Month: February 2020

There was not much intrigue about this year’s Golden Globe Awards considering the past year was largely a fail on Hollywood’s part to produce any good movies, though there’s tons of great series to watch on television.

Luckily, the red carpet added some excitement to Sunday evening’s ceremony with Hollywood’s most beautiful leading ladies stunning in custom ensembles. Others, though, looked a mess.

Here, I break down the best and worst dressed from the 2019 Golden Globes.

Best Dressed – Emily Blunt in custom Alexander McQueen

Actress Emily Blunt was everything you don’t realize you want on a red carpet: Medieval, yet new-age. The impeccable patchwork of Fleur de Lis and Catholic iconography is molded meticulously to Blunt’s figure (it’s McQueen, what do you expect?!) and the balance of structure and ease is so modern, so needed, and so lacking among the rest of the red carpet arrivals.

Between the grey, silver tone of the dress and the fact that she appears to have lots of skin revealed, but actually does not, makes Blunt seem all the more clever. An actress with fashion wit, how refreshing!

(VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)

Best Dressed – Lady Gaga in Valentino 

The A Star is Born songstress-turned-actress paid homage to the great Judy Garland in a periwinkle ballroom gown with voluminous sleeves, a modish rendition of Garland’s periwinkle dress from the original 1954 film.

But, because she’s Gaga, the singer made sure her silver updo matched the color of her gown. Her Italian sun-drenched tan set off the color and her glittering jewelry sent this look into regal territory.

(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Worst Dressed – Jessica Chastain in custom Burberry

If this is what Riccardo Tisci has in mind as the new creative director for Burberry, we’re in trouble!

So let’s get this straight, actress Jessica Chastain is wearing a black silk skirt with a black sequined skirt layered over it, a sheer black beaded shawl draped over her shoulders, all tucked into a black satin corset. Oh, and fanned-out pink tassel earrings.

Here’s some simple advice for you, Jessica: If when you look at a dress on the mannequin and you can’t figure out how to put it on, don’t wear it.

(VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)

Best Dressed – Julia Roberts in Stella McCartney

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Julia Roberts remains one of the most alluring actresses in the business. (Does anyone else stare in awe looking at her in those Lancôme perfume commercials?) Her less-is-more, no-fuss personal style has long been similar to Jennifer Aniston’s and it’s remarkable to still see an actress stay true to themselves in a celebrity culture obsessed with turning out look-a-likes rather than stars.

The dress-tuxedo pant combo is relatively difficult to pull off, but Roberts does it effortlessly in this one-shoulder Stella McCartney number. And check out those Bulgari dangling earrings, they’re just that extra oomph needed to take this look from basic to breathtaking.

(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Worst Dressed – Elizabeth Moss in Dior Haute Couture

The Handmaid’s Tale star Elizabeth Moss somehow cannot seem to ever hit the mark with her red carpet fashion. At this year’s Golden Globes, the Scientologist wore a navy dress that was not only too short, but overall unflattering.

The menswear-inspired lapels on the bust photograph strange and the asymmetrical gathering at her hip look as though her stylist literally had to pin this dress to her. Not even diamonds can save this ensemble!

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Best Dressed – Rachel Brosnahan in custom Prada 

Readers probably recognize Rachel Brosnahan from either Netflix’s House of Cards (she played Rachel, coincidentally) or Amazon’s the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The latter is set in the mid to late 1950’s Upper West Side of Manhattan, so as you can imagine, the wardrobe of coats, cinched dresses, and vibrant bonnets and handbags is a joy to see! (Who else has nostalgia for that great Americana period?)

On the red carpet, Brosnahan seemed inspired by the wardrobe of Mrs. Maisel that has made her a star overnight. The top of this bright yellow custom Prada gown has a neckline and ruching reminiscent of the swimwear worn by Marlyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield.

Juxtapositioned against her dark, nearly black hair and milky fair skin, the styles of yesteryear are suddenly transitioned to contemporary life. That’s not an easy undertaking to make the past seem new.

(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Worst Dressed – Kate Mara in Miu Miu

I’m curious to know how much money Kate Mara had to be paid by Miuccia Prada to hawk out this peach Miu Miu tablecloth and giant white clutch at the Golden Globes. Whatever the amount, this was not worth it, Kate.

And when you get home, make sure to burn this dress in the fireplace.

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Best Dressed – Lupita Nyong’o in Calvin Klein by Appointment

Is there any red carpet that actress Lupita Nyong’o does not stun on? The Kenyan native arrived in this strapless blue and silver Calvin Klein by Appointment gown that beamed off her chocolate complexion as the beaded tassels moved spectacularly when she walked throughout the event.

Throw on some dangling earrings, a bracelet and you’re set to look like a million bucks in this piece. No necklace necessary.

(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Worst Dressed – Lucy Liu in Galia Lahav

Actress Lucy Liu’s Galia Lahav gown reminds me of the wedding dress Angelina Jolie wore to marry Brad Pitt. Jolie had her children’s drawings scattered across the train of her gown and that’s exactly what Liu appears to have done here.

“Hey kids, mom’s going to an award show. Quick! Splatter my dress with neon paint!”

As if the craftiness of this gown was not horrendous enough, Liu added a mosquito net over the whole look. Is this a thing? Is mosquito netting fashion now? I think Isaac Mizrachi would say, “No, darling.”

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Best Dressed – Keri Russell in Monique Lhuillier

The Americans‘ Keri Russell is the most underrated, timeless sex kitten and at the Golden Globes, she proved once again that 42 is the new 32.

In an all-silver, plunging neckline Monique Lhuillier gown and a black octagon clutch, Russell was as fierce as she is when playing a Russian spy on television. Also, Russell’s figure is such a throwback to the slinky and skinny, Kate Moss era of beauty from the 1990s.

I can’t wait to see this revived after too many years of giant Kardashian-esque rear-ends.

(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

(VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images)

Worst Dressed – Julianne Moore in Givenchy

Actress Julianne Moore (Why does she always give off such a snob vibe?) looks as though she cut up her husband’s white tuxedo and turned it into a halter top when she arrived in this ill-fitting and, quite honestly, fugly Givenchy evening gown.

First off, how many bracelets do we need? Second, do we need dangling earrings with a halter top? Third, can we stop the gown interpretations of tuxedos? And lastly, why is there a fishing net wrapped around Julianne’s waist?

When Kate Mara throws her dress in the fireplace, FedEx your gown to her, Julianne, so she can discard of yours as well.

(Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Best Dressed – Charlize Theron in Christian Dior

It may not even be possible to be on the worst dressed list when you are Charlize Theron because, truthfully, this South African-born starlet is almost near physical perfection.

This Christian Dior black and white gown features a bow around the neck, a slit down the center of the bodice, and is backless. Sure, in all black this dress would have been wonderful, but the contrast of the white skirt with the black top is quintessential Hollywood.

Not many actresses wear black and white gowns anymore — I imagine the white scares them — but Charlize is willing to go there. Thank goodness she is!

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Best Dressed – Patricia Arquette in Vivienne Westwood

Escape at Dannemora actress Patricia Arquette was born to wear Vivienne Westwood’s corseted, busty off-the-shoulder gowns. And she’s worn many of them to red carpets, but why fix something that’s not broken?

This year, Arquette kept it classic in this Bette Davis-style black Westwood number with that famous neckline, breasts pushed high, and hair pulled loosely back into a swift updo.

Old Hollywood stars would have killed in a dress like this. Fortunately, Arquette does too.

(Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.

It usually takes companies a while to realize just how much damage Brussels can do to a profit margin.

For many of the world’s best known American internet firms, it took just three years.

Companies including eBay, Twitter and Facebook boosted their lobbying spend in Brussels by up to 278 percent since 2014, according to new research published by Transparency International, a non-governmental organization that campaigns against corruption that looked at the public disclosures made by Silicon Valley-based firms on the EU’s lobbyist register.

“For decades, Silicon Valley companies have turned traditional business models on their heads,” Transparency International EU’s Daniel Freund said. “A similar phenomenon is happening in Brussels where they’re rapidly changing the lobbying scene.”

Coming in first among the internet disruptors is Google, which disclosed €4.25 million spent on lobbying this year, representing an increase of 240 percent since 2014, while Facebook (€1 million) raised its spending by 150 percent. The figures, submitted voluntarily, include information about costs related to lobbying the EU institutions such as money spent on staff, offices, events and membership in trade associations. Some firms only began disclosing spending on lobbying last year, like Netflix and Dropbox for example, while LinkedIn and Airbnb began doing so this year.

Their mere presence is a sign of how much importance they’re placing on the EU’s regulatory capital. The main driver for the uptick in tech spending on lobbying came in 2015 when the European Commission launched its flagship digital single market strategy, a sprawling initiative designed to update EU law for the internet age.

Legislative soup

Since then, the EU’s institutions have been mired in discussions over draft laws and regulations ranging from updates to consumer law to plans to limit hate speech on online platforms.

So it’s “no surprise” that tech companies are surging in Brussels, said Julia Harrison, FTI Consulting’s managing director, whose firm advises companies such as Google, Netflix and Facebook. “We saw similar surges in the banking and energy sectors when those issues were top of the Commission’s in-tray.”

Companies that only recently increased the amount of money they’re spending on lobbying in Brussels are clear about why they’re in town.

“Imperfect government policies can have a particularly powerful effect on small businesses,” said Samuel Laurinkari, eBay’s lobbyist in Brussels, who referred to the Commission’s plans to introduce a single set of consumer protection rules across the EU as the company’s main concern.

And there’s no end in sight.

While the Commission is keen to be optimistic in its midterm review of the strategy, many laws are years away from being settled on, with deadlines regularly being postponed and institutional wrangling blocking meaningful progress.

“There are new actors who have come, lots of them which didn’t exist 20 years ago,” said James Waterworth, vice president of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). “They’ve gone from being economically insignificant to being economically substantial, so they want to be part of the policymaking process.”

Some tech firms have been around a lot longer than the likes of Google and Uber. Hard-hitting antitrust enforcement in particular is often the companies’ first real encounter with Brussels.

“Historically all the big American companies have had their fair share of competition issues, but the real bite has been in Europe,” said Thomas Tindemans, chairman of Hill+Knowlton Strategies Brussels. Companies with competition problems soon realize that it helps to have allies and supporters dotted around Brussels and in the institutions, he added.

Microsoft ramped up its presence in Brussels during the course of a decade-long battle with the Commission’s antitrust wing at the start of the 2000s. Intel, which was fined €1 billion in 2009, Qualcomm, which defeated a probe in 2009, and IBM, which settled an antitrust probe in 2011, have all used a similar playbook. Like Microsoft, once implanted in Brussels, their interests and spending have spread wide.

The long tail of legislating in the EU and the number of players in that process make it difficult to measure how successful all of this lobbying really is.

Internet firms can claim some victories, however.

A cybersecurity law, first proposed in 2013, introduced standards for important infrastructure like power stations across the EU. The law, which is still being implemented, included a special approach for internet companies, something they lobbied hard for in the negotiations between MEPs and governments.

Who’s my association?

Many companies prefer to lobby the institutions indirectly through trade associations. Tech uses that approach, too.

Brussels is home to about 15 trade associations working on tech policy, from DigitalEurope and the Application Developers’ Alliance to the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Software Alliance. Their members overlap: Intel, for example, is signed up to 10 trade associations; Google belongs to nine.

When internet disruptors first arrived in Brussels, they tended to want to do their own thing.

“When we establish a permanent presence here, we will want to do it in quite an Airbnb way,” said Patrick Robinson, director of EMEA public policy for the homeshare company, saying they didn’t plan to join every association in town.

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That reluctance to join trade associations rarely lasts, however, as companies that are bitter rivals in the outside world realize they share similar concerns in Brussels.

Uber, whose aggressive move into European markets triggered pushback from regulators across the Continent, is one such company waking up to the benefits of routing its demands through trade associations like the CCIA.

“Uber is more and more established in Brussels and therewith also becoming part of the Brussels stakeholder environment,” said Marloes van der Laan, a spokeswoman for Uber.

Concerns that there’s a glut of trade associations representing the same sector are growing, not least with the imminent arrival of the Information Technology Industry Council, which, like the Software Alliance, emphasizes its global dimension as its unique selling point.

“You have to be quite flexible,” said CCIA’s Waterworth, who said the fact that tech companies now have interests in so many economic sectors was putting pressure on trade associations to work on new policy areas. “You have to adapt [to what your members want] or you’re suddenly not relevant anymore.”

A consultancy free-for-all

In 2014, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker committed to reducing the number of draft laws the executive body churned out each year. While many businesses applauded the move as a sign he wanted the Commission to take a more pro-business approach, one sector was underwhelmed. Consultants, who number in the thousands in Brussels, have traditionally relied on tracking legislation as it wends its way through the EU institutions to pay their bills. The prospect of the legislative tap drying up put pressure on many to offer different services.

The one source of business they have been able to rely on, however, has been tech.

“I get these creepy people adding me on LinkedIn all the time,” said the lobbyist of one large American tech firm who spoke on condition of anonymity, describing how consultants were constantly trying to sell their wares to her.

Consultancies such as FTI Consulting, FIPRA International and smaller outfits like Cambre Associates are making millions through the advice they give clients on how to deal with the EU institutions.

With the biggest internet firms already signed to up consultancies, there’s been a fight for new business. Interel, a consultancy not known for its tech offering, managed to pick up one of the few big accounts left when it took on Alibaba, a Chinese e-commerce giant that recently opened an office in Brussels.

Some consultancies have started poaching accounts. Edelman, one of the world’s largest communications agencies, recently lost part of its contract with the Software Alliance to Cambre.

“There’s a lot of competition in the tech space,” Cambre’s CEO Tom Parker said. “If you haven’t noticed that tech is the future, then I think you’re missing a trick.”

Burson Marsteller, a U.S.-headquartered consultancy that works for Microsoft and Qualcomm, scored a big win recently when it took on John Higgins, former director general of DigitalEurope, as a senior adviser.

“It’s no surprise that tech companies of all sizes are focused on Europe at a time when no legislation on tech is likely to come from the U.S.,” said Karen Massin, Burson’s Brussels chief executive.

UPDATE: This article has been updated to reflect the growth in lobbying spending of Silicon Valley-based tech firms and exclude references to Amazon, which is based in Seattle.

Professional agitator and MSNBC host Al Sharpton, is criticizing rapper Travis Scott for accepting an offer to perform at the upcoming Super Bowl. While other performers have agreed to an informal boycott of the league over Colin Kaepernick.

The stringer cameras for TMZ caught up with Sharpton who criticized Scott for somehow wanting it “both ways,” HotNewHipHop reported.

“I think anyone that goes into the halftime show is in effect directly violating those that want to raise the question that the NFL should come to terms with what they have done and continue to do to Colin Kaepernick and those that protest on criminal justice issues,” Sharpton said.

“You can’t tell people to stand for those that take a knee and don’t go to the games and then say, ‘But somebody ought to perform there and entertain.’ You’re drawing TV viewers, you’re bringing supporters, and I think that you can’t have it both ways,” the Tawana Brawley scandalmonger added.

To date, Travis Scott is the only performer willing to join Maroon 5 to play for the upcoming Super Bowl halftime show after a growing list of black performers publicly announced that they would never accept an invitation to play as long as former San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick is left unsigned by any team.

Kaepernick, who invented the protest against the country during the national anthem, turned free agent at the tail of the 2016 season but has since found no NFL team interested in signing him. He has stayed out of the league since the start of the 2017 season, unable to continue his pro football career.

In support of Kaepernick, a number of stars have announced their disinterest in performing at the game including Cardi B, Adele and Jay-Z. Singer Pink also dissed NFL over Kaepernick’s plight.

In addition, Pop star Rihanna reportedly refused any offer of a Super bowl appearance to show support for Kaepernick.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.

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Make no mistake, Brussels is deeply worried about the French presidential election.

If the right-wing populist and full-throated Euroskeptic Marine Le Pen pulls off a victory in the second round of the election on May 7, it could threaten the entire European project, making Brexit look like a walk in the park.

During a recent debate, Le Pen said she wants France to be a “true country” not “a mere region of the European Union.” And though she has appeared to walk back on the idea of taking France out of the EU wholesale, she recently said she still wants a referendum on membership. She has also argued that France should leave the eurozone as well as Schengen, restoring its border controls and reinstating a French currency.

That, however, is incompatible with continued membership of the Union. “There is no legal way to leave the euro or Schengen and still remain in the European Union,” said a Commission official.

In any case, if Le Pen wins the presidency, a vocal Euroskeptic would inhabit the Élysée Palace for the first time since the Union’s foundation. Most polls show Le Pen breaking through to the election’s runoff round in May, but losing to former Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, who is running as an independent.

“From the Commission’s point of view, success for Marine Le Pen is a disaster and an existential threat to the European project,” a top Commission official said. “We can survive a Brexit, but not a Frexit.”

Fighting back against Euroskeptic claims

Given that the French election could have vital consequences for the EU, the European Commission is not taking any chances. In an unusual move, it’s getting involved in French politics, albeit indirectly, with a fact-checking campaign to counter the anti-EU narrative coming from Le Pen’s National Front.

The EU-paid fact checkers rebut Le Pen attack lines such as the assertion that France would be better off without the euro or that the EU destroys French purchasing power.

While the EU seeks to counter core Le Pen Euroskeptic messages, the Commission doesn’t endorse any specific candidate in the French race. But there is no doubt that Brussels insiders see a Le Pen win as a threat to the EU.

Pierre Moscovici, the commissioner for economic and financial affairs, said in a press conference last week that “it’s a mistake” to not to fight anti-EU candidates such as Le Pen. “Europe is France’s future, and we need France to be a driving force,” the French Socialist said, adding, in a clear swipe at the National Front leader: “I don’t even talk about those crazy ideas of France leaving Europe, which would both kill Europe and make France choke severely.”

Moscovici is not alone in his fear of Le Pen.

“It worries us — without any doubt,” said a top staffer in the Commission. “After the U.K. and the U.S. election, it would almost be a natural consequence.”

It’s not just in the Commission where fear of the far right is high. There is clearly no love lost between Le Pen and her fellow MEPs. In February, Le Pen sued Parliament and senior EU officials who are trying to recover hundreds of thousands of euros from the National Front leader for alleged misuse of funds.

The lawsuit targets the Parliament’s most senior civil servant, Secretary-General Klaus Welle, the head of the European Anti-Fraud Office (known as OLAF) Giovanni Kessler, and OLAF’s acting director of investigations, Beatriz Sanz Redrado.

Le Pen alleges that the investigation into misuse of funds was politically motivated — something the Parliament denies.

Paying close attention to Paris

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is following the French campaign closely, officials say. So far, he has conducted one-on-one meetings with three of the presidential candidates at their behest — the centrist Macron, the conservative François Fillon and the Socialist Benoît Hamon — and his aides are keenly watching the French polls and projections for voter turnout, a factor that could prove crucial. Polls predict around 65 percent turnout; the lowest in recent history was in 2002 at 71 percent in the first round. Le Pen hasn’t asked for a meeting with Juncker, an aide to the Commission president said.

For now, Juncker has stayed out of the fray, save for the occasional bullish quote. “The European Union will survive Marine Le Pen because she won’t become president,” he told Bild am Sonntag earlier this month.

Earlier this year, it looked as if Fillon, the candidate for the conservative Les Républicains, had the contest all sewn up. But his lead crumbled under the weight of a scandal involving his alleged use of public funds to pay his wife and children generous salaries for fictitious jobs as well as receiving seemingly questionable gifts from a lawyer.

Fillon’s backers in Brussels “are now looking at their shoes when talk turns to the election,” said a political aide from a Nordic country, adding it would be “unthinkable” in most EU countries for a candidate to stay in a presidential race under such circumstances.

The centrist and resolutely pro-EU Macron appears to have taken Fillon’s spot. Most polls put him roughly neck-and-neck with Le Pen in the first round but beating her comfortably in the second — to the expressed relief of officials in Brussels.

“The Commission would vote Macron without any doubt,” said a Commission top official.

But if disgruntled Fillon voters opt to stay at home rather than switch to Macron, or if Le Pen mobilizes otherwise apathetic voters, that could open the door for a National Front victory.

One top diplomat likened the vote to Brexit and last year’s U.S. election. The voters who decided the outcome then, he said, were “those who don’t give a damn anymore about politics.”

Several top EU officials confirmed there is no official “task force” to provide an EU response to a potential populist victory in France — not officially, in any case.

One diplomat joked that, if it exists, it is locked away in Brussels and Berlin.

“If there is a contingency plan, neither you nor myself would be able to get it,” the diplomat said.

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Pep Guardiola’s side have been hit with a two-year European ban and have moved to have UEFA’s ruling overturned

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that they have registered an appeal from Manchester City as the reigning Premier League champions fight to overturn a two-season Champions League ban.

UEFA found the club guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play rules and failing to cooperate with its investigation, handing City a €30m (£25m/$33m) fine on top of their two-year European suspension.

City moved quickly to profess their innocence and vowed to prove UEFA wrong, with a CAS appeal the first order of business.

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CAS has now confirmed the appeal has been lodged, releasing an official statement on Wednesday, which reads: “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered an appeal filed by Manchester City football club against the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).

“The appeal is directed against the decision of the Adjudicatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) dated 14 February 2020 in which Manchester City was deemed to have contravened UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations and sanctioned with exclusion from the next two seasons of UEFA club competitions for which the club would qualify and ordered to pay a fine of EUR 30 million.

“Generally speaking, CAS appeal arbitration procedures involve an exchange of written submissions between the parties while a Panel of CAS arbitrators is being convened. Once the Panel has been formally constituted it issues procedural directions, including, inter alia, with respect to the holding of a hearing. Following the hearing, the Panel deliberates and then issues its decision in the form of an Arbitral Award.

“It is not possible to indicate at this time when a final award in this matter will be issued.”

City will hope that a verdict will be reached sooner rather than later as the ban poses a number of questions regarding the club’s future.

Indeed, while Pep Guardiola has signalled his intent to stay at the club even if the ban is upheld, the Catalan coach could be forgiven for considering a move elsewhere.

The same could be said for the players, too, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling having already been linked with summer transfers rather than spend two years in the Champions League wilderness.

Similarly, Guardiola has admitted that making summer signings could prove extremely difficult as top players will see a lack of European football as a real downside to joining the Manchester club.

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The humanitarian catastrophe that engulfed Europe in the summer of 2015, when hundreds of thousands fled war in Syria and conflicts in the Middle East and Northern Africa is now under control — in large part thanks to Turkey’s solidarity.

The European Union and Turkey both still face considerable pressure. The Syrian conflict alone displaced nearly 5 million people. In Europe, the crisis overwhelmed its southernmost countries and threatened one of its key principles: the freedom of movement.

Media reports have covered the hardships of Syrians who sought refuge in neighboring countries including Turkey — and rightly so. But the sheer scale of the burden Turkey is shouldering on Europe’s southern flank must not go unnoticed either.

Turkey has kept its borders open to people fleeing bloodshed and turmoil. It has accepted 3.2 million Syrians and 300,000 Iraqis and Afghans, with no discrimination based on their religion, sect, gender or ethnicity, making it one of the largest refugee-hosting countries in the world.

Turkey has so far spent approximately $30 billion — 3.5 percent of its GDP — to support refugees living inside its borders and help them to integrate socially and economically. Most of the 3.5 million people under temporary protection in Turkey live outside its temporary protection centers and live peacefully alongside the Turkish population.

Turkey’s humanitarian temporary protection policy toward Syrians includes language courses, and education and vocational training. It also ensures they receive access to the Turkish labor market and grants them free health services.

Since January 2016, the Turkish government has issued work permits to 22,600 Syrians. Among the approximately 835,000 school-aged Syrian children living in Turkey, some 508,000 are currently enrolled in primary and secondary education.

It is fair to say that, compared to Turkey’s vast efforts, the international community has been more reluctant to share the burden.

The contribution of the international community — minus the EU — to the Syrians in Turkey since the beginning of the Syrian conflict stands at $526 million. The EU, meanwhile, so far has only spent €838 million of the €3 billion it initially pledged to Turkey. The amount represents a mere 0.02 percent of the EU28’s total GDP.

What’s more, this money is granted not to the Turkish government, but directly to Syrians in need, in large part under the auspices of European NGOs and aid agencies.

In March, the EU and Turkey reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate on managing the migration crisis. It has been one of the main targets in our bilateral relations. And, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, Turkey is determined to honor its obligations.

EU-Turkey cooperation has been effective: As European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker noted in his State of the Union address, the number of new arrivals coming to Europe via Turkey dropped by 97 percent over the past year.

Had it not been for Turkey, the EU would have seen the arrival of approximately 1.5 million migrants this year. The model has proven to be so efficient that the bloc is discussing how to replicate it with other countries to curb irregular migration flows in the Central Mediterranean.

But the relationship cannot be a one-way street. Turkey expects the EU to fulfill its end of the bargain as well.

We expect the EU to accelerate both the allocation and spending of the remaining amount pledged as part of the initial €3 billion package. The EU also must not forget its commitment to creating a voluntary humanitarian admission scheme to give Syrian refugees a legal, dignified path to Europe and allow the bloc to better manage migration.

Turkey has undertaken vast efforts to help Europe manage migration flows, despite the fact that last year’s attempted coup partly disrupted the functioning of our state machinery. The bloc cannot remain indifferent to the costs Turkey has undergone.

Turkey is committed to its humanitarian approach to the Syrian crisis. Our willingness to share in the heavy burden is proof that we, as an EU candidate country, truly espouse universal values that make us European.

By helping to stem migration flows, Turkey has proven itself to be a reliable partner in times of crisis in Europe. The EU must also uphold its side of the agreement.

Faruk Kaymakcı is the ambassador at the Permanent Delegation of Turkey to the European Union.

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The Brazilian has revealed that the Blues are only willing to give him a two-year extension as he nears the end of his current contract

Willian has suggested that he could leave Chelsea this summer due to a disagreement over the terms of a possible contract extension, with his current deal set to expire in June.

The 31-year-old has spent the last seven years of his career at Stamford Bridge, racking up over 300 appearances for the club across all competitions.

The Blues have won four major trophies during that period, including two Premier League titles and the Europa League, with the Brazilian often serving as a regular fixture in the starting line-up.

Willian has been a prominent figure once again under Frank Lampard, contributing five goals and five assists in 34 appearances in 2019-20.

He is, however, due to become a free agent this summer and has yet to agree on fresh terms with Chelsea over a renewal.

Willian has now revealed that he has been offered the chance to remain in west London for an extra two years but that he is seeking three – a stance that could see him move on if the Blues refuse to budge in negotiations.

“It’s a difficult situation because Chelsea offered me two years and they are not going to change what they offered. I said I wanted three more years,” the winger told Esporte Interativo.

“The situation is difficult because of this. I really don’t know if it will be possible [to stay]. My goal is to continue working and focus on the remainder of the season, so that Chelsea can continue winning games. 

“I have a clear head and focused for the rest of the season that we have left.

“I think it’s difficult [to stay]. Let’s see what happens”

Willian was speaking after Chelsea’s 3-0 home defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night, which leaves Lampard’s men facing an uphill battle to qualify for the next round.

The Blues will travel to Allianz Arena for the second leg of the last-16 tie on March 18 needing to score at least four goals against a side who have yet to lose in Europe this season.

Lampard must now pick his players up ahead of a crucial Premier League meeting with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Chelsea are fourth in the top-flight standings at the moment, three points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester United in the race for the final Champions League spot with nine fixtures remaining.

Man City dominated two seasons of English football, but time is running out for them to deliver in Europe, especially with the threat of a ban looming

It says everything about Pep Guardiola’s status within the game that if he doesn’t win the Champions League during his time at Manchester City it will be considered a failure.

Zinedine Zidane led Real Madrid to three consecutive European Cups between 2016 and 2018 yet still described the Catalan as “the best” coach in the world ahead of their last-16 clash at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

It is a common view among the game’s top tacticians.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have left City trailing in their wake in this season’s Premier League and yet, in December, he also labelled Guardiola as “the best manager in the world”.

But such lofty praise from his peers will not be enough to silence Guardiola’s critics. Nor will two record-breaking title-winning seasons. Or a domestic treble. Or that he has redefined English football.

Guardiola was brought to the Etihad Stadium to win Europe’s biggest prize. The fact that he has yet to lead City past the quarter-finals is, therefore, portrayed as a massive letdown.

It has also supposedly strengthened the argument that Guardiola can’t win the Champions League without Lionel Messi.

They won two titles together, in 2009 and 2011, but while the Argentine attacker got his hands on the trophy again in 2015, Guardiola’s drought has now entered its ninth year.

There were already question marks after Guardiola failed to turn domestic domination into European glory with Bayern Munich and he knows that he will face further criticism if he doesn’t deliver in England either.

Guardiola claimed he would be sacked if he didn’t win the trophy but it is inconceivable that the club would consider taking such drastic action any time soon.

He has transformed the club into serial winners and while Europe has been a disappointment, it is a cup competition and luck is needed. The City boss believes that a league victory is a truer test of a team’s greatness as it rewards consistent excellence.

Fortune is a major factor in the Champions League and there’s no doubt that some close calls have gone against Guardiola’s City in continental competition.

They had a goal ruled out while attempting to storm back from a 3-0 first-leg deficit in their quarter-final clash with Liverpool two years ago. It was a dreadful decision but an irate Guardiola was sent off for protesting.

Last year, meanwhile, VAR did nothing when Fernando Llorente bundled the ball home with his hand in a controversial last-eight clash at the Etihad yet intervened when Raheem Sterling thought he had scored the winning goal because of a marginal offside in the build-up.

“Many things have happened in recent years but it’s football,” Guardiola said ahead of the game against Madrid. “I remember incredible episodes but we cannot control it.

“I don’t like to win with the wrong decisions, but the referee, VAR, things have happened… but we just have to do what we have to do.”

With just 15 months remaining on his current City contract, Guardiola is running out of time if he is to win the trophy the club’s hierarchy want more than any other. But recent events have ramped up the pressure.

Indeed, this might be Guardiola’s last chance.

While he has confirmed he will be at the club next season, City won’t be in Europe, unless the Court of Arbitration of Sport overturns the club’s two-year ban for breaching Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

While the club insist they have irrefutable evidence to win their appeal, as it stands, Guardiola’s City legacy is now on the line ahead of their meeting with Madrid.

However, the former Barcelona midfielder is playing down the significance of the game for him personally.

“These players will have a lot of chances [to win the Champions League],” Guardiola insisted. “I know we are playing the kings (Real Madrid) but unless you die, there will be more chances. There will be other opportunities.

“So, the ban adds no special motivation. The desire should always be there anyway. It’s another game – that’s all.”

Guardiola has said that the reason for City’s poor showing has been their lack of European pedigree.

Madrid love the Champions League and know how to get the job done without playing well, while City have struggled when the European giants have arrived in town.

Barcelona, twice, Madrid and Liverpool have all knocked them out of the latter stages of the competition.

But the City boss has also faced some criticism for changing his strategy. His high-risk attacking football has often proven too much for England’s mid-level sides but sometimes in continental competition he has changed tactics against sides of similar quality.

Against Liverpool two years ago, he played Aymeric Laporte as a more defensive left-back to try to stop the flying Mohamed Salah and played with an extra midfielder. He did something similar with Fabian Delph against Spurs. Both decisions backfired.

Even Thomas Muller recently claimed that sometimes Guardiola used to change his tactics too much against stronger sides.

“If the players felt that, if Thomas felt that, it’s good information,” Guardiola mused. “Maybe it’s my mistake but I try to make them confident and get them to go out to try to play their own game.”

One thing is for sure: Guardiola will need to get his tactics spot on if City are to eliminate Real.

If he doesn’t, the critics will be quick to herald the end of his Etihad tenure – and label it a failure.

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Football’s biggest individual award has been dominated by the star duo, but the defender thinks his team-mate’s time might finally have come

Bayern Munich’s David Alaba believes that Robert Lewandowski deserves to be mentioned in the same bracket as multiple Ballon d’Or winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo after the Poland international shone yet again in the German side’s 3-0 victory over Chelsea in the Champions League.

Lewandowski scored one and laid on two assists for Serge Gnabry at Stamford Bridge to give Frank Lampard’s Blues the near impossible task of overturning a humbling first-leg deficit, the striker matching a record set by Ronaldo in the process.

And with the 31-year-old now boasting a return of 11 goals in just seven Champions League matches this term, Alaba feels Lewandowski should be counted amongst some of football’s greatest to ever play the game.

“Yes, I think so,” the Austrian said of whether his team-mate can be compared to Messi and Ronaldo. 

“He’s a world-class player and a world-class striker. We all know that he can score goals and he showed another side of himself today by giving assists. We know that he is very important to us and we’re grateful to have him in our squad. 

“He shows it every weekend – he’s one of the best and maybe the best striker in the world. He scores goals in almost every game and, of course, I think he deserves to be at the top and spoken about with those guys.”

Asked if it’s the Pole’s time to win the Ballon d’Or, Alaba added: “I hope so, he deserves it. I see how hard he works every day. He would deserve it.”

With Chelsea having been condemned to their worst margin of defeat at home in their history, Bayern could be forgiven for thinking that they have one foot already in the quarter-finals, but the defender made it clear that there is still plenty of work to do.

“That’s not how we think,” Alaba added. “There’s a second game and we still have to play that second game. We did very well in the first game, we know that, but anything can happen in football.

“We have to believe in ourselves but there’s still a long way until the final. We have another game against Chelsea and we have to win to get through. We’ll see. We go from game to game.”

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The former midfielder insists that the Blaugrana did not hurt his side, who paid the price for a “single error” at Stadio San Paolo

Barcelona “barely tickled” Napoli, according to Gennaro Gattuso, who praised his team’s performance in their 1-1 draw in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Dries Mertens equalled Napoli’s all-time scoring record to put the home side ahead before Antoine Griezmann salvaged toothless Barca a draw approaching the hour mark in the opening leg of the last-16 tie.

Napoli – disciplined and compact in defence – were unfortunate not to take more from the showdown as Lionel Messi and Barca struggled at Stadio San Paolo.

“Since [Barca coach Quique] Setien arrived, they systematically push five or six players into attack, they don’t just pass and that’s it,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia.

“They force you to defend deep and we had to play like that, because if there were spaces back there, they could really hurt us.

“I think they barely grazed us tonight, they hardly had a single shot on goal. They could’ve been there all night and not scored, but we conceded after one single error. They didn’t hurt us, it barely tickled.”

Mertens put Napoli ahead with a curling effort in the 30th minute after some relentless pressing from team-mate Piotr Zielinski.

Napoli had a couple of chances to double their advantage, but Barca managed to equalise via Antoine Griezmann in the 57th minute before Arturo Vidal was sent off late.

“We could’ve done better on a few counter-attacks, but the team did what we had to do. We allowed them very few opportunities,” Gattuso said.

“I am a little disappointed that we didn’t create more playing out from the back and in possession, but a little fatigue can happen when you work so hard throughout. Unfortunately, you can’t make a single mistake against Barcelona.

“Naturally, qualification is wide open, we will have time to prepare for the second leg and know they will be missing Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal, as they’ll be suspended.

“It’s our duty to go there and play for qualification. Napoli have many strong players, Barcelona have something more, but if we play with focus then we can have our chances.”

Barca will host Napoli in the return leg at Camp Nou on March 18.

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