NewzIntel.com

Category: European Union

  • MIL-OSI: Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 28.01.2025

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Nokia Corporation
    Stock Exchange Release
    28 January 2025 at 22:30 EET

    Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 28.01.2025

    Espoo, Finland – On 28 January 2025 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows:

    Trading venue (MIC Code) Number of shares Weighted average price / share, EUR*
    XHEL 872,093 4.32
    CEUX – –
    BATE – –
    AQEU – –
    TQEX – –
    Total 872,093 4.32

    * Rounded to two decimals

    On 22 November 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to offset the dilutive effect of new Nokia shares issued to the shareholders of Infinera Corporation and certain Infinera Corporation share-based incentives. The repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million.

    Total cost of transactions executed on 28 January 2025 was EUR 3,763,605. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 233,414,712 treasury shares.

    Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement.

    On behalf of Nokia Corporation

    BofA Securities Europe SA

    About Nokia
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

    With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

    Inquiries:

    Nokia Communications
    Phone: +358 10 448 4900
    Email: press.services@nokia.com
    Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications

    Nokia Investor Relations
    Phone: +358 931 580 507
    Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Discount Doctor to Visit United Kingdom in Support of Investment Trusts

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    RYE, N.Y., Jan. 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — David Schachter, Senior Vice President of GAMCO Investors, Inc., will visit the United Kingdom to convey support for the British investment trust industry.

    With over 40 years of experience exclusively with retail, long term, closed-end fund investors, Mr. Schachter, a most senior and experienced veteran of the U.S. Closed End Fund industry, was recently given the title of Discount Doctor by the Trustees of The GAMCO Natural Resources, Gold & Income Trust (GNT), which trades on the NYSE.

    Mr. Schachter said, “The way I see it, the United States owes a debt to the British Investment Trust Industry, which helped build our railroads in the 1800s. Last week in his inauguration speech, President Trump spoke of America’s achievements stating, ‘In America, the impossible is what we do best…Together they laid down the railroads …and triumphed over every single challenge that they faced.’”

    During the 19th century, capital was raised through closed-end funds. These funds helped build the railroads, which linked the American continent from sea to sea and led to the nation’s economic success.

    Today, in the early 21st century, closed-end funds are being threatened for elimination by hedged activists for short-term and short-sighted value extraction.

    “Closed-end funds are a metaphor for long-term, patient capital, but they also represent freedom for investors who, in a sector where mass redemptions could force portfolio managers to sell, is an essential ability to those who may not want to be herded into selling.”

    Mr. Schachter plans to visit the offices of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) and speak with the press and interested U.K. investors.

    He remarked that recent activism is emblematic of short-termism and notes activist claims of being aligned with “Mom and Pop” investors as being absurd. “When it comes to activism, the playing field isn’t level at all…unlike Mom and Pop, sophisticated activists are hedged on a fund’s underlying portfolio.” Schachter commented, “As the Discount Doctor, it is critical to cure the ill without killing the patient in the process.”

    Financial professionals and investors are invited to contact Mr. Schachter directly at (914) 921-5057 or (800) GABELLI.

    Gabelli Funds, LLC is the adviser to thirteen closed-end funds which trade on the NYSE: Gabelli Equity Trust (NYSE: GAB), Gabelli Convertible & Income Securities Fund (NYSE: GCV), Gabelli Multimedia Trust (NYSE: GGT), Gabelli Utility Trust (NYSE: GUT), Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (NYSE: GDV), Gabelli Global Utility & Income Trust (NYSE American: GLU), GAMCO Global Gold Natural Resources & Income Trust (NYSE American: GGN), The GDL Fund (NYSE: GDL), Gabelli Healthcare & WellnessRX Trust (NYSE: GRX), GAMCO Natural Resources, Gold & Income Trust (NYSE: GNT), Gabelli Global Small and Mid-Cap Value Trust (NYSE: GGZ), Bancroft Fund (NYSE American: BCV) and Ellsworth Growth & Income Fund (NYSE American: ECF). As of December 31, 2024, the thirteen Gabelli closed-end funds had total assets of $7.3 billion.

    Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a Fund before investing. For more information regarding the Funds, call:

    David Schachter
    (914) 921-5057

    A Fund’s NAV per share will fluctuate with changes in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. Stocks are subject to market, economic, and business risks that cause their prices to fluctuate. Investors acquire shares of the Fund on a securities exchange at market value, which fluctuates according to the dynamics of supply and demand. When Fund shares are sold, they may be worth more or less than their original cost. Consequently, you can lose money by investing in a Fund.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Thales Alenia Space to develop the payload for the third satellite of the Copernicus CO2M mission

    Source: Thales Group

    Headline: Thales Alenia Space to develop the payload for the third satellite of the Copernicus CO2M mission

    The Copernicus CO2M mission will meet the European Union’s high-priority requirements to measure atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by human activity

    Brussels, January 28, 2025 – Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed an amendment to its CO2M contract, worth 88 million euros, with the space segment prime contractor OHB System. This amendment provides for the development of the payload for the third satellite in the CO2M Copernicus mission, in addition to the first two satellites payloads that are currently under integration. Copernicus is the Earth observation component of the European Union’s Space Programme. It provides accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change and ensure civil security for the benefit of all European citizens. The CO2M mission as part of the Copernicus Programme is developed by the European Space Agency with a co-funding made by the European Union and the European Space Agency.

    CO2M ©OHB

    The signature of this amendment marks a significant milestone in the pursuit of the CO2M mission to develop a European anthropogenic greenhouse gas monitoring capability. Following the awarding of the CO2M contract in 2020 for the development of the first two satellites of this mission, ESA has renewed its confidence in OHB System and Thales Alenia Space to provide a third satellite and payload. With this additional satellite, the CO2M constellation will further consolidate its operations, while enhancing the accuracy of CO2 measurements thanks to greater repeatability of acquisitions (more than 3 times a week at European latitudes).

    The goal of the CO2M mission is to measure human-induced atmospheric carbon dioxide (and methane). These measurements will reduce current uncertainties in estimates of emissions of carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels at sub-continental scales. This will provide the European Union with a unique and independent source of information to assess the effectiveness of public policies, and to track their impact on decarbonizing Europe and meeting national emissions reduction targets.

    “We are proud to pursue the development of the Copernicus CO2M mission alongside the European Commission, ESA and OHB System,” said Hervé Derrey, CEO of Thales Alenia Space. “The CO2M mission is unique and marks an important milestone in European leadership with regards to climate change and greenhouse gases reduction. Thales Alenia Space will continue to bring its flight-proven Earth Observation expertise to this mission, which is essential to meeting the ambitious goal of measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by human activities.”

    Each CO2M satellite’s payload includes three instruments:

    • A combined CO2/NO2 (carbon dioxide/nitrogen dioxide) instrument based on a near-infrared and shortwave-infrared spectrometer provided by Thales Alenia Space in France;
    • A Multi-Angle Polarimeter (MAP) based on four identical cameras, contained in a dedicated optical unit, provided by Thales Alenia Space in France;
    • A Cloud Imager (CLIM), derived from the flight-proven Proba-V instrument, provided by OIP Sensor Systems in Belgium.

    CO2M will measure images of atmospheric columns of CO2 with the resolution, accuracy, time sampling and spatial coverage required to provide the key space component inputs of the Operational Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions Monitoring & Verification Support (MVS) Capacity.

    The atmospheric measurements made by the combination of satellites and in-situ networks, especially CO2M, will provide Europe with a unique operational capability that will contribute to the global monitoring of fossil CO2 emissions[1], meaning CO2 emissions arising from anthropogenic activities, add carbon in the climate system with a huge impact on climate change.

    More about industrial contributions

    As prime contractor, OHB System is leading an industrial consortium including Thales Alenia Space and OIP Sensors to build the CO2M instruments. Thales Alenia Space in France is responsible for developing the CO2/NO2 Instruments and Multi-angular Polarimeters for the CO2M satellites. Thales Alenia Space in Spain will provide the S-band transponder (SBT) and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU), Thales SESO will provide key optical elements of the CO2/NO2 spectrometers (collimator mirrors and imagers optics), and Thales Alenia Space in Switzerland the telescope of the CO2/NO2 instrument.

     

    [1] Sum of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion, process CO2 emissions from cement production, process CO2 emissions from metal (ferrous and non-ferrous) production, CO2 emissions from urea production, urea application and agricultural lime, emissions from the combustion of biofuel (carbon-neutral over one year) and from land use, land-use change and forestry (including large-scale biomass burning of forest or peat fires).

    ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE

    Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately €2.2 billion in 2023 and has around 8,600 employees in 8 countries, with 16 sites in Europe.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Discovering the deepest secrets of Venus planet with EnVision mission

    Source: Thales Group

    Headline: Discovering the deepest secrets of Venus planet with EnVision mission

    Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with the European Space Agency to build the EnVision spacecraft that will unveil Venus’ deepest mysteries

    •           As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for the entire satellite, which will host five scientific instruments as well as a radio science experiment.

    •           The EnVision mission will provide a holistic view of the planet, from its inner core to the upper atmosphere, in order to determine how and why Venus and Earth evolved so differently.

    •           The EnVision mission will benefit not only from the long-standing cooperation between ESA, its member states and NASA, but also from the combined technical and scientific expertise of Europe and the USA in Venusian exploration.

    Brussels, January 28th, 2025 – Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) worth a total of 367 million Euros, for the supply of a satellite for ESA’s EnVision mission to Venus. EnVision will embark five scientific instruments and a radio science experiment, to be carried out by the respective space agencies taking part in this exciting mission: the Italian Space Agency(ASI), the American space agency (NASA), the French space agency (CNES), the German aerospace research and technology centre (DLR) and the Belgian Science Policy Centre (BELSPO).

    EnVision ©Thales Alenia Space_E.Briot 

    Venus and Earth: two “twin planets” that are so different

    Some 20 years after the first European mission to Venus (Venus Express), EnVision’s goal is to explore this planet accurately and systematically from its inner core to the upper layers of the atmosphere, analysing its interaction with the surface. The intention is to provide an integrated view of Venus, studying its history, activity and climate in an attempt to better understand why Earth’s ‘twin’ planet, so similar in size and distance from the sun, is so different and uninhabitable today. EnVision is scheduled for launch in November 2031.

    As the prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for the entire satellite, hosting five scientific instruments and an ultra-stable oscillator to perform radio science experiments.

    “I wanted to sincerely thank the European Space Agency for putting its trust in our company,” Thales Alenia Space CEO Hervé Derrey said. “Thales Alenia Space took part to iconic space exploration and science interplanetary missions across the solar system, including Mars with ExoMars, Mercury with BepiColombo, the Sun with Solar Orbiter, asteroids and comets with Rosetta-Philae, Saturn with Cassini-Huygens, and tomorrow the Moon with Artemis, not to mention Euclid that will explore dark energy and dark matter to better understand the origin of the Universe’s accelerating expansion. This stunning mission will be a new step toward better understanding the deepest secrets of Venus, emphasizing in particular the many similarities and differences that exist between the Earth and the planet Venus, which is 41 million kilometers away from ours.”

    “We are extremely proud to announce our contribution to ESA’s EnVision mission in partnership with NASA, 20 years after the historic Venus Express mission. This new initiative, which follows on from the extraordinary BepiColombo and ExoMars 2016 missions, represents a significant milestone for the industry as well as for space research,” said Giampiero Di Paolo, Deputy CEO and Senior Vice President, Observation, Exploration and Navigation at Thales Alenia Space. “The EnVision mission, involving major international partners, is an ambitious program that will help us unravel the mysteries of the evolution of Venus, a planet so similar to Earth in many respects, but at the same time so different. With our experience and commitment, we are determined to support this crucial planetary mission, which promises to further our knowledge of our solar system.”

    “We are thrilled to partner with Thales Alenia Space on this ground-breaking new mission to Venus – said ESA Science Director, Prof. Carole Mundell – No other mission has ever attempted such a comprehensive investigation of our remarkably inhospitable neighbour. EnVision will answer fundamental questions about how a planet becomes habitable – or the opposite.”

    About the aerobraking phase:

    The entry into orbit around Venus will include an aerobraking phase lasting several months, during which the orbit will be progressively circularised thanks to the friction of the satellite’s surfaces with the planet’s atmosphere. This will be a particularly delicate phase for the stability and temperature of the satellite. This will be followed by the actual scientific observation phase, which is expected to last about 6 Venusian years, corresponding to 4 Earth years.

    Thanks to its consolidated experience as prime contractor on complex scientific missions, the last of which was Euclid, Thales Alenia Space will draw in particular on the aerobraking experience gained with ExoMars’ Trace Gas Orbiter in 2016.

    ESA has authorised the next phases up to the spacecraft in-orbit commissioning around Venus. An important upcoming milestone will be the spacecraft system requirements review in 2025. In parallel, the selection of the industrial team will be completed and full authorisation to proceed with Phase C/D is expected in June 2026.

    Thales Alenia Space leading the industrial consortium:

    As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for the entire satellite, featuring 5 scientific instruments and an ultra-stable oscillator to perform radio science experiments, provided by ESA Member States and NASA, in further detail:

    •           VenSAR (Venus Synthetic Aperture Radar)

    •           VenSpec suite (spectrometer suite) consisting of:

                   – VenSpec-H (High-Resolution Infrared Spectrometer)

                   – VenSpec-U (Ultraviolet Spectral Imager)

                   – VenSpec-M (Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) and Central Control Unit (CCU)

    •           Subsurface Radar Sounder (SRS)

    •           Radio Science Experiment (RSE)

    For the spacecraft Thales Alenia Space in Italy selected an Industrial Core Team composed of OHB, responsible for the mechanical, thermal, and propulsion subsystem, and Thales Alenia Space in France in charge of the Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystem (AOCS) and aerobraking analysis.

    About the EnVision mission 

    The EnVision mission is dedicated to the study of Venus and was adopted in 2024 by ESA’s Science Programme Committee as the 5th medium-class mission within the Agency’s Cosmic Vision plan. 

    EnVision is an ESA-led mission in partnership with NASA that provides Synthetic Aperture Radar (VenSAR) and Deep Space Network support for mission-critical phases.

    EnVision will reach Venus after a 15-month cruise. After its arrival, the orbiter will spend about a year aerobraking through Venus’ atmosphere to gradually reach its scientific orbit, a near low-polar orbit of Venus, at an altitude of 220 to 540 km and with an orbital period of approximately 94 minutes.

    ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE

    Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies’ Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately €2.2 billion in 2023 and has around 8,600 employees in 8, countries with 16 sites in Europe.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Warren Slams Defense Nominee for Improperly Withholding Aid to Ukraine, Violating U.S. Constitution, Disregarding Congressional Authority

    US Senate News:

    Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

    January 28, 2025

    Michael Duffey is responsible for holding up aid to Ukraine, leading to President Trump’s first impeachment

    “[I]f you are confirmed…the Senate would be supporting the confirmation of an individual who has shown disregard for the Constitution, Congressional authority, and our nation’s laws.”

    Text of Letter (PDF) 

    Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote to Mr. Michael Duffey, nominee for Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) of the Department of Defense (DoD), ahead of his confirmation hearing, with serious concerns about his record, which include violating the law, disregarding Congressional authority, and his involvement in Project 2025. Mr. Duffey also played a direct role in Trump’s withholding of funding to Ukraine, an action that resulted in the impeachment of Donald Trump. It is especially alarming given he would oversee a DoD requested acquisition budget of $311 billion and procurement programs already at high-risk for fraud, waste, and abuse. 

    Mr. Duffey’s Role in the Unlawful Freezing of Aid to Ukraine

    In December 2019, President Trump was impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors for illegally seeking assistance from Ukraine to help him win the 2020 election against President Joe Biden. In his role at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Mr. Duffey helped President Trump block aid to Ukraine in an effort to pressure them to open an investigation into President Biden. He did so despite under-oath testimony and emails showing that career officials raised concerns with him that this could violate the law and disrupt DoD’s ability to train and equip Ukraine to strengthen their security forces. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), a non-partisan independent government watchdog, concluded that freezing this aid violated the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. 

    “Your actions in the course of these events give the strong appearance that you knowingly violated the law and the Constitution – and that you were an important participant in events that ultimately resulted in the President’s impeachment,” said Senator Warren.

    Duffey’s Disregard for Congressional Authority and Oversight

    Mr. Duffey also refused to comply with a deposition request as part of the impeachment inquiry and ignored a subpoena from the three House committees that led the impeachment inquiry. His refusal to comply with the subpoena – at the direction of President Trump – was so significant that it was one of the reasons that President Trump was charged with the second article of impeachment for Obstruction of Congress and that Mr. Duffey was listed by name in the impeachment resolution.

    Duffey’s Direct Involvement in Project 2025

    Mr. Duffey also had direct involvement in Project 2025, developing several policies for the report. One of the chapters Mr. Duffey contributed to calls for “using government contracts to push back against woke policies in corporate America.” The senator raised concerns about whether Mr. Duffey would use his position to police the personnel and Human Resources decisions of defense contractors, rather than prioritizing government contracts that advance U.S. national security and support our servicemembers. Project 2025 also calls for “reducing the number of procurement competitions” and a new system that allows decision makers of federal contracts to “bypass unnecessary departmental regulations.”  

    “I am concerned by whether these policy plans will reduce necessary competition and favor the biggest – or most politically connected – defense contractors,” wrote Senator Warren. 

    Duffey’s Plan to Address Risks of Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in DoD Acquisition

    Given Mr. Duffey’s past behavior, especially that which led to President Trump’s first impeachment, the senator raised concerns about whether he will ensure DoD contracts are awarded fairly and based on the best interests of taxpayers and national security. 

    Already, DoD’s acquisition program has been a target of “contracting-related fraud schemes” and DoD’s contracting processes have been found to be “vulnerable to waste, fraud, and abuse.” This concern is heightened as major DoD contractors, including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, made donations to President Trump’s second inauguration in order to ingratiate themselves with the new administration in an effort to avoid regulation and win government contracts.

    “[I]f you are confirmed…the Senate would be supporting the confirmation of an individual who has shown disregard for the Constitution, Congressional authority, and our nation’s laws,” concluded Senator Warren. She requested his written answers to questions by February 3, 2025. 

    Senator Warren has led efforts, including bipartisan action, to hold DoD accountable and transparent to ensure taxpayers are not being price gouged and the defense industrial base remains resilient:  

    • In January 2025, Senator Warren sent Elon Musk, Chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a letter detailing over 30 proposals that would cut at least $2 trillion of wasteful government spending over the next decade.
    • In September 2024, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, along with Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), reintroduced the Streamline Pentagon Spending Act, bipartisan legislation to repeal statutory requirements to provide unfunded priorities lists, reduce wasteful reporting burdens, and enhance civilian oversight over the budgetary process.
    • In May 2024, Senators Warren, then-Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), then-Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Budget, led a letter with Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) demanding the Department of Defense (DoD) provide answers about military contractors’ price gouging tactics that cost the Pentagon billions of dollars every year in overpayments. 
    • In May 2024, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), raised concerns about DoD contractor, SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, undermining U.S. allies and national security goals. Senator Warren questioned Mr. John D. Hill, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space and Missile Defense, about SpaceX’s work to stop its Starlink technology from being illegally acquired by Russia. These illegal terminals may have provided Russia a major advantage in their invasion of Ukraine.  
    • In March 2024, at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Senator Warren questioned General Anthony J. Cotton, USAF, Commander of United States Strategic Command about significant cost overruns and mismanagement of the Sentinel program. 
    • In February 2024, Senator Warren and Representative Garamendi (D-Calif.), sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, expressing concerns with the Department of Defense’s (DoD) insufficient review process for consolidation in the defense industrial base and the resulting impact on supply chains, innovation, and national security.
    • In November 2023, after reports that defense contractor TransDigm refused to provide cost and pricing information needed to prevent price gouging of taxpayers and the DoD, Senator Warren and Representative Garamendi sent letters to the DoD and TransDigm, pressing them to provide transparency on cost and pricing data to ensure that taxpayers aren’t being overcharged for expensive DoD contracts. 
    • In August 2023, Senator Warren, then-Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top officials during a visit to Kyiv, Ukraine on August 23rd. The congressional delegation’s trip coincided with Ukraine’s Independence Day celebration on August 24th and demonstrated strong bipartisan support from the U.S. Senate for the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s brutal and illegal invasion. 
    • In July 2023, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, Senator Warren called out the Department of Defense for wasting billions in taxpayers dollars due to price gouging by defense contractors for services and in health care, and identified opportunities for cost savings when DoD buys personnel-related goods and services. 
    • In July 2023, Senator Warren sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Director of the Defense Health Agency, Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, regarding a series of DoD Inspector General reports finding that the DoD is failing to prevent price gouging and overpayments to contractors in the TRICARE health program.
    • In June 2023, Senator Warren, Senator Mike Braun, and Representative Garamendi reintroduced the bipartisan Stop Price Gouging the Military Act which would close loopholes in current acquisition laws, tie financial incentives for contractors to performance, and provide the Department of Defense the information necessary to prevent future rip-offs.
    • In May 2023, Senator Warren and Representative Garamendi sent letters to Boeing, TransDigm, and the Department of Defense, calling out the defense contractors for their refusal to provide cost and pricing data to the Department of Defense (DoD), as required by law. The lawmakers also called on DoD to take action to address these contractors’ refusals to provide cost and pricing data. 
    • In October 2022, Senator Warren obtained a commitment from DoD not to increase contract prices due to inflation.
    • In October 2022 Senator Warren sent a letter to DoD urging them to insist on receiving certified cost or pricing data to justify any contract adjustments.
    • In June 2022, Senator Warren and Representative Garamendi introduced the bicameral Stop Price Gouging the Military Act, which would enhance DoD’s ability to access certified cost and pricing data. Part of Senator Warren’s legislation was incorporated into the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act reported to the Senate.
    • In March 2022, at a SASC hearing, Senator Warren criticized DoD for failing to consider alternatives to the Sentinel program in order to justify unsustainable nuclear weapons spending.
    • In September 2020, Senator Warren and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) formally requested that the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) investigate reports that the Pentagon redirected hundreds of millions of dollars of funds meant for COVID-19 response via the Defense Production Act (DPA) to defense contractors for “jet engine parts, body armor and dress uniforms.”
    • In May 2020, Senator Warren wrote to the Department requesting clarification on how the Department would prevent profiteering following a recent change to increase payments to contractors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • In August 2017, Senator Warren traveled to Eastern Europe and Germany to learn more about plans to counteract Russian efforts to damage European democracies.
    • In May 2017, Senator Warren wrote to the DoD Inspector General, requesting an investigation into TransDigm for potential waste, fraud, and abuse in the military spares market.
    • In October 2015, Senator Warren visited Ukraine and other European countries for a visit focused on economic issues and the Syrian refugee crisis. 

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: New Permanent Representative of New Zealand Presents Credentials to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    Deborah Mary Geels, the new Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations Office at Geneva, today presented her credentials to Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva. 

    Prior to her appointment to Geneva, Ms. Geels held the position of Deputy Secretary of the Americas and Asia Group from 2022 to 2024, and before that of Deputy Secretary of the Multilateral and Legal Affairs Group from 2019 to 2022 at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

    Ms. Geels served as Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations Office at Vienna from 2013 to 2017, with bilateral accreditation as Ambassador to Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia. She served at the Permanent Mission of New Zealand to the United Nations Office at Geneva from 1997 to 2002.  She also served as New Zealand’s Deputy Head of Mission in Beijing from 2006 to 2008 and was earlier posted to Vanuatu. She has held a number of other positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade focusing on multilateral work, the Pacific Islands, Asia and development assistance.

    ________

    Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the information media; not an official record.

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Treasurer to hold key meetings in United States and United Kingdom

    Source: New South Wales Government 2

    Headline: Treasurer to hold key meetings in United States and United Kingdom

    Published: 28 January 2025

    Statement by: Treasurer

    Treasurer Daniel Mookhey will travel to the United States and United Kingdom holding key meetings to ensure NSW keeps borrowing rates low and to explore investment opportunities for the state.

    During a nine-day trip beginning today, Treasurer Mookhey will visit Washington, New York and London, accompanied by TCorp’s Chief Executive Officer David Deverall.

    Treasurer Mookhey will hold events with a range of bond holders, fund managers and investors including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Nasdaq, the Bank of England and Capital Group, as well as meetings with ratings agencies.

    The NSW Treasurer will also meet leaders including Australia’s Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd, Australian Consul-General in New York Ms Heather Ridout AO and will attend an industry event with former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.

    This is Treasurer Mookhey’s first international trip since taking office.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Briefing – Foot and mouth disease: Fresh cause for concern – 28-01-2025

    Source: European Parliament

    It has been 14 years since the last outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in a European Union (EU) country. However, three water buffaloes have recently tested positive for the disease in Germany. While FMD poses no risk to human health, it is a highly contagious viral disease that can affect various cloven-hoofed animals. The speed with which the disease spreads makes it essential to cull all animals hosted on the affected farm once an outbreak is detected, and to apply strict biosecurity measures. This results in significant economic losses. As a result of the 2001 outbreak in the United Kingdom (UK), over 6 million animals were culled in one year, costing more than £3 billion (more than €6.5 billion at current prices) in public expenditure and having a huge impact on the tourism sector. The EU has legislation in place outlining rules for the prevention and control of animal diseases such as FMD, including a notification system integrated into the World Animal Health Information System to facilitate a coordinated approach. The European Commission also cooperates with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to fight the spread of the disease. Since 1990, the use of preventive vaccines against FMD has been prohibited in the EU, except for in certain cases and in emergencies. Although conventional FMD vaccines protect livestock from developing the disease, vaccinated animals may still become infected and carry the disease.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Publication of the report on the investigation into TikTok under the DSA ahead of the May 2025 presidential election campaign in Romania – P-000253/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Priority question for written answer  P-000253/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Andi Cristea (S&D)

    The presidential elections in Romania have been rescheduled for 4 May 2025 (first round) and 18 May 2025 (second round). The Commission opened formal proceedings in respect of the TikTok platform on 17 December 2024 in relation to the alleged violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) during the presidential elections held in Romania on 24 November 2024.

    The Commission asked TikTok to provide detailed information on the measures it has taken to prevent interference in electoral processes by 13 December 2024.

    The Commission has confirmed that it has received replies from TikTok and has indicated that it is in the process of assessing these.

    With the presidential election campaign in Romania soon to start, can the Commission state whether it will wrap up and present the conclusions of its investigation into TikTok prior to the start of that election campaign for the upcoming presidential elections?

    Submitted: 21.1.2025

    Last updated: 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Request for clarification on the measures weakening the EU fruit-growing sector and benefiting third-country imports – E-000203/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-000203/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Anna Maria Cisint (PfE), Sergio Berlato (ECR), Aldo Patriciello (PfE), Silvia Sardone (PfE), Roberto Vannacci (PfE), Pietro Fiocchi (ECR), Carlo Fidanza (ECR), Alessandro Ciriani (ECR), Stefano Cavedagna (ECR), Raffaele Stancanelli (PfE), Susanna Ceccardi (PfE)

    European fruit and wine production is suffering from the decisions to reduce or ban a number of active substances that are needed to combat the most harmful plant diseases. These include the ban on outdoor use of thiamethoxam (Regulation (EU) 2023/334), which is used to target the American grapevine leafhopper (Scafoideus titanus), a vector of flavescence dorée disease, or the current proposals to ban the use of active substances that help to control the brown marmorated stink bug (Halymorpha halys), which would further damage Italian fruit growing. Over the last 15 years, Italy’s fruit and vegetable sector has lost 300 000 ha of farmland. Farmers are facing resistance in many fungal diseases, attacks by new alien pests and often extreme climate changes, severely affecting yields and harvesting options. These problems are compounded by incomprehensible import policies that benefit third countries and products grown with substances that are not authorised in the EU.

    In view of the above:

    • 1.When putting forward proposals to reduce or ban an active substance used in pest control, will the Commission assess in advance the existence and effectiveness of alternative tools, as well as the economic and social impact of the proposals?
    • 2.What initiatives will it put in place to provide tangible support for EU fruit growing?

    Submitted: 17.1.2025

    Last updated: 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Threats posed by the Astravets nuclear power plant – E-000325/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-000325/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Liudas Mažylis (PPE)

    The Astravets NPP in Belarus continues to operate, posing a threat to the environment and remaining a tool of Russian-Belarusian hybrid operations, particularly those targeting Lithuania and its capital Vilnius, which is only a few dozen kilometres away. Two units are in operation, with the second one running since November 2023. No explanations have been offered as to whether the IAEA’s recommendations to improve the safety of the plant have been complied with, which implies that the plant remains unsafe.

    In the light of the foregoing:

    • 1.What specific measures have been taken in recent months to put pressure on the Belarusian authorities and Rosatom to improve the safety of the Astravets NPP or, better still, to shut it down?
    • 2.What measures are being planned for the near future?

    Submitted: 24.1.2025

    Last updated: 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – NRRP funds and university housing – E-000211/2025

    Source: European Parliament

    Question for written answer  E-000211/2025
    to the Commission
    Rule 144
    Pina Picierno (S&D)

    The Italian NRRP funds earmarked for the creation of university housing – amounting to EUR 1.2 billion – are at risk of being withdrawn due to a lack of adequate applications and the fact that it would be impossible to complete the works by June 2026.

    Furthermore, the decision of the Minister for Universities and Research to eliminate single rooms in university halls of residence financed as mentioned above by the NRRP, not only raises concerns about the possible withdrawal of funds, but could also affect the psychological well-being of students.

    Considering that the change in the characteristics of the projects funded (such as the elimination of single rooms) could be interpreted as a deviation from the commitments made by Italy and that the EU has placed mental health as a priority in its policies, and has called on the Member States to take measures to promote it (such as providing a suitable proportion of single and shared rooms), can the Commission answer the following questions:

    • 1.Does the Commission consider the proposal approved by the Italian Government to completely eliminate single rooms to be appropriate, especially in light of the principles of inclusion and psychological well-being of students?
    • 2.Does the approved change comply with the established guidelines for the use of funds?
    • 3.What measures are foreseen to monitor these changes to projects that are already funded?

    Submitted: 20.1.2025

    Last updated: 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – DANA in Spain and the risk of medicine and vaccine shortages – E-002481/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The European Medicines Agency (EMA), together with the Member States, continuously monitors and investigates signals of potential supply disruptions escalated to EU level by national competent authorities to prevent their occurrence and mitigate their effects as far as possible.

    The potential impact of the situation in Spain on the supply of medicinal products is closely monitored. Thus far, no critical shortage requiring EU coordination actions has been identified in this context.

    In the context of the flood emergency and upon request from the Spanish authorities, the EU Copernicus satellite mapping system[1] was activated on 29 October 2024, and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism[2], on 8 November 2024.

    As a result, 83 maps were produced, and several Member States offered in-kind assistance, in the form of heavy vehicles and pumps. The Commission deployed two liaison officers to help coordinate the assistance. The EU’s strategic reserve, rescEU,[3] was not mobilised as the requests were fulfilled by the offers of Member States.

    A virtual warehouse for data on vaccine needs and stocks has not been set up yet, apart from the existing IT tool CECIS 2.0, in the area of civil protection.

    As part of the implementation of EMA’s extended mandate[4], the European Shortages Monitoring Platform, launched in November 2024, will be used to report shortages and monitor supply, demand, and stock levels of medicinal products for preparedness activities, and during a public health emergency or major event.

    As part of the pharmaceutical reform[5], the Commission has proposed to further expand the platform to cover structural shortages and security of supply of critical medicines.

    • [1] https://emergency.copernicus.eu/mapping/#zoom=2&lat=13.56036&lon=33.82273&layers=0BT00
    • [2] https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/eu-civil-protection-mechanism_en
    • [3] https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/resceu_en
    • [4] http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/123/oj
    • [5] https://health.ec.europa.eu/medicinal-products/pharmaceutical-strategy-europe/reform-eu-pharmaceutical-legislation_en

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Flooding and natural disasters in Rhodes and Lemnos – P-002710/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The whole EU territory is susceptible to climate change impacts[1]. As the first European Climate Risk Assessment underlined, risk ownership is shared across the EU, Member States, sub-national and private sector actors, along with the means and responsibility of acting on them. The Commission will continue to contribute to making Europe more climate resilient[2],[3], among others with a new EU Adaptation Plan.

    Adaptation measures that meet the relevant criteria are eligible for the 30% budget of the EU funds set aside for climate, including the Cohesion fund[4], Next Generation EU[5], the European Regional Development Fund[6], the Common Agriculture Policy[7] and LIFE[8]. Greece is already receiving substantial funding to prevent and manage climate-related flood risks[9].

    The EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF)[10] may cover part of the costs for emergency and recovery operations incurred by public authorities. Private damage is not eligible.

    It can only be activated at the request of a Member State which has a deadline of 12 weeks as from when the first damage occurred, demonstrating that the total direct damage exceeds the thresholds specified in Article 2 Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002.

    Greece requested EUSF assistance for the storm ‘Daniel’ disaster in November 2023. The Commission determined Greece’s application eligible for support and paid out EUR 101 million in 2024.

    Greece has not submitted an EUSF application due to the flooding of Rhodes and Lemnos at the end of November 2024.

    The Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation subprogramme of the LIFE Programme[11] follows a bottom-up approach tailored to local needs and can also offer room for special attention to islands’ needs related to climate change.

    • [1] European Environment Agency, European Climate Risk Assessment, 2024.
    • [2] EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change, COM(2021) 82 final.
    • [3]  COM(2024) 91 final.
    • [4] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/cohesion-fund/
    • [5] https://next-generation-eu.europa.eu/index_en
    • [6] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/funding/erdf/
    • [7] https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/rural-development_en
    • [8] LIFE, https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/life_en
    • [9] Under Greece’s 2021-2027 Partnership Agreement for Regional Development (ESPA), over EUR 726 million in public funding is allocated to prevent and manage climate-related flood risks.
    • [10] Council Regulation (EC) No 2012/2002 of 11 November 2002 establishing the European Union Solidarity Fund (OJ L 311, 14.11.2002, p. 3) as amended by Regulation (EU) No 661/2014 of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 May 2014 (OJ L 189, 27.6.2014, p. 143) and by Regulation (EU) 2020/461 of the European Parliament and the Council of 30 March 2020 (OJ L 99, 31.3.2020, p. 9): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:32002R2012
    • [11] Budget of EUR 947 million for the period 2021-2027.
    Last updated: 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Cybersecurity in Italy and the effectiveness of NRRP investments in cybersecurity – E-002269/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    Strengthening Member States’ cyber resilience capabilities, coordinating national cyber efforts and securing critical infrastructures are top priorities for the Commission, which monitors closely cyber threats and incidents affecting the EU’s critical infrastructure.

    The directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (NIS 2 Directive)[1] requires from entities in 18 critical sectors, including public administration, to take risk-based cybersecurity risk-management measures and report significant cyber incidents.

    The NIS 2 Directive transposition deadline for the Member States was 17 October 2024. The Commission is now assessing the Italian transposition legislation that was notified on time.

    In addition, Regulation on digital operational resilience for the financial sector (DORA)[2] requires financial entities to develop capabilities to detect, prevent, limit the impact of information and communication technologies-related incidents, to respond and recover from them, and report major incidents. To assess the effectiveness of the entities’ capabilities, DORA introduces testing requirements.

    Investment 1.5 ‘Cybersecurity’[3], worth EUR 623 million, from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) spans from creating a Cybersecurity Agency to the implementation of actions boosting Italy’s cyber resilience capabilities.

    In the context of Italy’s fifth payment request, five milestones and targets were assessed as satisfactorily fulfilled: (i) creating the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), (ii) defining the national cybersecurity architecture, (iii) the start-up of a network of cybersecurity laboratories, (iv) activating a central audit unit within the ACN (v) completing five strengthening interventions.

    • [1] http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2022/2555/oj
    • [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2554/oj/eng
    • [3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52024PC0509

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – European aid for Georgia – E-001856/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    The Commission stands ready to support the Georgian people on their European path.

    At the same time, in reaction to the developments in Georgia, including targeting civil society and restricting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people, and in line with the European Council’s conclusions[1], the Commission launched a review of its bilateral financial assistance portfolio benefiting Georgia. As a result, over EUR 120 million from the 2022-2024 envelopes were withheld or will be reallocated.

    Ensuring and upholding human rights, including the rights of LGBTIQ people, is at the core of the enlargement process, annually assessed within the Commission’s enlargement report.

    The Commission has repeatedly stressed that the legal initiatives targeting LGBTIQ people undermine the fundamental rights of Georgians, risk further stigmatisation and discrimination of part of the population and are not in line with Georgia’s stated aim to join the EU[2].

    In 2022, the Commission referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the EU over violation of LGBTIQ rights[3]. It also found that provisions of the so-called child-protection law have a concrete and direct impact on the compliance with the horizontal enabling condition on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights[4], based on the criteria under Annex III of the Common Provisions Regulation[5].

    Therefore, the reimbursement of payment requests related to certain specific objectives of three Cohesion Policy programmes are partly suspended.

    • [1] https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/qa3lblga/euco-conclusions-27062024-en.pdf
    • [2] https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/georgia-statement-spokesperson-legislative-package-family-values-and-protection-minors_en?s=221
    • [3] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2689
    • [4] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_23_6466
    • [5] Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of 24 June 2021.
    Last updated: 28 January 2025

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Conformity of Tuscany’s regional waste management plan – E-002592/2024(ASW)

    Source: European Parliament

    1. According to available information, Tuscany’s regional waste management plan has not yet been formally adopted at regional Council level. After its adoption, the plan shall be placed on a publicly available website. Italy shall inform the Commission of the adoption[1]. When this has taken place, the Commission will assess the plan in relation to the legal requirements of the Waste Framework Directive and the Common Provisions Regulation[2].

    2. The Common Provisions Regulation lays down the conditions for Member States to access the European Regional Development Fund[3], and the Cohesion Fund[4], the so-called ‘enabling conditions’.

    The enabling condition on updated planning for waste management means that one or more waste management plan(s) as referred to in the Waste Framework Directive shall be in place and include a number of specific elements[5].

    As for the Recovery and Resilience Facility[6], the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) includes several measures related to waste management. However, the adoption of the regional waste management plans is not included in the Italian RRP.

    Without prejudice to the Commission’s role as guardian of the Treaties, Member States are required to ensure compliance of measures included in the RRPs with EU and national law, including with the EU environmental acquis.

    In regard to the RRP, the Commission assesses compliance with the requirements of the Council Implementing Decision[7] upon receipt of the relevant payment requests.

    As a rule, following the principle of ‘do not significant harm’ (DNSH), landfills, incinerators, mechanical biological treatment plants, and activities where the long-term disposal of waste may cause harm to the environment are not eligible to be financed under RRPs.

    • [1] Article 31-33 of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives, OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3-30, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/851 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May, OJ L 150, 14.6.2018, p. 109-140.
    • [2] Article 28 of Directive 2008/98/EC on waste, Annex IV, Section 2.6 of the Common Provisions Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy.
    • [3] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funding/erdf_en
    • [4] https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funding/cohesion-fund_en; N.B. Italy is not eligible for the Cohesion Fund.
    • [5] Annex IV, Section 2.6 of the Common Provisions Regulation: Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy, OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 159-706.
    • [6] https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/economic-recovery/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en
    • [7] https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/a0e7539e-8d32-11ee-8aa6-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: City’s iconic Grade I listed building planning to open later this year

    Source: City of Norwich

    Published on Tuesday, 28th January 2025

    Councillors are set to approve new investment in The Halls as part of its on-going and extensive refurbishment programme at a cabinet meeting next month.

    The Halls, a medieval friary complex dating back to the 14th century, have been undergoing extensive refurbishment and improvement works, however, a recent survey to Blackfriars Hall roof has identified further repairs and investment to ensure its longevity. 

    It means The Halls are likely to open later this year. 

    Councillor Claire Kidman, cabinet member for a Prosperous Norwich, said: “We were on target to reopen the beautifully restored building within the next couple of months. But after discovering some pretty major repair work that needed to be done to Blackfriars roof, it means that will now come a bit later in the year. So, we will build that into our new programme of work as we need to make sure we get this right and ensure The Halls are properly restored to their former glory and rightful place as one of Norwich and England’s medieval gems.”

    The survey revealed that works carried out to the roof approximately 80 to 100 years ago had caused a build of moisture in the timber structure due to a plastic sheeting installed at the time.

    It means councillors will be asked to approve repairs and upgrades to the cornices, rafters and bosses in the roof, and some electrical upgrades of around £900,000, from the council’s capital fund to make The Halls fit for public use. In addition to the repairs councillors will be asked to approve a tender exercise, to consider an outside organisation to take over the day-to-day operations of The Halls.

    Cllr Kidman added: “Once open, the newly refurbished Halls will be one of the most iconic venues in East England and further bolster the city’s status as one Europe’s most go-to historic and cultural destinations.” 

    Councillors will discuss the reports at the cabinet meeting on 5 February.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Lessons from Ireland: How the country’s electoral system would strengthen Canadian democracy

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Seána Glennon, Postdoctoral Fellow, Constitutional Law, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

    Justin Trudeau’s biggest regret, he said at his resignation news conference, is failing to achieve electoral reform in Canada — even though he’d promised to do so, and had the opportunity during his first majority government, and didn’t go through with it.

    But as a federal election looms this year, it’s a good time to take a closer look at Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system, examine why it’s seen by many as unfair and to think about how an alternative system, like Ireland’s proportional representation model, could better serve Canadians.

    Canada has what’s known as a single-member plurality electoral system, commonly referred to as first-past-the-post. The country is divided into electoral districts called ridings, each of which has one representative.

    The winning candidate in each riding is the one who receives the most votes, although not necessarily the majority of votes. The system is “winner-takes-all” because only those candidates who come first in each riding gain a seat in Parliament.



    Read more:
    Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system highlights once again the need for reform

    Proportional represention

    Ireland has a proportional representation system that’s very different from first-past-the-post. Each voter has a single transferable vote, and each constituency elects several candidates. Voters can rank all the candidates on the ballot in order of their preference.

    To be successful, a candidate must reach the constituency’s quota, which is calculated based on the total number of votes and the number of seats. When a candidate reaches or exceeds the quota on the first count, they are elected, and their surplus votes are distributed among the other candidates, based on voters’ second or lower preferences.

    If nobody reaches the quota on the first count, as often happens, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and their votes are distributed among the other candidates. The process continues until all seats are filled.

    Risks to Canadian democracy

    Canada’s system poses two major challenges to democracy.

    The first is voter disengagement. Under the first-past-the-post system, a candidate does not need to win more than 50 per cent of the votes; they just need to win more than their opponents. All the votes cast in favour of other candidates are discounted.

    This can result in a significant disparity between a party’s share of votes and its share of seats in Parliament.

    A party with less than 50 per cent of the vote share can form a majority government and dominate the parliamentary agenda until the next election.

    This happened in the United Kingdom’s 2024 election (also a first-past-the-post system) — Labour received only 34 per cent of the popular vote, but took 63 per cent of the seats in British Parliament and formed a majority government. The 2019 election in Canada also illustrates the distortion produced by this system — the Conservatives won the popular vote, but the Liberals took 36 more seats and won a minority government.

    From the voter’s point of view, it’s easy to see how the system causes disillusionment. If they vote for anyone other than the winning candidate, they may feel their vote is discounted and will have no bearing on the makeup of Parliament, and wonder what’s the point of casting a ballot.

    The second challenge exacerbated by the first-past-the-post system is increasing polarization in politics. In a winner-takes-all system, there is no incentive for candidates to try to appeal to voters to become their second or third choice. This leads to a much more adversarial style of politics.

    Malaise, polarization reduced

    The Irish system mitigates against both democratic malaise and political polarization.

    Under proportional representation, the voter’s first preference is always counted. But in contrast to the Canadian system, even if their first-choice candidate is eliminated — or elected on the first count with a surplus — their vote is not wasted. Instead, it’s transferred to their next choice of candidate.

    These transfers often determine the outcome of the election. Elections in Ireland tend to produce parliaments that correlate much more closely to the proportion of votes a party has received than under first-past-the-post systems in Canada and the U.K.

    In addition, the Irish system helps combat polarization, because candidates’ success or failure often hinges on their ability to attract transfers from supporters of other parties. Centrist candidates will be more likely to appeal to a broader base of voters and attract more transfers than candidates that seek to motivate a base of voters with extremist rhetoric.

    The recent Irish general election shows how this system helps avoid excessive polarization. Research has found that countries with proportional representation systems tend to have lower levels of polarization.

    Local focus?

    It’s sometimes argued that proportional representation encourages parliamentarians to focus on issues in their constituency rather than national issues.

    The system greatly facilitates the election of independent candidates. The incoming Irish government, for example, will consist of a coalition of the two main centrist parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, with the support of a group of independents, some of whom make no secret that their priority is their own constituency.

    It can be argued, however, that responsiveness to local issues isn’t a negative — and it’s not prevented Ireland from playing an outsize role on the international stage in recent years.



    Read more:
    Irish election: why one single party is unlikely to win – and what it means for the next government

    Confronting Trump

    Supporters of first-past-the-post argue that it produces stronger, more stable majority governments.

    Even though Ireland’s party system has undoubtedly become more fragmented over the past decade, however, coalition governments have proved capable of staying the course.

    Of course, Irish politics has its share of challenges. The recent election of Micheál Martin as Taoiseach (prime minister) was delayed a day after rancorous exchanges in Irish Parliament around opposition speaking time, and the country still has a stubbornly low proportion of female parliamentarians (only three women were appointed to the new cabinet as senior ministers, out of 15).

    But this doesn’t change the fact that a proportional representation system still produces a parliament more reflective of voter’s choices than first-past-the-post.

    Politically disengaged and polarized voters in Canada and an unrepresentative Parliament won’t help the country respond to the challenges posed by the next four years of a second Donald Trump presidency.

    A new system with an element of proportionality could help curb polarization, ensure fairer representation for Canadians and transform Canadian democracy for the better.

    Seána Glennon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Lessons from Ireland: How the country’s electoral system would strengthen Canadian democracy – https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-ireland-how-the-countrys-electoral-system-would-strengthen-canadian-democracy-247541

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Security: IAEA Board of Governors Elects New Chairperson for 2025

    Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

      Ambassador Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman. (Photo: D. Calma/IAEA)

    In a special meeting today the IAEA Board of Governors elected Ambassador Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman of Ghana as its Chairperson for 2025. She will complete the remainder of the term of office of her predecessor, Ambassador Philbert Abaka Johnson of Ghana, who was elected in September 2024. Ambassador Osei-Agyeman’s term commences today and will end in September 2025. 

    Ambassador Osei-Agyeman is the Permanent Representative of Ghana to the IAEA, the United Nations Offices and other international organizations in Vienna. A career diplomat with over 25 years of experience, she has held various positions in Ghana and abroad covering both bilateral and multilateral issues.  

    Prior to her appointment in Vienna, Ambassador Osei-Agyeman served as Minister Plenipotentiary and Deputy Ambassador in the Embassy of the Republic of Ghana to Italy from 2023 to 2024. She has also served in diplomatic postings in the United Kingdom, Malta, the United States of America and at Ghana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.  

    Ambassador Osei-Agyeman has also held numerous posts in Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, including, most recently, serving as Director of the Europe Bureau from 2021 to 2023 and as the first Director of the Candidatures Portfolio in 2021, where she ensured effective advocacy resulting in Ghana’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2022 and 2023.  

    Ambassador Osei-Agyeman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Ghana and a Master of Arts in international affairs from the Legon Centre for International Affairs & Diplomacy in Ghana. She has also participated in various courses on leadership and diplomacy. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How to get control of your time

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Boróka Bó, Assistant Professor in Sociology, University College Dublin

    GoodStudio/Shutterstock

    You wake up at 7:00 and reflexively reach for your phone. Between the stream of emails, WhatsApps and breaking news alerts, you see a worrying reminder: you averaged 11 hours of daily screen time last week. You swipe the notification away and open TikTok, where a woman in a matching athleisure set and glossy, slicked-back ponytail urges you to “get ready with me for my 5-9 before my 9-5”.

    You think about getting out of bed for a workout or meditation before you start answering those emails. But before you know it, it’s 8:57 – and if you don’t get off the apps and onto your computer, you’ll be late.

    Sound familiar? Though many people have more leisure time now than in the past, paradoxically, more free time comes with increased time pressure. For many of us, it feels as if we don’t have control over our time – rather, time is controlling us. This is because our collective experience of time both comes from and governs society.

    Instead of saving us time, the pace of modernity has led to many of us feeling as if our time is slipping away. And any time we “gain back”, we devote – by necessity or choice – to making more money, maybe through a side hustle. Losing control over time can have negative consequences for both physical and mental wellbeing.

    Ready to make a change? The Quarter Life Glow-up is a new, six-week newsletter course from The Conversation’s UK and Canada editions.

    Every week, we’ll bring you research-backed advice and tools to help improve your relationships, your career, your free time and your mental health – no supplements or skincare required. Sign up here to start your glow-up at any time.

    We are trapped in a perpetual cycle of rushing to survive and consume. But consumption also takes time, so the time available to enjoy our newly acquired possessions declines. You buy a faster new computer, but then need to spend multiple, frustrating hours configuring it to your preferences.

    Even trying to save time by mastering a productivity hack or reading a self-help book takes (you guessed it) time.

    As time use researchers, we often grapple with an uncomfortable truth – your time is not fully yours – it belongs to us all. Time is a network good. We live in a web of time: giving, taking and sharing time with everyone around us. In other words, the decisions and actions of the people around you shape how much time you have.

    This presents a catch-22. Friends, family, colleagues and even neighbours require our time, and we need theirs, too. We share time with our social network members because we need strong ties for our wellbeing. However, building lasting relationships means that we have to control our time in order to share it with others.

    Unfortunately, we don’t all have the same amount of control. Socioeconomic and demographic factors – gender, financial circumstances, age, race, and where you live – all influence how you can make decisions about time. These factors shape how we can interact with others.

    Are you controlling your time, or is it controlling you?
    Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

    Even seemingly mundane choices, such as how many extra minutes of sleep you give yourself in the morning, are shaped by societal expectations, power structures and economic constraints. If your job starts at 8am and your commute is two hours, it is unlikely that you can afford extra time to sleep in the mornings. If you are a parent, you might have to wake up even earlier to make sure that everyone has their breakfast and lunch packed for school.

    This is why the hundreds of self-help articles telling you how to optimise your time by carefully budgeting every minute of it never manage to give you full control.

    Breaking this vicious cycle starts with understanding, then practising self-compassion in the face of the demands on your time.

    Get in control

    Gaining control over your time starts with “why”. We don’t all have the luxury of saying no to tasks we deem unnecessary or unpleasant.

    We can, however, ask ourselves why we are spending our time on certain things. Before your next decision, big or small, try asking yourself: why am I doing this?

    If the answer is rooted in social pressure, outdated norms, or an obligation toward someone who does not deserve the gift of your precious time, consider how you could switch to doing something else.

    Try to spend your time on activities and with people who nourish you, enriching your moments. You may not be able to completely avoid spending part of your time as your boss dictates. But understanding the larger power dynamics shaping your personal situation and your time will help you approach decisions with conscious intention, giving you greater control over this irreplaceable resource.

    Regularly questioning the reason behind your actions will reveal the social patterns driving your decision-making processes. Why did you agree to do something, only to regret it later? Why are you always the one donating time to emotional labour at the office?

    Consistently asking “why” creates a habit of mindfulness, and will give you the insight needed to begin to make more informed choices that reflect your true priorities. Ultimately, gaining more control over your time is not about rigidly adhering to a schedule or productivity hacks. It is impossible to subject every minute of your existence to your will – time is not yours to hold on to.

    But you can make the most of the time you do have control over by making conscious decisions that align with your own desires and goals. Like one of our research participants, you may soon find yourself looking in the mirror and proclaiming: “I love time! Time lets me become!”

    Boróka Bó receives funding from Enterprise Ireland. She has previously received funding from the National Science Foundation and held a Soros Fellowship.

    Kamila Kolpashnikova receives funding from SSHRC (Insight Grant number: 435-2023-1060).

    – ref. How to get control of your time – https://theconversation.com/how-to-get-control-of-your-time-235801

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Tribute to Emrys Roberts

    Source: Party of Wales

    Emrys Roberts was extremely influential on Welsh politics for three decades. His contribution to the Party was exceptional from the 60s, when he was an energetic General Secretary, and as the Party’s candidate in the Merthyr by-election in 1972.

    His greatest electoral achievement was leading the Party to control a local council for the first time – in Merthyr in 1976. He was a great influence on a generation of nationalists, and there is a very warm memory of him in Plaid Cymru.

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: REACTION: Westminster WASPI compensation vote

    Source: Scottish Greens

    28 Jan 2025 Equality

    WASPI women deserve justice.

    More in Equality

    The House of Commons has voted in favour of WASPI compensation by 105 votes to zero, with MPs from the Tories and Labour government refusing to vote.

    Reacting to the news, Scottish Greens Social Justice spokesperson Maggie Chapman said:

    “This is great news. I am delighted that MPs have joined the Scottish Parliament in calling on the Labour government to properly compensate the WASPI women who have been so unfairly treated by our political system.

    “The fact that Labour and the Tories even failed to turn up and vote shows exactly what is wrong with Westminster’s ruling elite. We need radical change to put people and planet first: the same old and tired rhetoric from Starmer won’t cut it.

    “It’s clear that the consensus in Holyrood and Westminster is clear: Labour must pay up for the mistreatment of the WASPI women.”

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI United Kingdom: New approaches to eradicating child poverty

    Source: Scottish Government

    Wrap-around support delivering improved outcomes for families. 

    Lessons learned from innovative work with families in Inverclyde are helping deliver new approaches to eradicating child poverty. 

    Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville will visit Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde in Greenock tomorrow (Wednesday 29th January) to see work funded under the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund, which is helping to reshape services locally and elsewhere in Scotland. 

    The Social Justice Secretary will meet staff at the project as well as parents who have benefited from the work which focuses on providing early intervention to support families, particularly those with children under five and those affected by poor mental health.  

    Learning from the project is supporting Inverclyde’s Fairer Futures Partnership, which is supporting local services to test and improve how they deliver services to promote family wellbeing, maximise incomes and support people towards education and into sustained employment.   

    Ms Somerville said: 

    “Eradicating child poverty is the Scottish Government’s top priority and a national mission.   

    “I’m keen to hear more about how whole family, person-centred support is being developed in Inverclyde through the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund and the Fairer Futures Partnership. 

    “Through close partnership between Home-Start and Inverclyde Council, this project provides holistic support so that families can maximise their household incomes, and parents can improve their employment prospects through upskilling and volunteering. Putting this kind of vital support in place means that we don’t just help families in a  crisis but enable them to thrive in the longer term. 

    “The Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund was set up to support local areas to test new ideas and innovate to improve local approaches to eradicating child poverty. I’m pleased to  have the opportunity to learn more about how this funding is informing Inverclyde’s overall approach to supporting families out of poverty.” 

    Background:  

    The Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund supports local areas to test innovative approaches to eradicating child poverty, including testing new approaches to a known problem, adapting an approach from elsewhere to work in a new area, and evaluating promising approaches.  

    Fairer Futures Partnerships in Clackmannanshire, Dundee and Glasgow are working to ensure families get the help they need, where and when they need it. Building on these successful partnerships the programme is expanding into Aberdeen City, East Ayrshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and Perth & Kinross Councils. 

    The Scottish Government made over £2 million available in financial year [2024/25] to these eight local authorities and their partners to deliver the programmes. 

    The budget for the Partnerships has been increased budget to £6 million for next financial year [2025/26]. £2.4 million of this  will be made available to the eight existing partnerships to continue the work underway, as well as exploring opportunities to expand. 

    MIL OSI United Kingdom –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Rereading Rembrandt: how the slave trade helped establish the golden age of Dutch painting

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Caroline Fowler, Starr Director of the Research and Academic Program, Clark Art Institute, and lecturer in Art History, Williams College

    The so-called golden age of Dutch painting in the 1600s coincided with an economic boom that had a lot to do with the transatlantic slave trade. But how did the slave trade shape the art market in the Netherlands? And how is it reflected in the paintings of the time?

    This is the subject of a new book called Slavery and the Invention of Dutch Art by art historian Caroline Fowler. We asked about her study.

    What was Dutch art about before slavery and what was the golden age?

    The earliest paintings that would be called Dutch were predominantly religious. They were made for Christian devotion. In the 1500s, major divisions in the church led to a fragmentation of Christianity called the Reformation.

    In this new religious climate, artists began to create new types of paintings, studying the world around them. They included landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, and interior scenes of their homes. Instead of working for the church, many painters began to work within an art market. There was a rising middle class that could afford to buy paintings.

    Duke University Press

    Historically, this period in Dutch economic prosperity has been called the “golden age”. This is when many of the most famous Dutch painters worked, such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer.

    Their work was made possible by a strong Dutch economy built on global trade networks. This included the transatlantic slave trade and the rise of the middle class. Although artists did not directly paint the transatlantic slave trade, in my book I argue that it is central to understanding the paintings produced in the 1600s as it made the economic market possible.

    In turn, many of the types of painting that developed, like maritime scenes and interior scenes, are often obliquely or directly about international trade. The slave trade is a haunting presence in these images.

    How did this play out within Dutch colonialism?

    The new “middle class” consisted of economically prosperous merchants, artisans, lawyers and doctors. For many of the wealthiest merchants, their prosperity was fuelled by their investments in trade overseas. In land and plantations, and also commodities such as sugar, salt, mace and nutmeg.

    Read more: Slavery, tax evasion, resistance: the story of 11 Africans in South America’s gold mines in the 1500s

    Slavery was illegal within the boundaries of the Dutch Republic on the European continent. But it was widely practised within Dutch colonies around the world. Slavery was central to their trade overseas – from the inter-Asian slave network that made possible their domination in the export of nutmeg, to the use of enslaved labour on plantations in the Americas. It also contributed in less visible ways to Dutch economic prosperity, like the development of maritime insurance.

    What was the relationship between artists and Dutch colonies?

    In the new school of painting, artists would sometimes travel to the Dutch colonies. For example, Frans Post travelled to Dutch Brazil and painted the sugar plantations and mills. Another artist named Maria Sibylla Merian went to Dutch Suriname, where she studied butterflies and plants on the Dutch sugar plantations.

    Both depict landscapes and the natural world but don’t directly engage with the profound dehumanisation of slavery, and an economic system dependent on enslaved labour. But this doesn’t mean that it’s absent in their sanitised renditions.

    Among the sources that I used to think about the presence of the transatlantic slave trade in a culture that did not overtly depict it were inventories of paintings and early museum collections. Often the language in these sources differed from the painting in important ways. They demonstrate how the violence of the system emerges in unexpected places.

    One inventory that describes paintings by Frans Post, for example, also narrates the physical punishment meted out if the enslaved tried to run away from the Dutch sugar plantations. This isn’t depicted in the painting, but it is part of the inventory that travelled beside the painting.

    These moments reveal the profound presence of this system within Dutch painting, and point to the ways in which artists negotiated making this structure invisible in their paintings although they were not able to completely erase its presence.

    How do you discuss Rembrandt’s paintings in your book?

    Historically, studies of the transatlantic slave trade in early modern painting (about 1400-1700) have looked at paintings that directly depict either enslaved or Black individuals.

    One of the points of this book is that this limits our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade in Dutch painting. A focus on blackness, for example, precludes understanding how whiteness is constructed at the same time. It fails to recognise the ways in which artists sought to diminish the presence of the slave trade in their sanitised rendition of Dutch society.

    Syndics of the Draper’s Guild by Rembrandt. Txllxt TxllxT/Wikimedia Commons/Rijksmuseum

    One painting that I use to think about this is Rembrandt van Rijn’s very famous work called Syndics of the Draper’s Guild. It’s a group portrait of wealthy, white merchants gathered around a table looking at a book of fabric samples.

    Although there aren’t enslaved or black individuals depicted, this painting would be impossible without the transatlantic slave trade. Cloth from the Netherlands was often exchanged for enslaved people in west Africa, for example.

    In my book, I draw attention to these understudied histories to understand how certain assumptions around whiteness, privilege, and wealth developed in tandem with an emerging visual vocabulary around blackness and the transformation of individual lives into chattel property.

    What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

    I hope that readers will think about how many of our ideas about freedom, the middle class, art markets, and economic prosperity began in the 17th-century Dutch Republic. As this book demonstrates, a central part of this narrative that has been overlooked was the transatlantic slave trade in building this fantasy.

    This is in many ways an invention that traces back to the paintings of overt consumption and wealth produced in the Dutch Republic – like Vermeer’s interiors of Dutch homes.

    Read more: How we proved a Rembrandt painting owned by the University of Pretoria was a fake

    My aim with this book is to present not only a more complex view of Dutch painting but also a reconsideration of certain dogmas today around prosperity and the art market. The rise of our current financial system, art markets and visible celebration of landscapes, seascapes and interior scenes are all inseparable from the transformation of individual lives into property. We live with this legacy today in our systems built on racial, economic and gendered inequalities.

    – Rereading Rembrandt: how the slave trade helped establish the golden age of Dutch painting
    – https://theconversation.com/rereading-rembrandt-how-the-slave-trade-helped-establish-the-golden-age-of-dutch-painting-247918

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: The Canada-Poland Nuclear Energy Cooperation Agreement

    Source: Government of Canada – Prime Minister

    Canada and Poland’s relationship is steadfast, from our mutual commitment to transatlantic and energy security to our common pursuit of a more sustainable planet. Together, we stand united and determined to create a safer and more prosperous world today – and for generations to come.

    Today, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, concluded his trip to Warsaw, Poland, where he signed the landmark Canada-Poland Nuclear Cooperation Agreement alongside the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk.

    Once in force, the Agreement will deepen ties between Canadian and Polish energy sectors, enabling Canadian companies to apply their nuclear expertise to support Poland’s energy transition and enhance energy security for Poland and the region. It will create good well-paying jobs and opportunities for people on both sides of the Atlantic, while reinforcing Canada and Poland’s shared commitment to nuclear co-operation, non-proliferation, safety, and security. This collaboration will help Poland enhance its clean energy sector and accelerate its efforts to phase out coal from its energy mix.

    This Agreement complements other initiatives to strengthen Canada and Poland’s bilateral relationship, including the General Security of Information Agreement (GSOIA), which was signed earlier this month. Once implemented, the GSOIA will enhance information sharing between Canada and Poland and create business opportunities for companies in industries such as defence, security, aerospace, marine, and nuclear.

    Prime Minister Trudeau also held bilateral meetings with his Polish counterparts, including Prime Minister Tusk, the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, and the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski. As the world marks 80 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp, they agreed on the importance of combatting antisemitism and hate across the globe.

    The leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to transatlantic security and underlined the importance of providing military, financial, humanitarian, and other support for Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s unjustifiable war of aggression. Prime Minister Trudeau emphasized that supporting Ukraine will continue to be a priority for Canada, particularly in the context of its 2025 G7 Presidency.

    Prime Minister Trudeau reiterated his thanks to the people of Poland for their hospitality during his two-day visit to the country and reaffirmed Canada’s desire to continue deepening ties with Poland in the years to come.

    Quote

    “By working together to advance nuclear technology, Canada and Poland are pushing innovation forward and accelerating energy security. Once in force, the newly signed Canada-Poland Nuclear Cooperation Agreement will promote Canadian innovators, create good-paying jobs, and combine Polish and Canadian expertise in the sector. It’s a testament to Canada’s commitment to building a more secure future, alongside our closest Allies.”

    Quick Facts

    • In 2023, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the National Atomic Energy Agency of Poland signed a Memorandum of Understanding on small modular reactors (SMR), paving the way for increased exchanges on best practices and technical reviews related to SMR technology.
    • Poland does not yet generate nuclear power commercially, but it has comprehensive plans to use both large-scale and SMR nuclear technology.
    • Canada expects to be the first G7 country to have the first operational SMR, the GE-Hitachi BWRX-300, by 2029. It is under active development by Ontario Power Generation at its Darlington Nuclear Station, and Poland is watching developments at Darlington closely, as it plans to deploy the same SMR technology shortly thereafter.
    • In 2023, on the margins of the 28th meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Poland, and over twenty other nations endorsed a statement calling for the tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
    • Yesterday in Kraków, Poland, the Prime Minister announced $3.4 million in new funding to combat antisemitism, preserve Holocaust remembrance, and educate against Holocaust denial and distortion in Canada and around the world.
    • Canada and Poland enjoy a close-knit and multifaceted defence partnership. Canada takes pride in being the first NATO country to have ratified Poland’s membership, in 1998. Polish troops are deployed to the Canada-led NATO Multinational Brigade in Latvia.
    • Poland is Canada’s largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2023, bilateral merchandise trade between the two countries totalled $4.1 billion.
    • The warm ties between our peoples serve as the foundation of our countries’ strong bilateral relationship. Close to one million Canadians of Polish descent call Canada home.

    Associated Links

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Rereading Rembrandt: how the slave trade helped establish the golden age of Dutch painting

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Caroline Fowler, Starr Director of the Research and Academic Program, Clark Art Institute, and lecturer in Art History, Williams College

    Detail from Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting Two African Men. Sailko/The Mauritshuis/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    The so-called golden age of Dutch painting in the 1600s coincided with an economic boom that had a lot to do with the transatlantic slave trade. But how did the slave trade shape the art market in the Netherlands? And how is it reflected in the paintings of the time?

    This is the subject of a new book called Slavery and the Invention of Dutch Art by art historian Caroline Fowler. We asked about her study.

    What was Dutch art about before slavery and what was the golden age?

    The earliest paintings that would be called Dutch were predominantly religious. They were made for Christian devotion. In the 1500s, major divisions in the church led to a fragmentation of Christianity called the Reformation.

    In this new religious climate, artists began to create new types of paintings, studying the world around them. They included landscapes, seascapes, still lifes, and interior scenes of their homes. Instead of working for the church, many painters began to work within an art market. There was a rising middle class that could afford to buy paintings.

    Historically, this period in Dutch economic prosperity has been called the “golden age”. This is when many of the most famous Dutch painters worked, such as Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer.

    Their work was made possible by a strong Dutch economy built on global trade networks. This included the transatlantic slave trade and the rise of the middle class. Although artists did not directly paint the transatlantic slave trade, in my book I argue that it is central to understanding the paintings produced in the 1600s as it made the economic market possible.

    In turn, many of the types of painting that developed, like maritime scenes and interior scenes, are often obliquely or directly about international trade. The slave trade is a haunting presence in these images.

    How did this play out within Dutch colonialism?

    The new “middle class” consisted of economically prosperous merchants, artisans, lawyers and doctors. For many of the wealthiest merchants, their prosperity was fuelled by their investments in trade overseas. In land and plantations, and also commodities such as sugar, salt, mace and nutmeg.



    Read more:
    Slavery, tax evasion, resistance: the story of 11 Africans in South America’s gold mines in the 1500s

    Slavery was illegal within the boundaries of the Dutch Republic on the European continent. But it was widely practised within Dutch colonies around the world. Slavery was central to their trade overseas – from the inter-Asian slave network that made possible their domination in the export of nutmeg, to the use of enslaved labour on plantations in the Americas. It also contributed in less visible ways to Dutch economic prosperity, like the development of maritime insurance.

    What was the relationship between artists and Dutch colonies?

    In the new school of painting, artists would sometimes travel to the Dutch colonies. For example, Frans Post travelled to Dutch Brazil and painted the sugar plantations and mills. Another artist named Maria Sibylla Merian went to Dutch Suriname, where she studied butterflies and plants on the Dutch sugar plantations.

    Both depict landscapes and the natural world but don’t directly engage with the profound dehumanisation of slavery, and an economic system dependent on enslaved labour. But this doesn’t mean that it’s absent in their sanitised renditions.

    Among the sources that I used to think about the presence of the transatlantic slave trade in a culture that did not overtly depict it were inventories of paintings and early museum collections. Often the language in these sources differed from the painting in important ways. They demonstrate how the violence of the system emerges in unexpected places.

    One inventory that describes paintings by Frans Post, for example, also narrates the physical punishment meted out if the enslaved tried to run away from the Dutch sugar plantations. This isn’t depicted in the painting, but it is part of the inventory that travelled beside the painting.

    These moments reveal the profound presence of this system within Dutch painting, and point to the ways in which artists negotiated making this structure invisible in their paintings although they were not able to completely erase its presence.

    How do you discuss Rembrandt’s paintings in your book?

    Historically, studies of the transatlantic slave trade in early modern painting (about 1400-1700) have looked at paintings that directly depict either enslaved or Black individuals.

    One of the points of this book is that this limits our understanding of the transatlantic slave trade in Dutch painting. A focus on blackness, for example, precludes understanding how whiteness is constructed at the same time. It fails to recognise the ways in which artists sought to diminish the presence of the slave trade in their sanitised rendition of Dutch society.

    One painting that I use to think about this is Rembrandt van Rijn’s very famous work called Syndics of the Draper’s Guild. It’s a group portrait of wealthy, white merchants gathered around a table looking at a book of fabric samples.

    Although there aren’t enslaved or black individuals depicted, this painting would be impossible without the transatlantic slave trade. Cloth from the Netherlands was often exchanged for enslaved people in west Africa, for example.

    In my book, I draw attention to these understudied histories to understand how certain assumptions around whiteness, privilege, and wealth developed in tandem with an emerging visual vocabulary around blackness and the transformation of individual lives into chattel property.

    What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

    I hope that readers will think about how many of our ideas about freedom, the middle class, art markets, and economic prosperity began in the 17th-century Dutch Republic. As this book demonstrates, a central part of this narrative that has been overlooked was the transatlantic slave trade in building this fantasy.

    This is in many ways an invention that traces back to the paintings of overt consumption and wealth produced in the Dutch Republic – like Vermeer’s interiors of Dutch homes.



    Read more:
    How we proved a Rembrandt painting owned by the University of Pretoria was a fake

    My aim with this book is to present not only a more complex view of Dutch painting but also a reconsideration of certain dogmas today around prosperity and the art market. The rise of our current financial system, art markets and visible celebration of landscapes, seascapes and interior scenes are all inseparable from the transformation of individual lives into property. We live with this legacy today in our systems built on racial, economic and gendered inequalities.

    Caroline Fowler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Rereading Rembrandt: how the slave trade helped establish the golden age of Dutch painting – https://theconversation.com/rereading-rembrandt-how-the-slave-trade-helped-establish-the-golden-age-of-dutch-painting-247918

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: Conversation between the Minister of Europe and Foreign affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot and his American counterpart, Marco Rubio

    Source: France-Diplomatie – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development

    1. Home
    2. Latest News
    3. Conversation between the Minister of Europe and Foreign affairs, Jean-Noël (…)

    Published on January 28, 2025

    Statements made by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson (Paris – January 28, 2025)

    Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot spoke by phone with his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, on January 27.

    During their conversation, the minister congratulated the Secretary of State on his unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate. With the new U.S. administration just taking up its duties, this call gave the ministers a chance to reaffirm their commitment to transatlantic ties and to the strong historic ties between France and the United States.

    The Minister and the Secretary of State discussed several international crises, in particular the war in Ukraine. France and the U.S. share the same goal: a just and lasting peace between Russia and Ukraine. To that end, close coordination between our two countries is more necessary than ever.

    The Minister hailed the U.S. diplomatic efforts that led to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas. He emphasized France’s desire to help ensure that the next phases of the agreement come to fruition and called for close cooperation between France and the U.S. on the situations in Lebanon and Syria.

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI: Disclosure of choice of the home Member State and the competent authority for the needs for the Transparency Directive

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Paris, January 28, 2025

    Disclosure of choice of the home Member State and the competent authority for the needs for the Transparency Directive

    In accordance with article 222-1 of the General Regulation of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), Sfil specifies that its home Member State, according to the Directive 2004/109/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 15th, 2004 (the Transparency Directive) modified, is France and that as a consequence, the competent authority for the control of the compliance with its obligations regarding regulated information is the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: The value of AI: How Microsoft’s customers and partners are reinventing how they do business today

    Source: Microsoft

    Headline: The value of AI: How Microsoft’s customers and partners are reinventing how they do business today

    Organizational leaders in every industry around the world are evaluating ways AI can unlock opportunities, drive pragmatic innovation and yield value across their business. At Microsoft, we are dedicated to helping our customers accelerate AI Transformation by empowering human ambition with Copilots and agents, developing differentiated AI solutions and building scalable cybersecurity foundations. At Microsoft Ignite we made over 100 announcements that bring the latest innovation directly to our customers and partners, and shared how Microsoft is the only technology leader to offer three distinct AI platforms for them to build AI solutions:

    1. Copilot is your UI for AI, with Copilot Studio enabling low-code creation of agents and extensibility to your data.
    2. Azure AI Foundry is the only AI app server for building real-world, world-class, AI-native applications.
    3. Microsoft Fabric is the AI data platform that provides one common way to reason over your data —no matter where it lives.

    All three of these platforms are open and work synchronously to enable the development of modern AI solutions; and each is surrounded by our world-class security offerings so leaders can move their AI-first strategies forward with confidence.

    As we look ahead to what we can achieve together, I remain inspired by the work we are doing today. Below are a handful of the many stories from the past quarter highlighting the differentiated AI solutions our customers and partners are driving to move business forward across industries and realize pragmatic value. Their success clearly illustrates that real results can be harnessed from AI today, and it is changing the way organizations do business.

    To power its industrial IoT and AI platform, ABB Group leveraged Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to create Genix Copilot: a generative AI-powered analytics suite aimed at solving some of the most complex industrial problems. The solution helps customers analyze key functions in their operations —such as asset and process performance, energy optimization and emission monitoring — with real-time operational insights. As a result, customers are seeing up to 35% savings in operations and maintenance, and up to 20% improvement in energy and emission optimization. ABB also saw an 80% decrease in service calls with the self-service capabilities of Genix Copilot.

    Serving government healthcare agencies across the US, Acentra Health turned to Microsoft to help introduce the latest AI capabilities that maximize talent and cut costs in a secure, HIPAA-compliant manner. Using Azure OpenAI Service, the company developed MedScribe — an AI-powered tool reducing the time specially trained nursing staff spend on appeal determination letters. This innovation saved 11,000 nursing hours and nearly $800,000, reducing time spent on each appeal determination letter by about 50%. MedScribe also significantly enhanced operational efficiency, enabling nurses to process 20 to 30 letters daily with a 99% approval rate.

    To ease challenges for small farmers, Romanian agribusiness group Agricover revolutionized access to credit by developing MyAgricover. Built with help from partner Avaelgo, the scalable digital platform utilizes Microsoft Azure, Azure API Management and Microsoft Fabric to automate the loan process and enable faster approvals and disbursements. This has empowered small farmers to grow their businesses and receive faster access to financing by reducing loan approval time by 90 percent — from 10 working days to a maximum of 24 hours.

    Building on its status as a world-class airline with a strong Indian identity, Air India sought ways to enhance customer support while managing costs. By developing AI.g, one of the industry’s first generative AI virtual assistants built on Azure OpenAI Service, the airline upgraded the customer experience. Today, 97% of customer queries are handled with full automation, resulting in millions of dollars of support costs saved and improved customer satisfaction — further positioning the airline for continued growth.

    BMW Group aimed to enhance data delivery efficiency and improve vehicle development and prototyping cycles by implementing a Mobile Data Recorder (MDR) solution with Azure App Service, Azure AI and Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). The solution achieved 10 times more efficient data delivery, significantly improved data accessibility and elevated overall development quality. The MDR monitors and records more than 10,000 signals twice per second in every vehicle of BMW’s fleet of 3,500 development cars and transmits data within seconds to a centralized cloud back end. Using Azure AI Foundry and Azure OpenAI Service, BMW Group created an MDR copilot fueled by GPT-4o. Engineers can now chat with the interface using natural language, and the MDR copilot converts the conversations into KQL queries, simplifying access to technical insights. Moving from on-premises tools to a cloud-based system with faster data management also helps engineers troubleshoot in real time. The vehicle data covered by the system has doubled, and data delivery and analysis happen 10 times faster.

    Coles Group modernized its logistics and administrative applications using Microsoft Azure Stack HCI to scale its edge AI capabilities and improve efficiency and customer experience across its 1,800 stores. By expanding its Azure Stack HCI footprint from two stores to over 500, Coles achieved a six-fold increase in the pace of application deployment, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and enabling rapid innovation without disrupting workloads. The retailer is also using Azure Machine Learning to train and develop edge AI models, speeding up data annotation time for training models by 50%.

    Multinational advertising and media company Dentsu wanted to speed time to insights for its team of data scientists and media analysts to support its media planning and budget optimization. Using Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and Azure OpenAI Service, Dentsu developers built a predictive analytics copilot that uses conversational chat and draws on deep expertise in media forecasting, budgeting and optimization. This AI-driven tool has reduced time to media insights for employees and clients by 90% and cut analysis costs.

    To overcome the limitations of its current systems, scale operations and automate processes across millions of workflows, Docusign created the Intelligent Agreement Management (IAM) platform on Azure. Using Azure AI, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Logic Apps and AKS, the platform transforms agreement data into actionable insights to enhance productivity and accelerate contract review cycles. IAM also ensures better collaboration and unification across business systems to provide secure solutions tailored to diverse customer needs. For example, its customer KPC Private funds reported a 70% reduction in time and resources dedicated to agreement processes.

    Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) transformed its manufacturing operations by leveraging a hybrid environment with Azure Arc, Azure Stack HCI and Azure Kubernetes Service. This digital manufacturing platform resulted in 86% cost savings for AI image and video analytics and a 13-fold improvement in AI response times. The seamless hybrid cloud architecture has enhanced EGA’s operational efficiency and agility, supporting its Industry 4.0 transformation strategy.

    EY collaborated with Microsoft to enhance the inclusivity of AI development using Azure AI Studio. By involving neurodivergent technologists from EY’s Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence, they improved the accessibility and productivity of AI tools, resulting in more inclusive AI solutions, fostering innovation and ensuring that AI tools unlock the potential of all users. With an estimated 20% of the global workforce identifying as neurodivergent, inclusive AI solutions are crucial for maximizing creativity and productivity. Neurodivergent EY technologists also collaborated with Microsoft developers to make Azure AI Foundry more inclusive and help all users work productively to create innovative AI solutions.

    Colombian household appliance manufacturer Haceb integrated AI to optimize processes, reduce costs and improve service quality. Using Microsoft Copilot Studio and Azure OpenAI Service, the company created a virtual technical support assistant, saving its 245 technicians 5 minutes per visit — a total of 5,000 minutes saved daily. This AI solution has enhanced efficiency and boosted customer satisfaction by allowing for faster issue resolution. Haceb’s AI adoption has also empowered employees, boosted productivity and positioned the company as a leader in AI innovation in Colombia.

    To better serve its global patients, Operation Smile — in collaboration with partner Squadra — leveraged Azure AI, Machine Learning and Microsoft Fabric to develop an AI-powered solution to predict surgical outcomes and optimize resource allocation. This innovation resulted in a 30% increase in surgical efficiency, a 90% reduction in translation errors and improved patient outcomes. Additionally, report generation is now up to 95% quicker, and repeated medical events have decreased by 15%, enabling Operation Smile to provide better care to more children worldwide.

    Ontada — a McKesson business dedicated to oncology data and evidence, clinical education and point-of-care technologies — needed a way to generate key insights across 150 million unstructured oncology documents. Using Microsoft Azure AI and Azure OpenAI Service, Ontada developed a data platform solution called ON.Genuity to provide AI-driven insights into the patient journey, enhance patient trial matching and identify care gaps. The company also implemented large language models to target nearly 100 critical oncology data elements across 39 cancer types, enabling the company to analyze an estimated 70% of previously inaccessible data, reduce processing time by 75% and accelerate product time-to-market from months to just one week.

    As the UK’s largest pet care company, Pets at Home sought a way to combat fraud across its retail operations — particularly as its online business continued to grow. Working closely with its fraud team, it adopted Copilot Studio to develop an AI agent that quickly identifies suspicious transactions. The agent autonomously gathers relevant information, performs analysis and shares it with a fraud agent to enable a manual, data-intensive investigative process while ensuring a human remains in the loop. With this low-code agent extending and seamlessly integrating into existing systems, the company’s fraud department can act more quickly; what used to take 20 to 30 minutes is now handled by the AI agent within seconds. The company is identifying fraud 10 times faster and is processing 20 times more cases a day. Now, the company can operate at scale with speed, efficiency and accuracy — with savings expected to be in the seven figures as it continues to build more agents.

    Revenue Grid, a technology company specializing in sales engagement and revenue optimization solutions, partnered with Cloud Services to modernize its data infrastructure and develop a unified data warehouse capable of handling unstructured, semi-structured and structured data. By migrating to Microsoft Fabric, Revenue Grid can now deliver data-powered revenue intelligence, driven by a unified platform, elastic scalability, enhanced analytics capabilities and streamlined operations. Revenue Grid has reduced infrastructure costs by 60% while enhancing its analytical capabilities to improve real-time data processing, empowering sales teams with accurate and diverse data. 

    To better manage and integrate employee data across diverse regions and systems, UST built a comprehensive Employee Data platform on Microsoft Fabric. In under a year, UST migrated 20 years of employee data with all security measures to enhance data accessibility and employee productivity. The Meta Data Driven Integration (MDDI) framework in Fabric also helped the company cut data ingestion time by 50% so employees can focus more on analysis than preparation. As a result of this implementation, the company has seen an increase in collaboration and innovation from employees, helping put its values into action.

    The Microsoft Commercial Marketplace offers millions of customers worldwide a convenient place to find, try and buy software and services across 140 countries. As a Marketplace partner, WeTransact is helping independent software vendors (ISVs) list and transact their software solutions — and find opportunities for co-selling and extending their reach to enterprise customers through development of the WeTransact platform. Powered by Azure OpenAI Service, the platform is changing the way partnerships are being built by using AI pairing to facilitate a “plug and play” reseller network. More than 300 ISVs worldwide have joined the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace using the WeTransact platform, cutting their time to publish by 75%.

    The opportunity for AI to create value is no longer an ambition for the future — it is happening now, and organizational leaders across industries are investing in AI-first strategies to change the way they do business. We believe AI should empower human achievement and enrich the lives of employees; and we are uniquely differentiated to help you accelerate your AI Transformation responsibly and securely. Choosing the right technology provider comes down to trust, and I look forward to what we will achieve together as we partner with you on your AI journey.

    Tags: AI, Azure, Azure AI, Azure AI Foundry, Azure AI Studio, Azure Arc, Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Stack HCI, Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Fabric, Microsoft Ignite 2024

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