Europe Must Defend Rule of Law Standards, ECB's Elderson Says
Europe can foster economic well-being and help increase the euro's global role by adhering to and even strengthening rule of law standards, European Central Bank Executive Board member Frank Elderson said.
The European Union is 'a beacon of legal certainty, strong institutions and the protection of fundamental rights,' he said Monday in a speech at the Italian Constitutional Court in Rome, emphasizing that the connection between this principle and a thriving economy is 'well established.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
44 minutes ago
- Forbes
Low Turnout In Italian Vote Ends Hopes For Shorter Citizenship Wait
Getty Creative A measure presented to Italians via referendum, to reduce the waiting time for Italian citizenship, has failed after nowhere near enough people showed up to vote on it. The result - unsurprising given widespread political opposition to the measure - means millions of people will continue to wait well more than ten years for citizenship and Italy remains an outlier in the EU on the matter. The measure, if passed, would have reduced the official residency requirement for documented residents to attain citizenship from ten years to five, bringing Italy in line with most other European member states. In practice, the wait can be considerably longer than ten years. Activists campaigning for the reform argued that such a long process is a needless wait for people who are already well-integrated into Italian society, many having spent much of their life there, and have shown their attachment to the country. Citizenship confers various legal privileges, depending on the issuing country, including the right to vote, run for public office and sometimes participate in certain labor markets. More broadly, citizenship is considered valuable to many immigrants as it represents the acceptance of the host country, as well as a level of security offered by a permanent status. There is also a whole raft of discriminations based on someone not being a citizen - beyond what one might consider 'standard' discrimination. People who may have full language and cultural fluency in a country, for instance, may still find themselves more easily rejected from accommodation, jobs and other services than are people with the right passport, as working with citizens is seen as less of a risk or hassle. At the same time, citizenship - and the pathway towards it - is seen as a strong motivator for the integration of migrants of all classes. The gradual acceptance into both the social and democratic systems of a country offers milestones for someone to learn to live in the country as best they can. Conversely, the systematic refusal to allow even very long-term residents seen in some countries is seen as a method for creating a multi-tiered society, with those denied citizenship feeling and being perceived as permanently 'other' to their host society. Such dynamics are occasionally weaponized, as seen recently in the U.K. when the government announced plans to permanently bar refugees from citizenship if they arrived by boat. It is estimated the Italian measure would have sped up the process for between two and three million people lawfully resident in Italy. The fact that it was rejected - even though it would have applied to people with residence permits rather than an 'amnesty' for undocumented migrants - is no surprise given anti-immigration political tone in Italy. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was elected on a campaign platform heavily featuring immigration and has led a campaign to reduce arrivals and even target NGOs, campaigned against the citizenship measure, encouraging voters simply not to show up to keep turnout low.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Russia Won't End Ukraine War Until NATO 'Pulls Out' of Baltics: Moscow
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Ukraine war won't end until NATO withdraws troops from the Baltics, a top Russian official has warned. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister responsible for U.S. relations, nonproliferation and arms control, made the remarks in an interview with state-run news agency Tass. Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin and NATO for comment by email. Why It Matters Ryabkov's comments mark a shift in the Kremlin's position. He suggested that the conflict's roots lie not only in Ukraine itself but in NATO's eastward expansion. According to Ryabkov, the withdrawal of NATO forces from the Baltics would help bring an end to the war. What To Know NATO maintains a strong military presence in the Baltic States, with multinational battle groups and brigades stationed in Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The military alliance bolstered its presence in the region in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It said in an update on June 6 that the eight battle groups "demonstrate the strength of the trans-Atlantic bond and the Alliance's solidarity, determination and ability to respond to any aggression." Also, Sweden and Finland have switched from being neutral to joining NATO since the invasion. The Kremlin had said Ukraine must abandon its ambitions to join NATO as a condition for ending the war, but Ryabkov appeared to signal to Tass that the alliance must withdraw completely from the Baltics as well. In the article titled "Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov: It is impossible to resolve the conflict until NATO pulls out," the official argued that resolving the conflict in Ukraine requires addressing what he described as the root causes. "The American side requires practical steps aimed at eliminating the root causes of the fundamental contradictions between us in the area of security. "Among these causes, NATO expansion is in the foreground. Without resolving this fundamental and most acute problem for us, it is simply impossible to resolve the current conflict in the Euro-Atlantic region." Ryabkov suggested NATO's eastward expansion was central to the war. "Given the nature and genesis of the Ukrainian crisis, provoked by the previous U.S. authorities and the West as a whole, this conflict naturally acts, well, if you like, as a test, a trial, which checks the seriousness of Washington's intentions to straighten out our relations," he said. Last month, three Russian sources with knowledge of Washington-led negotiations told Reuters that Putin's conditions for ending the Ukraine war include a written pledge from Western leaders to halt NATO's eastward expansion. What People Are Saying A senior Russian source with knowledge of top-level Kremlin thinking told Reuters in an article published on May 28: "Putin is ready to make peace but not at any price." A second source told Reuters: "Putin has toughened his position." Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, told Tass: "Trump's return to the White House, declaring his commitment to a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, has become a reason for cautious optimism in terms of a potential normalization of relations with the United States, but also in a broader sense. "It was in this vein that the presidents of Russia and the United States held four telephone conversations. Our side expressed gratitude for the United States' support in resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, interrupted by the Ukrainian side in 2022. "But Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin also confirmed the basic principle of the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict within the framework of political and diplomatic efforts. Otherwise, long-term peace cannot be ensured, and in concrete terms, it is necessary to exclude any opportunity for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to take advantage of the pause for a respite and regroup their forces." What Happens Next Moscow and Kyiv will continue to launch strikes on each other's territory, with the war in Ukraine showing few signs of a peace deal in the near future.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Canada plans to hit NATO spending target early and reduce US defense reliance, Carney says
TORONTO (AP) — Canada will meet NATO's military spending guideline by early next year and diversify defense spending away from the United States, which he says no longer plays a predominant role on the world stage, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday. Carney said Canada will achieve NATO's spending target of 2% of gross domestic product five years earlier than it had previously planned. 'Our military infrastructure and equipment have aged, hindering our military preparedness," Carney said. 'Only one of our four submarines is seaworthy. Less than half of our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational. More broadly we are too reliant on the United States.' According to NATO figures, Canada was estimated to be spending 1.33% of GDP on its military budget in 2023, below the 2% target that NATO countries have set for themselves. Canada previously said it was on track to meet NATO's spending target by the end of the decade. 'Our goal is to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants,' Carney said. The announcement of increased spending came as Canada is about to host U.S. President Donald Trump and other leaders at a summit of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Alberta on June 15-17, and before the NATO summit in Europe. It also comes as NATO allies are poised to increase the commitment well beyond the 2% target. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said last week that most U.S. allies at NATO endorse Trump's demand that they invest 5% of gross domestic product on their defense needs and are ready to ramp up security spending even more. Carney has said that he intends to diversify Canada's procurement and enhance the country's relationship with the EU. 'We should no longer send three quarters of our defense capital spending to America,' Carney said in a speech at the University of Toronto. 'We will invest in new submarines, aircraft, ships, armed vehicles and artillery, as well as new radar, drones and sensors to monitor the seafloor and the Arctic.' Canada has been in discussions with the European Union to join an EU drive to break its security dependency on the United States, with a focus on buying more defense equipment, including fighter jets, in Europe. Carney's government is reviewing the purchase of U.S. F-35 fighter jets to see if there are other options. 'We stood shoulder to shoulder with the Americans throughout the Cold War and in the decades that followed, as the United States played a predominant role on the world stage. Today, that predominance is a thing of the past,' Carney said in French. He added that with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the United States became the global hegemon, noting its gravitational pull, always strong, became virtually irresistible and made the U.S. 'our closest ally and dominant trading partner.' 'Now the United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its relative contributions to our collective security,' Carney said. The prime minister said that "a new imperialism threatens.' 'Middle powers compete for interests and attention, knowing that if they are not at the table, they will be on the menu," Carney said. Trump's calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, and Carney won the job of prime minister after promising to confront the increased aggression shown by Trump. Carney said that the long-held view that Canada's geographic location will protect Canadians is becoming increasingly archaic. European allies and Canada have already been investing heavily in their armed forces, as well as on weapons and ammunition, since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
