially supported the new law - warned it would "only lead to the strengthening of the illegal market, with organised crime taking advantage," according to The Times.  READ MORE...