Skepticism in Negotiations on European Budget
All 27 member countries of the European Union (EU) will hold a summit this week to approve their common budget for 2014-2020, whose negotiations have been described as very difficult by some members of the bloc.
Both French President Francois Hollande and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel assured that the meeting, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, would result in intense debates, so it is very hard to predict its outcome.
According to Hollande, the conditions to reach an agreement have not been set yet, due to different national interest from several members.
For France, it is essential to keep the sums allocated to subsidize small- and medium-size farmers in the EU, because that will allow saving the agricultural sector from the crisis, as the industry is slowing down.
Germany and the United Kingdom, among others, insist on cutting those expenditures to reduce the so-called Cohesion and Development Fund, whose function is to assist the least developed countries to overcome inequalities.
In November 2012, the EU failed in its first attempt to approve the community budget, as several countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, rejected the budgetary cuts proposed by the European Council. This week’s summit will face a new obstacle, after British Prime Minister David Cameron decided to renegotiate the EU treaties and hold a referendum on the country’s permanence in the group.
Spain: Unemployment Hits New Record in January
The number of unemployed people in Spain increased by 132,055 in January, to 4,980,778, the Ministry of Employment and Social Security reported on Monday.
That way, the number of unemployed workers rose 2.72 percent last month, compared to December 2012.
On a yearly basis, since January 2012, the number of unemployed workers increased by 380,949, accounting for 8.28 percent, according to the ministry.
The rise in unemployment in the first month of the year contrasts to a decrease in December and it is the fourth highest rate in that month since that parameter was first recorded in 1996.
In December 2012, the unemployment rate decreased by 59,094 people, accounting for a 1.20-percent drop compared to November, breaking the four-month increasing trend.
Unemployment in Spain affects 2,472,830 men and 2,507,948 women.
Over the past 12 months, men’s unemployment increased by 184,437 (8.06 percent) and women’s unemployment rose by 196,512 (8.5 percent).
In 2012, Spain reported 5,965,400 unemployed workers, accounting for 26.02 percent of the working population, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported on January 24.
India Starts 21st Book Fair
The event will feature famous writers and literary luminaries, local and foreign publishers, copyright agents, authors and translators, to negotiate contracts and contribute to the development of this mainstay of human culture.More than 1,100 exhibitors from 23 countries, with France at the forefront as a guest, are meeting today for the weeklong New Delhi World Book Fair in India, one of the largest in Asia.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend, with access to around 60 new works by national writers and authors, and around a hundred and fifty collateral activities.
As a guest of honor, France is bringing a large contingent of writers, editors and scholars and will present about 2,000 titles in French, but also some in Hindi.
There will also be cultural activities such as music, film and cuisine, including a graphic exhibition on France’s presence in India.
This year’s edition will be dedicated to indigenous and tribal literature in order to promote the cultural heritage of this often overlooked segment of the Indian population. It is also dedicated to the philosopher, spiritual and ideological leader of national independence, Swamni Vivekananda, on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
India, the third largest publisher of books in English after the United States and the United Kingdom, publishes more than 100,000 titles in different languages every year.