CHINA CORNER TIKTOK'S JOURNEY FROM HARMLESS FUN TO BIPARTISAN SECURITY THREAT: The national security red flag-waving about the popular app TikTok began with former President Donald Trump later spread to intelligence agencies and eventually became a bipartisan concern in Congress. After announcing in November that they would table legislation to ban TikTok in the U.S., Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) unveiled their bill Tuesday afternoon. Gallagher described TikTok's effects as "digital fentanyl that's addicting Americans, collecting troves of their data, and censoring their news." Rubio said previous efforts to reform TikTok have been meaningless, adding "it is time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok for good." CHINA CHIPS ALIGNMENT: Japan and the Netherlands have agreed in principle to enforce U.S. semiconductor restrictions against Beijing, Bloomberg reported , marking a win for U.S. policymakers aiming to slow down Chinese adoption of advanced technology. Tokyo and The Hague were targeted for agreement because they host Tokyo Electron and ASML — the leading companies capable of producing the machines that manufacture the most advanced chips currently on the market. KLEPTOWATCH — THE GROWING EU CORRUPTION SCANDAL BY THE NUMBERS: More than $1.5 million in suspected bribes by Qatar have now been recovered by Belgian authorities, following a second series of raids. AVIATION DEAL NOW AT RISK: Members of the European Parliament now suspect Qatar unduly influenced negotiations on an EU-Qatar aviation agreement signed last year, which is yet to be ratified and applied. The agreement, which was criticized by major EU airlines and unions , grants Qatar Airways (one of the world's biggest airlines) unlimited access to the EU market of 450 million people. In exchange, EU airlines get unlimited access to Qatar's market of 2.9 million people. Karima Delli, chair of Parliament's transport committee, which negotiated the deal, has raised the alarm in an email obtained by POLITICO . KAILI SPEAKS: The brother of detained Greek MEP Eva Kaili, that is in any case. "Knowing my sister's morals and personality, I cannot believe that the accusations, attributed to her, and the intentions behind them are true," Mantalena Kaili said in a statement published by his sister's lawyer. WHO'S BEHIND THIS PROSECUTION? For more on Michel Claise, the crime-writing Belgian "sheriff" fighting EU corruption, read this great profile by Karl Mathiesen and Barbara Moens. BEYOND QATAR — SCANDAL SPREADS TO MOROCCO According to an extradition request for family members, seen by POLITICO, Pier Antonio Panzeri, the former Italian socialist MEP arrested over the corruption scandal, stands accused of leaning on his former Parliament colleagues not just for Qatar but also Morocco's benefit — and taking money from both countries to do so. Jacopo Barigazzi has more on the extradition request and the mysterious "giant" who is the alleged source of the bribery money: Abderrahim Atmoun, Morocco's ambassador to Poland, according to the document. Western Sahara in the spotlight: Former Portuguese MEP Ana Gomes, who was a Parliament member for the Socialists and Democrats group of parties between 2004 and 2019, took to Twitter to insist that Morocco had used cash to "frustrate resolutions" on the contested region of Western Sahara — which is partially occupied by Rabat's forces. "It's not just Qatar, and it's not just the individuals who have been named who are involved" in foreign influence operations, Raphaël Glucksmann, a French socialist lawmaker, who heads a committee against foreign interference in Parliament, told POLITICO in Strasbourg , where the Parliament is meeting this week. U.K. — LONDON'S SHRINKING FINANCIAL ROLE: London's share of proceeds from European initial public offerings has fallen its lowest point since 2009 — just 9 percent of the European total — in another sign of the U.K.'s shrinking place among global financial markets. In November, Britain's stock market lost its position as Europe's most-valued exchange, to France. UKRAINE U.S MAY BE ABOUT TO SEND LONG-RANGE PATRIOT MISSILES The Biden administration is finalizing plans to send the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine , "according to two U.S. officials and a senior administration official," CNN reported. Ukraine has been asking for the missiles for months as it endures repeated missile and drone attacks. Neither Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin nor Biden have approved the plan yet. FRANCE MOBILIZES DONORS FOR EXTRA WINTER AID: On Tuesday, 46 countries and 24 international organizations gathered in Paris to agree on new emergency supplies that will "guarantee infrastructure resilience" in Ukraine through winter, like electricity generators, and to bring non-EU partners into the European Union's civil protection mechanism . The parties separately met to advance post-war reconstruction plans, including by signing long-term infrastructure contracts. SOUTH AFRICA — RAMAPHOSA SURVIVES: President Cyril Ramaphosa has survived a parliamentary vote to impeach him, by 214 to 148, over a report accusing him of holding undeclared foreign currency ($580,000 in cash) inside a sofa at his farm in 2020. His ruling African National Congress party largely stood behind him in the vote, and as the bloc with the majority in parliament, it prevented the motion from getting the two-thirds vote needed to start the impeachment proceedings. IMF — SURCHARGES SYSTEM TO REMAIN IN PLACE, FOR NOW: The IMF Executive Board on Tuesday discussed concerns about the system it uses to charge the bankrupt or nearly bankrupt countries it funds, for the supervision and loans it provides. The board did not agree to formally review the system, Reuters reported , disappointing a coalition of countries led by Argentina, and NGOs, which consider the surcharges to be unfair. Some U.S. lawmakers, led by Rep. Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.), have proposed to suspend all IMF surcharges, others prefer to request a suspension of the charges for Ukraine only. Boston University Professor Kevin Gallagher told Global Insider that Pakistan, in the aftermath of historic flooding, is paying steep surcharges. "The IMF should pick up where the House of Representatives left off and suspend surcharges for all countries ," he said. GLOBAL DRUG TRADE: The Biden administration has continued a national emergency declaration over trafficking of "fentanyl and other synthetic opioids" which first declared a year ago. The White House said these drugs are "causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually" and placed the blame primarily on "drug cartels, transnational criminal organizations, and their facilitators." CLIMATE CORNER HOW IMPORTANT IS THE NUCLEAR FUSION BREAKTHROUGH? This is serious. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called it "one of the most impressive scientific feats in the 21st Century," showing for the first time that humans can wield the technology to safely create a net increase in energy. Both the U.S. and EU are part of a project called ITER in which they've invested tens of billions of dollars in recent decades in an effort to use nuclear fusion to create cheap, abundant (and non-nuclear) zero-carbon power. Reality check: The National Ignition Facility's director predicted in 2012 that fusion technology would be commercially viable in 10 years. And now? It's still more than a decade away, experts told POLITICO's Ben Lefebvre and Catherine Morehouse. COWS ON BOATS: 85 percent of Rotterdam lies below sea level — an existential threat to the Dutch city, and also an opportunity. Peter and Minke van Wingerden, married business partners, run the world's first floating dairy farm in the Merwe harbor, a 30-minute tram ride from the city's central train station. A team of 40 volunteers work on the farm and run a small shop — on land. Pro: "You can keep on producing fresh healthy food near the city, or in the city" during extreme weather events like floods or heavy rains, said Minke. Con: Local campaigners and politicians have raised concerns about animal welfare, particularly after a cow fell into the water last year and had to be rescued by emergency services. Read the full story here .
| 
Comments
Post a Comment