tovek report

Rank	Score	Date	Country	Title
1	0.77	2000-09-30	FRANCE	MEXICO'S FOX BEGINS EUROPE TOUR IN FRANCE
	Chirac, Jospin, Blair; 30.9.2000 FRANCE: MEXICO'S FOX BEGINS EUROPE TOUR IN FRANCE. By David Monjaraz PARIS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox began a five-nation European tour in France on Saturday saying he hoped to speed up implementation of a free trade pact between Mexico and the European Union. Fox, of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), said he had high hopes of accelerating the implementation of the Mexico-EU free trade agreement, which went into effect in July, and of attracting European investment to Mexico, particularly to impoverished southern areas. MEETING INVESTORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS During his hop through Europe - which takes in five countries in six days - Fox and a delegation of Mexican business leaders are scheduled to meet investors and industrial leaders in each country. In France, Fox plans to meet President ...
2	0.77	2000-10-15	FRANCE	CORRECTED - ANALYSIS-EU BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER REFORMS
	Chirac, Blair, Jospin; 15.10.2000 FRANCE: CORRECTED - ANALYSIS-EU BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER REFORMS. In BIARRITZ-dated item headlined "ANALYSIS-EU battlelines drawn over reforms", pls correct at start of 4th para to read... By Ian Geoghegan BIARRITZ, France, Oct 15 (Reuters) - An at times bruising two-day summit gave European Union leaders some foreign policy successes but left serious question marks over whether the 15-nation bloc can agree internal reforms needed for enlargement. RIFT OVER COMMISSION The major powers want a smaller, streamlined European Commission - the body that proposes EU legislation - matching the number of major portfolios. CAPITALS VERSUS BRUSSELS These are the battle lines for Nice and beyond, a broader issue of reforming European politics with national governments seeking to wrest power from the Commission, pitching inter-governmentalism ...
3	0.69	2000-09-27	FRANCE	CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL
	CHIRAC, Chirac, Jospin; 27.9.2000 FRANCE: CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL. By Tom Heneghan PARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A close ally of conservative President Jacques Chirac urged him on Wednesday to end a partisan feud over slush funds and sleaze charges that has poisoned the French political scene. Patrick Devedjian, spokesman for Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR), said Chirac should publicly admit that all political parties had illegal slush funds until the early 1990s and thereby close a chapter that has haunted them since then. Devedjian's call came after the president and his Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin all but declared war on each other following the posthumous publication of a videotape last week in which a former Chirac aide detailed the RPR's vast slush fund. Chirac should state publicly "that everybody, including the RPR of ...
4	0.68	2000-10-06	POLAND	UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
	BLAIR, Blair, Chirac; 6.10.2000 POLAND: UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair will urge the European Union on Friday to set out a framework for enlargement as soon as possible, calling for a Europe that is both bigger and more in touch with its citizens. In a speech at Warsaw's stock exchange, Blair will also propose a second chamber to the European parliament to be drawn from members of national parliaments, his spokesman said. Instead, Blair believes the 15-nation EU should focus on speedier enlargement to the east and build trust in Europe's institutions. After Blair's midday speech he will dine with officials from four countries bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and ...
5	0.68	2000-10-06	POLAND	UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER
	BLAIR, Blair, Chirac; 6.10.2000 POLAND: UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday he wanted the European Union to be a superpower - bigger, more democratic and punching its weight in the world. THIRTEEN COUNTRIES WAITING IN THE WINGS Popular revolutions brought down Communist governments in most of Eastern Europe a decade ago, but 13 countries are still waiting in the wings to join the European Union. Blair's audience included top officials from four states bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi. CONTRAST WITH GERMANY'S FISCHER To stop Europe seeming so remote from its citizens and their national governments, Blair proposed ...
6	0.67	2000-10-06	ISRAEL	UPDATE 2-ISRAEL SAYS CHIRAC MEDDLED, FRANCE DENIES
	CHIRAC, Chirac, Jospin; 6.10.2000 ISRAEL: UPDATE 2-ISRAEL SAYS CHIRAC MEDDLED, FRANCE DENIES. By Howard Goller JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ehud Barak's top adviser said on Friday that meddling by French President Jacques Chirac had prevented Israel and the Palestinians from negotiating an end to a week of bloodshed two days earlier. A source at Chirac's office dismissed the charges as "wrong and ridiculous", saying France had worked for an agreement throughout the Paris talks on Wednesday between Barak, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "We had Arafat's position that what was on paper would be initialled in Paris and signed in full in Egypt (the next day)," Yatom told Israel Radio. Yatom said Chirac's support for Arafat gave the Palestinian leader the impression he could hold out for a better deal. ...
7	0.67	2000-09-28	UK	UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK
	BLAIR, Blair, Chirac; 28.9.2000 UK: UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK. By Susan Cornwell BRIGHTON, England, Sept 28 (Reuters) - When Germany's Joschka Fischer outlined his ideas for a federal Europe four months ago, Britain's reaction was distinctly chilly. Next week, Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to finally respond with his own personal vision of Europe: one of nation states, their separate identities intact but working together effectively. Pro-European analysts say it is vital for Blair to weigh in on Europe's future, otherwise Britain could find itself isolated while Fischer's idea of a federal Europe or a plan by French President Jacques Chirac for a "two-speed" Europe gain converts. "The problem is that the European institutions are quite disconnected from people and the national institutions with which they identify," said a Foreign ...
8	0.67	2000-10-05	UK	BLAIR TO GIVE VIEW OF EUROPE IN WARSAW SPEECH
	BLAIR, Blair, Chirac; 5.10.2000 UK: BLAIR TO GIVE VIEW OF EUROPE IN WARSAW SPEECH. By Susan Cornwell LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared to fly to Warsaw on Thursday to lay out his ideas about the future of the European Union. Following his speech, Blair, who arrives in Warsaw on Thursday evening, will dine with top officials from four states bidding to join the EU - Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. French and German leaders have called for ever closer integration among EU countries, while British political leaders fears the bloc could become a European "super-state" or a "two-speed Europe" - both of which Britain opposes. OPPOSE JOINING EURO Blair faces enough debate about Europe at home. A majority of British people see themselves as outside the EU mainstream and currently oppose joining the European single ...

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Score		0.77
Date		2000-09-30
Country		FRANCE
Title		MEXICO'S FOX BEGINS EUROPE TOUR IN FRANCE
Summary		30.9.2000 FRANCE: MEXICO'S FOX BEGINS EUROPE TOUR IN FRANCE. By David Monjaraz PARIS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox began a five-nation European tour in France on Saturday saying he hoped to speed up implementation of a free trade pact between Mexico and the European Union. Fox, of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), said he had high hopes of accelerating the implementation of the Mexico-EU free trade agreement, which went into effect in July, and of attracting European investment to Mexico, particularly to impoverished southern areas. MEETING INVESTORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS During his hop through Europe - which takes in five countries in six days - Fox and a delegation of Mexican business leaders are scheduled to meet investors and industrial leaders in each country. In France, Fox plans to meet President ...
Found		Chirac, Jospin, Blair

|... investing in Mexico," Fox said. In France, Fox plans to meet President Jacques Chirac, leaders of parliament, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, artists and intellectuals. Fox's next stop is Madrid on Tuesday, for meetings with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and Spanish King Juan Carlos, th ...|... adt. Then he moves on to London on Friday for meetings with Prime Minister Tony Blair and London City officials. Fox's foreign relations advisors have said the incoming president hopes to show off Mexico's new face of democracy, and t ...|

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Score		0.77
Date		2000-10-15
Country		FRANCE
Title		CORRECTED - ANALYSIS-EU BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER REFORMS
Summary		15.10.2000 FRANCE: CORRECTED - ANALYSIS-EU BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER REFORMS. In BIARRITZ-dated item headlined "ANALYSIS-EU battlelines drawn over reforms", pls correct at start of 4th para to read... By Ian Geoghegan BIARRITZ, France, Oct 15 (Reuters) - An at times bruising two-day summit gave European Union leaders some foreign policy successes but left serious question marks over whether the 15-nation bloc can agree internal reforms needed for enlargement. RIFT OVER COMMISSION The major powers want a smaller, streamlined European Commission - the body that proposes EU legislation - matching the number of major portfolios. CAPITALS VERSUS BRUSSELS These are the battle lines for Nice and beyond, a broader issue of reforming European politics with national governments seeking to wrest power from the Commission, pitching inter-governmentalism ...
Found		Chirac, Blair, Jospin

|... s" - France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain. While French President Jacques Chirac, summit host and desperate for a diplomatic success at Nice, trumpeted the "considerable progress" made, others made clear there was blood on the wal ...|... mentalism against the unwieldy "Community method". British Prime Minister Tony Blair alluded to this in a speech ahead of the summit, calling for greater decision-making powers to be given to the Council - where elected national polit ...|... nes voted recently to reject the single currency. French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin pointedly reminded the 10 smaller nations during the summit that they had acquired a much greater voice on the world stage thanks to the EU. By draw ...|

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Score		0.69
Date		2000-09-27
Country		FRANCE
Title		CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL
Summary		27.9.2000 FRANCE: CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL. By Tom Heneghan PARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A close ally of conservative President Jacques Chirac urged him on Wednesday to end a partisan feud over slush funds and sleaze charges that has poisoned the French political scene. Patrick Devedjian, spokesman for Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR), said Chirac should publicly admit that all political parties had illegal slush funds until the early 1990s and thereby close a chapter that has haunted them since then. Devedjian's call came after the president and his Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin all but declared war on each other following the posthumous publication of a videotape last week in which a former Chirac aide detailed the RPR's vast slush fund. Chirac should state publicly "that everybody, including the RPR of ...
Found		CHIRAC, Chirac, Jospin

27.9.2000 FRANCE: CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL. By Tom Heneghan PARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A close ally of conservative President Jacques Chirac urged him on Wednesday to end a partisan feud over slush funds and sleaze charges that has poisoned the French political scene. Patrick Devedjian, spokesman for Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR), said Chirac should publicly admit that all political parties had illegal slush funds until the early 1990s and thereby close a chapter that has haunted them sinc ...|... vedjian's call came after the president and his Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin all but declared war on each other following the posthumous publication of a videotape last week in which a former Chirac aide detailed the RPR's vast slush fund. The anti-Chirac bombshell ended up wounding the Socialists as well when it turned out that their scandal-ridden former Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn had received a copy of the tape and concealed it from Jospin and justice authorities. "If the president were to close the chapter on the past, that would be a healthy step for everybody, for our democracy, for ...|... country of our standing," Devedjian, whose comments are often seen in Paris as Chirac's trial balloons, told RTL radio. Chirac should state publicly "that everybody, including the RPR of course, raised funds illegally" and then French politics should "move on to other things, ...|... liticians and for our democracy," he said. EARLY ELECTIONS? The escalating Chirac-Jospin battle, which eclipsed a referendum on Sunday on shortening the presidency to five from seven years, stank so much of dirty trick politics that edito ...|... t parliamentary and presidential elections are not due until 2002, meaning that Chirac and Jospin have to continue their clenched-teeth cooperation until then. "If the seven-year term is finished, why wait that long?" asked the daily Ouest France ...|... sident until the end of this year. Given the wide powers of the head of state, Chirac could theoretically call an early presidential election and dissolve the National Assembly to force a snap general election as well. Many of Chirac's current problems began with his risky decision in 1997 to dissolve parliament. French voters surprised him by electing a left-wing government, forc ...|... power with the man expected to challenge him in 2002. The accusations against Chirac have built up so much suspicion about his financing that many voters readily believe the charges of corruption in the videotape. The French presiden ...|... in office, meaning that the damage will be more political than legal as long as Chirac stays in the Elysee Palace. (C) Reuters Limited 2000. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

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Score		0.68
Date		2000-10-06
Country		POLAND
Title		UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Summary		6.10.2000 POLAND: UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair will urge the European Union on Friday to set out a framework for enlargement as soon as possible, calling for a Europe that is both bigger and more in touch with its citizens. In a speech at Warsaw's stock exchange, Blair will also propose a second chamber to the European parliament to be drawn from members of national parliaments, his spokesman said. Instead, Blair believes the 15-nation EU should focus on speedier enlargement to the east and build trust in Europe's institutions. After Blair's midday speech he will dine with officials from four countries bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

6.10.2000 POLAND: UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair will urge the European Union on Friday to set out a framework for enlargement as soon as possible, calling for a Europe that is both bigger and more in touch with its citizens. In a speech at Warsaw's stock exchange, Blair will also propose a second chamber to the European parliament to be drawn from members of national parliaments, his spokesman said. Blair's speech is a reply to proposals set out months ago by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who spoke of a federalist Europe, and French President Jacques Chirac, who said groups of countries could forge ahead with closer integration. But Blair's aides say the British leader does not want to wade too deeply into a debate of grand visions, which he sees as a distraction from Europe's real cha ...|... ly, and that is not going to be addressed by an internal institutional debate," Blair's spokesman said. Instead, Blair believes the 15-nation EU should focus on speedier enlargement to the east and build trust in Europe's institutions. "Supporting enlargement in principle but delaying in practice is no longer good enough," Blair's spokesman said. "We want to see new members in by 2004." After Blair's midday speech he will dine with officials from four countries bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos ...|... a, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi. A "CHAMPION OF ENLARGEMENT" Blair arrived in Warsaw on Thursday evening as much of Europe's attention focused on Yugoslavia, where massive demonstrations in Belgrade appeared to have ...|... think it looks more positive than we possibly had hoped for a short time ago," Blair said on Polish television. "It is looking positive." "The important thing is we have this tremendous opportunity," he said. The European Union was ...|... ng to bring peace, democracy and prosperity to the region, he said. On the EU, Blair said the two-year-old negotiations with EU aspirants should be speeded up, although he declined to be specific about dates, saying this depended on h ...|... ngary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus. In his Friday speech, Blair is also expected to emphasise that the nation state remains the democratic cornerstone of the EU - and suggest letting MPs from national parliaments ...|... n rule on what decisions should be taken at a national rather than an EU level, Blair's aides said. Blair believes the European Council, comprised of EU heads of government, should set the strategic direction for Europe and produce an annual agenda, although the European Commission would be a full player in this, Blair's spokesman said. European Commission President Romano Prodi warned this week against moves to increase inter-governmental cooperation at the expense of existing EU institutions. But Blair's aides denied he was launching a war of words with Prodi. "This isn't a battle between governments and the EU institutions. It does mean we look af ...|... h at the divisions of labour between national governments and EU institutions," Blair's spokesman said. Those who look for any change to Blair's wait-and-see policy on the European single currency are likely to be disappointed. Denmark rejected the euro in a referendum last week. Blair is likely to repeat his view that this does not affect Britain. He says he favours Britain joining the euro in principle but first the economics hav ...|

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Score		0.68
Date		2000-10-06
Country		POLAND
Title		UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER
Summary		6.10.2000 POLAND: UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday he wanted the European Union to be a superpower - bigger, more democratic and punching its weight in the world. THIRTEEN COUNTRIES WAITING IN THE WINGS Popular revolutions brought down Communist governments in most of Eastern Europe a decade ago, but 13 countries are still waiting in the wings to join the European Union. Blair's audience included top officials from four states bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi. CONTRAST WITH GERMANY'S FISCHER To stop Europe seeming so remote from its citizens and their national governments, Blair proposed ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

6.10.2000 POLAND: UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday he wanted the European Union to be a superpower - bigger, more democratic and punching its weight in the world. Outlining his vision of Europe, Blair said it should start expanding to the east by 2004, letting in countries like Poland frustrated by the slow negotiations to join the 15-member club. ...|... as a popular revolt appeared to have President Slobodan Milosevic on the run. Blair said that if Milosevic conceded he was beaten in last month's elections and steps down, Serbia could be welcomed "into the family of European nations ...|... governments, presumably at the expense of Brussels bureaucrats. But above all, Blair emphasised the European project was no longer just about trade or keeping another war from breaking out on the continent. "It is about projecting col ...|... erests and the common good, achieving more together than we can achieve alone," Blair declared. "Such a Europe can, in its economic and political strength, be a superpower; a superpower, but not a superstate." Members would work toget ...|... st tier, along with Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech republic, Estonia and Cyprus. Blair said he hoped some of these could join in time for European parliament elections in 2004, provided they have reformed their economies and legal syste ...|... said a framework for joining could be set out in the first half of next year. Blair's audience included top officials from four states bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slova ...|... stop Europe seeming so remote from its citizens and their national governments, Blair proposed a second chamber of the European parliament, drawn from members of national parliaments. He also said the European Council, comprised of el ...|... iving it to national governments. The council should produce an annual agenda, Blair said. There should be a document called a "charter of competences" to define responsibilities between the national level and Brussels. His view of E ...|... y German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. Without mentioning Fischer by name, Blair said his ideas would focus power in the European Commission and the European parliament, which would become Europe's true legislature. Blair argued that subsuming national identities into a European superstate could not appeal to nations like Poland, which had struggled through centuries to get and keep statehood. Blair was similarly cautious about the approach of French President Jacques Chirac, who has said small groups of EU nations could forge ahead with closer cooperation. "I have no problem with greater flexibility or groups of member states going forward together," Blair said. "But that must not lead to a hard core" and a two-tiered Europe. While striking out grandly with proposals for a European superpower, Blair kept to his customary caution about the European single currency. He said he favoured joining in principle but in practice the economics had to be ri ...|

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Score		0.67
Date		2000-10-06
Country		ISRAEL
Title		UPDATE 2-ISRAEL SAYS CHIRAC MEDDLED, FRANCE DENIES
Summary		6.10.2000 ISRAEL: UPDATE 2-ISRAEL SAYS CHIRAC MEDDLED, FRANCE DENIES. By Howard Goller JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ehud Barak's top adviser said on Friday that meddling by French President Jacques Chirac had prevented Israel and the Palestinians from negotiating an end to a week of bloodshed two days earlier. A source at Chirac's office dismissed the charges as "wrong and ridiculous", saying France had worked for an agreement throughout the Paris talks on Wednesday between Barak, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "We had Arafat's position that what was on paper would be initialled in Paris and signed in full in Egypt (the next day)," Yatom told Israel Radio. Yatom said Chirac's support for Arafat gave the Palestinian leader the impression he could hold out for a better deal. ...
Found		CHIRAC, Chirac, Jospin

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Score		0.67
Date		2000-09-28
Country		UK
Title		UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK
Summary		28.9.2000 UK: UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK. By Susan Cornwell BRIGHTON, England, Sept 28 (Reuters) - When Germany's Joschka Fischer outlined his ideas for a federal Europe four months ago, Britain's reaction was distinctly chilly. Next week, Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to finally respond with his own personal vision of Europe: one of nation states, their separate identities intact but working together effectively. Pro-European analysts say it is vital for Blair to weigh in on Europe's future, otherwise Britain could find itself isolated while Fischer's idea of a federal Europe or a plan by French President Jacques Chirac for a "two-speed" Europe gain converts. "The problem is that the European institutions are quite disconnected from people and the national institutions with which they identify," said a Foreign ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

28.9.2000 UK: UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK. By Susan Cornwell BRIGHTON, England, Sept 28 (Reuters) - When Germany's Joschka Fischer outlined his ideas f ...|... ago, Britain's reaction was distinctly chilly. Next week, Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to finally respond with his own personal vision of Europe: one of nation states, their separate identities intact but working together ef ...|... 15-member European Union as soon as they complete the necessary negotiations. Blair's speech was foreshadowed this week by a remark by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who told the governing Labour party conference in Brighton that "we ...|... aments in European decision-making". Pro-European analysts say it is vital for Blair to weigh in on Europe's future, otherwise Britain could find itself isolated while Fischer's idea of a federal Europe or a plan by French President Jacques Chirac for a "two-speed" Europe gain converts. "Blair wants to be one of the most influential leaders in Europe," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, whose own ideas about Eur ...|... il we give some institutional vision." WORK IN PROGRESS Officials stressed Blair's October 6 speech was still a work in progress - not least because the prime minister has been preoccupied with domestic problems. He spent this we ...|... a European constitution and eventually a European federal state. A month later Chirac called for a "pioneer group" of states to forge ahead with closer integration ahead of other EU members. Blair's government does not like either idea but until now has dismissed the debate as largely theological. Britain's response is complicated by its on-the-fence approach to the euro. Blair says he favours joining in principle but in practice the economics have to be right. No decision is expected before the next election, expected in th ...|... ill be even more hostile to the euro," Grant said. "So the two are linked, and Blair knows that." (C) Reuters Limited 2000. REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

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Score		0.67
Date		2000-10-05
Country		UK
Title		BLAIR TO GIVE VIEW OF EUROPE IN WARSAW SPEECH
Summary		5.10.2000 UK: BLAIR TO GIVE VIEW OF EUROPE IN WARSAW SPEECH. By Susan Cornwell LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared to fly to Warsaw on Thursday to lay out his ideas about the future of the European Union. Following his speech, Blair, who arrives in Warsaw on Thursday evening, will dine with top officials from four states bidding to join the EU - Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. French and German leaders have called for ever closer integration among EU countries, while British political leaders fears the bloc could become a European "super-state" or a "two-speed Europe" - both of which Britain opposes. OPPOSE JOINING EURO Blair faces enough debate about Europe at home. A majority of British people see themselves as outside the EU mainstream and currently oppose joining the European single ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

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Score		0.77
Date		2000-09-30
Country		FRANCE
Title		MEXICO'S FOX BEGINS EUROPE TOUR IN FRANCE
Summary		30.9.2000 FRANCE: MEXICO'S FOX BEGINS EUROPE TOUR IN FRANCE. By David Monjaraz PARIS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox began a five-nation European tour in France on Saturday saying he hoped to speed up implementation of a free trade pact between Mexico and the European Union. Fox, of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), said he had high hopes of accelerating the implementation of the Mexico-EU free trade agreement, which went into effect in July, and of attracting European investment to Mexico, particularly to impoverished southern areas. MEETING INVESTORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS During his hop through Europe - which takes in five countries in six days - Fox and a delegation of Mexican business leaders are scheduled to meet investors and industrial leaders in each country. In France, Fox plans to meet President ...
Found		Chirac, Jospin, Blair

30.9.2000 FRANCE: MEXICO'S FOX BEGINS EUROPE TOUR IN FRANCE.
By David Monjaraz
PARIS, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox began a five-nation European tour in France on Saturday saying he hoped to speed up implementation of a free trade pact between Mexico and the European Union.
"We came with a very specific purpose of economic promotion," Fox told reporters after arriving in France.
Fox, 58, a businessman and former state governor, takes office on December 1 after winning landmark elections in July, knocking Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) out of the presidential office for the first time in 71 years.
Fox, of the conservative National Action Party (PAN), said he had high hopes of accelerating the implementation of the Mexico-EU free trade agreement, which went into effect in July, and of attracting European investment to Mexico, particularly to impoverished southern areas.
He said he was confident that Mexico - a country of 97 million deeply divided between wealthy urban areas and poor rural regions - would see the first fruits of free trade with Europe within five years.
MEETING INVESTORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS
During his hop through Europe - which takes in five countries in six days - Fox and a delegation of Mexican business leaders are scheduled to meet investors and industrial leaders in each country.
"I hope the trip awakens enthusiasm for investing in Mexico," Fox said.
In France, Fox plans to meet President Jacques Chirac, leaders of parliament, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, artists and intellectuals.
Fox's next stop is Madrid on Tuesday, for meetings with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and Spanish King Juan Carlos, then Berlin on Wednesday for a meeting with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, political and parliamentary leaders and non-governmental organisations.
On Thursday, Fox travels to Brussels, where he will meet leaders of the European Union and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. Then he moves on to London on Friday for meetings with Prime Minister Tony Blair and London City officials.
Fox's foreign relations advisors have said the incoming president hopes to show off Mexico's new face of democracy, and the end of seven decades of one-party rule.
It is also the first time in Mexican history that no party enjoys an absolute majority in Congress, which has forced Fox, during his five-month transition period, to reach out to the PRI and to the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) to begin building consensus on key issues.
Fox recognised on Saturday that the armed stand-off between the government and Zapatista rebels fighting for Indian rights in the southern state of Chiapas - which has simmered since an uprising on Jan. 1, 1994 - will be an inevitable issue on his tour of human rights-concerned Europe.
But he said he was willing to talk about his proposals for achieving piece in the south, where talks between the government and the Zapatistas broke off in 1996 and were never resumed.
"We are absolutely and totally for peace in Chiapas. We are going to make every effort on our part to resolve the armed conflict," he said.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

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Score		0.77
Date		2000-10-15
Country		FRANCE
Title		CORRECTED - ANALYSIS-EU BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER REFORMS
Summary		15.10.2000 FRANCE: CORRECTED - ANALYSIS-EU BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER REFORMS. In BIARRITZ-dated item headlined "ANALYSIS-EU battlelines drawn over reforms", pls correct at start of 4th para to read... By Ian Geoghegan BIARRITZ, France, Oct 15 (Reuters) - An at times bruising two-day summit gave European Union leaders some foreign policy successes but left serious question marks over whether the 15-nation bloc can agree internal reforms needed for enlargement. RIFT OVER COMMISSION The major powers want a smaller, streamlined European Commission - the body that proposes EU legislation - matching the number of major portfolios. CAPITALS VERSUS BRUSSELS These are the battle lines for Nice and beyond, a broader issue of reforming European politics with national governments seeking to wrest power from the Commission, pitching inter-governmentalism ...
Found		Chirac, Blair, Jospin

15.10.2000 FRANCE: CORRECTED - ANALYSIS-EU BATTLELINES DRAWN OVER REFORMS.
In BIARRITZ-dated item headlined "ANALYSIS-EU
battlelines drawn over reforms", pls correct at start of
4th para to read...There is now broad agreement on
"reinforced cooperation"... instead of... "enforced
cooperation".
A corrected repetition follows.

By Ian Geoghegan
BIARRITZ, France, Oct 15 (Reuters) - An at times bruising two-day summit gave European Union leaders some foreign policy successes but left serious question marks over whether the 15-nation bloc can agree internal reforms needed for enlargement.
They have just seven weeks to resolve crucial institutional problems at their next summit in Nice or risk plunging the Union into political crisis, delaying expansion and adding to pressure on the battered euro single currency.
The weekend summit, held in Biarritz's glitzy Casino complex, saw progress on two of four issues that are fundamental to reaching a deal on a new treaty in Nice.
There is now broad agreement on "reinforced cooperation", where groups of member states push ahead with integration in chosen areas - like the euro or Airbus - as long as others can join them at a later date - a policy of inclusion rather than division.
Biarritz also moved towards a consensus for extending the number of decisions which can be taken by qualified majority vote (QMV) rather than by unanimity, although there are still difficulties here over taxation, immigration and foreign trade.
But leaders remain bitterly divided over how to share power at the heart of the Union, with the 10 smaller states refusing to bow to what Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen called the bullying tactics of the five "big powers" - France, Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.
While French President Jacques Chirac, summit host and desperate for a diplomatic success at Nice, trumpeted the "considerable progress" made, others made clear there was blood on the walls during an informal dinner to discuss the reforms.

RIFT OVER COMMISSION
The major powers want a smaller, streamlined European Commission - the body that proposes EU legislation - matching the number of major portfolios. At present, they each have two Commissioners, the smaller nations one apiece.
In exchange for giving up one Commissioner each, the big powers want a re-weighting of votes when decisions are taken, to reflect their relative populations.
The big five have seen their relative strength weakened over the years as new, mostly smaller, members have joined the EU.
While most smaller states recognise the need to re-weight the way the bloc votes, they refuse to give up their Commissioner, their guarantee of influence at the EU high table.
"There is a clear dividing line between the five big states and the 10 others," said Danish Premier Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.
A compromise has to be found somewhere between setting a ceiling of 15 Commissioners, however many countries are in the EU, with a "fair rotation" of jobs or maintaining a one-Commissioner-per-country basis and giving more votes to the bigger countries.
By all accounts, the "big five" threatened their small partners that, if they did not agree to a redistribution of power, the major powers could be tempted to forge closer ties, on defence for example, outside the EU's institutional framework.

CAPITALS VERSUS BRUSSELS
These are the battle lines for Nice and beyond, a broader issue of reforming European politics with national governments seeking to wrest power from the Commission, pitching inter-governmentalism against the unwieldy "Community method".
British Prime Minister Tony Blair alluded to this in a speech ahead of the summit, calling for greater decision-making powers to be given to the Council - where elected national politicians review Commission policy initiatives - and for an elected second chamber in the European Parliament.
Commission President Romano Prodi had earlier pointed to the "extraordinary success" of the Community institutions which are the guarantor of the general interest.
The concept of Europe being driven by a directorate of big powers is anathema to the smaller nations and is one prime reason why a majority of Danes voted recently to reject the single currency.
French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin pointedly reminded the 10 smaller nations during the summit that they had acquired a much greater voice on the world stage thanks to the EU.
By drawing all member states' cards on to the table and by highlighting the raw mood of the debate, Biarritz raised the spectre of failure or fudge at Nice and the impact that would have on the broader European project.
"If we fail in Nice, the whole European future will fail with a series of dramatic consequences," Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato warned.
By road, it is around 850 km (500 miles) from Biarritz to Nice.
To EU leaders under pressure to radically overhaul the inner workings of the bloc, it must seem a very long road.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

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Score		0.69
Date		2000-09-27
Country		FRANCE
Title		CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL
Summary		27.9.2000 FRANCE: CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL. By Tom Heneghan PARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A close ally of conservative President Jacques Chirac urged him on Wednesday to end a partisan feud over slush funds and sleaze charges that has poisoned the French political scene. Patrick Devedjian, spokesman for Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR), said Chirac should publicly admit that all political parties had illegal slush funds until the early 1990s and thereby close a chapter that has haunted them since then. Devedjian's call came after the president and his Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin all but declared war on each other following the posthumous publication of a videotape last week in which a former Chirac aide detailed the RPR's vast slush fund. Chirac should state publicly "that everybody, including the RPR of ...
Found		CHIRAC, Chirac, Jospin

27.9.2000 FRANCE: CHIRAC AIDE URGES PUBLIC ADMISSION TO END SCANDAL.
By Tom Heneghan
PARIS, Sept 27 (Reuters) - A close ally of conservative President Jacques Chirac urged him on Wednesday to end a partisan feud over slush funds and sleaze charges that has poisoned the French political scene.
Patrick Devedjian, spokesman for Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR), said Chirac should publicly admit that all political parties had illegal slush funds until the early 1990s and thereby close a chapter that has haunted them since then.
Devedjian's call came after the president and his Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin all but declared war on each other following the posthumous publication of a videotape last week in which a former Chirac aide detailed the RPR's vast slush fund.
The anti-Chirac bombshell ended up wounding the Socialists as well when it turned out that their scandal-ridden former Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn had received a copy of the tape and concealed it from Jospin and justice authorities.
"If the president were to close the chapter on the past, that would be a healthy step for everybody, for our democracy, for a country of our standing," Devedjian, whose comments are often seen in Paris as Chirac's trial balloons, told RTL radio.
Chirac should state publicly "that everybody, including the RPR of course, raised funds illegally" and then French politics should "move on to other things," he said.
"We are the fourth largest power in the world and we are reduced to holding debates that are totally humiliating and degrading for all politicians and for our democracy," he said.

EARLY ELECTIONS?
The escalating Chirac-Jospin battle, which eclipsed a referendum on Sunday on shortening the presidency to five from seven years, stank so much of dirty trick politics that editorials began calling on Wednesday for snap elections.
"An early presidential election and the resignation of the government are what's needed to relieve our disgust," the weekly L'Express wrote.
The next parliamentary and presidential elections are not due until 2002, meaning that Chirac and Jospin have to continue their clenched-teeth cooperation until then.
"If the seven-year term is finished, why wait that long?" asked the daily Ouest France.
"Whether we like it or not, everything is happening as if we had started to plan for an early election once the French presidency of the European Union is over," it said. France is EU president until the end of this year.
Given the wide powers of the head of state, Chirac could theoretically call an early presidential election and dissolve the National Assembly to force a snap general election as well.
Many of Chirac's current problems began with his risky decision in 1997 to dissolve parliament. French voters surprised him by electing a left-wing government, forcing him to share power with the man expected to challenge him in 2002.
The accusations against Chirac have built up so much suspicion about his financing that many voters readily believe the charges of corruption in the videotape.
The French president cannot be tried while in office, meaning that the damage will be more political than legal as long as Chirac stays in the Elysee Palace.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

[<<] 4/8 [>>] [^^] [* *]

Score		0.68
Date		2000-10-06
Country		POLAND
Title		UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Summary		6.10.2000 POLAND: UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair will urge the European Union on Friday to set out a framework for enlargement as soon as possible, calling for a Europe that is both bigger and more in touch with its citizens. In a speech at Warsaw's stock exchange, Blair will also propose a second chamber to the European parliament to be drawn from members of national parliaments, his spokesman said. Instead, Blair believes the 15-nation EU should focus on speedier enlargement to the east and build trust in Europe's institutions. After Blair's midday speech he will dine with officials from four countries bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

6.10.2000 POLAND: UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO EXPAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
By Susan Cornwell
WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair will urge the European Union on Friday to set out a framework for enlargement as soon as possible, calling for a Europe that is both bigger and more in touch with its citizens.
In a speech at Warsaw's stock exchange, Blair will also propose a second chamber to the European parliament to be drawn from members of national parliaments, his spokesman said.
Blair's speech is a reply to proposals set out months ago by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who spoke of a federalist Europe, and French President Jacques Chirac, who said groups of countries could forge ahead with closer integration.
But Blair's aides say the British leader does not want to wade too deeply into a debate of grand visions, which he sees as a distraction from Europe's real challenges.
"His main message for Europe is it's time to wake up to a new reality that is taking place. Europe is widening and deepening simultaneously, and that is not going to be addressed by an internal institutional debate," Blair's spokesman said.
Instead, Blair believes the 15-nation EU should focus on speedier enlargement to the east and build trust in Europe's institutions.
"Supporting enlargement in principle but delaying in practice is no longer good enough," Blair's spokesman said. "We want to see new members in by 2004."
After Blair's midday speech he will dine with officials from four countries bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi.
A "CHAMPION OF ENLARGEMENT"
Blair arrived in Warsaw on Thursday evening as much of Europe's attention focused on Yugoslavia, where massive demonstrations in Belgrade appeared to have swept President Slobodan Milosevic from power.
"I think it looks more positive than we possibly had hoped for a short time ago," Blair said on Polish television. "It is looking positive."
"The important thing is we have this tremendous opportunity," he said.
The European Union was already putting an enormous amount of effort into rebuilding the Balkans and trying to bring peace, democracy and prosperity to the region, he said.
On the EU, Blair said the two-year-old negotiations with EU aspirants should be speeded up, although he declined to be specific about dates, saying this depended on how quickly applicants made the necessary reforms to their economies.
He said a framework could be set out in the first six months of next year while Sweden has the rotating EU presidency.
"I want Britain to be a champion of enlargement," he said.
Thirteen countries have applied to join the EU. Those considered in the first tier are Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus.
In his Friday speech, Blair is also expected to emphasise that the nation state remains the democratic cornerstone of the EU - and suggest letting MPs from national parliaments sit in a new second chamber of the European parliament.
They could then rule on what decisions should be taken at a national rather than an EU level, Blair's aides said.
Blair believes the European Council, comprised of EU heads of government, should set the strategic direction for Europe and produce an annual agenda, although the European Commission would be a full player in this, Blair's spokesman said.
European Commission President Romano Prodi warned this week against moves to increase inter-governmental cooperation at the expense of existing EU institutions. But Blair's aides denied he was launching a war of words with Prodi.
"This isn't a battle between governments and the EU institutions. It does mean we look afresh at the divisions of labour between national governments and EU institutions," Blair's spokesman said.
Those who look for any change to Blair's wait-and-see policy on the European single currency are likely to be disappointed.
Denmark rejected the euro in a referendum last week. Blair is likely to repeat his view that this does not affect Britain.
He says he favours Britain joining the euro in principle but first the economics have to be right.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

[<<] 5/8 [>>] [^^] [* *]

Score		0.68
Date		2000-10-06
Country		POLAND
Title		UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER
Summary		6.10.2000 POLAND: UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER. By Susan Cornwell WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday he wanted the European Union to be a superpower - bigger, more democratic and punching its weight in the world. THIRTEEN COUNTRIES WAITING IN THE WINGS Popular revolutions brought down Communist governments in most of Eastern Europe a decade ago, but 13 countries are still waiting in the wings to join the European Union. Blair's audience included top officials from four states bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi. CONTRAST WITH GERMANY'S FISCHER To stop Europe seeming so remote from its citizens and their national governments, Blair proposed ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

6.10.2000 POLAND: UPDATE 1-UK'S BLAIR WANTS EU TO BE A SUPERPOWER.
By Susan Cornwell
WARSAW, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday he wanted the European Union to be a superpower - bigger, more democratic and punching its weight in the world.
Outlining his vision of Europe, Blair said it should start expanding to the east by 2004, letting in countries like Poland frustrated by the slow negotiations to join the 15-member club.
He spoke as world attention was riveted on Yugoslavia, whose status as Europe's pariah could change rapidly as a popular revolt appeared to have President Slobodan Milosevic on the run.
Blair said that if Milosevic conceded he was beaten in last month's elections and steps down, Serbia could be welcomed "into the family of European nations".
He said Europe should reform its institutions to give them more democratic legitimacy and lend more clout to national governments, presumably at the expense of Brussels bureaucrats.
But above all, Blair emphasised the European project was no longer just about trade or keeping another war from breaking out on the continent. "It is about projecting collective power," he said in the speech at the stock exchange in central Warsaw.
"Europe is a Europe of free, independent sovereign nations who choose to pool that sovereignty in pursuit of their own interests and the common good, achieving more together than we can achieve alone," Blair declared.
"Such a Europe can, in its economic and political strength, be a superpower; a superpower, but not a superstate." Members would work together on everything from trade to foreign and defence policy without giving up their national identities.

THIRTEEN COUNTRIES WAITING IN THE WINGS
Popular revolutions brought down Communist governments in most of Eastern Europe a decade ago, but 13 countries are still waiting in the wings to join the European Union.
Poland is among those considered in the first tier, along with Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech republic, Estonia and Cyprus.
Blair said he hoped some of these could join in time for European parliament elections in 2004, provided they have reformed their economies and legal systems. He said a framework for joining could be set out in the first half of next year.
Blair's audience included top officials from four states bidding to join the EU: Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman, Slovakian Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi.
Prime Minister Buzek said Poland hoped to join by 2003.

CONTRAST WITH GERMANY'S FISCHER
To stop Europe seeming so remote from its citizens and their national governments, Blair proposed a second chamber of the European parliament, drawn from members of national parliaments.
He also said the European Council, comprised of elected heads of government, should tighten its grip on the EU's strategic direction - effectively wresting influence away from the European Commission and giving it to national governments.
The council should produce an annual agenda, Blair said. There should be a document called a "charter of competences" to define responsibilities between the national level and Brussels.
His view of Europe's future marked a strong contrast with the blueprint for a federalist Europe set out earlier this year by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.
Without mentioning Fischer by name, Blair said his ideas would focus power in the European Commission and the European parliament, which would become Europe's true legislature.
Blair argued that subsuming national identities into a European superstate could not appeal to nations like Poland, which had struggled through centuries to get and keep statehood.
Blair was similarly cautious about the approach of French President Jacques Chirac, who has said small groups of EU nations could forge ahead with closer cooperation.
"I have no problem with greater flexibility or groups of member states going forward together," Blair said. "But that must not lead to a hard core" and a two-tiered Europe.
While striking out grandly with proposals for a European superpower, Blair kept to his customary caution about the European single currency. He said he favoured joining in principle but in practice the economics had to be right.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

[<<] 6/8 [>>] [^^] [* *]

Score		0.67
Date		2000-10-06
Country		ISRAEL
Title		UPDATE 2-ISRAEL SAYS CHIRAC MEDDLED, FRANCE DENIES
Summary		6.10.2000 ISRAEL: UPDATE 2-ISRAEL SAYS CHIRAC MEDDLED, FRANCE DENIES. By Howard Goller JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ehud Barak's top adviser said on Friday that meddling by French President Jacques Chirac had prevented Israel and the Palestinians from negotiating an end to a week of bloodshed two days earlier. A source at Chirac's office dismissed the charges as "wrong and ridiculous", saying France had worked for an agreement throughout the Paris talks on Wednesday between Barak, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. "We had Arafat's position that what was on paper would be initialled in Paris and signed in full in Egypt (the next day)," Yatom told Israel Radio. Yatom said Chirac's support for Arafat gave the Palestinian leader the impression he could hold out for a better deal. ...
Found		CHIRAC, Chirac, Jospin

6.10.2000 ISRAEL: UPDATE 2-ISRAEL SAYS CHIRAC MEDDLED, FRANCE DENIES.
By Howard Goller
JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ehud Barak's top adviser said on Friday that meddling by French President Jacques Chirac had prevented Israel and the Palestinians from negotiating an end to a week of bloodshed two days earlier.
A source at Chirac's office dismissed the charges as "wrong and ridiculous", saying France had worked for an agreement throughout the Paris talks on Wednesday between Barak, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Barak's chief of staff, Danny Yatom, said Arafat was ready to initial an accord with the Israeli leader on Wednesday night that aimed to curb violence that has killed at least 74 people, almost all of them Arabs, when they a break for a courtesy call to their host, Chirac.
"We had Arafat's position that what was on paper would be initialled in Paris and signed in full in Egypt (the next day)," Yatom told Israel Radio.
"What turned this on its head as far as Arafat was concerned was the meeting after midnight with Chirac, which was supposed to be a courtesy call and turned into a meeting during which Chirac lectured why it was important to set up an international commission to investigate the matter," Yatom said.
Yatom said Chirac's support for Arafat gave the Palestinian leader the impression he could hold out for a better deal. Arafat had earlier insisted on an inquiry with France and Egypt joining the Americans, Israelis and Palestinians.
"Chirac turned this event into a political event, interfered in an unpleasant way in the contacts and as a result of this prompted Arafat to decide not to sign," he told Israel's army radio.
"This is wrong and ridiculous," the source at Chirac's office said. "These fantasy charges reflect neither the reality nor the direction of France's diplomatic action."
"Like the United States, France never ceased through the day to plead for calm and for the parties to reach a deal," the source said. A French diplomat said Paris was ready to play a role in a wider international inquiry but did not push for it.

INQUIRY AT ISSUE
Barak has said an international inquiry would create a "dangerous precedent" that would free Israelis and Palestinians of taking responsibility for their actions.
Israel prefers the involvement only of the United States, its traditional ally, in any examination of events, while Palestinians view France and the European Union as international players more responsive to their cause.
Chirac has long sought a wider role for France and the EU in Middle East peacemaking, raising tensions with Israel, which at times has seen Paris as hostile to its views.
Leaders of the French Jewish community, the world's third largest, requested urgent meetings with Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to tell them of the community's concerns over the situation in the Middle East.
France's Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk told Israel Radio that Chirac had clearly taken the Palestinian side.
"We as Jews want to tell the president respectfully we don't accept that," Sitruk said.
In a letter to world leaders on Thursday, Barak wrote that an international inquiry would serve as an alibi for Arafat to avoid tough decisions at a critical point in negotiations on a peace treaty to end 52 years of conflict, which had been hoped for last month.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

[<<] 7/8 [>>] [^^] [* *]

Score		0.67
Date		2000-09-28
Country		UK
Title		UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK
Summary		28.9.2000 UK: UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK. By Susan Cornwell BRIGHTON, England, Sept 28 (Reuters) - When Germany's Joschka Fischer outlined his ideas for a federal Europe four months ago, Britain's reaction was distinctly chilly. Next week, Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to finally respond with his own personal vision of Europe: one of nation states, their separate identities intact but working together effectively. Pro-European analysts say it is vital for Blair to weigh in on Europe's future, otherwise Britain could find itself isolated while Fischer's idea of a federal Europe or a plan by French President Jacques Chirac for a "two-speed" Europe gain converts. "The problem is that the European institutions are quite disconnected from people and the national institutions with which they identify," said a Foreign ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

28.9.2000 UK: UK'S BLAIR TO SET OUT VISION OF EUROPE NEXT WEEK.
By Susan Cornwell
BRIGHTON, England, Sept 28 (Reuters) - When Germany's Joschka Fischer outlined his ideas for a federal Europe four months ago, Britain's reaction was distinctly chilly.
Next week, Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to finally respond with his own personal vision of Europe: one of nation states, their separate identities intact but working together effectively.
In a speech in Warsaw, he will also urge that applicant countries such as Poland should be allowed to join the 15-member European Union as soon as they complete the necessary negotiations.
Blair's speech was foreshadowed this week by a remark by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who told the governing Labour party conference in Brighton that "we want a new role for national parliaments in European decision-making".
Pro-European analysts say it is vital for Blair to weigh in on Europe's future, otherwise Britain could find itself isolated while Fischer's idea of a federal Europe or a plan by French President Jacques Chirac for a "two-speed" Europe gain converts.
"Blair wants to be one of the most influential leaders in Europe," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, whose own ideas about Europe's future have reportedly been studied by Downing Street.
"That's impossible, not just until we join the euro, but until we give some institutional vision."

WORK IN PROGRESS
Officials stressed Blair's October 6 speech was still a work in progress - not least because the prime minister has been preoccupied with domestic problems.
He spent this week at a Labour party conference in Brighton seeking to restore his standing with a party in revolt over his pensions policy and with a public upset by high fuel taxes.
The government's basic goal, officials said, was to make the EU seem less remote. That could be a big job in Britain, which has long seen itself as outside the European mainstream and has not decided whether to join the euro single currency.
One way forward, officials said, could be to create a second chamber of the European parliament with MPs from EU states.
"The problem is that the European institutions are quite disconnected from people and the national institutions with which they identify," said a Foreign Office official.
An EU chamber with national MPs could also help integrate the next generation of EU countries, officials said. A dozen are expected to join over the next decade or so.
"The way to keep Europe strong and growing is to find more effective ways to bind Europe and the nations together," the Foreign Office official said.

"NO" TO TWO-SPEED EUROPE
In May, Fischer, in a speech delivered in a personal capacity, forecast closer cooperation leading to a European constitution and eventually a European federal state. A month later Chirac called for a "pioneer group" of states to forge ahead with closer integration ahead of other EU members.
Blair's government does not like either idea but until now has dismissed the debate as largely theological.
Britain's response is complicated by its on-the-fence approach to the euro. Blair says he favours joining in principle but in practice the economics have to be right. No decision is expected before the next election, expected in the coming year. But Grant said this stance made it all the more important to get involved in the institutional debate. Further, reformed European institutions could make the euro more attractive to Britons, he said.
At present polls show at least two-thirds of the country is against joining the single currency.
"If the institutions are not reformed, so that the EU becomes more effective and legitimate, then public opinion in Britain will be even more hostile to the euro," Grant said.
"So the two are linked, and Blair knows that."
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

[<<] 8/8 [>>] [^^] [* *]

Score		0.67
Date		2000-10-05
Country		UK
Title		BLAIR TO GIVE VIEW OF EUROPE IN WARSAW SPEECH
Summary		5.10.2000 UK: BLAIR TO GIVE VIEW OF EUROPE IN WARSAW SPEECH. By Susan Cornwell LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared to fly to Warsaw on Thursday to lay out his ideas about the future of the European Union. Following his speech, Blair, who arrives in Warsaw on Thursday evening, will dine with top officials from four states bidding to join the EU - Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. French and German leaders have called for ever closer integration among EU countries, while British political leaders fears the bloc could become a European "super-state" or a "two-speed Europe" - both of which Britain opposes. OPPOSE JOINING EURO Blair faces enough debate about Europe at home. A majority of British people see themselves as outside the EU mainstream and currently oppose joining the European single ...
Found		BLAIR, Blair, Chirac

5.10.2000 UK: BLAIR TO GIVE VIEW OF EUROPE IN WARSAW SPEECH.
By Susan Cornwell
LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepared to fly to Warsaw on Thursday to lay out his ideas about the future of the European Union.
In a speech on Friday, Blair is expected to emphasise the importance of moving ahead with enlargement of the EU while making its institutions seem less remote.
Following his speech, Blair, who arrives in Warsaw on Thursday evening, will dine with top officials from four states bidding to join the EU - Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.
But Blair will not pretend he has the tablets of stone that show the way forward for the 15-nation EU, British officials said.
French and German leaders have called for ever closer integration among EU countries, while British political leaders fears the bloc could become a European "super-state" or a "two-speed Europe" - both of which Britain opposes.
OPPOSE JOINING EURO
Blair faces enough debate about Europe at home. A majority of British people see themselves as outside the EU mainstream and currently oppose joining the European single currency.
Denmark's rejection of the euro in a referendum last week was widely seen as complicating Britain's dilemma about whether to stay out or join.
"Some people think he may be much more euro-sceptical, because of the Danes. But I cannot believe that," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.
"This is Blair's big speech on Europe. I'm sure it will be a very pro-European speech."
Britain does not like the approaches laid out earlier this year by German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who talked of a federalist Europe, or French President Jacques Chirac, who said a pioneer group of countries could forge ahead with closer integration.
Chirac repeated his call this week for France and Germany to lead a two-tier EU. This did not go down well in London.
"He seems to have reduced his pioneer group to two," said one government source.
"I would have thought it would get up the noses of the other countries as well. How do you think the Italians feel? They were one of the original six members and now they find the French saying 'just wait there till we tell you what to do next'."
Another speech that was noticed in London this week was a warning by European Commission President Romano Prodi against moves to increase inter-governmental cooperation at the expense of EU institutions.
Some thought this could be taken as a warning to Blair after his Foreign Minister Robin Cook said last week that "we want a new role for national parliaments in European decision-making".
Cook also said in July that it was time to think about target dates for concluding negotiations for European enlargement, and Blair could also elaborate on this.
Thirteen countries have applied to join. Those considered in the first tier are Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus.
(C) Reuters Limited 2000.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

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