Eleven Turks enter German Parliament Eleven lawmakers of Turkish origin have been elected to the German Bundestag Merkel faces tough coalition talks Chancellor Angela Merkel is triumphant but must now form a new ruling coalition, with the Social Democrats (SPD) seen as likely partners. As focus shifts to German coalition negotiations, who are the … Read more
VIDEO: Death sparks violence in Greece Violent clashes have broken out in several Greek cities after a left-wing musician was stabbed to death, the suspect is a member of the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn. Protesters, police clash in Greek anti-fascist demos Protesters and police clashed across Greece on Sept. 18 as thousands demonstrated against fascism following … Read more
Eight small European Countries are the happiest on Earth Just in time for the UN General Assembly, the UN secretariat has published the second World Happiness Report. On the basis of extensive polls in 156 countries it assesses how people rate their overall happiness in life. German election: don’t forget the Turkish vote(s)! There are … Read more
UK Commons official: Report of 300,000+ porn accesses from Parliament isn’t “accurate” As the UK government continues to roll out the Great Firewall of Cameron (by which ISPs are required to opt their customers into an “adult content filter” that is meant to block sites related to porn, gambling, “esoterica,” “forums” and more), an official report reveals that … Read more
France says it was no victim of Prism The French Ministry for Foreign Affairs has told EurActiv that its diplomatic network system is protected and secure, and could not have been a target for the NSA. Human rights organisations have however filed complaints against Apple, Google and Facebook. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has … Read more
Litany of ifs and buts on Europe?s banks Properly done, asset review exercise could quickly establish the ECB as a tough regulator and help restore investor faith in Europe?s lenders Privatised justice and the erosion of democracy in the UK Public service outsourcers G4S and Serco were caught overcharging taxpayers by tens of millions of … Read more
Czech communists to return in office for first time since 1989 The Czech parliament voted yesterday (20 August) to dissolve itself, triggering an early election that could hand the Communist Party a share of power for the first time since a bloodless revolution ended the party’s totalitarian rule two decades ago. Opinion polls show that … Read more
Anti-austerity protests sweep Europe from FT.com – World, Europe Unions across Europe stage day of co-ordinated action, with general strike halting public transport, air travel and closing schools in Portugal and Spain MAIN FOCUS: Southern Europe strikes against austerity | 14/11/2012 from euro|topics Employees in Spain and Portugal are protesting against their governments’ austerity policies … Read more
Swiss army prepares for euro unrest from FP Passport by Joshua Keating Greek Journalist Arrested for Publishing List of Alleged Tax Evaders from Global Voices Online by Asteris Masouras Greece: Public TV Journalists Fired After Criticizing Minister from Global Voices Online by Veroniki Krikoni On October 29, 2012, two journalists, Kostas Arvanitis and Marilena … Read more
Breivik sentenced to 21 years in prison for Norway attacks from Hurriyet Daily News An Oslo court on Friday found Anders Behring Breivik guilty of “acts of terror” and sentenced him to 21 years in prison… Breivik court verdict: security lessons? from open Democracy News Analysis – by Robert Lambert Now that the legal … Read more
MAIN FOCUS: Greece poised to form government | 19/06/2012 from euro|topics Following the parliamentary elections in Greece the conservative Nea Dimokratia party and the socialist Pasok plan to form a government today, Tuesday. Both support the country’s austerity programme. The result of the election may have bought Europe some time but the country’s bankruptcy is … Read more
May day protests highlight Europe?s pain from FT.com – World, Europe Tens of thousands of workers take to the streets for annual marches, demonstrating against government spending cuts and rising unemployment How real is Hollande’s veto threat? by Open Europe blog team As has been widely reported, Francois Hollande – the socialist contender for the … Read more
Massivity: over a million protest labor reforms in Spain from Social Network Unionism by OrsanSenalp From: ROARMAG.org They said the movement was dead. That the indignation had subsided. That rage and frustration alone was never a sustainable motivation for continued resistance against the scourges of financial capitalism and the farce of our so-called representative democracy. … Read more
Greece will have to be built anew otherwise more of the same malpractices will continue to hinder the country?s prospects. Image source: The Guardian Greek parties agree ?3.3bn austerity cuts from FT.com – World, Europe Eurozone finance ministers poised to work late into the night to structure a bail-out package targeted at cutting Greek debt … Read more
Eurobonds or ECB? Either way Germany has to pay the bill by Open Europe blog team As we argued in a recent papers which looked at the short term options for the eurozone, the option of risk pooling via Eurobonds, or the option of allowing the ECB to become the lender of last resort, both … Read more