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European Council - December 2016

Council lTV - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 09:51
https://tvnewsroom.consilium.europa.eu/uploads/council-images/thumbs/uploads/council-images/remote/http_7e18a1c646f5450b9d6d-a75424f262e53e74f9539145894f4378.r8.cf3.rackcdn.com/69aa888e-96d3-11e6-817e-bc764e092fac_330.08_thumb_169_1479832963_1479832963_129_97shar_c1.jpg

EU Heads of State or Government meet on 15 December 2016 in Brussels to discuss migration and security issues. Leaders are also discussing economy and youth, as well as the issue of the ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in the Netherlands.

Download this video here.

Catégories: European Union

La Moldavie et la Géorgie après les élections d'octobre-novembre 2016

Courrier des Balkans - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 09:17

Jeudi 15 décembre | 17h00
Séminaire sous la présidence de Anne de Tinguy, INALCO et Sciences Po-CERI
avec
Thornike Gordadze, IHEDN et Sciences Po-CERI
La Géorgie après les élections du 8 octobre
Florent Parmentier, Sciences Po, HEC
Moldavie : nouveau Président, nouvelle politique étrangère ?
Nicu Popescu, EU Institute for Security Studies, Paris
Moldavie : le nouveau contexte post-électoral et l'Europe
Responsables scientifiques : Anne de Tinguy, INALCO et Sciences Po-CERI ; Florent (...)

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Catégories: Balkans Occidentaux

Challenge Trump to an innovation race, and avoid a trade war

Europe's World - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 09:12

Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the United States presidential election has put global climate negotiators on the back foot.

The President-elect’s promise to pull the United States out of last year’s Paris Agreement and his unabashed enthusiasm for coal slowed the momentum that negotiators had hoped to sustain at this year’s climate change talks in Marrakech, Morocco. Trump’s shocking win also provoked threats of tariffs – decision-makers in Canada, Mexico and Europe mooting the possibility of carbon duties on American products.

But there’s a better approach: challenge the incoming president to an innovation race.

That would do a lot more than a carbon tariff to fix the climate over the long term.

The carbon tariff proposal contravenes the fundamental premise of the Paris Agreement. Each nation offered its own commitments at Paris, with the negotiators then constructing a plausible path forward by putting them all together.

A key aspect of this process is periodic renegotiation to bring the sum of national commitments closer to the global goal of limiting the rise in average global temperature to two degrees Celsius or less. But the International Energy Agency says that even if they are fulfilled, the Paris commitments would lead the world to overshoot the target by 35%.

“Challenging the US to a low-carbon innovation race would tap into emotions of pride and superiority, but channel them in constructive directions”

We need another approach to a carbon tariff, which would take us back to the bad old days of top-down climate negotiations.

While setting a global cap, divvying it up among nations, and punishing countries that exceed their quota might seem logical, this approach failed miserably in the 1990s and 2000s. It left the world playing catch-up in the fight against climate change. Wielding the stick causes a backlash. It threatens national identity and self-worth, even when succumbing to pressure may appear to be the economically rational response.

The United States under President Trump would undoubtedly react badly to the carbon tariff. As Harvard economist Robert N. Stavins put it: “Is he the sort of person who would back down or would he retaliate? He seems like the kind of person who would retaliate. And then you’d have a trade war.”

If the stick of tariff threats is a bad approach, will the carrot of competition work?

Challenging the United States to a low-carbon innovation race would tap into similar emotions of pride and superiority, but channel them in constructive directions. If the United States can come up with new and better ways to produce electricity, trap carbon and save energy, Americans would save the world and make a lot of money. If the Mexicans, Canadians, and Europeans do the same… well, at least the world still gets saved.

“The cost the US’s energy innovation commitment is a mere rounding error in the context of tax cuts spending that are set to come”

A global focus on innovation would lead to new options that will make the energy services that everyone needs more affordable and more accessible. Simply making dirty energy more expensive – the carbon tariff approach – will not do that. Europe’s very high tax on gasoline, for instance, has encouraged Europeans to drive smaller cars, but it has not led to the breakthroughs in electric vehicles that the world desperately needs to kick its petroleum habit. The small carbon tariffs being suggested will have small results in the best of circumstances. Yet even relatively small investments in innovation have the potential to be truly transformative.

Mission Innovation, a lesser-known agreement which was also signed last year in Paris, provides the framework for an innovation race. Many of the world’s largest nations, including the United States, pledged to double their investments in low-carbon energy research and development by 2020.

A deep-pocketed group of global entrepreneurs, led by Bill Gates, promised to provide billions of dollars in follow-on investment to reap the fruits of this R&D in the market. They announced a US$1bn initial fund on Monday. The cost of fulfilling the US’s Mission Innovation commitment would be $6.4bn per year when fully ramped-up. That’s a mere rounding error in the context of the giant tax cuts and spending extravaganza that are set to come in the next year.

So a message to the nations of the world as they await Trump: be afraid, even very afraid, but don’t let fear lead to a counterproductive spiral of threats and counter-threats.

Stay on the sunny side, keep doing the right thing, and hope that, as Winston Churchill was famously supposed to have said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing… after they have tried everything else.”

IMAGE CREDIT: CC / FLICKR – Gage Skidmore

The post Challenge Trump to an innovation race, and avoid a trade war appeared first on Europe’s World.

Catégories: European Union

Cérémonie commémorative à Saverdun

Il y a 50 ans, le Nord 2501 n°59 s’écrasait dans la région de Saverdun-sur-Ariège (09), faisant quatre victimes.
Catégories: Défense

Konferenz in Ungarn : Die EU-Donauraumstrategie und ihre Perspektiven

Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 08:59
Die Donauraumstrategie (Donaustrategie) wurde im Juni 2009 als makroregionale Strategie der Europäischen Union (EU) für den Donauraum ins Leben gerufen und wird seit Juni 2011 umgesetzt. Symbolisch steht die Donau heute für ein Europa ohne Grenzen, in dem die europäischen Staaten intensiv kooperieren und die Chancen des gemeinsamen Wirtschaftsraums so gut wie möglich nutzen.

Article - Virtual reality: experience the Parliament in all dimensions

European Parliament (News) - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 08:48
General : Ever wondered what the Parliament looks like from inside? It's now possible to visit our building from the comfort of your own home using your smartphone thanks to virtual reality technology. In our first ever VR video you will be greeted by Parliament’s Facebook followers and President Martin Schulz and be shown around the plenary chamber.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP
Catégories: European Union

Article - Virtual reality: experience the Parliament in all dimensions

European Parliament - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 08:48
General : Ever wondered what the Parliament looks like from inside? It's now possible to visit our building from the comfort of your own home using your smartphone thanks to virtual reality technology. In our first ever VR video you will be greeted by Parliament’s Facebook followers and President Martin Schulz and be shown around the plenary chamber.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP
Catégories: European Union

Article - Explorez le Parlement européen en réalité virtuelle

Parlement européen (Nouvelles) - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 08:48
Général : Vous vous demandez à quoi ressemble l’intérieur du Parlement européen ? Grâce à notre vidéo en réalité virtuelle et à 360°, vous pouvez désormais visiter les bâtiments du Parlement à Strasbourg comme si vous y étiez.

Source : © Union européenne, 2016 - PE
Catégories: Union européenne

Declaration by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the Prime Minister of Denmark to minimise the negative effects of the Danish departure from Europol, following the referendum in Denmark on 3 December 2015

European Council - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 08:31

Following the referendum in Denmark on 3 December 2015, we agree on the need for operational arrangements, minimising the negative impact of Denmark's departure from Europol on 1 May 2017, for the mutual benefit of Denmark and the rest of the European Union in the combatting of cross-border serious and organised crime and international terrorism. Such arrangements must be Denmark-specific, and not in any way equal full membership of Europol, i.e. provide access to Europol's data repositories, or for full participation in Europol's operational work and database, or give decision-making rights in the governing bodies of Europol. However, it should ensure a sufficient level of operational cooperation including exchange of relevant data, subject to adequate safeguards.

This arrangement would be conditioned on Denmark's continued membership of the European Union and of the Schengen area, on Denmark's obligation to fully implement in Danish law Directive 2016/680/EU on data protection in police matters by 1 May 2017 and on Denmark's agreement to the application of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and the competence of the European Data Protection Supervisor.

The Commission and Denmark will endeavour to initiate the necessary legal procedure as rapidly as possible and take all necessary actions, including contacts with relevant institutional actors, to ensure a swift process with a view to the new arrangements being in place by 1 May 2017 or as rapidly as possible thereafter. This is to limit to the maximum extent possible the gap between 1 May 2017 and the entry into force of the future operational agreement, in order to minimise the negative impact on cooperation and data exchange.

We acknowledge that the only way for Denmark to fully participate in the new Europol Regulation by 1 May 2017 is to make use of the procedure foreseen in Protocol No 22 to the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Catégories: European Union

Sidérations. Une sociologie des attentats

Politique étrangère (IFRI) - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 08:00

Cette recension a été publiée dans le numéro d’hiver de Politique étrangère (n°4/2016). Marc Hecker, rédacteur en chef de la revue, propose une analyse de l’ouvrage de Gérôme Truc, Sidérations. Une sociologie des attentats  (Presses universitaires de France, 2016, 344  pages).

Cet ouvrage est tiré d’une thèse de doctorat soutenue à l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales en 2014. Gérôme Truc a cherché à comprendre pourquoi des individus se sentent touchés par des attentats qui ne les ont pourtant pas directement visés. Pour ce faire, il se penche plus spécifiquement sur trois attaques terroristes dont les dates ont marqué le début du xxie siècle : 11 septembre 2001, 11 mars 2004 et 7 juillet 2005. Il analyse les réactions politiques, la couverture médiatique et les témoignages de milliers d’anonymes. L’effet de sidération, explique-t-il, varie en fonction d’un « entrelacs complexe de sentiments impersonnels et personnels ».

On retiendra plus spécifiquement trois points de ce livre. Le premier a trait au poids de la culture politique et historique du pays touché. Les événements du 11 septembre 2001 sont intervenus l’année des commémorations du soixantième anniversaire de Pearl Harbor. Un blockbuster commémoratif était diffusé depuis le mois de mai à travers tous les États-Unis. Ainsi l’effondrement des tours du World Trade Center a-t-il immédiatement été interprété par la population américaine, mais aussi par de nombreux responsables dont George W. Bush, comme un « nouveau Pearl Harbor ». Dès lors, comme en 1941, l’entrée en guerre paraissait inéluctable.

Le deuxième point concerne la résilience des populations face à une attaque. Là encore, la culture nationale a son importance. Au Royaume-Uni, la résistance de la population britannique au moment du Blitz s’est imposée comme une référence après le 7 juillet 2005. Toutefois, la résilience n’est pas seulement affaire de culture et de comparaisons historiques. Elle se travaille et se construit. Depuis l’attentat de Madrid – présenté par de nombreux responsables politiques de pays membres de l’Union européenne comme un « 11 Septembre européen » – les dirigeants britanniques expliquaient que le Royaume-Uni serait visé. Le maire de Londres, notamment, s’évertuait à préparer la population à un attentat perçu comme inéluctable. Et une fois l’attaque survenue, une campagne d’affichage fut entreprise pour tenter de souder les Londoniens dans l’adversité.

Le troisième point relève de la couverture médiatique, qui diffère sensiblement d’une rive à l’autre de l’Atlantique. Cette différence se remarque particulièrement pour ce qui est des images de victimes. Alors que les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 ont été les plus meurtriers de l’histoire, leurs aspects visuels les plus crus ont été occultés. Et pour cause : la police a empêché la presse de circuler librement sur les lieux des attentats, dans les hôpitaux ou les morgues. À l’inverse, les journalistes ont eu accès à la gare d’Atocha après les attentats de Madrid, et des photographies de cadavres – non floutées – ont été publiées en une des principaux journaux espagnols. Occulter par pudeur ou montrer pour dénoncer : le dilemme se pose aux médias au lendemain de chaque attentat.

D’autres passages de cet ouvrage mériteraient d’être évoqués, notamment ceux qui concernent les manifestations post-attentats ou encore les débats suscités par les minutes de silence. Alors que la France est touchée par une vague de terrorisme sans précédent, la lecture de Sidérations se révèle des plus utiles.

Marc Hecker

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Death in the Mediterranean: the role of NGOs

FT / Brussels Blog - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 07:50

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In the central Mediterranean, Europe’s forgotten crisis grinds on: 4,752 are dead or missing, while 175,000 more have risked their lives by getting into unseaworthy vessels. The EU’s leaders will meet in Brussels today, once again, to try to come up with a solution, an explanation or perhaps a scapegoat.

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Catégories: European Union

M136

Military-Today.com - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 07:45

American M136 Single-Shot Anti-Tank Recoilless Rifle
Catégories: Defence`s Feeds

Sonata de un año de gobernabilidad en Portugal: en busca de un adagio

Real Instituto Elcano - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 04:30
ARI 87/2016 - 15/12/2016
Patrícia Lisa

¿Cómo ha transcurrido la crisis política portuguesa y cuál ha sido el balance de un año de gobernabilidad? ¿Qué perspectivas de futuro hay en un sistema de gobierno tan original?

DR Congo: Will Tamoke the robot cut Kinshasa's road fatalities?

BBC Africa - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 01:23
Tamoke the robot has been brought in to tackle Kinshasa's road fatalities.
Catégories: Africa

BAE receives $368m US Navy contract to support weapons systems on submarines

Naval Technology - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 01:00
BAE Systems has been awarded a $368m contract to support the US Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) office by providing systems engineering and support services for submarines.
Catégories: Defence`s Feeds

USMC grounds MV-22 Osprey aircraft fleet in Japan after crash landing

Naval Technology - jeu, 15/12/2016 - 01:00
The US Marine Corps (USMC) has reportedly grounded its fleet of MV-22 Osprey aircraft in Japan, following a crash involving the tiltrotor military aircraft.
Catégories: Defence`s Feeds

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