Brussels keen to redirect €82bn for jobs and growth

27.01.12 @ 17:37

The EU commission wants to redirect €82bn worth of structural funds to boost employment and growth, but experts say the measures are too vague and too small to make a difference.

Highlights

EU points to oil reserves after Iran threat

27.01.12 @ 18:50

The European Commission has noted that "there is a lot of oil around" inside reserves in EU countries even if Iran makes good on threats to stop shipments next week.

EU leaders trying to shift focus from deficits to jobs

27.01.12 @ 09:55

Besides a treaty on fiscal discipline, European leaders meeting in Brussels on Monday will also seek to adopt non-binding measures on employment. Their summit will come in the midst of a general strike expected to paralyse the EU capital.

EU countries sign unpopular anti-counterfeit treaty

27.01.12 @ 10:06

The European Commission and 22 EU member states have signed up to a controversial trade agreement in a move marked by cyber attacks and street protests.

Danes seek clarity on future EU budget

27.01.12 @ 18:02

The EU's famed diversity was on show on Friday during first concrete discussions on the European Union's next longterm budget, a debate that threw up as many points of view as there are member states.

Online petitions to put EU under public scrutiny

27.01.12 @ 08:44

With just weeks until to go until the EU dips its toe into the unpredictable world of participatory democracy, internet giants are warning the European Commission it had better be prepared for scrutiny by a critical and highly-wired public.

US envoy talks down fears on internet snooping

26.01.12 @ 19:28

A senior US official has tried to dispel the notion that post-9/11 America abuses internet privacy, as EU law-makers and civil liberties activists look to the future of web policing.

Merkel: Transfer more powers to EU, not more money to bail-out fund

26.01.12 @ 09:04

Germany's Merkel has rejected calls for an increase in the size of the eurozone's bail-out fund and called for more powers to be transferred to EU institutions as a way of overcoming the crisis.

EU and Arab countries put forward new UN resolution on Syria

26.01.12 @ 09:17

EU countries on the UN Security Council and a handful of Arab states have put forward a new resolution on Syria. But Russia is unlikely to let it fly.

Hungary risks losing EU funds, ministers say

24.01.12 @ 19:34

EU finance ministers have warned Hungary it may lose EU funds if it fails to fix its excessive deficit. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Viktor Orban met EU officials in Brussels to discuss the ongoing row over changes to Hungary's domestic laws.

Focus

New cloud strategy to reform EU online market

25.01.12 @ 09:25

Digital agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes has promised to present a European cloud strategy this summer, as part of a plan to reform the online market in the EU.

EU bill gives web users 'right to be forgotten'

25.01.12 @ 19:41

The EU commission has unveiled a single EU-wide law on internet privacy that could see overseas firms hit with multi-million-euro fines.

Organised crime problem dogs EU record on Kosovo

25.01.12 @ 09:08

Four years after EU police came to Kosovo it has not indicted any top suspects on organised crime, posing questions about its work and the integrity of Kosovo's leaders.

EU ministers agree new bail-out fund, criticise Greece

24.01.12 @ 10:22

EU finance ministers have overcome Finnish objections to a permanent bail-out fund for the eurozone, access to which will be made conditional on signing a new treaty on fiscal discipline.

Tainted official brought back to raise money for EU bail-outs

24.01.12 @ 13:00

Jacques Santer - a ghost from the most ignominious time in the European Commission's history - has been appointed to head up fund-raising for the EU's bail-out fund.