The Hague, 13 March 2017- ICTY and MICT Prosecutor Serge Brammertz will visit Zagreb on 13 and 14 March 2017, as part of preparations for his regular biyearly report to the UN Security Council (UNSC). The Prosecutor will meet with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Davor Ivo Stier, Minister of Justice Ante Šprlje and State Attorney General Dinko Cvitan to discuss cooperation with the ICTY and MICT, prosecutions of war crimes by the Croatian judiciary including Category II cases, and regional cooperation in war crimes justice in the Western Balkans.
Pursuant to UNSC Resolutions 1503 (from 2003) and 1534 (from 2004) the Prosecutor has a duty to report to the UNSC every six months about the current progress towards the implementation of the Tribunal’s Completion Strategy. The reports have been provided on a regular basis since May 2004. Pursuant to UNSC Resolution 1966 (from 2010) the Prosecutor of the Mechanism is required to submit a progress report to the UNSC every six months.
It is expected that Prosecutor Brammertz will present his next report to the UNSC in June.
On the picture the ambassador of Romania H.E. Brânduşa Predescu.By Sheila Turabaz.
On the 2nd of March, the Embassy of Romania organized a conference entitled “The Jews from Romania in the European Context: Similarities and Differences”, on the occasion of the closure of Romania’s Chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).
The IHRA is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 with the objective of attracting support from political and social leaders for expanding and improvement of Holocaust education, remembrance and research.
The IHRA currently has 31 member countries and eleven observer countries and has an annually rotating chairmanship. A member country will be responsible for organizing activities in the sphere of Holocaust education and commemoration. Romania served as chairman of the organization from March 2016 to March 2017.
For additional Robert Huiberts’ pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157677984832823Carmen Ducaru, Deputy Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels.
The event took place at the Glazen Zaal in The Hague, with the façade of the 18th century former Portuguese synagogue serving as a backdrop. The evening commenced with a word of welcome by H.E. Ms. Brânduşa Predescu, Ambassador of Romania to the Netherlands, Rabbi Marianne van Praag of the Liberal Jewish Community in The Hague and Ms. Carmen Ducaru, Deputy Director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Brussels.
Ms. Van Praag mentioned that “The Liberal Jewish community is very much alive – 120,000 Jews were part of the community before the war and only 20,000 Jews after the war –, and have built a very small, but strong Jewish community”.
Ms. Van Praag expressed her gratitude to the ambassador for organizing the event and “for trying to give every one of the six million Jews (who died in the Holocaust) a face”. Ms. Predescu stated that “We again find ourselves today in times of turmoil, where anti-Semitism, hate and intolerance unfortunately persist, but let us not despair, because we must act, because we are able to act and we are able to prevent and reject these demons that are still plaguing us”.Professor Andrei Oisteanu from the Department for Jewish studies at the University of Bucharest, present his new book to H.E. Ms. Brânduşa Predescu, Ambassador of Romania to the Netherlands.
During the event, Professor Andrei Oisteanu from the University of Bucharest, Department for Jewish studies, launched his book “Inventing the Jew: Antisemitic Stereotypes in Romanian and Other Central-East European Cultures”, focusing on how stereotypes of Jews in these cultures have evolved throughout history.
Furthermore, the evening also marked the opening of the exhibition “Education and Remembrance of the Holocaust in Romania” created by Romania’s Chairmanship of the IHRA and the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania. Marcela Obermeister-Shasha. mezzo-soprano.
Traditional Romanian and Jewish music was performed by mezzo-soprano Ms. Marcela Obermeister-Shasha.
On the 7th of March, Romania officially concluded the Chairmanship of the IHRA during a handover ceremony at the Embassy of Switzerland in Berlin. Switzerland will be the new Chairman of the IHRA until March 2018.
On the picture Ambassador Jasem bin Mohammed Al Budaiwi and President Donald Tusk.By Henri Estramant.State of Kuwait to the EU: HE Ambassador Jasem bin Mohamed Al Budaiwi, who was previously head of mission to the Republic of Korea (South Korea), presented credentials on Wednesday, 22 February 2017 before the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/EU/XXV/EU/12/17/EU_121787/imfname_10669339.pdfAmbassador Kim Hyoung-zhin and President TuskRepublic of Korea to the EU: HE Ambassador Kim Hyoung-zhin was accredited on 22 February 2017. Before his post in Brussels Ambassador Hyoung-zhin was Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea. http://bel.mofa.go.kr/english/eu/bel/main/index.jspDato’ Hasnudin bin Hamzah and President Donald Tusk.Federation of Malaysia to the EU: HE Ambassador Dato´ Hasnudin bin Hamzah was accredited on 22 February 2017 with President Donald Tusk of the European Council. From 2012 up to the summer of 2016 Dato´Hasnudin bin Hamzah served as Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN, at Jakarta, Indonesia.http://www.kln.gov.my/perwakilan/brussels/Ambassador Colin Connelly from Trinidad and Tobago and President Donald Tusk.Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the EU: HE Ambassador Colin Connelly was accredited on 22 February 2017. Previously he held the rank of Counsellor and Chargé d’affaires at the Mission of Trinidad and Tobago to the USA.
9 March 2017, Brussels: Donald Tusk was re-appointed for a second term as president of the European Council (Consilium), one of the EU’s governing bodies, despite objections from the government of his own country, Poland, that had created an unprecedented confrontation in Brussels.
It was the first time such a decision was made without unanimity since the position was created in 2009.
The council sets the leaders’ agenda; President Tusk is expected to forge compromise amongst its fractious membership during a two-and-a-half-year term. President Tusk acknowledged the “unusual circumstances” created by the opposition of his own nation and offered the government in Warsaw an olive branch by pledging to work with all members “without any exceptions.”The meeting also was the first time the leaders gathered inside an orb-like structure at the heart of their new headquarters, called Europa. During the dinner the Balkans were top on the agenda as were possibilities of Russian aggression in Europe.
To encourage Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia to stick to paths of peace and reform, the leaders offered fresh assurances to they would eventually be able to join the European Union if they met the criteria for membership.
European leaders, with the exception of Poland, who blocked a formal endorsement by the European Council, reaffirmed their “unequivocal support for the European perspective of the Western Balkans” in a statement.
For further information: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/home/——-
Picture by EU/President Donald Tusk
Mr Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia and President Donald Tusk – Picture by EU.
Monday, 27 February 2017, Brussels: the European Union and the Republic of Armenia finalised a new agreement seeking to deepen political and economic ties between the two entities.
The new agreement comes more than a year after Armenia’s controversial accession to a Russian-led trade bloc. President Serzh Sarkisian unexpectedly signed an agreement back in September 2013 to make Armenia part of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), in a move that has been widely credited to strong Russian pressure.
The EU-Armenia agreement is likely to be signed in May 2017. Hitherto EU relations with Armenia are governed by the EU -Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement signed in 1996, and which entered into force in 1999.
Information:
President of Armenia: http://www.president.am/hy/
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Photography by EU
Tuesday, 21 February 2017, Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev appointed his spouse as the First Vice President, that is, the person next in line in the nation’s power hierarchy.
Ilham Aliyev (55) named his wife Mehriban Arif gyzy Aliyeva (52) to the position created after a constitutional referendum in September 2016. Mehriban Aliyeva married her husband when she was 19; she graduated from a medical university. She has served previously as a lawmaker and heads the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.
The vice president takes over the country’s presidency if the president is unable to perform their duties, according to the constitution. The latter does not describe the first vice president’s duties, but it’s expected that they will include overseeing the cabinet.
For further information:President of Azerbaijan: http://en.president.azHeydar Aliyev Foundation: http://heydar-aliyev-foundation.org/en/content/index/47/ABOUT-FOUNDATION———Picture by naijahour.com
By Roy Lie A Tjam.
The organizing committee of the Latin American Table made up by Sonia de Meijer (chair) and Mr. Jorge E. Colombo Taricco (vice-chair), invited friends and interested persons to a lecture by Mr. Pieter Groeneveld who is the vice–president Network of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Pieter Groeneveld is also an alumnus of Erasmus University and holds a Master in Business Economics which he obtained in 1995.
For additional Kim Vermaat’s pictures, please open the following link:https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157678861444042Mr. Jorge E. Colombo Taricco , Latin American table Vice-Chair and Sonia de Meijer, Honorary Consul of El Salvador and Chair of the Latin American Table at Sociëteit De Witte.
After a short period working in procurement for Royal Dutch Shell, he joined KLM in 1997. His first assignment was to coordinate the introduction of the 6 Wave Hub Systems in AMS. That led to a remarkable career path. He worked as a network planner for Eastern Europe and later for Asia Pacific.
Mr. Pieter Groeneveld, vice–president Network of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Thereafter, he moved to the Cargo division in 2002 as the director of network planning, followed by commercial functions as director cargo for High Tech and Fashion Industries. Pieter returned in 2008 to KLM head offices as vice president for corporate strategy and has since 2010 been responsible for the global network development of KLM.
This lecture was hosted at Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit De Witte on Monday 27 February 2017 under the theme: KLM Network Developments – on Latin America in Particular.
The first part of the lecture was so interactive that Mr. Groeneveld managed to ascertain that his audience knew a lot about the 98 years of the young Dutch blue bird, KLM. The session ended with a raffle to find a winner for a small KLM airplane.
Network planning in a nutshell: 4 important pillars: network portofolio, hub design, partners, fleet. Mr.Groeneveld elaborated on these four pillars.
As for Latin America, KLM Network expansion through the years in Latin America:
KLM and Air France operated directly from Amsterdam and/or Paris
KLM investment in Latin America: 84% more seats in 6 years
The Netherlands a small country but with a large airline and network. With its 17.1 million inhabitants, the Netherlands ranks only 67th based on population(8th in EUR) But with 63.6 million passengers, Schiphol is the 3rd airport in Europe based on passenger traffic …….why than so many passengers in or via Amsterdam? KLM transported 30.4 million passengers on its aircraft in 2016 and they did not all went to see the canals! 73% of KLM’s passengers are on transfer in Amsterdam!
The attendees, including some ambassadors, diplomats, friends and interested persons very much appreciated the informative lecture in which they had an opportunity to pose questions. A dinner party in the main restaurant is what concluded the enlightening evening.
Greek and Spanish law enforcement bodies and judicial authorities, supported by Eurojust and Europol, have dismantled an international criminal network suspected of having smuggled in the current season over 10 tonnes of eels from the European Union to China, with a profit estimated at EUR 10 million.A coordinated operation carried out in Greece and Spain led to 17 arrests. In addition, approximately two tonnes of eels worth EUR 2 million were seized, along with data storage devices, documents, luxury cars and approximately EUR 1 million in cash.The operation was initiated, with Europol support, by investigators from Spain’s Guardia Civil’s Environmental Protection Service, SEPRONA. They discovered that a company based in Spain had been purchasing eels from several Member States. Once the fish were introduced into the legal market, the company was alleged to have delivered them to Greece using false documentation to finally export them illegally to Asia as ‘fresh fish’.The operation was referred to the prosecutor specialised in environmental crimes and international cooperation at the PPO in Tarragona, the file being finally allocated to Investigative Court number 3 in Tortosa. Information was sent to Eurojust and assistance was requested. The Spanish National Desk at Eurojust, with the support of the Environmental Prosecutorial Unit at the General Prosecutor’s Office, coordinated the response at judicial level with delegations from other concerned countries, leading to the organisation of a coordination meeting at Eurojust at the end of January. In Greece, the proceedings were led by the specialised prosecution office for financial crime of Athens.A coordination centre was set up at Eurojust at the beginning of February, with the involvement of the Spanish and Greek National Desks, to provide support to the action day in Spain and Greece.Assistance by the national contact points of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was also sought in view of reintroducing the eels into their natural habitat to the extent possible.
Book, India- EU Fifty years & more of Diplomatic Relations, Ten years plus of Strategic Partnership.
At the chancery of the Indian Missions based in Brussels and accredited to the European Union, the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, HE Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri, hosted a reception on Thursday, 26 January, for dignitaries hailing from the European institutions, Belgian and Luxembourgian authorities as well as highly standing members of the Indian community in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Ambassador Pema Choden (Bhutan to the EU, Benelux and Nordic countries) greets Ambassador Singh Puri and spouse.
This year’s reception was unique because India and Belgium are celebrating 70 years of diplomatic ties in 2017. In fact, the only surviving daughter of the first Belgian ambassador to India, the late XI Prince de Ligne, Eugène II (in ambassadorship from 1947 to 1951)was in attendance, namely Dowager Archduchess Carl Ludwig of Austria, Princess Yolande de Ligne.
A photographic exhibition on ” 70 Years of India-Belgium Diplomatic Relations” was displayed during the event; it also included highlights of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
Princess Yolande de Ligne, Dowager Archduchess Carl Ludwig of Austria, addressing the guests.
A special edition on ” India – Belgium & Luxembourg: 70 Years of Diplomatic Relations” and “India- EU Fifty years & more of Diplomatic Relations, Ten years plus of Strategic Partnership” were released on the occasion and presented to prominent guests. Soft copies can be downloaded from the embassy’s website.
Chief Guest at the annual parade held in honour of Republic Day in India was HH The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
For further information:
Missions of India to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg (HE Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri): www.indembassy.be
68th Republic Day Parade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHERHyeFY80
XI Prince de Ligne, Ambassador Eugène II de Ligne: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugène,_11th_Prince_of_Ligne
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Pictures by Missions of India in Brussels
KAAN Architecten designs Museum Paleis Het Loo’s renovation and expansion
Following a tendering process, the jury unanimously selected the winning proposal by KAAN Architecten. The design, inspired by the layout and proportions of the Corps de Logis of Paleis Het Loo, incorporates all required facilities and spaces while expressing a grandeur fitting for one of the Netherlands’ most popular and visited museums.
Originally built in 1686 as royal hunting palace, Paleis Het Loo is located on the outskirts of Apeldoorn, in the heart of the country. KAAN Architecten’s project – inspired by changing needs and new ambitions – consists of renovation, renewal and an expansion of more than 5000 sqm of new spaces, such as the House of Orange, the Junior Palace and temporary exhibition hall.
Upon arrival to the palace, visitors will reach the Bassecour where the four grass parterres of the front courtyard will be replaced by four glass surfaces with the exact same measurements. A thin layer of water will flow over the glass – a nod to the fountains and waterworks of the historic gardens. The new glass surfaces will be the only façade of the underground expansion. The entrance pavilions will lead to the light-filled underground entrance area where the ticket and information office, museum shop, and other visitor facilities will be located.
The Grand Foyer will be the beating heart of the underground expansion. It will connect the entrance area to the Palace and provide access to the temporary exhibition area and the House of Orange. To the west of the Grand Foyer, there will be a space for temporary exhibitions with 5-metre high ceilings, consisting of two large and two medium-sized square rooms that are interconnected, while in the west wing, a museum will be developed especially for children: the Junior Palace.
The past and present of the Dutch Royal Family will be intriguingly entwined and housed by the 1245 sqm of the House of Orange in the east wing. Furthermore, the interior layout of the Palace and its forty different royal rooms will be enhanced and given a more logical arrangement to allow visitors to experience different routes and feels.
The renovated and renewed Museum Paleis Het Loo will be completed by 2021.
CREDITS
Location: Koninklijk Park 1, Apeldoorn (NL)
Client: Stichting Paleis Het Loo National Museum
Architect: KAAN Architecten (Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen, Dikkie Scipio)
Project team: Loes Martens, Paolo Faleschini, Niels de Hart, Joost Harteveld, Antony Laurijsen, Nicki van Loon, Marija Mateljan, Floris Sikkel, Niels Vernooij, Sebastian van Damme
Design: 2016-2017
Completion: 2021
GFA: more than 5.000 sqm
Construction advisor: Bartels Ingenieurs voor Bouw & Infra
Restoration advisor: Van Hoogevest Architecten
Installation / W&E advisor: Valstar Simonis, Apeldoorn
Building physics, fire control, acoustics advisor: DGMR Raadgevende Ingenieurs, Arnhem
Light design: Beers Nielsen
Visualisation: The Beauty & the Bit, KAAN Architecten
The IHRA is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1998 with the objective of attracting support from political and social leaders for expanding and improvement of Holocaust education, remembrance and research.
The IHRA currently has 31 member countries and eleven observer countries and has an annually rotating chairmanship. A member country will be responsible for organizing activities in the sphere of Holocaust education and commemoration. Romania served as chairman of the organization from March 2016 to March 2017.
For additional Robert Huiberts’ pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157677984832823
The Netherlands a small country but with a large airline and network. With its 17.1 million inhabitants, the Netherlands ranks only 67th based on population(8th in EUR) But with 63.6 million passengers, Schiphol is the 3rd airport in Europe based on passenger traffic …….why than so many passengers in or via Amsterdam? KLM transported 30.4 million passengers on its aircraft in 2016 and they did not all went to see the canals! 73% of KLM’s passengers are on transfer in Amsterdam!
The attendees, including some ambassadors, diplomats, friends and interested persons very much appreciated the informative lecture in which they had an opportunity to pose questions. A dinner party in the main restaurant is what concluded the enlightening evening. 
