Agefi Luxembourg - novembre 2024

AGEFI Luxembourg 10 Novembre 2024 Economie By Franco COZZANI * Article published before the US elections W e the People of the Uni- ted States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, …” , so famously begins one of the most progressive and democratic bodies of law theWes- ternworld has ever witnessed. Constitutions have been modelled upon that one the world over, and the U.S. Constitutionmirrors the very same idea standing behind the country’s foundation: a land of free men (and women, as it was later better specified) who freely chose to set up shop in a far- away land, freed from religious wars and oppression, votingwith the keel of their ships on the otherwise rich Euro- pean heritage of lore. TheUnitedStateswasbornoutofanidea, the idea that people, not monarchs or overarching“authorities”,shouldbeatthe heart of the res publica . One might be for- given,therefore,ifsomeaspectsoftheU.S. presidential electoral systemleaveusper- plexed, and it is to—hopefully—clarify someofthoseaspectsthatthesenoteshave beenprepared.Iwilladdress,inparticular, the issue of the “popular vote” and a few itemspertainingtoU.S.constitutionallaw as they relate to it. The composition of theU.S. Congress Let’s begin with recalling the number composition of the two chambers of the U.S. Congress. The number of voting membersintheHouseofRepresentatives is fixed at no more than 435, proportion- ally representing the population of the 50 states.Forinstance (1) Californiahas53rep- resentatives, the largest number of all, the Golden State being the most populous U.S. state, andTexas has 36. TheSenateconsistsinstead,notoriously,of 100 voting members: two per state, irre- spective of its size. While most U.S. citizens would probably takethiscompositionoftheU.S.Congress for granted, it came about following a fairly animateddiscussion. TheframersoftheU.S.Constitution,meet- ingat IndependenceHall inPhiladelphia, eventuallyreachedasupremelyimportant agreement on July 16, 1797. This is called the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise in honour of its architects, Connecticut delegates Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth): it provided a dual systemof congressional representation. In the House of Representatives, each state would be assigned a number of seats in proportion to its population; in the Senate, all states would have the same number of seats, therefore provid- ing a proportionally stronger voice (per capita) to the smaller states. Larger states were to contribute financially more to the Union and larger states pledged for more voting weight; not surprisingly, most of the discussion gravitated around this point, with Benjamin Franklin proposing that each state should have an equal vote in the Senate inallmatters—except those involvingfi- nancial issues. In the end, with a one- vote margin, the Great Compromise— larger states to pack a greater punch on all matters in the House of Representa- tives and all states to be treated equally in the Senate, equally on all matters, therefore not retaining Franklin’s pro- posal in the end—won the day and saved the drafting of the Constitution from collapsing (2) in shameful bickery. The issue of the popular vote in the election of aU.S. president The Great Compromise, which sits ever since as the basis of the number composi- tion of Congress, is mirrored, in the way, in how a president is still to be chosen today. Once the leading contenders from eachparty have been chosen, via popular ballot voting or state caucuses in the pri- maries, the nation-wide vote proceeds in a way that is quite peculiar, and which couldbe summarised as follows. Eachstategets “electoral votes” equaling thenumberofrepresentativesithasinthe House, plus the number of its senators (two). Following the previous example, California has 55 electoral votes (53 from its representatives in the House and 2 from its seats in the Senate), while Texas has 38 (36 plus 2). Washington, D.C., has been assigned 3 electoral votes (3) . Voting for theU.S. president does not ex- actly follow majority rule: votes go to a statewidetally,andin48statesplusWash- ington, D.C., the winner gets all the elec- toral votes for that state. Maine and Nebraska assign instead their electors using a proportional system (4) . In most cases, a projected winner is an- nounced on election night in November, afterthenationalvote.ButtheactualElec- toral College vote takes place in mid-De- cember, when the electors meet in their respective states.While theU.S. Constitu- tion does not require electors to follow their state’s popular vote, many states’ laws do. Though it’s rare, electors have challenged those laws and voted for someone else. But in July 2020 the Supreme Court ruled that those state laws, requiring state electors to follow the state-wide popular vote, are consti- tutional. Electors, chosen at state level, must follow their state’s popular vote, if the state has passed such a law. The roots of thewell-known fact that it is perfectly possible to win a presidential election,while losing the “popular” vote across the entirenation, followsprecisely from the fact that each state electoral votes (except the 11 votes of Maine and the 5 votes of Nebraska) are awarded on a majority vote basis, as summarily de- scribed above. Ina sense, thepopular vote, ineachof the 48 states (plusD.C.)whichhavemajority vote in their electoral law, really chooses whom the state’s electoral votes will go to. In the land “of the people”, it is actu- ally the states which formally elect the president, acting in a sense as “filters” of the popular vote. The right to vote for the President Perhaps evenmore surprising, andmore evidencethattheU.S.presidentialelection foresees a vote by the states of the Union, rather than an overall direct vote by the peopleacrossthenation,isindeedthefact that nowhere does the U.S. Constitution bestowupontheaverageAmericancitizen a “right to vote” for her/his president! That right follows from individual states law,andalltheConstitutiondoesistopro- tect one’s right against any form of dis- crimination preventing one from exercising such a right. For instance, the 19thAmendment states “ The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. ”, i.e. the right of women to vote (once foreseen later in the history of the United States by incorporation into the body of law of individual states) shall not be in- fringed. But individual states needed to bestow that right on their respective fe- male citizens first! Similarly,the15thAmendmenttotheU.S. Constitution corrected unconstitutional discriminationagainstAfricanAmericans bydeclaring that the “ right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, colour, or previous condi- tion of servitude. ”: again, such right to vote had tobeacquiredfirst (at state level) and only then could it be protected by the Constitutionagainstdiscriminationonthe basis of skin colour and the ethnic origin of one’s ancestors. The U.S. Constitution, therefore, protects the right of any citizen to vote for her/his next president, but only once that right has been acquired ex altero corpore juris . And that body of law, for each citizen of the Union, is precisely that pertaining to the 50(5) individual states (6) which make up theUnion. *FrancoCOZZANIisaformerDeputyHeadofUnitin the European Commission, was the EUDelegate to the CERNCouncilinGenevaandtotheOECDinParisfor scientific and technologymatters and occasionallyVisit- ing lecturer in nuclear fusion physics at the Università degli Studi, Parma, Italy. He is also actively involved in different civil society organisations in Belgium and sits intheeditorialbodyoftwoacademic journals. @ Franco Cozzani - October 2020, slightly revised February 2023 and October 2024. 1) I am taking as examples the two states where I myselflived. 2) https://lc.cx/nu7Pad 3) Under the 23rdAmendment of the U.S. Consti- tution 4) https://www.usa.gov/election#item -36072 5)PlusD.C. 6)Anindirectreferencetothemoregeneralprinci- plecanbefoundinthe9thAmendment,partofthe BillofRights. We, the States… A few considerations about the U.S. presidential electoral system © Freepik “ Qatar has excellent macroeconomic figures (inflation, trade balance, public debt/ GDP…): howwill Qatar expand its nat- ural gas production to enhance its pres- ence in both Asian and European markets by 2030? Positioned strategically, the State of Qatar aims to expand natural gas production to meet current and growing demand in mar- kets around the world, including in Europe. In February 2024, H.E. Mr. Saad al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of Energy and CEO of QatarEnergy (QE),announcedplanstoin- creaseLNGcapacityfrom77 milliontonsto142milliontons annuallyby2030,representing an increaseof almost 85%from current production levels. This involves expanding the North Field project, one of Qatar’s largest energy in- vestments and a critical LNGproject in recent years. Qatar has been a reliable energy provider for the world, committing itself to guaranteeing energy sta- bilityintimesofcrisisanduncertainty.Qatarsupplies energy to Asia, South America, Africa, and Europe through long-termagreements and on spotmarket. Qatar maintains excellent relations with large countries (USA, EU, China, India, Turkey, Iran...): Howdoes this work sowell? Qatar’s “open-door” foreign policy enables it to maintain strong relations worldwide, establishing ties with both regional and international powers. Qatar has pursued a balanced foreign policy, fos- tering cooperation and alliances across political, economic, and cultural spheres. Under the leader- ship of H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s strategy emphasizes globalization and in- terdependence, establishing partnerships with nu- merous countries and international organi- zations. Qatar is successful in itsmultilateral coordination by focusing its efforts on al- liance building, peace facilitation and in- vestment in economic growth for future generations. Qatar is an active member in the international community and supports numerous programmes by theUnitedNa- tions to promote development and stability. Aligned with Qatar National Vi- sion 2030, Qatar is commit- ted to sustainable develop- ment at local, regional, and international levels, work- ing towards social, eco- nomic, and environmental goals through initiatives in collaboration with the global community. How is the situation developing with the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries? Does this have any im- pact on your cooperation with European Union (1989 GCC-EU Cooperation Agreement, 2018 Qatar-EUCooperationAgreement)? Relationswithin theGCChave strengthenedsignifi- cantly, positively impacting partnerships with the European Union. The first EU-GCC summit, held onOctober 16, 2024, underscored the strong ties be- tween the GCC and the EU amid challenging geopolitical circumstances. This high-level summit—the first since official EU- GCC relations were established in 1989—marks a significant step forward in collaboration between the two regions. The summit focusedon enhancing partnerships in political, economic, and security areas. Qatar, holding theGCCpresidency, played a crucial role in advocating for strongerGCCcooper- ation and aligningwith the EU on shared priorities like sustainabledevelopment and regional stability. Qatar’s top priorities include deepening GCC-EU cooperation and positioning the GCC as a key in- ternational partner in promoting security and sta- bility. This summit is a milestone in GCC-EU relations, reflecting a mutual commitment to strengthening cooperation. You were in the Cabinet of the Special Envoy of theMinister of ForeignAffairs for Counterterror- ism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution be- tweenNovember 2018 and September 2021. How did you live this important position? How could we describe this unique and essential mediation role of Qatar in the region? I beganmy career inQatar’sMinistryof ForeignAf- fairs in the Legal Affairs Department in 2004. Dur- ing this period, I was a member of the team concerned with the membership of the State of Qatar in the UnitedNations Security Council. This team coordinated between the Permanent Mission in New York and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs duringQatar’smembership in the SecurityCouncil from 2006 to 2007. In 2008, I took on new duties at the Mission of the State of Qatar to the UN inGeneva, focusing on the HumanRightsCouncil until 2012. During that time, I had the opportunity to participate in the submis- sionof the State ofQatar FirstNational Report to the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in 2010. Later on, in 2013, I served at the Qatar Embassy in TheHague,workingon issues related to theOrgan- ization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and was a member of the Credentials Committeeof the 18 th Conferenceof the StateParties in the OPCW in 2013. FromNovember 2018 to September 2021, I had the honor of joining the Office of the Special Envoy for Counterterrorism andMediation in Conflict Reso- lution. This experiencemarked a significant period inmy diplomatic career, involving critical work on the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In 2021, I also contributed to Qatar’s national FATF report and engaged in dialogue with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism. A particularly significant experience during this timewasmy involvement in the lead-up to the his- toric U.S.-Taliban peace agreement signed in Doha in February 2020. This role required extensive coor- dinationwith international and regional stakehold- ers, facilitating critical communications, and supporting the Special Envoy’s office in laying the groundwork for negotiations. Witnessing the sign- ing of this agreement—an important step toward ending one of the world’s longest-standing con- flicts—was a profoundmilestone inmy career, un- derscoring Qatar’s role in international diplomacy and peace-building. Qatar’smediation role iswidely recognized, as it ac- tively promotes international peace and security. Known for its successful development initiatives andglobal partnerships, Qatar hasmediated invar- ious international disputes, with mediation now a key pillar of its foreign policy, establishing Qatar’s reputation as a peacemaker on the global stage. Could you describe the Qatar-Luxembourg rela- tions, taking into consideration Qatari important stake inQuintet Private Bank? BeyondQuintet,Qatar’sinvestmentsinLuxembourg showcaseQatar’s active role inLuxembourg’sfinan- cial sector. These investments support Qatar’s strat- egy of economic diversification and its aim to align withLuxembourg’ssimilarambitionsforsustainable growth.High-levelmeetingsandongoingcollabora- tions acrossfinance, tourism, andcultural exchanges further illustrate Qatar and Luxembourg’s mutual commitment to strengthening their relationship acrosssectors,solidifyingQatar’spresenceinLuxem- bourg’s banking and investment landscape. Interview with H.E. Mr. Khalid Fahad Al-HAJRI, Ambassador of the State of Qatar: “Qatar’s mediation role is widely recognized, as it actively promotes international peace and security”