World News

EU Leaders Meet for Make or Break Talks on Migration

BRUSSELS – EU leaders meet in Brussels for two days of talks on migration that German Chancellor Angela Merkel described as “make or break” for the union.

They will also discuss security, trans-Atlantic trade and their troubled ties with U.S. President Donald Trump, economic sanctions on Russia, the bloc’s next long-term budget from 2021, the euro zone reform and Brexit, among others.

Below please find the leaders’ comments before the summit starts in Brussels later on Thursday.

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

“We can talk about landing ships (of migrants) in other countries, for example in North Africa. But we need to talk with these countries. We can’t do this over their heads. The EU-Turkey deal was one that both sides agreed to. So we need to talk about the needs of these countries. We need to do this together with the UNHCR and the IOM.

“Defense of our external borders is something which unites Europe. (We will talk about ) the issues of Frontex, border protection, secondary migration. The countries that are receiving a lot of refugees need support. But the refugees and migrants can’t choose in which country they request asylum.”

ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIUSEPPE CONTE

“As you know, Italy has worked on a proposal which it brings to this European Council, a proposal we believe is completely reasonable because it is in line with the spirit and the principle on which the European Union is based. Over all these years and in the meetings with the leaders of other member states, I have seen many expressions of solidarity. Today is a very important day. We hope these words will be translated into action. Italy no longer has a need for words and statements, we need concrete acts. This is the right occasion. From that point of view this meeting will be a watershed as far as we are concerned. And as far I am concerned I am willing to draw the needed consequences.”

EUROPEAN COUNCIL PRESIDENT DONALD TUSK

“Since 2015, we have managed to stem the migratory flow by 96% only because we decided to cooperate with third countries and to bloc illegal migration outside the EU.”

“That is why I am urging that at the summit we focus on the EU’s external border, including the disembarkation platforms project.”

“The alternative is a chaotically advancing closure of borders, including inside the EU, as well as growing conflicts among EU member states.”

“Some may think I am too tough in my proposals on migration. But trust me, if we don’t agree on them, then you will see some really tough proposals from some really tough guys.”

AUSTRAIN CHANCELLOR SEBASTIAN KURZ

“It seems as if today we will manage a shift in migration policy. That’s important because we have asked a systemic change for years. For years we have asked to reduce the number of people coming to Europe illegally. I think that is possible today.”

POLISH PRIME MINISTER MATEUSZ MORAWIECKI

“The discussion is moving in the direction which we always have stressed it should move toward – namely more action regarding external EU borders … and even more action in third countries which surround the EU because we want to provide the fishing rod not the fish, to motivate people to stay in places from which they migrate to the EU.”

“We push for action based on consensus, not imposed relocation. We are against imposed relocation. As regards secondary migration, Poland has tough asylum regulations and will stick to these tough asylum regulations. Poland’s sovereign policy on relocation must be maintained.

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

“This summit will also be the place for an important discussion on immigration. This is not a new issue. Europe has been living with it since 2015. We all face a simple choice: do we want national solutions or do we believe in European solutions and cooperation? For my part, I will defend European solutions, in cooperation, in the European Union and under Schengen. We need cooperation under the current agreements that we have and to modernize them. There is work to do beyond Europe’s borders, on Europe’s borders and within Europe based on two principles: responsibility and solidarity.”

SLOVAKIAN PRIME MINISTER PETER PELLEGRINI

“The biggest priority in this moment is to protect our external border. First we have to start to do this and after that we can continue to discuss about was is happening inside the European Union.”

HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBAN

“The main issue is not migration, the issue is democracy in Europe … it is about what the people believe, what should be done.”

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ

“What we need is a common response to a common challenge, which is migration and we have to combine responsibility with solidarity. Responsibility in order to control our frontiers, to intensify our foreign and external dimension of the migration policy. And solidarity also with regards to other countries especially Germany which is now suffering a political crisis.”

LUXEMBOURG PRIME MINISTER XAVIER BETTEL

“I think we have to discuss everything. If we have countries saying this and that is a red line we will never get an agreement. Legal immigration has to be the rule.”

“There are so many people who arrived in different countries and then made their way to Germany. I understand Germany says ‘Why do we have to deal with everything?’”

FINNISH PRIME MINISTER JUHA SIPILA

“We have practical problems (on secondary migration) in Finland and Finland is ready to cooperate with Germany.”

IRISH PRIME MINISTER LEO VARADKHAR

“We’re not going to be preparing for a hard border on the island of Ireland and we’re not going to agree to anything that would give rise to a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.”

“If we have a no-deal Brexit, that’s unlikely but possible, then the United Kingdom will essentially crash out of the customs union and the single market, will not be able to trade freely any more with any part of the European Union, will be losing access to a market of 500 million people and that would require us to make preparations at ports, airports for that kind of scenario. And that’s the kind of thing that we will be doing. Other countries are going to do that too… It’s an important issue for Rotterdam or Calais, ports in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, so we’ll have to make preparations for that, even though it’s a very unlikely scenario.”

“The deadline for a withdrawal agreement has always been October and that’s been the case from day one. However, we did expect that we would make more progress, or any progress, at this summit in June…. That hasn’t been. What I will be saying to Prime Minister May is that we all need to intensify our efforts now. All of us want there to be a deal, we need a deal, Europe needs a deal, Britain needs a deal too, but as we agreed back in December and March, there can be no withdrawal agreement without an agreement on an Irish backstop.”

“We as 27 member states are willing to be more flexible but in order to be flexible, the United Kingdom needs to soften some of its red lines.”

“It can’t be cherry-picking, it can’t be cake and eat it. It needs to understand we’re a union of 27 member states, 500 million people. We have laws and rules and principles and they can’t be changed for any one country, even a great country like Britain and any relationship that exists in the future between the EU and the UK isn’t going to be one of absolute equals.”

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY

“I will be reiterating my commitment to the EU security and prosperity now, and when we leave. As regards our discussions on Brexit I look forward to talk with fellow leaders on the good progress we’ve made on the withdrawal agreement and looking forward to securing our strong future partnership.

Both sides are keen to continue that work at a faster pace than we have done up till now and certainly we’d welcome that.

We have been setting out throughout these negotiations our position and of course at every stage, we have come to agreements with the European Union on issues which we discussed.

Now we will be bringing the cabinet together within the next week, we will be then be publishing a white paper setting out in more detail what strong partnership the United Kingdom wants to see with the EU in the future.

It is clear that we have already have been able to encourage and get flexibility from the European Union on matters. I will be setting out our position for the future.”

DUTCH PRIME MINISTER MARK RUTTE

“I’m not losing patience, but time is getting shorter and shorter to come to an agreement.

“I do understand that it is difficult to come to agreements within her cabinet and within the UK parliament, but she has to.”

“The problem is to whom should be listen. Our point of contact of course is Theresa May. I know she is working day and night to solve this, but the first issue on the table to solve is the problem of the Irish border. That is crucial and there has to be a backstop that is not temporary, but is continuous in case we are not able to solve this problem in the future.”

“I don’t want to speak in apocalyptic terms, but I believe the first, second and third priorities now is solving the issue of the Irish border. When that is solved, then so many other issues will be easier to discuss.”

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ

“We will have a tete-a-tete meeting with Prime Minister May…. Will look forward to continue with the negotiations and with this constructive approach that the Spanish government is having.”

Question: Are you disappointed with slow progress on Brexit?

Answer: “No, I won’t say that. Absolutely not.”

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

“We will talk about whether we, the European Union, enter into talks with the United States in order to prevent a spiral of trade barriers.”

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

“We will have a discussion on trade, with the objective of preserving European trade sovereignty, and I am pleased that at this stage the Council’s conclusions have taken up proposals that we have made on the indispensable reform of the WTO and a firm desire not to give in to any edicts but to defend European interests and global trade multilateralism.”

By Robert-Jan Bartunek, Jan Strupczewski, Gabriela Baczynska, Noah Barkin, Philip Blenkinsop, Richard Lough, Francesco Guarasco – Reuters

World News

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally Wins the First Round in France 2024 Election

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party scored historic gains in France

Exit polls in France showed that Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally (RN) party made huge gains to win the first round of election on Sunday. However, the final outcome will depend on how people trade votes in the days before next week’s run-off.

Exit polls from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay, and Elabe showed that the RN got about 34% of the vote. This was a big loss for President Emmanuel Macron, who called the early election after his party lost badly in the European Parliament elections earlier this month.

The National Rally (RN) easily won more votes than its opponents on the left and center, including Macron’s Together group, whose bloc was predicted to get 20.5% to 23% of the vote. Exit polls showed that the New Popular Front (NFP), a hastily put together left-wing alliance, would get about 29% of the vote.

The results of the exit polls matched what people said in polls before the election, which made Le Pen’s fans very happy. But they didn’t say for sure if the anti-immigrant, anti-EU National Rally (RN) will be able to “cohabit” with the pro-EU Macron in a government after the runoff election next Sunday.

Voters in France Angry at Macron

Many French people have looked down on the National Rally (RN) for a long time, but now it is closer to power than it has ever been. A party known for racism and antisemitism has tried to clean up its image, and it has worked. Voters are angry at Macron, the high cost of living, and rising concerns about immigration.

Fans of Marine Le Pen waved French flags and sang the Marseillaise in the northern French district of Henin-Beaumont. The crowd cheered as Le Pen said, “The French have shown they are ready to turn the page on a power that is disrespectful and destructive.”

The National Rally’s chances of taking power next week will rest on what political deals its opponents make in the next few days. Right-wing and left-wing parties used to work together to keep the National Rally (RN) out of power, but the “republican front,” which refers to this group, is less stable than ever.

If no candidate gets 50% of the vote in the first round, the top two candidates and anyone else with 12.5% of the registered voters immediately move on to the second round. The district goes to the person who gets the most votes in the runoff.

France is likely to have a record number of three-way runoffs because so many people voted on Sunday. Experts say that these are much better for the National Rally (RN) than two-way games. Almost right away on Sunday night, the horse trade began.

Macron asked people to support candidates who are “clearly republican and democratic.” Based on what he has said recently, this would rule out candidates from the National Rally (RN) and the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party. Leaders on the far left and the center left both asked their third-placed candidates to drop out.

Minority government

Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of France Unbowed, said, “Our rule is simple and clear: not a single more vote for the National Rally.” But the center-right Republicans party, which split before the vote when some of its members joined the RN, didn’t say anything.

The president of the RN party, Jordan Bardella, who is 28 years old, said he was ready to be prime minister if his party gets a majority of seats. He has said he won’t try to make a minority government, and neither Macron nor the communist NFP will work with him.

“I will be a “cohabitation” Prime Minister, respectful of the constitution and of the office of President of the Republic, but uncompromising about the policies we will implement,” he said.

A few thousand anti-RN protesters met in Paris’s Republique square on Sunday night for a rally of the leftist alliance. The mood was gloomy.

Niya Khaldi, a 33-year-old teacher, said that the RN’s good results made her feel “disgust, sadness, and fear.”

“This is not how I normally act,” she said. “I think I came to reassure myself, to not feel alone.”

Election Runoff

The result on Sunday didn’t have much of an effect on the market. In early Asia-Pacific trade, the euro gained about 0.23%. Fiona Cincotta, a senior markets expert at City Index in London, said she was glad the outcome “didn’t come as a surprise.”

“Le Pen had a slightly smaller margin than some of the polls had pointed to, which may have helped the euro a little bit higher on the open,” she noted. “Now everyone is waiting for July 7 to see if the second round supports a clear majority or not. So it does feel like we’re on the edge of something.”

Some pollsters thought the RN would win the most seats in the National Assembly, but Elabe was the only one who thought the party would win all 289 seats in the run-off. Seat projections made after the first round of voting are often very wrong, and this race is no exception.

On Sunday night, Reuters reported there were no final results for the whole country yet, but they were due in the next few hours. In France, exit polls have usually been very accurate.

Voter turnout was high compared to previous parliamentary elections. This shows how passionate people are about politics after Macron made the shocking and politically risky decision to call a vote in parliament.

Mathieu Gallard, research head at Ipsos France, said that at 1500 GMT, nearly 60% of voters had turned out, up from 39.42% two years earlier. This was the highest comparable turnout since the 1986 legislative vote. It wasn’t clear when the official number of people who voted would be changed.

World News

Pakistan Seeks US Support for Counter-Terrorism Operation Azm-e-Istehkam

(CTN News) – Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Masood Khan, has urged Washington to provide Pakistan with sophisticated small arms and communication equipment to ensure the success of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a newly approved counter-terrorism initiative in the country.

The federal government recently approved the reinvigorated national counter-terrorism drive, which comprises three components: doctrinal, societal, and operational.

Ambassador Khan noted that work on the first two phases has already begun, with the third phase set to be implemented soon.

Addressing US policymakers, scholars, and corporate leaders at the Wilson Center in Washington, Khan emphasized the importance of strong security links, enhanced intelligence cooperation, and the resumption of sales of advanced military platforms between Pakistan and the US.

He argued that this is crucial for regional security and countering the rising tide of terrorism, which also threatens the interests of the US and its allies.

“Pakistan has launched Azm-i-Istehkam […] to oppose and dismantle terrorist networks. For that, we need sophisticated small arms and communication equipment,” said Ambassador Khan.

Pakistan–United States relations

The ambassador observed that the prospects of Pakistan-United States relations were bright, stating that the two countries “share values, our security and economic interests are interwoven, and it is the aspiration of our two peoples that strengthens our ties.”

He invited US investors and businesses to explore Pakistan’s potential in terms of demographic dividend, technological advancements, and market opportunities.

Khan also suggested that the US should consider Pakistan as a partner in its diplomatic efforts in Kabul and collaborate on counterterrorism and the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.

He stressed that the bilateral relationship should be based on ground realities and not be hindered by a few issues.

“We should not base our engagement on the incongruity of expectations.

Our ties should be anchored in ground realities, even as we aim for stronger security and economic partnerships. Secondly, one or two issues should not hold the entire relationship hostage,” said the ambassador.

World News

China Urges Taiwanese to Visit Mainland ‘Without Worry’ Despite Execution Threat

China Urges Taiwanese to Visit Mainland Without Worry Despite Threats

China has reassured Taiwanese citizens that they can visit the mainland “without the slightest worry”, despite Taiwan raising its travel alert to the second-highest level in response to Beijing’s new judicial guidelines targeting supporters of Taiwanese independence.

Last week, China published guidelines that could impose the death penalty for “particularly serious” cases involving “diehard” advocates of Taiwanese independence.

In response, Taiwan’s government urged the public to avoid “unnecessary travel” to mainland China and Hong Kong, and raised its travel warning to the “orange” level.

However, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for a Chinese body overseeing Taiwan affairs, stated that the new directives are “aimed solely at the very small number of supporters of ‘Taiwan independence’, who are engaged in malicious acts and utterances”.

She emphasized that “the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots involved in cross-strait exchanges and cooperation do not need to have the slightest worry when they come to or leave mainland China”.

“They can arrive in high spirits and leave fully satisfied with their stay,” Zhu added.

What’s Behind The China-Taiwan Tensions?

The tensions stem from the longstanding dispute over Taiwan’s status. Mainland China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to rule out using force to bring the democratic island under its control, while Taiwan sees itself as a sovereign state.

Beijing has not conducted top-level communications with Taipei since 2016, when the Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan’s leader. China has since branded her successor, President Lai Ching-te, a “dangerous separatist”.

“The DPP authorities have fabricated excuses to deceive the people on the island and incite confrontation and opposition,” Zhu said in her statement.
Despite the political tensions, many Taiwanese continue to travel to mainland China for work, study, or business.