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5

Conference on the Future of Europe: Expectation and Reality

On May 9, 2021, consultations on the content of the Conference on the Future of Europe will start in Strasbourg.

The leadership of the EU institutions (Commission, Parliament and Council) aims to involve activists, local, national and union politicians in the discussion of common concerns and perspectives. The main thing is to ask ordinary people what they want from the European project.

The consultations are supposed to be divided into the following topics: health, climate, economics, social equality, or the transition to the digital age, that involves the renewal of the digital infrastructure.

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For the first time, the idea to hold a conference of this format was put forward by the President of France in 2019 before the elections to the European Parliament. By the spring of 2022 the Conference is to take decisions determining the future of the EU.

There will be a variety of forums, including digital and, where possible, face-to-face formats, subject to COVID-19 prevention guidelines. An interactive multilingual digital platform will enable citizens and organizations to present ideas on the Internet, help them participate in events or organize them.

However, according to a Eurobarometer poll, 48% of citizens are reluctant to participate in events dedicated to the future of the continent.

The process of preparing shows what exactly is wrong with modern Europe, since it is not the discussion of the best ideas for the EU that comes to the fore, but petty quarrels and competition.

As the Vice-President of the European Parliament Nicola Bier notes, the past crises have shown a number of weaknesses in the EU. She sees the upcoming conference as the last chance to reconcile the Europeans with Brussels.

During the pandemic, 60% of the population of EU member states thought about the future of the union. 26% of respondents said that confidence in the EU is declining.

“This conference should become a platform for reforms, not just a talking shop,” emphasizes Nicola Bier. Manfred Weber agrees with her, noting that the result of the conference should not be a statement about how good it is to have a united Europe.

The process of reforming the European Union is one of the key aspects of the European development strategy.

0 Comments
2021/05/10
06:14 UTC

2

Armenian massacre recognized as genocide by the US, Erdogan answers..

On late Saturday, Turkey in response to the US administration’s recognition of 1915 Armenian massacre as genocide, summoned the US ambassador to Turkey. Ankara’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal challenged the US President Joe Biden’s statement and told the US Ambassador David Satterfield that the move lacked legal grounds. Onal added that Turkey”rejected it, found it unacceptable and condemned [it] in the strongest terms.”

https://knowafrika.com/us-recognition-of-armenian-massacre-as-genocide-angers-erdogan/

1 Comment
2021/04/27
09:57 UTC

4

Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

The tragic events occurred in the history of the Armenian people 106 years ago. On April 24, 1915, about 800 representatives of the Armenian elite of the Ottoman Empire were arrested and subsequently killed by the Young Turks.

These events marked the beginning of mass killings and persecutions of the Armenian population throughout the Ottoman Empire. The process was called the Armenian Genocide.

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The second stage was the conscription of 60,000 Armenian men into the Turkish army. They were later disarmed and killed by their Turkish colleagues.

The third stage of the Armenian massacres of 1915–1916 was the deportation, death marches and the massacre of women, children and the elderly in the Syrian desert. Thousands of people were killed by Turkish soldiers, as well as by Kurdish and Circassian armed gangs. Also, a huge number of people died from hunger and epidemics.

And the last stage is the Turkish government's current denial of the existence of a policy of mass murder, deportations and extermination of the Armenian population on the territory of the Ottoman Empire. While dozens of countries, international organizations (the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Coalition of South American Countries, the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities), recognize and condemn the fact of the Armenian Genocide, Turkey actively pursues a policy of denial of the genocide and threatens harsh retaliatory measures for its recognition.

The wall of silence was destroyed on April 24, 1965, when demonstrations were organized in Soviet Armenia demanding recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Since then, Armenians around the world have celebrated April 24 as the day of remembrance for the victims of this tragic event. On this day, tens of thousands of people go to the Genocide Memorial on Tsitsernakaberd Hill in Yerevan to commemorate the victims of the genocide.

0 Comments
2021/04/24
08:50 UTC

3

With Russia threatening its borders, Ukraine urges NATO to ramp up its membership

Russia is aligning its troops along Ukraine’s borders. This has prompted Ukraine to urge NATO and key member states to hasten its membership process. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy talked to Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, urging for putting country on membership process in order to put an end to conflict in the eastern Donbas region. The move came after Russia actively started gathering its forces along the Ukrainian borders, threatening the country.

After the call Ukraine presidency said that the most important and urgent issue at hand was “the possibility of obtaining the NATO membership action plan”. This will put Ukraine on the path of future membership. Zelenskiy also made calls for boosting Ukraine’s NATO membership to other members including UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau.

“NATO is the only way to end the war in Donbas. Ukraine’s MAP [membership action plan] will be a real signal for Russia,” Zelenskiy told Stoltenberg. Stoltenberg soon tweeted raising concerns of Russia’s buildup along Ukraine’s borders and said that the alliance “firmly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Russia’s move of increasing number of troops to the north and east of Ukraine and also in occupied Crimea is though unclear, has managed to keep Ukraine’s president on toes. Last few days have seen Zelenskiy has engaged in a rather frantic series of diplomatic talks.

Russia has not denied assembly of troops but has said that it isn’t threatening anyone. Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov said that NATO membership is not going to resolve the conflict. “From our point of view, it will only worsen the situation. If you ask the opinion of several million people living in the self-declared republics [in the east of the country] you will see that for them NATO membership is deeply unacceptable.”

Chairman of the NATO military committee and senior military advisor to the Secretary General, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach visited Kyiv on 6-7 April. He met Zelenskiy and attended briefings on NATO-Ukraine partnership and military training progress. Security situation in and around Ukraine were also discussion points of the visit.

Why is Ukraine not still a NATO member?

This question indeed makes a lot of sense. Ukraine at present has been countering Russia’s aggression successfully in the region for seven years now. It is a security donor in the region by protecting a wide region between Black and Baltic Seas from Russia. Battling Russia on traditional field, Ukraine’s invaluable experience is unmatched. This war extends from cyber war to traditional battle.

Keeping in mind Russia’s regular aggressions in and around region, will NATO ramp up its membership process is to be watched out with series of diplomacies surrounding the decision.

0 Comments
2021/04/09
12:28 UTC

3

Coronavirus in the world, between vaccine chaos and contagions new records

Another 664,036 infections and 11,798 deaths in the last 24 hours in the world, from 6.30 yesterday morning to the same time today according to the authoritative database of Johns Hopkins University. Overall, since the onset of the disease, the disease has caused 128,822,735 infections worldwide, of which at least 2,815,166 proved fatal. According to WHO data, yesterday Europe totaled 45% of daily infections (230,467), followed by North and South America (149,102) and Southeast Asia (63,837).

“Vaccines are our best way out of this pandemic. However, the rollout is unacceptably slow and is prolonging the pandemic,” WHO Europe Director Hans Kluge said in a statement. Who then expressed concern about the current peak of cases in Europe: “It is the most worrying in months.” The German Permanent Vaccination Commission (Stiko) advises people under 60 who have received the first dose of AstraZeneca to have a different vaccine injected for the second dose. This is what we read in a “draft decision” presented late last night by the German vaccination authority.

The quality control process “identified a batch of active ingredients that did not conform to quality standards at Emergent BioSolutions in the USA. This batch never went through the filling and finishing stages of our manufacturing process. This is an example of the rigorous quality control applied to each batch of active ingredient “. This was announced by Johnson & Johnson after the blocking of a batch of anti-Covid vaccine at Emergent. The issue “was identified and addressed with Emergent and shared with the US FDA. Quality and safety continue to be our top priority.”

“The United States may not need AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, even if it gets approval,” Anthony Fauci, the virologist who leads the US task force, tells Reuters. The vaccine has been authorized for use by dozens of countries, excluding the United States. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the White House, said that “the United States has sufficient contracts with other vaccine manufacturers to vaccinate the entire population, and perhaps even for boosters in the fall.”

Asked whether the US will use AstraZeneca doses, he said: “Nothing has been decided yet. My feeling is that given the contractual relationships we have with several companies; we have enough vaccine to satisfy all of our companies. needs without resorting to AstraZeneca.”

Late last year, the drug manufacturer and the University of Oxford released data from an earlier study with two varying degrees of vaccine efficacy for a dosing error. Then, in March, more than a dozen countries temporarily suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine after it was linked to a rare blood clotting disorder. Also, in March, a US health agency said the company’s data provided an incomplete picture of its effectiveness. Days later AstraZeneca published results showing reduced, though still strong, efficacy. Fauci said that “If we calculate the number (of doses) we will receive from J & J, from Novavax from Moderna and we bargain for more, it is likely that we can manage the vaccination campaign, but I cannot say for sure.”

The entire American adult population, aged 16 and over, can be vaccinated. With the announcement of Arkansas, the latest that had not yet made a decision, all fifty states have approved vaccination for even the youngest, covering the last portion of the adult population. The first to begin with the distribution of doses to 16-year-olds was Alaska on March 9, followed by Mississippi, West Virginia, Utah, and a part of Arizona. Between Monday and Thursday, it was the turn of twelve other states, including Texas and Connecticut. New York has announced the start of the administration to children from April 6. California starts on April 15th. The last, on May 1, will be Oregon, South Dakota, Nebraska, Hawaii, Alabama, and New Jersey.

0 Comments
2021/04/02
18:21 UTC

0

Africa’s much-touted healthcare on verge of clogging amid third wave of COVID19

World Health Organization’s regional office in Africa has warned that rising cases of Covid-19 indicating a possible third wave might choke the much hyped healthcare structure of the African sub-continent.

Healthcare framework and infrastructure in majority of the continent is already in dilapidated state. But with rising number of Covid-19 cases, the global health body is raising concerns. World Health Organization said that the infection rate is on a rise in at least 12 African countries, including Ethiopia, Cameroon, Guinea and Kenya.

Healthcare framework in Africa, doctors, nurses and healthcare workers are stretched to the threshold as this week witnessed cases crossing 4.1 million mark. This was a sharp surge in cases as compared to the 2.7m cases recorded in December end. South Africa is leading with over 1.5m cases and over 52,000 deaths.

Tragically, just 7 million people have been so far vaccinated across Africa that has a population of over billion.

Compared to the first wave of Covid-19, the second of infections that rose in 2020 end was far more aggressive and catastrophic for the continent. One of the reasons could be implementation of fewer and less severe public health measures than imposed in first wave, said The Lancet this week. By 2020 end, Africa bore share of 3-4% of global cases of Covid-19. But considering the vast underestimation of true scenario, experts fear that detection of variants can be distorted.

With Kenya recording a surge of 20% cases of Covid-19, experts have warned public of difficult days ahead. Kenya’s health ministry tweeted, “We are in the third wave of this virus, and it’s a wave that threatens to erase all the gains we have made as a country in fighting the pandemic over the last one year.” Kenya’s all intensive care unit beds have been occupied with doctors themselves getting infected with the virus.

WHO authorities in Africa said that with inadequate healthcare facilities in continent, including those for testing and isolation of Covid-19 cases, the healthcare personnel are bearing the brunt if pandemic now with “work overload, poor infection prevention and control measures”. In a tragic toll, 3.5% total cases in Africa are among healthcare professionals.

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union said in a statement, “The acute shortage of doctors across the country is detrimental to health services delivery amidst the pandemic. This month has recorded an increase in healthcare workers’ infection, there are currently 10 doctors admitted in various facilities across the country and this indicates the need for extra precaution by members of the public.” The union further urged people to follow all the precautionary measures and be cautious when visiting a doctor or any medical facility.

“Covid-19 has heavily jolted the health workforce in the African region. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 267 health worker infections have been recorded on average every day, translating to 11 new health worker infections per hour,” said the WHO.

0 Comments
2021/03/27
11:44 UTC

5

The Philippines slams China’s militarisation of the South China Sea with 200 vessels

The Philippines criticized China’s militarisation of the disputed waters in the South China Sea by stationing 200 vessels in order to forcefully claim the region. Manila’s maritime forces noticed the vessels beings docked at Whitsun Reef, which Manila calls Julian Felipe, on March 7. The country’s National Task Force, which guards the West Philippine Sea, released pictures of the vessels lying side by side, highlighting the communist nation’s “provocative action”

On Sunday, Philippines’ defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana released a statement objecting to Chinese intervention in its territorial waters. Lorenzana, upholding his country’s sovereign rights over the region, said, “We call on the Chinese to stop this incursion and immediately recall these boats violating our maritime rights and encroaching into our sovereign territory.”

Southeast Asian nation’s task force, which reported against Beijing’s military manning 220 vessels lined up in the disputed waters, said in a statement, “Despite clear weather at the time, the Chinese vessels massed at the reef showed no actual fishing activities and had their full white lights turned on during night-time.” It added that the presence of Chinese ships was “a concern due to the possible overfishing and destruction of the marine environment, as well as risks to the safety of navigation”.

Manila’s foreign secretary, Teodoro Locsin, said that the country filed an official report late on Sunday against China’s arbitrary move. The contested region is a boomerang-shaped, shallow coral region about 175 nautical miles (324km) located the west of Bataraza town in the western Philippine province of Palawan. Manila’s government watchdog claimed that it was the country’s exclusive economic zone, over which the Philippines “enjoys the exclusive right to exploit or conserve any resources”.

The Philippine military chief, Lieutenant General Cirillo Sobejana said the military’s “utmost priority remains to be the protection of our citizens in the area, particularly our fishermen, through increased maritime patrols”.

So far Chinese embassy has remained silent over the issue. But critics in the Philippines have blamed President Rodrigo Duterte, for adopting the non-confrontational approach and developing friendly ties with Beijing despite its stepping into the Philippines’ territory. In his defense, about two years ago, Duterte said, “When Xi says ‘I will fish,’ who can prevent him?” He added, “If I send my marines to drive away from the Chinese fishermen, I guarantee you not one of them will come home alive”.

1 Comment
2021/03/22
11:32 UTC

2

How pandemic is affecting fundamental rights of people across nations – An Analysis

Rule of law’s critical pillar of fundamental rights is evidently deeply impacted by the coronavirus pandemic across the globe. World Justice Project Rule of Law Index for year 2020 clearly shows that many countries have declined remarkably in maintaining fundamental rights score than any other rule of law factor over last five years.

Lockdowns and quarantines during pandemic have dramatically impacted freedom of travel and freedom for people, but have also impacted fundamental rights in certain key arenas.

Crisis has triggered some state responses that are discriminatory against certain groups:

The founding principle of rule of law that states ‘all people would be treated equally regardless of color, race, sex, religion, language, origin, political or other opinion, status’ has been affected during pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic has led states to disproportionately discriminate against certain groups. The already lying fissures in societies have been widened during pandemic.

The World Justice Project (WJP) has noted that certain nations have deliberately discriminated and neglected certain communities while responding to pandemic. This further put these groups at risk. Indigenous communities have been particularly hit by these discriminations. The dramatic impact is seen in native communities of Ecuador, Brazil and other Amazonian nations.

Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees are other groups to have been hot hard by state policies. Enhanced policing and movement restrictions directed at refugees of Syrian origin by Greece and Lebanon is one such example.

Racial discrimination in the name of stigmatizing certain people has caused havoc on certain populations. For example, Asian people have been targeted for having spread the coronavirus and faced violence and harassment at the hands of public. This has been further fueled by leaders of nations like United States that have roped in the anti-Asian discrimination.

Suppresses freedom to dissent and expression:

Though emergency situations like a pandemic warrant stricter measures to safeguard public health, but even then right to expression must be safeguarded to allow flow of information. Certain nations have taken pandemic as an opportunity to tighten rules over freedom of expression of public and dissent in certain cases. Imposing of stricter laws and sanctioning expression of information about pandemic labeling them as ‘fake’ has been as way states have exploited the pandemic. Prime examples are how censorship has scorched Asia and Middle East.

Right to Privacy:

Rise in surveillance measures and contact tracing as a way to control spread of coronavirus pandemic has raised questions around protection of privacy rights of people. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recommends states must refrain from using the derogation mechanism when possible, stating that “although derogation or suspension of certain rights is permitted when such emergencies are declared, measures suspending rights should be avoided when the situation can be adequately dealt with by establishing proportionate restrictions or limitations on certain rights”.

Coronavirus pandemic has laid wide open crevices and fissures in our society and global laws framework that have in all probabilities been there but in a hidden context. Lapse in fundamental rights provision to people has led to further complexities as a by-product of the pandemic. Bringing solution for these agendas must be in top priority to keep order and equality among societies.

0 Comments
2021/03/16
10:09 UTC

3

How worried should Beijing be over the US, Japan, India, and Australia’s Quad Alliance

Friday is marking the most important day for US President Joe Biden diplomatically as he is moving forward with his goal of containing China as a territorial emerging power and its threatening territorial encroachment across the Indo-Pacific. Biden is bringing a virtual gathering for Quad leaders. 

The alliance has been called a symbolic “poisonous Cold War mentality. The mention of China being a discussion topic for Friday was however absent. White House said topics on the agenda are Covid-19, economic cooperation, and climate crisis. Indian Prime Minister said that he would be discussing “free and open Indo-Pacific” with fellow Quad leaders Biden, Australian PM Scott Morrison, and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga.

Quad Alliance or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a loose and informal strategic forum that was revived in 2017, led by rising power plays by Beijing. The forum holds summits on slightly regular basis and features military drills and exchange of information. Though it is not a formal military alliance like NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Quad is still considered a potential alliance to counter growing Chinese influence in the region. 

But how important Quad really is for the region and what can it potentially transcribe into against China!

US Navy Admiral Philip Davidson, US military’s Indo-Pacific Command head has called Quad a group of “diamond of democracies” in the region. He further noted that he hoped alliance could “build into something bigger”

He elaborated, “Not in terms of security alone, but in terms of how we might approach – the global economy, critical technologies like telecommunications and 5G, collaboration on the international order. Just much to be done diplomatically and economically.”

Former US Defense Secretary James Mattis along with three other fellows at Hoover Institution wrote in Foreign Policy that Quad can play a crucial role in four key areas – maritime security, supply chain security, diplomacy and technology. 

RAND Corp think tank’s senior analyst Timothy Heath said, “Many countries in the region, especially Southeast Asia, will likely welcome the closer cooperation among the Quad members to balance against China’s power.” 

Experts predict that if Quad continues to rein in pressure on China, Beijing can be expected to retaliate. The tensions can be more serious and extreme in form of economic retaliation against the Quad nations. This could be rather detrimental for India, Australia and Japan as all three have China as their largest trading partner. 

But the fact that Quad is still an informal alliance with fissures between nations making the front far from united, is a point of big comfort for Beijing. The lack of any formal Quad gathering makes it far from being called an “Asian NATO”. But if China steps up its military aggression and territorial invasion then Quad may evolve as a more robust and active military alliance to counter it. As long as Beijing avoids direct or indirect confrontation, Quad’s potentiality can be taken as low. 

0 Comments
2021/03/12
07:43 UTC

2

Why Iran Dominates Geopolitical Muscle For Russia, China, and India

Russia is looking at Iran as a strategic point. Its relevance has never been as important as it is today when its geopolitical position can define how the energy business dynamics change in the coming years. Addressing a gathering at the Valdai Club, Russia’s dictatorial leader Vladimir Putin minced no words as he announced that the more desirable ‘route is the Arctic – Siberia – Asia.’

Iran is going to be an important trade route too for other countries. For one, it is going to serve between India and Russia. Azerbaijan and Iran are both strategic for Russia therefore. So, it is imperative that Russia continues to play a peace keeping game with Azerbaijan as well. Even the China-Pakistan partnership is going to make use of Iran as its connecting point. 

Iran is going to be playing in gold sooner or later. So while the US had busied itself sanctioning it, the latter might not really have to worry about a dwindling economy after all.

There are several investments doing rounds between China, Russia, and India with respect to Iran. Undeniably, this combination of Russian, Indian, and Chinese infrastructure investments in Iran would greatly improve the country’s regional economic competitiveness and enable it to fulfill its geostrategic destiny of facilitating connectivity between Russia and South Asia.

Ironically, India has invested in Iran, much to the surprise of the rest of the world, which has known India to always play on the defensive and not offensive. But India’s role with Iran has been side-stepped by America. Political analysts believe this is America’s way of ensuring India supports the former’s anti-China strategy at play, something that resonates with India’s‘ self-reliance’ sentiment back home. 

For Iran, it makes sense to keep on good terms with Russia and China. Both are emerging powers of the world. Both ensured they had their Covid-19 vaccine contributions, while both have not guaranteed good efficacy levels. But they are here to stay and be noticed, and Iran is only going to benefit if it can keep its toast buttered on both sides. 

0 Comments
2021/03/04
11:47 UTC

1

From Russia to China, foreign interference is putting European security and values at risk

Europe is continually threatened by countless state and non-state actors who interfere within the Union’s decision-making processes through media and disinformation campaigns. For this reason, the Commission and the EU Parliament have established the introduction of a special committee, the EP Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation. The new body will have the task of protecting democracy and EU interests.

Foreign interference poses a real threat to the European Union, to its Member States, and to the open societies around the globe. It is a very intentional and coordinated attempt to undermine trust, and to mislead and manipulate, targeting the EU. According to High Representative and Vice-President Josep Borrell, that comes in many different and creative shapes. “I have to recognize that people who do that are very creative, online and offline, across borders and affecting many sectors”. Borrell pointed out, speaking yesterday before the new-established committee.

The propaganda of third State actors, from the Gulf to Russia, is a new kind of threat to European global security. “And it is requiring a robust response and close cooperation between our different institutions, public and private entities, and with our like-minded allies,” Borrell added. The COVID-19 pandemic has been providing a concrete showcase, as it has been a real testing ground for new hybrid tactics. Different state and non-state actors are trying to abuse the global health crisis to advance their political or economic goals.

Hybrid campaigns have been targeting the European democratic values, information space, and even critical infrastructure in an attempt to weaken societies and democracies. “That is what we call a battle of narratives. It has been emerging and it has been increasing for us with mask scarcity and now, today, with vaccine scarcity.” The EU Special Representative explained that there are actors, like Russia, that have been disseminating and amplifying false or misleading information with an intention to undermine trust, denigrate our democratic credentials, or weaken our international alliances. 

Others, China can be an example, distort the information, silence the independent and critical voices, and make their own voice louder, intimidating others and reducing the space for free and open debate. You can say that “well, this is just propaganda”. There is a border between propaganda and disinformation. For the EU, these campaigns are particularly harmful in the context of the pandemic, because they can actually put lives at risk, like the narrative about chlorine serving as a cure to the virus. We have seen pro-Kremlin outlets spreading claims that wearing masks is useless or amplifying voices against lockdown measures. The COVID-19 vaccines and the so-called vaccine diplomacy have been the focus of such actions recently, with some actors – in particular, once again, Russia – either trying to discredit Western vaccines and vaccine manufacturers while promoting their own or using the offer of preferential distribution of their own vaccine in third countries to gain geopolitical leverage.

For example, pro-Kremlin media have been reporting extensively about alleged side effects of people, even dying, after receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech doses.

Borrell affirmed that this threat does not only originate from the usual suspects. “I have to recognize that in recent weeks this Committee has also been looking more closely at a number of different actors: Iran, Syria, ISIS.” He stressed, stressing that it is not only a problem within the European Union, but also affects its partners and interests worldwide, from the Western Balkans and the Eastern and Southern neighborhoods to Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Disinformation has become an ‘industrial scale’ problem with more and more players using these strategies in different forms and in different scales.

Over the past years, the EU has put in place new structures and innovative approaches to detect and expose disinformation, starting with the work of the Strategic Communication Task Forces – StratCom – in the European External Action Service (EEAS), implementing a mandate from the European Council that many years ago authorized the EEAS to work on disinformation, starting with Russia. 

Then Europe has the Rapid Alert System, connecting all relevant EU institutions and the Member States. It has also proven to be very useful, particularly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This platform facilitates the sharing of insights, data, and best practices on disinformation campaigns and the coordination of the Union response. It has also conducted workshops to counter disinformation with civil society representatives and journalists from Libya and Syria. Together with fact-checkers, civil society and media organizations in Georgia have been helped to raise awareness on foreign disinformation. It has supported studies on disinformation and conferences on media literacy in the Western Balkans.

In July and October last year, the European Union imposed for the first-time sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for significant cyber-attacks, including those that targeted the heart of the German democracy, the Bundestag. Drawing on these lessons learnt, Borrell will also work to develop further the European Union’s toolbox for countering foreign interference, with new instruments that will have to be designed together with the Member States and the Commission, promising sanctions for the perpetrators and principals of these disinformation campaigns in Europe.

0 Comments
2021/03/02
10:46 UTC

2

Coronavirus vaccination map, a new foreign policy tool

Mass vaccination campaigns reinforce the hope that the exit from the pandemic nightmare is not far off. Vaccines are becoming a weapon of the geopolitical dispute, to the point that some observers have spoken of a health cold war. The scenario is complex and the strategies of the various countries are by no means homogeneous. Israel is proceeding very quickly with the vaccination of its population, thus finding itself in a very different position, for example, from the countries of the European Union, which are rather in difficulty. In this situation, while adolescents are also being vaccinated, Israel is offering vaccine quotas to some countries. There are about fifteen recipient nations of 100,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine. 

According to numerous analysts, some countries on the list have been chosen because they are preparing to open their diplomatic offices in Jerusalem, a decision to which Israel attributes a high symbolic value.  There have been other criticisms regarding the Palestinian populations of Gaza and the West Bank, who, even during the pandemic, found themselves in difficulty and uncertainty as to who should deal with combating the virus in those territories.

The issue of vaccinations generally opens up ample room for maneuver to nations that have the tools and possibilities to play this game. To understand the global dimension of the problem, it is necessary to consider that the vaccination process will not be short and will proceed at completely different rates in specific geographical areas and especially between rich and poor countries. With approximately 216 million doses administered worldwide, 43,637,705 people have so far received the second dose, a large number that represents only 0.56% of the world population.

Also, about 65 million doses have been administered in the United States, thus almost a third of the total, while representing less than 5% of the world population. An even sharper disproportion considering the approximately 18 million in the United Kingdom, the 7 million in Israel, and the 5 million in the United Arab Emirates, especially when compared to data from countries such as India or many African countries. This disparity creates room for the possibility of new alliances.

In this scenario, China is the most active. The Asian giant strongly intent to reverse the damage image it suffered at the beginning of the pandemic. Beijing is using the vaccine tool to open or consolidate international relationships. The internal vaccination campaign proceeds with studied slowness. Forty million doses administered so far are little compared to the size of the Asian giant, but it would seem a choice, obviously allowed by the current low spread of infections. After the diplomacy of masks, Beijing inaugurated the vaccine diplomacy era, exporting more doses than are administered across the country. 

According to statements released by Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of China, on Tuesday, February 23, the two vaccines produced by Sinopharm were sold to twenty-seven countries, including Serbia, Hungary, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, and exported as gift to fifty-three countries, most of them African or Asian, such as Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Pakistan, Cambodia.

With its three vaccines, Russia is countering the Chinese reward strategy with a very competitive pricing policy appreciated by many countries in difficulty. On the other hand, the United States and the European Union are too busy for now on the domestic front in an attempt to quickly vaccinate their populations to participate in this global health competition. Right now, it appears that Russia and China, and to a lesser extent Israel are benefiting. In any case, the pandemic will mark a new phase in geopolitics.

0 Comments
2021/02/26
13:21 UTC

2

The US agrees to keep Japan’s host-nation support budget to $1.9 billion

On Wednesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi announced that Tokyo and Washington have agreed to keep Japan’s expenses attributed towards the maintenance of American troops stationed in the country to the exiting level only. He added that for fiscal 2021 Japan would assign $1.9 billion for the upkeep of US soldiers. It was about the same amount that the Asian nation has been bearing for the past five years. Generally, the cost-sharing agreement is reviewed every five years.

“We managed to come to an agreement in the early days of the Biden administration,” Motegi told reporters at the ministry. “It strengthens the trust within the alliance and sends out a message to the international community,” he said. 

The decision brought much relief to the Japanese government as the former US President Donald Trump has been pushing its Asian ally to increase the cost budget and to accept a “fair share of the burden.” The two nations had been struggling to reach a middle ground to meet Trump’s open demand for Tokyo to quadruple its contribution. John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor, mentioned in his book, published in 2019, that the US president has been pressing Japan to raise its annual expense bar for US troops from the current $1.9 billion to $8 billion. 

Last year, Trump slammed the Asia Pacific nation for its financial contributions and called the alliance as one-sided. He said, “if Japan is attacked, we will fight World War III…but if we’re attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us at all. They can watch it on a Sony television.”

Japan kept the consultation talks regarding the cost-sharing agreement on hold and resumed full-fledged negotiations on a new treaty after observing the outcome of the US presidential election, in November. For now, both nations have agreed to a one-year deal, as per which the Japanese government has set 201.7 billion yen ($1.9 billion) as its host-nation support budget. The nations could not renew the five-year agreement due to paucity of time as newly appointed US President Joe Biden formally took charge in mid-January and the current deal expires in March.

The US has posted about 54,000 American soldiers in Japan as per a decade-old security treaty, in order to assist the latter’s forces in building a stronger defense against rampant Chinese militarization in the region.

Both nations have been working closely in multiple areas ranging from island defense, cybersecurity, and missile defense. It also helps the US to keep in check the rising power of Beijing, its biggest rival, and North Korea, a monarchy fervently developing nuclear ballistic missiles. 

0 Comments
2021/02/18
10:49 UTC

5

Nigeria, Shell has to answer for the pollution before the British courts

Shell will also have to answer for the pollution in Nigeria before the English courts. The UK Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Niger Delta communities, ruling that the energy multinational can be sued for the ecological disaster in the area. Oil company pollution must not go unpunished: Her Majesty’s Supreme Court has ruled that affected Nigerian communities can sue the oil giant Shell in English courts.

The decision writes the BBC, overturns a ruling by the Court of Appeals and is a victory for the Delta communities after a five-year battle. The Delta population, over 40,000 people, claims that the decades of pollution linked to oil extraction have had a serious impact on life, health, and the local environment.

Royal Dutch Shell had argued that it did not have to answer the charges, while not disputing the causes of the pollution, but stressing that the central holding could not be legally responsible for its Nigerian subsidiary, a company that had to be tried under local law. Shell is responsible for approximately 50% of the delta’s oil production. The Supreme Court, the UK’s last option for civil cases, has instead ruled the opposite: the lawsuits brought by the community of Bille and the Ogale people of Ogoniland against Royal Dutch Shell can be heard in the English courts.

The communities, represented by the law firm Leigh Day, reiterated that Shell had a common law duty of assistance to those who had suffered severe damage due to the systemic health, safety, and environmental deficiencies of one of its foreign subsidiaries. Leigh Day’s partner Daniel Leader said the ruling is a “watershed” for “impoverished communities trying to stand up to powerful corporations.” Mark Dummett, director of Amnesty International’s Global Issues Program, told the BBC that the dispute has not yet been won, but added: “This historic ruling could mean the end of a long chapter of impunity for Shell and other multinationals that they commit human rights violations abroad.” Shell described the proceeding as “disappointing”.

In areas where oil and gas development are prevalent, air, water, and soil resources can be contaminated with oil and gas wastes and by-products. Citizens commonly report that drilling and production activities pollute water wells, surface waters, and earth surrounding well sites. Scientists also showed that air emissions from oil companies’ sites, wellheads, compressor stations, pipelines, and oil and gas field infrastructure contribute to air quality concerns.

Oil and gas production losses, which may contain petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, naturally occurring radioactive elements, salts, and toxic chemicals, can cause soil pollution, and prevent the growth of plants. Produced water, which may contain high concentrations of salts and other contaminants, is often stored in pits or disposed of in evaporation ponds by oil companies. Spills of produced water can kill vegetation and sterilize soils.

0 Comments
2021/02/13
11:04 UTC

4

The geopolitics between the US and China in the Pacific region also concerns the EU

The conflict between China and the United States in the Pacific also affects Europe closely. EU relations with the Pacific region have political, economic, and development dimensions. The EU is the Pacific region’s second-largest trading partner, and negotiations for Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements with Australia and New Zealand began in June 2018. The EU has concluded a partnership with the 15 independent Pacific island countries, focusing on development, fisheries, and climate change, as well as partnerships with the three Overseas countries and territories (OCTs) and the Pacific Islands Forum.

The EU and the Pacific region maintain long-standing relationships, shared values ​​, and strong economic and trade ties. In the region, the EU has developed partnerships with Australia, New Zealand, the fifteen independent Pacific island countries, the three overseas countries and territories (OCTs), and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). The EU, Australia, and New Zealand are like-minded partners with common values ​​and interests. The Union has developed close government and private sector relations with both countries and on a wide range of issues, such as climate change and disaster risk reduction, rules-based world trade, security and development, technological research, and human rights.

The EU’s relationship with the Pacific Islands has traditionally been based on development cooperation, within the framework of the partnership between the EU and African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries. In recent years, this relationship has extended to other areas, such as the environment, good governance, energy, climate change, fisheries, and human rights.

The United States is geographically dependent on maritime dominance as it is located between two large oceans. If since the end of the Second World War the Atlantic shore has essentially become an uncontested space, the same cannot be said for the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is a space made much safer by the presence of the European partners of NATO and more generally of the United States as well as the fundamental lack of an actor capable of seriously questioning the Power Projection of the US armed forces.

In the case of the Pacific, the strategic situation today is much more complex. First of all, the United States regional partners do not have idyllic relations with each other due to historical issues and territorial disputes that characterize the stretch of sea that goes from the island of Sakhalin to the Strait of Malacca. Issues that were decisive for the periodic crises in relations between the parties in the area as in the case of Japan and South Korea. That dates back to the period of Japanese occupation in the Second World War. However, the most important issue is the Chinese presence in the area which, thanks to its strong expansionism in the military field, has been trying for years to create a real safe zone in which US forces see their operational capabilities drastically reduced.

The Chinese missile defense and air interdiction capabilities development require the US an approach to the Pacific theatre that would therefore allow for maintaining the projection of forces’ capability even within the range of Beijing’s systems. Two of the pillars that allow the maintenance of this capacity are the use of Expeditionary Forces, or the predisposition of part of the US forces to operate far from their coasts insufficiently autonomous formations, and the maintenance of the Forward Presence to guarantee a constant advanced presence both in terms of forces available during the very early stages of a possible confrontation and as key logistical nodes for Expeditionary Forces.

The campaigns of the early 2000s in Afghanistan and Iraq have already shown the US ability to project the armed forces over considerable distances and in a massive way but these were operations in substantially uncontested areas, especially from the point of view of the logistics chain. In the case of the Pacific, with the full development of what Mao already defined as “active defense”, these conditions change considerably as the final stretch of the chain and logistical nodes come under fire from the Chinese defense systems. This has therefore also forced a rethinking of the posture, equipment, and organization not only of the supply lines but also of the US advanced bases, focal nodes of the defense network in the Western Pacific.

0 Comments
2021/02/11
09:43 UTC

1

The future of Europe and Russia relations is drifting apart

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of EU Commission, Jose Borrell, paid a visit to Moscow to test, through principled diplomacy, whether the Russian government was interested in addressing differences and reversing the negative trend in EU-Russia relations. “We are at a crossroads. The main parameters of the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century is being drawn”. Affirmed Borrel in a long post at the end of his mission.

Relations between Bruxelles and Moscow have been low for a number of years, and deteriorated even further after recent developments linked to the poisoning, arrest, and sentencing of main Putin opposition leader Alexei Navalny as well as the related mass arrests of thousands of demonstrators. Borrell indicated that his mission purpose was to express directly the EU’s strong condemnation of these events and to address the rapid worsening of the European relationship with Russia.

“The Russian authorities did not want to seize this opportunity to have a more constructive dialogue with the EU. This is regrettable and we will have to draw the consequences.” Borrell stressed, describing an aggressively-staged press conference and the expulsion of three EU diplomats during his visit. “At times the discussion with my Russian counterpart reached high levels of tension, as I called for Mr. Navalny’s immediate and unconditional release, as well as for a full and impartial investigation into his assassination attempt.” Borrel stated, highlighting during the press conference that human rights issues and fundamental freedoms, and in particular the case of Alexei Navalny were very much at the centre of his visit and of his exchanges with Foreign Minister Lavrov.

Borrell also met with representatives of civil society, think tanks and representatives of the European business community. He paid tribute to their work and to what they represent. But the Navalny case was not the only diverging view. Lavrov and Borrell also explored broader aspects of EU-Russia relations, including the potential for cooperation in facing global challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the Arctic region.

Regarding conflicts in the neighborhood, Borrell insisted on the need to advance towards the full implementation of the Minsk agreement and on respect for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The High Representative argued as well the need to heed the call of the people of Belarus – which has been loud and clear for six months now – to freely choose their President. Respect for the territorial integrity of Georgia, the situation in Nagorno Karabakh, and the Syrian and Libyan crises were also among the issues of divergence.

The two heads of diplomacy acknowledged the need to keep good cooperation on the Iran nuclear deal (the JCPOA) and the potential for joint engagement in supporting peace and reconciliation efforts in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. “My meeting with Minister Lavrov highlighted that Europe and Russia are drifting apart. It seems that Russia is progressively disconnecting itself from Europe.” Borrell added, explaining that “the nature of the challenge we face is clear. Locking ourselves up behind walls and calling on others from the safety of that position will not bring greater security to the EU. And it is not in this way that I see my role as being the first diplomat of the EU.”

0 Comments
2021/02/08
13:09 UTC

2

The European Green Deal will have profound geopolitical consequences

In 2019, the European Commission presented the European Green Deal, an ambitious package of policy initiatives that aim to make the EU economy environmentally sustainable and transform the European economy and consumption patterns.

This plan, a priority on the EU agenda, implies a fundamental revision of the European energy system. And for this reason, it is destined to modify the relations between the EU and its neighborhood and redefine European political priorities at a global level.

In the joint policy paper “The geopolitics of the European Green Deal”, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the Bruegel think tank confirm that “is, therefore, a development of European foreign policy with profound geopolitical consequences.” It deepens the international implications of the European Green Deal.

As Euractiv recalls, “Europe accounts for about 20% of global crude oil imports. The gradual farewell to fossil fuels will eventually drop prices further, reducing the main exporters’ income. Furthermore, an energy market in which renewables will have an ever-greater weight will be more dependent on imports of products and raw materials that serve as inputs for clean energy and clean technologies. For example, rare earths, of which China is the largest producer, are essential for the batteries production. Finally, the CO2 adjustment mechanism at the border, which Brussels is studying, could trigger tensions with the main trading partners, in particular, those that pollute the most, who will see a trade barrier in this system.”

The five authors of the report, Mark Leonard, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Jeremy Shapiro, Simone Tagliapietra, and Guntram Wolff, analyze both the effects of the initiatives implemented to export EU climate policy as well as unwanted collateral and also examine how other countries, such as the USA, China, Russia, Algeria or Saudi Arabia could interpret and react to the European Green Deal. According to ECFR and Bruegel, “the European Green Deal will not only transform the economy but will also have profound geopolitical repercussions.” 

It will affect the European energy balance and global markets, oil and gas producing countries in the European Neighborhood, European energy security, and world trade trends, especially through the carbon adjustment mechanism at the border. The EU should prepare to contribute to the management of the geopolitical aspects of the European Green Deal. In this context, relations with neighboring powers, such as Russia and Algeria, and global players such as the United States, China, and Saudi Arabia, are relevant.

ECFR and Bruegel also propose an external action plan as an integral part of the European climate strategy and underline that ***“***To be successful, the EU must directly address the difficulties that the Green Deal could generate with its economic partners and neighboring countries. Only a proactive Union will help transform potential tensions into opportunities for renewed international partnerships.”

To manage the geopolitical aspects of the European Green Deal, the authors of the policy paper propose seven actions:

– Assisting oil and gas exporting countries in the European Neighborhood to manage the Green Deal’s repercussions. The EU must engage with these countries to foster their economic diversification, including renewable energy and green hydrogen production.

– Improve the security of stocks of critical raw materials and limit dependence, primarily on China. Key measures in this regard include greater diversification of supplies, an increase in recycling use, and the replacement of critical materials.

– Work with the United States and other partners to create a climate club whose members apply similar carbon adaptation measures at the border. – To become a global standard-setter for the energy transition, especially for hydrogen and green bonds.

– Requiring compliance with strict environmental regulations as a condition for accessing the European market will be a strong incentive for a green transition in third countries. 

– Internationalize the European Green Deal by mobilizing the EU budget, the European Recovery and Resilience Fund, and European development policies.

-Promote global coalitions to mitigate climate change aimed at financing measures to limit its melting.

-Promote a global platform on the new economics of climate action to share lessons and best practices.

0 Comments
2021/02/06
11:33 UTC

2

From the United States to Russia, how the police turn into a Governments repression tool

The world is in turmoil. 2021 was ushered in by protests on four continents. At the base of the protest movements, different reasons, but the images broadcast by the news are similar: the demonstrations that lead to violence and the police that become an instrument of repression of the powerful. From Washington DC to the killing of young demonstrators in Tunisia and Lebanon, the world cries out for change. Also, thanks to the coronavirus, democracy is seriously questioned.

Protests erupted in numerous Russian cities for the release of Putin’s number one rival, Alexey Navalny, sentenced yesterday to two years and 5 months in prison. The NGO Ovd-Info reports more than 4 thousand people already stopped by the police during the demonstrations. Almost 1,200 people were detained in Moscow and 862 in St. Petersburg. Armored center of Moscow, some underground stations closed. The participants in the marches advance shouting “Russia will be free!”. In St. Petersburg – the media reported – tear gas and batons against demonstrators, even reporters stopped, despite wearing vests that identify them. Tough US stance: ‘we condemn Moscow’s brutal tactics.’

On January 6, in the United States, Donald Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol. 1,500 Capitol Police officers were unable to contain the more than 8,000 protesters determined to invade Congress. The security perimeter on the western side of Capitol Hill was shattered in 15 minutes. Scenes of violence, also condemned shortly after by the Tycoon, while the social network platforms closed his accounts after the death of a police officer, overwhelmed by the wave of demonstrators.

In North Africa, hundreds of people have been arrested by the Tunisian police during clashes with young people protesting against the government. According to the latest budget, the number of those arrested is over 830. The demonstrations were triggered by the difficult socio-economic situation on the tenth anniversary of the revolt that gave rise to the Arab Spring and which led to the dismissal of President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

Two hundred and twenty injured, including about thirty soldiers and police officers, are the toll of the clashes in Lebanon between the police and anti-government protesters in the city of Tripoli, north of Beirut. Tripoli, for days, has returned to the center of intense popular unrest caused by the deep economic crisis, aggravated by anti-Covid measures. Arrests also in Israel, where ultra-Orthodox have protested anti-coronavirus restrictions.

For many, what is happening has its roots in 2011. The attacks on America, Western military interventions in Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq, the overthrow of legitimate governments replaced by chaos and extremist groups, have cast doubt on the values of the western system. And today, we are dealing with a reality that does not belong to us. Democratic systems are losing on all sides while new dictatorships emerge.

0 Comments
2021/02/03
17:53 UTC

2

US-Russia agree to renew New START, China welcomes the move as an opportunity to narrow the nuclear gap

US President Joe Biden agreed to a five-year extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia. The treaty, which prevented the arms race between two major nuclear powers, set a limit of 1,550 deployed strategic, or long-range, nuclear armaments. Shinji Hyodo, director of the Regional Studies Department of The National Institute for Defense Studies said that Biden’s proposed deal was better than what Russia even agreeing to settle for with former President Donald Trump. 

Besides, Biden presidency proposed five-year extension with no conditions, instead of one year, as offer by Trump administration. It was “better than the best Moscow thought it could hope for,” Hyodo said. He added, “President Trump, from the beginning, was probably aiming to let the New START expire.” Hyodo’s statement was a reflection of  majority opinion, as many experts believed that Trump was not keen on renewing the treaty, hence kept on suggesting tougher conditions in its framework, making it harder for Moscow to give in.

Give its current state of economy, Russia has been trying to avoid an arms race with the US. Besides, Moscow has been aware of its not-so deep pockets as it shells out less than 10% of what the Washington spends on its defense infrastructure and weapons.

The treaty, which was enforced to maintain the balance of nuclear warheads between the two nations, was nearing its expiration due on Feb. 5. Russian premier Vladimir Putin was quick to accept Biden’s much-liberal deal proposal. He immediately forwarded the bill for the extension to parliament, where both houses unanimously voted in favor of it in emergency sessions held on Wednesday.

The deal-extension proposal not only pleased Russia but also China, which has been trying to dodge the Trump administration’s efforts to include and bind Beijing into a framework for nuclear arms control. While appreciating the Biden-Putin deal announcement, China was glad that it managed to steer clear of it. Experts warned that Biden’s New START pact, which left out China, would help later in building a strong nuclear arsenal, enabling it to narrow down its nuclear gap with the US

In a report on China’s increasing military capabilities, in September, the US Department of Defense warned about the Asian nation’s nuclear arms expansion plans. The report said, “Over the next decade, China’s nuclear warhead stockpile — currently estimated to be in the low 200s — is projected to at least double in size as China expands and modernizes its nuclear forces”.

0 Comments
2021/02/02
10:09 UTC

2

Geopolitics and COVID-19, a map of the coronavirus vaccine

If Asia, Africa, and South America are the winning ground for Chinese and Russian vaccines, the Northern countries of the world, Europe and the United States in the lead, but also Japan and South Korea, have chosen to focus on vaccines produced by Pfizer and BioNTech and by Moderna. Except for India, which instead has chosen to focus on the vaccine developed in Oxford by AstraZeneca. There is an evident correlation between many Governments’ geopolitical and diplomatic relations and the anti-Covid vaccines’ distribution map. To realize that, it’s enough to look at where the different vaccines are currently available and authorized.

The vaccine produced by the American multinational Pfizer and developed by the German company BioNtech was currently authorized for emergency use in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and is now also awaits the green light from South Korea and Japan. On March 17, 2020, Pfizer and BioNtech concluded an agreement providing for the development of the vaccine and its distribution throughout the world except China, where BioNtech has already entered into an ad hoc agreement with Fosun Pharma.

The same countries that approved Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine also authorized the vaccine developed by the American startup Moderna in collaboration with the American National Institute of Health, which, in turn, signed an agreement with the Swiss multinational Lonza for the worldwide production and distribution of the vaccine. The green light for the two vaccines in these countries was also facilitated by a special agreement that binds the authorities, called to authorize the distribution of drugs in their respective countries, and which involves the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Canadian, Swiss, and Japanese ones. Those allowed the managers of these agencies to participate in the European authorization process and, therefore, to share the collected data.

Despite this agreement, it will not be possible to launch a vaccination campaign before May in Japan due to national laws requiring nationwide testing of the vaccine before it can be authorized. The high costs and limits in the production of vaccines that are slowing distribution even in countries that have already booked several million doses such as the European Union and Canada with the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, are also an obstacle to the adoption of these vaccines in other countries of the world, especially the very populous and less rich ones such as India and the African ones. It is precisely these countries that are looking with the greatest interest at the other vaccines available.

For example, India started a nationwide trial of the vaccine, produced by the Anglo-Swedish multinational AstraZeneca and developed by the Jenner Institute of Oxford (UK).   The Serum Institute, one of the largest vaccine manufacturers worldwide, will produce it on-site. For Pfizer / Biotech and Moderna vaccines, the Indian market could remain closed, even if, in recent weeks, the relations between Moderna and Hyderabad Indian Immunological Limited (IIL) of Hyderabad have intensified for the local production of the American vaccine.

That would allow a considerable reduction in costs, and the leverage of the low price has also prompted Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil to look for the vaccine produced in India. It is not a coincidence that AstraZeneca’s vaccine is one of the two vaccines authorized for emergency use in India, together with the one produced by the Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech. India is the only country, after the United Kingdom, to have authorized the distribution of this vaccine. The vaccine will have a low cost, and AstraZeneca has stated that as long as the epidemic continues, it will not impose the charges deriving from the exploitation of copyright, or patent costs, on the vaccine’s final price. 

The same goes for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, which was first authorized in Russia in August, and which was then gradually adopted by countries that have a direct relationship with Moscow: Belarus, Serbia, Argentina, Bolivia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, and Turkmenistan.

However, it was China to use vaccines as a geopolitical offensive tool. Xi Jinping has exploited the Chinese biotech power (4 of the 12 vaccines currently authorized are of Chinese production) to consolidate relations with countries along the Silk Road and in the American continent, from Brazil to south-eastern Asia. Not to mention Africa, where China is implementing a real vaccine distribution infrastructure, several countries have now started concrete collaboration with the Beijing government on this front and have also signed important political agreements.

0 Comments
2021/01/28
12:51 UTC

0

Switzerland asks for a seat on the United Nations Security Council, how has Swiss neutrality changed?

Switzerland is applying for a seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. The elections for membership in the period 2023/2024 will take place in June 2022. With a virtual event held in New York, to which the President of the Confederation, Simonetta Sommaruga, and Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis participated with a speech each, the candidacy is entering the final stage.

Switzerland officially presented its candidacy for the UN Security Council as early as 2011. After the election of its direct predecessor within the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) regional group for the period 2021/2022, it is now starting for Switzerland, the final phase of the candidacy. Which, with the slogan “A Plus for Peace”, was virtually presented to representatives of all UN missions on the evening of 29 October in New York. On Friday 30 Oct., the President of the Confederation and Federal Councillor Cassis informed the media in Bern about the event and the state of implementation of the candidacy. A seat on the Security Council will enable Switzerland to commit itself to its foreign policy objectives and to demonstrate its capabilities for peace and security.

President Sommaruga and Federal Councillor Cassis originally planned a trip to New York. Due to the restrictive measures on entry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event took place exclusively in a virtual manner. In her video speech, the President of the Confederation highlighted the strengths of the Swiss political system. “We are looking for consensual solutions both in our domestic and foreign policy. The only way to create consensus is dialogue.” Cassis underlined, highlighting the positive contribution that Switzerland would like to make to the Security Council. “We have a reputation for being reliable partners with a long tradition of promoting peace.” He added, also reiterating Switzerland’s commitment to the rule of law, democracy, peace, and security. When it comes to running for important UN bodies, it is customary for candidate states to present themselves appropriately to the electoral body.

Who would have thought that the highly reserved Switzerland, which entered the United Nations only in 2002, thanks to a referendum in which a little more than half of the voters agreed, had in the meantime gained such momentum as to demand a seat in the UN Security Council? The non-permanent seat coveted by Bern is one of the two vacating for the two years 2023-2024, and the Swiss government is exercising discrete lobbying to win it. However, this ambition for observers would clash with Swiss neutrality. 

The United Nations Security Council has to take positions in the ongoing conflicts. For a State being neutral means keeping out of armed conflict. Swiss neutrality dates back de facto to 1516, when one year after the battle of Marignano, the last armed conflict fought by the troops of the Confederation of the XIII and, which ended with a bitter defeat by the French army. Switzerland signed with king Francis I of France a peace treaty destined to make a school. Considered posterior as the birth certificate of Swiss neutrality, this treaty provided, among other things, for a court of arbitrators chosen by both parties to settle any future disputes. Thanks to this pact, Switzerland managed to keep a low profile in foreign policy for over two centuries. Only in 1798, with the country’s occupation by the French army, the old Confederation was forced to temporarily abandon its neutrality.

Officially, Swiss neutrality was recognized for the first time by the great European powers in the Treaty of Paris of November 20, 1815. On that occasion, Austria, Great Britain, Portugal, Prussia, and Russia undertook to respect Switzerland’s will not to interfere in future military operations and, at the same time, guaranteed territorial inviolability. Neutrality is a principle of international law. The rights and obligations, linked to a neutral country status, first written codification dates back to the 1907 Hague Conventions. Among the obligations, in addition to non-belligerence during a conflict and self-defense, also among the rights stands the inviolability of its territory. Neutrality is not one of the aims of the state in the Swiss Constitution but is mentioned in the list of duties of the National Assembly.

Throughout history, Swiss neutrality has taken on different forms and connotations. Faced with international conflicts, the Confederation cannot avoid questioning itself on the behavior to adopt and on the meaning to attribute from time to time to the concept of active and armed neutrality. At the end of the First World War, Switzerland joined the League of Nations and was also willing to adopt economic sanctions.

When the Second World War then broke out, to consolidate its neutrality, the country decreed the general mobilization of the army, thus sending a strong and clear signal to the potential aggressors who, in the event of an attack, would defend the own territory.

0 Comments
2021/01/26
12:24 UTC

2

Evading The Global Trend China’s Economy Bounces Back, Faster & Harder Than Pre-Pandemic

It’s been a little over a year that coronavirus pandemic clawed China and started spreading across the country and beyond. Apart from the massive heart-wrenching effect on lives, the pandemic tore part global economy and China was no different. Now, China’s economy is steering its way back on track and is bouncing back fast and hard, better than it did pre-Covid. 

On Monday, the published economic data showed China recording growth of 2.3% in 2020. This made the Asian country the only major economy to show growth in a year when coronavirus was taking a toll on global economies. As competing economies, United States of America, Europe, Japan and India, are struggling to tackle ‘winter Covid-19 wave’, China is enjoying its view from the top with buoyant economy, claiming global leadership in the post-Covid-19 era. 

The National Statistics Bureau has highlighted China’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) recorded a rise of 6.5% during 2020 fourth quarter. This surpassed the growth in 2019 end which was 6%. China’s GDP crossed milestone in 2020, recording over $15 trillion or 100 trillion yuan. 

Bureau’s head Ning Jizhe said, “In an extraordinary year, China’s economy was able to record an extraordinary accomplishment. It’s a performance that is satisfactory to the people, watched by the world, and can be recorded in the annals of history.” He added that crossing GDP milestone by China reflects how “our country’s economic strength, science and technology strength, and overall national strength have jumped to a new level.” 

Spring 2020 saw SARS-CoV-2 virus containment by China, with small scale re-emergence in past few weeks. This has helped China keep on the crucial sectors like construction, heavy industry and export manufacturing working at a time when other nations were grappling the crisis. 

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi recently addressed the world leaders and said that under leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has recorded fast recovery and that China “has brought hope for the world economy to step out of the doldrums.” 

Employment too is picking up with boost in economy. China has successfully created 11.86 million jobs during 2020. 

But some economists highlight the impressive at first glance performance of China’s economy. It is fueled by country returning to old ways causing foundation of economy hollow and fragile – debt fueled infrastructure building, relying on heavy and old industries, including steel production.  

China is still facing global challenges in trade sector, including trade tensions with the US. This also brings in big challenge to incoming President Joe Biden and his administration who will have to deal and work on the strained relationship between US and China under Trump presidency. 

0 Comments
2021/01/19
06:14 UTC

3

How To Stop Africa Desertification? A Great Green Wall Dedicated To Sustainable Agriculture, Reservoirs, And Energy Plants

Africa desertification: In February 2021, there will be a summit of the European Union and African Union leaders. The talks will be an opportunity to draw up a concrete program and take a sustainable development path. Because we need to rebuild the world left in ruins by the coronavirus pandemic, avoiding repeating the mistakes of the past. Ibrahim Thiaw, the executive secretary of the UN Convention for the fight against desertification, announced, recalling how it is above all young people – first and foremost, Africans – who ask for and have the right to change. The meeting will be an opportunity to relaunch the construction of a great green wall in Africa.

The idea is a wall of trees and land dedicated to sustainable agriculture, reservoirs, and energy plants. It is 8,000 km long and 15 wides. The project aims to restore 100 million hectares of arid and degraded land by holding back the desert’s advance in the Sahel region. Two hundred and fifty million tons of carbon dioxide and create a new economy with 10 million jobs. These are the most important numbers of the Great Green Wall, the most innovative natural work that man has ever built. That should be ready in 2030, in an ideal connection that horizontally cuts the Africa continent.

From Senegal to Djibouti, three times the size of the coral reef. The idea of ​​creating a natural wall to stop the advance of the Sahara Desert to the south was launched by Richard St. Barbe Baker in 1952, returning from an expedition in the Sahara Desert.

The English biologist and botanist had caught some signs. He noted that the lands on the border desert in a few decades would be overwhelmed by its advance. The scientist proposed a project to reforest a green belt 50 km wide for the 8,000 of the natural length of the corridor. The Sahel desertification process became evident and upsetting in the 1970s when, following droughts, they rapidly dried up.

The countries affected by this crisis began to discuss that old project which anticipated the effects but also offered possible solutions to stop them. Only in 2002, however, the project of the great green wall was officially presented and discussed within the African Union, which adopted it.

After five years, in 2007, it started with its construction in the 11 participating countries to which, in recent years, another nine have been added. That partly modified the initial corridor with the addition of off-screen areas to counteract the desert from the north and, at the same time, participate in the promised green economy. Algeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Gambia, and Tunisia are the countries part of the project.

However, 15 years after the first stone or better from the first tree planted, things are very late and proceed in patches, with enormous differences and different timings from country to country. From the UNCCD report (the United Nations Convention Against Desertification, last September only 4 million hectares (out of the 100 million expected) were completely recovered. Of these, more than half 2.3 million hectares) are in Ethiopia. Another 18 million hectares are in processing, although not all within the official corridor.

These works have allowed the creation of just 335,000 jobs, with 90 million dollars in revenues per year, compared to the 10 million expected when the work will be fully operational. Among the countries that have planted the most trees, Ethiopia with as many as 16.6 million plants. While in the rear, there is Chad, only 1.1 million plants.

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2021/01/16
11:55 UTC

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Digital revolution. China-US tensions, an opportunity for Europe?

Digital revolution: UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, recently compared the development between the financial crisis of 2008 and the present day, in full coronavirus emergency. The comparison is useful to understand that the current situation is leading to the emergence of new markets and new companies, alongside the deepening of the crisis of other companies and other traditional sectors. The great driving force of low cost, in particular of travel, which has facilitated the spread of tourist facilities and services with very low productivity, will no longer work as before and this will lead, among other things, to a profound restructuring of tourism.

But the infrastructure and access to the network has exploded in the twelve years that separate us from the previous financial crisis, and in this context, the competition between the two giants the United States and China represents a huge challenge for the European Union, which it also tries to give positive answers to the crisis. The reference framework for the tensions between the US and China is characterized by the American will to resist the rise of the Chinese superpower, at perhaps the most delicate moment of the leadership of President Xi Jinping and, perhaps, also of President Donald Trump.

On the other hand, the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) power lies in the extraordinary economic growth, which has brought dividends certainly distributed in a very unequal way and in the absence of guarantees on individual rights and on human rights of minorities, but so high. to feed a popular consensus without alternatives. Now, after the COVID-19 pandemic’s outbreak, growth forecasts have vanished, accentuating a slowdown trend that can largely be attributed to structural weaknesses in the Chinese economy, including rising debt, unproductive investments, demographic shifts, and renewed government support for inefficient state-owned companies.

However, Western concerns about Beijing’s emerging hegemony, and American concerns, in particular, have never been higher. According to the US Department of Justice, between 2011 and 2018, 90% of state-led espionage cases were attributable to China, and thus 2/3 of intellectual property thefts attributable to the private sector. Xi Jinping’s leadership aims to strengthen China’s international economic, military and technological position, within a strengthened control of the CCP: minorities, oppositions, and areas that do not intend to align are considered dangerous adversaries. To speed up the process, he has for years started an effective model of transmission and interconnection between the civil and military sectors, as the American Congress acknowledges, not without concern.

The coronavirus emergency represents a test case for this strategy. His raid took the local authorities of the province of Hubei by surprise, which was also serious because, in Wuhan, the capital of the province, there is the only biological laboratory of level 4 in China, created with the collaboration of France and where a researcher of international stature developed important knowledge about the “viral reserves” represented by bats and immediately sequenced the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the epidemic. The central government reacted to the initial delay with very drastic and effective measures, blocking the epidemic in the country, with very high costs, but with the declared aim of demonstrating this ability to govern to the world: we recall the images of the dozens of bulldozers that cleared the area where the new hospitals for coronavirus patients in Wuhan would be built in a week.

The United States has grossly underestimated the impact of the coronavirus, not only in health terms but also in political and economic terms. They did not understand that China would play all out on containment, to demonstrate, within the country and abroad, the Party’s grip on strategic problems. But they did not even understand how China intended to leverage the internal lockdown, to accelerate the digitization processes already in full development with the emergence of technological giants of primary global importance and, in fact, the only competitors of the American giants.

With which, however, President Trump did not define any strategic approach during his mandate. It is interesting to note that the reference for the Google-Apple agreement to make the operating systems of mobile phones communicate in order to recognize each other via Bluetooth, has as a regulatory horizon, the protection of privacy defined by the European Union.

The coronavirus has therefore also become a field of competition between the US and China, where it is the second to have gained margins. Also, thanks to an extensive adoption of new solutions and apps dedicated to monitoring, tracking, and control. This effort has translated into a further leap forward from the point of view of Internet penetration in the daily life of the Chinese.

According to a study of the World Bank, investment in infrastructure contributes to the development of productivity and economic growth of a country, increasingly as the integration of international markets growths. The Chinese economy has systematically developed the country’s infrastructure. It was able to do that because it found no obstacles in the property rights of families or businesses, in fact still subordinated to the planning of the CCP, and it wanted to do so by activating the financial capital available to the central government and the Provinces.

In the telecommunications and internet sector, this development has been prodigious, accompanied by an even more significant growth in technological capacity and willingness to innovate, fuelled by an educated and ambitious young population: from 2008 to 2019, internet users were grown by 300% reaching 900 million people. The network-based economy is changing Chinese society more rapidly than it is in the West. Among the population that uses the internet: 1 out of 3 order food online 1 out of 2 buy online, 3 out of 4 make payments online, 9 out of 10 use online streaming.

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2021/01/13
06:19 UTC

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Conflicts of the future. Water Wars: blue gold is worth more than black

Conflicts of the future: In 2018, a World Bank report spoke of 507 conflicts in the world related to water resources control. While the whole world is focused on energy resources analysis as the main factor in wars, little is said about the water. The scarcity of which could change the destinies of future global conflicts. UNESCO, in a report with the emblematic title The United Nations world water development report 2019. Leaving no one behind, estimated that 2.1 billion people in the world do not have access to safe water and 4.5 billion do not have sanitation safe. Refugees are the weakest category and the most exposed to water crises. The report also states that, from 2015 to 2019, 25.3 million people a year, on average, migrate due to natural disasters. It is clear that, as reiterated by many experts, it is not only the global geopolitical situation that causes migration but also the climate change underway.

Researchers from the Water, Peace, and Security Partnership have presented a detailed map to the United Nations Security Council in which it is noted where conflicts over access to water resources are expected to occur, in the period between June 2020 and May 2021. The Middle East and North Africa are the area most at risk. Regions where, in addition to political and security instability, there is a serious shortage of water. Just think of southern Iraq, which for some years has been facing continuous droughts linked to the construction of large dams in Turkey that limit the water regime of the Tigris and Euphrates. The South-eastern Anatolia Project, planned by the Ankara government, includes, in fact, the construction of a system of 22 dams along the two rivers with the aim of improving the local economy in one of the poorest areas of the country. In mid-July, the Iraqi minister for water resources denounced the severe shortage of water in the north of the country, warning of the dangers that this situation could entail for the stability of Iraq itself.

According to the ministry’s data, the flow of water from Turkey decreased by 50% compared to 2019 and the same decrease was recorded in relation to the low annual rainfall. In addition, some scholars also blame Syria’s civil war on many years of drought. In fact, between 2006 and 2010, Syria experienced the worst drought ever recorded. The water shortage has caused the migration of nearly 2 million farmers to the centers of Aleppo and Damascus, perhaps preparing the ground for the political and social unrest of the years to come. 

Today, the attention is on the ongoing crisis between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia for the Nile waters. Since Herodotus’ time, the Nile was considered as a gift for the importance it has for the Egyptian people. Since 2011, Ethiopia has started a hydroelectric energy production project, building a large dam on the Nile River to promote development and meet the population needs. Also, in terms of energy requirements. 

Despite various unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan, Addis Ababa began filling the African dam on July 15, without agreements with its counterparts. The Blue Nile, on which construction is proceeding, is one of the major Nile River tributaries, from which Cairo draws more than 90% of its water needs. According to Egypt, the dam endangers the lives of more than 150 million people, Egyptians and Sudanese. Al-Sisi wants to make sure that the construction of GERD does not cause damage to the Egyptian supply. And that its filling takes place gradually. From its side, Ethiopia argues that the hydroelectric project is essential to sustain its rapidly growing economy. It believes that it will favor the development of the entire region.

Addis Ababa, in particular, declares that over 60% of the country is made up of dry land, while Egypt, on the other hand, has groundwater and has access to seawater that it could desalinate. For the moment, mainly for geographical and economic reasons, a war between the two countries is a remote hypothesis. If the Nile flow could not cause a shortage of water in Egypt, the path of dialogue should not work. It is reasonable to think that the Cairo air force could hit the dam in the area upstream of the river, thus trying to stem the problem. If a war occurs, it could cause external powers to enter the field.

Egypt spent last year in military 2200.00 USD Million. Ethiopia invested only € 300 million in defense. However, Addis Ababa is looking to other countries. Ethiopia and France concluded their first military cooperation agreement on March 12, 2019. On July 16, the Turkish foreign minister visited the Ethiopian capital. Turkey is the second-largest foreign investor in Ethiopia after China, with over 150 companies in the country and, therefore, has every interest in having the dam built. However, given the tense relations between Egypt and Turkey in other theatres like Libya there could be an interest by Ankara also in an anti-Egyptian key. Some time ago, al-Sisi had declared that the Egyptian army is one of the most powerful in the region, ready to carry out any mission on its borders or, if necessary, outside. Was it a reference to Libya, or maybe there is more?

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2021/01/06
17:47 UTC

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