|
Xi Jinping, the leader of China, spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine yesterday in a one-hour telephone call, the first known contact between the two leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Zelensky had made repeated requests to talk to the Chinese leader. |
Not enough people, not enough expertise and no long-term plan. That is the conclusion of a report into EU defence investments issued by *checks notes* the EU’s own auditor. "We found that the EU currently still lacks a long-term strategy on defence spending,” said Viorel Ştefan, the member of the European Court of Auditors in charge of the report published yesterday. “In the current context of the war in Ukraine, this topic is becoming very, very hot.” - FT
THE AIR YOU BREATHE IN BRUSSELS
According to the latest data from the European Commission, concentrations of both fine particulate matter (PM2) and toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the Belgian capital are significantly above the health-based guideline level set by the World Health Organization. That toxic air is generated by car traffic and is linked to the over 9,000 air pollution-related deaths Belgium registers every year. Brussels authorities are looking now to more actions to clean up the city. In addition to schemes like the capital region’s Good Move plan, which aims to slash the number of cars on the streets, since 2020 the region has been working with Bloomberg Philanthropies on the Clean Air Partnership, an initiative that enlists schools, residents and organizations to work together to measure air quality across the Brussels region.
>More with POLITICO LIVING CITIES here.
STABILITY & GROWTH PACT
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
The COR has played an active role in the EU’s humanitarian response to the crisis. Within days of Russia’s invasion, the institution launched Info-Support Hub, a platform on which EU cities list what type of support they can offer Ukrainian counterparts or refugees; on a parallel website, local Ukrainian authorities publish requests for urgently needed goods. The COR’s summer camps initiative allowed thousands of children to enjoy a few peaceful weeks away from the trauma of war.
The institution has also shown support for Ukraine’s ambitions to formally join the EU: Despite it being early days in the country’s accession process, the COR has invited Ukrainian representatives to join its meetings as “pre-observers.”
- Source: POLITICO PRO, LIVING CITIES
More in our Paradiplomacy section.
> Access here at the CoR via GoodRead catalogue. Contact us in case of access issues.
MORE SAY FOR WOMEN IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCHPope Francis will let women vote at the Synod of Bishops, an influential meeting, for the first time, an important step toward giving them more say in the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church.“It’s an important change,” said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a top organizer of the meeting. “It’s not a revolution.” In 2022, Pope Francis added women to the committee that advises him on picking the world’s bishops. In 2021, Francis amended the church’s laws so that women could be Bible readers at Mass, serve at the altar and distribute communion - practices already common in many countries. |
International Mother Earth Day 2023
Ghetto Kids are a part of a family of 30-odd children taken in by Kavuma Dauda. His foundation has offered shelter, food and education to children from the streets of Kampala since 2007. The foundation uses music, dance and drama to help children access a better life.
More here with The Independent. And here, you can watch another great dance with them.
Interested in Financial Times, Contexte, The Economist, Agence Europe or Politico PRO annual subscriptions? Interested in E-books? Just contact us!
- Unlimited access to PressReader (i.e. as many newspapers and magazines you can read…) is available HERE.
- Unlimited access to The ECONOMIST is available via your OnePC or inside CoR/EESC premises.
- For unlimited access to the Financial Times, please contact documentationCdR@cor.europa.eu for assistance.
- You definitely have full access to CONTEXTE! If you wish to join the platform as a new CoR user, please inform us.
- Problems connecting to AGENCE EUROPE? Take your access from HERE.
- Missing POLITICO’s newspaper? Every Thursday, POLITICO journalists assemble a weekly e-paper that you can read here, or via the dedicated POLITICO app (available on Apple Store or Google Play Store).
- Access to Harvard Business Review e-books, thousands of publications, EU Observer and many other resources available HERE, on our Intranet page.
Happy to have your feedbacks! Please do not hesitate to reach out in case of connection problem or if you have questions or suggestions.
- getAbstract is available for all CoR (members and staff)! Click here to connect!
Happy to help you get access to all these contents!
For more contents, just make sure you test GoodRead, Library's search engine & reading platform. Thousands of contents are waiting for you there!
Documentation Centre's resources are available here on Intranet!