"France outlines EU Presidency priorities
France outlines EU Presidency priorities
France is already preparing for its EU Presidency - scheduled for July-December 2008 - and has identified a number of key policy areas on which to focus, .EurActiv France reports
At Last, Some Leadership In Europe - Investor's Business Daily
Financial Times Editorial LEADER: European muscle More bang for Europe’s buck Nicolas Sarkozy should be applauded for making a coherent foreign and security policy one of the main purposes of the French EU presidency 
It is the second year running Angela Merkel has topped the list
Merkel 'most powerful woman'
It is the second year running Angela Merkel has topped the list
German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops a list of the most powerful women in the world for the second year.
Public access to EU documents needs 'serious improvement'
EU institutions need to ensure access to all documents related to the legislative decision-making process and actively to promote the publicity of proceedings to remedy scepticism towards the EU, argues the Parliament's ALDE Group in a new transparency campaign.
Parliament: EU Treaty talks will raise political issues
The UK opt-out on the charter of fundamental rights is among the issues in need of "further legal clarification", according to the three MEPs taking part in the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) after a meeting with Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
Peripheries and borders in a post-western Europe
by Gerard Delanty
Europe is taking not just a post-national but also a post-western shape. The relation between the inside and the outside is complex and ambivalent; while often exclusionary, the periphery can also be viewed as the site of cosmopolitan forms of negotiation.
Eurobaromoter: The EU's relations with its neighbors
by A-News
Click on this link for the report by Eurobarometer
The EU's relations with its neighbors
The report commissioned by the European Commission focuses on the attitudes towards the EU by its neighbors and those of the EU towards its neighbors. 67% of the EU Citizens consider the relationship of the EU with its neighbors to be good.
Greater push needed for equality, says EU rights agency report
Unequal treatment continues in employment, housing and education, according to 2006 data collected by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), while racist crime increased in a number of EU countries.
Environmental crime
EU governments have confirmed their support of plans aimed at criminalising the worst examples of offences against the environment. However, sanctions are to be limited to transgressions of EU, not national, laws.
“Cultural” uniformity within Europe
by Guy La Roche
The BBC news site carries two stories today that really deserve more attention, especially in light of many debates on European culture and identity. The two stories highlight trends that have been going on for quite a while now and I suppose you could consider these trends to be intrinsically ‘cultural’ as they reflect contemporary behaviour patterns. Culture is not only about the arts, it is also, and maybe foremost, about the way people actually live and behave.
Vaz urges EU referendum
Former Europe Minister Keith Vaz adds his voice to calls for a referendum on the new EU treaty.
Continuing Shift in European Positions on Kosovo
by Nikolas K. Gvosdev
Philanthropic foundations push for EU statute
The botox treaty and the end of the EU
by nosemonkey
A fun little article on Europe in 2057, combined with Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s reiteration of the UK government’s position on a referendum over the new EU treaty, has got me pondering once again. (Warning - it’ll be a long one…) It all starts from the fact that - and as I argued earlier this [...]
Interview: Renewables becoming EU's 'most dynamic' industries
The naysayers have it wrong: Europe can easily achieve a 20% share for renewables in its energy mix, nuclear can be phased out and second-generation biofuels technologies will arrEU resumes treaty wrangling as political issues remain
Lisbon stops legalisation of immigrants after avalanche of applications
Merkel suggests new way of fighting global warming
Russia: EU's protection of energy sector 'nearly hysterical'
Barroso against EU borders debate
EU economy strong despite recent financial turmoil, says Brussels
DOSSIER: Poland's democracy under threat | 31/08/2007
According to the European press, the scandals in Polish politics have taken on a new dimension: on August 30 Janusz Kaczmarek, Poland's recently dismissed interior minister, and former chief of police Konrad Kornatowski were arrested by the secret services. Both have accused the government of spying on politicians and journalists. Can the Kaczynski's Poland still be considered democratic?
Environment ministers to debate growing water scarcity
Following another summer characterised by heat waves, forest fires and droughts, the Portuguese EU Presidency brings together Europe's environment ministers to discuss options for dealing with an increased frequency of droughts and water shortages, execerbated by the effects of climate change.
The EU's external migration policy and the Med-MENA countries
The EU has seen a shift towards "an externalisation of migration policy" towards the Mediterranean countries of the Middle East and North Africa (Med-MENA) - as proven by current Association Agreements - according to a study by Ounia Doukouré and Helen Oger for the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies.
Slots trading under Open Skies - the implications for allocating capacity
While the signing of the Open Skies agreement between the EU and the USA has been hailed as a triumph for the consumer, with the prospect of more intensive competition and lower fares in the transatlantic market, the actual impact of the deal may be severely restricted because of limited airport capacity and slot shortages in the EU, according to a study by the independent economics consultancy Oxera.
This week's edition of The Economist praises French President Nioclas Sarkozy for many of his actions and promises as president so far, but also gives him a nudge in directions where they see him either straying too far in on an unhealthy path or not doing enough to make a lasting difference. Considering this was the same magazine whose enthusiastic endorsement of Sarkozy included him dressed as Napoleon on its front cover, it might be wise for him to take notice.
Sarko-economics 101
Simmering ethnic tensions threaten to tear apart ... Belgium?
by jkeating@ceip.org (Joshua Keating)
