GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Belgium has a new prime minister, Elio Di Rupo, a francophone socialist, after 540 days of dispute over the country’s leadership. Di Rupo was appointed by King Albert II Monday and his new government was sworn in Tuesday 6 December. EurActiv reports that “the new team retains many of the ministers from the caretaker government of acting Prime Minister Yves Leterme, albeit in different roles.”
Later this week he will attend his first European Summit.
Update 18:05 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland in 2010 exported CHF640.5 million in “war materials” to 69 countries, down 12 percent from the previous year (CHF727.7m), compared to overall Swiss export, which rose by 8 percent, Bern announced Tuesday 22 February.
Arms exports accounted last year for less than half a percent of the country’s exports, 0.32 percent but with governments in several Arab nations using arms against their own citizens, observers in Switzerland are likely to look more closely this year at the details of Swiss arms exports.
Bern is putting the accent on transparency, pointing out that it remains high on the annual barometer for transparency established by the Small Arms Survey, which is attached to Geneva’s Graduate Institute. Small arms and light weapons account for only about CHF24 million of the total CHF640.5m arms exported by Switzerland last year, however. They fall under legislation covering arms and war materials.
Change in Swiss arms exports, 1983-2010 (source, Seco)
Top, Swiss arms exports in francs. Bottom, Swiss arms exports as a percentage of all exports. Source: Seco (click on image to view larger)
Air defense system sold to Saudi Arabia in 2006 covered 2010 delivery
One of the largest arms exports in 2010 was to Saudi Arabia, a partial delivery of an air defense system worth CHF132.6, which Bern is quick to point out was authorized in 2006.
Belgium will have been without a government one complete year by the end of March, if action is not taken soon. Sunday 23 January the country’s citizens took to the streets of the capital Brussels, to show their unhappiness. Some 30,000-50,000 people took part in the “Shame!” march but it’s not yet clear, or at least visible, if an initiative by a popular actor will have the same success. He is calling for men not to shave until a new government has formed.
The current impasse owes much to the tensions between political parties over the issue of unity between the mainly French-speaking southern part of the country and Dutch-speaking northern Belgium. The country has been run by a caretaker government for 200 days.
More snow!
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Switzerland’s Christmas snow has begun to fall steadily, and up to 10cm are expected on the plain, with 20cm at higher altitudes, but early afternoon 24 December showed relatively few signs of the winter weather snarls neighbouring France and Germany are experiencing. Geneva’s Cointrin Airport recommends that travellers arrive at least two hours before departure for all flights, given that up to 56,000 passengers are expected on Sunday, with traffic building up from the 20,000 travellers handled by the airport on a normal day.
Flights, trains and road traffic in France are all snarled by fresh snow on Christmas Eve day, throughout the country, with repercussions in neighbouring countries. Flights from Paris to Switzerland in the early afternoon were cancelled, although some later flights are still displayed as operating. Train stations are expected to handle some two million people over the Christmas weekend, with 800,000 Friday 24 December alone. Areas along the eastern borders with Germany and Switzerland as well as mountain regions further south are on orange alert for icy, snowy roads. Traffic at noon Friday was disrupted particularly in the Calais area and Charles-de-Gaulles Roissy
German train service was disrupted between Berlin and Hannover for several hours late Thursday when lines were iced over, stopping five intercity trains for five hours. Rail delays are expected to continue throughout Friday. Germany has also seen several highway accidents due to ice, with North Rhine Westphalia recording 1,734 accidents in 24 hours, according to The Local, Germany. A 24km tailback was formed, heading into Munich, after a spectacular pileup that involved 51 vehicles on the A9 motorway.
Belgium is also experiencing traffic problems due to snow, with flights from Brussels airport delayed and in some cases cancelled.
Roads in the UK are mostly cleared, according to the Guardian, allowing motorists a chance to get away for Chistmas, but it points to a reminder from the Automobile Association that stopping takes 10 times longer on icy, snowy roads than under normal conditions, so leave plenty of space between cars.
Links to other sites: Geneva Airport departures and arrivals, Guardian, UK, Le Monde (Fre), The Local (Ger), TSR (Fre)
Police in Belgium raided offices of the Catholic Church Thursday, sparking a storm of protest. “The Church’s headquarters, the Palace of the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, was sealed off, while officers searched for related material. Bishops meeting there were barred from leaving the premises or telephoning outside for several hours,” reports the BBC. Several other offices were included in the raid, part of continuing investigations into sexual abuse and pedophile crimes by Church clergy. The Bishops Conference, which is conducting its own investigation, was a target, and spokesperson Eric de Beukelaer protested afterwards that its work was compromised by the raid, given the confidential nature of some of the information given it by victims.
Roger Vangheluwe, the bishop of Bruges, resigned in March after saying he had sexually abused a boy 20 years earlier.
Links to other sites: Aljazeera, BBC, New York Times
Belgium could end up with as many as eight parties in a coalition government, after the NVA Flemish Separatist party appears to have won at least 27 of 150 seats in parliament, 30 percent of the vote, as ballot counting draws to a close. The strong result gives the party more seats than any other, but outspoken NVA leader Bart de Wever looks likely to have to tone down his rhetoric to participate in a coalition government of several parties.
A court in Belgium will rule on a case brought by a Congolese man to ban sales in the country of the 1920s book by cartoonist Hergé, Tintin in the Congo. The book has long been criticized for its racist images and dialogue, and even the cartoonist referred to it years later as “a youthful sin which reflected the prejudices of the time”, according to the BBC. The UK’s Commission for Racial Equality at one point asked for the book to be banned, but it is now often sold in Britain with a wrapper saying the contents may be offensive.
Yves LeTerme, Belgium’s prime minister, has handed his resignation to King Albert after the Flemish liberal Party, VLD, withdrew from LeTerme’s coalition government in a long-running dispute about the rights of French-speakers in Dutch-speaking areas. The resignation, which has reportedly not yet been accepted by the king, follows an emergency cabinet meeting Thursday evening.
France to follow suit
Update 23 April 10:00 The Belgian parliament was to vote Thurday 22 April on a ban on clothing that does not allow the wearer to be fully identified. If approved, Belgium would become the first European country to ban full-face veils such as the niqab and the burqa in public places. The vote was set aside, however, when the prime minister resigned after a key member of his coalition government pulled out.
Although the measure is supported by the parliament, critics say the ban is an attack on human and civil rights. If approved, the ban would become law in July 2010.
The vote comes a day after French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered legislation to prohibit such clothing in public spaces in France. Sarkozy told a cabinet meeting 21 April that the veil “hurts the dignity of women and is not acceptable in French society.”
Links to other sites: Al Jazeera English, BBC Video
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) – Eurostar will not be running trains in or out of Brussels, Belgium for a second day, following the train crash near Brussels Monday 15 February that killed 18 people. Passengers with tickets are asked to exchange them for a later date or they can ask for a refund. Paris trains are operating normally and Lille service is suffering some delays. Contact: Eurostar.
Details are still coming in of a rush-hour commuter train crash outside Brussels Monday morning 15 February: at least 20 people have died, according to the mayor of Halle, 15 km southwest of Brussels. A large number of cars are over-turned and spilling off the tracks, TV footage shows. One witness said one of the trains did not brake at all, but the cause of the crash is not yet known. Service in and out of Brussels by rail is seriously disrupted, with power lines reportedly affected by the collision.
Links to other sites: AFP, France2 (Fre) TV, La Libre Belgique (Fre) with live coverage, NPR
Hero Rats learn sociability at a young age (photo: ©2009 Apopo)
Hero Rat (photo: ©2009 Apopo)
Ed. note: GenevaLunch was on the ground this week in Cartagena, Colombia where the Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Demining joined the Colombian Government in welcoming heads of state for the Summit on a Mine-Free World
GenevaLunch background stories
by Jared Bloch
Cartagena, Colombia (GenevaLunch) - The Apopo organization was among the myriad governments and NGOs on hand to review progress made in the past four years in implementing the Ottawa Convention to ban use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines. Apopo is notable for its innovative use of rats in the field of mine detection.
Bart Weetjens, Apopo founder and conference delegate, told GenevaLunch that rats are playing an increasingly important role in the effort to rid the world of the risks posed by anti-personnel land mines. Weetjens is a product design engineer by training, and a Buddhist monk. He founded Apopo 12 years ago in response to the need for accessible, low technology innovations for humanitarian demining.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Brussels, Belgium Friday, where she has traveled to explain the new US policy on Afghanistan to European leaders. She is expected to seek support from fellow Nato members. She told reporters on her plane en route to Brussels that in intensive talks with other foreign ministers this week she received strong words of support. Clinton says she expects announcements to be made in the next few days of additional troops sent by other governments, although she concedes that for some, the timing is politically delicate.
Links to other sites: BBC, New York Times, Reuters/Yahoo, Times, UK
Rom Houben, a 46 year-old Belgian man who was diagnosed as being in a coma after a car accident in 1983, has been discovered to have normal brain functions after a scan was performed in 2006. In the beginning, “I cried out, but nothing came out”, he says. The day his brain was discovered to be intact was like “being born again.” He says he eventually learned to live with the opinion that others had of him. His mother has said that she always believed her son could communicate.
Houben, though paralyzed, now communicates with a specially adapted computer keyboard, and is writing a book on his experiences.
(Reuters video) The European Union has two new leaders, in posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which goes into effect 1 December 2009 following final approval by Ireland and the Czech Republic. Herman van Rompuy, Belgian prime minister, was named President of the European Council, a two-and-a-half year job. He was elected by a majority vote by the 27 members states. A key part of his job is to chair meetings of the European Commission. Catherine Ashton was made EU high representative for foreign affairs. She has been the EU’s trade commissioner for the past year.
The election of the pair, both of whom have relatively low profiles in international affairs, has been praised by the US, France and Germany but those who were hoping to see the first European president play a strong role are expressing disappointment. Turkey’s leaders are unhappy with Rompuy, who resisted Turkish membership and the UK media reaction has been more puzzled than enthusiastic.
Links to other sites: BBC, Die Welt (Ger), Guardian, UK, Le Monde (Fre), Le Temps (Fre), Times, UK
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium (GenevaLunch) - Kimi Raikkönen drove his Ferrari to victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after a pile-up on the first lap knocked four cars out of the race, including last year’s champion Lewis Hamilton and this season’s leader, Jenson Button.
Alrosa, a giant Russian diamond mining company in trouble because of the lack of demand in the world’s gem industry, is to receive help worth $1 billion to allow it to service debts totaling $3.6b. The help is in the form of purchases of rough diamonds from the State Precious Metals and Gems Repository, Gokhran. Alrosa is based in Sakha (Yakutia), and produces almost 20 percent of the world’s gems and almost all of Russia’s production of rough diamonds. Gokhran sells diamonds to the US, Belgium, and Israel. The announcement came as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Mirny, Sakh Republic, which is home to the company’s largest mine. A week previously, Alrosa announced that it was selling oil and gas assets for $600 million. Moscow Times, Reuters
A 61-year-old pilot died of natural causes during a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels, Belgium to Newark, New Jersey, USA. The plane commands were taken over by two other pilots on board and it has landed safely in Newark. It was carrying 247 passengers. Yahoo News
Morges tulip festival
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Mother’s day in Switzerland is coming up on Sunday 10 May. Many special activities will be taking place over the weekend that could be ideal for celebrating. The CGN lake boats company offers a special Mother’s day lunchtime cruise on Lake Geneva where mothers are the guests of honour. The final day of the Morges Tulip festival also falls on 10 May.
Russian government officials revoked the diplomatic accreditation of two Canadian diplomats working in Nato’s Moscow office. This action was in response to the dismissal of two Russian envoys working in Nato’s headquarters in Brussels. The diplomatic quarrel stems from Nato’s military exercises in Georgia that the Russians see as a provocation, according to a BBC report.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Timothy Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury, and Hans-Rudolph Merz, president of Switzerland, Tuesday 28 April met as part of negotiations for a new tax treaty between the two countries, but no news filtered out of the meeting and it is not yet clear if any statements will be issued.
Brussels, Belgium (Le Temps, Fre) – Mirek Topolenek, Czech Republic prime minister whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, confirmed at a Thursday evening press conference that Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg will not appear on any OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) list of fiscal havens. His remarks are headline news in the Swiss media, after weeks of political concern and parliamentary debate linked to the possibility Switzerland would be blacklisted.
