Unintended Consequences

by Alex Harrowell

We can all probably agree that Italy’s fit of xenophobia towards Romanians is pretty bad, but it has had one positive consequence; ITS, the extreme-right/nationalist grouping in the European Parliament whose membership can be summed up as “if you want to make some minority unwelcome and you’re in the minority yourself, you’re welcome here”, has fallen apart after the Great Romania Party, one of its less hopelessly unsuccessful members, unsurprisingly walked out.

Schengen passport-free zone extended to EU's eastern members

The EU justice and interior ministers on 8 November cleared the way for the enlargement of the Schengen area to include nine of the new eastern member states, making passport-free travel to and from these countries a reality by December.

Stakeholders 'key' to bringing EU policy debates to national level

A EurActiv conference on 8 November explored ways of reaching out to EU citizens via national stakeholders such as businesses, trade unions and NGOs. Commissioners Kuneva (consumers) and Orban (multilingualism), as well as a number of MEPs, spoke out in favour of more decentralised communication to regain citizens' trust in the EU.

French students against private sector influence on universities

France's national student union has called for a nationwide movement against the country's planned university reform, claiming that state disengagement could lead to excessive private sector influence over higher education curricula, while the EU is calling on member states to give universities more autonomy to work with business.

 

The Economist admits that God is not dead

by Joshua Keating

Not very long ago, many people assumed that religion around the world was in a gradual decline. In full Nietzschean mode, The Economist even went so far as to run God's obituary in its millennium issue. Surely, in the 21st century, fire and brimstone and holy wars would be left in history's dustbin for good, the thinking went. But seven years later, The Economist, along with the rest of the world, has changed its tune.

DOSSIER: Early presidential elections in Georgia | 09/11/2007

Following mass protests and the declaration of a state of emergency, Georgia's President Michail Saakashvili has surprised the world by announcing early elections for 5 January 2008. He explained the move saying he wished to comply with the opposition's demands for parliamentary elections in April. But what's the real motivation behind his decision?

DOSSIER: The deportation of Romanian immigrants from Italy | 08/11/2007

Italy is taking a hard line against Romanians and the Roma following the deathly attack on an italian woman by a Romanian of Roma origin. Romano Prodi's government wants to pass a security package permitting the deportation of EU citizens with a criminal record. Does this contravene the EU principle of freedom of movement?

 

Name, identity, and profiling

by Kiki

Via the New York Times, there is the following interesting bit on what a name means in France:

IN France, a person’s name can signify as little as a measure of what’s big on TV at any given time, or as much as an entire country’s nature.

Confederation for Kosovo?

by Nikolas K. Gvosdev

Antonio Cassese, the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), puts forward his proposal for avoiding a crisis over Kosovo.

 

Turmoil on the far right

by Richard Laming

The far-right Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty group in the European Parliament appears to be on the verge of breaking up because of comments made by an Italian MEP, Alessandra Mussolini, about immigrants to that country from Romania. Romanian members of the ITS group are not impressed and are threatening to leave, if Ms Mussolini does not go first. If the Romanians go, then the group collapses because it has to have members from at least 6 different member states.

EU far-right bloc faces collapse

The European parliament's far-right bloc faces collapse as Romanian MEPs deplore "xenophobic" remarks.

The biters, bit

Cannibalism on the far-right

 

EU's border-free zone to expand

The European Union has decided to scrap border controls with nine of its newest members from next month.

Europe 'set for slower growth'

EU growth will slow in 2008 due to a weaker US economy and global financial woes, the European Commission says.

 

Where the EU can do good

by rz

The major area where the EU has a positive impact is in the field of competition law. In todays environment it has become essentially impossible for national governments to successfully reign in companies which have monopolized their respective markets............

The Free Trade Zone Delusion

by rz

In the not-crazy part of the Eurosceptic Blogosphere one often finds the idea that the EU should be converted (or converted back) to a pure Free Trade Zone, or alternatively (because most Eurosceptics I can read are British) that Great Britain should leave the political EU and just keep the Free Trade part. On first sight, this looks like a great idea. Free Trade, free movement, essentially everything beneficial about the EU, but without the quarrelsome Brussels Bureaucracy.........

 

How Europe plays Russia's games

Please divide and rule us

[Comment] Part EU membership: A recipe for an untidy rabble

Big bang enlargement for Schengen zone agreed

Britain: The European power

by James Rogers

 

 

Old religions in old Europe: facing the spiritual revival

Interview by Frédéric Darmuzey EU journalist Brussels French

SHIFT Mag asks representatives of the three monotheist cults in Belgium their views about the challenges facing Europe’s old religions. Here is their take on how to keep God’s children on the right path in the age of multicultural classrooms and uncensored blogging.......

 

European Muslims: redefining freedom of religion

Esther Independent researcher on Muslims in Europe www.islamineurope.blogspot.com

Reporting the case of an Odense daycare worker who wanted to wear a niqab, a Danish newspaper turned to one of the local imams. The imam explained that a face veil is not required in Islam, especially in this case. If this woman feels it is her religious obligation to wear a niqab, is the imam's opinion relevant?..............

 

Time for Frank Talk on US-EU Relations

Nikolas K. Gvosdev , Editor-in-Chief of The National Interest, asks whether the alliance across the Atlantic can "endure in the face of disagreements." A new way forward is needed in US foreign policy, one which does not take European cooperation for granted.

 

The Lessons of the EU's Iran Diplomacy

Sebastian Harnisch shows that the Europeans have been learning fast about leadership in crisis management and coercive diplomacy. But in order to convince Iran to stop the most problematic aspects of their nuclear program—uranium enrichment and plutonium production—Europe and the United States must act in unison.

Switzerland's ever closer union with the EU

 

Participation is contagious

I received an email recently from a UK citizens who had participated in one of our Plan D projects this year. It’s always nice to get positive feedback and in this case the lady in question was so eloquent about her experience that I asked her if she would write a guest entry in my blog. I was pleased that she agreed. Over to you, Helen Duffett:...........

Tomorrow’s Europe

There is a general feeling of relief in the EU-institutions after the decision on a new treaty – which will of course be named the Lisbon Treaty since it will be signed there in mid-December. I have the impression that most European citizens prefer to discuss the policies, the content, rather than the legal framework. And, when asked, they have clear views on what they would like the EU to focus on: energy/climate change, social issues and Europe’s role in the world. At least that’s what has come out of the citizens’ consultations that the Commission supported.....

 

The Reform Treaty and the euro

by Richard Laming

An enquiry comes in as to whether the Reform Treaty has any implications for Britain’s opt-out from the euro. Despite what some Eurosceptic conspiracy theorists have sometimes suggested, the answer is no. Britain remains outside the single currency. That may be a pity, but it’s also a fact.