CPMR Member Regions came together on 26 March for their spring Political Bureau meeting, with a strong focus on the role of regions for European recovery. As worrying signs on the lack of consultation and future involvement of regional authorities emerge in the drafting process of national recovery plans, the CPMR is sounding the alarm…
The Socialists and Democrats Group welcomes the European Parliament’s adoption of the ‘New EU-Africa Strategy’ report. This own-initiative report is a response to the Commission’s joint communication on the EU-Africa strategy, which highlights some new elements for a renewed partnership in view of the upcoming EU-Africa Summit that, hopefully, will take place this year. We are…
Five new strains of virus have been detected in Hong Kong and the authorities have identified 4 places of origins Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan and Dubai respectively, writes Jianli Yang. The fifth place of origin is unknown. From a total population of 7.5 million, the new strains have put the tally of infections to a total…
Air pollution causes more than 400,000 premature deaths per year. It is the largest environmental risk to health in Europe and has a direct negative effect on the environment. This must stop. The Ambient Air Quality Directives have been only partially effective so far. Several pieces of legislation have already been passed but implementation is…
Writing in the Dong-A Ilbo today Ji-Sun Choi aurinko reports that the South Korean government has declined to co-sponsor a United Nations resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights violations, which will be adopted at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council. Human Rights experts familiar with the situation in the country describe the decision…
The following statement was issued today by leading MEPs following the decision by Chinese authorities to sanction the Subcommittee on Human Rights and other European entities and officials. “We take note of the decision by the Chinese authorities to impose sanctions in retaliation to the Council’s decision of 22 March to impose sanctions on four Chinese officials…
Interview with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Benelux Countries, Dilyor Khakimov, on the development of the relations between Europe and Uzbekistan in the course of deepening reforms in Uzbekistan. Q: It has been 3.5 years since you started your career as Ambassador to the Benelux countries. How have…
Externally, the arrest of Ukrainian journalist Vladislav Esipenko in Crimea is not connected with the sensational statement of US President Joe Biden about Russian President Vladimir Putin. The events are separated by some time interval. But, there is actually a connection, as there is with the date of the seventh anniversary of the commemoration of…
And the worst part is, it’s not even done yet. On March 11, an annual confab of functionaries rubber-stamped a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) plan to gut most of what is left of Hong Kong’s democratic processes, write Aaron Rhodes and Jianli Yang. At the “Two Sessions” meeting, or Lianghui, over 5,000 members of the CCP elite —…
The Chinese Communist Party recently announced it is suing renowned China scholar, Dr. Adrian Zenz, Senior Fellow in China Studies at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, in its latest attempt to cover up its crimes against Uyghur Muslims and other religious minorities in Xinjiang. The lawsuit, filed by Beijing-controlled courts, follows the extensive research published…
