NIAS Area Studies
PAKISTAN READER
Photo : Reuters
By Shilpa Joseph and Ken B Varghese
THE NETHERLANDS
EU exit polls indicate a green signal for Geert Wilders PVV party
On 06 June, an exit poll in the Netherlands suggested big gains for Geert Wilders and his Far-Right Freedom Party (PVV) in the European Parliament Elections. Out of the 720 seats in the Parliament, the country's parties compete for thirty-one. The poll of around 20,000 Dutch voters predicted a tight contest between the Green/Labour alliance of former European Commissioner Frans Timmermans and Geert Wilders' far-right party. The former is predicted to gain eight seats while the latter to win seven. The Dutch vote might indicate a note for the Far-Rights and their possible majority in the European Parliament. According to Vera Jourova, the EU Commission vice-president for values and transparency, the far-right had been ‘riding a wave of widespread frustration’ with the COVID-19, economic crisis and wars. The final results for the Netherlands will be announced on Sunday. Ireland and the Czech Republic will go to the polls on Friday while other member states will vote over the weekend. (“EU elections: Exit poll suggests big gains for Wilders,” Deutsche Welle, 06 June 2024)
Pro-Russian group claims cyber-attack
On 06 June, three Dutch Political parties reported cyber attack in their website. HackNet, a pro-Kermlin hacker group has claimed responsibility for coordinating attacks on the websites of these political parties on the first day of the European election. This would come as a matter of concern that it's happening during the biggest trans-national ballot in history and here we could see foreign actors interfering to convert the vote in their favour. EU officials said on 5 June that they considered the 72 hours in the run-up to the vote to be "critical," adding that they had mobilised bespoke rapid alert teams to respond to any threats, such as cyber-attacks or coordinated disinformation campaigns. According to some Western cybersecurity firms, HackNet is hacking Western cyberspace by coordinating with the Russian Intelligence services. This group has announced that they are targeting "the internet infrastructure of Europe" to mark the start of voting in the European Parliament election. (“Pro-Russia group claims responsibility for cyber-attacks on first day of EU elections,” Euronews , 06 June 2024)
SWITZERLAND
Financial crises restrains UN activities in Geneva
On 04 June, Swiss info reported on unpredictable budget crises as the UN in Geneva plans to take drastic steps to save money. The move is expected to raise concerns on providing essential services and the ability to carry out its mission effectively. Alessandra Vellucci of information service in Geneva said: “We are not operating as usual and we recognise that both service delivery and staff welfare are experiencing immediate challenges.” These financial crises might affect the work of UNOG is planning to globally reduce for stability by cutting 42 per cent non-salary expenses this year. This might lead to the cancellation of all side events and NGO meetings. This includes procurement of goods and services has been put on hold, except for the most essential things and purchasing of Flags and uniforms has been stopped. Building operations have been downsized and training programs have been kept to the bare minimum. Due to the financial crises, the UNOG is prioritising official meetings, such as the UN Human Rights Council and Conference on Disarmament which is required to hold meetings every year. But this means that informal meetings are the main lifeblood of diplomatic engagement and civil society participation which might die. This financial crisis is having an impact not only on UNOG staff but also the broader international Geneva community. The crisis requires strategic planning and innovation to manage the reduced budget while still keeping the essential functions on track. According to the report, moving virtually might be eco-friendly and a viable choice, but this choice would make informal negotiating harder and might affect the participation of civil society voices. This financial crisis was due to the failure of some UN states to pay their assessed contribution, the amount of money each country is expected to pay to cover the UN’s work and pay its staff. This is not only faced by the Geneva office but also in New York, Vienna and Nairobi. This crisis could mean that there could be a shift in the global order, which challenges the principles of multilateralism and dialogue that underpin its work. Maertens, associate professor of international relations at the Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID) warned: “Without enough funds, multilateral meetings and negotiation could be cancelled or postponed.” She also suggested that cost-saving measures risk forcing the UN to abandon some of its inclusive global platforms, which are essentials to bring the world together a wide range of actors for the multilateral dialogue. She also added: “The main risk would be to give up on inclusive forums designed to bring around the table as many actors as possible like UN processes do.” (Akiko Uehara, “UN activities in Geneva hampered by financial constraint,” swissinfo.ch, 03 June 2024)
Swiss Alps melting observed to be 31 per cent more
On 04 June, Swiss Alps glaciers began melting. Glaciologist Matthias Huss said: "From now on, the melt will dominate.” According to the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network, at the end of April, there will be around 31 per cent more snow in all of Switzerland's 1400 glaciers than average from 2010 to 2020. After these measurements were taken the condition of the glaciers improved even further. This suggests that the Glaciers melt in 2024 is lesser than the past two years. During the last two years, Swiss glaciers have lost around 10 per cent of ice. While it was recorded at six per cent in 2022 and a further melt of four per cent by 2023. (”The glacier melt in the Swiss Alps has begun”, swissinfo.ch, 04 June 2024)
REGIONAL
ECB announces cut in the interest rate for the first time in five years
On 06 June, the European Central Bank announced a quarter-point interest rate cut due to inflation. This is due to pressure on the consumer side, despite an increase in wages. The rate has reduced to 3.75 per cent, the first reduction in the last five years. The ECB projected an inflation rate of around 2.5 per cent this year and was expected to fall to 2.2 per cent in 2025 and 1.9 per cent in 2026, according to the report published. ECB said that “price pressure has weakened, and inflation expectations have caused decline at all horizons.” The bank states that this decision is based on the inflation outlook. The ECB is planning to keep the policy rate sufficiently restrictive as long as it is needed. Christine Lagarde, Chief of ECB said during the press conference that the speed of the cuts is “very uncertain.” This inflation will limit room for an additional rate cut, which could be a sign of the ECB's ways to avoid weakening the Euro. (“ECB cuts interest rates for first time since 2019,” Deutsche Welle, 06 June 2024)
McD no longer holds the trademark for ‘Big Mac’
On 06 June, McDonald's lost its trademark after battling with the Irish rival Supermac, the fast food giant McDonald's lost its complete right to use the “Big Mac” name for its large chicken sandwich the European Court of Justice. This was because the Supermac is similar to McD, which sells in Ireland. This ruling would allow their brand to use the name “Mac” in their food items and company name. This was after the decision made by the European Court of Justice that deemed that McD could have made the best use of the name in the last five years and it should allow this opportunity for other restaurants to do so. This was due to SuperMac alleging that McD had been engaged in trademark bullying, for using the word ‘Mac’ in their name making it difficult for them to expand in the UK and the rest of Europe. Pat McDonagh Managing Director of Supermac said “We knew when we took on this battle that it was a David versus Goliath scenario. The original objective of our application to cancel was to shine a light on the use of trademark bullying by this multinational to stifle competition.” This was not the first time Supermac had also previously complained that McD trademarking the name SnackBox, despite not having anything to do with their menu, while this was a bestseller for Supermac. This court ruling means that McD can only keep the “Big Mac” trademark for its only red meat sandwich and not for its chicken and poultry products. (“McDonald’s loses chicken Big Mac trademark battle with Irish rival,” Euronews, 06 June 2024)