European Union

South Sudan's country director for the World Food Programme (WFP) says he could save donors some $100m if they were to front-load funds today to stave off hunger in the war-torn country, which saw a mass rape last month.

I live in the centre of Paris so you might think that my weekend was full of danger, fire and fear. That is what my friends and family living far away saw on TV and Facebook, so I had a few worried calls and messages. But let me tell you the truth: it was no war scene.

Russia’s intelligence services were behind cyber attacks targeting the Czech foreign ministry last year, the Czech security service said on Monday in its annual report.

Messages obtained from the WhatsApp account of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi shine a light on the possible reasons behind his death, depicting the full extent of his animosity towards Saudi Arabia and his plans to establish an "electronic army" of activists against the regime.

Written by Gregor Erbach,

The 24th UN climate change conference (COP24), which starts today in Katowice, Poland, is focused on the full implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the adoption of the operational ‘rulebook’. In the political phase of the Talanoa dialogue, initiated by the Fijian presidency of COP23, high-level representatives of the Parties will discuss collective efforts to meet the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement, guided by the questions Where are we?, Where do we want to go? and How do we get there?

A number of difficulties will have to be overcome at COP24. Some major economies have weakened their commitments: the United States plans to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as soon as possible, and Brazil has retracted its offer to host the COP25 conference in 2019. Despite new pledges from funders like the World Bank, the provision of finance to support climate action in developing countries remains a major stumbling block in the negotiations. Countries’ commitments to emission reductions would need to be strengthened, as the current pledges would result in around three degrees of global warming, according to the 2018 UN emissions gap report. The International Energy Agency reports that energy-related carbon emissions have been rising again since 2017. In Brazil, deforestation of the Amazon has greatly increased during the last year. These worrying trends are in sharp contrast with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report on global warming of 1.5°C that calls for ‘rapid and far-reaching’ social and economic transitions to limit the impacts of climate change and meet the targets of the Paris Agreement.

The EU has adopted comprehensive policies to meet its pledge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 % below 1990 levels by 2030. Legislation on the emissions trading system (ETS), effort sharing for non-ETS sectors, land use and forests, energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainable bioenergy, and buildings has been agreed recently. Policies for sustainable mobility, including emission targets for cars, vans and trucks are still under negotiation. The EU has been a global leader in the fight against climate change, but lately struggles to keep up the pace of emission reductions, as reported by the European Environment Agency.

The European Parliament advocates a more ambitious EU target of a 55 % emission reduction by 2030, and a delegation from the European Parliament will attend COP24. Last week, the European Commission adopted a long-term strategy for emission reductions, requested by the Parliament in October 2017. The strategy, entitled ‘A clean planet for all’, outlines pathways to reach the aim of net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the EU by 2050. With these strategic targets, supporting policies and contributions to international climate finance, the EU is well positioned to play a leading role in bringing the COP24 negotiations to a successful conclusion.

Visit the European Parliament page on ‘Climate change‘.

 

Committee and political group meetings, Brussels

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Hungary's Central European University, founded by George Soros, said on Monday  (3 December) it has been forced out of the country in "an arbitrary eviction" that violated academic freedom, and confirmed plans to enrol new students in neighbouring Austria next year.

The ongoing investigation into Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s possible conflict of interest damages the Czech Republic and harms the EU as well, MEP Ingeborg Grässle said, revealing that the inquest has almost drawn to a conclusion. EURACTIV.cz's media partner Aktuálně.cz reports.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Written by Ingeborg Odink and Rosamund Shreeves, 

According to the UN, an estimated one in five women worldwide live with disabilities and the prevalence of disability is actually higher among women than men (19.2 versus 12 %). Women and girls with disabilities are also among the most vulnerable and marginalised, because of the multiple and intersecting discriminations they face based on their gender, age, disability and other factors, as the UN rightly and alarmingly pointed out in its 2017 Resolution on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

As we celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December, one cannot but conclude that for women and girls with disabilities in Europe full inclusion is also still a distant aspiration. Political awareness, however, is rising, and initiatives are being taken to empower these particularly vulnerable women and girls and protect their rights to enable them to fully and equally participate in society.

The prevalence of disability in the EU is higher among women than men. Women are the majority (54 %) of people with disabilities and are more likely than men to report a basic activity difficulty (15.1 % versus 12.9 %) or a disability (14 % versus 11.7 %). Considering the increase in the number of elderly people and longer female life expectancy, this number is expected to increase.

Legal and policy framework

Under the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), often described as the ‘international bill of rights for women’, and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which sets out a worldwide agenda for women’s empowerment, all EU Member States are committed to upholding and protecting women’s rights and eliminating the additional barriers some women, e.g. women with disabilities, face in achieving full equality and advancement. The EU itself is not party to CEDAW, but gender equality, non-discrimination and protection of human rights are established general principles of the EU.

The 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the first human rights convention to which the EU has become a party, and is the first international legally binding instrument setting minimum standards for rights for people with disabilities. The CRPD not only introduces a human rights based approach in disability policies (moving away from medical and charity models), it also explicitly recognises discrimination on the ground of gender and disability (Article 6) and calls on State Parties to take measures ensuring women with disabilities full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Optional Protocol to the CRPD allows for submission of complaints to the CRPD Committee by individuals and groups of individuals, or by a third party on behalf of individuals and groups of individuals, alleging that their rights have been violated under the CRPD. For the EU, the CRPD Convention entered into force on 22 January 2011. In addition, all the EU countries have signed and ratified the Convention, and 22 EU countries have also signed and ratified its Optional Protocol.

The international community’s commitment to advancing the human rights of women with disabilities was also strengthened with the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/RES 70/1), which pledges to ‘leave no one behind’. While not explicitly mentioned under Goal 5, ‘Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’, women with disabilities are included in target 5.1, ‘End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere’.

The European disability strategy 2010-2020 (ESD) is a key tool to fulfilling the EU commitments under the CRPD, the CEDAW and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The strategy entails actions in eight priority areas (accessibility, participation, equality, employment, education and training, social protection, health, external action) for the active inclusion and full participation of disabled people in society. However, the European Parliament and women’s rights organisations have criticised the lack of a gender perspective in the EDS, and that, despite progress in some areas, much more still needs to be done to improve the situation of both men and, especially, women with disabilities in the EU.

The 2017 EIGE Gender Equality Index (GEI) shows that women with disabilities in the EU score lower when it comes to access to the labour market, earnings and education level. Women with disabilities have a particularly low employment participation, with a FTE employment rate of only 19 %, compared to 28 % for men with disabilities, and the gender pay gap is similar to those who do not have disabilities. People with disabilities also face a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion than the general population. Here too, the poverty rate is slightly higher for women with disabilities compared to men with disabilities.

No less worrying is that women with disabilities indicate a higher prevalence of various forms of violence (see FRA 2014 EU-wide prevalence survey on violence against women). The biggest differences are found in terms of physical or sexual partner violence: 34 % of women with a health problem or disability have experienced this during a relationship, compared with 19 % of women who do not have a health problem or disability. Women with disabilities are also often denied equal sexual and reproductive rights. At the beginning of this year, the European Disability Forum (EDF) and CERMI Women’s Foundation released a comprehensive report denouncing the practice of forced sterilisation, which, under certain circumstances, is still carried out in some EU countries on women with (intellectual and psychosocial) disabilities.

EU accession to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in this context is an important step towards better protection of these rights. It is the first instrument in Europe to set legally binding standards to prevent gender-based violence, protect victims of violence and punish perpetrators, defining and criminalising various forms of violence against women, including physical, sexual, and psychological violence, stalking, sexual harassment, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, forced abortion and forced sterilisation

Action taken by the European Parliament

• The European Parliament has a cross-party Disability Intergroup, whose 188 members actively work on promoting disability policy and advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in their work at the European Parliament as well as at the national level.
• As a guardian of human rights, Parliament consistently raises gender and disability issues. In its resolution of 29 November 2018 on the situation of women with disabilities, it reiterated its call for gender and disability mainstreaming in the gender equality and disability strategies and all other strategies, policies and programmes of the EU and its member states, and called for concrete measures, in different areas, including positive measures, to protect the rights of women and girls with disabilities.
• The European Parliament has also consistently taken a strong stance on the issue of violence against women, including women with disabilities, and has repeatedly called for EU accession to the Istanbul Convention (the EU signed the Convention in June 2017) and for its ratification by individual Member States.

For further reading: On equality

• The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020, EPRS briefing, July 2017
• Discrimination and access to employment for female workers with disabilities, IPOL study, August 2017
• Violence against women in the EU: State of play, EPRS briefing, November 2018
• The Istanbul Convention: A tool to tackle violence against women and girls, EPRS at a glance, November 2018
• EIGE Fact sheet on gender and disability, 2018

On inclusiveness and technology

• 3D bio-printing for medical and enhancement purposes, EPRS In-depth study, July 2018
• What if technology helped society become more inclusive?, EPRS at a glance, June 2017

The French transposition of the European directive on trade secrets has hindered access to certain documents required for the “Implant Files” investigation. EURACTIV France reports.

People of African descent born in Europe face systemic racism in the EU, stated a report by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Moreover, European institutions are struggling to lead by example. EURACTIV France reports.

Spain's ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has warned of the threat posed by far-right parties after Vox took 12 parliamentary seats in regional elections on Sunday night in Andalusia, a traditional Socialist stronghold. EURACTIV’s partner efe-epa reports.

The Hungarian government has forced Budapest-based Central European University (CEU), founded by US billionaire George Soros, to move to Vienna, CEU rector Michael Ignatieff said Monday. "This is unprecedented. A US institution has been driven out of a country that is a Nato ally. A European institution has been ousted from a member state of the EU," he said. Hungary's nationalist premier Viktor Orban has a long-running campaign against Soros.

The protests against President Macron that started over an increase in petrol prices turned violent on the weekend. In Paris cars were set on fire and windows smashed, while masked protesters marched through the streets brandishing axes and metal bars. Commentators see no chance of a constructive dialogue in France.

Former US president George H. W. Bush has died aged 94. As 41st president of the United States he succeeded Ronald Regan in 1989 - the year the Berlin Wall came down - and shaped Western politics in a time of radical change. While some commentators praise the president's handling of events others point to his mistakes.