For Europe, U.S. Is Country That Cries Wolf
William Pfaff

Officials such as Philip Gordon regularly travel to Europe to ask for support for American initiatives. The Europeans reply that they have not been consulted in making these policies. The Americans say we will be happy to discuss them, but we are putting up most of the men and money, so it's too late to change anything. Maybe next time.

Spain Nudging European Union to Ease Cuba Stand
Andres Oppenheimer

Spain's announcement that it will seek a major improvement in European ties with Cuba's dictatorship once it takes over the presidency of the 27-country European Union on Jan. 1 is bad news not only for pro-democracy activists on the island, but also for oppositionists in several other authoritarian-ruled Latin American countries.

For a Change, Western Europe Doesn't Want to Change
William Pfaff

European voters are moving toward the right, so far as the recent electoral evidence indicates. Even in Portugal, the Socialists -- elected by a landslide four years ago -- lost their parliamentary majority in Sunday's vote, and will be looking for legislative allies

Obama's Missile Defense Concession Holds Opportunity for European Security
Paul J. Saunders

It's a concession, but it could present an opportunity as well. While the move highlights the unhappy geography and tough political choices facing Central European leaders, it could also create an important opportunity to strengthen European security. The administration would do well to use this chance to try to encourage new and different relationships between the former Soviet bloc and Russia.

Puzzling & Dangerous U.S. Foreign Policy Comes to an End
William Pfaff

President Barack Obama's cancellation of his predecessor's missile-defense scheme for Poland and the Czech Republic presumably brings to a close one of the least explicable and most dangerous American policy initiatives since the cold war officially ended.

Britsh prime minister Gordon Brown
(c) Nancy Ohanian

Why Sometimes Pays to Be Like Gordon Brown
by William Pfaff

Flamboyance of the Latin kind gets you into the newspapers, but for bad reasons as well as good.

Nicolas Sarkozy of France is not a man noted for charm but for his unchecked energies and the restless activity. Italy's Silvio Berlusconi is another matter entirely. He is a success in politics apparently because the majority of Italians like him.

Indeed, sometimes pays to be a nondescript politician like Gordon Brown of Britain.

 

Europe: Battle Over the Burqa
by William Pfaff

Since President Barack Obama in his recent Cairo speech made a tut-tutting remark about countries that restricted wearing religious garb in school, the controversy over the Muslim burqa has resumed in Europe

Match-fix probe targets 200 games
About 200 football ties are under investigation in what one Uefa official calls Europe's biggest match-fixing scandal.

EU foreign head dismisses critics
The new EU foreign affairs chief dismisses criticism of her appointment, saying she is the "the best person for the job".

Italian sex scandal woman 'dead'
A transsexual prostitute linked to a sex row involving an Italian politician is believed to have been burned to death, media report.

Profile: Herman van Rompuy
A profile of Belgian PM Herman van Rompuy, the European Union's first permanent president.

EU gives Nigeria $1bn 'for peace'
Europe signs a $1bn deal with Nigeria, aimed at tackling corruption and promoting peace in the troubled Niger Delta.

Beam circles 'Big Bang' machine
Engineers have sent proton particles all the way round the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) machine for the first time in more than a year.

UK navy fires on 'Spanish flag'
The UK apologises to Spain after the Royal Navy uses a buoy with Spanish colours for target practice off Gibraltar.

French jail mail escapee caught
A French murder suspect who hid in a cardboard box and escaped in a delivery van is recaptured after weeks on the run.

Mussolini brain 'stolen by criminals keen to sell it on the web'
The granddaughter of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini says criminals have stolen part of his brain and blood to sell on the internet.

Galileo's fingers and a tooth found, Italian museum says
Fingers and a tooth cut from the body of famed astronomer Galileo Galilei have been found, an Italian museum says.

EU waters down new role of president
EU waters down new role of president

France reject Irish replay hopes
The French Football Federation turns down the Republic of Ireland's request for a replay of their controversial World Cup play-off game.

F1: Mercedes want Schumacher - pundit
Michael Schumacher will race in Formula 1 for Mercedes' new team in 2010, BBC Sport's Eddie Jordan believes.

Puzzling process
What do new EU appointments mean for bloc's future?

Dangerous seas
Can EU's taskforce defeat pirates off Somalia coast?

Queen mother
Freddie Mercury's mother shares her memories of him

Parents' plight
Russian concerns on children taken from families

Peace moves
Victims of violence hope for an end to Turkish conflict

EU v US
The EU president's powers compared with Obama's

Drug resistant swine flu hits UK
Health officials in Cardiff say a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu has spread between hospital patients.

Easyjet sorry for Holocaust error
Easyjet apologises after fashion photographs shot at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin were published in its in-flight magazine.

Priest shot dead in Moscow church
A masked gunman enters a church in Russia's capital Moscow and shoots dead a Russian Orthodox priest, police say.

Kercher murder trial nearing end
Italian prosecutors in the trial of two people accused of killing British student Meredith Kercher begin their closing arguments.

Russia gives Ukraine new gas deal
Russia agrees to ease the terms under which it supplies gas to Ukraine, in a deal which Moscow says should prevent disruption.

Total cleared over France blast
A court acquits a subsidiary of energy giant Total over a 2001 explosion at a French chemical plant which killed 30 people.

Top South Korean model found dead
South Korean model Daul Kim is found dead at her apartment in Paris, amid speculation she took her own life.

Thousands of Vicks spray recalled
Procter & Gamble is recalling 120,000 bottles of Vicks Sinex nasal spray after small traces of bacteria were discovered.

'Foiled shooting' teenager bailed
A teenager in France suspected of planning to shoot his teachers is charged with attempted murder and released on bail.

Volkswagen to increase production
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car company, plans to invest 26bn euros over the next three years to create new vehicles.

ABN Amro gets new Dutch bail-out
The Dutch government announces it will inject a further 4.4bn euros into bailed-out bank ABN Amro.

Can a deal be reached on climate change?
It is unlikely that a new legally binding climate treaty will be agreed this year, the UK government says. How important is a legally binding treaty?

In pictures: Patriarch Pavle's funeral
The funeral of Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle

Profile: Baroness Ashton
Profile of EU foreign affairs chief, Briton Baroness Ashton

Ukraine famine diaries on show
Cambridge University is exhibiting the work of a former student who brought the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in the 1930's to the world's attention.

How chemical castration works
An offender describes chemical castration

Afghan dilemmas - history lessons
Parallels between Soviet and US intervention

Last word - Nabokov's final book
Why Nabokov's son defied father's wish to burn final book

EU seeks Russian gas stability
EU hoping Russia will stabilise energy supplies

How theatre led Velvet Revolution
How the Velvet Revolution was led from a theatre

FDLR Inc: Congo’s multinational rebels
Peter Greste investigates whether Rwandans in France and Germany are controlling a deadly African militia. Crossing Continents has secret intelligence suggesting that the FDLR have been taking orders from political leaders living openly in Europe.

Stalin's towering gift to Poland
Calls for Polish skyscraper to be torn down

BBC News | Europe | World Edition
Get the latest BBC News from Europe: headlines, features and analysis from BBC correspondents across the European Union, EU, and the rest of Europe.

 

Investment Hopes in Lithuania
In the gloomy downturn of the economic market, Lithuania is seeing some light, with investment prospects coming from global sources.

Students Fret over Loan Program in Lithuania
The state-supported student loan system is under fire in Lithuania, with many arguing that students financial situations are getting increasingly worse.

Forgive, Forget
Twenty years after the fall of the Wall, the controversial lustration process is still in deep waters, with many wondering whether rummaging archives still makes sense.

G-20: New Clout, New Responsibilities
The G-20 has asserted itself as the leading international body in addressing global issues, and it may be the world's best ally in confronting the economic crisis.

Albania: A Dubious Government and a Missing Opposition
Amidst serious economic problems, a flawed election and an ineffective Parliament, the situation in Albania looks gloomy at the moment.

Transitional Justice at 20
Over the years the lustration process in Southeast Europe has grown more intractable as it has become an instrument of political maneuver and manipulation.

Interview with Claudia Kissling
Am Johal interviewed Kissling in Berlin to discuss the possibilities of a World Assembly and how the United Nations might be involved in supporting it.

An Open Letter to Ukrainian President Yushchenko
An open letter to Ukrainian President Yushchenko

Caucasus: The Powder Barrel of Europe
The Caucasus region is rife with conflict-its countries battling over resources, military might, political leverage-and its near future could prove to be increasingly explosive.

Winds of Change in Turkish-Kurdish Relations
After decades of conflict and repressive policies, Turkey appears to finally be making legitimate steps to resolve longstanding conflicts with its Kurdish population.

Neglected Arms Control
With military conflict threatening in hot spots around the world, years of complacency about arms control are now taking their toll.

Lifting the Wall
The European Commission-proposed visa liberalization for Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro could end a costly ritual for people traveling abroad. Kosovo, Bosnia and Albania, though, were excluded from the recommendation.

Albanian Elections Produce Unstable Parliament
Although Albania's recent elections demonstrated progress in some respects, the sum of those parts may be little to no progress at all.

Romania Headed toward National Bankruptcy
Mismanagement, corruption and theft on a very broad scale have brought Romania to disaster.

Ceuta, the Border-fence of Europe
In the autonomous city of Ceuta, African refugees find temporary asylum leading nowhere, unable to cross into Spain, unwilling to return to the countries whence they came.

Romania Headed toward National Bankruptcy
The degree to which the Romanian economy has begun to crumble, in both the state and private sectors, puts the country at imminent risk or national bankruptcy.

The Pros and Cons of the Albanian Parliamentary Elections
Whoever wins the June 28 election, it will bring major changes to Albania.

The Last Dictatorship of Europe
President Alexander Lukashenko has built a powerful, repressive government around himself, based on the state monopoly of economic resources, on holding all executive power in his hand.

Brake on E.U. Enlargement Dims Hope for the Balkans
Countries of the Western Balkans have expected to be next on the list of E.U. enlargement for quite some time, but the global economic crisis has made those expectations a distant prospect.

Moldavia: Between Revolution and Geopolitics
Popular protests about the recent Community Party win in Moldova is unlikely to change the country's political landscape.

Global Reflections on the G-20 Summit
The international press reflect on the perceived success or failure of the G-20 Summit.

Britain: Economic Woes May Fuel Euro Debate
The British determination to remain outside the eurozone could undergo a substantial revision due to the current economic crisis.

Reflections on Post-Communist Central Europe
Former top Czech spy Karl Koecher comments on the two decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Russia-Ukraine 'Gas War' Damages Both Economies
The two-week dispute caused factory shutdowns and unheated homes across Europe.

"New Europe" is on the Economic Edge
Grumblings of discontent simmering beneath the surface for years have turned nasty, in places such as Greece last year. In 2009, these feelings persist and are intensifying by the day.

Global HIV/AIDS: Five Leadership Issues
The 2008 World AIDS Day focused on leadership issues, which is very appropriate as the future looks uncertain regarding a continued global resolve to contain the defining health challenge of our time.

Treasure Hunting

European News from World Press Review
World News Review

 

Arrests made in €10m match-fixing probe
Police and sport officials have dismantled a criminal ring suspected of unprecedented match-fixing and betting in European professional football

Contest starts for plum EU posts
The race to secure senior jobs in the next European Commission has intensified with the big member states keen to secure the most important economic dossiers

Trichet warns on bank bonuses
Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, has issued his strongest warning yet that banks must keep pay and bonuses 'contained' and prepare for withdrawal of emergency support

Ukraine deal eases gas disruption fears
Vladimir Putin agrees to waive sanctions against Ukraine and amend Russia's natural gas contract with the country, in a move that could ease fears of a disruption to European gas supplies

Van Rompuy takes EU presidency
Herman Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton were welcomed by world leaders as Europe's first full-time president and foreign policy chief, even as a chorus of critics questioned their relatively low profiles

Business seeks freeze on labour laws
The British Chambers of Commerce is asking the government for a three-year moratorium on labour legislation amid fears that small companies in particular will struggle to absorb a concentrated wave of regulation

Ireland demands replay in soccer controversy
In spite of embarrassment over the nature of the French team's win, the appeal by Brian Cowen, Irish prime minister, for the French government to join his campaign for a rematch was rebuffed in Paris

Supremacy of the nation state wins out
Choice of two relative unknowns for the roles of EU president and foreign policy supremo dismayed those who wanted to give Europe more clout on the world stage

Turkey cancels nuclear tender
Turkey has cancelled a tender to build the country's first nuclear power station, despite pressure from Moscow to accept the sole bid from a consortium led by two Russian companies

Barroso still seen as 'number one' in Brussels
Herman Van Rompuy and Baroness Ashton may have won the contest to determine the EU's first full-time president and foreign affairs chief, but the real winner may have been the Commission president

Total cleared of blame for accident
A French court rules that the energy group was not responsible for one of the country's worst industrial disasters in which 31 people were killed

Diversity on boards
Progress towards a better gender balance on FTSE 100 boards has, disappointingly, stalled over the past year. In spite of this setback, a better balance can be achieved

Irish industrial harmony faces pay talk test
Ireland's reputation for industrial harmony faces its biggest test in more than 20 years this week as government and trade unions struggle to agree a new centralised pay deal

Romanian poll offers path to financial aid
The presidential election on Sunday is a vital step on the road to economic recovery and unblocking the recession-blighted country's access to international financial aid

Israel shrugs off boycott effort
Despite Israel's proven resilience, the strategy of targeting the country's economic welfare in order to raise political pressure on the country is again gaining momentum

FT.com - World, Europe
FT.com - World, Europe

 

Europe's New Leadership: 'Who' for President, 'I Don't Know' for Foreign Minister
The appointment of Herman van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton to the European Union's top spots has many scratching their heads. The two are relatively unknown, but expectations are so low, they can only exceed them.

Not at Home in Germany: Almost Half of Turkish Migrants Want to Leave
This week, results of the first study comparing opinions of Germans, Turks and Turks living in Germany were announced. There were some grounds to celebrate integration but there were also problems. Many immigrants say they feel out of place in both countries, almost half want to return home and Turkish youth are becoming more conservative than their elders.

Picture This: Up, Up and Away

'Needles, Pliers, a Blunt Saw': Rammstein Album Riles Censors, Finally
Rammstein has reached its goal. The band's best-selling new album "Liebe ist für alle da" ("Love is There for Everyone") has been taken off German shelves after offending government censors -- a first for the bad boys of German rock.

Who is Van Rompuy?: New EU President's Life Motto Is 'Quiet Determination'
Herman Van Rompuy is a practicing Catholic who belongs to the conservative wing of the Flemish Christian Democrat party. He likes haiku poetry and prefers the Beatles to the Stones.

The Velvet Revolution: Czech Students Look Back at What Their Forebears Started
The Czech Republic this week kicked off celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Back then, it was Czechoslovakian students who took the lead. Nowadays, the country's youth are ambivalent about Prague-style democracy.

Football Betting Scandal: Prosecutors Say up to 200 Matches Were Fixed
Prosecutors in Germany have revealed the scope of the match-fixing scandal that has shocked European football. Around 200 games are suspected of having been fixed, with more than 30 of those played in Germany.

The World From Berlin: Afghanistan 'Cannot Advance on Words Alone'
After a controversial election, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was finally sworn in for his second term this week. The high-ranking Western diplomats who attended the inauguration said it was a decisive moment for the strife-torn land. But German commentators are not impressed with Karzai's promises.

More than 'Just a Game': Sport Turns into Ultimate Political Football
It's not often that sport becomes the stuff of diplomatic disputes. But two highly controversial World Cup qualifying matches have pushed football into the global headlines this week. Algeria and Egypt find themselves embroiled in a serious spat while the Irish government complained to Paris.

Gender and Climate Change: Poor Women Bear Brunt of Global Warming
With the world struggling to come up with an agreement ahead of December's Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen, one important fact has been overlooked: Women are hit hardest by the extreme weather shifts, according to a new UN report.

Short Selling American Lives: Deutsche Bank Life Insurance Fund in Hot Water
Two Deutsche Bank funds were designed to profit from premature deaths in the US by buying up life insurance policies. But investors have seen precious little return on their investment. Angry customers are accusing the bank of fraud.

Terrorism Concerns: Danish Politicians Want Stricter Checks on American Travelers
Two parties in Denmark's parliament are calling for stricter checks on American travelers to the country out of terrorism concerns. Danish Justice Minister Brian Mikkelsen agrees that restrictions may be necessary.

PR Writ Large: The Great Chinese Media Offensive
China's image in the world hasn't been the best lately. Now, Beijing is pumping billions of dollars into a global media campaign in an effort to reverse that trend. Chinese television may be coming soon to a TV near you.

New EU President and Foreign Minister: Europe Chooses Nobodies
Europe's leaders are relieved that the wrangling over the EU's new positions of president and foreign minister is finally over. But they have no reason to be proud. Once again, the EU has missed an opportunity to boost its standing on the global stage.

Pirate Season Underway: Increased Violence on the High Seas
A dead captain, soldiers onboard civilian freighters, record ransoms and shoot-outs almost daily: After two months of relative calm, pirate season off the coast of Somalia has resumed. The stakes are higher than ever.

Picture This: You've Been Warned

The World From Berlin: New EU President 'Will Only Add to the Current Confusion'
Leaders of the European Union meet on Thursday evening to discuss who should get the bloc's new top jobs. German commentators suggest that, before the meeting, the leaders should do some homework and put aside national differences -- or risk devaluing the whole process.

Where's the Fête?: Paris Fights Back Against Accusation of Boring Nightlife
Amid complaints that Parisian nightlife has lost ground to cities like Berlin and Barcelona, French officials are doing their best to buff up the city's reputation. But partygoers, perturbed by red tape and the closure of famous clubs, say that more has to be done to enliven the city in the wee hours.

Stagnating Temperatures: Climatologists Baffled by Global Warming Time-Out
Global warming appears to have stalled. Climatologists are puzzled as to why average global temperatures have stopped rising over the last 10 years. Some attribute the trend to a lack of sunspots, while others explain it through ocean currents.

Salivating Scoundrels: Police Identify Highway Thief from Hand-Kiss DNA
Some men will steal your heart, others will steal your wallet. But one man might soon learn that, if you plan on doing the latter, don't seal the deal with a kiss.

SPIEGEL ONLINE - International
Daily news, analysis and opinion from Europe's leading newsmagazine and Germany's top news Web site.

 

Correction: Czech politics

In our story last week on right-wing parties in Europe (“Right on down”), we mistakenly referred to the Civic Forum in the Czech Republic. We should have said the Civic Democrats. Sorry. This error has been corrected online.

...

Charlemagne: A new balance in Europe

America is listening to Russia's call for new security arrangements in Europe

IN THEORY, Russian diplomats accredited to NATO are welcome friends: the reality is murkier. For more than a decade now, Russian officials have been trusted to roam the alliance’s maze-like headquarters in Brussels just like envoys from other “partner countries” such as Sweden, Finland or Malta. In practice, says a diplomat, everyone knows that “the entire Russian mission is [staffed by] spies”. This leads to cat-and-mouse games that range from the serious (in February, an Estonian official was jailed for more than 12 years for selling NATO secrets to Russia) to the comical (guards were posted at the doors of meetings reserved for full NATO members after Russian officials were found hiding their badges and sneaking inside).

Russia’s relations with the European Union are almost as ambiguous. The two sides have lots of mutual interests—the EU buys more than half of all Russian exports, and provides two-thirds of Russia’s foreign direct investment. Yet an odd mood of surly indifference surrounds Russia-EU ties. A formal summit between President Dmitry Medvedev and European Union bosses on November 18th achieved only a few technical agreements, though the two sides had much to discuss, not least gas supplies and Russia’s foot-dragging over climate change. ...

Germany's Social Democrats: Archangel Gabriel takes the burden

The venerable but defeated SPD picks a new champion

IT HAD the trappings of any other political party convention in Germany: the same airless arena, the same corporate kiosks offering free ballpoint pens. But the gathering of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Dresden on November 13th-15th was anything but routine. The party had suffered its worst defeat in decades in September’s federal election, picking up just 23% of the vote, its smallest share since the second world war, and was out of power after 11 years in government. For the 500 delegates the question was not when the SPD would get back in, but whether it would survive as the main political force on the left. The pre-convention’s mood was one of “humiliation, depression and aggression”, said Hans-Peter Bartels, an SPD member of the Bundestag.

Why, the delegates asked, did the SPD fare so badly at a time when capitalism was discredited and voters were looking to the government for help? The answers poured forth: the party had broken its promises (by raising value-added tax); it had bowed to free-market ideology by reforming pensions and labour markets; and its leaders had been aloof, unresponsive and had bickered among themselves. The ex-communist Left Party had exploited these failings. Besides, social democratic parties were in trouble all over Europe. ...

Municipal politics in France: The mayors' revolt

Plans to abolish a tax on investment causes uproar in town halls

IN THE rolling hills and medieval villages of France, a modern rebellion is stirring. The country’s 36,000 directly elected mayors are in revolt, angry at government plans to cut the number of elected officials and abolish a local tax that supplies much of their revenues. This week some 6,000 of them descended on Paris for their annual congress, jeering a speech by Francois Fillon, the prime minister, and denouncing an effort to emasculate local power.

With their ceremonial sashes and grand town halls in even the remotest village, mayors occupy a special place in French life. They represent the state locally, organise elections, conduct marriages, grant planning permission—and can be a political force to reckon with. ...

Europe's public finances: Weighed down

The recession has left a fiscal burden that many countries will struggle to shed

THE BAD thing for politicians about good news on the economy is that they can no longer avert their eyes from the state of public finances. Figures released on November 13th showed that the euro-area economy crawled out of recession in the three months to the end of September. GDP rose by 0.4%, the first quarterly increase for more than a year. Given the scale of the downturn, the recovery is modest: GDP was still 4.1% lower than a year earlier.

Such a deep slump has wrecked public finances. The average budget deficit in the 16-country euro area will be 6.4% of GDP this year, rising to 6.9% in 2010, according to the European Commission’s forecast. If no action is taken to tame deficits, public debt will rise to 88% of GDP by 2011, a third higher than it was before the crisis (see chart). ...

History of Italian fascism: Not just Hitler's fool

A mistress’s diary shows Benito Mussolini was a rabid anti-Semite

“THESE disgusting Jews, I must destroy them all.” Adolf Hitler’s dinnertime conversation? No. This is one of several anti-Semitic rants ascribed to Italy’s fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, by his mistress, Clara Petacci. Both were executed by partisans at the end of the second world war. The diaries of “Claretta”, published as a book (“Mussolini segreto”) on November 18th, after more than 50 years in the state archives, challenge the comforting view that many Italians have of the Duce as a leader misled by Hitler, his ally. Mussolini’s reputation still matters in a country which, for most of the past eight years, has been led by governments incorporating his “post-fascist” heirs.

In 2004 his son, Romano, published a memoir, “My Father, Il Duce”, which presented Mussolini as a caring family man, largely ignoring the dark side of the leader who had occupied Ethiopia in 1935-36 and, during his final years as Hitler’s puppet, sent thousands of Jews to Nazi death camps. In 2007 Marcello Dell’Utri, a close aide to Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, claimed to have found Mussolini’s diaries. Most historians said they were fakes, but not before Italians were told of contents which, in the words of Romano’s daughter, Alessandra Mussolini, showed “all the efforts made by grandfather to avoid the war”. ...

Turkey's phone-tapping scandal: Who's on the phone?

A murky twist in the fight between the ruling party and the military old guard

DURING an interview with a Turkish minister recently, your correspondent was asked to remove the battery from her mobile telephone. “Otherwise our conversation will be tapped,” the minister explained. His paranoia may be understandable; over the past week Turkey’s elite has been rocked by tales of politicians, judges and journalists being wiretapped. Even the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, complained that “they eavesdropped on me for six years”.

Much about this story remains murky. It is not clear, for instance, who might have been listening in on Mr Erdogan. Indeed, the scandal mainly involves allegations that the justice ministry, led by Mr Erdogan’s Justice and Development (AK) party, has been monitoring members of the elite suspected of involvement with coup-plotters in the so-called Ergenekon case. ...

Greek public finances: Arithmetic lesson

The politics of deficits and economic statistics

GREEK government statistics are notoriously unreliable. But rarely can the numbers have seemed more erratic than in recent months, when the forecast for this year’s budget deficit more than doubled from 6% to 12.7% of GDP. What went wrong? Electoral politics is a big part of the answer.

Tax collection “collapsed almost totally” after the first quarter, says George Papaconstantinou, the new Socialist finance minister. Revenue-raising slowed in the run-up to the European elections—a traditional ploy by Greek governments to keep voters loyal—then stagnated over the summer and during the national election campaign in September. A pre-election splurge (another tradition) helped widen the deficit. And as the economy weakened during the financial crisis, tax evasion rose: VAT receipts, for example, fell steadily. ...

Slovakia's murky politics: Heading south

Tough times for Slovakia’s democracy

AN IRREVOCABLE shift away from the bad habits of the past was meant to be the result of joining the European Union. In Slovakia’s case, the shift is now backwards. In the past six months the authorities have taken disciplinary action against a dozen prominent judges. Some were among 100 legal luminaries who signed an appeal this year denouncing inefficiency, corruption and politicisation of the justice system. In particular, the protesters are unhappy with Stefan Harabin, a controversial former justice minister who is now president of the Supreme Court.

Mr Harabin has denounced Slovakia’s special anti-corruption court—which has highly paid, security-vetted judges—as a “fascist institution”. The court has now been suspended and replaced by a weaker substitute. High-profile corruption cases, many of which have roots in the 1990s, are at risk of fizzling out. ...

Islamic finance in France: Sharia calling

A political row about Muslim law

WITH western Europe’s biggest Muslim population (some 6m) and a firm secular tradition, France has an unapologetic approach to religious minorities. Immigrants and their offspring must adapt to French rules, not the other way round. France has banned the Islamic veil in state schools. Parliament is looking into outlawing the burqa from public places. But how bendy is this attitude? When it comes to Islamic finance, to the dismay of some politicians on both right and left, the government is trying to introduce elements of sharia—under which “usury” is forbidden.

In a global recession, Islamic finance looks an attractive business. Worldwide sharia-compliant assets grew by 29% over the past year to $822 billion, according to The Banker. French officials fret that Paris is missing out on its share, particularly to London, whose multicultural approach gives an open-arms welcome to Islamic investors. To catch up, the French have pushed through changes to their tax and legal codes. But their latest effort has prompted a political backlash. ...

Germany's foreign policy: A new game of dominoes

The world’s focus on Germany this week has prompted some to ask about Germany’s focus on the world

THE new American ambassador to Germany, Philip Murphy, introduced himself to Berliners recently in an Obama-style town-hall meeting at Humboldt University. “The relationship between Germany and America”, he declared, “is the most important relationship of the past 60-plus years.” That may have been true when the Berlin Wall still stood, just west of where Mr Murphy was bonding with the city’s youth. But it stopped being so when the wall fell 20 years ago.

So long as the wall was there, West Germany was on the front line of the West’s confrontation with the Soviet Union. Its fall, commemorated by European leaders this week with fireworks and the toppling of 1,000 hand-painted dominoes, increased Germany’s population by a quarter, its territory by two-fifths and its economy by a tenth. France and Britain were not alone in fretting lest Germans return to their overbearing ways. In fact, Germany’s relative importance has diminished. Today it is a medium-sized power whose influence looms large within Europe but is spotty beyond it. ...

The far right in eastern Europe: Right on down

No direct threat, yet far-right ideas seep into the mainstream

WHEN Jobbik, a Hungarian far-right party, took 15% of the vote in June’s European election, it sent shudders across the continent. Running on an anti-Roma (gypsy) platform, with nasty words for Jews and homosexuals and with its own uniformed wing, Jobbik seemed more troubling than earlier groups. It joined existing extremists in the region to suggest a new resurgence of the far right. The Slovak National Party (SNP), whose leader, Jan Slota, is known for pungent anti-Hungarian remarks, has won seats in every Slovak parliament but one since 1990 and been part of the government since 2006. Bulgaria’s Ataka lives up to its name with verbal onslaughts against the country’s Turks, and has taken 10% of the vote since 2005. Jobbik may be the third-biggest party in Hungary after next spring’s election.

Yet in other places the far right is in retreat. Poland’s League of Polish Families, a xenophobic bunch with a youth wing known for anti-Semitism, was knocked out of parliament in 2007. The Greater Romania Party, an irredentist group of Magyar-bashers whose leader came second in Romania’s presidential election of 2000, lost all its seats in 2008. Jobbik’s uniformed outfit was banned earlier this year. A far-right group in the European Parliament in 2007 broke up after ten months of in-fighting (Romanian members objected to being called “gypsies” by Italians). The Baltics, the Czech Republic and Slovenia have no big far-right parties. ...

Turkey and the Kurds: Peace in sight?

The government doggedly pursues a settlement of its Kurdish problem

STUFFING its ears to opposition cries of treason, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party is going ahead with bold moves to end the country’s long-running Kurdish problem. The odd bout of turbulence notwithstanding, peace between Turkey and its rebellious Kurds now seems closer than ever.

This week the ruling party proposed a measure to reduce or commute sentences for thousands of stone-throwing young Kurds charged with acting for the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). If it is passed, they would no longer be tried in adult courts. That should help blunt the radicalisation of a new generation of jobless Kurds, natural recruits for the PKK. ...

The far right in Russia: Cracked up

Still an active presence, but one the authorities may not tolerate much longer

RUSSIAN fascists did not hide their elation when Stanislav Markelov, a human-rights lawyer, and Anastasia Baburova, a young journalist, were shot dead in Moscow last January. Mr Markelov had been a vital link between anti-fascist activists, such as Ms Baburova, and the police. Yet the sense of impunity long enjoyed by Russia’s far right has been dented by the arrest of a man and a woman for the murders. The police even seem to have got the right people (and others are still being hunted).

Nikita Tikhonov, a 29-year-old ultra-nationalist who has admitted the murders, had been on the run since 2006, when a group of skinheads knifed to death a 19-year-old anti-fascist student. Mr Markelov, who represented the victim’s family, managed to get some of the attackers locked up. But Mr Tikhonov, the main suspect, escaped. He appears to be linked to Russian Mode, an ultra-nationalist group that advertises itself as “not a gang, a PR agency or a political party, but all those things together” and explains how to acquire weapons. He and his combative comrade were detained on November 4th, a new holiday of “national unity” that has been hijacked by ultra-nationalists as their day to march and shout racist slogans. ...

Demography in the Balkans: A birth dearth

The tricky politics of population in the former Yugoslavia

OUTSIDE a hospital in Belgrade, two parking spots are reserved for parents with babies. A placard shows a stork delivering a baby that is then driven off in a car. What is telling is that there are only two spaces. Serbia’s population is shrinking.

Demography is causing alarm in many Balkan countries. In Bosnia and Kosovo, the issue can be fundamental. In Macedonia, a bid by the government to give financial aid to encourage (low-birth) Macedonians to have more children but to exclude (high-birth) Albanians was struck down by the constitutional court in April. ...

Charlemagne: Single market bargaining

Why a deal on tax harmonisation might not boost support for the single market

A FEW times a year, Charlemagne has the luck to teach students at a European management school in Paris. It is an enlightening experience (for your columnist, at least). One popular question has been why some European Union policies are so contentious in places like France, notably the commitment to an internal market based on “free and undistorted competition”. After a while, the penny dropped. If you play word association, it turns out that for many in a Parisian classroom, the polar opposite of “competition” is “solidarity”: ie, the useful rigour imposed by competition is overshadowed by the pain caused as society divides into winners and losers. For Anglo-Saxon liberals, the instinctive opposite of “competition” is “monopoly”: ie, the pain of competition is justified by a quest for fairness, even before getting to arguments about efficiency and companies’ long-term fitness.

In Paris the idea that a free-market liberal may believe he is defending a moral position (rather than a necessary evil) often causes surprise. In parallel, it is salutary to be reminded that the other side has a point too. The open borders written into the EU can be both positive and painful, as globalisation produces losers as well as winners. From the earliest days of the single market, EU leaders have attempted to square this circle by presenting the project as a grand bargain. Popular consent for liberalisation was bought with promises of solidarity in the form of welfare safety nets at the national level, and hefty flows of aid from rich to poor countries at the EU level. ...

Charlemagne: Blair's unbalancing act

Lessons from the unedifying fight over top Brussels jobs

IN THE end, Tony Blair’s great European adventure seems to have been a balancing act too far. As prime minister, Mr Blair built a career on political acrobatics. He was the Labour politician who left in place great chunks of Thatcherism. As prime minister, he swore he was a true European (the “most European of Englishmen”, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy once said) even as he defended opt-outs from such policies as ending internal European Union passport controls. More than any British leader, he backed closer European defence co-operation—and then he split Europe by joining America in Iraq.

But high-wire acts hurt when they fail. And, at an EU summit in Brussels on October 29th and 30th, Mr Blair fell, watching his bid to become the first permanent president of the European Council collapse. Mr Blair needed leaders to agree that he was a sincere European, and they could not. He needed his fellow socialists to admit he was one of them, and they declined (the centre-left Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, said Mr Blair represented “Bush and the war in Iraq”.) ...

The euro-area economy: Recovery, of sorts

The European Commission reckons that today’s growth will not last

EUROPE’S emergence from its worst post-war downturn seems assured. Figures released on November 13th will confirm that the euro-area economy came out of recession in the third quarter. The fourth quarter also looks promising. Output rose at its fastest rate in almost two years in October, says a survey of purchasing managers. Business and consumer confidence have continued to improve. A jump in foreign orders for German capital goods in September is a sign that export demand is returning.

The latest forecasts from the European Commission reflect this new mood. The commission says euro-area GDP will rise by 0.7% in 2010, a brighter prospect than seemed likely in May, when it forecast a 0.1% drop. The upgrade would be larger if today’s growth rate were sustained. But the commission thinks the economy will hit a soft patch early next year, as the temporary effects of fiscal stimulus and of firms’ restocking begin to fade. ...

Eastern Europe's economic woes: Down in the dumps

The ex-communist economies have not collapsed. But finding new ways to catch up with the West will be hard

EVEN at the height of the ex-communist countries’ boom in 2006, almost half their citizens felt they lived worse than in 1989. Yet that glum verdict on 17 years of liberalisation, privatisation and stabilisation was tempered by another finding. Most of those polled by the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said they were optimistic about their children’s prospects.

The worry is that the global economic crisis has dented confidence in the future and intensified gloom about the present. Fast growth eased dissatisfaction with corrupt politicians and bossy bureaucrats. It offered at least the chance of better health care and education, which lag far behind western standards. But the average decline in GDP this year is a whopping 6.2%; recovery is expected to be slow. So east Europeans face higher taxes, bigger debts, less public spending, lower pay and fewer jobs. They do not have the same shock-absorbers as in the west—which is where, in the eyes of many, the crisis originated. ...

The Economist: Europe
Europe

 

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Russia guarantees gas supplies to Europe
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Why Ashton is EU Foreign Policy Chief
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Road safety a top priority
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Shuttle duo make spacewalk
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At least 19 dead after Pakistan suicide attack
A deadly suicide attack has hit the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, continuing a wave violence to hit the region. Police say at least 19…

North Korea tops Obama talks in Seoul
US President Barack Obama's Asia pacific tour is winding down but the issues being discussed with his South Korean counterpart show no signs of a…

Russian court says no to capital punishment
Russia's moratorium on the death penalty has been extended. The country's constitutional court decided just a few weeks before it was due to…

Serbia says farewell to Patriarch Pavle
Serbia has paid its final respects to the late head of its orthodox church, Patriarch Pavle, who died last Sunday aged 95. A religious service was…

Gas disruption fears cloud Ukraine-Russia talks
EU leaders will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of talks today between Ukraine and Russia amid fears another gas dispute may affect supplies to…

Obama defends 9/11 suspects NY trial
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Brazil President to have final say on extradition case
Brazil's top court has ruled to extradite former Italian guerilla Chesare Battisti on murder charges but after a debate lasting hours the nine…

Berlin celebrates the Fall of the Wall
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Doubts over Sarkozy's Berlin Wall memories
France's media-loving President Sarkozy has become embroiled in a web of intrigue over his part in the fall of the Berlin Wall. He joined yesterday's…

Germany reflects after Wall anniversary celebrations
By all accounts it was a huge success - the eyes of the world were on Germany as it held one of its biggest ever parties to mark the 20th anniversary…

World leaders reflect on fall of the Berlin Wall
The Brandenburg Gate, once the fault line between East and West, and now the symbol of German reunification, was the impressive setting for a…

Berlin wasn't the only party venue
Berlin was not the only city where celebrations were held for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Ceremonies took place in…

Germany remembers the fall of the Berlin Wall
Germany has marked the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall with mass celebrations. Thousands turned out to see one of the star…

World powers hail fall of Berlin Wall
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Don't look back in anger could be the watchword for Berlin's DDR musuem
In recent years, the East or at least products from the former eastern half of the city, have become trendy once again. This has given rise to…

Reunified Germany's mixed economic picture
Two decades after the Berlin Wall came down, the economic reunification of the two Germanys has been mixed. There are success stories, such as…

World leaders mark fall of Berlin Wall
More than 30 past and present world leaders are in the German capital to mark 20 years since the collapse of the Berlin Wall. The event paved the way…

Domino date to mark Berlin collapse
With thousands of people descending on Berlin for the commemorative events, a massive security operation is underway. Police have blocked off many…

World leaders in Berlin for fall of wall bash
World leaders past and present are in Berlin to celebrate the "happiest day in recent German history," as they mark the 20th anniversary of the event…

Decorated dominoes symbolise fall of Berlin Wall
Few of the events organised for today's celebrations have drawn as much attention and anticipation as the Berlin Wall Domino Gallery. One…

Anticipation grows ahead of Berlin Wall anniversary
Anticipation is growing in Berlin ahead of Monday's 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall. At least 100,000 people are set to party around…

Berlin border guard recalls the Wall's fall
A former East German border guard has spoken about the night his checkpoint in Berlin was swarmed by people trying to cross to the west of the city…

Germany remembers the Wind of Change
For many, it became the song synonymous with the fall of the Berlin Wall. 'Wind of Change' by German rock band the Scorpions was written in…

Berlin gears up for fall of Wall anniversary
Almost 1,000 domino blocks have been placed along the route of the former Berlin Wall ahead of the 20th anniversary of its collapse. The blocks…

Berlin gets ready to celebrate fall of the wall
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U2 embarrassed by Berlin gig 'wall'
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Couple kept apart 50 years by Iron Curtain
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The car that came from behind the Iron Curtain
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Photo journalist Stéphane Duroy remembers the Wall
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Mostovoy, USSR media chief Berlin 1989
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An American in Berlin - Marc Fisher remembers the fall of the Wall
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Wolfgang Thierse, Vice-President of the German Bundestag, talks about the day the Wall came down
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"We knew that by opening the Hungarian-Austrian border, we would make the Berlin Wall absolutely useless but it collapsed earlier than we expected."
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Joy and bitterness over fall of Berlin Wall
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euronews
The leading European News TV-channel. All the International news in seven languages.

 

Van Rompuy Ashton selected to revive european project
Le Roi des Belges; or perhaps not so royal but democratic although his new Foreign Minister is a Baroness sending a message to the world that the new European Council President and his High Representative Herman Von Rompuy and Baroness Catherine Ashton will not be so far from the old...

Citizens first unless business has an interest even if the Treaty of Lisbon may be at risk
To get the EU closer to its citizens. This was and remains one of the major objectives of the European Commission and the EP. Do you want to see what this means in practice? Have a look at the following: The Aring;land Islands form part of Finland since 1921 not...

Stomping out poverty begins with a treaty?
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Chambers launch C20 business counterpart to G20
The ECOFIN Council gathering in Brussels on 10 November will discuss the follow-up to the G20 finance ministersrsquo; summit of 6-7 November. Similarly Chambers of Commerce of the G20 countries have taken the opportunity to announce their own follow-up to this issue and the creation of the ldquo;C20 Grouprdquo; ndash; a...

Old news: recession has increased some age-related discrimination
The recession has increased European perceptions that age may be a problem when seeking a new job according to a European Union survey. The Eurobarometer survey which polled citizens in the EU as well as in candidate countries Croatia FYROM and Turkey between May 29 and June 15 found that...

Amid anger the EUs big countries will pick its new no-name president
While Poland has demanded that the European Unionrsquo;s smaller countries have a say in who will be its first de facto President under the recently-ratified Lisbon Treaty the leaders of the blocrsquo;s major countries are set to make the decision on November 19 sources told Deutsche-Presse-Agentur dpa with two of...

Thomson Reuters the target of an EU anti-trust case
The European Unionrsquo;s executive has launched an anti-trust probe into news group Thomson Reuters to investigate whether its real-time business data feeds may be set up to keep competitors out of the market the European Commission announced. If found guilty the company could face a heavy fine and be forced...

The first President of the EU may be a name you dont recognize
With the imminent implementation of the Lisbon Treaty the European Unionrsquo;s de facto Constitution which creates two new top posts that of President of the European Union and an EU Foreign Minister in all but name candidates have been jockeying for position or having their names floated but it now...

Klaus signs EU reform treaty
The president of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus has signed the European Unionrsquo;s Lisbon Treaty the final step in the charterrsquo;s ratification. The treaty approval paves way for a stronger EU. Klausrsquo; decision to ratify the Treaty came after the Czech Republicrsquo;s constitutional court rejected a last minute legal challenge...

No Mladic yet but Serbia readies its application for the EUs club
Hoping that the Netherlands - angered that Serbia hasnrsquo;t found accused war criminal Ratko Mladic who has been seen in the county - will step aside and stop blocking its plans to join the European Union the beleaguered Balkan nation said it still plans to file for membership by the...

Berlin slams GMs Opel decision
Feeling ditched after six months of negotiations German officials reacted angrily on 4 November to US car maker General Motorrsquo;s decision to keep its European business Opel rather than sell a majority stake to a consortium backed by Berlin. The GM board voted on 3 November against the planned sale of...

Ahoy there Internet pirates EUs dealing
A major revamping of the European Unionrsquo;s telecoms market aimed at boosting consumer choice and the spread of high-speed internet connections has overcome a final hurdle and should now come into force early next year officials in Brussels said. The announcement followed a late-night agreement clinched by national governments and...

Canada squeals to the WTO over EUs seal ban
Canada has made a formal request for World Trade Organization WTO to review the European Unionrsquo;s ban on importation of seal products Ottawarsquo;s Trade Minister Stockwell Day said beginning the process of resolution of a trade dispute that has bitterly split both sides. The EU has enacted a ban on...

Iceland names negotiator for EU accession talks
Iceland has picked its chief negotiator to begin talks on joining the 27-member European Union the foreign ministry said. Iceland reversed its decades-long policy of independence from the EU in July when it handed in its application to the EU in the wake of the global financial crisis that a...

Joined-up development thinking
Joined-up thinking has become a valuable business management mantra. Itrsquo;s now being put to work for EU development policy too in the first ever European Report on Development which was launched at the European Development Days. The first-ever European Report on Development ERD was launched on 22 October at the European...

Robin Cosgrove Prize rewards Innovation
The ldquo;Ethics in Finance Robin Cosgrove Prizerdquo; will be awarded to 7 young people on 22 October who submitted winning papers on Innovative Ideas for ethics in finance. The financial crisis was largely triggered when trust in financial markets was destroyed by lack of transparency and evidence of the absence...

Swedish premier believes Klaus will sign Lisbon Treaty
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said on 21 October he believed Czech President Vaclav Klaus will ratify the Lisbon Treaty but could not say when it will take place. ldquo;We have agreed to get this the treaty in place rdquo; Reinfeldt told Swedish radio news. The Lisbon Treaty is aimed...

Brussels to improve protection and efficacy of Asylum System
Officials in Brussels on 21 October called for common and fairer asylum rules within the European Union in order to offer refugees a higher level of protection. The proposals put forward by EU Home Affairs Commissioner Jacques Barrot aim to put an end to the so-called ldquo;asylum lotteryrdquo; whereby a...

Still no EU single market when it comes to online shopping
The European Unionrsquo;s single market was meant to give customers a better deal by allowing them to find the cheapest product in any member state. But while the internet may have produced virtual shopping malls of continental proportions most online shops still prevent foreign customers from getting a bargain according...

EU court rules in favour of workers sacked while on parental leave
An employer who sacks a worker while they are on parental leave must base the severance pay on the workerrsquo;s full-time salary rather than on what they were earning while at home with the kids the European Union court ruled on 22 October Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa reported. The precedent-setting judgment...

Rising Tata Motors takes over a Spanish bus maker
Indiarsquo;s Tata Motors making noises about becoming one of the worldrsquo;s biggest makers of cars and buses has made a move into the European Union with the acquisition of the remaining 79 percent stake in Spanish bus maker Hispano Carrocera one of Europersquo;s main bus and coach manufacturers. Tata Motors...

A Right Wing Coup
Pro European Tories are mounting a counter attack after what they see as a right wing coup that handed control of a planned transnational party and think tank to a group of Euro-skeptics led by Daniel Hannan MEP and dashed Conservative Central Office hopes of having a safe pair of...

EU seas still critically overfished
Eighty-five per cent of European Union fish stocks are overfished with key species such as cod critically below safe population levels officials innbsp;Brussels said on October 16. But the European Commission still expects member states to increase catch quotas for North Sea cod next year despite clear signs that conservation...

Turkeys path to Europe or lack thereof
Turkeyrsquo;s chief European Union negotiator Egeman Bagis has welcomed the blocrsquo;s latest progress report on the country. Bagis called the report ldquo;the most objective report so far.rdquo; Responding to the reportrsquo;s singling out of a tax-evasion case against media group Dogan Media Holding a vocal critic of the current government...

Outgoing EU Commission will be no lame duck
There will be no slackening of work at the European Commission when its mandate expires at the end of October even though no new commission will be ready to replace it commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said on 16 October. ldquo;If there is no new commission which will evidently be the...

Got milk no cash
A majority of European Union countries on 12 October called for helping dairy farmers with an additional euro;300 million after an informal meeting of farm ministers and officials in Vienna. The representatives from 20 EU countries which represent 95% of the EUrsquo;s milk market said member states should contribute that...

European car sales boosted by government incentive schemes
European new car sales jumped by 6.3% in September boosted by government incentive schemes aimed at drawing car buyers into showrooms the auto industry association ACEA said on 15 October. But underscoring the fragile state of the European car sector in the wake of the global economic crisis auto sales...

Rise in eurozone industrial production
Industrial production in the 16-member eurozone rose in August the Europersquo;s statistics office said on 14 October adding to evidence of an end to the recession in the currency bloc. Eurostat said output rose by 0.9% month on month in August and revised up the July figure to a 0.2%...

Eastern European performance down
The economies of central and eastern Europe are expected to contract by an average of 6.3% this year but growth in the third quarter of 2009 suggests the regionrsquo;s recession is bottoming out the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD said on 15 October. The EBRDrsquo;s Transition Report 2009...

EU welcomes Microsofts offer
ON 7 OCTOBER Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes welcomed plans by Microsoft to offer new Windows users a choice of web browsers as a means of addressing the regulatorrsquo;s concerns. ldquo;I have good grounds for thinking that we are moving towards a very satisfactory resolution of some serious competition problems in...

Commission fines transformers cartel
THE European Commission on 7 October imposed a euro;67.6 million fine $99.5-million on French Swiss and Japanese producers of power transformers for forming a market-fixing cartel. Germanyrsquo;s Siemens also participated in the illegal agreement but was granted immunity for revealing the existence of the cartel to the Commission. The biggest single...

Czechs to ratify Lisbon by end of 2009
CZECH President Vaclav Klaus will sign the European Unionrsquo;s Lisbon Treaty most probably by the end of the year Czech premier Jan Fischer said on 7 October. ldquo;There is no reason for anxiety in Europe. In the Czechnbsp;Republic the question is not lsquo;Yesrsquo; or lsquo;Norsquo; it is when rdquo;nbsp;Fischer told...

EU central banks keep rates on hold
EUROPErsquo;S leading central banks held interest rates at historic lows on 8 October as they await evidence that the regionrsquo;s recovery from its steepest economic downturn in a generation is taking hold. While the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank ECB left interest rates unchanged for the sixth consecutive month the Bank...

EU to step up fight against spam
BRUSSELS has urged national governments to step up their fight against spammers with data showing that the majority of Europeans still receivenbsp; unsolicited emails. Although spam has been illegal in the European Union since 2002 a recent Eurobarometer poll showed that 65% of EU citizens still receive spam on a...

Finance ministers debate post- recession exit strategies
THE European economy will need propping up well into 2010 but ballooning budget deficits should be deflated as soon as the recovery is consolidated possibly by 2011 European Union finance ministers said on 1 October. ldquo;It is quite clear that the economic and financial crisis has been halted by bold and...

EU sends aid to disaster -struck areas across Asia
A SERIES of natural catastrophes in Asia including earthquakes typhoons and tsunami met with a quick response from the European Union which opened its vaults to send aid to the victims in Indonesia the Philippines Samoa Laos Vietnam and Cambodia. Included was euro;3 million in front-line aid to the victims...

Consumer prices dive deeper into negative
CONSUMER prices in the 16-member eurozone tumbled deeper into negative territory in September according to data released on 30 September. Annual consumer prices slipped to minus 0.3% in September from minus 0.2% in August the European Unionrsquo;s statistics office Eurostat said. Eurozone prices slumped to a record low of minus 0.7%...

Why the Euro Corridors Matter: The Case of the South Moravia
The South Moravian Region 1 130 000 inhabitants lies in the southeast of the Czech Republic on the borders with Austria and Slovakia. The region is home to the Czech Republicrsquo;s second largest city Brno an important judiciary city a university town with 80.000 students and the Central European trade...

Germany faces EU reprimand for excessive deficit
THE European Commission is expected to reprimand the traditionally fiscally virtuous Germany for running a high budget deficit during the recession it emerged on 1 October. Joaquiacute;n Almunia the European Unionrsquo;s monetary and economic affairs commissioner confirmed at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Gothenburg Sweden that his office...

EU right to cap roaming charges
THE European Union was right to put a cap on the charges mobile phone companies levy on customers who use their phones abroad a top EU lawyer said on 1 October according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa . The opinion comes as a blow to four of Europersquo;s biggest mobile phone...

Wide-ranging VAT fraud clampdown
THE European Commission on 29 September proposed measures to stamp out VAT fraud on goods ranging from mobile phones to greenhouse-gas emission permits saying that it costs the taxpayer billions of euro per year. The Commission has been working on the issue for years but has given it a higher...

EU to retrieve misspent farming funds
THE European Union is to claw back more than euro;200 million $293 million in aid that has been misspent on EU farmers with a third of the total coming from France officials in Brussels said on 29 September. ldquo;The money returns to the EU budget because of non-compliance with EU...

EU helps broker Iran okay on nuclear inspections deal
With the European Unionrsquo;s chief diplomat helping lead the way a stubborn Iranian government has agreed to international inspections of a mysterious nuclear facility and said it would continue talks about its nuclear program with six world powers. Javier Solana the EUrsquo;s foreign policy chief said Iran had reiterated its...

Yes to the Lisbon Treaty
There are many loose ends to tie up after 2 October and we must assess the changes needed to effectively communicate Europe to its citizens. European Peoplersquo;s Party EPP Secretary-General Antonio Lopez Isturiz told New Europe: ldquo;Now with the new Commission the time has come for the EU to launch...

Lisbon countdown
The crucial vote on Irelandrsquo;s 2 October re-vote on the European Unionrsquo;s governing document the Lisbon Treaty ndash; which replaced the failed EU Constitution and was rejected by the Irish last year ndash; became even iffier after an opinion poll showed the lsquo;Norsquo; vote picking up steam and a report...

Can Lisbon help to fight poverty?
All eyes are on Ireland this week and the much-anticipated outcome of the Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.nbsp; If the majority of my compatriots do vote lsquo;yesrsquo; on October 2 it will be largely down to the current crisis the heightened perception of Irelandrsquo;s economic vulnerability and the potential of...

Facing Europe
Anna Diamantopoulou former EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs is in the midst of a hectic election campaign schedule leading up to the ballot on 4 October in her country Greece where she is running as a Member of Parliament for Athens. She managed to find some time to...

Obama Goes Historic on Nuclear Weapons: Let the Battle Begin
President Obama marked his chairing of the United Nations Security Council on September 24 with the submission of a US-sponsored resolution intended to promote the ultimate goal of the abolition of nuclear weapons. The resolution was passed unanimously by the Council. Obama is following up his promise in Prague in...

EU must take a lead in ensuring Europeans are Fit for Work
A Call to Action is being launched this week to seek proper intervention and treatment for the more than 44 million EU citizens who have a longstanding health problem that affects their ability to work. In particular it addresses those with musculoskeletal disorders MSDs which account for more sick days...

Germany completes ratification process for Lisbon treaty
German President Horst Koehler has signed the ratification document for the EUrsquo;s Lisbon Treaty completing the ratification process in Germany a presidential spokesman said on 25 September. The Lisbon Treaty intended to create a more powerful EU leadership must be confirmed by all member states before it can come into...

New Europe News - Main Feed
New Europe News - Main Feed

 

A Right Wing Coup
Pro European Tories are mounting a counter attack after what they see as a right wing coup that handed control of a planned transnational party and think tank to a group of Euro-skeptics led by Daniel Hannan MEP and dashed Conservative Central Office hopes of having a safe pair of...

Politicians urged to provide cash for lives
Europe looks set to face more flu-related deaths than necessary as the H1N1 virus looms large. Experiences in Australia and Mexico have already shown that intensive care units ICUs will be stretched to maximum and beyond as a result of so-called swine flu. Vital beds are being earmarked for pregnant women...

Got milk no cash
A majority of European Union countries on 12 October called for helping dairy farmers with an additional euro;300 million after an informal meeting of farm ministers and officials in Vienna. The representatives from 20 EU countries which represent 95% of the EUrsquo;s milk market said member states should contribute that...

Latvia and UK play down spat over SS celebration
LATVIAN Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins spoke with his British counterpart David Miliband recently in an attempt to defuse a growing diplomatic row centred on differing interpretations of wartime history. During a speech to the annual conference of Britains ruling Labour party on 3 October Miliband had said he felt sick...

Klaus discusses Lisbon Treaty with Swedish premier
CZECH President Vaclav Klaus discussed his countrys ratification of the European Unions reform treaty with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt on 7 October the presidential office said. In Stockholm Reinfeldt later told reporters that Klaus had noted that the constitutional court process must be completed before he can conclude the...

EU project to fight money laundering complete
THE EU recently completed a 27-month programme aimed at helping Albania fight money laundering AENews reported. The cost of the project is €1.3 million which was provided by the European Commission. The Commission said that the project has strengthened the capacities of the Financial Intelligence Unit FIU of Albania to...

Stepping up the MDGs
Elise Ford was appointed as Head of EU Oxfam back in May 2009 and has been busy talking to the EU Institutions ever since. Last week she took some time out to talk to Alia Papageorgiou on just how important the Development MDGs are the impact we could have at...

Parliament inquiry into financial crisis should address role of lobbying
THE European Parliament will this week launch a new special committee on the financial economic and social crisis. Over the next 12 months the committee will ldquo;analyse and evaluate the financial economic and social crisisrdquo; and make recommendations for ldquo;measures or initiatives to be takenrdquo;. The new committee has an...

Czechs to ratify Lisbon by end of 2009
CZECH President Vaclav Klaus will sign the European Unionrsquo;s Lisbon Treaty most probably by the end of the year Czech premier Jan Fischer said on 7 October. ldquo;There is no reason for anxiety in Europe. In the Czechnbsp;Republic the question is not lsquo;Yesrsquo; or lsquo;Norsquo; it is when rdquo;nbsp;Fischer told...

Heres to you Mrs Robinson
Last week spending time on my beloved social networking site laughing with amusement at some peoples lost sheep on a game synonymous to town of agriculturehellip; and checking out one of my friendrsquo;s baby photos I received a call to arms from our European Commission Vice President herself Margot Wallstrom. I...

International Child Abductions
In December 2004 I took over the position of the European Parliament Mediator for International Parental child abduction succeeding Ms. Mary Banotti. Soon I recognised the considerable growth of bi-national marriages in the European Union when I became acquainted with my new mission. Actually I believe this is a wonderful...

A childs white knight: Missing Children Europe
Why is cross-border communication important? It is essential to make sure that the vanishing borders in the EU - which are not respected by criminals abducting a child or for instance by a runaway going from one country to another- are not taken into account when national systems are implemented....

Crisis in Italy
Since the first peace years after the second war Italy has led in Europe for the restoration of democratic institutions. Helped by the electoral law which provides for proportional representation Italy was democratically governed most of the times by coalition governments which allowed the formation of a strong Administration and...

Italian Left piggy-backs on European Liberals
The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats ALDE and the Greens at the European Parliament have asked for a public debate in plenary session to discuss the freedom of press in Italy according to Article 7 of the Treaty which provides for liberty and democracy in Member States. In this context...

EU Latvia discuss global developments
Latvias Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins met with European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek on 1 October to discuss current events on EU and global agenda. Riekstins and Buzek reviewed the institutional changes envisaged in the Lisbon Treaty in particular the establishment of the European External Action Service and related issues. Latvias...

Sowing the seeds for a better future
The news that some of the big supermarkets have been in talks with the Government about introducing Genetically Modified GM ingredients to the nationrsquo;s shelves will be welcome to Scottish farmers. In fact GMs have been on the shelves of our food shops for years in various different shapes and...

Why is there so much bitterness in the East?
I am not very sure that in Washington the reasons for the bitterness and frustration in former Socialist countries at the news that the US has abandoned the installation of the anti- missile shield in the Czech Republic and in Poland have been fully understood particularly as the timing of...

Buzek stresses challenges of a common Europe
The economic crisis energy and relations with Russia were just three themes the new President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek raised during his speech to MEPs in Strasbourg France. Buzek the first President of the European Parliament to come from behind the Iron curtain used his inaugural speech to...

In with the new
In May of this year when Greece announced its candidates for the European Elections one of them stood out and not only because he had long hair and was wearing a t-shirt. But because he was young. I donrsquo;tnbsp; mean to be ageist or stereotypical but this was a change...

Heal the world
Very few people have the confidence to say they can change the world. Over history and time some such leaders have been plucked from obscurity and happened to be the right person at the right time in the right place who was then pushed towards the limelight. President Baracknbsp; Obama for example...

Sarkozy tells Swedes: Turkeys not getting into the EU
Continuing to dash hopes France remains opposed to Turkey becoming a full member of the European Union French President Nicolas Sarkozy said during a visit to Stockholm the first head of state to be hosted by Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt since Sweden on July 1 assumed the rotating presidency of...

The Philosopher King
In Ancient Greece more specifically in the bustling trading capital Athens of the all powerful state of Athens around the fourth century BC there lived a man who changed the course of history. He founded the first educational institution of the western world came up with a phrase to describe a...

The Eurosceptics find their place in EU Parliament
A new political force has taken shape within the European Parliament as British Polish and Czech Eurosceptics announced that they had found enough support to form a separate parliamentary group. The move confirms a major split among the centre-right parties which dominated the June 4-7 European Parliament elections. But analysts...

MEPs join protest against Latvias anti-gay laws
Members of the European Parliamentrsquo;s Intergroup on gay and lesbian rights showed their support for a demonstration outside the Lithuanian permanent representation in Brussels to protest against new homophobic and oppressive law in Lithuania by showing up themselves. On June 16 the Lithuanian parliament adopted an amended Law on the...

Low voter turnout didnt alter the European Parliaments conservative stronghold
Leaders of the European Unionrsquo;s political parties and in the European Parliament gathered the night of June 7 in the parliament building in Brussels to discuss ndash; and spin ndash; the results of the EU elections in which the 736 members of the parliament were selected. With a record-low turnout...

Dutch jump the gun with results and the Far-Right wins
In a move that irritated European Union officials who said it violated the blocrsquo;s rules on releasing results of the elections for the European Parliament the Netherlands said the far-right Dutch Freedom Party PVV which participated for the first time emerged as the first winner in the EU-wide parliamentary elections....

Swedish EU presidency will push for farming cuts
Sweden wants the European Union to cut the subsidies it gives to farmers when it takes over the blocrsquo;s presidency in July the countryrsquo;s agriculture minister said setting the stage for a huge fight with some of its biggest countries who want to protect farmers at any cost a stance...

Who speaks for Europe? The EPP wants to know
Nearly four decades ago then US secretary of state Henry Kissinger asked Who speaks for Europe? as he lamented there was no one which whom he could speak there who could stand for all the countries in setting a uniform foreign policy. While there is a European Union now it...

Drug candy must stay out of Europe
Tobacco companies have to find new inventive ways to market their products as it is simply becoming difficult to hook consumers on the highly addictive life-suckers with the negative mindsets and advertising regulations. The solution is being test-marketed in the USA as we speak. R.J. Reynolds owner of the brand once...

A skeptical Field Guide to British Eurosceptics
All fair-minded people would surely agree that the British are revolting. The daily news shames an ever-longer list of Members of Parliament who have been caught fiddling with their expenses. Some have gone wild and got the taxpayer to buy and furnish several homes. Others have made claims for items...

EU sues Ireland over aquaculture failures
The European Commission has confirmed to an Irish Member of the European Parliament Jim Higgins that it has been forced to take Ireland to the European Court of Justice again following its failure to implement an earlier ruling relating to aquaculture practices in Ireland. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas in...

The EU elections are coming!
Every five years a small number of Europeans participate in the process that legitimises in part the European Union: voting for members of the European Parliament. Postulating that perhaps not many Europeans know how the different political parties stand on relevant subjects New Europe researched their websites to see what...

Working time finds no agreement
An attempt to reach agreement over the working time directive - which limits workers to 48 hours including overtime - broke down in the European Parliament last week as MEPs and EU Ministers failed to agree on the terms. In December 2008 members voted 421 votes to 273 with 11...

Slovenia tells EU to back off over Croatia
European Union officials have urged Slovenia and Croatia to quickly resolve their border dispute warning that the row could also slow down the EU membership bids of other Balkan nations as well but Slovenia isnrsquo;t budging so far. ldquo;A lot of politicians in Europe tend to put the whole of...

MEPs question Turkish attitudes
Progress has been made on womenrsquo;s rights in Turkey in recent years but much remains to be done according to the speakers at a public hearing held by the European Parliament Womenrsquo;s Rights and Gender Equality Committee. Constitutional and legislative measures can only achieve so much: societyrsquo;s attitudes need to...

The EPPs Brok lashes out hard at the Socialists
Elmar Brok a Member of the European Parliament from Germany stopped by the New Europe NETV booth at the European Peoplersquo;s Party convention in Warsaw Poland last week to discuss the partyrsquo;s agenda. Long an active voice in the party he had a lot of opinions on its role before...

Mauro has his eyes on the European Parliaments top prize
Mario Mauro from Italy a Vice President of the European Parliament and a contender to become President in the next Parliamentary term stopped by the New Europe NETV booth at the European Peoplersquo;s Party convention in Warsaw Poland last week to talk about the partyrsquo;s role in Europe and trying...

EPP: a steady hand for Europe
Mr. President how do you think the EPP Congress in Warsaw next week will affect the campaign for the upcoming European elections? nbsp;-Our Congress is an important moment for our political family. Over 3000 delegates activists journalists and guests will be there. All of our Prime Ministers Commissioners party leaders and...

The Twitter Elections
Itrsquo;s election time and candidates to a seat in the European Parliament are disposing of all means to gear up their support base. Following the successful example of Barack Obamas bid for the White House widely credited for its effective use of internet resources many current and prospective Members of...

Democracy a la carte
Nineteen ALDE MEPs yes ALDE led by Sophie in lsquo;t Veld MEP ALDE The Netherlands followed by 12 of her colleagues called with a letter on President Jose Barroso to condemn the UN initiative for Resolution 10/22 on ldquo;Combating Defamation of Religions rdquo; because it disallows offending religious beliefs. Xenophobia syndrome...

Crimea says no to US Black Sea naval exercise
Eight months after the Russian skirmish in Georgia produced a fear that Ukraine might be next the parliament of the Ukrainian province of Crimea has voted against allowing planned US naval manoeuvres in the Black Sea the Interfax news agency reported. The Crimean parliament voted in favour of a motion...

EU wants a modern image of North Africa shown to world
The European Union is sponsoring television programmes designed to promote North African societies as modern open and emancipated officials in Brussels said. The EuroMed-News project co-financed by the European Commission using 2.16 million Euro USD 2.85 million of European taxpayersrsquo; money also aims to increase awareness among the local populations...

MEPs back liberalisation of electricity gas markets
European Parliament members in Strasbourg agreed to make dominant electricity and naturalgas companies improve access to transmission networks for competitors ending 19 months of contentious negotiations with a compromise to open markets. The European Parliament approved legislation finally gave the green light to further liberalisation of EU electricity and gas markets...

Ukraine tries to re-launch Odessa-Brody
The Odessa-Brody oil pipeline in Ukraine should begin operating in its intended direction as soon as possible said Bohdan Sokolovskiy a top energy adviser to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko for international questions of energy security Georgiarsquo;s The Financial reported. In August Yushchenko signed a measure to ensure the 419-mile Odessa-Brody pipeline...

The EU elections loom but few care or vote
Less than half of Europersquo;s citizens are interested in Junersquo;s European Parliament elections and only a third of them currently plan to take part in the ballot according to a survey from the Eurobarometer which polled some 27 000 citizens from the 27-member bloc between January and February and found...

MEPs dive headfirst into fitness and empty pool
There have been cynical mutterings about the claimed five million Euro swimming pool that the European Parliament is supposedly building and some are describing this as an example of financial fecundity. Of course examination of the supposed cost would expose this untruth for what it is. Five million is clearly...

MEPs back a call for more energy efficient buildings
There are more than 160 million buildings in the European Union and they account for 40 percent of Europersquo;s energy use and the room for savings is extensive so Members of the European Parliament on the Energy Committee recently backed proposals that should see all buildings constructed after 2018 having...

Bosnia said not ready to change its constitution
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has said Bosnia will not change its constitution in order to gain membership of the European Union. ldquo;If it turns out that changing the constitution is a condition for the membership in the EU that means that the Europeans do not want Bosnia in the...

Copyrights extended but musicians aint got no satisfaction
Maybe itrsquo;s a losing battle in an era of free downloads and intellectual property battles but the European Parliament has voted to extend music copyright from 50 to 70 years less than the 95 years proposed by the Commission and what critics called a compromise that was a blow to...

Consensus-building tricky business in the EU parliament
Martin Schulz a Member of the European Parliament from Germany and chairman of PES the European Socialist Party took some time to answer New Europersquo;s questions on how the body tries to find a consensus on difficult issues what coalitions are in danger of toppling and what lies ahead with...

European Parliament News - New Europe
European Parliament News - New Europe

 

Swedes turn on blundering referee

Martin Hansson's name will live long in the memory of Irish people everywhere.

Blair and Bruton lose bids for top EU posts

The bids of John Bruton and Tony Blair to become EU president perished last night as European leaders appointed two low-profile figures to the new top posts created by the Lisbon Treaty.

CIA 'turned school into prison for terrorism suspects'

A former riding school in Lithuania was used as a secret CIA prison to hold and interrogate al-Qa'ida terrorist suspects, it is claimed.

Air delay passengers to get compensation

AIRLINE passengers facing long delays should receive the same cash compensation as those whose flights are cancelled, European judges ruled yesterday.

Man who killed wife while dreaming should be set free, says psychiatrist

A MAN who strangled his wife during a nightmare should be set free whatever the outcome of his murder trial, a psychiatrist told a jury yesterday.

Police foil plot by boy (13) to kill all his teachers

A 13-year-old computer games enthusiast is facing charges of attempted murder after police said they thwarted a plan to shoot dead his teachers for giving him poor marks.

Cannibals sell body for kebabs

Russian police have arrested three homeless people suspected of eating a 25-year-old man they had butchered and selling other bits of the corpse to a local kebab house.

Bride leaves ceremony a widow as she weds her dead fiance

THE bride wore white but, as the mayor sadly pointed out, she was a widow before she left the town hall. By special permission of the French President, Magali Jaskiewicz, a 26-year-old-mother of two from eastern France, has married her dead fiance.

Velvet Revolution remembered as thousands march in Czech capital

THOUSANDS marched through the Czech capital last night in commemoration of a student protest 20 years ago that grew into the human tidal wave sweeping away the Communist regime in what was then Czechoslovakia.

Former SS man charged with slaughter of 58 labourers

A former SS sergeant who worked for decades as a train-station manager was charged with 58 counts of murder last night after being unmasked by a student.

Unexpected president was drifting towards retirement

HERMAN Van Rompuy is an unexpected first President of the European Union.

Secret agent in court after double sex life exposed

WHEN the wife of a German secret agent found out that he had a male lover she stormed into the headquarters of the country's foreign intelligence service and demanded an explanation. The result is a court case that has shut down an entire spy network, blown a hole in the accident-prone German intelligence mission in Kosovo and severely embarrassed the country's spy agency.

Women banned from wearing trousers in Paris

A decree banning women from wearing trousers in Paris is still technically in force, it emerged on Monday, making the laissez-faire French capital theoretically stricter than hardline Sudan in the fashion stakes.

Adidas to make €1 trainers

Adidas, the German sports giant, is to make €1 trainers for millions of people around the world who cannot afford to buy shoes, with pilot production to begin next year in Bangladesh.

Poison doctor was 'liar and cheat'

A HOSPITAL consultant who tried to poison his pregnant lover to induce an abortion was described as "a liar, a cheat and a predator" yesterday as he was jailed for six years.

45,000 pay respects to goalkeeper who took own life

A wooden coffin covered with white roses resting 50 paces from the goalmouth in the Niedersachsen Stadium of Hannover 96 yesterday became the focus of a nation in tears.

'Night Stalker' suspect held

THE man believed to be Britain's most notorious serial sex attacker was arrested by police last night.

Scientist admits writing notorious sex blog based on her life as call-girl

THE employers of a research scientist who unmasked herself as a call girl-turned-popular author are standing by her, saying that her past had nothing to do with her present job.

Starstruck in Scotland where darkness meets light

A forest park was named one of the world's best places for stargazing.

World leaders agree to delay climate change pact

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama and other world leaders last night supported delaying a legally-binding climate pact until 2010 or even later, but European negotiators said the move did not imply weaker action.

Enid Blyton banned by BBC for 30 years

Children's author Enid Blyton was banned from the BBC for nearly 30 years because the corporation thought she was a "second-rater" whose work "lacked literary value".

X-Factor stars have politicians in a spin

THE extraordinary impact the Grimes twins are having on the public consciousness was underlined yesterday when the ruling British Labour party used their image to attack political rivals.

Madonna It's the Rio thing

THE Italian escort who claims to have spent a night with Silvio Berlusconi is to star in a film about her alleged sexual exploits.

Man uses remote to control his 'bionic bottom'

A man whose bowel was damaged in a motorcycle crash has been given a bionic bottom.

Berlusconi's billions on the line in divorce battle

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, who is already fighting to avoid imminent trials for tax evasion and bribery, was dealt a further blow yesterday when Veronica Lario, his estranged wife, announced that she was taking him to court in a divorce battle.

Medvedev pledges new era for Russia

IN HIS biggest speech since taking office, President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday laid out a harsh critique of the state of Russia and unveiled a blueprint for its reform.

Wife trapped her paedophile husband on net

THE actions of a woman who trapped her paedophile husband by posing as a teenage girl on the internet were praised by a children's charity yesterday.

Laughter at robber's spoon 'weapon'

Bank staff in Lubin, Poland, burst out laughing when a would-be robber threatened them with a spoon.

Mandelson will be ‘media face’ of UK

PETER Mandelson will become the ‘public face’ of the British government by giving regular televised press conferences as it tries to sharpen its message in the run-up to the general election.

Canoe scam wife to repay £591,000

THEY planned a life of luxury in a Central American hideaway, but now the canoeist who came back from the dead and his wife face a penniless future after a court ordered the £591,000 (€653,000) seizure of their "illgotten gains".

Tragic German goalie had been battling depression, says widow

HE WAS the captain of his club, the rock at the heart of the German national team's defence, and expected to be first pick in goal for his country at the 2010 World Cup. But Robert Enke committed suicide by throwing himself under a train. Yesterday, his widow revealed that his professional excellence masked a devastating depression he had been battling for years.

Courtroom killer of mother-to-be gets life

A Russian-born German man was found guilty yesterday of murder and sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a pregnant Egyptian woman in court.

Brown on the ropes as jobless figures hit new high

The British government launched a defence of its record on jobs last night after new figures showed youth unemployment had reached a record high of almost 20pc.

Historic joint ceremony marks end of World War I in Europe

In Paris, for the first time since World War I, the leaders of Germany and France held a joint ceremony to commemorate the end of the conflict, saying it was now time to celebrate their countries' reconciliation and friendship.

Teammates 'stunned' by suicide of German goalkeeper

Robert Enke, the goalkeeper of the German national football team, has killed himself by jumping off a railway bridge into the path of a train.

Independent.ie - Europe RSS Feed

 

EU Names Belgian Prime Minister as Bloc's President
European Union leaders named  Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who is little known outside his own country, as the bloc's first president.

EU Extends Review of Oracle Plan to Buy Sun

Ashton Goes from Unknown to Top Diplomat

Russia Tops Pricewaterhouse Global Fraud Survey

IMF's Lipsky Predicts Sluggish Global Recovery

Trichet: Time to Withdraw Some Support Measures

GM to Present Opel Restructuring Plan in Dec.

New EDF Boss Should Focus on Own Projects: Lagarde

Ukraine Debt Concerns Hit European Bank Shares

Volkswagen Board Approves Details on Porsche Tie-Up

Please Give Generously – It's for the UK Government

Reckitt, Colgate: No Truth To Link Up Reports

Slideshow: London Fashion Week

World's Biggest Gold Reserves - In Pictures

Special Report: Countdown to London 2012

Special Report: Eastern Europe on the Edge

CNBC Europe Top News and Analysis
Stock Market News, Financial, Earnings, World Market News and Info Covering the Europe Region

 

Election of Van Rompuy as New EU President Draws Mixed Reaction
Belgian prime minister is a low-key politician with a reputation for conciliation, some are deeply disappointed that European leaders failed to choose a more forceful and high profile personality to represent the regional bloc on the world stage.

EU Selects New President

NATO, Russia Revive Dialogue

Queen Reads Out British Government's Pre-Election Legislative Agenda

Russia, EU Meet for Mending Relations

Multilateral Meeting to Discuss International Administrator for Bosnia-Herzegovina

NATO Chief Confident Afghanistan Will Have More Troops

EU to Train Somali Security Forces

Czech Republic Marks 'Velvet Revolution' Anniversary Amid Political Turmoil

Denial of Medical Care Common Blackmail Practice in Russian Prisons

Former Bosnian-Serb Political Leader Trial to Resume in Early March
Former Bosnian-Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic is being tried before the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Eurozone Emerges from Recession
The European Union has emerged from its worst recession since World War II, with the announcement Friday the region posted a modest growth in the third quarter.

OECD says Industrialized Economies to Recover in Next Year

Cross-Examination Begins in War Crimes Trial of Former Liberian President

IEA Urges Action on Climate Change

British PM Defends Military Mission in Afghanistan

French, German Leaders Commemorate Armistice Day

Britain Offers Concessions to Push Cyprus Reunification

German Courtroom Killer Gets Life Sentence

Russian Gas: Pipelines, Politics and Money

VOA English - Europe
VOA English - Europe

 

Replay 'fairest solution' says Henry
Thierry Henry believes a replay would be the "fairest solution" after his handball set up France's clinching goal in their World Cup playoff with the Republic of Ireland.

Kercher murder trial nears conclusion
Closing arguments begin Friday in the case of murdered UK student Meredith Kercher, whose body was found more than two years ago at the Italian villa she shared with her American roommate, Amanda Knox (pictured).

15 arrests in huge match-fixing scandal
Prosecutors in Germany are investigating a huge match-fixing scandal with over 200 games under scrutiny and 15 arrests made.

Severe floods submerge British towns
Parts of Scotland and northern England were under several feet of water Friday morning after raging rivers burst their banks and flooded towns, officials said.

Analysis: Blair was too big for Europe top job
Faced with a choice for its new president between the traffic-stopping Tony Blair and a capable but little-known Belgian, the EU's 27 leaders settled on Herman Van Rompuy, a man who would scarcely stop two mothers with strollers outside his own country.

Man who killed wife while dreaming is freed
A British man who strangled his wife in his sleep while dreaming that she was an intruder walked free from court Friday after the case against him was withdrawn, prosecutors said.

FIFA: No rematch of contested qualifier
The world's governing football body, FIFA, has ruled out a rematch of the World Cup qualifier between Ireland and France.

Closing arguments begin in Kercher trial
Closing arguments began Friday in the case of slain British student Meredith Kercher, with the prosecutor calling for an end to the legal saga that began with Kercher's death two years ago.

Westwood hits the front in Dubai
Lee Westwood claimed the halfway lead at the Dubai World Championship as two birdies on the final three holes gave him a two-shot advantage over a six-strong group tied for second place.

Contador sticks with Astana in 2010
Tour de France champion Alberto Contador looks set to stay with Astana next year after reaching a preliminary agreement with the Kazakh-based squad.

CNN.com - Europe
CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

 

Country profile: United Kingdom
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Regions and territories: Abkhazia
An overview of Abkhazia including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media.

Regions and territories: Ajaria
An overview of Ajaria including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

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A profile of the Spanish north African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla

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An overview of the Channel Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

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An overview of Corsica including key facts and notes on the media

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An overview of England including key facts and notes on the media

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An overview of the Faroe Islands including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

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An overview of Gibraltar including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

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An overview of the Isle of Man including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

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A profile of the southern Russian republic

Regions and territories: Kaliningrad
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Profile: Northern Ireland
An overview of Northern Ireland including key facts and notes on the media

Country profile: Norway
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Poland
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Portugal
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Romania
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: San Marino
An overview of San Marino including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media

Profile: Scotland
A profile of Scotland

Country profile: Slovakia
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Serbia
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Slovenia
Key facts, figures and dates

Regions and territories: South Ossetia
An overview of South Ossetia, including key facts and political leaders

Country profile: Spain
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Sweden
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Switzerland
Key facts, figures and dates

Regions and territories: Trans-Dniester
An overview of the breakaway region in eastern Moldova

Country profile: Turkey
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Ukraine
Key facts, figures and dates

Country profile: Vatican
Key facts, figures and dates

Profile: Wales
Key facts, figures and notes on the media

Timeline: Albania
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Andorra
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Armenia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Austria
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Azerbaijan
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Belarus
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Belgium
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Bosnia-Hercegovina
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Bulgaria
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Chechnya
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Croatia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Cyprus
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Czech Republic
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Denmark
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Estonia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Faroe Islands
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Finland
A chronology of key events

Timeline: France
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Georgia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Gibraltar
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Germany
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Greenland
A chronology of key events:

Timeline: Greece
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Hungary
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Iceland
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Ireland
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Italy
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Kosovo
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Latvia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Liechtenstein
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Lithuania
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Luxembourg
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Macedonia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Malta
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Moldova
A chronology of key dates

Timeline: Monaco
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Montenegro
A chronology of key events.

Timeline: The Netherlands
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Norway
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Poland
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Romania
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Russia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: San Marino
A chronology of key events

Timeline: After Milosevic
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Serbia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Slovakia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Slovenia
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Spain
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Soviet Union
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Sweden
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Switzerland
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Turkey
A chronology of key events

Timeline: Ukraine
A chronology of key events

Timeline: United Kingdom
A chronology of key events

Profile: The Commonwealth
Key facts, figures and dates

Timeline: The Commonwealth
A chronology of key events

Profile: The Council of Europe
A profile of the pan-European human rights organisation

Profile: International Committee of the Red Cross
Key facts, figures and dates

Profile: European Court of Human Rights
A profile of the Strasbourg-based body which aims to protect rights and freedoms in Europe

Profile: The European Union
Key facts and dates for the EU

Profile: IAEA
Key facts, figures about the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations

Timeline: IAEA
A chronology of key events

Profile: Nato
Key facts, figures and dates

Timeline: Nato
A chronology of key events

Profile: The OSCE
An overview of the OSCE, including its background, structure and key activities

Timeline: Portugal
A chronology of key events

Profile: United Nations
Key facts about the United Nations, its background and its structure

Profile: The UN Security Council
Key information on the workings of the United Nations Security Council and its members.

Profile: World Trade Organization
Key facts, figures and dates

Timeline: World Trade Organization
A chronology of key events

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