European Union

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Sarkozy and Merkel Face Off
Sarkozy and Merkel Face Off

Sarkozy and Merkel Face Off

Two ambitious heads of state struggle for European dominance

(Newser) - French president Nicolas Sarkozy is stepping up to challenge German chancellor Angela Merkel for the leadership of Europe, Der Spiegel reports, and the result  will be first-rate political spectacle. The two alpha heads of state, who met today in Toulouse, have very different styles: Merkel is restrained and accute; Sarkozy...

Pan-European Bastille Day 2007
Pan-European Bastille Day 2007

Pan-European Bastille Day 2007

(Newser) - France celebrated Bastille Day for the 127th time today, with a particularly eclectic celebration, as troops from all 27 EU nations marched in the parade down the Champs-Elysees.  It is also the first Bastille Day held since Nicolas Sarkozy became president and, as a tough-on-crime rightist, refused to to...

Kraft Goes Cookie Shopping in France

American snack giant bids $7.2B for Danone's biscuit division

(Newser) - Kraft moved to elevate its international profile today with a $7.2 billion for Danone's biscuit division, setting up a deal that would make the Oreo manufacturer Europe's largest cookie maker. The polyglot alliance of Ritz crackers and Petit Ecolier biscuits faces numerous obstacles, the Times of London reports, including...

Portugal May Break Ban, Invite Mugabe

New head of EU wants Africans at upcoming summit

(Newser) - Portugal has provoked a firestorm by proposing to invite Robert Mugabe to an upcoming summit of European and African nations, despite an EU ban prohibiting the Zimbabwean dictator from traveling on the Continent. The African Union insists all its members be treated equally, and EU refusal to invite Mugabe at...

Sarkozy Is Europe's New Clinton
Sarkozy Is Europe's
New Clinton

Sarkozy Is Europe's New Clinton

French PM scored with diplomatic charm offensive at EU summit

(Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy was the star of the EU’s constitutional summit last weekend, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat with a virtuoso diplomatic performance reminiscent of the former president. The new PM displayed what Der Spiegel called ‘Clintonesque ease’ in solving big problems, returning France to her traditional...

EU Leaders OK New Treaty
EU Leaders OK New Treaty

EU Leaders OK New Treaty

Brussels summit ends with hard-won deal to replace failed constitution

(Newser) - EU negotiators pulled an all-nighter and the German chancellor played a risky game of chicken with Poland en route to reaching an agreement on a treaty that will govern the 27-nation body. The deal resurrects much of the ill-fated 2005 constitution while streamlining bureaucracy and introducing a top foreign-policy position...

EU Members Spar Over Constitution
EU Members Spar Over Constitution

EU Members Spar Over Constitution

Conflict centers on voting power, market protections, more

(Newser) - Disagreement is widespread at the European Union summit meeting in Brussels, where the main goal is to produce a new treaty governing the 27-country group. The French have  tamped down language about free-market competition, the Brits don't want certain provisions to be legally binding, and the Poles are angling for...

EU Set to Ban Cat and Dog Fur
EU Set to Ban Cat and Dog Fur

EU Set to Ban Cat and Dog Fur

Pet fur is used in everything from coats to stuffed toys

(Newser) - The EU is about to ban cat and dog fur imports, in a bid to stop the trade in pet pelts in China, where the way the animals are slaughtered is called "horrific." The fur is used as lining in boots and gloves, in stuffed toys, and in...

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid
US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

US, EU to Renew Palestinian Aid

End of embargoes bolsters Hamas-led emergency government

(Newser) - The US and the EU demonstrated support for the emergency Palestinian government today through separate pledges to lift economic embargoes and renew aid to the Palestinian Authority. The promises follow Mahmoud Abbas' establishment of a pro-peace cabinet without members of Hamas, putting the US in the curious position of supporting...

Google Amps Up Privacy Protections
Google Amps Up Privacy Protections

Google Amps Up Privacy Protections

Search engine vows to 'radically redesign' security features

(Newser) - Google promised to step up its privacy protection yesterday, after European officials rebuked the search giant for storing data that could reveal political opinions, religious beliefs, and sexual preferences. Google will limit the amount of time it retains user data to 18 months and will "radically design" its cookie...

Sarkozy Says 'Non' to Turkey's Euro Hopes

France hopes to block full membership bid

(Newser) - France is threatening to block Turkey's full membership in the European Union this month and hopes to push the nation into a "privileged partnership" short of complete participation, the Financial Times reports. It's the first time new French President Nicolas Sarkozy will flex his political muscle in an EU...

Basque Separatists End Ceasefire, Threaten Spain

Country braces for renewed violence

(Newser) - The Basque separatist group ETA has declared an end to its 15-month ceasefire, and Spanish authorities are gearing up for the possibility of bombings at tourist sites this summer. ETA blames the return to violence on PM José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's "fascism"; addressing the nation on TV, Zapatero called...

Iran Won't Budge on Uranium
Iran Won't Budge on Uranium

Iran Won't Budge on Uranium

Negotiator bound for EU talks puts enrichment off-limits

(Newser) - Iran won't stop enriching uranium, its chief nuclear negotiator said today, hours before scheduled talks with the EU. Tomorrow's meeting will focus on Iran's nuclear program, seen as an increasing threat after recent inspections indicated the country is moving closer to nuclear capability. Monday's US-Iran negotiations on Iraq have no...

Estonia Attack Prompts Cyber Security Blitz

Experts from all over studying how to soup up digital security

(Newser) - In the wake of what some are calling the first digital act of war—when hackers using as many as a million computers attacked Estonia's  web-based infrastructure—cyber security experts from all over Europe and the US are huddling to study how to prevent future disasters, reports the New York ...

EU Universities Could Lose Ground to Asia

Old-world schools hear footsteps from China, India in college rankings

(Newser) - Top-tier European universities like Oxford, Cambridge and the Sorbonne will fall behind competitors in China and India within 10 years, the EU's education commissioner warns. The Times of London reports underfunding and outmoded curricula could cost the mossier Western schools their international reputations, and international enrollments with them.

Rome Deal Creates World's 5th-Largest Bank

(Newser) - Italian lenders UniCredit and Capitalia yesterday inked a $29.7 billion deal to create a bank with the world's fifth (and Europe's second) largest market cap. The hurried Rome merger indicates, according to the Wall Street Journal, a rush to consolidate Europe's banking sector, but also the persistent challenges to...

Germany, UK Court Sarkozy in EU Dispute

French president could be be key to European constitution

(Newser) - Hours after Nicolas Sarkozy became president of France, both Germany and Britain began wooing him—Germany to win his support for a European constitution, Britain to secure his opposition to it. Sarkozy immediately huddled with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor who has been lobbying hold-outs with one-on-one talks, the London...

Million Turks Rally for Secularism
Million Turks Rally for Secularism

Million Turks Rally for Secularism

(Newser) - Secular Turks staged an enormous rally yesterday amid a constitutional crisis over the election of the next president, the BBC reports. As many as a million protesters turned out in Istanbul to oppose ruling-party candidate Abdullah Gul, who they're afraid is orchestrating an Islamic coup in the country even as...

Brits Prove Captured Sailors Were in Iraqi Waters

Iran can't stick to a story

(Newser) - The 15 British sailors captured by Iran last week were inside Iraqi waters, British evidence released today shows. The craft's GPS system put it 1.7 nautical miles outside Iranian territory, which a British military helicopter confirms. The Iranian government revised its own version of the location Monday, when its...

Aid Grows Despite Embargo
Aid Grows Despite Embargo

Aid Grows Despite Embargo

(Newser) - Palestinians are actually receiving more foreign aid, not less,  than they were before the US and the European Union slapped an aid embargo against the Hamas led Palestinian Authority last year, reports Steven Erlanger. The United Nations and the International Monetary Fund say $1.2 billion was given to...

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