Sunday, February 24, 2008

MPs face mass lobby for EU referendum

By Philip Johnston
Last Updated: 2:05am GMT 24/02/2008

A mass lobby of Parliament in support of a referendum on the EU Treaty of Lisbon is to take place this week.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2008/02/24/neu124.xml

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Euro-MPs reject calls for inquiry 'into scam'

By Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Last Updated: 2:02am GMT 22/02/2008

The European parliament yesterday tried to avert a formal investigation into possible fraud by Euro-MPs worth almost £100 million a year.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/22/weuro122.xml

Poland to propose Walesa to join EU's "wise men"

By Karolina Slowikowska and Gabriela Baczynska
WARSAW, Feb 22 (Reuters)
EU leaders want to appoint a Reflection Group to look at the long-term future of the European Union. The group is to focus on Europe in 2020-2030, mostly on...

The European Union will likely decide on who will be part of the group in the second half of the year.


The group is led by former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzales.

Former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Jorma Ollila, chairman of mobile phone giant Nokia, have been named as the two vice-chairmen of the panel.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSL2212651320080222

Monday, February 18, 2008

THE EUROPEAN UNION'S LISBON TREATY

Constitution for Dictatorship In a Global Fascist System?
by Helga Zepp-LaRouche
Here is a real loophole in the law, which now already exists. What is now about to occur with the Treaty of Lisbon, is a massive obstruction of democracy, constitutional legality, and sovereignty. For what would occur with this treaty, if it were ratified, is that constitutional sovereignty would devolve to the European Council; the European Parliament would no longer have to agree to anything, but would only listen—to say nothing of the national parliaments.

Here is a real loophole in the law, which now already exists. What is now about to occur with the Treaty of Lisbon, is a massive obstruction of democracy, constitutional legality, and sovereignty. For what would occur with this treaty, if it were ratified, is that constitutional sovereignty would devolve to the European Council; the European Parliament would no longer have to agree to anything, but would only listen—to say nothing of the national parliaments...

Here is a real loophole in the law, which now already exists. What is now about to occur with the Treaty of Lisbon, is a massive obstruction of democracy, constitutional legality, and sovereignty. For what would occur with this treaty, if it were ratified, is that constitutional sovereignty would devolve to the European Council; the European Parliament would no longer have to agree to anything, but would only listen—to say nothing of the national parliaments.
http://www.larouchepub.com/hzl/2008/3508munich_lisb_treaty.html

Friday, February 15, 2008

Asia faces grave situation of bird flu outbreak

www.chinaview.cn 2008-02-14 23:39:00
HONG KONG, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) --

Asia is facing the grave situation of fighting against the spread of bird flu outbreak, with the reports of more human contraction of the disease in recent days.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/14/content_7605668.htm

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Merkel meets Olmert over Iran, Mideast issues

BERLIN, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) --
German Chancellor Angela Merkel met visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Berlin on Tuesday for talks over Iran's nuclear crisis and economic sanctions against Hamas.
Merkel agreed that the international community should keep up pressure on Iran to stop the uranium enrichment, a potential way to make nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Merkel expressed her support for Israel's economic sanctions against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/13/content_7594273.htm

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Olmert heads to Germany for talks

Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert flew to Berlin Sunday afternoon for a series of meetings with top German officials including Chancellor Angela Merkel. A spokesman for Olmert's office said one of the main issues to be discussed during the short trip, set to conclude Tuesday evening, was Iran's nuclear programme.

Read all - http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/184869,olmert-heads-to-germany-for-talks.html

As prophesied: There will be a treaty between the Beast and Jerusalem that will enable the Temple Sacrifice to be re-installed. This is a prelude to the military take over of the Holy City. Thence the Abomination of Desolation.

Monday, February 11, 2008

MPs' debate on EU treaty is a scandal

By Philip Johnston
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 11/02/2008

The House of Commons is about one third of the way through its debate on the Treaty of Lisbon. Have you noticed? You could say this is the media's fault for obsessing about MPs' expenses and the politics of another country. But the parliamentarians themselves are hardly enamoured of their own discussion.

One reason for this is the way the Government has deliberately organised the business in order to diminish its importance and to avoid the procedural trench warfare that characterised the Maastricht debates 15 years ago.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/02/11/do1102.xml

Commissioner Says Reform Treaty Vital for EU's Survival



Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, spoke about the reform treaty as a force for change, enlargement and the tendency to blame Brussels when things go wrong.
DW-TV: The Lisbon reform treaty has been signed but has yet to be ratified. Could it still fail?

Viviane Reding: I don't think so and I hope not as it would not be in the interest of the 500 million people of Europe who want to live together peacefully and be a force in a globalized world. That will only possible if Europe speaks with one voice and if we have an internal market. But for that, we need institutions to work effectively. The ratification process has begun and will go on. I'm sure that a new EU will be fully functional from January next year.

G7 MEETING At-a-glance guide to main points

02.10.08, 1:24 AM ET

ECB's Trichet said there no end in sight for the financial market woes.'It is an ongoing process... an ongoing significant market correction... US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the current turbulence in the world's financial markets is both 'serious' and 'persisting,' and the global economy faces an uphill road for some time to come

Read all - http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/02/10/afx4636501.html

G7 leaders say worse to come for world economy


Finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading countries have issued a gloomy forecast over the global economy.

http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=469223&lng=1

Sunday, February 10, 2008

U.S. set to press Europe for help in conflict zones

By Judy Dempsey
Published: February 8, 2008 MUNICH:
The United States will ask European governments to shoulder more of the burden in conflict regions beyond Afghanistan
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/08/europe/munich.php

Saturday, February 9, 2008

A remarkable man, but no EU president

February 8, 2008
Edouard Balladur

Tony Blair is being touted for the job, but two serious factors disqualify him...
the EU's president must fulfil two conditions in order to carry out the role properly and to be accepted by everyone: first, to come from a country that is completely in step with the EU's forward march and that participates in all its different forms of co-operation; and, secondly, to be determined to build the independence of Europe, notably in the diplomatic and military fields.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3330164.ece
Tony Blair at the head of the EU, the British idea of a joke ?
http://europe.courrierinternational.com/eurotopics/article.asp?langue=uk&publication=08/02/2008&cat=BRUSSELS+SPROUTS&pi=0

Hell is real, says pope

Hell," said Benedict XVI "exists and is eternal"... evenwhile his predecessor John Paul II had rejected the idea.

Read all:
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=14301&tag=

US recession to be longer than usual: UMich

8 Feb, 2008, 2145 hrs IST, AGENCIES
NEW YORK: The U.S. economy has entered a recession that will be more painful and drawn out than the usual downturn, the director of the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey said on Friday

GLOBAL MARKETS-Credit fears drag on US stocks, propel bonds

Reuters
Friday February 8 2008
(Updates U.S. markets with closing figures)
By Leslie Adler

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The broader U.S. stock market fell on Friday as renewed worries about the credit market sparked a wave of selling in financial shares, but a rally in beaten-down technology shares led the Nasdaq higher.

The credit market fears drove safe-haven buying of U.S. government bonds, while the Dow Jones industrial average ended its worst week in nearly five years.

Concerns about the precarious state of the U.S. economy, highlighted by remarks late on Thursday by a Federal Reserve official who said she was "not confident" a recession could be avoided this year, added to the rally in U.S. Treasury debt prices, which recovered from their worst rout in four years.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7294492

Friday, February 8, 2008

EU Treaty court challenge fails

A UK Independence Party activist has lost a legal challenge to the government over its refusal to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7233175.stm


A Long Story

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: February 8, 2008

The economic news has been fairly dire this week. The credit crunch is getting worse, and a widely watched indicator of trends in the service sector — which is most of the economy — has fallen off a cliff. It’s still not a certainty that we’re headed into recession, but the odds are growing greater.
And if past experience is any guide, the troubles will persist for a long time — say, into the middle of 2010.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/08/opinion/08krugman.html');

Thursday, February 7, 2008

US Economy Freefall: No End In Sight Yet

U.S. stocks tumbled the most since Feb. 27, 2007, yesterday after the Institute for Supply Management said service industries contracted at the fastest pace since 2001, reinforcing concern the economy is in a recession...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aG5BJhr1AazQ&refer=home
The global market ups and downs were unprecedented...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4390679a13.html
Shares poised for dive after global pasting. ISM report signalled the economy might be in even worse condition than anticipated.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10491004
Thursday February 7, 09:00 AM
US market down amid inflation fears
An early rally has evaporated on Wall Street as inflation fears sent stock prices lower again, after a warning on price pressures from a US Federal Reserve official.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080206/21/15rd7.html
Australian stock market loses $46bn, more coming
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23173450-5001024,00.html?from=public_rss
Wednesday February 6, 11:07 PM
Global stocks jangled by US recession fears
http://au.news.yahoo.com/080206/19/15r8q.html

Market Reeling from US Woes

Asian shares tumble on renewed US woes
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/327318/1/.html
Aust market falls after US inflation warning
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/07/2156827.htm?section=business
U.S. Stocks Close Lower For A Third Consecutive Day
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200802061616DOWJONESDJONLINE000758_FORTUNE5.htm

PM has run away over treaty - Hague

William Hague has accused Gordon Brown of being "a politician of gesture and cynical calculation" because of his handling of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty
Read all - http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ge7gjpK6AJticYUaClb2TQpzrUYg

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ahern, Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs: Treaty is best option for EU


Ireland is the only state in the 27-member bloc constitutionally bound to hold a popular vote on the treaty.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0205/eu.html
Related news:
Romania Ratifies Lisbon Treaty in Wake of Sarkozy Visit
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=90075
Malta's parliament ratifies Lisbon Treaty

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

US STOCKS-Market falls as American Express sinks financials

Mon Feb 4, 2008 2:12pm EST

By Jennifer Coogan
NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) -
U.S. stocks declined on Monday, led lower by financial shares after UBS cut its rating of three big credit card providers, including American Express (AXP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), citing expectations for a consumer-led recession.
Full article - http://www.reuters.com/article/usMktRpt/idUSN0459619020080204
RELATED ITEMS:

U.K. Markets
FTSE down despite M&A as U.S. data weighs
http://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/uk
PARIS (Reuters) - European stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday
http://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/europe

Asian Markets
Japan stocks fall, exporters hit by recession fear 1:59am EST
http://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/asia

Monday, February 4, 2008

Tony Blair's potential EU presidency


Posted by Robert Colvile on 02 Feb 2008 at 15:53 Tags: , , ,

Tony Blair's will-he-won't-he hokey-cokey over the presidency of Europe shows he's lost none of his instinct for showmanship. Of course he wants the job - we reported as much weeks ago - but by acting ambivalent, he gets to keep his candidacy in the headlines, while maintaining the pose that, while he...
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/politics/threelinewhip/feb/blairpotential.htm

Tony Blair calls in old allies over bid for EU job

By Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor
Last Updated: 2:36am GMT 03/02/2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/03/nblair203.xml

India-EU trade may touch $572bn by '15

3 Feb 2008, 1118 hrs IST,PTI
NEW DELHI: India's trade with the European Union has the potential to reach a whopping 572 billion dollars by 2015 once the FTA with the 27-nation bloc is implemented,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-EU_trade_may_touch_572bn_by_15/articleshow/2752447.cms