MISCELLANEOUS

THE European Commission is going to spend millions of euros to prevent English becoming the de facto official language of the European Union, and to shore up the use of French. The Commission has been pushed into the plan by the French, who are concerned that the language of Molière will become marginalised after the EU's enlargement to 25 countries in May. Language usage is one of the most politically sensitive issues in the EU, with French national pride bruised by the rise of English. The Commission is undertaking a huge recruitment drive from the ten countries joining the EU, and has found that 83 per cent of the new staff speak English and just 24 per cent, French. At present all Commission employees must speak their mother tongue plus one other EU language, which is generally English. The Commission has agreed that all new employees must learn a third language, usually French, before they can be promoted. The Commission will pay for the training for the third language, which will be required of about 5,000 staff by 2008. This is in addition to an existing French government scheme that is paying for civil servants in Eastern Europe to learn French. The new staff regulations are set to be approved by national governments before coming into force in May when the new member states join. It will increase the amount that the Commission spends on language training to nearly €5 million (£3.5 million) a year. Christopher Heaton-Harris, a Conservative MEP, said: "We're talking millions and millions of pounds here for a bizarre element of national pride. It's a mad idea and a huge waste of money. Why are the French so concerned about their language when they have already given up their currency?" The regulations were also criticised by employee representatives. "We don't like the firm link between learning a third language and getting promotion," Alan Hick, president of the Union Syndicale, the main staff union, said. English is the most popular second language in most of the Eastern European countries joining the EU, with French fourth behind Russian and German. After enlargement the number of official languages in the EU will increase from 11 to 20, putting a huge burden on the interpretation and translation service. With 11 languages the number of cross-translations is 110, but with 20 languages it rises to an unmanageable 380. The translation and interpretation services cost €700 million a year, and their availability will be cut back to prevent the cost exceeding €1 billion a year. Interpretation will be available only at the highest-level meetings. (The Times January 09, 2004 )  

Council workers have mounted an official protest over plans to take down  the British and English flags at seafront locations in Torquay and Paignton.  The ruling Liberal Democrats also want to take down the St George's flag  and Union flag at the Town Hall in Torquay.  They would be replaced by the EU flag and "rotated" so the St George's and   Union flags will fly for part of the week and the European one for the rest.  The news came in a memo to council staff from director of strategic  services Tim Whitehead on behalf of council leader Cllr Chris Harris and  deputy leader Cllr Andrea Colborne.  One worker said: "We object to being told we must have the Euro flag.  "They might want it but why should it be stuffed down our throats?"  It is understood the Town Hall "keepers" refused to carry out the switch.  And a staff petition was started which quickly gathered more than 130 names.  They plan to present the petition to council managing director Richard Painter. (This Is South Devon 24/10/03 ) The council workers from Torquay who are refusing to replace the flag  of St George with the EU flag are behaving correctly.  According to guidance issued by the Department for Culture, Media and  Sport, the only day that it is appropriate to fly the EU flag is May 9,  Europe Day, when it may appear alongside the Union Flag. (Letter to The Times  October 28, 2003)

Puppy farms, a reference to those who breed their dogs indiscriminately twice a year for massive profit, are becoming a major national scandal in Ireland. After the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, many Irish farmers were given grants by the EU to diversify into tourism or animal rearing, leading to a large increase in puppy farms. As the dogs are much cheaper to buy in Ireland , they are being shipped to Scotland where dealers can make a profit passing them off as pedigree animals. Cork 's SPCA successfully prosecuted two breeders in the past year. One was found guilty of cruelly treating 67 dogs by keeping them in poor conditions where they were being bred in boxes with no light or contact with humans. He was fined £250. Another person in Dublin recently was fined £1000, jailed for three months, and banned from keeping dogs for 40 years for a similar offence. In the UK , anyone starting up in animal breeding must be licensed under the Breeding and Sales of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999. However, campaigners say legislation is inadequate to protect the welfare of animals and to stop puppies being brought into the country. ( Glasgow Herald 18/8/03 )

The head of a German insect museum has been told to count every one of his thousands of creepy crawlies. An annual 50,000 visitors come to the Insect World exhibition, in Steinhude, which boasts more than 100 kinds of insects. They include ants, butterflies, cockroaches, crickets, spiders, cockroaches and centipedes. The head of the museum, Hilmar Lehman, has received an official notification saying the museum is to be classed as a zoo under new EU legislation. Since he exhibits "more than five species of wild animals", Lehman is now obliged to keep a detailed log of how many insects are kept at his museum. He has asked for permission to at least only give the number of ant types rather than individual ants he has on display. (Ananova 18th August 2003)

London has dropped two places from eighth to 10th in the list of the world's most expensive cities. Although it is still dear, it has been overtaken by Paris as the EU's most expensive city, according to a new study, because the cost of living in the euro zone has been driven up by the strengthening single currency. The study examines the price of a range of items - from cars to CDs and cinema tickets - in all corners of the world. It shows that London 's prices are no longer as prohibitive for overseas visitors as they once were. With the Danish currency shadowing the euro, Copenhagen emerges as Europe 's costliest city and the sixth most expensive in the world. It came in at number 17 last year. The survey, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, shows that Oslo , Zurich , Copenhagen , Geneva , Paris and Reykjavik are all now more expensive than London - ending the days when bargain hunters could take a weekend shopping break on the Continent. Now the report's authors suggest we should head across the Atlantic , where prices are dipping slightly. New York has dropped from seventh place to 13th in the table. William Ridgers, editor of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, said: "It is time to cancel the trip to Paris and go to New York instead. "As the euro has appreciated in the past 12 months it has become relatively-more expensive to buy goods in the euro zone. It is now more expensive for Londoners to visit cities in the euro zone compared with a year ago, whereas all the cities in America and Canada have fallen." London 's high ranking disguises some significant price variations. Mr Ridgers explained: "There are some areas in which London is among the cheapest in Europe . Supermarkets have to compete fiercely here and prices compare favourably with the rest of Europe and even America . The 10 most expensive cities in the world are: Tokyo , Osaka , Oslo , Zurich , Hong Kong , Copenhagen , Geneva , Paris , Reykjavik and London . (Evening Standard 29 July 2003 )  

A training school for Italian TV showgirls is being funded with £900,000 of European Union money, it emerged today. The cash has been earmarked to train 97 girls in how to wear a bikini, dance, sing and put on their makeup. It works out at just under £10,000 per bikini - more than twice the average cost of a year's tuition at an Italian acting school. Details of the school emerged only hours before Italy 's embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was due to address officials on how he plans to use his six months as EU president. Italian TV is awash with programmes featuring scantily-clad women appearing on quizzes and football talk shows. Viewers may expect to see more of the same after the 97 prospective students have completed their 10-month training period. The 600 hours is divided up into 180 of theory and 420 of practice. Classes take place in Frattomaggiore, near Naples , which has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe . Training will only take place for three hours a day and the girls who take part will also be paid £5 towards expenses. The company awarded the funding, First Tel, is run by Antonio Del Prete, Gennaro Iannuzzi and Pietro Vittorelli. Today none of the men was available for comment but the local regional council was adamant the money was not being wasted. A spokesman for the authority said: "Far from training showgirls the money will be used to teach aspiring female entertainers." ( 02/07/03 Evening Standard)

The Italian Gaming Board is worried about a "Proposal for Regulation" currently going through the European Parliament. It says that at the very least it should be changed into a "Proposal for Directive", because Directives have to be converted into national laws, whereas regulations come into force as soon as they are passed. Current law in Italy bans children from betting, doing the pools, playing the lottery etc., whereas the Proposal for Regulation does not. The Regulation itself deals with gaming as a sales weapon. It seems that you can - say - buy fifty bottles of coca-cola and become eligible for a £5,000 prize draw. There is no upper limit on the prizes, as their is under current (national) legislation. And this would all be swept away at a stroke. Finally (leaving aside purely local, Italian considerations), anyone can offer gambling as a sales tool: whether supermarkets (and corner shops could not possibly compete) or multinational corporations. (e-mail from Italy 21/7/03 )

118+ for directory enquiries is EU the standard, as is 112 for emergency services (to be used in tandem with existing local variants, like our own 999).  (e-mail from JBF 24 March 2003)   

A spokeswoman for the Electoral Commission said, "Gibraltar will be added to either Wales or one of the English regions, but consideration of this issue is still at an early stage. "We shall be making a recommendation to the Lord Chancellor later this year after an extensive consultation exercise." A spokesman for the Lord Chancellor's Department said, "A Bill is currently going through Parliament, after which the Electoral Commission will look into the matter. (Jan 14 2003 The Western Mail)

BRITAIN'S 60,000 pigeon fanciers face losing their birds under a new EU law. The European Commission has ruled that all medicines given to livestock must be prescribed by vets. The aim is to prevent animal antibiotics entering the human food chain. But it will price many pensioner pigeon racers - who use cheap off-the-shelf remedies to treat their birds - out of their sport. Labour Euro MP Glyn Ford, who wants pigeons exempted from the directive, said: "It's mad to call them livestock. People use them for racing, not food." (The People 16/1/03)

European Commission statisticians have decided that Britain is not an island. They say an island can not have fewer than 50 permanent residents, can not be attached to the mainland by a rigid structure, can not be less than a kilometre from a mainland and, crucially in the case of Britain, can not be home to the capital of an EU state. Their study has raised fears that Anglesey and Skye, which are linked by bridges, and Lundy, which has a population of 18, could lose their island status. Paul Roberts, Lundy's general manager, said: "It's an absolute nonsense to say we are not an island. "Lundy means 'Puffin Island' in Norse and nothing can take that away from us." (Daily Telegraph 23/01/2003)

The Spanish government is to offer Spanish nationality to persons of Spanish extraction in South America -- and the queues are already forming at Spanish embassies. With Spanish passports, these people can come to Spain -- or any other EU country. In effect, it's as if the Spanish government could offer British citizenship to Argentinians. (January 2003 Roger Helmer's electronic newsletter from Brussels, rhelmer@europarl.eu.int)

The Pope is planning to "break Catholic resistance" to EU membership. On 8th December, he called on European leaders to conclude negotiations on accession as quickly as possible; on 9th December, in Brussels, the Commission of Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union published a declaration designed to – in Le Monde’s words – "break the last resistance of Catholics in certain candidate countries like Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Malta." The text says that enlargement is a "historic opportunity" and that bishops should confront the scepticism towards the EU which is common in rural, conservative and Catholic areas, although the text also contains the usual bromides about making sure that the process of integration respects "national identities and the diversity of cultural traditions". A press release about the Bishops’ statement, entitled "Hope, Trust, Solidarity", can be viewed at http://www.conferenciaepiscopal.es/actividades/2002/diciembre_10.htm#3.

A Brussels safety committee has taken all the fun out of children's chemistry sets, dumbing down science in the process. (BBC R4 Today 12/12/02)

Relations between Europe and the United States have soured because European politicians and bureaucrats instinctively and reflexively oppose the concept of national sovereignty. To these self-anointed elites, the United States is acting like an international outlaw because America has the gall to make unilateral decisions. The Iraq issue is a good example. Europeans are upset because the United States appears poised to take military action against Iraq's dictator. But they are not defending Saddam Hussein or arguing military action is completely wrong. Instead, they claim military action is only appropriate if there is approval from the United Nations- even though this "lowest-common-denominator" process inevitably will protect the interests of tyrants and thugs. (The Washington Times November 12, 2002)

Gibraltar rejects shared sovereignty - Spanish foreign minister: "The Gibraltar issue has a very negative influence on the whole of the European construction" An overwhelming 98.97 percent of the inhabitants of Gibraltar voted "No" to the principle of Britain sharing the rock's sovereignty with Spain. The result was expected but leaves UK foreign secretary Jack Straw with a problem and caused bitter comments from Spain. (EU Observer 08.11.2002)

Notice put out by Brighton and Hove Council: Call for Tenders :Gender Impact of Municipal Waste Policy Title: Study into Gender-Differentiated Impacts of Municipal Waste Management Planning in the European Union Reference :ENV.A.2/ETU/2002/0059 Official Journal S135 13 July 2002 Contracting Authority: European Commission, DG Environment Description :This is a call for tenders for undertaking a pilot study which will focus on a specific area of European waste policy relevant to gender mainstreaming issues, namely the subject of waste management planning. The objectives of the study are: A. to analyse whether, and to what extent, waste management planning within the EU, in particular at local authority level, impacts upon the local community differently according to gender and to what extent gender-differentiated impact is taken into account during the stages of designing and implementing waste plans; and B. to assess whether, in the light of analysis carried out for objective (A) above, current frameworks for waste management planning design and implementation within the EU are sufficiently suited to take into account their effects on the respective situation of women and men. The pilot study should be considered as an integral step towards the mainstreaming of gender issues in waste policy in the EU. Project Duration: 12 months Available Funding: The maximum budget for the project is EUR45,000 Deadline : For submission of tenders - 17 September 2002. (25/9/02 Daniel Hannan MEP's Conservative Euro Briefing)

The taxpayer funded staff health scheme for EU employees is now offering free Viagra to all. (BBC R4 9/8/02)

Once again, MEPs are locked in negotiations over their pay and perks. The national governments are seeking to end the scandalous system whereby Euro-MPs get travel reimbursement at a rate which they could not possibly have spent on their tickets. The sums involved can be huge: a Member who travels by the cheapest route he can find will easily make £1,000 a week in clear profit ­ tax-free, of course, since it counts as an expense, not as income. For 20 years, MEPs have voted down every attempt to reimburse travel on the basis of actual costs incurred. In each of the last three budgets, I and others have sought to bring in such a change: each time, we have been heavily defeated. Now, with the 15 member states demanding reform, some MEPs are getting edgy. Many are even prepared to give up their travel perks. But, in return, they want a number of compensatory benefits. First, a hike ­ at least for most of them ­ in their basic salary. Second, a substantial increase in their other expenses, such as the daily attendance allowance. Third, to be taxed at EU rather than national rates, as Commissioners and other EU employees are. (22 Aug 2002 Daniel Hannan's Euro briefing)

Peter Hain's interview on Gibraltar yesterday with the Spanish daily El Pals was a mixture of desperation and bravado. The Government is obviously desperate to get rid of the Rock, in the hope of thereby sealing a new strategic relationship with Spain. Having run aground over the nature of co-sovereignty and the status of the military base, it is trying to refloat the talks by seeking to reassure Madrid. The Minister for Europe held out the prospect of signing a joint declaration on co-sovereignty in the autumn. He said it would have to be permanent, that is, not a staging-post on the way to full Spanish sovereignty. But he added that it could be superseded by a subsequent accord: "A permanent agreement is an agreement which lasts until something else takes its place." Mr Hain suggested that the Gibraltar base could be converted into a Nato facility under British control but open to all members of the alliance. That, in practice, is the situation today, except that Spain chooses not to make use of it. What the Government means by a "?Nato base" is unclear. Seeking to calm Spanish fears about Gibraltar rejecting an Anglo-Spanish deal in a referendum, Mr Hain hinted that some time could elapse between the deal and the referendum, in order to allow the inhabitants of the colony time to reflect on the magnitude of the proposed change. What he did not say was that the interval would also give Britain and Spain time to wear down Gibraltarian resistance through attrition, and would allay Madrid's fears that an early referendum could send a dangerous signal to secessionists in the Basque country. Finally, Mr Hain told El Pals that any referendum held unilaterally by the Rock in the meantime would not be recognised. In other words, the Government treats with contempt the wish of Gibraltar to remain wholly British. Spain might well decide to hold out for more: It could hardly be blamed for that. Tony Blair, Jack Straw, his Foreign Secretary, and Mr Hain are hell-bent on sacrificing Gibraltar to the dubious prize of an Anglo-Spanish axis within the European Union. (The Daily Telegraph Friday, July 26, 2002 )

Since 1981 EC Directives have prescribed the start and end dates of summer time in all Member States. There have to date been eight Directives which have set summer-time arrangements for fixed periods. The Summer Time Act 1972 sets the appropriate dates in the UK and summer-time orders have been made as necessary to implement the European Directives. The 9th EC Directive prescribes the start and end dates of summer time as the last Sundays in March and October respectively. These dates are in line with those already operating in the United Kingdom. The 9th Directive provides that these start and end dates should apply indefinitely. Implementation of the 9th Directive in the UK is through an Order in Council under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, which will amend the relevant sections of the Summer Time Act 1972. The Order (10Kb) will come into force on 11 March 2002. A Regulatory Impact Assessment and Transposition Note were produced in conjunction with the laying of the Order. (Home Office website 3 Apr 2002)

 INTERREG IIIA is a European Union funding programme which aims to stimulate co-operation between regions divided by an international border. The money comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The aim of the Franco-British INTERREG IIIA Programme is to develop transfrontier co-operation between eligible areas in South East England and Northern France. The eligible area for the programme consists of 4 British counties/unitaries and 4 French Départements: 1) Brighton and Hove - Nord (Nord - Pas de Calais). 2) East Sussex - Pas-de-Calais (Nord – Pas de Calais). 3) Kent - Seine-Maritime (Haute Normandie). 4) Medway - Somme (Picardie). http://www.local-regions.dtlr.gov.uk/go/go_se.htm

THE Israeli Government has accused Yassir Arafat of secretly using aid from the European Union to finance terrorist attacks. As pressure increased steadily on the Israelis to negotiate with Mr Arafat, officials maintained that documents seized during last month’s military raids across the West Bank provided "damning evidence" that European Union money was indirectly funding suicide-bombing missions. The European Union provides ten million euros (£6.25 million) each month towards the salaries of staff at Mr Arafat’s Palestinian Authority. Much of that money comes from British taxpayers. According to the Israeli authorities, "vast sums" have been covertly channelled from the monthly EU grants to Fatah gunmen and members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. "What is happening here isn’t the fault of the Europeans," said Dani Naveh, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in the Israeli Cabinet. "But it is the way the Palestinians have decided to use EU money — for terror. There are hundreds of terrorists who get their monthly salaries from the Palestinian Authority and, indirectly, from the European Union." The Israeli Government says that papers seized during its West Bank operation also demonstrate that Mr Arafat "was personally involved in the planning and execution" of terrorism. A row between the Israeli authorities and the European Union has been simmering for more than a year. The EU is now the biggest single donor to the Palestinans, and members of Mr Sharon’s Government say that millions of euros which have flooded into the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are being used in part to finance attacks on Israeli civilians. ( The Times May 06, 2002)

The law of this land says that the clocks cannot be changed on Easter Day. They are being this year. Clock changes are now harmonised over the whole EU and UK so I suspect this is a case of EU law overriding UK law. (E-mail from RS 24/3/02)

Gibraltar's government is accusing Europe's leaders of forsaking democratic principles by appearing to back a deal for joint sovereignty between Spain and Britain. Chief Minister Peter Caruana called on Gibraltarians to show their rejection of any such accord by attending a mass rally in the Mediterranean colony on Monday. He insisted that no amount of money would buy local people's support for a deal. The Spanish press has reported the European Union is ready to offer £35 million worth of funding for infrastructure projects as a "sweetener" for the agreement. A draft communique issued by the European Council following this weekend's summit in Barcelona expressed support for efforts by Britain and Spain to reach a "comprehensive agreement" over Gibraltar. Although the Government has pledged a referendum on any deal, many Gibraltarians fear that they are being forced into accepting joint sovereignty. They say it is unacceptable for Britain and Spain to negotiate a framework for the future and then present it to them as a fait accompli. The communique has heightened suspicions on the Rock, which has been a thorn in Anglo-Spanish relations since it was seized by Britain in 1704. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw ... insists that retaining the status quo is not a tolerable option. (Ananover 16th March 2002) The offer by Peter Hain, EU Minister, of £35m of EU money provided Gibraltarians accept the transfer of sovereignty to Spain is shameful. As a part of the EU since 1973 Gibraltar is entitled to funding in the same way as any other part of the EU and without any political strings attached. (Daily Telegraph 20/3/02)

Swiss membership of the UN. This is the first step in a strategy which the Swiss government has set for eventual EU membership: the idea is that public opinion will be softened up by joining relatively harmless international institutions first and then going for the EU. But the Italian paper got it right when it put as its headline, "Goodbye neutrality". Switzerland is therefore likely to become the 190th member of the United Nations in September. The majority was decisive (54.6% to 45.4%) and the turn-out was fairly high at 58%. Eleven cantons and two half-cantons voted Yes; nine cantons and four half-cantons voted No. If one extra half-canton had voted No, the overall result would have been No. The defeat for Swiss sovereignists comes only nine months after their defeat on a referendum about sending armed Swiss soldiers abroad: it had always been one of the most basic principles of Swiss neutrality that its army could not operate on foreign soil. [Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 3rd March 2002]

In a new plan to improve labour mobility across Europe, the EU admitted that 27 times more people move states in America than move between countries in the European Union. According to the plan, "only 225,000 people - or 0.1 percent of the total EU population - have changed official residence between countries in 2000." However, US figures show that 2.7 percent of the American population change states each year - 27 times more. ( "No" Bulletin 14/2/02)

The Mittal affair, we are told, demonstrates the need for parties to be funded by the taxpayer. Politicians can no longer be trusted. Nor, by implication, can voters, who used to be judge and jury when it came to their MPs' misbehaviour. The most curious feature of the whole debate has been the acceptance, even by opponents, of the idea that state funding would reduce sleaze. It is as though money from the Government is somehow intrinsically less corrosive than money raised from the private citizen. One glance across the Channel ought to dispel this notion. Far from cutting down corruption, the nationalisation of party financing on the Continent has encouraged venality. Most straightforwardly, the knowledge that there is a pot of money available lures politicians into all manner of fibs in order to get their hands on it: membership figures are massaged, bogus meetings are held and vicious court battles are fought over who has the "right" to a party's allocation. Such behaviour is so routine that it is barely considered newsworthy. State funding also brings a second, direct form of corruption. Because it is accompanied by prescriptive rules on what constitutes legitimate political activity, politicians are tempted to raise additional resources on the quiet which they can then spend as they wish. France, Italy and Germany have all recently suffered from funding scandals based on clandestine slush funds. The European Parliament, too, sprays cash at its political groups. Much of this finance, according to the Court of Auditors, sluices away into national election campaigns - or even private bank accounts. There is also, however, a more subtle way in which government financing will, over time, debase the polity. When politicians know that they must look to the state for every rise, their attitudes begin to shift. They start to feel that they have more in common with one another than with their respective supporters. They become reluctant - on the greenhouse and stones principle - to expose abuses in other parties. They soon learn to close ranks against newcomers - that is, parties that have not yet qualified for state funding - in defence of their protected position. Worst of all, their own dependence on the state makes them keener as a general political principle on high taxes and state intervention. Perhaps the best example is Belgium, which not only provides its established parties with generous support, but has also made private donations so difficult that they have all but dried up. Belgium, of course, has been the scene of some truly awesome corruption scandals. The Belgian parliament periodically toys with the idea of withdrawing all funds from the Flemish separatist party, Vlaams Blok, arguing that it is inimical to the Belgian state (which it clearly is, since it wants to split the country in two). Since private financing has been all but banned, such a move would effectively proscribe a large political movement. What is most worrying is that this decision is in the hands, not of any judicial body, but of the other political parties. Imagine that Labour and the Liberal Democrats were in a position, by a simple parliamentary vote, to deny all funds to the Tories - perhaps on grounds that Conservative opposition to European integration constituted "xenophobia". You may think that I am scare-mongering. Yet the European Parliament has recently debated precisely such a proposal. Its draft statute for European political parties lays down a number of criteria for recognition, one of which is "acceptance of the principles laid down in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights". The Tories opposed the European Union Charter, partly because of its contents, but mainly because we felt that such matters were none of the EU's business. This stance now threatens to disqualify us. How is this any fairer than private donations? The whole notion of state funding infantilises the electorate. British voters expect to punish impropriety at the ballot box. (D Hannan, Telegraph 24/02/2002)

While the foreign ministers of Spain and Britain talk of good progress in talks about Gibraltar's future, the people of that island insist that they do not want joint sovereignty and want to remain British. The British Government is sending out mixed signals in the dispute, which has dragged on for many years and has held up the EU open airspace agreement. A declaration on the future of Gibraltar is expected to be signed next summer. However, although the Gibraltarians will be able to vote in a referendum, it is said that a No vote will not be taken as an answer. (EUobserver.com 5/2/02) 

The European Union countries are no longer prepared to stand by while Israeli destroys buildings, radio stations and heliports in the occupied areas paid for by European Union taxpayers. The European Commission has calculated that the Israeli attacks have destroyed projects worth, with aid from either the European Union itself or individual member states, 16 billion euros. The European Union is therefore planning to send a formal protest to the Israelis, says Gunnar Wigand, spokesman for the European Commission’s external affairs Commissioner Chris Patten. (EUobserver.com 24/1/02)

January 8, 2002 When two Tunisian men blew themselves up last September in front of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Northern Alliance leader in Afghanistan who later died of his wounds, it set off alarm bells around Europe. Found in the rubble of the explosion were genuine Belgian and French passports, at least two of which had been stolen from Belgian consulates in Europe. The incident highlighted what the police have known for years: Passports and identity cards issued by European Union governments have become the world's most popular travel documents to forge, counterfeit or steal. The Massoud killing and subsequent investigations after the attacks of Sept. 11 also revealed the more worrying fact that fake passports have become important tools for terrorist networks that often operate thousands of kilometers from European borders. "Since 1993 and 1994 we've been overwhelmed with falsified passports," said Willie Bruggeman, deputy director of Europol, the nascent European police office, which on Jan. 1 created a division devoted solely to stolen travel documents. In Belgium, where the problem has been perhaps most acute, the police say that on average about 6,000 fake Belgian travel documents are seized every year. It is impossible to know exactly how many phony European documents are circulating throughout the world, but the police in Belgium cite one ominous indicator. They have compiled a list of 2 million blank travel documents that were stolen in recent years and thus could potentially pass for the real thing once names are filled in. Fake European passports became particularly desirable in the early 1990s when the EU dismantled most of its internal borders. European passports also offer visa-free travel to a large part of the world. Mr. Boucar of the Belgian police said that many criminals use counterfeit Belgian passports exclusively for travel through Asia, Latin America and Africa. "There is a general feeling that an American passport is too dangerous to carry," said Roland Jacquard, a French terrorism expert. U.S. passports are more tricky to forge because the United States has a more centralized issuing system than the EU. Counterfeiters also take advantage of confusion over what an EU passport should look like. EU countries speak with one voice when issuing visas - the Union collectively negotiates reciprocal agreements around the world - but their physical passports can be significantly different. Newer European passports have a host of security features, but because they are different for each country border guards around the world are left confused. Mr. Boucar, who last year headed the EU's fake documents committee, said that at the height of the thefts in the 1990s there were more than 100 burglaries of Belgian passport storage facilities every year. On the French side of the border, several hundred blank passports were stolen from administrative buildings in Lille. Stolen blank documents are easy targets for counterfeit gangs and terrorist groups because many European passports were traditionally filled in by hand and then stamped with the official seal of the issuing authority. Counterfeiters needed only the stamp to make a blank look official. This is still the case with passports issued at consulates. European passports that in the mid-1990s fetched about 35,000 French francs (worth as much as $7,000 at the time) now may cost as little as $700, according to Mr. Jacquard, the terrorism expert. Mr. Boucar estimated that a Belgian passport goes for about $2,500 today. (International Herald Tribune , January 8, 2002)

Israel has charged that European Union funds are being used to finance Palestinian insurgency attacks against the Jewish state. A senior Israeli intelligence source said tens of millions of dollars are being sent by the EU directly to PA Chairman Yasser Arafat. The source said Arafat uses the money to pay his security forces to launch or aid in attacks against Israel. "For a time, EU funding used to be directed toward specific projects," the source said. "Now, it goes straight to Arafat, who has complete discretion over the money. We know that this is a source of funding to ensure the continuation of the uprising." Last week, the European Commission approved an allocation of 30 million euros for direct budgetary assistance to the PA. This means that Arafat will be allowed to use the money as he sees fit. EU spokesman Gunnar Wiegand said the Europeans regard the PA a "necessary partner to fight the extremists and to work for peace." Wiegand said the latest funding seeks to compensate for the halt in Israeli money transfers to the PA. The EU funding is meant for the next three months. The Israeli intelligence source said Israel has raised the EU funding with European officials. The source said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab allies have provided the lion's share of funding meant to continue the insurgency against Israel. On Tuesday, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced that they would not comply with Arafat's earlier call to stop attacks against Israel. (World Tribune.com December 18, 2001)

There is a toll-free information service direct to Brussels on 0800 581591. Here is a transcript of a recent enquiry by a correspondent, Ashley Mote: "How many calls on this line do you get from Britain", I asked. Long pause. Very long pause. "I'm sorry, I'll have to ask", she said, with uncertainty in her voice. After a considerable delay she came back to the phone and uttered the immortal words "I'm sorry, that's confidential information." "You're joking". "No, really, I'm not allowed to tell you." "But I thought this was an information line...?" "Well, it is, but I can't tell you that." "So what can you tell me about?" "Only about our web-site and how you can move to another country. Things like that." "So how many calls do you have asking for that information?" "I'm sorry, I can't tell you." "Can you tell me about the EU's new terrorist arrest warrants, and corpus juris? Can you tell me when it will be introduced into Britain?" "No, I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to talk about these things. You'll have to look on the web-site. I'm sorry, good-bye" You couldn't make it up. You really couldn't! (18/12/01)

A group of war veterans in Burghfield, Berks who have been marching through their village for 80 years to commemorate Remembrance Sunday. They are now told that they are breaking 'European law - in particular the Human Rights Act' - if they hold a 200 yard, 2 minute march to the village church. For this parade to go ahead, they would have to apply to the local council to have the road closed, have special signs made, and arrange for £5m insurance. There have been no accidents in the past. Thames Valley Police say that what they were doing in the past in closing the road was 'illegal'. (London's Evening Standard, 1/11/01)

On Tuesday, a chapel in the heart of the European Quarter of Brussels was reopened after 20 years as a "Chapel for Europe". It is hoped that the chapel, renamed as Chapelle de la Résurrection (Chapel of the Resurrection), will act as "a crucible of hope and unity" in the future integration of the EU. Robert Schuman, widely credited as one of the founding fathers of the EU, once said: "Europe cannot remain economic and technical: it needs a soul." It is expected that this new "Chapel for Europe" will provide the level of spirituality that Mr Schuman was talking about. (EUobserver.com 1/10/01)

Almost one year after the affair of Palestinian books with anti-Semitic messages financed by Europe was unveiled, the European Parliament and the Belgian Presidency consider measures, including suspending funding for the Palestinian authority. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the European Parliament, Elmar Brok, suggested an immediate suspension of funds to the Palestinians, according to Die Presse. (EUobserver.com 30/8/01)

ISLAMIC terrorists based in Britain and controlled by Osama bin Laden planned a devastating attack in February on the European Parliament building in Strasbourg. A six-strong terror cell funded by the Saudi fugitive planned to kill all 625 Euro-MPs, and scores of officials, by releasing sarin gas into the parliament building. The attack was scheduled to take place during the session of parliament from February 11 to 14 this year and was to be the first in a series of assaults against prominent buildings across Europe. Algerian terrorists based in London and funded directly by bin Laden worked with counterparts in Milan and Frankfurt. The plot was foiled after German police smashed the Frankfurt operation in a series of raids. The British-based six men were arrested and charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The charges were subsequently dropped just days after the men appeared at Horseferry Road magistrates' court, London. The Crown Prosecution Service said that the decision was made for security reasons. (Daily Telegraph 16/09/2001)

A village drama society has slammed "crazy" new laws which force amateur dramatic groups to fork out hundreds of pounds to put on a show. Stetton on Stage was forced to pay nearly 100 earlier this year to place a public notice in local newspapers before the groups production of Little Shop of Horrors. The new law- part of the European Human Rights Act -forces groups to place public notices of future performances in newspapers to give neighbours who may be affected by noise or nuisance from the show a chance to object to Rugby Borough Council. But Moreen Hinton, secretary of Stetton on Stage, said the cost of placing public notices could spell disaster for many small amateur groups. "It's crazy" she said. "We charge low prices for our performances and we like to give anything we do make away to charity. "This is a lot of money to pay out every time you put a performance on, and it could be disastrous for small or new groups which are just starting out," she added. Karen Stone, the borough councils head of environMental Health, said the policy was adopted in March. But she urged concerned groups to contact the council for help. "If people get in touch with us we can advise them of the cheapest local advertising rates or if they have other ideas on how to advertise we can advise them," she said. (The Rugby Observer 09/08/2001)

We cannot legalise even cannabis without tearing up a mass of treaty commitments that go back to the 1920s. Almost without exception, drugs were made illegal in the country in response to American pressure; and this pressure is institutionalised within the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. In the legal sense, an Act of Parliament is enough to change our drugs policy. In the political sense, however, there are all these international commitments to be renegotiated. (Free Life, July 2001) 

Prime Minister Tony Blair said recently, that it is time to reform international asylum laws. Asylum has become an important election issue. On Wednesday 2^nd May 2001 the European standing Committee debated an important document in the development of a common European asylum system. This Commission communication on a common asylum procedure and uniform status was presented in parallel with a communication on a Community Immigration Policy the Committee debated the previous week. The British government has already adopted the regulation on Eurodac, which is an EU-wide system for comparing and exchanging asylum seeker's fingerprints. The Commission appears to envisage a two-stage process in which we start with relatively limited common procedure and then move to a more integrated procedure. Mr Lidington MP's concerns on this subject are that "once the United Kingdom decides to opt into a particular asylum measure, it become justicable in the European Court of Justice and we cannot opt out simply because we dislike a particular ECJ interpretation of it. I am concerned that the Government risk locking us in a system whereby they permanently surrender control over our asylum system to supra-national institutions. The Hon. Member for Taunton (Jackie Ballard) asked "whether it as compatible for the Government to declare that they want a common asylum system throughout Europe, but at the same time to retain control over frontiers of the UK. At some stage, a choice will have to be made." A strong institutional ambition of the Commission to extend its remit ever further, particularly noticeable in perhaps its starkest form in the words, "Divergent asylum policies in the different Member States must disappear". The Home Secretary makes clear that he is looking at the matter of asylum and immigration in a European context, and such an approach is repeated by the Commission. (Report by A Palmer May 2001)

22/11/2000 - Initial proposal CECOM(2000)0755 C5-0101/2001. PURPOSE: to present the Communication on a common asylum procedure and a uniform status, valid throughout the Union, for persons granted asylum. CONTENT: at the Tampere European Council on 15 and 16 October 1999, the Commission was asked to prepare a communication on the issue of establishing a common asylum procedure and a uniform status for those who are granted asylum valid throughout the Union. This Communication sets out the Commission's thinking on this procedure and this status. Its purpose is not to propose one or more ready-made systems but to launch a debate in the Community on the longer-term prospects. According to the Commission analysis, the range of solutions and tools is quite extensive. The Commission's intention is to take an ambitious approach to all the questions and certain possible scenarios so that the Council, Parliament and the various organisations concerned by asylum policy can engage in a full discussion and come up with precise guidelines. The Communication begins by looking at the context and objectives of the common procedure and the uniform status; it is important not to take account of the flows confronting Member States and the nature of the legal environment before considering common objectives and proposing a scope suitable for the European Union. (Europa website 10/5/01)

New EU plans before the European Parliament this week could see UK phone books slimmed down to a fraction of their current size. Local Conservative MEPs Roger Helmer and Chris Heaton-Harris have today called for these plans to be scrapped. The proposal being discussed this week would ban the automatic listing of all numbers in telephone directories. Instead, subscribers would have to 'opt-in' if they wanted an entry, rather than the current practice in the UK where subscribers are automatically entered and pro-actively opt-out if they wish. Predictions are that if the proposal goes ahead, phone directories are likely to shrink dramatically, perhaps by 50% or more. Article 12 of proposed directive (COM(2000)0385) (Conservative News - East Midlands 1/5/01)

The concept of EU citizenship (for all) was introduced by the Treaty On European Union (TEU). This added the relevant provisions to the Treaty. The TEU was agreed by the EC member states meeting in the IGC at Maastricht in 1992. (Letter to MP from Home Office minister Barbara Roche 15/3/01)

The European Union refused yesterday to put ferrets on a "passports for pets" scheme which means that they are not free from quarantine (which cats, dogs, hamsters, rabbits and even guinea pigs are). The decision has angered the British as there are 1.5 million ferrets living in the country. The official explanation to the law is that there are no accurate blood tests to prove that vaccinated ferrets are immune from rabies. However, during the debate, one MEP, according to the Independent, explained why ferrets should not be classified as pets: "it was only the British and the Irish who liked putting them down their trousers", This decision has angered British ferret-fanciers. "We are very, very worried," said Simon Bishop, the owner of Ferret World, a shop devoted to the animals. "We can't understand why we are being singled out. People who went to the British championships want to take our pets abroad. Ferrets make perfect pets. You can teach them to do anything a dog can do, such as fetch a ball." "In short," writes the Independent, "the new cross-Channel hostility towards ferrets may prove to be a marriage made in Euro-heaven, where the Brits and the Eurocrats suddenly find that they do have a common agenda, after all. Getting rid of the pound sterling may still (for the moment) be argued over. But the Brussels-British decision to abolish the pet ferret may yet prove to be the beginning of a long and beautiful Euro-friendship." (EUobserver.com 18/4/01)

 IN the narrow side streets of Iesolo, a small Italian town just outside Venice, revolution is brewing among angry men in barbers' shops. For well over two centuries, men of all ages in this northern community have enjoyed the daily luxury of a close shave and a chat about football with the occupant of the neighbouring chair. But, as from next month, a shave in Iesolo will never be the same again. According to European regulations, the traditional shaving brush, as used to liberally lather the morning or evening shadow, is unhygienic. Until now, no one in Italy had taken any notice of the ruling. Last week, however, the leader of Iesolo town council, Daniele Bison, decided to take a stand. Before formally banning the use of the shaving brush, Mr Bison said: "I have taken the decision that Iesolo should conform to European norms." The result has been uproar. Queues longer than ever before have formed outside the town's barbers' shops, as inhabitants gather for what might be their last "proper" shave in public. The barbers themselves are to appeal against Mr Bison's judgment at regional, national and even European level. Customers are refusing to be lathered by hand, as the new diktat demands. (Sunday Telegraph 15/4/01)

A BUSINESS set up by the head of the Blair-endorsed campaign for membership of the single currency has collapsed with debts of more than £50,000. A liquidator has been appointed to settle the financial affairs of ThreeSquare, which was established by Simon Buckby in the summer of 1999. The company, which faces a fine for failing to submit detailed accounts on time to Companies House, went into liquidation at the end of last year. Mr Buckby, who has been urged to resign over his stewardship of Britain in Europe, which itself has financial difficulties, is company secretary of ThreeSquare, which folded with debts of £56,300. (The Times March 26, 2001)

More than 30 organisations, including the Confederation for an Independent Poland-Homeland, the Polish National Alliance of Pensioners, the Greens and the Free Trade Union August 80, have signed a declaration to form a new political initiative called Alternative (Alternatywa). Alternative’s intention is to take part in the next parliamentary elections on a platform of opposing Polish membership of the European Union. [Radio Free Europe Newsline, 20th March 2001]

"We demand that Jämts, Härjedalings (from border counties in Sweden) and Trønds (from the neighbouring county in Norway) shall be able to continue to visit one another without a passport in the future," say three Center Party leaders (Eva Hellstrand from Jämtland in Sweden, and Einar Strøm and Arne Braut from Trøndelag in Norway). "Sweden and Norway must leave Schengen for the preservation of this inter-nordic right to travel without a passport, and for regaining control of our own territory." Jämtland and Trøndelag, called "the green belt of Scandinavia", endeavour to develop and deepen co-operation in their common region. Schengen is a step in the wrong direction. The Scandinavian countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland, enter the Schengen area next Sunday, 25 March. The three Center Party leaders are also critical of the effects of Schengen outside their own locality. "Fortress Europe is on the way to becoming a tangible fact, and we are ashamed that the Scandinavian Countries that are known for a generous policy towards refugees, are also on their way to lock themselves up in this fortress." (EUobserver.com 19/3/01)

 Italiani Liberi (Free Italy) is a new born Italian movement for sovereignty. The movement has asked the Italian Parliament to restore Italian sovereignty. While working to achieve this end, Italiani Liberi aims at obtaining a moratorium in the adoption of the euro and on the ratification of the Treaty of Nice. Italy has always been considered as a country where no doubt about the EU existed. A few years ago, the Italians even rejoiced in paying an extraordinary tax "for Europe" to get the country's finances in order for entering the euro zone. European integration has been seen as the natural and necessary answer to the Fascist movement that governed the country from 1929 to 1943.(EUobserver.com 17/3/01) http://www.italianiliberi.it/Editoriali/sovranitaE.htm

On 25 March, the Scandinavian countries become part of the Schengen area. After half a century with no passport control between the Scandinavian countries, a Norwegian will again have to remember his passport, if he wants to spend a night in Sweden or Denmark. Unforseen complications keep turning up. Article 45 in the Schengen agreement requires all travellers to show proof of their nationality when checking in at a hotel, camping site, or bed-and-breakfast, and the host has a duty to keep lists in case the police want to see them. The Norwegian Ministery of Justice advises all Norwegians to take their passports with them when travelling in the Schengen area, writes Norwegian paper Klassekampen and continues: "The Scandinavian exemption from the requirement of a passport has been virtually abolished, as any Norwegian citizen may be required to show his passport in Sweden. Thus the main argument for introducing the Schengen agreement has been revealed as being a lie." Radio Denmark Text TV points out new complications that keep turning up: "It has still not been made clear how foreigners should cross the frontier when Denmarks joins Schengen. The agreement means that the frontiers are abolished, but this causes problems for more than 300,000 persons in Denmark who are not Danish citizens. A Turk that has lived in Denmark for 30 years or an American married to a Dane must report to the local authorities to avoid the risk of arrest. (EUobserver.com 1/3/01)

The March summit of European leaders in Stockholm is to set up a task force to study a proposal of giving every person an individual "EU social security number". The idea is to help European Union citizens to move more easily between member states. Officials stressed that the move would not be designed to win new powers for the EU, and that the levels of state benefits and insurance contributions would continue to be fixed by national governments. But a more unified system would enable those who pay social security contributions while working in another European country to claim benefits when they returned home. In the EU, 0.5 per cent of the working population moves abroad each year compared with 2 to 3 per cent of Americans who move states to find work. (Independent 5/2/01)

Malta's biggest trade union, the General Workers' Union (GWU), said on Tuesday it was against the island joining the EU. "In current circumstances, membership would not be beneficial for the country in general and workers in particular," union general secretary Tony Zarb told a news conference. The union is to hold a general meeting on February 8 when delegates are expected to approve a motion by the leadership against European Union membership. Zarb said the union's main concern was the danger of unemployment in the Maltese manufacturing sector and shipyards. Preparations for EU membership were imposing financial burdens on the government which were being passed to workers and pensioners, Zarb added. (VALLETTA, Jan 23, 2001Reuters)

 After ten years of delay and incompetence by the Belgian Government handling the renovation of the European Union's famous star-shaped building in Brussels, the European Commission, whose President is Romano Prodi, has given warning that it may never reoccupy its former headquarters amid mounting allegations that the ballooning budget is the result of chronic mismanagement and fraud. The refurbishment of the Berlaymont Palace, which housed 3,000 Commission officials until 1991 when they were moved out to allow 3,000 tonnes of asbestos to be cleared, is now five years behind schedule and is expected to cost seven times the original estimate. In a damning 40-page report into the scheme, two Belgian MPs now claim the project is likely to cost nearly £700 million, as opposed to £100 million projected in 1990 by the Belgium Government, which owns the structure. That equates to more than £3,000 per square metre. (The Times January 11 2001)

EUROCRACY is the game about the European Union, which provides citizens with both vision and fun. In the game the EU is portrayed as a new country with one government and one parliament. On the board the member states are each represented with one to four cities. The players assume the role of leader of a European political party.They go with their pawn on a continuous election campaign through the Union. When they land on a free city, they win the elections and obtain Members of the European Parliament(MEPs). As soon as they are in the possession of all cities of a member state, players will receive European Ministers on passing Brussels. The first player to form a government of 12 ministers, wins the game and is appointed President of the European Union...on condition that s/he also enjoys sufficient support in the European Parliament. EUROCRACY has been developed by the Dutch lawyer Jacob Hoeksma in the aftermath of the Treaty of Maastricht. His intention to bridge the gap between the citizens and 'Brussels' has been warmly welcomed by politicians and the press. Active politicians like the President of the European Parliament, Madame Nicole Fontaine , and elderly statesmen such as Sir Edward Heath, appreciated the initiative so much that they all have acceded to the Committee of Friends of Eurocracy. Afterwards, it will be promoted by the European weekly par excellence, European Voice, as an exclusive reader offer of € 49,50 (European Voice 27/12/00)

In August 2001 Estonia will be able to celebrate the tenth anniversary of independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. With an annual growth rate of 6 per cent Estonia is the economical tiger of the Central and Eastern European countries, which are all applying for memberships in the European Union. However, there is one problem. A majority of the Estonians cherish their newly won freedom and their memories of being governed from the outside and being members of a union are both still pretty fresh and very negative. This is reflected in the latest poll, which shows that a majority would vote no to EU membership. (EUobserver.com 20/12/00)

The European Commission Wednesday called for a new common immigration policy that would allow millions of foreign workers legally to enter and live in the European Union. The discussion paper, prepared by Antonio Vitorino, the Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner. appealed for an end to the "fortress Europe" policy (EUobserver 23/11/00)http://EUobserver.com/index.phtml?selected_topic=9&action=view&article_id=909

Greece - Drop religious affiliation from identity cards - originally introduced by a military dictatorship in the late 1930s - and, the clerics argue, you sound the death knell of a single nation state. The Greek prime minister, Costas Simitis, has tried to counter all this by insisting that the reform brings Greece into line with its European partners, and that "the declaration of one's religious affiliation is not only discriminatory, but offensive. It insults the right of every individual to privacy and religious freedom." The Church, however, remains adamant. Greece's bearded clerics regard the "identity crisis" as the sort of thing that could drag the nation into "civil war". In June, more than a million Greeks (one-tenth of the population) flocked to hear Archbishop Christodoulos, the Church Primate, denounce the measure as the first step in a sinister plot to de-Hellenise Greece. (New Statesman 23/8/00)

The regional court in Slubice, western Poland, has issued a warrant to arrest Andrzej Lepper, leader of the radical Self-Defence farmers’ trade union, who is the country’s main campaigner against Polish membership of the European Union. An arrest warrant has also been issued against Roman Wierzbicki, leader of the Solidarity farmers’ trade union. The court made its decision after Lepper and Wierzbicki repeatedly failed to turn up for hearings of a case related to the blockade of the Swiecko customs terminal by farmers early last year. The men’s movements habitually stage such blockades to protest against the imports into Poland of dumped EU agricultural produce, which destroys the livelihoods of local producers. Lepper said that the court’s decision was "over-zealous" and that it constituted "interference" in his presidential election campaign. [RFE Newsline, 22nd August 2000] The main Eurosceptic politician in Poland, Andrzej Lepper, has been fined nearly $5,000 for calling President Kwasniewski "a layabout". A previous verdict on the same charge, against which Lepper had appealed, had sentenced him to 16 months’ imprisonment. The silence with which the international community has reacted to this judgement is impressive, considering how it protested for years when the late president of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, sued a satirical magazine for insulting him – and lost. Tudjman was always branded a tyrant for trying thus to silence the press. The indulgence shown towards Kwasniewski may have something to do with Lepper’s European politics. Following the announcement of the subsidy proposals for new member states, Lepper said that if the EU failed to propose better accession conditions for new members then he will start persuading Poles to vote against joining the EU at all. [Radio Free Europe Newsline, 1st February 2002]

COPENHAGEN, Aug 11 (AFP) - The far-right Danish People's Party vowed Friday to fight for the dissolution of the European Union's official racism watchdog, saying it was a politically biased body harmful to Denmark's interests. "We agreed on the way home to do all that we can to get it closed," DPP spokesman Soeren Espersen told AFP a day after party leaders visited offices of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) in Vienna. The EUMC is a creature of Europe's leftist Social Democratic parties and "it can only do damage" to what the DKK regards as Denmark's interests, notably in curbing immigration, Espersen said. (COPENHAGEN, Aug 11 AFP)

The UK foreign office is criticised by an all-party House of Commons committee for not doing enough about Gibraltar. "We intend to pursue resolutely our interest in developments in Gibraltar," said the Commons foreign affairs committee. The committee reiterate that the present system of border controls by Spain on the Gibraltar frontier "is unacceptable and wholly inappropriate between two parts of the EU. The With Gibraltar still the only part of the EU without the right to vote at European parliament elections, the committee recommends "that voting in the 2004 elections for the European Parliament must take place in Gibraltar, and that, if necessary, Her Majesty's Government should take unilateral action to extend the franchise to Gibraltarians." With Gibraltar running out of telephone numbers due to Spanish pressure, the committee says that the British Government should take"all steps open to it under the treaties to ensure that a determination is made by the European Commission with no further delay in the case of telephone operations." The committee's view is that proposals by the Spanish government for joint sovereignty, as a prelude to full Spanish sovereignty over the territory, be rejected and that a new process of regular dialogue should be instituted, putting to one side the question of sovereignty. The committee regards the reply by the UK Minister for Europe Keith Vaz as being "far from satisfactory." (09.08.00 Eurofaq)

The Royal Society of St. George asserts that it is protecting England and St. George but refuses to support campaigns to retain our independence from the EU. Apparently, some of the Committee members are pro-federalists who do not believe their Englishness will be diminished by becoming part of a federal Europe. (Save our Sovereignty Newsletter, May 2000)

THE first thing to be said about the ruling from Strasbourg on the case of "ADT", a Yorkshireman convicted by magistrates of gross indecency for taking part in a homosexual orgy, is that this was no business of the European Court of Human Rights. It is not for foreign judges to decide whether or not Britain's sex laws are fair to the people of Britain. That is a job for our own Parliament. What can be said with equal certainty is that most people will be appalled by the court's award of £21,000 damages to ADT. They will also be taken aback by its ruling that ADT's conviction violated the "right to respect for a private family life". Most people who actually have a private family life would find it obnoxious. There is a very strong argument that the law should generally avoid interfering in what consenting adults choose to get up to behind closed doors, even if there are more than two of them. To de- criminalise homosexual orgies, as the ECHR would have us do, would not be a neutral act: it would suggest official approval of them. In fact, most of the country disapproves strongly of behaviour such as ADT's. The law is unwise to ignore the idea of public affront. Those who wish to indulge in homosexual orgies should be left alone so long as they are discreet. "Human rights" are a nebulous enough idea as it is. To suggest that it is a human right to be allowed to take part in a homosexual orgy is to put the concept under strain. (D Telegraph Tuesday 1 Aug 2000)

The Kennel Club, Staffordshire Bill Terrier Society and many other dog-owners and dog-lovers in the UK are not at all happy. They fear the current German clampdown on allegedly dangerous breeds of dogs may be applied across the EU A Senior Official at the German Embassy has now complained about receipt of too many letters on the subject. Dogs in the 16 breeds (included are: Old English Mastiff, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Bull Terrier) may be shot on sight by German Police if not adequately muzzled. Anyone owning one of the 16 breeds must paint their front door with a red sign: "Caution, Dangerous Dogs"; dogs must be micro-chipped, sterilised or castrated - plus various other provisions relating to third party insurance and dog tax. (UKIP Press Release 3/8/00). Federal Minister Schily took the initiative to request a general prohibition of combat dogs on a European Union level. He asked the French presidency to consider the topic "European Union - prohibition of the import and breeding of combat dogs and fighting dogs" at the next interior session of the Ministers of Justice and of the European Union member states. (German Parliament web site http://www.bmi.bund.de) The owners of these breeds must register with the stadt, and obtain a dog handling licence. Permission to continue to own one of these dogs will be granted if the dog has shown no evidence of aggression towards people, game, livestock, cats and other dogs for more than 3 years. The dog can only be exercised by a person over 18 years, and must wear a leash and muzzle at all times. American Staffordshire Terrier Pitbull Terrier Staffordshire Bull Terrier Bull Terrier Neopolitan Mastiff Spanish Mastiff Dogue de Bordeux Dogo Argentino Fila Brasileiro Roman Fighting Dog Chinese Fighting Dog Bandog Tosa Inu Akbash Briard Beauceron Bullmastiff Dobermann Estrela Mountain Dog Komondor Kuvasz Maremma Mastiff Pyrenean Mastiff Pyrenean Mountain Dog Rottweiler Tibetan Mastiff and 15 other European herding breeds " In Germany we have "Nazi time" again. There are hot-lines were you can point out people who own a "fighting dog." (7/8/00 http://www.saveourbreeds.org.uk/bans.htm) Plans to introduce EU-wide controls on fighting dogs appear to have been shelved. (European Voice 1/3/01)

New pet passport laws allowing an influx of continental top dogs could leave Crufts like Wimbledon, with the public desperate to find a British champion. Dog breeders are putting pressure on the Kennel Club to hold separate competitions for foreign dogs. A breeder asked why should a show that has been staged for almost a hundred years be infiltrated by European breeders who fall woefully short of our standards? (The Times 9/3/00)

A Swedish MEP, Marianne Eriksson, has demanded an end to the influx of hundreds of prostitutes into Strasbourg during the European Parliamentary sessions. (European Voice 2/3/00)

France has insisted on the appointment of Alexandre Lamfalussy to head the "Wise man’s group" created by the Dutch EU Commissioner Bolkestein to look into the creation of a European Securities and Exchange Commission (ESEC). Lamfalussy is keen on the proposal. This would be based in Paris to compensate France from losing the ECB. The birth of such an institution, and its location outside London, could be a double disaster for the UK financial services industry. Most obviously it would erode London’s standing as Europe’s financial capital. But an ESEC created by 15 European governments, some of them strangers to the finer points of market economics, could also dumb down London’s regulatory transparency and flexibility, harming the City’s ability to compete globally. (FT 22/7/00)

Roger Scruton said the British are not used to civil disobedience (because they have had no need of it for a very long time) but are again finding out just what it is and that it can be effective. The Anti-Metrication Campaign could be a strong catalyst. If The People find that civil disobedience is acceptable (because there are lots of people who feel just like they do) and effective (it prevents the imposition of metrication), then we will have climbed a few more rungs up the ladder of independence. For abolishing the pound and adopting the euro will no longer seem inevitable. (BBC R4 18/7/00)

"Finally it’s over, it was a long fight for some simple ideas," says Michaël Cwik, Commission official since 1970, when asked about the judgement in his case against the Commission. (But see below) After more than two years, he was on Friday July 14th finally allowed to publish the speech he had given three years earlier in October 1997 at the Fifth International Economic Culture Meeting in Cordoba, Spain. A speech about "the need for economic fine-tuning at the local and regional level in the monetary union of the European Union". A speech he gave as Michaël Cwik, the economist and not Michaël Cwik, the Commission official. A speech that had a disclaimer on it stating that the speech reflected his personal opinion and not that of the Commission. And that was the reason why the Court of First Instance ruled in his favor. In the judgement press release the Court states: The fact that a Community official publicly expresses a different opinion from that of the institution for which he works does not in itself jeopardise the interests of the Communities. The Commission based their refusal on Article17 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities, in which it says that officials desiring to exercise their freedom of expression by publishing matters dealing with the work of the Communities must first obtain permission to do so. And that permission may be refused only where publication would be liable to prejudice the interests of the Communities. But the Court did not find Michaël Cwiks personal opinion damaging or in any way a threat to the Communities or the Commission. In the press release from the Court, it says: It held that, in a democratic society founded on respect for fundamental rights, there can be no justification for restricting the right to freedom of expression in a case involving no more than an expression of a difference of opinion between the official and his employer, in so far as making that difference public would not in itself be liable to prejudice the Communities' interests. Michaël Cwik still works for the Commission in the Genereal Directorate of Economic and Financial Affairs, where he informs the public about the introduction of the Euro and the monetary union. (Written by Marie-Louise Møller 20/7/00 http://www.euobserver.com) In its appeal - filed 15 September 2000 - the Commission tries to argue that the Court exceeded its limits of power of review and that the Commission as an institution "must be in a position to control the points of iew adopted by its officials, especially where they conflict with those expressed at the time, or where the official expresses his view on matters in respect of which it is the Commission's express intention to adopt a 'neutral' policy." (Euobserver 30/11/00))

Greece's socialist government, led by Prime Minister Costas Simitis, has proposed to strip all references to religion from the new national ID card. Over 97 percent of Greece's native population has been baptized into the Orthodox church, and all Greek citizens have been carrying this identity card since the mid-1930s, when the then-military government instituted the system. The ID cards must be carried at all times by Greek citizens over the age of 15. For Greek Christians, the religious declaration on the ID card is a symbol of faith and pride. Whereas, for secular-minded, pro-European Union Greeks, it is an outdated icon of the Christian past. Privacy advocates want to see the religious-affiliation label stripped from the card, along with occupation, spouse's name, thumbprint and nationality - - all of which will be stripped from the new cards, if and when implemented on a mass scale. Recently, the European Commission on Racism and Intolerance challenged Greece to remove the religious affiliation entry on the national ID card "in order to limit covert discrimination against members of non-Orthodox religions, who may in some cases be considered to be less Greek." At a recent rally held to protest the government's decision about the ID cards, Archbishop Christodoulous of Athens threw down the gauntlet to Simitis before a crowd of over 100,000 Greek Orthodox Christians. "Your efforts are futile. The people do not follow you. You think you will accomplish your plans with the sword of power. You are mistaken," said the archbishop. "Those opposed to religion on ID cards belong to the forces of evil." (World Net Daily 11/7/00)

The Anglosphere Project "The English Speaking Union," is the coming idea of the right. In an article in the US quarterly The National Interest, Conrad Black portrayed a Britain "afflicted by an existential loneliness", shackled to Continental European economies which "are paying huge quantities of Danegeld to the urban masses and uneconomic small farmers [with] political traditions [that] are corporatist, not liberal". That Europe, in his view, is anti-American. Black quotes - it is something of a touchstone text for the authors of this genre - a private comment made by Francois Mitterrand towards the end of his life: "France does not know it, but we are at war with America. Yes, a permanent war, an economic war, a war without death." He thinks that the Anglosphere states are all becoming more entrepreneurial than even advanced Continental countries. "You look at Canada, New Zealand, Australia as well as the UK: they're all punching above their weight in business start-ups and new technologies, where countries like Germany and France are punching below it. Norway might fit in, given that it is negotiating with Nafta. " The way the world is going, said Jim Bennett, makes the European Union archaic. "In the UK, Euroscepticism is painted as backward-looking and nostalgic; but it's actually very forward-looking. It's about making new links which have more to do with culture and ways of doing things than geographical closeness." (New Statesman Monday 13th March 2000)

An Economist poll in found that 59 per cent of the UK population thought the US the most reliable ally in a crisis, while only 16 per cent chose Europe. (The Economist November 1999)

European children should not be taught English as their first foreign tongue, because they will then feel there is no need to learn anything else, according to German language teachers. At its annual meeting, the International Association of German Teachers admitted this week that the learning of English "had to be guaranteed" but called for other languages to be given priority. In particular the European Union duopoly of French and English as official launguages should be expanded to include German., they said. They argued that, as the EU expanded, it would bring in countries such as Hungary and Poland were people had little experience of English but much more of German. The 1,700-plus German language teachers from 90 countries called for English to take third place in schools. The first foreign language should be the one that children encountered in their own region., they said. The teachers, meeting in Lucerne, Switzerland, said many Europeans were reluctant to learn German because of Germany's recent history, but the language should be given greater prominence. (Daily Telegraph 6th August 2001)

The "new system" (German language) introduced in schools in 1998 has cut the number of spelling rules from 212 to 112, and those governing usage of commas from 52 to 9. Word construction has also been changed. However these changes to the German language, agreed two years ago, provoked such furious opposition they may have to be revoked.Nevertheless the EU have adopted them. There is fury that, "This extraordinary decision was taken by officials that are not German. It should have been referred to the Parliament. It is grotesque." "Günther Grass, the Nobel prize-winning author, said the reform had debased German." (D Telegraph August 22nd 2000)

Paris orders its scientists to write in English, for the French language police devoted to halting all things English, it is yet another devastating blow. The Paris Health Authority has issued a directive at all reports must be filed for in English because it is now the world language. And it adds that French is no longer to be considered as the written medium employed in hospitals and laboratories under its control. The instruction follows an order by Renault last year that all internal reports must be in English. (Daily Mail 29/1/00)

Germany says it will boycott future informal European Union ministerial meetings unless German is used as an official working language, a Finnish presidential spokesman said Thursday. The spokesman, asked to confirm a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had made the demand, said Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen had received a letter to that effect. Currently, English and French and the language of whatever country is the current president of the EU are used at "informal" meetings -- usually weekend gatherings in a remote spot at which much real EU negotiating is done. - A meeting of European Union industry ministries began here Friday without Germany and Austria, who are boycotting the session because German is not being used as one of the official languages. Earlier the Finnish presidency of the EU voiced regret at Germany's decision to boycott. (OULU, Finland, July 2, 1999 AFP). - Austria and Germany are to boycott next week's informal meeting of European culture ministers meeting in Savolinna, eastern Finland because German will not be among the working languages. (HELSINKI, July 14 AFP)

WHERE are the guns and explosives the IRA won't 'decommission'? According to an Irish source, they're mainly in Eire - 'stashed underground in special bunkers built by local farmers and paid for with EU grants'. (The Daily Mail, 04/02/00).

The elasticated socks purchased from local pharmacies are now two inches shorter in the leg. This is because of new regulations from Europe; the manufacturers are now permitted to make only the shorter version. (Daily Telegraph 27/12/99)

7,300 people applied for sanctuary in the United Kingdom in September 1999 – an increase of some 40 per cent on this time last year. Ten years ago, this might have represented an annual, not a monthly, total. There has not been a noticeable increase in the number of oppressive dictatorships around the world. So what is going on? The answer is that Britain is gradually losing its autonomy in the field of asylum and immigration. Ten years ago, we pursued our own policy, subject to the UN Convention on Refugees and to a number of bilateral agreements with our neighbours. But, bit by bit, the rights of entry and residence are being harmonised across the EU. The new Home Affairs Commissioner in Brussels has told me that he does not believe that Britain can retain its border checks forever. And, at a summit in Finland last month, Jack Straw and his fellow EU Interior Ministers agreed to establish a common European asylum policy. This would build on a number of existing EU regulations. The most damaging of these is a rule which makes asylum seekers the responsibility of the country where they apply for sanctuary, not the first safe country they reach. This, it seems to me, does nothing for genuine refugees: their priority, surely, is to get out of a specific country, not to get in to one. And, as a glance at any map reveals, the convention works especially to the disadvantage of Britain, which often cannot be reached except by passing through several safe countries.(21/12/99 D Hannan MEP web site http://www.hannan.co.uk/news.htm)

The EU environment ministers backed a British inspired law to enforce minimum conditions in zoos. The EU commission complained that this was something that member states should be able to regulate themselves. It said it was hypocritical to pass such laws and also call for less EU-wide lawmaking. (The Times 18/6/98)

Proposals put before the EU's recent Tampere summit call for asylum rules to be harmonised within a year, without any opposition from the Home Office. The proposals would lead to the Home Secretary surrendering the power to decide who qualifies for refugee status and how and where they are accommodated. These decisions would pass to Brussels. (T Kirkhope MEP; Yorkshire Post 20/11/99) (FFP)

The Pope is "one of the founding Fathers of Europe", said Cardinal Jan Schotte, the synod's secretary general, as he gave out volumes of John Paul's 669 speeches on Europe as a parting gift to every synod participant, Margaret Hebblethwaite writes from Rome. During the last week of the second Synod for Europe the Vatican press office confirmed that canonisation processes had begun on the three post-war political leaders more commonly known as the "founding Fathers of Europe": Alcide De Gasperi from Italy, Robert Schuman from France, and Konrad Adenauer from Germany. All three causes are at the diocesan level, with that of Adenauer only at its earliest stage. Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement and one of the lay auditors at the synod, told The Tablet that with the opening of the three causes, "this project of a united Europe rests upon a rock". She explained, "I think that the European Union is a design not only of human beings but of God". During the closing Mass last Saturday, a bidding prayer in Russian petitioned that the political leaders of Europe would "courageously encourage the process of European integration and development", and promote laws based on "the memory of spiritual and cultural values, nourished by the sap of Christianity". The phrasing picked up the words of Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, in his message to the synod (see last week's report). The text of the Message, the final public document of the synod, was released on Friday last week. Addressed to Christians and "fellow citizens of Europe", it invited them "to be committed Europeans . . . treasuring the precious heritage left us by the founding fathers of a united Europe". It was necessary to "pursue, with courage and urgency, the process of European integration, widening the circle of member countries of the Union, while appreciating with wisdom the historical and cultural differences of the nations" (The Tablet 28/11/99)

Lithuanians' support for possible membership in European Union has dropped sharply over the past year to about one-third of the population, according to a recent poll. Only 34.1 percent of Lithuanians would vote for the country to join the EU in a referendum, down from 43.7 percent in September 1998. The number of Lithuanians opposed to EU membership soared from 18.2 to 30.6 percent. The number of undecided on the issue during the last year dropped from 26.7 to 23.5 percent. (VILNIUS, Oct 6 1999 AFP)

"Whenever I visit the UK, I like to buy some typical British products not available over here. This included coal tar soap, a trusted quality product that has been with us over 100 years. The last two years however its composition seems to have changed: many brands have disappeared, and the most well known, Wright's, calls itself "traditional coal tar 'fragrance' soap", its composition containing no coal tar or derived products anymore. Definitely this is not the real thing. I found the reason for that in one more EU directive, 97/45/EC, which outlaws the use of crude and refined coal tar in cosmetic products. Other products based on coal tar, like Jeyes Fluid, may be threatened too." (Personal communication from P van den Bossche 30/7/99)

Political parties will be able to spend up to £5m in referendums. New rules on political funding tip the financial balance of a future referendum on the euro hugely in favour of ditching the pound, the Conservatives have claimed. Under plans put forward by the home secretary, an umbrella group on each side of the argument plus every political party with more than two MPs would each be allowed to spend up to £5m in future referendums. As all the Westminster parties other than the Conservatives support joining the single currency at a later date, the Tories are worried this would leave the anti-euro camp at a significant disadvantage in fighting a referendum campaign. Assuming the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, Labour and an umbrella group all gave the full amount, the pro-euro campaign could spend up to £25m. Ann Widdecombe says the rules are designed to rig the referendum on the euro Funding for the anti-euro drive would be restricted to £5m from the Conservatives and the umbrella organisation, the Tories say. (BBC news 28/7/99). There is no restriction on the EU itself spending money on the referendum campaign, as it did in Ireland. The EU could use an EU registered company to channel covert campaign funds. (Eurofaq posting 30/7/99). Government proposals for funding for a future referendum on the euro have been branded unfair by the committee created to monitor standards in public life. While the smaller parties are unlikely to be able to raise the £5 million each, Tories fear they may be used as channels for cash from pro-European business groups. (FT 21/10/99)

DETR minister, Keith Hill MP, told a Committee of the House of Commons that foreign companies and organisations will be able to spend up to £25,000 per candidate in the London Mayoral elections. Bernard Jenkin MP, Shadow Minister for London said: "The government says one thing and does another. With one hand, they are promoting a Bill in the House of Commons that will outlaw foreign political donations. With the other, they put forward this order that will allow any foreign organisation or person to spend money in the London elections. "The government complains that this is the effect of a ruling by the ECHR in Strasbourg. This means that foreign individuals or organisations can place advertisements in newspapers and print leaflets in support of, or attacking, candidates for the London Mayor." The order also provides for £1,800 of expenditure from third parties per Assembly candidates. The Bowman Case before the European Court of Human Rights established that limits on spending by third parties in UK elections is contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights - it is a restriction of freedom of expression. (Press release by : The Hon Bernard Jenkin MP Tuesday, 14 March 2000)

With 11 different languages, there are 110 different language combinations for translation or interpretation. Once the EU embraces speakers of Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Estonian and Slovenian, the possible permutations would increase to 240 with an equivalent increase in cost an inconvenience. (Financial Times 3 July 1999) The European Commission has stated that after enlargement in 2004 with ten countries, some 1500 new translators and interpreters would be employed by the EU institution. Approximately 110 additional employees are needed for every new language in order to translate documents, 40 in order to interpret during meetings and conferences. (EUobserver.com 24/12/01)

I do not close my eyes to the existence of substantial obstacles to further integration in this broad sense. Perhaps the fact that the European Union has 11 official languages is the most important one. In a sense it also poses a dilemma in our communications policy. On the one hand, it is very important to reach all European citizens in their own language; on the other, should we not encourage a situation in which as many Europeans as possible also speak one common language? Could our education systems not make this happen? This cannot, of course, be accomplished overnight, but should we not at least try to make the issue less sensitive than it still is? (The 1999 Per Jacobsson Lecture Dr. Willem F. Duisenberg President of the European Central Bank)

Ministers are to push ahead with plans for a national identity card that will be required for every adult citizen. The move will bring Britain into line with other EU countries. (Sunday Times 23/5/99)

The European Commission proposes a multi-million-euro initiative designed to promote the use of indigenous European languages such as Breton, Basque and Cornish. (European Voice 4 February 1999)

The French Constitutional Council has ruled that the Council of Europe's Charter on Minority and Regional Languages is incompatible with the French constitution. The Charter accords rights to speakers of minority languages and has thus been deemed incompatible with the principles of equality laid down in the constitution. It is also, of course, a vehicle for internal interference in the affairs of European states. If France were really to reject the Charter this would pose a problem for Europe's big plan of dismantling nation states. President Chirac has refused to initiate a constitutional amendment to allow the Charter to be ratified and so the Socialists have themselves introduced a proposal to do so, as have assorted politicians from other ranks including Alain Madelin of Démocratie libérale whose main crusade now seems to be to dismantle the state in all its forms, including cultural and legal. [Le Monde, 1st July 1999]

Plans to give the European Union a direct role in military matters took a big leap forward as Tony Blair our joined other Nato leaders in agreeing that the Alliance will make its military the assets available for use in EU-led operations. A special command structure is to be set up to allow it to command Nato troops in a range of possible operations. Nato now considers itself free to act anywhere in the Euro-Atlantic area, with or without agreement of the UN. (Daily Telegraph 26 April 1999)

EU citizens can come to Britain, live here, enjoy social benefits and our free health service, which is what the EU is supposed to be all about. But if any Britain tries to live in France or Italy a very different set of rules apply. In both countries a residence permit is needed. In France one has to apply for a Carte de Sejour within 90 days of arrival which is also a work permit and an identity card and proof is required that the applicant can support himself without state aid. (Daily Mail 15 March 1999) (FFP 29)

The EC has introduced at complaints form for people who've been ripped off by an organisation. This saves composing a personal letter. It has a 5 page guide on how to use it and six pages to fill in. It is only on the internet in the UK and special software has to be downloaded in order to use it. (Guardian 16 July 1998)

The EU directive on Water Policy requires improvements in the water supply which have never been subjected to a cost benefit study. Consumers bills go up by 10%. (Guardian to July 1998)

When an Anglican clergyman is ordained or appointed to a post s/he is required to take the Oath of Allegiance to HM the Queen. Now that European Law over-rode British Law a clergyman enquired about the status of the Oath. Buckingham Palace asked Brussels. Brussels replied that the oath could stand as it is for the present. (Eurofaq posting 27/1/99)

EU commissioners must give a solemn undertaking that they will neither seek nor take instructions from any government. Yet, when appointed Privy Councillors, our commissioners made an oath or affirmation in the Queen's presence to accept that they would, to their uttermost, bear faith and allegiance onto the Queen's Majesty... and will assist and defend all jurisdictions, pre-eminencies and authorities against all foreign persons, states, etc. Yet for years they have breached this solemn undertaking. Counsel's opinion is that a breach of the Privy Council oath is a misfeasance in public office. (Daily Telegraph letter 22 March 1999)

Civil servant's oath of loyalty is to be revised. This is to ensure officials do not face conflicts of interest after the devolved administrations are established in Scotland and Wales. The planned change follows an admission that devolution would introduce tensions into the system of government. For the first time, the home civil service will not owe its loyalty to the government of the day. Instead, those officials working for regional executives will owe their loyalty to the devolved bodies. This is a prime example of how the EU inspired regionalisation of the UK diminishes central government authority-Ed. (Financial Times 16 April 1999)

Moves to introduce new EU rules to curb noise pollution are being hampered by big differences in the way member states measure the problem. The UK objected to proposals because they conflicted with our legal system. (E Voice 1/10/98)

Britain's bid to land a spaceship on Mars is facing cancellation, thanks to the euro. Germany, France and Spain have warned the European Space Agency they will not ease tight budget controls for the mars Express project. Cutbacks to prepare for the euro prevent it. (Guardian 29/11/98)

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission tends the graves of all who fell in recent wars. The Commission spends nearly all its £30m budget overseas, most of it on staff costs in Europe. The Working Time Directive means its staff will work for less time so it will be unable to meet its target of overhauling each cemetery every six years. (D Telegraph 12/11/98)

Funds worth £500m have been allocated to help Palestinians in Gaza. The EC built a 200-bed hospital in Gaza. It has remained empty, despite a desperate need, for two years because the EC cannot make a decision on funding the running costs. It promised a modern sewage plant for 120,000 Palestinians in Gaza but cannot decide how to go ahead after two administrative reorganisations in Brussels. The EC promised support for farming in Gaza but administrative bungling has postponed this too. Even local EC staff has not been paid. (BBC 2 Newsnight 7/10/98).

Flag Protocol Notes: When displayed with member flags (including that of the host country) the European Union flag takes the position of honour.( World Flag Database). The European Union has won agreement from the Government that its flag can be flown anywhere in Britain, without hindrance from local >authority rules, which had previously required planning permission to be sought. (Telegraph 11/7/00)

To celebrate the twinning of Westbury in Wiltshire with the French town of Château-du-Loir next month, Westbury town council wanted to fly the Union flag, a French tricolour and the EU flag alongside each other in the high street. One hitch: the district council has pointed out firmly that - as it's not the flag of a sovereign state (yet) - the EU flag is classed as an advertisement and requires appropriate planning permission. (D Telegraph 19/5/00)

The 1998 EC recruitment exams have been annulled following allegations of widespread cheating. An inquiry was launched into how copies of the exam papers were made public before the exam and why some candidates were able to use their mobile telephones in the toilets during the exam to get outside help. The EC is considering employing external invigilators in future. Tens of thousands of candidates will have to re-sit the exams at a cost of Ecu1.3m (European Voice 24/9/98)

United Kingdom Passports - House of Commons: Mr. Howard Flight (Arundel and South Downs): I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision with respect to the form and appearance of United Kingdom passports. The Bill would specifically require that the royal coat of arms be retained on the cover of the passports of British citizens. ….. I have confirmed with the EU Commission that the treaty of Amsterdam opens the door to the introduction of EU passports in five years' time by qualified majority vote, or sooner by unanimous agreement. As the House will be aware, the EU symbol will soon be on the front of driving licences and, under the 1981 directive, the European Council can by unanimous vote replace the British coat of arms with the EU symbol. The Amsterdam treaty provides, on the proposal of the Commission and the majority vote of the Council, the ability in five years' time to introduce a common format with the EU circle of stars on the front of the passport and for a full EU passport. The Court of Justice will be responsible for cross-border issues and visas, but no Government in the EU could appeal to the court in this matter.( Hansard extract:7 Jul 1998 : Column 863)

Morris dancers are hopping mad as they are finding it has become difficult to whack bystanders with the traditional pig’s bladder. They cannot get the bladders anymore because of EC offal rules. (Evening Standard ?/6/98) (FFP)

One of the most objectionable EU imports is the Euro-wasp. It is an aggressive creature that grows to an inch and a half long and delivers a severe sting. It is establishing itself all over England. They come from France and Belgium. The nests are built in hedges and are about the size of a football. A nest can contain up to 7,000 wasps and they will attack anyone who disturbs them. Like the EU, they seem to be here to stay-Ed. (D Telegraph 22/7/98)

English students attending Scottish universities have to pay £1,000 more in fees than Scottish students, or EU students. The reason why the UK government can discriminate against English students but not against Greeks or Spaniards is that EU law prevents discrimination against nationals of "other" member states. Hence the UK government can discriminate against the English, because the proposed discrimination is an internal matter, but he cannot discriminate against foreign students from EU countries. (Stephen Howd. Eurofaq@aol.com 29/7/98)

The European Committee on Standardisation is compiling a technical standard for shopping trolleys (BBC R4 You & Yours 2/7/98)

The European Offices of the County Councils now carry out Town and village twinning arrangements. Mayors are now required to take the Twinning Oath. This includes the pledge "to develop through a better mutual understanding, the notion of European brotherhood and to join forces so as to further, to the best of our ability, the success of this vital enterprise of peace and prosperity: the union of Europe. (Council of European Municipalities & Regions)

THE villagers of Hawkhurst in Kent reckon that the real battle over Europe is being waged in the corridors of their village hall. In theory, the fight concerns the parish council's plans to twin with sundry continental towns. But angry villagers contend that it is really about a secret plan to forge a closer union with Europe. After an unseemly skirmish with the French during the summer, villagers are now preparing to do battle with the Italians. Locals are furious that the 11-member council, whose ambition to twin with the French village of Audricq in the summer prompted public demonstrations in Hawkhurst, now wants to link up with the Italian town of Oriolo Romano. A survey conducted in 1998 by the council showed that 65 per cent of the villagers wanted nothing to do with twinning. When French delegates turned up in Hawkhurst in June - for what the council described as a "link" rather than formal twinning - they were met by a picket-line protest.( Telegraph 29/12/99)

Hundreds of asylum seekers are travelling to Britain from Belgium on Eurostar trains after being ordered to leave Europe's Schengen area. Britain is about the only option outside the Schengen area. Eurostar is being used because there are no immigration checks at Brussels and the service is not subject to so-called carrier's liability that effects airlines and ferry companies. They face a £2,000 fine if they bring in bogus refugees whose papers are not in order. (Daily Telegraph 25/3/98)

Belgium and Luxembourg have decided to reintroduce controls on their borders with Germany, France and the Netherlands. This follows Belgium's decision to give residence permits to some 20,000 - 25,000 of the country's 70,000 or so illegal immigrants who have no papers. The decision represents another nail in the coffin of the Schengen agreement, which abolished border controls between its signatory states and which has since been integrated into the Amsterdam treaty. The accord provided for strong controls on the external borders of Schengen-land, something which has evidently not happened. [Libération 11th January 2000; Handelsblatt, 10th January 2000]

Roman Catholic priests are up in arms over the introduction of sell-by date regulations for Communion wafers. A Vatican official said it appeared to be an example of Brussels-inspired harmonisation gone mad. Nuns in Pavia were told to date stamp the wafers they make for local churches. Communion wafers can be kept for years but food inspectors insisted on a sell-by date of one year. (Times 5/3/98)

The EU is extremely expensive to operate. Full meetings are held in Strasbourg, plenary sessions in Brussels and paperwork is handled in Luxembourg. Vast new buildings, which are only used intermittently, have been built in each centre. The total running cost is £680m a year and the UK contributes £70m to this cost (D Mail 29/4/96).

The EU Parliament's new building in Strasbourg is the largest construction project in France and the cost has increased by 50% in four years (FT 24/5/96). MEP's offices have showers costing £7,000 to install. The whole project is costing £700m. (D Telegraph 19/12/97). MEPs have just moved into a new £670m silver-glass palace in Brussels. It is known as the Folly of the Gods, Le Caprice des Dieux (D Telegraph Jan 1998).The Brussels building was started secretly by the Belgium government on the pretext of building a conference centre. The French were outraged and got written EU treaties to pledge that Strasbourg would remain the parliament's permanent home. Some MEPs believe their caravanserai was deliberately intended to neutralise their effectiveness. They have been denied the power to chose where they work. (FT 13/2/98). THE lifts are overcrowded as fuming, sweating passengers wait at each floor to get on board. The escalators don't appear to go anywhere and people can be seen wandering around the labyrinth of corridors. Facilities for the disabled are a scandal. Telephone and fax machines are temperamental and the air conditioning in the glass building wasn't working as temperatures soared into the 90s. These are just some of the criticisms levelled by Euro MPs at the new European Parliament building in Strasbourg which is costing taxpayers £2 million a month in rent. It looks stunning from the outside but is a shambles inside and has been branded a disaster.(Newcastle Evening Chronicle 27/7/99)

For the moment, we remain what we have long been - one of the great world centres of religious liberty. To what extent would this change if our Maastricht opt-outs were replaced by a complete acceptance of European social policy? Would our churches also have to be registered with the authorities, as in much of Europe? Would some be favoured with grants and public acceptance? Would others be rejected and even persecuted under cover of concern about the public good? Looking at the balance of Continental opinion, the answer at the moment seems to be yes: our traditions of religious liberty would go the way of our ancient weights and measures, harmonised out of existence. (Free Life Commentary 27th October 1997)

Museums under state control are forbidden to acquire chance or casual finds. This means that the British Museum will be banned from accepting most Treasure Trove. This rule from the European Convention on the Protection of Archaeological Heritage is aimed against illegal excavations.(Current Archaeology Feb. 1993)

Plumbers may soon be breaking the law by fitting flush toilets. Only continental style ones to be fitted. (Indy 24/3/93). Approval has been granted for plumbers to install the European flap valve toilet system. This system in inherently wasteful of water owing to leaking valves. Such leaks cannot happen with the UK syphonic design. (S Telegraph 21/12/97). As soon as CEN creates a harmonised standard on sanitary appliances, all products sold in the Single Market will have to conform. (CEC April 1995). The great British toilet is facing its Waterloo. 130 years after Thomas Crapper invented the siphonic lavatory, Brussels bureaucrats have won a battle that may render the water saving device redundant. Since 1871 it has been illegal here to install valve toilets like those used on the continent because they waste water. But in an amazing triumph of bureaucracy over commonsense the EU is about to force this country to take valve toilets back. With the sanitary ware market about to be flooded with cheaper products manufactured in countries including India, British producers will be forced lower their standards in order to compete. The industry anticipates that over next ten years 100,000 jobs will be lost by bowing to this absurd ruling from the EU. The valve systems waste water. According to French figures 300 million gallons of water year are lost through the system. (The Express 15/2/00)

EC legislation restricts the use of nickel in a way that threatens the UK button industry. Despite representations by the button manufacturers it has refused to change the law. (FT 15/7/95).

The Energy, Research and Technology Committee of the European Parliament has recommended that the SEPRA space study unit in France becomes a Euro-institution. This unit has reported 2,300 UFO sightings. The Committee says : The possibility that Aliens have established a base in the asteroid belt cannot be ruled out. (FT 2/12/93). The Committee on Energy. Research and Technology report includes a "Proposal to set up a European Centre for Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects." The report solemnly assures us "the public at large have been thrown into confusion by constant sighting of unidentified flying objects and more reliable and truthful information needs to be provided".(European Parliament draft report DOC EN/PR/233235)

The EU has approved in principle a common visa to be issued by immigration officers of all countries. EU working parties are developing a common "negative list" of countries whose citizens will need visas for all 15 states. This could include 28 Commonwealth states that currently enjoy visa free access. (FT 6/3/95)

The Council of Ministers and the European Parliament have passed a law banning leg traps for catching wildlife. Part 1 was effected in Europe in 1995, part 2 bans the import of skins from animals caught in cruel leg traps comes into effect in January 1996. The Trade Commissioner, Leon Brittain, has decided to postpone part 2 of the law. He has the power to do this. Britain was the only country to vote against him (Indy 12/11/95). Agreements have now been made with Canada and Russia on humane trapping standards but not with the USA (CEC briefing 5/7/97). The US offered to phase out leg-hold traps within eight years. (FT 27/11/97) but this has been rejected by the EU. (FT28/11/97)

Businesses that operate weighbridges were told that Brussels officials had decided that mechanical weighbridges were outlawed, they all had to be electronic. UK businesses went ahead with the expensive conversion. It later transpired that no other EU country implemented the decision, in fact, no law was ever passed (D Express 23/4/96).

Women who are sexually harassed while on holiday in a foreign country can sue the holiday operator for personal injury under the EC Directive on Package Travel. (GUARDIAN 2/8/95)

The EU Commission wants to introduce a computer driving licence. The objective is to avoid computer help lines from being plagued with minor problems. It is likely to become compulsory for job applicants. It is not intended to be a requirement for anyone using the Internet but could become so. The initial cost will be £40. (New Scientist 11/1/97 p 8)

The EU Commission wants to abolish the 999 emergency number and replace it with different free-phone numbers for ambulance, fire, police and motoring breakdown organisations. It also wants a new EU phone prefix number of 003. The UK government is resisting the proposal because there is neither a social need nor customer demand nor have the costs and benefits been demonstrated. (Daily Telegraph 14/1/97)

The European Parliament has voted to adorn all schemes such as roads and bridges, which are partly funded by EU grants with statues of EU heroes, such as Jacques Delors. (Sun 31/1/97)

The UK government has been trying in vain to get the EU Commission to take action to avoid the Millennium Bomb. This is the inability of computer software in manufacturing, telecommunications, finance, hospitals, even aircraft, to deal with the date change in the year 2000. The UK is well advanced with reprogramming but the rest of Europe is not concerned. Our government and industry will refuse to engage in transactions with faulty systems. (FT 7/3/97). The introduction of the EMU as the world's computer programmers are trying to defuse the millennium bomb in 2000 ranks as one of the worst public policy decisions in history, according to Software Productivity Research, USA. The diversion of programming resources will cause the EU to fall far behind in the ability to build new applications for world markets. (FT 18/2/98). Recent surveys indicate that the level of preparation remains relatively limited across the EU (CEC WE/8/98)

The European Socialist Group of the European Parliament is considering a report on technology in education, including heated underpants for schoolchildren to help them pass exams. (D Telegraph (26/3/97)