Europe Archives

ENVIRONMENT-EUROPE: All-Terrain Pollution

Vehicles known as ''4x4s'', originally developed for use in the rough terrain of rural areas, have turned into a status symbol in many of Europe's big cities, but are also at the centre of a controversy because of the high emissions of pollutants generated by their engines.

DEVELOPMENT: New Pressures Likely Over 0.7 Percent Target

By Sanjay Suri

The G8 and the European Union are due to come under new pressure to spend more on official development assistance after Britain said it would increase its contribution to 0.7 percent of its GNI by 2013.

SOCIETY-BALKANS: Past Stands In the Way of Moving Ahead

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Democracy and the European Union are the two goals most talked about in the Balkans but the path to them has been made difficult by failures to deal with the past, analysts say.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: Arrests Point to Large-Scale Trafficking

By Pavol Stracansky

The recent arrest of 25 people in Slovakia and the Czech Republic accused of selling women into prostitution has highlighted the problems central Europe faces with trafficking in women, according to experts working to stop the trade.

TRADE-EU: Bitter Pill for Developing Countries

By IPS Correspondents

International aid campaigners have attacked a proposed overhaul of controversial European Union sugar subsidies due to unveiled later this week.

TRADE-EU: Optimism Survives Another WTO Setback

By IPS Correspondents

The European Union and the United States remain optimistic that an agreement over global trade talks can be reached before the end of July, in spite of a further breakdown in negotiations over the weekend.

ENVIRONMENT-EU: Submarine Visit Fuels Debate on ‘Clean’ Nuclear Energy

By Tito Drago

The British nuclear submarine Tireless's planned visit Friday to Gibraltar, off the southwestern tip of Spain, has highlighted the different positions taken by the two countries with respect to nuclear energy.

TRADE: Old Ways in New Language

By Sanjay Suri

A new trade policy statement from the British government might just sound more right than it is.

CULTURE-BALKANS: Music Brings New Harmony

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

For four days in a row, the northern Serbian town of Novi Sad and its beautiful Petrovaradin fortress that overlooks the Danube river became the capital of the Balkans as they hosted the biggest international music festival in the area EXIT.

ENVIRONMENT-EU: EU Moves Ahead on Emissions Trading

By IPS Correspondents

The European Union is taking legal action against some member states over their failure to act over carbon dioxide emissions.

TRADE-EU: Step Claimed Towards Reforms

By IPS Correspondents

The European Union is to reform its tariff system for imports by offering more benefits to the poorest countries while trimming trade discounts to wealthier nations.

DEVELOPMENT: EU Policy ‘Out of Gear’

By IPS Correspondents

The European Union development policy is "inadequately geared" towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, according to a new report released Thursday.

EUROPE: Animals Mistreated for the Three-Ring Show

By IPS Correspondents

Dancing bears, ball-balancing seals, an elephant that stands on its head, and lions and tigers that jump through flaming hoops are among the attractions at circuses in Italy and around the world. But behind these acrobatics is suffering and abuse, say animal rights activists.

EUROPEAN UNION: From Mao to Bush – The Long March of Portugal’s PM

By Mario de Queiroz

The spirited Maoist student leader at the University of Lisbon, José Manuel Durão Barroso, never imagined during the turbulent years of the Portuguese revolution that three decades later he would become president of the European Commission, where conservative parties prevail.