Europe Archives

POLITICS-EU: Enlargement Magnifies Problems Too

By IPS Correspondents

The European Union is grappling with large difficulties as it prepares for enlargement May 1.

RIGHTS-BRITAIN: Strong Opposition to Secret Trials

By Sanjay Suri

A proposal for secret trials for suspected terrorists has run into a wall of opposition in Britain.

SOCIETY-ROMANIA: Children of Poverty See Little Light

By IPS Correspondents

Alex is 12, and has been living around Bucharest railway station for almost a year, begging for food money.

DEVELOPMENT-EU: Money Flow to Water Challenged

By IPS Correspondents

The European Union has come under fire from non- governmental organisations over a new initiative to fund water resources.

ENVIRONMENT-EUROPE: Iceland Faces a Whale of a Problem

By Lowana Veal

To whale or not to whale is turning out to be among the most controversial questions that Iceland faces.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: Headscarves Blindfold a Government or Two

By Julio Godoy

A proposed French law to ban the wearing of religious symbols in schools and public buildings is turning rapidly into an international joke.

RIGHTS-BRITAIN: New Law Strengthens 9/11 Hangover

By Sanjay Suri

A new bill gives the British government wide-ranging new powers in what it may determine to be an emergency.

DEVELOPMENT: Rise in EU Aid Welcomed

By IPS Correspondents

A leading group has welcomed the increased aid budget of the European Union this year.

ENERGY: Europeans Urged to Help Themselves and the Poor

By IPS Correspondents

An international conference has urged European nations to boost the share of renewables in their energy consumption and to assist developing countries in energy strategies.

SOCIETY-SERBIA: Aggressors Turn Babysitters

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

Marko Jovanovic is busy these days helping children paint a mural at a home for disabled children on the outskirts of Belgrade. This is where he will do his military service for the next 13 months.

POLITICS-SWEDEN: Psychiatric Care Goes on Trial

By IPS Correspondents

As the man accused in the murder of Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh went on trial this week, so did the Swedish psychiatric care establishment.

DEVELOPMENT: NGO Opposes Trade Talks

By IPS Correspondents

A leading civil society group has slammed efforts by the European Union and the United States to revive the stalled World Trade Organisation talks.

BALKANS: Millions of Illegal Guns Threaten Peace

By Vesna Peric Zimonjic

The wars of the 1990s and centuries of tradition of holding personal weapons have left millions of illegally held guns around the Balkans.

POLITICS: ‘Europe Needs a Constitution Fast’

By IPS Correspondents

Negotiations on a new constitution for Europe should be concluded soon, a leading think-tank here says.

POLITICS-FRANCE: Terror Alarms Spread Friction with U.S.

By Julio Godoy

Twice during the last three weeks U.S. officials have warned France about Arab terrorists flying out from Paris to launch attacks in the United States.

RIGHTS-EU: Ireland Urged to Strengthen Human Rights

By IPS Correspondents

The European Union must address human rights issues within the bloc before it takes on external problems, Amnesty International says.

ENVIRONMENT: Romanians Cannot Bear It

By IPS Correspondents

When communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was shot dead Christmas Day in 1989, it could have been good news for the bears - he had shot hundreds of them. And now the government finds so many bears around that hunters are being asked to shoot them again.