September 28, 2005
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Talking Turkey
(Sorry, my subbing skills seem to have gone out the window today – a truly terrible title…) Voting has been postponed on extending Turkey’s association agreement with the EU to the ten new member states, although the European Parliament has … Continue reading
September 26, 2005
by Nosemonkey
8 Comments
The country works via a complex federal structure based on various different bodies elected in various different ways – from fairly straight PR through to the indirectly-elected Federal Supreme Court. The majority of powers remain devolved to a local level … Continue reading
September 22, 2005
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on The constitution rears its ugly head once more
Today the European Parliment’s Constitutional Affairs Committee is expected to follow yesterday’s entirely sensible point from Commission head Jos� Manuel Barroso that debate on the future of Europe has stalled with an announcement that the old provisional constitution is dead … Continue reading
September 16, 2005
by Nosemonkey
Comments Off on Kroes, Merkel and Commission impartiality
German elections: Controversial Dutch EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes (who caused a bit of fuss a year ago during the confirmation hearings for Barroso’s Commission thanks to her links to umpteen business interests and unproven allegations of shady dealings) has … Continue reading
September 15, 2005
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
If you know nothing about what’s going on in Germany or why it’s important, you could do worse than start with Sign and Sight’s handy and succinct overview. First up, is Merkel going to push for an extra round? She’s … Continue reading
September 12, 2005
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
German elections: Less than a week to go, and Schr�der seems to be making a last minute comeback. There’s a good overview of the complexities of the German voting system at European Tribune, explaining the potential coalitions (also discussed – … Continue reading
September 9, 2005
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
Awwww! Poor Charles Clarke! His massively intrusive plans for poking into every aspect of our insignificant lives seem to have run into a bit of opposition: the European Telecommunications Network Operators’s Association has branded Charlie’s data retention plans illegal, dubbed … Continue reading
September 8, 2005
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
German elections: North Sea Diaries on the “shadowy, chimeric thing” that is German conservatism, Jerome a Paris on yet another glimmer of hope for Schr�der as Bloomberg and others report on a poll which sees his popularity rise – and … Continue reading
September 7, 2005
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
Charles Clarke’s speech to the European Parliament from this morning (link courtesy of a kindly comment). Apparently the reason some people are wary of the EU is that it “does not appear to give sufficient priority to offering practical solutions … Continue reading
September 5, 2005
by Nosemonkey
3 Comments
German Elections: The Guardian Newsblog will apparently be covering things in the run-up. The first post, on last night’s TV debate between the prospective Chancellors, is here, and it’s pretty decent. More takes – from Deutsche Well (one, two, three) … Continue reading
September 5, 2005
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
Heads up, people – ID cards propaganda phase two is under way, and it’s starting in the gloomy recesses of the EU where no newspaper ever dares send its reporters. Today the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and … Continue reading
August 31, 2005
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
German elections:MatGB points me in the direction of this openDemocracy blog dedicated to the German elections – good stuff, expecially today’s comprehensive overview post.
August 30, 2005
by Nosemonkey
2 Comments
German elections: Despite weekend polls giving the CDU/CSU opposition a 13% lead, another recent poll reckons that Gerhard Schr�der remains Germany’s preferred Chancellor. Will Merkel’s latest announcement tip the balance, or has it already been tipped? Confusing, this polling business … Continue reading
August 28, 2005
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
It’s really about time we started paying more attention to what’s going on in Germany. On Thursday Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court gave the final go-ahead for the elections on September 18th following a legal challenge to Chancellor Gerhard Schr�der’s call … Continue reading