MAIN FOCUS: No stress for Europe's banks | 18/07/2011 from euro|topics Only eight out of ninety banks failed the bank stress test, the European Banking Authority announced in London on Friday. But the press says the test ignored the risk of a state going bankrupt and will therefore hardly calm Europe's financial markets. Why Europe … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: EU attacks rating agencies | 07/07/2011 The downgrading of Portugal’s creditworthiness to junk status by the rating agency Moody’s on Wednesday prompted harsh criticism from European governments and the EU Commission. While some commentators accused the agencies of being irresponsible amid the euro crisis, others thought the EU’s reaction was hypocritical. MAIN FOCUS: … Read more
A protester in front of the Greeck parliament during a rally against the new austerity package. Reuters VIDEO: Greek crisis dominates EU summit from BBC News | Europe | World Edition The threat of a Greek debt default undermining the euro is overshadowing the European Union summit in Brussels. What’s the worst case scenario for … Read more
FT video: Eurozone crisis nears crux from Brussels Blog by FT Portugal?s prime minister has resigned on the eve of an EU summit that is supposed to move towards a ?grand bargain? to bolster the eurozone and strengthen its crisis prevention ability. The currency bloc is in a bind. Lex?s Edward Hadas and Vincent Boland … Read more
The euro pact and Germany: Triumph or a coming bust-up? by Open Europe blog team The Telegraph‘s Ambrose Evans-Pritchard describes the weekend deal at the EU summit as a “total German triumph”. He paraphrases Chancellor Angela Merkel saying that “whoever wants credit must fulfil our conditions”. 2011-03-18 Bulgarian Organized Crime Uncensored from WL Central by … Read more
Still here in Turkey, many people rely on scepticism on western intentions, while “muslim” Gaddafi murders muslim Libyan citizens…. France send warplanes against Libya after Gaddafi’s forces enter Benghazi from Wash Post Europe by Liz Sly, Karen DeYoung and Sudarsan Raghavan Sarkozy confirms no-fly zone, says Libyan leader attacked civilians with “murderous madness”; rebel warplane … Read more
The idiotic gap by YAVUZ BAYDAR Let us repeat old news because it is needed. Relations between Turkey and the European Union are heading for a nasty crash. This conclusion became increasingly visible after the problematic visit to Ankara by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and not-so-warm contacts between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Recep Tayyip … Read more
Paperless underclass exposes dark side of Europe from antropologi.info – anthropology in the news blog by Lorenz Demonstration in Sevilla. Photo: No Border Network, flickr (Draft) “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” These noble words in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights might be true in some distant part … Read more
Ms Le Pen looks set to be a genuine contender in the 2012 presidential elections Far right anoints Marine Le Pen from BBC News | Europe | World Edition France’s far-right National Front confirms Marine Le Pen to succeed her father Jean-Marie as leader following a party vote. End of an ETA from FP Passport … Read more
What next for the UK’s student movement?, Guy Aitchison from open Democracy News Analysis – by Guy Aitchison The volcanic eruption of student anger and militancy in Britain over the last few months has blown the political space wide open, making a broad-based movement against austerity thinkable where previously there was only rumbling discontent. It … Read more
Riot police guarded a bank in Athens yesterday during a nationwide protest against the government?s latest austerity measures. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images) EU summit: The early betting line from Brussels Blog by Peter Spiegel The EU?s final two-day heads of government summit of 2010 starts Thursday and early betting is that it will be much quieter … Read more
Germany flexes muscle, loses friends from FP Passport by Cameron Abadi At next week’s EU summit in Brussels, you can expect the usual photos of backslapping European leaders sharing broad laughs and whispered asides. But behind closed doors, things are likely to be a lot frostier: by all indications, personal relations among EU power players … Read more
WikiLeaks cables: Pope wanted Muslim Turkey kept out of EU from World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by Andrew Brown, Heather Brooke Vatican diplomats also lobbied against Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez and wanted ‘Christian roots’ enshrined in EU constitution The pope is responsible for the Vatican’s growing hostility towards Turkey joining the EU, previously secret cables sent … Read more
Sarkozy to journalists: ‘See you tomorrow, paedophile friends’ from FP Pasaport by Joshua Keating Sarko’s temper flares again in response to a reporter’s question about allegations that he took kickbacks from a weapons deal with Pakistan to fund his presidential campaign: Access to scientific data: European Court of Human Rights judgement from Ideas on Europe … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: EU budget power games | 17/11/2010 from euro|topics Negotiations on the EU Budget in Brussels have met with resistance from several member countries and run aground. The press complains that this wrangling for power blocks important new projects in the EU. Barroso’s case of the Budget Blues by Open Europe blog team After … Read more