⊂ EUROPE ⊃
Refugees continue arriving in Greece: Turkish observers have arrived on the Greek islands of Lesbos and Chios to oversee the Turkey-EU deal on sending migrants back to Turkey. Some 50,000 migrants are now in Greece and more arrivals have been reported.The United Nations‘ refugee agency has warned it will be watching closely to see how the deal is implemented, stressing the right to asylum must be paramount. Over 1,600 refugees have arrived in Greece despite the deal. 830 of the refugees arrived on the Island of Chios with another 698 landing on Lesbos. Many of the new arrivals were unaware of the latest EU-Turkey accord which dictates that new arrivals will now be held in confinement while asylum bids are fast-tracked.
bbc.com, dw.com
Erdogan accuses EU of hypocrisy: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday slammed European countries for their criticism of his country’s human rights record. Erdogan said Ankara only agreed to the refugee deal in Brussels on Friday to save Syrian refugees from derogatory treatment at European borders. He accused EU leaders of failing to protect Syrians from deadly air attacks by refusing to establish a no-fly zone over northeastern Syria, and claimed that such a move would have prevented the refugee crisis.
politico.eu
Russia threatens force if cease-fire is broken: Russia said Monday that it could unilaterally start using force in response to cease-fire violations in Syria, as indirect talks between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva aimed at brokering peace began a second week Monday. The Syrian opposition accused the government delegation at peace talks in Geneva of wasting time by refusing to discuss the future of President Bashar al-Assad. Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the opposition High Negotiations Committee, called for results as soon as possible.
reuters.com, wsj.com
EU member states to review details of EU-US Privacy Shield: EU member states will start reviewing details of the EU-US Privacy Shield next month and are getting ready for discussions before they approve the controversial data transfer deal. While they can make changes, their approval of the deal is needed for it to go into effect. EU Digital Commissioner Günther Oettinger said earlier this week that the Commission wants the deal to go into effect by June. But member states and national data protection authorities have yet to come out with their positions.
euractiv.com
MEPs Henkel and Kölmel file charges: Former German AfD members Hans Olaf Henkel and Bernd Kölmel have filed charges against unknown persons after a group calling itself the armed wing of Germany’s new anti-migrant party AfD sent death threats to MEPs. Several former members of the AfD party received threatening letters from a group calling itself the “AfD Army Faction”. The messages were sent to former AfD MEPs who left the party in protest at its anti-immigrant stance, demanding they give up their seats.
nationalpost.com
ICC: Bemba convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity nbcnews.com
Schengen: Restoring the EU’s passport-free zone europarl.europa.eu
EURONEST: MEPs to meet with counterparts from Eastern parliaments in Brussels europarl.europa.eu
Human rights institutions: Attacks against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are unacceptable fra.europa.eu
⊂ QUOTES ⊃
„I am 100 percent convinced that the Euro will still exist 20 years from now.“
There is no long-term threat to the Euro, according to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and his French counterpart Michel Sapin.
n-tv.de
⊂ COUNTRIES ⊃
Manhunt for newly identified Paris attacks suspect: French and Belgian police have intensified their manhunt for a newly identified suspect linked to November’s Paris attacks. Najim Laachraoui is the latest suspect authorities have pinpointed in a web they say they’re still trying to unravel. He also allegedly traveled to Budapest, Hungary, in September with Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam, who was arrested in a gunbattle Friday in the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek. Abdeslam is „worth his weight in gold“ to investigators, his lawyer has said. He is the only surviving participant in the attacks in police custody.
cnn.com, bbc.com
Smolensk plane crash: The chief spokesman of the Russian state agency that investigates crime on Monday described as ridiculous comments by Poland’s defense minister that foul play caused the 2010 plane crash that killed 96 people and the then Polish president Lech Kaczynski. The Polish minister, Antoni Macierewicz, said the 2010 crash in Smolensk was aimed at depriving Poland “of the leadership who led our nation towards independence”. Polish Justice Minister and Attorney General Zbigniew Ziobro appointed a commission of prosecutors on Monday to determine the causes of the crash.
reuters.com
Russian court gives verdict on Ukraine pilot: A Russian judge has been reading the verdict in the case of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who was charged over the death of two Russian journalists. Savchenko is accused of directing the artillery fire in eastern Ukraine in which the two journalists died. It was initially thought the judge had found her guilty, but her lawyers said a final verdict would be given on Tuesday. She denies all the charges.
bbc.com
Warming climate is messing with French wine: Things are getting hotter in France’s famous wine-growing regions. The heat is affecting the way grapes are grown and harvested in ways not seen at any other time in the last 400 years, according to new research. Iif the air around the vineyards continues to heat up, it could pose some significant challenges for regions that have been growing grapes for centuries.
cnbc.com
Croatia: Tomislav Medved is new Veterans Affairs Minister derstandard.at
Turkey: 27 killed in military operation against PKK derstandard.at
Denmark: Anker Jorgensen, former prime minister of Denmark, dies at 93 nytimes.com
France: Watered-down palm oil tax adopted euractiv.com
⊂ DATA ⊃
For every Syrian refugee that the EU sends back across the Aegean, a Syrian in Turkey will be given a new home in Europe. But a cap of 72,000 places has been put on Syrians who will be given asylum in Europe.
theguardian.com
⊂ JOB-BOARD ⊃
politjobs.eu: 350.org seeks campaigner *** Steltemeier & Rawe seeks Senior Associate (m/f) *** 1&1 sucht EU Public Affairs Manager VKU sucht Referentin/en *** Afore Consulting seeks Junior Consultants in European Public Affairs
politjobs.eu, politjobs.eu/submit (Inserat schalten)
⊂ MALFUNCTION ⊃
Some EU doctors still think homosexuality is a disease: A “large number” of doctors in certain EU member states still view homosexuality as a disease, a report has revealed. The research also shows that there are still a number of healthcare professionals in several EU member states who believe LGBT people suffer from pathological diseases, said Michael O’Flaherty, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). A recent FRA report found that Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia are the EU countries where this misconception is most widely held.
euractiv.com