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Tag: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

  • PM Modi holds talks with EU Commission Prez Ursula von der Leyen in Germany

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen right here and held productive discussions as the 2 leaders reviewed the India-EU cooperation in commerce, funding, know-how and local weather motion.

    Prime Minister Modi, who’s in Germany on a two-day go to from Sunday for the summit of the G7, met von der Leyen on the sidelines of the G7 Summit at Schloss Elmau, the picturesque venue of the summit in southern Germany.

    He mentioned that he had an “outstanding meeting” with the European Commission President.

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    “President @EU_Commission @vonderleyen and I had an outstanding meeting earlier today. We discussed ways to deepen investment linkages, efforts to combat climate change, boosting digital cooperation and other important issues,” Modi mentioned on Twitter.

    President @EU_Commission @vonderleyen and I had an impressive assembly earlier at present. We mentioned methods to deepen funding linkages, efforts to fight local weather change, boosting digital cooperation and different essential points. pic.twitter.com/dDpbMBlWHw

    — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 27, 2022

    “PM @narendramodi and President of @EU_Commission @vonderleyen held talks on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit. Issues such as stronger trade ties, cooperation to mitigate climate change, emerging technologies and cultural linkages were discussed during the meeting,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.

    PM @narendramodi and President of @EU_Commission @vonderleyen held talks on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit. Issues similar to stronger commerce ties, cooperation to mitigate local weather change, rising applied sciences and cultural linkages have been mentioned in the course of the assembly. pic.twitter.com/v5V6IMUJij

    — PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 27, 2022

    During their talks, Prime Minister Modi and the EU Commission President welcomed the resumption of negotiations on the commerce, funding and geographical indication agreements, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi mentioned.

    “Productive discussions held between PM @narendramodi & President @EU_Commission @vonderleyen on the margins of G7. Reviewed India-EU cooperation in trade, investment, technology, climate action. Welcomed resumption of negotiations on the Trade, Investment and GI Agreements,” Bagchi mentioned on Twitter.

    Productive discussions held between PM @narendramodi & President @EU_Commission @vonderleyen on the margins of G7.

    Reviewed India-EU cooperation in commerce, funding, know-how, local weather motion. Welcomed resumption of negotiations on the Trade, Investment and GI Agreements. pic.twitter.com/fLMrOp8aJh

    — Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) June 27, 2022

    “PM @narendramodi meets with the President of @EU_Commission @vonderleyen. The #IndiaEU relationship is shaped by ever-growing bilateral cooperation and partnership,” the Official Account of India’s Public Diplomacy, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) mentioned on Twitter.

    This was their second assembly in two months after she visited New Delhi in April, her first go to to India because the president of the European Commission.

    In April, Prime Minister Modi and von der Leyen introduced the establishing of an India-EU Trade and Technology Council, a high-level strategic mechanism to sort out key commerce, financial and technological challenges.

    In their talks, either side additionally agreed to launch the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), a strategic coordination mechanism to sort out challenges on the nexus of commerce, trusted know-how and safety.

    India and the European Union are eyeing to agency up the excellent commerce and funding agreements earlier than the graduation of the electoral cycles on either side in 2024, EU Ambassador to India Ugo Astuto mentioned on April 29.

    India is the second nation after the US to have such a mechanism with the 27-nation European Union.

    In May final yr, India and the European Union (EU) introduced to renew negotiations for a balanced and complete commerce settlement after a spot of over eight years.

    The EU is without doubt one of the largest buyers in India, accounting for 16 per cent of complete investments acquired between 2015-20 (83 billion euro between 2000 and 2021).

    The EU mentioned there are 4,500 European firms working in India, contributing to the creation of over 1.5 million direct and 5 million oblique jobs within the nation.

    The Investment Facilitation Mechanism was established in 2017 to facilitate the entry for EU firms proposing to spend money on India.

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  • EU says use of spy ware on journalists is unacceptable

    The European Union on Monday condemned any spying on journalists, after experiences that Israeli software program had been used to hack the smartphones of journalists, authorities officers and rights activists worldwide.
    “What we could read so far – and this has to be verified, but if it is the case – it is completely unacceptable. Against any kind of rules we have in the European Union,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned throughout a go to to Prague.
    “Freedom of media, free press is one of the core values of the EU. It is completely unacceptable if this (hacking) were to be the case.”
    An investigation printed on Sunday by 17 media organizations, led by the Paris-based non-profit journalism group Forbidden Stories, mentioned spy ware made and licensed by the Israeli firm NSO had been utilized in tried and profitable hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, authorities officers and human rights activists.
    NSO mentioned its product was supposed just for use by vetted authorities intelligence and regulation enforcement companies to combat terrorism and crime. In an announcement on its web site, it mentioned the knowledge offered by the consortium’s sources “has no factual basis”.
    The investigation, which Reuters didn’t independently verify, didn’t reveal who had tried the hacks or why.
    The Hungarian investigative web site Direkt36, a part of the consortium, mentioned the greater than 300 targets in Hungary included journalists, businesspeople, legal professionals and critics of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s authorities.
    Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto mentioned Hungary was unaware of the reported surveillance makes an attempt however that he had requested the pinnacle of the Hungarian Information Office, a secret service below his supervision, to research.
    Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, head of the liberal Meretz social gathering and a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s decision-making safety cabinet, mentioned he would meet Defence Minister Benny Gantz to debate NSO’s exports.

    The Defence Ministry, which licenses the exports, didn’t instantly remark.In January 2020, Reuters reported that the U.S. FBI had since 2017 been investigating NSO’s function in potential hacks on American residents and corporations in addition to suspected intelligence gathering on governments, in response to 4 individuals accustomed to the inquiry.
    The U.S. Justice Department on the time restated its coverage of neither confirming nor denying the existence of any investigation.
    The social media big Facebook filed a go well with in 2019 accusing NSO of facilitating authorities hacking sprees in 20 international locations, after Facebook’s instantaneous messaging platform WhatsApp mentioned NSO had exploited a flaw in this system to assist governments spy on greater than 1,400 individuals worldwide, together with diplomats, dissidents, journalists and senior authorities officers. Other tech giants together with Microsoft, Google, Cisco and Dell joined the case final December.
    NSO denied the allegations within the go well with “in the strongest possible terms”, saying it could combat them vigorously. An try and argue in court docket that NSO ought to profit from sovereign immunity failed on the first occasion.

  • EU chief calls for ‘plausible’ solutions from AstraZeneca

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday mentioned Brussels needed a “plausible explanation” from AstraZeneca about an anticipated delay to deliveries of its vaccine.
    Von der Leyen pressured that the bloc’s contract with the British-Swedish pharmaceutical large for its COVID-19 vaccine contained binding orders.
    The EU chief mentioned it was as much as the corporate to find out how the jab, developed by Oxford University, can be delivered. However, she advised German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that she needed transparency and reassurance about once they would arrive.

    The European Commission on Friday printed the phrases and circumstances of the contract.
    What did the European Commission boss say?
    Von der Leyen mentioned she was glad with the vaccine contracts that the EU had made with AstraZeneca and different corporations, however that assurances had been wanted.
    “We want from AstraZeneca, as with other companies, that the delivery agreement is also fulfilled,” mentioned von der Leyen. “That is exactly the point we are discussing with the company. We want transparency. We want certainty of planning.”
    The European Commission chief disputed that the corporate had solely given a “best effort” promise to ship the vaccine on time and in the right amount.
    “‘Best effort,’ as far as I am aware, applied to whether they could develop a vaccine,” mentioned von der Leyen. “This period is now behind us. The vaccine is here,”
    “With the development of a vaccine that is effective and safe, there were then quite clear delivery amounts.”
    What is the dispute between the EU and AstraZeneca?
    The Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency is on Friday resulting from announce its determination on approval of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus shot.
    On Wednesday, the EU aired its frustrations with AstraZeneca, suggesting the pharmaceutical large was reneging on its settlement.
    Germany’s vaccination course of was dealt a blow final week when AstraZeneca unexpectedly introduced cuts in provides to the EU, citing manufacturing issues at a Belgian manufacturing unit.
    That triggered a livid response from the bloc, with an estimated 60% reduce to 31 million doses within the interval to the tip of March.
    The information was a significant blow for the EU’s 27 member states, that are already lagging vaccination campaigns in Israel, Britain and the United States. The firm on Friday mentioned it might supply an additional 8 million doses to the EU, with the bloc saying this nonetheless fell nicely in need of the promised quantity.
    In a separate twist, Germany’s vaccine fee on Thursday mentioned it couldn’t suggest the usage of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for over-65s.
    Germany below strain over vaccine rollout
    Germany admitted this week that it faces a shortfall of vaccines that might proceed till April.
    German Health Minister Jens Spahn mentioned there can be a gathering on Monday between Chancellor Angela Merkel, the nation’s 16 state premiers, and senior figures throughout the pharmaceutical trade.
    Spahn had known as for such a summit as a result of the federal government is “working on the assumption of at least 10 more “hard weeksdue to the vaccine shortage,” he wrote on Twitter.