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3loggingportal.eu
Three years of bloggingportal. And what a journey it has been. I remember sitting around a huge table in a flat in Brussels – with a certain Jon Worth and the (back then) mysterious Brusselsblogger – dreaming up something that is now know...
We #stopsopa and #boycottgodaddy
Public Service Announcement: Kosmopolito.org is a political blog which opposes all forms of online censorship. Until today kosmopolito.org’s domain name registrar has been godaddy.com. However, this company seems to be in favour of SOPA (and...
Dear Neelie Kroes…
… let me begin like this. I generally appreciate your work on the Digital Agenda. (although there are still a lot of obstacles in Europe that need to be tackled!) Your team is doing a great job in developing this important policy. You seem to...
The new European Parliament website: a journey of discovery
Who would have thought that if you want to learn some useful tips about website (re)design you have to search no further than the new European Parliament website? And who would have thought that, in the age where, thankfully, the various EU websites...
Cameron’s diplomatic failure
One of the most surprising revelations of this weeks’ European Council was the weakness of British diplomacy. The lack of any proper diplomatic strategy is indeed shocking and one may come to the conclusion that this has been a complete diploma...
Auf Wiedersehen!
Exklusiv auf Kosmopolito: Unregelmäßige politische Karikaturen vom Blöd-Ei...
Euro-Rettung: quid pro quo?
Exklusiv auf Kosmopolito: Unregelmäßige politische Karikaturen vom Blöd-Ei...
Helmut Schmidt: Deutschland in und mit Europa
The week of good/interesting EU speeches continues – and they all seem to be happening in Berlin. First, the Polish foreign minister Sikorski, now Helmut Schmidt , former German chancellor, now elder statesman. For the first time in 13 year...
Who owns the Carpathian forests?
It is not often that Romania’s image is associated with positive things. That is why I was nicely surprised to see Transylvania and the Carpathians featured both in the Financial Times (here) and on Travel Channel (video below), all in the last...
Radosław Sikorski on the future of the EU
This week, the Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski (also on twitter: @sikorskiradek) gave an excellent speech on the future of the EU in Berlin. (also a timely reminder that Poland holds the Council Presidency at the moment) The title “P...
A geeks’ guide to the Secretariat General of the European Commission
Did you ever find yourself desperately looking for a small piece of information of the EU, usually a geeky procedural detail, and were unable to find it on any of the EU institutions website? Are you sometimes wondering who deals with rather specific...
Beyond the “pilot era”: the impact of EU funding
There is one phenomenon that anyone more or less connected with the EU bubble (even loosely, based at local or national level) is quite familiar with: EU-funded projects. They have been around for the last decades and it seems like they are here to s...
EU Commissioner Oettinger questions existence of human life in Western France
Here we go again, another gaffe by EU Commissioner Oettinger. You remember Günther Oettinger? He is the EU Commissioner for Energy and former PM of Baden-Württemberg. If that does not ring a bell maybe you might recall his encounter with ‘tea...
Short guide to lazy EU journalism
The unofficial rulebook for lazy EU journalism. 20 invaluable tips for your career in EU journalism. 1. Not sure how the EU works or what institutions are involved? –> Just write “Brussels”. 2. Germany is generally seen as impor...
Crisis!! Euro!! – We are all doomed. But why?
A very simplistic theory*: 1. Most people do not understand economics, monetary politics or EU politics – including journalists. 2. A lot of investors and market participants don’t understand politics – let alone EU decision-makin...
The UK and the European Union: A difficult relationship
There has been a lot of talk about the UK’s role in the EU lately. First the backbenchers’ rebellion in the House of Commons, then Cameron’s attempts to define EU policy (aiming at a “repatriation of powers”) and now a L...
Eurocrats
Hilarious! via The Belgium Free Press: EU Hot Air A man in a hot air balloon over the Belgian countryside realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. Descending a bit more he shouted, “Excuse me, can you help? I promise...
Ask Herman ‘the communicator’ Van Rompuy
Askthepresident.eu is the latest attempt of the EU institutions to somehow reach out to the citizens using some fancy online tools. First impression is ok – nothing revolutionary, a normal PR instrument if you ask me. It looks pretty basic R...
