News archive

Is a Syria intervention on the cards for 2013?
There are a number of signs that preparations are under way for some kind of international intervention in the disastrous situation in Syria next year, despite warnings to stay out of the conflict, writes Anthony Tucker-Jones

Summit agrees 'urgent necessity' of EU defence cooperation
There is an 'urgent necessity' for European Union member states to cooperate more closely on defence as the region takes on increased responsibilities, EU leaders meeting in Brussels agree

Finance ministers clinch EU bank supervisor deal
Finance ministers agree on the mechanism for a single eurozone banking supervisor, paving the way for direct recapitalisation of banks and marking the first stage towards a full banking union

Budget deal puts 'tremendous pressure' on EU spending
The threat that some EU programmes would run out of money this year has been staved off after MEPs agreed a compromise deal with member states on the bloc's 2012 and 2013 budgets

Long-awaited EU patent backed by MEPs
A single European patent system designed to cut costs has been approved by the European Parliament and is set to come into force at the start of 2014 – though without the involvement of Italy or Spain

Italy back in crisis spotlight amid political turmoil
Economists have warned that Italy's borrowing costs could continue to rise in the wake of Prime Minister Mario Monti's decision to step down – with the country potentially facing a 'repeat of the pressures it faced in late 2011'

EU collects Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo ceremony
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 has been presented to the EU at a ceremony in the Norwegian capital Oslo with three of the bloc's presidents accepting the award

EU 'comitology' - a maze of committees and indecipherable rules
Taking on the European Commission in its own backyard is only for the brave and the foolhardy, as one French drug company has discovered. Justin Stares tells the story of David and Goliath, Brussels-style

Italy's Monti under pressure from Berlusconi
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's party withdrew its support for the technocratic government of Mario Monti in two key parliamentary votes yesterday – raising the possibly that the administration could fall and spooking financial markets

Lambrinidis: human rights will not be 'footnote' in EU diplomacy
The newly appointed EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis talks exclusively to Francesco Guarascio about addressing the 'elephant in the room' when dealing with autocratic nations like China and Cuba - and promoting the work of NGOS

EU: no automatic membership for independent Scotland
Scotland would not automatically be a member of the European Union if it split from the rest of the United Kingdom, the European Commission has said

EU fines TV makers €1.47bn for price fixing
A number of international electronics firms have been fined a total of €1.47bn by the European Commission for engaging in 'the worst kinds of anti-competitive behaviour'

Poll: Germans want more austerity in southern Europe
Many Germans believe bailed-out countries such as Greece are not doing enough to reduce their debts and deficits in return for multi-billion euro rescue loans, and a majority think that the eurozone is unsustainable in its current form, new research finds

UK should be in EU 'outer tier' says Johnson
The UK's relationship with the EU should be 'boiled down to the single market' and a referendum held on whether it should remain a member, London mayor Boris Johnson says

EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik - in interview
Waxing lyrical on EU environmental taxes, the depletion of fish stocks in the ocean and the divergence between different EU member states when it comes to green issues - the European Commissioner for the Environment talks exclusively to Dean Carroll