Tag: European Union

Sudan Donor Event Raises $1.8 billion

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The event co-hosted by Germany, Sudan, the European Union, and the UN, gathered 50 states and international actors in Berlin to seek political and financial support for Sudan’s democratic transition and struggling economy, on June 25.  

The event raised $1.8 billion in badly needed funds for projects aimed at propping up the country’s poorest citizens. It is hoped that reducing Sudan’s economic instability will give the transitional government the best possible chance of moving forward with democratic reform after the exit of former leader Omar al-Bashir last year.  

Over $1 billion in funding came from three donors — the European Union ($350 million), United States ($356m) and United Arab Emirates ($300m). Co-host Germany pledged $168m, while France and the United Kingdom offered $112m and $186m, respectively.  

“We are thankful and extremely delighted with the level of participation in today’s partnership conference, it was indeed unprecedented,” the Sudanese PM tweeted after the event on June 25. 

“This partnership lays a solid foundation for us moving forward. We know that there is a lot of work to be done, but with this type of support, we will certainly move ahead,” the Hamdok added.  

 “The participants took stock of the achievements of the Sudanese transition so far, and discussed the challenges ahead,” said the end of conference communiqué.  

“Building on the progress made by the Transitional Government in putting in place political and economic reforms, a strong political consensus emerged to support Sudan and its transition in building peace, democratic governance and inclusive economic recovery as well as in progressing towards debt relief,” the countries present declared.   

Despite Hamdok’s positivity about the Berlin conference, the $1.8 billion raised still falls far short of the $8 billion in aid he called for in August 2019. It also falls short of the $1.9 billion Sudan’s The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning said it needed to support a cash-handout program aimed at alleviating the rising living costs.  

Prior to the conference, Hamdok told donors they needed to show up, stressing “I do not want to paint a rosy picture. Any transition is messy and there are so many challenges.” 

“So Many Challenges” 

Hamdok’s transitional government remains in a precarious power-sharing arrangement with the military and has struggled to restructure the economy after losing oil revenues through South Sudan’s recession in 2011. The Sudanese have taken to the streets multiple times to protest the lifting of fuel and other subsidies, which cost the government an estimated $3billion.  

Sudan’s government debt still stands at $62 billion, and it has struggled to get international financing after defaulting on International Monetary Fund loans and because it remains on the United States’ state sponsors of terrorism blacklist.

The country’s Central Bank is on life support, and with foreign currency reserves depleted, the Sudanese Pound has crashed. As a result of the pound’s devaluation, inflation currently stands at 114.33% and remains highly volatile, which places significant cost of living pressures on the Sudanese people  

The pledging conference not only raised funds, but has brought some progress on debt relief and international financing, which are challenges that have long plagued Sudan. 

Following the conference, Poland announced it is ready to settle $122 million of debt, “with favourable conditions to Sudan,” the Sudan News Agency (SUNA News) reported on June 26.  

A number of participants in Berlin including Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya, threw their weight behind calls for Sudan to be removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list.  

“The conference had political targets and it has put Sudan back on the map and signalled its return to the international community. Many countries asked for Sudan to be removed from the state sponsors of terrorism list which is very important for economic recovery,” Khartoum-based journalist Shawqi Abdelazim told the Inter-Press Service on June 26.  

Meanwhile, the US has indicated that a deal could soon be reached with Sudan regarding compensation for the victims of the terrorist attacks on the American Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.  

“My team on the ground is working closely with the Sudanese leadership to try to reach a good result, and I hope that this will be achieved in the coming weeks,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Sudanese media on Wednesday. 

The agreement, and growing international pressure, as expressed in Berlin could pave the way for the US to remove Sudan from its terrorism blacklist and open up crucial financing opportunities for Hamdok’s government.  Both will be crucial to providing international and local legitimacy for the civilian branch of the government and ensuring they can make the major economic advancements required to support Sudan’s transition. 

Read also: Sudan, Egypt Push for Diplomatic Solution to GERD Dispute

 

Caesar Act Sanctions: Another Blow to Syria’s Collapsing Economy

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The US and European Union’s latest round of sanctions, known as the “Caesar Act,” aims to cut Bashar Al Assad’s final foreign economic lifelines. 

Lawmakers passed the  legislation in December 2019 but it came into force today, June 17. They named the act in honor a military photographer codenamed “Caesar” who infiltrated Syrian jails where he took over 50,000 photos of torture and death.  

The sanctions are meant to “compel the government of Bashar al-Assad to halt its murderous attacks on the Syrian people and to support a transition to a government in Syria that respects the rule of law, human rights, and peaceful co-existence with its neighbours.” 

In reality, Syria’s economy is in dire straits. The currency has crashed in the wake of the impending sanctions, driving up the cost of living for ordinary citizens while the regime continues unphased. 

An estimated 80% of Syrians were already living below the poverty line prior to the recent economic decline, which has only intensified their struggle. Their situation is so distressing that thousands of Syrians took a huge risk, returning to the streets for the first time since 2011 to protest the worsening conditions in towns like Suweida, Daraa, and Idlib. 

UN envoy’s report

In his latest briefing to the UN Security Council, UN Special Envoy on Syria Geir Pederson reported that the Syrian pound has depreciated at lightning speed, driving up food and medicine prices and disrupting supply chains.  

“I heard a new level of alarm at the dramatic collapse in economic conditions throughout the country. It is easy to understand why,” Pederson told the Security Council. “During just one week during the reporting period, the Syrian lira’s market rate depreciated more than in the entire nine years prior.” 

“The economic crisis is hitting every part of Syria, regardless of territorial control: from Damascus and the southwest … to Aleppo and the northwest … and to the northeast,” the UN envoy explained.  

The devastating financial and political crisis in Lebanon is one factor that has driven its “twin” economy in neighboring Syria into a spiral of decline, Pederson said. The collapse is also gaining momentum from the fallout from the country’s civil war, long-running structural issues with the economy like poor governance and corruption, the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the Caesar Act. 

“In recent weeks, we have seen many Syrians begin to express new fears – even panic in some quarters. We have heard of shops and pharmacies forced to close, unable to cope with the recent volatility; of jobs being lost; of remittances drying up. In some areas of northwest Syria, reports have emerged of locals increasingly using foreign currencies,” Pederson said. 

The new sanctions effectively penalise any country that does business with any company in Syria. As a result, they cut off the few trade ties Syria has left with its primary trading partner Lebanon, for one – but also with European and Gulf States. 

UNSC response

Security Council permanent members Russian and China spoke out against the sanctions on June 16.  

China called the move to forge ahead with the Caesar Act in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing global and economic crisis, “simply inhumane.”

Meanwhile Russia, who supports the Assad regime, told the Security Council “that the purpose of these measures is to overthrow the legitimate authorities in Syria.”

The US has been imposing sanctions on Syria since 1979, and gradually ratcheted up the restrictions since civil war broke out in 2011. Nine years on, they have had minimal effect on Assad, and failed to trigger the downfall of his bloody dictatorship. 

Sanctions have proven ineffective time and time again and, often missing their target, devastate the lives of the everyday citizens they are supposed to be helping. 

It is unlikely the Caesar Act will be any different or achieve the regime change it so boldly hopes to bring about, and instead will be the catalyst for more pain and suffering for the Syrian people.

Read also: Syrians Brace for Looming Sanctions

Greek PM Travels to Israel to Talk Turkey, Tourism, Energy

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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, flanked by six ministers, touched down in Tel Aviv airport Tuesday morning for a high-level visit to Israel. 

The Greek PM’s first port of call was a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The pair discussed how to get Greek-Israeli tourism back on track post-COVID-19.  

After the meeting, Netanyahu announced Israel will aim to allow tourists to return from Greece and Cyprus to Israel without going through quarantine from August 1. The exact start date will, however, depend on the COVID-19 situation in the countries concerned.  

“Over a million Israelis go to Greece every year,” Netanyahu said in a press conference after the meeting on June 16. “This is an expression of Israelis’ love for Greece.”  

Ahead of the meeting, Mitsotakis said he was confident Israel-Greece flights would soon resume, and said in the press conference, “We are working hard to ensure tourists are safe.” 

Greece is heavily reliant on external visitation, with tourism accounting for approximately 25-30% of the country’s GDP, and is working to sell itself as a safe post-COVID-19 tourism destination.  

“A lot will depend on whether people feel comfortable to travel and whether we can project Greece as a safe destination,” Mitsotakis acknowledged. 

Tourism, annexation, and energy 

While there is no doubt Greece and Cyprus are top tourism destinations for Israeli travelers, it appears Netanyahu’s willingness to restart tourism is more about winning Greek support for its annexation plans currently causing friction with the European Union.  

The EU says Israel’s West Bank and Jordan Valley annexation plans cannot “pass unchallenged,” while the US accepts them under President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century” Middle East peace plan. 

“We expect Greece to be an anchor of support for us in the [European] Union,” Israel’s Ambassador to Athens, Yossi Amrani, told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday ahead of the Greek Prime Minister’s visit. 

Other diplomatic sources told the Jerusalem Post that Israel does not expect Greece to change its position on annexation, but may help to soften the EU’s attitude towards Israel and block proposed economic sanctions.  

“Greece is not militant and we expect them to help us,” the anonymous diplomatic source said. “We want the EU to have a dialogue with us and not sanctions or declarations threatening to punish us.”

In addition to annexation and the peace plan, Israel’s agenda for the fourth Israeli-Greek meeting includes “energy and the EastMed [gas pipeline]” and “stability in the Middle East with an emphasis on Iran and Lebanon,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Iris Ambor said on Monday. 

Greek priorities 

For his part, the Greek PM is keen to discuss Turkish aggression in the Mediterranean, which he labeled “blatant provocations.” 

“We discussed this matter extensively,” Mitsotakis told the media after his Tuesday morning meeting with Netanyahu. “We discussed the instability Turkey is causing, including in its actions in Libya.” 

Turkey is also a diplomatic thorn-in-the-side and security threat to Greek-Israeli-Cypriot energy cooperation on projects like the EastMed pipeline. 

In December 2019, Ankara concluded a maritime agreement with Libya’s Government of National Accord, which it backs militarily in the Libyan civil war, enabling it to lay claim to a massive swathe of the Eastern Mediterranean. The claim totally ignores established Greek and Cypriot territorial claims, but Turkey maintains the move is within its rights.   

Greece has vocally opposed long-time foe Turkey’s hostile territory grab and defended the EastMed cooperation, stating it “is not directed against nor exclusive of anyone.” 

“Turkey is welcome to give up on its imperialistic pipeline dreams and cooperate with us as an equal and law-abiding partners – not as the neighborhood bully,” Mitsotakis told Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Tuesday. 

The Greek delegation includes the ministers for defense, foreign affairs, tourism, energy, environmental protection and water, and development and investments.  

Israel’s Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Greek contemporary Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos have been in talks over defense cooperation. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Greek FM Nikos Dendias signed off on agreements to increase cybersecurity, energy, agriculture, and tourism cooperation.

Read also: Israel’s Supreme Court Strikes Down Law to Legalize Settlements

 

Russia, China, EU Tell US to Pull Back from Iran Arms Embargo Threats

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Russia and China have echoed the European Union’s sentiments, reiterating that the US is in no position to use the Iran nuclear deal as a platform for imposing a permanent weapons embargo on Iran. In a May 27 letter, to the UN Security Council, and  U.N. chief Antonio Guterres made public today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the US position as “ridiculous and irresponsible.” 

“This is absolutely unacceptable and serves only to recall the famous English proverb about having one’s cake and eating it,” Lavrov wrote.  

Last week, US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft said a draft resolution would soon be introduced to the Security Council calling for a permanent arms embargo on Iran, as it has violated the conditions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Despite no longer being part of the accord, Craft and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have both intimated that reintroducing UN-backed weapons sanctions, under the basis of the JCPOA agreement, is currently a top US priority.  

Top Chinese and European Union diplomats have also questioned the Trump administration’s call for a snapback to pre-JCPOA sanctions. All permanent Security Council members — Russia, China, the US, France and UK — have a right to veto resolutions. 

“The United States, no longer a participant to the JCPOA (nuclear deal) after walking away from it, has no right to demand the Security Council invoke a snapback,” Wang told the Security Council and Guterres in a letter on June 7. 

On June 9, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Frontelles agreed, stating, “the United States has withdrawn from the JCPOA, and now they cannot claim that they are still part of the JCPOA in order to deal with this issue from the JCPOA agreement.”  

“They withdraw. It’s clear. They withdraw,” he stressed. 

The US unilaterally pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) accord

between the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, China, Russia and Iran in 2018. Under the 2015 plan Iran promised to limit sensitive nuclear activities, in return for an easing of sanctions. However the agreement began to unravel when Trump pulled out of the deal under his “maximum pressure” campaign, and re-imposed stringent US economic sanctions. 

Under the JCPOA, which is enshrined in a UN resolution, if Iran violates the terms of the accord, sanctions, including an arms embargo, can be reinstated. Iran has violated the terms of the nuclear deal since the US pulled out, but Lavrov, Wang, and Borrell argue that the US has waived its rights to push for renewed sanctions since pulling out of the accord.  

“A party which disowns or does not fulfil its own obligations cannot be recognized as retaining the rights which it claims to derive from the relationship,” Lavrov explained, invoking 1971 International Court of Justice precedent. 

Read also: Iran to Execute Spy Who Gave Soleimani’s Location to US

 

 

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