Login
Newsletter

Subscribe now to our newsletter:



July 2010
MoTuWeThFrSaSu
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627283031 
Budget

100 posts
Your staffing budget is fatter than my staffing budget! EP has no right to grumble at the Commission NEW
Jon Worth's Euroblog 1 Day, 22 Hours, 37 Minutes ago
Oh the irony! A Member of the European Parliament – Inge Grässle (whose name sounds rather like graisse, the French word for fat) – has had a go at the European Commission for creating its hundredth Director...
Financing Agriculture NEW
CTA Brussels Weblog 6 Days, 6 Hours, 44 Minutes ago
The 20th Brussels Development Briefing will be on ‘Financing agriculture and will take place on the 15th of  September 2010. As an input to the UN Summit on MDGs to be held in New York on 22-26 September 2010, we will discuss issues related  to f...
The Budget Group NEW
Martin Westlake 1 Week, 2 Days, 5 Hours, 43 Minutes ago
There was an interesting and at times impassioned discussion in this morning’s meeting of the EESC’s Budget Group about the post-Lisbon Treaty budgetary procedure. I have bored on about this in previous posts. Suffice it to say here that...
Home truths NEW
Open Europe blog 1 Week, 3 Days, 4 Hours, 15 Minutes ago
A great report on EUobserver today features some very revealing comments by a, disappointingly, anonymous EU official about the "mushrooming" cost of the EU institutions, and their total disengagement from the debates going on across Europe about the...
EC to recover € 265.02 million of CAP expenditure from the Member States NEW
CTA Brussels Weblog 1 Week, 3 Days, 10 Hours, 34 Minutes ago
A total of € 265.02 million of EU farm money unduly spent by Member States is claimed back as a result of a decision adopted today by the European Commission. This money returns to the EU budget because of non-compliance with EU rules or inadequate...
Biting The Fiscal Bullet In Poland NEW
A Fistful of Euros 2 Weeks, 1 Day, 4 Hours, 10 Minutes ago
There is a good deal of speculation in the press at the moment over the tricky issue of whether or not Poland will be able to comply with its agreed deficit-reduction deadline on the basis of the latest budget proposals announced by the government th...
Back to the slashers… NEW
Martin Westlake 3 Weeks, 4 Hours, 14 Minutes ago
My flight arrived at 09.20, Belgian time, and I went straight to the office and back into the brutal reality of a probable zero growth budget and its consequences. Already, in New York, my President and I discussed strategy and tactics. Back in Bruss...
Commission gives details of who received EU funds in 2009 NEW
CTA Brussels Weblog 3 Weeks, 1 Day, 10 Hours, 4 Minutes ago
The European Commission has disclosed who in 2009 received EU funds in policy areas like research, education and culture, energy and transport or external aid. The online database, now containing more than 114 thousand entries going back to 2007, has...
Our organisation does not tolerate failure? NEW
A Fistful of Euros 4 Weeks, 1 Day, 9 Hours, 13 Minutes ago
Re my earlier post, in case you were wondering if there were any actual cases of politicians making ambiguous calls for market reassurance, well, here’s a nice example from the G20 Toronto Summit Declaration: There is a risk that synchronized f...
The real cost of Osborne’s Budget NEW
The Honeyball Buzz 4 Weeks, 2 Days, 9 Hours, 17 Minutes ago
David Cameron is today spending huge amounts of taxpayers’ money holding a Cabinet meeting in Yorkshire.  When Gordon Brown took his Cabinet to Leeds at the end of 2008, West Yorkshire Police spent £138,000 on extra security.  Add travel, ho...
Ce que gagnent les professionnels de l'Europe NEW
Euros du Village 1 Month, 1 Day, 10 Hours, 19 Minutes ago
L'UE coûte-t-elle trop chère en ressources humaines ? Les fonctionnaires européens et les lobbyistes sont-ils à ranger dans la case « privilégiés » ? - 1. Découverte / Institutions, Politique sociale et emploi, Economie, social, entrepr...
Kaufman on the Graun on the budget NEW
Shiraz Socialst 1 Month, 3 Days, 15 Hours, 9 Minutes ago
From today’s Graun: • Re your leader, Seumas Milne’s article and all your other moans about the budget (24 June): you wanted this government. You’ve got it. Stop whining. Gerald Kaufman MP Lab, Manchester Gorton (NB: Mr Kaufman is...
Francois Fillon, Britain's missed opportunity? NEW
Charlemagne's notebook (The Economist) 1 Month, 3 Days, 23 Hours, 36 Minutes ago
A French budget hawk, in need of allies...
Tomorrow’s budget shows huge lack of empathy for middle income families NEW
The Honeyball Buzz 1 Month, 1 Week, 19 Hours, 43 Minutes ago
The Treasury is hurriedly preparing papers and briefing those who need to know in anticipation of tomorrow’s emergency budget.  This budget will be searingly painful to millions of people across the country and will finally signal to the Bri...
Budget Support and MDG Performance NEW
CTA Brussels Weblog 1 Month, 1 Week, 4 Days, 44 Minutes ago
The first Development Paper has been presented by the European Commission staff at ODI, in London this week. It intends to increase awareness of the EU policy thinking on development issues and to seek comments and suggestions for further analyses.
How to set the national budget NEW
euromove 1 Month, 1 Week, 4 Days, 18 Hours, 47 Minutes ago
I was on the radio this morning discussing with eurosceptic Tory MP Bill Cash the proposal that there should be some kind of common discussion among the member state governments and the European Commission about the national budgets of the member sta...
Reforming the EU Budget to Promote Sustainable Growth NEW
Social Europe 1 Month, 1 Week, 4 Days, 23 Hours, 58 Minutes ago
Reforming the EU budget offers one way to promote sustainable development in Europe. Even given the current limited size of this budget, substantial resources could be channelled into a broad carbon mitigation and adaptation programme with a European...
Report on the Public Finances of the EU NEW
European Union Law 1 Month, 1 Week, 5 Days, 18 Hours, 44 Minutes ago
The European Commission has published the 2010 Report on Public Finances in EMU. The report reviews how Member States’ fiscal policies have evolved in the wake of the financial and economic crisis. It assesses the prospects for public finances...
Vers une plus grande synergie entre budgets européen et nationaux (Résumé) NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 2 Weeks, 3 Days, 3 Hours, 19 Minutes ago
Cette étude a analysé les dépenses aux niveaux Européen et nationaux dans un certain nombre de domaines politiques : éducation/formation, politique sociale, recherche, aide humanitaire et au développement, politique étrangère et de sécur...
Question à 123 milliards d'euros : comment s'y retrouver dans le budget de l'UE ? NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 2 Weeks, 4 Days, 28 Minutes ago
En décembre dernier, le Parlement européen a voté le budget de l'Union européenne pour 2010. Il s'élève à 122,9 milliards d'euros en dépenses de paiement et 141,4 milliards d'euros en dépenses d'engagement. Mais comment est-il décidé ?
Galileo : des difficultés de financement mais une promesse d'avenir NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 2 Weeks, 4 Days, 21 Hours, 12 Minutes ago
Que ce soit pour les automobilistes, les marins, les randonneurs ou les militaires, le positionnement et la navigation par satellite ont représenté une vraie révolution. La seule technologie disponible aujourd'hui est néanmoins américaine -...
£60 million fine for Northern Ireland for CAP Errors NEW
The European Citizen 1 Month, 2 Weeks, 5 Days, 8 Hours, 31 Minutes ago
Northern Ireland gets some £300 million per year in CAP subsidy payments, but now the Executive (regional government) will be fined (or disallowed) £60 million for what seems to be a list of serious errors. The BBC has reported that claims were awa...
La commission veut développer les ressources propres du budget européen. Le Commissaire Janusz Lewandowxki envisage des prélèvements écologiques et financiers NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 10 Hours, 41 Minutes ago
Les difficultés financières du Vieux Continent forcent la Commission européenne à faire preuve d'imagination our amorcer, dans le courant de l'année, les négociations budgétaires entre les Vingt-Sept. Janusz Lewandowski, le Commissaire cha...
MEPs should set an example NEW
Stanley Crossick 1 Month, 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 14 Hours, 14 Minutes ago
The European Parliament on 19 May voted themselves an additional €9.4 million for staff salaries, to help them cope with the additional work created under the Lisbon Treaty. Monthly staff budgets are currently €17 540 per MEP.  However justified...
L'Union européenne bloque sur le financement d'ITER NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 17 Hours, 26 Minutes ago
Les ministres de la Recherche de l'UE ne sontpas parvenus à s'entendre, le 26 mai dernier, sur le financement du projet international de fusion nucléaire ITER. " Nous ne sommes actuellement pas en mesure de conclure un accord, même si tous les...
Etude inédite : « Le budget européen : quelle négociation pour le prochain cadre financier de l'Union européenne ? », par Nicolas-Jean Brehon NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 20 Hours, 16 Minutes ago
La Fondation Robert Schuman publie une étude inédite de Nicolas-Jean Brehon intitulée : «  Le budget européen : quelle négociation pour le prochain cadre financier de l'Union européenne ? ». L'Union européenne entamera...
Financer l'Agenda 2020 malgré la crise budgétaire, par Alain Lamassoure (Parlement européen) NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 3 Weeks, 6 Days, 46 Minutes ago
Alain Lamassoure, qui préside la commission des budgets du Parlement européen, a établi un docuement de travail intitulé " Financer l'Agenda 2020 malgré la crise budgétaire " dont l'introduction est la suivante i : " Une vingtaine...
Judith Sargentini in Slag om Brussel over Europese begroting NEW
GroenLinks Europa 1 Month, 3 Weeks, 6 Days, 22 Hours, 17 Minutes ago
Het VPRO programma de Slag om Brussel maakte een uitzending over de Europese begroting: smijt de EU geld over de balk? GroenLinks-europarlementariër Judith Sargentini vertelt in deze uitzending over geldverslindende posten, zoals de maandelijkse mil...
Cour des comptes : la gestion du budget de l’Etat en 2009 NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 4 Weeks, 1 Hour, 48 Minutes ago
Le 26 mai 2010, la Cour des comptes a certifié pour la quatrième année consécutive les comptes de l’Etat. Elle a exprimé neuf réserves sur l’exercice budgétaire 2009. La Cour s’inquiète notamment de la mise en place encore inachevé...
European Parliament considers controversial ban on siblings NEW
the Brussel Jungle 1 Month, 4 Weeks, 1 Day, 1 Hour, 54 Minutes ago
After receiving a top secret report from OLAF (the European Commission Anti-Fraud Office), the Bureau of the European Parliament, with the consent of Presidents Van Rompuy and Barroso, is to consider a highly controversial move that would prohibit...
More or less control in the supervision of EU funds? - On the Commission Communication NEW
Julien Frisch 1 Month, 4 Weeks, 1 Day, 20 Hours, 48 Minutes ago
It is no secret that the EU is spending a good amount of its budget through funds that are given to diverse recipients all across the Union, and so a discussion on how these funds are spent is always worth having. They are worth having because almos...
Skær 10 pct af Danmarks afgift til EU NEW
Folkebevægelsens Fælles Blog 1 Month, 4 Weeks, 1 Day, 23 Hours, 14 Minutes ago
- EU har opfordret Danmark til besparelser. Men det er et sted, hvor vi ikke har sparet. Det er på EU's bureaukrati. Og der er mange penge at hente, udtaler Ditte Staun fra Folkebevægelsen mod EU - Nyheder / Tophistorie, Pressemeddelelse, Øko...
Rénover les ressources propres de l'Union, par Olivier Lacoste (Interface n°57 - Confrontations Europe) NEW
Regards citoyens 1 Month, 4 Weeks, 2 Days, 49 Minutes ago
Comme le souligne Alain Lamassoure (dans l’article figurant en première page du bulletin mensuel n°57 de Confrontations Europe - Interface ), et comme le fera le 9 juin le colloque organisé par Confrontations Europe (se reporter à notr...
Bruxelles veut offrir un iPad à ses eurodéputés? NEW
Etoile 2 Months, 2 Days, 13 Hours, 51 Minutes ago
Plans d'austérité, crise financière, affaiblissement de l'euro, remise en question des traités… l'Allemagne qui un jour affiche sa solidarité européenne et évoque le lendemain la possibilité de virer la Grèce de la zone euro…L'Europe a p...
Terra Nova et Euros du Village : propositions pour un renouveau des politiques européennes (2. Budget) NEW
Euros du Village 2 Months, 3 Days, 4 Hours, 51 Minutes ago
Deuxième volet de la réflexion commune menée par les Euros et Terra Nova, cette fois c'est la question du budget qui est posée. - Policy papers / Politique européenne, UNION EUROPEENNE, Budget et finances publiques, GRANDE UNE...
L’euPad: quando il sito-web di satira prevede la realtà NEW
Nouvelles Bruxelles 2 Months, 3 Days, 8 Hours, 38 Minutes ago
“Bill Gates celebrerà il sessantesimo anniversario della dichiarazione di Schuman, padre dell’Europa Unita, lanciando l’euPad, una versione speciale dell’iPad fatta ad hoc per l’Unione Europea”. Avvisava il sito satirico The Brussels Jun...
W.T.F.! NEW
Henrik-Alexandersson.se 2 Months, 4 Days, 8 Hours, 54 Minutes ago
På något sätt tycks det ha beslutats att Europaparlamentets ledamöter skall få iPads. På skattebetalarnas bekostnad.De har ju för f-n redan pengar just för att betala datorer, telefoner och jox!Lägg till detta att det kostar 30.000 spänn pe...
Recortes a los funcionarios de la UE NEW
Eurity 2 Months, 4 Days, 15 Hours, 58 Minutes ago
A todo cerdo le llega su San Martín. Si los funcionarios de casi todos los países europeos sufren recortes o congelaciones salariales,  ¿para cuándo un recorte también a los abultados sueldos de los funcionarios (sobre todo los de las categor
Loi de Finances 2010 : DISPOSITIONS RELATIVES À L’ÉQUILIBRE DES RESSOURCES ET DES CHARGES NEW
Regards citoyens 2 Months, 5 Days, 7 Hours, 52 Minutes ago
Source : http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/projets/pl1946.asp#P4326_501855 Article 34 :Équilibre général du budget, trésorerie et plafond d’autorisation des emplois I. - Pour 2010, les r...
EU Accounts 2008: Waiting for the Council NEW
Le Taurillon 2 Months, 1 Week, 1 Day, 20 Hours, 4 Minutes ago
MEPs have given green light to access the EU's 2008 accounts. During the last plenary held in Brussels, the European Parliament has approved the disclosure procedure of the Commission, European Parliament, European agencies and other institutions (Co...
Alesii nostri sunt toti la fel: eurodeputatii si-au suplimentat cheltuielile cu 1500 de euro lunar NEW
Menaru 2 Months, 1 Week, 2 Days, 15 Hours, 26 Minutes ago
In Romania, in plina criza si plinie revolte ale bugetarilor pe tema reducerilor de salarii si posturi, Senatul face angajari de experti, soferi si consilieri.Nu va grabiti sa spuneti nesimtire tipic romaneasca. Multi au impresia ca la nivel european...
Joining the Ministry of Magic NEW
Mount EUlympus 2 Months, 2 Weeks, 3 Days, 12 Hours, 38 Minutes ago
Last week Harry Potter had an interview with the Ministry of Magic to become a junior assistant in the Department of Muggle Relations. Defeating Voldemort may have benefitted the wizarding world; it certainly did not secure Harry's future. So the you...
Åke: Vad göra med britternas EU-rabatt? NEW
Europabloggen 2 Months, 3 Weeks, 3 Days, 12 Hours, 51 Minutes ago
Åke frågar Olle Schmidt (FP) om vad som ska hända med Storbritanniens rabatt på EU-avgiften.1984 förhandlade Margaret Thatcher till sig en rabatt på EU-avgiften. Argumentet var att Storbritannien fick så lite jordbruksstöd som utgjorde över...
Quel budget européen à l'horizon 2013 ? Moyens et politiques d'une Union élargie (ouvrage collectif) NEW
Regards citoyens 2 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 10 Hours, 38 Minutes ago
Aperçu de la page “Quel budget européen à l'horizon 2013 ? Moyens et politiques d'une Union élargie (ouvrage collectif)” : Résumé Le 1er mai 2004, l’Union européenne s’est élargie à 10 nouveaux Éta...
Ex-EP president Pöttering loves his privileges NEW
Julien Frisch 2 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 10 Hours, 47 Minutes ago
German news report that former European Parliament president Hans-Gert Pöttering still has the right to use his car and driver. In addition, Spiegel Online informs, the rules have been changed right when he left office and were confirmed by his for...
Quel budget européen à l'horizon 2013 ? Moyens et politiques d'une Union élargie (ouvrage collectif) NEW
Regards citoyens 2 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 11 Hours, 11 Minutes ago
Aperçu de la page “Quel budget européen à l'horizon 2013 ? Moyens et politiques d'une Union élargie (ouvrage collectif)” : Résumé Le 1er mai 2004, l’Union européenne s’est élargie à 10 nouveaux Éta...
MittEuropa » (S): Orimligt att höja anslagen för Europaparlamentet NEW
Europabloggen 2 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 15 Hours, 26 Minutes ago
Just nu pågår en strid i Europaparlamentet om parlamentets budget för 2011.  Parlamentet kan inte kraftigt öka sina administrativa utgifter, samtidigt som flera medlemsländer efter finanskrisen drastiskt skär ned i sina nationella budgetar...
European Commission hit by crisis as staff training courses get cancelled NEW
the Brussel Jungle 2 Months, 4 Weeks, 1 Day, 19 Hours, 34 Minutes ago
The BJ reporters received an internal email from a trusted source within the European Commission demonstrating that cost cutting is now also affecting the training programme of European Commission civil servants. The email, circulated to DG RELEX (Ex...
Ministerrådet vill inte granskas av EU-politiker NEW
Europabloggen 3 Months, 5 Days, 22 Hours, 41 Minutes ago
Europaparlamentet hävdar att de har rätt att granska ministerrådets ekonomi, men rådet pekar i fördragen och vägrar.EU-parlamentet har åter grävt upp stridsyxan med ministerrådet, där EU-ländernas regeringar sitter, angående hur rådet an...
The cult of austerity NEW
Gavin Hewitt's Europe (BBC) 4 Months, 6 Days, 17 Hours, 32 Minutes ago
How quickly should public spending be cut? Who would have imagined just a short time ago that this would be the central political argument in Britain. No political party disputes that the scythe must be taken out of the shed....
Young, dynamic, creative? It’s time to join! NEW
Writing for (y)EU 4 Months, 1 Week, 5 Days, 9 Hours, 24 Minutes ago
The rumours were louder and louder in the last weeks… And now it's official. The new competition to enter the European institutions has been launched this week. I was in this situation about two years ago, I know how it is, how people feel... Let's...
The Bureau and the 2011 Budget NEW
Martin Westlake 4 Months, 1 Week, 6 Days, 9 Hours, 58 Minutes ago
This afternoon’s Bureau meeting adopted the EESC’s draft budget for 2011. In a sober and consensual debate, the Bureau members recognised that all EU institutions are facing a difficult task in this context. All are painfully aware of t...
A flag NEW
Julien Frisch 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 1 Day, 5 Hours, 1 Minute ago
We were walking up a snowy mountain on this cold Sunday morning in a small town in western Germany. Half way up the mountain, there was a blue flag with 12 stars waving on a silver pole in front of a private home. The sun was shining brightly. And...
The rise of budget support: a false panacea NEW
CTA Brussels Weblog 5 Months, 4 Days, 1 Hour, 14 Minutes ago
European aid donors are delivering a higher share of development aid directly to governments in the form of budget support. While this offers potential for enhancing local accountability within developing states the way it is being implemented in pra...
Les perspectives limitées des ressources communautaires imposent une réflexion approfondie sur les dépenses futures NEW
Regards citoyens 6 Months, 2 Days, 48 Minutes ago
Sage prudence du nouveau Commissaire.  L'orientation favorable à sauvegarder la politique agricole commune (PAC) et la politique de cohésion en tant qu'éléments essentiels de la construction européenne, en leur assurant à l'avenir des...
Does Anyone Really Know The Size Of The Greek 2009 Deficit? NEW
A Fistful of Euros 6 Months, 5 Days, 22 Hours, 28 Minutes ago
While investors are generally aware of the dire state of the western economies’ accounts, quite a few of them are optimistic that these large budget deficits can be closed through a combination of fiscal discipline and expenses reduction. Such opti...
Conclusion: Hearing on EU Budget Commissioner NEW
Centre for European Politics 6 Months, 2 Weeks, 1 Day, 13 Hours, 45 Minutes ago
Janusz Lewandowski performed well at his interview before the joint meeting of the Budget and Budgetary Control Committees of the European Parliament. A Pole from the governing centre-right Civic Platform, he studiously avoided offending most MEPs an...
Svenska sjukan NEW
Henrik-Alexandersson.se 6 Months, 2 Weeks, 4 Days, 14 Hours, 48 Minutes ago
När Riksrevisionen avslöjar brister, missförhållanden och fusk – då leder det... nästan aldrig till några politiska förändringar alls.
2.5 million tonnes of EU waste NEW
Open Europe blog 6 Months, 2 Weeks, 5 Days, 17 Hours, 11 Minutes ago
Few things represent the absurd and outdated nature of the EU's budget as well as the weird butter and grain mountains. These mountains consist of surplus produce that Europe's farmers have been unable to sell on the market and that is instead bought...
El PP pide que se aproveche la Presidencia de la UE para conservar las ayudas NEW
Salvador Garriga 6 Months, 2 Weeks, 6 Days, 13 Hours, 31 Minutes ago
EFE.-Salvador Garriga ha realizado hoy una rueda de prensa en la que ha analizado la situación de Asturias de cara a una reordenación del gasto comunitarioEl eurodiputado del PP Salvador Garriga ha pedido hoy al Gobierno central que aproveche la Pr...
“Fraud, chicanery & rule-bending” NEW
FollowTheMoney.eu 6 Months, 2 Weeks, 6 Days, 14 Hours, 59 Minutes ago
The New York Times dubbed it “the mystery of the sugar triangle” – the huge subsidy fraud discovered when Belgian and European investigators raided the offices of Belgian sugar maker Beneo-Orafti last spring. The case belongs to a long traditio...
Parliament adopts EU budget for 2010 NEW
CTA Brussels Weblog 6 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, 17 Hours, 4 Minutes ago
Parliament adopted the final EU budget for 2010, which will be €141.4 billion in commitments and €122.9 billion in payments. The main challenge for this year's budget was to find the funding for the already agreed but not yet financed economic re...
The EU needs a federal budget NEW
Le Taurillon 6 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 2 Hours, 15 Minutes ago
At the end of last year's financial turmoil, Jean-Claude Trichet*, President of the ECB, said in an interview that “the Stability and Growth Pact is the legal framework that we have as a quid pro quo for the fact that we do not have a federal budge...
Wpis noworoczny NEW
blogUE (Gazeta Wyborcza) 6 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 18 Hours, 12 Minutes ago
Wszystkim czytelnikom blogUE, wszelkiej pomyślności w 2010 r.! Oby wszystkie Państwa plany spełniły się, a ludzie byli przychylni, tak w życiu zawodowym, jak i prywatnym. A skoro już o Nowym Roku mówimy: spisałem własną listę unijnych ż...
2009 NEW
Stephen Spillane 6 Months, 3 Weeks, 6 Days, 16 Hours, 34 Minutes ago
Image by mugley via Flickr What a year! 2009 is approaching its end and its been and up and down year for me. Blogging What a year for me and blogging! It started off great being selected for the first Th!nk about it competition and then that led...
Predictions for 2010 NEW
Merchant of Venice 6 Months, 4 Weeks, 5 Hours, 56 Minutes ago
It is that time of the year again – the time that pundits like to gaze into their crystal ball and divine a few predictions for the year to come. Never one to be left out, let me offer a few here. •  First, for the first year since 2005, the...
Sharp Turn on the Rock Road. NEW
Jason O'Mahony 6 Months, 4 Weeks, 20 Hours, 30 Minutes ago
I’ve been asked to repost this little fictional wandering  I wrote. It’s 1943, and Eamonn De Valera is dead in a car crash. Young new Taoiseach Sean Lemass is faced with a choice which could change the destiny of the nation.  ...
The Naughties – A Valediction NEW
Social Europe 6 Months, 4 Weeks, 1 Day, 6 Hours, 2 Minutes ago
Tomorrow we say goodbye to the first decade of the new millennium. And the last ten years were troubled ones. The 1990s were characterised by a captivating optimism that the new world after the Cold War would bring peace and prosperity for all. The t...
The Noughties – A Valediction NEW
Social Europe 6 Months, 4 Weeks, 1 Day, 6 Hours, 2 Minutes ago
Tomorrow we say goodbye to the first decade of the new millennium. And the last ten years were troubled ones. The 1990s were characterised by a captivating optimism that the new world after the Cold War would bring peace and prosperity for all. The t...
EU accounts dodgy? You’d think people in British glasshouses would know better… NEW
Jason O'Mahony 7 Months, 1 Week, 13 Hours, 19 Minutes ago
The always excellent Jon Worth makes a very valid point here about the old eurosceptic chestnut of the EU’s unsigned accounts.
What planet is the EU on NEW
England Expects 7 Months, 1 Week, 6 Days, 5 Hours, 52 Minutes ago
Marta Andreasen points out that increasing the EU's budget by 6% this year is from "another planet".It is obscene she says to vote to increase MEPs salaries. Here here. Stick it to them Marta.
No sensitiveness – precisely NEW
Europa-Transparent 7 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days, 22 Hours, 7 Minutes ago
The Greece state is nearly bancrupt and the EU-officials don’t hesitate a second to ask for a salary increase of 3,7%. Yes, officially it’s is their right, and all EU-member-states adopted the legal base. But still there is a difference b...
3,7 Prozenthürde NEW
Martin Ehrenhauser (MEP) 7 Months, 2 Weeks, 3 Days, 2 Hours, 58 Minutes ago
Der Vorschlag der Kommission für eine EU-Beamtengehaltserhöhung von 3,7 Prozent hat in den letzten Tagen viel Staub aufgewirbelt. Entrüstete Kommissionsbeamte versenden E-Mails an FAZ-Journalisten und beschweren sich, dass diese in einem Wirtschaf...
Dear Dirk NEW
Open Europe blog 7 Months, 2 Weeks, 4 Days, 6 Hours, 10 Minutes ago
Last week, we were told by journalists that Dirk Ahner, the Commission's Director-General for regional policy, had apparently sent a letter to the members of the European Parliament's Budgetary Control committee, criticising Open Europe's 50 examples...
On another planet Part 585 NEW
Open Europe blog 7 Months, 2 Weeks, 5 Days, 5 Hours, 8 Minutes ago
In his PBR today Alistair Darling has announced a public sector pay freeze for 4 million UK workers, including vital frontline staff such as nurses, police and teachers.Meanwhile, over in la-la land, the Dutch, French and Spanish press report that EU...
Politics and time zones; a few vague reflections NEW
Martin Westlake 7 Months, 2 Weeks, 5 Days, 13 Hours, 22 Minutes ago
My thingy got blocked and so I had to reset it. According to the factory settings, it gives a loud ‘ping’ whenever I receive an e-mail and a similarly loud ‘dring’ when I receive a text message. I haven’t had the time to...
Don't cut public spending NEW
European Tribune 7 Months, 3 Weeks, 9 Hours, 14 Minutes ago
From the TUC website A dozen leading economists have urged the Chancellor not to undermine...
Österreich: Die geheimen EU-Gagen NEW
Martin Ehrenhauser (MEP) 7 Months, 3 Weeks, 3 Days, 4 Hours, 36 Minutes ago
Martin Ehrenhauser rechnet in der Tageszeitung Österreich vor, wie viel EU-Topverdiener absahnen.
Dobrze nam wyszły te fundusze - addendum NEW
blogUE (Gazeta Wyborcza) 7 Months, 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 6 Hours, 52 Minutes ago
Tym razem krótko: na specjalne życzenie jednego z szanownych czytelników blogUE, przekazuję informacje o tym, czy Polska w UE jest na finansowym plusie, czy na minusie. Oczywiście na plusie*. I to gigantycznym. Na koniec października saldo tran...
Stuck in the past NEW
Open Europe blog 7 Months, 3 Weeks, 4 Days, 9 Hours, 2 Minutes ago
Following the revelation last week that 38,000 civil servants working for the European Commission are in line for an inflation-busting 3.7% pay rise for salaries, pensions and allowances this year, 15 EU member states have recognised that this is a s...
Sick of “EU doesn’t sign off books, therefore corrupt/evil/useless/nasty” (delete as applicable) NEW
Jon Worth's Euroblog 7 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 2 Hours, 6 Minutes ago
Ho, ho, here we go again. A question posed in the House of Commons by Philip Davies (Con) as cited by the Open Europe blog: Given that the accounts of the EU have not been signed off by the auditors for 15 years running, why do the Government ke...
Avoiding the issue NEW
Open Europe blog 7 Months, 3 Weeks, 5 Days, 10 Hours, 32 Minutes ago
Within the next year, the UK Government (whoever it will be) will find itself in crucial negotiations over the next EU 'financial framework', which will decide who pays what into the EU budget over the period 2014 to 2020.You will remember that Tony...
How come Ireland's public finances are so bad? NEW
European Tribune 8 Months, 1 Day, 19 Hours, 54 Minutes ago
Something I don't understand: we're constantly told here that our public finances are unsustainable, while...
Emprunt : finalement ce sera 20 ! NEW
Telos 8 Months, 2 Days, 20 Hours, 37 Minutes ago
Le gouvernement Fillon a décidé de lever un Grand Emprunt pour financer des investissements publics. Son montant est passé de 100 à 20 milliards, donnant ainsi l’impression d’un manque d’ambition de la part de la commission Juppé-Rocard. P...
CAP budget report has been 'binned' - or has it? NEW
Common Agricultural Policy 8 Months, 3 Days, 6 Minutes ago
A controversial draft report which advocated cutbacks in CAP spending after 2014 has now been ditched according to Farm Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel. She denied having backed the report which called for agriculture to account for a lesser share...
Comment les sucriers ont tenté de se sucrer sur le budget européen NEW
Coulisses de Bruxelles (Libération) 8 Months, 5 Days, 16 Hours, 4 Minutes ago
Les grands sucriers européens ont monté une combine, un modèle du genre, qui devait leur permettre de piquer 300 millions d’euros dans le budget communautaire, ni vu, ni connu. Le plus beau est que cette tentative de hold-up a bénéficié...
Emprunt : un dernier verre avant la sobriété ? NEW
Telos 8 Months, 5 Days, 18 Hours, 4 Minutes ago
Comme tous ses prédécesseurs, Nicolas Sarkozy a promis de faire reculer la dette de l’État ; le faire aurait à coup sûr représenté une rupture. Mais voilà que, non seulement la dette est en train de bondir, crise financière oblige, mais d...
Un président du Conseil européen, ça coûte combien ? NEW
Coulisses de Bruxelles (Libération) 8 Months, 1 Week, 1 Hour, 43 Minutes ago
Le salaire du nouveau président du Conseil européen des chefs d’État et de gouvernement sera calqué sur celui du président de la Commission, soit 24.422,80 euros par mois. Il devrait donc aussi percevoir une indemnité d’installation égale...
Одобрен е бюджетът на ЕС за 2010 г. NEW
Право на Европейския съюз 8 Months, 1 Week, 1 Day, 2 Hours, 18 Minutes ago
Бюджетът на Европейския съюз за 2010 г. беше одобрен на помирителен комитет от делегациите на Европейския парламент и Съвета. Три въпроса
Expensive President of the European Council? NEW
Grahnlaw 8 Months, 1 Week, 1 Day, 16 Hours, 32 Minutes ago
Dignitaries are expensive, as we all know. Open Europe quotes the Belgian daily De Netto with regard to the president of the European Council. Open Europe press summary 19 November 2009: New EU President to cost taxpayers €6 million a yearBelgian...
« Grand emprunt » : la grande imprudence NEW
Pierre Moscovici 8 Months, 1 Week, 1 Day, 19 Hours, 26 Minutes ago
La commission chargée de préparer le « grand emprunt » annoncé par Nicolas Sarkozy, présidée par Alain Juppé et Michel Rocard, a rendu ses conclusions, en vérité déjà largement connues : ils proposent un montant de dépenses limité à 35...
Pres på ulande NEW
Folkebevægelsens Fælles Blog 8 Months, 1 Week, 2 Days, 22 Hours, 50 Minutes ago
Grotesk at unionsivrige politikere godkender EUs budgetter, hvoraf knap halvdelen går til landbrugsstøtten som tvinger ulandenes bønder fra hus og hjem - Fælles blog / Ulande, Klima, Landbrugsstøtte, Handelspolitik...
LOL - Sarkozy's grand public national bond not to be open to public NEW
European Tribune 8 Months, 1 Week, 3 Days, 44 Minutes ago
Sarkozy, who had run on a campaign to reduce government deficits and public debt is...
MEPs back big budget for EU farm policy NEW
CTA Brussels Weblog 8 Months, 1 Week, 3 Days, 1 Hour, 14 Minutes ago
The first exchange of views on the post-2013 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) last week showed that the European Parliament may well use its new powers to block any significant budget cuts for the policy. If EU farm policy is to address important new...
Le budget de l'agence européenne de défense : a minima NEW
Bruxelles2 (Europe de la Défense) 8 Months, 1 Week, 3 Days, 17 Hours ago
Le budget de l'Agence européenne de défense - qui est normalement appelée à jouer un rôle accru dans la nouvelle politique européenne de défense (PeSDC) mise en oeuvre par le traité de Lisbonne - a été adopté par les 26 Ministres de la Dé...
ICTU, lobby groups demand magic fairies solve economic crisis. NEW
Jason O'Mahony 8 Months, 1 Week, 5 Days, 3 Hours, 46 Minutes ago
NGOs, lobby groups and Congress have all demanded that the government use little magic people to address the issue of possible cuts in public spending in the upcoming budget. ICTU spokesperson Sean Beard told us: “If the government really cared...
Finances de l'Otan NEW
EGEA 8 Months, 1 Week, 5 Days, 13 Hours, 15 Minutes ago
On croyait que l'alliance atlantique avait deux préoccupations principales : une, qui s'appelle l'Afghanistan ; l'autre, qui s'appelle le concept (dont un deuxième séminaire vient de se tenir ce week-end). Or, une préoccupation financi
France : un déficit budgétaire de 115,940 milliards d'euros en 2010 NEW
Regards citoyens 8 Months, 2 Weeks, 36 Minutes ago
Les députés ont achevé cette nuit l'examen du volet dépenses du projet de loi de finances pour 2010, qui prévoit un déficit budgétaire pour l'année 2010 de 115,940 milliards d'euros. Dans le projet de budget initial, le dé...
De l'opinion publique selon Machiavel NEW
Regards citoyens 8 Months, 2 Weeks, 1 Hour, 14 Minutes ago
"Machiavel a appris aux princes que si le roi de droit divin ne se préoccupe pas de l'assentiment de ses sujets, le peuple, quoique peu clairvoyant, doit consentir, même si l'approbation ne repose que sur les apparences. Le prince peu...