Tag: 2022

PRESS RELEASE : Readout of phone call between President von der Leyen and President Zelenskyy [November 2022]

The press release issued by the European Commission on 6 November 2022.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke today with President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The main focus of the conversation was on ensuring financial support for Ukraine in the months ahead. President von der Leyen informed President Zelenskyy that she would this week propose a substantial financial package from the EU of up to EUR 1.5 billion a month, totalling up to EUR 18 billion, which would contribute significantly to cover Ukraine’s financing needs for 2023. Both leaders recognised the importance of ensuring predictable and regular funding of essential state functions. The support in the form of highly concessional long-term loans, with coverage of the interest costs, would also work to support Ukraine’s reforms and its path towards EU membership. The EU financial package would need to be matched by similar support from other major donors. President von der Leyen confirmed ongoing work by the EU to continue to provide immediate humanitarian support to Ukraine, particularly over the winter. President von der Leyen reiterated that the EU is in it for the long haul in its support for Ukraine.

The leaders also discussed the importance of ensuring Ukraine’s agricultural exports can reach the world. In addition to full support for the UN’s efforts to reach agreement with Russia on the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the leaders also discussed plans to expand the capacities of the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, which have so far been used to transport the great majority of Ukrainian agricultural and non-agricultural exports since the start of the Russian war.

Finally, the leaders discussed strengthening sanctions, as well as the negative role played by Iran’s support for Russia’s aggression and how to respond.

November 11, 2022
Jeffrey Donaldson – 2022 Speech on Elections in Northern Ireland

The speech made by Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP MP for Lagan Valley, in the House of Commons on 9 November 2022.

The Secretary of State is making a statement under provisions laid out in the New Decade, New Approach agreement, yet the only remaining part of that agreement that has not been implemented and honoured by this Government is the most important one of all: restoring Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.

We have had legislation passed on language and identity, and other pieces of legislation, including the provisions that the Secretary of State draws upon today. We recognise that the Government have brought forward legislation on the protocol, which is welcome, and that negotiations are ongoing. The Belfast/Good Friday agreement is based on the principle of consensus and cross-community support. When I hear some Members in this House saying that no one party should have a veto and praising the Good Friday agreement, maybe they need to read the agreement again and recognise that it is cross-community. There was silence from some when Sinn Féin kept Northern Ireland without a Government for three years; nothing was said about removing the Sinn Féin veto, so let us be even-handed.

To conclude, I say to the Secretary of State that words such as “courage”, “understanding” and “compromise” are fine and good words, but what the people of Northern Ireland need now, the sooner the better, is a solution that sees the institutions restored on the basis that Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom, in line with article 1 of the Belfast agreement and with the Act of Union itself.

Chris Heaton-Harris

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his words and his questions. I hear exactly what he says. He details where legislation is in this place. The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill is, I believe, now in Committee in the House of Lords, unamended at this point. It is moving at good pace. This Government’s preferred view is to have a negotiated solution with our European partners, but he can see what we are aiming for in the content of that Bill.

I also hear what the right hon. Gentleman says about the history—I have made that point myself to all those who have raised similar points with me because I am aware of it and of the responsibility that sits on my shoulders. I am also aware that the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement on 10 April could and should be a great day for Northern Ireland, its politics and its past, present and future. I look forward to working with the right hon. Gentleman on all those matters.

November 11, 2022
Richard Thomson – 2022 Speech on Elections in Northern Ireland

The speech made by Richard Thomson, the SNP spokesperson on Northern Ireland at Westminster, in the House of Commons on 9 November 2022.

I, too, thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. I very much echo his sentiment that Northern Ireland is governed best when it is governed locally, but it is also important to recognise that government and politics in Northern Ireland work best when there are good and productive relations between London and Dublin, and between the UK and the European Union.

Northern Ireland has been in the unfortunate position of having both its Governments paralysed by inaction over the past few months, albeit for different reasons, but we have made clear our view that the best place for Members of the Legislative Assembly to be—and where the overwhelming majority of people in Northern Ireland expect them to be—is at work in Stormont, holding a functioning Executive to account as it gets on with overseeing the delivery of vital public services. We do not think it serves the interests of people in Northern Ireland for there not to be an Executive in place, but neither would it serve their interests to hold an election, which, if it achieved anything, would only be to further entrench already well-dug positions. We therefore look forward to the legislation on the period for Executive formation, to allow for essential decision making to take place in the meantime and to allow for some long overdue negotiations to take place.

While we have been clear that the protocol was a necessary measure to protect Northern Ireland from Brexit, we have also been clear that it is not unreasonable in the light of experience for the UK Government to try to renegotiate it. Does the Secretary of State agree that any new settlement on the protocol cannot only be about Northern Ireland and that a revised settlement will only be a better settlement if it eases trade for all parts of the UK, including the UK-EU export trading environment, rather than just trade between GB and Northern Ireland?

Chris Heaton-Harris

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his contribution and his support. I completely echo his view that things work best when conversations are being had, whether in the Executive or the Assembly in Northern Ireland, or between London and Dublin—I would like to think that we have strongly reset that relationship in recent weeks—or indeed between the United Kingdom and the European Commission. Again, I would like to think that we have strongly reset that relationship in a good place in recent weeks. I understand his views about how we move forward. I believe the key to everything is to try to ensure that we get the appropriate, correct negotiated solution to the protocol. All things that flow from that will be beneficial for us all.

November 11, 2022
Peter Kyle – 2022 Speech on Elections in Northern Ireland

The speech made by Peter Kyle, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 9 November 2022.

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. Here at Westminster, our respective parties should strive to work together and build consensus on Northern Ireland whenever possible, so I appreciate his efforts to inform me of developments over the weekend and during the period since the 28 October deadline passed.

Tony Blair was right when he called the peace process

“a responsibility that weighs not just upon the mind, but the soul.”

So I understand the difficulties that the Government are facing. When we talk about elections in Northern Ireland, it is worth repeating that power-sharing, frustrating as it can be, is the essential and hard-won outcome of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, and the principle of consent is fundamental to it. The fact that we have been without an Executive since February damages the agreement that we all cherish.

That has also hit public finances. The independent Northern Ireland Fiscal Council has made it clear that the lack of an Executive has made it harder to manage the pressure of inflation. The cost of living crisis is hitting Northern Ireland particularly hard, and the Government must urgently implement the support that they have promised. If they delay any further, they must give the people of Northern Ireland an explanation, beyond simply saying, “It’s complicated.”

The Labour party has taken a constructive approach to the challenges posed by the absence of devolution. We have called for any of the three Prime Ministers in that time to use their great office to bring parties together. Can the Secretary of State therefore confirm when the current Minister for the Union—who is also the Prime Minister—will visit Belfast? We have taken all parties on their own terms. Will the Secretary of State consider bringing all parties together in one room, so that they can hear the same message at the same time from him? We need everyone to be on the same page when it comes to the challenges that face Northern Ireland.

We have also put forward solutions to the outstanding issues with the Northern Ireland protocol. The politics, as well as the implementation, of the protocol are indivisible from the current impasse. Anyone who thinks differently is on a hiding to nothing. Even though the protocol forms part of a treaty between the UK and the EU, Northern Ireland is, by definition, on the frontline. The Unionist community perceive it as an existential threat, yet party leaders from both communities, and the Alliance party, tell me that they are not meaningfully updated, let alone consulted, on the UK’s negotiations. The Secretary of State is still relatively new in his position. Will he turn a new page and find ways to bring Northern Ireland’s parties together; to bring them in from the cold? Given that negotiations with the EU are so opaque, perhaps he could tell us whether they are finally trying for a veterinary agreement.

I met all the party leaders in the week before the 28 October deadline, and I do not think that what they said then has changed since. There is great hope that the nature of negotiations with the EU has changed, and that a deal is close. If that is indeed the case, the Government need to update the House regularly, and to keep us updated henceforth. Three Secretaries of State in six months was never likely to lead to a sustained effort to restore Stormont. Chaos has consequences. More than any other part of our country, Northern Ireland is reeling from the Tory dysfunction here in Westminster.

I have made it clear that I will support the Government in delaying elections in extreme circumstances, but we need to hear what the time will be used for. This is the crux of the matter. The Government wasted the last six months, so what will they do in the next few weeks that they have bought themselves that they did not do in the previous weeks? If the coming period is to be fruitful, something different needs to happen, so rather than our focusing on the technical aspects of date changes, I would like to hear more from the Secretary of State about what he intends to use that time for.

In the year since my appointment, this is the first statement on Northern Ireland, despite everything that has happened. Will the Secretary of State commit to keeping the House more updated, on a more regular basis, than his predecessors did?

Northern Ireland deserves more than uncertainty, limbo and neglect. The Labour party will always be an honest broker for Northern Ireland, and we will work tirelessly to find the stability that is necessary for a bright future shared by all.

Chris Heaton-Harris

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his constructive tone, and for the way in which we have worked together since I took over this role. I welcome the fact that he, too, noted the contents of the Fiscal Council’s report—issued yesterday—and its explanation of what such a budget deficit means in real terms for Northern Ireland’s finances, and the difficulties that it creates.

The hon. Gentleman asked me about bringing all the parties together, and I would be delighted to do so. The one thing that I suppose the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland can do is convene, and there are many conversations to be had. I know that all the parties are very willing to talk to me, and I hope they are also very willing to talk to each other. So I shall certainly take that opportunity, but I also enjoy my individual conversations with them, and believe them to be very important indeed.

The hon. Gentleman asked about updating the House and the Northern Ireland parties on the ongoing negotiations on the EU protocol. First, it is not for me to update the House on those negotiations; it is the Foreign Secretary who is conducting those. Secondly, on the basis of my experience—I spent a decade in the European Parliament, and have now spent 12 years in this place—I reckon that it is probably quite unhelpful, in many respects, to provide a running commentary on negotiations. However, I understand the sentiment behind the hon. Gentleman’s request, and I will ask the Foreign Secretary to see what can be done to offer appropriate briefings to the parties concerned.

The legislation that I will introduce is intended to create the time and space needed for the talks between the UK and the EU to develop, and for the Northern Ireland parties to work together to restore the devolved institutions as soon as possible. I think it only right that, as we move forward, I do update the House regularly on those matters.

November 11, 2022
Sammy Wilson – 2022 Question on “Obsessive Pursuit of Net Zero”

The question asked by Sammy Wilson, the DUP MP for East Antrim, in the House of Commons on 9 November 2022.

In the relentless and obsessive pursuit of net zero, the Government are now adopting policies that are contradictory and, in some cases, dangerous. We are going to import billions of pounds-worth of natural gas from countries who frack that gas, yet we are turning our back on the natural resources we have in our own country, sacrificing revenue, jobs and energy security. We are going to rely more on wind and solar power, the earth metals for which are in the hands of autocratic regimes, especially China. We are importing wood from America to burn in a power station in the United Kingdom at a cost of billions to electricity consumers. Those policies might be welcomed by the chattering classes, but does the Prime Minister understand the bewilderment, frustration and anger of those who struggle to pay their electricity bills and worry about energy security?

The Prime Minister

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman about importing liquified natural gas, which is why I am keen to encourage more exploitation of our domestic oil and gas resources in the North sea. He and I are aligned on that. We have conducted a new North sea licensing round, leading to about 100 new licensing applications. That will increase jobs in the UK and our energy security, and that is the right thing to do.

November 11, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : Rishi Sunak meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan [November 2022]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 11 November 2022.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed his Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan to Downing Street today.

The Prime Minister was pleased to have the opportunity to meet His Majesty the King early on in his premiership, given the importance and historic significance of the UK-Jordan relationship.

They discussed regional security, including developments in Iraq and Syria and challenges posed by climate change and energy security. Both leaders reiterated their shared commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.

The Prime Minister and King Abdullah also welcomed opportunities to deepen cooperation on trade and investment, including new solar and wind power projects and sustainable infrastructure development.

November 11, 2022
Nia Griffith – 2022 Question on Publicly Owned Energy Companies

The question asked by Dame Nia Griffith, the Labour MP for Llanelli, in the House of Commons on 9 November 2022.

The Welsh Labour Government are setting up a publicly owned company to accelerate investment in onshore wind and other renewables, thus reducing emissions, increasing energy security and using profit for the public good. Given that onshore wind is the cheapest form of renewable energy, when will the Prime Minister step up to the mark, match the Welsh Government and bring forward an accelerated investment programme for onshore wind across England?

The Prime Minister

There has been a slightly chequered history of Labour councils and publicly owned energy companies—in Nottingham, from memory—and that is not a model that we want to emulate. However, we are supporting Wales with the transition. We invested in the Holyhead hydrogen hub, which is a potential future opportunity, and we are looking at nuclear sites and, as we heard from my right hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb), at the huge potential of floating offshore wind in the Celtic sea, which will also all be good for Wales.

November 11, 2022
Alok Sharma – 2022 Speech at COP27 Breakthrough Agenda – One Year On

The speech made by Alok Sharma, the President of COP26, on 11 November 2022.

Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning and welcome to the UK Pavilion and decarbonisation day.

We are half way through COP and obviously I can see the experienced folk who are able to get here at 8am in the morning, others are flagging but thank you for coming to this important event.

Can I also say that today marks Armistice Day and the UK Pavilion will be marking a 2 minute silence at 1pm. You’re all welcome but if you are coming please try and get there 5 minutes before 1pm.

Ministers, colleagues, friends. Good morning to you, firstly a big thank you to everyone who helped get us to this point when it comes to the Breakthrough Agendas.

And, you have been incredibly supportive over the three years of the UK’s Presidency and I know that you will do the same for our friends in Egypt as well, both at this COP but also in their presidency year as well.

So we are marking a one-year launch anniversary of the Breakthrough Agenda in Glasgow.

And, just a reflection on decarbonisation. We’re all doing our bit domestically in our countries and when I was Business and Energy Secretary in our Government, we launched the 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution looking at a whole range of sectors where we needed to decarbonise rapidly.

We launched our energy white paper so there is a lot of work that certainly the UK has done and each of you have done domestically as well in your countries.

The aim of the Breakthrough Agenda was actually to bring countries together to collaborate and make sure that we decarbonise the most critical sectors: Road Transport, Power, Agriculture, Hydrogen and Steel.

And I was really pleased to say that we had 45 governments coming together and they account for around 75 percent of global GDP, so a real heft behind this Breakthrough Agenda work.

And the aim of it of course is to deploy innovative and sustainable decarbonisation solutions, and very importantly to make them accessible and affordable for everyone.

And for people like Stephen Guilbeault, my friend Grant Shapps, ministers who talk to their counterparts around the world will know that one of the big asks of many developing nations is technology at affordable levels as well as finance.

This is an agenda that will help us get there and we have made really good progress over the last year

If you have a look at Zero Emission Vehicles.

There has been a 95 percent increase in global sales, with 1.5 million sold in the first quarter of this year.

And the pace of that is accelerating, same thing with renewables with a big increase this year.

And if you have a look at what the IEA has said, their analysis shows that of all the newly installed energy capacity across the world in 2021, 90% of that was renewables and they expect the same thing in 2022 and 2023 as well.

So I am really pleased that we are making progress across some of these agendas.

I want to welcome Cambodia and Austria, who have recently endorsed the Breakthrough Agenda.

I also want to thank our friends in Germany, Cambodia, Australia and Ireland for endorsing the Agriculture Breakthrough.

And thank you to our friends in France, who have expanded our scope and they have the intent now to launch a Buildings Breakthrough, which as you know in the UK 25% of emissions come from buildings, they’re going to do that in collaboration with our friends from Morocco.

And of course thank you also to Canada, Steven who stated their intent to launch a Cement Breakthrough as well.

But the reality is we know that as with all the commitments we got in Glasgow, that none of this will count for anything unless we actually follow through and we implement so I hope that is something that we will be doing together.

Now one of the other things that people have said to me during this year is that you launched lots of initiatives in Glasgow but what happens when your presidency ends and it has ended.

And what we have tried to do is to house many of these in different forums so that the work can continue

So I can tell you that Mission Innovation and the Clean Energy Ministerial is going to take on the joint stewardship of the Breakthrough Agenda, they’ll do that for an initial pilot phase of one year.

Many of you were with us in New York as well at the UN General Assembly and you will know that on the side lines we also launched the first Breakthrough Agenda Report, put together by the IEA, by IRENA and the High Level Champions, so thank you to all of them and the ministers who attended that meeting at the UK mission

And subsequent of that we have agreed to launch a set of specific and time-bound priority actions.

Four that I want to highlight.

One, collectively we will be developing standards and rules for trade.

Secondly, we are developing demand creation plans.

Thirdly, we are working to improve the provision of finance, international assistance and research.

And fourthly we are taking steps to enhance development and demonstration.

Now I just want to give you a concrete example, one of the priority actions focuses on the research, development and deployment of technologies at that really crucial intersection of climate and food security, and that’s work being done as part of the Agriculture Breakthrough.

And I am also delighted to tell you that 28 leading countries in these areas have agreed to take forward these actions across all five sectors, and collectively that represents over 50 percent of global GDP.

The final thing I want to say is that you all know this, the cost of inaction on this issue is going to be significantly more than the cost of action.

And we have a real opportunity here to build economies and to build green jobs and actually at the end of the day deliver not only a clean environment but also a wealthier set of communities across the world.

So thank you for everything you are doing and we look forward to continuing to work with you.

November 11, 2022
Kwasi Kwarteng – 2022 Comments on His Period as Chancellor of the Exchequer

The comments made by Kwasi Kwarteng, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, in an interview with Tom Newton Dunn on TalkTV on 10 November 2022.

INTERVIEWER

[What went wrong?]

KWASI KWARTENG

I think we tried to do too much too quickly, too much too fast. And of course, there’ll be a budget in April. So I think that was her vision, her drive was 100% the right thing, but I think we need a better tactical plan to deliver what she wanted.

INTERVIEWER

[Why did you do everything so fast?]

KWASI KWARTENG

I think the Prime Minister was very much of the view that we needed to seize the opportunity, we needed to hit the ground running and she’s very dynamic, very forceful. That’s a great strength, but I think you had to have a measured approach, especially doing the things that were radical and bold.

INTERVIEWER

[Wasn’t it obvious you were going to frighten the markets?]

KWASI KWARTENG

There were lots of things going on. I mean, it wasn’t simply the breakneck speed which you’ve talked about, it so happened that the dollar was a record low, sterling at a record low, the Yen was at a 50 year low, the Euro was at a 20 year low and the Eurozone has only been around for 20 years. Interest rates are rising sharply across the world, there was a global picture as well, but I fully admit that the mini budget did surprise the markets and that’s something that we have to we have to accept.

INTERVIEWER

[Who controlled that pace?]

KWASI KWARTENG

I bear some responsibility for it. I think it was a good idea to try and set our parameters quickly and I think the Prime Minister was very much of the view that we needed to, but I think I think it was too quick.

INTERVIEWER

[Did you tell the Prime Minister to slow down?]

KWASI KWARTENG

I said actually after the budget that because we were going very fast. Even after the mini budget, we were going breakneck speed and I said, you know, we should slow down.

INTERVIEWER

[What did she say?]

KWASI KWARTENG

I said you’ll have two months if you go on like this and that’s I’m afraid what happened.

November 11, 2022
PRESS RELEASE : COP27 Science Day Reiterates Importance of Data and Evidence for Delivering Implementation [November 2022]
The press release issued by COP27 on 10 November 2022.
- Scientific research critical to accelerating delivery for mitigation and adaptation
- Egypt launches 1st Vulnerability Assessment Map and One Health initiative
- Speakers across sessions from FAO, UNDP, WHO and IPCC as well as senior representatives from the Egyptian Government
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt,10 November 2022 – COP27’s second thematic day focused on the importance of scientific developments and research to solve the catastrophic long-term problems that the world is facing as a result of climate change. The various sessions concluded that scientists need to do more to make their data available and understandable to help policy makers fight climate change.

Science Day comprised of panel discussions and events to bring forward the outcomes of the reports and their recommendations, and further enhance engagement of the climate community, practitioners, and different stakeholders to discuss and engage on the linkages and findings related to climate change.

Commenting on Science Day, COP27 President H.E. Sameh Shoukry said, “Science plays a key role in informing the climate process, providing critical evidence and numbers to build the case for action and the urgency of implementation. We hope that all the participants in our thematic day on science leave with a stronger desire for finding science-based solutions and plan for implementation that leaves no one behind.”

COP President Shoukry also added: “While we cannot turn back time on melting glaciers and reverse global emissions, we can stop backsliding on our commitments and slow down, even stop some of the impact of climate change by drawing upon science to find solutions.”

The opening of Science Day kicked-off with a session, “IPCC 6th Assessment Report: How to Accelerate Global Climate Action,” during which the panel reiterated the message that humans have changed climate. Featuring Egyptian Minister of Environment Dr Yasmine Fouad, Egyptian Minister of Higher Education, HE Mohamed Ayman Ashour, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair, Hoesung Lee, the speakers referenced the warnings from the global scientific and academic community and the need for science-based information to support implementation.

As part of Science Day at COP27, Egypt launched its 1st Vulnerability Assessment Map, which was informed by data from the IPCC that gathered policymakers to support its commitment to planning that is informed by science and evidence.

Also launched at Science Day was the One Health Initiative at the session, “Health and Climate Change: One Health for All: One Vision and One Response”. The session, led by His Excellency Professor Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, Egypt’s Minister of Health and Population, along with WHO, UNDP and FAO, laid out ambition to improve the health of all – human and animal – in the face of the impact of climate change.

One Health builds on the learnings, and costs of, COVID-19 where lower- and middle-income countries received the brunt of the disease burden. Egypt’s One Health Action Plan will provide better mitigation to confront this climate change health crisis.

During the day, several panels organized by the Egypt COP27 Presidency panels took place including:
- Uniting Global Scientific Research Efforts to Tackle Climate Change, wherein the key takeaway was a call for policy makers to use scientific research to help move from assessment to implementation
- Global and Regional Environmental Conventions, Assessments and Outlooks: Harmonizing Efforts, which urged for the importance of speed in delivering science-based evidence of impact against climate change
- Africa’s Changing Environment: Improve Africa’s Resilience to Climate Change, which called for African countries to develop systematic approaches to data, to help make informed policy decisions
- Redirect: The role of research, development and innovation in addressing climate change’ focused on the role of academic communities as coordinators between policy makers and everyday people
- COP27 Global Stocktake Climate Datathon discussed the role of data in the Global Stocktake, to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement
November 11, 2022