Global News Journal
Beyond the World news headlines
Volcano spews up more criticism of EU
Ash and steam rise from an erupting volcano near Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland
The Icelandic volcano that has caused havoc with European travel has also spewed up more criticism of the European Union.
A travel-affected European Parliament session on Tuesday turned into a forum for bashing the EU and other European authorities over the response to the crisis.
Some members of the assembly said the EU had responded too slowly to the ash cloud by taking several days to get EU transport ministers together to discuss the crisis.
“Our reactions were late and fragmented. There was no attempt to cooperate between airlines to direct the flows of passengers and use as much as possible the still available routes,” said Marian-Jean Marinescu, a centre-right member of the assembly.
EU asks public what it thinks of CAP reform
EU Commissioner Dacian Ciolos
The European Commission’s agriculture department launched a public debate this week on the future reform of Europe’s common agricultural policy (CAP) from 2014. It wants everyone – not just farmers and politicians – to have their say on how the European Union should support agricultural production.
It’s odd then that the only question that’s off limits in the debate, according to EU Farm Commissioner Dacian Ciolos, is the one on everybody’s lips: how much taxpayers’ money should the CAP get?
Head scratching over EU plans for EMF, helping Greece
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn
It was no great surprise that the managing director of the International Monetary Fund looked perplexed when asked during a visit to Brussels to comment on proposals to create a European monetary fund.
”I would be very happy to comment if I knew what it was,” Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a committee in the European Parliament.
EU to tackle gender pay inequality
By Sangeeta Shastry
EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding
Men are still paid more than women in Europe but the European Union is promising to narrow the gap.
The executive European Commission set out its plans to address the pay gap between men and women at a news conference to coincide with International Women’s Day, saying women were on average earning only 82 percent of male rates in the EU.
EU tests its vision with 2020 strategy
In 2000, the European Union set its sights on becoming the world’s most dynamic, knowledge-based economy by 2010. It failed. Economic recession hardly helped, but EU officials acknowledge its goals may have been a little too ambitious.
On Wednesday the European Commission, the EU executive, unveiled a new 10-year plan to boost economic growth and create jobs. The Europe 2020 strategy is intended to create a greener and more prosperous economy and will be the centrepiece of the EU’s efforts to emerge from financial crisis.
Sniping mars EU image and unity
Herman Van Rompuy
The European Union seems to have developed a habit of shooting itself in the foot.
The latest self-inflicted wound was an attack on Wednesday by a euro-sceptic British member of the European Parliament who dismissed Herman Van Rompuy, the new EU president, as a “damp rag” who had no legitimacy and threatened democracy.
EU gets new Commission, but little to cheer yet
There was more a sense of relief than joy when the European Union finally got its new executive on Tuesday. These are difficult times for the EU and there is little to celebrate.
The new European Commission is taking office in a tough economic climate, with the 16-country euro zone facing its hardest test since the single currency came into being 11 years ago.
Berlusconi charms Israel with EU talk
Berlusconi and Netanyahu shake hands during a meeting in Italy last year
Silvio Berlusconi is seldom shy about making headlines, and he’s also known to turn on the charm when he meets foreign leaders.
So it was hardly surprising the Italian prime minister kicked off a three-day visit to Israel on Monday by declaring his hope that Israel might one day become a member of the European Union.
Does Washington care about the EU?
Try as it might, the European Union’s efforts to act like a bigger player in world affairs keep running into obstacles.
The latest setback is a report that President Barack Obama won’t be able to make it to the annual EU-U.S. summit this year, pencilled in for Madrid in May. A hectic domestic agenda and the fact the U.S. president made 10 foreign trips last year — more than any other president in his first year in office — means staying at home is the priority and the Europe Union will have to wait.
EU Commission nominee inspired by Rumsfeld
Olli Rehn
By David Brunnstrom
EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner designate Olli Rehn drew inspiration from former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a hearing in the European Parliament this week.
Each prospective commissioner has to endure a three-hour grilling to check their credentials.
