Norwegian socialist PM Stoltenberg: Carbon capture project as important as Moon landing
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Carbon capture has failed just about everywhere, but Norway - awash with money accrued from the sale of oil and gas from its vast offshore fields - is still trying to promote its image by investing in this less than succesful technology. The cou...
Macedonia: Protest Announced in Support of Environmental Activist on Trial
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Greenbox blog reported [mk] that the Green Coalition and NGO Lenka would hold a protest in front of Veles court on May 9, 2012, at 11:30 AM, before the start of the trial of the environmental activist Igor Smilev, who has been accused of endangering...
Podcast: The changing role of public affairs companies in Brussels
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I just stumbled over a recent Fleishman-Hillard podcast (mp3) in which Managing Director Caroline Wunnerlich looks back at the changing role of public affairs companies in Brussels over the last 20 years. The content is not overly surprising, but fo...
The Closer
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ROUND-UP Global equities declined today, led down by Greek stocks nearly hitting a 20-year bottom, though the S&P 500 rallied in the US afternoon to finish down just 0.4 per cent....
Erasmus, anyone?
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I begin my contribution to this blog with a slightly off-topic post. Tomorrow, or today- the 9th of May, by any means, is Europe day! The Commission has chosen to celebrate by registering the very first European Citizens' Initiative. What is this...
Election de François Hollande: pas de surprise
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It was clear from the results of the first round of voting that Nicolas Sarkozy was going to lose. The share of the vote for the moderate centre-right, as well as the total right (including the extreme-right) was lower than in 2007. The year 2002 was...
European elections: if the left doesn't lead revolt against austerity, others will | Seumas Milne
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The French and Greek elections have already shifted Europe's politics. But it needs real change to hold the right at bayRevolt against austerity is sweeping Europe. The election of François Hollande has not only opened up the chance of a change of d...
Bozar, and a sublime Leonidas Kavakos once again!
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To the Bozar this evening for a concert given by the Geawandhausorchester Leipzig under the energetic baton of Riccardo Chailly for a great double bill of Shostakovich and Brahms. First up was Shostakovich’s first violin concerto, and we were o...
A New Wind Blows A Changing of the Guards. War Notes from Germany, A Country of Peaceful Overtones.
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The mood from some German people thinking about the euro crisis and its fallouts is “Please don’t leave Germans alone with all the power.” This, they say, its not good for everyone, including Germans.“Follow through with the dream and G...
Defeated SNP councillor threw rosette at MP in election night strop
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Tales from last week’s elections continue to filter back to the Scrapbook office – with the most amusing being associated with grim defeat. In the Scottish Highlands the SNP’s David Stewart, who last year won the Scottish Councillor of...
Discord In Greece Over Austerity To Lead Financial Armageddon And A One Euro Government
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Financial Market Report for May 8 2012 Andreas Rinke and Noah Barkin of Reuters report Germany warns Greece: no cuts, no aid. Leading German politicians warned Greece on Tuesday that the country would not receive a cent more aid unless it fulfills...
Why Europe’s Votes are not a Rejection of Austerity
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The assumption that all of Europe is in revolt against austerity measures is wrong.
Global Economy Heading Downhill?
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According to the JP Morgan Global Composite PMI report, “Growth of global economic activity eased sharply to a fivemonth low in April.” The authors of the report found that on aggregate across the countries surveyed –...
Anti-Austerity in Greek Government
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The Socialists and then the New Democracy Party told Greeks that sacrifices were necessary to avert default on the state’s debt. This position came at a high political cost on May 6, 2012, when both parties lost seats in the state’s legislative e...
New Club of Rome Report paints dark future for humanity
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"2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years", by Jorgen Randers, launched by the Club of Rome on May 7, raises the possibility that humankind might not survive on the planet if it continues on its path of over-consumption and short-term...
Bowe Bergdahl: Remembering the Forgotten Man
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Why is the captured U.S. soldier not part of the strategic release program in Afghanistan? Update (May 9, 2012): Confirming earlier speculation, the parents of Bowe Bergdahl today announced that he is a focus of now-stalled negotiations between the...
The indignados make change contagious | Katharine Ainger
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One year on, the Spanish indignados are offering practical ways to survive the economic crisisThe recurring image of the indignados, the Spanish movement that pro tested against the "economic dictatorship of the markets", is a kind of democratic Mexi...
The Parliament’s Gossip
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This month several important issues were on the agenda of the European Parliament and recently we have had quite a few interesting developments in several Member States. As of Saturday 21 April, the Netherlands are up for new elections and … Co...
Und mal rund gesehen….
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(Zur Entwicklung der deutsch-französischen Beziehungen unter Präsident Hollande) In der nächsten Zeit sind keine großen Veränderungen zu erwarten. Hollandes Abgesandte waren bereits in Berlin und gaben unmissverständlich zu verstehen, dass der...
Fact of the day, US government workers edition
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Government workers account for 9.1% of the working age population, equaling the lowest share on record. When this government employment share of the population was last witnessed in 1984,...
Individuals Hold The Key To European Economic Recovery
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In my last post (What Is The Cost To Europe Of Individual Actions?) I looked at the apparent movement of money out of Greece and into potentially safer locations. That is, of course, only one form of individual action. This weekend has seen another s...
Individuals Hold The Key To European Economic Recovery
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In my last post (What Is The Cost To Europe Of Individual Actions?) I looked at the apparent movement of money out of Greece and into potentially safer locations. That is, of course, only one form of individual action. This weekend has seen another s...
Greek Elections and the Geopolitics of Chaos
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A nationalist mood in Athens will threaten the all-important détente that has prevailed in Greek-Turkish relations for the last decade.
France’s Very Personal Revolution
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It is still unclear what the French electorate really wants or if François Hollande will become the statesman he convinced the majority of voters he could be.
Hollow Promises, Full Pockets
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In our latest op-ed on The European we explain why Bulgaria and Serbia still have to work hard to become fully fledged Europeans. Corruption, EU-populism, crime, … for our German readers.
Worry about idiocy not inflation (part II) German austerity myth
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Dear reader,first of all the author wants to apologize for part II being about German austerity myth instead of about some topics announced in part I. But as always something the author reads/hears/watches that inspires him to write some comments...
