Libya needs a stronger partnership with the EU

Libya´s internal situation calls for enhanced international support. The EU leaders need to engage the Libyan authorities and make clear they are ready for a much stronger and more coordinated partnership with the country. Institution building and the restoration of state authority are key priorities. The international assistance should focus on them. And recognise that a chaotic Libya at the doorstep of Europe and in the margins of the Sahel is a major threat to our stability and to the security of the very fragile African states that are in the vicinity. 

Again on Israel and its neighbours

Following my post of yesterday about Israel and Iran, I got call this afternoon from a friend who is also very close to Prime Minister Netanyahu. The caller had just arrived from Israel. And I could notice two things: the country´s leadership is very unhappy with the way the Obama team is looking at Iran´s nuclear issue; they can´t understand why people in Washington are so eager to strike a deal with the Iranians; and then, the second point concerns Israel´s believe they will be able to take military action against the nuclear facilities in Iran and get the tacit but firm approval of many in the Middle East, including the Saudis. This is actually encouraging the hard liners in Jerusalem to go for the bombing.

All this adds instability and unpredictability to a region that is already in deep turmoil. It´s not good at all!

Israel and Iran

It would be a mistake to underestimate Israel´s strategic interests as we get closer to the next round of negotiations with Iran.

The country´s leaders see Iran as a major threat.

They will try everything – including in the Capitol Hill in Washington – to make sure that the pressure on Tehran is not eased out. And in their tricks box, there is the menace of unilateral military action against the nuclear installations in Iran. The public mentioning by the Israelis of such a possibility is in itself a way of convincing Washington that an agreement with Iran is only good if it is a lose-win accord.

 And that is not possible, as I see it, because no leader in Tehran will accept an agreement that looks like a defeat. 

Barroso´s final months

Barroso has now said, in a TV interview, he is not seeking a new mandate as President of the European commission. His mandate ends in October 2014.

This is a smart move. He has been facing serious opposition from different quarters. Everything started with former French President Sarkozy, who towards the end of his presidency had come to dislike Barroso. People thought that would change with Hollande´s investiture. That has not been the case. Actually, Hollande became an open opponent of many of the EC President´s initiatives. And other EU leaders have also gained cold feet. So, as Barroso announces he will be out of the way in less of a year´s time he gets some free space to make a couple of bold proposals. During the next few months, he will keep an eye on history and will try to strike an initiative that will be for many years associated with his name.

This might also be a chance to see a stronger head of the EC. Europe needs to hear more than a few rumblings. 

The Commonwealth and the atrocities

The Sri Lankan government is hosting the 2013 Commonwealth Summit.

The choice of Sri Lanka as this year´s organising nation has been deeply criticised in many quarters in view of the recent atrocities carried out by the Colombo leaders against Tamil civilians in the Northern tip of the country. It has also been perceived as an example of poor judgement, a feature that many believe is the defining trait of the current Commonwealth Secretary-general, Kamalesh Sharma, an Indian diplomat that has made a career under the protection of Sonia Gandhi and her party. But Sharma is above all too tired and just interested in staying in London as long as possible. He has very little influence and no strength of will. That´s what the Sri Lankans knew and took advantage of. And now, they are trying to make a lot of mileage out of the summit.

I think they made a mistake. President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka thought he and his friends would come out of this initiative cleansed. However, the meeting is actually reminding the international public opinion that thousands of innocent people were slaughter by the national armed forces in 2010, at the end of the civil war.  And that took place under the direct responsibility of Rajapaksa and the rest of the clique. 

Comprehensive peacekeeping operations

Yesterday we had a discussion here in Brussels among international staff about peacekeeping.

 My colleagues, who are well informed and widely travelled people, could not avoid the usual mistake in this type of discussions: to reduce peacekeeping to military operations, boots on the ground and many of them for that matter. They forgot, like many do, the important role Police play in peace support operations. I had to remind them that more and more often the security challenges these missions are facing have more to do with Police work than with soldiers ‘work. The UNPOL, for instance, has become in the last few years a major Police division in the UN Secretariat. It is also an example of the UN´s capacity to adapt to new demands.

And then beyond the Police, there are now thousands of civilian experts equally involved in peacekeeping. 

Their contributions in many areas make the current operations multidimensional and more comprehensive. 

The capital of Europe is a little village at heart

Belgacom, the Belgian telecommunications giant, could not protect us, the subscribers in Brussels, from an illegal intrusion into our accounts by the British espionage services. The GCHQ, the UK agency that spies on communications networks, has been able to gladly penetrate the Belgacom systems and extract all the information they deemed useful for their masters in London.

Why should one be surprised? I live in a street that is considered “very fine”.  Notwithstanding that I have a weak internet signal. Today, the Belgacom technician came to check, at my request – a request that was made two weeks ago and dutifully booked then to be implemented today. He told me that the line for my house derives from a box some 80 metres away. That´s not bad, I thought. But he added that the fellows that laid down the cables went around the block before reaching my house. Therefore, it was no longer an 80 metres journey but a long trek through the side and back streets. That explains why my signal is not strong enough.

He promised me they would now bring a straight line from the box to my place. When, I do not know. But soon, I am told.

I asked him about fibre cables. The answer I got was very clear. Belgacom has now approved the implementation plan to lay the fibre things. But he is now sure about the starting date of the up-dating.

Well, this is the EU capital. But I think they have not yet realised that at the telecomm company. Another proof of it is that we have no Al Jazeera in our channel list, I mean, no access to that key TV channel in English. If I want to watch it, it is in my room… in Arabic!

Recently I told this story to my friends in Foreign Affairs in Oslo. They couldn´t believe that a place like this one cannot access the English version of Al Jazeera. But they have to understand: Brussels keeps, in many ways, the features of a small town. And that is charming! And frustrating, as well!

The Armed Forces and the humanitarian response

I wrote yesterday that the response to the typhoon disaster in the Philippines calls for a deep involvement of the Armed Forces, both from the country and from outside – US, Australian, Malaysian, Indonesian, etc. The magnitude of the logistical challenges, particularly airlifting of assistance, can only be met by means available within the military. No civilian humanitarian organisation, including the UN, can gather the operational means it takes to bring food and shelter to the large number of victims, some of them in very remote areas.

Some of my humanitarian friends do not like the idea of having the soldiers implicated in humanitarian operations. And a couple of them told me they had serious issues with my post of yesterday. But my answer is very simple: this an extreme situation that fully justifies a very close collaboration between the humanitarian agencies and the Armed Forces. Thousands of lives are at stake and need urgent help. They can only get it if the cooperation takes place. No doubt about it.

And we have no time to waste on doctrinal issues. This is a time to move fast and effectively. 

Haiyan´s response is too slow

The international response to Super Typhoon Haiyan is rather slow and surprisingly modest at this stage. One of the reasons seems to be related to lack of leadership on the side of the international community. Every player is going about it on its own. There is no recognised leader, no visible coordinator of efforts.

The world emergency response mechanisms should be better prepared to tackle this type of major crisis. And apparently they are not.

Logistics are also a key shortfall. This is also very surprising. In the region there are major armed forces capabilities that could be mobilised to provide the logistical support. Actually, they are the only ones that have the vast operational means that are required to urgently assist the populations. Why is it not taking place? 

Haiyan and the international cooperation

Super Typhoon Haiyan has caused a major humanitarian disaster in the Philippines. I would like to see the EU emergency response machinery to be fully mobilised to provide assistance without any further delay. And to do so in close coordination with the UN.

Then, on a second phase, the donors should meet with the Manila government and be prepared to fund an extensive reconstruction and investment programme to rehabilitate and strengthen the resilience of the areas affected by the disaster.

You react to this by telling me I believe in a better world. Yes, I do. Enhancing international cooperation in situations like this is key step towards that world.