Farmers have been warned to be on the look-out for a new virus affecting mainly sheep, but also cattle and goats across Europe.
Eurozone finance ministers will meet in Brussels this evening, when they expect to finalise details for a second bailout for Greece together with cuts on bondholders that will trigger a temporary selective default.
Cuts in education budgets risk undermining the economy’s growth potential, the EU has warned Ireland as the country moves closer to the bottom of the international league table in spending on schools.
Greek prime minister Lucas Papademos was yesterday shuttling over and back between the troika, the creditor banks and political party leaders desperately trying to conclude a deal on new austerity measures.
Ireland received a clear warning that it must spend more on research and its SMEs must be much more progressive if it is to create the kind of jobs and growth needed to emerge from the crisis.
Ireland’s case for refusing to support a financial transactions tax unless it was global has been undermined by a study from two eminent economists presented to the European Parliament.
Tensions increased across the eurozone and globally as negotiations on Greek debt and cutbacks reached a critical point, amid fears that the country could default.
Denise McDonagh could become the flyers’ best friend after this week’s hearing in the European Court of Justice.
Irish SMEs have secured more than 20% of the EU’s research funding going to the country, making them the fourth most successful in the union so far.
China is considering increasing its participation in the rescue funds aimed at resolving the European debt crisis.
Ireland will target winning at least €1 billion for scientific research from the EU’s fund, and a conference to launch the bid will be held in Brussels next year.
There appeared to be just one row on the horizon as final adjustments were being made to the eurozone’s fiscal treaty before it goes to EU leaders on Monday.
People will have the right to remove and change information on the internet as part of a complete overhaul of data protection and privacy rules.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan has appealed for the EU to slow down the process of putting a financial transaction tax in place, saying he was not willing to participate if the legislation was pushed through on a fast-track basis.
As Athens is caught in the middle of a game of brinkmanship with its creditors, the EU warned they wanted new reforms even before they sign up to the second bailout and its austerity programme.
Finance Minister Michael Noonan has intensified his campaign to cut the cost of repaying Anglo’s debts on the day the state handed over €1.2 billion to investors.
Is the troika going soft? Are some of its members going native?
The latest EU treaty is meant to stabilise the eurozone and ensure greater fiscal obedience but it can’t solve all ills, writes Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill
IRELAND will face fines of about €150 million if it fails to implement a law banning government deficits under the new draft treaty to be discussed by finance ministers in Brussels on Monday.
GREATER efforts should be made to help the vulnerable and unemployed, according to a member of the troika, who appealed for hard evidence of the effects of the austerity programme on people.
IRELAND’S company tax system will come under renewed pressure from France and Germany at the EU summit later this month.
THE Government could accept a ban on Ireland and other eurozone countries accessing the EU’s aid fund if they do not adopt the new treaty, according to Finance Minister Michael Noonan.
FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan travels to Berlin today to convince his German counterpart not to force a referendum on Ireland.
THE resignation of MEP Proinsias De Rossa has led to a row over how his successor as Labour delegation leader should be chosen.
NEGOTIATIONS on the new fiscal treaty makes one wonder if Germany has a death wish for the euro, or at least for some of the eurozone countries.
TWO of the eurozone’s six triple A-rated countries, France and Austria, were downgraded from AAA to AA last night by credit ratings agency Standard and Poor’s.
IRELAND has double the number of pensioners at work as other EU countries, and most favour people being allowed to work for as long as they wish after they reach the official retirement age.
BEING young is not as much a matter of age, how you look or how you feel as much as where you live, according to a Eurobarometer survey.
THE trade in counterfeit pesticides is booming and is expected to reach an all-time high worth billions of euro over the coming weeks as farmers prepare to plant crops, Europol has warned.
SPAIN and Italy exceeded expectations in raising short-term money in abundance and at much reduced rates on the markets.
THE battle to devise an EU treaty governing member states’ finances faces a new hurdle with both the European Commission and the European Parliament threatening to reject it unless they have a role.
TALK about a second programme or bailout for Ireland is not helpful, the European Commission has said following media speculation about the issue.
MEMBERS of theEuropean Parliament are pushing for a commitment to create eurobonds, joint debt issuance and a financial transaction tax, as part of the price for the proposed EU treaty enforcing strict government budgets.
ONE-IN-FIVE young Irish people aged 15 to 25 years are not in work, education or training, the third highest proportion in the EU.
IRELAND had the third highest trade surplus in the EU for the first nine months of the year at €32.4 billion — worth a third of the value of the Germany surplus.
TAXPAYERS and shareholders lost more than €127 billion in Irish banks in little more than two years and, at best, the state can hope to get back €30bn.
IRISH consumers are still paying a fifth more than their average EU counterpart for goods and services despite the country’s GDP having fallen by more than 13% in the past three years.
THE secretary general of the Department of Finance, Kevin Cardiff was cleared to become a member of the EU Court of Auditors by the European Parliament amid claims of political abuse and intimidation by some MEPs.
THE cost of Ireland’s borrowing could shoot up early next year as the credit rating of the eurozone countries as a whole and the bailout fund we are reliant on are threatened with credit downgrades.
A RECESSION is now very likely in the EU next year, and the outcome of last week’s summit is unlikely to change this, according to Laszlo Andor, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion.
STRINGENT and comprehensive new budget rules for EU governments backed up with tough penalties come into force today and are similar to what the new inter-governmental fiscal compact aims to reinforce.
All EU states except Britain moved toward setting up a new treaty yesterday, giving up crucial powers over their own budgets in an attempt to overcome a crippling debt crisis.
BRITAIN opened up the possibility of a two-speed EU with its decision to veto treaty change, isolating itself from the rest of the member states.
EU member states’ lawyers will immediately begin work on a new treaty with an eye to ensuring it does not trigger a referendum in any country.
CROATIA has signed a treaty to join the EU in 2013, a bittersweet milestone as the bloc prepared to take on a sluggish economy it will have to drag along at the time of its worst crisis.
THE EU stage is set for at least 12 hours of tough negotiations in what many see as a final bid to rescue the euro and which will again see Ireland fighting to retain its corporation tax policy.
READERS may be paying double what an ebook really costs every time they download one online, due to an arrangement between five of the world’s major publishers and Apple.
UP to 1,250 Aviva workers facing redundancy will lose out on retraining grants from the EU while money for TalkTalk employees hangs in the balance.
ECB President Mario Draghi gave an important signal that he approves of the direction being taken by eurozone governments towards a fiscal union and possible eurobonds, creating optimism that the ECB will step in with its massive support.
IN A co-ordinated move, the world’s major banks yesterday provided cheap dollar funding for Europe’s banks in what is seen as a first major step to save the single currency.
CONSUMERS are losing over €22 billion a year buying faulty goods for which they cannot get replacements or their money refunded.
IRELAND’S next bailout tranche of €8.5 billion was approved by eurozone finance ministers yesterday as they struggled to find a way to fund Spain and Italy, both under massive pressure from the markets.
THE nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors looks certain to be decided by a full sitting of the European Parliament in three weeks’ time.
THE debacle of Kevin Cardiff’s rejection for the Court of Auditors leaves the Government with a series of options, each one more messy than the other and in danger of re-opening the debate in Europe on the country’s handling of the financial crisis.
AFFORDABLE borrowing from the markets in exchange for a strictly enforced set of rules on national budgets will give eurozone countries the kinds of benefits the US Treasury has today, European Commission president Jose Barroso promised.
KEVIN CARDIFF may still be approved as a nominee to the European Court of Auditors.<
THERE is now less than 1% of living bog left in the country and despite it being protected, the decimation continues, the European Parliament was told.
PRESSURE mounted on Germany yesterday to agree to a measure that would help rescue the eurozone from the crisis threatening to engulf the entire currency.
NEW rules to ensure greater transparency in the ways credit rating agencies work have been agreed by the European Commission — but proposals to suspend ratings for countries in debt programmes, such as Ireland, were taken off the table.
THE Government is willing to consider much greater changes to the EU treaties than just tighter budgetary control, European Minister Lucinda Creighton has said.
THE full-body scanner that performs a virtual strip search principally at airports will have to conform to a series of rules aimed at addressing privacy fears.
THE EU is appointing a special representative for the Horn of Africa, focusing firstly on Somalia, the country plagued by famine and war.
DESPITE their name, RIP cigarettes are designed to save lives.
TAOISEACH Enda Kenny this week has an opportunity to turn his famed ability to connect with ordinary citizens to connect with the country most likely to decide our future — Germany.
THE prospect of technocrat-led governments in both Greece and Italy calmed markets but volatility is expected to return next week as both regimes attempt to push through austerity measures.
THE EU economy is moving into dangerous territory with growth slowing to stagnation and a new recession looming large, according to the latest forecast.
KEVIN CARDIFF, the Government’s controversial nomination to the European Court of Auditors, has been described as a very credible appointment by the outgoing Irish auditor, Eoin O’Shea.
AUDITORS discovered there was €5.7 billion missing from the EU’s accounts in what was described as a “significant error” by Ireland’s outgoing member of the court of auditors.
TECHNICAL discussions are ongoing with the European Commission and the European Central Bank to explore ways of reducing the cost of winding up Anglo Irish Bank.
THE euro crisis intensified last night as the EU’s rescue fund found it difficult to raise €3bn on the markets for Ireland and had to pay its highest rate so far for the money — the cost of which will be passed on to Ireland.
EU GOVERNMENTS should not rely on treaty change to help save the euro, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned in Brussels last night.
ALL eyes will be on Athens this evening as politicians warn that the future of the country is at stake and the health of other eurozone countries is in danger.
ALL eyes will be on Athens this evening as politicians warn that the future of the country is at stake and the health of other eurozone countries is in danger.
THE prospect of Greece leaving the eurozone is still on the table, despite an expected vote by the Athens parliament to accept the austerity measures attached to its second bailout loan.
A SCHEME to make millions of euro available for nationwide high-speed broadband, cheap green energy and fast transport links to the centre of Europe has been welcome by the Government as a vital step toward creating growth and jobs.
FISHERMEN have criticised as “perverse” plans to reduce the amount of some fish they can catch next year, under European Commission proposals that would shut the cod fisheries in the Irish Sea.
THERE was something for everyone, with a little more for the banks and less for the taxpayer, in the deal that emerged from the 10 hours of negotiations by eurozone leaders at the euro summit on Thursday.
THE cost of Ireland’s bailout will be cut by over €1 billion a year as other lenders have indicated they will follow the EU’s lead and reduce the interest rate on the entire €67bn loan.
THE European Commission has approved state aid of up to €13.1 billion for the merged Allied Irish Bank and Educational Building Society to ensure it is sufficiently capitalised to meet stress test requirements.
MOBILE phone operators who charge customers three times more for their calls when abroad are facing a raft of new rules to force them to drop their prices.
THE hidden scandal of how Irish employers take advantage of foreign domestic workers without work permits has been exposed by an EU study.
EMPLOYERS are pushing to dismantle the structure that regulates overtime and Sunday working for lower-paid workers in the catering, hotel and construction industry.
PRISONS are overcrowded in more than half the EU, including Ireland, while a quarter of prisoners are awaiting trial and more than half in some countries are foreign nationals.
IRELAND intends to maintain the target of contributing 0.7% of gross national product for development aid by 2015, despite the economic crisis, Jan O’Sullivan, Minister of State for Trade and Development, said.
IRELAND’S focus remains firmly on getting a cut in the interest rate on its bailout, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said as eurozone ministers agreed the details of a €78 billion loan for Portugal at a lower rate of interest.
GREECE began negotiations to boost its bailout with fellow eurozone finance ministers in Brussels last night clouded by the arrest of IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn in New York on charges of attempted rape.
PORTUGAL’S outgoing government and opposition parties appear to have accepted the terms of a €78 billion EU/IMF bailout which is likely to come at a lower interest rate than Ireland’s.
EU member states that do not protect their external borders effectively against illegal migrants could find themselves temporarily cut off from the Union under proposals from the European Commission.
INDIVIDUAL European Commissioners have been shocked to learn the price ordinary Irish people are paying for the crisis, Ireland’s Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has said.
THE troika made its first three-monthly report saying “well done, Ireland” and releasing the next tranche of the bailout loan, but made it quite clear now that the decisions had been made, the heavy lifting would have to begin.
Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill looks at the case of one Irishwoman fighting for thousands of homeowners.
A “FORGOTTEN PARADISE” was being destroyed by the multi-billion plans to turn the Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount area into a “new Manhattan”, solicitor Damien Cassidy told members of the European Parliament.
MEPs voted against the advice of the World Health Organisation, the EU Food Safety Authority and health and consumer bodies to allow food companies boast of the effects of adding a synthetic fatty acid to infant formula.
EU rules on forbidding former European commissioners from taking up jobs that may pose a conflict of interest have come in for fresh criticism after Charlie McCreevy joined the board of a unit of a US bank, Bank of New York Mellon.
TIGHTER controls on food coming from Japan are being put in place by the EU but some MEPs have warned they may not be enough to protect people from the dangers of radiation contamination.
IRELAND will almost certainly have to wait at least another month before getting a cut in the interest rate it pays on its EU/IMF loan, according to EU and government sources.
MEAT and milk from cloned animals can continue to be sold and does not need to be labelled after member states and the European Parliament failed to agree new controls.
THE new Government got advance warning from the European Commission last night that it cannot change the goalposts of the agreement for the€67 billion EU-IMF loan.
THE European Parliament has supported a demand by Irish farmers to produce an analysis on how meat imports from Latin America would affect European farmers and the beef industry in particular.
PROPOSALS that would see wage increases linked to productivity and to incomes of other trading partners are expected to land on the desks of the EU’s 27 prime ministers over the weekend.
THE Government’s action in taking the side of landowners and vested interests in planning legislation could cost the country several million euro in fines, warned An Taisce.
THE European Commission has decided to put pressure on member states in a bid to ease the headaches Russia and its monopoly airline Aeroflot are causing Europe’s airlines.
THOUSANDS of babies disappeared over a 40-year period in Spain, stolen from their mothers and handed over for adoption by the state and the Catholic Church.
VITAL decisions about Ireland’s debt, including lowering the interest rate on the EU/IMF loans, will be taken over the next few weeks — at the worst possible time for the country.
RAISING the pension age to the mid-70s and harmonising taxes across the EU are expected to be part of a joint German-French plan towards solving the euro area’s crisis to be put to EU leaders when they meet tomorrow in Brussels.
TOO many governments, including members of the EU, are not standing up against abusive leaders and insisting they respect human rights the international organisation, Human Rights Watch, said in its annual report.
IRELAND’S campaign to have the EU reduce the interest rate it charges for the €67.5 billion emergency aid received a boost last night after finance ministers met in Brussels to overhaul the loan facility.
AIB passed its stress test last year when the Government underestimated the discount NAMA would apply to its loans, according to European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.
EU foreign ministers were split over a proposal to recognise an independent Palestinian state at their meeting last night, and did not agree to sanctions against Israel for failing to extend the moratorium on settlements.
FISHERIES Minister Sean Connick has denied Ireland ignores the scientific evidence in favour of increasing fish stocks available to the Irish fleet.
IRELAND’S small island and inland fishermen are siding with the European Commission and environmentalists against the Government and the big fishing interests at the annual battle for fish quota.
WE have been through another week of absurd politics in the European Union, and who knows what the leaders summit on Thursday and Friday will bring.
HONEY bees are dying off in many parts of the world, threatening the production of many foods and flowers, but nobody knows why.
THE EU will sign the loan agreement with Ireland before Christmas and be ready to raise the bailout money in the new year, the head of the European Financial Stability Fund announced following last night’s eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels.
BUSINESSES with branches in different EU member states could have the same telephone number for customer support under a suggestion floated by the European Commission.
IRELAND will be allowed to retain its 12.5% corporation tax rate, but is under pressure in bailout talks to give fewer tax breaks to foreign multinationals, say EU sources.
THE European Commission document on reforming the €55 billion Common Agricultural Policy outlines three options, ranging from a gradual change from the present system to a radical overhaul that would phase out direct payments in their current form.
DESPITE two years of restructuring and up to €50 billion of taxpayers’ money, there is growing consensus the country’s banking system is still in need of a complete overhaul.
IRELAND moved closer to accepting an EU-IMF bail out last night as a team from the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission arrives in Dublin later this week to assess the condition of the Irish banks.
A NEW tax regime will be among the issues EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will discuss when they meet this evening in Dublin.
“BUNGA bunga” was the most popular phrase being used at the EU leaders’ summit last week.
WE have more trust in gambling, hairdressers and the lottery than we do in bankers, pension advisors or estate agents.
LEGAL experts are examining the Lisbon Treaty to see if it is possible to make the changes Germany wants without holding a referendum.
BUSINESSES should have their bills paid by national authorities and other businesses within 30 days under new rules agreed by the European Parliament.
A PLAN to ensure taxpayers would never again have to bail out banks has been put forward by the European Commission.
NEW mothers would be entitled to 20 weeks’ maternity leave on full pay and fathers would have two weeks’ paid leave under proposals passed by the European Parliament.
IRELAND and other eurozone countries will be fined in future for breaking budget rules, but the country is also facing a possible referendum as France and Germany say they want even stiffer penalties.
NEW EU rules that will closely guide eurozone governments’ management of their economies were agreed by finance ministers in Luxembourg last night.
FREEMASONS from Grand Lodges and Grand Orients of eight countries came together for what was described as “an unique gathering in the world” by EU president Herman Van Rompuy.
THE EBS Building Society may be asked to curtail its business activities as part of its restructuring plans to justify keeping the €875 million it received from the state.
THE economic crisis is taking its toll on Irish people with fewer feeling happy compared with four years ago.
THE prime minister of the country fast becoming the new master of the universe, China, called off his joint press conference with the EU in Brussels during the week, when they refused to ban a number of journalists from attending.
BANKS are under-taxed in the EU, but new proposals to levy their activities could raise as much as €25 billion a year, the European Commission says.
FORMER EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has resigned from the board of a fledgling British bank after being told it would conflict with his old role in Brussels.
FORMER Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy’s new career as a banker is being investigated by the European Commission to see if it is conflicts with his previous job in Brussels.
TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has not ruled out revisiting the Croke Park agreement, but he indicated that he will wait and see if the deal yields the kind of public sector savings he needs before revisiting it.
THE battle lines have been drawn.
GERMAN MEPs stepped up the pressure on Ireland over its corporation tax rate insisting that it would have to double if the country needed a bailout.
QUOTAS for the country’s most valuable fish, mackerel, could be facing cuts next year instead of being increased because of the actions of Iceland and the Faroe islands.
IRELAND has taken the necessary steps towards regaining competitiveness on its labour costs, ECB president, Jean-Claude Trichet, told the European Parliament in what came close to a vote of confidence in the Government.
AN elaborate plan to break the stalemate in the EU over GM foods hit more problems when France and Italy came out against it.
THERE were sighs of relief in Brussels at the news that Ireland succeeded in selling €1.5 billion of bonds as it reduced the likelihood the country would call on the EU-IMF rescue fund and stressing the euro.
GERMAN ChancellorAngela Merkel has been forced to deny she intends expelling Roma after she has been dragged into the row over France deporting Roma.
THREE Irish people have been selected to head EU embassies while another Irish candidate is widely expected to be appointed to manage the administration of the new European External Action Service.
FINANCIAL market tensions that are pushing up the cost of borrowing for countries including Ireland pose one of the main threats to growth in the EU, according to the European Commission which has just doubled its eurozone growth forecast for the year to 1.7%.
TODAY in Belgium a Catholic priest, hidden by the Oblate fathers for the past decade, will hand himself over to police after Interpol issued what is termed a “red notice”, which requests information about his whereabouts.
THE EU is battling to find a way to help Pakistan deal with the humanitarian disaster following the devastating floods last month.
FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has insisted nationalised Anglo Irish Bank will not be allowed to bring down the country.
AN orderly wind-down of Anglo Irish Bank will be one of the issues Finance Minister Brian Lenihan will discuss with the European Commission today.
ROMA, gypsies, Muslims and gays promise to divert some of the attention from Europe’s see-sawing economic predicament this autumn.
IN the last few weeks the baby that brings the population of the EU to half a billion was born.
THE economic downturn is forcing small businesses and scientists to join forces like never before and search for the products of the future.
FOR the fourth year in a row, freedom in terms of political rights and civil liberties have decreased in the world, according to the international organisation, Freedom House.
AN investigation into unfair retail services may have uncovered why Ireland’s food prices are the second highest in the EU.
NATIONAL governments could tap part of the EU’s bailout fund to recapitalise banks following the stress tests if they fail to raise the money on the markets, Commission sources have suggested.
IRELAND is showing no sign of shedding its Rip-Off Republic tag as figures reveal the cost of filling a shopping basket is almost 30% higher than the EU average.
THE advantage Ireland has in attracting foreign companies as a result of its low corporation tax rates may have a limited time to run, a report on taxation in the EU has warned.
SHOCK bills as a result of downloading on your smart phone or laptop when abroad should end today when telecoms companies must warn you as soon as you near €50 worth.
FOREIGN intelligence services spying on the European Parliament?
GROUPS all over the world, including in Dublin, took advantage of the 65th birthday of Aung San Su Kyi to pressurise jailers in her native Burma to release her, and hold genuinely democratic elections later this year.
EU foreign ministers urged Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, now entering its fourth year, but put off concrete proposals until their next meeting next month.
THE food industry has spent €1 billion lobbying politicians to block an easy-to-understand labelling system, according to an expert group.
The EU world, at least from Brussels, appears to be falling apart.
IRISH girls are leadingEurope in breaking through gender barriers in education – except when it comes to engineering and manufacturing.
THE Government should be able to take some steps on foot of the two reports into the banking crisis that has cost taxpayers more than €72 billion to date, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has indicated.
AS politicians increasingly shape their policies around what will get them elected, picking who to vote for has become a difficult issue for citizens.
DURING the week a headline in an international business newspaper declared that the Irish were taking the austerity in the same way as they suffer a hangover – lying on a sofa moaning.
THE European Union’s €750 billion support package announced yesterday has prompted strong growth in the value of the euro and in European shares but also prompted warnings that the market’s fears were merely allayed rather than dead.
FINANCE ministers were struggling last night to set up a fund worth potentially hundreds of billions of euro to shore up countries in danger of going bankrupt.
THE Greek tragedy is not just a tale of a country going broke, of corruption, or when living beyond one’s means finally catches up with a nation, warns Nikos Ksidakis.
FINANCE Ministers were working against a tight deadline last night to set up a European rescue fund before the markets opened this morning.
THOSE who claim issues like the EU internal market rules and the single market policy are boring and just for sad bureaucrats should think again.
IS it discrimination to ban women covering their face in public?
GREEK citizens are not just facing working longer for less pay over the next few years, but a complete upheaval to their way of life.
A NUMBER of senior Irish diplomats and officials are in line for top jobs in the new, EU external action service.
AGREEMENT on the conditions for the €45 billion loan to Greece was just a matter of days away, the European Commission said as several countries turned against Germany and its hard line on the Mediterranean country.
IRELAND is to take part in training Somali security forces to help combat the pirates that have been terrorising vessels along the African coast and in some cases kidnapping and murdering their crew.
GREECE’s decision to finally ask for a bailout loan from the eurozone and IMF has not ended fears that the country will default or that the euro currency is out of danger.
THE skies are open for business once again, but for how long is anyone’s guess.
WHEN the volcanic ash cloud covered much of Europe, the only option was to shut down the airspace, because nobody knew what else to do.
THE Cork region could become a showcase for the rest of Europe and develop high quality, eco jobs according to an alliance of leading business and education experts.
It looked like the revenge of the downtrodden.
THE European Central Bank (ECB) has criticised the legal structure for the proposed new Central Bank saying it lacks transparency and emphasising the need for it to be completely independent.
THE Greek government is expected to call on a portion of the joint eurozone-International Monetary Fund loan of €45 billion later this week if they fail to raise money from the markets today at an acceptable rate.
TOUGHER penalties and greater co-operation between EU member states to tackle child sexual abuse and trafficking in human beings have been proposed by the European Commission.
POVERTY is something we cannot afford, according to the European Commissioner with the not very sexy portfolio of employment, social affairs and inclusion.
TAOISEACH Brian Cowen was battling with Germany last night to avoid having to call a new referendum to change the rules of the euro.
ST PATRICK’S day in Brussels is unavoidable.
AN Irish official in Brussels, David O’Sullivan, is being touted for the post of secretary general of the EU’s new foreign service.
NORMALLY you won’t find a boy named Sue in Sweden.
IRELAND is unusual among western democracies in its continuing fight to have the plight of the Palestinians addressed.
THE shape of the European Union’s foreign service became clearer after two days of discussions between its chief, Catherine Ashton, and the foreign ministers of the 27 member states.
Corruption and fraud can be reported anonymously through an internet system that keeps the whistleblower’s identity secret.
THE advice not to “mention the war” has been ignored by the Greeks in the past week when, with true Mediterranean passion, they have thrown caution to the wind and reminded Germany of how they suffered at their hands.
THE Irish economy will stagnate for 10 years but that is a much better prospect than if it were not a member of the eurozone, according to a leading European economist.
SENIOR management from some of the world’s top IT companies are drawing up a report for Research and Innovation Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.
GREECE came under huge pressure from other eurozone countries in Brussels last night to make further and immediate cuts in government spending.
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