Latest news
5 December 2011
On 2 December 2011, the European Commission presented a communication on enhanced intra-EU solidarity in the field of asylum proposing to improve responsibility-sharing and improve mutual trust through legislation, practical cooperation, and a better use of EU funding mechanisms. According to the European Commission, the improvement of solidarity mechanisms should be reached by making the supportive role of the newly established European Asylum Support Office more effective and by increasing the amount of funds available to Member States. The Commission also proposes to encourage the relocation of beneficiaries of international protection amongst EU Member States, through financial assistance.
Source: http://europa.eu/
5 December 2011
Ten years after the 2001 Petersberg Conference, States have re-convened in Bonn to deliberate on the future of Afghanistan after the foreign troop withdrawal scheduled for 2014. While about 100 countries are attending the conference, Pakistan, one of the key players in the region, is boycotting the conference in protest of a NATO attack on a border checkpoint last month.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
5 December 2011
The International Court of Justice finds finds that Greece, by objecting to the admission of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to NATO, has breached its obligation under Article 11, paragraph 1, of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995.
Source: http://www.icj-cij.org
28 November 2011
Yesterday, the Arab League approved a series of sanctions against the Syrian regime, thereby accepting the responsibility to respond to the violence of the Syrian government against its people. These include an asset freeze, an investment embargo and halting transactions with the Syrian central bank. Direct neighbour-states Iraq and Lebanon abstained from voting. The sanctions follow a deadline which passed last Friday to allow hundreds of observers into the country as part of a peace deal.
Source 1: www.nytimes.com
Source 2: www.bbc.co.uk
28 November 2011
Evidence has emerged of unregulated tuna fishing in Libyan waters during this year’s conflict. EU boats are implicated in the fishing, which the European Commission believes could be judged illegal. The issue led to heated discussion at the recent Istanbul meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), where it was decided that research will be carried out into the events.
Source: BBC News – Tuna fished ‘illegally’ during Libya conflict