Europe at aglance NEWS 714 March 2020 THE WEEKTheHague,Netherlands
Afghanistanwarcrimes:Seniorjudgesat
theInternationalCriminalCourt(ICC)
haveauthorisedtheopeningofan
investigationintoallegedwarcrimesand
crimesagainsthumanityinAfghanistan–
includingthosethatmayhavebeen
committedbyUStroops.Thedecisionto
launchtheprobewasmadebyanappeals
chamberoftheICC,andreversesthe
decisionofalowercourtnottoproceed
withaninvestigation.Itisthefirsttime
thatUSdefendantshavefacedpossible
prosecutionbytheICC,andthedecision
hasinfuriatedWashington,whichdoes
notrecognisethecourt’sjurisdiction.
TheUSsecretaryofstate,MikePompeo,
condemneditasa“trulybreathtaking
actionbyanunaccountablepolitical
institutionmasqueradingasalegalbody”.
Butitwashailedbyrightsactivistsand
legalscholarswhobelievedthatthelower
courthadbuckledunderpressurefromthe
Trumpadministration.
Moscow
Presidentforlife:Inamovedecriedbyhis
opponentsasacoupd’état,VladimirPutin
hasbackedaconstitutionalamendment
thatwouldlethimstayonasRussian
presidentbeyond 2024 .Putinhasruled
Russiasince 200 0,makinghimthe
country’slongest-servingleadersince
Stalin.Heisrequiredbytheconstitution
tostepdownin2 02 4,whenhissecond
sequentialsix-yeartermends.Butearlier
thisyear,helaunchedaconstitutional
review,apparentlyaimedatdevisingways
forhimtoretainpower.Thisweek–ina
rarespeechtotheDuma,citingtheneed
forstability–Putinsaidheshouldbe
allowedtoseektwomoreterms,ifthe
constitutionalcourtnowagreesandthe
reform ispassedinareferendum.LeMont-Dore,France
Record-busting winter:OneofFrance’s
oldest skiresorts hasgone into receivership
followingadisastrously snow-freewinter.
Formuch oftheseason,two-thirdsofthe
33 pistesat LeMont-Dore,intheMassif
Central,wereclosed.Officialssaythatthe
resort usuallyregisterss5min takings,but
thisyear itmadejusts625,000.This
winter wasthewarmestonrecord in
Europe:averagetemperatures for
December,JanuaryandFebruarywere
fully1.4°Cabovetheprevious highset
in 20^15 -16,and 3.4°C warmerthanthe
averagefor 1981 to 2010.Inmuchof
northeastern Europe,thedifferencewas
evenmoreextreme this year.IntheFinnish
capital,Helsinki, forinstance,
temperatureswere 6 °C above thelong-run
average.Broadlyspeaking,nowadays only
Frenchski resorts above 1,500metrescan
relyon gettingenoughsnowforadecent
ski season;whereasin 19 60,thecut-off
pointwas 1,200metres.
Rome
Prisonersriotoverlockdown:Thestrict
new measures to curb thecoronavirus in
Italy triggered riots at jails across the
country this week.Twelve prisonerswere
killed, anddozens escaped,when inmates
wentonthe rampageinr esponsetot he
suspension of prison visits. Atleast two of
the 12 diedafter breaking intothe pr ison
infirmaryand overdosing onmethadone.
Withatotal lockdownnowinplacein
Italy ,millions ofpeople followed official
advice to stayat home, turning normally
bustling city centres intoghosttowns.
Despite the spiralling infectionrate,
Switzerland agreed tokeepits border open
to commutersand goodsfromItaly. In
France, wherecases reached nearly 1,
on Wednesday, andwhere33peoplehave
died, fiveMPs and oneminis terreported
having testedpositive forthe virus. In
Germany,there were 1,656cases by
Wednesday, but only three deaths recorded.
Amsterdam
MH17trial:Four
menwentontrial
inabsentiain
Amsterdamthis
week,charged
with 298 counts
ofmurderfor
shootingdown
theMH 17
passengerjetasit
flewovereastern
Ukrainein 2014.
TheRussiansandUkrainianareallformer
militaryorintelligence,themostprominent
ofwhomisIgorGirkin(pictured):hewas
theleaderoftheRussian-backed
separatistsinDonetsk.Allfoursuspects
arebelievedtobeinRussia,Moscow
havingrefusedtohandthemover.The
jetwasshotdownbyaBukmissile
transportedfromRussia;amongthose
killedwere 193 Dutchcitizens, 27
AustraliansandtenBritons.Catchup with daily news at theweek.co.uk
Istanbul, Turkey
Migrationcrisis:TheEUand Turkey have agreed
to discussthe renewed refugee crisisinS yria–
and reviewthe 2016deal that has curbed the
flow of mi grants to the EU.Asaresult of that
deal ,Turkeyis now hometoaround3.6milli on
refugeesfrom thenine-yearcivil warinS yria. But
PresidentErdogan has repeatedlyaccuse dthe EU
of failing to keeptoits side of the bargain. The
EU promisedAnkaras6bn ofhelp in exchange for,in effect, containingthe migration
crisiswithin itsborders. Erdogansays that it hasreceivedonlys3bn, and that theEU
has alsofailedto liveuptoapromise to grantvisa -free traveltoTurkish citizens.
Latelastmonth, Erdogandeclaredthat he was “openingthe gates”from Turkey to
Greece, in an apparentatte mpttodraw attentiontothe crisis–and putpressureon
the EU tosupport his attemptstoenforcea“safe zone” forreturning refugees in
northernSyria.Since then, tens of thousandsof migrants in Turkey have travelled to
the border, leadingtoviolent clasheswith Greeksecurity forces. Mindful of the fact
that thelastrefugee crisiscoincidedwith asurge in support for populistpartiesin the
EU, thebloc’s leadersare anxiousto prevent another influx fromSyri a(see page 23),
andhave agreedtore-examinethedeal. However,they have alsodescribedErdogan’s
threatsas “blackmail”, andaccuse dhim of“weaponising” migrants.