The Week in Europe 29/04-06/05/02

EU news in brief

Commission defines a framework for the relations between the EU and Denmark in the implementation of common visa, asylum and immigration policies as well as other issues related to the free movement of persons

The European Commission has held an orientation debate on the eventual participation of Denmark in Community measures on which it does not have an opt-in. The political guidelines approved indicates the four following areas where for reasons of good administration there would be a Community interest in the participation of Denmark: the Dublin and Eurodac acquis (on the mechanisms and criteria for determining the Member States responsible for considering an application for asylum), the Regulations "Brussels I" (jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgements in civil and commercial matters) and "Transmission of judicial and extra-judicial documents".

[Background paper IP/02/643]

EU reaches stabilisation target for greenhouse gas emissions in 2000

The European Environment Agency published the European Union's greenhouse gas emissions figures for the year 2000. They show that the EU has met its commitment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to stabilise its emissions by the year 2000. Greenhouse gas emissions in the EU in 2000 were 3.5% lower than in the base year 1990. Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström welcomed the report: "This is good news. It also shows that the EU has made progress towards reaching our Kyoto target of minus 8%." She added however: "It is worrying though that emissions rose slightly between 1999 and 2000 - we need to reverse this trend again. Many Member States still have to make substantial efforts to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions." The EEA's press release is available at the following website:

http://org.eea.eu.int/documents/newsreleases/greenhouse_gas_emission

[Background paper IP/02/636]

The Commission's proposals for the 2003 budget: sound balance between financing new tasks and budgetary discipline

The Commission adopted its budget proposals for 2003 (Preliminary Draft Budget). At just over €98 billion in payments, the proposed 2.7% increase for 2003 over 2002 is lower than the announced average increase of the member states' budgets. The proposed 2003 budget stays well under the financial planning ceiling for the EU budget in the Agenda 2000. Compared to this ceiling the proposed budget saves € 4,7 billion and accounts for 1.03% of the EU's gross national income.

[Background paper IP/02/639]

Clearer wine labelling rules adopted

The European Commission adopted new rules for the labelling of wine. The rules lay down what information must be shown on labels from 1 January 2003, such as alcoholic strength, lot number or the name of the bottler. In addition, the use of certain optional terms, such as production methods, traditional expressions, names of the vineyard or the vintage year is regulated. This decision also introduces arrangements for the protection of traditional expressions used to describe wine, including the language in which the terms are used. 'Vintage' is for example only reserved as regards its use for liqueur wines, but there is no restriction on its use for ordinary still wines. The rules distinguish between traditional expressions that fulfil a set of specifications and traditional expressions relating a wine to a certain geographical indication. Provisions applying to third country wines marketed in the EU are also outlined. The decision harmonises disparate approaches across the EU which existed for different types of wine. Now the same labelling approach will apply for all wines and wine products.

[Background paper IP/02/648]

Brussels Economic Forum opens with a public debate on economic outlook and policies

Pedro Solbes, European Commissioner for economic and monetary affairs opened the third Brussels Economic Forum with a speech on the functioning and future of economic policy co-ordination in the Union. The Forum has since its launch in May 1999 developed into one of the most important European meeting places for leading academics and policy makers in the economic field in Europe. This year it started with a public debate of the Commission's spring economic forecasts and the Broad Economic Policy Guidelines. The next day two special topics were covered: equity markets and enlargement. The Forum was open to the press. The full programme of the Forum can be found on:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/economy_finance/events/2002/events_brussels_020502_en.htm

President Prodi welcomes new international initiative for Mideast Peace

Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, welcomed the result of the 'Quartet' meeting on the Mideast held in Washington, D.C., on 2 May. The Quartet comprises the European Union, the United States, the Russian Federation and the United Nations. It was agreed to work over the next few weeks on a set of principles to form the basis of a meeting in the early summer to resume the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

President Romano Prodi said: 'This is precisely the result I had called for in all my contacts with the parties, Arab leaders and President Putin. At the EU-US summit, which preceded the quartet meeting, we agreed with President George W. Bush on this way forward. The European Commission will do its utmost to support these efforts to secure a lasting peace in the Middle East.' Also see: White House transcript of the press conference

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/05/20020502-9.html

Commission proposes EU-wide recognition of family law rulings to tackle child abduction

The European Commission adopted a proposal to complete the legal framework for the mutual recognition of judgments on divorce and parental responsibility throughout the European Union. The aim of this Proposal is to discourage child abduction within the EU by establishing a mechanism for the return of abducted children through cooperation between the courts and authorities of the EU's Member States. The abduction of children in disputed custody cases across EU borders is a growing problem which causes appalling distress to the children and parents concerned.

[Background paper IP/02/654]

Commission launches consultation on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations ("Rome II")

The European Commission launched a consultation on a preliminary draft proposal for a Council regulation which aims at harmonising the rules with respect of the law applicable to non-contractual obligations ("Rome II"). This initiative is part of the work under progress within the European Union in order to develop a genuine area of freedom and justice. Its objective is to ensure that courts of all Member States apply the same law to cross border disputes on non-contractual obligations, thus facilitating the mutual recognition of judicial decisions throughout the European Union. The text can be found at the following address: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/justice_home/index_fr.htm. Contributions to the debate may be sent to JAI-coop-jud-civil@cec.eu.int before 15 September.

[Background paper IP/02/650]

Vice-President de Palacio optimistic for a transatlantic common aviation area

Loyola de Palacio expressed her optimism on the possibilities to reach agreements with the United States on the bilateral relations in air transport. During her official trip in the United States, where she met Michael P. Jackson, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, she raised several crucial points on Air Transport and pleaded for a deeper co-operation between both sides of Atlantic. Asked on the consequences of the long-awaited Court of Justice ruling on open-skies agreement, she declared: "The American Administration is well aware that the court outcome shall mean that, in any case, there is a negotiation to be made. I think they are really considering the possibility not only to negotiate this EU-US open skies, but maybe to go a little bit forward."

[Background paper IP/02/649]

With more than 20 000 "Europass" training documents distributed, the European training pathways are a success

The European Commission has just adopted a report taking stock for the first time of its "European training pathways" initiative, which came into operation at the beginning of 2000. Designed to promote the mobility of persons in training, improve employment prospects for young people and raise the quality and attractiveness of vocational education and training, these pathways allow persons undergoing work-linked training, including apprenticeships, to do a period of training in another Member State. A "Europass Training" document certifies this pathway. 20 000 "Europass" documents have been issued over the past two years for training courses of between 3 and 15 weeks, mostly to young people under the age of 23 years.

Detailed information and links with the national contact points may be found at the following Internet address:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/europass/index_en.html

[Background paper IP/02/651]

Eurostat news releases

March 2002 - Euro-zone unemployment stable at 8.4%; EU15 steady at 7.6%

Euro-zone seasonally-adjusted unemployment stood at 8.4% in March 2002 unchanged compared to February, Eurostat reports. It was 8.3% in March 2001. The EU15 unemployment rate was 7.6% in March unchanged compared to February. It was also 7.6% in March 2001. In March 2002, the lowest rates were registered in the Netherlands (2.4% in February), Luxembourg (2.6%), Austria (4.0%), Denmark (4.1%), Portugal (4.3%), and Ireland (4.4%). Spain's 12.9% remained the EU's highest rate.

[Background paper STAT/02/53]

Enlargement news

Negotiations on schedule, says Verheugen

"The negotiations are on schedule," claimed European Enlargement Commissioner Guenter Verheugen in a speech to a Brussels conference on enlargement on April 25. He foresaw good prospects for a clear run at the major outstanding chapters in the second half of 2002: common EU positions should be agreed by mid-year on all of these finance-related chapters, including agriculture, in line with the EU's timetable; and meanwhile, there was a good chance that nearly all the other earlier chapters would be closed by then with the leading candidates, so that attention could be concentrated on finalising negotiations by the end of 2002.

"It appears that we might be able to close the circle from Copenhagen to Copenhagen," he said, alluding to the Copenhagen European Council in 1993, where the three accession criteria were established, and to the forthcoming Copenhagen summit this December. In late October, the European Council under the Danish presidency will turn its attention to the regular progress reports for 2002 and the Commission's specific recommendations as to the countries with which negotiations should be concluded. This, he said, will clear the way for final stage of negotiations to begin before the European Council meets again in Copenhagen in the middle of December.

The Commissioner acknowledged the size of the challenge still ahead: "This process has never been easy and we come now to the point where some difficult questions still have to be solved: the institutional chapter and the chapters with financial implications - agriculture, regional policy and budget." But he was reassuring as to the chances of success: "If some people think that we are just now tackling the difficult points, then I must remind them that we have already solved some issues, which were at least as complex as the upcoming ones," he said, instancing the sensitive questions of free movement of workers or the purchase of land.

But the Commissioner also went out of his way to reassure Bulgaria and Romania, the two currently negotiating candidates who are explicitly not foreseen as being ready to conclude their accession talks by the end of the year. The objective is to open negotiations on all chapters with them in 2002. And, as he told the Romanian President, also present at the conference: "My message to you, Mr President Iliescu, is the same that I passed to the Bulgarian government some days ago: Romania and Bulgaria will not be forgotten or left behind!" For these two countries, and "for all countries with which negotiations cannot be concluded by the end of this year", the Commission will propose an enhanced pre-accession strategy and a precise road map with the objective to further speed up the negotiations, Verheugen promised.

The Commissioner also offered encouragement to Turkey "to continue efforts towards complying with the economic and political accession criteria, emphasising in particular the issue of human rights," now that European Council has agreed to a new phase of Turkey's pre-accession strategy, with detailed scrutiny of its legislation and preparation for alignment with the EU acquis.

And on Cyprus he said he was now "cautiously optimistic" over prospects for resolving the current split between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. He said that "both chief negotiators engaged in the ongoing direct talks are determined and committed in their desire to arrive at a lasting political solution", and he urged both sides to pursue these talks constructively and to exploit the opportunity to agree "before the accession negotiations are concluded at the end of this year".

Forecasts for growth in candidate countries

Following the recent European Commission review of the macro-economic performance of the candidate countries (see Week in Europe of April 22), Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes this week presented the Commission's economic forecasts for the candidates. The weak economic development in the region in the second half of 2001 weighs heavily on the average growth rate in the current year, despite the accelerating recovery, the forecast says, but it predicts that an expected return to normal external and domestic developments should make it possible to reach 4% average growth in 2003. Employment losses should be progressively compensated by higher employment creation and should lead to a slightly improved overall labour market situation in 2003. And the acceleration of export demand in 2002 and 2003 should prevent a significant deterioration of external balances.

Snapshot of the key findings and predictions of the forecasts:

Overall - The early recovery in the USA is also pushing up world growth somewhat in 2002. After a sharp contraction of export market growth in 2001, due to the slowdown in the EU, particularly in Germany, market growth for candidate countries is expected to be somewhat higher in 2002 and would more than double in 2003. Growth rates are expected to converge more across countries, as domestic factors which currently have a negative effect on growth are assumed to converge gradually, while the external environment improves. Domestic demand growth is likely to accelerate, as its contribution to growth should become positive again in all countries. In particular, investment should be able to recover, in line with improving economic perspectives and accelerating external demand. But domestic economic developments are a source of uncertainty in the two biggest candidate countries in 2002. There are no clear signs yet of a recovery in Poland, despite a relaxation of fiscal and monetary policies in 2001. The Central Bank has been bringing down interest rates from very high levels, but because of the simultaneous slowdown of inflation, real interest rates remain relatively high. Because the external environment is not expected to improve sharply, the recovery in Poland is likely to be slow. In Turkey, the recovery seems to be on track, but big uncertainties continue to exist.

The overall positive trend is expected to lead to moderate employment growth and a small reduction of the average unemployment rate in 2003. But unemployment rates are likely to continue to show a very wide variation, ranging from 3.9% in Cyprus to 19.6% in Poland in 2003.

External deficits are likely to deteriorate, as stronger domestic demand, including investment, will push up imports faster than the improving external environment can support exports. Current account deficits remain relatively high in a number of countries. However, these countries should be able to continue to attract sufficient inflows of non-debt creating capital, in particular through foreign direct investment, to finance these deficits.

Czech Republic - In 2001, GDP growth accelerated to 3.6%, but showed signs of a deceleration towards the end of the year. The impact of last year's global economic slowdown on the Czech economy will be limited and only felt with a certain time lag. GDP in 2002 is forecast to grow at a somewhat slower pace than in 2001 but it should accelerate again in 2003 if the external environment improves. Structural imbalances in public budgets and on the labour markets are seen as the key policy concerns. For other countries se Enlargement Weekly at

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/docs/newsletter/weekly_300402.htm

Nuclear safety a priority for the candidate countries

European Commission Vice-President for Transport and Energy, Loyola de Palacio, told the European Parliament's industry and energy committee on April 22: "In an enlarged Europe nuclear safety must not be neglected by either the Commission or the member states." She said the Commission felt that eight nuclear reactors in the candidate countries should be closed down because their safety standards had not been upgraded. But this inevitably gave rise to problems. On the one hand, there was an unwillingness to carry the cost of closing down nuclear plants. There was also the difficulty of finding alternative energy sources - since some candidate countries depend on nuclear power for 80% of their energy. The lack of uniform standards in the candidate countries as well as the EU meant that EU rules were needed, she said - and they should be drawn up before enlargement. The Commissioner also told MEPs that Commission energy policy plans for 2003 included as a priority the transposition of the acquis communautaire by the candidate countries in areas such as energy, the trans-European networks and bio-fuels.

Central Europe "doing better" on human rights

More than 150 government representatives and international experts from Europe, Central Asia and North America gathered in Warsaw on 23 April to discuss how the protection of human rights can be improved through judicial reform. The three-day meeting was organised by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. "This meeting provides a good opportunity to take stock of where the OSCE countries stand in reforming their judicial systems," said ODIHR director Ambassador Gérard Stoudmann. "Functioning judiciaries, on which both individuals and legal entities can rely, are not only of greatest importance for a democratic society and the protection of human rights, but also a precondition for economic stability," according to the OSCE, and key challenges include assuring independence and integrity of the judiciary, access to justice for minorities, the poor, and other vulnerable groups, and rebuilding judicial systems. But, it observes, "remarkable progress has been made during the past decade, in particular in central Europe".

Enlargement at the heart of Danish Presidency

Danish foreign minister Per Stig Mřller has underlined the priority that enlargement represents for the upcoming Danish Presidency of the European Union, in the second half of this year. And Denmark has added a visual element to its commitment: the logo that will symbolise the Danish Presidency, formally presented for the first time last week, depicts the concentric rings of the trunk of an oak tree, symbolising EU enlargement.

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