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Started by Reader1732; Last updated Feb 29, 08 3:54 AM CST by D Lim | View history

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European Union

Member nations wrestle with scope and vision of ever-expanding union

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 87

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July 2008
- Europe Hikes Interest Rates to Curb Inflation
  
  newser | MarketWatch | Jul 3, 08 8:29 AM CDT
  
  The European Central Bank today adjusted interest rates for the first time in more than a year, reports MarketWatch, raising the main rate by a quarter-point to 4.25%. The increase comes just after a report that inflation in the eurozone has reached 4%, the highest rate since the introduction of the euro in 1999. The move was expected, and the euro remained strong, hovering at around $1.58. More »
- France Takes EU Reins With Call for Change
  
  newser | AFP | Jul 1, 08 6:54 AM CDT
  
  French President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday that “profound” changes are needed in Europe's strategy for growth as his nation takes over the helm of the EU, reports AFP. “There have been errors in the way that Europe has been built,” Sarkozy noted in the wake of Ireland’s vote against a major EU treaty. Many Europeans fear unification will worsen the negative effects of globalization, he says. "Something isn't right." More »
June 2008
- Euro-Weary French Village Reverts to Franc
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 30, 08 8:32 AM CDT
  
  Six years after scrapping the franc for the euro, one sleepy town in southern France has reverted, the New York Times reports. Says the mayor of Collobrières, population 1,600, “We lost something with the franc. We lost an identity. We moved very quickly into Europe, maybe too quickly.” Villagers also blame the euro for rising prices and find the faceless pan-European currency bland. More »
- EU Will Make Airlines Pay to Pollute
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 27, 08 5:57 AM CDT
  
  The European Union struck a landmark deal yesterday to regulate carbon emissions from airplanes, requiring carriers to buy pollution credits for all flights entering or leaving airports in the EU. The agreement, which should go into effect in 2012, marks the first time that airlines will have to pay to pollute in the European emissions market the same way that other industrial polluters do, reports the New York Times . More »
- Hand of US Neocons Seen Behind Irish 'No'
  
  newser | Der Spiegel | Jun 25, 08 4:57 PM CDT
  
  Pro-Europeans are claiming that American neoconservatives helped bankroll an effort to convince Irish voters to reject a key treaty, Der Spiegel reports. "Europe has powerful enemies on the other side of the Atlantic, gifted with considerable financial means," a French minister said after Ireland's thumbs-down roiled the continent. "The role of the American neo-cons was very important in the victory of the 'no'." More »
- As Celtic Tiger Slows, Ireland Again Empties
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 25, 08 12:01 PM CDT
  
  The massive Irish economic engine of the '90s brought decades of emigration to a screeching halt and hordes of EU immigrants flooding through open borders to lay claim to plentiful jobs. But as the Celtic Tiger begins to look like a kitty, the Wall Street Journal reports, many of those immigrants are packing their bags and heading home—where the boom times are on the rise. More »
- Lithuania's Negative Energy Bad for Europe
  
  newser | Economist | Jun 20, 08 5:25 PM CDT
  
  Lithuanians "should be furious" with politicians who have backed the Baltic nation into a "potentially appalling" crisis of energy and policy, the Economist notes. As condition for its admission to the European Union, Lithuania promised to shutter its Ignalina nuclear power plant by 2009—and pols have made no move to replace the energy, raising the specter of bargaining with Russia. More »
- Surveillance Law Gives Sweden Broad Powers
  
  newser | BBC | Jun 19, 08 3:52 PM CDT
  
  Sweden's intelligence service will have broad new powers to intercept cross-border calls and emails, without a warrant, under a law passed yesterday, the BBC reports. Critics, meanwhile, say it is impossible to fully distinguish domestic from international traffic without compromising the transmissions. Protesters handed out copies of George Orwell's 1984 outside parliament, the AP notes. More »
- EU Will Ban Incandescent Bulbs
  
  newser | Der Spiegel | Jun 19, 08 2:07 PM CDT
  
  The European Union is set to begin phasing out the incandescent light bulb in favor of compact fluorescent bulb, Der Spiegel reports. The highest-wattage bulbs will go next year; the transition to CFLs—using a fifth of the energy and lasting 10 times longer—should be complete in 2015. More »
- EU Convulses, the World Could Care Less
  
  newser | Financial Times (UK) | Jun 17, 08 10:23 AM CDT
  
  The EU has been wracked with self-doubt and indecision in the days since the Irish electorate voted down the Treaty of Lisbon. But watching the turmoil unfold from Beijing, Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens observes just how introverted the Union has become. At a critical moment in the history of one of the world's great powers, the rest of the world has no reason to care. More »
- Britain Rolls Out New Iran Sanctions
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 16, 08 8:18 AM CDT
  
  Britain and the European Union will slap Iran with a new round of sanctions over its refusal to curtail its nuclear program, PM Gordon Brown announced today, handing President Bush an unexpected farewell gift on the last day of his weeklong European trip. Brown froze the assets of Iran's largest bank as of today, reports the Washington Post; he also pledged about 200 more troops to join the 7,800 British soldiers already in Afghanistan. More »
- EU Divided in Wake of Ireland's 'No' Vote
  
  newser | BBC | Jun 14, 08 12:55 PM CDT
  
  Irish voters' rejection of a treaty to reform the EU has left the bloc in turmoil, the BBC reports. France, Germany, and Britain say EU countries should continue to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, while the Czech president declared it dead. Fourteen of the 27 EU countries have approved the agreement, which needs unanimous support to pass; Ireland was the the only one to hold a referendum. More »
- Don't Be So Happy to See Bush Go, Europe
  
  newser | Times (UK) | Jun 13, 08 5:00 PM CDT
  
  President Bush might be touring Europe to yawns and boos, but its citizens and pundits alike will miss their favorite political punching bag when he’s gone, Gerard Baker writes in the Times of London. “They'll miss, first, having a villain in the White House,” Baker explains. “It's a really convenient excuse to avoid doing anything yourself on pressing global concerns.” More »
- Book Reawakens Doubts About Polish Hero Walesa
  
  newser | Economist | Jun 13, 08 1:14 PM CDT
  
  A new book is stirring up an old debate in Poland: Did democratic hero Lech Walesa, leader of the Solidarity union and former president, collaborate with the secret police? Walesa has successfully defended himself against the claim for 15 years, in and out of court. But historians working with police files say they have new evidence of his involvement for a period in the 1970s, the Economist reports. More »
- EU Reform in Peril As Ireland Votes No
  
  newser | Irish Times (Ireland) | Jun 13, 08 7:36 AM CDT
  
  Ireland has rejected the Treaty of Lisbon, dashing years of effort to reform the European Union. The Irish Times cites preliminary reports that the "no" vote has prevailed with about 52%, won mainly among rural and urban working class areas. The ruling and opposition parties both supported the treaty, but some voters felt it surrendered too much autonomy to the EU. More »
- Irish Vote Could Make Stew of European Unity
  
  newser | Financial Times (UK) | Jun 10, 08 11:00 AM CDT
  
  European Union reformers are aghast at the possibility that Irish voters could derail years of negotiations Thursday with a rejection of the constitution-like Lisbon Treaty, the Financial Times reports. Ireland is alone among the EU's 27 members in offering citizens a referendum on the treaty, which streamlines and consolidates EU power. The treaty must be ratified unanimously to take effect. More »
- US-EU Summit Eyes New Iran Sanctions
  
  newser | Washington Post | Jun 10, 08 9:12 AM CDT
  
  President Bush arrived today in Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, on his last presidential visit to Europe. He met for 2 hours with European leaders at a US-EU summit, which then issued a statement that member nations would impose new financial sanctions against Iran unless it ends its uranium enrichment program. Bush will travel later to Berlin, followed by Rome, Paris, and London, reports the Washington Post . More »
May 2008
- Ballooning Gas Costs Fuel Mass Protests in Europe
  
  newser | Time | May 29, 08 9:29 AM CDT
  
  Skyrocketing fuel prices are hitting Americans hard, but drivers across the Atlantic are shelling out twice as much, Time reports. Europeans pay an average of $8.70 for a gallon of gas, and the hefty price hikes this year are leading to protests that threaten to shut down cities, ports, and whole sectors of the economy. Oil terminals have been blockaded by protesters. More »
- EU Will Toughen Car Ads to Curb Gas Guzzlers
  
  newser | Der Spiegel | May 16, 08 2:22 PM CDT
  
  Car ads in Europe will soon have to highlight gas mileage and carbon dioxide emissions under regulations in the works from the European Union, Der Spiegel reports. EU commissioners hope regulating ads will motivate more Europeans to ditch gas-guzzling models, but manufacturers and media execs aren’t happy. The plan could push some automakers to drop their advertising altogether. More »
- Euro About to Mark 10 Years
  
  newser | New York Times | May 1, 08 6:02 PM CDT
  
  Like many 10-year-olds, the euro has had its ups and downs, but its current ascendancy is worrying, and not just to fans of the weakening dollar; some European states are chafing at the strength of their common currency, the New York Times reports. The German economic engine is causing high prices and ballooning debt in countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. More »

Stories 1 - 20 of 87

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European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, center, gestures while speaking during a joint media conference with Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu, left, and Prime Minister Agim Ceku, right, at... (Associated Press)

Soldiers hold a French flag, left, and an European flag during Bastille Day parade, Saturday, July 14, 2007 in Paris. Sarkozy led a Bastille Day parade along the Champs-Elysees that was joined for the... (Associated Press)

A boys's shadow is cast onto a big European Union flag in front of Serbia's assembly building in Belgrade, Friday, Sept. 21, 2007, as a part of marking EU flag day and European heritage week. (AP Photo/Srdjan... (Associated Press)

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Background

European Union
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community (EC), an economic and political confederation of European nations, and other organizations (with the same member nations) that are responsible for ...

» Read more about European Union at Encyclopedia.com

EU History
eu-history.leidenuniv.nl

A digital archive of European Union history.

» Read more about EU History at eu-history.leidenuniv.nl

More Recommend Reading

Europa: The Official EU Portal
Europa.eu

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