Day: 24 October 2017

Former Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksey Meshkov was appointed Russia’s Ambassador to France and Monaco by presidential decree on Monday, October 23. The 58-year-old diplomat replaces Aleksandr Orlov.

Mr Meshkov’s diplomatic career began in 1981. He’s fluent in English, Spanish and Italian. The vacant Deputy Foreign Minister’s seat will be taken by Aleksandr Pankin, the current head of the Department of International Organisations at the Foreign Ministry.

Born in 1959 in Moscow, Mr Meshkov’s graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) at the beginning of the 1980s and started working at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mr Meshkov is well known in Western diplomatic circles for his outburst last year against a EU ban on issuing visas to Russians living in the Crimea, a move he described as “visa genocide”. He said that Eurocrats were making ordinary Russians hostages to a Western political agenda and claimed the move was a violation of human rights.

He added that European politicians wanted to force Crimeans to have a Ukrainian passport again – claiming the only reason was so citizens could “travel to Brussels”.

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Rybolovlev charged, appears in Monaco court

Butter is in short supply in France due to strong foreign demand. The price of butter has risen by 60 percent in 12 months, according to government figures, resulting in problems for specialist exporters and a shortage on supermarket shelves that’s hitting consumers.

China and the Middle East in particular have developed a taste for French butter, and products in which it is used, according to Dominique Charge, who heads the national cooperative of dairy products.

So serious is the situation that over the weekend Le Figaro ran an article on how to cook without butter. The problem is expected to worsen by Christmas, provoking an acute crisis for producers of traditional pastries and a shortage for French customers where it hurts most, in the stomach.

Meanwhile, several French producers have refused to contemplate imports of butter from other EU countries, since the quality is not up to their own high standards.

One local restaurant in Port Hercules told Monaco Life that butter supply so far has not be affected, but the price has.

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France wins patisserie contest … again

The Government held two important meetings on Tuesday, October 24, to provide more details on ongoing negotiations with the European Union. Both were held in the Rainier III Auditorium.

In the morning, a meeting chaired by Gilles Tonelli, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, was held with the Monegasque Committee of Regulated Professions (CMPR), one of a series of meetings to discuss the progress of these important negotiations.

In the afternoon, the conference was co-chaired by Gilles Tonelli and Didier Gamerdinger, Minister of Health and Social Affairs, with the main unions and employee and employer organisations of the Principality, the first such meeting with the Government’s partners. Other meetings on the same topic will be held during the year 2018.

While Monaco is anxious to have the best possible relations with the European Union, particularly in the context of trade relations, the Principality is determined that its specific characteristics are recognised and incorporated in any future formal agreement.

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