The eleven Romanian MEPs from the Socialist & Democrats group in the European Parliament issued a statement expressing "serious concern" about the draft report, which they claimed is of poor quality. "The publication of the report in its present form could create more problems that it can solve," the MEPs state. Since December 2008, Romania's PSD (Social Democrats) party have been part of a grand coalition with the EPP-affiliated PDL (Democratic Liberals), who are close to President Traian Basescu (EurActiv 15/12/09). "A situation could be reached whereby both the European Parliament and the Romanian government reject the report in its totality as undemocratic and counter-productive in the fight against corruption," the MEPs warned. The reports on the state of play in Bulgaria and Romania in the fields of the judicial reform and the fight against corruption under the so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) will be published on 22 July
The eleven Romanian MEPs from the Socialist & Democrats group in the European Parliament issued a statement expressing "serious concern" about the draft report, which they claimed is of poor quality.
"The publication of the report in its present form could create more problems that it can solve," the MEPs state.
Since December 2008, Romania's PSD (Social Democrats) party have been part of a grand coalition with the EPP-affiliated PDL (Democratic Liberals), who are close to President Traian Basescu (EurActiv 15/12/09).
"A situation could be reached whereby both the European Parliament and the Romanian government reject the report in its totality as undemocratic and counter-productive in the fight against corruption," the MEPs warned.
The reports on the state of play in Bulgaria and Romania in the fields of the judicial reform and the fight against corruption under the so-called Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM) will be published on 22 July
Daniel Cohn-Bendit "Mr Barroso was incapable of leading an independent Commission which held its own against the Council,.and that's the problem. You know, Europe is an institutional triangle: a Commission, a Council and a Parliament. If the President of the Commission is simply the Secretary General of the Council, meaning the governments, European democracy cannot work. And that's my biggest problem with Mr Barroso. Mr Barroso, when he needed to take a position... the Commission has the right to take initiatives without going to the Council for permission, the Council should respond to its initiatives, to launch a debate so that real European politics can emerge...and Mr Barroso did not do that." Kirsten Ripper "And who would be the best candidate?" Daniel Cohn-Bendit "There are lots, there are lots. There isn't just one best candidate. You could turn to the left. You could start with Mr Joscchka Fischer, or the Danish Social Democrat, Mr Rasmussen, or Mr Monti, Mr Verhofstadt. You also have Mrs Mary Robinson or Chris Patten. You have a choice of possibilities who would be very capable peronsalities to lead an independent Commission. I know there'll be a centre-right majority, but there'll also be a lack of personalities of the same stock as the heads of government." Kirsten Ripper "Your preference would be Joschka Fisher?" Daniel Cohn-Bendit "My preference, I think Mr Joschka Fisher would be a very good president of the Commission, but I know that he wouldn't have a majority, it's not that.... I mean, we're led to believe that there's only one man in Europe today capable of being the Commission President and that's Mr Barroso, and that's absurd."
Daniel Cohn-Bendit "Mr Barroso was incapable of leading an independent Commission which held its own against the Council,.and that's the problem. You know, Europe is an institutional triangle: a Commission, a Council and a Parliament. If the President of the Commission is simply the Secretary General of the Council, meaning the governments, European democracy cannot work. And that's my biggest problem with Mr Barroso. Mr Barroso, when he needed to take a position... the Commission has the right to take initiatives without going to the Council for permission, the Council should respond to its initiatives, to launch a debate so that real European politics can emerge...and Mr Barroso did not do that."
Kirsten Ripper "And who would be the best candidate?"
Daniel Cohn-Bendit "There are lots, there are lots. There isn't just one best candidate. You could turn to the left. You could start with Mr Joscchka Fischer, or the Danish Social Democrat, Mr Rasmussen, or Mr Monti, Mr Verhofstadt. You also have Mrs Mary Robinson or Chris Patten. You have a choice of possibilities who would be very capable peronsalities to lead an independent Commission. I know there'll be a centre-right majority, but there'll also be a lack of personalities of the same stock as the heads of government."
Kirsten Ripper "Your preference would be Joschka Fisher?"
Daniel Cohn-Bendit "My preference, I think Mr Joschka Fisher would be a very good president of the Commission, but I know that he wouldn't have a majority, it's not that.... I mean, we're led to believe that there's only one man in Europe today capable of being the Commission President and that's Mr Barroso, and that's absurd."
Renegade Tory kicked out of party and group as Michal Kaminski is elected leader of the ECR group. The UK Conservatives have lost the leadership of the new political group that they formed in the European Parliament, after a rebellion by one of their EU-friendly members. The 55-member anti-federalist European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group was formed by 26 MEPs of the UK Conservatives in June, with 15 MEPs from the Polish Justice and Law party, nine Czech Civic Democrats and another five MEPs from five other countries. But Edward McMillan-Scott, a UK Conservative MEP since 1984 and a vice-president of the Parliament since 2007, defied his party bosses and stood as an independent candidate for vice-president. As the ECR's candidate for a Parliament vice-presidency, Polish MEP Michal Kamin´ski of the Justice and Law Party had expected to get elected. When he lost out, the Polish members of the ECR sought revenge in the elections for the group leadership. Kamin´ski was elected group leader ahead of Timothy Kirkhope, leader of the UK Conservative delegation. McMillan-Scott was elected to a vice-presidency because German centre-right MEPs were trying to prevent German Liberal MEP Silvana Koch-Mehrin from being elected and wanted a 15th candidate to stand for the 14 posts of vice-president. Koch-Mehrin had annoyed them with what they saw as attempts during the European Parliament elections campaign to hide her poor attendance record. She also upset male MEPs with a magazine interview in which she claimed that prostitutes flocked to Strasbourg during plenary weeks because of the increased business opportunities.
The UK Conservatives have lost the leadership of the new political group that they formed in the European Parliament, after a rebellion by one of their EU-friendly members.
The 55-member anti-federalist European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group was formed by 26 MEPs of the UK Conservatives in June, with 15 MEPs from the Polish Justice and Law party, nine Czech Civic Democrats and another five MEPs from five other countries.
But Edward McMillan-Scott, a UK Conservative MEP since 1984 and a vice-president of the Parliament since 2007, defied his party bosses and stood as an independent candidate for vice-president.
As the ECR's candidate for a Parliament vice-presidency, Polish MEP Michal Kamin´ski of the Justice and Law Party had expected to get elected. When he lost out, the Polish members of the ECR sought revenge in the elections for the group leadership. Kamin´ski was elected group leader ahead of Timothy Kirkhope, leader of the UK Conservative delegation.
McMillan-Scott was elected to a vice-presidency because German centre-right MEPs were trying to prevent German Liberal MEP Silvana Koch-Mehrin from being elected and wanted a 15th candidate to stand for the 14 posts of vice-president.
Koch-Mehrin had annoyed them with what they saw as attempts during the European Parliament elections campaign to hide her poor attendance record.
She also upset male MEPs with a magazine interview in which she claimed that prostitutes flocked to Strasbourg during plenary weeks because of the increased business opportunities.
Telegraph - David Cameron's a clear winner (in the States)
At home, Cameron is frequently berated for putting style over substance. His critics, even those in his own party, complain that he's failed to make the kind of headway he should have done when the Labour Government is in such a sorry state. But across the pond, the Republicans don't see vacuity or inadequacy: they see a winner. Cameron may say he's not yet measuring the curtains at No 10, but the Republicans are doing it for him. They're convinced not only that his party is headed for a win, but also that they can learn from Cameron's Tory turnaround.
Yes, please learn. The next door to on your path to oblivion lies through Cameron keep to the Fen Causeway
European Union member states must draw up plans to endure a 60-day gas supply disruption in cold weather conditions, according to a directive proposed by the European Commission on Thursday to strengthen the bloc's energy security. The directive would also lower the threshold for the commission to declare an EU-wide gas emergency and give it greater authority to co-ordinate a response in such instances, including representing the bloc in dealings with outside countries. The directive was unveiled amid rising fears that another dispute between Russia and Ukraine over gas payments could boil over into a replay of the January crisis that left thousands across Europe without fuel in the height of winter. The EU relies on Russia for about a quarter of its gas supplies, some 80 per cent of which flow through Ukraine.
The directive would also lower the threshold for the commission to declare an EU-wide gas emergency and give it greater authority to co-ordinate a response in such instances, including representing the bloc in dealings with outside countries.
The directive was unveiled amid rising fears that another dispute between Russia and Ukraine over gas payments could boil over into a replay of the January crisis that left thousands across Europe without fuel in the height of winter.
The EU relies on Russia for about a quarter of its gas supplies, some 80 per cent of which flow through Ukraine.
A group of British schoolchildren and their teachers have been quarantined in China after four of the students were hospitalised with suspected swine flu, the Foreign Office said today.The group of 52, who were travelling as part of a wider group of 278, were confined to their hotel in Beijing as part of Chinese efforts to contain the spread of the virus. They are due to return home on 27 July.The move comes after another British student was quarantined in China for two days this week after screening on arrival showed him to have a temperature. No illness developed.China has reported 1,537 cases of swine flu, with no fatalities to date. Some of its measures have been criticised as excessive as Beijing tries to recover some credibility after its handling of the Sars outbreak in 2003.Italy's health ministry has advised it citizens to take "extra precautions" when travelling to the UK due to the sharp increase in swine flu cases in Britain.
A group of British schoolchildren and their teachers have been quarantined in China after four of the students were hospitalised with suspected swine flu, the Foreign Office said today.
The group of 52, who were travelling as part of a wider group of 278, were confined to their hotel in Beijing as part of Chinese efforts to contain the spread of the virus. They are due to return home on 27 July.
The move comes after another British student was quarantined in China for two days this week after screening on arrival showed him to have a temperature. No illness developed.
China has reported 1,537 cases of swine flu, with no fatalities to date. Some of its measures have been criticised as excessive as Beijing tries to recover some credibility after its handling of the Sars outbreak in 2003.
Italy's health ministry has advised it citizens to take "extra precautions" when travelling to the UK due to the sharp increase in swine flu cases in Britain.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for unity among squabbling conservatives in the lead-up to September's elections. Merkel is relying on Bavarian conservative Horst Seehofer to help put her back in office. With only a few short months to go before Germany's federal elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel is leaving no stone unturned as she strives to get her party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), returned to government. This time, she wants to rule without having to form a coalition with the left-wing Social Democrats. Current polls suggest that she will be able to achieve that goal. Yet to do so, the CDU and Christian Social Union (CSU) - the CDU's sister party in the southern state of Bavaria - would then form a coalition with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP). Yet relations between the conservative CDU and CSU, which form a single parliamentary bloc in Berlin, have been strained of late. The CSU has challenged Merkel's position on two major issues: the European Union's Lisbon Treaty and taxes.Merkel wants Germany to ratify the Lisbon Treaty before the election on September 27 but the CSU - traditionally more euro-skeptic than the CDU - wants German law to be changed first, which would likely delay ratification of the treaty until after the election. The CSU is also demanding a timetable for tax cuts.
With only a few short months to go before Germany's federal elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel is leaving no stone unturned as she strives to get her party, the Christian Democrats (CDU), returned to government. This time, she wants to rule without having to form a coalition with the left-wing Social Democrats.
Current polls suggest that she will be able to achieve that goal. Yet to do so, the CDU and Christian Social Union (CSU) - the CDU's sister party in the southern state of Bavaria - would then form a coalition with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).
Yet relations between the conservative CDU and CSU, which form a single parliamentary bloc in Berlin, have been strained of late. The CSU has challenged Merkel's position on two major issues: the European Union's Lisbon Treaty and taxes.
Merkel wants Germany to ratify the Lisbon Treaty before the election on September 27 but the CSU - traditionally more euro-skeptic than the CDU - wants German law to be changed first, which would likely delay ratification of the treaty until after the election. The CSU is also demanding a timetable for tax cuts.
The Liberal Democrats are within one percentage point of Labour in tomorrow's ComRes poll for The Independent on Sunday.
Is that a 50-seat plurality or a 50-seat majority? The peak-to-trough part of the business cycle is an outlier. Carnot would have died laughing.
As Bulgaria's new parliament convenes this week, Boiko Borissov - a flamboyant, populist wrestler-cum-politician with anti-Turkish, anti-Gypsy tendencies - is poised to become the next prime minister of south-east Europe's second-largest country. Coming just weeks after the European parliamentary elections, the Bulgarian national elections provided the first test of an incumbent central European government since the onset of the global recession. If Bulgaria's experiences are any indication, the combination of rising unemployment, falling social spending and scepticism over the government's ability to address the economic crisis may present a windfall to parties on the edges of the political mainstream.
Coming just weeks after the European parliamentary elections, the Bulgarian national elections provided the first test of an incumbent central European government since the onset of the global recession. If Bulgaria's experiences are any indication, the combination of rising unemployment, falling social spending and scepticism over the government's ability to address the economic crisis may present a windfall to parties on the edges of the political mainstream.
an interesting article even if the conclusion is laugh out loud stupid keep to the Fen Causeway
This week, the American premiere of the German film A Woman in Berlin brings new attention to an issue long considered a taboo in Germany: the mass rape of women by Soviet Red Army soldiers after the fall of Hitler's Third Reich <...> Dr. Phillip Kuwert, a senior physician at the University of Greifswald's department of psychotherapy and psychiatry, estimates that about 200,000 children were conceived by native German women raped by Russian soldiers. So far, Kuwert has interviewed 35 elderly German women who were raped in 1945. The study's main goal is not to offer the victims counseling but to document the long-term impact of rape trauma. Kuwert hopes to finally document these women's stories before all the victims die off. "They found it very touching, most of them, and important that they get a voice. Even a late voice is better than no voice," he says. Still, Kuwert chooses his words carefully. Germany has struggled with how to process the Nazis' genocide and terror. And until relatively recently, it was hard for researchers and scientists like Kuwert to look at non-Jewish Germans as victims. "Before the wartime mass rape in Germany, also the German troops committed a lot of rapes mainly in Eastern Europe. And, of course, there was also a lot of sexualized violence in the concentration camps. I find it very important to mention that, not to come into any kind of doubt that I'm not trying somehow to minimalize the suffering of the people under the German Nazi occupation," he says.
<...>
Dr. Phillip Kuwert, a senior physician at the University of Greifswald's department of psychotherapy and psychiatry, estimates that about 200,000 children were conceived by native German women raped by Russian soldiers.
So far, Kuwert has interviewed 35 elderly German women who were raped in 1945. The study's main goal is not to offer the victims counseling but to document the long-term impact of rape trauma. Kuwert hopes to finally document these women's stories before all the victims die off.
"They found it very touching, most of them, and important that they get a voice. Even a late voice is better than no voice," he says.
Still, Kuwert chooses his words carefully. Germany has struggled with how to process the Nazis' genocide and terror. And until relatively recently, it was hard for researchers and scientists like Kuwert to look at non-Jewish Germans as victims.
"Before the wartime mass rape in Germany, also the German troops committed a lot of rapes mainly in Eastern Europe. And, of course, there was also a lot of sexualized violence in the concentration camps. I find it very important to mention that, not to come into any kind of doubt that I'm not trying somehow to minimalize the suffering of the people under the German Nazi occupation," he says.
