IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 350 Chronologies Appendices term debtforthe firsttimeineight • Portugal names the interim government. approves thenewconstitution and outbreaks of violence in Sebha. Tunisia endum. InLibya,therearefresh proves the new constitution in a refer- nese PresidentRafiqHariri.Egypt ap- trial begins for the murder of the Leba- are inprogress.InTheHague,the rebel hands,whiletheGenevaIItalks advance torecovercontrolofareasin AKP. In Syria, the regime continues its volving theleadershipofgoverning continues overacorruptioncasein- tween thegovernmentandcourts ganisation. InTurkey, the crisis be- party forbelongingtoacriminalor- three membersoftheGoldenDawn cused ofwarcrimes.Greeceimprisons Minister forKosovoisarrestedac- tions. In Kosovo, theformerSerbian governments toconsiderearlyelec- gro, Serbia and FYROM forces the the government coalitions of Montene- accession negotiations.Thecrisisin dites JosipPerkovic. SerbiabeginsEU Maltese NationalityLaw. Croatiaextra- mission reachanagreementonthe resigns. MaltaandtheEuropeanCom- history. In Italy, the Agriculture Minister experiences thelongeststrikeinits ment approvesfreshcuts.Monaco lande thesamemonththatgovern- against thePresidentFrançoisHol- France, thousands demonstrate from fiveautonomousregions.In new educationbillfindsopposition In Spain,theimplementationof January 2014 and Political Events Chronology ofMajorConflicts Chronologies On 9JanuaryPortugal issueslong- of the government. strate in Paris calling for the resignation • to 65 billion euros. lic deficit, with budget cuts amounting cess to lower its national debt and pub- çois Hollandeannouncesalong pro- • hatred. gin, sayingthatit would incite racial anti-Semitic singerofCameroonori- mance in Nantes by Dieudonné, an Council ofStatecancelsaperfor- Interior MinisterManuelValls, the • of the EU. comes theninthultra-peripheralregion • France People’s Party (PP, centre-right). parliamentary majorityoftheruling Bill approvedinNovember2013bythe application of the Education Reform gions expresstheiroppositiontothe • source of energy. only countrytohavewindasitsmain ing 2013, Spainbecamethe first and Energy Associationannouncesthat,dur- • members. terrorist group(ETA) fortheirimprisoned country fromtheEuskaditaAskatasuna and carrying out orders from outside the eight peopleaccusedofcoordinating • Spain since August 2010. debt drops from 5%for the first time months. On21JanuarythePortuguese On 26 Januarythousands demon- On 14JanuarythePresidentFran- On 9January, at the request of the On 1JanuaryMayotteofficiallybe- On 29Januaryfiveautonomousre- On 15JanuarytheSpanishWind On 8JanuarytheCivilGuardarrests ica refuses to extradite the former head ica refusestoextradite theformerhead • Croatia dency for a minimum of 15 months. tional requisiteofuninterrupted resi- 650,000 euros,introducinganaddi- which nationalitycanbeboughtfor on theMaltesecitizenshiplawunder pean Commissionreachanagreement • Malta investigation into influence peddling. defend herhonourinrelationtoacourt resigns overthegovernment’sfailureto Nunzia DeGirolamo(NewCentre-Right) • and Tuscany. Camorra ContiniclaninCampania,Lazio rested inanoperationagainstthe • that its readers can harass her. publishing Kyenge’s daily itineraryso in theLeague’snewspaper,LaPadania, Kyenge, ofCongoleseorigin,consisting against theIntegrationMinister Cecile tist) latest move in its racistcampaign Northern League’s(Padaniansepara- • rescues more than 400 immigrants. • Italy their salaries and contracts. ing withthemanagementtorenegotiate longest inMonaco’shistory, afteragree- de Parisendaneight-daystrike,the • Monaco On 9JanuarytheCourtofVelika Gor- On 29JanuaryMaltaandtheEuro- On 26JanuarytheAgricultureMinister On 22January90peoplearear- On 16Januarythepressreports On 11-12JanuarytheItaliannavy On 8Januarythestaffat the Hotel Croatian minorities. reserve 20 seats for Montenegrin and Party ofKosovo (PDK,centre-right)to proposed by the ruling Democratic agree onaconstitutionalmodification • Kosovo coalition government. cillor inMitrovicaandmemberofthe jevic, theKosovo Serbmunicipalcoun- lateral relations,murderDimitrijeJanici- Belgrade andKosovo tonormalisebi- opposed totheagreementbetween • European accession processes. to advancetogetherontheirrespective hold theirfirstbilateralsummitinPrizren • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity disagreements withthe leadership. ty (DS,socialdemocratic)becauseof Boris Tadic leavestheDemocraticPar- • es the chances of early elections. in thecoalitiongovernmentandincreas- ket. Hisdepartureintensifiesthecrisis trade unions to liberalise the labour mar- his failure to reachan agreement with Party, SNS,conservative)resignsover Sasa Radulovic(SerbianProgressive • accession negotiations. • Serbia tion government. ing thepossibilityofasplitincoali- Party, alsosocialdemocratic,accelerat- the oppositionPositive Montenegro ists (DPS)agreestocollaboratewith governing DemocraticPartyofSocial- cratic Party(SDP)traditionalallyofthe • Montenegro sip Perkovic, in the same case. former Yugoslavian intelligencechiefJo- Court, whichapprovestheextraditionof confirmed on21JanuarybytheSupreme previous daybyacourtinZagreb,and The decisioncontrastswiththattakenthe in MunichofdissidentStjepanDjurekovic. Mustac to Germany for the 1983murder of theYugoslav secretserviceZdravko On 27 January the Parliament fails to On 27JanuarytheParliamentfails to On 15JanuaryradicalKosovo Serbs, On 11JanuaryAlbaniaandKosovo On 29JanuarytheformerPresident On 25JanuarytheEconomyMinister On 21JanuarySerbiainitiatesEU On 25JanuarytheSocialDemo- the MinistryofFamily andSocialPolicy. conservative regulationspresented by are visiting, as part of a new block of Internet andmonitorwhatpages users sents adraftbilltolimitaccess to the • ment Party (AKP, Islamist). involves therulingJusticeandDevelop- tigating apossiblecorruptioncasethat around athousandpoliceofficersinves- since December2013andaffect dismissals addtothosecarriedout the police chiefs of 15 provinces. The • Turkey are behind bars. of the19MPsfromneo-Naziparty this rulingfromtheGreekjudiciary, five longing toacriminalorganisation.With members arejailedpendingtrialforbe- • terests of the economic bailout. repayment deadlinesandlowerthein- The countryurgestheEUtoextend they wouldhaveontheGreekeconomy. quired austeritymeasuresandtheeffects tions ontheimplementationofre- Parliament formakingincorrectcalcula- plaint againsttheTroika totheEuropean • Greece elections. tionalist) agreetoholdearlypresidential Union for Integration (DUI, Albanian na- and its coalition partner the Democratic Unity (VMRO-DPMNE, conservative) ocratic PartyforMacedonianNational nian RevolutionaryOrganisation– Dem- • FYROM fusal torecogniseKosovo’s sovereignty. tic, turns down the post, in a tacit re November 2013elections,KrstimirPan- after, on11January, thewinnerof oral electionsscheduledfor23February, emerging asafavouriteinthecity’smay- grade andMitrovica,whereIvanovicis 2000. HisarrestsparksprotestsinBel- mitting warcrimesbetween1999and is arrestedinKosovo suspectedofcom- Minister forKosovo AffairsOliverIvanovic • On 9Januarythegovernmentpre - On 7Januarythegovernmentsacks On 11JanuarythreeGoldenDawn On 6JanuaryGreecefilesacom- On 30JanuarytheInternalMacedo- On 28JanuarytheformerSerbian - referendum for the newconstitution. • tences ofuptothreeyears’ imprisonment. hood membersarehandeddown sen- • Egypt has virtuallybeenshelledonadailybasis. in favouroftheSyrianrevolution,Arsal Arsal. WithamajoritySunnipopulation by mortar shells fired from Syria into • the Syrian conflict in June 2013. the groupannounceditsparticipationin attacks againstHezbollahtofivesince Haret Hreik.Thisbringsthenumberof people are killed in a fresh attack in stronghold. On21Januaryanotherfour in anattackHermel,aHezbollah • other 21 people. the PrimeMinisterRafiqHaririandan- of Hezbollah for the murder in 2005 of non in The Hague against four members begins attheSpecialTribunal forLeba- • Lebanon reaching an agreement. On 30Januarythetalksendwithout deciding on atransitional government. troversial absenceof Iran and aimedat Conference begins, marked by the con- • president. sion tore-electAhmadJarbaasits Forces (NCSROF)announcesitsdeci- of SyrianRevolutionaryandOpposition • (ISIS). Islamic StateofIraqandtheLevant (FSA) andtheIslamicFrontagainst month, ledbytheFreeSyrianArmy gins, whichcontinuesthroughoutthe • Syria mosexuality. abolishes thelawthatcriminalisesho- • tribunal. proves thedraftbilltocreateadispute • Cyprus On 14-15JanuaryEgyptholds the On 9January113MuslimBrother - On 17January seven peopleare killed On 16Januaryfivepeoplearekilled On 16 January the trial in absentia On 22JanuarytheGenevaIIPeace On 9JanuarytheNationalCoalition On 3Januaryamajoroffensivebe- On 28JanuaryNorthernCyprus On 22Januarythegovernmentap-

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 351 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 352 Chronologies Appendices nated in Sirte. of IndustryHasanal-Drouiisassassi - • in Bayda. ca, survivesanassassinationattempt clared autonomousregion of Cyrenai- assi, PrimeMinisteroftheself-de - • the Tamenhet base. army andMisrataBattaliontakeback death tollrisesto99.On29Januarythe tary intervention.On27Januarythe state ofemergencyandapprovesmili- gress (GNC,Parliament)declaresa 18 JanuarytheGeneralNationalCon- military base by Gaddafist militias. On ens withthecaptureofTamenhet litias. On20Januarythesituationwors- community andtheAwladSuleimanmi- Sabha, Fezzan,betweentheToubou • outside of state control. nounces thatitwillresumeoilexports tonomous government of Cyrenaica an- • Libya age for Egypt. nounces anew4-billion-dollaraidpack • terior Minister is assassinated in Giza. head oftheTechnical OfficeoftheIn- • dential elections. Fattah Al-Sisitoruninthenextpresi- President and Defence Minister Abdel of theArmedForcesauthorisesvice • tional process. his decisioniscoherentwiththetransi- announces hisresignation,sayingthat Cooperation MinisterZiadBahael-Din deputy Prime Ministerand International • throughout the month. against thegovernmentsparkingunrest gitimacy, callfor19daysofprotest hood andtheAlliancetoSupportLe- • 38.6% turnout. proved thenewconstitutionwitha nounces that 98.1% of votershave ap- January the ElectoralCommissionan- nine deadand444arrested.On18 ers andsecurityforcesleavingatleast between MuslimBrotherhoodsupport- Confrontations andclashesbreakout On 12JanuarythedeputyMinister On 12 January Abd-Rabbo al-Bar- On 9Januaryclashesbreakoutin On 8Januarytheself-declaredau- On 31JanuarySaudiArabiaan- On 28JanuaryMohammadSaeed, On 27 January the Supreme Council On 27Januarythesocialdemocrat On 22JanuarytheMuslimBrother- - of a minor if he marries his victim. the PenalCodethatabsolves rapist proves thedeletionofaparagraph from • fuel oil subsidies. nounces thesuspensionofgasoline and • Morocco Ibadis in Ghardaia. to controlunrestbetweenMalikisand ploys 3,000 soldiers and police officers • dential elections for 17 April. • the el-Moulathamine Brigade. ist attackandkidnappingcarriedoutby in Tiguentourine,ayearaftertheterror- announced toresumegasproduction Algeria, StatoilandBritishPetroleumis • Algeria is approved by the National Assembly. • abstentions. 200 votesinfavour,12againstandfour bly approvesthenewconstitutionwith • posts afterbeingelectedon8January. High ElectoralCommissiontaketheir • tions. al-Sharia toitslistofterroristorganisa- • December. Law, which has sparked protests since cultural vehicles from the 2014 Finance also cancelsthenewtaxationonagri- Minster inDecember2013.Larayedh Jomaa, whowaselectedthenewPrime new interimgovernmentofMehdi Larayedh resignstomakewayforthe • Tunisia tempt in Tripoli. delkarim survivesanassassinationat- ister andInteriorMinisterSeddikAb- • in domestic security. ing 2013andrevealsseriousbreaches ments 643politicalassassinationsdur- submits areporttotheGNCthatdocu- • On 22 January the Parliament ap- On 17Januarythegovernment an- On 13Januarythegovernmentde- On 17 January Algeria calls presi- On 7Januaryanagreementbetween On 29 January the new government On 26JanuarytheNationalAssem- On 15 January the members of the On 10 January the US adds Ansar On 9 January the Prime Minister Ali On 29JanuarythedeputyPrimeMin- On 21JanuarytheInteriorMinister in the Russian orbit. ropean expansionprocessorremain the countryshouldalignwith Eu- sion mountsinUkraineoverwhether nia, anewgovernmentisformed. Ten- the presidentialelections.InMaurita - ties announcethattheywillboycott Assembly. InAlgeria,theIslamistpar- that the country elects the Constituent gress’ mandateinthesamemonth extension of the General Nation Con In Libya,newprotestsdenouncethe is appointedthenewPrimeMinister. ernment resigns and IbrahimMahlab new government.InEgypt, thegov- out anagreement.Lebanonformsa tional negotiationsonSyriaendswith- ruption. Thesecondroundofinterna- government mismanagement and cor- nia awaveofprotestseruptsagainst allowed entryintothecountry. InBos- caps thenumberofCroatiancitizens the newPrimeMinister.Switzerland lande. In Italy, Matteo Renzi becomes against thepoliciesofFrançoisHol- demonstration isheld in protest the Melillaborder.InFranceanew Spain facesanimmigrationcrisisat February 2014 were lifted on 1 January. and Bulgarians,forwhorestrictions movement, includingforRomanians members torespecttherightfree ment approvestherequirementforall • the euro as itscurrency. • maritime policy. moting asafety-focusedEuropean monetary andbankingunionpro- illegal immigration,strengtheningthe against youthunemployment,reducing EU Presidencywithprioritiesoffighting • EU apostasy. rested inNouadhibouaccusedof hamed CheikhOuldMohamedisar- • Mauritania On 16JanuarytheEuropeanParlia- On 1JanuaryLatviaofficiallyadopts On 1JanuaryGreecetakesoverthe On 2JanuarythejournalistMo- - social democrat), Matteo Renzi, to form MatteoRenzi,toform social democrat), general oftheDemocraticParty (PD ment. Themoveleadsthesecretary other groupsthatsupportedhisgovern - after losingthesupportofhisparty and • around Lampedusa. cues 1,123sub-Saharansinwaters • Pagano Camorra clan. rested in Naples, head of the Amato- • Italy which resultedin 85dismissals in2013. the closure of the Mercaplast factory, dismissal of 153 workers. This addsto Monaco factory, whichwillleadtothe Warner announces the closure of its • Monaco law. the same-sexmarriageandadoption the government’spolicies,particularly demonstration inParisprotestsagainst • France fence, the fifth since the year began. Melilla inamassassaultontheborder 214 sub-Saharanssuccessfullyenter enter Spanishterritory. On28February illegal immigrantstryunsuccessfullyto Tarajal, onadaywhichfurther300 roccan border into Ceuta in the area of trying toswimacrosstheSpanish-Mo- • Spain million euros. a new aid tranche for Portugal of 910 • in civil servant pensions. cember 2013 regardingthe reduction made bytheConstitutionalCourtinDe- to mitigate the effects of miscalculations insurance contributions for civil servants ros permonth,andanincreaseinhealth pensions, amountingtoover1,000eu- amends the2014budgetwithcutson • Portugal On 14 February Enrico Letta resigns On 5 February the Italian navy res- On 4FebruaryMarianoRiccioisar- On 12FebruarythecompanyBorg- On 2Februaryalargeconservative On 6Februaryninesub-Saharansdie On 12FebruarytheIMFauthorises On 7 FebruarytheParliament in the EU accession process. electoral law reform required to advance by therulingDPStovoteagainst the tary boycott against the decision taken ocratic Frontannouncesaparliamen - • government protesters. Podgorica betweenthepoliceand anti- • Montenegro this fragmented country. jobs and improve the governability of to betakenagainstcorruption,create manding politicalreformandmeasures spread toseveralareasofBosniade- and unrest, the worst in 20 years, panies. Asof8Februarytheprotests the privatisationofseveralpubliccom- tors protestingagainstjoblossesafter Tuzla betweenpoliceanddemonstra - • Bosnia and Herzegovina grammes on 17 February. the Erasmus and Horizon 2020 pro- suspends Switzerland’sinvolvementin diation to establish a cap, after the EU ment with the EUunder German me- February Switzerlandreachesanagree- residence to Croatian nationals. On 18 nounces that it will not grant freedom of • Croatia pora. Gorazd ZmavcasMinisterfortheDias- Trop SkazaasHealthMinister and onja asMinisteroftheEconomy, Alenka proves the appointment of Metod Drag- • Slovenia vote. after winningaparliamentaryconfidence solidates hispositioninthegovernment • between now and 2017. which willendpublicfinancingofparties proves thenewpartyfinancinglaw • politano on 17 February. presents tothePresidentGiorgioNa- a newreformistgovernment,whichhe On 19FebruarytheoppositionDem - On 15Februaryclashesbreakoutin On 5-6Februaryunresteruptsin On 16FebruarySwitzerlandan- On 24FebruarytheParliamentap- On 25FebruaryMatteo Renzi con- On 20FebruarytheParliamentap- Party (DP, centre-right) leadsadem- • Albania privatisations. tors protesting against the cuts and Skopje betweenpoliceanddemonstra- • tricity. Drin RiverthatgeneratesAlbania’selec- repercussions onwaterlevelsofthe in Tirana due to the project’s possible dam inRadikaRiver,causeforconcern tiations overSkopje’splanstobuilda fail toreachanagreementinthenego- • FYROM municipal elections. candidate Goran Rakic winsMitrovica’s • crime. corruption andinvolvementinorganised fresh chargesagainstFatmirLimajfor • nians during the Kosovo conflict. murder ofmorethan120ethnicAlba- tween twoand20yearsinprisonforthe paramilitary groupTheJackalstobe- court sentencesninemembersofthe • his involvement in organised crime. of-law MissioninKosovo (EULEX)for arrested attherequestofEUrule- the formerPresidentIbrahimRugovais • the leadership. the oppositionoverdisagreementswith er JakupKrasniqileave their partytojoin Fatmir LimajandtheParliamentSpeak and vice-President of the ruling PDK • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity violence in the country. ures betakenagainsttheincreasein Nis andNoviSadtodemandthatmeas- • related to affairs of Univerzal Banka. is arrested for financialwrongdoings in therulingSerbianProgressiveParty, • Serbia On 20FebruarytheDemocratic On 18 February unrest erupts in On 1FebruaryAlbaniaandFYROM On 23 February the pro-Serbian On 20 February EULEX presses On 11FebruarySerbia’swarcrimes On 5FebruaryUkeRugova,sonof On 5FebruarytheTransport Minister On 15Februarythousandsgatherin On 13FebruaryDraganTomic, MP -

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 353 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 354 Chronologies Appendices bail-out. for thefourthtrancheoffinancial nies, set as a prerequisite by the Troika jects thelawtoprivatisestatecompa - • February. from thegovernmentcoalition on 26 ty’s (DIKO, centre-right) departure break, provokingtheDemocraticPar- tiations resumeafteran18-month • Cyprus that ends in a brawl. prosecutors andjudges, in a session the governmentgreaterpowerover parliamentary approvalofalawgiving • on 5 February bythe Parliament. tighten control of the Internet, approved erupt inIstanbuloverlawsthatwould • in ten years. of protestsseenagainstthegovernment of thelattertriggeringlargestwave previous projectincludedtheremoval preserves GeziParkinitsentirety. The ment projectforTaksim Squarewhich Kadir Topbas presentsthe redevelop- • Turkey taxes on agricultural production. ers alsoprotestagainsttheincreasein Port ofPiraeus.Onthesameday, farm- against thepartialprivatisationof strike anddemonstrateinAthens • ber 2013. ued to grow, reaching28%in Novem- though theunemploymentratecontin- in 2013ofover1.5billioneuros,al- Greece registered a financialsurplus account the interest on its debt, announces that, without taking into • los Filippidis isarrestedfor tax fraud. of thedefunctHellenicPostbank Ange- • Greece tarianism. keep electoralpromisesandauthori- Party, whichitaccusesoffailingto onstration againsttherulingSocialist On 27FebruarytheParliament re- On 11Februaryreunificationnego- On 15FebruarytheAKPobtains On 8Februaryprotestsandunrest On 6FebruarythemayorofIstanbul On 26Februarydockworkersgoon On 17 Februarythegovernment On 5FebruarytheformerPresident new Prime Minister. Democratic NationalParty(PND) asthe ister IbrahimMahlab,fromthebanned Adly Mansour names the Housing Min- resign. On25FebruarythePresident Hazem el-Beblawiandhisgovernment • tests calledby the Muslim Brotherhood. killed in al-Fayum, Minia and Giza in pro- • stadium in February 2012. the massacreatPort Saidfootball which sentenced 21 people to death for made bythePort SaidCriminalCourt, tion inCairooverrulesthedecision • Egypt Beirut, which leaves at least five dead. bombing inanIranianculturalcentre responsibility forthedoublesuicide the AbdullahAzzamBrigadesclaims • tional unity government. mam Salamsucceedsinformingana- power vacuum,thePrimeMinisterTam- • Lebanon group took controlthere. to pulloutofAzazfivemonthsafterthe • Damascus. rebels deadfromtheal-NusraFrontin Syrian armyandHezbollahleaves175 • delilah al-Bashir. current armychiefSelimIdrisswithAb- • from Yabroud. Hezbollah forcetheFSAtowithdraw • treux, whichendswithoutanagreement. Geneva IIpeacetalksbeginsinMon- • made by Damascus. missed, inaccordancewithdemands leading theSyriapeacetalksisdis- vice-President oftheinternational team • previous two days. adding to the 120 people killed on the killed inSyrianairstrikesonAleppo, • Syria On 24FebruarythePrimeMinister On 7Februaryatleastthreepeopleare On 6FebruarytheCourtofCassa- On 19Februarythejihadistgroup On 15Februaryaftera10-month On 28FebruarytheFSAforceISIS On 26Februaryanambushbythe On 16FebruarytheFSAreplacesits On 12FebruarytheSyrianarmyand On 10 Februarya second round of On 3FebruaryNasseral-Qudwa, On 3Februaryatleast36peopleare on 15 February. people atthehandsofIslamistmilitants Jendouba condemnsthemurder of four • wearing the full veil (niqab). announces strictercontrolsonpeople • fairs. interfering inthenation’spoliticalaf- the government’splanstostopimams fairs MinisterMounirTliliannounces • in July 2013. pected of murderingMohamedBrahmi ture AhmedMelkiinBorjLouzir,sus- • Chokri Belaïd in February 2013. aria andprimesuspectinthemurderof one ofthetopleadersAnsaral-Sh- the previousday, ofKamelGadhgadhi, Lotfi BenJeddouannouncesthedeath, • Tunisia protests that end in clashes. security agentsinBenghazisparksnew • new constitution. Constituent Assemblythatwilldraftthe tions to choose the 60 members of the • solve the GNC. to takecontrolofthecountryanddis- a statementinwhichhecallsthearmy tar, oneoftherevolutionleaders,issues • extend the current GNC mandate. Tripoli protestsagainstthedecision to • up to 15 years in prison. power of the State can be sentenced to which anyonepubliclyunderminingthe an amendmenttothepenalcodeunder • elections at the end of 2014. constitution beforeAugustandhold February, tobeablefinishdraftingthe mandate, whichwasduetoendon7 • military intervention. their actions,threateningthemwith ports inCyrenaicatoputanend onstrators whohavebeenblocking Ali Zeidanurgespro-autonomydem- • Libya On 17Februaryademonstration in On 14FebruarytheInteriorMinister On 10FebruarytheReligiousAf- On 8Februarysecurityforcescap- On 4FebruarytheInteriorMinister On 26Februarythemurderoftwo On 20FebruaryLibyaholdselec- On 14 February general Khalifa Haf On 7Februaryademonstrationin On 5FebruarytheGNCapproves On 3FebruarytheGNCextendsits On 3Februarythe Prime Minister - Turchynov announces achangeindirec- sandr Turchynov theactingPresident. appoints Tymoshenko’s righthandOlek moshenko. On 24 February the Rada Minister andoppositionleaderYulia Ty - Rada votestoreleasetheformer Prime with theopposition,andVerkhovna for 2014afterreachinganagreement his resignationandcallsearlyelections President Viktor Yanukovych announces EU. Onthesameday, theUkrainian Russia’s orbitandmovetowardsthe 2014, havebeencallingforKievtoleave demonstrators who, since November Ukraine fortheuseofviolenceagainst impose sanctionsonthegovernmentof • tre and approved in a referendum. servative DemocraticUnionoftheCen- measures calledforbytheultra-con- limits thefreemovementofpeople, if BernesetsquotasforEUworkersor zerland thatbilateralrelationswillsuffer • EU tain their posts. eign, FinanceandJusticeMinistersre- elections. TheDefence,Interior,For- cialist) intheNovemberandDecember Union ofDemocraticForces(UFD,so- government, followingthevictoryof nounces thecompositionofnew Moulaye Ould MohamedLaghdaf an- • Mauritania for calling for a ban on polygamy. cused ofapostasyinDecember2013 whoheac- of Popular Forces(USFP), Lachgar, memberoftheSocialistUnion sentence fordefamationagainstDriss gives himamonth’ssuspendedprison mid Abounaimtopay45eurosand blanca orders the Takfiri imam Abdelha- • Morocco presidential elections in April. announce thattheywillboycottthe and theMovementofSocietyforPeace Justice andDevelopment,Ennahdha • Algeria On 21FebruarytheEUagreesto On 11FebruarytheEUwarnsSwit- On 12FebruarythePrimeMinister On 19FebruaryacourtinCasa- On 15FebruarytheIslamistFrontof - government’s austerity measures. officers protest in Lisbon against the • Portugal on Crimea’s secession from Ukraine. his cabinet.TheEU islargelyfocused election, who also approves changes in Abdelaziz Bouteflikawillrunforre- presidential electionsinApril,which state ofemergency. Algeriapreparesfor the government lifts the nationwide ister AliZeidanisdismissed.InTunisia, Brotherhood. InLibya,thePrimeMin- tences to529membersoftheMuslim Egyptian courthands downdeathsen- presidential elections in May, while an Sisi announceshiscandidacyinthe ment takesoverandAbdelFattahAl- advances. In Egypt, the new govern- Bank. In Syria, the army makes fresh and the management of the Central prus therearechangesinthecabinet critical ofgovernmentpolicies.InCy- a network of Hizmet schools, whichis social networkTwitter andclosesdown that thegovernmenttriestoblock municipal elections, the same month own army. InTurkey, theAKPwins Kosovo announcesplanstocreateits wins inthe parliamentary elections. ment. InSerbia,theProgressiveParty rior MinisterissackedbytheParlia- from publicoffice.InBosnia,theInte- court confirms SilvioBerlusconi’s ban new anti-crisismeasuresandthehigh tions. InItaly, thegovernmentapproves arez dies.Franceholdsmunicipalelec- the formerPrimeMinisterAdolfoSu- Police inPortugal goonstrike.InSpain, March 2014 the main airports the following day. gional governmenton27Februaryand pro-Russian militantstakeoverthere- if tensions heighten in Crimea, where mate. NATO promisestodefendUkraine says thenewgovernmentisnotlegiti- calls its ambassador to Ukraine and Crimea andthenRussia.Moscowre- first tosecessionistandpro-Russian arrest warrantforYanukovych, whoflees ment. Thenewgovernmentissuesan Stabilisation and Association Agree tion inEUrelationstowardssigningthe On 7Marchthousandsofpolice - L'Ora dellaCalabria nottopublishin- accused ofpressuringthenewspaper Infrastructure AntonioGentileresigns • Italy from 60 to 65. demand thatretirementageberaised hours from40to37.5and reduction oftheirweeklyworking nance workersgoonstrikeagainstthe • Monaco 11 towns. third positionwith6.85%andwinning National Front (FN, far-right) finishes in (UMP, centre-right)wins142andthe the UnionforaPopular Movement trol in Paris but loses 151 towns while who obtain45.1%.ThePSretainscon- defeated bythecentre-rightparties with40.5%ofthevotes,is Party (PS), stention rateof38.5%.TheSocialist municipal electionswitharecordab- • rachi corruption case. earlier, in the investigation into the Ka- 2013 ontheordersofjudges6months Herzog werebeingtappedinFebruary Nicolas SarkozyandhislawyerThierry tions betweentheformerPresident Taubira knewthattelephoneconversa- and the Justice Minister Christiane Jean-Marc Ayraultadmitsthatbothhe • France stitutional. endum onself-determinationisuncon- government’s decisiontoholdarefer- Court confirmsthattheCatalonian • tion, dies. mocracy andakeyfigureinthetransi- Prime MinisterofSpain’scurrentde- • clashes with police. ity policies. The protests end in violent February toprotestagainsttheauster- from differentpartsofthecountryin Marches arriveinMadridwhichsetoff • Spain On 4MarchtheUndersecretary for On 18 March public city mainte- On 23 and 30 March France holds On 11 March the Prime Minister On 25MarchtheConstitutional On 23 March Adolfo Suarez, the first On 22Marchtheso-calledDignity

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 355 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 356 Chronologies Appendices Dinkic stepdown asleadersofthe March Vojislav Kostunica andMladjan wins with 48.8% of the votes. On 19 uty PrimeMinisterAleksandar Vucic election. TheconservativeSNSof dep- • Serbia tests in February. lence triggeredbyanti-governmentpro- Radoncic forfailingtopreventthevio- dismisses theInteriorMinisterFahrudin • Federal Parliament. dealt withbytheentitiesandnot MPs whodemandthatthesemattersbe ism, blocked until now by Bosnian Serb money launderingandfinancingterror- sion urgesBosniatopassthelawon • Bosnia and Herzegovina eration Storm. acts inVukovar whenitlaunchedOp- its part,accusesCroatiaofthesame nia, duringtheBalkansWar. Serbia,for committed GenocideinVukovar, Slavo- come toadecisiononwhetherSerbia Nations InternationalCourtofJusticeto • Croatia zenship in 1991. after failingtoapplyforSlovenianciti- residency rightswereillegallyremoved 72,770 euros to six Yugoslavs whose compensation ofbetween29,400and Human RightsordersSloveniatopay • Slovenia ily after four days of operations. migrants arerescuedintheStraitofSic- • office over the Mediaset corruption case. Berlusconi’s two-yearbanfrompublic confirms theformerPrimeMinisterSilvio • ending Italy’s history of political instability. presented bythegovernmentaimedat ties approvestheelectionreformlaw • ruption scandal. formation implicatinghissoninacor- On 16 March Serbia holds a general On 16MarchSerbiaholdsageneral On 14MarchtheFederalParliament On 12MarchtheEuropeanCommis- On 3MarchCroatiaaskstheUnited On 12MarchtheEuropeanCourtof On 21 March over 4,000 illegal im- On 18MarchtheSupremeCourt On 12MarchtheChamberofDepu- died ninemonths afterfallingintoa by thefuneralofBerkinElvan,who has strators, Islamistsandleftists,sparked between policeandopposingdemon - in clashesthateruptseveral cities • by supporters of Gülen. scandal involvingtheAKPinstigated comes afteranallegedcorruption sectors of the State. The decision which hasgreatinfluenceoverwide Minister RecepTayyip Erdoganand ist clericandformerallyofthePrime the doctrine of Fethullah Gülen, Islam- Hizmet schoolnetwork,whichfollows lah Gulpassesabilltoclosedownthe • Turkey et surplus. try’s poorest,fundedby2013’sbudg- million eurostobespentonthecoun- The reformalsoincludes,however,527 continuation oftheEUandIMFbailout. proves freshcutstoguaranteethe • Greece April. hold early parliamentary elections in solved afterthemainpartiesagreeto • FYROM by a EULEX court for abuse of office. Ramadan Mujaafterbeingfoundguilty ren callsfortheresignationofitsmayor • 16 March. able tovoteintheSerbianelectionson that SerbresidentsinKosovo willbe • the Ministry of Defence. that theMinistryofSecuritywillbecome full-fledged army. Healsoannounces form thecurrentsecurityforcesintoa Hashim Thaci announces plans to trans • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity (URS, liberal) respectively. servative) andUnitedRegionsofSerbia Democratic PartyofSerbia(DSS,con- On 13Marchtwopeoplearekilled On 12MarchthePresidentAbdul- On 31MarchtheParliamentap- On 5MarchtheParliamentisdis- On 20MarchademonstrationinPriz- On 10MarchtheOSCEconfirms On 4MarchthePrimeMinister - Brigade take Samra, Latakia. • allegedly violatingTurkish airspace. shoots downaSyrianfighter-bomber • control ofthe Krac des Chevaliers Castle. • the Lebanese border. Yabroud, thelastrebelstrongholdon • with the government. in Barzehreachaceasefireagreement • idency. candidates from running for the pres- tice, excludespracticallyallopposition es anewelectionlawwhich,inprac- • Syria coalition in February. which abandonedthegovernment three ministersfromtheDIKO party, and Defencerespectivelytoreplace los the Ministers of Education, Health Philippos PatsalisandTasos Mitsopou- Anastasiades appointsCostasKadis, • fresh aid. EU andIMFforthedisbursementof services, setasaconditionbythe es abilltoprivatisethemainpublic • tral Bank of Cyprus. adji isappointedGovernoroftheCen- • Cyprus Kurdish nationalist 6%. mocracy Party(BDP, socialdemocrat, right) 15.3%andthePeaceDe- tionalist MovementParty(MHP, far- (CHP, Kemalist) obtains28%,theNa- votes. TheRepublicanPeople’sParty municipal electionswith45.6%ofthe • ruption scandal. ister’s possibleinvolvementinacor- are postedpointingtothePrimeMin- its politicalenemies,afterrecordings the socialnetworkhasbeenusedby blocks accesstoTwitter allegingthat • in June 2013. ister during anti-government protests coma afterbeinghitbyatear-gascan- On 25MarchtheAnsaral-Sham On 22MarchtheTurkish airforce On 20Marchthearmytakesback On 16Marchthearmytakesback On 14Marchthebesiegedrebels On 13MarchtheParliamentpass- On 12MarchthePresidentNicos On 4MarchtheParliamentpass- On 11MarchChrystallaGeorgh- On 30MarchtheAKPwinsin On 20 March the government Libyan transition. meeting heldinRometomonitor the security, adayaftertheinternational to demandimprovementsininternal hazi residentstaketothestreets again • mandate. the extensionof the currentParliament’s injured bydemonstratorsopposedto • Libya elections. his candidacy for the presidential steps downfromhisposttopresent • hammed Badie. Brotherhood’s SupremeGuideMo- on thesamecharges,amongthem trials areopenedagainst919people 2013. On25Marchtwonewmass of the Islamist protest camps in August for theclashesfollowingdispersal hood membersaresentencedtodeath • Cairo and al-Azhar. also takeplaceintheuniversitiesof first constitutionalreferendum.Protests Morsi, onthethirdanniversaryof Beni Suef in support of Mohamed killed inclashesduringaprotest • Commission’s decisions. tions thusprotectingtheElectoral late theupcomingpresidentialelec- Mansuor passesthelawthatwillregu- • in Egypt. gent MattersoutlawsHamas’ activities • the 31 ministers remaining in office. ernment is sworn into office, with 20 of • Egypt left 28 dead over the past two weeks. nis andAlawites,whichhavealready in Tripoli duringclashesbetweenSun- • man, under Hezbollah control. in asuicidebombattackNabiOth- • shells at the border town of Arsal. • Lebanon On 7MarchseveralhundredBeng - On 2MarchtwoGNCmembersare On 25MarchAbdelFattahAl-Sisi On 24March529MuslimBrother- On 19Marchademonstratoris On 8March the President Adly On 4 March the Cairo Court for Ur- On 1Marchthenewcaretakergov- On 27Marchasoldierismurdered On 16Marchfourpeoplearekilled On 5MarchSyriaagainfiresmortar tried by military courts. posal toexcludeciviliansfrom being el-Yazami praises thegovernment’spro- National Human Rights Council Driss • Morocco in the city. three peoplearekilledinethnicclashes Tayeb BelaizvisitGhardaiahoursafter Youcef Yousfi andInteriorMinister • Bouteflika. Belkhadem, isappointedadviserto other formerPrimeMinister,Abdelaziz ing MohamedMoulayGuendil.An- presidency’s cabinetdirectorreplac- Ahmed Ouyahia,whoisnamedthe lika’s electioncampaignreplacing delmalek Sellal,whowillleadBoutef- the newPrimeMinistertoreplaceAb- Minister Youcef Yousfi is appointed • tutional Council. the presidentialelectionsinConsti- Bouteflika registershiscandidacyfor • Algeria Social Security Fund. named generalmanageroftheNational • state of emergency. Marzouki announcestheendof • Tunisia lish internal security. Nations forinternationalaidtore-estab- • people. army academyinBenghazikillseight • February. ment’s mandate,whichexpiredon7 tion oftheextensionParlia- Tripoli, andinresponsetotherejec- ing thenavalblockadeimposedby by Cyrenaica’sfederalistsfrombreak Korean tankerloadedwithoilsupplied Libyan navy’sfailure to stopaNorth lah al-Thani. The move comes after the him withtheDefenceMinisterAbdul- the PrimeMinisterAliZeidanreplacing • On 25 March the President of the On 15 March the Prime Minister On 13MarchtheEnergyandMines On 3MarchthePresidentAbdelaziz On 28MarchRachidBarauniis On 6MarchthePresidentMonsef On 19MarchLibyaaskstheUnited On 17Marchabombattackonan On 11MarchtheGNCdismisses - the fight againstterrorism. Themeeting help ofthepan-Araborganisation in in Egypt, a country that is requesting the death sentencesgivento529Islamists of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the political tensionsbetweenthecountries Arab League Summit overshadowed by • Arab League finitive Banking Union. financial institutions,aheadofthede- mechanism tomanagebankruptciesin Parliament andCommissionagreeona • 2020. endowed with 3.1 billion euros upto Asylum, MigrationandIntegrationFund, ment givesthegreenlighttoEU’s • March Russia is expelled from the G8. tion andAssociationagreement.On25 the EUandUkrainesignStabilisa- international sanctions.On21March Crimea’s accession request despite cow. On17MarchVladimirPutinratifies referendum recognised only by Mos- sia withanabsolutemajorityinapublic pendence fromUkraineandtojoinRus- March Crimeavotesinfavourofinde- Russians and pro-Ukrainians. On 16 es breakoutinDonetskbetweenpro- with Russia. On15Marchviolentclash- suspends membershipnegotiations with Russia.On13MarchtheOCDE Kiev, andNATO suspendsitsrelations celerates theassociationprocesswith billion eurosinaidtoUkraineandac- over thebuilding.TheEUapproves11 pro-Russian militants that had taken recover controlofthetownhallfrom Ukraine. InDonetsk,theUkrainianpolice gion ismobilisedtokeepCrimeain 6 MarchtheTartar populationinthere- trade cooperation with the country. On ment, theUSsuspendsitsmilitaryand response toRussia’smilitarydeploy- dialogue onUkraine.On4Marchin ate acontactgrouptoinitiatepolitical sia acceptsGermany’sproposaltocre- G8 summitinSochi.On3MarchRus- military reserves.TheG7cancelsitsJuly lisation inCrimea.Ukrainecallsupits EU urgeRussiatohaltitsmilitarymobi- • EU On 25 March Kuwait hosts the 25th On 20 March the European Council, On 13MarchtheEuropeanParlia- On 2MarchNATO, theUSand

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 357 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 358 Chronologies Appendices 851-million-euro aid tranche. release of Portugal’s penultimate • to 2.5% of GDPfor 2015. lion eurosandreducethepublic deficit new austeritymeasurestosave1.4 bil- • Portugal Ukraine’s internal crisis. against Russia for its responsibility in The EU approvesnewsanctions won again by Abdelaziz Bouteflika. holds presidential electionswhich are ni submitshisresignation.Algeria taker PrimeMinisterAbdullahal-Tha- Libya, therecentlyappointedcare- tences for hundreds of Islamists. In judiciary confirms deathorlifesen- members, inthesamemonththat further arrestsoftheorganisation’s Muslim Brotherhoodcontinueamid gees. InEgypt, protestsledbythe opens a new camp for Syrian refu sus toassumethepresidency. Jordan candidate withthenecessaryconsen- the politicalforcesareyettofinda Lebanon, thenegotiationsbetween the presidential elections of 3 June. In Assad announcesthathewillrunin the armedoppositionandBasharal- Homs forcingmorewithdrawalsfrom new offensivesinDara,Aleppoand elections. InSyria,thearmylaunches the parliamentary and presidential In FYROM, the conservatives win both committed during the Kosovo conflict. law and aspecial court for war crimes Kosovo approvestheWar Veterans endangers the government coalition. the leadershipofPositive Slovenia President. InSlovenia,thechangein named PrimeMinister.Maltaelectsits fles itscabinetandManuelValls is new Agriculture Minister. France shuf austerity measures.Spainappointsa Italy andCroatiaalsoapprovenew package after announcingfresh cuts. Portugal receives a new financial aid April 2014 litical opposition. call forhelpfromBasharal-Assad’spo- resolutions onSyriadespitetheurgent ends withoutreachinganydecisive On 17ApriltheIMFauthorises the On 15Aprilthegovernmentadopts - - ing administration procedures,abolish- goods andpubliccompanies,simplify - superfluous publicentities,privatising of publicsector managers, abolishing 1,500 official cars, reducing salaries taxes on bank deposits to 26%, selling deductions on low incomes, increasing growth, which include reducing tax measures toreactivateeconomic • Italy ecom. vier Nielacquires55%ofMonacoTel- telecommunications companyFreeXa- • income earned in the principality. ing in Monaco from paying taxes on exempts French citizens born and resid Monegasque FiscalConventionand cree thatreinterpretsthe1963Franco- • Monaco on 29 April. are approvedbytheNationalAssembly nal disagreementsintheSocialistParty, of 50billioneuros,which,despiteinter- ing administrative procedures and cuts an austerity plan that includes simplify- • respectively. eign, DefenceandJusticeMinisters Taubira retaintheirpositionsastheFor- Jean-Yves LeDrianandChristiane Hamon inEducation.LaurentFabius, Cazeneuve intheInteriorandBenoît omy, MichelSapininFinances,Bernard Ecology, ArnaduMontebourginEcon- includes SegoleneRoyalinchargeof presents hiscabineton2April,which Valls asthenewPrimeMinister, who appoints the Interior Minister Manuel and thePresidentFrançoisHollande nicipal electionsthegovernmentresigns • France tions. People’s Party list in the European elec Miguel AriasCañete,whowillheadthe named AgricultureMinistertoreplace • Spain On 8Aprilthegovernmentexpands On 25ApriltheownerofFrench On 11AprilFrancereleasedade- On 8AprilManuelValls announces On 1 April after the disastrous mu- On 28AprilIsabelGarciaTejerina is - - of Yugoslavia ruling that she was ille habilitates thedeceasedQueen Maria • Serbia bian population of Odzak in1992. cused ofwarcrimesagainsttheSer- rested bytheBosnianauthoritiesac- Croatian paramilitaryfightersarear- • Ratko Mladic. former BosnianSerbmilitaryleader serious genocide charges against the jects amovetodropsomeofthemost Tribunal fortheformerYugoslavia re- • Bosnia and Herzegovina and telecommunications. and whichincludenewtaxesonpetrol deficit from 4.5% to 0.4% of the GDP new measurestoreducethebudget • Croatia dangers the government coalition. after being accused of corruption, en- idency ofthepartyovertoBratusek of Ljubljana ZoranJankovic.Thereturn government coalition,tothemayorof Positive Slovenia,themainpartyof ka Bratuseklosesthepresidencyof • Slovenia President of Malta by the Parliament. Preca, fromtheLabourParty, iselected • Malta course ofoneyear,intheMediasetcase. residence for the elderly during the hours ofcommunityserviceaweekin Silvio Berlusconitoperformatleastfour • ation is critical. Angelino Alfanodeclaresthatthesitu- the Strait of Sicily. The Interior Minister intercepted by Italy in just 48 hours in • Senate. ing theprovincesandreforming the Jankovic, who had to hand the pres- On 14AprilacourtinBelgrade re- On 21 April four former Bosnian On 15 April the International Criminal On 17Aprilthegovernmentadopts On 25 April the Prime Minister Alen On 4 April Marie-Louise Coleiro On 15AprilaCourtinMilanorders On 9Aprilover4,000immigrantsare - - munist KujtimGaziu setshimselfalight • Albania Stevo Pendarovski’s 40.4%. rent PresidentGjorgeIvanov, aheadof in thepresidentialelectionsforcur- nia’s (SDSM)24.78%,andwith55.93% Social DemocraticUnionofMacedo- parliamentary elections ahead of the wins, with43.29%ofthevotesin the rulingconservativeVMRO-DPMNE liamentary elections.Inbothelections held, thelattercoincidingwithpar- ond roundsofpresidentialelectionsare • Yugoslavia’s socialist regime, islegal. suspected ofspyingorcollaboratingwith which theStatecaninvestigatepeople rules thattheLustrationLaw, under • FYROM Kosovo conflict. Army (UÇK)duringthe1998-1999 tions againsttheKosovo Liberation war crimessetuptoinvestigateallega- the constitutionofaspecialtribunalfor • sovo (FARK) not benefitting from the law. the ArmedForcesofRepublicKo - protest againsttheformerguerrillagroup the DemocraticLeagueofKosovo, in War Veterans Lawwhichisboycottedby • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity new Minister of Foreign Affairs. ment Minister.IvicaDacic,willbethe Administration andLocalSelf-govern- Minister; andKori Udovicki,alsoPublic Trade, Telecommunications andTourism and Transport Minister;RasimLjajic,also Zorana Mihajlovic,alsoPublicWorks include threedeputy Prime Ministers, covery. The18-membercabinet,will whose maingoalwillbeeconomicre- the new government of Aleksandar Vucic • Belgrade by the city assembly. Progressive Party, is elected mayor of • all her assets in 1947. gally strippedherofcitizenshipand On 24Aprilthedissidentanti-com - On 13and26Aprilthefirstsec- On 9ApriltheConstitutionalCourt On 23ApriltheParliamentapproves On 3ApriltheParliamentpasses On 27ApriltheParliamentvotedin On 24 April Sinisa Mali, from the Duma andHama. Inthelatter, eral rebel positions in Rif Dimashq, offensive totakebackcontrolof sev- • Syria salary cuts and working hours. negotiations, ending their strike over accept the Labour Ministry’s offer in the • March. Tasos Mitsopoulos,whodiedon22 appointed DefenceMinistertoreplace • Cyprus condolences. the Turkish Statehasexpressedits not anapology, thisisthefirsttimethat 1915 bytheOttomanEmpire.Although sands ofArmeniansmassacredin lences tothedescendantsofthou- cep Tayyip Ergodanoffershiscondo- • alist) comes under fire. vatan party(centre-right,Turkish nation- former MPAdnanYildizfromtheAna- killed inIstanbulwhenacarcarryingthe • holds the ban. Despite theruling,governmentup- 20 Marchunderagovernmentdecree. lifts thebanonTwitter inforcesince • Turkey euros. government bonds valued at 2.5 billion a four-year absence, with the issueof returns tothebondmarkets,following Athens, onthesamedaythatGreece outside theCentralBankofGreecein • IMF. measures demanded by the EU and strike isstagedagainsttheausterity • Greece nist dictatorship. abuses hesufferedunderthecommu- years waitingforcompensationthe precarious economic situation, after 20 outside theParliamenttodenouncehis On 13Aprilthearmylaunches an On 15 April dock workers in Limasoll On 3AprilChristoforosFokaidesis On 23AprilthePrimeMinisterRe- On 15Aprilatleastthree people are On 3ApriltheConstitutionalCourt On 10Aprilacarbombexplodes On 9Apriltheyear’sfirstgeneral ly in Fayum and Cairo. amid large-scale Islamist protests, main spokesmen Yasser Mehrez is arrested • Egyptian left. Hamdeen Sabahi,theleader of the field-marshal AbdelFattahAl-Sisi, and two candidatestothepresidency, tion Commissionannouncestheonly • erhood from running in elections. Urgent MattersbanstheMuslimBroth- • for terrorism and expand its reach. the PenalCodetotoughensentences • Egypt limit of its capacity. 93,000 peopleandisstretchedtothe Zaatari camp,whichisalreadyhousing excess ofSyrianrefugeesfromthe ple. Thecampwillhavetoabsorbthe opens, withacapacityfor130,000peo- • Jordan in the first round. of 86votes– two-thirdsthehouse of thecandidatesobtainminimum fails toelectanewPresidentafternone • Lebanon presidential elections. nounces thathewillrunintheupcoming • expires for its complete removal. nal, onthesamedaythatdeadline still holds7.8%oftheirchemicalarse- (OPCW) reportsthattheSyrianregime the ProhibitionofChemicalWeapons United NationsandOrganisationfor • for 3 June. the presidentialelections,scheduled has presentedthefirstcandidacyto party toleratedbytheSyrianregime, Hafiz Hajjar,memberoftheopposition • stronghold, the city of Homs. up its offensive on the main rebel • ous gas attack. town ofKafrZitaisvictimtoapoison- On 25 April Muslim Brotherhood On 20AprilEgypt’sCentralElec- On 15 April the Alexandria Court for On 4Aprilthegovernmentamends On 30 April the Azraq refugee camp On 23and30ApriltheParliament On 28 April Bashar al-Assad an On 27Aprilthejointmissionof On 22ApriltheMPMaherAbdal- On 16ApriltheSyrianarmysteps - -

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 359 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 360 Chronologies Appendices certain basic food products. the removal ofsubsidieson fueland of the most controversial measures is mated at around 2.25 billion euros. One country’s severebudgetdeficit, esti- the currentgovernmenttoreduce the terity programmebeingcarried out by salary bytwo-thirdsinlinewiththeaus- nounces thathewill reducehisown • two others to mark Martyrs’ Day. commutes deathsentencesgivento Marzouki pardons467prisonersand • Tunisia Minister to replace Abdullah al-Thani. rupting attemptstoelectanewPrime the GNCcausingMPstoflee,inter- • after a failed terrorist attack on his life. ister Abdullahal-Thani, resignsaday • of the oil docksin the summer of 2013. members ofthemilitiasthattookcontrol warrants willbeliftedagainstleadersor the rebelsonoilwells,andallarrest formed tolifttheblockadeimposedby ing towhichaspecialsecurityforcewas study theremovalofdecree42,accord- hydrocarbons sincethefallofGaddafi, however, willinvestigatethesalesof Tripoli authorities.TheJusticeMinister, over the other oil-exporting portsto the diately reopentwooilfacilities,andhand Cyrenaican federalistsagreetoimme- • Libya Muslim Brotherhood. med Badie,thespiritualleaderof tiated on25March,includingMoham- the samechargesinasecondtrialini- lamists aresentencedtodeathunder same dayafurther683ofthe919Is- 492 receivelifesentences.Onthe handed down on 24March. The other 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters confirms deathsentencesfor37ofthe • for 26 and 27 May. of thepresidentialelections,scheduled erhood-led coalition,callsforaboycott Support Legitimacy, theMuslimBroth- • On 18AprilMoncefMarzoukian- On 9 April the President Moncef On 29Apriltwogunmenburstinto On 13AprilthecaretakerPrimeMin- On 7Aprilthegovernmentand On 28AprilthejudgeSaidYoussef On 28ApriltheNationalAllianceto approved in a publicreferendum. proval oftheaforementioned veto, zen asaconsequenceofBerna’s ap- tions withtheEU,whichhavebeen fro- into Swiss territory to reactivate rela tions on the entry of Croatianworkers • reached inGeneva. failure tocomplywithagreements tions on Russia facedwiththecountry’s On 29 April the US and EU expandsanc - paign againstthe pro-Russian uprising. chynov announcesananti-terroristcam- the UkrainianPresidentOleksandrTur- defences inEasternEurope.On22April by pro-Russians.NATO strengthensits and theevacuationofbuildingsoccupied armament oftheillegalarmedgroups EU and US agree inGeneva on the dis- civil war.On17AprilUkraine,Russia,the movements areleadingthecountryto Russia warns that Ukraine’s military trol oftheeastandsouthcountry. behind thedestabilisationbytakingcon- Ukraine againaccusesRussiaofbeing control ofvarioussecessionistpositions. the Ukrainian army advances to take back pires for the pro-Russian mutineers and • out Africa. aid between2014and2020through- commits tospending28billioneurosin tween 2014and2017.TheEUalso gration andfavourlegalmobilitybe- Plan isagreedtocombatirregularmi- EU-Africa Summit, in which an Action • EU state medical coverage. pensions and scholarships and expand to raisetheminimumwage,increase ers’ associationsandtradeunionsagree • resentatives (lower house). elected PresidentoftheHouseRep- liamentary majority Rachid Talbi Alami is • Morocco tory obtaining 81.53% of the votes. flika achieveshisfifthconsecutivevic- tial elections in which Abdelaziz Boute- • Algeria On 30AprilSwitzerlandliftsrestric - On 14AprilUkraine’sultimatumex- On 3AprilBrusselshoststhe4th On 29Aprilthegovernment,employ- On 11April the candidate of the par- On 17AprilAlgeriaholdspresiden- - of themsucceeding inenteringSpain, migrants stormtheMelillaborder, half • the streets. Barcelona triggersaweekofunrest in • (8%). and thenewfar-leftparty, Podemos UnitedLeft(IU,10%) (PSOE, 23%), the SpanishSocialistWorkers’ Party followedby ropean elections(26.1%), • attack. party, thePP, inapersonalrevenge co, is shot dead by two members of her provincial government,IsabelCarras- • Spain ance comes third (12.68%). Thecommunist-greenalli- (27.71%). by the two major centre-right parties ahead ofthePortugal Allianceformed in theEuropeanelections(31.46%) • counts. ing the last inspection of its public ac- surveillance aftersuccessfullyconclud- • Portugal mentary elections. new government. The EU holds parlia- the newelectionlaw. Algeriaformsa presidential elections.Tunisia passes Egypt, AbdelFattah Al-Sisiwinsthe taker governmentisannounced.In same monththatacontroversialcare- and the forces of Khalifa Haftar in the clashes betweenthearmy, Islamists in Libya continues to worsen with new President for the country. Security Lebanese Parliamentfailstoelecta rebels towithdrawfromHoms.The continues toadvanceandforcesthe collapse of a mine. The Syrian army anti-government protestsfollowingthe severe flooding. In Turkey there are new Bosnia, SerbiaandCroatiaarehitby The SlovenianPrimeMinisterresigns. the UMPSecretaryGeneralresigns. face massimmigrantarrivals.InFrance, assistance to an end.Spainand Italy Portugal bringsits international financial May 2014 On 28Maysome1,000illegal im- On 26Maytheevictionofasquat in On 25MaythePPwinsinEu- On 12MaythePresidentofLeon’s On 25MaytheSocialistPartywins On 17MayPortugal endsitTroika grants are intercepted in Sicilian waters • za Italia (centre-right, 16.81%). Movement (populist,21.15%)and For- the vote,followedbyFive Star pean electionswithahistoric40.9% of • centre-right). his party, thePeopleofFreedom(PDL, association ofaformercolleaguefrom of acourtinvestigationintothemafia ter ClaudioScajolaisarrestedaspart • Italy 6 May after being shot in Nice. Grimaldis, diesfrominjuriessufferedon of Monaco’sseconddynastyafterthe • Monaco in Calais. camps holding650irregularmigrants • election campaign. nancing ofNicolasSarkozy’s2012 tion intheBygmalioncase,onfi- tions andoverfreshevidenceofcorrup- the poorresultsinEuropeanelec- signs asPresidentoftheUMPowingto • PS (14%). servative UMP(20.8%)andtheruling pean elections(25%)aheadofthecon- • 2008, in the biggest fraud in history. billion eurosforSocieteGeneralein imprisonment forcausinglossesof4.9 rogue tradersentencedtothreeyears’ over attheFrench-Italianborder, • France returned from Syria. ning attacksinMoroccousingfighters jihadist cellinMelilla,whichwasplan- • earmarked foraidprojectsinNicaragua. prison for embezzling 1.8 million euros, Blasco issentencedtoeightyearsin of SolidarityandCitizenshipRafael the Valencian government’s department • date, amidmountingtensioninthecity. in thebiggestcoordinatedassaultto On 31Maymorethan3,600immi - On 25MaythePDwinsinEuro - On 8MaytheformerIndustryMinis- On 21 May Helene Pastor, a member On 28 May the police dismantle two On 27MayJean-FrançoisCopere- On 25MaytheFNwinsEuro- On 19 May Jerome Kerviel is handed On 30Maythepolicedismantlea On 28MaytheformerCouncillorof ing the government. osti, SrdjanSkoro,issackedforcriticis - state-owned newspaperVecernje Nov - • Serbia Prosecutor to open an investigation. as highlyirregular,leadingtheState scribed bytheoppositionandobservers municipalities inlocalelectionsde- Party ofSocialistswinsin11out12 • Montenegro 24 dead. 70,000 peopleevacuatedandatleast more than100,000housesdestroyed, est floods in 120 years, which leave left withoutdrinkingwaterafterthelarg- • Bosnia and Herzegovina wing green party, ORAH (9.42%). coalition (29.93%) and the new left- Kukuriku, asocialdemocratic-liberal pean elections (41.42%) ahead of (HDZ, conservative)winsintheEuro- led bytheCroatianDemocraticUnion • Croatia 10.5%). party Verjamem (centre-left,green tion (16.46%)andthenewreformist the NewSlovenia-People’sPartycoali- pean elections(24.86%)followedby (SDS, centre-right)winsintheEuro- • port from her party Positive Slovenia. Bratusek resignsduetoalackofsup- • Slovenia Party (PN,Christiandemocracy, 40%). against theconservativeNationalist the Europeanelections(PL,53%) • Malta 43,000 immigrantshavearrivedinItaly. the beginningof2014,morethan ending a month ofmass arrivals. Since On 9Maythechiefeditorof the On 25MaytherulingDemocratic On 19 May amillion Bosnians are On 25Maythecentre-rightcoalition On 25MaytheDemocraticParty On 5MaythePrimeMinisterAlenka On 25MaytheLabourPartywinsin also the victor in the European elections. most votedpartyonanationallevel and where Syriza(far-left)wins,thesecond except AtticaandCentralMacedonia, most votesandtakescontrolinallregions New Democracy(ND,centre-right) wins regional elections. On the national level, first andsecondroundofitsmunicipal • pean elections. lows GoldenDawntorunintheEuro- • the neo-Nazi party. further twolawmakerswhoabandoned gos GermenisandNikosMichos,a nity fromGoldenDawnmembersGior- • that succeeds ERT. ing, thenewpublictelevisionchannel • Greece two days of unrestin the capital. nian inGjorcePetrov, Skopje,sparks Macedonian at the hands of an Alba- • which it considers to be fraudulent. against the victoryof VMRO-DPMNE, won intheAprilelectionsprotest Party refusestotakeupthe34seats • FYROM by EULEX. being transferredtoMitrovicaandtried pital inPristinatwodaysearliertoavoid to thepoliceafter escaping fromahos- eration Army (UÇK)fighters surrender • nority onthelawtocreateaKosovo army. June, duetotheblockbySerbianmi- to allow earlyelections to be held on 8 • which will begin in July. a preludetoaccessionnegotiations, and AssociationAgreement,considered clude negotiationsontheStabilisation • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity and Romania this month. that havealsoaffectedBosnia,Croatia reaches 51asaresultofseverefloods • On 18 and 25 May Greece holds the On 18and25MayGreeceholdsthe On 12MaytheSupremeCourtal- On 7MaytheParliamentliftsimmu- On 4MayNERITbeginsbroadcast- On 19Maythedeathofayoung On 1MaytheSocialDemocratic On 23MaythreeformerKosovo Lib- On 7MaytheParliamentisdissolved On 2MaytheEUandKosovo con- On 29MaythedeathtollinSerbia

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 361 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 362 Chronologies Appendices with theregime on 2May. Meanwhile, drawal fromHoms,whichwasagreed • Syria democratic DIKO (10.8%). ist-Leninist, 26.9%) and the social Party ofWorking People(AKEL,Marx - (37.7%) followedbytheProgressive centrist) winsintheEuropeanelections tive) andthenewEuropeanParty(EK, the DemocraticRally(DYSY, conserva- • reunification talks. Joe BidenarrivesinCyprustorelaunch • damages. dents oftheKarpaspeninsulaformoral intervention and60milliontotheresi- went missinginTurkey’s 1974 military the familiesof1,456peoplethat pay 30millioneurosincompensationto Human RightsrulesthatTurkey should • the international financialbailout. enforced toavoidcapitalflightduring strictions oncashingbankcheques, • Cyprus on YouTube, issued in March. orders thatthegovernmentliftban • and discrimination they suffer. onstrators denouncingthepersecution Istanbul whenpoliceshootatAlevidem- • tack a military checkpoint in Tunceli. membersofthelatterat- Party (PKK), ist organisationtheKurdistanWorkers’ between thegovernmentandterror- • bility in the disaster. ecutives arearrestedfortheirresponsi- the government.24SomaHoldingex- unrest andwidespreadprotestsagainst in Turkish history. The incident sparks in Soma, in the biggest mining accident are killedinanexplosionacoalmine • ernment protestors. clashes betweenpoliceandanti-gov- tional Workers’ DayinIstanbulend • Turkey On 7Maytherebelsbegintheirwith - On 25 May the coalition formed by On 21 May the US vice-President On 12 May the European Court of On 2 May Cyprus removes the re- On 29MaytheConstitutionalCourt On 22Maytwopeoplearekilledin On 16May, despitetheceasefire On 13 May more than 300 miners On 1MayralliesheldonInterna- Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi wins 96.91% of the Abdel FattahAl-Sisi wins96.91%ofthe dential elections.Witha44.4%turnout, • with the army inSinai. Ansar Beital-Maqdis,iskilledinfighting • in the Presidential Palaces case. four years’ imprisonmentforcorruption two sons are sentenced to three and • of violence. 10 to15-yearprisonsentencesforacts • Party from running in the elections. the leadersofDemocraticNational • on 3 July. for violent acts committed after the coup to 102MuslimBrotherhoodmembers hands downten-yearprisonsentences • ist militants. with thesecurityforcesandanti-Islam- protests inAlexandriaendclashes • Egypt dential duties. assumes provisionalcontrolofpresi- due to a lackof a quorum, the cabinet cessor to the President Michel Suleiman attempts inAprilandMaytoelectasuc- • Lebanon in Aleppo. bollah’s head strategists, is shot dead • committed in Syria. gate thoseresponsibleforwarcrimes International CriminalCourttoinvesti- proposal intheSecurityCouncilfor • an FSA attack. Hussein IshaqiskilledinDamascus • conflict. tional commitmenttostoptheSyrian Brahimi resigns over the lack of interna- Arab LeagueenvoytoSyriaLakhdar • dreds dead. FSA andIslamistmilitias,leavinghun- inces, aswellitsfightingwiththe throughout the month in several prov- the regime’sbombingraidscontinue On 26-27 May Egypt holds presi- On 22MayShadial-Menei,head of On 23MayHosniMubarakandhis On 18May163Islamistsaregiven On 6 May the Egyptian judiciary bans On 3MaytheCairoCriminalCourt On 2MaynewMuslimBrotherhood On 25Mayafterfiveunsuccessful On 25MayFauziAyub,oneofHez- On 22MayRussiavetoesaFrench On 17MaytheAirDefenceChief On 13MaytheUnitedNationsand have beencarried outbyAnsaral-Sh- Minister LotfiBenJeddoubelieved to killed inanattackagainsttheInterior • tection of the Revolution. the IslamistNationalLeaguefor Pro- First Instanceordersthedissolution of • absolute majority. proves thenewelectorallawwithan • Tunisia votes. attain theminimumquorumof120 gitimacy ofhiselection,whichfailedto the judiciaryissuesarulingonle- power overtoAhmedal-Maiteequntil of Abdullahal-Thani refusestohand • on his life in Tripoli. Ahmed al-Maiteeqsurvivesanattempt • June. agrees toholdearlyelectionson25 • of Ahmed al-Maiteeq. and whichsupportedtheappointment ist campthatdominatestheParliament lamist militias from Libya and the Islam- gress. TheirmainaimistoousttheIs- Khalifa Haftar, attack the National Con- Sawaiq brigades,alliedwithgeneral • ist Mohamed Dersi. exchange forthereleaseofterror- ducted inAprilTripoli, isfreedin sador Fawazal-Aitan,whowasab- • Sharia. murdered in Benghazi by Ansar al- Intelligence ServicesinCyrenaica,is • ment Speaker. firmed asPrimeMinisterbytheParlia- • dreds dead. continue throughoutMayleavinghun- ifa HaftarwhichspreadtoTripoli and ist militias and troops of general Khal in Benghazibetweenthearmy, Islam- • Libya obtains 3.09%. votes. HisonlyrivalHamdeenSabahi On 27Mayfourpoliceofficers are On 26MaytheTunisian Courtof On 2MaytheNationalAssemblyap- On 28Maytheoutgoinggovernment On 27 May the new Prime Minister On 20MaytheNationalCongress On 18Maytheal-Qaqaandas- On 13 May the Jordanian ambas- On 8 May Ibrahim Senussi, head of On 6MayAhmedal-Maiteeq is con- On 1 May violent clashes break out - restore peace in Ukraine and keep the roshenko (55%)winswithpromises to tions inwhichthemagnatePetro Po- Ukraine holdsearlypresidential elec- control ofpro-Russianareas,on25 May operation launchedbyKievtorecover Russia. Meanwhile,theanti-terrorist ence fromUkraineandintentionstojoin with bothprovincesdeclaringindepend- dums areheldinDonetskandLugansk • institutions worldwide. highest amongallinternationalfinancial paid-in capital:80billioneuros,the Mechanism reachesitstargetlevelof • EU of blocking theelectoral reform law. tions inJuneandaccusethegovernment decide toboycottthepresidentialelec- Forum forDemocracyandUnity(FNDU) • Mauritania versity of Fez. tween Islamists and leftists at the Uni- student on24Aprilduringclashesbe- under threatfollowingthedeathofa university campuses if public order is security forcesauthorisationto enter • Morocco believes is a farce. it will not participate in a reform that it 13 oppositionparties,announcesthat Forces forChangecoalition,formedby and social freedoms. On 19 May the opposition, theseparationofpowers Prime Minister,increasedrightsforthe some ofthepresidentialpowersto package, which includes delegating the detailsofconstitutionalreform • and no major ministerial changes. vealed, whichincludejust13newfaces delmalek Sellal’s new cabinet are re- • Algeria Mountains. eration underwayintheChaambi aria inresponsetoananti-terroristop- On 12Mayindependencereferen- On 1MaytheEuropeanStability On 3MaythepartiesofNational On 6 May the government gives the On 16Maythegovernmentunveils On 5Maythe30ministriesofAb- of Asturias is proclaimed King Felipe VI. abdication law. On19JunethePrince On 11JunetheParliamentapproves the • Spain pensions andreducethepublicdeficit. 2015 toguaranteethecontinuityof raises socialsecuritypaymentsasof draft lawtoreformpensions,which • Portugal presidential elections. eral electionisheld.Mauritaniaholds of Ahmedal-Maiteeqandanearlygen- Supreme Courtrejectstheappointment with 96.91%ofthevote.InLibya, see AbdelFattahAl-Sisitakevictory the resultsofpresidentialelections fence agreementwithIsrael.InEgypt, Syria andIraq.Jordanreachesade- already hascontrol oflargeareas of with therapidadvanceofISIS,which ousting therebelsfromAleppo,faced taking back Homs,the army focuses on the negotiatingprocess.InSyria,after strators, paralleltothedevelopmentof between thepoliceandPKKdemon- cabinet. InTurkey clashesbreakout EU accession. Greece reshuffles its office. Albania becomes a candidate for ROM thenewgovernmentassumes Kosovo holdsearlyelections.InFY reach anagreementondualnationality. Serbia andMontenegroareunableto struggle withmassimmigrantarrivals. los Itothethrone.Italycontinues In Spain,FelipeVIsucceedsJuanCar- June 2014 parties is cause for concern. in Eurosceptic,populistandextremist over theeconomiccrisis.Thesharprise because ofthewidespreaddiscontent their weightintheEuropeanParliament The threeparliamentarygroupslose and theLiberalsDemocrats(70). followed bytheSocialistParty(186) Party (centre-right) wins with212 seats, tary elections.TheEuropeanPeople’s • rapprochement process with the EU. country together, as well as continue the On 2JuneJuanCarlosIabdicates. On 5Junethegovernmentadoptsa On 27MaytheEUholdsparliamen- - gio Orsonianda further34peopleare • Italy struggle. Front ofCorsica gives up its armed • congress is held in November. ly leadthegovernmentuntilageneral Fillon andJean-PierreRaffarinwilljoint- Prime MinistersAlainJuppé,François ing Secretary General and the former Chatel willbecometheparty’snewact- the formerMinisterofEducationLuc • tor’s liberalisation, becomes indefinite. secutive daysofprotestagainstthesec- stage astrike,which,aftereightcon- • sions be increased. ers protestinParistodemandtheirpen- • Jewish Museum in Brussels on24May. ist accusedofkillingfourpeopleinthe arrest inMarseilleofaFrenchArabjihad- an anti-jihadistoperation,adayafterthe ple intheParisareaandProvence • France politics. nounces thatheisretiringfromactive leader Alfredo Perez-Rubalcaba an- General, formerministerandopposition • against Princess Cristinade Borbon. Noos corruptioncaseupholdscharges • preme Court. allows themtobetriedonlybytheSu- turias and their respective consorts and queens, the Prince and Princess of As- nity toemeritusandreigningkings Power isapproved,whichgivesimmu- • Islands. thorises oilprospectingintheCanary • raise VAT. as of2015,resistingEUpressureto proves incomeandcorporatetaxcuts • network sending jihadiststo Syria. mantles aninternationalrecruitment in Madridapoliceoperationthatdis- • On 4June the mayor of Venice Gior- On 26JunetheNationalLiberation On 11JunetheUMPannouncesthat On 10JuneFrenchrailwayworkers On 3Juneoverathousandpension- On 2Junethepolicearrestfourpeo- On 26JunethePSOESecretary On 26Junethejudgeoverseeing On 26JunethereformbillonJudicial On 25JunetheSupremeCourtau- On 20Junethegovernmentap- On 16Juneninepeoplearearrested

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 363 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 364 Chronologies Appendices grade callsfor the resignationof • Serbia port Summit. Montenegro membership at the New- • chapters. open threeaccessionnegotiation • nationality end without an agreement. their respectivecitizens’ rightstodual between SerbiaandMontenegroover • Montenegro dependence. anti-fraud operationsinceBosnianin- ed oforganisedcrimeinthebiggest ficials ofthetaxationauthoritysuspect- • in theupcomingparliamentaryelections. Karadzic, will run as a candidate for Pale Bosnian SerbPresidentRadovan Jovicevic, the daughter oftheformer Party announcesthatSonjaKaradzic- • Bosnia and Herzegovina issue through international arbitration. sula, bothcountriesagreetoresolvethe the sovereigntyofPrevlakaPenin- tween CroatiaandMontenegrofailover • Croatia the 2016 Green Capital award. • Slovenia and services. approve andoverseepubliccontracts Anti-Corruption Agencythepowerto a law-decreethatgivestheNational • links with the mafia. cello Dell'Utriissenttoprisonforhis • tra are arrested in the Bagheria district. • protect the city from the Adriatic Sea. Dam construction project, designedto arrested forcorruptionintheMoses On 6JuneademonstrationinBel - On 25JuneNATO refusestooffer On 24JunetheEUandMontenegro On 17Junesixyearsofnegotiations On 18Junethepolicearrest30of- On 18JunetheSerbianDemocratic On 2Juneafternegotiationsbe- On 24 June the EU gives Ljubljana On 13Junethegovernmentadopts On 13JunetheformerSenatorMar- On 5June31membersofCosaNos- Credins Bank,is murdered in Tirana. • cial candidatestatusforEUaccession. • Three days of fighting ensue. Europe’s largest cannabis producers. trolled byorganisedcrimeand one of eration toenterLazarat,avillagecon- • Albania escalation in ethnic tensions. edonians in2012,whichtriggeredan imprisoned for the murder of five Mac- • maintains its parliamentary boycott. the electoralresultsasfraudulentand Democratic Partycontinuestoconsider riculture Minister.TheoppositionSocial Cvetkov (SocialistParty)becomesAg- Justice ministersrespectivelyandMihail from DUI,becometheEnvironmentand Nurhan IzairiandAdnanJashari,both (VMRO-DPMNE) takesoverinDefence, vironment toEducation,ZoranJolevski the coalitionDUIparty, movesfromEn- main unchanged.AbdilaqimAdemifrom announced inwhichmostministriesre- • FYROM sovo Serbs and Kosovo Albanians. are clashesonthebridgebetweenKo- containing bushes.On22Junethere by anotherconsistingoflargeplantpots from crossing. It is replaced hourslater since 2011tostopKosovo Albanians vica bridge, which had been in place the concretebarricadefromMitro- • elections, ismurderedin Pristina. cratic Partycandidate intherecent • party (13,59%). and pro-independence Vetëvendosje League (LDK,conservative,25.24%) of thevotesaheadDemocratic tions. TherulingPDKwinswith30.38% • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity thesis. accused ofplagiarisingpartshisPhD Interior MinisterNebojsaStefanovic, On 26JuneArtanSanto,CEO of On 24JuneAlbaniaisgrantedoffi - On 16Junethepolicelaunchanop- On 30 June six ethnic Albanians are On 8Junethenewgovernmentis On 18JuneKosovo Serbsremove On 15JuneElvisPista,theDemo- On 8JuneKosovo holdsearlyelec- and other towns. has alreadygivenitcontrolofMosul, strongholds onSyria’seasternborder carried out throughout June from its ISIS militias,whoselightningoffensive ernments joinforcestofightagainst the • al-Assad with 88.7% of the votes. The official results givevictorytoBashar dential electionsinmorethan50years. • Syria tagion of the Greekcrisis in Cyprus. ments inGreekbondsduringthecon- ing misleadinginformationoverinvest- board membersandexecutivesforgiv- ple’s BankofCyprusandseveralformer fines ontheBankofCyprus,Peo- change Commissionimposeshuge • Cyprus PKK memberswholaydowntheirarms. measures willbeadoptedtoreintegrate impasse. Thedocumentmaintainsthat ganisation, which are currently at an negotiations with the PKK terrorist or- provide alegalframeworkforthepeace a draftlawtotheParliamentthatwould • Sahinkaya and general Kenan Evren. ers ofthe1980coup,generalTahsin life sentencestothetwosurvivinglead- • the area. plans toconstructmilitaryoutpostsin since May against the government’s throughout thesoutheastofcountry end toproteststhathavespread roads in Diyarbakir and Mus to put an Kurdish demonstratorsblockingseveral • Turkey its presence inthe coalition government. Socialist Movement (PASOK) increases as Finance Minister. The Panhellenic Hardouvelis replacesYannis Stournaras sults in the European elections. Gikas following NewDemocracy’spoorre- Samaras announcesacabinetreshuffle • Greece On 16JunetheSyrianandIraqigov - On 3 June Syria holds its first presi- On 6June the Securities and Ex On 26 June the government submits On 18JuneacourtinAnkaragives On 4Junesecurityforcesdisperse On 9 June the Prime Minister Antonis - for the first time. which criminalisessexualharassment the CouncilofMinisterson4 June, Mansour enactsthelawapproved by • the votes. Abdel FattahAl-Sisiwith96.91% of 28 June, which confirms victory for presidential elections on 26, 27 and reveals thedefinitiveresultsof • Egypt hadist threat from Syria and Iraq. a defenceagreementfacedwiththeji- • long legal battle. deport himinJuly2013afteradecade- in theUnitedKingdom,whichagreedto 1998, inarulingthatcausescommotion alleged involvementinaterroristplot not guiltyofterrorismoffencesforhis finds theradicalpreacherAbuQatada • Jordan Hezbollah bastion in Beirut. injured inabombattackTayuneh, a curity inspectoriskilledand20civilians • Lebanon Islamic State (IS). The grouptherebychangesitsnameto with AbuBakral-Baghdadiasitsleader. spread throughouttheMuslimworld, intention tocreateacaliphatethatwill hamed al-Adnani declaresthe group’s Ramadan, theISISspokesmanAbuMo- • lilah al-Bashir for corruption. mand anddismissalofitsleaderAbde- the dissolutionofFSAhighcom- ter ofNCSROFAhmadTumah orders • Iraqi border. legiance toISISinAlbuKamal,onthe Front, awingofal-Qaeda,pledgesal- • presence in the area. positions in Syria and strengthens its sponse, theIsraeliarmyattacksrebel Israeli-controlled GolanHeights.Inre- the Syrian border leaves one dead in the • On 6JunetheactingPresidentAdly On 3JunetheElectionCommission On 28JuneJordanandIsraelreach On 26JunetheStateSecurityCourt On 23Juneatleastonenationalse- On 29Junetomarkthebeginningof On 27JunetheinterimPrimeMinis- On 25Juneafactionoftheal-Nusra On 22 June a missile launched from Salwa Bughaigisis murderedinBenghazi. • Benghazi as of 1August. Representatives andwillbebased in which willbeknownastheHouse of deputies ofthenewlegislativepower, mentary electionstoelectthe 200 • tion and exports of crudeoil. have systematicallyparalysedproduc- to theconstantstrikesandproteststhat tional budgetsincetherevolution,owing continues the trend to lower the na worth 47billiondollars,afigurethat government in January. The budget is state budgetfor2014,issuedbythe • on 11 September 2012. attack ontheUSembassyinBenghazi sar al-Shariaandmainsuspectforthe Abu Kattalah,aprominentleaderofAn- • Maiteeq as unconstitutional. pointment ofthePrimeMinisterAhmed June the Supreme Court rejects the ap • lem al-Hassi resigns. • controlled by Khalifa Haftar. a suicide bomb attack at a military base • Sharia Islamist militiasin Benghazi. general Khalifa Haftar and Ansar al- fighting betweenthearmyandforcesof • Libya ity to balance the nationaleconomy. nounces thestartofaperiodauster- • and Assem Abdel Maged. Erian, Safwatel-Hegazy, BassemOuda ing MohammedBeltagyandEssamel- with another 13 Islamist leaders, includ- Badie issentencedtodeath,together hood’s spiritualleaderMohammed • Minister Mamduh al-Damati. Minister Ashraf Salman; and Antiquities Minister SamehShukri;Investments 34 membersarenew, includingForeign are swornintotheirposts.Just13ofthe new cabinet,headedbyIbrahimMehleb, • years inprisonfordisruptingpublicorder. Fattah and24othersaresentencedto15 • On 26 June the lawyer and activist On 25JuneLibyaholdsearlyparlia- On 22JunetheGNCapproves On 15JunetheUScapturesAhmed On 9Juneinvirtueofitsrulingon5 On 5JunetheintelligencechiefSa- On 4 June four soldiers are killed in On 2Juneeightpeoplearekilledin On 24JuneAbdelFattahAl-Sisian- On 19 June the Muslim Brother- On 17Junethe34membersof On 11JunetheactivistAlaaAbdel - - dalusian Regional GovernmentMagda- Minister and former member of the An- • the European Parliament. of aEuroscepticparliamentarygroup in Star Movementenablestheformation the populist British UKIPandItalian Five • look forasolutiontotheUkrainiancrisis. and PetroPoroshenko scheduletalksto try continues. On 18 June VladimirPutin rebels intheeastandsouthofcoun- control ofareasheldbypro-Russian Meanwhile, Kiev’s offensive to take back ply over its failure to meet payments. which Moscowcuts Ukraine’s gas sup- Ukraine end without an agreement, after ed negotiationsbetweenRussiaand • ing to Europe. threat ofradicalIslamistfightersreturn- vices andpoliceforcesfacedwiththe collaboration oftheirintelligenceser- agree inLuxembourg to increase the Kingdom, IrelandandtheNetherlands Germany, Sweden, Denmark, the United • logue. sia andoptsinsteadfordiplomaticdia- The G7rulesoutnewsanctionsonRus- tions, overitsroleintheUkrainiancrisis. world’s most industrially developed na- sion ofRussiafromthegroup scheduled inSochifollowingtheexpul- Summit, which replaces the meeting • EU Aziz wins with 82% of the votes. current President Mohamed Ould Abdel and Unity, the mainopposition party. The ed bytheNationalForumforDemocracy presidential electionswhichareboycott- • Mauritania State are released. militias operatingoutsideoftheLibyan abducted in Tripoli in April by armed • Syria and80%ofthemformpartIS. 2,400 Tunisian jihadists are fighting in Lotfi Ben Jeddou acknowledges that • Tunisia On 25June the former Public Works On 18Junetheagreementbetween On 16JunetwodaysofEU-mediat- On 5JuneBelgium,France,Spain, On 5 June Brussels hosts the G7 On 21JuneMauritaniaholdsearly On 29JunetwoTunisian diplomats On 25 June the Interior Minister

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 365 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 366 Chronologies Appendices jump the Melilla border fence. Saharans unsuccessfully attempt to • Spain money laundering. Santo bank,isarrestedonchargesof former PresidentofBancoEspirito month. On24JulyRicadoSalgado, payments whichexpireattheendof management, unabletomakedebtre- requests tobeplacedundercontrolled • Portugal Maghreb. with increasingjihadistactivityinthe Tunisia tightensecuritymeasuresfaced independence. Algeria, Morocco and eration andsuffersitsworstattacksince launches alarge-scaleanti-jihadistop- groups loyaltoKhalifaHaftar.Tunisia government forces and paramilitary in theviolencebetweenIslamistmilitias, Gaza andIsrael.InLibya,thereisasurge connection with the conflict between Egypt, theviolenceinSinaiintensifies continuing inflowofSyrianrefugees.In warns ofitsincapacitytocopewiththe to electanewPresident,andthecountry Aleppo. Lebanoncontinuesitsstruggle army preparestolaunchanoffensiveon In Syria,IScontinuestoadvanceandthe tranche ofitseconomicrescuepackage. Minister resigns. Cyprus receives a new mentary elections.InSerbia,theFinance Presidency. Sloveniaholdsearlyparlia- the publicdeficit.ItalyassumesEU reform planandnewmeasurestoreduce France approvesafar-reachingterritorial former Catalonian President JordiPujol. tion scandalisuncoveredinvolvingthe clared bankrupt.InSpain,amajorcorrup- In Portugal, BancoEspiritoSantoisde- July 2014 with the EU. Georgia signassociationagreements • trade union figures in Andalusia. trial, whichaffectsseveralpoliticaland being charged in the ERE corruption of theEuropeanInvestmentBankafter lena Alvarezresignsasvice-President On 23Julyaroundathousandsub- On 18JulyBancoEspiritoSanto On 26JuneUkraine,Moldaviaand minimum of20,000 inhabitants. municipalities sothattheyhave a removes their general councils, joining ing. Itmaintainsthedepartments but tive layers and reduce public spend- part ofamovetosimplifyadministra - from 22to13.Theterritorialreform is reduce the number of French regions approves thegovernmentproposalto • Paris and Sarcelles. pro-Palestinians and pro-Israelis in end inseveraldaysofclashesbetween Israeli offensive in Gaza. The protests onstrations inParisprotestagainstthe • mentary vote. socialist MPsabstainfromtheparlia- launched bythegovernmentand33 announce aboycottonlabourforum nies andapensionfreeze.Trade unions curity paymentsandtaxesforcompa- through widespreadcutsonsocialse- save 50billioneurosinthreeyears proves thegovernment’sproposalto • campaign. lar financingofthe2007election in acourtinvestigationintotheirregu- and violationofprofessionalsecrecy with corruption, influence peddling istrate GilbertAzibertarecharged Herzog andtheSupremeCourtmag- Nicolas Sarkozy, his lawyer Thierry • rights. that it does not violate any human lic spacesinforcesince2011,ruling on wearingthefullIslamicveilinpub- Human Rights upholds the French ban • France Secretary Generalof PSOE. • ent tax havens. ros worthofundeclaredfundsindiffer- he admitstopossessingmillionsofeu- Jordi Pujol issues a statement in which historic figureofCataloniannationalism • charges. prison onfourseparatecorruption the SupremeCourttofouryearsin Castellon Carlos Fabraissentencedby • On 23JulytheNationalAssembly On 19and23Julytwolargedem- On 8 July the National Assembly ap- On 2 July the former President On 1JulytheEuropeanCourtof On 27JulyPedroSancheziselected On 25JulytheformerPresidentand On 23JulytheformerPresidentof Vujovic. reforms. Krstic is replaced by Dusan sandar Vucic overtheeconomic ments withthePrimeMinister Alek zar Krstic resigns due to disagree- • Serbia mass grave in Tomasica. bodies werefoundinthewar’sbiggest Prijedor areburiedinKozarac. Their by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1992 in • in July 1995. hands ofBosnianSerbsinSrebrenica murder ofsome300Bosniansatthe blue helmetsfailingtopreventthe the Netherlandsispartlyliablefortheir • Bosnia and Herzegovina same-sex couples. the civilunionlaw, whichcouldbenefit • Croatia tions. earlier, winstheearlylegislativeelec- his self-namedpartyformedsixweeks • Slovenia way from Libya. overboard dozensofimmigrantsontheir accused ofmurderingandthrowing • in the Ruby case. Minister Silvio Berlusconi in June 2013 minors forsexgiventotheformerPrime tence forabuseofpowerandsoliciting overturned theseven-yearprisonsen- • two days exceeds 2,600. intercepted in Italian waters in the last • tional role. and strengthening Europe’s interna- employment, reinforcingcitizens’ rights of generatingeconomicgrowthand month EUPresidencywiththepriorities • Italy On 12 July the Finance Minister La On 20July284peoplemurdered On 16JulyaDutchcourtrulesthat On 16JulytheParliamentapproves On 13JulyMiroCerar,theheadof On 22Julythepolicearrestfivemen On 18JulytheMilanCourtofAppeal On 7Julythenumberofimmigrants On 1JulyItalyassumesthesix- - - mediator for Syria. Mistura tosucceedLakhdarBrahimi as eral Ban ki-Moon names Staffan de • on al-Talae, Raqqa. killed inanairstrikebytheSyrian army • month. in thecityintensifiesthroughout ing its final offensive on the city. Fighting positions aroundAleppobeforelaunch- • al-Bahra as its President. negotiator attheGenevaSummitHadi • Syrian arsenal. tonnes ofchemicalmaterialsfromthe begins itstaskofneutralising600 • Saghir in Aleppo. • control. leaving mostoftheprovinceunderIS draws from two towns in Deir al-Zour • Syria quired adjustments. that Nicosiahasundertakenthere- euro rescuepackageafterconfirming lion-euro trancheofCyprus’ 10-billion- mend thedisbursementofa436-mil- • Cyprus lanpinar. and the PKK are killed in clashes in Cey Kurdish Democratic Union party(PYD) diers andsixmilitantsfromtheSyrian • rested under suspicion of espionage. leged government corruption are ar- participating inaninvestigationintoal- • Turkey minorities and rival ethnicAlbanians. against Serbs,Romaandotherethnic humanity afterthewarendedin1999, high commands of war crimes against tive Task ForceforKosovo accusesUÇK • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity On 10 July the UN Secretary Gen- On 9Julyatleast20ISmilitants are On 9Julythearmedforcessecures On 8JulyNCSROFelectsitschief On 7JulytheUSshipCapeRyan On 6JulytheSyrianarmytakesKifr On 3Julytheal-NusraFrontwith- On 25JulytheEUandIMFrecom- On 23 July atleast two Turkish sol- On 22 Julyatleast 67 police officers On 28JulytheEUSpecialInvestiga- - swears allegiance to IS. scribes al-Qaedaasillegitimate and danian SalafiJihadistMovement de- • incident of this kind on Jordanian soil. er ismurderedinAmman,the first • Jordan ends in clashes with Sunni militias. bourhood ofJabalMohsen.Theraid planning attacksontheAlawiteneigh- ture Hussam al-Sabbagh, accused of a raidinBabal-Tabaneh, Tripoli, tocap- • of its national sovereignty in 2014. curity Councilover516Israeliviolations a complainttotheUnitedNationsSe- • with belonging to IS. • a third of the country’s population. ian refugees,whichalreadyamountsto collapse facedwiththenumberofSyr- be headingforeconomicandpolitical Rashid Derbas warns that Lebanon may • new President fail. ninth parliamentarysessionstoelecta • Lebanon ation there. faced with the deterioration of the situ- tional aidof175millioneurosforSyria, • mid-month. Shaar gasfieldinHoms,capturedbyIS • Turkey. convoy, whichentersthecountryfrom rival in Syria of the first humanitarian aid • month. ernment andformanewonewithin its decision to dissolveitsinterim gov- • mascus. withdrawals in several areas around Da- • points Najahal-Attarasvice-President. • dozens dead. the Syrian-Lebaneseborderleaving Nusra Frontwageafive-daybattleon • On 23 July the youth wing of the Jor- On 12 July aSyrian rebel command- On 19Julysecurityforcescarryout On 17JulytheForeignMinistryfiles On 7July 28 people are charged On 3JulytheSocialAffairsMinister On 2and29Julytheeighth On 29JulytheEUapprovesaddi- On 27 July the army retakes the On 24JulytheUNreportsar- On 22JulylaNCSROFannounces On 21JulyrebelfightersforceIS On 20JulyBasharal-Assadreap- On 17JulyHezbollahandtheal- to protectitsoil facilities,exportsand United Nations Security Councilforhelp • al-Berkawi isassassinatedin Derna. Justice andConstructionParty Fariha • agree to a temporaryceasefire. lasts until20July. On30Julybothsides July a ceasefire is declared which only draw theirstafffromthecountry. On18 TheUNandseveralstateswith- (dawn). under thenameofOperationFajr militias andanallianceofIslamist over controloftheareabetweenZintan Airport isclosedtotrafficduefighting • Libya brigadier generals in Sheikh Zuwaid. after themurder,on25July, oftwo four othersduringanoperationinSinai death ofsevenmilitantsandarrest • killed. did, inwhich22policeofficerswere a bordercheckpointinal-Wadi al-Ge- responsibility foranattackon19July a day after Ansar Bait al-Maqdis claims a further 15 during an operation in Sinai, death oftwomilitantsandthearrest • after Morsi’s ousting. ers to 25 years’ imprisonment for rioting tences threeMohamedMorsisupport- • Company. to renationalisetheTanta FlaxandOil for refusingtoimplementacourtorder former PrimeMinisterHeshamQandil the one-yearprisonsentencegivento • 78% tolowertheState’sbudgetdeficit. • ther 12 people are arrested. the northofSinaiPeninsula.Afur- tants arekilledinanarmyoperation • Morsi. versary ofthefallPresidentMohamed are killedinCairoduringthefirstanni- • which left two police officers dead. blasts near the presidential palace, Misr claimsresponsibilityforthebomb • Egypt On 17 July the government asks the On 17JulytheformerMPfrom the On 13JulytheTripoli International On 29Julythearmyannounces On 23Julythearmyannounces On 21 July an Egyptian court sen- On 13JulyacourtinCairooverturns On 4Julyfuelpricesrisebyupto On 3Julyatleast17Islamistmili- On 3Julyatleastfivedemonstrators On 1JulythearmedgroupAjnad

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 367 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 368 Chronologies Appendices tary convoy in Sidi Bel Abbes claims the tary convoyinSidi BelAbbesclaimsthe • Algeria will replace al-Hamedi. Chaambi. GeneralMohssenal-Farissi operation being carried out inMount ment comesduringtheanti-terrorism citing personalreasons.Theannounce- Mohammed Salahal-Hamediresigns • pendence. the worstattacksinceTunisian inde - which leftatleast15soldiersdead,in Sharia, intheChaambiMountains, brigade, asplintergroupofAnsaral- 16 JulybytheKatibetOkbaIbnNafaa The movefollowsthebombattackon measures againstradicalIslamistcells. thorised” mediaaspartofaseries es theclosureofmosquesand“unau- • in Ksar Ghilane. four soldiersandtwoNationalGuards groups, adayafterbombblastinjures to haltthegrowingactivityofjihadist terrorism operationinKef andJendouba Jeribi announces a large-scale anti- • Tunisia of a ransom. harmed andseeminglywithoutpayment vious dayinTripoli, isreleasedun- Mustafa Abushagur, abducted the pre- • the US. Anas al-Libi,accusedofterrorismby the allegedal-QaedamemberAbu is revealedtobethelegaldefenceof • Representatives on 4 August. transfer power over tothe House of nounced, theGNCdeclaresthatitwill the parliamentaryelectionsarean- • air base. offensive, whichon28Julyretakesthe Ansar al-Sharialaunchesacounter- an airbaseinBenghazi.On22July with Ansaral-Shariatotakecontrolof repel anattackbymilitiamenconnected fighters loyal to general Khalifa Haftar • could become a failedstate. civilian airports,warningthatthecountry On 12Julyabombattackonmili - On 30Julythearmychief-of-staff On 19Julythegovernmentannounc- On 3JulytheDefenceMinisterGhazi On 30 July the former Prime Minister On 28JulytheLibyangovernment On 23Julyadayaftertheresultsof On 21Julyarmyspecialforcesand invested capital. cover thedebt,therebylosingall their cue meansthatshareholdershave to euros fromEUandIMFfunds.The res- out BancoEspirituSantowith4.5 billion • Portugal are formed. parallel governmentsandparliaments tias andgovernmentforcestwo fighting continuesbetweenrivalmili- Brotherhood supporters.InLibya, tences arehandeddowntoMuslim tinues itsadvance.InEgypt, newsen- the foreclosuresbill.InSyria,IScon- Cyprus, protests arestagedagainst Turkey holdspresidentialelections.In a newtrancheofitsbailoutpackage. tional amendments.Greecereceives Speaker. FYROMapprovesconstitu- tion ofIsaMustafaasParliamentary Court ofKosovosuspendstheelec- cuts andtaxhikes.TheConstitutional is formed.Croatiaannouncesfresh Slovenia a new coalition government deal withnewimmigrantarrivals.In government reforms.SpainandItaly banks. Francecarriesoutfar-reaching Portugal bailsoutoneofitsbiggest August 2014 favour, 250 against and 47 abstentions European Commissionwith422votesin pean ParliamentasPresidentofthe Claude JunckeriselectedbytheEuro- • EU 13,218 people to mark Throne Day. • tivity. participating inanyformofpoliticalac- June banningimamsandpreachersfrom decree approvedbytheParliamentin • Morocco members in Beni Milleuk, Tipaza. • guards. lives ofthreesoldiersandfourmunicipal On 4Augustthegovernmentbails On 15JulytheLuxembourgerJean- On 30JulyMohammedVIpardons On 26JulyMohammedVIsignsa On 17 July soldiers kill two AQIM municipal elections until2019,sothat erendum onwhethertopostpone the nounces thatitwillholdapublic ref- • from Vittoriosa. grant rescue missionbegins operating • Malta Rome’s problem. Italy experiencesonadailybasistobe considers thewavesofimmigrationthat cued 103,659peoplesinceJanuary. It euros eachmonthandhasalreadyres- trum, whichcoststhecountry9million assume controlofOperationMareNos- on Italy, declaringthatFrontexwillnot • Italy tries respectively. in theEnvironmentandJusticeminis- and ChristianeTaubira retaintheirposts Foreign MinisterandSegoleneRoyal Laurent Fabiusretainshispositionas Aurelie Filippetti as Culture Minister. in Education and Fleur Pellerin replaces laud-Belkacem replacesBenoitHamon at the helm of the Economy, Najat Val- Macron replacesArnauldMontebourg the changesareannounced:Emmanuel and Culture ministers. On27 August nations fromtheEconomy, Education economic recoveryandfollowingresig- consistent withthedirectionchosenfor form anewgovernmentwhichismore Manuel Valls andhiscabinetresignto • France tempt to enter the Spanishcity. the month,hundredsofimmigrantsat- on theMelillaborderfence.Throughout migrants attemptacoordinatedassault braltar onthesamedaythat700im- intercepted inwatersoftheBayGi- • unemployed. earmarked fortrainingcoursesthe the embezzlement of millionsinfunds arrested for his alleged involvement in Head oftheAndalusianTax Office,is • Spain On 27Augustthegovernment an- On 25Augustthefirstprivate mi- On 20AugusttheEU turns its back On 25 August the Prime Minister On 12August836immigrantsare On 5 August AngelOjeda,former nia reachajoint borderdemarcation • Montenegro Balkans conflict. 13,000 peoplestillmissingafter the increase effortstofindthemorethan in Mostarensuringtheircommitmentto bia andMontenegrosignadeclaration • floods in May. high costsofdamagescausedbythe ciation toincreasepensionscitingthe rejects callsbythePensioners’ Asso- Federation ofBosniaandHerzegovina • force in January 2011. the formerYugoslavia, whichwasstillin was appliedtohistrialinsteadofthat Sefik Alic, as the Bosnian criminal code down toformerBosniancommander nuls thewarcrimessentencehanded • Bosnia and Herzegovina 2016 to reduce the publicdeficit. and cutstopublicsectorbonusesin nounces taxincreasesonbanksavings • Serbian. cept bilingualsignsinCroatianand refusal ofthepeopleVukovar toac- guage useforminorities,facedwiththe endum totightenrestrictionsonlan- Court rejectsarequesttoholdrefer- • for going on strike over unpaid wages. tates dismissals andincreases flexibility with thesameowner.Thelawalsofacili- and transferworkerstoothercompanies renew temporary contracts indefinitely into effectunderwhichcompaniescan • Croatia cial Democrats. Pensioners’ Party(DeSUS)andtheSo- will formacoalitiongovernmentwiththe ter Milo Cerar announcesthat his party • Slovenia tions. they coincide with the European elec- On 21August Montenegro and Bos- On 29AugustCroatia,Bosnia,Ser- On 20 August the government of the On 5AugusttheSupremeCourtan- On 28Augustthegovernmentan- On 14AugusttheConstitutional On 7Augustthenewlabouractenters On 21 August the new Prime Minis- authorities. tions canfilecomplaintsagainst the mechanism, wherebypeopleandinstitu - so-called “constitutional complaint” budget deficit to 3% of GDP; and the lic debtto60%ofGDPandon the Court Council,alimitontherateof pub- removal oftheJusticeMinisterfrom tages toattractforeigninvestment;the tional financialzonewithfiscaladvan- and woman;theopeningofaninterna- as the exclusive union between a man which includethedefinitionofmarriage seven amendments to the constitution, proves, withanoppositionboycott, • lition. DUI, amemberofthegovernmentcoa- the cutsproposedbycabinet,and the oppositionDPA, whichisagainst biggest parties of the Albanian minority, in fightingbetweentheMPsoftwo bate ontheState’sgeneralbudgetends • of the population’s poorest segments. nounces aplantocancelthebankdebts • FYROM three parties. PDK, but rather an alliance of another the largestparliamentarygroup, 17 July, since it was not proposed by Mustafa asParliamentSpokesmanon Court overturnstheappointmentofIsa • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity LEX prosecutor. during theKosovo conflictbytheEU- of war crimes against ethnic Albanians dom, Democracy, Justiceisaccused leader of the Citizens Initiative Free- • Albanians in Kosovo in 1999. vanovic overthemurderof118ethnic former Yugoslav general Dragan Zi- ecutor opensaninvestigationintothe • Serbia former Yugoslavian countries. agreement, thefirstbetweentwo On 27AugusttheParliamentap- On 26Augusttheparliamentaryde- On 19Augustthegovernmentan- On 22AugusttheConstitutional On 13AugustOliverIvanovic, On 5 August the War Crimes Pros- es to the airline. tions that he charged personal expens- niou, who resigned following accusa- Cyprus Airways,toreplaceTony Anto- and PublicWorks, thenewchairmanof Secretary GeneralofCommunications names MakisConstantinides,former • Cyprus as the nation’s 12th President. tion. On28AugustErdoganisswornin Secularists fear the Republic’s Islamisa stitution toexpandpresidentialpowers. campaign is themodificationof the con- One ofthemainpillarsErdogan’s solute majority, 51.79% of the votes. Tayyip Erdogan(AKP)winswithanab- tory. ThecurrentPrimeMinisterRecep direct presidentialelectionsinitshis- • Turkey sessing arms. held in custody, accused of illegally pos Council fromprison,whereheisbeing sworn inasamemberofAthens’ City prominent memberofGoldenDawn,is • be carried out alongitscoastline. construction and business activitiesto sector pensionfundsandallowsmore legislates infavourofunifyingthepublic euro aidtrancheforGreeceafterAthens proves thedisbursementofa1-billion- • Greece to organised crime. Vlora iskilledbyacarbombattributed • plants in Dukagjin. destroys more than 86,000 cannabis • qualifications. stitutions thatwereissuingdubious the closureof18highereducationin- • an Fullani to resign. gers callsforthebank’sgovernorAdri- stealing 7milliondollars.Thenewstrig- central BankofAlbaniaarearrestedfor • Albania On 27Augustthegovernment On 10AugustTurkey holdsthe first On 29AugustIliasKasidiaris,a On 13Augusttheeurozoneap- On 28Augustabusinessmanfrom On 22Augustapoliceoperation On 6Augustthegovernmentorders On 1Augustsevenemployeesofthe - -

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 369 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 370 Chronologies Appendices President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. rir Squareduringtheswearing inof raping andstealingfromwomenin Tah- years inprisonforsexuallyassaulting, to lifeimprisonmentandathird to20 Court sentencestwoEgyptiancitizens • coup on 3 July 2013. during theIslamistprotestsbefore tion ofGiza’ssecuritychiefinKerdasa given lifesentencesfortheassassina- are sentencedtodeathandafurtherten defeated PresidentMohammedMorsi • ros a year for the Egyptian economy. is predicted togenerate 10.1 billion eu- will runparalleltothecurrentoneand to constructanewSuezcanal,which • Egypt freed on 17 August. of soldiershostage,somewhoare ists withdrawfromArsaltakingagroup control ofArsal.On7Augustthejihad- ceasefire afterfourdaysoffightingfor Islamist militantsagreetoa24-hour • Lebanon stronghold in the province of Raqqa. Tabqa airport, thegovernment’sonly • been in rebel handsfor over a year. trol of the town of Mleiha, which had supported byHezbollah,takebackcon- • Turkmen Bareh and Akhtarin, in Aleppo. in thenorthandeastofSyriataking • join the political opposition in exile. tion in2012,afterthelatterfledSyriato who hadreplacedRiadHijabintheposi- points Wael al-Halaqi as Prime Minister, • Brigade 93 base in Ain Isa, al-Raqqa. • Syria rescue package. disburse thenexttrancheofCypriot foreclosures, required by the Troika to government’s planstopassalawon side theParliamentprotestsagainst • On 7AugusttheCairoCriminal On 6August12supportersofthe On 5 August Egypt announces plans On 5August thearmyandSyrian On 24AugustIStakesoverthe On 14Augustgovernmenttroops, On 13AugustISexpandsitscontrol On 10 August Bashar al-Assad reap- On 7AugustIStakescontrolofthe On 27Augustademonstrationout- resign sothat the HouseofRepre- ister Abdullahal-Thani andhiscabinet • for an immediate ceasefire in Libya. Council approves a resolution that calls • tional salvation government. and callingOmaral-Hasitoformana- meets inTripoli sayingitwillnotdissolve of theoutgoingNationalCongress • Tripoli. ist militiapositionsfightingforcontrolof have repeatedlybombedseveralIslam- that Egypt and the United Arab Emirates • Obeidi. dismissed AbdessalamJadallahal- as newarmychief-of-stafftoreplacethe sentatives electsAbdelRazzakMadhuri • ing thegovernmentforcesfromcity. other Islamistmilitiassucceedsinoust- ance between Ansar al-Sharia and sive launchedon6Augustbythealli- rata andZintan.InBenghazi,theoffen- Tripoli between rival militias from Mis- • Representative in Libya. Leon, is appointed the new UN Special ranean, SpanishdiplomatBernardino resentative fortheSouthernMediter- • of the State’s control. Tobruk ofallmilitias operatingoutside sentatives ordersthedismantlingin • attack on Benghazi Airport. and the17FebruaryBrigadelaunchan allies from the Central Shield Brigade • cotted by the Islamists. President ofthecouncilinavoteboy- resentatives electsAguilaSalehIssaas • Libya given toBadieandsixotherdefendants. modifies theprovisionaldeathsentence Badie tolifeimprisonment.Theruling tian MuslimBrotherhoodMohamed Court sentencestheleaderofEgyp- • of collaborating with Israel. and accusedbyAnsarBaital-Maqdis ies arefoundoffourciviliansabducted • On 28AugusttheactingPrimeMin - On 27AugusttheUNSecurity On 25AugusttheIslamistmajority On 25AugusttheUSpressreveals On 24AugusttheHouseofRepre- On 16Augustnewfightingeruptsin On 14AugusttheEUSpecialRep- On 13AugusttheHouseofRepre- On 6 August Ansar al-Sharia and its On 4AugustthenewHouseofRep- On 30Augustthe GizaCriminal On 20Augustthedecapitatedbod- head of Foreign Affairs. Foreign MinisterFedericaMogherini, of theEuropeanCounciland Italian ister DonaldTusk iselectedPresident • sion processes. tries torelaunchtheirEuropeanacces - Summit withtheWestern Balkancoun- • ily in the conflict. EU accuseRussiaofinterveningmilitar- from the east of the country. The US and pro-Russian militantstrying to advance clashes betweentheUkrainianarmyand the situation in Ukraine worsens with insurgents inUkraine.DuringAugust, Russia’s supportofthepro-Russian sanctions imposedbytheWest over tralia and Canada, in response to ucts fromtheEU,Norway, theUS,Aus- year banonimportsoffreshfoodprod- • EU the early elections held on 21July. post for a second mandate after winning ed Ould Abdel Aziz is sworn into his • Mauritania Spanish security forces. operation betweentheMoroccanand with ISarearrestedinMoroccoajoint • in Libya. security facedwiththedestabilisation • 2015 and 65 for 2021. increases the retirement age to 62 for proves aPensionsLawreformwhich • Morocco established duringthe Ben Ali regime. and which is to replace the 2003 law, cles, mostofwhichareyettoberatified, laundering, whichconsistsof163arti- new lawagainstterrorismandmoney sembly votes against the approval of the • Tunisia government. sentatives inTobruk canelectanew On 30AugustthePolish PrimeMin- On 28AugustBerlinhostsanEU On 7AugustRussiaimposesaone- On 2AugustthePresidentMoham- On 14Augustninejihadistslinked On 14AugustMoroccostepsup On 7Augustthegovernmentap- On 21AugusttheConstituentAs- ter AlbertoRuiz-Gallardon resignsafter • Spain Party’s primary elections. bon AntonioCostawinstheSocialist • tained from those already adopted. 1.6-billion-euro revenuesurplusob- new austeritymeasuresthankstothe 4% ofGDP, butwhichdoesnot include that respectsthebudgetdeficitcapof proves anamendingbudgetfor2014 • Portugal step up their anti-terrorist operations. Caliphate. Algeria,MoroccoandTunisia emerges knownastheSoldiersof In Algeria,anewIS-linkedterroristgroup in theNovemberpresidentialelections. Ennahdha announcesthatitwillnotrun liaments and governments. In Tunisia, leaves thecountrywithtwoparallelpar- Parliament’s mandateelectedinJune fusal todissolveandgivewaythenew dominated outgoingParliament’sre- released onbail.InLibya,theIslamist- leaders fromthe2011Revolution,is one of the secular protest movement ond trial.InEgypt, AlaaAbdelFattah, is clearedofterrorismchargesinasec- Jordan, theSalafipreacherAbuQatada the al-Qaeda-linkedKhorasancell.In vention inSyriaandIraqagainstIS tional coalitionbeginsitsmilitaryinter- foreclosures bill.TheUS-ledinterna- passed. Cypruspassesitscontroversial law tighteningcontroloftheInternetis Gülen arearrestedandacontroversial more police officers linked with Fetullah agement of its public hospitals. InTurkey, Greece agreestooutsourcetheman- Croat entityarearrestedfortaxfraud. several seniorfiguresoftheBosnian the handsofcentre-right.InBosnia, defeat intheelectionsforsenateat but itspartysuffers confidence vote a In France,thesocialistgovernmentwins endum onCatalonianself-determination. the Catalonian Presidenttoholdarefer- application ofthedecreeapprovedby the ConstitutionalCourtsuspends In Spainthe Justice Ministerresignsand September 2014 On 23SeptembertheJusticeMinis - On 28 September the mayor of Lis- On 4SeptembertheParliamentap- Spain. of theCamorraisarrestedin Ibiza, member oftheD’Agostino-Panella clan • freeze will continue in 2015. nounces thatthepublicsector salary istration Minister Marianna Madia an • Italy extreme-right FNpartygainstwoseats. in anewelectiondefeatforthePS.The parties wintheelectionstosenate, • return to politics. dent NicolasSarkozyannounceshis • sidiary of the airline, to 28 August. working forTransavia, alow-cost sub- gust againsttheconditionsofferedfor extend their strike that began on 15 Au • solute majority. its programmeofcuts,butlosesab- wins aparliamentaryconfidencevoteon • cialist Party but remains an MP. erly overseveralyears,leavestheSo- ber overhisfailuretopaytaxesprop- Thevenoud, whoresignedon4Septem- State forForeignTrade Thomas • 2012 in Auxerre. apparatus who were arrested in January Sancho, membersofETA’s logistical seven toRubenRiveroandsix Iñigo tences ofeightyearstoJonEtxeberria, tional Courthandsdownprisonsen- • France ing it is unconstitutional. filed by the Spanish government claim- of thedecree,acceptingtwoappeals provisionally suspendstheapplication September theConstitutionalCourt Catalonia’s self-determination.On28 lowing a referendum to be held on approved bytheregionalparliamental- President ArturMassignsthedecree • Gallardon. tember RafaelCatalasucceedsRuiz- due toalackofconsensus.On29Sep- plans tomaketheabortionlawstricter, the PrimeMinisterMarianoRajoyscraps On 9SeptemberAdamoPisapia, On 3SeptemberthePublicAdmin- On 28Septemberthecentre-right On 19SeptembertheformerPresi- On 18SeptemberAirFrancepilots On 16 September the government On 9SeptembertheSecretaryof On 1SeptembertheParisCorrec- On 27SeptembertheCatalonian - - the creatorsand membersofdifferent ecutor ordersapoliceinvestigation into • Serbia rises and better contracts. teachers stageastriketodemandpay with theEducationMinisterbreakdown, • Montenegro govina. of theFederationBosniaandHerze- and the MP Mladen Lijanovic, all officials janovic, Trade MinisterMiloradBahilj dent andAgricultureMinisterJerkoLi- million euros, includingthe vice-Presi- rested fortaxfraudamountingtoover6 • in Bratunac in 1995. ting genocideagainstBosniancivilians Tesic arearrested,accusedofcommit- officers MiodragJosipovicandBranimir • and Iraq. country forrecruitingjihadistsSyria people in separate raids throughout the • Bosnia and Herzegovina spending and tax hikes. ernment announcescutsinpublic • Honour. with theneo-NazimovementBloodand documents thatlinktheoppositionSDS stands trial for publishing classified the newspaperDelo,AnuskaDelic, • Slovenia unifying the country’s five national days. government andtheoppositionover again sparkingthedebatebetween ence fromtheUnitedKingdom,once the 50th anniversary of its independ- • Malta reforms. Party’s backing for his labour market Matteo RenzireceivestheDemocratic • On 17SeptemberthePublicPros - On 2Septemberafternegotiations On 10September14peoplearear- On 4Septembertheformerpolice On 3Septemberthepolicearrest16 On 18Septemberthecoalitiongov- On 15Septemberthejournalistfrom On 21SeptemberMaltacelebrates On 29SeptemberthePrimeMinister

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 371 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 372 Chronologies Appendices work founded by the preacher Fethullah work founded by the preacher Fethullah are arrestedfortheirlinkswiththe net- • Turkey health service. towards completeprivatisationofthe condemn the measure as the first step repeated strikes throughout the year, management. Doctors,whohavestaged approves theoutsourcingofhospitals • grants. significant riseinSyrianandIraqimi- urgent Europeanfundsfacedwiththe • Greece part of the country, independent. of Ilirida,theAlbanian-majoritywestern mony inSkopjedeclarestheRepublic • FYROM Front. recruiting jihadistsfortheal-Nusra Muslim clericsarearrestedaccusedof • Kosovo Serb protest marches. for questioning.Thedecisionsparks Kosovo, afterbothmenfailtoshowup endangering thesecurityofUNstaffin Slavisa Ristic,suspectedformurderand prisoners; andforhispredecessor organising theescapeofKosovo Serb Potok, Stevan Vulovic, suspected of rest warrantsforthemayorofZubin • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity Belgrade. testing againsttheGayPridemarchin tween policeanddemonstratorspro- • month. tor wagesexceeding211eurosper foresee cutstopensionandpublicsec- presents newausteritymeasuresthat • the Bosniak-majority region. to be taken against Serbia’s control over Army of Sandzak, which callfor action social networkpagesknownasthe On 1September33policeofficers On 11SeptembertheParliament On 4SeptemberGreecerequests On 18Septemberasymboliccere- On 17September15influential On 1SeptemberEULEXissuesar- On 28Septemberclasheseruptbe- On 19 September the government vance to control the town of Kobane. lages ontheTurkish border,initsad- • gust. captured intheGolanHeights in Au- releases 45FijianUNpeacekeepers • join the alliance. On 11SeptembernineArabcountries an alliancetodefeatISinSyriaandIraq. agree attheNewportSummittoform • control for the past year. Damascus, whichhasbeenunderrebel of thewaronJobar,outskirts its biggestoffensivesincethebeginning • Syria tiations. ness toacceleratereunificationnego- Cypriot leadersannouncetheirwilling- • permissive. next payment,describingthelawastoo The Troika, nevertheless,withholds the tranche ofthefinancialrescuepackage. EU andIMFforthereleaseofnext by thegovernmentandrequired proves theforeclosuresbillproposed • Cyprus in public institutes. lifts thebanonwearingIslamicveil • available to the authorities on request. ity fortwoyears,whichmustbemade obliged tokeeparecordofuseractiv- under which Internet providers are blocked withoutapriorcourtorderand passes alawallowingwebpagestobe • a skyscraper. workmen dieontheconstructionsiteof tions forworkersinTurkey afterten in Istanbulagainstpoorsafetycondi- • 2013. following policeoperationsinDecember a hundredothersaccusedofcorruption dogan, thePresident’sson,andaround cutor dropschargesagainstBilalEr- • the AKP government. Gülen, accusedofplotting to overthrow On 18SeptemberIStakes16 vil- On 11Septembertheal-NusraFront On 4 September 10 NATO states On 2Septemberthearmylaunches On 17SeptemberGreekandTurkish On 6SeptembertheParliamentap- On 22 September the government On 17SeptembertheParliament On 7 September thousands protest On 2SeptemberthePublicProse- fought againstthe Mubarakregimeand ber oftheApril6Movement, which • an unauthorised demonstration. 15 years’ imprisonmentfor organising Court, whichinJunesentenced him to leased onbailbytheCairoCriminal ments against Mubarak in 2011,isre- tah, leaderofthesecularprotestmove- • Egypt als for terrorism. Security Courtinthesecondoftwotri- er Abu Qatada is cleared by the State • attacks. Bank, guilty of financing Hamas terrorist largest banking entity in Jordan, Arab • Jordan Teheran. to the non-Shiite sector’s distrust of help, which it hasalwaysrejected due time thatBeiruthasacceptedIranian on theSyrianborder.Thisisfirst been ongoingforthelastthreemonths non initsfightagainstIS,whichhas that itwilllendmilitarysupporttoLeba- • Lebanon threat to its security, alongside IS. linked Khorasancellasthegreatest the, untilrecentlylittleknown,al-Qaeda- • IS. tion bombsoilrefineriescontrolledby • US-led international coalition. and Aleppo, in the first air strike by the killed in Raqqa, Deir al-Zour, Hasaka ple, mostlyISandal-Nusrajihadistsare • from IS. into Turkey injustthreedays,fleeing Syrian Kurdshavecrossedtheborder • is rejected. agenda. Theproposal,backedbyChina, weapons’ arsenal from the meetings’ remove theissueofSyria’schemical a proposalbeforetheUnitedNationsto • On 17 September Karim Taha, mem On 15SeptemberAlaaAbdel-Fat- On 24SeptembertheSalafipreach- On 8SeptemberaUS jury findsthe On 30SeptemberIranannounces On 25 September the US describes On 25SeptembertheUS-ledcoali- On 23Septemberatleast50peo- On 22Septemberaround130,000 On 19SeptemberRussiapresents - rian border,after theauthoritiesraise Chaambi Mountains,closetothe Alge- down twoIslamistmilitants in the • elections. not runintheNovemberpresidential party Ennahdhaannouncesthat itwill • Tunisia fence Minister. the house.ThenewcabinetlacksaDe- ministers with110ofthe112votes the Tobruk Parliamentapprovesits12 ni’s newgovernmentissworninafter • government. Parliament inTobruk – formsaparallel refusing tohandpoweroverthenew GNC, the outgoingIslamistParliament – • Tripoli and Benghazi. different Islamistbrigadesforcontrolof military groupsandAnsaral-Sharia between governmentforcesandpara- while, fighting continues on a daily basis process ofnationaldialogue.Mean- where aroadmapisdrawnupfor international conferenceonLibya, • Libya homosexual persecution in Egypt. for “debauchery,” inyetanothercaseof six mentotwoyearsinprisonwithlabour • on the security forces. porters inSinaitocontinuetheirattacks • Cairo. officers are killed by a bomb blast in • be repealed. right togatheringsanddemonstration prisoners andthatthelawregulating which demands the release of political called “Battleofemptystomachs,” pathisers havebeensupportingtheso- jails andaround200familiessym- leader. Some80prisonersinEgyptian Soltan, the son ofaMuslim Brotherhood in June,andthejournalistMohamed by thereporterAbdullahal-Shami,jailed joins the hunger strike started in January was banned by the courts in April 2014,

the Prime Minister elected by the On 17Septemberthepoliceshoot On 7SeptemberthemainIslamist On 28SeptemberAbdullahal-Tha- On 17SeptemberOmaral-Hasi On 17SeptemberMadridhostsan On 25Septemberacourtsentences On 22September IScallsonitssup- On 21Septemberatleastfourpolice Ministers agreeon jointdefensivemeas- • Arab League the votes in favourof this direction. of theUnitedKingdomwith55.3% of sult is forthecountry tocontinue aspart ence, withan84.59%turnout.There- historic referendumonitsindepend- • Ukraine’s EU accession. ciation Agreementwithaviewto Ukrainian parliamentsratifytheAsso- • Russian forces. reached betweentheUkrainianandpro- despite theceasefireagreement for threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty, new economicsanctionsagainstRussia • EU impact.” slogan “lessideology, moreactionand crats, led by Mohamed Darif under the created inBouznika,theNeoDemo- • tat el-Haj. been dismantled in Fez, Nador and Ou- sending jihadiststoSyriaandIraqhas ister reportsthatarecruitmentcell • Morocco with IS. Gouri, andwhichhasswornallegiance hitherto regional head Abdelmalek lamic Maghreb(AQIM)ledbyAQIM’s A splintergroupofal-QaedaintheIs- in Algeria,theSoldiersofCaliphate. leased onanewterroristgroupfounded • Algeria from the Chaambi Mountains. al-Qaeda, declaresallegiancewithIS faa terroristcell,untilnowaffiliatedwith • tions. he will not run in the November elec- Minister Mehdi Jomaa announces that • parliamentary elections. the levelofnationalalertinview On 8SeptembertheArabForeign On 18 September Scotland holds an On 17SeptembertheEuropeanand On 5SeptembertheEUapproves On 13Septemberanewpartyis On 12SeptembertheInteriorMin- On 15Septemberreportsarere- On 29SeptembertheOkbaIbnNa- On 17SeptembertheinterimPrime nas corruption scandal. Angel Acebes is charged in the Barce- Party SecretaryGeneralandMinister • storm the Melilla border fence. • Security Council for 2015-2016. a non-permanentmemberoftheUN • private use between 2003 and 2012. million eurosinundeclaredfundsfor European funds in2012 – diverted 15.5 rescued with22.424billioneurosof Caja MadridandBankia– whichwas Rato andanother82seniorfiguresin and formerchairmanofBankia,Rodrigo Minister, formerWorld Bankchairman reports thattheformerdeputyPrime • Spain cluding a rise intheminimum wage. of GDP, withnotaxadjustmentsandin- a reduction in the public deficit to 2.7% mits the budget for 2015 which foresees • Portugal rocco there is a national strike. police stage a one-day strike. In Mo parliamentary elections.InAlgeria,the takes controlofDerna.Tunisia holds anti-terrorist legislation.InLibya,IS and approvesnewanti-Islamist emergency, heightenssecurity in Sinai ian refugees.Egypt declaresastateof that it is closing its borders to more Syr defend Kobane.Lebanonannounces militants tocrossitsbordershelp reserves. Turkey allowsKurdish-Iraqi Cyprus and Greece mount over gas fidence vote.Tensions betweenTurkey, The Greekgovernmentsurvivesacon- under scrutinyafterreportsofbribery. eral election.InKosovo,EULEX comes respective parties.Bosniaholdsagen- ernments aremetwithcriticismintheir nomic reformsproposedbytheirgov- uncovered. InFranceandItaly, eco- In Spain,majorcorruptionscandalsare October 2014 ist groups. ures tofightagainstISandotherjihad- On 21OctobertheformerPeople’s On 20 October 200 sub-Saharans On 16OctoberSpainiselectedas On 11OctobertheNationalCourt On 15Octoberthegovernmentsub- - -

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 373 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 374 Chronologies Appendices in Tel-Aviv. partner ThierryLeynecommitssuicide proceedings. Three days later, his ners, whichisundergoinginsolvency man of the investment bank LSK Part- Strauss-Kahn stepsdownas chair- ing directoroftheIMFDominique • his duties are breached. public tobeautomaticallydismissedif a law allowing the President of the Re- • tax fraud. 60 deputiesandsenatorsareguiltyof Ministry according to which more than dential documents from the Economy Le CanardEnchaînépublishesconfi- • lande and Manuel Valls. the economicpolicyofFrançoisHol- joins otherpartymembersopposedto Party Secretary GeneralMartine Aubry • fuse their embassies. many reachanhistoricagreementto • the next ten years. 50% reduction in nuclear energy over bly adoptsthedraftlawthatforeseesa • same-sex marriage. again inprotestagainstthelawon pour Tous gathersthousandsinParis • of GDP. sels toreducethebudgetdeficit3% euros belowwhatisrequiredbyBrus- cludes publicspendingcuts50billion sents the budget for 2015 which in- • France charged with fraud. regional governmentJoaquimNadalis of Territorial Policy oftheCatalonian • senator. drid regionalgovernmentandformer in Madrid,formermemberoftheMa- mer People’sPartySecretaryGeneral accused isFranciscoGranados,for- Murcia, LeonandValencia. Amongthe in acorruptionplotaffectingMadrid, Operation Punic,fortheirinvolvement rested intheCivilGuard’sso-called il servantsandbusinessmenarear- • On 20Octobertheformermanag- On 24OctobertheSenateapproves On 22Octoberthesatiricalweekly On 20OctobertheformerSocialist On 16OctoberFranceandGer- On 14OctobertheNationalAssem- On 5OctoberthegroupLaManif On 1Octoberthegovernmentpre- On 29OctobertheformerMinister On 27October51politicians,civ- from herpostas EuropeanCommis- Minister AlenkaBratuseksteps down • year prison sentence for corruption. to retainhisseatwhileserving two- Jansa deemingitincompatiblefor him pels theformerPrimeMinister Janez • Slovenia in line with 13.3/1,000residents. – 24.1/1,000 residents–.Cyprusisnext EU inrelationtothecountry’spopulation – issued by Malta to foreigners in 2013 that thenumberoffirstresidencepermits • sentences for animal cruelty. that useanimalsandimposingprison Animal Welfare Act,banningcircuses example in2012,Maltareformsthe • with the EU in 2011. restructuring plan,whichwasagreed and will therefore have to renegotiate its 16-million-euro lossesforMarch2015, • Malta Mafia negotiations in the nineties. by testifyinginthetrialofState- appear asawitnessbeforethecourts becomes thefirstItalianPresidentto • sentence. signs overhisdisagreementwiththe The judgepresidingoverthecasere- acquittal in the Ruby case is confirmed. • deficit of 2.9% of GDPfor 2015. sees 18-billion-eurotaxcutsanda sents thebudgetfor2015,whichfore- • such a union. country, asItalianlawdoesnotallow istered andperformedoutsideofthe riages betweensame-sexcouplesreg- announces thathewillannulallmar- • the ruling Democratic Party. tion fromthetradeunionsandpartof labour market reforms,despiteopposi- given the Senate’s backing for major • Italy 10,187 On 19OctobertheformerPrime On 15OctobertheParliamentex- On 22 October Eurostat announces On 22OctoberEurostatannounces On 18OctoberfollowingGreece’s On 12OctoberAirMaltaforecasts On 28 October Giorgio Napolitano On 16OctoberSilvioBerlusconi’s On 15Octoberthegovernmentpre- On 9October the Interior Minister On 8Octoberthegovernmentis – is by far the highest in the – is by far the highest in the refugee camp in Podgorica. Bosnians andKosovans intheKonic are arrested followingclashes between • is named Chief PublicProsecutor. ovic, magistrateattheSupreme Court, parliamentary negotiations,Ivica Stank • Montenegro in Tuzla. cy orprivatisationdemonstrateagain companies intheprocessofbankrupt- • Agreement. power balanceestablishedintheDayton fatigue withrespecttothecomplex high rateofabstentionrevealpeople’s vina arealsoelected.Theresults and the FederationofBosniaandHerzego- tial election.Thecantonassembliesof renews histermintheentity’spresiden- wins and its President Milorad Dodik sembly oftheSrpskaRepublicSNSD wins. IntheelectionstoNationalAs- tion ofBosniaandHerzegovinaSDA (lower house)oftheentityfedera- tions totheHouseofRepresentatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the elec- House of Representatives (lower house) gains most votes in the elections to the SDA Serb nationalistsocialdemocrat). ent Social Democrats, SNSD, Bosnian Zeljka Cvijanovic(AllianceofIndepend- nian Croatnationalistconservative)and of BosniaandHerzegovina,HDZ,Bos- gan Covic(CroatianDemocraticUnion Dra Bosnian nationalist conservative), vic (PartyofDemocraticAction,SDA, tite presidencyiswonbyBakirIzetbego- tions. Theelectionforthefederaltripar- • Bosnia and Herzegovina and abuse of power. Milan Bandicisarrestedforcorruption • Croatia Transport. nian commissioner, at thehelm of Violeta Bulc becomes the new Slove- 15 Octoberthehithertovice-President rejects herforbeingunderqualified.On sioner aftertheEuropeanParliament On 13Octoberatleast20people On 7October,after18monthsof On 22Octoberworkersfrompublic On 12OctoberBosniaholdselec- On 19 October the mayor ofZagreb - - peace negotiations. 2013 andasymptomofthefaltering incident sincetheceasefirein March tary barracks.Thisisthefirstserious of siegeimposedbythePKKon a mili- ganisation inDaglicaafterseveral days attack enclavesofthePKKterrorist or- • Turkey almost an absolute majority. opposition, whosevotingintentionis dence votecalledforbytheSyriza-led avoids earlyelectionswinningaconfi- • Greece try’s first espionage trial. to 15years’ imprisonmentinthecoun- intelligence agents are sentenced to up • FYROM es the opening of an investigation. als. The European Parliament announc- cepted bribes to drop problematic tri- that certainjudgesofthebodyac- integrity of the mission heads, reveals for controversialdeclarationsaboutthe EULEX prosecutorrecentlydismissed • cation of their borders. FYROM announcethedefinitivedemar- • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity the EU. of abandoningitspolicynottojoin DS afteraccusingthenewleadership Minister Vojislav Kostunica leaves the • Belgrade. by attacksonAlbanianbusinessesin The clashesatthestadiumarefollowed brother oftheAlbanianPrimeMinister. Among thearrestedisOlsiRama, tween playersandfansfrombothsides. is suspendedafterfightsbreakoutbe- to classifyforthe2016EuropeanCup between SerbiaandAlbaniainBelgrade • Serbia On 14OctoberTurkish fighterjets On 11Octoberthegovernment On 6October17policeofficersand On 28OctoberMariaBamieh,the On 21OctoberKosovo, Albaniaand On 15OctobertheformerPrime On 14Octoberthefootballmatch Alan Henning posted by IS. Foley, StevenSotloff,DavidHaines and responsible for the executions of James in Raqqa,theBritish-Egyptianterrorist Force locatesAbdelMajed Bary • and Sifat, in Aleppo. back control of al-Mudafah, Handarat • Syria its bailout. Cyprus toreceivethenexttrancheof age. The court’s decision should allow to receivetheeconomicrescuepack the conditionsagreedwithTroika unconstitutional, asitdoesnotrespect ed bytheParliamentinSeptember,is rules thattheforeclosureslaw, adopt- • in prison for tax evasion. Central Bank, is sentenced to five years todoulou, theformergovernorof • ponent” for the accession process. all MemberStatesisa“necessarycom- warning and adds that its recognition by the EuropeanCouncilissuesTurkey a sive EconomicZone.On24October, Turkish survey vessel enters its Exclu- veto Turkey’s accession process after a • elections. the 2015Turkish-Cypriot presidential negotiations, resignsinordertorun Turkish Cypriotinchargeofreunification • package. tiation of the terms of the Cypriot rescue come togethertodemandtherenego- • Cyprus in Ermenek since 27 October. spect fortheminerstrappedinamine palace, iscancelledasamarkofre- Palace, theworld’sbiggestpresidential be heldintherecentlyfinishedWhite for RepublicDay, whichwasgoingto • of Kobane andjointhefightagainstIS. reach theKurdish-Syrianbordertown Peshmerga to enter Turkey in order to firms thatitwillallowtheKurdish-Iraqi pressure at home and abroad and con- • On 5 October the British Royal Air On 3OctobertheSyrianarmytakes On 31OctobertheSupremeCourt On 27OctoberChristodoulosChris- On 20OctoberCyprusthreatensto On 8OctoberKudretOzersay, the On 3Octobertheoppositionparties On 29October theofficial reception On 20OctoberTurkey givesinto - mentary elections. Thesecularistparty • Tunisia ist positions. eration Dignitycontinuesagainst Islam- Meanwhile, throughout the month, Op- the former general Khalifa Haftar. ment announcesaformalalliancewith • armed forces. in thereconstructionofLibyan Abdullah al-Thani, acceptsEgypt’shelp • Derna throughtheIslamicYouth Council. • Libya Morsi. calls forthereinstatementofMohamed liance Supporting Legitimacy, which ders thedissolutionofNationalAl- • be tried before a militarycourt. carrying out an attack on these sites can case ofthreatandunderwhichanyone take controlofvitalstatefacilitiesin undersigns alawallowingthearmyto • on theborderbetweenSinaiandGaza. ber, Egyptcreatesamilitarisedzone by AnsarBeital-Maqdis.On29Octo- soldiers arekilledinattackscarriedout state ofemergencyinSinaiafter28 • sar Beit al Maqdis. hamed Abu Shatiya, commander of An- • Egypt groups from Bab el-Tabaneh. oli afterfourdaysoffightingwithSunni • against al-Nusra and IS continues. refugees. Meanwhiletheborderfighting that itwillnotacceptanymoreSyrian • Lebanon the Shaar gas fieldin Homs. • for the Syrian-Kurdish fighters. and medicine provided byIraqiKurdistan • On 26OctoberTunisia holdsparlia- On 20OctobertheTobruk Parlia- On 8OctoberthePrimeMinister On 4OctoberIStakescontrolof On 30Octoberthegovernmentor- On 27OctoberAbdelFattahAl-Sisi On 24OctoberEgyptdeclaresa On 2OctoberthearmykillsMo- On 27OctoberthearmytakesTrip- On 18OctoberLebanondeclares On 30OctoberIStakescontrolof On 19 October US planes drop arms

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 375 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 376 Chronologies Appendices caused morethan 4,500deathsand that, sinceDecember2013,hasalready euros tothefightagainstepidemic Britain’s proposal to donate 1 billion sion to combatEbola.It also approves point acoordinatortoheadjoint mis- cil approvesGermany’sproposal toap- • tinued membership of the EU. and 2017 on the United Kingdom’s con a referendum to be held between now • justice and interior policies. on whetherornottooptoutoftheEU’s es thatDenmarkwillholdareferendum ister HelleThorning-Schmidtannounc- • EU arrested in Zouerate. • Mauritania in the minimum wage. The demonstrationalsocallsforarise tion ofMoroccans’ purchasingpower. and watertheresultingdeteriora- increases inthepriceoffuel,electricity tional strikeagainstthepensionreform, main tradeunionsstagea24-hourna- • Iraq. not join the US-led coalition in Syria and ates in its fight against terrorism, but will that itwillsupporttheUnitedArabEmir- • Morocco with IS,arearrestedontheirwaytoMali. member ofOkbaBinNafaa,affiliated Safiedine al-Mauritaniandanother • wages and a trade union. the firsttimeinAlgierstocallforbetter large-scale, peaceful protest march for • Algeria seats respectively. Tounes obtain 16,15and 8 (liberal), the Popular Front(far-left)andAfek seats. The Free Patriotic Union (liberal), seats. Ennahdha(Islamist)wins69 Nidaa Tounes winswith85ofthe217 On 20OctobertheEuropeanCoun- On 17OctoberBritishMPsapprove On 7 October the Danish Prime Min- On 12OctoberfourISmembersare On 29Octoberthecountry’sfour On 28 October Morocco announces On 15 October the Mauritanian On 14Octoberthepolicestagea - hour working week to be increased and hour workingweek tobeincreasedand calling fortheminimumwageand 35- workers demonstrateindifferent cities • tion Mechanism. from the EuropeanFinancial Stabilisa- the lasttrancheof400million euros • Portugal tial elections. sia holdsthefirstroundofits presiden- June electionsunconstitutional.Tuni- clares theParliamentformedafter to IS.InLibya,theSupremeCourtde- sar Beital-Maqdispledgesallegiance deaths inthe2011revolutionandAn- Mubarak isfoundnotguiltyforthe In Egypt, theformerPresidentHosni anese Parliamentextendsitsmandate. FSA withdrawsfromAleppo.TheLeb- there isanothergeneralstrike.The ernments areannounced.InGreece govina and Kosovo the coalition gov- Vojislav Seselj. In Bosnia and Herze- ICTY releasestheSerbianwarcriminal agree ontheelectionreformlaw. The presidents. Thetwo mainItalian parties the UMPandFN elect their respective Catalonian government. In France, complaint againstthePresidentof Spain, the Public Prosecutor files a 24-hour nationalstrikeisstaged.In ister JoseSocratesisarrestedanda Minister resigns,theformerPrimeMin- In Portugal, theInternalAdministration November 2014 elections on 26 November. win a landslidevictoryin the Ukrainian Ukraine andafterthepro-Europeans over thesecessionistwarineastern amid tensionbetweenMoscowandKiev supply ofRussiangasthroughUkraine, 3.65-billion-euro dealguaranteeingthe under Europeanmediation,signa • Parliament. mission is giventhegreenlight by the • Germany and France. Spain, theUnitedKingdom,Norway, isolated casesinSenegal,Mali,theUS, Leone, Guinea-ConakryandNigeria 9,000 cases,mostlyinLiberia,Sierra On 13 November thousands of On 12NovemberPortugal receives On 30OctoberRussiaandUkraine, On 22OctobertheJunckerCom- sian President, VladimirPutin. nomic andpoliticalsupportofthe Rus- candidacy totheElyceewith eco- 100% ofthevotesandpresents her re-elected PresidentoftheFN with • 64.5% of the votes. elected PresidentoftheUMP with • 2015. sembly adoptstheausteritybudgetfor • France tional Court ruling. secession, contraveningaConstitu- endum on9NovemberCatalonian er fororganisingaregion-widerefer- embezzlement andusurpationofpow- ister fordisobedience,prevarication, his vice-PresidentandEducationMin- lonia’s regionalPresidentArturMas, ecutor filesacomplaintagainstCata- • der fence. grants attempttostormtheMelillabor- • Madeja, accused of accepting bribes. United LeftarearrestedinOperation ple’s Party, CanarianCoalitionand civil servantsandmembersofthePeo- • is chargedintheNooscorruptioncase. • Spain cal party. whichaspirestobecomeapoliti- can), inspired bytheSpanishPodemos (We People is presented, a citizen movement • fraud, moneylaunderingandcorruption. Minister JoseSocratesisjailedfortax • rigues replaces Macedo. ment. On18NovemberAnabelaRod- set upin2012toattractforeigninvest- tion withtheGoldenVisaprogramme, corruption on13November,inconnec- in which11peoplewerearrestedfor Operation Labyrinth court investigation, signs following his involvement in the istration MinisterMiguelMacedore- • bank holidays. the reinstatementoffoureliminated On 30 November Marine Le Pen is On 29NovemberNicolasSarkozyis On 18NovembertheNationalAs- On 21NovemberthePublicPros- On 17Novembersome400immi- On 11November32high-ranking On 7NovemberCristinadeBorbon On 27 November Together for the On 24NovembertheformerPrime On 16NovembertheInternalAdmin- growing protests against the poor state Miodrag Radunovic resigns faced with • ruling coalition. months ofdisagreementswithin the corruption andorganisedcrime after pean integrationandthefightagainst principle over economic policy, Euro- cratic Partyreachanagreementin Party of Socialists and Social Demo- • Montenegro pared to 56 in 2013. Bosnian War by the end of 2014, com- for warcrimescommittedduringthe hundred peoplewillhavebeencharged tor GoranSalihovicsaysthatarounda • Croatia and Serbia. which untilnowhasbeenmanagedby first timesinceBosnianIndependence, control ofitsnationalairspaceforthe Navigation ServicesAgencyassumes • crease taxes on dairy imports. agreement with the government to in- der crossingsafterfailingtoreachan • the Alliance for Changes. coalition withtheDemocratic Front and of DemocraticActionagreestoforma • Bosnia and Herzegovina for corruption. two-year suspendedprisonsentence Air Traffic Servicesareeachgivena and IanFalzon,formerofficialsofMalta • Malta represent a majority. 40% ofthevotesinfirstroundwill toral reformagreementunderwhich Italia Silvio Berlusconi reach an elec- Matteo Renzi and the leader of Forza • dict the 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila. High Risk Commission for failing topre handed downtosevenmembersofthe overturns thesix-yearprisonsentence • Italy On 18 November the Health Minister On 18 November the Health Minister On 17NovembertheDemocratic On 13 November the Chief Prosecu- On 13 November the BosnianAir On 12 November farmers block bor On 9NovembertheBosnianParty On 12 November Lawrence Fenech On 12NovemberthePrimeMinister On 11 November a court of appeal - - their postsinprotest againsttheApril months aftertheirrefusaltoassume vokes theseatsof31SDSMMPs, six • FYROM ongoing since the June elections. an endtoaperiodofpoliticalstalemate The agreementputs of Kosovo (PDK). with Hashim Thaçi’sDemocraticParty (LDK) willformacoalitiongovernment fa’s Democratic League of Kosovo ifete JahjagaannouncesthatIsaMusta- • October ofallegedcorruptioninEULEX. Jacque to investigate reports made in the FrenchlegalexpertJean-Paul resentative FedericaMogheriniappoints • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity Croats in Ovcara in 1991. years inprisonforthemassacreof200 fighter PetarCiricissentencedto15 • December. an officialvisittoSerbia,scheduledfor Prime MinisterZoranMilanoviccancels sponse, on28NovembertheCroatian years inprisonforwarcrimes.Inre- ing treatment for cancer and serving 11 by theICTYon6Novemberafterreceiv- than 3,000peoplefollowinghisrelease Seselj iswelcomedinBelgradebymore ultra-nationalist RadicalPartyVojislav • Dragoslav Kosmajac is arrested. • change. garians, whichdisagreeswiththe tion memberAllianceofVojvodina Hun- Party, in a vote boycotted by the coali- government ledbytheDemocratic Vojvodina approvesthereshuffleof • atian War, dies inMoscow. accused ofwarcrimesduringtheCro- eral RepublicofYugoslavia, whostood Defence MinisteroftheSocialistFed- • Serbia of a babyin a hospital in BijeloPolje. of thehealthsystemfollowingdeath On 10NovembertheParliament re- On 19NovemberthePresidentAt- On 10NovembertheEUHighRep- On 24NovembertheformerSerb On 15Novembertheleaderof On 9 November Balkan drug lord On 3NovembertheParliamentin On 2NovemberVeljko Kadijevic,last field on 30 October. in Homs, after taking over the Shaar gas its secondgasfield,theJahar field • Syria Galatasaray and Partizan. waterpolo matchinBelgradebetween Turks alsoforcesthecancellationofa bul. ThetensionbetweenSerbsand ball matchbetweenbothteamsinIstan- violence beforetheEuroleaguebasket- Red StarBelgradefantodeathduring supporters arearrestedforstabbinga • phorous killing at least 24. around 40illegalmigrantssinksinBos- • Turkey bailout. gotiated withtheTroika toavoid athird main trade unionsagainstthe cuts ne- lysed byanationalstrikecalledthe • adrift off the shores of Crete. ities rescuemorethan700immigrants • monk. where he pretended to be a novice in differentmonasteriesonMountAthos, rested inKaryesaftereightyearshiding 9 million euros of public funds, is ar tences inabsentia2004forstealing sisis, acivilservantgiventhreelifesen- • Greece club in Tirana. with thedeathoffourpeopleinanight- ing thearrestofhersoninconnection Luiza Xhuvanigivesupherseatfollow- • Albania for organised crime and bribery. of OhridAleksandarPetreskiisarrested • for 23 years. solve theNameDispute,ongoingnow ROM resumetalksinNewYork tore- • to be fraudulent. election results, which the party believes On 3NovemberIStakescontrol of On 27NovembersevenGalatasaray On 3Novemberaboatcarrying On 27NovemberGreeceispara- On 27NovembertheGreekauthor- On 12NovemberKonstandinos Kiu- On 6NovemberthesocialistMP On 21Novembertheformermayor On 12NovemberGreeceandFY - -

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 377 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 378 Chronologies Appendices Ansar al-Sharia. Thisgovernmentof- the militiasofKhalifaHaftarand IS and Ain Mara,Derna,betweenthearmy and • Abdullah al-Thani. stitutional, alongwiththegovernment of the internationalcommunityasuncon - elections on 25 June and recognised by declares the Parliament formed after the • Libya 2011 Revolution. conspiring tokillprotestersduringthe Minister Habibel-Adlyareclearedof dent HosniMubarakandhisInterior • lim Brotherhood. Salafi FrontandsupportedbytheMus- protests throughout Egypt, called by the and securityforcesinCairo,adayof clashes betweenIslamistdemonstrators • tional security adviser. Mubarak ministerFayzaAbulNaga,na- Fattah Al-Sisiappointstheformer • Maqdis pledges allegiance to IS. • Egypt stitutional. rut denouncethedecisionasuncon- tion inSyriaandIraq.ProtestsBei- and thedangersposedbysitua- being able to elect a new President its inabilitytoholdelectionswithout tends itsmandateto2017inviewof • Lebanon 14,000 militias. Aleppo andwithdrawnmorethan that the FSA has given up fighting in • of the US aid worker Peter Kassig. capitation of18Syriansoldiersandthat which itclaimsresponsibilityforthede- • wealthiest terrorist group. around 2billiondollars,ISistheworld’s of • Kurds abductedinFebruaryKobane. • Forbes reports that, with revenues of On 10Novemberclasheserupt in On 6NovembertheSupremeCourt On 29Novembertheformer Presi- On 28Novemberthereareserious On 5NovemberthePresidentAbdel On 4 November Ansar Beit al- On 5NovembertheParliamentex- On 18 November Hurriyetreports On 16NovemberISpostsavideoin On 12NovembertheIsraeliedition On 4NovemberISreleases93 the Convention against Torture. the UnitedNationsOptionalProtocol to • obstruction of its activities. denounce thegovernment’srepeated Human RightsII,hostedbyMorocco, to that itwillboycotttheWorld Forumon sociation ofHumanRightsannounces • Morocco social projects. stration againstthedelaysinvarious shots fired by police during a demon- are killedinTouggourt, inOuargla,by • for 48 hours. lika isadmitted toahospital in Grenoble • company, Sonatrach. reserved forthestate-ownedoilandgas abroad, a privilege that until nowwas authorises Algeriancompaniestoinvest • the government’s constitutional reform. meets in Algiersto presentproposals for the RallyforCultureandDemocracy, the MovementofSocietyforPeaceand Transition, formedbyel-Islah,Ennahdha, nation ofFreedomsandDemocratic • Algeria the current PresidentMoncef Marzuki. tions with39.46%ofthevotes,beating wins in the first round ofpresidential elec • prison. sentenced inabsentiatosixyears illegal arms,acrimeforwhichhewas his exile in Abu Dabi for possession of Ali, isjailedonhisarrivalinTunisia from son-in-law of the former President Ben • Tunisia imminent offensive on Tripoli. nouncement on the previous day of an after theTobruk government’san- ity, forcesitsclosure.Theattackcomes Tobruk governmentclaimsresponsibil- Mitiga airportinTripoli, forwhich the • launched on Benghazi. fensive runsparallelwithanother On 27NovemberMoroccoratifies On 19NovembertheMoroccan As- On 28Novembertwodemonstrators On 15 November Abdelaziz Boutef- On 14 November the government On 2NovembertheNationalCoordi- On 23NovemberBejiCaidEssebsi On 18 November Slim Chiboub, the On 24Novembertwoattacksonthe - Rosetta Mission performs thefirst-ever craft of the European Space Agency’s • fall of the Iron Curtain. the BerlinWall, whichprecipitatedthe rates the25thanniversaryof fallof • purposes of tax evasion. mission Jean-ClaudeJuncker,for the rent President of the European Com ernment ofLuxembourgunderthecur- around 340multinationalsandthegov- secret agreementssignedbetween dal is made public, an investigation into • Kingdom’s exit from the EU. and wouldvirtuallymeantheUnited the UKrepresentsapointofnoreturn of citizensfromtherestUnioninto that London’s proposal to limit the entry her BritishcounterpartDavidCameron immigration andinternalmigration,warns shared legislationthroughouttheEUon cellor AngelaMerkel,anadvocateof • Donbass. After theelections,fightingresumesin region’s leavingUkrainetojoinRussia. tions, whoseresultswouldimplyeach and theEUdonotrecognisetheseelec- 63.8% ofthevotesrespectively. Ukraine their regionalelectionswith70%and Zakharchenko andIgorPlotnitsky, win Donetsk andLuhansk,Alexander of theself-proclaimedrepublics • EU fellow members are jailed in Rosso. tion, after,on14November,oftheir longing to a non-authorised organisa- guilty byacourtinNouakchottforbe- Abolitionist Movement(IRA)arefound the InitiativeforResurgenceof • ists in 2007. the murderinAlegoffourFrenchtour- Mauritanians are sentenced to death for • form of Islam to prevent extremism.” people intoamoderatemiddle-ground schools compulsory, to“initiateyoung religious educationinsecondary istry passes a law making Islamicand • Mauritania On 10NovemberthePhilaespace - On 9NovemberEuropecommemo - On 6NovembertheLuxLeaksscan- On 4NovembertheGermanChan- On 2NovemberthePrimeMinisters On 19Novembertwomembersof On 18 November two AQIM-linked On 4NovembertheEducationMin- - lilla border fence. In 2014, some 2,254 migrants succeedinjumpingthe Me- • new Chief Public Prosecutor. Consuelo Madrigalisappointed the “for personalreasons.” Thenextday ecutor EduardoTorres-Dulce resigns • by the other political parties. Security Law, whichhasbeencriticised mentary majority approves the Citizen • in the Gürtel corruption trial. November afterbeingcitedbyajudge place AnaMato,whoresignedon27 so isappointedHealthMinistertore- parliamentary spokesmanAlfonsoAlon- • Spain elections. Caid Essebsi wins the presidential pose freshsanctions.InTunisia, Beji lead theEU andUNtothreatenim- where thetwoparallelpowercentres The internalsplitinLibyacontinues, members oftheMuslimBrotherhood. death sentencesarehandeddownto uled forJanuary2015.InEgypt, further Greece leadstoearlyelectionssched- Committee. Thepoliticalcrisisin nised bytheInternationalOlympic coalition governmentandisrecog- cal partyemerges.Kosovoformsa elections. InMontenegroanewpoliti- holds the firstround of presidential further massmigrantarrivals.Croatia sentences forcorruption,andthereare the criminalcodereform,toughening tional strike,thegovernmentapproves terrorist alert.InItaly, thereisana- Security Law. Franceraisesitsanti- Spain passes thecontroversial Citizen December 2014 which is defeated. sion’s PresidentJean-ClaudeJuncker, motion ofcensure against the Commis- EU history, agroupofMEPsbrings • ciation Agreement. liament adoptstheEU-MoldaviaAsso- • the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. soft landingonthenucleusofacomet, On 30-31December156illegal im- On 18DecemberthePublicPros- On 11DecemberthePP’sparlia- On 3DecemberthePeople’sParty On 27Novemberforthefirsttimein On 13NovembertheEuropeanPar- fu, disembarkin Gallipoliafterbeing ship, abandonedbyitscrewnear Cor- grants aboardaMoldovan-flagged • links with the ’Ndrangheta. 52 people in Reggio Calabria for their • et cuts. public administration reform and budg- ment’s economicpolicy, labourand by ageneralstrikeagainstthegovern- • such a crime. extending thestatuteoflimitationsfor stolen, right down to the last cent, and found guiltyreturneverythingtheyhave fiscating assets,ensuringthatthose 6 years, simplifying the process for con prison sentence for corruption from 4 to ruption. Itincludesraisingtheminimum that imposestougherlawsagainstcor- approves areformofthecriminalcode • tre-right). leaves theBrothersofItalyparty(cen- Gianni Alemanno,whoon3December Rome andformerBerlusconiminister tion, including the former mayor of dred orsopeopleareunderinvestiga- different political parties. Another hun- 37 people,someofthemmembers dismantled in Rome with the arrest of • Italy to the throne. Gabriela andJacobo.Thelatterisheir Charlene ofMonacogives birth totwins, • Monaco leave one dead and almost 30 injured. tacks overthepastthreedays,which rate plan, following three separate at - country under the anti-terrorist Vigipi its militarydeploymentthroughoutthe • ing corporate assets.” resigns accusedbythecourtof“misus- personal adviser to FrançoisHollande, • France this way. people haveenteredtheSpanishcity On 30December970illegal mi- On 18Decemberthepolicearrest On 12DecemberItalyisparalysed On 11Decemberthegovernment On 2Decemberamafianetworkis On 11DecemberAlbertoII’swife On 23DecemberFrancestepsup On 4DecemberFaouziLamdaoui, - - cil of Ministers. partite presidencyofthefederal Coun- Bosnian DenisZvizdictoheadthe tri- • there. hac, whileheservedasthe mayor construction ofsportsfacilities in Bi- is arrestedoverirregularitiesinthe Prime Minister of the Una-Sana canton, crat leaderHamdijaLipovaca, the • nians in Zecovi in 1992. to prisonforthemassacreof150Bos- Serb fightersandofficersaresentenced • and second deputy Chairs. Mladen Bosic, (SDS) are appointedfirst house) and Borjana Kristo (HDZ) and of Representatives(federallower (SDA) iselectedChairmanoftheHouse • October. following thepoorelectionresultsin place ZlatkoLagumdzija,whoresigned Nermin Niksicaspartyleadertore- • Bosnia and Herzegovina be held on 11 January 2015. through to the second round, which will date Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, pass ent IvoJosipovic,andtheHDZcandi- The incumbentPresident,theindepend- first roundofitspresidentialelections. • Croatia shooting incident on 19 November. into his driver in connection with a after being implicated in an investigation by the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat Manuel Mallia,whowasforcedtoresign appointed InteriorMinistertoreplace • Malta in hisend-of-yearspeechcitingage. no confirmshisresignationasPresident • Italy by sea. 2014, 167,462migrantshavereached were rescuedintheStraitofSicily. In 26 December,around1,300migrants another massarrivalafter,on25and rescued by the coast guard. This is yet On 18DecembertheSDSelects On 17Decemberthesocialdemo- On 12December15formerBosnian On 9DecemberSefikDzaferovic On 6DecembertheSDPelects On 28DecemberCroatiaholdsthe On 9 December Carmelo Abela is On 31DecemberGiorgioNapolita-

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 379 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 380 Chronologies Appendices taxes in 2015. government’s planstoincrease their ers demonstrate in Skopje against the porary, construction and service work • nist era. arms, whichdatesbacktothecommu - which willreplacethecurrentcoatof yellow shield, topped with a crown the Parliament– arampantlion on a sents thecountry’snewcoatofarmsto • sity exams. government inadditiontotheuniver- introduction ofexamswrittenbythe tion reformbillwhichforeseesthe dependence, against the higher educa- gest studentdemonstrationsincein- protest inSkopje,thecountry’sbig- • ethnic conflict in 2001. which have not been seen since the lice stations, in an attack the likes of tacks intheTetovo andKumanovopo- • FYROM Minister. be deputyPrimeMinisterandForeign Prime MinisterHashimThaçi(PDK)will Theoutgoing parties (LDKandPDK). December betweenKosovo’s twomain ance withtheagreementsignedon8 sworn inasPrimeMinister,accord- of theDemocraticLeague(LDK)is • pic Games. for thefirsttimeinRio2016Olym- Committee, whoseteamwillparticipate naco recognisestheKosovan Olympic International Olympic Committee in Mo- • Council Resolution 1244 Kosovo underUnitedNationsSecurity democratic regeneration. based onEuro-Atlanticvaluesand Zarko Rakcevic,andprogramme, ship, headedbyformervice-President Movement partypresentsitsleader- • chief Boro Vucinic resigns. • Montenegro On 22Decemberthousandsoftem - On 7Decemberthegovernmentpre- On 10December12,000students On 9Decembertherearebombat- On 9DecemberIsaMustafa,leader On 9Decemberthemeetingof On 22DecemberthenewCivic On 9Decemberthesecretservice – - ident Vladimir Putin announces the • Turkey 2015. are thereforecalledfor25January tions failandearlylegislativeelections On 29Decemberthepresidentialelec- which Syriza is a clear favourite to win. legislative electionsbeingheld,in Dimas electedandtherebyavoidearly coalition governmentinordertoget cember Samarasproposesanational Presidency oftheRepublic.On21De- of hiscandidateStavrosDimastothe support neededtoensuretheelection cabinet failstogaintheparliamentary • quired by the Troika. exclusion ofthenewmeasuresre- jected bytheGreekpeople,despiteits general budget for 2015, widely re ment narrowlysucceedsinpassingthe the Troika. Onthesameday, theParlia- tinue applyingthereformsagreedwith the government’sdifficultiestocon- tainty intheinternationalmarketsover ernment coalitionandeconomicuncer- ic rescueandamidacrisisinthegov- a two-monthextensiononitseconom- a day after the Eurogroup gives Greece December. Theannouncementcomes 2015 are being moved forward to 17 presidential electionsscheduledfor nounces thatthefirstroundof • of arrests. in clashes with the police and dozens killed bythepolicesixyearsagoends protester AlexisGrigoropuloswhowas organised inAthensmemoryofthe • Greece for her summer home. over her failure to pay the electricity bills ronment MinisterDianaBejkoissacked • five million euros. in Julyforfailingtopreventthetheftof Bank to replace Ardian Fullani, sacked named the new governor of the Central ciete GeneralebankGentSejkois • Albania On 1DecembertheRussianPres - On 17 December Antonis Samaras’ On 8Decemberthegovernmentan- On 6Decemberademonstration On 17DecemberthedeputyEnvi- On 8DecembertheheadofSo- - countries forwards arequest,dis- During themeetingagroupof Arab nature ofISinordertodelegitimise it. and spreadinformationaboutthe true ian populationwithhumanitarian aid financing andfundsofIS;helpthe civil- ists toSyriaandIraq;cutaccess tothe erations; halttheflowofforeignterror- to support the coalition’s military op- The 60 countries at the meeting agree of theinternationalcoalitionagainstIS. quarters hoststhefirstmajormeeting • it reactivates its aid plan. WFP’s appealraises6millioneurosand Syrian refugees.By9Decemberthe the deliveryof1.7millioneurosinaidto has runoutoffundsandtocancel Programme (WFP)announcesthatit • Syria tions company. sion fundoftheCyTA telecommunica- above-market pricesusingthepen- purchase ofpropertyinDromolaxiaat ionist and businessmen, for the ures, includingapolitician,tradeun- trict Courtsentencesfivepublicfig- • Cyprus and salaries. cation andimprovedworkingconditions a demonstrationcallingforsecularedu- (Egitim-Is) arearrestedinAnkaraduring members of the Turkish teaching union • curity. and accusedofthreateningstatese- the IslamistpreacherFethullahGülen arrest of 27 journalists connected with EU’s criticism of the previous day’s Recep Tayyip Erdoganrejectsthe • school education. a compulsorysubjectinpublicprimary nounces theintroductionofreligionas • Ukraine. on Moscowovertheconflictin ter thesanctionsimposedbyBrussels gas pipelineintosouthernEurope,af- Turkey asanalternativeforaRussian pipeline projectandinsteadnamed suspension oftheSouthStreamgas On 2DecembertheNATO head- On 1DecembertheWorld Food On 22DecembertheLarnacaDis- On 20Decemberoverahundred On 15 December the President On 6Decemberthegovernmentan- 2013. the outskirtsofCairoon14August attack on the Kirdasa police station, on the murderof11policeofficers inthe Giza sentences188peopletodeath for • the murder ofdemonstratorsduring el-Adly andsixcollaboratorsofthe Mubarak, formerInteriorMinisterHabib clear theformerPresidentHosni cutor appealsthecourt’sdecisionto • Egypt by IS. the northofSyriaanditspilotcaptured es thatoneofitsplaneshascrashedin • since March 2006. penalty hasnotbeenusedinJordan ecuted atSwaqaprison.Thedeath people foundguiltyofmurderareex- confirmed bytheSupremeCourt,11 • Jordan az-Zour. Hama, Hasakah,Idlib,RaqqaandDeir the insurgentsinRifDimashq,Homs, has stepped up its offensive against three days,theBasharal-Assadregime and Qabaseen,inAleppo.Inthelast leaves morethan45deadinal-Bab • ied, killedbyIS. members oftheSheitattribearebur- Kashkiya, Deiral-Zour, inwhich230 es thediscoveryofamassgravein servatory forHumanRightsannounc- • Nusra Front. the northofAleppocityfromal- takes backcontrolofastrategicarea • tory for the al-Nusra Front. al-Hamadiya, Idlib,constitutingavic- tegic militarybasesofWadi al-Difand killed infightingforcontrolofthestra- ian soldiersand80Islamistrebelsare • kind of war crime. Assad regime,hasnotcommittedany that, althoughloyaltotheBasharel- talks withthepartofSyrianarmy missed bytheothermembers,tobegin On 2 December the criminal court of On 2 December the criminal court of On 2DecemberthePublicProse- On 24 December thearmy announc- On 21 December, following aruling On 25Decemberarmyshelling On 17DecembertheSyrianOb- On 15 December the Syrian army On 14Decemberatleast100Syr- 2011 revolution. • ences with thecurrent leadership. adi Jebalileavesthepartyoverdiffer- Minister and founder of Ennhada Ham- • Tounes) is elected Speaker of the house. takes place.MohamedEnnaceur(Nidaa mony forthenewTunisian Parliament • Tunisia steps towards political dialogue. if thecountrydoesnottakeeffective threatens Libyawitheconomicsanctions Libya. On16DecembertheEUandUN map toendthepoliticaldisputedividing NATO headquarterstodrawuparoad EU andUNrepresentativesmeetatthe Germany andtheUnitedKingdom Ministers oftheUS,Spain,France,Italy, • Libya Prime MinisterDonald Tusk isswornin • EU Forum. hosts theGlobalCounterterrorism • (USFP). cialist Union of Popular Forces party Zaidi diedinNovember,fromtheSo- place wherethesocialistMPAhmed train andkilledinBouznika,thesame Morocco’s MinisterofState,ishitbya • Morocco Algeria. the Caliphate,anIS-affiliatedgroupin leader oftheterroristgroupSoldiers delmalek al-Gouri,inBoumerdes,the • Algeria wins with 55.68% of the votes. turnout of59.04%.BejiCaidEssebsi of presidentialelectionsisheldwitha • hamed Brahmi. the politiciansChokriBelaïdandMo- sponsibility forthemurdersin2013of hadist AbouBakral-Hakimclaimsre- On 17 December the IS-linked ji On 11DecembertheformerPrime On 2Decembertheinauguralcere- On 3DecembertheForeignAffairs On 1DecemberPoland’s former On 15-16DecemberMarrakech On 8 December Abdellah Baha, On 23DecemberthearmykillsAb- On 21Decemberthesecondround - breached environmental regulations,as sion considersthatGibraltarhas not • have been applied. up bySpanishanti-smugglingchecks issue ofvehiclesandpeoplebeing held made by Brussels in 2013 to resolve the whether or not the recommendations Spanish-Gibraltar border to monitor sends afact-findingmissiontothe • crecy law in force on the Rock. protecting themunderthebankingse- reveal theidentityofitsclientsto Spain, Bank GibraltarLimitedforrefusingto imposed bythegovernmentonJyske Court confirmsthe1.7-million-eurofine • before the EU. istries andformalprotestsareissued Madrid bytherespectiveForeignMin- regularly summonedinLondonand Spanish and British diplomats are sels. Asaresultoftheseincidents, research vesselsandsmugglingves- British navies,fishingboats,Spanish Gibraltar authorities,theSpanishand involving patrols from theSpanish and trolled watersintheBayofGibraltar, and confrontations in Spanish-con are repeatedincidences,hostilities Gibraltar. Throughouttheyearthere Spanish researchvesselintheBayof sovereignty bytheincursionofa report ofanallegedviolation ofits Kingdom andSpainoverGibraltar’s the ForeignMinistriesofUnited Manley, are summoned respectively by Madrid, FedericoTrillo andSimon London andBritishambassadorin 2 ApriltheSpanishambassadorin ing aBritishnavytrainingexercise.On trolled watersclosetoGibraltar,dur- Spanish navalshipinSpanish-con- mal protest” overtheincursionofa Kingdom announcesa“high-levelfor- boats. On19FebruarytheUnited Bay of Gibraltar, by Gibraltar patrol be expelledfromSpanishwatersinthe first Spanishfishingboatof2014to • Gibraltar Rompuy to replacetheBelgianHermanVan as PresidentoftheEuropeanCouncil, On 25JulytheEuropeanCommis - On 2JulytheEuropeanCommission On 2JanuarytheSpanish Supreme On 7Januarythe‘Alejandra’ isthe -

IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 381 Chronologies Appendices IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2015 382 Chronologies Appendices roccan Nationality in El Aaiun. tion Committee for the Refusal of Mo- gathering organisedbytheCoordina- rity forcesdisperseanunauthorised • Western Sahara pean Skyregulations. United Kingdom, from the Single Euro- the isthmusillegallyoccupiedby exclusion ofGibraltar’sairport,builton Works MinisterAnaPastorforces the • gional government. de GibraltarandtheAndalusianre- of theCouncilAssociationCampo rum, whichwillincludetheparticipation Brussels toreplacetheTripartite Fo- a newforumwithitsheadquartersin Kingdom andGibraltaragreetosetup • between 2010 and 2013. tax authorities around 700 million euros tobacco smugglinginGibraltarcostEU • ceedings. United Kingdominitiatejudicialpro- ommends thatbothSpainandthe smuggling andtaxevasionrec- Rock’s allegedroleasabasefor sufficient motivestoinvestigatethe a year of investigations, that there are Fraud Office (OLAF) concludes, after • tificial reefs. by theRockanditsconstructionofar- activities, landreclaimedfromthesea alleged by Spain, withits bunkering On 8JanuarytheMoroccansecu- On 2DecembertheSpanishPublic On 22OctoberSpain,theUnited On 13AugustOLAFreportsthat On 29 JulytheEuropeanAnti- ic growth. to promotetheregion’ssocio-econom- nomic systemoftheWestern Sahara need toreviewthesubsidisedeco- March, MohammedVIannouncesthe mark the 39th anniversary of the Green • aged Tindouf camps. fundamental rightsinthePolisario-man- Watch reportsserious restrictionson • Weisbrod-Weber. of MINURSO to replace Wolfgang Kim Bolducisappointedthenewhead • monitoring from its competences. once againexcludinghumanrights butWestern Sahara(MINURSO), the UN Mission forthe Referendum in curity Council extendsthe mandate for • of torture. can spychiefAbdelatifHammouchi filed inFranceaccusingtheMoroc- eign Ministry in protest over alawsuit is summoned to theMoroccan For- ambassador inMoroccoCharlesFries comes threedaysaftertheFrench denies theallegation. The incident film: SonsoftheClouds.Parisflatly of hispro-Saharawiindependence Javier Bardemduringthepresentation uted tothediplomatbyactor ment fromtheSaharaissue,attrib- about France’s deliberate disengage- sentative totheUNGerardAraud legedly madebytheFrenchRepre- France inreactiontodeclarationsal- pends its judicial cooperation with • On 6November,inaspeechto On 15OctoberHumanRights On 13MaytheCanadiandiplomat On 29ApriltheUnitedNationsSe- On 26FebruaryMoroccosus- United Nations News Centre The Washington Post The New York Times RTVE Ria Novosti Reuters Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Belgian presidencies of the EU Press Releases of the Spanish and mission Press ReleasesoftheEuropeanCom- Mundo ÁrabeyMusulmán(OPEMAM) Observatorio Político Electoral del Medarab News L’Orient Le Jour Le Monde Le Figaro IRIS work International Relations&SecurityNet- International Crisis Group Il Corriere della Sera Haaretz FRIDE Europe Media Monitor Euronews El País El Mundo Courier International Chatham House Peace Carnegie EndowmentforInternational BBC World Associated Press Al-Jazeera Agencia EFE Affaires Stratégiques Al-Masry al-Youm Sources