WHO - Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: why is it important?

Tobacco is the leading preventable cause of death in the world, with an estimated 4.9 million deaths a year. If current smoking patterns continue, the toll will nearly double by 2020. A high percentage of deaths (70%) will occur in developing countries. Tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving families of breadwinners and nations of a healthy workforce.

Increased trade, foreign investment, global marketing and other complex international phenomena have led to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic. As the epidemic transcends national borders, its control requires international cooperation and multilateral regulation.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) was developed as a global response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic. Adopted in June of 2003, the WHO FCTC quickly became one of the most widely embraced treaties in United Nations' history, becoming international binding law on 27 February 2005.

There is no doubt that reducing the rates of uptake and consumption of tobacco will save lives and that the WHO FCTC is the evidence-based tool with which to do it. It has been projected that with a progressive 50% reduction in uptake and consumption rates, as many as 200 million lives could be saved by the year 2050 ― and hundreds of millions more thereafter.

YOU can also visit Tobacco Free initiative from the WHO by clicking this text.

IMF - Reports & Publications

Italy: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes—
Fiscal Transparency Module—Update


The IMF presents Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Fiscal Transparency Module for Italy was prepared by a staff team of the International Monetary Fund as background documentation for the periodic consultation with the member country. It is based on the information available at the time it was completed on February 2, 2006.

To view this resource go to IMF.org (Adobe Acrobat or Reader required)

Europa Press Releases - Avian influenza confirmed in Europe

-Brussels 21 February 2006- Avian Influenza: France and Netherlands present vaccination plans for poultry

French and Dutch plans to carry out targeted preventive vaccination campaigns on certain poultry, as a precautionary measure against highly pathogenic avian influenza, have been presented to Member States in the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) today. The presentations were followed by positive discussions in the Committee on the technical and scientific details of the plans, as these are the first such vaccination programmes against the H5N1 virus to be proposed in the EU. On the basis of today’s discussions, the Commission will now consider proposals to approve the plans and to lay down specific conditions that must be met in applying them. The discussions will continue in the Committee tomorrow morning.

The Dutch plan entails vaccinating hobby poultry and free-range laying hens throughout the whole country. The vaccination will be provided on a voluntary basis, as an alternative to the requirement that these birds be kept indoors.

The French plan foresees the vaccination of ducks and geese in the departments of Landes, Loire-Atlantique and Vendée, which are considered to be areas at high risk of avian influenza. The intention is to begin vaccination immediately and continue until April 1 2006, during which time around 900 000 birds are expected to be immunised. Both Member States outlined the monitoring and control measures that would be followed with regard to the vaccinated birds. These include the use of sentinel birds (i.e. unvaccinated control birds) to monitor for an avian influenza outbreak in the vaccinated flock, regular testing of the vaccinated and sentinel birds, and the continued application of bio-security provisions already in place.



-Brussels 21 February 2006- Avian influenza confirmed in two wild birds in Slovakia: Slovak authorities applying precautionary measures

The Slovak authorities informed the European Commission overnight of two confirmed cases of avian influenza virus H5 in wild birds, one tested in Bratislava city (mergus albellus, ‘smew’ in English, ‘Harle Piette’ in French, from the family of ducks, geese and swans) and one in Gabcikovo, district of Dunajska (a hawk). Samples will be sent to the Community Reference Laboratory for avian influenza in Weybridge for further tests to determine if this is the H5N1 virus.

The Slovak authorities have informed the European Commission that they are applying the precautionary measures set out in the Commission Decision on certain protection measures in relation to highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds in the Community. This Decision was adopted by the Commission on 17 February, following a favourable opinion on 16 February by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. The Decision sets out the measures to be applied in any Member State of the European Union which detects a case of avian influenza H5 in wild birds which is suspected or confirmed to be the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus. The Slovak authorities are in close contact with their Hungarian and Austrian counterparts as the 10 km surveillance zones cross the Slovak-Austrian and Slovak-Hungarian borders.

The measures consist of the establishment of a high risk area (a 3 km protection zone) around each of the outbreaks and a surrounding surveillance zone of 10 km (which includes the protection zone). In the protection zone, poultry must be kept indoors, movement of poultry is banned except directly to the slaughterhouse and the dispatch of meat outside the zone is forbidden except where products have undergone the controls provided for in EU food controls legislation (i.e meat sourced from healthy animals in registered farms, subject to ante and post mortem checks by vets in the slaughterhouse). In both the protection zone and the surveillance zone, on-farm biosecurity measures must be strengthened, hunting of wild birds is banned and disease awareness of poultry owners and their families must be carried out.

-Brussels 17 February 2006- Avian influenza confirmed in wild duck in France: French authorities applying precautionary measures

The French authorities today informed the European Commission of a confirmed case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5 in a dead wild duck tested in Ain, near Lyon. A sample will be sent to the Community Reference Laboratory for avian influenza in Weybridge for further tests to determine if this is the H5N1 virus.

The French authorities have informed the European Commission that they will apply immediately the precautionary measures set out in the Commission Decision on certain protection measures in relation to highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds in the Community. This Decision was adopted by the Commission today, following a favourable opinion on 16 February by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. The Decision sets out the measures to be applied in any Member State of the European Union which detects a case of avian influenza H5 in wild birds which is suspected or confirmed to be the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus.

The measures consist of the establishment of a high risk area (a 3 km protection zone) around the outbreak and a surrounding surveillance zone of 10 km (which includes the protection zone). In the protection zone, poultry must be kept indoors, movement of poultry is banned except directly to the slaughterhouse and the dispatch of meat outside the zone is forbidden except where products have undergone the controls provided for in EU food controls legislation (i.e meat sourced from healthy animals in registered farms, subject to ante and post mortem checks by vets in the slaughterhouse). In both the protection zone and the surveillance zone, on-farm biosecurity measures must be strengthened, hunting of wild birds is banned and disease awareness of poultry owners and their families must be carried out.

Austrialian Development Gateway February

"Ask the Sector Specialist": Clay O'Brien, answers your questions on microfinance and enterprise development and in the Asia Pacific region.

Follow this link to submit your questions http://www.developmentgateway.com.au/ask_the_specialist
He will be available to receive your questions on this very topical issue, from 10th - 24th February.

Clay is the General Manager, Special Projects for Opportunity International Australia, a global microfinance provider.

He is currently involved in the funding and development Opportunity International Australia's microfinance institutions in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe and has previously managed their indigenous Australian projects. He was also the chairman of the Australian committee for the Year of Microcredit (2005) set up by the UN.

Don't miss this opportunity to engage with a sector expert and learn more about this important issue.submit your questions now! http://www.developmentgateway.com.au/ask_the_specialist

Visit the new ADG Microfinance and Enterprise Development sector with 130+ resources http://www.developmentgateway.com.au/jahia/Jahia/pid/2699

WTO - Shedule for Meetings 20 to 24 February

WTO MEETING SCHEDULE 20–24 FEBRUARY 2006

Tuesday 21 February 2006
10 am - Trade and environment negotiations (committee “special session”)
Wednesday 22 February 2006

10 am - Trade and environment negotiations (committee “special session”)
3 pm - Dispute settlement negotiations

>Tentative schedule of meetings for the rest of the year:http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/meets.pdf

> Director-General's schedule this week:http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/dg_agenda_e.pdf
(Click on the links or copy and paste them into your browser.
Alternatively, you can go to our home page http://www.wto.org and followthe links.)

TIP: When pages are newly published you might at first have difficultyviewing them. Try clicking your browser's reload or refresh button. Ifthat still does not work, try again a bit later.

UNICEF - Lunches a new TV Show

Last October, UNICEF strted telling the world about the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS campaign – a five-year global initiative whose goal is to put children at the center of the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

Since then, the campaign has launched in dozens of countries around the world, and thousands of people like you have joined the effort via the campaign’s website.
Now the campaign has released the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS Update – a fast-paced, nine- minute online television show that brings viewers the latest news from the campaign and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

To watch the show, visit: http://www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren/
The Update is a monthly programme featuring reports and human interest stories from every corner of the globe. UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ralph Fiennes makes an appearance in the first episode, which also includes stories of the campaign’s expansion to Thailand, India, and Mozambique.

Please watch the show and to learn how the UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS campaign – with the support of people like you – is working to transform the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

The Spain Herald - Terrorism in Basque county Negotiation

Oreja: Zapatero negotiating Basque self-determination with ETA

PP Euro-MP Jaime Mayor Oreja said yesterday that he is "morally certain" that the Zapatero administration is negotiating the self-determination of the Basque Country, rather than a definitive peace, with ETA. Oreja reproached Zapatero for "committing an enormous error" in favoring such negotiations. Oreja said that Spain is going to cause "great concern" with this process of negotiating with terrorists because, so far, it has tried to convince the Europeans that it was facing down ETA with the law.

To watch full article link to: http://www.spainherald.com/2783.html

OECD Economics Working Papers

New OECD working papers published today, press anywhere on the text to link directly to OECD Site.

Here there are some examples of the last papers published:

477 Projecting OECD health and long-term care expenditures: What are the main drivers?

476 Alternative measures of well-beingRomina Boarini, Åsa Johansson and Marco Mira D'Ercole

475 Recent house price developments: the role of fundamentalsNathalie Girouard, Mike Kennedy, Paul van den Noord and Christophe André

474 Reforming federal fiscal relations in AustriaAndrés Fuentes, Eckhard Wurzel and Andreas Wörgötter

473 Product market competition and economic performance in FranceJens Høj and Michael Wise

472 Product market reforms and employment in OECD countriesGiuseppe Nicoletti and Stefano Scarpetta

471 Fast-falling barriers and growing concentration: the emergence of a private economy in ChinaSean Dougherty and Richard Herd

470 Sustaining high growth through innovation: reforming the R&D and education systems in KoreaYongchun Baek and Randall S. Jones

469 The labour market in Korea: Enhancing flexibility and raising participationRandall S. Jones

468 Getting the most out of public-sector decentralisation in KoreaRandall S. Jones and Tadashi Yokoyama

467 Coping with the inevitable adjustment in the US current accountPeter Jarrett

Europa - Newsletter *Iran resumes uranium enrichment activities

Iran resumes uranium enrichment activities

After final negotiations at an extraordinary meeting in Vienna on 4 February, the Council of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decided to transfer Iran's nuclear dossier to the UN Security Council 'for information'.
The resolution, adopted by 27 votes in favour, 3 against (Venezuela, Cuba and Syria) and 5 abstentions, calls on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment immediately, and to improve its cooperation with the IAEA.
"You can issue as many resolutions of this kind as you want, and play around with them, but you cannot stop Iran's progress," said Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
To confirm its intentions, on 6 February Teheran announced its decision to resume its uranium enrichment activities, and to stop all 'voluntary' cooperation with the IAEA. The Iranian government added that it would no longer implement the additional protocol of non-proliferation, which has allowed UN inspectors to carry out investigations in Iran, for three years.
But Russian and Western leaders insisted that they are still open to negotiations. The next deadline is 6 March, when Mohamed El Baradei, the director of the IAEA, will re-submit a report to the Security Council on the Iranian nuclear programme.
If, by then, Iran does not comply with its obligations, the Security Council could "exert renewed pressure" on Teheran in order to reinforce the IAEA's authority.
Shortly after the decision made in Vienna, Russia reiterated its proposal for the partial relocation of Iran's uranium enrichment activities outside the country.
"This proposal may be key in obtaining a negotiated solution," said Franz-Walter Steinhmeier, the Head of German diplomacy, speaking on behalf of the EU-3 composed of France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Published by UE-Newsletters, view more at

Europa - Newsletter *Official communication about Cartoon Controversy*

Cartoon controversy: EU condemns violence and calls for dialogue

Following the attacks on European diplomatic missions and other facilities in the context of the violent protests in the Middle East against certain cartoons published in European media, the Austrian Presidency, the Commission and the Member States condemned the violence perpetrated in the strongest possible terms. The Commission fully supported the European Union reactions and the solidarity with the Member States concerned coordinated by the Austrian Presidency on the basis of consultations with the Member States and the Commission. Vis-à-vis the threats of trade boycotts against Danish goods, the Commission recalled that a boycott of Danish goods is by definition a boycott of European goods. A boycott is not the appropriate way to address the issue. It is damaging to all parties.
The Commission said that it is aware that the publication of the cartoons in European media has aggrieved many Muslims all over the world. But no grievance, be it perceived or real, justifies acts of violence. The European Union and its Member States apply the principle of the freedom of speech which is part of their values and traditions. Governments or other public authorities do not prescribe or authorize the opinions expressed by individuals. Conversely, the opinions expressed by individuals engage these individuals, and only them. They do not engage a country, a people, a religion. The Commission recalled that the freedom of speech is the basis not only of the possibility to express an opinion, e.g. to publish said cartoons. It is also the basis of the possibility to rebut an opinion, e.g. to criticize said cartoons. Insofar as an opinion goes beyond what is legal under the freedom of speech, e.g. when incites hatred or violence, the legal systems of the Member States of the European Union offer all means of redress necessary and appropriate.
The Commission underlined that Muslim citizens of the Member States of the European Union and of other countries know that the European Union and its Member States respect Islam. All Member States of the European Union grant freedom of religion, allowing Muslim citizens to practise their faith in the same way as they allow the adherents of other religions and convictions to practise theirs. The European Union and its Member States have for a long time been engaged in dialogue with Europe’s Muslim communities, and are major trade partners, investors and aid donors of most Muslim countries.
The Commission acknowledged that the overwhelming majority of Muslims, whilst maintaining their criticism of the cartoons, have clearly distanced themselves from such violence. Incidentally, the violent nature of a protest suggests that such it is staged or exploited for political purposes other than the call for respect between cultures and religions, the call for respect and the use of violence being mutually exclusive.
The Commission emphasized that it is through a vigorous but peaceful dialogue of opinions under the protection of the freedom of expression that mutual understanding can be deepened and mutual respect can be built. It called on political and religious leaders to use their influence to bring a return to such a peaceful dialogue.

Europa Newsletter is an official publication from the E.U. and is available to all Citizens, Institutions, Bodies, from Europe and the world over.

OECD Newsletters II/13/2006

Macroeconomic Policy in the Franc Zone: What can the European Central Bank Learn from Africa?
Tuesday 21 February 2006, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Room 4, OECD HQ, ParisSeminar organised by the OECD Development Centre and WIDER

The new study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER) focuses on some of the challenges facing the Franc Zone today:-> How close is the Franc Zone to being an ‘Optimum Currency Area’?-> How well do its institutions manage monetary policy in the area? -> How do its policies impact on the poorest and most disadvantaged communities?The study pays particular attention to the way in which this disparate group of countries exploits the advantages and manage the costs of adhering to a single currency.The plan by other African countries to form monetary unions in the next two years makes the discussion particularly timely, and parallels with the European situation cannot be avoided.The debate will be introduced by author David Fielding and Toulouse professor Jean-Paul Azam under the chairmanship of the OECD Development Centre’s Kenneth Ruffing, Co-ordinator of the African Economic Outlook.

For further information link to OECD Development Centre OECD.org

This data comes from OECD Newsletter

We are STARTING our non-official page of official comunications

We are starting our non-official page of official comunications.
This page will start working at february 27, anyway we will start posting from now over!
Visit us to have all your essential, international organisations and government communications united in the same page.

To make easier to access to our site at http://europeanexpress.co.nr

http://europeanexpress.co.nr/ this is the new direct-link to our site provided by: