Incoming EU chief says to launch climate fund

Yahoo – AFP, July 25, 2019

European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen promised to launch an EU fund to
help wean members off fossil fuels as she visited coal-dependent Poland on Thursday
(AFP Photo/Janek SKARZYNSKI)

Warsaw (AFP) - Ursula von der Leyen, president-elect of the European Commission, said Thursday the European Union plans to launch a special fund to wean members off fossil fuels and wide-ranging consultations on the future of Europe.

She was speaking in coal-dependent Poland, which last month blocked an EU bid to set a target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and called for measures to compensate for the costs of converting to new energy sources.

"There will be a huge investment necessary in regions that have to step up into new technologies and new jobs, that's why we will create the Just Transition Fund, to support those regions," Von der Leyen told reporters at a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Warsaw.

"We have to make sure that we ... take people along" as the EU reduces its emissions that cause global warming, she said.

With Britain expected to leave the EU by the end of October, von der Layen also announced that she would launch wide-ranging consultations on the future of the bloc after she takes office in November.

"We want to begin a conference on the future of Europe, that we go out in our member states and discuss how people, the European people think the future of their European Union should be," she said, calling it "an incredible endeavour."

Von der Leyen also touched on the thorny issue of the rule of law amid serious misgivings in Brussels over the legality of judicial reforms pushed through by Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government.

The EU has launched unprecedented proceedings against Poland over "systemic threats" to the rule of law that could see its EU voting rights suspended.

"There are difficult issues we have to tackle like migration or the rule of law," von der Leyen said, calling for dialogue and mutual respect when addressing differences.

Prime Minister Morawiecki said he "great hope" for a "new opening" between Warsaw and Brussels in coming years adding that his talks with von der Leyen would focus on "a commissioner for Poland, a portfolio."

He indicated earlier this week that Poland was interested in "primarily" commission posts focused on the economy or finance.

Dutch court cuts state's liability for Srebrenica deaths

Yahoo – AFP, Jan HENNOP, 19 July 2019

Dutch troops were posted to protect the UN safe area of Srebrenica but were overrun
in July 1995 by Bosnian Serb forces who massacred nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys

The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday slashed the state's liability for 350 victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, saying peacekeepers had only a "slim" chance of preventing their deaths.

The 350 men were among 5,000 terrified residents who had sought safety in the Dutch peacekeepers' base when the besieged Muslim enclave was overrun by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995.

The lightly armed Dutch troops eventually became overwhelmed and shut the gates to new arrivals before allowing Bosnian Serb forces commanded by Ratko Mladic to evacuate the refugees.

The men and boys were separated and taken in buses to their deaths, their bodies dumped in mass graves.

Judges, however, on Friday reduced from 30 percent to 10 percent the Dutch state's responsibility for compensation to the families in a case brought by the Mothers of Srebrenica victims' organisation.

The 350 were among the almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the genocide at Srebrenica, the worst massacre in Europe since World War II and the darkest episode in the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

"The Dutch State bears very limited liability in the 'Mothers of Srebrenica' case," the Supreme Court said. "That liability is limited to 10 percent of the damages suffered by the surviving relatives of approximately 350 victims."

'Humiliation'

After the ruling, Mothers' president Munira Subasic, who lost family members including her son, husband and father in the massacre, expressed disappointment.

Relatives of the Srebrenica victims were represented by the Mothers of Srebrenica

group, which was suing for compensation

"Today we experienced humiliation upon humiliation. We could not even hear the judgement in our own language because we were not given a translator," she told AFP.

At Srebrenica "every life was taken away 100 percent. There is little we can do with 10 percent, but yes, the responsibility still lies where it does".

"I only have two bones. I have found less than 10 percent of his body," she added, referring to her teenage son.

The Dutch government accepted responsibility, saying it was relieved that "finally there was some clarity."

A Dutch court originally held the state liable for compensation in 2014. In 2017 the appeals court upheld that decision before it was referred to the Supreme Court.

The lower court had said in 2017 that the Dutch actions meant the Muslims were "denied a 30 percent chance of avoiding abuse and execution", and thus the Dutch state was liable for 30 percent of damages owed to families.

The Supreme Court agreed that "the state did act wrongfully in relation to the evacuation of the 5,000 refugees" in the compound, including 350 Muslim men the Bosnian Serbs were unaware of.

It said the Dutch peacekeepers "failed to offer these 350 male refugees the choice to stay where they were, even though that would have been possible".

But explaining the decision to reduce the liability, the Supreme Court said that "the chance that the male refugees would have escaped the Bosnian Serbs had they been given the choice to stay was slim, but not negligible".

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is serving a life sentence for the 

genocide carried out in Srebrenica and for other war crimes

Reacting to the ruling, Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld said in a statement the cabinet would "examine how to best implement the liability for damages suffered by the relatives in such a way it does justice to the Supreme Court ruling".

Long shadow

In a swipe at the failure of other foreign powers to act during the 1995 crisis, the top court added that the "chance of Dutchbat (the Dutch UN mission) receiving effective support from the international community was slim".

Former Dutchbat soldiers attending the case said they were disappointed on behalf of the victims' families.

"I think the final judgement is a bit disappointing, especially when you see the court ruling of 30 percent and now it's downgraded to 10 percent," said Remko de Bruijne, a former Dutch blue helmet who served at Srebrenica.

"I think that's not fair for the Mothers of Srebrenica but, on the other hand, now it's clear," he told AFP.

Srebrenica has cast a long shadow over The Netherlands, forcing a the government to resign in 2002 after a scathing report on the role of politicians in the episode.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is currently serving a life sentence in jail in The Hague after being convicted of genocide over Srebrenica and war crimes throughout the 1990s.

Ex-military chief Mladic, 76, dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia", is currently appealing a life sentence on similar charges at an international tribunal in The Hague.

Slobodan Milosevic, Karadzic's long-time patron during the war, was on trial in The Hague at the time of his death in 2006.

MEPs narrowly elect von der Leyen to EU top job

Yahoo – AFP, Marie JULIEN, Céline LE PRIOUX, July 16, 2019

Ursula von der Leyen has been elected as the first woman to be president of
the European Commission (AFP Photo/FREDERICK FLORIN)

Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen was narrowly elected president of the European Commission on Tuesday after winning over sceptical lawmakers.

The 60-year-old conservative was nominated to become the first woman to hold Brussels' top job last month by the leaders of the bloc's 28 member states, to the annoyance of many MEPs.

The Strasbourg parliament would have preferred a candidate chosen by one of its political groups, but in the end a small majority -- 383 members of the 751-member assembly -- voted for her.

She will now replace Jean-Claude Juncker as head of the EU executive on November 1, one day after Britain is due to leave the union, and serve a five-year term.

"The task ahead of us humbles me. It's a big responsibility and my work starts now," the polyglot mother-of-seven told lawmakers, thanking all members "who decided to vote for me today."

Ursula von der Leyen has still not managed to win over the Greens and the 

far-left (AFP Photo/FREDERICK FLORIN)

"My message to all of you is let us work together constructively, because the endeavour is a united and strong Europe," she said, urging capitals to nominate an equal number of men and women to join her commission.

If von der Leyen had lost, Brussels faced a summer of infighting instead of preparing for Brexit, battling Italy over its debt and confronting Hungary and Poland over threats to democratic values.

'A majority is a majority'

At a news conference after the vote, von der Leyen played down the narrowness of her win, noting that a "majority is a majority" and acknowledging that some members had opposed the nomination process.

"Two weeks ago I didn't have a majority because no one knew me. There was a lot of resentment because I wasn't a lead candidate," she admitted, adding that she was happy to build a majority so quickly.

"It's a good base to start with," she said. The veteran minister will head briefly to Berlin on Wednesday to say farewell to her government and the German armed forces, then return to work on building an administration.

In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel praised her long-time ally as a "committed and convincing European" who would "tackle with great vigour the challenges facing us as the European Union".

Brussels-born Ursula von der Leyen won over a majority in the European 

Parliament (AFP Photo/Gal ROMA)

The president of the European Council of EU leaders, Donald Tusk, also congratulated von der Leyen, having previously declared "she will be a passionate fighter for Europe's unity."

From the left, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also offered his congratulations, but said von der Leyen must push for "a more social, fair, sustainable and feminist Europe."

Von der Leyen has had only a short time since the 28 EU leaders nominated her to win over the main centre-right EPP, socialist S&D and liberal Renew Europe blocs she hoped would get her the necessary 374 votes.

In the hours between her speech and the start of voting, party officials suggested she could count on the centre-right, almost all of the liberals and maybe two-thirds of the left.

The election was by secret ballot, but the tight margin of victory suggested that she had only won over the pro-European centre -- and that several mainstream members abstained.

Top jobs package

The nominee announced Monday that she would step down from Angela Merkel's German government this week whatever happened in the vote, underlining her European ambitions.

How the new European Parliament's membership breaks down (AFP 

Photo/Paz PIZARRO)

Juncker received 422 votes five years ago, and Brussels-born von der Leyen's 383 was seen as disappointing in comparison, given she was backed by figures like France's President Emmanuel Macron.

Von der Leyen's nomination was part of a package of so-called "top jobs" and outgoing Belgian premier Charles Michel is still in line to head the European Council of EU leaders.

IMF director Christine Lagarde's appointment to the European Central Bank also remains on course, and on Tuesday the French former finance minister announced her resignation from the global body.

In addition to Brexit and the other issues facing the EU, member states are also wrangling over new rules for distributing migrants and refugees after Italy's populist government began to prevent rescue boats from landing.

For that, the commission president will need a reliable majority in Strasbourg, after this year's elections threw up a more fragmented EU parliament than ever.

Merkel says 'very well' despite third shaking spell

Yahoo – AFP, Hui Min NEO, July 10, 2019

German Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered her third public shaking spell in a 

month (AFP Photo/Tobias SCHWARZ)

Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted she was "very well", despite suffering her third trembling spell in less than a month on Wednesday that has focused attention on her health.

Merkel began shaking involuntarily as national anthems were being played at the reception of Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne.

But she attended a press conference as planned just around an hour later, telling journalists that her health was no cause for concern.

"I feel very well, there is no need to worry," she said, adding that she was simply still in a phase of "processing" a previous shaking spell, but that "there has been progress".

"I will have to live with it for a while," added Merkel, who turns 65 next week.

"Just like how it has come, one day it will go away too," she said.

A source close to the government had said the cause of the repeat shaking was now psychological, with memories of the first incident provoking renewed trembling at events with similar settings.

Episodes played down

The shaking on Wednesday was visible although less severe than during the first episode in June.

On that occasion she appeared unsteady and shook as she stood in the midday sun next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom she was welcoming with military honours.

That first bout of shaking was blamed on dehydration. But a second episode struck a week later at the end of June, just hours before she was due to board a plane for a G20 summit in Japan.

Officials had sought to play down fears over her health then, saying that she was fine and that she would not be cancelling any planned engagements.

Longtime leader

Merkel has been leader of Europe's biggest economy for almost 14 years.

Merkel's latest shaking bout struck as she received the Finnish prime minister 

in Berlin (AFP Photo/Tobias SCHWARZ)

Frequently called the European Union's most influential leader and the most powerful woman in the world, Merkel has said she will leave politics at the end of her term, in 2021.

But she has struggled to stamp out repeated speculation that she may leave the political stage earlier than planned.

The coalition that she had forged with the centre-left Social Democratic Party was fragile from the start, and has lurched from crisis to crisis.

The latest health scare has prompted additional questions over the length of her reign.

There were brief concerns about her well-being in 2014 when she was taken ill during a television interview. The broadcast was interrupted when she experienced a drop in blood pressure.

Merkel's spokesman explained at the time that the leader did not feel well for a moment, then ate and drank something and continued the interview.

Earlier that same year, she fractured her pelvis while cross-country skiing in Switzerland and was ordered to cut back her schedule dramatically and stay in bed as much as possible for three weeks.

A keen hiker too, Merkel herself once asserted she had a "camel-like" ability to store energy for sleepless all-night summits.

German media, which had largely refrained from speculating about Merkel's health during her second spell of shaking, said they could not look away a third time.

"Angela Merkel's health is now a political issue," said Germany's largest selling daily Bild.

"If signs of physical or psychological weaknesses appear often, the government would have to rethink its stonewalling tactic. Otherwise, rumours will take on a life of their own," warned the daily.

In case of emergency, Merkel would be replaced by Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who would carry out her duties until parliament elected a new leader.