ICFTU ONLINE...
220/981016/LD
The Week Ahead October 19-25 1998Brussels, October 16, 1998 (ICFTU OnLine): The following is a selection of next week's events. This selection has been prepared for the information of subscribers to the ICFTU's OnLine service, and does not necessarily reflect the position of the ICFTU.
Monday October 19: The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is to hold its annual Mediterranean seminar in Valletta, Malta. This year’s theme is "The Human Dimension of Security, Promoting Democracy and the Rule of Law".
Monday October 19: European Health and Safety Week begins.
Tuesday October 20: Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis is to visit high-level officials at the European Commission in Brussels. Top of his agenda will be the possibility of Latvian accession to the Union.
Tuesday October 20: A "People to People" conference is to take place in Vienna, as part of the New Transatlantic Agenda process. The NTO was launched in December 1995 to promote cooperation between the USA and the EU on peace, democracy, drugs enforcement, world trade and tariffs.
Tuesday October 20: The European Union is to hold talks on social policy and employment with representatiaves of the six countries preparing to join: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia and Cyprus.
Wednesday October 21: The ICFTU’s regional organisation for the Americas, ORIT, is to hold the annual meeting of its Executive Council in Caracas.
Wednesday October 21: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) committee on environment and natural resources is to meet in Bangkok. The main items of discussion will be forest fires and the effects of the El Niņo weather system.
Thurday October 22: The ICFTU Women’s Committee meets on Brussles on October 22 and 23, when it will discuss preparations for the ICFTU’s World Women’s Conference in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
Thursday October 22: The Caribbean Congress of Labour will hold its 13th Congress in Belize. The Congress theme will be "Towards Labour 2000 - The Human Resource Development Challenge". The proceedings can be followed on the Internet thanks to the site created for the purpose with the help of the Commonwealth Trade Union Council (CTUC). http://www.ctuc-caribbean.org/cclnfo.html
Thursday October 22: The Prime Ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary are to meet in Budapest to discuss the Central European Free Trade Agreement.
Thursday October 22: The World Bank is organising an African Business Forum at its headquarters in Washington, aimed at raising the profile of the continent in a bid to attract investors.
Saturday October 24: Presidential elections are scheduled to take place in Lebanon. The President is chosen by the National Assembly for a six-year term. The last elections took place in 1989 and brought Elias Hraoui to power. His mandate was prolonged by three years in 1995.
Sunday October 25: Regional elections are due to take place in the Basque country. Last June the Socialist Party decided to leave the coalition which has been in power for 12 years after its partner the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) decided to oppose a moreasure that would have required members of the regional legislature to recognise the legitimacy of the Spanish constitution. The PNV sided in this case with the Herri Batasuna movement, the political branch of the Basque separatist terrorist group ETA. The ETA declared an indenfinite ceasefire on September 16, although the announcement was met with scepticism by the ruling Popular Party in Madrid.
Sources: These forecasts have been prepared in cooperation with Future Events News Service in London (FENS), 8-10 Wiseton Rd, London SW17 7EE. Tel.:++44 181 672 31 91. Http://www.hubcom.com/fens
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
Boulevard Emile Jacqmain 155, B - 1210 Brussels, Belgium. For more information
please contact: Luc Demaret on: 00 322 224 0212 - press@icftu.org