Archive for the ‘European Union’ Category

UN urges Europe to start major migrant rescue mission in Mediterranean

GENEVA: The European Union (EU) must establish a full-scale search-and-rescue operation to avoid more tragedies involving migrants in the Mediterranean, the United Nations' chief refugee official said on Thursday.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres was speaking after more than 300 people died trying to cross the sea from Africa to Italy this week, adding pressure on Europe to expand a border operation that lacks a clear mandate to save lives.

"There can be no doubt left after this week's events that Europe's Operation Triton is a woefully inadequatereplacement for Italy's Mare Nostrum," Guterres said in a statement.

The Italian operation was abandoned after criticism that its aggressive search-and-rescue patrols encouraged migrants. Triton is more focused on protecting borders.

"The focus has to be about saving lives. We need a robust search-and-rescue operation in the Central Mediterranean, not only a border patrol," he said.

Migrants and asylum-seekers from Syria and sub-Saharan Africa have been crossing the Mediterranean, often departing from Libya, aboard rubber dinghies in severe winter conditions, marking a deadly early start to the migration season, aid agencies say.

If Europe does not implement a wider operation "it is inevitable that many more people will die trying to reach safety in Europe," Guterres said.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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UN urges Europe to start major migrant rescue mission in Mediterranean

France: ‘Dogmatic EU, democratic Syriza’ – Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias – Video


France: #39;Dogmatic EU, democratic Syriza #39; - Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias
Pablo Iglesias, leader of Spanish party Podemos defended Syriza and attacked the European Union (EU) elite at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday. -----------------------------------...

By: RuptlyTV

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France: 'Dogmatic EU, democratic Syriza' - Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias - Video

Dateline Abuja: EU Observer Analyses Nigeria’s Preparation For 2015 Polls PT1 – Video


Dateline Abuja: EU Observer Analyses Nigeria #39;s Preparation For 2015 Polls PT1
The Deputy Chief Observer of the European Union Election Mission in Nigeria, Hannah Roberts, joins us on Dateline Abuja. For more information log on to http://www.channelstv.com.

By: Channels Television

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Dateline Abuja: EU Observer Analyses Nigeria's Preparation For 2015 Polls PT1 - Video

Europe to Sanction Israel for Settlements in Palestine – Video


Europe to Sanction Israel for Settlements in Palestine
Europe to Sanction Israel for Settlements in Palestine As Sweden promotes the statehood of Palestine, EU considering #39;sanctions #39; against Israel over settlements The European Union has set itself...

By: Laurena Lon

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Europe to Sanction Israel for Settlements in Palestine - Video

Linguistic minorities launch European roadmap for diversity

The European Union's minority languages, such as Welsh, Frisian or Basque, should be accorded equal status with the official languages, according to a linguistic diversity road map presented in Brussels last week. EurActiv Spain reports.

Patxi Baztarrika, the Basque government's Vice-Councillor for linguistic policy, presented his European Roadmap for Linguistic Diversity in Brussels on 5 February.

He hopes to put up a protective ring-fence around the languages spoken by millions of people across the EU, but which have still only achieved "minority" status.

In his proposal to the European Parliament, the Basque politician said "European citizens have linguistic rights that must be protected".

"It is the duty of the European Institutions to protect and apply these rights. This roadmap will give concrete substance to article 22 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states that the EU must respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity," he explained.

Inalienable right

"This is an inalienable right for all member states," Patxi Baztarrika added. He stressed that languages "mistakenly" assigned minority status "are the native languages of millions of Europeans". Baztarrika urged the EU to "reaffirm and update" its commitment to preserve linguistic diversity, which "should not end with state languages".

>> Read: France one step closer to ratifying regional languages charter

"In a European context, where the states have autonomous regions, establishing a hierarchy between official languages is not a very inclusive approach," he said.

The Basque Vice-Councillor also urged the European Commission, a pioneer in multiculturalism and linguistic policy, to help strengthen the position of minority languages "like Catalan, Galician, Welsh, Frisian or Basque".

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Linguistic minorities launch European roadmap for diversity