"EU leaders sign landmark treaty
Leaders of the European Union countries pose for a group photo outside Lisbon's 16th century Jeronimos Monastery after signing the EU's Treaty of Lisbon Thursday, Dec. 13 2007.
(AP Photo/Armando Franca)EU leaders sign landmark treaty
European Union leaders sign a reform treaty in Lisbon designed to replace the ill-fated EU constitution.
DOSSIER: The 27 signed the Treaty of Lisbon | 13/12/2007
European heads of state signed on Thursday, December 13rd, a new Treaty, replacing the Constitution, in Lisbon. Once it is ratified, this text should facilitate decisions in an expanded EU of 27. Its content has elicited several reservations in the European press.
Fundamental Rights Charter proclaimed in Parliament amid protest
The Commission, Parliament and Council presidents on Wednesday (12 December) solemnly proclaimed The Charter of Fundamental Rights in the European assembly in Strasbourg, amid shouts from Eurosceptic MEPs.
Spoof road signs are erected in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels December 13, 2007. British campaigners for a referendum on the European Union's reform treaty were left deflated on Thursday when a protest stunt came to grief outside an EU summit.
REUTERS/Thierry Roge (BELGIUM)To believe in a European utopia before Muslims arrived is delusional
Gary Younge: It is pernicious to regard prejudiced views within migrant communities as exclusive to either them or their cultures
Commission hails EU reform progress, calls for more
Despite much-improved results over the past two years, EU governments will have to focus more on "investing in people" and "unlocking SMEs' business potential" in the next three years if they are to cope with the competitive challenge of globalisation, the Commission has said.
DOSSIER: Gaddafi, France's cumbersome guest | 11/12/2007
On December 10th, the Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi arrived in France for a five-day official visit during which he is due to meet politicians, business executives and intellectuals. His presence is causing great controversy, President Nicolas Sarkozy being accused of giving precedence to lucrative commercial contracts at the expense of human rights.
France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (R) and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi attend a ceremony for the signature of 10 billion euros of trade contracts between the two countries at the Elysee Palace in Paris, December 10, 2007. (Patrick Hertzog/Pool/Reuters)
Gaddafi in Paris
by Kiki
Charles Bremmer writes on Gaddafi's visit in Paris and the controversy surrounding it. Sarkozy is defending the visit by arguing that it is important to encourage Libya, which has changed its ways and forsaken Terrorism.
Who's financing companies that abuse human rights?
by Adam Lewis
Apparently everybody. A report released today by the Belgian group Netwerk Vlaanderen takes a look at international banks that provide loans and investment services to companies with less-than-stellar human rights records. The companies receiving this capital are in industries such as mining, defense contracting and oil and gas—no surprises there.
Sarajevo siege commander sentenced
The UN tribunal sentenced a former Bosnian Serb general to 33 years imprisonment for ordering the deadly shelling of Sarajevo and terrorising its civilians during the 1992-1995 Bosnia war
Enlarged EU is coping without treaty, says study
European Union leaders fly to Lisbon on Thursday to sign a treaty that most describe as essential to modernise the bloc's institutions after its enlargement in May...
French seek pragmatic EU
Nicolas Sarkozy's chief political aide stressed in an interview with the FT the French president's determination that the EU should not be a 'machine that just advances on its own' and must allow elected national politicians to exercise more influence over competition, monetary and trade policiesEkrem Dumanlı Greece, EU member or not?
After Struggle, a New French Mosque Is Born European Muslims, many of whom have spent decades praying in basements and abandoned buildings, find acceptance in new mosques.
New Dreams for Europe's Future
Jan Techau , head of the Alfred von Oppenheim Centre for European Studies at the DGAP, says that Europe's role is changing. The dream of a European superstate is redundant. Instead, Europe should be looking beyond its borders.Europe to appoint Supreme Leader, or something
by Mike Boyer
There will be 27 EU foreign ministers and, when they can agree, there will be one person expressing their point of view. The representative will have to represent what the views of the members states actually are, and it is sometimes difficult to squeeze out what those views actually are."
Guardian This treaty is a mess, but it will free Europe to do more important things Timothy Garton Ash: Compared with the US's inspiring constitution, the Lisbon reform treaty reads more like a manual for a forklift truck
CEPS The Priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU
A new EU policy on Kosovo
As a "key player" in discussions over Kosovo's future, the EU should use its upcoming summit in Lisbon on 14 December to agree upon a common position on the issue, argue Armando Garcia Schmidt and Dominik Tolksdorf in a paper for the Bertelsmann Stiftung.Far-right leaves Swiss government
A vote to oust the far-right justice minister has brought an end to consensus rule in Switzerland.Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union plans irk Merkel
In a key policy statement ahead of the EU Treaty signing ceremony in Lisbon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has criticised the French president's plans for closer co-operation between countries on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.
Blow for unions in EU labour row
The European Court of Justice says companies have the right to move to another EU state to cut costs.
DOSSIER: A new dialogue between the EU and Africa? | 10/12/2007
On December 9th, in Lisbon, Europeans and Africans adopted a declaration that stipulates the principles of a strategic partnership 'of equals', intended to open a new chapter. This ended the summit where Africa expressed its demands, at times with vehemence, regarding this common future.
Press cool on EU-Africa progress
The world's media see Europe and Africa aiming "to turn a new page" in their relations but with limited success.Treaty of Lisbon 'must not fail'
The Treaty of Lisbon represents the abandonment of the "constitutional concept" whereby the current EU treaties would have been replaced by a single text, writes Marianne Dony for the (ULB).Université Libre de BruxellesEU to focus on 'shaping globalisation' after Treaty
A declaration to be endorsed by European leaders at a summit on Friday seeks to shift the debate away from institutional matters to focus the EU on 'shaping globalisation in the interest of all citizens and business'.
Climate conference directs fire at US and EU
Proposals by rich nations that poor countries should remove trade barriers on environmental goods to fight global warming have raised a storm at the climate talks in Bali
Foreign ministers delay Kosovo issue
EU foreign ministers failed to agree on a common position over Kosovo's looming declaration of independence and the EU's subsequent mission at a meeting on Monday. The issue will be back on the table when EU leaders meet for a summit on Friday (14 December).Citizens want a direct say in EU policies
Citizens meeting over the weekend in Brussels presented the results of a year of participatory democracy projects and called for more EU engagement in social issues, migration, the environment and education. Their message will be conveyed to EU leaders ahead of a summit on 14 December in Brussels.Interview: 'We need a revolution in science culture'
Scientists cannot continue living in their own world and need to formulate new research questions together with citizens to tackle global challenges, argues researcher Marie-Claude Roland.Academic: 'Research cannot be separate from society'
Scientists cannot continue living in their own world and need to formulate new research questions together with citizens to tackle global challenges, argues researcher Marie-Claude Roland.EU-Africa summit fails on trade
A major meeting of European and African leaders, aimed at boosting relations between the two continents as China tightens its grip on the former European colonies' economies, was overshadowed by Africa's refusal to sign up to comprehensive trade liberalisation agreements.EP vote paves way for tighter EU air quality rules
Following an agreement with the Council, Parliament on 11 December voted by a large majority in favour of air quality legislation that sets new limits on fine particle pollution in the EU.Physicians' migration in Europe: an overview of the current situation
By Miguel A Garcia-Perez, Carlos Amaya and...
Background: The migration of medical professionals as a result of the expansion of the European Union is cause for concern. But there is a significant lack of information available about this phenomenon. Methods: Search of secondary ...
The EU and the International Criminal Court
By Dominik Zimmermann
The Council of the European Union recently published a report on the co-operation and interaction between the EU and the International Criminal Court (ICC) (an English version can be found here). The report highlights in particular how ...
Intercultural Dialogue in the European Union
By GovernanceFocus(GovernanceFocus)
·Almost three-quarters of EU citizens believe that people with a different background (ethnic, religious or national) enrich the cultural life of their country; 49% stated that representatives of non-mainstream cultures rather enrich ...
Treaty of Lisbon values
By Grahnlaw(Grahnlaw)
At present, the values are mentioned in the Treaty on European Union, Article 6.1: The Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which ...
EU-Africa Summit Fails To Downplay Human Rights: KUDOS To Merkel
By bosskitty
Much of the criticism was aimed at the absence of Darfur from the main agenda of the EU-Africa meeting. Forty MPs from across Europe and Africa published an open letter saying they were "surprised and disappointed to note that at a ...
EU: One person in six in the European Union has a disability
By Mike Hitchen(Mike Hitchen)
The EU's policy in this field is termed "mainstreaming". This means that the needs of disabled people are included in all mainstream EU policies. Greek Socialist Evangelia Tzampazi, who is herself disabled, is a leading voice in the ...
Two Treaties but one European Union
By Grahnlaw(Grahnlaw)
My aim is to walk through the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), step by step, as if the Reform Treaty to be known as the Treaty of Lisbon was in force. ...
Press TV: EU welcomes NIE report on Iran
AFP: After six months, Belgium still stuck in political mire
Newsmax.com - Shame on France and Mr. Sarkozy: Gaddafi Wants Tent, Women in France
....
Note EU-Digest: The fact that France is accommodating to Gaddafi once again shows to which extend some of our European Governments will go in dropping democratic standards and moral principles when it concerns making economic gains. Mr. Gaddafi, regardless of the political benediction and pardon given to him by the US Government for his terrorist activities, is and will remain a fiefdom dictator with a very poor human rights record. The EU should not be dealing with characters like Mr. Gaddafi. Shame on you Mr. Sarkozy. You are sending a negative image of France and consequently also the EU to the world.
EU leaders steer clear of Mugabe
It was difficult to find anyone attending the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon who had encountered Robert Mugabe, the pariah leader of Zimbabwe, close up
France and UK in deal on EU goals
France and the UK are set to strike a bargain at a European Union summit under which each country will secure EU approval for a policy objective close to its heart
Taking U.S.-German Tie Personally
by Craig Whitlock
BERLIN -- Diplomats here are still buzzing over a relationship that almost nobody would have dared predict a few years ago. President Bush's current best friend in Europe, if not the world, may be a German: Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Kosovo: Is the EU Home Alone in the Balkans?
by Joerg Wolf
The UN deadline for negotiations between Serbs and Kosovars expired today. Writing for the Washington Post (Nov. 23), Richard Holbrooke predicted this failure and expressed his pessimism
Barón Crespo: the European parliament has sacrificed as much as anyone
The EU parliament has withdrawn from the debate surrounding the latest reform treaty
The Challenge of Islamists for EU and US Policies: Conflict, Stability and Reform
SWP, USIP An 83-page volume of contributions on the challenges presented by Islamist politics to the EU and US
Pioneering Foreign Policy: The EU Special Representatives ISS-EU
This 165-page paper examines the role of the EU special representatives
Is NATO, "To Be, or Not to Be"? Cicero Foundation This 12-page lecture comments on the challenges facing NATO
The Berlin-London Connection: From "No Frills" to "Full Service"
SWP An 8-page German article discussing the growth in cooperation between Germany and the UK in European affairs
Independence Jitters Grip Kosovo
NATO Says It's Prepared to Keep the Peace in Kosovo
Gender and working conditions in the European Union
Source: Eurofound Full Report (PDF; 2.5 MB)
Bosnian Serbs vote for president
Social Democrat Rajko Kuzmanovic takes an early lead in the election for a new Bosnian Serb president.
DOSSIER: Donald Tusk visits Germany | 12/12/2007
The new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's first official visit to Germany has been eagerly awaited given that relations between the two countries cooled under his predecessor Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Tusk presented an alternative proposal to the controversial plans for a documentation centre on expellees in Berlin: a European museum dedicated to the Second World War in Gdansk.
Sarkozy's 100 steps to slimmer government
President unveils measures to streamline France's cumbersome public administration, cut costs and provide more consumer-friendly services
Business lauds Sarkozy's surprise foreign ties
If there is a guiding thread in France's diplomatic moves, from Sarkozy's trip to Washington to phoning Putin, it is an economic one, says Dominique Moïsi
EUobserver.com: EU leaders to sign up to new treaty - by Honor Mahony
Note EU-Digest:The fact that Gordon Brown will keep his distance from a majority of European Union countries today by refusing to sign a declaration of support for the EU's flag, anthem and single currency is another sign that Britain does not belong in the EU because it has no real heart for its wellbeing. To others Brown's decision not to join 16 nations in signing the statement will be seen as an attempt to reassure British voters and Eurosceptic newspapers that he opposes further EU integration. Mr Brown has upset pro-Europeans and some fellow EU leaders because he will miss the signing ceremony for the new EU treaty in Lisbon today. Instead, he will answer questions from senior MPs before flying to Lisbon, arriving after the "family photograph" of EU leaders and in the middle of their working lunch. The Prime Minister, who will be the only EU leader absent from the ceremony, will sign the treaty on his own in the same room as the other leaders and will be filmed doing so. EU sources are accusing him of gesture politics and pandering to British Eurosceptics, who in turn have accused him of trying to hide his support for the treaty. "He has upset everyone without achieving anything," said one European Commission insider. William Hague, the Conservative shadow Foreign Secretary, said: "Gordon Brown has even managed to turn something as simple as signing the EU treaty into a national embarrassment. What will other EU leaders think of a Prime Minister who dithers for a week about whether he dares to be photographed putting pen to paper?"
European leaders sign landmark treaty
European Union leaders have signed a treaty designed to strengthen the bloc's institutions and put behind them the worst crisis in the 50-year history of European integration
Rome: Europe = shops
We continue our series of articles visiting the streets of Europe which carry the continent’s name. In this episode, shopping and lessons in a non-existent Europeanism at the heart of Eur(ope?)Public Services Petition
by nanne
The European Trade Union Confederation has set up an online petition to legally protect public services in the EU (via). Here's the petition:Public services are essential for social, economic and regional cohesion in Europe. Such services must be of high quality and accessible to everyone. Until now, the only options put forward for developing public services have been privatisation or liberalisation (namely in sectors such as Energy, the Post and Telecommunications). It is time to find different solutions!
No Referendum in Denmark
by nanne
With the - unsurprising - news in that Denmark will not hold a referendum on the reform treaty, it looks inceasingly certain that Ireland will be the only country to do so.
Superlocal identities
by Tommi Laitio
European youth culture voices local concerns while simultaneously connecting to global trends. Two-way interests have developed between brands and artists, leaving politics and mainstream media, after years of indifference, with a lot of catching up to do.
Gridlock: the dog that didn't bark
THE EU's "reform treaty" is to be set in stone later this week. It will then be sent to the 27 capitals for ratification. If it enters into force as planned as the beginning of 2009 it will end a...
Shadow of the Dragon: The EU-Africa Summit
By Crispin Williams
Launch-pads for new eras never quite live up to the hype and this weekend’s EU-Africa summit (December 8-9) was no different. The summit was billed as a new “partnership of equals”, an attempt to turn the page on a traditional view that saw Europe as the donor to Africa’s begging bowls.
Europe in the Middle East
By Christopher McGuiness
U.S. President George W. Bush announced Wednesday his first official visit to Israel in January as part of his new campaign to rekindle the Middle East peace process. This declaration comes on the heels of last week’s conference in Annapolis devoted to the same topic.
EU global image improving, US fading
First names floated for Sarkozy's EU 'reflection' group
EU to fund pan-European radio station
Sarkozy steps into Iran "war" debate
by Boz
Le Nouvel Observatuer snagged an exclusive interview with Nicolas Sarkozy during Moamer Kadhafi's rather controversial visit. Two interesting bits came out foreign policy-wise, the first on the situation with regard to Iran:
Andrew Duff publishes guide to the Lisbon Treaty
In advance of the signature on Thursday 13th December of the Treaty of Lisbon, Andrew Duff is launching a short, authoritative briefing on what the new Treaty contains and how it will affect the governance of the European Union entitled "True Guide to the Treaty of Lisbon".
¿Por qué Kosovo? (y 2)
by Francisco Veiga
Putin y Bush se echan un pulso estrujando de paso a serbios y albaneses. Una ajustada visión de la realidad realizada por el conocido caricaturista serbio Corax, que publica habitualmente en la revista belgradense "Vreme"
The Macho-Effect of Sarkozy's Policy
by ostwaldo
Though he sometimes attempts to soften the course, Nicolas Sarkozy has always had a "though cop" image, so far. Her first appearance in the society was during the 2005 riots in Paris when immigrants expressed their discontent in suburbs all across France. Serving as an interior minister at that time under Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy called those rioters "scum" and "that he would pressure-wash France". Maybe, such contradictory comments would not have been as much discussed & criticised, as they were, if he himself was not a son to a Hungarian immigrant and a mother of Greek-Jewish descent. This is one of the greatest discrepancies in his own background.
