EU to propose more flexible climate goal in July, sources say
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Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Macron-Merz to hold talks over NATO, EU-US trade row
French President Emmanuel Macron is to meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday to discuss NATO security, the US-EU trade row and other key issues. Macron and Merz, who took power in May, have been at pains to boost the bilateral partnership at the heart of the European Union as US President Donald Trump has rocked transatlantic ties. 'The most important message is: the Franco-German couple is back at work,' the French presidency said ahead of Macron's planned dinner with Merz. Paris and Berlin, along with London and Warsaw, have pushed efforts to support Ukraine against Russia and build up the defense capabilities of NATO's European member states. But while Paris has signaled a willingness to send peacekeeping troops to monitor a possible Ukraine ceasefire, Berlin has so far voiced no plans to contribute. Merz and Macron were also expected to discuss the trade dispute with the United States after Trump threatened 30-percent tariffs against the EU if no deal is reached by August 1. Combat jet discord 'In the tariff dispute with the USA, we are now approaching the decisive phase,' Merz said Tuesday, urging 'a fair and reliable agreement with low tariff rates' that strengthens the transatlantic market. The two leaders also have to discuss bilateral stumbling blocks, from a joint defense project to energy and trade policy. There has been disagreement over a combat aircraft to be made jointly with Spain. Merz has objected to the idea of a greater leadership role for France while expressing confidence an agreement can be reached. The head of French defense company Dassault, Eric Trappier, on Tuesday suggested that the viability of the project was in doubt. 'We have to question the effectiveness of a project which is run by three countries ... where there isn't one real leader but three,' he told a press conference. Another tricky area is energy, where France relies heavily on nuclear power, which Germany has decided to phase out as it shifts to solar and wind power. Paris wants Berlin to commit to 'technology neutrality' and effectively classify nuclear energy as climate friendly. Germany's previous government of the Social Democrats and Greens rejected this, but Merz's center-right CDU/CSU may be more open to the idea. In a joint newspaper article in May, both leaders pledged a 'restart in energy policy' and 'equal treatment at the EU level for all low-emission energies'. Another area of discord has been an EU trade deal long in the works with South America's Mercosur bloc. While Germany strongly favors it, France has expressed fears it will badly impact its farming sector. French sources said a way forward is emerging, and that an additional protocol could add a 'robust safeguard clause for agriculture'. Merz will welcome Macron at 6:30 pm (1630 GMT) at Villa Borsig, the former residence of the commander of the post-war French occupation troops on the outskirts of Berlin. The program includes press statements, without journalists' questions, a jazz performance and a working dinner.
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
The UN's highest court will decide Wednesday on the climate obligations of countries
The UN's highest court is handing down a historic opinion on climate change Wednesday–a decision that could set a legal benchmark for action around the globe to the climate crisis. After years of lobbying by vulnerable island nations who fear they could disappear under rising sea waters, the UN General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice in 2023 for an advisory opinion–a non-binding but important basis for international obligations. A panel of 15 judges was tasked with answering two questions. First, what are countries obliged to do under international law to protect the climate and environment from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions? Second, what are the legal consequences for governments when their acts or lack of action have significantly harmed the climate and environment? The stakes could not be higher. 'The survival of my people and so many others is on the line,' Arnold Kiel Loughman, attorney general of the island nation of Vanuatu, told the court during a week of hearings in December. In the decade up to 2023, sea levels have risen by a global average of around 4.3 centimeters (1.7 inches), with parts of the Pacific rising higher still. The world has also warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.3 Fahrenheit) since preindustrial times because of the burning of fossil fuels. Vanuatu is one of a group of small states pushing for international legal intervention in the climate crisis, but it affects many more island nations in the South Pacific. 'The agreements being made at an international level between states are not moving fast enough,' Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's minister for climate change, told The Associated Press. Any decision by The Hague-based court would be non-binding advice and unable to directly force wealthy nations into action to help struggling countries. Yet, it would be more than just a powerful symbol since it could serve as the basis for other legal actions, including domestic lawsuits. 'What makes this case so important is that it addresses the past, present, and future of climate action. It's not just about future targets–it also tackles historical responsibility because we cannot solve the climate crisis without confronting its roots,' Joie Chowdhury, a senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, told AP. Activists could bring lawsuits against their own countries for failing to comply with the decision, and states could return to the International Court of Justice to hold each other to account. 'And whatever the judges say will be used as the basis for other legal instruments like investment agreements,' Chowdhury said. The United States and Russia, both of whom are major petroleum-producing states, are staunchly opposed to the court mandating emissions reductions. Simply having the court issue an opinion is the latest in a series of legal victories for the small island nations. Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found that countries have a legal duty not only to avoid environmental harm but also to protect and restore ecosystems. Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that countries must better protect their people from the consequences of climate change. In 2019, the Netherlands Supreme court handed down the first major legal win for climate activists when judges ruled that protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change was a human right and that the government has a duty to protect its citizens. ___ The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters, and funded coverage areas at
Arab News
11 hours ago
- Arab News
France's culture minister to be tried on corruption charges
'We will appeal this decision today,' Dati's lawyers, Olivier Baratelli and Olivier Pardo, saidDati, a daughter of working-class North African immigrants, was defiant in comments made Monday ahead of the decisionPARIS: France's Culture Minister Rachida Dati is to go on trial accused of corruption and abuse of power while she was a European Parliament member, a judicial source told AFP on a high-profile minister who holds ambitions to become Paris mayor next year, was placed under investigation in 2019 on suspicion she lobbied for the Renault-Nissan car group while at the European Union 59, denies the allegations. She did not respond to an AFP request for comment.'We will appeal this decision today,' Dati's lawyers, Olivier Baratelli and Olivier Pardo, told a daughter of working-class North African immigrants, was defiant in comments made Monday ahead of the decision.'I will lead you to victory. Some people are trying to attack me over my private life, over many aspects that are collateral to my candidacy,' said Dati, who is mayor of the French capital's 7th district that is home to most French ministries, the country's parliament and many foreign embassies.'I am not afraid of anything or anyone.'Dati, who was justice minister under right-wing leader Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2009, will remain in the government, said an associate of President Emmanuel Macron.'The president has taken note of the decision to refer Rachida Dati to the criminal court. As a referral is not a conviction, she will continue her work,' said the associate on condition of is accused of accepting 900,000 euros ($1 million) in lawyer's fees between 2010 and 2012 from a Netherlands-based subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, but not working for them, while she was an MEP from 2009 to have sought to determine whether she carried out banned lobbying for the carmaker at the European their order signed on Tuesday, a copy of which was seen by AFP, the investigating magistrates said that Dati's activities in parliament 'amounts to lobbying,' which 'appears incompatible with both her mandate and the profession of lawyer.'Initially placed under the more favorable status of assisted witness — a step before being indicted — in 2019, Dati was charged in has since repeatedly sought to have the charges investigating magistrates also ordered that Carlos Ghosn, the former Renault-Nissan chairman and chief executive, be tried, the judicial source 71-year-old, who has been living in Lebanon for years after escaping arrest in Japan, has also rejected the charges against him.A hearing on September 29 will decide on the date of the trial, the source to another source following the case, the trial could be held after the Paris municipal elections in March next year.'She will go until the end,' Jean-Pierre Lecoq, mayor of the French capital's 6th district and one of Dati's close associates, said on who headed the Renault-Nissan alliance, was arrested in Japan in November 2018 on suspicion of financial misconduct, before being sacked by Nissan's jumped bail the following year and made a dramatic escape from Japan hidden in an audio-equipment box, landing in Beirut, where he remains as an international and France have sought his lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.
