Campaigners have urged the government to make plans to support all households with energy costs this winter
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A federal judge has ordered the US president to sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11
© AP
A federal judge has ordered the US president to sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11
© AP
President Nikos Christodoulides has sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen demanding that the European Union resume discussions on its mutual defence clause, after the matter found itself at the centre of discussions when EU leaders met in Cyprus in April, but has since fallen off the agenda.
The sending of the letter was confirmed to the Cyprus Mail by presidential press office director Victor Papadopoulos, though he said he could offer no further details, while news website Politico quoted Christodoulides as having written that “I cannot overstate the importance of this provision for the EU and its member states”.
This, he wrote, rings true “especially in times of geopolitical uncertainty”.
“Given the gravity of the challenges we face, Cyprus would welcome the resumption of discussions at the relevant preparatory bodies. I would therefore appreciate an update on the proposals under consideration, as well as a timeline for next steps,” he wrote.
The leaders of the EU’s 27 member states had during a European Council summit in Nicosia in April resolved to demand the creation of a defence “playbook”, with Cypriot government sources at the time lamenting that “nothing has been done” in the decade since the first and only time that the bloc’s mutual defence clause was activated.
It was France which triggered Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the European Union, better known as the Lisbon Treaty, after Paris was hit by a series of terrorist attacks in November 2015.
Article 42.7 not attached to any formal operational plans
While the text of the treaty states that “if a member state is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other member states shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power”, it is not attached to any formal operational plans or international military structures.
Government sources lamented in April that “there is no clear picture of procedures, capabilities, or response times across member states”, and also decried what they described as a lack of clarity regarding the types of support which can be requested, what each member state may provide, and how quickly assistance can be delivered.
They also stressed that if a member state triggers Article 42.7, assistance must not be optional.
“It is a legal obligation, not a political choice,” they said, before adding that “member states cannot question the reasons” behind the triggering of the clause if it is triggered, provided that an armed attack has taken place.
However, in the six months since that summit, the matter of defence has slipped down the European agenda, with the most recent European Council summit, held in Brussels, being dedicated largely to the EU’s multiannual financial framework, its budget for the years between 2028 and 2034, while conversations on defence centred on Ukraine, which remains, for now, outside the bloc.
Focus inside EU has now shifted to multi-year budget
The focus on the budget has come with most leaders across Europe aiming to have the next multiannual financial framework devised and agreed upon by the member states by the end of this year.
Christodoulides had said on this matter last week that should an agreement not be reached by the end of this year, “I believe we would be sending a negative message, not only to European citizens, but to the world”.
Mutual defence was most recently discussed at the European Parliament last month, with the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas decrying “Russia’s hybrid warfare in Europe” and calling for measures to be taken against it.
“Putin is a textbook bully. Moscow’s hybrid attacks are designed to intimidate us, paralyse our societies and make us hesitate to act. That is precisely what Putin wants. We should not let fear dictate our choices. We should match the level of these attacks with concrete action and a confident response. Europe’s security requires it and citizens expect it,” she said.
Cypriot MEPs called for stronger Article 42.7, looser relations with Turkey
In response, Cypriot MEP Costas Mavrides, of Diko, said that “hybrid attacks are also taking place for years by the neo-Ottoman Erdogan regime against member states in the eastern Mediterranean” in reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He called for the EU’s mutual defence clause, Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the European Union, which is commonly known as the Lisbon Treaty, to be made “workable and operational”, before telling to Kallas that “your double standard policy is increasing part of the problem” regarding Turkey.
Fellow Cypriot MEP Geadis Geadi, of Elam, also called for the EU to “establish a clear roadmap for activating Article 42.7”, saying that this should “ensure that the mutual defence clause can be applied immediately and effectively”, and also criticised the EU for not treating Turkey and Russia in the same way.
“Mrs Kallas, be careful when you shake hands which are stained with the blood of hundreds and thousands of innocent people,” he said.
Il 22 ottobre è una data speciale per Marta Bassino. Esattamente un anno fa, la caduta e l’infortunio al ginocchio sinistro che ha compromesso l’intera stagione, comprese le Olimpiadi di Milano-Cortina. Esattamente 10 anni fa, però, nello stesso giorno otteneva il suo primo podio in Coppa del Mondo, a Soelden. Il destino che si intreccia, perché ora proprio da Soelden riparte la carriera di Bassino, dopo un anno di stop forzato. Solo in questi giorni ha sciolto le riserve, confermando la sua presenza: “Non so bene cosa aspettarmi. Voglio prenderla come viene“, ha raccontato alla Gazzetta dello Sport. L’Italsci la aspetta, perché oggi Bassino è un punto di riferimento (viste le assenze di Brignone e Goggia) insieme alla sua amica Laura Pirovano, con cui sta condividendo questo avvicinamento al debutto stagionale, come testimoniato sui social.
“A ognuno il suo stile”, ha scritto Pirovano, pubblicando il video di un tuffo in piscina insieme a Bassino. Vale anche sulla pista: una discesista, l’altra amante soprattutto del gigante. La trentina viene da un’annata magica, in cui ha trovato la prima vittoria e ha poi conquistato la Coppa del Mondo di discesa libera grazie a tre successi complessivi. Bassino ha dovuto soffrire da casa, senza mai smettere di tifare per la collega: “Sono molto contenta per lei. In realtà siamo sempre state amiche, anche prima dei suoi risultati dell’anno scorso. Siamo state in vacanza insieme e siamo anche in camera insieme“, ha raccontato Bassino.
Con Pirovano ha vissuto anche questi ” giorni particolari” prima del ritorno in pista: “Sono un po’ turbata -ha confessato sempre alla Gazzetta – ricorre un anno dall’infortunio e sono qui, in Val Senales, dove mi sono fatta male“. Il rientro sulle nevi dell’Austria servirà quindi soprattutto a rompere il ghiaccio: “Ritrovare l’aria delle gare, mettere il pettorale e rivivere quelle sensazioni sarà già qualcosa di nuovo. Voglio affrontarlo con serenità“.
Bassino, giustamente, non vuole pressioni. Anche se vuole recuperare quello che l’infortunio le ha tolto, lei che vanta 7 vittorie e 30 podi in Coppa del Mondo, oltre alla Sfera di Cristallo di slalom gigante conquista nel 2021. Da quel primo podio di un decennio fa è cambiato tutto: “Se penso a dieci anni fa, mi vedo piccolissima, con molta meno consapevolezza. Ho fatto tante esperienze, ho viaggiato, sono cresciuta. Oggi affronto le cose in modo diverso”. Oggi è anche una veterana del gruppo azzurro, pronta a fare da guida: “Se penso ad Anna Trocker, classe 2008, e alla mia prima volta a Soelden, nel 2014, mi rendo conto di quanto tempo sia passato. Quando io ero al debutto, Anna aveva sei anni! Sono contenta che arrivino ragazze giovani. C’è bisogno di nuove generazioni e di ricambio: è giusto che sia così“. Intanto, però, Bassino ha ancora molto da dare.
L'articolo Marta Bassino, un anno dopo l’infortunio e 10 anni dopo il primo podio: dall’amicizia con Pirovano al ritorno in pista. “Non so bene cosa aspettarmi” proviene da Il Fatto Quotidiano.
The doctor admitted to putting ‘brandy in his coffee’ whilst on duty
© Getty/iStock
The doctor admitted to putting ‘brandy in his coffee’ whilst on duty
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Strong gusts and heavy rain forecast for London on Friday and Saturday as Storm Austen hits the UK
© Met Office
French president will decide on concrete ‘next steps’ regarding demonstrations on Friday as part of tough security response to recent rioting
Emmanuel Macron has said “illegitimate” demonstrations would be banned over the coming days as France seeks to get a grip on civil unrest after some of its worst street violence in years erupted on the fringes of weekend cost-of-living protests.
Speaking after a meeting with intelligence chiefs and senior ministers, the French president said on Thursday that demonstrations organised by recognised groups would be allowed to go ahead, although their routes could be changed.
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© Photograph: Teresa Suárez/AP
© Photograph: Teresa Suárez/AP
© Photograph: Teresa Suárez/AP
French president will decide on concrete ‘next steps’ regarding demonstrations on Friday as part of tough security response to recent rioting
Emmanuel Macron has said “illegitimate” demonstrations would be banned over the coming days as France seeks to get a grip on civil unrest after some of its worst street violence in years erupted on the fringes of weekend cost-of-living protests.
Speaking after a meeting with intelligence chiefs and senior ministers, the French president said on Thursday that demonstrations organised by recognised groups would be allowed to go ahead, although their routes could be changed.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Teresa Suárez/AP
© Photograph: Teresa Suárez/AP
© Photograph: Teresa Suárez/AP
© PA Wire
A federal judge has ordered the US president to sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit against the BBC by December 11
© AP
Banbury United issued an apology to people who attended the show, saying it was ‘beyond what we find acceptable’
© UK Pleasure Boys/YouTube
Banbury United issued an apology to people who attended the show, saying it was ‘beyond what we find acceptable’
© UK Pleasure Boys/YouTube
Banbury United issued an apology to people who attended the show, saying it was ‘beyond what we find acceptable’
© UK Pleasure Boys/YouTube
Leader of CHEGA, André Ventura, has criticised Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s silence on the housing crisis and recent protests, warning that the government’s failure to respond could act as a
The post PM “turns up for football, but not to resolve the housing crisis” appeared first on Portugal Resident.
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