Everyday work

Immigration, the Millennium Objectives, the go-ahead to Slovakia’s accession to the euro-zone, prices and energy supplies, climate change, the situation of Cuba and Sudan, the election in Zimbabwe of June 27 (“the citizens must be allowed to freely choose their own rulers”). As usual, many items have been tackled by the “Conclusions” of the EU summits. Pages and pages, telling about the positions taken during these “diplomatic marathons”. The final document coming out of the meeting of the heads of state and government of the 27 member states held in Brussels on June 19 and 20 is no exception. The topics that received most media coverage, such as the Lisbon Treaty, add up to the many topics that have been discussed by the leaders of the Twenty-Seven member states and their Ministers of Foreign Affairs: positions that, although failing to hit the spotlights, show how wide is the range of problems the EU has to address daily. Offices and Agencies: the premises in the Eastern countries. On the “social” front, the summit broached the thorny issue of the Romanies living in the member states. The Conclusions show that the European Council is waiting for the conclusions that will be drawn by the EU Commission on the “applicable policies and tools for improving the social inclusion of the Romany population”, as well as the outcome of the special conference due next September. In the area of research and innovation, the Council ruled that the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (Iet) should be based in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. “This will enable the Institute to quickly start working with a view to improving European innovation”. In addition, the heads of the Executives expressed their preferences as to the premises of the future EU offices and agencies, which “should be mainly based in the member states that have joined the Union in or after 2004”. Balkans, a “European prospect”. A wide section, the one about the Western Balkans, for which the “European prospect” has been proposed again. As well as Turkey, the official candidates for accession are currently Croatia and Fyrom. In addition, last week’s Council highlighted that, “by making substantial progress in their economic and political reforms and meeting the required conditions and requirements, the remaining” countries “should be eligible for accession on their merits, with a view to accession”. Not least because the prospect of accession “is essential for the stability, reconciliation and future of the Balkans”. Then, the document opens a long digression to outline relations with each state, i.e.: the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia. In particular – it reads – “the European Union is still committed to playing a primary role in guaranteeing stability in Kosovo”, partly through its Eulex mission. Promoting society. As to such Balkan region, the document contains a special “statement” in the Appendix. “Substantial efforts have been made – it states – to make the European prospect of the Western Balkans more tangible and visible for the populations”. In this sense, the Council lists three scopes of action. The first one concerns the extension of the EU policies to the Balkans (EU projects and funds), thus strengthening regional cooperation. The second one is the promotion of “interpersonal relations and the development of society”: a commitment that goes beyond the official roles “as it makes for a better mutual understanding and reconciliation and promotes the principles on which the EU is based”. This section covers such initiatives as an increased number of Erasmus Mundus scholarships, support to research, opportunities for education and dialogue between citizens and communities. The third scope of action concerns social and economic development, cultural cooperation between different regions and countries, and “good governance”. Euro-Mediterranean, a meeting in Paris. The “external relations” category could not fail to include the Euro-Mediterranean process. At the helm of the EU Council for the next six months, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who will take office on July 1, is turning it into its pet subject and has promoted a special meeting in Paris on July 13 to revive the Barcelona Process. Assuming that “the Mediterranean region is an area of fundamental strategic importance for the EU in political, economic and social terms”, it is advocated that this prospect must be sped up and strengthened. The Process started in the Spanish city in 1995 “led to promoting multilateral and bilateral cooperation”. The renamed Union for the Mediterranean, according to Sarkozy, should boost relations between the two seashores.