Wanderlust

Tag: europe

  • Brexit papers: What no deal could mean

    British passport

    Another slew of technical notices aimed at providing guidance to the public and businesses on how to prepare for a no-deal Brexit were released by the government on Thursday.

    Ministers say it is an “unlikely” scenario and the UK and EU are working on getting an agreement finalised.

    But what detail has come out of the 28 papers?

    Here is a summary:

    Driving

    Image copyright Science Photo Library

    Mobiles

    Last year, travellers were delighted as Brussels quashed roaming charges for phones used inside the European Union.

    Rather than massive bills for calling back home or posting snaps on social networks, the mobile networks were forced to treat use in other EU countries the same as if the customer was at home.

    A no-deal Brexit means free roaming can no longer be guaranteed.

    The government has tried to put minds at rest, saying it will legislate to include a cap on data roaming charges.

    However, that is not quite the same as being able to use a UK phone in the EU with no additional costs.

    Irish citizens

    As the rules currently stand, UK citizens can cross the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic without any checks, and vice versa.

    That is because of the Common Travel Area (CTA) – which allows for passport-free travel between the UK, Irish Republic, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man.

    But what happens if there is a no-deal Brexit?

    The government has said there will be “no practical changes” to their approach and “no routine immigration controls on journeys from within the CTA to the UK”.

    But with no deal agreed, it is not clear what the EU will say to that.

    Image copyright PA

    Passports

    Ensuring your passport up-to-date is the message from this paper.

    Anyone who wants to travel to the EU after Brexit is told to have at least six months left on their document – or they won’t be allowed to travel.

    And those expecting to get their hands on a blue passport soon will have to wait a little longer.

    Initially, burgundy will still be the colour of choice, although the cover will no longer carry the words “European Union”.

    But if you want the blue passport, ministers say they will be issued in late 2019.

    Firearms

    Currently, EU citizens are allowed to travel with firearms between member states.

    This requires a “European Firearms Pass”, and if you have one, you can go back and forth with it.

    However, in a no-deal scenario, people from the UK will not be able to get one of these passes and will have to check with the country they are travelling to what the rules are.

    The rules won’t change for EU citizens though, whose passes will still be accepted in the UK.

    Safety standards for goods

    One of the things offered by the EU’s single market are common regulations for goods.

    It means, whether you have tomatoes from Spain or sausages from Germany, they all have to adhere to a strict set of rules for quality.

    But, come 29 March 2019, there could be problems.

    If there is a no-deal, goods from the UK would not be covered by the regulations and businesses wanting to export their products would have to check on legislation in each country before they sent them there.

    Also, goods tested by a UK body – say cosmetics or bathroom products – would no longer be recognised by the EU, so would have to go through checks again – by a European Union-approved body – to make sure they meet the bloc’s minimum safety requirements.

    Cars

    As with food and make up, car manufacturers are going to face similar regulation issues.

    If a car is made in the UK, or the parts are, a no-deal Brexit means firms will have to apply to the EU for what is called “type approval” – which shows they comply with EU safety and environmental standards.

    Without this green light, they won’t be able to sell their cars and parts in the 27 member states.

    The paper says that for a time-limited period, perhaps two years, the UK will automatically convert EU approvals into UK approvals – meaning there would be no problem for EU manufacturers wanting to sell their cars in the UK.

    But, without a deal, there is no guarantee the EU would give Britain the same in return.

    Image copyright Getty Images

    Broadcasting

    As it stands, broadcasters in the EU can show their channels in any of the member states, but they only have to come under the scrutiny of one.

    For example, the BBC can show BBC programmes in France, but it only answers to Ofcom’s code, not the French equivalent.

    This “country of origin” principle, however, will disappear with a no-deal Brexit.

    That means broadcasters will have to abide by the regulations in each individual country they want to show their content in.

    Personal data

    You will remember earlier this year that inboxes were flooded with emails about “GDPR”.

    The General Data Protection Regulation applies to all organisations that handle European Union citizens’ data.

    When the rules came in, they gave consumers new rights, such as finding out what data is being held on them, and getting firms to delete that information, unless they had a good reason to keep it.

    Part of the regulation also meant companies were only able to transfer personal data outside of the EU if there was a legal basis for doing so – but they could send it anywhere within the bloc.

    The UK is going to keep the same standard, so there would be no immediate impact there.

    However, if a deal wasn’t agreed, British companies could face problems getting data from member states, as they would no longer be party to it.

    Environment/pollution

    There is a lot of law that has been made in the EU when it comes to protecting the environment and, in turn, the health of citizens.

    Targets to reduce air, water, and land pollution are set by the bloc, as well as emissions from vehicles and industry.

    The UK has pledged to keep these standards, and perhaps raise them higher, but in a no-deal scenario, there may have to be interim measures while we wait for the government to get their new rules through Parliament.

    Also, when it comes to products using damaging chemicals, the companies who make and sell them may need two different permits – one for the UK and one for the EU – giving them more red tape to wade through.

    Image copyright Reuters

    Drugs

    Drug precursors are chemicals that can be used in the illicit manufacture of narcotics.

    But they can also be used for more legitimate means, such as in medicines, perfumes or for plastics.

    Trading these materials is easy enough as a member of the EU.

    But if you are on the outside, it comes at a cost – a license to sell into the block that could cost thousands of pounds.

    So, a no-deal would put firms in that position straight away.

    Space

    The UK is part of a number of joint European space programmes.

    These include Galileo, a satellite project for GPS systems, Copernicus, which carries out earth observations, and EU space surveillance.

    These are important for a range of UK businesses, from telecoms firms to universities.

    But whilst the average smartphone user won’t feel the effect, companies, academics and researchers will no longer play a part in developing the systems and will be unable to bid for future contracts.

    The government has promised to invest £92 million from its “Brexit readiness” to design its own UK Global Navigation Satellite System, but many in the sector have expressed fears of dropping out of the existing EU version.

    Image copyright European Space Agency

    Grants

    The UK can apply for a number of different grants from the EU to fund projects across the country.

    This can range from cash for transport projects and superfast broadband rollouts, through to help for disadvantaged communities, like schemes to create jobs or teach skills.

    But if there is a no-deal Brexit, the cash these things rely on could be cut off early.

    In July, the government promised to fund billions of pounds of programmes until the end of 2020 in the event of a no-deal.

    But there will be some caveats involved, such as collaborations with other member states getting the axe, and changes in line with other public spending.

    Business and investment

    The EU has long held big companies to account when it comes to competition.

    The idea is it stops companies abusing a dominant market position.

    So, when Google was putting its own shopping service ads at the top of search results or when Microsoft promoted its web browser on computers running Windows, the EU gave levied hefty fines and imposed new rules.

    The UK has seen those rules duplicated here – Microsoft introducing a Browser Choice Screen pop-up for example – but if no-deal happens, the same rules won’t apply.

    The government says the UK Competition and Markets Authority will take on responsibility for this role, but it will not be bound by EU law – so outcomes could be different.

    Shipping

    We are an island, and as such, shipping has always played a key role in the economy.

    But a no-deal Brexit could lead to some trouble on the high seas.

    If a ship from a non-EU country wants to enter an EU port, it has to submit security information and get an exemption before docking.

    Of course, members of the EU don’t need to worry about this.

    But, a no-deal UK on the outside would have to apply.

    The papers also reveal crew members from the UK may be affected as they would no longer hold the correct certificates to work on EU vessels.

    The UK has said it will continue to recognise EU certificates for European workers on British boats – but it is up to the EU to reciprocate that.

  • Kofi Annan’s funeral: World leaders bid farewell to ex-UN chief

    Ashanti chiefs join local chiefs, politicians and extended family members to pay their respects to Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary General of United Nations who died on August 18 at the age of 80 after a short illness, at the entrance of Accra International Conference Centre in Accra on September 12, 2018 Image copyright AFP Image caption Funeral ceremonies in Ghana are usually elaborate affairs

    World leaders and royalty have paid their respects to one of Africa’s most famous diplomats, Kofi Annan, at his funeral in his home country of Ghana.

    It is the climax of three days of mourning which saw thousands of Ghanaians file past his coffin as it lay in state in the capital, Accra.

    Annan died on 18 August in Switzerland at the age of 80.

    He was UN secretary-general from 1997 to 2006, the first black African to hold the world’s top diplomatic post.

    He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalise the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/Aids pandemic.

    Africa Live: More updates on funeral The human side of a UN chief The lessons Annan learnt in boarding school Militaries guard the coffin of Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary General of United Nations who died on August 18 at the age of 80 after a short illness, at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra ahead of his funeral on September 12, 2018. Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Annan’s body lay in state after it was brought from Switzerland

    Speaking at the funeral, current UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said Annan was an exceptional leader who saw the UN as a force for good.

    “As we face the headwinds of our troubled and turbulent times, let us always be inspired by the legacy of Kofi Annan,” Mr Guterres said.

    “Our world needs it now more than ever,” he added.

    Presentational grey line

    ‘Irresistible aura’

    By Mayeni Jones, BBC News, Accra

    Media playback is unsupported on your device

    Media captionBBC Africa looks back at the career of the former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

    Mourners in traditional black and red attire filled the main hall of the Accra Conference Centre, which sits about 4,000 people. More are watching proceedings on a giant screen in an auditorium just outside the hall.

    There have been hymns and a performance by soprano and human rights campaigner Barbara Hendricks.

    Annan’s nephew Kojo Amoo-Gottfried read a eulogy, describing how he had led a hunger strike in his secondary school to protest against the quality of food in the dining hall.

    There were also a moving tribute by his wife, Swedish lawyer and artist Nane Maria Annan. She described how her husband was always excited to return home, and thanked Ghana for giving the world such an extraordinary man.

    She said her husband had an irresistible aura of radiant warmth.

    “His legacy would live on through his foundation and through all of us,” she concluded.

    Presentational grey line A boy dances as drummers in traditional dress perform at the Accra International Conference centre where the body of the late Kofi Annan has been laid in state in Accra, Ghana, 11 September 2018 Image copyright EPA Image caption Drumming echoed through the funeral venue as Ghanaians celebrated Mr Annan’s life

    The former queen of the Netherlands, Princess Beatrix, and her daughter-in-law Princess Mabel, who were close friends of Annan, were among the mourners.

    The king of Ghana’s Asante people, Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II, awarded Annan the title Busumuru in 2012 to honour his role as an international diplomat.

    Busumuru is one of the swords attached to the monarch’s Golden Stool, or throne.

    Paramount chiefs' magnificent ceremonial umbrellas at Annan's funeral Image copyright Ayo Bello/BBC Image caption Ghana’s traditional rulers came with magnificent ceremonial umbrellas to pay their respects

    The Anglican bishop of Annan’s home city of Kumasi in central Ghana, the Most Reverend Daniel Sarfo, said: “Today history is being made in Ghana. One of our illustrious sons is lying here.

    “But we are grateful that God used him over the years to work for humanity, for peace. Today, as he lies here, he has finished his work.”

    Local chiefs, politicians and extended family members wait to pay their respects to Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former Secretary General of United Nations who died on August 18 at the age of 80 after a short illness, at the entrance of Accra International Conference Centre in Accra on September 12, 2018. Image copyright AFP Image caption Ghanaians were extremely proud of Mr Annan’s achievements

    All pictures subject to copyright

    (more…)

  • Skripal suspects: ‘We were just tourists’

    Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov Image copyright Reuters Image caption Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov said they were visiting Salisbury

    Two men named as suspects in the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in the UK claim they were merely tourists.

    The men, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, told the RT channel that they went sightseeing in Salisbury but returned to London within an hour.

    They are accused by the UK of trying to kill Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

    The UK has described them as agents of Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU.

    “The town was covered by this slush. We got wet, took the nearest train and came back” to London, they told RT.

    What happened to the Skripals? The new Russian disinformation game Russian spy poisoning: What we know so far What is the GRU?

    The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service have said there is enough evidence to charge the men, who are understood to have travelled to London from Moscow on 2 March on Russian passports.

    Two days later, police say, they sprayed the military-grade nerve agent Novichok on the front door of Mr Skripal’s home in the Wiltshire city of Salisbury, before travelling home to Russia later that day.

  • Mamoudou Gassama: Mali ‘Spiderman’ becomes French citizen

    Media playback is unsupported on your device

    Media captionMalian “Spiderman” rescues Paris child – then meets French president

    The Malian migrant who dramatically rescued a small boy dangling from a balcony in Paris, France, has been made a French citizen.

    Mamoudou Gassama scaled four floors with his bare hands to save the four year old, who was left unsupervised.

    Mr Gassama, who had been in France illegally, received international acclaim for his bravery.

    President Emmanuel Macron personally thanked him and said he would be offered a role in the fire service.

    “This act of great bravery exemplifies the values which help unite our national community, such as courage, selflessness, altruism and taking care of the most vulnerable,” said the official decree published on Wednesday announcing the granting of his citizenship.

    Mr Gassama was initially given French residency, a first step towards citizenship, and then fast-tracked to receive French citizenship for his heroic gesture.

    He earned the nickname Spiderman as a result of his act of bravery.

    He also signed a contract for an internship with the Paris fire service and was given a medal by the city.

    How case shines light on today’s France Travelling is a rite of passage for many Malians

    He arrived in France last year via the Mediterranean migrant route and found a job in construction in the capital.

    He worked cash-in-hand on building sites and lived in a hostel in the western suburb of Montreuil – known as “little Bamako” because of its large Malian population.

    He had not applied for asylum and was living illegally in France.

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  • Roaming charges: What will happen after Brexit?

    Woman using smartphone in front of aeroplane Image copyright Getty Images

    In June 2017 the European Union scrapped additional charges for roaming on smartphones when you travel to another EU country.

    Roaming is when you use your mobile phone abroad. Since last year, UK consumers have, within reason, been able to use the minutes, texts and data included on their mobile phone tariffs when travelling in the EU.

    There are fair use limits, which mean you can use your mobile phone while travelling in another EU country, but you couldn’t get a mobile phone contract from Greece and then use it all year round in the UK.

    Before the rules changed, using a mobile phone in Europe was expensive, with stories of people returning from trips to find bills for hundreds or even thousands of pounds waiting for them.

    Will these charges return after Brexit?

    Image copyright Getty Images

    In March 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May announced: “The UK will not be part of the EU’s Digital Single Market, which will continue to develop after our withdrawal from the EU.”

    That means that the European regulation that prohibits roaming charges will not automatically be part of UK law, so UK mobile network operators, if they want to, might be able to reintroduce the charges.

    EU mobile phone roaming cost-cuts ‘a step closer’ Mobile phone roaming charge abolition plan rewritten Mobile phone roaming charges cut within EU

    A spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for this area, told Reality Check that the White Paper on leaving the EU had proposed “new arrangements for services and digital sectors, recognising that the UK and the EU will not have current levels of access to each other’s markets”.

    They continued: “That approach would not preclude discussions with the EU on arrangements for consumers, for example in the area of mobile roaming, if that would be in the mutual interests of both sides.”

    In other words, it would depend on a future UK-EU deal, which is yet to be negotiated.

    It is also possible that the UK government could create its own laws regulating roaming fees after Brexit, but it would be hard to impose that on UK network operators without a reciprocal agreement with their counterparts in the EU.

    Operators’ plans

    Of course, just because the operators might be allowed to reintroduce roaming charges, it does not necessarily mean that they will do so.

    Three has “committed to maintain the availability of roaming in the EU at no additional cost following Brexit”.

    Vodafone said it was too soon to assess the implications of Brexit on roaming regulation, but added it expected competition to continue to drive good value for customers and that it currently had no plans to change its roaming charges.

    EE also said it had no plans to introduce charging and called on the government “to put consumers at the top of their agenda in the Brexit negotiations to help ensure that UK operators can continue to offer low prices to our customers”.

    And O2 said: “We currently have no plans to change our roaming services across Europe. We’re engaged with the government with regards to what may happen once the UK officially leaves the EU.”

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  • PM to discuss no-deal Brexit plans

    Theresa May leaves Downing st Image copyright PA

    The prime minister is to hold a special three-hour cabinet meeting to discuss preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

    The government is also due to publish guidance on issues such as mobile phone roaming charges, driving licences and passports in the event of the EU and the UK not reaching an agreement.

    The Brexit secretary has said the UK will not pay its financial settlement to the EU in a no-deal scenario.

    He said the government was “stepping up” its contingency planning.

    Theresa May’s proposals, set out after a Chequers summit in July, are fiercely opposed by some Tory MPs and the EU has also expressed reservations.

    Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Roaming charges in EU countries were scrapped in 2017

    Extra charges for people using their phones in another EU country were scrapped in June 2017. But the EU regulation banning them will not automatically be part of UK law after Brexit.

    Mrs May has said the UK will no longer be part of the EU’s “digital single market” after Brexit.

    In theory this means UK mobile operators, if they want to, could reintroduce the charges that could make it expensive to use a mobile phone in another EU country.

    However, last month major operators told the BBC they had no plans to raise charges.

    ‘Nonsense’ and ‘scaremongering’

    Mr Raab said the no-deal plans were “not something we want to have to implement”.

    “No one should pretend that no deal would be straightforward,” he said.

    “There would be risks and some short-term disruption. Extra checks at the EU border would bring delays for businesses.”

    And trading with the EU on World Trade Organization terms – an outcome backed by a group of Brexiteers in a report this week – would be “inferior” to the current arrangements, he said.

    But Mr Raab also criticised those he said were “scaremongering for political ends” about no deal being reached.

    “It’s nonsense to claim that UK supermarkets would run out of food,” he said, adding that people should not be scared by the government’s request to pharmaceutical companies to stockpile extra medicine supplies.

    More no-deal publications are expected in the coming weeks.

  • Cave paintings change ideas about the origin of art

    Image copyright Maxime Aubert

    The artworks are in a rural area on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi.

    Until now, paintings this old had been confirmed in caves only in Western Europe.

    Researchers tell the journal Nature that the Indonesian discovery transforms ideas about how humans first developed the ability to produce art.

    Image copyright Maxime Aubert

    Australian and Indonesian scientists have dated layers of stalactite-like growths that have formed over coloured outlines of human hands.

    Image copyright Maxime Aubert Image caption This painting, from Bone, is of a variety a wild endemic dwarfed bovid found only in Sulawesi, which the inhabitants probably hunted

    There are also human figures, and pictures of wild hoofed animals that are found only on the island. Dr Maxime Aubert, of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, who dated the paintings found in Maros in Southern Sulawesi, explained that one of them (shown immediately below) was probably the earliest of its type.

    Image copyright Maxime Aubert Image caption At the top of the worn painting is a faint outline of a human hand. Below it is possibly the earliest depiction of an animal

    “The minimum age for (the outline of the hand) is 39,900 years old, which makes it the oldest hand stencil in the world,” said Dr Aubert.

    This find enables us to get away from this Euro-centric view of a creative explosion that was special to EuropeProf Chris Stringer, Natural History Museum

    “Next to it is a pig that has a minimum age of 35,400 years old, and this is one of the oldest figurative depictions in the world, if not the oldest one,” he told BBC News.

    There are also paintings in the caves that are around 27,000 years old, which means that the inhabitants were painting for at least 13,000 years.

    In addition, there are paintings in a cave in the regency of Bone, 100 km north of Maros. These cannot be dated because the stalactite-like growths used to determine the age of the art do not occur. But the researchers believe that they are probably the same age as the paintings in Maros because they are stylistically identical.

    The discovery of the Indonesian cave art is important because it shows the beginnings of human intelligence as we understand it today.

    1. Click on links that appear in the video below to explore the story in more depth with Pallab on location in caves in Britain.

    2. Return to the main video by clicking on the box/image, bottom right.

  • China: Car rams into Hunan square killing three

    Map of China showing Hengyang

    A man has driven a car into a busy square in southern China, killing at least three people and injuring 43, local government officials say.

    The car drove into the square in Hengyang city, Hunan province, at 19:40 local time (12:40 BST). Local media say that some victims appeared to have been stabbed.

    The driver, who has a criminal record, has been detained, officials say.

    Officials have not said whether the incident is terror related.

  • Nationalism in heart of Europe needles EU

    Hungary border fence, Dec 2017 Image copyright AFP Image caption Hungary has built a formidable southern border fence to keep migrants out

    Grinning cheerfully as he swipes his mop neatly across the glass front of an optician’s shop, Sandor the window cleaner tells me he doesn’t think much of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party.

    “They may say the economy’s thriving but we don’t feel it,” he says. “The one thing they do right is to keep the migrants out.”

    Not far away, at Hungary’s southern border, the wind whips across the steppe, flattens the grass and whistles right up against the vast metal intricacy of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s border fence.

    Few try to cross it these days. Even so a security patrol crawls, rather menacingly, along its barbed perimeter.

    What is, for some, all about internal security, also represents this country’s decision to prioritise national interest above that of the EU. It’s a symbol of defiance.

    Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The 2015 migrant crisis created a deep split between EU neighbours

    In spring 2015 the wave of refugees and migrants entering Central Europe via Hungary came as a kind of heavenly gift to Mr Orban and many other politicians in the region. They could exaggerate the potential immigration threats and then appear as saviours.

    Hungary, of course, wasn’t alone in its opposition. It decided, along with Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, to reject EU migrant quotas, angering Brussels and earning the so-called Visegrad Four (V4) a reputation as the union’s troublemakers.

    Image copyright EPA Image caption The Visegrad Four are defying an EU agreement on migrant quotas

    But their resistance has shone a light on a profound and dangerous division within the club. Not so much a stand-off between East and West but between the older, established member states and the former communist countries which joined in 2004.

    Read more on this topic:

    Visegrad: The clash of the euro visions EU to sue member states over refugees The castle where a Central European bloc was born Slovak PM Fico threatens boycott of ‘rip-off’ EU food

    Resentment in Slovakia

    In the eerie, blue flashing light of a grimy factory in southern Slovakia, welders in overalls bend over huge chunks of metal. One lifts his protective mask to reveal a lined face.

    During the socialist era, journalist Tibor Macak says, there was more security, more certainty.

    And now? “Living standards aren’t the same as those in other member states. In Germany they earn four times what we get. If we’re talking about the European Union, it should be equal.”

    There is resentment, a sense of injustice here – although Slovakia represents the very least of Brussels’s problems.

    Its leader Robert Fico stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his Visegrad counterparts and declares: “I belong to a union of prime ministers who do not wish to see Muslim communities being created in our countries”. But that’s about as far as his anti-EU rhetoric goes.

    Conscious perhaps of the relative prosperity that EU membership has brought (French and German car manufacturers are among the foreign investors here), Slovakia is, officially at least, open to closer EU integration. Slovakia is the only member of the V4 in the eurozone.

    Image copyright AFP Image caption The Slovak national radio building in Bratislava

    Inside the peculiar upside-down, concrete pyramid that houses Slovakia’s national radio station, Tibor Macak says: “Now is the big question: what happens if (German Chancellor) Angela Merkel and (French President) Emmanuel Macron put reform on the table? Slovakia in the majority supports that – it’s very clear.”

    Not so its Visegrad neighbours Hungary and Poland. There, further EU integration is viewed with suspicion and resistance.

    Polish patriots

    In Poland’s rural east, the women of Zambrow gather every week to practise the old village songs. Boots tap, long skirts sway.

    Jolanta shrugs back her flowered shawl and says: “The most important thing is to prioritise the interests of our fatherland, to support the interest of the Polish people.”

    She recently became a local councillor for the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS). “Most importantly it was patriotism that drove me towards PiS, the patriotism I inherited from my grandparents and parents,” she says.

    PiS, endorsed (in part) by the powerful Catholic Church, has won popular support thanks to generous child benefits and a decision to lower the retirement age. As one mum told me: “All the other parties make promises but they don’t deliver. PiS kept their promises.”

    But PiS have enraged the EU and left their country horribly divided.

    Image copyright EPA Image caption Law and Justice (PiS) leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski espouses traditional conservative values

    The party’s attacks on press freedom, on access to abortion, its decision to continue logging in the ancient Bialowieza forest, in breach of EU law, horrify many Poles.

    But it was the government’s shake-up of the Polish judiciary which brought people out onto the streets in protest and stirred the European Commission into action, triggering Article Seven against a member state for the very first time. The article deals with adherence to the EU’s rule of law values.

    Renate Kim, a journalist based in Warsaw, said “I went to the United States for the elections and when I listened to people, how they believed in what Trump promised them, it was exactly the same as here – ‘we’ll make Poland strong again, we’ll make Poland great again’.”

    “People hear ‘we’ll be a big country with lots of pride, we won’t listen to Brussels and the leftist Brussels politicians’ and they like that, because they feel proud of their country again.”

    No wonder, perhaps, PiS MP Dominik Tarcynski said last week that the Polish government would not back down over the reforms, which the EU Commission and independent experts argue flout the rule of law.

    Brussels is unlikely to withdraw the country’s voting rights – it needs unanimous the approval of all member states and Hungary has signalled support for its neighbour.

    Viktor Orban’s increasingly authoritarian rule, his shift towards a self-styled “illiberal state”, also flies in the face of EU values.

    There are voices within the EU which hint at hitting both Poland and Hungary where it hurts most – by reducing their EU funding.

    This week Ms Merkel issued a veiled threat with regard to the next EU budget.

    “In the next distribution of structural funds,” she said, “we need to redefine the allocation criteria to reflect the preparedness of regions and authorities to receive and integrate migrants.”

  • Controversial EU copyright change faces key vote

    A composite image shows the EU flag, with a copyright symbol embedded in the centre of its iconic ring of yellow stars Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The proposed reform has attracted enormous attention and fierce campaigning on both sides

    EU lawmakers are set to vote on a controversial copyright reform that could change how internet companies treat uploaded content from users.

    A version of the proposal was rejected in July after a grassroots campaign, and fierce campaigning on both sides.

    Critics fear the rules are too broad and could affect parodies, remixes, and even links to articles and websites.

    But many musicians, authors, and other creators back the reforms which they view as necessary to support artists.

    Hundreds of changes have been made since the July vote, but opponents say major issues remain.

    What is the controversy?

    The proposed copyright directive is supposed to protect creators by forcing payments to be made to them if their work is copied or linked to online.

    Most of it is not controversial, and the debate is centred around two sections: articles 11 and 13.

    Why Europe’s copyright plan was so controversial Copyright law could put end to net memes

    Article 13 has attracted the most attention, and been labelled an “upload filter” by critics.

    If a user tries to upload copyrighted music, photos, or anything else, it must be checked against a database – and filtered out if it contains copyrighted material.

    Effectively, it makes sites like Facebook and Youtube responsible for what its users upload.

    Skip Twitter post by @EDiMA_EU

    Did you know that memes containing copyrighted images will be blocked by automated filters under the copyright directive? #FixCopyrighthttps://t.co/p92ip1RPBd pic.twitter.com/BH6KzHrW9L

    — EDiMA (@EDiMA_EU) September 6, 2018

    Report

    End of Twitter post by @EDiMA_EU

    But with more than 400 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, no human could do the job – filtering would need to be done automatically by computers.

    Such systems are both expensive and often criticised for being over-zealous and filtering anything that might be copyright-protected.

    For example, some people believe that background music playing in a family video could be filtered out, or that small samples of copyrighted content in a parody or internet meme image could be enough to trigger the automatic filter.

    The possibility has led to such systems being labelled “censorship machines” by some opponents. MEPs behind the directive say such claims are wrong, and have decried what they see as a misinformation campaign.

    The other debated section, article 11, seeks to grant new rights to news outlets and publishers, giving them a slice of revenue from aggregators like Google who link to their content.

    Skip Twitter post by @Senficon

    The amendment by @AxelVossMdEP proves this “mythbuster” wrong: If snippets were not affected, why would his new amendments only allow individual words to accompany a link? If you use more than that, like a headline, you have to pay. https://t.co/kZ7vUTur1A #SaveYourInternet

    — Julia Reda (@Senficon) September 10, 2018

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    But the broad nature of the rules led to fears that even simple hyperlinks or short “snippets” could be costly – potentially affecting a core part of how the world wide web functions.

    Who is for and against?

    Many creative industry associations continue to campaign for the directive to be implemented – including Britain’s record label group BPI and the Society of Authors.

    Supporters say the new rules will protect artists and creators, making it easier for them to earn a living – and that the amendments made since July should assuage concerns.

    Skip Twitter post by @Soc_of_Authors

    Nobody’s hearing about all the good things in the Directive – like the transparency triangle. Authors will get proper accounting of how well their work’s doing, and a proper share of the profits if they do well.

    — Society of Authors (@Soc_of_Authors) September 7, 2018

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    Record labels have campaigned for the reform to go ahead, along with music titans like Sir Paul McCartney.

    Ahead of the July vote, some 1,300 musicians declared support for the changes, which would require websites like YouTube or Facebook to detect and delete user uploads of copyrighted music.

    But the divide between those for and against is not entirely clear-cut.

    Musician Wyclef Jean of the Fugees, for example, is in Strasbourg campaigning against the changes, which he believes will actually hurt musicians.

    And while some critics say the changes will hurt small businesses to the benefit of existing internet giants, those same giants – including Facebook and Google – also oppose the directive, which would make them liable for content uploaded by their users.

    What happens next?

    The July vote was defeated 318-278 after thousands of ordinary people contacted their European representatives following a grassroots campaign.

    But under European parliament rules, that meant it would be amended and debated before going for another vote, due on Wednesday.

    More than 250 changes to the original text have been proposed.

    “This vote is our best chance to prevent EU copyright reform from causing lasting harm to the open internet,” MEP Julia Reder said in a blog post criticising many of the proposed changes.

    Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation, meanwhile, said the proposal was “so terrible, it can only be called an extinction-level event for the internet as we know it”.

    French MEP Marc Joulaud told the AFP news agency, which also backs the measure: “The feeling of many in parliament is that on Wednesday we decide the life or death of the law.”

    “We can still finish on time if the text passes on Wednesday. This is the last slot,” he said.