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As a reminder: Prime-Minister Juncker was president of the Eurogroup till 2013 and co-architect of the rigid austerity policies that pressed European governments, struggling with low economic growth and high unemployment, to give priority to trim their budget instead of stimulating their economy.

LuxLeaks and EULEX: EU’s integrity is at stake!

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Two serious testcases for EU’s integrity and credibility

President Juncker is an aimable person, a very experienced European politician and … he is creative.

Jean-Claude Juncker and the seven vice-presidents (and a chef-de-cabinet!)

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, November 3, 2014

In the Berlaymont, the EU palace in Brussels where the European Commission sits, a change of guard has place. Controlfreak Barroso went out, bonvivant Juncker came in.

Interesting is how the softening of the Commission’s position will be received in Berlin.

Outgoing Commission relents on Italian and French budgets

By: EBR | Thursday, October 30, 2014

The outgoing (on November 1) Commission avoided a political collision with the French and Italian governments, indicating that it approves the countries’ 2015 budgets after last minutes adjustments.

The end of October, EU leaders will gather in Brussels for another summit. It seems that it is too early to expect solutions.

Is there a solution for EU’s problems?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Europe has already endured years of stagnation, high unemployment and a mounting public disillusionment that has fueled a political, often anti-European, backlash

The EU share of renewable energy consumption was 14,1 percent in 2012 but that average conceals big regional differences. Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic are below that average, with shares between 9.6 and 11.2 percent. Most of the six rely heavily on coal, which is one of the energy sources that emit the most carbon dioxide.

Do Eastern and Central European countries care about climate change?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Friday, October 3, 2014

In an effort to limit global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius the European Commission proposed in the beginning of this year several targets for 2030.

Emily O’Reilly: Even if I don’t have powers of a judge, I do have very strong investigatory powers

EU Ombudsman attacks institutions non-transparency

By: N. Peter Kramer | Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Conflicts of interest is a strategic area O’Reilly is pursuing, after having looked at a sample of 54 EU officials who left their job for work in the private sector. She said the inquiry found ‘major deficiencies’ in the way the Commission justifies permissions to leave to a private sector job

Now NATO military forces are inside Ukraine. And NATO memberstates, the US and some EU countries, are delivering weapons to Kiev. But didn’t EU leaders say recently that there is ‘no military solution’ to the conflict? And isn’t there a ceasefire agreed between Ukraine and Russia?

Do US and EU want war with Russia?

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, September 16, 2014

While the ceasefire in East-Ukraine works, indeed more or less, the answer of the US and the EU on it is: more sanctions on Russia. Some EU member states trying to halt it were overruled by the hawkish colleagues from the Baltic and Poland for instance.

A study commissioned by the European Commission has identified 30 electrical appliances that could be covered by the EU’s Ecodesign directive outlawing high-wattage devices. The nonsense of all this is quite clear: your hairdresser, for instance, can tell you that curbing the power of hair dryers would simply mean blow-drying will take longer and in turn ‘that could lead to repetitive strain injury’.

European Commissioner Oettinger and your hair dryer

By: N. Peter Kramer | Monday, September 8, 2014

Do you remember that ridiculous Commission proposal to ban open olive oil cans from restaurant tables? May be you also remember that the Commission let us abandon the old light bulbs and to replace these with a new kind that use less electricity?

The Polish Prime-Minister Donald Tusk, member of the EPP family, became Herman van Rompuy’s (EPP) successor as President of the European Council and Federica Mogherini, an Italian Socialist, was appointed the next EU foreign policy chief, taking over from Catherine Ashton (S&D).

The new EU leadership: liberals left in the cold. Christian Democrats and Socialists share the loot

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Poor Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the EU Liberals (ALDE). A few months ago he presented himself as the new President of the European Commission: ‘When this man speaks, Europe listens’ was the text in his commercial.

The New York based economist, Carl B. Weinberg is not optimistic: ‘As the recovery takes hold in the US, the Eurozone appears stuck in a never ending slump’. The bloc’s GDP remains more than 2 percent lower than its level in early 2008, before the global financial crisis, he said.

Welcome back from holiday!

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, August 19, 2014

2014 was forecasted to become the year the Eurozone’s economy would grow as much as 2 percent after a 0,4 decline last year.

A poll found out that only 8% of the European voters are able to identify him

Juncker for President? Who is Juncker?

By: EBR | Monday, June 16, 2014

German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn’t agree with the Spitzenkandidaten process from the start because she knew there would be no agreement in the European Council

Now the real question is, will the pro-European establishment of EPP, Socialists, Liberals and Greens care about this outcry of discontent and call for reform by a third of the voters? I am afraid they will not.

NO EUROPE or MORE EUROPE?

By: EBR | Wednesday, May 28, 2014

As feared by the Europhiles the big story of the EP elections was not who will be President of the Commission, as they campaigned for, but the rise of anti-mainstream European forces from both the right and the left.

A new report by think tank Open Europe concludes that, ‘instead of repeating the same mistake of addressing the EP’s failure to connect with voters by increasing its powers, boosting the role of national parliaments in EU decision making would return democratic accountability closer to voters’.

The farce called: European Democracy…

By: EBR | Monday, May 19, 2014

The expectations are clear: 60% of EU citizens will not use their right to vote in the upcoming elections for the European Parliament. But does this keep the EU machos awake at night? I don’t think so.

TI discovered that out of the 117.000 ‘restricted’ Council documents only 13.184 are listed in the public document register with no trace of the more than 100.00 others. The report includes a separate chapter about Olaf, the EU control institution. ‘The impression from outside is that Olaf is not as it should be independent from the Commission’, Carl Dolan director of TI said, ‘Olaf held several meetings with senior Commissioners to discuss ongoing cases, without any trace of those meetings in the records…’.

Anti-corruption group report about the dark rooms of the EU

By: EBR | Sunday, May 4, 2014

It is a shocking report that the anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) recently released, ahead of the EP elections of May 22-25.

Most significant of all Le Figaro called the ‘real drama’, the trend of continuing growth in sympathy among French voters for the far right FN. The campaign of its leader Marine Le Pen cuts ice. The weekly Nouvel Observateur found out in another poll that the far-right remains in the lead to win next month’ European elections in France.

A drama called Hollande and the advance of the far right

By: EBR | Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The French Sunday paper Journal du Dimanche recently published an opinion poll that shows a difference of 40% (!) between the popularity of French President Francois Hollande and his fresh Prime-Minister Manuel Valls.

The US shows an increasing willingness to accommodate Russia. A White House spokesperson said that Russia’s idea to create a federal structure in Ukraine is not out of question if Ukraine agrees: ‘the Ukrainian government needs to be at the table to discuss’.

Are EU and US showing willingness to accommodate Russia?

By: EBR | Wednesday, April 9, 2014

During the last EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Athens the EU began to assess whether it should take part of the blame for the crisis in Ukraine.

Look at the EPP, supported by ALDE, who tried recently to ‘kill’ the S&D candidate for the Commission Presidency and current President of the EP, Martin Schulz, by accusing him of “obstruction of the work of the budgetary control committee, trying to cover his tracks by misusing the parliament’s rules…”. It makes you think of a Shakespeare drama.

The hypocrite leaders of the European Parliament

By: EBR | Friday, April 4, 2014

The leaders of the 3 main political groups in the European Parliament (EPP, S&D, ALDE) made a commitment that the next elected President of the European Commission has to be the result of a transparent process, not the product of back-room deals.

Who believes that the suggestions for the EU-US summit agenda proposed by Amnesty International will be at the table? When will Obama finally meet his commitment to close Guantanamo detention centre, which still holds, after more than 12 years, 154 prisoners without any legal civil rights; when does the President end the use of the death penalty in his country (the US is in the top of the list of countries that impose the death penalty).

Obama in town, common European values off the table…

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 25, 2014

These days all EU political ‘dignitaries’ queue up to be in the picture with him (there is maybe one exception: the Danish prime minster, who has already a selfie with him).

David Cameron admits that his plan for ‘a new European Union’ is ‘ambitious’; ‘delivering it will take time and patience as well as strong relationships with our key allies and goodwill – not shouting from the sidelines’.

Cameron: "Status quo in Europe is not working"

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 18, 2014

British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote a serious and interesting article in The Telegraph about the future of the EU. He argues that the ‘status quo’ in Europe is not working and needs to change.

MEP’s accused the work done by the Troika didn’t take into account the social impact of the prescribed policy measures. Although it was clear that the Commission, when operating within the Troika framework, was putting in place a macro-economic adjustment programme designed and approved by the Eurogroup, the finance ministers of the 19 memberstates with the Euro as their currency.

EU: billions for Ukraine and no mercy for Greece

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A recent study from Oxford University has brought to light some of the very serious effects the Troika (including the European Commission and the European Central Bank) requirements have had on the Greek healthcare system.

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