"Serbian PM gives ultimatum to EU
Serbian PM gives ultimatum to EU
Serbian PM Vojislav Kostunica says the European Union will have to decide between Belgrade or Kosovo.Europe's urgent need for reform
Economic outsiders, be they immigrants, the unemployed or newly established businesses, must be given more opportunities to inject fresh dynamism into the eurozone economy
Penn to head Cannes festival jury Sean Penn won an Oscar in 2004 for his role in Mystic River
France calls for 'euro diplomacy'
A senior French official says the euro needs to carry more weight internationally to rival the dollar.Sify News: Britain: Most crowded nation in Europe
Blame it on immigration, Britain is poised to become the most crowded country in Europe. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics revealed that the number of people crammed into each square mile was due to overtake levels in Holland and Belgium, and may already have done so.French smoking ban: The end of a way of life?
By CORINNE MAIER Will the new prohibition be respected? Some respond with a hearty 'We'll see.'Arrival of euro boosts Cyprus peace hopesEurope's increasingly strong common currency reaches this fractured corner of the Levant
Europe in 2008: Asia can drive Europe's global aims
The senior Chinese official did his best to be polite. When, at a recent conference on Europe and Asia, I asked him how the Chinese viewed Europe, he chewed thoughtfully on a canapé before replying: "Europe needs to rediscover its entrepreneurial spirit"Au Revoir to the Smoke-Filled French Cafe
PARIS, Jan. 2 -- In bars and cafes across Paris, in restaurants and casinos throughout France, the once-revered cigarette now is officially banned, relegating one of the Western world's last public smoking holdouts to the ashtray of history.DOSSIER: Cyprus and Malta join the Eurozone | 02/01/2008
Cyprus and Malta, members of the EU since 2004, adopted the European currency on January 1st 2008. The Eurozone now has fifteen members. The European press is delighted with this enlargement.
DOSSIER: Slovenia assumes the EU Council presidency | 03/01/2008
On 1 January 2008, Slovenia took the reins as official head of the EU. It is the first time that one of the new member countries is sitting at the top.
Slovenia: new EU presidents
This nation of barely two million inhabitants joined the European Union in 2004 and have just become EU presidents for the first six months of 2008Slovenia into the EU limelight
Slovenia is the first former communist country to take charge of the EU. It will face a tough test with the question of Kosovo's independence as the biggest challenge. But what country could be better suited to handle this crisis than a former Yugoslav republic with a deep understanding of the situation in the region? Slovenia is the most developed of the former Yugoslav republics, a member of the Eurozone and the Schengen area -- and of NATO. It is in most respects an insider. But the country is more than a European success story. In a selection of articles painting a broad picture of the life of a nation, Eurozine offers an often critical insight into Slovenian culture and politics.A Big Hand for Slovenia!
Liberation operates a clutch of good blogs; as well as AFOE Satin Pajama nominee Jean Quatremer’s Coulisses de Bruxelles, which everyone knows, there’s also an absolutely cracking blog on French and European national security issues.
A euro challenge to dollar diplomacy
What is France up to?
Euroblogs to get more comments in '08
Outtakes from the EU's Internet Strategy (.pdf, published December 21st 2007):Further proposals for change..............
"Terrorists on Honeymoon" in Lower Saxony
Germany's Die Tageszeitung newspaper has a frontpage story today about fellow blogger Omar Abo-Namous and his wife, who got a late night visit from the police during their honeymoon in a village in Lower Saxony. Omar is Ph.D student in Hannover and has hosted the German version of the fifth Carnival of German-American Relations. (GM Roper hosted the English version.)
A Europe of Open Borders as Schengen Zone Expands
Edis Bevan writes at his blog MKNE political information:"Back in 1945 my mother swam the Elbe to escape the oncoming Soviet army and find refuge in British held territory. Europe was a place of fear.
At midnight today (20 December 2007) the Schengen agreement
that allows for free passage –without need of passports- across national frontiers within most of the European Union is extended to include her native Lithuania (and eight other countries including Latvia and Estonia). What an extraordinary contrast in 60-odd years."
IHT A balancing act for Merkel as state elections loomith Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative-led government facing crucial tests this month in two state elections, the sensitive issues of juvenile crime and immigration are playing an increasing role in the campaigns.
The Roadmap to Better EU-NATO Relations CER
Europe: Climate change: the cost of inaction and the cost of adaptation
Europe's Eastern Promise By: Ronald D. Asmus | Foreign Affairs
After the Cold War, NATO and the EU opened to central and eastern Europe, making the continent safer and freer than ever before. Today, NATO and the EU must articulate a new rationale for enlarging still further, and now in the face of a more powerful and defiant Russia.
Sarkozy and the smoking ban
The curious tale of that cigarTHE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE BECOME A REALITY
When last night hundreds of people gathered on the bridge between Frankfurt/Oder (Germany) and Slubice (Poland) and elsewhere along the German-Polish border, they celebrated a historical event: the final opening of the border. As from today, 24 countries belong to what is called the “Schengen space”, which means that citizens from these countries can freely cross borders without a border control. This is a major step towards a united Europe and finally a step towards the European integration of the…
