Corruption is Everywhere > Portuguese PM Resigns; French justice minister on trial

 

Portuguese PM Costa resigns after being accused in corruption probe

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced his resignation on Tuesday after he was embroiled in a corruption investigation into the awarding of energy-related contracts.

Issued on: 07/11/2023 - 17:09; 1 min

By:NEWS WIRES

"The duties of prime minister are not compatible with any suspicion of my integrity," Costa told a press conference after briefly speaking with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa earlier on Tuesday.

"In these circumstances, I have presented my resignation to the president of the Republic," he added.  

Earlier Tuesday, Portuguese media reported that investigators had searched several ministries as well as Costa's offices. 

Public prosecutors later said they had indicted Infrastructure Minister Joao Galamba and issued an arrest warrant for Costa's chief of staff.

The investigation covers alleged "misuse of funds, active and passive corruption by political figures, and influence peddling," according to a statement from public prosecutors.  

A separate probe is looking into Costa, who is alleged to have intervened personally to speed up the contracts, the statement said.  

The investigation covers lithium mining concessions in the north of the country, as well as a hydrogen production project and data centre to be built by the company Start Campus in Sines, a town about 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Lisbon.  

Citing flight risk and the possibility that illegal activity could continue, arrest warrants were also issued for the mayor of Sines and two executives at Start Campus. 

The president of the executive board of the Portuguese Agency for the Protection of the Environment (APA) was also indicted. 

APA in May approved a lithium mining project, an essential metal for the manufacturing of electric batteries. 

A second project was given the green light at the start of September. The projects are opposed by environmental groups and part of the local population.

Portugal has the largest lithium reserves in Europe and is the continent's leading producer, but its current output goes entirely to the ceramic and glass-making industries.  

Costa, from Portugal's Socialist Party, has been prime minister since late 2015 and was relected in January 2022. His popularity has recently declined after a series of scandals linked to the national airline TAP.

(AFP)

‘Unprecedented’: French justice minister on trial

for allegedly using office to settle scores

France’s justice minister goes on trial Monday on charges of using his office to settle personal scores, in an unprecedented case that has raised concern about checks and balances in French democracy.

Issued on: 06/11/2023 - 12:03

Modified: 06/11/2023 - 12:05

2 min

By:NEWS WIRES

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti’s refusal to resign, or at least to step aside from his role overseeing France’s justice system during the trial, has drawn wide criticism.

Once a high-profile lawyer, Dupond-Moretti is accused of abusing his position as justice minister to order probes targeting magistrates who investigated him, his friends or his former clients.

He denies wrongdoing. He faces up to five years in prison and half a million euros in fines if convicted on charges of illegal conflict of interest.

The trial marks the first time in modern France that a government minister has been put on trial while still in office, according to legal historians. Until now, it was seen as an unwritten rule that ministers resigned if they were put under investigation.

Dupond-Moretti was appointed justice minister by President Emmanuel Macron in 2020 and has said he will remain in office through the trial, which is due to end on Nov. 17. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne reiterated her support for Dupond-Moretti on Monday before the trial opened.

He is going on trial in a special court for alleged wrongdoing by the government, the Court of Justice of the Republic. He will face three professional magistrates accompanied by 12 members of parliament, six from the lower house and six from the Senate, who will issue a ruling. A majority of eight votes is required to decide on guilt and sentence.

"This situation is unprecedented: A justice minister in office is judged by the Court of Justice of the Republic for infractions committed while he carries out his job," magistrates’ unions said in a statement ahead of the trial.

"Our organizations consider that this situation damages the credibility of the justice minister, and by ricochet, weakens the entire justice system," it said.

Dupond-Moretti is considered one of France’s leading criminal lawyers, and is nicknamed the “acquittor” for his record 145 acquittals. Over the past 10 years, he had been increasingly involved in political cases, and his relations with certain magistrates had soured.

Soon after he was named minister, he opened administrative investigations against magistrates in charge of proceedings that had directly concerned him: three magistrates from the national financial prosecutor’s office and a former investigating judge in Monaco.

The investigations found no wrongdoing by the four magistrates.

Magistrates’ unions filed a legal complaint against Dupond-Moretti, saying the investigations were unfounded and an effort to use his role as minister to settle personal scores. The trial focuses on those investigations.

The minister has always maintained that he wanted to avoid any conflict of interest. On his appointment, he signed a document declaring he would defend “integrity and morality” like all other ministers.

Interviewed on public radio last month, Dupond-Moretti said his ministry would not be “abandoned” during the trial. “The ministry will continue to function, that’s my only concern,'' he said.

Dupond-Moretti is viewed as among the left-leaning members of Macron’s government, but critics from left and right have questioned why he didn’t step aside during the trial.

Some politicians also argue that serving government ministers should be tried in traditional courts, where civil parties can also take part, instead of a special court with its own special rules.

(AP)

European Politics > Russia and NATO - Getting to the truth? Portuguese election results; Fortress Europe - Fencing out the migrants

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Fyodor Lukyanov: Russia has made a breakthrough with NATO

At least in the current state of tensions, both sides now know where they stand

By Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and research director of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

FILE PHOTO. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Of Russia, Alexander Grushko attend the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels, Belgium on January 12, 2022. © Getty Images / NATO

The rapid descent of Russia’s relations with the West seems to have only just started, but has already shown something of a silver lining. The standoff over NATO expansion could arguably be a blessing in disguise, as it very swiftly removed the layer of hypocrisy with which these relations have been thickly coated. The varnish was a mix of two-facedness, double-talk and self-delusion, with a fair share of ideological dogma. The quantity of the ingredients in the recipe was a matter of taste, but the mix remained mostly the same.

When Moscow chose not to mince its words any longer, it produced quite a shock. Suddenly, it made little sense and served no purpose to continue weaving politically correct narratives with more meaningless statements. The cladding fell off the building, revealing its underlying structure – one where at least both sides can see the state of decay for what it is.

This deteriorating state of bilateral ties has produced a few curious findings. The most interesting of them is that NATO’s expansion over the past 25 years has done nothing to make the bloc stronger as a political or military power. In terms of military capacity, it has welcomed a number of countries that have very little to contribute to the joint force but, at the same time, enjoy equal privileges as to the assistance they can receive according to the charter. In political terms, the situation is even more complicated.

NATO has expanded to the point where its members have fallen out of sync on the subject of threats. Indeed, it is hard to think of a threat that would be of equal concern to, let’s say, Canada and Portugal, Lithuania and Greece, or Turkey and Iceland. NATO’s long-term search for a unifying mission that could replace the Cold War agenda has remained fruitless due to such diversity of interests among its member states. As long as the situation on the global scene remained calm, the disagreements were addressed by way of discussions from summit to summit and a lot of red tape. When it came to the bloc’s involvement on the ground (in Yugoslavia and further afield), there was always a group of nations that took the lead while the rest provided symbolic support.

When post-Cold War geopolitics took a turn towards conflict with post-Soviet Russia, it seemed that this had finally provided the solution to NATO’s decade-long search for a mission. Things had come full circle, just gone back to the old track. However, it didn’t and couldn’t work that way anymore. The ‘new old’ adversaries depend on each other these days a lot more than they did during the Cold War era. The Moscow-NATO standoff concerns those same states that fall under the bloc’s enlargement policy, which aims to serve as a foundation for European security. It’s the very same policy that was an outcome of the Cold War and affected its losers, including the post-Soviet republics and Europe’s post-Socialist states. NATO’s security guarantees say the entire bloc is ready to oppose Russia if called on to do so by its Eastern Europe member states – or at least that’s the way it should be.

However, this is where the diversity of interests comes into play as a factor, as too many member states don’t consider such a situation an imminent threat to themselves, even when they choose to formally back the cause. For them, whatever happens in Eastern Europe is too far away and rooted too deep in a history they’re not a part of, so why take on the risk? This lack of alignment among member states is nothing to worry about in quiet times, but in times of trouble, NATO needs to take a stand – and all the more so now those states seeking protection from alleged Russian aggression are publicly demanding proof of the bloc’s promised solidarity. It can’t go back on its promises publicly without undermining its own foundations.

In other words, when NATO formulated its enlargement policy, it never really expected the security guarantees it extended to be called in by anyone in the long run. When it comes to a real crisis and the bloc’s leading powers start talking war, lots of allies stop seeing the fun in the entire affair and begin thinking along the lines of ‘do we really need this?’ If that happens when a NATO member state calls for help, what can be said of pleas for help from non-members, even when the massive propaganda had them thinking they were just a step away from being on board?

A recent incident in which the German navy chief had to resign over some remarks he didn’t word too carefully while on a visit to India reveals a lot about the situation. The doubts he expressed over the growing standoff made sense, which means he can’t possibly have been the only one to have had them. Rather, it was a question of priorities and national interests. Why add fuel to the conflict with Russia when the world is changing, and the change is no longer in favour of Europe or Germany, while China is rising as a new powerful and not necessarily friendly force on the global scene? It makes even less sense given the challenging social and economic situation, so why bother making it even worse by severing ties with a key energy supplier and an important economic partner?

Over the decades, NATO has undergone a peculiar transformation. During the Cold War, the bloc spoke very firmly of its readiness to engage the Communist threat while it never had to actually do so. As a result, it developed a very positive image. Later, it departed from its militaristic rhetoric and began promoting itself as a tool for stability and political transformation. The paradox was that it then had to finally do some military duty – in Yugoslavia, then in Iraq and Libya. Given that, all the talk about NATO policies being strictly defensive no longer had a leg to stand on. Now it has arrived at a point where some of its scared allies are asking it to use force and prove itself as a military organisation – however, it isn’t too keen to oblige, it seems.

Russia’s recent moves have forced NATO to give up rhetorical exercises and begin revisiting its objectives and interests, as well as to test the limits of how far it would be willing to go – in real terms, not as a PR stunt. And that’s already a breakthrough.

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Portugal re-elects socialist prime minister as far-right gains ground

By Adam Schrader

   

António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal and leader of the Socialist Party (PS), celebrates the victory in the 2022 legislative elections, Lisbon, Portugal on Monday. More than 10 million voters living in Portugal and abroad were called to vote Sunday. Photo by Miguel A. Lopes/EPA-EFE

Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Socialist Prime Minister António Costa won re-election to his third consecutive term during the general election in Portugal on Sunday as the new far-right party Chega took ground in the country's Parliament.

The Socialist Party won about 41.7% of the vote, giving them an absolute majority in Parliament for the first time since taking power six years ago, the Portugal Resident reported. The party now controls at least 117 seats in the 230-seat Parliament.

"The Portuguese have confirmed that they want a Socialist Party government for the next four years," Costa said after his win, according to Politico. "They want stability, certainty and security."

The Social Democratic Party, the country's center-right party, held on to second place with 27.8% of the votes -- the same share earned in the 2019 general election, Politico reported.

Chega, which was founded in 2019 by André Ventura, increased its share of the vote from 1.3% in 2019 to 7.2% in 2022 after taking votes from the right-wing CDS-People's Party. With its share of the votes, Chega secured 12 seats in Parliament -- up from just one in 2019.

The growth of the far-right party serves as a sign that it could be a future force in Portuguese politics.

"This is bittersweet. I'm happy with Chega's growth," Ventura told Politico. "[But] António Costa will stay on as prime minister."

Ventura told the Portugal Resident that his party would serve as the opposition to Costa's government because the Social Democratic Party "hasn't done its job."

"It won't be that cuddly opposition," he said. "Everything will be different in Parliament. There will be [a party] telling the truth."

The last time that the Socialist Party had an absolute majority was during the government of former Prime Minister José Sócrates from 2005 to 2011, which was the target of high-profile corruption investigations.

The other party to make gains during the general election was the Liberal Initiative, another new party founded in 2019. The Liberal Initiative, which is a pro-business liberal/libertarian party, earned 5% of the vote share.

Fortress Europe - Fencing out the migrants

Paris - With Poland starting work on a 353-million-euro ($407 million) wall along its frontier with Belarus, we look at other border barriers that have sprung up across Europe, particularly since the migrant crisis of 2015.

- Greek-Turkish border -

In 2012, Greece built two three-metre tall barbed wire barriers along 11 kilometres (seven miles) of its frontier with Turkey, which has previously been mined.

Greece became the main point of entry into the European Union for migrants when its economy collapsed after the financial crisis of 2009. Many crossed the River Evros, which forms a natural barrier along much of the 150-kilometre-long border.

In 2020, after Turkey "opened the doors" for migrants to enter the EU, Athens begins building an "impenetrable" 40-kilometre (25-mile) extension to the barrier, which was completed in August.

Greek soldiers also guard a one-kilometre-deep military zone along the border, interspersed with towers and surveillance equipment.

Graphic of the barrier Poland is building along its border with Belarus

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- Bulgarian-Turkish border -

In 2014 Bulgaria put up a 30-kilometre barbed wire fence along its border with Turkey as migrants flock there to avoid the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing.

Four years later the fence is extended to cover almost all of the 259-kilometre border.

Map of border walls in Europe

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- Hungary-Serbia, Hungary-Croatia barriers -

During the 2015 migrant crisis, as more than a million people fleeing wars and poverty try to reach Europe, barriers spring up across the Balkan route to stop them.

Hungary's populist government, led by Viktor Orban, throws up a four-metre, 175-kilometre barbed wire fence along the frontier with Serbia before building another, 120 kilometres long, along Hungary's border with Croatia.

A Hungarian policeman closes a migrant transit centre near Roszk, on the border crossing with Serbia. Photo: Oliver Bunic / AFP

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- Slovenia-Croatia border -

In the weeks that followed, Slovenia closed off nearly a third of its 640-kilometre border with Croatia with barbed wire. It has since built a fence along parts of the route near towns and tourist areas.

In 2015, Slovenia closed off nearly a third of its 640-km border with Croatia with barbed wire. Photo: Jure Makovec / AFP

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-  Greek-North Macedonia border -

In November 2015, with thousands of migrants crossing its southern border through fields around Gevgelija, Skopje built a three-kilometre metal barrier to slow them. Another followed further to the west near Medzitlija and a third near Lake Dojran in the south east. Between them they now cover more than 32 kilometres.

Greek police patrol the River Evros, Greece's river border with Turkey. Photo: Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP

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- Austria-Slovenian border -

Austria put up an anti-migrant barrier on part of its border with Slovenia in December 2015, the first within the Schengen area, where they are no passport checks.

Another smaller one follows on the Brenner Pass with Italy. Both have since become overgrown with vegetation and breached with gaps for walkers, wildlife and local farmers.

A border crossing in the village of Spielfeld, on the Austrian-Slovenian frontier. Photo: Rene Gomolj / AFP

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- France's Calais fences -

France built about a dozen kilometres of formidable "anti-intrusion" walls and fences around its northern port of Calais and the entrance to the Channel Tunnel to stop migrants crossing to Britain.

Most migrants now try to cross the Channel in small boats, with a record 1,185 attempting the crossing one day in November 2021.

France built walls around the entrance to the Channel Tunnel to stop migrants crossing to Britain. Photo: Philippe Huguen / AFP

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- Spain: Ceuta and Melilla -

The Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the northern Moroccan coast are Europe's only land border with Africa. Both are surrounded by kilometres of fences and barbed wire, with charities repeatedly criticising the use of razor wire around Melilla.

Factfile on the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Mellila

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By Florence De Marignan

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Judge Quotes Bible, Allows Ex-Husband Who Battered ‘Adulterous’ Wife Walk Free

The judge quotes from the Old Testament and alludes to the Quran, both of which are examples of legalism. Jesus fulfilled the law and supplanted it with grace. When He was brought an adulterous woman, her accusers wanted Him to lead the stoning, but Jesus said, 'Let him who is without sin cast the first stone'. Her accusers disappeared; Jesus forgave the woman and told her to go and sin no more. That's grace! That's Christianity!

© West Coast Surfer / Global Look Press

Portuguese judges sparked anger after quoting the Bible as justification for handing down a suspended sentence to a man who attacked his ex-wife with a nail-studded bat. He had alleged that she was unfaithful to him.

The attacker was given a 15-month suspended sentence, and a fine of €1,750, for the 2015 assault, which left his victim covered in cuts and bruises. Prosecutors had argued that the sentence was too lenient and appealed for three-and-a half-years jail time. This request was rejected by appeal court judges on October 11, according to AP.

In the Porto court's written ruling, which became available only on Monday, the judges wrote that "adultery of the woman is a very serious attack on the honor and dignity of man," before further noting that there are still some societies in which "the adulterous woman is stoned to death,” as cited by Publico.

"In the Bible we can read that the adulterous woman should be punished with death,” wrote judge Neto de Moura, who then went on to use a 19th-century law to justify the lenient sentence for the attacker.

He used a 4,000 year old law to condemn the woman. Was he confident that the man had never committed adultery on his wife? Was it even a consideration? Is a wife justified in beating her husband if he cheats on her? Portuguese law has just taken a step back into the dark ages. I'm sure Muslim men will be thrilled.

“It was not long ago that the criminal law [of 1886] punished with little more than a symbolic penalty the man who, finding his wife in adultery, in that act killed her. Women’s adultery is a conduct that society has always condemned and strongly condemns (and honest women are the first to stigmatize adulteresses), and so she sees with some understanding the violence exercised by the man [who was] betrayed, vexed and humiliated by the woman,” he added.

But men's adultery has always been excused. Come on Portugal; enter the 21st century. It's time to retire some senior judges!

Criticizing the ruling, Attorney General Guilherme Figueiredo said: "It creates the false idea that the adulterous woman deserves punishment, unlike the adulterous man, which can create a wrong idea for violent citizens. We must be aware that there is a very serious problem of domestic violence in Portugal.”

Women's rights groups also criticized the judges, with the Women’s Alternative and Response Union describing the ruling as “inadmissible” because it legitimizes violence against women. The group also said it planned to hold protest rallies this Friday.