Handelsblatt: France is the new sick man of Europe by Open Europe The Juncker Presidencies & EU budget stability Ideas on Europe by Ronny Patz I’m just doing some research on budgetary rules in the Eurozone, pre- and post-crisis, and stumbled over some interesting EU trivia: Reading the original Council Regulation (Regulation 1466/97) on the … Read more
Q&A: Gibraltar row What is latest dispute between Spain and Gibraltar about? Between a rock and a hard place: Is Spain breaching EU law by making life difficult for Gibraltarians? The ‘Gibraltar question’ has consistently been the biggest bone of contention in UK-Spanish relations ever since the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht which saw … Read more
Record 60% of Europeans ‘tend not to trust’ EU The number of Europeans who distrust the European Union has doubled over the past six years to a record high, with bailed-out Greeks and Cypriots having the least faith in the bloc, according to a new Eurobarometer poll. An economic crisis, record unemployment and five eurozone … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: New debts despite austerity policy | 24/07/2013 The debts of the Eurozone countries continue to grow. Despite harsh austerity measuresthey amounted to 92.2 percent of the GDP in the first quarter – four percentage points more than the previous year, Eurostat announced on Monday. Commentators see this as proof that the stringent austerity … 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
The EU won?t stand up to the USA or protect our rights against ?the eyes? For all their purported shock and outrage, the inconvenient truth for many European leaders is that their own intelligence services are up to their necks in unregulated surveillance and/or cooperation with the global USA-UK spying infrastructure. European economy signals … Read more
Worrying future for innovation in Europe The region?s share of global manufacturing and R&D is falling. And the number of patent applications registered in Europe has also gone down MAIN FOCUS: Weapons embargo against Syria expires | 28/05/2013 The EU foreign ministers did not reach a joint position on a weapons embargo against Syriaon … 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
Footnotes on Jürgen Habermas lecture in Leuven about the European crisis from Blogactiv by Protesilaos Stavrou Mopping up after Sarkozy from Blogactiv by Florian Pantazi François Hollande, the French president, is currently back from a state visit to China. Hollande hopes to expand trade in Asia, as France?s current account deficit has reached 75 … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: Record unemployment in Europe | 26/04/2013 from euro|topics According to figures published on Thursday, for the first time more than six million people are currently out of work in Spain, and France also has record unemployment, surpassing a 1997 peak. Commentators fear the ongoing crisis will provoke a rebellion of the masses and … Read more
Italy?s centre-left fails in presidential vote from FT.com – World, Europe Berlusconi supporters celebrate ?death? of rival party after more than 100 Democrat MPs vote against Romano Prodi, dashing hopes of an end to political deadlock Italian centre-left leader ‘to quit’ from BBC News | Europe | World Edition Italy’s centre-left leader, Pier Luigi … 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
Greek Cyprus parliament vote on bailout postponed to Tuesday from Hurriyet Daily News Greek Cyprus parliament speaker Yiannakis Omirou said a vote by lawmaker Morning Brief: Cyprus bailout sparks new round of economic turmoil in Europe from FP Passport by Elias Groll Russia attacks Cyprus bailout plan from FT.com – World, Europe Financial markets are … Read more
Eurozone slump derails Britain’s economic strategy by Centre for European Reform The British government’s attempt to rebalance the UK economy has failed. In 2012, the deficit on the country’s current account (the broadest measure of foreign trade) was larger than in any year since 1990. Britain’s problem is not its trade performance with non-European … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: France’s bold offensive in Mali | 15/01/2013 from euro|topics UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Monday welcomed France’s military intervention in Mali. The French armed forces joined the fight against the Islamist rebels on Friday at the behest of the Malian government. Commentators admire the courage of the French President but note … Read more