Vice-President Schinas visits Gdańsk to commemorate the signing of the Gdansk Agreement
Tomorrow, Vice-President for Promoting European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas will be in Gdańsk, Poland to participate in the commemoration of the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Gdańsk Agreement. During the opening ceremony, Vice-President Schinas will deliver a keynote address and lay a wreath on behalf of the European Union. The ceremony takes place in the context of the Freedom Days, which is a three-day long series of events celebrating the signing the Gdańsk Agreement. The events also commemorate the Solidarity Movement revolution and the victims of World War II. In this context, Vice-President Schinas will meet with former President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Lech Wałęsa, and with “YES! FOR POLAND”, a movement of local government gathering mayors of Polish cities, to discuss the impact of Russia’s unjustified war against Ukraine. (For more information: Anitta Hipper – Tel.: +32 229 85691; Yuliya Matsyk — Tél.: +32 229 13173)
EU donates five million potassium iodide tablets to protect Ukrainians from potential radiation exposure
On 26 August, the EU received a request for potassium iodide tablets from the Government of Ukraine as a preventative safety measure to increase the level of protection around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The potassium iodide tablets would be used in limited scenarios to avoid that inhaled or swallowed radioactive iodine is absorbed by the thyroid. In response, the European Response Coordination Centre swiftly mobilised 5.5 million potassium iodide tablets via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for Ukraine, including five million from the rescEU emergency reserves and 500,000 from Austria. With a total financial value of over €500,000, the brunt of the assistance will be delivered to Ukraine from the rescEU reserve hosted by Germany. Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič said: “No nuclear power plant should ever be used as a war theatre. It is unacceptable that civilian lives are put in danger. All military action around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant must stop immediately. The EU is pre-emptively delivering five million potassium iodide tablets to Ukraine from the rescEU strategic reserves to offer people protection in case of exposure to high levels of radiation. I want to thank Austria for donating an additional 500,000 tablets to Ukraine. We will continue to be on the lookout and stand ready to act, because preparedness saves lives.” (For more information: Balazs Ujvari – Tel.: +32 229 54578; Daniel Puglisi – Tel.: +32 229 69140)
Executive Vice President Timmermans and Commissioner Sinkevičius in Indonesia for G20 Environment and Climate Ministers’ Meeting
Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, and Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, are in Bali, Indonesia, to participate in the G20 Environment and Climate Ministers’ Meeting on Wednesday, 31 August. They will notably discuss the current environment and climate challenges, such as land degradation, biodiversity loss, integrated water resource management, resource efficiency and circular economy, marine litter, sustainable finance and delivering emissions cuts before 2030. While in Bali, Executive Vice-President Timmermans will hold a trilateral meeting with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, and the COP26 President, Alok Sharma on Just Energy Transition Partnerships, as well as bilateral meetings with Japan’s Environment Minister, Nishimura Akihiro; Australia’s Minister for Climate Climate and Energy, Chris Bowen; the Republic of Korea’s Environment Minister, Wha-jin Han; and the United Arab Emirates’ Climate Change and Environment Minister, Abdullah Mohammad Bel Haif Al Nuaimi. Commissioner Sinkevičius will have bilateral meetings with the Executive Secretary of UNCCD, Ibrahim Thiaw; the Environment Minister of Egypt, Yasmine Fouad Abdelaziz; the Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs of Indonesia, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan; the Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek; the Minister of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, Siti Nurbaya Bakar, as well as the Republic of Korea’s Environment Minister, Wha-jin Han. The G20 Ministers’ Meeting will also be a key event to underline the importance of finalising an ambitious and transformative Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework at the UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, that will take place in December this year. Commissioner Sinkevičius will then continue his official visits and meetings ahead of the COP15 in Malaysia where he will be on Thursday and Friday, 1 and 2 September. More information about these visits is in the Commissioners’ weekly activities calendar. (For more information Tim McPhie -Tel.: +32 229 58602; Daniela Stoycheva – Tel.: +32 229 53664; Giulia Bedini – Tel.: +32 229 58661)
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Athanasios ATHANASIOU
Press Officer / Political Reporter
European Commission
Representation in Cyprus
EU House, 30 Vyronos Avenue, 1096 Nicosia
Tel: +357 22 81 75 76 Mob: +357 99 363753
Twitter: @aathans
EUROPEAN COMMISSION – Daily news 30/08
ATHANASIOU Athanasios7:27 AM
ATHANASIOU Athanasios
Source: Cyprus News Agency