Igc-fact file" "

Draft Constitution under review” “

On Wednesday 17 September the European Commission adopted an opinion on the draft European Constitution that will be discussed by the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) due to open in Rome on 4 October. While the EU Executive considers the draft prepared by the Convention an “excellent point of departure”, it also underlines the need for the […]

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Position of the Governments” “

The positions to be adopted by the 25 in the negotiations that will lead to the approval of the new European constitutional Treaty are gradually taking shape. The main bone of contention is Giscard d’Estaing’s draft Constitution adopted by consensus at the end of the 18 months work of the Convention he chaired. The European […]

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Crisis in the Middle East” “

Diplomatic action is being taken by the European Union to revive the peace process in the Middle East and salvage the “Road Map”. In the space of a few days, the Israeli-Palestinian crisis sharpened: the resignation of Palestinian premier Abu Mazen and his replacement by Abu Ala were followed by the threats of the government […]

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Ecofin Council” “

The informal Council of EU Ministers of the economy and finance met at Stresa on 12 and 13 September. The meeting tackled the issues of the reduction of VAT, the excessive bureaucracy that is hampering commercial and financial transactions and the relation between the Euro area and the Asian system. As regards an analysis of […]

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Pensions reform” “

Following the joint report of the Commission and Council on “adequate and sustainable pensions”, the social affairs and employment Commission of the European Parliament approved a report in which it invited member states to give priority in their own budgets to the funding of pensions systems. In the view of MEPs, it is essential that […]

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No’ to discrimination against Romanies” “

A report by the European Observatory of racist and xenophobic phenomena, headed by the Council of Europe, has denounced serious forms of discrimination against communities of the Rom (or Romany) ethnic group. The accusations are particularly levelled against Romania and Slovakia. According to the Observatory, the difficulties and sometimes the impediments to access to public […]

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The unemployed: weaker also in health” “

Life is undeniably difficult for the unemployed, who have a mortality rate five times higher than that of those in permanent jobs in Europe. This is one of the findings of the report on social life in Europe in 2003, published by the European Commission on 9 September. It also emerges from the same report […]

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GMO: The Cartagena protocol comes into force ” “

The “Cartagena Protocol on biosafety” came into force on 11 September. The protocol is intended to promote a safe use and correct management of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and is aimed to protect human health from the potential risks deriving from GMOs. Signed by 103 states, it has been ratified only by 57 countries, of […]

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Environment: support for "good practices"” “

The environment programme of the Italian Presidency of the European Union was presented to the European Parliament on 9 September. It is based on “positive actions rather than on the ideology of prohibitions”. The Italian Presidency intends to accelerate and qualify the necessary European shift from a negative culture of “command and control” to a […]

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” “Dailies and periodicals” “

“The United States faced by growing Iraqi hostility”: that’s the front-page headline in the Herald Tribune (18/9), in an article in which Douglas Jehl and David E. Sanger point out that the “most formidable enemy” in Iraq, in these months, “may be the resentment of the ordinary Iraqi to American military occupation”. This is an […]

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