Author: Fotoula Andreli

The regulations establishing the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) entered into force on 16 May 2023. The CBAM, which imposes a price on the carbon emitted directly and indirectly during the production of carbon-intensive goods entering the EU, will be implemented in two phases. The transitional phase beginning 1 October 2023 will cover carbon-intensive imports in six sectors — aluminium, cement, electricity, fertilisers, iron and steel and hydrogen — imposing only reporting requirements on importers. The CBAM charge will be effective from 1 January 2026 and will apply to imports from all countries except those linked to the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)…

It’s peak tourist season in Athens and the heat is relentless. From the sweltering streets of Monastiraki to the crowded beaches of Vouliagmeni where the cool waters provide some temporary relief, the heat is all that anyone talks about. Athenian residents stay indoors during the daytime or sit next to whirring fans at streetside cafés nursing freddo cappuccinos as tourists continue to pound the hot pavements, intent on enjoying their vacation in the sun. But this year, the sun feels hotter than ever, and heat radiates from every surface. This past Sunday, July 23, weather stations across the country recorded…

Germany on Thursday condemned an attempted coup by some members of the military in the West African country of Niger. “We are following the events in Niger with great concern. We condemn the attempt by sections of the military to overthrow Niger’s constitutional democratic order and call on them to immediately release the democratically elected President (Mohamed) Bazoum and return to their quarters,” said a German Foreign Ministry statement. “The efforts of the African Union and the regional (trade) organization ECOWAS in this regard have our full support. Violence is not a means of asserting political or personal interests,” it…

Pakistani citizens accounted for the largest number of victims in the recent migrant boat disaster. DW spoke with victims’ families about why so many are choosing to risk their lives for an uncertain future in Europe. On the evening of June 14, Muhammad Gulfam was at home in a rural mountain village in northern Pakistan when he received a call from his cousin about a migrant boat that had capsized that day off the coast of Greece. His younger brother, Aakash Gulzar, had been on board. Jobless, and without many prospects in cash-strapped Pakistan, 21-year-old Gulzar had made up his mind that he…

Greece did not respond to an offer to send a plane to monitor a migrant boat that later sank with huge loss of life, EU border officials say. At least 82 people are known to have died in the incident last week, but the UN says a further 500 may have drowned. Greece has faced criticism for not doing more to respond to the disaster. The BBC also found that the migrant boat hardly moved in the hours before it capsized contradicting the Greek claim it was on a safe, steady course. Offer not responded to, Frontex says The overcrowded fishing boat…

Colleagues. We finished the meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers chaired by Foreign Minister of the Republic of Belarus Sergey Aleinik. The list of documents read out by the CSTO Secretary General includes a number of agreements and protocols on improving the performance of the secretariat and the CSTO charter bodies and enhancing their coordination in resolving a number of current administrative and budget issues. From the documents on the different political aspects of the current situation, I would like to mention the statement on enhancing security in the CSTO region in the context of the situation in Afghanistan. It…

Police in Greece arrested a notorious money launderer, who, according to Europol, was cleaning the dirty money of the world’s foremost criminals, including drug cartels. According to Greece’s Financial and Economic Crime Unit (S.D.O.E.) the 52-year-old suspect is a Greek citizen of Albanian origin and had trafficked approximately 250 million euros ($268 million) within a period of 10 months. The man is suspected of leading a criminal organization that laundered millions of euros on a monthly basis for criminals. At the detained man’s apartment, police found and confiscated currency in several denominatis, and cellphones, including one used in encrypted communications. His arrest…

Questions swirl about the strength of China’s recovery from Covid lockdowns, and there’s talk of recession in the United States. Yet Europe’s economic prospects have brightened in recent months, according to the European Commission. The EU’s executive arm on Monday upgraded its growth outlook for 2023 and 2024. It now expects the EU economy to expand 1% this year, up from an estimate of 0.8% in February. Growth next year is pegged at 1.7%, an upward revision of 0.1 percentage points. The improved forecast for Europe — which narrowly dodged a recession this winter — still represents a marked slowdown on last year, when the bloc’s economy…

The 86-year-old pontiff capped his trip to Hungary with a final Mass in Budapest on a sunny spring morning, with thousands having gathered for the blessing. He told people to fight the “closed doors” of nationalism. Tens of thousands of Hungarians gathered on the bank of the Danube in downtown Budapest for visiting Pope Francis’ final Mass on Sunday. The Vatican, citing local organizers, said some 50,000 people participated, with more than 30,000 of them in the Kossuth Lajos Square on a sunny spring morning. Among them were President Katalin Novak and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Francis spoke out against rising nationalism, urging Hungarians to fight…

Philadelphia Union announced today that Daniel Gazdag has received an international call-up for Hungary ahead of the upcoming FIFA international window. The midfielder is part of seven call-ups in March which include Damion Lowe (Jamaica), Jose Martinez (Venezuela), and Richard Odada (Kenya). These call ups come in addition to Brandan Craig, Jack McGlynn and Quinn Sullivan receiving call ups to the U-20 USMNT training camp in Marbella, Spain where they will face off against France, England and Serbia. Goalkeeper Andre Blake has been named to the Jamaican National Team, but will not travel due to injury. All Union players following the Union’s away match against…