News features

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

In this edition :

WHO WILL LOSE THE LEAST?

Nick Assinder reports from Westminster on the up-coming

election prospects.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"To commemorate the appointment of Belgium's Haiku-writing Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, as President of the Council, we offer our own humble suggestions for Haiku poems about him.   Haiku, as you know, comprises three non-rhyming lines made up of five, seven and five syllables respectively.   Ours were composed by 'Cadmus', who, as experts of Greek mythology will recall, was the brother of Europa, sent to rescue her from abduction and rape at the hands of a god.   He failed."

Wednesday, December 9, 2009
At the opening of the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, the Chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP) Joseph Daul MEP, reaffirmed his group's objective: to limit the rise of the average annual global temperature to 2° above pre-industrial levels  - the so called 2°C Objective. The EPP also supports the establishment of binding targets for reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in industrialised countries - with similar commitments for emerging economies - by 30% compared to 1990 by the year 2020.

Environmental concerns pervade every area of political policy these days, and nowhere is this more true than in those areas of governance that are concerned with trans-national issues.
Friday, February 5, 2010

The announcement today that two British Members of Parliament, Elliot Morley and David Chaytor, have been charged with theft is sending shock waves through Brussels. The charges involve expenses claims made by the two. Other politicians are known to be under investigation, and more charges may follow.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Concerns about the dumbing down and politicisation of the media have begun to surface in the European Parliament.

The newly formed "media intergroup" met yesterday (Feb 2) to discuss, amongst other issues, the lack of independent reporting, and the closing down of many national and regional newspapers and journals.

MEPs and journalists vigorously debated the issues, in what promises to become one of the more controversial of the parliament's intergroups.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

One issue that never seems to go off the boil in the European Parliament is that of the labelling of food products. Today, the issue was debated in the EP's internal market committee, where MEPs chewed over the question of how much information should be put onto food packaging.

Sunday, January 24, 2010
In Moscow's strongest public statement yet on the issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that an agreement would be reached soon on a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty with the United States.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Speaking to journalists last week in Brussels, Edward McMillan-Scott pledged to "work alongside" the EPP group in the European parliament. He also reaffirmed his committment to human rights issues, highlighting his concerns about China in particular.

He left the conservative ECR group in protest at alleged far-right backgrounds of some of that group's members, and currently sits as a non-attached MEP, having lost the Tory whip.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The European Parliament Eurosceptic group, European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), have succeeded in receiving EU funding for a pan-European political party, but not all of their MEPs have endorsed this new development.
The ECR currently has 54 members, only 44 of which have pledged their credentials to the formation of the new European-wide party, the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists (AECR).
Friday, January 15, 2010
The only thing that can be said about Edward McMillan-Scott’s political suicide is that it came after his death, writes Chris White.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

This journal has been mildly critical of two of the smaller groups in the European Parliament, the European Conservatives & Reformists (ECR) and the Europe of Freedom & Democracy (EFD), mainly because they have effectively marginalised the two centre-right British delegations by placing them on the periphery of EU politics. There has also been some speculation concerning the far-right backgrounds of certain members of both groups.

Monday, January 11, 2010

December 2009 saw EU staff members striking in anticipation of a coming pay battle. The European Commission is seeking an inflation-busting rise for staff and commissioners alike of 3.7%. Member states would like to limit the rise to 1.8%, mindful as they are of how such a rise would be perceived in countries suffering under the economic crisis.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The United States is absolutely right to reject Vladimir Putin's criticism of the proposed missile defence shield. Talk of "maintaining the balance" is misleading: Putin simply does not want his country to lose the one playable card it holds.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Many Londoners were initially sceptical about their city’s bid for the 2012 Olympics, with many wondering if their taxes might be better spent bringing peace to the battlefields of South London, renovating the decaying underground system, or possibly restoring the once-great NHS to something like the standards currently found in, for example, Somalia.

However, the city has warmed to the project, with the environmental bene

Sunday, December 13, 2009
Japanese delegates informed the chairman of a special working group at the ongoing U.N. climate change conference that it would not accept the draft political agreement formally presented by the chairman.

"This draft agreement cannot be called fair, as it lacks balance between developed and developing countries," Japanese representatives stated.

Monday, December 14, 2009
Opinions may be divided but there is a growing body of opinion both at home in the UK and in Brussels that British justice has been seriously damaged in its application by the conviction and jailing of former UKIP MEP Tom Wise.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Whilst the EU political elites struggle with the concept and processes of integration, at domestic level our communities are far from integrated. Politician and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell writes of a situation where political extremism not only creates tensions between communities, but also leads to domestic abuse within families. His words are shocking, but in the context of recently disturbing events in a number of EU states such as France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, they place the lofty aspirations of the EU into an altogether different context. The following article not only demonstrates the dangers that face a society that fails to grasp the importance of integration, but also highlights the absurdity of unchecked "political correctness".

Friday, December 11, 2009
Twenty years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, it is symbolic that Europe's Christian Democrat and Conservative leaders are choosing Bonn, the old Cold War capital of West Germany, as the venue for the 2009 EPP Statutory Congress - where the Europe-wide leadership of the EPP Party will be elected.  Over one thousand five hundred delegates from across the continent are gat
Monday, December 7, 2009

 

The sixth round of Russian-Italian interstate consultations was held last week under the chairmanship of President Medvedev, who was making his third trip to Italy this year, and Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi.

 

Friday, November 6, 2009
A spokesman for the Russian Prime Minister spoke to his Swedish counterpart Fredrik Reinfeldt by telephone, after “uncovering concerns” that Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko was blocking payments for Russian gas supplies.
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