The Nation Newspaper

Tag: EU

  • EU unhappy with polls’ shift

    The European Union has expressed disappointment over the postponement of the country’s general election slated for this month “because of insecurity.”

    While noting that the decision was delivered at very late notice, EU maintained that it would consider reacting to deliberate attempts to undermine the country’s electoral process.
    EU spoke on the development at Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels.

    The regional group also called on the Nigerian security services to fulfill their obligation to support the constitution and to maintain law and order and allow all eligible citizens to freely their democratic rights.

    The statement reads in part: “The EU is therefore disappointed by the postponement of the elections on the basis of security advice delivered at very late notice.

    “The EU would be particularly concerned by deliberate attempts to undermine the electoral process, by violent or any other means, and would have to consider swiftly how to respond.

    “The EU strongly urges the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure the necessary arrangements are in place for transparent and well-run elections. It calls on all parties to respect the independence of INEC, ensure that elections take place without further delay and enable each eligible Nigerian citizen to cast their vote fairly, including those affected by the security situation in the north east of the country.”

  • EU deploys election observers to Nigeria

    The European Union has deployed an Election Observation Mission for next general election in the country.

    EU is expected to assess the poll against national law and international principles for elections contained in regional and international law and standards.

    The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) is led by Santiago Fisas Ayxela, a member of the European Parliament, from Spain, who will arrive in Abuja later this week.

    A delegation from the European Parliament and EU diplomats in Nigeria will also join the mission on election days.

    According to a statement issued by the mission in Abuja, nine analysts of the core team have already arrived the country since January 6, this is in addition to the advance team that was deployed during the party primaries last November and December.

    ”The EUEOM’s extended presence shows the EU’s commitment to the conduct of inclusive, transparent and credible elections in Nigeria. We don’t just focus on the election days, but on all aspects of the electoral process, including the arbitration of petitions long after voting is finished,” Ayxela said.

    The EUEOM will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the entire electoral process. This will include assessing the legal framework, the performance of the election administration, voter registration, candidates’ nomination and political parties’ primaries, campaign activities, respect for fundamental freedoms, access to and conduct of the media, voting and the counting, the announcement and acceptance of results, and complaints and appeals.

    The EUEOM is bound by a code of conduct which requires strict neutrality and no interference in the process.

    The mission undertakes all its work in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation. The EUEOM will publish its initial findings in preliminary statements, which will be presented in press conferences two days after each election day. A final report will be later published which will include recommendations for improvements for future elections.

  • EU urges broad alliance on terrorism

    EU urges broad alliance on terrorism

    The EU’s foreign policy chief has called for a broad alliance to tackle terror, including with Muslim nations, at a summit of EU foreign ministers.

    Federica Mogherini said there had to be more co-operation both with Muslim countries and internally within the EU.

    Tens of thousands of people rallied yesterday in Grozny, capital of Russia’s mainly Muslim region of Chechnya, to protest against the cartoons published in Charlie Hebdo magazine.

    The foreign ministers were meeting ahead of a special leaders’ summit on terrorism on 12 February.

    Ahead of the Brussels talks, Ms Mogherini said: “The threat is not only the one we faced in Paris, but is also spreading in many other parts of the world, starting from Muslim countries.

    “We need to strengthen our way of co-operating together first of all with Arab countries and then internally. We need to share information more, we need to co-operate more.”

    Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi is attending the talks with the 28 EU foreign ministers.

    Ms Mogherini said: “We will discuss with the secretary general how to increase the level of co-operation… we need an alliance, a dialogue.”

    UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond echoed her call, saying Muslim countries had “suffered the greatest burden of terrorism”.

    High on the agenda of the talks will be concerns surrounding the return of radicalised Europeans who have gone to fight in Iraq and Syria.

    Mr Hammond said specific measures to be discussed would include “passenger name records within Europe”.

    Other measures believed to be on the table are tighter border controls within the Schengen area and the fight against illegal arms-trafficking.

    EU interior ministers will discuss their response when they gather in Riga on 29 January.

    On Thursday, members of the US-led coalition against Islamic State will meet in London. US Secretary of State John Kerry will attend.

    The Brussels talks come after anti-terror raids in Belgium, France and Germany led to more than 20 arrests.

    Belgian police killed two suspected jihadists in the town of Verviers last Thursday and five people arrested were with “participating in the activities of a terrorist group”.

  • Boko Haram to dominate region security meeting

    The European Union has condemned the renewed terrorist attack in Northeastern Nigeria.

    The issue, according to EU High Representative and Vice President, Federica Mogherini , will dominate next regional Security Conference to be held in Niamey on January 20.

    In a statement issued in Abuja Friday, Mogherini said, “the renewed attacks in Northeastern Nigeria are another expression of terrorism targeting innocent people. They have led to the destruction of at least 16 villages and reportedly killed hundreds of people, displacing thousands.

    “The Boko Haram insurgency was discussed at the recent EU-Nigeria Ministerial Dialogue. It will also be addressed during the next regional Security Conference to be held in Niamey on January 20.

    “The EU remains committed to providing a comprehensive range of political, development and humanitarian support to Nigeria and its people in tackling this threat and in ensuring the sound development of the country.”

  • Homosexuality: Three men arrested in Gambia

    Gambian State Television authorities have disclosed that three men accused of committing homosexual acts have been arrested.

    According to the Gambian law signed in October, it is an offence punishable with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

    Report revealed that the arrest followed a security operation and the men have confessed that they are gay. However, their nationalities were not disclosed.

    “We go around in search of suspected individuals and in the course of the investigations we arrested the men.

    “They have confessed that they have engaged in these inhuman acts,” the broadcast said, showing the men whose faces were covered.

    Gambia and President Yahya Jammeh face global condemnation over the country’s human rights record in part because of the law, which introduced “aggravated homosexuality” as a crime punishable in some cases with life in prison.

    The European Union said it has withdrawn millions of Euros of funding from Gambia, an announcement that came as the mainly Muslim West African nation looked more to the Middle East for support.

    During the broadcast about the arrests, the country’s National Intelligence Agency appealed to the public, especially parents and landlords, to help them stamp out homosexuality.

  • EU condemns sect’s killing spree in Borno

    EU condemns sect’s killing spree in Borno

    The European Union (EU) has condemned as “unacceptable”, yesterday’s killing of people in a Borno village.

    Catherine Ray, spokesperson for EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, said: “We express our condolences to the families of those killed and we call for an immediate release of those abducted, along with the return of the schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok eight months ago,” the spokesperson said.

    “The EU stands with the Nigerian people in the fight against this violent insurgency, and will continue its support for action against the terrorist threat,” Ray pointed out.

    She called on the Nigerian government to ensure a security response that enables them to bring those responsible to justice, but also to address the underlying causes of the insurgency.

    “This is crucial to ensure unity, tolerance, and a future of peace and stability for all Nigerians as well as for those neighbouring countries that have become increasingly caught up in the violence,” she added

  • Kerry, EU meets over Palestinian occupation

    Kerry, EU meets over Palestinian occupation

    US Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet the chief Palestinian negotiator in London over moves to set a timetable for an end to the Israeli occupation.

    He is expected to urge Saeb Erekat not to push for a UN Security Council vote on a draft resolution calling for Israel to leave the occupied territories by November 2016.

    A separate draft would set a two-year deadline for a final peace treaty.

    Israel has sought reassurances from the US that it would veto both resolutions.

    After meeting Mr Kerry in Rome on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he saw no reason why Washington would not “stand by its position for the past 47 years that a solution to the conflict will be achieved through negotiations”.

    Direct peace talks brokered by the US collapsed in April.

    After his visit to Rome, Mr Kerry travelled to Paris to discuss developments with his counterparts from the UK, Germany and France.

    Several European parliaments have called on their governments to recognise a Palestinian state

    He then flew to London for Tuesday’s talks with Mr Erekat and a delegation from the Arab League, including its secretary general Nabil al-Arabi, and the representative of the Middle East Quartet, Tony Blair.

    Jordan circulated the Palestinian-drafted resolution last month, and Palestinian officials said they would push for a UN vote.

    The Palestinian representative at the UN, Riyad Mansour, has said the draft might be submitted on Wednesday and could be put to a vote as soon as 24 hours later. However, Jordan’s representative Dina Kawar has said she is not expecting any developments this week.

    Another draft resolution, being formulated by France, would call for a return to negotiations on a final peace treaty to achieve a two-state solution to the conflict within two years.

    It does not mention an Israeli withdrawal, but does lay out some of the parameters of a permanent deal, including using the ceasefire lines which separated Israel and the West Bank before the 1967 Six Day War as the basis for those of a future Palestinian state.

  • Non-endorsement of protocol hinders cocoa exports to EU

    Cocoa processing companies said the cost of exporting their products to Europe has been inflated by 30 per cent  because of the stalemate in agreeing to new trade terms with the European Union (EU).

    Cocoa butter and cake exports, they said, are charged from 4.2 to 6.1 per  cent   of freight-on-board values as taxes at EU ports without an agreement.

    Nigeria is yet to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement protocol on free trade by the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

    The  Federal Government  in May rejected the proposed trade agreement with the EU because it requires abolition of import duties for manufactured goods from Europe, saying it would lead to dumping of goods and loss of jobs.

    The move, according  to  the  government, makes cocoa butter and cake less competitive.

    The  processing companies in the   southwest cocoa-growing region have a combined installed capacity of 155,000 MT a year. Since 2011 they’ve run at 25-27 per cent  capacity. Nigeria, the fourth-biggest producer, produced 350,000 tons of cocoa in the 2013-2014 season.  The  government’s incentive to encourage exporters of agricultural items with subsidies, ranging from five to 15 per cent, has not come into effect. A backlog of applications, since 2011, is still awaiting approval at the Finance Ministry.

  • Juncker unveils EU’s investment plan

    European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has given details of a 315billion euro (250billion pound sterling; $393billion) investment plan to kick-start Europe’s economy.

    At its heart is a new 21billion euro fund that would provide loans for infrastructure projects. Mr Juncker hopes most of the rest of the money will come from private backers.

    Only 16billion euro of the original money would come from the European Union (EU) budget.

    However, critics doubt it can attract so much private investment.

    There was immediate scepticism from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) whose General Secretary, Bernadette Segol, suggested the Commission was “relying on a financial miracle like the loaves and fishes”.

    She said she did not believe that 315billion euro could be raised from €21bn, a leverage factor of 15 which the ETUC argued was “almost certainly unrealistic”.

    The Commission believes it could create up to 1.3 million jobs with investment in broadband, energy networks and transport infrastructure, as well as education and research.

    The markets are currently awash with money. The big test is whether they will invest in Europe where the economy is stagnating and confidence is low.

    “Europe needs a kick-start and today the Commission is providing the jump leads,” Mr Juncker said as he detailed his ambitious five-year plan at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

    Juncker said Europe needed a kick-start and the Commission was offering the jump-leads

    He said Europe had to face “the challenge of a generation” head-on, without a money-printing machine, and described his plan as the greatest effort in recent EU history to trigger additional investment without changing the rules.

    The plan would take the burden off national governments, already facing big debts after the financial crisis. But they could contribute to the fund if they wished, and would be asked to come up with a list of projects with “high socio-economic returns” that would start between 2015 and 2017.

    The Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) would create the fund’s 21billion euro reserve, according to Mr Juncker, which would then enable the EIB to fund loans worth 63billion euro. Private investors would be expected to put forward the lion’s share of the money, some 252billion euro.

    Mr Juncker’s speech came a day after Pope Francis addressed the same parliament, criticising an “elderly and haggard” Europe that had become less and less of a protagonist.

    Initial reaction to Mr Juncker’s plan came from Chancellor Angela Merkel, who told the German parliament that her government supported the package in principle, but it had to be clear to everyone where the projects were in the future.

    The Commission president, who came to office at the start of November, said he could not promise how much investment would go to each country, but he argued that investment in one country could only be good for growth in another.

    Structural reforms were necessary to modernise Europe’s economy and fiscal responsibility was needed to restore confidence in public finance, but now investment had to be boosted as well, he said.

    The start of the former Luxembourg prime minister’s term as president has been overshadowed by his country’s role in a tax break row.

    Hundreds of multi-national firms were reportedly attracted to Luxembourg in legal tax avoidance schemes. Mr Juncker was prime minister at the time but denies wrongdoing.

    Although a vote against him is due to take place at the European Parliament yesterday, it is unlikely to attract widespread support.

  • Boko Haram: EU increases emergency aid to displaced victims

    The European Commission has come to the aids of internally displaced victims of Boko Haram activities in the Northeast.

    The commission is giving €5 million to step up its humanitarian assistance to the people displaced by the conflict in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

    According to a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, the commission stated that the conditions in informal settlements are particularly dire.

    It said tens of thousands of newly arrived displaced people are in urgent need of basic assistance such as shelter, food, water and health care.

    “Tens of thousands of people in northern Nigeria have been forced to flee, often more than once in recent months. They are exhausted and vulnerable, we must find ways to help and protect them,” said Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.

    More than 1.6 million people are believed to be internally displaced or have sought refuge in the neighbouring countries of Niger, Cameroon and Chad as a result of the expanding and increasingly violent conflict in north-eastern Nigeria.

    Hundreds of thousands of people have settled in camps and public buildings as well as with host families, in courtyards, construction sites and open fields around major towns like Yola in Adamawa State.

    The total number of displaced people in Adamawa state is estimated at 500, 000 with another 350, 000 people around Maiduguri in Borno State.