European Union

The appointment of a dead opposition politician to a presidential panel caused embarrassment.

Lecture de Sergueï Essenine, Journal d'un poète, traduit du russe et suivi d'une postface de Christiane Pighetti, Allia, 2026, 160 p.

- Lire et écrire les Balkans. Out of the box • le blog de Christophe Solioz / Blogs - Diaporama

La politique de privatisation du littoral visant à favoriser l'industrie touristique en Jamaïque a laissé aux habitants de l'île moins de 1 % du littoral.

Abiy Ahmed admitted for the first time in parliament that Eritrean troops had killed people in Aksum.

Hodan Mohamud Diiriye faced a firing squad after being found guilty of beating Saabirin Saylaan to death.

Le couple se plie aux exigences de la commission de surveillance de la Chambre des représentants après avoir contesté pendant des mois la validité de ses assignations à comparaître.

The correspondence describes arrangements for a meal and there is no indication of wrongdoing by Zuma.

AMENDMENTS 149 - 156 - Draft opinion Interim report on the proposal for the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034
Committee on Security and Defence
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Those defacing the currency could face seven years in jail, the central bank says ahead of Valentine's Day.

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Au milieu des pompes à pétrole et des plateformes rouillées, les villes pétrolières vénézuéliennes, autrefois prospères, placent leurs espoirs dans les investissements américains.

By Anwarul K. Chowdhury
NEW YORK, Feb 3 2026 (IPS)

In the month of February 2025, one year ago, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commenced his briefing of the media by announcing that “I want to start by expressing my deep concern about information received in the last 48 hours by UN agencies — as well as many humanitarian and development NGOs — regarding severe cuts in funding by the United States.” He went on to warn that ““The consequences will be especially devastating for vulnerable people around the world.”

Anwarul K. Chowdhury

UN80 Initiative – Reform or Pressure?

That budgetary crisis was attempted to be put off by launching the anniversary-rationaled and liquidity-crunch-panic-driven, window-dressing reform agenda – the so-called UN80 Initiative. These long overdue structural and programmatic reforms of the UN system have been on the agenda of at least for the last four Secretaries-General but without having much significant impact, except acronym-changing, mandate-creeping and structure-tweaking, and now these days, staff-relocating.

An Alarm Bell for Financial Collapse

End of this January again the Secretary-General said in a letter to all UN Member States that cash for its regular operating budget could run out by July, which could dramatically affect its operations. He also called on the to fundamentally overhaul the UN’s financial rules to prevent an “imminent financial collapse”.

Why now ask the member states to do something concrete? Why not in February 2025 when he sounded the alarm himself?

It reminds me of the somewhat similar Aesop’s fable about boy who cried wolf.

Lamenting Limited Power – No Power, No Money

In the past, Secretary-General Guterres lamented to the media asserting that “… it is absolutely true that the Secretary-General of the United Nations has very limited power, and it’s also absolutely true that he has very little capacity to mobilize financial resources. So, no power and no money.”

That is the reality which every Secretary-General faces and has been aware of. That is also known generally to the people who follow the United Nations regularly and thoroughly understand the functional complexity of the world’s largest multilateral apparatus.

Why then does this reality surfaces and brought to public attention only when the UN leadership fails to carry out the mandated responsibilities?

I believe strongly that this “very limited power”, as worded by SG Guterres, should be highlighted as often as possible to avoid unnecessary and undue expectations of the global community about the UN and its top leadership. No Secretary-General has pointed out these limitations as he campaigned for the post and on assuming the office, as far as I know.

Current SG Guterres is no exception. He would have been realistic and factual if he had pointed out the limitations – better termed as obstacles – to his leadership as he took office in 2017, and not in 2026 after being in office for nearly nine years. This built-in operational weakness and inability of the world’s most important diplomat have always been there.

Controlling Or Quitting?

Some people speculate that the US is using its financial clout and pressure to threaten the collapse of the UN.

The US has always been using its huge power of veto and almost one-fourth of the budgetary contributions to the operations of the UN system. That is a reality which should be kept in mind by the leadership of the UN and its Member States, unless the Charter of the UN is changed to create a more democratic organization in the true sense.

For a long time, the US has used the part payment arrangements for its legally due contributions, with full understanding and acceptance of the Secretary-General, so that it can avoid losing its voting power and get its own pound of flesh each time such instalment payments are made.

I believe the US wants to use the world body in its own way by controlling, not quitting.

A Woman at the Helm for The UN

In this context, let me reiterate that after eight decades of its existence and choosing nine men successively to be the world’s topmost diplomat, it is incumbent on the United Nations to have the sanity and sagacity of electing a woman as the next Secretary-General in 2026 when the incumbent’s successor would be chosen.

There is a need for creative, non-bureaucratic and pro-active leadership initiative for a real change to ensure avoidance of “crying wolf” syndrome disrupting the work and activities of the most universal multilateral body with the mandate for working in the best interest of humanity.

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is a former UN Under-Secretary-General, one-time Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Chairman of the UN General Assembly’s Administrative and Budgetary Committee (1997-1998), former Senior Special Adviser to UN General Assembly President (2011-2012) and President of the UN Security Council (2000 and 2001) and a two-term Vice Chairman of the all-powerful UN Committee on Programme and Coordination (1984-85).

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Game-changing international ocean treaty comes into force. Credit: NOAA
 
Deep-sea corals were among the treasures found during an expedition in the North Marianas Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Source: UN News

By Pietro Bertazzi and Oliver Tanqueray
AMSTERDAN / LONDON, Feb 3 2026 (IPS)

“The ocean’s health is humanity’s health”, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in September 2025.

He was commenting after the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) [1] finally achieved ratification, going on to call for “a swift, full implementation” from all partners. As of January 17, 2026, the treaty has come into force, meaning the time for implementation is now. What is the High Seas Treaty?

Only 1% of the high seas are currently protected. The new treaty will greatly increase safeguards, with significant implications for activities covering nearly 50% of the Earth’s surface.

The High Seas Treaty establishes, for the first time, a legal mechanism to govern activities affecting biodiversity in the areas of the ocean that lie outside the jurisdiction of any single country (ie their Exclusive Economic Zones, typically 200 miles from their coastline).

The agreement was achieved after nearly 20 years of dialogue, much of which was carried by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Indigenous peoples and coastal communities. For them, the relationship with the ocean is most direct and the threats to it are most existential.

The entry into force of such a significant legal instrument sends a powerful message on the value of collaboration, and its importance in confronting the environmental risks facing the economy and humanity.

The agreement will change the ways that activities taking place in the High Seas – and those affecting them – will be planned, monitored, managed and reported on. This level of transparency will drive a cycle of accountability and improvement in the relationship between our economy and the natural world on which it depends.

What you need to know

The treaty’s role as an international legal mechanism will have significant effects on companies and financial institutions to respond to.

Key outcomes

1. Increased transparency on ocean-based activities

The agreement sets out monitoring and transparency requirements of countries – including Environment Impact Assessments (EIA) – alongside high seas genetic material, samples and digital sequence data, as well as a publicly accessible database to promote publicly available real economy data and data exchange.

This means that many aspects of companies’ high seas-related projects will be accessible to stakeholders.

Anticipating increased public information on environmental studies and mitigation plans, companies should prepare to report on high seas activities, such as fishing, shipping, energy infrastructure, mining and bioprospecting, as well as potential impacts of new activities such as carbon dioxide removal technologies.

Companies can also further identify opportunities through new publicly available data and recognize the halo benefits that increased coverage of marine-protected areas brings.

2. Increased expectations on corporate disclosure

New EIAs will amplify the need for standardized corporate data on marine impact – coupled with growing investor and policy focus on companies’ high seas activities, strategies and governance.

Financial institutions (FIs) and regulators will expect companies to report on how they comply with treaty obligations such as the number of high seas environmental assessments completed, presence in protected areas, and contributions to capacity building.

Asset owners will ask for metrics on exposure to high seas biodiversity risks. Governments may require reporting from firms to compile national reports and monitor compliance.

Companies should expect new jurisdictional regulations on ocean activities, as Member States take steps to implement the Agreement, via enhanced environmental rules and disclosure obligations.

For FIs, there is increased focus on integrating ocean health into Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) analysis, with risks and opportunities in blue finance and sustainable ocean industries only going to grow.

This creates a need to ensure that portfolio companies are equipped to comply with new regulations and secure relevant permissions to operate in international waters. Failure to do so creates risks to ongoing operations as well as litigation and reputational exposure.

3. Strengthened multilateral collaboration

The agreement creates legal mechanisms for area-based management tools, including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). For disclosers and financial institutions, this means enhancing readiness to adapt to exclusions or operating conditions on shipping lanes, fishing grounds, mining sites, and cable routes. Industries will need to track MPA designations and adjust operations (for example by rerouting vessels or ceasing extraction) to remain compliant.

CDP stands ready to support the ocean

Working with companies and data users, CDP will integrate and standardize key metrics needed to implement the High Seas Treaty. This ensures that stakeholders have the reliable, comparable data needed to implement collective goals, and companies can demonstrate their leadership on ocean stewardship.

From 2026 onwards, CDP will be expanding its questionnaire to gather ocean-related data. In the first year of disclosure, we will generate insights on processes for identifying, assessing, and managing ocean-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities.

This work is being done in collaboration with our Capital Markets Signatories – many of which have already shown demand for ocean-related data – and disclosing companies, focusing on those with the most significant ocean impacts and dependencies.

High Seas, higher ambitions

There is still much to do to improve the protection of marine areas and restoration of ocean health. But the BBNJ is a significant step forward in this effort.

In a year where nature is placed on the main stage of the international agenda, companies, FIs and governments alike have an opportunity to embed ocean health into global financial systems.

Countries must also complement the agreement with a drive to protect coastal waters not part of their direct control. Many ocean-impacting activities will not be constrained by the BBNJ. Only 4.2% of fishery production, for example, takes place on the high seas[2]. This means there will be a continued role for Member States to conserve and sustainably use the biological diversity in areas within their jurisdiction.

We must build momentum behind the opportunities enabled by this historic deal – collaboration and transparency will play a vital part in turning this momentum into action.

Footnotes

1. The treaty is formally called the ‘Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’, or ‘BBNJ’.
2. By volume, the total catch from the high seas accounts for 4.2% of annual marine capture fisheries production. Schiller L, Bailey M, Jacquet J, Sala E. ‘High seas fisheries play a negligible role in addressing global food security.’

Pietro Bertazzi is Chief Policy and interim Growth Officer, CDP, and Oliver Tanqueray is Head of Ocean, CDP.

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a global non-profit that runs the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system for companies, capital markets, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

European Council President António Costa invited the EU leaders to an informal EU leaders' retreat on 12 February 2026 in Alden Biesen castle in Belgium, dedicated to strengthening the single market in a new geoeconomic context.

Le Secrétariat général de l'Assemblée nationale du Bénin a publié le chronogramme officiel de réception des députés de la 10e législature. L'accueil des 109 députés et leurs suppléants se déroulera du 3 au 5 février 2026.

La journée du lundi 2 février est dédiée aux élus des 1ère, 2e, 3e, 4e (9h à 12h), 5e, 6e, 7e et 8e (14h à 17h) Circonscriptions Electorales.

Mardi 3 février, ce sera au tour des députés issus des 9e, 10e, 11e, 12e, 13e, 14e, 15e et 16e circonscriptions.

L'accueil se poursuivra le mercredi 4 février avec les élus des 17e, 18e, 19e, 20e, 21e, 22e, 23e et 24e Circonscriptions.

La journée du jeudi 5 février sera consacrée aux députés retardataires.

Durant cette étape d'accueil, chaque parlementaire devra remplir son dossier administratif et se soumettre à un enregistrement biométrique. C'est également lors de ce passage que les élus reçoivent leurs attributs officiels.

L'installation officielle des 109 députés est prévue pour le 8 février 2026.

Le Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche scientifique (MESRS) a rendu publique, ce 02 février 2026, la liste des 167 nouveaux Assistants en position probatoire recrutés au profit des universités publiques du Bénin. Ces nouveaux agents, sélectionnés à l'issue d'un test, sont affectés dans diverses institutions telles que l'Université d'Abomey-Calavi, l'Université de Parakou et l'Université Nationale d'Agriculture pour renforcer l'encadrement académique dans de nombreuses spécialités. LISTE...

Un réseau de trafic de documents de voyage a été démantelé à l'aéroport Bernardin Gantin de Cotonou. 2 policiers arrêtés.

Plusieurs personnes ont été arrêtées par la Brigade Economique et Financière (BEF). Selon les premiers éléments de l'enquête, les suspects facilitaient contre de l'argent l'obtention de faux passeports notamment au profit des ressortissants de pays asiatiques en proie à des conflits armés ou des crises et inscrits sur la liste rouge du système international.

Parmi les personnes interpellées figurent deux agents de police, identifiés par leurs initiales A. S. et G. B.

Les mis en cause ont été présentés, vendredi 30 janvier 2026, devant la Cour de Répression des infractions économiques et du terrorisme (CRIET). Ils ont été placés sous mandat de dépôt en attendant leur procès.
M. M.

À Niamey, l'attaque armée survenue fin janvier a d'abord donné lieu à des accusations diplomatiques, avant même qu'une revendication jihadiste n'émerge. Lorsque l'État islamique a ensuite revendiqué l'opération, la parole officielle nigérienne s'est retrouvée fragilisée. Une séquence révélatrice des limites d'une gouvernance sécuritaire fondée sur la précipitation et l'opacité.

Une attaque, puis la mise en scène de la parole politique

Dans la nuit du 28 au 29 janvier 2026, une base militaire située dans l'enceinte de l'aéroport international Diori Hamani de Niamey est la cible de tirs nourris. L'attaque, brève mais intense, plonge la capitale dans un climat de tension. Les faits sont établis, mais les circonstances demeurent floues dans les premières heures. Avant même que les autorités n'annoncent l'ouverture d'une enquête ou ne communiquent des éléments techniques vérifiables, le pouvoir choisit de parler.

Accuser avant d'expliquer

Quelques heures seulement après l'attaque, le chef du régime nigérien, Abdourahamane Tiani, prend la parole. Il accuse publiquement plusieurs chefs d'État étrangers d'être impliqués dans une tentative de déstabilisation du Niger. Parmi eux figure explicitement le président béninois, Patrice Talon.Cette déclaration intervient sans qu'aucun rapport d'enquête, aucune preuve matérielle ni aucun élément de renseignement corroboré ne soient rendus publics. À ce stade, aucune revendication jihadiste n'a encore été annoncée.L'ordre des faits est ainsi inversé : l'accusation précède l'analyse, le politique devance le sécuritaire.

La revendication de l'État islamique, un récit bousculé

Ce n'est que dans un second temps que l'organisation État islamique revendique l'attaque. Cette revendication, conforme aux modes opératoires observés dans le Sahel, replace l'événement dans le cadre d'une menace jihadiste persistante. Elle vient surtout fragiliser la narration officielle initiale, exclusivement tournée vers une lecture géopolitique et extérieure. Le décalage entre la chronologie des faits et celle du discours d'État devient alors évident.

L'opacité comme facteur de défiance

En l'absence d'enquête rendue publique, cette succession de discours alimente les soupçons. La revendication tardive de l'État islamique ne corrige pas le récit initial ; elle l'expose à la contradiction. Plus le pouvoir accuse sans démontrer, plus sa parole devient vulnérable aux faits ultérieurs. Ainsi, l'opacité, censée préserver la sécurité nationale, produit l'effet inverse. Elle nourrit la défiance, tant au sein de la population que chez les partenaires régionaux.

Written by Tim Peters.

The European Parliament is fully committed to ensuring an ambitious EU long-term budget that meets the Union’s many challenges in the years to come. Therefore, Parliament’s two co-rapporteurs on the MFF, Siegfried Mureşan (EPP, Romania) and Carla Tavares (S&D, Portugal), insist on a significantly higher volume for the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework (MFF) than proposed by the European Commission. In their draft interim report, Parliament’s two co-rapporteurs propose an overall size of 1.38 % of EU gross national income (GNI), 1.27 % of EU GNI for the MFF as such and 0.11 % of EU GNI for the repayment of debt created by Next Generation EU (NGEU). The MFF constitutes the EU’s long-term budgetary plan, setting a maximum level of spending (‘ceilings’) for each major category of expenditure (‘heading’) in accordance with Article 312 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

In their draft, the two co-rapporteurs propose to Parliament to continue its opposition against ‘the merging of different policies in one plan per Member State’. They welcome the substantial increase in financial resources proposed for greater investment in research, strategic autonomy, the clean transition, defence, technological sovereignty and economic resilience. However, they stress that the consolidation of programmes in the Competitiveness Fund reduces transparency and limits Parliament’s ability to ensure appropriate funding for specific policy objectives. The co-rapporteurs oppose the Commission approach on additional flexibility, which in their eyes sacrifices transparency and controls under the guise of efficiency, compromising programme quality and democratic accountability, and undermining Parliament’s role as the budgetary and discharge authority.

The European Commission presented its proposals for the 2028-2034 (MFF) on 16 July 2025 and 3 September 2025. The Commission proposed a budget amounting to a total of almost €1.8 trillion in commitments over seven years (in constant 2025 prices). The 2028-2034 budget proposed by the Commission corresponds to 1.26 % of the EU’s gross national income (GNI) including 0.11 % of EU GNI for the repayment of the debt created by NGEU grants. Excluding the NGEU repayment, the proposed post-2027 MFF would reflect, in nominal terms, an increase of €367.2 billion (+29 %). However, in real terms, the increase would only be 0.02 percentage points of GNI.

Academia, think-tanks, other EU institutions and bodies, and a variety of stakeholders are publishing a wealth of analysis and commentary on the proposed 2028-2034 MFF as it proceeds through negotiations (see our monthly digest).

OVERVIEW OF EPRS PUBLICATIONS ON THE 2028-2034 MFF PACKAGE: LEGISLATION IN PROGRESS BRIEFINGS:

• David Ashton and Pieter Baert, Single market and customs programme
• Bruno Bilquin and Eric Pichon, Global Europe instrument
• Krisztina Binder and Tarja Laaninen, Erasmus+ (to be published soon)
• Steven Blaakman, Union support for asylum, migration and integration
• Alessandro D’Alfonso, Karoline Kowald and Marin Mileusnic, National and regional partnership plans, European territorial cooperation and EU facility 2028-2034
• Alina Dobreva, System of Own Resources (to be published soon)
• Costica Dumbrava, Union support for the Schengen area, European integrated border management, and EU visa policy
• Clément Evroux, Horizon Europe 2028-2034: 10th EU research and innovation framework programme
• Clément Evroux, Proposal for a Council regulation on Euratom training programme 2028-2032 (to be published soon)
• Alina Georgescu, AgoraEU (to be published soon)
• Mathias Gullentops, Connecting Europe Facility 2028-2034: Financing EU infrastructure networks
• Issam Hallak, European competitiveness fund
• Karoline Kowald and Marianna Pari, Multiannual Financial Framework (to be published soon)
• Gabija Leclerc, Support for associated overseas countries and territories, including Greenland
• Rafał Mańko, Justice programme 2028-2034
• Rafał Mańko, Pericles 2028-2034: Exchange, assistance and training for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting
• Vasilis Margaras, ERDF – Cohesion Fund and conditions for EU support to regional policy
• Marin Mileusnic and Tim Peters, Budget expenditure tracking and performance framework (to be published soon)
• Marketa Pape, European Social Fund 2028-2034
• Martina Prpic, Union support for internal security
• Nikolina Šajn, Regulation on the common agricultural policy for the period 2028 to 2034
• Frederik Scholaert, Conditions for EU support to the CFP (2028-2034 programming period)
• Agnieszka Widuto, Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation and Decommissioning
• Agnieszka Widuto, The Nuclear decommissioning assistance programme of the Ignalina nuclear power plant in Lithuania (Ignalina programme) (to be published soon)
• Dessislava Yougova, Union Civil Protection Mechanism: 2028 2034 programming period

INITIAL APPRAISALS OF COMMISSION IMPACT ASSESSMENTS:

• Irmgard Anglmayer, Civil protection, preparedness and crisis response
• Irmgard Anglmayer and Esther Kramer, MFF 2028-2034: Quality analysis of the Commission’s impact assessments
• Josefina Capdevila Penalva, Regulation establishing Global Europe
• Andriana Efthymiadou, Nationally pre-allocated envelopes
• Dieter Frizberg, Reinforcing competitiveness in the EU
• Esther Kramer, Single Market and Customs Programme
• Nikolaos Sarris, Budget expenditure-tracking and performance framework
• Mari Tuominen, The AgoraEU, Erasmus+ and Justice programmes

FURTHER READING:

• Brief up-to-date state-of-play information on all legislative proposals of the 2028-2034 MFF package: EPRS Legislative Train Spotlight on 2028-2034 MFF package
• Legislative observatory, Interim report on the proposal for the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 2025/0571R(APP)
• Website on the EU long-term budget by DG COMM of the European Parliament
• European Commission draft legislative proposals: The 2028-2034 EU budget for a stronger Europe
• Draft interim report on the proposal for a Council regulation laying down the Multiannual Financial Framework for the years 2028 to 2034 (COM(2025)0571 – C10-0000/2025 – 2025/0571R(APP)), Committee on Budgets, Co-Rapporteurs: Siegfried Mureşan, Carla Tavares

Február elejétől testkamerát használnak a rozsnyói városi rendőrök, az intézkedés a közbiztonság javítását, a lakosság és a rendőrök védelmét egyaránt célozza – tájékoztatott a honlapján az önkormányzat.