What image would the European Union project convey to the outside world, in this particularly unstable and difficult economic context, if it were unable, at this difficult time, to stick together, as it were, and make the necessary compromises between institutions in order to conclude a budget, in order to successfully conclude an agreement between our various institutions?

[8] Libya (where 8 Member States are represented): around 6.000 EU citizens present at the beginning of the crisis; on 9 March 2011 1.345 EU citizens were still present; since then, Member States were looking for evacuation possibilities for at least 52 EU citizens. Egypt (where 22 Member States are represented): at least 100.000 EU citizens (mostly tourists in the Red Sea region). Bahrain (where 4 Member States are represented): there are at least 8.800 EU citizens. Japan (where all Member States are represented except Malta and Cyprus): around 37.000 EU citizens. Haiti (after the earthquake in 2010): about 2.700 EU citizens. Icelandi ...[+++]c volcanic ash cloud crisis (spring 2010): more than 100.000 flights were cancelled.

mechanical clamping or tying of the legs or feet of animals.

In view of the economic recession, Member States are having to tighten their belts, and the European Union cannot lag behind in this.

Besides the fact that the capacity to absorb the funds available for 2000-06 was reduced by the need to co-finance the last two years of payments for the 1994-99 period, the Commission detected no on-going problems in the absorption of assistance, except in some Objective 2 areas where the fragmentation of assistance and the low rate of co-finance available reduced interest from project promoters, certain programmes where private part-financing did not materialise and in some FIFG programmes.

On the way to European independence we may have to work with those trying to catch up with the US's enormous lead.