Month: May 2018

National Council President Stéphane Valeri held the first press conference of the 2018-2023 term on Tuesday, May 15, which was dedicated to housing.

“The lines are moving,” said Valeri, referring to discussions with the Government, in particular during the Plenary Study Commission on May 8, that have made progress on a number of crucial issues. This will allow the National Council to consider exceeding 700 new homes, against 800 required in the projections. “But there is still a lot to be done,” he added, “and we have to go from good intentions to concrete actions on several projects.”

Several topics were discussed during the conference, many of them of a technical nature. Substantively, the creation of Mobility Assistance while a new Plenary Study Commission will be established with the Government to advance the various ongoing projects in the housing sector.

Also present from the National Council was Brigitte Boccone-Pagès, Vice-President, Franck Lobono Chair of the Housing Committee, Christophe Robino, Chair of the Committee on Social Interests, Balthazar Seydoux, Chair of the Finance Committee and the representative of the National Council at the Observatory of Commerce, Corinne Bertani).

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A delegation from the Monaco Tourism and Convention Bureau, accompanied by several Monegasque tourism partners, visited Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and Porto Allegre) and Argentina (Buenos Aires), from April 14 to April 24.

The Monaco delegation was led by Corinne Kiabski, DTC’s Director of Communications, and Laurence Aquilina, Head of the South American Market in DTC’s Marketing and Sales Department. They were accompanied by Marion Fernandez from Meridien Beach Plaza, Claudia Ellmer from the Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo and Alexandre Lebrat from Monte-Carlo SBM.

In Sao Paolo, a working meeting between hotel partners and wedding planners was held in order to present Monaco as an ideal destination for Brazilian clients on a special honeymoon. The wedding industry is experiencing an exponential boom in Brazil.
Throughout the promotional tour, lunches and meetings, to which the national media were invited, provided an opportunity for Monaco to showcase its new travel slogan: “Green is the new Glam.”

Members of the DTC, as well as the representatives of the Brazilian office, then continued their meetings in Buenos Aires. They made first contact with high-end travel agencies to make them aware of the attractions of destination Monaco. At the same time, meetings with the Argentinean media helped to place the Principality at the heart of the Argentinean news agenda.

Brazil is an emerging market for Monaco. In 2017, Brazil was in 18th place among the top 20 arrivals in the Principality. For its part, Argentina, the third largest economy in Latin America, is growing at an annual rate of 2.8 percent and could become a buoyant market for the DTC.

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On May 14, Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Monaco’s Permanent Representative at the International Maritime Organisation, submitted to its Secretary-General the Instruments of Adhesion to the 1997 Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, known as the MARPOL 73/78 Convention.

The text is a recognition of the menace of pollution of the atmosphere by ships and is part of the evolution of the MARPOL Convention to which the Principality is already a signatory.

The 1997 Protocol is an important tool to reinforce the international system to fight atmospheric pollution, and the latest protocol adds Annex VI to MARPOL 73/78, which limits the pollution of the atmosphere by ships.

More specifically, these rules set emission limits for sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides from ship exhaust and prohibit deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances. The adherence to this text illustrates the importance that Prince Albert attaches to the protection of the environment.

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Prince Albert officially inaugurated the house of his mother, Princess Grace, surrounded by his American cousins and two hundred guests, on May 11 in Philadelphia.

In September 2016, the Sovereign Prince acquired the house that was built in 1935 by John B. Kelly Sr, his maternal grandfather. The Kelly family had lived in this house until the mid-1970s.

It was from this same abode that Prince Rainier and actress Grace Kelly announced their engagement on January 5, 1956.

Sold several times, the house had suffered the ravages of time and needed a serious renovation. This was undertaken last year under the leadership of Suzan Von Medicus, her son William, and John B. Kelly Jr, all cousins of Prince Albert.

The renovated House in the style of the 40s will house the headquarters of the American branch of the Prince Albert II Foundation, of which John B. Kelly is the President.

Cultural events will also be held in collaboration with the Princess Grace Foundation-USA.

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While the newly-renovated Monaco Herculis Post Office, located at 12 Chemin de la Turbie, will reopen on Wednesday, May 16, at 8 am, there is news that Monaco’s mail delivery service will be seriously impacted later this year when the sorting office at Nice Airport is moved to Toulon.

“Every morning, the trucks that bring the mail to Monaco will no longer leave Nice airport but Toulon, so they will have more road to travel and are likely to suffer traffic delays accessing the Principality,” La Poste Regional Director Jean-Luc Delcroix told local French daily Monaco-Matin.

The first mail truck to Monaco will arrive half an hour later than its current time of 6 am, while the second, which now arrives at 6:45 am, will come almost one hour later.

The distribution of mail will therefore begin an hour later, although packages and Chronopost will not be affected.

The first impact will be felt on June 11, when mail pickup times will change from 2 pm to 2:45 pm, with mail from Post Offices leaving at 3:45 pm instead of 4:30 pm.

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News

On Sunday, May 20, The Animal Fund (TAF) will be holding a fun-filled, informative and educative afternoon around ocean protection and plastic pollution on the beach in Nice.

The event runs from 2:30 pm until 5:30 pm between Ruhl Beach and Le Galet (facing McDonald’s) on Promenade des Anglais. There is no charge and a snack will be provided.

TAF’s long-term mission is to end the use of plastic bottles by informing people about the deadly waste overtaking our oceans.

“We want to bring together children and adults to participate in our ambition towards making our planet a cleaner and healthier place to live in, through fun, instructive and educative activities,” the organisers said.

Plastic pollution is one of the most serious threats to the ocean as it does not biodegrade – it breaks down progressively into smaller pieces, but never disappears. As a result, marine life is rapidly dying out. Therefore, the non-profit organisation is to raise awareness on the consequences of plastic pollution and to promote a healthier lifestyle for our planet.

“It is important that we are aware of how our habits impact the ecosystem and how we can prevent further damage and danger to the ocean,” TAF explained. “This campaign brings together people from different age groups and different backgrounds but we are all fighting for the same outcome: a cleaner ocean with an abundance of marine life.”

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