EU has suspended ratification of an investment agreement with China

The European Union (EU) has suspended efforts to ratify an investment agreement with China due to tensions between Brussels and Beijing. They reached an agreement in principle last December, but have yet to obtain the necessary approval from the Union's institutions, such as the European Parliament. "We have suspended part of the effort so far ... because it is clear that in the current situation, with EU sanctions against China and Chinese retaliatory sanctions, including sanctions against Members of the European Parliament, the environment is not conducive to ratification of the agreement," said Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Parliament. The euronews.com portal informs about it. In March, for the first time in 30 years, the European Union imposed sanctions on China. The measures, which were prepared in coordination with Western partners, are aimed at four Chinese officials and one organization who are believed to be involved in human rights abuses against the Uighur minority. China reacted immediately and angrily. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has adopted sanctions against ten EU officials, including five members of the European Parliament and four institutions, including the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights. As a result, three of the main political parties in the European Parliament (Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, Renew Europe and the European Green Party), which together hold 45 percent of the seats, have announced that until the sanctions are in force, the European Parliament will refuse only the very opening of a debate on the ratification of an investment agreement with China.