NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Pro-EU coalition forms in Moldova LEIGH PHILLIPS Today 07:53 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Moldova's Democratic Party , kingmakers after the country's November general election , has announced it is to join with two centrist parties to support a pro-EU coalition and block the Communist Party from taking . power The new coalition , christened the Alliance for European Integration , brings together the Liberal Democrats of Prime Minister Vlad Filat and the Liberals , breaking the parliamentary deadlock resulting from the 28 November ballot , which had failed to produce a . majority Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat has assured himself a governing majority Photo : Wikipedia Print Comment article The oppositionNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS EU ratchets up sanctions on Ivory Coast LEIGH PHILLIPS 30.12.2010 08:34 CET European Union diplomats on Wednesday 29 December agreed that member states would only recognise representatives of the Ivory Coast appointed by the widely acknowledged winner of the country's recent elections , Alassane . Ouattara The move aims to ratchet up pressure on incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo to step . down Posters for incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo Photo : Public domain Print Comment article November presidential elections , already postponed since 2005, indicated a victory for Mr Ouattara of 54 percent of votes in a second round . However , the ruling social democratic Ivorian Popular Front of President Gbago contestedNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Central Bank ups bond purchasing over Christmas period LEIGH PHILLIPS 28.12.2010 07:57 CET The European Central Bank on Monday announced that its purchase of eurozone government bonds jumped to 1.121 billion over the past . week The increase , almost twice the previous week's purchase of 603 million in government bonds , comes despite the low level of trading over the Christmas period , as Frankfurt maintains its eurozone vigilance in Frankfurt even amid turkey dinners and . carols Despite light trading , the ECB is maintaining its bond purchasing vigilance Photo : EUobserver Print Comment article Total government debt purchases by the ECB amount to 73.5 billion since it began a buying programme in May when the
Yet another page of The Plan has found its way into the government’s programme. There will be a new right of popular initiative, whereby proposals receiving a certain number of signatures – probably 100,000 – will automatically be debated in Parliament and given government time.
The Guardian, in a predictably snotty and sneering tone, reports that [...]
The Fabian Society has commissioned a survey of British attitudes to the EU. On his blog, the amiable Sunder Katwala summarises the findings as follows: “The British public are sceptical of the EU as an idea, yet rather in favour of having more of it in practice”.
What? According to the survey, 45 per cent of [...]
It’s not just Britain. Half of Europe has been paralysed by the continuing effects of global warming. Belgian drivers have been advised to stay at home, Germany’s roads are void and inert, Charles de Gaulle airport is barely functioning, the Netherlands is frozen solid.
Me? I’ve just been building a snowman in the garden with the [...]
The BBC has replied to my complaint about David Baddiel’s claim that the Freedom Association was a “slightly posher version of the BNP“. Top marks for a swift response, I suppose, if for little else. Here is the email in full:
Dear Mr Hannan,
Thank you for contacting us regarding remarks made by David Baddiel about Norris [...]
Home News News Cameron's alleged success on EU budget negotiations News Cameron's alleged success on EU budget negotiations 23 12 2010 15:35 webmaster 77 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds By Marta Andreasen MEP The negotiation of the EU's 2011 Budget really started back in April this year when the European Commission presented its first draft . However until the last quarter of the year the debates in the European Parliament were held mostly within the Budget Committee of which I am a member . nbsp At that point the Council and Parliament became more engaged in debating each other and the matter attracted public attention . After a negotiation that lasted longer than expected both institutions agreed to increase the budget 2.9 with respect to that of year 2010, removing Parliament s initialNEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Comment Human rights have to be central focus of EEAS LAIMA ANDRIKIENE 23.12.2010 15:31 CET EUOBSERVER COMMENT This year's Annual Report of the European Parliament EP on Human Rights in the world and European Union's policy on the matter in 2009 was unique in many . ways One of the novelties has been the emphasis that was placed on internet censorship and how it affects the right to freedom of opinion and expression around the world . Human rights protester being dragged off by police in Russia a familiar scene Photo : Antonio Grossi Print Comment article Members of the European Parliament MEPs condemned the cases of harassment , persecution and even detention and imprisonment of people using the internet ,NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS Croatia moves closer to concluding EU accession talks AUGUSTIN PALOKAJ 23.12.2010 10:05 CET EU's Jose Manuel Barroso may soon invite Croatian PM Jadranka Kosor to join the bloc Photo : ec.europa.eu Print Comment article Croatia has closed three more chapters of its accession talks , moving it even closer to becoming a member of the European Union . See more at WAZ.Euobserver.com 17:08 CET 31.12.2010 NEWS IN BRIEF FEATURED LATEST BLOG POSTS Somalis release one German ship , capture another India complains to WTO over EU trade support for Pakistan Alberta to counter EU moves to restrict tar sands fuels EU satellites launched to deliver internet to rural , mountain-dwelling homes Comment Lukashenka must embrace
Dear friends, I would like to extend my warmest holiday greetings and best wishes to all of you! Thank you for your support and interesting discussions! 2010 really was an interesting year and the next one is just around the … Continue reading →, NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER HEADLINE NEWS The EU saved 140 million people last year , says aid commissioner VESSELIN ZHELEV 22.12.2010 08:48 CET EU aid and crisis response commissioner Kristalina Georgieva . Photo : ec.europa.org Print Comment article Despite the financial crisis most Europeans support humanitarian spending overseas , according to EU aid and crisis response commissioner Kristalina Georgieva . In an exclusive interview with WAZ.EUobserver she explains how the EU helped 140 million people survive natural disasters and conflicts in 2010. 17:08 CET 31.12.2010 NEWS IN BRIEF FEATURED LATEST BLOG POSTS Somalis release one German ship , capture another India complains to WTO over EU trade support for Pakistan Alberta to counter EU moves to, NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS WAZ EUOBSERVER INSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS The economy , stupid' to dominate Hungary's EU agenda Martynoi in Brussels on Monday . He has faced serious allegations about his Communist-era past Photo : consilium.europa.eu ANDREW RETTMAN 21.12.2010 15:30 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Budapest will in its time at the EU helm in 2011 seek to shepherd through EU financial governance laws , block off cash for eastern Europe in the post-2013 EU budget and earmark EU money for energy . inter-connectors Citing a campaign slogan by former US president Bill Clinton , Hungarian foreign minister Janos Martonyi told press in Brussels on Monday 20 December that Budapest aims to draw a line under the sovereign debt crisis when it takes over the rotating EUHome News News Bloom shares Commission's concerns over fingerprinting children in schools News Bloom shares Commission's concerns over fingerprinting children in schools 20 12 2010 13:59 webmaster 6 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds A call by the European Commission for the UK to justify fingerprinting of children in schools has been welcomed by UKP MEP Godfrey Bloom Fingerprinting has always been abhorrent for anyone outside the criminal class , never mind children . quot For the first time in six and a half years the European Commission has got something at least half right , quot said Mr . Bloom The Commission says it has significant concerns that the policy breaks European Union privacy . laws It has also raised concerns that parents are not allowed legal redress after a father was told heHome News News Agnew tells Commission some home truths about 2010 battery cage ban News Agnew tells Commission some home truths about 2010 battery cage ban 16 12 2010 15:46 webmaster 11 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO UKIP MEP Stuart Agnew Eastern Counties in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg today has been giving the European Commission some brutal home truths about its ban on battery cages for laying hens , which is due to come into force on 01.01.2012 but for which many member states will be patently unprepared . nbsp He accused the Commission of creating a huge crisis in the egg industry and demanded to know how 83 million per day surplus battery cage produced eggs and over 100 million hens could be removed and disposed of in 24 . hours Even if this could be done , Mr: Home News News Farage : Treaty change must go to referendums News Farage : Treaty change must go to referendums 15 12 2010 11:18 webmaster 47 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO The four German professors will win their case at the Karlsruhe-based Constitutional Court and prove that the EU bailouts were illegal under the treaties , UKIP leader Nigel Farage told Euro-Parliamentarians in Strasbourg , today . This will mean that there has to be a referendum in Ireland , and . David Cameron might even keep his promise and hold a referendum in the United Kingdom . And I'm sure as democrats you would all welcome a referendum on the EU in the United Kingdom , quot he . said This challenge comes as The Irish Times today reports that Ireland's Europe Minister Dick Roche is already signalling thatHome News News Docking my lunch-money will not stop me speaking out Bloom News Docking my lunch-money will not stop me speaking out Bloom 13 12 2010 19:29 webmaster 29 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Responding to notification of being fined by the President of the European Parliament seven days' worth of subsistence allowance for calling German socialist MEP an undemocratic fascist 24.11.2010 UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom said tonight in : Strasbourg You notice immediately that they do not mention the issue of German Socialist MEP Martin Schulz calling other MEPs . Nazis' In the EU it is clearly one rule for the goose , another for the gander' . The rule of law here is totally arbitrary and politically . biased I shall be appealing against this decision . immediately If they think docking myHome News News EU waste of money on new members a bad joke' News EU waste of money on new members a bad joke' 13 12 2010 14:03 webmaster 33 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds The waste of money spent on developing relationships with countries such as Turkey , Albania , Serbia and Bosnia to help them prepare to join the EU has been slammed by UKIP MEP William Dartmouth British families facing difficult financial times and possible job losses will be dismayed to discover that we are being forced to give money to countries like Albania and Serbia . It must seem like a bad joke with them as the butt , quot Lord Dartmouth told the Daily Express The EU is a corrupt organisation that has not had its accounts signed off for the past 16 years . So to see it hand over billions of euros to countries such asHome News News Stop Brussels bullying Canada on immigration News Stop Brussels bullying Canada on immigration 09 12 2010 13:08 webmaster 40 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds UKIP has come out in support of Commonwealth Canada , after the EU tried to bully it into changing its immigration policy to suit the EU . Canada placed visa requirements for certain Eastern European countries when they joined the EU , and the EU has begun a campaign to try and force Canada to change this and allow no-questions-asked immigration into Canada from Eastern Europe . It has suggested cancelling the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada if Canada does not obey the EU's demands . This is a bastardisation of trade policy for political ends . Trade policy should be confined to the mutualHome News News Smaller enterprises suffer most from over-regulation News Smaller enterprises suffer most from over-regulation 06 12 2010 19:28 webmaster 31 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds The European Commission today released further plans aimed at reducing red-tape , but with businesses spending 130 billion to comply with national and EU-wide regulations hopes are not set high Over the past decade , businesses are increasingly spending more time on paperwork , while smaller enterprises are having to face the same administrative burdens as large corporations , the Commission's own consultations find UKIP MEP Marta Andreasen a former Commission chief accountant said : This is an implicit admission of EU . over-regulation There are already national rules which businesses have to comply with .
A Winter Party was held by Cambridge City Conservative Association to kickstart the festive season with Robert as special guest. It was held in the riverside home of Donald and Sue Mackay in Chesterton, and Robert was introduced by their president, Baroness Perry of Southwark. Guests included Nick Hillman, who earlier this year contested the [...]
Robert was delighted to join in Christmas festivities organised by tbe Bar Hill branch of South Cambridgeshire Conservatives, by kind invitation of Coun and Mrs John Reynolds. He talked about his work as Vice-Chair of the International Trade Committee and the Conservative’s position in the European Parliament. Robert said: “I was given a very warm [...]