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The opening of Slovenias presidency of the EU has descended into farce as the European Commissions vice-president refused to be photographed with the countrys rightwing prime minister, Janez Jana, after a bitter behind-the-scenes row at a launch event.

During an opening meeting in the Slovenian capital, Ljubljana, with the 27 members of the commission, Jana had shown them a group photograph of a Slovenian judge with a Socialist and Democrat MEP and other members of the countrys Social Democrats party.

Jana, who has been criticised for his attacks on the independence of Slovenias judiciary, claimed the photo as proof of the political bias of the countrys judges. The suggestion was rejected forcibly by Frans Timmermans, the commissions vice-president and a member of the Socialists and Democrats group, who subsequently refused to take part in the traditional group photo.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, later pointedly told reporters that judges had a right to a private life and that it should not be used to suggest bias. She made her comments as she stood next to Jana, a controversial figure who was unique among EU leaders in backing Donald Trumps attempts to overturn the US election result.

In a statement following his walkout, Timmermans, a former foreign minister from the Dutch Labour party, said: I simply could not be on the same podium with prime minister Jana after his unacceptable attack on and defamation of two judges and two S&D MEPs.

He challenged their integrity because they were in the same picture. Judicial independence and respect for the role of elected MEPs are cornerstones of the rule of law, without which the EU cannot function. We can never stop calling out those who attack it.

The row left a sour atmosphere at an opening press conference for Slovenias presidency of the EU, a position that gives the government a steering role in the blocs agenda for the next six months

Von der Leyen took Jana to task over a stream of issues, specifically inviting him to tell reporters when an official would be appointed to scrutinise the spending of billions of EU recovery funds.

Slovenia has failed to appoint prosecutors to the European public prosecutors office, which is tasked with challenging abuse of EU cash, despite having confirmation on Thursday that it would receive 2.5bn (2.15bn) in EU recovery funds.

Slovenias management of the recovery cash, part of an 800bn EU fund, has as a result been described by the European chief prosecutor, Laura Codrua Kvesi, as a huge risk after it missed a 1 June deadline to appoint two prosecutors.

Jana, who had a 2013 conviction and two-year prison sentence for corruption overturned in 2015, blocked their appointment on the grounds that there had been an insufficient number of qualified candidates.

Von der Leyen said: It is a crucial component to protect taxpayers money. It is an important institution. It is very good that Slovenia has signed up to it and now Slovenia must deliver and operate because I think it is now time and right that they appoint a delegated prosecutor.

She added: We have not talked about specific dates. Perhaps the prime minister will answer to that?

In response, Jana described Kvesis comments as too political, adding that they do not help solve the situation. He said he expected the selection process for the prosecutors to be concluded in autumn but expressed his frustration that Slovenia was being criticised despite voluntarily accepting the remit of the European public prosecutors office unlike Sweden, Poland, Denmark and Ireland. He added cryptically: Slovenia is a member of the European Union and you should get used to that.

Jana has regularly taken to Twitter to attack his critics, including journalists. Von der Leyen said she had raised concerns about the withholding of state funds from the Slovenian Press Agency, criticised for spreading lies by Jana, and the governments attitude towards the countrys judiciary.

On the former issue, Von der Leyen said there had been progress and Jana suggested paperwork was the only obstacle. On the judiciary, he said: We have some problem with the independence of courts in Slovenia as well and we have never hidden this fact.

The scenes in Ljubljana unfolded as the European Commission was also urged to reject Hungarys coronavirus recovery plan over concerns about fraud, corruption and the countrys stance on LGBTQ+ rights.

A cross-party group of left and liberal MEPs have written to Von der Leyen demanding she send the Hungarian government back to the drawing board over its spending plans for a 7.2bn coronavirus recovery grant.

The commission last month began to sign off national plans from EU member states to spend their shares of the Covid recovery fund as it embarks on an exercise in joint borrowing seen as a historic step for EU integration.

Hungary has requested 7.2bn in grants under the scheme, which it is thought would be the largest single transfer of EU funds since it joined the union in 2004.

Longstanding allegations about fraud and nepotism linked to the prime minister, Viktor Orbn, have alarmed MEPs, especially as his government has not acted on previous recommendations from Brussels on securing the independence of judges, improving transparency and anti-corruption.

Respect for the rule of law and sound financial management are key components of successful recovery in Europe, states the letter signed by seven MEPs from Green, Liberal, Social Democrat and radical left parties. Citizens must be fully assured that the money of taxpayers is invested properly and not used to undermine the foundations of the EU.

As well as concerns about corruption, the MEPs highlighted a recently adopted Hungarian law that bans the depiction of gay people in educational materials and entertainment content for minors, a law condemned by Von der Leyen as a shame [that] clearly discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation.

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Senior EU figure refuses to be photographed with rightwing Slovenia PM - The Guardian

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 27

Although the European Union (EU) has opened its doors to foreigners who have been vaccinated against Covid-19, Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) is not on the Green Pass list. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Covishield has been approved by the WHO, but not the EMA. Strangely, the Vaxzevria vaccine, a version of the AstraZeneca produced in the UK and Europe, has been approved by the EMA but Covishield, which is also AstraZenecas version, has been not. Subsequently, Indians who wish to travel to the EU for work are having a tough time. France has asked its citizens returning to the country after the Covishield shots to isolate themselves for 10 days upon arrival. Isabelle Jain, a French citizen married in Ludhiana, is among those affected by the EMA decision. Her mother-in-law Mridula Jain asked: Why has the Centre not worked towards getting approval from the EMA? There were many who would visit Europe for business. They cannot go there now.

A hosiery exporter rued the restrictions. It was while I was submitting my papers that I was told that Covishield was not on the list of approved vaccines.The government should do something about it, he said.

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No European Union nod for Covishield, Indians stuck - The Tribune India

BRUSSELS The European Union put some of its deepest divisions on display on Friday in its last scheduled summit meeting before the summer break.

The splits among the 27 member states were significant on issues of culture, sex education, rule of law and foreign policy, in particular toward neighboring Russia.

Hungary and its new law on sex education, which critics say targets the L.G.B.T. community, proved the most emotional topic, with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg describing what it has meant to him to be gay and Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands asking openly whether Hungary would be better off leaving the European Union if it disagreed with the blocs laws and values.

But policies toward Russia and its president, Vladimir V. Putin, were also hotly debated early Friday morning, at a long working dinner that did not finish until 2 a.m. A joint effort by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France to adjust a policy paper to call for a summit meeting between the European Union and Russia, after President Biden met Mr. Putin in Geneva, was repelled angrily by Central European leaders and others, including Sweden and the Netherlands, as hasty and ill-advised.

Krisjanis Karins, Latvias prime minister, said: The Kremlin does not understand free concessions as a sign of strength.

Even countries normally sympathetic to Franco-German initiatives criticized the effort as ill-prepared and initiated late, with no prior consultation. Ms. Merkel and Mr. Macron argued that the European Union should have its own channels to Moscow and not depend on the Americans. In general, the Germans have always believed in keeping lines of dialogue open with Russia almost no matter how it behaves, while Mr. Macron has been trying to reset Frances relations with Moscow, with little success.

In this case, the prime mover was Germany, with French support.

Early Friday, a visibly tired Ms. Merkel said in her uninflected fashion that it was not possible to agree that we would meet immediately at leaders level, but what is important to me is that the dialogue format is retained and that were working on it. She added: Personally, I would have liked to have taken a bolder step here. But she said that in a very detailed and also not an easy discussion, the leaders did agree on the conditions that would be required for such a summit meeting.

Mr. Macron said it was important for the European Union, in its own interests, to speak to Russia with a unified voice and a structured agenda, instead of only reacting to events.

At the same time, the leaders agreed unanimously to approve harsh new sanctions on key sectors of the Belarusian economy, as a response to the anti-democratic crackdown by the government of President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko and the state hijacking of a passenger plane to arrest a young dissident journalist, Roman Protasevich. They also rolled over existing sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea and support for rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Hungary and its new law, which bans the depiction or promotion of homosexuality to those under 18 years of age, an addition to legislation targeting pedophiles, was the most wrenching topic. Prime Minister Viktor Orban defended the legislation, which was signed into law on Wednesday, before the summit meeting began, as an effort to protect children and argued that it would have no effect on the rights of adults.

But many leaders saw it as an effort to stigmatize the L.G.B.T. community and connect it to pedophilia and thus a violation of the European Union treaties protecting individual rights. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called the law a shame and said that it clearly discriminates against people based on their sexual orientation and violates the fundamental values of the European Union: human dignity, equality and respect for human rights.

Others were more scathing to Mr. Orbans face, according to diplomats who were there, wondering what had happened to a man who came to power as a defender of democracy and opponent of totalitarianism.

Mr. Orban defended the legislation, diplomats said, arguing it was designed to protect children and maintain matters of sexual orientation for parents and not schools. He said that the law was misunderstood by its critics and not aimed at the gay community. I am being attacked from all sides, Mr. Orban said at one point, although he did have some support from Poland and Slovenia.

Before the meeting, Mr. Orban said: I was a freedom fighter in the Communist regime. Homosexuality was punished and I fought for their freedom and their rights. I am defending the rights of homosexual guys. But this law is not about them, its about the rights of the kids and the parents.

Mr. Bettel was having none of it. I used to have respect for Mr. Orban, he said before the summit, adding: Europe is not just about laws and subsidies, its also about rights and obligations.

Mr. Bettel gave an intensely personal account of realizing that he was gay and how hard it was to tell his parents. The most difficult thing for me was to accept myself when I realized that I was in love with a person of my sex, was how to say to my parents, how to say to my family, he said, emphasizing that young people who are gay are prone to suicide if they fail to embrace who they are.

Mr. Bettel, who sometimes travels to official meetings with his husband after their marriage six years ago, said that conflating homosexuality with pedophilia or pornography was wrong, as was stigmatizing people, adding that he did not see himself as a threat to anyone.

I didnt get up one morning after having seen some advertising and just become gay, Mr. Bettel said. Thats not how life works. Its in me, I didnt choose it. And to accept oneself is hard enough, so to be stigmatized too, thats too much.

Mr. Rutte described Mr. Bettels intervention afterward, saying: Everybody had tears in their eyes.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, defended the debate as vital to the functioning of the bloc and its democracy. But the new law is just the latest episode in Mr. Orbans long-running conflict with the European Union. His government has been accused of building what he himself calls an illiberal democracy, of manipulating the news media and the courts, misusing E.U. funds, toying with anti-Semitism and mistreating minorities and migrants. His party, Fidesz, left the main center-right political grouping in the European Parliament, the European Peoples Party, just before it was to be expelled.

The Irish Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, said: There was absolutely no doubt leaving that meeting that Hungary was left in no doubt that a line had been crossed, and without question it would have implications in terms of future decisions around funding.

Mr. Rutte openly told Mr. Orban that if Hungary did not want to be part of the European community of values, it should leave the bloc.

Judit Varga, Hungarys justice minister, called Mr. Ruttes comments no more than another episode from the political blackmailing series. Hungary doesnt want to leave the E.U. On the contrary, we want to save it from hypocrites, she wrote on Twitter.

The commission is now expected to bring Hungary before the European Court of Justice, its highest court, for breaching the treaties. In the past, Hungary has accepted the rulings of the court, but like most courts, it does not provide particularly quick decisions.

Monika Pronczuk contributed reporting.

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Europes Divisions on Vivid Display Over Hungary and Russia - The New York Times

Imagine a scenario in which the chief bureaucrat of the European Union proclaims that its fundamental values include promoting homosexuality and transgenderism to minors. This reads like poorly crafted, euroskeptic propaganda. Odd as it may sound, this exact situation transpired following the Hungarian Parliament's passage of a controversial new law.

While Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, portrays the law as borderline criminalizing all things related to gay advocacy, the reality of the situation is not so dramatic. As part of sweeping legislation intended to combat pedophilia, conservative members of the Hungarian government proposed an amendment that would prohibit exposing children to content that encourages homosexuality or transgenderism. The law, including this amendment, easily passed Parliament and awaits Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's approval. Brussels finds this deeply disturbing.

Hungary is a Catholic nation, and so preventing children from viewing sexually immoral content seems like a reasonable enough thing for its government to pursue. The people of Hungary overwhelmingly support their socially conservative government, and the government acts to fulfill the mandate of its people. Hungary's process, given this, appears to be without fault. Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, it has been pretty much universally accepted that being a sovereign state necessitates having sole dominion over one's domestic affairs. EU officials, however, are seeking to relitigate the centuries-old consensus on statecraft.

What one thinks about the merits of the Hungarian law is irrelevant. The prospect of an unelected gang of foreign magistrates vetoing it should raise concern within any EU member state that values sovereignty.

Admittedly, the European Court of Justice, the body that would determine if Hungarian law is in line with EU regulations, is limited in its enforcement capability. At best, the court could impose recurring daily fines on the Hungarian government. Though with growing centralized power in the union, and a potential pan-European army on the horizon, the EU could become more heavy-handed with its judgments in due time.

Story continues

All the more reason to get out while it is still possible.

Boris Johnsons Brexit has had less than ideal economic ramifications. Foreign investment is down, trade has been complicated, and many of the nations industries have had trouble adjusting to the novel financial environment they have found themselves within. The people of the United Kingdom, however, are sovereign (officially, the queen is sovereign, but you get the idea). The government elected by the British people is the sole body responsible for creating laws for the British people. The same cannot entirely be said about many of the U.K.'s EU-affiliated continental brethren.

This raises the question: What degree of economic difficulty should a people be willing to endure to retain their political independence?

There, of course, is no clear answer to this question.

Europe is ideologically diverse. States in the East bloc that were left-wing authoritarians 30 years ago have swung to the religious Right, likewise, Nazi Germany was directly preceded by the relatively progressive Weimar Republic. Modern Europe, and by extension the EU, are not immune to such philosophical oscillation.

Should extremists, left or right, ever come to control the EU, they would undoubtedly wield power to move the rest of Europe into compliance with their radicalism. Any member state that resisted would be subject to punishment, with the will of its people at risk of violation.

Europeans must consider the degree to which they value self-determination. Perhaps it is true that the short-term struggles associated with decoupling from the union are a worthwhile sacrifice to reclaim self-governance.

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Tags: Hungary, European Union, LGBT, United Kingdom, Viktor Orban

Original Author: Robert Schmad

Original Location: The European Union shows Hungary why it should exit

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The European Union shows Hungary why it should exit - Yahoo News

A woman working on her laptop in Paris on May 26, 2020. Photo by Arnaud Finistre / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect.

With autocratic regimes more aggressively restricting freedom of speech on the internet, it is all the more important for the European Union (EU) and the United States to put forward a positive, alternative model of online regulation, said two European Commission policy officials Wednesday at the 360/Open Summit, hosted by the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab.

Prabhat Agarwal, head of the Commissions Digital Services and Platforms unit, and Gerard de Graaf, director for the digital transformation in the Commissions Communications Networks, Content and Technology directorate-general, were the leading drafters of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The bill is a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive regulatory framework for governing digital services proposed by the European Commission to EU lawmakers in December. Aimed at making the internet safer while protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms, the DSA takes on modern digital challenges from content moderation to transparent data reporting and oversight.

The DSA is currently being considered by the European Parliament and European Council for revision, with the goal of passing it in early 2022. And its wide-ranging scope makes it more than just an EU regulation; its a potential model and the only fulsome democratic standard with which to engage at the moment, said moderator Rose Jackson, director of the Democracy & Tech Policy Initiative at the Digital Forensic Research Lab.

Below are some of the highlights from their discussion.

Nick Fouriezos is an Atlanta-based writer with bylines from every US state and six continents. Follow him on Twitter @nick4iezos.

Fri, Jun 25, 2021

Top tech journalists joined the 360/Open Summit, hosted by the Atlantic Councils Digital Forensic Research Lab, to discuss how tech platforms can enhance accountability and transparency

New AtlanticistbyNick Fouriezos

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Behind the European Union's plan to rewrite the rules of online life - Atlantic Council