European Report articles from March 6 2007

European Report archives from March 6 2007

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY : AGENCY EVALUATES COMPANIES' COMMITMENT TO UNION RIGHTS.(Viego evaluates measures for Trade Union rights and collective bargaining)
March 6, 2007... Of the 55 enterprises that signed the global framework agreements, Vigeo - a European corporate social responsibility rating agency, headed by Nicole Notat, former president of France's CFDT trade union with Social Democratic tendencies(1) -...

EU/US : AIR PASSENGER AND BANK DATA SHARING TALKS GET UNDERWAY.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Talks between the EU and the US to come up with a new agreement on transfer of air passengers' personal data to the US authorities were launched in Washington DC last week. The key issues are how much data has to be sent, which US agencies have...

AREVA-REPOWER MERGER CLEARED.(REpower Systems AG)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... On 5 March, the European Commission authorised the acquisition by French energy company Areva of Germany's REpower Systems AG. REpower is active in wind energy. The merger was approved under the simplified procedure. (RMI)

SPRING SUMMIT : BUSINESS SETS OUT ITS EXPECTATIONS OF EU LEADERS.(European Union)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The EU should use its current economic upturn to increase the pace and ambition of structural reform, according to a joint statement from the main European business organisations. The statement, released in advance of the Spring Summit of...

DOHA ROUND : CHIRAC ATTACKS MANDELSON'S TRADE STRATEGY.(Jacques Chirac warns Peter Mandelson on agricultural concessions)
March 6, 2007... French President Jacques Chirac has sent an unequivocal message to EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson by warning him against the temptation to make any new concessions on the agricultural aspect of the Doha Round trade negotiations at the...

WORKING TIME : COMMISSION CONTESTS OMBUDSMAN'S INTERVENTION.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The European Commission took nearly four months to reply to the request from the EU Ombudsman about a complaint lodged by a German doctor on the subject of standby time (see Europolitics 3153). This is a clear indication of the trouble it had...

AIR SAFETY : COMMISSION UPDATES BLACK LIST OF UNSAFE AIRLINES.
March 6, 2007... The revised list of airline companies banned from the EU was updated on 5 March for the third time since its creation in March 2006. The Cypriot airline Ajet (formerly Helios Airways), which was given a yellow card' during the October 2006...

COURT OF AUDITORS : COURT AIMS TO ADOPT 20 SPECIAL REPORTS IN 2007-2008.
March 6, 2007... The EU Court of Auditors plans to adopt twenty special reports between 2007 and 2008. The announcement was made by its President, Hubert Weber, during a presentation of the 2007 work programme at the end of February to the European Parliament's...

DISCUSSION OVER MINIMUM PAY.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Everyone knows that the conclusions of the Spring European Summit, scheduled for 8 and 9 March, are drawn up beforehand in diplomatic circles. The devil, as always, is in the detail. In the social sector, the discussion for the summit on 8...

DRUGS AND THE RULE OF LAW IN AFGHANISTAN.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... In its conclusions adopted on 5 March, the EU General Affairs Council "recognises the significant and detrimental impact that production and trafficking in drugs are having upon the stability and security of Afghanistan and the surrounding...

INFORMAL EDUCATION COUNCIL : EARLY YEARS EDUCATION IDENTIFIED AS A "WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY".(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The importance of pre-primary learning to children's development was one of the points highlighted by Europe's education ministers, in a communique published following their informal meeting on 1-2 March. In the communique, pre-primary...

EIB LOAN IN NICE.(European Investment Bank )(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The European Investment Bank (EIB), on 2 March, granted a 150 million loan to the Communaute d'Agglomeration Nice Cote d'Azur (CANCA) for the construction of the new Nice tramway (Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region in the south of France). The...

EMERGENCY AID IN BOLIVIA.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... The European Commission launched on 2 March an emergency decision for 1 million to help people and communities affected by the latest consequences of the El Nino phenomenon in Bolivia. Identified needs so far are emergency shelter, food and...

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT : EP LAUNCHES PROCEDURE AGAINST MEP MACIEJ GIERTYCH.(member of European Parliament)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... It could well become known as the Maciej Giertych affair'. In fact, the story of this non-attached MEP from the League of Polish Families, who very recently published an anti-Semitic booklet, is starting to make big waves. The Bureau of...

SPRING SUMMIT : EU LEADERS TO HIGHLIGHT LISBON MOMENTUM'.
March 6, 2007... EU heads of state and government are to give an upbeat assessment of what has been achieved so far under the Lisbon Strategy, according to a draft set of summit conclusions seen by Europolitics, whilst also emphasising their determination to...

EU/IRAN : EU MINISTERS BACK FURTHER SANCTIONS.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... In the face of Iran's inflexibility on the nuclear issue, the EU will be boosting pressure on Tehran by supporting further sanctions in the UN Security Council. Based on the negative report filed on 22 February by Mohamed El Baradei, Director...

EU/BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA : EU MINISTERS URGE NEW BOSNIAN EXECUTIVE TO STEP UP REFORMS.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... In its 5 March conclusions, the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council welcomed the formation of the new council of ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). EU foreign ministers encouraged the new authorities to "ensure a swift and...

INTERVIEW WITH MARIO TELO (ULB) : EUROPE MUST PLAY ON ITS STRENGTHS AS AaCIVIL POWER.(Interview)
March 6, 2007... Mario Telo is the chairman of the European studies institute at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles and a specialist in institutional questions. In an interview with Europolitics, he analyses the latest developments regarding the European...

EU/SUDAN : EU STEPS UP PRESSURE ON KHARTOUM.(Darfur crisis)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... With the situation deteriorating in Darfur, and in the absence of any signs of openness by the Sudanese government, the EU has decided to take a tougher stance, threatening Khartoum with further sanctions and preparing new financial support for...

EMU : FIRST CONVERGENCE REPORTS FOR BULGARIA AND ROMANIA.(European Union. European Commission)(Statistical data)
March 6, 2007... The European Commission is to adopt on 7 March the first two Convergence Reports submitted by Romania and Bulgaria since their accession to the EU on 1 January. Bulgaria: Sofia is counting on particularly strong growth between now and 2009...

PUBLIC HEALTH : MEDICAL DEVICES DIRECTIVE PROGRESSING WELL.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... With the negotiations on the proposal for a regulation on innovative therapies (see separate article) taking longer than originally expected, it seems that the revision of the legislative framework on the marketing of medical devices in the EU...

EU/CENTRAL ASIA : MINISTERS EXAMINE PROSPECTS FOR RELATIONS WITH UZBEKISTAN.(European Union. European Commission)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... EU foreign ministers pledged to review, in May, their position on the restrictions that were imposed by the EU on Uzbekistan in response to the killing of hundreds of people by government forces in the city of Andijan in May 2005. The...

PUTIN SIGNS EU-RUSSIA READMISSION LAW.(European Union. European Commission)(Vladimir Putin)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on 4 March a federal law on the ratification of the Readmission Agreement, laying down the new rules under which Russia and the EU would exchange illegal immigrants. The law was passed by the state Duma,...

EU/RUSSIA : RUSSIA THREATENS EU WITH A MEAT BAN ONCE AGAIN.(European Union. European Commission)
March 6, 2007... Following a troubled period at the end of 2006, dark clouds are again looming on the horizon of EU-Russia food trade relations. Russia's agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor threatened on 2 March to suspend meat imports from EU countries...

ENERGY: SURVEY BACKS COMMISSION POLICY.(European Commission)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Ahead of the Spring Summit on 8 and 9 March, the European Commission published a Eurobarometer opinion survey on energy, according to which 65% of the respondents want a greater EU role in negotiating energy supplies and prices for all member...

TPG-SLP-SABRE DEAL APPROVED.(Sabre Holdings Corp.)(TPG Partners V)(Silver Lake Partners II)(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... On 5 March, the European Commission cleared under the simplified procedure the acquisition of Sabre Holdings Corporation of the US by two US private equity companies, TPG Partners V and Silver Lake Partners II. Sabre is a travel distribution...

ADVANCED THERAPIES: VOTE IN PLENARY POSTPONED AGAINST BACKDROP OF DEBATE ON ETHICS.(European Union. European Parliament)(European Union. European Commission)
March 6, 2007... Negotiations are continuing between the Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission on the proposal for a regulation on advanced therapy medicinal products. The EP's vote at first reading, scheduled for the mid-March plenary...

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT : WISE MEN' TO ADVISE BARROSO ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE POLICY.
March 6, 2007... A new group of personal advisors to the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, consisting of independent world-renowned experts on energy and climate issues, will meet for the first time in Brussels on 6 March. Created at...

INTERVIEW WITH MARIO TELO (ULB) - CONTINUED : (CONTINUED) EUROPE MUST PLAY ON ITS STRENGTHS AS A CIVIL POWER.(Interview)
March 6, 2007... How do you see Europe's role on the international stage evolving? Whether it be a world that is unipolar (with the EU becoming a province of the United Sates), multipolar with 5-6 nuclear states (a good scenario for Russia, China and...

ENERGY: INDUSTRY URGES EU LEADERS TO BIN BIOFUEL TARGETS.(Brief article)
March 6, 2007... Ahead of the Spring Summit on 8 and 9 March, industries using agriculture and forestry raw materials called on EU leaders to drop binding biofuel targets. A joint statement by the woodworking, pulp and paper industries, together with the...

EU/US : OPEN SKY: ALL EYES ON THE UNITED KINGDOM.(European Union. European Commission)
March 6, 2007... British Airways (BA) is not in a festive mood following the announcement, on 2 March, of a draft Open Sky agreement between the EU and the United States (see Europolitics 3260). The British airline, whose transatlantic traffic accounts for a...