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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 96-10-25
From: HR-Net News Distribution Manager <dist@hri.org>
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Spokesman's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi du Porte-Paroleb
25 / 10 / 1996
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Cuba: Commission approves humanitarian aid package worth ECU 8 million
and a 600,000 ECU grant for emergency for victims of Hurricane Lili
[02] Sir Leon Brittan: the opportunities and dangers of a flexible Europe
[01] Cuba: Commission approves humanitarian aid package worth ECU 8 million
and a 600,000 ECU grant for emergency for victims of Hurricane Lili
The European Commission has approved a package of humanitarian aid worth
ECU 8 million for Cuba. This medical and food aid, managed by the European
Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will reach those in need via
independent non-governmental organisations working in partnership with ECHO.
They will carry out a coordinated programme over the next year in response to
humanitarian needs identified by a team of independent experts who visited Cuba
in July. Another 600,000 ECU have been granted for victims of Hurricane Lili.
[02] Sir Leon Brittan: the opportunities and dangers of a flexible Europe
Flexibility is a valuable and necessary concept for Europe, and it has many
advantages, but the danger arises when the same group of countries always
goes ahead and a different group always stays behind, according to Sir Leon
Brittan. At a speech in Oxford today, he argues that for Britain the risk would be
great: if with every new policy Britain decided to sit back and watch others make
the running, the UK would end up in a permanent second division, and the
nightmare scenario would be created: a European Union with a massive impact
on Britain but effectively driven by a small group of other countries. It is difficult
to argue that you should have the right not to participate and the right to stop
others going ahead. For flexibility to work, the minority should not stop the
majority going ahead, and the majority should not compel the minority to
participate. All new and existing EU countries must adhere to the core EU
policies such as trade, competition and the single market. Britain must evaluate
each new policy on its merits and not exclude itself from the centre by deciding
in advance to stay out of any new development. Otherwise flexibility will lead to
greater isolationism in the UK and the casual indifference from the other Member
States. This must be avoided at all costs.
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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