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Month: July 2021

“We have reputations to uphold”

by: Stephanie Horsman
28/07/2021

Monaco and Luxembourg have signed a cooperation agreement that will strengthen efforts in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.
On Friday 23rd July, Michel Hunnault, Director of the Information and Control Service on Financial Circuits (SICCFIN), and his Luxembourg counterpart Claude Marx, Director of the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), ratified the agreement.
“The European Union has just decided to create a centre dedicated to the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” explained Mr Hunnault. “Because there are flaws, inadequacies and we realise that the harmonisation of legislation is not everything, cooperation between us is essential.”
Whilst cooperation is one part of the mix. Luxembourg’s Mr Marx added that other factors came into play when deciding to band together.
“We have a lot of interest in working together. Our financial centres are very similar. Our two countries have a strong international outlook. We also have a reputation to uphold,” he said.
Also at the meeting were Robert Gelli, Secretary of State for Justice and Director of Judicial Services, Louis Danty, Head of the SICCFIN Supervision Pole, Éric Bergesi, Head of the Investigation pole, and Jean-Marc Gualandi, Head of the Legal, Administrative and International Affairs Department.
For Mr Gelli’s part, who looks at such situations from a legal standpoint, he said, “I am delighted to see that we can further strengthen our ties with an important financial centre such as Luxembourg. Beyond the exchange of ad hoc information on cases, the important thing is to set up regular contacts to take stock of legislative problems, procedures, operating methods.”
Monaco has been proactive in its stance against money-launderers and terrorists and even enacted a law in December 2020 to give the Principality’s legislative body more power to fight against them.
The law, called Law No. 1.503, was created to seamlessly meld the provisions of the European Union laws with Monaco’s and has very specific criteria. It has allowed for more accessibility to look at trusts, has created a register of payment accounts, bank accounts and safe-deposit boxes, kept by SICCFIN on the basis of declarations made by financial institutions and has given details of the enhanced vigilance measures to be implemented with regard to business relationships or operations involving high-risk third countries.
 

Health pass for all from 23rd August

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/07/2021

Monaco residents will need to hold a health pass to access restaurants and bars from late August as the government responds to a “fourth wave” of the Covid epidemic.
A rapid circulation of Covid-19 due to the Delta variant and an increase in the number of hospitalised Monaco residents is behind the move announced by the government late Tuesday.
“Most infected people and the vast majority of hospitalised patients are unvaccinated and have a younger profile,” said the government in a statement. “Due to this rapid health deterioration, the Minister of State and the National Council wish to strengthen the health system in the face of what qualifies as a fourth wave.”
Mandatory health pass
Monaco citizens, residents and employees will be required to hold a valid health pass to access all restaurants and bars in the Principality from Monday 23rd August.
“This period will allow people who wish to be vaccinated to finalise their vaccination course,” said the government.
As of Saturday 24th July, this rule only applied to foreign visitors.
Compulsory vaccination for health workers on hold
The government says that a bill on the mandatory vaccination of health professionals will be tabled in August and debated by the National Council in the “first half of September.”
 
 
Photo by Michael Alesi, Government Communication Department
 
 
 

Award encourages Prince to "stick to my convictions"

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/07/2021

Prince Albert II has been awarded the 2021 Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award for his continuing dedication to and support of environmental causes, namely the protection and study of seahorses in the Mediterranean.
Prince Albert II has a long history of championing environmental causes, a passion which led him to launch the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation in 2006. Since then, he has been involved heavily in wildlife conservation and this year, his contribution to seahorse protection, led by the efforts of the 2021 Indianapolis Prize winner Dr Amanda Vincent, has earned him the Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award.
“Prince Albert II is an inspirational leader at the forefront of protecting the health of earth’s lands and waters, the variety of its plants and animals, and the development of renewable energies,” said Jane Alexander. “It is a great honour to welcome him as the recipient of the Global Wildlife Ambassador Award for 2021.”

Prince Albert II at the Oceanographic Museum established by Prince Albert I

Prince Albert II has led the charge for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Monaco on behalf of seahorses, which are native to the waters off Monaco and are good indicators of general sea health. Since 1978, Monaco has been involved with CITES, providing funding to support the preservation and protection of wild seahorse populations in the region.
In November 2020, Monaco also became the official proponent of a new International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Resolution focused on conservation of seahorses, pipefish and sea dragons, which directs 1,450 organisations to take action.
The Prince’s commitment to nature has led him, through his foundation, to open 10 foreign branches funding nearly 700 projects totalling €84 million.
Prince Albert II of Monaco has welcomed the award as encouragement to continue on his environmental path

Recipients of the Global Wildlife Ambassador Award have been deemed crucial in helping raise awareness about threatened and endangered species and habitats by using their positions and skills to alert policymakers, businesspeople and the public of the situations. Former winners include Sigourney Weaver for her work with gorillas and Harrison Ford for his nature protection efforts.
“I am extremely honoured to be receiving such an important award, a truly significant one in the field of animal conservation,” said Prince Albert. “Please allow me to take this award as an additional encouragement to pursue my action and to stick to my convictions. It will help me keep on my commitments and my contributions to the preservation of the oceans, the conservation of coral reefs and marine protected areas, and strive to protect endangered marine species.”
Award by Artist Zheng Lu

The Prince will be honoured at a black-tie event on 25th September at the Indianapolis Prize Gala presented by Cummins, held in the American city which gives the prize its name. The award was created by Beijing-based artist Zheng Lu and is part of his ‘Water in Dripping’ series, which highlight water’s importance in the natural world as a source of life.
The Prince has also received $250,000 for his Foundation.
 
 
 
Photos provided by the Indianapolis Prize
 
 
 

UNESCO adds Nice to World Heritage List

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/07/2021

The City of Nice has been added to the UN’s prestigious World Heritage List under the label of ‘Winter Resort Town of the Riviera’.
Meeting online in this year’s host city of Fuzhou, China, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee chose Nice on Tuesday 27th July together with a number of new sites for their cultural, historical or scientific significance.
The news came as a huge relief to Mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi, who says he has worked for more than a decade to restore the French Riviera’s largest city to its former glory and obtain World Heritage status.
“Since 2008, we have worked tirelessly to bring to life everything we had forgotten: the beauty of our facades, our buildings, our diverse places of worship, our gardens, our landscapes, our public spaces,” he told Nice Matin. “We have worked to give back to our city what had enabled it to seduce the most prestigious politicians, the most inventive business leaders, the most daring artists from all over for nearly two centuries.”


A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as having special cultural or physical significance.
The city of Nice has a long history of tourism, both in summer and winter.
The natural environment and its mild Mediterranean climate came to the attention of the English upper classes in the second half of the 18th century, when an increasing number of aristocratic families took to spending their winters there. In 1931, the city’s main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais, was inaugurated by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, and was visited by the likes of Queen Victoria and her son Edward VII, who spent winters there, and Nice-born Henry Cavendish, who discovered hydrogen.
The city has also been a drawcard for notable painters including Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and Niki de Saint Phalle. Their work is commemorated in many of the city’s museums, including Musée Marc Chagall, Musée Matisse and Musée des Beaux-Arts.
Nice also has a rich architectural heritage. During the Savoyard period, several palaces and mansions were built, as well as churches in the Baroque style. During the Belle Époque, the city was enriched with numerous villas and hotels, including the famous Negresco Hotel.
Mayor Estrosi says the World Heritage classification has given him more confidence to push forward with having Nice chosen as the European Capital of Culture 2028.
 
 
 

Covid tests and incidence rate reach new highs

by: Cassandra Tanti
27/07/2021

The number of Covid tests conducted in Monaco and the incidence rate have both hit their highest levels since the government began releasing weekly figures to the public.
At the request of Monaco’s National Council, the government has been compiling weekly reports on both vaccination numbers and tests since the beginning of March 2021, releasing them to the press and to the public.
A look back at the figures show that, after reaching a peak in March, the incidence and positivity rates in Monaco both went on an encouraging downward trend, until the month of July.
On Monday, the government revealed that between the week of 19th and 25th July, there were 5,679 PCR and antigen tests conducted in the Principality, compared to 4,341 tests the previous week. It is the highest number of tests seen in Monaco so far.
Circulation among residents is on the rise
The positivity rate for tests performed on residents and non-residents remained unchanged at 4%. However, the weekly incidence rate among the population almost doubled again, jumping from 156 to 269. The week prior, the incidence rate stood at 91.
The government warned last week that “the incidence rate is on the rise among six to 18-year-olds,” revealing that in the month of June, nearly 60% of infected residents were aged up to 29 years.
An incidence rate of 200 or more normally signals the onset of stricter restrictions by governments worldwide to curb the spread of Covid. On Saturday 24th July, Monaco stepped up its measures, making masks mandatory for everyone outdoors, and set a health pass requirement for most foreigners who wish to enter restaurants, bars or cultural venues.
READ ALSO: Which visitors to Monaco need to show a health pass?
Is herd immunity still possible?
Prince Albert and his government are still aiming for herd immunity through widespread vaccination in the Principality, particularly as the more contagious Delta variant is now the dominant strain of the virus.
So far, 63.3% of the eligible population above the age of 12 have received at least one shot. However, 13% of people aged over 75 and 32% of the 65-75 age group have not yet been vaccinated. “To achieve the greatest possible herd immunity, it is important to vaccinate the entire population concerned,” said the government, reminding everyone that the shots remain free of charge for residents as well as for employees over 50.
Hospitalisations increase
As the incidence rate rises in the Principality, so too does the number of hospitalisations. As of 26th July, 12 patients including seven residents were hospitalized at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre, while two non-resident patients were in intensive care.
 
 
 
Photo by Mark de Jong on Unsplash
 
 
 
 

Monaco Ville is waiting for you

by: Stephanie Horsman
27/07/2021

Shops and restaurants on the Rock are inviting people to join them every Friday for the rest of July and August to ‘Rediscover Your Neighbourhood’ with a series of cultural and entertainment events for the whole family to enjoy.

Retailers in the historic district of Monaco-Ville are calling on the public to come up from 4pm to 9pm every Friday until 20th August to enjoy creative workshops, fashion shows, treasure hunts, open-air concerts, a show by the Prince’s Carabiniers and numerous other events under the initiative ‘Rediscover Your Neighbourhood’.

This follows last year’s ‘Thursdays on the Rock’ which was organised to help reinvigorate the old town during summer 2020, which had been particularly affected by the first lockdown. Both programmes have been financed by the government and are a creative way to help boost the economy of the district.

The hope is that more people will be drawn to the Rock to frequent the shops and restaurants, which are usually packed this time of year with tourists. The ongoing health crisis has again disrupted the usual flow this year, and many businesses are struggling.

The events will follow all health and safety measures and carry the Monaco Safe label.