Record heat waves hit US, Europe, Asia

DRY COUNTRY Picture taken on Thursday, July 13, 2023, shows a field of pistachio trees growing in a very dry field in Daimiel, in the Castilla La Mancha region. With high temperatures, a lack of rain and being hit by several heat waves, Spain suffers from a severe drought, also due to the high water needs of agriculture. AFP PHOTO

By Agence France-Presse

July 17, 2023 

(UPDATE) ROME: Tens of millions of people battled dangerously high temperatures around the world on Sunday as record heat forecasts hung over parts of the United States, Europe and Asia, in the latest example of the threat from global warming.

A powerful heat wave stretching from California to Texas was expected to peak, the US National Weather Service said, warning of an "extremely hot and dangerous weekend." Daytime highs were forecast to range between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in the west.

Arizona's state capital Phoenix recorded 16 straight days above 109 F (43 degrees Celsius), with residents facing temperatures of 111 F on Saturday, en route to an expected 115 F.

California's Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, was also likely to register new peaks on Sunday, with the mercury possibly rising to 130 F (54 C).

Authorities have been sounding the alarm, advising people to avoid outdoor activities in the daytime and to be wary of dehydration.

At a construction site outside Houston, Texas, a 28-year-old worker who gave his name only as Juan helped complete a wall in the blazing heat.

"Just when I take a drink of water, I get dizzy, I want to vomit because of the heat," he told Agence France-Presse.

The Las Vegas weather service warned that assuming high temperatures naturally come with the area's desert climate was "a DANGEROUS mindset! This heat wave is NOT typical desert heat." Southern California is fighting numerous wildfires, including one in Riverside County that has burned more than 7,500 acres (3,000 hectares) and prompted evacuation orders.

Further north, the Canadian government reported that wildfires had burned a record-breaking 10 million hectares this year, with more damage expected as the summer drags on.

Historic highs forecast In Europe, Italy faced weekend predictions of historic highs with the health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities including Rome, Bologna and Florence.

The weather center warned Italians to prepare for "the most intense heat wave of the summer and also one of the most intense of all time." The thermometer is likely to hit 40 C in Rome by Monday and 43 C on Tuesday, smashing the record of 40.5 C set in August 2007.

The islands of Sicily and Sardinia could wilt under temperatures as high as 48 C, the European Space Agency warned — "potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe." The Acropolis in Athens, one of Greece's top tourist attractions, will close during the hottest hours on Sunday, for the third day running.

In France, high temperatures and resulting drought are posing a threat to the farming industry, earning Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau criticism from climatologists for having brushed aside conditions as "normal enough for summer." This June was the second-hottest on record in France, according to the national weather agency, and several areas of the country have been under a heat wave alert since Tuesday.

There is little reprieve ahead for Spain, whose meteorological agency warned that a new heatwave Monday through Wednesday will bring temperatures above 40 C to the Canary Islands and the southern Andalusia region.

Killer rains

As torrential rains lashed northern Japan on Sunday, a man was found dead in a flooded car, a week after seven people were killed in similar weather in the country's southwest.

Parts of eastern Japan are expected to reach 38-39 C on Sunday and Monday, with the meteorological agency warning temperatures could hit previous records.

In South Korea, rescuers on Sunday battled to reach people trapped in a flooded tunnel, after heavy rains for the last four days triggered floods and landslides that killed at least 33 people and left 10 missing.

The country is at the peak of its summer monsoon season, with more rain forecast through Wednesday.

In northern India, relentless monsoon rains have reportedly killed at least 90 people, following burning heat.

Major flooding and landslides are common during India's monsoons, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity.

China on Sunday issued several temperature alerts, warning thermometers could reach 40-45 C in the partly desert region of Xinjiang, and 39 C in southern Guangxi region.

Morocco was slated for above-average temperatures this weekend with highs of 47 C in some provinces — more typical of August than July — sparking concerns for water shortages, the meteorological service said.

River Tigris shrinking In Iraq, where scorching summers are common, 37-year-old Wissam Abed usually cools off from Baghdad's brutal summer by swimming in the Tigris river.

But as rivers dry up, so does the age-old pastime.

With temperatures near 50 C and wind whipping through the city like a hairdryer, Abed stood in the middle of the river, but the water only comes up to his waist.

"Year after year, the water situation gets worse," he told AFP.

While it can be difficult to attribute a particular weather event to climate change, scientists insist that global warming — linked to dependence on fossil fuels — is behind the multiplication and intensification of heat waves.

The EU's climate monitoring service said the world saw its hottest June on record last month.

Europe recession can affect PH markets

Facilities to receive and distribute natural gas are pictured on the grounds of gas transport and pipeline network operator Gascade in Lubmin, northeastern Germany, close to the border with Poland, on August 30, 2022. AFP Photo

By Ed Paolo Salting, Manila Times

EUROPEAN Union recession fears will definitely have an impact on the Philippines as a whole and the local markets, according to expert analysts.

The EU is also battling inflation as the eurozone's four largest economies — Germany, France, Italy and Spain — have had their growth forecasts for 2023 downgraded by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The United Kingdom is also struggling with inflation, which is above 10 percent for the first time in 40 years as households struggle with rising energy bills as an offshoot of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

What has the most impact on the EU economies is the Russia-Ukraine conflict, given its dependence on Russian crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has been the subject of sanctions by both the US and EU member countries, who are also part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance.

The recent heat wave has also had an impact on agriculture, which was also affected by the conflict, given the inability of Ukraine to ship out grain exports from the Black Sea ports, which Russia has effectively blockaded.

Analysts at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) of the economist group also said the inflationary pressure could go on for some time as countries in the bloc are looking for alternative sources of energy to curb their dependence on Russian LNG and crude oil, which will take some time to achieve.

"In the near term, we expect a recession in Europe in the last quarter of 2022-2023 as a result of energy shortages and sustained elevated inflation," the EIU said. "The winter of 2023-2024 will also be challenging, so we also expect high inflation and sluggish growth until at least 2024."

Higher interest rates are also imminent as the Federal Reserve in the US also declared a continued hawkish stance for interest rates on Aug. 27, 2022 until it wrestles inflation to the ground. The euro has lost parity to the US dollar as a result, and the European Central Bank has had to raise interest rates for the first time in 11 years. This will be tricky as there are a number of countries which are also in fiscal crisis, having wracked up additional debt at the height of the pandemic. A single rate hike is not possible for all EU member countries given the varying states of their respective economies.

Philstocks Financial Inc. senior research analyst Japhet Tantiangco and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said that a decline in the EU's economy has sparked concerns of a ripple effect across the globe, including the Philippines, in terms of exports and imports, investments and remittances.

'Storm clouds' loom over economy

"Based on the latest data, in the first half of 2022, the European Union accounted for 11.6 percent of the Philippines' total exports and 6.5 percent of the Philippines' total imports, and generated 11.7 percent of OFWs' (overseas Filipino workers) cash remittances total which was sent to the country," Tantiangco explained. "In terms of direct investments, the whole bloc delivered 6.9 percent of the total equity investments to the Philippines in the first 5 months of 2022."

Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis Limlingan added that the Philippines is not an isolated case, as all economies that are dependent on the importation of commodities for their energy requirements will be affected as the EU will all try to look for other crude sources while transitioning to alternative energy sources.

He also said that there could be an opportunity here as well as there is potential for the country to export to Europe what they could be lacking from the supply disruptions from Russia.

Tantiangco also pointed out that based on economic data, Europe still plays an important part in the Philippines' foreign transactions as a decline in their economy is expected to have negative effects on the local economy, which may also weigh on market sentiment for Philippine companies with European operations such as Emperador and Monde Nissin.

Europe swelters in record-breaking June heatwave

By Agence France-Presse

PARIS: France and other western European nations sweltered over the weekend under a blistering June heatwave that has sparked forest fires and concerns such early summer blasts of hot weather will now become the norm.

The weekend's soaring temperatures were the peak of a June heatwave in line with scientists' predictions that such phenomena will now strike earlier in the year thanks to global warming.

The popular French southwestern seaside resort of Biarritz saw its highest all-time temperature Saturday afternoon of 42.9 degrees Celsius (109.2 degrees Fahrenheit) state forecaster Meteo France said as authorities urged vigilance from the central western coast down to the Spanish border.

Many parts of the region surpassed 40C, although storms were expected on the Atlantic coast on Sunday evening -- the first signs that the stifling temperatures will "gradually regress to concern only the eastern part of the country," the weather service reported.

Queues of hundreds of people and traffic jams formed outside aquatic leisure parks in France, with people seeing water as the only refuge from the devastating heat.

With the River Seine off limits to bathing, scorched Parisians took refuge in the city's fountains.

And at Vincennes Zoo in the capital's outskirts, shaggy-haired lions licked and pawed at frozen blood fed to them by zookeepers, who monitored the enclosure's animals for signs of dehydration under the scorching sun.

"This is the earliest heatwave ever recorded in France" since 1947, said Matthieu Sorel, a climatologist at Meteo France, as June records fell in a dozen areas, leading him to call the weather a "marker of climate change."

Europe braces for blistering June weekend

In a major incident in France, a fire triggered by the firing of an artillery shell in military training in the Var region of southern France was burning some 200 hectares (495 acres) of vegetation, local authorities said.

"There is no threat to anyone except 2,500 sheep who are being evacuated and taken to safety," said local fire brigade chief Olivier Pecot.

The fire came from the Canjeurs military camp, the biggest such training site in Western Europe.

Fire services' work was impeded by the presence of non-exploded munitions in the deserted area, but four Canadair planes were deployed to water bomb the fires.

Daniel Toffaloni, a 60-year-old farmer near the southern city of Perpignan, now only works from "daybreak until 11:30 am" and in the evening, as temperatures in his tomato greenhouses reach a sizzling 55C.

Forest fires in Spain on Saturday had burned nearly 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of land in the northwest Sierra de la Culebra region.

The flames forced several hundred people from their homes, and 14 villages were evacuated.

Some residents were able to return on Saturday morning, but regional authorities warned the fire "remains active".

Firefighters were still battling blazes in several other regions, including woodlands in Catalonia.

Temperatures above 40C were forecast in parts of the country on Saturday -- with highs of 43C expected in the northeastern city of Zaragoza.

There have also been fires in Germany, where temperatures were forecast to go as high as 40C on Saturday but only reached 36C. A blaze in the Brandenburg region around Berlin had spread over about 60 hectares by Friday evening.

The UK recorded its hottest day of the year on Friday, with temperatures reaching over 30C in the early afternoon, meteorologists said.

"I think at the moment people are just enjoying it being hot but if it gets any hotter than this, which I think it is meant to, then that's a concern," said Claire Moran, an editor in London.

Several towns in northern Italy have announced water rationing and the Lombardy region may declare a state of emergency as a record drought threatens harvests.

Italy's dairy cows were putting out 10 percent less milk, the main agricultural association, Coldiretti, said Saturday.

With temperatures far above the cows' "ideal climate" of 22-24C, animals were drinking up to 140 litres of water per day, double their normal intake, and producing less due to stress, it said.

Experts warned the high temperatures were caused by worrying climate change trends.

"As a result of climate change, heatwaves are starting earlier," said Clare Nullis, a spokeswoman for the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva.

"What we're witnessing today is unfortunately a foretaste of the future" if concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to rise and push global warming towards 2C from pre-industrial levels, she added.

Europe 'epicenter' of monkeypox outbreak – WHO

By Agence France-Presse

COPENHAGEN: The World Health Organization (WHO) said Wednesday Europe remained the epicenter of the global monkeypox outbreak, which posed a "real risk" with more than 1,500 cases reported in the region.

The UN health body already announced on Tuesday that it would hold an emergency meeting next week to determine whether to classify the outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern.

"Europe remains the epicenter of this escalating outbreak with 25 countries reporting more than 1,500 cases, or 85 percent of the global total," Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, told a press conference Wednesday.

WHO's European region comprises 53 countries, including several in Central Asia.

Until the past few months, monkeypox had generally been confined to Western and Central Africa.

Kluge said that the majority of cases reported in Europe "have been among men who have sex with men", but also warned against stigmatisation.

He stressed "that the monkeypox virus is not in itself attached to any specific group."

The regional director also warned that the risk was increasing as summer had arrived with "tourism, various Pride events, music festivals and other mass gatherings planned across the region."

"These events are powerful opportunities to engage with young, sexually active and highly mobile people," Kluge said, but stressed that "monkeypox is not a reason to cancel events, but an opportunity to leverage them to drive our engagement."

Speaking next to Kluge, Steve Taylor, director of European Pride Organisers Association, said that some 750 Pride events were planned across the European region and welcomed the WHO's recommendation not to cancel these events.

"Sadly, but entirely predictably, some of those who oppose Pride and who oppose equality and human rights have already been attempting to use monkeypox as a justification for calls for Pride to be banned," Taylor told reporters.

The EU announced Tuesday that it had purchased almost 110,000 vaccine doses to help tackle the outbreak, though the WHO does not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox.

Europe lashed by extreme weather as climate crisis grows

PARIS, France – Europe endured record extreme weather in 2021, from the hottest day and the warmest summer to deadly wildfires and flooding, the European Union’s climate monitoring service reported Friday.

While Earth’s surface was nearly 1.2 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels last year, Europe saw an average increase of more than two degrees, a threshold beyond which dangerous extreme weather events become more likely and intense, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.

The warmest summer on record featured a heatwave along the Mediterranean rim lasting weeks and the hottest day ever registered in Europe, a blistering 48.8C (120 degrees Fahrenheit) in Italy’s Sicily.

In Greece, high temperatures fuelled deadly wildfires described by the prime minister as the country’s “greatest ecological disaster in decades”.

Forests and homes across more than 8,000 square kilometres (3,000 square miles) were burned to the ground.

A slow-moving, low-pressure system over Germany, meanwhile, broke the record in mid-July for the most rain dumped in a single day.

The downpour was nourished by another unprecedented weather extreme, surface water temperatures over part of the Baltic Sea more than 5C above average.

Flooding in Germany and Belgium caused by the heavy rain — made far more likely by climate change, according to peer-reviewed studies — killed scores and caused billions of euros in damage.

As the climate continues to warm, flooding on this scale will become more frequent, the EU climate monitor has warned.

“2021 was a year of extremes including the hottest summer in Europe, heatwaves in the Mediterranean, flooding and wind droughts in western Europe,” C3S director Carlo Buontempo said in a statement.

“This shows that the understanding of weather and climate extremes is becoming increasingly relevant for key sectors of society.”

– ‘Running out of time’ –

The annual report, in its fifth edition, also detailed weather extremes in the Arctic, which has warmed 3C above the 19th-century benchmark — nearly three times the global average.

Carbon emissions from Arctic wildfires, mostly in eastern Siberia, topped 16 million tonnes of CO2, roughly equivalent to the total annual carbon pollution of Bolivia.

Greenland’s ice sheet — which along with the West Antarctic ice sheet has become the main driver of sea level rise — shed some 400 billion tonnes in mass in 2021.

The pace at which the world’s ice sheets are disintegrating has accelerated more than three-fold in the last 30 years.

“Scientific experts like the IPCC have warned us we are running out of time to limit global warming to 1.5C,” said Mauro Facchini, head of Earth observation at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space, referring to the UN’s science advisory panel.

“This report stresses the urgent necessity to act as climate-related extreme events are already occurring.”

Global Warming

GLOBAL WARMING

While most Asian countries keep on fighting with typhoons, heavy down pours, floods and landslides, Europe faces this: Snow comes later, melts earlier, and is not nearly as deep as it was 30 years ago. EU scientists are racing to help winter tourism regions adapt to climate change — but is man-made snow the answer?

Global warming has already shut down scores of European ski hills outside the high alpine zones.

"Last year, we had about 20 days, the year before, even fewer," German mechanic Karl Oberreiter says, working on the control panel of a chairlift. "I don't think we've had a full season since the 1980's. There's a point where you can't do it anymore. After that, I don't know."

Oberreiter's concerns echo across the across the heart of the Alps in Austria and Switzerland like a mournful yodel.

Winters are 10 to 30 days shorter than during the 1960's. By 2100, there will be almost no snow below 1,200 meters — an average elevation for ski towns. The overall snow cover in the Alps will decline 70 percent, according to recent climate studies.

Preserving winter tourism and sports in the Alps beyond 2100 requires not just keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, but the Paris Agreement's more ambitious — and many say, extremely unlikely — goal of 1.5 degrees.

Even if that were achieved, alpine winters are expected to grow ever-shorter, before potentially stabilizing toward the end of the century in a warmer and much less snowy state, says author Bob Berwyn.

With the future of the ski and winter tourism industry at stake, a team of international scientists, partly funded by the European Union, launched the new ProSnow research project in November.

Winter tourism and sports in the Alps are at risk! It aims to make resort towns in the Alps more resilient to climate change by accurately forecasting seasonal snowfall and temperatures. Combined with long-term climate projections, this information is hoped to help alpine communities plan for the future — even making up for nature's shortfall with snow-making and snow farming.

The sad truth for many towns and ski areas below 1,000 meters is, in the coming decades most of their white magic will come from the business end of industrial snowaking machines.

Ski resorts around the world have already installed miles of water pipes and built reservoirs and pumps so they can make their own snow. Water is vaporized by thousands of high-pressure nozzles and freezes into a crystalline form that's almost like the real thing.

Ski area operators have become snow farmers. Before the season starts, they use the snow guns to make big piles of snow in strategic spots on the mountain. Later, snow grooming machines distribute and smooth it out.

Conservation organizations like the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA), have fiercely criticized snowmaking because of its energy consumption and disruption of ecosystems like tundra and streams.

And some sustainably oriented mountain resort communities have rejected it in favor of a "soft tourism" path that's supported by both the German and Austrian alpine clubs.

But ProSnow project leader Samuel Morin says snowmaking is here to stay, because resorts know that natural snow will be even less reliable in the coming decades.

"Snow reacts immediately to climate change, and since the early 1990's, snow is no longer a certainty," Morin said in an interview lately.  "The project was initially triggered by long-term climate concerns. And there is more variability now. The question is, to what extent can snow-making and other technical measures counteract that?"

It’s a question that's also pertinent in California, which right now is suffering floods and slum-slides after weeks of wildfires. Close to Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, about 300 miles north of Los Angeles, skier Jamie Shectman is waiting for snow after a bone-dry fall. He says you can't take the ski industry in isolation. A summer of destructive hurricanes and wildfires shows that globally, climate change impacts are intensifying, threatening lives and food production. More snowmaking may not be the most appropriate response.

"There's a total disconnect between our sport and what's happening with climate change," Shectman told in an TV interview last night. "We know it's a high impact sport. From a karma perspective, the ski industry should be at the fore of the fight against global warming," he says.

People are thinking now about creative solutions for green winter slopes. Instead of energy-hogging sources of greenhouse gas pollution, ski resorts should become self-sufficient producers of wind, solar, biomass and hydropower, Shectman says, describing his involvement in developing a solar power project at Mt. Abrams Ski Area, in Maine.

Climate change is probably outpacing our technical capabilities to adapt, so slowing and stopping warming should be the priority. In just the past decade — the warmest in Earth's recorded history — the snow line rose between 1,200 and 1,500 feet in the northern Sierra Nevada.

Of course, there are regional nuances to global warming impacts, and for some communities in the Alps, with access to renewable energy and high-elevation ski slopes, snowmaking could be an interim option to keep skiing alive. That includes the five alpine towns in France, Italy, Switzerland Austria and Germany that are part of the ProSnow pilot project this winter. All are in the mid-elevation mountain belt most susceptible to global warming.

Austrian winters have shortened by 10 to 20 days since the 1950's, and maximum snow depth has declined at all elevations and nearly all regions of the mountainous country, with small localized exceptions.

The uncertainty, paradoxically, is also what why proponents say energy-intensive snow-making such an indispensable part of the winter ski and tourism industry — at least for the foreseeable future.

Fact is: global warming and climate change effects all of us. Worldwide. Sad to say: it's no more five minutes before twelve. It's already several minutes after twelve!

A European dilemma?

FRI, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

Somehow, I really felt touched while listening. In his State of the Union speech, European Commission President Juncker has praised the bloc for “bouncing back” after 10 years of crises. He has outlined bold proposals for the Eurozone, trade and migration. Is it too late?

Well, the Commission Chief has ruled out Turkish EU membership “in the foreseeable future.” No wonder.

Then,  Juncker has called on European states to help improve the “scandalous” conditions in Libyan migrant centers to prevent people fleeing Africa to Italy by way of the Mediterranean. Longtime overdue!

Next, there were warm words for Balkan candidate countries. Sure.

Also, the future EU tax policy should be approved by a majority of member states, rather than the existing unanimity requirement, Juncker said. Is there really a chance for this. I doubt!

Of course, many Europeans call Juncker’s speech as ‘Wind back in Europe’s sails’.  Of course, in my opinion, last year, European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker had little to cheer about in his flagship address before the European Parliament. If anything, it was a call to stop the collapse of the EU.

Now, a year on from Brexit and with European economies on the upswing, Wednesday’s State of the Union speech struck a far more optimistic note, as Juncker praised the bloc’s achievements over the last 12 months and laid out his vision for its future.

“After 10 years of crises, economies are on the rise and the European Union is bouncing back” he said. “The wind is back in Europe’s sails, it now has a window of opportunity.” Oh yes – so very true!

Indeed, let’s throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the harbor. Catch the trade winds in our sails. It’s indeed high time for protecting European businesses. On strengthening Europe’s trade program, Juncker said that, “Europe has always been an attractive partner to trade with, and now countries from all over the world are knocking on our door.”

Juncker cited the bloc’s recent trade agreements with Canada and Japan, and called on a speedy conclusion to ongoing talks with Mexico and the South American trading bloc, Mercosur. Juncker also said talks should also begin with Australia and New Zealand.

Regulatory reforms aimed at protecting European businesses from undesired foreign takeovers and investment were also among the proposals made by the former Luxembourg prime minister. Europe cautious as China buys up foreign companies.

On migration, Juncker announced that the European Commission would outline a new migrant deportation policy by the end of the month. In a call for increased border security on Europe’s borders, the European Commission president emphasized the need to unburden countries, such as Greece and Italy, where many migrants have landed. “Italy saves Europe’s honor,” said Juncker, praising the Mediterranean nation for its perseverance and generosity in its handling of the crisis. I strongly agree!

Juncker’s proposal could be music to the ears of French President Emmanuel Macron, who has argued that the Euro needs its own, stronger institutions to prevent another debt crisis. However, the proposal will likely be met with tepid reactions in Germany/Berlin, which has largely dismissed reform calls for the common currency.

Juncker also endorsed an EU-wide adoption of the Euro currency. Denmark and Sweden, who in referendums both rejected the Euro, would be exempt. No doubts, when German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble welcomed Juncker’s idea for pan-EU use of the Euro, but said the same conditions must be met by all member states.

“It’s good that he’s applying some pressure and picking up the tempo,” for adoption of the Euro across the bloc, said

Strong words for Poland, Hungary and Turkey

Brussels’ recent tensions with Poland and Hungary have prompted concerns over the safe-guarding of EU values in eastern Europe. “Those states who are not capable of demo-cracy, are not worthy of Europe,” Juncker said.

The governments of both countries have taken an illiberal turn in recent years. The Polish government’s decision to push through judicial reforms allowing the government to elect Supreme Court judges has led the Commission to threaten invoking “Article 7” of the European Treaty, which would suspend Poland’s EU voting rights and even cut off EU funding. True!

That attack was also aimed at Turkey, which he accused of “creating ground for membership talks to fail” and “moving away from the European Union in leaps and bounds.” Ankara’s attitude “rules out EU membership for Turkey in the foreseeable future,” the European Commission President said.

There were, however, warm words for the western Balkan states, which Juncker said should have a realistic chance of joining the EU by 2019.

An European Dilemma? It depends ….

Promoting European Cultural and Educational Diplomacy in the Philippines

NOTES FROM THE EU DELEGATION By Franz Jessen (The Philippine Star) | 

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The year 2017 marks a landmark year in EU-Philippines cultural relations since this coming weekend, we will be launching the 20th edition of the European film festival in Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, before going to other cities in the Philippines. And what better way to mark this milestone than to feature a fusion of the best of classical and contemporary films from Europe with the finest mix of select Filipino films? Twenty-four films from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and Norway are showcasing their masterpieces from the enchanting and not so distant past, together with carefully crafted contemporary films.

Throughout the years, Cine Europa has evolved to become a dynamic festival which offers a broad selection of high quality European and Filipino films, giving the audience all around the country the opportunity to enjoy and to appreciate the values and the rich cultural heritage from Europe. Cine Europa was born out of the friendship between the European Union and the Philippines and has now become a buzz word in the film industry as it boasts of more than 45,000 moviegoers and enthusiasts attending the screenings since it started in the country.

Promoting cultural diversity has been one of the main objectives of the European Agenda for Culture since 2007. The EU is also a strong supporter of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

In 2016, for the first time, the EU adopted a “Strategy for international cultural relations” that focuses on advancing cultural cooperation with partner countries across three main strands: supporting culture and education as engines for sustainable social and economic development; promoting intercultural dialogue for peaceful inter-community relations; and reinforcing cooperation on cultural heritage.

In a globalized world, we are convinced that cultural and educational cooperation can counter stereotypes and prejudice by nurturing dialogue, open-mindedness, dignity and mutual respect. Inter-cultural dialogue can help prevent conflicts and foster reconciliation within and between countries. Culture and education can help contribute to address global challenges such as the integration of refugees, countering violent radicalization and the protection of the world’s cultural heritage. Culture and education can also be tools to deliver important social and economic benefits. According to the UNESCO’s Culture for Development Indicators (CDIS), culture contributes between 1.5 and 5.7 percent of GDP in low and middle-income countries, thus reflecting differences in the policy and institutional framework, the level of social participation and education, and the degree of freedom of expression.

Apart from the film festival, this year, the EU delegation in Manila has taken the initiative to organise a series of cultural symposiums to promote intercultural dialogue between the EU and the Philippines. We also recently organized a What’s EUr story essay writing competition with the end in view of involving young people to tell their own experiences, insights and impressions about anything related to the European Union. Most of the stories were about travels to the EU member states and it has been like a journey in Europe through the power of words that touch and strike the senses.

Opinion ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

The EU cultural strategy also includes an educational component through the Erasmus + program whose objective is to promote mobility and inter-university cooperation with partner countries. Between 2014 and 2020, the EU is financing 180,000 scholarships for students and staff involving Europe and other parts of the world. The EU is also supporting the establishment of Erasmus+ alumni groups. Worldwide, EU studies are expected to reach over 250,000 students every year through teaching and outreach activities.

The Erasmus+ programme has evolved over the years and has substantially supported intercultural understanding through co-operation with third countries. This program has greatly contributed to promoting the EU as a center of excellence in learning and research.

For this academic year, the Philippines has the highest number of awardees of Erasmus Mundus scholarships among the ASEAN countries with 37 beneficiaries. The Erasmus+ Program will allow them to pursue MA and PhD programs in different universities across the European continent. Since 2004, more than 200 Pinoy students and lecturers have benefitted from the programm. The scholarship covers air travel to Europe, tuition fees and a monthly living allowance between P55,000 and P138,000.

Like every year, the European Union Delegation to the Philippines is organising a European Higher Education Fair to promote the European Higher education system. The fair will take place on 18 October in Shangri-La Plaza, Mandaluyong. Once again, the EU Delegation will rely on students and alumni to become living testimonials of how European higher education can engage into borderless and immeasurable opportunities.

Culture and education indeed form part of the EU soft diplomacy tools yet their impact is powerful and enormous enough as they not only reach out to the minds but to the hearts of their audiences.  

* * *

(Franz Jessen is the Ambassador of the European Union.)

A vote for Europe…

TUE, MARCH 21, 2017 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

…  a vote against extremists! Yes, European leaders breathe easier now!

With his first-place finish in the Netherlands’ elections, Mark Rutte has effectively halted the right-wing populist Geert Wilders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is among the European leaders welcoming the result. Merkel, at this very moment (on Friday, March 17) meeting U.S. President Donald Trump, says Dutch election result sends pro-Europe signal.

Both the vote count tallies and the reactions poured in during the early hours of last Thursday morning as politicians and individuals across Europe and the world took in the results of Wednesday’s parliamentary election in the Netherlands. In what many considered to be a bellwether election for the European Union, the center-right Rutte clearly defeated Wilders in what many saw as a symbolic victory against European populism.

With 54 percent of the vote counted, the projected results indicated Rutte scored a commanding victory, earning 33 out of the Dutch parliament’s 150 seats.

Many European leaders offered congratulatory messages to the acting Dutch prime minister, who will now stay on in office for a third term. But just as many chose to highlight Wilders’ defeat, framing his party’s second place finish with 20 seats – far below the 30-odd seats he had been predicted to win – as a resounding success for the unity and democratic values of a European Union battered by populism from both within and outside the bloc.

The response from Berlin came quickly. German Chancellor Angela Merkel phoned Rutte to offer her congratulations as well as her readiness to work with him and his new government, which he will now have to form with parliamentary alliances.

Of course, Merkel faces her own electoral test in September this year when Germans will cast their votes for the national parliament. The head of government from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will seek to remain in office, though her primary rival and current coalition partner’s candidate Martin Schulz has been polling neck and neck with her. Schulz, a member of the Social Democratic Party, took to Twitter to celebrate Wilder’s defeat. “I am relieved,” the former EU parliamentarian wrote. “But we must continue to fight for an open and free Europe!”

For many the right-wing nightmare is everywhere. Also Germany hosts its own populist party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose success has been fed by the arrival of over a million refugees and migrants to Europe since 2015 and fears of terrorism linked to Islam. However, the party has been struggling in recent polls due to internal divisions. And then: France is up next for  national elections. Outgoing French President Francois Hollande welcomed Rutte’s victory as a triumph against extremism.

France is indeed the next country in Europe to confront its own right-wing populist movement in spring presidential elections. Polls currently show the National Front’s Marine Le Pen winning the first-round of voting in April but falling short in the May run-off. However, a seemingly never-ending scandal that has engulfed conservative candidate Francois Fillon and a newly launched probe into travels undertaken by the political youngster Emmanuel Macron means the election’s course remains wide open.

“A vote for Europe, a vote against extremists,” strong words of EU Commission President Jean-Claude Junker….

The Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni similarly framed Wilders defeat as a win for pro-EU forces, writing on Twitter “No Nexit. The anti-EU right has lost the elections in the Netherlands.”

Perhaps the most straight-forward and succinct Tweet came from Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. In response to Rutte’s victory and Wilders’ defeat, the leader of the Scottish National party simply tweeted “Good.”

A fourth term?

SAT, DECEMBER 3, 2016 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

Since the Britains will  be leaving the European Union, Germany seems to become the richest and leading European country. Poll data published last Friday (November 25, 2016) shows that Germans welcome Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to run for a fourth term. SPD leader and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, however, has less to smile about. Why? Later in this column.

I was not much surprised learning that around two-thirds of Germans say they welcome Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to stand for a fourth term as chancellor in next year’s election, according to a poll published. The “Politbarometer” poll, commissioned by the German broadcaster ZDF, found that 64 percent backed the chancellor’s decision, compared to 33 percent who opposed it. Among registered supporters of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Merkel’s approval rate was as high as 89 percent.

Why nobody is not surprised any more? Who else could become German chancellor?

The poll also showed also that if the election were held this Sunday, Merkel’s conservative Union bloc – the CDU and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) –  would take around 36 percent of the vote, retaining their spot as the leading party. The Social Democratic Party (SPD), by contrast, would only win 21 percent. As “Politbarometer” points out, this would likely be enough for the Union parties to form a coalition with the Greens and centrist Free Democratic Party. It would not, however, be enough for Germany’s left-leaning parties to form a so-called red-red-green coalition, consisting of the SPD, the Left Party and Greens.

I mentioned before Sigmar Gabriel.The poll results also shed light on who voters would prefer to see leading the SDP, with current European Parliament President Martin Schulz significantly outranking the current party head Sigmar Gabriel. Some 51 percent of respondents said they would favor Schulz to be the SPD’s candidate for chancellor, compared to 29 percent who said they preferred Gabriel. Among registered SPD supporters, Schulz’s approval rating to lead the party into the elections rose to 64 percent, while Gabriel’s sank to 27 percent.

Schulz has not declared that he will run for the chancellorship. How-ever, he announced on Thursday that he will stand down from his EU post as president of the EU Parliament to return to German politics. The SPD is expected to announce their candidate for the chancellorship by the end of January. Martin Schulz read his announcement in Brussels in three languages: German, English and French. Little things like this demonstrate that, for Social Democrats, Europe was and remains very dear to their hearts.

Schulz’s decision to leave now also has to do with the fact that he cannot continue in office as president of the European Parliament. According to an agreement to which all parliamentary parties have subscribed, a representative of the conservative EVP must take over the position in 2017. So Schulz is now keen to exert his influence from Berlin – and not just as an ordinary member of parliament. For someone like him, there are two positions that suggest themselves: the office of foreign minister, or the SPD’s chancellor candidate in next year’s election.

So far, Martin Schulz has not commented on which of the two he’s aiming for, or whether he’s aiming for both at once. There’s little or nothing to be heard from the SPD on the subject, either. But that’s no bad thing – on the contrary. The SPD doesn’t want to decide on its chancellor candidate until January. Until then, it’s presenting itself as a party with at least two political heavyweights to offer: Martin Schulz on the one hand; and on the other, of course, the party’s current leader and Germany’s incumbent vice chancellor and economics minister, Sigmar Gabriel.

However, come to the decision that his friend Schulz would be the better candidate, the latter would be given the field. Schulz is up to both election campaigning and the job of foreign minister. From the SPD’s point of view, Schulz would also be a good choice for foreign minister. He’s experienced in the diplomatic arena, has excellent contacts, and is also accepted outside his own ranks. He’s made a name for himself as someone who speaks frankly. That would certainly make an agreeable change from Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is more careful and deliberate. It would also be a counterpoint to Chancellor Merkel’s line, which focuses more on quiet tones and working behind the scenes.

Anyway, global politics will become more and more thrilling and exciting. A totally global change of restructuring might be possible. After elections in the U.S.,  Europe will face several national elections – also in Germany.

European borders

WED, NOVEMBER 16, 2016 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

Exactly one year ago, I started writing about this topic already in this paper. I grew up in  Germany during times of Cold War, and military check points. 25 years residing and living in the former West Berlin surrounded by the Communist German Democratic Republic (or shortly East Germany) taught me how to survive behind borders and the Berlin Wall.

Just right now, Germany allowed to extend border controls for three more months. Wow. The European Union has ruled that Germany and a handful of other states will be allowed to keep their temporary border controls for three more months. Controls were reinstated last year to stem the flow of undocumented migrants.

Along with Austria, Denmark, Sweden and non-EU Norway, Germany reimposed partial border controls last year to stem the flow of undocumented migrants travelling through Europe. All the countries are members of the free-travel Schengen area but have been allowed by the EU to introduce border checks along the migrant route as an exceptional measure.

The five countries were scheduled to lift the border checks on November 15. However, the European Council, made up of the heads of the 28 EU member states, approved the proposal put forward by the European Commission. It said the temporary checks are allowed to be extended by “at most three months.”

After mid-February, the countries should reinstate unrestricted freedom to travel as soon as possible, said Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak. Slovakia currently holds the rotating presidency in the European Council. German Justice Minister Thomas de Maizière had advocated prolonging border controls on Germany’s border to Austria. In October, he explained that controls could only be loosened when the EU’s external border had been fully secured or when the member states had sufficient resources to accommodate all refugees in Europe.

Germany was the first EU member state to reimpose border controls along its border with Austria in September 2015. Of course, not all countries welcomed the proposal. Hungary, Slovenia and Greece voted against the extension, while Bulgaria and Cyprus abstained. The Greek government argued that its own border was sufficiently controlled, making the chance of more migrants crossing Greece into EU states minimal.

Hungary warned that prolonging the internal controls could lead to a “breakdown of the Schengen system.” Rather than internal borders, Hungarian officials said the EU should focus on its external border. The Schengen area incorporates 26 countries, including non-EU members Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. People and goods can normally travel freely without border checks between states that have signed on to the agreement. Also many Filipino tourists avail a Schengen visa and enjoy travelling in Europe.

The Austria’s defense minister has said the European Union’s migrant deal with Turkey is dead. The EU must now prepare to strengthen its external borders, he added.

Under the deal, Turkey agreed to take back Syrian migrants in Greece who did not apply for or did not receive asylum in the EU in exchange for aid and the bloc taking a set amount of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey. But since the deal went into effect, migrants who previously tried to reach richer northern European states before applying for asylum have put in applications in Greece. This has slowed down deportations back to Turkey and left Greece overburdened as applications are processed. The EU, meanwhile, has been slow to develop a refugee distribution plan as countries, mainly in central and eastern Europe, refuse to accept asylum-seekers.

Political developments in Turkey have also cast the deal into doubt. Several politicians voiced out that Turkey was “on its way to becoming a dictatorship,” a reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s consolidation of power and targeting of the opposition. The political situation in Turkey makes implementation of another part of the migrant deal problematic. Under the agreement, Turkish citizens are to obtain visa-free travel to the bloc, but EU officials have questioned whether this will happen due to draconian anti-terror laws and the deterioration of democracy in Turkey. The security situation and instability in Turkey also casts doubt over whether it is a “safe country” to return migrants.

Absent visa-free travel, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu this week suggested his country would pull out of the deal by year’s end.

Vienna has allied itself with the Visegrad group – Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – against the EU’s migrant policy. Earlier this year, Austria was instrumental in the closure of the Balkan route used by migrants to travel to northern Europe after it tightened its border controls and set a ceiling on asylum applications. Also earlier this week, Austria sent 60 troops to Hungary to help build infrastructure along the border with non-EU member Serbia.

Austrians head to the polls on December 4 for a rerun presidential election that pits anti-immigration and Euro-sceptic Freedom Party (FPO) candidate Norbert Hofer against the left-leaning Alexander Van der Bellen. Migration has been a centerpiece of the campaign.

Europe without borders? This is how I called and entitled several columns of mine in the past. Not only history has written its own story… !

Europe’s problems

TUE, OCTOBER 25, 2016 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

Germany reforms its main intelligence service! This headline surprised me and many others too in whole Europe. How comes?

The German parliament has subjected the country’s intelligence service, the BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst), to increased government scrutiny. But critics object that it also gives the BND wide-ranging new powers to spy on foreign nationals.

Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, has passed a comprehensive reform of the country’s main intelligence service, the BND. The new legislation strengthens government monitoring of intelligence activities while explicitly allowing the BND to carry out certain types of surveillance activities.

The reform comes in the wake of the 2013 revelations by American whistle-blower Edward Snowden that a number of national intelligence services, including the BND, had spied on behalf of the US National Security Agency (NSA) and that the NSA had spied on its allies. That prompted the formation of a German parliamentary committee to draft intelligence agency reforms.

The new legislation subjects the BND to monitoring by an “independent panel” of two judges and a federal prosecutor and a “permanent commissioner” from the Interior Ministry. It stipulates that surveillance of international communications networks must be authorized by the Chancellor’s Office rather than by the BND itself and explicitly prohibits economic and industrial espionage.

The new laws also provide for better protection for whistle-blowers within intelligence services and subjects the BND to annual public hearings instead of private ones, as has been the case. The reforms also explicitly allow the BND to direct espionage operations at EU institutions and other EU member states, if they are aimed at gathering “information of significance for [Germany’s] foreign policy and security.”The reform also permits the BND to cooperate with foreign intelligence services like the NSA if it serves specific purposes, including fighting terrorism, supporting the German military on foreign missions or collecting information concerning the safety of Germans abroad.

The legislation was passed with the votes of the governing Conservative-Social Democratic coalition, which said that the reforms address the concerns raised by the Snowden leaks while allowing the BND to use 20th century means to ensure Germany’s security. “How else is the BND supposed to protect us against terrorism other than listening in on conversations between people outside of Ger-many?” said Clemens Binninger of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, the chairman of the Bundestag’s NSA parliamentary committee.

Do we have to deal with so-called Extra-legal spaces?

Former Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger tweeted, “Unconstitutional BND law: I’m consulting with my colleagues at the FDP (Liberal Democratic Party).

But what matters more? Or even most? EU leaders have ended a Brussels summit without agreeing on a free trade deal with Ottawa as Belgium’s region of Wallonia refused a last minute offer. Canada’s trade minister said the deal was “impossible” at the moment. Tensions were high in Brussels on Friday (yesterday, write this piece on Saturday, October 22, 2016), after the government of Wallonia refused to budge on CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) despite massive pressure from Canada, the Belgian government, and the overwhelming majority of EU officials. Ottawa’s representative Chrystia Freeland blasted the EU as incapable of resolving the impasse, saying her country was “disappointed.”

“It seems evident for me and for Canada that the European Union is not now capable of having an international accord even with a country that has values as European as Canada, even with such a kind, patient, country,” the trade minister said in the Belgian city of Namur.

The parliament of the 3.5 million-strong region voted against the so-called CETA last week , blocking the deal near the very end of the seven-year negotiation procedure which aimed to cancel 98 percent of trade tariffs between EU and Canada. The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was to travel to Europe and sign the deal on the 27th of October.

Romania and Bulgaria were also opposed to the deal, but decided to get on board in exchange for visa-free travel to Canada from 2017. Wallonia, however, still  holds out against it, with its lawmakers concerned about CETA lowering Europe’s health standards, hurting small farmers, and giving big business power to force governments to change laws.

Also, CETA is seen as a probe for a much larger deal with the US, with citizens across Europe voicing similar com-plaints.

CETA also faced a challenge in Germany’s Constitutional Court, but was deemed to be in line with German law just over a week ago.

Europe is dealing with a lot of problems on all sights, while this nation Philippines is facing a lot of changes. For the good or the better? Future shall show us.

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