MetaFilter posts tagged with eu

The Latvian Crisis

HP LaserJet P10006 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:07:15 -0800

Latvia's Tiger Economy Loses Its Bite: Less than a year after Latvia joined the E.U. in 2004, its growth rate topped all of Europe. As global stock markets overheated and competition for investment opportunities intensified, Scandinavian banks showered Latvia with cheap credit. Now, with the highest unemployment in Europe, and propped up by $10 billion in IMF loans, Latvia's economy struggles to stay afloat.

Poland Approves Mandatory "Chemical Castration" Drug Treatment for Convicted Pedophiles

zarq — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:56:48 -0800

In response to an incest case in which a man imprisoned, raped and fathered two children with his own daughter, Poland's Lower House of Parliament has approved an amendment to their penal code which makes chemical castration of pedophiles mandatory in certain cases. The bill still needs final approval from the Upper House of Parliament and President Lech Kaczynski, but passage is considered inevitable. Poland would be the first nation in the EU to make such drug treatment obligatory. Similar, voluntary policies for convicted sex offenders currently exist in Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Canada, eight US states (pdf) and South Korea. The severity of the impending Polish law has sparked a debate in the EU as well as increased attention on whether the Czech Republic's voluntary chemical castration program is humane and effective.

Hate Wins

chuckdarwin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:40:42 -0800

The far-right, whites-only British National Party (BNP) has won two seats (Andrew Brons, Nick Griffin) in the European Parliament. According to its constitution, the BNP is "committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration and to restoring, by legal changes, negotiation and consent the overwhelmingly white makeup of the British population that existed in Britain prior to 1948." The BNP also proposes "firm but voluntary incentives for immigrants and their descendants to return home."

27 countries, 375 estimated voters, one European election

ruelle — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:52:16 -0800

The European elections results 2009 website will open on June 7 at 18.00 CET. While waiting for the results, check out the issues, the EU 30 years ago and now and the EU Parliament twitter feed.

Revolution in Moldova

vkxmai — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:24:09 -0800

Following the 5 April parliamentary election results in the Republic of Moldova, in which the Partidul Comuniștilor din Republica Moldova won nearly 50% of the vote, thousands of young people began a series of protests largely organized through Twitter, text messaging, and FaceBook. The protests quickly reached a boiling point early today, when Parliament was stormed. Much of the coverage in the European press is limited to Romanian-language reporting. Some of the most compelling imagery and video clips, however, speak for themselves. Smaller groups of people across Romania, including Bucharest, have shown their support for the anti-communist protests in Basarabia, as the Republic of Moldova is often referred to in Romanian. Recent reports have also indicated that buses carrying supporters from Romania into Moldova, as well as Moldovans attempting to enter the capital, Chișinau, are being turned away. Moldova’s current president, Vladimir Voronin, believes that there was an attempted coup d’état. The EU’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has also weighed in on the events. The Eurasia Daily Monitor offers insightful coverage and opinion pieces on the politics of the region. The wikipedia article on the Republic of Moldova, despite arguments over the official language of Moldova and recent nomenklatura changes by the Voronin government, is quite in-depth. The article on the breakaway region of Transnistria is also useful for understanding the Russian response to the recent events.

EU Profiler

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:37:40 -0800

EU Profiler: the authors of Kieskompas, a "Vote-O-Mat"-style tool for the undecided Dutch voter, following up on their adaptation for the US Presidential election (previously on MeFi), will launch an EU-wide version for the European Parliament elections upcoming in June. So Europeans, urge your political parties to register! The tool itself will launch in May.

Turkey: A Return to Power at Considerable Cost?

terranova — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:33:28 -0800

"Turkey is emerging as the crucial power in the Muslim world." But after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent walkout from a Davos panel discussion and his confrontational words to Israeli leader Shimon Peres, some wonder whether Turkey is forfeiting its role as a peace-broker, attempting to smoke-screen its own oppressive actions against press, intellectuals, and ex-military, and possibly hurting its chances for full EU membership.

British jobs for British workers?

Grrlscout — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 03:32:55 -0800

British jobs for British workers? Workers at a Total refinery in north Lincolnshire walked out in protest over an Italian firm importing Italian and Portuguese workers to complete an expansion. Since Wednesday, the walk out at the Lindsey refinery has snowballed into a mass industrial action across the UK. The majority of the strikes and protests have been by energy workers, though some in other sectors (steel) hit by closures and vulnerable to job offshoring have joined the action in solidarity. Brown's government is trying to respond, without much success.

Stereotyping our way to a better EU

LMGM — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:05:47 -0800

SatiricalCzechArtFilter: A massive art installation at the European Council building in Brussels has raised hackles. Bulgaria, in particular, is not pleased at being represented as a "Turkish Toilet." Comissioned by the incoming Czech presidency of the EU, this has caused something of a PR scramble for them; in the case of Bulgaria, the Czech ambassador has been called to Sofia, Bulgaria to explain (see first link). The piece looks like a giant set of snap-out plastic pieces, like one would find in a model set (e.g., a model airplane). Each country is represented with the shape of its territories, modified to reflect and lampoon some stereotype of the country. France, for example, is covered by a sheet declaring "On strike!" in French. The Netherlands are shown flooded with water, with a series of minarets showing above the water line (interpreted in most news accounts as a reference to religious/racial tensions in NL). As the official press release on the EU2009.cz website declares, the artwork was commissioned to take contributions from 27 artists from all the member states of the EU. However, the original artist, David Černý (personal website), admitted to a Telegraph reporter that he faked the names and did it all himself (with 2 accomplices). There is now some debate about what to do with the embarassing art installation before it's official opening on January 15, but already the reporter that broke the "There were no 27 artists" story is arguing that the piece should remain. "Official" brochure for Entropa (PDF, 5mb), complete with concept drawings, explanatory commentary and CV's of the faked artists from each country. Images: BBC.co.uk: 'In pictures: Entropa installation' (only a few of the countries are included) Aktualne.centrum.cz: Concept drawings of most of the countries (in Czech, but you can figure out which image represents which country; "předchozí" means "previous" and "další" means "next")

Russia stops all gas supply to Europe via Ukraine

b. — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:13:11 -0800

Newsfilter: It's that time of the year again, though now it seems to be more serious. Russia stopped all gas supply to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday, January 7, 2009. The EU depends on Russia for about a quarter of its total gas supplies, some 80% of which is pumped through Ukraine. At least seventeen countries are affected, many of them severely as Russia is their primary or only source of gas. While similar disputes between Russia and Ukraine already happened before, this is the first time it starts to directly affect people in other countries. In Bulgaria central heating shuts down in several towns, many schools are closed. Some factories had to stop production in Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia. Bulgaria and Slovakia are considering restarting their old nuclear power plants to get the extra energy. EU has called in the heads of the Russian and Ukrainian gas companies for emergency talks in Brussels.

The Inland Island Fortress

mannequito — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:57:46 -0800

"Schengen means" there will be "no systematic control of the borders anymore". Switzerland officially cracks open its borders to Europe. While many will surely be happy to have easier access to ricola, others worry about the consequences of the Schengen enlargement.

The Economist: The World in 2009

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:00:30 -0800

In 2009, a remarkably gifted politician, confronting a remarkably difficult set of challenges, will have to learn to say "No we can't", Guantánamo will prove a moral minefield, economic recovery will be invisible to the naked eye, governments must prepare for the day they stop financial guarantees, we will judge our commitment to sustainability, scientists should research the causes of religion, we will all be potential online paparazzi, English will have more words than any other language (but it's meaningless), Afghanistan will see a surge of Western (read: American) troops, Iran will continue its nuclear quest while diplomacy lies in shambles, the sea floor is the new frontier, we should rethink aging, (non-)voters will continue to thwart the European project -- but cheap travel will continue to buoy it -- though it has some unfinished business to attend to, and a Nordic defence bond will blossom.

The Economist: The World in 2009. Previously: 2008, 2007. How did we do last time around? And what will we probably be wrong about this time? Guest contributions: President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seeks greater international cooperation and sees a growing global role for the larger emerging economies. Queen of Jordan Rania calls for education reform. Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd calls upon mid-size powers to be creative and effective with their influence. Prime Minister of Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero emphasizes the importance of transparency and solidarity in Europe. Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, wedged between Russia and the EU, cites historical precedent. Former Secretary of State of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Henry Kissinger argues America will be less powerful, but will still be the essential nation in creating a new world order. Mayor Boris Johnson of London argues against over-regulation. Elections to watch: Brazil, Chile, European Parliament, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Japan. Also: Russia will enter its first real difficult years under Putin, Brown might not make it, we won't ban nukes but we can pretend, Ontario will receive economic help from other provinces, Australians will grow ever more thirsty, and Britain needs to make stuff again. World in 2009 blog.

Eurosceptics triumphant

athenian — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:10:02 -0800

Have the Eurosceptics won? Despite the referendum in Ireland being badly lost, a rabidly nationalist media, and a tottering Labour government likely to give way to the most Eurosceptic government ever, pulling Britain out of the EU remains an obsession for a few rather than a concern for many. Even the Eurosceptic hardcore is fretting that once in power, David Cameron will have to cosy up to Brussels.

Are Americans leaving the US?

yoyo_nyc — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:09:05 -0800

While Gerorge Soros and Jim Rodgers predict one of the worst recessions for the US, Americans seem to look for exit options in form of a second citizenship. Some people seem to see it as treason if Americans accept a second non-US citizenship, but it must not necessary be a bad thing if Americans (and other folks) start leveraging with a second citizenship. After all they might not have much of a chance when corporations manufacture in China, administrate in India, sell in the US and pay their taxes on the Cayman Islands. The world has been flat for quite some time and if borders are open for capital and goods, why shouldn't they be open for people? Maybe you want to check out if you are eligible for a European citizenship? But be aware of the disadvantages.

Europa über alles?

orthogonality — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:55:26 -0800

Von der Maas bis an die Memel,
Von der Etsch bis an den Belt.
~~Deutsch land, Deutschland~~ Europa, Europa über alles, Über alles in der Welt!

Allí, ese 16 de marzo, Bush, Blair y Aznar decidieron sustituir al Consejo de Seguridad de Naciones Unidas y usurparon sus funciones para declarar por su cuenta y riesgo la guerra contra Irak.

amberglow — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:50:52 -0800

Bush and Aznar pre-Iraq Invasion-- Transcript of their private conversations in Crawford, Feb 22, 2003: "Quedan dos semanas. En dos semanas estaremos militarmente listos. Estaremos en Bagdad a finales de marzo", le dijo a Aznar. ("2 weeks. In 2 weeks we will be ready militarily. We'll be in Baghdad by the end of March", he told Aznar.) Consider this historical documentation. Full transcript here, and audio clips in first link. PB. Me parece muy bien. Chirac conoce perfectamente la realidad. Sus servicios de inteligencia se lo han explicado. Los árabes le están transmitiendo a Chirac un mensaje muy claro: Sadam Hussein debe irse. El problema es que Chirac se cree Mister Arab y en realidad les está haciendo la vida imposible. Pero yo no quiero tener ninguna rivalidad con Chirac. (Bush: Chirac knows the reality perfectly. Your intelligence services have told it. The Arabs are sending a very clear message to Chirac--Saddam must go. The problem is that Chirac thinks he's Mister Arab and the reality is that he's in a dream world(?). But i don't want to have any rivalry with Chirac. )

Depicting Europe as a neo-liberal economist's wet dream and unthinking lackey of the United States.

Kattullus — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:40:57 -0800

Depicting Europe, an essay in The London Review of Books by UCLA history professor Perry Anderson, criticizes the European Union as a neo-liberal economist's wet dream and unthinking lackey of the United States. "Today’s EU, with its pinched spending (just over 1 per cent of Union GDP), minuscule bureaucracy (around 16,000 officials, excluding translators), absence of independent taxation, and lack of any means of administrative enforcement, could in many ways be regarded as a ne plus ultra of the minimal state, beyond the most drastic imaginings of classical liberalism: less even than the dream of a nightwatchman." [...] "[As] the second report to the Council of Europe – released in June this year – by the courageous Swiss investigator Dick Marty, has shown, a stepped-up programme of renditions must have been high on the list. Once Afghanistan was taken, Baghram airbase outside Kabul became both interrogation centre for the CIA and loading-bay for prisoners to Guantánamo. The traffic was soon two-way, and its pivot was Europe. In one direction, captives were transported from Afghan or Pakistani dungeons to Europe, either to be held there in secret CIA jails, or shipped onwards to Cuba. In the other direction, captives were flown from secret locations in Europe for requisite treatment in Afghanistan." 1st and 2nd reports of Dick Marty. I swear I didn't post this because of the pun in the essay's title.

Euromyths

Kattullus — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 17:51:15 -0800

Euromyths from the English press in alphabetical order collected by the European Union's UK Press Room. Examples include: EU orders farmers to give toys to pigs, pets to be pressure cooked, circus performers must wear hard hats, no more Caerphilly Cheese in Caerphilly, butchers cannot give a dog a bone, EU says Brit yoghurt has to be called Fermented Milk Pudding & Brussels makes bright smiles illegal.

Belgium (1830 - ?2007)

athenian — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:56:08 -0800

Interesting goings-on in Belgium (really). "Plucky little" Belgium, HQ of the very post-national European Union, is in the throes of a deep political crisis, driven by strong nationalistic feelings. The winner of the recent general election, Yves Leterme, has proved [FL] unable [FR] to form a government across the Flemish-French divide, and talk of the country splitting two (or even three) is more serious than ever before. [more inside]

Let's come together!

elgilito — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 14:30:29 -0800

EU Tube: sharing the sigh(t)s and ~~sounds~~moans of Europe. Human rights around the world? 700 views. A smoke-free Europe? 2300 views. 44 seconds of sex scenes from award-winning, popular European movies? 1,900,000 views. The European Commission just launched its own YouTube channel, using the oldest marketing trick ever, all for 350 Euros per clip (link includes the list of films), even though the usual suspects aren't happy.

Réunion Erupts

djgh — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:29:26 -0800

The volcano Piton de la Fournaise on the island of Réunion has erupted. Réunion, 800km from Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is technically part of the EU as an overseas département of France. The latest eruption (BBC video, requires Realplayer) of Piton de la Fournaise has resulted in some beautiful photos Top right - Voir le diaporama.

Autopsy may show that Yan Yan died of an accidental overdose

phaedon — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:59:02 -0800

After twelve years of not getting laid, Yan Yan the Chinese panda finally kicked the bucket late Monday at the Berlin Zoo. Officials admits she died alone and nobody immediately noticed. Now the media is running with the story that the popularity of Knut the polar bear cub may be the reason behind the death of his neighbor. In other news, the European Union celebrated its 50th birthday in Berlin. Nobody noticed.

Esta thread est en Europanto.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:16:33 -0800

Que would happen if, wenn Du open your Metafilter, finde eine message in esta lingua? No est Englando, no est Germano, no est Espano, no est keine known lingua - aber Du understande! Wat happen zo! Habe your computero eine virus catched? Habe Du sudden BSE gedeveloped? No, Du esse lezendo la neue europese lingua: de Europanto!

CIA Arrest warrants

cassbrown1 — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 00:14:22 -0800

At last, someone is going to take the legal route. Italian authorities have issued arrest warrants for 22 CIA Agents suspected of involvement in the US kidnap/torture policy. "The new warrants allow for the suspects' detention anywhere in the 25-nation EU, a prosecutor said." That's more lost clients for the European tourist industry.

EU weather satelite unit

longsleeves — Thu, 22 Dec 2005 20:37:10 -0800

accurate weather forecasts...yes... Add your own sound effects.