July 4

The Vice-President of the European Commission, Raymond Barre, responsible for Economic and Financial Affairs, in a speech to the European Parliament regarding problems that have arisen concerning the pound, inter-community relations and the dollar, among other things, advocates for the system of the “European monetary snake”, where central banks can intervene between various currencies and limit their fluctuation margin (with a maximum limit of 2.25%). Furthermore, he calls on the six member states to proceed with increased monetary austerity.

José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Member of the European Commission responsible for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, and Peter Mandelson, Member of the European Commission responsible for Trade, participated in the 1st EU-Brazil Summit. Also present were Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, José Sócrates, Prime Minister of Portugal and acting President of the Council, and Janez Janša, Prime Minister of Slovenia. José Manuel Barroso stated: “This first Summit is a historic step in our relations with Brazil. The strategic partnership aims to address each other as global partners and to increase the level of our cooperation in a series of areas of common interest. By increasing our joint efforts with Brazil, we can make a difference in global discussions on poverty or climate change”.

The European Parliament aligns with critics of the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), who argue that some of its provisions regarding online piracy may jeopardize citizens’ freedoms, and rejects ACTA.