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BRUSSELS / BELGRADE EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivr Vrhelyi responded to a letter sent by Serbian opposition representatives to the European Commission in July, stating that the European Union has developed mechanisms to monitor the rule of law in Serbia and added that political opposition is a key component of any democratic state, and called on both the government and the opposition to continue participating in the dialogue with the mediation of the European Parliament.

We remind you that the members of the opposition in Serbia that boycotted the elections sent a letter to the European Commission in July, in which they expressed deep concern over the erosion of democracy in Serbia and called on the European Union to form expert groups to help resolve the countrys political crisis, following the example of resolving the crisis in North Macedonia a few years ago.

The opposition then asked the EU to form an expert group to compile a report on the state of democracy and the rule of law, as well as a report on the state of the media, modeled on the so-called Priebe report, which formed the basis for political agreement of parties in North Macedonia.

In response to this letter, which the European Western Balkans had access to, Commissioner Vrhelyi pointed out that reforms in the field of democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights are crucial for Serbia, as well as for all other candidate countries. He stated that the European Union already has a developed mechanism for monitoring these areas, which, as he emphasized, has been further improved with the new methodology, which is why he currently does not see the need for additional reporting.

Immediately afterwards in the letter, Vrhelyi also referred to the role of the opposition in Serbia and the continuation of the dialogue between the parties.

Let me take this opportunity to emphasize that political opposition is a key component of a functioning democracy. Serbia needs a broad dialogue between the parties in order to achieve the key reforms in the areas of democracy, rule of law and responsibility, which are necessary to make progress in EU accession. We therefore encourage the new Serbian government and parliament to continue, and you to take an active part, in the dialogue led by the European Parliament, as a step towards progress in EU-related reforms. It is the responsibility of all parties to play a constructive role, Vrhelyi wrote.

In the letter, he described the ways in which the European Commission monitors and analyzes the situation in Serbia.

As a candidate country, Serbia is subject to a detailed process and methodology for monitoring and reporting on the rule of law, especially under Chapters 23 and 24. The European Commission regularly monitors the situation in Serbia and initiates talks with the authorities on these issues, Vrhelyi wrote.

He stressed that the EU already has a wide range of means to analyze and monitor Serbias progress under Chapters 23 and 24, including data provided by the government, reporting by the EU Delegation to Serbia, analyzes and data from civil society, experts and international organizations.

He reminded that the new enlargement methodology, adopted by the EU in March, additionally focuses on fundamental areas such as the rule of law and democracy and envisages new mechanisms for their monitoring, and the results of that monitoring will be presented in the European Commissions annual reports.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vui informed the President of France Emmanuel Macron in July that Serbia accepts the new enlargement methodology, but this decision should be made by the government, which is still in a technical mandate.

The adoption of the new methodology was supported by the Party of Freedom and Justice, stating that it would completely expose the nature of the autocratic regime of Aleksandar Vui and confirm that Serbia is a captured state.

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Vrhelyi responded to the Serbian opposition: The dialogue should continue, the EU is monitoring the situation in Serbia - European Western Balkans

Eesti Pank revised its balance of payment time series starting from 2016 and published them on 08.09 together with the balance of payment statistics for the second quarter.

Alongside the usual data, users can now access an additional set of figures and tables showing Estonia's position among the countries of the European Union, illustrating the long time series of the balance of payments, and providing more detailed information on the external sector by year than in the quarterly statistics published on the website; there are over 60 additional figures and tables.

The ratio of external trade turnover, which is the sum of exports and imports of goods and services, to GDP is also called the trade openness ratio. The ratio shows how integrated a country's economy is with the world economy. The higher the ratio, the more international trade affects the country's economy.

More information on the Estonian balance of payment indicators in international comparison and the annual balance of payment statistics since 2000 can be found from annual balance of payment indicators and from the website sections on the annual balance of payment indicators, the international investment position and the external debt.

Eesti Pank publishes the revised time series for balance of payment statistics each September for the four previous years.

For further information:Eesti Pank Statistics Department668 0904Ulvi.Saks[at] eestipank.ee

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Bank of Estonia published this content on 10 September 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 10 September 2020 05:14:01 UTC

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Estonia was in twelfth place among the European Union countries in the index of economic openness in 2019 - Marketscreener.com

A massive fire this week ravaged a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, leaving more than 12,000 asylum-seekers homeless. Milos Bicanski/Getty Images hide caption

A massive fire this week ravaged a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, leaving more than 12,000 asylum-seekers homeless.

Ra'ed Alabed films his tent's smoldering remains in what he called the "hell camp" on the Greek island of Lesbos.

"This was my home," says the 45-year-old Syrian refugee in a video he shared with NPR, pointing to a blackened cooking pot and a thicket of charred olive-tree branches. "My home in the most horrible place."

Multiple fires this week destroyed the tents of more than 12,000 refugees living in Europe's largest refugee camp, called Moria after a nearby village. For years, the camp has symbolized the European Union's failure to manage migration in a humane way.

Since 2015, when more than 850,000 asylum-seekers crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to EU member Greece, Brussels has tried to tame a nationalist, anti-immigrant backlash among its member states by deterring even more asylum-seekers from reaching Europe.

A man in the burned Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, Thursday. A second fire the island's notoriously overcrowded Moria refugee camp destroyed nearly everything that had been spared in an earlier blaze, Greece's migration ministry said Thursday, leaving thousands more in need of emergency housing. Petros Giannakouris/AP hide caption

A man in the burned Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, Thursday. A second fire the island's notoriously overcrowded Moria refugee camp destroyed nearly everything that had been spared in an earlier blaze, Greece's migration ministry said Thursday, leaving thousands more in need of emergency housing.

"Moria refugee camp is designed and sustained as part of the European Union's border," says Amelia Cooper of the Lesbos Legal Centre, which assists refugees with asylum issues. "It's deliberately constructed to deter future migrants from crossing by willfully subjecting those who live here to inhumane and unsafe conditions."

The camp, bordered by barbed wire, was built to hold no more than 3,000 people; it often held four to seven times that number. Trash was left to rot, the few toilets overflowed with waste, and there was a severe shortage of water taps and soap. Mothers washed babies in cold water. Families waited in line for food that was often spoiled.

"It's just so sad and upsetting to see people who really need help, who really need assistance, who are beneficiaries of international protection, being kept in these conditions," says Faris Al-Jawad, communications manager for Doctors Without Borders. "We've been pushing for years for the evacuation of vulnerable people. This was a ticking time bomb that was waiting to explode."

Alabed, the Syrian refugee, says he founded the Moria White Helmets a volunteer safety organization because of previous fires. He remembers the most recent blazes starting on Tuesday night, after protests against a camp lockdown due to a coronavirus outbreak.

The flames were soon outside his tent and the nearby one shared by his daughter, son-in-law and 4-month-old granddaughter. The camp had no fire evacuation plan that he knew of, so he took charge.

"I said, 'Please, leave your tents, take your stuff, as much as you can, quickly,' " he recalls. "I tried to stay until everyone was out."

Greek authorities have reported no serious injuries, though some refugees suffered from smoke inhalation.

Migrants flee from the Moria refugee camp during a fire on Wednesday. It was one of multiple fires this week in Greece's notoriously overcrowded refugee camp on the island of Lesbos. The fires caused no injuries, but they renewed criticism of Europe's migration policy. Petros Giannakouris/AP hide caption

Jawad, of Doctors Without Borders, saw people running out of the burning camp in terror.

"I saw babies on the side of the street in baskets," he says. "I saw old people in wheelchairs just absolutely stunned."

Alabed says it's a miracle no one died. He fled Syria to escape catastrophes like this.

"We saw a lot of things in our country. We saw the bombs. We saw the blood," he says. "I don't want to die here."

Now he and other refugees are homeless. Many are sleeping on the streets or in the woods.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address on Wednesday that he understands conditions in the camp were bad. But he implied refugees started the fire because they were angry about the COVID-19 lockdown.

"There's no excuse for violent reactions to coronavirus health protocols and checks," he said, "especially when it leads to this kind of unrest."

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas told reporters on Wednesday that only unaccompanied minors will be able to leave Lesbos for the Greek mainland. He accused migrants of setting more fires at the camp on Wednesday night.

"Some people don't respect the country hosting them," he said.

European Union leaders said they feel terrible about the fires and are sending aid to Greece. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson has promised that Brussels will pay to move some 400 unaccompanied minors to mainland Greece and fund their housing until they relocate to other EU countries.

But Margaritis Schinas, the European Commission vice president who oversees migration, told German broadcaster ZDF that what happened in Moria camp "is not Europe's fault." He called it a failure of European solidarity. EU countries like Hungary and Poland, where anti-immigrant nationalism runs strong, have long refused to accept refugees stuck in camps in Greece.

Omid Alizadah, a 30-year-old Afghan pharmacist and refugee who lived in Moria camp until the fires, says EU leaders should be ashamed.

"I grew up in Kabul, and I have seen bad things," he says. "I have never seen anything as bad as Moria camp."

Alizadah lived in a tent in the camp for several months with his wife and 4-year-old son, who begged him to find the family a home "for human beings." He tried to protect them from attacks by anti-immigrant fascists. And Alizadeh started the Moria Corona Awareness Team, a refugee-run group, to help inform his fellow refugees on how to try to avoid coronavirus infections in such a crowded camp.

A privately run passenger ferry has docked on Lesbos to temporarily house some of the refugees displaced by the fires. Two Greek navy ships will also provide shelter.

Meanwhile, islanders are blocking roads around the remains of the former camp to prevent workers from cleaning up the site. They want to make sure it is never rebuilt.

"I don't know what will be the next plan and what will happen," Alizadeh says. "But I hope that we go to a place that is not worse than the worst place on Earth."

Nada Homsi and Lisa Weiner contributed to this report.

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Fires Leave Thousands Of Refugees On Greece's Lesbos Homeless - NPR

It is a well-established principle of international law that the state is obligated to fulfill its treaty obligations in good faith. This is and will remain the guiding principle in the UKs approach to international relations. However, in the extremely difficult and exceptional circumstances in which we find ourselves, it is important to remember the basic principle of parliamentary supremacy.

Parliament is sovereign in terms of domestic law and can pass legislation that violates the UKs treaty obligations. Parliament will not act unconstitutionally in enacting such legislation. This two-way approach is shared by other similar legal systems such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Under this approach, treaty obligations become binding only to the extent required by domestic legislation. Whether the enactment of legislation or its repeal, the content of that legislation is for Parliament and Parliament alone. This principle was recently approved unanimously by the Supreme Court in R (Miller) v. Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5.

Legislation implementing the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Northern Ireland Protocol, is expressly governed by the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. Parliaments ability to pass provisions that would take precedence over the withdrawal agreement is explicitly affirmed in Section 38 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act of 2020, with specific reference to the EU law concept of direct effect.

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Brexit: The European Union threatens to take legal action against the United Kingdom unless it rewrites the internal market bill - Mubasher | Policy -...

Third. In the discourse of the European Union, the link between stress resistance and external threats has become stronger. At the same time, terrorism and the energy supply have faded into the background, and disinformation and threats in the cyber environment have come to the fore. Russia in the discourse of the European Union has retained its (leading) position as the main source of these threats, but the topic of the dangers emanating from China has also become more active. The need to ensure the EU's stress tolerance in relation to disinformation and cybersecurity was clearly expressed in the European Council's statement in March of this year, and in the Communique from the European Commission in June this year, as well as in the programme of the troika of Presidents of the Council of Ministers.

Moreover, the Accounts Chamber has assessed the effectiveness of the EU's actions in the field of disinformation as an important aspect of ensuring the EU's stress resistance. Disinformation manifests itself in the context of how to more effectively combat the pandemic with medical means, and trust in the official authorities in general. The topic of cyber-threat turned out to be in demand due to the increased importance of telecommunication structures in politics and economics, especially given the growing importance of remote forms of interaction. But there were also accusations of attempts to steal the scientific results on vaccines from the EU.

Fourth, the EU focuses both on the development of citizens and public resources, as well as on official structures becoming more active. The latter were key during the course of the pandemic, but the EU discourse is now shifting in favour of giving more responsibility to citizens and public structures. In other words, the question of the resources of resilience remains open.

Finally, the term "resilience" has been voiced in recent weeks in the context of the EU's intention to ensure greater independence in the world arena. This is not directly related to the pandemic. The impetus was the restrictive new US measures against Nord Stream 2 and the desire to protect EU companies from secondary US sanctions. But from the point of view of the discourse on stress resistance, this is confirmed by the increasingly active use of this concept in relation to the integration association, and not to countries outside the Union, and the emphasis is on threats. Actions in this direction, if successful, can restore the effectiveness of the most powerful instrument of the EU's external action, its trade policy and economic ties. In recent years, their effectiveness has been reduced by the activity of the United States in the imposition of sanctions and its legislation, and the practice of applying secondary sanctions against all companies throughout the world.

Thus, the pandemic has contributed to a significant transformation of the EU's discourse on resilience to stress.

What significance can this have for Russia? First, the priority of internal problems also means the preservation of the deplorable state of relations between Moscow and Brussels. The appetite for drastic changes in foreign policy in Brussels was limited, even before, and has now almost disappeared. At the same time, the emphasis on the Green Deal as the basis for enhancing the EU's stress resistance threatens the closeness of cooperation between Russia and the EU in the energy sector: the fate of this interaction depends on whether gas finds a place in the process of the decarbonisation of the EU economy.

Second, the decline in normative rhetoric due to the transformation of the discourse on stress resistance does not mean that these values should be abandoned in the context of external relations.

Third, maintaining an emphasis on the threats to the EU's resistance to stress and perceptions of Russia as one of their sources is also negative, not only for official contacts, but also for the dialogue among civic groups, in which Brussels has seen an opportunity to compensate for stingy contacts with the Russian state officials. The general mistrust of Russia extends to the effectiveness of its fight against the pandemic, as it blocked the opening of its borders. And this, in turn, continues the trend of a catastrophic decline in the mutual socialisation of partners. Well, the vast benefits from strengthening the EU's stress resistance in terms of countering secondary US sanctions can hardly be expected, except the completion of the long-suffering Nord Stream 2.

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The Concept of Resilience in the European Union amid the Pandenic Era - Valdai Discussion Club