FinPol Digest

 On January 26, the European Union's ministers of migration met to examine visa limitations, improved coordination among member states, and ways to facilitate the repatriation to their home countries of more persons who do not have access to refuge in Europe. Three years after the EU's 27 member states decided to restrict visas to nations that are not cooperating in returning their citizens, only Gambia was formally penalised. Two EU officials claimed that while comparable actions were suggested by the EU's executive European Commission toward Senegal, Bangladesh, and Iraq, coordination with Dhaka over returning refugees has improved. Eurostat figures, however, show that in 2021, the EU's overall percentage of effective returns remained at 21%. "This is threshold member states perceive to be unacceptably low," said one EU official. Immigration is a very touchy political issue in the bloc. Instead of rekindling their bitter disputes over how to divide the obli...

 The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas issued a statement yesterday criticizing the EU over Resolution no. 2949/2022 (RSP), on the prospects for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. In a political memorandum, Hamas said the resolution "contained several inaccuracies and contradictions about the Palestinian issue", noting that it "is heavily biased against the Palestinians' inherent and legitimate rights to freedom, return and self-determination." Among the issues raised with the resolution, the movement said it has sided with the Israeli occupation's narrative while ignoring the Palestinian people's legitimate right to resistance and self-defense. "Voting against this right is considered a great sin that Europeans have committed, once again. This vote also reflects the double standards with which the European Union deals with issues of peoples and freedoms around the world." "In recent months, we have seen the European posit...

 In many ways, the COP27 climate conference being held in Egypt is a cruel but necessary irony. The tyranny of the host government — the sweeping arrests, arbitrary checking of citizens' mobile phones at road checkpoints, and a further crackdown on freedom of expression — makes it look even more like it was a poor choice to hold the summit in Sharm El Sheikh. Greta Thunberg thinks so, too, and why shouldn't we heed the valued opinion of the climate change icon? However, the choice of Egypt was, in fact, the correct call to make. It is the most fitting host for the summit and many of the policies which might be imposed as a result. Both are or will be authoritarian and depend on coercion to achieve their goals. Such pressure on climate change will be political, financial, and social; some is already happening and has been for years. We can expect to see a global carbon tax standard, or pricing on carbon emissions, called for by the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ...

Here’s something good that I want to share with what I read today. I find it interesting that Lebanon's passive consent to Hezbollah's support in the Syrian common conflict on Iran's side has distanced large numbers of its conventional accomplices, including the US, Europe, and the Gulf Cooperation Council nations. Neglecting to satisfy its monetary commitments and its disobedience of global organizations have left it with not many companions.  For me, This emergency is the greatest danger to Lebanon's soundness since in any event the 1975-1990 common conflict or, as per the World Bank, since the mid-nineteenth century, when it's anything but a prior common conflict.  With no different choices left, Lebanon should treat appropriately the admonishments and alerts of the EU international strategy boss and the World Bank, who are not typically given to unwarranted embellishments.

Iran and global powers have made progress in talks to bring back the 2015 nuclear accord, although European Union (EU) says much more work is needed to bring the deal back to life. A senior EU official said on Tuesday confirmed that meetings are to resume next week after delegations consult with their respective capitals. "Progress can be seen over the last two weeks but much more hard work is required to do,” Deputy Secretary-General European External Action Service, Enrique Mora said on Twitter. The talks are aimed at bringing Tehran and Washington back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.  As per Russian and Chinese officials, talks will pick up the pace again next week based on the progress achieved so far. Iran and global powers have been meeting since early April, in Vienna, to pave a way out on the steps that must be taken, including US sanctions and Tehran's violations of the limits on its uranium enrichment capacity. US President Joe Biden's administration,...

  Monday, November 16, 2020. EU High Representative JosepBorrell warned that planned housing projects by Isreal in the southern city of Jerusalem al-Quds could hinder the future formation of a Palestinian state. He described the construction in Jerusalem's suburbs as 'illegal' and said he was 'concerned' about Israeli plans to build more homes in the area. In many countries in the world, especially in Europe, oppose the violence and illegal settlement of  Israel  against  the Palestinian people  and their land, and call for it to be stopped and prevented. The EU has always repeated any support restoring "meaningful process" towards resolving the dispute between the two sides. Israel's construction project in the Palestinian territories further undermine hopes for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The international community has tried to bring the two sides closer,  but Israel has been illegally occupying the West Bank. Since...

 The EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, the European joint mission in Libya, announced on Monday that Commodore Theodoros Mikropoulos, from the Hellenic Navy, finished his assignment as Chief of Staff of Operation and he will take on the position of Force Commander. As programmed, after six months Italy leave the Force Command of the EU joint mission to Greece. Colonel Filippo Quagliato, from the Italian Air Force, handed over the duty in the presence of the Operation Commander, Rear Admiral Fabio Agostini. “Commodore Mitropoulos was truly precious, he was very useful and measured in a complex the moment also due to the Coronavirus,” Agostini affirmed.  Theodoros Mitropoulos was born in Athens in 1965, has held numerous administrative positions on a regular, operational, and strategic level. The European Council officially adopted the decision to launch the Eunavfor Med Irini operation last March. The main task of the mission remains the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya. Si...