by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
Caracas : Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro slammed the European Union (EU)-backed International Contact Group on Venezuela, but said he would be prepared to meet its representatives, while self-proclaimed interim head of state Juan Guaido said his supporters were ready to create a humanitarian corridor if the incumbent blocks international aid.
“I’m ready and willing to receive any envoy from the contact group,” Maduro told a press conference on Friday at the presidential palace, though he rejected the “partisan, ideological” lens through which its members view the oil-rich nation, reports Efe news.
The contact group, which seeks a solution to Venezuela’s political and economic crisis through dialogue and new presidential elections, includes Germany, the UK, Spain and France, and a handful of Latin American countries such as Uruguay, Ecuador and Costa Rica.
Mexico participated at the group’s inaugural meeting on Thursday in Montevideo, but did not sign a statement calling for new presidential elections in Venezuela.
Leftist-led Bolivia also refused to support snap presidential elections in Venezuela.
The US, Canada, numerous Latin American countries and the major European powers all consider Maduro’s May 2018 re-election victory to be tainted by fraud and have recognised Guaido, the speaker of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, as Interim President.
Guaido, speaking on Friday at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, said that if Maduro continues to prevent the entry of a shipment of humanitarian aid from the neighbouring Colombia, the opposition would mobilise to create a corridor so the assistance could reach Venezuelans in need.
His pledge followed comments by the US Ambassador to Colombia urging the Venezuelan military to allow the aid to enter the country.
Venezuelan armed forces officers and troops have the opportunity to participate in a humanitarian campaign that would help alleviate severe problems in their country, which is suffering from widespread shortages of food and medicine and hyperinflation, Kevin Whitaker said in the Colombian border city of Cucuta.
Maduro has thus far used the military to block the aid from entering Venezuela, denying that the country is suffering a humanitarian crisis and saying the delivery of the shipments would be a prelude to a US-led military intervention.
US President Donald Trump has imposed severe sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry and was the first recognise Guaido as Interim President within hours of his January 23 proclamation.
Trump said last month that “all options are on the table” in dealing with Maduro.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated on Friday that the only path to a solution of the crisis in Venezuela is dialogue between the government and opposition.
Lopez Obrador, as he has done throughout the current crisis, referred again to the foreign policy principles set out in Mexico’s constitution: non-intervention, self-determination of peoples, peaceful settlement of disputes and respect for human rights.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Madrid : Spain and 18 other countries belonging to the European Union (EU) has signed a joint declaration of support and recognition for the US-backed opposition leader as the interim Venezuelan president after an ultimatum they had signed calling on the embattled incumbent to call early elections expired.
The statement proclaims National Assembly speaker Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president with the aim of “calling free, fair and democratic presidential elections.”
Signing the declaration were Spain, Portugal, Germany, the UK, Denmark, Holland, France, Hungary, Austria, Finland, Belgium, Luxemburg, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Sweden and Croatia, Efe reported on Monday.
The move came after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro failed to comply with an ultimatum from several EU members to call a snap presidential election.
“The goal is to call elections as soon as possible,” Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, told a press conference at his official Moncloa residence in Madrid, kicking off a day of similar announcements across the bloc.
“These elections have to be free, democratic, with guarantees and without exclusions,” he said, adding he would liaise with EU member states and the UN to draw up a humanitarian aid package for Venezuela.
Guaido is the president of the National Assembly, which is considered by the EU to be the only the legitimate parliamentary body in Venezuela.
In 2017, Venezuela’s Supreme Court, whose members are mostly pro-Maduro, withdrew recognition of the National Assembly and the government proceeded with elections to a parallel body known as the National Constituent Assembly, which was boycotted by the opposition.
Shortly before the release of the joint statement, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini had said that recognising Guaido as interim president is not the responsibility of the bloc but rather lies within the purview of each of the individual member nations.
She insisted, however, that “there is a common EU position on Venezuela and we have expressed it very clearly and together — all the 28,” referring to the demand for new elections.
“That position is very clear and consolidated over time. The EU and its Member States have never recognised as legitimate the presidential elections that were held last year. We did not participate — none of us — at the inauguration of Maduro on 10 January. We recognise the National Assembly as the legitimate institution of the country and we recognise the role of its President (Guaido). This is clear, this is a common position,” she said.
Nine EU nations, including Italy, declined to sign the joint statement recognising Guaido. Russia, which is one of Venezuela’s principal creditors, rejected the EU ultimatum and the recognition of Guaido.
Maduro accuses the EU nations of bowing to the policies of US President Donald Trump.
Guaido secured the backing of Washington before declaring himself acting president on January 23. Guaido took to social media to individually thank all the EU governments that had recognised him as caretaker president throughout the course of the day.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jerusalem : The European Union made a new contribution of €2.37 million to support Palestinian farmers and agro-businesses in the West Bank.
The contribution was channeled through the Palestinian Authority’s program “Assistance to Agriculture in the West Bank (AAWB)”, the EU said in a statement published Thursday by Palestinian news agency WAFA.
A total of 241 Palestinian farmers and agro-businesses affected by the Israeli occupation in the West Bank will benefit from this new contribution. This support will help the farmers relaunch, repair or replace damaged businesses through different activities including the acquisition of agricultural supplies, rehabilitation of land and other small infrastructure works.
This contribution also brings the total beneficiaries of the program up-to-date to 365 farmers, according to the EU statement.
”The agricultural production is a crucial sector of the Palestinian economy. The support to the agricultural sector is essential to build a future Palestinian State with a viable economy. In this context, the EU contributes to programs run by the Palestinian Authority to support agro-businesses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” said EU Representative Ralph Tarraf.
The overall financial envelope of AAWB program amounts to €7 million. It is expected to serve about 450 eligible beneficiaries in the West Bank with a focus on Area C. The program is managed by the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture and the Palestinian Agriculture Disaster Risk Reduction and Insurance Fund. The payments are made by the PA’s Ministry of Finance and Planning through a network of local banks in the West Bank.
—AB/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
London : Lawmakers in the UK Parliament demanded on Friday a more meaningful role in ratifying and even vetoing trade deals after the country leaves the EU, a committee said.
The International Trade Committee published a report calling for greater transparency and involvement of the business community and civil society in the development and implementation of trade policy and agreements when, and if, the UK leaves the EU.
“The current government plans for the transparency and scrutiny of future trade negotiations are characteristically vague and attempt to dress poor planning up as pragmatism,” said lawmaker Angus Brendan MacNeil, the committee’s chair, in the report.
“Our report makes an unequivocal argument for transparency over secrecy, consultation over concealment, and parliamentary debate over simple rubber-stamping,” MacNeil was quoted as saying by Efe news.
The report outlined four key points that, according to the committee, must support the UK’s trade policy post-Brexit.
Firstly, the UK Parliament, as a representative of those who will be affected, must have an active and meaningful role in the development of trade policy, reducing the risk of negotiated deals being rejected by lawmakers.
Secondly, any trade agreements must be inclusive and designed to reap the maximum benefit for the entire UK.
Thirdly, the government must operate with full transparency. In case, the information needs to remain confidential, then the government must adequately justify why.
Finally, agreements and policies should be implemented swiftly, ensuring all affected parties are informed and ready for future adjustments and changes.
The House of Commons, the lower chamber of UK Parliament, will vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s draft Brexit deal in the week starting January 14.
May’s deal, in its current format, has been met with strong opposition, particularly over the Irish backstop, a measure to keep a seamless Irish border if future negotiations between Brussels and London collapse.
The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29, 2019.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Bishkek : The European Union on Thursday transferred a total of 9.3 million euros to Kyrgyzstan’s Finance Ministry as part of an EU grant to support the education sector in the Central Asian country.
According to the ministry’s press office, the payment is the last tranche in 30 million euros of the EU assistance aimed at implementing Kyrgyzstan’s Education Development Strategy until 2020 and its Action Plan for 2016-2017. The previous two tranches, of about 10 million euros each, were received in 2016-2017.
The grant is expected to help reform general and vocational education, improve the quality of education and raise the professional standards of teachers, as well as developing the management of state revenues.
—AB/UNA-OIC
