Euro-Parliament session in BrusselsA number of ongoing Euro-Parliament sessions are designed to conclude debates over reports and dossiers before the closing sitting. In fact, the upcoming elections of June 4-7 have led the Assembly to step up the pace of activities. A session is being scheduled in Brussels for next April 1st and 2nd that will address a number of themes on the agenda such as improving flexibility in the use of Community funding for economic crisis recovery; fighting against “multi-faceted” discriminations; promoting the free circulations of citizens and other themes that include the EU-Russia partnership agreement; schooling for migrants’ children; problems and perspectives of EU citizenship. ECOFIN: crisis, markets, political responses The evolution of financial markets and of real economy; the outcomes of the G20 in London; the application of the Growth and Stability Pact in the European Union: these are some of the topics on the agenda of the ECOFIN Council to be held in Prague April 3-4. During the course of the week, marked by a series of pre-eminent political events for Europe and for the rest of the world, the 27 Economic and Finance ministers will devote their attention to global debates and to the decisions taken by the heads of government and state. The reunion in Prague will be attended by ECB Chairman Jean-Claude Trichet, by the governors of the Central Banks Commissioners Joaquín Almunia and Charlie McCreevy, by BEI president Philippe Maystadt, along with Jacques de Larosière, who chairs the working group on financial markets’ evaluation, and Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, President of Notre Europe. The works will be co-ordinated by Czech finance minister Miroslav Kalousek, President-in-Office, who declared that the ECOFIN meeting will examine “the costs and gains of the historical enlargement of 2004”, focusing upon macro-financial stability, domestic markets and professional mobility within the Union. Finally, ECOFIN will address themes related to the supervision of the banking sector and related reforms. Which development in the Mediterranean The countries bordering on the shores of the Mediterranean represent a “highly-populated region with an enormous growth potential and rich cultural diversity”. This is why “the promotion of long-lasting development” in this region, given the ongoing economic downturn, is a major political challenge and also a chance”. On the basis of these remarks, EU’s Social and Economic Committee promoted an International Conference scheduled in Nice (France) April 6-7 that will be attended by the countries involved in the Union For the Mediterranean, officially set up in Paris last year. The organizers of the event claim that cooperation can take place within the framework of Euromed policies “aimed at spurring favourable conditions for the creation of employment, environmental and health protection, improved quality of life and geopolitical stability”. Political actors and civil society representatives of the Mediterranean states are called to address three issues: water-quality, drought-prevention and urban-governance. Among the speakers figure Georgios Dassis (EU Social and Economic Committee), Henri Guaino (Union for the Mediterranean), Mohammed Kharchich (representative of the city of Tangiers).Innovation and creativity: the role of the schools The calendar of events for the Year of Creativity and Innovation continues. Along with events directly promoted by EU institutions, others are taking place at national level- Information, programs and documents on the events are available on the Year’s official website: www.create2009.europa.eu. One of the official meetings was held March 30 in Brussels. In this case, attention focused on the role played by education in the younger generations. Odile Quintin, chair of the Commission’s general directorate for Education and Culture opened the session by responding to some of the questions raised by the organizers: in which way can schools and universities stimulate the creativity and the innovative capacities of their students? How can these requisites be brought within the working environment? The ensuing round table was attended by Eduardo Marçal Grilo (Fondation Gulbenkian, formerly minister in Portugal), by Alfons Sauquet (Higher School for Administrative Studies, Spain) and by Dirk Van Damme (OECD research department coordinator). The Year’s fist official debate was held February 16 on the “Society of Knowledge”. Further meetings are scheduled for the forthcoming months and will be devoted to the public sector, to sustainable development, to cultural diversity and the most innovative industrial sectors.
