Sorry, the publication can not be displayed.

newsanalysisaw of landTment Magazine MEP editor editorial on the treatment of . Here, Thailand’s ambassador and Mark Farmaner from the espond to her article“Thailand’s approach to the Rohingya refugee issue is symptomatic of a deeper problem with how Thailand deals with refugees and migrants from Burma”he steps that Thailand is taking to criminalise human-trafficking are most welcome. It is a sign that the government of Thailand is taking the issue seriously, and sends a signal to those involved that their activities will not be tolerated. However, legislation is only part of the solution, implementation is also very important. Unfortunately, local corruption also sends another signal to the traffickers – one that they can still get away with what they are doing. Of course the exploitation taking place is not condoned by the Thai government, just as the actions of the Malaysian officials are not condoned by theirs. I am sure that ambassador Pisan Manawapat would agree that much more still needs to be done to address this problem. It is noticeable that the ambassador does not address other issues raised in Catherine Stihler’s orginal article, namely the treatment of the Rohingya refugees, and other refugees from Burma. Thailand and other Asian countries have now agreed to discuss the problem of Rohingya boat people in the Bali process meeting. But is this the right forum for such discussions? The Bali process only addresses issues of people smuggling and trafficking. By shunting the Rohingya issue into the Bali process, Thailand and other Asian countries are once again avoiding discussing a political problem caused by the Burmese dictatorship. The Rohingya flee because of the appalling human rights abuses and poverty that they are subject to at the hands of the dictatorship. The problem will not be solved by saying it is purely one of illegal trafficking of people. Thailand must challenge the Burmese dictatorship’s treatment of the Rohingya, not look the other way. Thailand’s approach to the Rohingya refugee issue is symptomatic of a deeper problem with how Thailand deals with refugees and migrants from Burma. The Burmese dictatorship is responsible for forcing millions of refugees and migrants to Thailand and other neighbouring countries. More than 150,000 refugees live in camps on the Thai-Burma border, and perhaps as many as four million migrants live illegally in Thailand alone. In total more than ten percent of the entire population of Burma has been forced to leave the country because of poverty and human rights abuses. Until Thailand and other Asian countries face up to the root cause of the problem – the dictatorship – there will be no solution, no end to this problem. Until there is change, Thailand should also offer sanctuary and support to refugees, not violence and deportation. Thailand is, after all, responsible for funding and protecting the generals that commit the abuses that force these people to leave their homes in the first place. Thailand should sign the 1951 refugee convention, and allow those in the so-called temporary refugee camps, which have been there for quarter of a century, to access local services, such as health and education. Actions like this would earn Thailand international praise and respect. Burma’s generals hide behind the protective shield of its Asian neighbours, yet those same countries which protect them are suffering from the consequences of their behaviour. As Burma’s immediate neighbour and biggest trading partner, Thailand should take the lead in pushing for reform. Only then will it be possible to start to tackle the problem of refugees and migrants from Burma.Mark Farmaner is director of Burma Campaign UK27 April 2009 PARLIAMENT MAGAZINE 7 Issue 287 27 April 2009Small business, big ideas Günter Verheugen on why he’s putting entrepreneurship in the spotlight during European SME Week“Our aim is that the SME Week events will provide european businesses with the information they need to carry out their ideas”SME WEEK Luc Van den Brande, M UPTURNHel p rem ing pe o a pro in com ple c v o effi iding t petitiv mpan cien ies e by rain Visi t ww t IT so ing l w.o nm utions ywa . y eu.c omDOWNTURN Issue 287 27 April 2009newsanalysis 6 The law of the land Thailand’s ambassador to the EU Pisan Manawapat and Mark Farmaner respond to Catherine Stihler’s recent article39 Media marketEntrepreneurs are vital to the EU’s economic future and the media has an important role to play in raising awareness catherinestihlerEditorial team Managing editor Brian Johnson Martin Banks Martha Moss Francesca Ross Louise Tait International Press Centre Boulevard Charlemagne 1 Box 2 Brussels 1041 Tel +32 (0)2 285 0828 newsdesk@theparliament. www.theparliament.com Editorial board Editor Catherine Stihler MEP Edi Thailand-BurmaPisan Manawapat is Thailands ambassador to the EUspotted your article in the Parliament Magazine’s editorial page in February and understand your concern on the claim made by reports from the MalayThai border about the exploitation of forced labour from Myanmar in fishery and seafood i newsanalysisaw of landTment Magazine MEP editor editorial on the treatment of . Here, Thailand’s ambassador and Mark Farmaner from the espond to her article“Thailand’s approach to the Rohingya refugee issue is symptomatic of a deeper problem with how Thailand deals with refugees and migrants from Bu Malaria WeekScaling up to success Stephen O’Brien argues that the priority in the battle against malaria is to scale up prevention and treatment to cover all affected communitiesOStephen O’Brien is a British MP and UK Conservative health spokesmann world malaria day on 25 April, the global community Nunavut, Canada’s newest territory, has a population of 30,000 people living in 25 small communities. Inuit make up 85% of the population and maintain a lifestyle that is connected to the land and environment to preserve their cultural identity today. For thousands of years, ringed seals have been v newsanalysisClass of 2009 Some of parliament’s best-known deputies are standing down in June’s European elections, as Martin Banks reports hat do Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Emma Nicholson and Karl von Wogau have in common? They are among the ranks of prominent MEPs who will bid a fond farewell to parliam TuberculosisThe drugs don’t workAMEPs are calling for the EU to do more to tackle TB, as Rory Watson reports TB (XDR-TB). This would involve increasing existing EU spending on TB research from the current €20m to €100m. Of the nine million cases of TB recorded worldwide in 2007, over 500,000 involve newsanalysis“More attention needs to be paid to ensure early diagnosis and treatment, as well as equity of access to treatment for vulnerable populations” Zsuzsanna JakabCarl Schylter (Greens) – have until 7 May, when parliament will be dissolved before the European elections, to persuade their coll Edite Estrela | ProfileMaternal instincts Martha Moss speaks to Edite Estrela about gender equality, the Lisbon treaty and voter apathydite Estrela had only four weeks maternity leave when her two children were born in Portugal in the 1970s. She found it hard to juggle a career in local politics wit newsanalysisIts not easy to reconcile professional life, family life and private life. Now I think its easier because there is better child care and mentalities have changed more protection in the workplace, if they are protected from dismissal and if they have some daily breaks for breastfeeding, t Election Watch | Jerzy BuzekQuo Vadis parliament? The European parliament is set to play a crucial role over the coming years, writes Jerzy BuzekL“The new Europe and a dynamic parliament go hand in hand” Jerzy Buzek EPP-ED MEP is a member of parliament’s industry, research and energy committee and a Strategic objective: to reinforce the capacities of the SCPZ as a leading research centre and a focal point for the surveillance of parasitic zoonotic infections at both the national and Western Balkan level. Activities include: from two University of Belgrade research institutions (Institute for Me TELECOMSDigital development Data protection is the best form of consumer protection, argues Alexander Alvaro ince the first time telecoms regulations were put in place by the EU in 2002 much has changed. There have been significant developments in the progress of information society since then, so t newsanalysisDeal or no deal? The telecoms package is a good one, but there is room for improvement, says Jérémie ZimmermannFor many reasons, we believe that the telecoms package might tend to be harmful for the neutrality of the network. For example, the entertainment industries were trying to intro etis.indd 123/02/2009 13:07:37 coverstorySmall business, big ideas Günter Verheugen explains why he wants to put entrepreneurship in the spotlight during European SME Week Parliament Magazine: What can SMEs and entrepreneurs expect from SME Week? Günter Verheugen: The initiative has mobilised a broad range of actors. Hundreds of | Günter VerheugenGet involved in SME Week Interested in organising an event? • The role of the organisers is to launch events and activities to promote entrepreneurship – to inspire budding and boost existing entrepreneurs – and to inform SMEs about the assistance available to them at European, nat coverstory• European associations based in Brussels are invited to send the event forms directly to the European Commission at: events@european-sme-wee Interested in attending an event? • Events at national and local level are an opportunity for entrepreneurs, potential entrepreneurs and young peopl The IDEAS Institute for Business Creation and Development is a service provided by the Polytechnic University of Valencia, whose mission is to lend support to young entrepreneurs wanting to set up their own business. Apart from young students and graduates, our services are aimed at young researcher coverstoryMaking Europe’s heart beatLocal and regional authorities key to boosting entrepreneurship, says Luc Van den Brande for SMEs to flourish, which is why I have proposed that the CoR create an annual European entrepreneurial region award. The aim is to reward the region which is judged to have | Business leadersTime for action SMEs are counting on the EU to help them through the current crisis, agree Pierre Simon, Ernest-Antoine Seillière and Georg Toifl Pierre Simon is president of Eurochambres, the association of European chambers of commerce and industryLet me congratulate the European Associação Nacional das PME – Portuguese National Association of SME Member of the European Confederation of Associations of Small and Medium EnterprisesPortuguese National Association of SME is a private right association registered in “Ministério do Trabalho e Solidariedade” (Solidarity and Work M | Enterprise Europe NetworkBig opportunities for small business The Enterprise Europe Network is on hand with help for small businesses to grow and innovate ntrepreneur Grzegorz Kozak runs a small web development company called Virtual People in Szczecin in north west Poland. When he had an idea for coverstoryPartners use the databases to search for the right match for their clients and then help them to reach partnership or technology transfer agreements. “The technology transfer database is one of the world’s largest, and now contains 6000 profiles. It’s updated on a weekly basis and the offe | Enterprise Europe Networkand marketing of environmentally friendly farmed marine products. The professional support and the personal advice service performed by the Enterprise Europe Network was one of the most important success factors in the application phase since the company Coastal Research M Dealing with chocolate problems greyish coating on the surface of the chocolate. Cracks that result in the filling seeping out. These are two of the concerns that affect chocolate manufacturers from time to time. SIK is working with a number of companies and universities to tackle the problem throug Erasmus for young entrepreneurs What is it? Erasmus for young entrepreneurs is a new European exchange programme which aims to help new entrepreneurs develop relevant skills for managing an SME, by spending time working in another EU country with an experienced entrepreneur. It helps young entrepren coverstoryLeading ladies of enterprise A network of female entrepreneurial ambassadors will help boost the rate of women starting up their own businessesEuropean portal for SMEs The European portal for SMEs provides easy access to a wealth of information on all European Union policies and initiative Norms standards – a success factor for SMEs With around 3.4 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany and countless self-employed individuals working in the crafts, industry and trade, SMEs are the backbone of Germany’s economy. For technology-oriented and research-intensive SMEs norms standards Because norms standards provide safety. Every day people place their trust in us. We need to ensure that we never stop deserving this trust. Which is why the DKE German Commission for Electrical, Electronic Information Technologies is actively involved in all the relevant standard Key events SME Week opening event in Brussels What is it? • “Entrepreneurship on TV” talk show, with experts from TV and the media highlighting entrepreneurial issues and ways of promoting entrepreneurship using the medium of TV • European entrepreneurship video awards 2009 presentation ceremony. Aw coverstoryMedia market Entrepreneurs are vital to Europe’s economic future, and the media has an important role to play in raising social awareness glance at a TV guide is enough to realise the business world is widely represented in the media. Thanks to such classics as Dallas and Dynasty the ‘ente | Françoise Le BailThe EU’s SME envoy SMEs often have little opportunity to influence policy makers – while SMEs get on with the job, large firms employ lobbyists to help tailor laws in their own favour. To counter this, and to ensure that the specific requirements of SMEs are more fully taken into coverstoryThe secret of our success Tips from European entrepreneurs ntrepreneurs have a gift for identifying business opportunities and creating success from challenges and dreams. Entrepreneurs turn • From 6-14 May, the portraits of the 33 successful SME entrepreneurs will visions into reality, wh DEMAND LEAD FREE MACHINEABLE ALUMINIUM ALLOYS FOR EUROPE Over the past three decades there has been an ever-increasing global movement to eliminate lead and lead-containing products. Lead (Pb) and its compounds are highly toxic; accumulate in the body over time, resulting in various health problems. coverstory| MEP commentEurope’s backbone Decisive and well-directed action will prompt productivity, growth and innovation in small business, says Othmar Karas“Think small” could be an appropriate response to the worrying consequences of the financial and economic crisis. Indeed, the EU has started “Time for Action on the Small Business Act Anna-Stina Nordmark Nilsson, Director General at Företagarna, Swedish Federation of Business Owners.Talk Is Cheap F”öretagarna, the Swedish Federation of Business Owners, is the leading small business organisation in Sweden and a member of UEAPME.Today, the coverstory| MEP commentstates and the EU can help SMEs to develop and broaden their perspectives. A question raised more and more often these days is how to help and support SMEs suffering under the financial crisis. As a PES member, I do not accept only offering help to big enterprises. We also hav | MEP commentColourful commerce SMEs have a big role in Europe’s innovation and creativity and the institutions and member states have big a role in supporting them, argues Edit Herzcog ith the 23 million small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU accounting for around 99 per cent of all enterpris Qualified young professionals for Europe Employees speaking several foreign languages fluently; young professionals with work experience and new ideas; graduates able to deal with interculturality. Difficult? Impossible? No! is about to develop a standard for quality in international student work pl | European Enterprise AwardsTo boldly go The European Enterprise Awards recognise and reward public initiatives that support entrepreneurship across Europe. This year’s ceremony takes place on 13 May, in Prague. Here we highlight a selection of some of the 13 nominees from the five categories Europe Nothing but Aces ! More than 27 500 young Walloons already inspired by the Entrepreneurial Spirit thanks to ASE ! Promoting the Entrepreneurial Spirit (Esprit d’Entreprise) in Wallonia is one of the key duties the Agence de stimulation économique (ASE – Economic Development Agency) was assigned with SpainCrunch timeO Manuel Medina Ortega is a member of parliament’s legal affairs committeeSpain’s reshuffled cabinet is committed to weathering the economic storm, says Manuel Medina Ortega resilient to the crisis, but other sectors of the Spanish economy have shown their weak points. First of all, Flexible Electricity Networks to Integrate the eXpected energy evolution n late 2005 a consortium of 20 different partners form research and industry launched in the frame of the FP6 of the European Commission, an integrated research project named FENIX. This acronym stands for “Flexible Electricity Aragonese Association of Local Authorities (ASAEL)Funded in 1988, the Aragonese Association of Local Authorities (ASAEL) is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and representing the interests of 350 Local Aragoneses (municipalities, counties and provinces) in search of economic and socia specialreportOur house Íñigo Méndez De Vigo tells Martha Moss why the Lisbon treaty can help refurbish the European constitution, which is creaking under the pressure of 27 member states“For Spaniards, Europe means freedom,” says Íñigo Méndez De Vigo. The EPP MEP and member of parliament’s constitut ELCOGAS IGCC CLEAN COAL TECHNOLOGY TOWARDS ZERO EMISSIONSLCOGAS is a Spanish company established in April 1992 -shared by European electrical companies and equipment suppliersto undertake the planning, construction, management and operation of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant o specialreportcountry cannot go against the wishes of his parliament, of his people. So I’m not worried about that.” Critics warn that the treaty risks jeopardising national sovereignty. But Méndez De Vigo says, “I think that the Lisbon treaty gives the EU more democracy and more efficiency. It is no SPAINMargrete Auken recently wrote a report on excessive urbanisation in Spain. Whereas parliament considers that the obligation to cede legitimately acquired private property without due process and proper compensation and the obligation to pay arbitrary costs for unrequested and often unnecessary AIMPLAS,Technological Centre of Excellence in European Plastics RD IMPLAS, Instituto Tecnológico del Plástico (Valencia, Spain), is a Research and Technology Center with more than 400 associated companies, which has achieved a wellknown position at EU level in Research and Innovation in the field of IPeuropAware: IP Awareness and Enforcement Project The IPeuropAware project brings together two existing Europe-wide initiatives under one umbrella: A web portal created by the National Patent Offices to provide information on their services for the end user (http://www.innovaccess and IPR-Helpdesk SpainA painful refrainT Michael Cashman is a member of parliament’s civil liberties, justice and home affairs committeeParliament must make its voice heard to right the wrongs of the Spanish land grab, says Michael Cashman “This is an appeal to do the right thing and bring the right resolution to an CODICE (acronym of “COmputationally driven Design of Innovative CEmentitious materials”) is an ambitious research project that brings producers and suppliers of cement-based materials together with universities and research institutes for the development of new and radically improved computational t CÁCERES, CANDIDATE CITY FOR EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2016With almost 90.000 inhabitants, Cáceres is the second largest city in Extremadura. Capital city of the Province of the same name, it is situated only 45 Km. away from the Monfragüe National Park, one of the most beautiful natural enclaves i specialreportThe rain in Spain A new white paper from the European commission says that water policy in the Southern EU states needs urgent review to avoid a potentially devastating blow to agriculture. Francesca Ross reportsThe rain is Spain is supposed to fall mainly on the plain, but the European Pharmaceutical reform package | Counterfeit medicinesNo quick fix Reform of the rules on counterfeit medicine is urgent but must not be rushed, writes Adamos Adamou ounterfeits are not a new phenomenon. They have been on the market alongside genuine products for a long time. Counterfeit or falsified insideeuCatching up on copycats Counterfeit medicine in the supply chain can be tackled through common action and balanced approach, says Emmanouil AngelakasGiven that over the last years a growing number of counterfeit medicines have entered the pharmaceutical market and been sold to patients, the Pharmaceutical reform package | Counterfeit medicinesA call to action A joint EU intervention is needed to contain the problem of false products, argues Karin Riis-Jørgensen Karin RiisJørgensen is a member of parliament’s internal market and consumer protection committeeThe amount of falsified medic insideeuReactionary politics Safety must come first when it comes to medicines, says Linda McAvanThe European medicines pharmaceutical approval system has existed since 1965, yet the system to monitor adverse reactions of medicines is still in its infancy. Different European countries have different Pharmaceutical reform package | Information to patientsKeeping patients informed The commission’s proposal to strengthen patient information represents an important step forward, writes Holger Krahmer Parliaments report on information on products subject to medical prescription forms part of a packa insideeuA bitter pill to swallow“PThe commission needs to go further to prevent counterfeit medicines entering the supply chain, argues Brian Agerrimum non nocere” – First, do no harm. This is a maxim taught to clinicians at an early stage of their training. It applies also to medicines, which shoul Pharmaceutical reform package | Industry commentBrian Ager is director general of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and AssociationsWith modern scanning and printing techniques, producin convincing fakes of even the most complex packs is easy to achieve. Therefore manufacturers us European Commission European Commission Enterprise and Industry Enterprise and Industry