TagsEurope

Villagers scramble for fuel in Europe's big chill

By Marton Dunai 02/02/12

Hungarian villagers were scavenging for coal with their bare hands on Thursday as a blast of Siberian air killed scores in Eastern Europe and looked set to keep its icy grip on the continent for another week.At least 139 people have died across Eastern Europe and Germany since the cold snap began, interrupting what had been an unusually mild European winter.In the Hungarian village of Farkaslyuk, people clambered up a 30-metre spoil heap from a disused mine to scrape together enough coal to heat their homes and cook for a few days."This saves us from going to prison," said Jozsef Bari, a Roma and father of three who used to work in the mine, standing in a three-metre-deep pit dug in the slag heap... Read on

Manifesto: the awakening of a new generation of Europeans.

31/01/12

AT THE initiative of the think-tank EuropaNova, a new generation is calling on European leaders to take responsibility for taking Europe out of the crisis and committing to the creation of a European federation. The first signatories of this manifesto are young NGO responsible, political heads, company directors, journalists, artists and intellectuals from 15 EU member states.It is now and not in ten years time that the fate of half a billion Europeans and the future model for our societies are at stake. Will we, Europeans, have the courage, determination and energy to turn Europe into a great and democratic power?This is the challenge that we face, as the world rapidly reshapes... Read on

United States of Europe edges closer

By Clem Chambers 18/12/11

IT HAS long been said that the euro was just a step towards a federal Europe. When the European currency went into crisis, as it would be assured to do so, it would force closer fiscal integration -effectively meaning closer political union.Closer union appears to be coming true. The euro, in its old form, has fallen into crisis and the price European countries have to pay is a large loss of sovereignty.Nationalists would consider a federal Europe disastrous. In reality, there are not so many nationalists in Europe these days and many countries, and their populations, consider themselves European and see little problem with further integration. ... Read on

Syria faces growing world pressure to halt bloodshed

By Erika Solomon 14/11/11

Syria incurred more European sanctions and criticism from Turkey and Jordan on Monday after a surprise Arab League decision to suspend its membership for failing to halt months of violence against protesters opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.Syria looks ever more isolated, but still has the support of Russia, which said the Arab League had made the wrong move and accused the West of inciting Assad's opponents.The popular uprising against Assad, inspired by revolts elsewhere in the Arab world, has plunged Syria into turmoil and devastated its economy, driving away tourists and investors, while Western sanctions have crippled Syrian oil exports... Read on

Low levels of radioactive particles in Europe – IAEA

By Michael Shields and Fredrik Dahl 12/11/11

VERY low levels of radioactive iodine-131 have been detected in Europe but the particles are not believed to pose a public health risk, the UN nuclear agency said yesterday, eight months after Japan's Fukushima disaster.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Vienna-based UN watchdog, said it was seeking to determine the source but that it was not believed to come from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant after its emergency in March.The Czech Republic's nuclear security authority said the source was not believed to be in the country and was not believed to be from a nuclear power plant. It said it could possibly be from the production of radiopharmaceuticals... Read on