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European Commission Spokesman's Briefing for 99-02-26
From: EUROPA, the European Commission Server at <http://europa.eu.int>
MIDDAY EXPRESS
News from the Spokesman's midday briefing
Nouvelles du rendez-vous de midi du Porte-Paroleb
26/02/99
CONTENTS / CONTENU
[01] Commission stagiaires raise over 23,000 euro for Georgian orphanage
[02] Hans van den Broek visits Slovenia on 1-2 March 1999
[03] Humanitarian aid : news in brief
[01] Commission stagiaires raise over 23,000 euro for Georgian orphanage
Today European Commissioner Hans van den Broek handed over a cheque for
over 23,000 euro to the Georgian non-governmental organisation "First
Step". The funds were raised by the stagiaires of the Commission in keeping
with a tradition of selecting a charitable cause during each stage to which
to donate their "national party" proceeds. The money donated will improve
the level of care for disabled children in a Georgian orphanage, including
the cost of hiring a special needs teacher, a physiotherapist and a
psychologist to each visit the home two days a week. "First Step"'s
mission is to improve the level of care for the disabled children in
Georgia through the construction of a model facility in Tblisi, and to
remove the stigma which continues to be attached to physical and mental
imperfections in children by raising awareness and understanding of their
special needs. The spending of the funds will be monitored by the
Commission delegation in Georgia.
[02] Hans van den Broek visits Slovenia on 1-2 March 1999
Hans van den Broek, European Commissioner in charge of external relations
with Central and Eastern European countries, will be visiting Slovenia on 1-
2 March, where he will meet the Slovenian authorities to discuss the
country's preparations for European Union (EU) membership. The
Commissioner will be received by the President of the Republic, Mr Milan
Kučan, and will have meetings with the Prime Minister, Mr Janez Drnovšek,
the European Affairs Minister, Mr Igor Bavčar, as well as the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Mr Boris Frlec. Moreover, in the Parliament, Mr van den
Broek will participate in a joint meeting of the International Affairs
Committee, the European Affairs Commission and the Slovenian delegation to
the EU-Slovenia Joint Parliamentary Committee. This visit will be an
opportunity to discuss Slovenia's further steps in the pre-accession
process. Specific attention will be paid to the Government's and
Parliament's measures to speed up the alignment of Slovenia's legislation
to the EU. Furthermore, talks will deal with the implementation of the
Europe Agreement between Slovenia and the EU, which entered into force on 1
February 1999. The visit to Ljubljana follows the first session of the
Association Council on the ministerial level that has been set up under the
Europe Agreement, which is one of the key elements of the pre-accession
strategy. It will significantly broaden and deepen the already close
cooperation that exists between the EU and Slovenia. The Agreement will
provide a key institutional framework to support Slovenia's integration
into the EU. Mr van den Broek and Mr Bavčar will hold a joint press
conference on 2 March at 12.20 pm in the government's press centre.
[03] Humanitarian aid : news in brief
The European Commission has approved humanitarian aid for Mozambique (500,
000 euro) and Algeria (500,000 euro). The aid, managed by the European
Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), will enable non-governmental
organisations, both local and international, to carry out short-term
projects. In Mozambique, an epidemic has been declared in five provinces,
and some 900 deaths had been recorded in the country as of January. This
funding will enable Médecins sans Frontičres-Switzerland to carry out both
treatment and preventive action, as well as upgrading water provision and
sanitation systems. In Algeria, the funding should boost the capacity of
the local Red Crescent Society to deal with a growing caseload (Comitato
Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli -Italy). It will also provide
training and support for psycho-social workers (Médecins sans Frontičres-
Belgium) and improve systems for dealing with orphans and traumatised
children (Red Cross-Spain).
MIDDAY EXPRESS
From EUROPA, the European Commission Server at http://europa.eu.int/
© ECSC - EC - EAEC, Brussels-Luxembourg, 1995, 1996
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