EU launches Erasmus Mundus Program for 2009-13

Brussels, 18 February (9am to 5.30pm): Info day (open to all)
Registration online / Live webstreaming at:
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/static/en/mundus/infoday_2009_en.htm

EU Commissioner for education, and culture, Jan Figel, launched here
Monday evening the new EU scholarship programme for non-EU countries,
Erasmus Mundus II, for the period 2009-2013.

The Earsmus Mundus programme offers the opportunity to third-country
students to obtain a degree in Europe, and to academics to share
know-how and to contribute to study programmes through teaching or
research activities whilst avoiding the brain drain and favouring
vulnerable groups

In 2009-13, the EU will increase its support to the most
highly-talented students and professors from countries outside the EU
with grants to take part in joint programmes in Europe.

It will also extend the scope of the programme to the doctoral level
and give more financial support to European students.

The expected budget for Erasmus Mundus II will be an indicative amount
of 950 million Euro.

The Erasmus Mundus I from 2004 - 2008 offered more than 10,000
scholarships to students and academics from all over the world, with a
combined budget of 609 million Euro.

It contributed 33 million Euro (2005-2009) for scholarships to Indian
post-graduate students .

Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 is a cooperation and mobility programme in
the field of higher education that aims to enhance the quality of
European higher education and to promote dialogue and understanding
between people and cultures through cooperation with third countries.

The Erasmus Mundus programmes provides support to:

higher education institutions that wish to implement joint programmes
at postgraduate level (Action 1) or to set-up inter-institutional
cooperation partnerships between universities from Europe and targeted
Third-Countries;

individual students, researchers and university staff who wish to
spend a study / research / teaching period in the context of one of
the above mentioned joint programmes or cooperation partnerships;

any organisation active in the field of higher education that wishes
to develop projects aiming at enhancing the attractiveness, profile,
visibility and image of European higher education worldwide.

The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Agency Executive Agency (EACEA)
is responsible for the management of all actions of Erasmus Mundus
2009 - 2013, under the supervision of the Directorate-General for
Education and Culture (DG EAC of the European Commission) and
EuropeAid - Co-operation Office (DG AIDCO of the European Commission).
Information and guidance at national level can be obtained from the
Erasmus Mundus National Structures.

Pharma package seen for Dec 10

The European Commission will present the much-delayed “pharma package” on December 10 at a press conference.

Ton van Liero, spokesman for Gunter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry, told me, “We foresee a press conference on Wednesday on the pharma package.”

Moreover, the Commission announced that the College of Commissioners (27 Commissioners) will be presented with it next Wednesday.

Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio told journalists: “On the agenda of the Commission meeting next Wednesday, will be a major pharmaceutical package. It has been subject of many draft directives, amendments, existing directives and Commission communications by Mr. (Gunter) Verheugen and various proposals and drafts and regulations, so the whole package that is for pharmaceutical industry.”

Earlier today addressing a joint press conference with health ministers from G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US), Mexico and the World Health Organisation, European Health Commissioner Andrroulla Vassiiou also had expressed hope that the pharma package will come out soon.

The Commissioner was hosting Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) to forge stronger global collaboration on health security.

VASSILIOU ADDRESSES DIFFERENCES

Replying to a question about disagreements within the Commission, Commissioner Vassliou said, “It (Pharma package) is one of the most difficult packages and it is natural that all cabinets are very interested about it and there is a lot of discussion so that our purpose is to reach a final agreement on a package which will be in agreement with everybody,” adding, “I am hopeful that it will come up with something which will be satisfactory to everybody and useful to everybody.”

The European Commission has repeatedly delayed since October 21, the publishing draft regulations which could overhaul the pharmaceutical sector, amid rumours that divisions within the Commission are leading to the delays.

VERHEUGEN STAYS CONFIDENT

European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry Gunter Verheugen had denied that his package of proposed new regulations for the pharmaceutical industry will be substantially altered despite its publication being delayed but APM understands there are disagreements within the College over such subjects as banning the repackaging of medicines, which is widely practiced by parallel traders.

The pharma industry has been pushing to ban repackaging of medicines saying it is the only way to stop trade in counterfeit products.

But supporters of parallel trade believe it could damage the legitimate practice of traders buying low-price drugs in markets such as Greece and selling them at a profit in other countries where they can command a higher price.

A report published recently on the website of the Commission's directorate general for Enterprise and Industry said that repackaging and relabelling medicines posed an inherent risk to patients but banning the practice would result in a dramatic reduction in the level of parallel trade and in the loss or redeployment of some 10,000 jobs across Europe.

The sources recently told me that a revamped package is now being prepared that will not ban repackaging. "Those proposals are history," said one.

This is in line with comments from a Commission spokesman earlier. "There is no ban foreseen on repackaging or relabelling ... Parallel trade is a legal economic activity in the European Union (and) the commission does not intend to change that."

INFORMATION TO CONSUMERS FACTOR

But other measures in the pharmaceuticals package are also controversial, such as a proposal to allow companies to provide information on their drugs to patients, which some commentators believe is tantamount to permitting direct-to-consumer advertising.

The Association Internationale de la Mutualité, Health Action International (HAI) Europe and Medicines in Europe Forum today in an open letter to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: “The proposals on “information to patients” represent yet another tactic to delay generic competition by enabling the pharmaceutical companies to communicate directly to the public on their respective prescription-only medicines, thereby building "brand loyalty" and market share for their own originator products at the expense of affordable medicines for the public.”

Greg Perry, Director General, European Generic Medicines Association (EGA) had told me: "We understand the reason for the delay is due to lack of agreement on ITP (information to patients virtual network) proposal."

Perry said the EGA's main concern was now that the proposed legislation will not make it through this session of the European Parliament, particularly the pharmacovigilance package which is "a good proposal in terms of  improving patients safety, harmonisation and better regulation."

Migrants now under open skies in chilly Brussels

The media frenzy generated in Belgium with major media outlets carrying the story of a dawn raid on a Gurdwara (a worshipping place for Sikhs) obscured the real cause “human smuggling,” behind the police action in Brussels. 

The police found in different houses nearly 200 people who are in Belgium illegally and living in inhuman conditions. In one house in Brussels 24 people were packed into a room of 12 meters-squares, according to Information provided by the government sources.

Culminating an investigation of almost a year, the Belgian authorities had found that a network of traffickers in humans have been operating in Belgium for the past year and a half. Hundreds of illegal immigrants from India and Pakistan have allegedly been smuggled through Belgium into the UK. The investigation into the network started after a couple of human traffickers operating from India were arrested. 

Belgium authorities in keeping with usual practice, released all the detained migrants except marked human smugglers, who were arrested after raids last month by the Belgian federal police on 19 houses in Brussels’s Vilvoorde regions including one gurdwara (Sikh Temple) and Tubize (just outside Brussels).

After taking their finger-prints and delivering a written order to leave the country, the illegals without any legal documents were released within eight to 12 hours after the initial arrests. With the safe houses raided and agents behind bars, the illegals were left to fend for themselves for now.

GREEN PARKS, OPEN SKIES

Catching up with them in many green local parks on the benches under the open skies, Tejinder Singh interviewed dozens of them finding a heart-rendering story of tears, desperation and clinging to survival with hope to move onto greener pastures in United Kingdom. With his hands in his jeans pockets and wearing all the clothes that he owns, Bittu from Indian Northern state of Haryana says in Haryanavi Hindi, “Now I regret leaving home. There was food and shelter there and love of parents.”

The open environs of Brussels parks have equated all and the sad expressions in the eyes say it all as Sukha from neighbouring state of Punjab nods in agreement adding in Punjabi, “These agents are to be blamed. They go and spread all these stories of how the legalisation papers have opened and how it’s very easy to get legal once one lands in England.” Contrary to earlier press reports, some of the migrants have been arrested more than once but released within a few hours after the usual procedure of finger-printing and issuance of written orders to leave the country.

ELUSIVE ROUTE TO UK

Moreover, there are two ways the migrants are trying to cross into the UK: 

First and more costly one is when the agents on the main land Europe talk to a few drivers who take the risk and take one or two boys ready to pay up to 6000 Euro across the English Channel by hiding them in specially designed cabins around the driver’s cabin. 

The other cheaper method is run by Albanian and Kurdish gangs who scout the highway rest places for trucks and are experts in opening the back of trucks to put migrants in without the knowledge of the resting drivers. These gangs charge anything between 1000 Euro to 2000 Euro on arrival at destination and the illegal migrants talked of the ruthlessness of smugglers in extracting money and professionalism in operating the hide and seek game with the drivers.

After the raids and arrests, Brussels assistant prosecutor Tim de Wolf had told journalists that two of those arrested were “the brains behind the trafficking operations ... They controlled a whole series of little groups. We hope we have broken up the core of the network.”

Kaka from Punjab told this journalist, “The main kingpin called Pahlwan, a jat from Punjab, was arrested a week before the raids and he along with another person named Baja are the master-minds of these operations.” “Pahlwan came to Belgium more than a year ago and is still illegal but operated this clandestine smuggling ring, successfully ferrying thousands across to England,” Kaka added in his Punjabi punctuated with English words.

ASIA TO EUROPE

The migrants, mostly from Punjab, had been brought to Belgium through Moscow, De Wolf said. “We found 24 people crammed inside one windowless room, measuring around 12 sq m,” he said. Most of the migrants, I spoke to have come through the route Delhi (India) - Moscow (Russia) - Kiev (Ukraine) - Slovakia - Italy - Belgium. After arriving in Moscow on visas - about which they hardly want to talk, the migrants were moved by trucks most of the time in connivance of the drivers and agents, they disclosed. For this purpose, the well-organised smuggling rings provide seaman’s book for around Indian Rs 60,000 (about 900 Euro) and the person flies to a port city to join the ship as “crew.”

Sometimes there is no ship and the person is routed along the land routes. And if there is a ship, it is usually the ones operating with not much of sea-worthiness left in them and which transport illegal aliens to somewhere along the thousands of kilometres of unmanned Greek and Italian coastline. In all cases, the passports which have the airport stamps of departure from India and arrival at some transit destination are destroyed by the human smugglers as soon as the person finishes legal part of the journey.

NO DOCUMENTS, NO NATIONALITY

The documents are destroyed to make sure that the authorities cannot tie a person down to the country of his origin and in that case the authorities cannot immediately deport him. They need to establish his nationality, which is a time-consuming process.

Indian embassy in Brussels refused to comment on the fate of the migrants as embassy official R K Goel (First Secretary, Education and Culture with the responsibility to handle media) had told this journalist over the phone, “The ministry (Indian Foreign ministry) is looking into the matter so we can not comment on the subject.”

Resham Singh, President of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Sahib, Vilvorde said, “There should be cooperation and programmes to educate people in Punjab about the futility to take these risks,” adding, “May be European Union and the European governments can cooperate with Punjab and Indian governments to take the message to masses there.”

Sunil Prasad, President of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin said, “One of the main reasons why economic mi gr ants from India want to migrate to UK is because UK is more fri endly than many countries in Europe with respect to giving asylum.”

“Also, because of a large Indian community in UK, it is natural that these immigrants want to come to UK and seek better life,” Prasad, who is also the Secretary General of the Brussels Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC) added.

The dream lives on as is evident when speaking to Sucha, who was one of the few lucky ones to survive the clutches of law and order authorities. He shares an unhygienic dwelling with seven more. His eyes sparkle when questioned if he would make a dash to more promising lands. He replies, “I am looking for a good opportunity to go to England or maybe Canada.” (Names changed to hide identities)

Commissioner Borg tries to clear murky waters of EU fishing industry

The European Commission proposed today (Nov 14) tougher measures including crackdown on illegal fishing with a penalty point system to restore threatened fish stocks.

Launching the Commission plans, European Fisheries Commissioner told journalists in Brussels, “Control and enforcement should be the cornerstone of the Common Fisheries Policy. Instead it is our Achille's heel,” adding, “the proposed framework we have adopted today will provide effective deterrence, reduce the administrative burden and costs, and ensure we have a system in place which is simple, transparent, and fair.”

Expanding the range of powers of EU inspections, the Commissioner said: “The new control regulation will ensure that inspection activities are no longer almost only focused on operations at sea, where the chances of detecting a breach of the rules are often remote, but are present at every link of the chain - in port, during transport and whilst marketing.”

Calling on all the stakeholders in the sector to give their inputs and then respect the rules, Borg said, “the rules we make are seen to be fair and for the common good,” adding, “we need to ensure that there is a genuine level playing field for all operators.”

Reiterating the importance of the role of member states in the implementation of the rules, Commissioner Borg also proposed, “to give the Commission itself the power it needs to do the job.”

The Commission has pointed that even after spending 400 million Euro a year on fishing controls, there is no reliable data on fish catches. Commissioner Borg told journalists, “without accurate data on catches and landings, the very scientific advice on which we depend becomes unreliable.”

Under the new tough system, the holders of fishing permits face losing their basic right to fish if suspended for six and then 12 months. The point system will govern EU vessels even outside EU waters and non-EU vessels in EU waters and it will be applicable to the fishing vessel, and to the crew's master and officers.

Expanding the present system of “only own country” inspections, Borg proposals will give power to each EU country to inspect other country vessels, if or when needed.

The points register will be maintained in the vessel’s flag country with the EU countries asked for mandatory inspection of fish landings, processing, transport and marketing, as well as to monitor criteria such as a vessel's fishing capacity and its engine power.
Toughening the stand against lenient EU countries, the Commission threatened to cut or suspend the EU subsidies, cut quotas or in an extreme case forbidding fishing in the EU waters, Commissioner Borg said.

The Commissioner concluded, “Control is not the solution to all fisheries management problems. But there can be no sustainable fisheries, without a fair, effective and transparent control system.” The proposals still await agreement from fisheries ministers from all 27 member states.

Commission proposals outline raw material policy

The European Commission today (Nov 4) launched a "long term sustained" approach to make sure that the raw material supplies to Europe do not suffer for different reasons.

Stressing that the EU industrial sector is facing a decline in the global supply of raw materials, Gunter Verheugen, the European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry said, "We must act, to ensure that access to raw materials for enterprises will not be hampered. We need fair play on external markets, a good framework to foster sustainable raw materials supply from EU sources as well as improved resource efficiency and more use of recycling."

Presenting the proposals to journalists in Brussels, Verheugen, Vice President of the European Commission said, "It is our aim to make sure that Europe's industry will be able to continue to play a leading role in new technologies and innovation."

Talking to New Europe later after the press conference, Commissioner Verheugen said, "I stressed integrated approach from the beginning. As the there are two groups of the European Commission involved: External Relations group and Competitive group, we will need co-ordination structure."

Commissioner further said, "As the instruments needed to are not in my hands, there is a strong support I have from the other commissioners on the subject."

"I have agreed with my colleagues, notably Cathy Ashton, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Louis Michel and Stavros Dimas, to closely cooperate to implement the proposed strategy," Verheugen earlier told the press conference.

In his presentations, Commissioner Verheugen said, "Americans and Japanese have a stockpiling policy," adding that the Europeans, who lack such a policy, will have to develop it over the coming years. "We are committed to improve the conditions of access to raw materials, be it within Europe or by creating a level playing field in accessing such materials from abroad," the Commissioner said.

Moreover, the importance of recycling got due attention as the Commission said, "Recycling presents a huge opportunity to reduce import dependency for raw materials," lamenting that many end-of-life products are "illegally shipped outside the EU and are hence not recycled within the EU."

Outlining the three major pillars for its policy development, the Commission listed:

"Access to raw materials on world markets at undistorted conditions;

The right framework to foster sustainable supply of raw materials from EU sources;

Increase resource efficiency and promoting recycling in the EU."

Earlier presentation by the Commission of a "European strategy for the sustainable use of natural resources" had met with strong criticism in the European parliament and now the Commission, the executive arm of the EU, has the mandate from the Competitiveness Council of the EU to develop a "coherent political approach" to address the raw material problems in different sectors.

http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90399.php

MEP in Seoul predicts EU Trade Agreement possible in 2008

South Korea and the European Union are ready to sign the free trade agreement (FTA) according to visiting European lawmakers in Seoul. The Chairman of the European Parliament's Korea delegation, Austrian conservative Member of European Parliamnet (MEP) Hubert Pirker said in a statement from Seoul, “The trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea is practically ready for signing.”

After a range of meetings in Seoul, Pirker said, “In our meetings and negotiations with the South Korean Prime Minister, the ministers for foreign affairs and trade as well as with the responsible Korean negotiators for the trade agreement, we were able to come to an agreement on concluding the negotiations. Some fine points will have to be ironed out over the next month, but I expect a final agreement ready for signature before the end of this year.”

The statement from the MEP came as a surprise to business observers in Seoul and Brussels as during the FTA talks in August, South Korean Trade Ministry sources had hinted at differences on those “sticky issues,” while EU negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero told New Europe on August 30 in Seoul, “We had a very fruitful discussion and we agreed to continue talks.”

South Korean Deputy Trade Minister Hye-min Lee and Deputy chief negotiator in August told New Europe about the “sticky” issues and expectations on both sides, lamenting, “On the services sector, the EU expects we should give more than what we have given to the US - but when we negotiated with the US - we already had EU FTA in mind.” “What we have agreed with the US is not just for the US but also for the EU. The Europeans are asking for more than that which is very difficult,” he said. “We will be obliged to change our regulations but European will not change anything while Europeans are set to gain from the FTA,” the Korean negotiator added.

According to business sources speaking to New Europe the EU had during talks in August flatly rejected the demand of South Korea with a booming auto-industry, to drop tariffs on South Korean cars within three years after the bilateral talks take effect.

Another major obstacle to the FTA negotiations is the legal sector as Doo-Sik Kim, an international trade lawyer told journalists at a lunch organised by the Korea Press Foundation on August 25. Addressing the fear of Korean legal sector about the take-over and expansion of the European law firms in the Korean market, Kim said it was one of the least highlighted subjects but there is a strong opposition from the concerned lawyer lobbies.

After meeting with Korean Prime Minister Dr. Han Seung-soo and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Kim Hyeong-o, responsible for the ratification of the agreement, all involved ministers of President Lee Myung-bak's government, Pirker, “In view of the international financial crisis and the regional and global security implications, this visit of the EU delegation is of high importance, also in the eyes of our South Korean counterparts.”

The EU is South Korea’s second largest trade partner after China. In 2007, the bilateral trade volume between South Korea and the EU amounted to USD 89.8 billion.

EU sets out ambitious plans to tackle financial crisis

The European Commission announced on Wednesday (October 29) it will outline late November an economic recovery plan for the European Union to guide it from the present “financial crisis” to the “sustainable development” to avoid the prospect of recession.

“We will bring forward on November 26, a comprehensive EU recovery plan, based on the framework we have approved today,” Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told journalists, adding, “that recovery plan will include targeted short-term actions to add to the medium-term reform agenda.”

Outlining a four-pronged framework as the basis of the plan, Barroso highlighted pragmatic measures to help families and households across Europe, coordination and solidarity among member states, full use of flexibility allowed by EU rules and global governance.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

"Our top priority is to minimise the impact on jobs, purchasing power and prosperity of our citizens," he said. “We must keep unemployment to the absolute minimum and support those who have lost their jobs," Barroso added.

In a commission communication relating to the financial crisis, released after the press conference, the Commission stressed the need for social solidarity, saying that households and employees need to be cushioned from the full effects of the economic downturn.

The communication stated the chances for reviewing the terms for releasing money from the European Social Fund, which aims to provide educational opportunities and improve job skills, and review the effectiveness of the Global Adjustment Fund, which was established in 2007 to help workers laid off by companies that have moved their operations outside Europe.

Addressing a joint press conference with Barroso, European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said, “We are now facing not only a financial crisis but a serious slowdown in our economies that is hitting households, businesses and jobs.”

FLEXIBILITY IN APPLICATION OF RULES

Calling on member states to use flexibility provided in European fiscal rules in the case of sharp slowdowns, Almunia said, “They should use the room for manoeuvre they have to cushion the impact," adding, “we have red lines, we cannot put an excessive burden on the next generation.”

Almunia said: "Given that inflationary pressures are now easing, monetary and fiscal policy can contribute to supporting demand ... member states can now use the room for maneuver they have created.”

Almunia insisted that the Stability and Growth Pact is the appropriate policy framework for the EU, adding that in case of extra-ordinary condition like present, the pact will be interpreted flexibly, allowing budget deficits to exceed three percent of gross domestic production provided the deviation is small and temporary.

“The pact is about peer support in a difficult situation as the one we are living in and not only about peer pressure,” he said.

Echoing Almunia, Barroso said EU countries should use to its full potential the flexibility that exists within the EU fiscal discipline, as well as within the competition, state aids and internal market rules.

Warning, “We need to swim together or else we will sink together,” Barroso also acknowledged that the member states held the "main instruments" for reviving growth and not the European Union adding, “Europe must confront the economic downturn with the same robust and coordinated approach we have taken on the financial crisis.”

Commission President Barroso, however, cautioned against using the financial crisis to bring in protectionism saying, “Trade barriers shut out prosperity and open the gates instead to short-term, economic populism. So yes to pro-activism, but no to protectionism.”

ENHANCING ROLE OF EIB, EBRD

Barroso and Almunia also urged the member states to look at the possibility of strengthening supranational financial institutions. Barroso said governments should also consider giving more money to the European Investment Bank that could direct funding to infrastructure projects or provide loans for small businesses hit by the credit crunch.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could also receive more capital. The commission communication stated, “The EBRD has been playing a key role in financial sector reform and in financing the private sector in our newer member states. In the current financing environment its activities in these countries could be strengthened.

FINANCIAL SOLIDARITY

In the spirit of solidarity, EU governments agreed late Tuesday (October 28) to lend Hungary 6.5 billion Euro in a joint bid with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help the country deal with the financial crisis.

Barroso said the EU stands ready to provide substantial medium-term financial assistance to other member states experiencing balance of payments pressures or serious financial stability risks saying, “we need to be prudent but also vigilant.”

Amid fears that several new EU member states and other countries might eventually need assistance, Commissioner Almunia confirmed that no other country has asked for a rescue package similar to one provided to Hungary.

Hinting at the crisis-situation in Ukraine and others, Commission President Barroso said, “neighbours are under stress but EU institutions are ready to provide.”

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Barroso promised EU support to improve cooperation and coherence at international level saying, “When you have global interdependence, you need global governance.”

Commenting on the Summit of Group of 20 in Washington on November 15 to reform the global financial system, Barroso said the summit must deliver the first results so as to rebuild a climate of confidence, which is part of the solution to the current crisis.

Urging China to be part of the solution, Barroso said, “China has been benefiting from this globalisation and has made big financial reserves and its time to show that they can help in this time of crisis.”

Barroso called on the IMF to be prepared to intervene with emergency financing as there were signs that the crisis is spreading to emerging markets. China and the Gulf countries could do more to help the IMF support countries hit by the financial crisis, Barroso said adding, “The idea put forward by (British) Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and I completely agree with him, is that China and others could help more the IMF ... Not only China but also the Gulf countries could maybe give a concrete demonstration of their sense of responsibility.”

On the subject of overhaul of the relevant financial institutions, the commission communication stated, “Europe is well placed to play an active role in designing the new global architecture and making it work effectively,” based on key principles of efficiency, transparency plus accountability and representation.

LACK OF CONFIDENCE
   
Commenting on the plunging stock markets even with the pumping of liquidity in the banking system, Barroso blamed it on lack of confidence in the economy, Barroso said, “People are expecting the negative effects on the so-called real economy and that's why it's important ... that we are acting in a coordinated way to address the problems of the real economy.” Barroso sounded positive as he declared, “Europe will come through this financial storm and will emerge stronger.”

Almunia said that he had made a proposal to raise the maximum EU aid to member states facing financing troubles to 25 billion Euro as according to a 2002 rule, the EU can provide up to 12 billion Euro in total financial assistance to member states that do not use the Euro when they run into a balance of payments crisis.

"We sent to the council (of member states) proposals for increasing this ceiling to 25 billion Euro," Almunia told journalists. EU officials later said that it will be on the agenda of the meeting of the EU finance ministers on Tuesday (November 4) in Brussels.

European leaders to meet ahead of financial summit

European leaders are set to gather in Brussels Nov 7 to try and agree to a consensus ahead of a global financial summit to address reforms to international financial institutions.

France, which holds the rotating European Union presidency this year, said in a brief statement Friday that the informal meeting of EU heads of state and government will prepare the EU's 27 member-states for an upcoming financial summit Nov 15 in Washington on the global financial crisis.

The summit was announced by the White House after a meeting last weekend between US President George W. Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The White House said President Bush would host leaders of 20 of the world's richest nations and biggest emerging economies, including India and China.

At an emergency EU Summit Oct 15-16 here, EU leaders had agreed that a massive overhaul of the world's financial system is needed to prevent another financial crisis and asked Sarkozy and Barroso to hold further discussions with the US administration.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, however, failed to answer questions from journalists over what preparations were in place for the Nov 7 summit.

Commission spokesperson Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said European Commission members are to meet Oct 29 to prepare for the upcoming global summit in the US.

The US-hosted talks are expected to draw leaders from the Group of 20: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Britain, the US, and the European Union.

Belgian regulator told to streamline market

The European Commission has given the green light to Belgium’s telecoms watchdog the Institut Belge des Services Postaux et des Telecommunications (BIPT,) to do the needful to bring down fixedline prices charged to the European citizens in the country. “BIPT has sought to force Belgium’s incumbent telecoms operator and the dominant player on the fixed-line market to comply with EU demands since 2000, but has failed to cut the costs that consumers have to foot,” the Commission said in a statement.

Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media said, “Although the Belgian retail calls markets have all the conditions to be competitive, leading to choice and affordable prices for Belgian consumers, the overall retail prices for fixed telephony in Belgium are one of the highest in the EU.” The Commissioner, who has come to symbolise EU citizens’ interests, warned the Belgian telecom industry: “This is simply not acceptable for Belgian consumers.

The European Commission will keep a very close eye on the Belgian market We ask the Belgian telecoms regulator to come back to us on this issue within a year’s time.” “BIPT should also revise its price control obligation imposed on Belgacom, the telecoms incumbent, to allow Belgian customers to make cheaper calls as soon as possible,” the Commission said in a statement. In a letter sent to BIPT, the Commission “endorsed BIPT’s finding that Belgacom is still dominant on the Belgian fixed line calls markets.”

Commenting on the letter sent to BIPT, a Commission spokesman told journalists, “For a three-minute local call in Belgium you pay 21.2 Euro cents. On an average in the EU you pay substantially below 10 Euro cents.” According to European laws the Commission can ask national regulators to enforce national rules to guarantee competition in their national markets but the Commission can not establish caps for local calls as it did for cross-border mobile services.

Noting that all national telecom regulators have the possibility to use tools such as a price cap on retail tariffs, the Commission spokesman added, “We recommend that the Belgian regulator makes full use of the instruments available to them under EU telecom rules.” The Commission asked BIPT to ensure complete enforcement of the existing wholesale measures and to let the Commission know of the results of a new market analysis within the next year.

Explaining the one year time period, the Commission spokesman told journalists that usually the national regulators submit their reports every two years but in this case the Commission has asked for an early assessment report. The spokesman lamented the fact that even though all the regulatory measures needed are in place in Belgium, the prices are still highest in the EU. The Commission identified the non-implementation of the wholesale line rental obligation imposed on Belgacom in 2006 and asked the national regulator for a better implementation, stating, “the wholesale line rental obligation, which was imposed on Belgacom by BIPT in 2006 and which allows alternative operators to use Belgacom’s networks, has not been implemented so far.”

Answering questions from the journalists, the spokesman clarified that the action against Belgium was not the first such move as there have been similar cases the latest was concerning Italy.

Moreover, the carrier pre-select system, launched in 2000 along with high broadband penetration is yet to have a significant effect on the fixed line telephony market in Belgium.

“The carrier (pre-)selection obligation, which allows consumers in Belgium to choose their preferred provider to supply their telecoms services, was imposed as early as 2000 and should have led, together with Belgium’s high broadband penetration, to effective competition in the fixed telephony market,” the Commission stated, adding, “in particular, the remedies should ensure that consumers benefit from cost reductions resulting from decreased wholesale interconnection charges.”

Market observers pointed that the present intervention under the leadership of Commissioner Reding is set to lower interconnection prices and usher in an era of tighter price controls on Belgacom’s retail offers thus benefiting the European citizens.

EU’s Blue Card visa scheme gets green light

The European Union Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs slated to meet on November 27-28 in Bru ssels is expected to rubber stamp the Blue Card, a fast-track work visa, a decision made at the ambassadors’ level. “As the decision was agreed at the ambassadors’ level, it’s not yet official but we do not foresee any further debates and the decision will be ratified by the EU ministers next month,” an EU official said. France holds the rotating EU Presidency for the second half of 2008 till the end of December. In addition, the EU leaders en dorsed an EU immigration package and put on hold the restart of frozen trade and partnership talks with Russia.

With major countries like Germany and United Kingdom pushing for competition to get the best talents, the EU states significantly weakened the Commission’s original plans by insisting that it is up to national governments to decide how many migrants should enter their countries and what qualifications they should have. With a fast track application process along with making it easier for workers to bring families along and get housing the Blue Card, with validity of four years falls way short of original proposal.

Moreover, the Blue Card would only be issued under strict income conditions, with migrants expected to be earning at least one- and-ahalf times the gross national average wage. The Blue Card, a brain child of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, was designed to be on par with Green Card system of the USA, the final version has lost much of its shine according to EU sources in Brussels.

Barroso had told journalists on September 29 in Marseille, France after the EU-India Summit: “We have made a proposal precisely to make it easier for qualified professionals to come to Europe because we want to remain open and in fact we want more people coming to Europe namely some migrants, qualified migrants and sometimes we find it’s difficult for them to come so we made a proposal and that proposal is being negotiated by the Council of member states and I think the final outcome will be a good one.”

Addressing a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and current EU Presidency holder French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Barroso had said, “I think it will a good outcome, a balanced proposals especially for the Indians to come to Europe and cooperate inside our member states.”

Asked to comment on the diluting of his proposals, Barroso told journalists, “of course sometimes we want more ambitious results but this is the way we work in the EU we have to understand we are 27 countries so at the end it has to be a compromise between all the countries because thats very much linked to their national sovereignty.”

Commenting on the upcoming proposals, Umesh Shenoy, an Indian software consultant working in Brussels, Belgium said, “Blue Card will greatly alleviate the problem of restrictive movement for non- EU employees within the EU countries. Hopefully will bring stability to otherwise chaotic procedure that comes with applying for work permit and residence cards. This will be useful for Multinational institutions which require workforce to be mobile and It is a win-win situation for both employer and employees alike in the longer term.”

European Parliament puts China in tight corner with Sakharov Prize for dissident

The European Parliament (EP)’s prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was awarded to a jailed Chinese human rights activist and political dissident, Hu Jia whose field of work ranges from environmental causes to HIV/AIDS advocacy and a prominent voice calling for an official enquiry into the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

The European Parliament every year since 1988 awards the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, in honour of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov. Individuals or global organisations are eligible if they have made a mark in the field of the fight for human rights or democracy.

Announced on October 23, on the eve of the 7th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting), hosted by Beijing on October 24-25, the award is an open snub to the Chinese officials who had warned that they would consider it an affront.

Hu Jia is in prison and is stated to be in poor health with stomach problems. “To present this type of prize to a criminal amounts to interference with China's judicial sovereignty, and also shows disrespect towards human rights,” spokesman Qin Gang of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was cited as saying before the award announcement was made in Strasbourg at the Plenary session of the European Parliament, the only directly elected European institution.

With the formal acceptance of six new members, Bulgaria, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Romania and the ASEAN (Association of the Southeast Asian Nations) Secretariat, the gathering is set to swell the membership to 45.

According to political pundits, the Summit will be more a testing ground for the new arrivals with agenda being overshadowed by ongoing global financial events.

Yeo Lay Hwee, senior research fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Relations and Associate Director of the EU Centre based in Singapore warned, “we must not expect too much or we will be disappointed,” as ASEM is “not a venue for negotiations,” but “an ideal platform for testing new and evolving ideas.”

She was addressing a select gathering of diplomats, academics and journalists at a Brussels event titled, “Injecting new momentum into ASEM, an uphill struggle?” organised by Brussels based think-tank “European Policy Centre,” (EPC).

Addressing the audience Geoffrey Barret, senior advisor for Asia at the European Commission said, “ASEM is based entirely on political will,” and outlined four building blocks of the ASEM platform: Climate negotiations, Development co-operation on Millienuium Development Goals, Labour employment and social cohesion, Human rights.

With Hu Jia being bestowed with European prize, “human rights,” are set to be a thorny issue even if global financial crisis is supposed to hog the limelight.

Indian diplomatic presence in Brussels needs boost

The European Union and India at the recently concluded EU-India Summit (September 29) in Marseille, France failed to finalise the ongoing trade negotiations over Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the two sides remaining at loggerheads on key issues in the Doha talks on liberalising world trade. Political ties can not go far without financial bonds and a look at the trade figures from recent past show that its time to inject much needed momentum into an uninspiring trade relationship.

Reiterating the importance of trade and economic ties, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told journalists at a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso: “We have agreed to achieve an annual bilateral trade turnover of 100 billion Euro within the next five years and to work towards the conclusion of the India- EU Broad- Based Trade and Investment Agreement by end-2009.” The 27-nation bloc’s trade with India amounted to just less than 56 billion Euro last year. Earlier, the trade statistics showed a jump from a meagre less than five billion Euro in 1980 to a respectable more than 45 billion Euro in 2006. Although trade with the EU is 20 percent of India’s import-export business, making the EU India’s largest trading partner in 2006, India’s share is only 1.8 percent of total EU trade. In the context of the ongoing negotiations in the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, there are some stumbling blocks that need to be addressed on both sides. According to reliable sources, the major hurdle is in the fields of agriculture which is a protected sector in the EU which earmarks 40 percent of its total budget to this sector where there are subsidies galore.

NO TIME TABLE

In May, Peter Power, spokesperson for EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson had told journalists in Brussels: “I can confirm that we have received the document from India. I can confirm that it is certainly a useful and worthwhile opening bid for negotiations will have to go further and deeper,” lamenting that the time-frame for the talks to conclude is “not solely in our hands.” “We would like to see this particular negotiation making progress as rapidly as possible. I think the opening bid is not bad, but a lot of work remains to be done to have an agreement that would be worthy of support by both sides,” he noted.

“I think at this stage it would be unwise of me to put a timetable, but certainly we should hope to see substantial movement in the next year to 18 months,” added Power. India formally launched negotiations in June 2007 with the EU for a comprehensive FTA aimed at removing barriers across all sectors including investment and services.

The EU has, in recent times, accepted the fact that Indian import tariffs have been substantially reduced but it complains they are still high by international standards. The EU calls it a “complex and non-transparent” system as it points at additional duties, taxes, and charges that are levied on top of the basic customs duties. Pointing to the “non-tariff” barriers, the EU lists quantitative restrictions, mandatory testing, import licensing, certification for a large number of products and a complicated procedural modus operandi as the major speed breakers for a smooth trade relationship.

SLUGGISH INDIAN MISSION

With Indians finding the EU institutions bewildering and complex, India has its own set of complaints, foremost being in recent times the frequent use of anti-dumping duties on its exports including footwear. This is the arena where the diplomatic mission in Brussels is failing Delhi in the Indian government’s renewed efforts to shift into higher gears cooperation in different fields with the European Union. India’s outgoing ambassador to the European Union, Dipak Chatterjee, last month was cited by EuAsiaNews as saying, “I don’t think India has fully woken up to the fact that the EU is more than an economic and trading partner. The EU is trying to build a political identity for itself. I think it will take some time for India to come to understand that.” “But India is realising that the EU is a force to reckon with. There is interest on both sides to develop relations,” he had added. 

All the European journalists attending the Marseille Summit agreed that there was a complete lack of information from the Indian mission in Brussels where the EU is seated.

European journalists pointed to “no press release,” “no media briefing,” “no pertinent information on the Embassy website,” nor a “call back to provide information from the Indian Ambassador’s office in Brussels.”

Add to the fact that with more than a month of arrival in Brussels, the new ambassador is yet to let the Brussels press corps know of his presence through either a press release or otherwise. According to political pundits here, its time for Delhi to rethink the Brussels diplomatic strategy to pump in a new impetus into EU-India relationship.

Europe gears up for global financial overhaul at Brussels Summit

European Union leaders last week stayed on track of the expected policy of agreeing to nod the financial package through but postponed the final agreement on climate change policy to the December Summit.

With the global economic slowdown feeding the gathering clouds of recession over national finances, French President Nicolas Sarkozy goaded the EU leaders not only to endorse the emergency measures for now but also got the mandate to address the long-term reforms for the international financial institutions. France holds the rotating EU Presidency for the second half of 2008 till the end of December.

In addition, the EU leaders endorsed a EU immigration package and put on hold the restart of frozen trade and partnership talks with Russia.

FINANCIAL DEAL

The Council conclusions called for “rigorous implementation by financial institutions of recommendations on the transparency of their commitments and risks,” to maintain “confidence in the financial and banking system and protecting the interests of depositors and investors.”

After the Summit, Sarkozy told journalists that all 27 EU leaders had agreed to back a plan to shore up the banking sector agreed to earlier by non-Eurozone EU member United Kingdom and the 15 Eurozone EU countries that use the Euro. The measures include increasing a guarantee on European bank deposits to be implemented within the next 12 months.

Coming down heavily on the company executives in the financial system, “particularly the banking sector,” the Council emphasised, "The real performance of company executives should be reflected in their remuneration including their severance pay (“golden parachutes”), which should be in line with their actual contribution to the success of the company.”

The Council reiterated the call to save the common citizen, “(The European Council) calls for speedy decisions on the development of European rules on the security of deposits to ensure that savers are protected,” adding that the European Commission’s forthcoming legislative proposal are in the need for a “speedy examination.”

Making an explicit mention of the European car industry to be given EU support to develop cleaner technology, Sarkozy called on EU governments to forge a common economic policy, saying: "If we can find a coordinated response to the financial crisis, why not find a coordinated economic policy?"

Addressing journalists Sarkozy asked: “Does economic policy need the same coordination as the financial crisis? From this presidency’s point of view: yes, yes, yes. Is that unanimous? For the moment: No, no, no.”


His observations were reflected in the final conclusions as the EU leaders asked the European Commission to “make appropriate proposals by the end of the year, in particular to preserve the international competitiveness of European industry,” adding, “continued structural reform is more important than eve, to help restore growth and improve employment in Europe.”

WORLD FINANCIAL REFORMS

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pushed the Council to shift gears to the second stage of overhauling the global financial institutions and French President as the Chair got bestowed with admiration as Sarkozy was handed an EU mandate to press for a complete overhaul.

"We do not have the right to miss this opportunity for reconstructing our system of finance in the 21st century," Sarkozy said. "We have a mandate now to discuss this with the President of the United States."

Europe's proposed solutions will be discussed with US President George W Bush on Saturday (October 18) and with Group of Eight and Asian leaders in a special summit which Sarkozy said he hoped would take place some time in November.

IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM BLUES

The Summit formally approved a European Pact on Immigration and Asylum which was earlier adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council of Ministers on September 25. The commitment came with the worsening situation in the Mediterranean Sea belt area especially on the shores of Malta, a small EU island member state where there is a regular influx of migrants from North Africa.

Defining the aim of the Pact, the conclusions said, “The Pact will henceforth form the basis, for the Union and its Member States, of a common immigration and asylum policy, guided by a spirit of solidarity between Member States and cooperation with third countries.”

Acknowledging that the burden of asylum-seekers entering the bloc should be shared out among member states, the EU leaders said in an annex to the Pact, “For those (EU) member states which are faced with specific and disproportionate pressures on their national asylum systems, due in particular to their geographical or demographic situation, solidarity shall also aim to promote, on a voluntary and coordinated basis, better reallocation of beneficiaries of international protection from such member states to others.”

"In accordance with those principles, the (European) Commission, in consultation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ... will facilitate such voluntary and coordinated reallocation," they added. 


RUSSIAN TIES REMAIN FROZEN

British Premier Brown with the help of Poland, Sweden, Denmark, the Baltic states and the Czech Republic kept the lid on the frozen negotiations with Moscow on a the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The EU had suspended talks in September after Russian military engagement with Georgia in August caused deep unease in some of the EU capitals especially ones that are former Soviet Union states.

"All 27 EU member states welcome the withdrawals, while recognizing that they do not completely finish Russia's commitment under the peace plan of August 12," said British Foreign Minister David Miliband.

The official conclusion document read, “The European Council is asking the Commission and the Council to continue a full in-depth evaluation of EU-Russia relations with a view to the forthcoming summit, scheduled to take place in Nice on 14 November,” adding, “it will be taken into account in the further negotiations for a new Partnership Agreement with Russia.”

According to French sources, Paris along with the tacit support of Rome and Berlin had hoped to announce the resumption of the talks at the Brussels Summit.

LISBON TREATY

The lingering question of Lisbon Treaty again came up for discussions. Speaking to journalists, Sarkozy announced a need for him to make another trip to Dublin adding that in December "I should be able to put on the table a proposal concerning Ireland."

As the Council took note of analysis presented by Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen over the rejection of the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty, Cowen told journalists that EU legal experts have now been drafted to help break the deadlock, saying, “The presidency has asked the (European) Council legal services to engage with us to see what can be achieved.”

Asked whether Dublin would eventually hold a second referendum on the ratification of the Treaty, Cowen replied, "you are asking me to anticipate the process that we are now engaged in." Recalling that Irish voters needed two referendums before finally approving the EU's preceding Nice Treaty in 2002, Cowen said, “We had a referendum on the last occasion obviously.”
In its conclusion, the Council, “agreed to return to this matter at its meeting in December 2008 with a view to defining the elements of a solution and a common path to be followed.”

REFLECTION GROUP

Last but not the least, the Council approved the composition of a twelve-member group with Chairman Felip Gonzalez Marquez, former Spanish Prime Minister and two vice-chair, Varika Vike-Freiberga and Jorma Ollila. Other nine members of the group are Lykke Friis, Rem Koolhaas, Richard Lambert, Mario Monti, Rainer Munz, Kalypso Nicolaidis, Nicole Notat, Wolfgang Schuster and Lech Walesa.

Conceived by Sarkozy, the reflection group is assigned the task to look into the EU future in the time zone of 2020-30 and is expected to submit its report in 2010, starting work in early 2009.

Polish President Kaczynski gate-crashes at Brussels EU Summit

Poland was in the news at Brussels European Union Summit on Wednesday-Thursday (October 15-16) but for wrong reasons as the journalists waiting for press conferences (which were delayed as usual) were amused by Polish leaders doing their pranks abroad.

“Prime Minister Donald Tusk went to Brussels to defend important Polish interests while President Lech Kaczynski - as a troublemaker,” Polish media summed it all in one line.

There was serious discussion about future of capitalism at the emergency EU Summit while the former Communist regime of Poland was immersed in petty squabble of who will “officially” hijack “official aircraft” to Brussels.

Round one went to Premier Tusk as he commandeered the Government's sole available executive jet and then refused to let the aircraft fly back to Warsaw where President Kaczynski, the President, was waiting for a ride to Brussels.

Kaczynski, never easy to give up in his pursuits, chartered another aircraft, landed in Brussels but was aghast to find that the official chair was already occupied by arch-rival Tusk. Before the situation could boil down to fists in grand order, Jacek Rostowski, Polish finance minister, official occupant of second seat, acted in a gentleman way, giving his seat to the angry and tired President.

“We are gentlemen, we will not have a scuffle,” he said, conceding that the situation had become “serious and dangerous”.

Till last year, this was not a major issue as then the President's identical twin with near-identical conservative views, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, was Prime Minister.

Finally came the blame game as Radoslaw Sikorski, Polish Foreign Minister called it an “unprecedented situation,” lamenting, “The President has made our task much more difficult as our partners now have no clarity about our position.”

Commissioner Kuneva proposes rights across EU for consumers

European shoppers were promised a new set of European Union (EU) wide rights with the European Commission's adoption on Wednesday (Oct 8) of the proposal for a directive on contractual rights for consumers.

The Commission proposals will empower European shoppers with a single, simple EU-wide set of rights. This will allow consumers to seek best value for their money anywhere in the EU without falling victim to diverging national rules and archaic European measures. The proposals confer rights to information before purchase, EU-wide protection against late delivery and non-delivery and a new 14-day cooling off period for distance and pressure sales. Consumers could also rely on EU-wide rules for returns, repairs, refunds and guarantees.

Meglena Kuneva, European Commissioner for consumer protection told journalists, “It is the most far reaching overhaul of consumer rights in 30 years,” adding, “At the same time, it will significantly reduce the burden on Europe's hard pressed business community.”

According to the Commission’s October Eurobarometer, the number of traders selling cross-border has declined from 29 percent to 21 percent since 2006 and although consumer confidence in cross-border shopping in another EU-country has improved, there is still a great potential for further internal market integration.

BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS

The proposals were welcomed by business organisations across Europe with EuroCommerce Secretary General, Xavier R. Durieu saying, “By tackling the legal divergences which stemmed from the old 'minimum-requirements' approach, both consumers and businesses will benefit from a clearer and therefore more predictable legal framework for EU consumer protection rules.”

Ernest-Antoine Seillière, President of BUSINESSEUROPE warned the European parliament saying, “it is essential that EU legislators avoid its dilution during the legislative process. In particular, we hope that the principle of mutual recognition will be fully integrated in the future debate on the proposal.”

EUROPEAN LAWMAKERS

The proposals will have to pass through the European parliament scrutiny before being adopted by the Member States. There was immediate welcome from the European parliament as European Liberal Democrat Leader Graham Watson said, “This is the start of a consumer protection revolution which will transform Europe's fragmented retail market into the level playing field it ought to be,” adding, “Thanks to modern technology better priced products are only a few clicks away but even in this virtual market real life barriers exist. It is time we give consumers better protection wherever they choose to take their custom.”

Toine Manders (VVD, the Netherlands), ALDE Coordinator on the IMCO Committee said in a statement: "A single market requires clear and common rules for consumers and businesses. The current patchwork of consumer legislation is a barrier for creating a real business to consumer internal market."

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (FDP, Germany), Vice-Chairman of the IMCO Committee added: "This directive is an important step towards improving the trust of consumers in thesingle market. Markets cannot function properly without the trust of consumers. Because of this, consumers have not yet been able to fully benefit from the Single Market. I hope that this directive will enable consumers to be better informed, buy at better prices and have more choice."

PROPOSALS

Presenting the proposals, Commissioner Kuneva listed 12 priority areas as thus:

Tough rules on delivery within 30 days everywhere in the EU with insurance against damages, late delivery or non-delivery plus a money back in seven days,

No hidden charges with transparency rules made simple,

EU wide 14-day "cooling off" period and right of withdrawal for consumers,

New ban on default pre-ticked boxes – for example, for travel insurance, priority boarding and baggage,

A new "see through clause" to tackle the problem of omissions and National courts to be able to decide on the sanction depending on the scale of the omission– from refunds, to replacement or declaring a contract void,

No to pressure selling,

Distance clause covers all distances - closing all existing loopholes,

New transparent obligations like credit card blocking and the consumer must be told if you are dealing with an intermediary - as consumer rights will not apply,

EU consumer rights will be applied to mobile-commerce and tele-commerce,

A new EU Black list and Grey list of unfair and abusive contract terms,

EU-wide protection for online auctions,

At the point of sale, the consumer must be given all information about their rights.

Commissioner Kuneva concluded, “My job is to be consumer watchdog and i take it very seriously,” adding, “issues have been studied in detail for every country and for every item.”

Brussels journalists unhappy with French organisational setup

The French presidency of the European Union last week informed the API/IPA (The International Press Association represents foreign journalists accredited in Brussels to the European Union, NATO and Belgium) of its willingness to reimburse costs incurred by journalists following a change to the Paris of the EU-Ukraine summit in Evian scheduled on, September 9. 

Paris informed via telephone API/IPA President Lorenzo Consoli that the Quai d’ Orsay will reimburse the costs sustained by all journalists who went to Evian for the summit, which was moved at the last minute to Paris. The API/IPA on its website (http://www.api-ipa.eu) requested the affected journalists, “to keep your bills and expense notes,” adding, “Many thanks to all those who have submitted their complaints to us.”

There were quite a few episodes of journalists suffering in more than one case in the hands of organisational skills of Paris. In the words of Dominic Hughes, a BBC journalist at Evian, “The BBC sent Steve Sidebottom (producer) and myself (reporter) to cover the Evian EU/Ukraine summit. We flew to Geneva, hired a car and drove for an hour to the hotel, arriving at around 1900.

As I walked into reception and announced myself the poor manager said, “But Mr Hughes, have you not heard? The summit is cancelled!” I asked when, and he said five minutes ago - so clearly the hotel had only found out right at the last minute as well. The poor man looked really crestfallen as the hotel itself was losing thousands he said.

I phoned London who said the Paris bureau could cover. So I filed a radio and TV piece as a preview and then was left with little option but to have dinner and head back to Brussels the next day - all at a cost of at least 350 Euro, plus hire car, plus return flights for two people to Evian. Not to mention the time wasted getting there and back!” The conditions were worst in Lille where the GMES (Kopernikus) conference was held and to which 30 journalists from all over Europe were present.

According to attending journalists, there was chaos as many journalists were given the wrong badge in spite of a very lengthy registration procedure (over one hour in spite of having already registered by mail several times) and therefore were barred from all press conferences with Gunter Verheugen, European Commissioner for Industry and Enterprise and experts since they had the wrong badge.

The attending journalists alleged that the whole conference was managed from Paris and the organisers in Paris had no idea of what the press room was like! Three tables, no computers, no wi-fi and no room for a quiet interview with the many experts present. According to journalists, there was also alleged intimidation because when the journalists complained, Paris reacted demanding names and phone numbers of the people who had complained. “I have never seen anything so badly organised!,” one journalist quipped.

According to Brussels-based journalists the list of problems is long and repetitive at major events with API/IPA listing some of them as: repeated failures to the system connection to the Internet, lack of space, lack of lines and telephones and ISDN, schedules inadequate facilities Press, logistical problems, interventions of security and local technical staff.” “These are serious obstacles to practicing the profession of journalism,” API/IPA said in a letter to French Presidency.

In a letter sent on September 22 to the French Presidency, the API/IPA regretted that despite promises of improvement made following our various complaints, these problems without precedent have not been solved so far. “From an organisational point of view, the informal ministerial meetings of the French presidency have been substandard until now,”said API/IPA President Consoli.

In addition, the API/IPA decided to request of the Secretariat General Council of the EU to establish, by common agreement, a list of standards as a minimum for all rotating presidencies guaranteeing in future the necessary infrastructure for working journalists at meetings outside Brussels.

EU confirms FTA with India on a fast-track

The European Union has confirmed that it had received from the Indian government the draft documents pertaining to the ongoing negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India.

“I can confirm that we have received the document from India. I can confirm that it is certainly a useful and worthwhile opening bid for negotiations will have to go further and deeper,” Peter Power, spokesperson for EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson told journalists in Brussels.

Replying to a question from New Europe, Power lamented that the time-frame for the talks to conclude is “not solely in our hands.”

“We would like to see this particular negotiation making progress as rapidly as possible. I think the opening bid is not bad, but a lot of work remains to be done to have an agreement that would be worthy of support by both sides,” he noted.

“I think at this stage it would be unwise of me to put a timetable, but certainly we should hope to see substantial movement in the next year to 18 months,” added Power.

India formally launched negotiations in June 2007 with the EU for a comprehensive FTA aimed at removing barriers across all sectors including investment and services.

India, EU at crossroads

Common values can play catalyst for compatible views

Rising from the ashes of two World Wars and expanding to include 27 Member States with more in the waiting, the European Union today is a bastion of peace, harmony and prosperity. On the other hand, India, with 28 States and seven Union Territories, has emerged over last six decades in a buoyant mood thanks to its democratic principles, freedom of speech and its new found economic strengths.

At The Hague Summit 2004, India and the EU agreed to forge a “Strategic Partnership,” which was a result of an earlier EU publication in December 2003 when the EU published its first-ever security strategy identifying India along with the US, Russia, Japan, China and Canada, as the ones with whom it should develop a “Strategic Partnership,” in order to build an “effective multilateral system leading to a fairer, safer and more United World.”

India, riding on its financial success story, is focusing on greater worldwide visibility, prestige and political clout with a demand for a UN Security Council seat and favourable visa exchange partnerships. In the same vein, the EU wants to use its Strategic Partnership with India, the world’s largest democracy, to meet 21st Century challenges like terrorism, proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), failed states and regional conflicts.

For example, the EU expected Delhi with its growing economic ties, to stand up for democracy and human rights during Burma’s military crackdown on dissidents, but Delhi responded saying it does not believe sanctions work. There will always be differences but those as such need not become insurmountable obstacles to building a deeper and wider relationship.

Political ties can not go far without financial bonds and a look at the trade figures from recent past show that its time to inject much needed momentum into an uninspiring trade relationship. The trade statistics shifted a gear from a meagre less than five billion Euro in 1980 to a respectable more than 45 billion Euro in 2006. Although trade with the EU is 20 percent of India’s import-export business, making the EU India’s largest trading partner in 2006, India’s share is only 1.8 percent of total EU trade.

In the context of the ongoing negotiations in the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, there are some stumbling blocks that need to be addressed on both sides. According to reliable sources, the major hurdle is in the fields of agriculture which is a protected sector in the EU which earmarks 40 percent of its total budget to this sector where there are subsidies galore.

The EU has, in recent times, accepted the fact that Indian import tariffs have been substantially reduced but it complains they are still high by international standards. The EU calls it a “complex and non-transparent” system as it points at additional duties, taxes, and charges that are levied on top of the basic customs duties.

Pointing to the “non-tariff” barriers, the EU lists quantitative restrictions, mandatory testing, import licensing, certification for a large number of products and a complicated procedural modus operandi as the major speed breakers for a smooth trade relationship. With Indians finding the EU institutions bewildering and complex, India has its own set of complaints, foremost being in recent times the frequent use of anti-dumping duties on its exports including footwear.

The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in a recent report highlighted the need for India to go for tough and bold reforms in opening its economy more rapidly to international trade and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) by loosening service sectors like insurance and retailing, while India argues it has liberalised the FDI regime considerably.

The figures are still disappointing, as in recent years the FDI flow to India from the EU has been a paltry less than two percent of the total FDI outflow from the EU.Climate Change is another major sticking factor in the relationship equation, as India negates EU calls for a stricter binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emission, while Delhi argues that as a developing country it can not be expected to slow down its pace of industrialisation.

The EU has allotted 470 million Euro between 2007-2013 to tackle cooperation in the energy sector and environmental concerns while making efforts to reach its Millennium Development Goals.Doha is another word that sends alarm bells ringing in Delhi and Brussels as the former has failed to soften tough line in the WTO (World Trade Organization) Doha round negotiations refusing to cut industrial tariffs and demanding the EU comes clear on agricultural subsidies.

The global disparity between the South and the North seems to be playing a pivotal role here also. India, along with Brazil and others, has emerged as the leader of the equatorial hunger belt with billions of people and still counting, while the EU with an overaging and ever-decreasing population of the North highlights the threat of this growing southern human avalanche.

With the present stalemate at the Doha Round consultations, it is a miracle of sorts that can revive the Doha Round to the fullest potential as it’s already surviving on life-support devices of optimistic political statements.

The EU and India are together in many global projects, like the European Satellite project “Galileo” which got a goahead last week from the European Parliament, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) to produce electricity using nuclear fusion, Indian space agency ISRO with its European counterpart ESA.

With the EU-India Free Trade Agreement in the pipeline along with other fields of cooperation being explored, both India and the EU are ready for taking a qualitative leap forward in relations, but the political leaderships on both sides have to transform all the talk of shared values of democracy, diversity and multilateralism into concrete pragmatic actions, thus making an effective and cohesive EU-India Strategic Partnership out of the present patchwork of sectoral cooperation.

Taking Poland in stride, Russia waits for EU-Russia Partnership

Russia reacted calmly last Thursday in Brussels to Polish President’s quips about conditional support for European Union-Russia partnership talks. Polish President Lech Kaczynski was quoted earlier last Wednesday as saying that the issue of NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, opposed by Russia, was linked with a wider debate about the EU’s strategic partnership with Moscow.

Speaking to Tejinder Singh, Editor- in-Chief of New Europe, the European Weekly in Brussels, Vladimir Chizhov, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU outlined Russian position not only on the subject of Polish veto with respect to the relations with the EU but also in broader terms on Russia-EU strategic partnership.

Referring to the press reports from Reuters attributed to Kaczynski, Chizhov said, “This would have raised serious doubts regarding the coherence of Polish policy but then came the disclaimer from the Polish government that the President had been misinterrupted. That’s funny but it shows how sensitive the whole thing is.”

Reflecting on the delay in negotiations over the much-awaited EU-Russia partnership agreement, the ambassador lamented, “My negotiating mandate was formally approved by the Russian government back in November 2006 so it has been a year and half that I am sitting here waiting for my interlocutors to get their mandate.”

“The Commission needs approval of the mandate from the Council and this has been procrastinated by that Polish veto.”

Citing a Russian saying, “A bad example is the most contagious one,” Chizhov wondered, “Now it seems that may be some other countries will try to solve their own national problem or pamper their national ego by further procrastinating this particular issue.”

“I don’t think it would be in the interest of the EU but I am not pressing my interlocutors to get down to the negotiating table. If the EU needs time to mature, so it be then.”

Coming to the much talked about issue of Kosovo and its unilateral declaration of independence (UDI), the Russian ambassador said, “The reaction of some countries to recognise UDI has been illegitimate, running contrary to UN charter, to existing norms of international law and more specifically to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 1999 and the 1975 Helsinki Final Act on Security and Cooperation in Europe.”

Agreeing that, “It is not unique that some territories declare independence but the international community has many possible options to reacting to that, the ambassador said, “Unfortunately this time the wrong option was chosen by a number of countries.”

Going down the memory lane, the ambassador told New Europe, “Look for example what happened 25 years ago, when there was a unilateral declaration of independence on Northern Cyprus. That particular incident led to UNSC unanimously adopting Resolution 541 which explicitly urged all UN member states not to recognise so called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and not to establish any official contacts with it. Yes one country disobeyed that Resolution but only one and that’s how things remain to this moment.”

Giving a “purely pragmatic point of view,” the ambassador warned, “Kosovo has no chance of becoming a member of the UN, getting a seat at OSCE and other international organisations.”

“Only less than 40 countries have recognised it out of 200 and its already almost two months since the UDI. This is not something one can call international recognition, so summing up I could say that the issue of Kosovo’s final status has not been resolved.”

Elaborating on the role played by the EU, the Russian diplomat said, “I would split the issue into two main elements: one is recognition, a majority of EU member states have recognised independence of Kosovo but a third of EU members states have chosen not to do that and among them there are countries that have a strong view against recognising. So the EU does not have and will not have a common position on this very important problem of European politics.”

“Secondly, the EU has decided to despatch a civilian - police mission, EULEX, to Kosovo. It’s a classical case of the road to (hell) paved with good intentions. We would not mind the EU taking its share of responsibility for what is happening in and around Kosovo. We would not mind the EU organising a mission but on one necessary condition that this mission be mandated by the UNSC. Otherwise it lacks legitimacy.”

“Its not without reason that the UN Secretariat has been rejecting any approaches from EU for handover from UNMIK to EULEX.”

Lambasting the basics behind the appointment of Peter Feith as the EU Special Representative, the Russian ambassador said, “In that capacity he can do what the EU tells him but not certify Kosovo’s constitution. His opinion is as private as mine, or yours. Secondly, his other capacity that he claims, that of International Civilian Representative, is self-proclaimed and does not hold water.”

Suggesting a way out the Russian diplomat said, “I don’t think the situation is completely irreversible. Of course it’s difficult to rectify, but the only way to do that it at this point in time is to resume negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade. Only a negotiated solution has a chance of becoming a viable solution. Not a one sided solution, not an imposed solution.”

Adding a warning sign to the ongoing jubilations, the ambassador said, “When I hear, particularly in the first days after Kosovo’s independence, sighs of relief across Europe saying this has solved the last outstanding problem following the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, that this last page of Balkan crisis has been turned, I feel the need to disappoint those people. Having dealt with Balkans much longer than I could have wished in the beginning, I would say that a new page of Balkan crisis has been opened.”

Questioning the timing of release of the new book “The Hunt: me and War criminals,” by Carla del Ponte, former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in which she reports allegations that KLA fighters, at a senior level, had authorised and profited from an organ-harvesting racket preying on Serbs transported from Kosovo, the Russian diplomat asked, “Firstly why did she wait for eight years before publishing that?”

“But is it just a coincidence that allegations concerning not just unnamed Kosovoars but quite particularly those that are in power, accusing them of having been involved in human organ trading and killing of innocent Serb civilians happen now?”

“Why did it not appear before the recognition of Kosovo?”

“Looks a bit strange! And nervous reactions from some governments including her own Swiss government that chose to hurriedly despatch her to Buenos Aires does not contribute to confidence on this issue.”

Chizhov, the Russian diplomat disclosed that, “Yesterday the Russian government formally appealed to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to inform UN about what it thought about it, to check if those allegations correspond to the facts and if so what ICTY plans to do about it. The acquittal of a former prime minister of Kosovo by the Hague Tribunal is a shame. Having cleared the case of witnesses through murder and intimidation thus the process has been led to a false end.”

Coming to the labyrinth of pipelines, gas, oil and taps turning off and on with regular political factors, Chizhov, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU lamented the “too much politisation of the whole issue,” clarifying, “Those pipelines were not build yesterday, they were built 35 years ago, and that was during the Cold War and throughout the Cold War and afterwards there was not a single instance when the supplies would have been disrupted for political or other reasons except technical failures occasionally.”

“Even during the last few years there were no disruptions of energy supplies from Russia to the European Union. Whatever problems there might have been with the transit countries over payments, over debts, those were between the Russian supplier and the transit countries. Yes, we are aware that some of them actually went as far as blackmailing, using as leverage the possibility of redistributing the transit load from its original destination to the Western Europe to their own needs. The responsibility for that rests completely with those transit countries and not Russia.”

Calling energy “a complicated risky business, requiring huge investments,” the Russian diplomat said, “You have to spend hundreds of millions of Euro before getting the first drop of oil or first cubic metre of gas and that requires not only money but also technical effort and time. So when we speak of energy security, it can not be limited to security of supply, security of transit is another element but also security of demand.”

Addressing the politically sensitive topic of gas supplies in Europe, the Russian ambassador said, “It’s done primarily through trunk pipelines and for that to work the basis is long term agreements. It is quite natural that many European countries and their governments are keen to have such agreements in their pockets for as long as possible. One should not be surprised that some of them are eager to sign contracts with Gazprom for the period until 2030 or even 2035.”

Chizhov declared, “Whatever is developed as alternate energy sources, the backbone for at least next 50 years is going to be hydrocarbons. As long as world economy depends on hydrocarbons there should be an equitable partnership between supplies, consumers and of course transit countries.”

On the question of some countries like Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and others playing a major role developing their bilateral relations with Moscow, the diplomat said, “I believe that overall today in the EU there is a resurgence of protectionism, perhaps related to soaring prices of energy. We may see the same situation in Europe with regard to food prices as food market is also globalised.”

Lambasting the energy policies of the European commission the Russian chief negotiator said, “With this famous third energy package proposals of the commission, it’s not surprising that eight or nine member states spoke against it, not to mention major energy companies of the Western Europe, who are quite annoyed with this concept of unbundling.”

“It’s not to say that I regard unbundling as such bad. By the way, Russia is in effect unbundling its electricity production, but there are certain specifics. The gas sector would face huge difficulties if it is unbundled in the EU.”

With the demand for food growing around the world the Russian ambassador accepted the fact that “Russia is the largest consumer of EU produced food which in the long term is bad. But for the time being it is inevitable and last year we bought more than five billion Euro worth of food from the EU.”

Striking a note of optimism about Russian efforts to gradually substitute imported food stuffs with domestically produced, the Russian diplomat agreed, “We have to cope with the increasing level of demand and increasing level of income of Russian consumers who for some strange reason prefer French wines or French cheeses to Russian ones.”

“The quality of food that the consumer expects is ever increasing and with it the local agriculture sector in Russia is very rapidly developing and in certain areas it has managed to cover all of the demand. But there are still some niches for import so the overall demand has not gone down for the time being.”

Last but not the least the Russian diplomat was candid in denouncing the ways and means of tackling the issue of Russian minorities in Baltics.

Highlighting the way Lithuania “chose the obvious and most reasonable solution meaning that all Soviet citizens residing in Lithuania acquired citizenship,” the Russian diplomat was critical of the Estonian and Latvian methods as those led to 36 percent of residents of Latvian and 28 percent of Estonia those of Russian origin, losing their basic rights as citizens after independence.

“This situation - of these residents of Latvia and Estonia not having political rights is a shame not only for these countries but also for the European Union as they are supposed to have fulfilled the Copenhagen Criteria.”

Auschwitz: Beyond human understanding

January 27, 2008: Sixty-three years down the road from the day when the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp took place in 1945 signalling an end to the campaign of systematic murder which saw the extermination of over six million Jews and millions of other innocent citizens of Europe.

To observer the event at the initiative of the European Friends of Israel (EFI), Marian Turski, a Holocaust Survivor and Chairman of the Board of the Jewish Historical Institute Association in Poland was joined by a delegation of 20 members of the European Parliament and of EU national parliaments to visit the former Auschwitz Nazi death camp in southern Poland.

The group was joined by six Israeli members of Knesset, Israel’s parliament, coming from a variety of political parties including MKs Rabbi Meir Porush (Agudas Israel); Rabbi Nissim Ze’ev (Shas); Nissan Slomiansky (NRP), member of the Lobby for Holocaust Survivors; Colette Avital (Labor), Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and Chairperson of the Lobby for Holocaust Survivors; Yoram Marciano (Labor) and Stas Miszhnikov (Yisrael Beiteinu), the current chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee.

Before Auschwitz became the ultimate symbol of the Shoah or Holocaust, it was just an ordinary town known as Oswiecim. 1.5 million Jews died at the hands of the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau during World War II. Today the Auschwitz Jewish Center which opened in 2000 is trying to teach future generations about the destruction caused by the Holocaust.

The infamous welcome sign “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work makes you free) hung heavy above the entrance to Auschwitz and I had expected to see the camp without absorbing the pain of its monstrous past but I could not believe what I saw.

In the well-organised rows of desolate blocks of brick houses, there were rooms set out, museum-like, to display crowded images of prisoners being herded off trains, anonymous masses waiting and, everywhere, the horrible Auschwitz stripe. The baby clothes and children’s tiny shoes; a decaying collection of suitcases with names and date of births; piles of adult shoes; a three-dimensional collage of reading glasses and heaps of everyday household items once dear to their owners for usage in their everyday life and who made it to this organised dead-end place under the false hope of a new life.

In one of the rooms there were photographs with several pieces of writing paper covered with a scrawl that was unintelligible to me but seemed to speak volumes about helplessness of existence and trying to clutch the last straw to survive.

Then we embarked on the slow tread to Auschwitz II – Birkenau which was created when the original Auschwitz was full and, with its purposebuilt gas chambers (but today in ruins as destroyed by the fleeing Nazis), it looked an even more sinister killing machine, set in a flat, treeless landscape, The amazing organised way how death could be ordered into neat rows and numbers and that the records were kept with a system that counted human beings nothing more than cattle. Nothing could have prepared anyone for this experience seeing how truly massive Auschwitz-Birkenau is.

Turski, the Holocaust Survivor from here came alive as he pointed the different zones and explained the intricate working mechanisms which were shrouded in secrecy to keep victims guessing till the end.

Asked to comment, Turski, with a heavy voice told New Europe, “We should never wait too long. This happened because world waited too long before it reacted.” He added, “It was modern day slavery as my mother was taken away by a company to labour.” His voice flickered like a candle in the wind literally as gusty winds and snow hit us while he slowly spoke amidst virtually untouched environs since the Russian liberation on January 27, 1945.

“This important mission to Auschwitz permitted us not only to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and to stand against all forms of extremism and to vigorously condemn them but also to tie the bonds between supporters of Israel from all over Europe which, we think, will lead to substantial improvement of the understanding of Europe in Israel as well as the understanding of Israel in Europe. Moreover this mission was a great opportunity for both Members of the European Parliament and National Parliaments to meet their counterparts from the Knesset and further discuss joint activities related to Israel and the EU,” summed up Dimitri Dombret, Director EFI.

On the way back, Elizabeth Svantesson, Member of Parliament, Sweden and member of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with Israel told New Europe, “I visited Auschwitz in 1989 and again today. This horrifying chapter in human history is important for everyone to get involved.” She highlighted the Swedish project to provide families with a book on Holocaust to bring awareness and educate children about it. And last but not the least, going to Auschwitz was a decision with a choice. The millions of Jews, gypsies, Poles and others who died there did not have that choice.