EU
Edinburgh: Scotsman euobserver.com
– Abstract - EU News in brief 31.07.06
Israel has been fiercely condemned by the EU for its air strike on the Lebanese village of Qana describing it as "unjustifiable," and Germany is already militarily overburdened and so unable to participate in a UN peace mission to the region. EU institutions issued a series of co-ordinated statements following Israel's attack on Sunday morning - 30 July- on a house in a Lebanese village which killed more than 50 civilians, among them more than 30 children.
While Israel apologised for the incident, it also said civilians had been warned in advance to evacuate the village as it had been used by islamist Hezbollah fighters to launch rockets on Israel.
However, officials from the Finnish EU presidency of the European Commission, together with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, condemned the bombing as "unjustifiable.""There is no justification for attacks causing casualties among innocent civilians, most of whom are women and children," a Finnish presidency statement said.
External relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said "Israel's attack on the city of Qana means an escalation of violence that is unjustifiable at a time when the international community is jointly working to find a solution to the conflict."
Ever since the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on 12 July, the EU bloc has been required to exercise extreme diplomacy in order to find a mutually agreeable statement, especially in reaction to Israel's actions. EU Foreign Ministers meeting on 17 July diluted language put forward by Helsinki, condemning Israel's offensive as "disproportionate," because Germany and the UK take a less stringent line towards Israel. Tomorrow (1 August) when the ministers meet again for an emergency session on the Middle East , it is expected that discussions will centre on the need for an "immediate ceasefire" – as pressed for by France.
Prime
Minister Tony Blair and chancellor Angela Merkel, leaders of the UK and Germany, issued a joint statement after the Qana attack which stressed the "urgency of the need for a ceasefire as soon as possible," but declined to use the word "immediate." The Blair-Merkel statement said, "It is now necessary to work in New York on the preconditions for such a ceasefire".
The UN Security Council after a Sunday emergency session also failed to call for an immediate cessation of hostilities; with the US objecting to the idea arguing Israel's security should be dealt with first. On Tuesday EU foreign ministers are also expected to look at proposals for a UN peace force for the Israeli-Lebanese border.EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said last week "I cannot imagine the force without any Europeans," adding "It is fundamental that some European countries will participate."
Chancellor Ms Merkel said that with Berlin already providing peacekeeping contingents to Congo, the western Balkans and Afghanistan, her country's military capacities are "largely exhausted".Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot said earlier that the Hague was also overburdened by peace-keeping operations elsewhere, and therefore a Middle East operation would be "for others" to do.
One third of students accepted into Danish medical faculties this year are Swedish and now Denmark is seeking a change to EU rules on open universities. The Danish science minister, Helge Sander, wants to raise the issue, which is also of concern in other member states, at the EU level.Mr Sander said, "It is clearly a problem that so many places are taken by the Swedish when we need them in Denmark. I have to admit that the Nordic cooperation has failed in this regard and now we have to find a solution at the EU level."
EU citizens have equal access to universities across the bloc in accordance with EU rules but problems arise when countrve languages that are the same or are similar. Denmark has an agreement with non-EU member Norwaut quotas on Norwegian students going into Danish universities, however this is not possible with fellow EU member Sweden. Because there are only 400 places for medical studies in Sweden more than 1400 Swedish medical students go abroad, frequently to Denmark.
Belgium faces a similar problem where French students often come to Belgium to access medical studies in their own language and to take advantage of cheaper education. Some specialties, such as veterinary medicine, can have French students count for 86 percent of the total.
Marie-Domenica Simonet, minister for higher education of the French-speaking community in Belgium, wants to restrict numbers of foreign students to 30 percent from September 2006, especially in fields with very high levels of foreigners.
Despite a recent EU court ruling, which declared restrictions illegal, Austria too will restrict foreign students at its universities to 20 percent in an effort to reduce the number of German students accessing its medical faculties.Elisabeth Gehrer, Austrian education minister, stated earlier in the year that she believed the new quota system is compatible with EU law. Under the quota system, 75 percent of places in the country's faculties for medicine and dentistry, will be reserved for Austrian students, while a further 20 percent of places will be for students from the EU and non-EU nationals will fill the remaining five percent.