Finland takes the helm of the EU presidency
Finland began its presidency of the European Union on July 1. The presidency program focuses on four main areas: the future of the EU, competitiveness, international relations and internal policy, as well as justice issues.
As Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said at a press conference on the eve of Finland taking over the EU presidency, the future of the EU involves resolving questions about the fate of the community's constitution and its enlargement. To date, 15 of the 25 EU member states have ratified the constitution. After the negative results of referendums in France and the Netherlands more than a year ago, the process was temporarily 'frozen' in Finland, as in other EU member states that had not yet ratified the constitution. According to Vanhanen, Finland intends to do everything possible to advance this issue during its presidency.
Finland has proclaimed transparency as one of the main principles of its EU presidency. During the Finnish presidency, citizens will be able to follow the progress of European Council meetings via the Internet. Other principles include efficiency and improving the quality of work in the legislative sphere.
As for the EU enlargement process, consultations on this issue are planned for December. During Finland's presidency, the main stages and timelines for Bulgaria and Romania's accession to the EU are to be determined. In addition, negotiations with Turkey and Croatia will continue, as will consideration of the overall situation in the Balkans. According to the head of the Finnish government, major difficulties may arise with Turkey, primarily because of its relations with Cyprus and its failure to fulfill the conditions set for it. At the same time, he stressed that the EU should not set any unconditional boundaries for membership and should assess candidate states on their merits.
World Forum of Ukrainians to be held in Kyiv in August
The Fourth World Forum of Ukrainians will take place in Kyiv on August 18-20. This was announced by the press service of Acting Vice Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kyrylenko, referring to a meeting of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the forum.
On June 27, the Ukrainian part of the organizing committee for the preparation and holding of the forum approved the concept and action plan for preparing the forum. According to updated data, 1,730 people will take part in the forum. 'These will be representatives of all countries where Ukrainians live. Associations of Ukrainians from every country of the post-Soviet space will be represented,' Kyrylenko said.
According to him, a special feature of the current forum will be increased attention to the problems of the eastern diaspora, in particular Ukrainians in the Russian Federation, as well as to modern labor migrants. Let us recall that the Third World Forum of Ukrainians took place in Kyiv on August 18-21, 2001.
Republic of Montenegro becomes 192nd member of the UN
In recent days, the Republic of Montenegro became the 192nd member of the United Nations. The corresponding decision was made by the UN General Assembly, which by consensus without a vote supported the Montenegrin application for admission to the community of nations, previously approved by the Security Council.
In it, the president of the republic, Filip Vujanović, informed the organization's Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the results of the referendum held on May 21, 2006, during which the majority of Montenegro's residents voted to leave the state union with Serbia, and made an official request for UN membership.
'We welcome the peaceful and democratic restoration by Montenegro of its state independence,' the General Assembly resolution says. After its adoption, the Montenegrin delegation led by Vujanović took the seats allocated to it in the General Assembly hall.
The main criteria for admission to the United Nations are the applicant state's peacefulness, readiness and ability to fulfill the obligations set out in the UN Charter. According to the established procedure, the Security Council makes a recommendation to the General Assembly, which makes the final decision on the matter by a majority of at least two-thirds of the votes.
The last time new members were admitted to the UN was in 2002, when Switzerland and East Timor joined.
UAE preparing to issue visas online
The UAE plans to organize the issuance of visas to the country via the Internet. A round-the-clock service is now being created at the Ministry of Interior, which will issue electronic visas in the future. An agreement has already been signed with a company that will provide the technical side of the project, reports Russky Dom. 'The agreement on issuing visas via the Internet is aimed at simplifying procedures,' said Interior Minister Sheikh Saif Al Nahyan.
Access to the system will be through the Interior Ministry website. Clients will be able to obtain all types of visas and pay with credit cards. The cost of obtaining virtual visas will be lower than paper ones. The system will be introduced for UAE residents in three months, and for foreign clients in nine. In the future, Emirati embassies abroad will also be connected to the system.
Currently, a visa to the UAE is issued at border checkpoints on the spot, but documents for processing it (a foreign passport valid for at least three months after the end of the trip, biographical data, a tour voucher or visa request from a 'sponsor', an insurance policy, and a paid consular fee) must be submitted to the consular department of the embassy in advance. You receive confirmation of the visa from the receiving party along with all documents, which are presented at the border. For a tourist trip, a single-entry visa is issued for 30 days. There is also a transit visa valid for 14 days.
The five-dollar bill may change its design
The U.S. government has announced plans to change the design of the five-dollar bill. The work is being carried out to improve the design and ensure protection of the national currency from counterfeiting.
The first banknote of the new series was the twenty-dollar bill, introduced into circulation in 2003. It was followed by new-design $50 and $10 bills, which have been in circulation since 2004 and 2006, respectively. After the new five-dollar bill, with its introduction scheduled for the first half of 2008, a new-design hundred-dollar bill will be presented.
The new five-dollar bill will contain enhanced security features that will allow the bill's authenticity to be easily verified.
Experts at the U.S. Treasury have identified a method in which counterfeiters remove printing ink from five-dollar bills and then print counterfeit hundred-dollar bills on this paper. A five-dollar bill is used for making the counterfeit due to the similarity in the placement of security features on the $5 and $100 bills. The issuance of the new-design bill will help eliminate the occurrence of such problems in the future.
The number of counterfeit U.S. notes worldwide continues to be less than 1% of the number of genuine U.S. banknotes in circulation. The U.S. government plans to change the design of American currency every seven years to stay ahead of counterfeiting technologies.