Ukraine Conflict: Defiant Putin warns the west: your sanctions are akin to an act of war

Putin warns 3rd parties against creating Ukraine no-fly zone, calls sanctions a ‘declaration of war’

Read more at Defiant Putin warns the west: your sanctions are akin to an act of war

WHO warns of 700,000 more COVID deaths in Europe by March 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Europe remains “in the firm grip” of the coronavirus pandemic and the continent’s death toll could top 2.2 million this winter if current trends continue.

Another 700,000 Europeans could die by March 1, the WHO said on Tuesday, in addition to the 1.5 million who have already succumbed to the virus.

Read more at WHO warns of 700,000 more COVID deaths in Europe by March | Coronavirus pandemic News | Al Jazeera

The Netherlands: Climate change poses serious health risk for people in the Netherlands, says expert

The Dutch medicine journal NTvG joined 200 other medical journals worldwide in their call for world leaders to intensify their effort in combating climate change, NOS reported.

Climate change poses an immediate risk for public health, the experts said. “Climate change and the decline in biodiversity is a much larger problem than the pandemic”, NTvG editor-in-chief Olde Rikkert told NOS Radio 1 Journaal. “While you do have a vaccine for the coronavirus, you don’t have that for climate change and biodiversity.”

The experts said they believe the earth is steering towards a two degrees Celsius temperature increase.

Read more at: Climate change poses serious health risk for people in the Netherlands, says expert | NL Times

EU: Coronavirus ′still has the upper hand,′ warns WHO Europe head

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned European countries against becoming complacent in their efforts to put an end to the coronavirus pandemic.

Across the continent, governments have been increasingly easing pandemic-related restrictions as new case numbers in the region continue their downward trend. More social gatherings, sports events and travel across borders are also being permitted.

Read more at: Coronavirus ′still has the upper hand,′ warns WHO Europe head | News | DW | 17.06.2021

The Netherlands: Coronavirus leads to increased risk of extremist attack in the Netherlands - by Victoria Séveno

The Dutch counter-terrorism unit (NCTV) has warned in its quarterly threat assessment that, while there is no indication that an attack is imminent, there is nonetheless an increased risk of attack in the Netherlands from radicalised right-wing extremists. 

Read more: 
NCTV: Coronavirus leads to increased risk of extremist attack in the Netherlands

Food Shortages - Coronavirus measures could cause global food shortage, UN warns

Protectionist measures by national governments during the coronavirus crisis could provoke food shortages around the world, the UN’s food body has warned.

Harvests have been good and the outlook for staple crops is promising, but a shortage of field workers brought on by the virus crisis and a move towards protectionism – tariffs and export bans – mean problems could quickly appear in the coming weeks, Maximo Torero, chief economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, told the Guardian.

“The worst that can happen is that governments restrict the flow of food,” he said. “All measures against free trade will be counterproductive. Now is not the time for restrictions or putting in place trade barriers. Now is the time to protect the flow of food around the world.”

Read more at: Coronavirus measures could cause global food shortage, UN warns | Global development | The Guardian

EU-Brexit chaos is lesson to other EU states, ECB governor says

British chaos over Brexit has dampened other member states' potential appetite for leaving Europe, Villeroy de Galhau, a French governor of the European Central Bank (ECB), said Tuesday. "It is a gratitude we have to the British today," he said at an event in the London School of Economics, Reuters reported, in comments which risked giving ammunition to British claims the EU was trying to punish the UK for leaving.

 

Read more: Brexit chaos is lesson to other EU states, ECB governor say

 

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EU Parliament warns Poland on rule of law

In the vote, the Parliament decided by 438 votes to 152 to prepare a formal request that the Council activate the preventive mechanism provided for in Article 7.1.of the Treaty. If the risk persists and the Polish authorities refuse to comply with the EU recommendations, the procedure might lead to the suspension of Poland's voting rights in the Council.

Specific concerns were voiced about the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and fundamental rights.

The resolution calls on the Polish authorities to uphold the common European values listed in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and in the Polish Constitution. It urges Poland:

    not to proceed the new laws unless they fully guarantee the independence of the judiciary to implement all EU Commission and Venice Commission recommendations in full,
    to comply with the EU Court of Justice order to "immediately suspend large-scale logging" in the ancient Bialowieza forest,
    to respect the right of freedom of assembly,
    to strongly condemn the "xenophobic and fascist march that took place in Warsaw" on Saturday,11    November 2017, and
    to take a firm stand on women's rights, by providing free and accessible contraception without discrimination and making emergency contraception available without medical prescription.

Under Parliament's Rules of Procedure (Rule 83), its Civil Liberties Committee now needs to draw up a "reasoned proposal", the document required to call on the Council to trigger the rule of law mechanism in response to a "clear risk of a serious breach" of European values by the Polish authorities.

This is only the second time that the European Parliament has taken formal steps to call on the Council to start the Article 7 procedure. The first was taken in May 2017 with respect to Hungary. The procedure is still under way.

The dialogue between the Commission and the Polish authorities is conducted under the "rule of law" procedure initiated in January 2016.

Read more: EU Parliament warns Poland on rule of law — EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics