Redazione

The “social and ethical responsibility” of the means of communication will be discussed at the European Parliament on 29 and 30 August at the first “European summit of ethics”, promoted by the “European Ethics Network”, a coordination of associations founded with the aim of making an “ethical contribution” to the various social questions. The meeting […]

The last meeting of the General Affairs Council of the EU before the summer break was held in Brussels on 22 July. The issues tackled included: the negotiations on enlargement with the first wave of ten candidate countries, and the question of refugees and displaced persons in the western Balkans (over 1 million of them). […]

Germany" "

With 5 votes in favour and 3 against, the German constitutional court in Karlsruhe, in a sentence issued on 17 July, ascertained the constitutionality of the so-called “Law for the elimination of the discrimination against homosexual unions: unions for life” that regulates the juridical consequences of unions between homosexuals. On the basis of figures supplied […]

United Kingdom

The appointment of the new archbishop of Canterbury was officially announced from no.10 Downing Street, residence of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on 23 July. He is to be the Rev. Rowan Williams, hitherto archbishop of Wales and bishop of Monmouth. He will take the place of George Carey who announced his retirement in January. […]

The world summit on sustainable development in Johannesburg in South Africa, to be held from 26 August to 4 September, has long captured the attention of a hundred or so Catholic associations in France, but has aroused some misgivings on the part of the Catholic Committee against famine and for development (CCFD), the first French […]

By “sustainable development” is meant the capacity to satisfy the needs of the present without compromising the possibilities for future generation to satisfy their own. “Agenda 21” is the global action plan for sustainable development adopted by the world conference of Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The primary objective of Agenda 21, composed of over […]

Johannesburg" "

The world summit on sustainable development is due to be held in Johannesburg in South Africa from 26 August to 4 September. Ten years after the world conference on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro, it will evaluate the implementation of the so-called Agenda 21 programme. The summit’s official agenda has still to be […]

the Convention" "

“I don’t think that the reports of the Convention’s work make entertaining reading”, yet “it seems to me important that European citizens should not lose interest in what’s happening. What is at stake in their personal future”. So says Valéry Giscard d’Estaing , president of the Convention for the future of Europe, in an interview […]

Even if “he does not explicitly cite it”, Christianity is the “source” to which the President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi referred, in his first message addressed to both Chambers of the Italian Parliament on pluralism and impartiality of information. So say the 140 Catholic weeklies and their press agency, promoted by the […]

Subsequent to the Protocol annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997 and the “Green Paper” of the same year (cf. the previous page), EU legislation on information and communication has been prolific. The main legislative measures are as follows: · Directive 97/66/EC of the EP and the Council, of 15/12/1997, on the treatment of […]