Tag: UN

The European Parliament called for a binding international resolution on how to deter the use of chemical weapons in Syria yesterday (12 September), as the US and Russian foreign ministers are due to hold a second round of talks on the crisis in Geneva.

Africa is one of the world’s fastest growing regions and should remain so in the coming years. But its progress is hampered by an ever-widening income gap, development experts said at the Brussels launch of the 'African Economic Outlook 2013' report.

EU foreign ministers seek to impose tougher sanctions on the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad as soon as next month, acknowledging that the actions taken so far have had little effect on the regime.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised today (12 April) the prospect of calling on its NATO allies to protect its border after gunfire hit a Syrian refugee camp on Turkish territory.

EU leaders gathered in Brussels expressed outrage at the 'barbarity' of the repression in Syria, sending a discrete message to Moscow that Europeans were hoping for a gesture from Russia at the UN Security Council after Sunday's presidential election.

The United Nations yesterday (1 November) called for a summit to be held in January between leaders of ethnically split Cyprus aimed at settling a decades-old conflict that has blocked Turkey's bid to join the EU. Cyprus will hold the rotating EU Presidency in the send half of 2012.

A chorus of countries led by the EU and the US has called for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying they will impose further sanctions on a regime which is "torturing and slaughtering" its own people in what the UN said could be crimes against humanity.

Russia understands the present difficulties holding up the process of EU integration, just like EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy has never publicly criticised Moscow over the human rights situation in Russia "because he understands it," Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassdor to the EU, told EurActiv in an exclusive interview.

The "upgrade" of the EU's representation in the UN General Assembly will lead to a more coherent EU foreign policy and encourage other regional organisations to raise their profile as well, predicts Eberhard Rhein, a lecturer on economic policy at the Mediterranean Academy for Diplomatic Studies in Malta.

Of all EU countries' embassies in Libya, only Hungary has a diplomatic presence in Tripoli and provides information to the EU. The European Commission told EurActiv that the situation on the ground was "very difficult" and that the EU was "paying tribute" to the Hungarian Presidency for the work they are doing.

EU leaders adopted new sanctions yesterday (24 March) against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, urging the international community to ensure that Libya's oil and gas revenues "do not reach" his regime. Meanwhile, NATO said it would enforce a no-fly zone over Libya but stopped short of taking full command of the UN-backed military operations in the country.

The UN Security Council voted late yesterday (17 March) to authorise the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya and the taking of "all necessary measures" - code for military action - to protect civilians from leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces.

France pressured G8 foreign ministers yesterday (14 March) to agree action on Libya and back its efforts to speed up a UN Security Council decision on imposing a no-fly zone, but hit opposition from partners like Germany.

In a televised speech announcing changes to his government, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday (27 February) that Paris is calling for an EU summit meeting to discuss the consequences of events in Libya. Meanwhile, the bloc adopted sanctions against Muammar Gaddafi and his supporters today.

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias outlined a proposal yesterday (11 October) that could speed up the island's reunification talks by opening the port of Famagusta, which is now a ghost city, to international trade.

European Council and Commission representatives yesterday (24 August) confirmed reports that the United Nations is to grant the EU the right to speak at the body's General Assembly ahead of its 64^th session, which starts on 15 September in New York.

A new era of climate diplomacy is about to start after the Copenhagen summit fell short of agreeing a new legally-binding agreement, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said, announcing his resignation yesterday (18 February). Meanwhile, the EU's commissioner for climate action, Connie Hedegaard, will embark on a world tour to reinvigorate talks. 

"What role could the EU play to obtain a more successful outcome in Mexico [than in Copenhagen]?" asks Eberhard Rhein, a lecturer at the Mediterranean Academy for Diplomatic Studies in Malta, in a January post on Blogactiv.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague has today (1 December) started to examine the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence, which is contested by Serbia. The judgment could tip Kosovo's future towards full international recognition or push it back under the auspices of the Serbian state.

The US must not do less than the EU to cut greenhouse gas emissions, said in an exclusive interview with EurActiv Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which received the Nobel prize in 2007 together with Al Gore.

After a week of intensive talks, ministers have not yet made a breakthrough in negotiations for a post-Kyoto climate change deal currently taking place in Poland, despite some progress on tackling deforestation.

The latest round of UN climate talks began yesterday (21 August) in Accra, Ghana, in a bid to overcome disagreements over the tools that countries can use to cut greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate progress towards a new climate treaty by the end of 2009.

As the EU prepares to assume responsibility for policing Kosovo from the UN, French and British diplomats have warned Serbia that its strong opposition to the EU mission and its decision to seize the UN International Court of Justice over the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence could complicate the country's EU membership bid.