The $1.5 billion in voted appropriations requires the approval of Parliament and includes major budgetary items such as $725.7 million for implementation of the Federal Court's approved settlement of the Manuge class-action lawsuit concerning the Pension Act offset provision contained in the Canadian Forces Service Income Security Insurance Plan Long-Term Disability Plan, National Defence; $438.4 million to support the continuing implementation of the investment plan in support of the Canada First Defence Strategy and the implementation of payment in lieu of severance pay for members of the Canadian Forces, National Defence; $231.2 mil ...[+++]lion for the writeoff of debts owed to the Crown for unrecoverable Canada Student Loans, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada; $144 million in support of Canada's new training mission in Afghanistan, National Defence; $107.5 million for the consolidation of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom, at Trafalgar Square, Foreign Affairs and International Trade; $100 million for additional grants to fund initiatives in child protection as well as maternal, new-born and child health, Canadian International Development Agency; $95.9 million for Canada's fast-start financing commitments under the Copenhagen Accord, which supports climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries, Canadian International Development Agency; and $84.9 million for increases in non- discretionary expenses, such as fit-up, utilities and maintenance, associated with Crown-owned buildings and leased space, Public Works and Government Services Canada.

In his opinion presented today, Advocate General Pedro Cruz Villalón emphasised that his analysis must be guided by the special circumstances of the case in terms of the effect on the rights and safeguards afforded by EU law. Thus he cited the singular nature of the measures adopted by the Council (measures restricting their rights and freedoms), the procedure for drawing up the measures (in which there was no hearing and no possibility of a defence), the fact that the action before the General Court was the only means of defence available to the parties concerned (a clear exception to the usual system of safeguards that is a feature of ...[+++]the rule of law), and the fact that personal service of the measures was impossible in respect of people who were outside the territory of the EU in a situation which the Council described as chaotic.

In order to compensate for the progressive replacement of individual ex-ante control by general ex-post control in the Member State of origin of the defence-related products, conditions for mutual confidence and trust should be created by including guarantees which ensure that defence-related products are not exported in violation of export limitations to third countries.

Ensuring coherence in the legislative framework for financial services by, for example, harmonising core marketing and information rules and by regulating sectoral issues (banking, insurance, investment, etc.) and product-specific issues (mortgage credit, consumer credit, investment services, UCITS, life and non-life insurance, insurance intermediation, etc.): The Commission will also undertake a review of national rules relating to retail financial service contracts to ensure closer convergence and will inform the Member States on the conditions in which the case-by-case derogation provided for in Article 3(4) may be applied, enabling t ...[+++]he Member States to apply on certain conditions, their national provisions to services coming from other Member States, with a view to defending public order or protecting consumers.

Ensuring coherence in the legislative framework for financial services by, for example, harmonising core marketing and information rules and by regulating sectoral issues (banking, insurance, investment, etc.) and product-specific issues (mortgage credit, consumer credit, investment services, UCITS, life and non-life insurance, insurance intermediation, etc.): The Commission will also undertake a review of national rules relating to retail financial service contracts to ensure closer convergence and will inform the Member States on the conditions in which the case-by-case derogation provided for in Article 3(4) may be applied, enabling t ...[+++]he Member States to apply on certain conditions, their national provisions to services coming from other Member States, with a view to defending public order or protecting consumers.

RECOGNISING that states have a right to transfer the means of self-defence, consistent with the right of self-defence recognised by the UN Charter,