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| May
3 - 7 |
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| EUROPEAN
UNION THIS WEEK |
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| Compiled
by Elke Blodau |
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The European Union Center at Texas A&M University |
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A
Greek police dog-handler at the
blast site Wednesday
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'No Olympic link' to Greek blasts |
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| The Greek government says there is
no evidence that a bomb attack on a police station in Athens
is linked to the Olympic Games, due to open in 100 days.
Speaking hours after three bombs went off in the central
Kalithea district, officials expressed confidence the Olympics
would be safe for all. No-one has claimed the attack which
caused damage but no injuries. Police are increasingly convinced
that left-wing domestic groups are to blame and not international
terrorism. |
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| BBC
correspondents say the government is very keen to show that
this attack was not linked to the Olympics, but was instead
a violent reaction to the trial of alleged members of a
hardline leftist group accused of a series of bombings and
killings in Greece over the past three decades. A newspaper
in the city received an anonymous telephone warning about
10 minutes before the pre-dawn blasts. |
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incident has raised awareness of the huge task that faces
the Greek security authorities. The Athens Games will be
the first summer Olympics since the 11 September 2001 attacks
on the U.S. Athens has allocated tens of thousands of police
officers and army personnel to ensure security at the games.
A city-wide network of surveillance cameras will be in operation,
and aerial patrols will take place. |
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Greek authorities claimed they had crippled the most dangerous
domestic "terrorist" threat after the convictions
last year of 19 members of the November 17 group, blamed
for 23 killings and dozens of other attacks since 1975.
But smaller groups have continued to carry out bombings
and arson attacks in Athens and other cities. |
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'No
Olympic link' to Greek blasts (BBC)
Attack
sparks new Olympic fears
(CNN)
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Cars
were wrecked and windows in nearby buildings shattered |
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| Chinese
Premier in Brussels |
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| On Wednesday,
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in Brussels on a politically
symbolic visit, but one that focused on economic and trade
ties. The visit was presented as a coup by the Brussels
institutions as it is the first visit of a Chinese premier
to the EU capital outside a summit. However, critics charge
that human rights issues have not been sufficiently dealt
with. Since a new generation of Chinese leaders ascended
to power in late 2002 - early 2003, the EU's relations with
the world's most populous country have been in "rude
health" as one senior EU official put it. But with
China apparently offering the EU recognition as a world
power and internal reforms in the country progressing -
albeit slowly - the EU is keen not to rock the boat too
much. |
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The Commission President
Romano Prodi has predicted that China and the EU will
have the biggest trade relationship in the world. His
comments could signal a shift in geopolitical focus -
a move to diversify away from the transatlantic partnership
that has traditionally been seen as Europe's most important
trade relationship. EU-U.S. ties currently top the world's
bilateral trade league and are worth 240 billion euro
each year. To reach this level EU-China trade would have
to almost double. After Wednesday's meeting, both the
Commission President and the Chinese Premier were keen
to drive home how much the relationship was growing, pointing
to the five trade and technology agreements signed today
by the two sides as examples. Both men described the relationship
as "a strategic partnership" and Wen called
for "a strategic dialogue to further bilateral relations".
Although Prodi was positive about lifting the 15-year
arms embargo on China saying, "one side sells arms,
one side buys them", many EU member states remain
deeply anxious about selling arms to a country with such
a poor human rights record. However, the Chinese Premier
hinted that the country may be ready to implement the
UN Covenant on civil and political freedeoms, which the
EU has been pressing for since China agreed to it in 1998.
Progress does appear to have been made on the question
of the EU recognizing China as a full market economy,
with Prodi announcing there will be a preliminary assessment
at the end of next month. Although the verdict will not
officially have any impact on the final decision, a yes
in China's favor would represent the realization of a
long-time diplomatic goal.
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The
visit of Chinese Premier Wen is being presented
as a coup by the Brussels institutions
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| Other
headlines: |
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Libya death sentence for Bulgarian medics (BBC)
Kosovo UN troops 'fuel sex
trade' (BBC)
Turkey 'foils NATO summit
attack' (BBC)
Germany awaits
record high deficit (EU Observer)
Enlargement:
What the people think (EU Observer)
Six new members
to face spending rap (EUO)
EU leaders to
attend 'intellectual' summit (EUO)
Turkey says it
has alternative options to EU (EUO)
Berlin talks tackle anti-Semitism (BBC)
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Experts backed the medics' defense that poor hygiene was
to blame
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| Business
news:
German
unemployment still rising (BBC)
Spain's tourism bounces
back (BBC)
Air
France claims KLM takeover (CNN)
Vodafone
launches 3G in Europe (BBC)
Enlargement:
winners and losers (EUO)
Tough
outlook hits Easyjet shares (BBC)
EU
countries: down in competitiveness (BBC)
Carlsberg
profits lose some fizz (BBC)
Euro
interest rate left unchanged (BBC)
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The number of unemployed is rising faster than expected |
