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Austria/EU

03 Merkel
As Germany takes on the role of ‘Europe’s Paymaster General,’ the Chancellor is begining to feel the heat
01/07/2010

A clear message for the rest of Europe – ‘Not our fault!’ – continues to reverberate through the streets of Greece’s capital during the strikes and almost daily demonstrations that have continued through May and June. In Spain, the government is working toward cutting the country’s budget deficit from 11.2% of GDP in 2009 to expected 6.5% in 2011; yet the pundits emphasize the crisis Spain might face while struggling with an unemployment rate of 20%, the highest in Europe.

01 Wloclawek dam
Months of continuous rainfall has thrown much of Central Europe into chaos
01/07/2010

This past month’s weather has been a fortune teller’s nightmare; in fact, the previous two volcanos in Iceland, another two in Ecuador and Guatemala, a month long oil spill, all wreaking general havoc seem like the apocalyptic prophesy come true, echoing in shameless vengeance: I told you so.

For once there is nothing arrogant about preferring to be fashionably late.

03 European leaders
Uncertain responses and lack of responsability: when dealing with public debts and bailouts, EU governments play roulette with history
01/06/2010

On the weekend of May 7-9, the European Union gazed into the abyss of historical failure. The fate of the euro was at stake and with it European unification as a whole. Not since before the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957 had Europe been in such grave political danger. On the surface, the matter at hand was the financial stabilization of Greece and of the Europe’s common currency, but the real title of the play was “Saving the Banks, Part II.”

While the “Southern” states believe failure is not an option, the “Northern” deny reasponsability to bailout the failing country
01/06/2010

The euro area confronts a fundamental crisis that attacks on financial speculators will do nothing to resolve. The European Council of Ministers had to promise hundreds of billions of euros to its financially imperiled member countries, even though the European economy as a whole is not really in crisis. On the contrary, most surveys and hard economic indicators point to a strong upswing, with the one country that is in really serious trouble, Greece, representing only 3% of the area’s GDP.

03 Jiří Paroubek
With a slew of victories across Europe for the right, the Czech social democrats hold on in a desperate struggle
01/06/2010

The first round of parliamentary elections has concluded in the Czech Republic with the social democrats, led by Jiri Paroubek, narrowly taking the lead. They received 22.1 percent of the vote, while the Civic Democrats, the leading center-right party, trailed closely with 20.2 percent. While this can be seen as a good sign to social democrats throughout Europe, the marginality of the first round victory is still a cause for concern, both on ideological and practical levels.

Britain’s government could be in for considerable change on May 6, but will its attitude towards the EU change with it?
01/05/2010

The upcoming U.K. election is turning out to be the most exciting Britain has seen in decades. After 13 years of Labour rule – with the impact of the Iraq War, the economic recession and parliamentary expense scandals – the possibility of a sea change in British politics is real.

03 Simeon Djankov
The miscalculations of the country’s 2009 budget derails Bulgarian hopes to enter the Eurozone in the near future
01/05/2010

Sometimes the inner voice of conscience can drive offenders insane. Not so, the Greeks, it seems. The country’s misrepresentation of its fiscal readiness to enter the European Monetary Union has damaged the bonds of trust among the EU member states.

03 British paratroopers in the Falklands
Renewed oil drilling and tougher regulations on shipping lead to confusion and renewed tensions between Britain and Argentina
01/04/2010

A decision in early February to restart drilling operations off the Falkland Islands has heightened tensions between Great Britain and Argentina and revived a long-standing conflict over sovereignty that led to war in 1982. The drilling by British oil company Desire Petroleum began Feb. 22, angering the Argentine government and triggering new regulations on all vessels en route between Argentina and the Falklands.

The decree handed down the next day, Feb.

03 Toxic Bulgarian Flag
As they overtake nuclear energy production, Bulgaria finds it hard to break free from Russia’s long-lived economic grip
01/04/2010

In a time of no uniform European policy on the use of atomic energy, Bulgaria needs to choose between the Russian-encouraged construction of a new nuclear power plant, and the withdrawal from the project that many claim slows down the country’s economic progress. In its inability to reach a decision on its own, the country currently awaits feedback from Brussels that would pinpoint a plan for the future development.

03 Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Merkel sent IMF money to Greece; was it really necessary to wreak such unparalleled havoc in Europe?
01/04/2010

The European Union’s recent summit has brought about a typically European compromise on the Greek financial crisis, one that avoids the term “solution” and hides behind the idea of a “mechanism.” Whether it works will be seen in April, when Greece will have to refinance its debt once more.

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