WTO latest

 

16 May 2023 Latest news

Dear maria CHADZIDAKIS VAVOURANAKIS, Below are the news items published today on the WTO public website which match with your news preferences.

NEWS ITEM United Arab Emirates formally accepts Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies The United Arab Emirates (UAE) deposited its instrument of acceptance for the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 16 May, making it the seventh WTO member to do so. Acceptances from two-thirds of WTO members are needed for the Agreement to come into effect. UAE Ambassador Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Jarman presented his government’s instrument of acceptance to Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Trade thoughts, from Geneva, by Anabel González,  Deputy Director-General Building on research for better trade outcomes Blog   ⟶

NEWS ITEM DDG Ellard urges prompt ratification of Fisheries Subsidies Agreement Deputy Director-General Angela Ellard on 15 May encouraged parliamentarians from around the globe to promptly ratify the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies so that it can start delivering its benefits for the ocean and the people who depend on it. In remarks delivered to the RSIS-WTO Workshop for Parliamentarians in Singapore, she also called on parliamentarians to underline to their governments’ negotiators the urgency of completing the second wave of fish negotiations. The full text of her speech is below. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM Iceland formally accepts Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, pledges CHF 500,000 to Fund Iceland deposited its instrument of acceptance for the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on 10 May, making it the sixth WTO member to do so. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland, who is also chair of the ongoing second wave of fisheries subsidies negotiations, highlighted the importance of the Agreement’s entry into force for ocean sustainability and for the WTO. Ambassador Gunnarsson also announced Iceland’s pledge to donate CHF 500,000 to the WTO Fisheries Funding Mechanism. News item   ⟶   NEWS ITEM Progress in agriculture talks in “immediate future” is crucial, chair tells negotiators At meetings open to all WTO members on 3-4 May, the chair of the agriculture negotiations — Alparslan Acarsoy of Türkiye — urged participants to accelerate their efforts to find common ground ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), which is due to take place in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. “Making progress in the immediate future is crucial if we want to reach an outcome at MC13,” the chair said at a meeting of the Committee on Agriculture in Special Session. News item   ⟶

NEWS ITEM DDG Paugam urges ministers to harness WTO potential for advancing agricultural innovation Deputy Director-General Jean-Marie Paugam emphasized the role of the WTO in supporting climate-friendly innovation in agriculture on 9 May at the “Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate Summit” in Washington D.C. organized by the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Emphasizing the potential of trade to help accelerate agricultural innovation, he said: “My message to Ministers of Agriculture is, please push together with your trade counterparts for the WTO to deliver what it should be delivering in support of your climate-smart agricultural policies.” His full speech is below. News item   ⟶

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:Antibiotic Stewardship Intervention Proven Effective in Urgent Care Clinics

 

Improving Antibiotic Use in Urgent Care is Possible through Multifaceted Interventions, study shows

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, Implementation of an Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative in a Large Urgent Care Network, shows how a multifaceted approach can safely reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in a large urgent care network. Researchers were able to reduce prescribing rates at urgent care clinics by 15%—which would equate to millions of doses of antibiotics nationally—by using antibiotic stewardship initiatives specifically designed for these outpatient settings. Key findings The CDC-funded study authored by experts from Intermountain Healthcare, CDC, and the University of Utah shows improvements in appropriate antibiotic prescribing occurred with minimal changes to patient satisfaction and rates of hospitalization. In addition, the intervention appeared to have lasting effects of improved antibiotic prescribing for up to one year after the end of the intervention period. Findings showed a reduction in antibiotic prescribing for respiratory conditions from a baseline of 47.8% to 33.3% during the intervention period. Among conditions for which antibiotics are not recommended, such as acute bronchitis or the common cold, antibiotic prescribing decreased from a baseline of 18.7% to 7.5% during the intervention period.

About the intervention The intervention involved educational efforts for clinicians and patients, electronic health record-based clinical decision support systems to promote best practices, tracking and reporting of antibiotic prescribing using an electronic dashboard, and media activities promoting appropriate antibiotic use. What’s new This study is unique: It uses a new composite measure for antibiotic prescribing created by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (Healthcare Effectiveness Data Infomation Set [HEDIS®] measure, Antibiotic Utilization for Acute Respiratory Conditions [AXR]). Few studies monitor changes in patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes throughout an antibiotic stewardship intervention. Few studies assess whether improvements in antibiotic prescribing from multifaceted antibiotic stewardship interventions last after the intervention period ends. Improvements in antibiotic prescribing in urgent care settings can improve patient safety and help combat antimicrobial resistance. To learn more about improving antibiotic prescribing and use, visit www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use.

NATO interesting latest news

Press Release 19 May 2023

NATO Deputy Secretary General attends the 2023 Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly On Monday, 22 May 2023, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Mircea Geoană, will take part in the 2023 Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NPA). The event will take place in Luxembourg. Mr. Geoană will address the Session's Plenary Sitting and participate in a Q&A session, moderated by the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Mrs Joelle Garriaud-Maylam. Media advisory 9:55 - 11.25 (CEST)       Speech by the NATO Deputy Secretary General followed by Q&A session Media coverage The Deputy Secretary General’s intervention will be streamed live on the NATO website. A transcript of his remarks, as well as pictures taken by NATO photographers, will be available on the NATO website. More information about the event is available on the NPA website. NATO Secretary General meets the Prime Minister of Latvia On Wednesday 24 May 2023, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will receive the Prime Minister of Latvia, Mr. Krišjānis Kariņš, at NATO Headquarters. Media advisory 17:15 (CEST)      Press point by the Secretary General and the Prime Minister Media coverage Media representatives, who have annual accreditation to NATO for 2023, can cover the press conference in person. Media without the annual accreditation wishing to cover the event should apply for ad-hoc accreditation by writing to NatoAccreditations@hq.nato.int before COB Monday, 22nd May. NATO will confirm ad-hoc accreditations via email. The event will be streamed live on the NATO website. A transcript of the Secretary General’s remarks, as well as pictures taken by a NATO photographer, will be available on the NATO website. The video will be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal after the event. NATO Secretary General to visit Portugal On 18 May 2023, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will travel to Portugal. During his visit, the Secretary General will meet with the Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr. António Costa.  Media Advisory 17:45 -18.00 (CEST) Joint Press Conference of the NATO Secretary General and the Prime Minister Media Coverage The event will be streamed live on the NATO website. A transcript of the Secretary General’s remarks, as well as pictures taken by a NATO photographer, will be available on the NATO website. The video will be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal after the event.

NATO Allies train with Sweden as it prepares to join the Alliance Sweden and NATO are long-standing partners, counting decades of cooperation on a variety of issues, including political dialogue, contributions to NATO’s operations and missions, and joint training. Sweden applied for NATO membership following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As a NATO Invitee, Sweden is cooperating with NATO more closely than ever and its security has been strengthened.  Recently, soldiers from various NATO Allies including Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States trained side by side with Swedish forces. They took part in Sweden’s largest defence exercise in over 30 years, Aurora 23, as part of further increased cooperation on the Alliance’s collective deterrence and defence. Click here to download the video and here for the b-roll. You can also watch the video on YouTube.

EUROPEAN BANK's latest news

 

2022 ANNUAL REVIEW AND FINANCIAL REPORT

The Annual Review 2022 details how the Bank stepped up its investment last year and was particularly vigorous in support of Ukraine.

The EBRD balanced its work in Ukraine with meeting key objectives in other areas, such as tackling climate change, fostering inclusion and building digital capacity in the economies where it operates.

Crucially, green investments totalled 50 per cent of Annual Bank Investment (ABI) for 2022, in line with the EBRD’s goal of being a majority green bank by 2025.

The Annual Review is available both as a microsite and as a print summary report in PDF.

In the face of a challenging global economic environment, the EBRD’s prudently managed balance sheet demonstrated resilience and the Bank’s financial position remains strong.

The Financial Report 2022 includes the approved and audited financial statements (required to be submitted under Article 27 of the Agreement Establishing the Bank and Section 13 of its By-Laws), as well as additional reporting and disclosures on the EBRD’s risk management, corporate governance and structure.

The report is available as a PDF.

2022 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT AND GRI REPORT

The Sustainability Report 2022 explores the many ways in which the EBRD worked over the course of the year to prepare its regions for a stronger, more resilient and sustainable future.

It details how the Bank responded to multiple crises, including the impact of the invasion of Ukraine, and the global emergencies of climate change and biodiversity loss.

In 2022, the EBRD provided its largest ever volume of green finance.

Since 1 January 2023, all new EBRD investments have been aligned with the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The GRI Report 2022 - Sustainability Disclosures provides our stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the EBRD's approach to environmental, social and governance issues.

The contents of this report were guided by consultation with stakeholders and staff to assess what information they deemed material. The 2022 edition also covers topics that are not widely considered material, but which give a fuller picture of our approach to sustainability.

More information on the environmental and social impact of the Bank’s investment and policy engagement activities is available in our Sustainability Report 2022.

The EBRD's sustainability event

This special event will launch the EBRD’s latest Sustainability Report. It demonstrates how green growth is central to the Bank's activities and highlights the many ways in which we create impact and demonstrate leadership across key sustainability areas.

The EBRD as equity investor: the investee view

The role and impact of the EBRD as the largest institutional investor and an equity partner in Central Asia is significant.

EBRD President's press conference

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso will take questions at the end of the Annual Meeting from accredited journalists. The event will be moderated by Managing Director of Communications Richard Porter. Journalists will be able to ask questions from within the room, or via our online platform.

Integrating value chains to boost trade opportunities

The competitiveness of many emerging economies, particularly in Central Asia, is being hampered by underdeveloped value chains despite the region’s rich trading history.

Regional Economic Prospects 2023

The much-anticipated EBRD Regional Economic Prospects will be back in the new panel discussion format for a special EBRD Annual Meeting 2023 edition. The interactive discussion will cover the latest economic forecasts for the regions where the EBRD invests. EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik will discuss with outstanding regional experts the extraordinary challenges that policymakers are confronted with in the world of relentless inflationary pressures and repeated economic crises. The accompanying document will be published on the same day.