BELGRADE: The European Union could withhold funds from a 1.6 billion euro allocation of loans and grants to Serbia, after Belgrade passed laws that are “eroding trust” in its commitment to the rule of law, the bloc’s enlargement commissioner said.
Reforms to centralize the judiciary that came into force this week brought criticism from judges and prosecutors who see them as bolstering President Aleksandar Vucic’s hold on power, weakening the fight against organized crime and undermining Serbia’s bid to join the EU.
“These amendments are eroding trust. It is becoming harder for those in Brussels who are willing to advance with Serbia to make their case,” EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said in emailed comments to Reuters late on Thursday.
Kos said the commission was reviewing funding for Serbia under the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans, aimed at aligning the region to EU rules and ultimately bringing countries such as Serbia into the bloc. Serbia was allocated 1.6 billion euros of loans and grants under the program.
“These (funds) contain preconditions linked to the rule of law,” she said.
Serbia began official talks to join the EU in 2014 but widespread corruption and weak institutions have slowed progress.
The judicial reforms include limiting the mandate of chief public prosecutors and granting court presidents — responsible for court administration — greater powers over judges. Critics fear the reforms will erode judges’ independence and jeopardize high-level corruption cases overseen by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime.
The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. The justice ministry has said that the new laws will make the judiciary more efficient by streamlining the decision-making process.
Since the backlash, Serbia has requested the opinion of the Venice Commission, a panel of constitutional law experts of the Council of Europe, a human rights body.
“Once that opinion is issued, we expect these laws to be revised accordingly and in an inclusive manner,” Kos said.
EU reconsidering funds for Serbia as justice laws ‘eroding trust’
https://arab.news/wan4f
EU reconsidering funds for Serbia as justice laws ‘eroding trust’
- Serbia began official talks to join the EU in 2014 but widespread corruption and weak institutions have slowed progress
Philippines struggles to evacuate nationals from Middle East as attacks escalate across region
- Over 1,400 Philippine nationals in Middle East have requested for repatriation
- Filipinos are told to shelter in place, follow host government’s advice on situation
MANILA: The Philippines is in talks to evacuate its nationals from across the Middle East, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday, as an increasing number of Filipinos are seeking to leave amid growing destruction from US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counterstrikes against US bases in Gulf countries.
More than 2.4 million Filipinos live and work in the Middle East, where tensions have been high since Saturday, after coordinated US-Israel strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian officials.
Tehran responded by targeting US military bases in Gulf countries, and violence has been widening across the region.
Evacuating Philippine nationals across the region is not yet possible, Marcos said, as countries closed their airspace, leading to airport shutdowns and the cancellation of thousands of flights throughout the Middle East.
“For now, we are depending on the advice that will be given to us by the local authorities in the place where our nationals — where our people — are,” Marcos told reporters in Manila on Tuesday.
The Philippine government has received requests for repatriation from more than 1,400 Filipino nationals in various Middle Eastern countries, including 872 from the UAE and almost 300 from Israel. Similar requests have also been made by Filipinos in Iran, Bahrain and Jordan.
“Right now, the most dangerous area for our people right now would be Israel as attacks there are continuous,” Marcos said.
“The problem now is that no planes are flying and airports are being hit. That’s why the situation is very fluid, our assessment is that it may be too dangerous to mount flights.
“Even if we could charter an aircraft, we cannot do anything because number one, the airports are closed. They are all no-fly zones.”
As the Philippine government prepares for multiple scenarios, officials have secured buses and other vehicles for possible evacuation by land.
Filipinos in “danger areas” have been moved to a safer place, Marcos said, citing the targeting of Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery by Iranian drones on Monday morning.
“But essentially our advice to them is shelter in place and follow the host government’s advice … For now it’s extremely difficult to enter or exit the region because the only aircraft flying are fighter jets and drones, and missiles.
“That’s why it is not a place that you would want to put in a civilian aircraft to take out our nationals,” he said.
“But again, as I said, the situation is changing by the minute, by the hour. We just have to be in very good and close contact with the local authorities.”
