Brexit to hit literary legend's isle

Corto Maltese, a «cult» character of the best of the European graphic novel genre, had official residence in Antigua, where consequences from the anti-EU referendum are expected

by Emanuele Bonini

History proved Corto Maltese was right, in the end. Antigua is a good place for a domicile, not a good a place to live in. Even Gibraltar has become a country just to pass through, a destination probably good nothing but for hit and run visits. And that's true especially today, in time of Brexit, whose waves propagate so far to reach and shake the crystalline waters of the Caribbean. In this part of the world many of the countries under the British crown, both formally and «de facto» still continue to be heavily dependent on the United Kingdom. Commercial supplies, special financing, tourism: the British are worth a lot here, and Antigua make no exceptions. Around the 17.7% of local wealth depends on tourism, driven for one third by UK nationals now not in the condition to sustain higher travel costs. With the UK out of the great play of the EU, import-export flows won't be possible any longer unless new commercial agreements are arranged. Because of British EU membership trade, aid, and investment relations between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States countries, included Antigua, has been with the EU.

In perspective what has been until today can't be taken for granted any longer. After Brexit Antigua, as well as all the CARICOM group, won't be in the position to trade with London because the latter will have become a third Country. New partnership will be needed, with CARICOM not on the top of the British agenda. If living in Antigua could previously seem not to be a good idea, it doesn't appear to be the wisest choice given the current times. So farewell, Corto!

Migration is there to stay. So will Europe?

EU more and more disunited in dealing with the asylum seekers crisis, and now it was made clear that mutual solidarity is not a must

by Emanuele Bonini

The first access country is always responsible for migrants and asylum seekers, even in time of crisis, so ruled the European Court of justice today. That means that people landing on the Italian ground can't be allowed to pass through the national territory to submit their asylum application to the EU member State where they would like staying. Juridical clarity was made, now both political measures and practical solutions have to be established as well. Rules are there to stay as they are and always have been, but this doesn't solve the the migration issue. Or, well, it does just in part. First access countries - such as Italy and Greece, in the specific case - are left alone by law in dealing with migrations flows. It's up to them to table credible and sustainable solutions, exactly what didn't happen so far.

It has been recognised that the rules in force have not been thought for managing emergency situations, but under a legal point of view this doesn't justify any derogation to the implementation of the European regulation for the single asylum system, knows as the Dublin regulation. The latter «must be interpreted» in a scrict way: even in front of an emergency («an unusually large number of third-country nationals» arrived to the European Union territory) every transit must be regarded as having «irregular crossing» of the border of the first Member State. This is about justice, which is different from fairness.

Refugees put Lebanon at stake, minister warned

Social and economic rising tensions between Syrians and hosting population, wiht the internation European community underestiming risks

Gebran Bassil

by Emanuele Bonini

Lebanon is about to collapse, the minister for the Foreign Affairs warned today. Social tensions are increasing, and measures are needed to alleviate the huge pressure created by the high amount of the Syrian refugees. Lebanon, a country of 4.4 million inhabitants, is hosting more than 1.5 million refugees from Syria, plus those from Palestine (280.000) and Iraq (6.000). There is a total of 200 refugees per square meter that makes it the highest per-capita concentration of refugees worldwide. One person out of four is a refugee and «the situation can't go on», minister Gebran Bassil said referring to «concerns due to the social and economic rising tensions» between the hosting community and hosted community, what the Lebanese authorities call «the reception fatigue». This is not the only challenge for the Middle East country. There are other two elements undermining the stability of the republic. One is terrorism, the other is lack of international solidarity, especially from the European Union.

Settlements and camps represent a threat for the national security, since terrorists may try to get infiltrated amongst the people in need. Lebanon was able to avoid it so far, but more needs to be done in order to secure the more and more fragile State, the minister stressed at the end of the 8th EU-Lebanon Association Counsil. International sustain thus is key, although Gebran Bassil feels to be left alone. Criticisms were raised against to the so-called partners, blamed for not doing what they are supposed to do.
«We are disappointed with the lack of burden sharing and with the fact that most the of the Countries are escaping from their international obbligations of responsibility sharing». No explicit reference was made to Austria, Hungary, Slovakia or Poland, all EU member States harshly against the idea of take care about refugees, but it was easy to guess who Mr. Bassil had in mind. All over the world, he said, «we see actions aiming at building walls». That is exactly what is happening in Europe, especially in the countries just mentioned. «In Lebanon we believe in bridging gaps rather than digging trenches to segregate humans», and this explains why Lebanon «will continue» to host people in need on the basis of the principle of non-refoulement. Europe have not interests in leaving Lebanon to explode under the pressure of sociali tensions, theory suggests. Practice speaks other way, on the contrary.

Europe needs migrants, EU report shows

According to the 2017 edition of the European Commission's ESDE review extra-EU people are key to solve the issue of the economic demographic decline

by Emanuele Bonini

Intolerance can't be the answer, fences can't be the political agenda. EU countries need migrants more than ever to address the demographic challenge and its future implication, a study from the European Commission revealed today. Without people coming Europe will collapse, it basically says. Europeans are getting older, and the active population in the labour market is projected to shrink by 0.3% every year with all the consequences. Nowadays there are four working-age people per pensioner, in 2060 they will be just two. «No further migration would exacerbate the demographic challenge», states the document. «Without any further net migration into the EU from now on, the decline of the working-age population would be much stronger» than foreseen.

The 2017 Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) review offers two different scenarios, by which in 2040 the the active EU population could decline to 247 million people or even to 210 million people. With less active people available and more pensions to pay, future poses critical challenges for the 27+1 EU member States. The only possibility at disposal to host migrants and integrated them into the social and labour environment. «Higher net immigration would allow growth in the working age population to resume in the medium term», according to the 268 pages report. In time of fence-building, it appears hard to see national governments allowing asylum seeker applicants come and stay. Decision makers should therefore revise their immigration policies.

«No EU-UK flights after Brexit», Ryanair chief warns

Air carriers can't wait the end of negotiations, scheduled for March 2019. Connections to be disrupted already in September 2018, with British government considered as no problem-solver

by Emanuele Bonini

Brexit «will bring chaos for aviation», with no EU-UK air connections of any kind after March 2019, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary warned today. Although the conditions for exiting the European Union has to be found the 29th of March of that year at the latest, «for carriers the deadline is September-October 2018, when flights will be abolished», he said in a public hearing held in Brussels. «The aviation sector won't wait» so long, and clear conditions have to be in place before the scheduled roadmap in order to allow companies to operate. Both technical and praticals reason require the commercial environment to be clearly defined and predictable. Slots have to be resersed in advance, but in order to ask for them it is necessary to know whether operating flights is possible. So, be ready for the worst. «There is the perspective of not having EU-UK flights in April, 2019. With no deals, flights will be deleted, as the 2019 summer holidays will»

The major concern for the Irish carrier is the uncapability of the British government to find the way out. «British have no idea of they are doing, have no plans, and have no idea what the want» for the future, O'Leary criticised. With these premises it has not a surprise if the touristic sector is in allarm. TUI Group, the world's number one tourism business, has commissioned a study with the aim of investigating the possibile side effects of Brexit. In case of EU-UK flights black-out the EU27 tourism industry stands to lose some €21 billion in business, warned Ralf Pastleitner, Director International Public Policy, Group Corporate & External Affairs of TUI Group. GDP could shrink of 2.8% in Malta, and of 0,5% in Spain, just to give an example. The fact that such a study has been tabled is the proof that concerns are there, are real and the business world is working in order to be ready to address all the possible scenarios, included the worst ones.

Fact-checking, or the index of our failure

More than a journalistic exercise. Today is a systemic need to get away from an increasingly widespread practice of hide the truth

by Emanuele Bonini

Truth, truth, nothing but truth. Apparently the real world is lost in fakes. There is no other explanation for the new season of fact-checking exploded all across Europe and beyond. Newspapers, newswires and websites are more and more focused on searching for truth. In normal times and normal conditions, normality foreseen that journalists verify what they have to write before publishing it. Checking before publish is an obligation linked to the fair activity of every single reporter, but here something is wrong. But we don't live in normal times. Distortion and misinformation are the new practice. There's nothing wrong in journalist, apart from being part of this corrupted system.

In the internet era getting a clear image of what world is about is today more and more complex and complicated. Thousends of thousends of websites flourish in number and actvity, promoting and stimulating debates on everything. Most of the times negating the truth, and here we come to the true big issue: in web we trust. If the internet becomes the community of virtual information, the real world becomes virtual, too. Internet is the place where people get informed. But internet is an unsafe space. Fake news are our every day meal, and media are obliged to follow the rules of a game radically changed. People are finding in the so-called «alternative» source of information their main landmark. Real information producers have lost in confidence and credibility, and have been forced to work in order to regain a missing trust by verifying the supposed reliability of the «alternative truths».