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Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say
FILE PHOTO: The logo of NATO is seen at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the NATO defence ministers' session together with Sweden as the invitee, at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo BRUSSELS - NATO countries agreed a statement on Sunday for their upcoming summit that sets a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security-related spending by 2035, overcoming objections from Spain, diplomats said. The statement has the green light from all 32 NATO members, diplomats said, but will only become official when it is approved by leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump at their summit in The Hague on Wednesday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had blocked an earlier version of the text, saying that committing to a 5% target would be unreasonable and counterproductive. Spain spent 1.24% of GDP on defence in 2024, according to NATO estimates Diplomats overcame Sanchez's objections by adjusting the text on the spending pledge, changing the language from "we commit" to "allies commit", diplomats said. That allowed Sanchez to claim the commitment would not apply to Spain. "We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so," Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television Sunday. NATO operates by consensus so all of its 32 members have to approve a statement for it to be adopted. NATO officials argue that big defence spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China. The alliance's current defence spending target is 2% of GDP but Trump insisted it should rise to 5% - although he suggested on Friday that target should not apply to the United States. Under a plan by NATO boss Mark Rutte, countries would reach 5% of GDP by boosting their core defence spending goal from 2% to 3.5% and spending a further 1.5% on related items like adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles and cyber security. Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Shein says EU fees, French penalties would increase prices in France
FILE PHOTO: A woman leaves a pop-up store of Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein in Paris, France, May 5, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) -French consumers will pay more for their purchases from low-cost online platform Shein if a European Union proposal for a handling fee moves ahead and a French bill placing penalties on fast-fashion products is approved, the company said on Thursday. The remarks from Quentin Ruffat, a Shein spokesperson in France, in an interview with Sud Radio were Shein's first public reaction to the EU plan, which would levy a 2-euro ($2.26) handling fee on e-commerce packages entering the 27-nation bloc. "Why tax us? Why not have a discussion, find a solution between public officials and e-commerce platforms?" he told the French radio station. The proposed EU fee is generally viewed as another setback for platforms like Shein and rival Temu, which have grown rapidly worldwide by shipping inexpensive products directly to consumers and leveraging customs exclusions for low-value goods. The 2-euro fee would apply to packages delivered directly to customers, with a smaller 50-cent fee imposed on parcels handled by a warehouse in the EU. Ruffat also pointed to a bill, approved in France's lower house of parliament in March, that seeks penalties on fast-fashion products in a bid to offset their environmental impact. "Between the (French) bill ... which mainly targets Shein, and the announcement yesterday by the European Union, the French could pay 12 euros more for their Shein clothing by 2030," Ruffat said. EU member governments and the European Parliament would need to approve the handling fees. But France, a powerful country in the bloc, has already endorsed such a measure. The European Commission said in February it would remove duty-free treatment of e-commerce packages worth no more than 150 euros starting in 2028. Earlier this month the United States scrapped its "de minimis" policy allowing duty-free entry to packages worth less than $800. ($1 = 0.8844 euros) (Reporting by Makini Brice; Additional reporting by Helen Reid in London; Editing by Joe Bavier)
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
French, German leaders call on EU to scrap supply chain audit law
Outside view of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, April 23, 2020. REUTERS/ Johanna Geron/File Photo BERLIN/BRUSSELS - The leaders of France and Germany have called on the European Union to scrap its new supply chain audit law, worried that it could hurt the bloc's ability to compete economically with the U.S. and China. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday the law, which requires larger companies in the bloc to check if their supply chains use forced labour or cause environmental damage, should be taken "off the table". His comments came 10 days after Germany's Friedrich Merz called for the law to be scrapped during his first visit as chancellor to Brussels. European bureaucracy has come increasingly under fire as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration sets about fulfilling his campaign promise of deregulation. "Clearly we are very aligned now with Chancellor Merz and some other colleagues to go much faster, and (the supply chain law) and some other regulations have not just to be postponed for one year, but put out of the table," Macron told business executives gathered for an investment summit in Versailles. Under pressure from France, which circulated a proposal in January to slow down the implementation of green regulations and indefinitely delay the CSDDD, the EU Commission had already proposed cuts to the law to reduce red tape for European businesses. But before France and Germany's interventions, a full repeal was not on the table, EU diplomats said. In current form, the CSDDD would start imposing obligations from 2027 on companies to find and fix human rights and environmental issues in their supply chains. EU countries are negotiating the proposed changes to the policy, and had hoped to strike a deal in coming months. The elections in February in Europe's largest economy however, bringing to power in Germany economic liberal Merz, has shifted the tone of the discourse. Merz, the author of 2008 book "Dare more capitalism" who spent years working in the private sector, has called for reduced bureaucracy in Germany and in the EU. It remained unclear if this was the German government's position, given differences within the coalition between Merz's conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats. The SPD co-leader has pointed to the two parties' coalition treaty, which calls for eliminating the German supply chain audit law but keeping a reformed EU one. "Just because the French President expresses his opinion doesn't mean that the SPD changes its position," said SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch on Tuesday. "We see the need for supply chains to be legally regulated at the European level." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Belgium probing NATO staff over defence contract irregularities
FILE PHOTO: The logo of NATO is seen at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the NATO defence ministers' session together with Sweden as the invitee, at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian judicial authorities said they are investigating former and current NATO staff and have arrested one suspect over possible irregularities in awarding contracts for NATO military equipment. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on Wednesday that, as part of an investigation into membership of a criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering, police arrested and questioned two suspects in Belgium on Monday. One remains in custody, while the other has been released. The arrests were made as part of criminal investigations in Belgium, with offshoots to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Spain, and in the Netherlands - coordinated by the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust. The investigations focus on possible irregularities in awarding NATO contracts to defence contractors for equipment such as ammunition and drones, notably the possible passing-on of confidential information by employees of the Luxembourg-based NATO Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA) to defence contractors. Belgian prosecutors added that several former or current NSPA employees could be involved and that there were indications that money obtained from the illegal practices was laundered, partly by setting up consultancy companies. They added that NATO was cooperating with the investigations. A NATO spokesperson said that, thanks to an investigation initiated by NSPA, law enforcement authorities in a number of countries had arrested several individuals accused of corrupt activities related to NATO contracts. "NATO is working closely with law enforcement to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice," the spokesperson said. Late on Tuesday, the Dutch Public Prosecution office said it had arrested a former Dutch defence ministry employee on corruption charges. The suspect - who was arrested on Monday at Schiphol Airport - was responsible for international purchase contracts. The man is suspected of having taken bribes in 2023 over the awarding of purchase contracts, together with others, some of them outside the Netherlands. Two other Dutch suspects - who were not civil servants - were also arrested as part of the case. (Reporting by Geert De Clercq and Andrew Gray. Editing by Mark Potter)
Straits Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Belgium probing NATO staff over defence contract irregularities
FILE PHOTO: The logo of NATO is seen at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in the NATO defence ministers' session together with Sweden as the invitee, at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2024. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo BRUSSELS - Belgian judicial authorities said they are investigating former and current NATO staff and have arrested one suspect over possible irregularities in awarding contracts for NATO military equipment. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on Wednesday that, as part of an investigation into membership of a criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering, police arrested and questioned two suspects in Belgium on Monday. One remains in custody, while the other has been released. The arrests were made as part of criminal investigations in Belgium, with offshoots to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Spain, and in the Netherlands - coordinated by the EU agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust. The investigations focus on possible irregularities in awarding NATO contracts to defence contractors for equipment such as ammunition and drones, notably the possible passing-on of confidential information by employees of the Luxembourg-based NATO Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA) to defence contractors. Belgian prosecutors added that several former or current NSPA employees could be involved and that there were indications that money obtained from the illegal practices was laundered, partly by setting up consultancy companies. They added that NATO was cooperating with the investigations. A NATO spokesperson said that, thanks to an investigation initiated by NSPA, law enforcement authorities in a number of countries had arrested several individuals accused of corrupt activities related to NATO contracts. "NATO is working closely with law enforcement to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice," the spokesperson said. Late on Tuesday, the Dutch Public Prosecution office said it had arrested a former Dutch defence ministry employee on corruption charges. The suspect - who was arrested on Monday at Schiphol Airport - was responsible for international purchase contracts. The man is suspected of having taken bribes in 2023 over the awarding of purchase contracts, together with others, some of them outside the Netherlands. Two other Dutch suspects - who were not civil servants - were also arrested as part of the case. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
