We had, with the President, a very good and important meeting. You know that we are facing extremely difficult challenges. The EU has a very clear, very firm and very united position, and we are convinced that it is important to cooperate very closely with our friends and our partners. You know my personal engagement to your country, to Georgia.
I’ve tried to do my best over the last months to support all the positive efforts for stability, for economic reforms, and for democratic reforms in Georgia. And we are very clear, together with the European Commission and the European Parliament – we want to demonstrate our clear and concrete support to maintain all the efforts, to strengthen the ties between Georgia and the EU.
We have identified the important priorities on which we should work together, and we will be totally committed because in these extremely difficult times, it is very important to stick together, to express a very clear message of support for international law, the rules-based international order, the multilateral approach and full respect for the UN Charter. These are important principles. And we understand very well that it is important to make concrete progress to make sure that the strong ties between Georgia and the EU are very visible and tangible for the people in Georgia.
In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, MEPs demand tougher sanctions on Russia and new efforts to grant Ukraine EU candidate status.
In a resolution adopted on Tuesday, Parliament condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and demands that the Kremlin end all military activities in the country. It also denounces the role of Belarusian dictator Aliaksandr Lukashenka in the assault.
MEPs categorically reject the Russian “rhetoric hinting at the possible resort to weapons of mass destruction”, while reminding Russia of its international obligations and warning of the dangers of a nuclear escalation of the conflict.
They also call on the European Commission and EU countries to provide further emergency humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, in cooperation with UN humanitarian agencies and other international partner organisations.
The text was approved by 637 votes in favour, 13 against with 26 abstentions.
Working towards EU candidate status for Ukraine
The resolution calls on the EU institutions to work towards granting the country EU candidate status. Any such procedure should be in line with Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union and based on merit, the text says. In the meantime, the EU should continue to work towards Ukraine’s integration into the EU single market along the lines of the existing EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
Stronger sanctions against Russia
While welcoming the swift adoption of EU sanctions, MEPs want to see broader restrictive measures aimed at strategically weakening the Russian economy and industrial base.
In particular, imports of the most important Russian export goods, such as oil and gas should be restricted, they say. New EU investment in Russia and new Russian investment in the EU should be banned. All Russian banks should be blocked from the European financial system and Russia should be banned from the SWIFT system.
A range of sanctions, including the SWIFT ban, should be extended to Belarus based on its direct support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Weapon deliveries, refugee protection
In addition, the text calls on EU countries to provide Ukraine with defensive weapons more swiftly, in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which allows for individual and collective self-defence. It also favours increased EU intelligence cooperation with Ukraine regarding the ongoing aggression.
Parliament also welcomes the EU’s commitment to activate its Temporary Protection Directive, in order to provide all Ukrainians fleeing war with immediate access to protection. The responsibility for receiving the refugees arriving at the EU’s external borders should be shared equally among EU countries.
Targeted sanctions against individuals, no more “golden visas” for wealthy Russians
Targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for high-level corruption in Russia and Belarus as well as oligarchs and officials close to the countries’ leadership should be adopted swiftly, MEPs demand.
EU and allied countries with residence by investment schemes (so-called “golden visas”) should review all beneficiaries of such residence status and revoke those attributed to Russian high-net-worth individuals and their families, in particular those linked to sanctioned individuals and companies, says the text.
On 23 February 2022, the Council adopted Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/2641.
The Council decided to take further restrictive measures in response to Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine.
The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania2, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this Council Decision.
They will ensure that their national policies conform to this Council Decision.
The European Union takes note of this commitment and welcomes it.
1Published on 23.02.2022 in the Official Journal of the European Union no. L 42 I, p. 95.
2North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
By — Shyamal Sinha – President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, Monday presented Padma Shri Award to Guru Tulku Rinpoche for Spiritualism. He is the 12th Abbot of Thubchog Gatsel Ling Monastery in Bomdila. A Buddhist monk, he is identified as the 12th incarnation in the lineage of Merag Lama Lodroe Gyatso who founded Tawang Monastery.
Guru Tulku Rinpoche received the prestigious award under the ‘spiritualism’ category along with Sadguru Brahmeshanand Acharya Swami from Goa.
Buddhist Monk Guru Tulku Rinpoche was born to Yab Lobsang Tshering and Yum Pema Choden on October 19, 1968 at Khamkharong in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. It’s believed that he was recognized as the reincarnation of Late Thupten Kelden Rinpoche at the age of five by the 14th Dalai Lama.
Late Thupten Kelden Rinpoche was the 11th Merag Lama.
Guru Tulku Rinpoche’s traditional haircutting was performed by the Dalai Lama when he was seven years old during his Kalachakra teaching and was named Tenzin Kelden. He was ordained as a novice monk or getshul two years later, when he was nine and as a monk or gelong when he was twenty.
Guru Tulku Rinpoche started serving at the office of the Dalai Lama from 1998 and continued there for ten years till 2008, when he was appointed as Abbot of the Tawang monastery. He stepped down from the position in 2016.
Debating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, MEPs expressed unwavering support for Ukraine and for efforts to bring the country closer to the European community.
On Tuesday, the European Parliament held an extraordinary plenary session in Brussels to assess Russia’s military assault on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Speaker of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk spoke live from Kiev. European Council and Commission Presidents Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, as well as the EU’s Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell, also participated in the debate.
Opening the debate, Parliament President Roberta Metsola said: “We are here today in the dark shadow cast by Putin’s war. A war we did not provoke. A war we did not start. An outrageous invasion of a sovereign, independent state. On behalf of the European Parliament, I condemn the Russian military aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and express my solidarity with all those suffering and all those killed.”
“We will stand up. We will not look away when those fighting in the streets for our values face down Putin’s massive war machine. We will support the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction and investigation of war crimes in Ukraine. We will hold him accountable”, she added.
Zelenskyy calls on the EU to prove it stands with Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “in a break between missile strikes”, that the Parliament and the EU’s leaders must now “prove that the EU is with Ukraine.” “I speak today on behalf of the citizens of Ukraine who are defending it by paying the ultimate price”, he continued.
Mr Zelenskyy referred to the attack on Kharkiv, “the city with the largest square in the country, called ‘Freedom Square’”. “This morning, two missiles hit this Freedom Square, with dozens killed. This is the price we are paying for our freedom. From now on, every square in every Ukrainian city will be called Freedom Square”.
“We are fighting for our rights, our freedoms, our lives, and currently – for our survival. We are also fighting to be equal members of Europe. So now, prove that you are with us”, he told MEPs. “Prove that you indeed are Europeans and then life will win over death, and light will win over darkness. Glory to Ukraine”.
Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk told MEPs: “Ukraine is defending the border of the civilised world, and if Ukraine falls, nobody knows where the Russians will stop”. He insisted that the best way to support Ukraine “is a real recognition of our European aspirations”.
“This brutal, massive invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, unprovoked and is based on despicable lies, and it happens for one reason only: because in Maidan Square, you made the choice of freedom, democracy and rule of law,” said European Council President Charles Michel, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion “geopolitical terrorism”. He assured MEPs that the Council will analyse the “serious, symbolic, political and, in my view, legitimate request” by Ukraine to join the EU.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “This is a moment of truth for Europe. This is a clash between the rule of law and the rule of the gun, between a rule-based order and naked aggression. We cannot take our security for granted, we have to invest in it”. She underlined that “if Putin was seeking to divide the EU, NATO and the international community, he has achieved the exact opposite.”
“To make peace, we need to be two; but for war, it is enough with one, as Mr Putin has shown. That is why we need to increase our deterrence capacity a lot, in order to prevent war”, said EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell. “Defending rule of law and strengthening trade relations will not be enough to turn the world into a peaceful place”, he added.
All EP groups leaders took the floor, namely Manfred WEBER (EPP, DE), Iratxe GARCÍA PÉREZ (S&D, ES), Stéphane SÉJOURNÉ (Renew, FR), Philippe LAMBERTS (Greens/EFA, BE), Marco ZANNI (ID, IT), Ryszard Antoni LEGUTKO (ECR, PL) and Manon AUBRY (The Left, FR). You can watch the recording of their interventions here.
During the debate, many MEPs emphasised how the Russian invasion of Ukraine marks the beginning of a new era for Europe and the world. They condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s brutal aggression and expressed their admiration for how the Ukrainian army and people are resisting the assault, fighting for their country, freedom, democracy and common European values.
They also welcomed Europe’s strong response to the illegal attack, such as the adopted sanctions packages, while stressing the need to remain united to continue to face the serious challenges ahead.
Some Members advocated acknowledging Ukraine’s European aspirations and fight for freedom by stepping up the EU’s work to grant the country EU candidate status. Others highlighted the importance of jointly addressing the repercussions that the sanctions on Russia will have on a European economy still recovering from a global pandemic, by way of ensuring support for countries most affected as well as for businesses and citizens. Finally, some pointed to the need to welcome Ukrainians fleeing war and to all EU countries sharing that responsibility.
The trial in the Vatican for alleged misconduct in management of Secretariat of State funds has moved forward in the next steps of the judicial process. The next hearing will take place on March 17 and mark the start of what the president of the Court, Giuseppe Pignatone, termed “the real trial” with the first interrogation of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu. In an order of about forty pages, read this morning in the meeting hall of the Vatican Museums, Pignatone rejected all the requests for case dismissal presented by defense lawyers from July 27 up until yesterday’s hearing, which lasted over three hours. The ordinance: every defense claim rejected.
The panel of judges responded to each of the exceptions presented by the defense lawyers, stating many were “unfounded”, “inadmissible”, or “irrelevant”. The objections to the failure to deposit documents, the nullity of the decree of summons, the inclusion of the Secretariat of State, IOR, APSA, ASIF as civil plaintiffs, the omissions in the documents deposited or the Pope’s rescripts were all rejected.
A just process
Regarding the “alleged violations of due process”, the order states that “the Vatican system fully respects the indications found in article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding due process. In this regard, Pignatone referred to two sentences, that of the Italian Court of Cassation, which annulled the precautionary detention of financier Gianluigi Torzi, and that of the Swiss Federal Court, which confirmed the seizure of broker Raffaele Mincione on appeal, because they both refuted the allegation that in the Vatican, due to its unique institutional structure, the principles of “due process” do not exist. It is precisely these two sentences that recognize the independence of Vatican judges, thus rendering “completely unjustified and out of place the definitions of ‘special trial’ and ‘special court'” used by some defenders.
Response of the defence
The defendants’ lawyers have said they intend to challenge this order, saying the Vatican Court based its position not only “on the observance of the laws”, but also on the Pope’s four rescripts, which they claimed “are acts of normative value, but certainly not laws”.
President Pignatone then asked for the Court to be informed which defendants intended to undergo interrogation. The request led several attorneys to state that they wanted to “first have clear material”. That is, an expert analysis on the forensic copies “to evaluate the correspondence between the material seized and what is reproduced in the acts”. The request to obtain the computer materials seized from Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, considered to be the main witness, has been made by many. President Pignatone clarified that the Court “does not have the competence to decide on things that have been seized but not deposited” and invited the Office of the Promoter of Justice, represented today in court by Roberto Zannotti, to proceed with the requests for copies of the material. The Promoter of Justice reserved the right to evaluate “any request” for copies and provide them if possible by March 7.
Most of the attorneys have expressed their willingness to allow the interrogations of their clients, with the exception of the attorneys of three defendants: Raffaele Mincione, Gianluigi Torzi, and Cecilia Marogna. The defender of the latter, Fiorino Ruggio, explained that his client had pointed out a bond of secrecy with the Vatican Secretariat of State, the Italian State, and NATO. The Vatican Court, Pignatone clarified, can write to the Secretariat of State to ask for clarifications, but not to third parties, especially NATO noting that at this time it is “busy with other matters”. Ruggio responded by noting that if NATO does release her from the vow of secrecy, she remains bound by it; and he added that Marogna “fears for her personal safety”.
Cardinal Becciu to be questioned
The first person to be questioned on March 17 will therefore be Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the only defendant present in court this morning. The cardinal will answer questions only on the sending of funds to the Sardinian Diocese of Ozieri and to the “Spes” cooperative, which was managed by his brother. It is expected that the cardinal will later be questioned with regard to the affair of the “London building affair” and the “Marogna issue.” Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu commented on the sidelines of the hearing, saying, “Finally we are starting, now I can talk.”
In conclusion, Court President Pignatone asked the parties to present requests for evidence for the next hearing, but not concerning the witnesses. Other hearings are scheduled for March 18, 29, and 30 and for April 5 and 6.
Working translation, excerpts from original article in Italian
Unfortunately, the predictions of recent months have come true. Europe is condemning not only in the strongest possible terms, but also in deeds, Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In recent days Europe has moved from a trot to a sprint in the area of defence. Putin wanted to weaken NATO and divide Europe. However, he is achieving exactly the opposite of what he intended. The time when Europe only asserted itself as an economic giant is over. Our continent is at a historic turning point.
Europe has never been so united. With an unprecedented package of financial sanctions, Russian bank assets have been frozen to drain Putin’s war machine. The entire European airspace has been closed to all Russian aircraft, including the private jets of oligarchs. The Russian propaganda channels Russia Today and Sputnik have been banned to stop disinformation. For the first time in history, the EU will finance military equipment that Member States will deliver to Ukraine to the tune of half a billion euros. Germany has made a historic U-turn by announcing that it will invest 100 billion euros in defence and that 2% of GDP will go to defence, as NATO has been demanding for years. The Nordstream 2 pipeline has been suspended. A European emergency aid package worth 1.2 billion euro has been greenlighted for Ukraine. A decision to offer temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees will be taken this week.
Europe is acting as one while Russia turns into the pariah of the international community. And Europe will continue to stand firm. Any further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine will bear further consequences and heavy costs. Russia has invaded Ukraine but Europe has Russia by the throat financially. De-escalation can only happen if Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine. It is still possible for Russia to change course. The sooner the better. Every hour that the conflict drags on is an hour that more people are killed. De-escalation is an absolute prerequisite for ending this conflict. At the same time, we must now dare to think ahead and not miss this opportunity to enforce our strategic autonomy in Europe in terms of defence and energy supply. Nobody knows what Putin is ultimately capable of. Europe depends on Russia for 40% of its gas supply. Drastic retaliatory measures are not inconceivable. Because of the crisis, the pressure is now on to make progress in boosting Europe’s independence in strategic sectors.
The will is there. To Putin’s regret, the result is not a divided but a united Europe and not a weaker but a stronger NATO. Is it not precisely in times of crisis that the EU has always made progress? This is an opportunity to unleash leadership and strengthen our European construction, let us not miss this chance to write history.
Belarus – Some 100,000 desperate people have already entered Hungary, fleeing a nation in turmoil. Across the border, Ukraine is experiencing a barrage of attacks by the Russian army.
Authorities say at least 70 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in a Russian artillery strike on Ukraine’s north-eastern city of Okhtyrka.
It comes as a massive convoy of Russian armor, stretching about 40 miles (64 kilometers), advancing Ukraine’s capital Kyiv.
Air raid sirens once again were heard in Kyiv with reports of Russian strikes on the outskirts and inside the city.
And dozens of civilians were reportedly killed since Monday in Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has called the missile attack an act of “state terrorism” and accuses Russia of war crimes as residential areas are also attacked. Authorities say civilians, including allegedly 16 children, were killed.
In an address to a special session of the European Union’s parliament, President Zelensky appealed for membership of the bloc, saying it would be stronger with Ukraine in it.
As the internationally condemned Russian invasion of Ukraine continued, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor announced he wanted to investigate Russia for possible war crimes.
There were no signs of Moscow halting its operations, with local journalists in Kherson saying Russian troops almost surround the city.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, even offered a new justification for Russia’s invasion – telling a United Nations conference to prevent Ukraine from acquiring nuclear weapons.
But Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson accuses Russia of “barbaric and indiscriminate” attacks and says he is ready to intensify economic sanctions on Russia for as long as it takes.
The fighting escalated after Kyiv and Moscow held initial ceasefire talks in Belarus, which failed to end Europe’s most significant conflict since World War Two.
People fleeing
And that is why people here continue to flee towards Hungary as well as to other neighboring nations.
Some have spoken about leaving behind everything they worked for as they cross this border with the last personal belongings they could grab.
Many women and children are among the refugees as all Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 have been mobilized to face an army of as many as 200,000 troops.
Hungary says it will continue to welcome refugees here and participate in humanitarian aid.
However, the government, which long maintained good ties with the Kremlin, says it will not send troops or arms to Ukraine, and Hungary won’t allow lethal weapons to transit its territory.
On Thursday 3 March, millions of adults and children around the country will mark the 25th annual World Book Day, celebrating books, authors, illustrators and the power of the written word, with a series of book-themed events.
Each year, children show their love of reading by going to school dressed up as their favourite fictional character. World Book Day is important because it’s also the day that parents around the country receive a text at 8.35am reminding them that they have in fact forgotten to make a World Book Day costume and now have seven minutes to demonstrate the power of the written word by texting swears to everyone they know on the group chat.
What kind of parent, you might ask – what kind of anti-intellectual monster – would say that a kids’-book costume makes their book-loving soul leave their body? Well, brace yourselves, because I am that monster, and I hate to tell you this, but so is every parent I know – yes, even the nice ones.
Obviously not ALL parents. I have huge love for those who really do enjoy crafting clever and joyful literary costumes for their children and always remember to do so. My only rule for raising children (apart from “check if it’s chocolate before you lick it”) is “just do what you like, babes”. This ancient mantra has steered me safely through every parenting choice.
But what’s always overlooked is that dressing up children either requires time or it requires money – and if you have a child who has an eye for negotiation then it’s definitely going to require both. And inevitably, that cost is not felt equally by all parents.
I’m a working parent of primary school-aged children, and I’m enormously fortunate. I only need one job to pay the bills, and I have a partner who will actually organise World Book Day while I just write about World Book Day. Yet still, every year I have a small meltdown about making costumes, then feel guilty about it afterwards.
I’ve seen my own children move from happiness about dressing up as their favourite character, to a low-level hum of anxiety about having a shop-bought outfit, and one that has to be from a “real book” rather than the cartoons they actually love reading.
Watching my timelines fill up every year with the obligatory #WBD outfits, I can’t shake the feeling that this part of the day is creepingly performative. Look, I’m not saying social media is fetishising the act of reading as a nostalgic, middle class pursuit regardless of the child’s actual interests, but what I am saying is there are an awful lot of Pippi Longstocking outfits on Instagram.
Maybe if we saw fewer pictures of finished costumes, and more of women (and it is mostly women) frantically hunting for sellotape in a 4pm Teams meeting with the camera off, then we might get a better idea of how many hurdles there are for those with caring responsibilities to access the arts themselves.
What’s better than reading? That’s right, it’s looking for teal face paint and a bow and arrow in Sainsburys at 5.30pm, or rage-buying a dragon onesie off Amazon Prime at one in the morning. Let’s not forget the year I made a mammoth out of a potato at 8pm on a Wednesday, with kebab stick limbs that kept falling off (book fact: that’s how Ernest Hemingway wrote A Farewell To Arms).
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And at least I have the option to dash out and buy things because our family income places us above the poverty line. After a decade of austerity, a pandemic and now the cost of living squeeze, 31 per cent of children (or 9 in a class of 30), live below it. These are the inequalities that World Book Day sets out to tackle, including with book tokens for every child. But something about frantically buying disposable merch at a time when 40 per cent of primary schools don’t have library budgets, and a record 1.7 million children claim free school meals, feels like it goes against the spirit of the day.
Let’s ditch compulsory costumes. There are a million other ways for us to find joy in reading, and you can find just some of them here. Teachers already work tirelessly to make this a wonderful day for children, and they do it, as they do everything, in the face of chronic underfunding and obstructive policies.
If we’re going to imagine a future full of opportunities for all children, then we are going to have to imagine very hard. Books lie at the heart of that – children’s books most of all. It’s here that we learn the value of kindness, courage, the telling of difficult truths. What light, devastating sedition this is – no wonder I have the feeling it’s being repackaged and sold back to us.
If you have cash to spare on Thursday, give it to charities, schools, authors or parents in your communities – not supermarkets. And if you’re worrying about getting a costume sorted, well you really don’t have to. I don’t want to get too literary, but just do what you like, babes.
CANADA, February 28 – Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participated in a teleconference meeting with the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the leaders of the European Commission, the European Council, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The leaders strongly condemned the large-scale military aggression by Russia against the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine. They expressed grave concerns regarding reports of Russian attacks on civilian areas in a number of Ukrainian cities. The leaders stressed that Russia’s actions threaten peace and stability in Europe and around the world. The actions also threaten democracy, and are blatant violations of international law that will not be tolerated. They called on Russia to halt its invasion and withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory immediately.
The leaders noted the critical importance of strong collective action to support the Ukrainian government and people, and of demonstrating to Russia that it will pay an enormous cost for its unprovoked war. To this end, the leaders discussed the heavy, punitive sanctions against President Putin and others in Russia who are directly responsible for this tragedy, and their intention to continue to expand these measures should Russia’s aggression continue. They also condemned the role of Belarus in facilitating the Russian invasion.
The leaders discussed the emerging humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, and commended Poland, Romania and other countries for their support for Ukrainians fleeing violence. They agreed to enhance efforts to strengthen the security of neighbouring countries, and the need to increase humanitarian support.
The leaders noted that Russia’s senseless war had brought peaceful, democratic countries together in support of Ukraine, as demonstrated by the highly coordinated actions by the international community, including the G7, the European Union, and NATO. They called on all countries to join the effort to demonstrate to Russia that illegal wars of aggression have no place in the 21st century.
The leaders agreed to continue coordinating closely.
