The Salzburg Forum (SF) is a Central European security partnership of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Member states cooperate in areas of police cooperation, illegal immigration, witness protection, fight against drugs, traffic safety and other areas of internal security.
They also focus on positions coordination and advancing common interests in the European Union in the area of Home Affairs.
At least two conferences of interior ministers per year are held.
As a rule, three SF ministerial meetings are held per year. One meeting takes place in the country holding the presidency and one further meeting is usually held in summer in Austria. In addition, ministers regularly meet in the margins of EU Council meetings.

Purpose

In a report on migration in the Czech Republic, the responsible Czech ministry published the following summary on SF.

“The Ministers of the Interior of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, and Slovenia have cooperated within the Salzburg groups since the adoption of the Salzburg Declaration in 2001. Ministers of Bulgaria and Romania joined the group in 2005 as candidate countries of the European Union. This cooperation became a basis for close partnership of participating countries in activities relating to internal security and regional stability. The initial objective of the Salzburg Group was, through mutual cooperation and exchanges of experience, to facilitate the inclusion of candidate countries and new EU Member States into a single European area of freedom, security and justice, with priorities being police cooperation, border checks, illegal migration, and asylum. Activities of the Salzburg Group focus nowadays mainly on specific cooperation in the area of common regional issues in the context of membership of the Salzburg Group states in the European Union. The Salzburg Group is, according to the statement of the Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, Mr. Frattini, at the meeting of the Ministers of the Interior of the Salzburg Group states held in Gratz, Austria, in July 2005, an important forum for the exchange of opinions, ideas and experiences concerning the creation of the area of freedom, security and justice, i.e. tasks arising from the Hague Programme.
A special emphasis is, in this context, placed on regional cooperation regarding asylum and migration, in particular on enhancing information exchanges and cooperation between public institutions concerned, the development of common strategies for combating illegal migration, trafficking in human beings and the exploitation of women and children, as well as on the harmonisation of relevant legal provisions of the European Union in relation to third countries. With regard to the domain of asylum, cooperation aims at harmonising standards for the admission of asylum seekers and procedural guarantees corresponding with the good practice of asylum proceedings in EU Member States. An Expert Working Group for information on countries of origin of asylum seekers operates within the Salzburg Group.”

Structure

The Ministers of Interior of the member states (and their experts) meet several times per year. Since 1 July 2004 the SF has been organized as a semi-annual presidency, which rotates in alphabetical order according to the English name of the member states. Until 1 July 2004 all the SF meetings were organized solely by Austria.

Reconstructed timeline

17–19 July 2003, Fuschl (Salzburg)

At the fourth SF participants included not only the six members, but also Antonio Vitorino (EU Commissioner for JHA) and Giuseppe Pisanu (EU Council's President, Minister of Interior of Italy). This was the first time that the President of the European Council has participated in the SF meeting. The key points of the meeting were:

 The ministers agreed that the SF would support the neighbours of Austria to accept the Schengen-System, this way a double safe zone would unfold which provides Austria more security. Notwithstanding Austria was highly interested in gradually moving the Schengen border to the external border of the EU.
 Pisanu insisted on the main issues of the Italian presidency in the field of internal security: border control, migration, and asylum, war on terrorism and organised crime. Each country should decide on its own the number of immigrants to be received. Better cooperation is needed with the transit countries. In the border control "common units" should be established, first in the "smallest and weakest" countries so that the change for the Schengen-System would be easier for the countries of East Europe and the Mediterranean. He urged a strict visa policy and compulsory stamping for tourists with visa-waiver. The unfounded asylum applications should be firmly refused. Common investigation teams should be established in the fight against organized crime, where the national police chiefs might have a leading role in order to support the Europol's strategic direction. A network of contact officers should be set up.
 Vitorino urged the establishment of a European Border Police for extreme situations, but the integrity of the external border should be provided by the national border patrol.
 The ministers of interior signed a "Common Statement on the regional cooperation in the frame of the expanded European Union". The statement is on the Schengen cooperation at the borders and the establishment of a European external border management.
 Austria and Slovenia signed an agreement on cooperation and improving security in the two countries, which ought to contribute to the preparation of opening their borders even before Slovenia's EU accession.
 Austria demanded a common European border protection for which the first step would be the common standards of education, equipment, participation of national border officers and the improvement of the national border services. This work is based on an Italian study which proposes a network of decentralised competences. Austria would take part in the education of the border officers and provides the core material for their studies and the financial and personal background as well. A permanent coordination office could be built in Austria.
 Giuseppe Pisanu, Rado Bohinc (Slovenia) and Ernst Strasser (Austria) signed a protocol on police co-operation in supervising state borders and preventing illegal migration

Austrian Presidency, 1st half year, 2004

26 January 2004, Vienna

At a meeting between the American Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Austrian interior minister Ernst Strasser, the Austrian minister used the opportunity to point out insofar the European security is concerned Austria's place as a bridge between the western and eastern European countries and their task to connect these states, especially the SF countries to the USA. He also talked about the goals of SF, like a "European police force" (the so-called Euro cops), the implementation of the Solana Paper, the West Balkan Strategy, the training workshop for air marshals, and the fight against drug trade in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, which are significant for transit to Austria. A future visit at SF meeting by a USA representative was also mentioned.

15 April 2004, Vienna

Interior ministers of 11 current (6 of them that time still future) members of the European Union met for informal talks to discuss common security and immigration issues during which Austria submitted a six-point security plan. Austria Interior Ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia said the talks would take place in Vienna between the five largest EU states—Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain—and the six-nation Salzburg Group, comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Austria itself.
Austria's Interior Minister Ernst Strasser outlined six proposals to share information and coordinate measures taken to improve security in Europe, in the wake of the 11 March train bombings in Madrid in which killed 191 people.
Strasser's six-point plan included access to a European finger-printing databank, exchanges of information about people seeking visas and about travellers, improved cooperation between Interpol and its European equivalent Europol, new biometric information in passports and standardised security at EU airports.
After the Madrid attacks, Austria called for the establishment of a new intelligence service dubbed "a European CIA", but ran into opposition from France and Germany.
The ministers also discussed the status of refugees which had just been harmonised by the EU despite criticism from aid and rights organisations.

Czech Presidency, 2004 2nd half year

15–17 July 2004, Fuschl

 The Austrian Interior Minister insisted on that the future EU Border Agency should be in one of the SF member countries and the financial burden of the external border protection should be divided among all EU states. Mr. Strasser was skeptical about the plans of the Dutch presidency on common EU border police.
 From the SF Slovenia, Poland and Hungary were competing for the seat of the border agency, along with Estonia and Malta.
 The above-mentioned points were included in the twelve points proposal which was to be filed at the JHA Council on 19 July.
 The participants agreed on an anti-terror package which eminently based on the cooperation of the police authorities and the improvement of the data exchange. The plans include a study on the use of the EURODAC databank for purposes fighting criminality and terror.
 It was agreed experts from the newcomers should be involved in developing the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) so as to secure technical uniformity.
 Simplified border regimes should be introduced on other internal borders such as already exist between Slovenia, Austria and Hungary.
 Quick completion of Europol's information infrastructure and a two-phase evaluation of the Schengen system (dividing the evaluated regions into chapters which would be temporarily closed, according to the rule that nothing can be closed without having discussed everything) were the main issues at the meeting, according to the Polish Ministry of Interior.
 The Polish minister presented a feasibility study on the implementation of a system of improved exchange of data with Europol through a network of liaison officers. In his opinion, a more co-ordinated and active communication between liaison officers from the countries of the Salzburg Forum is possible. He was also in favour of a quick completion of electronic infrastructure of Europol - EIS system, which will ensure a safe and undelayed communication between liaison officers residing in the Hague and the national contact points delegating them. He suggested preparing and signing a joint declaration on creating a "Network of Co-operation between Liaison Officers of the Salzburg Group" and forming a working group whose task would be to draw up detailed guidelines regulating co-operation within the framework of this initiative.5
 The Hungarian party put forward a concept of removing the existing barriers which at present make it impossible to use the EURODAC system for police purposes. The concept envisages adding the records gathered in the national criminal dactyloscopic registers to the EURODAC database and providing Europol, Eurojust and national police authorities with access to the so enriched base. Fingerprints would be taken from persons arrested while illegally crossing the border or detained during an illegal stay. They would be compared not only with the fingerprints of persons seeking asylum, but also with other records of the enlarged EURODAC database.

12 November 2004, Prague.

 Main issues: Opening of the EURODAC database for police purposes, cross-border exchange of police data, EU accession 2007, Schengen Accession in 2007.
 Austria signed a readmission agreement with the Czech Republic so that it would be easier to readmit the asylum-seekers who have already started an asylum procedure in the Czech Republic.
 Slovenia expected to enter the Schengen group by 2007.
 Newcomers should have access to the Schengen database even before they officially join the group. (Slovenia).
 Hungary suggested that EURODAC data should be used by other databases such as Europol, Eurojust, INTERPOL and the Schengen group.

Hungarian Presidency, 2005 1st half year

January, 2005 Warsaw

The ministers of foreign affairs of SF countries met for the fifth times in Warsaw to
discuss the actual political matters in Ukraine, and the further relationship between the EU and Ukraine. The ministers also talked about the future EU relationship between the EU countries and the West-Balkan countries, the bases of the EU neighbour politics, the
humanitarian aid, and the consular collaboration.

21–22 April 2005, Budapest

During the first half of 2005 Hungary presided over the SF, that time consisted of the Ministers of the Interior of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The program of the 22 April 2005, meeting of the Forum included, inter alia, enlarging the 6 Forum to Romania and Bulgaria, cooperating to protect witnesses, sharing reliable information on the country of origin in asylum procedures, and preparing to implement the Schengen Convention standards, the Visa Information System, and biometrics. The Hungarian Minister of Interior has put forward the idea of connecting Eurodac (the EU database on asylum seekers and illegal aliens) to criminal records, an idea that was fully supported by the five other ministers and was proposed to the EU.

Under the Hungarian freedom of information legislation HCLU obtained a note from the Hungarian Minister of Interior issued by the Hungarian Deputy State Secretary of International Affairs of the Ministry of Interior, July 2005.

(unofficial translation)

Subject: summary on the Hungarian presidency of the Salzburg Forum

 Completion of a list of experts, which aims to develop the coordination mechanism of the SF. The list includes the contacts of experts from SF countries who work either in Brussels or other capitols. This establishes the possibility for discussion by them on such specific matters as migration, visa policy and law enforcement.
 With the expansion of the Salzburg Group, internal affairs ministers of Romania and Bulgaria have been invited to the Ministers Meeting in Graz on 28–29 July, which further helps the integration of these new members to the EU.
 In relation to cooperation in criminal matters, examining possible regional cooperation trends and uniting the witness protection activity was launched on Hungarian initiation. SF member states accepted the plan and Austria has volunteered to carry it out. A joint document was expected to be issued in July by the justice and internal affairs departments.
 Hungary's intention in planning to share the reliable and up-to-date country of origin information is to assist the SF in finding its own path down the clearly confined ways of the EU. Experience gained would not only benefit Hungary, but also other member states and bordering third states. SF member states have agreed to have a specific expert group work out all related details. Hungary has volunteered to carry  out the project.  (The UNHCR has shown an interest in taking part in the country of origin project and have offered their help.)
 An agreement was reached in relation to cooperation on practices in traffic-safety and traffic-control. It was agreed that a traffic-enforcement network will be established for information-exchange, experience collection and expert-exchange. Basically, national police headquarters of the SF states will cooperate. The launch of the operation "Falcon" was decided by ministers at the Assembly of ministers in Budapest. With the joint cooperation of six countries' police, Operation Hawk took place 6–12 June 2005. Among the goals of the operation were to enforce drivers to obey the rule of the road, to filter out drivers under the influence of alcohol and search for missing persons and individuals for whom warrants of arrest have been issued. The operation was a success.
 Review of the initiatives of 2004 – 2005
 In the interest of underlining an effective and joint stand, primary interest matters such as strengthening of inner security, fighting against illegal migration, stressing of return policy, fighting against corruption as well as refugee issues and migration management were discussed and debated and settled at the meetings of the Salzburg Forum.
 During the preparation and organization of the Schengen evaluations, Poland-Slovakia, and Czech Republic-Slovenia-Hungary have to work closely together in groups assigned by the Schengen Workgroup. The collation on technical details have begun, the appointed coordinators contacted. The exchange of the national Schengen Action Plans among each other, through which SF member states joining the Schengen Agreement has secured the excellent possibility of familiarizing with other member state's current stand and the remaining law-making and institution development tasks.

Cooperation in the area of traffic control

The ministers of interior discussed how to make regional cooperation more efficient,
topics included the highway patrol, highway security and the small border traffic, together with the expectations of the Schengen Agreement.

The cooperation in the area of traffic control began on 22 April 2005 with the meeting of
the ministers of interior in Budapest. In advance at the meeting of experts at the Ministry of Interior an agreement had been concluded about the necessity of the cooperation which
specified the fields of cooperation and given concrete suggestions of the minister's meeting.

From the Hungarian side, the following suggestions were introduced concerning the
traffic control:
 unified approach at the performance of the traffic checks (by concentrating on the highest risk factors and using the same kind of sanctions)
 introducing the "objective responsibility" as regards infringements of traffic control
 initiative of the most advanced traffic control systems
 more efficient action against the foreign traffic violators (necessity of bilateral agreements, etc.)
 the further deepening of relations, professional exchange, and education of the best practical solutions through the exchange of policemen who speak foreign languages.

At the ministers of interior meeting in Budapest an agreement was concluded about the
establishment of a "traffic control contact network" through the SF countries, which would help the daily share of information and the professional experiences, plus the experts exchange.

This would be the beginning of all the actions, which would help to reach further goals.

On Slovakian initiative the ministers also agreed on common traffic controls. The first
action called "Hawk" was made 6–11 June 2005 with great success. This was the first
common traffic control action made by 6 EU countries. The second action was at the end of July 2005, which was organized by the Hungarian police.

After the success of these actions, if the ministers approve this suggestion the further
traffic control actions would be organized, coordinated and evaluated by the Hungarian
police department of traffic control according to the preliminary agreement of the international partners. Next to the common traffic controls personal discussions and professionals meetings are needed in every year or half year.
(The above-mentioned suggestions were realized at the next meeting of ministers of
interior in Graz at 28–29 July 2005. Hungary took on the execution of the future traffic control actions, and Poland, under its half year of presidency of the SF, would plan the meeting of experts.)

Polish Presidency, 2005 2nd half year

28–29 July 2005, Graz

As the Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration reported
“Another meeting of the Salzburg Group took place in Graz (Austria) on 28 and 29
July 2005. The Ministry of the Interior and Administration of Poland was
represented by the Undersecretary of State, Mr Paweł Dakowski. The Ministers of
the Interior of Austria, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and
Romania as well as the E.U Commissioner, Mr. Franco Frattini and the Director
General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Mr Brunson McKinley discussed issues connected with:

 the Action Plan, which is a result of the Hague Programme;
 combating terrorism, especially after the recent events in London;
 regional co-operation.

Romania became an official member of the Group.

Ministers adopted Declaration.

Minister Paweł Dakowski introduced main priorities of the Polish Presidency in the
Salzburg Group. The priorities are:

 Schengen evaluation;
 Co-ordination of tasks connected with the area of witness protection;
 Well thought out approach to the future exchange of credible and updated information regarding the country of origin;

Co-ordination of efforts in the area of road traffic patrol and safety on roads.“

19 October 2005, Warsaw

Another consultation was on 19 October 2005 in Warsaw, where the Romanian and
Bulgarian representatives of traffic police were present too. The reason of this consultation was the development of the regional road regulation coordination, the determination of the main risks in traffic security, and the development of the common traffic campaigns. The Hungarian side proposed four common actions executions for the year of 2006 in Warsaw (April - drugs and alcohol check, May - safety belt check, September - traffic control of trucks, October - speeding control).

November 2005, Warsaw

The Czech Ministry of Interior reported that
“An Expert Working Group for information on countries of origin of asylum seekers
operates within the Salzburg Group. Its first meeting was held in November 2005 in Warsaw. This meeting identified common priorities of participating states with regard to the countries of origin of asylum seekers arriving in the states of the Salzburg Forum. The participants discussed also issues of closer regional cooperation in collecting information on the countries of origin in relation to the objectives setting in this respect by the Hague Programme.”

Slovakian Presidency, 2006 1st half year

22–23 May 2006, Bratislava

At the meeting of the ministers of interior of the SF countries the question of the
European cooperation in protection of witnesses was not solved, although the EU countries decided long ago to make it possible for the protected witnesses and their families to start a new life in another country. The solution failed because of the problem of the biometric parts of the documents like finger prints and pictures. The ministers also discussed the financing of the Eastern EU borders, and the new European traffic control actions.

Slovenian Presidency, 2006 2nd half year

27–28 July 2006, Göttweig

The SF meeting in Göttweig was the first time when at a meeting of the group Croatia took part as an observer. The eubusiness.com reported “Interior Ministers from eight Central European countries demanded on Friday that new EU members be quickly allowed into the Schengen border-free zone. The ministers of the "Salzburg Group" countries (plus Croatia), demanded that the sophisticated computer system SIS II, intended to ensure the safety of the borderfree zone, be rapidly implemented after long delays. This system should be "completed in a timely fashion... in order to lift internal border controls as soon as possible," they said in a declaration, citing their own efforts to improve border controls in accordance with Schengen. European Union Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini had said the EU's newest members would join the Schengen unified visa system in March 2008 at the earliest, instead of autumn 2007,
because of technical problems.

Countries within the Schengen zone eliminated their internal borders in 1995 but reinforced controls on their external borders with the Strasbourg-based Schengen Information System (SIS).

SIS relies on the authorities (police, courts and customs offices) of the 15 Schengen states but does not have the capacity to absorb the 10 members who joined the EU in 2004, as well as Switzerland which joined Schengen last year, according to Brussels, making the second-generation SIS necessary.

The Salzburg Group countries, which want to act as a counterbalance to the large EU members on issues of justice and the police, also agreed to reinforce DNA data exchanges to fight crime, Austrian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Iris Mueller-Guttenbrunn said.”

25 October 2006, Brdo

The Slovenian Ministry of the Interior summarized that

“Representatives of the Ministries of the Interior of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia met today at Brdo near Kranj within the framework of the Salzburg Forum. On behalf of Slovenia, which on 1 July 2006 took over the presidency of the Forum, Minister Mate had invited the ministers to hold a discussion on the future strategy and manner of operation of the Forum as well as on the programme and priorities of Slovenia’s EU presidency. Additionally, ministers reviewed the activities of the existing working groups and discussed the final confirmation of leadership of individual working groups assumed by the member countries.

At the press conference, the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Austria Liese Prokop and the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia Dragutin Mate summed up that the Salzburg Forum nowadays represents a respectable group of countries endeavouring to promote common interests within the EU, assisting each other and cooperating in various fields. During today’s meeting, they discussed the need to cooperate with other countries in the repression of organised crime, terrorism and illegal migration.

The Portugal’s proposal of setting up the system »SISone4all« or »SIS I+«, which represents an alternative solution for the new EU Member States in joining the Schengen Area, featured high on the agenda. As Minister Mate said, Slovenia’s access to the Schengen database depends on the opinion of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, which will decide on eventual implementation of the system SIS I+ at its meeting this December. »The 25 EU Member States must receive complete assurance that the system will provide the highest security standards, that it will be tested and technically adequate« replied Minister Liese Prokop when asked when we can expect entry into the Schengen area without internal borders.”

“Before the informal meeting of the JHA Council, in Tampere (Finland) Slovenia, in its capacity as the presiding country of the Salzburg Forum, organised a meeting of Salzburg Forum Member States which was mostly aimed at exchanging views on the new schedule of implementing SIS II. Slovenian Minister of the Interior Dragutin Mate reiterated the concerns and dissatisfaction expressed at the meeting between the current presidency and future presiding states of the Council of the European Union over the current situation and appealed to Salzburg Forum states to seek alternative solutions that would enable
access to Schengen databases irrespective of future development of SIS II.

The Czech Republic agreed with the suggested approach in principle whereas the rest of the SF Member States supported further development of SIS II and appealed to the Commission to provide more transparency, mostly by submitting regular reports on the current state of affairs in SIS II development to the Council of Ministers.

In the context of the debates on delayed SIS II implementation and, subsequently, abolition of internal borders, the Slovenian Minister of the Interior Dragutin Mate drew attention to a great financial burden that will be shouldered on, mostly, new Member States.

Ministers of the Salzburg Forum wrote a letter to Vice-President Frattini and the Finnish chairperson. The letter called upon the current EU presidency and the Commission to come up with solutions to help overcome financial implications of the delay until entering the Schengen area by either considering the 2007-2013 financial instruments or establishing a special financial instrument for that purpose.”

4 October 2006

The development of the Schengen Information System, the visa policy, the function of the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency, the criminal protection of the intellectual property were among the discussed topics of the meeting. The member states paid greater attention to the review of the Hague Programme.

Austrian Presidency, 2007 1st half year

12–13 July 2007, Innsbruck

This meeting dealt with the enlargement of the Schengen area, and the European
Football Championship, which will be organized by Austria this time.

The Hungarian minister introduced the actions, which have been taken to achieve full
membership in the Schengen area: the technical developments, the training of the personal staff, the police's integration, and believed that the Hungarian accession will not increase the illegal immigration and organized crime in Austria.

He also indicated that the Hungarian police is ready to monitor the Hungarian fans, who
will travel to the Championship, to keep up the public order. Moreover, he mentioned all the measures to be demanded on the Hungarian side, when Austria will set back the frontier control during the Championship. They also discussed the SF's future foreign strategy, the future of the European internal/interior politics from 2010, the possibility of making a European Information Net. A Common Declaration was signed by the participants including all these matters (http://www.bmi.gv.at/bmireader/documents/430.pdf).

In the second semester of 2007

“Bulgaria took up the Presidency of the Salzburg Forum, which unites the
countries from Central Europe. This country will work for the further confirmation
of the Forum as a regional mechanism for exchange of information and
coordinating positions in the sphere of internal affairs within the EU; as well as for
encouraging common interests, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced.
Bulgaria’s presidency of the Forum would focus on the development of the
“external dimension” of the Salzburg Forum and the enhancement of cooperation
with the countries of the Western Balkans.

The first one of the basic political goals of the Bulgarian Presidency of the
Salzburg Forum is the enhancement of exchange among member-countries in the
sphere of internal affairs, said at a news conference Bulgarian Interior Minister
Rumen Petkov. The Salzburg Forum was created by the countries of Central and
East Europe for the building of common positions and policies in the sphere of
justice and internal order. During its presidency Bulgaria will work for the
deepening of police cooperation through the creation of operative relations, a
system for information exchange in real time and the working out of a common
database.“

Austrian Presidency, 2007 2nd half year

20–21 September 2007, Pleven

This meeting established the Group of Friends of Salzburg Forum from the Western Balkans. The function of this group was to promote dialogue and cooperation between the Salzburg Forum countries and third countries.

"The cooperation between the Salzburg Forum and its Friends is based on a balanced
and flexible approach, aiming to ensure maximum coordination and coherence in their
joint activities, thus avoiding unduly duplication and overlap of efforts and resources.
The common goal of the Salzburg Forum countries and their Friends from
Western Balkans is to enhance the level of security of their citizens and to contribute
to the further stabilisation of the region.
The additional strengthening of mutual trust is one of the most important prerequisites
for an active and successful partnership.
The Salzburg Forum countries will actively support their Friends from the Western
Balkans on their way to European integration. They will also encourage and assist
them in the adoption and effective implementation of European standards
practices in the field of justice and home affairs, and more specifically towards
achieving the European security standards regarding fight against terrorism, organised
crime, corruption, and illegal migration, building upon the results achieved so far."

Other topics discussed by the Forum at Pleven meeting were the security of EU external borders, EU Migration Policy, and enhancing FRONTEX capacity.

Czech Presidency, 2008

15–16 May 2008, Prague

The Prague meeting of the SF was headed by principal quaestor Vasile-Gabriel Nita, Secretary of State, Head of the Schengen Department of the MIAR.

In considering the external dimension of the Salzburg Forum, one of the key points addressed during this meeting was the decision to support Romania and Bulgaria in their efforts to join the Schengen territory. There were also approached questions regarding a possible European agreement in the area of Immigration and Asylum.

The prevention of road traffic accidents was also discussed.
The future of the Schengen system was also addressed. At the conclusion of the meeting, the presiding country of the Salzburg Forum, the Czech Republic, presented the priorities of its EU Council Presidency, while the ministers also discussed the conclusions and recommendations of the working parties operating within the Salzburg Forum. The meeting concluded with a discussion on the development and implementation of the second-generation Schengen information system (SIS II) and on the potential for further enlargement of the Schengen area.

The future

Apparently the SF continues its work at least until the Schengen Agreement implementation by Romania and Bulgaria. Although originally Austria has forged the coalition to speed up the abolishment of the borders with its neighbours within the Schengen framework, now the SF rises above the original plan both geographically and in scope of its activities.

According to the Austrian Federal Minister of Interior the members of the SF are powerful together (now that the coalition comprises eight EU states), but he has not substantiated
his statement and it is unlikely that he will succeed in that in the near future.

Calendar

Forthcoming presidencies of the Salzburg Forum:

Czech Republic:                        1st half of 2008
Hungary:                               2nd half of 2008
Poland:                                1st half of 2009
Romania:                               2nd half of 2009
Slovakia:                              1st half of 2010
Slovenia:                              2nd half of 2010
Austria:                               1st half of 2011

Sources

Introduction

https://web.archive.org/web/20110607120800/http://www.mvcr.cz/dokument/2006/migrace05en.pdf

2003 Fuschl

http://www.bmi.gv.at/oeffentlSicherheit/2003/09_10/artikel_5.asp
https://web.archive.org/web/20070429080845/http://slonews.sta.si/index.php?id=1134&s=48

2004 January Vienna

http://www.bmi.gv.at/oeffentlSicherheit/2004/03_04/artikel_14.asp
https://archive.today/20070505135609/http://austria.usembassy.gov/en/policy/ashcroft.htm

2004 April Vienna

http://www.borrull.org/e/noticia.php?id=31280&id2=2210

2004 Fuschl

http://www.vienna.at/engine.aspx?page=vienna-article-detail-print-page/cn/commonnews-20040717-042300_000030
http://www.mswia.gov.pl/wai/en/1/92
http://www.gzs.si/eng/news/sbw/past.asp?idi=340
http://www.mswia.gov.pl/portal/en/1/103

2004 Prag

http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung.php?schluessel=OTS_20041111_OTS0254&ch=politik
https://web.archive.org/web/20080120073248/http://www.ukom.gov.si/eng/slovenia/publications/slovenia-news/1426/1433/

2005 Budapest

https://web.archive.org/web/20070315163636/http://www.privacyinternational.org/survey/phr2005/PHR2005greece-latvia.pdf
http://balesetmegelozes_hu.web.maxer.hu/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47&Itemid=20

2005 Graz

https://web.archive.org/web/20110518233815/http://www.mswia.gov.pl/wai.php?serwis=en&dzial=1&id=145&sw=1
http://www.bmi.gv.at/oeffentlSicherheit/2005/09_10/FORUMSALZBURG.pdf

2005 Warsaw

https://web.archive.org/web/20110607120800/http://www.mvcr.cz/dokument/2006/migrace05en.pdf

2006 Heligendamm

http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090715045142/http%3A//www.openeurope.org.uk/media%2Dcentre/article.aspx?newsid%3D1470

2006 Bratislava

https://web.archive.org/web/20110721105056/http://www.echotv.hu/index.php?akt_menu=73&page=448&catid=6

2006 Göttweig

http://www.eubusiness.com/Living_in_EU/060728170206.43ormt5j
http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung.php?schluessel=OTS_20060721_OTS0094

2006 Brdo

https://web.archive.org/web/20070430090309/http://www.mnz.gov.si/en/splosno/vstopna_stran/current_events_news/more1/
https://web.archive.org/web/20070430090331/http://www.mnz.gov.si/en/splosno/vstopna_stran/current_events_news/jha/

2007 Innsbruck

http://www.inforadio.hu/hir/kulfold/hir
http://ots.mti.hu/news.asp?view=2&newsid=45276
http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/News/0507B16.htm

2007 Pleven

http://www.mswia.gov.pl/wai/en/1/381/Ministerial_Meeting_of_the_Salzburg_Forum.html
http://press.mvr.bg/en/News/news080125_03.htm

2008 Prague

https://web.archive.org/web/20080526033043/http://www.mai.gov.ro/engleza/index10.htm#schengen
https://web.archive.org/web/20110719072228/http://www.mnz.gov.si/en/splosno/cns/news/article/2049/5974/?cHash=fe69591cb9
http://tokyo.mae.ro/index.php?lang=en&id=31&s=67758

2012 Mátraháza
10–12 October

References and notes

See also
Central European Defence Cooperation
Visegrád Group
Three Seas Initiative
G6 (Group of Six)
Area of freedom, security and justice

External links
 Forum Salzburg

International organizations based in Europe
Central Europe
European integration
International security
Foreign relations of Austria
Foreign relations of Bulgaria
Foreign relations of Croatia
Foreign relations of the Czech Republic
Foreign relations of Hungary
Foreign relations of Poland
Foreign relations of Romania
Foreign relations of Slovakia
Foreign relations of Slovenia
Central European intergovernmental organizations
Bottom-up regional groups within the European Union


Cornwall is the county that forms the tip of the southwestern peninsula of England; this area has a mild and warm climate regulated by the Gulf Stream. The mild climate allows rich plant cover, such as palm trees in the far south and west of the county and in the Isles of Scilly, due to sub-tropical conditions in the summer.

On Cornwall's moors and high ground areas the high elevation makes tree cover impossible because of the wind, so these areas are populated by shrubs and bushes such as gorse and heather. Ferns, mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi can all be found in the county. In the wettest areas of Bodmin Moor, sphagnum or bog moss can be found.

Cornwall is home to many rare flower species, especially at the southern end of the Lizard, due to its unique soil and geology. On the Lizard Peninsula, Cornish heath – the floral emblem of Cornwall – mesembryanthemums, butcher's broom, early meadow grass and a wide range of clovers including the Lizard clover, brookweed and yellow wallpepper can be found. The north coast of Cornwall features maritime grassland, heathland and stunted woodland.
In medieval times there were on royal estates and on those of the Bishop of Exeter a number of deer parks in which fallow deer were contained for hunting. The only episcopal manors with deer parks were Lanner, Pawton and Penryn. At Helston in Trigg (Lanteglos) and at Liskeard were probably the oldest deer parks; they were two of the seven which passed from the Earldom to the Duchy of Cornwall in 1337. Among the seven were two at Liskeard (old and new) and a new park at Helston in Trigg and small parks at Launceston and Trematon; the park at Restormel was probably established by Earl Richard. The then existing ducal parks were disparked by King Henry VIII about the year 1540 so that they became pasture for cattle. There were also a number of privately owned deer parks, both large and small, e.g. Carn Brea, Polrode, Boconnoc and Mount Edgcumbe.

Coastal waters
The county's coastal waters are home to large populations of seals. Porpoises, whales and sharks are not uncommonly seen.

Porbeagles inhabit the coastal waters but the etymology of the word is obscure. A common suggestion is that it combines "porpoise" and "beagle", referencing this shark's shape and tenacious hunting habits. Another is that it is derived from the Cornish porth, meaning "harbour", and bugel, meaning "shepherd". The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word was either borrowed from Cornish or formed from a Cornish first element with the English "beagle"; however, none of the proposed Cornish root words are fully satisfactory. Squalus cornubicus (Gmelin, 1789); Squalus cornubiensis (Pennant, 1812) and Lamna cornubica are other Latin names for the porbeagle.

Swanpool is the only location in the British Isles in which the bryozoan Victorella pavida is found.

Cliffs, estuaries and riversides

The sea cliffs host many marine bird species with the red-billed chough recently returning to the county after a long absence. This rare bird appears on the Cornish coat of arms and is the county animal of Cornwall. The nominate subspecies and smallest form, is endemic to the British Isles, where it was restricted to Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the far west of Wales and Scotland, until it recently recolonised Cornwall after an absence of many years.

The tidal estuaries along the coasts contain large numbers of wading birds, while marshland bird species frequently settle in the bogs and mires inland. Bodmin Moor is a breeding ground for species such as lapwing, snipe and curlew. On and around the rivers, sand martins and kingfishers are often seen, while after a decline in the 1960s and 1970s, Eurasian otters have been returning in large numbers. The Camel Valley is one of the habitats for otters. Bude Canal offers an ideal habitat for water voles, although the population is declining because of habitat degradation and pollution, like in other parts of the country.

The Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital and Sanctuary is a wildlife hospital based near Mousehole. The hospital was founded in 1928 by Dorothy and Phyllis Yglesias and became famous following the Torrey Canyon disaster.
The Cornish Seal Sanctuary, in Gweek, was founded in 1958 and is a sanctuary for injured seal pups.

The Tamar Valley

Tamar Valley AONB
The Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers around  around the lower Tamar (below Launceston) and its tributaries the Tavy and the Lynher. It was first proposed in 1963, but was not designated until 1995.

The Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre, North Petherwin (now permanently closed)
The Tamar Otter and Wildlife Centre has European and Asian short-clawed otters and a medium-sized duck pond, a nature trail including snowy and barn owls and other birds along it. It has a fish pond, a restaurant area and a gift shop. The nature trail is full of wildlife such as fallow and muntjac deer, peacocks and the not quite so English wallabies. As well as this the nature trail has a waterfall falling down from the top of an old quarry and every few years different segments of the woodlands are coppiced. Some of the wood from this scheme is piled up in random areas of the woodlands as it makes a perfect home for badgers, hedgehogs and many creepy crawlies.

The Lizard Peninsula

Several nature sites exist on the Lizard Peninsula; Predannack nature reserve, Mullion Island, Goonhilly Downs and the National Seal sanctuary at Gweek. It is also home to one of England's rarest breeding birds – the red-billed chough. This species of crow, distinctive due to its red beak and legs, as well as the haunting "chee-aw" call, began breeding on Lizard in 2002. This followed a concerted effort by the Cornish Chough Project in conjunction with DEFRA and the RSPB.

The Lizard contains some of the most specialised flora of any area in Britain, including many Red Data Book plant species. Of particular note is the Cornish heath, Erica vagans, that occurs in abundance here, but which is found nowhere else in Britain. It is also one of the few places where the rare formicine ant, (the narrow-headed ant), can be found.

The Lizard district has a local organisation, the Lizard Field Club, whose members have studied the natural history of the area since 1953.

South coast
At Polruan the gorse covered south facing cliffs between Polruan and Polperro provide habitats for the goldfinch, yellowhammer and stonechat in particular. Reptile species include the slowworm and the adder. The latter is particularly numerous.

Marine life includes the basking shark which have been known to enter the harbour. In 1972 a particularly large example was seen at the end of Polruan Quay; it was longer than the width of the quay. Other fish that may be found in local waters including the estuary include: bass, wrasse (4 varieties), seahorse, pipe fish, pollock, coalfish, flounder, plaice, conger eel, European eel, dragonet, red gurnard, grey gurnard, blenny (shanney), bullhead, burbot, butterfish, sand-eel, salmon, sea trout, garfish, mackerel, angler fish (incorrectly named in restaurants "monk fish"), dab, whitebait, scad (horse mackerel), shad, herring, turbot, pouting, poor cod and rockling.

Isles of Scilly

Because of the Gulf Stream, the climate of Scilly is particularly mild so sub-tropical plants can grow there, including true palm trees. Scilly is the first landing for many migrant birds, including extreme rarities from North America and Siberia. Scilly is situated far into the Atlantic Ocean, so many North American vagrant birds will make first European landfall in the archipelago.

Scilly is responsible for many firsts for Britain, and is particularly good at producing vagrant American passerines. If an extremely rare bird turns up, the island will see a significant increase in numbers of birders.

Flora

Botanists divide Cornwall and Scilly into two vice-counties: West (1) and East (2): the boundary runs irregularly from Truro to Wadebridge.

The standard flora is by F. Hamilton Davey Flora of Cornwall (1909). Davey was assisted by A. O. Hume and he thanks Hume, his companion on excursions in Cornwall and Devon, and for help in the compilation of that Flora, publication of which was financed by him. Davey gives an account of all the reports of Cornish plants from 1576 until his own time and divides the county into eight districts. The Isles of Scilly are covered by the Flora but not very thoroughly: there is a good Flora of Scilly by J. E. Lousley. Edgar Thurston and Chambré C. Vigurs published a supplement to the flora in 1922 and in 1981 L. J. Margetts and R. W. David published A Review of the Cornish Flora. 1980 Pool: Institute of Cornish Studies . A supplement to this for 1980–1991 by Margetts and K. L. Spurgin appeared in 1991.

Another useful source of botanical information is The Flowers of the Field, by C. A. Johns (1853): it treats the country as a whole (with a supplement on grasses), but Johns was a Cornishman and very knowledgeable about its flora and fauna. The Rev Charles Alexander Johns, F.L.S. (1811–1974) is also responsible for calling the attention of botanists to the very specialised flora of the Lizard in A Week at the Lizard, 1848, written when he was a teacher at Helston Grammar School.

Plants of the environs of Tintagel
"Within easy reach of Tintagel at least 385 varieties of flowers, 30 kinds of grasses, and 16 of ferns can be found ... a 'happy hunting ground' for botanists" and a list of thirty-nine of the rarest is given. (Contribution by E.M.S. to W. J. C. Armstrong's Rambler's Guide, 1935.)

Cornish symbology
The Cornish national flower is variously said to be either broom, furze (gorse), rhododendron, or Cornish heath. The Cornish national tree is the sessile oak, known in Cornwall as the Cornish oak.

Thrift (Armeria maritima) was chosen by the plant conservation charity Plantlife as the "county flower" of the Isles of Scilly in 2002.

Botanic gardens
There are botanic gardens at the Eden Project, the Lost Gardens of Heligan, and at Trebah and Tresco Abbey Gardens on the Isles of Scilly.

Araucaria araucana derives its popular name of "monkey puzzle tree" from what happened when a young specimen of it at Pencarrow was shown to a group of friends of the owner; one of them made the remark "It would puzzle a monkey to climb that"; as the species had no existing popular name, first 'monkey puzzler', then 'monkey puzzle' stuck.

Gardening

It is probable that no area of the world has the conditions for growing such a great variety of plants. Gardeners in Devon and Cornwall supported plant collectors such as Forest, Wilson and Kingdon Ward by taking infinite trouble in caring for seedlings and extended their gardens into woods to provide the right conditions. Plants seen in Cornish gardens have encouraged upcountry gardeners to grow such plants as Magnolia campbellii. Some plants (e.g. Rhododendron macabeanum) can grow larger in Cornwall than they can in their native habitats. Before the period of tourism Cornish gardens were designed for spring effect; however the tourists who come in summer want to see magnificence at that time of year so the gardeners have adapted accordingly, though a good effect is still made in spring. Wind shelter is an important precondition for the site of a good garden, particularly near the coast. Monterey pine, sycamore and ash are good for providing such shelter. The majority of soils are acid and full of accumulated leaf mould. Water draining from the granite moorlands also raises the acidity. Most of the great gardens are near the coast where the climate is milder and with higher rainfall than further inland. Rhododendrons flourish particularly well, both species and the hybrids which gardeners have created such as 'Cornish Cross' and 'Penjerrick'. Plants from South America have also flourished well; these include the Crinodendrons and Embothrium coccineum.

The rectory and vicarage gardens of Cornwall are very varied. Some are large enough to allow for tree planting and both formal and informal garden of this kind exist. Some have been cared for by noted horticulturists such as Arthur Boscawen of Ludgvan and others by amateur gardeners such as Bernard Walke of St Hilary where a former vicar had planted an avenue of beech trees. Joseph Hunkin, Bishop of Truro, was a keen gardener; he was commemorated by a garden in the cathedral close and a shrub donated to every parish. His articles on gardening topics were collected and published as From a Cornish Bishop's Garden in 2001.

Trees
The Darley Oak is an oak tree which grows near Darleyford on the edge of Bodmin Moor. This ancient tree is thought to be at least 1,000 years old, and a considerable amount of legends take it as their core.

Elms

Cornish Elm

The Cornish Elm was once common in Cornwall but can now only be found outside Cornwall. The origin of the Cornish Elm in the UK remains a matter of contention; commonly assumed to have been introduced from Brittany by man, it is also considered possible that it may have survived the ice ages on lands to the south of Cornwall long since lost to the sea. Certainly, its current distribution owes much to man's activities. The tree was traditionally considered the best choice for providing shelter along the Cornish coast; moreover its timber was much prized for its strength, and commonly used in wheel and wagon construction.

Davey Elm
The Davey Elm (Ulmus × hollandica 'Daveyi') is an English cultivar of unknown specific origin, generally restricted to the valleys of Cornwall. Its apparent south-west England provenance, along with its foliage and habit, suggest that it may be a hybrid of wych elm and Cornish Elm.

Fruit trees
Cornish Aromatic
Cornish Aromatic is an apple cultivar with a crisp, nut-like aromatic flavour that was first recorded in Cornwall in 1813.

Cornish Gilliflower
The Cornish Gilliflower cultivar of apple is so named as it was found in Truro, Cornwall, around 1800, the word 'gilliflower' being a corruption of a French word giroflier meaning clove, believed to be a reference to its odour. The cultivar was brought to the attention of commercial growers in 1813.

Dufflin
Dufflin is an old variety of cider apple from Cornwall. It was included in orchard trials by Long Ashton Research Station in 1957.

Hocking's Green
This is an apple variety which originated in Coad's Green.

King Byerd
The King Byerd is a Cornish cultivar of apple. It is a heavy cropping, large fruit, suitable for culinary or desert use. Harvested from late October.

Kea Plum
The Kea Plum is a damson-like variety deriving its name from the parish of Kea.

Cultural significance

Other Cornish varieties of plants
The Cornish heath (Erica vagans) is found only on the Lizard and has been recognised as the floral emblem of Cornwall although it has been reported to be found in Fermanagh, according to W. Keble Martin. In recent years daffodils have been popular on the annual Saint Piran's day march on Perran Sands, although the plants are donated by a local daffodil grower and the daffodil is already considered to be the national flower of Wales.

As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose Thrift (Armeria maritima) as the "county flower" of the Isles of Scilly.

The Cornish eyebright (Euphrasia vigursii) is found on heathland in Cornwall and south Devon.

The Cornish moneywort (Sibthorpia europaea) is found locally in south-west England, Wales and the south of Ireland; in the rest of southern England it is rare.

Cornish path-moss (Ditrichum cornubicum), discovered in 1963 at Lanner by Jean Paton.

The distribution of least adder's tongue in Britain is restricted to one small area of coastal heath on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly. It grows in short turf on Wingletang Downs where some colonies are suffering from an increase of competitive grasses, gorse (Ulex europaeus) and bramble (Rubus fruticosus).

Cornish palm is a local common name for the monocot tree Cordyline australis endemic to New Zealand.

See also

 Birds of Cornwall
Cornish hedge
Cornish Rex (cat)
Geography of Cornwall
Geology of Cornwall
List of Special Areas of Conservation in Cornwall
 List of Cornish scientists and inventors
 List of gardens in Cornwall

References and bibliography

 Bere, Rennie (1982) The Nature of Cornwall. Buckingham: Barracuda Books
 Rodd, E. H. (1864) A List of British Birds as a Guide to the Ornithology of Cornwall. London, 1864; 2nd edit. 1869.
 Rodd, E. H. (1880) The Birds of Cornwall and the Scilly Islands; edited by J. E. Harting. London

External links

Penwith Wildlife

Environment of Cornwall

Geography of Cornwall


Bertrand Goulet (born November 20, 1944) is a retired politician from Quebec, Canada.

Background

He was born on November 20, 1944 in Saints-Gervais, Chaudière-Appalaches.

Political career

Goulet was elected as a Union Nationale candidate to the provincial legislature in the district of Bellechasse in the 1976 election against Liberal incumbent Pierre Mercier.  He served as his party's House Whip in 1980 and 1981.  He finished a close third and lost in the 1981 election against Parti Québécois candidate Claude Lachance.

References

1944 births
Living people
Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs


Ouvrage Bois-du-Four is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) in the Fortified Sector of the Crusnes of the Maginot Line.  The ouvrage consists of a single large combat block without an underground gallery system, and is located between petit ouvrage Mauvais-Bois and gros ouvrage Bréhain, facing Luxembourg.  A planned expansion, never carried out, was intended to enlarge Bois-du-Four into a fully equipped gros ouvrage. Bois-du-Four saw little action in either the Battle of France in 1940 or the Lorraine Campaign of 1944. It is preserved by the community of Villers-la-Montagne and may be visited.

Design and construction
Bois-du-Four was approved for construction in May 1932. It was completed at a cost of 9 million francs by the contractor Monod of Paris. It was designed as a unitary double casemate, occupying a prominent rise in a cleared area. In a second phase, Bois-du-Four was to be expanded to a plan that would result in a close resemblance to its neighbor Bréhain, with five additional blocks mounting artillery, as well as remote entrances for munitions and personnel, and an extensive network of deep underground galleries. The rise in tensions between France and Germany in the late 1930s prevented this second phase from being pursued.

Description
Only Block 1 of the proposed gros ouvrage was actually built, with five more combat blocks and two entry blocks deferred to a second phase that was never pursued. The large single block was arranged on two levels with a remarkably heavy armament. The proposed gros ouvrage would have been one of the most heavily armed artillery positions in the Line.

The single existing block was armed as follows:
 Block 1: combined infantry/artillery/entrance block with three automatic rifle cloches (GFM), one observation cloche (VDP) and one machine gun turret, as well as seven light machine guns, two heavy twin machine guns, three machine gun/47 mm anti-tank guns (JM/AC47), all in embrasures, and two 81mm mortars on the lower level. This block would have been the most northerly of the fully constructed ensemble.

The planned additional blocks were:
 Block 2 (unbuilt): Artillery block with one twin 75mm gun turret and one GFM cloche.
 Block 3 (unbuilt): Artillery block with one twin 75mm gun turret and one GFM cloche.
 Block 4 (unbuilt): Artillery block with one twin 75mm gun turret and one GFM cloche.
 Block 5 (unbuilt): Artillery block with one twin 135mm gun turret, one grenade launcher cloche (LG) and one GFM cloche.
 Block 6 (unbuilt): Artillery block with two GFM cloches, two machine gun cloches (JM), two AC47/JM embrasures and two light machine gun embrasures.
 Personnel entry (unbuilt): two GFM cloches, one grenade launcher cloche, two AC47/JM embrasures and two light machine gun embrasures.
 Munitions entry (unbuilt): two GFM cloches, one AC47/JM embrasure, one heavy twin machine gun and two light machine gun embrasures.

If built as intended, Bois-du-Four would have resembled its neighbor Bréhain, apart from Bois-du-Four's unusual initial block. A compact arrangement of combat blocks would have been connected to separate munitions and personnel entrances via a long, deeply buried underground gallery of more than  in length, with a utility area, barracks and an "M1" magazine located near the entries. The entries were to be located in a small ravine, giving shelter and allowing for simpler access to the level of the galleries.

Casemates and shelters
A series of detached casemates and infantry shelters surround Bois-du-Four, including

 Casemate de Villiers-la-Montagne Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one 81mm mortar cloche and one GFM cloche.
 Observatiore de Villiers-la-Montagne Centre: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure and one GFM cloche.
 Casemate de Villiers-la-Montagne Est: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one 81mm mortar cloche and one GFM cloche.
 Casemate de Verbusch Ouest: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure and two GFM cloches.
 Casemate de Verbusch Est: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure, one 81mm mortar cloche and one GFM cloche.
 Observatiore de la Ferme du Bois-du-Four: Observation block with one VP observation cloche and one GFM cloche, reporting to Bréhain.
 Casemate de la Ferme Thiéry: Single block with one JM/AC47 embrasure, one JM embrasure and two GFM cloches.
 Casemate de Bourène Ouest: Block with one mortar cloche and one GFM cloche.
 Casemate de Bourène Est: Double block with two JM/AC47 embrasure, two JM embrasure and two GFM cloches.

None of these are connected to the ouvrage or to each other. The Casernement de Morfortaine provided peacetime above-ground barracks and support services to Bois-du-Four and other positions in the area.

Manning
The 1940 manning of the ouvrage under the command of Lieutenant de Mecquenem comprised 135 men and 2 officers of the 139th Fortress Infantry Regiment. The units were under the umbrella of the 42nd Fortress Corps of the 3rd Army, Army Group 2. de Mecquenem would go on to fight in Tunisia and eventually at Dien Bien Phu, retiring as a brigadier general.

History
See Fortified Sector of the Crusnes for a broader discussion of the events of 1940 in the Crusnes sector of the Maginot Line.
In June 1940, the German 183rd Division considered a plan to penetrate the Maginot Line between Bois-du-Four and Mauvais-Bois, eventually rejecting it in favor of operations farther to the east. Bois-du-Four saw mostly harassing attacks through June. After the  22 June 1940 armistice brought an end to fighting, the Maginot fortifications to the west of the Moselle did not immediately surrender.  They maintained their garrisons through a series of negotiations. Bois-du-Four, along with Mauvais-Bois, Bréhain and Aumetz surrendered on 27 June. The German occupiers stripped Bois-du-Four of its furnishings and equipment. The area of Bois-du-Four saw little action during the Lorraine Campaign of 1944.

During the 1950s and 1960s the Maginot Line was kept in readiness for possible use in the event of an invasion by the Warsaw Pact.  After the establishment of the French nuclear strike force, the importance of the Line declined, and in 1970 Bois-du-Four was lowered in importance, allowing the use of formerly reserved areas around the ouvrage. During the 1970s the majority of the Maginot ouvrages, including Bois-du-Four, were sold to the public.

Present
Bois-du-Four is maintained by the Association Ouvrage A5 Bois du Four of Villiers-la-Montagne, which took over the property in 1992. It is open to the public in summer months June to September open every Sunday. Departure of visits 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Special weekends in June, August, September and December (see official website).

See also
 List of all works on Maginot Line
 Siegfried Line
 Atlantic Wall
 Czechoslovak border fortifications

Notes

References

Bibliography
Allcorn, William. The Maginot Line 1928-45. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003.
Degon, André; Zylberyng, Didier, La Ligne Maginot: Guide des Forts à Visiter, Editions Ouest-France, 2014.
Kaufmann, J.E. and Kaufmann, H.W. Fortress France: The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II, Stackpole Books, 2006.
Kaufmann, J.E., Kaufmann, H.W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. The Maginot Line: History and Guide, Pen and Sword, 2011.
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 1. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2001.
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 2. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003.
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 3. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2003.
Mary, Jean-Yves; Hohnadel, Alain; Sicard, Jacques. Hommes et Ouvrages de la Ligne Maginot, Tome 5. Paris, Histoire & Collections, 2009.
Séramour, Michaël. L'ouvrage A5 Bois du Four ou Histoire du phénix de la ligne Maginot : 1932-2012 Metz, Edition des Paraiges. 2012.

External links
 Official site
 Ouvrage du Bois du Four at Chemins de mémoire
Ouvrage Bois-du-Four at wikimaginot.eu
Bois du Four (petit ouvrage A5 de)  at fortiff.be
Petit ouvrage du Bois du Four at lignemaginot.com
Ouvrage du Bois-du-Four |at alsacemaginot.com

BOFO
Maginot Line
World War II museums in France


Vron () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

Geography
Vron is situated in rolling countryside on the D1001 and D175 road junction  north-northwest of Abbeville.

Population

Monument aux morts

The Vron Monument aux morts features a sculpture by Emmanuel Fontaine - a figure of a poilu (French soldier). A  montage of photographs, taken in March 2010, is shown below.

See also
Communes of the Somme department
War memorials (Western Somme)

References

Communes of Somme (department)


Valley was a rural district part of the administrative county of Anglesey, Wales from 1894 to 1974.

The district was formed by the Local Government Act of 1894 as the successor to Holyhead Rural Sanitary District. It took its name from the village of Valley which lay at the district centre.

The rural district was abolished in 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 amalgamated all local authorities on the island into the single district of Ynys Môn – Isle of Anglesey.

List of civil parishes
 Aberffraw
 Bodedern
 Bodwrog
 Ceirchiog
 Cerrigceinwen
 Henegwlys
 Llanddeusant
 Llandrygan
 Llanfaelog
 Llanfaethlu
 Llanfair yn Neubwll
 Llanfwrog
 Llangwyfan
 Llanfihangel-yn-Nhowyn
 Llanllibio
 Llanrhuddlad
 Llantrisant
 Llanyngenedl
 Llechylched
 Rhoscolyn
 Trewalchmai

External links

Valley Rural District Council records (Archives Network Wales), accessed January 23, 2008

Rural districts of Wales
History of Anglesey
1894 establishments in Wales


John Robinson (1762 – October 8, 1828) was a merchant and political figure in the pre-Confederation Province of New Brunswick, Canada. He represented the City of Saint John in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1802 to 1809 and from 1810 to 1816.

He was born near New York City, the son of Beverley Robinson and Susanna Philipse. Robinson was the grandson of John Robinson, former administrator for Virginia. At the start of the American Revolution, he enlisted in the Loyal American Regiment, a loyalist regiment organized by his father. Around 1786, he settled in the valley of the Saint John River. Robinson was named sheriff for Queens County. In 1787, he married Elizabeth, the daughter of George Duncan Ludlow. A few years later, he established himself as a merchant in Saint John. Robinson did not run for reelection in 1809 but was elected to the legislative assembly in an 1810 by-election. He served as acting deputy paymaster general during the War of 1812. He was chosen as speaker for the assembly in 1813 following the death of Amos Botsford and served until 1816 when he was named provincial treasurer. In the same year, he was named mayor of Saint John. In 1818, he was named to the New Brunswick Legislative Council. In 1820, he was named to the board of directors for the new Bank of New Brunswick and became president. Robinson resigned from the Council in 1826 but continued as mayor and province treasurer until his death in Saint John in 1828.

External links
Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

1782 births
1828 deaths
Businesspeople from Saint John, New Brunswick
Canadian Anglicans
Canadian bank presidents
Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
People of the Province of New York
United Empire Loyalists
Mayors of Saint John, New Brunswick
Colony of New Brunswick people
Members of the Legislative Council of New Brunswick
Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick


Skipton Girls' High School, founded in 1886 by the Petyt Trust, is an all-girls selective grammar school situated in Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. The school is a founding member of Northern Star Academies Trust, and leads Northern Lights Teaching School Alliance and Northern Lights SCITT. The school has over 800 students.

Status
The school was awarded specialist status as an Engineering College in September 2003, becoming the first all-girls school to achieve this status. It also has Investors in People accreditation and Fair Trade FairAchiever status. On 1 April 2011, the school became an academy and on 1 April 2015, the school established the Multi-Academy Trust Northern Star Academies Trust.

Admission
As an academy Trust, the Governors are responsible for admissions. Girls who wish to join the school sit a selection test. There is no selection test for entrance into the Sixth Form, as pupils are admitted on the basis of their GCSE grades.

Pupils joining the Sixth Form are expected to have achieved 5 A*-C grades, including English and Mathematics, at GCSE and at least grade B at GCSE in the subjects they want to study at A Level.

Ofsted inspections
The school underwent an Ofsted inspection in 2008, followed by an interim assessment in March 2011.  In the 2008 inspection the school was rated Grade 1 (outstanding) for overall effectiveness, in all separate areas of assessment, and throughout all pupil years.

Old Girls' Guild
The Old Girls' Guild began on 24 November 1917. The idea of the Guild developed whilst Miss Larner was Headmistress, when staff and former pupils would meet. Miss Broadbent continued this, organising social events. The Guild's first magazine was published in 1918 and, with the exception of 1920, one has been published every year.  Bound copies of the magazine are held at Skipton Reference Library.

The Guild still meets twice each year, for the Spring Reunion and Autumn Luncheon.

Houses
Each pupil is in one of four houses, each of which has a house colour. Each house is named after a woman or women of note from history: Bronte (red) is named after the Brontë sisters; Curie (yellow) after Marie Curie; Franklin (blue) after Rosalind Franklin; and Johnson (green) after Amy Johnson.

The original four houses of Skipton Girls' High School were Clifford (yellow), de Romille (red), Norton (blue) and Pembroke (green). These names linked the school to the Craven area - Clifford, de Romille and Pembroke all being related to Skipton Castle. Later, three houses taking the names of former headteachers (Broadbent, Larner and Wise) were used.

Sixth Form
The school offers a wide range of subjects at A Level; most students study three subjects, with exceptionally able students able to choose a fourth subject if they wish.

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), a standalone qualification at A Level standard intended as preparation for university or a future career, is also offered.

In 2022, the pass rate (grades A*-E) was 99.7%, with 71.5% at grades A*-B. 35% of students went on to Russell Group universities. Three students went to Cambridge, and two to Oxford.

Sixth Form results typically put the school in the top 100 state schools in the country for A-Level results.

Notable former pupils

 Claire Brooks (1931–2008) – politician
 Elizabeth Harwood (1938–1990) – opera singer
 Ruzwana Bashir – first British Asian woman to become President of the Oxford Union
 Katherine Langrish – fantasy writer

See also
 Ermysted's Grammar School
 Harrogate High School - joint founder of Northern Star Academies Trust

References

External links
 Official site
 EduBase

Grammar schools in North Yorkshire
Skipton
Girls' schools in North Yorkshire
Educational institutions established in 1886
1886 establishments in England
Academies in North Yorkshire

Specialist engineering colleges in England


Worldwide Aeros Corp is an American manufacturer of airships based in Montebello, California. It was founded in 1993 by the current CEO and Chief Engineer, Igor Pasternak, who was born in Soviet Kazakhstan, raised in Soviet Ukraine, and moved to the U.S. after the Soviet collapse to build airships there. It currently employs more than 100 workers.

The company's current products are non-rigids aimed at both the military and commercial markets, including transport, surveillance, broadcasting and advertising. The company's best-selling ship is called the Sky Dragon.

The company is also developing an Aeroscraft, a rigid airship with a number of innovative features, the most important of which is a method of controlling the airship's static lift, which can be reduced by pumping helium from the internal gasbags and storing it under pressure: conversely lift can be increased by re-inflating the gasbags using the stored gas. The company has received $60 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop the concept, resulting in a prototype named Dragon Dream which underwent systems tests and some tethered flights in late 2013. This prototype was subsequently damaged when part of the roof of the hangar at the former Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin, in which it was constructed, collapsed on 7 October 2013.

History
In 1981, Igor Pasternak founded a design bureau at Lviv Polytechnic University. He started a private company in 1986 producing tethered balloons for advertising. It moved to the United States in 1994.

After 9/11, the company shifted its focus from advertising to surveillance, as its large ships can hold  of radar-surveillance equipment. The blimps have such varied uses as monitoring oil pipelines in Mexico to performing surveillance for the Ukrainian government along the Russian border.

In 2005, Aeros was granted the largest contract under DARPA's project Walrus HULA. Project Walrus was not renewed in 2010. However, the Pentagon continued to fund Aeros through the Rapid Reaction Technology Office, contracting with them in 2010 to build a prototype that could demonstrate key technologies.

The Pentagon has provided US$50 million in funding for the development of the "Pelican" prototype.

Aeroscraft

The Aeroscraft is a planned heavy-lift, variable-buoyancy cargo airship featuring an onboard buoyancy management system, rigid structure, vertical takeoff and landing performance, and operational abilities at low speed, in hover, and from unprepared surfaces. It has a number of innovative features, the most important of which is a method of controlling the airship's static lift, which can be reduced by pumping helium from the internal gasbags and storing it under pressure: conversely lift can be increased by reinflating the gasbags using the stored gas.

Project Pelican and Dragon Dream

Project Pelican was a US government-funded project to build and test a half-scale prototype of the proposed full-size Aeroscraft, using representative structure and avionics. Having a length of  and design speed of , it does not carry a payload. The company received US$60 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop the concept, resulting in a prototype named Dragon Dream, which underwent systems tests and some tethered flights in late 2013. The first floating took place on January 3, 2013, at the hangar at the former Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin in which it was constructed, where it hovered indoors at a height of  for several minutes. The Pentagon has declared that the tests of the Dragon Dream were a "success", with the craft meeting its demonstration objectives. The airship was rolled out of its hangar on July 4, 2013 and performed its first flight on September 11. It was subsequently damaged when part of the roof of the hangar collapsed on it on 7 October 2013. The company sued the Navy for $65 million in 2015 for the collapse.

Planned full-scale craft
The company is beginning production of two examples, an ML866 and an ML868 model. A model capable of lifting 500 tons, the ML86X, is also proposed.

The ML866 model will be  in length, have a payload capacity of 66 tons, a top speed of 120 knots (222 km/h), a range of , and an altitude ceiling of . The larger ML868 model will be  in length and carry 250 tons, with the same speed and altitude ceiling as the ML866. The company ultimately plans to build a ML86X with a length of , a height of , and a width of , with the capacity to carry 500 tons.

Aeros is currently seeking US$3 billion to fund the construction of 24 Aeroscraft vehicles, including the 250-ton capacity ML868 model. The CEO has stated that he aims to have a global fleet operating by 2023.

Capabilities

Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL)
Because the Aeroscraft is equipped with VTOL capability, it can deliver cargo directly from point-of-origin to point-of-need. Furthermore, other hybrid airships are runway dependent at higher operating weights, but the Aeroscraft does not need a runway, even at full payload. Because of its COSH technology, its computer-controlled virtually-automated directional thrust and station-keeping technology facilitates off and on-loading stores while in hover.

Oversized cargo bay
The cargo bay is located at the bottom of the aircraft cavity and is loaded by using a pulley system to load the cargo from the ground. At 1.8 million cubic feet, the cargo bay of the largest Aeroscraft design is much larger than that of any existing commercial freight aircraft (including the Boeing 747-8F and the Antonov 124 aircraft).

Design
The Aeroscraft is a rigid airship, having an internal structure to maintain its shape. As such it can reach otherwise difficult or inaccessible locations and can hover indefinitely at zero airspeed and with a full payload on board. The design incorporates cargo bays that are larger than any current air, truck or rail transport, while the payload capacity is significantly more than the current 16-ton maximum for helicopters.

Propulsion is provided by conventional propellers, and in addition the Aeroscraft design has six downward-pointing turbofan jet engines that assist in vertical take-off and landing. These turbofans, together with the Aeros "COSH" buoyancy control system, make the Aeroscraft capable of taking off and landing vertically without the need for a runway, a ground crew, or external ballast.

As with any airship, the Aeroscraft may be used to transport cargo to remote or difficult locations and to hover over uneven terrain, in both civil and military use.

The manufacturer also envisions the delivery of large amounts of commercial merchandise from a centralized location.

Technology

Control of static heaviness (COSH)
Aeros has developed a technology to avoid the need for ballast, which they call "control of static heaviness (COSH)". The main gas bag is inflated with helium to create lift for takeoff, then on landing some of the gas is re-compressed into a storage tank to partially deflate the gas bag and reduce lift.

Worldwide Aeros was awarded a patent for this system in May 2015. It internally ballasts the non-flammable helium into the aircraft’s helium pressure envelopes (HPEs), helping the vehicle manage buoyancy. The HPE units contain and control the compressed helium and allow the overall volume of helium to be reduced or increased, enabling the air vehicle to become heavy or buoyant in a controlled manner. The compression of helium into the HPE’s creates a negative pressure within the Aeroscraft Aeroshell, permitting air-expansion chambers to fill with air, which acts with reduced helium static lift to make the Aeroscraft heavier to compensate for adjustments in load.

Ceiling suspension cargo deployment system
The Aeroscraft’s cargo system provides the aircraft with unmatched volume and flexibility when deploying cargo to virtually any point on the planet, empowering the aircraft to pick-up and off-load cargo in more efficient ways, even from hover. The internal cargo handling system has been designed to facilitate cargo loading, sorting, and unloading in a more innovative and efficient manner, overcoming pre-deployment requirements for ground handling cargo equipment in austere environments. The system affixes containers and cargo pallets to rails in the fuselage ceiling, rather than on the floor; adjusts cargo positioning to accommodate changes in center of gravity, such as when other cargo is loaded and unloaded; facilitates access to any piece of cargo at any time, eliminating unneeded cargo movements and reducing ground time; and eliminates labor costs with traditional cargo handling and weight-and-balance requirements.

Rigid structure
This rigid structure has hard points for mounting engines, canards, cockpit, propulsion systems, and other auxiliary systems both inside and outside of the hull.

Landing system
The Aeroscraft is equipped with landing cushions which allow landing on rough terrain and water, and perform like a hovercraft during taxi by pushing air through them. In addition, the landing cushions have a suction capability which ensures the vehicle stays grounded and in place when not in flight. This allows it to operate in heavier wind conditions.

Vectored thrust engines
The Aeroscraft is equipped with vectored thrust engines that rotate and allow maneuverability. In addition to aiding helicopter-like vertical take-off and landing capability, the vectored thrust propels the vehicle in forward flight and aids the vehicle with ground-based taxiing.

Low speed control (LSC)
When in forward flight, the Aeroscraft is controlled by the aerodynamic control surfaces ; however, the low speed control system aids the pilot in lower wind conditions such as during VTOL and hover. The LSC system acts as a rear thruster to propel the vehicle in forward flight, and permits the thrust to be redirected while in hover to help the vehicle maintain desired positioning and orientation.

Fleet

Airships
Aeros 50: Aeros developed its first airships, the ‘Aeros 50'
40A Sky Dragon: Aeros launched airship model ’40A Sky Dragon,’ with increased payload and capabilities
40B Sky Dragon: Aeros developed the ’40B Sky Dragon’ equipped with a fly-by-wire system, and received FAA type certification
40D Sky Dragon: Aeros launched ’40D Sky Dragon,’ to global operations and receives type certification from the FAA
Dragon Dream: Aeros’ successful technology demonstration vehicle for the 66-ton capacity Aeroscraft, ‘Dragon Dream’ takes flight in 2013. Named RAVB as part of its development under Project Pelican for the Department of Defense

See also
 Cargolifter AG
 ESTOLAS
 P-791
 WALRUS HULA
 LEMV

References

External links

 Popular Science article
 "The Aeroscraft airship could change the very concept of flying", Wired

Companies based in Los Angeles County, California
Defense companies of the United States
Aircraft manufacturers of the United States
Montebello, California
Airships of the United States
Cargo aircraft
Emerging technologies


Matthew Norton Clapp (April 15, 1906 – April 22, 1995) was a successful businessman, and eventually served as chairman of the Weyerhaeuser Corporation.  He was active in civic service and a philanthropist.

Early life and career

Clapp was born in Pasadena, California.  He was named for his maternal grandfather Matthew G. Norton, a Winona, Minnesota lumberman who via the Laird, Norton Company  was to help finance the Weyerhaeuser purchase of land in Washington State in 1900.

Clapp received an A.B. from Occidental College and a Ph.B in 1928 from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Chicago in 1929.

He practiced law in Tacoma, Washington from 1929 until 1942. He was among the developers of Lakewood Colonial Center in 1937 in what is now Lakewood, WA.  It was one of the first shopping centers west of the Mississippi River.  In 1938, he converted an existing structure into the Lakewood Ice Arena.  He became a trustee of the University of Puget Sound in 1933 and would serve there until his death including being chairman from 1967 until 1986.

In 1938 he began his career with Weyerhauser.  He joined the United States Navy during World War II and served until 1946 when he returned to Weyerhauser.  In 1947 he succeeded his father as a director of the company. He was its president from 1960 to 1966 and chairman until 1970.

Civic service and community builder and investor

In 1949 he was a founder of the Medina Foundation, which provides charitable grants in the greater Puget Sound area.

He was named to the Trustees of University of Chicago in 1957 and was named a Life Trustee in 1970.

In 1961 he joined Bagley Wright, contractor Howard S. Wright, architect John Graham, and financier Ned Skinner as investors in the Pentagram Corporation which was to build and own the Space Needle for the 1962 World's Fair.  He continued his ownership until 1977 when he sold out his interests to Howard Wright.

Scouting

Clapp was a member of the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America for several decades.  In 1963 he donated the land around Mount Baldy, New Mexico to the Scouts, and this property was added to Philmont Scout Ranch.  From 1971 to 1973, he served as national president of the BSA.

Personal life

Clapp married several times and had many children, including three sons whom he outlived. His second wife Evelyn and stepdaughter Gail Gardner were killed in an airplane crash near Santa Barbara, California, in 1951. Evelyn's son Booth Gardner would go on to serve as Governor of Washington from 1985 to 1993. Clapp contributed $91,000 to his first gubernatorial campaign.

He married his son Jim's ex-wife Jacquie in 1984. When he died at his home in Medina, Washington, on April 22, 1995, Clapp's fortune was estimated at $450 million by Forbes.

References

Philmont Scout Ranch
Businesspeople from Pasadena, California
University of Chicago alumni
University of Chicago Law School alumni
Weyerhaeuser
1906 births
1995 deaths
Businesspeople from Tacoma, Washington
People from Medina, Washington
Presidents of the Boy Scouts of America


Matli () is the largest Tehsil of Badin District in the Sindh province of Pakistan and my lovely city. It is administratively subdivided into 12 union councils.  The people here speak Sindhi Bhil.

Religion
See the pie chart below the infobox here for religion figures:

Notes

References

Populated places in Badin District
Talukas of Sindh
Tehsils of Sindh


The Waldorf Blofeld is a synthesizer combining virtual analogue synthesis with wavetable synthesis and FM synthesis. It is available as a small desktop unit and as a 49 key velocity and aftertouch sensitive keyboard version. The keyboard version features extra performance controls; these comprise two performance wheels and up/down transpose keys to shift the range of the keyboard. It is named after the character Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the leader of the fictional SPECTRE organisation from Ian Fleming's James Bond series; this lends its name to the sound management computer application SPECTRE, used to send audio and firmware data to the synthesizer. Two subsequent Waldorf synthesizers have been named after Bond villains; the Stromberg and Largo.

The 25-voice, 16 part multitimbral instrument is marketed as a low-cost unit that can reproduce the sounds from previous Waldorf synthesizers in the Q and Wave lines.

Both versions feature a stereo output, headphone output and a USB port for computer control and firmware updates. The desktop unit has MIDI In and the keyboard unit has both In and Out. The desktop unit is powered by an external power supply.

A number of sound packs are available for purchase.  Some require a specific sample licence, again at an additional cost.

References

Further reading

External links
 Waldorf Blofeld at Vintage Synth Explorer

Blofeld
Virtual analog synthesizers
MIDI controllers
MIDI instruments

Notable users Psychotica, Susanne Sundfor


Norman Moses Clapp (October 28, 1914 – October 7, 1998) served as the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration in the Administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Clapp also directed New York State's investigation of a July 1977 power blackout. He was a graduate of Lawrence University. Clapp served as Wisconsin's transportation secretary and chairman of the Public Service Commission in the 1970s.

References

United States Department of Agriculture officials
1914 births
1998 deaths
People from Ellsworth, Wisconsin
Lawrence University alumni


Far Cotton is a district of Northampton and former civil parish, now in the parish of Far Cotton and Delapre, in the West Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. It was once a village in its own right.

Location
Far Cotton is due south of the town centre, beyond Cotton End - hence the 'Far' - and just south of the River Nene. It is roughly rectangular in shape with the river and Northampton branch of the Grand Union Canal forming its northern boundary. The railway line, part of the Northampton Loop Line just south of Northampton railway station is on the western edge. The A5076 ring road is the southern boundary and Delapré Abbey's park forms the eastern boundary up to the A45 road.

Administration
From elections on and after 2011, Far Cotton was in the Parish of St Mary and Delapre Ward of the Northampton Borough Council, and on Northamptonshire County Council, the Delapre and Rushmere Division. As of 2021, following local government reorganisation, the parish now forms part of the Delapre ward of West Northamptonshire Council.

History
Far Cotton was first recorded in 1196 under the name Cotes. That name derived from the Old English "Cot" meaning a cottage or hut, Cotes being a plural form. Cotton derives from the same word and is also plural and thus meant "cottages" or "huts."  Historically Far Cotton was a hamlet in the parish and urban district of Hardingstone. It expanded with the arrival of the Northampton and Peterborough Railway, opened in 1845. The original line, on which Northampton Bridge Street railway station was situated, was entirely south of the Nene while the medieval town was north of the river.

St Mary's Church was built in Towcester Road in 1885 to the design of Matthew Holding.

There was an iron ore quarry at Far Cotton from 1883 to 1889 run by the Hunsbury Hill Iron Company. The quarry was bounded by Rothersthorpe Road on the north, Towcester Road on the east and the main railway on the west. At the southern end of the quarry it extended across the top of the northern end of the railway tunnel. Much of the site is now built on. The ore was taken by horse-drawn tramway through a bridge under Rothersthorpe Road to the Northampton Blisworth Railway west of  the junction with the  line linking Bridge Street with  the present station (Castle Station.). From there it was taken by rail to the company's ironworks near Duston Mill.

On 1 April 1895 Far Cotton became a separate civil parish, being formed from Hardingstone. It became an urban district in 1896. The urban district was abolished in 1900 when the County Borough of Northampton was expanded to include Far Cotton; the civil parish continued to exist until 1 April 1932, when it was merged with Northampton. In 1931 the parish had a population of 7268. Far Cotton is in the ecclesiastical parish of St Mary.

More recent developments
As part of the regeneration of the town, overseen by the West Northamptonshire Development Corporation, many brownfield sites in Far Cotton are underwent redevelopment in the first decade of the twenty-first century including the new housing estates of Riverside Wharf, Cotton End and Southbridge. Extensive development was to occur on former disused warehouses east of Far Cotton. Nunn Mills was to be developed to build over 3,000 new houses on a brownfield site. There will also be an improved Marina in and around Becket's Park and Midsummer Meadow.

The main shopping sector of Far Cotton is St Leonard's Road which connects Towcester Road and London Road. There are also shops on Gloucester Avenue. There is a local shop just south of Far Cotton in Mereway and a  supermarket in Cotton End on Ransome Road. A supermarket opened in nearby Newport Pagnell Road in 2013 next to a garden centre.

As of 2010, Far Cotton was set to double in population in the next ten years with development of housing, much of this having already taken place in the Cotton End area.

1998 floods
In April 1998, many residents of Far Cotton had to leave their homes (albeit temporarily) and seek temporary accommodation elsewhere, after part of Far Cotton, along with another part of Northampton, St. James, suffered flooding, when the River Nene broke its banks. Flooding occurred on Good Friday, 10 April 1998, a day which became known locally as "the long Good Friday". Since that time river banks have been raised and flood mitigation lakes created west of the town.

Notable residents
Robert Adams, a sculptor and designer was born in Far Cotton.

Chief Inspector Walter Dew, who was involved in the hunt for both Jack the Ripper and Dr. Crippen, was born in the village in 1863.

References

External links
Far Cotton History Group

Areas of Northampton
Former civil parishes in Northamptonshire


Sanocki (feminine: Sanocka; plural: Sanoccy) is a Polish surname. Notable people with this surname include:

 Janusz Sanocki (1954–2020), Polish politician
 Krystian Sanocki (born 1996), Polish footballer

See also

Polish-language surnames


Australian Paper is an Australian manufacturer of office, printing and packaging papers. The company manufactures more than 600,000 tonnes of paper annually for Australia, New Zealand and other export markets. Australian Paper was purchased from Paperlinx by Nippon Paper Industries in June 2009.

Facilities
Australian Paper has two manufacturing facilities: the Maryvale Mill in the Latrobe Valley and a manufacturing facility in Preston. In February 2015 Australian Paper announced the closure of the Shoalhaven Paper Mill in Bomaderry, New South Wales. The mill closed in July 2015. In April 2015, Australian Paper opened a new A$90 million paper recycling plant at the Maryvale Mill. The plant can process up to 80,000 tonnes of wastepaper a year.

Environmental impact
Australian Paper has a contract with the Victorian Government for the period 1996–2030 of buying wood at a 1996 fixed price on the logs. This includes mountain ash timber, deemed by scientists to be of high conservation value. In August 2011, Australian Paper withdrew from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, in order to be able to use wood from old-growth forest logging by VicForests, but remained under the certification of the Australian Forestry Standard. Their previous auditor, SmartWood, was suspended in September 2011 following an FSC internal audit. Later, the company announced that its FSC certification had been retained for all products except Reflex paper. As of 2013, the Reflex 100% recycled paper is FSC-certified.

See also

List of paper mills
List of oldest companies in Australia

References

External links
Official website

Pulp and paper companies of Australia
Nippon Paper Industries
Australian companies established in 1895
Manufacturing companies established in 1895
Printing companies of Australia
Playing card manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne
Printing companies
2009 mergers and acquisitions


Artyom Timofeev (; born January 6, 1985) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2003. Timofeev was born in Kazan. He, Zahar Efimenko and Andrei Volokitin tied for first place in the Under 14 section of the World Youth Chess Championships in 1999; Timofeev finished second on tiebreak. The next year, he won the Under 18 division of the European Youth Chess Championships.

Timofeev tied for first with Evgeniy Najer, Kaido Külaots, Zoltan Gyimesi, Sergey Grigoriants and Oleg Korneev at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open of 2004, finishing third on tiebreak.
In 2005 he won the Russian Junior Championship and tied for 2nd-5th with Kamil Mitoń, Zhang Pengxiang and Lázaro Bruzón at the Samba Cup in Skanderborg, Denmark. In the latter event he also won the brilliancy prize for his game against Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu. Timofeev participated in the FIDE World Cup 2005, where he reached the second round and lost to Emil Sutovsky.

He won the Russian Cup in 2007 by beating Vadim Zvjaginsev 1½-½ in the final. The next year, he won the Moscow Open and the Russian Championship Higher League. Thanks to the latter victory, Timofeev qualified for the Superfinal of the Russian Chess Championship, held in October 2008, where he scored 6/11, finishing seventh out of twelve participants. In 2009 Timofeev participated in the Elite group of the 44th Capablanca Memorial, a category 17 double round-robin tournament, where he scored 4 points out of 10. In the FIDE World Cup 2009 he was eliminated in the second round by Sergey Karjakin.

In 2010, Timofeev won the bronze medal at the 11th European Individual Chess Championship held in Rijeka. This result enabled him to qualify for the World Cup 2011. Here he was knocked out in the first round by Sergei Azarov. In 2014, he won the Tikhookeansky Meridian rapid tournament in Vladivostok, edging out Vladimir Belous and Dmitry Bocharov on tiebreak.

Timofeev played for the Russian national team at the 2005 European Team Chess Championship and at the China vs Russia matches of 2007, 2009 and 2010. Also in 2010, at the 39th Chess Olympiad he was part of  team Russia 2.

References

External links

 2008 Moscow Open

1985 births
Living people
Chess grandmasters
Russian chess players
Chess Olympiad competitors
Sportspeople from Kazan