EU
Amazon to make big business changes in EU settlement
Amazon will make major changes to its business practices to end competition probes in Europe by giving customers more visible choices when buying products and, for Prime members, more delivery options, European Union regulators said Tuesday.
The EU’s executive Commission said it accepted the legally binding commitments from Amazon to resolve two antitrust investigations. The deal allows the company to avoid a legal battle with the E.U.’s top antitrust watchdog that could have ended with potentially huge fines, worth up to 10% of annual worldwide revenue.
The agreement marks another advance by EU authorities as they clamp down on the power of Big Tech companies, and comes just a day after the Commission accused Facebook parent Meta of distorting competition in the classified ads business.
“Today’s decision sets the rules that Amazon will need to play by in the future instead of Amazon determining these rules for all players on its platform,” the EU’s competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said at a press briefing in Brussels. “With these new rules, competing independent retailers, carriers and European customers will have more opportunities and choice.”
The agreement only applies to Amazon’s business practices in Europe and will last for seven years. Amazon will have to make the promised changes by June.
“We are pleased that we have addressed the European Commission’s concerns and resolved these matters,” Amazon said in a prepared statement, adding that it still disagrees with some of the Commission’s preliminary conclusions.
Amazon had offered concessions in July to resolve the two investigations. It improved those initial proposals after the commission tested them out and received feedback from consumer groups, delivery companies, book publishers and academics.
The company promised to give products from rival sellers equal visibility in the “buy box,” a premium piece of real estate on its website and app that leads to higher sales. The buy box has two buttons that let customers “buy now” or “add to basket.”
Read more: Amazon CEO says company won't take down antisemitic film
European customers will get a second buy box underneath the first one for the same product, but with a different price or delivery offer.
“As Amazon cannot populate both Buy Boxes with its own retail offers, this will give more visibility to independent sellers,” Vestager said. Regulators will monitor how the second box performs and ask the company to adjust the presentation if it doesn’t get enough customers attention, she said.
Amazon is also easing access for merchants and couriers to its Prime membership service. It will stop discriminating against Prime sellers that don’t use its own logistics and delivery services and will let Prime members freely choose any delivery service. Currently, couriers can only deliver Prime parcels if they’re approved by Amazon.
The company also pledged to stop using “non-public data” from independent sellers on its platform to provide insights on how to compete against those merchants through its own sales of branded goods or “private label” products..
Amazon uses the data to decide what kind of products to launch, how much to sell them for, which suppliers to choose, or how to manage inventories, Vestager said.
She said the company has committed to stop doing this with seller data, including sales, revenues, shipments, transaction prices, performance, and consumer visits.
Amazon is facing similar scrutiny in the U.S. and Britain.
In September, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office sued Amazon, accusing the company of stifling competition and increasing prices for products across the market through its policies. His office said Amazon effectively barred third-party sellers and wholesale suppliers from offering lower prices elsewhere through contract terms that harmed the ability of other businesses to compete.
The company says it considers an item competitively priced when it’s offered at or below a price displayed by other retailers, which can spur higher prices elsewhere. Some vendors who pay more to sell on Amazon could lower their prices on other sites, but they don’t do so out of fear they will lose valuable Amazon real estate or face suspensions, the lawsuit said.
Read more: Amazon hiring 100,000 employees
The settlement comes amid a wider crackdown by regulators in Europe and elsewhere on Big Tech companies. In March, E.U. officials approved a new law that will take effect by 2024 to prevent so-called digital gatekeepers from dominating markets by giving preference to their own products, or using data collected from different services. Violations could result in fines of up to 10% of their annual revenue.
EU member countries reach compromise on gas price cap
European Union ministers on Monday finalized a long-awaited deal to implement a natural gas price cap they hope will help households and businesses better weather excessive price surges.
EU member countries failed to overcome their differences at previous emergency meetings, but several EU leaders said last week that fixing a maximum ceiling to pay for gas was likely to be achieved this time. After talks in Brussels on Monday, the Czech presidency of the European Council, which represents member countries, said a deal had been reached.
“We have succeeded in finding an important agreement that will shield citizens from skyrocketing energy prices," said Jozef Sikela, the Czech minister of Industry and Trade, adding that the mechanism will steer the 27-nation clear “from risks to security of supply and financial markets stability."
Since it could not find a consensus on the divisive topic, the Czech presidency opted for a “qualified majority” as the voting rule to reach the political agreement. Under EU rules, a qualified majority requires that 55% of member countries, or 15 out of the 27, vote in favor of a proposal. Such a vote also requires that those nations represent at least 65% of the bloc’s population.
Read more: EU leaders avoid deep rift on gas price cap at energy summit
Under the agreement, the mechanism will kick off if prices exceed 180 euros ($190) per megawatt hour for three days and if it is 35 euros higher than a reference price for LNG on global markets for the same period. Once triggered, the mechanism will remain active for at least 20 days.
Sikela said the 180 euros limit “is not a cap as such" and that prices can still go above this level if prices on the LNG markets are higher than 145 euros per megawatt hour.
“In other words, this is not a fixed cap, but rather a dynamic one," he said.
The measure will apply from Feb. 15 next year once formally approved by written procedure.
The EU’s executive Commission last month proposed a “safety price ceiling” to kick in if natural gas exceeded 275 euros ($290) per megawatt hour for two weeks and if it is 58 euros higher than the price of liquefied natural gas on world markets.
Such a system might not have averted hikes as high as in August — when prices hit nearly 350 euros per megawatt hour on Europe’s TTF benchmark but fell below 275 euros within days — and was met with derision by many countries including Spain, Belgium and Greece and Poland, pushing for a lower trigger.
The 27 EU nations have stuck together through nine rounds of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine and energy-saving measures to avoid shortages of the fuel used to generate electricity, heat homes and power factories.
But they were unable until Monday to close a deal on setting the complicated price cap for natural gas. The cap was promised in October as a way to reduce energy bills that have soared during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We have proved that the EU is united and will not let anybody use energy as a weapon," Sikela added.
Read more: Gas prices in Europe increased sixfold in June - EU Commissioner
The gas cap issue is a divisive one because of fears that global suppliers would bypass Europe when other buyers offer more money.
Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said Budapest continues to oppose the introduction of a gas price cap because it will lead to price increase. He said that the EU should instead focus on building pipelines and LNG terminals while looking for new sources.
The Council said an emergency brake has been devised to suspend the mechanism if “gas demand increases by 15% in a month or 10% in two months, LNG imports decrease significantly, or traded volume on the TTF drops significantly compared to the same period a year ago."
The mechanism will also automatically deactivate once LNG prices drop back below 180 euros, Sikela said.
Germany was initially reluctant but Economy Minister Robert Habeck was pleased that safeguards were introduced.
“A compromise has now been reached that limits the mechanism to temporary price spikes for certain traded products. It is automatically suspended if, for example, there is a threat to security of supply. These safety lines are important and could be concretized today in the final negotiations," he said.
The scare of exorbitant prices came in the heat of summer when a massive August spike stunned consumers and politicians, forcing the bloc to look for a cap to contain volatile prices that are fueling inflation.
The compromise on the price cap unlocked plans for joint gas purchases and a solidarity mechanism to help the neediest countries as the energy measures were agreed on as a package.
“I welcome today’s agreement in the Energy Council on joint purchasing, speeding up permitting for renewables and the market correction mechanism," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who heads the EU's executive arm. “These decisions will enable the EU to prepare for the next winter more effectively and fast-track the deployment of renewables."
Member countries also agreed on a proposal to reduce methane emissions, one of the biggest causes of climate change, second only to carbon dioxide. The gas also causes serious health problems.
“This will help us meet our commitments under the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030," Sikela said.
Musk's Twitter tweaks foreshadow EU showdown over new rules
Self-proclaimed free speech warrior Elon Musk’s more unfettered version of Twitter could collide with new rules in Europe, where officials warn that the social media company will have to comply with some of the world’s toughest laws targeting toxic content.
While the new digital rulebook means the European Union is likely to be a global leader in cracking down on Musk’s reimagined platform, the 27-nation bloc will face its own challenges forcing Twitter and other online companies to comply. The law doesn’t fully take effect until 2024, and EU officials are scrambling to recruit enough workers to hold Big Tech to account.
Known as the Digital Services Act, the EU's sweeping set of rules aims to make platforms and search engines more accountable for illegal and harmful content including hate speech, scams and disinformation. They'll kick in next summer for the biggest digital companies like Google, Facebook and TikTok and then expand to all online services the following year.
Those standards are poised to run up against Musk's whipsawing policies at Twitter: He abruptly axed a group of advisers this week who address problems like hate speech, child exploitation and self-harm, halved Twitter's workforce and issued conflicting decisions about content moderation.
“A lot can change in six months, but it sure seems like Twitter is lining up to be Europe’s first major test case when it comes to enforcing the DSA,” said John Albert of Berlin-based AlgorithmWatch, a nonprofit research and advocacy group.
Musk has called for “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach,” saying he wants to downgrade negative and hateful posts. The billionaire Tesla CEO considers the bloc's rules “a sensible approach to implement on a worldwide basis,” EU digital policy chief Thierry Breton recounted after a video call with Musk this month.
Other jurisdictions are far behind Europe. In the U.S., Silicon Valley lobbyists have largely succeeded in keeping federal lawmakers at bay, and Congress has been politically divided on efforts to address competition, online privacy, disinformation and more. Britain is working on its own Online Safety Bill, but it was recently watered down and not clear when it will be approved.
Musk’s style of making ad hoc changes won't fly under the new European rulebook, experts said.
Read more: Musk's Twitter disbands its Trust and Safety advisory group
Twitter’s disastrous rollout of paid “verified" blue checks likely would have triggered an EU investigation and possibly big fines because such major design changes wouldn't be allowed without a risk assessment, Albert said.
The premium service was abandoned last month after a flood of imposter accounts spread disinformation. It relaunched this week.
The abrupt disbanding of Twitter's Trust and Safety Council also would “raise some eyebrows in Brussels,” Albert said. Expert advisers aren’t required under the EU rules, but “good-faith voluntary efforts" show “European regulators that you care about transparency and are invested in trust and safety,” he said.
Musk's tinkering — including dropping enforcement of COVID-19 misinformation rules and granting amnesty to suspended accounts — has already alarmed European officials.
Musk’s approach is “a big issue” that calls for “more regulation,” French President Emmanuel Macron told “Good Morning America."
In Europe, “you can demonstrate you can have free speech, you can write what you want. But there is responsibilities and limits,” he said. Macron, who met with Musk in the U.S. this month, tweeted that “efforts have to be made by Twitter to comply with European regulations.”
The bloc will require online companies to follow clear rules on dealing with illegal content and explain to users why the material was taken down or given a warning label. They will have to be transparent about the workings of their content moderation systems and recommendation algorithms, which suggest the next song, news story or product to users. They must let EU regulators review their efforts.
Breton, the EU’s digital policy chief, said he reminded Musk about the penalties for violations, including fines worth 6% of global annual revenue that could reach billions. Repeat violations could result in an EU-wide ban. Musk and Twitter didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
Musk is already “backtracking on the absolutism” of free speech by suspending the rapper formerly known as Kanye West for a swastika post, said Marietje Schaake, a former European Parliament lawmaker who’s now international cyber policy director at Stanford University.
“The problem is that there is a lot of hateful content below this threshold, which will make Twitter under Musk less safe and pleasant for women, minorities and people whose opinions are met with aggression,” Schaake said.
To tackle such “lawful but awful” content that frequently bedevils content moderators, the EU will require extra scrutiny for the biggest online platforms — those with 45 million monthly users.
There’s speculation Twitter might not qualify. It reported 238 million users before it was bought by Musk, who complained that the number of fake accounts was vastly understated. Companies have to report their user numbers to the EU by mid-February.
Big platforms will have to assess how they’re dealing with “systemic risks,” such as harassment, election-related disinformation, hoaxes and manipulation during pandemics.
By the summer, the first changes stemming from the rules should start appearing via digital “buttons” on websites and apps so users can easily flag illegal content.
The wide-ranging rulebook also poses a challenge for regulators who need to hire enough enforcers. EU officials have estimated they will add more than 100 full-time staff by 2024 to enforce the DSA and other new rules on digital competition.
Each of the 27 EU countries also will have to hire more people to police smaller platforms and coordinate with Brussels. On top of that, tech companies need to recruit more compliance staff.
All three groups will be hiring for very specific and similar skill sets: experts who know how platforms and their algorithms work, have insight into sites' content moderation practices and have experience enforcing regulations.
Read more: ‘Entering Twitter HQ - let that sink in!’: Musk tweets
The problem is they “might end up competing for the same talents,” said Rita Jonusaite, advocacy coordinator at EU DisinfoLab, a nonprofit group that researches disinformation.
There are concerns some European countries won’t have the means and expertise to enforce the rules, especially if they’re building skills in areas like disinformation from scratch.
“Regulators need to train themselves and acquire capacity very quickly,” Jonusaite said.
The EU’s executive Commission has launched a recruitment spree for dozens of expert jobs, including legal officers, data scientists, technology specialists, and digital policy officers to help supervise the systems that online platforms use to combat illegal content such as terrorist or child sexual abuse material and to fight harmful posts like disinformation.
Meanwhile, Musk axed thousands of employees and many others resigned, including those in content moderation roles. It's unclear whether he plans to add staff to comply with Europe's rules.
“As Musk is scrambling to both save money, comply with the law, and keep advertisers on board, the main question is whether he will dedicate the needed resources to monitor content at all,” said Schaake of Stanford.
“It is one thing to make a conscious decision to leave racist content up, it is another to have it be up unnoticed" because teams monitoring content “are simply not there,” she said.
Bangladesh Head of Mission to EU addresses what he called “disinformation campaign” at European Parliament
Bangladesh Ambassador to Belgium and Head of Mission to the European Union, Mahbub Hassan Saleh, has addressed what he called “a wave of disinformation campaign” over rights issues during a “Briefing on the Human Rights Situation in Bangladesh” in Brussels.
The session was hosted by Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Member of the European Parliament, with participation of Michael Polak, a barrister and lawyer for victims of enforced disappearances, human rights expert Abbas Faiz, Ambassador Saleh, and Tasneem Khalil, editor in chief of Netra News.
On the issue of cancelling the registration of rights organization Odhikar – whose claim of 61 victims in its report “Assembly of Hefajat-e Islam Bangladesh and Human Rights Violation” was heavily contested by mainstream media as “half-truth, biased and one-sided presentation” – Ambassador Saleh referred to financial irregularities on part of the NGO, as clarified by concerned authorities.
“The move that caused the closure of Odhikar stemmed from financial irregularities – the organization’s refusal to submit their report of financial audit,” explained the ambassador.
In reference to that particular Odhikar report, the ambassador said, “The 2013 report, immediately afterwards that drive, claimed 61 people were killed by the security forces. They were repeatedly requested to provide the names (of victims), but till date they have not done that.”
Leading national media outlets later came up with independent investigations, finding that Odhikar “blew up” the number of casualties.
At the time, several leading rights activists questioned the neutrality of Adilur Rahman Khan, secretary of Odhikar.
Ambassador Saleh said, “Adilur was the deputy attorney general during the BNP-Jamaat regime (2001-2006). So trying to portray him as an ‘independent, civil society individual’ is grossly incorrect. He has a definitive political alignment with a particular political party.”
In response to the Bangladeshi ambassador, Tasneem Khalil said he was abducted and tortured in 2007, when the country was ruled by the military-backed caretaker government.
Offering a lesson of history, the ambassador said, “I am surprised that none of the speakers mentioned a single word about August 15, 1975, and August 21, 2004. In 1975, on August 15, the country’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with 18 family members, was brutally assassinated, and the successive military regime introduced indemnity ordinance to protect the killers and rewarded them with diplomatic jobs.”
Read more: Diplomats don’t have the power to put anyone in power: Information Minister
“The current PM was not allowed to return to her country for six years. She lived as a refugee. When she returned, she was not allowed to go inside her parents’ house; she prayed on the streets for her deceased family members… I believe she also has human rights,” he added.
“In 2004, Sheikh Hasina was the opposition leader, and during a rally in the capital, a grenade attack was launched to kill her and her party colleagues… 23 were killed as they formed a human shield to protect her. I believe, for the sake of fairness, these incidents also need to be referred to by the speakers as you discuss a particular situation in Bangladesh. Unfortunately, that was not the case,” the ambassador said.
Khalil, in his speech, claimed that the “problem of enforced disappearance was not there” between the return of democracy and when Awami League assumed office in 2009.
It should be mentioned that Bangladesh saw a surge in terror activities during the BNP-Jamaat government in 2001-2006. A US Embassy cable to Washington in 2008, from former ambassador to Bangladesh James Moriarty, deemed Tarique Rahman “a symbol of violent politics”.
Read more: UN reminds Bangladesh of commitments to free expression, peaceful assembly
G-7 and EU agree to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 per barrel
The Group of Seven nations and Australia joined the European Union on Friday in adopting a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, a key step as Western sanctions aim to reorder the global oil market to prevent price spikes and starve President Vladimir Putin of funding for his war in Ukraine.
Europe needed to set the discounted price that other nations will pay by Monday, when an EU embargo on Russian oil shipped by sea and a ban on insurance for those supplies take effect. The price cap, which was led by the G-7 wealthy democracies, aims to prevent a sudden loss of Russian oil to the world that could lead to a new surge in energy prices and further fuel inflation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that the agreement will help restrict Putin’s “primary source of revenue for his illegal war in Ukraine while simultaneously preserving the stability of global energy supplies.”
The agreement comes after a last-minute flurry of negotiations. Poland long held up an EU agreement, seeking to set the cap as low as possible. Following more than 24 hours of deliberations, when other EU nations had signaled they would back the deal, Warsaw finally relented late Friday.
A joint G-7 coalition statement released Friday states that the group is “prepared to review and adjust the maximum price as appropriate," taking into account market developments and potential impacts on coalition members and low and middle-income countries.
“Crippling Russia’s energy revenues is at the core of stopping Russia’s war machine,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said, adding that she was happy the cap was pushed down a few extra dollars from earlier proposals. She said every dollar the cap was reduced amounted to $2 billion less for Russia's war chest.
Also read: What’s the effect of Russian oil price cap, ban?
“It is no secret that we wanted the price to be lower," Kallas added, highlighting the differences within the EU. “A price between 30-40 dollars is what would substantially hurt Russia. However, this is the best compromise we could get.”
The $60 figure sets the cap near the current price of Russia’s crude, which recently fell below $60 a barrel. Some criticize that as not low enough to cut into one of Russia's main sources of income. It is still a big discount to international benchmark Brent, which slid to $85.48 a barrel Friday, but could be high enough for Moscow to keep selling even while rejecting the idea of a cap.
There is a big risk to the global oil market of losing large amounts of crude from the world’s No. 2 producer. It could drive up gasoline prices for drivers worldwide, which has stirred political turmoil for U.S. President Joe Biden and leaders in other nations. Europe is already mired in an energy crisis, with governments facing protests over the soaring cost of living, while developing nations are even more vulnerable to shifts in energy costs.
But the West has faced increasing pressure to target one of Russia's main moneymakers — oil — to slash the funds flowing into Putin's war chest and hurt Russia's economy as the war in Ukraine drags into a ninth month. The costs of oil and natural gas spiked after demand rebounded from the pandemic and then the invasion of Ukraine unsettled energy markets, feeding Russia's coffers.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that “the cap itself will have the desired effect on limiting Mr. Putin’s ability to profit off of oil sales and limit his ability to continue to use that money to fund his war machine.”
More uncertainty is ahead, however. COVID-19 restrictions in China and a slowing global economy could mean less thirst for oil. That is what OPEC and allied oil-producing countries, including Russia, pointed to in cutting back supplies to the world in October. The OPEC+ alliance is scheduled to meet again Sunday.
That competes with the EU embargo that could take more oil supplies off the market, raising fears of a supply squeeze and higher prices. Russia exports roughly 5 million barrels of oil a day.
Putin has said he would not sell oil under a price cap and would retaliate against nations that implement the measure. However, Russia has already rerouted much of its supply to India, China and other Asian countries at discounted prices because Western customers have avoided it even before the EU embargo.
Most insurers are located in the EU or the United Kingdom and could be required to participate in the price cap.
Russia also could sell oil off the books by using “dark fleet” tankers with obscure ownership. Oil could be transferred from one ship to another and mixed with oil of similar quality to disguise its origin.
Even under those circumstances, the cap would make it “more costly, time-consuming and cumbersome” for Russia to sell oil around the restrictions, said Maria Shagina, a sanctions expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Berlin.
Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance in Washington, said the price cap should have been implemented when oil was hovering around $120 per barrel this summer.
“Since then, obviously oil prices have fallen and global recession is a real thing,” he said. “The reality is that it is unlikely to be binding given where oil prices are now.”
European leaders touted their work on the price cap, a brainchild of Yellen.
“The EU agreement on an oil price cap, coordinated with G7 and others, will reduce Russia’s revenues significantly,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. “It will help us stabilize global energy prices, benefiting emerging economies around the world.”
Top EU official warns Musk: Twitter needs to protect users from hate speech, misinformation
A top European Union official warned Elon Musk on Wednesday that Twitter needs to beef up measures to protect users from hate speech, misinformation and other harmful content to avoid violating new rules that threaten tech giants with big fines or even a ban in the 27-nation bloc.
Thierry Breton, the EU's commissioner for digital policy, told the billionaire Tesla CEO that the social media platform will have to significantly increase efforts to comply with the new rules, known as the Digital Services Act, set to take effect next year.
The two held a video call to discuss Twitter's preparedness for the law, which will require tech companies to better police their platforms for material that, for instance, promotes terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech and commercial scams.
It’s part of a new digital rulebook that has made Europe the global leader in the push to rein in the power of social media companies, potentially setting up a clash with Musk’s vision for a more unfettered Twitter. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said Wednesday that an investigation into Musk's $44 billion purchase was not off the table.
Breton said he was pleased to hear that Musk considers the EU rules “a sensible approach to implement on a worldwide basis.”
“But let’s also be clear that there is still huge work ahead,” Musk said, according to a readout of the call released by Breton’s office. “Twitter will have to implement transparent user policies, significantly reinforce content moderation and protect freedom of speech, tackle disinformation with resolve, and limit targeted advertising.”
After Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” bought Twitter a month ago, groups that monitor the platform for racist, antisemitic and other toxic speech, such the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, say it’s been on the rise on the world’s de facto digital public square.
Musk has signaled an interest in rolling back many of Twitter’s previous rules meant to combat misinformation, most recently by abandoning enforcement of its COVID-19 misinformation policy. He already reinstated some high-profile accounts that had violated Twitter’s content rules and had promised a “general amnesty” restoring most suspended accounts starting this week.
Twitter didn’t respond to an email request for comment. In a separate blog post Wednesday, the company said “human safety” is its top priority and that its trust and safety team “continues its diligent work to keep the platform safe from hateful conduct, abusive behavior, and any violation of Twitter’s rules."
Musk, however, has laid off half the company’s 7,500-person workforce, along with an untold number of contractors responsible for content moderation. Many others have resigned, including the company’s head of trust and safety.
Read more: Musk says granting 'amnesty' to suspended Twitter accounts
In the call Wednesday, Musk agreed to let the EU's executive Commission carry out a “stress test" at Twitter’s headquarters early next year to help the platform comply with the new rules ahead of schedule, the readout said.
That will also help the company prepare for an “extensive independent audit" as required by the new law, which is aimed at protecting internet users from illegal content and reducing the spread of harmful but legal material.
Violations could result in huge fines of up to 6% of a company’s annual global revenue or even a ban on operating in the European Union's single market.
Along with European regulators, Musk risks running afoul of Apple and Google, which power most of the world’s smartphones. Both have stringent policies against misinformation, hate speech and other misconduct, previously enforced to boot apps like the social media platform Parler from their devices. Apps must also meet certain data security, privacy and performance standards.
Musk tweeted without providing evidence this week that Apple “threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why.” Apple hasn’t commented but Musk backtracked on his claim Wednesday, saying he met with Apple CEO Tim Cook who “was clear that Apple never considered” removing Twitter.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen walked back her statements about whether Musk’s purchase of Twitter warrants government review.
“I misspoke,” she said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday, referring to a CBS interview this month where she said there was “no basis” to review the Twitter purchase.
The Treasury secretary oversees the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency committee that investigates the national security risks from foreign investments in American firms.
Read more: Elon Musk says Twitter deal ‘temporarily on hold’
“If there are such risks, it would be appropriate for the Treasury to have a look,” Yellen told The New York Times.
She declined to confirm whether CFIUS is currently investigating Musk’s Twitter purchase.
Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is, through his investment company, Twitter’s biggest shareholder after Musk.
Bangladesh, EU willing to sign “partnership cooperation” agreement to elevate ties
Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) on Thursday expressed willingness to sign a "partnership cooperation” agreement to elevate” the relations to next level.
However, it is still at an initial stage as it requires extensive discussions and negotiations.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam together with Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora conveyed two sides' willingness regarding such a mechanism.
They jointly briefed the media on the first ‘political dialogue’ at State guesthouse Padma Thursday evening.
“We’re not signing any agreement today. We are trying to get deeper into the issues. We can’t give you any time frame for signing the partnership cooperation agreement,” Alam said while responding to a question.
He, however, said the relations need to be taken to a newer height which means taking the relationship to a level of partnership.
The launching of the "Political Dialogue" marks a widening of cooperation between Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) into strategic and thematic areas of mutual interest and is a landmark in Bangladesh-EU partnership which will complete 50 years in 2023.
In view of the increasing importance of EU-Bangladesh relations, including in the international domain, the EU proposed to initiate discussions towards concluding a Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Bangladesh.
The PCA will enhance the dialogue between both sides on issues of global concern and give more scope for mutually-beneficial cooperation in a wide range of policy and strategic areas.
The PCA will give Bangladesh-EU relations a new legal foundation, which is "more comprehensive and up-to-date" and will respond better to current and evolving challenges.
The Bangladesh side thanked the EU for the proposal and expressed readiness to engage in discussions towards concluding a PCA.
Read more: PM’s visit to be delayed for political situation, Covid restrictions in Japan: FM
Mora said such an agreement will provide a legal framework for cooperation in every single area including climate change, connectivity, digital sphere, security and defence.
He said Bangladesh’s “spectacular growth and achievements” allowed them to go for a broader cooperation with Bangladesh.
Mora noted the impressive growth of Bangladesh over the last one decade and said the launching of political dialogue between the two sides is a very good beginning for the next stage of cooperation.
“We are opening a new chapter in our relationship. It is important for us to work with our partners together,” he said, adding that this is the recognition of the impressive achievements of Bangladesh.
The two sides met for the first time in such high level political dialogue for providing strategic guidance and intensifying foreign and security policy cooperation.
State Minister Alam led the Bangladesh delegation at the dialogue while Deputy Secretary General of EEAS Mora led the EU side.
Issues of shared interest such as peacebuilding, conflict prevention, Indo-Pacific, Ukraine issue, connectivity, climate change, trade, security and counter-terrorism were discussed at the dialogue.
Issues related to the Rohingya crisis were also discussed both on security and humanitarian perspectives.
The EU side highlighted their efforts to find a solution to the Rohingya crisis as Bangladesh seeks safe and quick repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland.
State Minister Alam said the EU signed similar agreements (partnership cooperation agreement)with the major Asean economies.
He said they discussed overall security issues and cooperation in the region including conventional and nonconventional security issues, cyber security and transnational organized crimes.
EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley was also present.
In October 2021, the two sides agreed to launch the political dialogue when Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen met the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels.
The EU acknowledged Bangladesh’s growth momentum and new confidence as a nation and looked forward to engaging further with Bangladesh on issues of shared interest, including through focus on the Indo-Pacific.
Read more: Iran’s deputy foreign minister and Shahriar Alam discuss bilateral cooperation
Bangladesh, EU to hold political dialogue on Nov 24 to “elevate” partnership
Bangladesh and the European Union (EU) will hold the first ‘political dialogue’ here on November 24 for providing strategic guidance and intensifying foreign and security policy cooperation to “elevate” the partnership.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam will lead the Bangladesh delegation at the dialogue while Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Enrique Mora who is scheduled to arrive here on November 23, will lead the EU side.
Read: Bangladesh, UN to strengthen cooperation to support inclusive development
Issues of shared interest such as peacebuilding, conflict prevention, Indo-Pacific, Ukraine issue, connectivity, climate change, security and counter-terrorism will be discussed at the dialogue, EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whiteley told UNB.
In October 2021, the two sides agreed to launch the political dialogue when Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen met the Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels.
The EU acknowledged Bangladesh’s growth momentum and new confidence as a nation and looked forward to engaging further with Bangladesh on issues of shared interest, including through focus on the Indo-Pacific, said the officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
EU shakes up climate talks with surprise disaster fund offer
Climate talks appeared stalled late night Thursday on major issues going into the final day, but possibilities for a deal were buoyed by an unexpected proposal by the European Union on two of the thorniest issues, tying compensation for climate disasters to tougher emissions cuts.
Minutes after the United Nations summit's chairman warned delegates that “we are not where we need to be in order to close this conference with tangible and robust outcomes," the EU's top climate official made a surprise offer. To applause, he proposed a two-pronged approach that would create a pot of money for poor countries and push for steeper cuts of heat-trapping emissions by all countries, as well as the phasing down of all fossil fuels, including natural gas and oil.
The issues of compensation and pollution-cutting “are two sides of the same coin as far as the European Union is concerned," said European Union Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans, making clear that the 27-nation bloc won't offer more money unless there are concessions on emissions targets.
“If we do not perform enough on mitigation, there is no money on Earth enough to address the consequences of the climate crisis," Timmermans told The Associated Press. “The amounts of losses and damages will be such that we could never repair them.”
“So we absolutely need high ambition on mitigation if we want to have a fighting chance also to help the most vulnerable and face these challenges,” he added.
Vulnerable nations called for a deal to be sealed before the end of the talks.
"This is a historic opportunity that can’t be lost and that must be seized now," Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna said.
Poorer countries that bear the brunt of climate change, from rising sea levels to extreme flooding, stepped up the urgency, accusing richer polluters of stalling and said they cannot wait another year for the creation of a fund to pay for damages.
Before Timmermans sprung the two-page proposal, special teams of ministers said they made progress on major issues, including loss and damage.
But the mood was somewhat grim.
Read more: COP27: Bangladesh urges developed countries to double climate financing by 2025
United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell urged negotiators to get cracking.
“There is an outcome where we all come out of this having done our jobs and with something that protects our planet,” Stiell said. “Let’s do that."
Then Timmermans came out with his proposals and negotiators, including U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry, dashed about trying to figure out what to do next.
Problems quickly popped up.
China, which had been quiet during much of the talks, insisted that the 2015 Paris Agreement should not be changed and money for the new fund should come from developed countries, not them. Saudi Arabia also said it was important “to not go beyond what we have” in the Paris pact and was reluctant to pony up to a compensation fund.
Asked to comment on the EU proposal, Kerry said he hadn't had a chance to read it yet.
“We’ll take a look at it,” he told The AP. "You know, we’ll see.”
Egypt's leadership of the summit, called COP27, came under criticism earlier Thursday presenting what some negotiators described as a 20-page “laundry list” of wide-reaching ideas.
“It is evidently clear that at this late stage of the COP27 process, there are still a number of issues where progress remains lacking,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, the president of the summit, said late Thursday.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who had flown in for the final stage of negotiations, warned of a “breakdown in trust between North and South, and between developed and emerging economies.”
“The world is watching and has a simple message: stand and deliver,” he told leaders, adding that there was “no time for finger pointing.”
Negotiators were surprised by several ideas in the Egyptian draft that they said were never discussed at the two-week talks.
Among them was a call for developed countries to achieve “net-negative carbon emissions by 2030” — a far tougher target than any major nation has so far committed to and which would be very hard to achieve. The EU and U.S., for example, have said they aim to reach net zero emissions by 2050, China by 2060.
The head of the European Parliament Bas Eirkhout said it was "too broad, too many topics, too vague language and too many items, which I don’t think have to be in a cover decision.”
The conference is supposed to end Friday, but past gatherings have been extended to reach a deal.
Longtime negotiations analyst Alden Meyer of E3G said that unlike in previous years, the president of the conference delayed putting together special teams of ministers to push through solutions on big issues, except loss and damage, and that’s putting everything behind.
Read more: Adapting to climate change is the main focus of COP27: Info Minister
There were at least half a dozen instances where nations were “taking negotiations hostage” by taking hardline, seemingly inflexible stances, Meyer said. The biggest was on the compensation fund for climate disasters, known as “loss and damage” in negotiators’ parlance.
The United States has resisted any fund that would suggest liability and compensation — let alone reparations — for decades of greenhouse gas emissions by industrialized nations.
European countries have backed calls by island nations for a “mosaic” of financial arrangements drawing on public and private sources of money.
But there are big differences over who should pay.
German officials said the money should not come only from the industrialized nations, but also major emerging economies whose greenhouse gas emissions have increased sharply in recent decades.
Heavy polluters China and India, however, argue they should not have to contribute because they are still officially considered developing nations.
The issue of loss and damage is one of three financial aid pots discussed. Rich nations agreed in past conferences to spend $100 billion a year to help poorer countries develop cleaner energy systems and adapt to prevent future disasters — though they have lagged in giving the funds.
One longtime participant in the climate talks, Yamide Dagnet of the Open Society Foundation, said developed countries were showing more openness on “loss and damage.”
“But fear of compensation and liability remains a Damocles sword that needs to be overcome,” said Dagnet, a former EU negotiator at the talks.
“The United States is probably the most nervous about how much it can give in on loss and damage after decades of delaying tactics, backed by other developed countries,” she said.
Timmermans, the EU climate chief, expressed cautious hope that an agreement might be achieved yet in Egypt.
“I am by nature an optimistic person, but I’m also realist," he told The AP. "I think it is possible, but I grant you, it’s not going to be easy.”
His comments were echoed by Chilean Environment Minister Maisa Rojas.
“I think we’re making progress. We heard a lot of goodwill in particular on the financing for loss and damage,” she told The AP.
The EU offer on climate financing “looks promising. So, I think there will be good advances.”
EU’s EBA Scheme for LDCs: Portugal terms Bangladesh best success story
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam on Thursday urged Portugal to support Bangladesh’s bid for GSP+ facility beyond 2029 under EU’s new GSP Regulation.
Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Dr Francisco André termed Bangladesh as the "best success story" for the EU’s Everything-but-Arms (EBA) scheme for LDCs, and assured of appropriate consideration for Bangladesh’s continued trade preferences in the European Union (EU) market.
Bangladesh and Portugal held the 2nd Political Consultations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday evening.
State Minister Shahriar Alam led the Bangladesh side while the Portuguese side was led by its Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
The State Minister recalled his last visit to Portugal earlier this year.
He observed that while Bangladesh and Portugal enjoy a relationship that goes back more than 500 years, official interactions between the two governments in the recent times had remained low.
Alam thanked the Portuguese State Secretary for following up on his commitment to visit Bangladesh to take the bilateral relations forward.
The Portuguese State Secretary appreciated the Bangladesh Foreign Minister’s participation at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in June 2022.
He also acknowledged the valued contributions of the Bangladesh community in Portugal and assured of appropriate measures by his government in the next couple of years to address the consular related issues faced by the Bangladeshi expatriates.
The two sides also agreed to cooperate on a permanent structure of a Shaheed Minar at a suitable location in Lisbon with a view to making the Bangladeshi community there feel more culturally integrated.
Both sides stressed the need for enhanced interactions among business people to foster economic ties.
The two countries reaffirmed their interest in concluding an agreement on avoidance of double taxation soon.
The Portuguese State Secretary expressed interest in sharing know-how and investments in renewable energy, especially in offshore wind power generation.
State Minister Alam welcomed the proposal and invited expertise for connecting off-grid solar power to the national grid in Bangladesh.
Read more: Bangladesh, Portugal to sign MoU to establish direct shipping links
The two sides also agreed to take forward the ongoing initiative at establishing direct shipping links between the interested ports.
The two Ministers exchanged views on climate change issues, including the COP-27 agenda on loss and damage.
The Bangladesh State Minister thanked Portugal for its principled support for climate justice for vulnerable countries.