‘Thank God it was Greenpeace and not Al-Qaeda!’
By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, December 14, 2009
Eleven Greenpeace activists managed to get through the safety cordon around the European Council building in Brussels, where a European summit was being held.
European Commission welcomes the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon
By: EBR | Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on December 1, 2009. The occasion was marked by a ceremony in the City of Lisbon organised jointly by the Portuguese Government, the Swedish Presidency and the European Commission.
European Parliament approves sweeping reforms on Europe’s telecoms markets
By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The European Parliament’s approval of the reform follows a political agreement reached between Parliament, Council and Commission negotiators. It paves the way for the entry into force of the EU telecoms reform.
Lisbon Treaty: more power for the European Parliament
By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Let’s be happy! The European Union has its own ‘President’, a Minister for Foreign Affairs with EU Embassies all over the world, a new Commission, a new Parliament, and …. a Constitution (although it’s not allowed to call it like that!) So what is the problem?
President Barroso unveils his new team
By: EBR | Friday, November 27, 2009
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, announced the portfolios responsibilities for the next Commission. The President has held detailed consultations with all the Commissioners-designate in order to assign the right jobs to the right people.
First EU President Herman van Rompuy
By: EBR | Friday, November 20, 2009
The EU's first permanent president, Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy, is a camera-shy man who has been catapulted from relative obscurity. His tasks include, among others, liaising with EU leaders and arranging the bloc's annual summits.
A Baroness for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
By: EBR | Thursday, November 19, 2009
Baroness Catherine Ashton has been appointed as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. She has been European Commissioner for Trade since October 2008.
Action for more women in the european “top jobs”
By: EBR | Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Rodi Kratsa demands more women at the leadership positions of the European Union, uniting her voice with the voice of her colleagues MEPs from all political groups of the European Parliament. At a press conference that took place today in Brussels, organized by the Greens/EFA Group.
Recruiting EU’s Top Jobs
By: EBR | Tuesday, November 17, 2009
EU leaders are set to convene on Thursday for an 'early' working dinner starting at 6pm Brussels time to reach a political consensus on the top three posts created by the Lisbon Treaty once it comes into force on 1 December.
Herman van Rompuy favourite for EU presidency?
By: EBR | Saturday, November 14, 2009
He is a devout Roman Catholic with his own Facebook page and a penchant for writing Japanese-style poems. But his best qualification for the post of EU president is that few have ever heard of him.
Choosing ‘Mr(s). Europe’
By: EBR | Thursday, November 12, 2009
The European Union's heads of state and government will name a president and foreign policy chief over dinner on 19 November, but diplomats say agreement on the appointments has still not been reached.
Decisive action on zombie banks from…the European Commission
By: EBR | Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Neelie Kroes has, according to one analyst in London, “cut through all the bullshit”. Europe’s competition commissioner has trod where national regulators dare not, by imposing harsh penalties on the banks that received the biggest bail-outs in Europe.
E-commerce doing well despite crisis but legal challenges ahead
By: EBR | Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A new OECD report finds that while the retail sector has been hit hard by the crisis, e-commerce has fared well and seen continuing growth in many countries. As consumers have become more cost-conscious, they are increasingly going online to compare products and save money.
Rent-seekers’ Nirvana
By: EBR | Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The practice of investment banking and derivatives trading should have radically changed after this economic crisis. But this does not seem to be the case. As Martin Hutchinson writes, Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs are taking advantage of this situation to make more money than ever.
Socialists emerge as frontrunners for EU foreign job
By: EBR | Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Romanian MEP Adrian Severin and former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema have emerged as frontrunners for the new EU foreign minister job to be created by the Lisbon Treaty, according to sources.
Twenty years after: end of Communism cheered but with reservations
By: EBR | Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, public opinion on both sides of the Iron Curtain generally look back approvingly at the collapse of communism. But the initial widespread enthusiasm about these changes has dimmed...
Europe leads the world on sustainability
By: EBR | Monday, November 9, 2009
Long-term economic, social and environmental indicators give a better picture of a country’s progress than do traditional methods, says Candice Stevens, the OECD’s Sustainable Development Advisor.
Foundations are a new power in Europe
By: EBR | Monday, November 9, 2009
There are over 60,000 foundations in Europe, although only a few are large and famous. What these foundations have in common is a willingness to take on projects to help build a better society that the official bureaucracies don't have an interest in or time for.
A fair deal for women
By: Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President of the EC in charge of Institutional Relations and Communication Strategy | Friday, September 11, 2009
Equality is enshrined as a principle at the heart of the European Union, yet only about one-third of Euro MPs are women. Gender discrimination remains widespread in Europe.
Jose Manuel Obama: Yes We Can
By: N. Peter Kramer | Friday, July 10, 2009
An ironical Daniel Cohn-Bendit, co-chairman of the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance in the EP, said: ‘I have the idea that I am looking at Jose Manuel Obama. The old Barroso is dead: Yes We Can!’.
By: N. Peter Kramer
