The foreign ministers of Germany and Serbia said that they were hoping that the Balkan nation would soon be able to sign up to a key aid and trade pact with the European Union. Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said that his country had already fulfilled the EU's conditions for the agreement, which is seen as the first formal step on the road to EU membership. "We very much hope this is going to become the reality come January 28, and if not January 28 at the next earliest opportunity," said Jeremic on Thursday, Jan. 10. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also agreed that the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on that date was the ideal time for signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).
Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said that his country had already fulfilled the EU's conditions for the agreement, which is seen as the first formal step on the road to EU membership.
"We very much hope this is going to become the reality come January 28, and if not January 28 at the next earliest opportunity," said Jeremic on Thursday, Jan. 10.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also agreed that the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on that date was the ideal time for signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has public television and radio stations within its targets once again, this time with the launch of a public consultation on the future of state broadcasters. The commission announced the consultation process on Thursday (10 January). It marks the start of a comprehensive review of the state of the sector since the adoption of its 2001 broadcasting communication. The commission said in a statement that it hopes the review will build on the fundamental principles of the financing of public service broadcasting as laid down in European Community law, but also be able to clearly define what a public service mission is and limit state aid to "what is necessary for the fulfilment of this mission." Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes said: "There are many ways the present broadcasting communication can usefully be improved to increase transparency and legal certainty."
[crickets, tumbleweed and TV static...]
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Croatia needs to speed up the pace of its reforms or it risks becoming a full EU member only after 2011, the MEP in charge of the dossier has warned. In his last report, Austrian Socialist MEP Hannes Swoboda set 2009 as a target date for finalising EU negotiations with Zagreb and 2011 as the year when Croatia could become a full EU member. But while "six months ago, this was very likely to happen," today, the probability of Croatia respecting this time-frame is only "20 to 30 percent", Mr Swoboda told EUobserver. The country still has a chance of finalising its accession negotiations early next year. Then around one and a half years would be needed for ratification of the accession document by member states for it to join the bloc in 2011.
Pope Benedict once declared that the trial against Galileo was reasonable and just, contradicting the later position of John Paul II who apologized for the trial. The present papal administration has undertaken a campaign against what it calls ideological science, such as "evolutionism". Science that does not have as its core axiom a curious concept known as True Reason is to be condemned as ideological and false. True Reason is apparently based on revelation of which the Church is the sole custodian. Science that denies Intelligent Design is false science.
Italy's trash problem isn't new -- which is why the country began exporting thousands of tons of garbage every day. Much of it ends up in Germany. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has an awkward problem. In Naples, the trash is piling up -- and all of Europe is pressuring him to find a solution. The trash is no longer just blocking the streets of the southern Italian city, but it is also being exported to other countries on a massive scale, mainly to Germany. PHOTO GALLERY: THE GARBAGE BATTLE OF NAPLES Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (17 Photos) Prodi's frustration is palpable. He says he wants to end "once and for all" a situation that for the last 14 years has returned again and again. Above all he would like Italy to be completely "self-sufficient in terms of garbage disposal." In other words, Italy must find an internal solution to its trash problem -- without help from abroad. But he has said that before. Almost a year ago, Prodi said there needed to be an end to the "trains of shame." The reference was to the trains that have been heading north to German incinerators for the last seven years -- each one made up of 22 cars loaded down with 500 to 600 tons of household waste.
Italy's trash problem isn't new -- which is why the country began exporting thousands of tons of garbage every day. Much of it ends up in Germany.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has an awkward problem. In Naples, the trash is piling up -- and all of Europe is pressuring him to find a solution. The trash is no longer just blocking the streets of the southern Italian city, but it is also being exported to other countries on a massive scale, mainly to Germany.
PHOTO GALLERY: THE GARBAGE BATTLE OF NAPLES
Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (17 Photos) Prodi's frustration is palpable. He says he wants to end "once and for all" a situation that for the last 14 years has returned again and again. Above all he would like Italy to be completely "self-sufficient in terms of garbage disposal." In other words, Italy must find an internal solution to its trash problem -- without help from abroad.
But he has said that before. Almost a year ago, Prodi said there needed to be an end to the "trains of shame." The reference was to the trains that have been heading north to German incinerators for the last seven years -- each one made up of 22 cars loaded down with 500 to 600 tons of household waste.
The Naples garbage crisis has not only spilled into surrounding areas and other Italian cities, it has managed to make it into Germany. However, the garbage has been officially received, albeit grudgingly. Germany has stepped in to help resolve the Naples rubbish crisis by accepting 30,000 tons of household waste from the Italian city. The port of Bremerhaven plans to dispose of the rubbish, just under a third of the total amount of waste which has piled up on the streets of Naples and its surrounding Campania region over the last two weeks. However, a spokesperson for the city government made it clear that the burning of the rubbish in a local waste incinerator would not become a regular occurrence and that Bremerhaven was not entering the international disposal business. "It was a one-off case of emergency aid," the spokesperson said. "It will not be extended." The 30,000 tons will be disposed of over the next six months. Bremerhaven has already dealt with 8,000 tons since local officials gave permission for the disposal action at the end of last year. The waste is transported by train from Italy to Germany.
Germany has stepped in to help resolve the Naples rubbish crisis by accepting 30,000 tons of household waste from the Italian city. The port of Bremerhaven plans to dispose of the rubbish, just under a third of the total amount of waste which has piled up on the streets of Naples and its surrounding Campania region over the last two weeks.
However, a spokesperson for the city government made it clear that the burning of the rubbish in a local waste incinerator would not become a regular occurrence and that Bremerhaven was not entering the international disposal business. "It was a one-off case of emergency aid," the spokesperson said. "It will not be extended."
The 30,000 tons will be disposed of over the next six months. Bremerhaven has already dealt with 8,000 tons since local officials gave permission for the disposal action at the end of last year. The waste is transported by train from Italy to Germany.
The reference was to the trains that have been heading north to German incinerators for the last seven years
Why can't German incinerators be set up in Naples, or at least in Italy, where the trash can be taken care of there? Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
Incinerators also have to be built and functioning. Given that they have been heavily financed and approved at all levels for years, the fact that they haven't been built indicates that permanent emergency, like perpetual war, is very profitable for most everyone- Germany included.
As far as Neapolitan victimism goes, to hell with it.
Serbia's electoral commission has barred US and British observers from monitoring its presidential elections in protest over the countries' support for Kosovan independence. A member of the commission from the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Slavoljub Milenkovic, said yesterday that the US and Britain would be prevented from sending monitors for the 20 January elections "because their countries want to destroy us and grab Kosovo away from Serbia". The US and most EU nations back independence for Kosovo, which is populated by some two million ethnic Albanians. It has been run by the UN since 1999, when a Nato bombing campaign forced Belgrade to end its crackdown on an armed insurgency of Kosovan Albanians. After more than two years of internationally sponsored negotiations, Serbia, backed by Russia, still fiercely opposes the imminent independence of Kosovo and has refused any solution other than broad autonomy. Belgrade did not react yesterday to a report in The New York Times that claimed the US and Germany have agreed to recognise the independence of Kosovo, and will push the rest of the EU to follow suit after the outcome of the Serbian presidential elections, the second round of which is to be held on 3 February.
Serbia's electoral commission has barred US and British observers from monitoring its presidential elections in protest over the countries' support for Kosovan independence.
A member of the commission from the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Slavoljub Milenkovic, said yesterday that the US and Britain would be prevented from sending monitors for the 20 January elections "because their countries want to destroy us and grab Kosovo away from Serbia".
The US and most EU nations back independence for Kosovo, which is populated by some two million ethnic Albanians. It has been run by the UN since 1999, when a Nato bombing campaign forced Belgrade to end its crackdown on an armed insurgency of Kosovan Albanians.
After more than two years of internationally sponsored negotiations, Serbia, backed by Russia, still fiercely opposes the imminent independence of Kosovo and has refused any solution other than broad autonomy. Belgrade did not react yesterday to a report in The New York Times that claimed the US and Germany have agreed to recognise the independence of Kosovo, and will push the rest of the EU to follow suit after the outcome of the Serbian presidential elections, the second round of which is to be held on 3 February.
Meat and milk from cloned animals pose no special health risks, a draft report by the European Food Safety Agency issued on Friday concluded, a first step toward the eventual sale of such products within the European Union. "It is very unlikely that any difference exists in terms of food safety between food products originating from clones and their progeny compared with those derived from conventionally bred animals," the report says. The report acknowledged that cloned animals were prone to more diseases than conventionally bred animals, but said that humans would not suffer because unhealthy clones would be excluded from the food supply chain as is the case with conventionally bred animals. The decision prompted an immediate outcry from environmental groups, who are already at odds with the agency over its conclusion that there is "no evidence" that genetically modified crops pose a health or environmental risk.
Meat and milk from cloned animals pose no special health risks, a draft report by the European Food Safety Agency issued on Friday concluded, a first step toward the eventual sale of such products within the European Union.
"It is very unlikely that any difference exists in terms of food safety between food products originating from clones and their progeny compared with those derived from conventionally bred animals," the report says.
The report acknowledged that cloned animals were prone to more diseases than conventionally bred animals, but said that humans would not suffer because unhealthy clones would be excluded from the food supply chain as is the case with conventionally bred animals.
The decision prompted an immediate outcry from environmental groups, who are already at odds with the agency over its conclusion that there is "no evidence" that genetically modified crops pose a health or environmental risk.
From a production point of view, where is the advantage ? I would have thought that genetic variety was safer and less disease prone in the long term.
The problem is that the more genetically homogeneous a population is, the greater the susceptibility to any pathogen that gets into it - the standard risk of monocultures. Also, a production-enhancing change in a genome can come at the expense of some feature that promotes hardiness. The production advantage is that producers hope the new, less hardy creatures will produce either more product, more valuable product (e.g. leaner meat) or the same product in a shorter time. "Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut
its conclusion that there is "no evidence" that genetically modified crops pose a health or environmental risk.
As we are all so fond of reminding each other: "Absence of evidence does not equal evidence of absence." "Ideas or the lack of them can cause disease." - Kurt Vonnegut
FRANKFURT: Can Europe's economy stay on track even if the United States goes off the rails? This old question is being asked with new urgency across the Continent, after a startling divergence this week in how the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve are reading the economic tea leaves. The answer, according to a growing number of economists, is that Europe is not as insulated from America's woes as many Europeans would like to believe. They question why, at such a fragile moment, the European Central Bank is warning that it might raise interest rates. The Federal Reserve signaled it would cut rates further to try to ward off a recession. "The ECB sees the glass as half full; the Fed sees it as half empty," said Thomas Mayer, the chief European economist at Deutsche Bank. "It's not a difference in the data; it's a difference in the analysis."
FRANKFURT: Can Europe's economy stay on track even if the United States goes off the rails?
This old question is being asked with new urgency across the Continent, after a startling divergence this week in how the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve are reading the economic tea leaves.
The answer, according to a growing number of economists, is that Europe is not as insulated from America's woes as many Europeans would like to believe. They question why, at such a fragile moment, the European Central Bank is warning that it might raise interest rates.
The Federal Reserve signaled it would cut rates further to try to ward off a recession.
"The ECB sees the glass as half full; the Fed sees it as half empty," said Thomas Mayer, the chief European economist at Deutsche Bank. "It's not a difference in the data; it's a difference in the analysis."
For more than 30 years, Spain's victorious athletes have had to resort to humming their national anthem. The lyrics for the "Royal March" which were written in General Franco's era were dropped in 1975 because of their associations with his dictatorship. But now the Spanish Olympic Committee has announced the results of a competition to find new words. The anthem was to be revealed by the tenor, Placido Domingo, but the lyrics were leaked to a newspaper on Friday
The lyrics for the "Royal March" which were written in General Franco's era were dropped in 1975 because of their associations with his dictatorship.
But now the Spanish Olympic Committee has announced the results of a competition to find new words.
The anthem was to be revealed by the tenor, Placido Domingo, but the lyrics were leaked to a newspaper on Friday
The anthem also says all the "right" things to try to make it palatable to the "peripheral nationalists". Expect this to be a major sticking point in the coming General Election as the PP reverts to its Franquista roots.
The video was shot at Madrid's Plaza Mayor.
The Treasury has recruited the former boss of Lloyd's insurance market, Ron Sandler, to lead Northern Rock, should the troubled bank be nationalised. A decision could be taken within days, says BBC business editor Robert Peston. According to bankers close to the Rock, the Treasury has a fully developed plan to own and manage the bank, should a commercial solution be impossible. Mr Sandler is widely regarded as having restored confidence in Lloyd's after its years in financial disarray.
A decision could be taken within days, says BBC business editor Robert Peston.
According to bankers close to the Rock, the Treasury has a fully developed plan to own and manage the bank, should a commercial solution be impossible.
Mr Sandler is widely regarded as having restored confidence in Lloyd's after its years in financial disarray.
The Bank of England knew Northern Rock was technically insolvent some time in August. There should have been an intervention by the Central Bank back then, together with a deposit guarantee by the Treasury and a forensic accounting investigation by the FSA as banking regulator. 5 months ago.
Bah. We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
Does anyone believe it won't be?
I wonder how much of the loan will be disappeared once it's handed over to the Treasury?
ThatBritGuy:
