1.
LIONEL JOSPIN SUPPORTS EU INITIATIVE ON TOBIN TAX:
French Prime
Minister, Lionel Jospin, referring to the Tobin tax (on exchange
operations intended to put a brake on speculation) stated that he
was in favor of France proposing that the European Union takes an
initiative on this matter at the international level. The
first objective is to stop the erratic flow of capital, which led
to the ruin of East Asia, Russia and Brazil, without losing sight
of other positive fall-outs of such a tax. For instance, it
would release very large sums of money - the amount varying
according to its scope and percentage rate - that could be used
for social, ecological and cultural purposes. In the Council of
Finance Ministers (Ecofin) that will be held at Liege, Belgium on
the 22 and 23 September, France will advocate so that the EU
demand the FMI and the OCDE “to study” the possibility
of taxing the speculation on currency. Laurent Fabius,
the French Minister for the Economy and Finance, had said that he
is working on the proposal to tax international arms sales, as an
alternative to the Tobin Tax. “The United States,
Great Britain and France alone represent 80% of such exports.
With such a tax, by making development aid contingent on peace,
we would be making a double blow in favour of the poor countries”,
he said.
2.
FUTURE OF EUROPE
European Commission President Romano Prodi is pressing for the constitution of a supranational government” he stresses that Europe must accept the challenge of a new culture of peace, overcoming the myth of absolute State sovereignty and build itself as a supranational government through democracy, dialogue, the vote and the free exchange of opinions. He notes that the European idea of European integration in respect of minorities and diversities escapes the political leaders who are preoccupied by the defense of national interests.
On his side, French President,
Jacques Chirac would like EU’s weight in the world to be
strengthened and is in favor of a Constitution as from 2004.
He proposes extending the field of the EU’s external actions
to issues with a “strong international dimension” such
as migration, refugees, combating crime, drugs and prostitution.
Chirac also called for the adaptation of European institutions to
encourage the search for common positions to ensure that the
European Union reaches a complementary nature between the
different actors: Presidency, High Representative for external
policy and the European Commission.
3.
NEW AGENCY CREATED IN AFRICA TO ATTRACT INVESTORS
Seven
African nations Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi
and Malawi signed up to a World Bank funded Africa Trade
Insurance (ATI) Agency at this week’s meeting in the Ugandan
capital, Kampala. The agency aims to stimulate
foreign investment by providing cover for non-commercial hazards
for exports to, from and within Africa. The agency is
the first of its kind in Africa. It will give many
businesses the confidence to trade knowing that they will be safe
from losses caused by coups, wars or currency fluctuations.
It is hoped that more countries across the continent will join
once the agency grows stronger and successful. Africa is
sliding deeper and deeper into poverty as rich investors and
policy-makers continue to sideline it. Yet foreign
investment is vital for its development, Africa receives less
than two percent of global direct foreign investment although it
is home to 12 % of the world’s population. (Source: IPS news
08/25/01)
4.
THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM
The World Conference against
Racism Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
takes place in Durban, South Africa from 31 August to 7 September
2001. The World Conference against Racism will focus on
action-oriented and practical steps to eradicate racism,
including measures of prevention, education and protection and
the provision of effective remedies. The Commission will lead the
European Community delegation to Durban and will be headed by
Commissioner Diamantopoulou who is responsible for employment and
social affairs, including the fight against racism. The
Commission has prepared a contribution to the World Conference in
a communication adopted on 1 June 2001. This document summarises
the measures that have already been taken in the European Union
to combat racism, and demonstrates what can be achieved by a
group of states acting together at a regional level.
5.
IN BRIEF
The end of the
meeting between President of the EU Council of Ministers, Louis
Michel, and Cuban president Fidel Castro confirmed the will of
the parties to engage in political dialogue without
preconditions. The EU is seeking mechanisms to improve dialogue,
but will not achieve it until the Cuban government shows some
intention of liberating political prisoners or the abolition of
death penalty. As long as human rights are not respected in
Cuba, ties between Europe and Cuba risk becoming an element of
disorder. For the Cuban press in Miami, the visit by the
Council President was a failure, “Belgian Foreign Minister
Returns Empty Handed” was the headline of Monday’s El
Nuevo Herald of Miami.
Regional
negotiating machinery in the Caribbean under stress: when the
Caribbean Community set up its Regional Negotiating Machinery
(RNM) four years ago, the initiative was meant to be an answer to
member states’ problems in handling international trade
agreements. Now the organisation appears to be in acute
financial distress, battered by members’ debts. For
the first few years, the RNM took on several sets of negotiations
simultaneously with the WTO, the nascent Free Trade Area of the
Americas. With the EU, the RNM also won praise from the ACP
countries for playing the lead role in negotiations with the EU
on a successor programme to the Lome aid and trade scheme for
former European colonies.