"EU immigration pact signed; G8 continues....
MAIN FOCUS: EU immigration pact signed | 08/07/2008
At informal talks in Cannes, France, Europe's interior ministers have reached agreement on a "Pact on Immigration and Asylum" which sets out guidelines for a common immigration policy. The document, the first major project of the French EU presidency, was accepted only after vigorous debate and several amendments. What does Europe's press think of the result?
G8 Countries Are Less Powerful This Year
This year's G8 summit has attracted less attention than in past years, deservedly so.G8 summit: whilst Brown meets Medvedev, the British build Russia
As the British and Russian prime ministers meet for the first time since the latter's March election in Japan between 7 – 9 July, a look at the foundations of a new renaissance in British-Russian relations
G8 vows to halve greenhouse gases
World leaders at the G8 summit in Japan agree aggressive targets to cut carbon emissions in an effort to tackle global warming.MEPs seek to cut biofuel goal in clash with Commission
The European Parliament's Environment Committee last night (7 July) voted to scale down the proposed EU-wide 10% biofuels target by 2020 to 4% by 2015. But the Commission immediately insisted that "this is NOT the official opinion of the European Parliament".EU states broadly back French immigration plan
EU ministers yesterday broadly backed French proposals for a tougher common policy to stem illegal immigration, despite some differences and concerns about accusations of xenophobia fromEurope's trance of unreality
The institutional crisis after the negative vote in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty has made Europe "boring and unattractive", says the chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia, Ivan Krastev, in a 25 June commentary for Open Democracy.British Muslims: the next decade
As the Muslim Council of Britain marks its first decade, it seems an appropriate moment for reflection. As the country's largest Muslim umbrella body, it still remains the "first among equals" in relation to an increasingly large alphabet-soup of representative institutions. France unveils immigration pact
France seeks EU-wide support for an immigration pact, which would introduce common rules for integration and asylum.Serbia has a new government!
It took just 57 days, which by Serbian standards is pretty quick. It’s a strange beast, with Milosevic’s old Socialist party riding shotgun on a coalition of pro-Western liberals and technocrats, but it’s actually less insane than what they had before. In order to make it work, they had to pass a Law on Government authorizing a whopping 28 Ministers or Ministry-level positions… it was the only way they could keep all coalition members satisfied.
Bruegel has just published two policy briefs: on 4 July, at a press briefing in Brussels "The New Food Equation: Do EU Policies Add Up?" was launched. The policy brief looks at how EU policies should be adjusted to the higher food prices and makes three policy recommendations:
- Innovation in biofuels should be encouraged but biofuels targets should be abandoned;
- Freer trade is needed for both efficiency and food security reasons;
- As more open markets will further increase the price of food for importing countries, an immediate and sustained aid increase should be agreed.
Authors Juan Delgado and Indhira Santos are both research Fellows at Bruegel. The policy brief can be downloaded from Bruegel's website HERE.
On July 1 Bruegel published the policy brief " Strait is the Gate - Europe's Immigration Priorities". It sets out priorities for a common European Immigration policy, outlining three priority areas for policy action:
- High-skilled migration;
- Irregular migration;
- Assylum.
Author Jakob von Weizsaecker is a research Fellow at Bruegel. This policy brief can be downloaded from Bruegel's website HERE.
Romania corruption scoop
This was largely the work of the excellent Economist stringer in Romania, Valentina PopCorruption in Romania
In denial
From The Economist print edition
The European Union conceals Romania’s backsliding on corruption
HOW bad is corruption in Romania? Somebody well-placed to answer is Willem de Pauw, a Belgian prosecutor who is a veteran European Union adviser on the matter. Last November he wrote a report that concludes: “instead of progress in the fight against high-level corruption, Romania is regressing on all fronts…if the Romanian anti-corruption effort keeps evaporating at the present pace, in an estimated six months’ time Romania will be back where it was in 2003.”
Tough test
Challenges facing Serbia's uneasy new allianceHello Neighbour! A new EU policy from Morocco to Azerbaijan
Understanding Europe from the Europeans
Editorials & Opinion |Seattle Times NewspaperWE were listening to a group of European journalists who were in Seattle to learn about American society and politics, when it occurred...
We were listening to a group of European journalists who were in Seattle to learn about American society and politics, when it occurred to us that from their point of view, our politics is not about very much.
EU ponders: "When is a cucumber just a cucumber?"
If you're trying to understand why many Europeans remain skeptical of European Union expansion despite its demonstrated economic benefits, look no further than the union's marketing standards for produce, which are being debated this month:
