Le Cercle/2015 (Monaco)

Le Méridien Beach Plaza,Monaco

 Le Cercle/2015 (Monaco)(Le Cercle/Meeting)

File:MONACO BEACH.jpg hotel Le Méridien Beach Plaza (blue towers at centre of image)
Date	3 December 2015 - 6 December 2015
Location	Le Méridien Beach Plaza,Monaco
Description	A meeting of Le Cercle in Monaco chaired by Nadhim Zahawi. Discovered by Wikipooks in the papers of Ehud Barak.
Participants	Prince Albert II of Monaco,Ehud Barak,Nili Barak,Akezan Kazegeldyn?, Alain Bauer?,Eric Ciotti,Francois Baroin?,Irwin Stelzer,Yanis Varoufakis?,Yevgeny Primakov Jr.,Peter Ramsauer,Xavier Raufer?,Ian Ralby,M. Shafik Gabr,James Dicke ll,Nadhim Zahawi,Akejan Kajegeldin,Gerard Russell,Nicholas Papandreou,Khalit Khabibullin,Marc Weller,Eric Ciotti,Gregory R. Copley,Aliyu Mohammed,Nana Lampton,Philippe-Emmanuel de Fontmichel ,Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza,John B. Craig,Rustam Churyakov,Mikhail Dmitriev,Peter Ramsauer,Vahid Alaghband,Calin Popescu Tariceanu,James D. Jameson,Ian Ralby,Henri Proglio,Toby Dodge,Enver Altaylı,Yevgeny Primakov Jr,Karl von Habsburg,Edwina Rogers,Laurent Anselmi

Le Cercle met at hotel Le Méridien Beach Plaza in Monaco on December 3-6, 2015.

People

Likely guest attendance was approximately 80-100, but only the speakers are known. The provisional program had some variations on this. For example, Yanis Varoufakis, Kezan Kazegeldyn, Alain Bauer, Francois Baroin, and Xavier Raufer, were speakers in the provisional program, but it is not known if they attended the actual meeting; they are listed as participants in Wikispooks. Several people are mentioned as "sponsors" of fine wines; it is presumed that they attended as well.

According to a later email, "The meeting was chaired byNadhim Zahawi MP and supported by Karl Habsburg (Europe), Edwina Rogers (USA) and Laurent Anselmi (Monaco)."

Ehud Barak attended what seems to have been his first meeting. He was invited to hold a speech with the title "The Middle East today - view from the eye of the storm", but did not actually speak.

Actual program - Thursday, 3^rd – Sunday, 6^th December 2015

LE MÉRIDIEN BEACH PLAZA

Thursday, 3^rd

Reception

Thursday, 3^rd December 2015, 18.30 – 19.30 Venue: Hall 2 (Level 2, SeaClub)

In the presence of HSH the Prince Albert II of Monaco
Sovereign Prince of Monaco

Reception sponsored by M. Shafik Gabr

Dinner * Welcome & The future of Central Asia

19.30 Venue: Atlantique West (Level 2, SeaClub)

Wine sponsored by M. Shafik Gabr

Liqueurs sponsored by James Dicke ll

Speaker Nadhim Zahawi MP Conservative MP for Stratford on Avon, Middle East specialist; businessman. Prime Minister’s Apprenticeship Adviser. Meeting Chair

Welcome.

Speaker HE Mr Akezhan Kazhegeldin Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The future of Central Asia

Friday, 4^th December 2015

Introduction

Venue: Atlantique (Level 2, SeaClub)

09.15 – 09.30 Speaker Nadhim Zahawi MP Conservative MP for Stratford on Avon, Middle East specialist; businessman. Prime Minister’s Apprenticeship Adviser. Meeting Chair

Welcome by HSH Prince Albert ll of Monaco

09.30 – 09.45 Speaker HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco Sovereign Prince of Monaco

ISIS and Syria

09.45 – 10.20 Speaker Gerard Russell Diplomat - headed British political teams in Iraq and Afghanistan. Former Consul General in Saudi Arabia. Acted as adviser to the Iraqi Prime Minister, now a writer and consultant

ISIS and Syria

Q & As

10.25 – 11.10

11.10 – 11.25 Coffee Break

The Pulse of the World

11.25 – 12.45 Speaker Nicholas Papandreou Economist and columnist for the economics paper AGORA and the Economic Review; consultant on economic issues; member of the Clinton Global Initiative and Brookings Global Leadership Council; Secretary of the Andreas Papandreou Foundation

The Pulse of the World

Lunch

13.00 – 14.45 Lunch Venue: Atlantique West (Level 2, SeaClub)

Wine sponsored by Khalit Khabibullin

The Arab Spring. Peace-making and the Use of Force

Speaker Prof Marc Weller Professor of International Law and Director of Lautenpacht Centre for Intl Law. Senior legal advisor to the Special Envoys, including Syria and Yemen, and formerly as Senior Mediation Expert in the Department of Political Affairs of the UN

The Arab Spring. Peace-making and the Use of Force

Jihadism in France and Europe

15.00 – 16.15 Speaker Eric Ciotti National Secretary of the UMP, Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Jihadism; Spokesman on Internal Security for the UMP Parliamentary Group

Jihadism in France and Europe

16.15 – 16.30 Coffee Break

The Red Sea and the Mediterranean

16.30 – 17.45 Speaker Gregory R. Copley President, The International Strategic Studies Association; President, Global Information System, Inc.; Editor-in-Chief, Defense & Foreign Affairs Publications

and

Lt Gen Aliyu Mohammed (rtd) Former Minister of Defence, Nigeria. Former National Security Advisor and former Chief of Army Staff

The Red Sea and the Mediterranean

Reception

19.00 – 20.00 Reception Venue: Hall 2 (Level 2, SeaClub)

Reception sponsored by Nana Lampton and Philippe-Emmanuel de Fontmichel and Baron Lorne Thyssen-Bornemisza

Dinner & The German "Energiewende" – An Unprecedented Political Adventure

20.00 Dinner Venue: Atlantique West (Level 2, SeaClub)

Wine sponsored by Ambassador John B. Craig

Liqueurs sponsored by Rustam Churyakov and Gen Mikhail Dmitriev

Speaker Dr Peter Ramsauer Member of the German Bundestag; Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy; Federal Minister ret.

The German "Energiewende" – An Unprecedented Political Adventure

Saturday, 5^th December 2015

Venue: Atlantique (Level 2, SeaClub)

Iran Update: Economic prospects, regional aspirations

09.15 – 10.30 Speaker Vahid Alaghband Chairman of Balli Holdings Ltd, which owns and operates industrial and mining assets. Investor in property and private equity

Iran Update: Economic prospects, regional aspirations

10.30 – 10.45 Coffee Break

New Europe: Overcoming Economic Gaps in the SEE Region

10.45 – 12.00 Speaker HE Sen Calin Popescu Tariceanu President of the Romanian Senate. Former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Romania

New Europe: Overcoming Economic Gaps in the SEE Region

Lunch & Bosnia & Herzegovina Two Decades After Dayton

12.15 – 14.00 Lunch Venue: Atlantique West (Level 2, SeaClub)

Wine sponsored by James D. Jameson

Speaker Dr Ian Ralby International Law and Security Advisor

Bosnia & Herzegovina Two Decades After Dayton

Europe from an Energy Perspective

14.00 – 15.15 Speaker Henri Proglio Honorary President of EDF

Europe from an Energy Perspective

15.15 – 15.30 Coffee Break

Iraq after ISIS. The Possibility of a New Civil War

15.30 – 16.45 Speaker Professor Toby Dodge Kuwait Professor and Director, Middle East Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science and Senior Consulting Fellow for the Middle East, International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Iraq after ISIS. The Possibility of a New Civil War

Radical Islam in Eurasia in the Post-Cold War Era

16.45 – 18.00 Speaker Enver Altayli Sovietolog and Central Asia expert; journalist, Chief Editor and Head Writer; political consultant (to former President Özal & former PM Demirel; writer of several books including the best-seller in Turkey "Ruzi Nazar: CIA'S Turk Spy"

Radical Islam in Eurasia in the Post-Cold War Era

Free Evening

Sunday, 6^th December 2015

Venue: Atlantique (Level 2, SeaClub)

Rethinking Russia: Second Track Facing Official Policy Deadlock

09.30 – 10.45 Speaker Evgeny Primakov Jr. Director General Russian Humanitarian Mission (RHM), NGO. Presenter on Russia24 TV and Russia's Global Review Friday Night

Rethinking Russia: Second Track Facing Official Policy Deadlock

10.45 – 11.00 Coffee Break

Migration and Europe

11.00 – 12.15 Internal Discussion led by Nadhim Zahawi MP Conservative MP for Stratford on Avon, Middle East specialist; businessman. Prime Minister’s Apprenticeship Adviser. Meeting Chair

Migration and Europe

Summary and Le Cercle Business

12.15 – 12.45 Speaker Nadhim Zahawi MP Conservative MP for Stratford on Avon, Middle East specialist; businessman. Prime Minister’s Apprenticeship Adviser. Meeting Chair

Summary and Le Cercle Business

MEETING CONCLUDES

Provisional program

A provisional program was sent to Ehud Barak in September 2016, with some variations from the actual meeting summary sent to him in January 2016.

MEETING FORMAT

The provisional conference format is as follows (possible slight adjustments on the timings):-

3^rd December 2015 (Thursday) 6.30 pm – Reception Attended by our host, H.S.H. the Prince Albert II of Monaco 7.30 pm - Dinner

4^th December 2015 (Friday) 09.00 am – 6.00/6.30 pm - Meeting sessions 12.30 – Lunch 7.00 pm – Reception 8.00 pm – Dinner

5^th December 2015 (Saturday) 09.00 am – 6.30 pm - Meeting sessions 12.30 – Lunch Evening – Event for speakers and VIPs / free evening

6^th December 2015 (Sunday) 09.00 am – 12.30 pm - Meeting sessions Meeting concludes

PROGRAMME

The programme is being put in place over the coming weeks. To date, the following speakers will be addressing the group and we are also awaiting some further responses.

Greek "left wing" politician Yanis Varoufakis was mentioned as a speaker in the provisional programme, but not in the summary. It is not known if he actually attended.

Ehud Barak Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Israel

Enver Bey Atayli Turkish historian and expert on Eurasia

Akezan Kazegeldyn Former Prime Minister of Kazakhstan

Alain Bauer President of the Observatory on Crime, France, President and co-author of France’s White Paper on Public Security

Eric Ciotti Chairman for National Secretary of the UMP, Chairman of the parliamentary commission on Jihadism

Francois Baroin Adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy; former French Minister of Finance, former Minister of the Interior, former Minister of the Budget

Dr Irwin Stelzer Economist

Yanis Varoufakis Former Greek Minister of Finance

Evgeny (Sandro) Primakov Director General Russian Humanitarian Mission (RHM), NGO. Presenter on Russia24 TV and Russia's Global Review

Dr Peter Ramsauer German Member of Parliament, President of the Finance Committee of the Bundestag and former Minister for Transportation and Energy

Xavier Raufer Professor at the Center for Research on Terrorism and Organized Crime, France

Prof Marc Weller Professor of International Law and Director of Lautenpacht Centre for Intl Law, UN Chief Negotiator Yemen, Libya, Syria and Iraq

Dr Ian Ralby Adjunct Professor of Maritime Law and Security, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, US National Defense University.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.