Items for which space could not be found last week
*** EMU: The European Central Bank has stepped up its calls for a further rise in interest rates over the past few weeks. In particular, Ernst Welteka, President of the Bundesbank, affirmed that a brake should be put on inflation as soon as possible to ensure stable growth.
*** Europol: Europol Director Jürgen Storbeck last week visited Belgium where he discussed with Interior and Justice Ministers Antoine Duquesne and Marc Verwilghen on the question of widening the tasks of Europol.
*** WTO/UN: Miguel Rodriguez, Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organisation, wrote to Mary Robinson, High UN Commissioner for Human Rights, to express his "deep concern" about the report approved by the United Nations sub-commission on human rights in which the WTO is described as a "nightmare" for developing countries (see News of the Week of 23 August). The Reuters Agency, in Geneva, reports that the letter was sent at the initiative of WTO Director General Mike Moor, and that Mr Rodriguez affirms in the letter that the views of the report's two authors in no way correspond to those of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
*** Cloning/United Kingdom: La Repubblica of 25 August publishes an interview with Professor Liam Donaldson, Director General for Health in the United Kingdom who advised the British government in the matter of authorisation of human embryo cloning for therapeutic purposes. "If the bill is passed, the United Kingdom will be at the fore in scientific research", said Professor Donaldson who added he trusted the British report would be taken as a basis for directing the debate in Europe. He said he would be available for clarification or discussion on the issue if required.
*** Immigration/Denmark: Danish Interior Minister Karen Jespersen states she plans to place in isolation on an island all asylum seekers who commit crimes, reports AFP. She said this is to deter those who, under the pretext of seeking asylum, come to Denmark solely to commit crime. She alluded to the increased rate of theft and burglary committed by refugees from Eastern Europe, mainly from Russia, Georgia and Armenia.
*** France/taxation: French Finance Minister Laurent Fabius announced, in an article published on 25 August by Le Monde entitled "de la nécessité de la stabcroissance", that he will be presenting over the next few days a plan for tax relief and reform that should be the "largest over the past fifty years". In his view, "the burden and the breakdown" of taxation is a "major handicap" for the French economy.
*** Yugoslavia/elections: Mira Markovic, President Milosevic's wife, who heads the Yugoslav Left (one of the coalition parties in power) is candidate for the Yugoslav legislative elections to be held 24 September. The same day, Slobodan Milosevic will run for presidential election, to be held for the first time by direct suffrage, following the recent and highly disputed revision of the Constitution.
*** Albania/elections: With a view to local elections scheduled for 1 October, the ICG (International Crisis Group) has published a document in which it expresses the hope that a serious effort of monitoring will be made by the OSCE and NGOs in order to contribute to an authentically democratic result of this consultation. According to the ICG, Albanian voters are, "in the absence of a viable alternative", invited to choose on this occasion local representatives "accountable to two leaders associated with the political uncertainty and upheavals of the recent past".
*** Zimbabwe: During the recent meeting of the Dialogue International for Southern Africa, it was decided an international conference should be organised on southern African soil, following the serious crisis caused by land reform in Zimbabwe. The Dialogue spokesperson, Mr Sibanda, pointed out that the question of compensation and indemnities will above all be discussed on this occasion, and that the peoples native of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand will also be invited to the conference.
*** Europe/students: The Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l'Europe (AEGEE) announces it is to present to the European and national institutions a report on the results of the Borderless Europe Rally organised this summer throughout Europe, and that the results will be assessed during the conference to close the project in April 2001 in Cluj-Napoca, in Transylvania. The AEGEE points out that, in twenty days, the twenty-three participants ran 800 kilometres, crossed more than twenty borders, "and met their and others physical and psychological borders".