Mediaboss Marketing

In response to an invitation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe, the European Union has decided to deploy an EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the Harmonised elections of 23 August 2023.

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has appointed Mr Fabio Castaldo, Member of the European Parliament, as Chief Observer for this mission.

High Representative Josep Borrell stated:

The deployment of an EU Election Observation Mission to the general elections in Zimbabwe shows the EU's commitment to support democracy and the rule of law. Under the leadership of Chief Observer Castaldo, the EU EOM will contribute to enhancing citizens trust in the process and to further strengthening Zimbabwes democratic institutions. The Zimbabwean authorities have expressed their commitment to credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections. This is what is expected and the Zimbabweans deserve

The Chief Observer, Mr Castaldo declared: Democracy requires more than elections, but a country cannot be a democracy without holding genuine elections. That is why I feel honored to head an EU EOM to Zimbabwe. Credible, transparent and inclusive elections are a cornerstone of democracy and play a critical role to promote a peaceful and democratic path towards greater stability and prosperity, not only for the individual countries, but also for the broader regions. On the basis of an impartial and objective assessment of the election process, we hope to continue working with the Zimbabwean authorities after the elections to encourage the implementation of the observation mission's recommendations. The EU can play a pivotal role in this process, and we will always be by the side Zimbabwean people.

With the service provider of the EOM arriving in Harare the first week of July, the Core Team of the EU EOM will consist of 11 election experts that will arrive in Zimbabwe shortly after. Towards the end of July, 46 Long-Term Observers will join the mission and are to be deployed across the country to follow the electoral campaign. 44 Short-Term Observers are also foreseen to be deployed closer to election-day. Finally, a number of Locally-Recruited Short-Term Observers from the EU Member States accredited in Zimbabwe may integrate the mission on Election Day. The EU EOM will remain in the country until the completion of the electoral process.

Following the EU election observation methodology, the mission will issue a preliminary statement and hold a press conference in Harare after the elections. The final report, which will include a set of recommendations for future electoral processes, will be presented and shared with stakeholders after the finalisation of the entire electoral process.

CONTACT DETAILS

NABILA MASSRALI Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy nabila.massrali@ec.europa.eu +32 (0) 2 29 88093 +32 (0) 460 79 52 44

DANIEL PUGLISI Press Officer for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management/Foreign Affairs and Security Policy daniel.puglisi@ec.europa.eu +32 (0)2 29 69140 +32 (0)460 767374

See the rest here:
Zimbabwe: The European Union deploys an Election Observation ... - ReliefWeb

The rules are the rules, that is until they get updated.

Open banking has been given a potential new set of rules after the European Commission today released its proposals to update the rules governing payments.

The revised Payment Services Directive proposal (which will replace PSD2 with PSD3) comes alongside the new Financial Data Access (FIDA) proposed rules as well as separate Payment Services Regulation (PSR).

Overall, the new package of measures will have far-reaching consequences for banks and fintechs just as PSD2 has been key to the open banking industry over the past five years or so.

It includes measures aimed at increasing the baseline adoption, functionality and performance of open banking Application Programming Interfaces but is much more ambitious in scope than existing regulation.

Today we are taking concrete steps to modernise not only the EUs retail payments industry but the financial service sector as a whole. In doing so, we are putting the best interests of citizens and consumers at the heart of financial services. In the EUs growing data economy, every interaction in finance creates new data, said Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union.

McGuinness, who yesterday inked a financial services cooperation pact with the UK, says it is, therefore, vital consumers remain in control of their payments and data.

Today we are proposing a set of measures including enhanced protection for consumers making electronic payments in the EU and improved criteria to prevent and remedy payment fraud. This proposal will ensure customers and businesses benefit from more innovative payment and financial service options, whilst being confident that these are offered in a safe, transparent and secure way, she added.

New rules, new goals

The EU has set out six major goals in the proposal.

These are: combating and mitigating payment fraud, improving consumer rights, further levelling the playing field between banks and non-banks in terms of access to payment systems, boosting open banking, improving the availability of cash in shops and via ATMs and making enforcement of the rules more robust.

It comes at a time of increasing digitalisation of financial services in the EU.

Electronic payments in the EU, for example, have soared in recent years, with the pandemic accelerating a long-term trend. In 2021 the volume of electronic payments hit 240trn, compared with 184.2 rn in 2017).

Todd Clyde, CEO of Token.io, an account-to-account payment infrastructure provider, says the publication of the European Commissions proposals for a revised regulatory framework for payment services is an exciting development for the payments industry.

This is because, he says, it demonstrates a commitment to creating a stronger foundation and infrastructure for open banking-powered payments solutions across the European market.

We are particularly pleased to see the European Commissions proposal include measures aimed at increasing the baseline adoption, functionality and performance of open banking Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

API-based interfaces provide the most secure and performant way for Third Party Providers (TPPs) like Token.io to interface with banks, and ultimately support the delivery of innovative services and better outcomes for end users.

Further, we believe formalising the explicit minimum baseline functionality required from banks open banking interfaces will help level-up the overall performance of the ecosystem.

We also welcome the European Commissions statement that banks and TPPs are free to establish commercial arrangements for premium APIs, through which enhanced functionality and value-added services beyond those required under regulation can be provided.

Premium APIs, built on equitable commercial models, have the potential to enable the development of higher-quality and more innovative end-user propositions (such as dynamic recurring payments and payment guarantees) and will support the wider adoption of open-banking based payment propositions.

Both the PSR/PSD3 and Financial Data Access (FIDA) proposals are setting in motion a future for open finance in Europe by unlocking possibilities for innovation across the financial services and other industries.

However, not all are happy with the proposals which include the potential for banks to be able to charge for access to data.

The EU says it wants to avoid radical changes that could destabilise the open banking market or increase implementation costs but buried deep in the report is the ability for banks to charge for data access, adding an extra layer of friction to adoption.

PSD2 promised a fairer financial landscape, where consumers could easily switch to better options and banks would compete on quality and value. Yet traditional banks have shamelessly undermined the essence of PSD2, using consumers' own data to lock them into poor-value services, said a spokesperson for Klarna.

So the EU's reboot to stop this backsliding and empower consumers is great news. However, the Financial Data Access Proposal's provision allowing banks to charge for accessing consumer data raises serious concerns. Personal data belongs to the consumer and should not be used as an expensive fence to lock them into worse service and higher fees. Data is either free or not; it cannot be free at a price," they added.

There is some further nuance here, the proposals state that data holders i.e banks can ask for reasonable compensation from data users for making customer data available to them.

Although it doesnt have any guidance on what this but does say where the data user is an SME (e.g. a small FinTech firm), compensation cant exceed the costs directly attributable to the individual data request.

It can in no way be considered as a payment for the data itself, but rather as compensation for the costs of building and maintaining the technical infrastructure required for accessing high-quality data that can be used by data users to add further value for the financial sector customers.

Link:
PSD3: The European Union unveils new open banking rules - AltFi

As of today, the largest marine protected area in the North-East Atlantic will benefit from greater conservation objectives. The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) has decided to broaden the conservation scope of the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Sea basin Marine Protected Area (NACES MPA), located in the high seas of the North Atlantic, in international waters, to protect the seabed and a number of species and habitats. The European Union, represented by the European Commission, is a contracting party to the OSPAR Convention. This extension is a tangible contribution to the Global Biodiversity Framework agreement which commits to protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. It also supports the recently adopted agreement on protecting biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ).

Virginijus Sinkeviius, Commissioner for Environment, Fisheries and Ocean said:

Today we have good news for the Atlantic Ocean. Together with our partners in OSPAR, we expanded the conservation scope of this large marine protected area in international waters, which is almost the size of France. By protecting and restoring seabird populations, marine biodiversity and the integrity of the seabed and ecosystems, we take an important step towards fulfilling our commitment to protect at least 30% of the sea by 2030. This is critical to protect global marine biodiversity and enhance its resilience to climate change.

Marine Protected Areas are an essential tool for the protection and restoration of marine biodiversity and for the long-term sustainability of seas and oceans. They maintain and improve the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services and related socio-economic benefits, including food security.

Established in 2021 to protect seabirds, the NACES marine protected area now has greater conservation objectives which will also cover the seabed and other species and habitats such as coral gardens and deep-sea sharks. The set up and management of this high seas marine protected area will be supported by the recently adopted agreement on protecting biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. The extension, which contributes to EU ambitions and commitments under the EU biodiversity strategy and the Global Biodiversity Framework , is based on a thorough scientific assessment and follows comprehensive and targeted stakeholder consultation.

The OSPAR Convention aims to protect the North-East Atlantic maritime area against the adverse effects of human activities to conserve marine ecosystems and, when practicable, restore marine areas, which have been adversely affected. It has 16 Contracting Parties: Belgium, Denmark, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The Convention was open for signature at the Ministerial Meeting of the Oslo and Paris Commissions (thus OSPAR) in Paris on 22 September 1992 and entered into force on 25 March 1998.

The NACES marine protected area is the largest one in the OSPAR network and covers nearly 600,000km2 (an area the size of France). It is the eighth collectively designated MPA in the area beyond national jurisdiction within the OSPAR maritime area.

Marine Strategy Framework Directive

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

EU and the Global Biodiversity Framework

OSPAR

NACES MPA designation 2021

See the rest here:
Biodiversity: EU supports strengthening of largest marine protected ... - environment.ec.europa.eu

The investigation determined that the suspects had engaged in a wide variety of crimes, including the corruption of local politicians and the manipulation of elections, installing associates in crucial administrative positions, colluding in the exploitation of public procurement tender procedures, murder, violence, extortion, fraud, money laundering, illicit waste trafficking and criminal conspiracy with other criminal organisations.

According to the evidence collected, this particular branch of the Ndrangheta mafia structure was able to manipulate the local elections in Calabria, Italy, installing its members in crucial administrative and political positions in order to control and exploit the territory. The criminal network also committed a murder with the aim of further imposing its authority. The alleged instigator of this was the head of the Ndrangheta clan in question. Extortion and violence were part of the clans modus operandi.

It is believed that the criminal network was also able to influence public procurement procedures in Italy, which resulted in the misappropriation of at least EUR 3 million in European Union funds.

The perpetrators allegedly reinvested the illicit assets in multiple businesses, across industries such as hospitality, security, transportation, construction, real estate, produce and gambling. They also operated transnational financial fraud schemes via dark-web trading platforms run by German hackers, acting as facilitators.

Eurojust has supported this complex investigation since 2018. The Agency facilitated the setting up of a joint investigation team between the Italian and German authorities. This enabled the prosecuting offices to fruitfully conduct joint investigations, exchange information swiftly and take prompt action when needed. Several coordination meetings were organised among the parties involved. The Agency assisted with the execution of a European Investigation Order to authorise searches and seizures in Austria.

Europol supported the investigators with multiple cross-match reports and facilitated communication between numerous Member States and third parties. Furthermore, Europol also promoted and supported operational meetings and took part in coordination meetings held at Eurojust.

The investigation was supported by the EU-funded Project ISF4@ON, an Italian-led initiative to tackle mafia-type organised crime groups active in Europe.

The following authorities took part in this investigation:

Read the original post:
Action against the 'Ndrangheta criminal organisation: 34 arrests ... - Eurojust

This decision is taken in the light of the decreasing or stable trends observed in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) indicators based on pooled country data in all age groups as described by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) since March 2023 and the WHO statement of 05 May 2023 declaring that COVID-19 is now an established and ongoing health issue which no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

The publication of the original AHSP in May 2020, and its subsequent updates, promoted a harmonised approach on measures to be implemented that allowed improved compliance by the passengers and aviation stakeholders and aimed to lower the disturbance to operations while ensuring a uniform level of health safety for the European population, without endangering flight safety.

EASA and ECDC encourage passengers, crew members, aviation stakeholders and national competent authorities to give proper consideration to the value of the non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented throughout the pandemic, and to use them whenever deemed necessary, especially in crowded indoor settings, with a particular focus on proper ventilation, hygiene measures and respiratory etiquette, including use of surgical masks or respirators for anyone with respiratory infection symptoms and for people with risk factors for severe respiratory viral disease, particularly during periods of high respiratory viral infection prevalence. In the early days of COVID-19 pandemic evidence-based knowledge was limited. Nevertheless, EASA and ECDC worked together to develop the AHSP and the subsequent updates, key documents for the safe resumption of travel, and the base for policy measures for Member States.

EASA and ECDC will sign a Memorandum of Understanding in the coming months allowing the two agencies to work closer together, applying the lessons learned during the COVID-19 Pandemic, to prevent to the extent possible similar situations from happening in the future. Additionally, EASA has initiated a research programme with the support of the European Commission which will result in a call for tenders in the coming months, aiming to identify new technologies that would further enhance health safety of passengers and crew and reduce the already low risk of contamination during air travel.

View post:
ECDC and EASA formally retire joint Aviation Health Safety Protocol ... - European Centre for Disease