Border checks need ongoing justification: German state PM
'They are not agreed as a permanent measure, they are not designed to be permanent,' Alexander Schweitzer said of the recently imposed border checks. Schweitzer was speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement in Schengen, Luxembourg. With the 1985 agreement, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands agreed to gradually dismantle border controls between them, allowing free movement within the Schengen area. (DPA)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Qatar Tribune
2 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
UN conference reaffirms fight against poverty
MadridcTypeface:> The global community has agreed on intensified efforts in combating poverty, in open contradiction to the position of US President Donald Trump. The US government is sceptical of multilateral cooperation and the UN's sustainable development goals. Consequently, the United States did not endorse the 'Seville Commitment,' which was adopted by 192 countries at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in the southern Spanish metropolis on Thursday. After the start of his second term, Trump had US aid cut by around 80%, which accounts for about a quarter of all global development aid. According to estimates by the United Nations, the funding gap has now grown to at least $4 trillion annually. This gap was not nearly closed at the conference in Seville, but according to financial expert Bodo Ellmers from the non-governmental organization Global Policy Forum Europe, this was not the primary goal. Instead, he said that structural reforms in areas such as tax cooperation, debt crisis management, or reform of international financial institutions should be agreed upon. Currently, 3.4 billion people live in countries that have to spend more on interest payments than what remains for education and health. This reform project was 'only moderately successful' in Seville, Ellmers criticized, saying there are hardly any concrete measures or specific quantitative or time targets included. Whether the funding gap will continue to grow depends on the concrete implementation of the agreements. German Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan nevertheless praised the agreement as a 'powerful boost for a fairer world.' 'Despite the difficult global situation, conflicts, and nationalist tendencies, almost all states are pulling together here,' she stressed. (DPA)
Qatar Tribune
2 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Putin urges diplomacy, sticks to his positions in call with Trump
dpa Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a diplomatic solution to ongoing conflicts in the world and reiterated his known positions during a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump on Thursday. 'He declared the Russian side's willingness to continue the negotiation process (with Ukraine),' Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said after the one-hour conversation. But Russia would not deviate from its goals of eliminating the cause of the conflict, Ushakov added. Russia launched the war against its neighbour more than three years ago, arguing that Ukraine's accession to NATO would endanger its own national security and that Moscow needed to protect the Russian-speaking minority in the neighbouring country. In addition, Russia is now laying claim to several areas in eastern and southern Ukraine. According to Ushakov, the phone call also covered the war in the Middle East as well as Ukraine. He called the conversation constructive and said both leaders were 'on the same page.' They agreed to keep up the dialogue. It was reported on Tuesday that the US was stopping the delivery of some weapons to Ukraine. The Pentagon has since confirmed this, but did not provide any details. According to US media, it concerns certain missiles and ammunition. The Defense Department explained that the US was in the process of reviewing its own capabilities - and had also stopped aid to other countries. Thursday's exchange between the two leaders was the sixth publicly known call between Trump and Putin since the start of Trump's second term.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
Von der Leyen's EU Commission to face no-confidence vote in EU Parliament
BrusselscTypeface:> The European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen is to face a vote of no confidence in the European Parliament. Parliament President Roberta Metsola informed the parliamentary group leaders of the development on Wednesday evening, DPA learned. The motion of censure was brought forward by Romanian right-wing EU lawmaker Gheorghe Piperea. The initiative accuses the commission of a lack of transparency and mismanagement, particularly with regard to the handling of the COVIDd-19 pandemic. The motion needed the backing of one-tenth of EU lawmakers, or at least 72 signatories, in order to be debated and voted on during next week's plenary session in Strasbourg, France. If passed, the commission would have to resign as a whole with its president and 26 EU commissioners. (DPA)
