Pressure is building over the EC’s appointment of American professor and economist Fiona Scott Morton as new chief economist at its Directorate-General for Competition, with the French raising serious objections.
Yale University economics professor Fiona Scott Morton’s appointment as the new chief competition economist in the European Commission’s (EC) antitrust unit has caused a bit of a stir.
French feathers have been seriously ruffled, with France’s Digital Minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, and Minister for Europe Catherine Colonna, who called the appointment “astonishing”, both calling for the EC to reconsider the choice.
Barrot took to social media to question the thinking behind the move “at a time when Europe is embarking on the most ambitious digital regulation in the world”, adding that picking an American for the role “raised legitimate concerns”.
LEGITIMATE CREDENTIALS
Scott Morton is a realistic candidate, having served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Economics at the US Justice Department’s antitrust division in 2011 and 2012. But it is her link with US tech giants, with whom she has previously worked as a consultant, as well as her nationality, that are the primary black marks against her name.
“Hiring a US lobbyist for the GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple and Microsoft) when Europe has finally decided to limit their power… is at best clumsy, at worst dangerous,” conservative French Eurodeputy Geoffroy Didier told the Economic Times.
If her appointment goes ahead, Scott Morton will be the first non-European to hold this position, which deals with competition cases, including antitrust investigations, government subsidies, large mergers and actions relating to the Digital Markets Act, which was created as a check on the tech giants.
WIDEST POSSIBLE NET
A spokesperson for the EC, Arianna Podestà, said on 12th July, the day after Scott Morton’s name was announced, that Commission had opened the posting up to non-EU citizens in order to be open to “the widest possible pool of candidates” and that, even then, the number of applicants was limited.
As such, Scott Morton was deemed “the best choice in terms of her qualifications and of her performance in the recruitment process”, said Podestà.
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The Grimaldi Forum’s Alfonso Ciulla is to officially take over the role of Artistic Director at Monte-Carlo SBM at the end of this year.
Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) has revealed that Alfonso Ciulla will take over as Artistic Director from Gilles Marsan at the end of this year. He will act as Deputy Artistic Director in the transitional period between now and then.
Years of experience
Ciulla has a long and established working history in Monaco, particularly within the arts and events world. Previously, he was Artistic Director of the Grimaldi Forum for more than two decades. There, he made the venue’s programming decisions from 2001 until last month. Ciulla was also the brains behind “Thursday Live Sessions”, and developed a varied musical programme, which ranged from solo artists to musicals to full blown concert events.
His personal tastes run to RnB, rock and soul, though he says he loves all musical genres, and he is reputed to have a massive record collection reaching into the thousands.
Ciulla also headed up a Radio Monaco slot, “L’Envers du Dimanche”, between 2011 and 2016, and was in charge of AS Monaco FC’s marketing and merchandise in the late 90s.
Via a press release, SBM stated that Ciulla “will take advantage of his long experience in the Principality to assist Gilles Marsan on all the aspects inherent in this field, the programming policy in particular, before succeeding him at the end of the year”.
His new job at SBM began on 3rd July and he has already immersed himself in the role fully.
“Working in this environment was my childhood dream,” he says. “Coming to exercise my passion at the Société des Bains de Mer sounds like an accomplishment to me. I am honoured and eager to challenge myself and participate in great projects.”
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After months, perhaps decades, of anticipation, Maona – the undisputed hot spot of the swinging 60s and 70s – has been recreated on the Larvotto Peninsula, and it’s already booked solid.
From the moment you walk into Maona, overlooking Monte-Carlo Beach, the eclectic energy of a bygone era is evoked. Black and white images of business, film and music stars, such as Mick Jagger, Michael Cain, Jack Nicholson and Liza Minelli, enjoying the locale in the 60s and 70s guide you to the reception, showing how the open-air cabaret was clearly the place to party the night away back then.
It is a nostalgia that has inspired the concept for this entirely new restaurant, lounge and bar. The elaborate fabrics and cushions embellished with graphic designs and fringing, and the rattan and bold colours show that Maona Monte-Carlo isn’t afraid of playing with colours and textures.
It is delightfully vintage and all class, without any of the kitsch.
Photos source: Monte-Carlo SBM
The place to celebrate the pleasures of summer
“We’re very true to the concept of Monaco in the 60s and 70s, post-wedding of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, when Monaco became the epicentre of the planet with a lot of Americanism,” Maona Manager Scott Messiah, a Monegasque native, tells Monaco Life. “Sammy Davis Junior and Dean Martin were playing at Jimmy’z, Mick Jagger and Michael Cain were regular guests… That’s what we’re trying to emulate here. For example, we only play music up to 1981.”
The cabaret features live musicians and singers performing everything from pure Italian classics to American piano bar favourites, while the DJ sets, created by the electro-collective Bon Entendeur, remixes classic hits and satisfies the contemporary need for beat.
The legend of Maona lives on
The name “Maona” is a tribute to two of its regular VIPs, the Greek diva Maria Callas (Ma) and her lover, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis (Ona). About a decade before the cabaret opened in 1962, Onassis had set up his oil company’s office in the villa formerly owned by Maire Blanc. Onassis was buying up large numbers of shares in the Monte-Carlo Casino at the time, and his extravagance and appreciation for Monaco’s opulence knew no bounds.
Whether they came from cinema, music or business, the greatest names in the world flocked to Monaco, and to Maona Monte-Carlo.
Monaco’s favourite open-air cabaret is reborn
This location, which had become an SBM (Société des Bains de Mer) hairdressers, has for the past two years been thoughtfully transformed back into an “outdoor experience”.
“What we’re trying to do here is a cocoon,” explains Scott. “We have three different universes: the Lounge Sauvage, which is an extension of the BarSauvage – because Josephine Baker used to do the danse sauvage, and that is a part of our universe. And then there is the main part of the restaurant that features this beautiful open kitchen, which is really important for us so that you can see that everything is fresh and prepared right in front of you.”
Photos source: Monte-Carlo SBM
A menu made by Monaco
The restoration of 1960s Monaco extends to this kitchen, headed by Chef Vincenzo Giordano, where the recipes including Monaco’s national dish of the barbagiuan have been sourced from the people who knew Monaco best.
“We held a competition among the 3,000 employees of SBM and said, ‘Please contact your grandmothers and ask them for their best recipe for barbagiuan’. So, this (pointing to a bowl of deliciously hot pastries) is the best recipe that we found. It is very different than any other you will try in Monaco. It’s literally the recipe of a Monegasque grandmother. We have six or seven recipes like that, including the little vegetables that are stuffed with anchovies, not the usual veal or pork, because Monaco used to be fishing village, and this is the real recipe of the Principality.”
Meanwhile, the famous Maona Monte-Carlo version of peach melba is a nod to the illustrious chef Auguste Escoffier, who made his mark in the Principality and revolutionised professional cooking.
There is also a tribute to the cuisine of Monaco’s neighbours on the Riviera, Portofino and Nice, with focaccia, lasagne and pissaladière. It is, quite simply, the best of three worlds.
Photos source: Monte-Carlo SBM
Signature Negronis and real retro cocktails
Snuggled between the lounge and the terrace restaurant is the Bar Sauvage, where expert mixologists skilfully led by Giancarlo Mancino have created Maona’s signature cocktail – the distilled Negroni – served over perfectly carved clear ice. They’ve even gone to the effort of securing 70-year-old Vermouth, London Dry Gin and Campari for guests to enjoy a truly exclusive 1950s Negroni, a nod to the wedding decade of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace (married 1956).
A VIP experience: the Tam Tam Room
For an intimate and unique experience, guests are able to book the Tam Tam Room, located upstairs and reserved exclusively for VIPs. Here, up to 15 privileged guests can enjoy a private space with spectacular views and personal service. It is a unique location to be seen, without being seen; perfectly discreet while being entirely in tune with Maona’s euphoria.
Give yourself plenty of time to reserve
Just three days after opening, Maona was booked solidly for two weeks. And as a summer venue only (there is literally no roof on this open-air restaurant), the clock is ticking to experience this very high-spirited and unique destination.
Once again, Monaco’s biggest hospitality group, the Société des Bains de Mer, has knocked it out of the park. Everything here – from the décor and ambience to the food and cocktails – is exceptional. Maona, as a legendary destination, not only lives on, it is forging a new notoriety among a generation of people seeking to enjoy ‘the art of living’.
Maona is open every day other than Tuesdays from 7pm to 2am. As of 1st September, the establishment will close at 1am. From 9th September, Maona will also be closed on Wednesdays. It will retire for the season on 1st October.
Visit Maona yourself with our Instagram video. If you can’t access the post below, click here.
Europe is likely to experience record-breaking heat in the coming days, with temperatures in parts of the Mediterranean basin threatening to reach more than 48°C.
Europe is being slammed with another massive heatwave.
Called the Cerberus heatwave – named by the Italian Meteorological Society after the three-headed monster that features in Dante’s Inferno – it will mostly affect France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia and Turkey, which are now all preparing for a spate of seriously hot weather.
Temperatures in Sicily and Sardinia could reach as high as 48°C, becoming “potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe,” according to the European Space Agency, whilst Spain could see sweltering 45°C days.
Locally, the mercury could climb as high as 40°C in the Var. The predictions for the Alpes-Maritimes and Monaco are slightly lower, but could still tip the scale at 35°C.
STAYING SAFE
Locals and tourists are being advised to drink lots of water and avoid caffeine and alcohol. It is also recommended to stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day and leaving exercise for cooler hours.
The signs of heatstroke to be aware of, particularly in the elderly and children, include: confusion; dry, red skin; and a lack of perspiration. Heatstroke is very serious and in extreme cases can lead to organ failure, convulsions, seizures and even death.
Last summer’s heatwaves were connected to 61,000 deaths in Europe.
This latest heatwave follows on the hottest June ever recorded in Europe.
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Vast tracts of the world’s oceans are changing colour, and climate change and even microplastics could be to blame.
A study into the “Global climate-change trends detected in indicators of ocean ecology”, published in the journal Nature earlier this month, looked back at some 20 years of data and images collected by Nasa’s Modis-Aqua satellite to track the changing colour patterns in the world’s oceans.
The information gleaned suggests that the deep blue of our ocean’s is becoming progressively greener – even redder in some places – due to the impacts that climate change is having on phytoplankton populations.
In all, the study led by B. B. Cael of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK observed that these changes can be detected in 56% of the oceans – more than all landmass on Earth – but it’s a phenomenon particularly prevalent in the tropics, close to the equator.
“These are not ultra, massive ecosystem-destroying changes, they may be subtle,” says Cael, “but this gives us an additional piece of evidence that human activity is likely affecting large parts of the global biosphere in a way that we haven’t been able to understand.”
The colour changes are largely explained by the different ways in which different types of plankton filter light. As one population grows and expands, its presence affects the appearance of the water’s colour. The same goes for a reduction in their number.
But there are other potential contributors; one being the increasing volume of microplastics debris in the oceans, which could also be impacting light refraction.
Nasa will launch a highly specialised satellite mission next year – the Pace (plankton, aerosol, cloud, ocean ecosystem) – to measure the trends of hundreds of colours, rather than the current few that Cael and his team had to work wit, and thus providing scientists with even more data to consider when studying the drivers behind ocean colour change.
“Climate change is causing alterations in marine ecosystems, and is expected to increasingly cause such changes in the future,” reads the study, which can be found here. “The reason we care about this is not because we care about the colour, but because the colour is a reflection of the changes in the state of the ecosystem.”
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AS Monaco and Kappa have presented the new home kit that Le Rocher players will wear during the 2023-2024 season.
The new jersey features the classic red and white colours, as well as the iconic 55° diagonal on its front. On the red section, a graphic pattern made up of quadrilaterals, also arranged at 55°, enhances the whole design.
The new kit is adorned with a two-tone round collar, on the back of which is inscribed the Club’s motto “Daghe Munegu”, while the words “Red and White” appear in gold letters on the inside, creating a nice contrast.
The traditional red, white and gold AS Monaco crest is located, as always, on the heart side of the jersey.
The outfit has been made from 100% recycled polyester, in keeping with Monaco’s sustainability goals.
“With this initiative, AS Monaco and Kappa are together taking a new step towards a more eco-responsible approach, in the continuity of the AS Monaco x Kappa shop’s membership of the government label Commerce Engagé, its partnership with the Oceanographic Institute, and the previous launch of a capsule collection of upcycled products,” said the club in a statement.
While the club awaits its new major sponsor, the “Visit Monaco” logo will adorn the front of the shirt.
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