1. EUROPEAN INTEGRATION WORKING GROUP Citta della Pieve 2005

2. Summary 1 Political Situation 2 Economic Situation 3 Social Situation 4 Cultural Situation

3. 1 Political Situation Enlargement -Enlargement of the European Union – Eastern Europe and Turkey – problems and perspectives -The harmonization of “ acquis communautaire ” -Future Member States – Bulgaria and Romania Institutional reform of the European Union - The European Constitution project - The main reasons of rejection of European Constitution The sustainable development and the Kyoto Protocol

4. 2 Economic Situation Economic Growth - GDP growth in comparison with the other world economies, (eg. USA, China, India) - The development of technology - Competitiveness of the European economy - Percentage of countries ’ GDP spent on the Research and Development -The implementation of common currency in the new Member States, the Euro and democracy  Future perspectives of the European Union ’ s economy development

5. Local Development -Structural Fund (rural development, agriculture...) -Management of public money - The disparities between the regions - in the context of the GDP per head and the level of employment in different regions (eg. Eastern vs Western Germany, Eastern Slovakia vs Bratislava Region) Ways of solutions - Perspectives of diminishing the disparities between the richest and the poorest regions in the EU - Equilibrated development in each Member State The European budget 2007-2013 (see the latest news)

6. 3 Social Situation Labour Market Different problems and situations on the labour market Unemployment rate in the “ old ” and new Member States The problem of adequate qualifications of the labour force The problem of disabled persons on the labour market Education Educational level – Bologna Process The equality between women and men Immigration policies

7. 4 Cultural Situation - Integration of minorities and immigrants - Between globalization and localization (glocalization) - The security, the terrorism and the dialogue with Arab countries - Language diversification - Dialogue between cultures - Concept of European Citizenship

8. Thank you for your attention Have a safe journey home !