Euromaidan protesters sing the Ukrainian anthem in central Kyiv. Photo from Demotix.
The Eurosceptic Ukip party won a second seat in the British House of Commons on Thursday in a by-election in the southern English town of Rochester. Voters wanted to punish the established parties, some commentators write. For others, Ukip’s success is due to widespread xenophobia.
Over two thousand students took to the streets of the Macedonian capital Skopje on November 17, 2014 to march against the decision of the government to impose external testing in the country’s universities. The protest march began in front of the St. Cyril and Methodius university main building. Students then proceeded to block streets around the University and marched towards the Ministry of Education and Science, with occasional stops in front of the Government building and the Student Parliament.
Isolation from Europe and an end to immigration are disastrous policies derived not from patriotism but from a racial myth whose most vociferous advocate was Enoch Powell. His pernicious legacy endures.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday. Putin’s invitation came as a surprise as German Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently voiced harsh criticism of the Kremlin chief. Merkel has done major damage to relations between Russia and the West, some commentators write. Others believe Steinmeier could thaw the frosty mood in the Ukraine crisis.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, seen by some in Brussels and Washington as cosying up to the Kremlin, said his country would not be forced to pick one side or another in a Cold War-style standoff in Europe.
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| The Guilder – was it close to making a comeback? |
Yesterday, former Dutch Finance Mininister Jan Kees de Jager, who held the role until November 2012, revealed something very interesting. Apparently, the Dutch government, together with the German govenrment, made contingency plans during the height of the eurozone crisis for the two countries to ditch the euro. A “team” of lawyers, foreign policy experts and economists were employed to investigate different scenarios,. One was to reintroduce the “guilder”:
 The Campaign Bus of Jeane-Claude Juncker (President of the European Commission) -European Parliament Elections 2014 (Image Source: Flickr/EPP/CC BY 2.0) |
The G-20 Leaders – Caricatures. Flickr photo by DonkeyHotey (CC License)
There was extensive debate about what should have been discussed at Brisbane’s G20 summit on 15-16 November. As Clarencegirl shared on her blog North Coast Voices, even Pope Francis had ideas for that very public member of his Catholic flock, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott:
“Italy Calls For A Bretton Woods For The Eurozone” by Paolo Pini
French President Francois Hollande has announced that he will ignore the European budget constraints; his intention is to defer the return of the deficit/GDP ratio to below 3% for two years. This could signal the end of Fiscal Compact austerity.
The French decision only highlights the critical state of the overall system (and the widespread violation of the rules) that has existed for some time. There are many countries in the EU whose deficit/GDP ratio is greater than 3% (in addition to France, also Spain, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia and even virtuous Poland), while Germany has been persistently violating the upper limit to the trade surplus.
Review: Andrew Wilson ‘Ukraine Crisis’
Russian propaganda is taking the EU off-guard. Some who still remember the Communist days say it is reaching heights unknown, since the end of the Cold War. Thirty years ago, this propaganda was on the defensive, while now Moscow is on the offensive, writes Georgi Gotev.
Georgi Gotev is Senior Editor of EurActiv.com
After his victory in the Romanian presidential elections, Klaus Iohannis called on parliament on Monday to vote against an amnesty law that would protect party colleagues of Prime Minister Victor Ponta from corruption investigations.
The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement is expected to throw a couple of billion at the NHS in the face of a mounting crisis – but we need a much ‘bigger bazooka’.
Romania: Last minute mobilisation makes Iohannis president
A strong wave of civic mobilisation led to centre-right Klaus Iohannis being elected as Romania’s next president.
Flickr/Liviu Florin Albei. Some rights reserved.
Iain Duncan Smith’s opposite number, Labour’s Rachel Reeves, has written an interesting piece on EU migrants’ access to welfare for the Mail Online, in which signals an important shift in Labour’s policy.
Czech President Pelted with Putrid Eggs
By James Krotz
President Zeman’s security detail brandishes umbrellas to protect the President from flying garbage hurled by protestors.
Norway’s new passport design is a work of art
It’s usually function before form when it comes to passports
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