Bulgaria and Romania: all set to join EU

Bulgaria and Romania have recently taken their final steps towards joining the EU, with the signing in of their Accession Treaties in Luxembourg on 25 April 2005. Bulgaria and Romania will join the EU on 1 January 2007 if they live up to their promises of reforms. Both countries must complete the reform of their judiciary system and push harder to fight corruption. The entry of the two former socialist states will add approximately 30 million citizens to the EU, which already comprises about 450 million. Their inclusion may also strengthen EU’s position in the emerging world order; moreover, with their inclusion, the union’s borders will be extended to Moldova and the Black Sea. According to the treaties, Romania will receive more than 11 billion euro in EU aid between 2007 and 2009, while more than 4 billion euro will be put aside for Bulgaria. The signature of the treaties, which specify the terms of membership, entails that Bulgarian and Romanian officials will be allowed to take part in EU meetings as observers, but without voting powers.

The signing of the Accession Treaties follows the green signal given recently by the European Parliament. On 13 April 2005, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted overwhelmingly in favour of both countries’ accessions. On the question of accession of Romania, MEPs voted 497 in favour and 93 against, with 71 abstentions. On the question of Bulgaria’s accession, 522 votes were in favour, 70 votes were in against and there were 69 abstentions.

Protocol against global warming

On 16 February 2005 the EU, together with 140 signatory countries, brought the Kyoto Protocol into force. The industrialised countries that signed the protocol will have to collectively reduce their global greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2 percent, between 2008 and 2012.

Through the Kyoto Protocol, both developed and developing countries have agreed to take measures to limit emissions and promote adaptation to future climate change impacts; submit information on their national climate change programmes and inventories; promote technology transfer; cooperate on scientific and technical research; and promote public awareness, education and training. Succinctly, the protocol provides the international community with the most powerful instrument yet to combat global climate change.

Furthermore, the protocol encourages governments to cooperate with one another, improve energy efficiency, reform the energy and transportation sectors, promote renewable forms of energy, phase out inappropriate fiscal measures and market imperfections, limit methane emissions from waste management and energy systems, and protect forests and other carbon sinks. EU and its member states ratified the Kyoto Protocol in late May 2002.

European Commission emphasises on research

On 6 April 2005 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU programme on research known as the EU Seventh Research Framework Programme 2007-2013 (FP7). The programme was introduced after a year-long process of consultations with interested parties and has been designed to respond to the competitiveness and employment needs of the EU. The Commission proposes in particular to double the FP7 budget as compared with FP6. 73.2 billion euro has been allocated over the period 2007-2013. The final decision on the proposal will be taken by the European Parliament and Council, in July 2006.

The funds of FP7 will be diversified into four specific areas, viz. cooperation, ideas, people and capacities. The first area entails gaining European leadership in key areas through cooperation of industry and research institutions, while in the second area, the FP7 would be organised to strengthen the excellence of the European science base by fostering competition at the European level. In this regard, an autonomous European Research Council would be created to support frontier research in all scientific and technological fields. Under the category of people, career prospects and mobility for European researchers, and activities supporting individual researchers, referred to as ‘Marie Curie’ actions, would be reinforced, and under capacities, new research capacities would be developed, so that the European scientific community has the best possible capacities at its service.

Paris Air Show 2005: Indian airlines shine

Dramatic growth in Indian air travel dominated the Paris Air Show held in June 2005. A hefty Airbus order from low cost start-up IndiGo lifted the tally of Indian deals at the show past US$13 billion. Airbus said that India is one of the world’s most promising markets and predicted 100 million new consumers will become potential air travellers in the country by 2010. “India is starting a rapid economic expansion and we think air travel will be part of that,” said Airbus Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy.

IndiGo, a new Indian budget airline, handed Airbus an order for 100 jets worth US$6 billion at list prices for single-aisle aircraft. Jet Airways committed to buy at least 20 Boeing planes worth over US$2.8 billion, including 10 wide-bodied 777s that it will use to boost international service. Jet separately committed to buy 10 Airbus A330 aircraft with options to buy 10 more in a deal worth about US$1.5 billion. The long-haul planes will be delivered between 2006 and 2009. In addition, Jet’s domestic rival Kingfisher Airlines said it planned to spend about US$2.5 billion for “multiple wide-bodied aircraft” from Airbus, including its mammoth double-decker, theA380 model. Kingfisher Airlines will become the first Indian carrier to purchase the A380—the world’s biggest airliner. The airline, which began flying earlier this spring, announced a major wide-body order comprising five Airbus A380s, five A350-800s and five A330-200s. The firm order adds to its existing order for 10 A320s and three A319s plus options for a further 10.

Air Deccan took delivery of its first new ATR 72-500 aircraft at the Paris Air Show. The aircraft is the first one of an order for 30 new ATR 72-500 aircraft signed, in February, at Aero India held in Bangalore. The airline had also placed orders for 30 Airbus A320s at a price tag of US$1.8 billion a few months ago. Paramount, another Indian low cost start-up, announced an order for five Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA’s planes costing nearly US$200 million.

Indian carriers have been modernizing their fleets and expanding their networks as the government has deregulated the sector. Jet and Sahara are now allowed to operate international flights as well. In the last nine months, India alone has booked 250 aircraft, nearly half of the orders for the entire industry worldwide. SpiceJet, another Indian start-up, has started operations and placed orders for 30 Boeing jets. Air India and Indian Airlines plan to purchase 68 and 43 aircraft, respectively, in the near future.

Indo-European Union Parliamentary Forum launched

Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh launched the Indo-EU Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi on 2 April 2005 at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The forum is the product of a joint initiative of two Indian Members of Parliament—Dinesh Trivedi and Robert Kharsingh—and their EU counterparts led by Neena Gill, the Chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for South Asia and SAARC. Both Indian MPs were part of a delegation of Indian MPs that visited the European Parliament recently, where they discussed the possibility of launching such a forum.

The inauguration of this forum was attended by several MPs, Ambassadors, senior Indian officials and the media. Neena Gill participated through a video-link from Birmingham, UK. The Head of Delegation of the European Commission in India Ambassador Francisco da Camara Gomes, FICCI President Onkar S Kanwar and Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI, were the keynote speakers. FICCI provided the logistical and secretarial support for the new initiative. All the speakers extolled the progress made in EU-India relations in the context of the new strategic partnership, and welcomed the launch of the new Parliamentary forum as a step in the right direction.

The forum will provide a Parliamentary dimension to Indo-EU relations by bringing Members of European Parliament (MEPs) and Indian Parliamentarians together on a single platform to strengthen the mutual understanding of the political, economic and strategic challenges, and the realities in the two regions. Regular inter-parliamentary dialogues will also provide basis for a direct and closer interaction between the political leaders of India and the EU that would enable the two sides to have a better understanding on political, economic, strategic and other issues of common concern. Moreover, such linkages will strengthen the bonds between lawmakers of the two entities, to further the common agenda of India and the EU.

A giant in the sky

EU Commissioners Günter Verheugen, Jacques Barrot and Peter Mandelson have hailed the recent unveiling of the new Airbus A380 as a “European success story.” The development of the A380—the world’s largest airliner—shows what Europe can achieve by working together and by investing in skills, research and technology.

The European Commission has had a growing involvement in aerospace issues since the mid 80s. As the European aerospace industry has undergone major restructuring in recent years and is increasingly organised on a continental scale, the Commission has made strenuous efforts to adapt the policy framework to cope with these new structures.

The commission’s actions focus on the full range of issues affecting aerospace, including industrial policy, trade relations, research programmes, transport policy and environmental measures.

(Source: Information Centre, Delegation of the European Commission in India)