EU Politics

03.03.2006 EU Politics

Supporting the Tre Kronor

I normally dislike The Local, the only news service on the internet in English about Sweden. It tends to have a highly cynical, Daily Mail style take on Sweden and the social model – plenty of ex-pats who don’t like

03.03.2006 EU Politics

Not a hope of working for the European Commission

So there it is in the picture: the Berlaymont building of the European Commission. Grand headquarters of the supranational executive, fledgling European government… Ah, well, seems I am dreaming in more ways than one. I spent all of yesterday afternoon

02.03.2006 EU Politics

Petition against trafficking women for the World Cup

The Party of European Socialists are running a decent online petition against human trafficking during the World Cup. They are urging EU member states, and specifically Barroso to lead the initiative, to do something to stop the problems with football

01.03.2006 EU Politics

Bringing Europe closer to its citizens: what does that actually mean?

We hear the phrase all the time “We need to bring Europe closer to its citizens” – or variations of it. I’ve had quite a guts full of those trite words in the last couple of days as I have

16.02.2006 EU Politics

EP approves the Services Directive, but what have they approved?

The European Parliament has today finally voted Evelyne Gebhardt’s report on the Services Directive, otherwise known as the Bolkenstein / Frankenstein Directive if you are one of those people scared of it. As one of the people who has read

15.02.2006 EU Politics

Shooting birds, logos and chickens

There has been a lot in the news this week about birds, especially bird flu. Maybe it’s a bit bad taste, but I have been meaning to upload this alternative, animated version of the UK’s EU Presidency logo for a

13.02.2006 EU Politics

So it’s all a Christian conspiracy?

Shows how much of an EU-geek I am that the only time I have been to the theatre recently was this weekend to watch The Schuman Plan at Hampstead Theatre. Details of the show from the theatre’s website here. Yet

08.02.2006 EU Politics

Vaxholm case: why it’s important

Anyone who vaguely follows EU politics may have heard of the so-called Vaxholm case, a dispute between 2 Swedish trade unions and a Latvian firm that was carrying out work in Sweden and not respecting collective wage bargaining agreements there.

07.02.2006 EU Politics

Just mad: Khamenei on the cartoons

From The Guardian today: The furious international row over the publication of cartoons satirising the prophet Muhammad intensified today when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, claimed it was an Israeli conspiracy motivated by anger over Hamas’ win in the

07.02.2006 EU Politics

Category: EU Politics