Spain, Italy, Portugal and Mediterranean Dialogue
The Madrid office seeks to strengthen cooperation and political dialogue between representatives from political parties, scientific institutions and civil society organisations from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany and the European sphere. We are committed to help contribute to solutions to specific regional challenges in Southern Europe and highlight best practices from this ever more important region for the European integration process. It also seeks to develop a new approach to interregional cooperation in the Mediterranean. With partner organisations, we are developing a liberal approach to geostrategic demands and opportunities in the Mare Nostrum.
News
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Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Barcelona Tech Hub
Technology, innovation and entrepreneurship gathered in Barcelona from February 27 to March 2 at the global tech event of the year, the Mobile World Congress (MWC), to showcase and share the latest projects, products and ideas developed over the past year. In the MWC exhibition halls, more than 100,000 visitors were able to explore everything from go-karts to virtual reality heli- drone experiences. It is in this context that FNF Madrid teamed up with FNF Jerusalem to host a delegation from Hasoub in Barcelona.
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Barcelona's Mobile gets bigger: from mobiles to telecommunications networks
The Mobile World Congress is consolidating its position as one of the main international trade fairs. The big technology companies come together on this stage, which shows that we are immersed in a technological world, although not all countries are advancing in the same way. While in Europe, for example, there is talk of the G5, metaverse or artificial intelligence, in some African countries there is no internet connection.
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Russia, a threat to the liberal order?
At the close of the 59th Munich Security Conference (17-19 February), Russia was still a party to the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), although two days later the Duma ratified President Vladimir Putin's announcement that his country would withdraw from this vital and strategic agreement to halt a new nuclear arms race that now seems inevitable.
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Portugal, a strategic triangle for cooperation and political dialogue
At the beginning of this week, David Henneberger, Head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Madrid office and Odilia Abreu, Senior Project Manager Mediterranean Dialogue travelled to Portugal, one of our project countries, in order to meet liberal policy makers, partners and German institutions, as well as to participate in the Conference “Strategic Triangle: Africa, Europe and Latin America”, organized by its Portuguese partner Institute for the Promotion of Latin America and the Caribbean (IPDAL).
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EU special summit: challenges for European migration policy
Member States still lack an effective policy response to migration to Europe. How to effectively address the suffering of flight and crisis? And why there is a need for more than just an open channel for labor migration, explains migration expert and member of the European think tank EuroMeSCo, Xavier Aragall. He says the EU is still far from regulating entry efficiently and coherently. But one thing has recently become clear: Europe's external borders are to be better protected in the future. What that will look like remains to be seen.
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EU summit on migration: far from consensus
On February 9 and 10, a special summit was held in Brussels to focus on the EU's migration policy. One of the topics at the summit was the European Union's cooperation with relevant countries of origin in joint migration management. What was not addressed was the fact that many people set out precisely because they have no legal means of entry. However, the polarizing issue that continues to divide member states became a sideshow in light of Ukrainian Prime Minister Selenskyi's visit.
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Portugal and the Maghreb: Two old acquaintances
Portugal's markedly Atlanticist vocation, together with its colonial past in Lusophone Africa , has led it to be perceived as an irrelevant actor in the North of the continent, specifically in the Maghreb countries, although it is true that the Portuguese overseas empire would not be understood without its first North African conquest: Ceuta, in 1415.
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Mediterranean coasts of the literature
To speak of Edmond Charlot is to sing the song for the dream of a trans-Mediterranean literature. The melody becomes an elegiac whistle: is it still possible? Born in Algiers on 15 February 1915 and died in Béziers on 10 April 2004, Edmond Charlot tried to do so all his life. Between these two dates, he embodied a vision of humanism for the Mediterranean. He was a bookseller rather than a publisher in his charming little bookshop, Las Verdaderas Riquezas, in Algiers, named after the title of a novel he admired by Jean Giono. In his tiny shop, with an echo of time that still looks back on us, he exhibits works of art and becomes a key figure in French cultural action, not only in North Africa or Algeria, but throughout the Mediterranean.
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2023: Crisis on the Mediterranean horizon
The global economy continues to face the challenges of the war in Europe. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other international organisations, the consequences of the war are predicting a complex economic outlook for 2023.
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Migration EU policymaking at the Mediterranean: The Achilles heel?
At the end of last year, the European Commission stepped up its efforts to address the challenges concerning the migration management in the Mediterranean in publishing the “EU Action plan for the Central Mediterranean”.
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Women in the Mediterranean Technology and Science Sector
We live in extraordinary times. We have been transformed. The acceleration of digitalisation is here to stay. But there are issues of general interest that do not seem to be evolving as fast as we would like. We are talking about the presence of women in the technological and scientific sector, which continues to be one of the great challenges of today's society. In fact, during the pandemic, efforts to reduce the gender gap came to a standstill and many women were forced to leave their jobs due to the difficulty of achieving a work-life balance. -
FNF Madrid and Alicante Futura connect the female talent of the region in the first congress of women executives in the Mediterranean.
Last Thursday, December 15, the first congress of executive women 'Euthenia 2022: The Mediterranean Executive Women Conference' was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Alicante (MACA). This event, promoted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom together with Alicante Futura and with the collaboration of Casa Mediterráneo, was held with the aim of connecting female talent in the region.
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Von der Leyen: Iberian Peninsula to be "energy hub" of Europe with H2Med
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed on Friday that the Iberian Peninsula is "called to become one of the main energy centers of Europe" and welcomed the plan to convert the H2Med underwater green hydrogen corridor in a project of "common interest" in the European Union (EU).
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The EU-Moroccan entrepreneurial ecosystem in the cooperation spotlight
The FNF Morocco office brought together experts and entrepreneurs from Europe and Morocco under the motto „Reshape Entrepreneurship”, last week in Rabat. The FNF Madrid office had the opportunity to participate in this initiative with a delegation composed by Ana Pérez García, Esther Molina, Claudia Dakhil Carcovich, and Odilia Abreu.
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The War in Ukraine and Food (In-)Security in Africa
In late November, IPDAL, the leading Portugese foreign policy think tank, FNF Madrid and the Universidade Europeia organized the 3rd Africa XXI conference in Lisbon. The interventions of relevant international organisations, the Portuguese government, foundations, think tanks and private sector leaders, allowed for an in-depth debate about the main issues facing the continent at the moment, particularly in the area of food insecurity as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.
Social Media
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Gas consumption in the European Union has fallen by almost 20% between August and January, overshooting the 15% target set by the EU to reduce gas consumption. This is thanks to households and companies taking matters into their own hands and finding ways to cushion the impact from skyrocketing bills. The largest savings were seen in Finland, Lithuania, and Sweden, with other countries also exceeding the target. This reduction in gas consumption has also led to a decrease in carbon emissions, which is a step in the right direction for our planet. Read on to find out more 🔗 https://bit.ly/3ZrV1dE #environment #gasconsumption #carbonemissions #planet #fnfmad #freedompartners
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Check out this article on the war in Ukraine and its impact on Russia's relations with the West. As the conflict enters a transitional phase, both sides are at a stalemate and unlikely to make concessions anytime soon. With continued sanctions and Russia's struggling economy, what can we expect for geopolitics in 2023? The @EIU's latest report sheds light on the emerging global trends and risks that businesses should be aware of. Stay informed and read on: 🔗 https://bit.ly/3ya1a2C #ukraine #russia #geopolitics #fnfmad #freedompartners
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And the winner is…. Santa Cruz de Tenerife! The Foundation for the Advancement of Liberty (Fundación para el Avance de la Libertad), together with FNF Madrid and Atlas Network have awarded the capital city of the Canary Islands as the economically freest city of Spain in 2023! Alicante and Almería come in on number two and three. Through their annual index of economic liberty on a municipal level, FUNDALIB sheds a light on important indicators such as the tax burden, the size of local governments and red tape. Santa Cruz benefits from low municipal taxes, i.e. a very competitive construction tax, and serious efforts to lighten the bureaucratic burden for citizens and companies alike. It is noteworthy that none of the three most populous Spanish cities, Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, are under the top 50. We congratulate the winners and hope other municipalities, in Spain and beyond, make similar efforts to foster growth and employment! Download the full report here: https://bit.ly/3JrwkaD Picture 1: Roxana Nicula, President of FUNDALIB José Manuel Bermúdez Esparza, Mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife Picture 2: Guests at the Award Ceremony Picture 3: Mohamad Machine Chian, Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Roxana Nicula, President of FUNDALIB David Henneberger, Head of FNF Madrid #fundalib #canaryislands #employment #growth #economy #fnfmad #freedompartners
