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e-zine nEUws, 42nd edition
e-zine nEUws, 42nd edition
12 January 2005
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Dates to keep in mind
Firstly, we thought that you might like an overview of the EU Presidencies:
Currently, Luxembourg holds the Presidency of the European Union. It took over from the Netherlands on January, 1st 2005. The United Kingdom will hold the Presidency in the second half of 2005, i.e. from July till December. Austria will take over in the first half of 2006, followed by Finland, which brings us to 2007 with Germany and Portugal leading the Union.
The Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union has already published its priorities for its term. These are of course more a guideline than a fixed agenda and can therefore be modified according to upcoming necessities.
To start with, a short overview of what Luxembourg intends to focus on:
A first priority will be the so-called “Lisbon process”, which intends to give the EU the means necessary to becoming a “knowledge-based society with a competitive economy able to meet the social and environmental expectations of its citizens”. A European Council meeting in March will conduct an interim review of the process.
In addition to this, Luxembourg intends to focus on the completion of the internal market, examine the stability and growth pact and deal with the financial perspectives of the Union between 2007 and 2013.
For more detailed information, as well as to follow the work of the presidency, please visit:
http://www.eu2005.lu
Bush in Brussels
February, 22nd 2005
US President George W. Bush will be visiting the Council of the EU in Brussels in February. Details of the visit will be published when the visit draws nearer.
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In short
EU Donor Atlas, Mapping Official Development Assistance
2005 will be a challenging year for the development Community. There will be a “taking stock” of the progress made on the Millennium Development Goals and on the promises made in Monterrey and Johannesburg.
In spite of the availability of an overwhelming amount of statistics on development-issues, often produced on a regular basis and coming from a large number of important institutions, there are not many statistics that can be readily used in the framework of discussions and actions in the area of coordination and complementarity. The EU has therefore published the “EU Donor Atlas”, seen as a first step to counterbalance the “lack of consolidated information on what donors do”.
For the atlas, go to:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/tmp_docs/Donor_Atlas.pdf#zoom=100
“Natali Prize” for journalism - a prize for excellence in reporting on human rights, democracy and development issues
The Natali Prize was created in 1992 by the European Union to promote quality in journalism and to commemorate the devotion of Lorenzo Natali, the former Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of development cooperation between 1985 and 1989. His work and commitment contributed significantly to increase the importance of development cooperation within the policies of the then European Communities.
The Natali Prize emphasises that the right to information is a prerequisite for freedom of expression. Freedom of information is a prerequisite for democracy, and for sustainable and balanced social and economic development.
The 15 participants who have been nominated will be awarded on January 17th 2005 at the Prize-Giving ceremony in Brussels by Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.
For more information, please go to:
http://www.prixnatali.com/nataliprize/index.php |
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