Translation of "Chance de marquer " (French → English) :

49. Welcomes the fact that, with the elections in the Palestinian Autonomous Authority in January 2005, a President has been elected in exemplary fashion and that this has given a signal to the whole Arab world; takes the view that through the reforms in the Palestinian Autonomous Authority and the determination to combat terrorism new opportunities have arisen for the peace process and implementation of the road map; welcomes Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza strip and the announcement of the continuation of this process in certain parts of the West Bank; sees an opportunity for substantial progress in the peace process to come about ...[+++]; considers that both parties should strengthen dialogue in view of their respective forthcoming elections;

the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation by all countries, and their participation in an effective, cost-efficient and appropriate international response, in accordance with their common, but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities; the EU therefore looks forward to engaging with all Parties to the Convention in an open dialogue on what further action is required as a next step to move towards the ultimate objective of the Convention; the relevant Council formations should reinvigorate their efforts to integrate climate change objectives into their policy areas; recent scientific research and work under the IPCC indicate that it is unlikely that stabilisation of concentrations abov ...[+++]e 550 ppmv CO equivalent would be consistent with meeting the 2°C objective and that in order to have a reasonable chance to limit global warming to no more than 2°C, stabilisation of concentrations well below 550 ppmv CO equivalent may be needed; recent scientific research and work under the IPCC indicate that keeping this long-term temperature objective within reach will require global greenhouse gas emissions to peak within 2 decades, followed by substantial reductions in the order of at least 15% and perhaps by as much as 50% by 2050 compared to 1990 levels; in view of the global emission reductions required, global joint efforts are needed in the coming decades, in line with the common, but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, including significantly enhanced aggregated reduction efforts by all economically more advanced countries.

Welcoming the events organised in the Commission to mark International Women's Day, Vice-President for Administrative Reform Neil Kinnock said: "International Women's Day is a time to focus on the needs, opportunities, accomplishments and potential of women the majority of people in the World and in our continent and to renew commitment to the advance in equity that still needs to be achieved.

The Group of Commissioners on Equal Opportunities, chaired by the Commission President, was set up in 1995 to signal high-level commitment and to give political impetus to the Commission’s strategy and actions in the field of equal opportunities and gender mainstreaming Its main tasks are to guarantee the coherence of Commission action in the field of equal opportunities and to ensure that the gender dimension is taken into account in all relevant Community policies and actions.

He will also call upon the Member States to exploit the potential of the Structural Funds (over 170 billion ECU 1994-99) "to make a genuine difference in the ability of the Union to promote equality of opportunity".

So, Commissioner Sutherland concluded, we are at a turning point in Europe. 1988 could be a moment of historic opportunity.