Not only that cloud

The tragedy of Chernobyl as a lesson of history and a warning for the future: the parliamentary session of Brussels on 26-27 April opened with a debate on the day marking the 20th anniversary of the explosion of the reactor at the nuclear power station situated 120 km from Kiev, “releasing into the sky a cloud five hundred times more radioactive than the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki”. At the very time that the EU is urgently reflecting on its own energy policy, the divisions between the political groupings pro and contra nuclear energy are once again becoming marked. Various other issues were also on the agenda of the EP, including an interrogation on the future membership of Romania and Bulgaria, the promotion of multilingualism, and the funding of trans-European networks. BULGARIA AND ROMANIA IN THE EU BY 2007? Numerous doubts were expressed by MEPs about the degree of preparation of Bulgaria and Romania for full membership of the European Union on 1st January 2007. An oral interrogation opened a debate in the chamber in which the Commission was asked whether “it considers that the two countries will be ready by 2007”, or whether it will be necessary to postpone membership, as permitted by article 39 of the treaty of accession. The decision is up to the Council of heads of state and of government, but it is the responsibility of the Commission to propose to the Council to evaluate this possibility. More precisely the doubts of MEPs about Bulgaria and Romania concern the state “of the reform of their judicial system” and “the war on corruption and organized crime”, “spheres that give rise to concerns and require more incisive efforts and results on the part of both states”. The “safeguard clauses”, the “system of close monitoring”, and the option of formulating “recommendations” in the months ahead, are the juridical instruments with which the EU could put pressure on Bucharest and Sofia to achieve the internal modernization that would permit them to meet the objective of accession according to the calendar laid down. STUDYING FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS. During the session, a report was debated concerning the promotion of multilingualism and the learning of foreign languages. According to MEPs, foreign languages “ought to be studied from the earliest age” and at the same time incorporated “in the framework of a programme for education throughout life”. According to the report presented by the Greek MEP MANOLIS MAVROMMATIS , “knowledge of languages permits a better utilization of human potential and favours mobility within the Union”. The report therefore supports the Communication of the Barroso Commission, aimed at introducing a European indicator of language skills common to all member states. The Parliament insists on the fact that “the ability to understand and communicate in languages other than one’s own mother tongue and the improvement of language skills are important factors for the achievement of the objective of a better use of the human potential in Europe. This ability, moreover, is considered indispensable for all European citizens to permit the full exercise of the rights and freedom deriving from mobility within the EU and to be able to create a truly European labour market”. FUNDING TRANSPORT NETWORKS. The European Parliament devotes constant attention to the European economy, infrastructures, innovation and research. In its latest session a pressing request was made for the allocation of sufficient budgetary funds to continue the work on the development of cross-border (or trans-European) transport networks (RTE-T), aimed at the movements of people and goods. The position of the parliamentary commission of transport and tourism was expressed by its chairman, the Italian PAOLO COSTA : “The completion of the trans-European transport networks is of fundamental importance for the achievement of the objectives of the Lisbon Strategy”; “to increase its own competitiveness, Europe needs a homogeneous transport network rather than a collage of disconnected projects”. The “credibility of the European institutions in the eyes of European regions and citizens”, suggested Costa, is also dependent on the concreteness of these projects. MEPs also underlined that, “on the basis of the financial perspectives 2007-2013 proposed by the Council, the trans-European networks would receive a funding of barely 6 billion euros”, in other words “less than a third of the amount proposed by the Parliament” and considered indispensable for the task. It is now up to the Commission to secure sufficient funding for the RTE-T and for the co-financing of “at least the priority key projects in the next seven years”.