Today I’d like to talk about Belgian road signs. And although I did indeed experience driving around Brussels for over an hour trying to figure out where the exit to “Bergen” disappeared to, before finally figuring out that “Bergen” was no longer indicated and had turned into “Mons”, I do not wish to dedicate this [...]
NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Ex-commissioner promises European Experience' in new lobby firm HONOR MAHONY 31.08.2010 10:34 CET Germany's Guenter Verheugen , one of the top baggers of lucrative private-sector lobbying posts among ex-EU-commissioners , has now gone one step further by setting up his own public relations consultancy , directly drawing on his EU . experience With Brussels already suffering a reputation for having a culture of revolving doors in which officials move directly to private sector jobs related to areas they were responsible for regulating , German weekly Wirtschaftwoche has reported that Mr Verheugen in April , two months after he officially left his Brussels job , set up a firm with the name The European ExperienceNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS European economic mood improves further MATEJ HRUSKA 31.08.2010 09:46 CET Businesses and consumers confidence in economy in both the eurozone and the whole EU continued to improve during August , most significantly in the UK and Germany , a monthly survey published by the European Commission Monday . shows The Commission's overall Economic Sentiment Indicator ESI measuring executive and consumer sentiment rose to its 101.8 in the euro area during August , up from 101.1 in July , exceeding economists' forecast for an increase to 101.6. The indicator rose to 102.7 in the EU , up from 102.1 during the previous . month European confidence in the economic outlook improved to its highest in more than two years in
I’ve often wondered whether Britain would have joined the EEC but for Edward Heath. Our membership was the product of despair. We joined at our lowest ebb, in the days of the three-day week, double-digit inflation, constant strikes and power cuts. It’s hard to imagine the Marketeers carrying Parliament, let alone winning a referendum, ten [...]
Two departments, as the whole country knows, are excused the general cost-cutting necessitated by Labour’s deficit: health and international aid.
Not that these exemptions have generated much goodwill in the affected sectors. Here, for example, is a churlish piece by John Hilary, Executive Director of War on Want. Apparently, international aid agencies are upset because ministers, [...]NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS This WEEK in the European Union HONOR MAHONY 29.08.2010 15:52 CET EUOBSERVER WEEKLY AGENDA 29 August 5 September After the traditional lengthy summer break when the EU capital all but grinds to a halt , parliament committee meetings and a stocktaking' seminar for EU commissioners are among the first signs that bureaucratic and political life is returning to . Brussels Bronislaw Komorowski will begin a short European with a visit to Brussels Photo : prezydent.pl Print Comment article EU commissioners will meet on the outskirts of Brussels for a two-day seminar beginning Wednesday to discuss the events that have shaped the summer . The biggest issues have been the floods in Pakistan which have so far seen the EUNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Mass gay kiss-off to highlight gap in EU law ANDREW RETTMAN 27.08.2010 17:55 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS An Italian MP is planning to ask gay couples to hold a day of mass-scale public kissing in September in a fight against petty homophobia . But a draft EU law combatting the same problem is likely to stay off the agenda for . years Paola Concia , an MP from the Partito Democratico , which sits with the centre-left S group in the EU parliament , is rolling out the project after organising an earlier protest in the town of Torre del Lago on 11 August , when around 100 people locked lips on the beach in an event called Many Kisses Against Intolerance . Ms Concia : The problem with homophobia in Italy is alarmingNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Barroso and Fillon to hold Roma workshop' LEIGH PHILLIPS 27.08.2010 09:29 CET Even as France in defiance of international criticism on Thursday 27 August continued its policy of rounding up and deporting Roma from the country , Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced a further attempt to Europeanise the . issue He told a meeting of French ambassadors at the Hotel Matignon that he had spoken with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and plans to hold a working meeting on the Roma question in the coming days between the French ministers concerned and the appropriate European . commissioners The commission and France are to hold a Roma working seminar' in the coming days , according to PM Fillon l
Home News News EU an economic and democratic disaster News EU an economic and democratic disaster 27 08 2010 12:55 webmaster 92 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO The European Union is an economic and democratic disaster , UKIP MEP Gerard Batten has told Russia . Today Describing the EU as an economic and democratic disaster , quot the London MEP said : The way it was sold to people 40 years ago and has been ever since is that we must have it for trade and jobs . We do not need it for trade and jobs , even the European Union has backed down from that argument , rdquo he said . What we need is trade with Europe and the rest of the world , friendship and cooperation . We do not need to be members of this vast bureaucratic organization in order to achieve that . rdquo What is actually worse
The Telegraph reports today that, while Brussels is urging its members to trim their spending, it wants to increase its own budget. No surprise there, then.
Euro-integrationists are fond of likening the EU to a bicycle that must keep moving forward (though I’ve always felt that a ravening shark would make a better simile). But they [...]NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS EU popularity plunges right across the bloc VALENTINA POP 26.08.2010 17:48 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS People's confidence in the the European Union has dropped to record lows in most countries amid a placid response to the rising unemployment and the troubles of the eurozone , a Eurobarometer published on Thursday 26 August . shows Fewer than half of Europe's citizens 49 percent think that their country's membership of the EU is a good thing a seven-year low while trust in the bloc's institutions has dropped to 42 percent , six points down compared to autumn 2009. EU dragging its feet : Citizens expected more action against the euro-crisis Photo : EUobserver Print Comment article The survey was carried out in May , NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER INSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS German judges strengthen EU court , clarify Lisbon ruling HONOR MAHONY 26.08.2010 17:43 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Germany's constitutional court has laid down the ground rules for controlling decisions by the EU top's court , an area that had been left unclear after a controversial 2009 ruling by Germany's highest judges on the Lisbon Treaty , the EU's new rule . book In a ruling with far-reaching implications , the German court on Thursday 26 August gave the green light to a 2005 judgement by the EU court that had called a German law inapplicable . The German court has acknowledged the competences of the EU court Photo : wikiepdia Print Comment article Thursday's pronouncement backed by seven of theNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Romania and Bulgaria keep low profile on Roma expulsions DAN ALEXE AND NIKOLAI PETROV 26.08.2010 09:59 CET Romanian passport Romania and Bulgaria are hoping to get into Schengen next March Photo : EUobserver Print Comment article The Romanian population has received the news of the beginning of the expulsion from France of hundreds possibly thousands of Romanian Gypsies with almost total indifference , bordering sometimes on outright hostility to the return of the marginalised social group . See more at WAZ.EUobserver 00:18 CET 01.09.2010 NEWS IN BRIEF FEATURED LATEST BLOG POSTS Eurozone unemployment rate at 10.0 in July Euro area inflation at 1.6 in August Netherlands to receive 1.8 million from EUNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS France exploring tax harmonisation with Germany France wants to scrap its wealth tax , as Germany has done Photo : Fotolia VALENTINA POP 26.08.2010 09:41 CET France is looking to bring its fiscal system closer to that of Germany , French budget minister Francois Baroin has said after visiting his German counterpart Wolfgang . Schaeuble Germany is a model which should be a source of inspiration for us . The political consensus in the German society on reducing the deficits is quite spectacular , Mr Baroin said Wednesday 25 August Les Echos . reports Print Comment article French President Nicolas Sarkozy intends to accelerate the harmonisation of both fiscal systems , on corporate as well as personal income taxesNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Israel rebukes Ashton for voicing concern' on military trial HONOR MAHONY 26.08.2010 09:25 CET EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has sharply criticised the conviction of Palestinian activist Abdallah Abu Rahmah , earning herself a rebuke from the Israeli . authorities Ms Ashton on Wednesday 25 August expressed deep concern at the move and reminded the Israeli authorities that Mr Abu Rahmah is committed to non-violent . protest The West Bank wall Israel has said Ms Ashton's comments were unusual and disregarded evidence Photo : delayed gratification Print Comment article Mr Abu Rahmah was convicted by a military court on Monday on charges of incitement and organising and participating in an illegalNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER FOREIGN AFFAIRS EU ties Pakistan aid to democratic reform ANDREW RETTMAN 26.08.2010 09:22 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS EU aid commissioner Kristalina Georgieva has said that long-term relief measures for Pakistan will be dependent on its improvement of democratic and human rights . standards Speaking to press in Islamabad on Wednesday 25 August after touring flood-affected areas in the north of the country , Ms Georgieva noted that EU foreign ministers will on 10 September discuss the possibility of including Pakistan in the EU's generalised system of preferences GSP on trade , potentially lowering import tariffs for products such as textiles to help its economy . recover Ms Georgieva , on her first-ever visit to Pakistan ,
Neil O’Brien has already done a superb job of demolishing the claim that the last Budget was unfair to the poor. (The BBC, like The Guardian, told us that these claims came from a report by the “respected” Institute for Fiscal Studies, neglecting to mention that the report had been commissioned by a Left-wing pressure [...]Home News News UKIP leads way on EAW protest News UKIP leads way on EAW protest 25 08 2010 16:20 webmaster 239 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds The UK Independence Party has consistently opposed the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant EAW and The Extradition Act 2003. It has done so because , unlike the Old Parties , it always understood that the criminal justice systems of many of the member states of the European Union did not measure up to the high standards set by the Common Law and other legal systems in place in the UK , and that many people being haled off to face criminal proceedings in far-flung corners of the EU would do so on the flimsiest of pretexts and without any Judge in the UK being able to scrutinise the evidence on which the draconian EAWs are . based Read entireNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Merkel draws line under spat with Slovakia HONOR MAHONY 25.08.2010 18:10 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday 25 August said she regretted Slovakia's refusal to pay into a joint EU-IMF bail-out for heavily-indebted Greece , but her comments were softer than statements made by Berlin and Brussels earlier this . month As much as we regret the decision on Greece , I am also certain that we will work together very closely and faithfully in future issues , said Ms Merkel after a meeting with her Slovak counterpart Iveta . Radicova Iveta Radicova would like an official apology' Photo : ec.europa.eu Print Comment article I have no doubt that Slovakia will be a very reliable partner ,NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER JUSTICE HOME AFFAIRS Paris urges Brussels to intervene in Roma question LEIGH PHILLIPS 25.08.2010 17:41 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS After weeks of carefully staying in the background of the Roma expulsion question , the European Commission has been shoved to the forefront of the issue after French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called on President Jose Manuel Barroso to co-ordinate the subject at the EU . level French PM Francois Fillon : The European Commission must intervene Photo : European Community , 2008 Print Comment article While warning member states to ensure that any expulsions are done on a case-by-case basis and in line with European law , the commission has in the past few weeks consistently argued that it has noHome News News Big names line up for Torquay News Big names line up for Torquay 24 08 2010 16:23 webmaster 91 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds www.ukip.org This year's UKIP Annual Conference in Torquay will see an unprecedented line-up of guest speakers and participants over two . days The Conference , entitled A Positive Vision for the Future , and held on September 3-4, will hear : from Petr Mach young leader of the new Czech Eurosceptic party , the Free Citizens Party , which has picked up the baton from Vaclav Klaus Lord Stoddart of Swindon , former Labour MP and chairman of the Campaign for an Independent Britain , leading Eurorealist Steven Woolfe General Counsel at a leading City hedge fund , and a vocal campaigner against EU financial services regulation Tom Hind chief economist at the
The right to a fair trial is now under threat from Brussels, thanks to the passage of yet another little-known act by the European Parliament, which has disturbingly far-reaching consequences for British sovereignty.Home News News Lord Pearson resigns as Party Leader News Lord Pearson resigns as Party Leader 17 08 2010 16:26 webmaster 259 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Although under his leadership the vote in the last General Election increased by 50 Lord Pearson feels that other interests in his life are demanding more . attention Leadership Resignation Statement by Lord Pearson of Rannoch I took over as leader of UKIP last year to see the party through the General Election , and said I would then consider my position . We increased our vote by 50 and have many exciting plans for the future . But I have learnt that I am not much good at party politics , which I do not enjoy . I am also 68, and need to give more time to my wider interests . These include the treatment of people with intellectualHome News News EU diplomat in Washington dismisses National representation News EU diplomat in Washington dismisses National representation 11 08 2010 15:53 webmaster 335 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Following the comments of the new EU Ambassador to Washington earlier today , William Dartmouth MEP UKIP's spokesman on International Trade pointed out , Cameron's trip to see Obama can now be seen to be a complete waste of time . quot The Portuguese diplomat João Vale de Almeida , who reports only to EU Presidents José Manuel Barroso and Herman van Rompuy and to EU foreign minister Cathy Ashton , told local press in Washington that he was now the man to call , echoing Henry Kissinger's famous question When I want to call Europe , who do I call In this area code , you call me , quot de Almeida