Belgian Named EU Prez After Blair Bid Fails

Ex-British PM wants post to have strong say on defense, trade

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair is angling to become Europe’s first president, the Guardian reports, but the former British PM wants to be assured the EU’s new top job will come with real authority on defense and trade. Blair, currently the Mideast envoy for the US, EU, UN, and Russia, has been meeting with allies and already has French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s support. The post as head of the EU Council will be filled next January. More»

But 23 nations agree to austerity measures in new accord

(NEWSER) - After strenuous negotiations, 23 of the 27 nations of Europe agreed to government spending and borrowing caps to be outlined in a new pact—but a unified treaty was blocked by Britain. Negotiations broke down largely over London's demands for future protection from financial regulations forged by France and Germany. Hungary also refused to sign the accord, and Sweden and the Czech Republic required more time to discuss the issues with their parliaments, reports the Washington Post . British Prime Minister David Cameron said ceding so much control over Britain's budget is "not in my national interest." The intergovernmental pact, with details to be hammered out in the coming months, includes all 17 nations that use the euro, and will include stiff penalties for big-spender countries and up the resources for nations in fiscal trouble. It could be ratified much more quickly by parliaments than a full EU treaty amendment, notes the New York Times. More»

Death of daughter was 'most grief-stricken time' of British PM's life

(NEWSER) - In an unguarded interview, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown talks frankly about the death of his newborn daughter, his wife's strength, and the deal he made with Tony Blair over Labour Party leadership. “Nobody actually really told us for a week, it just gradually dawned on us that something was going wrong and she wasn't getting bigger,” he says of Jennifer, born 7 weeks early in 2001, in an interview obtained by the Guardian . “She was baptized and we were with her and I held her and she died,” Brown says of his first child. More»

(NEWSER) - Europeans may have longer lives and longer vacations, but red-blooded Americans don't want their socialist ways on this side of the ocean, right wing media mouths are eager to remind everyone, MIchael Freedman writes in Newsweek. Underlying much of the opposition to health care reform is the fear that it's part of an anti-American conspiracy to transform the US into a "European social welfare state," according to Rush Limbaugh. More»

Across continent, angry voters set to punish ruling parties

(NEWSER) - Citizens of 27 nations begin voting today for elections to the European Parliament, and across the continent voters are expected to punish ruling parties and encourage the opposition, including the extreme right. From Ireland to France to Hungary, governments are braced for a protest vote spurred by the economic meltdown, reports the Wall Street Journal. The most closely watched result will be in Britain—where a poor showing for the Labour Party could force Gordon Brown out of office. More»