Foreign and Security, Defense and Cybersecurity | The PC3 Newsletter #2/2024
Dear Fellow PC3 Members,
The international context is going to be full of inputs for the PC3 works. The Middle East War, and the Ukrainian War are the first concerns but other headlines are hitting our attention. First and foremost, the BRICS meeting is confirming the tendency to transition towards a multipolar world, second, the Georgian election outcome is confirming tendency, by the Russian foreign policy, to maintain the pressure over Caucasian republic.
Concluding, after years, the UN talks on Cyprus future have been revived by the Secretary General of the United Nations. There are difficulties, but, at least for once, we could watch, twenty years from the accession to the EU, a path for peace between two sides of island.
I hope you enjoy the reading.
All the best,
Carlo Maria Palermo
Chairperson, PC3 Foreign and Security Policy
The War in the Middle East
The War in Middle East is proving to be enduring, and in its complexity, perilous for the international and regional stability.
While the military campaigns continue to be pointed out by bloodshed attacks, the diplomatic efforts made by the contact group formed by representatives, among the others Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar, seems to achieve if not a truce or ceasefire, the attenuation of the military operations over Gaza Strip.
On other hand, in Lebanon continue strikes against Hizbollah militias creating concerns among the western diplomacies and Iran which menaced a retaliation against the State of Israel after the recent airstrikes in its territory.
We have here some useful sources by the Institute of War and to frame the current situation.
Aaron David Miller, A conversation with former prime minister Ehud Barak, (Carnagie)
Marwan Muasher, The Case for a New Arab Peace Initiative (Foreign Affairs)
Joost Hiltermann, The Path to Regional War (The New York Review of Books)
[Podcast] The View From Israel One Year After October 7, A Conversation With Ari Shavit (Foreign Affairs)
Tom Segev, Israel’s Forever War. The Long History of Managing—Rather Than Solving—the Conflict (Foreign Affairs)
Jamie Dettmer, While war continues, Lebanon is trapped (Politico)
The War in Ukraine
The War in Ukraine continues to surprise and concern, especially, after the initiative (in the framework of Russian-North Korean friendship agreement) to deploy thousands of troops in Ukraine in the most disputed battlefields.
Even if it is a worrying scenario, it confirms the inner difficulties in Russian recruitment in such historical phase.
Here is some sources analysing the situation on this profile and the ongoing stalemate in the field.
Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Kim Jong Un has sent North Korean troops to Russia. What’s in it for him? (The Washington Post)
The Institute of War, The Situation in the field
International Crisis Group, (Visual explainer), Ukraine War Map, tracking frontiers
Brics meeting 2024 in Kazan: the expansion
The Brics meeting was, probably, one of the most interesting international summit of this year. The language confirmed the tendency to question not just the primacy of the West but the legitimacy of the latter to “guide” the international community.
Nevertheless, after the smoke curtain of the official documents, emerged some differences among the main actors. If Russian Federation confirmed its wish to create a new power center in the international system, the other across, such as China and India, are using more prudent approach, addressing in a more prudent way towards the European Union and the United States, having, at least in their diplomatic moves and official documents, a different posture.
Filippo Fasulo, Guido Alberto Casanova, Michele Danesi, Paola Morselli, Do the Brics have a plan?
Reuters, BRICS summit: Key takeaways from the Kazan declaration
Georgian election outcome
The recent developments in Georgia, the probable Russian influence on the general election created concern but not surprised in the international community in Europe and in the world.
An analysis here on the Georgian situation and an evaluation from Prof. Hikari from the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University
Tinatin Akhvlediani, Did we just witness Georgia go from dream to nightmare?
Michael Hikari Cecire, An elegy for Georgia’s democracy (Politico)
Cyprus talks
After two decades, we celebrate the 2004 enlargement that opened the EU’s gate to ten new members.
Among them Cyprus deserved, at the time, quite a concern, because the mediterranean island was (and nowadays remains) divided in two separate entities the Republic of Cyprus, at the South, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, at the North. The latter is recognised just by mainland Turkey.
Indeed, the disappointment was, at the time, the inability by the EU to facilitate the accession of Cyprus without create a credible path to solve the island’s division.
Nowadays, after twenty years, the talks among the parties overt Cyprus status has been opened in Washington creating new hopes to end the dispute among the countries involved.
Here is some sources to reflect about it.
Maya Ungar, Nigar Göksel, How to Reinvigorate the UN’s Mediation Efforts in Cyprus
Daily Sabah, Turkish Cyprus firm on conditions ahead of informal UN meeting
Towards the Federal Committee of Budapest
Below, you can find the list of draft resolutions submitted to the Federal Committee meeting.
To every resolutions is attached the form for amendments. From 29 October 2024 until 6 November 2024 midnight, all FC members can submit amendments by sending the related resolution in a Word file format to the UEF Secretariat (secretariat@federalists.eu).
- Proposal of resolution 1: Building consensus for Treaty change
- Proposal of resolution 2: A European foreign and security policy in a Changing World (PC3)
- Proposal of resolution 3: Opposing continued introduction of internal border controls in the Schengen Area -need to preserve the exceptional character of this measure which affects free movement of persons
- Proposal of resolution 4: A fiscal capacity to achieve our ecological and competitiveness objectives
- Proposal of resolution 5: A reminder: the“Declaration of European resistance movements” 1944
About PC3 of the Federal Committee
Political Commission 3 (PC3) - On Foreign and Security Policy, Defense and Cybersecurity
Chair: Carlo Maria Palermo
Co-rapporteurs: Gwynn W Wettach and Antonio Argenziano
Google Group: Link
PC3 will work on those Political Priorities:
- Keep reflection and analysis on common Foreign Policy and Defense;
- Evaluation of European security (Strategic autonomy; Europe’s posture regarding Russia, MENA region, EU role in NATO and US);
- Ongoing conflicts and crises: War in Ukraine; Israel-Hamas War; crises in West Africa (role of EU Civil cooperation); safety and reliance of international trade networks (e.g. Red sea crisis);
- I. and Cybersecurity
More info here: LINK