DOCSLIB.ORG

Europeans, Israel and Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Europeans, Israel and Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking Divided and Divisive Europeans, Israel and Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking Edited by Dr. Muriel Asseburg & Dr. Nimrod Goren The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies Yonatan Touval / Member of the Board [email protected] / +972-52-2747786 11 Tuval St., Ramat Gan 52522, Israel / www.mitvim.org.il Colophon CONTENT Editors: Dr. Muriel Asseburg & Dr. Nimrod Goren Graphic design: Het IJzeren Gordijn PREFACE 4 Divided and Divisive: Europeans, Israel and Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking May 2019 INTRODUCTION 5 ISBN: 978-94-92487-38-4 Dr. Muriel Asseburg and Dr. Nimrod Goren NUR: 689 Serial number: PAX/2019/07 CHAPTER 1. A MORE INWARD LOOKING EUROPEAN UNION 8 The Structural Limits to a more Effective EU Foreign and Security Policy All rights reserved. Dr. Nicolai von Ondarza Copyright © 2019 by Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) – The German Institute for Introduction 8 International and Security Affairs & PAX. 1. The persistent challenge of unanimity and a weak High Representative 9 2. A more inward looking EU, despite focus on ‘European sovereignty/strategic autonomy’ 12 The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Mitvim, SWP and PAX. Commercial use of this publication is not permitted without 3. Brexit uncertainty is a challenge for European foreign policy 15 written consent by the publishers. 4. An ‘institutional vacuum’ strengthens coalitions of (larger) member states 18 Outlook 20 Questions and feedback on this report are highly appreciated, feel free to contact the organisations mentioned below. www.mitvim.org.il CHAPTER 2. DIVISIVE POLICIES 21 www.paxforpeace.nl Israel’s Foreign Policy towards the EU and its Member States www.swp-berlin.org Dr. Eyal Ronen with Dr. Nimrod Goren Introduction 21 1. Background 22 2. With which EU regional blocs has Israel allied itself? On what basis? 25 3. How does Israel leverage its growing bilateral ties with EU Member States to advance its interests? 28 4. The perception of Israel’s foreign policy towards the EU 32 Conclusion 35 CHAPTER 3. POLITICAL PARALYSIS 36 The Impact of Divisions among EU Member States on the European Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Dr. Muriel Asseburg Introduction 36 1. Impediments to an effective European role 37 2. Three blocks within the EU 40 3. Prospects 49 Conclusion 50 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 52 Dr. Muriel Asseburg and Dr. Nimrod Goren ABOUT THE AUTHORS 60 3 Divided and Divisive PREFACE INTRODUCTION Dr. Muriel Asseburg and Dr. Nimrod Goren The report Divided and Divisive analyses the current dynamics of the relations between the Over the last 40 years, since the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty (that alluded to but did not solve European Union and Israel. Experts from Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign the Palestinian question) and the European Community’s 1980 Venice Declaration, Europe has Policies and the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik – The German Institute for International been seeking ways to help advance Israeli-Palestinian peace. The task was not an easy one, and Security Affairs reflect on the implications these developments have on the long-stalled mostly due to United States of America (US) dominance of peace negotiations and negative Middle East Peace Process. The authors offer highly relevant recommendations and insights Israeli attitudes towards Europe as a mediator. Thus, while Europeans were key in shaping for anyone who seeks to contribute to a fair and sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian international language on the conflict, they have remained in the back seat when it comes conflict. to shaping dynamics on the ground. Since the collapse in 2014 of the John Kerry initiative to advance the peace process, the task has become even more difficult for the Europeans. The relevance of this report goes beyond this conflict, however. It demonstrates the European Realities on the ground, such as a right-wing government in Israel lacking interest in advancing Union’s (EU) increasing fragility and its growing inability to effectively protect and act upon a peace process, expanded settlement construction, as well as the internal Palestinian split and its fundamental values of respect for human dignity and human rights, freedom, democracy, governance deficiencies in the Palestinian Authority, make the two-state solution ever more equality and the rule of law. These are precisely the values that have made the EU a crucial difficult to achieve. In addition, Israel’s leadership has worked to weaken and divide the EU in instrument in strengthening peaceful co-existence. Hence, this report is a call to action to order to limit its role on the issue. In this endeavor, it has profited from different interests and solidify these values for the sake of the EU itself. priorities among EU Member States as reflected in discussions and decision-making processes regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. PAX wants to thank Dr. Muriel Asseburg, Dr. Nimrod Goren, Dr. Nicolai von Ondarza and Dr. Eyal Ronen for their thorough analyses, deep reflections and commitment to this project. These trends have increasingly intensified in recent years, and it is the goal of this publication to analyze them, assess their impact on European capacities and policies, and devise Jan Gruiters recommendations to tackle and perhaps even reverse them. The publication includes three Director PAX analytical chapters focusing on internal European dynamics, on Israel’s foreign policy towards the EU, and on EU policy-making regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict/peace process. In his contribution “A More Inward Looking EU: The structural limits to a more effective EU foreign and security policy”, Dr. Nicolai von Ondarza analyses the short to medium term trends 4 5 Divided and Divisive Divided and Divisive challenging the EU’s capacity for a pro-active and coherent foreign policy that would bring to the Traditionally, the Middle East peace process has been one of the policy areas where the EU and fore the economic and political weight of the EU and its Member States. The first obstacle lies in its Member States have had a well-defined, detailed and consistent stance. The EU has also been the institutional structure of the EU – with the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and a vanguard in shaping international language on the conflict. Still, over the last few years, while Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) remaining purely intergovernmental policy areas, Europeans were able to score temporary success on particular issues, they have failed to halt or in which each decision (with very few exceptions) requires unanimity. This gives every member reverse trends on the ground. To the contrary: the situation has been worsening rapidly with a state a veto and makes decision-making necessarily oriented towards a low common denominator. concrete risk of renewed escalation of large-scale armed violence, breakdown of the Palestinian Paradoxically, a second major factor limiting the EU’s capacity as an effective foreign and security Authority and the door closing for good on conflict resolution based on a two-state approach. policy actor is its current debate about ‘strategic autonomy’ or ‘European sovereignty’. This debate In her contribution on “Political Paralysis: The Impact of Divisions among EU Member States has created frictions between Germany, France and Poland, inter alia, weakening rather than on the European Role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, Dr. Muriel Asseburg explains why strengthening EU coherence. The current focus is also on cooperation in military capabilities, the Europeans have not been able to assume a more prominent role in the Middle East peace which will take years if not decades to realize. The third major challenge for the Europeans in process. First, EU Member States have refrained from challenging the US administration’s their foreign and security policy is the future cooperation with the United Kingdom (UK) after position as the chief mediator. Second, EU Member States have hidden behind the EU rather Brexit, if and when it occurs. The Brexit process has already diverted UK attention away from than being active proponents of agreed-upon stances. Third, and most importantly, consensus foreign policy issues, and it will further complicate cooperation in the future. The exact form of has been lacking with regard to the direction forward. The Trump Administration’s approach, cooperation is yet to be decided, but it is clear that the UK will not be at the table when the EU as well as Israeli policies aimed at further splitting EU Member States, have deepened divisions makes future foreign and security policy decisions. The fourth major challenge for EU foreign among the Europeans. Asseburg argues that even if the Europeans do not consider the Israeli- policy lies in the 2019 European elections and their implications. For most of 2019, EU institutions Palestinian conflict a foreign policy priority today, they should take the associated risks will be in caretaker mode. With the two major parties likely to lose their overall majority in the seriously. In view of fast developments on the ground, hibernating until the end of the Trump European Parliament, and an expected rise in seat shares for EU-sceptic parties, the election of a Administration and pinning hopes on the next Israeli government will not be enough. Against new Commission – including the next High Representative – could well stretch into 2020. Taken the backdrop of the divisions among EU Member States analyzed here, progressive action will together, this will continue to amplify the importance of the large member states – Germany and only be possible in informal coalitions. At the same time, it will be of utmost importance to France, in particular – in setting the EU’s foreign policy agenda. maintain the E27 (preferably plus the UK) consensus on the acquis with regards to principles of conflict resolution.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
    E/2018/30 E/CN.15/2018/15 United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Report on the twenty-seventh session (8 December 2017 and 14–18 May 2018) Economic and Social Council Official Records, 2018 Supplement No. 10 E/2018/30 E/CN.15/2018/15 Economic and Social Council Official Records, 2018 Supplement No. 10 Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Report on the twenty-seventh session (8 December 2017 and 14–18 May 2018) United Nations • New York, 2018 E/2018/30 E/CN.15/2018/15 Note Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. The report of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on its reconvened twenty-seventh session, to be held on 6 and 7 December 2018, will be issued as Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2018, Supplement No. 10A (E/2018/30/Add.1). ISSN 0257-0653 Contents Chapter Page Executive summary ......................................................... v I. Matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention ................................................................ 1 A. Draft resolutions to be recommended by the Economic and Social Council for adoption by the General Assembly ......................................... 1 I. Enhancing the role of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development ............................................ 1 II. Follow-up to the Thirteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and preparations for the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice .............................
    [Show full text]
  • The Garment of Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Tradition
    24 The Garmentof Adam in Jewish, Muslim, and ChristianTradition Stephen D. Ricks Although rarely occurring in any detail, the motif of Adam's garment appears with surprising frequency in ancient Jewish and Christian literature. (I am using the term "Adam's garment" as a cover term to include any garment bestowed by a divine being to one of the patri­ archs that is preserved and passed on, in many instances, from one generation to another. I will thus also consider garments divinely granted to other patriarchal figures, including Noah, Abraham, and Joseph.) Although attested less often than in the Jewish and Christian sources, the motif also occurs in the literature of early Islam, espe­ cially in the Isra'iliyyiit literature in the Muslim authors al­ ThaclabI and al-Kisa'I as well as in the Rasii'il Ikhwiin al­ ~afa (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity). Particularly when discussing the garment of Adam in the Jewish tradition, I will shatter chronological boundaries, ranging from the biblical, pseudepigraphic, and midrashic references to the garment of Adam to its medieval attestations. 1 In what fol­ lows, I wish to consider (1) the garment of Adam as a pri­ mordial creation; (2) the garment as a locus of power, a symbol of authority, and a high priestly garb; and (3) the garment of Adam and heavenly robes. 2 705 706 STEPHEN D. RICKS 1. The Garment of Adam as a Primordial Creation The traditions of Adam's garment in the Hebrew Bible begin quite sparely, with a single verse in Genesis 3:21, where we are informed that "God made garments of skins for Adam and for his wife and clothed them." Probably the oldest rabbinic traditions include the view that God gave garments to Adam and Eve before the Fall but that these were not garments of skin (Hebrew 'or) but instead gar­ ments of light (Hebrew 'or).
    [Show full text]
  • August 2011 Postcard
    postcard_marchapril_2020.qxp_MARCH APRIL 2020 Postcard 1/29/20 10:06 AM Page 2 ¡ DEAR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: PLACE You have repeatedly boasted of your skills as a negotiator. If you were the You may wish leader of Palestine, would you view the recently released Israel-Palestine 35¢ “peace plan” as a serious overture? Of course not! Any negotiator would STAMP hastily dismiss a proposal that only reflects one side’s interests. How does HERE to send these this deal advance peace? It’s clear this proposal will not lead to a peace set- tlement and could only result in a worsening divide and more violence and injustice. What does the U.S. get out of this deal? Nothing but the promise of greater global distrust. This proposal cards to forgoes any sense of partiality and signals an almost complete acquiescence to Israeli desires. So much for putting “America First.” President TO: Donald Trump PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP THE WHITE HOUSE 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE, NW and the WASHINGTON, DC 20500 Senator and ¡ Representative DEAR SENATOR: PLACE It’s painfully clear to objective observers that President Trump’s Israel- Palestine “peace plan” is simply a green light for Israel to do as it wishes. 35¢ in whose The plan embarrassingly forgoes any premise of U.S. impartiality and puts a STAMP blind rubber stamp on Israel’s desire to annex the West Bank and exert its HERE control over Palestinians. How does this deal advance peace? It’s clear this constituency proposal will not lead to a peace settlement and could only result in a worsening divide and more violence and injustice.
    [Show full text]
  • June 17, 2021 Hukkat – Rabbi Wexler
    June 17, 2021 Hukkat – Rabbi Wexler Our Torah portion this week, Hukkat, is very much about transition of leadership. The triumvirate who led the people out of Egypt and through four decades of peril and transformation, are reaching the end of their lives. First, Miriam dies. Then Aaron dies. And finally, Moses learns he will never cross the Jordan River nor enter the land of Israel. The remainder of the Torah is not only dedicated to the Israelites’ remaining journey through the wilderness, but even more, their journey of transition from one generation to the next and from one leadership regime to another. This summer feels very much like a time of transition for all of us; both for everyone here in Cherry Hill as we seek to slowly and carefully move out of the pandemic, and also a significant moment of change and transition for our brothers and sisters in Israel with the election of their 36th government. In recent years, Israel’s democracy has been challenged. Radicalization and polarization divided Israel into two camps, one for and one against Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. Netanyahu was viewed by many as Israel’s leader par excellence, a master politician and statesman, but by an even greater number as power-hungry and corrupt. As a result, Israel held four elections in the past two years and the two camps remained in a stalemate. However, we finally have clarity and answers from the results of the most recent election, which may well go down as one of the most revolutionary elections in Israel’s history.
    [Show full text]
  • Opinion New Government, New President, New Israel?
    Journal of Military and Strategic VOLUME 20, ISSUE 3 Studies Opinion New Government, New President, New Israel? Melanie Carina Schmoll, PhD Israel in summer 2021 – the end of the pandemic seems to be near. Israel opens up, almost all mask requirements are cancelled, international travel groups are welcome and even the individual guests are allowed to travel to the Holy Land with almost no restrictions. It seems Israel is back in pre-pandemic times. But it is not the same country anymore. Some fundamental changes have happened over the last few weeks. When, in March 2021, the Israelis had to vote again for the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, it was for the fourth time within two and a half years. The outcome was almost the same as the three times before. Benjamin Nethanyahu, Israel´s long-time prime minister, won most of the seats with his Likud party. As the State of Israel is a parlamentary democracy the executive branch or the government draws its authority from the Parliament (the legislative branch) and needs its confidence. Therefore, the prime minister is not decided directly by the voters but depends instead on a process of bargaining among the various fractions elected to parliament. In Israel, no single party holds most of the seats in Parliament and thus the process of forming a government is long and complicated.1 Israel also has an extreme proportional system of government, 1 For more information see Melanie Carina Schmoll, “Israel and the permanent siege: The people have spoken - who will find an answer to the needs of the voters?” Journal of Military and Strategic Studies 20, 1 (2019).
    [Show full text]
  • Israeli–Palestinian Peacemaking January 2019 Middle East and North the Role of the Arab States Africa Programme
    Briefing Israeli–Palestinian Peacemaking January 2019 Middle East and North The Role of the Arab States Africa Programme Yossi Mekelberg Summary and Greg Shapland • The positions of several Arab states towards Israel have evolved greatly in the past 50 years. Four of these states in particular – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and (to a lesser extent) Jordan – could be influential in shaping the course of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. • In addition to Egypt and Jordan (which have signed peace treaties with Israel), Saudi Arabia and the UAE, among other Gulf states, now have extensive – albeit discreet – dealings with Israel. • This evolution has created a new situation in the region, with these Arab states now having considerable potential influence over the Israelis and Palestinians. It also has implications for US positions and policy. So far, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan have chosen not to test what this influence could achieve. • One reason for the inactivity to date may be disenchantment with the Palestinians and their cause, including the inability of Palestinian leaders to unite to promote it. However, ignoring Palestinian concerns will not bring about a resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which will continue to add to instability in the region. If Arab leaders see regional stability as being in their countries’ interests, they should be trying to shape any eventual peace plan advanced by the administration of US President Donald Trump in such a way that it forms a framework for negotiations that both Israeli and Palestinian leaderships can accept. Israeli–Palestinian Peacemaking: The Role of the Arab States Introduction This briefing forms part of the Chatham House project, ‘Israel–Palestine: Beyond the Stalemate’.
    [Show full text]
  • Ultraorthodox Jews in Israel – Epidemic As a Measure of Challenges Marek Matusiak
    OSW Commentary CENTRE FOR EASTERN STUDIES NUMBER 341 23.06.2020 www.osw.waw.pl Ultraorthodox Jews in Israel – epidemic as a measure of challenges Marek Matusiak In Israel as in other countries, when the COVID-19 epidemic surfaced it exacerbated the existing divi- sions and tensions in society. A group that came under severe attack from the public was the Jewish Ultraorthodox population (the Haredi). This was due to disregard on the part of certain ultraorthodox groups of the restrictions imposed in response to the epidemic and an exceptionally high infection rate in that community – as much as 70% of cases recorded from February until May this year affected members of that community.1 This non-conformity with the regulations by some Haredi (in fact a distinct minority) resonated broadly because it was an element of a decades-long heated dispute over the state’s approach towards the group and its place in Israeli society. Over the years, the issue has repeatedly caused severe shockwaves (including collapse of government coalitions). The stance adopted by the Haredi during the initial phase of the epidemic provided critics of the Haredi with new arguments that they are de facto a law unto themselves, and as a result are becoming increasingly socially and politically problematic. While COVID-19 cannot be expected to significantly change the subjects under debate, the arguments used in the debate, or the balance of power, it will make the dispute even more complex than before the epidemic and lead to greater polarisation. This will further complicate Israel’s efforts to meet challenges posed by the rapid increase in the community’s population.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Eu Foreign Policy Architecture
    THE NEW EU FOREIGN POLICY ARCHITECTURE REVIEWING THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE EEAS NIKLAS HELWIG PAUL IVAN HRANT KOSTANYAN CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES (CEPS) BRUSSELS The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound policy research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe. The views expressed in this book are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed to CEPS or any other institution with which they are associated or to the European Union. Niklas Helwig is a Marie Curie Researcher of the EXACT network at the University of Edinburgh and Cologne and focuses on the institutional development of EU foreign policy. He worked for the Centre for European Policy Studies and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Paul Ivan is a Romanian diplomat. Previously, he worked as a researcher for the Centre for European Policy Studies, where he focused on EU political and institutional issues and the European External Action Service. Hrant Kostanyan is an associate research fellow at CEPS and a PhD candidate at the Centre for EU Studies at Ghent University. He worked as an external expert for International Alert, based in London, in the Eastern Europe and South Caucasus research project. He also worked as an expert on a European Commission-funded project on the EU’s relations with Russia and the Eastern Partnership at the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre. The authors thank Piotr Maciej Kaczyński for his comments on an earlier draft. ISBN 978-94-6138-262-7 © Copyright 2013, Centre for European Policy Studies and the authors.
    [Show full text]
  • Gog and Magog and Ethnic Difference in the Catalan Atlas (1375) Thomas Franke
    University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository History ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 9-12-2014 Monsters at the End of Time: Gog and Magog and Ethnic Difference in the Catalan Atlas (1375) Thomas Franke Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds Recommended Citation Franke, Thomas. "Monsters at the End of Time: Gog and Magog and Ethnic Difference in the Catalan Atlas (1375)." (2014). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hist_etds/30 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in History ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thomas Samuel Franke Candidate History Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: Michael A. Ryan , Chairperson Timothy C. Graham Sarah Davis-Secord Franke i MONSTERS AT THE END OF TIME: GOG AND MAGOG AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCE IN THE CATALAN ATLAS (1375) by THOMAS FRANKE BACHELOR OF ARTS, UC IRVINE 2012 THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS HISTORY The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico JULY 2014 Franke ii Abstract Franke, Thomas. Monsters at the End of Time: Gog and Magog and Ethnic Difference in the Catalan Atlas (1375). University of New Mexico, 2014. Although they are only mentioned briefly in Revelation, the destructive Gog and Magog formed an important component of apocalyptic thought for medieval European Christians, who associated Gog and Magog with a number of non-Christian peoples.
    [Show full text]
  • Propaganda Made-To-Measure: Dimensions of Risk and Resilience in the Western Balkans
    ASYMMETRIC THREATS PROGRAMME A Study of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia PROPAGANDA MADE-TO-MEASURE: DIMENSIONS OF RISK AND RESILIENCE IN THE WESTERN BALKANS Rufin Zamfir (editor) Funded by: A project by I Bucharest, Romania May, 2019 The report can be accessed at www.global-focus.eu or ordered at [email protected] +40-721259205 26, Hristo Botev bvd, et. 4, ap. 9 Bucharest, Sector 3 GlobalFocus Center is an independent international studies think-tank which produces in-depth research and high quality analysis on foreign policy, security, European affairs, good governance and development. It functions as a platform for cooperation and dialogue among individual experts, NGOs, think-tanks and public institutions from Romania and foreign partners. The Asymmetric Threats programme focuses on strategic communications, terrorism and radicalization, cyber security and hybrid war. DISCLAIMER The views expressed belong to the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the GlobalFocus Center. GlobalFocus Center reserves all rights for the present publication. Parts thereof can only be reproduced or quoted with full attribution to the GlobalFocus Center and mention of publication title and authors' names. Full reproduction is only permitted upon obtaining prior written approval from the GlobalFocus Center. OiiOpinions expressed in thispublica tion donot necessarilyrepresent those of the BlkBalkan Trust for Democracy, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, or its partners. Argument and Methodological Explanation (by Rufin Zamfir) pg. 1 Albania (by Agon Maliqi) pg. 7 Society pg. 9 Economy pg. 16 Politics pg. 21 Foreign Policy and Security pg. 26 Bosnia and Herzegovina (by Dimitar Bechev) pg.
    [Show full text]
  • KURZBERICHT Nov 04
    Unofficial translation ADDRESS by H.S.H Maria-Pia Kothbauer Ambassador of the Principality of Liechtenstein on the occasion of the NEW YEAR’S RECEPTION hosted by Federal President Dr. Alexander VAN DER BELLEN 8 January 2019 Your Excellency, Mr. Federal President, Madam Schmidauer, Your Excellency, Federal Minister Karin Kneissl, Excellencies, Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, At the beginning of the New Year, it is a special honour and a great pleasure for me, to wish you, Mr. President, your esteemed wife as well as the entire Austrian people peace, happiness and prosperity in the New Year 2019 on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps accredited in Austria. In the course of its history, Austria has given our world beautiful gifts. 200 years ago, in 1818, the famous Austrian song "Silent Night" was heard for the first time in a small chapel in Oberndorf near Salzburg. Every Christmas, over 2 billion people sing it in over 300 languages and dialects. Pope Francis has recently said it was "his favourite song". This song is popular all around the world and contains a strong message of peace. This is also where the political significance of this song lies; it is the search for peace and common ground that connects us. In 2018, Austria made a special effort in the search for the common endeavour: towards the outside – within the framework of the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union– as well as internally on the occasion of the commemoration of the founding of the First Republic 100 years ago. It was impressive how carefully all those involved have dealt with the – sometimes difficult – national identification process of the new Republic with its great past, and how much attention was paid to ensuring that the whole population is involved in dealing with its history – both in commemorating and in celebrating.
    [Show full text]
  • October 2017 1
    1 OCTOBER 2017 1 2 The EuroAsia Interconnector A Bridge of Friendship and Prosperity Unitizing Networks The EuroAsia Interconnector offers the creation of a reliable energy transfer alternative for Europe, extending the energy market beyond its borders. It is a major energy infrastructure project aiming to establish itself as one of the most ambitious interconnector schemes. Furthermore, being the first energy bridge between Europe and Asia it unifies electricity networks in the two continents. The electrical systems of Israel, Cyprus and Greece (via Crete) will be connected through sub-marine High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables of capacity in the order of 2000 MW. Voltage Source Converter (VSC) stations will be located in each terminal in order to aid in assimilating the power into the respective countries in the form of alternating current. The complexity resulting from the great depth and long distances as well as the nature of the link will put into practice the latest technological advancements when it comes to cable and electrical infrastructure developments. 2 3 Project History and Key Drivers The Perception of the Idea While the Mediterranean region displays a great diversity of cultures and populations it nevertheless is a place of convergence. Furthermore, the energy sector in this geographical area has a high degree of interdependence both for electricity and gas. It is thus incomprehensible for Cyprus to remain electrically isolated from the rest of the European Energy Network as an energy island, similar to Israel and Crete. Adding, the EU’s Renewable energy directive sets a binding target of 20% final energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2020 and for that reason each member country has to adopt action plans for the implementation of changes to meet these targets.
    [Show full text]