World

Over 200 NGOs warn Brussels against possible foreign interference law

Published

2 years ago

May 3, 2023

Over 200 NGOs warn Brussels against possible foreign interference law

In an announcement to Fee chief Ursula von der Leyen, the NGOs warn that such laws may harm the EU’s credibility to defend human rights overseas and embolden repressive leaders.

A deliberate European Union directive to create a register for foreign-funded organisations may have “unintended penalties” and restrict the bloc’s skill to assist human rights defenders globally, scores of NGOs have warned in a joint assertion to the European Fee.

Some 230 civil society organisations together with Transparency Worldwide EU, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty Worldwide signed the assertion despatched on Wednesday to European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen through which they lambasted the plans for a Overseas Interference Regulation.

The EU’s govt has not but launched any proposal to that impact however has reached out to civil society organisations in current months with a name for proof.

In keeping with NGOs contacted by the EU, the Fee argues {that a} new authorized instrument is required “to introduce widespread transparency and accountability requirements for curiosity illustration companies paid for or directed from outdoors the EU, to contribute to the correct functioning of the inner market, and to guard the EU democratic sphere from covert outdoors interference”.

These NGOs warn nevertheless that it may embolden repressive leaders worldwide and undercut the EU’s credibility to talk out about restrictive legal guidelines in third nations.

They are saying, as an example, that such legal guidelines already rolled out in different nations have considerably curtailed the area for impartial civil society and “been deployed as a software to silence essential voices.”

“There are the reason why the Fee has criticised international agent acts overseas and why they took Hungary to courtroom over an identical home regulation,” Nick Aiossa, Deputy Director and Head of Coverage & Advocacy at Transparency Worldwide EU, mentioned in an announcement.

“It’s merely reckless the Fee refuses to do their homework and absolutely assess the actual dangers such a laws poses to civil society and journalists,” he added.

Hungary’s introduction of a international interference regulation in 2017 requiring organisations that obtain at the least 7.2 million forints (€19,000) yearly from international sources to register as such with the courtroom and to supply an annual report on their international funding prompted the Fee to swiftly begin an infringement process towards the nation.

First Vice-President Frans Timmermans mentioned on the time that the regulation didn’t adjust to EU regulation, which the Courtroom of Justice of the European Union confirmed in a June 2020 ruling.

Extra lately, plans by the federal government in Georgia to introduce such a “international affect” regulation had been derailed in March after it sparked days of widespread protests throughout the nation.

The regulation — modelled on a Russian model and which might have required any organisation that receives greater than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as a “international agent” or face substantial fines — was denounced as a “very unhealthy improvement for Georgia and its folks” by the EU’s prime diplomat, Josep Borrell.

In an announcement issued after it handed its first studying within the Georgian parliament, the Excessive Consultant mentioned the regulation as drafted may have a “chilling impact on civil society and media organisations”, that it was “incompatible with EU values and requirements” and will thus result in “critical repercussions” for EU-Georgia relations.

Of their assertion to von der Leyen, the NGOs demanded that the European Fee perform an impression evaluation earlier than they launch any proposal on an EU international interference regulation. These assessments are required earlier than the Fee can put out any laws anticipated to have important financial, social or environmental impacts.

In addition they known as for the Fee to obviously define the authorized case for this regulation, saying the decision for proof issued “fails to determine the precise want that new laws would handle and why an EU directive is a crucial or applicable instrument.”

Euronews has reached out to the European Fee for remark however had not acquired any reply by the point of publication.

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World

Italian state railways plans 1.3 bln euro investment in solar plant

Published

4 hours ago

December 22, 2024

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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.