Há 1 dia
terça-feira, 30 de abril de 2024
Protesters Take Over Building on Columbia Campus
Protesters
Take Over Building on Columbia Campus
The escalation in the protests came after
university officials suspended students who had refused to leave a
pro-Palestinian encampment. Columbia closed the campus to students who do not
live there.
Updated
April 30,
2024, 7:01 a.m. ET20 minutes ago
Eryn Davis,
Liset Cruz, Karla Marie Sanford and John YoonReporting from Columbia University
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/04/30/nyregion/columbia-protests-college
Here are the latest developments.
Protesters occupied a building on Columbia’s main
campus early Tuesday, escalating tensions at the university after weeks of
walkouts, encampments and outdoor gatherings by pro-Palestinian demonstrators
that had led to suspensions and more than a hundred arrests.
Hamilton Hall, a building with a history of
student takeovers, was seized shortly after demonstrators marched around the
Manhattan campus to chants of “Free Palestine.” Hours earlier, administrators
had begun suspending students who refused to leave an encampment. The
university encouraged people not to come to the campus on Tuesday.
Similar escalations in pro-Palestinian protests
occurred at campuses on the West Coast on Monday night. At California State
Polytechnic University, Humboldt, the police made arrests as protesters kept
Siemens Hall barricaded for more than a week. At Portland State University in
Oregon, students took over a library.
Here’s what you need to know:
Columbia’s encampment has been in place for
nearly two weeks. Many protesters left it on Monday as the university’s
deadline for doing so neared. By late afternoon on Monday, there were several
dozen students and about 80 tents remaining.
Columbia announced that it was closing almost all
entrances to its main campus, in Morningside Heights, and that only essential
workers and students residing in dorms there would be allowed in.
The Columbia student organization behind the
encampment, Columbia University Apartheid Divest, said that “an autonomous
group” had taken over Hamilton Hall and would remain inside until the
university conceded to C.U.A.D.’s demands, which include divestment from
companies doing business in Israel.
Mike Baker and Jose Quezada contributed
reporting.
Hainault station attack: Police officers attacked with sword after vehicle hits house in London
10.46 BST
What we know so far...
A man with a sword has been arrested after an attack
on members of the public and police officers in Hainault, east London, police
have said.
Five people were taken to hospital after the incident,
London ambulance service said.
The Metropolitan police said officers were initially
called to reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in Thurlow Gardens.
The force said there were reports of people being
stabbed during the incident and the suspect is understood to have gone on to
attack other members of the public and two police officers.
A 36-year-old man was arrested at the scene and is in
custody, police said.
The Met said it is not looking for anyone else in
connection with the incident and it is not believed to be terror-related.
A picture of the alleged attacker has been circulating
on social media.
Hainault underground station is closed due to a police
investigation in the area, Transport for London said.
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said he was “absolutely
devastated” at hearing of the incident and was in close contact with the Met
police commissioner.
24 de Dezembro de 2023 : ENTREVISTA CATARINA PORTAS
(...) “Há uma
hiperespecialização no turismo?
Há, muito. Não é
só o turismo, atenção! Porque as lojas de souvenirs — se estamos a falar
daquelas de origem hindustânica, de propriedade de pessoas com origem no
Bangladesh, na Índia, no Paquistão… — não são para o turismo. São para o
turismo de fachada. Na realidade, não são para o turismo. Têm outros
objectivos.
Acha que as autoridades já deveriam ter agido
há mais tempo? Se o diz desta forma, é porque é um dado adquirido...
É um dado
adquirido, claro. Isso toda a gente sabe. Faz algum sentido económico que
existam mais de 20 lojas iguais na Rua da Prata, que, em geral, têm zero
pessoas lá dentro, mas estão a pagar rendas de milhares e milhares de euros? Há
15 dias, estive no Porto, na Rua das Flores, que, neste momento, é uma das duas
ou três com mais pressão imobiliária e turística da cidade. Foi-me assegurado
tanto por um agente imobiliário como pelo empreiteiro que estava a fazer a obra
que uma loja de 200 metros quadrados está a pagar 18 mil euros de renda. Uma
loja que vende ímanes e garrafas de água...
Certamente, há qualquer coisa aí que não bate
certo...
Não, isto é
verdade. Basta ver que nenhuma fechou na pandemia. Eu tinha cinco e tive de
fechar duas para conseguir sobreviver. Quantas lojas desse género é que
fecharam durante a pandemia? Zero.
Estamos a falar de
actividades criminosas?
Estamos a falar
de coisas, no mínimo, ilegais, não é? Estamos a falar de máfias internacionais
que, de facto, têm esta rede em que as pessoas vêm, são os empregados que pagam
aos patrões, não são os patrões que pagam aos empregados. Porque assim têm contratos
de trabalho e, passados cinco anos, têm nacionalidade portuguesa — estão a
comprar a nacionalidade. Ora, que eu saiba, isto não é legal. Portanto, sim,
seria interessante que alguém... não sei se é a Polícia Judiciária, se é o
Ministério Público, se é a PSP, não sei se é o Serviço de Estrangeiros na sua
nova configuração… Não sei se é a ASAE, que adora multar-nos por tudo e por
nada… Gostava de saber por que mistério absoluto é que, de facto, há aqui um
negócio que é de fachada, que está a dar cabo de imensas ruas no centro de
Lisboa. Basta ir a Alfama. Na Rua de São João da Praça, que era uma das mais
bonitas da cidade... hoje é um terror, com as lojas todas iguais, com luz néon
branca, com música aos gritos. Todo o charme desapareceu.”(…)
ENTREVISTA
CATARINA PORTAS
Samuel Alemão
(texto) e Rui Gaudêncio (fotografia)
24 de Dezembro de
2023, 6:30
https://www.publico.pt/2023/12/24/local/entrevista/precisamos-dez-lojas-pasteis-nata-rua-2074612
08 abril 2024 : Passos Coelho volta a ligar imigração a segurança
08 abril 2024 às 23h13
Vítor Moita Cordeiro
https://www.dn.pt/4931991174/passos-coelho-volta-a-ligar-imigracao-a-seguranca/
Passos
Coelho volta a ligar imigração a segurança
André
Ventura destaca discurso do antigo primeiro-ministro como sendo “mais próximo
até do Chega do que do atual PSD”.
Passos
Coelho volta a ligar imigração a segurança
Passos
Coelho: "Já me chamaram fascista várias vezes"
O antigo primeiro-ministro social-democrata
Pedro Passos Coelho voltou ontem a ligar a imigração a problemas de segurança e
deixou vários recados à anterior governação socialista, sob a forma de crítica,
que foram desde a extinção do SEF atá à mudança do símbolo da República,
entretanto recuperado pelo atual Governo da AD.
Pedro Passos Coelho apresentava o livro
Identidade e Família, na livraria Buchholz, em Lisboa, quando recuperou o tema
da imigração associado a problemas de segurança, o que em fevereiro tinha
provocado algumas críticas ao antigo governante. “Eu sei que há pessoas muito
sensíveis e que acham que um ex-primeiro-ministro não pode misturar, na mesma
frase, imigração e segurança, apesar de uma parte significativa das políticas
públicas que tratam das questões da imigração estarem no sistema de segurança
interna”, afirmou Passos Coelho, acrescentando
que “a imigração não se reduz a problemas de segurança, mas há problemas
de segurança que têm de ser calculados”. Apesar dos alertas deixados para a
imigração, o ex-governante apelou a que não se confundisse “isto com qualquer
noção de que os imigrantes não são bem-vindos ”, lembrando que Portugal “é ele
próprio uma sociedade em resultado de uma miscigenação muito forte”.
Entre a audiência de Pedro Passos Coelho
estavam várias figuras da direita, como o ministro da Defesa, Nuno Melo, os
deputados do Chega André Ventura, Diogo Pacheco de Amorim e Rita Matias, para
além dos autores dos textos que compõem o livro e que é uma apologia ao
conceito de família natural, de acordo com o coordenador da obra, o antigo
ministro do Trabalho António Bagão Félix.
No final da apresentação, depois de uma
manifestação que juntou no local cerca de 15 ativistas pelo “transfeminismo”,
que desmobilizaram ao fim de poucos minutos, André Ventura classificou o
discurso de Passos Coelho como “mais próximo até do Chega do que do atual PSD”.
“Acho que este discurso marcou um bom momento para essa convergência, talvez
até permita um candidato presidencial”, disse Ventura, deixando uma pergunta
retórica: “Porque não o Pedro Passos Coelho?”
Migrações: “Portugal era uma referência na UE, agora é fonte de preocupações”
30 abril 2024 às 07h09
Migrações:
“Portugal era uma referência na UE, agora é fonte de preocupações”
Os
processos em atraso na AIMA devem já ultrapassar os 400 mil, segundo o Ministro
da Presidência que diz ter ouvido em Bruxelas preocupações de outros países
sobre as políticas de migrações portuguesas. Leitão Amaro alerta que, devido a
falhas do governo anterior, Portugal pode ficar na “lista vermelha” de
Schengen.
“Enquanto
outros países já estão a apresentar os seus projetos para operacionalizar o
Pacto [de Migrações e Asilo], Portugal não tem praticamente nada tratado”,
lamentou Leitão Amaro.
Valentina Marcelino
As políticas públicas portuguesas para as
migrações e os vários atrasos na execução de medidas de controlo das fronteiras
estarão a ser alvo de apreensão de
países da União Europeia (UE), segundo revelou ao DN o Ministro da Presidência.
António Leitão Amaro esteve em Bruxelas nesta
segunda-feira, numa reunião de alto nível, onde os estados-membros da UE
começaram a apresentar os seus projetos para “operacionalizar” o novo Pacto de
Migrações e Asilo, aprovado no passado mês de fevereiro no parlamento Europeu.
“Além da atual estimativa de haver mais de 400
mil processos em atraso na Agência para
a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA), que preocupa a todos, em reuniões
bilaterais com alguns países recebi várias manifestações de preocupação
relativamente a falhas na execução de medidas e às políticas migratórias
nacionais. Havia a ideia de que Portugal era um exemplo para a Europa nesta
matéria, mas passou de ser uma referência para fonte de preocupação”,
sublinhou, à margem da reunião.
Recorde-se que o Pacto para as Migrações
tornou obrigatória "a solidariedade" com os países da que estão
"sob pressão migratória" e os estados-membros "podem escolher
entre a realocação de requerentes de asilo para o seu território, fazer
contribuições financeiras ou ajudar com apoio operacional e técnico, quando
necessário".
Ao mesmo tempo exige um controlo reforçado da
chegada de migrantes à EU, centros fechados perto das fronteiras para devolver
mais p-rapidamente aqueles que não têm direito a asilo.
“Enquanto outros países já estão a apresentar
os seus projetos para operacionalizar o Pacto para fazer face a novas vagas de
migrações, Portugal não tem praticamente nada tratado. A incapacidade
operacional e administrativa foi total, incluindo a situação das Manifestações
de Interesse, pouco abonatórias em termos de fiabilidade de controlo”, assevera
o também vice-presidente do PSD.
Uma das preocupações principais é o sistema
ETIAS, um novo equipamento de controlo de fronteiras, que todos os países têm
de ter a funcionar em outubro para arrancar no início de 2025. “Até julho têm
de ser feitos testes e validado o sistema, há anos que se sabe desta exigência,
e nada foi feito. Corremos o risco de passar para a ‘lista vermelha” de
Schengen”, alerta Leitão Amaro. Esta medida, sublinhe-se, pode deixar Portugal
de fora, ou com limitações, na livre circulação no espaço Schengen.
Como o DN tinha noticiado em fevereiro
passado, Portugal perdeu o financiamento europeu de 10 milhões de euros que
anteriormente era processado pelo SEF, para a instalação do referido sistema de
“fronteiras inteligentes”, montante que teve de devolver a Bruxelas. Quando o
SEF foi extinto a 29 de outubro de 2023, o financiamento não tinha sido
executado.
Os custos para cada estado-membro desenvolver
os componentes nacionais do ETIAS e do SES (sistema eletrónico que registará e
armazenará as informações sobre a entrada, a saída e as recusas de entrada)
foram suportados pelo orçamento geral da UE, sendo que as verbas começaram a
ser disponibilizadas no âmbito do quadro plurianual do Fundo de Segurança
Interna (FSI) para o período 2014-2020. Os montantes diferenciaram-se em função
de fatores como a extensão da fronteira externa, o número de pontos de passagem
de fronteira ou o número de pessoas que os atravessam.
Portugal viu aprovado, logo em 2020, o valor
de 9.625.064 milhões de euros, uma comparticipação a 100% para as candidaturas
apresentadas pelo ex-SEF para o ETIAS (3.216.564 euros) e o para o SES
(6.412.500), mas que nunca chegaram a ser executados, deixando o país numa
situação de atraso para o desenvolvimento destes sistemas
Foi o Sistema de Segurança Interna (SSI) que
herdou todo o processo no início do ano, quando a verba já estava perdida, e o
secretário-geral, embaixador Paulo Vizeu Pinheiro (que sairá em julho para a
NATO) preparou com o governo em gestão um processo de ajuste direto no valor de
25 milhões de euros.
Na Resolução de Conselho de Ministros que
aprovava a medida, o executivo reconhecia
que “apenas em outubro de 2023 e fruto de diversos condicionalismos,
entre os quais os decorrentes da pandemia da doença COVID-19” a fase de
implementação “viu confirmado o seu novo calendário e os requisitos finais para
a respetiva interoperabilidade”.
Por entender ser “crucial que Portugal
continue a garantir no Espaço Schengen a capacidade de controlo das fronteiras
externas da UE” e por considerava ser “manifesta a urgência a realização da
despesa, com a aquisição de hardware e software com vista à implementação e ou
atualização dos sistemas europeus de informação em matéria de fronteiras e
estrangeiros”.
Porém, assinala o Ministro da Presidência,
“também este processo de ajuste direto se atrasou e ainda não está pronto. O
que sente que está de fora é que apesar de este processo de extinção demorou
três anos (arrancou em 2021 com o decreto-lei ) houve um paralisação total em
várias áreas”.
A Agência Europeia para a Gestão Operacional
de Sistemas Informáticos de Grande Escala no Espaço de Liberdade, Segurança e
Justiça (eu-LISA), a entidade responsável pela execução das referidas
“fronteiras inteligentes”, já terá questionado Portugal.
Leitão Amaro diz que o governo partilha o
diagnóstico do Presidente da República que criticou duramente o processo de
extinção do SEF e o serviço da nova Agência para a Integração, Migrações e
Asilo (AIMA), classificando-o como “inépcia política”.
Conforme o DN noticiou, Marcelo Rebelo de
Sousa considerou os atrasos na emissão de documentos “uma coisa de outro mundo”
e uma “discriminação negativa”.
Para o chefe de Estado, o PSD deve tratar do
tema com “prioridade” de forma “urgente”, mas sem “soluções radicais” para que
os cidadãos estrangeiros possam seguir com suas vidas em Portugal. “Para
saberem qual é o seu estatuto, para trabalhar, ter acesso à Saúde, à Segurança
Social e escola das crianças”, frisou.
“Ou fazemos uma recuperação estoica e para
recuperar todo o tempo perdido e ter o sistema a funcionar a tempo, ou a
inépcia política levará a problemas sérios para Portugal”, conclui Leitão
Amaro.
Questionado sobre que soluções tinha
preparadas, quer para a execução do ETIAS, quer para os atrasos dos processos
na AIMA, remeteu para “mais tarde”.
How UK’s new border controls will affect animal and plant imports
Explainer
How UK’s new border controls will affect animal
and plant imports
Second phase of physical checks could result in price
increases in shops, as businesses pass on costs to consumers
Jack
Simpson
Mon 29 Apr
2024 16.22 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/apr/29/uk-new-border-controls-animal-plant-imports-brexit
After more
than three years of delays, Tuesday finally sees the introduction of physical
checks on animal and plant imports coming into Britain from the EU.
Importers
and trade associations have warned that the new bureaucracy could heap
significant costs on to importers, resulting in increases to prices on shop
shelves.
But what
exactly are the new checks coming in, and what impact will they have on
businesses and the consumer? Here is a rundown of what to expect.
What are the new checks?
The new
regime will mirror checks brought in by the EU when the UK left the single
market in January 2021.
They make
up the second stage of the government’s Border Target Operating Model (BTOM)
plan.
The first
phase, which was introduced on 31 January this year, introduced new
requirements which meant the majority of meat, dairy and plant products require
a health certificate before they can enter the Britain.
The second
phase, beginning on Tuesday, will be the most significant, with lorries from
the continent being held up for the first time at border control posts at ports
around the country, so they can be inspected.
The
government has divided all plant and products of animal origin into three risk
groups.
The low
risk products, which are largely processed food goods, will receive no checks
and require no health certificates. The medium risk categories, which include
eggs, dairy, meat and cut flowers, and high risk goods, plants for planting and
live animals, will all need certificates and be subject to checks.
Will these result in queues at the border?
It is
unlikely that we will see long queues in the coming weeks after the government
chose to scale back the level of checks due to concerns over disruption.
Initially,
it was intended that between 1% and 30% of medium risk goods would be checked,
depending on products, while all high-risk products would receive 100%
inspections.
However,
the Financial Times reported earlier this month that the government would not
“turn on” the checks, with checks “set to zero” for all but the highest-risk
products.
The
government has insisted that there will be checks but has said it would take a
more pragmatic approach to checks, compared with its initial plans.
The
government will now prioritise the “highest risk” products across risk
categories, with checks more “intelligence-led”, and take into account factors
such as the country of origin and the company delivering. It will also be
adjusted based on compliance of goods and disruption levels.
It then
intends to scale these up to full checks in the future but has not given a
timeline on when.
William
Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chamber of Commerce, said firms face
“mounting confusion and uncertainty about exactly how and when the borders
checks and costs will be fully implemented”.
Initially
earmarked to be brought in July 2021, the first three delays were largely
because the border control posts, the facilities set up to carry out the
checks, were either half finished or not even started.
In April
2022, Brexit opportunities minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, announced a fresh delay,
the fourth, over fears that it would add extra costs to household bills. This
was followed by a further delay in October 2023 due to concerns over business
readiness and inflation.
How much will it cost business?
The
government has estimated that the new border checks will cost businesses and
extra £330m a year, and increase food inflation by 0.2% across the three years.
A recent Allianz Trade report said it would cost £2bn a year, adding 0.2% to
headline inflation.
Earlier
this month, the government published its rates for how much it would cost to
send goods through the government-run Sevington inland border control post, the
Kent facility that will process goods travelling through the Port of Dover and
Channel tunnel. This common user charge (CUC) was set at £29 for each type of
product, with a £145 cap for mixed consignments.
However,
when added with the other additional costs around the new rules, such as the
health certificates, port health costs and additional admin costs, it could be
much more. The Cold Chain Federation recently calculated that sending five
different products through Dover could cost a business £761 in extra costs for
each load.
The body
estimated that the new requirements could add £1bn a year in costs for those
moving plant and animal products through Sevington alone.
Several of
the other private border control posts have yet to publish their charges but
would probably have similar fees to remain competitive.
Nigel
Jenney, the chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium, said: “They’ve
[the government] created a strategy that is both incompetent and hugely
expensive.
“This will
drive up costs for our sector, which will ultimately be passed on to consumers
already struggling with the rising cost of living.”
Brexit border chiefs left in the dark hours before new checks kick in
IMAGE BY OVOODOCORVO
Brexit border chiefs left in the dark hours
before new checks kick in
Ports have spent millions of their own cash on
high-spec inspection facilities — but still don’t know how they’ll recoup their
costs.
APRIL 28,
2024 6:55 PM CET
BY SOPHIE
INGE
https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-brexit-border-target-operating-mode/
LONDON —
Britain is meant to be launching the “most advanced border in the world” this
week. It doesn’t feel like that to the people running it.
With
implementation of the second — and most critical — phase of the U.K.’s
five-times-delayed post-Brexit border regime commencing on Tuesday, ports are
still being left in the dark on crucial details by the British government.
Physical
checks on EU animal and plant imports to the island nation are meant to begin
April 30 at specially designated border control posts. It’s all part of the
government’s “Border Target Operating Model,” needed now it’s left the bloc’s
single market.
But with
just hours to go, commercial port operators — many of whom have pumped millions
of pounds of their own cash into setting up high-spec inspection facilities —
have serious concerns about how exactly they’re meant to recoup the costs of
running them.
An
exasperated senior port executive, granted anonymity to speak freely, said:
“It’s enormously frustrating that after literally years — a period where the
physical facilities at ports have been ready and at a time when ports are
feeling the wrath of customers for charges that are not of the ports doing —
we’re still waiting for government to deliver at one minute to midnight.”
Crucial detail missing
Under the
new border system, selected importers will have to submit animal and plant
products posing a “medium” risk to U.K. biosecurity to identity and physical
checks at border control posts. The checks test for pests and diseases and
involve temperature readings and visual inspections.
Importers
will then be invoiced for the checks by commercial ports. But even at this late
stage, ports are still pressing for “urgent access” to a post-Brexit government
IT system they say is crucial for ensuring they can actually invoice importers.
In a letter
sent last week to the U.K.’s Cabinet Office, Richard Ballantyne, chief
executive of the British Ports Association, and Rhett Hatcher, chief executive
of the UK Chamber of Shipping, warned it’s not possible to know “how many
eligible goods are being transported through ports as well as who to invoice a
blanket charge” without the information on the government’s Import of Products,
Animals, Food and Feed System.
They need
access to the government IT system, they say, in order to have a “realistic
opportunity to recover costs from users and importers.”
In a
meeting with port operators last week, officials at Britain’s environment
department, Defra, tried to calm fears, and said they were working on sharing
some of that data with ports. But they conceded the technical fix for doing
this might not be available for months. It will need a data sharing agreement
between the port operator and Defra — and the government may end up charging
the ports for access to the data.
Even if
they get access, port operators still don’t know if they’ll be able to use the
data retrospectively to charge for checks already done.
“The main
issue for ports that are affected is that they need to recover their ongoing
operational costs and secondly their contribution to the capital costs,”
explained Mark Simmonds, director of policy and external affairs at the British
Ports Association. “They are eager to start doing that because even now they
are incurring costs in keeping those [border control posts] going even though
they are not being used.”
Without an
effective means of charging importers, ports have the choice of either not
charging importers at all — or finding some temporary fix of their own.
One
workaround currently being explored would involve billing intermediaries such
as shipping companies who would in turn bill customers — a move that inevitably
piles on an extra layer of bureaucracy.
‘Laughing stock of Europe’
Despite
having had years to plan for the new border regime, the British government
appears to have left many crucial details until the last minute.
Repeated
delays to the border regime mean a number of control posts have been left
standing empty, causing them to be branded “Brexit white elephants” by port
staff.
Earlier
this month, ministers finally published details of the new charging regime for
the checks at its own state-run border control post at Sevington, a village in
Kent. The blanket fees for importers — known as a “common user charge” — will
range from £10 for “low risk” goods up to £145 for “mixed consignments.”
But Nigel
Jenney, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium, a trade body,
described those costs as “exorbitant” and warned they will add “millions of
pounds in annual costs to the supply chain.”
“The U.K.
government has ignored our extensive advice on how to streamline border
processes,” he warned. “Instead, they’ve created a strategy that is both
incompetent and hugely expensive ... This will drive up costs for our sector,
which will ultimately be passed on to consumers already struggling with the
rising cost of living.”
“We have
become the laughing-stock of Europe,” he argued.
A
government spokesperson said: “These border checks are fundamental to
protecting the U.K.’s food supply chain, farmers and natural environment
against costly diseases reaching our shores.”
“Our robust
analysis has shown they will have minimal impact on food prices and consumers,
with just a 0.2 percentage point increase on food prices over the next three
years, while businesses will save around £520 million each year compared to the
model originally proposed,” the spokesperson said.
But some
fear the cost to consumers could in fact be much higher — and the government
has still not revealed the modeling behind its inflation figures, originally
published last summer, before it even decided on a charging regime.
Light-touch approach
The
government said two weeks ago it will take a “pragmatic” approach to checks,
prioritizing inspections of the “highest-risk goods,” including some
medium-risk categories.
Government
documents published April 19 suggest checks will be minimal for most animal and
animal product categories at the outset, but did not say how many checks will
be carried out on plant products.
The
government also said all checks would be “scaled up to full check levels in a
sensible and controlled way” — but it remains unclear when full checks will be
reached, leaving more confusion for people trading across the border.
The letter
from port and shipping industry bodies, cited above, also raised concerns about
the number and availability of government staff checking the products at the
border control posts and their working hours.
“There are
still business-critical pieces of information that businesses need,” said
Nichola Mallon, head of trade at trade body Logistics UK. “We need an exact
timeline from the government as to when it will scale up to full checks.”
She added:
“Our members think that it’s unfair that on April 30 everyone is going to be
hit with the common user charge, whether or not they are selected for a check.
“Then on
top of that, the government is applying the charge universally when by its own
admission it’s taking a phased approach to the implementation of the checks.”
The turmoil
hasn’t gone unnoticed on the other side of the English Channel, either. Marco
Forgione, director general of the Institute of Export and International Trade,
said businesses in the EU are already “tearing their hair out” with
frustration.
“Just hours
before we go live there are still some pretty important pieces of information
that they are not aware of,” he added.
“Food
supply chains are highly integrated and time-sensitive. Minutes and hours
really matter. So not having information at the right time in order to plan and
prepare for the changes has the potential to have a dramatic knock-on effect.
We know from our conversations in the EU … that the degree of uncertainty is
such that they are really considering whether they will continue to move goods
into the U.K.”
With so
much uncertainty, some are showing a keen interest in the opposition Labour
Party’s plan to seek a veterinary agreement with the EU, a move which could
potentially obviate the need for checks both on the U.K. and EU side.
Anand
Menon, director of the U.K. In a Changing Europe think tank, said he thought
the EU would be “willing to sit down with Labour and discuss the prospect of an
agreement” but that “the devil will always be in the detail,” such as what
level of alignment the U.K. is seeking.
For
businesses already facing soaring costs and mounds of paperwork in the here and
now, that’s unlikely to offer much comfort.
Don’t assume von der Leyen is coming back
IMAGE by OVOODOCORVO
Don’t assume von der Leyen is coming back
The European Commission president is still the
front-runner — but is increasingly coming under fire.
APRIL 15,
2024 4:00 AM CET
BY BARBARA
MOENS, NICHOLAS VINOCUR AND JACOPO BARIGAZZI
A second
coronation does not come guaranteed for Queen Ursula.
Two months
ahead of June’s Europe-wide election, Brussels is abuzz with European diplomats
and officials warning that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
is not a shoo-in for another five year term leading the EU’s executive.
One EU
official called it the talk of the town.
“A big part of it is the arrogance of power,” the EU
official continued. “She mistakenly thought she could get away with everything.
So some smaller mistakes are now being used against her.” Like other officials
quoted in this article, the EU official was granted anonymity to speak freely
about the powerful German politician within the Brussels bubble.
At the
heart of the matter, there are two prime forces that could torpedo her in the
post-electoral horse-trading.
France —
whose relations with Germany are rocky — is still highly ambiguous about its
support, probably to extract concessions, though it could spy a late
opportunity to rejig the top table. If she passes that potential hurdle of
dissent from Paris, she will also have to worry about whether she can secure
confirmation from the new-look European Parliament, in which the far-right is
likely to be a larger player than today. Even the support from her own
center-right European People’s Party looks lukewarm.
“Von der Leyen’s periodic missteps, from Pfizergate to
her trip to Israel, are taking on new meaning as we get closer to the
election,” said Alberto Alemanno, a professor of law at HEC business school in
Paris. |
The
prospect of an upset only seems to be growing after a series of a series of
slip ups in recent weeks, stressed EU officials and diplomats. That’s quite a
turn-around from the beginning of the year, when she had seemed rock solid.
“Von der
Leyen’s periodic missteps, from Pfizergate to her trip to Israel, are taking on
new meaning as we get closer to the election,” said Alberto Alemanno, a
professor of law at HEC business school in Paris. “They acquire a pattern.”
“What this
boils down to is that we are moving away from TINA – there is no alternative –
to a situation which is more fluid, and where we are essentially opening
Pandora’s box,” he added.
Still, the
65-year old von der Leyen is the woman to beat. Not only is she the incumbent,
her EPP is polling way ahead of the competition, giving them the right — as
they see it — to have von der Leyen stay on. It’s also hard to see which other
candidate stands a chance of displacing her when EU leaders meet this summer to
divvy up the bloc’s top jobs, such as European Commission, Council and Foreign
Policy chiefs roles.
Still, as
one EU diplomat stressed: “She should not take it for granted.”
So, what
happened?
Two other
officials pointed to the March party congress in Bucharest as a key turning
point in the perception of von der Leyen.
In early
March, European conservatives met in the Romanian capital to officially endorse
the former German defense minister as the face of their EU election campaign.
But some, like French conservative heavyweight Michel Barnier, refused to back
her.
European
Commissioner Thierry Breton, who hails from the competing liberals (but works
under von der Leyen), publicly called out what he said was lackluster support
received by von der Leyen from her own EPP group. The liberals are also part of
the coalition backing von der Leyen in the European Parliament.
While von
der Leyen was the only name on the EPP’s ballot that day in Bucharest to be its
lead candidate and received 400 votes in favor, with 89 against — out of a
total 499 votes, the perception was set.
Since then,
there’s been mounting pushback against von der Leyen’s authority.
First, a
cross-party initiative in the European Parliament — which included von der
Leyen’s own EPP — legally challenged the Commission’s decision to grant Hungary
€10 billion in EU money, which was frozen over the country’s rule of law
issues.
Rule of law
issues — a topic where the EPP is seen as weak — have been a point of
contention between von der Leyen and the European Parliament, whose votes she
needs for a second term.
Von der
Leyen also faced an internal rebellion by four of her top commissioners — from
the social democrat and liberal camps — after awarding a lucrative envoy role
to European lawmaker Markus Pieper, who belongs to her German conservative
party.
The
so-called “Piepergate” affair came days after POLITICO revealed that the
European Public Prosecutor’s Office had opened an investigation into her highly
contentious (and maddeningly opaque) use of text messages to negotiate major
vaccine purchase contracts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In
navigating these crises, she sometimes muscled aside her commissioners or
national governments, leading to grumblings which can cost her when she has to
be nominated again by European leaders (and then confirmed by the European
Parliament.)
Meanwhile,
von der Leyen herself has been slow to get her campaign going, clinging to the
advantages of incumbency. She appointed her campaign team weeks after her
nomination as lead candidate.
The choice
of her campaign chief, her trusted right-hand Björn Seibert, who was her
European Commission Chief of Staff until Apr. 5, led to renewed criticism in
Brussels.
“This shows
she can only rely on a very small circle of trusted people. It’s not a sign of
confidence in her party,” said one senior parliamentary official who asked not
to be named while commenting on Commission affairs.
Alexander
Winterstein, the chief spokesperson of the von der Leyen campaign, stressed
that von der Leyen has a double workload as president and as a candidate.
“Ursula von
der Leyen has travelled to Greece, Germany and Latvia already on her campaign,
with a lot more to follow,” Winterstein said. “She will campaign hard on the
three issues she deeply cares about: democracy, prosperity and security. In
particular, she will continue confronting head-on those who want to undermine
European democracy, both from outside and within Europe. A lot is at stake in
these elections.”
‘Lame
duchess’
Of course,
as a prime minister once noted, a week is a long time in politics.
With two
months to go before the elections, von der Leyen has time to change the
perception, for example, by touting her legacy. She has emerged as the most
powerful Commission president since Jacques Delors, rolling out emergency
measures to protect Europe through the pandemic and then the war in Ukraine.
French
President Emmanuel Macron, however, who was key to landing her the job in 2019,
has been ambiguous in his support — in what seems a classic power move to have
as much leverage as possible.
While
Germany has no other choice than to back the former German defense minister for
a second term — despite that her party is not part of the ruling coalition —
France is playing hard to get.
In an
interview with POLITICO, the head of French President Emmanuel Macron’s Renew
group in the European Parliament, Valérie Hayer, declined to endorse von der
Leyen for a second term. “I won’t rule out voting for her again, I won’t rule
out not voting for her again,” she said.
Several EU
diplomats interpret the signals from Paris as a way to derive concessions from
von der Leyen for her second term.
“The French
don’t want Ursula walking on a red carpet with flowers thrown on her at the
June European Council,” said another EU diplomat.
“The idea
of a German Commission president who can do whatever she wants during a second
mandate is a nightmare for them.”
Macron’s
support is key for von der Leyen.
To win a
second term, she will need to convince a qualified majority of EU leaders at
the European Council table to back her. While she’s likely to get a nod from
Europe’s 12 conservative leaders, it remains to be seen how much support she
can rally beyond her party.
Hungary and
Slovakia are highly critical toward the Commission’s policies, while Spanish
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has repeatedly been at odds with the Berlaymont
over the Israel-Hamas war. Von der Leyen’s resolute support for Israel
triggered a backlash from Spain, Ireland, Belgium and voices across the
European left.
The
potentially fatal challenge however is set to be the European Parliament. In
2019, she was placed in office with the support of the EU’s self-described
pro-European parties: the conservative European People’s Party, the Socialists
and the liberal Renew group. That landed her only a narrow majority: 383 votes,
slightly above the minimum of 374. With the far right surging across Europe,
von der Leyen could struggle to repeat that win.
As of June
10, von der Leyen will have to start courting the newly elected European
lawmakers to secure their votes. “She will be the object of huge pressure by
lawmakers to win their support,” said a second EU official.
That risks
limiting her room for maneuver during her second mandate, or even making her a
lame duchess, a third EU official put it.
Meanwhile,
her critics have started floating other names for European Commission
president. Some hail from her own party, as they are set to hold the majority
of seats in the European Parliament, such as European Parliament President
Roberta Metsola or Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.
“We will
enter the top job discussion with von der Leyen as European Commission
President,” the first EU official said, the one who said von der Leyen thought
she could get away with things.
“Whether
she’ll still be there at the end, is another question.”
Clea
Caulcutt contributed reporting from Paris.
Von der Leyen criticises European far right for being ‘Putin’s proxies’
.jpg)
Commission president, who is seeking another term,
took aim at group that includes AfD and National Rally in pre-election debate
Jennifer
Rankin in Brussels
Mon 29 Apr
2024 22.38 CEST
The
European Commission president, Ursula Von der Leyen, has criticised the far
right as “Putin’s proxies”, while refusing to rule out working with other
rightwing nationalists, as campaigning began ahead of June’s European
elections.
Von der
Leyen is seeking a second five-year term leading the commission, in the looming
reshuffle of EU top jobs that follows the European elections.
At a debate
in Maastricht on Monday with rivals from across the political spectrum, von der
Leyen went on the attack against the far-right Identity and Democracy group in
the European parliament, which unites France’s National Rally, the Alternative
für Deutschland (AfD) and the Danish People’s party.
The ID
group is expected to make significant gains in the pan-European vote on 6-9
June and could even become the third largest force, threatening key EU policies
such as support for Ukraine, climate action and enlargement.
Addressing
the far-right representative Danish People’s party’s Anders Vistisen, von der
Leyen accused his allies in the AfD of being supporters of Russia’s president,
Vladimir Putin, saying their electoral programme echoed “the lies and
propaganda of Putin”.
“It is very
important that we should not be distracted from the real problem: and these are
the proxies of Putin who try to destroy from within with disinformation and
polarisation. And we see an example here tonight,” von der Leyen said,
gesturing to Vistisen.
But the
commission president was far more guarded about closing down alliances with the
hardline conservative European Conservatives and Reformists group, which unites
Italian prime minister Georgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, Poland’s Law
and Justice party and Spain’s far-right Vox party. “It depends very much on how
the composition of the parliament is and who is in what group,” von der Leyen
said.
The ECR,
which did not send anyone to the Maastricht debate, has described the EU’s
green deal as sometimes “dogmatic, anti-economic and antisocial”.
Von der
Leyen’s centre-right European People’s party is forecast to remain the largest
force in the European parliament, followed by the Party of European Socialists
in an election where the centre-left and Greens are both expected to lose
ground.
While eight
candidates taking part in the debate have declared an interest in leading the
European Commission, von der Leyen is the only one with a serious shot at the
job.
During the
90-minute debate, she showed a more impassioned side than her usual scripted
public persona, especially when it came to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the
Israel-Gaza war.
She
criticised a suggestion from radical left candidate Walter Baier that the
Ukraine war could end if both sides negotiated. “I am getting tired of hearing
that,” she said, noting she had been seven times to Ukraine and had seen the
body bags at Bucha, where hundreds of civilians were killed by Russian forces.
“If you want to end this war Putin just has to stop fighting and then the war
is over.”
Turning to
the war in Gaza, where she faced criticism from the left over the EU’s stance
on Israel, she said Israel had the “right to defend itself within the limits of
humanitarian law and international law”, adding that it was “unbearable” and
“unacceptable” to see how many innocent civilians were dying, especially
children.
Defending
her record on the EU’s green deal, she also hit back at the Green’s lead
candidate, Dutch MEP Bas Eickhout, who accused the commission of “lowering
green standards” after it withdrew a proposal to cut pesticide use and watered
down nature protection measures, following farmer protests.
“Instead of
pushing hard to polarise I would invite you to listen to this dialogue,” she
said to Eickhout, raising a question about how far she intends to court Green
MEPs for support.
EU leaders
will ultimately choose the next European Commission president, but that person
will need the support of a majority of MEPs. In an attempt to wrest control
over that appointment, the European parliament favours the so-called
spitzenkandidaten system, where Europe’s political parties present their
choices to lead the EU executive.
In 2019 at
the behest of France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, EU leaders side-stepped the
spitzenkandidaten process, passing over the EPP’s victorious lead candidate
Manfred Weber, in favour of von der Leyen, who had not taken part in any of the
pre-election debates or even declared herself interested in the job.
She
subsequently became commission president, after winning support from a
coalition spanning the centre-right, centre-left, liberals and greens in the
European parliament.
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