European Union

From this Wednesday on, same-sex couples can get married in Finland. The new law, which was approved by the Finnish parliament two years ago, has sparked a debate in the Church. Its highest decision-making body, the General Synod, has ruled that despite the new law its clergy can only perform marriages between a man and a woman. The Church is behind the times, the Finnish press concludes.

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Whatever happened to Dutch politics? With two weeks until the election, the image of a tolerant, liberal country has been replaced by one of a grinning Geert Wilders. But away from Mr Wilders’ “STOP ISLAM” posters, signs of the old Netherlands remain.Although his Party for Freedom (PVV) still has a lead in most polls, Mr Wilders is losing ground. Meanwhile, the Netherlands’ liberal lump of mainstream parties – who have all refused to work with Mr Wilders – remains steady. Centrist D66 are doing welland on track for their best performance since the early 1990s.

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France v Commission
State aid
The General Court confirms France must recover €220 million in aid granted to SNCM in respect of certain maritime transport services it provided between Marseille and Corsica

Length of video : 77'
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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Security is not just about strong armies, aircraft carriers and boots-on-the-ground. Peace and stability in the 21st century demand that we tackle so-called ‘soft’ or non-traditional security challenges including development, governance, and environmental degradation.

The new President of the United States, Donald Trump, is clearly a hard security man. He talks and tweets tough. The men surrounding him are hardened ex-military officers – and even those who are not clearly think wearing a uniform is the best thing in the world.

Not surprisingly, Trump’s 2018 budget seeks to boost defence spending by ten percent, or US$54bn. The increase is going to be at the expense of aid and environmental programmes.

The US President is hardly alone. Hard security is also the name of the game in many parts of the world. Spending on arms is on the rise worldwide as countries anxiously seek to flex their military muscle.

“Soldiers can defend borders against invading armies – or unwanted refugees and migrants – but they can’t fight climate change or pandemics”

But some are taking a broader approach. While still spending money on classical defence, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are looking at non-military challenges to peoples and states posed by a host of problems: climate change, cross-border environmental damage and resource depletion, infectious diseases and natural disasters. They are also examining the link between security and irregular migration, food shortages, people smuggling, drug trafficking and other forms of transnational crime.

As the ‘hard’ vs ‘soft’ security debate climbs up the transatlantic agenda, with Washington warning that its support for NATO hinges on increased European defence spending, let’s listen to recent warnings from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and German Chancellor Angela Merkel that security cannot be “narrowed down” to military spending. Development aid and humanitarian assistance also count as contributions to global security.

Investing in development and in the fight against climate change is not charity. As Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, insisted recently, it is also “an investment, a selfish investment, in our security”. Also, long-term stability is the result of strong societies, not strong men.

Juncker, Merkel and Mogherini are right. Security and development are inextricably linked: there can be no sustainable development without peace and security, while development and poverty eradication are crucial to a viable peace. That is why implementing the Sustainable Development Goals is important.

“Investing in development is not charity”

Soldiers can defend borders against invading armies – or unwanted refugees and migrants – but they can’t fight climate change or pandemics. Those seeking asylum in Europe are fleeing not only war and conflict but the devastation caused by climate change, bad governance and a lack of economic opportunities. Terrorist groups like the self-styled ‘Islamic State’ (or Daesh) and al-Qaeda cannot be defeated through military action alone.

But Europe must practice what it preaches. The definition of development aid is becoming wider and more fluid than many like. European aid organisations criticise EU governments over the growing use of foreign aid budgets to meet refugee costs at home. Many EU countries are backsliding on their aid spending commitments.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, meanwhile, has expanded the definition of overseas aid to include limited forms of counterterrorism and military activities or training. British ministers are reportedly eager to divert aid from “wasteful” projects in Africa and Asia to allies in Eastern Europe in a bid to get a better deal on Brexit.

Security is an important priority for European citizens and will continue to climb higher up the agenda as the world becomes even more volatile, unpredictable and inter-connected.

Europe, with its still-large development budget, is well-placed to combine hard and soft power to tackle an array of new and old challenges. It should continue to do so smartly and without apology.

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IMAGE CREDIT: CC/Flickr – United Nations Photo

The post Security is about more than just military spending appeared first on Europe’s World.

On March 1 st EUCAP Nestor, the European Union Maritime Capacity Building Mission to Somalia, will be renamed “EUCAP Somalia”, the EU Capacity Building Mission in Somalia.
A Council decision published on December 12th 2016 in the Official Journal of the European Union, states in article 1, EUCAP Somalia has been established as a Capacity Building Mission in Somalia.

The operational “switch-over” to the new Mission’s name is now taking place.
For the occasion, a redesign of the Mission's Website has been launched under www.eucap-som.eu . All past content from www.eucap-nestor.eu has been migrated and will be accessible on the new site.

EUCAP Somalia operates under a new, broadened civilian maritime security mandate. With an active presence in Mogadishu, Hargeisa (Somaliland) and Garowe (Puntland), EUCAP Somalia works to strengthen Somali capacity to ensure maritime security, carry out fisheries inspection and enforcement, ensure maritime search and rescue, counter smuggling, fight piracy and police the coastal zone on land and at sea.

Source

Tag: EUCAP SomaliaEUCAP Nestor

NF v European Council
Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The General Court declares that it lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the actions brought by three asylum seekers against the EU-Turkey statement which seeks to resolve the migration crisis

Ukrainian citizens will be able to travel to the EU visa free under an informal deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators on Tuesday. Once the change enters into force, and provided they have biometric passports, they will be able to enter the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day-period for business, tourist or family purposes.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Ukrainian citizens will be able to travel to the EU visa free under an informal deal struck by Parliament and Council negotiators on Tuesday. Once the change enters into force, and provided they have biometric passports, they will be able to enter the EU for up to 90 days in any 180-day-period for business, tourist or family purposes.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

The next AFET meeting is scheduled to take place in Brussels (JAN 2Q2)

- Monday, 20 March 2017, 15:00-18:30
- Tuesday, 21 March, 09:00-12:30 and 15:00-18:30

Further information
Information for visitors
AFET Committee Work in progress (Iter listings, as of 28 February)
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Length of video : 146'
You may manually download this video in WMV (1.6Gb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : The inquiry committee investigating the car emissions scandal votes today on its final report and recommendations, which call for stricter controls and implementation at EU level. “We learnt the lessons from the past and we will now do our homework ... so this scandal will never happen again,” said Jens Gieseke, one of the authors of the final report. Watch the video to learn more.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : The inquiry committee investigating the car emissions scandal votes today on its final report and recommendations, which call for stricter controls and implementation at EU level. “We learnt the lessons from the past and we will now do our homework ... so this scandal will never happen again,” said Jens Gieseke, one of the authors of the final report. Watch the video to learn more.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

JingAo Solar and Others v Council
External relations
The General Court confirms the validity of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures for imports of solar panels from China

Montenegro is the most advanced EU accession candidate country, which in 2016 had to face Russian attempts to discredit its achievements, noted Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs on Tuesday. They also reviewed last year’s reform efforts in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, urging the future government to step up the pace of reform and stay on the EU track.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP