Washington Post: EU move makes Turkey's task tougher: ruling party MP

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EU move makes Turkey's task tougher: ruling party MP

The European Union's decision to partially suspend Turkey's entry talks will cause problems for the Muslim nation, but Ankara will still press ahead on its path to membership, a senior ruling party lawmaker said on Tuesday. "A much more difficult process awaits Turkey. We need to be careful and calm," Koksal Toptan, the head of parliament's justice commission and a senior member of the ruling centre-right AK Party, told Reuters.

"This situation should not make us give up on our EU vision and objectives," Toptan said, in the first AK Party reaction to Monday's decision by EU foreign ministers to suspend talks in eight of 35 chapters or policy areas Turkey must work through. Editorial Comment EU-Digest: "The EU can only benefit by having Turkey as a full member of the Club. The pro's certainly outweigh the con's when it comes to cultural heritage, democracy, economics and geographical location. Religion should be a non-issue, because the EU states are all secular and so is Turkey. Even the Pope changed his mind on that subject. The so-called "Armenian genocide" is also a non issue which does not belong within the sphere of EU-Turkey membership discussions, but rather needs to be discussed between Armenia and Turkey. The strong world-wide Armenian lobby, which over the years has turned this issue into an "industry" must certainly not become a participant in the discussions. Even the so-called Cyprus impasse is out of context in these negotiations. The issue has been and should continue to be an issue to be solved between Cyprus and Turkey, arbitrated by the UN. Unfortunately many politicians on the right and the left in Europe seem to be looking inward and have taken a nationalistic and simplistic approach when they talk about Turkey and the EU. Obviously there are still a large number of problems to be ironed out between the EU and Turkey, but with the right attitude of all the parties involved, the EU can only gain by having Turkey as a full member."

globeandmail.com: Netherlands first country to switch to fully digital TV

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Netherlands first country to switch to fully digital TV

The Netherlands ended transmission of "free to air" analog television yesterday, becoming the first nation to switch completely to digital signals. Few Dutch consumers noticed, because the overwhelming majority get TV by cable. Only around 74,000 households relied primarily on the old-fashioned TV antennas in the country of 16 million, although 220,000 people had an "occasional use" set somewhere such as in a vacation house, camper or boat, according to government figures.

The bandwidth formerly used by analog has been licensed through 2017 by former Dutch telecommunications monopoly Royal KPN NV, which will use it to broadcast digital television.

The Seattle Times: Europe's warm winter leaves ski areas struggling

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Europe's warm winter leaves ski areas struggling

GENEVA — Spring blossoms are popping up all over the Austrian Alps. Geneva's official chestnut tree has already sprouted leaves and flowers. And Swedes are still picking mushrooms. The same question is on everyone's minds: Is winter in Europe going to be canceled this year?

The United Nations' World Meteorological Organization says the Alps have as little as one-third the seasonal average of snow. Temperatures from Norway to the Mediterranean are up to 5 degrees warmer than normal.

Casino City Times: Italy, Spain usher in new gambling regs - by Bradley Vallerius

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Italy, Spain usher in new gambling regs - by Bradley Vallerius

Gaming regulators in Italy and Spain have passed legislation to liberalize land-based and Internet betting, prompting a deluge of license applications from foreign operators. In Italy, the government is auctioning off 17,000 licenses for sports and horse racing betting at shops and other outlets. Companies have been invited to bid for the number of outlets for which they want licenses. Sports wagering will also be permitted online. Remote casino gaming and brick-and-mortar casinos are also being regulated by Italy. More than 30 companies-- many of them bookmakers, including Betfair, William Hill and Unibet-— have already received licenses to offer remote gaming. Remote wagering on skill games and person-to-person betting exchanges is also being regulated.

IHT: Airbus chief says A380 problems will be sorted out within months

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Airbus chief says A380 problems will be sorted out within months

LONDON: Airbus expects to solve problems that have delayed production of its A380 "superjumbo" aircraft in a matter of weeks or months, Dow Jones Newswires quoted Airbus Chief Executive Louis Gallois as saying Monday. Gallois visited the Airbus wing-producing factory in Broughton, Wales, as part of an announcement that the British government will put up half the cost of a 34 million pounds (€50 million; US$66 million) wing design program.

After concentrating massive resources on its flagship A380, Airbus has been outmaneuvered by Boeing's two-engine 787, which delivers better fuel economy than older four-engine Airbus jets in the same size category.

Xinhua - EU to partially freeze accession talks with Turkey

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BRUSSELS, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) foreign ministers agreed on Monday to partially freeze accession talks with Turkey as Ankara still refuses to normalize trade with Cyprus, an EU member. The EU foreign ministers agreed unanimously that eight of the 35 chapters of the negotiations will be frozen. The rest of the chapter can go ahead, but shall not be concluded until Turkey opens its seaports and airports to Cypriot traffic. The eight chapters to be frozen are free movement, finance, agriculture, fishery, transport, customs, foreign policy and services trade.

The ministers agreed, however, that the eight chapters can be unfrozen once the conditions are met.

ZDNet: Eastern Europe: Outsourcing hot spot?

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Eastern Europe: Outsourcing hot spot?

Eastern Europe could soon become a favorite location for offshore outsourcing, with activity in the region estimated to triple between 2005 and 2008.
That's according to consulting firm McKinsey, which predicts that the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry will support 130,000 jobs in the region by 2008. Although only 1 percent of the world's total BPO spending--worth $30 billion--is currently located in Eastern Europe, the region emerged as one of the favorite locations for Western European companies to invest in between 2004 and 2006.

McKinsey identifies three main advantages for companies locating BPO operations in Eastern Europe in the winter issue of McKinsey on IT.

Enlargement of the EU: Yes, but reform first say reports

European Parliament

"Enlargement of the EU: Yes, but reform first say reports
Institutions - - 14:41

A European Union that began with 6 members will have 27 in two weeks. The continued desire of countries to join is a tribute to its success, but raises two key questions: what are the limits of the EU and can it enlarge without reforming the way it works? On Wednesday morning MEPs will debate two reports on these issues during the plenary session. A day later EU leaders meet - with Turkey's troubled EU aspirations on the agenda.

In just two weeks Bulgaria and Romania will join the EU. As it stands Turkey, Croatia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are currently in the EU's "waiting room" as possible future members. They have been classified as "candidate countries" meaning negotiations on membership have begun. Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia are "potential candidate countries" where formal negotiations have not begun.

The two reports being debated in Parliament this week look at the EU's "main challenges" in this area in the coming years and whether the Union has the ability to "absorb" new members."

Guardian Unlimited: MEPs seek break-up of dominant energy groups - by David Gow

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MEPs seek break-up of dominant energy groups - by David Gow

The European parliament will this week urge the EU to boost consumer rights and drive down electricity and gas prices by forcing the break-up of large continental energy groups and introducing far more competition into the market, the Guardian has learned.

The 732 MEPs will vote overwhelmingly on Thursday in favour of legislation to enact "ownership unbundling" - the sell-off of power and gas transmission networks by incumbent operators who use their current ownership control to squeeze out new rivals. European energy regulators issued a similar call last week.

The EU will also be pressed by the MEPs to adopt a citizens' charter setting out enhanced rights for consumers, including greater information about charging and easier ability to switch suppliers. European consumers tend to face much higher bills than UK customers because of the dominance of large incumbents.

TimesOnline: Straight Road to Europe - Turkey does not deserve the punishment the EU contemplates

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Straight Road to Turkey - Turkey does not deserve the punishment the EU contemplates

For 43 years, Turkey has been knocking at the European Union’s door. Despite being the guardian of Nato’s southern flank, firmly aligned with the West throughout the Cold War, it has watched other states with dictatorial pasts and fragile economies — Spain, Portugal and Greece, and Eastern Europe’s new democracies — push past it in the queue for admission. It has listened to European statesmen extol enlargement, correctly, for expanding the community of stable, prosperous democracies and establishing the EU as a confident, outward-looking player on the global stage. It has worked hard to deprive them of reasons for keeping Turkey’s application on hold, not just through internal reforms but by endorsing, and persuading Turkish Cypriots to agree to, a United Nations plan that would have ended the division of Cyprus if the Greek Cypriots had not then stubbornly rejected reunification.

t is true that Turkey is legally obliged to open its markets to all EU members, without exception. But the Union is also morally obliged to reciprocate, as it promised it would, by simultaneously ending the trade and travel embargoes on the Turkish Cypriot part of Cyprus. The Greek- Cypriot Government has blocked that, too — and insists it will continue to whatever Turkey does. Far from pressing Cyprus to see reason, the EU has laid all the blame for this absurd dispute on Turkey — and has stubbornly carried on doing so even after last week’s politically brave offer by Ankara to make a unilateral first move towards compromise. Comment EU-Digest: this deplorable course of events is politically motivated behaviour of some of the EU member states which seems to cater to sentiments within their local electorate.

Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : EU Chamber of Commerce Celebrates 20 Years in Korea

Seoul
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EU Chamber of Commerce Celebrates 20 Years in Korea

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the EUCCK hosted a luncheon with Prime Minister Han Myung-sook, as well as other government officials and business representatives. When the EUCCK was established in 1986, few imagined that twenty years later its members would have secured the largest chunk of foreign direct investment into Korea. European investors today account for over half the FDI into this country. Between 1962 and 2005, Europe's investment stood at US$35.4 billion at the top of regional rankings.

The EU also represents the second-largest importer of Korean goods after the United States. At the ceremony marking 20 years of the EU Chamber's involvement in Korea, Han Myung-sook underlined the value of Korea-EU ties. "Korea and EU members share more than 100 years of partnership in just about every sector. And we would like to see stronger cooperation and friendship in the future,” she said. “Korea has high expectations about the EU Chamber's bridging role in strengthening bilateral economic ties."

Times onLine: Springtime for Angela Merkel and Germany

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Springtime for Angela Merkel and Germany

The EU has turned the corner economically with the world’s biggest exporter taking the lead, write David Smith and Michael Woodhead in Frankfurt
IT was flowers in the Bundestag for German chancellor Angela Merkel when she celebrated her first year in office late last month, as she and the rest of the country basked not only in the warmest autumn for 1,000 years but the best economic figures this decade. Jobless figures are dramatically down and the economy has grown faster than predicted. What is good for Germany is, in general, good for Europe. The pick-up in growth in the country has been matched by a recovery throughout “euroland” — the 12 nations that adopted the single currency.

Growth, which appeared to be stuck at a ponderous 1% or 1.5%, has moved strongly higher, helping to push the euro itself up against the beleaguered dollar.

Playfuls.com: Croatia Clashes With EU Over Adriatic Eco-zone

The Croatian Coast
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Croatia Clashes With EU Over Adriatic Eco-zone

By pushing ahead with his plan to restrict fishing off Croatia's Adriatic coast, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has clashed with the European Union, which Croatia hopes to join in a few years. Trouble broke over a 40-mile (72-kilometre) ecologically-protected belt (ZERP) in the Adriatic, which the Zagreb parliament declared in 2003 but suspended, pending negotiations with EU. Croatia's Adriatic neighbours and EU states Slovenia and Italy say that ZERP - which regulates fishing, including seasonal bans, the size of ships, nets and the catch - would hit their fishermen hard.

Croatia has been an EU membership candidate since 2004, and is negotiating accession with a target date of no later than June 2009.

Pantagraph.com: Globalization is root of problems in U.S. (and Europe?) - by Charles Nicholson

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Globalization is root of problems in U.S. - by Charles Nicholson

"Just 60 years ago the United States commanded most of the world's riches. We owned 73 percent of the world's cars and trucks, and produced 60 percent of the world's steel. In productivity we were far ahead of other nations. But today, it should be plain to see that we have been betrayed by our political, academic, financial and religious leaders. Our freedoms, our wealth and our productive capacity are being destroyed.

The problem is globalization. Major winds of change are blowing in this country, though unrecognized by most, what we see today unfolding before us is the deliberate, cold-blooded, destruction of the American dream - the destruction of the old order in preparation for the construction of the new world order.

All Headline News - Greece Bans Mobile Phones In School - by Komfie Manalo

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Greece Bans Mobile Phones In School - by Komfie Manalo

Athens, Greece (AHN) - The education minister of Greece has ordered a ban on children using mobile phone while at school after a 16-year-old girl was raped during a school sit-in while fellow pupils videoed the criminal act on their mobiles. The new ruling said all senior students who will violate the ban will be expelled from the school. A recent study found that almost every Greek school student over the age of 15 owns a mobile phone. Students mostly use their handheld phone for listening music, sending text messages and playing games.

The gang rape of a 16-year-old Bulgarian girl on the island of Evia has forced the education ministry to decide that children should not be allowed to possess their precious status symbols.

IHT: Will Turkey's "silent revolution" ever be enough for Europe? - Europe

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Will Turkey's "silent revolution" ever be enough for Europe? - Europe

ISTANBUL, Turkey: From the beginning, Turkey's path to the European Union was a diplomatic minefield, with any number of issues threatening to blow up at any time. The country is large, 99 percent Muslim, prone to military coups and economic crises, and developed to European levels only in small pockets. It has problems with torture, violence, freedom of expression, corruption and minority rights. The vast majority of its land mass is in Asia Minor, where battles against Kurdish separatists have killed some 37,000 people. Most pressingly, it has 40,000 soldiers occupying part of another EU member country, Cyprus, which it invaded more than three decades ago.

At a summit this week, European leaders look likely to partially suspend membership talks with Turkey because of its refusal to trade with or recognize Cyprus. But with so many other issues to deal with, Turks are buckling down to a long, hard slog. Note EU-DIGEST: Go to our EU-DIGEST poll on the subject and let your voice be heard.

EU-DIGEST POLL: Should Turkey be part of the EU ?

Should Turkey be part of the EU? Just click yes or no and make your vote count

"Should Turkey be part of the EU?"

In view of the upcoming discussions about Turkey's candidacy in the EU you are encouraged to express your opinion on this subject in our EU-DIGEST Poll.

Dar Al Hayat: A Weaker Dollar and a Receding US Influence : Kamel Wazneh

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A Weaker Dollar and a Receding US Influence : Kamel Wazneh

Central banks worldwide began discarding the dollar in favor of the euro in an attempt to minimize their losses following the decline in the value of the US currency. An opinion poll conducted by the Management Trend research firm showed that more than two thirds of the world's central banks have reduced their exposure to the US dollar. According to the poll conducted in 2005, 65% of central banks, managing more than two trillion US dollars, have begun to realize that the US currency cannot be relied on for these banks' reserves. The drop in the exchange rate of the US dollar was also linked to a poll conducted by German economic departments, which revealed an increase in the levels of confidence in the performance of the European economy to a 15-year-high.

The increased strength of the euro comes as US citizens and the US government enjoy the most favorable terms in the international trade exchange, as they borrow trillions of dollars worth of commodities, housing, and military funding from abroad at a cost of borrowing that does not exceed 5%, while at the same time, returns on US foreign investments exceed 20%, leading to a situation in which the US foreign debt reached $13.6 trillion, or $119,000 owed by each American household.

Mail & Guardian: Has the IMF turned irredeemably irrelevant? - Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

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Has the IMF turned irredeemably irrelevant? - Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

Has the International Monetary Fund (IMF) become completely irrelevant? Is this world body, set up more than six decades ago to foster global economic stability and help countries facing financial crises, really reforming itself? And will it become more responsive to the aspirations of developing countries? Opinion is sharply divided on these questions as the IMF undergoes an exercise to change its "quota and vote" system that is linked to the financial commitments made its 184 member countries. A member's quota delineates basic aspects of its financial and organisational relationship with the fund, including its powers to vote and its access to loans.

Three years ago, the IMF had loaned more than $100-billion to various countries to help them tide over problems including management of external balance of payments. This amount has now shrunk to less than $20-billion a year. In fact, instead of primarily being a lender of funds, the IMF has become a net receiver of funds with an inflow in excess of $20-billion in the form of repayments of past loans, much of it from developing countries.

"The IMF has today become completely irrelevant," observed Professor Jayati Ghosh, who teaches economics at New Delhi's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, in an interview.

EURASIA DAILY MONITOR: TRANS-BLACK SEA PIPELINE CAN BRING CASPIAN GAS TO EUROPE - by Vladimir Socor

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TRANS-BLACK SEA PIPELINE CAN BRING CASPIAN GAS TO EUROPE - by Vladimir Socor

A New York-based consortium of several independent parties is completing the pre-feasibility study for a Georgia-Ukraine-European Union (GUEU) gas pipeline project. Led by the London-based Pipeline Systems Engineering (PSE) and the New-York-based Radon-Ishizumi consulting and engineering firms, the project envisages bringing Caspian gas to EU territory by pipeline via Georgia and the seabed of the Black Sea in the first phase, and connecting that line to a trans-Caspian pipeline in a follow-up phase.

The GUEU project can provide a politically safe, shortest-route export outlet for Caspian gas to European consumer countries. It would advance the access of Caspian gas to Ukraine and the EU countries. Its planned second- and third-phase schedule is calculated to advance the time of full development of gas extraction in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and construction of trans-Caspian pipeline links.

MyWestTexas.com - Kremlin control of natural gas routes to Europe stokes Western unease - Will there be a Gas Cartel soon?

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MyWestTexas.com - Kremlin control of natural gas routes to Europe stokes Western unease - Will there be a Gas Cartel soon?

A recently leaked confidential study by NATO economic experts warned Russia may be seeking to build a gas cartel including Algeria, Qatar, Libya, the countries of central Asia and perhaps Iran and cautioned that kind of OPEC-like near monopoly would strengthen Moscow's leverage over Europe. As in the Cold War, Europe is the most vulnerable. It now imports just over half of its energy needs but will depend on outside suppliers for 90 percent of its oil and 80 percent of its gas within 20 years. "With gas, control over pipelines is crucial," says energy expert Michael Klare. "Once you put oil on a tanker you cannot control it, but gas is different; whoever controls the pipelines controls the flow." Like NATO, U.S. officials also are warning of the dangers of allowing Russia a free hand in monopolizing gas shipments. And the European Union is trying -- without success so far -- to pry open the Russian grasp on gas and gas pipelines supplying EU member countries. In October, Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom announced it would develop the huge Shtokman gas field without foreign partners, in a fresh setback to western oil companies looking to exploit the nation's vast hydrocarbon riches.

Western concerns reflect a growing understanding that in the 21st century control of energy has become more than ever before a weapon of geopolitical advantage.

theage.com: Europe's Ariane rocket launches two US satellites

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Europe's Ariane rocket launches two US satellites

A heavy-lift Ariane-5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana late on Friday, putting two American telecommunications satellites into orbit in its fifth mission this year, space officials said. The rocket launched on schedule from Europe's space base in Kourou, on the northeast coast of South America at 7.08 p.m. (2208 GMT). Twenty-seven minutes after launch, the rocket released the WildBlue-1 satellite for WildBlue Communication. WildBlue is designed to provide high-speed internet to rural areas of the United States and Canada. Five minutes later AMC-18 for SES Americom was orbited.

Friday's launch was the 30th launch of the Ariane-5 rocket series.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide - France - still Central Africa's 'gendarmerie'?

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France - still Central Africa's 'gendarmerie'?

Although it's almost 50 years on from the era of decolonisation, French soldiers are again in the frontline of a number of conflicts on the continent of Africa - and some people argue it's taken on a neo-colonial role in the region.

Just last week, French fighter planes were helping to suppress a rebellion by a somewhat mysterious resistance movement in the Central African Republic. Meanwhile, in Chad, France continues to play an important role in supporting the effort by President Idriss Deby to put down an uprising in the east of the country.

Until a few years ago, French policy was the deciding factor in the conflicts of Central Africa. Between 1962 and 1995, Paris intervened a total of 19 times in various African nations. However, with the arrival of multi-party politics on the continent some 15 years ago, and the establishment of the African Union in 2002, it seemed that France's role as the 'police man' of the region was almost over.

Stop crying doom at EU’s expansion

FT.com / Comment & analysis / Comment

"Stop crying doom at EU’s expansion

By Alexander Stubb

Published: December:28

When European Union heads meet in Brussels next week, they will again face a tough question: is the Union ready to take on new member states? This question pops up every time the club is about to enlarge. This time they will discuss strategy after Bulgaria and Romania join in January, taking membership to 27 countries. Future potential members include Turkey and states in former Yugoslavia.

Over the past 50 years the Union has increased its membership five times. The first four enlargements were relatively easy. They did not, however, go without opposition."

Global Research.CA: The Spirit of Democracy in Venezuela

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The Spirit of Democracy in Venezuela

In Venezuela under Hugo Chavez there's real participatory democracy for all the people. After it played out in a fair and open electoral process, Chavez greeted his supporters in an atmosphere of jubilant celebration once National Electoral Council (CNE) president Lucena Tibisay announced at 10:30 PM election night that with about 78% of the vote tallied, Chavez received 61.4% (5,936,000 votes) to right wing opposition candidate Manuel Rosales 38% (3,715,000 votes). The early figures were then updated showing Chavez increased his advantage to 62.89% (7,161,637 votes), handily defeating Rosales by about 26 points (at about 37%) - an impressive nearly two to one thrashing. It was also announced that voter turnout was about 75% or the highest percentage in Venezuela's history making this election an historic event and a clear mandate for Hugo Chavez.

Once the first results were announced on election night, it was clear to Mr. Rosales he'd lost and he was forced to concede defeat. He added, however, he would continue opposing the policies of the Chavez government "struggling for the people of Venezuela (and announcing) we are beginning the struggle for the construction of a new time for Venezuela....and I won't stop there, from today on I will be in the streets (staying) in the struggle, in the fight." He didn't say what he has in mind is returning the country to its ugly past serving the interests of wealth and power and ignoring the needs of ordinary people, all his pious rhetoric aside. He's sure to get lots of encouragement and help from Washington as its unbending agenda going forward is to do precisely that. Short of an armed invasion, however, it may be harder than ever to do that as Hugo Chavez came out ahead in all 23 of Venezuela's states including in Rosales' home state of Zulia that went for Chavez with a 50.57% majority, an embarrassment he also neglected to mention in his concession statement cum bravado. A dozen other candidates participated in the election as well, but had nothing to brag about, getting in total less than half of one percent of the vote total.

Napa Valley Register: Fine print of Iraq report shows tableau of trouble facing U.S. - KATHERINE SHRADER

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Fine print of Iraq report shows tableau of trouble facing U.S.

WASHINGTON — The Iraq Study Group’s grim report embraces the most worrisome estimates about Muqtada al-Sadr’s private army: He has as many as 60,000 fighters, and his followers are planted throughout the security forces protecting the Health Ministry and other Iraqi government institutions. Making matters worse, the high-level panel believes the cleric himself may not be able to manage the diverse and growing parts of his network known as the Mahdi army.

“As the Mahdi army has grown in size and influence, some elements have moved beyond Sadr’s control,” the report concludes.

M@C: EU wants new Mideast strategy

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EU wants new Mideast strategy

Observers say Europe will have to do more to help the United States find and implement a fresh security strategy in the Middle East, and the findings of the Iraq Study Group have already sparked positive feedback from European allies.

Signs for a change were already visible. After the sweeping Democratic victory in the midterm elections, neo-conservative architects of the failed foreign policy, like (former Secretary of Defense) Donald Rumsfeld and John Bolton, the unpopular U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, had to resign. Robert Gates, the new U.S. secretary of defense, answering a senator`s question as to whether America 'was winning in Iraq,' said 'no, Sir'; thus with two words changing the rhetoric that has dominated Bush`s news conferences for the past two years.

Until last month, Gates was a member of the ISG and is expected to be much more open to alternative ideas and new tactics in Iraq and the Middle East than his predecessor was.

Ninemsn: Britain baulks at US fighter plane deal

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Britain baulks at US fighter plane deal

Britain says it won't commit to the next stage of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program unless it received US assurances that it would be able to operate the aircraft independently. Britain wants the planes to operate from two new aircraft carriers it plans to buy.

"We will not commit to the next stage of the JSF program before receiving assurances from the US that we will have the operational sovereignty we require to (use) the aircraft," a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

Rectangle or Square: Mr Vanhanen needs to ask some difficult questions

EUobserver.com

"Rectangle or Square: Mr Vanhanen needs to ask some difficult questions
08.12.2006 - 09:39 CET | By Peter Sain ley Berry
EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - Midwinter - for which in these globally-warmed days read wind and wet weather - is almost upon us, marked, in the case of the European Union, by the congregation of Heads of State and Government in the annual December Council. This will take place next week amid the usual seasonal bonhomie, though how sincere the fraternal greetings will be, remains to be seen as the schisms in the Union's ranks are becoming more marked by the day.
"

EU: Where does Europe stand on the eve of the German Presidency?

noticias.info

"EU: Where does Europe stand on the eve of the German Presidency?

/noticias.info/ Technische Universität, München
München, 7 December 2006

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start by thanking the Technical University of Munich for inviting me to talk to you today.

I would like to congratulate you on being chosen as one of the three ‘elite’ universities of the Federal Republic in the "Exzellenzwettbewerb". The future of Europe depends on our ability to succeed in advanced research and innovation.

In three weeks time Germany will take over the Presidency of the Union. Appropriately enough, Germany, a founder member of the Union, will be in charge of the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome in March.

There is a series of important issues on the agenda of the German Presidency. These include immigration, the future of world trade following the suspension of the Doha Round in the WTO, the debate on energy and climate change as well as our relations with Russia."

The Financial Express: Asia replaces Europe as world’s top milk producing region - by Sangita Shah

Asia Replaces Europe as World's top milk producing region-by Sangita Shah

MUMBAI, DEC 7: Asia replaced Europe as the world’s largest milk production region in 2006. It now accounts for 34% of global output compared with 30% five years ago. Yearly production growth rates of around 5% were driven by the strong increase in the demand for milk and dairy products in the region, sustained by the strong economic growth.

In India, the world’s largest single milk producing country, the sector continues to expand by over 3% per year, driven by increasing demand for value-added milk products on the consumer side and extensive dairy development programmes on the supply side.

BBC NEWS: French join global TV news battle - by Peter Feuilherade

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French join global TV news battle - by Peter Feuilherade

France 24, the new international news channel promising "a specifically French outlook", launched on the internet in colourful style ahead of its near-global launch on satellite. A suitably Parisian flavour was provided by the backdrop - the Champs d'Elysees and Place de la Concorde.

Then the strains of soul singer Barry White's 1970s classic Love Theme and a female announcer welcomed English-stream viewers to "France Vingt-Quatre (24), the new international channel coming to you from France".

Stuff.co.nz: Rich take to borrowing, not owning

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Rich take to borrowing, not owning

The Circle Club in Milan, is one of a growing number in Europe and the United States that cater to rich people who like the idea of borrowing rather than buying luxury goods like cars, yachts, and jets. Opened a little more than a year ago in Milan, the Circle Club has a fleet of 50 luxury cars, including brands such as Lamborghini, Maserati and Porsche.

Like P1 International in London or Club Sportiva in San Francisco, it gives members a set number of points in exchange for an annual fee to spend on borrowing time behind the wheel. Once the points are spent, members can renew by paying the fee again.

This is London: Tornado tears through London street

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Hundreds of people were left homeless today after a tornado ripped through residential streets in north London. Dave Bonner, of London Fire Brigade, said about 100 homes had been damaged in "freak weather", injuring six people in Kensal Rise.

Eyewitnesses told how the sky went dark and spoke of a terrifying column of debris sweeping through the area.

They said the noise was like a jet airliner. Video footage from a helicopter showed part of the side of a house had collapsed, partially covering a car parked outside.

theage.com.au: Local mates find Europe unfriendly - by Rod Myer

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Local mates find Europe unfriendly - by Rod Myer

BABCOCK & Brown and GPT have suffered rejection at the hands of European investors and been forced to abandon a €400 million ($A689.6 million) equity raising on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam.

Now the two are looking at a range of options including syndication, the launch of an unlisted fund and the formation of a more acceptable public fund using recent changes to tax law.

But Babcock chief executive Phil Green said he still had confidence in the property assets, and thought an alternative sale arrangement could be completed by the end of next year.

Chron.com: Passenger Traffic in Europe Increases

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Passenger Traffic in Europe Increases

LONDON — Several European airlines said Thursday that passenger numbers rose in November as consumers took advantage of price competition in a tough market. Air France-KLM, Europe's biggest airline, said it handled 5.7 million passengers, an increase of 4.1 percent compared with November 2005.

The load factor or the amount of passenger and cargo capacity used slipped 0.1 percentage point to 78.5 percent. Europe's second-largest discount airline easyJet PLC said passenger numbers rose 11 percent to about 2.3 million. Its load factor gained 0.4 percentage point to 80.5 percent.

Bloomberg.com: Merkel's CDU Widens Lead in Poll on Economy, Party Congress - by Alan Crawford and Andreas Cremer

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Merkel's CDU Widens Lead in Poll on Economy, Party Congress - by Alan Crawford and Andreas Cremer

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats opened up their biggest gap over her Social Democrat coalition partner since June, a poll showed, bolstered by falling unemployment and prospects for strong economic growth.

Merkel's CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, gained 1 percentage point to 33 percent, a six- month high, giving them a seven percentage point lead over the SPD, according to a weekly survey by the Forsa institute conducted for Stern magazine.

The German economy is heading for its fastest expansion since 2000 and unemployment fell to the lowest in four years in November. Support for the SPD dipped two points to 26 percent, the lowest since August last year, the survey of 2,509 people showed. Two weeks ago the two parties were level at 29 percent.

The Daily Star - The EU and Turkey are in a wrestling match, where neither side can afford to let go - by Hugh Pope

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The EU and Turkey are in a wrestling match, where neither side can afford to let go - by Hugh Pope

The Istanbul professor who is a leading character in "Bliss," a lyrical novel by Zulfu Livaneli, imagines the Turkish intellectual as an acrobat swinging through the air. He lets go of his trapeze, sure in the belief that his European partner and inspiration waits on the other side, ready to catch him. Too late, he discovers his mistake.

If the much-bruised Turks agonize long and loud about when they'll ever be accepted as Europeans, the Europeans seem willfully blind to the Turks. Another crisis looms in the long-running negotiations over Turkey's possible membership of the European Union, this time over the conveniently distracting issue of access to Turkish ports for Cypriot ships. Because of this, the European Commission has just recommended a partial suspension of Turkey's negotiations to join the European Union. Meanwhile the reigning pope, who wants to reclaim Europe for Christianity to the exclusion of the Turks, a few days ago visited the Muslim land. So it's worth thinking again about who the Turks are, what they want, and how helpful to Europe their practice of Islam really is.

No clear answer exists, of course, to the question of whether the Turks are Europeans. There are just too many subjective variables. There is plenty of official hypocrisy, too. Europe has never negotiated with Ankara in wholly good faith, and Turkey has never been wholly sincere in its stated goal of joining the EU as it is today. But before muskets and scimitars are brought down from the attics of history, one must note that the Turks are already much more European than most Europeans realize. Comment EU-Digest: It is unfortunate that the discussion about Turkey among European politicians has so very little depth. In order to gain popularity most right-wing populist politicians even blame the candidacy of Turkey as the source for all their own domestic troubles.

Independent Online: Outrage at medals for Dutch in Srebrenica - by Marcus Tanner

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Outrage at medals for Dutch in Srebrenica - by Marcus Tanner

The Bosnian Presidency has lodged an official protest with the Netherlands after members of the Dutch battalion that failed to protect the "safe haven" of Srebrenica were decorated by their government.

The Defence Minister, Henk Kamp, pinned insignia on some of the 850 members of the ill-fated battalion headed by Lieutenant-Colonel Tom Karremans. Accusations of responsibility for Europe's worst massacre since the Second World War, when Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in July 1995, led to the fall of the Dutch government in 2002.

Yesterday, in Sarajevo, a representative of the Mothers of Srebrenica condemned the Dutch government's awards to the soldiers, some now out of the army. "Something the entire world would be ashamed of, the Dutch reward it," said Kada Hotic. "This is for the Hall of Shame." Comment EU-Digest: this award ceremony showed very poor PR by the Dutch Government

BBC NEWS: Finland ratifies EU constitution

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Finland ratifies EU constitution

Finland has become the latest country to ratify the European constitution, four weeks before the end of its six-month stint as EU president. Finland hands over the presidency to Germany, which has pledged to seek a solution to the constitution problem. Sixteen of the 25 EU states have now largely completed ratification.

Ratified: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
Nearly ratified: Finland, Germany
Ratification on hold: Czech Rep, Denmark, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, UK

M@C: Dutch provide tax haven for multi-nationals and super-rich - by Rohan Minogue

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Dutch provide tax haven for multi-nationals and super-rich - by Rohan Minogue

Amsterdam - The Netherlands has allowed itself to become a tax haven for thousands of foreign companies, whose real presence is often little more than an Amsterdam postbox number. While the results are clearly beneficial to the treasury, the potential damage to the country's international standing is great. During the course of 2006, the number of foreign companies establishing a financial presence on Dutch soil rose by 50 per cent over the previous year - or by about 1,600 new companies.

A recent study by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (known by its Dutch abbreviation SOMO) found that more than 20,000 multinationals and rich individuals were registered in the Netherlands for tax purposes. It added that the potential for money-laundering was large.,Apart from the Dutch Treasury, which benefits to the tune of 1.2 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) a year, 132 trust companies and their employees earn considerable sums through the provision of financial services.

RTE Business - US move new hurdle for open skies?

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US move new hurdle for open skies?

The US has scrapped proposals to offer foreign investors a greater say in its airlines, in a move which throws an 'open skies' deal with Europe into doubt. The US government said, however, that it remained committed to an agreement with the EU to liberalise transatlantic air traffic. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the decision to withdraw plans for a greater foreign role in the business operations of US airlines was taken after protests from the industry and from Congress.

The EU has insisted that limits on foreign stakes in US airlines must go if a comprehensive deal to deregulate transatlantic air traffic is to be achieved.

Energy Bulletin - SIXTH MEETING OF THE GLOBAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: “AFRICA IS ENERGIZING ITSELF.”

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SIXTH MEETING OF THE GLOBAL FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: “AFRICA IS ENERGIZING ITSELF.”

The Sixth Meeting of the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy (GFSE-6) was held from 29 November - 1 December 2006 at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria. The meeting convened under the theme “Africa is energizing itself” and focused on sustainable energy in the African continent, with particular attention to sub-regional issues, biofuels, hydropower, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and financing. GFSE-6 was organized by the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy in collaboration with the Austrian Development Cooperation at the Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Austrian Energy Agency and the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. The meeting brought together 181 representatives from African and European governments, agencies, UN bodies and international organizations, academia, business and industry, civil society and financing institutions to identify ways and means of supporting African aspirations at the 15th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-15) to be held in New York in May 2007, and to exchange views on key topics in this area.

Philippe Benoit, World Bank, stressed three underlying themes for increasing energy access in sub-Saharan Africa: country-led efforts, regional projects and strengthened partnerships. He emphasized that the overarching goals of projects should be electricity growth, powering the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and meeting basic needs. In order to achieve these goals, he said there should be higher levels of commitment from donors and improved institutional performance within the region. He stated that although challenges still remain, the attention being paid to energy in Africa highlights its importance, and the positive steps being taken show the willingness of the community to solve these problems.

Ray Holland, EU Energy Initiative Partnership Dialogue Facility, underscored the importance of regional organizations for increasing access within Africa by developing regional markets, mobilizing funding and synchronizing policies and strategies. He explained that increased dialogue between organizations would enable others to learn from previous experiences, and noted that support and capacity building within these organizations was important for this to be successful. He also highlighted the significance of community participation within projects undertaken by organizations.

IHT: 'Bad guys' are winning in the fight against spam - EU wants action - by Brad Stone

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'Bad guys' are winning in the fight against spam - EU wants action - by Brad Stone

Three years ago at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman, made an audacious prediction: The problem of unsolicited junk e-mail messages on the Internet would "be solved by 2006," he said.In the past six months, spam has gotten measurably worse. Worldwide, spam volumes have doubled from last year, according to the spam filtering firm Ironport, and unsolicited e-mail now accounts for more than nine of every 10 messages sent over the Internet. Responsible for much of the increase is a nettlesome new breed of junk message called image spam, in which the entire advertisement is presented inside a graphical illustration, eluding traditional text-reading spam detectors. Image spam increased fourfold from last year and now represents 25 percent to 45 percent of all junk e-mail messages.

Last week, the European Commission chastised member countries for doing too little to enforce European Union rules banning spam. The commission said that spam could account for as much as 80 percent of the content in a typical inbox in Europe, with the biggest culprit being the United States, which accounts for 21.6 percent of spam coming into the EU. The commission urged national regulators, governments and industry to work together more efficiently to combat the problem, and said that next year it would review whether new rules would be needed.

NIS News Bulletin: Netherlands Last Country To Back EU Human Rights Agency

Dutch Parliament Building

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Netherlands Last Country To Back EU Human Rights Agency

The Netherlands has become the last of the 25 EU countries to back the establishment of an EU human rights agency. The Upper House yesterday dropped its objections. The proposal for the agency was supported Monday by 24 EU countries at a justice ministers meeting. The Netherlands had made its support conditional on consulting with the Upper House, which earlier complained that the new EU institution would do the same work as the existing Council of Europe.

Other EU countries however turned out Monday and yesterday to be prepared to restrict the agency considerably. They also accepted a plea by the Netherlands that the agency must not interfere with the police and judiciary.

HoweStreet.com: Americans Will Shop Till the Dollar Drops

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Americans Will Shop Till the Dollar Drops

"Production and consumption are by no means interchangeable. Production is the means, consumption is the end. A society can no more consume its way to prosperity than an individual can. However, just as an individual can consume himself into bankruptcy, so too can a nation." Americans are not producing wealth, but merely consuming the wealth produced by others. When Americans go shopping this Christmas season (primarily spending borrowed money on imported goods), classic economic theory holds that the principal benefit goes not to the U.S. but to those who supply the goods. In exchange for their production, they receive interest and dividend paying assets (dollars, bonds, stocks, etc), which should provide future wealth. Americans in return accumulate depreciating consumer goods and piles of external liabilities that must be serviced and repaid. So Americans squander the wealth of their parents while their vendors amass it for their children. Americans will soon learn that they can keep shopping only as long as foreigners continue to support the dollar. When that stops, these sanguine economists are in for a rude awakening.

Playfukls.com: Turkish Premier Calls On Europe Not To Make "historic Mistake"

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

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Turkish Premier Calls On Europe Not To Make "historic Mistake"

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called on the European Union not to make a "historic mistake" by making tougher conditions on Turkey's bid to join the union.

"Turkey is as important for the European Union as the European Union is for Turkey," Erdogan told parliamentary colleagues in Ankara. Turkey's membership talks hang in the balance due to Turkey's refusal to open its ports to Greek Cypriot shipping, with Ankara refusing to budge on the issue unless embargoes on the Turkish Cypriot north are removed.The Turkish prime minister has said repeatedly that it is unfair to punish Turkey when it was the Turkish Cypriots who had voted in favour of a UN-sponsored reunification plan on island. "The blame is totally with the Greek Cypriots," Erdogan said on Tuesday.

Gulfnews: Ahmadinejad issues warning to Europe

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Ahmadinejad issues warning to Europe

Sari, Iran: The Iranian President has told Europe that it would downgrade relations with the EU if it supports proposed UN sanctions against its nuclear programme. Speaking to a crowd in the north of the country, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "I'm telling you in plain language that as of now, if you try, whether through propaganda or international organizations, to take steps against the rights of the Iranian nation, the Iranian nation will consider it an act of hostility.

"And if you insist on pursuing this path, it (Iran) will reconsider its relations with you," he said.

Tampa Bay Business Journal: Anti-money laundering conference agenda set - with major European banks attending

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Anti-money laundering conference agenda set - with major European banks attending

An annual statewide banking meeting is set to focus on current anti-money laundering efforts. Florida International Bankers Association, a Miami-based trade association of international banks organizes the event scheduled for Miami Feb. 12-14, 2007. The non-profit FIBA includes six of the 10 largest banks in the world as well as the offices of most of the major banks of Europe, the United States and Latin America. The agenda includes topics including risk assessment and mitigation, enterprise-wide risk management, Office of Foreign Assets Control, suspicious activity reporting, international correspondent banking and recent enforcement actions against financial institutions, which in the past five years has totaled nearly $500 million dollars, a release said.

IHT: Don't set a deadline for Turkey, EU enlargement commissioner says

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Don't set a deadline for Turkey, EU enlargement commissioner says

The European Union's enlargement commissioner issued an appeal Monday to the leaders of France and Germany not to press for the bloc to set a new deadline for Turkey, an EU candidate, to open its ports to Cyprus. Speaking on the eve of talks between Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Jacques Chirac of France, Olli Rehn said strict deadlines did not produce results and that the Cyprus question was best solved comprehensively by the United Nations.

"I would ask Chancellor Merkel and President Chirac to look for a balanced solution which, on the one hand, shows the consequences of noncompliance by a candidate state but, at the same time, keeps the accession process with Turkey alive, because of its strategic importance for both Europe and Turkey," he said in an interview. EU-Digest comment: "Finally a sensible suggestion out of Bruxelles on Turkey and the Cyprus issue - afterall it takes two to Tango"

FT.com- Europe bets on weathering a US downturn - by Chris Giles and Ralph Atkins,

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Europe bets on weathering a US downturn - by Chris Giles and Ralph Atkins

Currency traders have become convinced over the past two weeks that something big is afoot in the global economy. They are not convinced by the sanguine noises coming from the Federal Reserve and think the risks of a “hard landing” in the US economy have risen. But, in a departure from the old wisdom, they do not seem worried about the effects of a US downturn on European economies – rejecting the old adage that “when the US sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold”.

They appear to be trading on the belief that, while US interest rates will fall in an effort to counter a slowdown, European rates will continue to rise – and, by implication, that Europe’s economic upswing has some way to go. This has led to steep declines in the dollar, which tumbled to a 20-month low against the euro and to a 14-year trough against sterling.

USATODAY.com - US U.N. Ambassador Bolton to step down

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US U.N. Ambassador Bolton to step down

From the wires: "Unable to win Senate confirmation, U.N. Ambassador John Bolton will step down when his recess appointment expires soon, the White House said Monday. Bolton's nomination has languished in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than a year, blocked by Democrats and several Republicans." Reuters reports the departure could come later this week.

President Bush had named Bolton as a temporary recess appointment in August 2005, and he renominated Bolton immediately after elections in November. The chances of Bolton's approval at that point were low,

The Rational Papaturka

Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff at PostGlobal

"The Rational Papaturka

Germany/USA - Now the Turkish media call him 'Papaturka'. The Pope surprised the world when he arrived in Turkey without a crucifix around his neck, when he was seen waving a Turkish flag and, most importantly, when he reportedly endorsed Turkish membership to the European Union.

Undoubtedly, he does something courageous when he takes on Europe's culturalists and their standard-bearer. We are witnessing the battle of the German titans: Joseph Ratzinger v. Helmut Kohl. While still in office, the Chancellor had brought some honesty to the debate about Turkeys accession to the European Union when he famously declared Europe to be a 'Christian Club'. Kohl, the uber-culturalist, said what many people in Europe think, but don't dare to say." Comment EU-Digest: If we were critical at first of the Pope's visit to Turkey we now say; "hats off for a job well done in Turkey"

Times On Line: Chavez taunts US 'devil' after landslide reelection (EU Observers monitored the election)- by Philippe Naughton

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Chavez taunts US 'devil' after landslide reelection (EU Observers monitored the election)- by Philippe Naughton

Hugo Chavez has been resoundingly reelected as President of Venezuela, capturing an ample mandate to extend a socialist revolution that challenges Washington's influence in Latin America.

The National Electoral Council said that Mr Chavez won 61 per cent of the vote while Mr Rosales, the governor of an oil-producing province who managed to unite the fractured opposition, won 38 per cent after nearly 80 per cent of the vote had been counted.

Playfuls.com: German Scientists Reconstructing Neanderthal Genetic Code

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German Scientists Reconstructing Neanderthal Genetic Code

Scientists in Germany hope to construct a complete blueprint of the Neanderthal genetic code within two years, a step which could one day lead to enabling our long-lost prehistoric cousins to populate the earth again. The irony is not lost on scientists, many of whom believe it was our own species which killed off the Neanderthals 30,000 years ago. Now, thanks to us, Neanderthals may live again.

A significant first step towards sequencing the Neanderthal genome has already been taken by two teams investigating the same 38,000- year-old fossil bones from Croatia.

Guardian: Forget shopping, this could turn into a crash - by Larry Elliott

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Forget shopping, this could turn into a crash - by Larry Elliott

The last time the pound was at this level against the dollar was in the uneasy days of 1992 between John Major's April election victory and the cataclysm of Black Wednesday, when the markets realised that Britain's economic policy was based on smoke and mirrors.

Indeed, it is unclear why a $2 pound is being greeted with such enthusiasm on this side of the Atlantic. It makes a Christmas shopping spree in New York far cheaper but the British economy's problem is not that we shop too little but too much. Sterling's trade-weighted index hit a six-and-a-half-year high on Friday and the UK trade deficit is at about 5% of GDP. Economic fundamentals suggest the pound must go lower, just as it is obvious the dollar had to fall.Bernanke needs to start preparing the markets for rate cuts or he could be facing a real panic.

Bloomberg.com: European Stocks Decline After U.S. Manufacturing, Dollar Weaken - by Sharon Smyth and Ludwig Burger

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European Stocks Decline After U.S. Manufacturing, Dollar Weaken - by Sharon Smyth and Ludwig Burger

European stocks had the biggest weekly decline since July after manufacturing in the U.S. contracted for the first time in more than three years, sending the dollar lower and heightening concern economic growth is slowing.

DaimlerChrysler AG and Tenaris SA led a drop by companies that rely the most on the U.S. for revenue as a weaker dollar will make their goods more expensive and cut the value of sales. ``The data show that the U.S. slowdown will be stronger than people expected,'' said Guenther Gerstenberger, a fund manager at Oberursel, Germany-based PEH Wertpapier AG, which oversees about $2.5 billion. ``The market will continue to tremble.''

Chasing a Chimera

Comment - Times Online

"Chasing a Chimera
Germany must put growth, not the EU constitution, at the heart of its presidency

Like a giant waking from a long slumber, Germany takes over the leadership of the European Union next month just when its politicians and businessmen are at last feeling more confident. The economic growth rate has picked up sharply, reflecting some of the essential, though not spectacular, reforms introduced over the past two years. The grand coalition, led by Angela Merkel, the Christian Democratic Chancellor, has proved more capable than many Germans expected when it took office, though its popularity has fallen back considerably since the heady days of the World Cup. And Germany’s unions and voters appear finally to have understood that without a robust economy, underpinned by realistic social policies, Germany will be unable to exercise its full and due weight in Europe."

The Raw Story: Lithuania to host future EU institute for gender equality

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Lithuania to host future EU institute for gender equality

Brussels- European Union member states on Friday agreed to set up a new EU institute for gender equality in Vilnius, capital of the bloc's 2004 newcomer Lithuania. The future EU agency is expected to be up and running already next year, said Finnish minister for social affairs Tuula Haatainen, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency. The institute will be funded with a proposed budget of 52.5 million euros for 2007-2013.

The decision gives the EU's new member states the second decentralised EU agency. Poland hosts the bloc's body for external borders management (FRONTEX) situated in Warsaw.

Aljazeerah: The Bush Disaster Diplomacy: Middle East Meltdown - by Mike Whitney

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The Bush Disaster Diplomacy: Middle East Meltdown - by Mike Whitney

NATO has been a useful tool for the United States. It’s helped to conceal America’s imperial ambitions behind the mask of US-European solidarity. Now Bush is putting the alliance at risk by using it to enlist European support for a global resource war. It’s a foolish plan which could jeopardize the future of the organization, but Bush doesn’t care. These alliances are only measured in terms of how successfully they advance the agenda of western elites; everything else is incidental.

But there’s no support in Europe for “messianic missions” like the war on terror. Already there’s grumbling about “cleaning up America’s mess” in Afghanistan. How long will it be before the member states realize that it’s really not in their interests to keep tweaking Putin’s nose by pushing into former Soviet Republics like Ukraine and Georgia? The EU economies are already strong and self sufficient. They don’t need to follow the neocon’s madcap “master plan” of making trouble for Russia. They can simply buy their resources on the open market and avoid the unnecessary aggravation.

Novinite: Bulgaria's FM: EU Cash Not Enough to Compensate for Nukes Closure

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Bulgaria's FM: EU Cash Not Enough to Compensate for Nukes Closure

The amount of money Bulgaria will receive as aid from the European Commission to compensate the closure of Units 1 to 4 of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is half the lost benefits the country will suffer, Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin said. Talking to Darik News, Kafin explained that while the EC believes that EUR 500 M will cover the losses of the forced shutdown, experts estimate the real sum at over EUR 1 B. The money from the Union is hardly enough, the Minister pointed out.

Bulgaria has the political and economical ground to want the continuation of the financial aid program until after 2009, Kalfin said.

The observer: Britain: It's hot - but climate research is being cut - by Juliette Jowit, Gaby Hinsliff and Robin McKie

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Britain: It's hot - but climate research is being cut - by Juliette Jowit, Gaby Hinsliff and Robin McKie

Britain's leading centre for researching climate change has been ordered to cut its budget, despite warnings that global warming is one of the most critical and costly threats facing the world today.

The Met Office has been told to make savings of nearly 3 per cent to its main budget, prompting experts to condemn the government as 'hypocritical' on climate change, given its response to the recent Stern report which argued that unchecked climate change could cost billions.

The move emerged as the Met Office said yesterday that with this summer and this autumn both breaking temperature records, and with the mild weather set to continue, 2006 was now on track to be the hottest year in the last 200 years. Most experts believe this provides further proof that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide are having a dramatic impact on weather patterns worldwide.

EURActiv: EU Communication and the media: allies or enemies?

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EU Communication and the media: allies or enemies?

The 'Europe in Vision' conference, to be held in Helsinki from 4-5 December 2006, is the third in a series of stakeholder conferences responding to Margot Wallström's White Paper on Communication. The conference is co-organised by the Finnish Presidency and will allow a number of media experts (editors, publishers, directors of print press, TV, radio and the new internet media) to comment on the Commission's plans to create a "European Public Sphere".

When Vice-President Wallström presented her White Paper in February 2006, there was an outcry from Brussels correspondents because a leaked draft had included the idea that the EU should set up its own press agency by upgrading the existing service 'Europe By Satellite'. Although Mrs Wallström has, on several occasions, publicly stated that there are no plans for an EU press agency as such, certain media remain doubtful because in other debates in Brussels (such as during a recent conference organised by the Economic and Social Committee), the idea has resurfaced.

Comment EU-Digest:The 'Europe in Vision' conference, to be held in Helsinki from 4-5 December is an excellent avenue to explore a variety of issues as to how the press can play an active part in promoting a better understanding and unity within Europe.
The Finish hosts are to be commended for their support of this event. However, the location is not easily accessible to a large number of journalists. In addition it should be noted that an important event like this should not be by invitation only, but open to all journalist who can show the proper credentials. It would certainly provide more credibility to the final recommendations of the event. EU-Digest, which has an Internet readership of 3 million readers, considers events like these an important step in achieving a common understanding on the best ways to communicate the ideals of the European Union to the general Public.

International Herald Tribune: U.S. senators criticize Russia's president as "one-man dictatorship"

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U.S. senators criticize Russia's president as "one-man dictatorship"

WASHINGTON: Two U.S. senators on Sunday criticized Russia's president, with a leading Republican calling Vladimir Putin a "one-man dictatorship" who should be doing more to help the United States confront Iran's nuclear ambitions. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden both said the United States should stand up to Putin, reflecting U.S. concerns over democratic backsliding by the Kremlin and energy-rich Russia's increasingly assertive steps to counter American influence.

Graham, referring to President George W. Bush's 2001 statement that he got a sense of Putin's soul during their first meeting, said: "I think Bush misread his soul. I think this guy is taking Russia backward. He's a problem, not a solution, to most of the world's problems. He could help us with Iran if he chose to. He is becoming basically a one-man dictatorship in Russia. And we need to be tough with him."

Washington Post: Afghanistan Opium Crop Sets Record - by Karen De Young

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Afghanistan Opium Crop Sets Record - by Karen De Young

Opium production in Afghanistan, which provides more than 90 percent of the world's heroin, broke all records in 2006, reaching a historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts, the Bush administration reported yesterday.

In addition to a 26 percent production increase over past year -- for a total of 5,644 metric tons -- the amount of land under cultivation in opium poppies grew by 61 percent. Cultivation in the two main production provinces, Helmand in the southwest and Oruzgan in central Afghanistan, was up by 132 percent.

White House drug policy chief John Walters called the news "disappointing." The US administration has cited resurgent Taliban forces as the main impediment to stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, and the U.S. military investment has far exceeded anti-narcotic and development programs. But U.S. military and intelligence officials have increasingly described the drug trade as a problem that rivals and in some ways exceeds the Taliban, threatening to derail other aspects of U.S. policy.

Guardian:Turkey - (Short sighted) Europe closes the door

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Turkey -(Shortsighted) Europe closes the door

A year ago European leaders formally opened full negotiations with Turkey on membership of the European Union. It might have been expected they would follow it up with strong, positive and repeated appeals to their national electorates. With few exceptions, they have not done so. The welcome speeches were hardly delivered before the carping began. In France and Germany, in Austria, and to a lesser extent in Denmark and Holland and other smaller countries, politicians instead went to considerable lengths to signal to the voters that they were opposed to Turkish entry, or at least would permit it only under the most stringent conditions.

Whether such behaviour is or is not politically understandable, it has certainly not created an atmosphere in which what were always going to be difficult negotiations can be conducted. This is the background to be kept in mind when considering the European commission's recommendation this week that those negotiations be partially suspended. Two broken promises have helped create this impasse. The EU had committed itself to ending the economic blockade of northern Cyprus, while Turkey had committed itself to opening its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot goods. Neither has happened, in part because each is dependent on the other, but the EU maintains that Turkey's obligation is legally binding whereas its own was in the nature of a general assurance, and, in any case, circumstances have changed. The Turks, not unnaturally, balk at this interpretation. Note EU-Digest: It is amazing to see how much abuse the Turks have taken in these negotiations so far, while totaly "wobbly" and corrupt states like Romania and Bulgaria are being catered to and welcomed into the club with open arms. If the EU continues on this path in blocking Turkey the Turks might be better off not to be in the EU and start using their ideal geographical position and economic power to play a significant role as a power broker. There is nothing that can stop them, certainly not the shortsighted EU leadership. Even the Pope has come to understand that after visiting Turkey.

Eurozone unemployment rate sinks to 7.7 pct in October

Turkish Daily News Dec 03, 2006:

"Eurozone unemployment rate sinks to 7.7 pct in October
Sunday, December 3, 2006

The jobless rate in the 12 nations that use the euro hit a new low on Friday, falling slightly to 7.7 percent as the economy picks up steam.

The rate had held steady at 7.8 percent for the five previous months despite high growth in the first and second quarters.

Eurozone unemployment is now at its lowest level since the EU's statistical agency Eurostat started keeping records for the currency area in October 1998. "

Turkish Daily News: Global warming hits insurance sector - by IŞIL SARIYÜCE

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Global warming hits insurance sector - by IŞIL SARIYÜCE

Global warming is no more an issue that concerns just a group of idealist environmentalists. Insurers are on the way to joining forces with environmentalists in an effort to stop global warming before it becomes irreversible. Although environmentalists are still skeptical of their intentions, insurance companies may become their main allies, since big insurance firms are becoming increasingly aware of the threats of global warming as they have been hit hard economically by the consequences of climate change.

The newest victim of global warming is insurance companies' profits, which have been hard hit by its effects. As a result, international insurance firms are pioneering efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions -- which cause global warming -- and are lobbying governments internationally to join their cause.

TheStar.com - Europe and the culture of scapegoats

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Europe and the culture of scapegoats

"What happens to Europe? Europe is the place today where the production of scapegoats, the industry of scapegoats is flourishing. We have so many scapegoats, we have a culture of scapegoats. An example: America is a scapegoat. When we don't know to which saint to appeal, as we say in French, we say it is the fault of America. When I was a young man, 30 years ago, I remember it was sort of acknowledged that Europe was a work in process, and that this process would go on to the end.The sense of history was that Europe would build itself, and that this federation of states, languages, nations, memory, and so on, would make itself.

that a few times already in the last 10 centuries, Europe was at the edge of building itself, but it crashed. And we are discovering that this could happen again: a great dream of a new entity just collapsing like a bubble, like a political bubble.

This is happening to our countries today, and it is part of the explanation for this strange state of depression in which we are. We have in Europe old nations. And as old nations, we have some old patterns of citizenship. And what is happening today is that these patterns of citizenship are falling into crisis at the same time.

The real clash of civilization, is not between Western civilization and the rest. No, the real clash is inside the rest. Inside Islam, the clash between the fascists and the democrats. Europe, is the front line, and maybe the main frontline of this clash of civilizations."

ESA Portal - ESA’s first Swedish astronaut to fly to the ISS

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ESA’s first Swedish astronaut to fly to the ISS

ESA astronaut Christer Fuglesang is about to become the first Swedish and the first Nordic astronaut in space. During the night of 7/8 December, he will board NASA’s Shuttle Discovery as Mission Specialist on flight STS-116. With his six crewmates, he will fly to the International Space Station on a mission to add a new section to its truss structure and to reroute electrical power supply and thermal control from its new set of solar arrays and radiators.

Discovery will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 03:36 CET (02:36 UTC) on 8 December. Docking with the ISS is scheduled for 00:00 CET on 10 December (23:00 UTC, 9 December).

Spiegel on line: Tidal Waves in Europe? Study Sees North Sea Tsunami Risk - by Axel Bojanowski

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Tidal Waves in Europe? Study Sees North Sea Tsunami Risk - by Axel Bojanowski

The last known tsunami to hit Europe was over 8,000 years ago. But new research reveals that there have been a number of deep-sea earthquakes since then, and that a landslide along the continental slopes could pose a serious risk to the cities and towns on the North Sea coast.

It was a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. An earthquake shook Norway's coast between Bergen and Trondheim about 8,150 years ago. The tremors ripped pieces of land the size of Iceland from shallow water and sent them crashing into the deep sea. Like a stone thrown into a pond, the landslide produced ripples of waves that spread at the speed of a train -- powerful tsunamis racing across the North Sea. Along the beaches of Scotland the waves were up to six meters (20 feet) high. Geologists have discovered a ravaged Stone-Age site there.

BBC NEWS: French children 'need wine class'

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French children 'need wine class'

French schools should teach children the virtues of drinking wine, a report by France's governing party says. The report says children who learn how wines are "cultivated and transformed to acquire their taste" are more likely to stay healthy and respect nature.

Wine classes at school could also lift the global standing of French wines, the report by the UMP party says.

Mirror.co.uk- PROBABLY THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD!

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PROBABLY THE BEST CITY IN THE WORLD!- by Simon Woodcock

"THE Danes are the happiest people in the world, according to a recent international survey. I can see why. I'm feeling serenely relaxed after a weekend in the capital Copenhagen discovering the beautiful parks and buildings, great design and unusual shopping.

Surprisingly, Legoland comes in second place in the list of Denmark's tourist attractions, with the top spot taken by the Tivoli Gardens. It's a huge amusement park slap-bang in the centre of Copenhagen, which apparently inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland.

The Raw Story: Dutch unamused as St Nicholas' black helper goes multi-culti - By Rohan Minogue

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Amsterdam- Dutch children are agog. The days leading up to the festival of Sinterklaas are filled with feverish expectation of the gifts they anticipate on December 5. Every morning, if they've been good, there's something sweet in the shoe they've put out especially. But this year the more traditional among their parents are also in a state of excitement.

Sinterklaas dressed in bishop's raiment with mitre and crook, attended by "Zwarte Piete" - Black Petes - who dash about dressed in tights and velvet knickerbockers dishing out sweets to the children and clowning about. It is the black-faced Petes that are now the problem in multicultural Holland.

For some years now Amsterdam, with its large non-Dutch ethnic population, has had Petes of all colours. There are green, yellow and blue Petes among the traditional black-faced versions. Even broadcaster NOS has done the same on its daily youth TV programme, Jeugdjournaal. The official explanation is that Sinterklaas' boat passed through a rainbow on its way from Spain, and that the colours rubbed off on the Petes.

People's Daily Online -- China uncovers largest money laundering case

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China uncovers largest money laundering case

Authorities in China's commercial center Shanghai has uncovered a five billion yuan (633 million U.S. dollars) money laundering case, the largest ever in the country's history. The case was exposed accidentally in a probe into falsification in business registration jointly launched by the Shanghai office of the central bank and other government agencies, the Shanghai Securities News said Friday. The report gave no details of the case other than that it involves "underground" banks, or illegal private businesses offering remittance, foreign exchange and other banking services.

Though a relatively new thing in China, anti-money laundering has been increasing attention by Chinese authorities.

Times of India: Italy on alert as hysteria grips Europe

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Italy on alert as hysteria grips Europe-Rest of World

LONDON: European hysteria may have reached epic proportions over the whodunit involving a radioactive isotope-poisoned former Russian spy, 12 radioactive London locations, five allegedly contaminated British Airways craft and a mysterious Italian posing as an "academic" with claimed links to an Indian university. The British government's emergency planning committee, Cobra, met late on Friday night just hours after it was announced that Italian Mario Scaramella had become the second person linked to former KGB colonel, Alexander Litvinenko, to test positive for the rare and highly toxic metal Polonium 210. Scaramella was one of the last people to have met the former spy before his death.

Meanwhile, one of Britain's leading security experts, Professor Anthony Glees of the Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies at Brunel University said that the secret and illegal import of Polonium 210 into Britain put a whole new complexion on stringent post-9/11 security measures. Glees said, "the fact that you could get it onto planes despite all the security measures that we all go through every time we fly, is causing very serious disquiet".

China Daily: Brilliance to export 158,000 cars

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Brilliance to export 158,000 cars

Brilliance China Auto, a partner of BMW, has clinched China's largest ever automobile export deal with a German company to sell 158,000 of its Zhonghua cars in Europe over the next five years.

According to the deal worth 16 billion yuan (2.04 U.S. dollars), the Shenyang-based company's Zhonghua cars will be distributed in Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland and Poland through the Bremen-based HSO Auto Trading Company. It is a breakthrough for the Chinese car-making industry, which is more commonly associated with exporting low-end models to southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

FT.com- Dollar plumbs fresh depths - by Peter Garnham

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Dollar plumbs fresh depths - by Peter Garnham

The dollar fell to a fresh 14-year low against sterling and a 20-month trough against the euro on Friday as investors continued to put pressure on the US currency. The dollar plunged to $1.9748 against the pound in early trade, its lowest level since September 1992, just before sterling’s exit from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Meanwhile the dollar plunged to a 20-month low of $1.3282 against the euro and a six-month low of SFr1.1947 against the Swiss franc.

People's Daily Online -- EU completes 1 billion euro aid pledge to Afghanistan

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EU completes 1 billion euro aid pledge to Afghanistan

he European Commission committed 20.6 million euros' aid to Afghanistan on Thursday, completing its 1 billion pledge over five years to support the central Asian country. Among the final commitments, 10.6 million euros will be used to support Afghanistan's provincial governance and improve service delivery to the local population under the framework of Provincial Reconstruction Teams, while another 10 million euros will be spent on the Afghanistan Variety and Seed Industry Development Project.

With these two decisions, the European Commission has fulfilled its pledge made in 2002 to provide 1 billion euros over five years to support the reconstruction and development process in Afghanistan.

Yorkshire Post Today: Tory MEP re-elected as Conservative leader in Europe

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Tory MEP re-elected as Conservative leader in Europe

Conservative MEPs have re-elected Timothy Kirkhope as their leader for a third term in the European Parliament. Mr Kirkhope, 61, immediately vowed to keep up the pressure for reform in Europe.
He said the top priority should be a renewed economy – not a revived constitution. "I will continue to lead the Conservative party here in the cause of reform, so that Conservatives can continue to be the leading advocates of pragmatic change in Europe."

Europe was shamed by 20 million unemployed, he said, adding: "I promise that Conservatives will put renewing the European economy, not reviving a dead constitution, as their top priority." Mr Kirkhope went on: "Europe needs a new vision and that vision is economic power and prosperity. It needs reform and renewal.

EUobserver.com: Irish PM suggests EU leaders should learn from Nice Treaty rejection - by Honor Mahony

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Irish PM suggests EU leaders should learn from Nice Treaty rejection - by Honor Mahony

The Irish prime minister has suggested the EU constitution could be altered in order to win the approval of French and Dutch voters who rejected the text last year in referendums, harking back to a similar situation Dublin went through concerning the Nice Treaty.

Speaking to the European Parliament on the future of Europe on Wednesday (29 November), Bertie Ahern said that the "substance and balance" of the EU constitution should remain the same when EU leaders begin in earnest next year to deal with the constitutional