Ad astra per aspera
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Reactions to the European Commission's communication on a new economic strategy for Europe have so far proved to be lukewarm, at best. While a list of targets advocating higher employment, greener growth and greater research spending have met with general approval, few feel confident they can actually be achieved by means of an EU plan.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Reactions to the European Commission's communication on a new economic strategy for Europe have so far proved to be lukewarm, at best.
While a list of targets advocating higher employment, greener growth and greater research spending have met with general approval, few feel confident they can actually be achieved by means of an EU plan.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Ombudsman is on Thursday (4 March) to censure the European Commission for refusing to release correspondence between itself and German car manufacturer Porsche. In an excoriating report to the European Parliament seen by EUobserver, the ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, accuses the EU executive of failing to co-operate with him in good faith and ultimately of undermining the rule of law.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Ombudsman is on Thursday (4 March) to censure the European Commission for refusing to release correspondence between itself and German car manufacturer Porsche.
In an excoriating report to the European Parliament seen by EUobserver, the ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, accuses the EU executive of failing to co-operate with him in good faith and ultimately of undermining the rule of law.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The UK and Sweden have said the EU should build bigger embassies in up-and-coming capitals such as New Delhi and warned EU institutions not to hog senior diplomatic posts. British foreign minister David Miliband and his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, in a joint letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday (3 March) urged the bloc to create "larger and more political" delegations in the capitals of India, Pakistan, China, Brasil and Indonesia.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The UK and Sweden have said the EU should build bigger embassies in up-and-coming capitals such as New Delhi and warned EU institutions not to hog senior diplomatic posts.
British foreign minister David Miliband and his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, in a joint letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Wednesday (3 March) urged the bloc to create "larger and more political" delegations in the capitals of India, Pakistan, China, Brasil and Indonesia.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Early results suggest the hard-right anti-immigration party of Geert Wilders looks set to emerge as the main winner in local elections held in the Netherlands on Wednesday (3 March), setting the stage for a national showdown in June. "We are going to conquer the entire country ... We are going to be the biggest party in the country," said the blond-haired Mr Wilders as the results came through.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Early results suggest the hard-right anti-immigration party of Geert Wilders looks set to emerge as the main winner in local elections held in the Netherlands on Wednesday (3 March), setting the stage for a national showdown in June.
"We are going to conquer the entire country ... We are going to be the biggest party in the country," said the blond-haired Mr Wilders as the results came through.
Dutch voters went to the polls Wednesday for local elections viewed as a test of political loyalties and far-right leanings 10 days after the collapse of the center-left national government. These would be "the most nationally-focused local elections ever," the leftist Volkskrant newspaper said as pollsters predicted a tough ride for the two biggest parties - the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Labor Party (PvdA).
Dutch voters went to the polls Wednesday for local elections viewed as a test of political loyalties and far-right leanings 10 days after the collapse of the center-left national government.
These would be "the most nationally-focused local elections ever," the leftist Volkskrant newspaper said as pollsters predicted a tough ride for the two biggest parties - the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Labor Party (PvdA).
EU foreign affairs supremo Catherine Ashton visited Haiti on Wednesday, almost one month after a devastating earthquake. "I came now because my job is to build for the long-term. And I'm sure that was the right thing to do," she told AFP after French criticism that she should have gone right away.
The Spanish EU presidency's envoy to the nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, on Wednesday said in a statement that the union is moving toward fresh sanctions on Iran: "Iran's apparent lack of interest in pursuing negotiations require a clear response, including through appropriate measures."
The arrests in Belgium come just a day after France announced that it would file terror charges against nine Kurds who it says were recruiting fighters for the PKK. The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, is considered by the European Union, United States and Turkey to be a terrorist organization. Over 300 police raided 25 sites all across Belgium, the German news agency dpa reported, citing Belgian news reports. Police also raided the offices in Denderleeuw of Roj TV, an international Kurdish broadcaster that backs the PKK.
The arrests in Belgium come just a day after France announced that it would file terror charges against nine Kurds who it says were recruiting fighters for the PKK. The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers' Party, is considered by the European Union, United States and Turkey to be a terrorist organization.
Over 300 police raided 25 sites all across Belgium, the German news agency dpa reported, citing Belgian news reports. Police also raided the offices in Denderleeuw of Roj TV, an international Kurdish broadcaster that backs the PKK.
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday began hearing a $98 billion (71.7 billion euros) claim against Russia by the executives of bankrupt oil company Yukos. The oil firm, once the largest in Russia, declared bankruptcy in 2006 after a multi-billion-dollar back-tax claim. Former executives say the company was broken up illegally by allies of then President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to consolidate his authority over Russia's influential tycoons.
The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday began hearing a $98 billion (71.7 billion euros) claim against Russia by the executives of bankrupt oil company Yukos.
The oil firm, once the largest in Russia, declared bankruptcy in 2006 after a multi-billion-dollar back-tax claim. Former executives say the company was broken up illegally by allies of then President Vladimir Putin in an attempt to consolidate his authority over Russia's influential tycoons.
A German court has sentenced four self-confessed Islamic militants to up to 12 years in jail for a failed plot to attack US targets in Germany. In the country's biggest terror trial in decades, a higher regional court in Duesseldorf sentenced the two German converts, Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, to 12 years each. Turkish national Adem Yilmaz was sentenced to 11 years, while German-Turkish citizen Attila Selek will go to jail for five years.
A German court has sentenced four self-confessed Islamic militants to up to 12 years in jail for a failed plot to attack US targets in Germany.
In the country's biggest terror trial in decades, a higher regional court in Duesseldorf sentenced the two German converts, Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, to 12 years each. Turkish national Adem Yilmaz was sentenced to 11 years, while German-Turkish citizen Attila Selek will go to jail for five years.
Candidates from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL) will not be allowed to contest the polls in Lombardy, his political home turf, and the Lazio region, which includes Rome. The bungle in Lazio occurred when a party member missed the deadline to register for the March 28-29 regional elections. A furious Berlusconi has vented his anger at "amateur" party officials, whose blunder could hand a victory to the left-wing opposition in two of Italy's most important regions.
Candidates from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party (PDL) will not be allowed to contest the polls in Lombardy, his political home turf, and the Lazio region, which includes Rome.
The bungle in Lazio occurred when a party member missed the deadline to register for the March 28-29 regional elections.
A furious Berlusconi has vented his anger at "amateur" party officials, whose blunder could hand a victory to the left-wing opposition in two of Italy's most important regions.
It is beyond understanding how a crucial area such as the city and province of Rome could have been put in the hands of a person who had previously tried the same trick, evidencing signs of a grave personality disorder. As for Milan there is nothing amateurish or blundering about it. It's a free for all driven by envy and greed, all illegal blows allowed.
As of this evening the court has readmitted the PDL in the Rome elections. Formigoni in Lombardia is still out. It is likely that a bipartisan law will be passed to allow the life-time governor of Lombardia and self-declared virgin, Roberto Formigoni, to once again run. We hope he'll be readmitted, not so much for himself but for Nicole Minetti, Berlusconi's personal dental hygienist, one great piece of ass, tits galore, imposed by the Boss of Bosses.
The Minister of the Defence, Ignazio La Russa, one of the three national coordinators of Berlusconi's personal political entity, declared, "I don't want to play the subversive but I'll put it frank and clear: we wait with trust the verdict concerning our lists, but we will never accept that a court sentence may prevent hundreds of thousands of our voters to vote in the regional elections. If they prevent us from running for office we're ready to do everything."
This of course is not as important as the government's decision to drastically curtail freedom of the press on the pretext of regional elections. All in-depth news programs on state-owned broadcasting stations have been silenced. Last week an in-depth news program on the Fastweb-Telecom scandal was not allowed to show on the Telecom-owned La7. With a government falling apart over cases of vast, capillary corruption and major accusations of mafia ties by witnesses and collaborators of justice, Berlusconi, like an Ahmadinejad, sees nothing more fit than to close down talk-shows. That only leaves self-censored news programs that are heavily biased in favour of Berlusconi. According to some commentators the action is unprecedented in modern post-war Europe.
We expect Europe to speak out on this issue immediately. It is no longer an internal affair.
The EU only cares about free trade, unfortunately. En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
The person responsible for having presented the PDL's irregular lists late declared to reporters last night that "...revenge is a plate to be served cold." This apparently alludes to his previous behaviour in 2005 when he tried to pull the same trick. His famous "sandwich" break was deliberate.
Having little else to do, PDL big shots have taken to making calumnious accusations against the Radical party for having some how screwed them up. Berlusconi and his flunkies once again demonstrate an utter incapacity to recognize responsibility for their own actions.
Last night Berlusconi attempted to convince President Napolitano of the necessity of a law decree to allow the PDL to participate in the competition in Lombardy and Rome. It appears that Napolitano would only sign into law a bill approved by all parties in parliament but invited Berlusconi to wait until a final sentence in both cases.
Berlusconi has prepared a decree that will change the rules during the game. At this point it's merely a question of propaganda and media blitzkriegs, made all the easier by the television news blackout. The PDL seeks to depict itself as a victim of an anti-democratic putsch. (That it was of their own doing is swept under the rug.) By voting a law by simple majority (the opposition has declared they would not vote for it) Berlusconi will put Napolitano on the spot, forcing an institutional crisis.
The position of the racist ally Lega Nord is anything but ambiguous. Bossi has everything to gain from the chaos in Rome and Lombardy. He need only sit back and wait until the dust settles.
The opposition leader Di Pietro just accused Berlusconi of planning a coup d'état. He warned that if Berlusconi continues with his plans there will be organized resistance in the streets.
The rhetoric on both sides of the fence is at the breaking point.
AFP - Portuguese civil servants walk off their jobs on Thursday, hoping to close schools, courts and hospitals in a protest strike against austerity measures imposed by the Socialist government. The strike could be the biggest in years in Portugal and will test the minority government, which has been pressed by financial markets to cut spending after Greece's fiscal crisis turned the focus on weak euro zone members. Greece targeted civil servants, the rich and the church on Wednesday in a sweeping new 4.8 billion euro ($6.5 billion) austerity programme designed to secure European help to tackle its crippling debt burden.
Hundreds of people from France's Vendée region gathered Thursday afternoon at a mass in Luçon to mourn the victims of storm Xynthia. Among those present at the cathedral was French Prime Minister François Fillon, who gave a brief speech in homage to those killed before a procession of volunteers, police and firemen. Xynthia, a powerful storm carrying hurricane-force winds, rampaged across Europe earlier this week, hitting hardest in the Vendée region, where more than half of the total deaths in France occurred. Relief and reconstruction efforts have been launched in the largely flooded area, and the official death toll was put at 53 Thursday, with seven people injured.
Hundreds of people from France's Vendée region gathered Thursday afternoon at a mass in Luçon to mourn the victims of storm Xynthia. Among those present at the cathedral was French Prime Minister François Fillon, who gave a brief speech in homage to those killed before a procession of volunteers, police and firemen.
Xynthia, a powerful storm carrying hurricane-force winds, rampaged across Europe earlier this week, hitting hardest in the Vendée region, where more than half of the total deaths in France occurred. Relief and reconstruction efforts have been launched in the largely flooded area, and the official death toll was put at 53 Thursday, with seven people injured.
LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives have a two point lead over Labour in marginal seats, a poll showed on Thursday, a further indication that Britain could be heading for an inconclusive election. Thirty-nine percent of those polled said they would vote Conservative, and 37 percent said they would support Labour in the YouGov/Channel 4 News survey of 60 key marginal seats.
LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives have a two point lead over Labour in marginal seats, a poll showed on Thursday, a further indication that Britain could be heading for an inconclusive election.
Thirty-nine percent of those polled said they would vote Conservative, and 37 percent said they would support Labour in the YouGov/Channel 4 News survey of 60 key marginal seats.
In the sudden slurry of revelations about Michael Ashcroft, are we missing the bigger picture - and a far larger scandal? The immediate disgrace is plain enough. The billionaire Ashcroft has jostled his way into the heart of the Conservative Party, and altered the shape of British politics, with money hoarded away in a tax haven. He evidently finds the idea of paying a small share of his fortune to keep his country's schools and hospitals and defence running so abhorrent that he would rather stash the vast majority of his cash in the bitterly poor tax haven of Belize. (He pays no tax at all there, despite the fact that 30 per cent of the country's children go hungry.) And he did it all disingenuously: when he was scraped into the House of Lords on William Hague's recommendation in 2000, he gave a "clear and unequivocal assurance" he would become a "permanent" resident in Britain.
A lot of people - who care at all - are feeling that a hung parliament is the best possible outcome.
It'll give the LibDems some leverage they wouldn't have had otherwise. Let's see what they do with it.
The channel's political editor Gary Gibbon said the result pointed to a "hung parliament" in which the Conservatives would have the largest number of seats but would be 11 seats short of a majority. Britain last had a hung parliament in 1974. Financial markets, which are focussed on Britain's record deficit and want the next government to tackle it aggressively, do not like the prospect of a hung parliament. They fear wrangling between the parties could delay painful but necessary public spending cuts.
Financial markets, which are focussed on Britain's record deficit and want the next government to tackle it aggressively, do not like the prospect of a hung parliament.
They fear wrangling between the parties could delay painful but necessary public spending cuts.
The major broadcasters face anger after deciding to invite Nick Griffin, the British National Party leader, to reply to the televised Prime Ministerial debates during the general election campaign. The BBC, ITV and Sky this week reached agreement on the format of the three encounters between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
The major broadcasters face anger after deciding to invite Nick Griffin, the British National Party leader, to reply to the televised Prime Ministerial debates during the general election campaign.
The BBC, ITV and Sky this week reached agreement on the format of the three encounters between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
hopefully the BNP can debate with black or gay representatives of the Greens and others. keep to the Fen Causeway
