Category: Євросоюз

European Union authorities want internet companies including Google, Facebook and Twitter to file monthly reports on their progress eradicating “fake news” campaigns from their platforms ahead of elections next year. Officials from the EU’s executive Commission unveiled the measures Wednesday as part of an action plan to counter disinformation in the lead up to the continent-wide vote in the spring. The internet companies will have to submit their reports from January until May, when hundreds of millions of people in 27 EU member countries are scheduled to vote for 705 lawmakers in the bloc’s parliament. The Commission singled out Russia. …

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If British Prime Minister Theresa May loses a vote in parliament on her divorce agreement with the European Union next week, EU leaders won’t rip it up and start negotiating again — but they could help her try to win a second bout. That help, in the form of new clarifications of how the deal would work or perhaps even small tweaks to agreed text, will not convince the massed ranks of May’s opponents, who see the deal as either too much Brexit or too little. But it would be aimed at winning over enough waverers to salvage the accord. …

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The U.N. secretary-general’s envoy for Western Sahara is meeting with foreign ministers from Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania plus leaders of the Polisario Front over the future of the Morocco-annexed territory. U.N. envoy Horst Koehler, a former German president, hosted a “round-table” discussion among the attendees at the first U.N.-hosted talks on the territory in six years, after meeting with them bilaterally earlier Wednesday. The U.N. says the two-day meeting is a first step toward a renewed negotiations process aiming to “provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.” Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975 and fought …

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The British Parliament has released some 250 pages worth of documents that show Facebook considered charging developers for data access. Parliament’s media committee seized confidential Facebook documents from the developer of a now-defunct bikini photo searching app as part of its investigation into fake news. The documents show internal discussions about linking data to revenue.   “There’s a big question on where we get the revenue from,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in one email. “Do we make it easy for devs to use our payments/ad network but not require them? Do we require them? Do we just charge a rev …

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Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, Tuesday highlighted the resilience of embattled Christians in the Middle East during a special service in Westminster Abbey, focusing on their plight in a region that’s turned increasingly harsh for Christianity.  In a message of hope, Prince Charles said he had been privileged to have met so many “with such inspiring faith and courage” who were battling oppression and persecution, or who have fled to escape it. And he made a plea for peace, saying “extremism and division” are not inevitable. “Throughout history, in these lands which are the cradle of faith for …

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Norway will pay Brazil $70 million for reducing deforestation in the Amazon in 2017, but is concerned over a more recent surge in destruction of the world’s largest tropical rainforest, according to a Norwegian government statement. Norway’s statement comes as right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro threatens to pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change and end environmental fines, spurring activist fears that deforestation could accelerate. Bolsonaro also pushed the Brazilian government to withdraw its offer to host next year’s United Nations climate conference, saying foreign involvement in the Amazon threatened Brazil’s sovereignty. Norway’s money will go to the Amazon …

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Belgium’s center-right government is fighting for its survival this week after the largest coalition party broke away from its three partners and said it would not back a global U.N.-backed migration pact. The right-wing N-VA party started a social media campaign against the migration pact Tuesday, more than two months after Prime Minister Charles Michel pledged he would sign the pact for Belgium at a meeting next week in Marrakech, Morocco. Instead of a coalition breakup, Michel announced late Tuesday that he would take the issue to parliament for a vote in the days to come.   “I want parliament to have its …

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Tensions between Greece and Turkey over the divided island of Cyprus are rising. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accusing the Greek Cypriots of pursuing “aggressive” policies, while local media report Ankara is planning to build a naval base on the Turkish side of the Mediterranean island. On Monday, Turkish newspapers allied with Erdogan reported a naval base could be constructed by 2019 on the Turkish Cypriot side of the island. “It (the report on the naval base) should be taken seriously,” said international relations professor Serhat Guvenc of Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.  “It has very many vocal advocates in …

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Serbia sought support from allies Russia and China on Tuesday in opposing the formation of a Kosovo army, warning that a military in its former province could lead to renewed clashes in the Balkans.  Kosovo’s parliament is set to vote Dec. 14 on transforming the country’s security forces into a regular army. Serbian officials claim the army would be used against the Serb minority in Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008. Serbia has threatened unspecified retaliatory measures if the army is created.  Serbia, Russia and China don’t recognize Kosovo as a country, while the United States and most of the …

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Female parliamentarians have called for a global network to combat issues including online abuse from the public, threats to their safety and discrimination by male colleagues. A gathering of female members of parliament (MPs) from dozens of countries across the world highlighted shared challenges over gender equality in politics and urged a joint response, said a report on the conference published on Monday by British politician Harriet Harman. “Women in parliament are pioneers,” said Harman, a member of the opposition Labour party who is the longest-serving female MP in the British lower house of parliament, in a statement. “We have …

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Two more jailed Catalan separatist leaders awaiting trial for their role in the region’s failed bid to secede from Spain joined a hunger strike started two days ago by two of their companions to protest against their treatment by Spanish courts. After Catalonia declared independence last year, Madrid took direct control of the region and brought charges including misuse of public funds and rebellion against Catalan leaders, nine of whom are in jail awaiting trial. Two of the leaders in custody, Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn, released a statement saying they would join the hunger strike started on Saturday by …

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Kosovo will keep its 100 percent tariffs on Serbian goods until Belgrade recognizes Pristina, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said Monday, defying calls by the European Union and United States for the tariffs to be abolished. Last month Haradinaj’s government raised tariffs on locally-produced Serbian and Bosnian goods to 100 percent from 10 percent because Belgrade blocked Kosovo’s membership of Interpol. The decision effectively halted trade between the two states and was criticized by EU and U.S. officials. “The tariffs of 100 percent for the goods on Serbia and Bosnia are to protect national security and sovereignty,” Haradinaj wrote on his …

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heaped praise on Venezuela’s embattled socialist leader Monday as political and economic ties between the two countries blossom.   Erdogan took the stage with President Nicolas Maduro in the first visit by a Turkish leader to Venezuela. He stopped in Caracas after attending the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.   The Turkish president said Venezuela’s government has been unfairly hit by international sanctions amid its economic crisis, punishing an entire nation.   The United States and several European nations have sanctioned Maduro’s administration in an attempt to pressure Venezuela into making a return to …

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed the strength of U.S.-Israel alliance and reiterated America’s resolve in confronting Iran’s threats through maximum pressure during a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Pompeo arrived in Brussels late Monday for the NATO foreign ministerial meeting, where he had dinner after lighting a Hanukah candle with Netanyahu. The meeting came days after the top U.S. diplomat slammed Tehran’s testing of a medium-range ballistic missile. Washington also urged European leaders Monday to enact sanctions on Iran after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tehran tested a medium range ballistic missile …

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A report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) says thousands of unaccompanied children and children who have been separated from their families run the daily risk of sexual and gender-based violence as they travel along the world’s migratory trails.  “A child who is migrating alone, without the love and protection of a parent, family member or guardian, is arguably one of the most vulnerable people in the world,” said Francesco Rocca, IFRC president. The report entitled “Alone and Unsafe,” is being released ahead of next week’s meeting in Marrakech where governments are expected to …

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The European Union’s migration commissioner is calling on member countries that have turned against a U.N.-backed migration pact to reconsider their opposition. A conference in Marrakech, Morocco on Dec. 10-11 is due to approve the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which was finalized in July with only the U.S. staying out. But the non-binding accord is drawing strong opposition from nationalists in Europe and elsewhere, and EU countries including Hungary, Austria and Poland have since pulled out or expressed reservations. EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos was quoted Monday as telling German daily Die Welt that he doesn’t …

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World leaders have gathered in the heart of Poland’s coal-mining industry to discuss what can be done about global climate change. The two-week-long meeting in Katowice comes amid a series of reports from various sources and parts of the world saying that climate change processes are in full swing and that some may be unstoppable. But, as VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports, a consensus on reducing pollution, and other factors believed to be contributing to climate change, remains elusive. …

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Russia’s recent attack on Ukrainian naval vessels will likely top the agenda at a NATO meeting this week – as the alliance searches for a robust response in the wake of the Kremlin’s latest act of aggression on Europe’s borders. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to join other foreign ministers meeting Tuesday in Brussels, as American demands for more military spending from NATO allies will also be discussed. Henry Ridgwell reports from London. …

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Tens of thousands of people protested in Georgia Sunday against last week’s run-off presidential election, which they believe were rigged. Backed by the ruling party, Salome Zurabishvili was elected Georgia’s first female president by 59 percent of the vote. But opposition leaders and protesters allege vote-buying, voter intimidation, and other irregularities as they packed the streets of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Zurabishvili’s opponent Grigol Vashadze addressed the crowd in Tbilisi, calling the election a “criminal farce” and saying that the opposition “demands an early parliamentary election to be held in Georgia.” Vashadze is backed by allies of former president Mikhail …

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French President Emmanuel Macron visited the graffiti-damaged Arc de Triomphe monument and held an emergency meeting on security Sunday, a day after central Paris was hit by France’s worst riot in a generation.   Macron, who was meeting with his prime minister and interior and environment ministers, has vowed that those responsible for the violence and the damages will pay for their actions. His tour of France’s beloved monument came just hours after he flew back from the G-20 summit in Argentina.   Macron paid tribute to the Unknown Soldier from World War I whose tomb is under the monument. …

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