Iprislusophone Countries Bulletin
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SEPTEMBER 21 IPRIS Lusophone Countries Bulletin JULY 2011 Contact Group to Libya, which took Italy also recognized the NTC “as the Portugal and place in Istanbul. On July 15th, the country’s only legitimate interlocutor Contact Group participants agreed to on bilateral relations”. However, the the recognition deal with the NTC as the “legitimate majority of the EU member states, in- governing authority” in Libya. Since cluding Portugal, maintained a more of the National the second meeting of the Contact cautious position regarding the NTC. Group, in Rome, on May 10th, Por- The European countries did not know Transitional tugal participated in the summits what the NTC was, or what it wanted. as an observer. (Portugal was not After all, if there were doubts as to its Council of Libya invited, nor did it invite itself, to the representativeness and legitimacy, first meeting in Doha, on April 13th.) then common sense advised politi- PAULO GORJÃO At the time, then Minister of Foreign cal caution. Moreover, in March and Researcher, IPRIS Affairs (MFA) Luís Amado preferred April, the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s the observer status, given that since authoritarian regime was far from On July 28th, the Portuguese govern- March, in the exercise of its mandate certain. Meanwhile, political contacts ment recognized the National Tran- as United Nations Security Council between EU member states and the sitional Council (NTC) “as the legiti- (UNSC) non-permanent member, NTC were intensified and doubts re- mate governing authority of Libya Portugal chaired the Libya Sanctions garding its representativeness and until the formation of a transitional Committee. The same concern with legitimacy started to fade away. As a nd authority”. The NTC had been in- a certain level of equidistance also result, on May 22 the EU opened its formed on July 25th of the forthcom- contributed to the Portuguese deci- diplomatic mission in Benghazi. ing decision. Portugal became the sion not to participate in the military As far as Portugal was concerned, st 14th member state of the European operations in Libya. on June 1 Luís Amado received NTC Union (EU) to recognize the NTC as Given the notorious disagreements emissary Abdel Rahman Shalgham the legitimate Libyan governing au- between the EU member states, since in Lisbon. (Shalgham is a former thority. According to the press state- the Libyan crisis erupted on February Foreign Minister of Libya between th ment by the Ministry of Foreign Af- 15 , Portugal has consistently sought 2000 and 2009, and was then the fairs, “Portugal’s position recognizes to align its diplomatic position with Permanent Representative at the the role that the National Transition- the lowest common European de- UNSC, first under Muammar Gad- al Council plays in the leadership of nominator. Earlier on, the Portuguese dafi’s authoritarian regime, and the transition process in Libya and government considered the NTC to nowadays appointed by the NTC.) reflects the best balance of Portu- be a “political interlocutor”, as it was By now, despite the ups and downs, gal’s interests, whose foreign policy referred in the declaration of the the wind of political change was should take into account the future Extraordinary European Council of unavoidable. NATO, France and the th relationship with Libya”. The posi- March 11 , at a time when France had United Kingdom crossed their point tion taken by the Portuguese diplo- already recognized the NTC “as the le- of no return and, as a consequence macy coincides with the final state- gitimate representative of the Libyan sooner or later Gaddafi would have ment of the fourth meeting of the people”. Like France in March, in April to step down. However, since Por- IPRIS Lusophone Countries Bulletin | 2 tugal had an interim Prime Minister pays particular attention to the dip- about the environmental impacts of – José Sócrates resigned on March lomatic positions taken by Madrid. jatropha cultivation and production, 23rd – Foreign Minister Luís Amado In the case of the Maghreb in gen- as well as the social and ethical im- thought that, under normal circum- eral, and Libya in particular, it is in pacts of growing non-edible crops in stances, the NTC recognition as the the interest of Portugal to respond a country such as Mozambique that legitimate representative of Libya to any diplomatic decision that might frequently experiences food insecu- should be made by the next govern- confer an advantage to Spain. Thus, rity. Jatropha oil has the potential ment. Still, following previous con- as a consequence, the Portuguese to bring economic benefits to rural tacts with representatives of the NTC government had to take, when the Mozambique, as well as contributing and in response to their invitation, on moment was ripe, the same position globally to a reduction in dependence June 15th a diplomatic mission was as the Spanish government. Having on fossil fuels, but any expansion of sent to Benghazi, led by Bernardo done so on July 28th, current Foreign jatropha production in Mozambique Futscher Pereira, and also integrat- Minister Paulo Portas should go one must be undertaken carefully and ing head of the MFA Middle East and step further and as soon as the cir- responsibly. Maghreb Services Directorate João cumstances allow it, announce that Until recently, jatropha, which origi- Neves da Costa. Portugal will open a diplomatic rep- nated in Central and South America Although there was no urgent need resentation in Benghazi. Moreover, but has now spread throughout the to recognize the NTC as the legiti- as did Franco Frattini and Trinidad tropics, was considered a worth- mate representative of Libya, For- Jimenez, Foreign Ministers of Italy less plant and hardly attracted any eign Minister Luís Amado had to take and Spain respectively, in the forth- study by botanists and agronomists. into account not only the military coming weeks Foreign Minister Pau- It is poisonous, and until the past campaign on the ground, but also the lo Portas should also visit Benghazi. decade, was used mostly by farmers position taken by other EU member as hedges and windbreaks. As the states, in particular those like Por- fight against global warming picked tugal with more political interest in up intensity in the early 2000s, the the Mediterranean and the Maghreb. search for biofuel feedstocks landed In the last decade, and in particular on jatropha, which yields about 40% since 2005 with Prime Minister José oil from its seeds. Jatropha yields Sócrates, the Maghreb increasingly Biofuels, are still very uncertain due to the lag became the fourth pillar of the Por- in research, but by some estimates, tuguese foreign policy. More recent- jatropha has the cheapest cost per ly, the upgrade in the bilateral rela- agricultural barrel for refined biofuel of any of the tions was quite visible, with frequent major biofuel feedstocks at US$43, state visits at the highest level, back development, beating out sugar cane, corn, and and forth between Lisbon, Rabat, Al- soybeans. giers, Tunis, and Tripoli. Thus, real- and food Driven by the promise of cheap al- politik dictated that Portugal had to ternative fuel, jatropha plantations safeguard “the future relationship security in have begun popping up worldwide, with Libya”. In other words, the Por- in countries such as India, Burma, tuguese government had to maintain Mozambique and now Mozambique. In response to political and diplomatic relations general criticisms of biofuels for di- with whomever prevailed in Libya. By KAI THALER verting cropland and resources from then, it was quite clear that Gaddafi Associate Researcher, IPRIS food production and being grown on had no chance at all of maintaining cleared forest land that was formerly political power, even though his de- In late July, Mozambique saw its first a carbon sink, advocates of jatropha mise could take some time and be export shipment of biofuel, unrefined point out that the plant is poison- quite messy. oil from jatropha seeds produced by ous, so its employment in biofuel As it was mentioned above, in March British enterprise Sun Biofuels in production is dissimilar to the input and April Paris and Rome recognized the central province of Manica and of corn and soybeans, which divert the NTC “as the legitimate represen- pressed and filtered nearby in So- staple crops away from food use, and tative of the Libyan people”. In the fala. The jatropha oil was shipped that the hardy jatropha plant can be following weeks, Malta joined France to Germany, where it will be refined grown on wasteland and degraded and Italy, and – more importantly by the airline Lufthansa for use in a agricultural land. For these reasons, from the point of view of Portuguese pilot program testing the viability of jatropha will likely see increasing in- diplomacy – so did Spain on June 8th. using a blend of biofuel and kero- terest in the coming years, as the Eu- As always, Portuguese foreign policy sene as a jet fuel. Questions remain ropean Commission in July approved IPRIS Lusophone Countries Bulletin | 3 a set of sustainability schemes for issue, as farmers could use the in- biofuel production that mandate in- come the company paid them for jat- creased environmental efficiency ropha to purchase food. over fossil fuels and proscribe biofu- Given the instability of world food el production on converted rainforest markets, which led to price increases or grasslands as the European Union in Mozambique last year and contrib- seeks to sustainably meet its renew- uted to the deadly riots that gripped able energy usage goals. the country, the idea that subsis- Among the few scientific studies tence farmers should trade cultiva- available, much of the evidence does tion of their own food for reliance on suggest that jatropha can be grown imported food seems very irrespon- and biofuel produced in a manner sible.