Europe pledged to spend €6 billion in Turkey to keep refugees on the other side of the border. Some have suggested spending a similar amount in Africa. POLITICO asked Europe’s leading migration experts and policymakers: If the EU had €6 billion to spend on managing migration from Africa, how and where should the bloc spend it?

 * * *

Think beyond the money

Dimitris Avramopoulos is European commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship.

Europe’s engagement with third countries is not about money. Those who think you can put a figure on a relationship woefully underestimate the significance and intricacy of such partnerships.

For some time now, we have called for greater engagement with our partners in Africa and the Middle East — and the collective political will is finally there. The goal of the European Commission’s External Investment Plan is to leverage up to €44 billion in investment by 2020, and increase our external funding to reach up to €123 billion for 2021-2027.

We need long-term, sustainable alliances with our key partners — and with Africa in particular. For these to be meaningful, our cooperation should go beyond migration, as it is a consequence of much broader shared challenges including geopolitical instability, demographic developments, climate change and socio-economic issues.

Every such alliance must place partners on equal footing and be based on mutual trust. It should also be tailored to the specific context of the partners. Turkish authorities, for example, were never promised and never received €6 billion; the money went to international organizations on the ground that dealt directly with refugees. The EU has offered similar financial and humanitarian support to those displaced around the world, such as in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, South Sudan and Kenya, to name a few.

But refugee or migration crises will not be solved by humanitarian aid alone. And that is why the EU wants to step up its engagement and foster true alliances with third-country partners, to work toward a more stable and prosperous shared future for all.

 * * *

Don’t forget to protect the borders

Theo Francken is Belgium’s secretary of state for asylum and migration. 

I am a big supporter of more direct European economic support to Africa, both in the form of development aid and investments from major European corporations.

The money should be used to stimulate economic growth and employment, in order to boost the buying power of the African population. We should fund projects to enforce the rule of law — including respect for property rights of smallholders and small entrepreneurs — and support investment banks that issue micro-credits. Europe should also endorse NGOs that give courses in family planning to curb Africa’s population explosion, and help finance major infrastructure projects so as to limit transaction costs, which are currently so high that it discourages direct investment in large parts of the continent.

We need to help Africa get its motor running. But it is wrong to assume that this would lower the migration pressure on Europe from Africa in the short term.

Initially, economic growth will fuel emigration, as it enables more people to embark on the expensive journey to Europe. The pressure to emigrate will only fade when nations reach the level of “upper-middle income country,” at which point they undergo a “migration transition” and become immigration countries themselves. That transition is still nowhere near.

We need an investment plan for Africa. But that should not distract us from the duty of border protection through solid migration deals with Northern African states.

  * * *

Prepare migrants for work in Europe

Michael Clemens is co-director of migration, displacement and humanitarian policy and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

Europe should invest in creating skills among potential migrants in Africa — specific skills that the EU needs. This is a long-term investment, alongside (not instead of) more traditional and short-term measures such as helping poor countries create jobs and helping third countries host asylum seekers.

The simple reality is that no amount of financial assistance can stop migration. Indeed, over the longer term, poor countries that develop successfully will exhibit more emigration, not less.

This happens for many complex reasons, including the demographic changes that accompany development success. Migration pressure will rise with 800 million new sub-Saharan African workers by 2050. This is not a sign of Africa’s failure but of its success in sharply reducing child mortality, including with foreign assistance.

In the long run, foreign assistance can shape future migration in ways that are much more beneficial to Europe and Africa. Funding can help set up training programs that give potential migrants the job and language skills they need to integrate quickly and contribute maximally in Europe, such as in nursing or hospitality work. Carrying out such training before they migrate sharply reduces the cost and helps migrants hit the ground running.

Many Africans will migrate to Europe. The only question is whether they will arrive with valued skills or not. The time to begin building those skills is now. If EU aid retains its exclusive focus on stopping migration, it will exacerbate the migration problems of tomorrow.

 * * *

Use existing structures

António Vitorino is the director general of the International Organization for Migration

My starting point would be to ask: “What happens when the €6 billion runs out?”

Improving the governance of migration and managing flows is not only a question of spending, but of long-term investing in strengthening partnerships and existing global frameworks. Rather than short-term migration fixes — which I fear are often based precariously on shifting geopolitical sands — we need to go for longer-term structural solutions rooted in genuine partnerships and existing international frameworks.

We already have in place several key agreements targeting these challenges from a position of strength afforded by regional and international cooperation. These include the Global Compact for Migration, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Valletta Declaration, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Let’s strengthen these agreements to avoid duplicating efforts or working at cross-purposes.

Dangerous, irregular migration is in no one’s interest, so investing in more legal migration channels, enhanced mobility and integration will be essential to economic development and growth in countries and societies on both sides of the Mediterranean.

We are convinced that donors could achieve greater impact by leveraging foreign aid to shape migration for mutual benefit. Let’s support a durable, structural contribution to the issue and longer-term policy thinking, or problems will persist.

 * * *

Bring the jobs to Africa

Paul Collier is professor of economics and public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University.

Europe should indeed spend €6 billion bringing jobs to Africa — it is far more humane that luring young people to the hazards of marginal lives in Europe.

The best way to spend the money is through Europe’s development finance institutions, such as the European Investment Bank, which can use it to encourage European firms to pioneer the development of job-intensive sectors such as light manufacturing and construction.

Africa is desperately short of proper firms that are able to harness the economies of scale and specialization that transform the productivity of ordinary workers. At the moment, most Africans work alone, or in tiny enterprises that doom them to low productivity.

Young Africans are drowning in attempts to reach our firms. We could so easily encourage our companies to bring the jobs to them instead.

 * * *

Focus on what can be done

Camille Le Coz is a policy analyst at Migration Policy Institute Europe. 

In Turkey, the EU has a clear objective: to help the government deliver social services to the Syrian refugees. The situation in Africa is much more fragmented.

Africa’s 54 countries are dealing with a host of internal issues, and migration to Europe is far from a priority. Some East African countries — Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, for example — face similar challenges to Turkey in hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees. West African countries deal with thousands of people passing through on their journey north, or high rates of emigration among their own population.

These countries’ needs are structural and endlessly varied, and a few billion euros will not be enough to address them.

Europe is already spending over €2 billion to help African governments with border management and addressing the so-called root causes of migration. Pledging funding is easy, visible, and it pleases politicians on both sides. But the jury is still out on the effectiveness of this investment.

While more investment would allow the EU to trumpet positive action on migration and African leaders to boast of bringing home more international money, the risk is that billions will be spent to achieve nothing. EU policymakers would be better off sitting down with their African counterparts to agree on a few key areas where significant changes can be achieved in the short term.

Such interventions are likely to be focused on a small region or a single issue. This makes them potentially tough to sell to the public. But this is where policymakers can make the most difference.

 * * *

Create a Marshall Plan for Africa

Mattias Tesfaye is the spokesperson on immigration and integration for the Danish Social Democrats.

It is understandable that, in a world plagued by inequality, people seek better lives for themselves elsewhere. And as the the world has grown smaller, it has become easier for more people to relocate. To counteract this trend, the international community needs to deliver a major boost to Africa on the scale of the U.S. Marshall Plan implemented in Europe after World War II.

The ineffectiveness of our efforts to date show that simply sending more money will not be enough. A modern Marshall Plan should create a better future for more people in their own countries by supporting better governance and developing significantly better opportunities for trade.

No matter how much we tighten up our immigrant policy, we will not be able to prevent people trying to escape poverty and misery. The only way to reduce the pressure on Europe’s borders is through a strong, binding international partnership that creates better living conditions and opportunities for its people and in which the EU takes the lead.

 * * *

First, tackle Europe’s lack of solidarity

Paweł Adamowicz is mayor of Gdansk, Poland. 

Europe’s decision to pay Turkey to keep some 3.5 million Syrian refugees in the country has bought us time, but it hasn’t solved the long-term problem. Refugees have become a trump card in negotiations between Turkey and the EU, and there is no real way for them to go back to Syria or integrate within their host country.

Repeating this model in Africa could help Europe in the short term, but it won’t get to the root of the problem. The main challenge for Europe now is the lack of solidarity across the bloc when it comes to dealing with the refugee crisis.

Some politicians say our Continent should close its borders to refugees, that we should isolate our countries. History has taught us that isolation is never the solution. In Gdańsk, we’ve seen this first hand: In the ’80s, shipyard workers in our city fought for freedom from communism, oppression and censorship. The world helped us and we won, but that fight for freedom and solidarity is not over.

There is no easy solution to the refugee crisis. To truly address it, Europe must put pressure on global leaders to work together to solve ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. It should also be ready to engage in more flexible, short-term crisis management and share the challenge equally among EU member countries.

 * * *

Address the root causes

Mark Harbers is minister for migration in the Netherlands.

Our cooperation with Turkey was founded on mutual and well-understood interests: to control uncontrolled migration, to save lives and give protection, improve living conditions for refugees, and break the business model of smuggling networks. In other words: to resume control and safeguard stability.

Money flowing to Africa should be spent with similar conviction. To pursue shared interests with North African countries, we should use funding to implement existing agreements and partnerships with our North African partners, and to boost their capacity to secure borders, improve reception conditions, provide protection to the vulnerable and return those who are not.

Funding should also go toward addressing the root causes of migration in North Africa as well as sub-Saharan Africa, and we should be ready to open up markets and create legal migration pathways for those most talented and willing.

The answer, in short, is: money, markets and mobility. This idea is nothing new — but it’s one we must finally make happen.

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Actor Mark Rylance, who won an Oscar for 2015’s Bridge of Spies, has quit the Royal Shakespeare Company because the theater accepted the sponsorship from big oil company British Petroleum (BP).

Rylance’s resignation does not immediately affect the theater as the actor has not appeared on stage there in three decades, nonetheless the very public departure is a serious issue for the company, according to Deadline.

In his resignation letter, Raylance likened the oil company to “an arms dealer.”

“I feel I must resign as I do not wish to be associated with BP any more than I would with an arms dealer, a tobacco salesmen, or any company or individual who willfully destroys the lives of others alive and unborn. Nor do I believe would William Shakespeare,” the Wolf Hall actor wrote.

The RSC’s deal with BP helps subsidize low ticket costs for students to attend the company’s productions. But that is no excuse for Rylance.

“The RSC could turn this situation on its head and give young people much more value than a cheap £5 ticket. They could give them the support of Shakespeare in their stand against our addiction to energy dealers who would willingly destroy us for a quick quid,” he added.

Rylance, winner of a BAFTA, multiple Tony awards, and other prestigious awards both in the U.S. and Britain, ended his resignation letter hopeful that others would speak out against the BP sponsorship.

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“I am resigning to lend strength to the voices within the RSC who want to be progressive, and to encourage my fellow associates to express themselves too,” he wrote. “The children know the truth … In the face of addiction, tough love is the only path. It’s time for an artistic intervention.”

Rylance’s resignation comes as part of a larger protest by members of the company who are unhappy with the BP deal.

Thus far, the RSC is defending its association with the oil giant, even equating its deal to efforts to stop global warming.

RSC artistic director Gregory Doran and executive director Catherine Mallyon released a statement insisting they are “saddened” by the actor’s resignation, but also said the BP deal is “an important part” of their funding.

“We recognize the importance of a robust and engaged debate in taking these decisions, especially in the light of the acknowledged environment and climate emergency,” the RSC reps added. “It’s one of the many ways that help us to establish lifetime enthusiasts for Shakespeare and live theatre and applies to all of our productions whether in Stratford, London or on tour around the UK.”

For its part, BP reminded the public of their longtime support for the arts in the UK.

“We’ve been supporting the arts in the UK for 50 years and over that time around 50 million people have enjoyed BP-supported activities and programs,” the oil company said in a statement. “On climate, our position is very clear. We recognize the world is on an unsustainable path, more needs to be done to fix that, and the world needs to move to net zero carbon emissions in the decades to come. In addressing the climate challenge facing all of us, it is critical that everyone plays their part: individuals, governments, and companies such as BP. The answer will come through coming together, building understanding and collaborating to find real solutions rather than through further polarization and exacerbating divisions.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.

5 big EU budget headaches

Away from Brexit, leaders get down to business on financial blueprint.

It’s meant to be about the budget, not Brexit.

At the European Council summit on Thursday and Friday, European leaders are due to get to grips with what is usually one of the biggest battles in Brussels — the fight over the next long-term EU budget.

Not for the first time, a summit has been overshadowed by the latest Brexit drama. But the budget remains on the agenda — and it’s not where the European Commission wanted it to be at this stage.

Back in May, when the Commission laid out its €1.14 trillion blueprint for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), President Jean-Claude Juncker targeted a final deal before the European Parliament election in a year’s time.

But, leaders will acknowledge, that won’t happen. Instead, they’ll aim to reach a deal by autumn of next year, according to draft conclusions of the summit — although some countries are skeptical about even that target.

The timetable is not the only thing that’s veered off track. Some of the Commission’s other grand plans to use the budget to leave its mark on a wide range of policies for years ahead have also hit serious roadblocks.

Here’s a rundown of five things causing big budget headaches for the Commission and EU members.

1. Brexit

Yes, back to Brexit again. The departure of a major net contributor to the budget leaves a big hole — of about €12-13 billion a year — in the EU’s coffers. That has added another tricky dimension to budget negotiations, which are complicated at the best of times.

To plug the hole, the Commission proposed that other countries should chip in more this time around. That hasn’t gone down well with a group of wealthier countries, such as the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, and Sweden. Their informal slogan is “a smaller EU, a smaller budget.”

Uncertainty over the U.K.’s future relationship with the EU has also made it impossible for budget negotiators to determine what role Britain will play in EU programs — and what money might be flowing from London to Brussels as a result.

2. Agriculture

Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan had big plans to make his mark on the Common Agricultural Policy, which accounts for the largest chunk of spending in the current EU budget. As funding for the policy looks set to fall, he announced plans in June to hand power back to member countries. The theory is that this would allow national governments to deliver more for their farmers and the environment. The Commission would then vet what governments come up with to block unwanted consequences, such as environmental harm.

But the plans have come under heavy fire from politicians, farmers, environmentalists and even EU institutions. National governments say that, unless Brussels is highly vigilant, member countries will design policies to give their farmers a leg-up over neighbors and precipitate a race to the bottom.

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Environmentalists, meanwhile, argue that plans to ax strict EU-wide rules in favor of voluntary incentives will not green the farming sector. The European Court of Auditors, the EU’s financial watchdog, agrees. It released a damning opinion of the proposals in November, finding that its environmental protection measures were feeble and the overall plans muddled.

As if that weren’t enough, the MEPs complained that the reform will neuter the Parliament’s oversight role in farm policy. Under the current setup, they have influence over major legislation as part of three-way negotiations with the Council and Commission. Under the new plan, the Commission and governments would effectively manage agricultural policy between themselves. Parliament’s lawyers raised a series of legal questions about the plans.

3. Rule of law

One of the Commission’s flagship proposals for the next budget cycle is to link EU payouts to respect for the rule of law.

The plan reflects a view within the Commission and western members that other countries — such as Poland and Hungary and, to a lesser extent, Romania and Malta — are not upholding EU values while receiving large amounts of EU cash.

“It’s logical that if there are doubts about the rule of law in a member country that those worries or problems should be solved as pre-condition for receiving [money], especially cohesion funds,” Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok told POLITICO in an interview.

This view is shared by the likes of Germany, Finland, France and Sweden, as well as by a number of senior Commission officials.

So the Commission proposed a new regulation on “protection of the Union’s budget in case of generalized deficiencies as regards the rule of law in the member states.”

The proposal, however, quickly became one of the most contentious issues of the budget package, with the likes of Poland and Hungary raising strong objections. And the Council of the EU’s own legal service, as well the European Court of Auditors, raised concerns about the structure and legal basis of the Commission proposal.

Some western EU countries are convinced that with some changes, it is still possible to create a credible way to link EU funds to the rule of law. Others are pushing for all mentions of the rule of law to be erased from the proposal. The two sides remain far apart, with some countries stuck in middle.

4. France’s eurozone dreams

Paris is leading a fight for a budget dedicated to the euro area. As part of a compromise with Berlin, a Franco-German proposal puts this new budget inside the Multiannual Financial Framework, which covers the whole EU.

That leaves other EU governments, some of whom deeply dislike the whole idea of a eurozone budget, wrestling with multiple questions. Will they accept some kind of eurozone budget? How big should it be? How would it work?

Another complication: The Commission had already come forward with its own proposal that contained elements of a fledgling eurozone budget.

At the summit this week, leaders of the eurozone countries plan to task the European Commission with coming up with a detailed proposal for a “budgetary instrument for convergence and competitiveness for the euro area.”

According to draft conclusions of the Euro Summit on Friday obtained by POLITICO, the budgetary instrument “will be part of the EU budget and be subject to criteria and strategic guidance from the euro area Member States.”

This mandate will force the Commission to rewrite parts of its budget proposal at a time when the European Parliament has already produced reports and opinions on the current plan and representatives of EU governments have already spent many hours poring over the Commission’s draft.

Advocates of the eurozone budget will also need to convince EU members that don’t use the euro, such as Poland, to sign up to having the new fund inside the MFF.

5. Campaign politics

The campaign for next May’s European Parliament election makes the budget negotiations more complicated.

Some parties, such as French President Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche, argued it would be undemocratic to sign up to a seven-year financial plan before the vote. Other MEPs worried that a budget vote could be used against them in the campaign. All of which made a deal before the election unlikely.

Jean Arthuis, the chair of the Parliament’s budgets committee, said it could be hard for candidates to stress their own political identity in the campaign if they had just voted with rival parties for a budget deal.

This article is part of POLITICO’s coverage of the EU budget, tracking the development of the seven-year multi-annual financial framework. For a complimentary trial, email [email protected] mentioning Budget.

TORONTO — Business groups are calling on the federal government to take steps to immediately restore rail service that is being disrupted by anti-pipeline blockades.

Dennis Darby, CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, says the situation is “beyond serious.”

The group estimates that some $425 million worth of goods are becoming stranded every day the blockade continues.

WATCH: Wet’suwet’en protesters target B.C. legislature. Story continues below.

 

Darby says that for every day of disrupted operation, it will take three to four days to make up for the lost time.

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Maple Leaf Foods president Curtis Frank says Canada exports 60 per cent of its pork products and urges the government to work with urgency to resolve the blockade.

Protesters have blocked rail lines in several parts of Canada to show solidarity with hereditary Wet’suwet’en chiefs opposed to construction of the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline through their traditional territories in northwestern B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2020.

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The German striker is reportedly on the Reds’ radar and is happy to be earning their attention

RB Leipzig star Timo Werner is “proud” to be linked with a possible move to Premier League leaders Liverpool but believes his game must improve to earn the right to play alongside Anfield’s current attackers.

The 23-year-old scored the decisive goal in Leipzig’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday night to continue his strong season in front of goal. 

Werner has now struck four times in the Champions League this campaign to go with his 20 Bundesliga goals from just 22 league matches.

The German attacker has hit double figures in the past four Bundesliga seasons after moving to Leipzig in 2016 from Stuttgart. 

As he continues to star in the Champions League, Werner has inevitably been linked with transfers to some of Europe’s biggest clubs and he’s been particularly flattered by reported interest from the Reds. 

“Liverpool is the best team, in this moment, in the world and when you’re linked with this team, it makes me very proud,” Werner told Viasport after the match. 

“But in case of that, it’s a pleasure, but I know Liverpool have a lot of good players and I have to improve myself, to learn much more things to get on this level to play there.”

Werner is currently contracted to Leipzig until 2023 meaning any transfer to Anfield or elsewhere would require a hefty transfer fee. 

For now though, the striker remains focused on his current club, with Leipzig set to host Spurs at home next month as they look to book their spot in the Champions League quarter-finals. 

The Germans impressed in the first-leg to claim a narrow lead but Werner concedes the job is far from done. 

“This is the problem of the Champions League, when you win the first game – at least outside of Leipzig – here in Tottenham, there’s still a lot to do in the 90 minutes in Leipzig,” he said.

“So Tottenham is a good team, they showed last year that mentally they can come back in these games and we have to do the same like today.”

Leipzig next face Schalke in the Bundesliga on Saturday with the club currently second in the league, just one point shy of leaders and reigning champions Bayern Munich.
 

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The Belgian star guided his team to victory and stressed they won’t be approaching things differently in the wake of recent off-field drama

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne insisted it is business as usual for the club after a 2-0 Premier League win over West Ham, despite their recent two-year ban from European competitions. 

Pep Guardiola’s side are challenging UEFA’s ruling relating to Financial Fair Play breaches between 2012 and 2016 with the club insisting they’ve done nothing wrong. 

A Champions League ban would have massive ramifications for City with a number of players likely to seek new clubs to ensure they can compete in Europe’s premier competition. 

De Bruyne however showed no signs of distraction on Wednesday night as he bagged a goal and assist in City’s routine victory against the Hammers. 

Asked about the club’s European ban post-match, the Belgian star stressed it’s a situation the side won’t be letting affect them on the pitch. 

“Obviously we were on holiday when the statement happened and we came back and just played football,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports. 

“The situation is what it is. We came back and trained like normal. For us, nothing really changed.

“We still have a lot to play for with the two cups and Champions League so let’s hope we can find rhythm as quickly as possible and win some titles.”

City’s match against West Ham was previously delayed due to severe storms meaning it was the club’s first match in 16 days. 

As such, De Bruyne conceded his side were far from their best as they claimed three points to strengthen their spot on second place – still a massive 22 points shy of league leaders Liverpool. 

“It was ok. I think we saw its been three weeks without football and we felt a little bit of rustiness but we played a good game,” De Bruyne said.

On Aymeric Laporte’s return, De Bruyne added: “With the ball he’s very confident and gives us options and he’s been doing this for years. He helped us win a lot of titles and is doing really well.

“I know when you’re injured so long it takes time, but the way he performed today will give him confidence and give the team confidence.”

Guardiola’s side next face Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday night with the third-placed Foxes four points shy of City on the table. 

After that match, they’ll head to Spain to tackle Real Madrid in the first-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. 

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An argument with the coach and background staff led to the Frenchman being dropped for their latest game but he is back in the squad this week

Mikel Arteta has discussed his decision to drop Matteo Guendouzi from the Arsenal squad last week.

The midfielder was dropped from the squad for Sunday’s win against Newcastle because of an argument he had with Arteta and members of his coaching staff during the Gunners’ mid-season training camp in Dubai.

The 20-year-old trained with his team-mates on Wednesday and could make his return in the Europa League match against Olympiacos on Thursday.

He could end up straight back in the starting XI as Lucas Torreira will be absent with illness, while the north London outfit will be without Mesut Ozil for personal reasons.

And Arteta says his decision was down to the way the player behaves and trains as he brought him back into the squad.

“I just do my team selection and the squad in regards to how they train, how they play, how they behave,” Arteta said in a press conference on Wednesday ahead of their match in Greece.

“Every week it will be different. One week it will be one reason, one week it will be another reason.

“It was about the way we train, the way we play, the way we live. I want the best players for the game and I select them in relation to what I see on a daily basis.

Arteta makes his European debut as a coach when the Gunners face the Greek giants in the first leg of their last-32 tie.

And the 37-year-old is excited for the encounter at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.

“It’s another big competition for us. We know the competition we will have tomorrow and we have to be ready,” he said.

“I am really excited. I’ve been watching them a lot. They are so used to dominating the league so we have to adapt and play the type of game the opponent requires.

“Collectively, they seem very alive with a clear idea of what they what to do. They don’t play in relation to the opponent – that’s what I like the most.”

January signing Pablo Mari is yet to make his senior debut but featured for the club’s reserves this week.

And Arteta is pleased with the 26-year-old centre-back’s work so far.

“Mari’s commitment has been really good. He did well the other day and hopefully soon we can start to use him,” he said.

After the Olympiacos game, Arsenal will return to London for a Premier League match at home to Everton on Sunday.

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The German, nicknamed ‘Baby Mourinho’, says the Tottenham boss proved an inspiration during his formative years as a coach

RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann says Jose Mourinho played a key role in shaping his management style as he prepares to face the Tottenham boss in the Champions League.

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Nagelsmann takes his Leipzig side to north London for a last-16 first-leg tie on Wednesday evening.

He is often compared to the Portuguese and was even given the nickname “Mini-Mourinho” during his time as Hoffenheim assistant coach, with many seeing similarities in their rapid rise to managerial prominence from a young age.

Nagelsmann was still a teenager when Mourinho won his first Champions League title with Porto in 2004. But, speaking exclusively to DAZN and Goal, the 32-year-old he says his achievements with the Portuguese side had a huge impact on him.

“During his time at Porto, he really shaped me,” he said. “He let Deco and Co. play exceptionally good football.

“How he won the UEFA Cup and the Champions League a year later against Monaco with a team that is big in Portugal but not the biggest club in Europe, was very impressive.

“At that time he was also a very young coach who was not a big player himself before and had a similar career like myself. It was exciting for me to see and I also copied a few things.

“After that he was internationally successful in all of his clubs. You noticed in all the games that he just knows how to win these knockout games. The winning goal was scored in the 93rd minute and you had the feeling that it was somehow planned.

“For me, Mourinho is an extreme coach with focus on results who is not very concerned with glamour on the pitch. He puts the result above everything and if you get so many titles doing that, it is certainly not a wrong way.”

After being forced to retire from football at youth level due to a persistent knee injury, Nagelsmann soon moved into coaching with Augsburg, where he briefly worked under Thomas Tuchel.

Nagelsmann says Tuchel, who went on to manage Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and now Paris Saint-Germain, is the man who has had the biggest impact on his career to date.

“Who shaped me the most was Thomas Tuchel,” he said. “For the simple reason that he was my own trainer and the exchange was so much more intense. I can rate how he really thinks. But there are certainly great parallels to Pep Guardiola’s football idea.

“Dominance in all phases of the game – that would be the big headline for it. To put it more simply, it is about awareness that football is not just about conquering the ball, not just about possession. It is about a holistic approach and about developing solutions in all phases. I personally experienced which exercises Tuchel did in training – that shaped me. I also have a similar approach.

“For me there are also various complicated exercises and I do not follow the classic training theory and its linear structure. Warm up, passing game, shots on goal, a game. Tuchel did it completely differently. I also want to map a game in training. And in the game it just doesn’t work that you can easily get into it first. It may be that you are totally challenged in the first minute.”

Nagelsmann became the youngest coach in Bundesliga history when he was appointed Hoffenheim boss aged just 28 in 2016, taking them from the foot of the table to Champions League qualification in the space of a year.

Hoffenheim even managed to fend off interest from Real Madrid for Nagelsmann before he eventually joined Leipzig last summer, the German later explaining that it was not the right move for his career after he was approached by the Spanish giants in 2018 following Zinedine Zidane’s departure.

His decision to stay in Germany looks a wise decision, with Leipzig currently second in Bundelsiga, just a point behind Bayern Munich.

So does Nagelsmann consider himself already a top-class coach?

“I would call myself a good manager,” he replied. “For me, being a top coach means more than just teaching football. That includes empathy, it means that you can speak to a group, that you can deal with the media – you have to be able to do all of that. I would not describe myself as blind in this regard, but a top coach also includes titles.

“And I don’t have that to show yet – except for the U19 championship title with Hoffenheim! I don’t see myself on a par with Klopp, Guardiola or Mourinho. But I’m also a young coach. My goal is to become a very good coach and win titles. 

“And as for Pep: Of course that’s honourable of him [that he said he only wins because of his team]. The question would be whether he would have become a master with Hoffenheim? It would be interesting to see in any case.”

Though he doesn’t consider himself on a par with Klopp and Pep, he still studies their work intently and is impressed with how their tactical approach has altered the face of the modern game.

“Klopp has also developed enormously,” he said. “There is still the raid-like football that distinguishes his style, but now it comes from possession of the ball. The pure changeover football a la Klopp no longer exists because so many opponents sit 20 metres in front of their own goal. 

“When Pep played this incredibly attractive and multifaceted football in Barcelona, a lot was written and said about Barca’s playing with the ball. But the real madness was counter-pressing. 

“Most opponents never had the ball for longer than five seconds before they got smashed by this machine. Then it was, of course, outstanding in terms of football, but the key was counter-pressing.”

Pas facile pour un film d’animation de se faire une place dans l’ombre des productions Disney et Dreamworks. Opération Casse-Noisette s’en tire haut-la-main, en témoigne son joli succès au box office américain.

Des écureuils qui s’inquiètent de ne pas avoir assez de réserves de nourriture pour passer l’hiver décident de dévaliser un magasin de noix. Problème: il appartient à une bande de gangsters qui eux veulent vider la banque située de l’autre côté de la rue.

Disney et Dreamworks sont passés maîtres dans l’art du film d’animation et se concurrencent à longueur d’année à coup de grosses productions auxquelles des stars du cinéma prêtent leurs voix. Il reste quand même de la place pour les dessins animés indépendants. Et quand ils sont malins et aussi bien réalisés que leurs glorieux aînés, ils n’ont pas à rougie de la comparaison. C’est le cas d’Opération casse-noisette tient largement la route. S’il ne révolutionne pas le genre, ce film d’animation enlevé et drôle permet de passer un bon moment. Il offre une jolie galerie de personnages dont certains sont aussi loufoques que vraiment amusants. Avec la notion de partage et d’entraide mise en avant, le film n’est pas dénué de fond ce qui ne gâche rien.

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Au niveau des voix, si la version française fait l’impasse sur des acteurs connus, la version originale américaine a réussi à convaincre Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser et Stephen Lang de doubler les personnages.

De Peter Lepeniotis. Avec les voix originales de Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Will Arnett. 1h26

Après avoir surmonté deux séparations en 2008 et 2011, David Duchovny et Téa Leoni ont décidé de divorcer dans la plus grande discrétion.

« Une rupture irrémédiable de la relation ». C’est en ces termes que David Duchovny (54 ans)à et Téa Leoni (48 ans) auraient expliqué les raisons de leur divorce après 17 ans de mariage selon TMZ.

Le site people américain croit savoir que David Duchovny et Téa Leoni ont obtenu la garde partagée de leurs deux enfants (Madelaine West née le 24 Avril 1999 et Kyd Miller né le 15 Juin 2002). Les deux ex-époux devraient tous les deux continuer à habiter dans l’Upper West Side de New York, pour faciliter l’éducation des enfants. Selon les informations de TMZ, David Duchovny devra verser une pension alimentaire mensuelle de 40000 dollars, soit près de 30000 euros. Il ne fait aucun doute que l’inoubliable agent Mulder de X Files a une grande part de responsabilité dans ce divorce. En 2009, David avait révélé souffrir de graves problèmes de dépendance sexuelle. “C’est bien connu, à Hollywood, la fiction rejoint souvent la réalité, avait-il expliqué en 2009 au magazine Closer faisant écho à son rôle dans Californication. Je pense que c’est l’ironie de la vie. Aujourd’hui, je me sens beaucoup mieux. J’essaie d’avoir une vie équilibrée, de me concentrer sur mes enfants et mon travail, tout simplement.”

Après avoir réussi à sauver deux fois son mariage, David Duchovny a donc du se résigner à accepter ce divorce qui semblait inéluctable. David Duchovny qui déclarait (à Version Femina) encore il y a deux ans «J’ai la chance d’avoir une épouse et des enfants extraordinaires. Ma femme est mon équilibre et je lui dois tout». Pour traverser cette difficile épreuve, David Duchovny pourrait se changer les idées en tournant une suite à la série qui l’a fait star X Files, 16 ans après sa création. C’est en tout cas ce qu’a laissé sous-entendre l’acteur le mois dernier lors d’une interview accordée au magazine Rolling Stone.

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