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European Parliament delegation to COP29 to receive ‘burner’ phones

Published

1 year ago

October 31, 2024

European Parliament delegation to COP29 to receive ‘burner’ phones

The head of the Greens’ delegation to COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan next month has redoubled criticism of the host country over its human rights record and status as a major fossil fuel producer.

MEPs travelling to the Azeri capital Baku for upcoming UN climate talks will be issued with disposable phones amid fears of hacking by foreign agents, the Green MEP Michael Bloss has revealed, while expressing concern about slow progress towards ending the fossil fuel era.

“Security advisors have warned us that our devices are likely to be infiltrated—a precaution based on first-hand experiences with surveillance and reprisals in the region,” Bloss told Euronews after briefing journalists on the COP29 summit.

“Even as MEPs, we can’t communicate freely without fearing state monitoring,” said the German lawmaker, who is part of the European Parliament’s 15-strong official delegation to the talks.

The whole delegation will be offered “burner” phones, Bloss’s office confirmed in an email exchange, using a term that usually refers to cheap, anonymous, pre-paid handsets that can be used briefly then discarded.

Use of burner phones ‘happens all the time’

The arrangement appears, however, to be fairly standard. Euronews spoke to a former European Commissioner who said it was standard practice for delegations to be issued with burner phones and laptops set up just for the duration of foreign visits, which are handed back to EU security services upon return.

“There is always a security risk assessment,” said the former senior EU official, who did not wish to be named. “It happens all the time.”

A spokesperson for the assembly said the European Parliament’s services “constantly monitor security and cybersecurity” but, also for security reasons, could not comment further.

While not specifying which states were thought to pose a security risk during the COP29 summit, Bloss – in line with the Greens as a group – made no secret of his reservations about the choice of Azerbaijan as host of this year’s talks.

“To me, it’s clear: Azerbaijan suppresses critical voices and uses the COP as a platform for image management, rather than for genuine dialogue,” the MEP said.

Regardless of the venue, environmentalists and climate activists have long been wary about the presence of the fossil fuel industry at UN climate talks.

Bloss criticised the choice of yet another host country, after Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, whose economy is heavily reliant on fossil fuel exports. “Socar, the gas and oil company of Azerbaijan, has announced that they want to expand their oil and gas drilling,” the MEP noted.

“That’s the opposite of what should be happening,” Bloss said.

Still, tough negotiations at COP28 in Dubai last year ended with a global agreement, to the relief of many, to “transition away” from fossil fuels and “accelerate efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power”.

Although no end dates were specified and questions were asked about the implications of the term “unabated”, the symbolic significance of the move – along with a concrete commitment to triple global renewable energy production by 2030 – was seized upon by many at the time as a major breakthrough.

Among them was Danish Climate and Energy Minister Dan Jørgensen, who is due to be grilled by MEPs next week as European commissioner designate for energy and housing. Jørgensen hailed a “huge decision” by global leaders and a “pivotal” moment in the fight against global heating.

The European Parliament’s delegation is not directly participating in the talks, where the European Commission’s team, headed by climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, will push the EU position as agreed by member states earlier this month.

“There needs to be a clear, regulated end-date for fossil [fuels],” Bloss said. But more ambitious wording on giving up coal, oil and gas, let alone a concrete deadline, appears less likely to emerge in Baku next month.

All about the money

The central debate is set to focus on financing: in particular, the EU wants to see contributions from a wider base of countries beyond the handful of advanced economies that have committed to pool $100bn a year to help poorer nations deal with climate change.

Azeri COP29 president-designate Mukhtar Babayev was asked about “full steam ahead” fossil fuel production in his country – as well as last year’s host the UAE and next year’s, Brazil – during a public debate at an annual International Monetary Fund gathering in Washington D.C. last week.

Azerbaijan would provide “continuity of the process” moved forward in Dubai, Babayev said. Baku would also provide a “very big opportunity” for governments to finally close discussions on the setting up of a global system of ‘carbon credits’ that would allow countries to pay others to take climate action on their behalf.

The COP29 summit runs from 11 to 22 November.

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World

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

Published

4 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.

World

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

Published

5 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

World

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Published

7 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET