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Sadly, The European Union's $122 Million Facebook Fine Seems Justified - Forbes

European Union foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday announced Emanuele Giaufret as the organizations new choice for ambassador to Israel.

Giaufret, who was posted in Israel in the past, currently serves as head of the Division for Democracy and Electoral Observation within the EUs external action branch.

An Italian diplomat, Giaufret is to replace Lars Faaborg-Andersen, whose term ends in the summer.

Previously, Giaufret served at the European Commission Delegation to the UN in New York as counselor in charge of human rights and social affairs. Before that, he headed the Political and Trade Section at the EU embassy in Tel Aviv.

The EU ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, in his Ramat Gan office, September 21, 2015 (Raphael Ahren/Times of Israel)

Giaufret holds a PhD in the history of international relations from the University of Florence.

Faaborg-Andersen, a Danish diplomat, has represented the union in Israel since 2013.

The EU is by far Israels largest trading partner. But political relations have been frosty in recent years, with Israeli officials accusing the union of a pro-Palestinian bias and an obsession with the Middle East peace process. Jerusalem was especially livid over the EUs 2015 decision to enforce a special labeling system for Israeli goods produced outside the 1967 lines.

On Wednesday, Carlos Moedas, the EU high commissioner for research, science and innovation, visited Israel, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials to discuss Israels participation in Horizon 2020, a European research and innovation funding program.

EU-Israel cooperation in technology and innovation has never been stronger, Faaborg-Andersen said. Israel benefits greatly from the Horizon 2020 program, not only the researchers, companies and universities which participate, but also Israeli people from the products and services which they develop and design using this funding. This is the real backbone of the start-up nation.

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European Union names new ambassador to Israel - The Times of Israel

By Robin Emmott | BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS EU states aim to pool public money into a fund to help pay for joint military projects, a senior EU official said on Thursday, in potentially one of the most significant steps to underpin an emerging European defense union.

The fund would form part of Franco-German efforts to develop a more integrated European defense to respond to threats on Europe's borders, as security becomes a unifying issue for the European Union after Britain's decision to leave the bloc.

Nineteen countries including France, Germany, Italy and Spain will start talks next month on the so-called Cooperative Financial Mechanism, or CFM, which could be running sometime next year, said the official, who briefed EU defense ministers gathered in Brussels on Thursday.

Britain had long blocked EU defense integration, fearing the development of an EU army.

The fund, whose monies would be owned by national governments, would be the third part of a financing plan involving a proposed research facility led by the European Commission, the EU executive, and money from the EU's common budget for defense.

The amount of money in the fund has yet to be set and contributions would be voluntary, the official said, but it would allow countries to borrow from it as long as they repaid at a later date. The Commission could also pay into the fund.

"This is about liquidity. Too often, projects cannot get off the ground or are delayed because countries don't have the money available," the official said. "This would ring-fence funds especially for defense."

The steps, if agreed, would mark the biggest EU defense funding and research plan in more than a decade to reverse billions in cuts and send a message to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that Europe wants to pay for its own security.

EU defense ministers on Thursday discussed the wider defense plan that EU leaders will discuss in June to deploy Europe's troops to crisis areas or as peace-keepers abroad.

Proponents of the plan hope that new French President Emmanuel Macron's strong European support will end the isolated way in which EU militaries work and avoid any duplication with the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Defense research spending by EU governments has fallen by a third since 2006, leaving the EU reliant on the United States for advanced fighting equipment.

Trump, who will meet EU leaders next week at a NATO summit in Brussels, unnerved European allies during his election campaign by questioning whether the United States should protect those who spend too little on their defense.

Separately, the European Commission will propose in early June up to 400 million euros ($444 million) from the bloc's joint budget until 2020 to develop new European military equipment and weapons, a second senior EU official said.

A pilot plan is set to get under way this year and the Commission could potentially allocate 3.5 billion euros from the budget between 2021 and 2027.

The official said at least three EU states would have to propose a project together to apply for money from the EU budget, with one potential candidate being a European drone.

"This is the first time in the 60 years of EU history we are allocating common funds to defense," the official said.

(Additional reporting by Gabriela Baczynska)

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia A new ferry between isolated North Korea and Russia docked for the first time at the Pacific port of Vladivostok on Thursday, in spite of U.S. calls for countries to curtail relations with Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.

DUBAI Iranians vote on Friday in a bitter presidential contest between pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani and hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi that could determine the pace of economic and social reform and Iran's re-engagement with the world.

WASHINGTON The Trump administration plans to impose new sanctions soon on at least half a dozen Venezuelan officials for alleged human rights violations amid U.S. concern over the Venezuelan government's crackdown on unrest, congressional aides said on Thursday.

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As Britain steps aside, EU states to negotiate joint defense fund - Reuters

May 17, 2017; Reuters

European leaders are finally pushing back against Hungarys crackdown on civil society as the European Union (EU) parliament condemned the countrys serious deterioration of rule of law and democracy yesterday in an official resolution.

Its unlikely that the process will result in the suspension of Hungarys voting rights in the European Council, but the action sends a signal to Hungarys increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbn.

As NPQ reported last month, Orbn has been creating and riding a wave of nationalist, anti-refugee sentiment to consolidate power since 2010. Legislation passed by the right-wing Fidesz government as part of their self-proclaimed spring offensive puts the popular George Soros-funded Central European University at risk with tighter regulations.

Thousands of young people protested the new law targeting foreign universities, which was seen as an authoritarian attack on academic freedom, and many called for the EU to respond. Orbns political party saw a sharp drop in voter support following the widespread protests, according to Politico.

According to a press release from the European Parliament, (MEPs) [Members of the European Parliament] say that Hungarys current fundamental rights situation justifies launching the formal procedure to determine whether there is a clear risk of a serious breach of EU values by a Member State.

The resolution calls for:

Article 7 of the EU Treaty allows the member governments to ask a member state to correct a breach of EU values, according to Reuters. If that recommendation is ignored, the other 27 states can decide to suspend its voting rights. However, the vote must be unanimous, and the right-wing government in Poland, which is currently under the EUs rule of law monitoring procedure over its own actions, would be expected to veto any action against Hungary.

Further, Poland has yet to have its voting rights revoked despite being monitored for more than a year. Earlier this year, human rights watchdogs called for the EU Commission to launch the third and final state of the rule of law procedure under Article 7.

The same advocates hailed yesterdays EU vote as a step in the right direction:

Today the European Parliament marked out a clear red line on the protection of rights, which European governments simply cannot cross, Amnesty International said in a press release.

The Hungarian government must hear this loud and clear and bring itself back into line with EU founding principles, and refrain itself from adopting new laws attempting to silence civil society, including the draft Law on the transparency of organizations funded from abroad.

NPQ has reported widely on crackdowns on NGOs with foreign funding in countries like India, Turkey, and many others. And, a recent article in The Conversation makes the case that these happenings are actually part of a documented trend:

Targeting funding is becoming an increasingly widely usedtactic to restrict civil society. The International Centre for Non-Profit Law found that 36 percent of restrictive civil society lawsenacted globally between 2012 and 2015targeted international funding.

A UN Human Rights Council Resolution adopted in 2016 had alreadyexpressed concernsabout the trend in funding restrictions. Thomas Carothers of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, an expert in the field, describes the attacks on foreignfunding as usually being theleading edge of wider crackdowns on civil society.

While is heartening to see the EU to step up in support of civil society, its a very long road ahead for Hungary to receive any sanctions of consequence.Anna Berry

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European Union Puts Hungary On Notice for Civil Society Crackdown - The Nonprofit Quarterly (registration)

MANILA-European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) President Guenter Taus said the decision of the Duterte administration to stop taking aid from the European Union has "astonished" them since such grants were usually "unconditional."

"We are taken by surprise/astonished by the recent news regarding the Philippines' refusal to accept further EU grants Usually grants by the EU (worldwide) are unconditional and are given in support for various (mostly humanitarian) purposes," he said in a statement Thursday.

Taus said most of the bloc's grant "was earmarked for developing Mindanao, i.e. peace process, green power solutions etc."

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Thursday clarified Philippines was only rejecting EU aid that comes with conditions that may interfere with the countrys internal affairs.

Humanitarian aid which are usually given unconditionally would still be accepted by the Philippines and that existing grants will continue to be implemented until otherwise reviewed by the government, Abella said.

Taus said there may be confusion with the grant schemes and noted that they usually provide clear guidelines.

"Perhaps there may be some confusion/mix ups here with the GSP+ (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) and/or FTA (Free Trade Agreement) Schemes. Both do usually come with clear guidelines and conditions attached, which are always mutually agreed upon and accepted upon signing of these treaties," he said.

"In this particular case, GSP+, an agreement that covers 6300 items for tax and duty free import into all EU countries did have some mutually agreed upon conditions attached to it, while for the FTA it is premature to speculate as it is an agreement still under negotiation," he added.

Taus explained that "In the absence of fully understanding the underlying reasons for the refusal it has to be said that the grant is really designated to further improvements nationwide and to help alleviate poverty as well as establishing peace and order."

He also emphasized the need to ensure peace and order in the country for the business community.

"As far as the business community is concerned, it has been pointed out by most (if not all) business sectors, that peace and order is an essential and integral part of doing business and attracting investments, no matter where these come from. Hence grants help to expedite this very cause," he said.

"While usually grants are not affecting businesses, it must be said that they do greatly contribute to creating desirable conditions for businesses to thrive and spur inclusive growth as it creates much needed jobs and grants come free of charge and conditions," he added.

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ECCP 'astonished' by PH refusal of aid from European Union - ABS-CBN News