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Now the real question is, will the pro-European establishment of EPP, Socialists, Liberals and Greens care about this outcry of discontent and call for reform by a third of the voters? I am afraid they will not.

NO EUROPE or MORE EUROPE?

By: EBR | Wednesday, May 28, 2014

As feared by the Europhiles the big story of the EP elections was not who will be President of the Commission, as they campaigned for, but the rise of anti-mainstream European forces from both the right and the left.

A new report by think tank Open Europe concludes that, ‘instead of repeating the same mistake of addressing the EP’s failure to connect with voters by increasing its powers, boosting the role of national parliaments in EU decision making would return democratic accountability closer to voters’.

The farce called: European Democracy…

By: EBR | Monday, May 19, 2014

The expectations are clear: 60% of EU citizens will not use their right to vote in the upcoming elections for the European Parliament. But does this keep the EU machos awake at night? I don’t think so.

TI discovered that out of the 117.000 ‘restricted’ Council documents only 13.184 are listed in the public document register with no trace of the more than 100.00 others. The report includes a separate chapter about Olaf, the EU control institution. ‘The impression from outside is that Olaf is not as it should be independent from the Commission’, Carl Dolan director of TI said, ‘Olaf held several meetings with senior Commissioners to discuss ongoing cases, without any trace of those meetings in the records…’.

Anti-corruption group report about the dark rooms of the EU

By: EBR | Sunday, May 4, 2014

It is a shocking report that the anti-corruption group Transparency International (TI) recently released, ahead of the EP elections of May 22-25.

Most significant of all Le Figaro called the ‘real drama’, the trend of continuing growth in sympathy among French voters for the far right FN. The campaign of its leader Marine Le Pen cuts ice. The weekly Nouvel Observateur found out in another poll that the far-right remains in the lead to win next month’ European elections in France.

A drama called Hollande and the advance of the far right

By: EBR | Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The French Sunday paper Journal du Dimanche recently published an opinion poll that shows a difference of 40% (!) between the popularity of French President Francois Hollande and his fresh Prime-Minister Manuel Valls.

The US shows an increasing willingness to accommodate Russia. A White House spokesperson said that Russia’s idea to create a federal structure in Ukraine is not out of question if Ukraine agrees: ‘the Ukrainian government needs to be at the table to discuss’.

Are EU and US showing willingness to accommodate Russia?

By: EBR | Wednesday, April 9, 2014

During the last EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Athens the EU began to assess whether it should take part of the blame for the crisis in Ukraine.

Look at the EPP, supported by ALDE, who tried recently to ‘kill’ the S&D candidate for the Commission Presidency and current President of the EP, Martin Schulz, by accusing him of “obstruction of the work of the budgetary control committee, trying to cover his tracks by misusing the parliament’s rules…”. It makes you think of a Shakespeare drama.

The hypocrite leaders of the European Parliament

By: EBR | Friday, April 4, 2014

The leaders of the 3 main political groups in the European Parliament (EPP, S&D, ALDE) made a commitment that the next elected President of the European Commission has to be the result of a transparent process, not the product of back-room deals.

Who believes that the suggestions for the EU-US summit agenda proposed by Amnesty International will be at the table? When will Obama finally meet his commitment to close Guantanamo detention centre, which still holds, after more than 12 years, 154 prisoners without any legal civil rights; when does the President end the use of the death penalty in his country (the US is in the top of the list of countries that impose the death penalty).

Obama in town, common European values off the table…

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 25, 2014

These days all EU political ‘dignitaries’ queue up to be in the picture with him (there is maybe one exception: the Danish prime minster, who has already a selfie with him).

David Cameron admits that his plan for ‘a new European Union’ is ‘ambitious’; ‘delivering it will take time and patience as well as strong relationships with our key allies and goodwill – not shouting from the sidelines’.

Cameron: "Status quo in Europe is not working"

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 18, 2014

British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote a serious and interesting article in The Telegraph about the future of the EU. He argues that the ‘status quo’ in Europe is not working and needs to change.

MEP’s accused the work done by the Troika didn’t take into account the social impact of the prescribed policy measures. Although it was clear that the Commission, when operating within the Troika framework, was putting in place a macro-economic adjustment programme designed and approved by the Eurogroup, the finance ministers of the 19 memberstates with the Euro as their currency.

EU: billions for Ukraine and no mercy for Greece

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A recent study from Oxford University has brought to light some of the very serious effects the Troika (including the European Commission and the European Central Bank) requirements have had on the Greek healthcare system.

Interesting were the comments in leading German dailies on Merkel’s UK visit. In Handelsblatt was pointed out that Germany and the UK share a “staggering amount of common ground” and “the list of common interest has now even been extended by a very important point: both Germany and the UK want to readjust the institutional structure of the EU”.

Merkel gives Cameron hope on EU reform

By: EBR | Monday, March 3, 2014

Last week, in her speech to both Houses of the UK Parliament, German Chancellor Angela Merkel left the door open to “limited, targeted and swift” EU treaty changes.

Cameron didn’t have much success during his meeting with the French President two weeks ago, although they had a good time together in a traditional English pub. But the socialist Francois Hollande staid neutral on the subject of returning powers to the EU capitals.

Is EU reform possible?

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Germany remains the most important memberstate in the debate about EU’s future, and the outline of an Anglo-German bargain on EU reform is emerging.

During the presentation of the report in the Berlaymont, headquarters of the Commission, Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told the media, that ‘corruption undermines citizens’ confidence in democratic institutions and the rule of law’. A special Eurobarometer survey showed indeed that almost half of Europeans believe that bribery is common in public tenders.

"Too difficult" to examine corruption in the EU institutions…

By: EBR | Monday, February 17, 2014

The anti-corruption report of the European Commission received a lukewarm welcome. The main reason for the lack of enthusiasm was that the Commission didn’t include, although it was promised, a chapter on EU institutions.

Ms Lagarde is a member of the French UMP, belonging to the EPP political family. This centre-right European People Party is likely to remain the biggest group in the EP after the elections in May and will certainly claim the Commission Presidency.

Christine Lagarde for Commission President!

By: EBR | Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Why not Christine Lagarde for President of the European Commission? She is the current head of the International Monetary Fund who had to deal with the Euro crisis; until she succeeded Dominque Strauss-Kahn at the IMF, she was a succesful French finance minister.

Putin knows that the EU of 28 countries is and will stay fundamentally divided on how to deal with Russia.

Ice has settled on EU-Russia relations

By: EBR | Monday, February 3, 2014

Ice has settled on EU-Russia relations as a Commission official said. But it is clear that not all EU memberstates believe this to be a problem…

‘The previously farsighted and ambitious European Commission is a shadow of its former self’, said Thomas Becker, chief executive of the European Wind Energy Association. Markus Beyrer, director-general of Business Europe called in the Financial Times the pack of measures published by the European Commission ‘positive’.

Commission lowers European climate change goals

By: EBR | Monday, January 27, 2014

For years the EU wanted to be a global green leader and tried to set the global standard for climate-change regulation, creating touch rules on emissions, mandating more use of renewable energy sources and even sacrificed some economic grow.

Commission President Barroso and some of his Commissioners will not really be amused by Erler’s appointment. It sends a strong signal that the new German government wants a change of EU-Russia policy. Under the influence of some former communist EU member states a continuing ‘cold-war’ mentality prevails in the Berlaymont.

Steinmeier restores German-Russian ties; will EU follow?

By: EBR | Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Supposingly they were not very happy in the Berlaymont with Merkel’s decision to appoint a pro-Moscow veteran as Germany’s special coordinator for Russia policy.

In any case, EU leaders will celebrate the expansion of the Eurozone as an endorsement of the battered single currency, even though Latvia has a population of only 2 million.

Latvians forced to join the euro

By: EBR | Monday, December 30, 2013

In spite of millions of euros spent by the European Central Bank on an information campaign to convince Latvians of the benefits of the euro, nearly sixty percent of them oppose the single currency, according to the French news agency AFP.

nother European Commissioner who showed last week little sense of reality (and not for the first time) was Viviane Reding, a christen-democrat from Luxemburg. Britain’s welfare system is too generous and is to blame for attracting migrant workers from poorer EU member states, she said. EU laws are granting ample space to take action to stop welfare fraud by foreign nationals. So she advised the UK to change the social system and to make it less generous.

European Commission: Germany is too good; UK too generous!

By: EBR | Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Editor’s weekly column – December 10, 2013

Unemployment in the 17 Eurozone countries slipped in October from 12.2 to 12.1 percent. Good news for the 61.000 fewer people who are jobless, however unemployment in the Eurozone remains near a record high of 19.3 million! Much of the dip in unemployment came from France, but remained astronomical in Spain, 26.7 percent. In Greece the rate was 27.3 percent in August, the Greek government is several months behind in reporting…

THE WEEK THAT WAS... (December 02, 2013)

By: EBR | Monday, December 2, 2013

EBR Chief-editor’s Monday Column. This week N. Peter Kramer writes about "Eurozone still in problems…"

The Commission document states that ‘the aim is to define, at this early stage in the negotiations, the terms of the debate by communicating positively about what TTIP is about rather than being drawn reactively into defensive communication about what TTIP is not about’. In other words the Commission advices to talk more about gains and global leadership instead of concerns about weakening health, banking, data protection and food safety.

THE WEEK THAT WAS... (November 27, 2013)

By: EBR | Wednesday, November 27, 2013

EBR Chief-editor’s Monday Column. This week N. Peter Kramer writes about "Commission doubts about the TTΙP superdeal"

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