Archive for the ‘European Union’ Category

International Day of Education: Statement by the European Commission and the High Representative – European Commission

Ahead of the International Day of Education on 24 January, the European Commission and High Representative/Vice-President JosepBorrellmade the following statement:

Education is essential to the global recovery and the achievement of all Sustainable Development Goals. It is a fundamental right and the foundation of resilient, peaceful and sustainable societies. Education is the basis and a catalyst for the green transition. It enables citizens to harness the opportunities of digital development. It brings hope and protection to those affected by humanitariancrises and forced displacement. Quality education is a vital part of the development of every child and young person.

2022 is the European Year of Youth and the 35thanniversary of the Erasmus programme. The EU reaffirms the paramount importance of quality education for the personal, social and professional development of children and young people, in and beyond the European Union, tobuild a better and more equitable future, reduce socio-economic and gender inequalities, and promote peace and democracy.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, 260 million children and adolescents worldwide were not receiving education. And those who did, did not always have access to quality education. The pandemic has exacerbated inequalities in education with a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groups,around the world.

In the EU, we have embarked on an ambitious plan for a European Education Area by 2025, with shared goals and flagship initiatives bringing the 27 Member States together even more. Education is a major channel for the EU's engagement with other parts of the world.

The European Union is stepping up its commitment to education with the aim that every child and young person can access education, master at least reading, writing, basic math and digital skills, and be prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century as engaged global citizens. This will include the skills and competences to navigate the online environment safely and responsibly. With the Digital Education Action Plan, we support the sustainable and effective adaptation of the education and training systems of EU Member States to the digital age. With Europe's Digital Decade the EU is working towards an ambitious yet, attainable - target: by 2030 at least 80% of all adults should have basic digital skills. The Commission will also continue to support the EU Code Week, which provides training for teachers and gives millions of children hands-on experience in coding and digital creativity every year.

The EU continues to invest in quality education with a lifelong learning perspective through inclusive and equitable education systems, paying particular attention to girls, women, and vulnerable groups. The EU institutions and EU MemberStates, as Team Europe, support partner countries to transform their education systems post-pandemic and to address deficits and inequalities in teaching, training, and learning at all levels.

The EU continues as a leading voice in education in emergencies, providing access to safe, inclusive and quality education to millions of children affected by humanitarian crises and conflicts.

Europe will particularly work with partner governments on teachers' training and governance to ensure quality education outcomes.

TheErasmus+ programmefacilitates mobility of students, staff, teachers, and trainees, and strengthen networks and peer learning across higher education institutions. These opportunities are open for people from all over the world. The EU will also work with partner countries to strengthen cooperation on research and innovation, for example through Horizon Europe.

These initiatives align with the Global Gateway strategy's provisions for people-to-people connectivity.

Partnerships with civil society, the private sector and global education stakeholders, will be key to fostering global citizenship.

Background

The EU institutions and Member States together contribute more than half of all global aid to education, supporting the education sector in more than 100 countries all around the world. During the period 20212027, the European Commission will dedicate at least 10% of its international partnerships budget with Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia and the Pacific, and 10% of its humanitarian aid budget, to education.

The European Commission will also continue engaging, as a priority, with the Western Balkans, Turkey and the Neighbourhood regions to strengthen education systems, addressing skills mismatch with the labour market and enhancing joint cooperation with education institutions including mobility of students and teachers.

For More Information

Global Gateway

Erasmus+

European Education Area

European Pillar of Social Rights

Education in Emergencies

Education | International Partnerships

EU Code Week

European Youth Portal

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International Day of Education: Statement by the European Commission and the High Representative - European Commission

Bahrain’s CoinMENA obtains second cryptocurrency license from European Union paving the way for expansion to new jurisdictions – PRNewswire

Launched in 2021 by Dina Sam'an, Talal Tabbaa, and Yazan Barghuthi, CoinMENA was built primarily to address a market gap that existed for easy and safe access to crypto investing. Today, as a fully regulated, onshore crypto exchange licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, CoinMENA has not only successfully bridged the gap but also become the go-to exchange, known for its prompt transactions, a wide variety of assets, excellent customer service, and easy-to-use mobile app.

In the past 7 months, CoinMENA has been the fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange in the MENA region, growing 140% month over month. During this time, they increased the number of crypto assets on the platform from 5 to 13, and plan to list several more in the coming weeks. CoinMENA currently supports five countries and allows users to trade/invest in crypto using their local currency.

"Regulatory compliance is a main priority for CoinMENA. In addition to expanding our service offering, the EU license would strengthen our banking relationships with regional and global banks. This move fulfills one of our primary objectives which is to be the best and easiest platform to on-ramp and off-ramp from crypto in the region. This is just the beginning for CoinMENA as we aim to roll out additional crypto financial services built on Web 3.0 and crypto rails " - Joint statement by co-founders Dina Sam'an and Talal Tabbaa.

In September 2021, CoinMENA announced a $9.5 million. CoinMENA's investor BECO Capital is a technology-focused venture capital whose well-known investments include MENA's three unicorns: Swvl, Kitopi, and Careem. Hong Kong's Kenetic is known for its investment into BlockFi, a leading crypto lending platform, and Securitize, a leading crypto asset securities firm. Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd., the sister company of Arab Bank plc, is a recognized Swiss Bank offering Digital Assets services since 2019. Bunat Ventures is a venture builder and VC firm focused on incubating and investing in promising regional startups. Alameda Research, owned by crypto billionaire Sam-Bankman Fried, is a quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm that provides liquidity in cryptocurrency and crypto assets markets.

CoinMENA's sign-up process takes less than a minute and account verification is complete within 24 hours, and can be performed on its simple, seamless, and highly intuitive mobile app, which is designed for both beginners and professional traders. The exchange's services are currently available to residents of Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman, and will soon expand to other countries.

http://www.coinmena.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/coinmena Founders https://twitter.com/DinaSaman_ https://twitter.com/tabbaa4 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coinmena/

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About CoinMENA

Headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, CoinMENA is a crypto assets exchange that is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Through CoinMENA, you can buy, sell, store, and receive crypto assets safely and securely, as well as deposit and withdraw in your local currency.

Launched in early 2021 by Dina Sam'an, Talal Tabbaa, and Yazan Barghuthi.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1732398/CoinMENA_Cofounders.jpg

SOURCE CoinMENA

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Bahrain's CoinMENA obtains second cryptocurrency license from European Union paving the way for expansion to new jurisdictions - PRNewswire

Holocaust survivor honored as world observes 77th anniversary – WETM – MyTwinTiers.com

by: Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2005 establishing the annual commemoration, and chose Jan. 27 the day that Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945. FILE People are seen arriving at the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi German death camp, where more than 1.1 million were murdered, in Oswiecim, Poland, Jan. 27, 2020. A new Polish foundation has been created to distribute grants globally to groups that come up with novel ways to fight indifference to hatred and discrimination. The Auschwitz Pledge Foundation was announced on Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022 on the eve of the 77th anniversary of the liberation, by Soviet forces in 1945, of the World War II Nazi death camp in German-occupied Poland. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

BRUSSELS (AP) European Union lawmakers will observe a minutes silence Thursday and welcome a centenarian Holocaust survivor as the world remembers Nazi atrocities and commemorates the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Margot Friedlander will address the EU Parliament as part of the commemorations of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in November 2005 establishing the annual commemoration and chose Jan. 27 the day that Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated by Soviet troops in 1945.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorations Thursday will be held online this year again. A small ceremony, however, will take place at the site of the former Auschwitz death camp, where World War II Nazi German forces killed 1.1 million people in occupied Poland. The memorial site was closed earlier in the pandemic but reopened in June.

In all, about 6 million European Jews and millions of other people were killed by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. Some 1.5 million were children.

The 100-year-old Friedlander was arrested in 1944 while on the run and brought to the Theresienstadt concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic. A year before, her mother and brother were deported to Auschwitz, where they were both killed.

Friedlander and her husband immigrated to the U.S. in 1946 and returned to Berlin in 2010. She has since been traveling around Germany to tell the story of her life and promote remembrance.

Charles Michel, the head of the EU Council bringing together leaders of the 27 EU member countries, insisted on the importance of commemorating the Shoah as the number of survivors diminishes every year.

With each passing year, the Shoah inches towards becoming a historical event, Michel said. More and more distant, more and more abstract. Especially in the eyes of the younger generations of Europeans. This is why, paradoxically, the more the years go by, the more important the commemoration becomes. The more essential.

Commemorations are taking place amid a rise of antisemitism that gained traction during lockdowns as the pandemic exacerbated hatred online.

To tackle Holocaust denial, UNESCO and the World Jewish Congress launched a partnership Thursday with the online platform TikTok popular with youngsters. They say it will allow users to be oriented toward verified information when searching for terms related to the Shoah.

According to the U.N., 17% of content related to the Holocaust on TikTok either denied or distorted the Holocaust.

Denying, distorting or trivializing the true facts of the Holocaust is a pernicious form of contemporary antisemitism, said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. All online platforms must take responsibility for the spread of hate speech by promoting reliable sources of information.

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Holocaust survivor honored as world observes 77th anniversary - WETM - MyTwinTiers.com

Informal Meeting of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education, Research and Innovation – French Presidency of the Council of the European…

On 24 and 25 January 2022, the EU ministers responsible for higher education, research and innovation met in Paris, in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union

They met at the Cit des Sciences et de lIndustrie at the invitation of the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Frdrique Vidal. The ministers discussed the future of universities for Europe, and the need in this regard to better combine European policies for higher education, research and innovation.

At a first discussion with professors from the Collge de France, the ministers reiterated the need for transformation in the sector of European higher education so as to respond to existing and future challenges, particularly the green and digital transitions. The ministers also affirmed their intention to support establishments in the process of transformation in order for them to contribute to the major priorities of the EU, such as the European Green Deal, digital decade and industrial strategy.

The ministers also underscored the international dimension of European policy regarding higher education, research and innovation and the importance of cooperating with third countries. With the aim of ensuring a safe and conducive environment for the work of students and international researchers, the ministers recognised the need to promote balanced and reciprocal collaboration with third countries based on shared principles and values.

Lastly, the ministers discussed strengthening inter-university cooperation in Europe, on the basis of the recent proposals made on 18January2022 by the European Commission: a European Strategy for Universities and a proposal for a Council Recommendation on building bridges for effective European cooperation in higher education. The ministers pledged full support to alliances such as European Universities and recognized the need to make further progress for the benefit of the entire European sector of higher education, in particular by working towards a unique legal statute to allow universities to deliver European degrees, jointly recruit the best researchers and students at international level and establish joint structures such as state-of-the-art laboratories.

In this respect, the ministers committed to begin work in the coming months to remove the barriers facing alliances such as European Universities, by providing them with a set of instruments and contributing towards securing their future by exploiting synergies between European, national and regional financing mechanisms.

Last reviewed on 26 January 2022

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Informal Meeting of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education, Research and Innovation - French Presidency of the Council of the European...

This Week in the European Parliament – The Parliament Magazine

The European Parliaments internal mid-term elections will conclude this week, when all twenty standing committees and the three subcommittees will elect their chair and up to four vice-chairs for the remainder of the legislature.

Swedish centre-right MEP Tomas Tob (EPP) who is standing for reelection as chair of the Committee on Development (DEVE) told the Parliament Magazine in an interview in November about this unique practice:

This mid-term reshuffle, where everything is up in the air again, is quite interesting and something perhaps for national parliaments to also think about. Its good because it keeps people on their toes.

The DEVE committee will take its turn on Wednesday morning, as will the committees on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), Legal (JURI) and Constitutional (AFCO) affairs, Culture and Education (CULT) and the two subcommittees on Security and Defense (SEDE) and Human Rights (DROI).

Their parent committee, on Foreign Affairs (AFET) will have opened the procedures on Monday lunchtime, with the others following suit that day and on Tuesday.

This mid-term reshuffle, where everything is up in the air again, is quite interesting and something perhaps for national parliaments to also think about. Its good because it keeps people on their toes.

Tomas Tob, MEP

Apart from the elections, many committees are also pursuing their work agendas. The Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) is continuing its 2020 EU budget discharge procedure with a joint debate on no less than 18 reports on different aspects of the budget on Tuesday morning.

At least six committees will host French government ministers in charge of their area to be informed about the priorities of their Council Presidency, starting with the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) and the Committee on International Trade (INTA) on Monday afternoon.

The most important legislative work will arguably be done in a joint session of the Internal Market (IMCO) and Civil Liberties (LIBE) committees who will hold a first debate on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act on Tuesday, with Parliaments rapporteurs Brando Benifei, head of the Italian S&D Group delegation for IMCO, and Renew Groups Vice-Chair Drago Tudorache (RO) for LIBE in the lead, and the European Commission participating.

When he was appointed rapporteur in early December, Tudorache sketched out his overall goals on Twitter:

In another joint meeting, the committees on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) are hoping to illuminate one of the EUs current flagship projects, the Farm to Fork Strategy, in particular its impact on agriculture and food systems on Tuesday late afternoon. Four experts who have recently published studies on the matter will share the results of their research in a public hearing.

And yet another special committee of this legislatures first term, this time the one on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation (INGE) is nearing its conclusion with the final committee vote on its report, drafted by the EPP Groups Vice Chair Sandra Kalniete.

Writing for the Parliament Magazine in November, the veteran Latvian legislator called for a strengthening of a wide range of defense mechanisms, from monitoring and analysing disinformation to creating more transparency on non-EU investment to avoid elite capture and ensuring durable and transparent funding of independent investigative journalism.

Regulation alone will not do, Kalniete argued:

It is a pipe dream to expect legislation to keep pace with the development of disruptive technologies, which is why our focus must lie on building an overall resilience base.

After its elections, the Committee on Womens Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) will prepare a critical view for Parliament on itself for the next plenary session by adopting its 2020 annual report on Gender Mainstreaming in the European Parliament on Tuesday, drafted by two French MEPs, Irne Tolleret (Renew) and Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA).

And the AFET committee will hold the final vote on an own-initiative report on another subject close to Parliaments heart at the end of its Tuesday morning sitting, Renew Groups Vice Chair Katalin Czehs (HU) report on corruption and human rights.

Parliament will end the week with a special plenary session on Thursday, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 77 years to the day after the liberation of Auschwitz.

President Roberta Metsola is to open the event and centenarian Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlnder to address the house.

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This Week in the European Parliament - The Parliament Magazine