EU-RUSSIA: Arms Overshadow Talks

Brinkmanship over weapons overshadowed a summit between the European Union and Russia held in the French city Nice Nov. 14.

BALKANS: Organised Crime Knows No Boundaries

Inter-ethnic hatred has remained alive among many Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs through the years since the wars of the disintegration of former Yugoslavia. But the 'brotherhood' imposed by communist rulers to keep people together remains alive in organised crime that knows no boundaries, or religious and ethnic divisions.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: New Fascism Hunts Roma

A political ideology based on the desire to exterminate Roma gypsies is emerging in parts of Europe, a Brussels conference has been told.

BULGARIA: Losing Billions to Corruption

Far from succeeding in pressuring Bulgaria to solve its problems with high-level corruption and organised crime, the European Union is forced to watch its aid money drain away into the coffers of shady businessmen well connected with the Bulgarian political class.

ABKHAZIA: Why This Is the Breakaway Republic

The Russian city of Adler, at the southern edge of the country on the Black sea coast, is the only gateway that has kept Abkhazia connected to the rest of the world during 16 years of isolation since the Abkhazian-Georgian war of 1992.

RIGHTS: No, Obama Does Not Live in Europe

Nobody quite remembers the first name of that relative of Colin Powell. Or his second, for that matter.

RIGHTS-SPAIN: Demolishing Memory

The wrecking balls have begun to smash into the walls of the notorious Carabanchel prison, built by the dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1975) to hold its opponents.

ENERGY-EU: Zero Carbon Communities

This small municipality in the south of Portugal is becoming increasingly well-known for its alternative energy initiatives. The latest is the Sunflower project, which also involves communities in seven other European Union countries.

EUROPE: A Phone Book Without Numbers

A new European Union initiative officially aimed at improving transparency is providing only scant details about the influence that corporate lobbyists wield over the decision-making process, according to environmental and consumer rights advocates.

EUROPE: Commission Shows its Corporate Hand

The intimate relationship between policymakers and multinational companies was illustrated Oct. 28 when the European Commission virtually handed over the headquarters of its trade department to the umbrella group for Europe's employers.

ENVIRONMENT: Europe Casts a Net for Dying Fish

The European Union has resisted calls for a ban on fishing for bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean despite warning signs that the species is being exploited towards extinction.

NETHERLANDS: When the Electricity Is in Your Feet

As everyone knows, the wind and the sun produce energy. But now there is also a way to generate electricity by dancing.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: Turned Away at Gunpoint

Weapons were pointed directly at migrants trying to enter Italy during a recent operation coordinated by the European Union's border control agency, it has been alleged.

EUROPE: Brussels Finds a Way to Welcome Muslims

The aroma of roasted chickens wafts through the air. Bakeries teem with baklava and other calorie-laden delights.

ROMANIA: Election Fever Sparks Labour Unrest

Just weeks before general elections, Romanian legislators have approved drastic increases in teachers' wages, causing massive protests from state employees around the country looking for similar benefits.

RIGHTS-SPAIN: Digging Up Past Atrocities

When it seemed that the atrocities committed during the 1936-1939 Spanish civil war and the 1939-1975 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco were buried once and for all, the debate has been reopened.

RIGHTS: EU Parliament Acts Against Child Trafficking

The European Union needs to develop a programme against child trafficking, the bloc's only directly elected institution has declared.

CLIMATE CHANGE: EU Could be Greener

The outcome of a crucial European Parliament vote on tackling climate change this week was not as negative as many green activists had feared. Yet it also suggested that the rhetoric of European politicians on how they must exercise leadership to ward off the threat posed by rising temperatures is not being matched with decisive action.

SERBIA: Women Farmers Doubly Disadvantaged

Among disadvantaged women in Serbia, none seem worse off than farmers, a new study shows.

BELARUS: Still Out in the Cold

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has failed to win the support of European Union (EU) member states and the United States following elections last month, that international observers found largely incompatible with democratic standards.

ENVIRONMENT: EU Stepping Back from Cleaning Up

Most of the European Union's promised cuts in greenhouse emissions could be undertaken outside the bloc under a proposal to be considered by law-makers this week.