The Week in Bloggingportal: March 8th – March 14th 2010

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of The Week in Bloggingportal, our weekly round-up of the best of the Euroblogosphere! This week’s edition has been written by Joe Litobarski and Julien Frisch. First up, let’s introduce a new section for those of you that don’t have time to keep up with the blogs!

* * * POST OF THE WEEK * * *

If you only read one blog post on European politics this week, it should be this post from Charlemagne’s blog on The Economist. Charlemagne warns us not to stereotype the Greek financial crisis as a simple case of the Greek people living beyond their means. He explains the traumatic historical reasons behind their bloated public sector – the civil war and dictatorship which cost real lives. It’s a well-written, personal post which reminds us that Greeks are humans and not cartoon wastrels.

Now, on to the best of the rest!

MONDAY

A short but sweet post by Jason O’Mahoney kicked off the week on Monday. It was chosen because Jason makes a very astute point about how controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders is building pan-European support for his anti-immigrant message.

Also on Monday, a post was chosen by Michael Geist detailing recent developments in the political storm surrounding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).  This is an important issue if you’re interested not just in intellectual property and counterfeit goods, but also internet piracy and digital rights. Michael’s post includes (horror of horrors!) lengthy extracts from two European Parliament draft resolutions calling for greater transparency for ACTA. You don’t need to read the resolutions if you’re put off by legalistic documents, but do keep an eye on Michael’s blog for further updates, because he is the best source of information on this issue.

TUESDAY

A German language post by Europaeum was chosen on Tuesday. It concerns the bloggers breakfast at the Spanish embassy in Berlin, and it was chosen because Martin was the first one to write about it. It was not an event covered by the mainstream media, but the way this breakfast is handled is important because it demonstrates the problems the EU has involving citizens (and the mistakes still being made). Julien gives a great English summary of Martin’s post for those that don’t speak German.

Another non-English post was chosen on Tuesday, this one from Swedish Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s blog. It was chosen because she is writing about what she actually does during a typical Strasbourg week, reporting on discussions inside the Commission that you usually wouldn’t get to hear. She’s also refreshingly transparent about the fact that she had dinner with members of the Committee on Civil Liberty (LIBE). That’s real transparency. Those who don’t speak Swedish might get the gist from this imperfect Google translation.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday saw two posts being selected, presenting two views of the same event. A UKIP MEP stood up in the European Parliament and “had a go” at Baroness Ashton in the style of UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s attack on Herman van Rompuy. The eurosceptic side was given by England Expects, who described the decision to cut the MEP’s microphone as “autocratic.” The pro-EU side was given by La Treizième Étoile, who described the MEP’s tirade as a “childish hissy fit.”

THURSDAY

Thursday’s post was from Gulf Stream Blues. It’s a great post about an under-reported speech given by William Hague of the UK Conservative party, in which he stresses that the Conservatives will play a “leading role” in Europe if they win the next election. This is a u-turn from the Conservatives, who have been hostile towards the EU since David Cameron won the Conservative leadership contest pledging to remove his party from the centre-right EPP group in the European Parliament.

SATURDAY

Saturday’s post comes from the Bulgarian blog European Union Law. Vihar highlights failings in the Bulgarian healthcare system that leave children without access to medication. It’s definitely worth reading as a short, personal post expressing the anger of average Bulgarians against their government.

So, those are the editors’ highlights for The Week in Bloggingportal. Why don’t you tell us what you think in the comment section below? Which was your favourite post this week? See you next Sunday for the next edition of The Week in Bloggingportal.