Brief items for which space was lacking in earlier editions
*** EU/Austria: Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands did not invite the Austrian Ambassador to the dinner she organises each year for foreign diplomats, due to the freeze in bilateral contacts of Fourteen EU countries vis-à-vis Austria, said a spokesperson for the foreign ministry. In Germany, Chancellor Schroeder told the television that there was "no reason to make the decision taken by the fourteen relative", observing: "People around us fear that it should become a German problem. And I cannot see any measure that would place Germany in that situation". However, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Bundestag, Social-Democrat Klose, considered that bilateral sanctions were in breach of the spirit and letter of the EU Treaty.
*** Euro/Britain: Addressing the James Meade Lecture a the London School of Economics on 8 May, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, said he understood the "the great difficulties that the current fall of the euro is causing for British industry". According to him, "such a sterling-euro exchange rate cannot be justified by any view of log-term economic fundamentals".
*** EU/French Presidency: In an interview published in "Le Figaro" on 9 May, the Chairman of the EU Delegation at the French National Assembly, Alain Barrau, said, regarding the future French Presidency of the EU Council that "we fully back the government's stated will to take on this presidency with modesty and pragmatism", not only because "our partners may be quick as condemning a form of 'French arrogance'", but also because "the power of a Presidency is not a power to command".
*** EP/Combating crime: The OVP member of the EP, Hubert Pirker, represented the European Parliament at the high-level conference on crime prevention that was held in Portugal, and, on that occasion, presented on behalf of the EP's Committee on Home Affairs and Justice, a paper making the proposal of stepping up sanctions, especially regarding the freezing or confiscation of dirty money. In his paper, Mr. Pirker, also placed emphasis on closer cooperation between the Chemicals industry and the fight against drugs.
*** EP/Afghanistan: Following a meeting with Oreza Asharaf, Afghan refugee in Pakistan who chairs the organisation Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan, Euro-MP Luisa Morgantini (Italian, United Left) called on the EU to promote the convening of an international conference on Afghanistan.
**** EP/Sri Lanka: British conservatives Geoffrey Van Orden and Nirj Deva have called for the Tamil Tigers to be "proscribed in Britain under the prevention of terrorism legislation", considering it "unacceptable that organisations that support terrorism should be a major have a fund-raising capability in Britain and Continental European countries, leaning on the Tamil dispora".
*** EP/Scotland: Following a visit to Scotland by the Liberal Group in the EP, Scottish Euro-MP Graham Watson said that the Group wanted to work with the Scottish Parliament and Scottish NGOs, especially in looking at how EYU funds were spent there. According to him, innovative projects to combat social exclusion (like the Craigmillar project which the Group visited) could provide ideas which could be tried out elsewhere in Europe.
*** EP/Georgia: Ursula Schleleicher (German EPP), head of the EP delegation for the EU/Georgia Parliamentary Committee strongly backed the Georgian MPs who adopted a resolution calling for the intervention of courts against the outgoing Georgian Government, accused of corruption.
*** EP/Schuman Declaration: For the 50th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, the "Best Barman of France" 1978, Rene Revol, invented in Montelimar, at the request of Euro-MP Thierry Cornillet (French EPP) a "Europe" cocktail coloured blue and yellow with a star: the cocktail (that Mr. Revol intend officially patenting contains curacao, anis liqueur and green apple, the juice of pilco lemon and gin, as well as a piece of carambole, a fruit in the form of a star.
*** Europe/Press: Former European Commissioner Karel Van Miert has become a member of the Board of Administration of the of the Belgian media group "De Persogorep", which publishes, among other things, the Flemish Socialist newspaper "De Morgen" and that controls half the capital of of the Belgian Flemish television station VTM.
*** Europe/liberal professions: CEPLIS (European Council of the Liberal Professions) organised a conference on 5 May on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in which in particular Mr. Stoodley, for the European Commission took part, as did Mr. Koukiadis for the EP, and Mr. Lagerholm for the Economic and Social Committee. CEPLIS is organising its next conference, on continuous training, in Brussels in September.