⊂ EUROPE ⊃
Chile cancels climate summit amid protests: Chile has withdrawn as the host of the COP25 climate summit in December and the Apec trade forum in November. Weeks of riots over inequality in Chile have left at least 18 people dead. President Sebastian Pinera said he was forced to cancel both events due to the chaos unleashed by the protests. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa issued a statement saying that alternative hosting options were being explored. An official said all UN venues were being considered as options. Those would include cities such as New York, Geneva, Bonn, Vienna and Nairobi. The most likely alternative venue would be Bonn in Germany, where the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is based.
bbc.com, reuters.com, time.com
Barnier says no-deal Brexit risk persists: The EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Wednesday the risk of Britain’s departure from the bloc without a divorce agreement still existed. There was a big difference in preparedness between bigger companies and SMEs in all EU member states, Barnier said, referring to small and medium enterprises. A no-deal split could happen at the end of January, if the British parliament failed to ratify Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s deal and London did not get another delay on the divorce. It could also happen at the end of the status-quo transition period envisaged after Brexit until the end of 2020, if no new trade deal is agreed between the two sides by then and no extra time is given to achieve that. Barnier warned that the EU will only give Britain as much access to its single market after Brexit as is justified by London ensuring that EU rules and standards are preserved.
reuters.com
Oettinger defends bigger budget: EU Budget Commissioner Günther Oettinger has defended the EU Commission’s plan for the next multiannual financial framework. The Commission proposed a long-term budget equal to 1.114% of EU 27 gross national income. Oettinger said this was necessary in order to achieve excellence in research and innovation and to have sufficient resources for climate change, migration, border management, security and defence, Erasmus and digital investment.
stol.it, europa.eu
Syria constitution talks begin in Geneva: 150 delegates representing Syria’s government, opposition and various sectors of civil society are meeting in Geneva to try to draft a new constitution. Last month’s deal to establish the constitutional committee was the first political agreement between the government and opposition since the war began in 2011. The meeting in Geneva is being overseen by the UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pederson. The talks are being held against the backdrop of fresh fighting in north-east Syria between the Syrian army and Turkish-backed troops. Clashes took place near the border town of Ras al-Ayn on Wednesday, Syrian state media reported.
bbc.com, theguardian.com
Frontex: Another 10,000 officials for EU border guard zeit.de
Sassoli: EU Parliament President David Sassoli to visit North Macedonia europarl.europa.eu
Mogherini: EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini meets with Western Balkan leaders neweurope.eu
Turkey: US ambassador in Turkey summoned over Armenia resolution; Erdogan critic leaves ruling party AKP reuters.com; tagesschau.de
Israel: Israel’s embassies around the world closed over pay dispute; Jordan-Israel ties strained by detentions cnn.com; nytimes.com
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„Countries, in particular those with the budget space, have not really made the necessary efforts.“
Christine Lagarde, the incoming president of the European Central Bank, said euro zone countries with large budget surpluses should invest more to boost economic growth.
reuters.com
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Denmark gives go-ahead for „Nord Stream 2“ gas pipeline: Danish authorities have given the go-ahead to the Russian gas pipeline project. The Danish permit was the last needed for the pipeline from Russia to Germany. Already 2,100 kilometres (1305 miles) of the pipeline lie complete in Russian, Finnish and Swedish waters. Largely finished is another segment in Baltic Sea waters off northern Germany. The United States and several eastern European, Nordic and Baltic countries have expressed concern that the project, led by Russia’s state-owned Gazprom, will increase Europe’s reliance on Russian gas.
dw.com, reuters.com
Putin visits Hungary: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest Wednesday for trade and energy talks. With Hungary relying on Russia for around 85% of its energy needs, the pair signed a major gas supply deal. In 2014 Orban signed a 10-billion euro loan deal with Putin to build two reactors at the facility, but the two sides have agreed to renegotiate the loan terms. They also finalised a joint consortium project to make railway carriages for Egypt and discussed the headquarters move to Budapest of a controversial Russian-led development bank.
france24.com
Twelve migrants found in truck in Belgium: A dozen migrants were found alive in a refrigerated truck in Belgium on Wednesday — a week after 39 were found dead near London. The driver, who was transporting fruit and vegetables, called police after he found the migrants in the truck on Wednesday morning after a stop for the night. Police took them to the Immigration Office in the city of Antwerp. All were in good health, police said.
uk.reuters.com
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Norwegian billionaire rescues Thomas Cook’s Nordic business: Norwegian property tycoon Petter Stordalen and private equity firms Altor and TDR Capital have agreed to buy the Nordic business of collapsed British travel company Thomas Cook. Ving Group, which employs about 2,300 people, owns Nordic travel agencies Ving, Globetrotter, Spies, Tjareborg, carrier Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and a number of hotel brands.
reuters.com
Germany: Government to tighten hate speech law to fight far-right violence politico.eu
French-German Business Forum: France and Germany work on common China strategy handelsblatt.com
Italy: Government continues controversial cooperation with Libya stol.it
Serbia: Why Chinese policemen are patrolling in Belgrade spiegel.de
⊂ JOB-BOARD ⊃
politjobs.eu: Bitkom sucht Referent europäische Digitalpolitik (w/m) *** Int. Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory seeks Innovation Project Manager *** Int. Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory seeks Project Assistant for EU Funded Projects *** PwC seeks Public Affairs Senior Manager Belgium *** Johnson & Johnson seeks Policy Assistant, Government Affairs & Policy EMEA *** Public Policy Manager, Connectivity *** Ryanair offers Public Affairs internship
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
⊂ MALFUNCTION ⊃
Did Russia buy Beckenbauer’s vote? Franz Beckenbauer, the first man to win the World Cup as a captain and manager, is already linked to fraud allegations surrounding the 2006 World Cup. Now, new allegations against Beckenbauer have surfaced, according to Russian website „The Insider“. When awarding the football World Cup by FIFA, Beckenbauer possibly sold his vote to Russia. The country won hosting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in a 2010 vote.
tagesspiegel.de