“Two young French muslim women decided to protest the recent French ban against wearing veils that cover the face, by walking around Paris in Niquab veil and ….. mini-skirt. Creating quite a stir. French article and video here. English article here.” Found here.
Greek taxing madness
Today’s gloomy revelations from Ireland were followed by rather disturbing news from the Greek parliament.
As part of a long-standing tradition to let tax evaders off the hook every three to four years, Greece?s parliament has rushed through a law which will allow the government to collect about ?2bn in taxes over two years. Only problem is that the outstanding amount of unpaid taxes in Greece is roughly ?35bn, which effectively means that its granting millions of citizens a tax amnesty.
Germany marks 20 years of unity
Dutch coalition with Wilders near
MAIN FOCUS: The long path to German unity | 01/10/2010
Germany will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its reunification on Sunday. But many Germans are disappointed with the unification process and East Germans are still underrepresented among the country’s elites, the papers write.
Which Coalition is tougher on EU: NL or UK?
The Dutch Liberals and Christian Democrats yesterday presented their proposal for a coalition agreement, allowing the two parties to form a minority government (supported in parliament by Geert Wilders’ uber-populist PVV party).
Dutch consider burka ban as price for coalition
Dutch veil ban in coalition deal
German ‘wise men’ criticise EU’s timid diplomacy
The Sarrazin Case: Demography and Immigration in Germany
EU to launch proceedings against France in Roma row
Anti-austerity
MAIN FOCUS: Europeans protest against austerity plans | 30/09/2010
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Wednesday in several EU countries to protest against their governments’ austerity measures. The fear of unemployment and cuts in social welfare will increase the influence of Europe’s trade unions, commentators write.
Man in the News: Ed Miliband
Sarkozy’s planned crackdown on illegal immigration is introduced as legislation
PARIS – The French government introduced tough new immigration legislation Tuesday that would make it easier to expel illegal residents and strip recently naturalized citizens of their French passports.
Wilders set for role in Dutch coalition
New Dutch coalition seeks to downplay populists’ influence
Al-Qaeda terrorism plot uncovered
Van Rompuy?s European Council: EU institution or workshop?
There is an interesting dichotomy between how president Herman Van Rompuy presents the European Council and how he tries to get this EU institution to meet the challenges facing Europe.
EU: From Monti report to Single Market Act
In his ?State of the Union? speech, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, outlined the Commission?s Work Programme for 2011.
With regard to the economy, including the internal market, Barroso set the tone during the introduction:
Ethnic rifts overshadow Bosnia election
All For One And One For All ? ?We AreThe Eurozone?
One of the worrying things about the handling of the current European crisis is how many of those responsible for taking the decisions seem to view the Eurozone in a way which is every bit as rigid, timeless and dogmatic as the thinking of those old school scholastics whom Galileo, in his time, found himself battling against. Rather than facilitating a dialogue, and a free and open discussion, the guardians of fortress euro seem to want to keep the doors slammed tight shut, just in case any strange and unwanted ideas should inadvertantly slip in without them noticing.
EU: ?European Semester? towards economic stability and growth?
Yesterday?s blog post, EU: From Monti report to Single Market Act, observed that the European Commission is going to publish its work programme (CWP) for 2011 and a Single Market Act, both during this month of October.
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