antropologi.info: Paperless underclass exposes dark side of Europe – Euro roundup

Paperless underclass exposes dark side of Europe

Demonstration in Sevilla. Photo: No Border Network, flickr

(Draft) “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” These noble words in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights might be true in some distant part on this planet, but certainly not in Europe.

Germans: In the EU we do not trust

Germans’ trust in the EU has taken a giddy nosedive of late.

A poll of German citizens, conducted by German pollsters the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion, for FAZ reveals:

Is EMU a new Rouble zone?

An interesting fact revealed by the Irish Independent has gone almost unnoticed.

Ireland takes its pick

It?s a sign of where things have gotten to in Ireland that the country has a number of options for producing a constitutional crisis.  In no particular order there are ?

Berlusconi’s “Rubygate” in Italy: Private Vices, Public Virtues

from Boing Boing by Jasmina Te?anovic

Hungarian EU Council presidency ? a PR disaster

Between yesterday and today, even between editing two blog posts this morning,
the Facebook group for free media in Hungary keeps growing. A few moments ago 75,578 persons had joined the group, which sets out its reasoned demands in a proclamation published in many European languages.

Just how tough is the EU getting with Hungary?

UPDATE, 4pm: The Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag got its hand on the Kroes letter and posted it here. Seems to have caused a furore in Budapest, since the government was maintaining it only required ?technical? changes. As our post below accurately notes, the changes sought appear to be more than technical.

Leadership in the EU

Writing in European Voice in November 2010, Tim King highlighted the problem of finding a definite answer to the question ?Who leads Europe?? . Indeed it is a problematic question to answer without reference to either time or substance. Look at the response to the financial crisis. The first incumber of the new post-Lisbon position of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy took it upon himself to establish a Task Force to come up with proposals for reforms to economic governance.

How do MEPs use the web? FH?s 2nd European Parliament Digital Trends Survey

Our survey of the digital habits of Members of the European Parliament is now live at www.epdigitaltrends.eu.

The findings show that MEPs are increasingly using digital channels to reach out and to inform themselves on issues of importance. In parallel, the survey also indicates that personal contact and traditional media remain essential, highlighting to anyone engaging in communications that digital is not replacing established modes of communication, but living alongside them.

The Political Economy of European Defence

Europe?s defence markets are at overcapacity, they are overprotected at a national level and they are operating in an inefficient manner. All of this is now seen in the context of a world moving towards multipolarity globally and austerity, job losses and defence budget cuts in Europe which gives the issue added importance. But national security is still important to member states, and sovereignty serves as a continued breaker in the debate. But the financial crisis has hit Europe not just in terms of budget cuts. As Commissioner Michel Barnier stated recently, the security risks of trying to recuperate capital shortfalls in the defence sector through sovereign wealth funds offered by non-European states now gives the whole debate an intrinsically international and political flavour. As this brief essay suggests, however, before the economics of European defence are made to work properly the politics needs to be put right first.

What did Irish bail-out bond auction really tell us?

Following the hugely successful auction of Irish bail-out bonds Tuesday, Klaus Regling, head of the eurozone agency that raised the cash, said the offering ?confirms confidence in the strategy adopted to restore financial stability in the euro area?. But is that really what investors were telling us?

European federalism ? never more necessary, yet never has the prospect looked so distant

Essentially journalists, politicians, bloggers and the general public have two frames of reference when talking about the European Union. Either it?s talked about in terms similar to the descriptions used for international organisations (the UN, NATO) or in terms similar to states.