EU annoyed with Israel

EU signals displeasure with Israel

World news in brief: Dutch coalition government collapses

NETHERLANDS The Dutch coalition government collapsed Saturday over whether to extend the country’s military mission in Afghanistan, leaving the future of its 1,600 soldiers fighting there uncertain. An early election is expected.

Dutch heading for polls as government collapses

Balkenende’s fourth cabinet in the last eight years fell apart on Saturday morning after the Labour Party pulled out of government, insisting it could not support a NATO request to extend the Dutch mission past this year.

ACTA attacked by European Data Protection Supervisor Hustinx

Today, Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), has attacked the ACTA negotiations with a 20-page opinion (PDF) that is absolutely harsh and absolutely clear.

EU Economy: Europe’s Attention Turns to Italy

The revelations about Greece’s currency swap — about which fuller details are expected in the coming days — have raised questions about Italy.- First, there was some concern that Italy Central Bank Governor Draghi may have been involved with the swaps with Greece when he worked for the US investment house that has been linked to the transactions.

Greece ‘not looking for bailout’

EU Competition policy out of control?

A leader in this week’s Economist looks at one of the areas where the EU is rarely criticised for: its competition policy.

EU Competition policy can broadly be divided into two main areas.

Poland’s big chance

This is the English version of my most recent column for Wprost
Poland leads. Who will follow?

Europe?s new foreign policy is somewhere between tragedy and farce. Lady Ashton, who is meant to be in charge of it, is arousing a mixture of ridicule and astonishment. She is still commuting from London to Brussels, fails to turn up to important meetings, has yet to gain the necessary security clearance and turns her mobile phone off at eight o?clock in the evening. Meanwhile the Spanish government is pretending that the Lisbon treaty has never happened and that national governments still run the European Union on the basis of a rotating presidency. Nobody is in charge. Nothing is happening. It is not surprising that Barack Obama has found something else to do instead of turning up to the planned EU-US summit in May.