“The EU must prepare for a future with more than 30 members through reforms,” Annalena Baerbock told a joint press conference alongside her counterpart Tanja Fajon in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana.

On the Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East, Baerbock said: “Only when the pain of one side is relieved, the pain of the other side can also be relieved.”

Fajon echoed her sentiments on a larger EU, calling expansion a “geostrategic necessity.”

The top Slovenian diplomat expressed hope that the EU will give important signals about expansion to the Western Balkans by the end of summer 2024.

Baerbock and Fajon also announced that they are planning a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina together next summer.

The two top diplomats also attended a roundtable on EU enlargement in times of global crisis.

Baerbock visited the National Logistics Center in the city of Roje with Fajon, where she saw flood protection equipment and learned about the operation of the high-volume pumping unit, which is part of the EU’s civil protection mechanism.

During her visit, Baerbock is also set to meet with Prime Minister Robert Golob.

The EU’s last great expansion was before 2010, but the bloc has been keen to take in Western Balkans countries, in part to make sure they do not fall under the influence of other world powers.

Source: AA

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France, Germany, and Italy have reached an agreement on how artificial intelligence (AI) should be regulated, according to a joint paper seen by Reuters, which is expected to accelerate negotiations at the European level.

The three governments support commitments that are voluntary, but binding on small and large AI providers in the European Union that sign up to them.

The European Commission, the European Parliament, and the EU Council are negotiating how the bloc should position itself.

In June, the European Parliament presented its AI Act designed to contain the risks of AI applications and avoid discriminatory effects, while harnessing the innovative power of AI.

On Friday, MEPs walked out of a meeting with member state representatives after reaching a deadlock over the proposed approach to foundation models, according to Eurativ.

France, Germany, and Italy were among the larger member states pushing against regulation, a move which threatened to derail efforts to get the legislation passed in this session of the European Parliament altogether. 

AI rules should be binding for everyone

During the discussions in June, the European Parliament proposed that the code of conduct should initially only be binding for major AI providers, which are primarily from the United States.

The three EU governments have said this apparent competitive advantage for smaller European providers could have the drawback of reducing trust in them, resulting in fewer customers.

The rules of conduct and transparency should therefore be binding for everyone, they said.

Initially, no sanctions should be imposed, according to the paper.

If violations of the code of conduct are identified after a certain period of time, however, a system of sanctions could be set up.

In the future, a European authority would monitor compliance with the standards, the paper said.

Germany’s Economy Ministry, which is in charge of the topic together with the Ministry of Digital Affairs, said laws and state control should not regulate AI itself, but rather its application.

Digital Affairs Minister Volker Wissing told Reuters he was very pleased an agreement had been reached with France and Germany to limit only the use of AI.

“We need to regulate the applications and not the technology if we want to play in the top AI league worldwide,” Wissing said.

Balance between tech and law objectives

State Secretary for Economic Affairs Franziska Brantner told Reuters it was crucial to harness the opportunities and limit the risks.

“We have developed a proposal that can ensure a balance between both objectives in a technological and legal terrain that has not yet been defined,” Brantner said.

As governments around the world seek to capture the economic benefits of AI, Britain in November hosted its first AI safety summit.

The German government is hosting a digital summit in Jena, in the state of Thuringia, on Monday and Tuesday that will bring together representatives from politics, business, and science.

Issues surrounding AI will also be on the agenda when the German and Italian governments hold talks in Berlin on Wednesday.

Source: Euronews

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“In principle, I don’t think much of erecting market barriers,” Volker Wissing told Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. “Today, cars are being sealed off, tomorrow it’s chemical products, and each individual step in itself makes the world poorer,” he said.

“We have to make sure we produce our electric vehicles competitively – for Germany and for world markets,” Wissing said. A trade war, on the other hand, could quickly spread to other sectors and cause massive economic damage, the German politician warned.

For the German car industry, for which China is the largest customer, the measures would be a threat, according to experts. “There is a very great risk … We need cooperation with China, not a trade war,” said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the CAR Center Automotive Research Duisburg.

More than one in three of the Germany’s biggest carmaker Volkswagen’s vehicles delivered in August went to customers in China, according to the company.

With a value of 6.3 billion euros (6.68 billion U.S. dollars), motor vehicles and parts were Germany’s top selling product by value in China in the first quarter, according to official figures.

If Europe’s largest economy were to decouple from China economically, its gross domestic product (GDP) would drop by 2 percent. This would result in annual losses of 57 billion euros, according to a recent study on behalf of the Foundation for Family Businesses.

China and the EU have a broad space for cooperation and common interests in the automotive industry, a spokesperson with China’s Ministry of Commerce said earlier this month, adding that after years of development, they have formed a pattern of mutual support.

As part of its “In China for China” campaign, Volkswagen recently strengthened its commitment to the country by acquiring a 4.99 percent stake in the Chinese EV startup XPeng. Meanwhile, the group’s brand Audi further expanded its cooperation with its Chinese joint venture partner SAIC.

Other carmakers, such as Geely and Daimler, are also cooperating closely with each other. With this in mind, Wissing said, “Only international trade in global markets creates wealth gains.”

Source: Xinhua

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The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in a phone call to assure people in Nagorno-Karabakh their rights will be protected and to allow for humanitarian access to the region.

“The secretary urged President Aliyev to commit to broad amnesty and allow an international observer mission into Nagorno-Karabakh, and noted the President’s public commitments to help build a future for all those in Nagorno-Karabakh based on peace, mutual understanding, and mutual respect,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Aliyev’s office said he told Blinken “that respective activities are underway to ensure the rights of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region” and that Azerbaijan’s forces targeted only military facilities in the 24-hour operation last week.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Wednesday that allowing monitors into the region “would be proof of confidence that Azerbaijan is serious about its commitments on the security and the wellbeing of people in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Baerbock also announced Germany would more than double the humanitarian aid it is providing through the International Red Cross, boosting the funding to more than $5 million.

Azerbaijan’s offensive has pushed thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee Nagorno-Karabakh, which is entirely within Azerbaijan but had been under ethnic Armenian control since 1994, until parts of it were reclaimed by Azerbaijan during a war in 2020. 

More than 43,000 people had arrived in Armenia by early Wednesday.

Separatist officials said the casualties on their side included more than 200 dead and 400 injured.

Source: VOA

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On her fourth visit to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion over 18 months ago, she said Germany would provide an additional 20 million euros ($21.44 million) in humanitarian aid, bringing the amount provided by Berlin to 380 million euros this year.

At meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian leaders, she also heard calls for Western partners to provide Kyiv with more weapons including long-range missiles to fight Russian forces.

“Ukraine is defending the freedom of us all with great courage and determination,” Baerbock was quoted by her ministry as saying on arrival in the Ukrainian capital.

“Just as Ukraine is standing up for us, it can also rely on us and on our understanding of EU enlargement as a necessary geopolitical consequence of Russia’s war. And on our firm support for Ukraine on its path towards the European Union.”

Despite Russia’s invasion, Ukraine is trying to carry out reforms requested by the EU before it can join the 28-country bloc, a process that usually takes years.

“Reform results in the areas of judicial reform and media legislation are already impressive. But there is still a long way to go in the implementation of the anti-oligarch law and the fight against corruption,” Baerbock said.

She also warned that Russia would target Ukraine’s energy facilities in air strikes this autumn and winter.

“Russia’s perfidious goal is to starve the people again this winter and to let them freeze to death,” she said.

KYIV SEEKS LONG-RANGE MISSILES

Ukrainian officials have also warned that a new Russian air campaign is likely on energy infrastructure after multiple attacks last winter, and have stepped up calls for long-range missiles from its allies to help defend the country.

Following talks with Baerbock, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had called for Taurus cruise missiles to be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible.

“You will do it anyway, its just a matter of time, and I don’t understand why we are wasting time,” Kuleba said in response to a question at a press conference.

He said that Ukraine, a major grain producer and exporter, needed more protection for its ports after Russia stepped up air strikes on grain export infrastructure.

Kuleba has also in recent weeks requested ATACMS long-range missiles from Kyiv’s allies.

Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said on the Telegram messaging app that discussions on long range missiles had been “good” and the question of ATACMS was moving forward, but gave no details.

Zelenskiy, who thanked Baerbock for Germany’s support, told CNN in an interview that he planned to speak again to U.S. President Joe Biden about providing ATACMS to Ukraine, and that he hoped to receive them in the autumn.

Source: Reuters

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The official delegation included Bundestag members Thomas Bareiss, Christian Gorke, and Christian Schreider, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service.

At the meeting with State Counselor Erlan Karin, the two sides discussed the current state of relations and prospects for further bilateral cooperation.

Karin spoke about the country’s ongoing political reforms and upcoming elections to the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Parliament, and the maslikhats, the local representative bodies, on March 19.

The German deputies commended the consistent nature of Kazakhstan’s political modernization and wished the country successful progress along the current path of democratic reforms.

During the meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar, also attended by Ambassador of Germany to Kazakhstan Monika Iversen, the sides addressed the development of Kazakh-German trade and investment cooperation and exchanged views on promising projects in the green economy and conventional energy.

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Scholz recalled a special fund of 100 billion euros created after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, intended for the rearmament of the Bundeswehr.

Olaf Scholz, German chancellor: “My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to force the withdrawal of Russian troops, and do not supply weapons to the aggressor Russia.” “The question remains whether Putin is even ready to negotiate the return of these principles and a just world ? There is nothing to indicate this at the moment.”

On March 3, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden will hold talks in Washington. One of the main topics of the meeting, as reported, will be further support for Ukraine. The US and German leaders will also discuss cooperation on transatlantic security and challenges from China.

Source: euronews

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In a statement the government said it would initially send one company of 14 tanks to Kyiv, though its aim is to send up to 88 tanks from its own stockpiles. 

Scholz said, “This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. We are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally.”

source: foxnews

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