This WEEK in the European Union
LUCIA KUBOSOVA
14.04.2008 @ 09:30 CET
EUOBSERVER / WEEKLY AGENDA (14 - 20 April) - The EU's justice ministers are to discuss fresh proposals aimed at boosting the fight against terrorism and confront the use of media by militants.
Meanwhile, the European Commission is set to unveil a new report on dangerous consumer products found on the EU markets while MEPs will prepare for the next week's plenary in Strasbourg.
MEPs in the women-rights committee are set to adopt a report on the under-representation of women in the scientific world (Photo: Notat)
EU interior and justice commissioners are meeting on Friday for regular talks in Luxembourg, which will include recent proposals on how to combat violent political extremism and "the exploitation of means of communication for committing terrorist offences."
The debate comes after last week's report by the EU's police arm, Europol, which showed that the number of arrests connected to such forms of terrorism had doubled in the EU in 2007.
The study also revealed that networks of Islamist militants such as al Qaeda are continuing to recruit EU nationals for activities in Afghanistan and Iraq mainly through the internet, and are producing websites that contain 'do-it-yourself'-type information for extremists, such as how to build a bomb.
The interior ministerial session will re-visit recent discussions coming out of EU-US negotiations over visa-free travel, particularly after several new member states signed political memoranda with Washington in this area bilaterally rather than at the European level.
High-profile conferences
Meanwhile, the European Commission is this week preparing several high-profile conferences, starting on Wednesday with an event focussing on an expert report on globalisation and the ways that Europe can maintain its social policy credentials in such a context.
As less than half the EU's citizens said they were confident of keeping their jobs for the next two years in a 2006 Eurobarometer survey, the commission claims it wants to offer a forum for policymakers to discuss the possible ways of responding to such concerns.
The debate also takes place ahead of the launch of the EU executive's renewed Social Agenda, set to be adopted before this year's summer break, with commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, social policy commissioner Vladimir Spidla, European Parliament President Hans Gert Pottering and the Slovenian presidency all set to participate.
Additionally on Thursday, another high-profile conference will see south eastern Europe and its civil society in the spotlight, with 450 representatives from NGOs and expert bodies attending the event, including the Open Society Institute founder George Soros due to address the topic.
The conference should cover four broad areas: good governance and democratisation; human rights; social inclusion and development; and environmental protection and sustainable development in the region.
Finally, also on Thursday, the commission is to unveil the latest report by RAPEX, the European Rapid Alert System, which monitors dangerous consumer products found in EU markets.
Fresh data shows an increase in the number of alerts for dangerous products up from 926 in 2006 to 1,355 last year, which Brussels argues is proof of the increasing effectiveness of the EU's alert system.
Preparing for Strasbourg
The European Parliament is this week primarily preparing for next week's plenary session in Strasbourg.
Apart from that, the foreign affairs committee will on Wednesday exchange views with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki at a joint meeting with the ad hoc delegation for relations with Iraq.
The following day, the international trade committee will hear from the EU's trade commissioner Peter Mandelson about the current state of EU negotiations of the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with African, Caribbean and Pacific states.
Also on Thursday, a hearing on the situation of Muslim women and the role of the EU will be hosted by experts and NGO representatives at a Women's Rights Committee. The same committee will on Monday adopt a report suggesting women are still highly under-represented in the scientific world.
