French minister convicted of racism
from FT.com – World, Europe
France’s interior minister was facing calls for his resignation after he was convicted in a Paris criminal court of making racist remarks about immigrants of North African descent
Britain
Euro roundup: The Franco-German axis takes some hits recently
Frosty
by Open Europe blog team
The Franco-German axis, which for so long has defined the European Union, has taken some serious hits lately. Following the trauma of the eurozone crisis, the relationship between the two countries is heading towards a historic post-war low – to the point that Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are no longer on speaking terms according to whispers in Brussels. This wasn’t helped by Sarkozy’s comments the other week that “95 percent” of the bailout package deal agreed corresponded to French demands.
Euro roundup: European Digital Agenda etc
http://www.diskursdisko.de/2010/04/juan-leguizamon-nautische-geschichten/ http://www.behance.net/jflegui found in Juan F. Leguizamon ******************* Improving EU economic governance: Impressive Herman Van Rompuy by Grahnlaw Winston Churchill is said to have quipped that the Labour leader Clement Attlee was a man who had much to be modest about. At (s)election time British tabloids, which pray at the shrine of John Bull, were … Read more
Euro roundup: European Union (EU) Commission Unveils Digital Agenda…
European Union (EU) Commission Unveils Digital Agenda to Boost Prosperity and Well-Being in Europe
from EU Pundit by Andis Kaulins
EUROPA – Press Release:
Digital Agenda: Commission outlines action plan to boost Europe’s prosperity and well-being
“[Abstract ]Implementing the ambitious Digital Agenda for Europe unveiled today by the European Commission would contribute significantly to the EU’s economic growth and spread the benefits of the digital era to all sections of society. Half of European productivity growth over the past 15 years was already driven by information and communications technologies (see IP/10/571) and this trend is likely to accelerate. The Agenda outlines seven priority areas for action: creating a digital Single Market, greater interoperability, boosting internet trust and security, much faster internet access, more investment in research and development, enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion, and applying information and communications technologies to address challenges facing society like climate change and the ageing population. Examples of benefits include easier electronic payments and invoicing, rapid deployment of telemedicine and energy efficient lighting. In these seven areas, the Digital Agenda foresees some 100 follow-up actions, of which 31 would be legislative. The Digital Agenda is the first of seven flagship initiatives under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (see IP/10/225).
Digital Agenda: Commission outlines action plan to boost Europe’s prosperity and well-being
“[Abstract ]Implementing the ambitious Digital Agenda for Europe unveiled today by the European Commission would contribute significantly to the EU’s economic growth and spread the benefits of the digital era to all sections of society. Half of European productivity growth over the past 15 years was already driven by information and communications technologies (see IP/10/571) and this trend is likely to accelerate. The Agenda outlines seven priority areas for action: creating a digital Single Market, greater interoperability, boosting internet trust and security, much faster internet access, more investment in research and development, enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion, and applying information and communications technologies to address challenges facing society like climate change and the ageing population. Examples of benefits include easier electronic payments and invoicing, rapid deployment of telemedicine and energy efficient lighting. In these seven areas, the Digital Agenda foresees some 100 follow-up actions, of which 31 would be legislative. The Digital Agenda is the first of seven flagship initiatives under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (see IP/10/225).
Euro roundup: France Cabinet approves burqa ban, Eurozone troubles etc.
France Cabinet approves burqa ban
from Hurriyet Dailynews
The French Cabinet approved a draft law to ban the wearing of full-face veils in public spaces, opening the way for the text to go before parliament in July.
Visibility of Islam brings confrontation and interaction, says expert
from Hurriyet Dailynews
Recent debates concerning mosque minarets in European countries are a result of an increasing visibility of Muslim identity in Europe, according to a sociologist.
Euro roundup: European financial stabilisation mechanism and more…
Background: European financial stabilisation mechanism
by Grahnlaw
The Council of the European Union has issued COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 407/2010 of 11 May 2010 establishing a European financial stabilisation mechanism; published OJEU 12.5.2010 L 118/1.
Once upon a time, I explored the stages leading towards the Lisbon Treaty, writing a number of blog posts about what became Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
Now that the EU member states have felt the need to shore up the common currency, it is interesting to see in which terms the provision on financial assistance was discussed at the time. In this blog post we look at the legislative history of Article 122 TFEU.
Euro roundup: Blair lures Lib-Democrats, Merkel’s headaches, Saving Greeks etc…
MAIN FOCUS: Brown lures Liberal Democrats into coalition | 11/05/2010
from euro|topics
In a surprise move British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced on Monday his resignation as Labour Party leader, to pave the way for coalition talks with the Liberal Democrats. But Europe’s press doubts this gambit can keep Labour in power.
UK Elections aftermath roundup. A hung parliament…
After elections, UK voters ask, ‘Now what?’
from Hurriyet Dailynews
Uncertainties in the British general election remained even through the decision day as the United Kingdom woke up Friday to its first hung parliament in 36 years.
Another Euro roundup: Greek crisis, British elections, My Europe Week and even more…
Interactive Maps of the Status of Debt in Europe from EU Pundit by Andis Kaulins Take a look at this set of interactive maps in the Global Business section of the New York Times — Debt Rising in Europe. Is Large-Scale Tax Evasion One Cause of Greek Financial Problems? Their GDP Indicates the Government of … Read more
Euro roundup: Newest Greek crisis, British elections, My Europe Day
Greek strikers hit Athens streets from BBC News | Europe | World Edition Greek public sector workers storm the Acropolis and scuffle with riot police during a strike against austerity measures. Euroblogging journalist Prune Antoine wins two European young journalist awards by Julien Frisch Sometimes people who actually deserve it win prizes, and this time … Read more
Euro roundup: Saving Greece begins…
Huge Greece bail-out deal agreed from BBC News | Europe | World Edition Eurozone members and the IMF agree an historic 110bn-euro ($146bn) bail-out to rescue Greece’s ailing economy. Greece’s debt crisis strains European unity from washingtonpost.com – Op-Ed Columns by David Ignatius When European leaders laid the foundations of the European Union with the … Read more
Eurozone burns, British and Hungarian elections, another roundup…
well, in the end EU will take care of Greek crisis, they have to but for the moment, things getting chaotic in euroland…
Greek crisis starts hitting other eurozone countries
from EurActiv.com by frederic
Fears that a planned rescue of Greece could stall and extend the financial crisis to other euro zone countries seemed to materialise Wednesday (28 April) as rating agencies downgraded Portugal and Spain, hitting European markets.
Euro roundup I: British elections
UK Election: Trying to destroy the Lib Dems, Anthony Barnett from open Democracy News Analysis – by Anthony Barnett On the Today programme yesterday morning, Monday 19 April, Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home, standing in because no official spokesman from his party was yet ready to go on air, said that the support for the … Read more
Volcanic ash even clogs Facebook stream!
photo credit: Reuters
European airspace closed by volcanic ash
from Wikinews
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Hundreds of thousands of air travellers had their travel plans disrupted in Europe by volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption.
Adobe vs. Apple
Adobe: Go Screw Yourself Apple from TechCrunch by Jason Kincaid Yesterday, Apple made a change to its iPhone SDK developer agreement that has left many developers furious: it banned ?applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer?. While many other tools may be affect, the most visible target of the … Read more