Timeline European Union: Common Market
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EU History: http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/index_en.htm
EU History: http://www.historiasiglo20.org/europe/integra.htm
The EU was initially formed as an
economic trading block. It has continued to grow and develop as a
broad-based social entity with open internal borders. May 9 is Europe
Day.
(Econ, 7/28/07, p.55)
1306
Pierre Dubois, a counselor for the Duke of Burgundy,
called for a European federation.
(Econ, 1/3/04, p.39)
1947 Jun 5, Secretary of State
George C. Marshall in a speech at Harvard Univ. called for a European
Recovery Program to be initiated by the European powers and supported
by American aid (Marshall Plan). The program was intended to assist
European nations, including former enemies, to rebuild their economies.
In 2007 Greg Behrman authored “The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall
Plan and the Time When America Helped Save Europe.”
(EWH, 1968, p.1207)(SFEC, 5/25/97, p.A10)(AP,
6/5/97)(HN, 6/5/98)(WSJ, 8/7/07, p.D6)
1948 A 10-nation Western European
Union defense alliance was formed.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A14)
1949 May 5, The treaty
constituting the Statute of the Council of Europe was signed by ten
countries: Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United
Kingdom, accompanied by Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Robert Schuman, foreign minister of France, defined a country as
European by its democratic and institutional adherence to common
European values.
(http://tinyurl.com/tye8k)(Econ, 11/18/06, p.21)
1950 May 9, The first step in the
process of foundation of the European Community was given by the French
Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman. In a speech inspired by Jean Monnet,
Schuman proposed that France and Germany and any other European country
wishing to join them pool their coal and steel resources. This plan of
economic integration looked for developing the approach between France
and Germany, moving definitively away the haunt of war in Europe.
(Econ, 5/28/05,
p.27)(www.historiasiglo20.org/europe/anteceden2.htm)
1950 Jul 1, The European Payment
Union (EPU) came into being, by agreement of the country members of the
Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). The latter
had replaced the original Committee of European Economic Cooperation
(CEEC), in April, 1948, and is an organization of European recipients
of U.S. economic assistance.
(www.eagletraders.com)
1951 Jean Monnet, French civil
servant, and Robert Schuman, French foreign minister, helped found the
European Union with agreements between 6 countries on the pooling of
coal and steel resources.
(Econ, 9/25/04, Survey p.3)
1954 May 18, European Convention
on Human Rights went into effect.
(SC, 5/18/02)
1954 Oct 23, Following a London
Conference, agreements on a modified Brussels Treaty were signed in
Paris and the Western European Union (WEU) came into being.
(http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/eec.htm)
1955 Jun 1-1955 Jun 2, Foreign
ministers of 6 European countries met at a Conference in Messina,
Italy, and agreed to extend European integration to all branches of the
economy.
(http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/eec.htm)
1956 Nov 6, Pressure from the US
and USSR effected a cease-fire in the Middle-East. The UN created an
emergency force (UNEF) to supervise a cease fire. Britain’s PM Anthony
Eden called French PM Guy Mollet to tell him that Britain was aborting
operations in Egypt. German chancellor Konrad Adenauer, meeting with
Mollet, remarked that Europe must unite to counter the influence of the
United States.
(TOH, 1982, p.1956)(EWH, 1968, p. 1242)(Econ,
7/29/06, p.24)
1956 The Eurovision Song Contest,
the brainchild of French music producer Marcel Baison, began with 7
contestants.
(Econ, 5/14/05, p.57)
1957 Mar 25, The Treaties
establishing the European Economic Community and the European Atomic
Energy Community were signed in Rome. The Treaty of Rome enabled
people, goods, services and money to move unchecked throughout the
Union. The Council of Ministers represents the governments of the
members. Major decisions are made by the Council of Foreign Ministers.
A 20-member Commission composed of appointed representatives of each
member state serves as the administrative arm and members represent the
Union. The Commission proposes and executes laws and policies. A
European Parliament is composed of 626 members elected by the
electorates of the member states and they sit in party groups. The
Commission proposes, the Parliament advises, and the Council decides.
The goal was to create a common market for all products but especially
coal and steel.
(AP, 3/25/97)(HN,
3/24/98)(http://www.churchill-society-london.org.uk/eec.htm)
1958 Jan 1, Treaties establishing
the European Economic Community went into effect.
(AP, 1/1/98)
1959 Nov 20, Seven European
nations (Austria, Britain, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden,
Switzerland) signed the Stockholm Convention to form the European Free
Trade Association (EFTA). The organization becoming operative on May 3
1960.
(www.iceland.org/efta/the-mission/int-organizations/efta/)
1961 Jul 31, Ireland formally
applied for membership in the European Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1961/index_en.htm)
1961 Aug 9, The United Kingdom
applied for membership in the European Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1961/index_en.htm)
1961 Aug 10, Denmark formally
applied for membership in the European Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1961/index_en.htm)
1962 Nov 1, Greece entered the
European Common Market.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1962/index_en.htm)
1963 Sep, The Treaty of Ankara on
reducing duties implicitly recognized Turkey’s right to join the
European Economic Community.
(WSJ, 10/6/04, p.A17)
1963 The EU signed a trade deal in
Yaounde, Cameroon, to keep markets open to former European colonies in
Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands (ACP).
(Econ, 5/28/05, p.78)
1967 May 11, The United Kingdom
re-applied to join the European Community. It is followed by Ireland
and Denmark and, a little later, by Norway. General de Gaulle is still
reluctant to accept British accession.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1967/index_en.htm)
1969 Dec 1, On the initiative of
the French President, Georges Pompidou, the Heads of State or
Government of 6 European countries met in The Hague in order to define
the methods of reviving the European integration process. The Hague
Summit was held to establish the goal of European monetary union.
(WSJ, 3/25/98,
p.A22)(www.ena.lu/hague_summit_december_1969-022500027.html)
1973 Jan 1, The European Union
(EU) admitted Britain, Ireland and Denmark even though they made
chocolate containing a small percentage of vegetable fat.
(WSJ, 12/4/97,
p.A22)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_European_Union)
1973 A Frenchman invented a
standard Eurobarometer poll to show how various member countries agreed
and disagreed. The first poll was published in 1974.
(Econ, 2/23/08,
p.72)(http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/standard_en.htm)
1975 Jun 5, The outcome of the
British referendum reveals that 67.2% of voters are in favor of the
United Kingdom remaining a member of the Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1975/index_en.htm)
1975 Feb 28, The EU signed another
trade deal in Lome, Togo, to keep markets open to former European
colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific Islands (ACP).
(Econ, 5/28/05,
p.78)(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1975/index_en.htm)
1975 May 20, The European Economic
Community adopted a trade agreement with Israel.
(http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/international/3a15en.html)
1979 Mar 13, European Monetary
System (EMS) entered into force.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1961/index_en.htm)
1979 May 28, The acts relating to
Greece's accession to the European Communities were signed in Athens,
Greece.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1979/index_en.htm)
1979 Jun 7-1979 Jun 10, The first
elections to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage were
held. The turnout for the vote was 63%.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1979/index_en.htm)(Econ, 5/9/09, p.56)
1979 Jun 28, The Greek Parliament
ratified the Treaty of Accession.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1979/index_en.htm)
1981 Oct 18, Andreas Papandreou
(d.1996) was elected prime minister and Greece joined the European
Union.
(SFEC, 7/26/98, BR
p.3)(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1981/index_en.htm)
1982 Feb 23, In a consultative
referendum, Greenland, which became a member of the European Community
as part of Denmark, opted for withdrawal from the Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1982/index_en.htm)
1982 Oct 1, The framework
agreement on cooperation between the European Community and Brazil
entered into force.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1982/index_en.htm)
1983 Dec 17, An Economic
cooperation agreement between the Community and the Andean Pact
countries was signed in Cartagena, Colombia.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1983/index_en.htm)
1984 Mar 12, The EU Council signed
an agreement on future relations between Greenland and the Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1984/index_en.htm)
1984 Jun 25-1984 Jun 26, A
European Council is held in Fontainebleau, France. The Ten reach an
agreement on the amount of compensation to be granted to the United
Kingdom to reduce its contribution to the Community budget.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1984/index_en.htm)
1984 Oct 9, A cooperation
agreement between the European Community and the Yemen Republic was
signed in Brussels.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1984/index_en.htm)
1984 The EU introduced milk
quotas. They were designed when low market prices and high subsidies
were filling EU warehouses with surplus “butter mountains” and mounds
of milk powder, at ever greater cost to the EU budget.
(www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10689170)
1985 Feb 1, Greenland left the
European Community but remains associated with it as an overseas
territory.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1985/index_en.htm)
1985 Mar 29-1985 Mar 30, A
European Council is held in Brussels, Belgium. It accepts the adhesion
of Spain and Portugal in the European Communities and agrees on the
Integrated Mediterranean Programmes (IMP) as proposed by the Commission.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1985/index_en.htm)
1985 Jun 12, Spain and Portugal
signed Accession Treaties to the European Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1985/index_en.htm)
1985 Jun 14, European states
signed the Schengen Agreement, which allowed for the abolition of
systematic border controls between the participating countries. The
agreement was incorporated into EU law in 1997.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_treaty)(Econ,
10/13/07, p.53)
1985 Dec 2-1985 Dec 4, A European
Council was held in Luxembourg. The Ten agreed to amend the Treaty of
Rome and to revitalize the process of European integration by drawing
up a Single European Act.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1985/index_en.htm)
1985 The EU instituted the
Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought as a tribute to the Soviet
dissident Andrei Sakharov.
(SFC, 10/25/96, p.A17)
1985 The EU began its "Culture
Capital" program to promote European integration.
(SFC, 8/3/99, p.A8)
1985-1995 Frenchman Jacques Delors served as
president of the European Commission.
(Econ, 2/14/04, p.50)
1986 Feb 17, The Single European
Act modifying the Treaty of Rome was signed a 1st time in Luxembourg.
[see Feb 28] The single European Act was passed to end trade
restricting regulations and create a true single European market by
1992.
(Econ, 9/25/04, Survey
p.9)(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1986/index_en.htm)
1986 Feb 28, The Single European
Act modifying the Treaty of Rome was signed a 2nd time in The Hague.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1986/index_en.htm)
1986 Mar 1, In Sweden Social
Democrat Ingvar Carlsson became prime minister. He served until October
1991. Under his administration Sweden made the decision to apply to
join the EU.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Sweden)(Econ, 3/3/07,
p.57)
1986 Sep 15-1986 Sep 20, In Punta
del Este, Uruguay, the Ministers of ninety-two nations agreed to a new
round of multilateral trade negotiations (Uruguay Round).
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1986/index_en.htm)
1986 Nov, The European Commission
decided on GSM as the first digital standard.
(Econ, 2/3/07, SR p.8)
1986 Portugal and Spain entered
the European Union expanding the membership to 12.
(WSJ, 5/23/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 7/18/03, p.D5)(Econ,
6/13/09, SR p.3)
1987 Apr 14, The Turkish
Government formally applies to join the European Communities.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1987/index_en.htm)
1987 May 13, The Bank of Spain
signed an agreement to join the European Monetary System.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1987/index_en.htm)
1987 Nov 10, The Bank of Portugal
signed an agreement to join the European Monetary System (EMS).
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1987/index_en.htm)
1987 The EU inked its first
fishing deal with Mauritania.
(WSJ, 1/18/07, p.A13)
1988 Sep 26, A Trade and economic
cooperation agreement between the European Community and Hungary was
signed in Brussels. The European Council adopted a declaration
regarding the American law on trade and competitivity (the "Trade
Act"). It expresses its preoccupations about the protectionist
potential of the law.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1988/index_en.htm)
1989 Jun 19, The Spanish peseta
entered the European Monetary System (EMS) exchange-rate mechanism; the
composition of the ECU is adjusted following the inclusion of the
Spanish peseta and the Portuguese escudo.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1989/index_en.htm)
1989 Jul 17, Austria formally
applies to join the European Community.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1989/index_en.htm)
1989 Sep 19, The trade and
commercial and economic cooperation agreement between the Community and
Poland signed in Warsaw, Poland.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1989/index_en.htm)
1989 Oct 3, The EU Parliament
issued its “Television Without Frontiers” directive.
(http://ics.leeds.ac.uk/papers/vp01.cfm?outfit=ks&folder=4&paper=11)
1989 Dec 18, An agreement on trade
and commercial and economic cooperation between the European Community
and the Soviet Union is signed in Brussels, Belgium.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1989/index_en.htm)
1990 Apr 18, A Franco-German
proposal was made at the Dublin summit for the political union of the
12 European Community member countries.
(www.unesco.org/mitterrand/anglais/ieuroues.htm)(http://tinyurl.com/36pexa)
1990 May 17, The effective date
for pension rights for both men and women as ruled by a European court
in 1994.
(www.opas.org.uk/PensionRights/EqualTreatment/equalTreatment.htm)
1990 Jul 1, The first phase of the
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) comes into force. Four Member States
(Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland) are granted an exceptional regime
given their insufficient progress towards financial integration.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1990/index_en.htm)
1990 Oct, French Pres. Francois
Mitterand called for an economic government of Europe during a
Franco-German summit in Paris.
(Econ, 7/14/07, p.58)
1990 Dec 15, European Community
leaders wrapped up a historic summit in Rome committed to creating a
politically unified federation.
(AP, 12/15/00)
1991 Apr 14, The European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development is inaugurated in London, United Kingdom.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1991/index_en.htm)
1991 Oct 21-1991 Oct 22, The
European Community and the European Free Trade Association concluded a
landmark accord to create a free trade zone of 19 nations by 1993.
(AP,
10/22/01)(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1991/index_en.htm)
1991 Nov 8, The European Community
and Canada imposed economic sanctions on Yugoslavia in an attempt to
stop the Balkan civil war.
(AP, 11/8/01)
1991 Dec 9-1991 Dec 11, European
Community leaders meeting in the Dutch city of Maastricht tentatively
agreed to begin using a single currency by 1999. The European Council
reached an agreement on the draft Treaty on the European Union.
(AP,
12/9/01)(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1991/index_en.htm)
1991 Dec 11, European Community
leaders meeting in the Dutch city of Maastricht hammered out a
compromise for a loose federation of their countries. The Maastricht
treaty was signed on February 7, 1992, and entered into force on
November 1, 1993. It set entry terms for joining a European monetary
union.
(WSJ, 11/18/96, p.A10)(WSJ, 3/3/97, p.A1)(AP,
12/11/01)
1991 Dec 16, "Europe Agreements"
are signed with Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1991/index_en.htm)
1992 Feb 7, The Treaty on the
European Union was signed in Maastricht by the Foreign and Finance
Ministers of the Member States.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Mar 18, Finland formally
applies to join the European Communities.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 May 11, 12 European countries
recalled their ambassadors from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia to protest
Serb involvement in Bosnia's ethnic war.
(AP, 5/11/97)
1992 May 20, Switzerland formally
applies to join the European Communities.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Jun 2, Danish voters rejected
the Maastricht union treaty.
(AP, 6/2/97)
1992 Jun 18, A referendum is held
in Ireland, the people vote in favor of the ratification of the Treaty
on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Jul 2, Luxembourg ratifies
the Treaty on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Jul 31, Greece ratifies the
Treaty on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Sep 20, French voters
narrowly approved the Maastricht Treaty on European union.
(AP, 9/20/97)
1992 Oct 26, Italy ratifies the
Treaty on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Nov 4, Belgium ratifies the
Treaty on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Nov 25, Norway formally
applies to join the European Communities. Spain ratifies the Treaty on
the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Dec 2, Germany's lower house
of parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Maastricht Treaty on
European unity.
(AP, 12/2/97)
1992 Dec 6, A narrow majority of
Swiss referendum voters rejected the idea of joining the European
Economic Area, a free trade club embracing the EU and Liechtenstein.
(Econ, 5/22/04,
p.46)(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Dec 11, Portugal ratified the
Treaty on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Dec 15, The Netherlands
ratified the Treaty on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Dec 18, Germany ratified the
Treaty on the European Union.
(http://europa.eu.int/abc/history/1992/index_en.htm)
1992 Jacques Delors, president of
the European Commission, almost scuppered the Uruguay round of world
trade talks rather than cut farm spending.
(Econ, 11/5/05, p.58)
xxxx
1993 Jun, EU membership criteria
were laid down at the European Council in Copenhagen, Denmark. Under
the “Copenhagen criteria” would-be EU members were required to show
that they meet the political and institutional standards of membership.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_criteria)(Econ, 12/2/06, p.55)
1993 Dec 14, The United States and
European Community set aside a bitter fight over films, unlocking the
door to the world's biggest-ever trade reform package.
(AP, 12/14/02)
1994 Jun 24, The EU and Russia
signed a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). It went into
force on Dec 1, 1997.
(www.eu-russiacentre.org/assets/files/Arbatova_article.pdf)
1995 Jan 1, Austria, Finland and
Sweden joined the European Union. Sweden held their elections to the
parliament later that year on 17 September. Austria held its elections
on 13 October, 1996 and Finland on 20 October, 1996.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_European_Union)(Econ,
5/1/04, p.26)
1995 Nov, The Barcelona Process,
launched by Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Ministers, formed an innovative
alliance based on the principles of joint ownership, dialogue and
co-operation. It brings together the 27 Members of the European Union
and 12 Southern Mediterranean states. Economic incentives and the
strengthening of civil society were used to encourage reform.
(http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/euromed/index_en.htm)(Econ,
11/26/05, p.68)
1995 The EU banned Sudan 1, a red
dye and genotoxic carcinogen, from use in food.
(Econ, 2/26/05, p.56)
1996 Mar 27, The European Union
imposed a global ban on British beef and beef products due to concerns
over mad cow disease.
(SFC, 6/14/96, p. A17)
1996 Apr, The EU decided to allow
Monsanto to begin selling genetically modified soybeans in Europe.
(WSJ, 11/30/99, p.A1)
1996 Jun 9, The latest average
unemployment rate was 11%.
(SFC, 6/9/96, Parade, p.9)
1996 Jun 11, A trade pact between
the EU and Algeria was passed along with an agreement to provide $3.6
million to help pay for elections in Bosnia.
(SFC, 6/11/96, p.A15)
1996 Jun 19, The European Union
approved a British plan for wiping out “mad cow” disease.
(SFC, 6/20/96, p.A10)
1996 Jul 12, The EU warned that it
would freeze US assets and impose visa requirements on Americans if
European companies are penalized for investing in Cuba.
(SFC, 7/13/96, p.A9)
1996 Oct 2, The EU said that it
will challenge the US Helms-Burton law in a new court of world trade.
(SFC, 10/2/96, p.A8)
1996 Oct 16, The EU began its
campaign against the US Helms-Burton Act by asking the WTO (World Trade
Organization) to set up a panel to resolve differences over the law.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A9)
1996 Oct 24, The EU voted to block
hundreds of millions in aid to Turkey for failure to sufficiently
improve human rights.
(SFC, 10/25/96, p.A17)
1997 Jan 1, The EU introduced the
Pan-European Cumulation System (PECS) to turn a latticework of
bilateral trade rules into a single multilateral umbrella. It extended
the system to include Turkey in 1999.
(Econ, 8/5/06,
p.68)(www.foreigntrade.gov.tr/ab/ingilizce/panavrup.htm)
1997 Apr 11, The EU postponed for
6 months a WTO case that charged the US with unfair trade practices.
(WSJ, 4/14/97, p.A1)
1997 Oct 2, The EU formally set up
a common foreign and security policy in the Amsterdam Treaty. It set to
adopt key asylum and immigration measures within five years of the
treaty's entry into force, expected in 1999. A protocol to the 1997
Treaty of Amsterdam reclassified animals as sentient beings.
(Econ, 8/26/06,
p.42)(http://hrw.org/worldreport/Helsinki-28.htm)(Econ, 12/2/06, p.88)
1997 Nov 11, The EU high court
upheld hiring and promotional preferences for women.
(SFC,11/12/97, p.C2)
1997 Dec 1, The Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Russia and the EU came into force.
It was signed in June 1994 to encourage political, commercial, economic
and cultural cooperation.
(www.delrus.ec.europa.eu/en/p_243.htm)
1997 Dec 4, The EU banned tobacco
advertising and gave cigarette makers until 2006 to end sponsorship of
major sports and cultural events. Governments get 3 years to enact the
ban beginning Oct 1988 on all advertising except at stores that sell
cigarettes.
(SFC,12/5/97, p.B2)
1997 John Laughland authored “The
Tainted source: The undemocratic origins of the European idea.”
(Econ, 1/3/04, p.39)
1997 The EU established a
stability pact that included a member limit of 3% on deficits and a
goal of avoiding a national debt bigger than 60% of GDP.
(Econ, 3/26/05, p.55)
1998 Mar 25, The executive body of
the EU endorsed a proposal for 11 nations to be part of the new system.
These included Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Portugal, Finland, Ireland, Austria and Luxembourg.
(SFC, 3/26/98, p.B3)
1998 Mar 31, The EU set this date
for membership talks with Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic,
Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus. Preliminary talks were also set with
Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.
(SFC,12/13/97, p.A12)
1998 May 3, European leaders
selected Dutchman Wim Duisenberg as chief of the new European Central
Bank (ECB), with the proviso that he leave in 2002 and allow
Jean-Claude Trichet of France to take over.
(BS, 5/3/98, p.21A)
1998 May 20, The EU approved a
rescue package to save the French Credit Lyonnais banking group. In
exchange the state bank would be privatized and assets would have to be
sold.
(SFC, 5/22/98, p.D4)
1998 Jul 1, The European Central
Bank was inaugurated with headquarters in Frankfurt under Pres. Wim
Duisenberg.
(SFC, 5/1/98, p.A18)(SFC, 7/2/98, p.C3)
1998 Dec, A Dutch auditor working
for the European Commission charged that commissioners were awarding
contracts to friends and relatives.
(SFC, 1/12/99, p.A8)
1998 The EU agreed to ban asbestos
by 2005.
(WSJ, 12/9/02, p.A1)
1999 Jan 1, The Maastricht Treaty
specified that a monetary union will be established by this date, and
laid down several criteria that EU nations must fulfill in order to
join. Some of the criteria are: maximum budget deficits of 3% of GDP, a
cap on government debt of 60% of GDP. The European economic and
monetary union (EMU) was scheduled to start with a new "Euro" currency.
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain made the transition.
(WSJ, 9/25/95, p.A-12)(WSJ, 12/5/95, p.A-14)(SFC,
11/16/96, p.A1)(SFC, 1/1/99, p.A8)
1999 Jan 1, Weimar, Germany, began
its tenure as the EU Culture Capital for the year.
(SFC, 8/3/99, p.A8)
1999 Jan 4, The euro, the new
money of 11 European nations, got off to a strong start on its first
trading day, rising against the dollar on world currency markets and
closed in New York at $1.181. A founding principal of the euro area
held that national central banks be independent of their governments.
(SFC, 1/5/99, p.C2)(AP, 1/4/00)(HN, 1/4/01)(Econ,
2/25/06, p.77)
1999 Jan 25, The US planned to
notify the World Trade Organization that it planned sanctions on the
European Union and 100% tariffs on a wide range of products due to a
dispute over EU banana import laws.
(SFC, 1/13/99, p.A11)
1999 Jan 14, The EU voted against
censure after EU Pres. Jacques Santer of Luxembourg pledged to impose a
reform program to prevent fraud.
(SFC, 1/15/99,
p.A15)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Santer)
1999 Mar 15, All 20 members of the
EU executive body, the European Commission also called "the college,"
resigned in the wake of charges of fraud, corruption and mismanagement.
(SFC, 3/16/99, p.A1)(Econ, 9/13/03, p.50)
1999 Mar 24, The EU leaders in
Berlin chose Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy, as the new
chief executive.
(SFC, 3/25/99, p.A5)
1999 Apr 8, The EU cut interest
rates by .50% from 3% to 2.5% in an attempt to stave off a recession.
(WSJ, 4/9/99, p.A9)
1999 Apr 14, The EU countries
proposed a peace plan for Kosovo, wherein the province would be placed
under temporary European administration if Pres. Milosevic withdraws
his forces and allows refugees to return.
(SFC, 4/15/99, p.C2)
1999 May 3, EU scientists said
that the hormone, 17 beta-oestradiol, used by American cattle farmers
is carcinogenic. The EU 10 year ban on the use of hormones in beef
would likely be maintained.
(WSJ, 5/4/99, p.A14)
1999 May 5, The EU endorsed Romano
Prodi, the former prime minister of Italy, as the next president of the
European Commission.
(WSJ, 5/6/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 3, The 15-member EU
announced plans to establish itself as a military power with a
60,000-troop force. A day later the EU named Javier Solana as the 1st
foreign policy and security czar of the union.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A14)(SFC, 6/5/99, p.A12)
1999 Jun 4, The EU named Javier
Solana as the 1st foreign policy and security czar of the union.
(SFC, 6/5/99, p.A12)
1999 Jun 14, Voters in the
15-nation bloc of the European Union overturned socialist dominance
with the election of the center-right European People's Party.
(SFC, 6/15/99, p.C16)
1999 Jun 19, The Bologna process
for the creation of the European Higher Education Area started. 29
European Ministers responsible for higher education signed the Bologna
declaration in which they undertake to create a European Higher
Education Area.
(www.aic.lv/ace/ace_disk/Bologna/about_bol.htm)
1999 Jul 14, The EU agreed to
resume British beef exports on Aug 1, ending a 3-year ban due to mad
cow disease.
(WSJ, 7/15/99, p.A13)
1999 Jul 20, Nicole Fontaine of
the European's People's Party was elected as leader of the European
Parliament.
(WSJ, 7/21/99, p.A19)
1999 Aug 1, The EU cleared British
beef for export. A ban had followed the 1996 mad cow crises.
(SFC, 8/3/99, p.A9)
1999 Oct 11, South Africa and the
European Union signed a free-trade pact.
(SFC, 10/12/99, p.C16)
1999 Oct 29, A EU Commission ruled
that British beef was safe to eat despite French arguments for a ban to
guard against mad cow disease.
(SFC, 10/30/99, p.A12)
1999 Nov 24, Mexico and the EU
agreed on terms for a free trade treaty.
(SFC, 11/25/99, p.A14)
1999 Nov 30, It was reported that
the EU passed the Electronic Signature Directive, a law that gave legal
status to digital signatures.
(WSJ, 12/1/99, p.A24B15)
2000 Jan 11, An EU court ruled in
favor of a German woman who claimed that a German constitutional ban
against women bearing arms amounts to sexual discrimination.
(SFC, 1/12/00, p.A11)
2000 Jan 26, The EU and Yugoslavia
crafted a $24 million plan to clear Danube River bridge debris due to
NATO bombing.
(WSJ, 1/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Jan 31, The European Union
warned Austria that its 14 members would diplomatically isolate Austria
if the Freedom Party of Joerg Haider entered into a coalition
government.
(SFC, 2/1/00, p.A10)
2000 May 19, China and the EU
agreed to open markets.
(SFC, 5/20/00, p.A8)
2000 Jun 23, The Cotonou
Agreement, a treaty between the European Union and the group of
African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP countries), was signed in
Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, by 79 ACP countries and the then
fifteen Member States of the EU. It entered into force in 2002 and is
the latest agreement in the history of ACP-EU Development Cooperation.
As of Dec 31, 2007, the Cotonou Agreement ceased to be legal under the
rules of the WTO.
(Econ, 5/28/05, p.78)(Econ, 1/5/08,
p.74)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotonou_Agreement)
2000 Sep 12, The EU lifted
diplomatic sanctions against Austria.
(SFC, 9/13/00, p.A12)
2000 Oct 25, Europe with support
from Canada and Japan announced a $280 million support package for
Colombian efforts to make peace with leftist rebels.
(SFC, 10/26/00, p.D8)
2000 Nov 20, The EU began to build
its own defense force, a 60,000 man, rapid reaction corps. EU defense
chiefs pledged 100,000 soldiers, 400 planes and 100 ships for a
rapid-reaction force.
(SFEC, 11/19/00, p.A16)(WSJ, 11/21/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 6, A European Union
summit began in Nice to prepare for expansion to 27 or more members.
(SFC, 12/6/00, p.C5)
2000 Dec 11, The EU in Nice
reached a compromise in the early hours on a treaty that gave the 4
most populous countries a stronger voice in decision making and paved
the way for as many as 13 new members over the next decade.
(SFC, 12/11/00, p.A12)(Econ, 3/17/07, SR p.9)
2000 EU Implementation of new
anti-pollution laws began. The EU in 1998 announced plans for tougher
anti-pollution laws to take effect to make car engines and fuels burn
cleaner.
(SFC, 7/3/98, p.D2)
2001 Jan 1, Sweden took over the
6-month rotating presidency of the EU. Its priorities centered on
enlargement of the union, along with environment and employment
concerns.
(WSJ, 1/04/00, p.A15)
2001 Mar 6, The EU ordered all
livestock markets closed for 2 weeks to contain foot-and-mouth disease.
(SFC, 3/7/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 13, US regulators moved
to ban all live animals and uncooked animal products from the EU
following the discovery of hoof-and-mouth disease in France.
(SFC, 3/14/01, p.A1)
2001 Mar 24, EU leaders ended a 2
day meeting in Stockholm announced that they would dispatch a team of
mediators to help the peace process between North and South Korea.
(SSFC, 3/25/01, p.C6)
2001 Mar 28, The EU expressed
concern over Pres. Bush’s abandonment of the Kyoto Treaty for cutting
carbon dioxide emissions.
(WSJ, 3/29/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 30, It was reported that
Germany’s Chancellor Schroeder had proposed a draft for turning the EU
Executive Commission into a European government and giving the EU
Parliament full power over the 15-nation budget.
(SFC, 4/30/01, p.A8)
2001 May 14, The European
Commission announced that it would establish diplomatic ties with North
Korea.
(WSJ, 5/15/01, p.A1)
2001 Jun 8, Irish voters rejected
the EU’s Nice treaty to pave the way for 12 new members. The Irish
reportedly feared immigrants in search of jobs and participation in an
EU Rapid Reaction Force.
(SFC, 6/9/01, p.A9)(Econ, 3/17/07, SR p.10)
2001 Jun 14, Pres. Bush clashed
with EU leaders in Sweden over his global warming policy. The EU
leaders said they would move to implement the Kyoto treaty without the
US.
(SFC, 6/15/01, p.A1)
2001 Jun 16, In Goteborg, Sweden,
15 EU leaders ended a 3-day summit and agreed to a firm timetable to
admit new members by 2004.
(SSFC, 6/17/01, p.A12)
2001 Sep 9, EU foreign ministers
agreed on the need for a new int’l. military force to provide security
in Macedonia after NATO withdrawal.
(SFC, 9/10/01, p.B1)
2001 Oct 4, The EU made a joint
announcement with Spain that the Basque ETA would be put on the list of
terrorist organizations whose assets would be frozen by the EU.
(WSJ, 10/5/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 10, The EU and leaders of
several African nations agreed on a “Marshall Plan for Africa” to
combat poverty and disease and allow access to markets in the
industrialized world.
(SFC, 10/11/01, p.C2)
2001 Oct 19, EU leaders pledged
their continued support for the US-led campaign in Afghanistan.
(SSFC, 10/21/01, p.A16)
2001 Dec 14, European nations
began distributing a “Eurokit” of euro coins in advance of the Jan 1
day when the euro becomes legal tender.
(SFC, 12/15/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 15, EU leaders concluded
a 2-day Council at Laeken, Belgium. The adoption of the Laeken
Declaration on the Future of Europe, established the European
Convention. A constitutional convention was planned. This process was
supposed to simplify the EU’s legal architecture. The admittance of 10
new members over the next 2 years was also planned. The EU declared
their nascent joint military force operational.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_Councils)(WSJ, 12/17/01,
p.A14)(Econ, 10/27/07, p.16)
2001 Dec 28, The EU expanded its
list of terrorist organizations to include Irish, Basque, Greek and
Middle Eastern extremist groups.
(SFC, 12/29/01, p.A11)
2001 An EU directive gave member
nations until 2006 to comply with an art sale levy, droit de suite
(right of continuation), allowing artists to claim a sliding scale
royalty on the resale price of their works selling for over 1000 euros.
(WSJ, 1/13/06, p.P14)
2001 The EU began work on the
Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals
(REACH). The final package was expected to come into force in April,
2007.
(Econ, 12/9/06, p.70)
2001 At Washington’s request the
UN Security Council ordered that the assets of Yassin Qadi, a Saudi
businessman and multimillionaire, be frozen soon after the Sep 11
attacks in NYC. He was alleged to be a financier of Islamic terrorism
with close links to al-Qaida. The EU froze the assets of Yasin al-Qadi,
a Saudi businessman, and the Al-Barakaat International Foundation, a
Sweden-based charity suspected of funding al-Qaida terror groups. In
2008 the EU's highest court overturned the decision saying the order
failed to offer those on a terror blacklist any legal rights to a
judicial review under European law. Also frozen were the assets of Omar
Mohammed Othman, also known as Abu Qatada, an extremist Muslim preacher
from Jordan. In 2009 an EU court voided the freeze on Othman due to
lack of proper judicial review. Othman has lived in Britain since 1993,
has been arrested several times there under anti-terrorist legislation
and currently faced deportation to Jordan.
(WSJ, 8/29/07, p.A1)(AP, 9/3/08)(AP, 6/11/09)
2002 Jan 1, In Europe 50 billion
new euro coins and 14 billion new euro notes began circulating in 12
participating countries in the most ambitious currency changeover in
history.
(SFC, 1/2/02, p.A8)(AP, 1/1/03)
2002 Feb, The EU complained that
Thailand’s 10-baht coin, introduced in 1988, was being used in vending
machines all over Europe due to its similarity to the new 2-euro coin.
(SSFC, 2/24/02, p.C7)
2002 Mar 4, European Union’s 15
members ratified the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, but failed to
set pollutant-emission levels to meet the accord’s targets.
(AP, 3/4/07)
2002 May 28, The EU announced
plans to overhaul its 100,000-vessel fishing industry with some
national fleets to be cut by up to 60% due to overfishing.
(SFC, 5/29/02, p.A12)
2002 May 29, The EU upgraded
Russia to the status of a full market economy.
(SFC, 5/30/02, p.A8)
2002 May 31, EU members ratified
the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
(SFC, 6/1/02, p.A9)
2002 Jun 19, Air traffic
controllers in France and other nations went on strike to protest a
plan to dramatically reorganize the use of Europe's skies.
(AP, 6/19/02)
2002 Jun 22, Tens of thousands of
people banged drums, blew whistles and danced their way through
Seville's streets in a rally against globalization. The EU Summit ended
with new measures to deter illegal immigration.
(AP, 6/22/02)(SSFC, 6/23/02, p.A22)
2002 Jul 24, The European Union
will give an extra $32 million to the U.N. Population Fund to help
replace the U.S. money being withheld because of concerns about
coercive abortions.
(AP, 7/24/02)
2002 Aug 30, The WTO ruled that
the EU can impose $4 billion in penalties on the US because of an
American tax break that promotes exports. The EU planned to give the US
time to change the law.
(SFC, 8/31/02, p.A7)
2002 Oct 3, NATO and European
Union called on Croatia to cooperate with the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal,
urging the government to hand over indicted war crimes suspect Gen.
Janko Bobetko.
(AP, 10/3/02)
2002 Nov 20, The EU, except for
Portugal. banned Belarus Pres. Lukashenko and top aides to protest
human rights abuses under his rule.
(WSJ, 11/20/02, p.A1)
2002 Dec 6, The EU agreed to ban
single-hull tankers, likely to be effective in 2010.
(SFC, 12/7/02, p.A15)
2002 Dec 20, The European Union
agreed to cuts in its fleet and cod catch quotas, but ignored
scientific advice to ban cod fishing altogether to save stocks from
near extinction in EU waters.
(AP, 12/20/02)
2002 The EU set up Eurojust to
help prosecutors with the worst cross-border crimes.
(Econ, 6/10/06, p.52)
2002 An EU regulation forced banks
to charge no more for cross-border transfers within the euro area of up
to 12,500 euros than they did for domestic ones.
(Econ, 3/31/07, p.82)
2002 The EU decided to go ahead
and launch a satellite navigation network, Galileo, to rival America's
Global Positioning System (GPS). Operations were scheduled to begin in
2008.
(Econ, 1/31/04, p.78)
2002 The European hedge fund
charity ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) was established to provide AIDS
treatment in Africa, to help children in orphanages in eastern Europe
and to finance education in Britain.
(Econ, 6/2/07, p.80)
2003 Jan 10, The European Union
proposed a diplomatic initiative to avoid war against Iraq and
increased pressure on Washington to pursue a peaceful solution to the
crisis over Iraq's arms programs.
(AP, 1/10/03)
2003 Jan 15, The EU Parliament
voted to ban the use of animals to test cosmetics by 2009. Imports of
cosmetics using animal testing would also be banned.
(WSJ, 1/16/03, p.A1)
2003 Jan 16, The European Union's
Court of Justice ordered Spain and Italy to drop national rules on what
constitutes chocolate, saying they can no longer bar British and Irish
confections made with vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter.
(AP, 1/16/03)
2003 Feb 6, Belgium asked the
European Union to call an emergency meeting to discuss a peaceful way
out of the Iraq crisis.
(AP, 2/6/03)
2003 Feb 17, European Union
leaders declared their solidarity with the United States, warning
Saddam Hussein that Iraq faced one "last chance" to disarm peacefully
but calling war a last resort.
(AP, 2/17/04)
2003 Mar 10, The European
Union opened a new office in Cuba.
(AP, 3/10/03)
2003 Mar 17, Berlin Plus
agreement, a short title for a comprehensive package of agreements
between NATO and EU, was based on conclusions of the NATO
Washington Summit.
(www.nato.int/shape/news/2003/shape_eu/se030822a.htm)(Econ, 2/10/07,
p.54)
2003 Mar 27, EU governments agreed
to ban single-hulled oil tankers carrying heavy fuel in an attempt to
reduce the risk of slicks.
(AP, 3/27/03)
2003 Mar 31, In Macedonia the EU
began its first military operation by taking over peacekeeping duties
from NATO.
(AP, 3/31/03)
2003 Apr 1, Seven EU nations,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Portugal and
Belgium, said they oppose a proposal by larger countries for a new
permanent European Union presidency.
(AP, 4/2/03)
2003 Apr 7, Cuba handed down
sentences of 15-27 years to the 1st 7 of 80 recently rounded
dissidents. Activists of Oswaldo Paya’s Christian Liberation Movement
made up more than two-thirds of those arrested. In response the EU
imposed diplomatic sanctions and Cuban officials boycotted embassy
functions in what came to be called the “cocktail war.” The sanctions
were suspended in 2005 and lifted in 2008.
(AP, 4/8/03)(Econ, 12/17/05, p.38)(Econ, 6/28/08,
p.44)
2003 Apr 8, Twenty-two European
countries submitted a proposed resolution to the UN’s top human rights
body accusing Russia of grave rights violations in the breakaway
republic of Chechnya.
(AP, 4/8/03)
2003 Apr 9, The European Union's
parliament ratified a historic expansion, making it nearly certain that
10 mostly eastern European countries will join the bloc next year.
(AP, 4/9/03)
2003 Apr 16, Leaders of 25
European nations gathered in Athens to sign treaties sweeping away the
20th century's Iron Curtain divide. The 10 new EU members will formally
join May 1, 2004 following ratification of treaties.
(AP, 4/16/03)
2003 May 15, The economies of
Germany, Netherlands and Italy contracted during the first three months
of 2003 as the European Union as a whole showed no growth for the first
time in almost two years.
(AP, 5/16/03)
2003 Jun 13, European Union
delegates agreed on a draft constitution that details how the coalition
of nations will be run as it adds new members and evolves into what
many hope will be a world power to rival the United States.
(AP, 6/14/03)
2003 Jun 19, European leaders
gathered at a secluded Greek seaside resort for a three-day summit to
discuss Middle East peace, illegal immigration, and the contentious
draft of a first-ever European Union constitution.
(AP, 6/19/03)
2003 Jul 10, Framers of the
European Union's first constitution finalized their draft charter but
failed to settle differences over how much power national governments
would cede to Brussels.
(AP, 7/10/03)
2003 Jul 29, A heat wave and a
drought gauged a multibillion-dollar hole into Europe's economy,
crippling shipping, shriveling crops and driving up the cost of
electricity.
(AP, 7/29/03)
2003 Sep 6, The European Union
said it will declare all wings of the militant Palestinian group Hamas
a terrorist organization and freeze its assets after dozens of deadly
attacks in Israel.
(AP, 9/6/03)
2003 Sep 9, The European Union's
high court ruled that Italy and other EU governments can temporarily
ban genetically modified foods while they examine health risks, but
must provide "detailed grounds," not general fears, to do so.
(AP, 9/9/03)
2003 Sep 27, Europe's first
mission to the moon blasted off aboard a European Ariane rocket from
French Guiana. The SMART-1 probe made it to within 3,100 miles of the
moon on Nov 15, 2004, and proceeded to move into an elliptical orbit.
The spacecraft ended its mission Sep 3, 2006, when it crashed into the
lunar surface.
(AP, 9/28/03)(SFC, 11/17/04, p.A3)(SSFC, 9/3/06,
p.A5)
2003 Oct 17, The EU pushed ahead
with efforts to build its own defense arm but sought to ease U.S.
concerns by insisting the plan would neither duplicate nor undermine
NATO.
(AP, 10/17/03)
2003 Oct 21, A top European Union
official defended the bloc's $233 million contribution for Iraqi
reconstruction and said that more could be forthcoming next year.
(AP, 10/21/03)
2003 Nov 3, The EU condemned
lingering anti-Jewish bias it said was reflected in a new survey, which
found that many Europeans see Israel as a threat to world peace.
(AP, 11/3/03)
2003 Nov 24, British PM Tony Blair
and French President Jacques Chirac confronted the sensitive issue of
European defense and in a show of unity announced plans for a small
rapid-reaction force of EU peacekeepers.
(AP, 11/24/03)
2003 Nov, Wim Duisenberg,
president of the European Central Bank, retired and presented a bell to
his successor Jean-Claude Trichet for keeping order during meetings.
(WSJ, 12/2/03, p.A16)
2003 Dec 13, EU efforts to seal
its first-ever constitution collapsed, after leaders in Brussels could
not agree on the best way to divvy power once the bloc adds 10 new
members next year.
(AP, 12/13/03)
2003 Dec 19, Fisheries ministers
of the 15 European Union nations reached a compromise deal to protect
dwindling stocks of cod, hake and other species.
(AP, 12/19/03)
2003 The European Union's
anti-fraud office, OLAF, alerted French prosecutors to a "vast
enterprise of Looting" at Eurostat, the commission’s statistical
service.
(Econ, 7/26/03, p.51)
2004 Jan 5, A letter bomb
addressed to a senior member of the European Parliament burst into
flames. Italian anarchists were suspected in the 7 mail attacks since
Dec 27.
(AP, 1/5/04)(SFC, 1/6/04, p.A10)
2004 Jan 13, The European
Commission proposed an initiative aimed at creating a single market for
services within the European Union (EU), similar to the single market
for goods act of 1986. It came to be known as Bolkestein
Directive after the Dutch Commissioner Frits Bolkestein (b.1933), who
launched it. Trade unions opposed it. On 16 February 2006, the European
Parliament in plenary session in Strasbourg voted in favor of a
compromise proposal that went a long way towards meeting the trade
union demands
(www.etuc.org/a/499)
2004 Apr 24, Greek Cypriots
overwhelmingly rejected a UN plan to reunite Cyprus. The European Union
pledged to start searching for ways to extend a hand of friendship to
the island's long-ostracized Turkish side. It meant that only the Greek
side of Cyprus would join the European Union on May 1.
(AP, 4/25/04)(WSJ, 4/26/04, p.A13)(Econ, 5/1/04,
p.49)
2004 Apr 27, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov and EU officials signed an accord extending the
EU-Russia partnership accord to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta,
which join May 1.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 May 1, Revelers across
ex-communist eastern Europe celebrated their historic entry to the
European Union. 10 new members joined. Malta joined with 70 exemptions
to EU rules. Poland had 43 exemptions. Latvia had 32.
(AP, 5/1/04)(Econ, 2/28/04, p.50)
2004 May 19, The European Union
lifted its 6-year-old ban on biotech products by approving imports of
an insect-resistant strain of sweet corn for human consumption.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 21, The European Union
confirmed its backing for Russia to join the World Trade Organization,
and Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow in turn would speed up
ratification of the troubled Kyoto accord on global warming.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May, The EU and the USA
reached a deal regarding US security interests and the transfer of
passenger data from European airlines. The deal was challenged by civil
liberty groups. In 2006 a court upheld that the agreement lacked an
adequate legal basis.
(Econ, 6/3/06, p.47)
2004 Jun 10, Europeans began
casting ballots across 25 member nations of the expanded European Union
for a new European Parliament.
(Econ, 6/19/04, p.49)
2004 Jun 13, EU balloting, begun
June 10, ended. Some 150 million Europeans cast ballots across 25
member nations of the expanded European Union. Turnout was 45.3 percent.
(AP, 6/14/04)(Econ, 6/19/04, p.49)
2004 Jun 18, European Union
leaders sealed a hard-fought deal on a new constitution. It needs
approval by all 25 member states before it can take effect, expected in
2007.
(AP, 6/19/04)
2004 Jun 21, Local and
international police officials warned that Europe is awash in
counterfeit euro bills of excellent quality.
(AP, 6/21/04)
2004 Jun 28, The European Union
denied China's request to be officially recognized as a market economy,
saying that an assessment of the Chinese economy showed too much state
interference and poor corporate governance.
(AP, 6/28/04)
2004 Jul 20, EU lawmakers elected
a pro-European from Spain to be its next president as the expanded
European Parliament met for the first time. The 732-member assembly
chose Josep Borrell, a relatively unknown Spanish Socialist, to its top
job.
(AP, 7/20/04)
2004 Sep 10, European finance
ministers chose Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker to represent the
group of 12 European Union countries that share the euro currency.
(AP, 9/10/04)
2004 Sep 22, The European
Commission approved a multi-billion pound bailout of the nuclear group
British Energy, after securing guarantees that the company would not
breach EU competition rules.
(AP, 9/22/04)
2004 Sep 22, The European Union
agreed in principle to lift an arms embargo on Libya after pressure
from Italy.
(AP, 9/22/04)
2004 Oct 6, The EU recommended
Turkey be put on the path to full membership.
(AP, 10/7/04)
2004 Oct 11, The European Union
ended 11 years of sanctions against Libya and eased an arms embargo to
reward the North African country for giving up plans to develop weapons
of mass destruction.
(AP, 10/11/04)
2004 Oct 20, The EU revamped its
trade rules. Nations with more than 15% of European market share of any
goods were set to lose their discounted tariffs. China and India were
expected to be the main losers.
(WSJ, 10/20/04, p.A15)
2004 Oct 22, The EU said its
member states will contribute $125 million to an African Union (AU)
force in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
(AP, 10/23/04)
2004 Oct 29, European leaders
signed the EU's first constitution.
(AP, 10/29/04)
2004 Nov 5, The DJ rose 72 to
10,387. The euro reached a new high of 1.2962 to the dollar. The US
dollar fell to an all-time low against the euro as EU political leaders
signaled they have no unified plan to stem the rise in their
five-year-old currency.
(SFC, 11/5/04, p.C1)(AP, 11/5/04)
2004 Nov 17, The EU will consider
giving Greece until the end of 2006 to cut its budget deficit below 3
percent of gross domestic product.
(AP, 11/17/04)
2004 Nov, Manuel Durao Barroso,
former PM of Portugal, took over as head of the European Commission.
(Econ, 2/19/05, p.52)
2004 Dec 2, The European Union
began its biggest-ever military operation, formally taking over NATO's
peacekeeping mission in Bosnia with 7,000 troops.
(AP, 12/2/04)
2004 Dec 8, The European Union and
China agreed to boost relations, but the EU made clear there can be no
early lifting of its 15-year-old arms embargo until Beijing improves
its human rights record.
(AP, 12/8/04)
2004 Dec 17, European Union
leaders and Turkey agreed on a compromise formula to overcome
differences over Turkish recognition of Cyprus' government as a
condition for opening EU membership talks.
(AP, 12/17/04)
2004 Dec 22, A European Union
court ruled that Microsoft Corp. must immediately divulge some trade
secrets to competitors and produce a version of its flagship Windows
operating system stripped of the program that plays music and video.
(AP, 12/22/04)
2004 T.R. Reid authored “The
United States of Europe: The new Superpower and the End of American
Supremacy.”
(WSJ, 11/2/04, p.D6)
2005 Jan 1, Europe’s 7,000 listed
companies adopted int’l. financial reporting standards (IFRS),
replacing the mishmash of 25 local accounting regimes with one set of
rules. Over 90 countries began switching to a new int’l. accounting
standards.
(WSJ, 12/9/04, p.C1)(Econ, 6/18/05, p.73)
2005 Jan 11, The EU and the US
agreed to settle their dispute over subsidies to Airbus SA and Boeing
Co. through bilateral talks rather than asking the WTO to resolve it.
(AP, 1/11/05)
2005 Jan 12, The European
Parliament gave its overwhelming endorsement to the European Union's
first-ever constitution and urged EU governments to quickly follow suit.
(CP, 1/12/05)
2005 Jan 13, The European-built
space probe Huygens entered the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon,
Titan.
(Reuters, 1/14/05)
2005 Jan 31, EU foreign ministers
agreed to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Cuban government
while pledging to increase contacts with critics of Pres. Fidel Castro.
(AP, 1/31/05)
2005 Jan, The EU Emissions Trading
Scheme (ETS), a market for carbon emission permits, was created.
(Econ, 5/6/06, p.75)
2005 Feb 2, The EU told Italy,
France and Germany, to do more to bring their budgets in balance as
required by the rules of Europe's single currency.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2005 Feb 7, The EU head office
called for closer coordination among all member governments to hunt
down and prosecute those illegally spreading unsolicited e-mails, or
spam, across the 25-nation bloc.
(AP, 2/7/05)
2005 Feb 17, EU finance ministers
warned Greece to get its finances in order by the end of 2006 and bring
its annual budget deficit in line with EU spending rules or face hefty
fines.
(AP, 2/17/05)
2005 Feb 21, In Brussels President
Bush appealed to Europe to move beyond animosities over Iraq and join
forces in encouraging democratic reforms across the Middle East. He
also prodded Russia to reverse a crackdown on political dissent,
demanded that Iran end its nuclear ambitions and told Syria to get out
of Lebanon.
(AP, 2/21/05)(SFC, 2/22/05, p.A1)
2005 Feb 22, The EU intends to end
its ban on arms sales to China, French Pres. Jacques Chirac said after
talks with Pres. Bush, who highlighted Washington's security concerns.
(AP, 2/22/05)
2005 Apr 6, The European
Commission proposed a major boost in EU spending in the 2007-2013
period to create jobs, spur growth and fund programs to make the
25-nation European Union safer and healthier for its 455 million
inhabitants.
(AP, 4/6/05)
2005 Apr 6, Under pressure to stem
a rising tide of textile imports from China, the European Union's
executive unveiled guidelines for imposing curbs on a country which
already has 20 percent of a $400 billion market.
(AP, 4/6/05)
2005 Apr 8, The EU’s executive
commission said it had recommended guidelines to member states to boost
the market for low-cost, high-speed Internet access delivered over
electricity power supply lines.
(AP, 4/8/05)
2005 Apr 13, The European
Parliament approved the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the EU in
2007, but it said both countries still need to carry out necessary
reforms.
(AP, 4/13/05)
2005 Apr 25, EU trade ministers
backed a full investigation into allegations that cheap textiles and
clothing from China were flooding the EU market, but disagreed on
imposing fast action to block imports.
(AP, 4/25/05)
2005 Apr, The Council of Europe,
Europe's top human rights body, rejected euthanasia as a legitimate
means to end life.
(AP, 12/21/06)
2005 May 10, Russian Pres.
Vladimir Putin and top European Union leaders unveiled a new
partnership accord which aims in particular to deepen ties in the
economic sphere, where Europe's thirst for energy dovetails with
Russia's need for investment.
(AP, 5/10/05)
2005 May 11, The European Union
parliament voted to abolish loopholes that give member states,
especially Britain, a way around the bloc's 48-hour maximum workweek.
(AP, 5/12/05)
2005 May 11, Austria's parliament
overwhelmingly ratified the European Union's constitution, the seventh
nation to do so.
(AP, 5/11/05)
2005 May 24, The EU announced that
its members would double their aid to poor countries by 2015.
(Econ, 5/28/05, p.77)
2005 May 27, The EU constitution
cleared its final legislative hurdle in Germany, two days before French
voters have their say on the document. The Prum Treaty was signed by
Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria and Belgium
(Italy has since said it wants to join too). It covers a series of
justice and home affairs issues including the "exchange of information"
(in effect, the "principle of availability").
(AP,
5/27/05)(www.statewatch.org/news/2006/sep/05eu-g6.htm)
2005 May, Italy reported that it
had fallen back into recession for the 1st quarter of 2005.
(Econ, 5/21/05, p.13)
2005 May, In Portugal an audit
estimated that the nation’s deficit could reach 7% of GDP this year,
well over the 1999 EU limit of 3%.
(Econ, 5/28/05, p.53)
2005 Jun 1, Dutch voters worried
about social benefits and immigration overwhelmingly rejected the
European Union constitution in what could be a knockout blow for a
charter meant to create a power rivaling the United States. Slow
economic growth in the Netherlands was seen as a key reason for the
massive rejection of the EU constitution
(AP, 6/1/05)
2005 Jun 2, Latvian lawmakers
voted to ratify the European Union constitution and challenged other
European nations not to give up hope that the charter can be
implemented.
(AP, 6/2/05)
2005 Jun 5, A narrow majority of
Swiss voters approved joining a European Union passport-free zone,
abolishing checks on the country's border by 2007, according to final
results from a two-issue national referendum.
(AP, 6/5/05)
2005 Jun 7, The EU head office
said that Italy broke the bloc's budget rules with excessive deficits
in 2003 and 2004 and is likely to breach the limit again this year and
in 2006.
(AP, 6/7/05)
2005 Jul 1, An EU directive took
effect banning lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and 2 types
of brominated flame retardants. Some exceptions were allowed.
(SSFC, 2/27/05, p.E1)
2005 Jun 15,The EU commission
slapped a 40 million pound fine on pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca for
illegally pushing rivals of a stomach ulcer medicine out of the market.
(AP, 6/15/05)
2005 Jun 18, EU leaders blamed
each other after a summit collapsed without any real agreement on what
lies ahead for the half-century project of uniting the continent. But
they agreed Europe is in a crisis.
(AP, 6/18/05)
2005 Jun 20, European Union
agriculture ministers agreed to share out an annual 12.7 billion-euro
($15.51 billion) package to support rural development.
(AP, 6/21/05)
2005 Jun 22, The European
Commission unveiled proposals for a radical overhaul on EU sugar
subsidies.
(Econ, 6/25/05, p.73)
2005 Jun 22, The European Union's
head office told Portugal to cut its burgeoning budget deficit and
public debt, saying the country's economic slowdown was no excuse for
violating euro-zone rules on sound finances.
(AP, 6/22/05)
2005 Jun 29, The EU gave Italy
until the end of 2007 to cut its budget deficit in line with euro-zone
rules, a warning that is powerless as it carries no punishment.
(AP, 6/29/05)
2005 Jun 30, The EU and China
plunged into a 2nd trade row, this time over shoes, but Brussels said a
deal was still possible over Beijing's surging footwear exports.
(AP, 6/30/05)
2005 Jul 7, Luxembourg PM
Jean-Claude Juncker asked his citizens to pass a referendum in favor of
the EU Constitution.
(WSJ, 7/8/05, p.A5)
2005 Jul 18, The EU said it will
allow member countries to adopt different approaches in patenting
biotech drug innovations.
(WSJ, 7/19/05, p.A12)
2005 Aug 8, The EU head office
gave its clearance for the import of a genetically modified corn
product made by American biotechnology company Monsanto Co. for use in
animal feed.
(AP, 8/8/05)
2005 Sep 1, The European
Commission proposed new rules for the 25 European Union nations to
establish common standards on immigration and asylum.
(AP, 9/1/05)
2005 Sep 1, Turkey insisted that
it has fulfilled conditions for EU membership, as foreign ministers of
the 25-nation group started meeting in Wales to assess the
predominantly Muslim nation's efforts to join the bloc.
(AP, 9/2/05)
2005 Sep 2, EU governments said
Europe will dip into its emergency stocks of gasoline to help the US
through an energy crisis due to Hurricane Katrina.
(Reuters, 9/2/05)
2005 Sep 4, European Union and
NATO said the US has asked for emergency assistance, requesting
blankets, first aid kits, water trucks and food for the victims of
Hurricane Katrina.
(AP, 9/4/05)
2005 Sep 5, China and the EU
reached an agreement to unblock some 77 million garments held up at
European borders after Chinese textile imports broke through 2005 quota
limits.
(AP, 9/5/05)
2005 Sep 7, European Union
governments backed a deal to unblock Chinese textiles held at EU
borders, ending a trade dispute that saw some 77 million garments pile
up after imports broke through 2005 limits.
(AP, 9/7/05)
2005 Sep 21, EU nations agreed
that Turkey must recognize EU member Cyprus during its membership
talks, warning that non-recognition could lead to paralysis in the
negotiations.
(AP, 9/21/05)
2005 Sep 30, The EU insisted that
governments and the private sector must share the responsibility of
overseeing the Internet, setting the stage for a showdown with the
United States on the future of Internet governance.
(AP, 9/30/05)
2005 Oct 3, EU nations reached a
tentative agreement on pursuing full membership talks with Turkey,
diplomats said. A spokesman for the Turkish prime minister denied
reports that Ankara had agreed to the deal.
(AP, 10/3/05)
2005 Oct 3, The EU imposed an arms
embargo on Uzbekistan, cut aid, and suspended a cooperation accord to
punish the increasingly isolated country for refusing to investigate
the violent suppression of an uprising in May.
(AP, 10/3/05)
2005 Oct 4, In London Russia’s
Pres. Putin met with EU leaders for talks on expanding cooperation in
the fight against crime, including terrorism, and strengthening trade
ties.
(AP, 10/4/05)
2005 Oct 4, Croatia began delayed
EU membership talks, after UN chief war crimes prosecutor Carla del
Ponte endorsed Zagreb's cooperation with her court.
(AFP, 10/4/05)
2005 Oct 12, The European
Commission said companies that want to sell music online in the
European Union can now get a single license to operate in all 25 member
states.
(AP, 10/12/05)
2005 Oct 12, The EU agreed to
legally require telecommunications companies to keep records of phone
and e-mail traffic for up to one year as part of the bloc's
anti-terrorist campaign.
(AP, 10/12/05)
2005 Oct 12, The European
Commission presented a new development aid strategy focused primarily
on easing poverty in Africa and on holding EU member states to their
promises to double aid to the continent.
(AP, 10/12/05)
2005 Oct 13, The EU said the bird
flu virus found in Turkish poultry was the H5N1 strain that scientists
worry might mutate into a human virus and spark a pandemic. Turkey's
health minister said the outbreak had been contained.
(AP, 10/13/05)
2005 Oct 17, The European Union
unblocked $87 million in development aid for Haiti, ending a freeze
imposed almost five years ago because of allegedly flawed elections in
the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.
(AP, 10/17/05)
2005 Oct 21, The European
Commission agreed to open talks with Bosnia on a cooperation agreement
that could lead to full EU membership for the Balkan nation.
(AP, 10/21/05)
2005 Oct 25, The EU's highest
court finally settled the fate of feta cheese, decreeing it a
traditional Greek product deserving protection throughout the 25-nation
bloc in a ruling that went against other European producers.
(AP, 10/25/05)
2005 Oct 26, The EU said the
dangerous H5N1 strain of bird flu has been found in Croatia.
Authorities said a 2nd parrot that died in quarantine in Britain was
also infected with the virus.
(AP, 10/26/05)
2005 Oct 28, The EU offered to
reduce average agricultural tariffs by 46 percent, its steepest ever
farm tariff cuts, in a proposal aimed at breaking a deadlock in world
trade talks.
(AP, 10/28/05)
2005 Nov 3, European Union
officials said they would investigate a report that the CIA set up
secret jails in Eastern Europe to interrogate top al-Qaida suspects.
The international Red Cross also said it asked the US to let a
representative visit detainees if such a facility exists. At least 10
nations denied that the prisons were in their territory. Human Rights
Watch in New York said it has evidence indicating the CIA transported
suspected terrorists captured in Afghanistan to Poland and Romania.
(AP, 11/3/05)
2005 Nov 7, The EU agreed to
monitor a Gaza-Egypt border crossing that serves as the main gate to
the world for Palestinians.
(AP, 11/7/05)
2005 Nov 7, EU foreign ministers
agreed to launch a three-year police training mission to help the
Palestinian Authority build up a new "sustainable and effective" police
force.
(AP, 11/7/05)
2005 Nov 8, The EU said Morocco
will join its Galileo satellite navigation program, becoming the first
African nation to participate in the project that aims to rival the US'
GPS system.
(AP, 11/8/05)
2005 Nov 9, Europe's first mission
to Venus was successfully launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in
Kazakhstan and emitted a first signal at the start of its 163-day
journey to the turbulent planet.
(AFP, 11/9/05)
2005 Nov 14, EU Council decision
Nr. 2005/815/EB officially gave Vilnius, Lithuania, and Linz, Austria,
status as a European Capital of Culture for the year 2009.
(www.culturelive.lt/en/european_capitals_of_culture)
2005 Nov 21, EU defense ministers
adopted a plan to open up their $35 billion arms industry to increased
cross-border competition within the 25-nation bloc, a landmark move
designed to cut costs for tight military budgets.
(AP, 11/21/05)
2005 Nov 21, EU foreign ministers
authorized the start of negotiations on an agreement to prepare Bosnia
for EU membership a decade after the Balkan nation was ravaged by
Europe's worst fighting since World War II.
(AP, 11/21/05)
2005 Nov 25, EU Enlargement
Commissioner Olli Rehn officially opened landmark negotiations on
closer ties between Bosnia and the 25-member European Union.
(AP, 11/25/05)
2005 Nov 25, Slovakia joined the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) as a first step towards adopting
the European Union's common euro currency.
(AFP, 11/26/05)
2005 Nov 28, EU Justice and Home
Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini warned that that any of the 25
bloc nations found to have operated secret CIA prisons could have their
EU voting rights suspended.
(AP, 11/28/05)
2005 Nov 28, The European Union
managed to get Israel and its Arab neighbors to endorse an
anti-terrorism code of conduct at the end of a fractious two-day summit.
(AP, 11/28/05)
2005 Dec 7, The EU and host Canada
piled pressure on the US to join an international pact to curb
greenhouse gas emissions and limit the predicted chaos from global
warming.
(Reuters, 12/08/05)
2005 Dec 7, European businesses
rushed to sign up for the new ".eu" Internet domain name, putting in
100,000 Web site applications by the end of its first day available.
(AP, 12/08/05)
2005 Dec 15, European and US
officials said the EU has formally protested to Russia about its sale
of sophisticated missiles to Iran, saying the diplomatic row reflected
disarray on how to pressure Tehran to scale back its suspect nuclear
program.
(AP, 12/15/05)
2005 Dec 15-2005 Dec 16, Tony
Blair’s EU presidency culminated in the summit in Brussels.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.13)
2005 Dec 17, EU leaders agreed on
a 7-year spending plan for the 25-nation bloc, a hard-won deal seen as
key to shaping the future of an enlarged EU and to restoring faith in
its unity.
(AP, 12/17/05)
2005 Dec 17, Macedonia moved a
step closer to realizing its dream of EU membership when the bloc's
leaders gave their blessing for it to start membership talks.
(AFP, 12/17/05)
2005 Dec 22, The European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) ordered Turkey to put in place within three months
an effective reparations mechanism for Greek Cypriots who were stripped
of their possessions in the 1970s.
(AP, 12/22/05)
2005 Dec 26, The EU announced a
166 million euros ($196.9 million) aid package for 10 African
countries. The aid will go to Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Burundi, Chad, Tanzania, Uganda, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar
and Comoros.
(Reuters, 12/26/05)
2005 Dec 28, The EU launched the
first satellite in its Galileo navigation program, which officials
expect one day will end the continent's reliance on the US Global
Positioning System.
(AP, 12/28/05)
2005 Dec 29, France reported a
second death from freezing temperatures as blizzards swept through
northern and central Europe, forcing flight cancellations at Prague
airport and cutting power lines and rail links in Scandinavia.
(AP, 12/29/05)
2005 Dec 30, Europe's second
snowstorm this week piled drifts on tracks and roads, slowing rail
service, stranding motorists and causing hundreds of traffic accidents.
At least four deaths were attributed to a week of icy weather.
(AP, 12/30/05)
2005 Mark Leonard authored “Why
Europe Will Run the 21st Century.”
(Econ, 2/26/05, p.83)
2006 Jan 10, European airlines
lost a legal bid that aimed to strike down new EU rules guaranteeing
passengers compensation for flight delays or cancellations.
(AP, 1/10/06)
2006 Jan 12, EU governments
refused to ascribe market-economy status to 13 Chinese shoemakers,
opening the way for duties to be imposed on their imports to Europe.
(AP, 1/12/06)
2006 Jan 18, The European
Parliament rejected plans to liberalize port services across the
European Union that had sparked mass strikes by dock workers and a
violent protest in front of the EU legislature in France.
(AP, 1/18/06)
2006 Jan 28, A 2-day European
conference on the future of the EU ended in Salzburg, Austria. European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that Europe must face
globalization head-on and not shy away from the issue.
(AP, 1/28/06)
2006 Jan 30, European Union
foreign ministers called on Hamas to recognize the state of Israel,
renounce violence and disarm.
(AP, 1/30/06)
2006 Feb 16, Serbia rejected
European Union's guidelines for an independence vote in Montenegro,
increasing tensions within the troubled Balkan state.
(AP, 2/16/06)
2006 Feb 24, The EU opened an
in-depth antitrust probe into mining company Inco Ltd.'s $11 billion
planned purchase of Falconbridge Ltd., a deal that would create the
world's largest nickel producer.
(AP, 2/24/06)
2006 Feb 27, EU foreign ministers
threatened to freeze talks with Serbia on its membership bid, setting a
March deadline for Belgrade to hand over war crimes fugitive Ratko
Mladic.
(AP, 2/27/06)
2006 Feb 27, The EU agreed to
grant $145 million in urgent aid to the Palestinians before a
government led by the Islamic militant group Hamas takes power, a move
aimed at preventing a financial collapse that could add to the chaos in
the Middle East.
(AP, 2/27/06)
2006 Mar 2, The European Central
Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5
percent amid worries about inflation.
(AP, 3/2/06)
2006 Mar 3, In Austria talks
between EU negotiators and Iran over its nuclear ambitions broke up
without any agreement, paving the way for potential UN Security Council
action against Tehran as early as next week.
(AP, 3/3/06)
2006 Mar 3, An EU executive said
Sweden's first case of mad cow disease has been confirmed by the
European Union's central laboratory.
(AP, 3/3/06)
2006 Mar 10, The EU threatened
legal action against member states that create biotech-free growing
zones in their countries, warning that doing so would violate EU trade
rules.
(AP, 3/10/06)
2006 Mar 10, The EU threatened to
cut off aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian government "unless it seeks
peace by peaceful means," its strongest signal to the new leadership.
(AP, 3/10/06)
2006 Mar 10, The EU and the US
signed a new wine deal that allows the US to export wines made using
practices many European vintners shun. The bilateral accord resolved
most elements of a 2-decade-long dispute over wine making methods and
names.
(SFC, 3/11/06, p.C1)(WSJ, 3/11/06, p.A4)
2006 Mar 14, EU trade chief Peter
Mandelson told China to remove barriers on imports of European goods if
it wants to be recognized as a market economy by the 25-nation bloc.
(AP, 3/14/06)
2006 Mar 21, The EU said it would
pay for half of a 16 million euro ($19 million) international promotion
campaign to sell European-produced foods such as fruits, cheese and
wine in 11 countries, including the United States, China, Japan and
Canada.
(AP, 3/21/06)
2006 Mar 22, The EU approved a
first-ever joint blacklist of nearly 100 mostly African airlines
considered to be unsafe, in a move spurred by a spate of fatal crashes
last year. The list, effective March 25, bans 92 airlines from plying
EU skies all together and puts restrictions on another three from
flying certain types of airplanes into the 25-nation bloc.
(AFP, 3/22/06)
2006 Mar 31, The EU gave Serbia an
extra month to hand over genocide suspect Ratko Mladic or face
suspension of its talks on closer EU ties, after being reassured of
progress in the manhunt.
(AFP, 3/31/06)
2006 Apr 7, The EU said it has cut
off direct aid payments to the Hamas-led Palestinian government because
of its refusal to renounce violence and recognize Israel.
(AP, 4/7/06)
2006 Apr 10, The EU barred Belarus
President Alexander Lukashenko and dozens of his senior officials from
entering any bloc countries to protest his re-election last month in a
vote that international observers said was rigged.
(AP, 4/10/06)
2006 Apr 10, EU foreign ministers
endorsed a freeze of aid to the Palestinian government but said they
would seek alternative ways of providing money for humanitarian
projects.
(AP, 4/10/06)
2006 Apr 11, A European spacecraft
went into orbit around Venus on a mission to explore the mysterious
atmosphere of Earth's nearest planetary neighbor.
(AP, 4/11/06)
2006 Apr 26, EU Parliament
investigators said the CIA has conducted more than 1,000 undeclared
flights over European territory since 2001, a clear violation of an
international treaty.
(AP, 4/26/06)
2006 May 3, The European Union
suspended aid and trade talks with Serbia after Belgrade failed to
deliver fugitive Gen. Ratko Mladic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal.
(AP, 5/3/06)
2006 May 3, The European
Commission fined 7 companies a total of $489.8 (388.1 euros) for
running a cartel in bleaching chemicals.
(WSJ, 5/4/06, p.A2)
2006 May 5, The European
Commission said safety belts will have to be used in all seats on tour
buses and vans across the European Union.
(AP, 5/5/06)
2006 May 11, The EU and Latin
America opened a three-day summit in Vienna with over 60 national
leaders attending, including Venezuela's fiery, often anti-Washington
President Hugo Chavez. Bolivian President Evo Morales said that foreign
oil companies would not be compensated for oil and gas resources that
have been nationalized, and European Union president Austria called for
explanations.
(AFP, 5/11/06)
2006 May 15, A top official said
the EU will support an Iranian nuclear program that cannot be put to
military use and will boost political and economic cooperation if
Tehran accepts international oversight.
(AP, 5/15/06)
2006 May 22, The NYSE under John
Thain made a $10.2 billion cash and stock bid for Euronext NV, a
European exchange operator, in an attempt to become the world’s first
transatlantic stock trading center. Euronext had formed earlier as a
combination of the Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels exchanges.
(SFC, 5/23/06, p.C3)(Econ, 5/27/06, p.66)
2006 May 25, Russian President
Vladimir Putin and EU leaders met for a summit focused on EU concerns
about Russia's reliability as a key energy supplier.
(AP, 5/25/06)
2006 May 27, The EU agreed to give
itself another year to sort out the impasse over its troubled
constitution and build confidence in the bloc's plans for further
expansion.
(AP, 5/27/06)
2006 Jun 8, The European Central
Bank (ECB) meeting in Madrid raised its key interest rate by a quarter
point to 2.75% amid worries that high oil prices would spur inflation.
Stock markets in Asia tumbled to their lowest levels in months and
European shares also declined amid anxiety that possible US interest
rates hikes will slow global growth.
(SFC, 6/9/06, p.D3)(AP, 6/8/06)(Econ, 6/10/06, p.75)
2006 Jun 12, EU foreign ministers
reached agreement with Cyprus on a formula to enable Turkey to take its
first step in detailed accession talks with the 25-nation bloc.
(AP, 6/12/06)
2006 Jun 16, EU leaders gave
Slovenia a green light to join the eurozone next year, launching a new
wave of expansion for the currently 12-nation single currency club. EU
leaders also gave their backing to the assessment of the EU's executive
arm that Lithuania would not be ready to join the eurozone next year
because inflation had overshot the limit required to join.
(AFP, 6/16/06)
2006 Jun 16, EU leaders agreed to
channel aid to cash-starved Palestinians for health care, utilities and
social services while still maintaining a funding freeze on the
Hamas-led government.
(AP, 6/16/06)
2006 Jun 26, The EU urged all
nations to sign a global convention against torture, calling the
practice "cruel, inhuman and degrading" not only to victims but to
those who inflict such treatment on people.
(AP, 6/26/06)
2006 Jun 29, Trade ministers
struggled for a breakthrough in deadlocked global free trade talks as
the US and EU accused each other of failing to come up with the
necessary concessions.
(AP, 6/29/06)
2006 Jul 6, The European Central
Bank held its key interest rate steady at 2.75% as was widely
anticipated but pledged to exercise "strong vigilance" on inflation.
(AP, 7/6/06)
2006 Jul 11, EU finance ministers
made Slovenia the 13th member of the euro zone. This gave Slovenia 5
months to print and mint euro notes to replace the tolar on January 1.
(WSJ, 7/12/06, p.A10)
2006 Jul 12, The EU fined
Microsoft Corp. $357 million and threatened new penalties of $3.82
million a day beginning July 31 because it says the software maker
failed to obey a 2004 antitrust order to share program code with rivals.
(AP, 7/12/06)
2006 Jul 12, The EU joined the US
in warning Iran it faced UN Security Council action if no solution
could be found to a stand-off over its nuclear program. World powers
agreed to send Iran back to the UN Security Council for possible
punishment, saying the clerical regime has given no sign it means to
negotiate seriously over its disputed nuclear program.
(AP, 7/12/06)
2006 Jul 13, The EU criticized
Israel for using "disproportionate" force in its attacks on Lebanon
following the cross-border raid by Hezbollah guerillas who captured 2
Israeli soldiers.
(AP, 7/13/06)
2006 Jul 24, WTO members in Geneva
called a halt to more than five years of commerce liberalization talks
(the Doha talks) as differences over farm aid proved unbridgeable. The
25-nation EU criticized US intransigence over agricultural subsidies
for the breakdown, while the US blamed Brazil and India for being
inflexible on cutting barriers to industrial imports and the EU for
refusing to make deeper cuts in its farm import tariffs.
(AP, 7/24/06)
2006 Jul, Mauritania netted $700
million from the EU for fishing rights over 6 years.
(WSJ, 1/18/07, p.A13)
2006 Aug 3, A pair of European
central banks raised interest rates, increasing expectations on Wall
Street that the Federal Reserve would follow suit next week. The
European Central Bank hiked rates .25% to 3%, with a similar hike by
the Bank of England to 4.75%.
(AP, 8/3/06)
2006 Sep 3, The SMART-1
spacecraft, Europe's first moon probe launched Sep 27, 2003, signed off
its mission on schedule by crashing into the lunar surface, completing
a project scientists hope will tell them more about the moon's origin.
(Reuters, 9/3/06)(SSFC, 9/3/06, p.A5)
2006 Sep 13, The EU's foreign
policy chief and Iran's top nuclear negotiator abruptly postponed talks
on easing tensions over the refusal of the Tehran regime to suspend
uranium enrichment.
(AP, 9/13/06)
2006 Sep 15, The US joined with
the EU and Canada charging that China has erected illegal barriers to
the sale of U.S. and other foreign-made auto parts there.
(AP, 9/15/06)
2006 Sep 20, EU regulators fined
30 companies a total of $399.1 million for fixing prices for
copper-pipe fittings.
(WSJ, 9/21/06, p.A8)
2006 Sep 26, The European
Commission recommended that Bulgaria and Romania join the EU next year,
but under some of the harshest terms ever faced by new members.
(AP, 9/26/06)
2006 Sep 27, EU air safety
officials backed tightened rules on the amount of liquids and size of
carry-on baggage passengers can bring onto commercial flights.
(AP, 9/27/06)
2006 Oct 5, The European Central
Bank, sticking to its tough line on inflation, raised its key interest
rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.25% and hinted that
another rate increase is in the offing before next year.
(AP, 10/5/06)
2006 Oct 5, EU ministers endorsed
a plan to make permanent joint patrols that pick up migrants on the
high seas, moving to end internal divisions over dealing with a surge
of illegal immigration from Africa.
(AP, 10/5/06)
2006 Oct 5, US-based Human Rights
Watch (HRW) said the EU's decision to abandon a trade pact with the
reclusive Central Asian state of Turkmenistan was a "landmark move
against tyranny."
(Reuters, 10/5/06)
2006 Oct 6, US and European
negotiators reached an interim deal on sharing trans-Atlantic air
passenger data for anti-terrorism investigations.
(AP, 10/6/06)
2006 Oct 13, The EU condemned a
French bill making it a crime to deny that the World War I-era killing
of Armenians in Turkey was genocide, calling it unhelpful at a critical
stage in the Muslim country's EU entry talks.
(AP, 10/14/06)
2006 Oct 13, EU and Indian leaders
agreed to boost cooperation in fighting terrorism, particularly by
focusing on improving the flow of intelligence.
(AP, 10/13/06)
2006 Oct 17, The EU said it felt
obliged to back limited sanctions against Iran's nuclear program after
Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment as a condition to start
negotiations.
(Reuters, 10/17/06)
2006 Oct 20, In Lahti, Finland, 25
EU leaders held a one-day summit on energy. Russian President Vladimir
Putin defended his government's tough stance on Georgia and dodged EU
leaders' demands that he commit to a legally binding energy charter
that would guarantee better access to Russia's oil and gas fields.
(AP, 10/20/06)
2006 Oct 24, Britain said
Bulgarians and Romanians will have only limited rights to work in
Britain for at least a year after their countries join the European
Union on January 1.
(AP, 10/24/06)
2006 Oct 25, In Finland the US and
the EU ended a 2-day meeting on cleaner energy. They agreed on tighter
cooperation on renewable energy and other environmental policies
despite splits over the UN’s Kyoto Protocol on global warming.
(WSJ, 10/26/06, p.A6)
2006 Oct 26, Belarusian opposition
leader Alexander Milinkevich was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the EU
Parliament for his fight for democracy in the former Soviet republic.
(AP, 10/26/06)
2006 Oct 26, Europe's six largest
countries agreed on ways to pre-empt terrorist attacks through sharing
intelligence about threats and driving extremists from the Internet.
The six states also signaled increased cooperation in stopping criminal
gangs from defrauding the EU of billions of euros a year in tax
revenue, amid fears terrorists might be involved.
(AFP, 10/26/06)(AP, 10/26/06)
2006 Nov 8, The European
Commission set Turkey a mid-December deadline to open its ports to
shipping from Cyprus or face consequences for its troubled EU
membership bid.
(Reuters, 11/8/06)
2006 Nov 21, The UN Security
Council voted to extend the EU peacekeeping force in Bosnia for a year,
welcoming "tangible signs" of the Balkan nation's progress toward EU
membership.
(AP, 11/21/06)
2006 Nov 22, The European
Commission said Russia had told the 25-nation bloc it intends to ban
all animal product exports from the EU starting next year because
Moscow claimed new members Bulgaria and Romania had poor animal health
standards.
(AP, 11/22/06)
2006 Dec 3, Andris Piebalgs, the
EU Energy Commissioner from Latvia, signed an accord on nuclear
cooperation with Kazakhstan. The EU hoped to increase Kazakhstan
uranium sales to the EU from 3% to 20%.
(WSJ, 12/4/06, p.A6)
2006 Dec 5, The EU presidency
backed a proposal to partially suspend EU membership talks with Turkey
because of Ankara's refusal to open up to trade with Cyprus.
(AP, 12/5/06)
2006 Dec 7, Turkey offered to open
a major seaport and an airport to longtime foe Cyprus to try to keep
its EU entry talks on track. The EU called the step positive but
insufficient.
(AP, 12/7/06)
2006 Dec 11, European Union
foreign ministers decided to suspend 8 out of 35 parts of entry
talks with Turkey over Ankara's refusal to open its ports to trade with
EU member Cyprus.
(AP, 12/11/06)(Econ, 12/16/06, p.53)
2006 Dec 15, The US and the EU
stepped up calls for Sudan to let international troops in to support
African Union forces in Darfur amid growing talk of sanctions on
Khartoum.
(AP, 12/15/06)
2007 Jan 1, Bulgaria and Romania
joined the EU. Some 30,000 Israelis gained EU citizenship due to their
dual registration in Romania.
(WSJ, 10/4/07, p.A11)(AP, 1/1/07)
2007 Jan 1, Slovenia adopted the
euro, becoming the 13th EU nation to use the single European currency.
The transition to the euro included a 14-day period for dual use of the
euro and Slovene tolar.
(WSJ, 12/30/07, p.A4)(AP, 1/1/07)
2007 Jan 16, The European
Parliament elected German conservative Hans-Gert Poettering as
president of the chamber to replace outgoing Spanish Socialist Josep
Borrell.
(AFP, 1/16/07)
2007 Jan 19, Europeans labored to
restore services across the continent after hurricane-force winds
toppled trees, brought down power lines and damaged buildings, killing
at least 47 people and disrupting travel for tens of thousands.
(AP, 1/19/07)(SFC, 1/20/07, p.A3)
2007 Jan 19, The EU said it has
donated an additional 3.95 million euros ($5 million) to support the
implementation of the Nigeria-Cameroon boundary demarcation project.
(AP, 1/20/07)
2007 Jan 22, The EU threatened
Sudan with sanctions if it refused to allow UN peacekeepers into
war-torn Darfur, but rights groups and analysts said the warning was
not enough to stop the killings.
(AP, 1/22/07)
2007 Jan 23, A special committee
of the European Parliament approved a report alleging EU nations
including Britain, Poland, Germany and Italy were aware of secret CIA
flights over Europe and the abduction of terror suspects by US agents
into clandestine detention centers.
(AP, 1/23/07)
2007 Feb 7, Michel Niaucel, a
French diplomat with the European Union in Ivory Coast, was shot to
death in his home overnight. Niaucel was in charge of West Africa
security operations for the EU.
(AP, 2/7/07)
2007 Feb 12, EU foreign ministers
approved plans for implementing UN sanctions against Iran, a move that
is meant to punish Tehran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
(AP, 2/12/07)
2007 Feb 14, The European
Parliament approved a controversial report accusing Britain, Germany,
Italy and other European nations of turning a blind eye to CIA flights
transporting terrorism suspects to secret prisons in an apparent breach
of EU human rights standards.
(AP, 2/14/07)
2007 Feb 19, The EU extended
sanctions on Zimbabwe for another year including an arms embargo,
travel ban and asset freeze on President Robert Mugabe and other top
officials.
(AP, 2/19/07)
2007 Feb 20, EU ministers agreed
to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below their 1990 level by 2020.
(SFC, 2/21/07, p.C5)
2007 Feb 21, Europol said Police
in seven European countries have broken up a network that carried out
more than 200 carefully choreographed armed robberies of jewelry
stores, and channeled $53 million in loot into drugs and real estate.
(AP, 2/21/07)
2007 Mar 1, EU officials launched
the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, an effort to stamp out
intolerance in the 27-nation bloc under a crush of immigrants.
(SFC, 3/2/07, p.A14)
2007 Mar 2, Checkpoint Systems
Inc. said it will provide Reno GmbH with RFID (radio frequency
identification) tags and store tagging systems. Reno GmbH plans to
embed wireless chips in shoes sold at hundreds of stores across the
continent.
(http://tinyurl.com/2cpo45)
2007 Mar 8, The European Central
Bank raised its key interest rate a quarter percentage point to 3.75%,
a move aimed at keeping growth from moving too quickly.
(AP, 3/8/07)
2007 Mar 9, EU leaders agreed on a
bold set of measures to fight global warming, pledging that a fifth of
the bloc's energy will come from green power sources such as wind
turbines and solar panels by 2020 and that 10% of European cars will
run on biofuels.
(AP, 3/9/07)(Econ, 3/17/07, p.59)
2007 Mar 14, Italy and Russia said
they wanted talks between Moscow and the European Union on a new
strategic partnership agreement to start as soon as possible.
(AP, 3/14/07)
2007 Mar 15, The EU said it would
put pressure on members of the Southeast Asian regional grouping ASEAN
at talks in Germany to urge Myanmar to improve its human rights record.
(AP, 3/15/07)
2007 Mar 15, The European
Commission and the UN Development Program said Malaysia should empower
its forest-dependent indigenous people to alleviate poverty and
safeguard their environment.
(AP, 3/15/07)
2007 Mar 21, The EU and the UN
eased their diplomatic boycott of the Palestinian government, holding
talks with non-Hamas ministers.
(Reuters, 3/21/07)
2007 Mar 22, The EU approved an
aviation deal with the US that opens up restricted trans-Atlantic
routes to new rivals, but bowed to British concerns in delaying when
the agreement takes effect. The EU said Boeing has benefited from $23.7
billion in illegal state aid, hitting back at the US in a tit-for-tat
row at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over plane subsidies.
(AP, 3/22/07)(Reuters, 3/22/07)
2007 Mar 25, European Union
leaders celebrated half a century of unity by hailing the bloc's
achievements in bolstering peace, democracy and prosperity, then
pledged to end two years of deadlock over plans to radically overhaul
the way the EU does business.
(AP, 3/25/07)
2007 Mar 25, European leaders
called for new international sanctions on Sudan over its treatment of
civilians in Darfur, where the new UN humanitarian chief warned that
humanitarian efforts were at risk of collapse.
(AP, 3/25/07)
2007 Mar 31, EU foreign ministers
backed an Arab peace initiative and agreed to engage with ministers of
the new Palestinian national unity government who are not members of
the Islamist Hamas movement.
(AP, 3/31/07)
2007 Apr 10, The European Court of
Human Rights ruled that a British woman left infertile after being
treated for ovarian cancer has no right to frozen embryos against the
wishes of her former fiancé, who provided the sperm.
(AP, 4/10/07)
2007 Apr 13, Five European
countries and the European Commission signed an accord on under which
they will give 5.2 million dollars for administrative reforms within
the Palestinian presidency.
(AP, 4/13/07)
2007 Apr 19, European Union
members agreed to new rules to combat racism and hate crimes across the
27-nation bloc, including setting jail sentences against those who deny
or trivialize the Holocaust.
(AP, 4/19/07)
2007 May 2, The US and EU warned
Turkey's military to stay out of the country's political showdown
between the Islamic-rooted government and those in the secular
establishment who fear the country will shift toward Islamic rule.
(AP, 5/2/07)
2007 May 3, Russia lashed out at
the EU and NATO for supporting Estonia in its row with Moscow over the
relocation of a Soviet war monument.
(AP, 5/3/07)
2007 May 7, South Korea and the
European Union started free trade talks aimed at linking Asia's third
largest economy to the world's biggest trading bloc.
(AP, 5/7/07)
2007 May 7, A large explosion in
Ukraine knocked out of service one of the main pipelines which carries
Siberian gas through Ukraine to Germany and other EU clients. Shifting
soil led to a break in the pipeline.
(AP, 5/7/07)(AP, 5/8/07)
2007 May 14, EU foreign ministers
gave the green light for a 40-million euro aid package to the African
Union peacekeeping force in the troubled Sudanese province of Darfur.
(AP, 5/14/07)
2007 May 14, EU foreign ministers
decided to drop a visa ban against four Uzbek officials, while
extending other sanctions against the Central Asian nation imposed
after a crackdown on an uprising in 2005.
(AP, 5/14/07)
2007 May 18, In Russia EU leaders
criticized Russia's human rights record, and were faulted in return, at
the end of a summit that produced no formal agreements but helped
illustrate the widening political chasm between Moscow and the West.
(AP, 5/18/07)
2007 May 28, Officials said heavy
storms, landslides, flash floods and lightning have killed at least 23
people in Europe and Turkey.
(Reuters, 5/28/07)
2007 Jun 21, Leaders of the EU's
27 nations gathered to discuss a new EU treaty.
(AP, 6/21/07)
2007 Jun 21, The European Court of
Human Rights found the Russian authorities responsible for the killings
of four members of a Chechen family in 2003 and ordered Moscow to pay a
relative $114,000.
(AP, 6/21/07)
2007 Jun 21, Talks in Germany
between the US, EU, India and Brazil to save the World Trade
Organization’s (WTO) Doha round of free trade negotiations collapsed.
(Reuters, 6/21/07)
2007 Jun 22, Southeastern Europe
baked under soaring temperatures, with nearly 30 deaths across the
region blamed on the year's first major heat wave.
(AP, 6/22/07)
2007 Jun 23, European Union
leaders agreed on a "precise mandate," no longer called a constitution,
that will guide and govern the expanded EU. They agreed on the key
points of a treaty meant to strengthen the bloc's foreign policy role
and eliminate unwieldy bureaucracy.
(AP, 6/23/07)(WSJ, 6/25/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 28, The European
Commission said all Indonesian airlines and several from Russia,
Ukraine and Angola will be banned from flying to the EU due to safety
concerns.
(AP, 6/28/07)
2007 Jul 4, On the historic
occasion of their first summit, the EU and Brazil decided to establish
a comprehensive strategic partnership, based on their close historical,
cultural and economic ties. Brazil and EU leaders met in Lisbon,
Portugal.
(www.eu2007.pt/UE/vEN/Noticias_Documentos/20070704BRSUM.htm)(Econ,
7/7/07, p.40)
2007 Jul 6, EU officials said they
have asked Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia to join patrols of Europe's
border control agency in a bid to stop massive clandestine immigration.
(AFP, 7/6/07)
2007 Jul 9, The EU's top justice
official said EU citizens will be protected by the US Privacy Act under
an anti-terror deal with Washington on the sharing of trans-Atlantic
air passenger data.
(AP, 7/10/07)
2007 Jul 10, Cyprus and Malta
received approval from EU finance ministers to join the euro.
(Econ, 7/14/07, p.57)
2007 Jul 12, France told Serbia
its EU bid depends on letting Kosovo break away.
(WSJ, 1/13/07, p.A1)
2007 Jul 20, A heat wave sweeping
central and southeastern Europe killed at least 13 people this week,
with soaring temperatures sparking forest fires, damaging crops and
prompting calls to ban horse-drawn tourist carriages.
(AP, 7/20/07)
2007 Jul 23, The European Union
took the first step towards sending forces to Chad and the Central
African Republican to help the United Nations protect refugees trapped
in the violent region bordering Darfur.
(AP, 7/23/07)
2007 Jul 24, Heavy rain and
extreme temperatures continued to batter Europe, with Britain caught in
its worst floods in living memory while the Balkans sizzled in
heatwaves that killed at least 35 people.
(AP, 7/24/07)
2007 Jul 26, The European Court of
Human Rights ordered the Russian government to pay damages of $196,000
to the family members of 11 Chechen civilians killed by Russian
soldiers in 2000, when security forces rampaged through Novye Aldi,
setting fire to houses and killing at least 50 civilians.
(AP, 7/27/07)
2007 Jul 30, The European
Commission said it was seeking a court injunction against Polish plans
to build a key continental highway to prevent permanent damage to the
Rospuda Valley, a "unique environmental site."
(AFP, 7/30/07)
2007 Aug 6, The European
Commission announced a formal EU-wide import ban on meat and livestock
from the British mainland following the outbreak there of foot and
mouth disease.
(AP, 8/6/07)
2007 Aug 10, The European Central
Bank injected another $83.8 billion into the banking system amid signs
that bad US mortgages were digging deeper into the world economy.
Europe's main stock markets slumped further, with London and Paris
shedding more than 3.0 percent, amid turmoil ignited by concerns about
a weak US housing sector.
(AP, 8/10/07)
2007 Aug 19, Israel opened a
crossing with the Gaza Strip to let in fuel shipments, but tens of
thousands of homes remained without electricity because fuel for a
major Gaza power company hadn't arrived. The EU cut off vital funding
to a Gaza power plant, forcing it to shut down the last of its
generators and darken tens of thousands of Palestinian homes.
Palestinian Information Minister Riad Maliki said the EU ceased payment
"because Hamas took over the electric company and started collecting
the revenues and taking them to its pocket."
(AP, 8/19/07)(AP, 8/20/07)
2007 Aug 21, The European Central
Bank provided more cash for banks that have been clamoring for money,
injecting $370.6 billion in its normal weekly refinancing.
(AP, 8/21/07)
2007 Aug 21, The EU said it will
resume vital fuel aid to the Gaza Strip's electric company, money the
bloc suspended because of suspicions that Gaza's Hamas rulers were
diverting revenues.
(AP, 8/21/07)
2007 Aug 22, Russia nominated
Josef Tosovsky, a former Czech prime minister and head of that
country's central bank, to head the International Monetary Fund, a move
that put the Kremlin and the European Union at odds.
(AP, 8/22/07)
2007 Aug 23, The EU relaxed a ban
on exports of British livestock, meat and dairy products that was
imposed after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in southeastern
England earlier this month.
(AP, 8/23/07)
2007 Aug 23, Sudan summoned the
envoy of the European Commission and the Canadian charge d'affaires and
informed them they were considered persona non grata because they
interfered in Sudanese affairs. The UN chief called on the Sudanese
military to remove troops remaining in southern Sudan, expressing
disappointment that a July 9 deadline was not met as called for in a
2005 peace deal.
(AFP, 8/24/07)(AP, 8/24/07)
2007 Aug 25, Sudan said it will
allow an EU envoy it ordered out of the country to remain until his
tenure expires next month, following an EU apology.
(AP, 8/25/07)
2007 Sep 11, The European
Commission has ditched its attempt to impose the metric system on
Ireland and Britain, where a grocer was once convicted of selling
bananas by the pound rather than by the kilo. The EU said it will lift
all remaining restrictions on British meat and livestock next month
after veterinary experts agreed that the threat from a foot-and-mouth
disease outbreak was over.
(AP, 9/11/07)(AFP, 9/11/07)
2007 Sep 15, EU finance ministers
and central bankers agreed in Portugal to step up co-operation among
themselves to improve their handling of cross-border financial crises.
(AP, 9/15/07)
2007 Sep 17, Microsoft lost its
appeal of a European antitrust order that obliges the technology giant
to share communications code with rivals, sell a copy of Windows
without Media Player and pay a $613 million fine, the largest ever by
EU regulators.
(AP, 9/17/07)
2007 Sep 21, Google filed with the
EU competition regulator for permission to buy rival DoubleClick for
$3.1 billion.
(Reuters, 9/21/07)
2007 Sep 25, The UN Security
Council unanimously passed a French resolution endorsing sending a
European Union-UN force to Chad and the Central African Republic to
protect civilians reeling from a spillover of the Darfur conflict.
(AP, 9/25/07)
2007 Sep 26, The EU accused the US
of trying to weaken aircraft maker Airbus and causing 27 billion
dollars (19 billion euros) in losses by paying subsidies to US rival
Boeing.
(AFP, 9/26/07)
2007 Aug 9, The US Federal Reserve
injected $24 billion to the banking system in the wake of a credit
squeeze due to failing subprime mortgages and another $38 billion the
next day. The European Central Bank (ECB) offered unlimited loans at 4%
to stem the credit squeeze as it extended to Europe.
(Econ, 8/18/07, p.64)(WSJ, 11/6/07, p.A1)
2007 Oct 4, Egypt sent a
high-level protest to dozens of European nations expressing
"astonishment and regret" at their refusal to endorse Cairo's call for
a Middle East nuclear free zone at a conference last month. At last
month's IAEA session, 25 of the 27 EU nations abstained as did other
countries hoping to join the union. In all, 47 nations abstained.
Israeli objections forced a vote in which 53 countries, Muslim states
and their supporters from the developing world, backed the proposal.
(AP, 10/17/07)
2007 Oct 5, Europe's .eu Internet
domain registrar EURid said the Internet address www.sex.asia is likely
to be the domain name most in demand next week when dot Asia Web sites
are launched.
(AP, 10/5/07)
2007 Oct 15, European Union
foreign ministers gave their final approval to deploy a 3,000-strong EU
peacekeeping force for one year to help refugees and displaced people
living along Darfur's borders with Chad and the Central African
Republic.
(AP, 10/15/07)
2007 Oct 19,
European Union leaders in Portugal endorsed a reform treaty to
replace their failed European constitution and give the 27-nation union
a more influential say in world affairs. The new Treaty of Lisbon
created 2 new posts, a European foreign minister in all but name and a
new standing president of the European Council.
(AP, 10/19/07)(Econ, 10/27/07, p.64)
2007 Oct 22,
Microsoft Corp. dropped a nearly decade-long legal battle with
European regulators, agreeing to key parts of an antitrust ruling that
has already led to hundreds of millions in fines.
(AP, 10/22/07)
2007 Oct 29, In Portugal senior
officials from the EU, three US states (California, New York, New
Jersey), Canada, Norway and New Zealand launched the International
Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), an international effort to fight
climate change by building a global carbon trading market.
(AP, 10/30/07)
2007 Nov 5, Authorities said
police from across Europe have arrested 92 suspects linked to an
alleged network that produced and sold child abuse videos to 2,500
customers around the world. The 15-month investigation was triggered by
an Australian police discovery in July 2006 of a video depicting a
Belgian father raping his daughters, aged 9 and 11.
(AP, 11/5/07)
2007 Nov 14, The EU reached an
accord with the East African Community (EAC) states of Burundi, Kenya,
Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. They will enjoy duty free, quota
free access to the EU for all products, except sugar and rice, from
January 1. Originally established in 1967, the EAC collapsed a decade
later amid diverging economic philosophies. It was resurrected in 2000
as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda agreed to create an EU-style common
market for their 90 million citizens. Rwanda and Burundi became members
in July this year.
(AP, 11/17/07)
2007 Nov 29, The European
Parliament voted to allow Britain and Ireland to keep some of their old
imperial measurements so pubs can still serve pints and road signs can
show miles instead of kilometers.
(AP, 11/29/07)
2007 Dec 12, The European Central
Bank said it would take joint action with the US Federal Reserve and
other institutions to offer short-term funding to the money markets to
help ease a global credit squeeze. The ECB said it would provide as
much as $20 billion to European banks, in part to fill their demand for
dwindling dollars.
(AP, 12/12/07)
2007 Dec 13, EU leaders signed the
Treaty of Lisbon to reform the bloc's institutions and give it stronger
leadership, marking the end of a difficult process that has lasted
nearly a decade.
(Reuters, 12/13/07)
2007 Dec 14, EU leaders held a
formal meeting in Brussels, where they agreed in principle to send
1,800 policemen, judges and officials to Kosovo. They also agreed to
set up a reflection group to think about challenges facing the EU
between 2020 and 2030.
(Econ, 12/22/07, p.87)
2007 Dec 16, The EU signed a new
trade agreement with the 15-member Caribbean Forum.
(Econ, 1/5/08, p.74)
2007 Dec 17, US trade officials
said the US has reached a deal with the EU, Japan and Canada to keep
its Internet gambling market closed to foreign companies, but is
continuing talks with India, Antigua and Barbuda, Macau and Costa Rica.
(AP, 12/17/07)
2007 Dec 18, EU regulators said
Mastercard must drop fees it charges for cross-border transactions or
face daily fines of 3.5 percent of daily global turnover.
(AP, 12/19/07)
2007 Dec 20, Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania halted land and sea border controls at midnight, becoming the
first in a wave of new members of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone.
(AFP, 12/20/07)
2007 Dec 27, The Afghan government
expelled UN advisor Mervyn Patterson and EU official Michael Semple, on
accusations they held unauthorized meetings with Taliban militants. A
spokesman for the UN mission said the diplomats had traveled to Musa
Qala, a former Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand province on Dec
24, where they met with local leaders.
(AP, 12/27/07)
2008 Jan 1, Slovenia became the
first of 12 newcomers to take over the rotating presidency of the EU
Union, a big psychological boost to a nation that gained independence
from the ruins of the former Yugoslavia 16 years ago.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 1, EU newcomers Cyprus
and Malta adopted the euro, bringing to fifteen the number of countries
using the currency with increasing clout over the slumping US dollar.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 3, A bitterly cold winter
storm pummeled parts of Europe, killing at least three sailors when a
ship sank in rough seas, and piling up snow that stranded thousands at
airports, on mountain roads and in remote villages.
(AP, 1/3/08)
2008 Jan 11, The EU food-safety
agency endorsed meat and milk derived from cloned animals.
(WSJ, 1/12/08, p.A1)
2008 Jan 17, Members of the
European Parliament adopted a resolution criticizing Egypt's human
rights record, even after Cairo summoned EU ambassadors to complain
about the text.
(AFP, 1/17/08)
2008 Jan 21, President Pervez
Musharraf in Brussels pledged to hold free elections as he began a
European trip aimed at bolstering outside support, but urged the West
not to hold Pakistan to unrealistic rights standards.
(Reuters, 1/21/08)
2008 Jan 23, The EU unveiled its
comprehensive climate and energy proposals.
(www.inforse.dk/europe/pdfs/INFORSE-on-EU-energy-package.pdf)
2008 Jan 28, The EU launched its
long-awaited peacekeeping force for Chad and the Central African
Republic to help protect hundreds of thousands of refugees from
strife-torn Darfur.
(AFP, 1/28/08)
2008 Jan 31, The EU ordered Italy
to clean up Naples within a month, or face legal action.
(AP, 1/31/08)
2008 Jan 31, Human Rights Watch
charged that Europe and the US increasingly tolerate autocrats posing
as democrats out of pure self-interest, in countries such as Pakistan,
Kenya, Nigeria and Russia, as human right abuses go on.
(AFP, 1/31/08)
2008 Jan 31, It was reported that
the EU is suing Malta for permitting residents to hunt 2 species of
birds in the spring. The Maltese government said it qualifies for an
exemption under EU rules.
(WSJ, 2/1/08, p.A6)
2008 Feb 4, EU nations gave
preliminary approval to plans to send a 1,800-strong policing and
administration mission to the breakaway province to replace the current
UN mission.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008 Feb 8, Officials said that
the WTO has ruled against the EU's import tariffs for bananas, possibly
opening the door to millions of dollars in US commercial sanctions.
(AP, 2/8/08)
2008 Feb 12, European Union
antitrust regulators raided Intel Corp. and computer resellers
searching for evidence that they may have broken cartel or monopoly
rules.
(AP, 2/12/08)
2008 Feb 12, The EU resumed
deployment of a much-awaited peacekeeping force for two countries
neighboring Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
(AP, 2/12/08)
2008 Feb 13, The EU's top justice
official called for a massive shake-up of the bloc's border security,
recommending that all visitors be screened and fingerprinted and a
satellite surveillance system be set up to keep illegal migrants out.
(AP, 2/13/08)
2008 Feb 16, The EU gave the final
approval for the deployment of a 1,800-member policing and
administration mission in Kosovo.
(AP, 2/16/08)
2008 Feb 27, The EU fined
Microsoft Corp. $1.3 billion for charging rivals too much for software
information. The fine is the largest ever for a single company and the
first time the EU has penalized a business for failing to obey an
antitrust order.
(AP, 2/27/08)
2008 Feb 28, The European Court of
Human Rights ruled that a government may not deport an individual to a
state where he may be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.
(Econ, 3/1/08, p.63)
2008 Mar 3, The US and EU filed a
WTO case against China demanding that it loosen restraints on foreign
companies vying for a greater slice of the country's lucrative market
for financial information.
(AP, 3/3/08)
2008 Mar 5, The EU urged Serbia to
make clear it saw its future with Europe and laid out incentives on
visas, education and transport to try to boost the bloc's image in the
Balkans.
(AP, 3/5/08)
2008 Mar 11, EU regulators cleared
Google's $3.1 billion bid for online ad tracker DoubleClick, saying the
acquisition won't curb competition for online ads.
(AP, 3/11/08)
2008 Mar 11, Serbia and Russia
demanded that the UN administration in Kosovo halt the transfer of
authority to the European Union, calling a handover illegal and
declaring they will never recognize the independence of the Serb
province.
(AP, 3/12/08)
2008 Mar 17, An EU force of 3,700
troops still deploying in Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR)
announced the official start of its year-long mission to protect
refugees and displaced people.
(AFP, 3/17/08)
2008 Apr 7, The EU opened the way
for air travelers to use mobile phones to talk, text or send e-mails on
planes throughout Europe's airspace.
(AP, 4/7/08)
2008 Apr 14, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel arrived in Dublin to discuss a European Union reform
treaty that still bemuses most Irish voters ahead of a June referendum
that will determine the pact's fate.
(Reuters, 4/14/08)
2008 Apr 16, The euro struck an
all-time peak of 1.5969 dollars as eurozone inflation spiked to a
record high.
(AP, 4/16/08)
2008 Apr 29, European nations
failed to convince Lithuania to allow the EU to launch talks on a new
partnership pact with Russia.
(AFP, 4/29/08)
2008 May 20, The European
Parliament censured Italy for its treatment of Gypsies.
(Econ, 5/24/08, p.71)
2008 May 25, EU foreign ministers
approved much delayed plans to begin talks with Russia aimed at forging
a new "strategic partnership."
(AP, 5/26/08)
2008 Jun 5, The European
Parliament called for the peacekeeping mandate for Russian troops in
the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia to be revised. The chamber
also demanded the EU sends its own border mission into the conflict
zone in Abkhazia.
(AP, 6/5/08)
2008 Jun 10, President Bush,
speaking in Slovenia at his final EU-US summit, said the United States
and Europe must rally to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,
calling the threat an incredible danger to world peace.
(AP, 6/10/08)
2008 Jun 11, The Committee of
Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a Resolution establishing
the election procedure of the members of the Group of Experts on Action
against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA). By mid August it was
ratified by 17 countries.
(www.coe.int/t/DG2/TRAFFICKING/campaign/default_en.asp)(Econ, 8/16/08,
p.58)
2008 Jun 12, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon told Kosovo's leaders he intends to reshape the UN mission
there to allow the EU to take on key tasks, according to a letter in
the letter to Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu. Russia demanded
disciplinary action against the head of the UN mission in Kosovo for
preparing to hand over powers to a EU mission that Moscow says is
illegal.
(Reuters, 6/12/08)
2008 Jun 13, Substantial election
returns showed that Ireland's voters have rejected the EU reform
treaty, a blueprint for modernizing the 27-nation bloc that cannot
become law without Irish approval. A majority of voters appeared
determined to register their opposition to the growth of a continental
government that would erode Ireland's sense of independence.
(AP, 6/13/08)
2008 Jun 14, Rebels in Chad
attacked the eastern town of Goz-Beida, and Irish EU troops took up
defensive positions between the fighting and a refugee camp.
(Reuters, 6/14/08)
2008 Jun 14, The EU presented Iran
with a modified package of incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment
program, but an Iran government spokesman said the country would reject
the offer if it requires a halt to sensitive nuclear work. As part of
the package Western nations told Iran that they could cut off any new
help to Iran's anti-drug units unless the Islamic regime halts uranium
enrichment.
(AP, 6/14/08)(AP, 6/24/08)
2008 Jun 15, The EU threatened to
impose sanctions against Sudanese who do not cooperate in bringing
those accused of war crimes in Darfur to the international court.
(AFP, 6/16/08)
2008 Jun 18, The European
Parliament approved controversial new rules for expelling illegal
immigrants from the bloc, overcoming opposition from left-leaning
lawmakers and ignoring protests from human rights activists.
(AP, 6/18/08)
2008 Jun 18, A European Union
delegation met Fiji's coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama, seeking
assurances that he will stick to a pledge to hold elections to restore
democracy by March 2009.
(AP, 6/18/08)
2008 Jun 19, The EU agreed to lift
its diplomatic sanctions against Cuba, but imposed tough conditions on
the communist island to maintain sanction-free relations.
(AP, 6/20/08)
2008 Jun 23, European Union
nations approved new sanctions against Iran, including an assets freeze
of the country's biggest bank. The sanctions also include a travel ban
on high-level experts dealing with Iran's nuclear program.
(AP, 6/23/08)
2008 Jun 24, The EU named Iran's
largest commercial bank, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards and the
head of the country's nuclear program as the targets of new sanctions
imposed over Tehran's nuclear defiance as part of an updated blacklist
of nuclear experts and companies in Iran being targeted under new
sanctions.
(AP, 6/24/08)
2008 Jun 27, EU and Russian
leaders, meeting in Siberia, agreed to launch formal negotiations on a
new strategic agreement governing relations. A first round of
negotiations will be held in Brussels on July 4.
(Reuters, 6/27/08)
2008 Jul 7, European Union nations
gave their backing to a French-drafted pact calling for tightening
immigration and asylum rules across the 27-nation bloc.
(AP, 7/8/08)
2008 Jul 8, The EU formally
invited Slovakia to join the euro zone on Jan. 1, 2009.
(AP, 7/8/08)
2008 Jul 10, The European
Parliament called the fingerprinting of Gypsies in Italy a clear act of
racial discrimination and urged the authorities to stop it.
(AP, 7/10/08)
2008 Jul 10, European Union
lawmakers called for tougher EU sanctions against Zimbabwe, including
putting businessmen who finance Pres. Mugabe's regime on a visa ban
list.
(AP, 7/10/08)
2008 Jul 15, The EU agreed to an
emergency aid package for its fishing industry to cope with fuel prices.
(WSJ, 7/17/08, p.A8)
2008 Jul 23, The European
Commission froze almost euro500 million ($800 million) in aid to
Bulgaria, citing corruption, organized crime, severe spending
irregularities and alleged vote-buying in a country that only joined
the EU last year.
(AP, 7/23/08)
2008 Jul 25, The EU and South
Africa began their first-ever summit in the French city of Bordeaux.
Brussels solidly backed Pretoria's mediating role in Zimbabwe as the
only way of ending ruinous political chaos.
(AFP, 7/25/08)
2008 Aug 5, The EU said it will
give Haiti $4.6 million to help pay for food in the world's poorest
country.
(AP, 8/5/08)
2008 Aug 8, The EU tightened trade
sanctions against Iran to punish Tehran for not committing to a
long-standing demand of the international community that it freeze its
nuclear enrichment program.
(AP, 8/8/08)
2008 Sep 5, EU nations called for
an international probe to find out which country should shoulder
responsibility for starting the conflict between Georgia and Russia.
(AP, 9/5/08)
2008 Sep 7, Italy's foreign
minister, after meeting US Vice President Dick Cheney, said the EU
wants to work closely with the United States in resolving the Georgian
crisis.
(AP, 9/7/08)
2008 Sep 9, The 27-member EU
stopped short of offering Ukraine membership during an EU-Ukraine
summit hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But the two sides
began work on an "association accord," a step that offers closer
political and economic ties and in the past has been designed to
prepare nations for eventual membership.
(AP, 9/10/08)
2008 Sep 9, Serbian lawmakers
ratified a pre-membership agreement with the EU and an oil and gas deal
with Russia after months of heated debate over the direction of the
country's policies.
(AP, 9/9/08)
2008 Sep 15, Europe's major
central banks moved quickly to calm markets, pumping billions of euros
and pounds into the financial system to shore up confidence in the
aftermath of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s bankruptcy filing in the
United States.
(AP, 9/15/08)
2008 Sep 16, Urgently trying to
keep cash flowing amid a Wall Street meltdown, the Federal Reserve
pumped another $70 billion into the nation's financial system to help
ease credit stresses. Late in the day the Federal Reserve agreed to a
2-year $85 billion loan to insurance giant American International Group
(AIG) in exchange for a 79.9% equity stake in the form of warrants
called equity participation notes. Central banks in the US, Europe and
Japan pumped tens of billions into their banking systems to keep money
flowing.
(AP, 9/16/08)(SFC, 9/17/08, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/17/08, p.A1)
2008 Sep 19, Singapore banned all
dairy imports from China and the European Union demanded answers from
Beijing as the baby formula scandal, which left 4 babies dead and over
6 thousand infants ill across China, spread to liquid milk.
(Reuters, 9/19/08)
2008 Sep 24, The European Union
warned that Iran is nearing the ability to arm a nuclear warhead even
if it insists its atomic activities are peaceful.
(AP, 9/24/08)
2008 Sep 25, The EU banned imports
of baby food containing Chinese milk as tainted dairy products linked
to the deaths of four babies turned up in candy and other Chinese-made
goods that were quickly pulled from stores worldwide. More than a dozen
countries have banned or recalled Chinese dairy products as melamine
was found in milk products from 22 Chinese dairy companies.
(AP, 9/25/08)(SFC, 9/25/08, p.A3)
2008 Sep 29, In Georgia almost 300
monitors from 22 EU nations were in place to oversee Russia's promised
troop withdrawal from the large swaths it has occupied since the August
war.
(AP, 9/29/08)
2008 Sep 30, Bank rescues spread
in Europe and some investors expressed faith that the US Congress would
eventually pass a $700 billion bailout plan for the financial sector.
(AP, 9/30/08)
2008 Oct 1, The EU imposed one of
its highest ever cartel fines on a "paraffin mafia" accused of fixing
prices and markets for everyday household products like chewing gum,
tires and candles.
(AP, 10/1/08)
2008 Oct 1, EU monitors began
patrolling Georgian territory and Russian troops allowed some of them
into a buffer zone around the breakaway region of South Ossetia despite
earlier warnings from Moscow they would be blocked.
(AP, 10/1/08)
2008 Oct 8, Six central banks
jolted markets by cutting interest rates together in an attempt to
shore up confidence in the world's crisis-stricken financial system.
The US Fed reduced its key rate from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. The Bank
of England unexpectedly slashed its key lending rate by a half-point to
4.50 percent. The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by 50 basis
points to 2.50 percent. China also cut its key interest rates for a
second time in less than one month. The European Central Bank sliced
its rate by half a point to 3.75 percent. Sweden, and Switzerland also
cut rates. Earlier in a day Japan's Nikkei showed its biggest drop
since the October, 1987 stock market crash.
(AP, 10/8/08)(AFP, 10/8/08)
2008 Oct 12, European leaders
hammered out action to confront the financial crisis, adding their
voices to a global chorus of demands for coordinated action against the
turmoil.
(AFP, 10/12/08)
2008 Oct 13, Europe put $2.3
trillion on the line to protect the continent's banks, a figure that
dwarfed the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue program.
(AP, 10/13/08)
2008 Oct 13, The EU temporarily
lifted a travel ban on the president of Belarus, a country regarded as
Europe's last dictatorship, as relations with the country start to thaw.
(AP, 10/13/08)
2008 Oct 13, The EU condemned
Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's "unilateral decision" to form a new
government and threatened fresh sanctions unless he respects a
power-sharing deal. Mugabe swore in his two vice presidents, casting
doubt on a new mediation effort aimed at saving a power-sharing deal
with the opposition.
(AFP, 10/13/08)
2008 Oct 15, EU leaders agreed to
stick to ambitious plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions 20% by 2020,
but divisions over how to share out the cuts were widened by fears over
the impact of the financial crisis.
(AP, 10/15/08)
2008 Oct 15, In Barbados 13
Caribbean countries approved a new Economic partnership Agreement (EPA)
with the EU.
(Econ, 10/18/08, p.50)
2008 Oct 16, The European
Commission announced 15 million euros (20 million dollars) of emergency
food aid for victims of drought and soaring food prices in five east
African countries. The biggest share will go to Ethiopia and Somalia
and smaller amounts to Kenya, Uganda and Djibouti.
(AFP, 10/16/08)
2008 Oct 16, The European Central
Bank extended emergency loans to Hungary’s central bank. The ECB said
it will lend up to $6.75 billion.
(SFC, 10/17/08, p.A5)
2008 Oct 21, EU lawmakers joined
US civil liberty campaigners in criticizing a new scanner that allows
airport security to see through passengers' clothes, calling it a
virtual strip search that should only be used as a last resort.
(AP, 10/21/08)
2008 Oct 22, Officials said the
EU, the US and other international donors have pledged more than $4.5
billion for rebuilding parts of Georgia that were damaged in its war
with Russia.
(AP, 10/22/08)
2008 Oct 23, The European
Parliament awarded a prestigious rights prize to jailed Chinese
dissident Hu Jia on the eve of a key Beijing summit and despite
pressure from Beijing not to honor him.
(AFP, 10/23/08)
2008 Oct 23, A European Union
court has ruled that EU governments should no longer freeze the funds
of People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, an Iranian opposition
group on the bloc's terror blacklist. A British court ruled in its
favor last year.
(AP, 10/23/08)
2008 Oct 23, Cuba and the European
Union ended a five-year standoff by signing an agreement that calls for
EU members to send the island euro2 million (US$2.6 million) in
immediate hurricane recovery aid and up to euro30 million (US$38.8
million) more in financing next year.
(AP, 10/23/08)
2008 Oct 24, Asian and European
leaders, meeting in Beijing, called for a coordinated response to the
global financial meltdown and prepared to endorse a critical role for
the International Monetary Fund in aiding the hardest-hit countries.
(AP, 10/24/08)
2008 Oct 25, In China a 2-day
economic summit closed. 43 Asian and European leaders pledged around $4
trillion to support banks and restart money markets to try to stem the
global crisis.
(Reuters, 10/25/08)
2008 Oct 26, Hungary reached
agreement with the IMF and the EU on a broad economic rescue package,
including substantial financing, steadying its battered currency. The
deal was expected to be finalized over the next few days.
(AP, 10/27/08)
2008 Oct 29, Officials said that
EU governments promised to lend Hungary 6.5 billion euros ($8.1
billion) as part of a 20 billion euro ($25 billion) international
rescue package to help it weather a financial crisis that has sharply
devalued its currency.
(AP, 10/29/08)
2008 Nov 6, The European Central
Bank cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 3.25% and
the Bank of England made an even more aggressive reduction of 1.5% in
an effort to ease the financial crisis and boost their flagging
economies.
(AP, 11/6/08)
2008 Nov 13, The European Union
proposed plans to toughen up rules covering taxes on foreign accounts
in an effort to stop tax evasion which has been endemic in some EU
nations.
(AP, 11/13/08)
2008 Nov 13, China signed an
agreement in Geneva to loosen controls on financial news providers in
an out-of-court settlement of a dispute with the US, the EU and Canada.
(AP, 11/13/08)
2008 Nov 14, The EU said that the
15 countries that use the euro are officially in a recession, as
their economies shrank for a second straight quarter because of the
world financial crisis and sinking demand.
(AP, 11/14/08)
2008 Nov 20, The European Union
formally recognized Welsh, which dates back to the 6th century, as a
minority tongue. It became an official tongue in Wales in 1993, 450
years after British rulers gave it the boot in favor of English.
(AP, 11/20/08)
2008 Nov 25, EU ministers sought
to enlist counterparts from 27 African countries in a new effort to
curb the flood of illegal immigration.
(AFP, 11/25/08)
2008 Nov 26, European ministers
pledged euro10 billion ($12.8 billion) to an ambitious list of 30 space
missions, including one to put a robotic rover on Mars.
(AP, 11/26/08)
2008 Nov 26, The UN Security
Council approved the deployment of a European Union mission throughout
Kosovo under the UN umbrella.
(AP, 11/26/08)
2008 Nov 27, Switzerland reached
an agreement wit the EU to join the European Union's passport-free
travel zone effective next month.
(AP, 11/27/08)
2008 Dec 4, Europe's top human
rights court ruled that storing DNA from people with no criminal record
is in breach of their rights, a landmark decision that could force
Britain to destroy the samples of nearly 1 million people on its
database.
(AP, 12/4/08)
2008 Dec 4, The Luxembourg-based
European Court of First Instance said EU governments "violated the
rights of defense" of the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran
(PMOI), and that the EU nations have not provided sufficient proof to
blacklist the group.
(AP, 12/4/08)
2008 Dec 8, The EU formally
launches its anti-piracy task mission off the Somali coast, preparing
to take over from the NATO flotilla guarding one of the world's most
important shipping lanes.
(AP, 12/8/08)
2008 Dec 8, The EU joined calls
for President Robert Mugabe to step down after 28 years ruling
Zimbabwe, where spreading cholera and food shortages have worsened a
desperate humanitarian crisis.
(AP, 12/8/08)
2008 Dec 9, The European Union and
Canada reached a deal to open their aviation markets to each other by
removing restrictions on direct flights and foreign ownership in
airlines.
(AP, 12/9/08)
2008 Dec 10, The European
Commission awarded the first Chaillot Prize to the Al-Nahda
Philanthropic Society for Women, a Saudi charity which helps divorced
and underprivileged women.
(AFP, 12/10/08)
2008 Dec 12, European Union
leaders agreed to give concessions to Ireland so it will hold a new
referendum on the EU's stalled Lisbon reform treaty, which aims to make
the 27-nation bloc a stronger player on the world stage.
(AP, 12/12/08)
2008 Dec 15, Europe's biggest
bank, HSBC, joined a list of top names in world finance admitting huge
potential losses in a suspected pyramid fraud scam run by Wall Street
figurehead Bernard Madoff.
(AP, 12/15/08)
2008 Dec 17, The European
Parliament gave a jailed Chinese dissident a one-minute standing
ovation as it honored him in absentia with its top human rights award.
(AP, 12/17/08)
2008 Dec 19, France’s finance
ministry unveiled a package of financial aid from the EU and others
totaling $10.7 billion to help Latvia.
(WSJ, 12/20/08, p.A8)
2008 Anand Menon authored “Europe:
The State of the Union,” a history of the EU.
(Econ, 5/17/08, p.103)
2009 Jan 1, Slovakia became the
16th European Union member state to adopt the euro. This day also marks
10 years since the euro was introduced.
(AP, 1/1/09)
2009 Jan 2, Ukraine sought support
in European capitals a day after Russia cut off gas supplies and
hardened its stance on prices. The cutoff came after Ukraine made a
$1.5 billion overdue payment, but Russia demanded another $600 million,
including $450 million penalties for the late payment for gas shipped
in November and December. The two sides also have not agreed on prices
for 2009. Russia accused Ukraine of stealing gas destined for the rest
of Europe.
(AP, 1/2/09)(Reuters, 1/2/09)
2009 Jan 4, Russia asked the EU to
provide monitoring of Ukraine's gas transit system and charged Ukraine
was stealing gas bound for Europe, as Kiev leveled its own charges.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the state-controlled company wanted
$450 per 1,000 cubic meters, up from its last offer of $418. The
reductions in gas supplies spread to the Czech Republic and Turkey.
(AP, 1/4/09)(Reuters, 1/4/09)
2009 Jan 6, A natural gas crisis
loomed over Europe, as a contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine
shut off Russian gas supplies to six countries and reduced gas
deliveries to several others. Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania,
Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments.
(AP, 1/6/09)
2009 Jan 6, Signs mounted that the
conflict in Gaza is starting to spill over into violence in Europe's
towns and cities, with assaults against Jews and arson attacks on
Jewish congregations in France, Sweden and Britain.
(AP, 1/6/09)
2009 Jan 7, The EU said Russia and
Ukraine will accept using international monitors to verify the transit
of natural gas from Russia through Ukraine's pipelines. Russia's gas
giant Gazprom completely stopped sending gas to European consumers at
7:44 a.m. (0544 GMT). 80% of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine.
(AP, 1/7/09)
2009 Jan 7, Freezing temperatures
and exceptional snowfall caused travel delays across Europe and were
blamed for at least 12 deaths, including that of a man in Milan who was
crushed when a canopy collapsed under the weight of snow.
(AP, 1/7/09)
2009 Jan 8, Russia's
state-controlled gas monopoly said it would restore supplies to Europe
through Ukraine, cut off after a dispute between Moscow and Kiev, as
soon as international monitors are in place.
(Reuters, 1/8/09)
2009 Jan 10, Russia and the EU
took a step toward securing the resumption of gas flows to Europe when
the two signed a deal on monitoring the supplies through Ukraine. PM
Vladimir Putin said Russia will restart gas supplies to Europe once an
EU-led monitoring mission begins to track gas transit via Ukraine.
(AP, 1/10/09)(Reuters, 1/10/09)
2009 Jan 11, Russia, Ukraine, and
the EU struck an agreement to try to resume Russian supplies through
Ukraine to Europe. President Dmitry Medvedev said energy giant Gazprom
would only resume gas supplies once Russia had a copy of the document
signed by Ukraine and once the various teams of international observers
were in place. The text of the accord calls for the EU, Russia and
Ukraine to each provide 25 experts to "carry out checks on the basis of
equal parity both on Ukrainian and Russian territory.
(Reuters, 1/11/09)(AFP, 1/11/09)
2009 Jan 12, Russia's state-run
monopoly Gazprom announced it will resume shipping natural gas to
Europe, where tens of thousands of homes and buildings have been left
without heat in freezing weather.
(AP, 1/12/09)
2009 Jan 13, Russia and Ukraine
hotly blamed each other as Russia restarted natural gas supplies but
little or no gas flowed toward Europe. EU officials watched in dismay
and criticized both nations for their intransigence.
(AP, 1/13/09)
2009 Jan 15, Ukraine rejected
Russia's latest request to pipe natural gas westward to increasingly
frustrated EU consumers, deepening the bitter economic and political
dispute that has paralyzed energy shipments to Europe.
(AP, 1/15/09)
2009 Jan 16, The EU threatened new
sanctions against Robert Mugabe's government in Zimbabwe, blamed for
political deadlock, a surging cholera epidemic and runaway inflation.
The UN said the death toll from the cholera outbreak had risen to 2,201
and that the epidemic is still not under control.
(AP, 1/16/09)
2009 Jan 15, The European Central
Bank cuts its key rate by half a point to 2%, matching its lowest level
ever, set in December 2005.
(WSJ, 1/16/09, p.A5)
2009 Jan 17, Russia and Ukraine
held gas crisis talks in Moscow that the European Union said were the
"last and best chance" to resolve the row that has left Europe
struggling without key gas supplies.
(AFP, 1/17/09)
2009 Jan 18, Russia and Ukraine
announced a deal to end the bitter dispute that has blocked Russian
natural gas from Europe following talks between Russian PM Vladimir
Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko. Under the terms,
Ukraine will pay 20 percent less than the European "market price" price
for gas this year, which Russia says is $450 per 1,000 cubic meters.
That's more than twice as much as the $179.50 Ukraine paid in 2008.
(AP, 1/18/09)
2009 Jan 19, Russia and Ukraine
signed a deal that restores natural gas shipments to Ukraine and paves
the way for an end to the nearly two-week cutoff of most Russian gas to
a freezing Europe.
(AP, 1/19/09)
2009 Jan 20, Russian gas reached
Europe via Ukraine for the first time in two weeks after Moscow and
Kiev ended a contract row that cut supplies to about 20 European
countries.
(Reuters, 1/20/09)
2009 Jan 22, European Union
antitrust regulators said they raided Slovakia's main telecom operator
last week on suspicion of monopoly abuse.
(AP, 1/22/09)
2009 Jan 26, European Union
leaders said they were willing to take in prisoners being released from
the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, but stressed that American
authorities must show ex-inmates pose no security threat before they
can be resettled.
(AP, 1/26/09)
2009 Jan 26, The European Union
decided to remove an Iranian opposition group from the EU's terror list
and lift the restrictions on its funds, a move likely to further damage
relations strained over Tehran's nuclear program.
(AP, 1/26/09)
2009 Jan 26, European Union
nations announced the addition of 26 Zimbabwean officials and 36
companies to the EU's visa and assets freeze blacklist to pressure
President Robert Mugabe to share power with Zimbabwe's opposition.
(AP, 1/26/09)
2009 Jan 28, The European Union
promised billions of dollars in aid to the world's poorest nations to
entice them to sign a new global climate change pact.
(AP, 1/28/09)
2009 Jan 29, The European Union
signed an agreement to give Ethiopia 251 million euros (322 million
dollars) in aid to boost development projects across the Horn of Africa
nation.
(AFP, 1/30/09)
2009 Feb 8, Voters in Switzerland
approved an expanded labor deal with the European Union that allows
Romanians and Bulgarians to work in the Alpine republic.
(AP, 2/8/09)
2009 Feb 10, The European Union
announced that it has signed a pact with 17 social networking providers
including Facebook, MySpace and Google to improve safeguards against
the bullying of teenagers online.
(AP, 2/10/09)
2009 Feb 10, EU ministers demanded
the reopening of negotiations with Liechtenstein on fighting fraud.
(Econ, 2/21/09, p.53)
2009 Feb 19, Europe's highest
human rights court has awarded Abu Qatada, an extremist Muslim preacher
euro2,800 ($3,550), for being held unlawfully by British authorities
during an anti-terrorist probe. A day earlier Britain's highest court
ruled that Abu Qatada could be deported to Jordan despite fears he
could face torture there. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that
Qatada and 10 other detainees had their right to liberty violated when
they were held in high-security conditions.
(AP, 2/19/09)
2009 Feb 22, The heads of Europe's
largest economies agreed on the need for greater regulation of
financial markets and of products such as hedge funds, as they met in
Berlin to hammer out a joint European position for the G20 meeting in
London on April 2.
(AFP, 2/22/09)
2009 Feb 24, China’s state media
reported that a Chinese delegation will buy as much as $15 billion
worth of machinery, automobiles and food products while on a trip to
Europe this week.
(WSJ, 2/25/09, p.A11)
2009 Feb 25, The European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development said that it would invest a record 7.0
billion euros this year in the former Soviet bloc to combat an economic
crisis in eastern Europe.
(AFP, 2/25/09)
2009 Feb 27, Leading international
financial institutions said Eastern Europe's struggling banks will
receive euro24.5 billion ($31.1 billion) worth of emergency help to
shore up their battered finances. Regional leaders were scheduled to
meet this weekend. The Hungarian, Polish and Czech currencies
strengthened on the news of the aid package.
(AP, 2/27/09)
2009 Mar 5, The European Central
Bank cut its main interest rate by a half percentage point to 1.5
percent, dropping the cost of borrowing in the 16 countries that use
the euro to a new record low amid grim economic news.
(AP, 3/5/09)
2009 Mar 5, The European Court of
Justice said Britain's law requiring retirement at age 65 is legal
under EU rules. The advocacy group Age Concern took the British
government to court in 2006 to demand the reversal of the forced
retirement rule.
(AP, 3/5/09)
2009 Mar 6, The EU and Kenya
agreed to allow the country to prosecute suspected pirates captured by
European forces on the high seas.
(AP, 3/6/09)
2009 Mar 20, EU leaders pledged a
125 billion euros in support for eastern Europe and the IMF after
rejecting calls to plough more taxpayer cash into their own faltering
economies.
(AFP, 3/20/09)
2009 Mar 25, Czech PM Mirek
Topolanek, the current rotating president of the EU, slammed US plans
to spend its way out of recession as "a road to hell."
(AP, 3/25/09)
2009 Mar 25, The EU laid out
new labeling rules laid allowing Rose wine customers to know exactly
how their grapes were treated to turn their tipple a blushing pink.
(AP, 3/25/09)
2009 Mar 25, Romania was given a
loan totaling 20 billion euros (27 billion dollars) by the IMF, the EU,
the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD). An austerity program accompanied the loans.
(AP, 3/26/09)
2009 Apr 6, The US Federal Reserve
said it will supply new lines of credit worth up to $287 billion to the
central banks of Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and EU.
(AP, 4/6/09)
2009 Apr 14, The EU started legal
action against Britain for not applying EU data privacy rules that
would restrict an Internet advertising tracker called Phorm from
watching how users surf the Web.
(AP, 4/14/09)
2009 Apr 15, A blockade by French
fishermen angry at EU quotas cut ferry links with Britain for a second
day as a union official threatened to block the Channel Tunnel in
support of the movement.
(AFP, 4/15/09)
2009 Apr 16, French fishermen
allowed traffic to resume to three English Channel ports after
receiving a government promise of euro4 million ($5.27 million) in aid,
but they vowed to keep up their fight against European fishing quotas.
(AP, 4/16/09)
2009 Apr 22, With almost all
stocks overfished, the European Commission called for drastic cuts in
the EU's 90,000-strong fishing fleet and subsidies to safeguard a
sustainable and economically viable fishing industry.
(AP, 4/22/09)
2009 Apr 23, The EU development
commissioner said an international conference has already pledged over
250 million dollars to help Somalia improve its security.
(AP, 4/23/09)
2009 Apr 27, Belarus'
authoritarian Pres. Lukashenko met with Pope Benedict XVI on his first
trip to Western Europe since the European Union lifted a travel ban
imposed in 1999 over his dismal human rights record. The EU lifted the
ban to allow Lukashenko to attend an East-West summit in Prague, Czech
Republic, in May.
(www.contracostatimes.com/nationandworld/ci_12237339)
2009 Apr 27, In Kosovo Serbs
protesting the building of homes for ethnic Albanians in northern
Kosovo threw two hand grenades and fired gunshots at European Union
police officers, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades to drive
the crowd away.
(AP, 4/27/09)
2009 Apr 27, America, Canada,
Europe and Japan promised to cooperate on validating alternatives to
using animals in medical research. An estimated 50-100 million animals
were used in research annually around the world.
(Econ, 5/9/09, p.18)
2009 May 3, Swine flu extended its
reach through Europe and Latin America, with at least five countries
reporting new cases. Health experts were investigating a case of the
virus jumping from a person to pigs, trying to determine if the disease
was reaching a new stage.
(AP, 5/3/09)
2009 May 4, The EU admitted that
its previous forecasts were way off the mark. It now predicts "a deep
and widespread recession" across the continent and said unemployment
among the 16 nations that use the euro will rise to a postwar record of
11.5 percent in 2010.
(AP, 5/4/09)
2009 May 5, The European
Parliament voted to update the rules on the use of animals in research
and to ban imports of seal products, including fur coats and even
omega-3 pills, trying to force Canada to end the annual seal hunt that
animal rights groups call barbaric.
(AP, 5/5/09)(Econ, 5/9/09, p.84)
2009 May 6, Canada and the EU
signed an "open skies" pact under which airlines from the two trading
partners will be able to fly freely between any airport in the
27-country EU and any in Canada.
(Reuters, 5/6/09)
2009 May 6, New H1N1 flu cases
across Europe and a second US death kept health officials on alert
despite signs Mexico's epidemic had passed its peak. Mexican health
officials said that testing of backlogged cases has increased the
confirmed swine flu death toll from 31 to 42, including three new
deaths in the past two days.
(Reuters, 5/6/09)(AP, 5/6/09)
2009 May 7, The European Union
extended its hand to former Soviet republics, holding a summit to draw
them closer into the EU orbit despite Russia's deep misgivings.
Presidents, premiers and their deputies from 33 nations signed an
agreement meant to extend the EU's political and economic ties. The six
ex-Soviet republics to whom the partnership would apply are Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
(AP, 5/7/09)
2009 May 7, The European Central
Bank cut interest rates a quarter point and said it would buy
euro-denominated bonds as well as offer longer-term credit to banks as
it moves to get more money flowing through the 16-nation euro zone
economy.
(AP, 5/7/09)
2009 May 13, The European
Commission, after an eight-year investigation, fined Intel Corp a
record 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion) and ordered it to halt
illegal rebates and other practices it used to squeeze out its rival,
AMD.
(AP, 5/13/09)
2009 May 15, Among perks enjoyed
by EU Parliament lawmakers: flying no-frills and expensing the cost of
a full fare ticket, listing spouse or child as aides and paying them
fat salaries, wining-and-dining friends at Michelin-starred restaurants
and billing the taxpayer. Unprecedented reforms, agreed in long and
difficult negotiations, mean the incoming 736 assembly members of the
EU assembly will earn far less than their predecessors and face far
stricter spending rules.
(AP, 5/15/09)
2009 May 20, EU and Chinese
leaders met in Prague to tackle the economic crisis and turn the page
on tensions over the Dalai Lama. Lingering differences cast a shadow
over the talks.
(AFP, 5/20/09)
2009 May 22, Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev challenged EU leaders meeting at a summit in Khabarovsk
to help Ukraine pay its gas bills in order to prevent disruption of
Russian supplies to Europe.
(Reuters, 5/22/09)
2009 May 25, Dairy farmers created
traffic chaos in Berlin, blocked milk processing plants in France and
protested at EU headquarters in Brussels, seeking more aid to cope with
a sharp drop in milk prices.
(AP, 5/25/09)
2009 May 28, In Senegal UN,
African Union, EU and Arab League representatives met with Mauritian
political parties in Dakar to discuss upcoming polls and a political
stalemate since a coup.
(AFP, 5/28/09)
2009 Jun 4, About 375 million
voters across the 27-nation European Union began 4 days of voting, to
appoint candidates to 736 seats on the assembly in the second-largest
election in the world after India's. Voting began in Britain and the
Netherlands.
(AP, 6/4/09)
2009 Jun 7, Europe leaned to the
right as tens of millions of people voted in European Parliament
elections, with conservative parties favored in many countries against
a backdrop of economic crisis. Center-right parties won the most seats
in the election. Only 43% of 375 million eligible voters cast ballots.
(AP, 6/7/09)(Reuters, 6/8/09)(SFC, 6/8/09, p.A5)
2009 Jun 8, Final results showed a
British far-right party won its first-ever parliamentary seats in EU
elections. The British National Party, which does not accept nonwhite
members and calls for the "voluntary repatriation" of immigrants, won
two of Britain's 72 seats in the European Parliament. Austria's Freedom
Party, which also campaigned on an anti-Islam platform, more than
doubled its share of the vote to 13.1%. Hungary's Jobbik party, which
describes itself as Euro-skeptic and anti-immigration and wants police
to crack down on what it calls "Gypsy crime," won three of the
country's 22 seats and almost 15% of the vote. The Greater Romania
Party, which is, among other things, pro-religion, anti-gay and
anti-Hungarian, made surprise gains, winning almost 9% of the vote and
taking two of Romania's 33 seats. A bloc of center-right parties
remained the largest group.
(AP, 6/8/09)
2009 Jun 15, The European Union
agreed to help the administration of President Barack Obama "turn the
page" on Guantanamo, saying individual EU nations will take detainees
from the American prison in Cuba.
(AP, 6/15/09)
2009 Jun 19, EU leaders agreed to
establish a European System Risk Board. It was intended to sound an
alarm over the build up of risk and to create new European supervisory
authorities to keep an eye on big cross-border financial institutions.
(Econ, 7/4/09, p.73)
2009 Jun 23, US Trade
Representative Ron Kirk said the United States is launching a World
Trade Organization case against China over its export restrictions on
raw materials. The EU said it was joining the US in the action, which
follows failure to persuade China to reduce its export tariffs and
raise quotas on materials such as zinc, tin, tungsten and yellow
phosphorous.
(Reuters, 6/23/09)
2009 Jun 25, The EU said it will
give China up to euro50 million ($70 million) to build a carbon capture
and storage plant that will test a technology aimed at limiting climate
change.
(AP, 6/25/09)
2009 Jun 29, The European Union
Chamber of Commerce in China urged Beijing to reconsider implementing a
controversial Internet filter, saying it raised serious concerns about
security, privacy and user choice.
(AP, 6/29/09)
2009 Jun 29, The European
Commission said top mobile telephone suppliers have agreed to back an
EU-wide harmonization of phone chargers, hailing the pact as good news
for consumers and the environment.
(AP, 6/29/09)
2009 Jul 1, Sweden took over the
rotating presidency of the EU.
(Econ, 7/4/09, p.51)
2009 Jul 13, Turkey and four EU
countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary) formally agreed to
route the Nabucco natural gas pipeline across their territories,
pushing ahead with a US- and EU-backed attempt to make Europe less
dependent on Russian gas.
(AP, 7/13/09)(Econ, 7/18/09, p.47)
2009 Jul 14, The European
Parliament elected ex-Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as its
president, making him the first leader from a former Soviet bloc
country to hold one of the top European Union posts.
(Reuters, 7/14/09)
2009 Jul 15, The EU urged Canada
to restore visa-free travel for Czech visitors, removed by Ottawa after
hundreds of Roma from the central European country sought asylum.
(Reuters, 7/15/09)
2009 Jul 23, Iceland formally
applied to join the European Union but said it would not accept a
"rotten deal" for its fishing industry, a key sector of the island
nation's troubled economy.
(AP, 7/23/09)
2009 Jul 27, European Union
nations gave their final approval to a ban on imports of seal products
in an effort to force Canada to end its annual seal hunt.
(AP, 7/27/09)
2009 Aug 13, The EU said it was
extending its sanctions on Myanmar to cover members of the judiciary
responsible for the verdict in the trial of opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi.
(Reuters, 8/13/09)
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