2021 The European Year Of Rail

 EU nations generally recognise the contribution modern railways make to a greener future, even if our current government does not. The European Parliamentary Research Service blogs:

As it has done every year since 1983, the EU selects a specific topic on which to raise awareness and encourage public debate throughout the year. 2021 is to be the European Year of Rail. A wide range of events will be organised to highlight rail’s challenges and opportunities and its contribution to a greener environment. During the December plenary session, Parliament is expected to vote on a legislative proposal on this topic, to promote rail as a sustainable, innovative and safe mode of transport.

Background

In December 2019, the European Commission adopted a new development strategy, the Green Deal, to answer environmental challenges and address climate change. It aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and a more resource-efficient economy. To achieve this, it will be necessary to reduce transport emissions by 90 % by that date. Rail is an environmentally friendly transport mode in terms of CO2 emissions and energy efficiency, and during the coronavirus pandemic, it played a key role in transporting passengers and essential goods. Over time, however, its modal share has decreased for freight and stagnated for passengers. The European Year of Rail aims to give the rail sector additional support and increase its attractiveness.

European Commission proposal

On 4 March 2020, the Commission adopted a proposal for a decision to designate 2021 European Year of Rail (EYR) to promote this transport mode and boost its share of passengers and goods. With dedicated events, debates and promotional activities, the EYR is also intended to highlight rail’s contribution to EU cohesion, the economy and industry. Among other topics, it will cover those related to regional development, industrial competitiveness, sustainable tourism, employment, innovation, education, youth and culture, not forgetting improving accessibility for persons with disabilities and reduced mobility. With an estimated budget allocation of €8 million, the EYR will rely on national coordinators and an EU steering group. The EYR will coincide with the international arts festival Europalia, whose 2021 edition will be devoted to rail’s influence on the arts and its contribution to social, economic and industrial change.

European Parliament position

During the presentation of the draft report to Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) in June 2020, the rapporteur underlined EYR benefits such as giving visibility to rail as an attractive and sustainable transport mode. In its report adopted on 12 October 2020, the Committee advocated for EYR to inform passengers better on their rights and increase support for regional cross-border rail connections. It called for action to promote completion of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). It also endorsed recommendations made by the Committee on Regional Development aimed at improving accessibility for the elderly, disadvantaged groups and to promote night trains. On 24 June 2020, Council agreed a common position for a negotiating mandate on the proposal. It asked the Commission to consider launching a feasibility study on an EU label to promote goods transported by rail. On 12 November 2020, despite budget uncertainties, a provisional agreement was reached, endorsed by the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee on 18 November and approved by TRAN on 1 December. Parliament is expected to vote on the proposal during the December plenary session.

Aid to industry from public funds

 So the UK unilaterally withdrew from EU's struggle against the US over support for Boeing? All our government has had in return is the possibility of restoring tariffs on Scotch to their normal level in a possible future mini-deal. There is no guarantee that the "lame duck" Trump presidency will do this without significant further concessions by the UK, or that the Biden presidency will be in any hurry to pick up the baton should those negotiations stall. The focus of the incoming presidency is predicted to shift from London to Strasbourg and Brussels.

It should be pointed out that the EU took its case to the WTO for imposing tariffs on the US on behalf of all its members, which then included the UK. Improper aid, in the form of preferential purchasing or exemption from State or municipal taxes, helped Boeing in competition with Airbus. Airbus is a European multi-national with, it must be remembered, a large investment in north Wales and the west of England. 

The UK concession to Trump must have soured negotiations with the EU over a beneficial trade deal. It may also be seen as a betrayal by Airbus, with all the implications that has for future investment.

Pythagoras Day

16^2 + 12^2 = 20^2

The Lark Ascending

 The romantic story of haw Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote one of the most popular pieces of music (conceived in 1914 as the British fleet massed in the Channel, put on hold as RVW served as an ambulance driver in the Great War and retrieved and completed two years after it) is topped by that of the work's dedicatee, Marie Hall. Leading up to the premiere performance of The Lark on 15th December 1920, is a story of a wandering life as part of an indigent musical family who had to resort to playing in the streets for pennies. Rescued from this life of drudgery by discerning musicians and rich patrons, by the time she met RVW, and assisted him with the final version of the piece, she was already an internationally-renowned soloist. 

BBC Four's celebratory programme of 2012 not only tells the story and recreates that first violin and piano performance (uninterrupted, thank goodness)  but is also a happy reminder of Diana Rigg who presented the programme and Peter Sallis who contributed.

Towards A European Magnitsky Act

 Not everybody sees incorporating into terms of trade a proviso that a signatory should not undercut the other party by unfair labour or environmental practices as an infringment of sovereignty. There seems to be little concern, however, in sanctioning individuals for actions carried out in their own country. There is a case for dissuading governments from attacks on human rights which are condemned by all civilised countries, but one must not let trade power be used gratuitously. Anyway, here is the EU's take:

Sanctions are a key part of the EU’s human rights toolbox. The EU adopts restrictive measures – mostly in the form of travel bans and asset freezes – against individuals and organisations responsible for some of the worst human rights violations. Until now, the EU has mostly adopted sanctions targeted at individual countries. Responding to violations from countries not already covered by EU sanctions means adopting a completely new framework for each country. However, the EU is now shifting to a more thematic approach, under which sanctions focus on a particular type of problem rather than a country. For example, the EU already has sanctions on chemical weapons and cyber-attacks that can be flexibly applied to offenders from any country in the world, and it has now added thematic human rights sanctions. The United States’ 2016 Global Magnitsky Act, named after Sergey Magnitsky, a Russian whistleblower who died in jail after exposing corruption by high-level officials, gives some idea of how future EU human rights sanctions will work. Under the act, the US government has adopted sanctions against over 100 human rights violators from a wide range of countries. The proposal for the EU’s new sanctions regime was tabled by the Netherlands in 2018. The necessary legislation was adopted by the Council of the EU on 7 December 2020, in time for UN Human Rights Day on 10 December 2020.

[This both] the year's, and the day's deep midnight is

 John Donne's poem marking the old winter solstice comes to mind every year. St  Lucy's Day often coincides with a crisis, but around the time I started this post, it was announced that the one scheduled for today, over the EU/UK trade agreement talks, has been deferred. If it were not for the imminence of 1st January when the transition period definitely ends, I would have said that the talks seem likely to go on longer than a Frank Sinatra farewell tour.

On a happier note, Britannica tells us that St Lucy's Day is the traditional start of Christmas in many northern countries. It is a "festival of lights celebrated in Sweden, Norway, and the Swedish-speaking areas of Finland on December 13 in honour of St. Lucia. One of the earliest Christian martyrs, St. Lucia was killed by the Romans in AD 304 because of her religious beliefs. 

 "In Scandinavian countries each town elects its own St. Lucia. The festival begins with a procession led by the St. Lucia designee, who is followed by young girls dressed in white and wearing lighted wreaths on their heads and boys dressed in white pajama-like costume singing traditional songs. The festival marks the beginning of the Christmas season in Scandinavia, and it is meant to bring hope and light during the long winter days. Schools generally close around noon on the day of the festival so that families can prepare for the holiday. Families observe St. Lucia's Day in their homes by having one of their daughters (traditionally the eldest) dress in white and serve coffee and baked goods, such as saffron bread (lussekatter) and ginger biscuits, to the other members of the family. These traditional foods are also given to visitors during the day."

From today's World This Weekend, one learned that some bright spark on the Nobel committee had the idea of visiting the custom on those prize-winners who stayed over after the awards ceremony. Not all were overjoyed to be woken in their hotel rooms by blonde maidens bearing coffee and saffron buns, but it seems that literature laureate Dario Fo was delighted and even insisted on dancing with St Lucia's acolytes.

However, Donne's poem - clearly written before he forswore his philandering ways and turned to religion - is dedicated to lovers and looks forward to the renewal of love in the spring and summer. Things are bad now. Brexit will set us back, deal or no deal, and SARS/CoV2 no doubt has still a nasty surprise or two to temper our vaccine-driven optimism. But love will return, as it always does.

Carney on the credit crisis

 It is worth listening to Dr Mark Carney's second Reith Lecture if you want an introduction to the 2007/8 credit credibility crash. I would suggest reading Dr Cable's "The Storm" for a fuller account, though.

Unfortunately, Dr Carney tells the story of the 2008 crash from the centre of the transatantic financial system. He does not point out that those nations whose major banks (including those of his native Canada) had not invested in the inverted pyramid of dodgy assets which brought down so many institutions emerged relatively unscathed. The further away a banking system was from Wall Street, the sounder it was. Well might a finance minister from Singapore ask: "What global financial crisis?".

He was right to point to a widespread mistrust of experts as a result of the crash. However, there are experts and experts. Vince Cable was more than a theoretical economist; he had experience of managing the treasury of a multi-national oil company and of an African republic. Gillian Tett may not have known about the movement of money, but as an anthropologist she knew about the behaviour of tribes, including the tribe of Wall Street financiers. Both, together with a few economists from outside the classical pale, warned of what was to come. 

In his proposed solution Dr Carney frequently uses the words "we" and "ours" without explaining who "we" are. Clearly, it would need a combination of the international regulatory bodies, national governments and federations like the EU to agree on a plan of action. One fears that the US-dominated interenational money transfer system would find it against its interests to adopt Dr Carney's solutions, good for the financial security of all of us though they may be.

These you have loved ... and occasionally cursed

 Nowadays most folk seem to access the Web through their smartphones. It does not seem so long ago that we switched to connecting via a router plugged in to the terrestrial telephone network (as I still do). This is now robust enough for me to throw out some old friends: a modem powered from the mains (who remembers the days of 75baud up and 1200 down which was BT's initial offering to the public?), and its first replacement, a modem card (on the left). Note the nominally 25-pin connection via serial cable on the right. USB saved a lot of messing about.