EU
PM’s Brussels visit ‘significant’ at a ‘crucial time’, will take Bangladesh-EU ties to a new height: Momen
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Sunday (October 22, 2023) described Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming visit to Brussels as “extremely significant” which will help take Bangladesh’s ties with the European Union (EU) to a new height.
“This is a very significant visit. This is an achievement for us,” he told reporters, noting that the visit is happening at a “crucial moment.”
Asked why it is a crucial time, Momen referred to the upcoming general election of Bangladesh. “We hope the visit will be very successful and fruitful.”
The prime minister will be visiting Brussels from October 24-26 at the invitation of European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen.
Also read: PM Hasina to attend Global Gateway Forum 2023 in Brussels this month: Momen
The foreign minister said that the EU will provide Euro 407 million to Bangladesh in the form of concessional loans and grants.
Of this, Euro 350 million will be concessional loans, he said.
Responding to a question, the foreign minister said the EU will send a seven-member team and Bangladesh will not spend money on foreign election observers.
The prime minister will attend the Global Gateway Forum, which will bring together representatives of governments from the European Union and around the world along with the private sector, civil society, leading thinkers, financing institutions, and international organisations. The event will be held in the Belgian capital on October 25, 26.
The prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with European Commission Vice President and European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday.
The two sides are likely to shed light on taking the 50-year relations to new a height, Momen said.
Also read: Foreigners should watch Mujib biopic to know Bangladesh, its history: Momen
A loan agreement worth 350 million Euros will be signed between the Economic Relations Division and European Investment Bank during the visit.
The PM will deliver her speech at the opening plenary session of the Global Gateway Forum which will be held for the first time.
She will also hold a meeting with European Investment Bank President Dr Werner Hoyer, Momen said.
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič and Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen will separately meet the prime minister.
She will attend a dinner to be hosted by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Also read: No one wins by killing innocent people: Momen tells OIC meeting in Jeddah
PM Hasina will also attend a civic reception to be arranged by Bangladeshi expatriates in Belgium.
She is scheduled to leave for Brussels on Tuesday morning by a commercial flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
She will leave Brussels on Thursday night and arrive in Dhaka on Friday, said Momen who will accompany the premier.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, invited PM Hasina when they met at the G20 Summit recently.
The EU's Global Gateway strategy connects countries and regions around the world by encouraging public and private investments in a global network of transportation and supply chains, green energy, modern telecommunications, education and research, with an emphasis on sustainable development and European values, such as good governance, transparency and equal partnership.
Aligning labour law with international standards ‘essential’ to consider GSP+, EU Ambassador says
Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley on Wednesday said aligning labour law with international standards will be an “essential element” for the European Parliament and the Commission in considering Bangladesh’s application for market access, the GSP+.
“Bangladesh has the option to accede to GSP+ which is the next most generous GSP programme after the Everything but Arms (EBA),” he said while speaking at a seminar in Dhaka.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi attended the seminar as the chief guest while President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Md Sameer Sattar delivered welcome remarks.
Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Lokman Hossain Miah, among others, spoke at the seminar.
The DCCI and European Union Delegation to Bangladesh jointly hosted the seminar, titled “Unlocking Trade and Investment for European Companies in Bangladesh.”
Read: EU urged to extend transition period of GSP up to 6 years for smooth graduation of Bangladesh
The EU ambassador said the implementation of the National Action Plan on the labour sector, which Bangladesh agreed with the EU, will be key deciding factor for GSP+.
“We are closely following the ongoing amendments of the Bangladesh Labour Act. We hope that the amendments will be effective with full transparency, in consultation with tripartite stakeholders, and with technical assistance from ILO,” he said.
The envoy said Bangladesh is a rising economy with a great story of economic development and social progress.
The graduation to a lower middle-income and to a developing country status are historic milestones which bring new opportunities and which call for a reinvigoration of EU-Bangladesh ties, he said.
Advanced Information Technology (IT) Audit Training Certificate Awarding Ceremony held
A comprehensive Advanced Information Technology (IT) Audit (Level 2) Training to the concerned senior officials of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) of Bangladesh has concluded here.
European Union (EU) funded Technical Assistance to Support the Implementation of the PFM Reform Strategic Plan in Bangladesh implemented by DT Global is making significant strides towards modernizing the operations of OCAG.
Polls credibility won’t depend on EU’s decision on election mission: Shahriar Alam
The training was held from the 10th of September 2023 to the 21st of September 2023 at the Financial Management Academy (FIMA), Dhaka, aiming to enhance their professional capacity.
Upon successful completion of the 10-day long IT Audit Training, a number of 24 OCAG officials were awarded in a Certificate Awarding Ceremony held at the FIMA.
The purpose of providing the assistance is to strengthen the institutional capacity of OCAG and improvise systems and procedures in use; so that external audits are gradually carried out as per international standards and auditors are better trained and prepared to carry out their tasks resulting in improved quality and timeliness of external audits.
EU won’t send full-fledged election observation team due to ‘budget constraint’: EC secretary
As part of this ongoing effort, the OCAG with the assistance of European Union funded Technical Assistance provided the training.
The Director General of FIMA Abul Kalam Azad graced the event as the Chair while Programme Manager of Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Marga Peeters also attended the event as one of the guests.
The Advanced Information Technology (IT) Audit (Level 2) Training is set to empower the participants with essential IT audit knowledge and skills for effective auditing of IT systems and technologies in the public financial management field of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Judicial Service Association slams European Parliament for ‘interference’
This training is expected to facilitate conceptual understanding of IT governance and management standards while fostering the transfer of expertise needed to conduct IT audits on key systems, including iBAS++, ASYCUDA, and eGP system.
The IT Audit training is expected to play a vital role in the overall delivery of IT Audit capacity development within the OCAG combining the aspects of technology with knowledge and skills of IT auditing, including the use of data analytics. It will eventually contribute to improving public financial management of Bangladesh.
EU Election Exploratory Mission holds meeting with BNP
The visiting Election Exploratory Mission from the European Union (EU) is holding a meeting with BNP this morning (July 15, 2023).
The meeting began around 9 am at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, said party’s media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.
The EU delegation and BNP are supposed to discuss various issues related to the next national election.
Countdown begins for govt's downfall, says BNP Leader Rizvi
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, party chairperson’s adviser Ismail Jabiullah, Organising Secretary Shama Obaed and Human Rights Affairs Secretary Advocate Asaduzzaman Asad were attended the meeting.
Party sources said the BNP delegation may talk elaborately about previous polls held under the Awami League government and provide documents to justify their party’s stance of “not joining the election without a non-party interim government.”
They are also likely to discuss the latest political situation in the country, cases against “40 lakh” BNP leaders and activists, jailing of party chairperson Khaleda Zia and other leaders, and the alleged repressive acts by the government against opposition leaders and workers.
BNP unveils 31-point outline to 'rebuild, repair' state
The EU team is also scheduled to hold meetings with Jatiya Party, ruling Awami League and some other parties today.
The EU Election Exploratory Mission arrived here on July 9 on a two-week visit and it has already talked to the Election Communication and various stakeholders of the government as part of their move to assess whether a fully-fledged Election Observation Mission should be sent here by the EU before Bangladesh’s next parliamentary election.
No scope to hold ‘acceptable polls’ under AL govt: BNP tells Canadian envoy
RMG exports to EU grew 9.93% in FY 2022-23: Export Promotion Bureau
RMG exports from Bangladesh to the European Union (EU) saw 9.93 percent growth during the fiscal year 2022-23 — from $21.40 billion in FY 2021-22 to $23.52 billion in FY 2022-23, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
Read: Bangladesh to retain duty-free access for 98% of exports, including RMG as UK introduces new scheme
However, exports to some major markets in the EU region, such as Germany and Poland, have declined significantly, said BGMEA Director Mohiuddin Rubel quoting the facts.
In FY 2022-23, apparel exports to Spain, France, Italy, Denmark and Netherland were worth US$ 3.37 billion, US$ 2.94 billion, US$ 2.27 billion, US$ 1.28 billion, and US$ 1.85 billion respectively.
Read: Elevated Expressway’s Airport-Farmgate section to open in September: Quader
Export to USA, the top apparel export destination of Bangladesh, declined by 5.51 percent to US$ 8.51 billion, from US$ 9.01 billion in FY 2021-22, in the mentioned period.
At the same time, RMG exports to the UK and Canada increased by 11.78 percent and 16.55 percent respectively.
During the mentioned year, Bangladesh’s exports to non-traditional markets has achieved significant growth of 31.38 percent.
Read: RMG exports in FY23 almost $47bn, 85% of total exports
Among the major non-traditional markets, exports to Japan, Australia and India crossed the one billion dollar milestone.
The share of non-traditional markets in total RMG export also increased by 17.82 percent in FY 2022-23 from 14.96 percent in FY 2021-22.
EU faces cliffhanger vote on major bill protecting nature and fighting climate change
Protesters and legislators converged on the European Union parliament Tuesday as the bloc prepared a cliffhanger vote on protecting its threatened nature and shielding it from disruptive environmental change, in a test of the EU's global climate credentials.
Spurred on by climate activist Greta Thunberg, a few hundred demonstrators demanded that the EU pushes through a bill to beef up the restoration of nature in the 27-nation bloc that was damaged during decades of industrial expansion. A counterdemonstration of farmers demanded a slower approach that would lessen the impact on their income.
Inside the legislature in Strasbourg, France, parliamentarians put in last-minute efforts to sway Wednesday's vote, which could push a key part of the EU's biodiversity protection plans off the table. The legislature's environment committee last month was deadlocked at 44-44 on it.
Recent events that indicate Earth's climate has entered uncharted territory
The bill is a key part of the EU's vaunted European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world's most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate issues. The plans proposed by the EU's executive commission set binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species, with the aim by 2030 to cover at least 20% of the region's land and sea areas.
"This is really a crunch moment, not only for Green Deal, but also whether Europe stands by its word," said Greens leader Terry Reintke. "Are we the ones that are talking and telling us what to do but not doing it ourselves?"
Climate change keeps making wildfires and smoke worse. Scientists call it the 'new abnormal'
The EU's executive commission wants the nature restoration law to be a key part of the system since it is necessary for the overall deal to have the maximum impact. Others say that if the EU fails on the nature restoration law, it would indicate an overall fatigue on climate issues.
The bill long looked like a shoo-in as it gathered widespread support in member nations and was staunchly defended by the EU's executive commission and its president Ursula von der Leyen.
But von der Leyen's own political group, the Christian Democrat European People's Party, turned sour on it and now vehemently opposes it, claiming it will affect food security and undermine the income of farmers and disgruntle a European population focused more on jobs and their wallets. Like some nations and leaders, they want to hit pause such far-reaching climate legislation.
Bangladesh to get assistance on priority basis to deal with climate change impacts, natural disasters.: UN ASG Mami
"For the next five years we have to care a lot about our industrial base. You have to care a lot about competitiveness in the European Union. So we have to manage the big changes needed in a way that we don't lose economic power," said EPP chief Manfred Weber.
As the largest group, with 177 seats in the 705-seat legislature, its opposition has been key in turning the issue into a hot political debate. And on Tuesday few ventured to predict which way the vote would go.
The member states have already agreed by a large majority to back a slightly more flexible version of the bill. If parliament backs the plan on Wednesday both institutions would sit down to broker a final layout in the second half of the year.
The commission has said there is no reason to reject the plan now as too rigid, since there is still time for compromises on many of the issues.
EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said the commission would show "openness to revisit and improve certain provisions and to enhance clarity, making sure the proposal reflects the current reality."
If parliament rejects the plan Wednesday, it would be sent back to the drawing board and it's unlikely anything would emerge ahead of the June EU parliament elections next year. And that would undermine the EU's credibility abroad since it has put so much into its vaunted Green Deal.
"This law is nothing less than the flagship initiative of the European Green Deal," Sinkevicius said.
The Green Deal includes a wide range of measures, from reducing energy consumption to sharply cutting transportation emissions and reforming the EU's trading system for greenhouse gases.
Beyond environmental protesters, hundreds of international scientists and even a large group of multinationals have called for the adoption of the EU's nature restoration law.
EU delegation holds meeting with EC on preparations for holding nat'l election
Members of the Election Exploratory Mission (ExM) from European Union (EU) had a meeting with the Election Commission (EC) today (July 11, 2023), and wanted to know about its preparations for holding the next election "fairly and peacefully."
The EC discussed its preparations with the visiting EU delegation. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, EU delegation leader Chelleri Riccardo, and EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whitely, among others, were present at the meeting.
EC proved its ‘impartiality, capability through fair polls’ in 5 recent city elections: Monitoring Forum tells EU delegates
A technical team of the mission will further discuss the relevant issues with the EC on July 18,19.
EU delegation leader Riccardo said they are in Dhaka to assess the pre-electoral conditions in order to prepare an analysis for the EU High Representative which will then decide whether or not a full election observation mission will be deployed in Bangladesh.
EU encourages ‘peaceful, fair, participatory’ election in Bangladesh: Ambassador Whiteley
The CEC did not make any comment, saying his views are aligned with that of the EU delegation leader. Riccardo did not take any questions from the media.
The EU mission will stay in Bangladesh till July 23.
The main objective of the Election Exploratory Mission is to assess the “advisability, usefulness and feasibility” of a possible EU Election Observation Mission for the upcoming parliamentary election, according to the EU Mission in Dhaka.
AL prefers dictatorship, feudalism, not democracy: Fakhrul
EC proved its ‘impartiality, capability through fair polls’ in 5 recent city elections: Monitoring Forum tells EU delegates
Leaders of the Election Monitoring Forum (EMF) today (July 11, 2023) informed the Election Exploratory Mission from European Union (EU) that the Election Commission has proven its “impartiality, courage and capability” in holding free and fair polls in five city corporations held recently.
Though a major political party did not participate in the recently held elections in the five city corporations, a large part of their former councilors and local leaders took part in the elections and were elected, the EMF leaders said.
Read: US doesn't consider it interference when other countries discuss its elections: State Dept
In all the local elections that have been held recently, the EMF leaders said, they have observed that the government has not interfered or influenced the elections and has fully cooperated with the Election Commission in maintaining law and order situation.
Chairman of the Election Monitoring Forum, Professor Mohammad Abed Ali, was present during the meeting.
Advisor of the Election Monitoring Forum and former Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, directors of the forum – Vice-Chancellor of DUET Prof M Habibur Rahman and BUET Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Abdul Jabbar Khan – were also present at the meeting.
Read: Momen welcomes foreign observers during maiden interaction with British envoy
During the meeting, the EMF leaders said that the current Election Commission has recently implemented strict monitoring of law-and-order situation with CCTV cameras to ensure the safety of voters in local elections and cancellation of elections due to irregularities in Gaibandha by-election has boosted the confidence of voters.
Letter from 6 members of European Parliament reflects views of signatories, Ambassador tells UNB
Six Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have urged High Representative/Vice-President of the European Union (EU) Josep Borrell Fontelles to ensure free, fair, and impartial general election – possibly under a polls-time neutral, caretaker government – in Bangladesh.
The MEPs are Ivan ŠTEFANEC (EPP, Slovak Republic), Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ (EPP, Czech Republic), Andrey KOVATCHEV (EPP, Bulgaria), Karen MELCHIOR (Renew, Denmark), Javier NART (Renew, Spain) and Heidi HAUTALA (Greens/EFA, Finland).
Read more: Religious leaders shocked at congressmen's letter to Biden
In a letter to the EU High Representative, the six MEPs also called for ending what they say “violation of human rights, release of Begum Khaleda Zia, and engagement of the government with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other major political parties to find out a sustainable and democratic solution to the ongoing crises.”
The Embassy of the European Union in Dhaka, however, sees this letter as the views of the six MEPs who signed the letter.
“I would just note that this letter reflects the views of the 6 MEPs who signed it,” EU Ambassador to Bangladesh, Charles Whiteley, told UNB.
Read: State of Christians in Bangladesh: Archbishop Emeritus Patrick D'Rozario rejects 6 US congressmen’s letter to Biden
EU has strong reasons to stand with the people of Bangladesh as a long-time partner in trade and development cooperation, the signatory MEPs believe.
“Thus, the EU needs not only to remain in constant dialogue with Bangladesh’s authorities on human rights agenda, but also to produce tangible outcomes,” the letter reads.
They mentioned potential measures such as restriction of entry into the EEA zone for those responsible for and complicit in human rights abuses, or regular reminding of the conditions for the GSP+ incentive to which Bangladesh is a bidder may be evaluated.
Read: Exaggeration, inconsistency in Congressmen’s letter: Shahriar Alam
“In this regard, we would appreciate to know more about the results of the EU-Bangladesh Joint Commission and Subgroup on Good Governance and Human Rights and the plans to work on the Bangladeshi authorities on these (and possibly other),” the letter reads.
Facebook parent Meta hit with record fine for transferring European user data to US
The European Union slapped Meta with a record $1.3 billion privacy fine Monday (May 22, 2023) and ordered it to stop transferring user data across the Atlantic by October, the latest salvo in a decadelong case sparked by U.S. cybersnooping fears.
The penalty fine of 1.2 billion euros from Ireland's Data Protection Commission is the biggest since the EU's strict data privacy regime took effect five years ago, surpassing Amazon's 746 million euro penalty in 2021 for data protection violations.
The Irish watchdog is Meta's lead privacy regulator in the 27-nation bloc because the Silicon Valley tech giant's European headquarters is based in Dublin.
Meta, which had previously warned that services for its users in Europe could be cut off, vowed to appeal and ask courts to immediately put the decision on hold.
Read more: Facebook user data issue: Facebook parent company Meta will pay $725M
“There is no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe,” the company said.
“This decision is flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and U.S.,” Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global and affairs, and Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead said in a statement.
It's yet another twist in a legal battle that began in 2013 when Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems filed a complaint about Facebook’s handling of his data following former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations about U.S. cybersnooping.
The saga has highlighted the clash between Washington and Brussels over the differences between Europe's strict view on data privacy and the comparatively lax regime in the U.S., which lacks a federal privacy law.
Read more: Meta oversight board urges changes to VIP moderation system
An agreement covering EU-U.S. data transfers known as the Privacy Shield was struck down in 2020 by the EU's top court, which said it didn’t do enough to protect residents from the U.S. government's electronic prying.
That left another tool to govern data transfers — stock legal contracts. Irish regulators initially ruled that Meta didn't need to be fined because it was acting in good faith in using them to move data across the Atlantic. But it was overruled by the EU's top panel of data privacy authorities last month, a decision that the Irish watchdog confirmed Monday.
Meanwhile, Brussels and Washington signed an agreement last year on a reworked Privacy Shield that Meta could use, but the pact is awaiting a decision from European officials on whether it adequately protects data privacy.
EU institutions have been reviewing the agreement, and the bloc's lawmakers this month called for improvements, saying the safeguards aren't strong enough.
Read more: Meta contributes over Tk1.5 crore for Sitrang-hit people's rehabilitation efforts
Meta warned in its latest earnings report that without a legal basis for data transfers, it will be forced to stop offering its products and services in Europe, “which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.”
The social media company might have to carry out a costly and complex revamp of its operations if it's forced to stop shipping user data across the Atlantic. Meta has a fleet of 21 data centers, according to its website, but 17 of them are in the United States. Three others are in the European nations of Denmark, Ireland and Sweden. Another is in Singapore.
Other social media giants are facing pressure over their data practices. TikTok has tried to soothe Western fears about the Chinese-owned short video sharing app's potential cybersecurity risks with a $1.5 billion project to store U.S. user data on Oracle servers.
Read more: Ohio retirement fund sues Facebook over investment loss