cafebabel.com

Eurofreaks, eurosceptics and euroabstainers: youth parliament talks

('Andrew Christie',) — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:15:00 -0000

We’ve had 30 years of the right to elect representatives in EU parliament, which has moved from an advisory board to a fully-fledged legislative institution. However, the increase in power of the only EC institution to be elected directly via universal suffrage has coincided with a consistent fall in voter turnouts. Voter turnout in the EU elections is around 20 points lower across the board than in national elections

Exclusive: Parlorama MEP ranking portal back onsite

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:15:43 -0000

The website which judges the activity of Euro MPs came back onsite on 14 May at 3pm – with a few modifications and the same desire to make some noise. It was forced to close for three weeks after officials objected to its content

EU elections: French right and left submit candidates, but what if Europe is standardised?

('Darren Thompson',) — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:00:00 -0000

The main French opposition party (socialists, PS) and the union for a popular movement (UMP, headed by president Nicolas Sarkozy) are having difficulties entering totally into the electoral contest. The latter started to reflect on their European electoral manifestos under the French presidency of the EU, which was between July and December 2008

Sarkozy and Merkel: Franco-German reconciliation

('Aatish Pattni',) — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:00:00 -0000

The so-called ‘divorce’ of the Franco-German couple was lamented after the French EU presidency. The air has now been cleared; the two leaders were reunited on 10 May 2009 in Berlin regarding the upcoming European elections. There wasn’t a single drop of bad blood either

Anti Jean-Marie Le Pen amendment: EU parliament wants to conceal the extremists

('Jonny S',) — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:00:00 -0000

The French nationalist, now in his eighties, is the oldest MEP. As such, if he is returned, the honour falls to him to chair the inaugural meeting on 14 July. However his revisionist assertions, repeated many times, disturb his fellow euro MPs. What action can be taken when European democracy is tainted with extremism?

99% of European businesses are SMEs

('Fiona Herdman Smith',) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:30:00 -0000

The 'enterprise Europe network' (EEN) logo is becoming more familiar to entrepreneurs. It is not a sponsor or a multinational but rather a network created by the European commission