ENAR Weekly Mail 13
23 September 2005
FROM THE ENAR SECRETARIAT
· Statements and press releases
On 19 September, ENAR, ERRC and ERIO issued a joint statement on the human rights situation of Roma in Kosovo to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, taking place from 19-30 September 2005. Read the statement: in English // in French
On 20 September, ENAR expressed its condolences upon the death of Simon Wiesenthal. Read the press release: in English // in French
· ENAR 22nd Board Meeting
From 16-18 September, ENAR held its 22nd Board Meeting in Brussels, attended by 16 Board members, five observers from the new Member States and Secretariat staff. The meeting was opened with keynote speeches by ENAR Chairman Bashy Quraishy, Anastasia Crickley, Chair of the EUMC and Special Representative to the Chair in Office of the OSCE, and Anne-Sophie Parent, Director of AGE and President of the Platform of European Social NGOs. The meeting included discussions about past and future activities of the network, the imminent formalisation of ENAR national coordinations in the new member states, and policy issues of relevance to ENAR.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE EU
· 'Flexicurity' on the labour market: are the EU-25 speaking the same language?
Speakers addressing a European Policy Centre (EPC) Policy Dialogue on “Flexicurity on the labour market” agreed that Europe was not yet speaking the same language on labour market reform. And while Europe spoke with one voice in wanting high employment and high social standards, one nation's set of solutions was not automatically transferable to another. Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla looked to an EU summit in October to push the “social model” question. Flexicurity was a big part of essential change, but there was no single answer for Europe, he insisted. MEP Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said the task was to unite flexibility and social security in a modern way delivering tangible benefits to ordinary people. Read the report of the Policy Dialogue
· Asylum applications in the EU down again
The number of asylum applications in industrialized countries has continued to fall during the first half of 2005, maintaining the sharp downward trend that began in 2002, according to the latest numbers released by UNRWA on 6 September. The number of new applications in the 24 European Union countries covered by the report was 17% lower than during the first six months of 2004. The EU total is 30% lower than during the same period two years ago. Read more
· Spain: Supreme Court upholds complaint against immigrant detention centre regulation
On 5 September, the Spanish Supreme Court upheld an appeal filed by three NGOs (Andalucía Acoge, Asociación Andaluza por la Solidaridad y la Paz - ASPA, and La mitad del cielo, a progressive women's association), in relation to a ministerial order issued in February 1999 that regulated the internal management and running of the centros de internamiento para extranjeros (CIE, foreigner detention centres). According to the plaintiffs, the CIEs were run unlawfully between 1999 and 2003, in a situation in which the use of force, punishment regimes involving isolation, and a restriction of the rights to receive visits and to request protection or file complaints, were suffered by migrants who were detained and who had committed administrative rather than criminal offences. Read more
· Dutch rail launches anti-racism campaign
Sixty years later, Dutch rail company NS is for the first time apologising for its role in the Holocaust by launching an anti-racism campaign. It is to hang posters in 66 of its stations as a reminder its trains were used to deport Jews to Nazi death camps during the Second World War. The company declared it will no longer avoid taking responsibility for its actions and is therefore running an anti-racism campaign with the Jewish umbrella organisation CJO. The anti-racism campaign begins at Amsterdam Muiderpoort on 29 September, the 62nd anniversary of the transportation of 11,000 Jews from the station. Read more
EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC) AND OTHER EU INSTITUTIONS
· National Information Flyers Ireland and UK
The EC Stop Discrimination Campaign produced National Information Flyers for each of the 25 EU member states, informing people about anti-discrimination issues in their country. Together with the national working groups, information was compiled on national anti-discrimination legislation, examples of discrimination and useful information on how to contact organisations offering support to victims of discrimination. The flyers on the UK and Ireland have now been finalised. Read more
· “For Diversity. Against Discrimination” EU Journalist Award 2005
Following the success of the 2004 “For Diversity. Against Discrimination” EU Journalist Award, the 2005 award is now also accessible to submissions by photo journalists, as an additional category. This European journalist award has the aim to promote diversity and raise awareness about discrimination issues on the grounds of religious belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, race and ethnic origin. Read more in English // in French
· Commission looks at the roots of terror, promoting interfaith dialogue
On 21 September the EC adopted a series of measures to combat terrorism and recommended ways to stop ‘violent radicalisation’ through a programme of ‘inter-cultural understanding’ and enhancement of integration policies. Read more
ROMA ISSUES
CONFERENCES, TRAININGS, MEETINGS & EVENTS
· UK Presidency: Exploring the Impact o Migration within the EU: How can we harness our talents?
Date and venue: 27-29 November, Dunblane Hydro Hotel, Scotland
The main aim of this conference, organised as part of the UK EU Presidency and in collaboration with the Scottish Executive and the European Economic and Social Committee, is to explore the nature and impact of migration across the EU. The objectives are: to develop a shared understanding of the nature of migration across the EU in a period of demographic change; to share experiences of addressing the challenges of migration and identify what has worked and why; to explore new approaches/tools to inform future policy and practice; to explore the role of civil society in dealing with the challenges.
There is no information about the conference at present on the UK Presidency website. For more information, please contact the organisers.
PUBLICATIONS
· Challenge Europe 14: Making Europe an area of freedom, security and justice
This special issue of Challenge Europe, an on-line journal issued by the European Policy Centre (EPC), is devoted to massive and complex challenges facing the European Union's strategy for creating an “Area of Freedom, Security and Justice”. Perhaps more than in any other area of policy, the EU is entering new and unchartered waters in trying to devise a common response to recent ominous developments. In a series of articles published over the next two weeks, leading experts in the field consider the EU¹s record in this area and the tasks which lie ahead. Read more