agenda" "

EU legislation” “

The following legislative acts and communications, among others, came into force in the course of last week: · Common position (EC) no. 34/2001, of 31/7/2001, defined by the Council, and deliberated in conformity with the procedure specified in article 251 of the Treaty by which the European Community was instituted, with a view to the […]

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International dailies and periodicals” “

The acceleration of the military offensive, before the onset of the Afghan winter, and the enlargement of the confines of the conflict, thanks to the participation of an ever growing number of countries “allied” with the United States: these are the “war issues” on which the main European dailies continue to reflect, with editorials and […]

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The European position on the WTO summit in Doha” “

Creating the conditions for a stronger and lasting economic growth through a greater liberalization of trade: that’s how the European Commissioner for trade, Pascal Lamy, summed up the position of the EU on the fourth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to be held at Doha in Qatar from 9 to 13 […]

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Dialogue between the cultures of the Mediterranean” “

The fourth Conference of Foreign Ministers of the 27 countries that participate in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership met in Brussels on 5 and 6 November 2001 (cf. SirEurope no. 5/2001, p.6). Renewing their commitment to abide by the Barcelona Process as an “essential and privileged framework of dialogue and cooperation between the European Union and the […]

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European Union " "

Cooperation to development to prevent conflicts” “

Representatives of the Parliaments of the 77 States of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific and of the European Parliament took part in the third session of the joint ACP-EU parliamentary Assembly in Brussels from 29 October to 1 November. Corrie, British co-President of the Assembly, stressed the growing political role of the joint Assembly, […]

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Switzerland: a Caritas report on precarious employment” “” “

Almost 10% of workers in Switzerland have no job security. Women and unskilled workers are especially subject to precarious conditions of work. This is affirmed by a report issued by Swiss Caritas, and presented in Bern in recent days. Out of 4,200,000 workers in Switzerland, over 430,000 are in a situation of precariousness. “We don’t […]

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United Kingdom: campaign against the law on euthanasia” “

An interparliamentary group of members of both the House of Commons and House of Lords in the UK is about to appeal against the British law on euthanasia to the European Court of Human Rights. The campaign is being led by the Right to Life Organization which is funding all the legal costs of the […]

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Germany: no to lessons in Islamic religion” “

The administrative court of Düsseldorf issued a sentence on Friday, 2 November, rejecting the request of the central Council of Moslems and the German Islamic Council to directly provide lessons in Islamic religion, as a subject of normal study. The judge motivated his sentence by arguing that, according to the fundamental law of the German […]

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ecumenism" "

United to defend the environment ” “

Climate change is placing the life of the planet at risk and represents today “a new and urgent challenge for the European Churches”. That’s why it’s important that Europe should not follow the example of the United States but sign as soon as possible, and without hesitation, the Kyoto protocol on the reduction of carbon […]

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migrants" "

We’re no longer “maccheroni”” “

“At the beginning we were only ‘the dirty maccheroni’. But now, after over 50 years’ presence in Belgium, it’s the Belgians who are eating the maccheroni; indeed they consume more pasta than the Italians”. That’s how Don Giambattista Bettoni, national delegate for the Italian missions in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Low Countries, sums up the […]

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