"Sarkozy 'non' to Blair presidency
Sarkozy 'non' to Blair presidency
Nicolas Sarkozy has withdrawn his backing of Tony Blair to become the first EU president, sources say.EU summit to open talks on full-time president
European Union leaders are pencilling in a Brussels -summit on June 19-20 for their first substantive discussions on who should become the bloc's first full-time...Biofuels 'scapegoat' in food price row, says EU farm chief
EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer-Boel has rejected allegations that EU policies to promote biofuels are to blame for rising food prices amid calls by the UN to "cut back significantly" on agrofuel support programmes.Serbia's EU course turns into question of life and death
Just days before crucial parliamentary elections (11 May), the question of Serbia's future accession to the EU has become an issue of existential importance as the country's President Boris Tadic has received a death threat over his pro-EU stance.MAIN FOCUS: The catastrophe in Burma from the European perspective | 06/05/2008
Burma is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. 10,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands left homeless when a cyclone ravaged the country several days ago. The Burmese military government, however, still plans to go ahead with a constitutional referendum to be held in a few days' time, to secure its grip on power. What does Europe have to say?
Has Sarkozy Met US Expectations?
When Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president one year ago today, the US media was full of praise for him and expected a big improvement in transatlantic relations.
Mission at sea over illegal migrants
THE case of 27 immigrants left clinging to fishing nets in the Mediterranean was just one recent example of the desperate measures people will take to get into Europe. The UNHCR reckons that last year the number of "irregular arrivals" by sea numbered about 19,900 in Italy, 18,000 in Spain (including the Canary Islands) and 1,800 in Malta. The numbers this year are expected to be at least as high.Why EU rules matter (as shown by baguettes from Barnsley)
Parliament wins battle against Council on procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status
Today the European Court of Justice ruled that the Council is abusing its powers regarding European asylum policy. Decisions to change the European common list of safe third countries should be subject to the co-decision procedure, whereby the European Parliament is fully involved as co-legislator. Initially the Council just wanted to consult Parliament.TEN-T Progress Report has to be more detailed and published every six months
Today at the informal Council of Transport Ministers in Brdo (Slovenia), the European Commission presented a progress report on the implementation of the Trans European Transport Network priority projects (TEN-T).Benefits of renewable energy useless without caps on coal
New funding measures and the mandatory use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques are being proposed by Chris Davies MEP (UK Lib Dem), EP rapporteur on the draft legislation. Chris Davies warns that unless coal-fired power stations are forced to adopt CCS to prevent carbon emissions escaping to the atmosphere all the benefits of developing renewable energy will be cancelled out.Norway
On Monday this week I was in Norway. It was a sad feeling to leave my family on a sunny Sunday afternoon to catch the flight to Oslo. I was there to participate in a debate on the theme ‘does the EU threaten the Nordic welfare system?’. The debate that attracted around 300 people was very lively and interesting. The majority of the participants - including the Norwegian and Finnish Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre and Alexander Stubb, the Norwegian Minister of Labour, Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, the President of the Norwegian Labour Union Federation, Roar Flathen, and Mona Sahlin leader of the Swedish Social Democratic party, agreed that the EU is not a threat to the Nordic welfare model and that it could serve as a model for other countries.
