Talk:European Centre for Public Affairs

Some press coverage of the ECPA:

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European Report

October 30, 1999

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

SECTION: No. 2447

LENGTH: 522 words

Main activities during the week beginning November 1
* Weekly meeting of the Commission: Wednesday November 3 in Brussels. The main items likely to fea-ture on the agenda include:
- 1999 report on more effective legislation
- Proposal on the fight against discrimination in employment: Communication on anti-discrimination measures, Directive creating a general framework for equal treatment in the work place and in the job mar-ket, Directive on the principle of equal treatment whatever race or ethnic origin, Council Decision establishing a programme of action against discrimination.
- Information on the introduction of Euro coins and notes
- Post-LomC EU/ACP negotiations and proposal for a financial envelope for the European Development Fund (orientation debate)
* Official visit of Guenter Verheugen to Slovakia, November 1 and 2
* Official visit of Chris Patten to Bosnia-Herzegovina, November 1 and 2
* Pascal Lamy participates in conference of trade ministers from candidate countries on adhesion to WTO dossiers in preparation for the Seattle Conference (Budapest)
* Viviane Reding, and the Finnish Sports Minister Mrs Suvi Linden, meets Juan Antonio Samaranch, President of the International Olympic Committee (Lausanne)
* Mr Patten participates in the EU/Algeria Ministerial Troika (Algiers) (November 4)
* Franz Fischler in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) November 4 and 5. Participation in various meeting on fisheries (November 4) and the third annual PESCA Conference (November 5)
*Visits to the Commission: November 1: Michaele Schreyer meets German Environment Minister Juer-gen Trittin; November 3 Anna de Palacio meets Bernard Meyer and JosC Esteban Perez, President, the Secretary General of CESA (Committee of European Shipbuilders' Associations), Manfred Seeger and David Williams from the IFIEC (International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumer), and George Jacobs, President of UNICE; November 4 Romano Prodi meets the Vice-President of the Dominican Republic, Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, Neil Kinnock and Mario Monti meet the German Secretary of State and chief of the Federal Chancellor, Frank-Walter Steinmeier; Mrs Palacio meets the Austrian Transport, Caspar Einem; Poul Nielson and Chris Patten meet the Palestinian minister of planning and international cooperation Na-beel Shaath; Mrs Reding meets the Bavarian Science, Research and Culture Minister Hans Zehetmaier, Mrs Palacio meets Fraser Goodwin, Secretary General of the NGO Transport & Environment; Mr Nielson meets Peter Piot, Director General of UNAIDS; November 5 Official visit of Mr Lamy to Japan - meeting with Mem-bers of the Government, participation in a symposium with the Japanese Press; speech by Mrs Reding: "Bringing learning to life" in a debate organised by the ECPA (European Centre for Public Affairs); Messrs Monti and Bolkestein meet the Lord Mayor of London, Lord Levene, Mr Monti meets the Austrian Secretary of State for Art, European Affairs and Sport, Peter Wittmann; Philippe Busquin meets the Portuguese Minis-ter of Science and Technology, Mr JosC Mariano Gago (Lisbon)

LOAD-DATE: November 2, 1999

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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MAIL ON SUNDAY

August 15, 1999

Charlie's single aim; BLACK DOG

SECTION: Pg. 27

LENGTH: 645 words

BAD news for Sarah Gurling, the girlfriend of newly-elected Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy.
Dog can reveal the attractive 29-year-old PR girl is in danger of being signed up to an exclusive new club at Westminster.
Cruel wags are calling it Peggys' Club, because all the members suffer from Perpetual Girlfriend Syn-drome.
Honourable members include Gordon Brown's Sarah Macaulay and before wiser counsel prevailed Wil-liam Hague's Ffion.
Dog can reveal tongues are wagging at Westminster over the 18-month romance between cherubic Charles and Sarah.
Fresh from his leadership triumph, Kennedy is preparing to whisk her off for a Bahamas holiday, fuelling speculation that wedding bells can't be far off.
Friends predict that, with the leadership under his belt, Kennedy, almost 40, will soon announce his en-gagement to Sarah, an adviser with lottery firm Camelot. But Kennedy is infamous for breaking hearts. Spite-ful gossips recall that earlier rumours of impending nuptials have all come to nothing.
Sarah's friends hope she won't be just another one of 'Charlie's Angels', who seem to get so close but never make it to the altar.
Advisers have told Kennedy a formal engagement to Sarah would allay his image as a Parliamentary playboy and be seen as a sign of growing political maturity.
But I can reveal that Kennedy has told confidantes he has no intention of going down on bended knee in the Caribbean. His message to friends has been blunt: 'We have no plans to wed. Sarah is a very busy pro-fessional person and I have been very busy of late.' Our advice to the two Sarahs is keep pegging away.
DISGRACED Euro MP Tom Spencer has bounced back from the scandal surrounding his bizarre pri-vate life. The 'happily married' senior Conservative, who had to give up his safe Euro seat after details of his long-term homosexual dalliances were revealed, has been given a new job.
He is to be temporary executive director of the European Centre for Public Affairs at Oxford Univer-sity's Templeton College, which was founded to promote religious and spiritual lifestyles.
Darling of the people
WHILE Tony Blair is off in Italy acting like some feted monarch, Dog is heartened to find that the Cabinet has at least one man of the people in its ranks.
My spies recently spotted Social Security Secretary Alistair Darling enjoying a plebeian day out with his family at Disneyland, Florida.
Unlike his boss, Presbyterian Darling eschewed any special treatment, much preferring to join the queue for the big dipper like everyone else.
I HEAR Junior Minister Angela Eagle is turning the air blue at the Environment Department. Civil ser-vants have been taken aback by the Anglo-Saxon richness of language used by the former Formby High School girl.
WHEN the Blairs attend the Palio horse race in Siena, much derided for its brutality, in the crowd will be Charlie Whelan, former spin-doctor to Gordon Brown, who is reporting on the event for a small circulation newspaper.
DOG sympathises with the Earl of Glasgow, who gave the following reason for failing to turn up for a House of Lords debate: 'I've got the bank on my back. The country park wasn't ready for the tourists and we didn't meet our target.
HIGHFLYING Cabinet Office Minister Lord Falconer has been wowing colleagues with his knowledge of pop music. Dog can reveal the reason. 'Charlie' Falconer's brother-in-law used to be Stevie Wonder's man-ager.
Alastair's burning desire
FORMER Tory chief whip Alastair Goodlad has been regaling the political salons of Sydney with an hi-larious story since Tony Blair appointed him to be our High Commissioner in Australia.
He met his wife Cecilia at a party when her hair caught fire and he dashed to the rescue to put it out. The ever-witty Aussies have nicknamed him 'Bushfire Goodlad'.

LOAD-DATE: August 16, 1999

LANGUAGE: English

PUB-TYPE: Paper

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The Independent (London)

June 2, 1999, Wednesday

THE VOTE FOR EUROPE: MEPS WIN BONUSES IN PERKS 'CUTBACK'

BYLINE: Fran Abrams Westminster Correspondent

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 8

LENGTH: 729 words

EURO MPs will collect bonuses of up to pounds 200 per week under new rules designed to crack down on waste, The Independent has learnt.
The travel allowances, designed to slow down the European "gravy train", replace a flat-rate fee with a reimbursement of the actual fare. MEPs will also be able to claim a generous "distance allowance" and mile-age to and from airports.
In many cases, the new arrangements will actually cost the European Union more because they remove an incentive for members to travel cheaply and keep part of the payment.
It was estimated that MEPs pocketed up to pounds 800 per month under the old system - almost exactly the same as those who are living farthest from Brussels will keep under the new rules. The new allowances will take effect after next week's Euro elections.
The claims revelation comes as the Conservatives press for a wholesale clean -up of the European Par-liament. They want a committee like the one headed by Lord Neill of Bladen in London to oversee the run-ning of the parliament and European Commission, and a commissioner who can penalise MEPs if they fail to register commercial interests.
MEPs are not penalised if they fail to register their interests fully, and constituents must visit Brussels or Strasbourg if they wish to discover their members' outside earnings. Despite this, many members do register directorships and consultancies.
Ken Collins, Labour member for Strathclyde East, lists advisory posts with the public service sector un-ion Unison and with Jeremy Kane International, which is run by a director of a lobbying company called European Public Policy Advisers. Tom Spencer, former leader of the Conservative group in Brussels, re-ceives lecture fees from the European Centre for Public Affairs, of which his wife, Elizabeth, is also a di-rector. Mrs Spencer is director of Jeremy Kane International and European Public Policy Advisers.
Some MEPs benefit, too, from being members of more than one legislature. Three MEPs - the DUP leader Ian Paisley, the SDLP leader John Hume and the Conservative MP Anne McIntosh - have Westmin-ster seats and are entitled to receive an extra pounds 15,669, one-third of their European salary, on top of their pounds 47,008 UK salary. Mr Hume and Mr Paisley have also been elected to the Northern Ireland As-sembly, and are entitled to another pounds 9,600, or one-third of its interim salary of pounds 29,000. If the new assembly gets up and running that payment will probably increase to a further third of pounds 47,008, making a total of pounds 78,346.
The number of MEPs who are members of their national parliaments is dwindling, however. In 1979, one-fifth of members held two seats, but the number has dropped to just 25, or 3.8 per cent. There are now seven Italians, five Irish, five Danes, four French and one Luxembourg MEP in addition to the three UK MEPs.
David Heathcoat-Amory, shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Conservative MP for Wells, said it was time standards in the European Parliament were overhauled. He said: "No one is going to take them seriously until they sort our their rules and bring them in line with common sense."
Strasbourg's New Gravy Train
t In addition to their air fares, members will claim a minimum of pounds 28.56 in mileage, plus a distance allowance of pounds 71.40 if their round trip is less than 1,000km and pounds 171.36 if it is 1,000-1,500 km.
t An MEP travelling to Brussels from Manchester, Cardiff or London will claim pounds 99.96 per week on top of the air fare. An MEP travelling from Edinburgh or Belfast will claim pounds 199.92.
t Under the old system, an MEP travelling from Edinburgh claimed pounds 573.20 for a round trip. Now he or she will claim a BA fare of pounds 586.30 plus distance and mileage allowances of pounds 199.92, making a total of pounds 786.22.
t Allowances cover meals, accommodation and taxi fares en route. MEPs have free passes for airport parking and are assured of an in-flight meal and drinks.
t MEPs receive a "general expenditure" annual allowance of pounds 28,392, subsistence allowance of pounds 167.79 per day and a pounds 83.89 accommodation allowance when travelling to meetings outside the EU.
t Fare quoted in the rules is "YY economy class". BA says this equates to its Euro-budget business class fare.

LOAD-DATE: June 2, 1999

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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The Scotsman

May 29, 1997, Thursday

European lobbyists are forced to conform

BYLINE: Francine Cunningham

SECTION: Pg. 28

LENGTH: 1072 words

A GROUP of dedicated students meets in a classroom close to the concrete jungle of European institu-tions in Brussels. This is no ordinary evening class, but a programme designed to train lobbyists in the art of schmoozing, stroking and subtly influencing decision makers in the European Union.
Here, Euro executives learn the art of "coalition building" and developing "the methodology of a lobbying campaign".
They undergo multiple choice tests on their knowledge of EU bodies or examine a case study on the banana trade regime.
Each student is introduced to a "godfather", a senior consultant who will act as his or her guide through the labyrinthine maze of European institutions.
At the end of this programme, run by the European Centre for Public Affairs, a Brussels think-tank, every successful participant is awarded a certificate.
Billions of pounds are at stake in EU legislation, state aid and competition rulings. An estimated 10,000 lobbyists now work in Brussels, often employed by multinational companies trying to shape decisions which profoundly affect their businesses. As the ranks of lobbyists have grown, so have calls for them to be con-trolled. A new code of conduct which comes into effect today will tighten up the rules of the game.
Brussels lobbyists can be shy of their profession, preferring to call themselves "public affairs practitio-ners." They range from pressure groups such as the US National Rifle Association to the major German car manufacturers and multinational corporations.
Then there are all the trade union groups, non-governmental organisations, law firms and the regional governments vying for attention. Every conceivable sector is represented, from the EU mayonnaise and con-diment sauce committee to the International Confederation of Beet Growers.
The European Parliament based in Strasbourg and Brussels is a prime target for lobbyists. They will now have to obey a clear set of rules or risk being refused access to the institution.
It took eight years of internal wrangling before the parliament finally adopted an eight-point code drafted by British Labour MEP, Glyn Ford. "It is important to realise that this is not a voluntary code of conduct, it is compulsory. Any lobbyist who does not sign up to it will not get a pass," said Mr Ford.
Under the new system, players will have to declare whom they represent and agree to abide by the new standards.
They must not obtain information dishonestly or sell parliamentary papers. They have to refrain from of-fering gifts to MEPs and must declare any help they provide them.
Lobbyists also have to get approval from MEPs if they want to offer work to their assistants. This is aimed at assistants who sometimes combine "consultancy" work with other duties.
However, the parliament failed to back two of Mr Ford's toughest proposals. There was insufficient sup-port for his plan which would have forced lobbyists to provide a detailed report each year of their efforts to influence decision-making.
The new code has been welcomed by leading Brussels-based consultancies, who are just as keen to keep out the cowboys. Members of SEAP, the Society of European Affairs Practitioners, already have their own guidelines.
"We fulfil a valuable function which should be performed to the highest standards of professionalism," says Lyn Trytsman-Gray of the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment. "We are seeking to take part in public policy process and try to influence that through lobbying and communication."
In her eyes, the relationship between EU institutions and the lobbyist is one of mutual dependence. "EU officials need industry to formulate their work," says Ms Trytsman-Gray.
Sessions at the European Parliament in Strasbourg are prime hunting grounds for lobbyists. MEPs are regularly buttonholed on the way to the voting chamber.
Lobbyists try to influence legislation early, when it is being drafted by civil servants at the European Commission in Brussels. They also work on the Council of Ministers, the final decision-making body where lobbyists exert pressure through national governments.
The secrecy of the EU's decision-making process, especially in the Council of Ministers, is a bone of contention for many lobbyists. "Citizens knocking on the door of European institutions should find the door open," says Rodolphe de Looz-Corswarem of the European Confederation of Breweries.
It is one of the strange quirks of the new rules, that lobbyists are obliged to make sure that MEPs regis-ter any gifts or trips given to them. This gives the impression that MEPs cannot be trusted to do this them-selves.
Catherine Stewart, a consultant with multinational clients, says: "The European Parliament must enforce its own sanctions, if it feels members do not abide by the rules." The term "gifts" has even been taken out of the code of conduct and replaced with the more ambiguous "benefits in cash or kind." Thus, teddy bears or commemorative mugs are unlikely to fall foul of the rules.
Lobbyists claim that they rarely give gifts, but admit to inviting MEPs and officials for meals and paid trips to see farms or industries. "There aren't very many jollies nowadays," remarks Ms Stewart.
Governments may prove more generous with their favours than commercial companies. Many Euro-MPs came in for fierce criticism last year for accepting junkets to Turkey, at a time when the Turkish govern-ment was trying to persuade the EU to sign a customs agreement.
The new rules may help to bring the army of professional lobbyists into line, but it does nothing to re-strict the activities of MEPs who sometimes moonlight consultants for big business. A German MEP, Elmar Brok, for example, is quite open about his role as vice-president of European Affairs for the media giant Bertlesmann. He claims this does not interfere with his parliamentary duties.
Ms Stewart says: "Some MEPs use their parliamentary privilege to act as consultants.
The European Parliament has to decide whether that is acceptable." In Brussels, the atmosphere is of-ten frenzied as lobbyists with conflicting interests try to get to the official or MEP with the most clout.
Under the new rules, lobbyists will have to temper persistence with politeness.
But there will be no end to the ear-bending and arm-twisting.

LOAD-DATE: May 29, 1997

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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The Times

April 18, 1996, Thursday

Like cows to the slaughter

BYLINE: Robin Pedler

SECTION: Features

LENGTH: 809 words

Robin Pedler on the great BSE public relations blunder.

When John Major was interviewed after the Turin summit about the mad cow crisis, he said: Lessons will have to be learnt in dealing with future health scares. But the Government should already have been aware that there are well-established principles for crisis containment developed by companies. In attempt-ing to deal with the BSE scare, the Government ignored them. These are the points it ought to have under-stood and acted upon: 1. Put someone clearly in charge. An individual must be clearly identified and seen to be taking the nec-essary action. Most people expect it to be the head (chairman or prime minister) but it does not have to be. He or she must then co-ordinate the action and control the communication, internal and external. Internal communication is just as important. If members of an organisation are confused or under-informed, all kinds of rumours and speculation will emerge. Two contrasting examples from the oil industry illustrate the importance of someone being seen to be in charge. When the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground off Alaska, no one senior in Exxon spoke up for a week. When the chairman finally did so, it was too late. Yet when the Piper Alpha rig blew up, Dr Armand Hammer, Occidental's chief, flew straight to Scotland, said all the right things and gave the impression that the company was in control. The Government ignored this principle in two important respects. First, it was not made clear whether Mr Dorrell, the Health Secretary, or Mr Hogg, the Agriculture Minister, was in charge. Secondly, Mr Dorrell made it clear that he was not in charge but merely reflecting the views of the scientists. This made him look reactive and also broke rule 2. 2. Your scientific advice may be good, but by itself it won't convince the public. In the Brent Spar case, Shell had the advice of its own scientists and those of the British Government on its side. Two of them even wrote to the journal Nature at the height of the crisis to confirm their view that deep-sea disposal was the least environmentally damaging option. None of this did Shell any good. Greenpeace had made Brent Spar into a symbol. Mr Dorrell chose an even less valuable support group. Opinion surveys in the environmental area show that Government scientists are particularly lowly rated as sources of information. Two thirds of respondents rate them as unreliable. A majority would rather believe single-issue groups, friends or neighbours. 3. Take action early and exceed what is expected by a clear margin. If you fail to do this, you will eventu-ally be forced into a U-turn, destroying any belief you may have engendered that you really are in charge. If you decide on taking unpleasant action too late, what might earlier have convinced people will appear to be just another example of the organisation being driven by events. A successful example of taking the hit early was provided by Perrier. When some of its bottled water was said to have been contaminated with benzene in 1990, the company opted for a total worldwide product re-call. Thereafter it quickly recovered market share and pricing. The advantage of taking the early hit is that it kills off a scare's news value. While the media have the impression that there is more to come, they will keep digging and publishing. The Government has been amazingly slow to learn this lesson.

As late as Friday, March 29, Douglas Hogg, interviewed on his way to Brussels after a policy of limited slaughter had been decided upon, said: We have done anything scientists required. It may be that more will have to be done to restore public confidence.

He will almost certainly have to say that again. 4. Admit mistakes, don't blame others. Admitting that a mistake has been made, when it obviously has, does not enhance the impression of crisis. Rather it suggests that the person in charge knows what has gone wrong and can probably fix it. There is also plenty of evidence that some contrition can be very effec-tive in winning public opinion to your side.

When Exxon finally spoke up about the Exxon Valdez disaster, it was not to apologise but to blame the tanker captain for being drunk. It lost even more public sympathy. The owners of the Braer, on the other hand, maintained public sympathy by admitting their mistakes.

In the case of Government's handling of the BSE crisis everybody else is to blame, the scare is whipped up by the Labour Party, the Europeans are ganging up against Britain. This approach only serves to diminish the chance that anyone will be regarded as being in charge. The author is Director of the European Centre for Public Affairs at Templeton College, Oxford.

LOAD-DATE: April 19, 1996

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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PR Week

March 29, 1996

PR Europe: Brussels - ECPA to woo post-graduates

LENGTH: 82 words

The Oxford-based European Centre for Public Affairs has joined forces with the Europe Information Service, publisher of European Report, to launch what it claims is the first post-graduate qualification for pub-lic affairs professionals. Robin Pedler, director of ECPA and director of studies for its new Brussels training centre, said the launch would answer concerns among some EU institutions that there were few guarantees of professionalism among public affairs practitioners.

LOAD-DATE: September 22, 2000

LANGUAGE: English

PUB-TYPE: Magazine

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Financial Times (London,England)

November 14, 1995, Tuesday

Exceptional resistance?

BYLINE: From Mr ROBIN PEDLER

SECTION: Letters to the Editor; Pg. 22

LENGTH: 165 words

Sir, Paul Abrahams' well documented article 'Bitter memories of the resistance' (November 11/12) is convincing, for the countries he covers.
While, however, he ranges from Brittany to the steppes of Russia and to Greece for his material, he omits all mention of Yugoslavia. 
Throughout the disastrous developments of the last four years in that region, it has repeatedly been stated that Tito's partisans were effective, that they tied down a number of German divisions - some esti-mates go as high as seven - and that they liberated their country with little outside assistance.
At a moment when governments are considering the deployment of 60,000 Nato ground troops in the region, it would be highly relevant to consider whether the received wisdom about the effectiveness of Serb-led partisans is correct or whether it, too, is due for historical revision.
Robin Pedler,
director,
European Centre for Public Affairs,
Templeton College,
Oxford OX1 5NY

LOAD-DATE: November 14, 1995

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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PR Newswire Europe

January 12, 1995

THE WEEK IN EUROPE: JOBS AID PROGRAMMES FOR UK APPROVED

SECTION: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

LENGTH: 1747 words

The following look at events in the European Community in the past and coming week and a diary of upcoming events was issued today by the London office of the European Communities Commission:
Fifteen-member Union.
On 1 January, France took over the presidency of an enlarged European Union which increased from 12 to 15 members with the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden. The EU's area is increased by more than a third, to 3,235,000 sq km, and the population by 6.2%, from 348,676,000 to 370,452,000. Total GDP rises by about 7%, GDP per head by about 1%.
Qualified majority voting.
The General Affairs Council agreed to modifications in the way the Council operates. The total of Council votes is 87, the majority needed in the rare use of simple majority voting is now 44, the qualified ma-jority is 62, the blocking minority is 26 votes.
Other changes.
Other adaptations to the Treaty provisions following Norway's vote against membership are automatic. The Union of 15 has 20 Commissioners. The rotation of the Council presidency is modified. The new alloca-tion of European Parliament seats to Member States is: Germany 99, France 87, Italy 87, UK 87, Spain 64, Netherlands 31, Belgium 25, Greece 25, Portugal 25, Sweden 22, Austria 21, Denmark 16, Finland 16, Ire-land 15, Luxembourg 6 (total 626).
Commission approval hearings.
The European Parliament has been examining the members of the new Commission prior to next week's voting on confirmation of the appointment of the College as a whole. Committees of the Parliament questioned the nominees and Klaus Haensch, President of the Parliament, summarised their views which included a number of criticisms as to individual nominees and the division of responsibilities. The party groups will meet to consider their attitudes and the confirmation vote will take place on 18 January.
Jobs aid programmes for UK.
The Commission has approved Operational Programmes for aid for Member States from the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the "Employment and Devel-opment of Human Resources" initiative for 1994-99. They include programmes for Northern Ireland and for the rest of the UK, for projects under the Employment-NOW, Employment-HORIZON and Employment-YOUTHSTART initiatives.
For Northern Ireland 11,901,000 ECU is provided from the ESF and ERDF: 2.9m ECU for Employ-ment-NOW, for further integration of women into vocational training, employment and business creation - 5.85m ECU for Employment-HORIZON, to improve job prospects for disabled and disadvantaged people - 2,675,000 ECU for Employment-YOUTHSTART, aimed at better job opportunities for the under-20s - and 475,000 ECU for technical assistance.
For Great Britain 134.6m ECU is provided by the ESF, to which national and private funding will be added to make 296,758,000 ECU. Of the ESF funds Employment-NOW receives 34,199,000 ECU, Employ-ment-HORIZON 67,338,000, and Employment-YOUTHSTART 27,667,000, while 5,396,000 ECU is ear-marked for technical assistance.

Fishing rules for Spain and Portugal.

The Fisheries Council, at a resumed session on 22 December, agreed rules governing access by Spanish and Portuguese fishing vessels to waters of other EU Member States, in order to integrate Spain and Portugal into the Common Fisheries Policy. From 1 January 1996 they will remain excluded from the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel, as well as the North Sea - the "Irish Box" will remain a special control area with Spanish fishing restricted in the portion lying west of Scotland. Spain is allowed to fish in the Celtic Sea (south of the Irish Republic). The Council had already agreed on Total Allowable Catches and quotas for 1995.
Schengen states' free movement deadline.
The signatories of the Schengen Convention - all the EU Member States except for the UK, Ireland, Denmark and the three new members - have agreed that the Convention will be applied in full and all identity checks on borders between them abolished on 26 March 1995. The Schengen Convention is separate from the moves towards full abolition of internal border controls among all EU Member States.
EU-Russia relations: Chechnia protest and aid.
The EU and Russia initialled an interim agreement in Moscow on 29 December, covering in particular the trade provisions of the proposed Partnership Agreement which was signed at the Corfu European Coun-cil last June but still awaits ratification. However, signing of this interim agreement, to operate pending ratifi-cation of the Corfu agreement, has been deferred. The Commission has decided to consult Member States before recommending signature, because of the Russian military operations in Chechnia.
Speaking last week at the European Parliament hearings on the new Commission, the Commissioner-designate in charge of relations with Central and Eastern Europe, Hans van den Broek, confirmed the Com-mission's view: that the movement for Chechen independence is illegal, but the methods used to preserve Russia's integrity should respect human rights and democracy, and the methods in fact used by Russia, es-pecially attacks on civilians, must be condemned. Also last week, the Commission granted 310,000 ECU from European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) funds for medicine and shelter for victims of the fighting in Chechnia, to be administered by the International Red Cross.
Joint Declaration with Mercosur.
The Council and the Commission signed on 22 December a Solemn Joint Declaration with the Member States of Mercosur, the grouping of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The Declaration expresses agreement on the ultimate aim of a political and economic inter-regional association, aiming at trade liberali-sation and closer political cooperation between the four Latin American states and Europe. The parties hope to conclude negotiations for an inter-regional framework agreement this year.
Drinking water Directive.
The Commission last week adopted proposals for changes to Directive 80/778 on drinking water qual-ity. The outgoing Commissioner for the Environment said that besides the primary aim of ensuring EU citi-zens' health, the proposed changes responded to the principle of subsidiarity. The number of parameters to be observed by all Member States in drinking water quality control is thus reduced from 67 to 48 (including 13 new ones), to which national governments can add if they wish. The proposed changes are based on sci-entific research: for example, the reduction in the maximum permissible lead content from 50 to 10 micro-grammes per litre.

Energy Green Paper. The Commission approved on Wednesday a Green Paper on energy policy, intended to contribute to debate on whether a greater Community role in this sector is needed. It was drawn up with the Intergovern-mental Conference in mind and in response to concerns over the increasing dependence of the EU on non-EU energy sources, the relatively high costs of energy in Europe due to lack of competition, and the fact that carbon dioxide emissions have levelled only because of economic factors. The document proposes several changes in policy for discussion: greater coordination on energy policy, a global approach, clarification of Community responsibilities, possibly more pollution controls. The Paper does not propose detailed solutions or decisions at this stage.

Second-hand goods, art and antiques.
A uniform system of VAT calculation for trade in second-hand goods took effect in the EU on 1 January 1995, with the coming into force of the 7th VAT Directive. From now on commercial transactions will carry VAT levied on the profit margin, while transactions between individuals will not be liable to VAT. Second-hand cars are now defined as those more than six months old or with more than 6,000 km mileage (twice the previous lower limits). Trade in art and antiques is also now subject to a uniform system of VAT calculation under the 7th VAT Directive. It is similar to the system for second-hand goods, but there are provisions for auctions and some other special provisions. The UK, which has allowed duty-free imports of works of art since before 1973, is allowed during the transitional VAT period, up to 30 June 1999 at the latest, to charge a reduced rate of 2.5%.
Africa mercy flights extended.
Relief flights to bring help to refugees and displaced people in Somalia, Southern Sudan and Rwanda, started by a Commission decision of 12 April 1994, are to be continued until the beginning of March 1995. The Commission allocated last Friday a million ECU under Article 254 of the Fourth Lome Convention for the continued airlift, which uses nine aircraft. Last month the Commission agreed to a further allocation of 50m ECU for aid to victims of the Rwanda and Burundi crises, within those countries and in neighbouring ones.
Asylum in Europe
Volume II of this study by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), complementing Asy-lum in Europe - an Introduction (Volume I), is subtitled Review of Refugee and Asylum Laws and Procedures in Selected European Countries. Obtainable from ECRE, 3-9 Broadway, London SW8 1SJ, tel. 0171-582 9928. Price pounds sterling 6.75 Volume I, pounds sterling 12 Volume II, pounds sterling 15 both together.
ITEA '95.
The closing date for applications for the Information Technology European Awards for 1995 has been postponed from 15 January to 30 April 1995. Details on application procedure from Helle Bonnet, Euro-CASE, 16 rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, France.
Forthcoming Events.
The European Centre for Public Affairs is holding a Seminar on "Public Affairs in the New Union: Players and Rules" on 19 and 20 January 1995 at the Faculty Club at Louvain, Belgium. Contact Adrienne Pratt, Templeton College, Oxford OX1 5NY. Tel. 0865-735422, fax 0865-736374.
Diary Dates.
Ecofin Council 16 January Brussels
General Affairs Council 23-24 January Brussels
Agriculture Council 23-24 January Brussels
European Parliament 16-20 January Strasbourg
EcoSoc 24-26 January Brussels

Our next briefing will take place on Thursday, January 19, at 1130hrs.
Contact: Peter Dixon, CEC, 071-973 1992

LOAD-DATE: January 12, 1995

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1995

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Financial Times (London,England)

December 30, 1994, Friday

Need to achieve a better balance in social policy in Europe and the UK

BYLINE: From Mr ROBIN PEDLER

SECTION: Letters to the Editor; Pg. 12

LENGTH: 118 words

Sir, Peter Cooke's thoughtful letter was published in the same issue in which you featured a report, enti-tled 'Germany 'ahead of UK on labour costs' ', detailing the Confederation of British Industry's concerns that Germany's unit labour costs are reducing at the same time as the UK's are again beginning to increase.
It would seem that the current policy of resisting the legal protection of employee rights is no guarantee of maintaining comparatively low unit labour costs, even when the comparison is with Germany, the Euro-pean country where those rights are most entrenched.
Robin Pedler,
executive director,
European Centre for Public Affairs,
Templeton College,
Oxford OX1 5NY

LOAD-DATE: January 1, 1995

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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PR Week

September 23, 1994

How to lobby the EU

LENGTH: 72 words

Lobbying the European Union (Dartmouth Publishing Company pounds 37.50), the first book on lobby-ing the EU since the Maastricht Treaty, was published last week. Editors Robin Pedler, director of the Euro-pean Centre for Public Affairs, and Rinus van Schendelen of Rotterdam University have collated case his-tories from ten commercial and four non-commercial lobbying campaigns, in a bid to analyse different ap-proaches.

LOAD-DATE: September 22, 2000

LANGUAGE: English

PUB-TYPE: Magazine

15 of 26 DOCUMENTS

M2 PRESSWIRE

January 31, 1994

THE WEEK IN EUROPE WE 120195

LENGTH: 1605 words

Fifteen-member Union. On 1 January, France took over the presidency of an enlarged European Union which increased from 12 to 15 members with the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden. The EU's area is increased by more than a third, to 3,235,000 sq km, and the population by 6.2%, from 348,676,000 to 370,452,000. Total GDP rises by about 7%, GDP per head by about 1%.
Qualified majority voting The General Affairs Council agreed to modifications in the way the Council op-erates. The total of Council votes is 87, the majority needed in the rare use of simple majority voting is now 44, the qualified majority is 62; the blocking minority is 26 votes.
Other changes. Other adaptations to the Treaty provisions following Norway's vote against membership are automatic. The Union of 15 has 20 Commissioners. The rotation of the Council presidency is modified. The new allocation of European Parliament seats to Member States is: Germany 99, France 87, Italy 87, UK 87, Spain 64, Netherlands 3 1, Belgium 25, Greece 25, Portugal 25, Sweden 22, Austria 21, Denmark 16, Finland 16, Ireland 15, Luxembourg 6 (total 626).
Commission approval hearing The European Parliament has been examining the members of the new Commission prior to next week's voting on confirmation of the appointment of the College as a whole. Com-mittees of the Parliament questioned the nominees and Klaus Haensch, President of the Parliament, sum-marised their views which included a number of criticisms as to individual nominees and the division of re-sponsibilities. 'Re party groups will meet to consider their attitudes and the confirmation vote will take place on 18 January.
Jobs aid programmes for UK. The Commission has approved Operational Programmes for aid for Mem-ber States from the European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the "Employment and Development of Human Resources" initiative for 1994-99. They include programmes for Northern Ireland and for the rest of the UK, for projects under the Employment-NOW, Employment-HORIZON and Employment-YOUTHSTART initiatives. For Northern Ireland 11,901,000 ECU is provided from the ESF and ERDF: 2.9m ECU for Employment- NOW, for further integration of women into vocational training, employment and business creation; 5.85m ECU for Employment-HORIZON, to improve job pros-pects for disabled and disadvantaged people; 2,675,000 ECU for Employment-YOUTHSTART, aimed at bet-ter job opportunities for the under-20s; and 475,000 ECU for technical assistance. For Great Britain 134.6m ECU is provided by the ESF, to which national and private funding will be added to make 296,758,000 ECU. Of the ESF funds Employment-NOW receives 34,199,000 ECU, Employment-HORIZON 67,338,000, and Employment-YOUTHSTART 27,667,000, while 5,396,000 ECU is earmarked for technical assistance.
Fishing rules for Spain and Portugal. The Fisheries Council, at a resumed session on 22 December, agreed rules governing access by Spanish and Portuguese fishing vessels to waters of other EU Member States, in order to integrate Spain and Portugal into the Common Fisheries Policy. From I January 1996 they will remain excluded from the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel, as well as the North Sea; the Irish Box" will remain a special control area with Spanish fishing restricted in the portion lying west of Scotland. Spain is allowed to fish in the Celtic Sea (south of the Irish Republic). The Council had already agreed on Total Al-lowable Catches and quotas for 1995.
Schengen states' free movement deadline. The signatories of the Schengen Convention -- all the EU Member States except for the UK, Ireland, Denmark and the three new members--have agreed that the Con-vention will be applied in full and all identity checks on borders between them abolished on 26 March 1995. The Schengen Convention is separate from the moves towards full abolition of internal border controls among all EU Member States.
EU-Russia relations: Chechnia protest and aid. lie EU and Russia initialled an interim agreement in Moscow on 29 December, covering in. particular the trade provisions of the proposed Partnership Agreement which was signed at the Corfu European Council last June but still awaits ratification. However, signing of this interim agreement, to operate pending ratification of the Corfu agreement, has been deferred. The Commission has decided to consult Member States before recommending signature, because of the Russian military operations in Chechnia. Speaking last week at the European Parliament hearings on the new Com-mission, the Commissioner-designate in charge of relations with Central and Eastern Europe, Hans van den Brock, confirmed the Commission's view: that the movement for Chechen independence is illegal, but the methods used to preserve Russias integrity should respect human rights and democracy, and the methods in fact used by Russia, especially attacks on civilians, must be condemned. Also last week, the Commission granted 310,000 ECU from European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) funds for medicine and shel-ter for victims of the fighting in Chechnia, to be administered by the International Red Cross.
Joint Declaration with Mercosur. The Council and the Commission signed on 22 December a Solemn Joint Declaration with the Member States of Mercosur, the grouping of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uru-guay. The Declaration expresses agreement on the ultimate aim of a political and economic inter-regional association, aiming at trade liberalisation and closer political cooperation between the four Latin American states and Europe. The parties hope to conclude negotiations for an inter-regional framework agreement this year.
Drinking, water Directive. The Commission last week adopted proposals for changes to Directive 80/778 on drinking water quality. The outgoing Commissioner for the Environment said that besides the primary aim of ensuring EU citizens' health, the proposed changes responded to the principle of subsidiarity. The number of parameters to be observed by all Member States in drinking water quality control is thus reduced from 67 to 48 (Including 13 new ones), to which national governments can add if they wish. The proposed changes are based on scientific research: for example, the reduction in the maximum permissible lead content from 50 to 10 microgrammes per litre.
Energy Green Paper. The Commission approved on Wednesday a Green Paper on energy policy, in-tended to contribute to debate on whether a greater Community role in this sector is needed. It was drawn up with the Intergovernmental Conference in mind and in response to concerns over the increasing dependence of the EU on non-EU energy sources, the relatively high costs of energy in Europe due to lack of competition, and the fact that carbon dioxide. emissions have levelled only because of economic factors. The document proposes several changes in policy for discussion: greater coordination on energy policy, a global approach, clarification of Community responsibilities, possibly more pollution controls. The Paper does not propose de-tailed solutions or decisions at this stage.
Second-hand goods, art and antiques. A uniform system of VAT calculation for trade in second-hand goods took effect in the EU on 1 January 1995, with the coming into force of the 7th VAT Directive. From now on commercial transactions will carry VAT levied on the profit margin, while transactions between indi-viduals will not be liable to VAT. Second-hand cars are now defined as those more than six months old or with more than 6,000 km mileage (twice the previous lower limits). Trade in art and antiques is also now sub-ject to a uniform system of VAT calculation under the 7th VAT Directive. It is similar to the system for sec-ond-hand goods, but there are provisions for auctions and some other special provisions. The UK, which has allowed duty-free imports of works of art since before 1973, is allowed during the transitional VAT period, up to 30 June 1999 at the latest, to charge a reduced rate of 2.5%.
Africa mercy flights extended. Relief flights to bring help to refugees and displaced people in Somalia, Southern Sudan and Rwanda, started by a Commission decision of 12 April 1994, are to be continued until the beginning of March 1995. The Commission allocated last Friday a million ECU under Article 254 of the Fourth Lome Convention for the continued airlift, which uses nine aircraft. Last month the Commission agreed to a further allocation of 50m ECU for aid to victims of the Rwanda and Burundi crises, within those countries and in neighbouring ones.
Asylum in Europe: Volume 11 of this study by the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), complementing Asylum in Europe an Introduction (Volume 1), is subtitled Review of Refugee and Asylum Laws and procedures in Selected European Countries. Obtainable from ECR-E, 3-9 Broadway, London SW8 ISJ, tel. 171 582 9928. Price $6.75 Volume I, $12 Volume II, $15 both together.
ITEA'95. The closing date for applications for the Information Technology European Awards for 1995 has been postponed from 15 January to 30 April 1995. Details on application procedure from Helle Bonnet, Euro-CASE, 16 rue Mazarine, 75006 Paris, France.
Forthcoming Events. The European Centre for Public Affairs is holding a Seminar on "Public Affairs in the New Union: Players and Rules" on 19 and 20 January 1995 at the Faculty Club at Louvain, Belgium.

CONTACT: Adrienne Pratt, Templeton College
Tel: +44 856 735422
Fax: +44 865 736374

LOAD-DATE: May 27, 1997

LANGUAGE: English

PUB-TYPE: Newswire

16 of 26 DOCUMENTS

PR Week

June 24, 1993

PR Week crisis management event

LENGTH: 199 words

PR Week is to a sponsor a live crisis management event on September 29 in Oxford.
Called Managing a corporate crisis in today's instant news society', the event will be a Socratic dialogue' - similar in style to Channel 4's Hypotheticals series. Expert panellists play roles in a crisis, reacting to a hy-pothetical situation developed by a moderator.
The moderator will be SmithKline Beecham vice-president of corporate affairs Richard Torrenzano. The event is hosted by the European Centre for Public Affairs and the Global Public Affairs Institute.
Guest panellists for the crisis management event, which will take place at Templeton College, include: Sir Geoffrey Pattie MP, CNN's London bureau chief, David Feingold, US attorney Elliot Kaplan, and the edi-tor of Wall Street Journal Europe, Philip Revzin.
The panel discussion will be followed by dinner in Templeton College.
Tickets for the event, which is part of a four-day Global Public Affairs seminar arranged by the ECPA and GPAI, cost pounds 75 each. For more details about the event contact Adrienne Pratt, European Centre for Public Affairs, Templeton College, Oxford OX1 5NY (Tel: 0865 735422).

LOAD-DATE: September 21, 2000

LANGUAGE: English

PUB-TYPE: Magazine

18 of 26 DOCUMENTS

PR Newswire

June 17, 1992, Wednesday - 10:22 Eastern Time

GLOBAL PUBLIC AFFAIRS INSTITUTE APPOINTS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

SECTION: Financial News

LENGTH: 519 words

DATELINE: NEW YORK, June 17

Wilfred D. Koplowitz has been appointed executive director of the Global Public Affairs Institute, Loet A. Velmans, chairman of the institute, announced today.  Koplowitz, retired director of international public affairs at Citibank, had previously served on the institute's board of directors and advisory council.  He succeeds James Armstrong, former AT&T executive, who will devote full time to his communications consulting prac-tice.

"The Global Public Affairs Institute is delighted that Bill Koplowitz will assume this position enabling him to apply fully his experience and energies to expanding the institute's program and membership," Velmans said. "We propose to strengthen the institute's contribution to the public affairs capabilities of member com-panies in the increasingly global marketplace in which they operate." Together with Edward R. Block, a former senior vice president for public affairs at AT&T, Velmans, re-tired CEO of Hill and Knowlton, Inc. founded the institute in 1988. The institute has conducted a series of intensive, highly acclaimed seminars for corporate public affairs and communications executives focusing on key international issues directly affecting the business community and on key communications functions for which public affairs staff is responsible. The member companies include AT&T, Boeing, Citicorp, Exxon Corporation, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Warner Lambert, Cigna Corporation, Hill and Knowlton, Burson Marsteller, Rockwell International, Bristol-Myers Squibb, General Motors and Nippon Telephone and Telegraph. A cooperative arrangement with the European Centre for Public Affairs at Oxford University resulted in a jointly sponsored seminar at Oxford in 1991. A second version of this seminar will be presented Sept. 13-17, 1992, also at Oxford, and is open to qualified executives of multinational corporations. The institute is conducting a research project to identify and analyze the methods and structure through which multinational companies are managing their public affairs response to the globalizing trends in the world market. Koplowitz served for 30 years in various foreign affairs positions at the Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Department with assignments in Washington and overseas. He retired from government in 1979 and ran an international affairs consultancy until his appointment to Citibank in 1981. Koplowitz earned a B.A. from Yale University and an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). During his government services, he was a member of the senior seminar in foreign policy at the Department of State and the faculty of the National Defense University. The institute operates in association with New York University. The deans of NYU's School of Business and faculty of Arts and Sciences sit on its board of directors. The institute is located at 729 Seventh Avenue, Eighth floor, New York, N.Y. 10019. CONTACT: Bill Koplowitz of Global Public Affairs Institute, 212-921-2262

LOAD-DATE: 061792 NY024

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

DISTRIBUTION: TO BUSINESS EDITOR

19 of 26 DOCUMENTS

PR Newswire Europe

March 5, 1992

THE WEEK IN EUROPE: COMMISSION VICE PRESIDENT VISITS CIS

SECTION: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

LENGTH: 1779 words

The following look at events in the European Community in the past and coming week and a diary of upcoming events was issued today by the London office of the European Communities Commission: THE WEEK IN EUROPE
:: Andriessen's Visit to CIS.
Commission vice-president Frans Andriessen reported to European Community Foreign Ministers on Monday on his trip to Byelorussia, the Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan where he held talks with key ministers. Mr Andriessen said the political situation in the independent states was disquieting. Democracy had not yet taken root and despite the elections, the old power structure remained in place in most states albeit with new faces, party names and programmes.
Ministers broadly endorsed the call by Mr Andriessen for the Community to extend EC ties to all mem-bers of the Commonwealth of Independent Sates - in Asia as well as in Europe - and to relax conditions which have so far blocked the 1.25bn (£887m) food aid loan to the CIS. Mr Andriessen also said that the EC should show the world a lead in stabilising the longer term economic future of the CIS. Specifically, the EC should discuss widening the scope of aid to the CIS at a conference which it will chair in Lisbon in May to deal with structural, not just emergency aid.
After visiting the four republics last week, Mr Andriessen told ministers that Central Asia and Kazakh-stan "are so interdependent with the other former Soviet republics that they will stand or fall together." Mr Andriessen pleaded with Ministers not to let food aid get caught up in red tape. The Community should be ready to waive some of the guarantees it has been demanding for its food loan. He plans further visits to the CIS shortly.
:: The EC and Estonia.
On February 27, delegations of the European Community and of the Republic of Estonia initialled an agreement on trade and commercial and economic co-operation, the first since Estonia's independence was recognised by the EC in August 1991. The delegations were headed by Lennart Meri, Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and by John Maslen of the directorate-general for external relations in the Commission. Simi-lar agreements exist with Lithuania and Latvia.
:: Prince Charles Saluted.
Commission vice-president Martin Bangemann praised Prince Charles for his support this week for traditional cheeses made from unpasteurised milk. Mr Bangemann, who is responsible for clearing the way for the single market, said he would write to the Prince of Wales to thank him for his efforts to preserve culi-nary diversity in Europe.
In the past, he said, the UK in particular had attempted to make imports of French cheeses made from raw milk subject to stringent hygiene regulations. The Commission had resisted this at the time and merely required the information to be supplied on the label. Certain minimum standards of hygiene were of course indispensable, Mr Bangemann said in Brussels. "We want the bacterial count in milk used for cheesemaking to be carefully monitored...the 'good' bacteria should be kept," he added. "After all we do not want synthetic cheese."

Brittan on Competition Policy and Regional Development.

Speaking to the annual conference of the Confederation of Irish Industry in Dublin on February 28, Commission vice-president Sir Leon Brittan stressed EC support for Irish regional and industrial development and the need for sound economic policies to prepare for economic and monetary union. He referred to recent Commission proposals to double spending from Community sources (including the new Cohesion Fund) and the role that a strong competition policy can play in helping to bring about cohesion.
Sir Leon also spoke of the positive contribution which EC competition policy can make to cohesion. Strict control of state aids in the central, more prosperous regions is necessary in the interests of cohesion as well as competition.
:: New EC Head in Belfast.
Jane Morrice is the new head of the European Commission's office in Belfast. She takes over the posi-tion from Dennis Kennedy who left last September. Jane Morrice spent the last five years working as a TV and radio reporter for BBC Northern Ireland. Before that she spent 7 years as a journalist in Brussels special-ising in EC affairs. Belfast born, she is married and has a young son.
:: Famine in Africa.
A co-ordination meeting on food needs in African countries held in Brussels on February 27 brought together representatives of international organisations, non-governmental organisations and of individual states. It was convoked at the initiative of the United States Agency for International Development and hosted by the Commission. Most of the major donors involved in relief programmes in Africa were present: the Commission and EC member states, Australia, Austria, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, USA, the World Food Programme, the UN High Commission for Refugees and other relevant UN agencies, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
::Marin on Southern Africa.
Speaking at a seminar in Lisbon last week, Commission vice-president Manuel Marin said the Com-mission and member states had been providing about 40% of official development assistance to Angola since the mid 80's. The Community and its member sates had also been providing, since the ceasefire, strong and sustained political support to the peace process.
Mr Marin said that through the Community's Special Programme for South Africa, 170 million ecus (£119m) have been provided since 1986 for more than 4OO projects. This year's contribution has been in-creased to 80m ecus (£56m), demonstrating the Community's will to support the most vulnerable layers of society.
:: The European Economic Area.
Vice-president Frans Andriessen has confirmed that the Commission has requested a further opinion from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on the contentious legal tangle surrounding the creation of the European Economic Area. On December 19 last year the court ruled that the new proposed union be-tween the EC and the seven EFTA countries was invalid because of the ambiguous role of the judiciary in settling disputes. Following further talks between the EC and EFTA the court has been requested to look at the issue once again.

Warning for UK Atomic Authority.

The Commission has issued a warning to the UK Atomic Energy Authority for a breach of the provi-sions of Article 79 of the Euratom Treaty and several articles of a Commission Regulation. On December 3 1991 The UK Atomic Energy Authority Dounreay provided the Euratom Safeguards Directorate with the final results of their physical inventory taking in the uranium scrap/residue recovery plant. These results showed a significant difference between the physical stocks and the book stocks for highly enriched uranium. But be-cause of the unintentional nature of the infringement and the fact that the operator has fully informed Eura-tom about the results of the inventory taking and the significant follow-up actions taken, the Commission de-cided to apply a warning, the least severe sanction under the Treaty.
:: The Commission and UK Tractors.
Following an investigation lasting a number of years the Commission has adopted a decision forbid-ding a system of exchanging information about sales and market shares for agricultural tractors sold in the UK. The most important manufacturers took part in the exchange which was set up in 1975.
The Commission judged that competition was restricted by the identification in detail of the sales of each participant in this highly concentrated market without any appreciable competition from outside. The information exchange posed two important risks for the maintenance of healthy competition: elimination of hidden competition in that it gave participants a degree of knowledge of the performance of others: and a reinforcement of the barriers to entry into the market.
:: The Ozone layer.
The Commission has approved a Communication to the Council putting forward proposals for adjust-ments to the reduction schedules of ozone depleting substances and on the control of transitional sub-stances. Based on the work of the UNEP Technology and Economic Assessment Panel, the Commission is proposing that production and consumption of CFCs, other fully halogenated CFCs, halons, carbon tetrachlo-ride and 1,1,1-trichloroethane should be cut by 85% by December 31 1993, and that complete phase-out of all depleting substances in the Community should occur by December 31 1995. The Communication will be discussed during the March 23 Environment Council.
:: Conference and Diary Dates
European Week for Business. March 23-27. Organised by the European Information Centres of the Commission to help small and medium sized businesses. The 27 EICs in the UK will be taking a full part in the week which is taking place simultaneously across the EC.
Advertising in Europe - coping with the legal restrictions March 27, London's Mayfair Hotel one day conference organised by Euro Conferences with Bird and Bird solicitors. Aimed at marketing and advertising executives, lawyers employed in industry and private practice. Details: 0273-483 396.
Towards fiscal federalism? A seminar organised by the Federal Trust together with the UK office of the Commission. March 30 at Jean Monnet House, 8 Story's Gate, London SW1. Speakers include Sir Michael Palliser and Joly Dixon, advisor to Commission president Jacques Delors.
Topic '92: Public Affairs in the European Union. Conference organised by the European Centre for Public Affairs. April 8-11 at Templeton College Oxford. Information from Adrienne Pratt, Templeton College, Oxford. Tel 0865-735422. Fax: 0865-736374.
1992: The future of European industry. Major conference organised by the Centre for Business Eco-nomics at the European Business School, London. April 2 at the European Business School, Regent's Park, London. Details from Richard West, short courses manager, the European Business School, Regent's Park, London, tel 071-487-7419.
Alternative Financial Centres in Europe. A major pan-European conference to be held on April 9-10 in Dublin. Venue - Dublin Castle, Ireland. Details: 081- 332 0044. Fax: 081-332 0874.
Our next briefing will take place on Thursday, March 12 at 1130hrs.
Contact: Press Office, Commission of the European Communities, 071-973 1970.

LOAD-DATE: March 5, 1992

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1992

21 of 26 DOCUMENTS

PR Newswire Europe

March 14, 1991

THE WEEK IN EUROPE: UK TO BE "AT THE VERY HEART OF EUROPE" - MAJOR

SECTION: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

LENGTH: 1607 words

  The following look at events in the European Community in the past and coming week and a diary of upcoming events was issued today (March 14) by the London office of the European Communities Commis-sion
  UK to be "At the very heart of Europe" - Major
  In his first speech outside the UK since becoming Prime Minister, John Major, in Bonn on Monday, urged harmony and consensus to build "a safe and prosperous (European) home." He went on to say that his aims for Britain in the Community could be simply stated: "I want us to be where we belong. At the very heart of Europe. Working with our partners in building the future." He continued by setting out a British agenda for Europe with three objectives. First, price stability must be the prime objective of monetary policy. Second, economic and monetary union must be based on free and open markets. Lastly, the development of monetary cooperation must depend on much greater progress towards economic convergence between member states. Mr Major also gave a press conference with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at which he said: "The Community will be infinitely stronger with Britain, France and Germany all clearly in the centre of it and all working for the future of the Community." Commenting on Mr Major's speech, Commission President Jacques Delors welcomed the UK policies on Europe as a shift in substance, not just style. Speaking during a debate at the European Parliament, M Delors said: "I would be in bad faith if I did not say that there has been a fundamental shift on the part of Mr Major." The Prime Minister, speaking in the House of Commons the next day, again emphasised that Britain must be at the "very heart" of the European Community, playing a leading role in decision-making. He said: "There are only three ways to go in the Community: to leave, which is unthinkable, to stand aside and let ourselves be dragged along by others, which is untenable, or to be at the very heart of the Community and help frame the decisions - and that is our policy."
  EC emergency summit on the Middle East
  In response to France's call for an EC summit on the Middle East, Prime Minister Jacques Santer of Luxembourg, which holds the EC Presidency, said on Tuesday he was ready to call a meeting, probably on April 5. The aim of the meeting will be to discuss what the EC can do to promote peace in the Middle East and how it can react more in unison towards such crises as the Gulf war. The belief amongst the EC Troika of Luxembourg, Dutch and Italian Foreign Ministers, who last week visited the Middle East, was that the op-portunity for peace-making had to be seized quickly before attitudes hardened again into their pre-Gulf-war mould.
  Humanitarian aid for Kuwait and Iraq
  Following the end of the Gulf war, the Commission has decided to provide immediate humanitarian aid for both Kuwait (£238,000 - for baby food) and Iraq (£2m for water treatment equipment and medical aid).

45 new European "Chairs"

The Commission has given its support to 242 University proposals to set up new teaching activities in European Integration with effect from the beginning of the 1991- 1992 academic year. All this is part of the Jean Monnet Project II for 1991. The financial support of the Commission is channelled essentially towards the creation of 45 new European "chairs". Forty six "chairs" were created in the first round of the Action Jean Monnet Project. Permanent teaching activities now exist in Law (33 "chairs"), Economics (24 "chairs"), Politi-cal Science (20 "chairs") and History (14 "chairs"). The second round of the Jean Monnet Project, launched in 1990, also offers financial support to 188 permanent courses and "European" modules. The UK has 11 "chairs" and 30 permanent courses and modules.
MacSharry on CAP reform
Speaking to the European Parliament earlier this week, Agriculture Commissioner Ray MacSharry de-fended the Commission's line on farm policy reform. He emphasised that there had to be a switch away from the current means of providing support to farmers through high subsidised prices, towards direct income payments weighted towards those who most needed them.
EIB loan to UK water companies
The European Investment Bank is to lend £60m to UK Water Companies for improvement of river and bathing water quality and development of drinking water infrastructure in the South West and North East of the UK. £40m goes to South West Water Services Ltd and £20m for investment by Northumbrian Water Ltd. Last year the EIB lent £384.5m to water companies in the UK.
Pollution in the Gulf
Environment Commissioner Carlo Ripa di Meana has arranged for a new team of anti-pollution experts to go to the Gulf as part of the Commission's Task Force efforts to help combat the pollution created during the Gulf war.
Brittan on Maritime Transport
Speaking in Paris last week, Commission Vice-President Sir Leon Brittan said container transport was one of the most striking developments in world shipping. He said merchant fleets have been expanding rap-idly since the mid 1970s and the Community share of total world tonnage for this type of vessel was some 27 per cent, or around 6 million grt, compared with the situation in 1975 when its capacity was only some 2.6m grt.

EC-Czechoslovakia meeting

The first meeting of the Joint Committee of the Agreement on Trade and Commercial and Economic Cooperation, concluded between the EC and Czechoslovakia in 1990, took place in Prague on March 9. Amongst other things the two delegations reviewed the Community's PHARE programme for Czechoslovakia which provides for 35m ecus (£24.5m) in 1990, and some 100m ecus (£70m) in 1991. Commission Vice-President Frans Andriessen who took a leading part in the Community delegation also visited Poland, Hun-gary, Bulgaria and Romania.
Japanese bank merger cleared
The Commission has given the green light to the merger of two Japanese banks - the Kyowa Bank Ltd. and the Saitama Bank Ltd - both of which operate in the UK.
Japanese essay contest
Young Europeans between 18 and 34 are invited to participate in the 13th Study Tour of Japan essay contest. The 50 winners will be invited to study Japanese society at first hand. No application forms: apply directly to the Information Centre of the Mission of Japan to the EC, 58 Avenue des Arts, 1040 Brussels. Tel: 010 322 511 2307.
Young Europeans go to Japan
This year the Commission has accepted 43 business people, including 10 from Britain, to be sent to Tokyo to learn the Japanese language and business practices in the framework of the 11th EC Executive Training Programme in Japan. For information about ETP 12 for 1991 contact Rudie Filon on fax 010 322 (Brussels) 235 9723 or 236 0423 or 236 4342.
Essex Euro-Week
From 10th April, Essex County Council is the driving force behind Essex Euro-Week. With more than 160 events county-wide, everyone in Essex will have the chance to enjoy a taste and feel of Europe, as well as learning how the removal of trade barriers in 1992 will affect them. Details are set out in the Essex Euro-Week Programme, 200,000 copies of which have been sent to libraries, schools and district council offices. For more information call Essex County Council Press Office on 0245 432 100.
European Journalists Prize
George Clark, former European political correspondent of the Times has been presented with the European Journalists Prize for 1991. He received the award jointly with Carlos Luis Alvarez, director of OTR Press Madrid at a ceremony in Brussels on March 1. Clark, now a freelance, is a former chairman of the Brit-ish section of the Association of European Journalists.
World Consumer Rights Day
On March 15, World Consumer Rights Day will be celebrated for the ninth consecutive year. The theme chosen by the International Organisation of Consumers' Unions (IOCU) for 1991 is "The right to con-sumer protection." Contact: BEUC. Tel: Brussels 010 322 735 3110.
Conference and Diary Dates
A Press Conference and reception to mark the launch of the Centre for European Studies and the transfer of the publication of New European to MCB University Press in association with the centre will be held at the Commission's London office on March 21 at 12.30pm. For details contact John Rattray on 071 582 3996 or 081 675 4854.
The British Businessman and the Central European Market
One day conference on Thursday March 21 (9 - 5.30pm) at the University of Nottingham. For details contact Chris Ellis, the office for Professional and Industrial Training, the University of Nottingham, Notting-ham NG7 2RD. Tel: 0602 484 848, ext 3701.
Catching the ear of the European Community
TOPIC seminar organised by European Centre for Public Affairs, Templeton College, Oxford. April 8 - 11. Venue - Oxford. Details from Adrienne Pratt, ECPA. Tel: 0865 735 422. Fax: 0865 736 374.
Other Events:
Environment Council March 18, Brussels ECO/FIN Council March 18, Brussels, EEC/Latin America MInisterial meeting March 18 - 19, Nicaragua Industry Council March 19, Brussels, ECO/SOC Plenary Ses-sion March 20 - 21, Brussels, Internal Market Council March 21 - 22, Brussels, Agriculture Council March 25 - 26, Brussels, Transport Council March 27, Brussels.
Our next briefing will take place on Thursday, March 21 at 11.30am.
Contact: R Elphick, CEC, London - 071 2228122

LOAD-DATE: March 14, 1991

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1991

23 of 26 DOCUMENTS

PR Newswire Europe

January 17, 1991

THE WEEK IN EUROPE: EC SUPPORTS UN DEMANDS FOR IRAQI WITHDRAWAL

SECTION: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

LENGTH: 1556 words

The following look at events in the European Community in the past and coming week and a diary of upcoming events was issued today by the London office of the European Communities Commission:
EC efforts to avoid war in Gulf. As we go to press allied air attacks on Iraq have begun. An emergency meeting of EC foreign ministers was taking place this afternoon (Thursday) in Paris. It was to coincide with a parallel meeting of ministers belonging to the Western European Union.
EC efforts to free Kuwait and to enforce UN resolutions peacefully continued until the last minute. A French peace initiative emerged after EC foreign ministers, meeting in Brussels, ruled out a further approach to Iraq's President Saddam Hussein.
On his return to Paris from his abortive mission in Baghdad, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar briefed Jacques Poos, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and current Chairman of the European Com-munity Council. John Major, UK Prime Minister, met President Francois Mitterrand of France in Paris. What emerged from all this political activity including at the UN Headquarters in New York was solid support for UN demands for an immediate Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.
EC warns Moscow over Lithuania repression. EC Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday warned that continued violence by Soviet troops in the Baltic Republics could lead to an immediate end to cooperation and the suspension of EC economic aid. The Soviet leadership was told that technical aid worth 400m ecus (£280m) would be at risk if it continued to use force rather than negotiations in Lithuania.
Jacques Poos appealed to the Soviet Union to "return to the path of dialogue" with the Baltic and other Soviet republics. At the same time Commission President Jacques Delors delivered a combined protest and warning to the Soviet Ambassador to the Community, saying the first casualty of any continued Soviet crack-down would be technical aid and a meeting between EC and Soviet officials to discuss it, set for January 24.
Last month the EC agreed on the programme of technical assistance for this year as well as up to 750m ecus (£500m) in food aid (one third in the form of grant, and two thirds in credit). Jacques Poos said of the Vilnius violence that it had "evoked memories of Budapest and Prague, though the situation was not ex-actly the same and more complex".
Papandreou on Social Charter. Speaking in London on Monday before meeting UK Secretary of State for Employment Michael Howard, Commissioner Vasso Papandreou, responsible for Social Affairs, said so-cial cohesion of the European internal market could be placed in jeopardy by a continued negative stance by the UK over measures within the Social Charter.
"The economic benefits of the Internal Market can only be fully assured if the social dimension of this market is taken into consideration," she told an Industrial Society conference on European Employment.
Ms Papandreou supported the idea that social issues did not need the support of all member countries. Some required only qualified support, but a number of key developments - including directives on part-time working - required unanimous support, she said.
In a letter published in The Times today, Mr Howard said the UK had not blocked any proposals under the EC's Social Action Programme. The UK Government would continue to take an active, constructive part in the discussions, he said.
Brittan on competition and the EC. Speaking at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, on Monday Commission Vice- President Sir Leon Brittan stressed the importance of competition policy in the development of EC markets and in relations with the United States. EC competition policy had been in the Rome Treaty from the beginning.
He went on to say that competition policy will always be needed in imperfect markets. There should be no rivalry between the EC and the USA in competition policy, he said. The Community was committed to the maintenance of open, competitive markets and had shown in implementing its 1992 programme that it fa-vours liberalisation of competition both internally and externally.

Copyright and piracy. In the light of new technologies which have emerged in the course of the 1980s, the Commission has once again been considering the complex field of copyright and "neighbouring" rights. These comprise the copyright-related rights held by people such as performers, record producers and radio and TV broadcasting organisations.

On the initiative of Vice-President Martin Bangemann and Commissioner Jean Dondelinger, the Com-mission has just approved a package of proposals for submission to the member states. The package takes the shape of a working programme for action from now to the end of 1992.
Bruce Millan in Leeds. Regional Policy Commissioner Bruce Millan visits Leeds tomorrow (Friday) at the invitation of the City Council. The Commissioner will fly directly from Brussels to Leeds airport to spend the day in the region looking particularly at problems of the inner city.
SPUR. The Commission has decided to approve the British state aid scheme entitled SPUR (Support for Products Under Research). This regime provides for contributions for R and D projects put forward by enterprises with fewer than 500 employees. Aid intensity is 25% of the eligible costs to a maximum of £150,000. Total UK budget for the programme is £16m.
Brittan speaks on GATT talks. As efforts continue to restart GATT talks which broke down before Christmas Sir Leon Brittan said in Washington DC on Tuesday he was convinced that the European offer on agriculture represented a basis upon which it should be possible to forge a compromise.
This would accelerate the fundamental restructuring of the Common Agricultural Policy which was al-ready under way. A failure of the GATT round would not only be a tragedy for both Europe and the USA be-cause we would lose a unique opportunity to strengthen and extend the liberal world trading system, he said. But also because it would set back the cause of agricultural reform in Europe to which he was personally committed and to which the United States attached such importance.
European Environmental Yearbook 1991. 2nd edition. 1,100 pages. £60 p/p £3.15. From Docter Inter-national UK Ltd, 27 Kensington Court, London W8 5DN. Contact Colinette Craig. Tel: 071 937 3535. Fax: 071 937 1639.
"Social Work, Education and 1992". Author Hugh Barr. The UK social work profession is urged to pre-pare for some of the consequences of the EC directive on higher education diplomas and the proposed di-rective covering other professions aimed at securing greater mobility between member states in this new paper from the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work. Price £3.00 post free. Available from CCETSW Central office, Derbyshire House, St. Chad's Street. London WC1H 8AD. Contact George Smith on 071 278 2455 ext. 348.
European Affairs Coordinator. The Building Employers Confederation is looking for one. Applications forms from Lynne Elliott, Building Employers Confederation, 82 New Cavendish Street, London W1M 8AD. Tel 071 580 5588.
Building a Citizens' Europe. Seminar organised by the European Commission next Monday January (21) to publicise our Citizens' Europe Advisory Service: venue 8 Storey's Gate, London SW1 at 10.30am. Admission free.
A consensus conference for nurses, organised by the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) and supported by the Europe Against Cancer programme, will be held in Kensington Town Hall, London January 23-25 1991. Aim of the conference: to gain consensus agreement on the content and implementa-tion in all member states of a core curriculum for the training of nurses in oncology. Participants will include cancer nursing experts and educators from throughout the Community, professional nursing bodies and rep-resentatives from the European Commission. Further information contact: Phylip Pritchard 071 376 3623.
New Directions after the Uruguay Round. Seminar organised by the European Centre for Public Af-fairs at Wiston House, West Sussex, 20 - 22 February. Details from Adrienne Pratt, Administrator ECPA, Templeton College, Oxford OX1 5NY. Tel 0865 735 422. Fax 0865 736 374.
Vision for London Conference. European experts will present papers and lead six workshops on the main themes from the EC's Green Paper on the Urban Environment. Key-speech by Environment Commis-sioner Carlo Ripa di Meana. Venue - Church House, Dean's Yard, London SW1 - 14 March. Details from Judy Monahan - Tel: 071-829 8349.

Conference and Diary Dates

  Agricultural Council               21-22 January       Brussels
  European Parliament Session        21-25 January       Strasbourg
  ECO/FIN Council                    28 January          Brussels
  General Affairs Council            4-5 February        Brussels
  Our next briefing will take place on Thursday, January 24 at    
  1130hrs.
     Contact: Robert Elphick, CEC, 071-222 8122

LOAD-DATE: January 17, 1991

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1991

24 of 26 DOCUMENTS

PR Newswire Europe

July 26, 1990

THE WEEK IN EUROPE: EC EXPERTS WILL RETURN TO MOSCOW

SECTION: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

LENGTH: 1522 words

The following look at events in the European Community in the past and coming week and a diary of upcoming events was issued today by the London office of the European Communities Commission:
Delors in Moscow Speaking at a press conference in Moscow last week after meeting President Mik-hail Gorbachev and most of the principal Soviet leaders, Commission President Jacques Delors revealed that EC experts would return to Moscow next month for an extended visit and detailed discussions with their Soviet counterparts to draw up recommendations for the next special EC summit in October.
Mr Delors also revealed that the EC and the Soviet Union are working on a joint nuclear safety pro-gramme which could result in the scrapping, or radical upgrading, of up to 25 Soviet power stations. Mr Delors said the Soviet authorities were very interested in the proposals for energy co-operation on the lines proposed by Ruud Lubbers, the Dutch Prime Minister, at the EC summit in Dublin.
However, he warned that no judgment on Soviet economic reforms could really be made until a revised package was finalised by the Soviet Government in September. Mr Delors singled out energy production, transportation and the environment, as well as technical assistance, as possible areas for EC involvement in the Soviet economy in a package of measures to be presented to the EC October summit.
Mr Delors, on the first official visit by a European Commission President to the Soviet Union, warned of the dangers of economic disintegration, pointing in particular to the plans of several Soviet republics to intro-duce their own currencies. President Gorbachev, meanwhile, warned that if the West held back from invest-ing in Soviet economic reform, it would delay the process of change. He urged the West to see "foreign eco-nomic co-operation" as permitting the country to "move over to a new economic system more quickly and more resolutely".
New UK ERDF grants. Commissioner Bruce Millan, responsible for regional policy, announced this week new structural fund grants from the European Regional Development Fund worth 660 million ECUs (£498 million), of which 60.6 million ECUS (£44.9 million) will go to the UK under Objective 2 criteria which deal with regions of industrial decline. Humberside will receive 15 million ECUs (£11.1 million), Fife 13.3 mil-lion ECUs (£10 million), Central 11 million ECUs (£8.1 million), Tayside 8.6 million ECUs (£6.5 million) and Mid-Yorkshire 12.7 million ECUs (£9.2 million). Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium are also benefi-ciaries.
Brittan on sovereignty and the EC. Addressing the Bruges Group last week, Commission Vice-President Sir Leon Brittan attacked those who "worry away at the bone of Sovereignty", adding that the rest of Europe was "now frankly bored" by those who "perpetrate a caricature of what the Community repre-sents". He urged the UK to become an enthusiastic member of the European Monetary System.
Acknowledging that there are problems over the democratic accountability of Community institutions, he argued that the solution lay in involving national parliaments more closely in Community affairs. Mr Brittan proposed the creation of a European committee of national parliaments - with 12 members from each par-liament - to provide a better link between the Council of Ministers and member states.
Commission moves against subsidies. The Commission is continuing its offensive, led by Commission Vice-President Sir Leon Brittan, against state subsidies to EC industry, proposing that four member states, including the UK, wind up their general investment aid programmes by the end of the year. The three other countries singled out are Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Commission's announcement is a continuation of its policy of examining all existing state aid schemes to ensure they comply with competition rules. The proposal for the UK covers section 8 of the In-dustrial Development Act of 1982 whose powers, the Commission says, should be abolished by January 1 1991.

Commission investigations UK deal. The Commission has decided to open a procedure under Article 93.2 of the Rome Treaty in order to investigate possible aid granted by Derbyshire County Council to the Toyota Motor Company through the price charged for development land. The Commission is satisfied that no aid from cental government has been paid to Toyota and is only investigating possible aid from the local au-thorities which are also bound by Community rules on State aid.

Increase in European Recovery Programmes. The Commission has given the German Government its approval under the state aid rules to increase the budget for aid to East Germany under the European Re-covery Programme, also known as the Marshall Plan. With unification in prospect, the FRG government de-cided to extend the ERP scheme to East Germany and the Commission gave its approval on May 8. It has now agreed an increase in the scheme's 1990 budget from DM 1.2 billion to DM 6 billion.
Organisation of working time directive adopted. Yesterday (Wednesday), the Commission adopted a proposed directive concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time. In summary, the proposals are for: a minimium daily rest period of 11 hours in 24 hours: at least one rest day per week: night workers should not work more than 8 hours per 24 hours: no overtime by night workers.
Regulation on merger adopted. The Commission has adopted an implementing regulation and guide-lines to ensure the smooth introduction and operation of the merger regulation which comes into effect on September 21 1990. The Commission has adopted: two notices in the form of guidelines as to how the terms "concentration" and "ancillary restrictions" are to be interpreted: an implementing regulation which defines the rights and obligations of the Commission and the companies involved in a case: and a Form has been drawn up for notifications.
UK heads implementation and EC complaint league. The UK has maintained its pole position for top implementation of EC directives in the past year, but also headed the EC league for people making com-plaints about infringement of community law. The UK with 247 complaints in 1989 was followed by France with 185 and Spain with 184. Those three countries accounted for more than half the complaints lodged in 1989 (1195). The rise in UK complaints is accounted for by an increase in complaints concerning the envi-ronment (192 in 1989, compared to 31 in 1982 and only one in 1982)
"New European" double issue out this week. Articles by Ralf Dahrendorf on "Money, politics and Europe", Bruce Kent on NATO, Alexander Kustarov on "Russia and Europe" and others. For more informa-tion contact New European Publications, 14/16 Carroun Road, London SW8 1JT. Tel. 071 582 3996.
Europe against cancer. The second phase of Europe's four-year anti- cancer campaign begins this au-tumn with "Europe Against Cancer Week" which takes place from October 8-14.

Conference and diary dates

  UK Centre for European Education. One-day conference on The European dimension in teacher train-ing on Wednesday September 12 at the Northern College of Education (Dundee Campus). Organiser: Ian Findlay tel: 0224 482341.
  "Influencing Decisions in Europe"  Seminar organised by the European Centre for Public Affairs on 12-14 September. All enquiries to The Administrator (ECPA), Templeton College, Oxford OX1 5NY. Tel: 0865 735422. Fax: 0865 736374.
  "European Competition Policy" Half-day symposium. Chatham House, London, Friday September 14. Speaker Commission Vice-President Sir Leon Brittan. Details from RIIA, Chatham House, 10 St James Square, London SW1Y 4LE.
  The Common Ag Policies, University of Warwick. September 19 at the Social Studies Building, Univer-sity of Warwick, Coventry. Register by September 7 with Eva Evans, UACES Secretariat, King's College, Strand, London WC2R 2LS. Tel: 071 240 0206.
  Work and Social Policies in the new Europe. Joint conference organised by European Parliamentari-ans and Industrialists Council and the European Centre for Work and Society. September 26/27 at the Salle "Monts des Arts", Comite Economique et Social, Brussels.  Register by 15 September with the ECWS Con-ference 1990, Avenue de Cortenbergh, 66 bte 13, B - 1040, Brussels. Tel: 010 322 732 2000   Fax: 010 322 732 2464.
  Informal ECO/FIN Ministers   7 - 8  September        Rome
  European Parliament Session 10 - 14 September        Strasbourg
  General Affairs Council     17 - 18 September        Brussels
  Internal Market Council     17      September        Brussels
  The Week in Europe is now taking its customary summer break. May we remind you that the library at Jean Monnet House is closed from July 27 to September 3 .  Our next briefing will be on September 6 at 1130hrs.
     Contact: Robert Elphick, CEC, 071-222 8122

LOAD-DATE: July 26, 1990

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1990

25 of 26 DOCUMENTS

PR Newswire Europe

May 31, 1990

THE WEEK IN EUROPE: FRANCE URGED TO RESCIND UK BEEF BAN

SECTION: GENERAL AND CITY NEWS

LENGTH: 1652 words

The following look at events in the European Community in the past and coming week and a diary of upcoming events was issued today by the London office of the European Communities Commission:
French Ban on British Beef. The Commission has called on France to rescind immediately their ban on imports of British beef because of fears about Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, vulgarly known as "mad cow disease". In a statement, the Commission said today that it is satisfied that measures taken provided the fullest guarantees as regards consumption of beef. The Community's Scientific Veterinary Committee was keeping the situation under close watch and would be discussing the matter again next week.
EC acts over polluted UK beaches. The Commission has confirmed it has begun legal action against the UK Government in the European Court of Justice over dozens of polluted beaches that fall below EC minimum standards for bathing. In particular, action is being taken over beaches at Blackpool, Southport and Formby, in Lancashire. The Commission says the three beaches fall short of acceptable levels for bathing, which were laid down in a directive in 1975 but which did not come into force until 1985.
Last year 94 other beaches in England and Wales were below EC standards, largely because of the amount of sewage being dumped into the sea. The UK Government has said it intends mounting a vigorous defence against the prosecution. The Department of Environment claims 76% of the UK's 440 designated bathing sites meet EC standards.
EC meets Japanese Ministers. Meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, Japanese and EC Ministers agreed to develop political relations and to set up a new working group on bilateral trade. The Japanese delegation include the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Taro Nankayama and the Minister for International Trade and In-dustry, Mr Kabun Muto. On the Commission's side the delegation, headed by Vice-President Frans Andries-sen, included Martin Bangemann, Carlo Ripa di Meana and Ray Macsharry.
The Ministerial level meeting was the first for three and a half years. Trade matters will remain an im-portant aspect of the EC- Japan relationship. Recognising the existence of a large trade imbalance and some remaining issues related to market access conditions between the EC and Japan, the Commission and the Japanese delegation shared the view that they should continue to make efforts to achieve a sound de-velopment of their economic relationship. It was decided to establish a working group on problems hindering market access.
The Commission mentioned the leather and shoe sector and that of processed foods as important is-sues requiring a solution. It was also agreed that the EC and Japan should deepen cooperation in the follow-ing fields: G24, science and technology, environment, communication and information, development assis-tance, labour and social affairs and cultural exchange. The potential for cooperation was underlined by the signature of an agreement on Nuclear Safeguards Research and Development between the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute and Euratom.
EBRD Charter signed. The Charter of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was signed in Paris on Tuesday. At the ceremony President Francois Mitterrand of France said other countries and institutions may join the existing 40 nations and EC bodies as shareholders in the EBRD. He said the Bank should evolve with a major world institution and through loans, guarantees, equity investment and un-derwriting would fulfil a catalytic role in Central and Eastern Europe.

FORCE. The EC Council of Ministers this week adopted the FORCE (Formation Continue en Europe) Programme which deals with the development of continuous professional training. Its aims are to encourage further investment in continued professional education, to encourage innovation in this field and to develop ways of keeping abreast of changes in the European labour market. FORCE will have a duration of four years starting in 1991. The budget allocated for the period 1991-92 is 24m ecus (£18m).

EC support for Special Olympics. An accord between the Commission and the European Summer Special Olympics 1990 will be signed at the Commission's London Office on June 6 at 1130hrs. The signing will be followed by a press conference. Signing on behalf of the Games will be Bill Hughes, Chairman and Chief Executive of Grampian Holdings and past Chairman of the CBI Scotland. Signing on behalf of the European Commission will be Kenneth Munro, head of the office in Scotland.
The 1990 Summer Games - for young people with a mental handicap - will be the second European Games (the first were held in Dublin in 1985) and around 3,000 athletes from 30 European countries will travel to Strathclyde, making this one of the biggest participant sporting events ever seen in Scotland. HRH the Duke of Edinburgh has accepted the invitation to become Honorary Patron of the Games and will be pre-sent at the opening ceremony to be held at Celtic Park, Glasgow, on July 21. A team of runners from Strath-clyde Police are to carry the Special Olympics Flame on a 6,000 kilometre journey across Europe from Greece to Scotland.
Reduced cost of EC compliance. Commissioner Antonio Cardoso e Cunha told EC Industry Ministers, meeting in Brussels on Monday, that the Commission intends reducing the cost to small and medium-sized companies of complying with EC rules and said it would study all existing and future legislation to identify the areas where the costs are unacceptably high. He mentioned, in this context, the Commission's new propos-als for VAT collection which he said imposed a particularly low cost on small and medium-sized companies. Member States also agreed to a resolution to study their own laws: changing or amending those where the cost on businesses are too high and those which are out of date or unintelligible.
The Europe Week in Northamptonshire is to take place from June 4-10 and will focus on business and training, agriculture and financial services. The European Community Mobile Information Unit will visit Daventry, Corby, Kettering and Northampton. Details from Alison Parry, Planning and Transportation De-partment, Northampton NN1 2HZ. Tel: 0604-236762.
Health and Safety Directives adopted. Two more directives on safety and health at work have cleared the last hurdle in the Community law-making process. On Tuesday, the Ministers of Social Affairs adopted the texts of Directives laying down the minimum requirements of safety and health concerning, respectively, the manual handling of loads and work with visual display units.

Conference and Diary Dates.

English-Speaking Union Seminar. "Environmental Policy post 1992 : implications for the UK". Tues-day, June 12. Seminar fee £70. Speakers include Margaret Brusasco, Head of International Affairs Division of DGXI of the European Commission. Details from Dene Newman, Current Affairs Unit, The ESU, Dart-mouth House, 37 Charles Street, London W1X 8AB. Tel: 071-493 3328. " Winning the trade battle in greater Europe", is the theme of a two-day Conference on June 21-22 at the Grange Park Hotel, Willerby, Near Hull, North Humberside. Speakers include Sir John Harvey-Jones. Details from Miss Margaret Nolan, Beverley Training Services, Beverley College, Gallows Lane, Beverley, North Humberside HU17 7DT. Tel: 0482-868362.
"Widening the Community Circle?" Problems and prospects for further enlargement of the European Community. A two-day conference at the University of Kent, Canterbury, June 25-26, organised by the Uni-versity Association for Contemporary European Studies. For details contact Eva Evans, UACES Secretariat, Kings College, Strand, London WC2R 2LS. Tel: 071-240 0206.
"Why don't Governments do what business wants them to?" A two- day seminar, 27-29 June, at Wis-ton House, Steyning, West Sussex, organised by the European Centre for Public Affairs. Speakers in-clude Commission Vice-President Sir Leon Brittan. Details from Adrienne Pratt, ECPA, Templeton College, Oxford OX1 5NY. Tel: 0865-735422. Fax: 0865-736374.
"Building a new Europe - the way to wider union" a one-day conference on June 29 at the Commis-sion's London Office. Looks at questions of widening and deepening the EC and the future economic order and security system needed for the whole of Europe. Speakers comprise politicians, experts and officials from both East and West Europe. Organised by the Federal Trust for Education and Research. For details contact Judy Keep on 071-839 6625.
Future Directions for the European Community: EMU and Political Union. A major international sym-posium organised by the Royal Institute of International Affairs. At Chatham House, London on July 6. De-tails from RIIA, 10 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LE. Tel:071-930 2233. Fax: 071-839 3593.
Environment Council 7 June Luxembourg
ECO/FIN Council 11 June Luxembourg
Agriculture Council 11-12 June Luxembourg
European Parliament 11-15 June Strasbourg
General Affairs Council 18-19 June Luxembourg
Transport Council 18-19 June Luxembourg
Informal Agriculture Ministers18-19 June Dromoland Castle
Internal Market Council 20 June Luxembourg
European Council 25-26 June Dublin Castle
Our next briefing will be on Thursday, June 7 at 1130hrs.
Contact: Rpbert Elphick, 071-222 8122

LOAD-DATE: May 31, 1990

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Origin Universal News Services Limited, 1990

26 of 26 DOCUMENTS

Financial Times (London,England)

July 9, 1988, Saturday

BYLINE: Maggie Urry

SECTION: SECTION I; UK News; Pg. 5

LENGTH: 74 words

Retailers were unaware of and unprepared for the enormous changes in the business environment that would result from a single European market in 1992, according to Mr Tom Spencer, an executive director of the European Centre for Public Affairs, Templeton College, Oxford, writes Maggie Urry. He was addressing retailers at a conference on the internationalisation of retailing held by Coopers & Lybrand, the international accountancy firm.

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

Talk:European Centre for Public Affairs

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