European Union

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Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

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The 2017 G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting is held on April 10 and 11, 2017 in Lucca, Italy.

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Host Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, proudly tweeted the menu shortly after lunchtime, describing it as an “homage to Spanish cuisine”: artichokes with Spanish ham, sea bass cooked in Galician wine with leeks, followed by caramelised torrijas (a version of French toast) with ice cream. The white wine was a bone-dry Albariño, the red came from Rioja.

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Length of video : 149'
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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

On 11 April 2017, the Council extended until 13 April 2018 its restrictive measures responding to serious human rights violations in Iran. These measures consist of: 

• a travel ban and an asset freeze against 82 people and one entity
• a ban on exports to Iran of equipment which might be used for internal repression and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications

These measures were first put in place in 2011. The legal acts are published in the Official Journal of 12 April 2017. They were adopted by written procedure.

Climate change is the single most pressing global injustice facing present and future generations, and one of the greatest human rights challenges of our time.

But climate change is not gender neutral. Women are disproportionately affected by climate change, but only a small part of climate funding is allocated specifically to the needs of women in the most affected countries.

And while there is a gender gap on climate funding, there is also a gender gap when it comes to the increasing problem of climate change denial.

Recently-published research shows that climate change denial is strongly correlated with accepting patriarchal or hierarchical structures. One extremely visible example of this is the new President of the United States, Donald Trump. He has attacked women’s reproductive rights and produced a litany of sexist remarks; he has also referred to climate change as a “hoax” and promised to withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris climate change agreement.

Climate denial is also on the rise in Europe, linked to an old faith in oil and coal as job-creating money machines, and to nationalism. Climate change is an inconvenient truth for nationalism: it is a problem that cannot be solved at a national level; it requires collective action between states and between all actors in society at all levels. And perhaps more provocatively, it calls for gender equality and the renouncement of a western masculine identity with its links to consumption patterns.

“Climate change is an inconvenient truth for nationalism: it is a problem that cannot be solved at a national level”

Lifestyles with a larger carbon dioxide footprint are linked to a high income, while lower incomes are linked to lower energy consumption. The traditional distribution of money and power, with men in possession of greater wealth and freedom of movement, therefore results in men being responsible for higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions. While rich women in the western world are responsible for higher CO2 emissions than poor men in developing countries, they are still likely to have a lifestyle that emits less CO2 than men with the same income do.

Research shows that polluting habits attributed to men are the result of the norms and values which define traditional masculinity and femininity. These images are very strongly embedded in our minds, reinforced by advertising aimed at increasing consumption. A car, for example, is sold as symbol of a man’s wealth and social status; we are told that ‘real’ men eat meat. Hegemonic masculinity explains why some forms of masculinity become dominant and others subordinate, and why certain traits come to define a ‘real man’. These traits change over time and vary between cultures, but are usually associated with power, strength, domination and aggression.

Breaking with traditional norms of consumption can therefore encourage a more gender-equal society and combat climate change, with both genders encouraged to use public transport and adopt a vegetarian diet. While this presents no problem for many progressive men, others – including many on the conservative right – have their identities increasingly tied up with notions of traditional masculinity. This makes green policies even more provocative: they challenge a gendered identity.

Considerations of gender are also necessary as we work to limit the negative impact of climate change upon the world’s population. Globally, women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men, primarily because women constitute two-thirds of the world’s poor and because their livelihoods are more dependent on the natural resources that are threatened by climate change.

In 2015 the World Bank published a report showing that climate change in poorer regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia could force more than 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. Without a fair distribution of resources we face a world with millions of climate refugees: the United Nations estimates that there will be 200 million climate refugees by 2050. But with a rapid, inclusive and gender-sensitive development agenda focused on adapting to changing climate conditions, most of these impacts can still be prevented.

“Globally, women’s livelihoods are more dependent on the natural resources that are threatened by climate change”

Raising awareness of climate justice, the need for gender mainstreaming and the consequences of climate change is a prerequisite to tackling the challenges we face. The balance between adaptation and mitigation is unjust, and those who need the most frequently receive the least. Climate funding has become ‘big business’, and the most affected and most vulnerable are not part of the deal. The Paris agreement offers, for the first time, a chance for climate policymakers to focus on human rights and gender equality. This is crucial to ensure that climate mitigation and adaptation policies do not endanger the full enjoyment of human rights.

Women and men living in rural areas within developing countries are especially vulnerable. They face great challenges in securing water, food and fuel for cooking and heating. For women this issue is frequently coupled with limited mobility and unequal access to both resources and decision-making processes. In short, women often face social, economic and political barriers that limit their coping capacity. It is vital to identify gender-sensitive strategies to respond to the environmental and humanitarian crises caused by climate change.

Integrating gender into climate policy is efficient policymaking and a necessary tool to achieve climate justice on a global level. By introducing gender aspects into climate measures, policymakers will have to consider how different social factors, such as gender, education, income and age, determine our access to resources and our opportunities to act in a climate-friendly way.

The result of a gender-sensitive approach is that the diversity of social groups is more likely to be taken into account when formulating climate policies. That is why gender analysis is the starting point in making climate policy socially fair – and why climate change is certainly a feminist issue.

IMAGE CREDIT: CC/Flickr – Annette Bernhardt

The post Climate change is a feminist issue appeared first on Europe’s World.

Plenary sessions : Social media not only serves as a source of news for nearly half of Europeans, but it also has made spreading fake news easier and faster. Six out of ten news items are shared without actually being read. MEPS raised concerns about the spread of disinformation, political propaganda and hate speech in plenary on 5 April. However, they disagreed on the best way to respond to the problem. Watch our video above for an overview of the debate.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Plenary sessions : Social media not only serves as a source of news for nearly half of Europeans, but it also has made spreading fake news easier and faster. Six out of ten news items are shared without actually being read. MEPS raised concerns about the spread of disinformation, political propaganda and hate speech in plenary on 5 April. However, they disagreed on the best way to respond to the problem. Watch our video above for an overview of the debate.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Recent proposals to expedite the return of migrants who are not entitled to refugee status will be debated in the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday morning.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Recent proposals to expedite the return of migrants who are not entitled to refugee status will be debated in the Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday morning.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Length of video : 109'
You may manually download this video in WMV (1.2Gb) 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 : Following last week’s plenary session in Strasbourg, members are back in Brussels where committees are meeting before Parliament goes on a short recess for Easter. Among the issues on this week’s agenda are the latest developments in Syria and how to combat food waste. Members of the civil liberties committee discuss new proposals for the EU’s migrant return policy, while the human rights and women’s rights committees hold a joint hearing on child marriages.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

General : Following last week’s plenary session in Strasbourg, members are back in Brussels where committees are meeting before Parliament goes on a short recess for Easter. Among the issues on this week’s agenda are the latest developments in Syria and how to combat food waste. Members of the civil liberties committee discuss new proposals for the EU’s migrant return policy, while the human rights and women’s rights committees hold a joint hearing on child marriages.

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

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Committee meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

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Stockholm joined a miserable list on Friday. The Swedish capital became the latest European city – after London, Paris, Brussels, Berlin and Nice – to be hit by a recent terror attack.

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The Informal Economic and Financial Affairs Ministers meeting takes place on 7 and 8 April in Valletta.

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From 3 to 14 April 2017 in the Western Mediterranean, 1 000 French soldiers participate in SKRENVIL operational training. This joint exercise between the French Army and the Navy is designed to ensure amphibious deployment procedures.

As part of this operational training, an amphibious group is deployed in the Mediterranean. It is composed of the Dixmude (Projection and Command Ship,BPC), Cassard (Antiaircraft Frigate, FAA), Montcalm (Anti-submarine Frigate, FASM) and the Mediterranean demining group (GPD Med). Command Landing Group / CLG is provided at the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2nd REI).

A Joint Battle Group (GTIA) of the 6th Light Armored Brigade composed of different units of the 2th REI, 1st REG (Foreign Regiment of Engineers), 1st REC (Foreign Cavalry Regiment), 3rd RAMa (Marine Artillery Regiment) of the 5th RHC (Combat Helicopter Regiment), is created for the occasion. The major equipment involved is 15 VBCI (Armored Infantry Combat Vehicle) and a dozen VAB (Front Armored Vehicle), as well as 4 Puma and Gazelle helicopters.

The amphibious detachment boarded the Diksmuide with its 2 Equipment Chalands (CTM) and a Rapid Amphibious Landing Craft (EDAR).
This training consists of two phases:
- evacuation of nationals,
- followed by a grounding of the GTIA.
In total, some 20 vehicles, maneuver helicopters and attack helicopters will have to land in a coordinated way to make a progression of about 30 kilometers.

This training is characterized by a suitable training ground, the realism of the scenario, the means and the military capabilities. These are all specific features that allow the Army and the Navy to maneuver jointly and to be sufficiently reactive in the event of an amphibious operation.

Tag: SKRENVIL-2017

Tuesday 11 April 2017
13.00 Meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker