The two chambers have separately adopted the changes with large margins; opposition has been primarily on the political fringes – such as the Communist Party and the far-right National Front party – and some holdouts among Socialists and in Chirac’s centre-right party."
ISSN-1554-7949: News links about and related to Europe - updated daily "The health of a democratic society may be measured by the quality of functions performed by its private citizens" - Alexis de Tocqueville
2/28/05
Scotsman.com News - French Parliament Votes on EU Constitution Referendum
Scotsman.com News"French Parliament Votes on EU Constitution Referendum
The Slovak Spectator - Slovakia to explain EU Constitution to its citizens
The Slovak Spectator"Slovakia to explain EU Constitution to its citizens"
Novosti: SOLANA AND LAVROV LIKE EU TROIKA-RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TALKS
Novosti"SOLANA AND LAVROV LIKE EU TROIKA-RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TALKS"
Channelnewsasia.com: Dollar slides against euro, under pressure on deficit fears
Channelnewsasia.com "Dollar slides against euro, under pressure on deficit fears"
EUobserver.com: Developing countries reach compromise with EU on trade
EUobserver.com"Developing countries reach compromise with EU on trade"
2/27/05
MSNBC/Newsweek - Divide and Conquer - US-CHINA-EU
MSNBC Divide and Conquer - US-CHINA-EU:"Bush's trip to Europe exposes a rift over the big question in Asia: what does China mean to do with its might?"
EUbusiness - Two-thirds of Poles back EU constitution: poll
EUbusiness "Poll in Poland shows: two-thirds of Poles back EU constitution"
Guardian Unlimited: How worried should we be? Food additives main culprit in getting a cancer related disease
Guardian Unlimited"How worried should we be? Food additives main culprit in getting a cancer related disease.
Dr Vyvyan Howard, leading expert in foetal toxicology at Liverpool University and a member of the government's advisory committee on pesticides, said there was an overarching argument for reducing exposure to carcinogens as far as possible. "You have an increasing cancer incidence in the western world - up 50% in the UK since the 1970s. When I was born in 1946 there was a one in four lifetime risk of getting cancer, now it's one in three. For American males it is nearly one in two. Dr Howard points out that other carcinogens in food such as acrylamide present a very high risk. Acrylamide is a chemical produced in foods high in starch that have been cooked or processed at high temperatures, such as chips, breads, crackers, crisps and cereals. "It's nasty stuff, there's more of it and it's in more foods."
Schroeder heads to Gulf for seven-nation tour
Jang Group"Schroeder heads to Gulf for seven-nation tour"
Bush signs on to help clean air in China, India / U.S.-Germany pact to cut coal emissions
sfgate"Bush signs on to help clean air in China, India / U.S.-Germany pact to cut coal emissions - and now Kyoto?"
2/26/05
EUROPA - The European Union in 2020 – Still strong or long gone?
EUROPA" Danuta HÜBNER Member of the European Commission responsible for Regional Policy speaking at a Seminar at the University of Sussex on The European Union in 2020 – Still strong or long gone?"
Telegraph: Colin Powell: 'I'm very sore' - as he speaks out about Iraq, Europe and his days at the White House
Telegraph" "Colin Powell: 'I'm very sore' - as he speaks out about Iraq, Europe and his days at the White House"
ZAMAN: Ankara Complains about Medzamor Power Plant to EU
ZAMAN"Ankara Complains about Medzamor Power Plant to EU"
Cayman Net News: An opportune time to strengthen the domestic economy- do the Cayman Islands see itself as Caribbean or European?
Cayman Net News: "do the Cayman Islands see itself as Caribbean or European?"
xtramsn.co.nz :French Finance Minister Threatens EU Constitution
xtramsn.co.nz"French Finance Minister Threatens EU Constitution"
ABC News Online: European scientists believe in life on Mars.
ABC News Online"European scientists believe in life on Mars"
The Globe and Mail: Canada won't allow U.S. missiles to impugn sovereignty, PM vows
The Globe and Mail"US Missile defense system: Canada won't allow U.S. missiles to impugn sovereignty, PM vows"
Financial Express: Asean+3 replaces European Union as India’s dominant trading partner
FE INSIGHT"Asean+3 replaces European Union as India’s dominant trading partner"
2/25/05
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia: Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Artis Pabriks, meets with the President of Turkey
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia"Latvia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Artis Pabriks, meets with the President of Turkey"
FT.com - EU constitution will ensure UK place at top table in Europe
FT.com"EU constitution will ensure UK place at top table in Europe"
USATODAY.com - Analysis: Bush trip ends, but not all Euros are won over
USATODAY.com"Analysis: Bush trip ends, but not all Euros are won over"
Prensa Latina: Iran Rejects US Presence at Nuclear Talks with European Union Members
Prensa Latina"Iran Rejects US Presence at Nuclear Talks with European Union Members"
www.swnebr.net: Rep. Osborne Urges European Union to Remove Its Ban on U.S. Beef
www.swnebr.net"Rep. Osborne Urges European Union to Remove Its Ban on U.S. Beef"
Economist.com: The European Union constitution - the stakes are getting higher
Economist.com"The European Union constitution - the stakes are getting higher"
2/24/05
The Prague Post Online: Czech hesitancy jeopardizes EU constitution
The Prague Post Online"Czech hesitancy jeopardizes EU constitution "
EuroNews: Socialist win big in Portugal with Socrates and get absolute majority in Parliament
EuroNews" Socialist win big in Portugal with Socrates and get absolute majority in Parliament"
Bloomberg.com: Montenegro Proposes Ending EU-Supported Union With Serbia
Bloomberg.com"Montenegro Proposes Ending EU-Supported Union With Serbia"
2/23/05
KRT Wire: European Union develops into political, economic competitor
KRT Wire " European Union develops into political, economic competitor"
Middle East Quarterly - Green Money, Islamist Politics in Turkey
Middle East Quarterly"Green Money, Islamist Politics in Turkey"
2/22/05
Financial Express: Smaller economies, new members set to drive EU growth in 2005
Financial Express" Smaller economies, new members set to drive EU growth in 2005"
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - SPACE: GALILEO AVIONICA WILL BUILD TRACKERS FOR NASA
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia: "SPACE: GALILEO AVIONICA WILL BUILD TRACKERS FOR NASA"
The Globe and Mail: Bush take on world draws international skepticism
The Globe and Mail: "Bush take on world draws international skepticism"
2/21/05
Warsaw Business Journal Online - Teaching the Polish Tiger to roar
Warsaw Business Journal Online"Teaching the Polish Tiger to roar"
2/20/05
Boston.com: Bush enlists Europe to isolate Iran, Syria
Boston.com" Bush enlists Europe to isolate Iran, Syria - same story, different package
Irish Times - Voters in Spain approve EU constitution by big majority 76.6%
Irish Times "Voters in Spain approve EU constitution by big majority - 76.6%"
Dollar has biggest weekly drop in two months
Financial Express"Dollar has biggest weekly drop in two months"
2/19/05
ON THE OCCASION OF THE G.W. BUSH VISIT TO THE EU - A NEW RELATIONSHIP
Book review: The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy
by T. R. Reid
"T. R. Reid has covered the U.S. Congress, national politics, and four presidential campaigns for The Washington Post. He was the Post's Tokyo bureau chief from 1990 to 1995 and then became head of the paper's London bureau, where he chronicled the stunning rise of the European Union at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Reid is now the Post's Rocky Mountain bureau chief and a popular commentator on National Public Radio. He is the author of three books in Japanese and five in English, including The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution.
John Moe writes about Reid's book in Amazon.com
"While the United States flexes its economic and military muscles around the world as the dominant global player, it may soon have company. According to the Washington Post's T.R. Reid, the nations of Europe are setting aside differences to form an entity that's gaining strength, all seemingly unbeknownst to the U.S. and its citizens. The new Europe, Reid says, "has more people, more wealth, and more trade than the United States of America," plus more leverage gained through membership in international organizations and generous foreign aid policies that reap political clout. Reid tells how European countries were willing to discontinue their individual centuries-old currencies and adopt the Euro, the monetary unit that is now a dominant force in world markets. This is noteworthy not just for exploring the considerable economic impact of the Euro, but also for what that spirit of cooperation means for every facet of Europe in the 21st century, where governments and citizens alike believe that the rewards of banding together are worth a loss in sovereignty. Reid's most compelling portrait of this trend is in the young Europeans known as "Generation E" who see themselves not as Spaniards or Czechs but simply as Europeans. To illustrate America's obliviousness to this trend, Reid tells of former GE CEO Jack Welch, who never bothered to factor European objections into a proposed multi-billion dollar merger with Honeywell, leading to the deal being torpedoed and Welch disgraced. But what is most striking in The United States of Europe is the contrast between the new Europe and the United States. The Europeans cannot match the raw military size of the U.S., but by mixing wealth with diplomacy and continental unity (helped along by antipathy toward George W. Bush's brand of Americanism), they are forming an innovative and powerful superpower.
The Publisher weekly, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., says about Reid's book:
"While "old Europe" is most often portrayed as more bark than bite in its differences with the current U.S. administration, NPR commentator and former Washington Post European bureau chief Reid finds the E.U. as a whole "determined to change a world that has been dominated by Americans." The opening chapters quickly summarize everyday Europeans’ love-hate relationship with the States, the legacies of the 20th-century wars, and the creation of the Euro. The center chapters present GE as a case study in transatlantic trade gone wrong ("Welch’s Waterloo") as well as other snafus that show Europe attempting to dominate market share of everything from cell phones to pharmaceuticals. A chapter detailing what’s left of Europe’s welfare states is followed by a relatively bleak assessment of Europe’s armies, and the spin that the E.U. is betting on economic "soft power" for eventual global dominance. The concluding chapters warn that the U.S. ignores Europe’s new 25-nation strong union at its economic and political peril, but also draw attention to Europe as a huge, tariff-free market and potential sharer of global burdens. There’s little surprising here, but Reid’s primer on recent U.S. European relations genially summarizes an evolving, if often reluctant, partnership.
T. R. Reid's The United States of Europe lays bare the ways in which the EU is positioning itself to be a global counterweight and second superpower, on equal footing with the U.S.A. Reid traces the rise of the EU from the days when Churchill and other visionaries set out in the post-World War II rubble to find a means to end war in Europe. He shows how this remarkably successful effort to "create peace" also created a global economic and political power that is often at odds with the United States. This drive toward unity has been accelerated by the powerful mood of anti-Americanism (or, at least, anti-Bushism) that has swept the Continent since the war in Iraq.
In addition to the political ramifications of the EU, The United States of Europe shows the great impact this alliance is having on the global economic market. The euro, which now has more daily users than the dollar, is fast becoming a reserve currency and a new standard for global finance, a globally recognized replacement for the once-almighty dollar. Unification has spawned a generation of European corporate managers who have led firms like Nokia, Airbus, BP, Vodafone, and Red Bull to catch and surpass their U.S. competitors in global markets.
The European Union, from its beginnings as an experiment in statecraft, has rapidly emerged as a resounding success; yet Americans have so far managed to ignore the geopolitical revolution under way across the Atlantic. Reid's book shows how quietly-and not so quietly-Europe is developing itself into an economic, political, and cultural powerhouse."
by T. R. Reid
"T. R. Reid has covered the U.S. Congress, national politics, and four presidential campaigns for The Washington Post. He was the Post's Tokyo bureau chief from 1990 to 1995 and then became head of the paper's London bureau, where he chronicled the stunning rise of the European Union at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Reid is now the Post's Rocky Mountain bureau chief and a popular commentator on National Public Radio. He is the author of three books in Japanese and five in English, including The Chip: How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution.
John Moe writes about Reid's book in Amazon.com
"While the United States flexes its economic and military muscles around the world as the dominant global player, it may soon have company. According to the Washington Post's T.R. Reid, the nations of Europe are setting aside differences to form an entity that's gaining strength, all seemingly unbeknownst to the U.S. and its citizens. The new Europe, Reid says, "has more people, more wealth, and more trade than the United States of America," plus more leverage gained through membership in international organizations and generous foreign aid policies that reap political clout. Reid tells how European countries were willing to discontinue their individual centuries-old currencies and adopt the Euro, the monetary unit that is now a dominant force in world markets. This is noteworthy not just for exploring the considerable economic impact of the Euro, but also for what that spirit of cooperation means for every facet of Europe in the 21st century, where governments and citizens alike believe that the rewards of banding together are worth a loss in sovereignty. Reid's most compelling portrait of this trend is in the young Europeans known as "Generation E" who see themselves not as Spaniards or Czechs but simply as Europeans. To illustrate America's obliviousness to this trend, Reid tells of former GE CEO Jack Welch, who never bothered to factor European objections into a proposed multi-billion dollar merger with Honeywell, leading to the deal being torpedoed and Welch disgraced. But what is most striking in The United States of Europe is the contrast between the new Europe and the United States. The Europeans cannot match the raw military size of the U.S., but by mixing wealth with diplomacy and continental unity (helped along by antipathy toward George W. Bush's brand of Americanism), they are forming an innovative and powerful superpower.
The Publisher weekly, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc., says about Reid's book:
"While "old Europe" is most often portrayed as more bark than bite in its differences with the current U.S. administration, NPR commentator and former Washington Post European bureau chief Reid finds the E.U. as a whole "determined to change a world that has been dominated by Americans." The opening chapters quickly summarize everyday Europeans’ love-hate relationship with the States, the legacies of the 20th-century wars, and the creation of the Euro. The center chapters present GE as a case study in transatlantic trade gone wrong ("Welch’s Waterloo") as well as other snafus that show Europe attempting to dominate market share of everything from cell phones to pharmaceuticals. A chapter detailing what’s left of Europe’s welfare states is followed by a relatively bleak assessment of Europe’s armies, and the spin that the E.U. is betting on economic "soft power" for eventual global dominance. The concluding chapters warn that the U.S. ignores Europe’s new 25-nation strong union at its economic and political peril, but also draw attention to Europe as a huge, tariff-free market and potential sharer of global burdens. There’s little surprising here, but Reid’s primer on recent U.S. European relations genially summarizes an evolving, if often reluctant, partnership.
T. R. Reid's The United States of Europe lays bare the ways in which the EU is positioning itself to be a global counterweight and second superpower, on equal footing with the U.S.A. Reid traces the rise of the EU from the days when Churchill and other visionaries set out in the post-World War II rubble to find a means to end war in Europe. He shows how this remarkably successful effort to "create peace" also created a global economic and political power that is often at odds with the United States. This drive toward unity has been accelerated by the powerful mood of anti-Americanism (or, at least, anti-Bushism) that has swept the Continent since the war in Iraq.
In addition to the political ramifications of the EU, The United States of Europe shows the great impact this alliance is having on the global economic market. The euro, which now has more daily users than the dollar, is fast becoming a reserve currency and a new standard for global finance, a globally recognized replacement for the once-almighty dollar. Unification has spawned a generation of European corporate managers who have led firms like Nokia, Airbus, BP, Vodafone, and Red Bull to catch and surpass their U.S. competitors in global markets.
The European Union, from its beginnings as an experiment in statecraft, has rapidly emerged as a resounding success; yet Americans have so far managed to ignore the geopolitical revolution under way across the Atlantic. Reid's book shows how quietly-and not so quietly-Europe is developing itself into an economic, political, and cultural powerhouse."
csmonitor.com: Bush visits a Europe ever further away
csmonitor.com"Will Europe have the guts to cut the umbilical cord to the US and replace it by a mutually beneficial economic partnership"
WSJ.com - Cowboynomics in Europe says Wall Street Journal
WSJ.com"Cowboynomics in Europe says Wall Street Journal"
WPH: Countries seek more freedom from EU fiscal controls
WPH "EU member Countries seek more freedom from EU fiscal controls - but flexibility of rules can also mean adopting disastrous US economic models, with long-term negative results"
BBC NEWS: EU constitution hurdles
BBC NEWS: EU constitution hurdles"The European Union is on the verge of launching an unprecedented exercise in public consultation.True democracy at work in the EU"
National Review Online: How to Euro-speak
EuroPress National Review Online" How to Euro-speak, an excercise in Europe bashing by the National Review"
Xinhua - Bush rejects moves to boost EU military power
Xinhua - "Bush rejects moves to boost EU military might"
SETimes.com: EU Finance Ministers Set 2006 Deadline for Greece to Curb Budget Deficit
SETimes.com"EU Finance Ministers Set 2006 Deadline for Greece to Curb Budget Deficit"
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Perception: EU Politicians are not people friendly
Perception: EU Politicians are not people friendly
A Europe House Report
With more and more Europeans complaining about knowing very little about the new European Constitution, a recent investigation by Europe House showed that one of the causes might be that most European politicians are not very people friendly.
Even though most European politicians, and in particular those at the European parliament have an e-mail address, this e-mail address is usually difficult to locate and not easily accessible by the public they serve.
What is even more disturbing, say some of the people who tried contacting their local politicians serving in the European parliament on-line, is that after making a considerable effort to find their e-mail address, most of their messages do not get answered or even acknowledged.
The situation is not much better when it comes to the local member state government civil servants. The number of heads of state or ministers who have their e-mail address listed on their national websites is just about non-existent.
Our investigation showed that most EU member state governments websites usually only provide a clickable information or comments section. These electronic mail forms do not identify where your e-mail message is going to, or if you will ever get a response to your question. In that respect, we Europeans can learn from America. Every politician and public servant in that country, including the President is easily accessible by e-mail and you will usually get a response.
There are exceptions to the rule in Europe. Mr. Heinz Fischer, the President of Austria has his e-mail address on the Austrian Website (Heinz.Fischer@hofburg.at) and can be contacted by anyone.
Instead of blaming Brussels for doing a bad job at informing the people of Europe on their future, EU politicians should do a better job at opening communications with their own constituents and become more transparent.
Everyone will benefit. RM
A Europe House Report
With more and more Europeans complaining about knowing very little about the new European Constitution, a recent investigation by Europe House showed that one of the causes might be that most European politicians are not very people friendly.
Even though most European politicians, and in particular those at the European parliament have an e-mail address, this e-mail address is usually difficult to locate and not easily accessible by the public they serve.
What is even more disturbing, say some of the people who tried contacting their local politicians serving in the European parliament on-line, is that after making a considerable effort to find their e-mail address, most of their messages do not get answered or even acknowledged.
The situation is not much better when it comes to the local member state government civil servants. The number of heads of state or ministers who have their e-mail address listed on their national websites is just about non-existent.
Our investigation showed that most EU member state governments websites usually only provide a clickable information or comments section. These electronic mail forms do not identify where your e-mail message is going to, or if you will ever get a response to your question. In that respect, we Europeans can learn from America. Every politician and public servant in that country, including the President is easily accessible by e-mail and you will usually get a response.
There are exceptions to the rule in Europe. Mr. Heinz Fischer, the President of Austria has his e-mail address on the Austrian Website (Heinz.Fischer@hofburg.at) and can be contacted by anyone.
Instead of blaming Brussels for doing a bad job at informing the people of Europe on their future, EU politicians should do a better job at opening communications with their own constituents and become more transparent.
Everyone will benefit. RM