Archive for the ‘Journalism’ Category

December24

EU Summit Paves the Way for New Irish Vote

By: Tim Neale

At a summit meeting in Brussels last week, European Union heads of state reached an agreement which addresses the “concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon” and allows the Irish government to propose a second referendum.

The communiqué released after the summit commits the EU to:

  • Ensuring Ireland’s policy of neutrality
  • Non-interference in Ireland’s domestic policy on the right to life, education and the family
  • No extension in taxation
  • Attach high importance to social progress and the protection of workers’ rights
  • Re-affirms the responsibilities of the member states for the delivery of education and health

    • services and other general interest services

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December6

ESA Gets Ten Billion Euros Space Exploration

By: Tim Neale

Ministers agree to finance most of the European Space Agency wish list.

Ministers responsible for space exploration from the 18 European Space Agency (ESA) countries plus Canada met last week. They agreed to fund 9.9 billion euros (US$12.7 billion) of the requested 10.4 billion euro ($13.34 billion) budget. The ESA Council meets once every three years to decide funding on a list of proposed projects. The meeting took place in The Hague on 25-26 Nov.

ISS showing Jules Verne ATV (NASA)

ISS showing Jules Verne ATV (NASA)

Afterwards French education minister Valerie Pecresse said, “Investing money in long-term space projects is an appropriate answer to the economic crisis.” ESA director general Jean-Jacques Dordain said, “These are investments that can help the economy. This is the right time invest in the future.”

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November22

Europeana’s Popularity Far Exceeds Expectations

By: Tim Neale

The European Union’s digital library, Europeana, opened on Thursday Nov. 20, only to be overwhelmed and crash. Inspired by ancient Alexandria’s attempt to collect the world’s knowledge, Europeana objective is to bring Europe’s cultural heritage out of its museums and libraries and onto the internet.

The European Commission is behind Europeana and provides the annual budget of 2.5 million euros (US$3.15 million). At its launch commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said, “Europeana is much more than a library; it is a veritable dynamo to inspire 21st century Europeans to emulate the creativity of innovative forbears like the drivers of the Renaissance.”

The site was designed to handle up to five-million users per hour. It was receiving 10-million hits an hour when it crashed on its first morning. Despite increasing the number of servers from three to six, the site crashed again early that evening. It is now offline and displays the message, “We are doing our utmost to reopen Europeana in a more robust version as soon as possible.” It hopes to be back online by mid-December 2008.

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November15

Auditors Clear EU Accounts – First Time Ever!

By: Tim Neale

A landmark occasion occurred in the European Union last week. For the first time ever, the European Court of Auditors gave a “clean bill of health” to the EU’s account. It has only taken 14 years.

Previously the Auditors had refused to endorse the accounts, although it found the accounts themselves “reliable.” This means that the European Commission had accurately recorded all transactions, assets and liabilities, but there were problems with how the money was used.

The Auditors report declared due to, “improvements that have taken place,” in accountancy standards the reservations expressed in the previously were “no longer necessary.” Still, the Auditors expressed reservations concerning spending programs accounting for 80 percent of the EU’s budget. They did stress that most of the remaining irregularities were at national level beyond the control of the Commission.

Of particular cause for concern were the EU’s structural funds. This spending on poor EU regions was 42 billion euros (US$53.5 billion) in 2007, the Auditors estimate that “at least,” 4.6 billion euros ($58.8 billion), “should not have been paid out.”

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November7

EU Defies China to Award Prize to Hu Jia

By: Tim Neale

Chinese political activist wins Freedom of Thought award

Hu jia and Zeng Jinyan

Hu Jia, a prominent Chinese human rights activist and dissident, is the winner of this year’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. China’s ambassador to the EU had warned that selecting Hu Jia would, “bring serious damage to China-EU relations.” China issued a similar warning to Norway when Hu Jia was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize annually since 1988. The prize honours individuals or organizations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and against oppression and injustice. Previous recipients include Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and the Belarusian Association of Journalists. The prize is worth 50,000 Euros (US$65,000).

Born Jul. 25, 1973, in Beijing, Hu Jia graduated from the Beijing School of Economics majoring in information engineering. In Jan. 2006, he married Zeng Jinyan. They have a one-year-old daughter.

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October27

Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2008

By: Tim Neale

Nominations are in for the least sort after awards in Europe

Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2008

Worst EU Lobbying Awards 2008

Voting has opened for the annual ‘Worst EU Lobbying Awards’. The public are invited to visit this site, familiarize themselves with this year’s nominees and cast a vote for the most outrageous behavior. There are two categories, “Worst EU Lobbying” and “Worst Conflict of Interest”.

According to the organizers the idea behind the awards is, “to discourage controversial lobbying practices by exposing them to the public.” This is the fourth year the competition has been held and it promises to be a close race.

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October13

Eurozone Countries Agree Bank Rescue Plan

By: Tim Neale

Meeting at the weekend in Paris, the heads of states of the eurozone have agreed a response to the banking crises. The eurozone comprises the 15 countries that use the euro. This meeting was the first such, since the euro was launched in 1999.

The three key components of the plan are

  • Countries will inject capital into their banks if necessary by buying preference shares
  • Countries will guarantee interbank leading until the end of next year
  • The European Central Bank will attempt to boost liquidity

The eurozone states have based their plan on the £500 billion (US$865 billion) UK plan announced last week. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown attended the eurozone meeting even though the UK is not a member.

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