16 October: Dr Andrew Foxall details Russia-Serbia Relations on France 24
On 16 October 2014, Dr Andrew Foxall, Director of the Russia Studies Centre at HJS, appeared on France 24 to analyse the "tight-rope" that Serbia is walking between Russia and the European Union.
By: HenryJacksonSoc
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16 October: Dr Andrew Foxall details Russia-Serbia Relations on France 24 - Video
EU drops anti-subsidy probe against Chinese telecom equipment
Europe has decided to drop an anti-subsidy probe against Chinese telecom equipment. During a meeting of trade officials in Brussels, the European Union and China reached a consensus on dropping ...
By: CCTV News
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EU drops anti-subsidy probe against Chinese telecom equipment - Video
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said he will put immigration from other European Union members at the center of talks with the 28-nation bloc in an attempt to stem the threat from the U.K. Independence Party.
We are committed to putting EU migration right at the heart of our negotiations in Europe, Cameron wrote in a Sunday Telegraph article published yesterday, appealing to voters to back his Conservative Party in a straight contest with Labour at next Mays general election.
A vote for UKIP, which gives unconstrained immigration from EU countries as one reason for leaving the club, would help Labour win the election, Cameron said. The prime minister pledged in 2013 that he would call an in-or-out referendum on the U.K.s membership of the EU in 2017 if he wins next years election. The government is currently seeking to renegotiate the terms of its relationship with the EU.
It is only the Conservative Party that is offering you that in-out referendum on Europe in 2017, Cameron wrote in the article. There would be a terrible irony if people who care about these issues voted UKIP -- making a Labour government more likely. They would vote for controlled immigration and get the Labour politicians who opened Britains borders.
Cameron plans to restrict immigration from the EU by limiting access to National Insurance numbers for low-skilled workers, the Sunday Times reported yesterday. The PM will include the cap in an upcoming speech setting out a tougher immigration policy, the newspaper said citing unidentified government officials.
When asked about the report, outgoing European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said a limit on internal EU migration would contravene the clubs laws.
The freedom of movement is a very important principle in the internal market, Barroso, whose term ends Oct. 31, said in a television interview on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show yesterday. Any kind of arbitrary cap seems to me to be not in conformity with European rules.
The commission head warned the U.K. would have little influence globally if it left the political bloc.
Britain is stronger in the European Union, he told Marr. There is a willingness to accommodate the concerns of Britain, provided they are not incompatible to our overall agreed principles.
Cameron wants to reduce annual net immigration from 243,000 people in the year through March to fewer than 100,000 in 2015. He has promised tighter welfare rules for migrants and a block on people coming from countries that join the EU in the future.
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Cameron Puts Immigration at Heart of European-Union Talks
LUXEMBOURG: European foreign ministers gather in Luxembourg today to try and formalise a joint EU response to combat the Ebola virus amid diplomatic warnings the crisis has reached a "tipping point".
The ministers will meet hours after it was announced that a Spanish nurse who was the first person outside Africa to be infected had tested negative for the virus.
Ahead of the talks, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the bloc should consider sending "a civilian EU mission" to west Africa.
"This would offer a platform to (EU) member states" to send medical staff to the region, he said at a health forum in Berlin.
One EU diplomat said Britain - which already has a navy ship bound for Sierra Leone laden with medical staff and supplies -- hoped to "galvanise EU action on Ebola".
"There is a real sense that this is a tipping point and we must get to grips with it now," said the diplomat. "If we can deal with it in the country, we don't have to deal with it at home."
Another diplomat said there are plans for three nations to spearhead global aid to the worst-hit countries: the United States for Liberia, Britain for Sierra Leone and France for Guinea.
A global UN appeal for nearly $1 billion (785 billion euros) has so far fallen short, with only $385.9 million given by governments and agencies, and a further $225.8 million promised.
The political move comes as Madrid announced on yesterday that Teresa Romero, a nurse hospitalised on October 6, has tested negative for the virus.
The 44-year-old will have to undergo a second test before she can officially be declared free of Ebola, the Spanish government said.
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Ebola crisis tops European Union meeting
LUXEMBOURG (AP) European Union nations are working to reach 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion) in aid by the end of the week to fight Ebola in West Africa and are seeking a common approach to the crisis.
EU foreign ministers began a week of talks Monday so their 28 leaders can agree by Friday on better measures to fight Ebola, anything from financial aid to common repatriation procedures, more Ebola treatment facilities and better training for health workers.
"We've got a very short window to get on top of it and prevent the uncontrollable spread of the disease," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said. "We do need this billion-euro fund."
So far, the overall anti-Ebola total for the EU, including EU national contributions, stands now at nearly 500 million euros ($640 million), with Britain contributing 160 million euros ($204 million) and Germany some 100 million euros ($127 million).
The Netherlands also promised to send a frigate to West Africa to help, matching a similar contribution from Britain.
"Money is very important, equipment is very important, staff is very important," said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
The World Health Organization's representative to the EU, Roberto Bertollini, was relieved to hear EU promises of action.
"It's time to act now ... if we want to limit the amount of cases to an amount that is controllable," he said.
In Spain, officials said nursing assistant Teresa Romero now appears to have beaten Ebola but she won't be considered virus-free until she is tested Tuesday for a second time. She was among those treating a Spanish missionary who died of Ebola on Sept. 25.
"The first good news is that the evolution of Teresa Romero is positive," said Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. "The second is that the 15 others (linked to her) did not present any symptoms."
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EU seeking to create $1.27 billion Ebola fund