Issue N� 10 � 7-11 April 2003
Representatives from 11 countries of the former Soviet Union met in Moscow from 31 March -1 April, to discuss the status and future development of cooperation on transboundary rivers and lakes. The workshop was arranged by UNECE and other partners as a contribution to the development of the EU Strategic Partnership on Water for Sustainable Development. The workshop concluded that cooperation had developed significantly over the past 10 years but that there are bottlenecks and additional needs, in particular in regions such as Central Asia and Caucasus. It will be a challenge for UNECE and its secretariat for the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes to support the continued development of transboundary water cooperation.
In recent years the interest of users in international comparisons of GDP is increasing as they provide an estimate of the size of the economy and of economic welfare across countries. The improvement of data quality and the activities of the leading international organizations in this area were the main topics reviewed by the Joint Consultation on the European Comparison Programme, held 31 March - 2 April. It was attended by representatives of 27 ECE countries, Australia, Eurostat, OECD, the Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS -STAT) and the World Bank. Among the themes discussed were the calculation procedures and results of the 2000 round of comparisons for the UNECE region and the preparations for the global 2004 round of international comparisons. The UNECE secretariat will publish the results of the 2000 round by the end of June this year and a new Consultation will be organized when the next results become available.
Fourth Road Safety Week
The
Fourth Road Safety Week in the UNECE Region, aimed at combating aggressive driving
behaviour, will be held from 5-11 April 2004. The UNECE’s Inland Transport
Committee, in its recently adopted Resolution No. 251, calls on member States
to organize national road safety campaigns within the framework of the Fourth
Road Safety Week. Resolution No. 251 invites Governments to take the necessary
steps to prepare the Fourth Road Safety Week and to implement road safety campaigns
in their own countries under the common slogan: ‘Respect is safety’.
The dates have been chosen to coincide with the WHO’s World Health Day on
7 April 2004 which will address the theme of “Safe roads”. During the
Fourth Road Safety Week, the UNECE plans to hold an international seminar at the
Palais des Nations on aggressive driving behaviour.
Next year’s expansion of the European Union to include 10 new Member States will have a significant economic impact on those countries which currently have no prospects of EU membership but which will find themselves sharing their borders with the EU. Enlargement is an opportunity to promote stability and prosperity beyond the new borders of the EU through further integration and liberalisation process, trade and improved business and investment environment. To discuss some of the major issues regarding the relations of an enlarged EU and its new neighbouring countries, UNECE will hold an all-day workshop on 7 April (Salle XX at 10 am). Speakers will include representatives of the European Commission and several institutions dealing with European issues. Among the topics are: trade between the EU and its near neighbours; regulatory convergence in a wider Europe; investment prospects of EU enlargement. The programme for the Workshop can be found at: http://www.unece.org/trade/.
7 April Workshop on Trade, Business and Investment in a Wider Europe 7-9 April UNECE/Eurostat Work Session on Statistical Data Confidentiality (Luxembourg) 8(pm)-11 April Working Party on Lighting and Light-signalling 9-11 April Working Group on Genetically Modified Organisms 10-11 April Steering Committee on Transport, Environment and Health
With the legal and institutional environment supporting trade constantly changing, it is difficult to understand trade regulations and requirements at an international level. This places smaller enterprises and lower income countries at a disadvantage. To fill the “information gap” within its region, the UNECE has developed a Trade Promotion Directory which offers enterprises and investors the major contacts and information they will need for doing business. The information is organized by country. Under each country are lists of organizations that deal with the following areas: Information for investment and enterprises; government organizations and other supporting organizations; trade facilitation; corporate governance (including regulatory agencies); trade and enterprise financing; Chambers of commerce and business associations; sectoral business associations.
It is published on the web and can be accessed: http://www.unece.org/trade/
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Source: UNECE Trade Development and Timber Division, Timber Branch
and FAO, 2003; ten-years averages. Notes: The baseline scenario assumes no changes in current trends of production of forest products. The lower growth (conservation) scenario assumes that the promotion of renewable energy resources, the improvement of waste management and emission controls, might slightly slow down the forest sector�s growth. The higher growth (globalisation) scenario assumes that further globalisation and innovation in the forest sector are expected to improve the competitiveness of forest products and thus cause additional growth in its production, trade, and consumption. |
| For further information please contact: Information Service UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Tel: +41(0)22 917 44 44 Fax: +41(0)22 917 05 05 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.unece.org |