The EFSA’s announcement of assessment in batches with pending 4000 other products for inspection has led to a flashpoint with the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries in the EU (CIAA). The industry organisation has informed the European Commission (EC) that assessment report in batches would damage the reputation of other products those are under inspection, and would not be assessed by the 31 January 2010 deadline. The organisation has requested to hold an immediate dialogue with EFSA to iron out differences.

The EFSA report affirmed several products of popular companies had deceived the consumers with health benefit claims ranging from improving immune system to brain growth in babies. Ocean Spray cranberry juice, Lipton black tea, fish oil supplements and some pro-biotic supplements came under severe attack for their unproven and unscientific health claims in the report.

Ocean Spray had claimed that drinking its cranberry juice could protect women against urinary infections. Similarly, Unilever was with a claim that Lipton black tea made people more alert and energetic. On the other hand, Equazen claimed its fish oil products could help the central nervous system development in foetuses and breastfed infants. EFSA’s findings rejected all such claims in its clinical trials.

The findings is expected to shake the fundamentals of marketing strategies of high-end food products which largely enjoyed and earned loyalty over many decades without any intervention by such agencies. Though various sources have always criticized the health claim advertising, this is the first time an inter-governmental organization coming out with such a finding which is as a result of the EU’s nutrition and health food regulation of 2006 that mandated manufacturers must substantiate health claims of their products.

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The ESI statement said except Macedonia none of the other Western Balkan states were able to meet the benchmarks to come under visa-free regime. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s speedy liberalization process in the areas including document security, internal stability, re-enforcement of the borders in terms of asylum and migration and strict adherence to human rights issues makes them eligible candidate for visa-free travel across the EU states. Besides, the country is understood to have issued 40 percent biometric passports, a mandate needed to be fulfilled by all EU member-states by July this year.

Macedonians spend 5mn Euros every year on Schengen visas which help them to travel across 15 countries in the EU. Visa-free travel is expected to eliminate not only the expenses incurred while application but also the cumbersome procedure involved in obtaining visa to each and every country of one’s travel.

It should be recalled that last month, foreign Ministers of Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania sent a joint letter to the EC urging them to include all Western Balkan states that met the criteria to the visa-free regime by early 2010. Visa liberalization to these countries is expected to boost trade and tourism of several European countries closer to these states.

Only country that has visa-free access among the Western Balkans is Croatia. Though Serbia has met all the benchmarks of the roadmap is being held up by the Netherlands over Belgrade’s cooperation with an international war crimes court. However, since last year the Serbians enjoy the ease of obtaining visas to students, athletes, journalists, people visiting family or working with companies in the EU.

The visa restrictions were imposed as an aftermath of Yugoslav wars in 1990’s. Currently, the citizens of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia need visas to travel to the EU.

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The new FTA is expected to largely benefit the Canadian producers and exporters as the duties of all Canadian non-agricultural merchandise exports are eliminated thus making it more competitive in those markets. Tariffs will also be removed or reduced on selected Canadian agricultural exports such as durum wheat, frozen french fries, beer and crude canola oil.

Now Canada will have access to state of the art technologies and other knowhow from the sophisticated EFTA markets at lower costs that includes the importation of machinery and scientific and precision instruments. Besides, the new deal is likely to attract other European countries as well in reaching similar trade ties and thereby increase the visibility of the Canadian business entities over there.

The EFTA was the seventh-largest export destination of Canada last year. The two-way trade between both parties reached $13.2bn in 2008 with Canada exporting goods worth $4.2bn. In 2007, the two-way trade was valued at about $12.9bn with the Canadian exports and imports reaching at about $5.2bn and about $7.7bn respectively.

According to the deal, there will be significant cuts in tariffs of merchandise from both sides, but Canada’s tariffs on sensitive shipbuilding products will stay. They have decided to waive these tariffs in phases over a period of 15 years with regard to the sensitivity of each product.

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A draft of the declaration by the EU stated the bloc was likely to extend sanctions for another 12 months that includes a travel ban on top political officials, an arms embargo and a freeze on Myanmar assets in Europe. The EU has been demanding the release of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who is in house arrest and all other 2000-odd political prisoners. The EU also wants the Myanmar administration to take immediate steps to ensure the planned general elections in next year to be free and fair with strict adherence to international democratic standards, and in the presence of neutral observers.

Nevertheless, the EU has indicated that it was ready to respond to any genuine progress and may wait until the next month’s talks with the Myanmar rulers before extending the dates of sanctions for another one year. The EU and the US officials have acknowledged the fact the sanctions had no or little effect so far, and have no hopes that things would change in a month’s time.

The sanctions are clamped after the Burmese military rulers blatantly violated human right norms to suppress the pro-democratic movement in 2006. The country is under military rule since 1962, and the current junta came to power in 1988 after devastating a similar pro-democratic uprising.

The EU draft has raised serious concerns over the plight of the ethnic minorities of Myanmar who have no rights even for citizenship of their own country. Many human rights organizations are understood to have flayed the junta for marginalizing especially close to a million Muslim Rohingya minorities with forced labour, land seizures and rape.

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