The geopolitics of space and the Colleferro Italian leadership

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The geopolitics of space and the Colleferro Italian leadership

By Domenico Letizia.

Over the last few years, we have witnessed the flourishing of a strategic competition between great powers for the conquest of space, which has become a terrain of competition and the object of growing global interest. 

China and the US are the leaders of this competition, in which both states aim at reinforcing their relative strength. There is therefore a real “geopolitics” of space exploration. For Europe too, space has become strategic, and in fact space diplomacy has become a new area where the geopolitics of states develops. An incredible opportunity for the growth and development of our country.

The European Space Agency, with its current 22 members, is very active in guaranteeing autonomous access to space to the European countries that are part of it through two programs: the Ariane program, intended to place large and heavy satellites in geostationary orbit, and the Vega program, which consists mainly of a launcher, a smaller and lighter missile that is used to place artificial satellites in low orbit.

Avio S.p.A, an Italian company heir to an industrial tradition that began operating in 1912 in Colleferro, Lazio, plays a fundamental role in both European programs. For the Ariane program, Avio produces the additional solid propulsion engines that allow the large launcher to detach itself from the earth’s surface.

Avio is also thinking about research on Mars in collaboration with the space districts of Campania and Sardinia. Unlike the missions of the Emirates, China and Russia, Avio’s initiative with the Campania and Sardinian partners aims to carry out a relatively cheap mission, using smaller satellites. Furthermore, we recall a very important program: the agreement concluded by Avio with the United Nations Space Office located in Vienna.

On the basis of this agreement, Avio offered to place nine mini satellites in orbit free of charge, for countries that are now entering the international space scene. In this way Avio intends on the one hand to contribute to the peaceful use of space and the diffusion of technology, and on the other to reduce the technological gap between the nations that use satellites and those who do not.

The Italian State is concretely supporting the sector with substantial investments, to the point that the Office of the Prime Minister keeps in its portfolio the responsibility for managing the secret services and the aerospace sector. The Lazio Region is the only Region in Europe that hosts the aerospace supply chain internally, and Governor Nicola Zingaretti includes it in his Smart Strategy.

Colleferro has the task of creating a value chain in this field: from industry, very well represented by Avio and its related activities, to the involvement of universities and the skills of young people coming from all over Europe. The challenge is to become an attractive pole in Europe in the domain of space.

 

About the author:

Domenico Letizia.

Domenico Letizia Journalist. Radio speaker of “RadioAtene”. Researcher, publicist and social media manager of the “Water Museum of Venice”, member of the UNESCO World Network of Water Museums. Public relations manager of the Mediterranean Academy of Culture, Technology and Trade of Malta. Expert in geopolitics, green, blue economy, digital and agri-food.

Photo: Domenico Letizia.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – Emerging Diplomatic Dimensions

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Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – Emerging Diplomatic Dimensions

By Jim Dennis Okore.

The decision of Addis Ababa to proceed with the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), off the Blue Nile, continues to exacerbate the already existing geopolitical tensions. With stakes higher, this might culminate into military confrontations. The GERD and the waters of the Nile are increasingly becoming foreign policy imperatives, thus informing the Regional Security Complex of the region. 

The activities of Addis Ababa have caught regional and international attention. Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, requested the US to mediate into the Egypt-Ethiopia hydropolitics. With no sight of probable solution, the US Administration is contemplating withholding of non-humanitarian foreign aid to Ethiopia, as a means of leveraging the negotiations. In asserting its power, Ethiopia refused to sign the US-brokered deal. 

It is also noteworthy to say that the Ethiopia-Egypt hydropolitics of the Nile has become an international diplomatic arena (an internationalization of transboundary water conflict). The feuding parties are Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan. The Mediating parties are the African Union (AU), the US, and the Arab League. This means that two regional assemblies of the AU and the Arab League are drafted in as mediators.  

Hydropolitics of the Nile and the Riparian States: What are the issues between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan?

  • The pace of filling the reservoir
  • Livelihoods and drought mitigation
  • Water as the lifeline downstream (water supply).

For Ethiopia:

  • Over $4.6 Billion funded by the Exchequer
  • Probable source for hydroelectric power
  • Source of national pride
  • Ethiopia construes the Dam as symbolic of it as a regional hegemon. 

For Egypt:

  • Concerned with the strangulation of water supply downstream
  • Nile waters area national wealth (2012 constitution)

Egypt has historic rights on the Nile waters. The 2014 Constitution, specifically Art. 44, ‘the State commits to protect the Nile River, maintaining Egypt’s historic rights, thereto, rationalizing and maximizing its benefits, not wasting its waters or polluting it’. This is a transboundary message and takes a different approach from the 2012 Constitution. Critical here is water management and environmental concerns.

Egypt’s historical rights are tied to colonial treaties. In the 1929 Treaty, for example, Britain acted on behalf of Sudan and other protectorates. Also, Egypt, at this time, had no ‘Full Powers’ since it had no political independence. 

In 1950s, the Aswan High Dam sparked Egypt-Sudan crisis hence the 1959 Agreement. Egypt considers the Agreement as the cornerstone of its historic rights. Egyptian president by then, Gamal Abdel Nasser, backed Ibrahim Abboud during the 1958 coup in Sudan. This agreement became unpopular in Sudan. The opposition to Egypt’s claims of historical rights were even more rampant in the 1960s and are also illustrated in the Nyerere Doctrine. 

The Vienna Convention on the Law of the Treaties, in its Art. 34 postulates that a treaty does not create obligations or rights for a third party without its consent and this is customary law. Therefore, upon independence, the riparian states of the Nile were not bound to the treaty. 

Important to note, Ethiopia was not colonized. In 1957, Ethiopia advanced that it has the rights to use the Nile waters with hindsight of inter-generational equity. And that treaties not involving Ethiopia have no legal effects on its utilization of the waters of the Nile. 

Duality of Claims: A Conceptual Understanding                                             

  • Egypt / Historic Rights                           
  • Riparian States such as Ethiopia and Sudan / Source and Utilization
  • 16,000 GW hours of electricity aimed to double the current power generation.
  • 44% of Ethiopians have access to electricity.
  • ¼ of the 44% are on off-grid solutions.
  • Egypt, on the other hand, has 100% electricity coverage. 
Nile Bank village. Image by DEZALB.

The GERD as a positive initiative

  • It seeks to fulfill the SDG 7: Universal access to affordable and reliable sustainable energy by 2030.
  • The Blue Nile as a source of irrigation, hence food security and food sovereignty.
  • The revenue from the generated electricity will be a significant source of foreign exchange and also help mitigate the national debt burden.
  • The GERD will have the potential to export electricity to Eastern Africa.
  • Since power interruptions affect revenue, productivity, employment and export performance, the GERD will seek to cater for these deficits.
  • Electricity is central to poverty alleviation, economic growth and industrial production. 

Regional integration is probable. Egypt should acknowledge the regional benefits of the GERD, and Ethiopia’s right to equitable utilization of its natural resource.

Ethiopia and Egypt should embrace shared responsibility especially during low rainfall and drought. The GERD can result into a greater coordination and cooperation between Egypt and Ethiopia. 

Main picture: Nile River, Cairo. Photography by Remon Samuel.

Jim Okore

About the author:

Jim Okore is an Expert in the Remittances Experts Program of the African Institute of Remittances (AIR). The African Institute of Remittances (AIR) is a subsidiary of the African Union (AU).

He also teaches International Relations in Nairobi, Kenya. His interests are in Diaspora Remittances, International Law, International Political Economy, Diplomacy, and Leadership and Governance. He holds a B.A and M.A in International Relations from the United States International University-Africa (USIU-A). 

All for Global Citizens: President Fischer on 75 years of triumph of antifascism

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All for Global Citizens: President Fischer on 75 years of triumph of antifascism

In the picture President Dr. Heinz Fisher with his co-chair, Ban Ki-moon.

Early summer days of 2020 in Vienna sow marking the anniversary of Nuremberg Trials with the conference “From the Victory Day to Corona Disarray: 75 years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System – Legacy of Antifascism for the Common Pan-European Future”. This was the first public and probably the largest conference in Europe past the early spring lockdown. It gathered numerous speakers and audience physically in the venue while many others attended online. 

The conference was organised by four partners; the International Institute IFIMES, Media Platform Modern Diplomacy, Academic Journal European Perspectives, and Action Platform Culture for Peace, with a support of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna that hosted the event in a prestigious historical setting. 

Media partners were diplomatic magazines of several countries, and the academic partners included over 25 universities from all 5 continents, numerous institutes and 2 international organisations. A day-long event was also Live-streamed, that enabled audiences from Chile to Far East and from Canada to Australia to be engaged with panellists in the plenary and via zoom. (the entire conference proceedings are available: https://www.facebook.com/DiplomaticAcademyVienna ) 

Among 20-some speakers from Canada to Australia, talking in three event’s panels were top scholars and practitioners. The event was opened by the welcome address of the former President of Austria, Dr Heinz Fischer who currently serves as a co-chair of the Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens. The following lines are a brief reference on President’s highly anticipated and absorbing key-note address prepared exclusively for this conference. 

The last few months have roughly hit the world and especially the European continent. As countries chose to close their borders in order to control the spread of the coronavirus, this decision might endanger cooperation’s efficiency. In a very thought-provoking speech, tinted with personal thoughts and experiences, Dr. Heinz Fischer, former President of the Republic of Austria, demonstrated how cooperation has always succeeded to find its place through harder periods of history and unveiled his expectations for the future. 

In the first part of his speech, former President Fischer went through marking events of World War II (WW2). The abovementioned explained how the April 1944 battle in Vienna was unavoidable but also how incredible the destruction has been. Indeed, during this period, more than tens of thousands of people were killed. President Fischer underlined the fact that the end of the war, translated by the military defeat of the German Wehrmacht, has been a long-awaited moment but that, already by the end of April, before the end of the war, a new government was built, and the declaration of independence was published. According to him, this new chapter carried a lot of hope for the ones who had suffered from the war. 

Former President Fischer pointed out how this new chapter brought many novelties in terms of cooperation. Among them, in June 1945, was the creation of the United Nations (UN), the most important institution of international cooperation to this day. This initiative showed the will of the international community to move toward relations based on cooperation. A few years later, in November 1948, was also published the well-known Human Rights Declaration which focused mainly on human dignity. Fischer believes that even if, still nowadays, there is still work to do in terms of putting those words efficiently into practice, we can say that wars and history have been teaching the world great lessons; the 75 years since WW2 demonstrated positive changes. 

Still going through striking episodes of history, Fischer noted that, in Europe, the idea of cooperation, more specifically economic cooperation, started to be omnipresent and strongly supported by great European figures. Yet, according to Fischer, it was hard to imagine such a thing in a context where tensions between East and West were still very present, so present that they led to a war; the famous Cold War. Nonetheless, the former President indicated that the war didn’t stop cooperation’s growth on the Western side where the Treaty of Rome was accepted between six European countries. This marked the beginning of European community. 

Fischer continued by voicing how the death of Stalin, in March 1953, allowed a wind of change on the Russian side. In fact, when Khrushchev took power, some reforms were made and Western countries realized that it was now possible to easily negotiate with Russia since Khrushchev was more flexible than Stalin. In October 1955, the Russian soldiers and all other occupation soldiers left Austria. Fischer indicated that it was the moment where Austria was finally officially a free and independent country. However, according to him, this wasn’t exactly the case yet in Germany where the situation was more complicated and where antagonism was growing. 

Built in 1965, The Berlin Wall became the symbol of the division of East and West. On the one side NATO was founded as a military alliance, and on the other side, the Warsaw Treaty. Fischer underlined that the arms race was dangerous and expensive for both sides. So, in the 1970s, the idea of peaceful coexistence was growing and finally resulted in the signature of the Helsinki Treaty in 1975. Former President observed that it was a step in the direction of reducing the political tensions. 

On the other hand, after the death of Mao in 1976, Fischer noted that China obtained a leading position in the global economy and global power. A little more than a decade later, the world assisted to the collapsing of several communist regimes in Eastern Europe starting by the fall of the Berlin Wall. Then came the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The economic cooperation in Europe started to expand. According to former President Fischer, the expansion of NATO to the borders of Russia was considered, for some, not so-clever as political tensions started to grow again. 

With President Trump, Xi Jinping, the Brexit and coronavirus, the year 2020 brings whole new perspectives and questions. Ban Ki-moon Centre co-chair, Fischer stressed the importance for the world to keep being successful on the fields of cooperation, disarmament, actions against the damage of our climate and democracy and democratization. Fortunately, the former President was very optimist for the future and emphasized on the positive changes that the sustainable development goals of the UN, supported by all of its members, foreshadow for the near future. 

About the Author:

Audrey Beaulieu of the University of Ottawa (Globalization and International Development Department), specialized in public and private International law, international development and global politics.

Temporary posting of employees: amended obligations for foreign EU employers

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Temporary posting of employees: amended obligations for foreign EU employers

By Jan Dop.

The Terms of Employment Posted Workers in the European Union Act (WagwEU) regulates a number of obligations for EU employers who temporarily post employees to the Netherlands as part of the transnational provision of services. What do these obligations from the WagwEU entail? And what are the changes as of 30 July 2020?
 

Transnational provision of services

The WagwEU is an implementation of the revised European Posting of Workers Directive and imposes obligations on foreign employers who temporarily post employees to the Netherlands as part of the transnational provision of services. There are three types of transnational provision of services:

  • Pure posting: the making available of an employee to the service recipient under the direction and supervision of the service provider to work in another Member State as part of the agreement between the service provider and service recipient.
  • Intra-group posting: the making available of an employee of the company to a branch of the company or a company of the same group in another Member State.
  • Temporary agency work: the making available of an employee, for remuneration, by the service provider to the service recipient to perform work in another Member State under the direction and supervision of the service recipient.
     

Obligations WagWeU

The obligations under the WagwEU for foreign employers are as follows:

1. Minimum terms of employment
The foreign employer must guarantee the employee he temporarily posts abroad at least the most significant terms of employment under Dutch law (the hard core of the terms). This regards, inter alia, the minimum wages, sufficient rest periods, safe work conditions, equal treatment of men and women, and the entitlement to a minimum number of days holiday.

The revised Posting of Workers Directive will be implemented by 30 July 2020, which means that:

  • The term “salary” will be replaced by the term “remuneration”, clarifying which allowances are covered by this term.
  • The hard core of the terms (the terms and conditions of employment which service providers must at least guarantee for their posted workers) will be extended to include housing conditions and certain allowances and compensation.
  • The extended hard core of the terms is applicable to a posting of 12 months maximum, which can be extended to 18 months under certain circumstances.
  • After a posting of 12 or 18 months in the Netherlands, even more terms of employment will be applicable. As a result, the rights of the posted temporary workers are almost fully aligned with those of national temporary workers (except for dismissal law and supplementary company pension schemes).
  • Temporary employment agencies remain responsible for the application of the mandatory terms of employment with regard to the posted worker, even if the service recipient forwards the posted worker to a subsequent service recipient.

2. The obligation to provide information
If requested, the foreign employer must provide the Inspectorate SZW with data and information so the Inspectorate SZW can establish whether the posting company actually performs substantial activities to post employees in the context of cross-border provision of services and whether the posting is indeed temporarily.

3.The obligation to designate a contact person
The foreign employer must designate a contact person in the Netherlands. This contact person must be available during the posting period and must stay in the Member State to which the employee is posted. The contact person is available for sending and receiving documents and notifications regarding the service provision and acts as the contact person for the service provider, who is the contact person for the Inspectorate SZW.

4. The obligation to report
The foreign employer must report the arrival of all posted employees to an online reporting counter, that sends the reported information to the Inspectorate SZW, the Social Insurance Bank and the Tax and Customs Administrations. In any case, the following information must be reported:

  • The identity of the person reporting, the customer/principal and of the employee(s) posted to the Netherlands
  • The designated contact person
  • The sector in which the activities in the Netherlands are carried out
  • The address of the workplace
  • The nature and expected duration of the activities
  • The identity of the person responsible for salary payment
  • information regarding the country where the social contributions are paid for the employee(s)

5. The obligation to keep records
Finally, the foreign employer must ensure that certain documents (written or digital) are available at the workplace. This regards the following documents:

  • A copy of the employment contract
  • The salary slip
  • Information the employer has to provide to the employee about the essential elements of the employment contract
  • Overview of the hours worked by the employee
  • Documents proving the contribution for the social security legislation, the identity of the service provider, the service recipient, the posted employee and the person responsible for paying the wages
  • Proof of payment of wages
     

Administrative fine

If the obligation to report, to keep records and/or to provide information is not met, an administrative fine can be imposed on the foreign employer. In the event of multiple violations, a fine will be imposed per violation. However, there is room for moderation of the administrative fine, depending on the nature and seriousness of the violation, the degree of culpability and the proportionality.
 

Conclusion

There are quite a few obligations, you, as a foreign employer, have to meet if you post employees to the Netherlands. If you fail to meet the obligations, you run the risk of incurring a substantial penalty. So make sure to be well informed about the obligations!
 

More information

Do you want to know whether your posting falls within the scope of the WagwEU? Are you looking for a contact person in the Netherlands to meet the obligation to designate a contact person and the duty to report? Or do you want more information about the obligations – and the sanctions/penalties imposed thereon – you, as an employer, have under the WagwEU? Please contact us. @: jan.dop@russell.nl / +31 20 301 55 55

About the author:

Jan Dop

Jan Dop assists national and international enterprises in all facets of their day-to-day business operations. He specializes in personnel, real estate and issues involving public authorities. Jan is Head of our Embassy Desk, that serves Embassies, Consulates, diplomats and expats. He has been a lawyer at Russell since 1995, and became a partner in 2011.
 


 

Colors and passion from Uzbekistan

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Colors and passion from Uzbekistan

Diplomat Magazine’s photographer Hester Dijkstra made several trips to explore Uzbekistan, a country with a magnificent historic architecture and a rich crafts tradition. 

Following the invitation from the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Brussels, Diplomat Magazine had the opportunity to visit Uzbekistan’s 1st Handcrafters Festival in Kokand where Hester fell in love with several provinces she visited accompanied by her husband Carl. She discovered with her camera the unknown for most of us. 

Hand crafter in Kokand, Uzbekistan, Photography by Hester Dijkstra.

Please take a look at Hester Dijkstra’s work full of professional images and unforgettable pics from Uzbekistan and buy the book at esterdijkstra.nl or the website of Blurb: https://nl.blurb.com/b/9435401-uzbekistan-masters

Uzbekistan mastes by Hester Dijkstra.

Don’t avoid what is easy – diplomacy meets art

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Don’t avoid what is easy – diplomacy meets art

Harbour for Cultures – Yerevan cards

Individuals should and need to feel like they have the right to want. That is the message that artist Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova is continuously expressing through her artwork. Exemplifying socially-engaged art, Lemberg-Lvova aims to be a part of a much broader political movement which discusses important historical and modern-day social processes through creative means. 

The second-wave feminist movements from the 1960s is one example of such a powerful movement. With their infamous quote, ‘The personal is political’, authored by millions of voices of women collectively rather than one feminist author, the message that every individual has the right to a voice was heavily stressed. 

As personal experiences took center stage and the individual became a political platform during the feminist movements, crowds of individuals also gained new meanings of courageous collectivity. Ultimately, the movement gave opportunity for previously ignored and taken-for-granted personal circumstances to be framed in a bigger picture – a picture that women as minorities were often left out of.

Anastasia avatud stuudios Kogo galeriis (foto Mariia Nedosekova).

Continuing to portray the central message that movements such as the feminist strikes and many other historical crusades have fought for, Lemberg-Lvova uses her own art to focus on the younger European generation, highlighting the vast diverseness of the voices that live in Europe and sending a bold message that evidences a heterogeneity which needs to be more thoroughly discussed amongst the European community.

With her projects, she is able to recognise the ways in which the systemic infrastructures that exist around the individual leave them feeling insecure or insignificant in relation to their voice and its right to exist in public. By initiating healthy conversation and focusing on this very elemental act of daring to express one’s desires towards public space, she has created a platform that encourages individuals to learn to voice their opinions more often, ultimately leading the person to be engaged as the multiplicities of voices are amplified to lead to more diverse discussion and perhaps outcomes. 

Her exhibition, ‘Don’t Avoid What is Easy’, on show from August 14th – September 9th at the Freedom Gallery in Tallinn, Estonia, is thus the result of 2 years of research conducted mainly through interviews of younger generation individuals during her own expenditures through Europe. Although seemingly humble in its outcome as portraits, there is a strong message behind Lemberg-Lvova’s work, depicting the notion that we should feel more confident to voice our opinions about our public surroundings, Lemberg-Lvova uses art and representations to give a voice to over 100 participants from 24 European countries. 

What to maintain_ – Lemberg-Lvova 2020

By painting vibrant oil portraits of a selected 7 individuals whom she interviewed, she touches on the concept of art and its political capacity by explaining “There will be portraits of participants with a visual interpretation of their wish as the background. The experience of, as we often say, “putting a face to a name” has a profound effect and is more intuitively understood than just going through text or trying to grasp abstract ideas. Painting as a form of expression is immensely malleable and useful when getting ideas across.” The desire to initiate discussion and give it a platform within the context of a gallery means Lemberg-Lvova’s art is inherently social and public. These qualities make for an intriguing space where the audience can identify small changes that resemble the tip of a much bigger iceberg– or at least the ignition of confidence and curiosity. 

This focus on the first and easiest step sometimes being the hardest is something of great importance for Lemberg-Lvova as she explains “An inhabitant of a city logically has the right to express ideas or wishes when it comes to their surroundings – it is, after all, their home. But they are often stuck in the belief of not being able to change anything. In this instance, I am not talking about taking action or creating a plan. This is about the simplest first step that does not require anything – feeling like one is entitled to express a wish. It doesn’t have to lead anywhere; just remember that you have the right to want something. What follows is a different matter, but it is clear that nothing will happen without this first step.”

An interactive wall installation where participant answers are projected for all to see will pay homage to the importance that Lemberg-Lvova holds for communities to listen to the expressions of their surrounding civilians. She explains “From an early age, our heads are flooded with subliminal messaging and that often diminishes internal self-worth. Let me explain this from the point of view of a woman – a frame of reference I am most familiar with. As a woman one feels that unless they have perfect dazzlingly white teeth, flawless hair, a tiny waist and the right kind of shoes they are not worthy of expressing an opinion. Because if you do not fulfill all of the criteria above, no one will listen to you or even consider you worthy of attention. This is a cliché, yet it exists because it is true. It describes the reality of many women, because we are surrounded by sources reaffirming it – adverts, friends, sometimes parents or spouses, fitness centers and the list goes on. At the exhibition, I am striving to fill the space with messaging that reiterates one’s right to express their wishes whoever they are.”

Her message is clear – we should not avoid formulating our wishes in matters that concern us. Her persistence to initiate discussion and to give it a platform within the context of a gallery means her art is inherently social and public. These qualities make for an intriguing meeting space for the artist as well as her audience amongst each other.

Open Studio at Kogo Gallery, Widget Factory (Aparaaditehas), Tartu, Estonia: 08.07-01.08

Exhibition “Don’t Avoid What is Easy – Diplomacy meets art” at Vabaduse Gallery: 14.08-09.09

About the author:

Tiiu Meiner is a writer and freelance curator based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She is currently working on а performative workshop “The fragility of Truth”, and on a film project about the geo-political narratives of sand quarries.”

Valeriya Billich also contributed to this article. Photos: Mariia Nedosekova

Where do we go from here? – revisiting words of Steve Clemons

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Where do we go from here? – revisiting words of Steve Clemons

By Anna Kassai.

On 1 July 2020, the first real-time conference in Europe past the early-spring lockdown took place at the Diplomatic Academy Vienna. This highly anticipated event, entitled From the Victory Day to Corona Disarray 75 years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System Legacy of antifascism for the common pan-European future, was organized by the International Institute for the Middle East and Balkan Studies, Media Platform Modern Diplomacy, Scientific Journal European Perspectives, and Action Platform Culture for Peace. (the entire conference proceedings are available: https://www.facebook.com/DiplomaticAcademyVienna )

After the end of World War II, the United Nations was founded in 1945 to maintain international peace and security, build relationships among nations, promote social progress, better living standards, and human rights. The Nurnberg and Tokyo trials (1945-1948) prosecuted war crimes and contributed to the development of international criminal law as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). These laid down the foundation for the liberal international system that is based on the shared interest in maintaining rule of law, the cooperation to resolve security issues, and to maintain an open, stable system, in which institutions reinforce cooperation and collective problem-solving. 

The first panel reflected on the legacy of World War II, collective security, Human Rights, and the importance of mutual trust within alliances. Discussions emphasized the testing times that we are living in, which unwittingly remind us of the set of challenges that the international system must overcome. Challenges that will commend other solutions, while testing the integrity of the current international system. During the first panel, discussions touched upon a crucial and complex issue, which came under the spotlight due to the severe worldwide effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of international institutions as well as the transatlantic relations. 

As the health crisis started to unfold rapidly, an unprecedented macroeconomic shock was triggered. To slow the spread of the virus, national governments-imposed sanctions, lockdowns, curfews, closed educational institutions, and non-essential businesses. National borders were shut down in a matter of hours, governments started to look for unilateral solutions to solve their lack of medical and food supply, and suddenly it seemed like the globalized world and the relevance of the international organizations are fading away, as the interest to act in concert would not exist anymore. 

National crisis management aimed at containing the spread of the virus and minimize the economic damages, at the same time sent an immediate warning that the collective problem-solving mechanisms are not functioning properly. It also demonstrated how interdependent the economic, social systems are and this magnitude of crisis cannot be dealt with unilaterally within national borders. As Mr. Steve Clemons, Editor-at-large, HILL pointed out in his intervention, the course that a nation should take is more in question than it has ever been before. ‘When you look at the Transatlantic experiment, it looked like it succeeded enormously until it stopped succeeding and working.’ 

As the C-19 crisis demonstrates, the scale of transnational threats cannot be dealt with on a national level. Combatting interstate terrorism, cybercrimes, climate change, the slow pace of clean energy transition, migration, global pandemics require transnational solutions. Meanwhile, countries are putting more emphasis on strengthening their positions as a nation in the international discourse and seeking a different role by redefining themselves and embracing other core values and institutions. 

Attempts to look for alternatives and transform the existing institutional structure put in place after World War II have surged in the last decade, especially after 9/11, the financial crisis in 2008, but with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world arrived at another tipping point. As Mr. Clemons phrased it: ‘A point of diminishing return that these institutions need to be rethought, reconsidered, and recalibrated, that the power players that now guide much of the world need to be reassorted. There is no doubt that countries like Brazil, India, etc. are not included in those power centers, and yet they have enormous stakes in the way global affairs occur.’

A global power transition has been taking place for years, the question is how the shift from unipolarity will accommodate rising powers, who will be able to take the lead and fill the power vacuum that the United States leaves behind. As opposed to the rules of the liberal value-based world order, a new set of rules is being written by rising powers. Some of the political leaders turned back to ideologies like nationalism and populism, as a potential alternative to liberalism. Conflicts in recent years reinforced this tendency, like disputes between Hong Kong and mainland China, the Ukraine crisis, and Turkey`s autocratic behavior. In addition to this, the United Kingdom left the European Union and Hungary changed its raison d’état by redefining itself as an illiberal democracy. 

Even the United States is less committed to the post-war world order. Demonstrating that by leaving institutions that it helped to build, such as the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Accord, questioning the legitimacy of NATO and certain UN institutions. Mr. Clemons stated that the United States has become a serious competitor with its allies to a certain degree and the notion of shared interest has diminished. He emphasized the different stand that the United States took in the C-19 event as oppose to its position in World War II: ‘The United States has chosen not to be the kind of leader that it has been in the past. It did not step forward in the C-19 crisis to help become a broker of strength and benefits and help support nations around the world. We may have done something here and there, but nothing on the scale.’

The set of challenges put the resistance of decade long alliances to a test. At the same time, they create the opportunity to find comprehensive solutions and more efficient problem-solving mechanisms for the future, by revitalizing and reforming institutions that are the cornerstones of long-standing regional orders, cooperation, and collective problem-solving. To stand resilient against global challenges like C-19, the transatlantic relationship must come back to its core values and redefine itself. Therefore, as a first step, it must be acknowledged what led to this harsh world without much leadership. 

The strength lies within like-minded alliances and sharing the same core values as well as in the ability to come together despite the differences and finding a common ground again. That is what happened 75 years ago, after the end of World War II, when the United Nations was founded. Let us remember that. 

Vienna, 12 July 2020 

The future of Europe depends on its neighborhood – UfM’s Nasser Kamel says

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The future of Europe depends on its neighborhood – UfM’s Nasser Kamel says

Secretary-General, Dr. Kamel addressing the Vienna Conference while honoring the 25th anniversary of the Euro-MED process.

By Guido Lanfranchi.

On July 1st, 2020, the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Dr. Nasser Kamel, participated in an international conference discussing the future of Europe. The event under the name “From Victory Day to Corona Disarray: 75 Years of Europe’s Collective Security and Human Rights System”  was held at the historic setting of the eldest world’s Diplomatic Academy, that of Vienna, Austria.

This gathering was organised by four partners; the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), Media Platform Modern Diplomacy, European Perspectives Scientific Journal, and Action Platform Culture for Peace, with the support of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

In his highly absorbing keynote, Secretary General Dr. Nasser Kamel, described the impact of the C-19 event as only amplifying the old issues and long-standing challenges within the Euro-Mediterranean theater.

To this end, His Excellency especially focused on the economic and environmental challenges faced by the Euro-MED. He recommended that sustainability and resilience should be at the core of the post-C-19 recovery, and gave an important piece of advice to European policymakers: if Europe is to become a global power, a positive engagement with its neighborhood – both east and south – will be of paramount importance.

Hostilities and confrontation should be replaced by a decisive cooperation on the common future project. And such a project should include all EU/Europe neighbors without prejudices.   

Reflecting on the global impact of C-19, Dr. Kamel stated that the pandemic has pushed the world to a new era, and that the repercussions of this crisis will be extremely far-reaching – not least in terms of economic activity, which is set to dramatically decrease at the global level.

As for the Euro-Mediterranean more specifically, the UfM’s Secretary General noted that the region’s existing elements of fragility – most notably the high levels of inequality and the pressing climate change emergency – are set to worsen as a result of the pandemic. To counter the ensuing negative effects, Dr. Kamel advised, resilience must be built through a holistic approach that promotes at the same time an environmental, social, and economic recovery throughout the whole Euro-Mediterranean region.

Secretary General Kamel also touched upon the economic impact of the C-19 in the Euro-Mediterranean region. This impact – he noted – has been markedly uneven, as countries that were more dependent on Asian supply chains, for instance, have been hit harder and faster than others. Starting from this observation, the UfM’s Secretary General delved into the debate about the current economic model and its typical long supply chains.

While refusing frontal attacks to globalization as an outdated concept, Dr. Kamel suggested that Euro-Mediterranean countries should increase their resilience and work better to ensure the solidity of their supply chains – for instance though what he called a “proximization”, or regionalization, of these chains. On this issue –he noted– the UfM Secretariat is currently working with relevant partners, including the OECD, as to explore the potential to create regional supply chains – hoping that this could lead to tangible development gains on both shores of the Mediterranean.

Besides the oft-discussed economic issues, the Secretary General’s contribution also sought to highlight the importance of environmental considerations, which risk slipping at the bottom of the agenda in times of economic crisis.

Dr. Kamel stressed that the climate crisis is a reality that the Euro-Mediterranean region must inevitably face.

A report developed by a large group of scientists from several different countries, supported by both the UfM and the United Nations Environment Programme, has highlighted that the impact of climate change in the Euro-Mediterranean is set to be particularly significant – just to quote one statistic, the region is warming 20% faster than the rest of the world. Hence, Secretary General Kamel stressed, the region’s post-pandemic recovery must be more sustainable – more green, blue, and circular – with a focus on enhancing the resilience of societies on both shores of the Mediterranean. 

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Kamel decided to stress the interconnectedness of the Euro-Mediterranean region. The European continent is tightly linked to its neighborhood, he noted, both to the east and to the south. Hence, the future of Europe as a relevant economic, political, and geopolitical power depends on how proactive and engaging it will be with its immediate neighborhood – Dr, Kamel said. As for Europe to be prosperous, its neighborhood should be resilient, mindful of the environment, and more economically integrated. At the UfM – Secretary-General assured audience – that is the aim that everyone is hoping, and working, for. 

In order to make the gathering more meaningful, the four implementing partners along with many participants have decided to turn this event – a July conference into a lasting process. Named – Vienna Process: Common Future – One Europe, this initiative was largely welcomed as the right foundational step towards a longer-term projection that seeks to establish a permanent forum of periodic gatherings as a space for reflection on the common future by guarding the fundamentals of our European past.

As stated in the closing statement: “past the Brexit the EU Europe becomes smaller and more fragile, while the non-EU Europe grows more detached and disenfranchised”. The prone wish of the organisers and participants is to reverse that trend.   

To this end, the partners are already announced preparing the follow up event in Geneva for early October (to honour the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco Conference). Similar call for a conference comes from Barcelona, Spain which was a birthplace of the EU’s Barcelona Process on detrimental; the strategic Euro-MED dialogue.

About the author:

Guido Lanfranchi

Guido Lanfranchi is an international affairs specialist based in Den Haag.

He studied at the Dutch Leiden University and Sciences Po Paris, and working with the Council of the European Union in Brussels. His research focuses on the EU, Euro-MED and Africa.

Ennio Morricone – The Maestro of Our Times

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Ennio Morricone – The Maestro of Our Times

By Dario Poli.

Ennio Morricone, Grande Ufficiale OMRI (born November 10, 1928) is an Italian composer and conductor who died on the 6th July 2020 aged 91.

The greatest, most original composer and creative musician of this century, by passing other talented musicians by miles in musical originally and innovation..We will never see his like again, as it’s impossible. I am so sad to feel his passing, but blessed to be living as his genius was flowing out to all of us…

Ennio Morricone is the musician of our times, who has inspired me emotionally and technically more than any other, (excluding the great established classical composers of the past) from the first time I heard his arrangement ( ahead of its time) of a simple love song “Sapore di Sale,” written and sung by Gino Paoli. I was sixteen years of age at that time and being overwhelmed by the musical arrangement I enquired who was the arranger. After I found out, and with my limited pocket money, I bought every single song I could find with the name E. Morricone on it. Even in those young years,I felt that this E. Morricone was more than special; I felt a genius not yet discovered.

I was often ridiculed by my peers, for my open endorsement of this unheard of Italian musician that the world hardly knew and unknown even in Hollywood. But I remained certain of his unique talents and years later, my instincts proved to be correct and I was vindicated!

Today, he is considered one of the most prolific and influential film composers of his era. Morricone has composed and arranged scores for countless film and TV productions. He is well-known for his long-term collaborations with international acclaimed directors such as Sergio Leone, Brian De Palma, Barry Levinson, and Giuseppe Tornatore.

He wrote the characteristic film scores of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in the West(1968). In the 80s, Morricone composed the scores for John Carpenter’s horror movie The Thing (1982), Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Roland Joffé’s The Mission(1986), Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables(1987) and Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988). His more recent compositions include the scores for Oliver Stone’s U Turn(1997), Tornatore’s The Legend of 1900 (1998) and Malèna(2000), De Palma’s Mission to Mars(2000), Lajos Koltai’s Fateless (2005), and Tornatore’s Baaria – La porta del Vento (2009).

Two of my personal favourites recordings of Ennio’s, remain his brilliant arrangements and recordings which he made with the French singing star Mireille Matthieu recorded in the 1970’s, and his musical score of Nove Cento (1900) for the film of that name; a truly inspirational work.

Morricone has won two Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, five Anthony Asquith Awards for Film Music by BAFTA in 1979–1992 and the Polar Music Prize in 2010. He has been nominated for five Academy Awards for Best Music, Original Score during 1979–2001. He received the Academy Honorary Award in 2007 “for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music”.

Ennio was born in Rome, the son Mario and Libera Morricone, a jazz trumpeter. Morricone wrote his first compositions when he was six years old and was encouraged to develop these natural talents. he was forced to take up the trumpet, he had first gone to the National Academy of Santa Ceciliato take lessons on the instrument at the age of nine.Morricone formally entered the conservatory in 1940 at the age of 12.

He studied the trumpet, composition, choral music, and choral direction under Goffredo Petrassi, who deeply influenced him and to whom Morricone has dedicated concert pieces. These were the difficult years of World War II in the heavily bombed “open city”; the suffering of the people and his feelings of constant hunger, was part of his wartime experiences that influenced many of his scores for films set in that period.

 Morricone has worked for television, from a single title piece to variety shows and documentaries to TV series, including the US TV Western The Virginian (1971), Moses (1974) and Marco Polo (1982). One notable composition, “Chi Mai” was used in the films, Maddalena (1971)[15] and Le Professionnel (1981) as well as the TV series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George (1981).  He wrote the score for the Mafia television series La piovra , including the themes “Droga e sangue” (“Drugs and Blood”), “La morale”, and “L’immorale.

Morricone worked as the conductor of seasons 3 to 5 of the series. He also worked as the music supervisor for the television project La bibbia (“The Bible”).

In the late 1990s, he collaborated with his son, Andrea, on the Ultimo crime dramas. Their collaboration yielded the BAFTA-winningNuovo cinema Paradiso. In 2003, Ennio Morricone scored another epic, for Japanese television, called Musashi and was the Taiga drama about Miyamoto Musashi, Japan’s legendary warrior. A part of his “applied music” is now applied to Italian television films.

There is much more that can be written about this great composer and to this very day I remain his most fervent and devoted fan and I thank heaven, that we were able to live at this time to be fortunate to listen to his music and be part of this composers unequalled creative experience.

International Prizes and Awards for music accorded to Ennio Morricone!

  • 1965 — Nastro d’Argento for A Fistful of Dollars
    1967 — Diapason d’Or
    1969 — Premio Spoleto Cinema
    1970 — Nastro d’argento for Metti una sera a cena
    1971 — Nastro d’argento for Sacco e Vanzetti
    1972 — Cork Film International for La califfa
    1979 — Oscar Nomination for Days of Heaven
    1979 — Premio Vittorio de Sica
    1981 — Premio della critica discografica for Il prato
    1984 — Premio Zurlini
    1985 — Nastro d’argento and BAFTA for Once Upon A Time In America
    1986 — Oscar Nomination, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for The Mission
    1986 — Premio Vittorio de Sica
    1988 — Nastro d’argento, BAFTA, Grammy Award and Oscar Nomination for The Untouchables
    1988 — David di Donatello for Gli occhiali d’oro
    1989 — David di Donatello for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
    1989 — Ninth Annual Ace Winner for Il giorno prima
    1989 — Pardo d’Oro alla carriera (Locarno Film Festival)
    1990 — BAFTA, Prix Fondation Sacem del XLIII Cannes Film Festival and David di Donatello for Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
    1991 — David di Donatello for Stanno tutti bene
    1992 — Oscar Nomination for Bugsy
    1992 — Pentagramma d’oro
    1992 — Premio Michelangelo
    1992 — Grolla d’oro alla carriera (Saint Vincent)
    1993 — David di Donatello and Efebo d’Argento for Jonas che visse nella balena
    1993 — Globo d’oro Stampa estera in Italia
    1993 — Gran Premio SACEM audiovisivi
    1994 — ASCAP Golden Soundtrack award (Los Angeles)
    1995 — Premio Rota
    1995 — Leone d’Oro Honorary award (Venice Film Festival)
    1996 — Premio Cappelli
    1996 — Premio Accademia di Santa Cecilia
    1997 — Premio Flaiano
    1998 — Columbus Prize
    1999 — Erich Wolfgang Korngold Internationaler Preis für Film
    1999 — Exsquibbidles Film Academy lifetime achievement award
    2000 — Golden Globe Award for The Legend of 1900 (1998)
    2000 — David di Donatello for Canone inverso
    2000 — Oscar nomination for Malèna
    2002 — Honorary Degree by the “Seconda Università” of Rome
    2003 — Golden Eagle Award for 72 Meters
    2003 — Honorary Senator of the Filmscoring Class of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
    2006 — Grand Officer award from President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
    2007 — Honorary Academy Award for career achievement
    2007 — The Film & TV Music Award for Lifetime Achievement
    2008 — Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental, performed by Bruce Springsteen
    2008 — Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honor
    2009 — Medal of Merits for Macedonia[25]
    2009 — America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation
    2010 — Polar Music Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of the Arts

Sustainable Industrial Transformation for a healthier future in Indonesia

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Sustainable Industrial Transformation for a healthier future in Indonesia

By Dr. Wolfram Kalt.

Since early 2020, Covid19 has changed the world in a way we could never have imagined. 

With millions of people infected and hundreds of thousands of deaths, attention is focused on a way out of the current crisis that is still severely affecting private life and global economy. The focus is on finding a cure and better restoring the economy. 

Maybe more green and more human ..?

Long before WHO has informed us about the airborne spread of the virus (1), it became clear that people living in certain limited conditions could be significantly more susceptible to the disease (2,3), and as the COVID19 crisis continued, ‘fatal inequalities’ became increasingly apparent (4).

Poor communities, coloured or indigenous peoples not only suffer from inadequate health services and pre-existing diseases that increase their exposure to the virus, but often also live in places that are polluted by the environment.

Air pollution from various sources such as traffic, local burns and forest fires, but also from industry, affects the health of people living next to emission epicentres and more and more all of us. Globally it kills an estimated 7 million people a year and, according to WHO, 9 out of 10 people breathe air with high levels of pollutants (5), making us vulnerable to attackers like COVID19, which specifically target the weakened immune system and lungs (6).

The global fight against air pollution requires a special focus in low and middle income countries, where health systems are often underdeveloped and the catch up in economic growth is taking its toll.

While many of these countries have guidelines along with international commitments to reduce key sources of air pollution, they often lack implementation and necessary clean investment.

If we take the example of Indonesia, which today has the world’s fourth largest population with 273 million people, we can see a developed Asian nation, a G20 member with very respectable economic growth ahead of Covid19.

The success story of the resource-rich country is partly due to massive investments in the production industry. Many investments are foreign investments from China, Japan, Korea, the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. It is a traditional heavy industry or basic consumer goods industry that feeds the strong domestic growth engine.

The technologies used are not always state of the art. Some investors build industrial workbenches for their products with little investment based on old or specially “adapted technologies”.

While the government has difficulty in improving and regulating emissions from its huge industrial sectors, it is also considered part of its own industrial emissions problems because it emphasizes the role of fossil, and particularly of coal for power production. This type of emission-intensive generation is expected to grow disproportionately in their power capacity addition plans until 2025 while only part of the space is available for renewable energies that use the country’s hydro and geothermal resources, there are currently enormous opportunities for solar and wind power left far behind (7, 8).

A green recovery for Indonesia could change the situation. It will take industrial transformation expertise and collective will to develop a healthy “win-win” strategy to cut emissions, create green jobs, and further promote the young nation’s economic growth based on a  stepwise transition to a low carbon economy.

The benefits of such an industrial transformation are obvious, since a sustainable industrial strategy that focuses on clean technologies, circular economy and renewable energies will promote Indonesia’s long-term competitiveness. 

It will make Indonesia a solid partner in fulfilling international obligations such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, bring in new green investments and reduce the burden on its own Health care system by reducing diseases caused by air pollution.. 

and ..

it will give the weakest among us a better chance of a good and healthy life.

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About the author:

Dr. Wolfram Kalt, Expert for Industrial Transformation

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Literature:

 (1) https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/modes-of-transmission-of-virus-causing-covid-19-implications-for-ipc-precaution-recommendations

(2) https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/the-deadly-link-between-covid-19-and-air-pollution/

(3) https://e360.yale.edu/features/connecting-the-dots-between-environmental-injustice-and-the-coronavirus

(4) https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/04/10/covid-19-health-care-inequalities/

(5) https://www.who.int/health-topics/air-pollution#tab=tab_1

(6) https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-(outdoor)-air-quality-and-health

(7) https://www.agora-energiewende.de/fileadmin2/Partnerpublikationen/2019/2019-03-07-SPM_Roadmap_for_Indonesia_Power_Sector.pdf

(8) https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/05/20/ri-s-clean-energy-program-faces-setback.html

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