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11 October 2022, Tuesday | NIAS Europe Daily Brief #329
IN BRIEF
By Rishma Banerjee
FRANCE
Trial for 2009 crash begins for Airbus and Air France
On 10 October, Deutsche Welle reported on the commencement Airbus and Air France’s trial for the Paris-Rio crash that occurred in 2009. The two companies have been accused of involuntary manslaughter after flight AF 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people on board, including 12 crew members. Aviation experts, pilots and family members of victims are expected to give testimony in the hearings that will last over two months. Air France has been accused for not providing adequate training in the event of a crash due to bad weather and Airbus is accused of knowing that the pilot tubes of the flight were faulty and not informing the airlines and the crew about it. If convicted, each company faces a maximum fine of EUR 220,000. (“Airbus, Air France to go on trial for 2009 Rio-Paris crash,” Deutsche Welle, 10 October 2022)
GERMANY
Investigation launched to check links of Head of the national cybersecurity
On 10 October, Germany’s Interior Ministry announced that it is investigating the Head of Germany’s national cybersecurity agency over her links with Russia’s intelligence. President of the Federal Office for Information Security, Arné Schonbohm, who heads the BSI agency co-founded a group that includes public and private companies’ stakeholders in Germany’s cybersecurity sector. On 08 October, Germany's rail company, Deutsche Bahn suffered a failure of the digital train radio system, which raised concerns about compromise of Germany's critical infrastructure, especially in the context of the Ukraine war and Germany’s opposition to Russia. On this issue, the Transport Minister Volker Wissing said that Germany’s Federal Police was investigating the incident. (“German cybersecurity chief investigated over Russia ties,” AP News, 10 October 2022)
SPAIN
Head of Spain’s Supreme Court steps down nudging deadlock between top parties on new appointments
On 10 October, the head of Spain's Supreme Court, Carlos Lesmes Serrano stepped down. His mandate had ended in 2018, but he stayed on as the tribunal's acting president, as the two main political parties, the People's Party and and ruling Socialist party failed to end a four-year long stalemate on judicial appointment. Lesmes said: "Remaining in the post from now on would only make me complicit in the situation I abhor and is unacceptable." Following his resignation, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the leader of the opposition Alberto Nunez Feijoo held a meeting marking the first step to appoint the new General Council of the judiciary which selects judges to Spain's Supreme Court. (“Spanish supreme court head set to quit after four-year stalemate, Reuters, 10 October 2022)
THE UK
UK’s fiscal plan to be released earlier
On 10 October, POLITICO reported that UK Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng will reveal the government's economic plans on 31 October. The economic and fiscal forecast and UK's medium-term fiscal plan will be released before 23 November as had been initially planned, due to pressure from Conservative MPs. Kwarteng announced the rescheduling of the date via a letter to the common’s Treasury Committee Chairman Mel Stride. Kwarteng’s initial proposal termed as the ‘mini budget’ led to a sharp fall in the pound’s value, forcing him to withdraw his plan to lower taxes for UK’s top earners. According to him, the government will conduct an "an in-depth assessment of the economy and public finances" before publishing its decision. Stride welcomed the development saying that if the government’s plans are well-accepted, it could lead the Bank of England to raise its interest rates by a lesser margin than expected, thus helping mortgage holders. (Graham Lanktree, “UK Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to unveil fiscal plan October 31,” POLITICO, 10 October 2022)
REGIONAL
Low demand and lesser industrial production reduce Europe’s gas prices
On 10 October, Euronews revealed that Europe's gas prices had reached a three-month low. The fall in prices has been ascribed to a decrease in demand. It also comes after the European Commission announced that EU's gas storages had reached 90 per cent capacity, before November as had been decided by the bloc earlier. One of Europe's main trading hubs, Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) reported that the price was hovering around EUR 150 per megawatt-hour, which was an improvement from the EUR 349 it had hit in August. However, prices still remain exceptionally high as in 2021, the price of gas was around EUR 38 per megawatt-hour. (Jorge Liboreiro, “Europe's gas prices reach three-month low as consumer demand and industrial production decline,” Euronews, 10 October 2022)
EU leaders hail the success of Cohesion Policy
On 10 October, the 20th European Week of Regions and Cities began. The event which will continue until 13 October will have over 15,000 participants across 300 sessions on issues like green transition, territorial cohesion, digital transition and youth empowerment. At the press conference arranged to commemorate the event, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira and the President of the Committee of the Regions spoke about the importance of EU's Cohesion policy. Ferreira said that the Cohesion Policy is the "glue that holds Europe together." According to the eighth Cohesion report published recently, the policy, representing one third of EU's budget has impacted regional growth significantly. It had halved the GDP gap of Central and Eastern countries that became members after 2004 and has fostered green energy transition. It has also assisted the countries to deal with the COVID 19 pandemic and the fallouts Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (“20th European Week of Regions and Cities – Cohesion Policy makes a real difference,” ec.europa.eu, 10 October 2022)
CLIMATE
Increased plastic pollution and presence of harmful bacteria found along the Latvia-Lithuania coast
On 10 October, Euronews reported on increased levels of plastic and bacteria found along the Latvia-Lithuania coastline. The study was conducted by “My Sea Campaign” volunteers who combed a 100 meters section on four beaches to collect and identify litter. The project was budgeted at EUR 449,574, 85 per cent of which was financed by the European Cohesion Policy and other participating project partners gave the remaining 15 per cent. The group found 736 pieces of litter in 100 meters of beach, which is 36 times the European standard for good environmental status (GES) of 20 litter items per 100 meters of beach length. The increased level of plastic has been linked to an increase in bacterial growth of Vibrio, which can be harmful for humans. A senior microbiologist and scientist, Marija Katarzyte explained the phenomenon and said: "Due to climate change, the vibrio coastal infections are increasing in the Baltic Sea region and plastic is one of the ways how those bacteria might be transported." Vibrio has been found in 67 per cent of the samples collected from the Amber Coast, where people dig up the beach for amber, thus exposing themselves to the dangerous bacteria. (Aurora Velez, “Dangerous bacteria found in plastic pollution on Latvian and Lithuanian coastline,” Euronews, 10 October 2022)
War in Ukraine: Day 229
By Madhura S Mahesh
War on the Ground
On 10 October, Ukraine’s military intelligence reported on Russia’s plan to launch attacks in Sevastopol, where it observed movement of Russian military, deployment of warships and placing of bombers in cruise missiles sent through Olenya air base. The key targets are expected to be the infrastructure in the main Ukrainian cities.
On 10 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a meeting to assess the damage and ways to restore energy supply and communications. Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Halushchenko assured about the supply back of electricity. There was consensus among all the participants to decrease energy consumption during peak hours. This is to ensure that there is no extra load on the power grid. The energy supply shortage had affected mobile communications in areas causing disruptions. Proposals were put forth to supply network providers with fuel for generators and provide connections to Starlink stations to prevent further interruptions.
On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted about a call with French President Emmanuel Macron. In the call they discussed on bolstering Ukrainian air defence and increasing the pressure on Russia. They also discussed the necessity of tougher European and International reactions.
On 10 October, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu reported on an explosion near the Romanian Embassy in Kyiv. Aurescu assured that people working in the embassy were not hurt. The explosion is seen due to a Russian missile strike which exploded nearly 850 meters away. He criticized the missile strikes and called it as a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law, resulting in loss of human lives.”
On 10 October, Ukrinform reported on Ukraine receiving the first batch of the IRIS-T SLM air defence system from Germany’s Ministry of Defence. It was confirmed by the ministry in an official tweet on its aim to protect Ukraine’s air space to counter Russian missile strikes. The IRIS-T SLM is a ground-based air defence system by Diehl Defence.
The Moscow View
Claims by Russia
On 10 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that they will retaliate strongly if attacks on Russian territories continue. The State Council of Crimea, Head Vladimir Konstantinov proposed an amendment regarding mandatory conscription. According to him no Crimean of eligible age should be allowed to flee the country. A federal law will be introduced as an amendment on mobilisation.
On 10 October, Gazprom bank in a statement announced that it will be suspending business activities on the Swiss Financial Markets. The Switzerland branch of the bank published this statement on its website. They have outlined that any present businesses in the trade sector will be closed off or moved to other partners. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ivan Dun said: “The decision is the result of an in-depth strategy analysis and is being taken in close consultation with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA.”
The West View
Responses from the US and Europe
On 10 October, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko accused Kyiv of trying to open an alternative war front with Minsk. He announced that the “formation of a joint unit” between Belarusian military and the Russian forces. The details of the military partnership in still unknown. With the collaboration, there are possibilities of attacks to be launched from Belarus front.
On 10 October, EU Foreign Policy Chief Joseph Borrell criticised the bloc regarding its slow response to Ukraine military training missions. While addressing the ambassadors of member nations, he spoke up about the plans that the EU had for Ukrainian Military training missions months prior to the war. He criticised the EU for delaying the training even after the war broke out. The EU is said to take up this matter on 17 October in a discussion with foreign ministers.
On 10 October, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš urged the EU leaders to stop giving Russians tourist visas. He criticized his counterparts on the idea of allowing Russians to weaken the Russian Armed forces. Instead, he remarked that it will in turn create an insecurity in the EU. Kariņš agreed under screening of individual case.
On 10 October, Reuters reported on the upcoming meet between Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Kazakhstan. The discussion is expected to be on a proposal for Turkey to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine although the negotiations seem to have no potential.
On 10 October, the Hungarian government released that they are building a pipeline with Serbia to supply oil. Serbia is facing high costs for crude oil due to new sanctions on Russia by the EU. Hence, this new pipeline aims to supply cheaper Russian Urals crude via the Druzhba oil pipeline. Hungary will be connecting Serbia to the Friendship pipeline through this initiative.
The Global Fallouts
Implications of the Ukraine war
On 10 October, Deutsche Welle reported on UNGA’s plan to open a debate for a draft resolution against Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian cities. Since the vote has been continuously vetoed by Russia in the UNSC resolution, the attempt is seen as way to take measure against Russia. According to Swedish diplomat Olof Skoog on failure of the UNGA to act on Russia would mean: “…carte blanche to other countries to do likewise or to give recognition to what Russia has done.”
On 10 October, a Chinese spokesperson reported on the Foreign Ministry note of the reports about the explosions in Kyiv and is expecting a de-escalation of the conflict. It expected that the tensions would “ease as soon as possible.” The spokesperson added that the Ukrainian conflict remains undeterred and expecting a resolution through peaceful talks.
On 10 October, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told a joint news conference that the Russia-Ukraine war “does not serve the interests of anybody.” He refused to comment on the stance his government would take regarding a UNGA motion that condemns Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territories. Speaking of the issue with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Jaishankar added that the Indian government has been clearly opposing the conflict, and that “neither the participants nor the international community” benefit from this aggression.
References
“Russia has been planning missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure since early Oct - intelligence”, ukrinform, 10 October 2022
“Germany is sending the first of the four newest IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine. “ukrinform, 10 October 2022
“President held a meeting on the restoration of communications and energy supply damaged by Russian attacks”, president.gov.us, 10 October 2022
“Zelensky speaks with Macron on strengthening Ukrainian air defenses, pressure on Russia”, ukrinform, 10 October 2022
“Russian missile explodes close to Romanian embassy in Kyiv”,ukrinform, 10 October 2022
“Putin vows tough response if Kiev continues terror attacks on Russian territory”, Tass, 10 October 2022
“Gazprombank discontinues business activities on Swiss financial market”, Tass, 10 October 2022
“In Crimea, it was proposed to ban the departure of Russia for conscripts”, LENTA RU, 10 October 2022
“Lukashenko spoke about the deployment of the Russian military in Belarus”, LENTA RU, 10 October 2022
“Putin may meet Erdogan to discuss idea of Russia-West talks, Kremlin says”, Reuters, 10 October
“Top EU diplomat laments slow start for Ukraine training plan”, AP News, 10 October 2022
“Hungary, Serbia agree to build pipeline to ship Russian oil to Serbia,” Reuters, 10 October 2022
Latvian PM calls on EU to end all tourist visas for Russians”, The Guardian, 10 October 2022
“Chinese authorities expect de-escalation in Ukrainian conflict, diplomat says,” Tass, 10 October 2022
“Indian minister says Ukraine war serves no one’s interests,” Reuters, 10 October 2022
“U.N. says Russian air strikes in Ukraine 'unacceptable escalation',” Reuters, 10 October 2022
"Belarus and Russia to deploy joint regional military group," Deutsche Welle, 10 October 2022