With Berlin scheduled to unveil a new energy concept, power companies have been lobbying for the extended use of their nuclear plants, if only for 10 to 15 more years. They could recoup their investments and then some. 

When the German government unveils its new energy concept September 28, it will likely announce a plan to prolong the life span of the country's 17 existing nuclear power plants. Chancellor Angela Merkel has advocated doing so by another 10 to 15 years, saying that would make it possible for the country to control electricity prices and meet goals for greenhouse gas emissions.

But critics say an aggressive nuclear energy lobby has been pushing for such extended life spans so that power companies can continue to reap profits from their investments in nuclear reactors. Four companies operate nuclear power plants in Germany: E.ON, RWE, Vattenfall and EnBW.

Germany's Central Bank has initiated proceedings to remove one of its board members, Thilo Sarrazin, for controversial remarks he made on race and immigration. 

Executive board members of the German Central Bank on Thursday agreed to file a request for the removal of one of its board members, Thilo Sarrazin, following controversial remarks he made on race and immigration in interviews and in a new book released earlier this week.

The decision comes after mounting political pressure to drop the contentious banker and limit damage to the country's reputation.

"The board of the German Central Bank today decided unanimously to ask the president of the republic to dismiss Dr. Thilo Sarrazin as a member of the board," the bank said in a statement.

Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, also said on Thursday that he was "appalled" by Sarrazin's comments.

The News of the World is facing a fresh allegation of phone hacking against one of its journalists, the Press Complaints Commission confirmed today.

The commission was informed by the paper just over two months ago about the allegation, and the journalist involved has been "suspended from reporting duties".

Stephen Abell, the PCC director, confirmed today that the press regulator was informed by the paper in June "of the existence of the recent allegation of phone-message hacking against the reporter". Abell said that the PCC was prevented from launching its own investigation because the allegation was "the subject of legal action".

The new claim was revealed late yesterday in a New York Times article on the News of the World phone-hacking affair. The paper reported that the News of the World was conducting a new phone-hacking investigation and had suspended a reporter, after a "television personality" had been alerted by her phone company to a "possible unauthorised attempt to access her voicemail" and the number was traced back to a journalist at the paper.

The prime minister of Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia and declared independence two years ago, has offered to make a fresh start in relations with Belgrade, which is coming under increasing European pressure to respond in kind.

In an article for the Guardian's Comment is free, Hashim Thaçi said it was "inevitable" that Kosovo and Serbia would resolve their deep enmity, bury their differences, and look to a future integrated in the European Union (EU).

The call for new negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade followed a blunt warning to the Serbian government this week from the foreign secretary, William Hague, who said the Serbs were jeopardising their chances of joining the EU by refusing to deal with an independent Kosovo.

The European Commission has halted a proposal to allow Israel access to potentially sensitive data on European Union citizens following concerns expressed by the Irish Government.

The concerns arose following the use of forged Irish passports in the murder of a Hamas operative, allegedly by Israeli agents.

In a surprise move this morning, the Commission said they would withdraw the application to effectively recognise Israel's data protection standards as being on a par with those enjoyed in the EU.

A far-right party in Austria has sparked outrage by launching an online video game which allows players to shoot down minarets and muezzins calling for prayer.

The game, called "Moschee Baba", or "Bye Bye Mosque", gives players 60 seconds to collect points by placing a target over cartoon mosques, minarets and Muslims and click a "Stop" sign.

It is being used by the Freedom Party (FPOe), which has a link to the game on its website, to encourage voters to elect Gerhard Kurzmann, the party's candidate in the picturesque region of Styria.

"Game Over. Styria is now full of minarets and mosques!" it says at the end of a session, before inviting players to vote for Kurzmann on September 26, when local elections are being held.

SLOVAKIA is in shock; France in uproar. The cause of both nations' turmoil is the Roma (gypsies), or, rather, what is being done to them. This week a gunman in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, killed seven people and injured 14, before shooting himself dead. Six of the victims were a Roma family, killed inside their apartment; they appear to have been deliberately targeted.

In France the expulsion of hundreds of Roma immigrants, whom Nicolas Sarkozy's government says were in the country illegally, has galvanised opposition from the pope, French churches, a UN committee and even several ministers in Mr Sarkozy's own government. Yet further tough legislation is promised.

Between them the Slovakian shootings and the expulsions from France highlight the difficulties faced by Europe's largest stateless minority. An ingrained underclass, Roma are the victims of prejudice, often violent, at home in eastern Europe. Thousands have migrated westward to seek a better life, particularly as the expansion of the European Union has allowed them to take advantage of freedom-of-movement rules. Yet although conditions may be better in the west, the reception has rarely been friendly and politicians like President Sarkozy have ruthlessly exploited hostility towards the newcomers.

The European Union reached a long-awaited agreement on Thursday night on reform of financial supervision, paving the way for the establishment of three pan-EU watchdogs to oversee controls on banks and insurers in the region from next year.
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The overhaul involves the creation of a European Systemic Risk Council to assess threats to regional financial stability. In addition, three watchdogs - covering banking, insurance and securities markets, respectively - will also be established.

Day-to-day supervision of individual companies and markets will remain with national supervisors but the new EU bodies will develop harmonised rules and approaches to co-ordinate their actions.
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The new watchdogs will have no direct supervisory powers, other than for credit rating agencies operating in the EU - a move which should reassure the UK. MEPs have also dropped their demand that the new watchdogs are all based in Frankfurt: instead they will be split between London, Paris and the German city.

The watchdogs will have some additional powers in "emergency situations", however, and may temporarily ban or restrict certain financial activities if these threaten the stability of the EU's financial system. But "emergencies" will be called by the member states, rather than the European Commission or parliament.

European Union banks may face new costs and liabilities next year under a law allowing claimants to freeze debtors' assets in the bloc with court orders from any EU jurisdiction, lawyers say.

The European Commission wants the proposal in place as soon as March, allowing judges to grant cross-border account freezes in secret and apply them to banks in other EU nations before a debtor is aware of the claim.

The legislative arm of the 27-nation EU says 63 percent of cross-border debt can't be recovered, and it blames a network of diverging national laws and the high cost of winning separate freezes in each country where assets are located. Lawyers aren't convinced the new law will help.