Die EU-Kommission macht im Konflikt um die polnische Justizreform erst. Sollte sie tatsächlich umgesetzt werden, droht Stimmrechtsentzug.
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Jüri Luik, the Estonian Defence Minister, was welcomed today (26 July) by EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq at the Agency’s premises for a fruitful exchange of views which focused on Estonia’s participation in EDA projects and programmes, cyber defence, the conclusions of the recent Long Term Review of the Agency as well as the implementation of the security and defence aspects of the EU Global Strategy.
In that context, topics such as the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), PESCO and the ongoing work on the setting up of the European Defence Fund were also discussed. Minister Luik was furthermore briefed by EDA management and staff about the state of play in EDA’s Cyber Programme as well as on the implementation of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR).
Minister Luik and Chief Executive Domecq also discussed the preparations for CYBRID 2017, a strategic level table-top cyber exercise which Estonia, as the current holder of the EU Presidency, and the EDA will co-organize on 7 September, in the margins of the informal Defence Ministers meeting in Tallinn. The scope of the exercise will be crisis response in the context of a major cyber campaign against the EU military structures in a hybrid warfare context.
I have a new article up on War on the Rocks. Here’s a preview.
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The Russian Navy is keen on showy demonstrations of strength. Just in the last week, it has begun an exercise with the Chinese navy in the Baltic Sea and sent its largest warship, the Peter the Great nuclear cruiser, and the world’s largest submarine, the Dmitry Donskoi, from the Northern Fleet to the Baltic to participate in the Navy Day parade on July 30. In another act primarily significant for its symbolism, Vladimir Putin approved a new Russian naval doctrine last week. Taken at face value, the doctrine appears to promote a vision of a revived Russian Navy that can maintain its superiority over up and comers like China’s navy, and even pose a serious threat to the U.S. Navy in certain environments. The reality is, as with most such documents, the gap between aspiration and feasible plans remains quite large. Since no English translation of the document is currently available, it may be useful to briefly summarize some key portions of the 22-page text, put the doctrine’s aims into context, and show where the gaps between dream and reality can be found.
What Does It Say?
The doctrine highlights many of the usual threats and dangers to Russia. First on the list of dangers is the “ambition of a range of states, and foremost the United States of America and its allies, to dominate the high seas, including in the Arctic, and to press for overwhelming superiority of their naval forces.” Other threats include territorial claims on maritime and coastal zones, efforts to limit Russian access to maritime resources, and attempts to weaken Russian control over the Northern Sea Route. Only three potential specific threats to Russia are listed in the document. The first is a sudden decline in the political-military situation leading to the use of military force in maritime areas holding strategic interest for Russia. The second is the deployment of strategic non-nuclear precision weapons and ballistic missile defenses in territories and maritime zones adjacent to Russia. And the third is the use of military force by other states in ways that threaten Russian national interests. In addition to the Arctic, the doctrine highlights the importance of protecting access to energy resources in the Middle East and Caspian Sea, and expresses concern about the negative impact of regional conflicts in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa on international security. It also notes the danger posed by the growth of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The strengthening of the Black Sea Fleet and Russian forces in Crimea, as well as the maintenance of a constant naval presence in the Mediterranean, are singled out as the most critical geographic priorities for the Russian Navy’s future development.
<The rest of the article may be found here>
Auch Ungarn und die Slowakei müssen sich nach Ansicht des Generalanwalts am Europäischen Gerichtshof (EuGH) an der Verteilung von Flüchtlingen in der EU beteiligen.
The post EuGH-Anwalt: Auch Ungarn und Slowakei müssen Flüchtlinge aufnehmen appeared first on EURACTIV.de.
Photo Credit: Hindu Struggle Committee
In an exclusive interview, Shipan Kumer Basu, the head of the Hindu Struggle Committee, described the ascent of ISIS in Bangladesh and how it poses a threat to the Hindu community.
Shipan Kumer Basu, the head of the Hindu Struggle Committee, stated in an exclusive interview that ISIS is on the ascent in Bangladesh and he blames the Bangladeshi government for this reality: “Many of the people who have gone to fight the Coalition Forces have returned. How many of them have been arrested by Sheikh Hasina’s government? Only a handful. These people are nurtured, protected and backed by Sheikh Hasina. They are used to spread terror and fear among the minorities.”
According to Basu, Sheikh Majubur Rehman, the father of Sheikh Hasina, always despised the minorities and Sheikh Hasina has vowed to follow in her father’s footsteps when she came into power: “So, her policy is to make Bangladesh free of the minorities. She has used ISIS in a very veiled and clandestine way. Although the US has time and again pointed out ISIS’s presence in Bangladesh, the government denies it. Within a few days of the denial, a police constable was murdered and ISIS claimed responsibility on their website. Another incident was of a person spreading leaflets of ISIS propaganda in the Bangladeshi capital city of Dhaka. Many ISIS members are from reputable families in the party leadership so there is no suspicion against them.”
Basu related that the attack upon a Dhaka café in July 2016, which left 28 people dead after hostages were held for 12 hours, permitted the truth to come out into the open. During that attack, local Islamists were the culprits: “How many has the government arrested or put behind bars? How many training camps are in Sheikh Hasina’s own Gopalguni district, where Hindus are now in a state of horror? I want to call upon the international community to prepare a report on the plight of Hindus in her district. The state has become a killing field for the minorities. With the government supporting terrorists and jihadists, Muslim fanatics have risen their ugly faces.”
“ISIS has forced Hindus to flee from their ancestral homeland,” he stressed. “There is massive land grabbing, torture, rape, murder, the destruction of Hindu temples and gods, the threatening of Hindu priests and even the killing of Hindu priests. It is all the handiwork of ISIS jihadists. Forced conversion is another ploy to diminish the minorities. Forcefully, they have converted many Hindu women and girls.”
Basu emphasized that the modus operandi of ISIS in Bangladesh has changed: “They have now merged with local operatives because ISIS was declared an international terror organization. So, all of their activities are covert. They camouflage themselves with the ruling parties rank and file and Islamic extremist groups. Due to this, they have kept up their dreadful activities at ease. Even if an arrest is made, it is classified as a local minor incident and small charges are made against the terrorist. No stringent anti-terror law is applied. Dr. Abul Barakat, a Dhaka University Professor, said that if the cleansing of minorities continue in the present way, there will be no more Hindu minorities left in Bangladesh in 30 years.”
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