Wirtschaftsminister Brüderle lässt seine Prinzipien im Aktenordner hängen und verhält sich ruhig. In Brüssel kämpfen will er offenbar nicht. Das soll die Aufgabe der Kanzlerin bleiben. Sicherlich eine taktisch kluge Entscheidung des Liberalen… In aller Eile müssen Partner gefunden werden, die bereit sind, einer Verlängerung der Kommissionsvorschläge um weitere vier Jahre zuzustimmen. Das dürfte die [...]

Le week-end dernier, j’ai participé au Sommet de la Francophonie de Montreux, et écrit cet article général. J’ai aussi rencontré plusieurs personnes de Antilles et de Louisiane, assisté à une conférence sur Haïti, et interviewé la patrone de la chaîne TV5. D’habitude, je ne suis pas un ‘fan’ des cercles diplomatique et des grandes déclarations, [...]

Sir, Regarding ‘Parliament backs 20-week maternity leave‘: Europe’s leaders must use Thursday’s EU summit to fight against the introduction of new laws on maternity leave, voted on by MEPs last week, that will increase maternity leave from the current EU minimum of 14 weeks to 20 weeks, all of which will be on compulsory full [...]

This story about the possibility of changing EU treaties to create tougher rules for euro zone countries was published by EurActiv on 28th October 2010. European Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding is leading a growing chorus of opposition to plans for tougher euro zone rules, describing Franco-German plans to reopen the EU Treaties as “irresponsible” ahead [...]

Paul-Joël Derian, group vice-president for research and development at Rhodia, is now the Chairman of the largest network for sustainable chemistry in Europe: SusChem. Derian, who succeeds Royal Society of Chemistry’s Rodney Townsend, has been a member of the SusChem board for several years and co-chaired the platform’s Materials Work Group. His appointment clearly marks [...]

In yesterday’s post about the stability of the euro I didn’t mention anything said by Commissioner Rehn. For my money, lots of the proposals are too little too late and will have very little benefit in the coming economic climate. For example, the idea that automatic penalties may be applied to euro members that do [...]

In these days when the use of taxpayers’ money to bail out failing economies, and politicians are grappling with rising public debt, it is always timely to reflect on how the Commission spends our money. Without obvious evidence that it understands the notion of ‘belt-tightening’, meetings where the minutes are taken and the hours are [...]

This week the Prime Minister, David Cameron, announced plans to inject £60 million of Government funding into the upgrade of British ports. The aim is to harness Britain’s “immense” potential and establish the country as a world leader in the offshore wind industry.All “interested” ports will be supported by the Crown Estate and the Department [...]

In a surprising turn of events, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has this week launched his new “Look East” trade and foreign policy, during a week-long state visit to Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam. India’s main concern these days is that of increasing the country’s foreign trade volume at least to pre-crisis levels. In Japan, premier [...]

Néstor Kirchner ha fallecido a los 60 años víctima de un infarto en su casa patagona de Calafate. Este neocaudillo del peronismo, presidente de Argentina de 2003 a 2007, que preparó su salida de la Casa Rosada para que la ocupara su esposa, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner y para que nada cambiara, ha muerto en [...]

The European Parliament conducts its plenary Budget debate in public. It is obliged by Treaty articles, even if did not want to. Its Budget Committee is also open to the public. That is defined by the Rules of Procedure. There are many other meetings that Parliament holds, all usually in public. Parliaments feel that they [...]

Mit Hauruck-Diplomatie lässt sich in Europa nur wenig erreichen. Konsens statt Konfrontation lautet das Erfolgsrezept in dem auf dem Prinzip des Ausgleichs basierenden Club, der inzwischen 27 Mitglieder zählt. Doch das hat Angela Merkel im Streit um die Euro-Reform zuletzt nicht mehr beherzigt. Die einst für ihr Einfühlungsvermögen geschätzte EU-Mittlerin [...]

Selon un nouveau sondage Eurobaromètre , trois Européens sur quatre (73 %) veulent que des mesures soient prises pour les aider à résoudre leurs litiges et à faire valoir leurs droits dans d’autres États membres de l’Union. La publication du rapport Eurobaromètre coïncide avec la Journée européenne de la justice civile, qui a pour [...]

Benoît XVI a rappelé, mardi 26 octobre, à l’occasion de la 97e journée mondiale des migrants la pensée de l’Église catholique sur la question de l’immigration. Toute personne détient le «droit à immigrer» en vue «de meilleures conditions de vie», «les États ont le droit de réglementer les flux migratoires et de défendre leurs frontières [...]

New Vice President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Jacek Krawcyk, discusses the role of the EESC as an institution, the prospects for the budget and how he hopes that civil society can influence grass roots democracy beyond the borders of the EU.