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And Beijing should stop perpetuating the self-serving notion that it is.

Photo by John Pemble via Flickr

On the eve of the Israeli elections back in March, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu proclaimed that there would be no Palestinian state under his watch. This created an international outcry and he quickly walked the statement back after a great success on election day.

On Wednesday, he met with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and, for the first time since the election, outright proclaimed his commitment to a two-state solution. “We want a peace that would end the conflict once and for all… I don’t support a one-state solution, I don’t believe that’s a solution at all, I support the vision of two states for two peoples.”

Netanyahu has, however, taken numerous steps in recent days to imply otherwise:

• On Jerusalem Day, he vowed that Israel’s capital city would never be divided.
• He appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Silvan Shalom, a man who does not support a two-state solution, to be responsible for negotiations with the Palestinians (should they resume down the road).
• He appointed HaBayit HaYehudi’s Ayelet Shaked as Justice Minister. Less than one year ago, Shaked proclaimed in a Facebook post that “the entire Palestinian people is the enemy… including its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure.”
• His newly reappointed Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon launched a three-month trial program that would have segregated buses for Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. Netanyahu nixed it after one-day, deciding ultimately that it was “unacceptable.”

But words matter, and how Bibi talks about the future matters. When he speaks to a delegation from the EU, his words are reported. Israelis now know that he is (still) committed to the peace process (again), at least on paper.

Wonder what he says to international delegations when the cameras are not rolling? This week, we might have gained some insight.

Wisconsin Governor and presumptive GOP presidential candidate Scott Walker visited Israel last week on a five-day “listening tour.” He released no itinerary and spoke to no press. But he did allow his trip to be livetweeted by one of his tour guides, Matt Brooks, Executive Director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Walker met with Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog, Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, National Infrastructure Minister Yuval Steinitz, Israel Defense Forces and former Deputy Chief of Staff Uzi Dayan, U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro and of course Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. Peter Beinart astutely points out that Walker, despite going on this educational trip to Israel, never met with any Palestinians (Israeli citizens or otherwise).

What that means is that Walker got a very Jewish Israeli side of the conflict. That’s fine — he is entitled to speak with whoever he wants. And likewise, he is not required to meet with anybody he doesn’t want to speak with.

But here’s where we get some insight into what Netanyahu and his allies are likely saying behind closed doors. Walker came home last week and paid a visit to Sean Hannity. When the subject of his trip to Israel came up, Walker’s comment on the two-state solution was that, “it’s not the time for that now.” He declared that Israel would “need defensible and secure borders and they’re a long way off from having that happen.” He continued: “We were looking there and you could see [from] a helicopter up in the air you could see how close the threats were from Hezbollah, the Islamic State, down to the problems in Gaza.”

Walker’s fresh perspective on the two-state solution is not exactly nuanced. The fact that Israel needs “defensible and secure borders” could realistically be an argument in favor of a two-state solution. While some argue that the settlements act as a safety net, functioning like a “bulletproof vest for Israel” (that’s according to Silvan Shalom, Israel’s new point person or Palestinian negotiations), they also keep Israel from having a true border, which can then be fully defended and secured.

While talking about the two-state solution, Walker also brings Hezbollah and the Islamic State into the mix, with a vague mention to “the problems in Gaza.” Maybe Walker believes that a two-state solution will be more viable once we see a major shift toward stability and peace in the Middle East. If that is the case, then “long way off” should be taken quite seriously.

Walker pontificating on the future of Israel and the Middle East, however, is not really the point. The point is that Walker just went on a listening tour to Israel and while there, he met behind closed doors with top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu. And the first real comment Walker made following his trip was to say that the two-state solution is not viable, at least for the foreseeable future.

Did he hear from these top Israeli leaders how much they yearn to find a way toward a two-state solution, and then return home and and offer Hannity a completely different take? Maybe. But probably not.

Follow me on Twitter @jlemonsk.

Djibouti, 800 000 habitants, est un des rares pays qui acceptent de recevoir les réfugiés du Yémen, près de 12 000 à ce jour selon les autorités djiboutiennes.

Az Egyesült Államok aggodalmát fejezte ki, amikor Oroszország és Franciaország aláírta a Misztrál helikopterhordozó hajók építéséről szóló szerződést - írja a RIA Novosztyi a The Diplomat újságra hivatkozva. Most úgy tűnik, hogy ez a helyzet megismétlődhet, de az aggodalmak Peking miatt jelentek meg.

Egy évre szóló ideiglenes tartózkodási engedélyt kapott Spanyolországban az a nyolc éves afrikai kisfiú, akit két héttel ezelőtt egy rózsaszín gurulós bőröndbe bújtatva akart becsempészni egy fiatal nő az egyik észak-afrikai spanyol enklávé, Ceuta területére - közölte a ceutai idegenrendészeti hivatal május 21-én.

Joe Lynn Turner amerikai rock zenész, a Rainbow és a Deep Purple múltbeli frontembere koncertet ad május 19-én Szevasztopolban – írja Novorosszia hírügynöksége. Az énekes bevallotta az újságíróknak, hogy figyelmeztették a Krímbe utazás veszélyeiről, de az európai tiltások ellenére mégis a Krímre utazott. „Igen mondták nekem, hogy ez veszélyes lehet. Azzal ijesztgettek, hogy emiatt betilthatják az európai fellépéseimet, de én mindig forradalmár voltam és nem figyelek oda az ilyen dolgokra. Én az emberekhez jöttem, az olyan rajongókhoz, amilyenek az egész világban vannak. Nem játszok a politikusoknak. A zene egyesíti a világot” – nyilatkozta Turner.

Même si des moyens financiers supplémentaires vont être alloués aux armées d’ici 2019 à hauteur de 3,8 milliards d’euros, les restructurations annoncées en octobre 2014 sont maintenues. Par conséquent, et comme attendu, le site de l’Hôpital d’instruction des armées du Val-de-Grâce devrait accueillir, à terme, les activités de formation et de recherche du Service de […]

Cet article L’Hôpital d’instruction des armées du Val-de-Grâce n’assurera plus les urgences à compter du 1er juin est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

A katolikus egyház tanítása szerint nem a halálbüntetés visszaállítására, hanem a bűnmegelőzésre, illetve a hatékony és emberséges igazságszolgáltatásra kell törekedni - mondta Erdő Péter bíboros, esztergom-budapesti érsek az InfoRádiónak.

Au Royaume-Uni, des informations ont été fournies sur une enquête lancée par la police britannique, contre une série de scandales pédophiles, jusque-là restés tus, voire couverts et dont certains remontent à plusieurs années. Elle vise plus de 1 400 personnes, dont de nombreuses personnalités.

Az új törvénykönyvek fontosságuk és terjedelmük miatt az önálló Szlovákia legnagyobb jogi reformjai közé tartoznak.

Les stratégies déployées par les pays asiatiques sont rendues plus difficiles par les limites posées à l’interventionnisme d’Etat et à l’organisation du commerce mondial sous influence croissante des firmes multinationales.

Palmyra is home to some of the world's best-preserved ruins.

A two-day seminar focusing on the use of a technologically advanced passport verification system, the International Civil Aviation Organization’ Public Key Directory (ICAO PKD), concluded in Ashgabat on 20 May 2015.

The workshop brought together representatives from Turkmenistan’s aviation security, migration, and border agencies to get acquainted with the multilateral technical platform enabling to effectively validate electronic security features stored in the biometric passport.

“Biometric passports with chips are a major step towards making it harder for terrorists and criminals to forge travel documents,” said Simon Deignan, of the OSCE Transnational Threats Department. “It is essential that border control officials can prove quickly and efficiently that the chip has not been tampered with. The ICAO PKD enables exactly this”.

The event was organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department/Action against Terrorism Unit, in co-operation with the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat.

Since the adoption of the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision in 2009 on the promotion of ICAO PKD, similar workshops were held in Uzbekistan, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Albania and Armenia. Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are also scheduled to host a seminar from this series in the near future.

Ministerial Council Decision on the ICAO PKD:  http://www.osce.org/cio/40706

OSCE Travel Document Security Programme:  http://www.osce.org/atu/73637

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Après le revers infligé aux forces irakiennes par le groupe État islamique (EI ou Daesh) à Ramadi, l’administration américaine s’interroge sur la stratégie actuellement menée par la coalition internationale en Irak. « On serait fou de ne pas tenir compte de quelque chose comme cela et de ne pas se demander ‘qu’est-ce qui a déraillé, comment […]

Cet article Le gouvernement irakien demande une aide militaire à la Russie est apparu en premier sur Zone Militaire.

La recherche stratégique française souffre d’un déficit chronique et il n’existe que quatre think tanks ayant une visibilité internationale : l’Ifri (Institut français des relations internationales), le Ceri (Centre d’études et de recherches internationales), la FRS (Fondation pour la recherche stratégique) et l’Iris (Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques). Cela crée un décalage avec les ambitions internationales affirmées de notre pays. Cette regrettable situation a des racines historiques.

La tradition régalienne française et l’émergence d’une politique étrangère autonome avec la Ve République voyaient d’un mauvais œil l’existence de centres de recherche indépendants, vus comme autant d’obstacles et de gênes éventuels pour l’exécutif. La tradition des think tanks était plutôt atlantique et américaine, facteur supplémentaire de méfiance du pouvoir gaulliste. À de rares exceptions près, l’université optait pour une recherche théorique et considérait comme non scientifiques les études à destination des décideurs.

L’État considérait qu’il avait suffisamment de moyens d’information grâce, entre autres, à un réseau diplomatique particulièrement développé et aux services de renseignements. Cela conduit à un réseau faible de think tanks, non seulement par rapport aux mastodontes américains, mais également en comparaison avec des pays européens, comparables par la taille, comme l’Allemagne (doté d’un système puissant de fondations politiques ou d’entreprises et où le système fédéral poussait à la multipolarité), à la Grande-Bretagne et même aux pays d’Europe du Nord.

Le système des fondations et des dons défiscalisés, inconnu en France, a commencé à se développer depuis peu, mais il ne s’oriente pas sur la recherche stratégique. Ce sont des domaines qui peuvent donner lieu à polémique, où le consensus n’est pas toujours possible. Résultat, les grandes entreprises françaises, y compris celles dont l’activité est fortement soumise aux aléas stratégiques, consacrent de fortes sommes au mécénat culturel, plus consensuel et gratifiant, et pratiquement rien aux études géopolitiques.

À quoi servent les think tanks ? Certes, l’administration a ses propres canaux d’information mais un point de vue complémentaire, avec une approche différente, n’est jamais inutile. Il est également un rôle d’information du public, une fonction pédagogique pour décrypter les enjeux internationaux. Un débat contradictoire, libre et ouvert, est un enjeu démocratique pour éclairer sur les options internationales du pays. Il y a surtout un rôle majeur dans la grande bataille d’idées qui se jouent au niveau international : le soft power, la puissance douce, joue un rôle de plus en plus important. C’était déjà le cas dans les années 1960, où les positions spécifiques françaises avaient du mal à être soutenues faute de combattants dans le cercle des débats d’idées internationaux, où les positions américaines étaient en force. La situation s’est développée (et du point de vue français aggravée) depuis cette époque. Le débat d’idées compte plus, les échanges sont plus nourris et plus fructueux, l’influence exercée par ce biais sur les opinions est plus grande et le rôle des opinions s’est lui-même accru. Et la France est proportionnellement plus absente.

La France, qui comptait déjà un retard relatif vis-à-vis de ses ambitions à l’égard des pays occidentaux, perd maintenant du terrain vis-à-vis des pays émergents. L’époque où les très rares experts chinois participaient au débat pour amener les positions officielles est révolue. Il y a désormais un puissant réseau de think tanks et d’experts qui s’exportent et participent aux échanges intellectuels. La Russie a également musclé son dispositif.

Partout dans le monde, les pays se dotent de think tanks au gré de leur affirmation sur la scène internationale, avec des moyens conséquents, qui ne peuvent que faire rêver leurs homologues français. Certains se contentent de répéter les positions de leurs propres gouvernements, d’autres sont plus mobiles, plus ouverts, plus actifs : Asie, Amérique latine Afrique, Asie centrale, Golfe, etc. Tous les pays qui font plus entendre leur voix sur la scène internationale le font également par le biais de leurs chercheurs en relation internationale.

Avec des ressources publiques déjà faibles et en régression, des ressources privées qui vont vers d’autres horizons, notre pays risque d’accroître la faiblesse de ses positions dans le débat d’idées international.

The Grammy-winning DJ partnered with Google to send a satellite into space.

http://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu/uploads/council-images/thumbs/uploads/council-images/remote/http_c96321.r21.cf3.rackcdn.com/15223_169_full_129_97shar_c1.jpg

The EU and Israel committed themselves to establishing a partnership which provides for close political and mutually beneficial trade and investment relations together with economic, social, financial, civil scientific, technological and cultural cooperation.

Download this video here.

Commission’s Vice President in charge of Digital Single Market Mr. Ansip, presented, Tuesday May 19th, the Single Digital Market Strategy to the members of the European Parliament during the plenary session hold in Strasbourg. The long awaited strategy, unveiled Wednesday May 6th, was positively welcomed by the MEP, who agreed on the urgent necessity to implement a real Single Digital Market in order to lead the EU back to a dominant market position in the digital age.

 In his speech to the deputies, Ansip reviewed and discussed the essential points of the strategy, which is based around three interlinked policy pillars and encompasses 16 central measures to be implemented by the end of the year 2016.

 Opening statements by Andrus Ansip:

 “The Single Digital Market Strategy is the fruit of six months of constructive work within the European Commission and with all of the members of the EP. During this time I had many contacts with different EP Committees expressing their support for building a Single Digital Market. We all recognize the importance and benefits that it will bring, for both people and businesses in creating economic growth and employment. Our strategy has a clear timetable with 16 ambitious initiatives based around 3 interlinked policy pillars:

 Better access for consumers and businesses to digital goods and services across Europe;

• High quality infrastructure that works smoothly across Europe;
• Create the right and fair conditions in the underlying environment preparing for the future to maximize to growth potential of the digital economy.

  I will highlight few initiatives under each pillar:

 An urgent first task is to secure and warrant free movement of goods and services in a unified digital space and to improve online access generally. The Digital Single Market aims to boost cross-boarder e-commerce by encouraging SMEs to sell across boarders. One of our first initiatives will be to bring rules for online purchases more into line across the European Union. People could save 11.7 billion € per year if they could choose from a full range of EU good and services when they shop online. We want to improve people’s access to cultural content online while opening new opportunities for creators and the content industry. This will also promote cultural diversity. We will present legislative proposals before the end of 2015 to reduce the differences btw national copyright regimes and allow worldwider online access to works across the European Union.

 Under its second pillar the strategy will look to improve conditions for digital networks and services to underbin the digital single market. The Commission will propose an ambitious reform of EU-telecoms rules. This will include more effective spectrum coordination, it will also tackle regulatory differences around Eu national markets and create better incentives for investments in high-speed broadband.

 The Commission will also conduct a comprehensive analysis of the role of online platforms, it will focus on transparency liability and equal conditions for competition. Lastly we will build a solid foundation for long-term growth. Europe needs to take full advantage of the digital economy, where data is becoming more and more important and where the people have the skills to fill new jobs. They must also have trust and confidence when they go online. Common standards and interoperability are essentials to make the best of fast growing sectors such as cloud computing and the Internet of things. We also need them in the context of promoting e-government services around Europe and a more inclusive e-society. Together this initiatives form a realistic roadmap for us to work together over the next four and a half years. They will prepare Europe for a bright digital future, they will help people and companies to get the best from the online world. I want Europeans to have better protection when buying online, lower cost for deliveries, more choice and better access to content goods and services from other Eu countries. With the Digital Single Market strategy the European Commission looks at the opportunities that our citizens could enjoy to help us create a vibrant creative Digital Economy and society in Europe.

 For businesses the Commission will focus on bringing opportunities to create new innovative products for a Single Market of 500 million people not 28 splinted different national markets. European companies and industries must be at the forefront of the Digital Revolution, using the Digital Single Market to scale up not to move out. We need equal conditions for all to compete openly and fairly in this digital market. Every company, large or small, plays by the same rules: no discrimination, no favouritism.

 Finally I will not go into detail of each initiative we are planning, but I can tell you that these initiatives must be taken together as a coordinated and balanced package. If we only succeed in putting half of them into effect, we will not end up with a true Digital Single Market. “ 

 

 

 Patrick Zingerle

Pour en savoir plus:

        – EU-LOGOS, “DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET STRATEGY UNVEILED!”
http://europe-liberte-securite-justice.org/2015/05/19/digital-single-market-strategy-unveiled/

        – EU-LOGOS, “COMMENTS ON THE DSM (DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET STRATEGY”

http://europe-liberte-securite-justice.org/2015/05/19/comments-on-the-dsm-digital-single-market-strategy/

      – EU-LOGOS, “THE DIGITAL EVOLUTION: IDENTIFYING KEY BARRIERS ON  THE DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET”

http://europe-liberte-securite-justice.org/2015/04/19/the-digital-revolution-identifying-key-barriers-on-the-digital-single-market/

 

Classé dans:Actualités, BREVES

Pierre Vimont est Senior Associate, Carnegie Europe, ancien ambassadeur de France auprès des États-Unis et ancien secrétaire général exécutif du SEAE. Il répond à nos questions à l’occasion de son intervention dans le cadre de la conférence-débat organisée par l’IRIS le 18 mai 2015 :

– Quels sont les défis sécuritaires auxquels l’Europe doit répondre aujourd’hui ?
– Les pays européens ont-ils les mêmes priorités et les mêmes attentes en termes de sécurité ?
– Selon vous, est-il possible de concilier les intérêts de tous au sein d’une stratégie commune ? Par quels moyens ?