“The worth of a nation — the worth of a community — is not measured by its capacity for violence, nor by the strength of its armies. The worth of a nation is measured by its willingness to lift others up and to take the next small step to make the world more peaceful” – European Council President Charles Michel.
Switzerland takes note of the fourth report of the Investigation and Identification Team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which has been working to identify the perpetrators of chemical weapons use in Marea, Syria on 1 September 2015. Switzerland condemns the use of chemical weapons in the strongest terms and calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to refrain from using them and comply
In accordance with established practice, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs invited civil society organisations (CSOs) to comment on Finland’s activities at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council on 12 February. Representatives of more than 40 CSOs participated in a discussion with Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen. The discussion focused on the rights of children and the safety of civilians in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan as well
Yesterday, parliamentary and local elections were held in Belarus. The continuously increasing and unprecedented level of repression, human rights violations, restrictions to political participation and access to independent media by the Lukashenka regime have severely undermined the legitimacy of the electoral process. In this context, it is clear that conditions for free and fair elections were not met and new parliamentary and local officials lack democratic legitimacy.
Today the Council has decided to prolong the restrictive measures linked to internal repression in Belarus and regime’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine for another year, until 28 February 2025. The decision was taken on the basis of the annual review of the restrictive measures and in view of the continuing repression and drastically deteriorating human rights situation in Belarus, and the ongoing involvement of the country in Russia’s
Today, the Council adopted a regulation on the automated search and exchange of data for police cooperation. The new law will improve the existing framework – often referred to as Prüm I – which already allows law enforcement authorities to consult the national databases of other member states as regards DNA, fingerprint and vehicle registration data. The rules agreed today will broaden the data categories for which automated exchanges can
Ukrainian grain, which is currently being blocked at the border by Polish protesters, does not go to the Polish market, and our country will work to resolve the issue of its transit. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with media representatives following talks with Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen in Lviv. The Head of State said that a group headed by Prime Minister
Addressing Security Council members, with several Ministers and ambassadors in attendance, the Secretary-General reminded them of the United Nations principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. He stated that as per the UN Charter, international disputes shall be settled by peaceful means, and that all States shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other State.
The truth is we – myself included – spent years trying to build a new relationship with Moscow after the end of the Cold War. We did that because we profoundly believe that a secure, stable Russia, at peace with its neighbours, is in our interests and the world’s. It is a tragedy that Putin prefers to hark back to the ninth century to justify aggression, rather than taking up
When Putin launched his illegal invasion two years ago, the free world was united in its response. We stood together behind Ukraine. And on this grim anniversary, we must renew our determination. I was in Kyiv just a few weeks ago and I met wounded Ukrainian soldiers. Each harrowing story was a reminder of Ukraine’s courage in the face of terrible suffering.
The Ministry of the Interior coordinates the provision of material emergency assistance to Ukraine through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The range of assistance provided is broad and covers practically everything other than military equipment. Finland has already sent nearly 300 truckloads of material assistance to Ukraine, including large amounts of assistance for the energy sector, healthcare and rescue services.
On 12 July 2023, during the NATO summit in Vilnius, the Netherlands announced that it would seek to make bilateral security arrangements with Ukraine, following the example of the G7 countries. The Netherlands and Ukraine subsequently entered into talks to work out the details of these arrangements. The security agreement includes arrangements on military support in the medium and longer term, cooperation involving the defence industry, improving Ukraine’s resilience –
The Commission welcomes the signature of the working arrangement between Frontex and the United Kingdom, that takes place today in London. The working arrangement will be signed by the Frontex Executive Director Hans Leijtens and his counterpart, the Director General of the Border Force, Phil Douglas, and witnessed by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson and Home Secretary James Cleverly. The conclusion of this working arrangement follows the
We are very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the suffering of the hostages as well as the Israeli government’s plans for a possible ground operation in Rafah, where well over a million Palestinians are currently sheltering from the fighting. We recognise the right of Israel to defend itself in line with international law and international humanitarian law. We ask the Israeli Government not to take military action
The other sanctioned individuals include the Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Security Service Department of Operational Intelligence responsible for Russia’s covert operations in the Republic of Moldova notably in the Transnistrian region since 2016. Furthermore, the Council is sanctioning executives of media trusts owning several media channels in the country, that frequently promote messages aimed at obstructing and undermining the democratic political process. The list also includes other individuals
The Federal Council decided on 10 March 2023 to include the EU’s temporary humanitarian exemption in the ordinance on measures against Syria. The exemption means that targeted financial sanctions do not apply to activities that are necessary for the humanitarian work of international organisations and some categories of humanitarian actors. The Federal Council’s decision extends this exemption for a further six months, until 12 September 2024.
The UN estimates that nearly 300 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance in 2024. Humanitarian distress is caused especially by disastrous conflicts: every fifth child in the world lives in a conflict zone or has fled home because of a conflict. Severe drought, hurricanes and other extreme weather phenomena caused by climate change also lead to humanitarian crises around the world. Finland contributes towards relieving distress by providing humanitarian
A large-scale operation involving law enforcement and judicial authorities from Belgium, France and Germany and coordinated by Europol and Eurojust, has led to the dismantling of one of the most active networks involved in the smuggling of migrants across the English Channel in small boats. The investigation focused on an Iraqi-Kurdish network suspected of smuggling middle-Eastern and East African irregular migrants from France to the UK with the use of
Three individuals, suspected of being the ringleaders of the fraud scheme, were arrested in Germany. During the searches, carried out in several locations across Germany (including Munich, Cologne and Rostock) and Italy, over 40 expensive vehicles and a luxury apartment in Munich were seized. In addition, several bank accounts, valuing over EUR 1.2 million were frozen. Law enforcement seized cash in several currencies, as well as luxury watches, jewellery and
We are fully committed to your sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have a Special Representative for the region [Toivo Klaar, EUSR for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia]. We have an EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia. It is our longest [serving] mission in the region. I think they do an important work on a daily basis for your people. We have also massively strengthened our security and defence
Thank you President, I thank SRSG Liang and Special Representative Souef for their briefing and I pay tribute to the work of their teams in Somalia. I also welcome the participation of the Permanent Representative of Somalia at our meeting. President let me first address the Ethiopia-Somaliland Memorandum of Understanding. As we have said previously, the United Kingdom reaffirms its support for Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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