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SUBJECT [May 22] first sessions of Spain's parliament and Vietnamese national assembly, MOU between Japan, India, Sri Lanka
DATE 2019-05-22
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PHOTO: BBC.com. Catalan separatist MPs arrive in Spanish Parliament.

 

Spain’s new parliament was sworn in on May 21, 2019. Five Catalan separatist politicians (four lower-house deputies and one senator) who are currently on trial accused of rebellion have taken their seats in the parliament under discreet police guard.

 

During the opening session of the lower house, the four MPs swore to uphold the Spanish constitution, but called the oath a “legal obligation” and demanded freedom for “political prisoners” – as Spain’s 1978 constitution speaks of the “indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation”. As they spoke, far-right Vox MPs and conservative Popular Party (PP) shouted and hammered on benches, drowning out the Catalan MPs’ oaths.

 

The parliamentary authorities are expected to suspend the four separatist MPs, urged to do so by the right-wing parties. MPs of the left-wing Socialists and Podemos, on the other hand, welcomed the four MPs when they arrived in the lower house. Spain's acting prime minister is Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist leader. His party won 123 seats and would need Podemos's 42 seats and 11 more seats from Basque nationalists or Catalan separatists to achieve a majority. 

 

The semi-autonomous region of Catalonia held an independence referendum on 1 October 2017, which Madrid had earlier declared to be illegal. A dozen leaders of the 2017 bid are on trial in Madrid, facing charges including rebellion and sedition. If convicted, some could face up to 25 years in prison.

 

Last week, Spain’s Supreme Court rejected a request from the five Catalan separatist politicians that they be permanently released from jail. It granted them “exceptional” permission to attend the opening session of parliament, but did not clarify if they would be allowed to attend debates.

 

Meanwhile, the new parliament was found to have the largest share of women in any European legislature, with female MPs representing 165 of 350 seats or 47% of the legislature. Women’s rights have been prominent in the political debate for over a decade and remain controversial, to the point where the far-right Vox party entered the assembly for the first time on a platform that seeks to reverse some equality laws. Still, even Vox counts nine women among its 24 legislators.

 

Spain has a bigger proportion of female lawmakers than Sweden, which has a far longer history of promoting gender equality. Even the previous parliament’s share, 39%, had put the EU’s average of 30% in the shade. Globally, only Rwanda, Cuba, Bolivia and Mexico have higher female representation according to World Bank data.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48348251

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-05-21/spains-parliament-leads-europe-in-gender-equality-despite-rise-of-far-right

 

 

 

PHOTO: VNA. Draft revisions on the Law on Education and the Law on Architecture are discussed at the National Assembly’s 7th session on May 21.

 

The 7th Session of the 14th National Assembly opened at the National Assembly hall on May 20.

 

Before the opening ceremony, Party and State leaders and National Assembly deputies laid wreaths and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum.

The National Assembly also held a preparatory meeting to discuss and pass the working agenda for the 7th session. 

 

The 7th session will spend 60 percent of the total meeting time (20 working days) on law making work. Opening the event, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said that the session will focus on law building with the adoption of seven laws and two resolutions, along with discussion of nine bills.

 

The National Assembly will consider a report on the specialized inspection of the implementation of policies and laws on land planning, management and use in urban areas since the 2013 Land Law took effect to the end of 2018; and reports on supplementary evaluation of the implementation of the socio-economic development plans and State budget in 2018 and the first months of 2019. 

The reports will be examined along with debates on the use of loans and management of public debt, as well as the handling of violations of rules on management and use of State capital and assets in enterprises and in equitizing State-owned enterprises. 

The lawmakers will examine and approve the State budget balance of 2017, make decisions on the addition of new projects to the mid-term public investment plan for 2016-2020, and consider and pass resolutions on the supervision program and establishment of specialized supervision teams of the NA in 2020.

The National Assembly will listen to reports summing up voters’ opinions and petitions and on the supervision of the settlement of voters’ petitions submitted to the NA’s 6th session. 

The National Assembly is scheduled to give two and a half days to Question-and-Answer sessions. 

The National Assembly’s 7th session will conclude on June 14.

 

https://en.vietnamplus.vn/nas-second-working-day-focuses-on-education-architecture-laws/152959.vnp

https://en.vietnamplus.vn/seventh-session-of-14th-national-assembly-begins/152850.vnp

 

 

 

 

PHOTO: Yuji Kuronuma/Nikkei Asian Review. Port of Colombo is an important strategic spot for both China and Japan.

 

The governments of Japan, India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly develop the Port of Colombo, as the Indian Ocean becomes more integral to global trade.

 

The project's goals are to increase the port's container volume and enhance marine transportation in and around South Asia.

 

The deal comes as China has been using Belt and Road projects to increase its influence in the region, and with Japan aspiring to play a significant role in the area pushing its Free and Open Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean strategy.

 

The three partners will sign a memorandum of understanding by summer, and work will begin by next March.

 

The largest port in Sri Lanka, through which 90% of the country's seaborne goods pass, connects Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It had traffic of 6.21 million twenty-foot equivalent units in 2017, making it Southwest Asia's busiest port. But the region's economies continue to boom and are expected bring the port to full capacity.

 

The three countries will develop the East container terminal, located at the south part of the Port of Colombo, which has been newly expanded. They will deepen it and develop a facility to allow large container ships to enter.

 

Government officials from the three countries are in working-level talks and expect to agree on the scale and form of the project by summer. Corporate partners will also be brought on board, and Japanese Official Development Assistance will finance a portion of the project. Sri Lanka will control 51% of the project, with India and Japan jointly controlling the other 49%.

 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/Japan-and-India-to-develop-Colombo-port-countering-Belt-and-Road

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/japan-india-in-deal-at-belt-and-road-colombo-port-report/articleshow/69425533.cms

https://www.ship-technology.com/news/colombo-port/

 

 

BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr)