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A török szavazók megfosztották nagy álmától, az elnöki rendszer bevezetésétől Recep Tayyip Erdogant, akinek befolyása jelentősen csökkenni fog, ha az ellenzéki erők alakítanak kormányt. „Törökország parlamenti demokrácia és a nyugati demokráciák része marad” – vélekedik Demir Murat Seyrek, az Európai Alapítvány a Demokráciáért nevű szervezet vezető politikai elemzője.

Photograph from the International Space Station of the South China Sea which includes the Eldad Reef and Itu Aba Island features. Photo Credit: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center

The advent of the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) appears to be a sign of U.S. geopolitical decline, or at least of China’s geopolitical ambitions. France, the U.K., Australia and South Korea are among our allies who have signed up; the U.S. and Japan have been holding back. At the same time, the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, which does not include China and appears to be an attempt to check Chinese power, seems to be on track.

Should the U.S. allow geopolitical rivalry to subsume economic matters? Economically, our interdependence with China is deep and mutually beneficial; disrupting it will damage both sides, and both governments know this. While U.S. influence remains dominant, China’s is growing. Using economic policy to reinforce our position puts the economic benefits at risk and exacerbates tensions. As China grows in international economic clout, extending the rivalry could even drag our economy into the relative decline of our overall power. If we let geopolitics alienate us from a global source of economic strength, we also cast ourselves as more interested in our power than others’ economic growth.

To be sure, we must follow up on commitments made to date and implement TPP and its Atlantic counterpart, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Principles pact (TTIP). Both liberalize trade, a good in itself, even if they are tied to geopolitical allegiances. Shoring up the latter is necessary right now, and dropping the ball on either pact would undermine U.S. credibility, both to our partners and to our commitment to liberalization.

The time has come to contemplate diplomatic foundations for a new global posture. The purpose of our geopolitics is to defend freedom, as we know it in our liberal democracy, and as understood by our closest allies. Our nationhood makes freedom our deepest strategic interest. Whether of containing Russia or China or Iran; of cementing economic power in trade or finance; or of enforcing human rights; policies must fit each other, and current realities, in a long-term orientation to that fundamental end.

Geopolitics and military security can be re-oriented, away from “containing X” (fill in Russia, China, Iran, ISIS, North Korea, or anyone else we dislike but prefer not to attack) toward “defending free society.” Established democracies, with a liberal ethos, largely comprise the memberships of our primary alliances, NATO, U.S.-Japan, and ANZUS. Knitting these into an integrated community, dedicated to protect precisely this vision of freedom, we can keep attacks of violence, malicious disruption, or external coercion, off the table as they are now. Our focus would be non-directional, responsive to any threat, and would hold not only our territories but our communications channels sacrosanct.

This group of nations has the technical capacity to deter any threat. The U.S. military is already orienting itself in that direction, toward a focus on the global commons. Diplomatic re-orientation of our alliances will align our military and geo-political strength with moral principle. Freedom will have a clear diplomatic base, on which we can orient further diplomacy to our best ends.

We should treat economic development as an influence for freedom. Those places where well-ordered democracy has taken root, or where rights are spreading, have seen freedom progress after economic growth. We should not condition our support of growth on such progress, but if a nation secures liberal values in its institutional practices, we should consider inviting it into our security alliance. Such a stance creates a mutual interest in developing nations’ intertwined growth and freedom.

Here, U.S. policy would assess other nations less as “friend or foe,” than as more or less compatible with our ends of freedom. The U.S. and China may well be inevitable rivals, as Robert Blackwill and Ashley Tellis assert in a recent Council of Foreign Relations report.  But China might become a “three (or four or two) out of ten” rather than a “frenemy.” With a single criterion to guide us, we will be better able to avoid schizophrenia such as dissident Chen Guangcheng felt when his refuge in the U.S. Embassy collided with Hillary Clinton’s economics-oriented visit. In this stance, questions over China’s islands in the South China Sea can be viewed in terms of how they “move the needle” of compatibility rather than who wins or loses a zero sum confrontation. A security policy emphasis “for freedom” more than “against China” also maintains an overriding defense commitment to Japan while allowing us to treat an AIIB on purely economic grounds.

Above all, steering policy toward the protection of freedom and commitment to economic growth, and away from “anti-X” habits, will better orient our policy to our nature.

Conseillée par des juristes spécialisés, la présidente du Front national réunit les membres du bureau exécutif mercredi à Strasbourg.

An visitor rejoices after catching a large fish during his trip to Truong Sa Islands. Photo: Mai Thanh Hai

Here in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the local government last week ordered its travel and tourism departments to draw up a feasibility study for tours to the Truong Sa (Spratly) islands, which Vietnam currently occupies.

The first tour is scheduled for June 22 with over 200 Vietnamese reportedly signed up for the 7-10 day tour of two islands and two reefs which Vietnam controls. According to the promotion offer, “Traveling to Truong Sa…means the big trip of your life, reviving national pride and citizens’ awareness of the sacred maritime sovereignty of the country.”

Other islands in the Spratly island chain are either occupied or claimed by several nations, including Brunei, China, Malaysia and the Philippines. China, using a nine-dash line, lays claim to around 90 percent of the South China Sea.

The tour announcement in Vietnam follows last month’s confrontation between the U.S. and China in airspace over the South China Sea, which has sparked concern and triggered increased militarization among the claimant countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The confrontation occurred on May 22 as a U.S. surveillance aircraft, with a CNN crew aboard, flew over Mischief Reef and Fiery Cross Reef — two artificial islands which China is constructing on submerged coral reefs it occupied in the mid-1990s and late 1980s, respectively. The aircraft was warned eight times to leave the airspace, over which Beijing has claimed the right to establish an air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Recently released satellite images reveal an airstrip, port facilities, cement factories and military barracks, and the U.S. has also received information China recently placed two mobile artillery vehicles on one of the islands.

China’s attempt to grasp the airspace follows last month’s grasp of the waters, as China’s municipality of Haikou, on Hainan island, issued its annual ban on all fishing vessels in the northern part of the South China Sea. The ban was first introduced in 1999 and typically lasts three months, ostensibly to protect marine resources. Haikou’s ban includes the waters of the Paracel island chain (known as Xisha in Chinese and Hoàng Sa in Vietnamese), which China grabbed from Vietnam in 1974, and the Scarborough Shoal in the Spratly island chain, taken from the Philippines in 2012. Last week, Vietnamese local media reported a Vietnamese search-and-rescue vessel from Da Nang was reportedly threatened and obstructed by a Chinese vessel while passing through the Paracel Islands en route to rescue a fisherman. (The fisherman was eventually rescued.)

These disputes over freedom of navigation in the air and waters are the latest in a series of spats China is having with the U.S., Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea, which is leading to an increase in defense spending, defense coordination among Asian nations, and an increased military presence in the region.

The largest presence in the region will continue to be from the U.S., whose combat ship, the USS Fort Worth, just completed its patrol in May. Four more warships are expected to be deployed to the region.

The Philippines is also keen to beef up its military alliances to defend its territorial claims in the South China Sea. Last Friday, Philippine President Benigno Aquino announced his government is ready to start talks with the Japanese government on allowing Japanese military aircraft and naval vessels access to Philippines’ bases on a rotational basis for refueling purposes. With refueling capability, the Japanese military would be able to significantly extend their range of operation into the South China Sea.

On Saturday, Taiwan commissioned two 3,000-ton navy patrol vessels capable of docking at a new port being constructed on Taiping Island, the largest of the Spratly islands.

Back in Vietnam, Hanoi is also responding to a heightened activity by China in the waters it calls the East Sea, reportedly courting the foreign defense contractor divisions of such companies as Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Saab, and the European consortium Eurofighter to buy fighter jets, patrol boats and surveillance drones. Vietnam is believed to be interested in Saab’s Gripen E fourth-generation fighter jet and the Saab 340 or 2000 twin-engine patrol turboprops, and the latest P-8 Poseidon surveillance technology from Boeing placed on a business jet. Hanoi is also interested in Airbus helicopters, the Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet, the Lockheed/Korea Aerospace F/A-50 light fighter jet, and the Lockheed Sea Hercules, a maritime patrol aircraft similar to its C-130.

Though a state secret, Vietnam’s military budget was believed to be around $3.4 billion in 2013, having doubled in size from a decade ago, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Vietnam’s military personnel are estimated at 480,000.

From Russia, Hanoi has already taken possession of three Russian Kilo-class attack submarines and has three more on order.  Hanoi currently owns more than 100 old Russian MiG-21 fighters, and has on order a dozen Russian Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets.

From the U.S., following U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s visit last week, comes $18 million toward the purchase of U.S. patrol boats. The U.S. began easing its long-term embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam back in October.

Hanoi may have chosen to talk to defense contractors of many nations, so as not to anger Beijing by focusing on U.S. technology while also diversifying their equipment purchases. Nonetheless, Beijing cannot help but take notice of the rapid buildup in defense capabilities of not only Vietnam, but the Philippines, and the joint military exercises and promises of support among South China Sea claimants. Each Chinese action to assert its sovereignty over the South China Sea has a counter action, and while some of the counter actions have been relatively mild so far (Vietnam’s promotion of tourism on disputed islands), the potential for a more severe military confrontation is growing should these small actions grow in number and significance.

Apr�s deux semaines de consultations, le chef de l'�tat togolais a nomm� vendredi 5 juin un nouveau Premier ministre. Komi S�lom Klassou �tait jusque-l� premier vice-pr�sident de l'Assembl�e nationale.

Quantifying Peace: Launch Event of the 2015 Global Peace Index Report

Az EU–Algéria Társulási Tanács kilencedik ülésére ma reggel került sor Brüsszelben.

A társulási tanács ülésének elnöki tisztét az EU külügyi és biztonságpolitikai főképviselője, a Bizottság alelnöke, Federica Mogherini töltötte be. Algériát Ramtane Lamamra államiniszter, külügyminiszter, és a nemzetközi együttműködésért felelős miniszter képviselte.

A társulási tanács újabb ülésén a felek ismét kijelentették, hogy meg kívánják szilárdítani kétoldalú kapcsolatukat nemcsak a társulási megállapodás végrehajtása révén, hanem egy ambiciózus politikai párbeszéd keretében is.

Ezzel kapcsolatban a társulási tanács ülésén megvitatták a közös kihívásokat is.  A felek áttekintették a Líbiával, a mali válsággal, valamint a terrorizmus elleni küzdelemmel és a radikalizálódás megakadályozásával kapcsolatos legfrissebb fejleményeket. Ezenfelül foglalkoztak a migráció jelenségével és az energiaügyi együttműködéssel, melynek keretében idén tartották meg az energiáról szóló magas szintű párbeszéd első fordulóját. A napirenden szerepelt még a maghrebi integráció is.

Az EU és Algéria megállapította, hogy közeledtek egymáshoz álláspontjaik az európai szomszédságpolitika felülvizsgálatával kapcsolatban, és a felek ismét kijelentették, hogy szándékukban áll a cselekvési tervre irányuló tárgyalásokat 2015-ben lezárni. A felek ennek keretében kifejezték, hogy érdekükben áll az algériai politikai, intézményi és társadalmi-gazdasági reformok folytatása, melyek célja a demokrácia és a jó kormányzás megerősítése a civil társadalom valamennyi elemét bevonó inkluzív párbeszéd révén. Ezt illetően a felek áttekintették a kétoldalú együttműködés prioritásait, így a gazdaság diverzifikálását és a polgárok közéleti részvételének megerősítését.

Ezenfelül az emberi jogok védelmének kérdését is megvitatták. Az EU üdvözölte a nők társadalmi szerepvállalásának megerősítését célzó, a közelmúltban elfogadott reformokat. Az egyesülési és a gyülekezési joggal kapcsolatban az EU arra ösztönözte Algériát, hogy erősítse meg együttműködését az ENSZ-szel, hogy még jobban tudjon igazodni az e téren elfogadott nemzetközi normákhoz.

A technikai együttműködést illetően a felek aláírták a társulási megállapodáshoz csatolt jegyzőkönyvet, mely lehetővé teszi, hogy Algéria részt vegyen az euromediterrán programokban. Algéria így az EU húsz programjában vehet részt, többek között a COSME (kkv-k), a Horizont 2020 (kutatás) vagy a Kreatív Európa programban (kultúra és média).

Plenáris ülés : Hétfőn az EP-képviselők arról az uniós szintű stratégiáról vitáznak, amelynek célja a nemek közötti egyenlőség megteremtése. A vita 18:00 óra körül élőben követhető honlapunkon. A Parlament álláspontjának kidolgozásárért felelős Maria Noichl (szocialista, német) képviselő szerint alig-alig mozdul előre az ügy és sok a teendő az elkövetkezendő időszakban. Infografikánk azt mutatja be, hogyan alakult a nemek közötti egyenlőség az EU-ban 2010-ben.

Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2015 - EP

Les experts mandat�s par l'ONU ont �voqu� des violations des droits de l'homme "� une �chelle rarement constat�e ailleurs".

The world was made officially aware of corruption at FIFA when the U.S. Department of Justice set charges against several FIFA officials in an investigation going back several years. While there were ongoing suspicions of corrupt practices going on at FIFA linked to the World Cup in South Africa and Qatar, no actions had been taken until recently. What likely sparked off the push against FIFA was the national corruption debate in Brazil and its links to the last World Cup. Popular protests against the game that many in Brazil would have called a blessing were tarnished by corruption in the Brazilian government, not to mention FIFA itself. Two Brazilian nationals were charged this past week as well, which comes as no surprise to Brazilians, who are mired in a scandal that may even end in the removal of the president.

Since the global economic crisis of 2007–08, many governments have created new agencies to better regulate many private industries. In those cases where industry leaders have been seen committing severe acts of negligence, official and legally binding regulations have been applied and enforced.

In Brazil, the recent discovery of corrupt practices in their energy and construction industry and links to the ruling party has given the judicial community a great deal of power to enforce and enact new laws. In countries with a strong judiciary, strict guidelines and agencies work to streamline government regulations and their application. In those cases where the industry has been seen as a cooperative member in the policy making process, often voluntary regulations are expected by those companies in self-regulating their own actions and policies.

Legislation, policies and self-regulation will be applied differently in different situations. What has yet to be addressed are policies that are present but not followed by directors, officials or agents of those companies. Although FIFA always had well-scripted policies for self-regulation, when there is a culture of corruption in an already-regulated company or industry, there must also be a means of applying and enforcing the policy.

In many legal cases by individuals against large corporations there is often a trend of company officials bending their own policies in order to treat the victims harshly. The response to breaking their own rules often results in drafting more rules. However, without enforcement the policies are as good as the level of negligence being committed by the offending company officers. For companies to maintain self-regulation, they must actually create policies that are to be used.

Der Ausgang der Wahl in der Türkei verändert nicht nur das Land selbst sondern könnte sich auch auf die Beziehungen zur EU auswirken. Der jüngste…

Plenáris ülés : A dohai klímamegállapodást az uniós országoknak még idén ratifikálni kell azon ajánlás szerint, amelyről június 9-én vitázik, 10-én pedig szavaz az EP plenárisa. 2015 végén rendezik az ENSZ klímakonferenciát, amelytől sokan megoldást várnak a globális klímahelyzet kezelésére. Infografikánkból kiderül, hogyan változott az elmúlt időszakban a szén-dioxid-kibocsátás mértéke.

Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2015 - EP

Ablass� Ou�draogo, ancien ministre burkinab� des Affaires �trang�res, a �t� officiellement investi dimanche comme candidat de son parti Le Faso autrement � l'�lection pr�sidentielle. S�r de ses atouts, il est convaincu qu'il peut cr�er la surprise face aux favoris annonc�s : Roch Marc Christian Kabor� et Z�phirin Diabr�.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond stated that London was considering an opportunity to deploy US cruise missiles on the territory of the United Kingdom as Russia's actions could not be left unanswered. In fact, Russia's sworn friends have been moving their red lines closer and closer to Moscow. Can Russia have its forces in Russia?

Az Európai Bizottság vezetője a G7-találkozón akadt ki a görög miniszterelnökre, miközben Athén szerint éppen Juncker az, aki „terrorizálja” őket. A görögök az egyik legbénább adósdumával kerülték el a csődöt.

Apr�s plus de 35 ans de r�gne de Jos� Eduardo dos Santos et du MPLA en Angola, l'Unita, premier parti d'opposition, plaide pour l'alternance politique dans le pays. Raul Danda, l'un de ses cadres, s'est confi� � "Jeune Afrique". Interview.

Un incendie suivi d'une explosion a fait plus de 150 morts dans la capitale ghan�enne Accra, �galement ravag�e par des pluies torrentielles.

VIENNA, 8 June 2015 – The significance of the Open Skies Treaty remains a vital instrument for confidence building and promoting the openness of military forces, said participants of the third Treaty Review Conference, which opened today in Vienna. The three-day meeting will review the functioning and implementation of the landmark Open Skies Treaty.

The Treaty allows its State Parties to conduct peaceful aerial observations over each other’s territories.

Opening the meeting, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Aleksandr Mikhnevich, in his address as Chairperson of the Conference, said that the Open Skies Treaty is one of the most important and effective military-political instruments aimed at building trust and increasing transparency among the OSCE participating States.

Mikhnevich also stressed the importance of conventional arms control and confidence- and security-building measures in the light of the security crisis in Europe caused by developments in and around Ukraine.

These mechanisms, including the Open Skies Treaty, cannot on their own to bring a solution to the current situation there, Mikhnevich said, but he pointed out that “they can make a substantial contribution to reducing tension by means of addressing various concerns in the area of security and restoring the atmosphere of trust.”

Mikhnevich also noted the importance of the Open Skies Treaty for his country. “It was one of the first international legal instruments to which the Belarusian state signed up to after gaining its independence, thereby demonstrating its adherence to strengthening security and stability in the area from Vancouver to Vladivostok,” he said.

Ambassador Robert Kvile, Permanent Representative of Norway to the OSCE and the current Chairperson of the Vienna-based Open Skies Consultative Commission, the Treaty’s implementing body, said that the Conference is an important milestone in the Treaty’s history. “We are about to take the Treaty one step further with today’s technology,” he said referring to efforts to take it into the digital era.

“The hard work performed by the Informal Working Groups on Sensors and Certification during the past years has resulted in significant achievements for the future functioning of the Treaty,” he said.

At the same time, he also touched upon certain challenges related to the functioning and implementation of the Treaty since the Second review Conference in 2010. “Selective implementation of the treaty is of specific concern. There is need for a frank discussion on such issues at this review conference,” Kvile noted.

The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 2002 and calls for a review conference to be held every five years. There are 34 State Parties, including most European states, the United States and Canada. More than 1,100 observations flights have been carried out under the Treaty since it came into force.

Related Stories

• Third Open Skies Treaty Review Conference
• Open Skies: successes and uncertainties of an iconic post-Cold War instrument
• 20 years of Open Skies

Séance plénière : La Conférence de Paris sur les changements climatiques aura lieu en décembre prochain et a pour ambition de trouver un accord qui limiterait le réchauffement climatique après 2020. Mardi 9 juin, les députés européens débattront en plénière de l'amendement de Doha au protocole de Kyoto et demanderont aux États membres que les processus de ratification aient lieu avant la fin de l'année. Consultez notre graphique pour découvrir l'évolution des émissions de CO2 au fil du temps.

Source : © Union européenne, 2015 - PE

Le Sous-Chef Opérations de l’État-major des armées, le général de corps d’armée Castres, s’est rendu le 28 mai 2015 sur le site de 9.1 à Dayr Kifa au Liban.