DOSSIER: Karamanlis survives fires | 17/09/2007

The conservative party New Democracy, led by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, came out on top of the legislative elections held in Greece on Sunday September 16th. This is an unexpected result as the government has been heavily criticised for its bad management of deadly fires last August in the Peloponnese....

A Major Setback for Microsoft in Europe

A European court remakes the competitive landscape for the software giant—and sets the stage for new antitrust battles.

PCWorld: Microsoft Changes PC Files Without Permission - by Greg Keizer

Strains within Europe over Kosovo

The United States and Russia's "tough and contradictory positions" over Kosovo may cause a policy split in the EU, leading to its "loss of credibility as a foreign policy player", warns Branka Trivic of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN).

DOSSIER: Europe rules against Microsoft | 18/09/2007

On Monday, September17th, European justice confirmed the condemnation of Microsoft for abusing its dominant market position. The American computer giant is going to have to pay a half billion euro fine for refusing to respect demands stipulated in 2004 by the European Commission, after a complaint was filed in 1998. Microsoft is notably criticised for systematically integrating the Media Player software programme into Windows in order to eliminate competitors.

Q&A: Microsoft anti-trust verdict

Microsoft has lost on all key points in its competition dispute with the European Commission - but what is the impact of the ruling?

The European Court's ruling on Microsoft is good for competition

Culture clash may break up Belgium

Concerns are growing that the Franco-phone Walloons of the south and the Dutch-speaking Flemings in the north will finally split because of the political impasse..

Interview: Community patent 'too little too late'

To unlock Europe's innovation potential, the EU should adhere to the European Patent Convention rather than pursue the creation of a community patent on which unanimous consent is impossible, argues , an organisation specialised in knowledge transfer, in an interview with EurActiv.

Classes in citizenship: controversy in the classroom

The Spanish government is set to introduce compulsory classes in citizenship. The law has been blighted by controversy and critics even before some schools have incorporated the subject into their curriculum

Franco German relations go thermonuclear

Becoming Economic Citizens

by Henning Meyer

In the general debate about globalisation, it is a widely held assumption that the scope of action of democratic governments is deteriorating due to advancing economic integration. The bringing down of trade barriers, the shift to a more service based economy and innovations in ICTs have led to business operations going further beyond national borders than ever before. This is generally a good development.

Father of EU constitution issues referendum warning