Sarkozy to journalists: ‘See you tomorrow, paedophile friends’
Sarko’s temper flares again in response to a reporter’s question about allegations that he took kickbacks from a weapons deal with Pakistan to fund his presidential campaign:
Access to scientific data: European Court of Human Rights judgement
Over at the Strasbourg Observers you can find the summary of a very interesting ruling of the European Court of Human Rights.
If I understand the summary correctly, the Court has found that researchers may be obliged to grant access to their research data to outsiders even if this data includes personal data that was obtained following explicit agreements that this data would not be published.
France: Al-Qaeda’s New Priority
MAIN FOCUS: Bail-out for Ireland saves the euro | 22/11/2010
Ireland has become the first member of the eurozone to apply for financial assistance worth billions from the EU and the IMF. Europe’s finance ministers agreed the rescue package on Sunday evening. While it has come rather late, the package is central to shoring up the euro, the press believes.
Will an Irish bailout actually solve anything?
Open Europe has today published a briefing asking the simple question: will an Irish bail-out actually solve anything?
A healthy Irish economy is quite clearly in the UK’s interest, and to extend loans to a struggling neighbour (to use Osborne’s rhetoric) is in itself nothing controversial. Sweden offered cash to Iceland after that country hit the rocks following a banking meltdown (not unlike that of Ireland) for example.
‘Intense’ discussion on EU-Nato relations at Lisbon summit
from EUobserver.com – Headline News
EU Stockholm Programme Action Plan: European judicial culture needed?
According to the final draft agenda for the Strasbourg session 22 to 25 November 2010, Monday 22 November the European Parliament plenary is going to discuss the Action Plan Implementing the Stockholm Programme and on Tuesday 23 November the EP is going to vote (pages 3 and 9).
Bulgaria: Reactions to Hate Speech Against Arabs and Islam
from Global Voices Online by Ruslan Trad
The Pope’s confusing condom comments
For the record, Pope Benedict XVI did not justify use of condoms, as some headlines have suggested, even in limited circumstances. Here’s the quote he gave to a German journalist, which was reprinted in the Italian media this weekend:
MAIN FOCUS: Pope softens stance on condom ban | 23/11/2010
In an interview Pope Benedict XVI has allowed that the use of condoms is tolerable in certain cases to prevent infection with HIV. Commentators welcome this softening in stance but doubt it amounts to a genuine change in direction on the part of the Catholic Church.
Will German democracy kill the euro?
Commenting on the Irish bailout, Die Welt editor Dorothea Siems makes some very important points.
She argues:
Ireland: The timidity of the lawyers
Perhaps the biggest puzzle of Ireland?s 2+ years of economic crisis is the lack of progress on restructuring the banking sector, and in particular the reluctance to follow through on the implications of having guaranteed the liabilities of insolvent financial institutions. As with many of Ireland?s problems, there is no single explanation so in this post we focus on just one ? a mindset in the Irish government that springs from the legal background of several of the principals in it.
Germany, Ireland, and eurozone politics, Katinka Barysch
A dramatic week of negotiation and political manoeuvring over the fate of Ireland?s banking sector ended late on 21 November 2010 with the announcement that the government led by taoiseach (prime minister) Brian Cowen and finance minister Brian Lenihan had submitted a request for financial aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Seven character tests for Britain’s Labour leadership, Nick Pearce
Returning from paternity leave, Ed Miliband has set out his stall on how Labour will rethink its policies under his leadership. Most leaders of the opposition establish policy reviews of one kind or another, to wipe the policy slate clean. David Cameron set up a number of policy review groups that produced little but headaches for him, in contrast to his wider brand repositioning, which was largely successful. In his first two years in the job, he established a clear character for his leadership of the Conservative Party: liberal, green and centrist. In those early days, the direction of travel was much more important than the detail.
Ireland: the challenge of failure , Fintan O?Toole
The long-threatened arrival of the IMF bogeymen was a major loss for Ireland as a proud, independent nation. But this should not blind us to the opportunity to reinvent and restore our sovereignty.
Europe turning against the euro?
Well, we’re not quite there yet. But those who still think – and there are some – that reservations about the future of the euro is something which exists primarily amongst the we-told-you-so bunch on the Tory backbenches, should try to pick up a European paper once in a while.
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