French authorities say they will decide this week whether to ask 30,000 women given a potentially defective type of breast implant to have them removed.
Earlier reports said a decision to call for removal had already been made.
There are concerns that the implants supplied by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) carry potential health risks, according to the newspaper, Liberation.
PIP was found last year to have used a non-authorised silicone gel that caused abnormally high implant rupture rates.
The French government has formed a special committee to look at the issue.
"We have to remove all these implants," Dr Laurent Lantieri, a plastic surgeon on the committee, told Liberation. "We're facing a health crisis, linked to a fraud."
Government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse told French television that a plan of action would be unveiled later this week.
"All women who have PIP implants should return to see their surgeons urgently," she added. But a health ministry official said there was no immediate health risk.
Cancer fears
Investigations by the French Society of Plastic Surgeons last year found that PIP implants had a higher rate of rupture than other implants and that the silicone in them was not meant for medical use.
PIP went into administration last year and the use of its implants was banned.
Police have received 2,000 complaints from women who received the implants and have opened a criminal investigation into the firm, the AFP news agency reports.
Since the defects were discovered, 523 implants have been removed, according to the Le Monde newspaper.
Eight cases of cancer had so far been reported in patients with PIP implants, France's Director General for Health, Jean-Yves Grall, told Liberation. A ninth patient in Gers died of cancer last year.
But the head of France's National Cancer Institute, Dominique Maraninchi, said last week the cases were not necessarily linked to faulty implants.
Mr Grall added that all costs related to the removal of the implants would be reimbursed, although it is not clear if this will extend to paying for replacement implants.
PIP implants were among the cheapest available, and were also exported outside France. It is thought that as many as 40,000 British women may have them.
A new negotiations round was concluded on 13 December in Athens between the Greek government and the representatives of its private creditors, aka banks, over the application of the Private Sector Involvement (PSI) in cutting down the country’s debt, namely a debt ‘haircut’.
Under the general terms of the European Council’s 26 October Agreement, the PSI will contain a 50% reduction of the debt to be included in the agreement and the lenders receive 35% of the value of new bonds guaranteed by the European Financial Stability Facility, presently carrying a triple-A rating, plus 15% in cash, and the interest rate on the new bonds cannot be higher than the average interest rate of Greek bonds at present.
It must be remembered that the exchange is optional for lenders - negotiations cover the terms and the procedure of the swaps and the interest rate of the new bonds. According to the representatives of the two sides, the latest offer by the banks is closer to what the Greek government had originally proposed. The Greek treasury has offered a 4.5% interest rate on the new bonds to banks, while the banks themselves had been asking for around 7.5-8%
'Many countries see this EU move as a ploy to remove the differentiation between the contributors to the problem of climate change and the rest'. Photograph: Ivan Milutinovic/REUTERS
I am at the UN climate talks in Durban, an irritated witness to the fact that when it comes to climate change, not only is the world deeply divided between rich and poor, but the world's media is even more riven.
Over the last two days, the Western media – including this newspaper – has targeted India for being a deal-breaker. The intent is to drive a wedge in the Basic negotiating bloc (comprising Brazil, South Africa, India and China). That intent is also reflected in the way China is being praised for breaking ranks by openly supporting the EU's proposal for a legally binding agreement.
Basic has set a clear deadline of 2015 to complete the review of action based on science. Then it will start discussing the form and content of the agreement for the post-2020 period.
As I can see, this climate conference is lost to bad strategy, in which there occurs a mock-fight, without resolution. The US is firmly against a legal convention; the EU says this is the only way ahead. Since the US cannot be brought on board, the game plan is to bend Basic to agree to a legal agreement and then hope this will lead the US to submit as well. This only means the log jam continues. Because many countries, including India, see this EU move as a ploy to remove the differentiation between the contributors to the problem of climate change and the rest. (This distinction formed the basis of the climate convention and set the principle that countries responsible for the bulk of emissions had to take action first, make deep emission cuts to create space for the rest to grow.) They see surreptitious moves to rewrite this agreement. So, distrust has grown deeper, even as we know that the agreement to cut emissions cannot work without global cooperation.
This is not to say China, Brazil and South Africa, or even India, should not take action to combat climate change. When negotiations began over 20 years ago, it was well understood the industrialised world – contributor to 70-80% of the stock of emissions in the atmosphere – had to vacate space for the emerging world to grow. The deal was this enriched world would reduce emissions drastically, for they had thrown the climate system out of kilter. The deal also was that money and technology transfer would enable emerging countries to avoid future emissions growth. But none of this happened. Meagre targets were set; the US and other big polluters walked out of the agreement. The funds never came.
This deal was critical because if the already-rich emitted in the past, the emerging rich will emit in the future. We know carbon dioxide emissions are linked to economic growth. We also know the road to a low-carbon economy is bumpy and costly. If the world is indeed serious about an agreement to cut emissions, it has to accept there will be limits for all – past polluters and future contributors. This agreement will only work if it is based on equal entitlements to atmospheric space. But Durban wants to brush aside this principle as an inconvenient fact.
In Bali in 2007 and in Cancún last year, the big developing countries like China and India agreed to set domestic targets for emission reduction. There is no doubt this level of ambition can, and must, be increased. But it is equally a fact that these countries, targeted as being obdurate about climate change, are actually doing more to cut emissions than the rich countries, who are legally obliged to do so. A recent study by the Stockholm Environment Institute clearly shows the Basic countries are actually going to do the bulk of emission reduction– 60-80% – in the next 20 years.
Of course the world must take tough action, including a legally binding agreement, to cut emissions. Of course India and China, who will only now contribute to pollution, should do more. But that does mean the industrialised world should stop beating up the underdogs, simply because it cannot do anything to get the US on board.
Consider only where the EU's climate evangelism has led the world. Instead of talking about low ambition and even lower levels of implementation, the world is now agreeing to postpone effective action till 2020. The world is running out of time. It would be good if the EU caught up with this fact.
• Sunita Narain is an Indian researcher and environmentalist who has been following climate negotiations for many years. She is the director-general of the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment, a public interest research institution.
David Cameron: ''What is on offer isn't in Britain's interests''
David Cameron has refused to join an EU financial crisis accord after 10 hours of negotiations in Brussels.
Mr Cameron said it was not in Britain's interest "so I didn't sign up to it".
But France's President Sarkozy said his "unacceptable" demands for exemptions over financial services blocked the chance of a full treaty.
Of the 27 EU members Britain and Hungary look set to stay outside the accord, with Sweden and the Czech Republic having to consult on it.
A full accord of "wasn't possible, given the position of our British friends," President Sarkozy said.
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said the consequences "could scarcely be greater for Europe and for Britain's relationship with Europe".
Mr Sarkozy said the eurozone countries would sign an intergovernmental accord aimed at stabilising the currency in the face of the debt crisis, plus any other EU members that wanted to join.
Speaking in a press conference following the meeting he said: "The countries that have remained outside are Hungary and Britain, and the countries that have to consult with their parliaments are the Czechs and the Swedes."
Mr Cameron told a press conference: "We want the Eurozone countries to come together and solve their problems. But we should only allow that to happen within the EU treaties if there are proper protections for the single market, for other key British interests.
'Coalition breaker'
"Without those safeguards it is better not to have a treaty within a treaty, but have those countries make their arrangements separately.
"It was a tough decision but the right one."
Mr Sarkozy said the exemptions Britain proposed were unacceptable because a lack of sufficient regulation had caused the current problems.
The head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, said the planned accord would lead to much more discipline in economic policy.
But the BBC's Nick Robinson said there will now be a series of "angry rows and legal challenges about what this new euro club within a club can and can't discuss, and whether it should be allowed to use EU resources and officials".
Our correspondent said the safeguards for the City of London which Mr Cameron fought for but didn't win will also be the focus of a "protracted fight".
"Many eurosceptics will now demand a wholesale renegotiation of our membership of EU and a referendum on it - something which would be a coalition breaker.
This veto is not the end of something, it is the beginning of a story who's end is quite unpredictable," he said.
Good deal
A 45-minute meeting between David Cameron, the French president and the German chancellor earlier broke up without agreement.
Sources say there was "no movement" with each side setting out their respective positions.
The prime minister had said he has two aims: stability for the euro and protecting Britain's interests.
Speaking before the summit, Mr Cameron he said he would have "no hesitation" in vetoing a proposed new European Union treaty if it did not offer a "good deal" for the UK.
Some senior Conservatives say any big changes should go to a UK referendum.
Others want the prime minister to do more to reshape the UK's relationship with the EU by taking back specific powers.
France and Germany want a new EU treaty enshrining stricter fiscal rules for the 17 member states that use the euro.
Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel have called for much closer co-operation among eurozone members, including budgetary oversight, common corporation and financial transaction taxes.
Mr Cameron had said he would exact "a price" for UK support for any treaty change which requires the support of all 27 EU members and wants safeguards on financial regulation and for the single market, in the event of closer fiscal integration in the eurozone.
Britain has been critical of suggestions of EU-wide financial controls which might affect the City of London.
"In return for the treaty that they want - to sort out the problems of the eurozone - I want to make sure we get a good deal for Britain, we keep our markets open and we have the power here in the UK to make sure that our top industries are properly promoted and enhanced," Mr Cameron said earlier.
European Union officials are preparing for a key summit in Brussels, where they will be trying to clinch a deal on how to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.
The two-day talks have been described by some analysts as do-or-die for the 17 eurozone nations.
Germany and France are pushing for new EU treaties, saying stricter fiscal rules should be enshrined there.
But European Council President Herman Van Rompuy is offering a plan which only requires amending the treaties.
The 10 non-eurozone members of the 27-member EU, including Britain, are concerned they may become isolated if the eurozone nations - driven by Berlin and Paris - decide to move to a new treaty on their own.
Ahead of the summit, all the signs are that it could be a bruising affair, the BBC's European affairs correspondent Chris Morris in Brussels reports.
On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama discussed the eurozone crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a telephone call. The White House said both leaders agreed that any solution must be lasting and credible.
On Thursday morning, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is due to meet new Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Rome.
This summit could become dominated by German determination to push through far-reaching reforms come what may, and British determination to refuse to accept the changes Berlin hopes all EU countries will agree to unless it gets safeguards of its own.
Germany and France want treaty changes that will set out tough new rules for governing the eurozone and automatic penalties for those who break them. They're also calling for a new EU fast-track for progress on tax and employment regulations involving the eurozone and anyone else who wants to join.
A group of senior European leaders including Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy will hold their own negotiating session just before the summit begins, but David Cameron won't be there. Some smaller countries will also be unhappy - they feel they're simply being dictated to by Berlin and Paris.
But one thing will concentrate minds - the need to come up with some kind of convincing statement to calm markets and protect the eurozone.
This is the latest in a series of talks Mr Geithner is holding with eurozone leaders as American concern over the crisis deepens.
Merkel-Sarkozy letter
The key proposal on the agenda of the gathering in the Belgian capital later on Thursday is how to enforce budgetary discipline with automatic penalties for those eurozone nations that overspend.
Mrs Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are seeking to enforce this by changing the existing EU treaties.
"We are convinced that we need to act without delay," the two leaders wrote in a joint letter to Mr Van Rompuy, adding that the new treaty was needed by March.
The Merkel-Sarkozy letter also called for "a renewed contract between the euro area member states".
The German-French plan is based on the following key provisions:
the European Commission to have the power to impose penalties for nations that run excessive budget deficits
all 17 eurozone nations should amend their national legislation to require balanced budgets
the eurozone countries to have common corporation and financial transaction taxes
any future bailouts would not require private investors to absorb part of the costs, as happened in the Greece case
But an EU commissioner publicly derided the idea that sanctions alone could compel euro member states to abide by the rules.
"Automatic sanctions are a joke. Fiscal union needs collective, democratic decision-making that can respond to challenges & manage agg. [aggregate] demand," tweeted EU Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor.
He told the BBC that smaller EU states were disgruntled at the dominance of France and Germany in the decision-making process.
Alternatively, Mr Van Rompuy is offering a fast-track "fiscal compact" that does not need lengthy ratification by parliaments or national referendums.
In an interim report, Mr Van Rompuy, who will be chairing the summit, argues that the necessary reforms can be adopted simply by amending a protocol - a procedure that needs national consensus but does not require substantial changes to the EU treaties.
This, Mr Van Rompuy argues, would speed up the implementation of reforms and remove any potential political complications.
However, a senior German official dismissed as a "trick" talk of introducing a fiscal agreement for the eurozone within existing treaties.
The official also admitted he was more pessimistic than a week ago about reaching a deal in Brussels.
British 'safeguards'
Paris and Berlin appear to be pushing through more radical measures, correspondents say, and if all 27 EU members cannot agree, then they are prepared to work towards a new treaty involving the eurozone bloc and any other country that wants to join.
Such a move could leave Britain - a non-eurozone EU member - feeling more isolated.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday that he would seek safeguards for London's powerful financial sector at the summit.
"The more eurozone countries ask for, the more we will ask for in return," he said.
Mr Cameron argues that a financial transaction tax would work only if adopted globally.
Ahead of the summit, positions appear to be hardening, our correspondent says.
Such is the depth of the crisis surrounding the eurozone that the main focus is not on the EU solidarity but on restoring market confidence in whatever way proves possible, he adds. Earlier this week, Standard & Poor's put all eurozone nations on credit watch "with negative implications".
The ratings agency said the decision was prompted "by our belief that systemic stresses in the eurozone have risen in recent weeks to the extent that they now put downward pressure on the credit standing of the eurozone as a whole".
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Around 50 thousand trade union members
marched across Brussels on Friday to protest against austerity measures. In response to the current financial crisis, the newly formed Belgian government agreed last week to cut public spending by 11 billion euros and to liberalise labour regulations. The new budget for 2012 has been described by trade unions as "unbalanced" and "unfair".
Frustration and anger were common feelings amongst the anti-austerity protesters, who feel that orders from the European Union are forcing national governments to adopt severe public cuts. "This government is directing its power towards the working class", they say.
The deal includes restrictions on early retirement age and cuts on public services. The budget was agreed after markets and the European Commission applied high pressure on the government, threatening Belgium with a 700 million euros fine if they didn't commit to severe reductions by Mid-December. Despite the evident disappointment of Belgians, the demonstration passed off peacefully, with little police presence. The protests come ahead of next-weeks Council summit, when European heads of state will gather in Brussels to discuss potential treaty changes in an attempt to solve the current sovereign debt crisis.
Under the fiscal union advocated by Chancellor Merkel, the 17 eurozone members would have to stick to tight controls on taxing and spending or face penalties imposed by the European Court of Justice.
What she did not talk about was any new funds that might be available for countries in difficulty. Her speech made clear that eurobonds or any similar scheme where there would be a collective guarantee of the debts of individual governments was off the agenda.
She explicitly said that there would be no common liability as long as member states controlled their own budgets.
Chancellor Merkel said this would involve renegotiating treaties for the eurozone, and non-eurozone countries would be invited to participate.
But she made it clear that this was a long-term process that would take years.
On Thursday, Mr Sarkozy said a new European treaty governing relations between members was necessary to protect Europe's place in the world.
"We must confront those who doubt the stability of the euro and speculate on its break-up with total solidarity," Mr Sarkozy said.
Mr Sarkozy said the euro could not continue to exist unless eurozone economies pulled together, with France and Germany playing a key role to ensure "a zone of stability".
However Mr Sarkozy rejected suggestions that national budgets could be approved and regulated in Brussels, and said France would not give up its sovereignty.
No 'joint liability'
In her speech on Friday, Mrs Merkel also reiterated her opposition to the European Central Bank (ECB) issuing "eurobonds" backed by all eurozone members.
"A joint liability for others' debts is not acceptable," she said. "Eurobonds are not a rescue measure in this crisis."
She added: "National responsibility and European solidarity serve each other."
Analysts also say Berlin is opposed to wholesale intervention by the ECB because of the country's experience of hyperinflation in the 1920s.Many in Germany argue that eurobonds would penalise countries with a high credit rating, and reduce the incentive of indebted governments to reform.
However Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily said Mrs Merkel was willing to see the ECB step up its buying of bonds from indebted eurozone countries, as a bridging solution until budget controls took hold.
During their meeting in Paris on Monday, Mr Sarkozy and Mrs Merkel are to agree on joint proposals to be put to a meeting of European leaders next week.
Many analysts see that summit as a crucial moment in efforts to tackle the debt crisis.
European stock markets rose early on Friday, as Europe's leaders call for closer economic integration as the way to resolve the debt crisis
Later on Friday, Mr Sarkozy will meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron in Paris.
Britain is concerned about the possible impact of a two-speed Europe, in which it could be left on the margins along with other countries outside the euro.
Cases in which the defective implants have leaked have sparked concern
