EUROPE

‘Unprofitable’ nickel and the colonial legacy in New Caledonia

Published

17.05.2024 16:24

Violent protests in Nouméa, the capital of the French overseas territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, which have left five people dead, have alarmed the French government.

While Paris declared a state of emergency in the region, blaming “external forces” for the unrest, the island’s indigenous population argues that the new law in the French National Assembly will reduce indigenous representation.

“The proposal to reopen the electoral institution is nothing more than a return to the settler-colonial strategy,” New Caledonian Kanak Senator Robert Xowie, a member of the French Senate, told Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin in March.

A brief history of colonialism

When New Caledonia was recognised as part of the Second Empire in 1853, European settlers flocked to claim indigenous land and set up independent cattle farms.

This low-tech agricultural economy was eventually fuelled by colonial ambitions to turn New Caledonia into a sugar island, similar to the plantations of the Caribbean and Mauritius.

Wealthy planters from Réunion, another French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean, moved in due to crop shortages and invested heavily in sugar cane plantations south of New Caledonia’s capital, Noumea.

These landowners brought with them thousands of ‘indentured labourers’ of Indian, Vietnamese and Chinese origin. Together with the indigenous Pacific Islanders, the Kanaks, these immigrants formed the underclass of New Caledonian colonial society. As landowners and bureaucrats working in France, they would work to enrich wealthy French landowners who were not part of the archipelago society.

The aim of the French white settler landowners was to send their profits to the settler colony in Australia in the hope of ‘economic mobility’ in Europe. New Caledonia as a colony therefore only functioned for the white settlers in the exploitation of natural resources.

How did the self-determination process work?

In the 1980s, when New Caledonia was rocked by violence, including assassinations and kidnappings that left dozens dead, tripartite agreements were finally reached between independence supporters, French supporters and the French government, recognising the Kanaks as the indigenous population of New Caledonia and launching a process of self-determination.

The Nouméa Agreement of 1998 promised that the French Republic would devolve more political power to New Caledonia and its original inhabitants, the Kanaks, over a twenty-year transition period and provided for independence referendums.

The referendums were held in 2018, 2020 and 2021. Although these votes were in favour of ‘staying with France’, the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), a coalition of pro-independence parties, had called for the vote to be postponed and for the Kanaks not to participate, arguing that ‘lockdown’ measures and traditional mourning ceremonies during the pandemic had prevented a proper campaign. In 2021, turnout in the referendum was 43.8 per cent.

Protests against the proposed reform of the region’s electoral body, which independents say will weaken the representation of the indigenous Kanak population, are fuelled by deep economic turmoil in the region.

New Caledonia’s wealth is largely derived from its struggling mining sector. With almost 30 per cent of the world’s reserves of nickel, an important material for making stainless steel and batteries for electric vehicles, New Caledonia was expected to play a major role in Europe’s race to catch up with China for critical raw materials.

However, nickel production in the region has fallen sharply and foreign investors have begun to leave the archipelago. The industry suffers from export restrictions imposed by the New Caledonian authorities and high energy costs, making nickel production much more expensive and less profitable than in Indonesia and other Asian competitors.

Huge gap between Kanaks and Europeans

According to the 2019 census, 41.2 per cent of New Caledonia’s population identifies as Kanak and 24.1 per cent as European, with the former group facing significant socio-economic challenges, including lower wages and higher poverty rates.

For example, according to a 2014 study, in 2009 a young non-Kanak was seven times more likely to have a tertiary education than a young Kanak.

A 2012 statistic showed that only 3 per cent of Kanaks had completed tertiary education, compared to 23 per cent of the rest of the population, while the unemployment rate among young native Kanaks was 38 per cent, four times higher than the rest of the population.

In 2010, one in five jobs paid less than two-thirds of the minimum wage in mainland France, and the proportion was much higher in agriculture, domestic work and hotels and restaurants, where part-time work is common.

These low wages must be seen in the context of the very high prices in New Caledonia. With a minimum wage of 78.5 per cent of the French level and prices 34 per cent higher, the purchasing power of minimum wage earners was 59 per cent of the metropolitan level, and even 50 per cent for agricultural workers.

More strikingly, among the regions that make up New Caledonia, the poverty rate reached 52 per cent in the Loyauté Islands, compared to 9 per cent in the Southern Province. In 2014, the employment rate was 65 per cent in the Southern Province, 52 per cent in the Northern Province and 40 per cent in the Loyauté Islands. It should also be noted that the Kanak population in Loyauté is 94.6 per cent.

The collapse of nickel

Despite hundreds of millions of euros in French subsidies, the nickel industry continues to collapse, with production in the first quarter down 32% on the same period last year.

French officials warned in 2023 that New Caledonia’s three main nickel processing plants could soon close, increasing unemployment on the island by 50%.

As protests grow, major investors such as Switzerland’s Glencore and France’s Euramet are either pulling out or refusing to invest further.

Last year, the government came up with a new plan to bail out the industry with subsidies of up to 200 million euros to lower energy prices. But instead of easing tensions, the new ‘Nickel Pact’ was criticised by the New Caledonian independence movement as a ‘colonial pact’ that would give too much power to local authorities.

After months of negotiations, New Caledonia’s representatives blocked ratification of the pact, which is still on ice.

The pact was an attempt by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (who visited New Caledonia on a fact-finding mission in November 2023) to provide around 200 million euros in emergency aid, on condition that New Caledonia’s nickel industry commits to deep reforms to reduce production costs and possibly find new markets in Europe.

The Kanaks argue that the pact in its current form does not ask for enough commitment from the nickel industry companies and also requires New Caledonia to find more than $65 million to finance a cost-cutting electricity scheme, which would require the introduction of new taxes and thus increase the burden on the local population.

No more colonial mining

The mining sector in New Caledonia still bears the mark of colonialism. Considered the cheapest and most aggressive method of extraction, “open-cast” mining was favoured by mining companies for its simplicity, and its immediate environmental damage was ignored. So much so that 330 mines were opened over a period of time on an island 30 times smaller than France, where only 256 mines were open at the height of the coal mining boom.

In the 1930s, the indigenous Kanaks were moved to reservations covering only 10 per cent of their ancestral land in an attempt to increase the availability of mineral rights without harming the cattle industry.

Currently, the mining industry on the island is controlled by three major companies. The largest is SLN, a subsidiary of the French metallurgical company Eramet. The Koniambo nickel plant is operated by Glencore, which is majority-owned (51%) by the Northern Province, where the plant is located. The Brazilian mining consortium Vale operates a large hydrometallurgical plant in the Southern Province.

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EUROPE

Operationsplan Deutschland: The debate over ‘planned economy’ in Germany

Published

9 hours ago

21/11/2024

Harici.com.tr

As Ukraine fires U.S.-made long-range missiles at Russia for the first time and Russian leader Vladimir Putin updates his country’s nuclear doctrine, European countries are preparing for an all-out war on the continent.

According to a 1,000-page document drawn up by the German armed forces called ‘Operationsplan Deutschland’, Germany will host hundreds of thousands of troops from NATO countries and act as a logistics hub to send huge amounts of military equipment, food and medicine to the front line.

The German military is also instructing businesses and civilians on how to protect key infrastructure and mobilize for national defense in the event of Russia expanding drone flights, espionage and sabotage across Europe.

Businesses have been advised to draw up contingency plans detailing the responsibilities of employees in the event of an emergency, and told to stockpile diesel generators or install wind turbines to ensure energy independence.

More state intervention in the economy under discussion

In this context, state intervention in the economy and in companies is being discussed more intensively.

The German state has far-reaching rights in crisis situations. The energy crisis showed how quickly the state can intervene: At the time, the German government filled gas storage facilities by law, nationalized the gas importer Uniper and supplied floating LNG terminals.

According to Bertram Brossardt, CEO of the Bavarian Business Association, even a “transition to a planned economy” could be possible in an emergency.

This ‘planned economy’ could involve the state issuing food vouchers or even forcing people to work in certain sectors, such as water or transport companies.

Companies could also benefit if they have employees who volunteer for disaster relief, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) or the fire brigade.

Lieutenant Colonel Jörn Plischke, who conducted the company training in Hamburg, said: “It costs you a few days a year to support this. But in a crisis, you have a direct link to the people who protect people and infrastructure,” he said.

Hamburg: The intersection of civil and military economy

Hamburg, where Lieutenant Colonel Plischke attended the event, is a central hub for the transport of goods and troops.

“If our infrastructure is used for military purposes, the risk of cyber-attacks and sabotage increases significantly,” the mayor of the Hanseatic city, Peter Tschentscher, told the Faz newspaper.

The Hamburg Senate has therefore created additional staff to strengthen civil defense. A third ‘home defense corps’ has been introduced, made up of volunteers who do not fight in the troops but work to ensure protection and security.

Exercises are currently being held in the Hanseatic city with the German armed forces and civilian forces.

According to the report, this exercise, called ‘Red Storm Alpha’, is training in the protection of port facilities.

The next exercise, ‘Red Storm Bravo’, will start soon and will be on a larger scale.

The lessons learnt from these exercises will then be incorporated into the ‘Operationsplan Deutschland’. This plan is intended to be a ‘living document’, constantly evolving and adapting to new information and threats.

EUROPE

The era of the ‘right-wing majority’ in the European Parliament

Published

10 hours ago

21/11/2024

Harici.com.tr

Under Ursula von der Leyen’s second presidency, the European Commission will abandon its previous ‘cordon sanitaire’ policy towards the ‘far right’.

Leyen’s new Commission will include two members from the ‘far right’. Raffaele Fitto of Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy – FdI), the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Olivér Várhelyi, who is close to Fidesz, the party of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Fratelli d’Italia is part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the EP, while Fidesz is part of the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, which also includes the French National Rally (RN) and the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ).

The conservative European People’s Party (EPP), led by German CSU politician Manfred Weber, has repeatedly cooperated with the ECR in the past legislature and explicitly reserves the right to do so in the future.

The cordon sanitaire against the right is practically non-existent

More recently, it has voted with the PfE and sometimes even with the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN), of which the German AfD is a member. The traditional border against the ‘extreme right’ (the so-called ‘security cordon’) is thus continuing to crumble.

The security cordon was systematically relaxed by the EPP in the last legislative period. As early as January 2022, the EPP made it possible for an MEP from the right-wing ECR to be elected as one of the vice-presidents of the EP.

A study by the Greens shows that the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen has relied on MEPs from the ECR and even the more right-wing ID (Identity and Democracy) group in around 340 votes to secure a majority.

According to the study, these demands often included a reduction in the CO2 price for the car industry or the approval of subsidies for fossil fuels.

With the votes of the EPP, ECR and ID, the EPP also managed to block a motion in April 2024 proposing measures to prevent parliamentary staff from being harassed by MEPs.

So, one small step after another, the security cordon was broken.

Breaking point: European right united against Maduro

In September, one of the first votes of the newly elected EP attracted more attention. The resolution under discussion would have recognised Edmundo González, the defeated candidate in the presidential elections in Venezuela on 28 July 2024, as the real winner of the elections.

The resolution in favour of González was tabled jointly by the EPP and the ECR, in which the party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is the largest group.

The resolution was finally adopted with the votes of Orbán’s Fidez, Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) and PfE, which includes the FPÖ, and the ESN, which includes the AfD.

The ‘Venezuelan majority’ at work in the EP: EPP support for the AfD

The so-called ‘Venezuelan majority’ – the large voting majority of conservative and right-wing parties in the EP – has since come into play on several occasions.

This was the case in October, for example, when the European Parliament decided on the procedure for presenting and voting on future EU commissioners. Also in October, the EPP voted in favour of an AfD budget motion proposing the erection of extensive barriers at the EU’s external borders.

The EPP, ECR and PfE also voted to award this year’s European Parliament Sakharov Prize to González and right-wing Venezuelan opposition politician María Corina Machado.

Finally, last week the EPP joined with other MEPs on the right to amend a bill aimed at halting global deforestation.

Sparking outrage on the left, several rebel MEPs from the ECR, PfE, ESN and the liberal Renew group backed the EPP on key amendments.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was elected in July on the basis of an alliance between the EPP, Liberals, Socialists and Greens.

In its second term, the European Commission is abandoning its previous ‘cordon sanitaire’ policy against the ‘far right’.

New Commissioners from the right

Raffaele Fitto, a member of Giorgia Meloni’s FdI party, is known as one of Meloni’s closest friends and will be appointed by Leyen as one of the vice-presidents of the EU Commission ‘responsible for cohesion and reforms’.

Hungary, on the other hand, has appointed former Enlargement Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi as a commissioner in Brussels, with future responsibility for health. Várhelyi is very close to Prime Minister Orbán’s Fidesz party.

There is strong protest against Fitto and Várhelyi in the Socialist and Green parliamentary groups, which support the Leyen Commission. It is rumoured that both groups will not support the appointment of the two politicians.

The invisible architect of the right-wing alliance: Manfred Weber of the CSU

The row over future commissioners has come to a head in recent days.

EPP President Manfred Weber (CSU), who is seen as the main architect of his group’s alliance with the ECR and the EPP, could theoretically get two right-wing commissioners approved with a “Venezuelan majority”.

However, if CDU or CSU politicians in the EP vote with the AfD on a key decision, this could be seen as an unwelcome signal shortly before the early German elections.

But as former Italian prime ministers Romano Prodi and Mario Monti said on Tuesday, pressure is growing for the EU to act ‘as one’ at a time when it faces ‘major challenges both in the East and in the West’.

We have a responsibility to make sure that something changes after this election… The majority will very often include the ECR,” German EPP MEP Peter Liese of the CSU also told reporters on Monday.

Liese said he had no “firewall” against the ECR and claimed that Fitto’s senior position had been negotiated as part of an agreement between the main political families in the European Council at the beginning of the summer.

Continued support for Ukraine in return for right-wing MEPs

On Wednesday (20 November), however, the leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups, meeting in Brussels, reached an agreement.

According to this, Fitto and Várhelyi will be allowed to take up the positions in the European Commission that Leyen has envisaged for them, and the Socialists will agree to this.

In return, the EPP promises to cooperate only with ‘pro-Ukrainian’ parties that support the EU and the rule of law.

This means that the old ‘cordon sanitaire’, i.e. the border against the ‘extreme right’, has been replaced primarily by foreign policy conditions.

According to the EPP’s interpretation, there are no longer any obstacles to cooperation with the ECR.

EUROPE

Turmoil in the SPD: Pistorius vs. Scholz

Published

1 day ago

20/11/2024

Harici.com.tr

Pressure is mounting on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to relinquish leadership of his party, the Social Democrats (SPD), ahead of the upcoming snap elections. This move is seen as a potential lifeline for the party, currently polling in third place, to regain electoral momentum.

The SPD leadership has thus far supported Scholz’s bid for a second term in the federal elections, now rescheduled for 23 February 2025 following the collapse of the three-party coalition on 6 November. However, internal dissent is growing.

In two heated party meetings last week, SPD MPs deliberated over whether Defence Minister Boris Pistorius should replace Scholz as the party’s candidate. According to Der Spiegel and POLITICO, one meeting included the conservative wing of the SPD, while the other involved its left wing. Both groups reportedly had significant support for replacing Scholz with Pistorius.

Calls for Scholz to step aside reached a crescendo on Monday, with prominent SPD politicians from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, leading the charge.

Pistorius’ voices rise within the party

Dirk Wiese and Wiebke Esdar stated: “The focus is on finding the best political line-up for this election. We hear a lot of praise for Boris Pistorius. It is clear that the final decision on the chancellor candidacy will rest with the party committees, as it should.”

Markus Töns, a long-time SPD member, echoed this sentiment in Stern: “The chancellor has done a good job in difficult circumstances, but the coalition’s end signals a need for a fresh start. Boris Pistorius would make this easier than Olaf Scholz.”

Former SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel was even more critical. Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Gabriel warned of “growing resistance” within the SPD to Scholz’s leadership. “The SPD leadership’s only response is appeasement and loyalty pledges. What we need is bold political leadership. Without it, the SPD risks falling below 15 percent,” he cautioned.

Scholz confident of ‘support from the leadership’

The SPD leadership had planned to finalize the chancellor candidacy decision at its party conference on 30 November. However, the timeline may accelerate to quell the escalating debate.

Speaking from the G20 Summit in Brazil, Scholz dismissed questions about his candidacy, expressing confidence in party support. “The SPD and I aim to win this election together,” he told Die Welt. Secretary-General Lars Klingbeil reinforced this stance, stating on ARD television: “We are committed to continuing with Olaf Scholz—there’s no wavering.”

Chancellor returns without stopping in Mexico

Despite these reassurances, Scholz abruptly canceled his planned trip to Mexico, returning to Berlin after the G20 Summit amid rumors of party infighting. While the SPD leadership held a conference call on Tuesday to discuss the campaign strategy, no decisions were reached.

Recent opinion polls paint a bleak picture for both Scholz and the SPD. The party is polling at 16 percent, far behind the CDU and the far-right AfD, marking a steep decline of 10 points since the 2021 elections.

Yet, Boris Pistorius remains Germany’s most popular politician, consistently outpacing CDU leader Friedrich Merz in approval ratings. This has fueled hopes within the SPD that Pistorius could revitalize their electoral prospects.

Pistorius’ rising profile is not without controversy. Known for his hawkish stance on military issues, he advocates for making the German military “fit for war” and has pushed for increased defense spending to meet NATO’s 2 percent of GDP target. Critics argue that these positions clash with the SPD’s traditional skepticism toward military intervention and ties with Moscow.

Nonetheless, many within the SPD believe Pistorius offers the best chance to avoid a crushing defeat in February’s elections. Pistorius has championed investments to rebuild the Bundeswehr after decades of neglect and launched initiatives to recruit for Germany’s depleted armed forces. His restructuring of the army earlier this year emphasized regional defense over external missions.

Internationally, Pistorius’ assertive approach has earned respect from Western allies, positioning him as a strong contender for the chancellorship despite his public denials. “We already have a candidate, and he is the sitting chancellor,” Pistorius recently told German state television.