Inception
In the evening we at last got to see Christopher Nolan’s Inception, our summer treat. This is a tour de force, up there with Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Di Caprio is brilliant. His forte is clearly the tormented individual but he is goi...
European Salon de News, Discussion et Klatsch - 30 July
A Daily Review Of International Online Media Europeans on this date in history:1968 - birth of...
Weather
I was touring around Europe this summer with a bunch of Americans. As we saw the sights of Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague, I kept repeating my mantra: I was built for a colder climate. As the Americans endured with grace, I was afraid...
Mo Farah backs Somaliland
Mo Farah’s stunning victory in the European Championship 10,000 metres, his good-humoured sportsmanship and his loyalty to his friend Chris Thompson, should serve to remind us of just what a wonderful contribution refugees have made to this...
Taxation Without Transplantation
The price of a new knee may hinge on whether your cartilage is "movable tangible property." The EU tax code has the answer.
Afghanistan: The Consequences of a “Conceptual Withdrawal”
KABUL—“We have moved from a narrative, which lasted for years, that everything was fine when it wasn’t to a narrative that everything is going wrong when it isn’t.” This lament from a former Western official, who, like others quoted in this...
Swiss Conundrum: To Extradite or Not, Chapter Two
Hot on the heels of denying the extradition of filmmaker Roman Polanski to the U.S., Swiss authorities are again in the extradition spotlight, this time with one of the most-wanted Czech fugitives.
METALHEAD (Part 1)- Erkan introduces a new regular post series…
In addition to irregular series of “Introducing Turkish Cybersphere” and weekly Sunday posts of ” Erkan’s field diary: Top posts of the week and month“, I would like to introduce a weekly post series on my heavy metal cons...
Europe's dog days
Europe's dog days are here. Not those sultry, cloying, enervating weeks of the Washington summer. Not the oppressive stillness. But the sparseness of Brussels's streets, the absence of traffic, the empty tables where only weeks ago they doled out mou...
London Chamber of Commerce youth entrepreneur scheme cut
I recently received a worrying, though charming, letter from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I am sure I will be receiving many more like this over the coming months. The letter details how the Conservative/ Liberal- Democrat Governmen...
Dublin, toytown of literature
So Dublin has been named a UNESCO City of Literature. Greeting the news, the Irish Republic’s Minister of Tourism said, "Being one of only four cities in the world to achieve the status of UNESCO City of Literature, will enable Dublin to i...
Renewal task force
This afternoon I chaired my last big meeting before the summer break. The European Economic and Social Committee’s members are elected for a mandate (previously of four years, from now on, under the Lisbon Treaty’s provisions, of five yea...
I – EU Food Law: an introduction
By Daniele Pisanello, Food Lawyer, Lex Alimentaria Food Law Office In general terms EU Food Law is a distinguished case of product-law as regulations on pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toys, machineries et cetera are. However EU Food Law has a number of...
Correspondent's diary, day four: Homeland blues
The declining clout of east European emigres in American politics...
REPORT: TURKEY’S INTERNET CENSORSHIP PROBLEM
REPORT: TURKEY’S INTERNET CENSORSHIP PROBLEM The Media Association has released a report analyzing the various aspects of the problem of Internet access blocks in Turkey. The report, looking at the Internet as a new conduit, examines Law No. 56...
To recognise or not to recognise
How some other states have reacted to the ICJ's Kosovo ruling...
FSA : Frankfurt's Sodding Accessory
And so it comes to pass. Today the FSA announced both the launch, and the conclusion of a consultation into Bankers bonuses.According to Rueters,The FSA said Thursday it would launch a formal consultation process over the planned changes but added th...
ECJ Invites Council to Submit Statement of Defence re EP Challenge to Frontex Sea Borders Rule
In an Order issued on 28 July, the European Court of Justice invited the European Council to submit a statement of defence in: Case No. C-355/10, European Parliament v. Council of European Union (Application under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of...
Is European Union really this complicated ?
Well, the honest answer is : yes, EU is f——ing complicated and anybody who will pretend the opposite is a liar. But you need to ask two more question : Is this complexity normal ? and Does this prevent me (or anybody) to get a grip of what’...
Mixed messages for Turkey on EU membership
Poor old Turkey has been getting mixed messages from European governments again, after visits by Britain’s David Cameron and Germany’s foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, this week. The UK prime minister was very outspoken in his support...
FDI Trends and Prospects
Global foreign direct investment (FDI) witnessed a modest, but uneven recovery in the first half of 2010. This sparks some cautious optimism for FDI prospects in the short run and for a full recovery further on. UNCTAD expects global inflows to reach...
Peseta dreams and euro nightmares
A recent Eurobarometer poll has found that the majority of Spaniards, a sizeable 54 percent, believe that “without the euro, with the peseta, we would have been able to confront the economic crisis”. Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, this is higher...
Pacific Islands Criticise Stalled Climate Financing
Despite the creation of a High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (AGF), a group of hard-hit Pacific islands is expressing doubt that aid will be delivered in a timely manner. "The Pacific SIDS (Small Island Developing States) bear almo...
Euro roundup: France working on her identity crisis: banning burqa, chains “illegal” Romas…
MAIN FOCUS: Catalans ban bullfighting | 29/07/2010 from euro|topics The Catalan parliament in Barcelona on Wednesday passed a ban on bullfighting that will go into effect in the autonomous Spanish region starting 2012. The press writes that...
IMF cancels Haiti debt
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the full cancellation of Haiti’s US$268 million debt to that institution. It has also approved a new three-year arrangement for that Caribbean country under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) reque...
Au Sommet de l’Union Africaine, entre santé maternelle et Somalie…
35 Chefs d’Etat et Gouvernement africains, mais aussi des représentants des Nations Unies, de l’Union européenne, des Etats-Unis, des Caraïbes ou le Président mexicain Calderon – venu pour parler du changement climatique avant la confé...
Joanna Tuffy TD on electoral reform.
Labour TD Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West), whom I’ve been in an email exchange of views with, raises some interesting points about electoral reform here. I don’t agree with everything she said, but she does make some valid points.
