Chirac Balks at EU Farm Cuts, Threatens World Trade Talks

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- French President Jacques Chirac threatened to derail international trade talks by ruling out further cuts in European Union farm subsidies and tariffs.

With the EU under pressure from the U.S., India and Brazil to reduce 40 billion euros ($49 billion) in annual agriculture aid as part of a global free-trade deal, Chirac said France will stop EU trade chief Peter Mandelson from making new concessions.

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France's Villepin Fails to Win Converts as Jobs Plan Criticized

June 9 (Bloomberg) -- French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's 4.5 billion euro ($5.6 billion) plan to boost hiring and economic growth failed to win converts among political opponents, who stepped up attacks on his new government.
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France Vetoes Treaty in Blow to Chirac, Integration

May 29 (Bloomberg) -- France rejected the European Union's constitution in a national referendum, dealing a blow to President Jacques Chirac and European integration.

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EU Names Juncker to Chair Euro Panel for Two Years

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- European finance ministers named Luxembourg Prime and Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker to a two-year term as spokesman for the euro currency, seeking to bring more coherence to economic policymaking.
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High-flyers working from granny's heilan' hame

The tide of depopulation from the Hebrides might just be turning thanks to the rise of teleworking, writes Emma Vandore Deep inside the croft houses scattered across the windswept Western Isles, a quiet revolution is taking place. The islanders have invested heavily in new telecommunications technologies, which are providing them with a way into the 21st century and a reason to stay in their homeland.

Sunday Herald

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