Photo : Kirill Zykov / brics-russia2024.ru
By Advik S Mohan, Neha Tresa George and Padmashree Anandhan
BELARUS
President Lukashenko’s proposals to contribute to BRICS
On 24 October, BELTA News reported that Aleksandr Lukashenko, the President of Belarus had listed out a set of proposals for improving the BRICS bloc. Lukashenko informed that the Government of Belarus was aligned with the philosophy of BRICS, and had shown itself to be an effective and responsible partner. Lukashenko informed Belarus had shown substantial progress on the matter of achieving sustainable development and building a self-sufficient economy. He also informed Belarus was ready to help other countries achieve sustainable development, using its experiences. The Belarussian president also expressed his desire to provide greater support in the fields of security and providing support in the fight against hunger, poverty and climate change. Additionally, Lukashenko stated that Belarus was ready to contribute to humanitarian cooperation within BRICS. He informed that helping other countries in the fields of energy-efficient technologies, industrial biotechnology, medicine, education and the aerospace field were among priorities for Belarus. On the BRICS bloc, he said that it needed to work hard and act faster to achieve its objectives. According to Lukashenko, the bloc needed to ensure the key matters were identified and the issues were resolved. Lukashenko also offered the creation of a common payment system as a way to ensure the different member states coordinated together, and the BRICS bloc made its tangible contribution. He also stated the collective West would laugh at and trample the BRICS countries if they did not unite together and develop their concepts. Additionally, Lukashenko expressed his desire for Belarus to develop closer relations with the BRICS countries. (“Lukashenko: BRICS needs to work hard, otherwise the West will win and will simply laugh at us,” BELTA News, 24 October 2024; “Lukashenko puts forward Belarus’ proposals for BRICS,” BELTA News, 24 October 2024)
THE EU
EU to release recovery grants to Slovakia after dispute resolution
On 24 October, an article in Politico informed the EU that EUR 799 million in grants would be provided to Slovakia. The payment is scheduled to be from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) worth EUR 800 billion. The European Commission had previously stated the grants would be blocked to Slovakia, due to the policies followed by Robert Fico, the Prime Minister of Slovakia. The government of Fico made attempts to control the public media, abolished the office of the special prosecutor and took a pro-Russia stance. The Commission viewed these methods as eroding the existing rule of law standards in Slovakia. Additionally, the Commission faced pressure to ensure that the money of taxpayers was spent effectively after an increase in the number of fraud investigations related to the recovery fund of the EU. Veerle Nuyts, a spokesperson for the Commission stated that some of the concerns of the Commission were alleviated through recent efforts by the Slovak Parliament. However, Nuyts also stated there were some pending issues and ongoing discussions with Slovakia. (Elisa Braun, “EU to release €799M to Slovakia after rule-of-law dispute,” Politico, 24 October 2024)
AUSTRIA
Far-right Freedom Party member chosen as parliamentary speaker
On 24 October, the Austrian parliament chose Walter Rosenkranz from the Freedom Party (FPÖ) as the speaker becoming the first far-right politician to hold the position. Historically the position has been held only by the strongest party while FPÖ won 28.9 per cent of votes in the recent parliamentary elections performing better than the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). Rosenkranz won 100 out of 183 votes in the lower house in the held voting. Green Party voted against and Jewish groups also warned against elected Rosenkranz. The FPÖ has also been accused of not distancing from far-right extremism. According to the report, FPÖ is unlikely to govern long-term due to failure to win a majority and under pressure to secure coalition partners. (“Austria elects far-right parliamentary speaker,” Deutsche Welle, 24 October 2024)
CYPRUS
Strategic dialogue with the US to tackle counterterrorism and illicit finance
On 23 October, the defence officials of the US and Cypriots launched a strategic dialogue to bolster security and address counterterrorism by training personnel from Middle Eastern countries and preventing sanction evasion. James O’Brien, US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs said: “It is a big moment in the relationship between our countries and to be part of this feels like being part of a historic occasion.” According to the report, there was a shift in Cyprus’s policy towards the US after the Russian invasion. Constantinos Kombos, Cyprus' Foreign Minister expressed the government’s commitment to partner with the US Department of Justice and the FBI to counter illicit finance and tax evasions. The FBI has been helping train Cypriot police to identify and prosecute cases. The dialogue is to showcase the US as a credible partner on humanitarian issues. (“US and Cyprus launch a strategic dialogue to bolster security,” Abc News, 23 October 2024)
FRANCE
Paris conference helps raise humanitarian aid for Lebanon
On 24 October, Politico and France 24 reported that the Government of France had raised USD 800 million in humanitarian aid and USD 200 million in security assistance for Lebanon through a conference held in Paris. Senior officials from 70 countries and international organizations gathered for the conference, where Emmanuel Macron, the President of France informed his government would provide EUR 100 million for Lebanon. The key focus of the addresses delivered at the conference by Macron, Najib Mikati, the Prime Minister of Lebanon. and Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General was the demand for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. Macron urged an end to the conflict soon and blamed both the Government of Israel and the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah for the escalating crisis in Lebanon. Macron also informed the French government had set an initial target of EUR 500 million for the conference. Mikati also appreciated the solidarity shown with his country. France and Israel have witnessed worsening ties in recent months, over the Israeli refusal to agree to a cease-fire. However, Jean-Noel Barrot, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France stated France still supported Israel. Barrot informed France believed Israeli security was guaranteed through diplomacy rather than force. (Clea Caulcutt, “France helps raise $1B for Lebanon aid/,” Politico, 24 October 2024; Kethevane Gorjestani, “‘Ceasefire’ is the main theme of Lebanon aid conference hosted in Paris,” France 24, 24 October 2024)
IRELAND
Data Protection Commission (DPC) fines LinkedIn for breaching personal data
On 24 October, an article in Fox54News informed professional networking platform LinkedIn was fined EUR 310 million by the Data Protection Commission (DPC) responsible for enforcing data privacy in Ireland. LinkedIn faces charges of breaching the personal data of users for targeted advertising, which provides advertisements to users based on their personal information. The DPC informed that LinkedIn has been provided with three months to bring its internal processes in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the EU. Graham Doyle, the Head of Communications at the DPC stated the processing of personal data without an appropriate legal basis violated the fundamental right to data protection of data subjects. On the other hand, LinkedIn informed it had been in compliance with the GDPR, and was working to ensure all its practices met the regulations. The fine on LinkedIn is in line with recent attempts by the EU to regulate better the activities of big tech companies, such as legal victories by the European Commission in cases against Apple and Google. The DPC had also fined Meta with EUR 91 million for a lack of appropriate security measures. (“Ireland fines LinkedIn 310 mn euros over EU data breach,” Fox54 News, 24 October 2024)
CLIMATE
UN warns world heading towards climate catastrophes Paris commitments fall short
On 24 October, Politico reported that the UN had urged governments worldwide to take stronger action against climate change. A new report released by the UN informed current government policies and actions would lead to a global warming increase of 2.6 to 3.1 degrees Celsius this century. The report warned that even under best-case scenarios, there was zero chance of the temperature increase being limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius as was agreed upon in the Paris climate agreement of 2015. Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme warned that the Paris commitments would effectively be dead if countries did not properly implement them. Andersen also demanded that countries make stronger plans to combat climate change known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), and provide greater funding for measures to combat climate change. Additionally, she informed that a minimum increase of six times in investment, reform of the global financial architecture and strong action from the private sector was required to substantially reduce emissions. Another key point mentioned in the report was that industrialized countries such as the G20 needed to take the lead in increasing climate action. The G20 which includes historically industrialized countries like the US and Germany alongside newly industrialized countries like China, India and Saudi Arabia was responsible for 77 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. In contrast, the entire African Union accounted for just six per cent. Progress amongst the G20 is mixed, the EU is scheduled to meet its climate targets but other countries are not. Andersen urged global leaders to use the upcoming COP29 summit in Azerbaijan as a way to ensure emissions were reduced. (Zia Weise, Lucia Mackenzie, Julia Vadler and Giovanna Coi, World on track for catastrophic 3 degrees Celsius warming, UN warns, Politico, 24 October 2024)