• EU tiptoes toward trade pact with Japan

    Updated: 2011-05-30 08:24:17
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS EU tiptoes toward trade pact with Japan ANDREW WILLIS 30.05.2011 09:24 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Senior European and Japanese officials have indicated their support for a free trade agreement FTA although EU officials remain cautious over Japan's willingness to lift trade barriers . Meeting for a bilateral summit in a castle outside Brussels on Saturday 28 May the two sides agreed to launch a scoping exercise with immediate effect , in order to define the remit of eventual trade negotiations . Japan's economy was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami in March Photo : wikipedia Print Comment article Future trade talks must be substantial and meaningful and tackle all the real issues said European Commission President

  • 'The people have spoken – the bastards!'

    Updated: 2011-05-30 01:46:51
    Congratulations to Lawrence Gonzi, the prime minister of Malta. He campaigned strongly to keep the island’s ban on divorce. But, faced with a clear defeat in yesterday’s referendum, he conceded graciously: “Even though the result is not what I wished for, now it is our duty to see that the will of the majority is [...]

  • Castles made of sand melt into the sea – eventually

    Updated: 2011-05-28 11:28:58
    Congratulations to Lawrence Gonzi, the prime minister of Malta. He campaigned strongly to keep the island’s ban on divorce. But, faced with a clear defeat in yesterday’s referendum, he conceded graciously: “Even though the result is not what I wished for, now it is our duty to see that the will of the majority is [...]

  • North Africa revolutions spotlight EU policy further south

    Updated: 2011-05-28 07:32:23
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS North Africa revolutions spotlight EU policy further south ANDREW WILLIS 28.05.2011 08:32 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS The recent wave of pro-democracy revolutions in north Africa and the implications for EU relations with the wider continent are among the thorny topics set to dominate an EU-Africa meeting next week . Sub-Saharan Africa still counts a number of repressive leaders amongst its ranks , while discussions on conflict resolution in Libya could also prove divisive . The African Union favours a ceasefire in its member state , while European airplanes are among those actively bombing military targets near Tripoli and elsewhere in the country . EU Council head Van Rompuy r and African Union commission head Jean Ping

  • This WEEK in the European Union

    Updated: 2011-05-27 17:46:34
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS This WEEK in the European Union VALENTINA POP 27.05.2011 18:46 CET EUOBSERVER WEEKLY AGENDA 30 May-5 June EU-African relations and a meeting between EU top officials and religious leaders are the highlights of next week , shortened by Ascension , a two-day holiday starting . Thursday Some 20 leaders of the Christian , Jewish , Muslim religions as well as from the Buddhist communities in 13 EU countries and from Russia and Bosnia will meet with the heads of the European Commission , Council and Parliament on Monday 30 May in Brussels . Religious leaders are coming to Brussels on Monday Photo : flip.and.serena Print Comment article The talks aim to look at ways in which the religious community and the EU institutions

  • Ratko Mladić should stand trial in Bosnia, not The Hague

    Updated: 2011-05-27 12:16:20
    Serbia’s readiness to extradite Ratko Mladić to The Hague, we keep being told, is proof of that country’s democratic fitness, and will hasten its admission to the EU. As Nicolas Sarkozy puts it, “it is a step toward integration of Serbia into the European Union”. In fact, if you think about it, the opposite ought to [...]

  • Why Britain leaving the EU for the EEA or EFTA will not solve any of the anti-EU crowd’s complaints

    Updated: 2011-05-27 01:47:41
    “Let’s leave the EU and join the EEA or EFTA – Norway and Switzerland are doing fine without EU membership!” It’s a perennial argument of a surprisingly large number of anti-EU types, and I’ve been meaning to do a proper post on it for (literally) years. It is, needless to say, a nonsense argument based [...]

  • FIFA can hardly help being corrupt: it's an international bureaucracy

    Updated: 2011-05-26 19:22:41
    Here’s a cheerful and surprising fact. It turns out that FIFA is not, in fact, the supreme body of world football. That honour belongs to the International Football Association Board, which alone has the authority to alter the laws of the game. IFAB is made up of five sub-organizations: FIFA and the Football Associations of [...]

  • EU calls for worldwide nuclear 'stress tests'

    Updated: 2011-05-26 16:38:31
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS EU calls for worldwide nuclear stress tests' ANDREW WILLIS 26.05.2011 17:38 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Senior EU officials have called on world leaders to follow their example and implement a series of worldwide nuclear stress tests' . Speaking at the start of a G8 summit in Deauville , France , on Thursday 26 May European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the tests should form part of a global strengthening of nuclear safety standards . Both Barroso and Van Rompuy stressed EU leadership in the area of nuclear safety Photo : consilium.europa.eu Print Comment article The call comes a day after EU member states agreed on the criteria for European nuclear safety tests , the bloc's main response to the nuclear

  • MEPs vote for greener, leaner CAP

    Updated: 2011-05-26 16:21:02
    Brussels, 26th May 2011 — Robert Sturdy, MEP for the East of England and member of the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, welcomed a proposal for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. The proposal aims to strengthen market forces in the CAP, recognises the need for farmers in the EU to produce more [...]

  • Forty-eight MPs vote to stop the bailouts

    Updated: 2011-05-26 12:04:28
    Here, as promised, is the full list of the 30 Conservative, 15 Labour and 3 DUP Members of Parliament who supported Mark Reckless’s attempt to terminate Britain’s involvement in the eurozone bailouts (hat-tip, People’s Pledge). If you live in one of their constituencies, please remember on polling day that they at least tried to spare you [...]

  • MEPs' budgetary wishlist likely to irritate states

    Updated: 2011-05-26 08:28:31
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS MEPs' budgetary wishlist likely to irritate states ANDREW WILLIS 26.05.2011 09:28 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS MEPs have called for a five percent increase in the EU's next long-term budget post 2013 a system of own resources and the abolition of national rebates , setting the European Parliament on a collision course with a coalition of large member . states Members of the parliament's policy challenges committee agreed the provocative wish-list on Wednesday evening 25 May after a day of discussions , with cross-party support suggesting the full plenary of MEPs will also give their backing in two weeks time . Several European capitals have called for an EU budgetary freeze' Photo : Fotolia Print Comment article In doing

  • MEPs side with commission over limits to farm subsidies

    Updated: 2011-05-25 18:03:08
    NEWS OPINION BLOGS AGENDA CONFERENCES BOOKS VIDEOS TWITTER HEADLINE NEWS MEPs side with commission over limits to farm subsidies MEPs say they support a greening' of the CAP , provided it doesn't increase paperwork Photo : lant_70 ANDREW WILLIS 25.05.2011 19:03 CET EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS Members of the European Parliament's agriculture committee have thrown their support behind commission plans to limit farm payments under a reformed common agricultural policy CAP but warned against future increases in bureaucracy for farmers . The MEPs also signaled their support for a more environmentally-friendly CAP post 2013 and stressed the need for European food security , adopting a report by German centre-right MEP Albert Dess on Wednesday 25 May by a large majority . Print Comment article The full

  • UKIP says `No More Bailouts!`

    Updated: 2011-05-25 14:20:22
    Home News News UKIP says No More Bailouts News UKIP says No More Bailouts 25 05 2011 13:20 webmaster 70 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO UKIP Leader Nigel Farage today joined UKIP supporters in Westminster while MPs debated whether or not UK taxpayers' cash should be used in future bailouts of struggling Eurozone . economies Under the banner No More Bailouts' he announced UKIP's five point : plan Stop the Eurozone bailouts repeated transfusions won't resuscitate a . corpse Release Portugal , Ireland and Greece from the prison of the Euro , and Spain if they want . to Write off a lot of their debts so every nation's finances are sustainable . Re-establish their currencies at realistic values that enable them to . grow Save Europe's economy and get it growing again . And don't let them

  • The People’s Pledge campaign: More lies, irrelevancies and distortions from the British EU referendum campaign

    Updated: 2011-05-25 14:06:44
    Alerted by a rather simplistic, often factually inaccurate article over on Liberal Conspiracy, I’ve ended up checking out the new British campaign for a referendum on continued British membership of the EU, The People’s Pledge. More to the point, I’ve had a quick look at its five key arguments: The choice concerning our relationship with [...]

  • The International Monetary Fund should be more than an adjunct of the EU

    Updated: 2011-05-25 10:25:27
    Why should the International Monetary Fund be led by a European? There was an entente at the 1944-45 Bretton Woods conference that an American would run the World Bank and a European the IMF, but things have moved on rather a lot since the Second World War. The US share of world GDP has declined; [...]

  • Maybe I should take out a superinjunction covering the hikes in government spending

    Updated: 2011-05-24 19:07:04
    Britain borrowed more last month than in any other April on record: £10 billion. Taxes, too, are up: VAT, National Insurance, fuel duty and top rate income tax have all risen. Despite what you hear on the BBC, total net public sector spending is five per cent higher now than it was in Gordon Brown’s [...]

  • The debt crisis spreads to Spain and Italy: will MPs vote to continue Britain's liabilities?

    Updated: 2011-05-24 09:40:50
    The Government has responded to Mark Reckless’s anti-bailout motion with a wrecking amendment. Where his motion “requires” the government to halt the bailouts, theirs “urges”. The Whips’ motion also deletes the reference to the illegality of the bailouts – an illegality which no one in Europe seriously challenges. If the legislature can’t impose its will on [...]

  • On Empire Day, remember our greatest export: Westminster democracy

    Updated: 2011-05-24 07:54:20
    There’s a reason that Barbados isn’t Haiti; that Singapore isn’t Indonesia; that Hong Kong isn’t China; that Uganda isn’t the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I’m not sentimental about the British Empire: we’d have been better off running trading posts and informal protectorates than assuming responsibility for vast tracts of land. None the less, we can [...]

  • UKIP East of England MEP joins European Conservatives

    Updated: 2011-05-24 01:49:38
    Brussels, 24th May 2011 – David Campbell-Bannerman, UKIP MEP for the East of England, has announced that he is leaving UKIP and joining the Conservative Party. The departure of the former Chairman of UKIP means that 4 out of the East of England’s 7 MEPs are now Conservatives and it brings to total number of [...]

  • Hague reportedly 'at war' with EU foreign service

    Updated: 2011-05-24 01:00:00
    Latest Tweet Please wait while our tweets . load If you can't wait check out what we've been . twittering Share Home Site Map Bookmark Print this Page Send to a Friend About the Society Statement of Principles Signatories to the Statement of Principles International Patrons Who was Henry Jackson HJS Staff Join and Support the Society Membership Donations Contact Information Links Think-tanks Blogs Publications Policy Pamphlets Reports Strategic Briefings Backgrounders Letters Conversations Editorials Policy Research Areas Regions Britain Greater Europe Eurasia European Union European Neighbourhood Russia Eurasia The Americas North America Latin America Middle East Africa Middle East Africa Asia Pacific East Asia South Asia South East Asia Australia Themes Democracy Development Environment

  • Why we should welcome German patriotism

    Updated: 2011-05-23 18:02:54
    There’s a reason that Barbados isn’t Haiti; that Singapore isn’t Indonesia; that Hong Kong isn’t China; that Uganda isn’t the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I’m not sentimental about the British Empire: we’d have been better off running trading posts and informal protectorates than assuming responsibility for vast tracts of land. None the less, we can [...]

  • Robert Sturdy attends EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Budapest.

    Updated: 2011-05-23 09:34:13
    Brussels, 19th May 2011 – MEPs and their counterparts from Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific countries met in Budapest at the 21st ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA). Parliamentarians from all regions gather to discuss issues ranging from justice and reconciliation in the Côte d’Ivoire to the recent democratic awakenings in the North African states and [...]

  • Britain’s immigration policy must change - Gerard Batten

    Updated: 2011-05-19 10:56:35
    Home News News Britain’s immigration policy must change Gerard Batten News Britain’s immigration policy must change Gerard Batten 19 05 2011 09:56 webmaster 43 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds By Gerard Batten MEP Daily Express The British people have been remarkably tolerant of the dramatic changes brought about by mass immigration over the last 50 years or more . However , anyone who tries to question the wisdom of unrestrained mass immigration runs the risk of being accused of racism or xenophobia . quot When Labour took power in 1997 the UK had a population of about 58 million . After 14 years of mass , uncontrolled immigration it has risen to more than 61.8 . million Immigration adds over 200,000 new people to the population each year . That is a million every five years , equivalent to a

  • Agnew hammers EU for interfering in the design of mini-tractors

    Updated: 2011-05-16 16:08:53
    Home News News Agnew hammers EU for interfering in the design of mini-tractors News Agnew hammers EU for interfering in the design of mini-tractors 16 05 2011 15:08 webmaster 75 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds UKIP MEP Stuart Agnew Eastern Counties has strongly criticised the EU for a directive on the design of roll over safety features on mini-tractors which has been passed by the European Parliament this week in Strasbourg 11.05.2011 Mr Agnew , who is a Norfolk based farmer and UKIP's spokesman on Agriculture said : The 38 pages of closely typed instructions on the fitting of roll over safety features are insulting to the Japanese manufacturers who dominate this market and I am sure know far more about these matters than bureaucrats at the European . Commission It would also be interesting to

  • Strasbourg Commentary: Plenary Session May 9–12, 2011

    Updated: 2011-05-16 16:06:21
    : Home News News Strasbourg Commentary : Plenary Session May 9–12, 2011 News Strasbourg Commentary : Plenary Session May 9–12, 2011 16 05 2011 15:06 webmaster 92 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds By Derek Clark MEP Tuesday was dominated by the voting session , 39 votes on Discharges . That is , to approve these expenditures , totalling billions of Euros . Theoretically , that could also mean rejection , if the vote went that way , but none did . Surprised Well , we did get the ever present issue of a wrong call by the president on a show of hands . On the discharge of the general commission budget a show of hands was called as no Upon the many cries of check an electronic check was made , result , Approved 534, against 91. That was our fault , apparently , not raising our hands clearly . The

  • Parliament signals it supports for continued trade negotiations with India and Japan

    Updated: 2011-05-16 14:33:42
    Strasbourg, 11th May 2011 – MEPs in Strasbourg have voted on the current negotiations with India and Japan as they seek to conclude Free Trade Agreements with both nations. The proposals were generally supportive of the EU’s goals but some MEPs did express concerns with regards to the slow pace of progress.   Although the [...]

  • Podcast interview: Journalists & Digital #2

    Updated: 2011-05-13 14:19:14
    After such a positive response to our last podcast  we continue our series on how digital tools are shaping and influencing journalism. This week we are joined by Dave Keating from ENDS Europe, a leading environmental policy news source which covers European environmental climate and energy developments in detail. He chats to Anita about the [...]

  • Nigel Farage: So-called populists are actually democrats

    Updated: 2011-05-12 18:03:33
    : Home News News Nigel Farage : So-called populists are actually democrats News Nigel Farage : So-called populists are actually democrats 12 05 2011 17:03 webmaster 83 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO Related : Europe Day video You attack those who want to control their own border policies . You attack them today as xenophobes . You attack them as extremists . But worst of all , you attacked them three times for being populists , quot UKIP Leader Nigel Farage told Commission President Barroso , May 10th in the Strasbourg . Euro-Parliament Isn't that a dreadful thing he added . nbsp The power of the ballot box When people dare to vote No in referendums , they're populists . When they want to control their own borders , they are populists . I put it to you that populists are actually

  • Proposal for Reforming EU Trade Preferences

    Updated: 2011-05-11 10:10:56
    The Commission has put forward an important proposal for the reformation of the so-called Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) which grants specific tariff preferences to developing countries in the form of reduced or zero tariff rates or quotas. Key elements … Continue reading →

  • Brussels blogs green

    Updated: 2011-05-10 12:44:03
    Ronny Patz’s blog response to our podcast with the FT’s Stanley Pignal generated some on-line debate about why there aren’t many active bloggers on EU Affairs. Opinions on the scarcity are magnificently articulated here but I wonder if they are the same reasons that there are no blogs honing in on EU policies which have [...]

  • Election test for UK coalition hits Lib Dems

    Updated: 2011-05-10 01:33:13
    It’s almost exactly 12 months since Britain saw the formation of the first coalition government for 70 years, as David Cameron and Nick Clegg brought together the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats in a joint administration committed to tackling the massive economic crisis facing the country in the wake of the credit crisis. Coalition politics [...]

  • What Do We Really Want from the EU?

    Updated: 2011-05-09 01:51:38
    European citizens should think more about their demands when talking about the EU. Here’s why. These are not the best of times for the European Union. There’s a financial crisis; an immigration crisis; a crisis of trust, and who knows … Continue reading →

  • Europe Day apology and analysis

    Updated: 2011-05-08 11:52:50
    Forgive me, father, for I have sinned – it has been pretty much three months since my last post. This is the longest I’ve gone without updating this place since mid-2004. Why? Mostly the real world – I’ve just got back from a month shunting aroung the US (for work) and Japan (for pleasure), with [...]

  • South Korean Parliament ratifies EU FTA

    Updated: 2011-05-05 15:33:38
    Brussels, 5th May 2011 - After years of negotiations, the final steps for a European Union-South Korea Free Trade Agreement has been completed with the ratification of the agreement in the South Korean National Assembly. Even with strong objections from opposition lawmakers, a large number of which boycotted the vote, the agreement was passed with 163 votes [...]

  • Robert Sturdy welcomes EU-wide rail tickets plan

    Updated: 2011-05-05 15:27:32
    Brussels, 5th May 2011 — Proposals, put forward by the European Commission today, aimed at creating a unified system for booking rail tickets right across the EU, were received enthusiastically by Robert Sturdy, Conservative Member of the European Parliament for the East of England. The proposals would create a single Computerised Reservation System, similar to [...]

  • Podcast interview: Journalists & Digital #1

    Updated: 2011-05-05 15:09:38
    Today we launch a short series of podcasts “Journalists & Digital” in which we talk to EU affairs reporters about how they use digital tools in their daily work. Using blogs and Twitter (Foursquare is still for fun –  as you will hear) has been game changing for journalists. But while the reporters speaking in [...]

  • EU`s new UN status marks the end of British foreign policy

    Updated: 2011-05-05 11:17:06
    Home News News EU`s new UN status marks the end of British foreign policy News EU`s new UN status marks the end of British foreign policy 05 05 2011 10:17 webmaster 15 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds The EU's speaking rights at the UN is another step on the road to the UK's international irrelevance , writes UKIP Leader Nigel . Farage Britain , having stood alone together with our kith and kin in The Commonwealth against German domination of Europe and having expended a huge amount of blood and treasure in bringing about the defeat of Germany , was after WWII accorded a Permanent Seat on the Security Council of the UN , together with the right to veto UN Resolutions and . activities Such recognition was only just in view of what we had achieved and what we had expended . Yet exactly 66 years ,

  • New rules spell `benefits bonanza` for Eastern European migrants

    Updated: 2011-05-04 21:59:20
    Home News News New rules spell benefits bonanza` for Eastern European migrants News New rules spell benefits bonanza` for Eastern European migrants 04 05 2011 20:59 webmaster 58 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall has urged the Government to spell out how it intends to prevent hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans from travelling to the UK to draw state benefits , following a change in the law The working populations of Poland , Hungary , the Czech Republic , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Slovakia and Slovenia now have the right to draw benefits in the UK on the same basis as UK citizens . We are talking about a combined population of over 74 million people , rdquo said Mr Nuttall , UKIP Euro MP for the North . West Thanks to a European Union ruling and the impotence of

  • EU fund for sacked workers is being misused, says Andreasen

    Updated: 2011-05-04 21:11:35
    , Home News News EU fund for sacked workers is being misused , says Andreasen News EU fund for sacked workers is being misused , says Andreasen 04 05 2011 20:11 webmaster 58 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds A 500 million EU fund to help workers who have been laid off as companies move to cheaper markets is open to question and open to fraud according to UKIP MEP and EU Former Chief Accountant Marta Andreasen The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund EGAF which has already been earmarked to receive 500 Million Euro in the 2012 EU Budget , is designed to help retrain workers whose job losses are linked to changes in global trade patterns . However , there is the specific case of DELL Computers in Ireland and other examples in Spain where funds have been misused to the tune of 14.8 Million and 23

  • EU energy policy will cost taxpayers dearly

    Updated: 2011-05-04 18:32:19
    Home News News EU energy policy will cost taxpayers dearly News EU energy policy will cost taxpayers dearly 04 05 2011 17:32 webmaster 81 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom has hit out at the apparent fundamental misunderstandings at every level on European energy . policy The whole process has become politicised , common sense has been abandoned and the major sufferers in years to come will be ordinary working folk and . pensioners Let us just look at facts , a novel idea in the realm of energy policy . nbsp In the UK six large conventional power stations produce 20 of the nation's energy needs . In order to chase European CO 2 emission targets in 2013 a government tax of 600 million per year will trigger . nbsp Even with 3,000 wind turbines the inevitable 40 shortfall left

  • Commission’s Vision on EU Borders and Migration

    Updated: 2011-05-04 15:50:43
    By now you must have heard that the Mediterranean Member States are experiencing some serious difficulties in managing the wave of new migrants from North Africa. The governments of Italy and France have stepped in and suggested temporal reintroduction of … Continue reading →

  • Portugal braces itself for fiscal storm

    Updated: 2011-05-03 12:40:58
    Walking round Porto, Portugal’s second city, over a long weekend, one is struck by how little the country’s near bankrupt economy is affecting daily life on the street. Restaurants on the riverfront overflow with visitors from all four corners of Europe, two shiny new cable cars ply their way up the steep hills leading off [...]

Current Feed Items | Previous Months Items

Apr 2011 | Mar 2011 | Feb 2011 | Jan 2011 | Dec 2010 | Nov 2010