Our hearts are again with the Afghan people at this time. The European Union stands in firm solidarity with the Afghan authorities and our international allies in the fight against terrorism.

During discussions over the last four days in Beijing with State Councillor, Yang Jiechi and in New Delhi with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar, the High Representative has emphasised the importance of the engagement of the international community, and in particular regional actors, in bringing peace to Afghanistan. This is also a message she will take to Moscow next week for discussions with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Only an inclusive, peaceful resolution of the conflict can bring the stability and prosperity that Afghan citizens deserve.

Leaders of the top multilateral development banks (MDBs) have agreed to deepen their collaboration to encourage private sector investment in vital infrastructure needed to support sustainable and inclusive economic growth throughout the world.

Under the theme of “Delivering Inclusive, Sustainable Infrastructure,” the Global Infrastructure Forum 2017 provided a venue to discuss how MDBs can best work with countries and the private sector to create markets for infrastructure projects. The forum brought together potential investors, representatives of the United Nations and the G20 with the heads of the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Inter-American Investment Corporation, International Finance Corporation, Islamic Development Bank, New Development Bank and the World Bank.

Basic infrastructure services – like roads, water and sewage lines, and electrical power – are scarce in many developing countries.  Over one billion people live without electricity, more than 660 million people don’t have access to clean drinking water, and one in three people lack access to flushing toilets and sewerage infrastructure. In addition, countries face the urgent need to invest in climate-resilient infrastructure and renewable, efficient energy sources.

With trillions of dollars in capital sitting on the sidelines earning low or even negative returns, deeper engagement with the private sector can create win-win scenarios where investors earn better returns on long-term investments and developing countries get much needed investment and expertise.

In order to fulfill commitments that countries throughout the world made to meet the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals, the MDBs pledged not only to leverage their resources by joining forces to co-finance projects, but also to help generate interest among private sector investors in Public-Private Partnerships and the development of infrastructure as an asset class for institutional investors.

These pledges are included in the MDBs’ Outcome Statement, issued today at the Forum, which will be accessible at https://pppknowledgelab.org/2017giforum.

Among the speakers at the day-long event were Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, and Wolfgang Schäuble, Finance Minister of Germany, which currently chairs the G20.

Eight parallel sessions explored a variety of subjects:

• How to ensure that infrastructure meets environmental and climate change standards;
• How to help cities meet their infrastructure needs and climate objectives;
• The role of national development banks in implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency programs;
• Mobilization of private and concessional resources;
• Special challenges faced by least developed countries, small island developing states and landlocked developing countries;
• Risk mitigation for emerging market infrastructure;
• Infrastructure as an asset class for institutional investors;
• How to prepare projects with an eye on costs and quality control; and constraints and opportunities for energy and economic development in Africa.

The full agenda of the Global Infrastructure Forum 2017 is available on the Forum’s website, along with a reference guide on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), country data, information on specific infrastructure sectors, key databases and other tools.

The execution of Mr Ledell Lee yesterday has broken a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in the State of Arkansas, in place since 2005. Regardless of the circumstances, the death penalty can never be justified and remains an unacceptable denial of human rights and dignity. It also fails to act as a deterrent to crime.

Whilst reiterating that the European Union is strongly and unequivocally opposed to capital punishment, there are internationally-recognised minimum standards that States which insist on maintaining the death penalty must respect. This includes that where capital punishment occurs, it shall be carried out so as to inflict the minimum possible suffering.

We call on the authorities of the State of Arkansas to reinstate the moratorium on executions as a first step towards full abolition, thus following the positive example of the so far 19 US States who have abolished the death penalty.

L’explosion de jeudi dans la région de Basse-Shabelle à hauteur du village de Golweyn qui a fait un nombre important de victimes civiles a encore accru les grandes souffrances qui accablent la Somalie. Nos pensées vont aux familles des victimes et à l’ensemble de la population somalienne.

La sécheresse a causé une détérioration significative de la situation humanitaire dans la Corne de l’Afrique, et plus particulièrement en Somalie, provoquant le déplacement de centaines de milliers de personnes.

L’Union européenne reste fermement engagée aux côtés de la Somalie et de sa population. La reconstruction d’un pays démocratique et stable, profitant à l’ensemble de sa population, et un secteur de la sécurité entre les mains des Somaliens pour lutter contre le terrorisme sont essentiels pour le développement et la sécurité de la région.

ESMA, in order to ensure a level playing field across EMIR and SFTR, is also proposing some changes to the way ESMA’s fees for TRs are calculated under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR).

TRs have to pay fees on specific administrative actions such as registration, extension of registration or recognition, and an annual fee for on-going supervision which is proportionate to the level of turnover of the TRs. ESMA also advises to simplify the way of determining the turnover of TRs for the purposes of calculating the annual supervisory fees by including revenues only and excluding activity figures.

ESMA also proposes lower fees in the case of extension of registration under SFTR, or in the case of concurrent application under both regimes. ESMA has also proposed the calculation of fees for recognition of third country TRs and the reimbursement of the cost to NCAs in the case of delegation of tasks.