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Today we formally resume EU-India negotiations towards a free trade agreement, and begin negotiations on an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications, EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said

Today we formally resume EU-India negotiations towards a free trade agreement, and begin negotiations on an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications, EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said

India and the European Union (EU) finally restarted the negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement on Friday after a gap of over eight years.

The negotiations took place in Brussels, over a year after India and the EU announced to resume the talks for a balanced and comprehensive trade pact.

"Minister (Piyush) Goyal and I have just concluded a productive meeting. Today we formally resume EU-India negotiations towards a free trade agreement, and begin negotiations on an investment protection agreement and an agreement on geographical indications," EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said.

In a statement, he described the EU's partnership with India as "one of the most important relationships" for the 27-nation bloc for the upcoming decade.

Mr. Dombrovskis said the next round of negotiations on the FTA will take place from June 27 to July 1 in New Delhi.

"We are pursuing an ambitious timeline, and we aim to conclude the talks by the end of 2023. These far-reaching negotiations on trade, investment protection and geographical indications open a new and exciting chapter in EU-India relations," the EU trade commissioner said.

"Together, we aim not only to boost economic growth and job creation, but also promote our shared values, work to protect the climate, and secure our supply chains," he added.

Mr. Dombrovskis said the "ultimate goal" is to maximise the considerable, yet largely untapped trade and investment potential between the EU and India.

"We are already major trading partners, with annual trade of 120 billion Euro. The EU is India's third-largest trade partner, accounting for almost 11 per cent of Indian trade in 2021," he said.

India is the EU's 10th most important trading partner, accounting for over two per cent of EU trade in 2021.

"Liberalising trade and investment will thus generate significant opportunities for growth, also in areas going beyond trade in goods, notably services and digital trade, intellectual property and public procurement," Mr. Dombrovskis said.

"As with all EU trade agreements, the future arrangement would include ambitious and enforceable provisions on trade and sustainable development," he said.

The EU trade commissioner said the investment protection agreement should significantly increase investor confidence on both sides and expressed his confidence that it will lead to increases in foreign direct investment in both directions.

"This increased investment is also important for employment. Existing investments between us already contribute to over 1.3 million (13 lakh) jobs, and there is good scope for building on this foundation," he said.

Mr. Dombrovskis said the EU and India also share a similar approach when it comes to protecting geographical indications.

"So, the Geographical Indications Agreement, once concluded, will support rural communities and help preserve the cultural and culinary heritage of both sides," he said.

"We believe these negotiations will open new ways to deepening our Strategic Partnership, helping to secure our joint prosperity, and promote our shared values," he said.

In April, EU Ambassador to India Ugo Astuto had said India and the EU are eyeing to firm up the comprehensive trade and investment pact before the commencement of the electoral cycles on both sides in 2024.

The negotiations for the ambitious free-trade agreement were suspended in 2013 after several rounds of talks spanning six years.

Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed agreement have witnessed many hurdles as both sides had major differences on crucial issues.

The talks were stalled after the two sides failed to iron out the differences related to tariffs on certain goods and the movement of professionals.

Besides demanding significant duty cuts in automobiles, the EU wanted a tax reduction in wine, spirits and dairy products, and a strong intellectual property regime.

Read more here:
India, European Union resume talks for free trade agreement after over eight years - The Hindu

Europes second-highest court, the General Court, has sided with Qualcomm after it appealed a 997 million (around $1,045 million) fine from European Union regulators over payments made to Apple to use Qualcomm chips, Reuters reports. The EU issued the fine in 2018, and said payments Qualcomm had made to Apple between 2011 and 2016 to exclusively use its chips were illegal under EU antitrust rules.

This meant that no rival could effectively challenge Qualcomm in this market, no matter how good their products were, said EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a statement accompanying the fine. Qualcomm was accused of shutting rival chipmaker Intel out of the market, by making it too expensive for Apple to switch suppliers.

But in todays ruling, the European General Court said that a number of procedural irregularities affected Qualcomms rights of defence and invalidate the Commissions analysis of the conduct alleged against Qualcomm, Reuters reports. The court also cast doubt on the EUs competition analysis, noting that Apple had had no technical alternative to Qualcomms LTE chipsets for the majority of its requirements during the period concerned and that the Commission failed to take account of all of the relevant factual circumstances.

EU regulators now have the option of appealing the decision to the EU Court of Justice (CJEU).

When the fine was issued, Vestager said that it should serve as a warning to other tech companies considering using similar practices. The decision represents a major blow to the EUs attempts to regulate the fast-moving and well-financed tech sector.

Read the original post:
Qualcomm successfully appeals $1B EU antitrust fine over Apple payments - The Verge

The EU had been withholding assistance from the Palestinian Authority for the last two-and-a-half years while demanding political reforms and the purging of alleged incitement from Palestinian textbooks

The Palestinian Authority is getting desperately needed help from the European Union to alleviate its financial woes after years of being cut off.

Visiting EU chief Ursula von der Leyen delivered the news to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh during a meeting in Ramallah on Tuesday.

Im very glad to announce that EU funds for 2021 can be dispersed rapidly. All the difficulties are gone. We have made clear that the disbursement will take place, said von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, during a joint appearance in front of reporters following the meeting.

After holding up its aid for the last two-and-a-half years, while demanding political reforms, a fight against corruption, and the purging of alleged incitement from Palestinian textbooks, the 27-nation EU is releasing hundreds of millions of euros to the PA.

It is important to have this EU funding to support the people, especially the most vulnerable, and it also helps to create the right conditions for economic opportunities; thats what we together should be working on, von der Leyen told reporters at the PA headquarters in Ramallah.

The European Union is the largest donor to the Palestinians, distributing an average of 600 million euros annually.

A visibly ecstatic Shtayyeh thanked the EU for the decision. Its a day of happiness for Palestinians and for Palestine, he said.

Europe has always been standing solidly in line with international law, for respect of international resolutions, and Europe has been very generous to Palestine, said Shtayyeh.

The funding will help pay the salaries of more than 160,000 PA civil servants, which comprise a substantial chunk of the West Bank economy.

Between 2008 and 2020 Brussels sent around $2.5 billion in direct budget aid to the PA.

European aid includes various sectors of the infrastructure in the West Bank, in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and Area C. It includes technical and police assistance, support for the private sector and civil society, and support for the price differentials resulting from the Ukraine crisis, Shtayyeh said.

This aid will inject liquidity into the Palestinian economy and bring about movement in the Palestinian economy. As far as the PA is concerned, the resumption of aid relieves pressure on the PAs treasury

The Palestinian economy has been in a dire crisis since at least 2018.

Dr. Nasr Abdel Karim, a professor of finance and economics at the Arab American University, told The Media Line that the resumption of EU aid no doubt is good news for the Palestinian economy. The PA is going through a stifling financial crisis and is unable to pay the full salary bill for its employees.

This aid will inject liquidity into the Palestinian economy and bring about movement in the Palestinian economy. As far as the PA is concerned, the resumption of aid relieves pressure on the PAs treasury, he added.

But its a temporary solution, according to Karim.

Without aid from the United States of America and the Gulf states, the government will continue to live in a cycle of deficit and public debt, he said.

Karim says the injection of EU financial aid is critical, but it doesnt mean the end of the PAs financial problems.

The PAs current deficit for the 2022 budget is one $1.2 billion.

Reinfusion of European funds will not solve the financial crisis because it is much greater than what the EU is giving, but it helps calm the situation and cool down the financial crisis, Karim said.

Jafar Sadaqa, an economics editor at the WAFA news agency in Ramallah, told The Media Line that the PA is on the verge of financial collapse, and an immediate intervention is needed.

It seems that there is a regional and international understanding and agreement that the situation in the Palestinian territories can no longer tolerate more pressures, and therefore this decision was expected, he said.

Sadaqa acknowledges that the help is timely, but not sufficient.

This support is important, regardless of whether it goes to the budget or to other sectors, but it is not sufficient to solve the crisis or to solve the financial crisis of the PA, he said.

Karim agrees, explaining that the crisis has to do with the Palestinian economy and its inability to generate sufficient revenues, as well as the large expenditures that the government undertakes.

He says that the question now is: if the aid helps solve the crisis this year, then what about next year?

Karim says that political steps, and deep reforms to the PA economy, are necessary.

The strategic solution lies in ending the occupation and reaching a sovereign state that has control over all its resources and the freedom to dispose of all its capabilities and to have freedom of movement. Also, there must be major internal political reforms, and democratic values, and an end to the internal Palestinian division.

Without those things, Karim says, these solutions remain prosthetic solutions.

During the nearly two years of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the PA relied on limited local resources to generate revenue, causing many Palestinians to slip below the poverty line. The World Bank reported that income fell in more than 60% of Palestinian households, and 20% of the previously employed workforce found itself unemployed.

The EU chief says the pandemic coupled with the war in Ukraine added more stress on the world economy including the Palestinians.

Palestine is slowly exiting the pandemic, but it suffers the consequences of the next crisis that we have and that is the Russian war against Ukraine. The Russian aggression has a devastating impact on food prices and on energy supply. And, indeed, Palestine is dependent on imports of Ukrainian cereals like many other vulnerable countries in the world too, she said.

Meanwhile, Shtayyeh called on Europe to exert pressure on Israel to allow Palestinians to hold elections in Jerusalem.

Today we need a political initiative in order to end the occupation, stop settlements, protect the holy sites, and Europe has stood by international law, international legitimacy, human rights and democracy, he said.

Read this article:
European Union Resumes Financial Aid to the Palestinians - The Media Line

The European Union and the Council of Europes joint action on "Fostering Women's Access to Justice in Turkey" held its second multi-stakeholder meeting in Mula on 14 June.

The meeting aimed to identify the main challenges and solutions faced by women in accessing justice, but also to create local and sustainable support networks for the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged women. Strengthening inter-institutional dialogue and raising awareness about practices sensitive to gender equality were also among the aims of the meeting.

In his speech, Atty. Cumhur Uzun, President of Mula Bar Association, noted that In this action, we are very pleased to have been selected as one of the four pilot bar associations in Turkey and to set a valuable example to the other provinces with our practices. For women's access to justice; non-governmental organisations, bar associations, local government officials, public institutions constitute the links of the chain and everyone should act with a sense of responsibility. As Mula Bar Association, we will continue to support women's access to justice and be a model not only for women in Mula, but also for women in other regions. We are glad to be part of this action and contribute together to the realisation of this ultimate and worthwhile goal."

Pnar Bapnar, Head of Operations at the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, underlined that the joint EU/Council of Europe action Fostering womens access to justice in Trkiye strives to increase the gender sensitivity of legal aid services and women's access to these services as well as to improve legal awareness and literacy among women so that they can exercise their rights as equal citizens in Trkiye.

The grant agreement signed between the Council of Europe and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations to support women's access to legal aid is one of the important aspects of the action, said Bapnar. Within the scope of this grant, legal aid services will be provided to women by legal aid lawyers participating in the training program in at least 360 cases," she added.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations, local bar associations and legal aid centres, legal aid lawyers, universities, law faculties, women's studies and gender research and application centres, non-governmental organisations working in the fields of combating gender-based violence and gender equality, public institutions and organisations, violence prevention centres, women's shelters and experts working in the field of women's rights have joined forces to ensure better protection of womens rights and their improved access to justice.

In her presentation, Assistant Professor Asuman Aytekin nceolu shared her observations on legal, institutional, socio-economic and cultural barriers to women's access to justice in Turkey and explained how the key principles of access to justice, namely justiciability, availability, accessibility, provision of remedies, quality of services and accountability, can be operationalised in practice. Related to the quality of judicial services, she stressed that legal professionals should be aware of and avoid re-producing gender-based stereotypes and biases when interpreting and applying existing laws, which otherwise amount to discrimination and set barriers to womens access to justice.

The first multi-stakeholder meeting was held in Ordu in May 2022, the second was held in Mula and two further meetings will be held in Nevehir and Diyarbakr before the end of September. The meetings are taking place as a part of the action on Fostering women's access to justice in Trkiye, implemented within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europes joint programme entitled "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022".

Agenda

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European Union and Council of Europe support improvement of women's access to justice - Council of Europe

The European Union and the Council of Europes joint action on "Fostering Women's Access to Justice in Turkey" held its second multi-stakeholder meeting in Mula on 14 June.

The meeting aimed to identify the main challenges and solutions faced by women in accessing justice, but also to create local and sustainable support networks for the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged women. Strengthening inter-institutional dialogue and raising awareness about practices sensitive to gender equality were also among the aims of the meeting.

In his speech, Atty. Cumhur Uzun, President of Mula Bar Association, noted that In this action, we are very pleased to have been selected as one of the four pilot bar associations in Turkey and to set a valuable example to the other provinces with our practices. For women's access to justice; non-governmental organisations, bar associations, local government officials, public institutions constitute the links of the chain and everyone should act with a sense of responsibility. As Mula Bar Association, we will continue to support women's access to justice and be a model not only for women in Mula, but also for women in other regions. We are glad to be part of this action and contribute together to the realisation of this ultimate and worthwhile goal."

Pnar Bapnar, Head of Operations at the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, underlined that the joint EU/Council of Europe action Fostering womens access to justice in Trkiye strives to increase the gender sensitivity of legal aid services and women's access to these services as well as to improve legal awareness and literacy among women so that they can exercise their rights as equal citizens in Trkiye.

The grant agreement signed between the Council of Europe and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations to support women's access to legal aid is one of the important aspects of the action, said Bapnar. Within the scope of this grant, legal aid services will be provided to women by legal aid lawyers participating in the training program in at least 360 cases," she added.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations, local bar associations and legal aid centres, legal aid lawyers, universities, law faculties, women's studies and gender research and application centres, non-governmental organisations working in the fields of combating gender-based violence and gender equality, public institutions and organisations, violence prevention centres, women's shelters and experts working in the field of women's rights have joined forces to ensure better protection of womens rights and their improved access to justice.

In her presentation, Assistant Professor Asuman Aytekin nceolu shared her observations on legal, institutional, socio-economic and cultural barriers to women's access to justice in Turkey and explained how the key principles of access to justice, namely justiciability, availability, accessibility, provision of remedies, quality of services and accountability, can be operationalised in practice. Related to the quality of judicial services, she stressed that legal professionals should be aware of and avoid re-producing gender-based stereotypes and biases when interpreting and applying existing laws, which otherwise amount to discrimination and set barriers to womens access to justice.

The first multi-stakeholder meeting was held in Ordu in May 2022, the second was held in Mula and two further meetings will be held in Nevehir and Diyarbakr before the end of September. The meetings are taking place as a part of the action on Fostering women's access to justice in Trkiye, implemented within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europes joint programme entitled "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022".

Agenda

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European Union and Council of Europe to support improvement of women's access to justice - Council of Europe