The EU Perspective Small Talkjurnan@hotmail.com
GM crops: politicizing the debate
TweetWhy genetically modified crops endanger not the environment, but the functionality of a single, open market economy is a truth not many people have grasped. The politicians on European level that deal with this issue do not just face severe pressure from their home countries, who all have since long set out their own preferences, [...]
The Lisbon amendments
TweetNobody said it was easy, nobody thought it’d go this quick. One session of the council turned out to be enough for a hard-headed Merkel to persuade her other European counterparts to give in to her wishes. She did not get what she wanted for free. Like stated in a report by the Guardian, it [...]
The daunting task of a new treaty
TweetWe ought to have seen this one coming.: David Cameron thinks he has found a new opportunity to reign in EU spending, now that Germany – the engine of this continent at the moment – has hopes in finding another path to make sure foul economic games are strictly prohibited in the future. A classical political [...]
U.K. & Netherlands: Foreign aid
TweetThe Netherlands is set to save 19 billion euros, but that record pales in comparison to what U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is going to treat his voters with. Not just do the Tories and Liberal Democrats aim for cuts that are greater in real terms than that of the newly baptized Dutch government, they [...]
No Trojan horse in Europe
TweetThe outlines of a financial deal to save Greece from default have been publicized by the European Union. Despite confident anticipation in political spheres, many heave a great sigh of relief. As time passed by it became ever more unrealistic to think Greece would manage on its own. Rumours of proposals that were circulating – [...]
GM crops in Europe
TweetAfter thirteen long years, the European Commission has finally adopted a bill approving the use of four different genetically modified (GM) crops, three of which are species of corn and one a species of potato. It has been a stubborn case; an example wherein many interests meet scepticism and fear, and where prejudices meet the [...]
US’s anti-missile shields in Europe
TweetAmerica’s defense plans suddenly look a lot less cowardly than they did last year when it was announced that the anti-missile plans in Poland and the Czech Republic would not go through after all. It seems Obama was serious when he stressed his rejection of the choice between ideals and safety, as plans have been [...]
Copenhagen: No failure, but just not good enough
TweetXie Zhenhua, head of China’s delegation for the Climate change summit that has now ended, used remarkable positive words, saying that ‘everybody should be happy’. But everybody is not happy. Two weeks have been wasted by endless bickering on subjects that could and should have been scrutinized weeks, nay months, before the summit itself started. [...]
Yuan underrated, China overrated?
TweetStimulus packages on massive scale have made sure that natural selection, as a Darwinian infiltration into economics, has not been able to cut away those businesses that would normally be doomed to fail. But, as practically everyone now knows, if ‘natural’ economical selection would have had free reign, the number of companies which would have [...]