A “new phase of cooperation” was launched by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Monday.
The EU and the Philippines want to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement. These had begun in 2015, but were put on hold two years later – the concerns about the violations of human rights by the Duterte government at the time were too great.
With Ferdinand Marcos Jr. – the son of ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos – in power since 2022, the EU now wants to launch a “bilateral scoping process” to assess the extent to which the two sides agree on re-admission.
Human rights organizations criticize this decision, saying that the human rights situation remains a cause for concern. The International Criminal Court resumed investigations against the Philippines in January.
For the EU, however, the economic interest in the Philippines, with its strong electronics and semiconductor industries, seems to outweigh the economic interest in the EU. Von der Leyen also mentioned the potential for critical raw materials in her keynote speech in Manila. Possible projects are to be identified here.
In this context, von der Leyen also announced a massive investment as part of the Global Gateway Initiative: a “Team Europe” green economy initiative in the Philippines. This means that the EU Commission, Germany, France, Spain and Finland are investing a total of €466 million. Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden want to do their part with expertise and technology transfer, focusing on the transition to a circular economy, renewable energies and digitalization.
I wish you an interesting read!
Mr. Özdemir, agriculture is already directly affected by climate change and will have to protect itself from weather extremes in the coming decades. As Federal Minister of Agriculture, are you doing enough to ensure that this succeeds in both the short and long term?
Cem Özdemir: Few sectors of the economy feel the climate crisis and its consequences as directly as agriculture. While some people – whether on the Internet, on TV, or in politics – act against all evidence as if the climatic conditions were completely normal because it had been hot in the past, there is no need to convince farmers that the climate crisis is having a massive impact on our lives and is also changing the way we do business. In some regions, it hardly ever rains anymore, and water is a scarce and precious commodity – so the grain withers on the stalk. And elsewhere, heavy rainfall washes away entire harvests. The harvests of today, tomorrow and 20, 30 and 50 years from now are at stake.
Nevertheless, there are now some voices who believe that fewer restrictions are needed in view of the consequences of the Ukraine war and that climate protection targets should not be rigidly adhered to.
To those in the political arena who are now saying that the Green Deal is no longer needed, who are falling behind the jointly negotiated results of the Commission on the Future of Agriculture, and who would prefer to break open old rifts between nature conservation and agriculture, I say that this will not succeed. I am committed to a policy that seeks to implement compromises that have been painstakingly negotiated and jointly achieved, instead of falling back into extremes. We need to combat the climate crisis and at the same time ensure that agriculture can adapt to the crisis.
What do you mean by customize?
A sensible policy not only protects but also takes precautions, for example by using climate-adapted varieties or cultivation techniques that strengthen resilience. In Brandenburg, for example, chickpeas cope well with drought, and we support such approaches with our protein crop strategy. Finally, we are also leveraging the potential of agriculture as a climate protector. Take humus buildup. Every percent more humus also means more carbon storage in the soil. Here, we are investing many millions in specific projects and practice-relevant research.
Is this the end of the line for climate protection in agriculture?
Agriculture has currently achieved its sector targets, and that is a great achievement. Farmers in particular have an interest in this and a right to expect other sectors to deliver on climate protection as well. My concern is that we help to make agriculture crisis-proof in the long term as well. A major lever is livestock farming, which accounts for almost 70 percent of emissions in the agricultural sector. I want to make it quite clear that if agriculture is to be sustainable, we need livestock farming in Germany. That’s why we need to make it fit for the future. This is also a question of resources and distribution; more than half of the cereals end up not on our plates, but in the trough. We are therefore using too much land to feed animals. At the same time, meat consumption in Germany is declining. That’s where I come in with my principle of “keeping fewer animals better”. My mandatory state animal husbandry label, which has just been finally adopted, is a key element in this. And we will support farmers who give their animals more space.
In view of the current harvest here, are you pleased that farmers in Germany have not yet been forced to leave land fallow and grow less wheat this year?
I perceive cautious optimism in the harvest. But looking into a crystal ball belongs at the fair, not in a ministry. How well our granaries will be filled at the end of the summer ultimately depends heavily on the weather. And the weather is increasingly riding a roller coaster because of the climate crisis. We therefore have to do everything we can to ensure that agriculture can position itself to withstand the climate and the crisis. As I mentioned earlier, this was actually the consensus in Germany and in the EU – and I’m surprised at what’s happening in Brussels right now on the part of the CDU/CSU. The CDU and CSU are suddenly denying the compromises they themselves helped negotiate and attacking their own Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is pushing ahead with the Green Deal for good reason. These are transparent election campaign maneuvers. Anyone who ignores the consequences of the climate crisis, soil problems and water shortages is truly no friend of the farmers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently halted the grain agreement for the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea ports. Against this backdrop, the agricultural policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Albert Stegemann, is calling for a “crisis team for food security”. Are you also alarmed?
I was in Rome last week at the UN Special Summit on Food Systems discussing the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression on global food security. Putin is using hunger as a weapon. We’ve been seeing that since the beginning of the war. As we know, he doesn’t care about the consequences for the people and all the suffering. Russia’s unilateral cancellation of the grain agreement is fueling existing famines around the world. Ukrainian grain is now no longer reaching places where people are struggling to survive, such as Africa. The World Food Programme, for example, had brought Ukrainian grain to Ethiopia with the support of the German government. That will no longer be available for the time being. On the other hand, grain from Ukraine has helped normalize world market prices for wheat, for example, so that the world’s poorest people can afford bread.
What is the federal government doing?
It is therefore paying off that the EU took action early on to ensure that Ukrainian grain reaches other European seaports via rail and road. Precisely because Putin cannot be relied upon, permanent alternative routes must be established. The EU needs to make further efforts in this regard, and I would of course be pleased if the CDU were to use its good contacts in Brussels to provide support in this regard.
A reduction in pesticides, as planned by the EU Commission, would give a boost to your goal of expanding organic farming in Germany. Against this background, what is your position on the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) in the Council?
I support the savings targets and a common regulation, but I also say that it must be feasible and must not penalize those who have already gone ahead. There is no point in having virtual savings targets in Europe that no one adheres to. It is also in the interest of German agriculture that we define European targets for the reduction of pesticides. Because that creates a level playing field in Europe. Precisely because we got started early on many issues in Germany, it is advantageous for us if the reduction targets also apply to others. So: support for the goal of the SUR. But the regulation urgently needs adjustments that address our specific conditions in Germany. That is the question of the reference year for the reduction targets. That’s also a question of the bureaucratic scope and, of course, it’s also about the definition of sensitive areas. Special crops must continue to be possible. After all, no one can seriously have an interest in seeing wine and fruit growing decline in our country. However, I believe it is possible to reach an agreement – assuming goodwill on the part of all those involved in the EU.
In addition, part of the agricultural industry expects to be able to reduce the use of pesticides through the relaxation of EU genetic engineering legislation. The organic sector, on the other hand, fears for its promise of freedom from genetic engineering. Could this jeopardize the organic expansion target in Germany?
Many conventional farms also advertise that they are GMO-free. This is a functioning market worth billions, and neither opponents nor supporters dispute this. My advice on this subject is not to listen to those who would prefer to fall back into old black-and-white debates, because that makes the world so beautifully simple. On the one hand, there are those who demonize everything across the board, and on the other hand, there are those who see the great promises of salvation in it. That’s why I’m pleased to see that there are many who are very pragmatic in their discussions. My ministry is in charge within the German government, and for us, two aspects are central to finding a common position on the new regulations: coexistence between those who want to work with and those who want to work without agrogenetic engineering, and freedom from patents. The economic substance of our agriculture and food industry, whether conventional or organic, must not be jeopardized by new rules. In short, those who want to farm without genetic engineering must be able to continue to do so. This must apply to the entire value chain.
Another topic to finish on: According to a study by the Max Rubner Institute (MRI), particularly sugary children’s drinks have become even more sugary. Do you want to take regulatory action here, along the lines of the plans to ban harmful advertising to children?
It is completely absurd that the sugar content in some foods aimed at children continues to rise. Beverages are just one example, as MRI’s monitoring has shown. There are breakfast cereals for children that consist of half sugar! Up to two million children and adolescents in Germany suffer from overweight or obesity. This is also a question of equal opportunity. In other countries, such as Great Britain, the sugar content has been drastically reduced in some cases – and people have then bought the products anyway. So it’s not God-given how much sugar is included. My concern is that every child should have the chance to grow up healthy. We are now fulfilling a contribution to this through more child protection in advertising. All three traffic light coalition parties have agreed that there should be no more advertising directed at children for foods with high sugar, fat and salt content. I take this mandate seriously.
At Ornano‘s headquarters in Châtillon on the outskirts of Paris, no mood of crisis is visible from the outside in the days following the military coup in Niger. The lights in the offices of the French nuclear company do not stay on longer than usual. Yet the mining sites of the two companies Somaïr and Cominak near Arlit in the north of the Sahel state are important locations for Orano. So far, they have extracted just under 3,000 tons of uranium for the French nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Soon, the third mining site, Imouraren, should actually go into production.
Not even in the release of its half-year figures on Friday did Orano address the coup in Niger. “The outlook for 2023 has improved in a well-aligned market”, it said tersely. Activity in Niger continued despite “security incidents”. After all, Le Monde now reports, the company has now set up a crisis team to, it claims, ensure the safety of mines in the country. Previously, the new rulers had stopped the export of uranium and gold to France.
Even if the central economic player of the nuclear power France tries to play down the significance of the coup in Niger, it is certain that the coup directly affects Europe’s interests in several respects.
First, there is the issue of security policy. The Sahel is a core area of Islamist terror in Africa. It threatens not only the Sahel states. Islamist terror via Boko Haram has also been active in northeastern Nigeria for years. It could spread further to countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and others.
Mauritania is also threatened by Islamism. Yet the country has become a key location for Europe in particular. Investments of well over €10 billion are planned there to produce green hydrogen for the energy transition in Europe. These projects are exposed to almost incalculable risks in the event of an expansion of Islamist terror.
In France, some are already mourning the death of Libyan self-proclaimed revolutionary leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was assassinated in 2011. After all, the dictator set limits to Islamism and put a stop to human trafficking, through which countless refugees are now smuggled from southern parts of Africa to the Libyan coast. If the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in the Sahel gain the upper hand in the region, they will hold the key to the flow of refugees across the Sahara.
Raw materials are another reason why the region is so important for Europe. The wealth in the soil of the Sahel has only begun to be explored. In Mali, mining engineers made an incredible find in 2012. An hour and a half’s drive north of Bamako, they actually came across a natural deposit of pure hydrogen while searching for water sources. Such finds were always thought to be impossible because hydrogen is unstable and always seeks to combine with other chemical substances.
Despite the importance of the find, the search for further hydrogen bubbles in Mali was never taken up. But it is clear that the Sahel must also be home to the raw materials that the West needs for its energy transition, electromobility and digitization.
The political crisis in Niger, Mali, Chad and other countries shows that European policy in the Sahel has failed – the military missions as well as the development cooperation. In Niger in particular, it is proving to be a mistake for the West not to involve the African states more, but to patronize them. If France, Germany and the EU want to retain influence in the region, they must strengthen regional forces.
Morocco, for example, has developed remarkable security and regional policy initiatives that are not even discussed in the West. Yet King Mohamed VI set them out just a few days ago in a speech at the celebration of his throne. They have been ignored in European politics.
Certainly, the price Morocco is demanding seems too high for the Europeans. The kingdom is demanding nothing less than recognition that Western Sahara, annexed in 1976, is part of Morocco. The US under Trump and Israel under Netanyahu have conceded this to Rabat, but Europe so far has not. A UN mediation mission by former German President Horst Köhler failed in 2019.
Kenyan President William Ruto could also be involved in stabilizing the Sahel. Last week, his foreign minister, Alfred Mutua, reaffirmed Kenya’s foreign policy ambitions in a landmark speech. That speech, too, was not heard in Europe.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has recently led a mediation mission to Niger on behalf of the West African Economic Community (Ecowas). Nigeria also has an interest of its own, as it is linked to Niger by a 1,500-kilometer border. Shortly before the coup, Tinubu, currently chairman of Ecowas, had presented a plan to give the West African community of states greater influence. This plan also provides for the creation of a regional crisis intervention force. So far, Europe has not paid any attention to this plan either.
In the process, the Europeans will have to count more heavily on Ecowas. The community initially imposed economic sanctions on Niger, issued an ultimatum to the military junta and threatened military intervention.
The helplessness with which Europe reacted to the coup shows how important a new beginning is in relations with Africa. From the perspective of African politicians, this can only be achieved through Europe’s recognition that the era of Eurocentrism is over and that Africa has become an equal player on the world stage.
An “exciting and fulfilling” assignment almost lies behind him, says Colonel Wolfgang Schmidt. One that he would take on again at any time: Until the beginning of August, he still leads the German contingent of the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Lithuania as commander. Since February 2023, Schmidt has been at the helm of NATO’s “enhanced forward presence” to secure the Eastern European NATO states.
The German commitment in Lithuania consists of two pillars: On the one hand, the German contribution to the multinational enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup, led by Lieutenant Colonel Lars Neitzel. In addition, since June 2022, there has been the bilaterally agreed German brigade for Lithuania under the leadership of Brigadier General Christian Nawrat and its Forward Command Element (FCE). Schmidt is the contingent commander of the German forces of the Battlegroup and the FCE in Rukla, Lithuania.
Schmidt, who was born near Schwerin in 1970, will not experience the growth of the permanent brigade in Lithuania announced by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in June at close quarters. But when he returns to Neubrandenburg on Aug. 9 as deputy brigade commander of “his” armored infantry brigade 41 “Vorpommern”, he will have many good memories in his luggage.
On the one hand, to the good cooperation with the Lithuanian comrades, but also to a country “whose government should have been listened to long before Russia’s attack on Ukraine”, as Schmidt says. A government that, shortly after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, had already begun “with impressive speed” to create the legal and financial framework to build the necessary civilian and military infrastructure for defense. “As far as we know, their investment volume is between €320 and €500 million for accommodation, training areas and the pre-stationing of ammunition and material”, explains Schmidt.
“Of course, I was looking forward to such an important assignment as the one in Lithuania and prepared specifically. In addition to the military training that one always undergoes for such assignments, I also studied the history of Lithuania, for example, which plays an essential role for me in understanding the country.”
And Schmidt had also prepared himself for the increased media interest; numerous TV documentaries and other media reports have been made with him as commander. While he doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, “I naturally see it as my duty to explain what our task is here, namely deterrence and reassurance”.
For Schmidt, NATO’s reorientation toward national and alliance defense and the associated strengthening of the eastern flank since 2014 is the right step. Because: “At the end of the day, that’s why I became a soldier, to carry out such missions, especially the defense of peace and freedom.”
So after basic training, which he began in October 1989, Schmidt stayed as a professional soldier, “also because I had dedicated and really good superiors”. He went through the NCO and officer career paths, with stations including at the Bundeswehr University in Hamburg and the Army Training Command in Leipzig – as well as in the US at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk (Virginia) and at NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command in Lisbon. In addition to Lithuania, Schmidt has also served on foreign deployments in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina. When not deployed, he lives with his wife near Jena, Germany. Lisa-Martina Klein
The toy manufacturer Mattel has taken a big gamble with the feature film Barbie. Is it feminist agitation or just huge fun in pink? Cinema critics are still falling over themselves in attempts to interpret it. What is clear, however, is that the gamble has paid off for Mattel. Barbie is a huge success – and not just at the box office.
There is an ever-growing marketing wave building up right now. Toy retailers are inviting customers to events, and the KaDeWe in Berlin is selling Barbie memorabilia in a pop-up store. Designers are creating Barbie fashion for adults – which excites men and women alike. Car dealers advertise their sports cars as “Barbie’s favorite model”.
Many want to ride in the back seat of the pink Corvette C1 with Barbie on the road to success. The EU Commission has also gotten carried away. DG Connect – self-portrayal: “We’re all about #tech ?✨” – also advertises on its X (formerly known as Twitter) channel DigitalEU using memes of the movie characters Barbie and Ken.
A digital driver’s license on your cell phone, no costly charges when making mobile calls in the EU, free Wi-Fi hotspots on vacation, and a cell phone that can be repaired if it should fall out of the window of your dream house. DG Connect promises all this in its post, which would have been called a tweet until a week ago.
Oh, if all this were already a reality, how dreamlike not only Barbie’s life would be! Our lives would be just a little bit easier, too. Nice try, DG Connect! vis
A “new phase of cooperation” was launched by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Monday.
The EU and the Philippines want to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement. These had begun in 2015, but were put on hold two years later – the concerns about the violations of human rights by the Duterte government at the time were too great.
With Ferdinand Marcos Jr. – the son of ex-dictator Ferdinand Marcos – in power since 2022, the EU now wants to launch a “bilateral scoping process” to assess the extent to which the two sides agree on re-admission.
Human rights organizations criticize this decision, saying that the human rights situation remains a cause for concern. The International Criminal Court resumed investigations against the Philippines in January.
For the EU, however, the economic interest in the Philippines, with its strong electronics and semiconductor industries, seems to outweigh the economic interest in the EU. Von der Leyen also mentioned the potential for critical raw materials in her keynote speech in Manila. Possible projects are to be identified here.
In this context, von der Leyen also announced a massive investment as part of the Global Gateway Initiative: a “Team Europe” green economy initiative in the Philippines. This means that the EU Commission, Germany, France, Spain and Finland are investing a total of €466 million. Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden want to do their part with expertise and technology transfer, focusing on the transition to a circular economy, renewable energies and digitalization.
I wish you an interesting read!
Mr. Özdemir, agriculture is already directly affected by climate change and will have to protect itself from weather extremes in the coming decades. As Federal Minister of Agriculture, are you doing enough to ensure that this succeeds in both the short and long term?
Cem Özdemir: Few sectors of the economy feel the climate crisis and its consequences as directly as agriculture. While some people – whether on the Internet, on TV, or in politics – act against all evidence as if the climatic conditions were completely normal because it had been hot in the past, there is no need to convince farmers that the climate crisis is having a massive impact on our lives and is also changing the way we do business. In some regions, it hardly ever rains anymore, and water is a scarce and precious commodity – so the grain withers on the stalk. And elsewhere, heavy rainfall washes away entire harvests. The harvests of today, tomorrow and 20, 30 and 50 years from now are at stake.
Nevertheless, there are now some voices who believe that fewer restrictions are needed in view of the consequences of the Ukraine war and that climate protection targets should not be rigidly adhered to.
To those in the political arena who are now saying that the Green Deal is no longer needed, who are falling behind the jointly negotiated results of the Commission on the Future of Agriculture, and who would prefer to break open old rifts between nature conservation and agriculture, I say that this will not succeed. I am committed to a policy that seeks to implement compromises that have been painstakingly negotiated and jointly achieved, instead of falling back into extremes. We need to combat the climate crisis and at the same time ensure that agriculture can adapt to the crisis.
What do you mean by customize?
A sensible policy not only protects but also takes precautions, for example by using climate-adapted varieties or cultivation techniques that strengthen resilience. In Brandenburg, for example, chickpeas cope well with drought, and we support such approaches with our protein crop strategy. Finally, we are also leveraging the potential of agriculture as a climate protector. Take humus buildup. Every percent more humus also means more carbon storage in the soil. Here, we are investing many millions in specific projects and practice-relevant research.
Is this the end of the line for climate protection in agriculture?
Agriculture has currently achieved its sector targets, and that is a great achievement. Farmers in particular have an interest in this and a right to expect other sectors to deliver on climate protection as well. My concern is that we help to make agriculture crisis-proof in the long term as well. A major lever is livestock farming, which accounts for almost 70 percent of emissions in the agricultural sector. I want to make it quite clear that if agriculture is to be sustainable, we need livestock farming in Germany. That’s why we need to make it fit for the future. This is also a question of resources and distribution; more than half of the cereals end up not on our plates, but in the trough. We are therefore using too much land to feed animals. At the same time, meat consumption in Germany is declining. That’s where I come in with my principle of “keeping fewer animals better”. My mandatory state animal husbandry label, which has just been finally adopted, is a key element in this. And we will support farmers who give their animals more space.
In view of the current harvest here, are you pleased that farmers in Germany have not yet been forced to leave land fallow and grow less wheat this year?
I perceive cautious optimism in the harvest. But looking into a crystal ball belongs at the fair, not in a ministry. How well our granaries will be filled at the end of the summer ultimately depends heavily on the weather. And the weather is increasingly riding a roller coaster because of the climate crisis. We therefore have to do everything we can to ensure that agriculture can position itself to withstand the climate and the crisis. As I mentioned earlier, this was actually the consensus in Germany and in the EU – and I’m surprised at what’s happening in Brussels right now on the part of the CDU/CSU. The CDU and CSU are suddenly denying the compromises they themselves helped negotiate and attacking their own Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is pushing ahead with the Green Deal for good reason. These are transparent election campaign maneuvers. Anyone who ignores the consequences of the climate crisis, soil problems and water shortages is truly no friend of the farmers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently halted the grain agreement for the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea ports. Against this backdrop, the agricultural policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Albert Stegemann, is calling for a “crisis team for food security”. Are you also alarmed?
I was in Rome last week at the UN Special Summit on Food Systems discussing the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression on global food security. Putin is using hunger as a weapon. We’ve been seeing that since the beginning of the war. As we know, he doesn’t care about the consequences for the people and all the suffering. Russia’s unilateral cancellation of the grain agreement is fueling existing famines around the world. Ukrainian grain is now no longer reaching places where people are struggling to survive, such as Africa. The World Food Programme, for example, had brought Ukrainian grain to Ethiopia with the support of the German government. That will no longer be available for the time being. On the other hand, grain from Ukraine has helped normalize world market prices for wheat, for example, so that the world’s poorest people can afford bread.
What is the federal government doing?
It is therefore paying off that the EU took action early on to ensure that Ukrainian grain reaches other European seaports via rail and road. Precisely because Putin cannot be relied upon, permanent alternative routes must be established. The EU needs to make further efforts in this regard, and I would of course be pleased if the CDU were to use its good contacts in Brussels to provide support in this regard.
A reduction in pesticides, as planned by the EU Commission, would give a boost to your goal of expanding organic farming in Germany. Against this background, what is your position on the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR) in the Council?
I support the savings targets and a common regulation, but I also say that it must be feasible and must not penalize those who have already gone ahead. There is no point in having virtual savings targets in Europe that no one adheres to. It is also in the interest of German agriculture that we define European targets for the reduction of pesticides. Because that creates a level playing field in Europe. Precisely because we got started early on many issues in Germany, it is advantageous for us if the reduction targets also apply to others. So: support for the goal of the SUR. But the regulation urgently needs adjustments that address our specific conditions in Germany. That is the question of the reference year for the reduction targets. That’s also a question of the bureaucratic scope and, of course, it’s also about the definition of sensitive areas. Special crops must continue to be possible. After all, no one can seriously have an interest in seeing wine and fruit growing decline in our country. However, I believe it is possible to reach an agreement – assuming goodwill on the part of all those involved in the EU.
In addition, part of the agricultural industry expects to be able to reduce the use of pesticides through the relaxation of EU genetic engineering legislation. The organic sector, on the other hand, fears for its promise of freedom from genetic engineering. Could this jeopardize the organic expansion target in Germany?
Many conventional farms also advertise that they are GMO-free. This is a functioning market worth billions, and neither opponents nor supporters dispute this. My advice on this subject is not to listen to those who would prefer to fall back into old black-and-white debates, because that makes the world so beautifully simple. On the one hand, there are those who demonize everything across the board, and on the other hand, there are those who see the great promises of salvation in it. That’s why I’m pleased to see that there are many who are very pragmatic in their discussions. My ministry is in charge within the German government, and for us, two aspects are central to finding a common position on the new regulations: coexistence between those who want to work with and those who want to work without agrogenetic engineering, and freedom from patents. The economic substance of our agriculture and food industry, whether conventional or organic, must not be jeopardized by new rules. In short, those who want to farm without genetic engineering must be able to continue to do so. This must apply to the entire value chain.
Another topic to finish on: According to a study by the Max Rubner Institute (MRI), particularly sugary children’s drinks have become even more sugary. Do you want to take regulatory action here, along the lines of the plans to ban harmful advertising to children?
It is completely absurd that the sugar content in some foods aimed at children continues to rise. Beverages are just one example, as MRI’s monitoring has shown. There are breakfast cereals for children that consist of half sugar! Up to two million children and adolescents in Germany suffer from overweight or obesity. This is also a question of equal opportunity. In other countries, such as Great Britain, the sugar content has been drastically reduced in some cases – and people have then bought the products anyway. So it’s not God-given how much sugar is included. My concern is that every child should have the chance to grow up healthy. We are now fulfilling a contribution to this through more child protection in advertising. All three traffic light coalition parties have agreed that there should be no more advertising directed at children for foods with high sugar, fat and salt content. I take this mandate seriously.
At Ornano‘s headquarters in Châtillon on the outskirts of Paris, no mood of crisis is visible from the outside in the days following the military coup in Niger. The lights in the offices of the French nuclear company do not stay on longer than usual. Yet the mining sites of the two companies Somaïr and Cominak near Arlit in the north of the Sahel state are important locations for Orano. So far, they have extracted just under 3,000 tons of uranium for the French nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Soon, the third mining site, Imouraren, should actually go into production.
Not even in the release of its half-year figures on Friday did Orano address the coup in Niger. “The outlook for 2023 has improved in a well-aligned market”, it said tersely. Activity in Niger continued despite “security incidents”. After all, Le Monde now reports, the company has now set up a crisis team to, it claims, ensure the safety of mines in the country. Previously, the new rulers had stopped the export of uranium and gold to France.
Even if the central economic player of the nuclear power France tries to play down the significance of the coup in Niger, it is certain that the coup directly affects Europe’s interests in several respects.
First, there is the issue of security policy. The Sahel is a core area of Islamist terror in Africa. It threatens not only the Sahel states. Islamist terror via Boko Haram has also been active in northeastern Nigeria for years. It could spread further to countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and others.
Mauritania is also threatened by Islamism. Yet the country has become a key location for Europe in particular. Investments of well over €10 billion are planned there to produce green hydrogen for the energy transition in Europe. These projects are exposed to almost incalculable risks in the event of an expansion of Islamist terror.
In France, some are already mourning the death of Libyan self-proclaimed revolutionary leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was assassinated in 2011. After all, the dictator set limits to Islamism and put a stop to human trafficking, through which countless refugees are now smuggled from southern parts of Africa to the Libyan coast. If the Islamic State and Al Qaeda in the Sahel gain the upper hand in the region, they will hold the key to the flow of refugees across the Sahara.
Raw materials are another reason why the region is so important for Europe. The wealth in the soil of the Sahel has only begun to be explored. In Mali, mining engineers made an incredible find in 2012. An hour and a half’s drive north of Bamako, they actually came across a natural deposit of pure hydrogen while searching for water sources. Such finds were always thought to be impossible because hydrogen is unstable and always seeks to combine with other chemical substances.
Despite the importance of the find, the search for further hydrogen bubbles in Mali was never taken up. But it is clear that the Sahel must also be home to the raw materials that the West needs for its energy transition, electromobility and digitization.
The political crisis in Niger, Mali, Chad and other countries shows that European policy in the Sahel has failed – the military missions as well as the development cooperation. In Niger in particular, it is proving to be a mistake for the West not to involve the African states more, but to patronize them. If France, Germany and the EU want to retain influence in the region, they must strengthen regional forces.
Morocco, for example, has developed remarkable security and regional policy initiatives that are not even discussed in the West. Yet King Mohamed VI set them out just a few days ago in a speech at the celebration of his throne. They have been ignored in European politics.
Certainly, the price Morocco is demanding seems too high for the Europeans. The kingdom is demanding nothing less than recognition that Western Sahara, annexed in 1976, is part of Morocco. The US under Trump and Israel under Netanyahu have conceded this to Rabat, but Europe so far has not. A UN mediation mission by former German President Horst Köhler failed in 2019.
Kenyan President William Ruto could also be involved in stabilizing the Sahel. Last week, his foreign minister, Alfred Mutua, reaffirmed Kenya’s foreign policy ambitions in a landmark speech. That speech, too, was not heard in Europe.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has recently led a mediation mission to Niger on behalf of the West African Economic Community (Ecowas). Nigeria also has an interest of its own, as it is linked to Niger by a 1,500-kilometer border. Shortly before the coup, Tinubu, currently chairman of Ecowas, had presented a plan to give the West African community of states greater influence. This plan also provides for the creation of a regional crisis intervention force. So far, Europe has not paid any attention to this plan either.
In the process, the Europeans will have to count more heavily on Ecowas. The community initially imposed economic sanctions on Niger, issued an ultimatum to the military junta and threatened military intervention.
The helplessness with which Europe reacted to the coup shows how important a new beginning is in relations with Africa. From the perspective of African politicians, this can only be achieved through Europe’s recognition that the era of Eurocentrism is over and that Africa has become an equal player on the world stage.
An “exciting and fulfilling” assignment almost lies behind him, says Colonel Wolfgang Schmidt. One that he would take on again at any time: Until the beginning of August, he still leads the German contingent of the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Lithuania as commander. Since February 2023, Schmidt has been at the helm of NATO’s “enhanced forward presence” to secure the Eastern European NATO states.
The German commitment in Lithuania consists of two pillars: On the one hand, the German contribution to the multinational enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup, led by Lieutenant Colonel Lars Neitzel. In addition, since June 2022, there has been the bilaterally agreed German brigade for Lithuania under the leadership of Brigadier General Christian Nawrat and its Forward Command Element (FCE). Schmidt is the contingent commander of the German forces of the Battlegroup and the FCE in Rukla, Lithuania.
Schmidt, who was born near Schwerin in 1970, will not experience the growth of the permanent brigade in Lithuania announced by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in June at close quarters. But when he returns to Neubrandenburg on Aug. 9 as deputy brigade commander of “his” armored infantry brigade 41 “Vorpommern”, he will have many good memories in his luggage.
On the one hand, to the good cooperation with the Lithuanian comrades, but also to a country “whose government should have been listened to long before Russia’s attack on Ukraine”, as Schmidt says. A government that, shortly after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, had already begun “with impressive speed” to create the legal and financial framework to build the necessary civilian and military infrastructure for defense. “As far as we know, their investment volume is between €320 and €500 million for accommodation, training areas and the pre-stationing of ammunition and material”, explains Schmidt.
“Of course, I was looking forward to such an important assignment as the one in Lithuania and prepared specifically. In addition to the military training that one always undergoes for such assignments, I also studied the history of Lithuania, for example, which plays an essential role for me in understanding the country.”
And Schmidt had also prepared himself for the increased media interest; numerous TV documentaries and other media reports have been made with him as commander. While he doesn’t like to be in the spotlight, “I naturally see it as my duty to explain what our task is here, namely deterrence and reassurance”.
For Schmidt, NATO’s reorientation toward national and alliance defense and the associated strengthening of the eastern flank since 2014 is the right step. Because: “At the end of the day, that’s why I became a soldier, to carry out such missions, especially the defense of peace and freedom.”
So after basic training, which he began in October 1989, Schmidt stayed as a professional soldier, “also because I had dedicated and really good superiors”. He went through the NCO and officer career paths, with stations including at the Bundeswehr University in Hamburg and the Army Training Command in Leipzig – as well as in the US at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk (Virginia) and at NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command in Lisbon. In addition to Lithuania, Schmidt has also served on foreign deployments in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina. When not deployed, he lives with his wife near Jena, Germany. Lisa-Martina Klein
The toy manufacturer Mattel has taken a big gamble with the feature film Barbie. Is it feminist agitation or just huge fun in pink? Cinema critics are still falling over themselves in attempts to interpret it. What is clear, however, is that the gamble has paid off for Mattel. Barbie is a huge success – and not just at the box office.
There is an ever-growing marketing wave building up right now. Toy retailers are inviting customers to events, and the KaDeWe in Berlin is selling Barbie memorabilia in a pop-up store. Designers are creating Barbie fashion for adults – which excites men and women alike. Car dealers advertise their sports cars as “Barbie’s favorite model”.
Many want to ride in the back seat of the pink Corvette C1 with Barbie on the road to success. The EU Commission has also gotten carried away. DG Connect – self-portrayal: “We’re all about #tech ?✨” – also advertises on its X (formerly known as Twitter) channel DigitalEU using memes of the movie characters Barbie and Ken.
A digital driver’s license on your cell phone, no costly charges when making mobile calls in the EU, free Wi-Fi hotspots on vacation, and a cell phone that can be repaired if it should fall out of the window of your dream house. DG Connect promises all this in its post, which would have been called a tweet until a week ago.
Oh, if all this were already a reality, how dreamlike not only Barbie’s life would be! Our lives would be just a little bit easier, too. Nice try, DG Connect! vis
