Dans le cadre des escales de l’OPV L’Adroit assurées par la Marine nationale au Cameroun, en Côte d’Ivoire et au Sénégal en mai et juin derniers, DCNS a conduit avec succès trois démonstrations en conditions réelles de son système de mission POLARIS, associé à la solution de liaisons de données tactiques interopérables NIDL. Ces expérimentations se sont déroulées au large des côtes du Golfe de Guinée, zone où se concentre plus du quart des actes de piraterie dans le monde.
Little over a month ago, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was still claiming that his party’s electoral victory last January had put an end to bailout programmes. A few days ago, he told the Greek people that a ‘No’ vote in the Greek referendum would lead to a deal with Greece’s creditors within 48 hours. More than 48 hours after the ‘No’ vote, there is no deal and his government has formally requested a third bailout programme.
This request coupled with Mr. Tsipras’ decision to replace controversial Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis might produce the impression that the Greek government’s position has shifted closer to that of its creditors and that an agreement has become more likely. Sadly, this is not the case. Since the Greek government decided to abandon negotiations with its creditors to hold a referendum, the distance between the Greek government’s position and that of its creditors has grown greater.
The Greek people rejected the last offer that Greece was made before their government abandoned negotiations with its creditors. Additionally, the Greek government’s request for a third bailout programme has raised the issue of debt relief yet again. Greece’s creditors, however, have indicated that a third bailout programme will require Greece to accept stricter conditions than those included in the offer that the Greek people rejected. As far as debt relief is concerned, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was perfectly clear: ‘There can be no question of a haircut’.
Given that the distance between the Greek government and its creditors has increased, an agreement seems unlikely. Even if the Greek government agrees to stricter conditions than those that the Greek people have rejected, ratification of such an agreement by the Greek parliament cannot be guaranteed. In fact, the large margin by which the Greek people rejected the last offer of Greece’s creditors and the fact that their offer was rejected in every single constituency suggest that the seats of those MPs who might vote against stricter conditions are safe.
An agreement without stricter conditions might be possible, if Greece’s EU partners decided that ensuring the irreversibility of Eurozone integration is more important than enforcing compliance with Eurozone rules. Ratification of such an agreement by national parliaments cannot be guaranteed either. Opposition to additional financial assistance to Greece runs at about 70% amongst the German public. The seats of those MPs who might approve such financial assistance would not be safe.
Several months ago, then SYRIZA MEP Manolis Glezos had the integrity to apologise to the Greek people for his role in creating the ‘illusion’ that SYRIZA’s electoral victory would put an end to bailout programmes. Mr. Tsipras should follow his example. Not only has his government requested yet another bailout programme for Greece, but it also seems to have placed itself in a position, from which an agreement on a third programme seems unlikely.
Kyriakos Moumoutzis is a Lecturer in European and International Politics at King’s College London.
The post Mr. Tsipras owes the Greek people an apology appeared first on Ideas on Europe.
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Nahla Valji, Officer in Charge of the Peace and Security Section at UN Women, told an IPI audience July 8th that achieving gender equality had a direct effect on the sustainability of peace processes. Speaking at a policy forum considering the Global Study on Resolution 1325, Ms. Valji declared it is imperative “to see gender equality and women’s empowerment as important and core to peace and security.”
Ms. Valji noted that including women in peace processes is about more than just diversity; there is an empirical record of improved results. “We’re now seeing the increased evidence of the correlation between women’s participation,” and, “the finalization of peace processes, the implementation of agreements, and the sustainability of the peace that they achieve,” she said.
The Policy Forum was co-sponsored by UN Women, and Ms. Valji represented the UN agency on the panel. Describing the early findings of the Global Study, she said, “Over the past 15 years, we have built an incredibly strong normative base.” However, she continued, “What we’re not seeing though, is consistent implementation.”
The Global Study, 15 years after its adoption, is a review of Resolution 1325, the landmark resolution of the United Nations Security Council on Women, Peace and Security. It recommends means for the resolution’s full execution in areas such as strengthening the gender architecture of the UN system, and removing obstacles to participation of women in peace and security operations.
Before the panel discussion, participants had met at the UN in small groups, to try to identify synergies with other reports.
Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, the Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the UN, also a co-host of the panel, opened the discussion by emphasizing it was essential, “to establish the connections between the different topics, to ensure that things are not looked at in isolation.”
To that end, Ambassador Gert Rosenthal brought to the attention of the panel a key interpretation of the High Level Review on Peacebuilding, for which he is Chair of the Advisory Group of Experts. “There is this idea in the United Nations that peace building is something that happens after a conflict,” he said. “In fact, on an agenda of the Security Council, the agenda item is called ‘post-conflict peacebuilding.’ And we think that’s the wrong concept. Peacebuilding can occur before, during, and after conflict.”
Youssef Mahmoud, IPI Senior Adviser, pointed out that men also bore responsibility for implementing Resolution 1325, criticizing “the prevailing erroneous notion that women peace and security is a women’s only issue that can only be addressed by women and understood by women.” Rather, he continued, it must be conceptualized as “a social agenda – an agenda for women and men.”
Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, Chief of the World Humanitarian Summit Secretariat, commented on the unique value women have brought to her multi-stakeholder consultations for the UN. “I think every regional consultation, something that has been said to us about what is important, it’s actually hope and security,” she said. “And women see things very differently in this sense, hope not just for themselves, but for future generations, for their children. It’s such a powerful message women are telling us.”
Ms. Valji similarly emphasized the need to incorporate women’s unique perspectives and stressed that their voices can even improve early warning mechanisms.
“Women have access to different sources of information, conflict analysis, early warning of conflict in communities,” she said. The Global Study found that women experience greater violence “as militarization and small arms spread in the months before conflict and tensions heighten.” These voices are lost, she explained, but could actually serve “as an early warning indicator, that we can use,” to prevent conflict.
The discussion concluded with the members of the audience posing questions to the panelists. Ms. Mahmood, answering a question about what it would take to ensure women are involved in implementing Resolution 1325, responded by asking her colleague to hold up her cell phone.
With the audience fixated on the device, Ms. Mahmood clarified, “If I had one wish, I would want every woman caught in crisis to have a solar powered mobile phone with unlimited credit, because it’s unbelievable how much information can be disseminated through the cell phone,” she said. “We have to look at the world through the future lens, the world in 2030. How will women have their voice, even when they try to quiet it down? How do we amplify? It’s the power of many working as one.”
IPI Senior Adviser Youssef Mahmoud moderated the conversation.
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A lot will be written about today’s vote in the European Parliament on Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange’s own-initiative report on TTIP. In the immediate aftermath of the vote, we noted that:
The European Parliament’s President Martin Schulz followed the Rules of Procedure to the letter, though he frequently had to read directly from the rules to explain his decision to his fellow parliamentarians on the voting priority of amendments. Schulz brought to vote Amendment 117 — that of Socialist & Democrats (S&D) member and International Trade Committee rapporteur Bernd Lange — to amend the paragraph about Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). Speaking of ISDS, it is important to…
The most contentious point was the Parliament’s position on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS). Using a rhetorical Houdini-like escape act, the Parliament adopted a position which simultaneously allows MEPs to say that they have ‘killed’ ISDS while supporting work to develop a system for settling disputes between investors and states. The paradoxical amendment will prove difficult for many minds. It will result in reams of analysis between now and the end of this year. Most importantly, it could provide a pressure-release valve that creates space for constructive debate. Undoubtedly, the crafting and advancement of amendment 117 by Schulz and Lange, both part of the Socialist and Democrats (S&D) group, has consequences for internal cohesion as…
It is even clearer that the political groups fragment easily, as we have noted in the past. There will be many simmering disagreements that may impede intra-group collaboration even outside of trade policy. The fragmentation inside parties is not the only problem. Between groups, rancor has increased as smaller groups attempt to remain relevant while they are not always necessary coalition partners. As a result…
The heated exchange between EP President Schulz and two members of the Greens group — Yannick Jadot (FR) and Reinhard Bütikofer (DE) — over the application of the Rules of Procedure revealed the confrontation. The applause and boos from the deputies provided political theatre rarely seen in sleepy Strasbourg. If only the dome of the hemicycle really did glow brighter as the volume in the chamber increased. Energetic words about TTIP will fly between the benches and the President’s desk again, because…
Let us not forget that the European Parliament had already in 2013 issued its opinion on TTIP when it adopted the resolution of former International Trade Committee Chairman Vital Moreira. And, once agreed, the Treaty of the European Union requires the Parliament’s consent to the final text of TTIP. That will be an even more passionate debate.
Research Fellow of ELIAMEP Dr Filippa Chatzistavrou analysed the situation in Greece in an article she wrote for Le Monde. The article is available here.