That Belgian mini-hurricane re-visited
This evening we drove down to the Ardennes, picking up a nephew in Ciney on our way down. Recalling my 16 July post about the 14 July storm that hit Belgium, Ciney was one of the worst-hit towns. As we drove off the motorway we saw electricity pylons...
Photos of the unseen
An American photographer captures the elusive spirit of national identity in Belarus...
Cyberculture roundup: New Pew report: The Future of Millennials/ Online Dating lies…
Featured Report: The Future of Millennials Tech experts generally believe that today’s tech-savvy young people – the ‘digital natives‘ who are known for enthusiastically embracing social networking – will retain their wi...
Opening Up My Euroblogging: Language and Linking
I've been inspired by Mathew Lowry and Ralf Grahn to open up my Euroblogging and to try and reach out a bit more across the blogosphere(s).The debate on the French Euroblogosphere (see Europasionaria) prompted Grahnlaw to introduce a policy on langua...
An outsized diplomatic machine (La Stampa, Turin)
The new diplomatic service of the EU will be phased in just as summer ends. Its creation has been marked by difficulties linked to protracted talks between the Commission, the European Council, the Strasbourg Parliament, and of course Lady Ashton, th...
Global warning (Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw)
"Historical heat wave," leads Gazeta Wyborcza, presenting a map of the places in the world where temperatures have risen most. In June, the average land and sea temperatures reached 16.2 degrees Celsius, up 0.68 degrees on the 1971-2000...
Market panic abates (Libération, Paris)
The publication of stress tests of European banks on 23 July will provide a clearer vision of the capacity of Europe’s financial industry to overcome a further crisis. However, the markets, which have been reassured by the austerity measures ad...
How stressful was it?
So how stressful was it? Seven banks failing the stress test was fewer than many had expected. Some thought the figure would be closer to 10 or 12. As expected, the heart of the problem lies with Spain's regional savings...
Cutting social spending is urgent
Because the money is still urgently needed elsewhere: US financial system support up $700 bln...
European bank supervision marginalised (Frankfurter Rundschau, Frankfurt)
"Nominally, stress tests were supposed to demonstrate European banks are stable. Instead, they have mercilessly revealed the impotence of the European banking authority," says the Frankfurter Rundschau. The need to strengthen the authority...
Scienceblogs: an inspirationally cautionary tale for EU social media? (updated)
[update: a tiny extra take-away added at the very end of the post, a few hours later] When I came to Brussels in 1991 it was as a science writer. It remained my profession for many years, so when scienceblogs.com was launched in 2006 I checked i...
Best of the Euroblogs?
Last week, public affairs firm Waggener Edstrom published the findings of their ‘Brussels Blogger Study’. Having assessed the relevance and reach of thirty EU policy-related blogs, the firm produced a top ten of those they considered to b...
Stressed? Maybe
I somehow don't think it was a coincidence that the much awaited banking stress tests result of 91 European Banks was set up for 18.30 on a Friday afternoon.They must have been terrified the markets would get frit. As it was the Euro dropped severely...
Seven EU banks fail stress tests
According to the BBC:"They include five Spanish banks - Diada, Espiga, Bianca Civica, Unnim and Cajasur.The other two were Germany's Hypo Real Estate and Greece's ATEBank."Here´s what the European Commission has to say about it, and here´s what the...
Aux barricades
Pour notre drapeau.Well something like that.You know, I can understand the French anger at people using the tricoluer as loo paper, but making it a criminal offence is wrong. Thumping someone who does so maybe allowable.
Europe is like the United States
Which is the considered view of the German Deputy Finance Minister in conversation with Bloomberg yesterday.Steffen Kampeter was trying to explain the EU and why it was that his bosses harsh words in France about turfing recalcitrant and bust EU stat...
Egyptian view of the EU
This little report in the Egyptian Daily News makes it pretty clear that thetre is now EU foriegn affairs. What price UK's place in the world?It doesn't really matter as we have sold it post Lisbon.
Science+Europe=accuracy fail
I went to a very interesting event about science journalism in the UK last year at the Royal Institution which I blogged about about the time. One of my conclusions was that many of the issues faced by science journalism reflect very closely issues f...
Ireland gets civil unions: now only Italy is left
Same-sex Marriage Same-sex Civil Unions Issue under political consideration Unrecognized Constitutional ban on ga...
Polish State Still Suspicious of Things Digital
The company that stands to gain the most from the postponed digital revolution is the state-owned postal administration.
