Foreign country: Any country other than Australia or an external Territory (whether or not an independent sovereign State).

Foreign government :

                     (a)  the government of a foreign country or of part of a foreign country; or

                     (b)  an authority of the government of a foreign country; or

                     (c)  an authority of the government of part of a foreign country; or

                     (d)  a foreign local government body or foreign regional government body.

The EU is being influenced by foreign actors. The EU currently shapes policy in areas such as data privacy, consumer health and safety, environmental protection, competition, and online hate speech. Lobbying is an important way for third country actors, both public and private, to influence in these same areas. The EU’s chemical policy is one policy area where non-EU actors have actively attempted to shape the making of EU’s chemicals law and policy. Another recent example is Big Tech, the largest lobbyist in the EU measured by spending.

The EU must engage in real lobbying reform to safeguard against corruption.

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Russia and Ukraine, including its resolutions of 6 October 2022 on Russia’s escalation of its war of aggression against Ukraine, of 19 May 2022 on the fight against impunity for war crimes in Ukraine, and of 25 November 2021 on the human rights violations by private military and security companies, particularly the Wagner Group,

What the EU wants

1. In this interconnected and rapidly changing world, we depend on a rules-based international order and need commonly agreed rules and effective and inclusive global institutions, within and beyond the United Nations (UN) system, to ensure peace, security, human rights, prosperity and sustainable development for all. International law, agreements and rules establish a level playing-field for large and small countries alike.

1. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Cambridge, MA
2. Earth Institute, New York, NY
3. Heritage Foundation, Washington DC
4. Human Rights Watch, New York, NY
5. Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA
6. Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY
7. Brookings Institution, Washington DC
8. Cato Institute, Washington DC
9. Ludwig von Mises Institute, Auburn, AL
10. American Enterprise Institute, Washington DC
11. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
12. Center for American Progress, Washington DC

Africa has mostly been a taker rather than a maker of the rules in the international system. The hyper globalization of the last quarter century has highlighted the inherent excesses of a weakly regulated global system.

The current institutions and norms reflect the views of the most powerful, who can steer outcomes to their own political and economic advantage. While developed countries often talk about the need for reform, those same countries are unwilling to cede the rules that have secured their beneficial position.

Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach.

Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector. This will involve a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels (such as hydrogen).

Having the right policies, infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and behaviour can result in a 40 -70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

47 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents want Trump to be the nominee in 2024, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. And if Trump and Joe Biden are the contenders, Trump narrowly edges Biden, 48 to 46 percent, among registered voters (albeit within the poll’s margin of error).

Democratic collapse? It’s possible.