In the meantime, in #Europe, “Gas and oil spent €250m lobbying EU… “EU blocks Albania and North Macedonia membership bids

Brexit deal: Five reasons EU is happy with revised deal BBC News | Europe | World Edition EU leaders have hailed the agreement as a big step even though it still has to get through the UK Parliament. Gas and oil spent €250m lobbying EU EUobserver.com – Headline News / BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, … Read more

#Eurosphere agenda: “Soros-linked NGOs defy Orban purge

Soros-linked NGOs defy Orban purge EUobserver.com – Headline News   Hungarian NGOs funded by philanthropist George Soros have vowed to defy prime minister Viktor Orban’s plan to “sweep them out” of the country. Malta rejects tax haven accusations EUobserver.com – Headline News   Finance minister Scicluna said that a report published by Green MEPs was “unfair” and … Read more

In the mean time, “European judiciary network votes to suspend observer status of Turkey’s HSYK…

European judiciary network votes to suspend observer status of Turkey’s HSYK The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) on Dec. 8 decided to suspend the observer status of the Turkish High Council for Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), citing concerns that the body is no longer sufficiently independent from the state’s executive and legislature branches. … Read more

Eurosphere agenda: Ukraine’s Jamala wins Eurovision 2016 with a song about a song about the deportation of Crimean Tatars under Josef Stalin….

Ukraine’s Jamala wins Eurovision 2016 BBC News | Europe | World Edition Ukraine’s Jamala wins the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest with a song about the deportation of Crimean Tatars under Josef Stalin. Eurovision 2016 – We are off to Ukraine! Stephen Spillane Ukraine win the Eurovision Song Contest, Jamala Credit: Andres Putting (EBU) Congratulations to Jamala and … Read more

Eurosphere agenda: Ireland same sex marriage win… The Riga Summit…

The Riga Summit: Enter, pursued by a bear  by Centre for European Reform The Eastern Partnership summit in Riga on May 21st-22nd will be a gloomy affair. Russia’s aggressive behaviour has put EU member-states on the defensive. Enthusiasm for further integration between the EU and its Eastern neighbours is on the wane. But Europe should be … Read more

Eurosphere agenda: “Coding in the classroom

INFOGRAPHIC: Coding in the classroom  EurActiv.com SPECIAL REPORT: Which EU countries teach coding in the classroom and why? Computing Our Future, a European Schoolnet report, investigated the timetables to find out. 12 countries gave full responses to the survey, the findings of which are summarised in this infographic. The BBC taps Doctor Who to bring the basics of coding to kids  The … Read more

Eurosphere roundup: Le Monde diplomatique maps Europe’s war on immigration as Appetite for EU enlargements hits all time low…

Identity and Migration: A European Problem Firstly, let me apologise for the length of this post. I simply couldn?t have written this more concisely. I wanted to start this week?s instalment to say that I thought that various official reactions to the crisis in Lampedusa was funny. However, the more I thought about the situation the … Read more