"Archipelago Europe
The flaws in Europe's democracy
DTT-Net: EU and the challenges of globalization - by Jose Manuel Barroso
DOSSIER: Will the reform treaty help the EU? | 11/10/2007
The legal experts of the EU's 27 member states have drawn up a new version of the EU reform treaty which is to be adopted at the EU summit taking place on October 18-19 in Lisbon. However several contentious issues have been left open. Some countries are threatening to block the treaty, while referendums in others could delay its ratification. But even if the treaty is adopted, will it really facilitate cooperation within the EU?
DOSSIER: Sarkozy's visit to Moscow | 10/10/2007
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived yesterday in Moscow on his first state visit to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The press speculates on whether France has adopted a more confrontational policy towards Russia than it pursued under Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques Chirac.
America's Cultural Superiority
by Joerg Wolf
More than half of Americans say their culture is superior to others, according to the new Pew Global Attitudes Survey (pdf, p.44): Americans are (...) more likely than most Western Europeans to think their culture is better than others. Over half of Americans (55%) agree with the statement, "Our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others," a larger percentage than in Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Britain and Sweden. But Italians are even more confident than Americans in their cultural pre-eminence; 68% of Italians believe their culture is superior.
Question to our readers: Is this feeling of superiority the American equivalent to European Anti-Americanism? While many Europeans make themselves feel good by trashing America and by describing Americans negatively, many Americans -- according to the poll -- make themselves feel good by telling themselves that they are better than others.
Archipelago Europe
by Karl Schlögel
Instead of two homogeneous European regions -- "the East" and "the West" -- there are now fragments, enclaves, and islands. From Baden-Baden to Bucharest, Majorca to Moscow, Karl Schlögel experiences Europe as a series of distinct yet connected spaces....
Should public opinion play a greater role in EU policymaking?
Romania to loose 111 million euros
GMOs, e-mails controlled by operators, training against terrorism, inoperative Romania: keep informed about the latest European news.
Belgium partition: voice of the populace
Almost three months after the Belgian legislative elections, negotiations with a view to forming a government are still in deadlock. The country hopes for better daysJohn Stuart Mill on Europe
Freedom needs diversityEU institutions at odds over lobbying transparency
Anti-Fraud Commissioner Siim Kallas said the Commission would go ahead with creating its own register of lobbyists, with or without Parliament on board, amid claims from MEP Alexander Stubb that a common approach would be "impractical". Sotheby's To Sell Paul Gauguin Masterwork of Stunning Tahitian Scene For Est. $40/60 Million 
Paul Gauguin, Te Poipoi (The Morning), 1892
Martti Ahtisaari, Joschka Fischer, Mabel van Oranje and Mark Leonard: Empowering Europe
Barring a last-minute change of heart, European heads of government will agree this month to beef up the EU's foreign policy machinery by strengthening the role of the EU High Representative. But this welcome institutional innovation begs a more fundamental question: is Europe serious about having a coherent and vigorous foreign policy?
Should the EU legislate to fight against obesity?
A ban on advertising is not the right solution to fighting childhood obesity, argues Guillaume Vuillemey in this paper from the Institut Économique Molinari.
Europe's environment: 'major concerns remain', says EEA report
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released its fourth assessment report on the environmental situation in 53 European countries, highlighting significant air pollution, biodiversity loss and poor water quality across the region.
Drop long-term contracts or face sanctions, Commission tells energy firms
EU competition authorities have told energy firms they can in future avoid certain anti-trust cases by limiting long-term gas and electricity supply contracts, following a 'blueprint' deal between the Commission and Belgium's Distrigas.
Delors and Rocard address civil society at China-Europe forum
Some 900 Chinese and European NGO leaders and academics flocked to Brussels last week to share experiences on civil society co-operation between the two blocs.
UK Prime Minister in veto threat over new EU Treaty
Under increasing pressure from the Conservatives to hold a referendum on the EU's new treaty, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said he will veto any agreement that does not respect the country's hard-fought "red lines".
One Europe, one tax: plans for a common consolidated corporate tax base
A Commission plan to introduce a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) is likely to benefit large enterprises but smaller companies will be "out of their depth" when choosing between national and European systems, according to a new Deutsche Bank Research paper by Frank Zipfel.How to make EU emissions trading a success
The emissions trading scheme currently in place in the EU has "fundamental flaws", writes Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform (CER).
Experts: Migrant workers contribute more than they get
The employment aspects of EU immigration policies were at the centre of a Parliament hearing on Monday (8 October), just two weeks ahead of Commission proposals to tackle undeclared work while improving the rights of legal immigrants in the European labour market.
This week in Network Europe
- Europe leads the fight against capital punishment
- Will Kosovo go it alone and declare independence?
- Poland gears up for snap elections
- Is Romania failing to fight corruption?
- France opens first museum dedicated to the history of immigration
- Who is Alexander Roslin? We have a closer look at Sweden's art icon
UK and the Reform Treaty - starting to crack
by Jon
Call for 'coordinated' ratification of EU treaty
[Comment] Nobody wants to create another EU crisis
The “European Union presidency”: get real, be clear, Kalypso Nicolaïdis Simone Bunse
The design of the future European Union council presidency is deemed to create confusion among European citizens. The inter-governmental conference (IGC) In Lisbon on 18-19 October 2007 can still do better without reopening the fundamentals of the new blueprint. Clarifying the notion of "EU presidency" could help safeguard the EU's founding principle of shared leadership.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s world, Patrice de Beer
Towards enlightened secularism in Europe
 | Joëlle Fiss Policy advisor Brussels British/Swiss |
Over drinks one night with colleagues from the European Parliament, several civil servants started a lively discussion on "EU values" and "the role of religion in politics". One colleague cried enthusiastically: "Religion is a completely outdated concept. We don't need religion anymore in Europe because democracy has replaced it." The goodnatured grumble sums up well the spirit of most EU secularists pacing the Brussels corridors: they are increasingly impatient with the debates raised on religious matters and their growing political implications.
Father State and Mother République: France’s secular religion
 | Victor Fleurot SHIFT Mag Editor Brussels French |
Like most believers, I am not a regular practitioner. I only go to church every five years to celebrate the birth of a new saviour. Then there is the occasional pilgrimage to a football or rugby stadium, where I happily sing the national anthem and join in a lively mass. Practice is mainly confined to the private sphere, occasionally watching national celebrations and representations from a comfortable sofa at home - or an equally comfortable bar counter.
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski: Securing Europe’s Energy Future
The Times Sarkozy takes a stand against Putin's Russia Visiting Moscow Nicolas Sarkozy was at pains to show France and Russia could do business together, but under new rules
Daily Star Is Europe serious about having a vigorous foreign policy?
By Martti Ahtisaari
A refugee from Western Europe
By SAM HARRIS AND SALMAN RUSHDIE / TMS
The Dutch government should recognize a scandal in the making and rediscover its obligation to provide Ayaan Hirsi Ali with the protection she was promised.
Belgians agree on one issue: foreigners Signs of a breakthrough in the coalition talks emerged Tuesday morning when the Christian Democrats and Liberals agreed on a tough new approach to asylum policy and economic migration.
Eurocrats target Poland (By Paul Belien)
European Missile Defense
Arms Control Association
Belgium: Europe's canary in a coal mine? Jonah Goldberg The country's identity crisis doesn't bode well for the EU's non-nationalist experiment.
Breaking out of the vicious circle of EU politics
Documentary on European Anti-Americanism
by Joerg Wolf
PBS has broadcast the one-hour documentary "The Anti-Americans (a hate/love relationship)" produced and directed by Louis Alvarez, Andrew Kolker, & Peter Odabashian of the Center for New American Media. ..........
Germany retreats from reform
The welfare-cutting of the previous government is in many aspects being reversed, even though Merkel's coalition further to the rightGore's Nobel Win Greeted With Cheers by Europeans
by Kevin Sullivan
LONDON, Oct. 12 -- News of Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize was received with delight Monday across Europe, where President Bush is deeply unpopular, climate change is generally accepted as undisputed fact and the former vice president is widely seen as a welcome anti-Bush.Sarkozy fails to soften Russian backing for Iran
Columbus Museum of Art Presents Today In Monet's Garden: The Lure of Giverny
Claude Monet, The Artist's Garden at Giverny, 1900
