Brief items for which space was lacking in earlier editions
*** Jacques Delors: Le Figaro of 6 January states that former European Commission President Jacques Delors has decided to write his memoirs (expected to be published in 2001), describing above all his ten years' experience as President of the Commission.
*** EP/North Korea: MEP Olivier Dupuis (elected on the Bonino list) has sharply criticised Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini further to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Italy and North Korea (see EUROPE of 6 January, p. 5). "Rather than calling on the European Union to promote a United Nations initiative to condemn a country responsible for the extermination of more than 3 million people in the last four years", stated the Belgian MEP and Partito Radicale Secretary, Mr Dini has provided "moral backing for a regime which, were the International Criminal Tribunal already in existence, would have to answer for crimes against humanity and genocide". In his view, this "strategy" (with which "we do not at all concur") could eventually be effective if it were an initiative involving all the EU countries, with a single Union representative in Pyongyang.
*** UN/Former Yugoslavia: United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has appointed Italian national Fausto Pocar as a Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, to succeed Antonio Cassese, who resigned recently. Professor Pocar, a member of the UN Human Rights Committee, will serve until 16 November 2000, the remainder of Judge Cassese's term.
*** UN/EU/Population: Joseph Jamie, Director of the United Nations Population Division, has stated that if Europe hopes to maintain the present average proportion of four to five working people to every retired person it will need to admit 159 million immigrants by 2025. Europe (and Japan) should follow the example of North America and Australia and encourage large-scale immigration to alleviate the problem of the ageing of the population. Mr Jamie also noted that by 2050, the population of Germany is expected to decline from 82.2 to 73.3 million inhabitants, and Italy's from 57.3 to 41.2 million (in contrast, the French population will rise slightly, from 58.9 to 59.9 million). A UN study of eight countries (Germany, France, Italy, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Russia and South Korea) is due out in March. In France, the far right reacted violently to this report: It is "totally absurd" and the UN "is overstepping its role", asserted Bruno Mégret, leader of the Mouvement National Républicain, while National Front Secretary General Bruno Gollnisch commented that '"such an influx of foreigners would put an end to the existence of France as a nation".
*** Turkey: Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has announced that he will work for adoption of a constitutional amendment to allow Suleyman Demirel to stand again as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic. The Turkish Parliament will be electing the new president in May. Further, in a report published last Monday, the International Monetary Fund describes the economic stabilisation programme presented by the Turkish Government as "courageous". The programme provides for reducing inflation from around 65% last year to 25% this year and 7% by the end of 2002.
*** Denmark: If elections were held now, the Danish People's Party (far right) led by Pia Kjaersgaard would become the country's third largest party, with 18% voter support and 32 of 179 seats in the Parliament, according to a poll published last Friday by the daily Boersen. The same survey reveals that the Liberals would win the election with 29.5% and 52 seats, and the Social Democrats (currently in office) would have only 23.3% voter support and 41 seats (as against 35.9% and 63 seats in the elections in March 1998).
*** EU/Holidays: According to a poll conducted by the Dutch tourism body ANWB, the Dutch take more holidays than any other EU citizens. Some 80% of inhabitants of the Netherlands take holidays at least once a year, followed by the Germans (76%), French (67%) and Belgians (61%). In contrast, only 40% of the Portuguese and Greeks take yearly holidays. According to the same poll, the Austrians spend the most on holidays, followed by the Belgians, Danes and the Dutch.
*** United States/Foreign policy/Cyprus: The White House annual report on US foreign policy lists among its priorities for the year 2000 the normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations, calling in particular for progress on the Aegean and Cyprus.
*** Russia: Boris Yeltsin, questioned last week (upon his departure for Israel) about his future role, declared: "I see myself as the first President of Russia". And his former spokesman, Mr Yakuchkin, said in this connection in a radio interview: "Do not say ex-President, but rather, first President of Russia".