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Une sélection de photos de l'Afrique cette semaine. En images : le pape François en Afrique L'Afrique en images du 30 au 5 novembre L'Afrique en images du 9 au 15 octobre

Le porte-parole de la CPI l'affirme: les deux camps de la crise post-électorale en Côte d'Ivoire font l'objet d'une enquête.

Deux journalistes passent en revue les événements de la semaine avec un invité au cœur de l'actualité.

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
to wind up the debate on the statements by the Council and the Commission
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure
on the 2015 report on Serbia
(2015/2892(RSP))
David McAllister
on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
to wind up the debate on the statements by the Council and the Commission
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure
on the 2015 report on Serbia
(2015/2892(RSP))
David McAllister
on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Urgent work remains to be done before the EU and US next month can assess whether Macedonia is ready to face credible elections on April 24, the two ambassadors said on Friday.

D'où vient le virus Zika? Nous nous sommes rendus à la source de la maladie, dans une forêt en Ouganda.

Bizonytalan a szíriai polgárháború lezárására irányuló genfi tárgyalások kimenetele, egy hosszú folyamat elején állnak a szembenálló felek – erről N. Rózsa Erzsébet külügyi szakértő beszélt az M1 műsorában.

A szakértő elmondta: már az is vitatott, hogy egyáltalán kik ülhetnek tárgyalóasztalhoz a várhatóan a hét végén kezdődő megbeszéléseken. Törökország ellenzi, hogy a törökországi kurdok képviselője részt vehessen a tárgyalásokon, Bassár el-Aszad szíriai elnököt pedig a saját országában is sokan elfogadhatatlannak tartják – tette hozzá.

Kitért arra, hogy az orosz gép lelövése miatti orosz-török viszály és a közelmúltban kibontakozott szaúdi-iráni ellentét sem könnyíti a megegyezést, nem beszélve a térségben szerveződött számos fegyveres csoportról. Ugyanakkor a menekültáradat és a terrorveszély fokozódása miatt elodázhatatlanná vált a rendezés, ami nyilván csak egy hosszú folyamat eredménye lehet – közölte N. Rózsa Erzsébet.

Az öt éve tartó szíriai polgárháború lezárása érdekében az elmúlt években már két tárgyalássorozatot is tartottak Genfben, de egyik sem vezetett eredményre.

Die "Reformforderungen":http://de.euronews.com/2016/01/25/irischer-ministerpraesident-warnt-vor-brexit/ Londons an die EU waren Thema eines…

Hétpontos útitervet javasol a menekültválság megoldására az Európai Parlament liberális frakciója egy 2 ezer fős európai gyorsreagálású erő görög-török határra történő vezénylésével, a Frontex büdzséjének megötszörözésével, a török csomag újratárgyalásával, a hot spotok befogadóközpontokká való alakításával, a dublini rendelet egységes európai menedékjogi eljárással történő felváltásával, a gazdasági bevándorlás legalizálásával és egy európai Marshall terv beindításával a válságövezetben.

Talking with a Venezuelan seeking political asylum in the U.S., we asked her why she was leaving her country. “Venezuela does not offer a future anymore” she said. It once did.

Chavez’s 21st century socialism has failed and (sadly) has pushed Venezuela to the brink of one of the major humanitarian crisis in the region. There goes another lost decade for a Latin American country.

Between 2004 and 2008, Venezuela experienced an economic miracle. Its economy grew 10% per year on average, while GDP per capita expanded by 26%. Now Venezuela is going backwards. By 2018, the country is expected to return to the GDP levels of 2005, but with an additional 6 million people, a 20% population increase. Thus, GDP per capita will fall to 2000 levels by 2018, as if 18 years of economic activity had never occurred.

Venezuela’s economic crisis will have unprecedented consequences in terms of poverty. Encovi, a local survey on life conditions shows that in 2015, 76% of Venezuelans lived in poverty, up from 52% in 2014. The extremely poor increased by 9 million through 2015, or 25% of the population.[i] The local universities conducting the survey warn that this is a conservative estimate, for they are only assuming a 170% inflation.

Source: LATAM PM with data from IMF and ENCOVI 2015

On October 15 of 2014, surrounded by supporters of the PSUV and with a loud round of applause, President Maduro announced a 30% increase in the minimum wage bringing it in VEF$9,648.2 a month—or $9.95 taking the 968.8 USD/VEF exchange rate used in black market by most Venezuelans. The problem is that with the 205% inflation estimated for 2015 by the local think tank Ecoanalítica, a monthly food basket now costs eight times the minimum wage according to the NGO Center for Documentation and Social Analysis (CENDAS). The IMF estimates that inflation could reach 720% this year.

Venezuela based its economic model on public expenditure supported by oil revenues, which constituted 96% of the total country’s exports in 2014. According to ING Group, Venezuela needs a $125-dollar barrel to balance its budget, but its mix currently trades at around $24. Venezuela has no money; this is problematic in a country that imports pretty much everything. The port of Guaira, one of the main three trade ports in the country, now looks empty.

Source: LATAM PM with Google Earth images

Tariffs and price controls have also triggered shortages of food and essential products. CENDAS reported at the end of 2015 that 38% of the products that form the basic food basket are not available in the stores anymore. This includes milk, beef, poultry, sugar, wheat flour, pasta, sardines and canned tuna. Last year, the Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation reported that 70% of medicines are in short supply.

The drastic deterioration of life conditions is the reason why Venezuelans voted to end the hegemonic control of the PSUV, giving the opposition control of the National Assembly. However, in recent days, there has been an increasing confrontation between the two sides. The Assembly wants to pass an amnesty law for political prisoners. Maduro threatens to veto it. Following the initiative, Maduro declared a state of economic emergency—promptly blocked by the Assembly. The current political impasse has done little to provide any sign of relief for Venezuela’s economic implosion.

Now, the most important question is whether or not the opposition’s supermajority in the Assembly will call a referendum on Maduro’s continuity later this year. The opposition (MUD), formed by a coalition of more than 20 parties, is showing a lack of unity on the issue. Without the support of every single MUD’s deputy, the referendum will not be held. In the meantime, Maduro has threatened to take the fight to the streets, if necessary.

LATAM PM’s View: With or without referendum, the probability of a major social and political crisis will continue to grow, which in turn could have important implications for the region. Wealthy Venezuelans are already leaving their country in search of opportunities in Colombia and Ecuador. But as life conditions deteriorate fast, the risk of a mass exodus increases too.

[i] Extremely poor people are defined as those who do not have the income to eat 2,200 calories every day. Poor are those who cannot acquire that same basic basket plus essential services such as electricity and transport.

This article was originally published by LATAM PM

The post Going Backwards: The Crisis in Venezuela appeared first on Foreign Policy Blogs.

La conférence sur le budget européen du 28 janvier a permis des avancées importantes sur la voie du nouveau Cadre financier pluriannuel, qui constitue le nouveau budget européen à long terme. La journée s’est achevée sur un discours du ministre néerlandais des Finances, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, qui a énoncé les résultats enregistrés au cours de cette conférence. Pour lire le discours de M. Dijsselbloem (en anglais), cliquer ici

Uniós intézkedéssel küzdenének a terrorizmus ellen, de a tagállamok a meglévő eszközöket sem használják ki.

Amnesty International a publié des images satellites de possibles charniers au Burundi, dans la banlieue de Bujumbura.

Kétezer határőrt küldene a görög-török határra az európai liberálisok frakcióvezetője, Guy Verhofstadt. Olyan jogi eszközt vetne be, amelyet Magyarország éppen bíróságon támad.

Le fabriquant de l'emblématique Barbie lance des nouveaux formats de poupée: ronde, petite et grande.

A rights group says it has found possible mass graves in Burundi's capital, where security forces are accused of killing scores of people in December.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov called White House spokesman Josh Earnest's remarks about the Russian president "outrageous and offensive." In a recent press conference, Earnest stated that the US administration was sharing the view about Putin's corruptness. "We hope that our American colleagues will give us some explanations on that," Peskov said

Une dizaine de Dragons de la 2e compagnie de combat du génie du 31e régiment du génie (31e RG) a effectué une formation de fouille opérationnelle complémentaire (FOC) du 12 au 14 janvier 2016.