Photo : Belga/ The Brussels Time
By Abhiruchi Chowdhury
BELGIUM
Rampant growth in its environment sector post pandemic
On 03 November, The Brussels Times reported that Belgium post pandemic has witnessed a growth in its environment sector with regards to “productivity, employment and exports.” Waste Management contributes 35 per cent of the entire produce and hires 37 per cent of the people working in the environment sector. Energy resource management which closely follows the waste management has 34 per cent share in exports. The two divisions have more than 50 per cent contribution in the Environments goods and services sector. The rise of the environment sector, though is behind in export of goods than the rest of the economy, has expanded more swiftly than the entire economy. (Ellen O’Regan, “’Significant’”growth in Belgium’s environmental sector since the pandemic,” The Brussels Times, 03 November 2024)
TÜRKİYE
Foreign Economic Relations Board aims surpass USD 10 billion bilateral trade in 2025 with Saudi Arabia
On 04 November, Daily Sabah reported that Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye (DEIK) arranged a “joint forum” where business owners from Türkiye and Saudi Arabia came together to strengthen their bilateral engagement. The Commerce Minister of Saudi Arabia Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi who also attended the forum stressed on exploring cooperation in sectors such as “mining, health care and tourism.” He also invited businesses from Türkiye to collaborate with the Saudi Government’s initiative “Vision 2030”. Trade Minister of Türkiye Omer Bolat who represented the Turkish side at the forum expressed his optimism towards bypassing the USD 10 billion bilateral trade by 2025. He highlighted the success of Turkish contractors to secure USD 2.3 billion worth of contracts and further stated that talks related to the GCC-Türkiye free trade agreement were on track. (“Türkiye, Saudi Arabia expected to surpass $8B in trade this year,” Daily Sabah, 04 November 2024)
RUSSIA
Sanctions remain ineffective and easy to dodge says an editorial in Le Monde
On 03 November, an editorial in Le Monde titled “Western sanctions on Russian oil have too many loopholes” discussed how the sanctions against Russia imposed by EU countries and USA have remained unfruitful. The editorial mentions a trading firm called “Coral Energy” which is Geneva and Dubai based and an old partner of Russia has assisted the latter in selling its oil illegitimately. Big oil companies such as France based TotalEnergies were involved in the purchase of the illegal oil. The editorial states that the capping put on the price of oil prices remains to be ineffective as 70 per cent of oil purchases are above the cap price. The editorial blames EU countries for the ineffectiveness of sanctions against Russia as countries like Greece were involved in supplying tankers to Russia in 2022 which were used by the latter to obscure the origin of the oil products. The editorial puts the blame on suspicious oil companies and banks in Europe that continue to trade with Russia for the ineffectiveness of sanctions in addition to the administrative failures to keep a check on the violations and inadequate resources possessed by the EU. Also, the repercussions faced by companies that violate the sanctions are minimal. (“Western sanctions on Russian oil have too many loopholes,” Le Monde, 03 November 2024)
REGIONAL
Ukraine receives assistance from UNDP, EU and Denmark to counter the spike in violence against women
On 31 October, UNDP reported that in order to counter the spike observed in domestic violence and violence against women in Ukraine post the beginning of the war, nine vehicles worth USD 391,854 have been given to the National Police of Ukraine. The contributors who assisted Ukraine in the purchase included the EU, Danish Government and United Nations Development Programme(UNDP). Kateryna Pavlichenko who is the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine thanked the donors for supporting them and stated that the added vehicles would help Police to reduce the response time for assisting survivors. (“EU, Denmark and UNDP transfer vehicles for National Police to strengthen mobile teams to combat domestic and gender-based violence,” UNDP, 31 October 2024)
EU countries should not only aim to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also tackle the problem of rapid urbanization” says an editorial in Le Monde
On 02 November, an editorial in Le Monde titled “Spanish floods demonstrate urgent need to adapt and protect” discussed the horrific implications of global warming that could lead catastrophes such as the current floods in Spain. The editorial mentions how Europe, which for long had remained an exception, has also fallen under the ambit of experiencing global warming induced catastrophes such as the floods seen in Germany and Belgium and the recent one in Spain. The editorial suggests that EU countries should not only aim to achieve net zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also tackle the problem of rapid urbanization in river valleys and “subdivision of farmland” that restricts the flow of rain water on the ground. It also mentions a study done by “NGO Parlons Climat” which reports that the reason why people refuse to believe in climate change is because of the view that combatting the same would require a change in their norms and life routines. The editorial serves a reminder to the political elites to work towards fighting global warming through initiating “sustainable policies.” (“Spanish floods demonstrate urgent need to adapt and protect,” Le Monde, 02 November 2024)