Tag: European Union

EU-India unmanned aerial systems (UAS)

Delhi To Host First Ever EU-India Roundtable On Countering Terrorist Exploitation Of Drones

By LokMarg

The first ever European Union (EU)-India Track 1.5 dialogue on countering the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) by extremists and non-state actors will take place in New Delhi on Thursday.

The day-long EU-India roundtable seeks to better understand the range of current and emerging threats particularly involved with consumer-grade UAS technology. Participants from the EU and India will also discuss best practices regarding regulatory, tactical and investigative responses to addressing UAS threats in both regions, according to an official release.

Commercial UAS has been developing rapidly in recent years, both in terms of technological sophistication and consumer availability. Violent extremists have exploited these inexpensive and adaptable consumer devices for different purposes, including reconnaissance and violent attacks.

This roundtable is part of a series of ongoing counterterrorism engagements between the EU and India, building on recent activities under the EU project Enhancing Security Cooperation In and With Asia (ESIWA). In the field of counter-terrorism and preventing violent extremism (CT-PVE), activities have included successful chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) risk management training for Indian security practitioners, and moderated expert discussions on countering online extremism, the release added.

“Security and terrorist threats are increasingly of an hybrid nature. The use of commercial drones is a case in point. If a relatively cheap device can carry and fly a pizza or biryani, then clearly, they can also be used for carrying more nefarious payloads, such as weapons or explosives” EU Ambassador to India Herve Delphin said.

“Sharing knowledge and experiences between us, the EU and India, is highly relevant and crucial to counter drones’ threats that we each face, in this rapidly evolving field. This seminar testifies to EU and India’s general joint commitment to intensify dialogue and cooperation on security issues,” he added.

Seizing the opportunity to exploit these relatively inexpensive and adaptable devices, terrorist organisations and individual violent extremists across the world have deployed ‘off-the-shelf’ drones. The swift rise of this phenomenon and the evolving technologies involved mean that threat assessments and mitigation strategies are recent and ongoing. Sharing information with peers is therefore vital in forging a common response to ensure our security and defence.

This EU-India roundtable has been organised by the ESIWA project, in partnership with the National Security Guard of India, and the EU Delegation to India. Highlighting the Team Europe approach, expert inputs will be provided from the EU’s Directorate General of Migration and Home Affairs (DG Home), Spain’s Ministry of the Interior, Hungary’s national police (Rendorseg), along with the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCCT), it also said.

The ESIWA project is co-funded by the European Union, the German Federal Foreign Office and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. It works to enhance the EU’s security and defence cooperation with the Indo-Pacific in four thematic areas: counter-terrorism and preventing violent extremism, crisis management, cyber security and maritime security. The project is co-implemented by the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) & Expertise France.

ESIWA’s activities in counter-terrorism and preventing violent extremism (CT-PVE) aims to contribute to information exchange, capacity building and mutual learning.

In October 2023, the EU Commission issued a Communication to the Council and European Parliament on countering potential threats posed by drones. The document sets out the EU’s commercial drone policy for the next several years.

The communication specifically aims to “provide a comprehensive and harmonised policy framework; build a common understanding of applicable procedures to face the continuously evolving threats possibly posed by drones; and take into account the rapid developments in technology”. (ANI)

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Afghanistan's humanitarian aid

EU Contributes 3 MN Euros To Afghanistan Humanitarian Aid

By LokMarg

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) said the European Union has contributed 3 million euros to Afghanistan’s humanitarian aid, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.

According to OCHA, the funds provided by the EU will enable aid agencies to give necessary assistance and protection to millions in need across Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported.

Throughout the year, the European Union has been supporting Afghanistan by providing several aid packages to address the ongoing crisis. The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan remains dire, with more than half of the population in need of assistance, according to a Khaama Press report.

OCHA has stated that USD 3 billion will be required for adequate aid in Afghanistan in the coming year. Initially, OCHA for the year 2023 requested USD 4.6 billion for Afghanistan’s aid efforts. However, it has not received all the funds, resulting in a significant funding shortfall for aid needs in Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported.

Due to the funding gap, an estimated 10 million people in Afghanistan lost access to vital food aid from May to November, according to OCHA. The funding shortfall comes amid a severe humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, exacerbated by harsh winter conditions. The situation in Afghanistan is critical as Afghan migrants face forced deportation from Pakistan, further adding to the already dire circumstances.

The financial shortfall hampers the delivery of essential aid and services, affecting the vulnerable people in need. The convergence of the harsh winter, the humanitarian crisis and the influx of returning migrants causes an escalating need for increased support and resources.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that over one million children in Afghanistan are facing severe malnutrition, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Afghanistan needs USD 185 million to fight against malnutrition. In a post on X, he said that 30 per cent of the total Afghanistan population faces acute food insecurity.

He said: “Close to 1 million children are severely malnourished and 2.3 million are suffering from moderate acute malnutrition. WHO needs USD 185 million to continue providing medicine and supporting hospitals to prevent more Afghan children and women from dying of malnutrition and the consequences of food insecurity.”

Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed Ministry of Public Health said that the number of malnourished mothers and children in the country has slightly increased compared to past years.

According to the doctors of Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital, the number of malnourished children in Afghanistan has increased compared to past years, and in the winter 20 to 25 malnourished children visited the hospital.

A nurse, Fatima Azimi, said: “Compared to the past year, especially in winter, our patients increased and nowadays 15 to 20 patients are referred daily.”

“For children not to face malnutrition, respectable families should increase the distance between births and observe health guidelines, and our society should be saved from poverty and improved,” said a doctor Abdul Gafoor Rasooli, according to TOLO News. (ANI)

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Targeting China, EU Seeks To Ban Products Made With Forced Labour

By LokMarg

In a move to target China, concerned about human rights violations in the province of Xinjiang, the 27-member country European Union (EU) seeks to ban products made with forced labour.

Products made with forced labour or those imported into the EU will be banned under draft EU rules, according to an EU document, reported Business Recorder.
The move was prompted by pressure from EU lawmakers who raised profound concerns over systematic human rights violations and their widespread effect on individuals and minorities in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

“Such prohibition should apply to products for which forced labour has been used at any stage of their production, manufacture, harvest and extraction, including working or processing related to the products,” the document said.

However, the European Commission’s draft rules are less far-reaching than what EU lawmakers have proposed due in part to legal constraints. The EU executive will need to discuss details with them and EU countries before the rules become law, reported Business Recorder.

“The prohibition should apply to all products, including their components, and should apply to products regardless of the sector, the origin, whether they are domestic or imported, or placed or made available on the Union market or exported.”

The paper said that the rules target larger economic operators such as importers, manufacturers, producers and product suppliers because the risks of forced labour are most prevalent and the impact likely to be the largest.

The onus however is on national authorities to prove that forced labour was involved in making and processing the products, reported Business Recorder.

Meanwhile, a UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Modern Slavery’s report has found it “reasonable to conclude” that forced labour has been taking place in China’s Xinjiang province.

The report found that Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other Turkic groups have been subjected to repressive and abusive practices as part of Chinese state-mandated forced labour systems.

“New UN Special Rapporteur’s Report on Contemporary Forms of Slavery concludes that forced labour is taking place in Xinjiang,” Adrian Zenz, a China researcher tweeted, along with a copy of the report.

The Special Rapporteur, Tomoya Obokata, further found that “the nature and extent of powers exercised” meant that “some instances may amount to enslavement as a crime against humanity.”

UN human rights experts have raised serious concerns about the alleged detention and forced labour of Muslim Uyghurs in China, calling for unhindered access to the country to conduct fact-finding missions and urging global and domestic companies to closely scrutinize their supply chains.

Uyghur workers have reportedly been subjected to exploitative working and abusive living conditions that may constitute arbitrary detention, human trafficking, forced labour and enslavement by use of forced labour. (ANI)

Is A European Union Army Feasible?

By Asad Mirza

It seems that the EU has learnt the lessons of the abrupt end of the US-led mission in Afghanistan and furthermore after AUKUS, that the US is a trying to build a coalition of English speaking Anglophonic nations in the defence realm and that time has now come for them to guard their interests themselves.

In her annual state of the union speech in the European parliament in Strasbourg recently, Von der Leyen, a former German defence minister, described the withdrawal of the US-led mission in Afghanistan, and the subsequent collapse of President Ghani’s administration troubling. She urged the European leaders to acquire the “political will” to build up its own military force to de deployed at or prevent any future crises.

She is also reported to be working with the Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, on issuing a “new declaration” on EU-Nato relations by the end of the year. She has also said there would be crises where the EU’s own military force should operate independently from both the UN and Nato.

Germany’s current defence minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has said that Ursula is right. Real EU defence depends on the political will of the member states. That’s why Germany and France must lead any such exercise.

European solidarity

For some, this state of affairs revived the old idea of a European military – with the EU’s chief diplomat himself urging the bloc to create a collective armed force.

“The need for more European defence has never been as much evident as today after the events in Afghanistan,” EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell told journalists at a meeting of the bloc’s foreign and defence ministers in Slovenia recently, where the Afghanistan debacle featured prominently. The EU needs to create a “rapid response force” of 5,000 soldiers, Borrell said. EU military committee chairman Claudio Graziano also agreed with the idea, which should be supported with a genuine “will to act” he is reported to have said.

This phrase appeared once again, when Macron talked about Afghanistan with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Élysée Palace. The two leaders gave a joint statement urging the EU to develop “strategic autonomy” so it can take “more responsibility for its security and defence”.

Going one step further France has recently inked a defence deal for supply of 13 Rafael jets and 3 frigates to Greece. By choosing French Rafael, Greece rejected the bid by US’s Boeing for F-16 planes. 

Critics of the proposal

The idea of common defence, one attacked by some critics of the EU as evidence of fomenting nationalism building, has a long and chequered history. It dates back to 1990s and the Yugoslav Wars. A joint 1998 statement by France’s then president Jacques Chirac and British prime minister Tony Blair declared that the EU “must have the capacity for autonomous action, backed up by credible military forces”, an assertion which fits Emmanuel Macron very well today.

In 1999 the EU agreed to raise a contingent of 50,000-60,000. In 2007, the bloc created a network of two “battle groups” of 1,500 troops from each country. They have since never been requisitioned. 

Proponents of an EU armed force that operates independently of Washington will also have to win over sceptics within the bloc; the Baltic states and Poland are not in favour of any new defence pact excluding the US.

In addition perceptions within the EU states differ as to what is a threat to its interests. For example the Baltic states consider Russia as an existential threat as per geopolitical realities but Russia is a key energy partner for Germany, and an ally for Hungary.

Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel also backed the EU army idea in 2018, amid suggestions that the EU “could no longer count on the United States” under Donald Trump’s leadership. Other European leaders who had advocated for such an army have included Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italy’s former PM Silvio Berlusconi, Czech President Milos Zeman and former Czech PM Bohuslav Sobotka.

Pushes for an EU-force have public support, too. A 2017 Eurobarometer poll collated by Statista found that 74% of respondents in the Netherlands and Belgium supported the idea. In France and Germany, backing for the proposal was 65% and 55% percent respectively, but in EU’s traditionally more neutral countries, like Austria (45%), Ireland (46%), Finland (42%) and Sweden (40%) it was mellowed. In the UK, only 39% of survey respondents were in favour.

Other critics of the proposal include Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg himself, who has warned that an EU force “cannot defend Europe” without Nato assistance.

Military analysts say that most EU governments can’t investment more in defence and they are further concerned about the risk of undermining Nato. In 2019 EU’s 27 member states’ expenditure on defence stood at 1.2% of GDP compared with 3.4% by the US.

International security and defence analyst Brooks Tigner has also pointed to potential funding issues. In a 2018 opinion piece for the Atlantic Council, Tigner wrote that while the idea for an EU army might appear “impressive on paper”, but none has any realisation of what the collective cost of operations might be. He added that the bloc would have to resolve a plethora of other “technical, legal, and administrative differences” that would “boil down to the most mundane things such as soldiers’ rights”.

A leaders’ summit dedicated to European defence will be convened by Von der Leyen and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in the first half of next year, when France holds the rolling presidency of the EU. The concept of an EU army would be debated and discussions will be held about “why this has not worked in the past” at the next summit Von der Leyen has said.

Overall, as in the past, this time too it seems that the idea might get turned down due to its feasibility but it would help politicians like Macron and other European leaders to root for more nationalism and nationalistic tendencies, independent of the US.

(Asad Mirza is a political commentator based in New Delhi. He writes on issues related to Muslims, education, geopolitics and interfaith)

Brexit Britain, The Boris Touch

By Jasdev Singh Rai

Brexit seems to be one of those long Broadway plays that the Brits like, with pointless intrigues, family feuds and an ending that could be predicted at the beginning. A confined theatre is a British temple, Brexit is now being played in the boundaries of Britain with the whole world as spectator and Europe in the demonic role.  A new twist has been introduced to what was becoming the Brexit writer’s block. It has been spiced up with an unexpected Eastern flavour, the Boris touch, with the ending become ever more exciting, dramatic and cliff hanger. Boris has brought a new dimension into British politics, so far missing.

The West and particularly the English, like to be seen to be playing fair by the rules. Rule of law is the official religion of the United Kingdom. Like all religions, it is a fairy tale idealism which works for most things with some degree of hypocrisy but gets stuck when real life gets tough. When the ‘rule of law’ is not working for the English or comes to a dead end, the English scuttle around to find a loophole in the small print, divide the opposition, and transfer the blame. Usually it moves on with a deviant combination of creative energising of the almost hidden small print, confounding the opposition and aided by the lack of a constitution which enables flexibility in interpretation of ‘convention’. The history of the Empire is full of this tactic.

Unfortunately for the English, the Europeans are also immersed in this skewed game of rule of law and are familiar with the British tactic. Hence attempts at dividing the EU, at making the Europeans the scapegoat for refusing to accept a ‘messy and fantasy solution’, and failing to treat the Brits on par with the gods, has all failed. Remember, ‘gods’ are usually above the everyday laws of mortals. Along comes Boris Johnson to save a play repeating scenes under Theresa May. The public attention was waning.

Boris has a Turkish ancestry, on the great grandfather, so a percentage of him brings an Eastern approach now to the Brexit game. The East generally sees rule of law as a utilitarian tool used by the politically powerful while they remain above it. It is no wonder ‘rule of law’ does not appear to work as ‘equitably’ in most countries east of Greece as it seems in the west. Perhaps the difference is that in the west there is craft, pretence and play when rule of law is bent, whereas in the East, power dispenses with the drama and gets to the desired outcome unashamedly.

The UK has now brought in the ‘curry’ option. With the Brexit stasis becoming deeply sclerotic as Parliament could not find any road, lane or even a rope to pull itself through the self-imposed barriers, in came Boris with his eastern temperament woken.

He first warned the Brits of the great Turkish migrant invasion for which only Brexit was a defence. In April 2016, Mr Johnson warned: “I am very pro-Turkish but what I certainly can’t imagine is a situation in which 77 million of my fellow Turks and those of Turkish origin can come here without any checks at all. That is mad – that won’t work.” Now with his Turkish roots he is Prime Minister. Talk about ironic prophecy.

He has dismissed the sacrament of every convention and unwritten rule that has prevented the Crown to institute a proper Constitution and which defined the mystery of Britain. He found the greatest loophole. There is no written constitution so why not open the gaping hole that had so far been covered with customised verbal straw, that is convention. He has driven a bulldozer through propriety of office and government.

Extraordinarily, he is the leader of Britain that every politician and commentator who can say so does say so without embarrassment that he cannot be trusted! Imagine, a country being asked to live by rule of law, have integrity but its leader unashamedly is considered a pathological liar in office! Brexit has brought politics to this level. A new for the office of Her Majesty’s Prime Minister.

Boris prorogued Parliament (suspended now) for long period against convention until courts reversed it: and then against ‘traditional wisdom’ threw out the most staunch members of the Conservative Party who were considered its pillars if not foundation, including grandees and Churchill’s son; has says anything to anyone as they want to hear and then denies he said it; exploited the Queen in his machinations and even called Parliament to sit on an emergency war footing on a Saturday. The unwritten constitution has been exposed by him as the infamous Emperor’s non-existent clothes.

Like leaders in some eastern countries, Boris is pushing as far as is possible, breaking convention as far is possible and ignoring etiquette as far is possible until people go to the courts to stop him. If he carries on, sooner or later the courts will be in a knot.

Brexit has not been done yet but it has taken its toll. It is a war come home and grown into a multidimensional civil war. It is almost the Middle East without the violence. The different camps range from no Brexit, to a Brexit with no Deal to a Brexit with any Deal to a Brexit with a Deal with Customs Union with Europe (meaning obeying EU regulations) and a Brexit with labour laws aligned with Europe and so on.

The British parliament itself is a spectacle. No party can command complete loyalty, (except perhaps Scottish Nationalists). Parties dominating England and Wales all have conspirators galore now.

Britain, or at least England has changed and will change for ever after this. This is a tectonic phase in modern Britain. Calls for a proper written constitution are growing. Some are even predicting the end of the Monarchy on whom convention depended. Some are predicting a move away from the simple majority democracy that UK has and some are predicting a new phase in which smaller parties will reign, perhaps a proportional representation model of some European countries.

The end of United Kingdom is prophesised by many a pundit and politician now. Few think that the country can be united after three years of bitter differences. Scotland is gearing up for another referendum. Northern Ireland’s nationalists are muting a referendum to separate from Britain in near future. That leaves Wales and England.

It is also interesting that this country which ran a racist Empire once, now has its four most important positions in Government run by children of migrant families. The PM has Turkish roots, born in New York. The Foreign Minister is son of a Czechoslovakian Jewish father, The Home Minister is daughter of East African Gujratis and the Chancellor is a son of Pakistani immigrants. It shows how far Britain has come in being a real multicultural and multiracial country. With Brexit, a new Britain is rising as Imperial Britain is dying.

As for Brexit, Boris Johnson is likely to favour a Brexit Deal where Northern Ireland is ditched. The majority of English see Norther Ireland as a burden. He may even stitch up with Scottish nationalists and offer them a referendum. He is likely to get support from some Labour MPs so he can ignore the Northern Irish Unionists (those who want to remain within UK, DUP) who have been a major obstacle to any agreement on Brexit.

After all this real life and often humorous grand Brexit theatre which has made Comic halls irrelevant in London at the moment, and which has made West End plays appear as Children’s entertainment, the end game may still be another referendum and back into EU after a short Brexit. But Brexit Britain will have undergone fundamental change in these three years of internal trauma. It is already being seen very differently by the rest of the world but will be even more after the Boris touch at the heart of an Imperial power that made ceremony, pomp, convention and tradition the sacred unwritten constitution of Great Britain. All that is being blown away by Boris the Turk.