He was a Republican presidential elector in and In he joined the Liberal Republican movement, and was temporary chairman of the Cincinnati convention which nominated Horace Greeley for the presidency, but in the campaign he supported Grant. In , as counsel before the Electoral Commission, he opened the argument for the Republican electors of Florida and made the principal argument for the Republican electors of Oregon. In March of the same year he succeeded John Sherman as senator from Ohio, and served until March Matthews was renominated by President Garfield on the 15th of March, and the nomination was confirmed by the Senate 22 for, 21 against on the 12th of May.
He was an honest, impartial and conscientious judge. He died in Washington, on the 22nd of March He then spent some years as a tutor in Amsterdam. In he returned to Germany, and in was appointed director of the Friedrichsgymnasium at Altenburg, which post he held till his death, on the 6th of January Of his numerous important works the best-known are his Greek Grammar 3rd ed. Kenrick, , his edition of Euripides 9 vols. His Life was written by his son Constantin Nothing further is recorded of him in the New Testament. Bartholomew, without confusing him with the Bartholomew who was originally one of the Twelve, and is often identified with the Nathanael mentioned in the Fourth Gospel Expository Times , ix.
Clement of Alexandria says some identified him with Zacchaeus, the Clementine Recognitions identify him with Barnabas, Hilgenfeld thinks he is the same as Nathanael. Clement of Alexandria quotes two sayings from the Traditions: Educated by the diplomatist O. He eagerly accepted this invitation, although it involved a definite breach with his Spanish kinsman, Philip II.
Matthias was appointed governor of Austria in by his brother, the emperor Rudolph II. As governor of Austria Matthias continued the policy of crushing the Protestants, although personally he appears to have been inclined to religious tolerance; and he dealt with the rising of the peasants in , in addition to representing Rudolph at the imperial diets, and gaining some fame as a soldier during the Turkish War. A few years later the discontent felt by the members of the Habsburg family at the incompetence of the emperor became very acute, and the lead was taken by Matthias.
Obtaining in May a reluctant consent from his brother, he took over the conduct of affairs in Hungary, where a revolt had broken out, and was formally recognized by the Habsburgs as their head in April , and was promised the succession to the Empire. In June he concluded the peace of Vienna with the rebellious Hungarians, and was thus in a better position to treat with the sultan, with whom peace was made in November.
This pacific policy was displeasing to Rudolph, who prepared to renew the Turkish War; but having secured the support of the national party in Hungary and gathered an army, Matthias forced his brother to cede to him this kingdom, together with Austria and Moravia, both of which had thrown in their lot with Hungary The king of Hungary, as Matthias now became, was reluctantly compelled to grant religious liberty to the inhabitants of Austria.
The strained relations which had arisen between Rudolph and Matthias as a result of these proceedings were temporarily improved, and a formal reconciliation took place in ; but affairs in Bohemia soon destroyed this fraternal peace. Accepting this invitation, he inflicted another humiliation upon his brother, and was crowned king of Bohemia in May Rudolph, however, was successful in preventing the election of Matthias as German king, or king of the Romans, and when he died, in January , no provision had been made for a successor.
Already king of Hungary and Bohemia, however, Matthias obtained the remaining hereditary dominions of the Habsburgs, and in June was crowned emperor, although the ecclesiastical electors favoured his younger brother, the archduke Albert The short reign of the new emperor was troubled by the religious dissensions of Germany. His health became impaired and his indolence increased, and he fell completely under the influence of Melchior Klesl q.
In Matthias had married his cousin Anna d. Klesl, on the one hand, wished the settlement of the religious difficulties to precede any arrangement about the imperial succession; the Habsburgs, on the other, regarded the question of the succession as urgent and vital. Having decided that Ferdinand should succeed Matthias as emperor, the Habsburgs had secured his election as king of Bohemia in June , but were unable to stem the rising tide of disorder in that country.
Matthias and Klesl were in favour of concessions, but Ferdinand and Maximilian met this move by seizing and imprisoning Klesl. For the life and reign of Matthias the following works may be consulted: Munich, ; P. Kerschbaumer, Kardinal Klesel Vienna, ; M. Leipzig, ; L. Christie London, , seq. His military training proceeded under the eye of his father, whom he began to follow on his campaigns when only twelve years of age.
In he was created count of Bistercze, and was knighted at the siege of Belgrade in The same care for his welfare led his father to choose him a bride in the powerful Cilli family, but the young Elizabeth died before the marriage was consummated, leaving Matthias a widower at the age of fifteen. On the death of his father he was inveigled to Buda by the enemies of his house, and, on the pretext of being concerned in a purely imaginary conspiracy against Ladislaus V.
On the 24th of January , 40, Hungarian noblemen, assembled on the ice of the frozen Danube, unanimously elected Matthias Hunyadi king of Hungary, and on the 14th of February the new king made his state entry into Buda. The realm at this time was environed by perils. The Czech mercenaries under Giszkra held the northern counties and from thence plundered those in the centre. Nor did these complications prevent him from recovering the fortress of Galamboc from the Turks, successfully invading Servia, and reasserting the suzerainty of the Hungarian crown over Bosnia. In the following year there was a fresh rebellion, when the emperor Frederick was actually crowned king by the malcontents at Vienna-Neustadt March 4, ; but Matthias drove him out, and Pope Pius II.
From to the career of Matthias was a perpetual struggle punctuated by truces. Only now was Matthias able to turn against the Turks, who were again threatening the southern provinces. He began by defeating Ali Pasha, and then penetrated into Bosnia, and captured the newly built fortress of Jajce after a long and obstinate defence Dec.
On returning home he was crowned with the holy crown on the 29th of March , and, after driving the Czechs out of his northern counties, turned southwards again, this time recovering all the parts of Bosnia which still remained in Turkish hands. A political event of the first importance now riveted his attention upon the north. All the neighbouring princes, the emperor, Casimir IV. The war began on the 31st of May , but, as early as the 27th of February , Matthias anticipated an alliance between George and Frederick by himself concluding an armistice with the former. On the 3rd of May the Czech Catholics elected Matthias king of Bohemia, but this was contrary to the wishes of both pope and emperor, who preferred to partition Bohemia.
But now George discomfited all his enemies by suddenly excluding his own son from the throne in favour of Ladislaus, the eldest son of Casimir IV. At the very moment when Matthias was about to profit by the disappearance of his most capable rival, another dangerous rebellion, headed by the primate and the chief dignitaries of the state, with the object of placing Casimir, son of Casimir IV.
He suppressed this domestic rebellion indeed, but in the meantime the Poles had invaded the Bohemian domains with 60, men, and when in Matthias was at last able to take the field against them in order to raise the siege of Breslau, he was obliged to fortify himself in an entrenched camp, whence he so skilfully harried the enemy that the Poles, impatient to return to their own country, made peace at Breslau Feb. During the interval between these peaces, Matthias, in self-defence, again made war on the emperor, reducing Frederick to such extremities that he was glad to accept peace on any terms.
By the final arrangement made between the contending princes, Matthias recognized Ladislaus as king of Bohemia proper in return for the surrender of Moravia, Silesia and Upper and Lower Lusatia, hitherto component parts of the Czech monarchy, till he should have redeemed them for , florins.
The emperor promised to pay Matthias , florins as a war indemnity, and recognized him as the legitimate king of Hungary on the understanding that he should succeed him if he died without male issue, a contingency at this time somewhat improbable, as Matthias, only three years previously Dec. Finally, on the 1st of June , at the head of veterans, he made his triumphal entry into Vienna, which he henceforth made his capital. Styria, Carinthia and Carniola were next subdued, and Trieste was only saved by the intervention of the Venetians.
Matthias consolidated his position by alliances with the dukes of Saxony and Bavaria, with the Swiss Confederation, and the archbishop of Salzburg, and was henceforth the greatest potentate in central Europe. His far-reaching hand even extended to Italy. Thus, in , when a Turkish fleet seized Otranto, Matthias, at the earnest solicitation of the pope, sent Balasz Magyar to recover the fortress, which surrendered to him on the 10th of May Again in , Matthias took Ancona under his protection for a time and occupied it with a Hungarian garrison.
On the death of Mahommed II. A civil war ensued in Turkey between his sons Bayezid and Jem, and the latter, being worsted, fled to the knights of Rhodes, by whom he was kept in custody in France see Bayezid II. Matthias, as the next-door neighbour of the Turks, claimed the custody of so valuable a hostage, and would have used him as a means of extorting concessions from Bayezid. But neither the pope nor the Venetians would hear of such a transfer, and the negotiations on this subject greatly embittered Matthias against the Curia.
Matthias Hunyadi was indisputably the greatest man of his day, and one of the greatest monarchs who ever reigned. The precocity and universality of his genius impress one the most. Like Napoleon, with whom he has often been compared, he was equally illustrious as a soldier, a statesman, an orator, a legislator and an administrator. But in all moral qualities the brilliant adventurer of the 15th was infinitely superior to the brilliant adventurer of the 19th century.
His capacity for work was inexhaustible. Frequently half his nights were spent in reading, after the labour of his most strenuous days. There was no branch of knowledge in which he did not take an absorbing interest, no polite art which he did not cultivate and encourage. His camp was a school of chivalry, his court a nursery of poets and artists.
Matthias was a middle-sized, broad-shouldered man of martial bearing, with a large fleshy nose, hair reaching to his heels, and the clean-shaven, heavy chinned face of an early Roman emperor. Budapest, ; Antonio Bonfini, Rerum hungaricarum decades 7th ed. Of the above the first is the best general sketch and is rich in notes; the second somewhat chauvinistic but excellently written; the third the best work for scholars; the seventh, eighth and eleventh are valuable as being by contemporaries. After studying theology and philology at the university of Halle, he was appointed in master at the classical school Philanthropin in Dessau.
This once famous seminary was, however, then rapidly decaying in public favour, and in Matthisson was glad to accept a travelling tutorship. He lived for two years with the Swiss author Bonstetten at Nyon on the lake of Geneva.
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Matthisson enjoyed for a time a great popularity on account of his poems, Gedichte ; 15th ed. The verse is melodious and the language musical, but the thought and sentiments they express are too often artificial and insincere. Of his elegies, Die Elegie in den Ruinen eines alten Bergschlosses is still a favourite. His reminiscences, Erinnerungen 5 vols. His Literarischer Nachlass , with a selection from his correspondence, was published in four volumes by F. MATTING, a general term embracing many coarse woven or plaited fibrous materials used for covering floors or furniture, for hanging as screens, for wrapping up heavy merchandise and for other miscellaneous purposes.
Large quantities of the coco-nut fibre are woven in heavy looms, then cut up into various sizes, and finally bound round the edges by a kind of rope made from the same material. The mats may be of one colour only, or they may be made of different colours and in different designs. Sometimes the names of institutions are introduced into the mats. Another type of mat is made exclusively from the above-mentioned rope by arranging alternate layers in sinuous and straight paths, and then stitching the parts together.
Perforated and otherwise prepared rubber, as well as wire-woven material, are also largely utilized for door and floor mats. The materials used are numerous; but the principal substances are straw, the bulrushes Typha elephantina and T. Pangorei , from the last of which the well-known Palghat mats of the Madras Presidency are made.
Many of these Indian grass-mats are admirable examples of elegant design, and the colours in which they are woven are rich, harmonious and effective in the highest degree. Several useful household articles are made from the different kinds of grasses. The grasses are dyed in all shades and plaited to form attractive designs suitable for the purposes to which they are to be applied.
This class of work obtains in India, Japan and other Eastern countries. The head has a socket in the centre in which the handle is inserted transversely to the blades. It is used chiefly for grubbing and rooting among tree stumps in plantations and copses, where the roots are too close for the use of a spade, or for loosening hard soil. It ranks next to Amazonas in size, its area, which is largely unsettled and unexplored, being , sq.
No satisfactory estimate of its Indian population can be made. The greater part of the state belongs to the western extension of the Brazilian plateau, across which, between the 14th and 16th parallels, runs the watershed which separates the drainage basins of the Amazon and La Plata. This elevated region is known as the plateau of Matto Grosso, and its elevations so far as known rarely exceed ft. The general elevation in the south part of the state is much lower, and large areas bordering the Paraguay are swampy, partially submerged plains which the sluggish rivers are unable to drain.
The lowland elevations in this part of the state range from to ft. On the highlands, however, which contain extensive open campos , the climate, though dry and hot, is considered healthy. In the north, however, the ranges which separate the river valleys are apparently the remains of the table-land through which deep valleys have been eroded. The resources of Matto Grosso are practically undeveloped, owing to the isolated situation of the state, the costs of transportation and the small population. The first industry was that of mining, gold having been discovered in the river valleys on the southern slopes of the plateau, and diamonds on the head-waters of the Paraguay, about Diamantino and in two or three other districts.
Gold is found chiefly in placers, and in colonial times the output was large, but the deposits were long ago exhausted and the industry is now comparatively unimportant. As to other minerals little is definitely known. Agriculture exists only for the supply of local needs, though tobacco of a superior quality is grown. Cattle-raising, however, has received some attention and is the principal industry of the landowners. The forest products of the state include fine woods, rubber, ipecacuanha, sarsaparilla, jaborandi, vanilla and copaiba. Communication between these two towns is maintained by a line of smaller boats, the distance being m.
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In Matto Grosso became a province of the empire and in a republican state. It was invaded by the Paraguayans in the war of Mattoon is an important shipping point for Indian corn and broom corn, extensively grown in the vicinity, and for fruit and livestock. The municipality owns the waterworks and an electric lighting plant.
Mattoon was first settled about , was named in honour of William Mattoon, an early landowner, was first chartered as a city in , and was reorganized under a general state law in Two more tragedies, Manuel and Fredolfo , were failures, and his poem The Universe fell flat. Maturin died in Dublin on the 30th of October His parentage and the date of his birth are uncertain.
Apparently his birth was humble, but when the obscure figure of the young Artamon emerges into the light of history we find him equipped at all points with the newest ideas, absolutely free from the worst prejudices of his age, a ripe scholar, and even an author of some distinction. At the end of the year Matvyeev was raised to the rank of okolnichy , and on the 1st of September attained the still higher dignity of boyar. Matvyeev remained paramount to the end of the reign and introduced play-acting and all sorts of refining western novelties into Muscovy.
He purchased the allegiance of the stryeltsi , or musketeers, and then, summoning the boyars of the council, earnestly represented to them that Theodore, scarce able to live, was surely unable to reign, and urged the substitution of little Peter. He had already succeeded in partially pacifying them, when one of their colonels began to abuse the still hesitating and suspicious musketeers. Infuriated, they seized and flung Matvyeev into the square below, where he was hacked to pieces by their comrades. Solovev, History of Russia Rus.
Matvyeev as an Educational and Political Reformer Rus.
A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE AND GENERAL INFORMATION
As a fortress Maubeuge has an old enceinte of bastion trace which serves as the centre of an important entrenched camp of 18 m. It is united by electric tramway with Hautmont pop. Maubeuge Malbodium owes its origin to a double monastery, for men and women, founded in the 7th century by St Aldegonde relics of whom are preserved in the church. It subsequently belonged to the territory of Hainault.
It was burnt by Louis XI. Besieged in by Prince Josias of Coburg, it was relieved by the victory of Wattignies, which is commemorated by a monument in the town. It was unsuccessfully besieged in , but was compelled to capitulate, after a vigorous resistance, in the Hundred Days. The borough lies in the valley of the Lehigh river, along which runs one of its few streets and in another deeply cut valley at right angles to the river; through this second valley east and west runs the main street, on which is an electric railway; parallel to it on the south is High Street, formerly an Irish settlement; half way up the steep hill, and on the north at the top of the opposite hill is the ward of Upper Mauch Chunk, reached by the electric railway.
An electric railway to the top of Flagstaff Mountain, built in , was completed in to Lehighton, 4 m. Immediately above Mauch Chunk the river forms a horseshoe; on the opposite side, connected by a bridge, is the borough of East Mauch Chunk pop. The borough was long a famous shipping point for coal. It now has ironworks and foundries, and in East Mauch Chunk there are silk mills.
The borough was founded by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in In the town was opened to individual enterprise, and in it was incorporated as a borough. It lies 8 m. It is situated on a gentle slope about 1 m. It is noted for its manufacture of snuff-boxes and knick-knacks in wood, and of curling-stones.
There is also some cabinet-making, besides spinning and weaving, and its horse fairs and cattle markets have more than local celebrity. The parish church, dating from , stands in the middle of the village, and on the green a monument, erected in , marks the spot where five Covenanters were killed in Robert Burns lived with his brother Gilbert on the farm of Mossgiel, about a mile to the north, from to Adjoining them is the considerable manufacturing town of Catrine pop.
Barskimming House, 2 m. He began his career as an actor in in America, and from to was co-manager with F. Harrison of the Haymarket Theatre, London. There he became distinguished for his quietly humorous acting in many parts. In he went into management on his own account, and in opened his new theatre The Playhouse. In he married the actress Winifred Emery b. She was a daughter of Samuel Anderson Emery and granddaughter of John Emery , both well-known actors in their day. Maule is traversed from north to south by the coast range and its surfaces are much broken. The Buchupureo river flows westward across the province.
The climate is mild and healthy. Agriculture and stock-raising are the principal occupations, and hides, cattle, wheat and timber are exported. Transport facilities are afforded by the Maule and the Itata, which are navigable, and by a branch of the government railway from Cauquenes to Parral, an important town of southern Linares. The provincial capital, Cauquenes pop. The port suffers from a dangerous bar at the mouth of the river, but is connected with Talca by rail and has a considerable trade. The Maule river, from which the province takes its name, is of historic interest because it is said to have marked the southern limits of the Inca Empire.
It rises in the Laguna del Maule, an Andean lake near the Argentine frontier, ft. The upper part of its drainage basin, to which the Anuario Hydrografico gives an area of sq. The upper course and tributaries of the Maule, principally in the province of Linares, are largely used for irrigation. But John set him at liberty in , gained him to his side and named him seneschal of Poitou Philip Augustus bought his services in and gave him command of a fleet which was destroyed in the Flemish port of Damme.
He was one of those whom John designated on his deathbed for a council of regency Then he went to Egypt , and was present at the taking of Damietta. Returning to Poitou he was a second time seneschal for the king of England. The word is an adaptation of the Dutch maalstok , i. The chief ceremony, as kept from the early middle ages onwards—the washing of the feet of twelve or more poor men or beggars—was in the early Church almost unknown. Of Chrysostom and St Augustine, who both speak of Maundy Thursday as being marked by a solemn celebration of the Sacrament, the former does not mention the foot-washing, and the latter merely alludes to it.
Perhaps an indication of it may be discerned as early as the 4th century in a custom, current in Spain, northern Italy and elsewhere, of washing the feet of the catechumens towards the end of Lent before their baptism. It was not, however, universal, and in the 48th canon of the synod of Elvira A.
From the 4th century ceremonial foot-washing became yearly more common, till it was regarded as a necessary rite, to be performed by the pope, all Catholic sovereigns, prelates, priests and nobles. In England the king washed the feet of as many poor men as he was years old, and then distributed to them meat, money and clothes.
At Durham Cathedral, until the 16th century, every charity-boy had a monk to wash his feet. Since the foot-washing has been abandoned, and the ceremony now consists of the presentation of Maundy money, officially called Maundy Pennies. These were first coined in the reign of Charles II.
They come straight from the Mint, and have their edges unmilled. The service which formerly took place in the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, is now held in Westminster Abbey. A procession is formed in the nave, consisting of the lord high almoner representing the sovereign, the clergy and the yeomen of the guard, the latter carrying white and red purses in baskets.
The clothes formerly given are now commuted for in cash. The full ritual is gone through by the Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster, and abroad it survives in all Catholic countries, a notable example being that of the Austrian emperor. It is on Maundy Thursday that in the Church of Rome the sacred oil is blessed, and the chrism prepared according to an elaborate ritual which is given in the Pontificale.
He entered the ministry of marine, and was promoted by M. A pleasant legend says that, in a report by his official chief, Maupassant is mentioned as not reaching the standard of the department in the matter of style. He may very well have been an unsatisfactory clerk, as he divided his time between rowing expeditions and attending the literary gatherings at the house of Gustave Flaubert, who was not, as he is often alleged to be, connected with Maupassant by any blood tie.
Flaubert was not his uncle, nor his cousin, nor even his godfather, but merely an old friend of Madame de Maupassant, whom he had known from childhood. At the literary meetings Maupassant seldom shared in the conversation. Even Flaubert, to whom Maupassant submitted some sketches, was not greatly struck by their talent, though he encouraged the youth to persevere. In this indecorous performance, of which nothing more is heard, Maupassant played the part of a woman. In Maupassant published a volume of poems, Des Vers , against which the public prosecutor of Etampes took proceedings that were finally withdrawn through the influence of the senator Cordier.
From Flaubert, who had himself been prosecuted for his first book, Madame Bovary , there came a letter congratulating the poet on the similarity between their first literary experiences. Des Vers is an extremely interesting experiment, which shows Maupassant to us still hesitating in his choice of a medium; but he recognized that it was not wholly satisfactory, and that its chief deficiency—the absence of verbal melody—was fatal.
There is perhaps no other instance in modern literary history of a writer beginning, as a fully equipped artist, with a genuine masterpiece. This early success was quickly followed by another. In Mademoiselle Fifi he repeated his previous triumphs as a conteur , and in this same year he, for the first time, attempted to write on a larger scale. Choosing to portray the life of a blameless girl, unfortunate in her marriage, unfortunate in her son, consistently unfortunate in every circumstance of existence, he leaves her, ruined and prematurely old, clinging to the tragic hope, which time, as one feels, will belie, that she may find happiness in her grandson.
Certain passages of Une Vie are of such a character that the sale of the volume at railway bookstalls was forbidden throughout France. To also belongs an elaborate novel, Bel-ami , the cynical history of a particularly detestable, brutal scoundrel who makes his way in the world by means of his handsome face. Maupassant is here no less vivid in realizing his literary men, financiers and frivolous women than in dealing with his favourite peasants, boors and servants, to whom he returned in Toine and in La Petite roque About this time appeared the first symptoms of the malady which destroyed him; he wrote less, and though the novel Mont-Oriol shows him apparently in undiminished possession of his faculty, Le Horla suggests that he was already subject to alarming hallucinations.
Musotte , a theatrical piece written in collaboration with M. Jacques Normand, was published in By this time inherited nervous maladies, aggravated by excessive physical exercises and by the imprudent use of drugs, had undermined his constitution. He began to take an interest in religious problems, and for a while made the Imitation his handbook; but his misanthropy deepened, and he suffered from curious delusions as to his wealth and rank.
A victim of general paralysis, of which La Folie des grandeurs was one of the symptoms, he drank the waters at Aix-les-Bains during the summer of , and retired to Cannes, where he purposed passing the winter. The singularities of conduct which had been observed at Aix-les-Bains grew more and more marked. On the 6th of January he attempted suicide, and was removed to Paris, where he died in the most painful circumstances on the 6th of July He is buried in the cemetery of Montparnasse.
Maupassant began as a follower of Flaubert and of M. Zola, but, whatever the masters may have called themselves, they both remained essentially romantiques. He had no psychology, no theories of art, no moral or strong social prejudices, no disturbing imagination, no wealth of perplexing ideas.
It is no paradox to say that his marked limitations made him the incomparable artist that he was. Undisturbed by any external influence, his marvellous vision enabled him to become a supreme observer, and, given his literary sense, the rest was simple. He prided himself in having no invention; he described nothing that he had not seen. Fundamentally he finds all men alike. In every grade he finds the same ferocious, cunning, animal instincts at work: It is an extremely simple outlook.
Maupassant does not prefer good to bad, one man to another; he never pauses to argue about the meaning of life, a senseless thing which has the one advantage of yielding materials for art; his one aim is to discover the hidden aspect of visible things, to relate what he has observed, to give an objective rendering of it, and he has seen so intensely and so serenely that he is the most exact transcriber in literature.
And as the substance is, so is the form: In ten years he produced some thirty volumes. With the exception of Pierre et Jean , his novels, excellent as they are, scarcely represent him at his best, and of over two hundred contes a proportion must be rejected. But enough will remain to vindicate his claim to a permanent place in literature as an unmatched observer and the most perfect master of the short story.
Symons, Studies in Prose and Verse There are many references to Maupassant in the Journal des Goncourt , and some correspondence with Marie Bashkirtseff was printed with Further Memoirs of that lady in Between and , dates which cover the revision of the case of Jean Calas and the trial of the comte de Lally, Maupeou was himself president of the parlement. In , through the protection of Choiseul, whose fall two years later was in large measure his work, he became chancellor in succession to his father, who had held the office for a few days only.
He determined to support the royal authority against the parlement, which in league with the provincial magistratures was seeking to arrogate to itself the functions of the states-general. When the parlement showed signs of hostility against Aiguillon, Maupeou read letters patent from Louis XV. Louis replied to remonstrances from the parlement by a lit de justice , in which he demanded the surrender of the minutes of procedure. It also made a strike on the part of the parlement punishable by confiscation of goods, and forbade further obstruction to the registration of royal decrees after the royal reply had been given to a first remonstrance.
This edict the magistrates refused to register, and it was registered in a lit de justice held at Versailles on the 7th of December, whereupon the parlement suspended its functions. After five summonses to return to their duties, the magistrates were surprised individually on the night of the 19th of January by musketeers, who required them to sign yes or no to a further request to return. Thirty-eight magistrates gave an affirmative answer, but on the exile of their former colleagues by lettres de cachet they retracted, and were also exiled.
Maupeou installed the council of state to administer justice pending the establishment of six superior courts in the provinces, and of a new parlement in Paris. The cour des aides was next suppressed. The remonstrances of the princes, of the nobles, and of the minor courts, were met by exile and suppression, but by the end of the new system was established, and the Bar, which had offered a passive resistance, recommenced to plead.
But the death of Louis XV. The restoration of the parlements was followed by a renewal of the quarrels between the new king and the magistrature. Maupeou and Terrai were replaced by Malesherbes and Turgot. His work, in so far as it was directed towards the separation of the judicial and political functions and to the reform of the abuses attaching to a hereditary magistrature, was subsequently endorsed by the Revolution; but no justification of his violent methods or defence of his intriguing and avaricious character is possible. He aimed at securing absolute power for Louis XV.
The chief authority for the administration of Maupeou is the compte rendu in his own justification presented by him to Louis XVI. These documents, in the hands of his former secretary, C. Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, formed the basis of the judicial system of France as established under the consulate cf. See further Maupeouana 6 vols. When twenty years of age he entered the army, becoming lieutenant in a regiment of cavalry, and employing his leisure on mathematical studies. After five years he quitted the army and was admitted in a member of the Academy of Sciences.
In he visited London, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. In he acted as chief of the expedition sent by Louis XV. In Maupertuis went to Berlin on the invitation of the king of Prussia, and took part in the battle of Mollwitz, where he was taken prisoner by the Austrians. On his release he returned to Berlin, and thence to Paris, where he was elected director of the Academy of Sciences in , and in the following year was admitted into the Academy.
Returning to Berlin in , at the desire of Frederick II. Finding his health declining, he repaired in to the south of France, but went in to Basel, where he died on the 27th of July The following are his most important works: It contains a large community of wealthy merchants and bankers. A special variety of red cotton cloth, known as kharua , is manufactured and exported to all parts of India.
Trees line many of the streets, and handsome temples ornament the town. He refused to accept the peace made by Jean Cavalier in , and after passing a few weeks in Switzerland he returned to France and became one of the chiefs of those Camisards who were still in arms. He was deeply concerned in a plot to capture some French towns, a scheme which, it was hoped, would be helped by England and Holland. He was a man of great physical strength; but he was very cruel, and boasted he had killed Roman Catholics with his own hands. He died at Leipzig on the 6th of November, Wolf, Wilhelm Maurenbrecher Berlin, Although essentially light and frivolous in character, Maurepas was seriously interested in scientific matters, and he used the best brains of France to apply science to questions of navigation and of naval construction.
He was disgraced in , and exiled from Paris for an epigram against Madame de Pompadour. On the accession of Louis XVI. He gave Turgot the direction of finance, placed Lamoignon-Malesherbes over the royal household and made Vergennes minister for foreign affairs. At the outset of his new career he showed his weakness by recalling to their functions, in deference to popular clamour, the members of the old parlement ousted by Maupeou, thus reconstituting the most dangerous enemy of the royal power. This step, and his intervention on behalf of the American states, helped to pave the way for the French revolution.
Jealous of his personal ascendancy over Louis XVI. In Maurepas deserted Necker as he had done Turgot, and he died at Versailles on the 21st of November Soulavie in , must be regarded as apocryphal. Some of his letters were published in by the Soc. Educated at Heidelberg, he went in to reside in Paris, where he entered upon a systematic study of the ancient legal institutions of the Germans. Returning to Germany in , he received an appointment under the Bavarian government, and afterwards filled several important official positions. In he returned to official life, and was soon offered an important post.
In , when Otto Otho , son of Louis I. He applied himself energetically to the task of creating institutions adapted to the requirements of a modern civilized community; but grave difficulties soon arose and Maurer was recalled in , when he returned to Munich. This loss was a serious one for Greece. Maurer was the ablest, most energetic and most liberal-minded member of the council, and it was through his enlightened efforts that Greece obtained a revised penal code, regular tribunals and an improved system of civil procedure.
After the fall of the ministry of Karl von Abel in , he became chief Bavarian minister and head of the departments of foreign affairs and of justice, but was overthrown in the same year. He died at Munich on the 9th of May His only son, Conrad von Maurer , was a Scandinavian scholar of some repute, and like his father was a professor at the university of Munich. These works are still important authorities for the early history of the Germans.
The name had different significations at different times; but before the Roman occupation, Mauretania comprised a considerable part of the modern Morocco i. Towards the south we may suppose it bounded by the Atlas range, and it seems to have been regarded by geographers as extending along the coast to the Atlantic as far as the point where that chain descends to the sea, in about 30 N. The magnificent plateau in which the city of Morocco is situated seems to have been unknown to ancient geographers, and was certainly never included in the Roman Empire. On the other hand, the Gaetulians to the south of the Atlas range, on the date-producing slopes towards the Sahara, seem to have owned a precarious subjection to the kings of Mauretania, as afterwards to the Roman government.
A large part of the country is of great natural fertility, and in ancient times produced large quantities of corn, while the slopes of Atlas were clothed with forests, which, besides other kinds of timber, produced the celebrated ornamental wood called citrum Plin. For physical geography, see Morocco.
Mauretania, or Maurusia as it was called by Greek writers, signified the land of the Mauri, a term still retained in the modern name of Moors q. They first appear in history at the time of the Jugurthine War B. Sixty years later, at the time of the dictator Caesar, we find two Mauretanian kingdoms, one to the west of the river Mulucha under Bogud, and the other to the east under a Bocchus; as to the date or cause of the division we are ignorant.
Juba and his son Ptolemaeus after him reigned till A. Mauretania Tingitana to the west of the Mulucha and M. Caesariensis to the east of that river, the latter taking its name from the city Caesarea formerly Iol , which Juba had thus named and adopted as his capital. Thus the dividing line between the two provinces was the same as that which had originally separated Mauretania from Numidia q.
These provinces were governed until the time of Diocletian by imperial procurators, and were occasionally united for military purposes. Under and after Diocletian M. Tingitana was attached administratively to the dioicesis of Spain, with which it was in all respects closely connected; while M. Caesariensis was divided by making its eastern part into a separate government, which was called M. Sitifensis from the Roman colony Sitifis. In the two provinces of Mauretania there were at the time of Pliny a number of towns, including seven possibly eight Roman colonies in M.
Tingitana and eleven in M. Caesariensis; others were added later. These were mostly military foundations, and served the purpose of securing civilization against the inroads of the natives, who were not in a condition to be used as material for town-life as in Gaul and Spain, but were under the immediate government of the procurators, retaining their own clan organization. All these were on the coast but the last, which was some distance inland.
Besides these there were many municipia or oppida civium romanorum Plin. Tingitana has as yet yielded but scanty evidence of Roman civilization. On the whole Mauretania was in a flourishing condition down to the irruption of the Vandals in A. In the term Mauretania was revived as an official designation by the French government, and applied to the territory north of the lower Senegal under French protection see Senegal.
Mauriac, built on the slope of a volcanic hill, has a church of the 12th century, and the buildings of an old abbey now used as public offices and dwellings; the town owes its origin to the abbey, founded during the 6th century. It is the seat of a sub-prefect and has a tribunal of first instance and a communal college. There are marble quarries in the vicinity. The oldest form of his story is found in the Passio ascribed to Eucherius, bishop of Lyons, c. Maximinian wished to use them in persecuting the Christians, but as they themselves were of this faith, they refused, and for this, after having been twice decimated, the legion was exterminated at Octodurum Martigny near Geneva.
In late versions this legend was expanded and varied, the martyrdom was connected with a refusal to take part in a great sacrifice ordered at Octodurum and the name of Exsuperius was added to that of Mauritius. Gregory of Tours c. The Magdeburg Centuries , in spite of Mauritius being the patron saint of Magdeburg, declared the whole legend fictitious; J.
Apart from the a priori improbability of a whole legion being martyred, the difficulties are that in Christians everywhere throughout the empire were not molested, that at no later date have we evidence of the presence of Maximinian in the Valais, and that none of the writers nearest to the event Eusebius, Lactantius, Orosius, Sulpicius Severus know anything of it.
Relics of the saint are preserved here and at Brieg and Turin. He spent his youth at the court of Justin II. At the age of forty-three he was declared Caesar by the dying emperor Tiberius II. On the northern frontier he at first bought off the Avars by payments which compelled him to exercise strict economy in his general administration, but after inflicted several defeats upon them through his general Crispus.
By his strict discipline and his refusal to ransom a captive corps he provoked to mutiny the army on the Danube. The revolt spread to the popular factions in Constantinople, and Maurice consented to abdicate. He withdrew to Chalcedon, but was hunted down and put to death after witnessing the slaughter of his five sons.
See Theophylactus Simocatta, Vita Mauricii ed. Bury, London, , v. Finlay, History of Greece ed. In January he married Agnes, daughter of Philip, landgrave of Hesse. Duke Henry had decreed that his lands should be divided between his two sons, but as a partition was regarded as undesirable the whole of the duchy came to his elder son. Maurice, however, made generous provision for his brother Augustus, and the desire to compensate him still further was one of the minor threads of his subsequent policy. In he assisted the emperor Charles V. The harmonious relations which subsisted between the two branches of the Wettins were disturbed by the interference of Maurice in Cleves, a proceeding distasteful to the Saxon elector, John Frederick; and a dispute over the bishopric of Meissen having widened the breach, war was only averted by the mediation of Philip of Hesse and Luther.
About this time Maurice seized the idea of securing for himself the electoral dignity held by John Frederick, and his opportunity came when Charles was preparing to attack the league of Schmalkalden. Although educated as a Lutheran, religious questions had never seriously appealed to Maurice. As a youth he had joined the league of Schmalkalden, but this adhesion, as well as his subsequent declaration to stand by the confession of Augsburg, cannot be regarded as the decision of his maturer years.
In June he took a decided step by making a secret agreement with Charles at Regensburg. Maurice was promised some rights over the archbishopric of Magdeburg and the bishopric of Halberstadt; immunity, in part at least, for his subjects from the Tridentine decrees; and the question of transferring the electoral dignity was discussed.
In return the duke probably agreed to aid Charles in his proposed attack on the league as soon as he could gain the consent of the Saxon estates, or at all events to remain neutral during the impending war. He secured the formal consent of Charles to the transfer of the electoral dignity and took the field in November. He had gained a few successes when John Frederick hastened from south Germany to defend his dominions. Salvation, however, was at hand. Marching against John Frederick, Charles V. The formal investiture of the new elector took place at Augsburg in February The plans of Maurice soon took a form less agreeable to the emperor.
The continued imprisonment of his father-in-law, Philip of Hesse, whom he had induced to surrender to Charles and whose freedom he had guaranteed, was neither his greatest nor his only cause of complaint. Assuring Charles of his continued loyalty, the elector entered into negotiations with the discontented Protestant princes. An event happened which gave him a base of operations, and enabled him to mask his schemes against the emperor. In order to disperse a demonstration that clearly ran counter to Prime Minister Erdogan's plan, which has been repeatedly condemned by the opposition, to impose, at all costs, a policy of gradual Islamisation of the country, the police intervened with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons.
As a candidate country which is negotiating EU membership, Turkey should ensure that it respects the fundamental rights of all its citizens, in addition to the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, as the Commission has pointed out several times in its answers to my questions on the matter.
Does the Commission not agree, however, that these facts clearly highlight Turkey's complete disregard for integration and alignment with the. What is the Commission's view of the opposition parties' complaints to the Turkish Government that the policy of the majority is to re-Islamise the Turkish Republic?
Does the Commission believe that such heavy-handedness by an Islamic-leaning government is acceptable behaviour for an EU candidate country? The Commission closely monitors developments in Turkey under the political criteria, of which respect the fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, is an essential component. Moreover, the Commission regularly raises this matter in its ongoing contacts with the Turkish authorities. The progress report made clear that allegations against members of the security forces for use of excessive force should be investigated.
Das Vorhaben wurde am Zinkkonzentrat, Kupferkonzentrat, Kupfermetall, Kraftwerkskohle usw. A number of actors have highlighted the possible adverse effects this merger might have on the European zinc market. On which other European commodity markets does the Commission believe the merger could have an adverse effect with regard to competition?
In which European commodity markets would the merger lead to an increase in the HHI of more than points? The Commission found that the proposed transaction was unlikely to raise competition concerns as regards the production or supply of: The only potential European commodity market where the proposed transaction would both give rise to appreciable competition overlaps and a HHI of over 2 was in the supply of zinc metal in the EEA. The only potential European commodity market where the proposed transaction would lead to an increase in the HHI of more than points was in the supply of zinc metal in the EEA.
There would also be an increase of more than points on a hypothetical small sub-segment of higher quality grades of lead metal, but the post-merger HHI would still remain significantly below 2 With respect to points 2 and 3 , the Commission notes that, in any event, most of the examined products other than zinc metal e. Competencia y posible conflicto de intereses en el sector aeroportuario.
Iberia y British Airways. Iberia tiene la base de operaciones en el aeropuerto de Barajas, Madrid. In other words, the Spanish Government now has a total stake of IAG also owns shares in a number of other companies in the airport sector. Moreover, all Spanish airports are managed centrally by the State through the publicly-owned company AENA, which is under the control of the Spanish Government.
Ayudas del Estado en regiones con condiciones parecidas de subempleo. Este desempleo tiene variaciones significativas por regiones, pero en todos los casos el desempleo se encuentra muy por encima de la media europea. El hecho de que la ayuda sea concedida directamente por el Estado o por entidades regionales y locales es irrelevante. According to the most recent data, the rate of unemployment in Spain is This rate of unemployment varies considerably across regions, but it is well above the European average in all cases.
It is impossible to say that one region has a more acute problem of underemployment than another, since all regions have extremely serious unemployment situations. If these regions are receiving state aid, will the Commission take action to rectify this situation? In Spain, the central government repeatedly grants much more aid from the national budget to some regions than others.
This situation is not unique to Catalonia, and nor is it an isolated case; rather, this is an example of the ongoing practice of granting state aid to certain specific regions. Furthermore, this way of distributing state aid is also reflected in how the budget is executed. Given that the differences in investment expenditure are structural, they are affecting the competitiveness of businesses located in the different regions.
Does the Commission plan to investigate whether the distribution of national budget funds among the different regions in Spain for and for all previous years from onwards corresponds to state aid going indirectly to businesses in certain regions which are given preferential treatment for political reasons?
Whether the aid is granted directly by the State or by regional and local bodies is immaterial. This kind of state aid is known as regional aid and is designed to assist the development of the most disadvantaged regions by supporting investment and job creation. Unemployment is one of the criteria used to identify the most disadvantaged regions. In any event, the positive effects of the aid in terms of the development of a less-favoured region must outweigh the negative effects resulting from the distortion of competition entailed by such aid. The article only contains the names and the fact that they have accounts; there are no other details.
These derogations must be made solely for journalistic purposes or the purpose of artistic or literary expression, which fall within the scope of the right to freedom of expression. Given that there is some doubt as to the journalistic purpose of the publication, will the Commission answer the following:. What case-law has been established by European Court of Justice on the use of personal data for purely journalistic purposes?
A recent study by the World Bank comes to the conclusion that the flooding of markets by rich industrialised countries with highly subsidised low-cost food is not the biggest problem facing African farmers. Bureaucratic obstacles, the costly effects of highwaymen and import barriers for domestic farmers are greater hindrances for the agricultural market within Africa. According to the study, for non-African producers it is often easier to provide supplies for an African city than for farmers at the very gates of a conurbation.
Farmers from Kenya, Tanzania or Uganda have to pay a road toll every 30 to 50 kilometres in order to keep one fifth of the retail price — this is the best case scenario. The study then concludes that even disasters in one country do not necessarily have to lead to famine, as it is seldom the case that the entire continent suffers from drought. However, even in the event of a famine, governments have no interest in seeing farm crops from a neighbouring country find their way onto the domestic market.
What ideas exist at EU level to ensure better provision within Africa itself in the event of crop failure and thus to improve African farming? The Commission is fully aware of the complex causes of ineffective agricultural markets in Africa and their possible remedies. This is often discussed by Commissioner Piebalgs in his contacts with African governments. The Commission has presented a communication on Resilience on how to address the root causes of recurrent crises.
Hintergrund dieses Ansturms — es gibt schon mehr Asylsuchende aus Serbien als aus Afghanistan — ist, dass etwa Berlin nach einem Urteil des Verfassungsgerichtshofs Antragstellern, die auf Erledigung ihres Antrags warten, gleich hohe Sozialleistungen bieten muss wie eigenen Arbeitslosen. Was die zweite Frage anbelangt, so hat die Kommission in ihrem dritten Bericht vom Am Rande der Ratstagung vom In spite of the fact that an asylum application will have no chance of a successful outcome, visa-free travel for citizens from Serbia and Macedonia is being abused by thousands of Roma in order to apply for political asylum in countries such as Germany.
Behind this rush of applications there are already more asylum-seekers from Serbia than from Afghanistan is the fact that, following a judgment by the Constitutional Court, Berlin, for instance, must provide applicants whose requests are pending, with the same level of welfare benefits as its own unemployed.
Are similar trends also emerging in other Member States which provide generous welfare payments for asylum-seekers? When does the Council expect to reach a decision on the mooted revocation of visa-free travel for a number of Balkan states? The Council has not discussed the first question raised by the Honourable Member, as the level of such benefits does not fall within its sphere of competence. Among other things, dialogue with the countries concerned was seen to be of major importance.
The draft Regulation also contains other elements, including in particular a provision still under negotiation for the reinforcement of the visa reciprocity mechanism. Seit Ende brauchen etwa Mazedonier kein Visum mehr. Sechs Staaten — darunter Deutschland und Frankreich — haben nun bei der letzten Ratstagung der Innenminister vom In ihrem am Since the end of Macedonians, for example, have no longer required visas. At the last meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, on The reason for this is the rising number of asylum-seekers and increased abuse of the asylum system.
Many of the applicants are clearly economic refugees — mostly Roma — rather than victims of political persecution. How could abuse of asylum be prevented in the Western Balkan countries; i. Are there any ways in which Frontex could be more effectively involved in the problem? How is it legally and politically possible for citizens of potential candidate countries to be making asylum applications?
The Commission is fully aware that the asylum systems of several EU Member States have faced pressure in recent months as a result of a new surge in asylum applications. Enhance operational cooperation with Member State authorities, facilitated by closer information sharing;. Organise information campaigns to inform citizens of their rights and obligations under the visa-free regime;.
These measures remain necessary to reduce the number of unfounded asylum applications in the Member States. Negotiations between the co-legislators are under way to adopt this amendment. The Commission hopes that it will enter into force as soon as possible, and no later than the end of this year.
This meeting agreed to upgrade the visa liberalisation monitoring mechanism, with the close involvement of Frontex. The unprecedented rise in unemployment, combined with the prolonged failure of the Greek job market to create new jobs, has caused a massive increase in long-term unemployment. Many of the long-term unemployed have been out of work for so long that they are now unable to renew their health insurance card and neither they nor their family dependents are able to access basic medical cover and care.
This situation is pregnant with the gravest risks, could even be fatal for unemployed persons without insurance, and is subjecting hundreds of thousands of Greek citizens to a particular form of social exclusion. What are its views on this particular situation? Does it intend to make recommendations to the Greek Government so as to ensure that unemployed persons without insurance can obtain free medical care?
Does it have statistics on the percentage of unemployed persons without insurance in the Member States? Is it preparing or does it intend to prepare a single European plan to address this problem? Does it intend to promote an exchange of best practices between the Member States, in order to highlight the best ways of protecting this specific, particularly vulnerable group, which is growing in size by the day?
Could action to improve medical care for unemployed persons without insurance be financed from the European structural funds? The Commission does not have the full information requested. As the design of social protection systems is the responsibility of the MS, the Commission is not planning a single plan to address issues of access to medical services in EU MS. The European Structural Funds cannot be used to finance directly the purchasing of healthcare services for uninsured people.
Indirectly, the ESF, in particular, may alleviate the problem to some extent in Greece in so far as it facilitates a return to employment and thus allows people to regain access to health insurance cover. Secondo fonti di stampa, il Primo Ministro ceceno Ramzan Kadyrovsta sta considerando di introdurre gradualmente l'insegnamento dei principi fondamentali dell'Islam nelle scuole materne della regione, a partire dalla capitale Grozny.
Tutto questo con il tacito consenso di Mosca. L'alto Rappresentante dell'UE come giudica sia l'introduzione dell'educazione islamica fin dall'asilo e, soprattutto, il comportamento di Mosca? I suoi timori sono stati espressi chiaramente in varie occasioni e a tutti i livelli del dialogo politico con la Federazione russa. Queste misure violano diritti garantiti sia dalla costituzione della Federazione russa che dalla costituzione della Repubblica cecena.
According to press reports, the Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrovsta is considering measures which would involve the gradual introduction in nursery schools in the region, starting in the capital, Grozny, of teaching of the fundamental principles of Islam. The teachers would be chosen from among graduates of the Islamic university. These concerns have been made explicit to the Russian Federation on a number of occassions, and at all levels of our political dialogue. Increasing instances to restrict fundamental human rights in the region are worrying.. These measures infringe rights guaranteed both by the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Constitution of the Chechen Republic.
The EU will continue following these developments in the Northern Caucasus and raising its concern with this situation with the Russian Authorities, as it did during the last meeting of the EU-Russia human rights consultations, on December 7 this year. Inoltre alcune strutture millenarie sono state vittime di scempi architettonici, tra cui la costruzione di una strada che attraversa l'antica arena. La Commissione ha contribuito finanziariamente a parte dei progetti sul sito di Paestum?
Non ritiene opportuno redigere una catalogazione dei siti archeologici e di interesse culturale europeo al fine di monitorarne lo stato di conservazione? Il Fondo europeo di sviluppo regionale FESR ha erogato un sostegno al sito archeologico di Paestum per un importo di 16 milioni di euro su uno stanziamento complessivo di 30 milioni di euro a favore del.
I finanziamenti erano destinati ad arrestare e invertire il degrado degli edifici in particolare, insulae 1 e delle strutture decorative e architettoniche, limitare il rischio idrogeologico e, in generale, migliorare lo stato del sito e del suo museo. Nel quadro della politica di coesione si applica il principio di gestione condivisa e gli Stati membri decisono le misure per monitorare e tutelare il loro patrimonio culturale.
Conformemente all'articolo del trattato sul funzionamento dell'Unione europea, l'azione dell'UE si limita a incoraggiare la cooperazione tra gli Stati membri e, se necessario, ad appoggiare e ad integrare l'azione di questi ultimi, tra l'altro, ai fini della conservazione e salvaguardia del patrimonio culturale di importanza europea.
One of the greatest treasures of the ancient world, Paestum in Italy, is now in a dreadful state of neglect. Some structures that are thousands of years old have been ruined by architectural blunders, including the construction of a road through the ancient arena. A sizeable proportion of these funds have been spent on facilities that have either been abandoned already or are hardly ever used. Would be a good idea for archaeological and cultural sites in Europe to be catalogued to monitor their state of conservation?
The funds were designed to stop and reverse the deterioration of the buildings especially insulae 1 and the decorative and architectural fittings, to limit the hydrogeological risk and, in general, to improve the state of the site and its museum. There are no elements suggesting misappropriations of funds or fraud relating to the project which is subject to the normal checks and audits provided for by EU regulations within the framework of the closure procedures of the programme. In the framework of cohesion policy, the shared management principle applies and Member States decide the measures to monitor and preserve their cultural heritage.
More generally, the European Union does not have a specific competence when it comes to protecting heritage. The management, upkeep, protection and conservation of cultural heritage sites are therefore primarily a national responsibility. La Commissione vigili sulle speculazioni ai danni dei titoli di Stato UE. Questa manovra ha condotto l'Italia quasi sull'orlo del default.
In late the Swiss National Bank announced that it was introducing a peg, that is to say a fixed exchange rate for the euro against the Swiss franc of 1. According to reports from various commercial banks, these euros were primarily invested in German bunds, with the result that the spread between Italian treasury bonds and year German bonds reached extremely high levels, more as a result of the fall in yields on the bunds than of an increase in the yields on the Italian bonds.
This policy drove Italy to the brink of default. Does the Commission not see a need to monitor massive purchases of European government bonds by the central banks of non-EU countries in order to prevent further market distortions which undermine the financial stability of the Member States? Does it not see a need to arrange talks with the central banks of a number of major non-European countries in an effort to find solutions to this problem which are compatible with the single currency system and consistent with the principle of the free market?
More generally, EU Member States' sovereign yields ultimately depend on economic fundamentals and the implementation of domestic policies and structural reforms. The Commission nevertheless agrees that bond markets are currently distorted and regards the fragmentation of EU financial markets as a major challenge ahead. Progress has been made collectively to tackle these problems, and it is of outmost importance that policy actions in Member States are also geared towards this end. However, it seems that there are no plans to carry out an assessment into the consequences that increasing the capacity of this high-voltage power line might have for human health owing to how close the power line is to homes.
Monitoring of such actions as regards exposure to Electromagnetic Fields EMF falls within the competence of national authorities. De asemenea, ea a contribuit la atragerea capitalului privat. Al doilea dialog va avea loc la Belgrad pe ianuarie Substantial funding is needed in order to fully harness the possibilities offered by the Danube Strategy and to ensure social, economic and territorial cohesion in the Danube basin. Only that will enable this area, which is of crucial importance to Europe, to become a major driver for our economy and to contribute meaningfully to improving European welfare, by contributing to stability, development and prosperity.
Since Community resources are limited and, moreover, the funding absorption rate remains very low in this region, can the Commission state what measures it will take, in partnership with the Member States, not only to improve that absorption rate, but also to attract private capital to the region? It has also assisted in attracting private capital. For example, the cooperation induced by the strategy has accelerated the implementation of an EU-funded project improving navigation conditions on the shared Romania-Bulgarian sector of the Danube.
For the period, the Commission, the eight EU Member States and the six non-EU countries will ensure that the objectives of the strategy are fully taken into account in the programming of EU funds for the Region. Unfortunately, its is SMEs that are suffering most from a lack of competitiveness owing to their lesser ability to adapt to the needs of the market and their limited access to capital, technology and infrastructure. That is precisely why we must award them priority, and why the main thing we must do is to facilitate their access to meaningful financing.
Can the Commission state, in this respect, how the relevant EU legislation can be amended to boost the role of SMEs and ensure they qualify as eligible partners for investment financed through cohesion funding? At the same time, does the Commission intend, for the next programming period , to recommend that Member States include, in their national development plans, programming axes and additional financing for SMEs, which are factors key to their development?
Small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs are at the heart of cohesion policy in , as the Commission has proposed ambitious thematic concentration requirements ensuring that a large part of EU support is dedicated to them. The Commission has also proposed that support to generic productive investment in enterprises be limited to SMEs, which can improve their access to such support.
The allocation of funding depends largely on the particular development needs of the regions concerned. Personal der Generaldirektion Wirtschaft und Finanzen der Kommission. Die Kommission verweist darauf, dass die Einstellung hoch spezialisierter Experten aus einigen Mitgliedstaaten immer schwieriger wird.
Staff turnover overall in the Commission has been higher in compared to The Commission notes that it has become increasingly difficult to recruit highly skilled staff from certain Member States. Efforts continue to recruit higher numbers of women at AD level and ensure they are well represented in positions providing experience for future middle management responsibilities. Bei welchen Mitgliedstaaten war dies wann der Fall? Gibt es interne Regeln, mit denen Interessenkonflikte verhindert werden sollen?
Kann die Kommission Angaben zu diesen Regeln machen? Wie hoch liegt dieser Anteil insbesondere im Falle von Spanien und Italien? Mit welchen Methoden werden die strukturellen Defizite in den Mitgliedstaaten bewertet? Sind diese Modelle miteinander vereinbar? Sie unterliegen strengen Verpflichtungen in Bezug auf etwaige Interessenkonflikte und Vertraulichkeit. Over the period, in forecasting exercises, how often have the growth and deficit levels projected for the Member States for the current year and the year after in the case of the Spring Forecast and for the year after in the case of the Autumn Forecast deviated by at least 0.
For which Member States has this been the case, and when? Which were the countries concerned, and when? Are there internal rules to prevent conflicts of interest? Could the Commission indicate what those rules are? In particular, what is this proportion in the cases of Spain and Italy? What is the methodology used to assess structural deficits in the Member States? What changes have been made since ? What has been the impact of those changes in the assessment of the structural deficit in each Member State?
Which macro models does the Commission use in its forecasts for the EU, the eurozone and the individual Member States, if any? Are those models consistent with one another? Does the Commission support the separation of economic forecasting functions from policy recommendations? Does it support the idea of entrusting an independent body with the forecasting function? The Commission selects seconded national experts for their specific expertise.
They are subject to strict obligations on potential conflicts of interest and confidentiality. New staff recruited to reinforce geographical units due to the crisis is supervised by experienced staff. The assessment of the structural budget balance is based on a methodology commonly agreed at EU level with two main components: Exchanges with forecasters of other institutions and Member States are part of the forecast preparation process. Forecast numbers are not exchanged. Forecasts for the 38 countries and country groups covered by the EEF are produced by country desks with central guidance.
Contrary to policy documents, they are not subject to adoption by the political level. The EU has clearly expressed its position as regards the sailing of flotillas to Gaza, including in the framework of the Quartet. It also stated there is no need for unnecessary confrontations, and all parties should act responsibly in meeting the needs of the people of Gaza.
At the same time, Israel must abide by international law when dealing with any incoming flotilla. The EU continues to call on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, including the naval blockade. Spanish businesses are required to submit sales tax returns to the Ministerio de Hacienda the Spanish treasury on both a quarterly and an annual basis. The purpose of these quarterly and annual returns is to allow the ministry to cross-check the veracity of the inputs and outputs for each company, and to do this it requires a registered address in Europe for each business, as well as the fiscal identity of other businesses in their respective supply chains that collect sales tax.
I have been contacted by businesses concerned at the reticence of online retailer Amazon to come forward with this simple information. This places an unnecessary financial liability on small businesses in Spain, and presents them with bureaucratic obstacles. Is the Commission aware of this issue, and what steps will be taken to ensure that businesses supply the relevant information to other businesses? The Commission understands the question as relating to the obligation to submit VAT recapitulative statements on intra-Community transactions.
Against this background, the Commission confirms that it is aware of the issue as there are clear rules concerning the submission of recapitulative statements pursuant to Art. Member States may indeed require recapitulative statements to be submitted on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis under the conditions laid down in those provisions. The VAT Directive lays down that businesses concerned are — inter alia — required to include the VAT identification numbers of their clients to whom they supplied particular goods and services.
The details to be given in the recapitulative statement are indeed needed to enable the tax authorities of the Member States to exchange the relevant information in order to monitor and cross check certain intra-Community transactions and thus to ensure their duly taxation. Each Member State is responsible for the transposition of those EU provisions into national legislation and their correct application within its territory. It remains a national competence of Member States to choose the respective means to assert the correct application of their national rules, which may also be done by imposing fines.
This includes cases where businesses do not meet their legal obligation to supply the relevant information. The Commission has no competencies to impose a mandatory exchange of information between businesses in the case referred to by the Honourable Member. The UK Government has said that trees have been felled in an effort to prevent the spread of ash dieback disease, while ministers have also announced a ban on imports of ash trees.
Meanwhile, there have also been outbreaks in other Member States, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Belgium. It appears that the UK outbreak may have been caused by spores carried by the wind from mainland Europe, or by movements of contaminated soil and plant material. If not, does the Commission have any systems or processes in place for the sharing between Member States of information on such diseases, with a view to preventing a recurrence? Would the Commission consider introducing a Europe-wide alert system on the spread of diseases, in an effort to trigger faster action?
The results of these surveys are shared with the Commission and the competent authorities of the Member States. As soon as the Commission receives these notifications they are communicated to the competent authorities of the Member States through Commission electronic communication tool. I have recently been contacted by a constituent who has informed me that cobblestones present a real inconvenience for some members of society. Those requiring a wheelchair or travelling with a pushchair, for instance, find cobblestones an insurmountable obstacle which prevents them from visiting numerous tourist attractions or places of interest across Europe.
I have been informed that Trinity College Dublin has recently replaced some of its main walkways with metre-wide paths laid with large, smooth paving stones. Antique and hallowed cobblestones still surround the now smooth main pathways. This makes the college completely accessible to less abled members of the public whilst retaining its original look and features.
In the light of this, does the Commission have any plans to legislate or provide any guidance in this area, making historic sites of interest accessible to everyone? The Commission, to the extent of its competence, pays due attention to the specific needs of people with disabilities and their families in its legislative and policy initiatives. Furthermore, the Commission recognises and celebrates cities with over Beyond the competence of the European Union, the competence for the issue raised lies mainly with the Member States. We inform you that Ireland is among the three Member States which have not yet ratified the abovementioned UN Convention.
More prisoners are joining the strike with each passing day. At the current moment many prisoners are approaching the critical phase leading to the point of death. They are demanding — inter alia — official recognition of the use of the Kurdish language, the release of all political prisoners in Turkey, a permanent solution to the Kurdish question, the democratisation of Turkey and the full recognition of and respect for the fundamental rights of the Kurdish people. The Commission has been closely following the issue raised by the Honourable Member. As a general principle, the Commission reiterates the importance of adequately addressing the Kurdish issue.
The South-East needs peace, democracy and stability as well as social, economic and cultural development. This can only be achieved via consensus over concrete measures expanding the social, economic and cultural rights of the people living in the region. Finding a solution to the Kurdish issue and to all the problems in the South-East requires the widest possible contribution of all democratic forces, and an open and frank public discussion that can be conducted with full respect for fundamental freedoms. According to articles published in the printed and online press, oil companies are causing irreparable damage in the Niger Delta.
This question has been tabled before the Nigerian parliament, in a bid to put a stop to this environmental destruction. Is the Commission aware of this issue? The Commission is closely following the situation in the Niger Delta. The Niger Delta has been marred by not only pollution but also by civil unrest and general instability linked to oil exploitation and the resulting pollution in the region.
What action is the Commission taking to exert pressure on Turkey, a candidate country for accession, in order to contribute to the efforts to verify the fate of missing persons who disappeared in ? Does the Commission know when the Turkish occupiers will allow access to the Turkish archives, kept by the Turkish army since ? Can the Commission please explain why fishermen in Boston Lincolnshire, UK are now required to log their returns by way of an electronic log, continuously operated while at sea, whereas the previous system was a simple paper log to be presented when returning to harbour?
A system, chosen by the United Kingdom UK authorities allows both to record vessel location obligatory and to transmit electronically logbook data. It can be considered as cost effective in particular because it allows the fulfilling of two obligations simultaneously. The same obligations apply without discrimination to all other EU vessels of the same size. The verification of vessel length remains a matter for the UK's competent authority to undertake in the first instance. Dabei wird die Aufnahme von Wirbellosen nicht nur toleriert, sondern als artgerechte Haltung und Futteraufnahmeverhalten interpretiert.
Nach der Verordnung EG Nr. As such they are suitable as feed for livestock, especially fish, poultry and pigs. Insects and other invertebrates are also a natural food source for pigs and poultry. Only the use of hydrolysed protein as feed would be possible. However, in its original version, the BSE regulation only contained a ban on the use as feed of protein from mammals. The EU promotes free-range farming of pigs and poultry.
Here, the consumption of invertebrates is not merely tolerated, but seen as correct procedure in terms of both animal welfare and feed intake. If so, how does the Commission substantiate the feed ban in the light of all the relevant legislation and what is the validity of this e. If so, does the Commission justify the current exemption and breach of the law in force in the case of free-range farming of pigs and poultry?
This leads to increased competition for available feed. Natural substrata which represent a natural food source for insects food and kitchen waste, food past its sell-by date containing portions of animal protein may not be used. Because of their position in the ecosystem and the food chain, insects and other invertebrates should rather be classified as primary producers of protein and therefore able to utilise substrata which are not declared to be feed.
How will the Commission take into account the special position of insects food chain, primary producer of protein in the approval of substrata for insect production? What conditions must these substrata fulfil in order for their use to be permitted for the breeding of insects without being declared to be. These provisions also apply to free-range farming of pigs and poultry. The free-range farming of poultry or pigs is not a breach from these rules since the insects picked up by pigs or poultry kept out-doors is not seen as feeding.
The Commission is currently discussing the possible re-authorisation of non-ruminant processed animal proteins PAP to be used for the feeding of non-ruminants e. In case the aforementioned Regulation is revised in this way, feeding of PAP derived from insects to pigs and poultry may be authorised. Such a revision is not expected before How many of these individuals have been audited?
The exploitation of the so-called Falciani-Lagarde list is to be decided by the Greek authorities according to the Greek legislative framework ; it is not up to the Commission to decide on the precise modalities of this work. Has the European Commission really consented to the full or partial reversal of the freeze on repossessions, given that this will cause massive social problems for hundreds of thousands of families? Which part of the bank recapitalisation programme relates to any type of bad debt held by banks as a result of the strict budgetary and income policy imposed on Greece by the Troika?
We would like to inform the Honourable Member that the Commission does not comment on press reportings. Can the Commission explain the role of the Honorary Directors-General of the Commission and explain what status and authority they have to speak on behalf of the Commission? It is not the general policy of the Commission to be represented by retired officials. Given this, will the Commission answer the following:. Has it estimated the actual size of the fiscal multiplier for Greece for the years since the start of the fiscal consolidation programmes?
What is the size of the multiplier used in the base scenario for the new package of measures due to be tabled before the Greek Parliament? Was the IMF analysis of underestimated multipliers taken into account during recent consultations between the Troika and the Greek government? What has caused the slippages in the Greek programme? Between and forecasters had concluded that a one percent cut in public expenditure or a one percent increase in tax revenue meant a 0. A fiscal multiplier of 0. The problem is, however, that the data in question were applicable before the onset of the crisis, which has now created a climate of uncertainty in these countries, thereby affecting consumer purchasing patterns.
Can the Commission say to what extent it was in fact mistaken with regard to the fiscal multiplier, given that it is mentioned by name in an official report drawn up by an official EU partner? Will it discuss the repercussions of this miscalculation with the IMF and make any appropriate adjustments? The robustness of recent studies on the fiscal multiplier is limited by their short time horizon and other factors that may have impacted on growth compared with what was expected. They include the confidence effects that are materialising now and from which the vulnerable countries are benefiting.
In , the fiscal deficit had reached It led to the launch of the financial assistance programme in the spring of However, uncertainty and problems with implementation persisted in the first years of the programme. Since last summer, the Greek programme has been brought decisively back on track. The agreement in the Eurogroup last December has removed the damaging uncertainty that had been hanging over Greece for too long, and paved the way for a return of confidence.
In this context, the Euro area partners agreed to extend the timeline for fiscal adjustment by two years.
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It is now up to the Greek authorities to ensure through determined implementation of the reform programme that this confidence continues to grow. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the situation regarding human rights in Turkey is rapidly deteriorating. News broke recently of an executive member of the BDP party in Mardin province being shot dead. The situation has become so desperate that detainees have been on hunger strike for a while now in protest at how they are being treated. The EU has been working for some time to strengthen the human rights situation in Turkey.
What further action does the High Representative intend to take to tackle the deterioration in the human rights situation that has occurred in recent weeks? What is the High Representative doing to secure the immediate release of those imprisoned without good reason by the Turkish State? As a general principle, the Commission reiterates the importance of addressing the Kurdish issue.
This can only be achieved via consensus on concrete measures, expanding the social, economic and cultural rights of the people living in the region. Finding a solution to the Kurdish issue and to all the problems in the South-East requires the widest possible contribution of all democratic forces, and an open and frank public discussion that can be only conducted in the full respect of fundamental freedoms.
Moreover, the Commission has underlined at many occasions that terrorism-related provisions of Turkish legislation and the wide definition of terrorism under the Anti-Terror Law remain a cause for serious concern and are applied in a way which leads to restrictions on fundamental rights, including freedom of expression. This needs to be changed urgently, and the Commission is looking forward to the adoption of a fourth judicial reform package to address the core of the problem.
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The Commission will continue to raise this issue with the Turkish authorities at all appropriate levels. The Grand Chamber of the Court of Audit one of the three supreme courts in Greece responsible, inter alia , for trying pension cases adjudicated almost unanimously that the provisions being tabled to introduce further pension cuts are unconstitutional. In its decision, the Court stated that: Given this and its involvement in the Troika, will the Commission answer the following:. Have its representatives in the Troika advised it that the measures being tabled conflict with national legislation and, under the Greek Constitution, violate human rights?
How likely does it rate the application of these measures, which unfairly hurt certain social groups? Does it intend to request specific information from its representatives in the Troika on this very serious issue? If so, what instructions does it intend to give them in order to safeguard the national legal system? The Greek Government has the obligation to ensure compliance of national law with the Greek Constitution. Against the background of ongoing adjustment of accumulated macroeconomic imbalances, the adjustment programme for Greece includes measures to make the adjustment costs more equitable.
Pension cuts are progressive, pension reforms have been protecting the lowest income pensioners through the introduction of a universal minimum pension and the social programmes were reviewed with the aim to ensure better targeting and more effective protection of the vulnerable groups. Zur ersten Frage des Herrn Abgeordneten: Zur zweiten Frage des Herrn Abgeordneten: Those fundamental rights are often not recognised, and sometimes actively restricted, by national governments in some non-EU countries. During the protests of the Arab Spring, the ability to retrieve information securely and anonymously from the Internet and to disseminate it proved to be an essential means of organising protests and resistance against authoritarian regimes.
What projects is the Commission currently supporting that will enable: The Commission is also considering to fund a platform that would provide near real-time situational awareness on human rights violations connected to the ICT environment. While the Commission is thus supporting some activities it is not possible to provide a full list of projects that will enable 1 anonymity 2 the defeat of censorship mechanisms or 3 freedom of speech on the Internet, because some of the projects are confidential in nature as their dissemination could compromise the personal security of third parties. In response to the second question of the Honourable Member, the Commission does not support projects that would directly enable control of the Internet.
Effekte von Luftverkehrsabkommen auf kleinere Fluglinien. What consequences does the Commission expect the conclusion of new air transport agreements to have for small and medium-sized airlines? Does the Commission believe that smaller EU airlines can survive and be profitable in global competition with large state-supported airlines?
Does the Commission expect the conclusion of air transport agreements to lead to an increase or a reduction in the number of airline staff employed in the EU? The EU's aviation relations with most third countries are based on bilateral air services agreements between individual EU Member States and these countries. Under these agreements, EU carriers compete with airlines from the third countries. The regulation provides for the imposition of import restrictions on fishing vessels that operate illegally and on countries that fail to effectively monitor and control their fishing fleets.
In case of infringements detected, the port Member State shall cooperate with the Flag State and the coastal State to conduct investigations and take sanctions. In order to promote compliance with these provisions, the Commission has amongst others carried out missions in five West African coastal States in order to assess the implementation of the IUU Regulation and to improve monitoring in their waters. In parallel, the Commission took the initiative to conduct evaluation missions in several flag States whose fleets operate in West Africa in order to reinforce their monitoring and control measures.
Under the IUU Regulation, verifications on the legality of the catches can only be requested by Member States to the flag States concerned. The IUU Regulation does not foresee blacklisting process of companies, but allows for the listing of vessels involved in IUU activities. Moreover, the Member States have to take all appropriate measures to identify and sanction their nationals engaged in IUU fishing. The Commission is currently investigating other cases which depending on factual and legal assessment might lead to listing. In parallel, eight third countries have been notified of the possibly of being considered as non-cooperative in the fight against IUU fishing.
At this stage this decision does not trigger any commercial sanctions. Possibile violazione dei regolamenti CE n. Il decreto legislativo italiano n. Whether it is aware that this decree has been adopted, and whether it does not feel it should ask the Italian Ministry of Health for clarifications? The assessment of whether the Fund could be activated exceptionally under the criteria for so-called regional disasters is expected to be completed before the end of Restructuring of the Greek debt held by the European Central Bank has been a frequent topic of discussion recently, both among those who believe that it is urgently needed and those who question the feasibility of such a move.
Financing needs will be alleviated by an extension in EFSF loan maturities and an interest deferral. According to figures published by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in about immigrants crossed the Greek-Turkish border every day. The situation is expected to deteriorate further. According to UN estimates, because of the civil war in Syria, approximately people are expected to leave the country by the end of the year. So far about Syrians have left their homes, mostly heading for the neighbouring countries Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, whence many try to cross the Greek borders so as to reach European territory.
The Commission is following the situation of refugees from Syria. In order to prepare for the possibility of a rising influx, a constant monitoring exercise was activated by the Commission, involving relevant EU Agencies EASO, Frontex, Europol and stakeholders. Moreover, EASO is currently in stand-by mode to be ready to provide assistance to Member States facing particular pressure, if needed. The Commission stands ready to provide or coordinate assistance to those Member States that could find themselves under pressure.
Such measures are activated at the request of the Member States concerned. The Commission is fully aware of the unsatisfactory situation for asylum-seekers in Greece. Greece is engaged in a full-scale reform of its migration and asylum system on the basis of a national Action Plan. The Commission, JHA Agencies and other partners such as international organisations are supporting the reform through financial assistance and by providing expertise on the ground.
The most recent report of the European Environment Agency points out that, despite a reduction in atmospheric pollution in Europe over the last decade, maximum levels for certain pollutants, such as microparticles and ozone, are still being exceeded in many cities for a significant number of days each year, which has serious implications for public health and the ecosystems on which we depend.
One-third of Europeans are currently being exposed to high concentrations of microparticles, the most dangerous of atmospheric pollutants. Can the Commission indicate what action is being taken in response to atmospheric pollution, which continues to be a major problem in Europe? To what extent does it anticipate that atmospheric pollution levels can be reduced in the future? The European Environment Agency has recently published a report which indicates that the high concentration of solid particles in the air is a serious problem in numerous EU regions.
At the same time, solid particles represent one of the most serious risks with regard to air pollution because they severely damage the respiratory system and may cause premature death. If so, what concrete measures is the Committee planning to adopt in order to improve the situation in this area?
The Commission closely monitors the Member States' attainment of the environmental objectives set in EU air quality legislation, including for particulate matter PM. This work takes full account of the latest report from the European Environment Agency. The Commission has already taken legal action against Member States for failure to comply with the PM limit values established in legislation. In order to encourage better implementation, the Commission also supports Member States, for example by developing guidelines for implementation, supporting cooperation projects between European cities and regions, and developing databases with examples of air quality measures.
The review is to be finalised in A presentation took place very recently of the proposals put forward by the Finnish central banker, Erkki Liikanen, to separate primary banking operations from investment activities. The aim of these proposals is to ensure that taxpayers are not required to bear the cost of bailing out banks, especially where the latter are threatened with collapse due to risky investments. The banks, for their part, have responded, claiming that these proposals are an attempt to break them up.
The Commission is currently reflecting on the results of the consultation and the appropriate way forward. Any possible legislative proposal would be accompanied by an impact assessment, including assessing the effects on European banks and on competitiveness of the European financial sector. However, under Single Market arrangements and provisions for the free movement of capital, which are fundamental EU principles, Ford is now transferring its Belgian production line to Germany and Spain where manpower is cheaper, thereby allowing this multinational monopoly to boost its profit margins still further.
This tax can raise billions of euros of much-needed revenue for member states in these difficult times. This is about fairness: Would the Commission also agree that the projected fall in GDP would in any case result in a net decrease in overall tax revenue for the Member States, even after FTT income is taken into account?
Although the cheques for an FTT would be written by institutions, the costs of an FTT would be borne entirely by people, whether by shareholders through lower returns, by employees through lower remuneration or by customers through higher charges, the only issue being in what proportions.
The customers referred to in this instance are in large measure pensioners in the Member States. Finally, would the Commission agree that as the financial transaction tax is intended to be an. The figure the Honourable Member refers to is a cumulative effect over several decades, and it had been generated by a model that assumed that all investment activities in an economy, be it the buying of a house by a private household or the purchase of an oven by a small bakery shop is financed with the help of issuing shares and bonds.
The financing of such investment with the help of bank loans or mortgage loans was not foreseen in that model. Using a model version with more realistic assumptions. The Commission in particular considers that the tax burden would largely remain with the persons liable to pay the tax, i. In other terms, the use of FTT as own resource will not increase the overall burden on European taxpayers attributable to that budget. As such, over large parts of its course the Isel still creates a dynamic river environment with sand and gravel banks whose position shifts regularly.
The pioneer habitats which are repeatedly formed in this way are in turn the prerequisite for the presence of certain species and ecosystems which have adjusted to and indeed require this constant process of change in order to survive. The real rarity, however, is the German tamarisk Myricaria germanica , the only member of its genus to grow in central Europe. The largest Alpine stands of this species, which are of international importance for research and nature conservation, can be found in East Tyrol, Austria, along the banks of the Isel, the last free-running, ecologically viable glacier-fed river in the entire Alps.
For that reason, the Isel is an irreplaceable example of a particular type of river in Europe. When is a decision likely to be taken on the complaints submitted in connection with this issue? The river Isel and its tributaries above the city of Lienz are part of this assessment. The Commission plans to contact the Austrian authorities within the coming weeks, as soon as all the available information relating to the complaints and the assessment has been processed.
The first step is for the country to meet the key criteria for accession. These the Copenhagen criteria were defined by the European Council in Copenhagen in One of the criteria is that a country wishing to join must have stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. A Croatian organisation, Juris Protecta, has recently published a report on the situation of the judiciary and human rights in Croatia, accusing Croatian governments of sponsoring organised crime and mass human rights violations since Croatia become a state.
An efficient, independent and high-quality judiciary is one of the prerequisites for the successful development of the market economy and a free society. However, this report draws attention to the existence in Croatia of an inefficient and poor-quality legal system, characterised by: The report also points out the lack of freedom of the media as one of the most significant problems present in Croatian society.
Croatia has carried out a number of reforms to strengthen the independence, accountability, and professionalism of the judiciary. As regards the fight against organised crime and corruption, Croatia has developed a track record of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions, including on high-level cases. At the same time some issues remain for which increased efforts are required. Freedom of expression, including freedom and pluralism of the media is provided for in Croatian law and is generally respected.
But continued efforts are needed to ensure the independence of the public service broadcaster and to increase its transparency. The European Commission continues to monitor these issues very closely and consistently raises these matters with the Croatian authorities. It also supports reform efforts, including through the provision of EU financial and technical assistance.