Thorny Road of Bosnia and Herzegovina to NATO Membership

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The first interference of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization into Bosnian affairs dates from the beginning of the 1990s when they tried to bring to an end conflicts in the Western Balkans. Their role of the peacebuilding mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina reflects in assisting during the nine-year period (from 1995 to 2004) legally warranted by the Dayton Peace Agreement signed in 1995. Since 2004, responsibility for military issues has been taken over by the European Union and their conduct of the EUFOR Althea operation. This handover of duties does not mean the permanently absence of the NATO forces in Bosnia. Based on the Berlin Plus Agreement, NATO is obliged to provide necessary assistance to the European Union Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Bosnia and Herzegovina officially and legally seek NATO membership, which is approved by submitting the Annual National Program to the NATO Headquarters, which directly means adoption of the Reform Program. This step closer to NATO membership is enabled through the Membership Action Plan to which Bosnia was invited to join in 2010.  Lying between East and West, the position of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the international system is neither neutral nor determined. Internal political affairs connected to the attitude and political functions trading among three constitutional people led to the submission of the Reform Program in 2019 but, consequently, public denial of signing this document by a representative of the Serbian people in the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik is still present. These internal turmoils put Bosnia and Herzegovina into torn position, which does not allow its statehood to be either politically or geopolitically oriented. Considering the current situation in Europe and Ukrainian War, Bosnia and Herzegovina has never been more involved in rumors of rapid joining NATO to prevent itself from Russian interference and possible use of Russian hard power to achieve its long-term ideology of affiliation with the Western Balkans to create integral territory. Being a member of a defensive alliance such as the NATO would bring Bosnia and Herzegovina security in the international system and it will exclude all possible military attacks by Russia and pro-Russian states. This is for sure if we observe it from the top, but internally it can cause a lot of adversities. Internally, ethnic Serbs do not agree with any cooperation with NATO, which directly leads to membership, and can cause new conflict among people and it also would give the space for the realization of intentions related to the dissolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The latest question is whether the mandate of EUFOR Althea operation would be extended by the United Nations Security Council in November 2022. The point is that Serbian political authorities advocate „the walkout of foreigners“ in general as well as the military forces of the European Union. On the other side, if Russia vetoes the UN Security Council decision, the NATO forces have a legal right to take over the EUFOR Althea operation responsibilities according to the Dayton Peace Agreement. The EUFOR Althea operation is a legal successor of NATO’s SFOR operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina legally supported by the UN Security Council Resolution 1551 adopted in 2004.  No doubt that the Russian decision would have features of a double-edged sword and it would affect the interests of the pro-Russian side in Bosnia and Herzegovina whether they extend the mandate of the EUFOR Althea operation or veto the decision. The fact is that Bosnia and Herzegovina tightly cooperates with NATO and extends its military interoperability capabilities. The latest news from Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding meeting the requirements for NATO membership tells that the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in September this year underwent the most difficult test in their 16-year history, called NATO Evaluation Level 2, and they succeeded with a training score of “Excellent“. Militarily, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ready to join NATO thanks to its declared unit. Also, in the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid member states agreed to provide all necessary assistance for developing a new defense capacity-building package.  NATO’s commitment to presence and maintaining peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be affected by any decision of Russia in the UN Security Council in November. On the other side, international society should be aware that Russia will not give up interfering in Bosnian internal affairs and will do anything to make Western foreigners leave politically and militarily that state. The period ahead and development of Ukrainian War will show us how Bosnia and Herzegovina is really close to NATO membership. 

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Germany Implements New Measures to Ease Energy Crisis

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Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war earlier in 2022, European countries have struggled to enforce new emergency measures that will protect households and businesses from high energy prices. With no access to cheap Russian natural gas, Germany has found itself in a crisis. In 2020 Germany got 55% of its gas import from Russia, and with the sanctions in place right now, the country is experiencing a major struggle. Russian energy leader Gazprom tightened the geopolitical screws on Germany, and the rest of the EU, this September with the announcement that its Nord Stream 1 pipeline would be shut down indefinitely. Gazprom’s latest move places Germany in pitfall as a freezing and uncertain winter approaches. Recently German officials celebrated the news that natural gas storage facilities have been filled to 80% of full capacity, but that only provides little comfort and security to the mass population. Currently Germany has little natural gas production, and relies almost completely on imports of natural gas to meet current demand and Russia is its largest single source. Germany’s effort to uplift its wind industry began to fail even before 2022. Ever since then the German government has been clawing its way to source additional imports to satisfy consumer and industrial needs, and that effort intensified into desperation after the Russia-Ukraine war and its sanctions. German prices for gasoline and public transport have surged on September 1st, as government subsidies expired. The price for natural gas, which is used by around 50% of households for heating, and for electricity has skyrocketed. The government is trying to encourage consumers and businesses to save energy in any way they can to prevent a shortage during the following winter months. The Energy Saving Ordinance came into force earlier this month. These are the measures Germany is taking: Economy Minister Robert Habeck from the environmentalist Green Party says he expects the measures to reduce gas consumption “by around two, two and a half percent” and calls it a “small but indispensable contribution.”

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Countries Return to Nuclear Power With Uncertainty

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Our reminder of why nuclear power still remains a highly controversial topic, is happening right now in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. This is Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant and right now it is under Russian occupation surrounded by intense ground combat. Due to fear of a meltdown catastrophe, it is in the process of being shut down. Despite this demonstration of nuclear risk, the war and its negative economic effects have persuaded several countries to keep nuclear power as part of their energy mix. The war in Ukraine is reviving global interest in nuclear power, since gas and oil shortages have reshaped energy markets and driven up fossil fuel prices. Countries like Japan, Germany, France, Britain and The United States are reconsidering their stance on nuclear power usage. Amidst the rising fossil fuel prices, leaders are considering building new nuclear power plants or delaying the closing of existing ones. Both Germany and Japan are under fire as both countries turned against nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown. Despite Germany being against nuclear power until recent times, German policymakers are considering prolonging the life of three final nuclear power plants that had been scheduled to be shut down at the end of 2022. The reprieve would only be temporary. That means a year or two of using nuclear power to get through the current energy crisis — but it would still mark a significant policy reversal that has been a major focus of Germany political life since the 2010s. In late August, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that the Japanese government is considering constructing new nuclear power plants with the goal of making them operational in the 2030s. The government may also extend the operational life of its current nuclear power plants. The prime minister also explained how he directed a government panel to look into how “next-generation nuclear reactors equipped with new safety mechanisms” can be used to help Japan achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. This council is expected to report back by the end of the year. Around 70% of French electricity is derived from nuclear power, and no other country produces more nuclear power. Today, nuclear energy earns the country more than €3 billion (US$3 billion) per year. Currently the nuclear energy industry in France is facing significant challenges. The 2022 summer heatwave has warmed the country’s rivers and lowered water levels, reducing the ability of its energy companies to use the water to cool nuclear reactors. This year France had to make half of the country’s nuclear reactors go offline. Many critics of current President Emmanuel Macron, accuse him of being inconsistent on nuclear policy as his views on nuclear power have shifted. He previously promised to reduce France’s reliance on nuclear energy, and in 2020 he managed to shut down a 42-year-old plant in Fessenheim. But in February this year, he shared his plans to build 6 new reactors (estimated cost of €50 billion). The first reactor should start operating by 2035.  The United States, that doesn’t rely as heavily on Russian gas and oil, does not face the same economic consequences from the war. But even in the US nuclear power is getting a second look due to high energy prices. The Diablo Canyon plant – the state’s largest single source of electricity – was planned to be shut down by 2025. The sudden proposal passed by the state legislature early September could keep it open 5 years longer. Additionally, the plant’s owner, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) was given a $1.4 billion loan. “There’s no connection between building nuclear power plants and dealing with the price spike caused by the loss of Russian gas,” since they take at least a decade to construct, said Tom Burke, the chairman of E3G, a climate think tank from London. Due to current circumstances – the war, climate change and energy shortage, multiple countries are changing and reconsidering their stance on nuclear power. Could this possibly be the start to a new era of energy supply? While that remains uncertain, what is certain is that many countries will start resorting to nuclear power to make up for insignificant energy. While it might not be a huge shift, it is a slight change in how we perceive nuclear energy. Decisions made today regarding nuclear power could have economic and environmental consequences for the following decades.

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Why are Multionational Firms Eager to Buy Green Power in China

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China`s nascent green electricity trading scheme has attracted keen interest from multinational companies seeking to offset their carbon footprints in the country. But supply has been limited in a partially reformed market that is still heavily reliant on state guided power distribution. Also making it challenging for buyers and sellers to agree to deals especially long term ones is volatile global energy supply and prices amid heightened geopolitical uncertainties sparked by Russia`s invasion of Ukraine. Green power demand is strong in China as more companies hear that green power purchase agreements are now possible and available, said David Fishman, a Shanghai based senior manager at energy consultancy The Lantau Group, which helps large power users secure green energy supply. The prices and volumes of bilateral deals done through the scheme administered by the staterun green power exchanges in Guangzhou and Beijing are not made public. In the past 12 months, German chemicals giant BASF has clinched three power agreements under the scheme for its US$10 billion wholly owned petrochemical complex in Zhanjiang, western Guangdong province. These are key for BASF to achieve its plan for the facilities to be completely powered by green energy. Plants at the site, its third largest production base globally, will gradually come on line between late this year and 2030. The deals will also help the company reach its ambition to become carbon neutral by 2050, and contribute toward China`s goals of peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. A deal with China Resources Power a year ago was billed by BASF as a landmark initiative to open up a new green energy business model, as it was the first company to buy renewable energy under the scheme. It was followed by a 25 year framework agreement in March with State Power Investment Corp for the supply of onshore wind and solar power, and a 25 year supply contract last month with Brookfield Renewable. The Canadian firm, part of Brookfield Asset Management, will build dedicated solar and wind farms as well as energy storage facilities to support BASF`s Zhanjiang complex. It was an unprecedented longterm, fixed price deal in China that allows the consumer to decarbonise in a measurable, auditable and reportable manner, said Daniel Cheng, Brookfield`s renewable power and transition managing director. Brookfield entered China`s renewable energy market in 2017 with the acquisition of 168 megawatts of generating assets. Its China asset portfolio has since grown to 4,200MW. Still, many green power project owners have elected to sell their output to the state owned grid operators, instead of going to the trouble and cost of registering in the open markets under the scheme, Fishman said. Public market prices are high, but extra work isn’t worth the extra work  for many generators, he added, adding that it doesn’t need to be sold in the open market until 2030. In March, BASF rival Covestro’s Chinese boss Holly Ray Fanli said  the company wanted to buy more green electricity through long-term contracts, but its supply was limited. We were able to purchase a premium enough to meet 10% of the annual demand at our Shanghai plant, the world’s largest manufacturing facility. According to Fishman, long-term bilateral green power trading pricing is currently priced given the rising costs of solar systems due to material shortages and rising fossil fuel prices during the Ukrainian War. extremely difficult.

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Large-scale green hydrogen plant at Port of Antwerp-Bruges

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Plug has signed a 30-year concession agreement to build a facility in Europe’s second largest Belgian port. The company plans to build a 100 MW green hydrogen facility with its own electrolytic cell and liquefaction technology. As part of the agreement, 28 hectares of land were leased. Therefore, the plug produces up to 12,500 tonnes  of liquid and gaseous green hydrogen annually for the European market. Construction of the facility will begin at the end of 2023 after the permit process is completed. The first production of green hydrogen is expected to start at the end of 2024 and the plant is expected to go into operation in 2025. As Europe tackles climate change and energy security challenges, an agreement with the Port of Antwerp Bruges will provide the local market with the long-awaited locally produced green hydrogen, said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug. The European energy crisis due to geopolitical risks has accelerated the demand for green hydrogen development projects.  Flanders Prime Minister Jan Jumbon said: Hydrogen plays an important role in  energy conversion and at the same time provides Flanders with many economic and social opportunities. With the strategic location of the port and the know-how of  companies, research centers and educational institutions, there are all the prerequisites for becoming a hydrogen hub in Western Europe. The port of Antwerp Bruges is strategically located in Europe. Located in the heart of the largest chemical industry cluster, close to the North Sea, it offers transportation connections to Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France.  This should make this port an important hydrogen hub for Europe. Through its new green hydrogen facility, Plug aims to play an important role in helping ports achieve this goal. The location of the site  provides the opportunity for rapid on-site power supply of wind turbines near the site, and the power connection point is less than a mile away. In addition, the site provides customers with access to water, roads, railroads and pipelines to supply green hydrogen. A freely accessible hydrogen pipeline will be built along the site. Plug has signed a contract with Fluxys and conducted a feasibility study to enable connectivity to the pipeline. The pipeline will be part of Europe’s open access hydrogen backbone. The plug will be built in the  NextGen  area of ​​the port, a business-only area that supports the circular economy. The announcement of this project demonstrates the strength of transatlantic collaboration between international technology companies and  European port operators.

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Financial Sector Has an Urgent Challenge for New Businesses

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You order on line and the bundle arrives some days later, or some weeks later. Or it by no means arrives due to the fact there may be no inventory of the object you want to purchase. These inconveniences we frequently positioned up with disguise a instead greater extreme trouble. We are continuously listening to about “deliver chain” issues, in a bid to simplify a idea that has a far greater complicated size than it might appear. Despite its name, a deliver chain isn’t simply some of hyperlinks which breaks down if it falls apart. The profile is greater like a tree wherein some of branches lead right into a not unusualplace trunk.  This poses a trouble due to the fact the chains operated through massive corporates, inclusive of cell telecellsmartphone manufacturers, are so complex and non-obvious to make all additives take, for example, the identical measures for weather trade or preserve beforehand of viable neighborhood issues, that this turns into a huge challenge. Each hub is a factor of vulnerability, that could cut up and ship out negative waves in all instructions alongside the chain. Economic globalisation has caused the relocation of many manufacturing methods through a massive wide variety of groups buying and selling all over the global. The maximum not unusualplace layout, “simply in time”, which tries to lessen fees through shifting items at genuine instances to keep away from storing up extra quantities of additives, labored properly even as call for may want to nonetheless be predicted. Warnings had already been issued lengthy in the past to the impact that this layout turned into now no longer sustainable, and it has fallen apart.  The introduction of the pandemic expanded and exacerbated the deliver chain`s structural issues and its underlying imbalances. This, further to political anxiety and growing global electricity prices, has now installation a “best storm” situation that is forced to deal with instances of radical modifications to call for: call for has soared for a few merchandise inside a quick area of time, and for others it has plunged simply as dramatically.  The trade in change flows means that conventional deliver chain fashions at the moment are inefficient in taking the effect of this form of scenario on board. This turned into similarly exacerbated in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which gave upward push to predominant financial sanctions towards Russia and has substantially affected the sector deliver chain, specifically withinside the wake of growing oil and fueloline prices.

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Can the Rise of Green Energy Cause Problems Between Countries in EU

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Millions of European families may experience blackouts or be unable to pay to stay warm this winter due to power shortages and sky-high natural gas costs. The European Union (EU) does, however, have specific options at its disposal to assist alleviate this crisis and avert future crises. The EU can and must diversify its fuel sources to ensure that affordable, clean energy is always available. The scarcity of natural gas, which accounted for 22% of power output in the EU in 2019, is the most urgent source of the energy crisis. The EU obtains natural gas directly from Russia via the Nord Stream pipeline, but Russia has reduced supply, driving up costs and raising fears of shortages. Russia believes the lower supply is due to a seasonal shift in which more natural gas is diverted into storage caverns in preparation for increased domestic demand during the winter. The interruption in supplies, on the other hand, coincides with the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and Russia’s efforts to pressure the EU Commission into supporting the project’s ultimate approval. Because Russia is plainly not a trusted partner, EU member states must take steps to diversify their natural gas sources. Despite the fact that liquefied natural gas (LNG) is more expensive than natural gas delivered by pipeline, member states should seek LNG from the United States and the Middle East to diversify their natural gas supplies. This will help avoid the need to rely on higher-carbon-emitting energy sources like coal and oil to keep the lights turned on. For the past two decades, the EU has been attempting to make a big transition to renewable energy sources, but with limited success. Wind and solar power accounted for less than 20% of EU electricity in 2020, while hydropower accounted for only 13%. Though the percentages are increasing, there is just not enough renewable energy in the bloc at the moment, and when it is available, it is unreliable. Solar power goes out at night, and wind power goes out when the wind dies. Renewables have a significant role to play in the energy environment, but they must be adopted with a realistic understanding of the technology’ current capabilities. Renewable energy generation should be increased in the EU, but not as a substitute for stable, reliable clean energy sources.

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Green energy in EU-China relations

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Renewable energy has geopolitical consequences that go beyond the immediate impact on energy and commodity markets. Individual countries’ energy strategies have a variety of economic and political ramifications. This article examines the importance of renewable energy in EU-China relations, as two of the world’s largest renewable energy producers. Both countries’ individual objectives for decarbonization of their domestic energy systems have lately risen, and renewables are playing an increasingly crucial role in shaping their bilateral relations. As a result, we wonder what impact renewable energy has on the connection between the two parties. We use the concept of policy interdependence to capture the effect in four sectors relevant to renewable energy: climate, energy, industry, and trade and investment policy. While these are frequently thought of as independent fields, they are all connected by renewable energy. Renewable energy has the potential to be a factor of bilateral ties, according to the findings. In the past, renewable energy helped the EU and China align more closely, but today’s increased reliance on policy choices based on national goals raises barriers to further cooperation. However, the patterns of policy interdependence shown in this study point to the possibility of renewed cooperation in the sphere of energy policy, assuming policymakers’ ability to see beyond the current structure of bilateral ties. The case of renewable energy in EU-China ties demonstrates that renewables are becoming an increasingly important and powerful influencer of bilateral relations’ nature. Because of the technological differences between renewables and fossil fuels, many classic geopolitical factors may not apply in RE geopolitics. However, policy interdependence between the EU and China in the sphere of renewable energy demonstrates that renewables co-determine bilateral interactions beyond the immediate energy and material flows between individual countries. As the instance of the EU and China demonstrates, RE policies interact, resulting in more alignment and proximity on the one hand, as well as increased competitiveness and frictions on the other. As a result, the advancement of RE has the potential to “de-geopolitize” international relations, allowing states to move beyond “zero-sum” thinking in their pursuit of energy security. However, RE is not immune to worldwide competition, as seen by the growing struggle over the establishment of industrial standards in RE, as well as trade and investment.

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Global Decline in Nuclear Power Demand Amid Pandemic

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The number of nuclear plants operating globally is at a 30 year low. New nuclear plants struggle for investment thus development and upkeep. Proponents of nuclear power say that, as a low-carbon power source, it can be of utmost importance in helping countries meet their climate goals, but several plants around the world are meeting their end and many new ones are facing delays. Of the 52 new plants being built globally at least 33 are behind schedule, while not a single new project came online in the first half of 2020. This year nuclear plant operators have suffered the consequences by the COVID-19 pandemic with lockdowns causing low electricity demand and reducing power prices significantly. Nuclear power was not able to avoid the impacts of the pandemic, though in most cases reactors have continued to produce electricity. Global nuclear power generation went down by about 3% in the first quarter of 2020, caused by lower electricity demand. In the first quarter of 2020, most of the reductions in nuclear power were caused by lower electricity demand, alongside planned permanent closures of nuclear facilities. Electricity consumption in certain regions is not likely to reach pre-pandemic levels for many months. The European Union had the largest reduction in the first quarter of 2020. Lower demand led to nuclear output reductions in several countries, France being the most notable, where nuclear power generation went down by 10%. Multiple reactors were taken offline as demand fell. Shutdown of nuclear power plants also led to reductions. Nuclear power has also been an important source of power in France, Germany, Belgium, the Slovak Republic and Sweden. In Germany output fell by 17%, as steps are taken towards a complete nuclear power phase out by the end of 2022. In the United States, nuclear output went down by 2%. Low electricity cost and demand have continued throughout 2020. The lockdown has also impacted nuclear power construction activity and slowed it down by a significant amount. The completion of numerous projects is likely to be pushed by a few months to 2021, which includes two reactors in China and one in Finland. Other construction delays are likely to happen in France, the UK and the US. Nuclear power is not a preferred source of electricity as of currently, and it seems that not many countries will implement nuclear power on a higher scale any time soon. 

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A Surge in China’s Cyber Attacks on Taiwanese Government

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Government websites of Taiwan experience more than 20 million cyber-attacks every month, mostly from China, reported CNA on April 5th. It seems that China is trying to assert its dominance in more than just the real world – cyber-attacks are becoming more common between these two conflicting countries. The cyber-attacks this year targeted at least 10 government agencies and the email accounts of around 6,000 officials, reported the office of deputy director of the Taiwan Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Investigation Office, Liu Chia-zung. The office added that they have not been able to identify what data has been stolen as the hackers concealed their tracks skillfully.  According to Chien Hung-wei, Director of Executive Yuan’s Department of Cyber Security, Taiwan is exposed to 20 million to 40 million hacking activities into its public sector per month. Despite the fact that the online attacks are often camouflaged, Chien believes they are largely conducted by Chinese perpetrators, judging from analyses of the characteristics and types of the offensive maneuvers. “It is part of a higher-level vision by [Chinese president] Xi Jinping to build China into a cyber superpower,” Chein reported that it is part of a higher-level plan by the Chinese president to turn China into a cyber leader. Most of the cyber-attacks are registered as 1st to 2nd grade minor events. These mostly involve website content changes. However, 12 cases were identified as more serious 3rd grade cyber security events, such as disruption of important service systems and data breach. One example of this is unauthorized access to email accounts of the Bureau of Consular Affairs using password cracking. This resulted in leaked personal data regarding oversea travel.  One countermeasure the Department of Cyber Security has put together is forming a task force under the name of “Cybersecurity Service Team”. This team began its operations in April, and their most important tasks consist of assistance in information security issues and staff training. Even if a country has amazing cyber-defense, which is a case for Taiwan, it is near to impossible to deal with the huge number of cyber-attacks they face every day.

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