Eurosphere roundup: Financial markets now trust Italy and Spain; Euro fiscal pact; Danish Presidency news…

EU to slam Hungary for constitution from Hurriyet Daily News The EU executive will demand Hungary row back on controversial changes to its constitution or face possible legal action in warnings to be delivered next week, a European Union source said yesterday.   MAIN FOCUS: Financial markets trust Italy and Spain | 13/01/2012 from euro|topics … Read more

Eurosphere roundup- break-up clock ticking with or without UK….

Eurozone: break-up clock is ticking from FT.com – World, Europe Policymakers can do nothing about the odds. The danger is that they are running out of time to ensure that a break-up comes in the form of shrinkage rather than collapse The new fiscal compact from The European Citizen by Eurocentric Yesterday’s neotiations have produced … Read more

Foreign policy roundup: Abdullah Gül stopped by Britain

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 22: The President of Turkey Abdullah Gul, accompanied by his wife Hayrunnnisa Gul, stand at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Westminster Abbey on November 22, 2011 in London, England. The President of Turkey is on a five day State visit to the UK. (Photo by Olivia Harris – WPA … Read more

Turkish angle in London riots… and more…

  via @yassin Turks in Tottenham chasing looters… There is still something annoying about this. I don’t know what exactly… remembering the fact that during the Spanish Civil War, those few Turks who fought there were pro-Franco… Another photo of Turks from Hürriyet.   a relevant book: http://www.berghahnbooks.com/title.php?rowtag=ArmbrusterTaking An anthropological take on French riots in … Read more

after all, The EU might be the sick man of Europe:) a Euro roundup…

  The EU: the real sick man of Europe? from Eurozine articles by Eurozine News Item Democratic deficit, enlargement fatigue and ever more rescue funds. Is there still a future for a common Europe? At the concluding event in the series “Europe talks to Europe”, taking place in Vienna on 13 April, prominent intellectuals and … Read more

Sarkozy seizes the moment, French-led intervention begins in Libya

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

Europe paralyzed with snow, Istanbul having a spring day. A Euro roundup

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

EU Summit begins, new Eurobarometer reports and a Euro roundup

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

A column linking Turkish Airlines’ new routes to new Turkish foreign policy…

Axis of Turkey and new routes of Turkish Airlines! from U.S.A.K. Blog by USAK ABDULHAMİT BİLİCİ 13 November 2010 It is no secret that Washington is the capital where debate on Turkey?s axis is hottest, particularly after Turkey?s ?no? vote at the UN Security Council and the Mavi Marmara incident. This confusion, amplified especially by … Read more

European Union Law blog presents: The 2010 Enlargement Progress Reports in a Nutshell

European Union Law: The 2010 Enlargement Progress Reports in a Nutshell from Bloggingportal.eu – Today’s posts The European Commission has presented its annual assessment of the European Union?s enlargement agenda. It comprises a 2010-2011 Strategy paper, the Opinions on the membership applications by Montenegro and Albania and seven Progress Reports on MAIN FOCUS: Berlusconi braves … Read more

Historic defence pact between France and UK- Euro roundup…

France and UK to sign historic defence pact from EUobserver.com – Headline News The Moroccan girl, the president, the dental hygienist, and the ‘bunga-bunga parties’ from FP Passport by Joshua Keating Here’s Italian President Silvio Berlusconi’s underaged girl scandal #4,080: At the heart of it all is a Moroccan girl nicknamed Ruby, who turned 18 … Read more

Twitter and European Public Intellectuals (by Jon Worth) [and a Euro roundup as usual]

Public intellectuals on Twitter ? where are the Brits (or even the Europeans)?

from Jon Worth

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Euro roundup: France burning, Merkel stressing and three more Eurobarometer surveys..

Italy and France try to curb EU reforms from FT.com – World, Europe Italy and France are making headway in a campaign to soften the potential impact of the most ambitious reforms of the eurozone’s budget rules since the euro’s creation in 1999, according to European diplomats and policymakers MAIN FOCUS: Merkel steps up integration … Read more

Euro roundup: Lagendijk explains what happens in Netherlands, Merkel declares the end of multicultural society…

What currency wars mean for the eurozone by Centre for European Reform By Simon Tilford The dollar has now fallen to $1.40 against the euro. This is still below the low of almost $1.60 that it reached in the middle in July 2008, but it represents a steep decline from under $1.20 in early June. … Read more

Euro roundup: France working on her identity crisis: banning burqa, chains “illegal” Romas…

MAIN FOCUS: Catalans ban bullfighting | 29/07/2010

from euro|topics

The Catalan parliament in Barcelona on Wednesday passed a ban on bullfighting that will go into effect in the autonomous Spanish region starting 2012. The press writes that rather than being a victory for animal rights over an outdated tradition, the resolution is an expression of Catalan desires for self-determination and clear demarcation from the central power in Madrid.

See no citizens, hear no citizens, speak to no citizens ? the institutional approach to the European citizens? initiative (ECI)

from Jon Worth by Jon

Would you ban the Burka?

from Social Europe Journal by Henning Meyer
Source: Pewglobal.org

The Pew Global Attitudes Project has recently published a very interesting piece of research investigating attitudes towards the full Islamic veil. The results show a remarkable difference between Europeans and US citizens.

Funny, smart commentary about burqa bans

from Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow

Observer columnist David Mitchell (half of the comedy team Mitchell and Webb is in fine form today with this column on the absurdity of burqa banning. It was one of those bits of the Sunday paper that had me stopping to read a passage aloud to my wife every ten seconds or so until she snatched it out of my hands and read it herself.

Egypt: Niqab ban in France stirs controversy

from Global Voices Online by Marwa Rakha

Whither EU-US Relations?

from U.S.A.K. Blog

Written by Mustafa Kutlay and Lukas Linsi

The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States in November 2008 was accompanied by popular enthusiasm in Europe. During his election campaign he had been given a rapturous reception in Berlin where over 100,000 spectators gathered when he spoke at the Victory Column in Berlin. But the support for Obama in Europe was not confined to a popular movement; also the European political elites pinned their hopes on Obama to improve trans-Atlantic ties after the divisions that marked the era of George W. Bush. After all, Obama was a declared multilateralist in international politics and he seemed ideologically close to the traditions of European social democracies on priority issues on the policy agenda, such as health care reform, climate change and tax reform. At the same time, the European leaders in France, Germany and Great Britain were considered to be exceptionally ?pro-American.? The moment seemed unusually ripe for trans-Atlantic cooperation and it was no surprise that Obama?s first overseas trip as US President led to Europe.

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