New Europe Print Edition Issue 1008

NEWEUROPE19th Year of Publication | Number 1008 | 25 November - 1 December , 2012 | € 3.50 www.neurope.eu

As the world’s population increases andseeks higher living standards, people needmore and more resources. This is particular-ly true in the fields of both primary and elec-tric energy. When looking forward to seehow this can be achieved, I believe it is alsouseful to look backwards so as to learn fromthe errors of the past. Economic develop-ment has always been accompanied by agreater usage of natural resources - but atwhat cost? The European industrial revolu-tion of the 19th and 20th centuries was builton the indiscriminate use of coal. Some saywe got rich by polluting the atmosphere andnow we try to tell others they cannot do thesame. So these days, we cannot discuss ener-gy without also discussing the environment,global diplomacy, economic developmentand social welfare particularly of future gen-

erations. Well, as a politician, an environ-mentalist, an engineer and, not least, amother - I do feel I have something to sayon the subject - especially on nuclear energywhich was my career before politics.

Although this subject is very oftenraised at national or regional level, I wantto emphasise the very global dimensionof both our task and the challenges wemust face to meet that task. For example,whilst individual countries of theEuropean Union have the right to definetheir own energy choices, I do not believethey have the moral right to impact in anegative way upon other Member States,other countries of the world and, indeed,the world itself in terms of indiscriminatedepletion of natural resources and pollu-tion of the planet.

A swift agreement on the EU’s future

budget has slipped away after two days

of intense negotiations between the 27

member state governments passed

without conclusion.

Leaders agreed to call it a day late

afternoon on 23 November and regroup

later for a resumption of talks, with the

possibility of a return date pencilled in

for early in the new year.

Speaking at the end of discussions,

European Council President, Herman

van Rompuy said that failure to agree a

deal this time around should not be

overstated. “There is no need to

dramatise” the breakdown of talks, he

said.

He said that the council would con-

tinue to work with member states over

the coming weeks to “pursue consensus”

on outstanding issues. He said that

bilateral talks and “constructive discus-

sions” should allow for some form of

convergence for further talks at the

beginning of next year. He said that

there “was a political will” amongst

member state governments to recon-

vene for fresh discussions at the begin-

ning of 2013.

European Commission President Jose

Manuel Barroso has also played down

the failure to agree a deal. Like

Herman van Rompuy, he admitted that

differences still exist between member

states, but was confident of agreement

following another round of talks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel

also expressed some optimism that a

deal could be reached after fresh talks

were restarted next year. “We think it is

possible at the beginning of next year

we can come to an agreement”, after

agreeing with Van Rompuy to recon-

vene the talks next year. EU member

states, she said, “should be able to rec-

oncile differences of opinion, and

today's debate was guided generally by

the feeling that this was necessary.”

She said that the objective for the

new year is to forge ahead with a deal.

“The idea is that we find an agreement

and nothing else”, she said.

Return date for budget talks likely for early next year

Nuclear Energy as part of the EU’sDecarbonising Strategy

· Page 3

Fight another day

SERBIARussian Energy MinisterAlexander Novak recentlyannounced that Serbia hasasked for a credit of $1bnfrom Putin...

·Page 26

·Pages 10 -11

JUDICIARYThe chief task of EUJUSTLEX-Iraq is to providetraining to Iraqis workingfor three main componentsof the state apparatus ofIraq: police... ·Page 15

SYRIAFollowing a letter from theTurkish government, NATOhas said that they would stepin as the border control withSyria becomes a bigger burdenon Turkey...

·Page 25

POLITICS In times of austerity the ques-tion of the cost of providingpublic service in multiple lan-guages is contentious.Ethnicconflicts are re-emerging inparticular... ·Page 22

European leaders at the EU Headquarters on 22 November in Brussels, during a two-day European

Union leaders summit called to agree a hotly-contested trillion-euro budget through 2020. European

Union officials were scrambling to find an all but impossible compromise on the 2014-2020 budget

that could successfully move richer nations looking for cutbacks closer to poorer ones who look to

Brussels to prop up hard-hit industries and regions.| AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS

On 21 November, a Kremlin-backedlaw forcing foreign-funded NGOsengaging in political activities to regis-ter themselves as "foreign agents" cameinto effect. However, dozens of NGOsoperating in Russia are refusing tocomply with the new law which passedseveral months ago. On 21 November,the office façade of Memorial rightsgroup in Moscow was spray-paintedwith the words “Foreign Agent(Loves) USA”.

NG 007

·Page 31

When Van Gogh

meets Hiroshige

Page 17

ARTS &CULTURE

NE 10 YEARS AGO

If you take a seat Mr. Cameron, we'll send someone to tell you when the summit has finished. |AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND LANGLOIS

The Shooting Gallery

Ever had the feeling you’re living in an infinite loop? As Albert Einstein said, “Insanity: doing the samething over and over again and expecting different results.” Perhaps that could be carved over the entrance ofthe ECB. A decade ago the Commission were congratulating themselves on amending a council directive toallow investment groups and financial institutions to offer services outside their home nation. This did bringabout the promised stronger economy and a risk-free environment.And we all lived happily ever after.

Put your moneywhere your Mersch isAmid all the squabbling between European governmentsover the make-up of the EU’s next long-term budget -should current spending levels be maintained, cut or frozenin real terms? Is it right to slash cohesion money or reduceagricultural subsidies? - one piece of business did get con-cluded at the European Council Summit on 22 November.Yves Mersch was appointed to the executive board of theEuropean Central Bank (ECB).Mersch, a banker form Luxembourg, has been the subject ofsome controversy; not over his abilities, which were never indoubt, but about gender. In a vote on his appointment at theEuropean Parliament on 25 October, MEPs rejected his ele-vation to the ECB board, on the grounds that, if appointed,Mersch, who would have replaced outgoing memberGonzalez Paramo, would have ensured a male-only board-room. The issue had been raised by the parliament earlier; inMay, Sharon Bowles wrote to Eurogroup President,Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Junker, recom-mending that a female candidate replace Paramo.Following his rejection by parliament, MEPs wrote toEuropean Council President Herman Van Rompuy askingthat the decision be upheld, despite not being legally-bind-ing (EU member states have the final say in the appointmentof ECB board members), and that a female candidate beconsidered.Added to the fact that on 14 November, new European leg-islation has decreed that 40% of top-level corporate posi-tions be taken by women, gender equality is big businessthese days. Announcing the directive, Justice CommissionerViviane Reding (also form Luxembourg) went as far as tosay it was a “historic day for gender balance and equality”.Of course, Mersch’s appointment is a slap in the face; to theEuropean Commission’s own intentions (the commission isreportedly split on the law, while sugar-coating itsannouncement the supposed economic aspects of the legis-lation was stressed over the fundamental rights issue), and tothe concerns of elected officials.Former Belgian Prime Minister, and leader of the Liberalgroup in the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, whohas campaigned solidly for a female ECB candidate, wasn’tbest pleased. He said that any group portrait of ECB mem-bers looks anachronistic, not unlike the Chinese communistparty. He criticised EU governments, saying that the headsof state rejection of the European Parliament’s position is anaffront to democracy, and insults half the population ofEurope.However overstated, Verhofstadt has a point. The council’sdecision to go ahead with the appointment of Mersch was ablatant disregard for the wishes of the only directly electedEU institution. While legally not obliged to follow the rec-ommendations of the European Parliament, the decision toappoint Mersch should not be dismissed so lightly. At a timewhen the EU is under severe pressure to connect with citi-zens – indeed, there is no more sensitive time than budgetnegotiations, which paves the way for every Euroscepticnewspaper to vent their spleen against the undemocraticbureaucracy that governs the EU – this decision, which to acertain extent smacks of the old tactic of burying bad newswhen the press is distracted elsewhere, seems very misjudgedindeed.The council must be confident; does it really believe thatdemocratic processes in Europe are so under-scrutinised?

MANAGING EDITOR

Alia Papageorgiou [email protected]

SENIOR EDITORIAL TEAM

Kostis Geropoulos (Energy & Russian Affairs)

[email protected]

Cillian Donnelly (EU Affairs)[email protected]

Andy Carling (EU Affairs)

[email protected]

Ariti Alamanou (Legal Affairs)

[email protected]

Louise Kissa (Fashion)

[email protected]

Alexandra Coronakis (Columnist)

[email protected]

DIRECTOR

Alexandros [email protected]

EXECUTIVE LAYOUT PRODUCER

Suman Haque

[email protected]

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ISSN number: 1106-8299

02NEW EUROPE25 November - 1 December , 2012

ANALYSIS

EU leaders have come away from anintense two-day summit in Brusselson the make-up of the bloc’s long-term budget without agreeing a deal.

The likely date for the resump-tions of talks is early next year.

EU leaders acknowledged theconvergent positions of memberstates, but expressed a level of op-timism that restarting talks in thenew year would prove to be afruitful tactic.

“The reality is that we are notyet at the point of consensus”, saidEuropean Commission President,Jose Manuel Barroso, after thetalks concluded on 23 November,adding that “another round” ofdiscussions is needed before therecan be a successful conclusion ofdiscussions.

Also speaking after the talksended, European Council Presi-dent Herman Van Rompuy, whosedraft budget proposal, whichsought to reduce the commission’soriginal plan by €80 billion, saidthat “there was no need to drama-tise” the failure to come to a defi-nite conclusion. Like Barroso, heexpressed optimism that moreconvivial talks could be conductedin the new year.

The budget, the multi-annualfinancial framework (MFF),which covers the period 2014-2020, has been the source of

much wrangling between mem-ber states, with some memberstates, such as Sweden and theUK demanding a cut in spending,while others, such as Poland,pushing for current spending lev-els to be maintained.

The European Commission hasproposed a budget of around €1trillion for the seven years, an in-crease of 5% on the previous pe-riod. This has been countered by

Van Rompuy, who has suggestedreducing this figure by €80 billion.

During the first night of talkson 22 November, Van Rompuy is-sued a second draft proposal aftermeeting with all 27 leaders, whichmaintains a spending limit ofaround €970 billion, but proposesdifferent spending priorities.

Van Rompuy said that agree-ment on the budget would be “im-portant for the cohesion of the

Union, and for jobs and growth inall our countries”. He said that itwould be “a moderation budget”,but, with general agreement,would be a budget for growth.

German Chancellor AngelaMerkel said that the council wouldbe working hard over the next fewweeks to find consensus. “We think itis possible at the beginning of nextyear we can come to an agreement”,she said.

The 27 member states “should beable to reconcile their differences ofopinion”, she said, saying that the de-cision to start afresh next year wasendorsed by all governments, andthat the talks were “ guided generallyby the feeling that this was neces-sary”, and was “mainly guided by awish to find an agreement. This issomething that ought to now be atall costs. Tthe idea is that we find anagreement and nothing else”.

ECONOMY

EU budget deal collapses

Martin Schulz, President of the Euro-pean Parliament asked European lead-ers at the start of the MultiannualFinancial Framework 2014-2020 ne-gotiations to remember that “the deci-sions you take today will shape theEuropean Union of tomorrow.”

He said that “advocating cuts in theEU budget may be popular, but it ishugely irresponsible. If Europe is finallyto find a way out of the crisis, then wemust recognise that the EU budget isnot part of the problem, but part of thesolution.”

Schulz recalled that the EuropeanParliament had voted, by a consider-able margin, to increase the budget.

He said that the opposition to an in-crease stems from three misconcep-tions. Firstly, “the EU budget is notmoney for Brussels, the EU budget ismoney for ordinary people in Europe.As much as 94% of our budget ischannelled directly back to the EU

Member States or invested in meas-ures to help us achieve our foreign pol-icy priorities.”

Secondly, “the EU budget is not toobig. On the contrary: it amounts toonly 2% of total government spendingin the EU.” He added, “the EU budgethas an enormous leverage effect: everyeuro invested by the EU attracts an av-erage of between two and four euros inadditional investment.”

Finally, “the EU budget has notgrown too much. Between 2000 and2010, Member State budgets increasedby 62%, but the EU budget rose byonly 37%.”

He also cautioned the Council. “Youshould understand that freezing or cut-ting the EU budget means abandon-ing the Europe 2020 Strategy.”

The pressure continued on the sec-ond day of talks when Schulz tweeted“by making disproportionate cuts inbudget the #EU is seeking to evade itsinternational responsibility for thepoorest people.”

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ANALYSIS

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy gives a press conference at the EU Headquarters, on 23 November in Brussels, after a two-day EU leaders summit on the

Union's long-term budget fell through without a deal. Van Rompuy said that an EU budget deal was within reach early next year.

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By Cillian Donnelly

By Andy Carling

The European Commission has agreed anamended restructuring plan for Dutch basedfinancial services institution ING, and theNetherlands’ government in accordance withEU state aid rule.

ING have now agreed with the Dutch gov-ernment a fixed repayment schedule over thenext three years, after being granted €10 bil-lion in recapitalisation aid after the financialcollapse in 2008.

This was followed by a further €5 billion in2009 that was allocated due to an impairedasset measure. The amendments to the repay-ment conditions were triggered after INGfailed to pay the Dutch government adequateremuneration in 2010 and 2011, leaving theDutch government obligated to renotify theagreed terms to the Commission, if twocoupon payments were missed.

An EU official said: “We are confidentabout the terms that have been negotiated,and that the controversial issues have beenironed out between all parties. The divestingcommitments have been proposed by theDutch authorities, there is no reason to as-sume today that the new deadlines would notbe achievable.”

The latest amendment will leave ING topay the remaining debt to the Dutch govern-ment of € 3 billion in four instalments, withthe first due for 26 November worth € 1.125million in Tier 1 securities plus a 50 % pre-mium, if ING stay on course with their filedrepayment schedule, then the debt to the statewill be fully paid in 2015.

Earlier this year in March the GeneralCourt partially annulled the original 2009deal, having expressed dissatisfaction after theanalysis of a small part of the aid granted, cit-ing incompatibility with the internal market.The Commission challenged the decision ofthe court in an appeal to the EU Court of Jus-

tice, and later decided that the original dealdid not distort market conditions, regardlessof the outcome of the appeal.

A spokesman for the company said: “Weare in a better position to make these pay-ments as the market has improved, and suchrules implemented by the European Com-mission on bank recapitalisation. We aimed tomake the payments early and now we havemade target dates for ourselves, the state willreceive a good return on their debt.”

As agreed as part of the Commission’s ap-proval for the state grant, a divest programmewas initiated with ING instructed to sell offall of its insurance and investment Manage-ment operations, that include ING DirectUSA and WestlandUtrecht Bank by the endof 2013.

So far there has been mixed success with theLatin-American Insurance/IM operationssold in 2011, and the sale of ING Direct USAwas completed a year later, with three units of

the Asian Insurance/IM also being disposedof in an announcement last month.

There is still plenty of stock to be clearedwith 50% of Insurance/IM Europe to be di-vested by 2015 , with the remaining intereststo be offloaded over the following three years.

Additionally more than 50% of ING U.S.has to be divested by 2014, with the remain-ing interest to be bought out by the end of2016. ING’s base strategy for this is throughan IPO, which may be considered a risk insuch a transitory period for the company andin market conditions, as these are stereotypi-cal conditions as why IPOs are often consid-ered to be a dangerous investment.

“We have sold four different operations toother parties already.” Explained the INGspokesperson. “There are other options thatwe are considering apart from an IPO if nec-essary, especially in Asia where the divestmentprocess is ongoing. We have operations inHong Kong and Malaysia and a 30% stake in

a fund in China, and we still have operationsin Japan and South Korea, and there havebeen many reports of interested parties to ac-quire them.”

The divesting of the WestlandUtrechtBank, that comprised mainly of certain mort-gage, savings, investments and consumer lend-ing activities, has not proven possible due tomarket conditions.

As a result the integrated retail bankingbusiness will assume the name ‘Nationale-Nederlanden’, or NN bank, that will ensurethat there is competition in the Dutch retailbanking market. ING has committed itself toa certain targets for mortgage production andconsumer credit until 31 December 2015, oruntil 50% divestment of Insurance/IM Eu-rope has been achieved. To ensure the successof the NN Bank, ING have agreed to a seriesof behavioural constraints, including the priceleadership ban of ING Direct Europe whichhas been extended.

ECONOMY

Commission approves ING restructuringBy Peter Taberner


ANALYSIS

An employee arrives at the Dutch bank ING in Amsterdam on November 7, 2012. ING said today it would cut a further 2,350 jobs in the coming years as it announced a

sharp drop in net profits for the third quarter.

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Current divisions can only be addressed byredesigning the institutional functioning ofthe Union. European Federalists call for anew financial constitution after the Euro-pean elections in 2014.The draft budget submitted by the Euro-pean Commission includes some essentialimprovements in respect to the currentfinancial framework. On the expenditureside it further reduces the share of farmingsubsidies and significantly increases invest-ments in transnational infrastructure andlearning mobility. On the income side itproposes the introduction of two innovativeown resources: the European VAT and thefinancial transaction tax.The request made by some member statesto freeze, cap or reduce the EU budgetwithout considering the structure of income

and expenditure is short-sighted. It isalways easier to cut potential investmentsthan current expenditure. It is thereforelikely that a negotiation based on stubbornceilings would scrap or reduce the budgetlines with the highest return on investment:education, research and trans-nationalinfrastructures. Accepting the Commissiondraft would be a first small step towardsmore growth and more jobs. Questioningthe legitimacy of farm subsidies and coun-try-specific rebates makes sense, but as longas the concerned member states have a vetoand are not compensated in a way or theother the debate does not lead anywhere.The paradoxes of the obscure financialframework can only be addressed through anew comprehensive economic and financialconstitution, defined in an extensive revisionof the treaties drafted by a convention to becalled in after the 2014 European elections.

European Federalists expect such a conven-tion to address all economic and financialissues in a holistic way and to merge theobjectives of the current financial frame-works with the multiple fiscal measuresadopted in the framework of the Euro crisisin a single strategy based on two pillars: afinancial equalisation mechanism and a fed-eral budget.The equalisation mechanism is a tool ofmacroeconomic stabilisation and conver-gence between member states. It compen-sates member states with weak economicstructures; it addresses asymmetries in thebusiness cycle, and possibly compensatesmember states with specific economicstructures such as an insular situation or alarge rural economy. Such a scheme couldlead to the decentralisation of programmessupporting agriculture and regional devel-opment at the level of member states with-

out resulting in a financial loss for the con-cerned regions.The EU budget would be financed exclu-sively through own resources and definedthrough the ordinary legislative procedureby the European Parliament and the EUCouncil of national ministers, withoutnational vetoes. Disburdened of the contro-versial farming and regional developmentsubsidies, the European Commission couldredeploy its tools to three strategic policyareas: steering the European economy,supervising the implementation the fourbasic freedoms, and coordinating Europe’sexternal action.

Till Burckhardt is a PhD student and teach-ing assistant in economics and language poli-cy at the University of Geneva. He is memberof the Union of European Federalists (UEF)Executive Bureau since 2010.

ECONOMY

A new financial constitution to break the budget deadlockBy Till Burckhardt

To explain the escalation of violence inGaza, Stratfor Global Intelligence claimswe should look to October 23 when Is-rael’s covert air strike against the Yarmoukarms facility in Khartoum, the capital ofSudan, destroyed missiles from Iranheaded presumably for the sorry Strip.

Egypt would then up mediation effortsfor a truce on October 25 that were in-terrupted by smaller militant factions suchas PFLP and Islamic Jihad who targetedIsrael tanks and launched volleys of rock-ets into Israel on November 10. Whetheror not Hamas wanted to reign in thoseattacks, the Islamic Movement for Re-sistance now found itself in the same po-sition as Fatah and PLO used to be whennegotiating with Israel and Hamas wouldlaunch rocket attacks as the opposition.

As mentioned by leading analysts Hus-sein Agha and Robert Malley: “In Pales-tine, Islamic Jihad is the new Hamas,firing rockets to embarrass Gaza’s rulers;Hamas, the new Fatah, claiming to be aresistance movement while clampingdown on those who dare resist.” This is asimplification but transmits the point: it’salways easier to be in the opposition, ‘fir-ing’ away.

Hamas then tried to coax thesmaller militant groups into holdingtheir fire, but Israel now had an excuseto go after Ahmad Jaabari, head ofHamas’ militant wing, Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades. His targeted assas-sination on November 14 wasreminiscent of the targeted killing ofHamas Minister of Interior, SayidSiam, on January 15, 2009; of Hamas’co-founder, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, onApril 17, 2004; of Hamas’ spiritualleader, Sheikh Yassin on March 22,2004; and so on…

Shortly after killing Jaabari, the Israeli

Air Force went on to pin-point thehouses of the Masharawi family and ofSalah Jalal Arafat in al-Zaytoun neigh-borhood in eastern Gaza – an 11-monthbaby, a 5-year-old child, and a womanwere killed, for what? Israel went on toshoot at training sites and militant move-ment up and down the Gaza Strip –more deaths ensued and more rocketswere fired.

This is Not a Vacuum None of this is really news to anyone.

This scenario has been rehearsed againand again. Israel has been itching for warwith Iran and has been waiting for the oc-casion to re-engage in Gaza. Israel knewexactly whom it wanted to take out – theother casualties are collateral... This is awarm-up round for Israel; this is just tar-get practice.

And Hamas has been preparing forthis face-off too, stockpiling weapons, ac-quiring longer-range missiles, smugglingarms and fighters into Gaza. Born of thearmed resistance against Israel, Hamas isbracing itself for another land incursionand they will be ready – each time Israelinvades, Hamas is a little more ready.

The proof is in the quantity and qualityof the missiles being launched from Gaza.Once hazardous and sporadic home-mademissiles spiraling like fireworks across theborder into southern Israel, now the Fajrmissiles – literally meaning the “Dawn” inArabic – reach Tel Aviv commercial cen-ters and for the first time since 1970 theyhave landed in Jerusalem. These missilesare also called the M75s for the distancethey can go in kilometers.

The Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 supposedlycome from Iran and are also found insouth Lebanon with Hezbollah whocould also engage the northern front ofIsrael with a few Fajrs launched at Haifaas they had in the July 2006 War. Israel

wants revenge for not having won andHezbollah like Hamas has been gettingready ever since for yet another con-frontation.

Anyone watching the horrible se-quence of death and destruction unfoldonce again between Israelis and Palestini-ans will be disgusted, revolted or dumb-founded by the sheer stupidity andunnecessary loss. This is all part of Israel’sploy to maintain a constant threat to itssecurity, to perpetuate the guise of a men-ace to its existence.

Knowing that Hamas and Hezbollahand smaller militant groups can hardlydent its military machine, Israel can usethe escalation of violence in Gaza as a de-flection from the diplomatic overturescoming from Abbass’ more pacific lead-ership in Ramallah that is attempting togain international recognition for Pales-tine at the United Nations.

Once again, this has all been rehearsedby Israel as the easy answer to maintain-ing the military on constant alert, fine-tuning weapons and moving machinesaround, getting rid of some missiles, etc,but the novelty here is that the regionalequation has shifted. Never before haveso many national leaders visited Gaza insuch a short period.

Just weeks after the visit of the Emir ofQatar, the Prime Minister of Egypt andthe President of Tunisia both visited Gaza– all three presenting pro-Islamist agen-das of solidarity with the Palestinians. Is-rael is not making any new friends in theregion, nor does she seem to want to; sheseems intentionally oblivious to the new‘dawn’ raising across the Arab world be-cause it fits her agenda perfectly.

Stuart Reigeluth is Founding Editor ofRevolve Magazine and works at theCouncil for European Palestinian Rela-tions in Brussels.

ISRAEL DEFLECTION TACTICS

Israel: Fighting the new “Dawn”05ANALYSIS

A Palestinian stone thrower clashes with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Nablus on November 12, 2012, during a protestation against the ongoing

Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip. A new wave of Israeli raids on Gaza killed 11 people, including a child who died when the tower housing AFP's

office was struck for the second time in 24 hours.

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By Stuart Reigeluth

NEW EUROPE25 November - 1 December , 2012

Bahrain: Litmus test for EU human rights

Over the past couple of years, Bahrain’s internationalimage has been transformed from that of a small, quietGulf kingdom into a very different kind of country. Todayit suffers from deepening human rights abuses. State-sponsored violence oppresses people who express viewswhich conflict with those of the Al-Khalifa family. Butwhile several other Arab states became international pari-ahs for their egregious human rights violations, Bahrainappears largely to have dodged international, includingEuropean Union, censure. Why is this? Perhaps it has something to do with the island kingdom’srelatively small size. However, having a modest populationin no way negates the damage to human rights caused bythe Bahraini authorities’ increasingly brutal approach topopular demands. It’s important that we don’t apply dif-ferent standards to different countries. Amnesty Interna-tional regards all human rights abuse equally, wherever itoccurs. Are torture or the deaths of unarmed protestors atthe hands of Bahraini troops any less abhorrent than thekilling of civilians in other, more populous, countries? Early last month, the Bahraini authorities, citing securityconcerns, revoked the citizenship of 31 people for causing”damage to state security”. With the recent first anniver-sary of the report by the Bahrain Independent Commis-sion of Inquiry (BICI), it’s becoming clear that theauthorities have no intention of listening seriously to theprotesters. Whatever promise the Commission may haverepresented last November, when it accused the authori-ties of gross human rights violations, has now faded, de-spite the King’s personal assurance of accountability. The Government of Bahrain expressed its intention tohonour BICI’s findings at Universal Periodic Review(UPR) sessions in May and September this year, aheadof the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.But this now appears to be a shallow promise. Little ofsubstance has since been achieved on either human rightsor democracy in Bahrain. It may now seem obvious thatundertakings like those made at the UPR were a ploy toreassure an increasingly uncomfortable international com-munity, but one can only wonder why the global audiencehas allowed itself to be appeased so easily. It’s hard to ignore the distinctly muted EU response toevents in Bahrain. As recently as August, Britain’s PrimeMinister David Cameron met the King of Bahrain inDowning Street to discuss opportunities for British busi-ness in the kingdom. Only in passing did he mention theneed to implement the BICI recommendations. Cather-ine Ashton, head of EU external affairs, has merely urged“all sections of Bahraini society to contribute to dialogueand national reconciliation in a peaceful and constructivemanner.” Should we be surprised when such mealy-mouthed representations fail to galvanise the authoritiesinto delivering convincing reforms? Indeed, far fromshowing any improvement, we see systematic violationsof basic human rights in Bahrain, including a ban on allprotests and the imprisonment of anyone who tweetsmessages of opposition to the King. For the most partthese have met with resounding silence from the EU. There’s scant evidence that the EU is taking Bahrain’shuman rights crisis seriously. Not only has Brussels so farfailed to put any real pressure on the Bahraini Govern-ment, it seems determined to turn a blind eye, especiallywhen trade deals are in prospect. But human rights abusesin small desert kingdoms deserve a full-size EU response.The EU’s new human rights strategy adopted in Junecommitted the Union to defending human rights aroundthe world more consistently and proactively. The peopleof Europe have every right to expect the EU to honourthis policy. Bahrain is a litmus test.

Nicolas Beger, Director, Amnesty International EuropeanInstitutions Office

New Europe content partner

By Nicolas Beger

When some public health activists see beer ad-vertisements at football games, they see a pro-motion for binge drinking and the corruptionof minors. When the Brewers of Europe andsports businessmen regard the same marketingploys, they picture a family gathered around aTV with the first and last beer in hand – ofthose old enough, of course. They see all thebeer sponsors funding grassroots sports organ-izations. They see an essential player in the con-tinued development of sport.

Evidently, whether or not beer and sport gotogether is very much in the eye of the beholder.

At a time when some European govern-ments are considering restrictions and bans onbrewers’ sponsorships of sports events, theBrewers of Europe decided to dedicate theirthird annual Beer Serves Europe gala to theissue. The point, said one member of the not-for-profit organization, is not to combat a per-ceived threat. An explanation, not a defense, isneeded. “We wish to encourage brand loyalty,not drinking more,” said Pierre-Olivier Berg-eron, the Brewers of Europe secretary general.“We have a role to play in allowing people toexplore and have access to sports, and that isimportant to us. “

Keynote speaker Emmanuel Macedo deMedeiros, CEO of the European ProfessionalFootball Leagues, joined Bergeron in teachingthe paying attendees the benefits of a beer andsport relationship.

There are nearly 3,500 brewers in Europe,and they support approximately 2 million jobs.

Every year, beer accounts for €50 billion in rev-enues in the EU.

Breweries spend nearly €1 billion annually tosponsor sports and other cultural events. Sur-prisingly, only 12% of that goes to big, marqueeevents, whereas 62% goes to organizations onthe local level.

Sponsorships make up, on average, 25% ofgrassroots organizations’ budget. These fundsgo towards facilities, equipment, training andtravel. In addition, Bergeron emphasized, thebreweries have more than just a “robust code” ofconduct. They also have operational rules thatprohibit any advertisements that explicitly as-sociate drinking with sports and bar sponsor-ships at events where youth make up more than30% of the crowd.

Few can deny that sports foster healthylifestyles, social inclusion, economic growth anda better quality of life. In financially aidingteams, sponsors are helping to ensure sports cancontinue to have the best maximum effect onsociety. The question is whether or not brew-eries compromise public health principles whenthey sponsor sporting events. Those who op-pose it argue that the link is unethical becauseit breweries use the positive aspects of sport toattract customers.

Studies have shown that marketing influ-ences underage drinking behavior. In 2009 theInstitute for Therapy and Health Researchconcluded students, frequently watching alco-hol advertisements on a high volume, had morethan twice the risk to drink alcohol than stu-

dents who just saw few alcohol advertisements.However, there doesn’t appear to be researchspecifically quantifying the negative effects ofsports sponsorships on drinking habits.

Though Ireland promised earlier this year toban alcohol sponsorships at sports events,France is the only EU member state to actu-ally have established regulations. It did so 20years ago to combat the 5% alcoholism amongits adult population. 20 years later, sports clubshaven’t folded from the cut-off funding. But thepercentage of alcoholics hasn’t dropped either.

“If you look today, the 5% who were theproblem are still there,” said Bergeron. “Howdo you reconcile the very legitimate idea of pro-tecting public health and the actual means ofachieving this?”

The breweries also point out that, like sports,beer is deeply rooted in heritage. When con-sumed in moderation, they argue it is beneficial.Therefore, why break the connection betweentwo basically good things?

Ireland may follow France’s direction. TheNational Substance Misuse Steering recom-mended in a February report that Irelandshould ban all alcohol sponsorship of sportingand large outdoor events.

More bans would be a step in the wrong di-rection, Medeiros said. “To pursue social func-tion and contribute to the economy, sport relieson commercialization,” he said. “Brewers play es-sential role, (so) sustainable development wouldbe in danger.” “The relationship is very benefi-cial,” he said. “Sponsorships play major role inthe development of sport. (Adding bans) is nota recipe for success, but unutterable failure.”

EU UPDATE

Sponsoring sport a necessary alliance, brewers say

The invented tales about European Unionpolicy have the ability to amuse and terrify thepublic. But Catherine Bearder, a Liberal De-mocrat MEP for South East England, ex-plains why she has launched her EuromythBuster campaign to make sure fact is not sub-stituted for fantasy. Let’s face it, is it any sur-prise people in the UK get exasperated by theEuropean Union?

They are swamped with erroneous tales ofalleged devious directives and barmy plansfrom ‘meddling Brussels bureaucrats’.

I have my favourites. There was the ‘fear’sparked amongst the European male popula-tion after the story of the German man whoclaimed to have been made impotent by Eurocoins. And even the rational were left reeling atnews the EU was proposing to liquefy corpsesand flush them down the drain.

More recently we had a minor storm causedby suggestions jam makers were going to beBANNED from reusing jars to sell their sweetspreads at charity events.

For the record: none of it was accurate.How can we ever expect to have a reasonable

debate without the real facts? It’s a rhetoricalquestion. We can’t. Many British view the Eu-ropean Union with unnecessary doses of scep-

ticism and fear. The media is happy to peddlethese stories and drop crooked tit-bits into de-bate without facing a grilling.

You can take two stances: ignore, and let thedrivel seep into the public subconscious, in theway grossly exaggerated tales of bendy bananasmanaged. Or, go armed with the truth, tacklemyth-making when it crops up in the mediaand query suspected fabrication

When a headline screams ‘EU disgrace’ or‘look at what them lot are doing now’ (insertexclamation mark for extra anger), stick yourhand up and question detail.

It is a relentless job, but one which those ofus who believe in an effective place in theunion must do. Rebutting falsehoods utteredabout the European Union has become a fulltime job. The European Commission has in-troduced a policy of tackling negative cover-age it regards as being distorted… or, just plainwrong. It gets hit hard, often because manyUK tabloids seem to forget their journalisticduty to contact the commission for a commenton many of their stories. I struggle to imagineother scenarios in which that would be thecase. If a local newspaper is running a storycriticising a council plan, they go to the TownHall for comment. If a police initiative is beingscrutinised, a leading officer is asked for aquote. If a school is cutting classes, the head-teacher or education authority is called uponto speak up. I took part in a radio debate lastmonth, during which one caller said shewanted Britain out of the EU because itpreached holocaust denial to school pupils.

The most surprising part was the polite ac-ceptance of the viewpoint (?) from the presen-ter. No attempt was made to question whatwas clearly rubbish. Those who pour scorn on

our place in Europe are not keen for a frankand straightforward debate on the facts.

The ‘Britain Out’ brigade do not want ar-guments about the true economic nuts andbolts, cluttering the Euromyths and the bilgein some UK papers. It is fairly obvious why.

I am not, and never will be, a walking PRmachine for the European Union.

There are many pluses it brings to theBritish people, but there are also things it coulddo better and I have a privileged place at thetable to ensure this happens.

I will, however, not allow the continued con-veyor belt of lies to keep rolling.

My Euromyth Buster campaign is not justto poke fun at the ridiculous nature of thisscaremongering. It is a serious bid to rightsome wrongs. I am aware this is just one smallpart of the armoury which will be needed tocombat the anti-EU beast as it sharpens itsclaws. Better education about how the EUworks would be a help. Till then there is face-book. My Facebook page is a great forum todiscuss the Euromyths of the day. Get in-volved. Here is the link to the Facebook cam-paign page:https://www.facebook.com/Euromyth-Buster?ref=hl

Let’s make sure facts form the basis of thedebate and not fantasy.

EU

The British media is in love with the Euromyth


ANALYSIS

Catherine Bearder, a Liberal Democrat MEP

Soccor legend, Juergen Klinsmann (R) raises a glass of beer and shouts towards a cheering crowd of several

thousand fans after a successful season.

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By Tim Hobden


ANALYSIS

Haneen was 10-months-old; Omar 11months; Ibrahim one year. For the offenceof being reared in Gaza, these infants werekilled with the aid of Israel's "precision-guided" missiles.

A few days before their deaths, the Euro-pean Commission sponsored the "secondinternational homeland security conference"in Tel Aviv. More of a bazaar than a talkingshop, the event featured exhibits by Israel'stop weapons companies. Shimon Peres, thestate's president, gave the closing address,using this august occasion to boast of how,as a youthful arms dealer, he was "part offounding Israel's defence industries". Peressaid he was "delighted to see the innovativetechnological developments which are lead-ing the world in homeland security" and ex-pressed pride in heading "a nation withcreativity and wisdom, courage and chutz-pah".

As far as I can see, the EU's involvementin this exhibition went unnoticed by themedia. That is deeply disturbing. It suggeststhat the Commission can endorse firmswhich profit from dropping bombs onPalestinian babies without anyone battingan eyelid.

The officials who rubber-stamped theEU's participation in the Tel Aviv fair can-not claim it was unrelated to the latest of-fensive against Gaza. Both provided anopportunity for the arms industry to adver-tise its wares: in one case in a conferencecentre; in the other case on the "battlefield".DefenseNews, a popular magazine amongweapons traders, has reported that Rafael,the Israeli state-owned weapons company,has "initiated emergency, round-the-clockoperations" to meet rising demand to sup-ply Iron Dome, a missiles "interceptor" sys-tem that is a recent addition to Israel'sarsenal.

Nor is this an isolated case. EU institu-

tions are regularly represented in fairs whereIsraeli weapons manufacturers can show offtheir latest "innovative technological devel-opments", to quote Peres. In September, forexample, the European Defence Agencylent its support to the ILA - an air shownear Berlin - at which the aforementionedRafael had a stall. In June, numerous Israelifirms took part in Eurosatory, an arms fairin Paris; so did delegations from the EUand NATO.

Rubbing shoulders with war profiteers isnot in itself reprehensible. But awardingsubsidies to the same profiteers amounts toacquiescence in the human rights abuses onwhich their bottom line depends. At pres-ent, Israel is taking part in some 800 EU-sponsored scientific research projects, with atotal value of 4.3 billion euros. Israel is eye-ing an even bigger share of Horizon 2020,the Union's next pot of research money.

It is interesting that the Tel Aviv fair ear-lier this month focused on how surveillanceequipment can be used for major sporting

events like the Olympics. When Londonhosted the games during the summer, theEU financed the trial of a new security sys-tem in Heathrow airport. Elbit, a maker ofdrones that have been heavily used overGaza's skies in recent days, was one of the"partners" in this trial.

There is a sordid irony behind how theEU is turning to Israel for advice on how tomake our airports safer. In 2001, Israel de-stroyed Gaza's only airport. It had beenconstructed with 9.5 million euros worth ofEU aid. Yet Chris Patten, the Union's ex-ternal relations commissioner at time, re-fused to sue Israel for this damage. He triedto justify his inaction by contending thatonce cheques were handed over to thePalestinian Authority, the EU no longerowned them.

Around this time last year, the Commis-sion published a list of 82 EU-funded facil-ities that had been destroyed by Israel.Officials estimated that the loss incurred tothe Union as a result was almost 30 million

euros. Still, the Brussels bureaucracy wouldnot take legal action in order to hold Israelaccountable; when Israel last conducted amajor offensive against Gaza in 2008 and2009, the EU released emergency funds torepair harm inflicted by Israel, with thehelp of American and European weaponsand components. More than likely, this pat-tern will soon be repeated.

Why is the EU so eager to court Israel'swar machine? One clue can be found in the"action plan" for a "competitive security in-dustry" that Antonio Tajani, the EU's en-terprise commissioner, published in July. Itnoted that the "global security market" wasworth 100 billion euros per year in 2011 - atenfold increase on its value in 2001.

Brussels officials know that Israel is theworld's sixth largest exporter of "security"goods. Cooperating with Israel is necessary,they say, in order to develop Europe's own"security" industry. By sucking up to Ben-jamin Netanyahu's government, they canhelp win lucrative contracts for Europeanfirms. Italy's Finmeccanica, for example,grabbed a $1 billion deal to supply trainingjets to Israel earlier this year.

And when Europe lacks weapons it callson Israel. Frontex, the EU's border agency,has been toying with the idea of buying Is-raeli drones to monitor asylum-seekers.Denmark is reported to have bought Israelibombs as its own stockpile became depletedwhile taking part in NATO's war againstLibya.

Next month the EU will be formallyawarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. Wewill be told of the Union's commitment tohuman rights and other "values". The spec-tacle will surely be nauseating. The EU'sunerring support for Israel proves that the"values" that are truly cherished can bequantified in monetary terms. Why elsewould the Union court those who stand togain from putting Haneen, Omar andIbrahim in tiny graves?

Palestinians take photographs of destruction after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City on November 19. Is-raeli air strikes the previous day killed 31 Palestinians in the bloodiest day of its air campaign on theGaza Strip.

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CONFLICT

How Europe courted Israel's arms industry on eve of Gaza attackBy David Cronin

My work in the Euro-pean Parliament sup-ports new employmentopportunities, businessgrowth and bold entre-preneurial ideas. Todaymore then ever, politicaldecisions need to be

fast. Past answers will not help resolve ques-tions about the future. All our efforts need to beinvested into growing our economy by sup-porting drivers of growth, especially SMEs!We are in the midst of crisis and it will take pa-tience and diligence to find ways to overcomeit. There are 25 million unemployed people inour European Union. Five million of who areyoung people. We are facing fierce global com-petition and scarcity never seen before. Busi-ness as usual is no longer possible.

The most distressing number is the 5 millionunemployed youth. They are our future, andcurrently seemingly without a future. Tradi-tional jobs in the way that we know them areno longer available. Policies need to address thisissue directly. Education itself needs to evolveand help develop entrepreneurialism. Devel-oping confidence in the young, alongside theircurriculum, will give them the tools to find suc-cess in their business ventures. The European Union provides the answer toour questions. More Europe means less bu-reaucracy through more integration and fur-ther simplification. We should not becompeting amongst each other. An internalmarket of co-creation will enable us to com-pete on a global level. The EU is the biggesteconomy, and yet not the biggest market.We are removing the barriers to the internalmarket step by step. Tackling it is not easy,but we have already achieved many victories.

Mobile roaming charges have been greatlyreduced in EU member states. Facilitatingpayments between countries is now stan-dardized. Consumer information has beenimproved in such a way that it is obviouswhat is a good choice and a healthy choicefor the consumer. The EU offers the chanceto find funds for investment that would nototherwise be available. Through programs,such as Horizon 2020, COSME, and Con-necting Europe, a company that is innovativecan find the right resources and the rightpeople to support them in their success. Citizens, entrepreneurs, and industry expectsolutions from us, politicians. I have personalexperience with managing a business of 200employees, where already in the nineties wewere setting the standards of quality and excel-lence. Even though systems had been designedfor large manufacturing companies, our com-bined efforts to increase quality and excellence

assisted our development from a low-technol-ogy company into a business managing hightechnologies.Ultimately, we need to establish a system,where you can develop and grow your businessand where people can live decent lives. Weneed to recognize, that the quality of life thatwe have, is unique and rare. Most nationsaround the world desire our lifestyle. This wemust acknowledge and be thankful for. Thus,despite the challenges we are faced with today,our lives are better than generations past. Thisis a time for optimism, tolerance and coopera-tion. The time is now to invest in our future,today.

Zofija Mazej Kukovic is a Member of the Eu-ropean Parliament for the European People'sParty and is on the Committee on the Envi-ronment, Public Health and Food Safety andon the Delegation for relations with India

By Zofija Mazej Kukovič

EU

We need to think globally and decades into the future


ANALYSIS

To be Adaptable

Teresa Amabile, one of the most prestigious special-ists in Innovation, who currently teaches in Harvard,launched the concept of New Adaptability. She pro-poses new collaborative platforms between the dif-ferent actors, with the strategic challenge ofreinforcing the central competences of society andqualifying them as the unique ways of creation ofvalue and modernity. Europe is facing also a uniqueopportunity. There is more and more a sense thatEurope is not flat and we effectively need new an-swers to the complex mproblems we face.The challenge of the New Adaptability demands aneffective Partnership Contract between all the actorsof Society, in order to build a real Strategy of Confi-dence in the implementation of the different poli-cies. The focus on Innovation and Knowledge as thedrivers of creating added value with internationaldissemination is a unique challenge that may be theanswer to a new way of interaction between thosewho have the responsibility of thinking and thosethat have the responsibility of producing goods andservices.The New Adaptability demands for an active entre-preneurial culture and attitude - “social activeclasses” in Europe have most of the times an effec-tive negative attitude towards the financial risk, thefocus on innovation and the share of a culture of pos-itive dynamic. We need Europe to have a new chal-lenge. Europe must be able to be the real Platformof a more Entrepreneurial Society, centered in newareas of knowledge and new sectors of value. In a So-ciety of New Adaptability, the key word is Co-cre-ation. To promote a dynamic and active creationprocess involving each citizen is the big challenge forthe next years in Europe.In a complex time of uncertainty, the New Adapt-ability must be the most complete example of posi-tive attitude towards the future. The Talents must bethe new competitive advantage of this New Adapt-ability pushed by the “enablers” of Modernity, AddedValue and Excellence. A very clear idea that suits thebig challenge that our society really faces and thatrequires new answers for different questions. The actof global participation in such a demanding societyis an exercise of commitment between the individ-ual creativity and the collective cooperation. This isthe key for the right future for Europe.It´ s time to believe in a new cycle for Europe. Theseare in fact the “drivers of change” for Europe andcivil society must be able to understand this newchallenge and address effective answers to the dif-ferent stakeholders of the system. The challenge ofthe New Adaptability is in a large sense giving a newopportunity to a new ambition. The Reinvention ofEurope is the reinvention of its people and institu-tions. It ´s the conviction that in fact we have a futureas individuals and society.

Francisco Jaime Quesado is the General Manager ofthe Innovation and Knowledge Society in Portugal,a public agency with the mission of coordinating thepolicies for Information Society and mobilizing itthrough dissemination, qualification and research ac-tivities. It operates within the Ministry of Science,Technology and Higher Education

New Europe content partner

By Francisco Jaime Quesado

Disapproving looks. Traveling intoBrussels one morning, I could detectscorn and revulsion from the peoplearound me. This was because I was sit-ting on the metro with a female friendwho had an accident the day before,leaving her with a large black eye.

I could tell that people were lookingand wondering if I was responsible. Itwas very uncomfortable, but it showedhow attitudes had changed.

One of the people responsible for thischange is Dagmar Schumacher, Direc-tor of the UN Women office in Brus-sels. With the International Day for theElimination of Violence againstWomen on 25 November, she spokewith New Europe about the progressmade so far and what still needs to bedone.

7 out of 10 women experience vio-lence in their lifetime, one in four ex-perience violence when pregnant, ashocking statistic. “The statistics are notlooking good, but there is a lot morediscussion of the issue, compared to 15years ago when there was silence. Nowit’s getting discussed globally. The In-ternational Day helps with that,” saysSchumacher

She is also expecting more progress.“We are working on an initiative we callCommit, where our Executive DirectorMichelle Bachelet has written to allheads of state, asking them to committo action, such as new legislation,

launching education programmes, es-tablishing hotlines for example. Wehope all 27 member states commit tothis initiative.”

“It’s important to have a strong legalframework. For example, by 2011, 52countries have outlawed marital rape,but this leaves 2.4 billion women livingin countries where it has not been ex-plicitly criminalized and domestic vio-lence has been made a criminal offencein 125 countries, but 6.3 million live inplaces where it is not a crime,” shepoints out.

While pleased at progress, she cautions,“There’s the matter of implementation ofthe laws. We have the Council of Eu-rope’s new convention last year, and thatneeds ratification. Turkey has ratified andwe expect Albania to follow.”

One challenge facing campaignersand policymakers is austerity, whichmay lead to cuts in vital services, suchas shelters and refuges for victims ofdomestic violence. “This is very worry-ing and the European Women's Lobbyis studying the effect of austerity on re-sources.”

“There is a cost to society; youcan’t look at this issue in isolation. Ithas effects on social cohesion, on de-velopment. We can’t just look attreating victims; we have to try toprevent violence.”

Schumacher notes some progress,“The awareness has risen tremendouslyin the last few years. If you look at peaceand security, the issue of sexual violence

as a weapon of war is now taken veryseriously. The issue is regularly debatedin the UN Security Council. At thesame time, do we have enough womenin peacebuilding? No. We still have along way to go.”

“We work assisting governments tobring in legislation and with women’sgroups, this is very important as theseare often the bridge between womenand institutions. We’re also working onproviding shelters, increasing women’seconomic independence and politicalparticipation,” she adds.

Looking ahead, Schumacher says,“We have a very fruitful partnershipwith the EU, following the signing of aMoU early this year. In March 2013, the57th session of the Commission on theStatus of Women will take place in NewYork with the priority theme on “End-ing Violence against Women”. Thereare two blocks of issues to act on: Pre-vention and the multi-sector response.What is already emerging is that wehave many initiatives across the globe,but they are a bit scattered, we need amore holistic approach, which is appliedall over, to all countries and a package ofsupport to women so they at least havea minimal level of support.”

But this is not just a women’s issue,“It’s a man’s issue also. We’ve beenworking with men and boys on the ef-fects of violence on society. If boys seeviolence in the family, they may con-tinue when they are older. It’s impor-tant to break the circle.”

Albanian women protest in front of the Albanian Parliament, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in Tirana

Albania, 25 November 2010.

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Violence against women;progress but much more to do

By Andy Carling

Don’t bashthe Bishop

My ambition to become a Bishop of the Church ofEngland has had a boost with the General Synod’svote to maintain the ban on women bishops untilshortly after the second coming.This means that 50% of my potential competitors areout of the game. Result!I’ve had this ambition for a while now. I date it to mydays in the gorgeous Lake District village of Amble-side, now sadly reduced to a collection of anorakshops. I don’t mean places where nerds and geekssplash the cash, but shops selling actual anoraks. Fif-teen years ago, there were 22, Lord knows how manynow. This most beautiful part of England has had spiritualtraditions, being the home of the Quakers, for exam-ple and we still have a boulder outside the villagemarking where Saint Patrick preached before goingsnake bothering over the water.The quiet beauty has also inspired poets, painters andfilm-makers. Yeah, we’re sorry about Ken Russell, butWithnail & I and the classic Living Dead at theManchester Morgue more than make up for that.We’ve also got Melvyn Bragg, and I once made an ap-pearance in a dramatization of one of his books,which also featured raunchy scenes between DervlaKirwan and a frankly flaccid Ronald Pickup, butthat’s a different story. Thankfully, my scenes were re-stricted to the interior of a pub, where I was ‘con-vincing’ although that may be because the landlordsurreptitiously replaced the ‘stunt beer’ with Theak-ston’s Old Peculiar.Bragg’s done well for himself and I’m sure our mostcultured Cumbrian is delighted with the news that atakeaway in his hometown has been nominated forthe British Kebab Awards.Our literary tradition is also interesting, not least forbeing based on out of control drug fiends who wouldgive letter day pretenders like Hunter Thompson arun for their money. One of the most notorious, Co-leridge, not only wrote some of the world’s most fa-mous poems smashed out of his mind, he alsoinvented the sport of rock climbing, simply by tryingto get home one night over the fells with a head fullof laudanum, cocaine and Lord knows what else.He seemed to enjoy it, later describing his adventure,“I was beginning according to my custom to laugh atmyself for a madman, when the sight of the cragsabove me, and the impetuous clouds just over them,posting so luridly and so rapidly northward, overawedme. I lay in a state of almost prophetic Trance & De-light. O God, I exclaimed aloud, how calm, howblessed am I now.”I’ve also got experience of high office in the church.When I was in Tanzania, the local bishop spent eachday in communion with two bottles of JohnnyWalker. He also began construction of a cathedral thesize of Saint Peter’s in Rome.With this background and the right set of genitalia,it can only be a matter of time before I get a Bish-opric all of my own. I tick all the right boxes andthat’s what organized religion is all about these days.I seek this office, not for myself or any worldly gain,but to try to drag the Church of England into, at leastthe 19th Century.

[email protected]

By Andy Carling

Gender equality in Science and Technology: what numbers don’t tell

Gender balance in science and technologyis a complex subject with lots of aspects tobe considered but often translated in termsof percentage of female researchers, or di-rectors of departments. What do suchnumbers tell us? Very little. Different fac-

tors contribute to create those low figures. Discrimination? Cer-tainly, most often subtle and creeping as some studies recentlyshowed. Stereotypes? Likely. Ask young girls what they visualisewhen they think of a woman scientist. Too often they will see an un-attractive, socially unsuccessful lady locked down in a cold labora-tory or a shabby nerd in front of a PC. And fighting stereotypeswith a strong opposite message is dangerous: you can easily slip up,like the story of the recent EC video on Science as 'a girl thing',teaches us. Critics to that video as well often end up in enhancingthe stereotype. Cultural and social pressures? Probably it’s the big-ger factor. In a 1998 study, Anne Colley argued that girls were oftendissuaded from opting for Science and Technology subjects. Theimages of the instrumental male and the expressive female, sug-gested by Talcott Parsons in the 1950s, still persists over male andfemale attitudes, with Information Technology taught in ways moreappealing to boys than girls and girls more successful in Maths andScience when taught in single sex classes. Yet, the strongest pressuresoften come from familial and the closest social environment whendriving young women to the trade-off choice of career vs family.Real free personal choice? We could also consider that women maystart a scientific career and have opportunities open but then theydo prefer to opt for something else following their own free will. Inthe future I suspect that this last one will become the only factor in-fluencing differences in gender participation to scientific and tech-nical careers paths and to top management roles.

Carmela Asero is a Senior Strategy and Policy Officer in Cloud Computing with European Grid Infrastructure.

Beyond the sky limit: a personal experience in space

In talking about Women in researchand science today, let me share my per-sonal experience in space. Indeed, aftermore than 20 years of involvement inspace activities, I became the firstwoman ever to be appointed Director

at the European Space Agency since its establishment in 1975.15 days later a second woman director came. And, as Direc-tor of Human Spaceflight I’ve been the only female directorin the world so far. Definitely, diversity is a plus. We, as womenworking in R&D, need to keep our own leadership style, ourway of being at ease with everyone, with a strong sense of re-lationships, vision and ability to dare, a sense of history, cred-ibility and flexibility, feeling the innovation, an high sense formulticulturalism, strong attitude to take decisions, persever-ance, continuous dedication and commitment, and passion.But the glass ceiling is there. And therefore, in 2009, togetherwith HESpace CEO, Claudia Kessler, I founded an interna-tional association, Women in Aerospace Europe, and I’m itsPresident since its inception. WIA-E is a sister association ofWomen in Aerospace (US), and, after Europe, also Canadaand Africa were created. We dream about a worldwide net-working organization, but to do what? Well, advancing edu-cation, advocating political c o m m i t m e nt, attracting morewomen, fostering the women interest, improving access ofwomen to leadership positions and providing a networkingplatform for women, all in the aerospace sector. With WIA Europe, we got the confirmation that active fe-male role models can help young female scientists and engi-neers to find their way. I’m committed to it.

Simonetta Di Pippo Responsible, European Space PolicyObservatory, Italian Space Agency – Brussels Office Presi-dent and co-founder, Women in Aerospace Europe


ANALYSIS

CONSTRUCTIVE AMBIGUITY

Crucial time in fight against AIDSOne of the biggest and most high profiledates of the year for human rights’ advocatesis upon us again. And without wanting to becomplacent, in 2012 the news once again isreasonably promising. AIDS deaths arefalling fast in sub-Saharan Africa, 25 coun-tries have at least halved new HIV infec-tions in the past decade, and new infectionsin children are falling. The Executive Di-rector of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, hasneatly described this progress, saying that"we are moving from despair to hope."

For those in the sexual and reproductivehealth and rights field this news is very en-couraging. For the fight against HIV/AIDSis part of a far larger fight for the sexual andreproductive health and rights of the world’smost disadvantaged. The fight to be able toreproduce safely and in an empowered andeducated way; to avoid contracting HIVand other sexually transmitted infections; toavoid marrying someone you do not wantto marry; to avoid falling pregnant whenyou do not want to; to avoid facing the risksof giving birth when you are still only achild; and to readily be able to receive thetreatment you require if you are living withany of these problems. And if one element

in this battle is advancing, it will in turn beadvancing the cause of all the rest.

In 2012 the momentum is strongly in ourfavour. In July this fight received its greatestboost in recent years, which stands to affectnot only the fight against HIV/AIDS, butalso against the spread of all other SexuallyTransmitted Infections, unwanted preg-nancies, maternal morbidity and mortality.An event that also stands to affect the des-tinies of the girls and young women in thedeveloping world. On 11th July more than150 leaders from donor and developingcountries, international agencies, civil society,foundations and the private sector met inLondon to make one of the biggest ever in-ternational commitments in favour ofwomen’s sexual and reproductive rights.They committed to provide 120 millionwomen in the world’s poorest countries withaccess to contraceptives by 2020. If the lead-ers honour their commitments thesepledges stand to eliminate over half of theworld’s unmet need for contraception. Howoften do our leaders halve a global problemin one day?

The fate of the world’s people who aremost vulnerable to HIV/AIDS now looksmore promising than it has ever looked be-fore. For in addition to the political and

funding advances that are being made, sci-ence is also providing more and more solu-tions. We are finding new ways for womento control their fertility and research into an-tiretrovirals and microbicides is proposingan increasing array of ways in which hu-mans can be protected from HIV.

But now as we reflect on the positivenews, a crucial date is looming on the hori-zon. For the initial deadline for the Millen-nium Development Goals is fastapproaching, and we are as yet unsure as towhat will replace them. Let us therefore usethe success we have seen in combattingHIV/AIDS and the political momentumon family planning that has now engulfedour leaders, and push for the sexual and re-productive health and rights of our womento be at the centre of the developmentagenda of the future. If we can help womenlead safe and empowered reproductive lives,and have the partners and the number ofchildren of their choosing then we can helpthe momentum continue. In short, if we cankeep health-related Millennium Develop-ment Goals at the heart of developmentthen the progress can continue!

Neil Datta, Secretary of the EuropeanParliamentary Forum on Population andDevelopment

By Neil Datta

By Carmela Asero By Simona Di Pippo

The European Gender Summit29-30 November 2012

The European Parliament, BrusselsMore women in science, better research results for everybody


EU NUCLEAR

As the world’s population increases andseeks higher living standards, people needmore and more resources. This is particu-larly true in the fields of both primary andelectric energy. When looking forward tosee how this can be achieved, I believe it isalso useful to look backwards so as tolearn from the errors of the past. Eco-nomic development has always been ac-companied by a greater usage of naturalresources - but at what cost? The Euro-pean industrial revolution of the 19th and20th centuries was built on the indiscrim-inate use of coal. Some say we got rich bypolluting the atmosphere and now we tryto tell others they cannot do the same. Sothese days, we cannot discuss energywithout also discussing the environment,global diplomacy, economic developmentand social welfare particularly of futuregenerations.

Well, as a politician, an environmental-ist, an engineer and, not least, a mother - Ido feel I have something to say on thesubject - especially on nuclear energywhich was my career before politics.

Although this subject is very oftenraised at national or regional level, I wantto emphasise the very global dimension ofboth our task and the challenges we mustface to meet that task. For example, whilstindividual countries of the EuropeanUnion have the right to define their ownenergy choices, I do not believe they havethe moral right to impact in a negativeway upon other Member States, othercountries of the world and, indeed, theworld itself in terms of indiscriminate de-pletion of natural resources and pollutionof the planet.

This is why we politicians are expectedto take visionary strategic decisions forthe future developments regarding energy,not only to create an appropriate legisla-tive environment but also to engage inglobal diplomacy which, hopefullystretches beyond our legislative bound-aries.

Using the carrot or stick analogy, whilstit may be OK to use a stick only on your owndonkey, you can offer a carrot to anyoneelse’s!

When I consider my own possibilitieswith global diplomacy, I look first forcommon ground and then for EuropeanUnion good practices to share globally.Easy words perhaps - but tough actionsfor sure.

The common ground is sustainable de-velopment. I do not believe there is anyresponsible argument against sustainabil-ity. By this I mean human developmentwhere resources are used to meet humanneeds while preserving the environment -so that these needs can be met not only in

the present, but also for generations tocome.

In the EU we are working towards thisthrough the implementation of the Cli-mate-Energy Package. This means thatthe Member States have decided to acceptprovisions on limiting emissions, increas-ing the share of renewable energy sources(RES), improving energy efficiency andincluding the industry into the EmissionTrading System - or ETS. The ETS is analternative to a carbon tax aimed at en-couraging investment in cleaner tech-nologies rather than directly penalisingthe continuation of a polluting process.

For the longer-term vision, the Euro-pean Commission has prepared calcula-tions for different scenarios of the futuredevelopment of the energy sector in the

document entitled Energy Roadmap 2050.In that document the Commission is

paying its utmost attention to the envi-ronmental component of sustainable de-velopment as it assumes that aninternational agreement on climatechange will eventually be reached. Thus,even within the least ambitious scenarioof the Energy Roadmap 2050, we see sav-ings in primary energy demand by at least32% and the share of RES is above 50%.Consequently the share of conventionalenergy sources, both coal and nuclear, di-minish substantially. For coal to maintainits share, we look for success in the com-mercialisation of the technology of Car-bon Capture and Storage (CCS). For thenuclear energy share, the European Com-mission’s forecasts vary between 2.6% in

primary energy by 2050 or as high as17.5% which represents about 3% morethan in current energy mix.

But for nuclear energy, the most impor-tant factor remains public acceptance.

By these means, there is no doubt thatEurope is walking the path of sustainabledevelopment and is setting a fine exampleto the rest of the world - but at what cost?Particularly as we climb out of economicrecession, we must not allow our decar-bonising efforts to threaten the security ofsupply and the competitiveness of our en-ergy intensive and employment intensiveindustries that are exposed to global mar-kets. To have a strong global voice wemust also have a strong industry and pub-lic support. Security and cost of energy

The nuclear centre of French electricity company Elecricite de France (EDF) at Cattenom.

By Romana Jordan MEP

ENERGY

Nuclear Energy as part of


EU NUCLEAR

strongly affect the wellbeing of our house-holds as well as competitiveness of oureconomy.

So the aim is a clear one:

We must seek global acceptance of our highecological standards and reduce the gap be-tween the EU and comparable economies.

There is an element of urgency here tooas, for example, China is currently com-missioning 1000MW of new coal firedplant every 5th day - with no CCS. Look-ing west from here, the USA has 5% ofthe world population but 20% of globalemissions - and no carbon policy at all.But there is another more encouragingside to the coin: Australia, California,South Korea and China have now voicedtheir decisions to create a system similarto the ETS.

So this means that the European energymix is dependent on many factors:

l Citizen awareness and acceptance,l State of the economy,l Development of new technologiesl Investments in the energy sector and

the vision and wisdom of our policies,and not least

l Global diplomacy leading to bindingagreements.

And what role will nuclear energy play inthis sustainable development?

Regarding the current World and Eu-ropean challenges, the future of nuclearenergy should be bright as it doesn’t causeharmful emissions, it diminishes and dis-solves import dependency and is a mature,competitive, stable energy source whosebase-load function cannot be replaced byrenewables.

(Source: James Conca of Forbes)The real problem is the type of public

concern which follows in the case of anaccident. This was demonstrated last yearwith the earthquake and tsunami causingthe nuclear accident in Fukushima. Eventhough the cause could not be repeated ontheir territory, Germany and Switzerlanddecided to cancel the nuclear option andItaly prolonged the moratorium on use ofnuclear power.

One wonders what kind of tsunami couldthreaten Switzerland.

On the contrary, Finland continues thebuilding of a fifth nuclear power unit with2 more to follow. The United Kingdom,France, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia,Lithuania, Hungary and others continueto develop their nuclear projects. Proba-bly not all of them will be realised in theshort term but they are arguably muchneeded in the EU to replace the retiringunits and to guarantee large scale base-load and competitive energy as Germany,in particular, increases its share of fluctu-ating wind energy. Of course, for the de-

velopment of nuclear by some MemberStates to impact positively on others, thecompletion and reinforcement of Europe’stransmission system is also an essential el-ement. Everything is interlinked.

So, if nuclear is such an important, clean,competitive and possible solution, why doesit not enjoy universal public support?

The incident in Fukushima not onlyshook the earth, it shook public confi-dence too. Then the media hype did muchto increase the fear that comes from mis-understanding. After Fukushima, our ownEnergy Commissioner called it an ‘apoc-alypse’ even though the details were notknown at that time. Such reactions frompublic figures actually prevents, in myview, what is needed - and that is an hon-est and open social dialogue on the energychoices and an identification of whatneeds to be improved for each. In the caseof nuclear, I believe we do need commonEuropean safety standards and muchgreater harmony of regulatory controls. Ihave felt this for many years but now wecan all see the positive evidence from theresults of the stress tests conducted in theEuropean NPPs.

The industry reacted in a most positiveand urgent way, the European Commis-sion, through ENSREG, brought togetherthe best practices of the national regula-tors and promoted real peer review of theresults and the remedies. However, weshould be aware that this has not been thecreation of an EU wide nuclear regulator,rather an EU-coordinated self-assessmentof safety culture within the sector.

Of course there will still be the politicaland media factions who will criticise thesepositive developments - but democracy hasits price too!

I also believe that the Stress Test suc-cess would not have been possible with-out the first EU Nuclear Safety Directiveadopted in 2008 after many years of talksand negotiations. Though the final docu-ment contained only a few of the manyproposals of the MEPs convinced thatEuropean nuclear safety can be guaran-teed only by establishing harmonisedsafety standards, it was a beginning andeven the longest journey begins with thefirst step.

When the industry and its regulatorspull together in the frame of this directive,differences in practices become obviousand the best practices can be shared. Oneexample taken from the stress tests is inemergency preparedness. In 2 countries,there is less than 1 hour available to oper-ators to restore the safety functions in caseof loss of all electrical power. On the otherhand, in 4 countries they have additionalsafety systems fully independent from thenormal safety systems located in areas well

protected against external events.

This is an enormous difference whichworries me both as MEP and as a nuclearengineer - and this is only one example.

Our citizens and neighbours deserve anuclear safety level that is consistent,comparable, ever advancing and confi-dence-giving. We expect that the Euro-pean Commission will keep its promiseand prepare a proposal for the upgrade ofthe current directive on nuclear safety byMarch next year.

So, in conclusion, may I say the follow-ing regarding the nuclear option in ourenergy mix?

Sustainable, independent and affordableenergy is an important element in oureconomic recovery and nuclear energymeets those criteria.

We cannot develop our energy resourcesin isolation. Every Member State, the EUitself, our neighbours and the global vil-lage each has an impact on the other - andon the planet. We must share our re-sources both now and in the future.

Public confidence will only come froman honest, open social dialogue which canotherwise be damaged by political dogma,

media hype and indiscriminate commentsfrom public figures.

For sensible and essential developmentof nuclear energy in the EU, we mustbuild on the positive development of thestress tests to develop a set of all-encom-passing safety standards and a harmonisedapproach to nuclear regulation - or we willcontinue to lack the public support to de-velop new nuclear plants. At the sametime we must ensure that, globally, aproper implementation of internationalnuclear safety standards, developed in theframework of the International AtomicEnergy Agency is achieved.

For success in our global diplomacy to-wards encouraging binding internationalagreements to curb climate change, ourpolicies must be pragmatic, economicallyviable and well explained.

A strategy is not a list of wishes but a listof ambitious and realistic tasks.

Romana Jordan is a Member of The Par-liament’s Industry, Research and EnergyCommittee and Substitute on The Com-mittee of the Environment, PublicHealth and Food Safety.

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the EU’s decarbonising strategy

On 23 November, oil prices fell in Asia as a fra-gile truce between Israel and Hamas that stoppedweeklong fighting in the Gaza Strip continued tohold and gloomy eurozone manufacturing dataweighed on buying sentiment. New York's maincontract, light sweet crude for delivery in Januaryshed 25 cents to $87.13 a barrel in the afternoonand Brent North Sea crude for January deliverysank 30 cents to $110.25.

On 14 November, Israel launched an offen-sive to halt rocket fire from Gaza, unleashingairstrikes on Hamas-linked targets, whileHamas and other Gaza militants showeredIsrael with rockets. The eight days of fightingkilled 161 Palestinians and six Israelis.

A truce reached on 21 November was stillintact, easing fears of an escalating war thatcould spill beyond Gaza and eventually disruptoil supplies. But Palestinian medical staff saidIsrael Defence Forces gunfire across the Gazaborder killed one Palestinian and wounded se-veral others on 23 November, Reuters repor-ted. A Hamas spokesman said Israel violatedthe Egypt-mediated cease-fire, adding thatHamas plans to report the shooting to Cairo.An IDF spokeswoman said reports of the in-cident are being investigated.

On 22 November, Israel Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu said his government was"giving the ceasefire a chance" but was prepa-red for the eventuality it could collapse.

In Europe, a survey by research firm Markitshowed the region's November manufacturingactivity little changed from lows experienced inOctober.

Events in the Middle East dominated the oilmarket last week, keeping the risk premiumhigh. Despite the prospect of continued in-creases in production from the US and Iraq,

combined with the European debt crisis, oilprices started last week firm amid escalatingviolence in the Middle East. On 19 November,oil prices rallied more than $2 a barrel. Theprice of benchmark Brent crude oil rose asmuch as $2.39 a barrel, or 2.2%, to touch$111.34 – the highest in nearly two weeks.

Even though neither Israel nor the Palesti-nian Territories is a significant oil producer, tra-ders and investors feared the Israel-Gazatensions could spread to other countries in theregion and affect oil exports.

Manouchehr Takin, Senior Petroleum Up-stream Analyst with the Centre for GlobalEnergy Studies (CGES) in London, told NewEurope on 19 November that there is a small li-kelihood that Israel would use the Gaza conflictas an excuse to attack Iran, Takin said, remin-

ding that Israel has said that Hamas fired Ira-nian-made rockets towards Tel Aviv. “If thathappens then, of course, the price of oil wouldshoot up,” Takin said.

Takin reminded that growth in demand isdeclining in most European states and theoutlook for China doesn’t look bright for thenext six months. “In general it should be a softmarket,” he said. However, oil prices have notgone down because winter is approachingand also in the back of traders’ minds are thesanctions against Iran and the Iran conflict,Takin said.

The oil market is already strained by the san-ctions on Iran, which have caused the country’sproduction to fall to a 22-year low. “There hasbeen an element of Iran in the background thathas stopped the oil price from going down and

that is still there but if traders believe that Israelmight use this to attack Iran then it will exag-gerate that,” Takin said.

Chris Weafer, chief strategist for Moscow’sSberbank Investment Research, wrote in an e-mailed note to investors on 19 November thattrouble in the Middle East helps boost oil.“While most asset-class investors abhor uncer-tainty and the threat of war in any economi-cally important part of the world, the oil markettakes the opposite view. What others see as risk,oil traders view as agreeable instability,” hewrote. “Crude provides support for ruble andoil producers. Oil should move higher thisweek as the Israel-Gaza news looks more likelyto worsen and, thereby, to raise concerns aboutthe involvement of oil-producing nations,”Weafer wrote.

On 22 November, British oil major BP andRussia’s Rosneft came closer to sealing their tie-up agreement, winning Russian governmentapproval for a key part of it and signing a finalagreement on the sale by BP to Rosneft of halfof the third biggest Russian oil company,TNK-BP, as part of a major shift in strategy by

the British company. "BP, Rosneft and Ros-neftegaz -- the state-owned parent company ofRosneft -- have signed definitive and bindingsale and purchase agreements for the sale ofBP's 50% interest in TNK-BP to Rosneft andBP's investment in Rosneft," a BP statementsaid. The deal is still subject to approval by reg-

ulatory authorities and should be completed "inthe first half of 2013," it added.

On 22 October, Rosneft announced that ithad reached an agreement with BP and a con-sortium of Russian billionaires known as AARto purchase their respective 50% holdings inTNK-BP. Under the terms of its deal with

Rosneft, BP is to receive $17.1bn in cash andshares giving it 12.84% of the equity in Ros-neft. BP also plans to buy a separate 5.66%stake in Rosneft from the Russian state for$4.8bn, which along with a small stake of1.25% that BP already owns, would give it19.75% of Rosneft's equity in all.

ENERGY|BUSINESS

BP, Rosneft formalise terms for TNK-BP sale

On 21 November, Royal Dutch Shell said itlifted restrictions in place since October forsome crude oil exports from Nigeria. Shellspokesman Precious Okolobo said thatShell’s Nigerian subsidiary lifted a “force ma-jeure” warning on its Bonny Light crudeshipments. The term is used when an oilcompany cannot cover the promised supplyfrom the field. Shell declared force majeureon 19 October due to attacks on its Trans-

Niger pipeline. Flooding in October in theoil-rich Niger Delta also prompted Shell todeclare force majeure on exports.

Oil rebels in the south of the country haveattacked oil installations there as they fight fora greater share of the Nigerian oil wealth.

Nigeria relies on oil for about 75% of itsrevenues.

Meanwhile, Shell's subsidiary in Nigerialast week said it sold a 30% stake in Oil

Mining Lease 30 in the Niger Delta toShoreline Natural Resources Ltd. for$567mn. Shoreline is a company formedbetween a subsidiary of Heritage Oil andNigeria's Shoreline Power Co. Ltd.

The company stated the divestment was partof an effort to reshape its assets as the Nigeriangovernment aims to encourage more domesticparticipation in the country's upstream oil andgas business.

In related news, Shell said Nigeria needs toimprove security patrols on its pipelines to curbtheft. Shell removed 135 illegal connectionsfrom its pipelines in the first ten months of theyear. Shell shut 25,000 barrels a day of crudeoutput on 11 November from its Imo Riverfield after finding several crude theft points ona connecting pipeline. Those arrested in con-nection with that incident are from a contrac-tor company providing surveillance services.

ENERGY|OIL

Shell resumes Bonny Light exports from Nigeria

ENERGY|OIL PRICES

Oil market likes Israeli conflicts with Hamas, IranBy Kostis Geropoulos


ENERGY & CLIMATE

An Israeli F-15 Eagle fighter jet takes off from an Israeli Air Force Base, 19 November 2012.

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On 21 November, Members of the Eu-ropean Parliament in Strasbourg adoptedtwo resolutions, saying the emergence ofexploration for shale oil and shale gas insome EU countries should be backed upwith "robust regulatory regimes".

In order to meet increasing gas demandand lessen their reliance on Russian sup-plies, member states like Poland are look-ing for new sources of natural gas, alongwith other measures such as boosting take-up of renewables and energy efficiency.

However, MEPs warned that memberstates should be "cautious" about permit-ting exploitation of unconventional fossilfuels pending further analysis of whetherEU-level regulation is appropriate.

Each member state has the right to de-

cide on whether to exploit shale gas, saysthe Energy Committee resolution, pre-pared by Greek MEP Niki Tzavela, andadopted with 492 votes in favour, 129against and 13 abstentions.

However, a "robust regulatory regime"is needed for all shale gas activities, in-cluding hydraulic fracturing. Environ-mentally-friendly processes and bestavailable techniques should be used toachieve the highest safety standards,MEPs said.

Although the European Commissionhas concluded that EU rules adequatelycover licensing and early exploration andproduction of shale gas, the prospect ofexpanding exploitation of unconventionalfossil fuels suggests that "a thorough

analysis" of EU regulation on these fuelsis needed, say MEPs in an EnvironmentCommittee report drafted by PolishMEP Boguslaw Sonik and adopted with562 votes in favour, 86 against and 43 ab-stentions.

Special plans for water use should ac-company any hydraulic fracturing (frack-ing) activities and as much water aspossible should be recycled, says the reso-lution. Companies must disclose whichchemicals are used, in order to complywith EU legislation, the text read.

An amendment urging Member Statesnot to authorise any new fracking opera-tions in the EU, tabled by MEPs fromvarious groups was rejected by 391 votesto 262, with 37 abstentions.

ENERGY|SHALE GAS

MEPs: Member states need robust rules on fracking

On 20 November, Russia's EnergyMinister Alexander Novak said hisministry is considering a request fromNovatek, the country's largest inde-pendent natural-gas producer, to allowan exception to state-controlledGazprom's monopoly on liquefied nat-ural gas (LNG) exports. But the minis-ter added that there is no final decision.

"In theory there are possible optionsspecifically for LNG," Novak told re-porters. "What form to use and what sys-tem of agreements with GazpromExport and others — it would need to bedeveloped specifically."

Gazprom is the only company allowedby law to export gas from Russia. Inde-pendent producers are obliged to con-clude contracts for export with the gasholding companies. But Novatek is push-ing for changes to the law. Russia’s En-ergy Ministry plans to developappropriate proposals at the request ofNovatek until the New Year.

Novak also said Russian gas productionwould increase slightly to 677bn cubicmetres in 2012 from 671bn in 2011. Out-put could rise to 950bn cubic metres peryear by 2030, with the growth in demandexpected mainly from Asia, he concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin isconcerned about Gazprom’s decliningmarkets in Europe and wants to Russia totap the growing Asian market throughLNG exports, experts say. For its part, Eu-rope is also interested in striking dealswith other Russian firms, like Novatek, inorder to weaken Gazprom's monopoly onexports and ultimately push for lower nat-ural gas prices.

Novatek said late last month it is intalks with potential (gas) customers to ex-pand its trading operations in Europe.The company is pursuing plans to widenits customer base. It signed a deal in Julyto trade natural gas with Energie Baden-

Württemberg (EnBW), the third-largestelectric utility in Germany, for the deliv-ery of about 2bn cubic metres of naturalgas annually.

On 19 November, the Kremlin leadertold Novatek Chairman of the Manage-ment Board Leonid Mikhelson to workwith Gazprom's export arm to secureforeign sales contracts. “Your company,together with Gazprom, or Gazpromex-port, rather, is responsible for the workto conclude preliminary contracts forLNG exports to the main customersabroad. We know the procedures for thiskind of work and know that investmentcan be raised only - or chiefly at least -on the basis of existing contracts. I hopetherefore that, though little depends onyou here, you will nonetheless carry outthis work together with Gazprom verysoon,” Putin said in remarks postedby the Kremlin website.

Novatek is controlled by Gunvor trad-ing house founder Gennady Timchenko.

Novatek like most of Russia's major oilproducers has large reserves and plans toincrease gas production.

Novatek is building an LNG plant onRussia’s Arctic Yamal peninsula, whichhas France's Total as a 20% shareholder.Production is set to begin in 2016.

Putin asked Mikhelson how the workon the Yamal LNG project is going. TheNovatek Chairman said everything isgoing to plan. “Our partner [Total] doesnot have a big stake, but it is a reliablepartner, and the most important thing isthat everything is going to plan. We havealmost completed the preliminary FEEDproject design work and have submittedthe project for evaluation. We have pro-ductive co-operation with the State Ex-pert Evaluation Department and withenvironmental evaluation officials, and weare thankful to them for this. We expect toget the results from them within amonth,” Mikhelson said in remarks alsoposted at the Kremlin website.


ENERGY & CLIMATE

Kiev to avoidRussia-Ukrainegas crisis

Kiev does not see the possibility of a Russia-Ukrainegas crisis this winter, Valeriy Chaly, deputy director ofthe Razumkov Centre in Kiev and chairman of the Ex-pert Council on the Ukraine-EU Committee, told NewEurope on 23 November.“It’s a very complicated picture, but I’m not predictingany problems in the winter period because Ukraine isnow ready to guarantee payments for the Russian gasand transportation from Russia to Europe,” said Chaly,who is also a former deputy foreign minister of Ukraine.“Last year Ukraine even used its own resources to guar-antee transportation in the winter period of the gasfrom Russia to the European Union. And it was a verysignificant example how Ukraine can contribute in theenergy security of Europe,” he said. “So I don’t predictany other situations this winter.”Ukraine has been trying to lower the price for importedRussian gas. Ukraine currently pays $430 per 1,000cubic metres. The gas issue is very important forUkraine because it’s part of the problems with the for-mer Soviet republic’s budget and social spending whichare affected by the growth of price of Russian gas, hesaid. Also the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hassaid that Kiev needs to increase the price of gas for itsconsumers in order for the Fund to prolong the standbyloan to Ukraine, he added.But Chaly noted that energy discussions between Kievand Moscow go beyond the high prices Ukraine paysfor Russian gas. The two sides discuss the gas marketin Ukraine, he said, reminding that the current amountof gas supplies from Russia to Ukraine decreased dra-matically for this year – down to 27bn cubic metres -and next year Ukraine’s government plans to take lessgas than in 2012.Chaly said Gazprom’s access to the Ukrainian gas mar-ket is narrowing. He said Kiev and Moscow are also dis-cussing rules and mechanisms because Ukraine is partof the EU Energy Community and plans to implementEuropean norms in the gas market. Meanwhile, Ukraine has been working to tap othersources of energy in order to reduce its Russian imports.Earlier this month, Ukraine's state-owned natural gascompany Naftogaz secured a deal with Germany'sRWE to get gas. The gas will be delivered to Ukrainethrough Poland, by reversing one of the few lines thatconnect the two countries' transmission systems. “Thisagreement was achieved and all the facilities are ready,”Chaly said. “The amounts of gas are not enough tocompletely replace Russian gas. But it’s another sourceof transportation of gas to Ukraine.” He noted thatUkraine is also planning a liquefied natural gas (LNG)terminal and drill for shale gas. Moreover, the energy-hungry country is trying to increase energy efficiency.But he stressed that it will take time.The Razumkov Centre Deputy Director stressed thatRussia-Ukraine co-operation in the energy sphere willbe very important. “Ukraine will be more independentin gas supplies but, at the same time, Ukraine shows thatalso it is ready to use all the facilities as a very importanttransportation country,” Chaly said. He expressed hisdisappointment that Russia will bypass Ukraine by con-structing its Nord and South Stream pipelines. “ButUkraine is ready for that,” he quipped.

[email protected] on twitter @energyinsider

By Kostis Geropoulos

ENERGY INSIDER

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said his ministry may allow an exception to

Gazprom's monopoly on LNG exports.

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ENERGY|GAS

Novak: Russia may end Gazprom’sLNG export monopoly

Japan seems to be ahead of Europe, not onlybecause the sun is rising in the east and weeuro-centrics drew the Prime Meridian herethrough Greenwich and thereby setting theinternational standard for time zones fromGMT. But also as consumers of ‘BeaujolaisNouveau’ the Japanese seem to be faster.According to French law, only from the thirdThursday of November can consumers uncorkthis ‘Vin Primeur’ and it should be finished withthe Christmas holidays.

However, in Japan already on 27 Octobersome 3000 bottles of ‘BN’ arrived by air atHaneda Airport. Who knows --following thehappy news of a possible Free Trade Agreementwith the EU--, if the recent celebrators inTokyo did not quench their thirst with this earlydrop of fruity wine from the region of Beaujeu?It truly is only a drop in the lake of the sevenmillion bottles of ‘BN’ that altogether areexpected to be sold during this season in Nip-pon. But as well as the start even the end of the‘BN’ season seems to be less clear there on theislands, where Christmas is more commercialthan religious and is followed soon by the give-and-take spiral of St.Valentine. Why not alsobreak up the monopoly of the confectionaryindustry during this ‘romantic’ time with com-petition from the colour of love in liquid?

“In vino veritas” said the Romans to get tothe truth after all the love talk, and on top of ita French film, popular in Japan, even hinted atthe red wine’s health enhancing qualities.

The story of the ‘Primeur’ from Beaujeu is notonly a beautiful game like in its original name forEuropeans, but it also shows how commercialsuccess can be built in Japan once you win theimagination of the Japanese consumers. Suchan image sticks in the visual culture of East Asiaand can create new consumption patterns togenerate lucrative results for Europeans beyondour imagination if properly primed.

There are many more commercial niches forEuropeans to penetrate and help Japan to rein-vent itself in the re-formative post-Fukushimaperiod not only with our goods, but even moreso with services from Europe.

Of course, European kinds of services are notliterally to be translated into Japanese as “sa-bisu” (their transcription of the word, alsomeaning free of cost), but they offer plenty ofworth for the Euro that is currently cheap interms of Yen.

These European services could also con-tribute to the Japanese reflecting about theirnotion of a ‘caring society’ and of wellbeing thatis more associated with Scandinavian ‘flexi-curity’ than Anglo-Saxon ‘hire’n fire’.

Currently drawn between the American andthe European models, the Japanese as individ-uals seem to be hardly happy, as shown in thecountry’s suicide rate ranking highest in theworld, next only to Korea’s. As the averageJapanese consider particularly their personalfreedom as low, better choice for them as con-sumers could considerably contribute to anoverall higher satisfaction.

However, when you already possess most ofthe latest gadgets of goods (and flats are smalland full in urban Japan!), it is rather smarterservices that may make you happier.

Recent studies confirm the competitiveweaknesses of service industries in Japan. Thegeneral share of services in value added of theeconomy in Japan in 2010 reached only 73%,while for instance in France services haveamounted to 80 %. In particular in communi-cation, finance and business services the share ofvalue added to GDP for Japan is far laggingbehind.

But nowhere are the opportunities for EUservices in Japan more obvious in the long-termthan in its fast growing lucrative ‘Silver Market’.Statistics demonstrate the accelerating advanceof ageing in Japan, with 36% of the populationexpected to be 65 years or above in 2050.

As Japan faces a declining and ageing popu-lation, demand for taking care of an ever-grow-ing number of elderly people will further rise.As a result of these demographic effects Japanfinds common cause with Europe to reinventitself and improve productivity as well as effi-ciency in the service sector. The ‘Silver Agers’have already grown into a new highly profitabletarget group with great market potential forEuropean kinds of services.

With household assets in cash and depositshaving grown over the last twenty years by 50%,these ‘Oldies’ are able and willing to spendmoney on services that come with Europeanexpertise in quality products and that meet cus-tomers’ real wants and needs in health care,housing, information technology, agricultureand financial services.

The lack of variety because of absence ofcompetition in these sectors in Japan negativelyaffects customers’ choice as well as overall effi-ciency and effectiveness of productivity. Cur-rently customers are often still deprived ofchoice between different offers and access tolatest equipments, treatments, and personal care.In addition, they are often exposed to higherprices due to a lack of local competition.

European businesses and in particular inno-vative small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) could fill these gaps and provide theJapanese market with the required know-how,progress and productivity gains.

Above all, EU businesses benefit from a com-parative advantage in the areas of health care,renewable energy and bio-food given theirexperience, high standards and in-depth expert-ise. Provided EU SMEs are given the chance toaccess the Japanese market without burden-some non-tariff- barriers (NTBs), Europe’s andJapan’s economies as well as customers are goingto benefit from their entrepreneurial spirit.

There is, hence, a strong need for EU nego-tiators of an FTA with Japan to focus on NTBs,notably in services.

With no tariffs as such on services, more orless all obstacles for these industries automati-cally appear as NTBs. However, this creates theproblem of the ‘link of tariffs and NTBs’ fornegotiators. How can they compare the impor-tance of NTBs faced by the EU in Japan (e.g.for services) with that of tariffs encountered bythe Japanese in the EU (e.g. for cars)? Thus thequantification of NTBs has become the realsticking point in international trade negotia-tions since we have managed to bring down thenumbers in tariffs, but are still confronted withNTBs. Who can convincingly calculate theimportance of (future?) NTBs to trade rangingfrom constantly changing differences in cultureof consumption and limited language inlabelling all the way to arbitrarily imposeddivergent product standards for forthcomingtechnologies?

Fortunately, in terms of common values forstandard-setting Nippon’s norms of administra-tive guidance and ‘soft law’ have much more incommon with the EU’s approach of private-public partnerships (PPP) and consensus-building amongst experts than with the Amer-icans’ approach of ‘winner takes it all’.

Precisely, through its impact on standards andNTBs behind the border and thus in daily lifein the country Europe has a chance to changeJapan, the world’s third biggest national econo-my. Japan could accelerate towards a positivecomprehension of competition providing morechoices for its consumers, not only in energysupply but also in services on offer. The changefor the Japanese will not simply mean more ofwhat they call “kokusaika” (a rather passive‘internationalisation’ that includes the characterfor indecency). European experience shouldrather help Japan in moving towards peacefulregionalism and open omnilateralism for thebetter of all of us.

Wolfgang Pape is a retired European Commis-sion official who worked on EU Asia Affairs

DIPLOMACY

The EU’s chance to change Japan? (Part 2)

By Wolfgang Pape


ANALYSIS

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda arrival at the ninth Asia-Europe summit in Vientiane on 4 November. At the time, the debt-laden European nations lobbied Asia's economic dynamos for help to calm the crisis

raging in the Eurozone.

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The chief task of the EU Integrated Ruleof Law Mission for Iraq (EUJUST LEX-Iraq) is to provide training to Iraqisworking for three main components of thestate apparatus of Iraq: police, prisons andjudiciary. Iraqi judges and prosecutors arecurrently trained by the newly formed ju-diciary team of the Mission. Its main ob-jective is to enhance the capacity of theIraqi judiciary by transferring legal knowl-edge, sharing practical skills and offeringlegislative ideas from European judiciar-ies to judges and prosecutors in Iraq.

So far the judiciary team has done someserious training work in Iraq. It has in-creased the interest of many Iraqi lawyersin seeking information on the latest de-velopments in the European criminal jus-tice systems and European judiciaries ingeneral. A good example of this is that, inresponse to requests from the JudicialTraining Institute in Erbil, the capital ofthe Iraqi Kurdistan region, and the JudgesUnion in Kurdistan, the judiciary teamdelivered, in November 2012, a series oflectures on the criminal justice systems ofseven European countries.

Not all countries mentioned were mem-bers of the European Union. Actually, themost interesting country for Iraqi Kurdis-tan is outside the EU. This country isBosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The EU-JUST LEX judicial team gave a lecture onits judiciary and the judicial training con-ducted there. BiH, with the RepublikaSrpska (RS), an autonomous entity there,was an appropriate subject, given its sim-ilarity to Iraq with its autonomous Kur-distan region. The Kurdish lawyers learntwith interest that Republika Srpska has aConstitution, a National Assembly, aConstitutional Court, its own Centre forthe Education of Judges and Prosecutors,and also a Supreme Court whose deci-sions are final. Bosnia and Herzegovinadoes not have a Supreme Court which su-persedes it. It does have a State LevelCourt and a State Level ProsecutionService as well, but they are not superiorto the courts and prosecutors of the enti-ties, including those of the RepublikaSrpska.

Focusing on the criminal justice systemsat the state level of Bosnia and Herzegov-ina and in Republika Srpska, the lecturerspointed out that until 2003 this countryin the Balkan peninsula and its entity ad-hered, like Iraq, to the French model ofcriminal justice where the investigatingjudge is the leader of investigation. How-ever, in 2003, Bosnia and Herzegovinaand its entities adopted, through theirnew Criminal Procedure Codes, the Ger-man model of criminal justice. As a resultof this major transfer, the prosecutor wasgiven the leading role in the investigationphase of criminal proceedings. Now s/heis the person who launches criminal in-vestigations, manages the activities of in-vestigators, discontinues investigations or

prepares indictments to open court pro-ceedings.

The lecturers explained that, under thismodel, there is a judge during the inves-tigative phase of criminal proceedings butthis judge has nothing to do with the in-vestigative judges.

This is another judge known as a pre-liminary proceedings judge. This judge isnot responsible for the progress of inves-tigation and its success; actually, s/he istasked with the protection of humanrights during the process of the investiga-tion. S/he fulfils his/her task only in a pas-sive way: by considering requests ofprosecutors and investigative bodies forpermitting actions that may violatehuman rights. When approached, thisjudge decides whether or not to give per-missions for such actions. Thus, s/hegrants or rejects requests for pre-trial de-tention of suspects, for searches andseizures, for using special investigativemeasures (such as wire tapping, bugging,simulated purchase, controlled delivery),or for an extension of the deadline of in-vestigation. In urgent cases, where thepermission is not obtainable in advance,the prosecutor or the investigative bodiesmay do what they plan to do, but imme-diately they finish their action they mustreport it to the preliminary proceedingsjudge for approval. If s/he does not ap-prove the action, the evidence collectedthrough it is not validated and becomesinadmissible in trial court.

Particular attention was paid to otherinnovations in criminal procedures as well,such as plea bargaining with the accusedand the cross examination of witnesses intrial court. Kurdish lawyers showed seri-ous interest in these matters.

The lecturers from the judiciary teamidentified some symptomatic weaknesses

and gaps in existing rules on criminal pro-cedure. The basic weaknesses and gapsconcerned: the lack of legal status of in-vestigating bodies, the lack of provisionsto regulate horizontal conflicts of juris-diction between prosecutors from the dif-ferent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina,

the underdeveloped regime of special in-vestigative measures as sources of valid ev-idence, the absence of any legal duty forprosecutors to oversee preliminary checksconducted by police; and international po-lice cooperation activities relating to dataon committed crimes.

The development of a new legal frame-work for confiscation was also high-lighted. Republika Srpska was the firstentity of Bosnia and Herzegovina toabandon the old concept of criminal as-sets confiscation and to adopt and estab-lish in a specific law the modernphilosophy of unexplained wealth confis-cation. The Kurdish lawyers were im-pressed to hear that the Republika Srpskais the “locomotive” of criminal law mak-ing in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The team also gave presentations aboutthe judiciaries and the judicial trainingsystems in Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, theNetherlands, Norway and Romania.These countries were appropriate exam-ples for the Kurdistan region and Iraq, ingeneral, as they are Civil Law countries,belonging to the Continental-Europeantradition in law.

The intention is that the Iraqi judiciarywill now benefit from this training inorder to improve the Rule of Law in theirown country.

Anton Girginov is Head of the JudiciaryTeam at EUJUST LEX-Iraq.

JUDICIARYBiH - an example for Iraq? 15NEW EUROPE

25 November - 1 December , 2012EU WORLD

By Anton Girginov

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during his genocide trial, 6 September 2006. Can Iraq improve its

criminal justice system by learning from the example of Republika Srpska?

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17NEW EUROPE25 November - 1 December , 2012ARTS & CULTURE16NEW EUROPE

25 November - 1 December , 2012EU WORLD

The United States Republican Party, orG.O.P., didn’t have much of a chance inthe 2008 presidential election. GeorgeW. Bush, the incumbent president, wasabout to leave office with the lowestapproval rate (22%) in modern history.No matter how much Republican candi-date John McCain tried to disassociatehimself with Bush’s foreign policy gaffes(and he really didn’t try that hard), itwouldn’t be enough. Republicans wouldhave to wait another four years beforethey could feasibly return to the WhiteHouse.

Well, four years and another presiden-tial election have passed, and the result ispretty damning for the G.O.P. Its latestcandidate, Mitt Romney, managed toearn less of the popular vote thanMcCain did.

That statistic is a bit misleading. Thedifference (about 100,000 votes) wasnegligible, and Romney won a higherpercentage (47.60) than McCain (45.65).He also won 206 electoral votes toMcCain’s 173. Still, the lack of improve-ment despite four years’ separation fromBush and widespread disappointment inPresident Barack Obama’s first termsends a clear message: the G.O.P.’s hide-bound ideology has no place in 21st cen-tury America.

Now the party has four more years toget its act together. Given the necessaryextent of the makeover, it won’t be easy.But it is far from impossible.

First, the G.O.P. must recognize itsdemographic shortcomings. A staggering89% of the people who voted for Romneywere white. Fifty years ago, that wouldhave meant sure victory. Today, though,white people make up less than two-thirds of the population. Latinos are clos-ing in on 20% of the population, andRomney earned just 27% of their vote.Women of all races make up 51% of thepopulation, and Romney earned just 44%of their vote.

Why? Because the G.O.P won’t let goof politically suicidal social policies. Itsupports an absolute stance on immigra-tion, repulsing Latinos, and it maintains

anti-abortion beliefs, putting off women.In fact, such pinpointing misses the realmessage: Conservative social policies,including its stance against gay marriageand perhaps even illegalization, areincreasingly rejected in today’s world –even in the U.S. It’s worth repeating: Nopolitical party has any chance of succeed-ing anymore with socially conservativestances.

In the few weeks since the election,G.O.P. strategists have shown signs thatthey are beginning to understand. “We’regoing the way of the dinosaurs, andquick,” strategist David Johnson told TheWashington Post. “We’ve got to give ourpolitical organization a very serious proc-tology exam,” lamented Haley Barbour,former chairman of the RepublicanNational Committee, in the New YorkTimes.

In addition, a new super PAC called“Republicans for Immigration Reform”

signals a clear policy shift on the nearhorizon, though Republican Speaker ofthe House John Boehner caused someconservative grumblings when he calledfor “comprehensive reform” recently.

Next, the next Republican presidentialcandidate must stick to fiscally conserva-tive policy.

The party did so well in the 2010 mid-term elections because it concentrated onissues like liberal government spending,inhibitive regulation, the moral hazard ofbailouts and the economic shortcomingsof Obamacare. These policies representromantic American notions of individualfreedom, opportunity and accountability.Such notions still ring true there today.Fiscal conservatism, therefore, can stillwin.

That said, the G.O.P cannot afford tomake alienating, idiotic comments likeRomney’s “47% think they are victims”gaffe. It also has to reject the Tea Party

and far-right extremists who are againstany kind of fiscal compromise (amongtheir other frightening positions).Absolutes, both moral and ideological,are out of style. Whether that is right orwrong does not matter here. They don’tgarner majority votes.

Finally, the G.O.P. needs a leader. Aleader is not someone who fixates onwhat is wrong with the opposition. It issomeone who clearly communicates hisor her beliefs and then stands by them.Mitt Romney failed miserably in thisrespect. In the months prior to the elec-tion, a majority of U.S. citizens did notconsider Barack Obama the proper per-son to lead the country. But Romneycould not prove that he was an acceptablealternative.

The G.O.P has already begun to looktoward 2016. The 30 Republican gover-nors met in Las Vegas a week after theelection, and a few other names havecome forward. None at this point seemsatisfactory. Vice President candidatePaul Ryan has returned to Congress withan apparently central role in the fiscalnegotiations (he’s the budget committeechairman). If Ryan limits tax cuts andmore government spending to theG.O.P.’s liking, and the economy alsoavoids the fiscal cliff, he could be an earlyfrontrunner despite the 2012 campaign.Ryan would have to curtail his pro-lifeand anti-gay marriage beliefs to have achance in 2016, though.

Another popular name is Marco Rubio,the Cuban-American junior senator.Rubio gave what was considered one ofthe best speeches at the RepublicanConvention this year, and he made itpretty clear in a 17 November speechthat he would seek office in 2016. Rubiowould feasibly attract the Hispanic vote,but he too falls short in social positions.He’s pro-life and, more notably, has hint-ed recently that he’s a creationist. DearLord.

Make no mistake: The DemocraticParty has its own problems. But its ownshortcomings won’t salvage the opposi-tion four years from now. By 2016, theG.O.P needs to prove it deserves a man-date to lead.

US POLITICS

Republican Party needs to wake up The G.O.P. must adapt 21st century politics to have chance in next election

By Andrew Wagaman

TRADE

EU and Canada closer to agreeing trade dealOn 23 November, Trade Commissioner

Karel De Gucht announced that “signifi-cant progress” is made on the conclusionof the Comprehensive Economic andTrade Agreement with Canada. Theannouncement came after De Gucht yes-terday’s meeting with his Canadian coun-terpart, Ed Fast.Ed Fast, during an interview on lateOctober said that his ambition is to con-clude the agreement with EU by the end of2012. However, the Canadian TradeMinister made it clear then that difficultissues remain. “There's still lots of negotia-tions that will have to take place. But at the

end of the day we've made a clear commit-ment: we're not going to sign off on anyagreement unless it represents the bestinterests of Canadians going forward.”Today De Gucht said “I am pleased thatour meeting at a political level has provid-ed the momentum needed to spur on thenegotiations into the home strait. It's clearthat there has been significant progressbut some important work remains to bedone.” According to CBC, the mainissues before the meeting were tariffs,agriculture, intellectual property, publicprocurement and labour details. Firstly,Canada asks by the EU to lower or even

zero the tariffs on textile and seafoodindustry. Regarding agriculture the nego-tiations are more complicated as bothsides use quotas in farm commodities.Moreover, EU asks from Canada toextend patents on prescription drugs.Concerning public procurement, theCommission wants access to large con-tracts at all levels of government whileCanada wants to make it easier for its cit-izens to work in European states.During a February speech on Canada, Fastacknowledged “that there is no larger inte-grated economy in the world than theEuropean Union,” and continued “trade is

equivalent to 60% of our economy and islinked to one in five jobs….Canadian work-ers in our aerospace, aluminum, wood,transportation, agriculture, fish and seafood,and renewable energy sectors—to name justa few—have a vested interest in our gainingincreased access to the European Unionmarket.”In 2011, Canada was EU’s 12th mostimportant trading partner, accounting for1.6% of EU’s total exports. Conversely, theEuropean market is of great significancefor Canada as it ranked second, behindUS, accounting for 10% of Canadianexports.

A cutout of US presidential candidate, Republican Mitt Romney, is loaded into a truck by workers after a

US embassy election party at a local hotel in Delhi on 7 November.

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I n 1853-1854, Japan, underthe threat of the US navy,reluctantly accepted to open

its ports to Western trade and thesettling of foreign diplomats. Thisbrutal encounter, eventually led toJapan’s modernization after 1868.

As a new capitalist and indus-trial country, Japan started toimport goods from the West,especially machinery, whileexporting china, lacquers, textilesand bronzes.

According to the myth, it wasby chance that French lithogra-

pher and ceramist FelixBracquemond, who happened tobe friends with the Impressionistintelligentsia, Auguste Rodin andJames Abbott McNeill Whistler,discovered Hokusai woodcutswhen unwrapping importedJapanese china in his printer’sworkshop.

Amazed by the aesthetic qualityof these works, European artists,mainly British and French, whowere looking for new forms, startedto collect the then affordableJapanese woodblock prints.

Rodin, for instance, had a largeand precious collection of master-pieces by Kunisada, Kuniyoshiand Hiroshige and expressed hisadmiration for Japanese drawing,which reminded him of the per-fect harmony and stylized lines ofAntique drawing.

A ‘Japan-mania’ spread after1870, giving birth to the termJaponism, a French artistic move-ment defined by the adoption ofJapanese decorative elements,bright colors and composition.

Apart from painters, art dealersand collectors like SiegfriedBing, a German-born Frenchowner of an import-export busi-ness specialized in Asian curiosi-ties with a branch in Yokohama,played a decisive part in the diffu-sion of Japanese art. Bing ownedfamous galleries in Paris whereartists like Van Gogh couldadmire, examine and purchasecontemporary artworks as well asprints by great Japanese masters.

The Pinacothèque de Paristraces back this moment in arthistory with two simultaneousexhibitions, ‘Hiroshige, The Artof Travel’ and ‘Van Gogh,Dreaming of Japan’, which willbe held until March.

Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) who was born into a low-rank Samurai family, displayed animmense talent for drawing at avery young age and wanted to fol-low the steps of his contempo-rary, Hokusai. Hiroshige is main-ly known for his exquisite small-scale landscapes and travel genredesigns depicting his own tripsand pilgrimages. He producedabout 5000 pictures, often inseries like the ‘The Sixty-nineStations of the Kisokaido’ (1834-1842), ‘The Thirty-six Views ofMount Fuji’ (1852-1858) or the

‘One Hundred famous Views ofEdo’ (1856-1858).

Although he had little knowl-edge of Japanese art, Van Goghstarted collecting Japanese printsand objects upon his arrival inParis, in 1886. After moving toArles in the South of France, hebegan to make copies. His‘Blooming Plum tree AfterHiroshige’ (1887), to which headded Japanese characters, was atribute to the great Japanese artistwho influenced him to the pointof changing his aesthetic views.

Van Gogh was mostly attractedto the composition found inHiroshige’s work, particularly thearrangement of large, clearlydefined areas in primary colours,with a carefree approach to per-spective and unusual cutouts atthe edges.

What perhaps brings these twoartists together is their love ofnature and their desire to depict itin a convincing but all the while,lyrical manner.

Louise [email protected]

UTAGAWA HIROSHIGEGroup of pilgrims in a desolate Autumn field,1838-1842,

© Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden/National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden

VINCENT VAN GOGHSower with Setting Sun, 1888

© Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands

UTAGAWA HIROSHIGEMaiko beach, Harima Province, 1853/XII,

from the series Views of Famous Places in the Sixty-Odd Provinces© Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden/National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden

VINCENT VAN GOGHPine trees against a red sky with setting sun, 1889

© Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands

When Van Gogh meets HiroshigeVAN GOGH: DREAMING OF JAPAN /HIROSHIGE: THE ART OF TRAVEL EXHIBITIONS, PINACOTHÈQUE DE PARIS – TILL MARCH 17TH, 2013

A group of NASA's researchers is study-ing a 'return to the moon', but in this occa-sion Lunar activities would be conductedby robots, controlled by humans orbitingat the L2 Lagrange point. Last week, thePresident Barack Obama approved themission, which aims to find water on thecelestial body.

The end of the space shuttle pro-gramme has forced NASA to come upwith new ideas and projects. Without itsown vehicle for launching astronauts intospace, the agency plans to build mannedstation on the moon, which will serve as apoint of launching spaceships and ex-ploratory missions to other planets.

The first step, which is expected to takeplace by 2017, is to send a robotic lunar ex-plorer to the moon to search for water andother components crucial to life. Secondly,a vehicle called Orion, will follow the robotand will have the capability to support asmall crew for up to 21 days, long enoughto get to the moon and back.

Orion would land at the L2 Lagrangepoint, which would give it line-of-sight tothe rover, which will have landed on the farside of the moon in the South Pole, con-sidered an important location from a sci-

entific point of view. Besides, the gravita-tional pulls of the Earth and the moon arebalanced in that point, and it is possible toremain stationary without crashing on thesurface. In 2010, The White House re-jected the idea of sending astronauts backto the moon, because the US governmentwanted to do new explorations and sendpeople to places where no one has everbeen before.

That's what Obama said: “Now, I un-derstand that some believe that we shouldattempt a return to the surface of theMoon first, as previously planned. But Ijust have to say pretty bluntly here: We’vebeen there before… There’s a lot more of

space to explore, and a lot more to learnwhen we do.”

However, after the elections, the presi-dent changed his mind and, according tothe expert in space policy John Logsdon, ashift in policy is going on , and it's all aboutgetting to the moon.

For now, NASA only confirmed thatthe first exploration mission (EM1) willtake place in 2017 and the second one(EM2) in 2021. In addition, those astro-nauts would attempt to land on an asteroidby 2025, and arrive at Mars sometime inthe 2030s. "Neither EM1 nor EM2 wouldput boots on the surface of the Moon,"NASA told The Verge.

NASA returns to the moon...with robotsA Lunar explorer will search for water and other signs of life

The European Commission has given thegreen light to the UK project to supportbroadband in rural areas, leaving behindfears concerning the noncompliance withEU state aid rules.

The approval was needed because theproject is partially state-aided and, fromnow on, British councils will have access toa £530 million budget for investment inthe Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK).

“BDUK, as a national competence cen-tre, will assist local granting authorities indesigning and implementing successfulbroadband support measures in line withEU competition rules”, said CommissionVice President in charge of competitionpolicy Joaquín Almunia.

British plans aim to support around 140local projects in the so-called "final third"areas, where super-fast speed networkswould unlikely be developed on commer-cial terms. Besides, it aims to provide asmany homes and businesses as possiblewith access to this infrastructure.

“The umbrella scheme will be a big steptowards the achievement of the EU Dig-ital Agenda targets and a strong impetusfor growth in the UK", he added.

After months of delay, UK's culture sec-retary Maria Miller decided to visit Brus-sels last week to express herdisappointment about the situation of thesubsidy; and seems that her words madesome effect. "Finally getting the green lightfrom Brussels will mean a huge boost for

the British economy," she said, adding thatthe announcement will boost growth andjobs around the country.

According to the Commission, the totalvalue of aid to be delivered by the schemeis estimated around £1.5 billion (€1.8 bil-lion). This will most likely enable the UKto achieve the objective of the EU DigitalAgenda of coverage of 30 Mbps networksfor all European citizens.

The UK wants to connect everyone tospeeds of at least 2Mbps by 2015 and, toachieve this objective, councils must alsocontribute funding as will the provider theychoose to lay the networks. From now, justBT has been chosen as a provider to rollout the BDUK, which will start in Walesand Surrey. These two projects will be fol-lowed by Cumbria, Rutland and Here-fordshire and Gloucestershire. Meanwhile,

North Yorkshire’s project will begin to beimplemented during the summer 2013.

In addition, the Department for Culture,Media and Sport will must submit an eval-uation of the project to Brussels' competi-tion officials before 31 March 2015 to"ensure that any forthcoming scheme willtake this evaluation into account.”

In July, the House of Lords criticisedUK's broadband policy, saying it was leav-ing rural areas behind. Despite they wel-comed the project, they consider thegovernment was “preoccupied by speed”and was forgetting the problem of the “dig-ital divide” across the country.

Now the project was approved and thegovernment has access to millions ofpounds, these communities just needcouncils' support and wait to be also con-nected to the digital world.

By Nerea Rial


TECHNOLOGY

NASA's plan aims to find water and other components on the moon | NASA

The Broadband Delivery UK aims to support 140 local projects

“Brazil is one of the most important countries in the world”,stated Luigi Gambardella, President of EUBrasil, to kick off theseminar “Connecting Brazil and Europe”, which took place on20 November in Brussels. Besides, the country has been justslightly affected by the current economic crisis and the EuropeanUnion wants to reinforce their relationship by creating ICTpolicies and new programmes based on Research and Devel-opment.The Strategic Partnership with the Latin American countrywas signed in 2007 and since then a big number of workshopswere celebrated and initiatives were approved. However, not allthe objectives were achieved, “lot more could be done” and ICTis “one of the areas where dialogue can take place”, explainedAndrea Renda, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Eu-ropean Policy Studies (CEPS).Relations among Europe and Brazil are paralysed not just be-cause of the economic crisis, also due to the cultural differencesand the Brazilian economic model based on domestic con-sumption, explained Alfredo Valladão, EUBrasil Board Mem-ber and President of the EUBrasil Advisory Board. According to him, relations between Brazil and Mercosur arealso slowing down the co-operation with the EU, and standardsand regulations are needed. “We have problems of dialogue, butnot because we don´t like each other, because we are thinking inour own problems”, he stated.The EU and Brazil can and should work together in energy –the Atlantic is a very important oil reserve-, food production,immigration and ICT, Valladão concluded. But this collabora-tion needs more than commitment, needs “enhancement fromboth parts” and this will be the cornerstone of the four work-shops that will be discussed at the European Parliament, ex-plained Zoran Stančič, Deputy Director General of theEuropean Commission's DG Connect.ICT is a very important priority for the EU-Brazil partnership,which must be based on mutual trust, co-operation and a “win-win” mentality, explained Mario Campolargo, Responsible forResearch and Innovation DG Connect. In 2011, both parts dis-cussed issues such as cloud computing, sustainable technologies,and smart services and applications, but this year “we decided togo further” and organise workshops, he explained.With an initial budget of €5 million from the European Com-mission plus a similar amount from Brazil, different stakehold-ers will continue to look into new proposals and initiatives.EUBrazilOpenBio and BEMO-COFRA are two examples ofthose projects presented in 2011 to reinforce the relation be-tween both parts through new technologies and services.Despite policymakers are the ones who decide the rules that theindustry should follow, companies are also interested in theprocess and not all of them are pleased with the conclusions. AsTelefonica´s Manager of Latin America Affairs, DavidFrautschy, explained regulators are losing its independence andgenerating a fragmentation in the market that is breaking thebusiness model.In the other hand, companies like Portugal Telecom, and eventhe American AT&T, have seen his businesses grow thanks tointernational policies and trans-Atlantic relations. “We need tofocus much more on competitiveness and on good regulations”,stated Karim Lesina, VP of AT&T, covering International Ex-ternal Affairs for the EU, Caribbean, Central and Latin Amer-ica Regions.

EU, Brazil to reinforceICT relationsEuropean Commission approves

UK rural broadband project

The new European Cloud Partnership(ECP) board, which is one of the key ac-tions of the European Cloud ComputingStrategy, will facilitate dialogue betweenpublic authorities and industry to imple-ment pre-commercial procurement actionsfor public sector cloud computing.Common computing procurement re-quirements for use by Member Statesand public authorities will be developedand the ECP has already discussed anddecided on its 2013-2014 objectives.During its first mandate, it will create acommon framework for cloud comput-ing across Europe and stimulate themigration of public IT use to the cloud.Likewise, it will offer solutions to bar-riers to cloud computing adoption inthe public sector.“The main beneficiaries of our actionswill be European citizens, small andmedium sized enterprises and national,regional and local authorities”, TheSteering Board said on an statement,adding that other stakeholders “willalso benefit from the creation of a vi-brant and self-sustaining ecosystem.”The committee counts with an initialbudget of €10 million and will meettwo or three times per year and mayconsult with industrial, academic andgovernmental bodies and experts.

EU cloudcomputingcommitteelaunched


TECHNOLOGY

Android represents between 50‐80% of all smartphone sales in several European countries

President of Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves and

Commissioner Neelie Kroes | EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

ICOMP; Google, a dangerousplayer in the mobile sectorThe search engine uses anti-competitive practices to lead the market

Internet is everywhere and the mobile sectoris generating big opportunities for Europeanbusinesses. However, this potential is beingthreatened by a rapidly growing monopolycalled Google, according to a report pub-lished by Initiative for a Competitive OnlineMarketplace (ICOMP).

Today, people don't use mobile devices justfor calls, they use them for search, shop, nav-igate, listen to music, watch videos, play andmuch more. In 2011, over 550 million smart-phones and tablets were acquired worldwide,meaning a change on the way companiesoffer their services to users.

“Google's monopolisation of mobile: Thenext frontier in Google's campaign to controlthe Internet” affirms that the search engine isnot playing fair and is trying to eliminatecompetitors by obtaining control over formsof mobile advertising that make its monopolypower vulnerable.

About 98% of mobile search in Europe is con-trolled by Google, which is expanding its domi-nance to other sectors while EU regulators are

still investigating its anti‐competitive conducts insearch and search advertising. Nevertheless, “sep-arate investigations and remedies will be neces-sary to address Google’s distinct anti‐competitiveactions in mobile”, the report says.

The operating system Android is the keyof Google's monopolisation. The first An-droid mobile was launched four years agoand, since then, it represents between 50‐80%of all smartphone sales in countries like Spain(87.1%), the UK (59.5%), Belgium (71.5%),France (61.5%) and Italy (54.8%).

So far so good, but to achieve these figures,Google has used some 'dirty' tactics. Likeother companies, the US titan offers its An-droid for free, but its intentions are have aclear aim of protecting its search and searchadvertising monopolies from competition.Besides, it imposes technical constraints thatdissuade licensees from using anyone otherthan Google for search, search advertising,and a variety of other services.

Furthermore, Google changed the defaultsettings for its AdWords advertising platformso that advertisers were opted into mobilesearch advertising. Because more advertisers

were fighting against each other, the firm wasable to increase its prices.

According to the study, the firm uses its “An-droid Compatibility Program” as a club, wherehe can block handset makers and mobile oper-ators from using anything other than Google'sservices. It also has entered into specific deals todeprive competitors of opportunities to acquiretheir objectives to compete effectively.

Google's success began with its searchdomination and was expanded into differentservices: StreetView, Android, Google Maps,Google News or YouTube, among others. Be-sides, it acquired AdMob, Zagat and Form-mers, and Motorola Mobility to makeAndroid even more effective in solidifying itsdominance in mobile advertising.

Mobile market is the future of online adver-tising and commerce, and preserving a balancedplaying field is vital for Europe's digital future.The power that Google has today is changingand even deleting competition, so EU institu-tions should seek remedies to finish with thisanti-competitive behaviour, concluded ICOMP,which was founded, among others, by Google'smain rival Microsoft.

Telcel, the largest subsidiary of Latin Ameri-can wireless services provider America Movil(AM), will launch in partnership with the so-lutions provider Huawei, Mexico's first com-mercial LTE network. With Huawei'sSingleRAN LTE solution, AM will build a

Heterogenous Network (HetNet), which willgreatly enhance network spectrum utilizationand end-user data transfer speeds, enable a sig-nificant breakthrough for improving user ex-perience on wireless networks in LatinAmerica. AM currently provides telecommu-nication services to 18 countries and is one ofthe top five operators worldwide. Besides, Tel-cel is its largest subsidiary and has nearly 70%market share of the Mexican mobile marketwith nearly 70 million subscribers.

Huawei's LTE services will cover nine Mex-

ican cities, with plans to expand to 26 marketsuntil the first quarter of 2013 to reach 65% ofthe country's population.

Thanks to Huawei's SingleRAN LTE tech-nology, Telcel's LTE network supports evolu-tion toward future-oriented systems and adaptsto the company's forward-looking mobilebroadband development strategy.

Likewise, the HetNet will will significantlyenhance end user data transfer speeds on thenewly launched commercial LTE network.Users will be able to easily access HD video

calls, speedy web browsing, online gaming, andphoto sharing while providing the best techni-cal support for high-speed and large-volumemachine-to-machine applications like distanceeducation and health care.

The Chinese company has signed over 110commercial LTE/EPC contracts and haslaunched 51 commercial LTE networks fornumerous globally leading operators.

During the launch ceremony, Huawei alsopresented its Ascend P1 smartphone and LTEbroadband modem E397 device.

Telcel, Huawei launch commercial LTE Network in Mexico

By Nerea Rial

Telcel has nearly 70% market share of the Mexi-

can mobile market


BRUSSELS AGENDA Welcome to NE’s Brussels Agenda. All you need to know for a complete professional and personal life in Brussels. Would you like to advertise in New Europe’s Brussels Agenda? Ask for more info [email protected] or don’t hesitate to call us at +32(0)2 5390039

An initiative of the Foundation for the Arts, Brussels

LAST MINUTE TICKETS FOR SHOWS & CONCERTS AT -50%

Avec le soutien de LA COMMISSION COMMUNAUTAIRE FRANÇAISE

Tickets for half price for performances and concerts on the same day. Arsène 50 offers you every day a wide range of performances, advises you in your choices and takes care of your reservation.

www.arsene50.be

Ticket sale: - At BIP, 2-4 rue Royale (Place Royale) 1000 BruxellesTuesday to Saturday, from 12.30 pm to 5.30 pm- Online on www.arsene50.beTuesday to Saturday, from 2 pm to 5.30 pm

RESTO BITESBE Café Marché Jourdan, Pl Jourdan, BrusselsTel: 02 235 5124www.bebrussels.be

The “Terroir Belge" may not be very well known but if aleading Brussels hotel has its way that will all soonchange.The idea is that both expats and Belgians reacquaintthemselves with the traditional Belgian products, be itgood old sprouts or waffle.BE Café Marché Jourdan, on the ground floor of the Sof-itel Hotel in Place Jourdan, aims to promote authenticBelgian products, many sourced from the market held op-posite the hotel every Sunday.The restaurant has been given a facelift with, for example,much more space between tables affording added privacyfor diners who count in their number people from thenearby EU institutions.But, without doubt, pride of place here is the menu whichfeatures a range of regional products from all over Bel-gium. Be it the humble sprout, food cooked with Kriek orgueuze raspberry vinaigrette, Belgian produce is, withoutdoubt,the driving force for all the restaurant's culinarypreparations.Herve Deniau, the hotel's executive assistant manager,says the objective of chef Marc Pâquet is to reinvent tra-ditional Belgian cuisine but with a European twist.Examples of Paquet's creativity are Gaufres Liègeois withcresson, home marinated salmon in kriek beer and tartetatin with rapes.Other examples include pheasant prepared in 'Saint Hu-bert' style and sea bass which comes in a Hoegaardencream.Needless to say that the drinks list includes wines fromgood old Belgium as well. You should also look out for animpressive display of Belgian beers (and their appropriateglasses) at the entrance to the restaurant.Dishes will also soon be prepared using the hotel's ownhoney, sourced from honeycombs located on the roof ofits building.The restaurant seats 30 and is open 7/7. The majority ofevening diners are still guests at the hotel but Herve andhis team are hoping that their innovative 'Terroir Belge'initiative will soon attract more non-residents. This placeis great. Highly recommended.

Taxi DriverBen Gibbard (lead singer of Death Cab) Botanique 4 December 19:30Death Cab for Cutie’s and ThePostal Service’s lead singer BenGibbard is coming to Brussels.Born in Washington, Gibbardbegan to show a deep interest inmusic when the grunge genrebecame popular in the early nineties. After an unsuccess-ful attempt to create the band Pinwheel in 1996, Gibbardstarted a solo project with the Bonzo Dog Band. Theyproduced a hit single, “You Can Play These Songs withChords.” Since the creation of Death Cab for Cutie, Gib-bard has received worldwide fame and recognition. In2003 Ben’s second side project consisted of collaborationwith Jimmy Tamborello, a beat-maker that took a greatliking to the lyrics and style Gibbard was able to provide.This band was known as The Postal Service because ofthe fact that Tamborello and Gibbard would send theirsong idea’s through the mail to each other. The latestalbum that Gibbard released with Death Cab, “Codes andKeys,” was released in 2011. Gibbard has always itched todo more solo projects, so in 2012 he released a solo albumnamed Former Lives, which he will be promoting here inBrussels. For more information, go to http://www.botanique.be/en/activity/ben-gibbard-04122012.

Ho, Ho, Hot wineChristmas Market 30 November - 6 JanuaryThe wooden chaletshave returned toBrussels. The charm-ing shacks, numberingalmost 250, won’topen until Friday 30November, but theirpresence around theBourse, Place SainteCatherine and theMarché aux Poissons raises anticipation for the return ofthe Christmas Market.Every winter Plaisirs D’Hiver winterpret, arguably themost creative Christmas market in Europe, turns the heartof Brussels into the center of festive cheer. You have the

bright Big Wheel, the 200-foot-long ice skating rink andthe ambiance of constant music from the wanderingartists, troupes and choirs throughout the market. Ofcourse, you also have the chalets, which sell ornaments andother handmade items, as well as seasonal food in the areaoutside the Bourse (the old stock exchange building). Andeven if you don’t want to skate, you can watch with a drinkin hand at the Winter Wonders Cafe. Specific events tocheck out include the opening night musical acts, theLight Parade on St. Nicholas Day (6 December) and the‘Les Flamboyants’ Fire Parade on 4 January. New this year:five “light sculptures” at Grand Place and elsewhere in thearea. For more information, go to http://visitbrussels.be/bitc/BE_en/minisite_winterwon-ders.do.

Veni, Vidi, VerdiOpera: Verdi’s “La Traviata” La Monnaie4 December to 31 DecemberFor La Monnaie’sfinal opera of 2012,Andrea Breth directsItalian composerGuiseppe Verdi’s es-teemed work “LaTraviata.” The titletranslates to “TheFallen Woman,” andthe 1853 opera is anadaptation of Alexan-dre Dumas’ novel, “La dame aux Camélias.” The opera, setto an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, is aboutthe affair between the courtesan Violetta and her true love,Alfredo. Violetta suffers, and ultimately succumbs to, tu-bercolosis. She also suffers from the prejudice andhypocrisy of Alfredo’s family, who force her to give up therelationship with Alfredo to protect their reputation. Andrea Breth directed “Kát’a Kabanová” two years ago atLa Monnaie. The veteran German director won the Ger-man Critics’ Prize in 1986, the Nestroy Prize for Best Di-rector in 2003 and the Berlin Theater Prize in 2006. To“La Traviata,” she brings her vision of a dying woman who,up to her last breath, still wants to believe in the miracle ofhuman passion. Accomplished Hungarian conductorÁdám Fischer leads the opera’s musical direction.For more information, go to http://www.lamonnaie.be/en/opera/235/La-Traviata.

by Gary Bembridge

by em_diesus

by vertoiseau

Brussels agenda 26 Nov. - 6 Dec.


ARTS & CULTURE

The European Commission and Parliamentproduce enormous amounts of documents,reports, communications and more, yet no-body would call this literature, but thatdoesn’t mean that they don’t recognize agood book. Culture Commissioner An-droulla Vassiliou and Doris Pack MEP,Chair of the European Parliament's Cultureand Education Committee are celebratingthe best of Europe’s writers at the awardceremony for the EU Prize for Literature,first awarded in 2009. The prize is open towriters from the EU, candidate countries,Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein from theEuropean Economic Area and Balkanstates. Each year, a dozen nations are chosenand national juries select one winner.

This prize has a purpose, to celebrate thediversity of Europe’s fiction writers and helpthem find an audience outside their homecountry.

“Ensuring that literature crosses bordersis not only good for authors and publishers,who want to reach new markets; it is alsogreat for readers who have more choice and

are exposed to works which they mightnever otherwise have come across,” saidCommissioner Vassiliou.

Twelve prize winners will receive €5,000and priority for funding for translating theirbooks into other languages.

The Commission spends €3 million ayear on literary translation and more than100 translations have been made so far ofbooks by the prize winners, covering 19 lan-guages, with EU funding. The book tradeis no paper tiger, it adds €23 billion to theEU’s GDP and employs 135,000 people.

One of last year’s winners, British novel-ist Adam Foulds, found another benefit, “Iwas able to spend time with the other writ-ers and make their acquaintance, and get asense of life for novelists in other languagesand countries. He added, “What was greatabout it was the very strong sense of a kindof fraternal warmth between writers fromvery different places. There’s solidarity be-tween us.”

The ceremony itself was relaxed and in-formal, and like a good book, not too long.

After the awards, Commissioner Vassil-iou told New Europe that as Europe’s cul-tural life needed writers, it also neededreaders, “My personal ‘pet’ is promotingbook reading. It’s related to problems of il-literacy in Europe and one way of address-ing the challenge is encouraging bookreading, at home with the family, at schoolfrom a very young age. I started EuropeLoves Reading and we go to schools and li-braries to encourage people to read for theirown pleasure.”

What does literature mean to the Com-missioner? “Believe it or not, at times, evenwhen you’re very tired, reading a book cantake you to another world, another environ-ment and relax you, no matter how heavythe book is! I enjoy reading books, biogra-phies, history, travel, so many different typesof books.” She also appreciated the quietdiligent work of the translators, whom shehopes will broaden the range of books forreaders, “It takes a special gift to be a trans-lator, to keep and not spoil the writers in-tentions.”

Anna Kim (Austria) - Die gefroreneZeit (Frozen Time)The story of a researcher helping aman from Kosovo, whose wife disap-peared during the war, is confrontedwith the results of the conflict firsthand.

Lada Žigo (Croatia) - Rulet(Roulette)Rulet is a novel exploring how gam-bling can become the only hope forpeople living in a society with noprospects.

Laurence Plazenet (France) -L’amour seul (Love Alone)A young girl begins a love affair withher tutor, which haunts her through-out her life.Viktor Horváth (Hungary) - Töröktükör (Turkish Mirror)

An adventurous journey back to 16thcentury Hungary, and an unstableborderland situated between two em-pires.

Kevin Barry (Ireland) - City of Bo-haneForty years in the future, the once-great city of Bohane on the west coastof Ireland is on its knees, infested byvice and split along tribal lines.

Emanuele Trevi (Italy) - Qualcosa discritto (Something Written)A writer in his 30s, cynical and naive,finds work in an archive, and an un-finished novel by Pasolini.

Giedra Radvilavičiūtė (Lithuania) -

Šiąnakt aš miegosiu prie sienos(Tonight I Shall Sleep by the Wall)These short stories mostly deal witheveryday occurrences, seemingly in-significant experiences and percep-tions.

Gunstein Bakke (Norway) - Maudog Aud: ein roman om trafikk (Maudand Aud: A Novel on Traffic)This novel alternates between narra-tive flashes and poetic descriptions,containing reflections on traffic andtechnology after a car accident.

Piotr Paziński (Poland) - Pensjonat(Boarding House)No ordinary boarding house: the res-idents are Jews who survived theHolocaust, so everything that occurshere is like a dream about the past.

Afonso Cruz (Portugal) - A Bonecade Kokoschka (Kokoschka’s Doll)This novel is a metaphor for a storyof friendship, of how the Other isfundamental for our own identity.

Jana Beňová (Slovakia) - Café Hyena(Plán odprevádzania) (Café Hyena(Seeing People Off )Café Hyena is an unusual mosaic ofshort stories, observations, experi-ences and memories, amidst whichemerges a relationship between ayoung woman and an ageing man.

Sara Mannheimer (Sweden) - Han-dlingen (The Action)A woman is driven by a desire to con-quer The Library, containing the en-tire global collection of literature.

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LITERATURE

EU honours Europe’s best new authors

Dear Sir or Madam will you read my book? It took meyears to write will you take a look? | BELGA PHOTO JULIEN WAR-

EU Literature Prize winners 2012-11-22The winning authors and their books

GERMANY | BIOPHARMA

BASF to buy Pronova BioPharma in $884 mln deal German chemical giant BASF SE on 21 November said ithas agreed to acquire Norway-based Pronova BioPharmaASA for 12.50 Norwegian crowns per share in cash. Thedeal has an enterprise value of 4.85 billion crowns or € 664million ($ 846.8 million), RTT News reported. The offerrepresents a premium of 24% above the volume-weightedaverage share price for Pronova's shares in the six monthsprior to announcement of the offer. BASF expects to final-ize the deal in the first quarter of 2013. BASF describesPronova as a pioneer in research, development, and manu-facturing of omega-3 fatty acids. It notes that the acids,which are found in oily fish, are a growing market worldwidebecause of an "increasing consumer awareness" of theirhealth benefits. Pronova's active pharmaceutical ingredientsare used to treat cardiovascular diseases like post-myocar-dial infraction. The German company said it expects thedeal, which is subject to antitrust approval, to close in thefirst quarter of next year. BASF intends to finance the ac-quisition by way of available resources. The offer will bemade by BASF's wholly-owned subsidiary BASF AS inNorway. The deal needs the approval of shareholders repre-senting over 90% of the total share capital of Pronova.

POLAND | ENERGY

Greenlight for eco investment scheme On 19 November, the Government of Poland and theWorld Bank’s Spanish Carbon Fund and the Carbon Fundfor Europe signed two contracts, for a total amount of 21million euro to purchase Assigned Amount Units (AAUs),commonly known as carbon credits, under the Green In-vestment Scheme (GIS), a program that reduces green-house gas emissions through energy efficiency projectsacross Poland. The proceeds will contribute to the mod-ernization of energy management of public buildings, suchas public schools and hospitals through the Polish EnergyManagement in Public Buildings Program. Such energymanagement includes installing energy efficient equipmentrelated directly to the thermal modernization of buildings.The revenue stream represents an additional contribution tothe Polish Government’s GIS designed to tackle climatechange. “The Polish Green Investment Scheme has beendesigned to ensure the effective and transparent manage-ment of revenue from the sale of AAUs and monitoringthe subsequent environmental impact of projects fundedfrom these revenues,” said Marcin Korolec Polish Ministerof the Environment. The cooperation between Poland andthe World Bank on climate change through the GISstarted in October 2011 when the first two purchase agree-ments for AAUs were signed. Both of them are now at thephase of implementation.

LITHUANIA | ECONOMY

Healthy economic development,moderate inflation According to the most recent Bank of Lithuania’s forecasts,which was published on 19 November, real GDP growthwill be slightly below the forecasts, yet the development willremain sustainable. A price shock is not expected–inflationwill remain moderate. GDP is expected to grow by 3.1%next year, up from 3% this year (in August this year, theforecasts were 3% and 3.4% respectively). “Economic de-velopment in many of Lithuania’s foreign trade partners hasweakened and is weaker than expected. This is directly re-lated to weaker global economic growth. As a matter of fact,this year’s outlook for the real sector in Lithuaniahas notworsened, as it is positively affected by one-off factors¬–more abundant harvests and a strong pick-up in industry.


EUROPEAN UNION

In times of austerity the question of thecost of providing public service in multi-ple languages is contentious. Ethnic con-flicts are re-emerging in particular in theEU's new member states. Internationallyrecognised peace-builder, former Finnishpresident, Martti Ahtisaari is concernedwith reshaping attitudes towards minori-ties throughout Europe.

“What we need are more egalitarianpolicies. But we should wait for countriesto solve their financial difficulties beforeblaming them for not doing enough fortheir minorities, stated Ahtisaari at a sem-inar in Brussels last week.

He recognises that he question of thepolitical representation of minorities ispertinent in the politically increasinglycentralised Europe. Long-term languagestrategies should ensure the use of lan-guages other than the majority languagein multilingual European countries. Cur-rently Ahtisaari is engaged by theSwedish Assembly, a cross-political body,to work on an action plan to safeguard theuse of two official languages in Finland.He is concerned by the harsh attitudes to-wards the use of Swedish in Finland.

“In Finland, the legislation is adequate,but there are problems in the applicationof the language provisions,” Ahtisaariwarned.

“However, citizens in minority shouldnot be inferior to the linguistic majority.”

The Finnish model for bilingualismThe Finnish model for handling two

official languages is being advocated inBrussels as a model for ensuring therights of co-existence for linguisticgroups. The Swedish minority in Finlandenjoys a strong constitutional backing andthe country is officially bilingual, althoughthe Swedish-speakers by now numberless than 6% of the population. The sta-tus of the Swedish-speakers is politicallycontroversial with a recent surge in thepopulist vote for politicians that publiclydefy the policies that decree the use of theminority language in all public adminis-tration, as well as public relations andconsumer information for products andservices. The controversy is not easilybridged; the Swedish population hailsfrom the Scandinavian settlement in thecoastal areas that was established histori-cally at the same time as Finnish-speak-ing tribes inhabited other parts of country,driving the indigenous Saame populationfurther north. Today, Saame is recognizedas a minority language and represents theonly indigenous language in Europe.However, Swedish long remained thelanguage of administration and culture inFinland, then ruled by Sweden, and it wasnot until the 19th century nationalisticmovement formed to oppose Russian

rule that Finnish was even established asa language of instruction.

“Abolish the monolingual nation state”The focus is turning to advocating

bilingualism, a reality for many Swedish-speakers that master the majority lan-guage as well as their native tongue andare faced with using less Swedish in bothpublic and personal life. Among immi-grants in Finland, Russian is the mostcommonly used language, whereas busi-ness life is dominated by English.

The Swedish Cultural Foundation, theminority's main private sponsor of cultureand Swedish-language media, advocatesan EU-wide policy on minority lan-guages to further the use of multiple lan-guages in public life. The foundation isconcerned that there is no forum for mi-nority policy on EU level. Their effortsfocus now on developing approaches tomultilingualism, a reality for an increas-ing number of professionals and studentsalike that are influenced by the use ofEnglish as lingua franca. The initiativeaims to advance the discussion from mi-nority issues to instead focus on the use-fulness of bi- or trilingualism. The plansrally some support on the part of EU de-cision-makers. -We should abolish the 19th century

myth of the monolingual nation state,stated Belén Bernaldo de Quirós fromthe European Commission speaking atthe conference organized by the Swedishminority in Brussels last week.- Each language has a unique identity

and that should not be sacrificed on thealtar of efficiency, the European Com-mission representative contended.

The crucial minority voteThe EU is planning to spend more

funds on initiatives that sustain smalland regional languages in the EU. Thatfinds support in the European parlia-ment with a number of minority repre-sentatives.

The Finnish Swedish-speakers polit-ical party has long been trying to findbacking for reserving a designated seatin the European Parliament for theSwedish minority. Their current Mem-ber of the European Parliament NilsThorvalds sees a danger in the rise inconflicts between local communities andnation states in Europe.

- There is a problem when the EU isintegrating economically and at thesame time disintegrating politically.We should open up decision-makingat the EU-level to the local communi-ties in order to avoid confrontation,said Thorvalds.

Curiously, the minority vote is deci-sive for the outcome of the election tothe European Parliament in Finland.For at least four of the current thirteenFinnish MEPs, the religious backgroundhas played a crucial role in determiningtheir appointment, with one of them ral-lying in particular the Orthodox Chris-tian minority and others appealing toProtestant sects.

The Swedish-speakers have managedto hold their seat in Parliament as longas Finland has been part of the EU dueto the d'Hondt method for vote count-ing that favours a concentration in votesper party throughout the country. Be-cause the regions in Finland are linguis-tically mixed, apart from theself-governing Åland Islands, the mi-norities cannot be granted the same levelof regional self-governance as is prac-tised in e.g. Belgium or Switzerland.

Former Finnish president advocates ethnic tolerance

GERMANY|POLITICS

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari speaks during a news conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel

in Seoul, South Korea, on 28 April 2011. He spoke in Brussels last week on multilingualism in the

country he knows best.

By Anna-Karin Friis

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23NEW EUROPE25 November - 1 December , 2012EUROPEAN UNION

FRANCE | ENERGY

World’s longest turbineblade for nuclear plantAlstom, a large French multinational conglomerate, on No-vember 19 announced the launch of its “LP75” very long LastStage Blade1 (LSB) for nuclear steam turbines at the NuclearNew Build Summit in Shanghai. This 75” new blade is thelongest in the world and its exhaust area2 of 58m2 is the largestcompared to any other product on the market. Designed foruse in the low pressure section of Alstom’s Arabelle nuclearsteam turbine, the LP75 builds incrementally on Alstom's ex-isting LP69 turbine blade to improve performance and achievethe best possible efficiency from any nuclear steam turbinetoday. The LP75 provides a reduction of one-fifth in exhaustlosses compared with the existing LP69. This means that en-ergy waste is minimised while electrical output can be max-imised: Depending upon project specific conditions, typicallyan output gain of 10 MW is expected, enough to provide theyearly electricity consumption of 60,000 Chinese households.

AUSTRIA | TRANSPORT

Lower Austrian train station sell off goes aheadAn increasing number of train stations are being put up forsale in Lower Austria making attractive locations for busi-nesses. The latest to change hands is the station at Durn-stein in Krems district. Instead of selling tickets in futurethe station will now be the location for the Wachauer Saf-fron manufacturers. The company is one of six partners thathave purchased the property. The local council is buildinga car park on the site. Something similar is planned withmost of the 220 properties that the NiederosterreichischeVerkehrsorganisationsgesellschaft (NOVOG) obtainedtwo years ago from the state railway company OBB. Thereason for the sell-off is that the stations are no longer nec-essary for the service to operate.

While the federal government con-tinues to negotiate the 2013 budget,the regions are successfully usingtheir devolved responsibilities tostimulate investment and growth inBelgium.

At the federal level, Belgium isstruggling to find the right balancebetween austerity and stimulus asthe eurozone slips back into reces-sion. But at the regional level, Wal-lonia and Flanders are both devisinginnovative measures that make thecountry an attractive place to dobusiness, especially for companiesinvolved in research & developmentactivities.

The Financial Times published aspecial report last week on ‘DoingBusiness in Wallonia’. According tothe FT, the measures taken by theWalloon government over the pastyears are starting to pay off. The so-called Marshall Plan, which pro-motes and provides funding forseveral innovation-focused clusters,is encouraging investment, creatingemployment opportunities andtransforming the fortunes of an areapreviously in decline after the loss ofits traditional industrial base back inthe 70s.

Marcel Claes, Chief Executive ofAmCham Belgium, is quoted in thearticle ‘Driving to be Europe’s heart-

land of innovation’ as saying, “A goodsupport environment from the re-gional government, the creation ofseveral innovation-focused clusters,strong ties between business andlocal universities, and financial in-centives have all helped make Wal-lonia an interesting destination to dobusiness.”

Similar measures taken in Flan-ders were discussed at a recent eventjointly organized by AmCham Bel-gium and Flanders Investment andTrade. Flemish Minister-PresidentKris Peeters spoke about the ‘Flan-

ders in Action’ program and the NewIndustrial Policy which will encour-age international groups to establishbest-in-class facilities in the region.Existing measures have already, forexample, successfully enticed Cargillto locate its largest R&D center out-side of the US in Flanders.

Tough decisions face the federalgovernment, but the country’s long-term prosperity is dependent on tak-ing bold measures to encouragebusiness to invest, innovate andgrow. The regions offer an inspiringexample.

Regions step up their effortsBELGIUM|INVESTMENT

THIEU, BELGIUM : A landscape in the countryside with some windmills near

Thieu, Hainaut.

New passenger terminal opened at Maribor AirportSLOVENIA|AVIATION

A new passenger terminal was opened at theEdvard Rusjan Airport in Maribor on 21 No-vember as part of € 15 million project aimed atreviving the airport. The renovation works at theold terminal were also launched on that day, In-vest Slovenia reported.

The entire renovation of the airport infra-structure, which the EU has helped to fund, hasbeen somewhat delayed by the collapse of themain contractor, construction company SCT,but since April the Maribor-based companyKomunalproject has been in charge of theworks.

The plans also include the construction of alogistics centre and the launch of new passengerand cargo flights from the airport. Some €11.1

million is expected to come from EU, which setthe deadline for completion of works at July2013. The head of the airport operator Aero-drom Maribor, Marko Gros, said that the newpassenger terminal was an “extremely importantacquisition’’, which would provide an importantboost to what was now a more or less dead air-port.

Aerodrom Maribor is owned by bankruptcar-seat covers maker Prevent and the latter waslooking to auction off the company.

The opening of the terminal was marked on21 November by the departure of the Mariborfootball team to a European League match inAthens. Unofficially, Maribor airport is in talkswith national flag-carrier Adria Airways.

Ryanair announces 40% cuts over high airport chargesSLOVENIA|AVIATION

Low-cost airline Ryanair has announced on 22November 40% cuts at its Budapest base withthe closure of 10 routes and loss of over 280weekly flights from 10 Jan 2013, "after theHochtief-run airport increased charges, refusedto provide efficient facilities and failed to offer acompetitive cost base for future growth offeredby Ryanair," Portfolio Hungary reported on 22November. "Hochtief ’s failure to agree a longterm growth deal with Europe’s largest airline isfurther proof that Budapest Airport has no in-terest growing Hungarian tourism, traffic and

jobs as it repeatedly increases charges even as itstraffic declines," Ryanair said in a press release.This, it added, was confirmed by Patrick Bohl(Budapest Airport) who recently admitted that'budget airline’ passengers pay more than Malevtransfer passengers, with Budapest enjoying"probably the best recovery any airport has seenwhen they lost a national carrier." These Bu-dapest cuts (effective 10 Jan 2013) will include,5 to 3 based aircraft, 30 routes to 20 (down 33%),from over 280 weekly flights to less than 170(down 40%).

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GREECE|ECONOMY

Buyback Programme dealEurozone governments and the International MonetaryFund (IMF) agreed to a buyback program of Greek debt,German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said 21November, Reuters reported. Greece is struggling to reduceits debt from levels seen as unsustainable even after thebiggest restructuring ever of public sector debt in March,when private creditors took a "haircut", wiping out most ofthe value of their bonds.

SPAIN|TELECOMS

Global Video PlatformThe Spanish telecommunication company Telefónica Dig-ital and Microsoft Corp. on 15 November announced amultiyear strategic agreement to create a new Global VideoPlatform (GVP) for all video entertainment services acrossTelefónica’s Operating Businesses, a press release read.Based on key Microsoft technologies including the Mi-crosoft Mediaroom platform, the GVP is unique in deliv-ering TV services over both managed (IPTV) andnonmanaged (“over the top”) networks, at global scale, to arange of consumer devices. “It allows us to meet customerdemands for access to video content on an ever- expandingrange of devices,” Telefónica Digital Services Director VivekDev said.

CYPRUS|DIVIDED ISLAND

2013 Presidential electionsAccording to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviseron the Cyprus problem Alexander Downer, UN would notbecome involved in any way in the Presidential electionprocess in Cyprus which is going to be held in February2013. He made these remarks to the press following hismeeting with the Cypriot President Demetris Christofiasat the Presidential Palace on 21 November. Downer addedthat the UN would meet with the newly-elected Presidentof Cyprus and draw his or her attention to what had beenachieved thus far under Christofias. He added that the newPresident would obviously be able to make his or her owndecisions on how they would like to proceed regarding theCyprus problem.

PORTUGAL|EU AFFAIRS

EU Financial Framework According to the Portuguese Prime Minister, Pedro PassosCoelho, the multiannual financial framework propositionof the European Union to the period 2014-2020, presentedby the President of the European Council, "contains unac-ceptable elements". He made it clear that he will block adecision of the European Council which has this proposi-tion as a final result, adding that "the proposition made bythe chairman of the Board is unacceptable for Portugal. Hewas speaking at the Assembly of the Republic, in thepreparatory debate on the extraordinary European Coun-cil of the 22nd and the 23rd of November, intended to dis-cuss the multiannual financial framework of the EuropeanUnion to 2014-2020.

PORTUGAL|DIPLOMACY

Lisbon, Lima boost tiesThe Portuguese and Peru governments have signed a bi-lateral agreement to avoid double taxation, Peruvian Presi-dent Ollanta Humala and Portuguese President CavacoSilva said after their meeting in the Palace of Belém on 19November. “I am convinced that the bilateral agreement toavoid double taxation will directly influence the increase ininvestments between both sides of the Atlantic,” Silva said.


EUROPEAN UNION

In a letter to the Secretary-General of theOrganization for Economic Cooperationand Development (OECD), Jose AngelGurría, the Bulgarian Prime MinisterBoyko Borisov stated that Bulgaria con-firms its candidacy for full membership.The letter was delivered by the country’sambassador to France, Marin Raykov. Hehighlighted Bulgaria’s macro-economicstability and fiscal discipline and added:“membership of the OECD contributesto predictability and confidence, whichare important factors for attracting for-eign investors”.

In his opinion, joining the organisation

was not a single act but a process whichmeant that Bulgaria should strengthen itsties with the structures of the OECD andbenefit from the mutual collaboration.

The authorities in Sofia believe that thecountry’s OECD membership will in-crease confidence in the Bulgarian econ-omy among the international financialcommunity and investors. Moreover, theyconsider that it will also strengthen therole of Bulgaria in South Eastern Europe,as a recognised economy that participatesactively in the formulation of policies andthe implementation of best practices atregional level.

Bulgaria and the OECD share experi-ence through thematic programmes initi-

ated in the early stages of the country’stransition. In particular, Bulgaria has par-ticipated as a full member or as a countryhaving an observer status in several of theOECD’s working groups and committees.

In 2007, the authorities in Sofia submit-ted an application for OECD member-ship on the basis of a strong politicalcommitment to apply the standards of theorganisation and to meet its obligations asmember state of the European Union.

According to the OECD Conven-tion the Council, composed of all themembers, may decide to invite any gov-ernment prepared to assume the obliga-tions of membership to accede to theconvention.

Bulgaria confirms candidacy for OECD membership

BULGARIA|OECD

Europeans critical of Roma integration effortsBULGARIA|ROMA

Even though many attend anti-Romaprotests in Bulgaria, 64% think that soci-ety could benefit from their better inte-gration.

According to the newest Eurobarom-eter study, 45% of Europeans charac-terised the efforts of their country tointegrate the Roma population as ‘not ef-fective’. In comparison, only 12% say thenational integration efforts were ‘very ef-fective’.

Moreover, the majority of Europeancitizens saw these efforts as less effectivethan efforts to fight discrimination ingeneral (31% of Europeans thought thatthe efforts to fight discrimination in gen-eral were ineffective).

Furthermore, the study found thatthree out of four Europeans viewed theRoma as a group of people at risk of dis-crimination, while all different groupsof Europeans as well as an absolute ma-

jority in most member stated shared thisview.

Not surprising was also the findingthat a considerable part of the Europeansacknowledged the existence of negativeattitudes in their country towards theRoma-34% of the respondents expressedthe belief that citizens in their countrywould feel uncomfortable if their childrenhad Roma schoolmates.

Notwithstanding the fact that a ma-jority in all groups in the EU agreed thatthe Roma faced discrimination, around53% of Europeans believed that societycould benefit from betterintegration ofthe Roma. More than 30%, however,were not in favour of better integration ofthe Roma.

Turning eyes to Bulgaria and Roma-nia, the two European countries mostoften criticised overRoma issues, onefinds that more than 50% of Bulgarians

and 30% of Romanians characterisedtheir national integration efforts as ‘noteffective’.

According to the results of the study,54% of the Bulgarian respondents and50% of the Romanian respondents con-sidered that the Roma were a group ofpeople at risk of discrimination, whilemore than 60% of the citizens taking partin Eurobarometer in both countries an-swered that society could benefit froma better integration of this minoritygroup.

In May the European Commission as-sessed the integration strategies forRoma, developed by the member statesin response to the EU’s framework fornational Roma integration and foundthat member states were making effortsto develop a comprehensive approach to-wards Roma integration, but much moreneeded to be done at national level.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretary General Jose Angel Gurria at a press conference.

By Stanislava Gaydazhieva

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FYROM | COMMERCE

The case for R&D investmentFYROM Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Poposki re-cently paid a visit to Jakarta to meet officials at of theIndonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry(Kadin), MRTOnline reported. Speaking at the meet-ing, Poposki said that FYROM is one among fewcountries which managed to keep macro economies pa-rameters stable over the past few years, stressing onconservative stance of the country in deficit spending.Prudent macroeconomic policies have fostered a favor-able investment climate in FYROM, which could serveas an export gateway for Indonesia to Europe, said theminister. He believes that a stable economy madeFYROM to perform far much better compared to itsdebt-ridden neighbors in the eurozone. As a result, thecountry turns into a safe hub for investment, addedPoposki. Despite European crisis, FYROM is capableof enticing major companies to the country. FYROM’sannual budget deficit was 2.5% for this year with adebt-to-GDP ratio of 29%, Poposki said. It was re-ported that FYROM has merely a population of 2.1million but still foreign investors have established pro-duction hubs in FYROM to tap Europe’s large exportmarket. “The market is not only local, because very fewof the products are sold in FYROM itself,” Poposkisaid. He outlined pharmaceutical, agriculture, informa-tion technology and automotive parts industries as po-tentially the most lucrative sectors for Indonesianinvestors.

ALBANIA | CULTURAL HERITAGE

Linking Albania to the EU Via EgnatiaThe European Union, dedicated on preserving and pro-moting cultural heritage, supported the rehabilitationof Via Egnatia inside of Elbasan castle, with €0.5 mil-lion. The rehabilitated road, inaugurated today, is part ofa larger assistance of the EU of €9 million, which in-cludes similar works in Himara, Kruja, Tirana, Shko-dra, Berat and Korca. The EU-funded rehabilitation ofVia Egnatia, adds value to this quarter, which is nowexpected to attract more tourists, encourage the devel-opment of local businesses and consequently establish abetter use of resources. During the inauguration cere-mony, the Head of Delegation of the European Unionto Albania, Ambassador Ettore Sequi pointed to theneed and the real possibility to reconcile Albania’s eco-nomic development with preservation and promotionof cultural heritage. Ambassador Sequi went on to em-phasize that the rehabilitation of historical sites shouldbe approached through a socio-economic perspective inurban and in rural areas, saying that “making these sitesbetter known and more accessible invites people togather, and that in turn invites businesses to prosper.Cultural heritage is an integral part of European valuesand respect for heritage”, he added “is vital for develop-ing Albania's European identity”.

FYROM | INVESTMENT

Czech companies interestedin the marketFYROM Prime Minister recently met his Cezch counter-part Necas in Prague. After the talks, both sides agreed thatCzech and FYROM will cooperate in energy, traffic infra-structure and green technologies sectors, MRTOnlinelearnt from a press release issued by the government. It waslearnt from the meeting that Czech firms are experiencedand interested in operating at FYROM's market in re-moving environmental damages, construction of wastewater and drinking water filtering stations, waste liquidationand other technological environmental components.

Following a letter from the Turkish gov-ernment that they needed patriot missilesNATO has said that they would of coursestep in as the border control with Syriabecomes a bigger burden on Turkey.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen the SecretaryGeneral of NATO stated that he has re-ceived this letter from the Turkish gov-ernment requesting the deployment ofPatriot missiles and that such a deploy-ment would augment Turkey’s air defencecapabilities to defend the population and

territory of Turkey. “It would contribute to the de-escala-

tion of the crisis along NATO’s south-eastern border. And it would be a concretedemonstration of Alliance solidarity andresolve,” Rasmussen said.

In its letter, the Turkish governmentstressed that the deployment will be de-fensive only, and that it will in no waysupport a no-fly zone or any offensiveoperation. NATO will discuss Turkey’srequest without delay. If approved, “the

deployment would be undertaken in ac-cordance with NATO’s standing air de-fence plan. It is up to the individualNATO countries that have availablePatriots - Germany, the Netherlandsand the United States - to decide if theycan provide them for deployment inTurkey and for how long,” the SecretaryGeneral said. A joint team is to visitTurkey in the week of 26 November toconduct a site-survey for the possibledeployment of Patriots.

Turkey looks to NATO for help on SyriaTURKEY |DEFENCE

Picture taken on July 15, 2008 shows the Air Defence Missile Squadron 2 with a Patriot missile launcher during an exercise at training site Warbelow

near Gnoien, northern Germany. German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on November 21, 2012 that he would seek parliamentary

approval for a military operation in Turkey by mid-December, after Ankara requested NATO help.

Iran, Turkey to expand tiesTURKEY|BILATERAL RELATIONS

Turkey's Consul General in Tabriz AliTulga Kaya recently had a meeting withWest Azarbaijan Governorate Man Dirfor Political and Elections AffairsKazem Alinezhad. In course of talks,Alinezhad said that Iran and Turkey haslots of potential for expansion of com-prehensive bilateral relations, Zaman re-ported. He informed that the fourthconference of Iran-Iraq Border ProvinceGovernors held inTurkey's Agriprovince on November 17-18, aims toboost bilateral ties. The event reflects in-terest of both countries for more expan-sion and deepening of relations. Themain purpose of the seminar is to ex-pand economic, commercial, and busi-ness cooperation between the twocountries.

A high ranking Iranian delegationcomprised of the vice president in in-ternational affairs and the governorgeneral of West Azarbaijan province at-tended the event. This signals the strong

readiness of the officials of both coun-tries to expand ties and cooperation.

Alinezhad informed that technicaland expert level discussions over variousissues would be held in IRI Vice Presi-dent in International Affairs Dr. Sa'eid-lou's meeting with Republic of Turkey'sMinister of Planning Jodat Yilmaz,along with an expert level meeting ofthe border province governor generalsof the two countries. A survey of thelevel of implementing of the formerlysigned memoranda of understanding(MOU) would also take place. Officialsof both Iran and Turkey adopted im-portant major decisions at the event.Such meetings serve as a solid groundfor expansion of economic and businessrelations, as well as cultural ties, yield-ing great benefits to both countries aswell as the entire region. Turkey's Con-sul General in Oroumiyeh also under-lined the importance of expansion ofIran-Turkey relations. He said that-

Turkey pay emphasis to expansion of itsrelations with Iran and the Turkish of-ficials broadly welcome the presence ofthe Iranian delegation in the country.Ali Tulga Kaya added, “The necessaryharmonizing for holding this gatheringat optimum level holding of this gath-ering would be made with the IranianForeign Ministry, Embassy of Republicof Turkey in Tehran, and the WestAzarbaijan Province Governorate.” Itwas recalled that Iran and Turkey alsohave very close trade and economic re-lations and both are founding membersand key players at the Economic Coop-eration Organization (ECO). ManyIranian tourists visit Turkey and Turkeybenefits economically from Iraniantourism. Every year one million Irani-ans visit Turkey. In 2010 two-way tradebetween the two countries stood at $10billion and both governments had an-nounced that the figure should reachthe $20 billion mark in near future.

Developers to pay with square metersALBANIA|CONTRACTORS

For every work with contractors, devel-opers now pay with square metres due tothe crisis and lack of cash forces. In caseof electrical works, sanitary equipment,and others, developers pay in apartmentsto contractors, AENews reported. How-

ever according to Maksim Muci, thehead of the Developers Association,such a form of payment yielded no re-sults. Muci said that “clearing” was usedto exploit all the necessary interior re-serves that an association or an economy

has, but it's not the solution. Clearingwas used so that the major developershould pay contractors with "clearing",not in cash yielding construction surface.This continued for a short duration andentailed other problems.

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Croatia, Qatar boost tiesQatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Croa-tia’s President Ivo Josipovic recently chaired an official sessionof talks at the Emiri Diwan. Several Qatari ministers and themembers of the official delegation accompanying Josipovicwere also present at the session, Javno reported. During thetalks, the two leaders reviewed co-operation relations betweenthe two countries and ways to develop and boost them in var-ious fields. They also discussed several regional and interna-tional issues of mutual interest. Qatar’s Minister of State forForeign Affairs Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah separatelymet with Croatian Minister of Foreign and European AffairsVesna Pusic and her accompanying delegation.

CROATIA|WATERWORKS

Osijek prepares projectThe City of Osijek and local water utility Vodovod recentlycompleted preparations for a waterworks project in thisbiggest eastern Croatian city. The cost of the project isworth €72mn, news agencies reported. The project was an-nounced at a meeting of Mayor Kresimir Bubalo and thedirectors of the departments in the city administration. Eu-ropean Union will provide largest share of the project thatis €52mn, from its own funds. A city council will be con-vened soon to approve the project.

BiH|INVESTMENT

Denmark eyes B&H marketAmbassador of Denmark to Slovenia and non-residentAmbassador for B&H Kristen Vang Nielsen and the Hon-orary Consul of Denmark in B&H, Mirza Durmisevic re-cently paid a visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina. He was welcomedby Director of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agencyof Bosnia and Herzegovina (FIPA) Jelica Grujic, Fars newsagency reported. Nielsen said that Danish firms are inter-ested to invest in B&H. Grujic briefed the guests with themissions and aims of FIPA, as well on ways in which theAgency can help the Danish companies help gain informa-tion about the conditions and opportunities for investing inB&H, on the most promising sectors for investing, as wellas information on concrete investment projects.

SERBIA|ECONOMY

Foreign investments steadySerbian Investment and Export Promotion Agency(SIEPA) Deputy Director Bojan Jankovic recently an-nounced that if changes were not made then foreign invest-ments next year will remain at €1bn level, Beta news agencyreported. Jankovic told a seminar that within end of this year,the country expects fewer foreign investments compared tolast year and it will amount to €1.2bn. He noted that in Jan-uary-June period of this year, foreign investments amountedto $600mn and the reduced level of investments was par-tially due to outcome of the election process in Serbia in thefirst half of the year and the euro debt crisis.

SERBIA|ECONOMY

Economy to contract 2%On November 19 the Central Bank of Serbia predicted thatthe economy will contract worse this year than expected, de-clining 2% mainly due to a poor harvest following a drought,news agencies reported. “As the drop (in agricultural produc-tion) is much bigger than anticipated ... we have decided to re-vise our growth estimate for 2012 to -2%,” the bank said. InOctober, the bank's vice-governor Veselin Pjescic said the bankexpects an economic contraction of 1.5% this year, worse thanthe 0.5% [prognosis as contained in August’s inflation report.


ENLARGEMENT

The UN Security Council (UNSC)recently extended for another 12months the mandate of the Europeanpeacekeepers tasked with ensuring thecontinued compliance by all sides withthe 1995 Dayton Peace Agreementthat ended fighting in Bosnia andHerzegovina, Fars news agency re-ported. This means that the EU multi-national stabilisation force, known asEUFOR ALTHEA, composed ofabout 600 personnel, will remain inthe Balkan nation until next Novem-ber. Such a move by UN SecurityCouncil was taken to fulfill its missionof supporting the peace agreement inBosnia.

The European Union assumedpeacekeeping responsibilities in 2004when it took over from a stabilisationforce led by the North Atlantic TreatyOrganisation (NATO), which contin-ues to have a presence in Bosnia andHerzegovina.

The council welcomed NATO de-cision to continue its presence inBosnia. It also reminded the parties inBosnia to implement the DaytonPeace agreement and cooperate withthe international tribunal for the for-mer Yugoslavia to prosecute thosefound having committed war crimesduring the conflict pitting BosnianMuslims against Serb Muslims from1992 to 1995.Reconfiguration of

EUFOR ALTHEA was completed inSeptember, resulting in a reducednumber of forces based in the countryand focusing on capacity-building andtraining while also retaining the capa-bility to contribute to the Bosnia andHerzegovina authorities' deterrencecapacity if the situation so requires.

The High Representative for Bosniaand Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, toldthe Council that the country's politicalleaders were unable to produce what

they should be 17 years after the sign-ing of the Dayton accords. He added“They must stop their divisive behav-ior and finally start leading the way tothe country's full reintegration in theinterests of all its citizens.” In particu-lar, he noted that the "anti-State, se-cessionist rhetoric" emanating fromthe current leadership of RepublikaSrpska has intensified and worsenedconsiderably during the past sixmonths.

UN Security Council renews EU mandate in Bosnia for a year

BiH|PEACEKEEPERS

Serbia requests $1bn credit from RussiaSERBIA|LOAN

Russian Energy Minister AlexanderNovak recently announced that Serbia hasasked for a credit of $1bn from Russia.This was announced after the meeting ofthe Intergovernmental Russian-Serbiancommission for trade, economic, scientificand technical cooperation, Beta newsagency reported. Serbia has requested toreceive $300mn by the end of the year andan additional $700mn in 2013.

Serbian Minister of Mining and Spa-

tial Planning Milan Bacevic stated inMoscow that the Russian Governmentshould soon pass a decision on grantingthe credit to help the Serbian budget forthis and next year.

Upon signing a protocol of the sessionon the Serbian-Russian inter-govern-ment committee for cooperation, Bacevicsaid that the realisation of $300mn of thatcredit could be expected by the end of theyear. Russian Minister of Energy Alexan-

der Novak, who is co-presiding the com-mittee with Bacevic, said his ministry isconsidering the request from Serbia andwill decide on it very soon.

The status of South Stream energyproject on the territory of Serbia wasdiscussed at the meeting. SerbianChamber of Commerce PresidentMilos Bugarin announced that an in-vestment conference will be held inMoscow in March or April 2013.

Government to revise 2012 budgetCROATIA|BUDGET

The government of Croatia has to facean over-expenditure of 2bn kuna as sev-eral ministries failed to cut spending.Some problematic ministries outlinedwere of education which spent 450mnkuna, Interior Ministry spent 270mnkuna, Healthcare Ministry with 250mnkuna, Justice Ministry with 85mn kunaand of Social Affairs Ministry with50mn kuna. As a result, the govern-ment announced plans to revise thecountry’s budget deficit this year due tonon-implementation of the set target to

reduce the budget deficit in 2012 by 1%,as mentioned in the fiscal discipline law,Javno reported.

Milanovic said that under technical re-vision, should be understood a transfer offunds among ministries. He said thatsome ministries and public institutionshad not spent their entire budgets, so thefunds which were not used will be redis-tributed.

This year there was also an over imple-mentation of the revenues part of thebudget. Besides overspending of some

ministries, debts of several shipyardswhich were a huge problem Croatia hadentailed additional pressure for thebudget. In every report on Croatia’sprogress toward EU membership, theEuropean Commission mentioned thatthat the shipyards should be sold or leftto bankrupt. This issue was contained inthe technical revision of the 2012 budget.According to the premier, the wages inthe public sector was the biggest reasonfor the failed implementation of thebudget deficit target.

A German soldier holds an EU flag during a ceremony of handing over peacekeeping duties from

NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) to the EU's 7,000-strong EUFOR at Camp Butmir in

Sarajevo, 2 December 2004.

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NORWAY | LOGISTICS

Odfjell Terminals awardedLe Havre Port project bidGrand Port Maritime du Havre (GPMH) have selectedOdfjell Terminals (BV)'s, project proposal for the develop-ment of a green field liquid bulk storage terminal in the in-dustrial zone of Le Havre Port, Norway Post reported lastweek. The new project's site is located along the GrandCanal Maritime and covers approximately 30 hectares. Inthe coming months a feasibility study will be carried outfor a terminal consisting of approximately 200,000 cubicmeters storage capacity in the first phase. Odfjell andGPMH aim to finalize the project details and reach anagreement on a Site Reservation Protocol by 1 April 2013.Le Havre Port is one of the largest ports in North-Europe,and has a strategic location as the first main port called atin Northern Europe.

SWITZERLAND | BANKING

Bank division shuffle for Credit SuisseCredit Suisse Group has said it is overhauling its invest-ment banking division, reports indicated last week. It alsoannounced plans to merge its private banking and wealthmanagement arms to cut costs and satisfy regulators.Switzerland's second-largest bank has been shedding thou-sands of jobs to counter falling profits. It announced theshakeups on 20 November and they will take effect at theend of November. The bank's chief executive BradyDougan said the bank "restructured our investment bank-ing model resulting in a high returning, lower risk, client-oriented business. Our private banking model is highlyscalable and suited for the new regulatory environment.And we have sharpened the focus of our asset managementbusiness." Last month, the Zurich-based bank said it wouldboost cost-cutting as it posted a 63% fall in third-quarterprofit following an accounting charge on its debt.

ICELAND | COMMERCE

ATMO opens design store in ReykjavíkThe first lady of Iceland and jewellery designer DorritMoussaieff opened the new design store ATMO on Lau-gavegur shopping street in downtown Reykjavík on 16 No-vember, Iceland review reported. The new store featureswork by 60 Icelandic designers. Among the items for saleare artworks, clothes, jewellery, perfume and shoes. “ATMOis a magnet and meeting place for all lovers, both local andforeign, of Icelandic design and also those who wish to ex-perience the creations and newest trends in Iceland,” asstated on the store’s website. The store is located at Lau-gavegur 91 near the Hlemmur bus terminal with the sec-ond hand store 9 Líf occupying the basement. Among thedesigners featured in the store are Steinunn, Sóley, Spak-mannsspjarir, Stáss, Staka, Sonja Bent, Sápusmiðjan, Ska-parinn, Skyn Iceland, Spíral, Sunbird and Scintilla. BolliKristinsson, one of the people behind the project, said thatit was good to see so many designers under one roof.

LICHTENSTEIN | FISCAL COORDINATION

Tax data lists and Liechtenstein Liechtenstein said it has signed new tax deals withSouth Africa and Bahrain, bringing the tiny Alpinecountry closer to conformity with international bank-ing standards requiring greater transparency, The Localreported on 22 November. "This agreement putsLiechtenstein firmly on the road to international co-operation on fiscal matters," Prime Minister KlausTschutscher said in a statement on 21 November.

Shareholders in commodities giantGlencore and mining group Xstratawere to vote last week on a proposed$33-billion mega merger at two ex-traordinary general meetings nearZurich, local press reported.

Both Swiss-based companies hadbeen set to approve the blockbustermerger in September but the deal raninto major resistance from key Xstratashareholders demanding better condi-tions.

But for market-watchers, the dealseems assured after Qatar's sovereignwealth fund — which has a 12% stakein Xstrata — said previous week thatit would now approve Glencore's bidto merge with Xstrata.

The Qatari fund was holding outfor 3.25 Glencore shares for one Xs-trata share, but said it would acceptthe 3.05 final offer.

However, in a statement last weekthe fund said it would abstain fromvoting on the pay package for the newentity's management group, a majorsource of dispute in the deal.

As part of the tie-up to create araw materials juggernaut with salesof $ 209.4 billion and operatingprofit of $ 16.2 billion, Xstrata exec-utives are to be paid a total of € 179million.

Among the many shareholders crit-ical of the sweetener for Xstrata man-agers, Standard Life Investmentsslammed that proposal as "unneces-sary" and the result of a "rather rapa-cious management team and a weakboard, and we will be voting against it.

If it gets the go-ahead, the mergerwill then need the approval of EUregulators who have until 22 Novem-ber to examine the case.

Analysts said regulators could askGlencore to shed some of its equitystake in Belgian group Nyastar, theworld's leading producer of zinc.

The European Commission hascleared under the EU Merger Regu-lation the proposed acquisition ofXstrata, the world's fifth largest met-als and mining group, by Glencore,the world's leading metals and ther-

mal coal trader. The clearance isconditional on the termination ofGlencore's off-take arrangements forzinc metal in the European Eco-nomic Area (EEA) with Nyrstar, theworld's largest zinc metal producer,and the divestiture of Glencore's mi-nority shareholding in Nyrstar. TheCommission had concerns that themerged entity would have the abilityand incentive to raise prices for zincmetal, an important input for manyEU industries. The commitmentsaddress these concerns.

In the statemetn released by the Eu-ropean Commission Vice President incharge of competition policy JoaquínAlmunia he said that the merger will“bring together two major global play-ers in key commodities. The proposedremedy ensures that competition inthe European zinc metal market ispreserved, so that European customerssuch as steel galvanisers and car mak-ers can continue to produce valuableconsumer goods at low prices andgood quality".

EU approves Glencore, Xstrata mergerSWITZERLAND|MINING

Mining group Xstrata CEO Mick Davis (C) and staff memebers leave a shareholders assembly on November 20, 2012 in Zug. Shareholders of

Swiss commodities giant Glencore overwhelmingly approved a tie-up with Swiss mining giant Xstrata, during the assembly. A full 99.42 per-

cent of the shareholders voted in favour during the meeting, clearing one of the final hurdles to the massive merger.

SAS dodges bankruptcy following union approved planNORWAY|AVIATION

Scandinavia's flagship airline SAS hasaverted imminent bankruptcy after alleight unions signed new collective agree-ments, The Local reported on 19 No-vember.

The agreements will see jobs,salaries and pensions cut in the hopeof restoring the company's competi-tiveness and profitability.

Seven unions from Sweden, Norwayand Denmark had given their approval tothe savings plan, but the Danish cabincrew union CAU had held out for the

better part of the day."I am very happy that we managed to

get a deal," said Helge Thuesen, chairmanof CAU, which represents over 1,400cabin attendants in Denmark. "We havestretched ourselves very, very far to reachout to SAS."

SAS, which is half-owned by the gov-ernments of Sweden, Norway and Den-mark, needed the unions to sign off onthe restructuring in order to keep ownersand creditors satisfied.

In recent years SAS has been pinched

by competition from regional discountcarriers, and the airline says the newround of cost-cutting measures will go farto improve competitiveness and prof-itability.

The restructuring plan, presented lastweek, proposes slashing 800 administra-tive positions and eventually reducingstaff numbers from 15,000 to 9,000 asmany services will be outsourced.

While welcoming the deal, analystsnoted that SAS has been through severalausterity programs before.

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AZERBAIJAN|AIRLINES INDUSTRY

AZAL orders 6 E-JetsAzerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), the national carrier of Azer-baijan, has signed a firm order for four Embraer 190s jets,news agencies reported. Deliveries are scheduled for thirdquarter of 2013. AZAL has also purchased from Embraer,through its wholly-owned subsidiary ECC leasing, two pre-owned EMBRAER 170s, which will be delivered in thesecond quarter of 2013. All six aircraft are due for deliveryto Azerbaijan Airlines before the end of 2013. Embraer val-ues Azerbaijan Airlines’ order for the four new Embraer190 jets at $180.8mn at list price and will book the order inits 2012 fourth quarter.

AZERBAIJAN|DIPLOMACY

Baku, Minsk up investmentIntensive business contacts have a positive impact on thetrade and economic cooperation between Belarus andAzerbaijan, said Ambassador of Belarus to AzerbaijanNikolai Patskevich. “In recent years a new area of the bilat-eral cooperation – investment co-operation – has beenmaking much progress. Today, projects in logistics, tradeand public catering are being successfully implemented inBelarus using Azerbaijani capital,” Patskevich told a pressconference dedicated to the co-operation between Belarusand Azerbaijan. In 2011 Azerbaijani investments in Be-larus rose eight times, next year the growth trend is expectedto remain in place.

GEORGIA|DEFENCE

Saakashvili visits PragueGeorgian President Mikheil Saakashvili recently attended asession of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Prague,news agencies reported. “Just weeks after free and fair elec-tions that brought to power a new parliamentary majorityand a new government—just as our team of reformists lostthe control of most of the executive and legislative powers—I come to you as a President of cohabitation, as a politicalleader affiliated with an opposition party, and, more impor-tant– as a simple citizen of a nation that strives for freedom,to share my deep conviction that my country is more readythan ever to fulfil its NATO ambitions,” Saakashvili said.

GEORGIA|FOOD

IFC hosts safety forumIFC, a member of the World Bank Group and the largestglobal development institution, recently hosted a seminaron International Food Safety, in Tbilisi, reads a press release.The aim of the event is to help more than 100 participantsfrom Europe and Central Asia be acquainted with modernfood safety management systems. This will help companiesto be more competitive and increase their market opportu-nities. The participants at the seminar comprised of execu-tives from leading international, regional, and local foodproducers, along with major retailers, government repre-sentatives, and food safety consultants.

GEORGIA|DIPLOMACY

British Council in GeorgiaBritish Council Chair Vernon Ellis for the first time paid avisit to Georgia to participate in the opening of the newEnglish language Teaching Centre. Ellis said he was pleasedto see the centre and called for co-operation with differentcultural and educational institutions. Next year, Georgia’sBritish Council also plans to introduce special courses forchildren. Ellis noted there is lot of opportunities in Geor-gia, which according to him is both an interesting and im-portant country in the region.


EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

After talks with Georgian PresidentMikheil Saakashvilin in Brussels, Eu-ropean Council President HermanVan Rompuy said the EuropeanUnion strongly adheres to concludenegotiations on Association Agree-ment, including deep and comprehen-sive free trade agreement, at theearliest, news agencies reported. Healso expressed hope that Saakashviliwill continue to work efficiently withthe government during the cohabita-tion period.

Meantime, Saakashvili said that wasmere coincidence that he and the Pre-mier were in Brussels at same time.“That really shows that there is need toco-operate because we talk very muchabout the same issues,” Saakashvili said.He highlighted that issues were relatedto Georgia’s European integration. Inthis regard, he said that all the politicalforces in Georgia should find a com-mon ground in the aforesaid issue. Hesaid that Georgia needed continuity inprogress achieved so far in talks over

Association Agreement, as well as invisa liberalisation dialogue.

Saakashvili said efforts were also un-dertaken to help the new governmentto bring Georgia closer to Europeaninstitutions. Commenting on his for-eign policy issues, Saaaskhvili said heplans to focus one year of his remain-ing presidential term, to elevate Geor-gia’s European integration to next levelwhich means trade, visa free rules, As-sociation Agreement and emergenceof prospect for EU membership.

Van Rompuy, Saakashvili discuss association agreement

GEORGIA|EU AFFAIRS

EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy, right, welcomes Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili prior to their working session at the EU headquar-

ters, Brussels, 14 November 2012.

UAE, Baku to expand business tiesAZERBAIJAN|DIPLOMACY

Speaking at the opening of a businessforum between Azerbaijan and UnitedArab Emirates (UAE), Azerbaijan’sMinister of Economic DevelopmentShahin Mustafayev said that opening ofa representative office of the DubaiChamber of Commerce is being held inBaku, news agencies reported.

The business forum was attended byover 30 businessmen from the UAEand over 140 Azerbaijani entrepre-neurs. Mustafayev said this is the onlymission of the Dubai Chamber ofCommerce outside the UAE, whichreflects the high level of relations be-

tween the two countries. He noted that Azerbaijan and UAE

has great potential. Currently 122companies with UAE capital are op-erating in Azerbaijan showing im-mesne progress. In this regard,Mustafayev said that Fly Dubai isfunctioning very successfully, whichalso strengthens co-operation.

Mustafayev also had a meeting withUAE Deputy Minister of EconomyMohammed Ahmed bin Abdul AzizAl Shehhi. Both stressed the impor-tance of effective use of the potential toexpand the business relations between

the two countries during a bilateralmeeting.

The sides stressed the successful con-tinuation of the co-operation betweenthe two countries in various sectors, in-cluding industry, agriculture, trade, con-struction, infrastructure, informationand communication technologies,tourism, logistics, mutual investmentsand other areas. According to data un-veiled by State Customs Committee,the trade turnover between Azerbaijanand the United Arab Emirates ex-ceeded $79mn in January-September,where $69.8mn falls to Azerbaijan.

IMF mission visits AzerbaijanAZERBAIJAN|LOANS

A mission of the International MonetaryFund (IMF) to Azerbaijan led by Raja Al-marzogi, was recently welcomed by Azer-baijan’s Minister of EconomicDevelopment Shahin Mustafayev, newsagencies reported. Almarzogi praised themeasures taken in Azerbaijan to maintaineconomic stability and ensure rapid eco-nomic development.

In turn, Mustafayev briefed the delega-tion on Azerbaijan’s economic indicatorsfor January-September as of this year. He

mentioned that all sectors of the nationaleconomy, particularly the non-oil sectorrecorded rapid development. The minis-ter also outlined the country’s industriali-sation policy, as well as projectsimplemented in agriculture, ICT, trans-portation, tourism, alternative and renew-able energy. The Minister noted the roleof the private sector in economic develop-ment. Both sides discussed predictions fornext year as well as the issue of increasingthe share of the non-oil sector in GDP.

Meanwhile, IMF staff mission chiefRaja said the Financial Sector Assessment2 (FSAP-2) to be realised by the Fund andthe Bank this year, was postponed for thebeginning of 2014. "On the one hand,Azerbaijan has asked to postpone theFSAP for the period when the bank state-ments will reflect the consequences of theCentral Bank’s decision to increase capitalrequirements, and on the other hand theFSAP team also asked to postpone theFSAP for 2014," Almarzoqi said.

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29NEW EUROPE25 November - 1 December , 2012EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

MOLDOVA|WINES

Chisinau eyes Belarus marketMoldova highly appreciates friendship with and co-operation with Belarus and is interested in expandingthe partnership, Moldova’s Deputy Minister for For-eign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Popovsaid at the opening of the Belarusian Auditorium inthe Free International University of Moldova (ULIM).Popov remarked that Moldova was grateful to Belarusfor the aid rendered in times of need. He reminded thatafter Russia banned the import of Moldovan wines inspring 2006, Belarus became the only outlet forMoldovan winemakers by buying large volumes ofMoldovan wines and cognacs. Belarus helped preservethe winemaking industry, which is the key industry forMoldova. The official underlined that Belarus had be-come the largest importer of Moldovan wines amongall the countries and imports twice as much Moldovanwines as the entire European Union.

MOLDOVA|DIPLOMACY

PM meets EU, US envoysOn 20 November, Moldova’s Prime Minister VladFilat met the EU ambassadors to Moldova and the USambassador in Chisinau, the government's communi-cation and media relations department has reported.Filat said such meetings became traditional and aremeant to directly inform international partners of theinterior situation and processes that are taking place inMoldova, as well as to discuss various aspects relatedto Moldova's international ties. The officials discussedthe implementation of reforms, Moldova's EU inte-gration agenda, Transnistrian conflict's settlement,Moldova's economic development prospects, inclu-sively in the context of the International MonetaryFund's last visit, and events in the energy sector.

BELARUS|ENERGY

Oil extraction quota down In 2013 the Belarusian company Belorusneft will beable to extract at most 1.6mn tonnes of oil in Belarusin 2013, down from 1.68mn tonnes. The decision islaid down by Council of Ministers resolution No. 1046that was published by the national legal informationwebsite law.by on 20 November, BelTA reported. Thedocument has imposed restrictions on the extraction ofstrategic natural resources and restricted-distributionnatural resources.

BELARUS|SPACE

Russia-Belarus centreThe first Russia-Belarus centre providing space servicesmight be set up in Minsk, Director General of OAOResearch and Production Corporation Record Vyach-eslav Bezborodov said at the 7th forum of the UnionState programs in Moscow on 20 November, RIANovosti reported. “We have already engaged in talks toset up a similar centre in Minsk,” Bezborodov said. Atthe September session of the Skolkovo FoundationScientific Advisory Council in Minsk, Bezborodov an-nounced that the corporation is ready to help set up anumber of centres to provide a variety of space servicesin Belarus, from monitoring of national parks to na-tional security. Space Strategy and Programme De-partment of Roscosmos Director Yuri Makarov notedthat Belarus and Russia might develop a joint smallspacecraft for scientific and educational purposes to beused at universities of the two countries. “As far as Iknow, the Belarusian State University is already work-ing on it,” Makarov said.

Belarus’ Belarusneft, Kazakhstan’s Kaz-MunaiGaz and Russia’s Zarubejneftplan to form consortium Soyuznefteot-dacha, within which intend to introducemodern technologies at deposits of allthe three countries, Belarusneft manu-facturing group representative AndreyBokhan said.

He made this announcement in thecontext of the visit of Belarusian PrimeMinister Mikhail Myasnikovich to As-tana.

Belarus and Kazakhstan plan to co-operate in oil production technologies.Belarusneft started holding negotia-tions with KazMunaiGaz on provid-ing their latest technologies onincreasing oil production at the de-posits. We are ready to enter the Kaza-khstan market by launching a jointventure,” Bokhan said. According tohim, Belarusneft is also interested inparticipating in projects on geologicexploration on the territory of Kaza-khstan, and in purchase of assets, wheredevelopment is not held because of ab-sence of necessary technology.

Overall, Myasnikovich defined newpriority areas of co-operation withKazakhstan. Both sides have new per-spectives, besides the Belarusian agricul-tural machinery and furniture that havea good reputation in Kazakhstan. Thereare plans to co-operate in mining and oiland gas area, make fuller use of the tran-sitional potential of both countries.

“We are not rivals, we are partners.And our economics must complementeach other. Therefore, I am sure, that ourplans on expanding co-operation are re-alizable,” Myasnikovich said, summingup all agreements that were reached dur-ing his visit to Astana.

Belarus is an important partner ofKazakhstan together with Russia. It is

about the Customs Union including allthree countries and Eurasian EconomicArea (EEA).

This is why visit of Belarusian prime-minister to Kazakhstan was aimed atdefinition of new priorities and areas, sothat the co-operation could be produc-tive both within the Customs Unionand EEA.

Following the results of this year, vol-ume of trade between the two countriescan probably reach $1bn, while in 2011it could hardly exceed $700mn. AsKazakhstan Prime Minister SerikAkhmetov noted, the positive dynamicsis a result of only one year of perform-ance of the Customs Union.

“However, potential of our co-opera-tion is not enough. In the future we in-tend to increase our trade with Belarus,if not two, but three times. We haveeverything for that,” he said.

According to Akhmetov, there othergoods and positions, except for the well-known Belarusian agricultural machin-ery and furniture, which could extendthe existing frames. “There are perspec-

tive directions, where we could join ourefforts: mining industry, oil and gas sec-tor,” he said.

Thus, following the negotiations ofboth prime-ministers, it appeared thatBelarus and Kazakhstan are intended tocreate a number of massive joint venturein engineering and chemical industry onthe territory of both countries.

“A joint venture in great chemistry setup at the Mogilevkhimvolokno JSC, isgoing to be outstanding. It costs $1bn,”Myasnikovich said, noting that it wouldbe a project oriented not only at EEA,but also in the third countries.

As the Belarusian prime-ministersaid, eventually, the sides moved fromgeneral declarations to certain projectswhich will attract other ones.

Everything the heads of governmentsagreed on, regarding co-operation in thearea of petro-chemistry, engineering, au-tomobile production, construction in-dustry, agriculture – everything will bearranged in agreements, memorandums,which will be signed in the nearest fu-ture at the highest level.

Belarusneft, KazMunaiGaz, Zarubejneftto co-operate in oil production

BELARUS|ENERGY

A worker turns a valve at the first pump station on Belarus territory of the Druzhba pipeline, near

the village of Bobovichi, southeast of Minsk.

Ukraine could export record amount of grain in NovemberUKRAINE|AGRICULTURE

Exports of grain from Ukraine in No-vember could reach 3.1-3.2mn tonnes,which is a record indicator for the currentseason, Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation(UAC) Director General Serhiy Stoyanovhas said.

From 1 November to 16 NovemberUkraine supplied 1.8mn tonnes of grainto foreign markets, including 0.9mntonnes of wheat, over 0.8mn tonnes ofcorn and around 0.1mn tonnes of barley,the report of the confederation said.

In related news, Ukraine will export$17bn worth of agricultural products thisyear, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Foodof Ukraine Mykola Prysiazhniuk said "Forthe first time this year we will have farm

produce export of $17bn," local mediaquoted him as saying.

Ukraine has never exported such a largevolume of products, UKRINFORM re-ported while quoting the minister. Ac-cording to him the geography of exportshas also expanded and for the first time in20 years the country began to rapidly in-crease exports of vegetables, fruits andberries.

On 14 November, an annex was signedto the memorandum of understandingbetween the Ministry of Agrarian Policyand Food of Ukraine and the exporters ofgrain, establishing the amount of wheatexports at 5.5mn tonnes. As noted, the fu-ture prospects for grain exports will be

considered at the beginning of December2012.

Ukraine has the opportunity to take aleading position in the global food market,President Viktor Yanukovych said duringthe Agriculture Day celebrations on 15November. "Today, the world population ismore than 7bn. And by 2042, it could riseto 9bn. This will entail an increase in thedemand for food by at least a third. This isa historic opportunity for Ukraine, and wemust use it to take a leading role in thefood market," he said. Yanukovych em-phasized that, according to internationalexperts, Ukraine is one of the countrieswith opportunities for a decisive break-through in the agricultural sector.

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KAZAKHSTAN | MINING

Danish firm awarded a copper mine project Kazakh company Kazakhmys recently awarded a Danishbased mineral processing equipment specialist, FLSmidthto design a copper concentrator and supply all the processtechnology for a plant to be built at its Bozshakol coppermine in Kazakhstan, situated 220 kilometers north of As-tana. The cost of the project is worth $63 million, Gazeta.kzreported. Located in the north of Kazakhstan, Bozshakol isa Greenfield development project and considered as thelargest undeveloped copper deposits in the world. The proj-ect is close to existing power, transportation and other in-frastructure and will have a highly competitive operatingcost. The mine will deliver an annual copper output esti-mated at 75,000 tonnes a year over 40 years and create jobsfor 1,500 people. The orebody also contains abundant gold,silver and molybdenum as byproducts. Last year Kaza-khmys' three year development phase for Bozshakol waslaunched and is the largest single mine developmentinKazakhstan by both volume and value. The developmentphase which began prior slightly, with pre production min-ing set to begin in 2014 and first ore processed during 2015.The project has a capital cost in the region of USD 1.8 bil-lion and the China Development Bank and SamrukKazyna will provide a fund of $2.7 billion. The contract of-fered to the Dabuish firm includes the basic and detailedengineering for the plant in addition to the supply ofFLSmidth’s proprietary technologies for crushing, milling,flotation, thickening, filtering, cycloning, pumping as well asregrinds mills and material handling conveyors and feeders.

TAJIKISTAN | HEALTH

Putting health firstVisiting Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO (World Health Organ-ization) Regional Director for Europe was welcomed byTajik President Emomali Rahmon. In course of talks, thesides discussed cooperation in implementing a new Tajik-istan’s national health strategy designed for 2010-2020,Asia-Plus learnt from the Tajik president’s official website.Jakab said he was pleased with the results of long-term co-operation between WHO and Tajikistan. It was learnt thatin past eight years, WHO has provided $19 million worthof assistance to Tajikistan for development of its health sec-tor. Many health development projects, mass immunizationcampaigns as well as campaigns to prevent and treat infec-tious diseases have been carried out in Tajikistan under sup-port of WHO. Over the past eight years, WHO hasreportedly provided $19 million worth of assistance toTajikistan for development of its health sector. WHO hassupported many health development projects, mass immu-nization campaigns as well as campaigns to prevent andtreat infectious diseases conducted in Tajikistan.

KYRGYZSTAN | BUSINESS

Austrian business eyes Kyrgyz investmentsEconomic mission of Austria led by representative ofAustrian Federal Economic Chamber Mr. Heinz Wal-ter recently paid a visit to Bishkek. The First Vice PrimeMinister of Kyrgyzstan Dzhoomart Otorbayev warmlywelcomed the Austrian economic team, Irinnews.orglearnt from Information Policy Department of Kyrgyzs-tan’s Government Office. Otorbayev discussed with Aus-trian businessmen potential cooperation in hydropowerand transport industry. Otorbayev also briefed the Aus-trian guests with investment and tourism opportunities inKyrgyzstan. “Creation of new working positions is Kyr-gyzstan’s priority, and we understand that we can’t reachthis goal without investors. Therefore, reforms, aimed atimprovement of the investment climate, are carried out inthe republic,” he said.


EURASIA

Online platform targets business growthKAZAKHSTAN|TECHNOLOGY

L.E.S, an online platform for the imple-mentation of business ideas was recentlylaunched in Kazakhstan. The target ofthe advanced technology are representa-tives of businesses, culture and science,who can attract investment in the devel-opment of projects and get advice fromcompetent professionals online. L.E.Swill also entice representatives of creativeprofessions and freelancers, who are self-employed professionals working in theirfree time, Gazeta.kz reported. BusinessDirector, L.E.S, Alim Sailibayev said thatL.E.S will serve as a platform for coop-eration between businesses, culture, andscience.

He said it is also a platform to createevents, conditions, and a special environ-ment which contributes to the appear-ance of new projects. He went on to saythat the online L.E.S will hire up to 50people or about 20-25 companies fromthe creative industries and help them starta business and develop further. To realisethis objective, L.E.S has launched twoprogrammes of which first one is a busi-ness incubator or a start-up programme.The second programme is crowdsourc-ing which provides an opportunity forlocal creative professionals to enter for-eign markets. According to Sailibayev, thecrowdsourcing platform is a kind of ten-der platform. Large companies, corpora-tions, government agencies and others set

small tasks in order for them to be ful-filled by professionals from around theworld. This way, the cost of these projectsis reduced and it involves expertise fromaround the world. 50% of the profit willhave to be paid to the owners of the siteifthe projects are successfully developed.Sailibayev said, “We know that there are

creative people and industry in Almaty.We cannot say how it goes. This is a localpilot community. We want to see whathappens. We are creating an environmentfor those who can land a job in crowd-sourcing.” The company will have about8-10 people for a business incubator, and15-20 for crowdsourcing.

Kazakh, Russian PM’s meet in MoscowKAZAKHSTAN|DIPLOMACY

Kazakh Prime Minister Serik Akhmetovrecently paid a visit to Moscow to mete hisRussian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.In curse of talks, the side discussed issues ofstrengthening bilateral trade and invest-ment relations, including energy, transport,and space industry sectors, Gazeta.kz re-

ported. Both sides also discussed their co-operation in the framework of the Cus-toms Union and the Common EconomicSpace. The Kazakh premier said it is nec-essary to enable a clear implementation ofall taken decisions to ensure further devel-opment of integration associations. He

said lot of effort was taken in the develop-ment of bilateral ties and he is pleased withthe state and prospects of cooperation. Healso acknowledged there were no issues tobe resolved between the two countries assuch issues are solved during the meetingsbetween the heads of states and cabinets.

Assessment studies on Roghun HPPTAJIKISTAN|HYDROPOWER

Envoys of the World Bank and con-sulting companies conducting assess-ment studies for the RoghunHydropower Project (Roghun HPP)recently paid a visit to Dushanbe.Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rah-mon met with envoys in presence ofPrime Minister Oqil Oqilov and headsof relevant ministries and agencies ofTajikistan, Asia-Plus learnt from theTajik president’s official website.

The participants at the meeting dis-cussed topics related to conducting as-sessment studies for Roghun HPP.They also discussed the results of thesecond information-sharing meetingthat took place in Almay, Kazakhstan inearly November, as part of an ongoingassessment of the proposed RoghunHPP in Tajikistan. Farrukh Hamraliyev,State Adviser to the President for Eco-nomic Affairs, Saroj Jha, World Bank

Regional Director for Central Asia andRanjit Lameck, Head of World Bank’sEurope and Central Asia Energy Unit,briefed the Tajiks president with theoutcome of the second information-sharing meeting. Representatives of aconsortium led by Coyne & Bellierwhich has conducted Techno-Eco-nomic Assessment Study (TEAS), pre-sented a report. Poyry of Switzerland,which has conducted the Environmen-tal and Social Impact Assessment(ESIA), also presented their reports.Pavel Shestakov, Director of theMoscow-based Planning Institute“Gidroproekt,” and Khairullo Safarov,Director of OJSC NBO Roghun,shared views on the course of assess-ment studies for the Roghun HPP. Itwas recalled that Tajikistan’s plans tobuild the Roghun hydroelectric powerplant triggers serious concerns across the

border in Uzbekistan. Uzbek officialsargued that it might take 18 years to filland the Roghun project will severely re-duce the amount of water flowing intoUzbekistan.

The Assessment Studies aims to eval-uate the potential benefits and risks ofthe proposed Roghun HPP and it’stechnical, economic, social, and envi-ronmental viability based on interna-tional standards and practices as per theWorld Bank’s policies and procedures. Itwas reported that the studies will pro-vide the World Bank, the governmentof Tajikistan, other central Asian coun-tries and the international community,to be acquainted with key elements as-sociated with the proposed RoghunHPP, such as the project’s technicalsoundness and safety, economic viabil-ity and compliance with all relevant en-vironmental and social safeguards.

Online facilitation may just be the key to getting business back on track

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31NEW EUROPE25 November - 1 December , 2012RUSSIA

RUSSIA|DEFENCE

NATO missiles worry MoscowOn 22 November, Russia's Foreign Ministry cautionedagainst Turkey's intention to deploy NATO Patriot mis-siles on its border with Syria. "The militarisation of theTurkish-Syrian border would be an alarming signal," saidministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich. "It would donothing to foster stability in the region." "Our advice to ourTurkish colleagues is to use their influence on the Syrianopposition to draw them closer to dialogue, instead of flex-ing their muscles and taking the situation down a danger-ous path," he added.

RUSSIA|ENERGY

Belarus transit to increaseOn 22 November, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom ChiefExecutive Alexei Miller reportedly said his company couldinvest $2bn to increase the volumes of natural gas it sendsvia Belarus to Europe by 30%. “We agreed to consider verythoroughly the possibility of increasing transit of Russiangas through Belarus by 30%,” Miller said. Gazprom wouldsend 44.5bn cubic metres of gas through Belarus this year,the pipeline's full capacity, Miller said, after meeting Be-larus President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. He addedthat work to increase the pipeline's capacity by around 15bncubic metres will begin in 2013.

RUSSIA|ENERGY

Novatek registers bondsThe Board of Directors of Novatek, Russia's largest inde-pendent natural gas producer, and the country's secondlargest gas producer after state-controlled Gazprom, hasunanimously approved the regulatory filing and registra-tion of interest-bearing, non-convertible, Russian roublebonds (RR bond), Novatek said in a press release. “On 15October we successfully placed all of the remaining RRbond issue series registered in 2009. As a result, we have de-cided to register a new RR bond series, which accords us theflexibility to choose among different financial instruments,tenors and currency,” Novatek CFO and board memberMark Gyetvay said. According to the registration docu-ments, the total maximum nominal value of the Company’spotential RR bond offering is 45bn Russian roubles.

RUSSIA|DIPLOMACY

Russia concerned over CongoThe Russian government has expressed deep concern overnew attacks on the armed forces of Congo and the UNpeacekeepers, who want to ensure peace and stability in theAfrican country, despite threat to their security, Rus-sia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. Italso expressed particular concern by the fact that near Gomathere is the large camp of temporarily displaced persons (upto 60,000 people). “In the event of million city fall the hu-manitarian situation may become catastrophic,” the foreignministry said in a statement on 19 November.

RUSSIA|FUNDS

Positive inflowsRetail investors added new money to emerging marketfunds again two weeks ago, stretching the run of positive in-flows to eleven straight weeks, Sberbank Investment Re-search said in a report. For Russia retail funds, it was also afamiliar story as investors withdrew money for a seventhstraight week. The total taken out two weeks ago was$101mn, twice the withdrawal of three weeks ago. WhenRussia's share of the positive flows in the big GEM funds istaken into account, the net loss for last week is cut to $59mn.

On 21 November, a Kremlin-backedlaw forcing foreign-funded NGOs en-gaging in political activities to registerthemselves as "foreign agents" cameinto effect. However, dozens of NGOsoperating in Russia are refusing to com-ply with the new law which passed sev-eral months ago. On 21 November, theoffice façade of Memorial rights groupin Moscow was spray-painted with thewords “Foreign Agent (Loves) USA”.

Masha Lipman, an analyst atthe Carnegie Moscow Center, told NewEurope in an interview on 22 Novem-ber that the law is part of the Kremlin’scrackdown on its critics. The new lawonly applies to Russian NGOs that re-ceive foreign funding and therefore it isnot applicable to Carnegie, which is aRussian chapter of a foreign organisa-tion - Carnegie Endowment for Inter-national Peace. “There is no doubt thatthis piece of legislation is an encroach-ment on civil liberties. But I wouldpoint out that this is but one out ofabout a dozen pieces of legislation thatwere hastily pushed through the Russ-ian Duma mostly in summer,” Lipmansaid, adding that the Kremlin has easilypassed through the Duma new amend-ments and laws all of them curtailingcivil liberties.

One of the sponsors of the new legis-lation, Irina Yarovaya from United Russia,who heads the Anti-Corruption and Se-curity Committee in the State Duma, de-fended the law, saying that “people shouldunderstand who does politics in Russiausing money received from overseas”.

But Lipman noted that this piece oflegislation is characteristically vaguelyworded, “which enables selective enforce-ment and this is common practice inRussia”. “I don’t think that the new legis-lation will be enforced across the board.Rather I think it should be seen as an in-

strument of intimidation,” she argued.Lipman said the Russian government

may be after specific organisations,mentioning them in the bill. One ofthem is Golos, Russia’s only independ-ent vote monitoring group. “It clearlygets in the way of the governmentwhich over the years has relied onfraudulent elections,” she said. Anotherorganisation that may be targeted andwas mentioned at the time the law wasframed is Transparency InternationalRussia. “The government itself is nowon an anti-corruption campaign. But itdoesn’t want outsiders, especially thosefinanced from abroad, to make a contri-bution to the anti-corruption campaign.The government wants to decide by it-self which corrupt officials or organisa-tions should be prosecuted. It doesn’twant independent players to have arole,” Lipman added.

The Carnegie analyst reminded thatthis is the second major legislative as-sault on Russian NGOs that receiveforeign funding. The first was in after-math of the Orange Revolution inUkraine. “At that time the way theRussian government viewed the devel-opments in Ukraine was that foreigngovernments and, of course, first andforemost the United States seek aregime change in Ukraine and act tothis end via non-government organisa-tions,” she argued, adding that the Russ-ian government viewed NGOs to be asource of serious threat. “It was not justabout legislation, it was about discredit-ing them as agents of the west, spiesbeing arms of foreign governments,”Lipman said, adding that at that timethe eventual law was softer. “This timearound I think the attack is more seri-ous. The government still sees foreignfinancing as a threat to the Russian gov-ernment elite and seeks to incapacitatethem, discredit them and strip them offunds,” she said, adding that this is one

of the reasons why the Russian govern-ment has taken a decision to shut-down USAID activity in Russia.

The unprecedented protests againstRussian President Vladimir Putin thatfollowed last December's rigged parlia-ment vote and Putin's return to theKremlin in May were an unexpectedand serious challenge to the govern-ment. “The important impulse for thisnew attack was the protests last year,”Lipman told New Europe. “The gov-ernment is now on the offensive againstthose forces that are seeing as probablycontributors, participants, sponsors ofthe anti-government protests, mostlyanti-Putin,” she said, adding that thereis in fact no obvious link to NGOs andthe protests. “However, this is how thegovernment sees it and the way the pro-testers were discredited was also by wayof links with the west and first and fore-most the United States. The govern-ment beginning with Putin himselfhave made repeated allegations that theprotests are sponsored by, inspired byevil forces of the west that seek toweaken Russia,” Lipman said.

During her visit to Russia on 16 No-vember, German Chancellor AngelaMerkel told Putin she said she was “ir-ritated” by Russian laws clamping downon political organisations and con-demned the sentencing of members ofthe punk band Pussy Riot. Putin repliedwith accusations of gender inequality inGermany and discord in the EU.

As far as 10 years ago, Putin made apoint that he would not allow anyone toteach Russia, preach to it or interferewith its domestic affairs, Lipman said.“He always stands up to defend Russiaand to make unambiguous statementthat this is unacceptable. So there isnothing new in this reaction, it’s justthat it was the German Chancellor notsome reporter who dared ask a disre-spectful question,” she said.

Putin’s law dubs NGOs foreign agentsRUSSIA|DEMOCRACY

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, 20 November 2012.

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By Kostis Geropoulos

Transparency watchdog, ALTER-EU’sOlivier Hoedeman has asked the Euro-pean Commission to release “all docu-ments related to Commissioner Dalli'sresignation over the issues covered in theOLAF investigation, including all min-utes (and other notes) of meetings, all cor-respondence (including by email), bothinternal and external, and any other doc-uments held by the Commission on thesematters.”

He noted, “As the Commission consid-ers this case to be closed, there should beno obstacle to releasing these documents.”

It will come as no surprise to MrHoedeman, or anyone else, that there wasindeed an obstacle.

The Commission released a few docu-ments, helpfully numbered:

1. Email exchange between the Headof Unit for Regulatory Policy and ImpactAssessment, and the European Smoke-less Tobacco Council, where the Chair-man was advised to contact DG SANCOinstead.

2. Email from Swedish Match lobbyistto thank the SG and SANCO for meetingher and a colleague on 18 September.

3. Meeting note from the EC about the18 September meeting, listing the pointsraised by Swedish Match, including their

claim that the Commission “has an obli-gation to review the ban” on their prod-ucts, claiming ‘snus’ are safer and mayhelp smokers quit and that they are dis-criminated against as other smokeless to-bacco products are not regulated at EUlevel.

4. Letter from the General Counsel of

Swedish Match to Catherine Day on 12October requesting a meeting.

5. Reply from Day turning down ameeting and requesting they contact thenew Commissioner when appointed.

7. The 23 October letter from Barrosoto Dalli, previously made public.

Unnumbered press release from the

Commission announcing Dalli’s resigna-tion dated 16 October.

Has anyone seen number 6?Not a great haul, but in the Commis-

sion’s reply, they noted that “four otherdocuments cannot be disclosed.”

The missing documents are “Two lettersfrom Mr. Dalli to President Barroso, dated27 July 2012 and 24 October 2012” and“Two notes for the file concerning meet-ings between President Barroso and Mr.Dalli.”

And what do these documents contain?“The letters of Mr. Dalli as well as thenotes to the file contain precise informa-tion on the exchanges between the Presi-dent and Mr. Dalli and in particular onthe conduct of their meetings.”

The Commission is refusing to releasethe documents because “Even if they arenot part of the OLAF investigation file,they are nevertheless directly linked to itin that these notes will be part of any fol-low-up actions the Commission may de-cide to undertake following the OLAFinvestigation and the subsequent nationalinvestigation which is currently ongoing.”

It is worthwhile to note that SwedishMatch were lobbying until just beforeDalli’s resignation, and the date of thefirst missing letter, 27 July.

KASSANDRAPM who allowed MPs to claim for cleaning

their moats wants eurocrat pay and perks cut?

Page 32 | New Europe

25 November - 1 December , 2012

[email protected]

Once upon a time in Brussels ...

Follow me on twitter @Kassandra_NE

Dalli document delay

No sign of Barroso's 'Dear John' letter yet.

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Finalists named for Bad Sex AwardJ.K. Rowling’s post-Potter book misses cut despite many nominations

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