The Chairman  and Vice-Chairman of the Co-ordinating Committee for Fellowships, Mr.E. Landaburu, Director-General of the Regional Policy DG and Mr. P. Defraigne, Head of the Cabinet of Mr. Lamy, have selected seven sessions offered in the 2000 programme as being of interest to the Commission. Applications for participation are invited and candidates will be selected by that same Committee.

The sessions of particular interest for the Commission are:

As Europe enters the new millennium, both integrative and disintegrative processes will shape its future. On the one hand, the European Union (EU) will undoubtedly continue on its steady course of unprecedented social, political and economic unification. On the other hand, unsettling disintegrative tendencies may well continue to trouble Europe, most notably in the Balkan region. Questions regarding the enlargement of the EU and NATO to the East and South, revised security frameworks in Europe and the differing and conflicting perceptions of European cultural identity pose further challenges for Europe in the twenty-first century.

As part of a Salzburg Seminar series focusing on Europe, this session will examine the competing forces of integration and disintegration within Europe. Topics of discussion will include the political, economic and security relations between the EU and its European neighbours to the South, North and East; varieties of social models in Europe; potential sources of conflict on the European continent; and the implications for the global community of Europe’s paradoxical tensions.

As the increasing demand for food places unprecedented pressure on the planet’s resources, debates intensify about ways in which these needs can be met in the coming decades. Some argue that agro-chemicals, biotechnology and sophisticated « industrial scale » strategies will provide solutions; others question the advisability of placing full reliance on a single industrial model to supply safe and nutritious foods for present and future generations. Critics of the industrial model warn of the social, economic, human health, and environmental effects, including biological pollution through the spread of recombinant DNA via agricultural biotechnology.

This session will examine how local, regional and global food systems are undergoing constant changes and challenges regarding food production, distribution, supply and consumption in the future. Participants will consider the role of multinational corporations, government, and international trade organizations in food production and distribution; the effect of consumers’ choices and demands on food production systems; and the impact of the industrial model on farmers and consumers throughout the world.

Although cities have conventionally been viewed as places of dehumanization plagued by excessive crime, pollution and decay, there is another dimension. The human energy that generates so many social problems is also responsible for an extraordinary array of benefits. Concentrated urban populations uniquely promote social integration through the mingling of otherwise separate social, ethnic and racial groups. They support economic activity by nurturing new products and services, and are typically vibrant venues for diverse forms of cultural expression.

This session will consider the city as an engine of creativity and common enterprise. Focusing on case studies of several cities around the world, participants will discuss the importance of cities as sources of economic productivity and social progress, and as sites of intellectual and cultural ingenuity, whether the ills of modern urban life are the necessary price of this dynamism; and whether there are important variances between the developing and the developed world in the role that cities play.

Few scientific developments have been more vigorously debated than current advances in biotechnology. While gene modification promises dramatic opportunities for enhancing healthcare and agricultural production and offers new possibilities for the chemical and manufacturing industries, these same developments have provoked intense public concern. Advances in biotechnology have raised fears about the power of scientists to « play God » and have prompted calls for controls on the scientific community.

This session will convene scientists, legislators, policy-makers, public opinion leaders and representatives from the private sector for an in-depth examination of the appropriate regulatory framework to enable scientific knowledge to be translated into new products for human health and wealth while protecting and fostering the public good. Discussions will address how different cultures respond to advances in biotechnology and what international implications these differing responses might have;   how the public can gain access to adequate and impartial information about biotechnological developments; and to what degree the private sector, the scientific community, and the public sector can work together to assure the responsible advancement of biotechnology.

The rapid development of the Internet and other advanced communication links has engendered legal problems of unprecedented worldwide dimensions. This session will examine efforts to fashion a suitable framework to govern transnational electronic transactions, with particular focus on implications for commercial activity, national security, and personal freedom.

Discussions will focus on free expression; consumer rights and fair competition in e-commerce and website advertising; national and business security (including cryptology regulation); and personal privacy. The session will also consider attempts to harmonize patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret laws; proposed regulations and laws regarding criminal activities through the Internet and other electronic devices; the impact of the new communication technologies on national jurisdictional limitations and criminal jurisprudence; and educational systems of transnational and interactive instruction.

The high tech revolution has significantly altered the way the public obtains its news and information, and has deprived the mass media of its traditional monopoly. The media and the practice of journalism, however, have been slow to adjust to the Internet and the global ramifications produced by the new information technology. While major media companies in the United States, Europe, and Asia have become multinational operators, their news product remains substantially unchanged. Journalists throughout the world still separate "domestic" from  "foreign", while their audiences casually chat between continents.

Among the topics to be explored are the global dimension of local news; how journalists write for a global audience; how « global news » can be gathered; the role of the Internet; the future of journalism; and the impact of the new media on the developing world. Participants will also consider how journalists use these new tools to advance their profession; what the security and ethical implications are in this new realm; and whether freedom of the press necessarily means freedom of access.

As the Asia-Pacific region recovers from economic crisis, the area will again come to be seen as a global economic force analogous to North America and Europe. An outgrowth of the Seminar’s recent series, The Rise of Industrial East Asia and Its Implications for the Developing World, this session will analyze the economic, political, and socio-cultural factors contributing to the region’s economic recovery, and consider the area’s future as a world economic force.