TheNewsGuru

Tag: EU

  • EU to provide free Wi-Fi for European towns without Internet coverage

    The European Union has decided to offer free Internet connection in public spaces throughout the entire bloc to its citizens and visitors, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

    Members of the EU reached an informal agreement with the European Parliament to install free wireless Internet access points in public places such as town halls, hospitals and parks by the end of 2017, Efe news reported.

    “The European Commission wishes to promote free Wi-Fi connectivity for citizens and visitors in public spaces such as parks, squares, public building, libraries, health centres, and museums everywhere in Europe through WiFi4EU,” a commission statement said.

    The political agreement – which is yet to be ratified by the bloc’s Council of Ministers and the EP’s plenary – defines the guidelines for the establishment of public Wi-Fi hotspots, although it does not specify the exact funding that is to be earmarked for the project.

    “The funding will be allocated in a geographically-balanced manner across the EU countries and, in principle, on a first-come, first-served basis,” read a statement by the Council.

    It added that the scheme’s budget would be finalised following the ongoing mid-term review of the EU’s multi-annual financial framework.

    The project, named “WiFi4EU,” aims to set up a multilingual portal that will provide users with a free and secure high-speed Internet connection, as well as easy access to the digital services of the public body offering the connection.

    Municipalities, libraries, hospitals and other public bodies will be able to apply for funding for the installation of local wireless access points using simple administrative procedures, according to the Council.

    However, the public body itself would be responsible for maintaining the connection for at least three years, although vouchers are expected to be available to cover up to 100 per cent of the eligible costs.

  • JUST IN: EU bars Nigerian owned Med-View Airline from its airspace

    JUST IN: EU bars Nigerian owned Med-View Airline from its airspace

    The European Commission has barred Nigerian airline, Med-View Airlines, from operating within its airspace over safety reasons.

    The airline was one of those under the EU Air Safety List Annex A, which includes all airlines banned from operating in Europe.

    A total of 181 airlines were barred from flying into Europe, with 174 airlines barred due to safety oversight by aviation authorities in their home countries.

    The EU Air Safety List is a list of non-European airlines that do not meet international safety standards, and are therefore subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union.

    In the updated version, all air carriers from Benin Republic and Mozambique were removed from the list, while four individual airlines, one each from Nigeria, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe, were added.

    Although Med-View is yet to make an official statement on the development, sources said they are working to resolve the issue and that the United Kingdom authorities would soon visit Nigeria to carry out safety audit on the airline.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Med-View Airline is an airline based in Lagos, Nigeria. The airline was founded in 2007 as a charter airline, mainly operating Hajj flights, and has offered domestic passenger services since November 2012.

  • EU fines Facebook 110m euros over misleading WhatsApp data

    EU fines Facebook 110m euros over misleading WhatsApp data

    European Union antitrust regulators on Thursday said they would fine Facebook 110 million euros (122.4 million dollars) for providing misleading information over its purchase of messaging service WhatsApp in 2014.

    Calling it a “proportionate and deterrent fine,” the European Commission, which acts as the EU’s competition watchdog, said Facebook had said it could not automatically match user accounts on its namesake platform and WhatsApp but two years later launched a service that did exactly that.

    “The Commission has found that, contrary to Facebook’s statements in the 2014 merger review process, the technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook and WhatsApp users’ identities already existed in 2014, and that Facebook staff were aware of such a possibility,” the Commission said.

    The commission added that the fine would not reverse the Commission’s decision to clear the purchase of WhatsApp and was unrelated to separate investigations into data protection issues.

    Reuters reported on Wednesday that Facebook was set to be fined.

     

     

    Reuters

     

  • Illegal immigrants: Nigeria, EU to develop collective agreement on repatriation

    The Federal Government and European Union (EU) are working to have a collective agreement that will facilitate the repatriation of Nigerians living illegally in EU countries.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, made the disclosure on Sunday at a forum in Abuja.

    Onyeama said that the EU also sought to engage with the government in providing vocational training for those who had been repatriated.

    “The EU for instance, for now, is trying to have a collective agreement with Nigeria covering all the EU countries so that there can just be a one-stop-shop and everybody can repatriate Nigerians.

    “We are looking to see whether it will not be fairer to just have separate bilateral agreements rather than one omnibus agreement with the EU.

    “In fact, the EU wants to engage with us in helping to provide vocational training programmes for Nigerians who have been repatriated so that they do not come back, have nothing to do, have no skills and have no choice but try and go back again.

    “So they are also keen to cooperate with us to provide skills development for them.”

    The minister noted that the issue of migration had become a priority for most EU countries.

    He said it was pertinent to engage with the EU to ensure that the “legal rights of Nigerians, be they irregular or regular migrants, are fully respected”.

    Onyeama dismissed claims that some Nigerians were deported from some countries without the knowledge of the Nigerian Government.

    He explained that opportunities were given for migrants to exhaust all legal rights open to them before repatriation.

    He said this was in line with bilateral agreements on repatriation which Nigeria had signed with some countries.

    “The ones from Libya wanted to come home because the conditions in which they were staying were deplorable so it was a question of facilitating their return home.

    “Of course, you know that Libya is almost a failed state at the moment so it is not advisable for any Nigerian to be in that country at the moment.

    “With regard to the UK, we had an agreement bilaterally; they cannot deport without our cooperation because to deport or repatriate somebody, they have to have a travel certificate and the certificate is provided by the Nigerian Government.

    “So, you have to first identify and be sure, we insist, that the person is Nigerian and we insist also that the person has exhausted all their rights.

    “At the moment, these things stand; it is not possible for the UK to unilaterally repatriate without our cooperation,” he said.

    The minister further said the government was not oblivious of the economic situation in the country and stressed the need for an enabling environment for all citizens.

    “The prime responsibility rests with us; we, as a government, have to provide for our citizens and that is what Mr President is trying to do in the restructuring of the economy.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that no fewer than 250 Nigerians have been deported from different European countries since January, including the 50 that were repatriated on Thursday from eight countries for immigration-related offences.

     

    NAN

  • EU pledges $80 million aid to Barrow’s govt. after 2-year suspension

    The European Union, EU on Thursday pledged 75 million euros (80 million dollars) to Gambia’s new government, two years after suspending aid due to human rights abuses by former President Yahya Jammeh.

    The EU froze 33 million euros in aid to Gambia, one of the world’s poorest countries, after Jammeh’s government introduced a tough law against homosexuality in late 2014.

    Adama Barrow, who defeated Jammeh in a December election, has pledged to respect human rights and rebuild foreign relations.

    Jammeh refused to accept the election result and went into exile last month after regional forces entered the country.

    Following a meeting with Barrow in the capital Banjul, the EU commissioner for international cooperation and development, Neven Mimica, said the aid package would to be used to increase food security, rebuild roads and boost jobs.

    “The visit is a clear signal of the EU’s readiness to provide immediate financial and technical support to the democratic process in The Gambia,” Mimica told reporters.

    The EU is also preparing a medium-term assistance package of 150 million euros, he said.

    Jammeh took power in a 1994 coup and his government established a reputation for torturing and killing opponents, charges he denied.

    He repeatedly fell out with the EU, expelling its charge d’affaires in 2015.

    A weak economy and political repression in the West African country has made it one of the continent’s leading sources of migrants trying to reach Europe by sea despite a population of only 1.9 million.

     

    NAN

  • We appreciate your commitment to deepening our democracy, Dogara tells EU

     

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara has commended the European Union (EU)’s decision to include Nigeria among the seven countries that makes up its new commission.

    The Speaker spoke on Monday when he received the delegation from the EU parliament at the National Assembly on Monday.

    According to the Speaker: “The European Union has displayed an unwavering commitment to deepen Nigeria’s democracy by selecting it to be among seven countries that make up its new commission”.

    Dogara said the above was in addition to many other interventions by the EU, “which is helping to promote democratic culture in Nigeria”.

    He stated, “I want to also note with pride, that of the agreements that you have with other nations, about seven of them in total as you reeled them out, only two nations are in Africa and Nigeria is one of them. That shows commitment by the EU to enhance the growth of democracy in Nigeria.

    “Obviously, we are the largest democracy in Africa, so that was a wonderful decision and we can only but reciprocate.”

    Commending the EU Parliament’s interest in Nigeria’s democracy, the speaker noted that deepening democracy goes beyond the ballot, because it was what happens after the ballot that matters.

    He added that, as part of efforts to deepen the quality of the nation’s democracy, Nigeria was already working on the shortfalls observed by the EU in the 2015 elections through bills that were before the National Assembly.

    Dogara maintained that democracy is not just about elections because elections have produced dictators in the past but the people must always work to protect and deepen democracy.

    Leader of the EU Parliament delegation, Mr Santiago Fisaf, while speaking earlier, disclosed that the EU had started a new commission dealing not only with federation election but capacity building, and had chosen Nigeria as one of the seven countries to participate.

    He explained, “a special agreement between a few countries to interact with us and to help each other with best practices in different parliaments. There are only seven countries in the world that we have this agreement with: Ukraine, Maldova, Georgia,Tunisia, Yemen, Peru and now, Nigeria.

    “That means that Nigeria is the only country in south Sahara and Tunisia, in Africa.

    “The aim of this Committee is to build special relationships between the parliaments, institutionally and also for exchange Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, staff, young politicians and political parties. And to exchange ideas and problems and see how we can solve them.”

    Earlier, Vice President of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and facilitator of the meeting, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, informed the speaker that the EU delegation held a thorough interaction with chairmen of some Committees in the House of Representatives.

    He said, “Honestly, we have learnt a lot from the discussions we had with them and also benefitted a lot from the EU discussions. Chairmen of the Committees of the House of Representatives include that of National Security and Intelligence, Public Accounts, Intergovernmental Affairs, Human Rights, Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights.

    “These are members of the team that had discussions with the EU Parliament on many areas of collaboration and observations made earlier in the 2015 elections.”

  • We’ll implement 2015 EU reports to achieve better electoral process in 2019 – INEC

    We’ll implement 2015 EU reports to achieve better electoral process in 2019 – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has said it is studying recommendations from the European Union (EU) 2015 Elections Observation Report that require INEC’s administrative action and was working with the National Assembly to ensure those that needed legal and constitutional amendments were addressed well ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    This was revealed by the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Monday in Abuja when the Lead Member of the EU Parliament Democracy Support and Election Coordination group, Mr. Santiago Fisas, led a delegation to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

    In his words: “We have studied the 2015 General Elections Observation Report of the EU carefully and we have itemized thirty of the recommendations from the Report. Some of them require some administrative action from the commission and where we can implement some of these recommendations, we have already started implementing them”.

    Some of the recommendations already being implemented by the Commission include: Simultaneous accreditation and voting; Continuous Voter Registration (in states where elections have held under the supervision of present Commission with the national roll out of the exercise coming soon); cleaning up of the Voter Register; sustained consultation with stakeholders; collation and transmission of results; and improving the functionality of the Smart Card Reader (SCR).

    The INEC Chairman however pointed out that the bulk of EU recommendations border on Constitutional and Legal amendments. “These are outside the control of the Commission, but we have had a very good working relationship with both the Senate and the House of Representatives,” he said.

    He stressed that “the Senate has gone very far on the amendment of the Electoral Act on clause by clause basis and it (INEC) has benefited substantially from the recommendations that you (EU) have made for legal amendments. For Constitutional amendments, it is a much more extensive process because it requires the concurrence of states”.

    Professor Yakubu assured that: “ We are committed to strengthening and the deepening democratic process. We are committed to implementing all the recommendations of the EU, beginning with the ones we can administratively implement and then we are working with the National Assembly on those that require legal and constitutional amendments”.

    He thanked the EU and its member countries for their technical support, as well as strategic plans.

    Earlier, Leader of the delegation, Mr. Santiago Fisas, had commended the Commission for the feat achieved in the 2015 General Elections. He said the elections were not only accepted in Europe but globally.

    He disclosed that their visit was to build a special relationship with the Commission and to exchange good practices and ideas. He also said that the visit was a follow up to their recommendations after the 2015 General Elections.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the 2015 elections was conducted by INEC under the Chairmanship of the immediate past chairman, Professor Atairu Jega

  • WhatsApp, Gmail into tougher EU Privacy Proposal

    ImageFile: WhatsApp, Gmail into tougher EU Privacy ProposalOnline messaging and email services such as WhatsApp, iMessage and Gmail will face tough new rules on how they can track users under a proposal presented by the European Union executive on Tuesday.

    The web players will have to guarantee the confidentiality of their customers’ conversations and ask for their consent before tracking them online to serve them personalized ads.

    The proposal by the European Commission extends some rules that now only apply to telecom operators to web companies offering calls and messages using the Internet, known as “Over-The-Top” (OTT) services, seeking to close a perceived regulatory gap between the telecoms industry and mainly US Internet giants such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft.

    Tuesday’s proposal would allow telecom companies to use customer metadata – such as the duration and location of calls – to provide additional services and make more money, something they are barred from doing under the current rules.

    The review of the so-called e-privacy law will also force web browsers to have their default setting as not allowing personalized online advertising based on browsing habits. Instead, users will be asked to opt in to allow websites to place cookies on their browsers.

    “It’s up to our people to say yes or no,” said Andrus Ansip, Commission vice-president for the digital single market.

    Cookies are placed on web surfers’ computers and contain bits of information about the user, such as what other sites they have visited or where they are logging in from. They are widely used by companies to deliver targeted ads to users.
    Online adverstisers have warned that overly strict rules would undermine many websites’ ability to fund themselves and keep offering free services. They say the data they use can not identify the user and is therefore low risk, making asking for consent every time too onerous.

    The proposal scraps the obligation on websites to ask visitors for permission to place cookies on their browsers via a banner every time they land on it if the user has already consented through the privacy settings of the web browser.

    The “cookie banner” has been lambasted as ineffective because people tend to accept them without necessarily reading what that entails.

    Companies falling foul of the new law will face fines of up to 4 percent of their global turnover, in line with a separate data protection law set to enter into force in 2018.

    The proposal will need to be approved by the European Parliament and member states before becoming law.

  • 16 EU Parliamentarians demand release of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, others

    Concerned group of European Parliamentarians have called on the European Union and other allied human interest groups to intervene in the quest for the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and others detained along with him; Benjamin Madubugwu and David Nwawuisi, describing their continuous detention despite several court rulings as “part of gross human rights abuses going on in Nigeria”.

    In a joint letter dated December 19, 2016 addressed to the High Representative of the union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Federica Mogherini, the signatories comprising 16 Members of European Parliament (MEP)

    The European lawmakers also complained bitterly about “the continued violence towards IPOB supporters as perpetrated by the Nigerian government,” citing the killings of protesting Biafran activists by security agencies.

    The EU parliamentarians said: “since October 14, 2015, Kanu has been illegally imprisoned by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, despite being acquitted of all charges brought against him,” adding that in spite of acquittal by the competent courts in Nigeria, the federal government has continued to detain the IPOB leader and his colleagues.

    “It is clear that the fundamental human rights of Kanu, Madubugwu and Nwawuisi are being grossly violated. Human Rights Watch have reported of the violation of the defendants’ rights, including their right to a fair trial.”

    In specific terms the MEPs is demanding the HR to act on behalf of the EU and leverage on the relationship between the EU and Nigeria to compel the Nigerian government to release Kanu, Madubugwu and Nwawuisi without further delay.

    “On behalf of the EU, especially in respect to the EU-Nigeria partnership, the Nigeria EU Joint Way Forward, the developments of the sixth Nigeria-EU ministerial dialogue and the fact that Nigeria is a recipient of EU aid, we call upon you to: advocate the immediate and safe release of Kanu and his co-defendants, Benjamin Madubugwu and Nwawuisi.”

     

  • EU files charges against Facebook for cunningly taking over WhatsApp

    The European Union (EU) antitrust regulators have filed charges against Facebook Inc for providing misleading information during its takeover of WhatsApp, opening the company to a possible fine of 1 percent of its turnover, according to a Reuters report.

    According to the report, the statement of objections sent to Facebook will not have an impact on the approval of the $22 billion merger in 2014, the European Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.

    The issue regards a WhatsApp privacy policy change in August in which it said it would share some users’ phone numbers with parent company Facebook, triggering investigations by a number of EU data protection authorities.

    The Commission said Facebook had indicated in its notification of the acquisition of WhatsApp that it would be unable reliably to match the two companies’ user accounts.

    “In today’s Statement of Objections, the Commission takes the preliminary view that, contrary to Facebook’s statements and reply during the merger review, the technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook users’ IDs with WhatsApp users’ IDs already existed in 2014,” it said.

    “At this stage, the Commission, therefore, has concerns that Facebook intentionally, or negligently, submitted incorrect or misleading information to the Commission, in breach of its obligations under the EU Merger Regulation,” it added.

    While Facebook has until January 31 to respond, if the Commission’s concerns are confirmed, it can impose a fine on the US company of up to 1 percent of turnover.