The 7th European Parliament elections are due to take place in June 2009. Some 400 million Europeans will be eligible to elect 736 MEPs for the only European institution where citizens have a direct vote.
Transport of people and goods are crucial for the European economy but the sector is in desperate need of a makeover to deal with its growth, its environmental impact and Europe's dependency on oil imports.
Europeans, experts and politicians agree that climate change is a fact and that human activity contributes to it. At the same time energy prices are rocketing and dependence on supplies from unstable parts of the world is growing.
With digital publishing fast-becoming a multibillion euro market in the EU, artists, consumers, publishers and computer companies have taken off the gloves in a fight on regulation.
As an official media partner of the The European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008', this special section of the EUobserver, produced in partnership with EuropocketTV, puts the spotlight on cultural issues.