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In January of 2021, as President BidenJoe BidenPredictions of disaster for Democrats aren't guarantees of midterm failure A review of President Biden's first year on border policy Vilsack accuses China of breaking commitments in Trump-era trade deal MORE and his team transitioned from the campaign to the White House, addressing U.S. border policy was top priority. A year later, the lasting impact of those initial decisions is undeniable the Biden administrations policies and actions on the border created a crisis, and his continued inaction allowed it to devastate our immigration system.

In the opening days of President Bidens first year, the main goal of his administration centered around reversing the policies of former President TrumpDonald TrumpPredictions of disaster for Democrats aren't guarantees of midterm failure A review of President Biden's first year on border policy Hannity after Jan. 6 texted McEnany 'no more stolen election talk' in five-point plan for Trump MORE. Instead of reviewing policies based on their effectiveness, the Biden administration blindly canceled President Trumps policies without first analyzing the impact the removal of those policies would have on our border communities.

On the very first day, the Biden administration effectively terminated the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the Remain in Mexico policy. The policy allowed for asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until the time came for them to appear at an immigration hearing. This program reduced the number of border apprehensions by 64% over a four-month span in 2019 and was a major component of the Trump administrations efforts to combat illegal immigration. Earlier this year, I sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro MayorkasAlejandro MayorkasDemocrats calls on Biden administration to ease entry to US for at-risk Afghans A review of President Biden's first year on border policy Rift grows between Biden and immigration advocates MORE questioning the administrations rationale for suspending the MPP. While a court order required the Biden administration to reinstate the program, the administration continues to fight the use of this effective strategy through legal challenges.

President Biden also issued other executive orders (EOs) that reinstated catch-and-release measures, a controversial practice terminated under the Trump administration that allows undocumented migrants to enter the United States without a visa. President Bidens policies gave undocumented immigrants traveling with children an ability to remain indefinitely in the United States, and many warned that this policy would incentivize human trafficking of children across the border. These warnings proved true as Border Patrol agents encountered almost 19,000 unaccompanied children two months later in March, five times the number encountered in the same month of 2020.

Another policy targeted by President Biden was border wall system construction. After the federal government had already paid for much of the wall system, the president canceled the project, which not only wasted millions of taxpayer dollars, but also left our border vulnerable.

The administrations actions quickly led to a surge of migrants on the border. Within weeks of President Bidens inauguration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encounters with family units at the southwest border increased 400 percent compared to months prior to election day, prompting leaders from across the political spectrum to warn the White House of an impending border crisis.

We are writing to express our deep concern that your recent sweeping border security and immigration enforcement policy rollbacks are causing a new crisis at our southwest border, undercutting the rule of law, and damaging the integrity of our territorial borders, my colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security and I wrote to the president in early February, 2021.

Despite the warnings, however, President Biden chose to ignore the crisis he and his administration had created as details of the humanitarian crisis became publicly known. Border Patrol agents reported that the Biden administration had become the biggest facilitator of human smuggling across the border. Drug smuggling exploded as Border Patrol agents seized more fentanyl by April 2021 than in all of 2020 combined. Suspected or known terrorists were reported to have been apprehended while attempting to sneak into the United States during the crisis.

However, the administration continued to remain silent as human smuggling and drug trafficking continued to reach record highs until the crisis reached a breaking point in September when thousands of Haitian migrants camped at the border. When those migrants were met by Border Patrol agents, who attempted to gain control of the situation, many attempted to rush across the border and were met by agents on horseback. During the encounter, an agent was photographed using his reins to control the horse he was riding, leading to a photo that media outlets began using to falsely accuse the agents of using whips to strike immigrants.

Instead of supporting the agents who were performing their duties under very difficult circumstances, the Biden administration helped promote this false narrative even after the photographer who took the photos refuted the claims.Instead of taking responsibility for the dozens of actions they took to create the crisis, the administration chose to blame everyone else including the officers who were charged with protecting our border while working overtime to provide care for the influx of unaccompanied children.

One year ago, President Biden implemented a border strategy based on overturning President Trumps actions without regard to the impact on the border. His actions signaled that the border was open with catch-and-release policies and weakened security, and he ignored warnings of the crisis for months.When the crisis reached a pivotal moment, he betrayed the law enforcement agents who were performing their duty to our nation.

President Bidens policies have completely failed the American people, but it is not too late for him to change course.To secure the border President Biden must reimplement the proven policies he scrapped and begin supporting our law enforcement agents on the border. If he chooses not to, his legacy on the border will remain what it is at the end of his first year a complete and total failure.

Michael GuestMichael Patrick GuestDHS considering asylum for migrants whose cases were terminated under Trump I visited the border and the vice president should too The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Senate path uncertain after House approves Jan. 6 panel MORErepresents the 3rd District of Mississippi and is vice ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

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A review of President Biden's first year on border policy | TheHill - The Hill

The government of Cyprus says that it has already received more than 700 applications for asylum so far this year. The island nation, which has seen a spike in irregular arrivals in recent years, says it is encountering a "migration crisis", propelled by Turkey.

More than 700 people have filed an application for asylum in Cyprus since the start of the year, according to a report in the Cypriot daily Phileleftheros on Wednesday, January 19.

Last year,the Greek-administered part of the island received close to 13,500asylum applications, according to the Phileleftheros. From all the applications submitted in recent years, the authorities reviewed a record number of 16,549 applications in 2021. Currently, 19,000 applications are reportedly still pending.

The Greek-administered part of the island, which is part of the EU and has a population of 1.2 million, had one of the highest numbers of asylum applications per capita in the entire EU in 2020, according to the bloc's official statistics.

The Cypriot immigration authorities say they are overstretched and struggle to deal with the unabatated flow of migrants to the island.

Also read: Riot police fire warning shots at migrants in Cyprus

The island's two reception centers, one near the capital Nicosia and the other near the port city of Larnaca, are both notoriously overcrowded. Most of the newcomers have been forced to sleep outside the camps, reported the Phileleftheros.

The newspaper says that Interior Minister Nicos Nourisis is planning to ask for EU funding to build another camp on its eastern shores, where the asylum applications could be processed faster.

In November 2021, Cypriot authorities sought to get the European Commissions approval to suspend asylum seekers' applications for all the 'irregular migrants,' claiming that they are facing a 'demographic change' and 'acute socio-economic effects.'

Also Read: Cyprus: Hundreds transferred after coronavirus outbreak at an overcrowded migrant camp

Most migrants arrive on Cyprus by boat from the Turkish mainland. They come ashore in the Turkish-Cypriot north of the island and then pass through a porous 'green line' a buffer zone patrolled by the UN peacekeeping forces that splits the island between the Turkish Cypriot part and the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot southern part.

The Phileleftheros report claimed thatgangs of smugglers charged between 300 to 500 (340 to 567 dollars) for smugglingmigrantsacross the dividing line into the Greek-Cypriot south, where they then can apply for asylum in the EU, reports dpa.

Moreover, Cyprus blames Turkey for allowing irregular migrants to cross from the north.

"Turkeys stance has led to the creation ... of a new migration route in the eastern Mediterranean, which disproportionally burdens Cyprus, and places enormous strain on the national asylum system," said the nation's foreign and interior ministries in a joint statement to the EU Parliament in February 2021. The ministries said they would raise "the extent of the migration crisis faced by Cyprus" in Brussels to ensure the government "receives the assistance required to effectively address it."

Turkey, hosting more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees, "could flood the island if wanted," Corina Drousiotou from the Cyprus Refugee Council toldnews agencyAFP in December.

With dpa, AFP

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More than 700 migrants have reached Cyprus this year - InfoMigrants

Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies Jeff Bemiss is an Oscar-shortlisted writer/director who has created short films, features, and documentaries. Most recently, Bemiss co-directed Missing in Brooks County, which will premiere on PBSs Independent Lens on January 31 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern (check local listings). The film also will be available to stream on the PBS Video app. The feature documentaryco-directed with Lisa Molomot and executive produced by Abigail Disney/Fork Films and Engel Entertainmentshines a light on the missing migrant crisis in South Texas. It is an ITVS co-production with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

As part of Trinitys Film Studies Program since 2013, Bemiss teaches an introduction to film production, in addition to courses on screenwriting, advanced filmmaking, and editing. Documentary is having a golden period right now, Bemiss said, noting the recent mainstream success of documentary films in theaters and online streaming services. With documentary, students have the best chance to create successful films that an audience will respond to. Documentary presents you with the storyyou just have to recognize it and figure out how to tell it.

Below, Bemiss discusses his filmmaking experiences and how he uses them to teach Trinity students.

I was 8 years old when Star Wars came out and it set my imagination on fire. It sent a generation of students to film school and I was one of them. Theres no one route to becoming a filmmaker; generally, you either work your way up from a production assistant, or you can just direct something, which was the more independent path that I took. I made a 30-minute scripted film a few years out of college, The Book and the Rose, which became one of 10 semi-finalists for the Oscar for best short film. Since then Ive worked on various projects and I started teaching. At some point, I got tired of waiting for permission to do work, in the form of financial backing and investors, so I got interested in documentary. Scripted film takes an enormous amount of money for casting and locations to even start. With documentary, if you have an idea and a camera, you can just begin. I kind of got hooked on it.

I had met my co-director on the film, Lisa Molomot, at Trinitywe were both teaching here and we wanted to work together. A little while after she left for Arizona, I heard a radio documentary about a forensic scientist named Lori Baker at Baylor University, who was doing the work of exhuming anonymous migrants buried in south Texas. She was trying to identify them to bring closure to their families who had no idea what happened to them. I was very moved by it for some reason; I do have some family from Mexico. Lisa and I reached out to Dr. Baker, who invited us to Texas and took us to Brooks County; its not even a border county, but thats where the problem is. It went from what we thought would be a short profile of this forensic scientist to a four-year endeavor to document and film what was going on in Brooks County.

The key to most documentaries is access. Building trust with the participants in the film was slow-going at the beginning. This was not the film we set out to make. When it did pivot, it became a process of finding the story. We made 15 trips in total to Brooks Countyusually for about two to three weeks each trip. It got really complicated; we met volunteers and activists, judges, undertakers, sheriffs, and most of all we met families of the missing. We filmed for about four years. PBS came in as a co-producer on the film, which was like a rescue. When they came on board, it allowed us to finish the film properly, which we were struggling to do at the time.

I think maybe a few thousand people have seen the film on the festival circuit. When PBS broadcasts it and it goes up on the PBS website, it will be seen by millions. Most people dont know whats happening in Brooks County, and when they see it, they may be shocked. Its not an overtly political film. We give everyone their say, and viewers can make up their own mindsthey just need to see whats happening.

It means a great deal to us to be able to reach an audience and we feel PBS is the right platform for this film. Its free, so anyone can see it. Film has an incredible capacity to teach and to educate. One thing it also does very well is deliver an emotional experience. If you can provide learning at the same time, to me thats the ultimate achievement. This film allows people to witness something they dont witness in their everyday life, and I think its message is urgent. People are dying; this was the worst year ever for migrant deaths on our southwest border.

I always try to bring my work back to the classroom. This past semester, in Introduction to Film Studies, we watched two documentaries, one of which was Missing in Brooks County. It made for an interesting discussion because the students were in the room with the filmmaker. It changes the kinds of learning and discussions you can have. It gave students a perspective on not just the study of film, but living the life of a filmmaker.

There is also a special course, FILM 309, where we make one film in one semester together as a class. On day one, we have no idea what were going to do. We pitch ideas, we vote on them, we go out and make the film, we finish it, and we market it. The short film Coaching Colburn was produced by a previous class, and it premiered at the Big Sky Film Festival, then went all around the world. It was also part of the Trinity Film Festival at Cinestudio, both gems of the college.

Teaching is wonderful because it allows me to share my passion for filmmaking every single day. It keeps me fresh and invigorated. If I have a discouraging day with my own film projects, I always have the classroom and my students to lift me up. And of course, watching students go into the film industry and become storytellers in this medium is one of the great joys of teaching.

Not every student in a filmmaking class at Trinity is going to become a filmmaker or media creator. However, they will all go on to become media consumers. I like to balance the classes with liberal arts learning and technical learning. We do things in filmmaking that focus on the idea and the expression of the idea. Its not just cameras and editingits writing, collaborating, and critical thinking, which are all part of the traditional core liberal arts pursuits that will take any student further in life. Liberal arts can teach the value of the idea and the expression of the idea. I think thats valuable in everything, not just in film.

Missing in Brooks County will premiere on PBSs Independent Lens on January 31 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern (check local listings). See the trailer below. The film also will be available to stream on the PBS Video app. For more information on Bemiss and his other projects, visit http://www.unit-of-light.com.

To learn more about film studies at Trinity, click here.

Read more from the original source:
Q&A: Documentary by Visiting Assistant Professor of Film Studies Jeff Bemiss Airing on PBS - Trinity College

Children crowded the LOuverture Cleary School near Port-au-Prince following the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake. (Photo: George M. Martell, The Catholic Foundation, via CNS)

CAMBRIA HEIGHTS Late last summer, tens of thousands of Haitian migrants surged across the Texas-Mexico border, fleeing the ravages of a devastating earthquake back home and seeking refuge in the U.S.

An estimated 30,000 of them huddled in encampments beneath the International Bridge at Del Rio, Texas. But most had not been displaced by the recent 7.2-magnitude quake, Aug. 14, 2021, on the western portion of Haiti.

Their plight began 12 years ago, on Jan. 12, in the aftermath of the slightly smaller, but much deadlier, 7.0-magnitude earthquake, centered near the nations capital, Port-au-Prince.

In the 2021 quake, 2,050 lives were lost in Haitis mostly rural Tiburon Peninsula.

But in 2010, an estimated 300,000 died in and around the densely populated urban capital.

Haitian Catholics in the Diocese of Brooklyn believe that the disaster in 2010 created a leadership void that has given way to widespread political corruption, lawlessness, and violence in the streets and countryside ever since.

What happened to Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010, is a catalyst for everything that has happened since, said Elsie Saint Louis, who leads Haitian Americans United for Progress (HAUP), based in Hollis, Queens.

We lost 300,000-plus people, she said. It weakened all of our institutions. It weakened our government. It weakened our churches. We lost everything.

Lamentations

Saint Louis was among a few dozen Catholics who attended a special evening Mass on Jan. 12 to honor the lives lost in 2010. It was held at Sacred Heart Parish Church in Cambria Heights, Queens, which is her parish.

The celebrant was Father Hilaire Belizaire, the pastor, who is also the director of the dioceses Haitian Apostolate. Concelebrant was Father Daniel O. Kingsley, administrator of St. Clare Parish in Rosedale, Queens.

Father Kingsleys mother is from Haiti, so he has a deep connection to the nations people, their culture, and the plights they endure. Father Kingsley, who was a seminarian in the Diocese of Brooklyn at the time, shared his memories of Jan. 12, 2010, a day of solemnity for Haitians everywhere.

I remember being in the dentists office, he recalled. I was minding my own business, and I saw a woman who just got off the phone. She started screaming and yelling. She probably received the worst news of her life.

It was shocking. What do you do when someone has received the worst news?

Father Belizaire also shared his memories of that day and what he, and other Haitians in the U.S., felt numbness, helplessness, powerlessness, and hopelessness.

I can vividly recall that period of time when I was waiting for a sign, a phone call from my loved ones whom I had not heard from in days, he said. The pain became more agonizing.

Eventually, hope replaced despair as Catholics turned to their faith and channeled their emotions into relief efforts.

Father Belizaire tells a story about how, while performing missionary work in Haiti following the 2010 quake, he was at the ruins of the Sacred Heart Church in Turgeau, where only a large crucifix remained standing. A TV reporter on the scene asked, on camera: Where was God in all this?

An old lady who was close by overheard him and pointed her finger toward the crucifix, Father Belizaire recalled. Here, she said. He is here in the midst of our suffering.

Christian faith does not mean believing in impossible things, Father Belizaire said. Faith is not hoping the worst wont happen. It is knowing that there is no tragedy which cannot be redeemed.

Hope Beset by Crises

Saint Louis said disaster is nothing new to the Caribbean island nation where she was born.

But the ones following 2010 have only made things worse, like Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Last year, Tropical Depression Grace hampered rescue and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Aug. 14 earthquake. There have been mudslides and floods.

Following all the disasters, sympathetic nations responded with relief supplies and lots of cash, but much of it has been pillaged via political corruption and lawlessness, Saint Louis said.

Roving gangs routinely hijack relief-supply convoys and commit kidnappings for ransom, including the well-publicized recent abduction of a group of U.S.-based missionaries.

Yes, she continued, the world reached out; the world was generous. But all that generosity did not reach Haiti. So it did not help Haiti rebuild. Which brings us again now to this migrant crisis.

COVID Exacerbates Problems

The COVID-19 pandemic provided even more turmoil for Haiti.

Last year, the government led by President Jovenel Mose delayed accepting 130,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine made in India following reports that in rare cases, the vaccine may cause blood clots. When officials in Haiti finally decided to send for the medicine, they were told the doses couldnt be spared because a sudden COVID-19 surge in India had reached alarming levels.

By the end of May, Haiti experienced its own jump in COVID-19 cases. The nations supreme court chief justice, Ren Sylvestre, died of the disease in June. Anxiety grew in early July as Haiti was plunged into more chaos with the assassination of President Mose.

Finally, in late August, just a couple of weeks after the latest earthquake, Haiti started getting shipments of the Moderna vaccine from the U.S., but many people refused them out of distrust of their government, according to reports.

Although deaths have remained low, as of Jan. 14, Haiti is the fourth-least vaccinated country in the world with 0.7% of the population fully vaccinated, reported The Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID, which is a group that tracks and monitors specific global and country-level gaps in vaccine distribution.

An 11-Country Journey

Saint Louiss organization, HAUP, helps migrants navigate the process of getting their papers in order to be in the U.S. legally. For many, its a long process, added to the heap of struggles theyve faced over the past 12 years.

They immigrated to South America because they had nowhere to go from Haiti, Saint Louis said. They were fine in Chile, but they had to migrate again because of COVID.

The migrants rushed across Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border because, according to reports, they were led to believe, erroneously, that the U.S. had opened its doors to them.

Theyve been through a lot, Saint Louis said. These people walked through 11 countries to get here.

Immigration officials cleared the camps beneath the International Bridge at Del Rio. Many were deported, some remain in detention centers, but others have been allowed to continue their journeys into the U.S.

A few thousand have already reached Brooklyn and Queens, providing lots of work for HAUP and other groups. Saint Louis urged New Yorkers to learn the stories of these migrants and to share them with elected officials here. She also appealed for financial support for Haitian-led and Haitian-serving community-based organizations.

She recounted how in September, she joined a delegation going to Texas from the diocese to meet the recently arrived Haitian refugees. The goal was to assess their needs to determine how they could be helped in New York.

The group included HAUP, Catholic Charities, and the Haitian Apostolate, represented by Father Belizaire, who was born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.

Before the delegation was about to board flights back to New York, it made a detour upon learning of two busloads of Haitian migrants that had just arrived at a temporary holding facility in Houston.

They were not told where they were going when they got off the bus, Saint Louis said. They didnt know if they were going to be transferred or if they were going to be taken to the plane. But then they saw a man in a collar Father Hilaire who spoke their language.

And I remember the cries of joy when father told them, Youre here; youre not going to prison, youre not being returned. You are safe.

Go here to read the rest:
Catholics Are Urged to Help Reverse Crippling Legacy of 2010 Haiti Quake - The Tablet Catholic Newspaper

The Capitals brings you the latest news from across Europe, through on-the-ground reporting by EURACTIVs media network. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.

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The European news you deserve to read. Welcome to The Capitals by EURACTIV.

In todays news from the Capitals:

BRUSSELS

Contrary to estimates from other parts of the world that we are facing our last battle with the pandemic with Omicron, Europe takes a more cautious approach. According to EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, who spoke to a small group of journalists in Brussels, including EURACTIV, current scientific data cannot predict if this is the last pandemic wave.

We have seen many twists and turns throughout this pandemic. So, I will not put predictions on when and whether this is going to be the last wave or not. What we do know is that vaccines have not failed us, she said.

The Cypriot Commissioner also said the option of a new vaccine targeting Omicron or multiple variants could not be ruled out and added that new therapeutics are coming up. Read more.

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EU PRESIDENCY

Macrons EU presidency presentation turns into a settling of scores. President Emmanuel Macron presented the programme of Frances six-month EU Council presidency before very agitated MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday, but it quickly turned into a sparring match with the French opposition. Read more.

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BERLIN

German inflation anxiety mounts amid 29-year-high. Consumer prices rose 3.1% in 2021, according to numbers from the Ifo institute in Munich, and German government bonds have returned to positive yields following an inflation anxiety-fueled purchasing spree. Read more.

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PARIS

Montebourg withdraws from French presidential elections. Former economy minister Arnaud Montebourg, who ran as an independent, announced on Wednesday that he would no longer take part in the French presidential elections. He confirmed that he would not support any other candidate. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austria pushes for more restrictive EU border protection. Austria is calling for a more rigid European border control system to reduce the number of migrants arriving in the bloc amid the ongoing migrant crisis at the Belarus border. Together with Greece, Poland and Lithuania, Austria is initiating a border protection conference in Vilnius to give its push more political weight. Read more.

UK AND IRELAND

LONDON

In the name of God, go Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived fresh humiliation on Wednesday as one of his MPs defected to the Labour party citing Johnsons disgraceful conduct and former Brexit Secretary David Davis urged the PM to in the name of God, go during a House of Commons debate. Read more.

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DUBLIN

Frontline healthcare workers to receive 1,000 bonus. Healthcare workers in Ireland who staffed the frontlines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic will receive a 1,000 tax-free bonus, the cabinet agreed on Tuesday. Read more.

NORDICS AND BALTICS

HELSINKI

Demilitarised Aland Islands again centre of security debate. Agressive Russian behaviour in the Baltic Sea has again sparked discussion on the land Islands strategic importance. Read more.

EUROPES SOUTH

ROME

Left-wing bloc opposes Berlusconis presidential candidacy. Italys left-wing bloc has agreed to oppose Silvio Berlusconis presidential candidacy if the right-wing proposed him, a source of Italys 5-Star Movement said on Wednesday. Read more.

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MADRID

Spanish MP slams government for newly agreed labour reform. Gabriel Rufin, MP and spokesman of the left Catalan independentist party (ERC), criticised the government for the labour reform agreed with trade unions and employers, during a press conference on Wednesday, eldiario.es reported. Read more.

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LISBON

Second investigation into Abramovich citizenship launched. Portuguese public prosecutors have opened a formal investigation into granting Portuguese nationality to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich under the Nationality Law for Sephardic Jews, the office of the attorney general said on Wednesday. Read more.

VISEGRAD

BUDAPEST

MEPs call for full-scale election observation in Hungary. Sixty-twoMEPs from various political groups have sent a joint letter to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), asking for a full-scale monitoring mission ahead of Hungarys elections on 3 April. Read more.

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WARSAW

EU Commission takes hard steps to make Poland pay Turw fines. The European Commission will deduct money from Polands allocation in the EU budget in response to the countrys refusal to comply with the EU Court of Justices ruling regarding the Turw mine, TVN24 TV station reported. Read more.

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PRAGUE

Prague considers sending military material to Kiev. The new Czech government wants to help Ukraine amid the escalating situation at the borders with Russia, Defence Minister Jana ernochov (ODS, ECR) said in an interview with daily Hospodsk noviny. Read more.

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BRATISLAVA

Simple defence agreement with US divides Slovakia. The defencecooperation agreement between Slovakia and the US has been major news in Slovakia for over a week now. If passed, the deal would grant the American army the right to use two military airports in exchange for access to funds aimed for investments for the modernisation of Slovakias armed forces. Read more.

NEWS FROM THE BALKANS

LJUBLJANA

Chinise backlash over Slovenian Taiwan plan. China has reacted against Slovenias plan to forge closer ties with Taiwan, labelling Prime Minister Janez Janas recent statements about Slovenia being in talks to open a representative office on the island as dangerous. Read more.

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SOFIA

Bulgarian Prime Minister reported a huge success in Skopje. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has described his first visit to North Macedonia which took place on 18 January, as a huge success. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

Romania abandons plan to introduce COVID passes for workers. The idea of introducing a mandatory pass for workers has been dropped after many contradictory discussions in the coalition. Read more.

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ZAGREB

Catholic church in Croatia secures 160 million from EU Solidarity Fund. The Catholic Church is the biggest winner of money from the EU Solidarity Fund. Of 150 contracted projects worth 3.5 billion kuna (466 million) through cultural heritage protection measures, 50 projects worth as much as 1.2 billion kuna (160 million) have been contracted through the Ministry of Culture, EURACTIVs partner Jutarnji list has reported. Read more.

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BELGRADE

Serbia is of no threat to anyone, says defence minister. The Army of Serbia is not a threat to anyone, nor is it intended for offensive use, Serbian Defence Minister Neboja Stefanovi said on Wednesday. Read more.

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SARAJEVO

EU representative calls for October elections to be held regardless of reform. The general elections in BiH will be held in the autumn even if no agreement is reached on amending the Election Law, said Johann Sattler, the head of the EU Delegation in Sarajevo. Read more.

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SKOPJE

Albanian party leader calls for recognition of Bulgarians in Constitution. Ali Ahmeti, leader of the biggest Albanian party DUI, called on North Macedonia to accept the demands put forward by Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, starting with including the Bulgarian nation to the Preamble of the Constitution. Ahmeti, whose power over his coalition with SDSM keeps growing, made the statement after meeting Petkov. Read more.

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PODGORICA

Montenegrin government could face no-confidence vote. The civic movement URA, led by Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovi, sent an initiative for a vote of no confidence for the current government to the parliamentary procedure, the party said. It added that it was a test of whether the concept of a minority government, which they had previously proposed, had a majority in parliament. Read more.

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TIRANA

Citizens clash with police over forced evictions in Tirana. Residents of the 5 Maji neighbourhood in Tirana clashed with the police on Wednesday as the National Inspectorate began its demolition of their homes. Read more.

AGENDA:

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Alexandra Brzozowski, Daniel Eck, Benjamin Fox, Zoran Radosavljevic, Alice Taylor]

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EU health chief: We don't know if this is the last COVID wave - EURACTIV