FOLLOWING THE EUROPEAN UNION

Topolánek, Gusenbauer discuss Schengen & illegal migration

Radio Prague
08-01-2008

Czech PM Topolánek met with Austrian Chancellor Gusenbauer for talks about the Temelín nuclear power plant and the upcoming EU presidencies. But it was the recent enlargement of the EU's Schengen zone that dominated discussions. Since the relaxation of border controls last month Austria has seen a rapid influx of illegal migrants, and Czech and Austrian representatives pledged that more would be done to tackle the problem.

Some of the more visible activities however have come up fruitless. Responding to information that Chechen migrants were en route to Austria from Poland, Czech police searched trains and stations in north Moravia last weekend, and buses, trucks, and cars with Polish license plates in the south of the country. Neither search turned up any Chechen migrants.

Cultural cleansing?

2008-01-16
IRR

Across Europe, politicians and Christian leaders are supporting public campaigns against the construction of mosques, which are being denounced for destroying Europe's Judaeo-Christian heritage. In countries such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland, far right parties are seeking constitutional change to outlaw the construction of mosques and minarets.

The Swiss People's Party launched a petition for a law to ban the construction of minarets. In Belgium and France, legal challenges are under way to ensure that the state gives no financial assistance for the construction of mosques. In Italy, neo-fascist demonstrators attempted to destroy the foundations of a mosque being constructed.

OK, how are they doing in their bid to enter NATO?

It appears I have displayed my ignorance re organizational titles....let's see, what is the name of the present organization of European countries that employs the Euro and such..?

Election pushes Italy towards two-party system

Tue Apr 15
Reuters

Italy's last parliament had more than 20 parties. The new assembly taking shape after this week's election will count just six, with the results pushing the country closer to a two-party system. Besides handing a comfortable victory to media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, Italians rewarded big political forces at the expense of the smaller parties that have often held coalition governments to ransom. La Repubblica called it "an electoral tsunami that redraws Italy's political landscape".

Berlusconi's People of Freedom, which merged his Forza Italia movement with the post-fascist National Alliance, won 37% of the vote. The Democratic party, which was founded only last October by bringing together the centre left's two biggest forces and chose to ditch its far-left allies in the election, won 33%.

The election was called three years early after the defection of a tiny party proved enough to sink Romano Prodi's centre-left coalition government, Italy's 61st since 1945. A slim majority in the Senate meant Prodi's nine-party government was dogged by constant infighting between his Catholic-to-communist allies. Bills were often approved by the cabinet only to languish in parliament for months, and many were never turned into law.

Berlusconi's winning coalition is made of just three groups. Even so, some analysts said that the strong election showing of one of them, the Northern League, could undermine the government's unity. The xenophobic, separatist party brought down Berlusconi's first cabinet in 1994, and is now the third largest force with about 8% of the vote.

Berlusconi takes aim at boosting Italy's economy and image

Washington Post
April 15, 2008

Silvio Berlusconi is promising to clean up the trash in Naples, save Alitalia airlines and revive the economy. He has the numbers to implement his agenda in his third try in the premiership, with a significant majority in both houses of parliament, which for the first time since World War II does not include what was once western Europe's largest communist party. His coalition is also, at least on paper, more cohesive since it lost a centrist ally.

But Berlusconi will face demands from the volatile Northern League, an ally that had a better-than-expected showing in the election. It wants tougher immigration rules, zero-tolerance on crime, and greater autonomy for Italy's wealthy north.

Italy is verging on recession, with consumer spending at a low and zero growth forecast by the IMF. While business leaders said the clear majority gives Berlusconi room to push through necessary reforms, some feared the margins might entice him into doing as he pleases.

In 2001, Berlusconi won the election with promises of a "new economic miracle." But critics accused him of spending most of his time passing laws to boost his business interests and help him escape criminal prosecution for charges including corruption.

He said on Monday that he is a different man now "because by now I know everything and I can prioritize things."

Berlusconi wants to eliminate provincial governments and cut the number of national lawmakers from the current 945, and have laws approved only by one house rather than two.

what are the other european countries going to do if they want to point to a country with a splintered political system and the "old" italy is no longer available as a "bad" example ?

Lithuania's new Jewish concerns

The Washington Times
20 July 2008

Lithuania, a NATO ally with a Jewish history both glorious and tragic, has again become a cause for Jewish concern. Problems include rising anti-Semitism, as evidenced by a skinhead parade in central Vilnius, and languishing property restitution. The state prosecutor, meanwhile, started legal proceedings against two Holocaust survivors for war crimes committed as anti-Nazi partisans in WW2. One of them served on the historical commission appointed by the president to document the wartime atrocities of Lithuanian collaborators.

The European Commission has stripped Bulgaria of 220m euros (£188m) in EU funding over its failure to tackle corruption and organised crime.

In July, the commission froze more than 500m euros in aid to Bulgaria, one of its newest and poorest members, following a scathing EU report.

The commission has now confirmed that the country will definitely lose nearly half that amount.

Bulgaria is rated as the most corrupt of the EU's 27 member states.

This pocketbook provides statistical information on how the food chain in Europe
evolves from the farm to the fork. Data are presented tracing the journey of food from
the farm to the fork from primary agricultural production, through food processing,
wholesale and retail distribution, ending with food consumption.
Information about primary agricultural production includes basic information on the
number and types of farm holding and the area of land used for various types of
agriculture. It also presents information on intermediate inputs within the production
process, for example, providing details on fertilizers, plant protection products or
feedingstuff s. The outputs of primary agricultural production include harvested crops,
numbers of animals ready for slaughter (generally off -farm) and milk collected.
The next stage in the food chain involves the processing of agricultural output: as
cereals, vegetables, fruit, milk, meat or fi sh are transformed into food products that
are more familiar to consumers. This can be a relatively simple operation of grading
and then preserving, tinning or freezing foods, or may involve more elaborate
transformations, such as the production of ready-to-eat meals.
Before reaching the consumer, most food and drink passes along distribution
channels in the form of wholesalers and retailers, or alternatively into restaurants,
cafes and bars.
The end of the publication focuses on consumer-related issues, including the price,
quality and choice of foods available in shops, markets and other retail outlets, as well
as food safety, organic food, and genetically-modifi ed food.
At all stages of the food chain, statistics are presented and balanced by information
that highlights some of the main issues and challenges faced by actors in the food
chain, including related externalities " for example, the impact of farming on the
environment, or health implications associated with unhealthy diets. Details are
also provided concerning eff orts being made at a European level to improve food
production systems through a broad range of policy initiatives and work being carried
out by control and monitoring agencies.