May292017

EU announces over €44 million of humanitarian funding to help people in need in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan

EU
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The funding will support Afghan refugees and their families in Iran and Pakistan, help victims of conflict in Afghanistan and improve disaster risk management in Central Asia.

“The EU’s assistance announced today will help hundreds of thousands of people affected by conflicts and natural disasters in South-West and Central Asia. I was recently in the region and saw first-hand the humanitarian needs. Children always suffer the most in long-lasting crises which is why a significant part of this funding will also focus on education in emergencies. Investing in children’s future is crucial for the stabilisation of the entire region,” said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides. The Commissioner made the announcement as he met today with Mr Neil Buhne, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan.

€25.5 million will help internally displaced people in Afghanistan who have had to flee conflict or been injured, as well as the most vulnerable Afghan refugees returning to their country. The assistance will focus on areas such as protection, food, emergency shelter, health, water, hygiene and sanitation.

The EU will also sustain and expand its support in Iran. Humanitarian organisations working in Iran will receive close to €10 million to help them complement efforts to provide for the basic needs of Afghan refugees and their families, with emphasis on education of children, protection, food, water, health and sanitation.

Organisations in Pakistan will benefit from funding of about €7 million, which will notably help Pakistanis who have been displaced by internal conflict and also help provide essential services for Afghan refugees.

In Central Asia, over €2 million will be provided for disaster risk reduction so communities are better prepared to respond to natural hazards. The Commission has funded a number of such programmes in the region since 1996.

For more information:

Factsheet on Afghanistan

Factsheet on Pakistan

Factsheet on Iran

Factsheet on Central Asia

 

May292017

High-Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini visits A

EU
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The High-Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini visits Argentina today, where she will meet President Mauricio Macri and Minister of Foreign Affairs Susana Mabel Malcorra.

Argentina is currently holding the rotating presidency of Mercosur. During her subsequent visit to Chile tomorrow, she will meet President Michelle Bachelet, Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Muñoz and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Alicia Bárcena.

The visit will be a chance to further deepen and strengthen the already strong ties between the European Union and Latin America. Argentina and Chile are important partners of the EU in a wide spectrum of areas, from foreign policy to trade and investment, and closely cooperate in the multilateral fora on global issues such as climate change and security.

This visit comes ahead of the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, which will take place in El Salvador in October 2017.

May292017

15 Questions that the Conservatives must answer:

Liberal Democrats
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The Tories seem to think – if we ignore any difficult question – we don’t have to tell the public the truth. If they cannot tell us even the most basic things why should we trust them at all.

Theresa May seems to be hiding their real agenda from the public.

The Tories cannot tell us anything about their plans and they are doing it on purpose. They hope to secure a colossal majority and then to take the country for a ride. We cannot let this happen – our schools, hospitals and social care are at risk

After the debacle on the Dementia Tax, the only policy they gave us detail on, it is no wonder they are trying to hide things from us. They need to come clean and tell us the truth.

These are the fifteen questions that the Conservatives must answer

 

Security

1. Why are the Conservatives insisting on a Brexit negotiation strategy that will automatically prevent access to the vital EU Schengen Information System – used 16 times a second by UK police forces to track terrorists and criminals?
2. Why has only one individual out of hundreds who have travelled to fight for ISIS in Syria been subject to the Temporary Exclusion Order powers introduced by the Coalition?
3. How will the Conservatives ‘ban encryption’ without weakening internet banking security for millions of British citizens?

Schools

4. How many children will lose their free school lunches?
5. How much money will the Conservatives spend on providing free school breakfasts instead of lunches?
6. Exactly how much money will the Conservatives give to schools to plug the the hole in their budgets, and why is their pledge unfunded?

Health and social care

7. How many people risk losing their house as a result of their social care policy?
8. At what level will losses be capped for people with long-term degenerative conditions like dementia?
9. How will the NHS cope with the loss of 26,000 EU staff who are planning to leave because of Brexit?

Welfare

10. How many people will lose their winter fuel payments?
11. How many lives will be lost as a result?
12. Will the coldest areas of England and Wales be exempted, as Scotland has been?

How will they pay for their manifesto policies?

13. Why should anyone vote for a manifesto without costings?
14. How many billions will be lost to the public finances as a result of the Conservatives’ plan to reduce net immigration to the tens of thousands?
15. How much will they raise taxes and national insurance by in order to pay for their pledges?