Month: October 2017

Monaco’s Digital Security Agency (AMSN) was created on December 23, 2015, as a centre of expertise and response to security and digital attacks and operations of vital importance.

Led by Rear Admiral Dominique Riban, an engineer of the Naval Academy and SupTélécom Paris, ASMN’s functions are to prevent and detect digital attacks and to react and coordinate actions in crisis situations. It also raises awareness and encourages public services and security requirements.

As part of this pledge, the agency is supporting an event organised by FEDEM, the Federation of Monaco Employers, and the chambers of new technologies and insurance, on the topic of cybercrime.

The breakfast will take place, also with the support of the Economic and Social Council, on Thursday, November 16, at 8:15 am, in the Bellevue Salon of the Café de Paris (further information: evelyne@gramaglia.mc).

“Monaco is one of the safest states in the world and will do everything to keep it so, including in the digital sphere,” Monaco’s Minister of State, Serge Telle, said recently at a Security Summit.

“The arrival of digitalisation is a revolution … and a revolution is always synonymous with perils. We will therefore have to face new challenges, such as securing networks, putting in place appropriate procedures, developing response capacity, training staff and building competent teams, and, finally, creating an ecosystem.”

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At the invitation of the Italian Government, which this year chairs the Mediterranean Contact Group of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a Monegasque delegation led by HE Isabelle Berro-Amadeï participated in the OSCE Mediterranean Conference in Palermo on October 24 and 25.

This Conference on “Massive Movements of Migrants and Refugees: Challenges and Opportunities” was held as part of the preparation of a Global Refugee Pact and a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which will be submitted for the approval of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The high-level political segment focused on enhancing security and promoting international and regional cooperation to address current challenges and challenges, in line with target 7 of SDG 10: “Facilitate migration and mobility in an orderly, safe, regular and responsible manner, including the implementation of planned and well-managed migration policies.”

Three sessions were organised around the risks involved, the protection of migrants, the opportunities resulting from migration, and integration policies in host countries.

In her speech, HE Berro-Amadeï underlined Monaco’s special interest in these important issues in its foreign policy, which expresses its support for dialogue and cooperation in order to protect the most vulnerable people, as well as actions to defend their rights.

She also recalled that Monaco is actively helping to help improve the lot of these people in the context of migration. The Ambassador praised the role of the OSCE in this area, which provides a platform for discussion and discussion on these topical issues.

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The European Commission announced on Wednesday that representatives of the Member States of the European Union had failed to come to a conclusion on the fate of the controversial pesticide glyphosate, whose European licence expires in December, despite the willingness of France and Germany to compromise.

The committee of experts has not been able to agree on the duration of the renewal that would be granted in Europe to this substance, marketed by Monsanto under the name Roundup and suspected of being carcinogenic to humans.

Glyphosate is a weedkiller so pervasive that its residues were recently found in 45 percent of Europe’s topsoil and in the urine of three-quarters of Germans tested at five times the legal limit for drinking water.

Since 1974, almost enough of the enzyme-blocking herbicide has been sprayed to cover every cultivable acre of the planet. Its residues have been found in biscuits, crackers, crisps, and breakfast cereals.

Opponents claim that glyphosate is so non-selective that it can even kill large trees and is destructive to wild and semi-natural habitats, and to biodiversity.

The Commission had originally wanted a renewal for ten years, and had announced on Tuesday afternoon that it would no longer aim for a reduced period of between five and seven years. However, on Wednesday the required majority could not be obtained for seven, five, or even three years, the option preferred by France and Germany,

According to a European source. The Commission took note of the positions of the various delegations and would “think” before setting a new meeting date “shortly”. Meanwhile, French Government spokesman Christophe Castaner said France was ready to accept a four-year licence extension, if it resulted in an agreement.

Christian Huyghe, Agriculture Scientific Director at France’s Arigcultural Research Institute (INRA), is confident in the adaptability of farmers to find alternatives in the event of a ban on glyphosate.

But glyphosate is very easy to use and very effective. It has the ability to be absorbed by the plant in all its tissues whereas traditional weed killers only destroy the leaves and are rather ineffective on perennials.

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The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation is partnering with Cape Town to implement community-based programmes that will help save lives and prevent drowning deaths.

Princess Charlene met the city’s Mayor Patricia de Lille recently to discuss the new initiative that will focus on communities that are at a high-risk for drowning.

Training will take place in the ocean and tide pools, rather than swimming pools, and will include courses on water safety tips, first aid and CPR to help create a safer environment for all Cape Town residents.

The programme will be implemented in partnership with Lifesaving SA and will focus on children, in line with the goals of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, which works with children around the world to cut the number of deaths by drowning worldwide.

Mayor De Lille said: “I wish to thank the Princess for helping us as the City of Cape Town administration to build a caring city. This initiative will assist in saving lives on our beaches and pools.”

“The mission of the Foundation is to save as many lives as possible through education, CPR and water safety,” said HSH Princess Charlene. With the support of local and national governments we can make this more accessible to a wider audience. One person, one family, one community at a time.”

The Princess is currently in Los Angeles, where she was expected to attend an event with Paramount Pictures last night, and then will accompany HSH Prince Albert to the Princess Grace Gala Awards this evening.

Article first published October 25, 2017.

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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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