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The European Commission’s proposal to create a health passport to facilitate safe, free movement inside the EU during the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic could be a solution to save the tourism industry in parts of southern Europe this summer.  But with the vaccine rollout off to a slow start and the infection rates going up across Europe, few are hoping for a recovery soon. Jonathan Spier narrates this report by Alfonso Beato in Barcelona.
Camera: Alfonso Beato, Filip Huygens   
Producer:   Jon Spier 
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to outline in a speech Wednesday in Brussels a commitment by the Biden administration to rebuild and revitalize U.S. alliances. That has been part of his message during his first visit to the region as the top U.S. diplomat this week, showing a departure from four years of foreign policy under former President Donald Trump that focused on prioritizing U.S. interests. The address comes on the final day of a two-day NATO ministerial meeting, during which Blinken is holding a number of sideline talks with his counterparts. Wednesday’s schedule includes separate talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, a session with the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Blinken told reporters Tuesday the United States wants to rebuild its partnerships, “first and foremost with our NATO allies.”U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, rear center, waits for the start of a round table meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, March 23, 2021.The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden plans to discuss boosting U.S.-EU relations during a videoconference with EU leaders on Thursday. Biden’s stance is a marked contrast to that of former President Donald Trump, who frequently assailed other NATO countries for not meeting the alliance’s goal that each country spend the equivalent of 2% of the size of its national economy on defense.    “The last thing we can afford to do is take this alliance for granted,” Blinken, a longtime Biden confidant, said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomed Blinken’s favorable comments about NATO, which was founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the then-Soviet Union.    One of the major topics for discussion during two days of meetings in Brussels is the NATO mission in Afghanistan, as a May 1 deadline approaches for the full withdrawal of all U.S. troops under a peace agreement made last year between Afghanistan’s Taliban and the Trump administration.  Blinken said the situation is under review, and that part of his work in Brussels would be conferring with NATO allies, both to listen and to share U.S. thinking. He said whatever the United States decides to do, its actions will be with the consultation of other member countries that have been a part of the military mission.    “We went in together, we have adjusted together, and when the time is right, we’ll leave together,” Blinken said.  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomes the peace effort, stressing it is the “only path to a lasting political solution in Afghanistan.” But the NATO chief said that in order to achieve peace, all parties must negotiate in good faith, there needs to be a reduction of violence, and the Taliban must stop supporting international terrorists such as al-Qaida.  German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned against a premature pullout that would undercut security gains.  “We want a conditions-based withdrawal of all forces from Afghanistan,” Maas said. 
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Benjamin Briere is a French tourist who was arrested last May while visiting Iran with his drone and minivan. Still detained, he was charged with espionage and “spreading propaganda against the system.” His lawyers deny the charges.If found guilty, he could be sentenced to death.Briere’s case is the latest in a series against foreigners at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the West over Iran’s nuclear activities.Bernard Hourcade is a geographer and Iran specialist.  He thinks that the cases against this French tourist and the 2019 arrest of the French Iranian academic, Fariba Adelkhah, are separate issues which would have no impact on the JCPOA talks or other negotiations between the two countries.France, along with Britain, Germany and the European Union, are trying to bring the United States and Iran to the table for informal talks as a first step toward reviving Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal — also known as JCPOA — which lifted international sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program.Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 29, 2016, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Syria.However, tensions are growing over Teheran’s nuclear activities, and U.S Secretary of State Anthony Blinken last month said Iran is “heading in the wrong direction.” Jean-Yves Le Drian, France’s Foreign minister, echoed those concerns.Le Drian recently told a French Senate hearing that Iran’s nuclear activities were developing in violation of the Vienna agreement. The minister also added that Iran conducted attacks in Iraq and Saudi Arabia to destabilize those countries. So, it is crucial to start de-escalation to ease tensions, he added.A source with the French Foreign ministry told VOA the French government has been in regular contact with Briere. But French officials have stuck to their regular strategy of maintaining discretion when dealing with Iran in order to increase the chances of obtaining the release of their citizens.Analysts point to Iranian leaders’ history of using hostages to get what they want.Mohammad Reza Djalili is an honorary professor of international relations at the Geneva Graduate Institute.He describes the hostage situation in the U.S Embassy in Teheran in 1979 as the founding act for Iranian Islamic diplomacy. Djalili presents an Iranian policy to take Western hostages as a diplomatic weapon to release their own pro-regime citizens sentenced in France, Belgium and other countries. Iran seems very interested in dual citizens to gain leverage, according to Djalili.In this image released by the US State Department US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook welcomes Princeton graduate student Xiyue Wang on arrival in Switzerland after his release from Iran on Dec. 7, 2019. (Ho /US State Department/AFP)The most recent high-profile releases of foreign prisoners in Iran — of American Xiyue Wang in December 2019, American Michael White in March 2020 and Frenchman Roland Marchal, also in March — were all accompanied by the release of Iranians held abroad on sanctions-busting charges.The case highlights for Western countries the complexity of dealing with Iran. Analysts say European countries appear to have less leverage than the United States does.Hourcade said France has tried several times to bring together Iran and the United States and resume talks, but overall France and Europe are weak partners if neither Washington nor Teheran has the political will to act. Therefore, Europeans are waiting to see how the situation will evolve.The presidential election is scheduled for June 18 in Iran and many observers believe that no major negotiations could resume before the poll.  
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday the United States wants to rebuild its partnerships, “first and foremost with our NATO allies,” as he expressed the Biden administration’s “steadfast commitment” to the alliance. Blinken spoke to reporters in Brussels alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before the two held talks ahead of the start of a NATO ministerial meeting later in the day.Stoltenberg said he welcomed the new U.S. administration’s approach, saying there is a “unique opportunity to start a new chapter in the transatlantic relationship.”U.S. President Joe Biden is planning to join a videoconference of European Union leaders on Thursday, a top EU official said, as part of the U.S. commitment to NATO.Biden’s stance is a marked contrast to that of former President Donald Trump, who frequently assailed other NATO countries for not meeting the alliance’s goal that each country spend the equivalent of 2% of the size of its national economy on defense.”The last thing we can afford to do is take this alliance for granted,” said Blinken, a longtime Biden confidant.French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomed Blinken’s favorable comments about NATO, which was founded in 1949 to contain a military threat from the then-Soviet Union.One of the major topics for discussion during two days of meetings in Brussels is the NATO mission in Afghanistan, as a May 1 deadline approaches for the full withdrawal of all U.S. troops under a peace agreement made last year between Afghanistan’s Taliban and the Trump administration.Blinken said the situation is under review, and that part of his work in Brussels would be conferring with NATO allies, both to listen and to share U.S. thinking. He said whatever the United States decides to do, its actions will be with the consultation of other member countries that have been a part of the military mission.“We went in together, we have adjusted together, and when the time is right, we’ll leave together,” Blinken said.Stoltenberg said he welcomes the peace effort, stressing it is the “only path to a lasting political solution in Afghanistan.” But the NATO chief said that in order to achieve peace, all parties must negotiate in good faith, there needs to be a reduction of violence, and the Taliban must stop supporting international terrorists such as al-Qaida.NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds a news conference during a NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 23, 2021.German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned against a premature pullout that would undercut security gains.”We want a conditions-based withdrawal of all forces from Afghanistan,” Maas said.Blinken’s itinerary in Brussels also includes a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief. The State Department said agenda items include economic recovery efforts in response to the coronavirus pandemic and addressing “global challenges that come from Iran, Russia and China.”Regarding Iran, the top U.S. diplomat is expected to consult with EU colleagues about the prospects of the United States and Iran mutually returning to the agreement signed in 2015 that limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.Both the United States, which left the deal under Trump in 2018, and Iran, which responded by taking steps away from its commitments, have expressed a willingness to observe the agreement once again, but each has signaled the other side should act first.The final part of Blinken’s trip agenda is bilateral talks with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès.  
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Press freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is suing Facebook in France, saying the social media platform spreads misinformation. The suit was filed Monday with the Paris public prosecutor.  “Reporters Without Borders accuses Facebook of ‘deceptive commercial practices’ on the grounds that the social media company’s promises to provide a ‘safe’ and ‘error-free’ online environment are contradicted by the large-scale proliferation of hate speech and false information on its networks,” the group said in a press release. Specifically, the group says Facebook allows “hate speech” against the media, as well as misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. The group said Facebook allowed posts that were insulting and threatening against French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, as well as targeting the TV program “Quotidien” and a regional newspaper, L’Union. Facebook said in a statement that it “has zero tolerance for any harmful content on our platforms,” Bloomberg reported. “Over the last few years, we’ve tripled the size of our safety and security team to 35,000 and built artificial intelligence technology to proactively find and remove harmful content,” the statement continued, according to Bloomberg. “While nobody can eliminate misinformation and hate speech from the internet entirely, we continue using research, experts and technologies to tackle them in the most comprehensive and effective way possible.” Should RSF win its case, the decision could have global repercussions for Facebook, as its terms of service are similar worldwide. Any change in France could trigger changes elsewhere. Facebook and other Big Tech companies have been under intense pressure to stop what some call misinformation. In December, the EU proposed new regulations that could hit companies with fines of up to 6% of their global revenue for not complying with orders to remove content deemed violent hate speech, according to Bloomberg. 
 
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The executive director of Europe’s drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, (EMA) said Tuesday it is evaluating Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for possible authorization of use in the European Union.In comments to European Parliament lawmakers, EMA Executive Director Emer Cooke said the agency is also planning inspections of the manufacturing and clinical sites in Russia to make sure production for the vaccine is adequate.   The vaccine was viewed skeptically by some nations as Russia began distributing it to some European countries before it was evaluated by regulatory agencies – including the EMA and the World Health Organization.  Cooke said it was hoped the shot would be “a valuable vaccine to add to the vaccines that are available from the European population.” She also assured EU lawmakers that the agency was committed to applying the same standards and scrutiny to this review as to any other scientific assessment.Cooke said the agency was also conducting rolling reviews – or fast-track evaluations – of vaccines made by U.S. manufacturer Novavax and German company Curevac.Troubled Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Faces New Setback Independent US oversight board says trial data released by drugmaker Monday boasting of vaccine’s efficacy ‘may have included outdated information’She also welcomed the new data on the AstraZeneca vaccine made available from a U.S. trial, saying it is very promising information and shows greater efficacy than expected.AstraZeneca reported Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection among adults of all ages in a long-anticipated U.S. study, a finding that some experts hoped would help rebuild public confidence in the shot around the world and move it a step closer to clearance in the U.S.U.S. federal health officials said early Tuesday that results may have included “outdated information” and that could mean the company provided an incomplete view of efficacy data.  When asked about that development, Cooke said the company promised to provide the EMA with data and the agency would adjust its assessment, if needed, based on the new information.
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After aviation, Europe’s cultural and creative sector has been hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis, losing nearly $240 billion, according to a recent study by an accounting firm. Now as France weathers its third lockdown in a year, the creative arts industry is pushing back, with a growing protest movement now occupying dozens of theaters nationwide.It’s been months since the Odeon theater was last open. But these days, Parisians can listen to a bit of live jazz at this Paris Left Bank landmark. Some were dancing on a recent afternoon, despite a chilly rain.A jazz band previews Odeon theatre’s afternoon assembly by occupation protesters. (VOA/Lisa Bryant)This was just a preview to the main act. The Odeon has been holding daily public assemblies— ever since a group of protesters took over the theater earlier this month.  They listed the latest tally of other occupied theaters across France—now about 70 and growing. The occupation movement began with demands the government reopen cultural venues—shuttered for months under coronavirus restrictions.  They also want benefits extended for out-of-work artists and the repeal of an unpopular unemployment reform.  Opera singer Aurelie Magnier, who attended the assembly, says she has been out of work for months. Luckily, she says, her partner has a steady job. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to make ends meet.  Also here is Monique Pedron, a member of the yellow vest protest movement that sparked a political crisis in France a couple years back. Its presence at the Odeon shows how this latest protest movement is spreading to include students and others hard hit by the pandemic’s fallout.  Pedron says she misses culture, and she’s had it with COVID-19 restrictions. It’s more dangerous to take the metro, she says, than to attend a play. She hopes other French will join the occupation movement.  Europe-wide, revenues from the cultural and creative industries dropped nearly a third last year from 2019, accounting firm EY reported recently. Banners at the Odeon proclaim “Culture Sacrificed” and “Power to the People.”Protesters gather at the Odean theater, which started the nationwide theater protest movement. (VOA/Lisa Byrant)That was also the message at France’s Cesar film awards ceremony, where actress Corinne Masiero stripped naked to demand more government support. She’d written “no culture, no future” on her torso.   Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot visited the Odeon. She says she understands the artists’ concerns but calls the occupations of the theaters useless and dangerous. It’s not clear, however, whether anyone here or elsewhere is listening.  
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Results of an independent inquiry announced Monday cleared Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, of breaking a ministerial code of conduct, but she is likely to face an opposition-led vote of no confidence in parliament Tuesday.  Sturgeon has been under intense scrutiny over what she did and did not do when she learned of complaints by several women against Alex Salmond – her predecessor as first minister and, once a close friend and ally in the cause of Scottish independence.  Salmond was charged in 2019 with sexual assault and attempted rape after allegations by nine women who had worked with him as first minister or for the party.He was acquitted by a criminal court in 2020, and claims the allegations made by several women were part of a conspiracy to wreck his political career.James Hamilton, a widely respected Irish lawyer appointed to conduct an independent inquiry into Sturgeon’s conduct, found that she had not breached the ministerial code. Had he reached the opposite conclusion, she would have been expected to resign.Hamilton rejected suggestions that she had broken the rules by failing to record meetings with Salmond in 2018, that she tried to influence an investigation into his behavior or that she misled the Scottish parliament.A second inquiry, by a committee of Scottish lawmakers, is due to publish a report on Tuesday. British media have reported that the committee voted 5-4 in favor of finding that Sturgeon gave an inaccurate account to Scotland’s Edinburgh-based parliament about when she learned of allegations against Salmond.The Conservatives, who are in power in the United Kingdom as a whole but in opposition in Scotland, are planning a vote of no confidence in Sturgeon on Tuesday.  With an election coming in May, Sturgeon called the vote a “political stunt” and said she was confident of winning.
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