Barroso warns on EU political instability
José Manuel Barroso warns against complacency saying progress is being put in peril by leaders attempting to return to ‘business as usual’
Q&A: The Catalan Way explained
Why are Catalans taking part in a human chain this Wednesday? The Catalan newspaperAra has produced a series of questions and answers in English which should explain everything you want to know about why the human chain is taking place today.
What is the ‘Via Catalana’?
EU’s Barroso warns Europe not to derail fragile recovery
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on the EU to cement its fragile economic recovery
Norway’s poll winner faces uphill coalition struggle
Norway’s election winner Erna Solberg on Tuesday faced an uphill struggle to cobble together a workable alliance set to include the anti-immigration right
Kosovo-Macedonia ‘trade war’ becomes political
Skopje has introduced a tax on Kosovar citizens who want to cross the border in response to a previous import ban by Pristina’s authorities.
The row between Macedonia and Kosovo that started as a trade dispute is threatening to escalate into a full-blown political confrontation.
While each side blames the other, the people and the economy on both sides have started to feel the strain.
José Bové: US demanded encrypted calls during EU-US trade talks
EXCLUSIVE / José Bové, the famously outspoken French MEP and Farmers Union leader, has condemned US officials for a “lack of transparency” in demanding secrecy in transatlantic trade talks with their EU counterparts.
Talking to EurActiv.fr, Bové expressed surprise that a second round of the negotiations would start in October, as the first round of talks only began earlier this summer.
#AskBarroso campaign hijacked by pressure groups
Pressure groups have “hijacked” a social media campaign by the cabinet of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso which asks citizens to address their questions to the hashtag #askbarroso ahead of his state of the union speech, EurActiv has learned.
Barroso will deliver the fourth state of the European Union address today (11 September) in the European Parliament in Strasbourg at 9:00 CET. The speech will be followed by a debate in plenary with the leaders of the political groups and other members of the European Parliament.
European elections 2014: Different this time?
After the financial and sovereign debt crisis, state bailouts and budget cuts, the May 2014 European elections are expected to take the pulse of public confidence towards the European Union. For the first time, voters will also indirectly choose the next president of the European Commission, giving citizens a fresh chance to shape the future of Europe.
What’s changing with the Lisbon Treaty?
The Treaty of Lisbon has strengthened the powers of the European Parliament, consolidating its role as co-legislator and giving it additional responsibility, which has been showcased in the past legislature in several policies – agriculture, energy security, international trade, health, and justice and home affairs.
EU institutions in legal spat over financial transaction tax
Lawyers for the European Commission and EU member states have become embroiled in a public disagreement over the legality of the financial transaction tax.
In a leaked legal opinion dated 6 September, the legal service of the EU Council, which represents the EU’s 28 member countries, made clear that it deemed the FTT incompatible with EU law and that it was likely to distort competition within the bloc.
Norway’s centre-right parties start talks
Tough discussions are expected over the shape of the new government as the Nordic country’s oil wealth shifts its political landscape
As EP Biofuel Vote Nears, Consider Again How the Issue Became Framed
The scheduled European Parliamentary vote Wednesday on biofuels boils down to a couple of main issues; there are others of course, but the two biggies are: to what extent to cap the use of first generation, food-based biofuels in Europe; and whether to legally require the EUR13 billion a year European biofuel industry to account for the potential indirect effects of producing biofuels (the so-called Indirect Land Use Change, or ILUC, issue).
Catalans Around the World Claim Independence from Spain
In the midst of the preparations for their next national day on September 11, 2013 Catalan communities all over the world have celebrated with human chains to claim independence from Spain.
Erkan's Field Diary 