MAIN FOCUS: Berlusconi definitively convicted | 02/08/2013 Italy’s highest court convicted Silvio Berlusconi of tax fraud on Thursday. After dozens of trials, this is the first definitive conviction for Italy’s ex-prime minister. The judiciary is finally putting paid to Berlusconism, some commentators write delightedly. Others are dismayed that Berlusconi could not be stopped by political … Read more
European Commission accepts Penguin?s proposals to scrap Apple ebook agency agreements The European Commission has accepted book publisher Penguin?s proposals to scrap all of its existing ebook agency agreements ? including its deal with Apple, most importantly ? and refrain from adopting any similar partnerships for the next five years. Journalists at Bradley Manning … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: Greeks protest against job cuts | 17/07/2013 Tens of thousands of Greeks once again brought much of public life to a complete standstill with a general strike on Tuesday. They are protesting against the troika’s demand for job cuts in the public sector, which will be put to vote in parliament today, Wednesday. … Read more
EU, industry to invest ?22 billion in research and innovation (News) The Commission, member states and industry will invest more than ?22 billion over the next seven years in innovation. The investment will primarily go to special sectors via five public-private partnerships called Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs). The Commission says research and innovation are critical … Read more
Gezi detainees start hunger strike as prosecutor extends detention Around 50 people who were detained in accordance with the Gezi Park protests started a hunger strike today #occupygezi, #changebrazil and the new #urbanrevolution #occupygezi and #changebrazil that we witnessed recently are not the beginning, but the continuation of a global phenomenon: the new urban hashtag … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: EU outraged over US spying | 02/07/2013 After media reports about spying activities of the US intelligence services in EU offices, the European Union is checking its facilities for bugging devices. The European Commission has demanded speedy explanations from the US. Some commentators say Europe should stand up to America, while others … Read more
Library of the European Parliament’s Blog: Croatia ? sources of information For the occasion of Croatian accession to the European Union on the 1 July 2013 and becoming the 28th member state, we have prepared this document as introductory information to sources that are already available in Library of European Parliament Croatia: President Plays Beethoven to … Read more
‘Le Barroso bashing’ continues in France If you thought the wave of French attacks on European Commission President José Manuel Barroso was ebbing away, you were wrong. Today, it was the turn of French Socialist MP Claude Bartolone – who’s also the President of the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament – … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: EU wants to give deficit sinners more time | 30/05/2013 The EU Commission wants to give six euro countries more time to reduce their debts, allowing them to introduce growth-stimulating reforms. The sanctions on excessively high budget deficits are to be suspended, Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn announced on Wednesday. Some commentators welcome … Read more
WordPress Is Now 10 Years Old Ten years ago today, the first public release of WordPress became available. Initially started as a fork of the little-known blogging platform b2/Cafelog, WordPress has grown to be the largest CMS in the world, powering an astounding 18% of the web WordPress is 10 years old today: Here?s … Read more
EU ends arms embargo against Syrian rebels The European Union agreed Monday to lift its embargo against arming Syrian rebels. Britain, France block renewed weapons embargo against Syria (News) Britain and France are free to supply weapons to Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad starting in August, after attempts to renew an EU arms embargo … Read more
EU poised to blacklist Hizbollah army Hope that a formal request by UK, ahead of a foreign ministers? meeting in late June, will open way for sanctions of Hizbollah?s European activity Desegregating Roma and Croat schoolchildren: what has been done? Three years after the ECHR’s decision in Or?u? and Others v. Croatia found “separate but … Read more
Neo-Nazi probe is a peerless failure: German report An interim parliamentary inquiry report called the National Socialist Underground (NSU) Neo-Nazi trial: Woman ?part of kill squad? German prosecutors May 14 charged that a woman at the center of a landmark trial over a neo-Nazi Iceland?s election is a signal to Europe Taking tough measures … Read more
IMF sees a mixed outlook for Europe – calls for more ECB action and a fiscal union by Open Europe blog team The IMF today released its latest World Economic Outlook forecasts. As usual the forecasts are not overly different from the previous ones – published in October last year – but there are a … Read more
Germany suffering worker shortage from FT.com – World, Europe For Ursula von der Leyen, solving that dilemma will require fundamental reforms in the heart of the eurozone, and its periphery The Google EU settlement: Full details from Brussels Blog by Alex Barker Google?s three year tussle with Brussels over its search business is almost … Read more