At the end of what could be described as the "Year of Zoom", the leadership of the European Union fittingly sealed a landmark investment pact with China via video conference.
Something unusual occurred on Wednesday, when the call was joined by the Chancellor of Germany and the President of France. The imprimatur in-person of Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, respectively, completed the continental bloc’s linkage with the Chinese economy. It was a moment that said that Germany and France really were in the driving seat for all 27 countries.
Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state, once asked who he should call if he wanted to talk to “Europe”. The answer now is a split line to Berlin and Paris.
On the same day the EU finished up the last bit of business from the old era: Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, signed the free trade deal with the UK that should ensure a reasonably frictionless Brexit.
Power is about choices that demonstrate where it resides.
When UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson wanted to break the logjam of the Brexit talks earlier in December, he tried to reach over the head of Ms Von der Leyen. He wanted to engage directly with Mrs Merkel and Mr Macron.
Unlike the Chinese set-up, Mr Johnson’s call for direct talks was rebuffed. The common line ran through the EU offices in Brussels.
Because of its collective nature, the EU is often an opaque actor on the global stage. This is not a failure of communications. The countries of Europe have extremely able diplomats and plenty of resources available for communications.
The completion of the investment pact with Beijing concluded a long process of negotiations.
For Mrs Merkel, who is likely to step down in 2021, it was a cherished goal of her own endgame as a stateswoman. In her New Year message, Mrs Merkel spoke about how difficult this last period in office has been. She even said that it was the hardest of her 15 years in power.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, will effectively hand over the leadership role of Europe to French President Emmanuel Macron, centre, when she retires this year. AP Photo
Despite the arduous times, she can depart in triumph. Mr Macron is thereby well positioned to take over as de facto leader of the union, with the new German chancellor likely to give him the role of a senior statesman until the next French presidential election in 2022.
That means that Mr Macron has an opportunity in particular to shape European defence and foreign policy around French priorities. In policy terms, the implications are that a more decisive, better-resourced European framework will be built up in the coming years.
For US President-elect Joe Biden, these trends will shape how he rebuilds American diplomacy. Washington can no longer take the Europeans for granted – and there is no disguising this fact. The EU's investment deal with China was signed even though Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden's nominee for the position of national security adviser, went public with a plea for a rethink.
The Europeans, instead, rushed ahead to ensure that the agreement was completed during the transition period between the Trump and Biden administrations.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (left), US President Donald Trump (centre), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (second right), Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) and other Nato leaders leave the stage after the family photo to head to the plenary session at the NATO summit at the Grove hotel in Watford. AFP
Emmanuel Macron, France's president, gestures while speaking during a news conference. Bloomberg
Britain's Princess Anne, right, talks to Nato delegates from left, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson. AP
US President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (unseen) at the Nato summit at the Grove hotel in Watford. AFP
Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte meet on the sidelines of the Nato summit in Watford. Reuters
France's President Emmanuel Macron (right) greets Poland's President Andrzej Duda (left) during a meeting at the Nato summit at the Grove hotel in Watford. AFP
France's President Emmanuel Macron gives a press conference. AFP
US President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. AFP
Joint action on climate change and a “Green Deal” will give the US and EU powerful synergies. But there are limitations ahead, not least because the Europeans will not always be able to – or want to – follow the US lead.
Internal tensions among the European states have been suppressed by the Covid-19 pandemic. And Washington is likely to find that there is a minefield to traverse as it engages with the bloc.
Open rifts will not be healed just by the shift from Donald Trump to Mr Biden. Neither side has a clear idea of how to patch up the divisions over Iran. The European expectations that the 2015 nuclear deal can be restored could be too optimistic.
The Biden administration is also unlikely to find it easy to rebuild the pre-eminent role for the Nato alliance in European security. Turkey took up the key command of Nato's rapid reaction force at the turn of the year. However, not only is Paris in an open feud with Ankara, but the French agenda of boosting the EU's defence capabilities points a sidelining of Nato over time.
This leaves the puzzle of where Britain will position itself. It is no longer in the EU so it cannot act as a firewall to protect Nato. Through Brexit, London risks slipping well down this priority list for whom the US president calls first in a crisis.
On the other hand, Britain aligns well with the new president. Its clear embrace of a green “build back better” agenda, globalist outlook and rising scepticism about the advantages of working in lockstep with Beijing are all in its favour.
Kissinger once asked who he should call if he wanted to talk to 'Europe'. The answer was a split line to Berlin and Paris. It still is
With a more nimble foreign policy – London promises to remain an ally for Europe – Washington could find more momentum through co-operation with the British government.
For Mr Johnson, the challenge is to navigate Britain back to its traditional role alongside Europe – and not within it. With much depending on the trade-deal diplomacy that London engages post-Brexit, there is a potential foreign policy dividend for 10 Downing Street.
France and Germany have stepped to the plate of European leadership. For the outside world, especially the US but also Japan and Australia, the EU orientation’s may not be as useful as London’s positioning.
It would be a mistake to say that outright competition will dictate these relationships over the rest of the decade. At the same time, it is not a foregone conclusion that France and Germany will ensure that the EU is a go-to partner in the years ahead.
Damien McElroy is London bureau chief at The National
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British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened. He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia. Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”. Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister. "We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know. “All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.” It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins. Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement. The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
