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Iran – Nuclear: EU ministers considering options

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:11:04 +0000

European ministers for foreign affairs are meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss tougher sanctions against Iran, only a week after the IAEA report said that Teheran is working on developing a nuclear bomb. Several foreign ministers agreed that a military intervention is not on the cards. However, Dutch foreign minister, Uri Rosenthal, told journalists ahead of the meeting that no option “should be excluded”. Iran denies the charges by arguing that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes, such as producing electricity.

Van Rompuy addresses UN General Assembly

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:00:04 +0000

European Council President Herman van Rompuy on Thursday addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. It was the first-ever time that a representative of the European Union was allowed to directly address the heads-of-state level general assembly. The European Court of Justice said on Thursday the two companies’ long use of identical trade marks neither had, nor was liable to have, an adverse effect on AB InBev’s “Budweiser”, which was registered first. “United Kingdom consumers are well aware of the difference between Budvar’s beers and those of Anheuser-Busch, since their tastes, prices and get-ups have always been different,” the court said in a statement. Anheuser-Busch, now part of AB InBev, has been in a long-running dispute with Czech brewer Budejovicky Budvar over the rights to the terms “Budweiser” and “Bud” — a David versus Goliath litigation that has run on and off for a century. Czech brewer Budvar entered the British market in 1973 and US-based Anheuser-Busch in 1974. The latter applied to have the word “Budweiser” registered as a trademark in 1979. While this was being examined, Budvar also submitted a trademark application for its “Budweiser” in 1989. British courts ruled in 2000 that both companies could each register “Budweiser”, which duly entered the Trade Marks Register on May 19 of that year. On May 18, 2005, one day short of five years later, Anheuser-Busch asked the registry to have Budvar’s trademark declared invalid, because its own …

Van Rompuy addresses UN General Assembly

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 06:27:00 +0000

Barroso addresses UN nuclear safety meeting

admin — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:15:36 +0000

europa.eu José Manuel Durão Barroso President of the European Commission Speech by President Barroso at the High-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety: EU response to Fukushima accident High-level Meeting on Nuclear Safety New York, 22 September 2011.

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Ashton announces sanctions on Assad, and concern over new Israeli settlements

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 15:34:05 +0000

On 23 may, the Foreign Affairs Council discussed the Southern Neighbourhood Region and adopted a range of conclusions on Syria, Libya, Iran, Bahrain and Yemen. The Council also discussed the Middle East Peace Process, as well as the South Caucasus, EU human rights strategy and Sudan. Belarus and Albania are likely to be raised under any other business. The Council adopted decisions imposing additional restrictive measures on Belarus, Iran, Syria and Libya.

UK’s Hague announces hardening of EU sanctions on Iran

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:31:53 +0000

Iran continues to ignore the international community’s appeals to respect human rights, and is subsequently facing sanctions against a number of key figures in its regieme the foreign secretary of the UK, William Hague announced today.

UK’s Hague announces hardening of EU sanctions on Iran

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:31:53 +0000

Ashton outlines massive workload of previous months

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:14:40 +0000

Catherine Ashton the much critiqued High representative of the EU in International Affairs has had an extremely busy number of months, her remit has included being Europe’s No1 in responding to the North African uprisings, in ironing out a deal with Iran over Nuclear energy, continuing talks in the Middle East and other concerning events such as the elections in Belarus, and the violence in Ivory Coast.

Ashton outlines massive workload of previous months

admin — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:14:40 +0000

Iran: nuclear sanctions ‘zero sum game’ vs human rights, MEP says

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:07:33 +0000

Future EU relations with Iran focus not only on the nuclear dispute but also on human rights abuses since the 2009 presidential elections, argues a draft resolution by the Foreign Affairs Committee scheduled for a vote on Thursday. Iran’s execution of Dutch-Iranian citizen Zahra Bahrami is firmly condemned by the committee. The draft resolution calls upon EU foreign ministers to impose sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for serious human rights abuses since the disputed presidential election of June 2009, in line with similar measures taken by the USA in September 2010. The committee also regrets that the number of executions in Iran in 2009 was the highest in the past ten years and calls on the government to impose a moratorium on such executions and to abolish the execution of minors. Regarding Iran’s continuing refusal to co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, MEPs say “additional sanctions have become the logical consequence”. However, they also want the EU Foreign Affairs High Representative to assess the impact and effectiveness of all EU restrictive measures (Source EbS)

Iran: nuclear sanctions ‘zero sum game’ vs human rights, MEP says

admin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:07:33 +0000

Lieberman to Ashton: Iran, not Israel, is enemy

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:26:28 +0000

EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton this week is on a visit to the Middle East. Her aim is to meet with leaders on both sides of the Israel-Palestine border, and to continue to speak with them in the hope of working towards an increasingly distant peace process. First up, Israel where Madame Ashton was welcomed by Israel’s tough right wing Minister for Foreign Affairs, Avigdor Lieberman

Iran Back at Negotiating Table in Geneva

admin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:06:50 +0000

Catherine Ashton, the European Commission’s Vice-President spoke in Geneva, Switzerland this afternoon. Iran, and Europe’s concerns about Uranium enrichment, and Iran’s possible nuclear capabilities formed Madame Ashton’s agenda for the day.

William Hague to Iran: ‘Refusing to Negotiate Will Not Work’

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 07:35:48 +0000

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking to journalists at the fringes of a meeting of European foreign ministers in Luxembourg, discusses the EU’s agreement on tighter sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme.

Bernard Kouchner, in Luxembourg, on EU sanctions against Iran

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:13:35 +0000

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner arrives at the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, in his typical, assertive manner, responds to questions on the EU’s sanctions against Iran.

Bernard Kouchner, in Luxembourg, on EU sanctions against Iran

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 06:13:35 +0000

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner arrives at the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, in his typical, assertive manner, responds to questions on the EU’s sanctions against Iran.

Peres: Ahmadinejad ‘a living declaration against the UN’

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:25:19 +0000

Israel’s President Shimon Peres on Monday demanded a strong international stand against terror in a speech to the United Nations’s General Assembly in New York. He also asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to condemn missile fire from Gaza.

Peres: Ahmadinejad ‘a living declaration against the UN’

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:25:19 +0000

Hague dismisses Wikileaks revelations on Afghanistan

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:02:26 +0000

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague on Monday dismissed the potential impact of the 75.000 classified military documents that have been revealed by Wikileaks, saying that “they should not be damaging the international efforts.” Arriving at a EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels, Hague said he hoped that the “Wikileaks” revelations would not poison the atmosphere and damage the international efforts in building up the Afghan state. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said it was too early to assess the impact of the revelations. Go to wardiary.wikileaks.org for more about the documents. Also read Greenslade’s blog at the Guardian : www.guardian.co.uk

William Hague: Tougher EU sanctions on Iran “increase pressure”

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:56:39 +0000

Entering the Council building for a meeting with his European counterparts on Monday in Brussels, William Hague, UK Foreign Secretary, said he expects the EU to impose tougher sanctions on Iran in a bid to curb the regime’s nuclear ambitions.

EU slaps fresh oil sanctions on Iran

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:29:42 +0000

European Union foreign ministers on Monday agreed to impose new economic sanctions on Iran, going well beyond the measures approved by a UN resolution last month. The ministers, meeting in Brussels, agreed to ban all new investment by European companies in the Iranian oil and gas sectors. This is part of what some diplomats describe as the most wide-ranging sanctions the EU has ever agreed against any country. The measures include an asset freeze on some 40 Iranian companies believed to be linked to the country’s nuclear programme. This is in addition to the 40 companies singled out in last month’s UN resolution. The sanctions also clamp down on financial transactions between the EU and Iran. From today onwards, any transaction worth more than €40000 with Iran will first need approval from the national treasury of the EU country involved, the Financial Times reported. In the past, US and British diplomats have privately lamented the EU’s lack of willingness to impose more sanctions on Iran, noting the reluctance of Germany, France and Italy, Tehran’s three biggest trading partners in Europe.

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William Hague arrives at his first EU Foreign Ministers meeting

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:48:40 +0000

William Hague, the new UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, discusses the main items on the agenda of his first-ever meeting of European Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg. On the agenda are Gaza, Iran, Kyrgyzistan, among others. Associated Press reported from Jerusalem that European Union pressed Israel Monday to lift the blockade of Gaza, deeming it “unacceptable” while the Israeli Cabinet approved an investigation into the deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in an effort to counter international criticism. EU members met in Luxembourg to discuss ways Europe could renew its role in helping supervise Gaza’s volatile border crossings. Mideast mediator Tony Blair said he hopes Israel will soon ease the three-year-old blockade by allowing commercial goods and reconstruction materials to flow into the Palestinian territory. Wikipedia on Hague: en.wikipedia.org

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Ashton: EU invites Iran for nuclear talks

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:07:05 +0000

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton has written to Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili inviting him to talks as Europe plans new sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear programme, news agencies reported from Luxembourg on Monday. “I have written to Mr Jalili… inviting him to meet with me to now discuss nuclear weapons issues and to take forward the twin-track approach,” the carrot of dialogue and the stick of sanctions, Ashton said as she arrived for talks in Luxembourg with EU foreign ministers. Tehran has long said that it accepts in principle to hold such a meeting between Jalili and Ashton. Ashton wrote her letter as the European Union considers going further than the new sanctions meted out on Iran by the UN Security Council, particularly in the key sector of the oil industry, with prohibition of new investment, transfers of technologies, equipment and services. The assembled EU ministers were set to agree Monday on exactly what areas should be hit, so that EU heads of state and government can formally endorse them at a summit in Brussels on Thursday. AFP story: www.google.com

EU set to push Israel to lift Gaza blockade; Ashton previews talks

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:12:04 +0000

LUXEMBOURG — EU officials said on Monday there were indications Israel would agree to open one of its border crossings to Gaza. On the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, they said it was also likely Israel would drop its current, very restrictive list of goods permitted into the region, which has left the territory’s 1.5 million Palestinians mired in poverty. Instead, there would be a short, agreed list of items banned because of Israeli security concerns, said the diplomats who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the talks. Meanwhile, Tony Blair will join EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday for talks on the prospects of easing the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. The former prime minister and current Middle East envoy was invited to attend by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, chairing the Luxembourg meeting. One of the EU officials said Israel appeared willing to agree to open either the Karni or the Karni and Kerem Shalom border crossings to large-scale importation of goods into Gaza. Europe’s governments are considering how to help encourage the opening of border crossings into Gaza to resume access for everyday goods, as well as humanitarian aid supplies. Blair, who held talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Friday, has raised hopes that some relaxation of the blockade can be negotiated in the next few days. Walking into the Luxembourg meeting, Ashton also said that she wants to talk …

EU set to push Israel to lift Gaza blockade; Ashton previews talks

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:12:04 +0000