Commission official to bridge 'supervision gap' of Swift agreement

Today @ 17:44 CET

Pressed by the coming into force of the "Swift agreement" on 1 August, the EU commission is about to appoint an interim "technician" to oversee the searches conducted by US authorities on European bank transactions as part of anti-terrorist investigations

Sarkozy targets Roma for explusion

Today @ 09:33 CET

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday announced his government is to order police to round up allegedly illegal migrants of Roma ethnicity for expulsion from French territory and destroy their encampments.

Italian gag law threatens bloggers with €25,000 fines for ‘incorrect' facts

Today @ 17:44 CET

Bloggers, podcasters and even anyone who posts updates on social networks such as Facebook all face being slapped with fines of up to €25,000 for publishing incorrect facts, if a bill that journalists' organisations are calling "authoritarian" currently before the Italian parliament is passed.

New EU police investigation co-operation alarms civil liberties watchdogs

28.07.2010 @ 17:35 CET

Long a refusenik in the realm of European co-operation on justice and home affairs, the UK has decided to opt in to a proposal that will simplify requests by police in other EU member states to investigate suspects in criminal cases.

EU denounces Japanese executions

Today @ 09:28 CET

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has expressed "deep regret" after two men were hanged for murder in Japan on Wednesday and repeated a call for a moratorium on using the death penalty.

Norway tops up funding scheme for south-eastern EU states

Today @ 09:27 CET

Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein on Wednesday agreed to donate €1.79 billion to EU's poorer southern and eastern members in the coming five years for green projects, labour rights, research and human resources, a top-up by 22 percent compared to the previous period.

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	The fifth womanBy Stephen Gardner		Status QuackBy Maryna Rakhlei		How safe is our food?By Nick Jacobs
	No politicians, pleaseBy Ole Ryborg		Things money can't buyBy Gemma Galdon Clavell		The Eurozone and the USABy George Irvin

Brussels worried about falling support for EU in Iceland

28.07.2010 @ 09:27 CET

The European Union formally launched negotiations with Iceland on Tuesday over the north Atlantic island's accession to the bloc even as negative opinion towards the EU mounts, a development that has not gone unnoticed in Brussels and other national capitals.

EU population over half-a-billion

28.07.2010 @ 10:07 CET

The European Union's population reached the half-a-billion mark at the beginning of 2010, with migration pushing it up more than natural increase, new figures from the EU's statistics agency Eurostat showed.

EU cautiously backs Ukraine's gas reform

28.07.2010 @ 09:27 CET

The EU commission has cautiously welcomed a new law on the Ukrainian gas sector as a "first step" in a series of reforms that could reduce the country's dependence on Russian gas imports and see more foreign investments flowing into the embattled economy.

Most Read Articles - This Month

Cameron 'angry' over opposition to Turkish EU membership

27.07.2010 @ 17:33 CET

On his first visit to Turkey since becoming British prime minister, David Cameron gave a compliment-laden speech to the EU hopeful, backing the country's desire to become a regional power and paying tribute to its relatively strong economy.

EU foreign ministers approve diplomatic service

27.07.2010 @ 09:20 CET

EU foreign ministers on Monday gave the nod to the overall structure of the Union's new diplomatic service paving the way for chief of diplomacy Catherine Ashton to begin making appointments to the 1000s-strong service.

Greece's locked up migrant children attempt suicide

27.07.2010 @ 15:37 CET

Greece is imprisoning unaccompanied migrant children in violation of EU laws and often in appalling conditions, human rights campaigners have revealed. The situation is so appalling, a report from Amnesty International says, that children resort to hunger strikes in protest at their imprisonment, and some even attempt suicide.

Push for Serbia EU accession speed-up in wake of Kosovo court ruling

26.07.2010 @ 20:39 CET

A number of EU states are in favour of speeding up Serbia's EU accession process in the wake of Belgrade's loss at the International Court of Justice over Kosovo's declaration of independence.

Iceland membership talks formally begin Tuesday

26.07.2010 @ 17:41 CET

At their last meeting before the summer break, EU foreign ministers on Monday gave the green light for the start of negotiations on Iceland's membership bid.

Greece back under EU-IMF microscope as Asian stocks rise

26.07.2010 @ 09:31 CET

Officials from the EU, IMF and European Central Bank arrive in Athens today to investigate the implementation of the governing centre-left Pasok's austerity measures before a second, €9 billion tranche of eurozone-IMF bail-out agreed in May can be disbursed.

SECTIONS

19:13 CET 29.07.2010

[Comment] EU starting to wake up to lacking defence rights

The European arrest warrant is still prone to gross errors and denial of basic rights, a situation the EU has only now s...
[Comment] Homophobia must be stamped out across Europe, east as well as west

On the occasion of Europride taking place in Warsaw, at a time when homophobia has drawn a 'Pink Curtain' across the EU ...
Online privacy labels to prevent shoppers 'selling their souls'

US and EU consumer protection bodies are pushing for a data privacy labelling system which would make it easier for onli...
This WEEK in the European Union

Brussels takes on a quieter feel next week (19-26 July) with parliament closed for the summer recess and a Belgian bank ...

BLOG POSTS

The fifth woman
By Stephen Gardner
Status Quack
By Maryna Rakhlei
How safe is our food?
By Nick Jacobs
No politicians, please
By Ole Ryborg
Convicted MEPs
By Stephen Gardner
Things money can't buy
By Gemma Galdon Clavell
The Eurozone and the USA
By George Irvin
The logic of Merkelomics
By George Irvin
Democratic Deficit or Surfeit?
By Roberto Foa
Mr Fuele's Best Kept Secret
By Maryna Rakhlei

EU police raid home of former Kosovo guerilla

Today @ 09:39 CET

EU police Wednesday raided the home of an ethnic Albanian former guerrilla commander in a village near Pristina, a statement by the rule of law mission EULEX said. The house reportedly belonged to former Kosovo Liberation Army chief commander Azem Syla.

Brussels approves six new GM maize varieties for import

Today @ 09:37 CET

The EU Commission Wednesday said six genetically modified corn varieties may now be imported into the EU. The unilateral decision was taken after member states failed to reach agreement among themselves. The approvals, valid for 10 years, cover imports for food and animal feed, not for cultivation.

Athens orders striking lorry drivers back to work

Today @ 09:34 CET

The Greek government has used an emergency order to force lorry drivers back to work after a three-day strike. The drivers, who oppose government plans to open the industry to more competition, could lose their licences or face arrest if they do not go back to work.

Frattini says Med Union should discuss BP Libya drilling

Today @ 09:34 CET

Italian FM Franco Frattini told his EU counterparts Monday that the Union of the Mediterranean should discuss any plans by BP to drill off the coast of Libya, the FT reports. “All of us are paying close attention to what BP is doing after the worrying example in the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.

Top firms lobby EU to harmonise rules on cloud computing service

Today @ 09:33 CET

Microsoft, Google and other US firms are pushing Brussels for a single set of rules on cloud computing and data-storage services, reports the Wall Stree Journal. The EU commission to produce a preliminary text in the autumn on 31 new pieces of legislation, some of which may touch on cloud computing.

Cameron in diplomatic spat with Israel over 'prison camp' comments

28.07.2010 @ 08:31 CET

UK PM Cameron has angered Israel with comments referring to Gaza as a "prison camp," reports the Guardian. “The people of Gaza are the prisoners of the terrorist organisation Hamas. The situation in Gaza is the direct result of Hamas’s rule and priorities," replied Israel's UK ambassador Ron Prosor.

French national to head EU intelligence centre

28.07.2010 @ 08:22 CET

French diplomat Patrice Bergamini is to head the EU's intelligence agency, known as the Joint Situation Centre, reports AFP. He will replace the UK's William Shapcott. SitCen, part of the new diplomatic service, is a centre for member states to exchange sensitive information.

French general to head Kosovo mission

28.07.2010 @ 08:22 CET

French general Xavier Bout de Marnhac is to head the EU's rule of law mission in Kosovo, EU foreign policy chief Cathy Ashton said in a statement Tuesday. De Marnhac will replace current EULEX chief Yves de Kermabon in October.

Poland to sign visa free agreement covering Kaliningrad

28.07.2010 @ 08:19 CET

Poland intends to sign a visa free border traffic agreement with Russia, embracing the Kaliningrad enclave, reports thenews.pl. Warsaw is keen to get the agreement in place, although it would breach EU rules on the size of territories the agreement can apply to. The EU rules are due to be changed.

EU-Georgia mission extended

28.07.2010 @ 08:17 CET

The EU mission in Georgia said Tuesday that its mandate to monitor the ceasefire that ended the 2008 Georgia-Russia war had been extended by a year to September 2011, reports AFP. The mission has 225 civilian observers patrolling along the borders of the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.