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Liberals say that 2030 climate package is opportunity to turn climate neutrality into EU success story

15th June 2021

Renew Europe, the Liberal coalition in the European Parliament, has outlined five flagship messages in a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the Executive Vice President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans. The input comes ahead of the Fit for 2030 climate package to be presented by the Commission in mid-July, with a call for the Commission to integrate them in the upcoming proposals in order to ensure a balanced and successful package delivering on ...

After NATO, Biden turns to EU for renewal of transatlantic ties

15th June 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden will intensify his post-Trump push to renew transatlantic relations on Tuesday, meeting with European Union leaders to cool trade tensions and join forces to beat COVID-19, uphold democracy and hold back climate change. Biden's summit in Brussels with the presidents of the EU's executive and the Council that represents the bloc's 27 member states is also expected to affirm Western solidarity in the face of the assertiveness of both Russia and Chin...

Malta: Industrial production eclipses EU average in April

14th June 2021

Industrial production rose by 5.6 per cent between March and April, the second-highest rate among EU members. Figures by Eurostat show that the increase outpaced the EU average of 0.5 per cent and was behind only the rise registered in Belgium (+7.4%). Compared with April 2020, however, the gain in Malta was the sixth-lowest in the bloc, at 17.5 per cent. The year-on-year average increase in the EU 27 stood at 38.7 per cent, led by Italy (+79.5%), Slovakia (+69.1%), and Romania (+64.5%). Energy ...

Who’s who in Israel’s new patchwork coalition government

14th June 2021

Israel's new government is a hodgepodge of political parties that had little in common other than a desire to unseat veteran right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The coalition, sworn in on Sunday, spans the far left to far right and includes for the first time a small Islamist faction representing Israel's Arab minority. It is expected to focus mostly on economic and social issues rather than risk exposing internal rifts by trying to address major diplomatic matters such as t...

UPDATED: At NATO, Biden says defence of Europe a “sacred obligation”

14th June 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden told fellow NATO leaders on Monday the defence of Europe, Turkey and Canada was a "sacred obligation" for the United States, a marked shift from his predecessor Donald Trump's threats to withdraw from the military alliance. Arriving in Brussels from the weekend's G7 summit in England, Biden again sought to rally Western allies to support a U.S. strategy to contain China's military rise as well as showing unity in the face of Russian aggression. "Article Five i...

Decisions for NATO’s first summit with Biden

14th June 2021

NATO leaders hold their first summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday, aiming to repair transatlantic ties after his predecessor Donald Trump said the Western military alliance was "obsolete". Here are some of the decisions leaders are set to take in Brussels: * Biden is expected to recommit the United States to the collective defence of the 30 allies in NATO after Trump questioned its relevance and suggested in 2018 that Washington withdraw its membership. * The 30 leaders ...

Out, but not down, Netanyahu could be tough opposition leader

13th June 2021

Long the familiar face of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is headed to the political sidelines after serving as prime minister for more than a decade. But even as he battles in court against corruption charges that he denies, Netanyahu, as opposition leader, will be poised to pounce on a new governing coalition of right-wing, centrist and Arab parties with little in common other than a desire to unseat him. In a likely taste of things to come, a stern-looking Netanyahu, 71, has decried the...

UPDATED: G7 calls for study in China on COVID origins, agree on increased climate finance

13th June 2021

Group of Seven leaders called for a transparent, science-based study, including in China, into the origins of COVID-19, to be convened by the World Health Organization, a draft communique showed. "We also call for a timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based WHO-convened Phase 2 COVID-19 Origins study including, as recommended by the experts’ report, in China," the communique, which is almost finalised, said. They also called on China to respect human rights in its Xinjiang region...

UPDATED: G7 provides 1 billion COVID vaccine doses, will work to give more – communique

13th June 2021

Group of Seven countries will provide 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses over the next year and work with the private sector, the G20 and other countries to increase the contribution over months to come, according to an almost finalised draft of the communique. "The commitments since we last met in February 2021 including here in Carbis Bay provide for 1 billion doses over the next year," said the communique, seen by Reuters. "We will work together with the private sector, the G20 and o...

Malta: Production grows across the board for the first time in a year

11th June 2021

Industrial Production increased by 5.3 per cent in April compared to the previous month, registering growth across all major groupings for the first month in twelve months. The Index of Industrial Production stood at 107.4, the highest in a year according to figures published by the National Statistics Office. In April 2020, on the contrary, the Index recorded its lowest point in the period under review, dropping to 92.6. Energy production grew the 13.1 per cent month-on-month in April, the bigg...

Malta: Property transactions decrease in May but total value increases

11th June 2021

Final deeds of property sales in May surpassed a total value of €300 million for the first time since October 2018. Figures by the National Statistics Office show transactions adding up to €319.5 million, the highest total value generated in the 41 months under review since January 2018. The number of final deeds of sale registered in May was, however, only the third highest so far this year with 1,158 transactions. In March and April, the total value of final deeds stood at 1,285 and 1,185, re...

North Sea oil IPOs had best take the plunge soon

10th June 2021

by George Hay via Reuters Breakingviews North Sea oil companies hoping to float should strip off and take the plunge. Sam Laidlaw, formerly boss of UK utility Centrica (CNA.L), is mulling an initial public offering of Neptune Energy, the driller controlled by buyout groups CVC and Carlyle, as well as China’s sovereign wealth fund. His chances of achieving a $10 billion valuation look better if he moves swiftly. After a recent rush of new listings, investors are showing signs of indi...

Biden’s to-do list on foreign trip: Rally allies against COVID, Putin

9th June 2021

President Joe Biden’s meeting with leaders of the G7 leading industrial economies in an English seaside village this week will usher in a new focus on rallying U.S. allies against common adversaries - the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia and China. New COVID-19 variants and rising death tolls in some countries will loom large during the gathering from Friday to Sunday, alongside climate change, strengthening global supply chains and ensuring the West maintains its technological edge over China,...

Why are EU, UK arguing over Northern Ireland?

9th June 2021

David Frost, the UK’s minister in charge of ties with the European Union, and Maros Sefkovic, vice head of the European Commission, meet on Wednesday to try and resolve differences over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland. Here is an explanation of what is at stake in the talks. THE PROTOCOL – Both the EU and Britain agreed that keeping the Northern Ireland/Ireland border open was essential to preserve the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence, but...

Bike sharing shifts into a more manageable gear

9th June 2021

by Pete Sweeney via Reuters Breakingviews Bike-sharing companies are back in the saddle after a brutal wipe-out. Survivors are now pedalling their way onto public markets in a fresh test of investor endurance. China invented so-called “dockless” shared bicycles: hardy vehicles unlocked by smartphone and left anywhere for the next user. Mobike and Ofo spawned dozens of imitators at home and abroad. A price war ensued, while bike-strewn sidewalks irritated municipal officials, who cra...

Bosnia’s Mladic, commander of Europe’s worst atrocities since World War Two

8th June 2021

Ratko Mladic was dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia" for terrorising the capital Sarajevo with a 43-month siege and presiding over the 1995 massacre of up to 8,000 Muslims in a U.N.-designated “safe area”, Europe's worst atrocity since World War Two. The Srebrenica slaughter was the grisly culmination of a 3-1/2-year war in which nationalist Bosnian Serb forces under Mladic pounded Sarajevo daily with artillery, tanks, mortars and heavy machine guns, killing 10,000. The dead from Srebrenica we...

Big vs Small – How bigger countries’ tax deal will reveal rift in Europe

8th June 2021

A global deal on corporate tax looks set to bring to a climax a deep-seated European Union battle, pitting large members Germany, France and Italy against Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Although the smaller EU partners at the centre of a years-long struggle over their favourable tax regimes, welcomed the Group of Seven deal on June 5. for a minimum corporate rate of at least 15%, some critics predict trouble implementing it. The ...

Ray-Ban maker may finally live up to merger vision

8th June 2021

by Lisa Jucca via Reuters Breakingviews EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA) may finally live up to its merger vision. The Paris-listed company on Friday ended the power-sharing pact underpinning the 2018 union that brought together the Italian maker of Ray-Ban sunglasses with the French purveyor of Varilux lenses. Axing duplication should enable the 63 billion euro giant to cut costs faster while wiping out a persistent discount. The world’s biggest eyewear player has spent three years grapp...

Malta’s UN Permanent Representative elected Chair of the UN Economic and Financial Committee

7th June 2021

Ambassador Vanessa Frazier, Malta's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has been elected Chair of the UN Second Committee (Economic and Financial Committee) for the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly. Ambassador Frazier has been elected with unanimous support from the UN Membership today and will take on her role as of October 2021. Ambassador Frazier will lead, for the first time in UN history, a Bureau made up of all women together with three Vice-Chairs from Poland, Dom...

The Tobacco Products Directive: Five years on

7th June 2021

The European Commission published its first report on the Tobacco Products Directive, five years after it became applicable in 2016. Following the introduction of this Directive, the EU has witnessed steady decreases in smoking rates and tobacco use. However, more efforts are needed, the report said, particularly enforcement at national level and better consideration of new market developments, such as novel tobacco products. With 27 per cent of all cancers attributed to its use, tobac...

What is a global minimum tax and what will it mean?

5th June 2021

Finance Ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations have said they are close to a landmark accord setting a global minimum corporate tax rate, an agreement that could then form the basis of a worldwide deal. Such a deal aims to end what U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a "30-year race to the bottom on corporate tax rates" as countries compete to lure multinationals. WHY A GLOBAL MINIMUM TAX? Major economies are aiming to discourage multinationals from shifting p...

UPDATED: G7 nations near historic deal on taxing multinationals

5th June 2021

Group of Seven rich nations will seek to overcome long-standing differences on Saturday and strike a landmark deal to close the net on large companies that they say do not pay enough tax. The proposed accord, which could form the basis of a global pact next month, is aimed at ending a decades-long "race to the bottom" in which countries have competed to attract corporate giants with ultra-low tax rates and exemptions. That has in turn cost their public coffers hundreds of billions of doll...

U.N. refugee agency scorns Denmark’s law on asylum claims

4th June 2021

The U.N. refugee agency has voiced strong opposition to a law passed by Denmark's parliament that would allow processing of claims lodged by asylum seekers outside Europe, calling it an "abdication" of its responsibility under international law. Denmark on Thursday passed a law enabling it to process asylum seekers outside Europe, drawing anger from human rights advocates and the European Commission. Filippo Grandi, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said in an overnight stat...

Eating for your genes

4th June 2021

From low-fat to low-carb and from ketogenic to paleolithic, there was no shortage of experimental diets in recent decades. Nutrition experts leveraged food science and human biology to develop healthier eating behaviours. Almost inevitably, successful programmes adopted by millions of people are quickly demoted to the status of fads when they no longer reflect contemporary lifestyles, or when longitudinal studies and new science challenge their original claims. But the diet mo...

World food price index surges in May to highest level since 2011 -FAO

3rd June 2021

World food prices rose in May at their fastest monthly rate in more than a decade, posting a 12th consecutive monthly increase to hit their highest level since September 2011, the United Nations food agency said on Thursday. FAO also issued its first forecast for world cereal production in 2021, predicting output of nearly 2.821 billion tonnes -- a new record and 1.9% up on 2020 levels. The Food and Agriculture Organization's food price index, which measures monthly changes for a bask...

Israel is set for a change of government. Who? When? Why?

3rd June 2021

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is on the verge of being toppled from power after more than a decade in office. The 71-year-old right-winger looks set to be ousted by an unlikely coalition of right-wing, centrist and other parties who clinched a deal to form a government that would break a period of unprecedented political deadlock that saw four elections in two years. WHO ARE THE NEW GUARD? NAFTALI BENNETT, 49, heads the ultra-nationalist party Yam...

Holding the field

3rd June 2021

Most of the world’s food comes from the ground. Whether raw or infinitely processed, agricultural products are, by far, the largest source of nutrition. But as countries become richer and industries diversify, food production becomes a less prominent sector of national economies. Agriculture contributes to around 1.3 per cent of the EU’s GDP and employs just over four per cent of the members’ combined workforce. In the US, less than half of that are engaged in farming, which accounts f...

No recovery in global jobs market from pandemic until at least 2023 – ILO

2nd June 2021

At least 220 million people are expected to remain unemployed globally this year, well above pre-pandemic levels, with a weak labour market recovery exacerbating existing inequalities, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday. The United Nations agency forecast the outlook improving to 205 million unemployed next year - still well above the 187 million recorded in 2019 before the coronavirus crisis wreaked havoc. According to ILO models, that equates to a global unemp...

WHO approves Sinovac COVID shot in second Chinese milestone

2nd June 2021

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced it has approved a COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech for emergency use listing, paving the way for a second Chinese shot to be used in poor countries. A WHO emergency listing is a signal to national regulators of a product’s safety and efficacy and will allow the Sinovac shot to be included in COVAX, the global programme providing vaccines mainly for poor countries, which faces major supply problems due to curbs on Indian exports. Th...

The sweet and sour of hunger action

2nd June 2021

With World War II still raging, in 1943, governments from over 40 countries convened to fight another cross-border threat: hunger. Within two years, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was set up on the Latin promise fiat panis – let there be bread. The push to eradicate chronic hunger and food insecurity was one of the collective achievements of the 20th century. Fifty years after the seeds of the FAO were sown, the global share of undernourished individuals stood at less than...

“Australia’s Greta Thunberg” steps up climate change activism

1st June 2021

Leading thousands of protest marchers through central Sydney and joining a landmark class action lawsuit aren’t the usual activities for most 14-year-olds. But Australian student Izzy Raj-Seppings has abandoned more frivolous extracurricular activities in favour of stepping up pressure on the country's leadership to battle climate change. Raj-Seppings has become one of the country's most prominent environmental activists since her tear-stained face made global headlines in late 2019 when ...

Crime shouldn’t pay: Why fighting money laundering matters

1st June 2021

Among the most pervasive threats to the international economy over the past century, money laundering – or the act by which criminals seek to clean illegally-made gains – has rapidly risen among the concerns of governments and citizens alike. The reasons for this uptick in concern are twofold, namely a larger realisation of the wide extent of this phenomenon – with the United Nations suggesting that up to two trillion dollars are being laundered each year – and to the severe impact thi...

Going carbon-neutral is a business opportunity, says Korean minister

1st June 2021

The path to carbon neutrality should be seen as creating opportunities rather than threatening business, a South Korean minister told a climate forum on Monday, as he called for a change in perceptions and stronger global cooperation. The fossil fuel industry has come under increasing pressure to slash its planet-heating emissions from coal, oil and gas. Energy production and use account for two-thirds of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Energy Age...

Inglorious food

1st June 2021

by Jesmond Saliba Since at least classical antiquity, civilizations have been longing for an abundance of food. The symbol of the cornucopia was handed down from Greek god to French monarchy to the Peruvian coat of arms. The ‘Horn of Plenty’ represents a deep-seated human hope for assured sustenance. Hope turned into reality in the last century and by 2011 it was estimated that the world was producing as much as one-third more food than people could consume. Food waste is a...

Malta: Women score lower unemployment rate than men

31st May 2021

The rate of unemployment among women stood at 3.7 per cent in April, the first time it fell lower than the male unemployment rate in twelve months. Unemployment among men stood at a stable 3.8 per cent for three months, while that among women fell from 4.0 per cent in February to 3.8 per cent in March. Figures by the National Statistics Office show a total unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent in April, equal to the previous month but down from 4.4 per cent recorded in April last year. The total le...

WHO faces potential shake-up

31st May 2021

The World Health Organization, battling to coordinate the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, agreed on Monday to study recommendations for ambitious reforms made by independent experts to strengthen the agency. Under the resolution put forward by the European Union, and adopted by consensus, member states are to be firmly in the driver's seat of the reforms, which follow criticisms of the global handling of the crisis. The new virus has infected more than 170 million people and ...

Shooting the messenger

31st May 2021

One night in a turbulent week, news outlets reporting from Gaza City were tipped off about an imminent air assault. The target was their offices. The Al-Jalaa tower housed eight media outlets including the Associated Press and Al Jazeera as well as tens of residential apartments and other offices. An hour after the advance warning, Israeli fighter jets hit the 11-storey building pulverising it into a column of black smoke. A spokesperson for the army maintained that members of Hamas, a...

Death threats and arrests: Belarus opposition media struggles at home and abroad

30th May 2021

In an elegant apartment building in central Warsaw flying a red and white flag from its first floor balcony, a symbol of the Belarusian opposition, remnants of the anti-government media in Belarus are shrugging off a new wave of death threats. Less than a year ago, Roman Protasevich, a 26-year-old blogger and opponent of veteran President Alexander Lukashenko, was sitting in the same office helping live stream anti-government protests around 300 miles (480 km) to the east which he hoped ...

Gaza truce shifts focus to Egypt’s regional role

30th May 2021

Egypt's work to broker and secure a truce in the Gaza Strip this month has thrust it into the diplomatic spotlight, prompting top-level reengagement from Washington and overshadowing moves by several Arab states to normalise ties with Israel. The efforts have earned Cairo recognition at a time when it was struggling to strike a rapport with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration amid differences on human rights, and to make progress on its top foreign policy goal - a deal to regulate ...

Nature funding must triple by 2030 to protect land, wildlife and climate

30th May 2021

Global annual spending to protect and restore nature needs to triple this decade to about $350 billion by 2030 and rise to $536 billion by 2050, a U.N. report said this week, urging a shift in mindset among financiers, businesses and governments. The inaugural State of Finance for Nature report looked at how to tackle the planet’s climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises, estimating about $8 trillion in investment would be needed by mid-century to safeguard natural systems. I...

Pressure builds for schools to put climate change study on curriculum

30th May 2021

International bodies and pressure groups are calling for climate change studies to become a standard part of the school curriculum worldwide, saying the step is vital to reach targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organisation, UNESCO, said this month that environmental studies should be standard teaching in all countries by 2025. That may seem an ambitious goal but some environmental lobbies and politicians say it is too timid....

Swiss to pay economic price for ditching EU treaty

30th May 2021

Switzerland will pay the price in lost exports, higher costs and diminished attractiveness as a business centre after deciding this week to pull the plug on a draft treaty binding it more snugly to the European Union, its biggest trading partner. Popular concerns about yielding too much sovereignty sank the 2018 pact that would have had non-member Switzerland routinely adopt rules governing the EU's giant single market, including the free movement of people. While the eurosceptic far-...

EU to discuss EEA states’ financial contribution for 2021-2027

30th May 2021

The Council has adopted a decision authorising the opening of negotiations with Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway for an agreement on the future financial contribution of the EEA EFTA States to social and economic cohesion in the European Economic Area. The Council also adopted negotiating directives which constitute a mandate to the Commission for the negotiations. On the basis of this mandate, negotiations should now be conducted and conclu...

EU Digital COVID Certificate: EP and Council reach agreement on Commission proposal

30th May 2021

The European Parliament and the Council on the Regulation have reached a political agreement governing the EU Digital COVID Certificate. This means that the certificate (previously called the Digital Green Certificate) remains on track to be ready by the end of June, as planned. Following the agreement, the EU Digital COVID Certificate will cover Covid-19 vaccination, test or recovery and be available in a digital and paper-based format. It will be free of charge and Member States may ...

The Maltese need to be protected from their own government’

30th May 2021

Maltese and Gozitan families need to be protected from their own government, since the Labour government is protecting criminals, MEP David Casa said. He was speaking after the European Parliament approved a resolution which called on the Maltese Government to act, mainly to ensure that all those involved in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia are brought to justice. It also asked that all those cases of corruption and money laundering which Daphne Caruana Galizia revealed, a...

Ewropej: Human rights approach needed regarding cannabis legislation

30th May 2021

“The war on drugs has failed and a human rights approach is needed on the matter,” Maltese MEP Cyrus Engerer said. The Labour Party MEP was speaking after his office organised one of the biggest pan-European conferences on cannabis for personal use, in conjunction with Encod. The MEP made submissions to the national government after it proposed that cannabis users should be allowed to grow their own plants at home and legally carry up to 7 grams of the drug for personal use.&n...

Liverpool pays tribute to the 39 football fans who on this day, 36 years ago died in Heysel stadium

29th May 2021

Liverpool FC remembers the 39 football fans who lost their lives at Heysel Stadium in Belgium on this day 36 years ago. 36 years ago football experienced one of the darkest pages when before the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus on May 29, 1985, events in Block Z of the Heysel stadium tragically led to the deaths of 39 people - mostly Juventus supporters - and left hundreds more injured. Liverpool FC Facebook Page As a mark of respect to those who died, a floral tribu...

Diplomats say Turkey pushed NATO allies into softening outrage over Belarus plane

28th May 2021

Turkey pushed NATO allies into watering down an official reaction to the forced landing by Belarus of a passenger plane and the detention of a dissident journalist on Sunday, two diplomats familiar with the matter told Reuters. NATO's 30 allies released a two-paragraph statement on Wednesday condemning the forcing down of a Ryanair flight to arrest journalist Roman Protasevich but did not include any punitive steps that Baltic allies and Poland had pressed for. The statement was also ...

Rising global temperatures ‘inexorably closer’ to climate tipping point – U.N.

27th May 2021

There is now a 40% chance that global temperatures will temporarily reach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in the next five years -- and these odds are rising, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. This does not yet mean that the world would already be crossing the long-term warming 1.5-degree threshold set by the Paris Climate Accord, which scientists warn is the ceiling to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. The Paris Accord target looks at temperature over...

EU partly to blame for Mediterranean migrant deaths -UN

26th May 2021

The European Union is partly to blame for deaths of migrants taking boats across the Mediterranean due to unanswered distress calls, obstruction of humanitarian rescue efforts, and so-called “pushbacks” to Libya, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Thousands of refugees and migrants including many from Africa undertake long, dangerous journeys via Libya to Europe each year, often embarking on small, inflatable boats in search of a better life. Death rates are rising and so far this ...