ECONOMY-BALKANS: Just When Hope Was At Hand

The Balkans region, crippled by the wars of the 1990s and then pushed through painful transition to a market economy, has been hit hard by the global economic crisis just when everyone believed the time had come for promising new development.

ICELAND: Financial Crisis Hits New Development

The disastrous state of the Icelandic banking system means that Icelandic energy and aluminium companies can no longer find willing overseas lenders as before.

CLIMATE CHANGE: EU Gives Polluters a Christmas Gift

Polluting industries have received an early Christmas gift from European Union leaders who have agreed to weaken their proposals for fighting climate change in order to protect short-term commercial gains.

RIGHTS-SPAIN: Human Traffickers’ Assets to Be Seized

The Spanish government announced a new plan Friday to combat human trafficking, which includes a measure for the immediate seizure of the assets of anyone convicted of involvement in such activities, in particular, those who force foreign women into prostitution.

RIGHTS: Europe Goes Slow on Gay Laws

European Union governments are in no hurry to widen the scope of the bloc's anti-discrimination rules so that gays and lesbians can enjoy greater rights.

EUROPE: And the Lobbying Award Goes To…The Worst

An unconventional awards ceremony was held in Brussels Dec. 9. The 'Worst EU Lobbying Awards' gave recognition to those corporate interest groups that have resorted to deceptive tactics while seeking to shape legislation in their favour.

ABKHAZIA: Troubled Region Prepares for Winter Olympics

The nomination of the Russian city Sochi to host the 2014 Winter Olympics is already affecting the sensitive geopolitical balance in the region.

RIGHTS-EUROPE: Scandal over CIA “Renditions” Flights Revived

Portuguese European Parliament member Ana Gomes will ask the EU legislative body to restart the debate on stopovers in EU territory by secret CIA flights carrying prisoners captured in Afghanistan.

EUROPE-RIGHTS: Starving Because They Cannot Settle

Fifteen migrants woke up Friday to the 25th day of their hunger strike in Crete's second largest municipality Hania. They all have been living and working in Hania for a long time.

Q&A: 'Conditions in Prisons Should be Close to Those Outside'

More experts should become engaged in helping long-term prisoners prepare for their eventual return to society, says Pavel Kandrac. Kandrac, Slovakia's parliamentary-elected ombudsman, says the ultimate goal is their re-socialisation.

RIGHTS-HUNGARY: Activists Seek to Reverse Draconian Law

A Hungarian rights organisation is seeking to return the country to the days when all life prisoners had a right to a review of their sentences, giving hope to eight who have been sentenced to imprisonment until they die.

ROMANIA: Two Decades of Democracy Brings Disappointment

The chaotic political programmes of the parties and a new electoral system discouraged more Romanians than usually from casting a vote in Sunday's parliamentary elections. The main opposition force, the Social-Democrats, obtained the best result, but with none of the parties achieving a clear majority, the centre-right forces might still coalesce to form the new government.

ENVIRONMENT: Europe Eases the Way for Cars

José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission's president, has a penchant for large cars. At the same time as he was publicly encouraging citizens to be more sparing in their use of energy, it emerged in 2006 that his vehicle of choice was a Volkswagen Touareg.

UKRAINE: War Brings Elections, Crisis Postpones Them

The Georgian-Russian war has detonated a political war in Ukraine. The governing coalition has collapsed, and new elections loom in a country struck by a grave economic crisis and facing accusations of trading illegal arms with Georgia.

RIGHTS: Proposals on Right to Information Kept Hidden

New concerns have arisen over the weakness of model legislation being drafted by the Council of Europe on the right of access to information.

ECONOMY: Don’t Bank On Them

Public confidence in Belgian banks has eroded considerably over the past few months. A series of multi-billion euro rescue plans, reports of lavish executive bonuses and investigations into whether shareholders were misled about solvency levels have fuelled fears that the savings of the hard-pressed ordinary citizen are anything but safe.

GERMANY: Recreating the Experience of the Uprooted

The lighting is dim. The murmur of water can be heard, the ship’s horn blows and the gangway unfolds. The long journey of the German emigrant is about to begin.

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.