All Akcess

European Union leaders are preparing for an emergency summit in Brussels seeking to bridge differences and deal with the global economic crisis.

The summit was called after French President Nicolas Sarkozy promised to bail out France’s car industry – if it did not shift jobs to Central Europe.

The French move raised fears that national protectionism could scupper hopes of recovery within the EU.

Leaders of badly-hit European nations meet earlier for separate talks.

Many of the newer EU members of Central and Eastern Europe have seen their financial institutions and economies battered by the developing recession.

The heads of nine of those nations, among them Hungary and Latvia, both facing serious liquidity problems, will meet before the full summit begins.

They are then expected to highlight their concerns about protectionism and call for more help from richer EU nations, reports the BBC’s Oana Lungescu, in Brussels.

However, officials have played down chances of EU leaders taking any decision on Hungary’s call for a 180bn euro (£160bn) aid package for Central and Eastern Europe.

‘New dividing lines’

The summit, called by the Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, is being held just a week after the same EU leaders met to discuss reforming the region’s financial system.

Ahead of the latest meeting, France’s President Sarkozy denied accusations of protectionism levied at his three billion euro (£2.7bn) bail-out plan, which aims to keep French carmakers manufacturing in France.

"We face the threat of a retreat into protectionism"
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown

However, he said that if the US defended its own industries, perhaps Europe should do the same.

The French move has been criticised by the Central Europeans, who argue that the French bail-out plan should not be implemented at their expense.

“We do not want any new dividing lines. We do not want a Europe divided along a North-South or an East-West line,” Mr Topolanek said ahead of Sunday’s summit.

“Efforts and measures to fight the economic crisis within the EU must respect the principle of solidarity, but they also require that all players show responsibility,” Mr Topolanek said.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also warned that state aid to bail out ailing sectors should not be used to reverse the EU’s progress towards competitive cross-border markets.

“The EU needs open world markets now more than ever if part of our recovery is to be export-led,” he said.

However, no new decisions are expected in Brussels on Sunday, as EU leaders will be meeting again later this month for a scheduled summit, our correspondent says.

That summit is part of the build-up to a G20 meeting of world leaders which British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will host in London on 2 April.

In a letter to the EU leaders meeting in Brussels, Mr Brown echoed the call to work together: “We face the threat of a retreat into protectionism,” he said.

Mr Brown, who travels to Washington this week, where he will become the first European leader to meet US President Barack Obama, said the upcoming G20 talks represented an opportunity to agree “a new deal”.

“Only by working together will we deliver the EU and international recovery we need.

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A British team has begun a gruelling trek to the North Pole to discover how quickly the Arctic sea-ice is melting.

Renowned Arctic explorer Pen Hadow and two companions were dropped onto the ice by plane some 668 miles (1,075km) north of Canada on Saturday night.

During their 1,000km journey, they plan to take measurements of the thickness of the ice.

It will be the most detailed survey to date and the team are expected to reach the North Pole in late May.

Global warming

BBC environment correspondent David Shukman said that where there were gaps in the ice, the team would put on survival suits and swim, all the time dragging a radar system which will measure the thickness of the ice.

He said satellites had tracked how the area of Arctic ice was shrinking but this expedition should reveal how thin the ice was becoming.

The ice cap is widely believed to be melting at an increased rate because of global warming.

Only a few years ago, scientists predicted that by the end of this century the Arctic could be free of ice in summer. Some now say that could come far sooner.

"If, as scientists tell us, the ice is thinning quickly, then it should set alarm bells ringing around the world"
Pen Hadow

Arctic diary: Explorers’ ice quest

Mr Hadow, 46, and the other members of the British Catlin Arctic Survey group, Ann Daniels, 44, and Martin Hartley, 40, will attempt to gather important new data about the state of the ice in winter and early spring – when the ice reaches its greatest extent.

It is intended to give scientists the very latest “ground truth”, to better constrain their models and their interpretation of the observations coming from satellites.

Arctic ice modeller Professor Wieslaw Maslowski, a science adviser to the survey, hopes the data will enable him to refine his forecast of when the first ice-free summer might arrive.

Currently, he has it down for 2013 – but with an uncertainty range between 2010 and 2016.

Ice birthdays

Mr Hadow, a father-of-two from Hexworthy, Devon, became the first person to trek solo and without support from Canada to the North Pole in 2003.

He said this expedition would be about science and discovery.

“I think this time does feel different,” he said. “We’re only doing this because there is such an urgent need for more ground-truthing data about the permanent floating sea-ice.

“If, as scientists tell us, the ice is thinning quickly, then it should set alarm bells ringing around the world.”

Both Mr Hadow and expedition photographer Mr Hartley, from Hackney, east London, will celebrate their birthdays during the trek.

Ms Daniels, a mother-of-four from Whimple, Devon, will be navigating.

They will be re-supplied every 20 to 25 days on their mission but have had to put on excess weight because, although they will be taking in 6,000 calories a day, they will be using up around 7,500

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The US has reiterated it prefers an August date for presidential elections in Afghanistan, despite President Hamid Karzai’s call for polls on 21 April.

The US state department said elections in August would best ensure a free vote in a secure environment.

On Saturday, Mr Karzai called for polls before his term ends in May. The Afghan Independent Elections Commission says elections should be held by 20 August.

The president has no power to unilaterally choose election dates.

But his term of office ends on 21 May, potentially creating a constitutional crisis if polls are held much later.

According to Article 61 of Afghanistan’s constitution, elections should be held 30 to 60 days before 22 May, the end of Mr Karzai’s five-year term.

"Some observers see this announcement as a clever political manoeuvre by the president"
Martin Patience, BBC News, Kabul

Analysis: Impossible deadline

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) says there is a contradiction between the constitution and electoral law which meant the president could stay in power until October – five years after he won the last election – or December, five years after he took his oath of office, Reuters news agency reported.

International monitors have said it would be difficult to hold a fair election by April because of security concerns, bad weather and the logistical challenges of getting ballots.

‘Orderly process’

In Washington, state department spokesman Robert Wood said the US supports the “underlying principles articulated by President Karzai” for the elections to be held in April.

However, Mr Wood said the US “reiterates” its view that elections in August, as proposed by the Independent Elections Commission, “is the best means to assure every Afghan citizen would be able to express his or her political preference in a secure environment”.

Afghanistan requires “an orderly, open and democratic process that ensures continuity of government through the election period to maintain political stability,” he added.

Mr Karzai has been under considerable pressure over the delay and has been accused of using it to illegally extend his rule in breach of the constitution, says the BBC’s Ian Pannell in Kabul.

Now he has put the onus for deciding when the vote should be held, and ultimately who runs the country in the event of a delay, back at the feet of the commission and his opponents, our correspondent says.

The US and other members of the international community supported the IEC’s recommendation for an August poll, as the 17,000 foreign troops expected to bolster peacekeeping forces can be used to secure voting stations from the Taleban, reports say.

IEC chief Azizullah Ludin said that 20 August was chosen for the presidential polls after consultations with Afghan and international security forces.

“They told us there will be new security forces here… and they will guarantee security,” Mr Ludin told a news conference in Kabul in January.

Afghanistan continues to experience militant attacks and suicide bombings by the Taleban, who were ousted from power in the US-led invasion of 2001

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Spanish voters are to head to regional polls in the Basque Country and Galicia – the first political test since Spain slid into recession in 2008.

In the Basque Country, Spain’s ruling Socialists seek to be the first non-nationalist party to form the cabinet.

The Socialists have been focusing their campaign on the economy there rather than issues of national identity.

In Galicia, the Socialists hope to remain part of the governing coalition with the Galician Nationalist Bloc.

More than four million people are eligible to elect regional parliaments in Galicia and the Basque Country when the polls open at 0800 GMT.

Job concerns

In the Basque Country, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) has been in power since Spain returned to democracy three decades ago.

"What kind of unemployment do people prefer, 8%, as we have here, or 14%, as they have in Madrid"
Miren Azkarate
Basque Nationalist spokeswoman

The party has sought to loosen constitutional ties with the central government in Madrid and assert the rights of Basques to decide their own political future.

However, the Socialist Party of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is seeking to score a historic victory in the region.

With the country in recession, polls suggest that Basques are more concerned about jobs than legalistic arguments about sovereignty, the BBC’s Steve Kingstone in Spain says.

The Socialists have portrayed the leader of the current Basque government, Juan Jose Ibarretxe, as out of touch with real issues.

The PNV rejects the claims, saying that the Basque economy is doing so much better that the rest of Spain.

Unemployment is lower in the region than the national average, and Basque incomes are among the highest in Spain, our correspondent says.

The outlawed parties, D3M and Askatasuna, were barred from fielding candidates earlier this month by Spain’s supreme court, after prosecutors accused them of links to Eta militants.

Eta is blamed for more than 800 deaths in a 40-year campaign for an independent Basque homeland.

In Galicia, the Socialists are hoping to hold on to power in a coalition with the Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG).

The polls close at 1900 GMT and the first results are expected later on Sunday.

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By Tom Esslemont
BBC News, Baku

On the outskirts of Azerbaijan’s BP Shah Deniz gas terminal, security guards are on duty around the clock.

They patrol the 15km (9 mile) fence as a damp drizzle falls across the warren of gas pipes and oil platforms behind it. Green and yellow flags flap violently in the wind.

You can see why every effort is made to protect the terminal – this is where most of Azerbaijan’s energy wealth is secured.

Huge volumes of gas are pumped out from underneath the Caspian Sea, refined and fed through pipelines to Europe.

"Azerbaijan is keen for the pipeline to happen. It could take a long time"
Vukar Bayramov
Baku-based analyst

Pipeline scheme gains momentum

EU seeks to expand energy grids

In the coming years, Azerbaijan and the Shah Deniz gas plant could be at the heart of Europe’s energy needs.

The dispute between Ukraine and Russia earlier this year, which left thousands of homes in Eastern Europe in the cold, has turned gas into a burning issue here.

Energy providers in countries like Bulgaria, Hungary and Austria have pledged financial support to a new gas pipeline called Nabucco which, if built, would rely on Azerbaijan to provide the infrastructure for transporting more gas westwards.

And it would most likely begin here at Shah Deniz.

If Nabucco gets the go-ahead, the pipeline would rival the proposed Russian South Stream pipeline and would transport 31 billion cubic metres of gas annually by 2020.

Diversification

The Shah Deniz terminal already provides more than 8bn cubic metres of gas per annum, most of which is transported through a pipeline via Georgia and on to Turkey.

See planned Nabucco gas pipeline route

But it is mostly oil that accounts for Azerbaijan’s wealth.

In the capital, Baku, which is some 30km (19 miles) from Shah Deniz, you only have to look at the ornate gold-stoned facades of the 19th Century buildings to get a sense of what the oil boom did for the economy more than 100 years ago.

"Europe should be much more interested in diversifying its gas supplies "
Shahmar Movsumov
Azeri Oil Fund

Europe still faces gas quandary

Some leading Azeri economists believe that oil production has now peaked, heightening the need for diversification.

“Azerbaijan is keen for the pipeline to happen. It could take a long time. It could take six or seven years, but I think that in terms of money, there are enough funds,” says Vukar Bayramov, chairman of the Baku-based Centre for Economic and Social Development.

However, the government denies that waning oil production is the reason for wanting the pipeline to go ahead.

“My personal view is that Europe should be much more interested in diversifying its gas supplies and… protecting themselves from the type of events that happened earlier this year,” says Shahmar Movsumov, executive director of the Azeri Oil Fund, a government department set up to control the revenue from oil and gas.

Most people in the government are optimistic about prospects for Nabucco. But there is still a major stumbling block to its eventual construction.

Russian pressure

If Nabucco is to happen it will rely not just on Azeri gas, but also on gas from Central Asia where countries currently sell gas to Russia – the country Ukraine blamed for turning off the taps earlier this year.

No-one wants to push this point more than Russia’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Vasili Istratov.

“As far as I’m aware, there is no decision taken anywhere in Central Asia to use Nabucco as a pipeline to transport gas to Europe. If that decision is being taken that’s their decision, it’s their right,” he says.

I ask him whether he thinks Russia is putting pressure on Turkmenistan and other countries in Central Asia to try to deter them from selling gas to the Nabucco pipeline consortium.

Mr Istratov’s reply was short: “Russia is purchasing that gas. Is it pressure Or is it not pressure, just competition in the market”

Turkmenistan is situated hundreds of miles across the choppy Caspian Sea.

Even if its government does agree to sell gas to the Nabucco consortium, it will take a feat of engineering brilliance to transport the gas across the water in order to avoid building the pipeline through Russia.

Mr Bayramov is adamant Nabucco will happen, though he is not sure if it can help prevent future energy disputes between Europe and Russia.

“I’m not sure if Azerbaijan can balance good relations with Russia and Europe,” he said.

“If Nabucco is not approved, then the ruling party will have less opportunity to keep good relations with both Europe and Russia. [Russia] is not a stable partner – just look at the latest crisis.”

Poverty

But Mr Bayramov does not think the problems will end there for Azerbaijan.

If Nabucco goes ahead, he thinks it will inevitably lead to a widening gap between rich and poor in the country.

He told me much of the wealth from oil and gas revenues is being absorbed into the state coffers, with little spin off for the country’s poor.

The government estimates that 15% of people live below the poverty line although some economists, including Mr Bayramov, put it much higher at 25%.

Some villages not far from Baku have even been without a gas supply for the last 17 years.

The Nabucco pipeline may give Azerbaijan a strong chance of further prosperity; and Europe may also be at an advantage.

But it is unclear if people at the bottom end of Azeri society will benefit at all.

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Iraqi security forces say they have captured 11 members of the country’s al-Qaeda network, including the group’s self-styled “oil minister”.

Ali Mahmoud Mohammed and 10 other suspected insurgents were detained on Saturday in a village in Iraq’s Diyala province, east of Baghdad, reports say.

The US says al-Qaeda has been pushed out of much of Iraq, but is still capable of large-scale attacks.

Ali Mahmoud Mohammed is suspected of planning attacks on oil facilities.

The ministerial “posts” were part of a self-styled Islamic state in Iraq reportedly proclaimed by militants in October 2006.

Threat diminished

The latest raids come just a week after al-Qaeda in Iraq’s self-styled “irrigation minister” and “finance minister” were arrested in another operation on 21 February.

The so-called cabinet is said to describe the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq as the group’s “war minister”.

Much of al-Qaeda’s support comes from the area around Diyala and in the province of Nineveh.

Although its capacity for staging attacks has been reduced, it is still viewed as a major threat in Diyala and around the northern city of Mosul.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq was responsible for a violent insurgent campaign in the years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, but its influence has lessened because of the success of a US campaign to isolate it from Iraq’s tribal leaders and Sunni Muslim communities.

The US military succeeded in winning Sunnis over by striking deals and bringing thousands of potential insurgents onto the US payroll, arming and training them

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