Day: October 6, 2022

The European Commission presented on Wednesday a legal draft to eliminate products made with forced labor from the bloc’s market.

 

“The proposal covers all products, namely those made in the EU for domestic consumption and exports, and imported goods, without targeting specific companies or industries,” the EU executive body explained in a statement.

 

“This proposal will make a real difference in tackling modern-day slavery, which affects millions of people around the globe,” EU Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said announcing the draft.

 

Under the new rules, national authorities could remove items produced in the EU or outside the bloc from the market, as well as prevent their import or export if an investigation proves they had been made with forced labor.

 

The proposal tasks customs authorities with an extra responsibility to identify and stop such products before entering the EU market.

 

The investigations could be launched based on reports from civil society and international databases.

 

The EU would also require private companies to act with “due diligence” to cut out suppliers who apply forced labor.

 

If adopted by EU member states and the European Parliament, the new measures will enter into force with a 24-month grace period.

 

According to European Commission’s estimates, over 27.6 million people work worldwide in forced labor.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

South Korean authorities on Wednesday fined Google and Meta, formerly known as Facebook, 100 billion won (approximately $71.9 million) for breaching the country’s personal information law, local media said.

 

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) met in Seoul to hear the case against the digital giants and announced a huge fine on Google and Meta for collecting personal information without users’ consent and using it for personalized online advertising and other purposes, Yonhap News Agency reported.

 

The commission fined Google 69.2 billion won and Meta 30.8 billion won.

 

This is the first time that the commission has imposed such a huge fine on allegations of breaching the country’s personal information protection.

 

The commission also ordered the digital giants to obtain users’ permission whenever they gather their personal information.

 

Meanwhile, Google and Meta both expressed regret over the decision and said they will continue to talk with authorities, including through a legal fight, according to the agency.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

 

Amid Turkish and Israeli moves to normalize relations, the Turkish foreign minister on Wednesday said a new decree including the appointment of an ambassador to Tel Aviv is ready to be presented to the president.

 

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the decree not only includes Israel but rather is a comprehensive measure. He gave no names of possible ambassadors.

 

Türkiye and Israel have been taking steps to normalize ties, including a decision on Aug. 17 to restore full diplomatic relations and reappoint ambassadors and consuls general after a four-year hiatus.

 

A cooperation agreement was also signed between the two countries in the field of aviation. Currently, Turkish aviation companies can organize flights to Israel.

 

Cavusoglu further announced that he will travel to London next Monday as Türkiye’s official representative at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

 

After taking part in the 77th UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 20-26, Cavusoglu is set to go to Japan to attend the official funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on Sept. 27.

 

Armenia, Azerbaijan, visa delays

 

Asked whether the next meeting between Türkiye and Armenia will be held in either country as part of the normalization process, rather than a third country, Cavusoglu said Türkiye suggested such a move following the first meeting on Jan. 14 in Moscow.

 

After that meeting, he said Türkiye told Armenia that “there is no need to go to third countries for the meeting, it should be held in either Türkiye or Armenia,” while Yerevan said it is not ready for that.

 

At that first meeting, both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions, according to a statement released afterward.

 

Saying that Armenia is “a bit hesitant” on the meeting location, Cavusoglu said: “There has been no clear and positive response from Armenia on this issue yet, but in the latest talks, they said it could be held. But, of course, the latest developments with Azerbaijan bothered us. Armenia needs to end these provocations.”

 

Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of large-scale border provocations in recent days, which resulted in fatalities on both sides, including 50 Azerbaijani soldiers and 49 Armenian soldiers, according to official figures. In Monday’s attacks by Armenia, two farmers were injured, leaving one in critical condition, according to Azerbaijani authorities.

 

Cavusoglu reaffirmed that Türkiye will not proceed with the normalization process independently of Azerbaijan, and that Armenia knows it.

 

“We are sincerely in favor of stability in the South Caucasus and if Armenia is sincere, there can be more positive developments,” he added.

 

Asked whether there would be a meeting with Western ambassadors on unreasonable delays in visas for Turkish citizens, Cavusoglu said: “There are some envoys who are on vacation. We’re awaiting their return.”

 

Saying that such a meeting would be held after this month’s UN General Assembly, he added: “My colleagues will arrange for ambassadors of Western countries, not just the US. We will convey the necessary warnings. Some countries have begun to accelerate (visa procedures). Problems persist in some countries.”

 

In recent months many Turkish citizens have faced delays in the processing of visa applications, in some cases waiting months to get an appointment date.

 

Greece

 

Asked about Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ remarks on Tuesday challenging Türkiye, Cavusoglu said: “We do not think that we need to even comment on such remarks. We will decide when and where to go.”

 

In a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mitsotakis said, citing an oft-repeated phrase by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “We are waiting for those who threaten to ‘come suddenly one night in our islands’ … (to come) in the light of day.”

 

On Russian gas allegedly being exported via Greece, Cavusoglu called this “typical hypocrisy of Greece.”

 

“On one hand, it complains at every meeting over Türkiye not participating in sanctions against Russia, but on the other hand it aids bypassing these sanctions,” he said.

 

Saying once again that Türkiye will not take part in the sanctions but also not allow the sanctions to be bypassed via Türkiye, Cavusoglu said: “Indeed we do not (allow it). We implement the Montreux Convention.”

 

“We closed our airspace to military planes going to Syria. We openly affirm that we will not allow Ukrainian grain to be sold to us by Russia. We even say that we will not allow ships that shut down the tracking system, except for a technical malfunction, to dock at Turkish ports,” he said, adding that Greece is trying hard to bypass sanctions.

 

Affirming that there is no planned meeting with Greek officials or even any attempts for such a meeting, Cavusoglu said Athens’ real trouble is that they are “disturbed over Türkiye recently becoming a very important actor.”

 

Asked about a call for sanctions on Turkish banks and businesspeople on a website supported by Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Cavusoglu said there is a misperception that only Turkish companies are mentioned, but actually companies from many countries, including the US and EU member states, are on the list.

 

“They’ve added many companies that do business with Russia. We’re talking about 18,000 people and companies. Of course, our own companies concern us and we made contacts both in Kyiv and here in Ankara on the matter. We asked for it to be corrected as we asked for an explanation. They haven’t responded yet. We’re working on it,” he added.

 

Turning to the UN General Assembly starting next week, and whether there would be a meeting between Turkish and US officials, he said: “There are currently no scheduled meetings but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. We will meet at different meetings, we have joint meetings with (US Secretary of State Antony) Blinken and so on. But neither our president with (US President Joe) Biden nor I, with Blinken, are planning a bilateral meeting.”

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Canada’s manufacturing sales fell 0.9% in July for the third consecutive month, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

 

The figure was in line with market expectations while manufacturing sales declined 0.1% in June.

 

The decline in July was led by the furniture industry which saw an 11.2% fall, followed by primary metal with 9.9%, and petroleum and coal products with 5.3%.

 

“The primary metal industry posted its largest decline on record, decreasing 9.9% to $5.6 billion in July, on lower prices and volumes sold,” Statistics Canada said in a statement. “Following a 6.0% decline in June, sales of petroleum and coal products decreased 5.3% to $10.3 billion in July, on lower prices.”

 

They were offset by a 10.7% increase in motor vehicle parts with 10.7%, followed by paper products at 8.1%, and food with 2.5%.

 

While manufacturing sales declined in five of 10 provinces in Canada during July, sales in Quebec and Alberta fell the most, but New Brunswick posted the largest increase.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a mandatory 5% reduction in electricity consumption during peak hours to ease the bloc’s dependence on Russian gas.

 

“We’re still confronted with a profound mismatch between supply and demand on the energy markets,” Frans Timmermans, the EU Commission’s executive vice president in charge of green transition, told reporters at a news conference.

 

Timmermans revealed the details of the European Commission’s proposals on reforming the bloc’s energy market that Ursula von der Leyen, the EU institution’s president, has already outlined earlier on Wednesday in her “State of the European Union” speech.

 

He accused Russia of “weaponizing energy” and “manipulating our energy market.”

 

This leads to “increasingly unbearable energy bills” and “pushing businesses to the brink of collapse and letting families go cold,” according to Timmermans.

 

He stressed that the “pre-war situation with abundant cheap fossil fuel” is not coming back and the European energy markets must adapt to a new reality.

 

Timmermans explained that the European Commission proposes a mandatory 5% reduction of electricity consumption in peak hours with an aim to eventually lower it to 10%.

 

This way, “we avoid using the most expensive gas-fired power plants and bring down the price of energy,” he further said.

 

Timmermans underlined that the bloc has already managed to lower gas imports from Russia from last year’s 40% to 9%, but a further reduction in gas consumption “is fundamental to the success to tackle this energy crisis” and to make the bloc “immune to Russia’s blackmail.”

 

Taxing energy companies

 

The European Commission also proposes a temporary revenue cap on “inframarginal” electricity producers who generate electricity with considerably lower cost, such as renewables, nuclear, and lignite.

 

If a company has revenue above the cap of €180 ($180) per megawatt hour, it will be obliged to pay the extra profit to member states who can help households and businesses.

 

According to the EU executive body’s estimations, the tax will result in over €140 billion ($140 billion) support to ease the consequences of the energy crisis.

 

The EU will also demand a temporary solidarity contribution from fossil fuel companies.

 

The businesses in the oil, gas, coal, and refinery sectors must pay a profit that is above a 20% increase compared to the average of their profits in the past three past years.

 

The EU Commission will also allow state support for utility companies and cost-regulated energy prices.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

 

Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday cited “major progress” in US mediation efforts on a maritime border dispute with Israel.

 

“The completion of the southern sea border demarcation file will enable Lebanon to launch the process of exploring for oil and gas in the specified fields within the Exclusive Economic Zone,” Aoun said in a statement.

 

“This will give the Lebanese economy a positive impetus to begin exiting the crisis it has been reeling under for years,” he added.

 

The Lebanese leader said contacts to finalize the demarcation file “have made major progress, in which Lebanon has achieved what enables it to exploit its resources in its waters.”

 

“There are technical details that are currently being studied in order to realize Lebanon’s interest, rights and sovereignty,” he added.

 

On Tuesday, Israeli public broadcaster KAN said, citing an Israeli official, that Tel Aviv has “especially cautious optimism” that a deal can be reached with Lebanon on their disputed maritime border.

 

Last week, US mediator Amos Hochstein expressed optimism over reaching a border demarcation agreement between Lebanon and Israel soon.

 

Lebanon and Israel are locked in a dispute over a maritime area of 860 square kilometers (332 square miles), according to maps sent by both countries to the UN in 2011.

 

The area is rich in natural gas and oil. Starting in 2020, five sessions of indirect negotiations have been held on the issue under UN sponsorship and US mediation, with the latest round held in May 2021.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency