16.12.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 311/1

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CUBA — COUNCIL CONCLUSIONS ON THE 14TH EVALUATION OF THE COMMON POSITION

(2004/C 311/01)

The Council took note of the 14th evaluation of the EU Common Position on Cuba. The Council reiterated that the objectives of the European Union in its relations with Cuba remained the encouragement of a process of peaceful transition to pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as a sustainable economic recovery and an improvement in the living standards of the Cuban people.

The Council noted the disappointing lack of progress by the Cuban government towards the realisation of the aims of the Common Position since the previous evaluation in July 2003.

In particular, the Council expressed its serious concern at the ongoing large-scale violation of human rights in Cuba. It strongly condemned the trial and sentencing in April and May 2004 of a group of 16 human rights activists and journalists, and the continuing detention of a large numbers of prisoners of conscience, including those arrested during the crackdown by the Cuban authorities in March and April 2003. The Council called on Cuba to release immediately all those detained for political reasons.

The Council expressed regret at the imposition of new restrictions on private enterprise since the last evaluation, with negative consequences for many Cuban people. It repeated its view that the opening of the Cuban economy would benefit all its people, while expressing its rejection of all unilateral measures against Cuba which are contrary to commonly accepted rules of international trade. It has never been European Union policy to try to bring about change by coercive measures with the effect of increasing the economic hardship of the Cuban people.

The Council reaffirmed the validity of the Common Position of 1996 and reiterated that constructive engagement remained the basis of the European Union's policy towards Cuba. The Council noted that although all the aims of the Common Position had not been realised, isolation of Cuba would not contribute to this effort. The Council emphasised the importance which the Union attached to dialogue in order to produce tangible results in the political, economic and civil rights and cooperation spheres. The European Union remained open to resume such dialogue.

The Council strongly condemned the unacceptable attitude of the Cuban Government towards EU delegations in Havana and called on Cuba to respect internationally acknowledged principles and practices. The Council also expressed regret at Cuba's refusal of EU cooperation and reiterated its continued preparedness to provide EU cooperation to Cuba, when conditions permit, in areas that promote the transition to pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as in areas that promote sustainable economic growth and an improvement in the living standards of the Cuban population. Since the mid 1990s the EU has become a major partner of Cuba in promoting trade, investment and tourism, in cooperation and in cultural and academic exchanges.

As a result of the lack of progress towards an improvement in the human rights situation, the Council reaffirmed that the measures adopted on 5 June 2003 would be maintained, including the invitation of members of the peaceful opposition and other members of civil society, alongside government representatives, to their national day celebrations, as elsewhere in the world. In the context of its policy of constructive engagement, the EU and its Member States would also continue to provide support for cultural events in Cuba and would urge the Cuban authorities to avoid obstructing this process.

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16.12.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 311/3

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Council Decision appointing the members of the Scientific and Technical Committee

(2004/C 311/02)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 134 thereof,

Having regard to the opinion of the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)(2)

By its Decision of 22 December 2003 (1), the Council appointed the members of the Scientific and Technical Committee for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2008. However, by virtue of Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession (2), their terms of office expired on 1 May 2004 and new members should be appointed.In order to allow the Scientific and Technical Committee to make full use of the wide range of expertise required in fulfilling its tasks, the Committee may, subject to its internal rules, call on alternates to the members to participate in its meetings,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The following are hereby appointed members of the Scientific and Technical Committee for the period 1 May 2004 to 30 April 2009:

Bertrand BARRE

Janis BERZINS

Sten BJURSTRÖM

Michel BOURGUIGNON

Udo BROCKMEIER

Leonidas CAMARINOPOULOS

Michel CHATELIER

Pavel CHRÁSKA

Maurizio CUMO

Allan DUNCAN

Manfred HEINDLER

Sue ION

Michael KAUFMANN

Jørgen KJEMS

Zdeněk KŘÍŽ

Peter LIŠKA

Carlo LOMBARDI

José Maria MARTÍNEZ-VAL PEÑALOSA

Júlio Martins MONTALVÃO E SILVA

Jerzy Wiktor NIEWODNICZAŃSKI

Tom O'FLAHERTY

Derek POOLEY

Enn REALO

Francesco ROMANELLI

Juan Antonio RUBIO RODRIGUEZ

Rainer SALOMAA

Jean-Paul SAMAIN

Edouard SINNER

Borut SMODIŠ

Michael SAILER

Zoltán SZATMÁRY

Eugenijus USPURAS

Theofiel VAN RENTERGEM

Carlos VARANDAS

Adrianus H. M.VERKOOIJEN

Andreas M.VERSTEEGH

Sándor ZOLETNIK

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(1)  OJ C 8, 13.1.2004, p. 1.

(2)  OJ L 236, 23.9.2003, p. 33.

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16.12.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 311/4

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Euro exchange rates (1)

15 December 2004

(2004/C 311/03)

1 euro=

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,3383
JPY	Japanese yen	139,51
DKK	Danish krone	7,4340
GBP	Pound sterling	0,69115
SEK	Swedish krona	8,9963
CHF	Swiss franc	1,5282
ISK	Iceland króna	84,74
NOK	Norwegian krone	8,2260
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9559
CYP	Cyprus pound	0,5788
CZK	Czech koruna	30,608
EEK	Estonian kroon	15,6466
HUF	Hungarian forint	245,75
LTL	Lithuanian litas	3,4528
LVL	Latvian lats	0,6891
MTL	Maltese lira	0,4320
PLN	Polish zloty	4,1576
ROL	Romanian leu	39 197
SIT	Slovenian tolar	239,83
SKK	Slovak koruna	38,755
TRL	Turkish lira	1 898 100
AUD	Australian dollar	1,7561
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,6479
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	10,4051
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,8705
SGD	Singapore dollar	2,1954
KRW	South Korean won	1 420,07
ZAR	South African rand	7,6875

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(1)  

Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

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16.12.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 311/5

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AMENDING BUDGET 2004/No 1

(2004/C 311/04)

Pursuant to Article 26(2) of the Financial Regulation of the European Training Foundation (ETF) adopted by the Management Board on 17 June 2003, the budget and amending budgets, as finally adopted, shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union within two months of their adoption

The first amending budget of the ETF for 2004 was adopted by the Management Board on 9 November 2004 (ETF-GB-029-01)

Amending Budget 2004/No 1

Expenditure

	Title	Budget 2003 after transfers	Budget 2004	Amending budget 2004/No1	Revised budget 2004/No1
TITLE 1	EXPENDITURE RELATING TO PERSONS WORKING WITH THE FOUNDATION	11 239 000	11 643 973	(150 000)	11 493 973
	TOTAL TITLE 1
TITLE 2	BUILDING, EQUIPEMENT AND MISCELLANEOUS OPERATING EXPENDITURE	1 421 000	1 390 027	80 000	1 470 027
	TOTAL TITLE 2
TITLE 3	EXPENSES RELATING TO PERFORMANCE OF SPECIFIC MISSIONS
Chapter 30	Operational expenses (Documentation, publications, translation, meetings, etc.)	1 136 425	948 000	93 800	1 072 800
	Total chapter
Chapter 31	Priority actions: work programme activities (Support to the Commission, information provision and analysis through the National observatory network, development activities)	3 403 575	3 618 000	(23 800)	3 563 200
	Total chapter
TITLE 3	TOTAL TITLE 3	4 540 000	4 566 000	—	4 636 000
TITLE 9	RESERVE	—	—	—	—
	GRAND TOTAL	17 200 000	17 600 000	—	17 600 000
TITLE 4	ERAMARKED EXPENDITURE	500 000		800 000	800 000
	TOTAL TITLE 4	500 000		800 000	800 000

For complete details about 2004 budget and establishment plan please visit ETF website at the following address: www.etf.eu.int (Documentation Centre — Institutional reports)

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