Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on the situation in Tibet
The EU is deeply concerned about the ongoing reports of unrest in Tibet and conveys its deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims. The EU is urgently seeking further clarification of the situation from the Chinese Government.
The EU calls for restraint on all sides. We urge the Chinese authorities to refrain from using force against those involved in unrest and call on demonstrators to desist from violence.
The EU stresses the importance it attaches to the right of freedom of expression and peaceful protest. We call on Chinese authorities to respond to the demonstrations in accordance with internationally recognised democratic principles.
The EU firmly supports peaceful reconciliation between Chinese authorities and the Dalai Lama and his representatives. The EU urges the Chinese government to address the concerns of Tibetans with regard to issues of human rights.
The EU encourages both sides to enter into a substantive and constructive dialogue with a view to reach a sustainable solution acceptable to all that would fully respect the Tibetan culture, religion and identity.
Brussels, 17 March 2008
7675/08 (Presse 73)
P 33/08
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news. Show all posts
3/21/08
EU positon on the situation in Tibet
11/2/07
Top 10 European rural tourist destinations
Vice President Günter Verheugen awarded the "European Destinations of Excellence" (EDEN) to the ten best emerging rural destinations at the European Annual Tourism Forum in Portugal on 26th of October. The aim of EDEN is twofold: to draw attention to the value, diversity and shared characteristics of European tourist destinations and to promote destinations where commercial success goes hand in hand with social, cultural and environmental sustainability. It also creates awareness of Europe’s tourist diversity and quality, besides promoting Europe as the foremost tourism destination in the world.Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen, responsible for enterprise and industry policy, said: “The EDEN Project supports European tourism and enhances the visibility of several non traditional destinations. It is a platform for the exchange of good practices at European level while rewarding sustainable forms of tourism and successful business models. It will contribute to creating new and upgrading existing jobs.”
Ten countries participated in the EDEN Awards, for which national juries made the selections. Next year seven additional Member States of the EU (Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania, Spain and Romania) and Turkey will participate in the EDEN Awards. The ten winning destinations of excellence in 2007 are:
Austria: Pielachtal, Dirndl is the valley’s trademark
The Pielachtal is a valley in the Alpine foothills of the province of Lower Austria. Its culture, nature, way of life, handicrafts and specialty foods are combined to form a network of innovative offers. The Dirndl, or Cornel, popularly known as a cherry, is cultivated as the valley’s “trademark”.
Belgium: Durbuy, the smallest city of the world
The community Durbuy is situated in Wallonia in the Ardennes, and consists of 40 small villages. Durbuy is registered as "city" since the Middle Ages for its efficient justice and trade organization. Thus the old town of Durbuy became "the smallest city of the world".
Croatia: Sveti Martin na Muri, preserved natural heritage
The district of Sveti Martin na Muri is located in the North, close to the tri-border with Slovenia and Hungary, where the River Mura enters the territory of Croatia. The destination has been profiled as a rural as well as a spa destination. It has a thermal spring of medicinal water and is the largest and one of the most beautiful spas in Croatia.
Cyprus: Troodos, A relaxing break away from cosmopolitan coastal resorts
Troodos has five distinct regions, grouped around Mount Olympus. The area offers an abundance of things to do and see: walking or cycling through forest nature trails, attending local village festivals, experiencing the local traditional cuisine and discovering the cultural treasures of UNESCO World Heritage sites are among the main pursuits.
Greece: Florina, Conciliating tourism and rural environment
The region of Florina is located in Northern Greece in West Macedonia. Geographically, it consists of mountainous and semi mountainous areas and lowlands. The mountains of Varnoutas, Vernon and Voras contain the ski centre and European Alpine routes whose peaks reach out to the fertile valleys and the six lakes of Prespes.
Hungary: Örség, Characteristic landscape in harmony with nature
The Õrség region is located in the most western corner of Hungary. The unique landscape is characterized by a variety of natural beauties: hills and valleys, deciduous and coniferous woodlands, green hayfields, moors, springs and streams. Besides these beauties, the unchanged folk traditions and customs, traditional crafts and the products of self-sufficient farming and lifestyle also attract visitors.
Ireland: Clonakilty District, amenities of natural beauty
The Clonakilty District is situated on the coast in South West Ireland. There are many amenities of natural beauty which are easily accessed. In addition to an abundance of activities on land and sea, music sessions and fresh local produce there are also a full range of heritage sites, galleries, pubs, walking routes and fishing points.
Italy: Specchia, Tradition meets innovation
Specchia is located in Southern Italy (Province of Lecce, Puglia Region). It is a site of great natural and cultural value and an important centre for the rural economy in the region. Specchia is a shining example of a place where tradition meets innovation. For example, there is the Protonobilissimo castle, which dates back to the XV century, as well as a public access Centre for advanced digital services.
Latvia: Kuldiga, The Latvian Venice
Kuldiga town in the Kurzeme region with its historical part and Valley of the River Venta is known as “The Latvian Venice”. Its tourism recourses are based on its historical and cultural heritage and the Venta River which is one of the largest and most picturesque rivers of Latvia. “Ventas Rumba” is the widest waterfall in Europe (240m).
Malta: Nadur, Scenic beauty which are unique and rather rare
Nadur is situated on the easternmost hill of the island of Gozo, Malta's sister-island. Fresh fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, oranges, lemons and melons from the fields of Nadur are distributed around Malta and Gozo. Nadur also has a plenty of cultural heritage and offers a number of areas of scenic beauty which are unique and rather rare.
Source: Commission Press Release
10/20/07
Anti-dumping duty extention on energy-saving light bulbs from China, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam
The Council of the European Union on 15 October 2007 adopted a regulation extending for one year anti-dumping duties currently in force on imports of integrated electronic compact fluorescent lamps (CFL-i) originating in China, as well as on imports of the same product from Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam (13040/07). The regulation extends anti-dumping measures imposed in 2001 ranging from 0 to 66,1 % on imports of CFL-i originating in China.The measures are aimed at addressing unfair competitive advantages resulting from the dumping of imports onto the Community market, by seeking an overall balance between the interests of consumers, producers and traders of energy-saving lamps, whilst taking into consideration environmental and energy consumption factors.
The decision follows an investigation carried out by the Commission pursuant to EU antidumping rules, which concluded that it is in the interest of the Community to continue the measures for a further adjustment period of one year.
The anti-dumping duties only cover alternating current voltage lamps, including electronic compact fluorescent discharge lamps functioning on both alternating and direct current. The regulation also renews anti-dumping measures in force covering imports of CFL-I from Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam with a view to preventing the circumvention of the measures through those countries.
Source: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/misc/96507.pdf
Read More..
The anti-dumping duties only cover alternating current voltage lamps, including electronic compact fluorescent discharge lamps functioning on both alternating and direct current. The regulation also renews anti-dumping measures in force covering imports of CFL-I from Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam with a view to preventing the circumvention of the measures through those countries.
Source: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/misc/96507.pdf
10/16/07
Council Conclusions on Burma/Myanmar
2824th GENERAL AFFAIRS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS Council meetingLuxembourg, 15-16 October 2007
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
"1. The EU strongly condemns the brutal crack-down on demonstrators in Burma/Myanmar. It recalls its earlier declarations in which it urged the Burmese authorities to exercise restraint in the face of peaceful protests. The EU regrets that these calls have gone unheeded and regrets that arrests have continued over the recent days.
2. The EU demands that the authorities immediately cease all violent repression and intimidation and that they release all those arrested since mid-August, as well as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.
3. The EU welcomes the UN Security Council Presidential statement of 11 October on Burma/Myanmar. The EU strongly supports the actions by the UN, in particular the good offices mission of UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari. The EU backs further active UN engagement, including by the Security Council. The EU looks forward to a new visit by the Special Envoy in the coming weeks.
4. The EU welcomes the special session of the UN Human Rights Council and the adoption by consensus of a Resolution strongly deploring the continued violent repression and urging the authorities of Burma/Myanmar to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
5. The EU also calls upon the government to disclose information about the whereabouts of those arrested since mid-August and to allow international agencies access to them. The EU also calls for a thorough and impartial investigation of the deaths of demonstrators as well as other serious and continuous violations of human rights, and for those liable to be held to account. In this regard, the EU urges the authorities to co-operate fully with UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Sergio Pinheiro, including through the urgent facilitation of a visit by him to Burma/Myanmar.
6. In line with the Presidency statement of 25 September and in view of the seriousness of the current situation and in solidarity with the people of Burma/Myanmar, the EU deems it necessary to increase direct pressure on the regime through stronger measures as well as the following additional restrictive measures: an export ban on equipment to the sectors of logs and timber and mining of metals, minerals, precious and semi precious stones; an import ban of products of the sectors mentioned before; and an investment ban in these sectors. It will therefore adopt a package of measures that do not harm the general population but that target those responsible for the violent crack-down and the overall political stalemate in the country. The EU stands ready to review, amend or reinforce these measures, in the light of developments on the ground and the results of the Good Offices Mission of the United Nations Special Envoy to Burma/Myanmar Mr. Ibrahim Gambari. The Council requests relevant bodies to elaborate further restrictive measures, including a ban on new investments.
7. The EU confirms the continuation of its substantial humanitarian aid programmes aimed at the most vulnerable populations of Burma/Myanmar and Burmese refugees in neighbouring countries. The EU stands ready to increase this assistance, subject to further assessments of the humanitarian situation. In this context, the EU urges the government to keep channels for the delivery of assistance open and calls on the authorities to co-operate with international actors in this regard.
8. The EU welcomes the unanimous condemnation of developments and the efforts by ASEAN and neighbours of Burma/Myanmar to positively influence the Burmese authorities. As the situation requires the sustained engagement of the UN and the support of the international community and all regional actors, the EU encourages all of Burma's neighbours to maintain pressure for a credible and fully participatory reform process.
9. The EU urges the Burmese authorities to recognize that a return to the situation before the recent demonstrations is both unacceptable and unsustainable. Only a genuine process of internal reform and reconciliation with the involvement of the opposition will deliver stability, democracy and prosperity to the country. The EU supports steps towards such an inclusive process leading to democracy, full respect for human rights and the rule of law.
10. The EU again expresses its readiness to assist Burma/Myanmar in its process of transition. The EU regrets that the Burmese government has made this impossible so far. Should this situation improve, the EU stands ready to review the restrictive measures, to engage with Burma in its development and to find new areas of cooperation.
11. The EU is determined to assist the people of Burma/Myanmar further on their path to democracy, security and prosperity."
10/1/07
The European Union and the world: a hard look at soft power
Benita Ferrero-Waldner,
European Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy
Speech at Columbia University New York, 24 September 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The European Union’s role in international affairs, not least in this, our 50th anniversary year, has been the subject of countless academic papers and endless speculation by policy wonks. Much of that commentary consists of myths and misconceptions. Are we the purely soft, Kantian power of Robert Kagan fame? Or is there more to it than that?
In thinking of the nature of power one is reminded of Stalin’s famous, or should I say infamous, question: “how many divisions does the Pope have?” But are the old beliefs about soft and hard power still valid?
Today I want to take what I call a hard look at soft power; and with that, the role the EU plays in the world. First, let’s remind ourselves of the nature of the current international system and the role played by soft and hard power. I will then give you a flavour of the way the EU is modifying itself in response and our three priorities for the future.
The current international system
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The European Union’s role in international affairs, not least in this, our 50th anniversary year, has been the subject of countless academic papers and endless speculation by policy wonks. Much of that commentary consists of myths and misconceptions. Are we the purely soft, Kantian power of Robert Kagan fame? Or is there more to it than that?
In thinking of the nature of power one is reminded of Stalin’s famous, or should I say infamous, question: “how many divisions does the Pope have?” But are the old beliefs about soft and hard power still valid?
Today I want to take what I call a hard look at soft power; and with that, the role the EU plays in the world. First, let’s remind ourselves of the nature of the current international system and the role played by soft and hard power. I will then give you a flavour of the way the EU is modifying itself in response and our three priorities for the future.
The current international system
The end of the cold war meant the end of a terrible era of cataclysmic threats and pointless confrontation. But it was also the end of the era of certainty and predictability. Today the threats we face are different. Think of climate change, migration, or international terrorism. They are different not only because of their non-military nature, but also for their disrespect for national borders. No state can contain them, just as no state can keep them out.
The nature of power in today’s world is also different. Slowly but surely, helped by the ever-increasing pace of globalization, power has been shifting away from its traditional guardians – states –, towards non-state actors: multinational companies, non-governmental organisations, international media networks, or radical terrorist organisations. Governments’ room for manoeuvre has been curtailed just as citizens around the world have become more demanding.
The geographic balance of power within the international system is also shifting. Today, the EU and US together have unrivalled influence in terms of relative wealth and power. But for how long will that be the case? As a recent Goldman-Sachs report put it “in less than 40 years, the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] economies together could be larger than the G6 [Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US] in US dollar terms”. We can no longer rely on our ability to set the world agenda, and the need to build alliances and consensus with the newly emerging powers will only continue to grow.
Hard or Soft power?
What sort of power is best placed to respond to this changing configuration of threats and alliances? We have seen the limitations of hard power all too clearly in Iraq and elsewhere. Military force is too blunt an instrument to deal with the subtleties of terrorist attacks and it is certainly not capable of holding back the rising seas or the waves of migrants hitting our shores.
But does soft power fare any better? Scholars from Joseph Nye to Jeremy Rifkin have pointed out that the United States is suffering from the fading of its soft power. The EU, on the other hand, has reaped tremendous rewards from its soft power, the result of which is an enlarged union of 27 and unprecedented peace and prosperity on the European continent. And soft power is the key to strengthening alliances with China, India and new emerging markets, so vital for shaping the international system of the future.
Yet soft power alone is insufficient to deal with the threats we face. Europe’s central historical experience may be that military victories produce only temporary peace. But as Spain and the United Kingdom so sadly testify, international terrorists do not respect the EU’s self-declared space of freedom, liberty and security. Rich though we may be in so-called “attractive power”, there are those who do not succumb to our charm.
The answer is clearly that we need some combination of the two. Or perhaps a new form of power altogether, what some scholars have called “smart power”.
Smart Power – the EU’s response
Those who believe the EU is still principally a soft power are behind the times. For over a decade the EU’s foreign policy has been adding more tools to its repertoire, including, crucially, a military dimension and crisis management functions.
We have some 60,000 peacekeepers serving around the world, from Kosovo, to Afghanistan and Indonesia. We send election observation missions across the globe: indeed in just the last 6 years we have observed nearly 60 elections, from Haiti to the Congo to the Palestinian Authority. We are also the world’s largest donor of development aid, providing 56% of total global flows. We have a dense network of global relationships, and the European Commission alone is present on the ground in over 130 countries and territories around the world.
As the EU continues to develop its role in the world, the challenge is two-fold: to ensure coherence between the civilian and military sides; and to use our soft, attractive power more strategically. I would single out three priorities for the years ahead: Europe’s neighbourhood; climate change and energy security; and developing our role in crisis management.
European Neighbourhood Policy
Naturally the EU must pay particular attention to its immediate neighbourhood. In is in our mutual interest that the countries on the EU’s periphery should be well-governed and prosperous. That’s why we now have a policy, the European Neighbourhood Policy, directed specifically towards our southern and eastern neighbours. That means Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and the South Caucasus to our East, and to our South the entire Mediterranean rim from Morocco to Lebanon.
Throughout that region we are leveraging the EU’s attractive power to deepen our relations and encourage our neighbours in their path towards economic and political reform. We do that by offering deeper political and economic relations with us to those who make the most progress in reforms.
The ENP has already expanded our co-operation and produced tangible successes. We draw on a broad array of tools, especially tailor-made Action Plans for reforms.
And at a highly successful international conference in Brussels earlier this month we discussed new ways to make the ENP even more effective, attractive and focused:
Economic integration: we will help our neighbours access the EU’s 500 million-strong market, an area where goods, services and capital flow freely; opening up new possibilities and greater opportunities for us all.
Mobility: We know that the freedom for people to travel to and around the EU is enormously important. So we want less complex visa rules and Mobility Partnerships, agreements between the EU and neighbours encouraging legal migration and combating illegal migration – a big step for us.
Energy: Integrated energy markets work in everyone’s favour – whether as a producer, transit or consumer country. So we are exploring the idea of a regional-level energy agreement and working with our neighbours to develop renewable energies like solar and wind power and biomass.
Increased aid: We are offering increased aid for good governance in the best-performing countries and setting up a new Neighbourhood Investment Facility to leverage additional funding from international financial institutions. We know reform is expensive and we need to make significant incentives available.
Climate Change and energy security
Today, safeguarding global security and prosperity also means working for reliable energy relations and tackling the existential threat of climate change. The EU has placed these issues at the top of our political agenda.
There is no longer any debate about the severity of the threat posed by global warming or the need for urgent action to tackle it. The UK government’s report by Sir Nicholas Stern estimates its costs at 20% of global GDP when extrapolating wider risks. Yet, by comparison, the cost of action to avoid the worst impacts will be only 1% of global GDP per year.
The EU is leading by example – we have agreed to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 20% and to raise the share of renewable energy sources to 20%, both by the year 2020. Our system of emissions trading has blazed a trail in using market forces to protect the environment. Which is why various players, including California, are considering joining this system.
The current focus is the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December which will be an essential for agreeing on a comprehensive and global post-Kyoto regime. The EU is engaging in intensive “green diplomacy” in the run-up to the conference, building on the positive momentum generated by the G8 Summit and ensuring all our partners, including the US and the emerging economies, are on board. I am hopeful that positive signs, like the first no-car day held in China on Saturday, will push us in the right direction.
Increasing energy security is an important part of the equation – through technological developments, energy efficiency and our efforts to achieve more transparent and stable global energy markets. Inside the EU we just proposed last week a new and widely-welcomed package of measures to open our internal energy market to competition and further develop our energy network infrastructure.
Internationally we are working with our main producer and transit partners in the Middle East and Central Asia and our whole network of bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements to reinforce an open, competitive but also cooperative global energy framework that responds to the demands of producer, transit and consumer countries. The EU is also promoting the idea of an international agreement on energy efficiency.
Crisis management
Last, but certainly not least, the EU must continue to build up its capacity for crisis response, and joined-up civilian and military operations.
We have already come a long way and have a considerable range of tools at our disposal. In addition to the EU’s military capacity we have a civil protection mechanism for dealing with natural and environmental disasters. This proved its worth, for instance, in our response to the horrendous tsunami in December 2005 when we were quickly able to mobilize humanitarian relief and specialised rescue personnel to the affected areas. We are the world’s biggest donor of humanitarian assistance, mobilising the resources and expertise of the UN system, the Red Cross and international NGOs. And in the context of the European Security and Defence Policy we send civilian experts in policing, rule of law and civil administration to crisis situations around the world.
We also have a new tool for crisis response, our Stability Instrument, which enables us to respond flexibly and rapidly to shore up peace-building processes including monitoring and justice initiatives. It also helps get children back to school and re-open health and other local public services.
As an example, you may not be aware of the role the EU played in resolving the long-running conflict in Aceh, Indonesia. There we financed the peace negotiations; sent the Aceh Monitoring Mission to monitor compliance with the Peace Agreement; and put in place a package of long term measures like reintegrating former combatants and prisoners, and promoting the rule of law, human rights and democracy.
Nearer to home we are tackling the so-called frozen conflicts in our neighbourhood, like Transnistria. We have sent a Border Assistance Mission to the Moldova-Ukraine border which is proving highly successful in helping prevent customs fraud, smuggling of goods, as well as the trafficking of people, drugs and weapons. The Mission staff are offering advice and on-the-job training to border and customs officials on both sides of the border, so helping manage the border in a more modern and efficient way. Above all it is an important step towards facilitating the end of the Transnistria conflict.
Similarly, in the Middle East we have used our standing in the region to set up the Temporary International Mechanism, which has enabled the international community to provide humanitarian relief for the Palestinian people despite the absence for 18 months of a fully functioning legitimate government. Concretely it means that people are receiving social allowances from us to enable them to survive an extremely difficult economic situation. We have also been funding supplies to keep hospitals and schools open and operational.
In response to the changed situation we are now working directly with Prime Minister Fayyad’s government, re-launching our institution building activities and preparing a private sector arrears scheme which will support Palestinian businesses and maintain jobs. We are also fulfilling our pledge not to abandon the people of Gaza, where we continue to disburse our TIM funding.
Our assistance has been combined with a security operation to help manage crossing points and considerable diplomatic effort on the international stage, together with Russia, the US and the UN in the international Quartet. We met again at the weekend and confirmed our support for the new momentum in the peace process, and the international meeting to take place in November.
I could give you other examples of our work, in Afghanistan, Congo and Darfur, or our plans for an opening in Kosovo later this year. We have ambitious ideas for the future and I am convinced that the EU will become an ever more powerful force for the good in tackling the world’s trouble spots.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The EU is often misunderstood. Perhaps that is not surprising – it is in perpetual motion, and its role in foreign policy is developing all the time. Indeed those who follow EU affairs will know that by the end of the year we hope to have agreed further institutional changes to strengthen our role on the world’s stage.
But I hope this short overview has given you a better understanding of the sort of power we aspire to, neither exclusively soft, nor hard, but rather – smart power.
Thank you.
Read More..
The nature of power in today’s world is also different. Slowly but surely, helped by the ever-increasing pace of globalization, power has been shifting away from its traditional guardians – states –, towards non-state actors: multinational companies, non-governmental organisations, international media networks, or radical terrorist organisations. Governments’ room for manoeuvre has been curtailed just as citizens around the world have become more demanding.
The geographic balance of power within the international system is also shifting. Today, the EU and US together have unrivalled influence in terms of relative wealth and power. But for how long will that be the case? As a recent Goldman-Sachs report put it “in less than 40 years, the BRIC [Brazil, Russia, India and China] economies together could be larger than the G6 [Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US] in US dollar terms”. We can no longer rely on our ability to set the world agenda, and the need to build alliances and consensus with the newly emerging powers will only continue to grow.
Hard or Soft power?
What sort of power is best placed to respond to this changing configuration of threats and alliances? We have seen the limitations of hard power all too clearly in Iraq and elsewhere. Military force is too blunt an instrument to deal with the subtleties of terrorist attacks and it is certainly not capable of holding back the rising seas or the waves of migrants hitting our shores.
But does soft power fare any better? Scholars from Joseph Nye to Jeremy Rifkin have pointed out that the United States is suffering from the fading of its soft power. The EU, on the other hand, has reaped tremendous rewards from its soft power, the result of which is an enlarged union of 27 and unprecedented peace and prosperity on the European continent. And soft power is the key to strengthening alliances with China, India and new emerging markets, so vital for shaping the international system of the future.
Yet soft power alone is insufficient to deal with the threats we face. Europe’s central historical experience may be that military victories produce only temporary peace. But as Spain and the United Kingdom so sadly testify, international terrorists do not respect the EU’s self-declared space of freedom, liberty and security. Rich though we may be in so-called “attractive power”, there are those who do not succumb to our charm.
The answer is clearly that we need some combination of the two. Or perhaps a new form of power altogether, what some scholars have called “smart power”.
Smart Power – the EU’s response
Those who believe the EU is still principally a soft power are behind the times. For over a decade the EU’s foreign policy has been adding more tools to its repertoire, including, crucially, a military dimension and crisis management functions.
We have some 60,000 peacekeepers serving around the world, from Kosovo, to Afghanistan and Indonesia. We send election observation missions across the globe: indeed in just the last 6 years we have observed nearly 60 elections, from Haiti to the Congo to the Palestinian Authority. We are also the world’s largest donor of development aid, providing 56% of total global flows. We have a dense network of global relationships, and the European Commission alone is present on the ground in over 130 countries and territories around the world.
As the EU continues to develop its role in the world, the challenge is two-fold: to ensure coherence between the civilian and military sides; and to use our soft, attractive power more strategically. I would single out three priorities for the years ahead: Europe’s neighbourhood; climate change and energy security; and developing our role in crisis management.
European Neighbourhood Policy
Naturally the EU must pay particular attention to its immediate neighbourhood. In is in our mutual interest that the countries on the EU’s periphery should be well-governed and prosperous. That’s why we now have a policy, the European Neighbourhood Policy, directed specifically towards our southern and eastern neighbours. That means Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova and the South Caucasus to our East, and to our South the entire Mediterranean rim from Morocco to Lebanon.
Throughout that region we are leveraging the EU’s attractive power to deepen our relations and encourage our neighbours in their path towards economic and political reform. We do that by offering deeper political and economic relations with us to those who make the most progress in reforms.
The ENP has already expanded our co-operation and produced tangible successes. We draw on a broad array of tools, especially tailor-made Action Plans for reforms.
And at a highly successful international conference in Brussels earlier this month we discussed new ways to make the ENP even more effective, attractive and focused:
Economic integration: we will help our neighbours access the EU’s 500 million-strong market, an area where goods, services and capital flow freely; opening up new possibilities and greater opportunities for us all.
Mobility: We know that the freedom for people to travel to and around the EU is enormously important. So we want less complex visa rules and Mobility Partnerships, agreements between the EU and neighbours encouraging legal migration and combating illegal migration – a big step for us.
Energy: Integrated energy markets work in everyone’s favour – whether as a producer, transit or consumer country. So we are exploring the idea of a regional-level energy agreement and working with our neighbours to develop renewable energies like solar and wind power and biomass.
Increased aid: We are offering increased aid for good governance in the best-performing countries and setting up a new Neighbourhood Investment Facility to leverage additional funding from international financial institutions. We know reform is expensive and we need to make significant incentives available.
Climate Change and energy security
Today, safeguarding global security and prosperity also means working for reliable energy relations and tackling the existential threat of climate change. The EU has placed these issues at the top of our political agenda.
There is no longer any debate about the severity of the threat posed by global warming or the need for urgent action to tackle it. The UK government’s report by Sir Nicholas Stern estimates its costs at 20% of global GDP when extrapolating wider risks. Yet, by comparison, the cost of action to avoid the worst impacts will be only 1% of global GDP per year.
The EU is leading by example – we have agreed to cut carbon-dioxide emissions by 20% and to raise the share of renewable energy sources to 20%, both by the year 2020. Our system of emissions trading has blazed a trail in using market forces to protect the environment. Which is why various players, including California, are considering joining this system.
The current focus is the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali in December which will be an essential for agreeing on a comprehensive and global post-Kyoto regime. The EU is engaging in intensive “green diplomacy” in the run-up to the conference, building on the positive momentum generated by the G8 Summit and ensuring all our partners, including the US and the emerging economies, are on board. I am hopeful that positive signs, like the first no-car day held in China on Saturday, will push us in the right direction.
Increasing energy security is an important part of the equation – through technological developments, energy efficiency and our efforts to achieve more transparent and stable global energy markets. Inside the EU we just proposed last week a new and widely-welcomed package of measures to open our internal energy market to competition and further develop our energy network infrastructure.
Internationally we are working with our main producer and transit partners in the Middle East and Central Asia and our whole network of bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements to reinforce an open, competitive but also cooperative global energy framework that responds to the demands of producer, transit and consumer countries. The EU is also promoting the idea of an international agreement on energy efficiency.
Crisis management
Last, but certainly not least, the EU must continue to build up its capacity for crisis response, and joined-up civilian and military operations.
We have already come a long way and have a considerable range of tools at our disposal. In addition to the EU’s military capacity we have a civil protection mechanism for dealing with natural and environmental disasters. This proved its worth, for instance, in our response to the horrendous tsunami in December 2005 when we were quickly able to mobilize humanitarian relief and specialised rescue personnel to the affected areas. We are the world’s biggest donor of humanitarian assistance, mobilising the resources and expertise of the UN system, the Red Cross and international NGOs. And in the context of the European Security and Defence Policy we send civilian experts in policing, rule of law and civil administration to crisis situations around the world.
We also have a new tool for crisis response, our Stability Instrument, which enables us to respond flexibly and rapidly to shore up peace-building processes including monitoring and justice initiatives. It also helps get children back to school and re-open health and other local public services.
As an example, you may not be aware of the role the EU played in resolving the long-running conflict in Aceh, Indonesia. There we financed the peace negotiations; sent the Aceh Monitoring Mission to monitor compliance with the Peace Agreement; and put in place a package of long term measures like reintegrating former combatants and prisoners, and promoting the rule of law, human rights and democracy.
Nearer to home we are tackling the so-called frozen conflicts in our neighbourhood, like Transnistria. We have sent a Border Assistance Mission to the Moldova-Ukraine border which is proving highly successful in helping prevent customs fraud, smuggling of goods, as well as the trafficking of people, drugs and weapons. The Mission staff are offering advice and on-the-job training to border and customs officials on both sides of the border, so helping manage the border in a more modern and efficient way. Above all it is an important step towards facilitating the end of the Transnistria conflict.
Similarly, in the Middle East we have used our standing in the region to set up the Temporary International Mechanism, which has enabled the international community to provide humanitarian relief for the Palestinian people despite the absence for 18 months of a fully functioning legitimate government. Concretely it means that people are receiving social allowances from us to enable them to survive an extremely difficult economic situation. We have also been funding supplies to keep hospitals and schools open and operational.
In response to the changed situation we are now working directly with Prime Minister Fayyad’s government, re-launching our institution building activities and preparing a private sector arrears scheme which will support Palestinian businesses and maintain jobs. We are also fulfilling our pledge not to abandon the people of Gaza, where we continue to disburse our TIM funding.
Our assistance has been combined with a security operation to help manage crossing points and considerable diplomatic effort on the international stage, together with Russia, the US and the UN in the international Quartet. We met again at the weekend and confirmed our support for the new momentum in the peace process, and the international meeting to take place in November.
I could give you other examples of our work, in Afghanistan, Congo and Darfur, or our plans for an opening in Kosovo later this year. We have ambitious ideas for the future and I am convinced that the EU will become an ever more powerful force for the good in tackling the world’s trouble spots.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The EU is often misunderstood. Perhaps that is not surprising – it is in perpetual motion, and its role in foreign policy is developing all the time. Indeed those who follow EU affairs will know that by the end of the year we hope to have agreed further institutional changes to strengthen our role on the world’s stage.
But I hope this short overview has given you a better understanding of the sort of power we aspire to, neither exclusively soft, nor hard, but rather – smart power.
Thank you.
9/27/07
EU-US STATEMENT ON BURMA/MYANMAR
The European Union and the United States express their solidarity with the people of Burma/Myanmar. We are deeply troubled by reports that security forces have fired on and attacked peaceful demonstrators and arrested many Buddhist monks and others. We condemn all violence against peaceful demonstrators and remind the country's leaders of their personal responsibility for their actions.
We call on the authorities to stop violence and to open a process of dialogue with pro democracy leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of ethnic minorities. We urge China, India, ASEAN and others in the region to use their influence in support of the people of Burma/Myamar.
We urge the country's authorities to receive an early visit by the UN Secretary General's envoy Ibrahim Gambari. We call on the Security Council to discuss this situation urgently and consider further steps including sanctions.
This statement approved at the meeting between EU Foreign Ministers and the US Secretary of State in New York on 26 September 2007.
9/26/07
EU Forum on Sustainable Nuclear Energy
In Brussels on Friday 21 September 2007, the European Commission offcially launched a techonological platform for sustainable nuclear energy. The main task of this structure, which will bring together the worlds of research and business, will be define and implement a strategic agenda for research and a deployment strategy in the field of nuclear power."For those countries that choose it, nuclear power will be a very important part of their solution to security of supply and reduction of greenhouse gases", said Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. "It is clear that we need to address two important concerns - ensuring that nuclear power is economically competitive and, more importanly, our duty to make it as neutral as possible in environmental terms", he added. World energy compsumption is set to double between 2000 and 2050, and nuclear energy will remain a key element in future low-carbon energy systems, the Commission belives. Europe has the two world's leading nuclear sector, with a third of its electric current being produced by nuclear power stations. This forum will provide recommendations and specialist advice to the European Commission and the national governments to help them to define and to concentrate efforts and budgets on the priorities identified by the EU27.
Source: Bulletin Quotidien Europe No. 9508, Tuesday 25 September 2007
8/24/07
A new tool for Eurostat data
On 21 August 2007 Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, has launched a new “Tables, Graphs and Maps” (TGM) interface on its website. Based on 1,300 predefined and continuously updated tables, users are able to create customisable graphics and maps for use in publications and presentations. The current test version presents economic, social and sustainable development indicators which can be adapted depending on the countries, date and data classes covered. For the regions, tables and maps can be created in the “long-term indicators” section on data such as population density, gross domestic product and unemployment rates. All tables, graphs and maps are available in English, French and German. First time users can take a demo tour and are requested to give feedback on the new service.
6/29/07
EU ban Indonesian airlines
The bad news came from Brussels on 28 June 2007 when the European Commission (EC) experts meeting on air safety deemed Indonesian airlines to be unsafe. The experts’ decision comes after recent crashes in the Asian archipelago and the failure of Indonesia authorities to provide adequate safety assurances. The message is clear that no Indonesian airlines including national carrier Garuda will be allowed for flying within the European Union skies. Furthermore the EC will issue the next Commission regulation on the European aviation safety.Since at the moment no Indonesian airlines fly to EU, the decision to ban Indonesian airlines does not have a big impact. The ban could have a big impact on European passenger traveling with Indonesian airlines outside the EU. So the EU decision to ban Indonesian airlines could be considered as travel warning for European for not using Indonesian airlines. For me, it is normal that the European Commission is reminding their citizen to choose flight professionally and have safety assurances. Other ways, we should render our lives to uncertainty.
5/12/07
News: Veto and Voting on EU Constitution Discussion
By Honor Mahony and Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS
The voting system and where member states should have a right to a veto are shaping up to be the two biggest issues at the treaty summit next month in Brussels with diplomats already gearing themselves up for a long meeting.The German EU presidency has finished the technical consultations with member state officials - a last gathering of all of these technocrats will occur next week on Wednesday - and is now expected to enter the political phase.
According to diplomats close to the talks, member states are heading towards a "consensus" to abandon the idea of substituting all the previous treaties by one constitutional treaty.
Instead the draft constitution, rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005, will take the form of an amendment to current treaties.
Discussions are ongoing about attaching part one of the constitutional treaty containing the institutional innovations to the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht and attaching part three containing the policies of the EU to the original 1957 Treaty of Rome.
Getting as much cleared as possible at the June summit
According to one diplomat, Germany, using its political weight as a large country as well as holding the current presidency of the EU, will try to get as much of the political issues cleared up at the 21-22 June summit so that the following intergovernmental conference on the treaty "is as technical as possible."
This stance has led diplomats in Brussels to assume that the summit is going to be long and contentious, with some looking back to the Nice Treaty summit, a bad-tempered political bout that lasted several days.
"There is talk of a lengthy council ... I have noticed it creeping into the language of other diplomats," one EU diplomat remarked.
This talk reflects the list of controversial points that need to be agreed - including two fundamental issues on voting weights among member states and the extension of qualified majority voting.
For Germany, the voting system contained in the draft constitution is something not to be touched. "Whoever touches this [issue] has to know that he will not reach a compromise," state secretary Georg Boomgaarden said on Thursday in the Netherlands.
But Berlin still has to reckon with an increasingly tough-talking Poland.
Sticking points
Speaking to French daily Le Monde, Polish prime minister Lech Kaczynski said "we will not accept the voting system proposed in the current project. For Poland this is a crucial question."
The current Nice Treaty is extremely favourable to Warsaw in terms of voting weights, a privilege it loses under the draft constitution where a re-jigged voting system takes into account population size, making it much more favourable to Germany.
Britain's wish to cut down the amount of areas that can be agreed by qualified majority voting is another brewing, and potentially even tougher, fight.
The draft constitution, already largely ratified by 18 member states, extends the rights of the parliament to co-legislate, thus reducing the right of veto, in 49 new areas - mainly in freedom, security and justice.
London is looking to claw some of this back to make the treaty an easier sell to a sceptical public and largely anti-Europe press.
But this is strongly opposed in several countries, including Spain and Italy, while Paris has also signalled it will not compromise on this topic.
Alain Lamassoure, an advisor to French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy told the EUobserver that while the "UK might be tempted to revisit the list of issues that should be decided by qualified majority vote rather than unanimity (...) for the rest of member states this is not negotiable."
Other sticking points include the Charter of Fundamental Rights with member states bickering over how to incorporate it into the treaty. Currently it is in there as a whole, but some capitals are pushing for it to be referred to only in one article which says that it will only be applicable to EU law and giving member states the right to adapt it to their own traditions and legislation.
Enlargement is another controversial factor. While enlargement criteria are likely to make it into the treaty, sources are already predicting a quarrel over whether the EU's own capacity to take on new member states should be put into the treaty.
Meanwhile, the German presidency is already working on additional protocols on climate change, social Europe and energy solidarity.
Remarking on the difficulties facing chancellor Merkel to balance the wishes of those already having ratified and the nine countries that have not, one diplomat noted that she has a "big stick" to beat member states with - that they all signed up to the contents of the constitution in 2004.
"It's a very dangerous tactic" to sign up to something at heads of state and government level and then try and "wiggle" out of it, said an official adding "especially when there is a big presidency in town."
Read More..
Instead the draft constitution, rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005, will take the form of an amendment to current treaties.
Discussions are ongoing about attaching part one of the constitutional treaty containing the institutional innovations to the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht and attaching part three containing the policies of the EU to the original 1957 Treaty of Rome.
Getting as much cleared as possible at the June summit
According to one diplomat, Germany, using its political weight as a large country as well as holding the current presidency of the EU, will try to get as much of the political issues cleared up at the 21-22 June summit so that the following intergovernmental conference on the treaty "is as technical as possible."
This stance has led diplomats in Brussels to assume that the summit is going to be long and contentious, with some looking back to the Nice Treaty summit, a bad-tempered political bout that lasted several days.
"There is talk of a lengthy council ... I have noticed it creeping into the language of other diplomats," one EU diplomat remarked.
This talk reflects the list of controversial points that need to be agreed - including two fundamental issues on voting weights among member states and the extension of qualified majority voting.
For Germany, the voting system contained in the draft constitution is something not to be touched. "Whoever touches this [issue] has to know that he will not reach a compromise," state secretary Georg Boomgaarden said on Thursday in the Netherlands.
But Berlin still has to reckon with an increasingly tough-talking Poland.
Sticking points
Speaking to French daily Le Monde, Polish prime minister Lech Kaczynski said "we will not accept the voting system proposed in the current project. For Poland this is a crucial question."
The current Nice Treaty is extremely favourable to Warsaw in terms of voting weights, a privilege it loses under the draft constitution where a re-jigged voting system takes into account population size, making it much more favourable to Germany.
Britain's wish to cut down the amount of areas that can be agreed by qualified majority voting is another brewing, and potentially even tougher, fight.
The draft constitution, already largely ratified by 18 member states, extends the rights of the parliament to co-legislate, thus reducing the right of veto, in 49 new areas - mainly in freedom, security and justice.
London is looking to claw some of this back to make the treaty an easier sell to a sceptical public and largely anti-Europe press.
But this is strongly opposed in several countries, including Spain and Italy, while Paris has also signalled it will not compromise on this topic.
Alain Lamassoure, an advisor to French president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy told the EUobserver that while the "UK might be tempted to revisit the list of issues that should be decided by qualified majority vote rather than unanimity (...) for the rest of member states this is not negotiable."
Other sticking points include the Charter of Fundamental Rights with member states bickering over how to incorporate it into the treaty. Currently it is in there as a whole, but some capitals are pushing for it to be referred to only in one article which says that it will only be applicable to EU law and giving member states the right to adapt it to their own traditions and legislation.
Enlargement is another controversial factor. While enlargement criteria are likely to make it into the treaty, sources are already predicting a quarrel over whether the EU's own capacity to take on new member states should be put into the treaty.
Meanwhile, the German presidency is already working on additional protocols on climate change, social Europe and energy solidarity.
Remarking on the difficulties facing chancellor Merkel to balance the wishes of those already having ratified and the nine countries that have not, one diplomat noted that she has a "big stick" to beat member states with - that they all signed up to the contents of the constitution in 2004.
"It's a very dangerous tactic" to sign up to something at heads of state and government level and then try and "wiggle" out of it, said an official adding "especially when there is a big presidency in town."
5/10/07
News: EU launch digital encyclopaedic project on living species
From Bulletin Quotidien Europe No.9423, 10 May 2007In the interest of biodiversity, for which there is an urgent need to stem the decline, the EU will be contributing to the global effort to create in the next ten years, a global scientific information system on species of fauna and flora that live on earth’s surface.
At the official launch in Washington on 9 may, the European Commission announced that this digital encyclopaedic project on living species aimed to include, in around 300 million pages, all known species, and to update available data on how they live, how they grow, their fertility, their tolerance to the environment, their interaction, their genetic characteristic etc.
“The Earth’s biodiversity is a fragile resource. The more we know about it, the better we can protect it. Linking up with researchers within Europe and across the world will increase our understanding of the species with which we share the Earth and, hopefully, improve our management of it,” said European Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik in a press release.
The EU will work on this global project with American, Australian, Brazilian, Indian and South African scientists. European funs will be used to bring together data and create a common information system, called SpeciesBase. Data, which are available to the public, will be supplemented with photos and maps. The German Leibnitz Institute IFM-GEOMAR will coordinate the project. The European contribution will be built on the successful experience of the Fishbase database: The Catalogue of Life (www.sp200.org), The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (www.gbif.org), Fauna Europea (www.faunaeur.org) and Euro+Med Plantbase (www.euromed.org.uk).
The project for a global digital encyclopaedia of living species follows on from the G8 Environemnt Ministers meeting in Potsdam in march, which focused its discussions on the proctetion of biodiversity by 2010. The Commission highlights the importance of this biodiversity conservation tool for researchers, political decision makers, land managers, farmers and conservationists and the public in general.
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