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News2020.10.18 11:42

The EU will help the country financially if the Belarusian people win the struggle for the right to choose and live in a state governed by the rule of law. The declaration of support for Belarus was given by the Lawrence Meredith, the head of the Eastern Neighborhood Department at the European Commission.

The EU remains committed to finding a way out of the crisis in Belarus. () EU will provide Belarus with significant economic support in case of victory of the Belarusian people, stated the European politician on October 17.

Under this scenario a new agreement will be signed providing access to financing from the International Monetary Fund and financial assistance from the EU, which Belarus headed by Lukashenka cannot count on.

We are all ready to offer such support as soon as there is a transition to democratic Belarus. Our absolute priority is to support the democratization of Belarus, Meredith said.

At present, a package and system of EU assistance to civil society in Belarus, to young people, to independent media, but not to state structures, is being formed.

Belsat.eu

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After the victory, the European Union will provide Belarus with - Belsat

India and the European Union are natural partners in the quest for environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, and green growth and development, writes Santosh Jha.

Santosh Jha is Ambassador ofIndiato the EU, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

As the world recovers from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, economic and supply chain restructuring, resilience and diversification are clear priorities. Underlying this is the imperative of green growth. Industrial and technological investments we make must be ecologically sustainable and contribute to the battle against global warming.

In this context, Indias sustained adherence to its COP 21 Paris Climate Agreement commitments offers opportunity. India is the first major country attempting industrialisation and large-scale urbanisation while also reducing intensity of dependence on fossil fuels. In Paris in 2015 it promised to reduce the greenhouse gas emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35% (below 2005 levels) by 2030. It also pledged to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to three billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent through added forest and tree cover.

Even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Paris, he had raised the bar for Indias climate ambitions. In 2014 India enhanced its renewable energy target to 175 GW by 2022. Actual achievement is likely to be as high as 225 GW. By 2030 India will be generating 450 GW of renewable energy. By that year India is committed to reaching 40% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources. In reality, this will easily cross 50%.

India is in the midst of an afforestation programme of unusual magnitude. As per the India State of the Forest Report: 2019, the area under forest and tree cover went up by over 16,000 square km in the previous five years. To put that figure in context, it is equivalent to more than half the territory of Belgium. Few countries have shown such consistent gains in expanding forest cover. When the ongoing programme is completed, India would have planted 1.25 billion additional trees, especially alongside national highways that are under construction or expansion.

A green, climate-friendly emphasis has been a feature of several of the Modi governments flagship developmental initiatives. These range from Namami Gange, the cleaning and basin-wide rejuvenation of the river Ganga, to the Jal Jeevan Mission, aimed at universalising drinking water access and linking this to the conservation as well as efficient and sustainable use of water sources. By 2021 India would have abolished single-use plastics.

Our country has also undertaken the worlds largest programme of switching to energy-saving LED bulbs. Through a mix of direct interventions and subsidies, the government has replaced close to 370 million conventional bulbs with LED bulbs. This has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 39 million tonnes a year.

From 1 April 2020, all cars sold in India conform to Bharat Stage VI (the equivalent of Euro VI) fuel standards. Notwithstanding the formidable logistics, India leapfrogged from Euro IV to Euro VI fuel standards in a determined, once-in-a-generation attempt to address automobile pollution. In parallel, electrical vehicle adoption is being incentivised with tax concessions and ramping up charging infrastructure.

India is hoping to become the first big world power where all cars on its roads are electric, as part of its efforts to combat severe atmospheric pollution. 1.8 million deaths are caused by it every year on the subcontinent. EURACTIVs partner Italia Oggi reports.

Indias domestic emphasis has been mirrored by its external efforts. The Modi government is among the strongest international advocates of renewable energy. Co-founded by India and France, the International Solar Alliance held its inaugural conference in New Delhi in 2018. The Alliance has expanded to some 90 countries, including small island nations and those in the Global South that are vulnerable to climate change. It is working to facilitate finance and technology that expands use of affordable solar power. Such an approach flows from a conviction that climate change is a global challenge that calls for global response and collaboration.

Indias delivery on its Paris pledges has been recognised. A September 2019 Climate Change Report released by National Geographic in association with Climate Action Tracker rated the country as Top of the Class and a global leader in renewable energy. The report noted Indias stiff targets for renewables and acknowledged progress has been so rapid India could reach these earlier than previously predicted.

The Germanwatch Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) 2020 report arrived at similar conclusions. It categorised India as one of only two G20 countries with a high performance, and commended it on benchmarks such as tackling greenhouse gas emissions, climate policy, energy use, and renewables. Both reports acknowledged Indias per capita emissions remain much lower than the global average, let alone emissions of developed nations.

India and the European Union are natural partners in the quest for environmental sustainability, climate change mitigation, and green growth and development. Our common hopes and endeavours could define our partnership in the post-coronavirus era.

Continued flexibility in supporting Indias green strategy will help it go even further. This requires a careful mix of targets where feasible (such as for renewable energy) and incentivising sustainable business practices and clean energy preferences. Stronger outcomes in India would benefit from long-term finance and green-sector investments from Europe, as well as liberal technology sharing protocols. Our planet will reap the dividend.

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India and the EU are natural partners for the green economy - EURACTIV

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has criticized the European Unions lack of mechanisms and leadership to advance with enlargement in the Balkans. During an economic forum in Germany on Sunday, Rama took the chance to suggest possible ways to reform the decision-making framework, and improve the overall situation within the European Union.

He started by pointing out that powerful European leaders are driven by social media and newspapers in their policies and decisions, which, according to him, are not the source where to find strength to project yourself to the future.

Rama went on to blame smaller nations for vetoing the EU enlargement. Rama metaphorically compared the current situation within the EU with a household where nephews veto grandfathers decisions. Without changes to the decision-making framework before the six Western Balkan countries are admitted, the European Union will continue not to function properly, he assessed.

He urged European leaders to rise to the task, show leadership, sit in talks, get rid of the veto, and find the best way forward. If the big powers in Europe sit down to find ways to adjust the mechanism and its not just the veto but its also about leadership, Rama argued.

His focus then diverted on Europeans alleged prejudice about the so-called Albanian crime, which has often resulted as one of the main reasons for Albanias lack of EU progress in the last six years, since it was granted candidate status in 2014.

Rama recalled the Europeans fears when other Easter European countries became part of the union. Newspapers wrote that murder rates will increase because of Bulgarians, European storks will be eaten by Romanians, etc., he recalled, adding that every country approaching membership will be faced with prejudice.

However, Rama denied the existence of Albanian crime, arguing that organized crime is international in nature. He maintained that Albanian criminals have created their own European Union within the international organized crime. Their European Union that is much more efficient, flexible, with no veto, no annual budget plan, no targets, no negotiations, Rama explained.

Expressing astonishment to the EUs lack of exchange of information between countries, Rama implied that the union has a lot to learn from international organized crime. He said that the EU is unable to exchange intelligence between agencies, and this hampers the fight against terrorism. However, he argued, criminals do not face such a problem in their own union, where information is exchanged rapidly.

The Albanian leader then related the topic to The Netherlands, one of the most vocal countries in pointing at Albanian crime when vetoing Albanias advancement in the EU path.

Albanians in The Netherland have become the worst thing you can think about, Rama said, adding that Its good for politics but its not true.

He criticized the Dutch media for running headlines that single out the Albanian nationality of particular criminals, despite them being arrested in a group of several nationalities. He gave the example of the alleged newspaper headline Another Albanian gang dissolved, explaining that two 65-years-old Albanian men were arrested alongside 7 other Dutch, Belgian, Polish and Moroccan criminals. Yet, the Albanian old men, who were allegedly guarding the building where drugs were being cultivated, were singled out by the newspaper.

Rama didnt spare French President Emmanuel Macron from criticism, blaming his alleged insincere politics toward Albanias EU integration process.

He reiterated how Macron had told him that opening EU talks with Albania would be difficult for the French government due to the rise of the French right, Marie le Pen, European Parliament elections, etc. Rama said he had asked Macron to say this in public, so that Ramas government wouldnt be blamed for failing in its EU policies, but Macron practically refused.

Finally, Rama concluded his speech with another metaphor to illustrate Albanias and his governments situation regarding the start in practice of EU accession talks.

Albanians are blindly in love with Europe a love that they never question, he said. They are promised marriage but are simultaneously kept away. How can we marry if we dont talk? Rama wondered rhetorically.

He explained that Albanias accession to the EU is a different story, but starting accession talks is very important for the country to strengthen its democracy.

The prime minister invited everyone to visit Albania, the safest country in Europe for foreigners.

Fjal kye: Edi Rama, Emmanuel Macron, Germany, opening accession negotiations with Albania

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Albanian Prime Minister Lectures European Leaders on Reforming, Enlarging the Union - Exit - Explain Albania

BRUSSELS -- The European Union and Britain imposed sanctions Thursday on six Russians, some among the highest-ranked officials in the nation, and a state research institute over the nerve-agent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The move occurred a day after Russia's foreign minister threatened the 27-nation EU with retaliatory action. The sanctions had been agreed on by EU foreign ministers on Monday, without names given.

"Russia is our neighbor and shares this continent with us, but we will not give up our principles and convictions when it comes to chemical weapons," French President Emmanuel Marcon told reporters at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels. He said the bloc must continue "a transparent but demanding dialogue" with Moscow.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Germany, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, said that "only with a clear position and by sticking to principles can we as the European Union make progress with respect to Russia."

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Those hit by the sanctions, which consist of an asset freeze and travel bans in Europe, include Alexander Bortnikov, the chief of Russia's Federal Security Service, the top KGB successor agency that is in charge of domestic security, and Sergei Kiriyenko, President Vladimir Putin's deputy chief of staff.

The State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology also was targeted. The EU said that institute, which was responsible for destroying Soviet-era chemical weapon, was years ago involved in the development and production of chemical weapons, including the nerve agent novichok allegedly used to poison Navalny.

The U.K. said it also would apply the EU sanctions and will continue them once it leaves a post-Brexit transition period at the end of the year.

"Any use of chemical weapons by the Russian state violates international law. We are determined to hold those responsible to account," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.

Navalny, an anti-corruption investigator who is Putin's most visible political opponent, fell ill on Aug. 20 during a domestic flight in Russia. He was flown to Germany for treatment two days later and is still recovering there.

Last week, tests conducted at labs designated by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed that Navalny was poisoned by a novichok nerve agent. They confirmed results found earlier in labs in Germany and elsewhere.

Russian officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in the poisoning and Russian doctors who first examined Navalny have said they found no signs of a poisoning.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the move "a deliberate unfriendly step towards Russia" and said that the EU "inflicted damage" on the bloc's relations with Russia.

"Moscow will analyze the situation and will act in accordance with its own interests," Peskov said, adding that "no logic can be seen in such a decision" by the EU.

EU foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose the sanctions to combat the use and spread of chemical weapons, after a push by France and Germany. The legal procedures were completed Thursday.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the EU had acted "with exceptional speed, in keeping with the seriousness of this act and the methods used."

"This demonstrates a European Union that acts in the face of the new, unacceptable and destabilizing use of a chemical weapon," he said at a meeting in Paris.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has suggested that Moscow might retaliate and even sever ties over the Navalny dispute. "The Germans are not planning to provide any facts, despite all international and legal obligations. We respond in kind. This is diplomatic practice," he said Wednesday.

Information for this article was contributed by Daria Litvinova, Geir Moulson and Jill Lawless of The Associated Press.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, speaks with French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a round table meeting at an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. European Union leaders are meeting in person for a two-day summit amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic to discuss topics ranging from Brexit to climate and relations with Africa. (Yves Herman, Pool via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a media conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Luxembourg, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. European Union foreign ministers were weighing Monday whether to impose sanctions on Russian officials and organizations blamed for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-era nerve agent. (Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, Pool via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell rings a bell to signal the start of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers at the European Council building in Luxembourg, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. European Union foreign ministers were weighing Monday whether to impose sanctions on Russian officials and organizations blamed for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-era nerve agent. (Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. European Union leaders are meeting in person for a two-day summit amid the worsening coronavirus pandemic to discuss topics ranging from Brexit to climate and relations with Africa. (Olivier Hoslet, Pool via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a media conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Luxembourg, Monday, Oct. 12, 2020. European Union foreign ministers were weighing Monday whether to impose sanctions on Russian officials and organizations blamed for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-era nerve agent. (Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, Pool via AP)

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EU, Britain sanction 6 Russians - Arkansas Online

The chart shows the comparison between Clinton and Biden ahead of their respective elections.

Biden has opened up a wide polling lead but we're 22 days away from the election and it's notable that this was the exact time last cycle that Clinton peaked. Her support faded over the final three weeks of the campaign and Trump won narrow victories in Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan to take the Presidency.

Will history repeat itself? As Trump gets back on the campaign trail after coronavirus, it's worth contemplating but there are two big differences: 1) Clinton never reached this much total support. Biden is at almost 52% while Clinton never hit 50%. 2) There are fewer voters who say they are undecided; leaving less room for a swing.

In 2016, almost all presidential election polls pointed to a Hillary Clinton victory over Donald Trump. The IBD/TIPP Poll was one of only two election polls credited with predicting President Trump's 2016 victory. TIPP, IBD's polling partner, succeeded in picking up on the greater enthusiasm among Republicans for their candidate.

Yet the latest IBD/TIPP Trump vs. Biden poll has a few stark contrasts with the Trump vs. Clinton race. Most obviously, a majority of likely voters back Biden (51.9%). Yet Clinton's support topped out around 45% in IBD/TIPP presidential election polls in the final weeks of the 2016 race.

Further, Biden's 9-point lead among independents in the latest IBD/TIPP 2020 election poll is a big turnaround from 2016. Trump carried independents 43%-42% in 2016, according to a postelection Pew Research survey of verified voters.

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Hillary Clinton's support peaked at this point in the last election cycle - ForexLive