European Union

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Why Italy Still Loves Crude Berlusconi

(Newser) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has appalled the world with his crass remarks, yet somehow remains popular at home. "Is there a logic to what might seem like a strange form of Tourette's syndrome?" asks Alexander Stille, analyzing the gaffe-prone pol in The New Republic. The answer to Berlusconi's...

'Gay' Elephant Gets Polish Pol Riled Up

(Newser) - A Polish lawmaker is incensed over a local zoo's acquisition of an elephant that might be gay, Reuters reports. “We were supposed to have a herd, but as Ninio prefers male friends over females how will he produce offspring?” the flustered lawmaker said. Zoo officials said the 10-year-old elephant...

US Seeks to Join Nuke Talks With Iran

(Newser) - The US wants to be a direct party to nuclear talks between Iran and the UN, CNN reports. Washington had stayed away from earlier negotiations because it has no diplomatic relationship with the country, but the State Department said today it had asked an EU official to invite Iran to...

EU Prohibits 6 Kazakh Airlines From Airspace

Cites safety, won't say if Borat mockery lies behind ban

(Newser) - The European Union has banned six Kazakh airlines from its airspace, citing safety reasons, the Guardian reports today. No specific reason was given, though perhaps comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s skit about Borat flying on “Air Kazakh”—a rickety plane with a drunken one-eyed pilot—may have finally...

Obama in Turkey: US Not at War With Islam

(Newser) - President Obama addressed the Turkish parliament today, and used the opportunity to extend an olive branch to the Muslim world, the New York Times reports. “The United States is not, and will never be, at war with Islam,” said Obama. “America’s relationship with the Muslim world...

Sarko: Butt Out of Turkey's EU Bid, Obama

Franco-US relations sour over Turkey tiff

(Newser) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy put an end to Barack Obama's European honeymoon when the US leader pushed for Turkey's membership in the European Union, reports the Times of London. The move would signal that Muslims are "our friends, neighbors and partners," Obama suggested. Sarkozy, who opposes Turkey's membership,...

Popular Prez Faces Uphill Battle in Euro Meetings

Popular prez faces 'tense discussions': analysts

(Newser) - Obama may be a big hit in Europe, but that doesn’t mean his upcoming foreign trip is going to be easy. Overseas, he’ll be pushing for a new take on Afghanistan, fighting against weapons proliferation, and calling for Europeans to join together to fix the global economy, the...

EU Prez Slams Obama's Call for Stimulus as 'a Way to Hell'

So what if Czech PM's gov't has collapsed

(Newser) - Mirek Topolanek, the Czech prime minister whose government collapsed last night, today blasted President Obama’s economic ideas, calling further stimulus “a way to hell.” Topolanek spoke before the European Parliament just hours after Obama called on the world to share the burden of economic stimulus, the BBC...

Czech Government Falls on Eve of Obama Visit

Collapse endangers plans for missile defense installation

(Newser) - The Czech prime minister announced his resignation last night after his government lost a confidence vote in parliament, reports the New York Times. The ouster of Mirek Topolanek comes at an awkward moment: Not only do the Czechs hold the rotating EU presidency, but Barack Obama is scheduled to visit...

US-Style Stimulus Might Not Be Right for Europe
US-Style Stimulus Might Not Be Right for Europe
OPINION
Mar 24, 2009 10:04 AM CDT

US-Style Stimulus Might Not Be Right for Europe

To each economy its own, says central bank head

(Newser) - Today, in newspapers worldwide, President Obama called on nations to stimulate their economies, but Europe isn't sold on the idea. Europe's leaders are viewed as cautious, but perhaps their “policy is appropriate for European conditions,” Jack Ewing writes in Der Spiegel. For one thing, Europe already spends much...

Decriminalize Incest? Romania Is Not Alone

Bucharest aims to match laws in 3 EU nations

(Newser) - As the Josef Fritzl case echoes across Europe, Romania is considering a new approach to incest: legalizing it, the AP reports. The Justice Ministry is contemplating the move amid wider legal reforms, arguing that decriminalization would sync its stance with EU members France, Spain, and Portugal. “Not everything...

Robot Fish Will Help Battle Pollution
Robot Fish
Will Help
Battle Pollution
Mar 20, 2009 10:51 AM CDT

Robot Fish Will Help Battle Pollution

High-tech 'carp' find chemical contaminants in Spanish harbor

(Newser) - Robots will soon be patrolling the harbor of Gijon, Spain, and if all goes well, the local sea life won't notice a thing, reports the Financial Times. The pollution-detecting bots cost $30,000 each and are modeled after carp, complete with shiny scales and an undulating swimming motion. "We...

EU Rules Starve Spanish Vultures

(Newser) - Madrid’s regional government hopes to relax EU laws that call for rotting livestock to be removed from fields—a precaution against mad cow disease—because the removal denies carrion-munching vultures a meal, the AP reports. “When a sheep or cow dies in the countryside,” said one ornithologist,...

EU Maternity Benefits May Triple

(Newser) - Maternity leave benefits in the EU are set to triple if a new proposal goes through, the Telegraph reports. New moms would see a bump from 14 to 18 weeks of paid leave under the plan and would get a full paycheck during that time—rather than lower sick-pay rates....

Stimulus Sours Obama's European Honeymoon

US urges more spending; EU focused on regulation

(Newser) - European leaders’ love affair with President Obama has hit its first snag: Obama is pushing Europe to spend more to battle the financial crisis, while Europe would prefer to focus on stricter regulation, the Los Angeles Times reports. “The Americans should be more modest about giving lessons, because the...

Liechtenstein to Open Tax Books; Pressure's on Swiss

International pressure bends EU nation, but Switzerland is the prize

(Newser) - Liechtenstein, bowing to international pressure, said today it would adopt international standards on transparency in tax matters, turning the screws on other tax havens like Switzerland, the New York Times reports. Yesterday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development added Switzerland, Luxembourg, and others to a list of tax havens...

Clinton: 'Reset' Relations With Russia

But US won't forget all our differences with Moscow

(Newser) - Ahead of her meeting today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Hillary Clinton advocated a thaw in relations with Russia, an approach a bit less "confrontational" than her predecessors. "We're going to press the reset button," she told the BBC at an EU meeting in Brussels, but...

Brown Tells US to 'Seize the Moment'

Now more than ever the rest of the world wants to work with you

(Newser) - Gordon Brown inspired applause breaks and a standing ovation in Congress today, urging America to team up with England in battling the financial crisis, the BBC reports. Brown urged lawmakers not to indulge impulses toward protectionism—which “protects no one,” the prime minister quipped—and called for new...

Leaders Warn of Economic 'Iron Curtain'

Eastern Europe melts down, but Western leaders refuse bailout

(Newser) - EU leaders meeting in Brussels yesterday rejected a Hungarian-led effort to bail out the faltering economies of Eastern Europe, leading to apocalyptic warnings of an economic "Iron Curtain," with millions of unemployed workers heading west. Countries from the Baltic states to Poland and Romania have seen their once-booming...

EU Meets Over Economic Crisis

Protectionism concerns weigh on leaders

(Newser) - European Union leaders have begun an emergency meeting about the economic crisis amid fears of protectionism among nations, the BBC reports. The Brussels summit comes after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he would bail out France’s auto industry if it didn’t send jobs out of the country. “...

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