From challenges to opportunities” “

It was supposed to be the week of the European tour of Mamhoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority. But the assault of the Israeli army on the prison in Jericho and the violent popular reactions in the Gaza Strip forced the Palestinian leader to interrupt his trip. Nor were “tough issues” lacking in Strasbourg, where Parliament, Commission and Council had set themselves a challenging agenda. “TRANSFORMING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES”. “We perfectly understand that at this time of crisis President Abbas was obliged to return to his people in the Palestinian territories”. On hearing the news, on Tuesday evening, of the President’s decision to break off his visit, the President of the European Parliament, the Spaniard JOSEP BORRELL briefly met Abbas. Borrell then declared: “We firmly condemn the Israeli attack on the prison in Jericho and the uprisings and bloody acts that took place in the Palestinian territories in reaction to it”. During the session of the European Parliament from 13 to 16 March, MEPs discussed future enlargement, mergers on the internal market (with reference to the recent cases of Enel-Suez, UniCredit-HBV, Eon-Endesa, Mittal-Arcelor), and Euro-Mediterranean policy in view of the parliamentary assembly on 26-27 March. They approved the creation of a European Institute for gender equality, which could become operative in 2007. They also heard an address from the German Federal President HORST KÖHLER, who acknowledged the difficulties besetting the integration process and appealed to the EU to “transform the challenges into opportunities”, by devoting particular attention to the Constitution and the “democratic participation of citizens”. A COMPUTER FOR EVERY STUDENT. A lively debate was conducted on the forthcoming summit of heads of state and government (23-24 March), dedicated to the Lisbon Strategy. Various speakers urged the governments of the 25 to tackle “with determination” the agenda decided in 2000 to make the European economy more competitive and foster social cohesion. The recipes proposed by MEPs include the need to develop research and innovation, boost the competitiveness of small and medium businesses, and develop “transport and energy networks”. A document approved in the chamber asks for “measures to support the elderly, higher births, education and inclusive immigration policies”. Lastly, a concrete proposal was made, aimed at all member countries: “Each student should have a computer at his/her disposal by 2010”. Some MEPs denounced “the return to protectionism in Europe”. In the following debate on company mergers, the Commissioner for Competition, the Dutch NEELIE KROES declared: “The possibility of restructuring European firms by creating cross-border companies is an essential prerequisite to tackle the challenges of globalized markets. Whoever denies this freedom, also denies the need to adjust to change and withstand economic competition. The Commission will support the rules of the single market”. CONDITIONS FOR NEW ENLARGEMENT. On the question of any future enlargement of EU frontiers, the atmosphere in the chamber was rather tense. German MEP ELMAR BROK, chairman of the external relations committee, explained that “the Parliament confirms the prospect of EU membership for Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia and the Western Balkans”. But there are conditions that need to be met “before proceeding to any further accessions”. The main criteria include: “verifying a priori the EU’s capacity for absorption”; “controlling that these countries make real progress in the fields of human rights and the peaceful co-existence between ethnic groups”; achieving prior entry into force of the Constitution; and adjusting the EU budget to the dimensions of an enlarged Union. STOP TO FORCED PROSTITUTION. “Experience demonstrates that major sporting events in which large numbers of people participate cause a spectacular temporary growth in the demand for sexual services”. Starting out from this conviction, the Parliament approved a resolution by a large majority, adopted also in view of the forthcoming football World Cup to be staged in Germany from 9 June to 9 July. The document “condemns the trafficking of persons, especially of women and children, for purposes of sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitation” that represent “one of the most blatant expressions of the violation of human rights”. Addressing the chamber in Strasbourg, FRANCO FRATTINI, Italian Commissioner for justice, security and liberty, declared: “In my view, we ought to think of the penal liability of those who, as customers, have recourse to the services of persons, knowing that they have been the victims of compulsion and even in some cases of actual trafficking that has reduced them to slavery”. Italian Catholic jurists have called for even stiffer measures, beginning with strict preventive controls to curb this deplorable phenomenon.