Among the precious little remaining friends of a quick EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans, the threat of non-friendly powers encroaching in the region is a recurring main argument. By this, they mean fending off Russia, China, Turkey, and some Middle Eastern countries, which have been steadily investing politically, economically, and culturally in this European enclave.
While the issue is real, albeit sometimes overblown, it overlooks the fact that the body politic in all the six states of this region commits unwaveringly to EU integration and future membership in the European Union. This position is supported by a large majority of the population as year-by-year opinion polls demonstrate. I have argued in the past that the exclusive geopolitical reasoning sidelining the transformational motivation (i.e. Copenhagen Criteria: rule of law, accountable and democratic government, human rights) is rather a straw man argument.
SunStar PH garment exporters to petition EU over possible scrapping of tariff privileges
POTENTIAL LOSS. The potential loss of tariff advantages offered by the European Union to the Philippines could harm garment exports, an industry that is already heavily battered by the Covid-19 pandemic. (SunStar file)
+ February 07, 2021 THE Philippine garment industry is preparing to petition the European Commission, asking it not to consider calls for the country to lose its Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) access to European Union (EU) markets.
The call follows a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in late September calling on the European Commission to temporarily withdraw the Philippines’ access from the scheme because of human rights abuses.
EU MEPs back India-South Africa proposal for waiver batonrougepost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from batonrougepost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Members of the European Parliament have backed a joint proposal by India and South Africa for waiver on intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccine patents.