Once the settling down phase is complete she plans to further explore the Netherlands – first up, she says, will be the Dutch Wadden Sea Islands, particularly Schiermonnikoog, thought to be one of the prettiest places in the country. Leiden, she says, is one of her favorite cities to visit thus far because of its charming beauty, traditional architecture and of course, its museums – which are of particular interest to her, due to her professional background. She intends to reengage her artifact conservation work to some degree in the coming year through new contacts she has made at museums in Leiden, once the kids have a routine set, that is. Now that the rainy days of winter have began she also looks forward to visiting museums like Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Corpus, and the newly reopened Mauritshuis, with her kids.
Her embassy recently celebrated the Macedonian National Day, which is on September 8th, in collaboration with Diplomat Magazine. The event was well attended by the local diplomatic and Macedonian communities, alike. Traditional treats and delicious wines were served. Macedonia is known for its rich and aromatic red wines and bountiful peppers, which are undoubtedly delicious byproducts of its sunny climate. Its abundant sunshine is even depicted on their flag “The New Sun of Liberty” and also referred to in the nation’s anthem. Despite her life-long love affair with adventure and travel, she confesses that nostalgia for her homeland, as is natural, does set-in from time-to-time. She longs for the general calm and helpful atmosphere of Macedonia and its kitchen, as she rarely gets to visit. “Of course I cook. Of course! Every day. I have two kids and a husband – so they all depend on my kitchen,” she chuckles, as we discuss where she shops for key ingredients. She quickly compliments the Dutch greenhouse industry for allowing her to find many of the “delicious, very hot, green peppers that Macedonians cannot live without,” despite our lack of sun here. When describing produce at the “beautiful, beautiful, beautiful” Haagse Markt her eyes light up. The local Moroccan and Turkish butchers also get high praise for having excellent meats.
Mrs. Popova communicates with ease. She is a natural people-person and possesses vast professional experience, which the local nonprofit community will surely benefit from once she branches out to volunteer during her limited free time, until the right job opportunity presents itself. In closing, she shares some of the life-lessons she has gained as a world citizen. In short, “Life is a gift,” she says, which has to be respected for what it is, while maintaining awareness and compassion for those living with less. “We have to be humble and be satisfied with what we have,” she concludes, that is her recipe for a happy life – one she is trying to impart on her microcosm which is her family.
Interview with Mrs. Maja Popova of the Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia
Pictures by Kim Vermaat.
By aldo Rodriguez.
Prior to beginning her diplomatic career in 2003, upon marrying her husband, H.E. Igor Popov, Ambassador of the Republic of Macedonia to the Netherlands, Mrs. Maja Popova enjoyed an illustrious career that spanned over two decades in Metal Conservation Archeology, at a renown museum in Macedonia’s capitol city, Skopje – her hometown. She is a pharmacist by training and a philanthropist by experience. It was her passion for humanitarian work that brought her path to cross the Ambassador’s, when he attended a public park clean-up event hosted by Green Planet, an environmental protection nonprofit organization where she served as Executive Director, on a volunteer basis. As you may have noticed, Mrs. Popova’s name carries with it an extra “a” unlike the Ambassador’s name due to the grammatical gender of Macedonian – the “a” makes the name feminine because she is a woman.
She seems to like her new found home and holds her new neighbors in high esteem, “Dutch people are like fighters, they don’t give up.” she says “Probably due to their struggles with the sea and the climate that has lasted for centuries.” Having just moved to the Netherlands in May 2014, Mrs. Popova, like any good parent, worked swiftly to help her family feel at home. She has two children, the first of which is Marco who is 11-years-old and attends an international school, while her four-year-old daughter, Bisera, attends a local Dutch school. Little Bisera, she stated, takes after her father, so she is very extraverted, has quickly adapted to the Netherlands and has already picked-up some Dutch. While young Marco, who is having a slightly harder time making friends at school, benefits from having his cousins in close proximity, as the Ambassador has family who immigrated to the Amsterdam-area some 25 years ago. This gives her family a distinct advantage over the typical expat community, she admits, as they have been able to frequent the Netherlands throughout the years due to family functions and holidays. She hopes the life experiences afforded by their modern nomadic lifestyle will benefit Marco and Bisera later in life, giving them a different perspective on the world.
Once the settling down phase is complete she plans to further explore the Netherlands – first up, she says, will be the Dutch Wadden Sea Islands, particularly Schiermonnikoog, thought to be one of the prettiest places in the country. Leiden, she says, is one of her favorite cities to visit thus far because of its charming beauty, traditional architecture and of course, its museums – which are of particular interest to her, due to her professional background. She intends to reengage her artifact conservation work to some degree in the coming year through new contacts she has made at museums in Leiden, once the kids have a routine set, that is. Now that the rainy days of winter have began she also looks forward to visiting museums like Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Corpus, and the newly reopened Mauritshuis, with her kids.
Her embassy recently celebrated the Macedonian National Day, which is on September 8th, in collaboration with Diplomat Magazine. The event was well attended by the local diplomatic and Macedonian communities, alike. Traditional treats and delicious wines were served. Macedonia is known for its rich and aromatic red wines and bountiful peppers, which are undoubtedly delicious byproducts of its sunny climate. Its abundant sunshine is even depicted on their flag “The New Sun of Liberty” and also referred to in the nation’s anthem. Despite her life-long love affair with adventure and travel, she confesses that nostalgia for her homeland, as is natural, does set-in from time-to-time. She longs for the general calm and helpful atmosphere of Macedonia and its kitchen, as she rarely gets to visit. “Of course I cook. Of course! Every day. I have two kids and a husband – so they all depend on my kitchen,” she chuckles, as we discuss where she shops for key ingredients. She quickly compliments the Dutch greenhouse industry for allowing her to find many of the “delicious, very hot, green peppers that Macedonians cannot live without,” despite our lack of sun here. When describing produce at the “beautiful, beautiful, beautiful” Haagse Markt her eyes light up. The local Moroccan and Turkish butchers also get high praise for having excellent meats.
Mrs. Popova communicates with ease. She is a natural people-person and possesses vast professional experience, which the local nonprofit community will surely benefit from once she branches out to volunteer during her limited free time, until the right job opportunity presents itself. In closing, she shares some of the life-lessons she has gained as a world citizen. In short, “Life is a gift,” she says, which has to be respected for what it is, while maintaining awareness and compassion for those living with less. “We have to be humble and be satisfied with what we have,” she concludes, that is her recipe for a happy life – one she is trying to impart on her microcosm which is her family.
Once the settling down phase is complete she plans to further explore the Netherlands – first up, she says, will be the Dutch Wadden Sea Islands, particularly Schiermonnikoog, thought to be one of the prettiest places in the country. Leiden, she says, is one of her favorite cities to visit thus far because of its charming beauty, traditional architecture and of course, its museums – which are of particular interest to her, due to her professional background. She intends to reengage her artifact conservation work to some degree in the coming year through new contacts she has made at museums in Leiden, once the kids have a routine set, that is. Now that the rainy days of winter have began she also looks forward to visiting museums like Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Corpus, and the newly reopened Mauritshuis, with her kids.
Her embassy recently celebrated the Macedonian National Day, which is on September 8th, in collaboration with Diplomat Magazine. The event was well attended by the local diplomatic and Macedonian communities, alike. Traditional treats and delicious wines were served. Macedonia is known for its rich and aromatic red wines and bountiful peppers, which are undoubtedly delicious byproducts of its sunny climate. Its abundant sunshine is even depicted on their flag “The New Sun of Liberty” and also referred to in the nation’s anthem. Despite her life-long love affair with adventure and travel, she confesses that nostalgia for her homeland, as is natural, does set-in from time-to-time. She longs for the general calm and helpful atmosphere of Macedonia and its kitchen, as she rarely gets to visit. “Of course I cook. Of course! Every day. I have two kids and a husband – so they all depend on my kitchen,” she chuckles, as we discuss where she shops for key ingredients. She quickly compliments the Dutch greenhouse industry for allowing her to find many of the “delicious, very hot, green peppers that Macedonians cannot live without,” despite our lack of sun here. When describing produce at the “beautiful, beautiful, beautiful” Haagse Markt her eyes light up. The local Moroccan and Turkish butchers also get high praise for having excellent meats.
Mrs. Popova communicates with ease. She is a natural people-person and possesses vast professional experience, which the local nonprofit community will surely benefit from once she branches out to volunteer during her limited free time, until the right job opportunity presents itself. In closing, she shares some of the life-lessons she has gained as a world citizen. In short, “Life is a gift,” she says, which has to be respected for what it is, while maintaining awareness and compassion for those living with less. “We have to be humble and be satisfied with what we have,” she concludes, that is her recipe for a happy life – one she is trying to impart on her microcosm which is her family.
Sophisticated drone technology can help in the fight against wildlife poaching
“100,000 African elephants were killed the last 3 years, according to National Geographic”
By Ruud van der Lem, Drone-Solutions.nl
This year, a new initiative to count elephants and study their moves takes place under supervision of Microsoft co-founder, Mr. Paul G. Allen. The Census Project will help conservationists in long-term management planning.
Poachers vs aerial sensors
Already poachers use helicopters to hunt the elephants down and soon they will discover how to jam the Drone navigation devices in order to let them crash.
Sophisticated small fixed-wing Drones equipped with high tech navigation systems, cutting edge sensors and camera systems are needed if we want to play a substantial role into the next level of the battle against poaching wild life.
Stealth operation
To ensure stealth operation, together with bright vision, these Drones best operate after sunset, ensuring the best contrast for the infra-red imaging sensors. Elephants and rhino’s give a large contrast footprint, where poachers obviously give a smaller one, supplemented with an often higher color temperature image, due to the fact of using vehicles and camp-fires.
Cattle thieves
A side application could be the use of this technology to track down cattle and harvest thieves, as they often operate during night-time and operate in obvious patterns.
Additional detection equipment attached to the Drone can track & trace mobile telephone or radio communication of the perpetrators.
Discreet operations
Unfortunately there are examples, where local authorities were actively involved in undermining operations. Programs to detect or prevent poaching and thieving must be organized in a way that only a small ever changing group knows the details of field operations.
Professional approach
Long flight-operation on high altitudes manages to monitor very large areas. Moreover it prevents discovery by poachers and cattle thieves, however this elevates operational investment.
Serious programs, involving remote sensing by using drones, always demand intensive organization and cooperation between all stake holders. Added with educational programs it can seriously contribute in the reduction of such forms of organized criminality.
Drone-Solutions.nl is a specialist in providing solutions in remote sensing and cooperates with the security and drone industry.
The Global Race to the Bottom
By Philippe Heitzmann
The proclamation in 1992 by American President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin of a new era of “friendship and partnership”[i] between Moscow and Washington signaled the end of the Cold War and the consolidation of the age of globalization. Yet as the loss of biodiversity in our food supply stemming from global crop standardization “severely compromises global food security”[ii] according to UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller, it has become apparent that globalization may introduce broad risks of a food crisis.
In addition, the corrosive effect of corporations on emerging economies, alongside the environmental damage and growing income inequality introduced by globalization, all suggest that this increasing interconnectivity has not been beneficial to the majority of the world’s peoples.
Although globalization has been celebrated as an agricultural triumph, its standardization of the genetic makeup of crops has undermined the security of food markets. In China alone, efforts to boost yields and meet immediate hunger needs have resulted in the disappearance of an estimated ninety percent of wheat varieties over the past century.[iii]
While this standardization has allowed for the feeding of millions of more people, our food supply is now more genetically vulnerable to pestilence, such as the fungus Ug99, which has been destroying wheat crops across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Yemen since 1999.[iv] Scientists estimate that if the strain is to reach American fields, an estimated one billion dollars’ worth of wheat would be at risk,[v] leading many analysts such as Jim Peterson, a professor of wheat breeding and genetics at Oregon State University, to describe the situation as a “time bomb.”[vi]
At a time when, in the words of Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior economist with the UN’s FAO, global food “reserves are at a very low level,” leaving “no room for unexpected events,”[vii] world governments cannot allow for the economic players driving globalization, such as the IMF or the World Bank, to pressure farmers into adopting policies that could jeopardize our food supply and create unrest, such as in Egypt or Tunisia where rising commodity prices caused protests in 2011.[viii]
Globalization allows firms to relocate in “pollution havens” with lower environmental regulations. Fully aware of their crucial economic impact on such developing nations, multinational corporations (MNCs) often coerce such governments to abandon environmentally-friendly legislation. For example, the multinational mining company Rio Tinto recently developed the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the South Gobi Desert, which, while located in a “fragile ecosystem”, according to a 2010 report by the OECD,[ix] will increase Mongolia’s GDP by 30% by most estimates.[x] However, no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted before the purchase, leading many Mongolian NGOs not only to worry that the industrial activities would deplete and contaminate the water supply, but also to wonder how such a deal could have been passed.[xi]
In fact, high-level corruption was recently uncovered in the Mongolian case,[xii] leading many to speculate more broadly on the future of democracy under the shadow of MNCs. If one is to take the United States as, in the words of Emma Lazarus, a beacon for the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free,”[xiii] that epitome has already been muddied by the 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, which deemed unlimited corporate spending in politics an extension of free speech.[xiv] And the legislative branch has not resisted the rolling tide of corporate interests either, as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) passed Congress in 1994, essentially creating a “Bill of Rights” for MNCs under Chapter Eleven, such as the right for a corporation to sue a country interfering with its profits.[xv] A famous example is the 1994 case of Harken Energy, in which the Louisiana-based oil-drilling company sued the government of Costa Rica for $57 billion in damages, simply because the Latin-American country had ruled Harken’s offshore platform not in accordance with environmental laws.[xvi] The dispute has still not been settled, with the Costa Rican claiming that it won’t recognize arbitration by the World Bank, leaving many to worry about the integrity of the nation state in a world of profit-driven corporations.[xvii]
While many contend that globalization has lifted millions out of poverty, higher household incomes have seldom been beneficial to the majority of the world’s peoples given how higher inequality has undermined social stability. Eric Maskin, the 2007 Nobel Laureate in Economics and professor at Harvard University, believes that a higher demand globally for skilled workers by multinational corporations (MNCs) polarizes incomes between skilled and unskilled labor.[xviii] For example, income inequality increased in China by about two percent in the 1980s and two point five percent in the 1990s, one of the fastest rates of growth of inequality in the world.[xix] During the same period, the contribution of wage inequality to total income inequality in China was between one third and one half.[xx]
While research suggests that high income inequality correlates with financial crises and slows growth,[xxi] the divisive trend has also fomented social instability in China, apparent in the one hundred eighty thousand “mass incidents” of civilian protests reported by Chinese sociologists in the past year,[xxii] which led the Peoples’ Republic to spend more on internal police force than on its military in 2011.[xxiii] Although globalization has lifted nearly five hundred million Chinese citizens out of poverty over the past three decades,[xxiv] these gains might soon be outweighed if the “harmonious society” cannot keep its civil unrest in check.
The economies of developed countries also mirror the Chinese case, as today’s national distribution of wealth resembles that of 1929, suggesting an unsustainable model of growth. Today, the top point one percent of Americans own as much as the bottom ninety percent.[xxv] Meanwhile, the driving forces behind globalization have only afforded the American middle class a one percent increase in income since 2000.[xxvi] Similarly, all European countries, except for France, Hungary and Belgium, have seen their Gini coefficients, which scores national income distribution out of one, rise on average by 0.05 between 1980 and the 2000s.[xxvii]
This inequality has already created a divide in health standards within the populations of rich countries. For example, the difference in average life expectancy between the richest and poorest neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland is twenty eight years, with the life expectancy in the poorest borough being eight years shorter than that of the national average in India.[xxviii] This “social gradient of health” is causing alarm internationally, with the Commission on Social Determinants of Health of the World Health Organization (WHO) calling to “close the gap within a generation” in the name of social justice and economic improvement.[xxix] In addition, given the aging of the population in Western countries, many are concerned that retirement pensions of old people will place an unsustainable burden on already struggling economies.[xxx]
In conclusion, the cost-benefit analysis of globalization should be reassessed by the World Bank and the United Nations. In light of globalization’s threats to the food supply and its extensive environmental damage, nation states should deal more cautiously with worldwide integration, lest we want future generations to bear the consequences of our unsustainable growth.
Similarly, developing countries such as China should pass legislation meant to improve the education of their workforce, so that the wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers might be bridged, thereby slowing the dangerous global trends of growing income inequality. Lastly, in order to reinvigorate falling a middle class, developed countries should introduce more social welfare programs that would counterbalance globalization’s polarization of incomes, which is slowing economic growth. Although globalization’s reduction of trade barriers and increased technological exchange have benefited many people around the world, the long term picture is now grim, and it is the duty of the World Bank and the United Nations to take active roles to erase these shortcomings through universal environmental benchmarks and strong legislation on corporate identities.
Bibliography
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- Bloomberg News, “China’s Spending on Internal Police Force in 2010 Outstrips Defense Budget,” May 6, 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-06/china-s-spending-on-internal-police-force-in-2010-outstrips-defense-budget.html
- Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, “Final Report: Closing the Gap in a Generation,” World Health Organization, May 2008, http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf?ua=1
- Economist, “Some are more equal than others,” November 6, 2014, http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/11/daily-chart- (2?fsrc=scn/fb/te/bl/ed/somearemoreequalthanothers
- Kaplan, Karen. “A ‘time bomb’ for World Wheat Crop,” Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2009, http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/14/science/sci-wheat-rust14
- Kumhof, Michael and Rancière, Romain. “IMF Working Paper: Inequality, Leverage and Crises,” IMF Research Department, November 2010, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2010/wp10268.pdf
- Liptak, Adam. “Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit,” 21 January 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/politics/22scotus.html?pagewanted=all
- Martinez, Nadia. “Free Trade Agreement threatens Costa Rican Environmental Protections,” Grist Magazine, 27 March 2004, http://grist.org/article/engler/
- MiningWatch Canada. “OECD Complaint Field Against Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines in Mongolia,” 18 July 2010, http://www.miningwatch.ca/oecd-complaint-filed-against-rio-tinto-and-ivanhoe-mines-mongolia
- “The New Colossus,” American Academy of Poets, http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/new-colossus (November 11, 2014).
- Orlik, Tom. “Unrest Grows as Economy Booms,” Wall Street Journal, 26 September 2011, http://tinyurl.com/m2cuy87
- OECD Report, “An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities in OECD Countries: Main Findings,” Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, May 2001, http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/49499779.pdf
- Pollan, Michael. “Farmer in Chief,” New York Times on the Web, 9 October 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?pagewanted=all
- Siebert, Charles. “Food Ark,” National Geographic Magazine, July 2011, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2011/07/food-ark/siebert-text
- Sir Michael Marmot, “Social Determinants of Health,” Institute of Health Economics, 31 May 2012, http://www.ihe.ca/research/knowledge-transfer-initiatives/–innovation-forum-series/innovation-forum-vii—social-determinants-of-health/
- Stewart, Robb. “Mining-Company Lawyer Can’t Leave Mongolia,” Wall Street Journal, 24 October 2012, http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203897404578075972280117736
- “Trading Democracy: The Other Chapter 11,” Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/tradingdemocracy.html (November 11, 2014).
- United Nations News Centre, “Biodiversity Key to Tackling Food Crisis,” 19 May 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26708#.VGPlE_nF-Sp
- Vidal, John. “UN Warns of Looming Worldwide food crisis in 2013,” The Guardian, 13 October 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/14/un-global-food-crisis-warning
- Wines, Michael. “Bush and Yeltsin Declare Formal End to Cold War,” New York Times on the Web, 2 February 1992, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/02/world/bush-and-yeltsin-declare-formal-end-to-cold-war-agree-to-exchange-visits.html
- World Bank News, “China Overview: Context,” April 1, 2014 http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview (November 9, 2014)
- World Bank News, “Theorist Eric Maskin: Globalization Is Increasing Inequality,” June 23, 2014, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/06/23/theorist-eric-maskin-globalization-is-increasing-inequality
- Xu, Bin and Li, Wei. “Trade, Technology, and China’s Rising Skill Demand,” Economics of Transition 87, no.1, 2008: 56-93
[i] Michael Wines, “Bush and Yeltsin Declare Formal End to Cold War,” New York Times on the Web, 2 February 1992, http://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/02/world/bush-and-yeltsin-declare-formal-end-to-cold-war-agree-to-exchange-visits.html (11 Novermber, 2014)
[ii] United Nations News Centre, “Biodiversity Key to Tackling Food Crisis,” May 19, 2008 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=26708#.VGPlE_nF-Sp (November 12, 2014).
[iii] Charles Siebert, “Food Ark,” National Geographic Magazine, July 2011, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/print/2011/07/food-ark/siebert-text (November 10, 2014).
[iv] Charles Siebert, “Food Ark,” National Geographic Magazine.
[v] Charles Siebert, “Food Ark,” National Geographic Magazine.
[vi] Karen Kaplan, “A ‘time bomb’ for World Wheat Crop,” Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2009, http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/14/science/sci-wheat-rust14 (12 November 2014).
[vii] John Vidal, “UN Warns of Looming Worldwide food crisis in 2013,” The Guardian, 13 October 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/oct/14/un-global-food-crisis-warning (November 12, 2014).
[viii] Michael Pollan, “Farmer in Chief,” New York Times on the Web, 9 October 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?pagewanted=all (November 10, 2014).
[ix] MiningWatch Canada, “OECD Complaint Field Against Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe Mines in Mongolia,” 18 July 2010, http://www.miningwatch.ca/oecd-complaint-filed-against-rio-tinto-and-ivanhoe-mines-mongolia (November 12, 2014).
[x] “Oyu Tolgoi Copper/Silver/Gold Mine Project,” Bank Information Center, 28 February 2013, http://www.bicusa.org/feature/oyu-tolgoi-coppersilvergold-mine-project/ (November 12, 2014).
[xi] MiningWatch Canada, “OECD Complaint in Mongolia,” July 18, 2010, http://www.miningwatch.ca/oecd-complaint-filed-against-rio-tinto-and-ivanhoe-mines-mongolia (November 12, 2014).
[xii] Robb Stewart, “Mining-Company Lawyer Can’t Leave Mongolia,” Wall Street Journal, 24 October 2012, http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203897404578075972280117736 (November 12, 2014).
[xiii] “The New Colossus,” American Academy of Poets, http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/new-colossus (November 11, 2014).
[xiv] Adam Liptak, “Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit,” 21 January 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/politics/22scotus.html?pagewanted=all (November 11, 2014).
[xv] “Trading Democracy: The Other Chapter 11,” Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/tradingdemocracy.html (November 11, 2014).
[xvi] Nadia Martinez, “Free Trade Agreement threatens Costa Rican Environmental Protections,” Grist Magazine, 27 March 2004, http://grist.org/article/engler/ (November 12, 2014).
[xvii] Nadia Martinez, “Free Trade Agreement threatens Costa Rican Environmental Protections,” Grist Magazine, 27 March 2004, http://grist.org/article/engler/ (November 12, 2014).
[xviii] World Bank News, “Theorist Eric Maskin: Globalization Is Increasing Inequality,” June 23, 2014, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/06/23/theorist-eric-maskin-globalization-is-increasing-inequality (November 12, 2014).
[xix] Bin Xu and Wei Li, “Trade, Technology, and China’s Rising Skill Demand,” Economics of Transition 87, no.1, 2008: 64 http://www.ceibs.edu/faculty/xubin/Xu-Li.pdf
[xx] Bin Xu and Wei Li, “Trade, Technology, and China’s Rising Skill Demand,” Economics of Transition 87, no.1, 2008: 64 http://www.ceibs.edu/faculty/xubin/Xu-Li.pdf
[xxi] Michael Kumhof and Romain Rancière, “IMF Working Paper: Inequality, Leverage and Crises,” IMF Research Department, November 2010, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2010/wp10268.pdf (November 12, 2014).
[xxii] Tom Orlik, “Unrest Grows as Economy Booms,” Wall Street Journal, 26 September 2011, http://tinyurl.com/m2cuy87 (November 12, 2014).
[xxiii] Bloomberg News, “China’s Spending on Internal Police Force in 2010 Outstrips Defense Budget,” 6 May 2011, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-06/china-s-spending-on-internal-police-force-in-2010-outstrips-defense-budget.html (November 12, 2014).
[xxiv] World Bank News, “China Overview: Context,” April 1, 2014, http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/overview (November 9, 2014)
[xxv] Economist, “Some are more equal than others,” November 6, 2014, http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/11/daily-chart- (2?fsrc=scn/fb/te/bl/ed/somearemoreequalthanothers (6 November 2014)
[xxvi] Economist, “Some are more equal than others,” November 6, 2014, http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/11/daily-chart- (2?fsrc=scn/fb/te/bl/ed/somearemoreequalthanothers (6 November 2014)
[xxvii] OECD Report, “An Overview of Growing Income Inequalities in OECD Countries: Main Findings,” Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, May 2011, http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/49499779.pdf (8 November 2014)
[xxviii] Sir Michael Marmot, “Social Determinants of Health,” Institute of Health Economics, 31 May 2012, http://www.ihe.ca/research/knowledge-transfer-initiatives/–innovation-forum-series/innovation-forum-vii—social-determinants-of-health/ (November 3, 2014).
[xxix] Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, “Final Report: Closing the Gap in a Generation,” World Health Organization, May 2008, http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf?ua=1 (November 11, 2014).
[xxx]Sir Michael Marmot, “Social Determinants of Health,” Institute of Health Economics, 31 May 2012, http://www.ihe.ca/research/knowledge-transfer-initiatives/–innovation-forum-series/innovation-forum-vii—social-determinants-of-health/ (November 3, 2014).
The Amadeus Intrigue
By Dario Poli
“As the stars twinkle in a still summer’s night, and suddenly the moon spreads its full, clear glory, before all his fellow artists. So deep, so clear, so all embracing, so rich in invention was his noble mind…” Johann Schenk.
Novelists such as Jim Marrs, John Grisham and Dan Brown have reflected and exploited society’s increscent fascination with intrigue and corruption to such a point that the lives and deaths of almost all eminent figures seem to now be subjected to the fine-tooth combs of conspiracy theorists.
As the rest of the world celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang ‘Amadeus’ Mozart, Dario Poli explains why it is the great composer’s death that prominent academics are still discussing.
The night of his death, a dark and gloomy weather front seized Vienna firmly in its grasp. At the funeral, too, it began to rage and storm with increased intensity as snow and rain fell together, turning the ground into a slippery sludge. It was as if nature was displaying her anger and indignation with the man’s contemporaries, who had turned out sparsely for his burial, by relentlessly lashing them with a cold penetrating wind.
A handful of friends and three women accompanied the corpse; even his devoted wife Constanze stayed at home. Those that did attend stood around the black-draped briar, huddled under umbrellas held in frozen hands, shivering in wet cloaks, and stamping their cold feet for warmth. Following the short funeral service at St. Stephen’s Cathedral, the body was taken to St Marx Cemetery.
As the storm grew more violent and the sky darkened, even those few devoted friends turned back at the Stuben Gate, heading for the sanctuary of the Silver Snake tavern. The bagged body was then dumped and interred in an unmarked grave by indifferent gravediggers who, due to the miserable weather, were impatient to be paid and get home.
The body that had nurtured and protected the energy of a priceless spirit, responsible for the exquisite harmonies and melodic inspiration of euphoria, pathos, and architectural elegance, was hastily covered by clods of snow-hardened earth. The date – December 7, 1791. The burial was that of a poor man; a third-class funeral and his wife chose not to erect any cross or marking to his memory.
The hordes of aristocrats, dignitaries, generals, Burgmeisters, businessmen, publishers, Freemasons, singers, actresses, and lovers who had all previously lavished plaudits and benefits upon his golden head were nowhere to be seen at his final resting place. Not even, a family member attended. The only exception was Salieri his teacher and benefactor who stood and wept.
In that common unmarked grave was buried Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, known affectionately to his family as Amadeus (‘loved by God’). Arguably the greatest musician of all time and Austria’s most distinguished son, he ranks today alongside such acclaimed intellectual giants as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Shakespeare and Galileo.
The composer Haydn wrote, “I could not believe that Providence should so soon summon an irreplaceable man to the other world. He was truly a great musician. I have been often flattered by my friends with having some genius; but he was much superior:’
Every music connoisseur considered Mozart irreplaceable and, in life, he had many friends and a loving family. That in death he was abandoned by almost all of society is scandalous and, as with the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, John Lennon and the recently disputed passing of Diana, Princess of Wales, the bizarre circumstances of Mozart’s death have led to conspiracy theories abound.
There are more than 150 hypotheses of how Mozart met his end. In his biography, Georg Von Nissen states that Mozart’s illness lasted for 15 days, ending with his death around midnight of December 5, 1791. Neither of Mozart’s attending physicians prepared a death certificate with the cause of death stated. Numerous medical experts suggest that it was simply ill health, caused by exhaustion, an unhealthy lifestyle and various infections.
The illnesses suggested range from typhoid fever and tuberculosis to hepatitis and rheumatic fever. A strong contender, however, is infective endocarditis – an inflammation of the interior surfaces of the heart and valves. It could even have been his favourite food, pork, which killed him, as ‘trichinosis’ – a disease spread by improperly cooked meat – was rife at the time. A notorious womaniser, other academics believe he had been suffering from syphilis and he miscalculated the dose of mercury required and, thus, killed himself.
Some conspiracy theorists believe that Mozart was poisoned by his enemies because, according to witnesses, his body swelled up after death. One version tells that Mozart had an affair with Magdalena Hofdemel, the 23-year-old wife of a fellow Masonic Lodge brother, Franz Hofdemel. Beethoven alleged the two were lovers and her husband found out. On discovering the affair, Franz poisoned Mozart before attempting to kill his wife and commit suicide.
There are reports that the day after Mozart’s funeral, Hofdemel savagely attacked Magdalena during an argument, leaving her in a pool of blood, and then cut his own throat with the same razor. Magdalena. who was pregnant, survived the attack and gave birth to a boy whom she named after both Mozart and her husband.
This incredible series of events would appear to lend credence to that theory, however, in the days following Mozart’s burial, rumours rapidly spread around Vienna that he had, in fact, been poisoned by the Italian maestro Salieri. Advocates of this theory skillfully and determinedly spread the rumour that Salieri had been jealous of Mozart’s genius and wanted him removed from the scene.
Antonio Salieri born 18 August 1750– 7 May 1825, was an Italian composer, conductor and teacher born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, who spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg Monarchy.
At a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony a leaflet was distributed amongst concertgoers containing a poem, depicting Salieri as Mozart’s rival “standing by his side with the poisoned cup.”
It is puzzling that Salieri has long been the prime suspect and depicted as the perfect perpetrator. Peter Shaffer’s powerful play Amadeus and the subsequent movie by Milos Foreman put the blame squarely at Salieri’s door, yet evidence points to the contrary.
Salieri was the Kapellmeister to the court and held a position of power as Emperor Joseph II’s chief musician. In addition to possessing a far greater wealth than Mozart, he was a composer of the highest reputation, an important teacher of composition, and renowned in his own right. His pupils, who included Mozart, Beethoven, Czerny, Schubert, Liszt, Hummel, Siissmayr, Sechter, Meyerbeer and Moscheles, loved and respected him, even the notoriously difficult Beethoven.
According to Anselm Huttenbrenner, another composer, Salieri always spoke of Mozart “with exceptional respect,” and often loaned Mozart scores from the court library. Beethoven never accepted Salieri’s culpability and even Mozart’s wife insisted that Salieri taught their son Franz. In 1807, he gave the boy a written testimonial, which secured his first musical appointment. Salieri denied murdering Mozart until his dying day.
That is not to say that Mozart did not have enemies in high places and various authors allege that the Freemasons orchestrated his final demise. The Masons were reluctantly tolerated but placed under constant scrutiny by the Catholic Church.
In 1781, Mozart was dismissed from the service of the Archbishop of Salzburg, becoming a Mason three years later at the age of 28. As a member of the New Crown Freemason Lodge, he wrote works for Lodges, including the Masonic Funeral Music in C minor.
It is claimed that, because of his involvement with the Masons, Mozart had become a suspect to the Austrian Emperor and his oafish behaviour, often insulting other esteemed musicians, did not help his cause. He once publicly said to Haydn, “I will make an exception of you, but all the other composers are veritable asses!” Later, in front of Emperor Joseph, he pointed to the Italo-German orchestra and loudly complained, “How on earth can I do anything with this collection of invalids?”
Mozart was invariably the object of plots, which he provoked by his careless manner, mimicking and thumbing his nose at the aristocracy, such as when he bought six small Polish ponies for his carriage. By law, only princes were allowed to have six horses, but Mozart boasted that he was within his rights to be drawn by ponies.
A passionate but poor billiard-player, he gambled for high stakes, often losing and owing money; he was much more interested in meeting the famous billiard players that visited Vienna than any eminent musicians.
In 1861, the German researcher Georg F. Daumcr presented the Masonic murder theory. Daumcr suggested that the Freemasons had killed Mozart as punishment for The Magic Flute, his last opera. Rich in Freemasonry symbolism and numerology, the brothers feared that the opera disclosed their secret rituals and challenged their doctrines and, therefore, Mozart had broken the Masonic Oath of Secrecy.
Other Germans, notably General Erich Ludendorrf and his wife Mathilde, elaborated on Daumer’s work and, in their writings, claim that the ‘grey messenger’ who ordered the Requiem was not the agent of Count von Walsegg, as previously suggested, but actually an emissary of the Masons who announced Mozart’s death sentence.
Rehearsals for The Magic Flute had already begun when Mozart received a visit from that tall, solemn stranger dressed completely in grey. The grave visitor presented an anonymous letter commissioning Mozart to compose a Requiem as soon as possible at whatever price. Scared of the man, he did not want the job but reluctandy agreed. Mozart fuelled these rumours by telling Constanze “I am only too conscious my end will not be long in coming; for sure, someone has poisoned me!” Six months before his death, he confided to a friend that “someone has given me acqua toffana and has calculated the precise time of my death:’
He often wept over the composition of the elegy, and would say “That is my own Requiem…” When looked at all together, these seem like more than the ramblings of a paranoid hypochondriac.
The musicologist Igor Boelza considered the strange circumstances that surrounded Mozart’s funeral and burial – referred to by German writers as ‘the burial question’ – to be proof of this murder conspiracy. That so few people attended the funeral of a major celebrity suggests that something was amiss. Boelza also asserted that the number 18 is foremost in the music and libretto of The Magic Flute and, by a deliberate association with the eighteenth degree of Masonry, Mozart’s death was registered so as to make it conspicuous to those in the know.
In 1967, the German physician Dr. Dieter Kerner and his colleagues discovered that on November 18,1791, Mozart’s Masonic cantata was performed – exactly eighteen days before his death. They point out that a ‘Hermes stele’ on an engraving on the frontispiece of the first libretto of The Magic Flute, made by the Freemason Ignatz Alberti, shows eight allegories of Mercury, the Roman God who gave his name to the poison that Kerner hints killed Mozart. In alchemy, the colour grey and the number eight also represent the planet Mercury, another illusion to the ‘Grey Messenger’ that Mozart feared. These inferences to Mercury insinuate that several people knew about the ‘murder’.
The truth will never be known; without a forensic examination of the body using DNA technology his demise will forever remain a mystery as intriguing as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself. Born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 28, 1756 he was the seventh child of Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart. His father, though born in Salzburg, was actually an Ausburg citizen and was an excellent violinist and orchestra leader.
Discovering his son’s amazing talent for music, he began teaching him. The little boy learned complicated compositions in minutes, and it was not long before Wolfgang gave his first public performance in Linz on October 1, 1762. From that date, he was launched into a series of tours, which made the young prodigy and the entire family internationally famous. After seeing the young Mozart perform, the poet Meschini wrote: “If Orpheus enraptured the forests, if Tartarus he moved, now thou stealest men’s hearts, child, and movest the stars.”
The blond ‘wonderchild’ stunned royalty and public alike, gifted with an ability of composing incredible feats of music in impossibly short periods of time, and composing symphonies by the time he was six years old. “Able in his infancy to do anything he pleased in music, from the simplest sonata to the most elaborate symphony from the subtlest comic or tragic opera to frugal settings of the Mass,” as Bernard Shaw once wrote.
However, the constant touring and study had its downside, as Mozart’s health was affected and, from time to time, he suffered from various ailments. It is almost as amazing as his talent itself that the young boy survived a series of diseases and his father’s irregular cures. As he matured, his desire and ability to compose more complex and demanding works increased along with his popularity in all the capitals of Europe.
His largest opera composed for Munich was Idomeneus and then followed the popular works Cosi Fan Tutte, Figaro and Titus. Surprisingly, all his operas were failures in Vienna except his last, The Magic Flute.
He was the first composer to promote and perform opera in German, instead of the Italian ‘language of music’ which was predominant and the fashion. He predated Richard Wagner as the first nationalist in German music. In 1783 he wrote to his father,”Each nation has its opera… why shouldn’t we Germans have it?” With The Magic Flute, he achieved the perfect synthesis of music and the German language that Wagner loved and considered the first German opera. In today’s politically correct, multicultural world, Mozart would undoubtedly be condemned for his nationalistic views.
The 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth is now being celebrated in his native Austria and around the world. CDs of his ‘greatest hits’ are being repackaged and promoted by slick record company executives, as Mozart-themed music boxes, chocolates, perfumes, umbrellas and an array of cheap memorabilia keep the tills filled with cash.
Isaiah Berlin’s enduring quote, “When the angels play for God they play Bach; but if they play for themselves they play Mozart” is once again being dusted off and recited by the elite figures that attend glamorous champagne-soaked gatherings and proclaim their profound devotion to the memory of the illustrious man and his music.
It is a peculiar trait of society that, as was the case during Mozart’s lifetime, we feel comfortable basking in the reflected glory of the genius that brought tourism, prestige and money to Salzburg. And, just as on that dark and gloomy day in 1791, few if any will mention the ignominious manner of his death and burial.
Mozart’s phenomenal devotion to his work remained with him throughout his life and elevated him above his contemporaries. He gave hundreds of brilliant performances as a pianist and conductor, scoring musical arrangements and giving lessons to key pupils.
Mozart composed: 20 staged operas, including Don Giovanni (composed in just six weeks),
17 Masses
One requiem;
Nine Litanies;
Seven Oratorios;
five ballets;
127 variations for Piano ;
49 scenas with orchestra
41 symphonies, 28 concertos for piano and orchestra
26 songs and Canons
36 minuets
25 country dances
49 German dances
16 concertos for string and wind instruments
31 sonatas for piano violin and flute;
36 minuets
18 variations for piano and violin
17 piano sonatas
27 string quartet works as well as hundreds of other unspecified pieces.
Europe and Its Youth: What’s Happening?
By Mariarosaria Iorio, Political analyst.
When I Was a University Student … As a student in Naples, I faced many challenges, including, among other things, overcrowded university rooms, professors who only remembered me as my registration number (my number was 4,220), and unemployment waiting at the end of my studies. When the Erasmus program (a European Union–funded program for student mobility in Europe) was publicized at the Istituto Universitario l’Orientale, where I was studying, I thought that my dream of studying abroad for a while could come true. Great! I passed the exam and won an Erasmus fellowship to complete part of my studies at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. I had no idea what to expect and had never heard of such a university. During my stay in Louvain-la-Neuve, I had a chance to travel from Brussels to Amsterdam, Bruges, and Antwerp by train. I met new friends and learned a new language (Spanish, with a Spanish friend who did not speak French). The experience changed my life. It opened my eyes to the possibilities offered by a different country. It made me more critical of my own country of origin (Italy) and its dysfunction. It made me a European citizen! It gave me the chance to gain confidence in myself, as I could adapt to and move around in different countries. I made new friends and discovered the open space of Europe. I felt the hope of “Yes, I can.” I became ready to fight for a better place once I returned to my own hometown because I saw that a different reality existed. But most of all, the experience made me a strong supporter of the European project. In fact, without Erasmus, I would have had no chance to study abroad. Today, I live in Geneva, work in Brussels, and travel for work all over Africa. I feel disheartened by the mistrust I encounter and by the attempt of a few to make us go back to before European integration was achieved. Although I understand those who believe in a national space that protects and guarantees a comfort zone for its citizens, I find something disturbing in that type of reasoning. Do we need to be protected from other human beings because we are unable to continue creating welfare? Do we want to be first to grasp the benefits of the welfare programs already in existence, which we do anyway? What are we afraid of? When observing the dynamics of the world economy, it is inevitable to note that economic activity is transnational (including illicit economic activities such as mafias). How would a nation alone deal with the complexity of international economic activity as it impacts national employment? My conclusion is that it is only fear that motivates such a discourse, which simplifies the reality and presents the world as a jungle from which Europeans should withdraw and be protected. Fear also motivated the results of the European elections, which were communicated on May 25, 2014, as well as the results of the vote against the free movement of European people, which took place in Switzerland on February 9, 2014. While acknowledging the results, I wondered, What’s happening? After my incredulity subsided came a time for reflection and analysis. My first reaction was this: There is a link between European economic and cultural decadence and the fear of the “unknown” shown in the election results. In fact, as the services economy develops, the control of European people’s movement is very difficult to implement. As a result of the vote of February 9, 2014, the Swiss Confederation has tried hard to fix immigration quotas for Europeans. It is an almost impossible mission. As a result of these events, a number of thoughts came to my mind. I reviewed the major points I had heard from commentators on the election results and also thought about comments made by my friends. Poverty Is Spreading All Over Europe Does the fact that poverty is spreading all over Europe justify the fact that European people wish to “go back to the way things were before”? Before the euro, before free movement, before free trade, before Europe, and before globalization, was reality for Europeans less tough? The pauperization of the European population is a fact. Poverty is touching middle classes and youth in a dramatic manner all over Europe (with an exception made for Germany). Youth unemployment is reaching incredibly high points. For instance, in Italy, the average of youth unemployment is 25 percent (which is the national average; in the southern part of the country, it is as high as 46 percent, as revealed in Istat [the Italian National Institute for Statistics] data communicated on June 3, 2014). The middle class which had been driving European development, is now more and more pauperized. Thus, it has lost its pivotal role in social stabilization. The European elites’ optimism, mostly characterized by a faith in a federal Europe, does not account for the growing frustration of the working classes and average citizens who face the challenge of making a living without hope for the future of the European project. Although they are not aware of the technicalities of the European project and experience difficulty in making a causal link between Europe and the solution of national crises, European citizens are subject to a lack of appropriate industrial and social policies. Also, they see their incomes eroded by the high cost of living and cannot imagine their children’s future because of high unemployment rates, lack of competitiveness, and lack of creativity among European entrepreneurs. As it goes with public hysteria, an “enemy” has to be found somewhere: the closest one after immigrants is Europe! So, while free-market political philosophy has not brought the welfare expected in Europe, socialist parties have lost their ideological basis. They have given up on redistributive political aims and have turned toward social-liberal political philosophies. This centrist shift of socialist parties encouraged extremes to emerge and mobilize Europeans (naturally, with some nuances, depending on countries’ national realities. France is more on the right side of the political spectrum, while Spain is more on the left side). All parties claim to pursue the same objective. Change This Europe! The Question Is, How? Social dialogue between the capitalists and the working classes to boost growth and make a common project is a challenge, of course. The whole relationship between capital and work must be revised, along with the political thinking of European leaders. They should stop using Europe for their internal electoral purposes, which keeps a more substantial European integration in limbo. This is particularly true as it regards the shift from national to European competence in immigration policies, foreign affairs, defense, and economic and financial management, including employment. National politicians want to convince their electors that they can still impact economic trends, e.g., reduce unemployment. In reality, in the global economy, national governments do have a smaller and smaller impact on such things. The time has come to admit this fact. It is time to acknowledge that further integration is the only solution. No European nation can face alone international competition—not even France! Meanwhile, Europe must bring positive results, namely growth and employment. Social dumping in Europe is the result of a lack of serious economic policies at the European level. National states remain ambiguous in this regard. In Italy, for example, the European elections confirmed the Democratic Party as the party in power (it received 40 percent of the vote). Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, has used this result to reinforce his national statement on national reforms without clearly explaining his party’s project or his plans for the European project. Italy Took Over the European Presidency as of July 1, 2014. Is there a European project proposed by Italy, by the way? Apparently, Italy will “help to change Europe.” It would be useful for Italian citizens to know what the plans are! Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi intends to boost demand-driven growth, competitiveness, and employment. These are definitely key issues. As a matter of fact, competitiveness is related to educational and production systems. The questions that remain open are as follows: How to promote innovation in Europe in general and in Italy in particular? How again to give Europeans confidence in the future? Matteo Renzi should take appropriate measures, including employment creation measures such as public works and identification of sectors with high employment potential, such as tourism (a totally abandoned and unprofessional sector at the moment); training possibilities abroad for youth and university students; and reestablishing contact with Italians abroad to use their competencies and networks to support the government’s action. At the moment, Italians are seen abroad as “privileged” instead of as exported human capital. Deficit Rules Deficit rules established by the European Commission caused the current situation. Is there a causality link between the European austerity rule of the 3 percent deficit and the actual stagnation of European economies? It is because states have overspent and have not promoted or sustained innovation that Europe is in such a deep economic crisis. European institutions do not carry the responsibility for the current situation. Going back to the Europe of nations as well as to national currencies is not the solution, as production models have moved beyond nations. Furthermore, this crisis results from the nationalist and fragmented approach of European nations in crucial areas such as employment and social policy. National politicians use the European process in their own national interest and shape their discourses on Europe depending on their own national political spectrum: Europe is the cause of national weaknesses when nations do not manage to follow through on electoral promises and when their incompetence to face challenges is shown, as in the case of immigration policies. It came to my mind that Europe has to move toward deeper and faster integration by shifting from a midway approach (divided between national and European competence) to a more clearly democratically based European system of functioning. If Europe were able to produce, export, and create welfare rather than poverty, then the immigration issue would be a nonissue, as the economy would be able to absorb both nationals and foreign workers. It is because Europe is lacking in growth, innovation, and welfare that the fear of the “other” is developing. This fear is encouraged, particularly by the extreme right-wing parties. Immigration In reality, in most cases, the immigration percentage remains low as compared to the total European population. Usually, immigrants are employed in jobs at the lowest level of the pyramid and for which no European worker has been available for a while. However, this trend is changing in some countries, e.g., Italy, where Italians are coming back to jobs previously only performed by Eastern Europeans—for example, elders’ care. In reality, immigration is the other side of the coin of the economic global structure. As it concerns non-European countries’ immigration, the relationship between immigration flows and development policies should be reassessed. Historical reasons, e.g., in the case of France and England, and geographical proximity, e.g., in the case of Italy and Spain, are the reasons for regular flows. Either the dream of a better life or the wish to see “how it is someplace else” is the main motivation for immigration. The international division of labor is still a cause for the hopelessness of the youth population in developing countries. How can that change? It can change if local populations develop an awareness that a better future can only come if people fight for their rights and openup to the world, thereby leaving behind ancient habits and mental dependence on European colonial powers. The movement of European people is a natural integration-process result that should not be discussed. It sounds like a surreal issue. What’s Next? By having a right-wing-based European parliament, the European project will turn toward further liberalism and the weakening of European institutions, while bringing more competition among European nations. This is not what it is needed to face international competition and globalization (which will move on, whether Europeans like or not). We indeed need a stronger Europe and a more integrated federal structure to face the world market and to create a more socialist Europe. The European project opens enormous opportunities for youth and European citizens. It needs, however, clarification and transparency of at least four main issues, namely the following: 1. A deeper political integration process is needed. European leaders should now pass to the next stage, which is federal Europe. Traditional national competencies, namely immigration, defense, and foreign policies, should shift into the European sphere. European institutions should be strengthened and quality of staff guaranteed through technical competence rather than general intelligence tests. A clear commitment to the European cause should be part of staff recruitment requirements. 2. A campaign focused on the achievements and contribution of European funds and initiatives should be launched in all member states. European initiatives and work are not well-known enough to the general public. 3. An informational campaign to make technical issues such as the budget deficit plain would help decrease the populist space of right-wing parties. 4. The social and demand-driven economic project should be pursued. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has proposed a more demand-driven Europe. This is a very timely idea. The question is how to strengthen the employment-creation policies? In fact, creation of employment opportunities should be linked to innovation and new sectors’ development. Europe remains locked into a traditional-economy view. 5. It distrusts innovative ideas and does not encourage entrepreneurship. A European program should be launched to support and promote new ideas to be developed into businesses. 6. The national educational systems should be revised. In most cases, they remain focused on encyclopedia knowledge, thus discouraging children from creating and “thinking outside the box.” I am a European, I believe in the future, and I want an open and justice-based Europe. It is possible. We should all work toward a more integrated and friendly Europe. Europe has come a long way since 1957. Its efforts shall continue to make Europe an actor of international relevance. This article is an extract of the book Global Governance Trade and the Crisis in Europe. Available at: http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Author/Default.aspx?BookworksSId=SKU-000978461New regulations on fixed-term employment contracts
By Jan Dop.
Special contribution for Diplomat Magazine.
Jan Dop, LL.M. is a partner and Head of the Embassy Desk at Russell Advocaten (embassydesk@russell.nl). More information about the expertise at Russell Advocaten for Embassies, Consulates and Diplomats can be found at: www.russell.nl.
There will be major changes to employment law in the Netherlands in 2015. These changes include strengthening of the legal position of flex workers, reforming dismissal law, and amending the Unemployment Insurance Act. Some of the changes will have serious consequences for the locally hired personnel of Embassies, Consulates and Diplomats. We will discuss these amendments in a series of articles in Diplomat Magazine. The first of these articles deals with a number of changes to fixed-term employment contracts which became effective on 1 January 2015.
No probationary period in short fixed-term employment contracts
The rules and regulations of the home countries of Embassies often provide probationary periods of three months or even longer. Dutch employment law is much stricter on that subject and has become even more strict. The following regulations have become effective on 1 January 2015:
Parties to an employment contract for an indefinite duration or a fixed term of more than two years can agree on a probationary period for a maximum of two months. In case the duration of an employment contract is less than two years, the probationary period may not exceed one month. Employment contracts for a period of six months or less may no longer include a probationary period.
A probationary period will only have legal effect if it is agreed upon in writing and if the period is exactly the same for both parties. During the probationary period, both parties may terminate the contract without prior notice. The termination takes effect immediately, irrespective of prohibitions of termination such as sickness or pregnancy. However, the reason for termination may not be one of these legal prohibitions.
Term of notification
Upon the expiry of a fixed-term employment contract lasting six months or longer, the employer must notify the employee at least one month before the employment contract expires about (1) whether or not the employment contract will be renewed and (2) the conditions under which the employment contract might be continued. If the employer fails to notify the employee entirely about whether or not the employment contract will be renewed, the employee will be entitled to a compensation of one month’s salary. In the event the employee will not be notified in a timely manner, the employer must pay a compensation pro rata.
On 1 January 2015, the term of notification has become effective for all existing and new fixed-term employment contracts of six months or longer.
Limiting exception of obligation to continue to pay salary
The period in which the obligation to continue to pay salary may be excluded (for instance, in the event of illness or reduction of activities) will be limited. As regards the first six months of the employment contract, it will remain difficult to exclude the obligation to continue to pay salary from individual employment contracts. The possibility to exclude the obligation to continue to pay salary will remain effective for employment agreements entered into before 1 January 2015.
Our next contribution to Diplomat Magazine will deal with the tightening of the regulation regarding successive fixed-term contracts as of 1 July 2015.
Lunch meeting
Russell Advocaten will host a lunch meeting titled “Major consequences for Embassies due to changes in Dutch Employment Law” on these and other new employment law issues on 9 February 2015.
The year 2015 marks the T.M.C. Asser Instituut’s 50th anniversary
On 13 December 1965, the inter-university institute for international law, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, was founded. The moment was sealed when representatives from eight Dutch universities, signed the “Gemeenschappelijke Regeling” [Joint Memorandum of Association] in the fitting surroundings of the small court room of the Peace Palace in The Hague.
Throughout its 50 years of existence, the Institute has remained close to its inter-university origins. It has continually served and closely collaborated with its, now nine, university stakeholders in the areas of documentation and (fundamental and applied) research; providing for post-graduate education for professionals in the Netherlands and notably abroad; valorising research results through the organisation of a multitude of seminars, conferences, lectures and lunch & learn sessions as well as publishing scholarly work from both nationally and internationally acclaimed academics. Examples of these activities can be found on our website (www.asser.nl).
Celebrations have commenced. Our renewed Asser website was launched at the beginning of January as was our new inter-active community environment (www.asser.academy).
In line with our academic community organising mission, and in addition to our planned, regular Asser activities this year, we will also organise four unique symposiums where the focus will be on looking ahead at new perspectives and developments in the distinct areas of research covered by the Institute’s academic staff. These gatherings aim to engage a broad segment of the academic and other communities.
Thursday 19 March 2015 is the date to note for the Private International Law Symposium on International civil procedure and Brussels Ibis.
This one-day event will see several renowned speakers convene to analyse and discuss the changes the Brussels Ibis Regulation has brought to the current state of international civil procedure when it comes to forum selections clauses and the enforcement of foreign, as well as recent developments in the broader scope of private international law unification.
Should you wish to attend this symposium, please complete the online registration form. Programme details and registration information for the other symposiums will become available soon, but meanwhile save the dates:
23 April 2015: European Law Symposium Better Regulation in the EU revisited. Benefiting Business and Citizens
18 June 2015: International and European Sports Law Symposium 20 years later: the Legacy of Bosman.
15 October 2015: Public International Law Symposium International Legal Aspects in Countering Piracy
“Protecting fundamental rights in the international arena: public, private and European law perspectives” is the title of the book being prepared by the senior staff members of Asser’s research department. Here, colleagues will pool their strengths in realising this unique publication and critically assess how fundamental rights are protected in the international arena.
We will close this special celebratory year (date to be confirmed), by organising a festive gathering for all stakeholders and guests who have been and will continue to be important for our organisation and the work we will continue to perform.
Please watch our website for more information regarding our festive year and associated activities. Join the celebrations!
Promoting the rule of law in the Western-Balkan countries and Turkey
T.M.C. Asser Workshops: Promoting the rule of law and strengthening the judiciary in the Western-Balkan countries and Turkey
By Dr Tamara Takács, Senior Researcher T.M.C. Asser Instituut
Utilising their expertise in the areas of international law, human rights and the rule of law, senior experts from the T.M.C. Asser Instituut designed and delivered a series of five workshops for legal professionals in the period November 2014 to January 2015, focusing on topics that are of particular relevance to the legal systems and experiences of the Western Balkan states and Turkey.
Below, brief reflections on two of the workshops, namely the Role of the judiciary in fighting corruption held in Skopje, Macedonia and Legal Aid held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. These workshops brought together judges, prosecutors and policy-makers to discuss the most pressing challenges in and reform aspirations for their states with respect to these two subject areas. At both workshops the participants of the target countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Turkey) presented and evaluated the overall legal framework in their respective countries, as well as the major hurdles and everyday challenges that members of the judiciary face. Lively discussion followed suit, which allowed for the sharing of views, best practices and offering suggestions among the participants.
The participants at the workshop in Skopje took particular note of the various challenges present in the fight against corruption, such as: institutional fragmentation that halts prosecution of corruption cases, the highly politicised character of some of the cases that come before judges and prosecutors, and, in some instances the lack of adequate deterrent sanctions. Positive experiences were also noted by pointing out successful investigations into and prosecution of corruption cases, and exposure of high-profile corruption incidents. The workshop also included representatives from the Office for Organized Crime and Corruption in Skopje and Transparency International’s Macedonia branch.
The workshop in Sarajevo focused on the promotion of access to justice and legal aid mechanisms and offered insight into each participating country’s particular situation with respect to these important issues. Financial constraints, an underdeveloped legal framework with respect to these subjects and a lack of information of the general public were highlighted as major obstacles to promoting access to justice and an effective legal aid system. At the same time, the important contribution that non-governmental organisations (“NGOs”) make in providing legal assistance to those seeking remedies through the legal process was highlighted as a distinct positive development in most of these countries. The programme was complemented by a presentation from a representative of a legal aid NGO, followed by a presentation from a representative of the Dutch Legal Aid Board on Dutch best practices in providing legal aid mechanisms.
The final workshop in the series, Enhancing the use of ADR, took place in Belgrade, Serbia on 23 January 2015.
This series of workshops drew participants from the alumni of the MATRA Patrol programme (see http://www.asser.nl/education-training/matra-patrol/). The project has been sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
OSCE – Chairmanship of the Republic of Serbia in 2015
By H. E. Petar Vico, Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
On the 15th of January 2015 Republic of Serbia took over the Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act – the document which gives guidance on the norms and principles we are committed to. Although much has changed since then, our responsibility to act consistently in defense of the very norms and principles of this document is ever more relevant. The notions that prevail in this legacy are those of dialogue and compromise, peaceful resolution of disputes, confidence-building and cooperation. They will be the main principles of our Chairmanship in addressing the current challenges we are all facing. Based on these fundamental principles upon which the OSCE was founded, we will also place high on the agenda the resolution of protracted conflicts in the OSCE area through agreed formats. We believe that there is room to try to move away from the status quo and we should step up our efforts in that direction.
Indeed, our OSCE Chairmanship comes at a very difficult moment. The situation in Ukraine continues to pose a serious challenge and our main priority is to support all efforts which can lead towards a peaceful solution. There is a deep concern over the escalation of violence in Ukraine. The situation can not be settled on the battleground but only at the negotiating table. Together with the Troika, we work with the main stakeholders on the peaceful solution through dialogue. We strongly support the work of the Trilateral Contact Group and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. Republic of Serbia acts as an honest and neutral broker which has one main goal – to contribute in reaching sustainable peace and security.
We strongly believe that the Chairmanship of a country from the Western Balkans will bring significant value to the work of Organization, particularly in the light of translating the lessons learned from our experiences to the wider OSCE geography. Experience we have as a post-conflict society built on a series of negotiations and agreements can not only contribute, but also be a valuable negotiating advantage when dealing with current issues.
Serbia is an important factor of regional stability and economic development and we have been investing a great deal of effort into improving relations in the region. Western Balkans was a region of conflict for too long. During the flooding in May last year, the Balkan region had shown through solidarity and cooperation that it belonged to the system of values fostered by the European Union and, in some way, demonstrated what a fundamental regional cooperation really means. During our Chairmanship we will pay special attention to the regional cooperation because we strongly believe that this segment of international relations is the basic pillar of the security and stability in the OSCE region.
Recent tragic events all around the world have unfortunately highlighted once again that the international community should remain vigilant in the face of emerging terrorist threats. In that light we will devote particular attention to the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters, violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism, particularly the radicalization of youth.
Other than the counter-terrorism issues, activities in the first dimension will be focused on emerging threats of cyber-security, mutual impact between organized crime and countering trafficking in human beings and irregular migrations, as well as on the issues of security sector governance and reform. Second dimension will address the issues which are partly motivated by our national priorities such as anti-corruption, water governance and disaster risk reduction and preparedness. We will strive to further update and strengthen the implementation of all OSCE human dimension commitments through strengthening national institutions for protection of human rights. Emphasis will be on the rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom of the media, including safety of journalists, freedom of assembly and association, protection of rights of persons belonging to national minorities and promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination.
The OSCE Chairmanship is a great international recognition for the Republic of Serbia and we will spare no effort to justify this trust. We are aware that a lot of work is ahead of us, but being a serious and credible partner, we will continue to work on finding the best ways and mechanisms to implement OSCE principles for solving crisis and improving the security and cooperation in Europe.
The world’s legal capital, a project under construction
By , Steven Hoogstraten, Carnegie Foundation.
In 2012, the City of The Hague has been given the right to include the two terms “Peace” and “Justice” in its coat of arms. This was done by an official decree, ending the primacy of the Haagse Ooievaar (The Hague Stork), which one could find on the letterhead of the city’s administration. This caricature was dubbed as the Reiger by the Haguenois (say “de règer” to come close to the city’s dialect). So Peace and Justice came to replace an old feature of the city, and those who are working in the world of international relations will be pleased with this development.
So the City of The Hague is definitely a city of international orientation, a city where these notions of peace and justice are important. Everyone will understand that this image is based on the work of the international institutions, which produce a unique mix of administration of justice and international regulation, like the International Court of Justice of the United Nations and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (both in the Peace Palace), the International Criminal Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and The Hague Conference on Private International Law.
These are the key international players, I could go on with other notable institutions in the sphere of European cooperation (Eurojust, Europol) and the NGO’s. The creation of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia led for the first time to the notion of The Hague as the “Judicial Capital of the World”, which developed over time in what the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called “the Legal Capital of the World, the Epicentre of Justice and Accountability”. These were the exact words he used in his speech during the centenary celebration of the Peace Palace in 2013.
It is tempting to continue on the work of the international institutions, but for this article I would like to highlight the layer of activities which one finds underneath the level of official institutions. The second Peace Conference of 1907, supported by the legacy of Hugo Grotius and the work of Tobias Asser, led to the creation of The Hague Academy of International Law.
Since 1923 , academic summer courses on international law – both public law and private law – have been organized in the Peace Palace. These courses bring some 600 students to The Hague for 3 weeks. So, well over 40.000 students have been formed in The Hague, enjoyed the city in all respects, stayed with hospitable landlords and landladies. They make for an impressive group of alumni.
The same can be said about the Institute of Social Studies which has given extensive education and training to many students from the developing world. At the Institute of Social Studies the students normally stay for an educational program which takes a longer period of time.
When the diplomatic conference on the International Criminal Court had to decide on the location of its Headquarters ( his was in 1994) many delegates said to the visiting Mayor of The Hague Wim Deetman of that time : “We know The Hague well, because we participated in the work of The Hague Academy or the Institute of Social Studies.” And The Hague became the preferred partner for the International Criminal Court. The city is now allowing for a 300 million new headquarters to be built on the corner of the Waalsdorperweg and Alkemadelaan. The court is a major asset for the further development of The Hague.
Staying on the path of the academic institutions, the T.M.C. Asser Institute has over nearly 50 years built a name for itself as an interuniversity institute for study and teaching of international law. It is part of the structure of the University of Amsterdam, in the sense that the funding comes from this university.
The same story of international awareness and fame can be attributed to the Clingendael Institute, which is essentially devoted to international relations, and is or should be the diplomatic school of the Netherlands. The experts of Clingendael Institute are often asked to give their comments on the Dutch radio and TV about international defence matters, energy policy, or the Middle East and so on. Other partners of The Hague Academic Coalition (HAC) are showing an eagerness to play their distinctive roles in the international arena, like The Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (Hill) with its innovative legal concepts.
Still on its way up is The Hague Institute for Global Justice (THIGJ), meant to be a strong think & do tank for questions of international justice, more in particular the interface of justice, peace and global governance.
The Netherlands Government made the start of this institute possible with a royal subsidy, but does expect The Hague Institute for Global Justice to become funded by external (non-government) sources by 2017 /2018. The ambitions of The Hague Institute for Global Justice can be seen as becoming a sort of Brookings at the North Sea, and its staff are working hard to deliver high quality services and create a professional profile which does not take the place of other more established institutions.
With the Leiden University now well implanted in The Hague (2000 students, Grotius Centre for International Law, and a University College for promising young students), with the Haagse Hogeschool (The Hague University of Applied Sciences) bringing over 10.000 students to The Hague, and the Technical University of Delft now on its way to also start programs in The Hague, one can safely say that The Hague is gradually attracting a serious academic profile, even without having its own Alma Mater.
I think it would be a good idea to make all this more visible, for instance with one official day of the year in full colours, in a location of some importance and a speech looks at the ethics of international justice. Such an event could well set the agenda for the Legal Capital for the year to come. It would fill a void, which I notice basically every day: we are all very active but the grand design is missing. The concept of the Legal Capital of the World is founded on the pillars of the institutions, but the open debate, the statements by high level visitors and sparkling intellectual exchanges are too limited. In some way or other we have not yet been able to get this organized.
As I said in the beginning, the coat of arms of our City of The Hague mentions Peace and Justice as the central notions, which means that the basis of an important heritage is there. But we still have to do a good deal of shaping of that heritage in the years to come. Be open to visits by journalists and legal professionals, attract visiting professors, organize public and televised debates, create a structure where public and private partners can meet, are all elements of a more structural approach. The same goes for being ready to host international negotiations or mediations, which seem to stick to Geneva or to capitals of other countries. It would help undeniably if support would be forthcoming for the cultural side of the efforts in the field of peace and justice like the recent week of the Orchestre pour la Paix, which will go on to play in Geneva and New York if sufficient funds can be found.
We should find a way to reinstate The Hague Prize for International Law, which has its place next to the more peace oriented Carnegie Wateler Peace Prize which was awarded in the Peace Palace in an elegant fashion in 2014 to Algerian Lakhdar Brahimi, the famed UN envoy and mediator. These are just a few thoughts on how we can improve a quality which is inherently available but needs to be polished.
It is tempting to continue on the work of the international institutions, but for this article I would like to highlight the layer of activities which one finds underneath the level of official institutions. The second Peace Conference of 1907, supported by the legacy of Hugo Grotius and the work of Tobias Asser, led to the creation of The Hague Academy of International Law.
Since 1923 , academic summer courses on international law – both public law and private law – have been organized in the Peace Palace. These courses bring some 600 students to The Hague for 3 weeks. So, well over 40.000 students have been formed in The Hague, enjoyed the city in all respects, stayed with hospitable landlords and landladies. They make for an impressive group of alumni.
The same can be said about the Institute of Social Studies which has given extensive education and training to many students from the developing world. At the Institute of Social Studies the students normally stay for an educational program which takes a longer period of time.
When the diplomatic conference on the International Criminal Court had to decide on the location of its Headquarters ( his was in 1994) many delegates said to the visiting Mayor of The Hague Wim Deetman of that time : “We know The Hague well, because we participated in the work of The Hague Academy or the Institute of Social Studies.” And The Hague became the preferred partner for the International Criminal Court. The city is now allowing for a 300 million new headquarters to be built on the corner of the Waalsdorperweg and Alkemadelaan. The court is a major asset for the further development of The Hague.
Staying on the path of the academic institutions, the T.M.C. Asser Institute has over nearly 50 years built a name for itself as an interuniversity institute for study and teaching of international law. It is part of the structure of the University of Amsterdam, in the sense that the funding comes from this university.
The same story of international awareness and fame can be attributed to the Clingendael Institute, which is essentially devoted to international relations, and is or should be the diplomatic school of the Netherlands. The experts of Clingendael Institute are often asked to give their comments on the Dutch radio and TV about international defence matters, energy policy, or the Middle East and so on. Other partners of The Hague Academic Coalition (HAC) are showing an eagerness to play their distinctive roles in the international arena, like The Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (Hill) with its innovative legal concepts.
Still on its way up is The Hague Institute for Global Justice (THIGJ), meant to be a strong think & do tank for questions of international justice, more in particular the interface of justice, peace and global governance.
The Netherlands Government made the start of this institute possible with a royal subsidy, but does expect The Hague Institute for Global Justice to become funded by external (non-government) sources by 2017 /2018. The ambitions of The Hague Institute for Global Justice can be seen as becoming a sort of Brookings at the North Sea, and its staff are working hard to deliver high quality services and create a professional profile which does not take the place of other more established institutions.
With the Leiden University now well implanted in The Hague (2000 students, Grotius Centre for International Law, and a University College for promising young students), with the Haagse Hogeschool (The Hague University of Applied Sciences) bringing over 10.000 students to The Hague, and the Technical University of Delft now on its way to also start programs in The Hague, one can safely say that The Hague is gradually attracting a serious academic profile, even without having its own Alma Mater.
I think it would be a good idea to make all this more visible, for instance with one official day of the year in full colours, in a location of some importance and a speech looks at the ethics of international justice. Such an event could well set the agenda for the Legal Capital for the year to come. It would fill a void, which I notice basically every day: we are all very active but the grand design is missing. The concept of the Legal Capital of the World is founded on the pillars of the institutions, but the open debate, the statements by high level visitors and sparkling intellectual exchanges are too limited. In some way or other we have not yet been able to get this organized.
As I said in the beginning, the coat of arms of our City of The Hague mentions Peace and Justice as the central notions, which means that the basis of an important heritage is there. But we still have to do a good deal of shaping of that heritage in the years to come. Be open to visits by journalists and legal professionals, attract visiting professors, organize public and televised debates, create a structure where public and private partners can meet, are all elements of a more structural approach. The same goes for being ready to host international negotiations or mediations, which seem to stick to Geneva or to capitals of other countries. It would help undeniably if support would be forthcoming for the cultural side of the efforts in the field of peace and justice like the recent week of the Orchestre pour la Paix, which will go on to play in Geneva and New York if sufficient funds can be found.
We should find a way to reinstate The Hague Prize for International Law, which has its place next to the more peace oriented Carnegie Wateler Peace Prize which was awarded in the Peace Palace in an elegant fashion in 2014 to Algerian Lakhdar Brahimi, the famed UN envoy and mediator. These are just a few thoughts on how we can improve a quality which is inherently available but needs to be polished.