World

EU gives fresh push to stalled migration pact

Published

3 years ago

June 10, 2022

EU gives fresh push to stalled migration pact

The European Union seems to be nearer than ever to reforming its migration system as residence affairs ministers achieved “main progress” within the negotiations round a long-stalled pact on migration and asylum.

“Help by a big majority for 2 rules to strengthen the safety of EU borders and for a solidarity mechanism to assist Member States underneath sturdy strain,” mentioned Ylva Johansson, the European residence affairs commissioner.

It was not instantly clear which international locations have been exterior the “massive majority” assist.

Ministers met in Luxembourg on Friday to offer the ultimate push to the migration pact, one of many high priorities of the French presidency of the EU Council.

Gérald Darmanin, France’s inside minister, mentioned a gathering shall be organised “within the coming days” to translate the “historic settlement” into concrete outcomes, a characterisation additionally utilized by Johansson.

Earlier than heading to the assembly, Johansson mentioned a deal was “inside our attain, however we’re not there but.”

The brand new pact on migration and asylum is a sequence of legislative proposals, roadmaps and suggestions that was put ahead by the European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen in September 2020.

The pact intends to show the web page on the tense years that adopted the 2015 migration disaster, when the reception programs have been overwhelmed by a sudden arrival of asylum-seekers, largely from Syria, and member states quarrelled bitterly with one another to relocate them.

The disaster fostered nice political rigidity between frontline states within the South, who had the accountability of processing the asylum claims; transit states in Central Europe, who criticised the dearth of correct border managements; and vacation spot states within the North, who had the ultimate job of internet hosting and integrating 1000’s of refugees.

However over the previous months, the battle in Ukraine has created extra of a spirit of unity amongst EU international locations, who shortly opened their borders to welcome the thousands and thousands of refugees fleeing the brutal invasion launched by the Kremlin.

Among the many important proposals of the brand new pact is a mechanism of “voluntary and short-term” solidarity that might eliminate necessary relocation quotas, seen by many capitals as politically divisive.

The mechanism can be triggered when a rustic’s migration system is taken into account to be “underneath strain” by a migration inflow. As soon as activated, different EU international locations would provide their help by:

Internet hosting a share of the migrants in their very own territory.
Sponsoring the return of these whose purposes to remain contained in the EU have been rejected.
Present monetary contributions and operational assist to the nation underneath strain.

The system was designed to placate the considerations of Southern international locations, who usually complain about being left to fend for themselves with none additional means or assist, and people international locations who’re adamantly against internet hosting refugees and will now be exempted of doing so if they comply with ship cash and help.

However the delicate compromise has been harshly criticised by civil society organisations, who suppose it fails to unravel the problem of overcrowded camps and pushbacks on the exterior borders.

“Aside from being short-term and voluntary, the proposal permits EU international locations to cherry-pick their asylum seekers,” mentioned Stephanie Pope, a migration knowledgeable at Oxfam EU.

“It additionally permits them to show away asylum-seekers and, as an alternative, pay for a Fortress Europe by footing the invoice for border surveillance and detention centres.”

The solidarity mechanism is a part of a draft regulation and have to be authorised by the EU Council and the European Parliament earlier than coming into into drive.

Friday’s breakthrough additionally strikes ahead one other proposal to strengthen the management of the exterior borders of the passport-free Schengen Space.

Frontex, the EU’s border company, is about to develop its standing corps to 10,000 employees by 2027.

The remaining elements of the migration and asylum pact will proceed to bear negotiations within the EU Council. With a purpose to obtain a compromise, the French presidency has promoted a step-by-step strategy, prioritising sure parts of the pact, just like the novel solidarity mechanism, over others.

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

3 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Italian state railways Ferrovie dello Stato plans to invest 1.3 billion euros ($1.36 billion) in a photovoltaic plant with an initial 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity that would cover 19% of its energy needs by 2029, the CEO said in a newspaper interview.

World

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

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Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.

The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)

HOW TO SAY ‘MERRY CHRISTMAS’ IN 10 LANGUAGES TO FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD

The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.

17 SECRET TRAVEL TIPS FOR FALL AND WINTER THAT AREN’T SO SECRET AFTER ALL

Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.

Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

CHRISTMAS TREES IN GERMANY WERE DECORATED WITH APPLES INSTEAD OF ORNAMENTS IN THE 1600S FOR ‘ADAM AND EVE DAY’

A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REVEAL THE SURPRISING DAY TO TRAVEL AHEAD OF THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.

Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)

Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.

Ashlyn Messier is a writer for Fox News Digital.

World

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Published

5 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Small plane crashes into Brazil town popular with tourists, killing 10

Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.

A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.

Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.

Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.

“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”

Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.

The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.