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News Wednesday 1st October 2008

General Election Results in Austria

The major political forces in the country - the Social Democrat (SPÖ) and the People's Party (ÖVP) - both members of the outgoing government coalition led by Alfred Gusenbauer (SPÖ) suffered badly under the electorate's hand in the general elections that were held in Austria on 28th September. The Social Democrat Party did however come out ahead and won 29.71% and 58 seats (-10 in comparison with the general elections on 1st October 2006). It was followed by the People's Part led by outgoing Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer which won 25.61% of the vote and 50 seats (-16). The Social Democrat Party achieved its highest results in Burgenland (40.42%) and in Vienna (35.78%); the People's Party rose to over 30% of the vote in the Vorarlberg (31.07%), in the Tyrol (30.87%) and in Lower Austria (31.94%).
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Debate in the Finnish Parliament on the European defence policy – Helsinki, 30th September 2008

As part of the French Presidency of the EU, Jean-Dominique Giuliani, chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation is taking part in a debate entitled "The EU on the international scene: what means for what goals?" on 30th September in the Finnish Parliament. Debate will focus on the CFSP, the consequences of enlargement, EU relations with the USA, China and Africa.

Demography, Immigration, Integration (1st part)

A few days before the European Council on 15th and 16th October next which should lead to the adoption of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum proposed by France, the Robert Schuman Foundation dedicates three “European Issues” to an in-depth analysis on demography, immigration and integration. This week the study led by Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, Research Director at the CNRS with the help of Raimondo Cagiano de Azevedo, gives us an insight of demographic trends in the European Union and in the Member States. The author will then analyse European answers in terms of migration (6th October) and finally assess the various experiences of integration policies witnessed in the European Union (13th October).
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Editorial by Jean-Dominique Giuliani: “Urgency means confidence”

In the present context of financial crisis the Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation has published an editorial in which he shows the only matter of urgency is to "win back confidence". The Member States of the EU must act together with the support of and in association with the European Central Bank. In his opinion we need to show the credibility and the usefulness of the construction of Europe during this time of crisis.
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Women and Europe

On 2nd July the Robert Schuman Foundation and the association "Femmes, Débat et Société organised under the high patronage of the President of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, the banner of the French Presidency and with the support of the European Commission, an international conference "Women for Europe". This week we have published the report, the videos and the photos of this conference.
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Europe Live

General elections
Austria
The Social Democrat Party (SPÖ), the ÖVP's partner in the outgoing government coalition took the lead in the early general elections that took place... Immigration
Council
27 European Home/Immigration Ministers met on 25th September and agreed on the European Immigration and Asylum Pact. The Pact will now be submitted... Financial Market
Parliament
On 23rd September two initiative reports demanding the Commission to legislate in the area of financial market supervision were adopted by MEPs. The... France/Universities
Studies/Reports
The German Society for Foreign Policy (DGAP) published a study on 24th September on the reform of universities in France. Author, Harald Schraeder... Energy
Denmark
According to statistics from the Danish Energy Authority, the share of energy emanating from renewable sources such as wind and biomass rose from... Romania
Ireland
From 22nd to 24th September Irish President Mary McAleese was in Romania on a State visit. She was the guest of her Romanian counterpart Traian... India
Eurostat
According to Eurostat estimations published for the EU-India Summit on 29th September trade between the EU and India more than doubled between 2000... Agriculture
Presidency
The 27 European Agriculture Ministers who met informally from 21st to 23rd September accepted the French proposal to launch debate on the future... Diplomacy
UK
On 22nd September British Foreign Minister, David Miliband spoke at length on the UK's foreign policy. He notably spoke of the situation in Georgia,... Exhibition/Germany
Culture
The Jewish Museum in Berlin welcomed an exhibition for the first time in Germany on the hundreds of objects and works of art that were confiscated by... Recession
Ireland
The Irish GDP decreased in the second quarter in comparison with the previous one for the second time running said the Central Statistics Office on... Jacques Barrot
France
EuropaNova has invited Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission for Justice, Freedom and Security to a citizen's audition on 2nd... No referendum
Austria
A resolution to modify the Constitution was delivered on 24th September by the far right party (FPÖ) which planned for the obligatory use of the... Literature/Germany
Culture
From 24th September to 5th October the International Literature Festival will take place in Berlin. Around one hundred authors will host some 230... Membership
Serbia
On 24th September Serb Prime Minister, Mirko Cvetkovic, Home Minister, Ivia Dacic and the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn met in... Citizenship
Commission
The European Commission has launched a new information campaign designed for citizens to inform them of their rights as they are defined in the EU... Bavaria
Germany
The Social Christian Union (CSU), the Bavarian ally of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) led by by Chancellor Angela Merkel lost its absolute... Energy
Studies/Reports
On 22nd September McKinsey & Company, a business consulting company released a report in Brussels on the techniques to capture and store CO2.... Geopolitics
Publications
The French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) has published its 2009 issue of Ramses, the world's "annual report on the economic system and... General Assembly
UN
From 23rd to 29th September the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly took place. Food and energy crises and the turbulence on the banking markets... Industry
Eurostat
According to figures published by Eurostat on 23rd September in July 2008 in comparison with June the euro area industrial new orders index grew by... Budget
Spain
The Spanish government which is facing a severe slowing in the country's economic growth adopted an "austere" draft budget 2009 on 26th September.... EU/Mission
Georgia
The EU has started to deploy its observers as part of its mission in Georgia that will start its work on October 1st. The number of observers has... Robert Schuman
Publications
The publishing house Fayard has just released an historical biography of "Robert Schuman" by François Roth, emeritus university professor of the... SMS/Tariffs
Commission
On 22nd September the European Commission suggested a decrease in SMS roaming prices to a total of 60% as from July 1st 2009. Europeans travelling in... Sciences/Technologies
Commission
On 24th September the European Commission proposed a European strategy for international scientific and technological co-operation notably with... Security
Italy
On 23rd September Jacques Barrot, Vice-President of the European Commission for Justice, Freedom and Security declared that the European Commission... Treaty ratified
Italia
Italian deputies have voted at the unanimity on july, 31th the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, just one week after the positive vote from the... European Elections
Eurobarometer
According to a Eurobarometer survey published on 25th September, 16% of the Europeans interviewed between March and May 2008 knew that the next... Security
UK
On 25th September British Home Minister Jacqui Smith presented the prototype of the biometric ID card that will be delivered as from November to... Telecoms
Parliament
On 24th September MEPs adopted three reports in view of the revision of the Telecoms Package. In order to achieve better consumer protection and to... Employment
Studies/Reports
On 22nd September the Commission published its quarterly report on the labour market in the EU. The report bears witness to a slowing in employment... Internet
Commission
As part of a re-examination of access to universal service as planned in the directive on universal services 2003 the European Commission published a... Georgia
Council of Europe
From 23rd to 25th September a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) travelled to Russia and Georgia on a... People/Europe
Publications
Publisud has published a bilingual work by Elin Bengtsson and Carolin Boudergue entitled "We the peoples of Europe-Les bonnes pratiques qui font... Maritime Security
Parliament
On 23rd September MEPs adopted six reports in the so-called Erika III package that aims to improve maritime transport security. These texts focus on... Lisbon Treaty
Studies/Reports
The European Policy Institute Network (EPIN) has published a study by Piotr Maciej Kaczynski, Sebastien Kurpas and Peadar ó Broin on "The... Terrorism
Parliament
On 23rd September MEPs adopted two reports aiming to fight against terrorism more effectively. The consultative report by Roselyne Lefrançois (PSE,... Budget
Sweden
The Swedish government presented its draft 2009 budget on 22nd September. Reforms rising to a total of 32 billion crowns have been planned to relieve... Competitiveness/Space
Council
The 27 Ministers responsible for Competitiveness and Space met on 25th and 26th September to debate the means for sustainable consumption and... Multilingualism
Commission
On 26th September the European Language Day took place - the aim was to enhance the cultural heritage of European languages. In Paris the European... Corruption
Studies/Reports
On 23rd September the organisation Transparency International published its annual report on corruption in the world. Using its Corruption... Biomarine
Foundation
As part of the French Presidency of the EU the first Biomarine Forum will take place in Toulon and in Marseilles from 20th to 24th October. This... Interim Government
Belgium
Outgoing Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt succeeded in reaching agreement on 19th December to form an interim government until 23rd March next... Budget
France
On 26th September the French government adopted a "crisis" budget for 2009. In a threatening economic situation this is designed to help employment... Elections/Austria
Foundation
The major political forces in the country - the Social Democrat (SPÖ) and the People's Party (ÖVP) - both members of the outgoing government... Resignation
UK
British Transport Minister Ruth Kelly is to leave government "for family reasons" announced Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 24th September. Energy
Auditors Court
On 23rd September the European Auditors' Court published an assessment report of the "Intelligent Energy for Europe" Programme between 2003 and 2006.... Economy
France
French President Nicolas Sarkozy defended the economic policy undertaken by his government on 25th September. He acknowledged the size of the... EU/USA
Commission
On 24th September José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission gave a speech to the University of Harvard (USA) in which he called for a... Security
Germany
On 24th September German Home Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble presented the Bundestag with the future guidelines for the EU's internal security policy... UN
Georgia
On 23rd Septebmer Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili exhorted the UN not to allow Russia to flout its principles. He said that the Russian... Financial Market
Germany
On 22nd September German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded increased transparency of the international financial markets and the establishment of... EU/Foreign Policy
Foundation
As part of the French Presidency of the EU, Jean-Dominique Giuliani, chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation is taking part in a debate entitled... General Elections
Belarus
The Belarusians voted on 28th September to elect their representatives; turn out was high: 75.3%. According to the chair of the Central Election... Fortis
Belgium
The Belgian government met on 28th September together with the European banking authorities to try and find a solution to the crisis experienced by... Immigration
Studies/Reports
The Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS) has just published a report on the effects of the free circulation of workers from the new... Future?
Belgium
Belgian Prime Minister, Yves Leterme received the massive support of his party (CD&V) on 27th September with regard to starting major negotiations...

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