• EU online banking increasingly hit by cyber attacks

    Updated: 2012-05-31 16:58:43
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Cyber attacks against online banking in the EU is on the rise Photo : European Commission EU online banking increasingly hit by cyber attacks Today 17:58 Related Survey reveals most software pirates are young and male EU

  • [Focus] MEPs and China mark change in relationship

    Updated: 2012-05-31 16:50:50
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Innovation Belarus Creative Industries Regions Cities Education China-EU Relations Wind Energy Focus MEPs and China mark change in relationship Today 17:50 Related EU-China trade relations distorted , 039 MEPs say By Philip Ebels BRUSSELS With the aim of better understanding each other , members of the five big political groups in the

  • Italy chastises Germany for handling of euro crisis

    Updated: 2012-05-31 16:45:08
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Italy had strong words for the way Germany is handling the crisis Photo : Wayne Lam Ramius Italy chastises Germany for handling of euro crisis Today 17:45 Related Spanish and Italian borrowing costs soar Germany's free borrowing is

  • Hungarian minister says No to EU 'empire-building'

    Updated: 2012-05-31 16:38:38
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Budapest : the commission unblocked a big chunk of cohesion aid one day before the verbal attack Photo : Axel Buhrmann Hungarian minister says No to EU empire-building' Today 17:38 Related Handcuffs and leashes await asylum seekers

  • [Ticker] Early turnout low in Irish referendum

    Updated: 2012-05-31 16:30:08
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Early turnout low in Irish referendum Today 17:30 By EUOBSERVER Turnout in the Irish fiscal treaty referendum is low , between 15-20 percent in many constituencies on Thursday afternoon . In Dublin West 17.5

  • [Ticker] Call for voting age to be lowered to 16 years

    Updated: 2012-05-31 14:25:35
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Call for voting age to be lowered to 16 years Today 15:25 By EUOBSERVER The federalist European Movement International EMI wants EU member states to lower the voting age of citizens to 16 years for the next

  • [Ticker] EU parliament committees vote down Acta

    Updated: 2012-05-31 12:01:56
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker EU parliament committees vote down Acta Today 13:01 By EUOBSERVER Three European Parliament committees civil liberties , legal and industry on Thursday voted against the international anti-piracy treaty Acta .

  • [Ticker] Europeans should be 'ants' not 'grasshoppers'

    Updated: 2012-05-31 11:47:34
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Europeans should be ants' not grasshoppers' Today 12:47 By EUOBSERVER German finance ministry official Thomas Steffen compared the current euro crisis with the La Fontaine fable about the frivolous grasshopper

  • [Ticker] France ignores EU warning on lower pension age

    Updated: 2012-05-31 11:27:37
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker France ignores EU warning on lower pension age Today 12:27 By EUOBSERVER French finance minister Pierre Moscovici has told the Inter radio station that election promises to lower the retirement age to 60 will

  • [Ticker] Monti against Hollande's calls for extending ECB role

    Updated: 2012-05-31 11:24:25
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Monti against Hollande's calls for extending ECB role Today 12:24 By EUOBSERVER What I'd prefer not to see introduced in the EU landscape is expanding the ECB mandate to include a reference to growth , Italian

  • [Ticker] Banking union needs central supervision, Draghi says

    Updated: 2012-05-31 09:47:24
    , Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Banking union needs central supervision , Draghi says Today 10:47 By EUOBSERVER Any banking union would need to be supervised centrally and require the introduction of a European deposit scheme and a

  • [Focus] Brussles to tackle online blocking and throttling

    Updated: 2012-05-31 08:25:45
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Innovation Belarus Creative Industries Regions Cities Education China-EU Relations Wind Energy Focus Brussles to tackle online blocking and throttling Today 09:25 Related Demand for web neutrality law following IP blocking tactics Battle lines drawn up in EU row on Acta National parliaments show yellow card' to EU law on strikes By

  • Europeans cannot shake suicidal habit

    Updated: 2012-05-31 08:16:59
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Table at Greek cafe : Greeks smoke the most in the EU Photo : Kino Praxis Europeans cannot shake suicidal habit Today 09:16 Related Van Rompuy asks smoking EU leaders to leave the room Commission preparing pan-European smoking ban

  • [Ticker] Non-euro zone countries not ready for single currency

    Updated: 2012-05-31 08:00:57
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Non-euro zone countries not ready for single currency Today 09:00 By EUOBSERVER The European Central Bank said on Wednesday that the eight member states supposed to join the euro are not ready . Bulgaria , the

  • [Ticker] EU to probe actions against Chinese companies

    Updated: 2012-05-31 08:00:05
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker EU to probe actions against Chinese companies Today 09:00 By EUOBSERVER EU trade ministers will discuss possible actions against Chinese companies accused of unfair trading practices on Thursday , reports

  • [Ticker] Ratings on nine Danish bank downgraded

    Updated: 2012-05-31 07:59:32
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Ratings on nine Danish bank downgraded Today 08:59 By EUOBSERVER Credit rating agency Moody's downgraded the credit ratings of nine Danish financial institutions on Wednesday , reports Reuters . The agency said

  • [Ticker] EU commission calls for 'banking union'

    Updated: 2012-05-31 07:58:37
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker EU commission calls for banking union' Today 08:58 By EUOBSERVER Eurozone countries should set up a banking union , said the European Commission on Wednesday . The Commission said the bank union would allow the

  • [Ticker] Greek political parties tie in poll

    Updated: 2012-05-31 07:57:09
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Greek political parties tie in poll Today 08:57 By EUOBSERVER Greece's anti-bail-out left-wing Syriza party and the centre-right New Democracy ND tied in a poll on Wednesday . Both parties received 24.5

  • [Ticker] Germany needs 4,000km of new transmission lines

    Updated: 2012-05-31 07:56:18
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Germany needs 4,000km of new transmission lines Today 08:56 By EUOBSERVER Germany's grid operators said on Wednesday that the country will need to invest in 4,000 km of new transmission lines and upgrade 4,400

  • Irish head to polls on fiscal treaty

    Updated: 2012-05-31 01:45:19
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Dublin shopping street : the result of the vote is due late on Friday Photo : William Murphy Irish head to polls on fiscal treaty Today 02:45 Related Fear and anger ahead of Ireland's fiscal treaty referendum Germany's free

  • A thoughtful Irish take on the EU Fiscal Treaty on referendum day

    Updated: 2012-05-31 01:42:03
    Conor Slowey is one of the most interesting EU bloggers out there, and I agree with his take on things more often than not. He’s also Irish, which means he’s had to form a solid yes/no take on the EU’s … Continue reading →

  • Euro-enthusiasts are blinded by their bigotry

    Updated: 2012-05-31 01:25:53
    Who are they, these 'frenzied Eurosceptics' who want a referendum? Well, depending on which opinion polls we believe, they represent anywhere between 72 per cent and 89 per cent of the British electorate. Among the 'few extreme nationalist politicians' whom Ken Clarke blames for the campaign are, one assumes, Peter Mandelson, John Cruddas and Keith Vaz. [...]

  • The Alantic calls for more euros

    Updated: 2012-05-30 19:27:25
    The Atlantic: Europe Is Literally Running Out of Money. (Depending on your definition of literally…) – Does the eurozone need quantitative easing?

  • EU justifies keeping Syrian ambassador in good books

    Updated: 2012-05-30 19:14:03
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence EU justifies keeping Syrian ambassador in good books 30.05.12 20:14 Related No change in EU policy after Syria massacre' Belgium urges EU-wide probe into activities of Syrian diplomats EU ambassadors' wives in YouTube diplomacy on

  • Police can probe asylum fingerprints, commission says

    Updated: 2012-05-30 17:00:03
    , Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Den Heijer : The proposal would effectively transform all asylum seekers whose data is stored into criminal suspects' Photo : EU's attempts Police can probe asylum fingerprints , commission says 30.05.12 18:00 Related EU data

  • [Ticker] Court backs Assange extradition to Sweden

    Updated: 2012-05-30 16:46:01
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence News In Brief Ticker Court backs Assange extradition to Sweden 30.05.12 17:46 By EUOBSERVER Britain's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a request from Sweden to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for questioning in a sexual

  • EU commission warns Poland is not crisis-proof

    Updated: 2012-05-30 16:45:23
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Warsaw skyline : Poland is by far the dominant economy in central and eastern Europe Photo : metaphox EU commission warns Poland is not crisis-proof 30.05.12 17:45 Related Poland to veto EU low carbon plan Poland fears German

  • Barroso sees political momentum for more integration

    Updated: 2012-05-30 16:44:06
    Subscribe to EUobserver's newsletter and receive a summary of our news directly in your . mailbox News delivered daily News delivered twice daily News delivered weekly Creative Industries Regions Cities China-EU Relations Books EUobserver Conferences Our newsletters are sent in standard text plain format , we protect your email address and you can easily unsubscribe from the newsletter at any . point News Opinion Focus Videos Agenda Blogs Books Support us Headline News Political Affairs Foreign Affairs Economic Affairs Social Affairs Justice Home Affairs Defence Alone the process of going toward further economic integration would reassure markets , says the commission Photo : consilium.europa.eu Barroso sees political momentum for more integration 30.05.12 17:44 Related Van Rompuy to draft

  • The euro-crash is coming. Will Ireland vote to be part of it?

    Updated: 2012-05-30 14:15:12
    It's hard to see what else the eurozone leaders have to do to encourage Ireland to vote 'No' to the FU Treaty. Christine Lagarde and José Manuel Barroso lecture people about austerity while paying almost no tax on their own salaries. Billions of euros are confiscated from ordinary taxpayers to rescue wealthy fools from their poor [...]

  • Free markets, the euro and currency competition

    Updated: 2012-05-30 12:17:29
    Following on from the last quick post on the near-inevitable failure of a post-euro Drachma, another interesting spot: Eurozone breakup and the doctrine of competing currencies. Also worth reading in full – not sure if I entirely agree, but any … Continue reading →

  • Is the Drachma doomed?

    Updated: 2012-05-30 11:27:33
    Interesting piece by an American investment and free trade advocate giving a handy bit of background to Greece’s money woes – just in case you weren’t pessimisitc enough already. Has some convincing, interesting points – worth reading in full: “Modern … Continue reading →

  • On Žižek, Eliot, and the need for an EU Reformation

    Updated: 2012-05-29 18:17:18
    Slavoj Žižek often seems to exist to be controversial, and I certainly don’t agree with many of the details of his latest piece for the London Review of Books on the Greece crisis (short version, as ever with old Slavoj: … Continue reading →

  • Germany’s economic ideology

    Updated: 2012-05-29 12:49:01
    Long, catchily-titled briefing paper from the European Council on Foreign Relations looks to be well worth a read in full as we start heading towards next year’s German federal elections amidst ever-increasing frustration with Merkel’s apparent lack of flexibility on … Continue reading →

  • What do UKIP MEPs do in Strasbourg and what does it all mean?

    Updated: 2012-05-29 11:09:44
    Home News News What do UKIP MEPs do in Strasbourg and what does it all mean News What do UKIP MEPs do in Strasbourg and what does it all mean 29 05 2012 11:01 webmaster 5 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds The report on a resource-efficient Europe' calls for total EU control of land , water , carbon footprint , material footprint , etc , in the interests of sustainable development' , much like the control the defunct Soviet politburo exercised over the defunct USSR . Not very promising territory for UKIP you might think . Godfrey Bloom MEP On Thursday 24 May in the parliament in Strasbourg , a city very beautiful to visit in the warm month of May , there was a minor vote on a minor non-legislative matter which UKIP won . That is to say , UKIP voted with the majority of the MEPs in the European

  • My new Anglosphere hero is New Zealand's John Key

    Updated: 2012-05-28 23:00:14
    Is it possible for a Right-wing government to freeze spending and cut the deficit while remaining popular? As they say in New Zealand, ‘yih’. I’ve remarked before that, while no country is physically further from Britain, none is temperamentally closer. Yet there is a difference when it comes to public expenditure. A slowing of the [...]

  • The Economist’s plan for fixing the EU

    Updated: 2012-05-27 12:45:42
    Much to agree with here – an important piece worth reading in full: “Is the euro really worth saving? Even the single currency’s diehard backers now acknowledge that it was put together badly and run worse.” But: “the people who … Continue reading →

  • A right-wing American history of the euro

    Updated: 2012-05-27 11:58:47
    A right-wing American take on the history of the EU and euro with which I don’t entirely agree. Except on this point – it’s mostly France’s fault, and mostly due to French national interest. (Which was why the Americans wanted … Continue reading →

  • Declan Ganley and the need for nuance

    Updated: 2012-05-27 10:55:48
    When Declan Ganley first started to appear on the scene with his Libertas party/pressure group a few years back – not to be confused with UKIP defector Robert Kilroy-Silk’s Veritas party – it was all too easy to dismiss it … Continue reading →

  • EU resists pressure on airline emission scheme

    Updated: 2012-05-27 01:08:20
    There is no doubt that European standards for commerce and industry have had a profound influence across the world. Europe’s standards have become global standards, if only because anyone wishing to sell their goods on European markets must respect them. Emission limits for motor vehicles, for instance, is one sector where EU legislation has had [...]

  • When archaeologists are looking for evidence of why Europe collapsed, they will stumble upon an EU tax demand

    Updated: 2012-05-25 23:12:05
    Is it possible for a Right-wing government to freeze spending and cut the deficit while remaining popular? As they say in New Zealand, ‘yih’. I’ve remarked before that, while no country is physically further from Britain, none is temperamentally closer. Yet there is a difference when it comes to public expenditure. A slowing of the [...]

  • Farage: We are on the edge of a total social breakdown

    Updated: 2012-05-25 17:22:50
    : Home News News Farage : We are on the edge of a total social breakdown News Farage : We are on the edge of a total social breakdown 25 05 2012 16:22 webmaster 174 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds KWN interviews Nigel Farage AUDIO On the heels of news out of Greece that a 60-year-old man and his 90-year-old mother leaped to their deaths because of financial despair , today King World News interviewed UKIP MEP Nigel Farage , to get his take on the ongoing tragedy and crisis in Europe . nbsp Farage told KWN that we are on the edge of total social breakdown and the banking system is now in the most perilous state we've seen in over 70 years . rdquo Here is what Farage had to say about the deteriorating situation : nbsp The situation in Greece just goes from bad to worse . nbsp We've now got a

  • To bond or not to bond?

    Updated: 2012-05-25 01:59:24
    France and Germany do Battle over Eurobonds EU leaders agree that Greece should remain in Eurozone – but stick to its bailout conditions. New French President François Hollande not shying away from doing battle with Chancellor Merkel over Eurobonds – battles ahead! Key decisions to come at June Summit on how to strengthen banks’ liquidity [...]

  • East of England MEP says EU must help bring Argentina back into line

    Updated: 2012-05-25 01:56:21
    Brussels, 25th May 2012 -Argentina is behaving like a rogue state and must be brought into line with the help of the EU, a leading MEP said today. The European Commission has become increasingly concerned with the policy trend of the Argentine government in relation to bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade reveals Conservative MEP for the East [...]

  • EU's Financial Transaction Tax not fit for purpose

    Updated: 2012-05-24 15:51:01
    Home News News EU's Financial Transaction Tax not fit for purpose News EU's Financial Transaction Tax not fit for purpose 24 05 2012 14:51 webmaster 30 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds John Bufton MEP What a difference a day . makes In the rapidly unfurling madness that has gripped the Eurozone , the summer may prove to be a cataclysmic season . Yesterday European finance ministers gathered to thrash out plans for growth and investment ahead of an EU summit at the end of June . It was an opportunity for the new French President to bring to the table the concept of Eurobonds a policy idea on the back of which he competently rode to election . victory Yet the concept of drawing up co-liability between Eurozone member states for debt , as such becoming eachothers' guarantors , has never sat easily

  • FTT: Another slap in the face for Cameron

    Updated: 2012-05-24 15:08:51
    : Home News News FTT : Another slap in the face for Cameron News FTT : Another slap in the face for Cameron 24 05 2012 14:08 webmaster 55 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds We cannot think that giving the EU tax raising powers without normal democratic scrutiny is acceptable . quot Marta Andreasen MEP Related VIDEO On Wednesday MEPs voted in favour the Financial Transaction Tax FTT Just to recap the FTT allows the EU to finance itself directly from the taxpayer's pockets . Needless to say I have been against this from the start and personally tabled a number of amendments against the tax that were unfortunately defeated despite receiving some support from the Tories and few other . independents Speaking of the Tories I was somewhat disappointed that one of their Members accused me of not caring

  • EU set to go it alone on financial transactions tax

    Updated: 2012-05-24 11:37:56
    This articles comes fromt he Grayling Brussels Espresso May 2012 edition. The Commission is proposing that Member States place a minimum tax of between one-tenth and one-hundredth of one percent on a range of financial trades. Although these proportions seem tiny, the sheer volume of trades that occur every day means that the Commission anticipates [...]

  • A deal with UKIP is preferable to one with the LibDems

    Updated: 2012-05-24 08:23:39
    Ask the typical Conservative activist whether, if there must be a coalition, she'd prefer one with the LibDems or with UKIP. Most Tories accept the mathematics of the 2010 general election result; but it hasn't changed their view of their coalition partners. They know the LibDems of old. They think of them as dirty campaigners [...]

  • President Klaus comes to Chicago

    Updated: 2012-05-23 19:17:51
    Home News News President Klaus comes to Chicago News President Klaus comes to Chicago 23 05 2012 18:17 webmaster 35 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Roger Helmer MEP Yesterday evening 21.05.2012 we were privileged to have Czech President Vaclav Klaus pictured as our keynote speaker at the Heartland Climate Conference at the Chicago Hilton . nbsp The man is a star . nbsp He is absolutely sound on my two main issues the EU , and Climate . Change I had hoped to ask him about energy in Central Europe Poland is very worried about the threat to its vital coal interests from Brussels regulation and about Germany , which has recently decided to shut down its base-load nuclear power industry , and to try to replace it with intermittent wind . power In the event my old friend Professor Fred Singer got in

  • European Parliament votes for EU Financial Transaction Tax

    Updated: 2012-05-23 15:23:02
    Home News News European Parliament votes for EU Financial Transaction Tax News European Parliament votes for EU Financial Transaction Tax 23 05 2012 14:23 webmaster 79 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Related VIDEO A proposal for the introduction of a Financial Transaction Tax by the EU , which would hammer the City of London and UK taxpayers , was passed overwhelmingly in the European Parliament . today The Podimata Report was passed by 487 votes in favour , 152 against , 46 abstentions . UKIP voted . against An amendment by the ECR group of which the Conservative Party MEPs are members had an amendment to shoot down the report strongly defeated 112 votes in favour , 557 votes against , 7 abstentions Speaking after the vote , UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom : said UKIP is completely against the

  • Even if Euro-judges were minimally competent, there would be no reason to accept their jurisdiction

    Updated: 2012-05-22 22:38:08
    John Bolton has little time for the euphemisms of modern diplomacy. Asked about the way in which sovereignty has passed from the United Kingdom to the European Court of Human Rights, he replied with characterstic plainness: Britain should renounce the jurisdiction of this court. It’s a question of what do British people want to do. [...]

  • Farage: Break up the euro and restore human dignity

    Updated: 2012-05-22 21:02:00
    : Home News News Farage : Break up the euro and restore human dignity News Farage : Break up the euro and restore human dignity 22 05 2012 20:02 webmaster 64 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds VIDEO Speaking in Strasbourg this afternoon , UKIP leader Nigel Farage told fellow parliamentarians that they had to be the ones to provide people with hope during this economic and increasingly humanitarian crisis Our leaders are too callous to listen and care . You can do something about this . You can rise up and say and I know in my conversations with you that many of you agree with me , that I'm right we've got to break up the euro , we've got to restore democracy , we've got to restore human dignity , we must ignore Messers Barroso and Van Rompuy , they have been proved to be wrong . We must provide

  • Strasbourg court overrules British Parliament

    Updated: 2012-05-22 20:55:33
    Home News News Strasbourg court overrules British Parliament News Strasbourg court overrules British Parliament 22 05 2012 19:55 webmaster 122 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds This court should have no right to interfere with the judgements of our courts and our Parliament . Mr Cameron and his Coalition government should recognise the deep anger and distaste throughout the country on this matter and remind the ECHR that as a sovereign nation we choose to ignore this and any other rulings that they might make in the future . quot William Dartmouth MEP Picture : UKIP MEPs Paul Nuttall , Gerard Batten , William Dartmouth and Derek Clark next to the Strasbourg court . Click to . enlarge Standing outside the ECHR court in Strasbourg today a group of UKIP MEPs and assistants held a protest as the

  • Better a chillaxed prime minister than a workaholic

    Updated: 2012-05-22 10:52:37
    My favourite Ronald Reagan aphorism, in a crowded field, is: ‘I never drink coffee at lunchtime; I find it keeps me awake in the afternoon’. The perfect put-down of hyperactive government by a president who lived up to his rhetoric. At some stage in the last 30 years, the idea got about that we ought [...]

  • Join us at the Personal Democracy Forum, 2012!

    Updated: 2012-05-22 01:01:27
    On Thursday, May 31 we’ll be in the European Parliament, taking part in a captivating brainstorm on how tech – and tech-savvy citizens – are transforming governance, politics and civil society. Why don’t you join us? Now in its ninth year in the United States and its third year in Europe, the Personal Democracy Forum [...]

  • Ireland decides

    Updated: 2012-05-21 18:38:07
    Home News News Ireland decides News Ireland decides 21 05 2012 17:38 webmaster 40 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Picture : May 16th , Shelbourne Hotel , Dublin . Dining at the very table on which the 1922 Irish Constitution was drafted Roger Helmer MEP I've just returned from a visit to Dublin with a delegation from the EFD Group , ahead of Ireland's May 31st referendum on Merkel's Fiscal Union FU . pact The group included two other UKIP MEPs Nigel Farage and Paul Nuttall but also the charismatic Danish MEP Morten Messerschmidt the very sound Finnish MEP Sampo Terho Irish Press Officer Hermann Kelly and my Italian staffer Francesca Salierno . nbsp With delegation members from five EU member-states , it was much more difficult for Dublin's pro-EU media to complain about English interference in

  • Voting patterns changing as UKIP is being proved right

    Updated: 2012-05-21 14:29:07
    Home News News Voting patterns changing as UKIP is being proved right News Voting patterns changing as UKIP is being proved right 21 05 2012 13:29 webmaster 60 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Nigel Farage MEP Western Morning News For years now , the counties of the South West have been politically distinct from the rest of the country . Historically , people in Devon and Cornwall particularly have voted Liberal Democrat in general elections , largely Conservative in local elections and more recently have been happy to vote for UKIP in European elections , returning two of the region's six . MEPs The recent council elections have shown some distinct change in these patterns . Where UKIP stood in the elections , we averaged 16 per cent more than double the Lib Dems result and more than half of

  • Conservatives! Let not your hearts be troubled!

    Updated: 2012-05-20 11:40:02
    All week, I’ve been casting grumpy glances at the sky. It’s late May, for Heaven’s sake; yet, for seven weeks, we’ve had rain almost every day. The European Parliament rose on Wednesday this week, and I’ve been doing constituency events around drizzly Hampshire ever since: Portsmouth, Southampton, Eastleigh (where I’m fervently hoping for a by-election), [...]

  • As their world crumbles, Eurocrats retreat into the familiar

    Updated: 2012-05-18 07:38:00
    Greeks are withdrawing 700 million euros a day from their banks. Sixteen Spanish banks have been downgraded by Moody's, raising the prospect of a bank run across the Mediterranean. Barack Obama has joined David Cameron in pleading with eurozone leaders to take action commensurate with the gravity of their predicament. How is the EU responding? [...]

  • In Kosovo, the EU has created an ideal version of itself: post-national and post-democratic

    Updated: 2012-05-17 10:34:54
    Greeks are withdrawing 700 million euros a day from their banks. Sixteen Spanish banks have been downgraded by Moody's, raising the prospect of a bank run across the Mediterranean. Barack Obama has joined David Cameron in pleading with eurozone leaders to take action commensurate with the gravity of their predicament. How is the EU responding? [...]

  • Why it`s wrong to go to the trenches to defend the €uro

    Updated: 2012-05-16 15:53:35
    Home News News Why it`s wrong to go to the trenches to defend the uro News Why it`s wrong to go to the trenches to defend the uro 16 05 2012 15:57 webmaster 22 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Roger Helmer MEP Dan Hannan just wrote an interesting piece with his predictions for the EU He believes that the Euro-Corporatists of the centre-right are realising that they can't make austerity stick in the face of popular unrest and the revolt at the ballot-box . nbsp So they will revert to type : more spending , more stimulus projects , more integration , common taxes and budgets and a common Finance . Minister He could be right . nbsp Never mind that excessive government spending got us into this mess . nbsp The Eurocrats will do the one thing they know how to do more of the same . nbsp And the effect

  • Political Climate Change

    Updated: 2012-05-16 15:53:35
    Home News News Political Climate Change News Political Climate Change 16 05 2012 15:30 webmaster 27 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds John Bufton MEP For more than four years now I have been writing articles on the problems in the Eurozone . It is becoming a rather wearisome subject , despite the twists and turns in the plot line . That's because we all know how the book . ends But what we don't know is what story follow up books will tell . For this first time European Central Bankers have explicitly discussed a Greek exit . Over the course of the last two years I have challenged the Commission President over the possibility of Greece being booted out of the single currency . He repeatedly denied that this was even a possibility . I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Minister for

  • East of England MEP welcomes news of EU action against Argentina

    Updated: 2012-05-16 09:32:50
    Brussels, 16th May 2012 – European Union sources have revealed that the EU is on the verge of announcing that it is to file a suit against Argentinain the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the coming days. If the EU wins, Argentina will face ‘very serious trade sanctions’. This news follows a nosedive in relations [...]

  • €uro fanatics play double or quits

    Updated: 2012-05-14 17:57:38
    Home News News uro fanatics play double or quits News uro fanatics play double or quits 14 05 2012 16:57 webmaster 12 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Roger Helmer MEP Guy Verhofstadt pictured is a former Prime Minister of Belgium , and now leader of the Liberals in the European parliament . nbsp He is also the most splendidly unreconstructed uro-zealot you could hope to . meet With the European House crashing about his ears , his cry in the plenary on Wednesday was More federalism More political integration uro-bonds Debt mutualisation More Europe And yet elsewhere in his speech he reminded us that we faced not a world crisis or a world recession , but a European crisis . nbsp He seemed oblivious to the obvious flaw in his . logic I wrote to him afterwards in the following : terms Dear Guy ,

  • Solving the crisis: What role for the EU?

    Updated: 2012-05-14 17:29:08
    : Home News News Solving the crisis : What role for the EU News Solving the crisis : What role for the EU 14 05 2012 16:29 webmaster 16 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds As it is now demonstrating , the Euro was a political , not an economic project conceived by politicians who beneath their grand vision saw greatly enhanced career prospects . Rolling back the mistake will also involve rolling back the growing political class which created it . It will be difficult , but it is necessary . quot Marta Andreasen MEP I spoke on Friday over in Copenhagen at a European Parliament organised conference called : Solving the current crisis : What role for the EU The title of the debate was almost oxymoronic as you can . see The debate saw me pit my wits against Scottish Socialist David Martin and Swedish

  • Open borders and free benefits

    Updated: 2012-05-14 16:46:46
    Home News News Open borders and free benefits News Open borders and free benefits 14 05 2012 15:46 webmaster 41 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Gerard Batten MEP Daily Express According to Martin Schulz , President of the European Parliament , the two great achievements of the European Union are the euro and freedom of movement Only a Europe fanatic could see these as achievements . The euro has helped bring Europe to the edge of an economic abyss and open borders mean we have not just had hard-working decent migrants but benefits claimants and criminals . too Nothing better illustrates how out of touch the European Union is than its planned European Year of Citizens in 2013. Its thrust is to enforce the idea of a European state by making all rights equally applicable . nbsp All barriers must

  • Whose language is it anyway?

    Updated: 2012-05-10 23:06:30
    Home News News Whose language is it anyway News Whose language is it anyway 10 05 2012 22:06 webmaster 21 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds There is a successful English wine company on Nigel Farage's South East patch , Chapel Down Winery at Tenterden , Kent . Of course they mostly use local grapes , but they entered into a deal to import some Malbec grapes from Argentina , to celebrate World Malbec Day and made a small batch of wine from these grapes . They called it An English Salute Then starts the problem . According to Commission rules , European wine must be made from European grapes , and if you use imported grapes , you may not sell it as wine . It's a fruit-derived alcoholic beverage from produce sourced outside the EU No , . honest Roger Helmer MEP Last Wednesday I attended a Non-Wine

  • Patently obvious

    Updated: 2012-05-10 22:55:58
    Home News News Patently obvious News Patently obvious 10 05 2012 21:55 webmaster 30 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds John Bufton MEP Related VIDEO New EU laws are looking to broaden the scope of patenting what are called essentially biological processes What is meant by this is selective breeding and crossing for example , to create new strains of plant or genetically selected . animals However the process used is rather more natural than simply a laboratory based exercise so how does one copyright it Currently multi-national companies are able to use patenting laws to monopolise new breeds , often for the purposes of agriculture . There have been some recent high profile cases concerning some of the biggest agricultural giants patenting breeds of tomato and broccoli , preventing competitors

  • Greece’s 2012 elections: what message to Europe?

    Updated: 2012-05-09 17:37:47
    Rarely do citizens vote not on the basis of right or left but right or wrong:  and Greeks consider the tough austerity measures plain wrong. At the ballot box, voters punished the two predominant parties for their role in the economic crisis and for imposing spending cut measures on the population already suffering from a [...]

  • Guess who’s coming to dinner!

    Updated: 2012-05-09 12:14:56
    European Council president Herman van Rompuy has arranged a summit dinner for EU leaders on May 23. For François Hollande the Brussels feast will be a first opportunity to brief all his colleagues on France’s new approach to the eurozone crisis and how he sees a return to growth in Europe. His message will be [...]

  • The thoughts of Chancellor Osborne

    Updated: 2012-05-08 17:25:36
    Home News News The thoughts of Chancellor Osborne News The thoughts of Chancellor Osborne 08 05 2012 16:25 webmaster 11 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Roger Helmer MEP George Osborne says that Coalition policies will now focus on delivering benefits to that clichéd constituency , hard-working families This is widely seen as shorthand for higher taxes on the rich Sorry we reduced the top income tax rate from 50 to 45 But it shouldn't be . nbsp The best thing that George can do for hard-working families is to prioritise growth , and that means making the UK a more attractive place to invest in . nbsp And in turn , that means deregulation , flexible labour markets , regulatory certainty , and lower personal and business taxes . nbsp Put simply , if you make conditions unattractive for

  • The unknown war Britain must win

    Updated: 2012-05-07 16:46:57
    Home News News The unknown war Britain must win News The unknown war Britain must win 07 05 2012 15:46 webmaster 48 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds William Dartmouth MEP Britain is now engaged in two wars , the War on Terror and the War on Crime . Opinion is divided as to whether we are winning these wars or . not But Britain is fighting another war and this is one we are . losing In this war we are failing in the fight against the wiping-out of hard won tradition and fair play established over centuries . This war is the War to protect our . Liberties Britain faces a twin attack on our Liberties , on the one hand via the European Court of Human Rights ECHR on the other from the European Arrest Warrant EAW Between the two , they are crushing the rights and liberties of British citizens and

  • Arctic Ice Cover: Cause for alarm? Or minor natural variation?

    Updated: 2012-05-04 17:11:55
    : Home News News Arctic Ice Cover : Cause for alarm Or minor natural variation News Arctic Ice Cover : Cause for alarm Or minor natural variation 04 05 2012 16:11 webmaster 22 Global Print PDF RSS Feeds Roger Helmer MEP The following alarmist paragraph seems typical of what we read today , The Arctic ocean is warming up , icebergs are growing scarcer and in some places the seals are finding the water too hot . Reports all point to a radical change in climate conditions and hitherto unheard-of temperatures in the Arctic zone . Expeditions report that scarcely any ice has been met with as far north as 81 degrees 29 minutes . Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones , while at many points well known glaciers have entirely disappeared . rdquo Yet it's a quote from

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