Russia
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EU staggers towards a common foreign policy
Finland tops Union technology charts
Campaign to stave off nuclear threat
WTO pays heed to private sector
Nordic members construct new northern flank for EU
12-13 April Bosnia Donors’ Conference
Belgians take tough line on immigration
“WHY are you leaving your country?”The policeman, big and stern, stands at the gate. The child looks puzzled, shows his ID, mumbles confused answers and is sent to a cramped prison cell. Close by, his mother tries to keep smiling and braces herself for the interrogation. Behind the gates, bullet-riddled and half-destroyed buildings stand ominously in the darkness.
Fear that Tacis rules risk delays
NEW rules designed to counter criticism of fraud and closed-door transactions in the Tacis development programme risk bringing new complaints of inefficiency from the recipients of EU money.
Priorities differ prior to start of donors’ conference
AFTER much threatening and cajoling, the European Commission is set to host an international donors’ conference this week in a fund-raising drive for the reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Santer’s little angel
It is a rare occasion indeed when an intrepid researcher does not unearth a couple of begrudgers willing to blot the reputations of the great and the good with tales of skeletons in cupboards.
Winding road to a new entente
THEY have a partnership pact as thick as a telephone book. And they have big plans. But neither the European Union nor Russia are quite sure what that means.
Words worth their price for open and democratic Union
IF you were brought up in Finland by a Greek father and a Slovak mother, the European Union could offer you great job prospects in the coming years.
Nuclear fuel talks begin in Moscow
EUROPEAN Commission officials travelled to Moscow this week to begin talks with their Russian counterparts on the possibility of buying bomb-grade uranium from the Russian Federation for research reactors in five EU member states.
25-26 March General Affairs Council
EUROPE may one day have a free trading zone with South Africa. EU foreign ministers finally gave the Commission the go-ahead to begin negotiations with Pretoria to open both sides’ markets. But they said their offer would exclude 38% of South Africa’s agricultural products. Commission officials privately said they doubted Pretoria would accept negotiations on that basis and would probably decide that it did not constitute free trade. Ministers avoided the subject of Mexico, over which a similar debate is raging.
Don’t meet us, we’ll fax you
Personal contact is not high on the agenda for Pasqual Maragall, who has just taken over as president of the Committee of the Regions.
Report highlights erratic staff disciplinary policy
INCONSISTENCIES in the way theEuropean Commission punishes stafffound guilty of misconduct after internal disciplinary proceedings have been revealed in a confidential report.
Eastern leaders seek to allay enlargement doubts
The presidents of Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia are set to visit the European Commission next week to seek reassurance that the EU will continue to include them in its planning for future enlargement.
Philosopher with ‘a lot of punch’
THE lives of classical Italian heroes are often summed up with three biographical notes: nascamento, morto e miracolo, or birth, death and miracle.
Baltics face up to life without ‘Big Brother’
THIS June’s presidential election in Russia will be watched with interest across the world.
Stage is set for the birth of a challenging new era
IT has been a classic pregnancy. Nine months after the hot Mediterranean sun bathed Messina in its glow, the Intergovernmental Conference will see the light of day in Turin next week.
European Commission
THE Commission, along with the World Bank, have announced they will go ahead with plans to hold a second donors’ conference on 12-13 April in Brussels to raise funds for reconstruction efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The aim is to obtain 1 billion ecu for this year’s needs on top of the 500 million ecu raised last December, as well as winning promises from donors for future pledges for 1997. Organisers hope representatives from the US, Japan and Islamic countries will attend.
Plan to create EU events channel
TELEVISION viewers in Germany and neighbouring countries may soon be able to follow the latest debates in the European Parliament in the comfort of their own homes.
IN BRIEF
FRENCH bank Société Générale has begun legal action to overturn the decision of the European Commission last July to approve a 20-billion-ecu rescue package for Crédit Lyonnais. Société Générale estimates the aid paid by the French government to save the ailing bank at up to 8.5 billion ecu over five years. The Commission confirmed that the restructuring package approved last year was still in effect despite the legal proceedings brought by Société Générale.