European Innovation Scoreboard 2009
Source: Pro Inno Europe
From Europa Press Release:
Most EU Member States until 2008 were steadily improving their innovation performance. The economic crisis may, however, be hampering this progress, according to the 2009 European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) published today. Early indications show that the worst hit are Member States with lower levels of innovation performance, potentially reversing the convergence process witnessed over recent years. Meanwhile, the latest statistics show that the EU is having difficulty in catching up with the US in innovation performance, although it maintains a clear lead over the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, despite rapid improvements in China.
Euro slides amid fears over Portuguese austerity package
from EUobserver.com – Headline News
MAIN FOCUS: Sarkozy stumbles over himself | 23/03/2010
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has shuffled his cabinet after the weak showing of the governing UMP in the French regional elections. The press puts the defeat down to Sarkozy’s lack of orientation and his high-handed style of leadership.
Drubbing for the right as France loses faith in Nicolas Sarkozy | World news | The Guardian
My vision of journalism in Brussels
In my opinion, there should be no independent journalism in Brussels.
The EU institutions just need to create their proper press corps which produces favourable news for them. In addition, they should fund a group of about 30 bloggers who pretend that whatever the EU institutions are doing is interesting. To do so, they will usually link and comment the news coming from the institutional press.
Romania and Europe: an entrapped decade, , Tom Gallagher
Germany: Europe’s engine- Why Germany needs to change, both for its own sake and for others
Germany?s impressive flexibility is the consequence of old virtues combined with new ones. The old consensus-building management system helped employers keep unions on side when costs needed to be held down. The famous Mittelstand (small and medium-sized firms, often family-owned) went through its operations, step by step, judging what to do in Germany, what to send abroad and what to outsource.
The Greek Financial Crisis through a Political Lens Darkly
Only on rare occasion does the media coverage we get here in these United States about the ongoing Greek financial crisis even attempt to put it in the larger perspective of Greek politics or the country’s political history. Mark Mazower’s commentary in the Financial Times on March 9, 2010 and some of Nicole Itano’s spot reporting on Global Post are exceptions to the rule.
EU Spring summit: Europe must decide now on its response to Greece
“It is a matter of urgency that tomorrow’s European Council brings clarity and unity in its response to the Greek financial crisis,” said Guy Verhofstadt, ALDE group leader in the European Parliament. “This is not a beauty contest for the perfect monetary response. We don’t have the luxury of time if we wish to stem the negative effects of a lack of an answer to Greece.”
MAIN FOCUS: Greek crisis overshadows EU summit | 25/03/2010
The dispute over financial aid for Greece will play a key role at the EU summit which starts today, Thursday, in Brussels. The press sees the very future of the Eurozone at stake and calls for greater flexibility and sustainable growth for the EU.
Greece’s problems with paying the bills
The Greek government’s budgetary woes are well known by this point, but a newly-released Flash Eurobarometer survey from last year reveals a different side of the financial crisis:
Comitology 2.0? – The European Parliament rapporteur heavily criticises the Commission
Yesterday, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee dealt with the reform of the Comitology system that I have touched here and here.
The Committee discussions follow the draft report by MEP József Szájer (EPP) and discussed several compromise amendments set out in the second part of this EP document.
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