UK aims to become centre for Islamic finance
Global Islamic finance market is valued at $1.3tn and is growing faster than the conventional banking sector
Germany hits back at US criticism
Spying leaks should not interrupt cooperation with Europe: US
The US administration is eager to continue discussing intelligence-gathering operations to alleviate the concerns of European leaders
‘Nationalism and xenophobia’ on rise ahead of European elections
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has warned against nationalism, xenophobia and racism ahead of European Parliament elections
France angered by prostitution petition
A petition against the abolition of prostitution has created uproar in France, fuelling an already intense debate on buying and selling sex.
Rutte: Don’t blame voters for anti-EU sentiments – blame politicians
Dutch PM Mark Rutte is often seen as a key UK ally who is able to maintain warm relations with both the Liberal and
Conservative sides of the coalition. In London today to deliver the Isaiah Berlin lecture he talked about the big challenges facing Europe, making the following key points:
NSA surveillance confirms the realist paradigm, and I am not happy about that
Only a few days ago I briefly presented the research of my life, which I have just started and deals with the influence that human rights make on foreign policy making in Europe. In particular, at the moment I am reading and thinking about why countries choose to embrace and foster certain human rights norms rather than others. Right when I was about to accept that principles, ideas and identities play a significant role in the construction of national interests and, therefore, in the way countries interact with each other (?anarchy is what states make of it? and so on), we read in the papers that the US has been spying on foreign allies for a good number of years.
Kick starting a movement against mass surveillance
Next week will see a public meeting discussing what we can do about the rise of mass government surveillance. Anthony Barnett outlines why this is a crucial issue, and why you should be there.
Harmonizing Europe?s Elections
The EU should consider an audacious idea: synchronization of Europe?s political clocks, so that all national elections are held within the same year ? or even the same month. A common election calendar would free up scarce resources and focus policymakers? attention more effectively, thus maximizing the benefits of vital programs.
Germany wants Snowden spying details
