http://www.neurope.eu Editors Notes - New Europe News: The European News Source. en-us Copyright The Media Company S.A. info@neurope.eu (New Europe) kgougakis@neurope.eu (Kostas Gougakis) Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:00:00 +0200 Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:00:00 +0200 New Europe New Europe 5 http://www.neurope.eu/images/logo.jpg http://www.neurope.eu 100 35 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/99335.php The largest criticism to be made of the 8th wonder of the world ndash; the internet is that it is an unregulated and uncontrolled arena where illegal business reap in large profits and legal businesses do not have the required accountability structures due to the legislation gap that exists around... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/99335.php Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:16:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/99178.php Our recent article MEPs spending spree forces payback but the names are being kept secret see full article below disclosed that unnamed MEPs have handed back euro;3.4 million to Parliament and that the secretive second pension scheme is in financial trouble among other related issues. Mr Juame Duch Guillot Spokesperson... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/99178.php Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:53:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/98665.php Rethinking our institutions The last two weeks have seen a historical high of tensions between political groups in the European Parliament. Most notably the Greens Socialists and ALDE clashed hard with the EPP Group over former Commissioner-designate Rumiana Jeleva. We need to rethink our structures Clearly the hearing process is not optimal. Any... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/98665.php Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:56:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/98490.php nbsp; Updates:nbsp;Jeleva made no violation: Bulgarian Ministry of Justice report - EXCLUSIVE nbsp;Check-mate; Jeleva unsalvable; a commentary nbsp;Borisov opens the door for new Commission nominee The matter of European Commission designate Rumiana Jeleva has been keeping our newsroom busy. With conflicting information coming in the matter has become a matter of attempted... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/98490.php Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:55:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/98067.php The credit crunch in the West the subsequent real economy recession and the uncertainties which still haunt the international economic environment and the economic theory are being swiftly depicted and presented in what is happening over the past weeks in London more precisely in and around the Royal Bank of... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/98067.php Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:44:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/97808.php Jose Manuel Barroso the Presshy;ident of the Europe an Comshy;mission has seemingly lost the will to communicate Europe ndash; by either forgetting doubtful or neglecting to appoint a Commissioner for Comshy;mushy;nication. As it happens DG Comshy;munication COMM will now be under Viviane Redingrsquo;s portfolio of Justice Fundamental Rights and Citizenship.... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/97808.php Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:06:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/97667.php Europes glide to zero Europe at the citizen level hasnt paid much attention to the critical appointments that have been made in the last few months. Indeed while our 27 heads-of-state have selected what should now be our holy trinity Herman Van Rompuy Jose Manuel Barroso Catherine Ashton citizens have... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/97667.php Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:45:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/97040.php SARAJEVO - South East Europe SEE is the most troubled region of Europe ndash; with a long and hard history that has put some distance between the region of the rest of Europe in terms of political and economic development. I was in Sarajevo the end of last week nbsp; invited... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/97040.php Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:07:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/96514.php Between the G20 and the pending Lisbon Treaty referendum the redesign of our newspaper and the makeover of our website a lsquo;lighterrsquo; subject was chosen for the Editorrsquo;s Notes this week. It is my distinct honour to communicate to our readers the new game available on the European Commissionrsquo;s website Europa... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/96514.php Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:52:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/96330.php Last week in the Editorrsquo;s notes you read about our new structure our upcoming blogs and new website design. This week our editorial team editorial board and publishers came together to discuss the new layout. We decided on everything there was to decide except the single-most important element of the... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/96330.php Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:51:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/96147.php Though entitled to a perspective and having the freedom to share it this weekrsquo;s editorrsquo;s notes will not as it might be expected focus on the nearly certain re- s election of the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. You see while the European Union is about to embark on what... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/96147.php Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:53:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95975.php As it is the job of the media to investigate and report it is also our job to praise or criticize administrations for right- or wrongdoings. Though both give us satisfaction when it comes to the European Union Institutions we prefer to have positive findings; they give us courage for... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95975.php Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:40:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95796.php As we edge closer to the Irish referendum even some of the most doubtful citizens of Ireland have been convinced that accepting the Lisbon Treaty is the right thing to do. Both the government and the opposition have positioned themselves in favour and the citizens are according to opinion polls going... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95796.php Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:57:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95616.php A brutal debate flared up over the hottest days of the summer in Europe about the European communication efforts. The discussion was sparked by a report by Swedish think-tank Timbro entitlednbsp; ldquo;The European Unionrsquo;s Burden ndash; Information and Communication to a Reluctant Peoplerdquo;. The report which goes to great lengths to... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95616.php Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:57:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95392.php While we dwell deeper into the summer and the Europe of 2009-2014 takes shape itrsquo;s perhaps the ideal time to take a step back and ask ourselves where this Europe is going what kind of Europe we seek and how difficult will this Europe be to achieve. For some Europe is... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95392.php Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:30:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95161.php Though the European Commission and Parliament presidencies are two entirely different issues they are at this point greatly interrelated. The EPP Group chair Joseph Daul is doing all that he can to ensure the re- s election of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso putting half of a parliamentary presidential term... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/95161.php Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:06:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94968.php Google now also officially a verb meaning lsquo;to searchrsquo; has grown so large that it has made both governments and citizens wary. Indeed just over ten years ago the word Google had only been written once by Enid Blyton in a book called ldquo;The Magic Faraway Treerdquo;. Hal Varian Googlersquo;s... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94968.php Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:41:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94757.php People in the EU like to know where the money goes. In even the smallest European village for the smallest of projects signs with the EUrsquo;s flag go up to remind the citizens of the funding being given by the European Institutions. In fact this strategy has made the European flag... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94757.php Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:30:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94614.php Who wouldrsquo;ve thought just one or two years ago with the most mature and active European Parliament so far that we would be looking at Europersquo;s most shameful European Elections yet? With expectations of between 35 and 38% turnout it is time Europe starts to consider its structure and the... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94614.php Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:54:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94571.php Tobacco companies have to find new inventive ways to market their products as it is simply becoming difficult to hook consumers on the highly addictive life-suckers with the negative mindsets and advertising regulations. The solution is being test-marketed in the USA as we speak. R.J. Reynolds owner of the brand once... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94571.php Sun, 31 May 2009 01:03:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94239.php Perhaps what is perceived as one of the most disappointing trends in European Union history is the decreasing turnout in the European elections. What started as a passionate Europe in 1979 with a 63% voter turnout steadily decreased to a theoretically disappointing 45.5% in 2004. This is nothing more than a... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94239.php Mon, 25 May 2009 09:43:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94178.php The statistics arenrsquo;t changing: Tobacco is the single largest cause of avoidable death in the European Union accounting for over half a million deaths each year and over a million deaths in Europe as a whole. It is estimated that 25% of all cancer deaths and 15% of all deaths... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94178.php Mon, 18 May 2009 12:52:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94523.php A new notion of media - Reykjavik... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94523.php Mon, 18 May 2009 09:30:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94141.php For those who were not aware ndash; popular blogger Berlaymonster was I believehellip; the first to break the story about the ldquo;accident pronerdquo; eurocrats who got large compensation for claiming a permanent partial invalidity. A great advert for Europerks on the blog by the way . The audit discovered 46 members... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94141.php Mon, 11 May 2009 11:27:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94140.php A very interesting website was launched recently http://www.followthemoney.eu/ which is worth an honorable mention in this newspaper as we share many common values. We hope that the site will indeed make a difference. There are some very good posts already and we hope to see more hard-hitting investigation in the future.... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94140.php Mon, 11 May 2009 11:25:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94087.php In just under a week we have seen no less than variations of what is turning out to be a pandemic- less frightening in terms of consequences but more worrying in terms of media hype than SARS. The authorities national international European or otherwise have engaged in crisis management mode... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94087.php Sun, 03 May 2009 22:10:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94044.php Itrsquo;s election time and candidates to a seat in the European Parliament are disposing of all means to gear up their support base. Following the successful example of Barack Obamas bid for the White House widely credited for its effective use of internet resources many current and prospective Members of... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/94044.php Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:36:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93978.php As the European institutions get stronger and voter turnout in the European elections gradually decreases the European Commission has turned to the MTV generation with a motivating youth-oriented campaign. The campaign which has already sparked both positive and negative reactions on the Euro-blogosphere follows the recent launch of the European Parliaments... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93978.php Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:09:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93725.php European leaders are following the model of youve got to spend money to make money pumping as much liquidity as they can into the European economies. But the money is limited - so we have to ask ourselves where can the European Commission find some more money to spread to... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93725.php Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:27:00 +0300 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93560.php Though it had been expected that the EPP would announce its presidential candidate for the European Commission during the EPP summit in Warsaw next month the EPP came together and surprised everyone by announcing it last Thursday evening. Though the French leadership was not represented in the EPP meeting ahead of... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93560.php Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:19:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93508.php I took a break from writing last week and promised to put my Editors notes online. I had a short piece ready on Europarl TV a followup to my previous note which had been quite heavy-handed yet absolutely truthful . I chose not to put it up and wait to... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93508.php Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:34:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93509.php Just a note on the former lsquo;circusrsquo; website of the European Commission which featured in issue 821. The new website is up and running - under the title ldquo;Do you know what social Europe can do for you?rdquo; No more circus cartoons unfortunately which were in all honestly quite entertaining. I... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93509.php Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:34:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93507.php It is of course very early to say who the next president of the European Parliament will be with many parties in member states still not having declared the contenders for the positions of the members of parliament. Nevertheless there is a figure which already stands out as a prospective... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93507.php Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:21:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93146.php And wouldnrsquo;t you know it; I have become quite a Kassandra myself. With the launch of Europarl TV the web TV of the European Parliament I was very disappointed and wrote an editorrsquo;s notes piece entitled: lsquo;Expectations VS Reality ndash; Europarl TV will Flunkrsquo; in which the conclusion was that... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/93146.php Sun, 01 Mar 2009 03:15:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92957.php The Czech President EP address Irsquo;m not entirely sure about what the Czech President Vaclav Klaus wanted to achieve with his at least controversial address in the European Parliament See here for whole story . Perhaps the aim was indeed to achieve mass amounts of bad press which under the... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92957.php Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:56:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92661.php The lsquo;interns trading sex for scandalsrsquo; issue emphasized last week by Bruno Waterfield in the Telegraph is both quite amusing and even more worrying. The leaked Commission memorandum warning that ldquo;the threat of espionage is increasing day by dayrdquo; points to a very worrying situation. MEP Mary Honeyball comments on this... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92661.php Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:18:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92613.php Websites seem to be disappearing in thin air! First the Milkshaker website and then the EU Circus campaign. Poof! After well-known blogger Berlaymonster wrote a critical post about the ldquo;EU Circus Campaignrdquo;- it appears the Commission moved swiftly to take down the webpage. We hope that this is just a mistake... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92613.php Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:45:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92611.php Note: See European Commission reply atnbsp;the bottom of the pagenbsp; After well-known blogger Berlaymonster wrote a critical post about the EU Circus Campaign- it appears the Commission moved swiftly to take down the webpage. We hope that this is just a mistake and not the product of deliberation. Indeed responding to... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92611.php Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:49:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92568.php Some of you might consider my repeated reference to blogging and online social networking an obsession. It is exactly this group of people that I am trying to reach with this kind of column. The group of people who may or may not be aware of the existence of blogging and... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92568.php Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:50:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92227.php Last week I had a long discussion with a man known to most of the New Europe readers not by his real name but as Kosmopolit. Blogging is one those things that hasnrsquo;t quite hit the EU level yet. With Brussels being the epicenter of the European dimension the relatively... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92227.php Mon, 02 Feb 2009 11:30:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92174.php It was a European gas crisis which tested the European Commission. The gas has started to flow again but sadly the European institutions considered by many today as the government of Europe failed to deal with dispute between Russia and the Ukraine over the supply of gas to Europe efficiently. Instead... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92174.php Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92012.php It seems that the European Commission and Microsoft have reached a compromise regarding the tight when it comes to Microsoft competition rules of the EU. In fact in order to avoid a fine for anti-competitive behavior Microsoft has agreed to a barter exchange. Instead of shelling out millions to the... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/92012.php Mon, 19 Jan 2009 09:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/91998.php The European gas crisis has left everyone a little bit puzzled. It is exactly as we quoted it in this weekrsquo;s headline: Two sides two stories no gas! nbsp;Though I fully agree with the monitoring mission deployed I canrsquo;t for the life of me understand why I as a taxpayer have... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/91998.php Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/91214.php -Better more healthy and of course energy efficient ie expensive coffee machines for the Commission. - European Commission and Parliament cars are all traded in for new hybrid Smarts or fully battery powered vehicles design and manufacture of the highly customized vehicles to be commissioned through tender and changed with every... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/91214.php Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/91018.php Six months away from EU Election and we donrsquo;t have an official candidate for the Presidency for the next European Commission. While the current President Joseacute; Manuel Durao Barroso seeks reelection other figures are appearing in the distance more in Kassandra . Barroso hoped for the clear support of the... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/91018.php Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90965.php I came across a wonderful piece of writing guaranteed to make Europeans pro- or -sceptic shed tears of laughter. I thought it is my duty to share this with the rest of Europe after what has been a fairly difficult week. The letter below is written by Andy Carling and... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90965.php Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90846.php We all live in our own little bubbles. Information transcends these bubbles and communities help bring them together. Terror Unfortunately this weekrsquo;s terror attacks in Mumbai took the lives of nearly 200 people. The photos and reports blog posts and videos of the attacks journeyed around the world through the internet. Days... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90846.php Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90672.php The European media landscape is one which is fragmented firstly in terms of readers for the obvious reasons of overlapping markets and spheres of reader language etc and secondly in terms of platforms formats quality and more. I was quite upset to read last month that EUX.TV a service providing... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90672.php Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90593.php The European Commissionrsquo;s Competition Directorate-General has potential to become the crown jewel of Europersquo;s governmental bodies. Unfortunately their treatment of competition law applies quite selectively. We have seen 1.3 billion euro fines this week on the car glass industry; the people who make the windows and windshields of our motor... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90593.php Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:00:00 +0200 http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90470.php The European political scene is fragmented; with European elections happening in 27 member states with governments nominating Commissioners who are confirmed by the European Parliament with a President of the European Commission who is decided upon by the European Council. And it is no surprise that with this system Europeans do not feel... info@neurope.eu (New Europe) EditorsNotes http://www.neurope.eu/articles/90470.php Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:00:00 +0200