The European Union doesn’t need a President, says George Walden: the EU is not a country, and pretending it is is a dangerous farce that will impede the body’s ability to work effectively.
European Union
Europe’s first President: Herman Van Rompuy
Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy has been named the first President of the European Union. Former British PM Tony Blair reportedly snared the job first, but bowed out to appease Europe’s centre-right majority.
The new EU President: meet the contenders
The European Union will announce its new President this week, following a rather sketchy closed-door process. HuffPo introduces the candidates and the bookies’ odds on their chances.
Europe gets onboard the Road Train to cleaner highways
The EU is exploring a novel way of reducing fuel consumption: linking cars via wireless sensors into “road trains” on Europe’s motorways, with one lead vehicle “pulling” all the others along while the drivers kick back and save on fuel.
Europe gets a new constitution — sort of
The big news in Europe this week is the final ratification of the Lisbon treaty, which provides a new constitutional structure for the European Union. But where’s the euroscepticism gone? Has the EU proved its ‘socialist plot’ claims wrong?
Sarkozy’s £250,000 shower
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made British MPs’ expenses look like chump change, with a new report finding he spent £160m (AU$290m) during his six-month stint in charge of the European Union, including £250,000 on a new shower that he never actually used.
Downing Street plots to buy Blair’s way into the EU Presidency
British PM Gordon Brown is planning to buy off Angela Merkel and Nikolas Sarkozy’s votes for the European Union Presidency by offering them big jobs within the Union should Tony Blair get up.
Independent: Why Blair won’t get our vote (again)
UK paper The Independent says it won’t support Tony Blair as a candidate for the Presidency of the European Union: “When the choice between Britain’s relationship with America and its relationship with the rest of Europe became unfudgeable, Mr Blair chose America”.
Why Obama doesn’t care about Europe
Barack Obama may be the most “European” President the US has had in recent memory, but that doesn’t mean he gives a rat’s about the continent itself, says Timothy Garton Ash. And unless Europe’s countries come together as a united power, that won’t change.
Europe’s plan for world domination
With the European Union set to elect its first president and foreign minister, Europe is gearing up to flex its muscles as a genuine global superpower — and it will use the “Trojan Horse” of the G20 to do it, says Gideon Rachman.
Letter from...: Brussels, home of Tintin and the EU
Last weekend, Ireland voted “yes” for the Lisbon Treaty, meaning the European Union will be getting a long-overdue structural overhaul. Grant Doyle was in Brussels for the celebrations.
Tony Blair: Europe’s first President?
Now Ireland has ratified the Lisbon Treaty, former British PM Tony Blair has all but shored up the support needed to become the first President of the European Union, inside sources tell the Times
Europeans throw Russia an olive branch
The big political story in Europe is the release of the European Union report on last year’s war between Russia and Georgia. Both sides claim a degree of vindication from it.
Leaked: who’s to blame for war in Georgia?
Officially, it’s equal blame game for the 2008 South Ossetian war, with Georgia opening the initial fire, but Russia responsible for keeping it going, according to leaks from the EU investigation.
Why the world kicks sand in the EU’s face
The European Union should be one of the world’s great economic and political powers — but it packs all the punch of a decaf soy latte and a soggy croissant. How did such heavy-hitting countries end up creating a 98-pound weakling?
Crikey Says: Overseas postings: send your critics far, far away
The Prime Minister had big news this morning, announcing Kim Beazley and Brendan Nelson as new ambassadors. Is Mark Latham’s ambassadorial posting due any second now?
Europe one-ups America. Again.
Most of Europe will soon have lower income tax rates than most of America, says an unhappy WSJ. And now the EU is finalising a free trade deal with South Korea, while the US loses ground.
Tony Blair’s EU Presidency bid stumbles at the first hurdle
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s conceited plan to resuscitate his political career to become the first President of Europe has been greeted with howls of anger and derision.
Britain pushes Blair for EU Presidency
After rejecting the Euro and backing Bush over Brussels, Tony Blair could become the first President of the European Union.
Europe’s last dictator
The Western media refers to him as “the last dictator of Europe,” while his supporters call him “bat’ka” (father), but Belorussians prefer not to speak about President Alexander Lukashenko at all. As Natalya confesses, “I’m afraid to talk about him.”
The European Left is a dead duck
Last weekend’s European elections signify not only the rise of the right but also the decimation of the left.
Why the EU matters #1: it stops people being blown up in their beds
The EU stops people being blown up in their beds. It prevents them from cowering in fear as foreign armies roll across their country, averts human rights abuses on a scale our minds simply can’t contemplate. It thwarts, in a word, war, writes psephologist Stephen Luntz.
Europeans go to the polls
This week, the second-largest democratic election in the world takes place: an election across the 27 countries of the EU for the 736 members of the European parliament.
Belarus: Cuba of the East
EU leaders need to present Belarus with a clear alternative to dependence on the Kremlin if they want to help reform the country, says Charles Tannock.
EU kyboshes goods that aren’t energy efficient
The EU agreed to set environmental standards for household products such as windows and shower heads in a bid to reduce energy consumption. And it won’t end there.
