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As part of the regular political dialogue between the Kingdom of Morocco and the EU, the Commissioner with responsibility for Home Affairs, YlvaJohansson, and the Spanish Home Affairs Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, met with the Moroccan Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, in Rabat on 8 July 2022.

They highlighted the solid results of their cooperation based on shared responsibility in matters of migration, and agreed to renew their partnership in order to work together to tackle human smuggling networks, in particular following the emergence of new, extremely violent, methods adopted by such criminal networks.

The Commissioner and the two Ministers regretted every death of people attempting unlawful entry, including those that occurred during the recent distressing events on 24 June 2022. They also regretted the injuries, including to members of the Moroccan and Spanish border forces. These events put traditional methods of combatting human smuggling under strain.

Besides the human tragedy, they showed how very dangerous and violent human smuggling networks were, and the extent to which they were prepared to take any risk.

Investigations were under way to clarify the circumstances surrounding these events. At the same time, the Commissioner and the two Ministers welcomed the fact-finding commission set up by the Moroccan National Human Rights Council. The protection of fundamental rights is a value shared by Morocco and the European Union.

The new operational anti-smuggling partnership between the Commission and Morocco to tackle human trafficking will cover, in particular, support for border management, enhanced police cooperation (including joint investigations), awareness-raising on the dangers of unlawful migration and enhanced cooperation with EU agencies responsible for home affairs.

Morocco is a strategic and committed partner of the European Union, with which the EU has been cooperating on migration issues for a number of years. Its National Immigration and Asylum Strategy (SNIA) is one of the most well-developed migration management systems today, in both legislative and institutional terms, and has enabled the legalisation of the administrative status of thousands of migrants, and their integration into Moroccan society. Morocco was also one of the founding States of the Rabat process and his Majesty King Mohammed VI was appointed leader for Africa on the issue of migration by African Heads of State.

Morocco's practical efforts have resulted, in the first half of this year, in preventing more than 26,000 irregular departures one tenth of them saved at sea. In the same period, Morocco has dismantled around a hundred criminal trafficking networks.

In connection with the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the Commission is establishing migration partnerships with the countries of origin, transit and destination, to combat human smuggling networks, but also to address the root causes of migration and improve legal migration routes so that people do not feel the need to risk their lives on dangerous journeys.

See the article here:
European Commission and Morocco launch renewed partnership on migration and tackling human smuggling networks - European Commission

By Sophia WangJul. 7, 2022

President Joe Biden was pressed about his administrations plans to temper rapidly rising oil prices during the U.S. NATO press conference at the Madrid NATO Summit June 30.

Oil prices have risen due to the war in Ukraine, with some analysts believing that prices may reach $200 a barrel.

When asked how long drivers in the U.S. could expect to face the rising prices, Biden answered As long as it takes so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world.

The European Union (EU) and the U.S. have already taken decisive steps to weaken Russias financial institutions, foremost among them sanctions against the country: for example, the U.S. and United Kingdom have announced total bans on Russian fossil fuels.

More conservative in its measures, the EU plans to cut oil imports from Russia by two-thirds, planning to ban all Russian oil imports arriving by sea by the end of the year. The EU also announced plans to halt Russian coal imports by August.

Russia is a critical supplier to European nations, supplying over 40% of the EUs natural gas. EU negotiations for appropriate sanctions came to a compromise after significant deliberation. The EU continues to import over 800,000 barrels per day of Russian oil imports through pipeline, a temporary measure since countries like Hungary and Slovakia depend heavily on this resource.

Notably, Germany and Poland voluntarily halted pipeline imports, despite significant reliance on Russian gas. According to International Energy Agency Reports, in 2020, Germany made up 42.6% of Russias gas exports; in 2021, 58% of Polands total oil imports came from Russia.

Shipping insurance is critical to the sanctions the EU plans to implement. Following a phase in six month period, EU companies cannot provide technical assistance, brokering services or financing or financial assistance, related to the transport, including through ship-to-ship transfers, to third countries of crude oil or petroleum products from Russia, as dictated by a EU Council Regulation published June 3.

At the Madrid Summit, Biden said that the West would not insure Russian ships carrying oil. We would not provide insurance for them, so they would have great difficulty getting customers.

Taken together, the sanctions would reduce the amount of oil the EU buys from Russia by 90%.

Despite Western sanctions on Russian oil exports, Russias revenue from oil exports has risen as a function of increasing fuel prices felt across the world. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been a key proponent of imposing a price cap on Russian oil sales to Europe; such a cap would allow Russian oil sales in the market, but at a lower revenue stream, especially as several of the EUs sanctions are being phased in by the end of the year.

Supporters of the price cap include Sloan professor Simon Johnson PhD 89, who serves as adviser to the Russian Tanker Tracking Group. Johnson said Theres no other active idea that would impact Putins revenues from fossil fuels over the next five months and that the Russians have been quite cynically manipulating gas markets, so this would be a chance to turn the tables, according to a New York Times article on June 26.

Critics of the approach worry that Russia could refuse to sell at too low of a price cap and utilize its market in India and China for a higher revenue stream.

Biden commented June 30 that we should consider putting a cap on the amount of money that we would pay for Russian oil. Were going to allow you to have a profit on what you make but not the exorbitant prices that youre charging for the oil now. We think it can be done, and it would drive down the price of oil, and it would drive down the price of gasoline as well.

Following the recent G-7 Summit a meeting of the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the U.S. the seven countries agreed on sanctions extending beyond oil regulations. All G-7 members announced a ban on imports of Russian gold.

Altogether, the sanctions imposed from resources like natural gas to U.S. bans on debt payments using money held in U.S. banks have dealt notable blows to Russia. For the first time since 1998, Russia defaulted on a debt, a $100 million payment, which sanctions made impossible to pay.

As Ukraine enters its fifth month of war, financial sanctions implemented by alliances in the EU and abroad seek to highlight solidarity with Ukraine and isolate Russia from the global market.

Continue reading here:
European Union to reduce purchasing of Russian oil by 90% - The Tech

IOM Issues Migration Recommendations to the Czech EU Presidency

Brussels The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has shared its recommendations on migration and mobility with the Czech government. Czechia has assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) in a time of war impacting millions of people and with migration implications in the region and across the globe.

Czechia has been a major host country to people fleeing Ukraine, said Ola Henrikson, IOM Regional Director for the European Economic Area, the European Union and NATO. The unprecedented expression of solidarity, reception and support is shifting to a longer-term approach that will need to encompass wider economic and social inclusion.

The challenges and opportunities extend beyond the Ukraine crisis. Comprehensive migration governance, including action to mitigate climate change impacts on human mobility, is needed more than ever in todays setting, Henrikson said.

First, IOM recommends the Presidency to promote flexible and sustainable inclusion and labour mobility pathways. Migrant and refugee inclusion and access to services as well as attracting skills and talent to the EU through enhanced labour migration can help mitigate economic downturn, contribute to shared prosperity, and promote social cohesion.

The recommendations also address the fact that approximately 1 billion people globally live without legal identities and may lack access to basic services and safe movement. IOM, therefore, encourages the Presidency to promote the registration of legal identity and integrated digital tools as enablers of sustainable development and safe, orderly human mobility.

Dialogue and partnerships for migrant readmission, effective return, and sustainable reintegration continue to be crucial elements of comprehensive migration governance. In its recommendations, IOM outlines a whole-of-route policy which promotes assisted voluntary return, sustainable reintegration, and readmission cooperation frameworks that ensure return procedures adhere to international standards.

Finally, with the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in view, IOM urges the Czech Presidency to prioritize increasing support to the countries and people most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In particular, the EU should step up support for climate adaptation and resilience-building for people to move, for people on the move, and for people to stay.

IOM stands ready to continue its support to the Presidency, the EU, and its Member States to implement balanced, comprehensive policies and programmes across the entire migration spectrum and along migration routes.

IOM's full recommendations can bedownloaded here.

***

*For more information, please contact Ryan Schroeder at IOM Brussels, Tel: +32 495 25 02 34, Email:rschroeder@iom.int *

*About IOM *

Founded 71 years ago in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration. With 174 member states and presence in over 100 countries, IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. The Organization works with its partners in the international community to assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration, advance understanding of migration issues, encourage social and economic development through migration and to uphold the well-being and human rights of all migrants.

Continued here:
Recommendations to the Czech presidency of the council of the European Union (July - December 2022) - Czechia - ReliefWeb

A lot of people like to believe that the COVID pandemic is over, and we cant blame them. The US and many European countries are reporting a lot of infections every day, as we can easily see while taking a look at the stats from worldometers.info.

A senior official at the EU medicines agency says that a new COVID wave is affecting many nations of the Union. He believes that new mutations of the Omicron variant are to blame, according to abcNEWS.

Marco Cavaleri reveals that the BA.4 and BA.5 mutations are expected to dominate the continent, as theyll probably replace all the other variants by the end of the current month.

However, Cavalieri brings a solution to the problem, and youve probably already guessed it. He stated, as abcNEWS quotes:

As this new wave is unfolding over the EU, it is essential to maintain protection of vulnerable groups and avoid any postponement of vaccination.

If we only look at the number of infections with the coronavirus reported yesterday by several important European countries, we realize that the ongoing pandemic is still far from over. Countries such as France, Germany, and Italy reported over 100,000 infections with COVID each. On the other hand, Russia, Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Israel, and Greece reported thousands of infections each on the same day. These terrifying stats are brought by worldometers.info.

The same source reveals that the world has reported a total of over 558.8 million cases of infection and more than 6.3 million deaths caused by the COVID pandemic since it all began. However, there is some good news: over 532.2 million infected people with the coronavirus had already been recovered.

Link:
New COVID Wave Hits the European Union - Optic Flux

Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the last week have left dozens of people injured

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) - Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the past week have left dozens injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country's long-running quest to join the European Union, a process that has faced one hurdle after the other.

The most recent obstacle is a veto by EU member Bulgaria. A French proposal for a compromise to address Bulgaria's concerns has divided North Macedonia, sparking the sometimes violent protests. France's plan also met deep objections in Bulgaria and helped to bring down the government, which had accepted the compromise.

WHAT IS THE DISPUTE ABOUT?

North Macedonia has been an EU candidate for 17 years. The country emerged from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and sought to forge a strong national identity. But in a region where borders and ethnicities have shifted and overlapped over centuries, it was beset by problems from the start.

The country's chosen name, Macedonia, sparked outrage in neighboring Greece, which said the term harbored expansionist aims against its own province of the same name and was an attempt to usurp Greek history and culture. Athens held up Skopje's EU and NATO membership bids for years, until a 2019 deal was reached that included the smaller country changing its name to North Macedonia.

But the following year, neighboring Bulgaria blocked the renamed nation's attempts to join the EU, accusing Skopje of disrespecting shared cultural and historic ties. Among Bulgaria's key demands were acknowledgment that the language of North Macedonia derived from Bulgarian, and the recognition of a Bulgarian minority.

The size of the Bulgarian community in North Macedonia is a matter of contention. Official data from the 2021 census put it at 3,504 people, or about 0.2% of the population. Bulgaria has doubted the figure, noting that about 90,000 of North Macedonia's roughly 2 million population received dual Bulgarian citizenship over the last two decades based on their family roots. About 53,000 more applications are pending.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

North Macedonia's EU bid is tied to a similar bid by neighboring Albania. Both countries see joining the 27-nation bloc as a means of securing stability and prosperity in an increasingly unstable world. The EU prospects of the Western Balkan countries gained increased attention in the wake of the bloc's efforts to bring Ukraine closer following the Russian invasion.

WHAT IS THE FRENCH PROPOSAL?

France held the rotating EU presidency between January and June and so has been deeply involved in negotiations to break the deadlock. EU leaders held a summit with Western Balkan nations last month, during the same week they made Ukraine and Moldova candidates for EU membership.

French President Emmanuel Macron hoped to present unblocking the EU bids of North Macedonia and Albania as a major success. On Thursday, the French Embassy in Skopje posted a message from Macron.

Once again, North Macedonia has reached a crucial moment in its history. Seventeen years after receiving candidate status, a historic opportunity has opened: . The choice is yours, he said.

Macron's proposal envisages concessions from both sides. The government in Skopje would commit to changing its constitution to recognize a Bulgarian minority, protect minority rights and banish hate speech.

The French leader stressed the proposal doesn't question the official existence of a Macedonian language, but he noted that, like all deals, it rests on compromises and on a balance.

HOW WAS THE PROPOSAL RECEIVED?

The compromises in the French proposal led to rifts in both countries.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov's centrist government was toppled in a no-confidence vote on June 22. A junior governing partner quit the fragile four-party coalition, describing Petkov's willingness to lift the veto of North Macedonia as a national betrayal. An early election could result in a stronger presence in parliament of nationalist and pro-Russia lawmakers.

The National Assembly already has approved the proposal, but legislators set additional conditions for agreeing to North Macedonia's EU membership. They included proper constitutional protection for Bulgarians living in North Macedonia, and no assumption that Bulgaria would recognize Macedonian as a separate language from Bulgarian.

In North Macedonia, both President Stevo Pendarovski and the government of Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevsk backed the proposal as a reasonable compromise. Accepting it will be neither a historic triumph, as one camp would call it, nor a historic failure or debacle, as those in the other camp say, Pendarovski said.

The government has stressed the proposal does not endanger national interests or identity. But the center-right main opposition party, the VMRO-DPMNE, as well as others, disagree, saying the deal favors Bulgarian demands that question North Macedonia's history, language, identity, culture and heritage.

Biljana Vankovska, a law professor at the Saint Cyril and Methodius University's Institute for Security, Defense and Peace, slammed the French proposal as bowing to the nationalistic and chauvinistic demands of Bulgaria.

It is unbelievable that a small nation was asked to give up its language, history and constitution-making powers to external powers in order to start the EU accession process, she said.

Political analyst Albert Musliu, head of the Association for Democratic Initiatives think tank, argued the proposal offers North Macedonia a chance to start membership talks with the EU.

If you ask me whether it is fair, then yes, the proposal is unfair, but international order is not based on fairness, he said.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Bulgaria has accepted the French proposal, which now requires the backing of North Macedonia's parliament. The text is now at committee level in parliament. No plenary session has been scheduled.

___

Toshkov reported from Sofia, Bulgaria. Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed

___

Follow AP's coverage of the European Union at https://apnews.com/hub/european-union

FILE - People wave the old and current national flags during a protest in front of the government building in Skopje, North Macedonia, Saturday, July 2, 2022. Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the past week have left dozens injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country's long-running quest to join the European Union, a process that has faced one hurdle after the other. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski, File)

FILE - People light flares and throw eggs and stones on the foreign ministry building during a protest in Skopje, North Macedonia, late Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the past week have left dozens injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country's long-running quest to join the European Union, a process that has faced one hurdle after the other. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski, File)

FILE - People protest in front of the parliament building in Skopje, North Macedonia, late Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the past week have left dozens injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country's long-running quest to join the European Union, a process that has faced one hurdle after the other. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski, File)

FILE - Police confront protesters near the parliament building in Skopje, North Macedonia, late Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the past week have left dozens injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country's long-running quest to join the European Union, a process that has faced one hurdle after the other. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski, File)

FILE - People enter a tunnel while marching through a street during a protest in Skopje, North Macedonia, Wednesday, July 6, 2022. Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the past week have left dozens injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country's long-running quest to join the European Union, a process that has faced one hurdle after the other. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski, File)

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EXPLAINER: North Macedonia: ? thorny road to the EU - The Durango Herald