Photo : Reuters
21 December 2021, Tuesday | NIAS Europe Daily Brief #78
IN BRIEF
By Joeana Cera Matthews, Padmashree Anandhan and Ashwin Dhanabalan
BELARUS
IMF: Belarus economy severely impacted under Western sanctions
On 20 December, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff stated that sanctions imposed by the West on Belarus were impacting the latter’s economy. It further suggested Minsk to slash fiscal expenditures to decrease foreign-currency borrowing. The statement released by the IMF read: “Risks to this outlook are large and revolve around geopolitical tensions, the possibility of further waves of COVID outbreaks, the impact of international sanctions, and contingent liabilities in the public sector… These major risks make a strong case for careful contingency planning.” Reuters reported the statement to have said that the present set of sanctions reduced the possibility of “rolling over expiring debt and new borrowing on Eurobond markets”. The statement also included: “Although the authorities can continue to borrow on other markets, institutions and countries, a further reduction of the fiscal deficit in 2023 would alleviate pressure to issue new debt… A key concern is that 93 percent of public debt is denominated in foreign currency and thus vulnerable to exchange rate movements.” (David Lawder, “IMF says Belarus squeezed by Western sanctions, spending should be cut,” Reuters, 21 December 2021)
TURKEY
Business leaders condemn actions of Erdogan towards monetary policy
On 20 December, the Turkish lira was expected to recover after the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speech, however, it further declined. Despite the annual inflation ranging at 20 percent, Erdogan’s efforts to make the central bank lower the borrowing cost has not stopped. The president has backed his actions stating that it was Islam that led him to the decision. Critics believe that the rise in inflation rates is due to the “Islamic-infused” experiments of Erdogan and expect an increase by 10 percent in the coming months. In response to the decline in the Turkish lira, the business leaders (TUSIAD lobby) have condemned the steps taken by Erdogan towards correcting the monetary policy. (“Turkish lira hits turbulence as Erdogan cites Islam as reason for monetary policy,” Deutsche Welle, 20 December 2021)
UKRAINE
National Bureau of Investigation condemns former President of “treason”
On 20 December, Ukraine’s National Bureau of Investigation accused former President Petro Poroshenko of “committing treason” and backing “terrorist organizations”. The accusations suspect him of having supported the separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk during 2014-2015 to sell coal worth EUR 48.7 million. Poroshenko, who was president from 2014 to 2019, is widely regarded as pro-Russian. Following the condemnations, Poroshenko was reported to have left Ukraine and is expected to return only after the New Year holidays. (“Ukraine ex-leader Petro Poroshenko accused of ′treason′,” Deutsche Welle, 20 December 2021)
COVID-19
WHO Chief hopes to end pandemic by 2022
On 20 December, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "2022 must be the year we end the pandemic." Ghebreyesus wants the world to get back to normal, but the new Omicron variant has raised concerns. He urged the world's people to cancel events "now and celebrate later than to celebrate now and grieve later," as cases have been increasing rapidly. Ghebreyesus also stressed the need to bring vaccine equality, as he said: "If we are to end the pandemic in the coming year, we must end inequity." Halting the pandemic was a possibility, but Ghebreyesus mentioned that vaccination, mask-wearing and social distancing were the tools to stop the pandemic to an extent. (“WHO chief: World must pull together to ‘end the pandemic’ in 2022,” France24, 20 December 2021)
GENDER
The Pope comments on domestic abuse
On 20 December, Pope Francis condemned violence against women and called it "almost satanic". The recent comments came as he spoke to a panel of four people, including one who was a domestic abuse survivor. He further said: "The number of women who are beaten and abused in their homes, even by their husbands, is very, very high." The Pope spoke to Giovanna, a member of the panel who was a victim of domestic abuse and mentioned: "I see dignity in you because if you didn't have dignity, you wouldn't be here… Look at the Blessed Mother and stay with that image of courage." The Pope has addressed domestic violence issues since the pandemic began as cases of the same saw an increase during the lockdowns. (“Pope Francis condemns domestic abuse as 'almost satanic’,” BBC, 20 December 2021; “Pope Francis says domestic violence against women ‘almost satanic’,” The Guardian, 20 December 2021)
MIGRATION
NGO files lawsuit against France and the UK for English Channel migrant deaths
On 20 December, an NGO called Utopia 56 filed a lawsuit against France and the UK for failing to act and rescue migrants whose boat capsized on 24 November. At least 27 people lost their lives in the incident, with two survivors claiming the migrants made distress calls to France and the UK. However, the response they received was: "…if I call 999 they say call France and when we call France they tell us to contact the UK. Both couldn't care less." This led to Utopia 56 filing a complaint to the Court of Appeals of Paris, reported by Euronews: "…to the prosecutor of the Paris Judicial Court for manslaughter and failure to provide assistance." The tragedy brought in a political crisis as France and the UK blamed each other for causing the issue and not deterring people from crossing the Channel. (“France, UK authorities face manslaughter lawsuit over deaths of migrants in Channel boat tragedy,” France24, 20 December 2021; “NGO sues French and British authorities over Channel migrant boat tragedy,” Euronews, 20 December 2021)
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Belgium: Ministry of Defense tracks down 23 December cyber-attack
On 20 December, Belgium’s Ministry of Defense detected a cyber-attack which occurred on 23 December. It is said that the hackers had targeted a loophole in a software called Log4j. Researchers had previously warned that the state-backed hacking groups which had ties with China, Iran, North Korea and Turkey had made use of the susceptibility to hack rival networks. According to a spokesperson for the Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder: “the ministry's teams have been working hard in the past days to secure its networks.” He also added the government’s plans to further its investment in cybersecurity. (Laurens Cerulus “Belgian defense ministry hit by cyberattack,” 20 December 2021)
INTERNATIONAL
Moscow calls on the US to fasten considerations on security proposals
On 20 December, Russia stated it required a reply from the US regarding the security demands the former had proposed. Russia’s “wishlist of security proposals” became quite controversial after the US stated that some of the terms in it were unacceptable. According to White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had conversed with Russian counterpart Yuriy Ushakov regarding the same. She said: “(Sullivan) made clear that any dialogue must be based on reciprocity and address our concerns about Russia’s actions, and take place in full coordination with our European allies and partners. He also noted that substantive progress can only occur in an environment of de-escalation rather than escalation.” Meanwhile, RIA news agency quoted Russian diplomat in Vienna Konstantin Gavrilov saying: “The conversation needs to be serious and everyone in NATO understands perfectly well despite their strength and power that concrete political action needs to be taken, otherwise the alternative is a military-technical and military response from Russia.” (Tom Balmforth, “Russia presses for urgent US response on security guarantees,” Reuters, 21 December 2021)