The Newsletter43322 mars 2010

La Lettre

Thomas Veyrenc

22 March 2010

Foundation

Schuman Report

1 January 1970

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The Robert Schuman Foundation has just published the fourth edition of "The State of the Union 2010, Schuman Report on Europe" with publishing house, Lignes de Repères. This edition will be presented in Brussels on 24th March at the European Parliament together with Joseph Daul, Chair of the EPP group and Alain Lamassoure, Chair of the Budgets Committee who wrote an article entitled "Are we moving towards a European tax? Europe in search of a real budget." This reference work is available in bookshops and on the Foundation's internet site. Order it!

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Diplomacy

1 January 1970

Foundation Chairman Jean-Dominique Giuliani published an article in the latest issue of the review "Diplomatic World" entitled "Relever les défis lancés à l'Union Européenne: quand un traité ne suffit pas!" (Facing the challenges presented to the EU: when a treaty is not enough!).

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Financial Crisis

Eurogroup

1 January 1970

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On 15th March the 16 Finance Ministers of the euro area looked into the measures taken to face the crisis and on the reduction of competitiveness imbalance between the 16 countries. After the withdrawal of support measures to the financial sector and once recovery is assured it will be necessary to implement similar measures to the product and labour markets. The exit strategy has to take on board credible structural reforms. Ministers said they wanted to improve governance of the euro area notably by using new measures included in the Lisbon Treaty to guarantee the respect of the stability and growth pact, to address clearer, more ambitious recommendations to States and to enhance multilateral surveillance, benchmarking and communication as well as the profile of the Eurogroup.

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Greece

1 January 1970

The euro area Finance Ministers agreed on 15th March on the main outline of a possible financial aid mechanism for Greece "to save the financial stability of the euro area as a whole." Ministers minimised the importance of this decision which is however unprecedented, in order to avoid financial speculation and to maintain pressure on Greece for it to continue reforms. The decision will be taken by the European Council on 25th and 26th March.

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Lithuania

1 January 1970

MEPs of the budgets committee approved financial aid for the 1,127 former Lithuanian workers in the furniture and textile industries. This aid will total 1.8 million euros of which 1.2 million will come from the Adjustment Fund to Globalisation. The proposals adopted by the committee will be voted on 25th March.

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Portugal

1 January 1970

On 16th March the Portuguese government announced a vast privatisation plan in the transport, energy, insurance and postal sectors which is due to reduce the growth of its public debt without reducing it significantly. By 2013 the State is planning to withdraw totally or partially from 18 companies, which should enable it cash in on 6 billion euros, 1.2 billion of which represented 0.73% of the national GDP this year. The Portuguese government believes that the public debt with rise from 85.4% to 86% of its GDP this year according to the stability and growth programme delivered to parliament and made public on 16th March. The following years the debt is due to increase to 89.4% in 2011, to 90.7% in 2012 and to 89.8% of the GDP in 2013.

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Austria

1 January 1970

On 16th March the Austrian government decided to introduce a minimum wage. This measure is due to help fight against poverty and foster the return by the unemployed to work. Legislation might enter force on 1st September next.

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Parliament

1 January 1970

On 18th March MEPs met Dominique Strauss Kahn, IMF Director General, Mario Draghi, the chair of the Financial Stability Council and Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services. They debated crisis exit strategies and the regulation of the financial markets. Everyone stressed the importance of international cooperation. The issue of the creation of a Europan Monetary Fund was also mentioned. For his part Prime Minister George Papandreou addressed Parliament and called for the EU to take a decision on aid to Greece during the next European Council on 25th and 26th March. "It is a point on which we should expect the EU to meet our expectations," he said recalling that Greece is not asking for financial aid from the Union but strong support to be able to borrow at affordable rates.

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Denmark

1 January 1970

The Danish Central Bank reviewed its growth forecasts upwards for 2010 and is reckoning on a lower rise in unemployment than expected according to a provisional report published on 17th March. According to these forecasts, GDP growth in Denmark will rise to 1.3% in comparison with the 0.9% initially planned in December after a recession of 5.1% in 2009. In 2011 the Central Bank is forecasting growth of 1.7% of the GDP, followed by a rise of 1.9% in 2012.

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Spain

1 January 1970

The head of the Spanish government announced on 20th March the imminent establishment of an energy saving plan for the public sector that aims to reduce the State's energy bill by 3 billion euros per year. The aim will be to reduce energy consumption by at least 20% in 2000 public buildings in the country said José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

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Iceland

1 January 1970

On 17th March the Icelandic Central Bank decided to reduce its main interest rate by half a percentage point to 9%. The rate of savings certificates which remunerate funds placed by the banks with the emissions institution was also reduced by half a point to 7.5% added the Central Bank in a press release.

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Italy

1 January 1970

On 19th March the Italian government announced the release of 420 million euros in aid for the industrial sector and in support of recovery. "Recovery is slow (...) the aim of this decision is to support it to achieve growth in 2010" which is 1.1%, said the Economic Development Minister, Claudio Scajola.

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Poland

1 January 1970

Poland is still facing "the problem" of rising unemployment although it is the only EU Member State to have maintained growth in 2009 in spite of the crisis, deplored Finance Minister Jan Rostowski on 19th March. "The unemployment rate has increased," he admitted. Calculated by the Polish National Statistics Bureau (GUS) unemployment rose in January to 12.7% of the working population, in comparison with 10.9% a year ago. In February it lay at 13%.

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UK

1 January 1970

According to data published by the National Statistics Office on 17th March the unemployment rate remained at 7.8% over the three months preceding the end of January - the same rate as over the three months until the end of December; the figure had declined by 33,000 to lie at 2.45 million. The number of unemployed receiving benefits fell sharply in February bringing the national unemployment rate to 4.9%.

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Belgium

1 January 1970

The Belgian government revealed the main outline of its BE 2020 strategy on 19th March, the first national transposal of the EU2020 strategy for which the European Commission made proposals on 3rd March. The BE2020 Agenda focuses on five main points: competitiveness, industrial policy, innovation and digital society; climate, energy and mobility; employment, competence and training; the fight against poverty and in support of social cohesion. More details are due to be given soon with regard to the measures that will be adopted.

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Bulgaria

1 January 1970

The Bulgarian government announced two new measures to counter the present economic crisis. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov indicated that VAT rates would remain unchanged, but that a luxury tax would be introduced - owners of luxury goods such as powerful cars and large appartments would be the targets of this tax. Moreover the Prime Minister said he wanted to establish a ceiling for civil servants' wages, with the Prime Minister being, in his opinion, the best paid agent of the State, contrary to the present situation.

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IMF

1 January 1970

Speaking at a conference organised by the European Commission on 19th March, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF Director General supported the idea of a European authority to manage issues pertaining to bankruptcy and to enhance the European banking system. Healthy financial institutions are necessary to support growth and to help the Union emerge from the crisis.

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European Council

Georgia

1 January 1970

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After his meeting on 16th March with Nika Gilauri, Georgian Prime Minister, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy reviewed the bilateral relations between the EU and Georgia as part of the Eastern Partnerhsip. Mr Van Rompuy spoke of negotiations for an association agreement that would include a free-trade area, that should start soon. Georgia is also the only country in the south Caucasus to have successfully completed negotiations for the facilitation of visa delivery and readmission agreements that are due to be signed in June. Finally the President of the European Council recalled the Union's support to democracy and the territorial integrity of Georgia and its commitment to help settle the conflict between this country and Russia.

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Council

Economy/Finances

1 January 1970

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The 27 European Finance Ministers expressed their support of Greece on 16th March with regard to its work to reduce its deficit. In preparation for the European Council on 25th and 26th March they adopted conclusions on the EU2020 strategy, the progressive withdrawal of aid to the financial sector, the employment markets and products and funding in the fight against climate change. Ministers established priorities for the Union's 2011 budget and looked into draft directives that aim to simplify VAT invoicing conditions, enhance mutual assistance between Member States to recover taxes and to fight against fraud in the exchange of CO2 quotas. However they did not come to agreement on the regulation of speculative funds. Spain withdrew this issue from the agenda so that the widest possible support could be found - it continues to make this one of its priorities however.

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Environment

1 January 1970

On 15th March the 27 Environment Ministers set the EU's guidelines and goals for the protection of biodiversity on the horizon of 2020 and 2050. They exchanged views on environmental issues in the Europe 2020 strategy. Several delegations asked for this aspect to be enhanced highlighting the fact that there was potential for employment and balanced, sustainable growth. In their conclusions on climate change the ministers looked into the results of the Copenhagen Conference and asked the Commission to present a study on third country proposals and on the effect the EU's offer to reduce its emissions by 30% would have. Ministers finally examined proposals relative to new foodstuffs and CO2 emissions of light goods vehicles.

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Defence

1 January 1970

The second weekly information letter on the EU's common security and defence policy has been published.

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EU/ACP

1 January 1970

The EU and the countries of Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific signed a revision of the cooperation agreement - Cotonou Agreement - on 19th March. This agreement, which focuses on trade relations but also on political development and dialogue with 78 so-called ACP countries signed in 2000, is revised every five years. The official signature is planned for June in Ouagadougou.

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Near East

1 January 1970

The Members of the Near East Quartet, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Defence Policy, Catherine Ashton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Russian Foreign Minister Serguey Lavrov and American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried on 19th March to jump start Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. They are asking the Israeli government to "freeze all colonisation activities, (...) to dismantle all constructions set up prior to March 2001 and not to proceed with any more demolitions and expulsions in East Jerusalem." The Quartet said it was "deeply concerned by the worsening of the situation in Gaza. It hopes that negotiations will lead to an agreement in 24 months time. This final settlement "should put an end to the occupation started in 1967 and lead to the emergence of an independent Palestinian, democratic, viable state that would live in peace and security alongside Israel and its other neighbours.

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Commission

Deficit

1 January 1970

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On 17th March the European Commission published assessments of the credibility of the stability and convergence programmes of 14 Member States and expressed its concern about forecasts to reduce deficit in several of these countries, including France and the UK. These deficits have increased to historical levels because of the crisis. For a majority of the cases under examination growth hypotheses that support budgetary forecasts are believed to be "rather optimistic" which means that budgetary results might not be as good as planned. In addition to this in several cases the strategy put forward to balance the budget did not include enought concrete measures. Amongst the 14 countries only Bulgaria and Estonia plan to maintain their public deficit below the 3% reference value of the GDP.

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Agriculture

1 January 1970

The European Commission announced on 16th March that the Member States will have to pay back a total 346.5 million euros that represents irregular spending undertaken as part of the common agricultural policy. Dacian Ciolos, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development recalled that it was up to the Commission to ensure that the Member States correctly used funds that were made available to them "in order to guarantee that tax-payers' money was spent in the appropriate manner."

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Fundamental Rights

1 January 1970

The Commission proposed on 17th March negotiation directives for the Union's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Lisbon Treaty provides for the legal basis for the EU to accede to the ECHR, which is the most important instrument to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Accession will make the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg competent to review acts of the EU institutions, bodies and agencies, including rulings by the European Court of Justice, for respect of the European Convention on Human Rights. Accession will also provide a new possibility of remedies for individuals. They will be able to bring complaints – after they have exhausted domestic remedies – about the infringement of fundamental rights by the EU before the European Court of Human Rights.

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Telecoms

1 January 1970

On 19th March the European Commission adopted new rules to make it easier for passengers and crew on ships in the EU's territorial waters to make mobile phone calls or send and receive text messages when they are out of range of land-based mobile phone networks. The new rules harmonise the technical and legal conditions for on-board communication services and pave the way for innovative applications, such as remote monitoring of containers stored on-board. This brings new legal certainty and economic opportunities, for service providers who want to offer seamless maritime mobile connectivity across borders.

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Parliament

Labelling/Food

1 January 1970

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MEPs of the Environment Committee voted on 16th March 52 votes in favour 2 against on the nutritional labelling of food products which must provide legible, easy-to-understand information, notably on kilocalorie energy and on fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar and salt content so that consumers can make informed choices. This resolution will be presented for vote in the Parliament in May.

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Germany

Budget

1 January 1970

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended the draft finance law presented by her government to the Bundestag on 17th March. She justified the extent of the deficit (80 billion euros) with the imperatives of the economic crisis: the funding of partial unemployment, recovery plans and what is more social spending. This led to the establishment of new growth bases and now the idea is to manage the exit to the crisis and pay back deficits. This budget was adopted on 19th March by the Bundestag. The Chancellor also called on other European countries to apply budgetary discipline to guarantee the stability of the euro area. She re-iterted that speculation had simply made the Greek crisis worse. The challenge from the markets with regard to Athens grew from the non-respect of the Stability and Growth Pact criteria over the last few years. In the future she believes that the euro area will need new tools to be able to exclude countries which infringe the common rule long term.

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Strategy/EU2020

1 January 1970

The German Länder adopted a critical stance with regard to the new EU growth strategy entitled "Europe 2020" put forward on 3rd March by the European Commission. The upper chamber of Parliament which represents the Länder federally took a decision on 16th march whereby it criticises some of the goals that have been set, notably with regard to education as well as the "tight timetable" of adoption. The German Länder which are competent in terms of education "reject for example the goals concerning the school drop-out rates and the quota of diplomas in higher education," which in their opinion interfere too much with regard to their prerogatives. The new EU strategy notably plans to bring school drop-out rates down from 15% to 10%.

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Austria

Slovenia

1 January 1970

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Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger hosted his Slovenian counterpart Samuel Zbogar on 16th March. The two diplomatic heads hope to settle the quarrel over bilingual town-signs in Carinthia. They put forward a joint initiative that aims to enhance the European perspectives of the Western Balkan countries. Both countries support the relaxation of the visa regime with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania and hope to enhance exchanges between youth groups. They hope to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation also.

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Belgium

Afghanistan

1 January 1970

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On 19th March Belgium decided to extend its military presence in Afghanistan until the end of 2011, adhering to a total of 626 men but providing more time for the training of Afghan soldiers said the Foreign Office. The present mandate of Belgian soldiers will end in principle at the end of 2010. By extending this by 12 months Yves Leterme's government will guarantee Belgian presence in Afghanisatn beyond the next general elections which will take place in Belgium in June 2011 at the latest.

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Bulgaria

Government

1 January 1970

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On 18th March the Bulgarian government approved the appointment of a new minister responsible for the European funds, Tomislav Dontchev, former director of the Open Society institute in Sofia and mayor of Gabrovo. Mr Dontchev has a difficult task ahead in monitoring the Union's financial projects, accelerating the spending of these funds whilst preventing fraud which the country was punished for by the Commission. In 2008 the latter froze 825 million euros in pre-acession funds because there was a suspicion of embezzlement. The Commission released seven programmes in February to a total of 6.4 billion euros but a Bulgarian parliamentary committee believes that the country may lose most of these European funds because 1.3% had been spent in reality.

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France

EADS/US Air Force

1 January 1970

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On 16th March in a joint press release German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed their concern about the conditions which led to the American group Northrop Grumman and its European Partner EADS to abandon the competition for the market of the future supply tankers for the US Air Force once they were convinced that the call for tender published by the American authorities would be to the advantage of Boeing. The two leaders recalled that the US Air Force's choice focused in 2008 on the plan put forward by Northrop Grumman and EADS after an initial cancellation by the American Congress with regard to the attribution of the market to Boeing. Both leaders said that transatlantic economic relations had to be based on open markets and fair competition and that all temptation of a protectionist nature had to be cast aside including in the area of defence. Since on 18th March the deadline was brought up to 90 days (instead of 60) EADS is now assessing the new conditions set in the call for tender.

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Creation of Companies

1 January 1970

According to INSEE figures (National Statistics and Economic Research Institute) published on 17th March the number of companies created in February 2010 was up by 12.9% in comparison with the month of January (11.3% if 'auto-entrepreneurs' are excluded). The number of new companies has risen over the last twelve months by 76.4% in comparison with the 12 previous months. Over the first two months of the year 2010 67,242 new companies under the 'auto-entrepreneur' regime have been created ie one new company in two.

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Francophonie

1 January 1970

On 20th March, the Day of "Francophonie", French President Nicolas Sarkozy was host to the President of the International Francophonie Organisation (OIF) Abdou Diouf, and the representatives of the French-speaking community of Paris at the Elysée. In his introductory speech on a more diplomatic than linguistic level, Abdou Diouf stressed that the measures taken forty years ago would have been for nothing if today he could not make his voice heard "just as the international community struggles to define the terms of a new order". In the secretary general's opinion the OIF has a special role to play in the conception and the establishment of new regulations for a more democratic political governance, for fairer economic governance that is guided by ethics, for a truly cultural governance for the dignity of all and by all everywhere, in the service of peace."

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Greece

European Support

1 January 1970

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Prime Minister George Papandreou indicated on 17th March after joint declarations with the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso that Greece was looking at all possible options including the use of the IMF, its final choice depended on the decisions taken by the European Council on 25th and 26th March.

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Tax Fraud

1 January 1970

The Greek Finance Minister revealed on 19th March the main outline of a vast tax reform drawn up as a war machine against fraud and exemptions in order to bring the country out of the budgetary crisis. The project that is due to be delivered to parliament on 23rd March after a final review, aims to "create a fair, simple tax system," in terms of an "immediate priority to fight tax fraud," which is widespread and which causes losses of over 10 billion euros per year for the State. Taking up many of the previous announcements the project which includes 88 articles notably obliges professionals to deliver receipts and to encourage consumers to demand them.

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Hungary

1 January 1970

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou met his Hungarian counterpart, Gordon Bajnai on 16th March in Budapest. They spoke of the measures taken by both countries to face the crisis, as well as the possibilities that exist highlighting that "Europe has to move forward collectively and it is necessary to enhance economic governance on a European level to an even greater degree." They mentioned the perspective of 2020 with regard to social cohesion and green development notably pointing to the fact that economies must be competitive but "a safety net" is required to provide the citizen with the feeling that he/she is secure.

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Latvia

Coalition

1 January 1970

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The Latvian government coalition lost the parliamentary majority on 17th March after the withdrawal of the People's Party after a dispute with regard to austerity measures implemented to face the economic crisis. The party's chair, Andris Skele said that this decision was taken after Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis refused to sign a bilateral agreement with him to freeze tax increases.

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Czech Republic

Resignation

1 January 1970

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Czech Environment Minister Jan Dusik (Greens) announced that he was resigning on 18th March due to a difference in opinion with the Prime Minister over the renovation of a pollutant coal power plant. Czech President Vaclav Klaus accepted this resignation on 19th March.

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Romania

Bird Flu

1 January 1970

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Romania is the first European country to have observed the presence of the H5N1 virus on its territory for the last year. The European Commission confirmed on 16th March the danger areas defined by the Romanian authorities, close to a chicken farm in the town of Letea in the South East of the country which have been acknowledged as being contaminated by bird flu. To limit the spread of the virus, the Romanian authorities immediately applied the measures planned for by European norms notably the destruction of all chickens from the infected farms and the establishment of a quarantine area of 3km and a surveillance zone of 10km around the farm.

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UK

Turkey

1 January 1970

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During a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 17th March British Prime Minister Gordon Brown repeated the UK's support of Turkey's accession to the EU. The Union would in his opinion benefit from Turkey's "cultural, economic and political strength". Mr Brown believes that the "reform process led by Mr Erdogan will lead to the removal of the remaining obstacles to membership." He called on the Turkish and Greek leaders to be "courageous" in negotiations over Cyprus. The two government heads also mentioned the Iranian issue and said they were against the development of nuclear arms in the region.

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Defence

1 January 1970

France and UK have agreed to step up their cooperation in the nuclear military area whilst maintaining their independence in terms of dissuasion said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 19th March.

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Slovenia

Balkans

1 January 1970

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The leaders of the six Western Balkan countries and the European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle met on 20th March in Slovenia albeit without Serbia to try and boost the region's European integration process. "We have been able to pin point the region's main problem: everyone has to acknowledge everyone else," declared Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor. "It is a fundamental issue which is an impediment to the process (to European integration)".

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Albania

IMF

1 January 1970

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The IMF published its preliminary conclusions of its mission in Albania. According to the Funds' observers the stimuli policy undertaken by the Albanian government has made it possible to reduce the damaging effects of the international crisis on the country's economy but it is now time to return to greater budgetary discipline, otherwise the macro-economic balance will be in peril. Economists are planning on low growth in 2010 in a context of slow world growth and where most effort to recover will be assumed by the State budget. Finally the IMF insists on the need to undertake structural reform to guarantee continued mid-term growth of the Albanian economy.

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Belarus

Repression

1 January 1970

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The Belarus police forces undertook searches at the head of the most influential opposition website, charter97.org, Narodnaïa Volia (The Will of the People). The Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) expressed its "indignation" and condemned the searches in a press release.

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Turkey

Armenia

1 January 1970

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On 17th March in an interview of British TV channel BBC Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that of the 170,000 Armenians living in the country only 70,000 were Turkish citizens and that the others who did not have a working permit might be expulsed. Mr Erdogan said that those people were not fellow citizens and he was therefore not obliged to keep them. This declaration comes shortly after the resolutions adopted by American and Swedish MPs condemning the Armenian genocide of 1915. The Turkish government still refuses the definition of genocide for the mass murders that took place on the fringe of the First World War. His Armenian counterpart Tigran Sarkisian said that this kind of declaration "did not help to improve relations between the two States." Normalisation of relations between the neighbours is however a necessary condition for the continuation of negotiations to join the EU.

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Eurostat

Inflation

1 January 1970

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According to data published on 16th March by Eurostat the annual inflation rate in the euro area lay at 0.9% in February 2010 in comparison with 1% in January whilst the monthly inflation rate lay at 0.3%. In the Union the annual inflation rate lay at 1.4% in February, in comparison with 1.7% in January, and the monthly rate lay at 0.3%. The lowest annual rates were seen in Latvia (-4.3%) and Ireland (-2.4%) and the highest were in Hungary (5.6%), Romania (4.5%) and in Poland (3.4%).

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Construction

1 January 1970

According to estimates published by Eurostat on 17th March production in the construction sector decreased by 2.2% in the euro area and by 2% in the EU in January 2010, in comparison with the previous month. In December 2009 production declined by 1% in the euro area but increased by 0.8% in the Union.

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External Trade

1 January 1970

Estimates published by Eurostat on 18th Mach indicate that in January 2010 the euro area recorded an external trade deficit of 8.9 billion euros with the rest of the world, in comparison with 12.1 billion in January 2009. The balance recorded in December 2009 was positive (+4.1 billion euros). With regard to the Union Eurostat records a deficit of 22.5 billion euros in comparison with -28 in January 2009 and -2.5 billion in December. In 2009 trade with the Union decreased will all of its main partners, except for exports to China (+4%).

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Waste

1 January 1970

According to data published by Eurostat on 19th march 524kg of municipal waste per person were generated in 2008 in the EU (a stable rate in comparison with 2007) and 40% of municipal waste was recycled or turned into compost. The volume of municipal waste varies significantly from one State to another, ranging from 306kg per person in the Czech Republic to 802 kg in Denmark which can mainly be explained by different consumer behaviour. Also the methods of treating waste varies enormously: in Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Lithuania and Latvia nearly all waste is buried, whilst Denmark and Sweden incinerated half of their waste. Th countries with the highest shares of recycled waste were Germany (48%), Belgium and Switzerland (35%) whilst composting was most frequent in Austria (40%) and in Italy (34%).

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Publications

Greece/Environment

1 January 1970

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The protection of the environment should become part of a new economic rescue plan for Greece according to an OECD report published on 15th March. OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria declared that "green policies and economic growth could be enhanced to create new jobs by promoting cleaner technologies." According to the report green taxes would have to be increased and their scope widened to improve public finance. Green tax revenues have fallen significantly since the mid 1990's in Greece and now only represent 2% of the GDP, much less than in other European countries. To improve the environment without affecting public spending the report advises on making producers and users of pollutant products pay and to stop subsidies being given to environment damaging activities.

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EU/Integration

1 January 1970

On 19th March the daily newspaper La Tribune published an article by Thierry Chopin, the Foundation's research director and Jean-François Jamet, economist entitled "Comment intégrer l'économie européenne?" (How should the European economy achieve integration?).

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Studies/Reports

EU/2020

1 January 1970

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The Center for European Reform has published a study entitled "The Lisbon Scorecard X: The Road to 2020". The Lisbon Strategy has not succeeded in fulfilling its promises. Few European States are prospering from an economic point of view. With public funds in poor shape, an ageing population and nascent tension in the euro area the Union has to provide new impetus to its reforms. Its EU2020 strategy requires a strong governance method, with a public peformance ranking in each country and it should pay greater attention to competence and innovation.

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EU/USA

1 January 1970

Notre Europe published a study on 16th March on the future of the Euro-American partnership. The High Level Group on the future of the Euro-American partnership comprising former ministers and heads of European government lucidly review world developments and their impact on the EU and the USA. It suggests a new approach, far from the Union's national illusions and the imperial attitude of America for a Euro-American partnership that will become a springboard for the emergence of a global partnership.

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Cars/Germany

1 January 1970

The French Institute for International Relations has published a study by Helmut Becker, director of the Economic Analysis and Communication Institute of Munich entitled "Crises and Challenges in the German Car Industry." The car industry, a key sector in the German economy, is paying for the strategic investment errors, high social costs and its lack of flexibility, that resulted from the automisation of the production line. The drop in demand, the increase in energy prices and raw materials, the environmental aspects and the development of the idea of mobility are all challenges that the car industry faces in Germany.

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Culture

Münster/Miro

1 January 1970

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The Pablo Picasso Graphik-Museum in Münster is putting on an exhibition from 5th March to 6th June 2010 of Joan Miro's work entitled "The Colour of his Dreams". On exhibit are more than 100 pieces of work representing the poetic work of Miro: paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics ... The selection of work covers over 50 years of the artist's life.

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Berlin/Aga Khan

1 January 1970

More than 200 objects covering 1000 years of Islamic art selected from Aga Khan's collection, one of the richest and vast in the world, are on show at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin until 6th June. Paintings, drawings, ceramics and even sculptures on wood allow the audience to admire the diversity and opulence of the Islamic culture that extended over the centuries from the Iberian peninsula and the Maghreb to China.

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Paris/Crime

1 January 1970

The Orsay Museum is devoting an exhibition to "Crime and Punishment" until 27th June. An idea of former "Garde des Sceaux" Robert Badinter and designed by Jean Clair, an Academy member, the exhibition looks into the artists' view of crime from the Revolution until 1939. Over the years litterature created many criminal characters. The exhibition title is taken by DostoÏevski. Apart from crime the question of the eternal problem of evil is set and beyond social circumstances - there is a focus on the metaphysical. Art is a spectacular witness to these issues.

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Bilbao/Sculpture

1 January 1970

The Guggenheim Museum of Bilbao is presenting a monographic exhibition by Anish Kapoor until 12th October. This exhibition has been organised in close collaboration with the artist. Kapoor became famous at the beginning of the 1980's thanks to his explorations of the abstract sculptural form, his monumental installations and his public outdoor art projects. The exhibition in Bilbao brings together several spectacular series undertaken by Kapoor since 1979. These pieces reveal Kapoor's interest in the relationship between the spectator and the objects in a given space.

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Agenda

Newsletter Archives

A Union of criminal law - the vital European area of freedom, security and justice.

General elections 26 October in Georgia: a referendum on Europe

What the European Parliament should ask of future Commissioners

The European Union between the United States and China: should we choose between equidistance and following?

What future for European defence?

The Editors of the Newsletter :
Stefanie Buzmaniuk, Helen Levy

N°ISSN : 2729-6482

Editor-in-Chief :
Eric Maurice

Director of Publication :
Pascale Joannin

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pdf

The Newsletter n°433- version of 22 mars 2010