The three gendarmes who travelled to Lewis, in the Hebrides, in December were placed under house arrest for two days at their hotel by Scottish police.The gendarmes, who spoke minimal English, had grown impatient with the restrictions placed on them and had started to make investigations of their own, without the permission or presence of the local police force.The Ministry of Justice in Paris had to intervene to get them freed, causing what one French magistrate described at the time as a “diplomatic incident between France and Scotland”.. A push to allow groups of EU countries to embark on closer integration, potentially consigning others such as Britain to the slow lane, was backed by European leaders yesterday and is now destined to form the centrepiece of the Union’s new governing treaty. A push to allow groups of EU countries to embark on closer integration, potentially consigning others such as Britain to the slow lane, was backed by European leaders yesterday and is now destined to form the centrepiece of the Union’s new governing treaty.
Although the details will have to be fleshed out over the next six months, the plans for more flexibility are seen by several countries, including France and Germany, as a sign of new momentum.Britain, which has enjoyed recent success in forging new bilateral alliances with countries such as Spain, has been suspicious of the initiative. But at a summit meeting in Feira, Tony Blair agreed that “provisions on closer co-operation” will be on the agenda for the treaty negotiations at the Inter-Governmental Conference.With both Paris and Berlin backing the plans, some see this as the beginning of a new hard-core of European countries as committed to integration as the original six states which founded the community.Others dispute that a shared commitment exists between France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux trio, and believe it will encourage more complex alliances. However, even the threat of a new inner core on important issues could change the politics of the EU and put pressure on reluctant integrationists.Under the Amsterdam treaty, member states can already forge ahead in groups, providing that more than half of the 15 member states are on board and that their ideas are not vetoed by any of the others.EU leaders need to streamline their decision-making process this year to pave the way for the union’s enlargement to the east, possibly increasing in size to 28 countries. Several possible reforms are being considered, including requiring initiatives to have the backing of fewer member states – perhaps five or six, a symbolic number for those wishing to hark back to the integrationism of the original Europe.

The alternative is that the veto provisions be scrapped altogether.Jacques Chirac, the French president, said: “Enlargement leads to a European union of countries whose cultures, standards of living and economic and social problems are very different. If you do not want the union to break down or reduce to the level of the lowest common denominator, you must have a system for certain countries to show the way ahead.”The decision, highlighted by the Portuguese presidency as a significant achievement, sparked immediate fears of a two-speed Europe. Romano Prodi, the European Commission president, sought to damp down the alarm, arguing that “enhanced co-operation should always leave the door open for any country that would like to participate”.. A Moscow court has rejected a protest by the Russian media baron Vladimir Gusinsky that his arrest and detention for fraud last week was illegal.

A Moscow court has rejected a protest by the Russian media baron Vladimir Gusinsky that his arrest and detention for fraud last week was illegal.
Mr Gusinsky, who controls NTV, the second most popular Russian television channel, and other media outlets that are critical of the Kremlin, was released on Friday after four days in detention. He was ordered to remain in Moscow while his case, relating to alleged misappropriation of property, is pending.In a closed court session yesterday, his lawyers argued that the arrest was illegal because of a recent law giving protection from arrest or imprisonment for holders of state medals and orders. Mr Gusinsky has a “Friendship of Peoples” medal.His arrest drew widespread international condemnation, and is being seen as a big test for President Vladimir Putin.Mr Gusinsky has described Mr Putin as being dragged towards authoritarianism by “three large black dogs”: the Kremlin élite, former members of the KGB, and right-wing pro-market politicians. The incident has united the media and many of the financial “oligarchs” against Mr Putin.. A leading human rights group accused the United States yesterday of violating international standards on child labour by allowing minors – the vast majority Latinos – to work gruelling hours in the fields at the expense of their education, health and other basic labour standards.