The Newsletter33014 janv. 2008

La Lettre

Mickaël Roudaut

14 January 2008

Foundation

Medef

1 January 1970

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On 15th January Jean-Dominique Giuliani, Chairman of the Robert Schuman Foundation and Jérôme Bedier, Chairman of the MEDEF's Europe Committee are organising a debate on the theme of "Are there any plumbers left in Poland? Demography, immigration and borders in Europe". at 6:30pm at the MEDEF. To take part it is highly recommended that participants enrol.

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Energy

1 January 1970

On 22nd January at 6pm in Brussels and just as the European Commission is about to publish its "Climate and Energy" package, the Robert Schuman Foundation is organising a debate on the theme of "the revival of energy production: a European challenge - an environmental, industrial and political challenge". Herbert Reul (MEP - PPE-DE, DE), Helmut Schmitt von Sydow (Chief Advisor - DG Energy) and Antoine Pellion (Civil Engineer from the Ecole des Mine and author of the new 'Note' by the Foundation "Reviving energy production in Europe: an environmental, industrial and political challenge) will attend the meeting.

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Presidencies/2008

1 January 1970

The Robert Schuman Foundation, together with the Embassy of France in Poland and the Polish Robert Schuman Foundation are organising a seminar focussing on "The Presidencies of the European Union in 2008" in Warsaw on 16th January. Pascale Joannin, Director General will take part in this meeting along with François Barry-Delongchamps, Ambassador of France in Poland, Jozef Drofenik, Ambassador of Slovenia in Poland, Jan Borkowski, Secretary to the Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry and Anna Radwan-Röhrenschef, Chair of the Polish Foundation.

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European Elections Monitor - Serbia

1 January 1970

On 20th January next over 6.5 million Serbs are being called to appoint their future President of the Republic. This election comes just as Kosovo, a Serb province under international administration since 1999, is considering declaring its independence. Nine people are offically running. According to the most recent polls Boris Tadic is due to win with 33% of the vote. The outgoing President is said to be ahead of the Radical Party leader Tomislav Nikolic, who is due to win 27%. Velimir Ilic and Milutin Mrkonjic are due to win 4% of the vote each and Cedomir Jovanovic, 3%. The other four candidates are only due to win a small number of votes. If none of the candidates wins the election in the first round a second round will be organised on 3rd February.

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Presidency

Intercultural Dialogue

1 January 1970

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On 7th January in Ljubljana Vasko Simoniti, Slovenian Culture Minister and Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Culture and Multilinguism launched the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. The Slovenian presidency announced that this theme would be paid particular attention during its term in office. Conferences have been organised "to give rise to new hope based on the idea that intercultural dialogue can stimulate the European creative spirit."

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Inaugural Session

1 January 1970

On 8th January the inaugural meeting of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union along with the European Commission was held. Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Jansa presented the themes of the presidency: the ratification procedure of the Lisbon Treaty, the implementation of the 'Energy and Environment' package, the start of the 3rd stage of the Lisbon Strategy and relations with the Western Balkans in order to find long term solutions to the problems of stability in the region.

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Parliament

Charlemagne Prize/Youth

1 January 1970

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The European Parliament and the Foundation for the Charlemagne Prize in Aachen are organising a competition called the "Charlemagne Prize for European Youth," targeting young people from the 27 Member States aged 16 to 30 years. Prizes will be given to the best three projects, that are finished or are being completed to promote European and international understanding, to foster a European sense of belonging and integration, to serve as a model for young Europeans and to offer practical examples of Europeans living in one member community. Priority will be given to projects by young people representing several Member States. The deadline to deliver the projects is February 8th.

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Commission

iTunes

1 January 1970

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On 9th January the European Commission welcomed Apple's decision to equalise music download prices from iTunes within the next six months. Until now British consumers had to pay more than other Europeans. This decision came after a complaint was made on this subject to the Commission by a UK consumer association. The Commission's investigation revealed that no agreement had been reached between Apple and recording companies and hence further legal procedures were unjustified. This development confirms the EU's position in favour of a single market for the downloading of music.

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Venture Capital Funds

1 January 1970

On 7th January in order to finance and stimulate innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the European Commission proposed measures to boost cross-border investments of venture capital funds. Up to now venture capital funds, which are vitally important for the financing of growing innovative small companies, face too many problems to overcome different national regulations for cross-border fundraising and investment. For this reason they often do not reach the necessary critical mass. Therefore the European Commission advocates a broad partnership with and between Member States to work towards mutual recognition of the current national frameworks for venture capital funds.

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Innovative Markets

1 January 1970

On 7th January the European Commission announced that it wants to unlock market potential for innovative goods and services by lifting obstacles hindering innovation in a first batch of six important markets: eHealth, protective textiles, sustainable construction, recycling, bio-based products and renewable energies. These markets with high economic and societal value represent an annual turnover of more than 120 billion euros and 1.9 million jobs in the EU. The Commission's goal is to push the EU to first place whilst bringing advantages to the consumer and supporting SME's as well as an ambitious strategy in terms of innovation.

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Public Service Broadcasting

1 January 1970

On 10th January the European Commission published a consultation paper on the future framework which will apply to State funding of public service broadcasting. This consultation gives Member States and stakeholders the opportunity to submit their views at an early stage, before any Commission proposal, on the possible revision of the Broadcasting Communication. Comments should be submitted by 10th March 2008 and must address current rules, the relevant Commission decision-making practice and the possible scope for amendments. The Commission hopes to improve and simplify the legal framework governing this domain. The project aims to strengthen the European Union's competitiveness.

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Transport

1 January 1970

On 11th January the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a Cooperation Agreement establishing the Loan Guarantee Instrument for trans-European transport network projects (LGTT). This new instrument will facilitate greater participation of the private sector in the financing of transport infrastructure of European significance, especially for investments in TENs projects where there is a high level of revenue risk in the early operational period of a project. The LGTT, which forms part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) programme and the EIB's Action for Growth initiative, will partially cover this risk and thereby significantly improve the financial viability of TENs investments. The capital contribution of 1 billion euros (500 million euros each from the Commission and the EIB) is intended to support up to 20 billion euros of total capital investment.

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Council

Civil Aviation

1 January 1970

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On 11th January the Conciliation Committee, that brings together the Parliament and the Council reached agreement on common rules in the field of civil aviation security. The agreement must now be endorsed by both institutions. The agreement puts forward a certain number of reforms that aim to establish standards with regard to security in the field of civil aviation in the face of the terrorist threat. It insists on the respect of transparency in the funding of these measures as well as on the necessary co-operation with third countries in the establishment of equivalent standards. The issue of information sharing was also addressed.

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ECB

Key Interest Rates

1 January 1970

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On 10th January the European Central Bank announced that its key interest rates would not change. Refunding rates which determine the level of loans in the 15 Member States of the euro area remain at 4%. After the meeting which brought together governors of the national central banks of Cyprus and Malta for the first time, ECB chairman Jean-Claude Trichet re-iterated his warnings about inflation.

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Germany

Foreign Trade

1 January 1970

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According to statistics published on 9th January by the Federal Statistics Office German exports rose in November to 87.8 billion euros ie a rise of 3.2% in comparison with November 2006; whilst imports reached 68.5 billion in November (+2.3% in comparison with November 2006). In all at the end of November Germany revealed a trade surplus of 19.3 billion euro. In the first eleven months of the year German exports rose to 895.7 billion euro ie 9.3% more than in 2006 at the same time. German foreign trade remained dynamic in spite of the rise in the value of the euro against the dollar.

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Renewable Energy

1 January 1970

According to figures published on 8th January by the German Renewable Energy Federation the renewable energy sector provided Germany with nearly one tenth (9.1%) of its energy in 2007, ie 219 billion kilowatt hours versus 8% in 2006 and 6.6% in 2005. Renewable energy also enabled the prevention of 115 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2007. This development should continue since the German goverment has taken steps to bring the share of renewable energy in overall energy consumption up to 20% by 2020. The windmill represents 45% of electricity production, hydraulic power, 25% and other types of renewable energy (solar, biomass, biogas, geothermal) only represent 3%.

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Belgium

Reforms

1 January 1970

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On 8th January Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt presented his personal ideas to reform Belgian institutions and to stabilise the country that was shaken in 2007 by tension between the Flemish and Walloons. His proposed reform aims to ensure greater autonomy for the three regions comprising Belgium, whilst maintaining a strong Federal State. This proposal which is considered audacious does not seem to have convinced all of the Belgian political community.

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Denmark

Ratification

1 January 1970

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Just as discussions are increasing with regard to whether a referendum will be held or not on lifting the opt-out clauses that Denmark enjoys in certain European policies the pro-European parties have accepted to stand down on this subject until the Lisbon Treaty has been ratified - since this is due to be subject of parliamentary debate in the spring. The discussion over the lifting of the opt-out clauses should then start in June at the earliest after the publication of a study on the results this decision will lead to by the Danish Institute for International Relations.

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France

Franco-Spanish Summit

1 January 1970

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On 10th January French President Nicolas Sarkozy received José Luis Rodrigues Zapatero, President of the Spanish Council as part of the 20th Franco-Spanish Summit. During this meeting they discussed economic growth in Europe, the Mediterranean Union project, the future French presidency of the European Union, the fight against terrorism as well as immigration. Both countries promised to solve the electrical connection between Figueras (Spain) and Perpignan (France). They signed a declaration to adopt the project that has been in stalemate for years, by the end of June 2008.

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Social Reality

1 January 1970

In November 2007 Tout l'Europe (the French information centre on Europe) organised an on-line survey about European social reality. Internet users were invited to say what they thought about: well-being, inequality, employment and work, immigration and integration. According to the survey's results participants believe that the most striking social changes over the last twenty years have involved the world of work, family life equally and then poverty levels and inequality.

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Latvia

Energy

1 January 1970

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On 9th January, Latvian Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis met with Andris Piebalgs, European Energy Commissioner. They discussed new energy forms that might be used in Latvia and also neighbouring countries which might be able to provide them with more energy resources. The Commissioner recalled the European Union's priority of transferring over to 20% renewable energy by 2020.

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Poland

EUFOR

1 January 1970

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Poland will send two helicopters and 400 soldiers to Chad as part of EUFOR, the European Union's military force in Chad and Central Africa, said the Polish Defence Minister on 10th January.

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Portugal

Treaty/Parliamentary Ratification

1 January 1970

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On 9th January Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates said that he would submit the Lisbon Treaty to Parliament for ratification. He declared to MPs that a referendum in Portugal would needlessly endanger the full legitimacy of ratification by national parliaments which is taking place in nearly all of the other Member States.

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Romania

Schengen

1 January 1970

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On 10th January the Secretary to the Romanian Home Office, Vasile Gabriel Nita who was on an official visit to Sofia agreed with his Bulgarian counterpart, Goran Ionov, Deputy Home Minister, on the content of a joint Declaration on the Schengen area. It will be signed by the Home Ministers of both countries and delivered to the Secretary General of the Council of the European Union during the "Justice/Internal Affairs" Council on 24th and 25th January. It expresses the desire for joint accession to the Schengen area in 2011.

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UK

Nucelar Energy

1 January 1970

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On 10th February British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown announced the construction of new nuclear power stations. He justified his decision saying that the UK's energy supplies had to secured long term and be made affordable since oil prices continued to rise. The issue of global warming was also taken into acccount. This decision came at the same time as the publication of a white paper on nuclear energy by Business Secretary, John Hutton. Construction sites are to be studied in 2008 and nuclear power stations should be running by 2020.

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Liverpool

1 January 1970

Liverpool, the European culture capital 2008 successfully launched a year of celebration last weekend. Organisers counted on the town's vast musical heritage as well as on sports, architecture and the port. A wide range of events was on offer. This British town is home to the greatest number of museums outside of London - Liverpool will be the venue for unprecedented exhibitions in the UK ranging from Niki de Saint Phalle, Gustav Klimt, Le Corbusier, Monet and Pissarro. Several events were also staged in Liverpool: the Turner Modern Arts Prize, the BBC Electric Proms, the MTV Europe Music Awards, the Round the World Clipper Yacht race 07/08, the British cycling tour, the World Fire Fighter Games.

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Croatia

Government

1 January 1970

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On 12th January the Croat Parliament swore in the new government coalition led by Ivo Sanader after the general elections on 25th November 2007. The government comprises 19 members including 4 Deputy Prime Ministers. Fifteen are from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led by Ivo Sanader, two are from the Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), one from the Social Liberal Party (HSLS) and one from the Independent Democratic Serbian Party (SDSS). For the first time since the end of the Serbo-Croat conflict 1991-1995 the government has one Serb minister. The voted of approval was won 82 votes in favour 62 against.

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Georgia

Presidential Election

1 January 1970

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Outgoing Georgian President, Mikhail Saakachvili was re-elected president of Georgia with 53.47% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election on 5th January according to the final results published on 13th January just a few hours before a demonstration organised by the opposition in protest against this victory.

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Referenda

1 January 1970

Georgians approved the project put forward by President Mikhail Saakachvili to take their country into NATO by 72.5% according to the results of a referendum published on 11th January by the head of the Central Election Committee. This referendum, which was purely consultative, was organised on 5th January, on the same day as the early Presidential election. In addition to this 69.8% of voters said in another referendum that they were in favour of elections in the spring rather than the end of the year, announced the chairman of the Commissionn, Levan Tarkhnichvili.

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Balkans

Kosovo

1 January 1970

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The Kosovo Parliament officially elected Hashim Thaçi as Prime Minister and approved the composition of the new government of the province of Kosovo on 9th January. During the elections on 17th November the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won the greatest number of votes but it will govern with the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) with which it signed a coalition agreement on 7th January. The Prime Minister announced that Kosovo's independence would be declared within the next few weeks. During Parliament's second session Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu was immediately re-elected - after having resigned on 9th January - for a five year term in office winning 68 votes out of 120 in the third round of the election.

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Serbia

1 January 1970

Serb Foreign Minister, Vuk Jeremic announced on 10th January that Serbia's strategic objectives were to protect its sovereignty and its European integration. After a meeting with his German counterpart Frank Walter Steinmeier he declared that a compromise had to be the key to the future status of Kosovo. Vuk Jeremic maintained that Serbia would sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 28th January, whilst his German counterpart hopes that an agreement within the European Union will be found so that this document can be signed since the condition set by the (rendition of Mladic and Karadzic to the ICTY) still has not been honoured by Serbia.

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Eurostat

Industrial Production

1 January 1970

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According to figures published by Eurostat on 7th January in November 2007 compared with October 2007, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.1% in the European Union. In October prices increased by 0.7% in the euro area and by 0.9% in the European Union. The highest increases were registered in Lithuania (+2.3%), the United Kingdom (+2.2%) and Belgium (+2.1%). The only decreases were recorded in Luxembourg (-0.9%) and Ireland (-0.2%), while prices remained unchanged in Cyprus.

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Unemployment

1 January 1970

According to figures published by Eurostat on 7th January the euro area seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 7.2% in November 2007, unchanged compared with October. It was 7.9% in November 2006. The European Union unemployment rate was 6.9% in November 2007, the same as in October. It was 7.7% in November 2006. In November 2007, the lowest rates were registered in the Netherlands (2.9%) and Denmark (3.2%), and the highest in Slovakia (11.0%) and Poland (8.5%).

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Retail Trade

1 January 1970

In November 2007, compared with October 2007, the volume of retail trade fell by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the European Union. In October retail trade fell by 0.7% and 0.4% respectively. The largest increases were observed in Luxembourg (+13.5%), Latvia (+1.6%) and Finland (+0.9%), and the highest decreases in Belgium (-1.1%), Portugal (-1.0%) and Slovenia (-0.8%).

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GDP

1 January 1970

According to figures published by Eurostat on 9th January Euro area and European Union GDP both grew by 0.8% in the third quarter of 2007, compared with the previous quarter. In the second quarter of 2007, growth rates were +0.3% in the euro area and +0.5% in the European Union. In the third quarter of 2007 and among the Member States for which seasonally adjusted GDP data are available, Lithuania (+5.2%) recorded the highest growth rate compared with the previous quarter, followed by Latvia (+2.8%) and Slovakia (+2.5%). The GDP rose by 1.2% in the USA and by 0.4% in Japan during the third quarter of 2007.

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Reports/Studies

Defence

1 January 1970

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The Centre for European Reform (CER) has published an essay entitled Preparing for the multipolar world: European foreign and security policy in 2020". The authors believe that a strong European Union, that is working well could be instrumental in making multilateralism successful with regard to balance of power. The essay puts forward a plan to strengthen the European defence policy and the European Union's strategies with regard to the Middle East, Russia and China.

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Illegal Immigrants

1 January 1970

According to a census undertaken by the Italian association Fortress Europe, published on 7th January 1,861 illegal immigrants died during 2007 as they tried to reach one of the countries in the south of the European Union in comparison with 2,088 in 2006. The association notes a drop in the number of deaths in the Canary Islands (735 in 2007 in comparison with 1,035 in 2006) and in the Gibraltar Strait (135 in comparison with 215); however there was an increase in the number of deaths in the Sicilian Channel (551 versus 302) and in the Aegean Sea (257 versus 73). In all out of the 1,861 deaths counted by Fortress Europe in 2007 nearly all of them - 1,126 happened in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Transatlantic Economy

1 January 1970

The Center for Transatlantic Relations has just published "The Transatlantic Economy 2008" by Daniel S Hamilton and Joseph P Quinlan. According to the study's conclusions trade between Europe and the USA has undergone exceptional growth the last five years, with American exports benefiting from a strong euro in comparison with the dollar.

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Publications

National Defence

1 January 1970

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The "Revue défense nationale et securité collective" has just published its latest issue which includes an article by French Defence Minister, Hervé Morin. The review is available for purchase over the Internet.

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Culture

Paris/Exhibition

1 January 1970

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The exhibition entitled "Germany, the dark years" is on show at the Maillol Museum until 4th February. This exhibition is dedicated to the various trends in German art which both recounted and responded to the dramatic history of this country at the start of the 20th century. It comprises nearly 250 paintings, drawings, engravings, water colours by the most celebrated artists of this period.

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Brussels/Exhibition

1 January 1970

Until 27th January the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium is presenting a unique collection of around fifty paintings by Rubens. This collection comprising oil sketches, cabinet paintings and alterpieces, is quite exceptional since it reflects the most productive period of Rubens life when his creative genius and entrepreneurial spirit were at their best and brightest(1614-1640).

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Paris/Conferences

1 January 1970

The educational offices of the University Paris-Sorbonne is organising a seminar on 18th and 19th January next on "Events that have marked European minds '711-1948)". This is the fifth in the series of "Journées de l'Histoire" inviting us to journey across the major dates in European history: from the progress of Islam into Europe in 711 to the Iron Curtain in 1948.

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Agenda

Newsletter Archives

Up against Trump, Canada's unlikely European destiny

A Danish Presidency that is embracing the European Union like never before

Ukraine's path to the EU: reform, resilience and the politics of enlargement

The Schengen Agreements turn 40

The sea as a strategic interest for Europe. A European perspective on the ocean and its challenges

The Editors of the Newsletter :
Stefanie Buzmaniuk, Helen Levy

N°ISSN : 2729-6482

Editor-in-Chief :
Eric Maurice

Director of Publication :
Pascale Joannin

Any questions or suggestions?
Contact Us!

info@robert-schuman.eu

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The Newsletter n°330- version of 14 janv. 2008