European Union

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

While working towards becoming a global leader in research and innovation, Europe has to reach and maintain an even development among all its regions. With this in focus, 400 European leaders in research and innovation – science policy-makers, researchers and business representatives – will meet in Riga from 3 to 6 June at a unique European research and innovation event – Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE 2015). Held annually since 2010, WIRE 2015 will be hosted by the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

While working towards becoming a global leader in research and innovation, Europe has to reach and maintain an even development among all its regions. With this in focus, 400 European leaders in research and innovation – science policy-makers, researchers and business representatives – will meet in Riga from 3 to 6 June at a unique European research and innovation event – Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE 2015). Held annually since 2010, WIRE 2015 will be hosted by the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The foreign affairs committee meets Catherina Samba-Panza, interim president of the Central African Republic (CAR), at 16.30 on Tuesday. They are expected to debate the recently concluded national reconciliation forum in Bangui, preparations for the general and presidential elections, the political transition, the EU military advisory mission (EUMAM) in CAR and security-sector reform.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The foreign affairs committee meets Catherina Samba-Panza, interim president of the Central African Republic (CAR), at 16.15 on Tuesday. They are expected to debate the recently concluded national reconciliation forum in Bangui, preparations for the general and presidential elections, the political transition, the EU military advisory mission (EUMAM) in CAR and security-sector reform.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The foreign affairs committee meets Catherina Samba-Panza, interim president of the Central African Republic (CAR), at 16.15 on Tuesday. They are expected to debate the recently concluded national reconciliation forum in Bangui, preparations for the general and presidential elections, the political transition, the EU military advisory mission (EUMAM) in CAR and security-sector reform.
Committee on Foreign Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The committee responsible for dealing with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will this week vote on its recommendation, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will address the plenary on Wednesday. Also on the agenda this week are transport, Tunisia, school fruit schemes and improving the stability of the EU's banking system.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

General : The committee responsible for dealing with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will this week vote on its recommendation, while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will address the plenary on Wednesday. Also on the agenda this week are transport, Tunisia, school fruit schemes and improving the stability of the EU's banking system.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Since time immemorial, North Africa has been a land of rebellion and resistance against foreign invaders and illegitimate rulers. Today’s armed extremism is more complex, with its indiscriminate targeting and ever-expanding effects. Widespread international connections, effective use of communication technologies and a vast reservoir for recruitment, have made the Maghreb radical movements a lethal and durable threat not only to North Africa itself, but increasingly to the weak states of the Sahel and the wider Mediterranean region.

It is now over 15 years since extremist groups first took arms against the Algerian government after the flawed 1992 parliamentary elections. The long lifespan of this armed extremism is exceptional, as are the widespread local, regional and international connections of the extremist groups and their continued attraction for large segments of the population – not only among disenfranchised youth.

The extremists have demonstrated a particularly strong capacity to resist professional governmental forces, enabling them to carry out individual and mass killings of innocent citizens. No one is left to feel safe; local Muslim populations are targeted as well as foreigners, rural as well as urban populations, and women as well as men. Among the characteristics of the Maghreb’s violent extremists are extraordinary capacities to move foot soldiers and equipment across borders and organise hostage takings and other sophisticated attacks. The business of hostage taking and the long, often dubious, negotiations that follow enable the terrorist organisation to gain publicity and funds, making the payment of ransoms one of terrorists’ main sources of financing.

One of their objectives is to get local recognition, even through fear or disgust, so as to compete with other terror groups operating in the same area. Most violent extremist movements have repeatedly  demonstrated an extraordinary ability to develop successful and appealing modern communication policies. Regardless of the political contradictions, they do not hesitate – if it can help to meet their objectives – to make efficient use of tribal systems they often denounce. Western governments underestimated this capacity to reach out to local populations and mobilise recruits among foreign youth.

“Even with migration to Europe or elsewhere, youth unemployment remains high”

For the last few years, barely a week goes by without a headline on terrorist activity in North Africa. Armed violence has become part of daily life. The most recent violence included the bloody attack on tourists visiting the Bardo Museum in Tunis this past March, when almost 20 people, mostly tourists, became innocent victims. The assassination of the French climber Hervé Gourdel last autumn in eastern Algeria was another cold-blooded killing by the “Caliphate Soldiers”, a jihadist group affiliated to the Daesh, or the Islamic State. The raid on a gas plant at In Amenas, Algeria, in January 2012, should be a permanent reminder of how determined and well-organised these terrorist groups are. That spectacular military-style operation was meant to grab attention in the international media, with the ultimate objective of gaining an edge over competitors in AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb).

Libya is in turmoil after years of irresponsible governance that has planted the seeds of extremism within its own territory and around all its borders. The chaos that followed the demise of Muammar Gaddafi continues to generate instability. There are roaming radical elements, including from Daesh and its Al-Qaeda-affiliated rivals; flows of all kinds of weapons; trafficking in drugs, migrants, cigarettes and more.

Looking back at an almost quarter-century of armed violence in the Maghreb, one cannot but ask why there has been so much blood letting and destruction of vital economic infrastructure. The root causes of the entrenched extremism and armed violence in the Maghreb lie, as in many other parts of the world, in a combination of causes. While some are not unique to the region, a few are specific to North Africa.

“Ineffective governance is a leading cause of the enduring armed violence”

The major causes of the structured armed extremism include: inadequate governance; strong demographic growth not matched by a robust economy; massive internal migration to overcrowded cities; inadequate education system; neglect of citizens’ aspirations especially in housing, water and health; and deep frustration over the lack of a credible future. These causes are exacerbated by weak or non-existent economic, political and security cooperation between the main regional powers – Algeria and Morocco.

Ineffective governance is a leading cause of the enduring armed violence. With restricted space for free debate, limited economic prospects and the heritage of their freedom-fighter fathers, many young people, especially Algerians, engaged in radical activities. They went as far away as Afghanistan, where many served as volunteer combatants after the Soviet invasion of 1979. In a much more limited number, Tunisians and Moroccans went also to fight in Afghanistan, and their return introduced armed radicals to the Maghreb. External funding from individuals in other Muslim countries reinforced their capacities.

The failings of Algeria’s 1992 parliamentary election and the subsequent frustration over the results encouraged these returnees to take up arms against their own government. They engaged in a merciless uprising. More than 10 years of civil saw over 100,000 deaths. Many observers date the beginnings of today’s insecurity in the Maghreb and the Sahel to that period.

Despite economic progress, the three main North African countries have been unable to meet the aspirations of their young people. Even with migration to Europe or elsewhere, youth unemployment remains high. By combatting terrorists at home, the Algerians pushed them further south into the Sahel exposing the fragile states of Mali, Mauritania and Niger to a brutal new terrorist threat. Without French intervention, Mali would have fallen to the combatants in January 2013.

Finally, the deficit in security cooperation between Algeria and Morocco and their decades-old struggle for pre-eminence continues to hinder a credible fight against armed extremism in the Maghreb. Unable to stabilise Libya, the two sister states may, unwillingly, be strengthening armed extremism and helping it expand further, to Mediterranean Europe after the havoc it has already brought to the Sahel.

 

IMAGE CREDIT: CC / FLICKR – UNHCR

The post The root causes of extremist movements in North Africa appeared first on Europe’s World.

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EU Ministers of European Affairs, Industry, Research and related areas meet in Brussels on 28-29 May 2015 to discuss topics such as the cohesion and deepening of the internal market, the digitalisation of the intra-EU trade and the common research area, digital single market strategy, package travels, the possibility of creation of a new European form of single-member private limited liability companies, and consumer product safety and market surveillance.

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On 26 May, Latvian Minister for Welfare Mr Uldis Augulis will open the meeting of the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee (SLIC) during which a thematic day entitled "Effective Labour Inspection Interaction: Control versus Advice" and the 68th plenary meeting dealing with important working environment supervision issues will take place.

On 26 May, Latvian Minister for Welfare Mr Uldis Augulis will open the meeting of the Senior Labour Inspectors Committee (SLIC) during which a thematic day entitled "Effective Labour Inspection Interaction: Control versus Advice" and the 68th plenary meeting dealing with important working environment supervision issues will take place.

The Franco-German contribution ahead of today's Brussels meeting contains little detail

When eurozone leaders decided last year it was time for another look at overhauling their common currency, the main driver was Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank chief who has been one of the main figures behind the push to make the eurozone a more fully integrated and centralised union.

But in the months since a Draghi-backed decision for the eurozone’s four presidents – the heads of the European Commission, European Council, eurogroup and ECB – to present another blueprint on the way forward at June’s EU summit, the appetite among political leaders for a step change, always lukewarm, has cooled even more.

If documents sent around to national capitals in recent days ahead of Tuesday’s Brussels meeting of EU “sherpas” – the top EU advisers to all 28 prime ministers – are any indication, the report being pulled together may propose little more than a bit of euro housekeeping in the near term. Although more ambitious plans could be included, the leaked documents show they will be relegated to the medium and long term – a tried and true EU tradition that is normally a recipe for bureaucratic burial.

Among the documents obtained by the Brussels Blog are a three-page summary of what the new report will look like (posted here) as well as a Franco-German contribution (the French version is here) and that of the Italian government (conveniently in English, here).

Although the Italians emerge as the most ambitious reformers of the lot, the “note for discussion by sherpas” makes pretty clear that the measures being contemplated for immediate action are the leftovers from recent reform efforts – streamlining and clarifying the EU’s crisis-era budget rules, for instance, and adding a bit more financial heft to the EU’s bank bailout fund.

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EU Chief Officers of Plant Health Services, representatives from EU Commission and Secretariat-General will meet in informal meeting on 27 - 28 May in Riga to discuss harmonisation of procedures on plant and plant product import control and other plant health issues.

EU Chief Officers of Plant Health Services, representatives from EU Commission and Secretariat-General will meet in informal meeting on 27 - 28 May in Riga to discuss harmonisation of procedures on plant and plant product import control and other plant health issues.

With an aim to foster a coherent European Union's (EU) inland and marine waters policy in all the Member States, on 26 - 27 May, under the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU, informal meeting of Water and Marine Directors of the EU will be held in Riga.