QFC hosted ‘The Capital’ gala in Madrid

Editor
-
0
QFC hosted ‘The Capital’ gala in Madrid

Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani – Picture by Qatar Financial Centre Authority.

Thursday, 14 November 2019, Madrid, Kingdom of Spain: In the framework of a business delegation under the umbrella of Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC), its Managing Director of Business Development, HE Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani hosted the prestigious Global Annual Summit’s ‘The Capital’ Gala Dinner, at Casa de América within Linares Palace. 

Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani co-hosted the high-level function that showcased the business milieu in Qatar alongside Mohamed Benbouadi, Director of Business Acquisition as well as Laila Al Jefairi, Manager for Business Development. 

Moreover Sheikha Alanoud partook in a panel discussion at the Summit. The event saw in attendance more than 40 prominent guests, including wealth philosophers, government officials, family business leaders, technology entrepreneurs, philanthropists, impact investors and region heading executives. 

For further information:
https://www.qfc.qa/en/MediaCenter/News/Pages/Spanish-roadshow-2019.aspx

Sino-Philippine bilateral meeting in Berlin

Editor
-
0
Sino-Philippine bilateral meeting in Berlin

Theresa Dizon de Vega and Wu Ken – Picture by Philippine Embassy to Germany.

Wednesday, 27 November 2019, Berlin, Germany: The ambassadors of the Republic of the Philippines, Maria Theresa Dizon de Vega and of the People’s Republic of China, Wu Ken, to Germany held an engaging discussion focused on Philippines-China relations, their views on developments in Germany and the rest of Europe, and building more active people-to-people relations. 

Ambassador Dizon de Vega took up her ambassadorship to Germany on 11 June 2019 after serving as her country’s General Consul in New York City. Her spouse Ambassador Eduardo de Vega is Philippines’ top envoy vis-à-vis the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg. 
Ambassador Dizon de Vega is a studied jurist, and fluent in English, German, French and Spanish in addition to her native Tagalog. 

For further information: 
Embassy of the Philippines to Germany: http://www.philippine-embassy.de

Romania: 101 Years Since the Establishment of the National Unitary State

Editor
-
0
Romania: 101 Years Since the Establishment of the National Unitary State

“The light is on for those who see, not for the blind ones”. Mihai Eminescu – Romanian poet 

By Corneliu Pivariu.

The Great Union of December 1st, 1919 was a ”stellar moment” for Romania, which was achieved by Romanian visionary and patriotic politicians with international support yet above all with the blood sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Romanian soldiers, anonymous in their sacrifice yet eminents by sacrifying their lives on the sanctuary of imortality as a kin. It was a strictly national objective, not directed agains anyone of the world’s family of nations.

In fact, Romania paid in blood, probably more than other nations, its achievements of unity and independence and the strategic mistakes of the political class during different historical periods of the last 101 years as well.

After 1918, two essential moments marked in a dramatic way Romania’s contemporary history: The Second World War (where Romania lost around 800 thousand people, military and civilian) while the end of this universal scourge marked the fall into the then USSR arch of influence (with the acceptance – it should be said and reiterated – of the other Moscow’s allies during the war) – and the socialist (communist) political orientation. The second moment is represented by the events of December 1989 when on the backgound of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s and the Communist Party’s removal from power, the orientation towards a democratic society and free market has been resumed going into a transition period which even the dead’s spirits and the aspirations of those who remained to achieve it have wanted to be a very short one yet proved to be longer than we wished. The greatest achievements of the almost 30 years of post-December 1989 period are Romania’s joining NATO (29th of March, 2004) and the European Union (1st of January, 2007).

During the almost 50 years of communist dictatorship, some hundreds of thousands more Romanians perished (the exact figure is difficult to quantify), great part of the intellectual elite, generals, valuable politicians who could not survive a terror regime instituted in 44 penitenciaries, 72 forced labour camps, 63 deportation centers, compulsory domiciles, 10 psychiatric hospices with political real cause. We can ask ourseves if Soljenitsin’s gulag was more terrifying than the gulags set up during communism in a space called Romania. 

After The Second World War, Romania could not come back to its territorial configuration consecrated by the Great Union and, moreover, the Kremlin leadership took care that through arbitrary drawing up of the frontiers (and in 1952 by imposing the establishment of the Hungarian Autonomous Region, which changed its name in MureșAutonomous Region in 1960, afterwards abolished in 1968 only by the administrative territorial division into counties)and that left several possibilities for  the neighbours’ and minorities’ possible discontents and aspirations – especially of the Hungarian one – for achieving its political designs in Romania and in the area.

During the socialist period we notice two important moments: the withdrawal of the Soviet troops (June-July, 1958), while they remained in the other socialist countries until 1990; the 1968 moment – the invasion of Czechoslovakia, when Romania was the only socialist country that did not take part in , followed by an independent policy from Moscow, by the development of relations with democratic Western countries  and by a pervasive economic development (with great sacrifices and hardships for the population) promoted by Nicolae Ceaușescu.

After December 1989 events, when some outside forces sought Romania’s dismemberment as well – something that succeeded later on in cases of former Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia – we went through the Târgu Mureș events of March, 1990, another plot of tearing Transylvania away and of manipulating, through part of international media the reality of those events. In fact, a feature of the almost last 30 years is represented by the action of our Hungarian co-nationals to gain territorial autonomy on ethnic criteria, backed almost continuously by Budapest  although, according to Brussels’ assessments, the rights the Hungarian minority enjoys in Romania exceed those applied in the European states and, even more, the ethnical Romanian citizens in the areas with Hungarian prevailing population are subject to numerous discriminations. When Hungary further acts and prepares actions for condemning the Treaty of Trianon (among others Budapest will organize on 11-13 of June, 2020 a conference on the issue) a treacherous declaration in favor of the Transylvanian Hungarians’ ”cultural and territorial autonomy” was signed on 12th of October, 2018 in Cluj Napoca and the actions aimed at Romania’s dismemberment, especially  by creating an independent Transylvania, will go on, as the separatist options gain ground in the European Union and Brussels proves unable to articulate a real management of the Union. 

The evolution of the Romanian political class after 1989 was greatly influenced by the socialist past and, thereafter, by the political evolutions in Europe and the USA. It would be mistaken not to mention the influence Moscow still exerts in Romania with persuation in many fields of the political, economic and social life. Unfortunately, most of the valuable Romanian intellectuals avoided and further avoid to be directly involved in the political life and that resulted in a political class which, in general, is not able to meet the population’s expectations and the desired evolutions. The most eloquent example is represented by the four presidents who could not stand above times, each of them due to different reasons: the first – as a result of the socialist-communist education he received especially in Moscow; the second – an university professor (lecturer) who declared himself being defeated by the former Securitate; the third – conditional on his training as long-haul commercial navy officer – yet with a political instinct that kept him in power for two mandates and who knew how to maneuver abroad for gaining support; the fourth – a mayor of a provincial town unexperienced in great politics who nevertheless gained in November 2019 a second mandate although in his first one he shone internationally through obedience – and that played the most important role in his recent victory. The 66% of the votes he got in the second round (and more than 90% of the votes of the Romanians living abroad) signals a widespread popular appreciation. The direct involvement of the SPP (Protection and Security Service) has no relevance yet it proves Romania’s original democracy, never met in any other of the EU’s countries.

In Romania indeed, a semi-presidential state, the president has no decision-making  competences of first importance, especially in the economic field, as he cannot either fire the prime minister or dissolve the parliament (except under very particular conditions), precisely for avoiding the emergence of a new dictatorship. Yet that does not mean the president cannot be a factor for cristallyzing the people’s aspirations and to create, within the political class, a consensus for Romania’s future durable development. It is exactly this kind of project which is nowhere to be found now.Besides, since around 15 years, Romania hasn’t had any important country project and that proves the weak leadership capabilities of the entire political class and especially the presidency’s, who are required to chrystallize all the nation’s forces to that purpose. 

The separation of powers is affected by the struggle of the four powers although there are numerous cases when the magistrates’ powers (judges and prosecutors – the latter being included amongst the magistrates according to a model which is not to be found in other European Union’s coutries) is used by forces and interests which are not beneficial to the Romanian state in achieving its specific objectives, sometimes under the pretext of fighting corruption (predominantly the domestic one, without touching any  of the great corporations).

The some thousands of judges and prosecutors enjoy a special status in the society as a result of the importance of their work and dispose of a power they believe that many do not realize yet they have. In 2018 only a law on the magistrate’s accountability was issued at a time when judgements of the European Court of Human Rights against Romania placed the latter on the first place as number of condemnations per capita or on the third place after Turkey and Russia (wich have much bigger populations).

However, the governing political forces, the president included, call for abolishing the Department for Investigating the Criminal Offences Accountability in Justice in spite of the fact that the High Court of Cassation and Justice opposed the abolishment, securing thus a a privileged position for the said social category. The much touted Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification on justice set up by the EU was and is still used more as a Brussels’ political instrument (or by some countries) against Romania especially on economic grounds and not for the initially declared purpose. 

Romania’s accession to Schengen Area is further postponed although the country met the technical requirements since more than five years and that entails yearly economic losses of around 2 bill. Euro. The reasons behind are the particular interests of certain EU members and especially the president’s lack of action who, although represents us in the European fora, has never presented a report on his activity at the EU.

The citizen still does not get the needed respect and the state, instead of being the citizen’s  servant, has still the mentality of being above him.

The current situation in Romania is due first of all to us: some of us remained with a prejudicial obstinacy in the Byzantine reflex of ”complaining to the Sublime (High) Porte” which was later replaced by obsequios low-bow to Moscow’s, Brussels’, Washington’s Portes or to other great European capitals. The forest could have not been cut if the axe had not the handle carved from the very wood of the forest, a proverb says, and we still have enough traitors, some of them in rather important positions, including abroad, of whom the magistrates have not yet the courage of dealing with.

After 1990, unhappy with the general situation in the country and seeking a better life, more than 4 million Romanians left the country for the EU, USA, Canada and other countries and in their greatest majority they are physicians, professors, engineers, researchers, technicians and highly qualified workers. It is the biggest contemporary population exodus from a country after the one provoked by the civil war in Syria. The danger of this situation was not correctly interpreted by the political class either. Let alone taking effective measures to prevent the weakening of the people’s national being!

The situation of the education is more than alarming. We had 26 ministers of Education during the last 29 years, most of them concerned about changing the law of education. According to public data, 42% of the pupils under 15 are functional (workable) illiterates. The relatively recent step of granting 6% of the GDP to education must be followed by decisive measures so that education become a top national priority.The latest 2019 budgetary adjustments cut 2 billion lei (around 500 mil. euro) from the budget of the education.

Romania – a country able to easily secure food for a population of 90 million people – continues to import in 2019 much more food products than it produces.

The situation of the development of infrastructure, roads, railways, energy is deplorable. During the almost 30 years since the fall of communism we were not able to build a highway crossing the Carpathians and our country is the laggard in Central and Eastern Europe with 783 km of highways. Romania has the same number of kilometers of railroads – approximately 11,000 km – as it had 100 years ago (in 1989 we had 24,000 km), and the average circulation speed for the passenger trains is 45km/h. In exchange, we are well placed in what the Internet speed is concerned, on the fifth place worldwide. 

The post 1989 period is characterized economically by the foreign capital’s taking over the subsoil resources, the public utilities and banks, as the Romanian capital was not supported for dealing with the situation. In a special report, a Ernst&Young research is quoted whereby the takeovers (mergers and acquisitions) in the economies of the former socialist countries are analysed and clasified in three cathegories, takeovers by foreign capital, takeovers where the buyer and the seller are indigenous and takeovers from abroad which finds out that Romania is on the first place in what takovers by the foreign capital are concerned, 67% of them, and by far on the last place in what takeovers abroad are concerned, with 3% only.

No country in the region witnessed such a discrepancy, of more than 22 times, between what the indigenous capital ceded to foreign capital on its own markets and what it managed to take over from the foreign capital  on the latter markets. The foreign capital externalizes yearly to their origin countries pre-tax profits of at least 35-40 billion euro.

A crime is perpetrated since many years against Romania’s forests and implicitly against its citizens. In 2019 only, 39 mil. cubic meters of timber are disforested (of which 18 – 20 mil. cubic meters unlawfully). The president and the governmentare notorious for their non involvement and their absolute lack of a position for addressing this situation and preventing unlawful deforestation to be followed by steady steps of reforestation.

So that’s Romania’s real  end-result in brief at the anniversary of 101 years since the Great Union. We could be proud of the achievements of the past yet at the same time we must be aware of the current problems and think of the future with solutions adapted to both the actual situation and to the perspective. 

The current international situation is a complex one and important changes are taking place in the international order at a time when Romania, consumed with petty domestic disputes, is quite inexistent. No one but us will act for our sake except strictly within specific interests. Romania may have the future it deserves if it wants to act in this regard. Another 30-40 years will be probably needed for that.

——————————-

This text is an update of the article ”Instead of jumping to conclusions – hopes: at the… closed gates of thunderstorms”, the editorial of The Geostrategic Pulse No. 268/20.11.2018, a special issue dedicated to the Centennial anniversary.

Photography by Oana Muresanu.

Climate change

Editor
-
0
Climate change

By John Dunkelgrün

That the global climate is changing is indisputable. It appears that most scientists agree that human actions are the main cause. The consequences depending on the army of forecasters range from serious to catastrophic. Bad or scary news sells newspapers and doomsday forecasts make the front pages. All this has scared the population and has driven politicians in many countries to sometimes drastic and sometimes questionable action. The Netherlands for example, a country that for half a century has depended on gas for heating, cooking, and part of electricity production, has vowed to stop gas use completely within a decade. It is time to take a step back and look around.

Even if you don’t believe human activity is the (main) culprit, the probability or even the possibility that it is, makes taking action now the prudent thing to do. It is like taking out insurance. You don’t expect your house to burn down, but you buy your fire policy.

However, it is important to realize that climate forecasting is exceptionally difficult. It requires the world’s most powerful computers, highly intricate algorithms and staggering amounts of data. Past forecasts have been wildly inaccurate and there are great variations in the predictions. By mid-century, the sea levels are to rise anywhere from half a meter to six meters or more. That dents the believability, but note: all forecasts talk about levels of rising. Not one talks about lowering or staying the same. Anyway, in this Zeitgeist such results are unlikely to get published.

The Paris agreement set goals for diminishing the quantity of CO2 that is released. However, if current levels are already causing climate change, merely diminishing output won’t help. It will merely slow down the speed of this change. To be on the safe side we need to take the greenhouse gases, especially CO2, out of the air. The easiest way to do that is to plant trees, enormous forests of trees. The problem with this is that woods are an excellent carbon sink, but only temporarily. In a mature wood, dying trees and fallen leaves rot and this process uses oxygen and produces CO2. Mature wood is more or less CO2 neutral. There is some research underway to use the CO2 in the air and bind it into other products, but that is still far from industrially viable and it is not at all sure it will bind enough CO2 to move the needle in the foreseeable future. Producing carbon-free exhaust of using fossil fuels is a possible solution as is cattle feed that causes less methane production.

Looking at energy production, every option has its cost.

The worst of all is coal and wood. every year tens of thousands of people, perhaps millions, die because of air pollution caused by burning coal. The number of people who die from this every single year is larger than all deaths due to accidents in nuclear power plants together and that includes Chernobyl and Fukushima! In closing its nuclear plants Germany did the planet no service at all. 

By not counting the environmental cost coal is by far the cheapest form of energy and stopping its use is costly, kills jobs and will be a very hard sell in countries like Poland.

Oil and gas are easy. The world has developed a highly sophisticated system of producing, transporting, storing and distributing them. The technologies involved are well known and highly refined. Of the two, gas is the most eco -friendly. Scrapping their use too quickly is an enormous destruction of capital and cause major disruptions in the world economy. It would be better to capture the exhaust and pump it underground, but unfortunately, the public has been scared off CO2 so much, that planning this causes major protests.

Nuclear is by far the most eco-friendly source of energy, but in many countries, it is a politically hot potato. But even for the über nuclear skeptics, there is a solution on the horizon, thorium reactors. They are so far only working in laboratory settings, but if they fulfill their promise we could see within a decade dozens of small, safe efficient thorium reactors that use a plentiful raw material.

Wind and sun are free but not always available. And has anyone seen studies of the harm to the environment in producing and maintaining the huge wind parks and solar panels?

Electricity is great but has one major drawback, storage. So far there are no really good systems of storing major quantities of electricity.  At the moment batteries are expensive, inefficient, heavy and very eco-unfriendly. Driving an electric car is fine, but don’t for a moment think that it is good for the environment as long as most electricity is generated by using fossil fuels and stored in ion-lithium batteries. If you want to drive in an eco-friendly way so far hydrogen should be your fuel of choice.

If you are worried about human-caused climate change you should, first of all, promote the planting of as much forest as the world can accommodate, if necessary by irrigating arid lands using solar or wind energy to pump necessary water to its destination or even to desalinate it. The recent developments in producing hydrogen using solar power is very promising. The second major effort should be to subsidize countries that are heavily coal-dependent to change their extractive industries and retrain their workers. A third short term solution would be forcing trucks to become electric, perhaps with a dense network of interchangeable battery packs. Where possible geo-thermic heat could be used to power turbines and heat homes.

I believe the holy grail is the development of cheap hydrogen and efficient high capacity batteries, both for bulk storage and for use in cars. That way shipping, trucking and people moving can be CO2 free.

Many years ago the senior editor of The Economist magazine, Norman McRae, noted that every major shortage, once recognized, changed within ten years into a glut due to political pressure and technical advances. I for one am confident that the human disruption to our planet’s climate problems will be solved well before the halfway mark to this century.

A longer life thanks to the EU

Editor
-
0
A longer life thanks to the EU

By Barend ter Haar.

While incidents fill the front pages, life-changing developments often go almost unnoticed. Most Dutchmen will have missed the news that, thanks to European legislation, they can expect to live on average six years longer than in 1980. This is the essence of the article Effects of European emission reductions on air quality in the Netherlands and the associated health effects.[1]

In this article researchers of four Dutch research institutes compared two scenarios.[2]The first scenario looked at the probable health effects if no European air quality policy would have been in place. The second scenario looked at the actual emissions after European measures were taken. 

The consequences of the two scenarios for the health of Dutchmen are dramatically different. If no European air quality policies had been adopted from 1980 onwards, air pollution in the Netherlands would have almost doubled. In reality, thanks to European regulations, air pollution, in particular of fine particulate matter (in Dutch: fijnstof), more than halved. Because of the avoided pollution the average life expectancy of the Dutch people increased by about six years. Six years difference, that means that without the European rules for soot filters on chimneys and catalysts in cars etc., our current life expectancy would be the same as in Mexico and Morocco. 

One might think that in the absence of European regulation, the Netherlands could have taken measures on a national basis. However, such measures would have been far less effective, because air pollution does not stop at borders. More than half (56%) of the drop in air pollution in the Netherlands was caused by reductions in emissions outside the Netherlands. In other words: local measures taken, on the basis of European regulations, in Germany, Belgium, the UK and France are saving thousands of lives in the Netherlands.

Although air pollution in the Netherlands (and in Europe) is now a smaller problem than for example in New Delhi, where people live ten years shorter due to air pollution, it is still a very huge problem.[3]As one of the authors of the article said: “The current air quality still costs us nine to twelve months of our lives.”[4]

The impact of air pollution on our health may be even worse than that. Recent research indicates that almost every cell in the body may be affected by dirty air and that therefore the number of health problems linked to air pollution could be far higher than previously thought.[5]

[1]Atmospheric Environment;Volume 221, 15 January 2020

[2]National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research Utrecht (IMAU), Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). 

[3]“Delhiites’ life expectancy reduced by 10 years due to pollution”in The Hinduof 10 November 2019

[4]https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/11/12/rivm-zes-jaar-langer-leven-door-schonere-lucht

[5]“Impact of air pollution on health may be far worse than thought”in The Guardianof 27 Nov 2019

Eurojust action days: financial impact of EUR 2 billion and more than 1 700 arrests

Editor
-
0
Eurojust action days: financial impact of EUR 2 billion and more than 1 700 arrests

Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust.

The one hundred joint action days coordinated at Eurojust since 2011 have led to 1 722 arrests by national judicial and law enforcement authorities.

In total during this period, 3 355 searches were carried out and more than EUR 210 million in cash, luxury cars and jewellery were seized. The actions have halted serious criminal organisations, which had struck more than 2 400 victims, and had a direct financial impact of nearly EUR 2 billion.

This detailed calculation was made after the recent conclusion of Eurojust’s 100th action day. For the past eight years, Eurojust has offered the possibility for authorities to use a purpose-built coordination centre during joint action days. Simultaneous and minutely planned arrests, searches, interviews of suspects and witnesses, seizures of evidence and the freezing of assets in real time across several countries can be carried out.

The figure on the financial impact is expected to rise, as ongoing investigations will lead to an increase in total damages, such as to tax offices in fraud cases, caused by organised crime groups. The financial impact figure also includes the estimated street value of seized illicit drugs. Coordination centres provide one of the ways that Eurojust can support Member States. In 2018 alone, Eurojust handled more than 6 500 cases.

VIDEO – Coordination centres in practice: Operation Webmaster 

Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust.

Eurojust’s President, Mr Ladislav Hamran, said: ‘With cross-border crime unfortunately on the rise, Eurojust is asked to assist more and more in large and complex cases. This situation leads to an increase in international actions by the judiciary, which we must coordinate in real time. By setting up a coordination centre at Eurojust, we can help immediately and ensure actions are taken at the same time and that they benefit the judiciary and police in all participating countries, whereas individual actions by Member States and third States would yield less impressive results. We will continue with these coordination centres, whenever necessary, to help our partners.’

The first coordination centre was held at the initiative of the French Desk at Eurojust in 2011, concerning the smuggling of irregular migrants by a criminal network active in six countries. Since then, coordination centres/action days have developed into a unique tool to support large-scale operations targeting cross-border crime.

A key success factor in these actions is the prompt involvement of the responsible judicial authorities to allow law enforcement officers in the field and other authorities to execute measures immediately and simultaneously in several countries. Eurojust coordination centres help prevent and solve judicial issues and ensure the timely exchange of information and coordination of all actors involved, including investigative judges, prosecutors and law enforcement authorities.

Eurojust

During the action day, coordination centre participants have access to dedicated and secure lines of communication. Based on the information received from authorities, the coordination centre regularly communicates the updated state of play of the execution of measures. This information helps the responsible authorities to adapt their strategies on the spot in a flexible manner to suit developments. For example, an additional European Investigation Order might be required to search an address that has only been revealed during the action. Participants must be prepared for the unforeseen and be able to react swiftly.

Due to the growing complexity of the cases referred to Eurojust, external participants are regularly invited to attend Eurojust coordination centres (e.g. in the field of VAT fraud, cybercrime, terrorism and organised crime). Judicial authorities from the involved countries play a crucial role by quickly advising on the use of judicial cooperation instruments and can use them in real time. Experts in information technology and finance assist in cases requiring their specialised expertise.

The level of dedication and mutual trust demonstrated by all participants during Eurojust coordination centres are the factors that make them such a success. Enriched with 100 action days and eight years of experience, the tool will continue to evolve and ensure justice is done in the European Union.

Eurojust

2011 – 2019

Some highlights of successful coordination centres

  • Migrant smuggling; drug trafficking (2011): the first Eurojust coordination centre involved both crime types. Vietnamese and Kurdish migrants smuggled into Europe by a sophisticated organised criminal network active in six Member States. Thirty-eight immigrants intercepted, and thirty-five suspects arrested. In addition, two thousand cannabis plants confiscated.
  • Migrant smuggling (2012): organised crime group of Afghan, Kurdish and Lithuanian origin involved in facilitation of approximately 160 Afghan migrants per week, with an estimated profit of EUR 18 million. Six suspects arrested, including the alleged mastermind, considered one of the most prolific facilitators of illegal immigration in Europe.
  • Cybercrime (2014): huge operation against an organised crime group developing and selling malicious software (BlackShades) to take over and control computer operations and perform distributed denial of service cyber-attacks. Action day resulted in 97 arrests, almost 360 house searches, and more than 1 100 data storage devices seized.
  • Terrorism (2015): Eurojust’s first coordination centre in a terrorism case, involving Italy, Norway and the UK. Thirteen radical Islamist leaders and members of Rawti Shax, a Kurdish-Sunni terrorist organisation rooted in 11 countries in Europe and the Middle East and affiliated with Al-Qaeda, arrested. Searches revealing valuable evidence carried out simultaneously in six countries. Eurojust analysed information, organised coordination meetings, and assisted in preparations for action day, ensuring that legal and technical requirements for execution of procedures satisfied.
  • Environmental crime (2015): 4 700 horses deemed unfit for human consumption, with falsified passports, were slaughtered and entered the legal food chain in seven countries over three years. Eurojust held two coordination meetings and funded a joint investigation team involving three countries. As a result of the action day, 26 suspects arrested, 200 horses examined by veterinary services, dozens of searches carried out and more than 800 horse passports seized.
  • THB (2015): young Romanian women trafficked into France for sexual exploitation. Estimated profits of more than EUR 4 million. Twenty-five suspects arrested, and 56 premises searched.
  • Financial fraud (2015, 2016 and 2017): Operation Vertigo was a carousel fraud case spread over many countries, defrauding EU citizens of approximately EUR 320 million in tax revenues. Five coordination centres were held in the course of three years.
  • Weapons trafficking (2018): organised crime group active for six years in trafficking in pyrotechnic material and explosives, tax fraud and money laundering. Members shipped an estimated 1 500 kg of explosives every day to different countries via regular post. A coordinated action led to 35 arrests, more than 150 searches, the seizure of 80 tons of F4 fireworks, and the blocking of four webshops.
  • Drug trafficking; organised crime (2018): Operation Pollino, the largest coordinated joint action to date against an organised criminal group (‘Ndrangheta mafia), involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, bribery and violence. After a three-year investigation in six countries, and the formation of a joint investigation team facilitated and financed by Eurojust, 4 000 kg of cocaine and hundreds of kilos of other drugs seized and 84 suspects arrested.
  • Financial crime (2019): the 100th Eurojust coordination centre involved six countries investigating massive pay-TV fraud and violations of audiovisual copyright. Estimated damages EUR 2.2 million per month. Twenty-two suspects identified, and more than 200 servers taken offline in three countries.
Eurojust

Tatarstan is the crossroad of trade routes and civilizations

Editor
-
0
Tatarstan is the crossroad of trade routes and civilizations

By H.E. Mr. Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan 

The Republic of Tatarstan is one of the leading, industrially developed and innovative regions of the Russian Federation, the territory of intercultural and interfaith dialogue, where East and West meet, trade routes intersect, Islam and Christianity successfully develop and interact. 

The unique location of the region in the centre of Russia, at the confluence of the two largest rivers: the Volga and the Kama, where the Great Silk Road and the Furry Road merged, connecting the north and the south of Eurasia, since ancient times it had become one of the reasons for the formation of a large civilization centre in this part of the world.

It was here that in 922, Islam was officially adopted by the ancestors of modern Tatars in the ancient city of Bolgar. For over a thousand years, a unique culture of Christian-Islamic dialogue and harmony has been developed in our land. Today, the Tatars being the second largest ethnicity in Russia and making up more than half of the population of the Republic of Tatarstan practice mainly Islam. The rest of the population – Russians (about 40% of the people residing in the republic), as well as the Chuvash, Mari, Udmurt, Mordovians – as a rule, profess Orthodoxy. Representatives of 173 nationalities live on the territory of the republic in the spirit of neighbourliness and friendship.

Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan

This largely explains the diversity of Tatarstan’s cultural wealth. The republic has a unique tangible and intangible heritage. The capital of Tatarstan, Kazan, has more than a thousand-year history. There are three sites in the republic inscribed by UNESCO onto the List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage: the Kazan Kremlin (inscribed in 2000), the Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex, the place of the adoption of Islam in the region of Tatarstan (inscribed in 2014), the Assumption Cathedral and the Monastery of the Island-town of Sviyazhsk of the Russian Orthodox Church (inscribed in 2017).

2017 saw the opening of the Bolgar Islamic Academy, as well as restoration of the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The foundation stone of the interfaith harmony in the republic is well-observed balance of the interests of two major faiths and the equality of all religions before the law.

The centuries-old experience of friendship and cooperation of various religions and cultures has proved to be highly demanded nowadays. In accordance with the order of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin since 2014 President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov heads the Strategic Vision Group “Russia – the Islamic World”, aimed at facilitating the processes of dialogue and cooperation between our country and Muslim states on a cultural and civilizational basis. As part of the Group activities, there are dozens of economic and humanitarian projects being implemented.

Ecclesiastical leaders in the Republic of Tatarstan

Today Tatarstan has trade relations with more than 150 countries of the world. The development of international cooperation is one of the priorities of the Republic while maintaining a good balance of cooperation with Western and Eastern partners. Tatarstan is deeply integrated into global economic relations. About half of the manufactured products are export-oriented toward foreign markets.

The leading industries are oil production and petrochemistry, aircraft manufacturing, mechanical engineering and instrument making. The republic produces helicopters, airplanes, heavy vehicles, petrochemicals, tires, ships, compressor and refrigeration equipment, polyethylene, synthetic rubbers, medical and optical devices, detergents and medicines, as well as other products, a significant part of which are exported.

Tatarstan has developed one of the best infrastructures in Russia for establishment of joint ventures and innovations. There are two special economic zones on the territory of the republic, namely “Alabuga”, which is the largest industrial and production type zone in Russia, and “Innopolis” – the zone of the technical-innovative type, as well as about 100 industrial sites of various kinds. Dozens of overseas companies are implementing their investment projects in Tatarstan.

Tatarstan, TANECO Chemical Plant.

The republic is well known for the high level of scientific development. For over 200 years, Kazan has been one of the leading research centres in Eastern Europe. Over 16 thousand foreign students from 120 countries study here. Tatarstan is recognized as one of the sports and tourist leaders of Russia. Largescale sporting events of the second decade of the 21st century were held in Kazan: the World Summer Universiade in 2013, the FINA Championships in 2015, the FIFA World Cup Games in 2018 and the WorldSkills Competition in 2019. Number of tourists visiting Tatarstan in 2019 is estimated at around 3.5 million people.

In 2020, Tatarstan is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the modern statehood of the republic, as in May 1920 there were defined the borders of the territory and the Autonomous Tatar Socialist Soviet Republic was established as part of the Russian Soviet Federative Republic.

In the Republic of Tatarstan, there was developed a model of a multicultural, multi-confessional society, which is the most palatable for a multinational state. The most important values are high production and personnel capacity, social and political stability, interethnic and inter-confessional peace and harmony, which are the basis for further progressive development of the republic and improvement of the quality of life of its population.

Welcome to the Republic of Tatarstan!

————————————-

In the main picture Rustam Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan standing before a Mosque and Cathedral in Kazan, capital of the country.

Azerbaijan and the Netherlands: Mutually beneficial cooperation relations and their prospects

Editor
-
0
Azerbaijan and the Netherlands: Mutually beneficial cooperation relations and their prospects

By H.E. Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The year of 2019 was an important milestone for the Republic of Azerbaijan in terms of its foreign policy. Thus, hundred years ago, on 9 July 1919, the Government of the Azerbaijan People’s (Democratic) Republic (ADR) adopted a temporary instruction on the Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to a Decree of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, this date was taken as the basis for the establishment of the Day of employees of the Diplomatic Service of Azerbaijan. 

One century separates us from a time when the ADR was taking its first steps in the international arena. It was an incredibly hectic century which encompassed the collapse of former empires which perished in the fire of World War One, Azerbaijan’s state independence (1918-1920) in the form of the first republic in the Muslim East, the loss of this independence, seven decades within the USSR, and the new historic achievement – the proclamation in 1991 of the Republic of Azerbaijan which, for almost three decades, has consistently strengthened its positions in the region and the world as a whole. 

Today, under the able leadership of the country’s highest political authorities, Azerbaijani diplomats continue to successfully uphold its national interests worldwide, enhancing political cooperation networks and launching new dimensions. The Netherlands are one of traditional partners for Azerbaijan since we’ve regained independence. Two countries enjoy full-fledged agenda of mutually beneficial cooperation. And that’s why the celebration of centenary of diplomatic service also provides a good opportunity to look back at the bilateral relations and take stock of the progress achieved so far.

Azerbaijan considers the Netherlands a close ally and a reliable partner in both bilateral and multilateral field. The relations between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan have been growing on a positive scale for the last twenty-seven years – ever since the establishment of diplomatic relations on April 1, 1992. The relations are built on mutual respect to territorial integrity and sovereignty and existing cooperation cover areas such as trade, logistics, agriculture, education, tourism and etc. 

The scale of trade and investment between the two countries attest to the importance of economic relations. For instance, foreign trade turnover between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan in 2018 was 181.83 million USD, of which 77.9 million USD was export of Azerbaijani products to the Netherlands and 103.8 USD was import of Dutch products to Azerbaijan. 

The Netherlands continues to remain as one of the top investors in the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan. Dutch companies implement large-scale projects in fields such as logistics, transport, environmental protection and agriculture. Among the successfully implemented projects, we can name the planning, design, engineering and construction of Baku International Sea Trade Port, providing environmental solutions to pollution of lakes by oil spills and urbanisation in Absheron peninsula, construction of a model farm in Azerbaijan based on Dutch agricultural experience and know-how. 

Cooperation in the logistics field is of great importance at the moment. In 2019, a delegation of Baku International Sea Trade Port visited the Netherlands, where a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation was signed with a number of Dutch logistics. A first test container from Venlo to China via Baku, Azerbaijan was sent later this year, as a follow-up of this visit. It is also envisaged to open representation of Baku International Sea Trade Port in Venlo, the Netherlands to oversee the cooperation in the logistics field.

Tourism has also been increasing steadily for the last years. More and more Dutch tourists opt to enjoy the beauty and landscape of Azerbaijan during their holidays. Holding of Formula 1 Grand-Prix games has especially contributed to the increased interest of Dutch Formula 1 fans to Azerbaijan. The simplification of Azerbaijan’s visa system, which makes it possible to receive visas within just a few hours, is particularly appreciated by Dutch people, who can easily and effortlessly travel to Azerbaijan. The direct cargo flights have been operational between Maastricht and Baku since 2016 and negotiations are underway to open direct passenger flights between Baku and Amsterdam. 

In the education field, there is a growing cooperation between the two countries. ADA University in Baku has been offering dual-degree MBA programme with Maastricht University of Management in the Netherlands, where graduates receive both ADA and Maastricht University diplomas. Wageningen University and Research of the Netherlands and ADA University of Azerbaijan have created a master plan for promoting investments in agricultural sector in Azerbaijan. An agreement is underway with Fontys University in the Netherlands for training of Azerbaijani professionals in logistics field.

These are just a few examples of successful cooperation between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan. A lot has been done, yet there is a vast potential of cooperation which still remains untapped. Therefore, the focus for the upcoming years would be to continue bringing tangible and measurable results in the bilateral relations through fostering business to business cooperation, increased trade turnover and successful implementation of economic projects.

So, the development of mutually beneficial cooperation with the Netherlands as one of the founding countries of the EU fully fits into the paradigm of a balanced foreign policy of Azerbaijan. 

Today, the foreign policy achievements of our country, which is regarded as a reliable partner, are of course based on establishing good cooperative relations with neighboring countries and other countries of the world, as well as implementing equal dialogue and cooperation based on mutual interests. Our foreign policy priorities include the strengthening of sovereignty and independence of the country, elimination of consequences of military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan and restoration of its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders, as well as, the continuation of large-scale infrastructure projects implemented with the initiative and participation of Azerbaijan, further development of mutually beneficial cooperation with all international actors, including states, associations and international organizations.

And on the way to the realization of these constructive goals, we hope to continue a true partnership with our largest economic partners represented by the EU countries, including the Netherlands.

Ambassador Belal elected as next MD of CFC

Editor
-
0
Ambassador Belal elected as next MD of CFC

Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal got elected as the next Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) on 04 December 2019. The election took place on 04 December 2019 during the Governing Council Meeting of the CFC in The Hague, where member states decided by consensus from a list of six candidates by vote.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal will, therefore, be the next Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), an autonomous intergovernmental financial institution established within the framework of the United Nations for the next four years. 

Presently, 101 States including Bangladesh, Netherlands, UK, Russia, China, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc. and 9 organizations including the European Union and African Union are the members of CFC, and it is now headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Bangladesh’s election as the Managing Director of CFC manifests appreciation by the international community of Bangladesh’s successes in socio-economic emancipation and commitment to the attainamnet of SDGs by 2030 coupled with the CFC-members’ trust and confidence on Ambassador Belal’s diplomatic brilliance and sagacity.

Ambassador Belal now, as Chief Executive Officer of this international financial institution, shall be primarily working to fund projects in different countries to bring prosperity to the poverty stricken people. 

Ambassador Belal, during his campaign, also highlighted the necessity of learning from advanced innovations and technologies of the developed and developing countries and therefore, assured to build up more partnerships between the developed and developing word.

Ambassador Belal is known for his devotion for the upliftment of forgotten people at the margin, as he always championed the necessity of abiding by the promises made in the agenda 2030 and therefore, always urged all to remain an active partner for implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under any circumstances. Terming all members of the humanity in one global boat of this planet, Ambassador Belal pledged to work harder for making the CFC much better than what he got.

Ambassador Belal in his comment after the election stated that this historic win of Bangladesh is a reflection of the international community’s respect and recognition of present day Bangladesh as a model for development. The new height that Bangladesh achieved under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was acknowledged by the international community through their vote for the candidature of Bangladesh.

The 31st Annual Meeting of the Governing Council of Common Fund for Commodities was held on 3-4 December 2019 in The Hague. Dr Md Jafar Uddin, Commerce Secretray and Governor of CFC for Bangladesh led Bangladesh delegation to the meeting.

Ambassador Belal during his presentation at the CFC MD election.

The Agreement Establishing the Common Fund for Commodities was negotiated in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1976 to 1980 and became effective in 1989. The CFC is mandated to enhance the socio-economic development of commodity producers and contribute to the development of society as a whole through projects financed from its own resources. 

Ambassador Belal’s election as the next Managing Director of the CFC has instilled renewed aspiration to the members of the organization, developed and developing alike, to bring CFC to the aide of millions of people at the margin. It may be noted that Ambassador Belal has also been elected as Chairperson of the prestigious Committee of the Whole of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention this month and has also been working as a member of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund for Victims of the International Criminal Court.

For the next four years, Ambassador Belal will, therefore, be working as Managing Director of the CFC, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands after completing his tenure as Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

EU Enlargement Complications

Editor
-
0
EU Enlargement Complications

French President Emmanuel Macron. Photography: consilium.europa.eu

A renewed approach for EU enlargement proposed by the French President Emmanuel Macron opens up a new chapter in the European Union’s issue of new membership. 

By Nynke van der Heide.

Brussels – After hours of heated discussion and debate it became clear that the leaders of the European Union would fail to come to any agreement on the accession of North Macedonia and Albania. At the European Council meeting on the 18th of October that followed, France formally vetoed the start of the negotiation process of North Macedonia and together with the Netherlands and Denmark the process of Albania. The French leader was met with fierce opposition as European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker called the results of the summit a “major historical error”. 

According to Macron, the process of accession to the European Union needs substantial revision before negotiations can begin. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of North Macedonia expressed his disappointment about the French decision in a speech agreeing with Junker on the vital mistake that was made. In his speech he called for early elections because membership of the European Union was the key goal of his administration.

The Republic of Macedonia became a candidate for EU membership in 2005. Four years later the European Commission gave its permission to start formal negotiations, but a dispute with Greece over the country’s official name delayed the process. It took twenty-seven years to resolve this dispute. After the name change both the country and the European Union were optimistic about a joint future.

But Macron’s vision is clear: changes have to be made before a new country can enter the Union. In a document that was sent to the European Council France proposed a more “gradual” process for accession in which EU enlargement eventually becomes a long-term process after the bloc has seen the necessary reforms.

The methodology of the new proposal is based on seven successive stages, each stage opening up when the previous one is concluded. The document reaffirms the support for Brussel’s vision that both countries “belong to Europe, by virtue of their history, culture and geography”, but the process has to become a “gradual association”. It is clear that there is still a future for the Western Balkans as European Union members, but it needs to be via a new step-by-step method. The process will still be convergent with EU norms and standards. But if a country backslides, the European Union should be able to reverse the process to a previous stage. 

            The countries of the European Union must find unity again in this issue of accession. During the first talks about the proposed revitalisation of the Union’s enlargement policy, held the 20th of November in Brussels, the EU countries gave mixed reactions. Some agree with the initiative, while others say Macron’s intervention is counterproductive and undermining the credibility of the European Union.

The French president has generated a much-needed debate in the European Union about its future. The following days will shed more light on the issue as the countries need to come to a solution. 

1...336337338...866Page 337 of 866