Baltic countries: joint declaration on Europe” “

“Our Baltic countries possess a rich heritage that can make a genuine contribution to the human and spiritual development of the ‘new’ Europe. Our nations, that have suffered the painful experience of a life deprived of freedom in an atheist society, bear witness to the importance of faith and religious values for the safeguard of […]

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Germany: meeting on ‘conversion'” “

“Live your vocation”: that’s the slogan of the congress being organized by the Forum Deutscher Katholiken (forum of German Catholics), due to be held in Regensburg, in Germany, from 14 to 16 May. Its aim, in the words of the president of the Forum, Hubert Gindert, is to “encourage the participants to personal conversion and […]

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Portugal: reviving missionary activity” “

“Missionary activity has always characterised the life of the Portuguese Christian communities, but we are registering a certain enfeeblement of it at the present time”. That’s the view of the national director of the Pontifical Mission-Aid Societies of Portugal, Father Manuel Barbosa, who recently announced the creation of an ‘ad hoc’ committee with the task […]

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culture" "

Europe ‘seen from outside’” “” “

“I’ve travelled through most of the new EU candidate countries. As the ‘great day’ gradually approached, we stopped wishing for the moon. We finally realised that the preliminary requisites imposed by Brussels do not have anything sentimental about them and that no one is willing to close his eyes to the obligation to respect certain […]

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european parliament" "

Politics: passion and reason” “” “

After having welcomed the 162 deputies of the 10 new member countries and the 10 newly nominated Commissioners to the Executive in Brussels, the European Parliament ended the work of the 1999-2004 legislature on Wednesday 5 May. The elections of 10-13 June, to be held simultaneously in the 25 member states of the EU, will […]

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Lisbon Strategy: work group” “

The Work Group of the Commission for the reform of the Lisbon Strategy for employment and the ‘economy of knowledge’, i.e. investing in research, technological innovation and the modernization of production structures, is finally beginning its task. The setting up of the Group, coordinated by former Dutch prime minister and head of the EU task-force […]

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Accidents on the workplace” “

Serious and/or fatal accidents on the workplace in the European Union are decreasing. The downward trend is confirmed in the “Report on Labour and Health” published by Eurostat (EU Statistics Office) in collaboration with the European Foundation for the improvement of living and labour conditions last week, to mark World Day on health and safety […]

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"Knowledge Regions"” “

The European Commission has published the list of the 14 pilot projects selected following the call for tenders “Knowledge Regions” (KnowREG) published last year. The projects, which will benefit from an overall EU co-financing of 2.5 million euros, mainly concern the following sectors: the definition of regional strategies for research and innovation; the production of […]

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Revival of industrial policy” “

The European Commission adopted in recent days a communication on the new guidelines for industrial policy in the enlarged EU. In the document the emphasis is placed on the need to increase expenditure on productivity, innovation and research with the aim of curbing the phenomena of “de-industrialization” (from which some areas of member states are […]

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Dailies and periodicals” “

The images of prisoners tortured in Iraq by the forces of the Anglo-American coalition have been beamed round the world, and given rise to a wide-ranging debate in the international press. “United States: the scandal of torture”, is the front-page headline in Le Monde (6/5), over an article in which it is pointed out that […]

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