"EU praised for 'cultural capital' initiative
EU praised for 'cultural capital' initiative
Visiting Brussels to lobby for the election of his city as European Capital of Culture for 2013, Mayor of Marseille and Vice-President of the French senate Jean-Claude Gaudin praised the EU's initiative, which he says has an enormous and long-standing impact on the cities selected.
Hmmm I wonder how Istanbul 2010 organizations go on. Boy, there must be some chaos, rivalry, jealosy aka turkish way of organization:)
there is more talk below on the nature of Eurovision, focus on racism in Italy, Sarkozy's daily acts, the Mediterrenean Union developments...
Italy condemned for 'racism wave'
Amnesty International warns against a "wave of racism" in Italy after the government introduces tough security measures.MAIN FOCUS: The refuse crisis in Italy | 28/05/2008
The refuse problem in Naples is gradually turning into a full-blown state crisis. This weekend saw violent protests by the city's residents. Yesterday several public servants who were given the task of finding a solution to the problem were taken into custody. Europe's press looks at the background and consequences of the crisis.
Small political groups face EU Parliament ban
Political parties with less than 30 members could be outlawed after the 2009 European elections under a proposed review of the Assembly's internal working rules to be voted upon in July.Interview: EU intercultural dialogue campaign 'neglecting' sport
The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue "did not yet succeed in the field of sport", International Sport and Culture Association President Mogens Kirkeby told EurActiv in an interview. He called on public authorities to provide more support to local level sport projects and activities.Commission accused of 'language discrimination'
The European Ombudsman says a refusal by the EU executive to conduct its external assistance work in all 23 official EU languages constitutes maladministration. But the Commission argues that doing so would simply not be feasible.Sarko the Euro-populist
In what is no doubt part of his resurrection bid, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed a vague-sounding cap on VAT/TVA as applied to fuel. He has a point. VAT is an accelerator of underlying price increases, since the amount applies as a percentage of the net price and not is a fixed monetary amount (like fuel duty). Thus any increase in the net fuel price gets 21% (in Ireland, for example) added on to it.Union for the Mediterranean: From aims to results
Benita FERRERO-WALDNER
Union for the Mediterranean: from aims to resultsby BENITA FERRORE-WALDNER
As the birthplace of the three monotheistic religions and melting pot of civilizations, cultures, migrations and exchanges, the history of the Mediterranean is inextricably linked to that of Europe.
Guardian.uk: Eurovision: pop or geopolitics, asks Terry Wogan
The Russian nation celebrated its first Eurovision song contest victory last night. I celebrated the 30 quid that I won in a Eurovision party sweepstake. But Terry Wogan found little to be cheery about.With the contest's expansion into the newer states of eastern Europe, the long-standing tradition of Cyprus giving Greece 12 points and vice versa has now spread around much of the continent. The Balkan nations -
Eurovision: A contest of what?
At the beginning, the famous Eurovision song contest was indeed a song contest. The initial purpose was to protect European music markets against the omnipotent American music industry.
Europe must protect itself against 'digital 9/11'
NATO and Russia: Relationship Must be Redefined
Memo 6: Members of the Atlantic Community are convinced that NATO needs to redefine its future role and relationship with Russia. Fundamental change, however, is unlikely to occur in the near future and the NATO-Russian relationship may worsen.‘Buda-sex’ and the Hungarian porn industry
Budapest is famous for being one of the world’s sex capitals. Pornography, sex toursim and prostitution converge in the Hungarian capital, to the delight of some and the frowns of others
