Syria crisis deepens as Annan plan fails, Ukraine attacks political opponents after agreeing trade deal with EU and the EU needs more mother-tongue English speakers.

UN action needed over Syria / Ukraine repression / UK language skills

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/15939729/n001-120410-002-en_mf.srt

A leading MEP hopes that with Russia  and China backing the peace plan for Syria,

put forward by UN-Arab League  envoy Kofi Annan,

international pressure  on Bashar al-Assad will increase.

The deadline has passed but the military  assault on rebel positions continues

and it's claimed Syrian troops  have fired into Lebanon and Turkey.

Turkey has warned of reprisals  but it's a dangerous escalation.

Turkey, of course, as you have said,  can robustly respond to such an eventuality,

but Lebanon, which has in the past been  the theatre of a 'war by proxy',

Ukraine is clamping down  on political opposition

despite a political  and trade agreement with the EU,

due to be signed later this year  if October's elections are fair.

Viktor Yanukovych's government has  threatened more court cases and jail terms

already serving a sentence  for alleged abuse of power.

The EU is unlikely to sign the agreement  unless democracy improves.

There are not enough British civil servants  working in EU institutions,

He says Britain lags behind its partners  in language teaching,

leaving British students ill-equipped  to join programmes like Erasmus

and creating a shortage of mother-tongue  English speakers qualified for EU jobs.

They are very good in English, indeed,  but they do not know any other language

so they cannot comply  with the minimum requirements

to put forward their candidatures  to work at the Union in any job.