The European Parliament is due to meet in Strasbourg in plenary session from 2 to 5 July. Apart from the presentation of the programme of work by the Belgian Presidency (cf. the previous report), the agenda will include, among other things, the annual report of the President of the European Central Bank, Wim Duisenberg. Of […]

The European Council held in Göteborg on 15 and 16 June, which marked the end of Sweden’s sixth-month presidency of the EU, was the occasion for defining the future strategies and commitments of the EU, also beyond 2001. Future of Europe and it enlargement: the Fifteen, noting with satisfaction the many positive initiatives connected with […]

Guy Verhofstadt, head of the Belgian government and next rotating President of the European Council, has released details about the composition of the team of consultants commissioned by the federal government of Belgium to contribute to the preparation of the “Laeken Declaration” on the future of the EU, the text that will serve as the […]

The Council of Ministers of employment and social affairs chaired by the Swedish Mona Sahlin reported – in the course of June – a series of important political agreements between members relating to three draft directives: respectively, equality of treatment between men and women (including sexual harassment) in matters of employment; exposure to noise on […]

On 1st July Belgium assumed the rotating Presidency of the EU, taking over from Sweden which led the Council in the first half of 2001. As announced on more than one occasion by Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, the government’s main ambition is drafting a document for the Laeken Summit at the end of the […]

Adopting the report of the British Labour MEP Whitehead on the proposal to establish a European Food Authority in 2002, the European Parliament has made numerous amendments to the original text, considered “not ambitious enough” and “too vague”. The European Parliament expressed the hope that the name “European Food Authority” would be replaced by “European […]

Italy’s new minister for community policies and the president of the constitutional affairs commission of the European Parliament dialogue on the reform of the Union A face to face on the “future of Europe” was held between Italy’s newly appointed minister for community policies, Rocco Buttiglione, and the president of the constitutional affairs commission of […]

An appeal for awareness-raising and prayer against torture was launched by the Council of the Christian Churches in France (CECEF), on the occasion of the “International Day of support for the victims of torture” held on 26 June. In making this appeal it accepted the invitation made by the association “Action of Christians for the […]

In view of the forthcoming G8 summit, scheduled to be held in Genoa from 20 al 22 July, not only Catholic movement and associations, but also episcopates and groups of Catholic intellectuals throughout Europe have taken a stance on the issue of globalization and have mobilized themselves. Let’s try to explore their reasons The Catholic […]

Churches that are more courageous and concrete in promoting peace at all levels: that is what is urged by the young representatives of the Lutheran churches from various European countries and elsewhere in the world. At a meeting held in Geneva at the end of June, they sent a message to the World Lutheran Federation: […]