All posts tagged: Labor rights

The winners and losers from the UK’s trade deal with the Gulf – POLITICO

The winners and losers from the UK’s trade deal with the Gulf – POLITICO

Meanwhile, the UAE opted out of environmental commitments in the FTA altogether, leaving those discussions to separate bilateral talks. Human and labor rights campaigners Campaigners have long raised concerns about the Gulf states’ human rights record, with organizations including the Trade Justice Movement, Amnesty International UK, Human Rights Watch urging the prime minister in a joint letter last year to incorporate “strong human rights conditions” before the deal is signed.  Reacting to the details of the deal released on Wednesday, the Trade Justice Movement said it  “looks to be silent” on human and labor rights “in return for minimal economic benefit.”  “By failing to negotiate any enforceable human rights protections within the deal, the U.K. has taken a moral step backwards and undermined the government’s own commitments on democracy, women’s rights and workers’ rights,” said Trade Justice Movement Director Tom Wills. The government has contested that trade agreements are not the forum to directly address human rights issues, while arguing that the deal contains provisions that can contribute to the protection and promotion of human …

Norway’s pro-EU voices sense their moment – POLITICO

Norway’s pro-EU voices sense their moment – POLITICO

“We have this summer to reach a critical mass regarding the EU question,” said Trine Lise Sundnes, a Labor lawmaker and chair of the pro-EU European Movement — an association campaigning for Norway to join the bloc for 80 years now. Letting her gaze sweep across the restaurant, she added: “If we want to achieve that, we need every single one of you.” Norway and Iceland enjoy a similar relationship with the bloc: Deeply integrated into the single market but without full membership — a position many of its citizens are happy with. But if Reykjavik were to pivot toward Brussels, it would not only affect established institutions and trade frameworks, it would leave Oslo much more isolated in its position than before. Norway’s pro-EU camp thinks this will provide a rare window of opportunity. “If Iceland votes yes, it will also trigger a discussion in Norway about whether we should join,” said Sundnes in an interview with WELT — which, like POLITICO, is part of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network. “We must be …