Day: 23 October 2016

The Strategic Council for Attractiveness (CSA) held its annual plenary meeting at the Oceanographic Museum on Friday, allowing plenty of room for a substantial audience.
Minister of State Serge Telle presented the report for 2015- 2016 in a new bilingual format, in the presence of Government Ministers.
The Presidents of the specialist commissions (Finance, Real Estate, Destination Monaco, Quality of Life, and Monaco Yachting Capital) discussed the results of their activity and policy outlines.

Jean Castellini, Government Counsellor – Minister of Economy and Finance, introduced the new application for Smartphones “Monaco Welcome” and Laurence Garino, Director of the Monaco Welcome and Business Office, explained the features of the app.
She was followed by Stéphane VALERI, Government Counsellor – Minister of Social Affairs and Health, who took stock of the Monaco Princess Grace Check-Up Unit.
Finally, Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Government Counsellor – Minister of Infrastructure, Environment and Urban Development, spoke about the “Smart City Monaco” concept and presented the website “infochantiers.mc“.
In conclusion of the meeting, the guest of honour, Michel Petite, currently a lawyer in Clifford Chance’s Paris office and formerly Director General of the Legal Service at the European Commission, gave a presentation on a hot topic: ”Brexit: the beginning of a difficult negotiation.”

During the third meeting of European Small States organised by the World Health Organisation and the Government of Monaco, Ms. Zsuzanna Jakab, Director of WHO Europe, announced that the organisation has designated the Human Health Division of the Medical Biology Department of the Monaco Scientific Centre as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Health and Sustainable Development.
The designation comes as a significant recognition of the longstanding work that the Centre has carried out on this theme. The Scientific Centre’s mission is to strengthen knowledge transfer in the field of the environment, climate change and health, and assess the impact of climate change on health in coastal countries.

Another criminal court case has been held in Monaco with the defendant absent from the dock. A 22 year-old Tunisian national, described as a restaurateur living in France, stood accused of having defrauded two victims in the Principality, one with a stolen cheque and the other with a falsified cheque.
One case involved a cheque for 630 euros in payment for a coffee machine. The cheque had been stolen. The same victim told the court that he had an IOU from the accused for 60,000 euros. His savings have melted away, he said.
The second victim, the defendant’s landlord, said that a cheque made out for 200 euros was altered to the sum of 22,000 euros to take care of several months of unpaid rent. On presentation, the bank informed the victim that the account had been closed.
A sentence of six months was passed, but the guilty party was not in court to hear it.

Migrants and anarchists clashed with police over the weekend ahead of the closure of the so-called Jungle refugee camp outside Calais planned for Monday. The estimated 7,000 residents will be offered places in other refugee centres dispersed thoughout France and 60 buses will be used to transport them.
Authorities estimate that about 200 migrants have succeeded in reaching England by stowing away on vehicles heading for the Port of Calais and Eurotunnel. There have been dozens of fatalities, many involving young people.
On Saturday, the British authorities took a group of adolescent girls to the UK, saying that the dismantling of the camp would otherwise leave them prone to sexual abuse.
Heavy machinery will move in on Tuesday to flatten the tents and shelters left behind and a significant force of police and para-military personnel will be on hand to quell any violent protests.
Meanwhile, the UK continues to fund a three-metre high wall 1 kilometre-long along the road that leads to the Calais ferry port. This replaces a double fence deemed not to be secure enough to stop migrants blocking the access road from the A16 motorway.